cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Cost Effective Solution to Reduce Disaster Losses in Developing Countries : Hydro-Meteorological Services, Early Warning, and Evacuation

In Europe, it can be estimated that hydro-meteorological information and early warning systems save several hundreds of lives per year, avoid between 460 million and 2.7 billion Euros of disaster asset losses per year, and produce between 3.4 and 34 billion of additional benefits per year through the optimization of economic production in weather-sensitive sectors (agriculture, energy, etc.). The potential for similar benefits in the developing world is not only proportional to population, but also to increased hazard risk due to climate and geography, as well as increased exposure to weather due to the state of infrastructure. This analysis estimates that the potential benefits from upgrading to developed-country standards the hydro-meteorological information production and early warning capacity in all developing countries include: (i) between 300 million and 2 billion USD per year of avoided asset losses due to natural disasters; (ii) an average of 23,000 saved lives per year, which is valued between 700 million and 3.5 billion USD per year using the Copenhagen Consensus guidelines; and (iii) between 3 and 30 billion USD per year of additional economic benefits. The total benefits would reach between 4 and 36 billion USD per year. Because some of the most expensive components of early warning systems have already been built (e.g., earth observation satellites, global weather forecasts), these investments are relatively modest, estimated here around 1 billion US per year, reaching benefit-cost ratios between 4 and 36.
Listing All Maximal Cliques in Sparse Graphs in Near-optimal Time

The degeneracy of an n-vertex graph G is the smallest number d such that every subgraph of G contains a vertex of degree at most d. We show that there exists a nearly-optimal fixed-parameter tractable algorithm for enumerating all maximal cliques, parametrized by degeneracy. To achieve this result, we modify the classic Bron–Kerbosch algorithm and show that it runs in time O(dn3 d/3). We also provide matching upper and lower bounds showing that the largest possible number of maximal cliques in an n-vertex graph with degeneracy d (when d is a multiple of 3 and n ≥ d + 3) is (n − d)3 d/3. Therefore, our algorithm matches the Θ(d(n − d)3 d/3) worst-case output size of the problem whenever n − d = Ω(n).
Investing in insider-dominated firms : a study of Russian voucher privatization funds

This paper is based on a survey of 148 Russian privatization investment funds representing, in terms of size, 69 percent of all investment funds created in connection with the voucher privatization of about 14,000 state enterprises. The investment funds surveyed hold shares in about 5,000 privatized enterprises, thus providing a window into the world of corporate governance of a substantial portion of Russian firms. The paper argues that investment funds, like most other outside investors, have relatively small impact on the governance of Russian firms due to the firms' domination by corporate insiders, particularly management. Given high returns from shareholder activism, the investment funds attempt to influence the firms in their portfolios in a variety of ways (through obtaining board seats and providing them with a range of services), but have extremely poor access to information and are largely unable to prod the firms toward more radical restructuring. In particular, the investment funds are only rarely able to effect managerial changes, although a logistic equation model used shows that firms which do participate in more that one dismissal of top managerial personnel seem to be interested in fundamental restructuring. The paper also describes the main features of the emerging Russian capital market and analyzes the determinants of the trading activity of the investment funds.
Nanoscale magnetic imaging using quantum defects in diamond

I describe recent progress in nanoscale magnetic imaging using Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) quantum defects in diamond, which provide an unparalleled combination of magnetic field sensitivity and spatial resolution in a room-temperature solid, with wide-ranging applications.
Measuring Market Power Exertion in the U.S. Ethanol Industry

The objective of this study is to investigate potential market power exertion in the output market of the ethanol-producing sector using the Solow Residual-Based (SRB) test and its different modalities (primal and primal-dual). The markup estimates (Lerner’s index) obtained using ethanol imports and processed crudel oil as instrumental variables to estimate the primal SRB are compared to the primal-dual SRB estimates. For both approaches, a statistically significant positive markup was estimated implying the presense of market power exertion. Both markup estimates are relatively close to each other.
Reducing revenue to welfare maximization: approximation algorithms and other generalizations

It was recently shown in [12] that revenue optimization can be computationally efficiently reduced to welfare optimization in all multi-dimensional Bayesian auction problems with arbitrary (possibly combinatorial) feasibility constraints and independent additive bidders with arbitrary (possibly combinatorial) demand constraints. This reduction provides a poly-time solution to the optimal mechanism design problem in all auction settings where welfare optimization can be solved efficiently, but it is fragile to approximation and cannot provide solutions to settings where welfare maximization can only be tractably approximated. In this paper, we extend the reduction to accommodate approximation algorithms, providing an approximation preserving reduction from (truthful) revenue maximization to (not necessarily truthful) welfare maximization. The mechanisms output by our reduction choose allocations via black-box calls to welfare approximation on randomly selected inputs, thereby generalizing also our earlier structural results on optimal multi-dimensional mechanisms to approximately optimal mechanisms. Unlike [12], our results here are obtained through novel uses of the Ellipsoid algorithm and other optimization techniques over non-convex regions.
Selective breeding for high alcohol preference increases the sensitivity of the posterior VTA to the reinforcing effects of nicotine.

The rate of codependency for alcohol and nicotine is extremely high. Numerous studies have indicated that there is a common genetic association for alcoholism and nicotine dependency. The current experiments examined whether selective breeding for high alcohol preference in rats may be associated with increased sensitivity of the posterior ventral tegmental area (pVTA) to the reinforcing properties of nicotine. In addition, nicotine can directly bind to the serotonin-3 (5-HT3 ) receptor, which has been shown to mediate the reinforcing properties of other drugs of abuse within the pVTA Wistar rats were assigned to groups that were allowed to self-infuse 0, 10, 50, 100, 200, 400 or 800 μM nicotine in two-lever (active and inactive) operant chambers. P rats were allowed to self-infuse 0, 1, 10, 50 or 100 μM nicotine. Co-infusion of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists with nicotine into the pVTA was also determined. P rats self-infused nicotine at lower concentrations than required to support self-administration in Wistar rats. In addition, P rats received more self-infusions of 50 and 100 μM nicotine than Wistar rats; including a 5HT3 receptor antagonist (LY-278,584 or zacopride) with nicotine reduced responding on the active lever. Overall, the data support an association between selective breeding for high alcohol preference and increased sensitivity of the pVTA to the reinforcing properties of nicotine. In addition, the data suggest that activation of 5HT3 receptors may be required to maintain the local reinforcing actions of nicotine within the pVTA.
Lattice Dynamics and Inelastic Nuclear Resonant X-Ray Scattering

Measurement of thermal and elastic properties of materials, like phonon density of states, specific heat or speed of sound, by a new X-ray scattering technique is presented. Inelastic nuclear resonant scattering of X-rays produced from new electron storage rings, coupled with advances in high-energy-resolution crystal optics and fast detectors has enabled the development of a new method of analyzing the energy loss in a scattering process with a resolution of 107 or better in the X-ray region of 6–30 keV. Some unique aspects like element (isotope) selectivity, the amount of material needed for analysis (nanograms) and physical size that X-rays can be focused (5 micrometer or better) favors this approach over more established techniques of neutron scattering, Mossbauer, and Raman spectroscopy. Applications to several unique cases (e.g., multilayers and high pressure) are discussed.
Control techniques for an automated mixed traffic vehicle

The paper describes an automated mixed traffic vehicle (AMTV), a driverless low-speed tram designed to operate in mixed pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The vehicle is a six-passenger electric tram equipped with sensing and control which permit it to function on existing streets in an automatic mode. The design includes established wire-following techniques for steering and near-IR headway sensors. A 7-mph cruise speed is reduced to 2 mph or a complete stop in response to sensor (or passenger) inputs. The AMTV performance is evaluated by operation on a loop route and by simulation. Some necessary improvements involving sensors, sensor pattern, use of an audible signal, and control lag are discussed. It is suggested that appropriate modifications will eliminate collision incidents.
Filtering and forecasting with misspecified ARCH models II: Making the right forecast with the wrong model

Abstract A companion paper (Nelson, 1992) showed that in data observed at high frequencies, an ARCH model may perform well in estimating the conditional variance of a process, even when the ARCH model is severely misspecified. While such models may perform reasonably well at filtering (i.e., at estimating unobserved instantaneous conditional variances), they may perform disastrously at medium- and long-term forecasting of the process and its volatility. In this paper, we develop conditions under which a misspecified ARCH model successfully performs both tasks, filtering and forecasting. The key requirement (in addition to the conditions for consistent filtering) is that the ARCH model correctly specifies the functional form of the first two conditional moments of all state variables. We apply these results to a diffusion model employed in the options pricing literature, the stochastic volatility model of Hull and White (1987), Scott (1987), and Wiggins (1987).
A quantum cryptographic protocol with detection of compromised server

This paper presents a server-based hybrid cryptographic protocol, using quantum and classical resources, to generate a key for authentication and optionally for encryption in a network. A novel feature of the protocol is that it can detect a compromised server. Additional advantages are that it avoids the requirement for timestamps used in classical protocols, guarantees that the trusted server cannot know the authentication key, can provide resistance to multiple photon attacks, and can be used with BB84 or other quantum key distribution protocols. Each resource shares a previously distributed secret key with the trusted server, and resources can communicate with the server using both classical and quantum channels. Resources do not share secret keys with each other, so that the key distribution problem for the network is reduced from O(n2) to O(n).
New Age, New Learners, New Skills: What Skills Do Graduates Need to Succeed in the New Economy?

The goal of this study was to improve the current understanding of labor market demands for various skills and attributes of college graduates. Changes such as globalization, technological advancements and the emergence of the knowledge economy have caused educational institutions to focus their attention in revising and redesigning their curriculum. The timely identification and the effective response to these changes requires that higher education revisits the issue of the set of skills essential to the economy and the labor market, and the best ways to transfer them to college graduates. A choice-based conjoint experiment was used to identify labor market preferences for college graduate attributes. A web survey with employers in the food and fiber industry was carried out during the months of September 2011-April 2012. Using an experimental design, hypothetical candidate profiles were created and used in an interactive conjoint survey. Hierarchical Bayesian method was used to estimate marginal utilities for college graduate attributes. Results of the study indicate that there has been a shift in the needs for skills in the labor market. New skills, such as creativity are emerging as important attributes to the knowledge economy.
Noise Induced Dissipation in Lebesgue-Measure Preserving Maps on d-Dimensional Torus

We consider dissipative systems resulting from the Gaussian and alpha-stable noise perturbations of measure-preserving maps on the d dimensional torus. We study the dissipation time scale and its physical implications as the noise level e vanishes. We show that nonergodic maps give rise to an O(1/e) dissipation time whereas ergodic toral automorphisms, including cat maps and their d-dimensional generalizations, have an O(ln(1/e)) dissipation time with a constant related to the minimal, dimensionally averaged entropy among the automorphism's irreducible blocks. Our approach reduces the calculation of the dissipation time to a nonlinear, arithmetic optimization problem which is solved asymptotically by means of some fundamental theorems in theories of convexity, Diophantine approximation and arithmetic progression. We show that the same asymptotic can be reproduced by degenerate noises as well as mere coarse-graining. We also discuss the implication of the dissipation time in kinematic dynamo.
A high-order moment simulation model

We consider a high-current beam transport system in which the particle motion in the two transverse directions (x and y) are coupled. Chernin1 has studied the beam envelope, with linear transverse spatial dependence of magnetic field, for a monoenergetic particle beam. We are interested in a beam which is distributed in energy, and a transport system with nonlinear transverse dependence of the magnetic field. For this type of system the spatial coordinate (z) along the beam motion can no longer be equivalenced to the time variable; faster particles will overtake the slower particles as time evolves. We present relativistically covariant moment equations for modelling beam transport, based on the work of Newcomb2 and Amendt and Weitzner3. The beam is described by a set of partial differential moment equations, instead of a set of ordinary differential envelope equations. (This aspect of our approach distinguishes it from the work of Chernin1 and of Channell and coworkers4, 5.) The code formalism is based on transverse averages of the moment equations obtained from the relativistic Vlasov equation. The spatial coordinate along the beam motion is discretized. (The theory by Channel et al. uses moment equations to model a three-dimensional beam bunch. For long bunches, however, it is impractical to carry high enough longitudinal moments to model the oscillations within the bunch.) The moment equations are closed by setting higher order correlation functions to zero. A non-linear space charge model, similar to the one used in the BEDLAM code4, has been developed. The formalism for the code as well as results of the model will be presented. Comparisions will be made between simulations keeping up to second, third and fourth order correlations.
Content-type coding

This paper is motivated by the observation that, in many cases, we do not need to serve specific messages, but rather, any message within a content-type. Content-type traffic pervades a host of applications today, ranging from search engines and recommender networks to newsfeeds and advertisement networks. The paper asks a novel question: if there are benefits in designing network and channel codes specifically tailored to contenttype requests. It provides three examples of content-type formulations to argue that, indeed in some cases we can have significant such benefits.
Minority status and labor market outcomes : does india have minority enclaves ?

This paper uses data from the 61st Round of the National Sample Survey to understand the employment outcomes of Dalit and Muslim men in India. It uses a conceptual framework developed for the US labor market that states that ethnic minorities skirt discrimination in the primary labor market to build successful self-employed ventures in the form of ethnic enclaves or ethnic labor markets. The paper uses entry into self-employment for educated minority groups as a proxy for minority enclaves. Based on multinomial logistic regression, the analysis finds that the minority enclave hypothesis does not hold for Dalits but it does overwhelmingly for Muslims. The interaction of Dalit and Muslim status with post-primary education in urban areas demonstrates that post-primary education confers almost a disadvantage for minority men: it does not seem to affect their allocation either to salaried work or to non-farm self-employment but does increase their likelihood of opting out of the labor force - and if they cannot afford to drop out, they join the casual labor market. Due to the complexity of these results and the fact that there are no earnings data for self-employment, it is difficult to say whether self-employment is a choice or compulsion and whether builders of minority enclaves fare better than those in the primary market.
Titan's atmosphere (clouds and composition): new results

Titan’s atmosphere potentially sports a cycle similar to the hydrologic one on Earth with clouds, rain and seas, but with methane playing the terrestrial role of water. Over the past ten years many independent efforts indicated no strong evidence for cloudiness until some unique spectra were analyzed in 1998 (Griffith et al.). These surprising observations displayed enhanced fluxes of 14-200% on two nights at precisely the wavelengths (windows) that sense Titan’s lower altitude where clouds might reside. The morphology of these enhancements in all 4 windows observed indicate that clouds covered ~6-9% of Titan’s surface and existed at ~15 km altitude. Here I discuss new observations recorded in 1999 aimed to further characterize Titan's clouds. While we find no evidence for a massive cloud system similar to the one observed previously, 1%-4% fluctuations in flux occur daily. These modulations, similar in wavelength and morphology to the more pronounced ones observed earlier, suggest the presence of clouds covering ≤1% of Titan's disk. The variations are too small to have been detected by most prior measurements. Repeated observations, spaced 30 minutes apart, indicate a temporal variability observable in the time scale of a couple of hours. The cloud heights hint that convection might govern their evolution. Their short lives point to the presence of rain.
The tectonics of icy satellites

The tectonic features observed on the icy satellites of Jupiter and Saturn are described and evidence that Europa and Enceladus are currently geologically active is provided. Processes that can lead to stresses within icy satellites such as volume changes and convection and shell deformation are discussed. Consideration is also given to the faulting, fracturing, and resurfacing which result from these stresses.
A need for non-tokamak approaches to magnetic fusion energy

Focusing exclusively on conventional tokamak physics in the quest for commercial fusion power is premature, and the options for both advanced-tokamak and non-tokamak concepts need continued investigation. The basis for this claim is developed, and promising advanced-tokamak and non-tokamak options are suggested.
Deformation Quantization of Nambu Mechanics

Phase Space is the framework best suited for quantizing superintegrable systems—systems with more conserved quantities than degrees of freedom. In this quantization method, the symmetry algebras of the hamiltonian invariants are preserved most naturally, as illustrated on nonlinear σ‐models, specifically for Chiral Models and de Sitter N‐spheres. Classically, the dynamics of superintegrable models such as these is automatically also described by Nambu Brackets involving the extra symmetry invariants of them. The phase‐space quantization worked out then leads to the quantization of the corresponding Nambu Brackets, validating Nambu’s original proposal, despite excessive fears of inconsistency which have arisen over the years. This is a pedagogical talk based on [1, 2], stressing points of interpretation and care needed in appreciating the consistency of Quantum Nambu Brackets in phase space. For a parallel discussion in Hilbert space, see T Curtright’s contribution in these Proceedings, [hep‐th/0303088].
Third-Order Short-Time Expansions for Close-to-the-Money Option Prices Under the CGMY Model

A third-order approximation for close-to-the-money European option prices under an infinite-variation CGMY Levy model is derived, and is then extended to a model with an additional independent Brow...
Factored filtering of continuous-time systems

We consider filtering for a continuous-time, or asynchronous, stochastic system where the full distribution over states is too large to be stored or calculated. We assume that the rate matrix of the system can be compactly represented and that the belief distribution is to be approximated as a product of marginals. The essential computation is the matrix exponential. We look at two different methods for its computation: ODE integration and uniformization of the Taylor expansion. For both we consider approximations in which only a factored belief state is maintained. For factored uniformization we demonstrate that the KL-divergence of the filtering is bounded. Our experimental results confirm our factored uniformization performs better than previously suggested uniformization methods and the mean field algorithm.
Stability of a Vortex in a Rotating Trapped Bose-Einstein Condensate *

The remarkable achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation in dilute trapped alkali-metal atomic gases [1],[2],[3] has stimulated the (now successful) search for quantized vortices that are usually associated with external rotation [4],[5],[6],[7],[8]. An essential feature of these condensates is the order parameter, characterized by a complex macroscopic wave function ψ(r, t). Theoretical descriptions of vortices in trapped low-temperature condensates have relied on the time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii (GP) equation [9],[10],[11], which omits dissipation. For a trap rotating at angular velocity Ω about z, it is a nonlinear Schrodinger equation $$ i\hbar \frac{{\partial \Psi }} {{\partial t}} = (T + V_{tr} - \Omega L_z + g|\Psi |^2 )\Psi , $$ (1)
Risk Corridors and Reinsurance in Health Insurance Marketplaces: Insurance for Insurers

Health Insurance Marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act implement reinsurance and risk corridors. Reinsurance limits insurer costs associated with specific individuals, while risk corr...
Chapter 23 – Consent

Consent is necessary in any professional relationship between a patient and a health care provider. Consent is often is implied in the interaction, for example in the normal pharmacist–patient where the patient seeks and accepts the advice of the pharmacist on treatment. In other circumstances more formal consent is required. This chapter looks at the various situations. It explains the law with regard to children.
Possible Class of Nearby Gamma‐Ray Burst / Gravitational Wave Sources

A possible subclass of gamma-ray bursts - those with few, wide pulses, spectral lags of order one to several seconds, and soft spectra - has been identified. Their Log[N]-Log[Fp] distribution approximates a -3/2 power-law, suggesting homogeneity and relatively nearby sources. These mostly dim bursts account for approximately 50% of the BATSE sample of long bursts near that instrument s trigger threshold, suggesting that this subluminous class constitutes a more common variety than the more familiar burst sources which lie at truly cosmological distances. Theoretical scenarios predicted such a class, motivated by their exemplar GRB 980425 (SN 1998bw) lying at a distance of approximately 38 Mpc. The observations are explained by invoking off-axis viewing of the GRB jet and/or bulk Lorentz factors of order a few. Long-lag bursts show a tendency to concentrate near the Supergalactic Plane with a quadrupole moment of -0.10 plus or minus 0.04, similar to that for SNe type Ib/c within the same volume. The rate of the observed subluminous bursts is of order 1/4 that of SNe Ib/c. Evidence for a sequential relationship between SNe Ib/c and GRBs is critiqued for two cases, as simultaneity of the SN and GRB events may be important for detection of the expected gravitational wave signal; at most, SN to GRB delays appear to be a few days. SN asymmetries and ultrarelativistic GRB jets suggest the possibility of rapid rotation in the pre-collapse objects, a primary condition required for highly nonaxisymmetric SN collapse to produce strong gravitational waves.
Targeted Transfers in Poor Countries : Revisiting the Tradeoffs and Policy Options

The conventional wisdom in mainstream development policy circles is that income transfers to the poor, and safety net policies more generally, are at best a short-term palliative and at worst a waste of money. They are not seen as a core element of an effective long-term poverty reduction strategy. These views are starting to be questioned. Firstly, evidence from careful evaluations has pointed to a number of success stories. Secondly, the presumption of an overall trade-off between redistribution or insurance and growth has come to be questioned. This paper revisits the role of targeted transfers in poor countries in light of the new theories on the social costs of uninsured risks and unmitigated inequalities. This body of theory and evidence offers a new perspective on social protection policies in poor countries, suggesting that there is scope for using these policies to compensate for the market failures that help perpetuate poverty, particularly in high-inequality settings. While acknowledging caveats to policy implementation, the paper suggests that it is time for a pragmatic and open-minded approach to this class of interventions, recognizing the potentially important role they can play, but using careful design and evaluation to assure that the potential is realized.
Wintertime observations of Subtropical Mode Water formation within the Gulf Stream

[1] We study the structure of Subtropical Mode Water (STMW) within the eastward-flowing Gulf Stream as it forms during strong winter cooling. Shipboard observations using SeaSoar and ADCP reveal that while active mixing by gravitational instabilities is common, large vertical and lateral shears of the Gulf Stream play a central role in determination of the modes of active mixing. Evidence is presented that low static stability and large vertical shear can combine to cause slantwise convection/symmetric instabilities, while the large anticyclonic shears to the south of the Gulf Stream core can cause low absolute vorticity and precondition the Ertel potential vorticity to be small and more susceptible to instabilities. The area of active mixing driven by surface forcing in the presences of shear occupies a swath 50–90 km wide immediately south of the Gulf Stream core at the northern edge of the Sargasso Sea.
Corporate Environmentalism and Public Policy

This is the first book to provide a hard-headed economic view of the voluntary approaches to environmental issues, especially toxic chemicals, waste disposal and global warming, that have become prominent in recent years. Corporate environmental initiatives are seen as a tool for influencing the behaviour of environmental activists, legislators, and regulators, though they may have ancillary benefits such as attracting 'green' consumers or reducing costs. Equally, government voluntary programs are seen as a way to achieve modest environmental results when political resistance to mandatory policies is high. Rigorous analysis is illustrated with numerous case studies drawn from the US, Europe, and Japan, while technical details are relegated to appendices, and each chapter highlights implications for corporate strategy and public policy. Although rooted in economic theory, this book will appeal to business strategists and policy practitioners, as well as scholars and researchers.
Of McKay correspondence, non-linear sigma-model and conformal field theory

The ubiquitous ADE classification has induced many proposals of often mysterious correspondences both in mathematics and physics. The mathematics side includes quiver theory and the McKay Correspondence which relates finite group representation theory to Lie algebras as well as crepant resolutions of Gorenstein singularities. On the physics side, we have the graph-theoretic classification of the modular invariants of WZW models, as well as the relation between the string theory nonlinear $\sigma$-models and Landau-Ginzburg orbifolds. We here propose a unification scheme which naturally incorporates all these correspondences of the ADE type in two complex dimensions. An intricate web of inter-relations is constructed, providing a possible guideline to establish new directions of research or alternate pathways to the standing problems in higher dimensions.
Analysis of Energy Consumed by Secure Session Negotiation Protocols in Wireless Networks

Traditionally, researchers have focused on security, complexity, and throughput metrics while designing security protocols for wired networks. Deployment of these security protocols in battery-powered mobile devices has elevated energy consumption into an important design metric. In this paper we study the energy consumption characteristics of secure session negotiation protocols used by IPSec and WTLS protocols. Based on this study we present techniques to optimize energy consumed by secure wireless session negotiation protocols. Proposed techniques achieve 4× to 32× energy savings without compromising the security of wireless sessions. We show that these techniques are platform independent and discuss the impact of platform specific characteristics, such as available system resources, on the presented techniques.
Mass reconstruction with cmb polarization

Weak gravitational lensing by the intervening large-scale structure of the Universe induces high-order correlations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization fields. We construct minimum variance estimators of the intervening mass distribution out of the six quadratic combinations of the temperature and polarization fields. Polarization begins to assist in the reconstruction when E-mode mapping becomes possible on degree-scale fields, i.e. for an experiment with a noise level of ∼ 40� K-arcmin and beam of ∼ 7 ′ , similar to the Planck experiment; surpasses the temperature reconstruction at ∼ 26� K-arcmin and 4 ′ ; yet continues to improve the reconstruction until the lensing B-modes are mapped to l ∼ 2000 at ∼ 0.3� K-arcmin and 3 ′ . Ultimately, the correlation between the E and B modes can provide a high signal-to-noise mass map out to multipoles of L ∼ 1000, extending the range of temperature-based estimators by nearly an order of magnitude. We outline four applications of mass reconstruction: measurement of the linear power spectrum in projection to the cosmic variance limit out to L ∼ 1000 (or wavenumbers 0.002 ∼ k ∼ 0.2 in h/Mpc), cross-correlation with cosmic shear surveys to probe the evolution of structure tomographically, cross-correlation of the mass and temperature maps to probe the dark energy, and the separation of lensing and gravitational wave B-modes. Subject headings: cosmic microwave background – dark matter — large scale structure of universe
Considering Time in Designing Large-Scale Systems for Scientific Computing

High performance computing (HPC) has driven collaborative science discovery for decades. Exascale computing platforms, currently in the design stage, will be deployed around 2022. The next generation of supercomputers is expected to utilize radically different computational paradigms, necessitating fundamental changes in how the community of scientific users will make the most efficient use of these powerful machines. However, there have been few studies of how scientists work with exascale or close-to-exascale HPC systems. Time as a metaphor is so pervasive in the discussions and valuation of computing within the HPC community that it is worthy of close study. We utilize time as a lens to conduct an ethnographic study of scientists interacting with HPC systems. We build upon recent CSCW work to consider temporal rhythms and collective time within the HPC sociotechnical ecosystem and provide considerations for future system design.
A finite field hypergeometric function associated to eigenvalues of a Siegel eigenform

Although links between values of finite field hypergeometric functions and eigenvalues of elliptic modular forms are well known, we establish in this paper that there are also connections to eigenvalues of Siegel modular forms of higher degree. Specifically, we relate the eigenvalue of the Hecke operator of index p of a Siegel eigenform of degree 2 and level 8 to a special value of a 4F3-hypergeometric function.
Hunting, food subsidies, and mesopredator release: the dynamics of crop-raiding baboons in a managed landscape

The establishment of protected areas or parks has become an important tool for wildlife conservation. However, frequent occurrences of human-wildlife conflict at the edges of these parks can undermine their conservation goals. Many African protected areas have experienced concurrent declines of apex predators alongside increases in both baboon abundance and the density of humans living near the park boundary. Baboons then take excursions outside of the park to raid crops for food, conflicting with the human population. We model the interactions of mesopredators (baboons), apex predators, and shared prey in the park to analyze how four components affect the proportion of time that mesopredators choose to crop-raid: (1) the presence of apex predators; (2) nutritional quality of the crops; (3) mesopredator "shyness" about leaving the park; and (4) human hunting of mesopredators. We predict that the presence of apex predators in the park is the most effective method for controlling mesopredator abundance, and hence significantly reduces their impact on crops. Human hunting of mesopredators is less effective as it only occurs during crop-raiding excursions. Furthermore, making crops less attractive, for instance by planting crops further from the park boundary or farming less nutritional crops, can reduce the amount of time mesopredators crop-raid.
Security in Data Warehousing

Data warehouse [2, 4, 5, 6] is an integrated repository derived from multiple source (operational and legacy) databases. The data warehouse is created by either replicating the different source data or transforming them to new representation. This process involves reading, cleaning, aggregating and storing the data in the warehouse model. The software tools are used to access the warehouse for strategic analysis, decision-making, marketing types of applications. It can be used for inventory control of shelf stock in many departmental stores.
Dynamical forcing of circular groups

In this paper we introduce and study the notion of dynamical forcing. Basically, we develop a toolkit of techniques to produce finitely presented groups which can only act on the circle with certain prescribed dynamical properties. As an application, we show that the set X ⊂ R/Z consisting of rotation numbers θ which can be forced by finitely presented groups is an infinitely generated Q-module, containing countably infinitely many algebraically independent transcendental numbers. Here a rotation number θ is forced by a pair (G_θ, α), where G_θ is a finitely presented group G_θ and α ∈ G_θ is some element, if the set of rotation numbers of ρ(α) as ρ ∈ Hom(G_θ, Homeo^(+)(S^1)) is precisely the set {0,±θ}. We show that the set of subsets of R/Z which are of the form rot(X(G, α)) = {r ∈ R/Z | r = rot(ρ(α)), ρ ∈ Hom(G, Homeo^(+)(S^1))}, where G varies over countable groups, are exactly the set of closed subsets which contain 0 and are invariant under x→−x. Moreover, we show that every such subset can be approximated from above by rot(X(G_i, α_i)) for finitely presented G_i. As another application, we construct a finitely generated group Γ which acts faithfully on the circle, but which does not admit any faithful C^1 action, thus answering in the negative a question of John Franks.
Considerations for predicting freezeout and exhaustion under a variety of nontrivial conditions

A numerically robust method for evaluating the temperature dependent carrier concentrations and related Fermi levels is considered. The method is applicable to simple cases for which analytic solutions are available as well as more complex cases in which numerical methods are required due to nonstandard effects including bandgap widening, compensation and degeneracy induced by high levels of doping. Known tests do not focus on the use of the algorithm under conditions of high-level doping. A degeneracy correction factor was defined as the essential ingredient in the algorithm that gauges the levels of degeneracy. For the trivial case of nondegenerate conditions the degeneracy factor is approximately one. The critical component is the application of the algorithm for degenerate conditions to obtain a functional evaluation of the degeneracy factor in terms of normalized acceptor and donor energy level differences.
Two neutron decay of 16Be

Recently, the first example of two-neutron decay from the ground state of an unbound nucleus, 16 Be, was seen (A. Spyrou, et. al ., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108 102501 (2012)). Three-body methods are ideal for exactly treating the degrees of freedom important for these decays. Using a basis expansion over hyperspherical harmonics and the hyperspherical R-matrix method, we construct a realistic model of 16 Be in order to investigate its decay mode and the role of the two-neutron interaction. The neutron-14 Be interaction is constrained using shell model predictions. We obtain a ground state for 16 Be that is under-bound by approximately 0.7 MeV with a width of approximately 0.17 MeV. For such a system, an attractive three-body force must be included to reproduce the experimental ground state energy.
Nutritional influence on risk of high blood pressure in Bangladesh: a population-based cross-sectional study.

The nutritional determinants of hypertension in Bangladesh and other low-income countries are largely unknown. We assessed the associations of general hypertension with nutrient intakes and diet patterns in Bangladesh. This was a cross-sectional analysis of 11 116 participants enrolled in the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study in Bangladesh. Dietary intakes were measured by use of a validated food-frequency questionnaire. Three major dietary patterns were identified by using principal component analysis: 1) the "balanced" pattern which was characterized by rice some meat small fish fruit and vegetables; 2) the "animal protein" pattern which was more heavily weighted on meat milk poultry eggs bread large fish and fruit; and 3) the "gourd and root vegetable" pattern which consisted largely of squashes and root and leafy vegetables. Adjusted prevalence odds ratios for general hypertension in increasing quintiles of balanced pattern scores were 1.00 (reference) 0.81 (95% CI: 0.79 0.97) 0.82 (0.68 0.97) 0.79 (0.66 0.94) and 0.71 (0.59 0.85) (P for trend < 0.01). Prevalence odds ratios for general hypertension in increasing quintiles of animal protein pattern scores were 1.00 (reference) 1.30 (1.01 1.52) 1.20 (1.01 1.47) 1.22 (1.00 1.44) and 1.21 (1.03 1.49) (P for trend = 0.23). Markers of high socioeconomic status were positively associated with the animal protein pattern. Our findings suggest the importance of dietary patterns in general hypertension in a low-income population undergoing the early stage of the epidemiologic transition. (authors)
Soft Power: A Comparison of Discourse and Practice in Russia and China

AbstractThis article compares soft power as a normative and operational construct in the Russian and Chinese political context. I examine Russian and Chinese discourse on soft power as well as the efforts of the Kremlin and Beijing to devise programmes for its implementation. I then compare and evaluate the similarities and differences in Russian and Chinese soft power strategy. The similarities between the two states indicate their joint status as authoritarian regimes with a Marxist–Leninist heritage. The differences can be attributed to their vastly disparate economic circumstances, but also to historical, social, and political factors that influence soft power policies.
A Deterministic Linear Time Algorithm For Geometric Separators And Its Applications

We give a deterministic linear time algorithm for finding a “good” sphere separator of a k-ply neighborhood system Φ in any fixed dimension, where a k-ply neighborhood system in $$\IR$$d is a collection of n balls such that no points in the space is covered by more than k balls. The separating sphere intersects at most O (k1/dn1−1/d) balls of Φ and divides the remaining of Φ into two parts: those in the interior and those in the exterior of the sphere, respectively, so that the larger part contains at most δn balls ((d + 1)/(d + 2) < δ < 1). This result improves the O(n2) time deterministic algorithm of Miller and Teng [30] and answers a major algorithmic open question posed by Miller, Teng, Thurston, and Vavasis [23, 26]. The deterministic algorithm hinges on the use of a new method for deriving the separator property of neighborhood systems. Using this algorithm, we devise an O(kn+nlogn) time deterministic algorithm for computing the intersection graph of a k-ply neighborhood system. We give an O(nlogn) time algorithm for constructing a linear space, O(logn) query time search structure for a geometric query problem associated with k-ply neighborhood systems, and we use this data structure in an algorithm for approximating the value of k within a constant factor in time O(nlogn). We also develop a deterministic linear time algorithm for finding an O (k1/dn1−1/d)-separator for a k-nearest neighborhood graph in d dimensions.
Radiation from Bodies with Extreme Acceleration II: Kinematics

When applied to a dipole source subjected to acceleration which is violent and long lasting (“extreme acceleration”), Maxwell's equations predict radiative power which augments Larmor's classical radiation formula by a nontrivial amount. The physical assumptions behind this result are made possible by the kinematics of a system of geometrical clocks whose tickings are controlled by cavities which are expanding inertially. For the purpose of measuring the radiation from such a source we take advantage of the physical validity of a spacetime coordinate framework (“inertially expanding frame”) based on such clocks. They are compatible and commensurable with the accelerated clocks of the accelerated source. By contrast, a common Lorentz frame with its mutually static clocks won't do: It lacks that commensurability. Inertially expanding clocks give a physicist a window into the frame of a source with extreme acceleration, and thus can locate that source and measure radiation from it without being subjected to such acceleration himself. The conclusion is that inertially expanding reference frames reveal qualitatively distinct aspects of nature which would not be accessible if inertial frames were the only admissible frames.
Asymmetric Error Correction and Flash-Memory Rewriting Using Polar Codes

We propose efficient coding schemes for two communication settings: 1) asymmetric channels and 2) channels with an informed encoder. These settings are important in non-volatile memories, as well as optical and broadcast communication. The schemes are based on non-linear polar codes, and they build on and improve recent work on these settings. In asymmetric channels, we tackle the exponential storage requirement of previously known schemes that resulted from the use of large Boolean functions. We propose an improved scheme that achieves the capacity of asymmetric channels with polynomial computational complexity and storage requirement. The proposed non-linear scheme is then generalized to the setting of channel coding with an informed encoder using a multicoding technique. We consider specific instances of the scheme for flash memories that incorporate error-correction capabilities together with rewriting. Since the considered codes are non-linear, they eliminate the requirement of previously known schemes (called polar write-once-memory codes) for shared randomness between the encoder and the decoder. Finally, we mention that the multicoding scheme is also useful for broadcast communication in Marton’s region, improving upon previous schemes for this setting.
Optical properties of the perfectly compensated semimetal WTe 2

The optical properties of layered tungsten ditelluride have been measured over a wide temperature and frequency range for light polarized in the a-b planes. A striking low-frequency plasma edge develops in the reflectance at low temperature where this material is a perfectly compensated semimetal. The optical conductivity is described using a two-Drude model which treats the electron and hole pockets as separate electronic subsystems. At low temperature, one scattering rate collapses by over two orders of magnitude, while the other also undergoes a significant, but less dramatic, decrease; both scattering rates appear to display the quadratic temperature dependence expected for a Fermi liquid. First principles electronic structure calculations reveal that the low-lying optical excitations are due to direct transitions between the bands associated with the electron and hole pockets.
'Red flags of corruption' in world bank projects : an analysis of infrastructure contracts

"Red flags" are indicators of potential issues regarding governance failure, collusion or corruption in projects. While some specific red flags can be powerful indicators of issues to be addressed, the hypothesis of this paper is that many proposed red flags are potentially too ubiquitous and randomly distributed to be useful as indicators of significant governance failure. The paper examines project documentation from a small sample of World Bank water and sanitation projects in an attempt to collect data on the presence or absence of 13 commonly accepted red flags. This paper finds that: (i) almost every contract reviewed raised at least one of 13 red flags analyzed; (ii) potentially tainted contracts did not exhibit notably more red flags than control contracts; and (iii) the occurrence of multiple red flags in the same contract was rare enough to suggest that joint occurrence was largely by chance, not as a result of a strongly causal inter-relationship between flags. The ubiquity and apparent randomness of these red flags suggests that their roll-out as a monitoring tool requires additional thought as to interpretation, context and use. The paper examines an alternate tool for uncovering potential problem projects -- supplier concentration. Across a very small sample, there does appear to be a relationship between such concentration and potential problem projects.