cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Steiner Systems for Topology-Transparent Access Control in MANETs

In this paper we examine the combinatorial requirements of topology-transparent transmission schedules for channel access in mobile ad hoc networks. We formulate the problem as a combinatorial question and observe that its solution is a cover-free family. The mathematical properties of certain cover-free families have been studied extensively. Indeed, we show that both existing constructions for topology-transparent schedules (which correspond to orthogonal arrays) give a cover-free family. However, a specific type of cover-free family – called a Steiner system – supports the largest number of nodes for a given frame length. We then explore the minimum and expected throughput for Steiner systems of small strength, first using the acknowledgement scheme proposed earlier and then using a more realistic model of acknowledgements. We contrast these results with the results for comparable orthogonal arrays, indicating some important trade-offs for topology-transparent access control protocols.
Measuring streamflow under ice conditions

Effects of ice formation on stage discharge relations; occurrence and effect of surface, frazil, and anchor ice is described and recorder graphs registering these effects are shown; one investigation of "siphon action" is detailed; factors affecting accuracy of ice-affected records.
Structure of the cycle map for Hilbert schemes of families of nodal curves

We study the relative Hilbert scheme of a family of nodal (or smooth) curves, over a base of arbitrary dimension, via its (birational) cycle map, going to the relative symmetric product. We show the cycle map is the blowing up of the discriminant locus, which consists of cycles with multiple points. We determine the structure of certain projective bundles called node scrolls which play an important role in the geometry of Hilbert schemes.
The Identification of Technical Change in the Electricity Generating Industry

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses steam electric generating plants for the identification of technical change in the electricity generating industry. The main reason for analyzing electric power industry particular industry was that data on operation and costs for individual plants are readily available from the Federal Power Commission. This industry is a very important one in the economy in that its output is used by virtually every other sector of the economy. Moreover, it is one of the largest industries in the United States - in fact, it is by far the largest in terms of gross capital assets. The apparent rate of technological change, as indicated by plant characteristics and factor efficiency, has been fairly rapid. The electric power industry is a highly capital-intensive industry. The capital stock of a particular plant tends to increase in spurts at discrete time intervals because of an inherent indivisibility of the machines requiring simultaneous installation of boilers and turbogenerators which can, however, come in almost any size.
Continuum Results for Light Hadronic Quantities using Domain Wall Fermions with the Iwasaki and DSDR Gauge Actions

We present preliminary continuum results for light hadronic quantities obtained by the RBC/UKQCD collaboration using domain wall fermions with both the Iwasaki and the novel Dislocation Suppressing Determinant Ratio (DSDR) gauge actions. The DSDR action allows us to simulate at near physical quark masses on a larger, coarser lattice (a−1 = 1.4 GeV, L = 4.6fm) while retaining good chiral symmetry properties. We discuss our ongoing combined analysis of the three ensemble sets and give early results for the pion and kaon decay constants, quark masses and BK .
THE INFLUENCE OF SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTIONS OF DEXTROSE UPON NITROGENOUS METABOLISM

It has been frequently assumed that the large quantity of sugar present in the body in the condition of diabetes is responsible in part for some of the characteristic symptoms noted. For example, i...
Glycolipid-rich membrane microdomains in lacrimal acinar cell endomembrane compartments.

Extensive molecular trafficking exists between the basal-lateral plasma membrane (blm) and endomembrane compartments of lacrimal gland acinar cells. Proteins normally must be segregated consistently between the lacrimal acinar cell’s apical secretory pathway, lysosomal pathway, and basal-lateral membrane recycling pathway. A recent analytical subcellular fractionation study (Yang et al., 1999b) showed that significant changes in the distributions of a variety of endomembrane proteins occur when lacrimal acinar cells are stimulated with 10 µM carbachol for 20 min. In that study, the amount of β-hexosaminidase, typically a lysosomal enzyme, but also a secretory enzyme in lacrimal acinar cells, increased in isolated low-density trans-Golgi network (ld-tgns) believed to represent domains of the trans-Golgi network that mediate traffic to the basal-lateral membrane. This increase was accompanied by net redistributions of protein into the ld-tgns and blm of proteins from other endomembrane compartments. These included galactosyltransferase from the Golgi complex, Rab6 from domains of the high-density trans-Golgi network (hd-tgns) that are believed to mediate traffic both to secretory vesicles and pre-lysosomes (preLys), and immature forms of cathepsin B from the hd-tgns and preLys. We have proposed that such alterations of protein segregation and targeting in the endomembrane traffic might overwhelm peripheral tolerance mechanisms and provoke local autoimmune responses (Mircheff et al., 1996, Mircheff et al., this volume).
EduBay: A Mobile-Based, Location-Aware Content Sharing Platform

Most natural sciences streams (zoology, botany, anthropology, agriculture etc.) require collecting a lot of artifacts from natural environments to understand their properties such as shape, size and appearance. Currently this is done through what are called “field trips” where students and researchers go to different places and collect/study specimens from that unique habitat. These field trips are mostly very notional since logistically and monetarily they are not very scalable. The interesting locations for field trips may also be quite far and remote from the current user location. We present in this work a location based content brokering platform EduBay where we bring together the creators of content (researchers, students or local people who get photographs, videos of the specimens; audio such as bird sounds etc.) and the consumers of the content (fellow students and researchers who need these artifacts for their studies). EduBay is built around the mobile platform since collecting audio, video, or photographs from natural surroundings can leverage the camera, microphone, and other sensors on the mobile device. The platform strongly leverages the location sensor on the mobile device to connect a content to its creation location since most of these interesting artifacts can sometimes be found only in some unique locations. The platform presents interesting location centric views to the creator as well as to the consumer for easy discoverability and searching of the content. The platform also provides a mechanism to validate new content or ascertain the value of a content using peer group crowdsourcing. To keep the creation and consumption of the content under balance, the platform keeps check on the creation and consumption behavior of each user and incentivizes them to create good content as much as they consume them.
Locally Convex Words and Permutations

We introduce some new classes of words and permutations characterized by the second difference condition $\pi(i-1) + \pi(i+1) - 2\pi(i) \leq k$, which we call the $k$-convexity condition. We demonstrate that for any sized alphabet and convexity parameter $k$, we may find a generating function which counts $k$-convex words of length $n$. We also determine a formula for the number of 0-convex words on any fixed-size alphabet for sufficiently large $n$ by exhibiting a connection to integer partitions. For permutations, we give an explicit solution in the case $k = 0$ and show that the number of 1-convex and 2-convex permutations of length $n$ are $\Theta(C_1^n)$ and $\Theta(C_2^n)$, respectively, and use the transfer matrix method to give tight bounds on the constants $C_1$ and $C_2$. We also providing generating functions similar to the the continued fraction generating functions studied by Odlyzko and Wilf in the "coins in a fountain" problem.
A Post Keynesian Perspective on the Rise of Central Bank Independence: A Dubious Success Story in Monetary Economics

This paper critically assesses the rise of central bank independence (CBI) as an apparent success story in modern monetary economics. As to the observed rise in CBI since the late 1980s, we single out the role of peculiar German traditions in spreading CBI across continental Europe, while its global spread may be largely attributable to the rise of neoliberalism. As to the empirical evidence alleged to support CBI, we are struck by the nonexistence of any compelling evidence for such a case. The theoretical support for CBI ostensibly provided by modeling exercises on the so-called time-inconsistency problem in monetary policy is found equally wanting. Ironically, New Classical modelers promoting the idea of maximum CBI unwittingly reinstalled a (New Classical) benevolent dictator fiction in disguise. Post Keynesian critiques of CBI focus on the money neutrality postulate as well as potential conflicts between CBI and fundamental democratic values. John Maynard Keyness own contributions on the issue of CBI are found worth revisiting.
Semiparametric generalized linear models

I propose a new class of generalized linear models. As with the existing models, these new models are specified via a linear predictor and a link function for the mean of response Y as a function of predictors X. However, here, the “baseline” distribution of Y when the linear predictor is zero is left unspecified and is estimated from the data. The response distribution when the linear predictor differs from zero is then generated via exponential tilting of the baseline distribution, yielding a response model that is a member of the natural exponential family, with corresponding canonical link and variance functions. The resulting model has a similar level of flexibility as the proportional odds model. Maximum likelihood estimators are developed for response distribution with finite support, and the new model is studied and illustrated through simulations and example analyses from aging and psychiatry research.
Exploiting system hierarchy to compute repair plans in probabilistic model-based diagnosis

The goal of model-based diagnosis is to isolate causes of anomalous system behavior and recommend cost-effective repair actions. In general, precomputing optimal repair policies is intractable. To date, investigators addressing this problem have explored approximations that either impose restrictions on the system model, such as a single fault assumption, or that compute an immediate best action with limited lookahead. In this paper, we develop a formulation of repair in model-based diagnosis and a repair algorithm that computes optimal sequences of actions. This optimal approach is costly but can be applied to precompute an optimal repair strategy for compact systems. We show how we can exploit a hierarchical system specification to make this approach tractable for large systems. When introducing hierarchy, we also consider the tradeoff between simply replacing a component and decomposing it to repair its subcomponents. The hierarchical repair algorithm is suitable for off-line precomputation of an optimal repair strategy. A modification of the algorithm takes advantage of an iterative deepening scheme to trade off inference time and the quality of the computed strategy.
Migration and education decisions in a dynamic general equilibrium framework

With growing international skilled labor mobility, education and migration decisions have become increasingly inter-related, and potentially have a large impact on the growth trajectories of source countries, through their effects on labor supply, savings, or the cost of education. The authors develop a generic dynamic general equilibrium model to analyze the education-migration nexus in a consistent framework. They use the model as a laboratory to test empirical conditions for the existence of net brain gain, that is, greater domestic accumulation of human capital (in per capita terms) with greater migration of skilled workers. The results suggest that although some structural parameters can favor simultaneously greater human capital accumulation and greater skilled migration - such as high ratio of remittances over domestic incomes, high dependency ratios in migrant households, low dependency ratios in source countries, increasing returns to scale in the education sector, technological transfers and export market access with Diasporas, and efficient financial markets - this does not necessarily mean that greater migration encourages the constitution of greater stocks of human capital in source countries.
Computation of Moral-Hazard Problems

We study computational aspects of moral-hazard problems. We consider deterministic contracts as well as contracts with action and/or compensation lotteries, and formulate each case as a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC). We investigate and compare solution properties of the MPEC approach with the linear programming (LP) approach with lotteries. We propose a hybrid procedure that combines the best features of the both. The hybrid procedure obtains a solution that is, if not globally optimal, at least as good as an LP solution. It also preserves the fast local convergence property by applying the SQP algorithm to MPECs. Numerical examples show that the hybrid procedure outperforms the LP approach in both computational time and solution quality in term of the optimal objective value
What Do the Free Exercise and Nonestablishment Norms Forbid? Reflections on the Constitutional Law of Religious Freedom

This essay is my contribution to the symposium held at the University of St. Thomas School of Law on Oct. 17-18, 2003, honoring Judge John T. Noonan's scholarship, a prominent part of which focuses on questions of religious freedom. The Constitution of the United States famously declares, in the First Amendment, that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Yet, it is settled constitutional law that not just Congress but the entire national government - and not just the national government but state government too - may not establish religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof. For Americans today, the serious question is not whether the free exercise norm and the nonestablishment norm - the two principal matrices of the constitutional law of religious freedom - apply to the whole of American government, including state government. They do so apply. The serious question is not even whether the free exercise and nonestablishment norms should apply to the whole of American government. In the judgment of most Americans who bother to think about the matter, they should so apply. It is not surprising, then, that the sovereignty of the two norms over every branch and level of American government is constitutional bedrock. For Americans today, the serious question, regarding the free exercise and nonestablishment norms, is this: What does it mean to say that government, state as well as national, may neither prohibit the free exercise of, nor establish, religion? In particular, what sorts of government action - laws, policies, etc. - do the free exercise and nonestablishment norms forbid? At the risk of understatement: Not every scholar or judge gives the same answer to this question. My aim here is to give the answer that makes the most sense to me.
Entrepreneurship, adaptation and legitimation: A macro-behavioral perspective

Abstract Societal patterns often lag behind the constantly changing environment. Entrepreneurs, by seeking new ways of doing business, enhance societal adaptation towards the changing environment. This process of destroying old patterns and replacing them with new ones is usually not revolutionary, but instead involves the accumulation of numerous small adjustments. Entrepreneurship is thus studied as a societal function, not individual attributes. The degree of change entreprenuers bring about in any particular society reflects the extent which entrepreneurship is legitimated in that society.
Some Applications of Coding Theory in Computational Complexity

Error-correcting codes and related combinatorial constructs play an important role in several recent (and old) results in computational complexity theory. In this paper we survey results on locally-testable and locally-decodable error-correcting codes, and their applications to complexity theory and to cryptography. Locally decodable codes are error-correcting codes with sub-linear time error-correcting algorithms. They are related to private information retrieval (a type of cryptographic protocol), and they are used in average-case complexity and to construct \hard-core predicates" for one-way permutations. Locally testable codes are error-correcting codes with sub-linear time error-detection algorithms, and they are the combinatorial core of probabilistically checkable proofs.
The impact of stored solar heat on Arctic sea ice growth

High-resolution measurements of ocean temperature and salinity in the Arctic Ocean's Canada Basin reveal the importance of the release of solar-derived stored ocean heat on sea ice growth. Locally absorbed summer solar heat is stored in a near-surface temperature maximum (NSTM) layer underlying the mixed layer. The heat content of the NSTM layer was anomalously large following summer 2007, which saw considerable sea ice losses and intense solar absorption into the exposed surface ocean. Measurements provide evidence for the entrainment of NSTM layer heat in fall/winter 2007–2008 by shear-driven mixing, and convective mixing by the release of dense, salty plumes during sea ice growth. While at least a portion of the NSTM layer was eroded, deeper warm ocean layers remained unaffected. It is shown that the release of solar heat stored following summer 2007 was sufficient to have reduced sea ice thickness at the end of the 2008 growth season by about 25%.
Density dependence in resonance broadening

The purpose of this paper is the explanation of the residual width encountered in resonance broadening. The resonance-broadening problem is treated using the tetradic Liouville formalism and the Zwanzig projection operator series. It is found that, due to the particular nature of the resonance forces, the half-width of the spectral line contains a constant in addition to a term which is linearly dependent on the density. This not only explains the residual width but it also explains why only linear dependences on density have been observed. Suggestions as to quadratic and higher dependences of the half-width on the density are therefore irrelevant.
The Metallurgy of High Fracture Toughness Aluminum-Based Plate Products for Aircraft Internal Structure

A significant volume of “thick” aluminum plate products is used in the manufacture of an aircraft’s internal structure in applications such as ribs, spars, frames, bulkheads, etc. With the recent launch of more fuel efficient and primarily metallic single aisle aircraft as well as the introduction of composite-intensive twin-aisle aircraft, a number of opportunities exist for upgrading alloys developed more than 30 years ago with a new generation of thick plate products. These include 7xxx aluminum alloys that show significant improvements in both strength and toughness along with Al-Li alloys that show high strength, low density and very high corrosion resistance with significantly improved toughness over previous generation Al-Li. This paper will review these improvements and provide insights into the metallurgy behind better fracture toughness, particularly in the short transverse direction, by considering the impact of composition and processing on quench sensitivity.
Quantum Game Theory

Quantum game theory is the study of strategic behavior by agents with access to quantum technology. This technology can be employed either as part of a randomization device or as part of a communication device. We survey models of each sort, emphasizing analogies with classical game theory and classical notions of equilibrium. Keywords: quantum game theory; Eisert–Wilkens–Lewenstein protocol; quantum randomization; correlated strategy; mixed strategy
Properties of follicle-stimulating hormone-receptor interactions. Specific binding of human follicle-stimulating hormone to rat testes.

Abstract Some properties of the interaction between radioiodinated human follicle stimulating hormone (125I-hFSH) and its specific receptors in preparations of rat seminiferous tubule homogenate are described. Specific binding of 125I-hFSH by seminiferous tubule homogenate was appreciably greater than to Leydig cell homogenate of rat testes. The uptake of 125I-hFSH was hormone specific and uptake inhibition seen with purified human luteinizing hormone (hLH) could be attributed to residual FSH activity in the latter. While biologically active FSH inhibited the specific uptake of 125I-hFSH by seminiferous tubule homogenate, biologically inactive FSH, denatured by heat, did not. The system could also be used to follow formation of intact FSH from its α and β subunits, thus further validating the relationship between specific binding and biologic activity. The uptake of 125I-hFSH was tissue specific, since negligible specific binding was seen when a variety of rat tissues other than seminiferous tubule homogenate were examined. The uptake of 125I-hFSH was 1.6-fold greater in seminiferous tubule homogenate derived from testes of mature rats compared to immature (16-day-old) rats. Specific 125I-hFSH uptake was affected by variations in ionic strength, with a maximum uptake, 2.17 x 10-16 moles per mg of homogenate, being noted in 1 mm phosphate buffer, pH 7.5 and no specific uptake in 0.5 m phosphate buffer, Specific uptake was not affected by substitution of Mg2+ for Ca2+ at the molar concentrations of phosphate described above. Specific binding is temperature-dependent and maximum specific uptake of 125I-hFSH was seen at 37°. Heating of seminiferous tubule homogenate to 60° and above prior to addition of 125I-hFSH abolished specific uptake, whereas nonspecific uptake increased as the temperature was elevated. Specific binding was pH-dependent, with an optimum at pH 7.5. Extremes of pH caused irreversible damage to the receptors and this was a time-dependent process. In our system, specific uptake of 125I-hFSH was a saturable process with respect to hormone concentration, and significant inhibition of uptake by unlabeled hFSH could be detected at 1.06 x 10-16 moles per mg of homogenate using 7.5 x 10-14 moles of 125I-hFSH. Scatchard analysis indicated a Kd of 6.7 x 10-10 m and binding sites are estimated to the 6.2 x 10-14 moles per mg wet tissue weight.
A system for induction of oblique decision trees

This article describes a new system for induction of oblique decision trees. This system, OC1, combines deterministic hill-climbing with two forms of randomization to find a good oblique split (in the form of a hyperplane) at each node of a decision tree. Oblique decision tree methods are tuned especially for domains in which the attributes are numeric, although they can be adapted to symbolic or mixed symbolic/numeric attributes. We present extensive empirical studies, using both real and artificial data, that analyze OC1's ability to construct oblique trees that are smaller and more accurate than their axis-parallel counterparts. We also examine the benefits of randomization for the construction of oblique decision trees.
Global structure of the lunar tide in ionospheric total electron content

[1] The global structure of the lunar tide in the ionosphere is studied based on observations of the global positioning system (GPS) total electron content (TEC). The unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution afforded by the GPS TEC observations enables illustration of the latitude, longitude, solar local time, and seasonal variability of the lunar tide in the ionosphere. Based on analysis of the multi-year mean from 1999–2008, the dominant component is generally the semidiurnal lunar tide. However, a significant diurnal variation is also observed in some instances. The semidiurnal component achieves a maximum amplitude of ∼6% in the equatorial ionization anomaly crest regions and a slight hemispheric asymmetry is present with larger amplitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Furthermore, the maximum amplitudes in the semidiurnal lunar tide are found to occur during Northern Hemisphere winter and during 9–15 solar local time. During certain years, a secondary maxima in solar local time is also observed demonstrating the influence of the lunar tide on the prereversal enhancement. Lastly, the observations reveal significant longitudinal variability in the semidiurnal lunar tide that is most prominent between November and February. The presence of a longitudinal variation reveals the existence of nonmigrating components in addition to the dominant migrating semidiurnal lunar tide.
Real-time GPU-based simulation of dynamic terrain

Although a great deal of research effort has been devoted to the realistic and efficient rendering of terrain data, the existing research mainly focuses on displaying static terrain. The realistic simulation of dynamic terrain, including vehicle-terrain interactions, is absent in most 3D graphical applications. In this paper, we present a new GPU-based algorithm for dynamic terrain simulation. A key component of this algorithm is a Dynamically-Displaced Height Map (DDHM) which is generated and manipulated on the GPU. In addition, our method achieves real-time performance by using new features of the latest graphics hardware and shader technology. We demonstrate our algorithm by simulating a ground vehicle traveling on soft terrain. Our algorithm is particularly useful for ground based visual simulation applications as well as 3D games.
All Rise, the Court is in Session: What Judges Say About Court-Connected Mediation

Alternative Dispute Resolution, especially mediation, is at a critical point in its evolution. As a result of how ADR/mediation has adapted to the courthouse, it is a continuing challenge for mediation to develop in such a way that it is both "value-added" (and true to the original ideals of party self-determination and support of "procedural" justice) and cost-effective for our system of justice (achieving important "substantive" justice goals). This article analyzes empirical data from the author's 2003 survey of Minnesota's 287 trial court judges about their experiences with a statewide civil ADR Rule (Rule 114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice). Questions on the judicial survey include when and why ADR is ordered; the timing of mediation and discovery; client attendance at mediations; desired mediator qualifications; what happens with summary judgment motions; and what complaint and enforcement issues have surfaced. Based on the data analysis, suggestions for change in the court-connected ADR environment are made to better harmonize the implementation of mediation programs in the courts with the actual goals for such programs. Particular emphasis in the article is placed on the need for more rigorous monitoring and evaluation of court-connected ADR programs.
Analysis of beam loading in electrostatic columns

A lumped element circuit model is derived which accounts for both electric and magnetic coupling of the beam to the electrodes and drive circuitry of an electrostatic column. A modified one dimensional Poisson equation which incorporates two dimensional effects is discussed. An effective capacitance between the beam and the column electrodes which affects the electric coupling is estimated. Simple analytic cases which treat electric and magnetic coupling separately are solved and compared against a numerical simulation. Scaling laws are given for the magnitude of the beam loading. >
Proof of Conway’s lost cosmological theorem

John Horton Conway's Cosmological Theorem, about Audioactive sequences, for which no extant proof existed, is given a computer-generated proof, hopefully for good.
Higher derivative couplings in theories with sixteen supersymmetries

We give simple arguments for new nonrenormalization theorems on higher derivative couplings of gauge theories to supergravity, with sixteen supersymmetries, by considerations of brane-bulk superamplitudes. This leads to some exact results on the effective coupling of D3-branes in type IIB string theory. We also derive exact results on higher dimensional operators in the torus compactification of the six dimensional (0,2) superconformal theory.
Assimilation of current measurements into a circulation model of Lake Michigan

[1] We present a method for assimilating current observations into a two-dimensional circulation model of Lake Michigan, based on the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) and driven by observed winds. Because measurements of surface level are not available, we require that the point-wise update to the forecast horizontal current does not change the forecast surface level. This requirement makes it possible to represent the current updates by a stream function. Given an appropriate covariance model of this stream function, the current updates are calculated by kriging interpolation using the observations and the corresponding model forecast. It is further required that the current updates do not create cross-shore flows; this is represented by the stream function being constant along the coastline and is enforced by incorporating pseudo coastal data into the interpolation. This eliminates the need to construct complex spatial covariance models for the stream function. The method also accommodates observational errors. Results show that the method successfully melds observations into the model, and the influence of data assimilation propagates in space and time.
Learning in multiagent systems: an introduction from a game-theoretic perspective

We introduce the topic of learning in multiagent systems. We first provide a quick introduction to the field of game theory, focusing on the equilibrium concepts of iterated dominance, and Nash equilibrium. We show some of the most relevant findings in the theory of learning in games, including theorems on fictitious play, replicator dynamics, and evolutionary stable strategies. The CLRI theory and n-level learning agents are introduced as attempts to apply some of these findings to the problem of engineering multiagent systems with learning agents. Finally, we summarize some of the remaining challenges in the field of learning in multiagent systems.
A flight-test Methodology for Identification of an Aerodynamic Model for a V/STOL Aircraft

Abstract This paper describes a flight-test methodology for developing a data base to be used to identify an aerodynamic model of a vertical and short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) fighter aircraft, The aircraft serves as a test bed at Ames for ongoing research in advanced V/STOL control and display concepts. The flight envelope to be modeled includes hover, transition to conventional flight and back to hover, STOL operation, and normal cruise. Although the aerodynamic model is highly nonlinear, i t has been formulated to be linear in the parameters to be identified. Motivation for the flight-test methodology advocated in this paper is based upon the choice of a linear least-squares method for model identification, The paper covers elements of the method ology from maneuver design to the compl eted data base. Major emphasis is placed on the use of state estimation with tracking data to ensure consistency among maneuver variables prior to their entry into the data base. The design and processing of a typical maneuver will be illustrated.
Persistent vegetative state: clinical and ethical issues.

Publisher Summary The vegetative state represents a specific syndrome that can be accurately diagnosed by seven clinical criteria: no evidence of awareness of self or environment and an inability to interact with others; no evidence of sustained, reproducible, purposeful, or voluntary behavioral responses to visual, auditory, tactile, or noxious stimuli; no evidence of language comprehension or expression; intermittent wakefulness manifested by the presence of sleep–wake cycles; sufficient preserved hypothalamic and brainstem autonomic functions to permit survival with medical and nursing care; bowel and bladder incontinence; and variably preserved cranial nerve and spinal reflexes. A diagnosis of vegetative state can be made with a reasonable degree of medical certainty by clinical observation and examination. The diagnosis of vegetative state does not imply persistence or permanence. There is sometimes confusion among the three similar and yet different conditions: vegetative state, persistent vegetative state (PVS), and permanent vegetative state. A vegetative state can be present very soon after a brain injury or disease. The state may be reversible and proceed to recovery, or may progress to coma, PVS, or death. In the acute period, an unconscious patient may change condition from hour to hour or day to day. Before the physician can determine prognosis and outcome of a vegetative state, the patient must have reached a stable state.
The uniqueness of short-term collateralization

A secured letter-of-credit loan allows a lender to make larger loans than would be permissible on an unsecured basis, maximizing a risky borrower's investment capital. Empirical evidence shows that secured letters of credit are used by borrowers who are informationally opaque and have higher observable risk. Such borrowers also have fewer growth opportunities and are less likely to pay dividends. Klapper finds evidence that lines of credit secured by accounts receivable are associated with business borrowers with a high risk of default. While an unsecured short-term loan is repaid from the borrower's future cash flow, a loan secured by accounts receivable (a unique form of "inside" collateral) is repaid from previously generated and observed sales (the borrower's trade credit terms to its customers). Consequently, lenders that secure accounts receivable are most concerned with the credit risk of the borrower's customers and the borrower's ability to continue to generate new sales. A stylized theoretical model demonstrates that the value of a secured line-of-credit loan in minimizing contracting costs is associated with the borrower's business risk and the quality of the borrower's customers. Empirical tests on a sample of publicly traded U.S. manufacturing firms find that firms with secured line of credit loans are observably riskier and have fewer expected growth opportunities. Klapper's findings suggest that observably riskier borrowers can borrow more on a secured than on an unsecured basis. The results highlight the important role of secured letters of credit in providing liquidity to risky, credit-constrained firms that might not have access to external financing through other channels. This paper - a product of Finance, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to study financing for small and medium-size enterprises. The author may be contacted at lklapper@worldbank.org.
Accounting for Social Spending Escalation in Rural China

It has been widely recognized that the poor spends a significant proportion of their income on social spending even at the expense of basic consumption. What are the motives behind the observed lavish social spending among the poor? We attempt to test three competing explanations at the social link level, risk-pooling, peer effect, and status concern, via a uniform framework based on a unique primary dataset. The data set include household information from a three-wave census-type household survey as well as a long-term gift record for all households in three villages in a poor region in rural China. Our dyadic estimations confirm the prevalence of peer influence and the status seeking motive in shaping gift spending and its rapid growth, while risking pooling is not a significant explanatory factor. A 1% increase in peers' gift spending per occasion leads to a 0.13% - 0.34% increase in one's own gift per occasion, depending on whether household fixed effect or pairwise fixed effect dyadic model is estimated. Status seeking for the bottom 25% and the middle 50% groups significantly pushes up gift expenditure. Moreover, large windfall income and marriage market pressure further intensify status competition, escalating gift giving behavior.
Functorial structure of units in a tensor product

We study the units in a tensor product of rings. For example, let k be an algebraically closed field. Let A and B be reduced rings containing k, having connected spectra. Let u \in A tensor_k B be a unit. Then u = a tensor_k b for some units a \in A and b \in B. Here is a deeper result, stated for simplicity in the affine case only. Let k be a field, and let f: R --> S be a homomorphism of f.g. k-algebras such that Spec(f) is dominant. Assume that every irreducible component of Spec(R_red) or Spec(S_red) is geometrically integral and has a rational point. Let B --> C be a faithfully flat homomorphism of reduced k-algebras. For A a k-algebra, define Q(A) to be (S tensor_k A)^*/(R tensor_k A)^*. Then Q satisfies the following sheaf property: the sequence 0 --> Q(B) --> Q(C) --> Q(C tensor_B C) is exact. This and another result are used in the proof of the following statement from "The kernel of the map on Picard groups induced by a faithfully flat homomorphism" by R. Guralnick, D. Jaffe, W. Raskind, R. Wiegand: Let K/k be an algebraic field extension and let A be a f.g. k-algebra. Assume resolution of singularities. Then there is a finite extension E/k contained in K/k such that Pic(A tensor_k E) --> Pic(A tensor_k K) is injective.
Generalized instrumental variables

This paper concerns the assessment of direct causal effects from a combination of: (i) nonexperimental data, and (ii) qualitative domain knowledge. Domain knowledge is encoded in the form of a directed acyclic graph (DAG), in which all interactions are assumed linear, and some variables are presumed to be unobserved. We provide a generalization of the well-known method of Instrumental Variables, which allows its application to models with few conditional independeces.
UNIDADES DE APRENDIZAJE ACTIVAS INTERRELACIONADAS CON USO NATURAL DE HERRAMIENTAS TIC EN LA CONSTRUCCIÓN ARQUITECTÓNICA.

0 0 1 141 779 USAL 6 1 919 14.0 Normal 0 21 false false false ES JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Tabla normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-ansi-language:ES; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} The presence of new technologies in the university world is a matter of fact. Nevertheless, it has not always blended correctly as in many cases TIC incorporation has not taken alumni opinion understood as final users. A correct implementation might evaluate some variables as satisfaction, need, interest and finally that versatility to adapt it to proficient professional training on a regular basis. This paper analyses a new approach to learning in the field of Architectural Construction based on a series of strategically designed and interactive units. The centre of these is the collaborative project; this is based on complex problem-solving situations akin to the professional world; where theory and practice are combined in a discovery-learning process. The tools of Information and Communication Technology are applied, simultaneously facilitating the student’s autonomy in acquiring skills and knowledge.
Don't fall for tuning parameters: tuning-free variable selection in high dimensions with the TREX

Lasso is a popular method for high-dimensional variable selection, but it hinges on a tuning parameter that is difficult to calibrate in practice. In this study, we introduce TREX, an alternative to Lasso with an inherent calibration to all aspects of the model. This adaptation to the entire model renders TREX an estimator that does not require any calibration of tuning parameters. We show that TREX can outperform cross-validated Lasso in terms of variable selection and computational efficiency. We also introduce a bootstrapped version of TREX that can further improve variable selection. We illustrate the promising performance of TREX both on synthetic data and on two biological data sets from the fields of genomics and proteomics.
Psychology and Behavioral Economics Lessons for the Design of a Green Growth Strategy

A green growth agenda requires policy makers, from local to supranational levels, to examine and influence behavior that impacts economic, social, and environmental outcomes on multiple scales. Behavioral and social change, in addition or conjunction with technological change, is thus a crucial component of any green growth strategy. A better understanding of how and why people consume, preserve, or exploit resources or otherwise make choices that collectively impact the environment has important and far-reaching consequences for the predictive accuracy of more sophisticated models, both of future states of the world and of the likely impact of different growth strategies and potential risk management strategies. The prevailing characterization of human decision making in policy circles is a rational economic one. Reliance on the assumptions of rational choice excludes from consideration a wide range of factors that affect how people make decisions and therefore need to be considered in predictions of human reactions to environmental conditions or proposed policy initiatives. In addition, a more complete and more fully descriptive understanding of decision processes provide powerful tools for policy design that complement legal or economic instruments or may lead to more effective implementation of such policy instruments.
Fractal dimensions of rough differential equations driven by fractional Brownian motions

In this work we study fractal properties of a d-dimensional rough differential equation driven by fractional Brownian motions with Hurst parameter H>14. In particular, we show that the Hausdorff dimension of the sample paths of the solution is min{d,1H} and that the Hausdorff dimension of the level set Lx={t∈[ϵ,1]:Xt=x} is 1−dH with positive probability when dH<1.
India's public health system - how well does it function at the National level?

India has relatively poor health outcomes, despite having a well-developed administrative system, good technical skills in many fields, and an extensive network of public health institutions for research, training, and diagnostics. This suggests that the health system may be misdirecting its efforts, or may be poorly designed. To explore this, the authors use instruments developed to assess the performance of public health systems in the United States and Latin America based on the framework of the Essential Public Health Functions, identified as the basic functions that an effective public health system must fulfill. The authors focus on the federal level in India, using data obtained from senior health officials in the central government. The data indicate that the reported strengths of the system lie in having the capacity to carry out most of the public health functions. Its reported weaknesses lie in three broad areas. First, it has overlooked some fundamental public health functions such as public health regulations and their enforcement. Second, deep management flaws hinder effective use of resources-including inadequate focus on evaluation, on assessing quality of services, on dissemination and use of information, and on openness to learning and innovation. Resources could also be much better used with small changes, such as the use of incentives and challenge funds, and greater flexibility to reassign resources as priorities and needs change. Third, the central government functions too much in isolation and needs to work more closely with other key actors, especially with sub-national governments, as well as with the private sector and with communities. The authors conclude that with some reassessment of priorities and better management practices, health outcomes could be substantially improved.
Potential soil carbon sequestration in overgrazed grassland ecosystems

[1] Excessive grazing pressure is detrimental to plant productivity and may lead to declines in soil organic matter. Soil organic matter is an important source of plant nutrients and can enhance soil aggregation, limit soil erosion, and can also increase cation exchange and water holding capacities, and is, therefore, a key regulator of grassland ecosystem processes. Changes in grassland management which reverse the process of declining productivity can potentially lead to increased soil C. Thus, rehabilitation of areas degraded by overgrazing can potentially sequester atmospheric C. We compiled data from the literature to evaluate the influence of grazing intensity on soil C. Based on data contained within these studies, we ascertained a positive linear relationship between potential C sequestration and mean annual precipitation which we extrapolated to estimate global C sequestration potential with rehabilitation of overgrazed grassland. The GLASOD and IGBP DISCover data sets were integrated to generate a map of overgrazed grassland area for each of four severity classes on each continent. Our regression model predicted losses of soil C with decreased grazing intensity in drier areas (precipitation less than 333 mm yr−1), but substantial sequestration in wetter areas. Most (93%) C sequestration potential occurred in areas with MAP less than 1800 mm. Universal rehabilitation of overgrazed grasslands can sequester approximately 45 Tg C yr−1, most of which can be achieved simply by cessation of overgrazing and implementation of moderate grazing intensity. Institutional level investments by governments may be required to sequester additional C.
Domain-Wall Fermions in Vector Theories

Applications of Domain Wall fermions to various vector-like lattice theories are reviewed with an emphasis on QCD thermodynamics. Methods for improving their chiral properties at strong coupling are discussed and results from implementing them are presented.
The magnetosphere of Mercury

Data on Mercury's magnetosphere and on the plasma, planetomagnetic, and energetic particle environment of the planet obtained in three encounters (Mariner 10 flybys) are compared, and tasks for future research are outlined. The Mercury bow shock and magnetopause are much closer to the planet than the earth counterparts are to the earth. The magnetotail with embedded plasma sheet-field reversal region, global deflection of the solar wind by an intrinsic dipolar magnetic field, variations in solar wind momentum flux, and absence of such features as ionosphere, plasmasphere, and radiation belts, are described. Energetic electrons are accelerated in the magnetotail, however, and the interplanetary magnetic field variations distort Mercury's magnetosphere to produce a southward field associated with substorm-like disturbances.