cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Nationwide Economic and Environmental Impacts of Tourism: A Computable General Equilibrium Approach for Thailand

Thai economic conditions considerably depend on the performance of tourism sectors. More than half of the Thai industries are directly and indirectly interdependent with tourism sectors. Given these large economic dependences upon tourism, any internal or external changes that affect Thai tourism could have substantial economy-wide impacts on resource allocation, sectoral outputs, income distribution, macroeconomic variables and the environment. Using computable general equilibrium (CGE) models, the research finds that an inbound tourism expansion in Thailand can stimulate higher real GDP but with a deterioration in the trade balance due to an appreciation in the real exchange rate and an increase in imports of intermediate inputs for manufacturing. However, the current account deficit can decline owing to the extra foreign receipts from net inbound tourism that are large enough to pay off a reduction in the trade surplus. An inbound tourism expansion benefits all household classes in terms of an increase in consumption, utility and income. Within the same income level, households in non-agriculture gain more than households in agriculture. Within the same sector, the benefits are concentrated in high income households rather than low income households. The results point out that an inbound tourism expansion is not a pro-poor or proagricultural household policy as long as the owners of primary factors in agriculture, especially low income agricultural households, do not participate in tourism activities. The simulation predicts an increase in water demand by both agriculture and nonagriculture due to an inbound tourism expansion. With other things fixed, this implies an increase in wastewater discharge as well. The largest increases in piped water use are in manufacturing, indirect tourism, water and wastewater-intensive non-agriculture and domestic-oriented industries. If a major concern is to reduce water use and wastewater discharge, a decrease in piped water subsidy might be an appropriate policy option. Therefore, the effects of a reduction in piped water subsidy when there is an inbound tourism expansion should be further investigated in future research.
Modeling Creep and Fatigue Properties of Bone at Nanoscale Level

Bones are important natural materials which compose the skeleton of the animals. The basic and fundamental function of bone is mechanical – to provide a frame to keep the body supported and moved, to protect internal organs, while they also serve with other important biological functions, such as blood production, mineral storage, etc. Such multifunctionality makes bone with a very complex hierarchical structure, while the millions of years’ evolution makes bone have outstanding characteristics, in mechanical aspect of view, bone has a high strength and high toughness while keeping lightweight. These natural exceptional mechanical properties of bone are much better than that of the conventional artificial materials are inspiring the materials engineering community to design the novel biomimetic materials. However, on the other hand, as a natural material which lies in the body of organism, numbers of diseases infects bones and severely weakens their instinct properties, therefore, to cure the patients and recover basic functions of bone, many researches are needed to find the biological substitute of bone.
Optimal Power Flow Experience in an Energy Management System

Abstract With central processor costs falling rapidly, more powerful processors are available for an energy management system (EMS) of an electric utility. As a result, the addition of optimal power flow (OPF) to the traditional power system analysis functions - network model update, state estimator, load flow and security (contingency) analysis - is gaining importance for improving the performance of the power system security functions in an EMS. This paper discusses the implementation of OPF in an EMS and the on-line experience of OPF results to assist the dispatcher in determining the operating strategies of the power system.
Total U.S. cost evaluation of low-weight tension-based photovoltaic flat-roof mounted racking

Abstract The economics in the U.S. of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems is changing rapidly as the cost per unit power of PV modules has dropped quickly. These costs reductions have two important results: marked decrease in levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) into ranges competitive or better than traditional electricity-generation technologies and the economic role of racking has been gaining prominence relative to that of modules. As the relative importance of costs of PV racking has been marginal historically, there has been relatively little progress on reducing the materials and costs associated with it, which has caused racking to contribute to a significant portion of costs of entire PV systems. In order to overcome this challenge this study investigates a novel low-weight PV racking system for commercial rooftops based on crossed cables (X-wires) and compares it to racking systems already available on the market on capital costs, labor costs for installation, and technical specifications such as adaptability and power packing factor. The results of over 80% cost reduction and 33% increase in power density are presented and conclusions are drawn about the potential for tension-based racking systems to further reduce total PV systems costs on commercial flat roof tops resulting in LCOE savings of $0.01–$0.02/kW h.
Penalized Versus Constrained Generalized Eigenvalue Problems

ABSTRACTWe investigate the difference between using an l1 penalty versus an l1 constraint in generalized eigenvalue problems arising in multivariate analysis. Our main finding is that the l1 penalty may fail to provide very sparse solutions; a severe disadvantage for variable selection that can be remedied by using an l1 constraint. Our claims are supported both by empirical evidence and theoretical analysis. Finally, we illustrate the advantages of the l1 constraint in the context of discriminant analysis and principal component analysis. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.
Form 1023-EZ and the Streamlined Process for the Federal Income Tax Exemption: Is the IRS Slashing Red Tape or Opening Pandora's Box

On July 1, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Form 1023-EZ, a streamlined version of the application required of all organizations seeking federal tax-exempt status under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.1 By stripping away familiar elements like the narrative of specific activities, financial projections, and provision of organizing documents, Form 1023-EZ requires dramatically less time to complete2 and represents a radical change to a decades-old process.3 It is expected that approximately seventy percent of the 80,000 organizations annually applying for tax-exempt
Aerosol filtration using electrospun cellulose acetate fibers

Aerosol filtration using electrospun cellulose acetate filters with different mean fiber diameters is reported, and the results are compared with those for two conventional filter media, a glass fiber filter and a cellulose acetate microfiber filter. The performance of these filters was studied using two aerosols, one solid (NaCl) and one liquid (diethyl hexyl sebacate), under conditions of relatively high face velocity (45 cm/s). The experimental observations are compared to theoretical predictions based on single fiber filtration efficiency. Our results indicate that the mechanisms for single fiber filtration efficiency provide reasonable predictions of the most penetrating particle size (MPPS), in the range of 40–270 nm, percentage penetration from 0.03 to 70 %, and fiber diameter in the range from 0.1 to 24 µm. Using an analysis based on blocking filtration laws, we conclude that filtration by cake formation dominated in the case of NaCl aerosols on electrospun filter media, whereas filters with larger fiber diameter showed a transition in mechanisms, from an initial regime characterized by pore blocking to a later regime characterized by cake formation. The liquid aerosol did not exhibit cake formation, even for the smallest fiber diameters, and also had much smaller influence on pressure drop than did the solid aerosol. The electrospun filters demonstrated slightly better quality factors compared to the commercial glass fiber filter, at a much lower thickness. In general, this study demonstrates control of the properties of electrospun cellulose acetate fibers for air filtration application.
Optimal unemployment insurance: When search takes effort and money ☆

Abstract Searching for work is costly. It involves finding available positions, completing applications, and attending interviews, to name but a few of the activities involved. The optimal unemployment insurance (UI) literature models the cost of these activities as either a reduction in leisure or an unpleasant bad that reduces utility, ignoring their associated monetary costs. If search requires out of pocket expenses on goods and services that improve the probability of a successful job search, a low UI benefit may make a job search unaffordable. This paper investigates the optimal structure of UI in an economy where job search is not only unpleasant, but also requires a monetary investment. Numerical experiments suggest that without access to capital markets, the optimal UI system should include a higher benefit for the newly unemployed than is implied by assuming a job search is free. This allows workers to purchase the stock of goods and services needed to find work. In contrast, when workers can accumulate savings, more benefits should be provided to the long-term unemployed, so they have the financial resources needed to conduct a job search even as they exhaust their own savings.
Exploring Memory Access Regularity in Pointer-Intensive Application Programs

Pointer-intensive and sparse numerical computations typically display irregular memory access behavior. This work presents a mathematical model, called the Self-tuning Adaptive Predictor (SAP), to characterize the behavior of load instructions in procedures with pointer-based data structures by using procedure call boundaries as the fundamental sampling frequency. This model incorporates information about the history of specific load instructions (temporal locality) and their neighboring loads (spatial locality) using a least-squares minimization approach. Simulation results on twelve of the most time-consuming procedures with pointer-based data structures from five of the SPEC2000 integer benchmark programs show that these pointer-based data structures demonstrate surprisingly regular memory access patterns. The prediction error at steady-state is within [-6%, +6%] on average.
Second order /spl Delta//spl Sigma/ modulators using AlGaAs/GaAs HBTS

We have successfully demonstrated one-bit, second-order delta-sigma modulators in a 50 GHz (F/sub t/) AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor process. The integrated modulator, consisting of a low-pass single bit modulator, clock generators and output buffers, has attained an SNR of 37 dB at a sample rate of 2 Gs/s for an oversampling ratio of 20. The circuit dissipates 1.92 W. To our knowledge, these are the first reported HBT delta sigma modulators.
China's Growth, World Food Prices, and Developing Countries Exports

This paper explores the impacts of China's growth in the international markets of agricultural products. These impacts are important because they are related to two different ongoing discussions about the role of China in the world economy. One of these discussions have to do with China as a source of price inflation while the other has to do with China as an engine of growth for developing countries, in this case, through increased export opportunities. Our results suggest that China has been a source of aggregated mild price inflation in the largest developed economies that occupy the first ranks as food importers. This is probably related to a more intense pressure on world food supplies. When we look at the counterfactual exports of selected exporters, we find that few countries in Latin America (Brazil, Peru), and in Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia), have benefited from China's increased food demand.
DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS OF SYNCHRONIZATION SKELETONS USING BRANCHING TIME TEMPORAL LOGIC

We Propose a method of constructing concurrent programs in which the synchronization skeletonof the program is automatically synthesized from a high-level (branching time) Temporal Logic specification. The synchronization skeleton is an abstraction of the actual program where detail irrelevant to synchronization is suppressed. For example, in the synchronization skeleton for a solution to the critical section problem each process's critical section may be viewed as a single node since the internal structure of the critical section is unimportant. Most solutions to synchronization problems in the literature are in fact given as synchronization skeletons. Because synchronization skeletons are in general finite state, the propositional version of Temporal Logic can be used to specify their properties.
Complex Analysis as Catalyst

0. PREFATORY THOUGHTS. I am known as a complex analyst, yet I have never had a course in complex variable theory. This lacuna in my education has perhaps had an effect on the way that I view the subject. I see the elegant subject of complex function theory as a stage for the setting of beautiful problems. Once these problems are apprehended or understood, they are of ten best solved by stripping away the complex variables and bringing in tools from other parts of mathematics. That is the point of view that I promulgate in the present article. I illustrate the point with examples from real analysis, group theory, abstract algebra, partial differential equations, geometry, and other subjects as well.
The Approach for Data Warehouse to Answering Spatial OLAP Queries

Spatial data are pervasive in traditional business applications like the customer address and store location. With the advance in mobile computing and digital earth, much more spatial data have been collected, stored and integrated into the business system. Analyzing these spatial data, to understand the relationships among them, and the relationships between spatial data and non-spatial data, would help companies gain deeper geographical insight into their business and customers, and explore more other potential business value. However, neither the design of data warehouse takes the spatial dimension of data into consideration, nor the data warehousing tools (e.g., ETL) support spatial data in the preprocessing stages. Consequently, the deployed data warehouses without spatial aware can not support spatial analysis. Research in spatial data warehousing and OLAP is an necessary to exploit the information and knowledge hidden in the spatial dimension and spatial relationships during the processing of data warehousing. This paper proposes a novel approach for data warehouses to be spatially aware and to provide certain spatial analysis capabilities. A spatial transformation builder is developed and deployed as an ETL tool to extract facts including complex spatial relationships from spatial data sources according to business requirements. The facts capturing the spatial relationships from original sources are presented by non-spatial relation model and stored in the data warehouse, where some kinds of spatial OLAP queries could be issued.
Continuous dynamical decoupling magnetometry

Solid-state qubits hold the promise to achieve unmatched combination of sensitivity and spatial resolution. To achieve their potential, the qubits need however to be shielded from the deleterious effects of the environment. While dynamical decoupling techniques can improve the coherence time, they impose a compromise between sensitivity and bandwidth, since to higher decoupling power correspond higher frequencies of the field to be measured. Moreover, the performance of pulse sequences is ultimately limited by control bounds and errors. Here we analyze a versatile alternative based on continuous driving. We find that continuous dynamical decoupling schemes can be used for AC magnetometry, providing similar frequency constraints on the AC field and improved sensitivity for some noise regimes. In addition, the exibility of phase and amplitude modulation could yield superior robustness to driving errors and a better adaptability to external experimental scenarios.
Fractal Patterns in Riverbed Morphology Produce Fractal Scaling of Water Storage Times

River topography is famously fractal, and the fractality of the sediment bed surface can produce scaling in solute residence time distributions. Empirical evidence showing the relationship between fractal bed topography and scaling of hyporheic travel times is still lacking. We performed experiments to make high-resolution observations of streambed topography and solute transport over naturally formed sand bedforms in a large laboratory flume. We analyzed the results using both numerical and theoretical models. We found that fractal properties of the bed topography do indeed affect solute residence time distributions. Overall, our experimental, numerical, and theoretical results provide evidence for a coupling between the sand-bed topography and the anomalous transport scaling in rivers. Larger bedforms induced greater hyporheic exchange and faster pore water turnover relative to smaller bedforms, suggesting that the structure of legacy morphology may be more important to solute and contaminant transport in streams and rivers than previously recognized.
An algorithm for the construction of Bayesian network structures from data

Previous algorithms for the construction of Bayesian belief network structures from data have been either highly dependent on conditional independence (CI) tests, or have required an ordering on the nodes to be supplied by the user. We present an algorithm that integrates these two approaches - CI tests are used to generate an ordering on the nodes from the database which is then used to recover the underlying Bayesian network structure using a non CI based method. Results of preliminary evaluation of the algorithm on two networks (ALARM and LED) are presented. We also discuss some algorithm performance issues and open problems.
Market Reactions to USDA Reports: State Analysis of Corn Price Response

This article reviews the current literature on USDA farm-level data reports and looks at the impact of information contained in the USDA Crop Production report on U.S., Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Wisconsin corn prices. A hypothesis is tested concerning the significance of the reaction to the corn basis from the report. The hypothesis is tested using maximum-likelihood parameter estimates of the effect of stocks data, previous year's production number, and separate dummy variables for the August, September, October, and November release of the USDA Crop Production report on the absolute percent change of the corn basis from the month before the report is released to the month in which the report is released. Evidence is found that supports the hypothesis that USDA reports significantly affect the corn market at the national level and in Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska. August and October are found to be the most significant month for market reactions to the report for the states affected. No evidence is found of a price reaction in the North Carolina and Wisconsin corn markets. The study period is 1949-2011.
Square Deal: Lower Bounds and Improved Relaxations for Tensor Recovery

Recovering a low-rank tensor from incomplete information is a recurring problem in signal processing and machine learning. The most popular convex relaxation of this problem minimizes the sum of the nuclear norms (SNN) of the unfolding matrices of the tensor. We show that this approach can be substantially suboptimal: reliably recovering a K-way n×n×...×n tensor of Tucker rank (r, r,..., r) from Gaussian measurements requires Ω(rnK-1) observations. In contrast, a certain (intractable) nonconvex formulation needs only O(rK+nrK) observations. We introduce a simple, new convex relaxation, which partially bridges this gap. Our new formulation succeeds with O(r⌊K/2⌋n⌈K/2⌉) observations. The lower bound for the SNN model follows from our new result on recovering signals with multiple structures (e.g. sparse, low rank), which indicates the significant suboptimality of the common approach of minimizing the sum of individual sparsity inducing norms (e.g. l1, nuclear norm). Our new tractable formulation for low-rank tensor recovery shows how the sample complexity can be reduced by designing convex regularizers that exploit several structures jointly.
Causality between external debt and capital flight in Sub-Saharan Africa

Over the past few decades, the foreign liabilities of the majority of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have grown dramatically, propelling most nations into the status of Highly Indebted Poor Countries, when these liabilities reached unsustainable levels in the 1990s. At the same time, increases in capital flight from the region followed a parallel trend, leading scholars to draw on revolving door models to explain the apparent positive covariation of external debt and capital flight in the region. This paper investigates the causality between external debt and capital flight in a cross-section of Sub-Saharan African countries using co-integration and error-correction models. Although dual causality, which is consistent with the revolving door hypothesis, cannot be rejected for the majority of countries, empirical evidence highlights the lead of external debt over capital flight. The significance of error-correction terms points to a long-run co-integrating relationship between external debt and capital flight in a large number of countries.
The impact of the National School Lunch Program on child health: A nonparametric bounds analysis ✩

a b s t r a c t Children in households reporting the receipt of free or reduced-price school meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) are more likely to have negative health outcomes than observationally similar nonparticipants. Assessing causal effects of the program is made difficult, however, by missing counterfactuals and systematic underreporting of program participation. Combining survey data with auxiliary administrative information on the size of the NSLP caseload, we extend nonparametric partial identification methods that account for endogenous selection and nonrandom classification error in a single framework. Similar to a regression discontinuity design, we introduce a new way to conceptualize the monotone instrumental variable (MIV) assumption using eligibility criteria as monotone instruments. Under relatively weak assumptions, we find evidence that the receipt of free and reduced-price lunches improves the health outcomes of children.
European Economic Integration and the Effectiveness of Employment Policies

This paper examines the qualitative impact and the degree of effectiveness of several labor market policies when domestic union’s wage response and economic integration are explicitly taken into account. The employment policies considered include payroll tax cuts, unemployment benefits cuts, aggregate demand expansion and wage subsidies. It is shown that with endogenous wages and an open economy, these policies can in some cases become more potent. But in other instances, they become less effective. In fact, under some conditions derived in this paper, employment policies can even be counterproductive, leading to a drop in domestic employment.
Career Choice and Wage Growth

In this article, I present structural estimates of a search model that flexibly incorporates general human capital accumulation along with career and firm choice, where a career is empirically identified as a combination of industry and occupation. I use these estimates to empirically distinguish between the relative importance of various factors for generating wage growth over the life cycle. Evidence presented in the article highlights the importance of considering the two-stage search process that originates from the model. In particular, I demonstrate that previous instrumental variables methods dramatically underestimate the importance of firm-specific matches for wage growth.
The investment climate in 16 Indian states

In this paper, the author attempts to identify the characteristics of the business climate in India that can help explain the different performance of individual states in terms of investment and growth. The paper develops a new Investment Climate Index aimed at summarizing the aspects of the business environment that entrepreneurs consider when deciding whether to invest. Using this index, the author explores the investment climate in several typologies of Indian states and identify the key features of a poor business environment in India. The analysis shows that infrastructure and institutions remain the main bottlenecks in the country's private sector development. More specifically, power, transportation, corruption, tax regulations, and theft are major factors explaining the poor business environment in some Indian states. Infrastructure appears to be the single most important constraint, as it is particularly binding in states that show low levels of domestic investment and GDP growth.
The cost of doing business abroad and international capital market equilibrium

The implications of the costs of doing business in foreign countries for the resulting capital market equilibrium are studied. When transferring capital goods across national boundaries, the costs incurred are quasi-fixed in a one-good, two-country, intertemporal model with complete financial markets. In our model of the international capital market, deviations from purchasing power parity are endogenously generated. The relative price of physical resources located in one country compared to resources located in another is called the "real exchange rate." The outcome of the model-based analysis is an endogenous generation of a mean-reverting real exchange rate in a continuous-time, general equilibrium model of the international capital market. In dynamic equilibrium, the transfer of capital goods between the two countries is found to be infrequent and lumpy in nature as is observed in foreign direct investment.
SPiDeR: P2P-based web service discovery

In this paper, we describe SPiDeR, a peer-to-peer (P2P) based framework that supports a variety of Web service discovery operations. SPiDeR organizes the service providers into a structured P2P overlay and allows them to advertise and lookup services in a completely decentralized and dynamic manner. It supports three different kinds of search operations: For advertising and locating services, service providers can use keywords extracted from service descriptions (keyword-based search), categories from a global ontology (ontology-based search), and/or paths from the service automaton (behavior-based search). The users can also rate the quality of the services they use. The ratings are accumulated within the system so that users can query for the quality ratings of the discovered services. Finally, we present the performance of SPiDeR in terms of routing using a simulator.
On the efficient implementation biologic reinforcement learning using eligibility traces

The eligibility trace is one of the basic mechanisms in reinforcement learning to handle delayed reward. In this paper, we have used meta-heuristic method to solve hard combinatorial optimization problems. Our proposed solution introduce Ant-Q learning method to solve Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP). The approach is based on population that use positive feedback as well as greedy search and suggest ant reinforcement learning algorithms using eligibility traces which is called replace-trace methods(Ant-TD(λ)). Although replacing traces are only slightly, they can produce a significant improvement in learning rate. We could know through an experiment that proposed reinforcement learning method converges faster to optimal solution than ACS and Ant-Q.
Emergent spacetime and black hole probes from automorphic forms

Over the past few years the arithmetic Langlands program has found applications in two quite different problems that arise in string physics. The first of these is concerned with the fundamental problem of deriving the geometry of spacetime from the worldsheet dynamics, leading to a realization of the notion of an emergent spacetime in string theory. The second problem is concerned with the idea of using automorphic black holes as probes of spacetime. In this article both of these applications of the Langlands program are described.
A Model of Aggregate Reporting Quality

ABSTRACT We characterize firms' aggregate reporting quality in an economy where a rational capital market, as well as a regulator, discipline firms' reporting choices. When the regulator is resource-constrained, multiple aggregate reporting choices are possible in equilibrium. This multiplicity is driven not just by the regulatory constraint, but also by how this constraint interacts with managerial incentives and the level of reporting discretion available to firms. The model offers concrete explanations for empirical findings linking aggregate reporting quality to underlying institutions, and suggests new empirical approaches that can exploit multiplicity to create more powerful tests.
Multidimensional Targeting and Evaluation: A General Framework with an Application to a Poverty Program in Bangladesh

Many poverty, safety net, training, and other social programs utilise multiple screening criteria to determine eligibility. We apply recent advances in multidimensional measurement analysis to develop a straightforward method for summarising changes in groups of eligibility (screening) indicators, which have appropriate properties. We show how this impact can differ across participants with differing numbers of initial deprivations. We also examine impacts on other specially designed multidimensional poverty measures (and their components) that address key participant deficits. We apply our methods to a BRAC ultra-poverty program in Bangladesh, and find that our measures of multidimensional poverty have fallen significantly for participants. This improvement is most associated with better food security and with acquisition of basic assets (though this does not mean that the cause of poverty reduction was program activities focused directly on these deficits). In general, we find that the BRAC program had a greater impact on reducing multidimensional poverty for those with a larger initial number of deprivations. We also showed how evaluation evidence can be used to help improve the selection of eligibility characteristics of potential participants.
What “Masses” for Cepheids?

To understand the evolution of giant stars, it is important to pin down the masses for Cepheids. The 7- to 10-day “bump” Cepheids imply lower than evolutionary mass(60%). Recent theoretical work, though, indicates that for Cepheids with periods of 15 to 16 days, the best understanding of the light curves results from using evolutionary masses.
In/Appropriate Bodies: carte-de-visite and the New Citizenships in Post-Independence Venezuelan Pardocracy

During the process of the construction of the Republic, in the 19th Century, non-white sectors of Venezuelan society attempted to legitimise themselves through photographs in their cart-de-visite, with the object of ratifying their position in this ‘coffee and milk’ society. The use of such technology, as well as the introduction and acceptance of urbanity handbooks, were part of a process in which these sectors tried to ‘modernise’, reflecting related social tensions, for example, the urban-rural dichotomy or the need for ‘whitening’ themselves in the eyes of their fellow citizens. The purpose of this paper is to study the way in which photographic portraits and urbanity handbooks act in a society in which social and economic differences and distances have undergone a great upheaval since the independence process.
Uncheatable reputation for distributed computation markets

Reputation systems aggregate mutual feedback of interacting peers into a “reputation” metric for each participant. This is then available to prospective service “requesters” (clients) for the purpose of evaluation and subsequent selection of potential service “providers” (servers). For a reputation framework to be effective, it is paramount for both the individual feedback and the reputation storage mechanisms to be trusted and able to deal with faulty behavior of participants such as “ballot stuffing” (un-earned positive feedback) and “bad-mouthing” (incorrect negative feedback). While, in human-driven (e.g. Ebay) environments, these issues are dealt with by hired personnel, on a case by case basis, in automated environments, this ad-hoc manner of handling is likely not acceptable. Stronger, secure mechanisms of trust are required. In this paper we propose a solution for securing reputation mechanisms in computing markets and grids where servers offer and clients demand compute services. We introduce threshold witnessing, a mechanism in which a minimal set of “witnesses” provide service interaction feedback and sign associated ratings for the interacting parties. This endows traditional feedback rating with trust while handling both “ballot-stuffing” and “bad-mouthing” attacks. Witnessing relies on a challenge-response protocol in which servers provide verifiable computation execution proofs. An added benefit is ensuring computation result correctness.
An adaptive kernel method for semi-supervised clustering

Semi-supervised clustering uses the limited background knowledge to aid unsupervised clustering algorithms. Recently, a kernel method for semi-supervised clustering has been introduced, which has been shown to outperform previous semi-supervised clustering approaches. However, the setting of the kernel's parameter is left to manual tuning, and the chosen value can largely affect the quality of the results. Thus, the selection of kernel's parameters remains a critical and open problem when only limited supervision, provided in terms of pairwise constraints, is available. In this paper, we derive a new optimization criterion to automatically determine the optimal parameter of an RBF kernel, directly from the data and the given constraints. Our approach integrates the constraints into the clustering objective function, and optimizes the parameter of a Gaussian kernel iteratively during the clustering process. Our experimental comparisons and results with simulated and real data clearly demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed algorithm.
The Clock Ambiguity: Implications and New Developments

We consider the ambiguity associated with the choice of clock in time reparameterization invariant theories. This arbitrariness undermines the goal of prescribing a fixed set of physical laws, since a change of time variable can completely alter the predictions of the theory. We review the main features of the clock ambiguity and our earlier work on its implications for the emergence of physical laws in a statistical manner. We also present a number of new results: We show that (contrary to suggestions in our earlier work) time independent Hamiltonians may quite generally be assumed for laws of physics that emerge in this picture. We also further explore the degree to which the observed Universe can be well approximated by a random Hamiltonian. We discuss the possibility of predicting the dimensionality of space, and also relate the second derivative of the density of states to the heat capacity of the Universe. This new work adds to the viability of our proposal that strong predictions for physical laws may emerge based on statistical arguments despite the clock ambiguity, but many open questions remain.
Effective Nullstellensatz for arbitrary ideals

Let f i be polynomials in n variables without a common zero. Hilbert’s Nullstellensatz says that there are polynomials g i such that ∑g i f i =1. The effective versions of this result bound the degrees of the g i in terms of the degrees of the f j . The aim of this paper is to generalize this to the case when the f i are replaced by arbitrary ideals. Applications to the Bezout theorem, to Łojasiewicz–type inequalities and to deformation theory are also discussed.
Derivatives, Portfolio Composition, and Bank Holding Company Interest Rate Risk Exposure

This article examines the role played by derivatives in determining the interest rate sensitivity of bank holding companies' (BHCs) common stock, controlling for the influence of on-balance sheet activities and other bank-specific characteristics. The major result of the analysis suggests that derivatives have played a significant role in shaping banks' interest rate risk exposures in recent years. For the typical bank holding company in the sample, increases in the use of interest rate derivatives corresponded to greater interest rate risk exposure during the 1991–1994 period. This relationship is particularly strong for bank holding companies that serve as derivatives dealers and for smaller, end-user BHCs. During earlier years, however, there is no significant relationship between the extent of derivatives activities and interest rate risk exposure. There are two plausible interpretations of the relationship between interest rate derivative activity and interest rate risk exposure in the latter part of the sample period: one interpretation suggests that derivatives tend to enhance interest rate risk exposure for the typical BHC in the sample, while the other suggests that derivatives may be used to partially offset high interest rate risk exposures arising from other activities. The analysis provides support for the first of these two interpretations.
Predictors of Enucleation and Morcellation Time During Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate

Objective To examine predictors of enucleation and morcellation times within a large cohort of men undergoing holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) for benign prostatic hypertrophy. Materials and Methods Preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative clinical characteristics were available from men treated with HoLEP between 1998 and 2013 at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital. Stepwise linear regression was performed to determine clinical variables which are associated with enucleation and morcellation times. Results We identified 960 patients who underwent HoLEP. Average (range) enucleation time was 65.7 (11-245) minutes and morcellation time was 19.7 (3-260) minutes. History of anticoagulation was associated with a small decrease in enucleation time (P = .013) whereas increasing HoLEP specimen weight was associated with increasing enucleation time (P <.001). History of intermittent catheterization, urinary tract infections (UTI), presence of dense prostatic tissue (colloquially referred to as “beach balls”), and increasing specimen weight were associated with increasing morcellation time (P <.05 each). Having HoLEP performed by a less experienced urologist was associated with longer enucleation and morcellation times. Conclusion Prostate volume is significantly associated with increased enucleation and morcellation times during HoLEP. Additionally, history of UTI and clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) is associated with modest increases in enucleation and morcellation times. Dense enucleated prostate tissue significantly impacts the ability to morcellate effectively. Increasing surgeon experience can significantly improve both enucleation and morcellation efficiency.
Diving Demand for Large Ship Artificial Reefs

Abstract Using data drawn from a web-based travel cost survey, we jointly model revealed and stated preference trip count data in an attempt to estimate the recreational use value from diving the intentionally sunk USS Oriskany. Respondents were asked to report their: (i) actual trips from the previous year, (ii) anticipated trips in the next year, and (iii) anticipated trips next year assuming a second diveable vessel (a Spruance class destroyer) is sunk in the same vicinity. Results from several different model specifications indicate average per-person, per-trip use values range from $480 to $750. The “bundling” of a second vessel in the area of the Oriskany to create a multiple-ship artificial reef area adds between $220 and $1,160 per diver per year in value. JEL Classification Codes: Q26, Q50
Encoded universality from a single physical interaction

We present a theoretical analysis of the paradigm of encoded universality, using a Lie algebraic analysis to derive specific conditions under which physical interactions can provide universality. We discuss the significance of the tensor product structure in the quantum circuit model and use this to define the conjoining of encoded qudits. The construction of encoded gates between conjoined qudits is discussed in detail. We illustrate the general procedures with several examples from exchange-only quantum computation. In particular, we extend our earlier results showing universality with the isotropic exchange interaction to the derivation of encoded universality with the anisotropic exchange interaction, i.e., to the XY model. In this case the minimal encoding for universality is into qutrits rather than into qubits as was the case for isotropic (Heisenberg) exchange. We also address issues of fault-tolerance, leakage and correction of encoded qudits.
The Value of Irony: Legal Orthodoxy and Henry James's Washington Square

In the following pages, I offer a close reading of Henry James's 1880 novel, Washington Square. My purpose is to show that representations of law in American fiction offer unique and valuable resources for understanding the intersection of legal texts, legal interpretation, and lived experience. This project participates in a recent trend of thinking about law as both a part and product of culture. The cultural study of law begins with the recognition "that legal meaning is found and invented in the variety of locations and practices that comprise culture and that those locations and practices are themselves encapsulated, though always incompletely, in legal forms, regulations, and legal symbols." In other words, law and culture are mutually constitutive.
Ruling Out Productivity?: Labor Contract Pages and Plant Performance

This study documents a strong inverse relationship between number of pages of labor contracts in effect and the productivity observed in a sample of ten unionized plants. It is argued that this relationship reflects the productivity-inhibiting effects of increases in the number and complexity of work rules. The study also argues that subsequent research should try to improve the measurement of work rules by considering the substance of the rules and which parameters of a production function the rules are likely to affect.
Resolution Issues in the Collapse and Fragmentation of Turbulent Molecular Cloud Cores

The formation of Giant Molecular clouds (GMCs) sets the stage for the formation of protostellar systems by the gravitational collapse of dense regions within the GMC that fragment into smaller core components that in turn condense into stars. Inherent in the difficulty in attaining this goal is that the gravitational collapse and ensuing fragmentation depend critically upon initial conditions in the cores as well as the maintenance of accuracy in the simulations as the cores collapse. One of the goals of this research is to understand the nature and physical properties of the formation of binay and multiple stellar systems with typical low mass stars (∼ 0.2 to 3 M ). We have developed a powerful numerical code that is addressing the key issues surrounding the formation of low mass stars. This technology consists of a parallel adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) selfgravitational radiation-hydrodynamics code. This methodology allows us to obtain considerable computational efficiency over conventional codes when applied to problems involving gravitational collapse across many orders of magnitude in density and radius. In this brief paper, we discuss preliminary results of the formation of stars for the parameter space of marginally stable, turbulent molecular cloud cores as they evolve to protostars over a range of turbulence and rotational rate. We contrast our results with recent SPH results for similar initial conditions. We survey current SPH simulations and show where the lack of resolution in these simulations may begin to affect the outcome, possibly leading to false fragmentation and an inaccurate picture of the stellar mass distribution and clustering properties.
Strange Quarks and Parity Violation

Abstract We report on the study of parity violation in the scattering of polarized electrons to probe the contribution of strange quarks to the elastic nucleon form factors. We review the theoretical assumptions that are involved in isolating the strange form factors as well as the predictions for the size of the strange form factors. The experiments require the measurement of small asymmetries, typically ≤ 10−5. We describe in detail the general experimental techniques that are used to obtain this level of precision. Finally, we summarize specific experiments that have been published recently as well as new experiments in progress.
Preparation of 110K (Bi, Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductor from glass precursor

The Bi1.5Pb0.5Sr2Ca2Cu3O(x) glass, prepared by rapid quenching of the melt, showed T(sub g) of 383 C, crystallization temperature of approx. 446 C, melting temperature of approx. 855 C, and bulk density of 5.69 g/cu. cm. in air. The as-quenched glass was oxygen deficient. On heating in O2, it showed a slow, irreversible, and continuous weight gain starting at approx. 530 C. The influence of annealing conditions on the formation of various phases was investigated by XRD and electrical resistivity measurements. The 110K-T(sub c) phase did not form below 840 C. The amount of this phase increased with the sintering time at 840 C. A sample annealed at 840 C for 243 h in air and furnace cooled showed the highest T(sub c)(R=0) of 107.2K and transition width delta T(sub c)(10 to 90 percent) of approx. 2 K.
Palladium and TEMPO as Co‐Catalysts in a Desulfinative Homocoupling Reaction

A range of aryl sulfinates can be oxidatively dimerized to generate substituted biphenyls with concomitant extrusion of sulfur dioxide with a palladium catalyst. Catalytic amounts of TEMPO and excess oxygen are utilized as oxidants to regenerate the palladium catalyst.