cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dismantling the Master's House: Toward a Justice-Based Theory of Community Economic Development

Since the end of the American Civil War, scholars have debated the efficacy of various models of community economic development, or CED. Historically, this debate has tracked one of two approaches: place-based models of CED, seeking to stimulate community development through market-driven economic growth programs, and people-based models of CED, focused on the removal of structural barriers to social and economic mobility that prevent human flourishing. More recently, scholars and policymakers have turned to a third model from the impact investing community — the social impact bond, or SIB. The SIB model of CED ostensibly finds a middle ground by leveraging funding from private impact investors to finance social welfare programs within marginalized communities. SIBs seemingly answer the call of local government law scholars of the New Regionalists movement who advocate for governmental mechanisms that facilitate regional cooperation, address equity concerns, and respect local government autonomy. However, this Article argues that the SIB model of impact investing will struggle to advance metropolitan equity due to its grounding in the politics of neoliberalism. After highlighting limitations of the SIB, this Article links contemporary debates about CED theory to historical contestations within the black community about economically-oriented racial uplift strategies. Placing historical figures, such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington, in conversation with more contemporary theorists of political philosophy, this Article offers an alternative conceptual framework of CED. Termed justice-based CED, this framing distinguishes a typology of social change that places democracy at the epicenter of the development debate and points toward the political principles of the solidarity economy as guideposts for law reform. The justice-based approach rests upon three core values: social solidarity, economic democracy, and solidarity economy. Taken together, this perspective reflects a vision of political morality that embodies one of America’s most foundational democratic values — human moral dignity.
Personality traits change after an opportunity to mate

There is growing evidence that personality traits can change throughout the life course in humans and nonhuman animals. However, the proximate and ultimate causes of personality trait change are largely unknown, especially in adults. In a controlled, longitudinal experiment, we tested whether a key life event for adults--mating--can cause personality traits to change in female threespine sticklebacks. We confirmed that there are consistent individual differences in activity, sociability and risk-taking, and then compared these personality traits among three groups of females: (i) control females; (ii) females that had physically mated, and (iii) females that had socially experienced courtship but did not mate. Both the physical experience of mating and the social experience of courtship caused females to become less willing to take risks and less social. To understand the proximate mechanisms underlying these changes, we measured levels of excreted steroids. Both the physical experience of mating and the social experience of courtship caused levels of dihydroxyprogesterone (17α,20β-P) to increase, and females with higher 17α,20β-P were less willing to take risks and less social. These results provide experimental evidence that personality traits and their underlying neuroendocrine correlates are influenced by formative social and life-history experiences well into adulthood.
Case–Control Study, Sequential †

Recruitment of cases and controls for a case–control study can take an appreciable amount of time. There is potential for shortening the duration of a case–control study and reducing the numbers of required cases and controls by analyzing the accruing data sequentially and perhaps by stopping accrual early if a definitive early decision can be reached. We discuss the Wald sequential probability ratio test and group sequential tests for 1:1 matched case–control designs and tabulate the average reductions in sample sizes obtained by sequential procedures, compared with fixed sample size designs. Keywords: case–control design; Wald sequential probability ratio test; group sequential test; sample size; sequential case–control study
Chapter 3 – The Corporate Takeover Market: Common Takeover Tactics, Antitakeover Defenses, and Corporate Governance

Corporate governance refers to the rules and processes by which a business is controlled, regulated, or operated. This chapter explains the factors in detail that impact governance both internal and external to the firm, with a particular focus on the role of corporate takeovers in disciplining failing corporate managers. Common takeover strategies and tactics as well as defenses employed in change of control battles are discussed in detail.
A theory of viscoplasticity based on infinitesimal total strain

A viscoplasticity theory based upon a nonlinear viscoelastic solid, linear in the rates of the strain and stress tensors but nonlinear in the stress tensor and the infinitesimal strain tensor, is being investigated for isothermal, homogeneous motions. A general anisotropic form and a specific isotropic formulation are proposed. A yield condition is not part of the theory and the transition from linear (elastic) to nonlinear (inelastic) behavior is continuous. Only total strains are used and the constant volume hypothesis is not employed. In this paper Poisson's ratio is assumed to be constant. The proposed equation can represent: initial linear elastic behavior; initial elastic response in torsion (tension) after arbitrary prestrain (prestress) in tension (torsion); linear elastic behavior for pure hydrostatic loading; initial elastic slope upon large instantaneous changes in strain rate; stress (strain)-rate sensitivity; creep and relaxation; defined behavior in the limit of very slow and very fast loading. Stress-strain curves obtained at different loading rates will ultimately have the same “slope” and their spacing is nonlinearly related to the loading rate. The above properties of the equation are obtained by qualitative arguments based on the characteristics of the solutions of the resulting nonlinear first-order differential equations. In some instances numerical examples are given. For metals and isotropy we propose a simple equation whose coefficient functions can be determined from a tensile test [Eqs. (31), (35), (37), (38)]. Specializations suitable for materials other than metals are possible. The paper shows that this nonlinear viscoelastic model can represent essential features of metal deformation behavior and reaffirms our previous assertion that metal deformation is basically rate-dependent and can be represented by piecewise nonlinear viscoelasticity. For cyclic loading the proposed model must be modified to account for history dependence in the sense of plasticity.
What drives capital flows? The case of cross-border M&A activity and financial deepening

Abstract What key roles do macroeconomic and financial variables play in the foreign direct investment (FDI) decision of firms? This question is addressed in this paper using a large panel data set of cross-border Merger & Acquisition (M&A) deals for the period 1990–1999. Various econometric specifications are built around the simple “gravity model” commonly used in the trade literature. Interestingly, financial variables and other institutional factors seem to play a significant role in M&A flows. In particular, the size of financial markets, as measured by the stock market capitalization to GDP ratio, has a strong positive association with domestic firms investing abroad . This result points to the importance of domestic financial conditions in stimulating international investment during the boom years of 1990s, and accords with the significant drop in cross-border M&As in recent years.
The Engineering Assistant: Design of a Symbol Manipulation System

This article is intended to describe the design of a working interactive symbol manipulation system, but the reasons for a given action and the implications of it are common to the design of other languages. This introduction therefore formulates the questions that must be asked in the design of such a system, discusses possible alternatives, and suggests the effects of the alternatives.
Data Centers Job Scheduling with Deep Reinforcement Learning.

Efficient job scheduling on data centers under heterogeneous complexity is crucial but challenging since it involves the allocation of multi-dimensional resources over time and space. To adapt the complex computing environment in data centers, we proposed an innovative Advantage Actor-Critic (A2C) deep reinforcement learning based approach called A2cScheduler for job scheduling. A2cScheduler consists of two agents, one of which, dubbed the actor, is responsible for learning the scheduling policy automatically and the other one, the critic, reduces the estimation error. Unlike previous policy gradient approaches, A2cScheduler is designed to reduce the gradient estimation variance and to update parameters efficiently. We show that the A2cScheduler can achieve competitive scheduling performance using both simulated workloads and real data collected from an academic data center.
Enhancing Course Objectives for a Sophomore Electronic Devices Class via Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) Model and Attached Projects

This Full Innovative Practice paper presents a new Peer-Led team Learning (PLTL) recitation model for the sophomore Electronics Analysis and Design course, emphasizing device physics, device models, and analog and digital applications in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at IUPUI. This new PLTL model with small number of students assigned to one peer-leader has enabled students to cooperate with each other and build teamwork, to get more practice with course software, and to better understand the course design component. This new model has overall improved the students' performance in the course. The new model has also enabled the instructor to introduce students to some research topics which led to students being encouraged to enroll in higher level related courses and to pursue further research in these areas. This paper details the structure of this new model, the feedback from students, the PLTL model recitation guidelines for the course semester, and attached projects. The paper also assesses the course objectives using this new model as compared to previous offerings.
Entangled light–matter interactions and spectroscopy

Entangled photons exhibit non-classical light–matter interactions that create new opportunities in materials and molecular science. Notably, in entangled two-photon absorption, the intensity-dependence scales linearly as if only one photon was present. The entangled two-photon absorption cross section approaches but does not match the one-photon absorption cross section. The entangled two-photon cross section also does not follow classical two-photon molecular design motifs. Questions such as these seed the rich but nascent field of entangled light–matter interactions. In this perspective, we use the experimental developments in entangled photon spectroscopy to outline the current status of the field. Now that the fundamental tools are outlined, it is time to start the exploration of how materials, molecules, and devices can control or utilize interactions with entangled photons.
Automating Fast and Secure Translations from Type-I to Type-III Pairing Schemes.

Pairing-based cryptography has exploded over the last decade, as this algebraic setting offers good functionality and efficiency. However, there is a huge security gap between how schemes are usually analyzed in the academic literature and how they are typically implemented. The issue at play is that there exist multiple types of pairings: Type-I called “symmetric” is typically how schemes are presented and proven secure in the literature, because it is simpler and the complexity assumptions can be weaker; however, Type-III called “asymmetric” is typically the most efficient choice for an implementation in terms of bandwidth and computation time. There are two main complexities when moving from one pairing type to another. First, the change in algebraic setting invalidates the original security proof. Second, there are usually multiple (possibly thousands) of ways to translate from a Type-I to a Type-III scheme, and the “best” translation may depend on the application. Our contribution is the design, development and evaluation of a new software tool, AutoGroup+, that automatically translates from Type-I to Type-III pairings. The output of AutoGroup+ is: (1) “secure” provided the input is “secure” and (2) optimal based on the user’s efficiency constraints (excluding software and run-time errors). Prior automation work for pairings was either not guaranteed to be secure or only partially automated and impractically slow. This work addresses the pairing security gap by realizing a fast and secure translation tool. ∗Supported by Zeutro, LLC and the Office of Naval Research under contract N00014-14-1-0333. †Supported by the Office of Naval Research under contract N00014-14-1-0333. ‡Supported by the National Science Foundation CNS-1228443 and CNS-1414023; the Office of Naval Research under contract N00014-14-1-0333, and a Microsoft Faculty Fellowship.
Parallel computing with R: A brief review

Abstract Parallel computing has established itself as another standard method for applied research and data analysis. The R system, being internally constrained to mostly singly‐threaded operations...
Thompson Sampling via Local Uncertainty

Thompson sampling is an efficient algorithm for sequential decision making, which exploits the posterior uncertainty to address the exploration-exploitation dilemma. There has been significant recent interest in integrating Bayesian neural networks into Thompson sampling. Most of these methods rely on global variable uncertainty for exploration. In this paper, we propose a new probabilistic modeling framework for Thompson sampling, where local latent variable uncertainty is used to sample the mean reward. Variational inference is used to approximate the posterior of the local variable, and semi-implicit structure is further introduced to enhance its expressiveness. Our experimental results on eight contextual bandit benchmark datasets show that Thompson sampling guided by local uncertainty achieves state-of-the-art performance while having low computational complexity.
Trade for the environment: transboundary hazardous waste movements after the Basel Convention

International institutions are important regulators of the trade–environment relationship. Many of them deploy trade measures for environmental purposes, with mixed results. The Basel Convention is one case where trade restrictions have not succeeded in curbing movements of hazardous waste or protecting vulner- able countries from waste dumping. Current literature emphasizes North–South conflict under the Basel Convention as a main reason for these shortcomings. This paper returns to the fundamental question as to why countries engage in this trade. It contends that hazardous wastes are not only characterized by their environmental impacts, but are also distinct in the ways they are generated, distributed, and managed. I argue that global economic integration has commodified these wastes, and countries are increasingly diverg- ing on their views of hazardous materials. This paper draws from the under-utilized Basel Convention Database and other sources to piece together a holistic picture of the global hazardous waste movements. It identifies three types of countries with distinct trade orientations: industrialized countries trading the larg- est amounts of hazardous wastes and with considerable specialization; newly industrializing countries as influential players in hazardous waste generation and management; and least developed countries, which oppose waste trade yet suffer from waste dumping. As globalization deepens, management of hazardous wastes may require extensive trade of hazardous materials between countries of varying capabilities and interests. Contrary to its current trade minimization approach based on a crude North–South dichotomy, the Basel Convention may benefit from an approach that motivates capable countries to import wastes and one that builds capacity for intended waste importers.
Conversation Learner -- A Machine Teaching Tool for Building Dialog Managers for Task-Oriented Dialog Systems

Traditionally, industry solutions for building a task-oriented dialog system have relied on helping dialog authors define rule-based dialog managers, represented as dialog flows. While dialog flows are intuitively interpretable and good for simple scenarios, they fall short of performance in terms of the flexibility needed to handle complex dialogs. On the other hand, purely machine-learned models can handle complex dialogs, but they are considered to be black boxes and require large amounts of training data. In this demonstration, we showcase Conversation Learner, a machine teaching tool for building dialog managers. It combines the best of both approaches by enabling dialog authors to create a dialog flow using familiar tools, converting the dialog flow into a parametric model (e.g., neural networks), and allowing dialog authors to improve the dialog manager (i.e., the parametric model) over time by leveraging user-system dialog logs as training data through a machine teaching interface.
China’s Import Demand for Agricultural Products: The Impact of the Phase One Trade Agreement

In December 2019, the United States and China reached a Phase One trade agreement, under which China committed to purchase more imports from the United States: $12.5 billion more agricultural imports in 2020 and $19.5 billion more in 2021, as compared to 2017. We show that the most efficient way for China to increase its imports from the United States is to mimic the effect of an import subsidy. If China’s agricultural imports did not otherwise grow from their 2017 values, then the subsidies would need to be 42% and 59% to meet the 2020 and 2021 targets, respectively. These effective subsidies mean that China would divert agricultural imports away from other countries. We find that this trade diversion is especially strong for Australia and Canada, followed by Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Will Improvements in Health Journalism Improve Health Literacy

Today's health care journalists work in a very different environment than those of yesterday. The demand for stories and broadcasts has grown exponentially, and the resources available have shrunk dramatically. While it may therefore be difficult to see how improvements in health care journalism are possible, let alone a way to improve health care literacy, there is an important connection that, if illuminated, could help both fields. To understand the literature on the quality of health care journalism, it is critical to understand the backgrounds of today's health care journalists and the challenges they face. That literature also goes hand in hand with studies of the effects that news coverage has on the public's understanding of health care issues. There are training and educational programs designed to help health care journalists do their jobs better, and this chapter concludes with a discussion of how cooperation between health journalists, physicians, and other stakeholders can lift all boats.
Why Does Globalization Fuel Populism? Economics, Culture, and the Rise of Right-Wing Populism

There is compelling evidence that globalization shocks, often working through culture and identity, have played an important role in driving up support for populist movements, particularly of the r...
Detective quantum efficiency of photon-counting CdTe and Si detectors for computed tomography: a simulation study

Purpose: Developing photon-counting CT detectors requires understanding the impact of parameters, such as converter material, thickness, and pixel size. We apply a linear-systems framework, incorporating spatial and energy resolution, to study realistic silicon (Si) and cadmium telluride (CdTe) detectors at a low count rate. Approach: We compared CdTe detector designs with 0.5 × 0.5 mm2 and 0.225 × 0.225 mm2 pixels and Si detector designs with 0.5 × 0.5 mm2 pixels of 30 and 60 mm active thickness, with and without tungsten scatter blockers. Monte-Carlo simulations of photon transport were used together with Gaussian charge sharing models fitted to published data. Results: For detection in a 300-mm-thick object at 120 kVp, the 0.5- and 0.225-mm pixel CdTe systems have 28% to 41% and 5% to 29% higher detective quantum efficiency (DQE), respectively, than the 60-mm Si system with tungsten, whereas the corresponding numbers for two-material decomposition are 2% lower to 11% higher DQE and 31% to 54% lower DQE compared to Si. We also show that combining these detectors with dual-spectrum acquisition is beneficial. Conclusions: In the low-count-rate regime, CdTe detector systems outperform the Si systems for detection tasks, whereas silicon outperforms one or both of the CdTe systems for material decomposition.
SpotLight on Dynamics of Individual Learning.

Averaging performance over a group of individuals implicitly assumes that there is only one set of methods for accomplishing the task and that all learners acquire those methods in the same sequence. We maintain that the average subject is a mythical beast and, rather than profiling a mythical beast, we ask "how do different people each learn the same complex task?" To answer our question, we use SpotLight-a tool for analyzing changes in individual performance as skill is acquired. Specifically, in this report, we use the SpotLight on 40 scores and measures of performance (some collected at millisecond level, others collected once per game), to investigate the skill acquisition of nine individuals each of whom devoted 31 h to becoming skilled players of the classic cognitive psychology game of Space Fortress (Mane & Donchin, 1989). Turning the SpotLight on our best and worst players reveals patterns of performance plateaus, dips, and leaps. Examining these patterns reveals differences as well as commonalities in the evolution of methods discovered and used by each individual across 31 hours of skill acquisition.
Conditions for State and Control Constraint Activation in Coordination of Connected and Automated Vehicles

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) provide the most intriguing opportunity to reduce pollution, energy consumption, and travel delays. In earlier work, we addressed the optimal coordination of CAVs using Hamiltonian analysis. In this paper, we investigate the nature of the unconstrained problem and provide conditions under which the state and control constraints become active. We derive a closed-form analytical solution of the constrained optimization problem and evaluate the solution using numerical simulation.
On the Age of Information in Erasure Channels with Feedback

We consider a status updating system where having timely knowledge about the information source at the destination (monitor) is of utmost importance. By utilizing the age of information (AoI) metric, the freshness of the status update over an erasure channel is investigated. Due to the erasure nature of the update transmission, an error-free feedback channel from the monitor to the source is beneficial for reducing AoI. Each status update contains K packets which can be sent through the channel one at a time. At each channel use, one status update is available from the information source. Depending on how many packets have been received successfully out of the K packets, we need to decide whether to continue sending the current update or terminate it and start sending the newly generated update. In this paper, we find the optimal failure tolerance when the erasure probability (ϵ) is in the regime ϵ→ 0 and also provide a lower and an upper bound for the average AoI for all erasure probabilities. Moreover, for all ϵ, we provide a lower bound for failure tolerance to minimize peak AoI.
Towards Scalable Koopman Operator Learning: Convergence Rates and A Distributed Learning Algorithm

We propose an alternating optimization algorithm to the nonconvex Koopman operator learning problem for nonlinear dynamic systems. We show that the proposed algorithm will converge to a critical point with rate O(1/T) and $O\left( {\frac{1}{{\log T}}} \right)$ for the constant and diminishing learning rates, respectively, under some mild conditions. To cope with the high dimensional nonlinear dynamical systems, we present the first-ever distributed Koopman operator learning algorithm. We show that the distributed Koopman operator learning has the same convergence properties as the centralized Koopman operator learning, in the absence of optimal tracker, so long as the basis functions satisfy a set of state-based decomposition conditions. Numerical experiments are provided to complement our theoretical results.
Developing a transcriptomic framework for testing testosterone-mediated handicap hypotheses

Sexually selected traits are hypothesized to be honest signals of individual quality due to the costs associated with their maintenance, development, and/or production. Testosterone, a sex steroid associated with the development and/or production of sexually selected traits, has been proposed to enforce the honesty of sexually selected traits via its immunosuppressive effects (i.e., the Immunocompetence Handicap Hypothesis) and/or by influencing an individual's exposure/susceptibility to oxidative stress (i.e., the Oxidation Handicap Hypothesis). Previous work testing these hypotheses has primarily focused on physiological measurements of immunity or oxidative stress, but little is known about the molecular pathways by which testosterone could influence immunity and/or oxidative stress pathways. To further understand the transcriptomic consequences of experimentally elevated testosterone in the context of handicap hypotheses, we used previously published RNA-seq data from studies that measured the transcriptome of individuals treated with either a testosterone-filled or an empty (i.e., control) implant. Two studies encompassing three species of bird and three tissue types fit our selection criteria and we reanalyzed the data using weighted gene co-expression network analysis. Our results show that testosterone-treated individuals exhibited signatures of immunosuppression and we provide some evidence to suggest that the transcriptomic signature of immunosuppression is evolutionarily conserved between the three species. While our results provide no evidence to suggest testosterone mediates handicaps via pathways associated with oxidative stress, they do support the hypothesis that testosterone enforces the honesty of sexually-selected traits by influencing an individual's immunocompetence. Overall, this study develops a framework for testing testosterone-mediated handicap hypotheses and provides guidelines for future integrative and comparative studies focused on the proximate mechanisms mediating sexually selected traits.
Mechanism Underlying Anti-Markovnikov Addition in the Reaction of Pentalenene Synthase.

Most terpene synthase reactions follow Markovnikov rules for formation of high-energy carbenium ion intermediates. However, there are notable exceptions. For example, pentalenene synthase (PS) undergoes an initial anti-Markovnikov cyclization reaction followed by a 1,2-hydride shift to form an intermediate humulyl cation with positive charge on the secondary carbon C9 atom of the farnesyl diphosphate substrate. The mechanism by which these enzymes stabilize and guide the regioselectivity of secondary carbocations has not heretofore been elucidated. In an effort to better understand these reactions, we grew crystals of apo-PS, soaked them with the nonreactive substrate analogue 12,13-difluorofarnesyl diphosphate, and determined the X-ray structure of the resulting complex at 2.2 A resolution. The most striking feature of the active site structure is that C9 is perfectly positioned to make a C-H···π interaction with the side chain benzene ring of residue F76; this would enhance hyperconjugation to stabilize a developing cation at C10 and thus support the anti-Markovnikov regioselectivity of the cyclization. The benzene ring is also positioned to catalyze the migration of H to C10 and stabilize a C9 carbocation. On the opposite face of C9, further cation stabilization is possible via interactions with the main chain carbonyl of I177 and the neighboring intramolecular C6═C7 bond. Mutagenesis experiments also support a role for residue 76 in these interactions, but most interesting is the F76W mutant, whose crystal structure clearly shows C9 and C10 centered above the fused benzene and pyrrole rings of the indole side chain, respectively, such that a carbocation at either position could be stabilized in this complex, and two anti-Markovnikov products, pentalenene and humulene, are formed. Finally, we show that there is a rough correlation (although not absolute) of an aromatic side chain (F or Y) at position 76 in related terpene synthases from Streptomyces that catalyze similar anti-Markovnikov addition reactions.
Poly-GAN: Multi-conditioned GAN for fashion synthesis

Abstract We present Poly-GAN, a novel conditional GAN architecture that is motivated by Fashion Synthesis, an application where garments are automatically placed on images of human models at an arbitrary pose. Poly-GAN allows conditioning on multiple inputs and is suitable for many tasks, including image alignment, image stitching and inpainting. Existing fashion synthesis methods have a similar pipeline where three different networks are used to first align garments with the human pose, then perform stitching of the aligned garment and finally refine the results. Poly-GAN is the first instance where a common architecture is used to perform all three tasks. Our novel architecture enforces the conditions at all layers of the encoder and utilizes skip connections from the coarse layers of the encoder to the respective layers of the decoder. Poly-GAN is able to perform a spatial transformation of the garment based on the RGB skeleton of the model at an arbitrary pose. Additionally, Poly-GAN can perform image stitching, regardless of the garment orientation, and inpainting on the garment mask when it contains irregular holes. Our system achieves state-of-the-art quantitative results on Structural Similarity Index metric and Inception Score metric using the DeepFashion dataset.
High-speed modulation of oxide-confined vertical-cavity lasers

Summary form only given. Dramatic improvements in the performance of vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) have been achieved in structures utilizing oxidized Al layers for electrical and optical confinement. In this work we demonstrate that oxide-confined InGaAs QW VCSELs also have excellent high-speed modulation properties, with record modulation bandwidths in excess of 16 GHz, indicating their promise for application in data transmission links.
Locks Fit into Keys: A Crystal Analysis of Lock Polynomials

Lock polynomials and lock tableaux are natural analogues to key polynomials and Kohnert tableaux, respectively. In this paper, we compare lock polynomials to the much-studied key polynomials and give an explicit description of a crystal structure on lock tableaux. Furthermore, we construct an injective, weight-preserving map from lock tableaux to Kohnert tableaux that intertwines with their respective crystal operators. As a result, we see that the crystal structure on lock tableaux has a natural embedding into the Demazure crystal. We also examine the conditions for which key and lock polynomials are symmetric or quasisymmetric.
Lifted Multiplicity Codes and the Disjoint Repair Group Property

Lifted Reed-Solomon Codes (Guo, Kopparty, Sudan 2013) were introduced in the context of locally correctable and testable codes. They are multivariate polynomials whose restriction to any line is a codeword of a Reed-Solomon code. We consider a generalization of their construction, which we call lifted multiplicity codes . These are multivariate polynomial codes whose restriction to any line is a codeword of a multiplicity code (Kopparty, Saraf, Yekhanin 2014). We show that lifted multiplicity codes have a better trade-off between redundancy and a notion of locality called the $t$ -disjoint-repair-group property than previously known constructions. As a corollary, they also give better tradeoffs for PIR codes in the same parameter regimes. More precisely, we show that, for $t\le \sqrt {N}$ , lifted multiplicity codes with length $N$ and redundancy $O(t^{0.585} \sqrt {N})$ have the property that any symbol of a codeword can be reconstructed in $t$ different ways, each using a disjoint subset of the other coordinates. This gives the best known trade-off for this problem for any super-constant $t . We also give an alternative analysis of lifted Reed-Solomon codes using dual codes, which may be of independent interest.
The Debate Over Subsequent Accounting for Goodwill

This paper evaluates whether alternative methods of subsequent accounting for goodwill result in accounting numbers that are significantly different from previous methods prescribed by standard setters. Financial statement users have identified significant flaws in both the amortization-and-impairment and impairment-only methods of subsequent accounting for goodwill. In this paper, we (1) summarize the current debate over subsequent accounting for goodwill, (2) empirically examine the decline in goodwill value under the amortization-and-impairment and impairment-only regimes, and (3) empirically investigate whether there are alternative methods that result in significantly different rates and patterns of decline in the value of goodwill (and thus have the potential to address the identified weaknesses of each method). We conclude that the proposed alternative methods provide markedly different patterns and periods over which goodwill is written off and, therefore, have the potential to provide a more faithful representation of the economics of goodwill.
Robust Relative Hand Placement for Bi-Manual Tasks

In many bi-manual robotic tasks, like peg-in-a-hole assembly, the success of the task execution depends on the error in achieving the desired relative pose between the peg and the hole in a pre-insertion configuration. Random actuation errors in the joint space usually prevent the two arms from reaching their desired task space poses, which in turn results in a random error in relative pose between the two hands. This random error varies from trial to trial, and thus depending on the tolerance between the peg and the hole, the outcome of the assembly task may be random (sometimes the task execution succeeds and sometimes it fails). In general, since the relative pose has $6$ degrees-of-freedom, there are infinite numbers of joint space solutions for the two arms that correspond to the same task space relative pose. However, in the presence of actuation errors, the joint space solutions are not all identical since they map the joint space error sets differently to the task space. Thus, the goal of this paper is to develop a methodical approach to compute a joint space solution such that the maximum task space error is below a (specified) threshold with high probability. Such a solution is called a robust inverse kinematics solution for the bi-manual robot. Our proposed method also allows the robot to self-evaluate whether it can perform a given bi-manual task reliably. We use a square peg-in-a-hole assembly scenario on the dual-arm Baxter robot for numerical simulations that shows the utility of our approach.
Learning Device Models with Recurrent Neural Networks

Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) are powerful constructs capable of modeling complex systems, up to and including Turing Machines. However, learning such complex models from finite training sets can be difficult. In this paper we empirically show that RNNs can learn models of computer peripheral devices through input and output state observation. This enables automated development of functional software-only models of hardware devices. Such models are applicable to any number of tasks, including device validation, driver development, code de-obfuscation, and reverse engineering. We show that the same RNN structure successfully models six different devices from simple test circuits up to a 16550 UART serial port, and verify that these models are capable of producing equivalent output to real hardware.
Gauge-invariant observables, gravitational dressings, and holography in AdS

This paper explores construction of gauge (diffeomorphism)-invariant observables in anti de Sitter (AdS) space and the related question of how to find a “holographic map” providing a quantum equivalence to a boundary theory. Observables are constructed perturbatively to leading order in the gravitational coupling by gravitationally dressing local field theory operators in order to solve the gravitational constraints. Many such dressings are allowed and two are explicitly examined, corresponding to a gravitational line and to a Coulomb field; these also reveal an apparent role for more general boundary conditions than considered previously. The observables obey a nonlocal algebra, and we derive explicit expressions for the boundary generators of the SO(D-1,2) AdS isometries that act on them. We examine arguments that gravity explains holography through the role of such a boundary Hamiltonian. Our leading-order gravitational construction reveals some questions regarding how these arguments work, and indeed construction of such a holographic map appears to require solution of the non-perturbative generalization of the bulk constraint equations.
The Atacama Cosmology Telescope

Abstract The proposed Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) project is described. This multi-institution collaboration aims to produce arcminute-resolution and micro-Kelvin sensitivity maps of the microwave background temperature over 200 square degree of the sky in three frequency bands. We give a brief overview of the scientific motivations for such a map, followed by a design outline of our 6-m custom telescope, an overview of our proposed bolometer array detector technology, and site considerations and scan strategy. We also describe associated optical and X-ray galaxy cluster surveys.
Development of Aluminum LEKIDs for Balloon-Borne Far-IR Spectroscopy

We are developing lumped-element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) designed to achieve background-limited sensitivity for far-infrared (FIR) spectroscopy on a stratospheric balloon. The spectroscopic terahertz airborne receiver for far-infrared exploration will study the evolution of dusty galaxies with observations of the [CII] 158μm and other atomic fine-structure transitions at z=0.5 –1.5, both through direct observations of individual luminous infrared galaxies, and in blind surveys using the technique of line intensity mapping. The spectrometer will require large format (~1800 detectors) arrays of dual-polarization sensitive detectors with NEPs of 1×10^(−17) W Hz^(−1/2) . The low-volume LEKIDs are fabricated with a single layer of aluminum (20-nm-thick) deposited on a crystalline silicon wafer, with resonance frequencies of 100–250 MHz. The inductor is a single meander with a linewidth of 0.4μm , patterned in a grid to absorb optical power in both polarizations. The meander is coupled to a circular waveguide, fed by a conical feedhorn. Initial testing of a small array prototype has demonstrated good yield and a median NEP of 4×10^(−18) W Hz^(-1/2).
A note on mass-minimising extensions

A conjecture related to the Bartnik quasilocal mass, is that the infimum of the ADM energy, over an appropriate space of extensions to a compact 3-manifold with boundary, is realised by a static metric. It was shown by Corvino (Commun Math Phys 214(1):137–189, 2000) that if the infimum is indeed achieved, then it is achieved by a static metric; however, the more difficult question of whether or not the infimum is achieved, is still an open problem. Bartnik (Commun Anal Geom 13(5):845–885, 2005) then proved that critical points of the ADM mass, over the space of solutions to the Einstein constraints on an asymptotically flat manifold without boundary, correspond to stationary solutions. In that article, he stated that it should be possible to use a similar construction to provide a more natural proof of Corvino’s result. In the first part of this note, we discuss the required modifications to Bartnik’s argument to adapt it to include a boundary. Assuming that certain results concerning a Hilbert manifold structure for the space of solutions carry over to the case considered here, we then demonstrate how Bartnik’s proof can be modified to consider the simpler case of scalar-flat extensions and obtain Corvino’s result. In the second part of this note, we consider a space of extensions in a fixed conformal class. Sufficient conditions are given to ensure that the infimum is realised within this class.
Equivariant diagrams of spaces

We generalize two classical homotopy theory results, the Blakers–Massey theorem and Quillen’s Theorem B, to G –equivariant cubical diagrams of spaces, for a discrete group G . We show that the equivariant Freudenthal suspension theorem for permutation representations is a direct consequence of the equivariant Blakers–Massey theorem. We also apply this theorem to generalize to G –manifolds a result about cubes of configuration spaces from embedding calculus. Our proof of the equivariant Theorem B involves a generalization of the classical Theorem B to higher-dimensional cubes, as well as a categorical model for finite homotopy limits of classifying spaces of categories.
Origin of Mott Insulating Behavior and Superconductivity in Twisted Bilayer Graphene

A new theory describes how both insulating and superconducting behavior arises from sheets of graphene stacked and twisted at a particular ``magic'' angle.
The effects of self-interaction on constructing relativistic point particles

We introduce a framework for studying the effects of self-interaction on the construction of point particle initial data in General Relativity. Within this framework we rigorously prove the vanishing mass result of Arnowitt et al. (Phys Rev Lett 4: 375, 1960) regarding point sources. We identify a geometric structure and a scaling parameter that allow one to determine, by controlling the effects of self-interaction, when one does or does not obtain a non-zero mass.
SPATIALLY OFFSET ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI. I. SELECTION AND SPECTROSCOPIC PROPERTIES

We present a sample of 18 optically-selected and X-ray detected spatially offset active galactic nuclei (AGN) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In 9 systems, the X-ray AGN is spatially offset from the galactic stellar core that is located within the 3'' diameter SDSS spectroscopic fiber. In 11 systems, the X-ray AGN is spatially offset from a stellar core that is located outside the fiber, with an overlap of 2. To build the sample, we cross-matched Type II AGN selected from the SDSS galaxy catalogue with archival Chandra imaging and employed our custom astrometric and registration procedure. The projected angular (physical) offsets span a range of 0."6 (0.8 kpc) to 17."4 (19.4 kpc), with a median value of 2."7 (4.6 kpc). The offset nature of an AGN is an unambiguous signature of a galaxy merger, and these systems can be used to study the properties of AGN in galaxy mergers without the biases introduced by morphological merger selection techniques. In this paper (Paper I), we use our sample to assess the kinematics of AGN photoionized gas in galaxy mergers. We find that spectroscopic offset AGN selection may be up to 89% incomplete due to small projected velocity offsets. We also find that the magnitude of the velocity offsets are generally larger than expected if our spatial selection introduces a bias toward face-on orbits, suggesting the presence of complex kinematics in the emission line gas of AGN in galaxy mergers.
PERTURBATIVE DEFORMATIONS OF CONFORMAL FIELD THEORIES REVISITED

The purpose of this paper is to revisit the theory of perturbative deformations of conformal field theory from a mathematically rigorous, purely worldsheet point of view. We specifically include the case of N = (2,2) conformal field theories. From this point of view, we find certain surprising obstructions, which appear to indicate that contrary to previous findings, not all deformations along marginal fields exist perturbatively. This includes the case of deformation of the Gepner model of the Fermat quintic along certain cc fields. In other cases, including Gepner models of K3-surfaces and the free field theory, our results coincides with known predictions. We give partial interpretation of our results via renormalization and mirror symmetry.
When Labels Fall Short: Property Graph Simulation via Blending of Network Structure and Vertex Attributes

Property graphs can be used to represent heterogeneous networks with labeled (attributed) vertices and edges. Given a property graph, simulating another graph with same or greater size with the same statistical properties with respect to the labels and connectivity is critical for privacy preservation and benchmarking purposes. In this work we tackle the problem of capturing the statistical dependence of the edge connectivity on the vertex labels and using the same distribution to regenerate property graphs of the same or expanded size in a scalable manner. However, accurate simulation becomes a challenge when the attributes do not completely explain the network structure. We propose the Property Graph Model (PGM) approach that uses a label augmentation strategy to mitigate the problem and preserve the vertex label and the edge connectivity distributions as well as their correlation, while also replicating the degree distribution. Our proposed algorithm is scalable with a linear complexity in the number of edges in the target graph. We illustrate the efficacy of the PGM approach in regenerating and expanding the datasets by leveraging two distinct illustrations. Our open-source implementation is available on GitHub.
Imaging the small-scale circumstellar gas around T Tauri stars

We have detected circumstellar molecular gas around a small sample of T Tauri stars through aperture synthesis imaging of CO(2→1) emission at ˜2"-3" resolution. RY Tauri, DL Tauri, DO Tauri, and AS 209 show resolved and elongated gaseous emission. For RY Tau, the deconvolved, half-maximum radius along the direction of elongation, P.A. ˜48°, is 110 AU. Corresponding radii and orientations for the other sources are: DL Tau-250 AU at P.A. ˜84°; DO Tau-350 AU at P.A. ˜160°; AS 209-290 AU at P.A. ˜138°. RY Tau, DL Tau, and AS 209 show velocity gradients parallel to the elongation, suggesting that the circumstellar material is rotating. RY Tan and AS 209 also exhibit double-peaked spectra characteristic of a rotating disk. Line emission from DO Tan is dominated by high-velocity blue shifted gas which complicates the interpretation. Nevertheless, there is in each case sufficient evidence to speculate that the circumstellar emission may arise from a protoplanetary disk similar to that from which our solar system formed.
A note on cabling and $L$–space surgeries

In [7], Ozsvath and Szabo introduced a powerful tool for studying closed 3–manifolds, Heegaard Floer homology, and later equipped this invariant with a filtration [6] (independently developed by Rasmussen in [10]) that defined an invariant for a knot in the 3–manifold. The relationship between the knot invariant and the Heegaard Floer homology of the 3–manifold obtained by Dehn surgery on that knot has been well studied (see Ozsvath and Szabo [8; 9; 3]), and can also be considered from the perspective of bordered Heegaard Floer homology as by Lipshitz, Ozsvath and Thurston [2].