cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Improving suction technology for nerve activity recording.

Abstract Background Extracellular recording of nerve activities using suction electrodes is an easy yet powerful tool in characterizing neural activities in physiology and pathological conditions. The key factors that determine the quality of suction electrode recordings have not been fully investigated. New Methods: Here, we proposed a biophysical model to study the mechanisms underlying suction technology for axon recording. The model focuses on the interpretation of the recorded single neuron activity based on the location of the electrode, the integrity of the recorded tissue, and the tightness of the suction. To directly test these model predictions, we applied two channel recordings from the nerves in Aplysia californica, and analyzed the shape of the extracellularly recorded single neuron activity under various conditions. Results We found that both the recording site and the integrity of the neural tissue impact the shape of the action potentials traveling along the axon. In practice, the tightness of the suction is the key parameter for high-quality recordings using a suction electrode. Comparison with Existing Methods: Experimental protocols that can improve precise positioning of the electrode tip to the target nerve, avoid tissue damage, enhance suction force, and maintain tightness are essential for high-quality suction recording from axons. Current methods have not emphasized on achieving and maintaining of the suction pressure during experimentation, and have sometimes ignored the impact of suction electrode position or tissue damage to the quality of the recorded neural signal. Conclusions A combined theoretical analysis and experimental approach is essential in improving neural recording technology. The work provides theoretical and practical guidelines to improve suction technology. This work also provides valuable insights to the improvement of several other extracellular recording technology in laboratory research or clinical settings.
Value of Targeting

We undertake a formal study of the value of targeting data to an advertiser. As expected, this value is increasing in the utility difference between realizations of the targeting data and the accuracy of the data, and depends on the distribution of competing bids. However, this value may vary non-monotonically with an advertiser’s budget. Similarly, modeling the values as either private or correlated, or allowing other advertisers to also make use of the data, leads to unpredictable changes in the value of data. We address questions related to multiple data sources, show that utility of additional data may be non-monotonic, and provide tradeoffs between the quality and the price of data sources. In a game-theoretic setting, we show that advertisers may be worse off than if the data had not been available at all. We also ask whether a publisher can infer the value an advertiser would place on targeting data from the advertiser’s bidding behavior and illustrate that this is impossible.
The Myth of the Condorcet Winner

There is consensus among legal scholars that, when choosing among multiple alternatives, the Condorcet winner, should it exist, is the preferred option. In this essay, I will refute that claim, both normatively and positively.
An Efficient NLP Algorithm of SQP Type Suitable to OPF Computation of Controlling Sub-Space Type

Abstract The essential crux of developing OPF is researching the algorithms of NLP. It is never possible that the advances on efficiency and reliability of the advanced application softweres, which both are needed essentially by on-line controlling engineering of power system, are beyond the limit the fundamental mathematic methods and sbftweres base can support. In this paper a new NLP algorithm of SQP type suitable to OPF computation of controlling sub-space type (SDQP) is developed that is attractive for OPF researchers. A new dual quadratic programming sequence replaces the primal quadratic programming sequence of Wilson-Han-PowelTs variable metric SQP algorithm as fundmental structure, and the key parts including specific modification of metric matrix, constitution of the active constraints set, construction of the model of the dual QP sub-problem (DQP) and the solution of DQP, are designed with variety of effective and stable techniques, thereby this is a new efficient and stable NLP algorithm of SQP type that has unified entire constrution and compact correlation between master-problem and each sub-problem as well as among sub-problems, and sufficiently exploits various intrinsic information in structure and process of variable metric SQP algorithm, the numerical tests show that this algorithm is superior to VHP algorithm and its version improved by Goldfarb-Idnani'QP in efficiency meanwhile with good reliability
On Resampling Inference in Econometric Models

This paper examines alternative applications of resampling methods to estimation and inference in econometric models. The major applications of resampling have been in the construction of sampling distributions. Here, we demonstrate that in models specified by moment condition, often referred to as generalised method of moments, resampling can be used to generate testable implications of these moment restrictions. We also use resampling techniques to correct for the bias of instrumental variables estimation. This estimates the leading term in the Nagar expansion for the bias of such an estimator. Monte Carlo experiments suggest that the correction can lead to sharp improvements in the bias of such estimators in small samples.
Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy: Changing Trends:

A review of 1,722 tonsil and adenoid procedures performed between 1978 and 1986 is presented. Each year there has been a progressive decrease in the number of procedures performed; the incidence of adenoidectomy has declined particularly. Although infection remains the predominant indication for surgery, there has been a dramatic rise in obstructive sleep apnea as a significant indication, from 0% in 1978 to 19% in 1986. At present, this trend promises to continue as physicians become increasingly aware of the prevalence and seriousness of adenotonsillar hypertrophy as a cause of sleep apnea, particularly in the general pediatric population.
Learning Distributed Word Representations for Natural Logic Reasoning

Natural logic offers a powerful relational conception of meaning that is a natural counterpart to distributed semantic representations, which have proven valuable in a wide range of sophisticated language tasks. However, it remains an open question whether it is possible to train distributed representations to support the rich, diverse logical reasoning captured by natural logic. We address this question using two neural network-based models for learning embeddings: plain neural networks and neural tensor networks. Our experiments evaluate the models' ability to learn the basic algebra of natural logic relations from simulated data and from the WordNet noun graph. The overall positive results are promising for the future of learned distributed representations in the applied modeling of logical semantics.
Locating Herpesvirus Bcl-2 Homologs in the Specificity Landscape of Anti-Apoptotic Bcl-2 Proteins

Viral homologs of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins are highly diverged from their mammalian counterparts, yet they perform overlapping functions by binding and inhibiting BH3 (Bcl-2 homology 3)-motif-containing proteins. We investigated the BH3 binding properties of the herpesvirus Bcl-2 homologs KSBcl-2, BHRF1, and M11, as they relate to those of the human Bcl-2 homologs Mcl-1, Bfl-1, Bcl-w, Bcl-xL, and Bcl-2. Analysis of the sequence and structure of the BH3 binding grooves showed that, despite low sequence identity, M11 has structural similarities to Bcl-xL, Bcl-2, and Bcl-w. BHRF1 and KSBcl-2 are more structurally similar to Mcl-1 than to the other human proteins. Binding to human BH3-like peptides showed that KSBcl-2 has similar specificity to Mcl-1, and BHRF1 has a restricted binding profile; M11 binding preferences are distinct from those of Bcl-xL, Bcl-2, and Bcl-w. Because KSBcl-2 and BHRF1 are from human herpesviruses associated with malignancies, we screened computationally designed BH3 peptide libraries using bacterial surface display to identify selective binders of KSBcl-2 or BHRF1. The resulting peptides bound to KSBcl-2 and BHRF1 in preference to Bfl-1, Bcl-w, Bcl-xL, and Bcl-2 but showed only modest specificity over Mcl-1. Rational mutagenesis increased specificity against Mcl-1, resulting in a peptide with a dissociation constant of 2.9nM for binding to KSBcl-2 and >1000-fold specificity over other Bcl-2 proteins, as well as a peptide with >70-fold specificity for BHRF1. In addition to providing new insights into viral Bcl-2 binding specificity, this study will inform future work analyzing the interaction properties of homologous binding domains and designing specific protein interaction partners.
Type C virogenes: genetic transfer and interspecies transfer.

Somatic cells of vertebrates contain gene sequences which are an integral part of chromosomal DNA and which code for the production of complete type C RNA viruses. These virogenes are genetically transmitted from parent to progeny along with other cellular genes (virogene-oncogene hypothesis). Activation of this endogenous virogene information from a normally repressed state, rather than infection by exogenous oncogenic viruses, has been proposed as the most common mechanism of cancer causation in animals, including man. Recent isolates of baboon type C RNA viruses, while related morphologically and biochemically to other mammalian type C RNA viruses, can be distinguished by nucleic acid hybridization and immunologic criteria. Within primates, type C virogenes have evolved as the species have evolved; virogenes from closely relatedgenera and families have the closest gene sequence homology. Endogenous viruses from one species may infect animals of a distantly related species and become incorporated into their germ line. Genomes of exogenous viruses, such as the murine leukemia viruses, which are infectious from animal to animal within the same species, evolve more rapidly than the endogenous virogenes which replicate solely as cellular genes. A major viral structural protein of baboon type C RNA viruses, p30, was detected by radioimmunoassay in normal primate tissues. Radioimmunoassays have also detected p30 antigens in human tissues which appear to be immunologically related to primate viral p30. Hybridization experiments have confirmed that type C viral sequences are also present in the human genome.
Accounting for Intellectual Property Products: International Guidelines for National Economic Accounting and U.S. Rules for Financial Accounting

The international guidelines for national economic accounting recommend capitalizing expenditures related to intellectual property products (IPPs) in some cases where U.S. rules for financial accounting require immediate expensing of the same expenditures. This paper outlines the international guidelines and the U.S. rules for expensing or capitalizing expenditures related to IPPs. The paper highlights notable differences in accounting for four categories of IPPs identified in the international guidelines: 1) research and development, 2) mineral exploration and evaluation, 3) computer software and databases, and 4) entertainment, literary, and artistic originals. In addition to the accounting differences, the paper introduces a measurement challenge associated with the concept of current cost accounting under national economic accounting and demonstrates that national economic accounting measures of production and income and financial accounting measures of operating income and net income are all higher when expenditures related to IPPs are capitalized. JEL Codes: E01, E23, M40, M41
Color constancy by learning to predict chromaticity from luminance

Color constancy is the recovery of true surface color from observed color, and requires estimating the chromaticity of scene illumination to correct for the bias it induces. In this paper, we show that the per-pixel color statistics of natural scenes—without any spatial or semantic context—can by themselves be a powerful cue for color constancy. Specifically, we describe an illuminant estimation method that is built around a "classifier" for identifying the true chromaticity of a pixel given its luminance (absolute brightness across color channels). During inference, each pixel's observed color restricts its true chromaticity to those values that can be explained by one of a candidate set of illuminants, and applying the classifier over these values yields a distribution over the corresponding illuminants. A global estimate for the scene illuminant is computed through a simple aggregation of these distributions across all pixels. We begin by simply defining the luminance-to-chromaticity classifier by computing empirical histograms over discretized chromaticity and luminance values from a training set of natural images. These histograms reflect a preference for hues corresponding to smooth reflectance functions, and for achromatic colors in brighter pixels. Despite its simplicity, the resulting estimation algorithm outperforms current state-of-the-art color constancy methods. Next, we propose a method to learn the luminance-to-chromaticity classifier "end-to-end". Using stochastic gradient descent, we set chromaticity-luminance likelihoods to minimize errors in the final scene illuminant estimates on a training set. This leads to further improvements in accuracy, most significantly in the tail of the error distribution.
The Influence of Exercise on Growth

(1896). The Influence of Exercise on Growth. American Physical Education Review: Vol. 1, No. 1-2, pp. 76-87.
Higher Oxidation State Manganese Biomolecules

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the nature of higher oxidation manganese (Mn) biomolecules and the efforts directed toward the synthesis of satisfactory inorganic models. With the exception of acid phosphatase and transferrin, all the biological systems discussed are involved in the same basic function, viz interconversion of oxygen among its various oxidation states. Thus, these Mn enzymes are involved in superoxide dismutation to O2 and O22− (a one-electron process), peroxide disproportionation to O2 and H2O (a two-electron process), and water oxidation to O2 (a four-electron process). These systems employ mononuclear, dinuclear, and tetranuclear sites, respectively. The chapter describes the structural interrelationship between the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and proposed catalase Mn sites, and the catalase and proposed WOC Mn sites. The hemerythrin-like Mn2O(O2CR)2 site bears striking resemblance to the result of fusing two mononuclear SOD Mn sites. The chapter argues that the need for a system readily capable of sustaining two-electron processes have resulted in the evolutionary merging of two one-electron systems. A similar argument can be made for the mononuclear site of Fe SOD (isostructural to Mn SOD) and hemerythrin.
Sterically Controlled Pd-Catalyzed Chemoselective Ketone Synthesis via N–C Cleavage in Twisted Amides

Highly chemoselective, palladium(0)-catalyzed, direct cross-coupling between boronic acids and geometrically activated amides is reported. The reaction proceeds via selective activation of the N–C(O) bond, shows excellent functional group tolerance, and delivers the versatile ketone products in high yields. The observed reactivity is consistent with a decrease of nN → π*C═O conjugation resulting from destabilization of the amide ground state. Notably, the method provides direct access to acyl-metal intermediates from sterically distorted, bench-stable amide precursors under mild catalytic conditions.
Genome Sharing in Small Populations

The haplotype structure of a population derives from the recombination events in meioses that are ancestral to current population members. In very small populations of conservation importance, the extent of genome survival depends also on recombination which distributes founder genome across the population. Relative to a founder population, a junction is a recombination point between genomes of different founder origins. In comparing two extant genomes, the segments shared IBD will be bounded by external junctions and may include internal junctions shared by both genomes. Thus IBD tracts are made up of a random number of segments bounded by junctions. A study of the process of internal and external junction types along pairs of chromosomes sampled from a population leads to new results on the variance of lengths of genome shared between relatives. This research is based on work with Dr. N. Chapman.
Isoelectronic Organometallic Molecules

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses isoelectronic organometallic molecules. There are a number of ways in which the term isoelectronic is used to intercompare compounds. There are a number of ways of working the isoelectronic game, but an effective way is to simply realize that isoelectronic compounds differ only in the location of one or more protons. The interactions between main group species and transition-metal fragments range from coordinate covalent bonds, where the main group species acts primarily as an electron donor and the transition-metal fragment as an electron acceptor, to cluster systems where the concept of the main group fragment as a simple ligand is difficult to apply. With the photoelectron spectroscopic technique, information is gained that relates only to the occupied molecular orbitals (MOs); hence, what follows is restricted to the lowest ionization potentials corresponding to the highest occupied MOs. Analysis of the photoelectron spectrum below the 11-eV range reveals two bands that can be assigned to metal–main group fragment interactions. The oxo-bridged dimer [Cp*Re(CO 2 ) 2 ],( μ-O) has a distorted square pyramidal configuration at rhenium. Transition-metal chemistry with ethyne and substituted ethynes is well developed. Formal reductive cleavage of the two rings of nickelocene (4H), followed by the removal of four protons from the nickel atom would yield a bis(μ 5 -pentadienyl)chromium “open chromocene” complex. With homonuclear clusters, we come to systems where an essential aspect of the bonding is delocalized.
Renal and Urinary Tract Function

The sections in this article are: 1 Age-Related Changes in Kidney Function 1.1 Cross-Sectional Studies 1.2 Modification of View of Inevitable Change from Results of Longitudinal Studies 1.3 Age-Related Proteinuria and Glomerular Lesions in Rodents 1.4 Pathophysiology of the Decrease in Renal Function with Age 2 Age-Related Changes in Renal Control of Fluid and Electrolyte Homeostasis 2.1 Control of Sodium Balance 2.2 Control of Potassium Balance 2.3 Control of Water Balance and Susceptibility of Older Individuals to Dehydration (Hypernatremia) 2.4 Susceptibility of Older Individuals to the Development of Hyponatremia 3 Aging and Kidney Disease 3.1 Acute Renal Failure 3.2 Glomerular Disease (Nephrotic Syndrome) 3.3 Chronic Renal Failure 3.4 Urinary Tract Infections 4 Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction with Aging 4.1 Anatomy and Physiology of the Lower Urinary Tract 4.2 Effect of Age on Lower Urinary Tract 4.3 Transient Incontinence 4.4 Established Incontinence 4.5 Pathophysiology of Voiding Dysfunction in Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia 4.6 Other Diseases of the Lower Urinary Tract
Motion Integration over Space: Interaction of the Center and Surround Motion

Motion integration occurs over a restricted range of visual space. However, there have been studies suggesting interactions among motion detectors operating on widely separated spatial regions. To understand these lateral spatial interactions beyond motion pooling regions, we examined the effect of surrounding motion on the direction of the center stimulus under several stimulus conditions. We have found that there is a motion direction shift of the center stimulus caused by surrounding motion depending on its motion direction, spatial proximity to the center stimulus, contrast, speed, and the extent of motion area. This effect was observed both for monocular and dichoptic presentations of the pattern. However, the perceived direction shift decreased when the spatial frequency ratio of the center and surround stimuli varied, or a non-Fourier motion pattern was used for both center and surround stimuli. We present a model consisting of lateral inhibitory interactions between pattern motion unit networks to explain the direction shift observed in the experiments.
Liquidity in Asset Markets with Search Frictions

We study how trading frictions in asset markets affect the distribution of asset holdings, asset prices, efficiency, and standard measures of liquidity. To this end, we analyze the equilibrium and optimal allocations of a search-theoretic model of financial intermediation similar to Duffie, Gârleanu and Pedersen (2005). In contrast with the existing literature, the model we develop imposes no restrictions on asset holdings, so traders can accommodate frictions by varying their trading needs through changes in their asset positions. We find that this is a critical aspect of investor behavior in illiquid markets. A reduction in trading frictions leads to an increase in the dispersion of asset holdings and trade volume. Transaction costs and intermediaries’ incentives to make markets are nonmonotonic in trade frictions. With the entry of dealers, these nonmonotonicities give rise to an externality in liquidity provision that can lead to multiple equilibria. Tight spreads are correlated with large volume and short trading delays across equilibria. From a normative standpoint we show that the asset allocation across investors and the number of dealers are socially inefficient.
On the Cyclicality of Labor Market Mismatch and Aggregate Employment Flows

This paper combines a discrete-time dynamic general equilibrium articulation of the standard model of labor market search with observed U.S. time series measures on employment, vacancies, and aggregate output to uncover the cyclical properties of three unobserved forcing variables that comprise the exogenous state of the aggregate labor market: labor productivity, the rate of job separation, and the allocational efficiency of the labor market. We posit the latter variable to be inversely related to the degree of mismatch in the pool of searching workers and vacancies, given numbers of each, and identify its movements as scalar shifts in the standard matching function. Given that the model exactly reconciles observed net employment changes, our procedure also implies measured time series of the flows into and out of employment. We find that labor productivity, the job separation rate and allocational efficiency are all procyclical with the latter two highly variable. These cyclical patterns lead to procyclical implied gross employment flows, thereby concentrating labor force reallocation during booms. We discuss the implications for conventional views of business cycle fluctuations and for the standard search theories of labor market behavior.
Institutional Barriers to Technology Diffusion in Rural Africa

This paper analyzes the connection between informal insurance institutions in rural Africa and the adoption of new technologies. We model two linked games -- a community risk-sharing game and an old-age insurance game -- and analyze the multiple equilibria that arise. We provide a numerical example that indicates that informal insurance institutions may put a downward pressure on the adoption of new technologies.
Design of the LBNE Beamline

The Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) will utilize a beamline facility located at Fermilab to carry out a compelling research program in neutrino physics. The facility will aim a wide band beam of neutrinos toward a detector placed at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota, about 1,300 km away. The main elements of the facility are a primary proton beamline and a neutrino beamline. The primary proton beam (60-120 GeV) will be extracted from the MI-10 section of Fermilab’s Main Injector. Neutrinos are produced after the protons hit a solid target and produce mesons which are sign selected and subsequently focused by a set of magnetic horns into a 204 m long decay pipe where they decay mostly into muons and neutrinos. The parameters of the facility were determined taking into account the physics goals, spacial and radiological constraints, and the experience gained by operating the NuMI facility at Fermilab. The initial beam power is expected to be ~1.2 MW; however, the facility is designed to be upgradeable for 2.3 MW operation. We discuss here the status of the design and the associated challenges.
Property Rights Institutions and Investment

Saleh examines the channels through which alternative property rights institutions affect investment. These institutions are defined by a society's enforced laws, regulations, governance mechanisms, and norms concerning the use of resources. The author uses a transaction cost framework to analyze the incentive impact of various types of property rights, liability rules, and rules regarding contracts. He uses this framework to discuss the legal and cultural conditions necessary for the formation of productivity-enhancing organizations and the proper role of government in providing the infrastructure for private investment. The author also examines the role of cultural and religious norms in determining the economic effectiveness of legal systems, with a focus on Islamic countries. Finally, he evaluates empirical approaches used to discover the specific ways property rights structures affect investment and growth. This paper - a product of the Office of the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, Development Economics - is part of a larger effort in the Bank to understand the institutional requirements for improving investment climate in developing countries.
What do gifts buy? A model of philanthropy and tithing based on prestige and warm glow

Charities publicize the donations they receive, generally according to dollar categories rather than the exact amount. Donors in turn tend to give the minimum amount necessary to get into a category. These facts suggest that donors have a taste for having their donations made public. This paper models the effects of such a taste for "prestige" on the behavior of donors and charities. I show how charities can increase donations by using categories. The paper also shows conditions under which tithing, or reporting donations as percentages of income, can maximize donations, and examines the effect of a taste for prestige on competition between charities.
Cosmology as a problem in critical phenomena

Several problems in cosmology and astrophysics are described in which critical phenomena of various types may play a role. These include the organization of the disks of spiral galaxies, various aspects of the problem of structure formation in cosmology, the problem of the selection of initial conditions and parameters in particle physics and cosmology and the problem of recovering the classical limit from non-perturbative formulations of quantum gravity.
The calabi-yau equation on almost-kähler four-manifolds

Let (M, \omega) be a compact symplectic 4-manifold with a compatible almost complex structure J. The problem of finding a J-compatible symplectic form with prescribed volume form is an almost-K\"ahler analogue of Yau's theorem and is connected to a programme in symplectic topology proposed by Donaldson. We call the corresponding equation for the symplectic form the Calabi-Yau equation. Solutions are unique in their cohomology class. It is shown in this paper that a solution to this equation exists if the Nijenhuis tensor is small in a certain sense. Without this assumption, it is shown that the problem of existence can be reduced to obtaining a C^0 bound on a scalar potential function.
Application of nonlinear systems theory to transonic unsteady aerodynamic responses

A methodology is presented for using the Volterra-Wiener theory of nonlinear systems in aeroservoelastic (ASE) analyses and design. The theory is applied to the development of nonlinear aerodynamic response models that can be defined in state-space form and are, therefore, appropriate for use in modern control theory. The Volterra-Wiener theory relies on the identification of nonlinear kernels that can be used to predict the response of a nonlinear system due to an arbitrary input. A numerical kernel identification technique, based on unit impulse responses, is presented and applied to a simple bilinear, single-input-single-output (SISO) system. The linear kernel (unit impulse response) and the nonlinear second-order kernel of the system are numerically identified and compared with the exact, analytically defined linear and second-order kernels. This kernel identification technique is then applied to the computational aeroelasticity program-transonic small disturbance (CAP-TSD) code for identification of the linear and second-order kernels of a NACA64A010 rectangular wing undergoing pitch at M = 0.5, M = 0.85 (transonic), and M = 0.93 (transonic). Results presented demonstrate the feasibility of this approach for use with nonlinear, unsteady aerodynamic responses.
Analyzing the Multiple-target-multiple-agent Scenario Using Optimal Assignment Algorithms

This work considers the problem of maximum utilization of a set of mobile robots with limited sensor-range capabilities and limited travel distances. The robots are initially in random positions. A set of robots properly guards or covers a region if every point within the region is within the effective sensor range of at least one vehicle. We wish to move the vehicles into surveillance positions so as to guard or cover a region, while minimizing the maximum distance traveled by any vehicle. This problem can be formulated as an assignment problem, in which we must optimally decide which robot to assign to which slot of a desired matrix of grid points. The cost function is the maximum distance traveled by any robot. Assignment problems can be solved very efficiently. Solution times for one hundred robots took only seconds on a Silicon Graphics Crimson workstation. The initial positions of all the robots can be sampled by a central base station and their newly assigned positions communicated back to the robots. Alternatively, the robots can establish their own coordinate system with the origin fixed at one of the robots and orientation determined by the compass bearing of another robot relative to this robot. This paper presents example solutions to the multiple-target-multiple-agent scenario using a matching algorithm. Two separate cases with one hundred agents in each were analyzed using this method. We have found these mobile robot problems to be a very interesting application of optimal assignment algorithms, and we expect this to be a fruitful area for future research.
The economic analysis of sector investment programs

This paper discusses the economic analysis of sector investment or expenditure programs, collectively referred to as SIPS. There are many different views as to what actually constitutes a SIP. For the purposes of this paper, the essential feature of a SIP that is focused on is that the Government, World Bank, and other donors jointly finance an agreed-upon forward sectoral expenditure program. A SIP may also have many different objectives. Again, for the purposes of this paper, a critical objective of a SIP is to improve the development impact of public expenditures in the sector. Suthiwart-Narueput focuses on how to use economic analysis to help sector investment programs improve the development impact of public spending. He uses Kenya as a case study. The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 proposes a methodology for the economic analysis of SIPS which emphasizes evaluating the sectoral expenditure program based on principles of public expenditure analysis. Particular emphasis is placed on identifying the rationale for public intervention and improving cost-recovery. Section 3 discusses alternative methodologies, e.g., cost-benefit analysis. Section 4 applies the proposed methodology to the Kenya Agricultural SIP. Section 5 concludes.
Positive Long Run Capital Taxation: Chamley-Judd Revisited

According to the Chamley-Judd result, capital should not be taxed in the long run. In this paper, we overturn this conclusion, showing that it does not follow from the very models used to derive it. For the main model in Judd (1985), we prove that the long-run tax on capital is positive and significant, whenever the intertemporal elasticity of substitution is below one. For higher elasticities, the tax converges to zero but may do so at a slow rate, after centuries of high tax rates. The main model in Chamley (1986) imposes an upper bound on capital taxes. We provide conditions under which these constraints bind forever, implying positive long-run taxes. When this is not the case, the long-run tax may be zero. However, if preferences are recursive and discounting is locally nonconstant (e.g., not additively separable over time), a zero long-run capital tax limit must be accompanied by zero private wealth (zero tax base) or by zero labor taxes (first-best). Finally, we explain why the equivalence of a positive capital tax with ever-increasing consumption taxes does not provide a firm rationale against capital taxation.
Allowing for Group Effects When Estimating Import Demand for Source and Product Differentiated Goods

In this study an import demand model (differential production model) is presented that is used in estimating the demand for source and product differentiated goods simultaneously. Unlike the traditional import demand models, this model can account for changes in relative group expenditures. Expenditure estimates differed when comparing the differential production model and Rotterdam model results. Results showed that if group revenue shares are relatively fixed, then the bias in expenditure estimates due to omitting group effects will be small when using traditional demand models such as the AIDS or Rotterdam models. As relative group shares significantly change and diverge the bias increases, particularly for imports representing a larger share of group expenditures.
Efficiency and Efficient Estimators

The efficiency of a point estimator of a parameter reflects its tendency to be distributed closely around the parameter value. Asymptotic efficiency refers to the limiting distribution in large samples, which is often asymptotically normal, the minimum variance being given by the Cramer–Rao lower bound in terms of the information matrix. Concepts discussed here include asymptotic relative efficiency, semiparametric efficiency, partial likelihood, and quasi-likelihood. Keywords: large sample; Cramer–Rao; semiparametric; partial likelihood; quasi-likelihood; Cox model; information matrix
On Crossing Event Formulas in Critical Two-Dimensional Percolation

Several formulas for crossing functions arising in the continuum limit of critical two-dimensional percolation models are studied. These include Watts's formula for the horizontal-vertical crossing probability and Cardy's new formula for the expected number of crossing clusters. It is shown that for lattices where conformal invariance holds, they simplify when the spatial domain is taken to be the interior of an equilateral triangle. The two crossing functions can be expressed in terms of an equianharmonic elliptic function with a triangular rotational symmetry. This suggests that rigorous proofs of Watts's formula and Cardy's new formula will be easiest to construct if the underlying lattice is triangular. The simplification in a triangular domain of Schramm's “bulk Cardy's formula” is also studied.
Designing, scheduling, and allocating flexible arithmetic components

This paper introduces new scheduling and allocation algorithms for designing with hybrid arithmetic component libraries composed of both operation-specific components and flexible components capable of executing multiple operations. The flexible components are implemented primarily in fixedlogic with only small amounts of application-specific reconfigurability, which provides the flexibility needed without the negative area and performance penalties commonly associated with general-purpose reconfigurable arrays. Results obtained with hybrid library scheduling and allocation on a variety of digital signal processing (DSP) filters reveal that significant area savings are achieved.
Crystal growth and magnetic properties of Ln-Mn-Al (Ln=Gd, Yb) compounds of the CaCr2Al10 and ThMn12 structure types

We report the growth and characterization of LnMn{sub 2+x}Al{sub 10-x} (Ln=Gd, Yb) crystals adopting the CaCr{sub 2}Al{sub 10} and ThMn{sub 12} structure types. Single crystals of LnMn{sub 2+x}Al{sub 10-x} were synthesized via the self-flux method and characterized with single crystal X-ray diffraction. We compare LnMn{sub 2+x}Al{sub 10-x} compounds adopting the CaCr{sub 2}Al{sub 10} and ThMn{sub 12} structure types, and outline synthesis methods to obtain each polymorph. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show paramagnetic behavior down to 3 K for both CaCr{sub 2}Al{sub 10}- and ThMn{sub 12}-type compounds, with observed magnetic moments of 1.3{mu}{sub B} for compounds adopting the CaCr{sub 2}Al{sub 10} structure type to 4.2{mu}{sub B} for those adopting the ThMn{sub 12} structure type. Compounds of both structure type exhibit metallic resistivity, with upturns at low temperature attributed to Kondo scattering. - Graphical abstract: We report the growth and characterization of LnMn{sub 2+x}Al{sub 10-x} (Ln=Gd, Yb) crystals adopting the CaCr{sub 2}Al{sub 10} and ThMn{sub 12} structure types. Single crystals of LnMn{sub 2+x}Al{sub 10-x} were synthesized via the self-flux method and characterized with single crystal X-ray diffraction. We compare LnMn{sub 2+x}Al{sub 10-x} compounds adopting the CaCr{sub 2}Al{sub 10} and ThMn{sub 12} structure types, and outline synthesis methods to obtain each polymorph. Magnetic susceptibilitymore » measurements show paramagnetic behavior down to 3 K for both CaCr{sub 2}Al{sub 10}- and ThMn{sub 12}-type compounds, with observed magnetic moments of 1.3{mu}{sub B} for compounds adopting the CaCr{sub 2}Al{sub 10} structure type to 4.2{mu}{sub B} for those adopting the ThMn{sub 12} structure type. Compounds of both structure type exhibit metallic resistivity, with upturns at low temperature attributed to Kondo scattering. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We have grown Ln (Mn,Al){sub 12} (Ln=Gd, Yb) single crystals of the ThMn{sub 12} and CaCr{sub 2}Al{sub 10} structure types by flux growth methods. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Synthetic parameters to stabilize two structure types are discussed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Compounds exhibit metallic resistivity with Kondo upturns below 50 K.« less
Recent labor market performance in Vietnam through a gender lens

This paper provides an overview of the recent performance of the labor market in Vietnam during the Great Recession. The analysis uses data from the Labor Force Survey and the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey. The author finds that, notwithstanding the global crisis and domestic volatility, job creation has been sustained in Vietnam, especially in the formal sector, but that the overall quality of employment has suffered. Gender differentials are found to affect older women especially, while educated women benefit from a skills wage premium. Reassuringly given the large youth share of the total workforce, the youth labor market is dynamic and outcomes for youths have improved. Meanwhile, participation in poverty alleviation programs and labor market programs has not changed, and few workers use the newly created employment services and unemployment benefits.
Why Don’t Firms Export More? Product Quality and Colombian Plants

Abstract Exporting firms around the world ship only a small fraction of their output overseas. For firms in a large country, such as the United States, this behavior can be explained by the existence of a large domestic market. For firms in a small lower income country, such as Colombia, the lower share of exports remains a puzzle. This paper begins by illustrating the failure of current models to explain plant export patterns in Colombia. Even models that do well in describing the US export distribution fail when confronted with the Colombian data. In response to this puzzle, this paper suggests that Colombia's export distribution can be explained with a two-dimensional productivity space where output productivity is considered separately from quality productivity. Predictions of this theory are tested on Colombian plant level data from 1981–1991. Overall, product quality is shown to be a significant factor in explaining the tendency for Colombian plants to under-export manufactured goods to the United States.
Corruption, the business environment, and small business growth in India

This paper estimates a dynamic business growth equation on a sample of small-scale manufacturers. The results suggest that excessive labor regulation, power shortages, and problems of access to finance are significant influences on industrial growth in India. The expected annual sales growth rate of an enterprise is lower where labor regulation is greater, power shortages are more severe, and cash flow constraints are stronger. The effects of each of the three factors on business growth seem also to depend on a fourth element, namely, corruption. Specifically, labor regulation affects the growth only of enterprises for which corruption is not a factor in business decisions. By contrast, power shortages seem to be a drag on the growth only of enterprises self-reportedly held back by corruption. Lastly, sales growth is constrained by cash flow only in businesses that are not affected by labor regulation, power shortages, or corruption. The analysis uses corruption as a proxy for the quality of "property rights institutions" and considers labor regulation and small business financing as instances of "contracting institutions." The findings on the interaction between corruption and other aspects of business environment then seems to indicate that the quality of property rights institutions exerts more abiding influence on economic outcomes than the quality of contracting institutions. Moreover, there might also be a hierarchy among contracting institutions in their effect on manufacturing growth.
Encoding and Processing of Symbolic Information in Comparative Judgments

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a particular theoretical interpretation of the relationship for one area of experience. The area of experience is elicited by what are usually considered continuous attributes, such as brightness, size, and the theoretical approach that assumes process attributes in terms of discrete semantic codes. The chapter describes the comparative judgment paradigm and the most important effects obtained with it. It also describes and critically reviews the previous models of these results. The semantic coding approach and its application to data from comparative judgment experiments are also discussed. The chapter discusses the relationship between direct experience and the memory of it. The model presented in the chapter is designed to account for the experimental results pertaining to processing of attributes in comparative judgment tasks. It uses hypothetical processes of code manipulation to make the necessary predictions. The codes are called “semantic” because they are assumed to carry information in the same way as do other natural language codes, and they are considered to be discrete.
Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors in the Low Carrier Density Regime

This paper, based on a presentation at the Spintronics 2001 conference, provides a review of our studies on II-VI and III-V Mn-doped Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors. We use simple models appropriate for the low carrier density (insulating) regime, although we believe that some of the unusual features of the magnetization curves should qualitatively be present at larger dopings (metallic regime) as well. Positional disorder of the magnetic impurities inside the host semiconductor is shown to have observable consequences for the shape of the magnetization curve. Below the critical temperature the magnetization is spatially inhomogeneous, leading to very unusual temperature dependence of the average magnetization as well as specific heat. Disorder is also found to enhance the ferromagnetic transition temperature. Unusual spin and charge transport is implied.
Applications of contingent claims theory to microeconomic problems

Hennessy first shows how to calculate the per acre benefit to producers participating in the Government Commodity Programs. This is valuable to policy makers seeking to determine when a set of program parameters is so severe that farmers would abandon the program, despite the potential environmental benefits from continued participation. In the second section of the book, Hennessy recommends futures markets as an avenue for producers to guarantee revenue by means of nonlinear futures contracts.
Performance effects of information systems integration:: A system dynamics study in a media firm

– The purpose of this paper is to understand the relationship between information systems (IS) integration and business performance in the context of the ad traffic system of a media company., – A system dynamics (SD) model that shows ad traffic system structure was developed and simulation scenarios were examined., – Simulation scenarios identify the dysfunctional effects of the lack of IS integration. The model shows how IS integration problems increase the dynamic complexity of business processes, resulting in poor business performance. It also shows how and why IS integration improvements can lead to superior performance., – Researchers of business process management will benefit from a wider adoption of simulation and SD modeling approaches. The modeling process and model validation are discussed., – SD modeling can help organizations analyze and streamline their business processes through IT, significantly and sustainably improving their business performance., – Modeling the relationship between IS integration and business performance through time.
Fast learning from sparse data

We describe two techniques that significantly improve the running time of several standard machine-learning algorithms when data is sparse. The first technique is an algorithm that efficiently extracts one-way and two-way counts-either real or expected-from discrete data. Extracting such counts is a fundamental step in learning algorithms for constructing a variety of models including decision trees, decision graphs, Bayesian networks, and naive-Bayes clustering models. The second technique is an algorithm that efficiently performs the E-step of the EM algorithm (i.e., inference) when applied to a naive-Bayes clustering model. Using real-world data sets, we demonstrate a dramatic decrease in running time for algorithms that incorporate these techniques.