title:
Exact and Efficient Hamilton-Jacobi-based Guaranteed Safety Analysis via
  System Decomposition

abstract:
  Hamilton-Jacobi (HJ) reachability is a method that provides rigorous analyses
of the safety properties of dynamical systems. This method has been
successfully applied to many low-dimensional dynamical system models such as
coarse models of aircraft and quadrotors in order to provide safety guarantees
in potentially dangerous scenarios. These guarantees can be provided by the
computation of a backward reachable set (BRS), which represents the set of
states from which the system may be driven into violating safety properties
despite the system's best effort to remain safe. Unfortunately, HJ reachability
is not practical for high-dimensional systems because the complexity of the BRS
computation scales exponentially with the number of state dimensions. Although
numerous approximation techniques are able to tractably provide conservative
estimates of the BRS, they often require restrictive assumptions about system
dynamics without providing an exact solution. In this paper we propose a
general method for decomposing dynamical systems. Even when the resulting
subsystems are coupled, relatively high-dimensional BRSs that were previously
intractable or expensive to compute can now be quickly and exactly computed in
lower-dimensional subspaces. As a result, the curse of dimensionality is
alleviated to a large degree without sacrificing optimality. We demonstrate our
theoretical results through two numerical examples: a 3D Dubins Car model and a
6D Acrobatic Quadrotor model.


title: The novel properties of SF$_6$ for directional dark matter experiments

abstract:
  SF$_{6}$ is an inert and electronegative gas that has a long history of use
in high voltage insulation and numerous other industrial applications. Although
SF$_{6}$ is used as a trace component to introduce stability in tracking
chambers, its highly electronegative properties have limited its use in
tracking detectors. In this work we present a series of measurements with
SF$_{6}$ as the primary gas in a low pressure Time Projection Chamber (TPC),
with a thick GEM used as the avalanche and readout device. The first results of
an $^{55}$Fe energy spectrum in SF$_{6}$ are presented. Measurements of the
mobility and longitudinal diffusion confirm the negative ion drift of SF$_{6}$.
However, the observed waveforms have a peculiar but interesting structure that
indicates multiple drift species and a dependence on the reduced field ($E/p$),
as well as on the level of water vapor contamination. The discovery of a
distinct secondary peak in the waveform, together with its identification and
use for fiducializing events in the TPC, are also presented. Our measurements
demonstrate that SF$_{6}$ is an ideal gas for directional dark matter
detection. In particular, the high fluorine content is desirable for
spin-dependent sensitivity, negative ion drift ensures low diffusion over large
drift distances, and the multiple species of charge carriers allow for full
detector fiducialization.


title: Investigation of thin n-in-p planar pixel modules for the ATLAS upgrade

abstract:
  In view of the High Luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC),
planned to start around 2023-2025, the ATLAS experiment will undergo a
replacement of the Inner Detector. A higher luminosity will imply higher
irradiation levels and hence will demand more ra- diation hardness especially
in the inner layers of the pixel system. The n-in-p silicon technology is a
promising candidate to instrument this region, also thanks to its
cost-effectiveness because it only requires a single sided processing in
contrast to the n-in-n pixel technology presently employed in the LHC
experiments. In addition, thin sensors were found to ensure radiation hardness
at high fluences. An overview is given of recent results obtained with not
irradiated and irradiated n-in-p planar pixel modules. The focus will be on
n-in-p planar pixel sensors with an active thickness of 100 and 150 um recently
produced at ADVACAM. To maximize the active area of the sensors, slim and
active edges are implemented. The performance of these modules is investigated
at beam tests and the results on edge efficiency will be shown.


title: Searching for spin-3/2 leptons

abstract:
  A model of spin-3/2 vector-like leptons is introduced, which serve as an
alternative probe of possible lepton compositeness. Possible signatures at the
Large Hadron Collider are explored, and current data are used to constrain the
masses of the hypothetical new leptons.


title: Lossy Asymptotic Equipartition property for Networked Data Structures

abstract:
  In this article we prove a Generalized Asypmtotic Equipartition Property for
Networked Data Structures modelled as coloured random graphs. The main
techniques in this article remains large deviation principles for suitably
defined empirical measures on coloured random graphs. We apply our main result
to a concrete example from the field of Biology.


title: Open World Assistive Grasping Using Laser Selection

abstract:
  Many people with motor disabilities are unable to complete activities of
daily living (ADLs) without assistance. This paper describes a complete robotic
system developed to provide mobile grasping assistance for ADLs. The system is
comprised of a robot arm from a Rethink Robotics Baxter robot mounted to an
assistive mobility device, a control system for that arm, and a user interface
with a variety of access methods for selecting desired objects. The system uses
grasp detection to allow previously unseen objects to be picked up by the
system. The grasp detection algorithms also allow for objects to be grasped in
cluttered environments. We evaluate our system in a number of experiments on a
large variety of objects. Overall, we achieve an object selection success rate
of 88% and a grasp detection success rate of 90% in a non-mobile scenario, and
success rates of 89% and 72% in a mobile scenario.


title:
Surveying the Bright Stars by Optical Interferometry I: A Search for
  Multiplicity Among Stars of Spectral Types F - K

abstract:
  We present the first results from an ongoing survey for multiplicity among
the bright stars using the Navy Precision Optical Interferometer (NPOI). We
first present a summary of NPOI observations of known multiple systems,
including the first detection of the companion of $\beta$ Scuti with precise
relative astrometry, to illustrate the instrument's detection sensitivity for
binaries at magnitude differences $\Delta$$m$ $\lessapprox$ 3 over the range of
angular separation 3 - 860 milliarcseconds (mas). A limiting $\Delta$$m_{700}$
$\sim$ 3.5 is likely for binaries where the component spectral types differ by
less than two. Model fits to these data show good agreement with published
orbits, and we additionally present a new orbit solution for one of these
stars, $\sigma$ Her. We then discuss early results of the survey of bright
stars at $\delta$ $\geq$ -20$\deg$. This survey, which complements previous
surveys of the bright stars by speckle interferometry, initially emphasizes
bright stars of spectral types F0 through K2. We report observations of 41
stars of apparent visual magnitude $m_V$ $\leq$ 4.30, all having been observed
on multiple nights. Analysis of these data produces fitted angular separations,
position angles, and component magnitude differences for six previously known
visual binaries. Three additional systems were examined as possible binaries,
but no conclusive detection could be made. No evidence of close stellar
companions within our detection limit of $\Delta$$m$ $\approx$ 3 was found for
the remaining 32 stars observed; however, uniform-disk angular diameters are
reported for 11 of the resolved stars in this last group.


title: Linked systems of symmetric group divisible designs

abstract:
  We introduce the concept of linked systems of symmetric group divisible
designs. The connection with association schemes is established, and as a
consequence we obtain an upper bound on the number of symmetric group divisible
designs which are linked. Several examples of linked systems of symmetric group
divisible designs are provided.


title:
CLOEE - Cross-Layer Optimization for Energy Efficiency of IEEE 802.15.6
  IR-UWB WBANs

abstract:
  Advances in sensor networks enable pervasive health monitoring and
patient-specific treatments that take into account the patients medical
history, current state, genetic background, and personal habits. However,
sensors are often battery power limited and vastly differ in their application
related requirements. In this paper, we address both of these problems.
Specifically, we study IEEE 802.15.6 ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless body area
networks (WBANs) that use impulse radio (IR). We formulate the joint
optimization of the payload size and number of pulses per symbol to optimize
the energy efficiency under the minimum rate constraint. The proposed
algorithm, cross-layer optimization for energy efficiency (CLOEE), enables us
to carry out a cross-layer resource allocation that addresses the rate and
reliability trade-off in the physical (PHY) layer as well as the packet size
optimization and transmission efficiency for the medium access control (MAC)
layer. Simulation results demonstrate that CLOEE can provide an order of
magnitude improvement in to static strategies.


title: A convolutional approach to reflection symmetry

abstract:
  We present a convolutional approach to reflection symmetry detection in 2D.
Our model, built on the products of complex-valued wavelet convolutions,
simplifies previous edge-based pairwise methods. Being parameter-centered, as
opposed to feature-centered, it has certain computational advantages when the
object sizes are known a priori, as demonstrated in an ellipse detection
application. The method outperforms the best-performing algorithm on the CVPR
2013 Symmetry Detection Competition Database in the single-symmetry case. Code
and a new database for 2D symmetry detection is available.


title:
The ACRV Picking Benchmark (APB): A Robotic Shelf Picking Benchmark to
  Foster Reproducible Research

abstract:
  Robotic challenges like the Amazon Picking Challenge (APC) or the DARPA
Challenges are an established and important way to drive scientific progress.
They make research comparable on a well-defined benchmark with equal test
conditions for all participants. However, such challenge events occur only
occasionally, are limited to a small number of contestants, and the test
conditions are very difficult to replicate after the main event. We present a
new physical benchmark challenge for robotic picking: the ACRV Picking
Benchmark (APB). Designed to be reproducible, it consists of a set of 42 common
objects, a widely available shelf, and exact guidelines for object arrangement
using stencils. A well-defined evaluation protocol enables the comparison of
\emph{complete} robotic systems -- including perception and manipulation --
instead of sub-systems only. Our paper also describes and reports results
achieved by an open baseline system based on a Baxter robot.


title:
Capacity of the Two-Hop Relay Channel with Wireless Energy Transfer from
  Relay to Source and Energy Transmission Cost

abstract:
  In this paper, we investigate a communication system comprised of an energy
harvesting (EH) source which harvests radio frequency (RF) energy from an
out-of-band full-duplex relay node and exploits this energy to transmit data to
a destination node via the relay node. We assume two scenarios for the battery
of the EH source. In the first scenario, we assume that the EH source is not
equipped with a battery and thereby cannot store energy. As a result, the RF
energy harvested during one symbol interval can only be used in the following
symbol interval. In the second scenario, we assume that the EH source is
equipped with a battery having unlimited storage capacity in which it can store
the harvested RF energy. As a result, the RF energy harvested during one symbol
interval can be used in any of the following symbol intervals. For both system
models, we derive the channel capacity subject to an average power constraint
at the relay and an additional energy transmission cost at the EH source. We
compare the derived capacities to the achievable rates of several benchmark
schemes. Our results show that using the optimal input distributions at both
the EH source and the relay is essential for high performance. Moreover, we
demonstrate that neglecting the energy transmission cost at the source can
result in a severe overestimation of the achievable performance.


title:
Effects of electron-impurity scattering on density of states in
  silicene: impurity bands and band-gap narrowing

abstract:
  Considering the interband correlation, we present a generalized
multiple-scattering approach of Green's function to investigate the effects of
electron-impurity scattering on the density of states in silicene. The
reduction of energy gaps in the case of relatively high chemical potential and
the transformation of split-off impurity bands into band tails for low chemical
potential are found. The dependency of optical conductivity on the impurity
concentration is also discussed for frequency within the terahertz regime.


title: BL-rings

abstract:
  The main goal of this article is to introduce BL-rings, i.e., commutative
rings whose lattices of ideals can be equipped with a structure of BL-algebra.
We obtain a description of such rings, and study the connections between the
new class and well known classes such as multiplications rings, Baer rings,
Dedekind rings.


title:
A Novel Transparent Charged Particle Detector for the CPET Upgrade at
  TITAN

abstract:
  The detection of an electron bunch exiting a strong magnetic field can prove
challenging due to the small mass of the electron. If placed too far from a
solenoid's entrance, a detector outside the magnetic field will be too small to
reliably intersect with the exiting electron beam because the light electrons
will follow the diverging magnetic field outside the solenoid. The TITAN group
at TRIUMF in Vancouver, Canada, has made use of advances in the practice and
precision of photochemical machining (PCM) to create a new kind of charge
collecting detector called the "mesh detector." The TITAN mesh detector was
used to solve the problem of trapped electron detection in the new Cooler
PEnning Trap (CPET) currently under development at TITAN. This thin array of
wires etched out of a copper plate is a novel, low profile, charge agnostic
detector that can be made effectively transparent or opaque at the user's
discretion.


title:
Four-dimensional Painlev\'e-type equations associated with ramified
  linear equations II: Sasano systems

abstract:
  This is a continuation of the paper "Four-dimensional Painlev\'e-type
equations associated with ramified linear equations I: Matrix Painlev\'e
systems" (arXiv:1608.03927). In this series of three papers we aim to construct
the complete degeneration scheme of four-dimensional Painlev\'e-type equations.
In the present paper, we construct the degeneration scheme of what we call the
Sasano system.


title:
Asynchronous and Dynamic Coverage Control Scheme for Persistent
  Surveillance Missions

abstract:
  A decomposition-based coverage control scheme is proposed for multi-agent,
persistent surveillance missions operating in a communication-constrained,
dynamic environment. The proposed approach decouples high-level task assignment
from low-level motion planning in a modular framework. Coverage assignments and
surveillance parameters are managed by a central base station, and transmitted
to mobile agents via unplanned and asynchronous exchanges. Coverage updates
promote load balancing, while maintaining geometric and temporal
characteristics that allow effective pairing with generic path planners.
Namely, the proposed scheme guarantees that (i) coverage regions are connected
and collectively cover the environment, (ii) subregions may only go uncovered
for bounded periods of time, (iii) collisions (or sensing overlaps) are
inherently avoided, and (iv) under static event likelihoods, the collective
coverage regions converge to a Pareto-optimal configuration. This management
scheme is then paired with a generic path planner satisfying loose assumptions.
The scheme is illustrated through simulated surveillance missions.


title:
Optimal Control of Large-Scale Networks using Clustering Based
  Projections

abstract:
  In this paper we present a set of projection-based designs for constructing
simplified linear quadratic regulator (LQR) controllers for large-scale network
systems. When such systems have tens of thousands of states, the design of
conventional LQR controllers becomes numerically challenging, and their
implementation requires a large number of communication links. Our proposed
algorithms bypass these difficulties by clustering the system states using
structural properties of its closed-loop transfer matrix. The assignment of
clusters is defined through a structured projection matrix P, which leads to a
significantly lower-dimensional LQR design. The reduced-order controller is
finally projected back to the original coordinates via an inverse projection.
The problem is, therefore, posed as a model matching problem of finding the
optimal set of clusters or P that minimizes the H2-norm of the error between
the transfer matrix of the full-order network with the full-order LQR and that
with the projected LQR. We derive a tractable relaxation for this model
matching problem, and design a P that solves the relaxation. The design is
shown to be implementable by a convenient, hierarchical two-layer control
architecture, requiring far less number of communication links than full-order
LQR.


title:
Transmodal Fabry-P\'erot Resonance: Theory and Realization with Elastic
  Metamaterials

abstract:
  We discovered a new transmodal Fabry-P\'erot resonance that one elastic-wave
mode is maximally transmitted to another when the phase difference of two
dissimilar modes through an anisotropic layer is exactly odd multiples of
{\pi}. Unlike the well-established Fabry-P\'erot resonance, the transmodal
resonance must involve two coupled elastic-wave modes, longitudinal and shear.
The formation of wiggly transmodal transmission spectra is due to structural
instability appearing in anisotropic mode-coupled elastic-media. Experiments
with elastic metamaterials confirmed our findings which can play a critical
role in shear-mode ultrasound applications.


title: Polynomial complementarity problems

abstract:
  Given a polynomial map f on the Euclidean n-space and a vector q, the
polynomial complementarity problem, PCP(f,q), is the nonlinear complementarity
problem of finding a nonnegative vector x such that y=f(x)+q is nonnegative and
orthogonal to x. It is called a tensor complementarity problem if the
polynomial map is homogeneous. In this paper, we establish results connecting
the polynomial complementarity problem PCP(f,q) and the tensor complementarity
problem PCP(f*,0), where f* is the leading term in the decomposition of f as a
sum of homogeneous polynomial maps. We show, for example, that PCP(f,q) has a
nonempty compact solution set for every q when zero is the only solution of
PCP(f*,0)and the local (topological) degree of min{x,f*(x)} at the origin is
nonzero. As a consequence, we establish Karamardian type results for polynomial
complementarity problems. By identifying a tensor A of order m and dimension n
with its corresponding homogeneous polynomial F(x):= Ax^{m-1}, we relate our
results to tensor complementarity problems. These results show that under
appropriate conditions, PCP(F+P,q) has a nonempty compact solution set for all
polynomial maps P of degree less than m-1 and for all vectors q, thereby
substantially improving the existing tensor complementarity results where only
problems of the type PCP(F,q) are considered. We introduce the concept of
degree of an R_0-tensor and show that the degree of an R-tensor is one. We
illustrate our results by constructing matrix based tensors.


title:
High-Dimensional Data Visualization by Interactive Construction of
  Low-Dimensional Parallel Coordinate Plots

abstract:
  Parallel coordinate plots (PCPs) are among the most useful techniques for the
visualization and exploration of high-dimensional data spaces. They are
especially useful for the representation of correlations among the dimensions,
which identify relationships and interdependencies between variables. However,
within these high-dimensional spaces, PCPs face difficulties in displaying the
correlation between combinations of dimensions and generally require additional
display space as the number of dimensions increases. In this paper, we present
a new technique for high-dimensional data visualization in which a set of
low-dimensional PCPs are interactively constructed by sampling user-selected
subsets of the high-dimensional data space. In our technique, we first
construct a graph visualization of sets of well-correlated dimensions. Users
observe this graph and are able to interactively select the dimensions by
sampling from its cliques, thereby dynamically specifying the most relevant
lower dimensional data to be used for the construction of focused PCPs. Our
interactive sampling overcomes the shortcomings of the PCPs by enabling the
visualization of the most meaningful dimensions (i.e., the most relevant
information) from high-dimensional spaces. We demonstrate the effectiveness of
our technique through two case studies, where we show that the proposed
interactive low-dimensional space constructions were pivotal for visualizing
the high-dimensional data and discovering new patterns.


title:
Magnetic-anisotropy induced spin blockade in a single-molecule
  transistor

abstract:
  We present a new mechanism for a spin blockade effect associated with a
change in the type of magnetic anisotropy over oxidation state in a single
molecule transistor, by taking an example of an individual
Eu$_{2}$(C$_{8}$H$_{8}$)$_{3}$ molecule weakly coupled to non-magnetic
electrodes without linker groups. The molecule switches its magnetization
direction from in-plane to out-of-plane when it is charged. In other words, the
magnetic anisotropy of the molecule changes from easy plane to easy axis when
the molecule is charged. By solving the master equation based on model
Hamiltonian, we find that current through the molecule is highly suppressed at
low bias independently of gate voltage due to the interplay between spin
selection rules and the change in the type of magnetic anisotropy. Transitions
between the lowest magnetic levels in successive charge states are forbidden
because the magnetic levels differ by $|\Delta M| > 1/2$ due to the change in
the type of magnetic anisotropy, although the total spins differ by $|\Delta
S|=1/2$. This current suppression can be lifted by significant B field, and the
threshold B field varies as a function of the field direction and the strength
of magnetic anisotropy. The spin blockade effect shed light on switching the
magnetization direction by non-spin-polarized current and on exploring effects
of this property coupled to other molecular degrees of freedom.


title:
Realization of $U_q({\mathfrak{sp}}_{2n})$ within the Differential
  Algebra on Quantum Symplectic Space

abstract:
  We realize the Hopf algebra $U_q({\mathfrak {sp}}_{2n})$ as an algebra of
quantum differential operators on the quantum symplectic space
$\mathcal{X}(f_s;\mathrm{R})$ and prove that $\mathcal{X}(f_s;\mathrm{R})$ is a
$U_q({\mathfrak{sp}}_{2n})$-module algebra whose irreducible summands are just
its homogeneous subspaces. We give a coherence realization for all the positive
root vectors under the actions of Lusztig's braid automorphisms of
$U_q({\mathfrak {sp}}_{2n})$.


title: Anomalous cooling and heating - the Mpemba effect and its inverse

abstract:
  Under certain conditions, it takes a shorter time to cool a hot system than
to cool the same system initiated at a lower temperature. This phenomenon - the
"Mpemba Effect" - is well known in water, and has recently been observed in
other systems as well. However, there is no single generic mechanism that
explains this counter-intuitive behavior. Using the theoretical framework of
non-equilibrium thermodynamics, we present a widely applicable mechanism for
this effect, derive a sufficient condition for its appearance in Markovian
dynamics, and predict an inverse Mpemba effect in heating: under proper
conditions, a cold system can heat up faster than the same system initiated at
a higher temperature. Our results suggest that it should be possible to observe
the Mpemba effect and its inverse in a variety of systems, where they have
never been demonstrated before.


title: Convolution identities for Tetranacci numbers

abstract:
  We give convolution identities without binomial coefficients for Tetranacci
numbers and convolution identities with binomial coefficients for Tetranacci
and Tetranacci-type numbers.


title: A simple centrality index for scientific social recognition

abstract:
  We introduce a new centrality index for bipartite network of papers and
authors that we call $K$-index. The $K$-index grows with the citation
performance of the papers that cite a given researcher and can seen as a
measure of scientific social recognition. Indeed, the $K$-index measures the
number of hubs, defined in a self-consistent way in the bipartite network, that
cites a given author. We show that the $K$-index can be computed by simple
inspection of the Web of Science platform and presents several advantages over
other centrality indexes, in particular Hirsch $h$-index. The $K$-index is
robust to self-citations, is not limited by the total number of papers
published by a researcher as occurs for the $h$-index and can distinguish in a
consistent way researchers that have the same $h$-index but very different
scientific social recognition. The $K$-index easily detects a known case of a
researcher with inflated number of papers, citations and $h$-index due to
scientific misconduct. Finally, we show that, in a sample of twenty-eight
physics Nobel laureates and twenty-eight highly cited non-Nobel-laureate
physicists, the $K$-index correlates better to the achievement of the prize
than the number of papers, citations, citations per paper, citing articles or
the $h$-index. Clustering researchers in a $K$ versus $h$ plot reveals
interesting outliers that suggest that these two indexes can present
complementary independent information.


title:
The orbital ephemeris of the classical nova RR Pictoris: presence of a
  third body?

abstract:
  The ex-nova RR Pic presents a periodic hump in its light curve which is
considered to refer to its orbital period. Analyzing all available epochs of
these hump maxima in the literature, and combining them with those from new
light curves obtained in 2013 and 2014, we establish an unique cycle count
scheme valid during the past 50 years, and derive an ephemeris with the orbital
period 0.145025959(15) days. The O - C diagram of this linear ephemeris reveals
systematic deviations which could have different causes. One of them could be a
light-travel-time effect caused by the presence of a hypothetical third body
near the star/brown dwarf mass limit, with an orbital period of the order of 70
years. We also examine the difficulty of the problematic of detecting
sub-stellar or planetary companions of close red-dwarf white-dwarf binaries
(including cataclysmic variables), and discuss other possible mechanisms
responsible for the observed deviations in O - C. For RR Pic, we propose
strategies in order to solve this question by new observations.


title:
On-chip detection of radiation guided by dielectric-loaded plasmonic
  waveguides

abstract:
  We report a novel approach for on-chip electrical detection of the radiation
guided by dielectric-loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides (DLSPPW) and
DLSPPW-based components. The detection is realized by fabricating DLSPPW
components on the surface of a gold (Au) pad supported by a silicon (Si)
substrate supplied with aluminum pads facilitating electrical connections, with
the gold pad being perforated in a specific locations below the DLSPPWs in
order to allow a portion of the DLSPPW-guided radiation to leak into the
Si-substrate, where it is absorbed and electrically detected. We present
two-dimensional photocurrent maps obtained when the laser beam is scanning
across the gold pad containing the fabricated DLSPPW components that are
excited via grating couplers located at the DLSPPW tapered terminations. By
comparing photocurrent signals obtained when scanning over a DLSPPW straight
waveguide with those related to a DLSPPW racetrack resonator, we first
determine the background signal level and then the corrected DLSPPW resonator
spectral response, which is found consistent with that obtained from full wave
numerical simulations. The approach developed can be extended to other
plasmonic waveguide configurations and advantageously used for rapid
characterization of complicated plasmonic circuits.


title:
Characterization of inclusion relations between wiener amalgam and some
  classical spaces

abstract:
  In this paper, we establish the sharp conditions for the inclusion relations
between Besov spaces $B_{p,q}$ and Wiener amalgam spaces $W_{p,q}^s$. We also
obtain the optimal inclusion relations between local hardy spaces $h^p$ and
Wiener amalgam spaces $W_{p,q}^s$, which completely improve and extend the main
results obtained by Cunanana, Kobayashib and Sugimotoa in [J. Funct. Anal. 268
(2015), 239-254]. In addition, we establish some mild characterizations of
inclusion relations between Triebel-Lizorkin and Wiener amalgam spaces, which
relates some modern inequalities to classical inequalities.


title:
Improved Lower Bounds on the Size of Balls over Permutations with the
  Infinity Metric

abstract:
  We study the size (or volume) of balls in the metric space of permutations,
$S_n$, under the infinity metric. We focus on the regime of balls with radius
$r = \rho \cdot (n\!-\!1)$, $\rho \in [0,1]$, i.e., a radius that is a constant
fraction of the maximum possible distance. We provide new lower bounds on the
size of such balls. These new lower bounds reduce the asymptotic gap to the
known upper bounds to at most $0.029$ bits per symbol. Additionally, they imply
an improved ball-packing bound for error-correcting codes, and an improved
upper bound on the size of optimal covering codes.


title: Inclusion relations between Modulation and Triebel-Lizorkin spaces

abstract:
  In this paper, we obtain the sharp conditions of the inclusion relations
between modulation spaces $M_{p,q}^s$ and Triebel-Lizorkin spaces $F_{p,r}$ for
$p\leq 1$, which greatly improve and extend the results for the embedding
relations between local Hardy spaces and modulation spaces obtained by
Kobayashi, Miyachi and Tomita in [Studia Math. 192 (2009), 79-96].


title: Regenerative Soot-V: Spectroscopy of the regenerative sooting discharges

abstract:
  The mechanisms and processes of the formation of the regenerative soot in a
graphite hollow cathode discharge that produces and emits carbon clusters are
presented. Mass spectrometry with a designed ExB velocity filter analyzes the
entire range of the charged clusters from monatomic Carbon C1 to as large
clusters as C4300. The state of the carbon vapor within the source is evaluated
by using the characteristic line emissions from the carbonaceous discharge
whose formative mechanisms depend upon the kinetic and potential sputtering of
the sooted cathode. The carbonaceous discharge generates atomic and ionic C and
its clusters Cm where m is equal to or greater than 2, noble gas metastable
atoms and ions, energetic electrons and photons in the cavity of the graphite
hollow cathode. The parameters of soot formation and its recycling depend
critically on the discharge parameters, the geometry of the hollow cathode and
3D profile of the cusp magnetic field contours.


title:
Sharp embedding relations between Local Hardy and $\alpha$-Modulation
  Spaces

abstract:
  We give the optimal embedding relations between local Hardy space and
$\alpha$-modulation spaces, which extend the results for the embedding
relations between local Hardy and modulation spaces obtained by Kobayashi,
Miyachi and Tomita in [Studia Math. 192 (2009), 79-96].


title:
GeThR-Net: A Generalized Temporally Hybrid Recurrent Neural Network for
  Multimodal Information Fusion

abstract:
  Data generated from real world events are usually temporal and contain
multimodal information such as audio, visual, depth, sensor etc. which are
required to be intelligently combined for classification tasks. In this paper,
we propose a novel generalized deep neural network architecture where temporal
streams from multiple modalities are combined. There are total M+1 (M is the
number of modalities) components in the proposed network. The first component
is a novel temporally hybrid Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) that exploits the
complimentary nature of the multimodal temporal information by allowing the
network to learn both modality specific temporal dynamics as well as the
dynamics in a multimodal feature space. M additional components are added to
the network which extract discriminative but non-temporal cues from each
modality. Finally, the predictions from all of these components are linearly
combined using a set of automatically learned weights. We perform exhaustive
experiments on three different datasets spanning four modalities. The proposed
network is relatively 3.5%, 5.7% and 2% better than the best performing
temporal multimodal baseline for UCF-101, CCV and Multimodal Gesture datasets
respectively.


title:
Univalency of convolutions of univalent harmonic right half-plane
  mappings

abstract:
  We consider the convolution of half-plane harmonic mappings with respective
dilatations $(z+a)/(1+az)$ and $e^{i\theta}z^{n}$, where $-1<a<1$ and
$\theta\in\mathbb{R},n\in\mathbb{N}$. We prove that such convolutions are
locally univalent for $n=1$, which solves an open problem of Dorff et. al (see
\cite[Problem~3.26]{Bshouty2010}). Moreover, we provide some numerical
computations to illustrate that such convolutions are not univalent for $n\geq
2$.


title: Converting Basic D3 Charts into Reusable Style Templates

abstract:
  We present a technique for converting a basic D3 chart into a reusable style
template. Then, given a new data source we can apply the style template to
generate a chart that depicts the new data, but in the style of the template.
To construct the style template we first deconstruct the input D3 chart to
recover its underlying structure: the data, the marks and the mappings that
describe how the marks encode the data. We then rank the perceptual
effectiveness of the deconstructed mappings. To apply the resulting style
template to a new data source we first obtain importance ranks for each new
data field. We then adjust the template mappings to depict the source data by
matching the most important data fields to the most perceptually effective
mappings. We show how the style templates can be applied to source data in the
form of either a data table or another D3 chart. While our implementation
focuses on generating templates for basic chart types (e.g. variants of bar
charts, line charts, dot plots, scatterplots, etc.), these are the most
commonly used chart types today. Users can easily find such basic D3 charts on
the Web, turn them into templates, and immediately see how their own data would
look in the visual style (e.g. colors, shapes, fonts, etc.) of the templates.
We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by applying a diverse set of
style templates to a variety of source datasets.


title: ReasoNet: Learning to Stop Reading in Machine Comprehension

abstract:
  Teaching a computer to read and answer general questions pertaining to a
document is a challenging yet unsolved problem. In this paper, we describe a
novel neural network architecture called the Reasoning Network (ReasoNet) for
machine comprehension tasks. ReasoNets make use of multiple turns to
effectively exploit and then reason over the relation among queries, documents,
and answers. Different from previous approaches using a fixed number of turns
during inference, ReasoNets introduce a termination state to relax this
constraint on the reasoning depth. With the use of reinforcement learning,
ReasoNets can dynamically determine whether to continue the comprehension
process after digesting intermediate results, or to terminate reading when it
concludes that existing information is adequate to produce an answer. ReasoNets
have achieved exceptional performance in machine comprehension datasets,
including unstructured CNN and Daily Mail datasets, the Stanford SQuAD dataset,
and a structured Graph Reachability dataset.


title:
Relationship of gauge gravitation theory in Riemann-Cartan spacetime and
  general relativity theory

abstract:
  The simplest variant of gauge gravitation theory in Riemann-Cartan spacetime
leading to the solution of the problem of cosmological singularity and dark
energy problem is investigated. It is shown that this theory by certain
restrictions on indefinite parameters of gravitational Lagrangian in the case
of usual gravitating systems leads to Einstein gravitational equations with
effective cosmological constant.


title:
From quantum mechanics to finance: Microfoundations for jumps, spikes
  and high volatility phases in diffusion price processes

abstract:
  We present an agent behavior based microscopic model that induces jumps,
spikes and high volatility phases in the price process of a traded asset. We
transfer dynamics of thermally activated jumps of an unexcited/ excited two
state system discussed in the context of quantum mechanics to agent
socio-economic behavior and provide microfoundations. After we link the
endogenous agent behavior to price dynamics we establish the circumstances
under which the dynamics converge to an It\^o-diffusion price processes in the
large market limit.


title:
Bar-induced central star formation as revealed by integral field
  spectroscopy from CALIFA

abstract:
  We investigate the recent star formation history (SFH) in the inner region of
57 nearly face-on spiral galaxies selected from the Calar Alto Legacy Integral
Field Area (CALIFA) survey. For each galaxy we use the integral field
spectroscopy from CALIFA to obtain two-dimensional maps and radial profiles of
three parameters that are sensitive indicators of the recent SFH: the 4000\AA\
break (D$_n$(4000)), and the equivalent width of H$\delta$ absorption
(EW(H$\delta_A$)) and H$\alpha$ emission (EW(H$\alpha$)). We have also
performed photometric decomposition of bulge/bar/disk components based on SDSS
optical image. We identify a class of 17 "turnover" galaxies whose central
region present significant drop in D$_n$(4000), and most of them
correspondingly show a central upturn in EW(H$\delta_A$) and EW(H$\alpha$).
This indicates that the central region of the turnover galaxies has experienced
star formation in the past 1-2 Gyr, which makes the bulge younger and more
star-forming than surrounding regions. We find almost all (15/17) the turnover
galaxies are barred, while only half of the barred galaxies in our sample
(15/32) are classified as a turnover galaxy. This finding provides strong
evidence in support of the theoretical expectation that the bar may drive gas
from the disc inward to trigger star formation in galaxy center, an important
channel for the growth/rejuvenation of pseudobulges in disc galaxies.


title: Hawking radiation in the kappa-spacetime

abstract:
  In this paper, we analyze the Hawking radiation of a kappa-deformed
Schwarzchild black hole and obtain the deformed Hawking temperature. For this,
we first derive deformed metric for the kappa-spacetime, which in the generic
case, is not a symmetric tensor and also has a momentum dependence. We show
that the Schwarzchild metric obtained in the kappa-deformed spacetime has a
dependence on energy. We use the fact that the deformed metric is conformally
flat in the 1+1 dimensions, to solve the kappa-deformed Klein-Gordon equation
in the background of the Schwarzchild metric. The method of Boguliobov
coefficients is then used to calculate the thermal spectrum of
kappa-deformed-Schwarzchild black hole and show that the Hawking temperature is
modified by the non-commutativity of the kappa-spacetime.


title: Finite lattices and Koszul Filtrations

abstract:
  We characterize when a finite lattice is distributive by the existences of
some particular classes of Koszul filtrations.


title:
Revision of Stellar Intrinsic Colors in the Infrared by the
  Spectroscopic Surveys

abstract:
  Intrinsic colors of normal stars are derived in the popularly used infrared
bands involving the 2MASS/JHKs, WISE, Spitzer/IRAC and AKARI/S9W filters. Based
on three spectroscopic surveys -- LAMOST, RAVE and APOGEE, stars are classified
into groups of giants and dwarfs, as well as metal-normal and metal-poor stars.
An empirical analytical relation of the intrinsic color is obtained with
stellar effective temperature (Teff) for each group of stars after the
zero-reddening stars are selected from the blue edge in the $J-\lambda$ versus
(Teff) diagram. It is found that metallicity has little effect on the infrared
colors. In the near-infrared bands, our results agree with previous work. In
addition, the color indexes H-W2 and Ks-W1 that are taken as constant to
calculate interstellar extinction are discussed. The intrinsic color of M-type
stars are derived separately due to lack of accurate measurement of their
effective temperature.


title:
A Unified Gas Kinetic Scheme for Multi-scale and Multi-component Plasma
  Transport

abstract:
  A unified gas kinetic scheme (UGKS) for multi-scale and multi-component
plasma transport is constructed. The current scheme is a direct modeling
method, where the time evolution solutions from the Vlasov-BGK equations of
electron and ion and the Maxwell equations are used to construct a
scale-dependent plasma simulation model. As a result, with the changing of
modeling scales of mesh size and time step and with a variation of Knudsen
number and Larmor radius, the discretized governing equations for a wide range
of plasma evolution regimes can be obtained. The physics recovered in UGKS
ranges from the Vlasov equation in the kinetic scale to different-type
magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) equations in the hydrodynamic scale. The key
dynamics in UGKS is the un-splitting treatment of particle collision,
acceleration, and transport in the construction of numerical flux across a cell
interface. At the same time, the plasma evolution is coupled with the Maxwell
equations in an implicit way, which automatically provides a smooth transition
between the Ampere's law and the Ohm's law for the calculation of electric
field. The time step of UGKS is not limited by the relaxation time, the
cyclotron period, and the speed of light in the MHD regime. The UGKS is
validated by numerical test cases, such as the Landau damping and two stream
instability in the kinetic regime, and the Brio-Wu shock tube problem and the
Orszag- Tang MHD turbulence problem in the hydrodynamic regime. The scheme is
also used to study the geospace environment modeling (GEM), such as the
challenging magnetic reconnection problem in the transition regime. Overall,
the UGKS is a physically reliable multi-scale plasma simulation method. It
provides a powerful and unified approach for the study of plasma physics.


title:
A new Wang-Landau approach to obtain phase diagrams for multicomponent
  alloys

abstract:
  We develop an approach to apply Wang-Landau algorithm to multicomponent
alloys in semi-grand-canonical ensemble. Although the Wang-Landau algorithm has
great advantages over conventional sampling methods, there are few applications
to alloys. This is because calculating compositions in semi-grand-canonical
ensemble using the Wang-Landau algorithm requires a multi-dimensional density
of states in terms of total energy and compositions. However, constructing the
multi-dimensional density of states is difficult. In this study, we develop a
simple approach to calculate the alloy phase diagram using Wang-Landau
algorithm, and show that compositions in semi-grand-canonical ensemble require
just some one-dimensional densities of states. Finally, we applied the present
method to Cu-Au and Pd-Rh alloys and confirmed that the present method
successfully describes the phase diagram with high validity and accuracy.


title:
Distributed Processing of Generalized Graph-Pattern Queries in SPARQL
  1.1

abstract:
  We propose an efficient and scalable architecture for processing generalized
graph-pattern queries as they are specified by the current W3C recommendation
of the SPARQL 1.1 "Query Language" component. Specifically, the class of
queries we consider consists of sets of SPARQL triple patterns with labeled
property paths. From a relational perspective, this class resolves to
conjunctive queries of relational joins with additional graph-reachability
predicates. For the scalable, i.e., distributed, processing of this kind of
queries over very large RDF collections, we develop a suitable partitioning and
indexing scheme, which allows us to shard the RDF triples over an entire
cluster of compute nodes and to process an incoming SPARQL query over all of
the relevant graph partitions (and thus compute nodes) in parallel. Unlike most
prior works in this field, we specifically aim at the unified optimization and
distributed processing of queries consisting of both relational joins and
graph-reachability predicates. All communication among the compute nodes is
established via a proprietary, asynchronous communication protocol based on the
Message Passing Interface.


title:
Sparse Boltzmann Machines with Structure Learning as Applied to Text
  Analysis

abstract:
  We are interested in exploring the possibility and benefits of structure
learning for deep models. As the first step, this paper investigates the matter
for Restricted Boltzmann Machines (RBMs). We conduct the study with Replicated
Softmax, a variant of RBMs for unsupervised text analysis. We present a method
for learning what we call Sparse Boltzmann Machines, where each hidden unit is
connected to a subset of the visible units instead of all of them. Empirical
results show that the method yields models with significantly improved model
fit and interpretability as compared with RBMs where each hidden unit is
connected to all visible units.


title: Counter-examples to non-noetherian Elkik's approximation theorem

abstract:
  Elkik established a remarkable theorem that can be applied for any noetherian
henselian ring. For algebraic equations with a formal solution (restricted by
some smoothness assumption), this theorem provides a solution adically close to
the formal one in the base ring. In this paper, we show that the theorem would
fail for some non-noetherian henselian rings. These rings do not satisfy
several conditions weaker than noetherianness, such as weak proregularity (due
to Grothendieck et al.) of the defining ideal. We describe the resulting
pathologies.


title:
Development of a Fuzzy Expert System based Liveliness Detection Scheme
  for Biometric Authentication

abstract:
  Liveliness detection acts as a safe guard against spoofing attacks. Most of
the researchers used vision based techniques to detect liveliness of the user,
but they are highly sensitive to illumination effects. Therefore it is very
hard to design a system, which will work robustly under all circumstances.
Literature shows that most of the research utilize eye blink or mouth movement
to detect the liveliness, while the other group used face texture to
distinguish between real and imposter. The classification results of all these
approaches decreases drastically in variable light conditions. Hence in this
paper we are introducing fuzzy expert system which is sufficient enough to
handle most of the cases comes in real time. We have used two testing
parameters, (a) under bad illumination and (b) less movement in eyes and mouth
in case of real user to evaluate the performance of the system. The system is
behaving well in all, while in first case its False Rejection Rate (FRR) is
0.28, and in second case its FRR is 0.4.


title:
Band-unfolding approach to Moir\`e-induced band-gap opening and
  Fermi-level-velocity reduction in twisted bilayer graphene

abstract:
  We report on the energy spectrum of electrons in twisted bilayer graphene
(tBLG) obtained by the band-unfolding method in the tight-binding model. We
find the band-gap opening at particular points in the reciprocal space, that
elucidates the drastic reduction of the Fermi-level velocity with the tiny
twisted angles in tBLGs. We find that Moir\`e pattern caused by the twist of
the two graphene layers generates interactions among Dirac cones, otherwise
absent, and the resultant cone-cone interactions peculiar to each point in the
reciprocal space causes the energy gap and thus reduced the Fermi-level
velocity.


title:
GW{\Gamma} + Bethe-Salpeter equation approach for photoabsorption
  spectra: Importance of self-consistent GW{\Gamma} calculations in small
  atomic systems

abstract:
  The self-consistent GW{\Gamma} method satisfies the Ward-Takahashi identity
(i.e., the gauge invariance or the local charge continuity) for arbitrary
energy ($\omega$) and momentum ($\bf q$) transfers. Its self-consistent
first-principles treatment of the vertex $\Gamma=\Gamma_v$ or $\Gamma_W$ is
possible to first order in the bare ($v$) or dynamically-screened ($W$) Coulomb
interaction. It is developed within a linearized scheme and combined with the
Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) to accurately calculate photoabsorption spectra
(PAS) and photoemission (or inverse photoemission) spectra (PES)
simultaneously. The method greatly improves the PAS of Na, Na$_3$, B$_2$, and
C$_2$H$_2$ calculated using the standard one-shot $G_0W_0$ + BSE method that
results in significantly redshifted PAS by 0.8-3.1 eV, although the PES are
well reproduced already in $G_0W_0$.


title:
Origin of positive out-of-plane magnetoconductivity in overdoped
  Bi$_{1.6}$Pb$_{0.4}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{1.96}$Fe$_{0.04}$O$_{8+\delta}$

abstract:
  To elucidate the pseudogap phase diagram including the overdoped state of
high transition temperature (high-$T_c$) cuprates, we must understand the
origin of the positive out-of-plane magnetoconductivity (MC) observed in these
compounds. For this purpose, the out-of-plane resistivity $\rho_c(T,H)$ of an
overdoped Bi$_{1.6}$Pb$_{0.4}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{1.96}$Fe$_{0.04}$O$_{8+\delta}$
(Bi-2212) single crystal is measured under pulsed magnetic fields up to 60 T.
We show that the superconductive density-of-states (DOS) depletion effect, in
addition to the pseudogap effect, clearly appears below the superconductive
fluctuation regime, and the contribution becomes dominant in the
superconducting state.


title: Detection of Biasing Attacks on Distributed Estimation Networks

abstract:
  The paper addresses the problem of detecting attacks on distributed estimator
networks that aim to intentionally bias process estimates produced by the
network. It provides a sufficient condition, in terms of the feasibility of
certain linear matrix inequalities, which guarantees distributed input attack
detection using an $H_\infty$ approach.


title: Unbounded $p$-convergence in Lattice-Normed Vector Lattices

abstract:
  A net $x_\alpha$ in a lattice-normed vector lattice $(X,p,E)$ is unbounded
$p$-convergent to $x\in X$ if $p(|x_\alpha-x|\wedge u)\xrightarrow{o} 0$ for
every $u\in X_+$. This convergence has been investigated recently for
$(X,p,E)=(X,\lvert\cdot \rvert,X)$ under the name of $uo$-convergence, for
$(X,p,E)=(X,\lVert\cdot\rVert,{\mathbb R})$ under the name of $un$-convergence,
and also for $(X,p,{\mathbb R}^{X^*})$, where $p(x)[f]:=|f|(|x|)$, under the
name $uaw$-convergence. In this paper we study general properties of the
unbounded $p$-convergence.


title: The cotorsion pair generated by the class of flat Mittag-Leffler modules

abstract:
  Let $R$ be a ring and denote by $\mathcal{FM}$ the class of all flat and
Mittag-Leffler left $R$-modules. In \cite{BazzoniStovicek2} it is proved that,
if $R$ is countable, the orthogonal class of $\mathcal{FM}$ consists of all
cotorsion modules. In this note we extend this result to the class of all rings
$R$ satisfying that each flat left $R$-module is filtered by totally ordered
limits of projective modules. This class of rings contains all countable, left
perfect and discrete valuation domains. Moreover, assuming that there do not
exist inaccessible cardinals, we obtain that, over these rings, all flat left
$R$-modules have finite projective dimension.


title: The Extremes in Intra-Night Blazar Variability: The S4 0954+65 Case

abstract:
  We present results of optical observations of the extremely violently
variable blazar S4 0954+65 on intra-night time scales. The object showed flux
changes of up to 100% within a few hours. Time delays between optical bands,
color changes and "rms-flux" relations are investigated and the results are
discussed in terms of existing models of blazar variability.


title:
Low-energy dynamical response of an Anderson insulator with local
  attraction

abstract:
  The low-frequency dynamical response of an Anderson insulator is dominated by
so-called Mott resonances: hybridization of pairs of states close in energy,
but separated spatially. We study the effect of interaction on Mott resonances
in the model of spinful fermions (electrons) with local attraction. This model
is known to exhibit a so-called pseudogap: a suppression of the low-energy
single-particle excitations. Correspondingly, the low-energy dynamical response
is also reduced. However this reduction has mostly quantitative character. In
particular, the Mott formula for frequency-dependent conductivity preserves its
functional asymptotic behavior at low frequencies, but with a small numerical
prefactor. This result can be explained in terms of Mott resonances for
electron pairs instead of single electrons.


title: Hypervelocity stars from young stellar clusters in the Galactic Centre

abstract:
  The enormous velocities of the so called hypervelocity stars (HVSs) derive,
likely, from close interactions with massive black holes, binary stars
encounters or supernova explosions. In this paper, we investigate the origin of
hypervelocity stars as consequence of the close interaction between the Milky
Way central massive black hole and a passing-by young stellar cluster. We found
that both single and binary HVSs may be generated in a burst-like event, as the
cluster passes near the orbital pericentre. High velocity stars will move close
to the initial cluster orbital plane and in the direction of the cluster
orbital motion at the pericentre. The binary fraction of these HVS jets depends
on the primordial binary fraction in the young cluster. The level of initial
mass segregation determines the value of the average mass of the ejected stars.
Some binary stars will merge, continuing their travel across and out of the
Galaxy as blue stragglers.


title:
Layered solutions to the vector Allen-Cahn equation in $ R^2$.
  Characterization of minimizers and a new approach to heteroclinic connections

abstract:
  Let $W:R^m\rightarrow R$ be a nonnegative potential with exactly two
nondegenerate zeros $a_-\neq a_+\in R^m$. We assume that there are$ N\geq 1$
distinct heteroclinic orbits connecting $a_-$ to $a_+$ represented by maps $
u_1,\ldots,u_N$ that minimize the one-dimensional energy $J_R(u)
=\int_R(\frac{\vert u^\prime\vert^2}{2}+W(u))ds$. We first consider the problem
of characterizing the minimizers $u:R^n\rightarrow R^m$ of the energy
$\mathcal{J}_\Omega(u) =\int_\Omega(\frac{\vert\nabla u\vert^2}{2}+W(u))dx$.
Under a nondegeneracy condition on $ u_1,\ldots,u_N $ and in two space
dimensions, we prove that, provided it remains away from $a_-$ and $a_+$ in
corresponding half spaces $S_-$ and $S_+$, a bounded minimizer
$u:R^n\rightarrow R^m$ is necessarily an heteroclinic connection between
suitable translates $ u_-(. -\eta_-)$ and $ u_+(. -\eta_+) $ of some $
u_\pm\in\{ u_1,\ldots, u_N\}$. Then we focus on the existence problem and
assuming $N = 2$ and denoting $ u_-$ and $ u_+$ the representations of the two
orbits connecting $ a_-$ to $ a_+$ we give a new proof of the existence (first
proved in [31]) of a solution $ u:R^2\rightarrow R^m $ of \[\Delta u =
W_u(u),\] that connects certain translates of $ u_\pm $.


title:
On the Structure of the Time-Optimal Path Parameterization Problem with
  Third-Order Constraints

abstract:
  Finding the Time-Optimal Parameterization of a Path (TOPP) subject to
second-order constraints (e.g. acceleration, torque, contact stability, etc.)
is an important and well-studied problem in robotics. In comparison, TOPP
subject to third-order constraints (e.g. jerk, torque rate, etc.) has received
far less attention and remains largely open. In this paper, we investigate the
structure of the TOPP problem with third-order constraints. In particular, we
identify two major difficulties: (i) how to smoothly connect optimal profiles,
and (ii) how to address singularities, which stop profile integration
prematurely. We propose a new algorithm, TOPP3, which addresses these two
difficulties and thereby constitutes an important milestone towards an
efficient computational solution to TOPP with third-order constraints.


title: Cold Fronts and Shocks Formed by Gas Streams in Galaxy Clusters

abstract:
  Cold Fronts and shocks are hallmarks of the complex intra-cluster medium
(ICM) in galaxy clusters. They are thought to occur due to gas motions within
the ICM and are often attributed to galaxy mergers within the cluster. Using
hydro-cosmological simulations of clusters of galaxies, we show that collisions
of inflowing gas streams, seen to penetrate to the very centre of about half
the clusters, offer an additional mechanism for the formation of shocks and
cold fronts in cluster cores. Unlike episodic merger events, a gas stream
inflow persists over a period of several Gyrs and it could generate a
particular pattern of multiple cold fronts and shocks.


title:
Prominent role of multi-electron processes in K-shell double and triple
  photodetachment of oxygen anions

abstract:
  The photon-ion merged-beams technique was used at a synchrotron light source
for measuring absolute cross sections of double and triple photodetachment of
O$^{-}$ ions. The experimental photon energy range of 524-543 eV comprised the
threshold for K-shell ionization. Using resolving powers of up to 13,000, the
position, strength and width of the below-threshold 1s 2s2 2p6 2S resonance as
well as the positions of the 1s 2s2 2p5 3P and 1s 2s2 2p5 1P thresholds for
K-shell ionization were determined with high precision. In addition,
systematically enlarged multi-configuration Dirac-Fock calculations have been
performed for the resonant detachment cross sections. Results from these
ab-initio computations agree very well with the measurements for the widths and
branching fractions for double and triple detachment, if double shake-up (and
-down) of the valence electrons and the rearrangement of the electron density
is taken into account. For the absolute cross sections, however, a previously
found discrepancy between measurements and theory is confirmed.


title:
QCD analysis of nucleon structure functions in deep-inelastic
  neutrino-nucleon scattering: Laplace transform and Jacobi polynomials
  approach

abstract:
  We present a detailed QCD analysis of nucleon structure functions $xF_3 (x,
Q^2)$, based on Laplace transforms and Jacobi polynomials approach. The
analysis corresponds to the next-to-leading order and next-to-next-to-leading
order approximation of perturbative QCD. The Laplace transform technique, as an
exact analytical solution, is used for the solution of nonsinglet
Dokshitzer-Gribov-Lipatov-Altarelli-Parisi evolution equations at low- and
large-$x$ values. The extracted results are used as input to obtain the $x$ and
Q$^2$ evolution of $xF_3(x, Q^2)$ structure functions using the Jacobi
polynomials approach. In our work, the values of the typical QCD scale
$\Lambda_{\overline{\rm MS}}^{(n_f)}$ and the strong coupling constant
$\alpha_s(M_Z^2)$ are determined for four quark flavors ($n_f=4$) as well. A
careful estimation of the uncertainties shall be performed using the Hessian
method for the valence-quark distributions, originating from the experimental
errors. We compare our valence-quark parton distribution functions sets with
those of other collaborations; in particular with the {\tt BBG}, {\tt CT14},
{\tt MMHT14} and {\tt NNPDF} sets, which are contemporary with the present
analysis. The obtained results from the analysis are in good agreement with
those from the literature.


title: FIR Spectroscopy of the Galactic Center: Hot and Warm Molecular Gas

abstract:
  The angular resolution (~10") achieved by the Herschel Space Observatory
~3.5m telescope at FIR wavelengths allowed us to roughly separate the emission
toward the inner parsec of the galaxy (the central cavity) from that of the
surrounding circumnuclear disk (the CND). The FIR spectrum toward SgrA* is
dominated by intense [Oiii], [Oi], [Cii], [Niii], [Nii], and [Ci]
fine-structure lines (in decreasing order of luminosity) arising in gas
irradiated by the strong UV field from the central stellar cluster. The high-J
CO rotational line intensities observed at the interface between the inner CND
and the central cavity are consistent with a hot isothermal component at
T~10^{3.1} K and n(H_2)~10^4 cm^{-3}. They are also consistent with a
distribution of lower temperatures at higher gas density, with most CO at T~300
K. The hot CO component (either the bulk of the CO column density or just a
small fraction depending on the above scenario) likely results from a
combination of UV and shock-driven heating. Although this component is beam
diluted in our FIR observations, it may be resolved at much higher angular
resolution. An ALMA project using different molecular tracers to characterize
UV-irradiated shocks in the innermost layers of the CND is ongoing.


title:
Mordell-Weil lattice of Inose's Elliptic $K3$ surface arising from the
  product of 3-isogenous elliptic curves

abstract:
  From the product of two elliptic curves, Shioda and Inose constructed an
elliptic $K3$ surface having two $\mathrm{II}^*$ fibers. Its Mordell-Weil
lattice structure depends on the morphisms between the two elliptic curves. In
this paper, we give a method of writing down generators of the Mordell-Weil
lattice of such elliptic surfaces when two elliptic curves are $3$-isogenous.
In particular, we obtain a basis of the Mordell-Weil lattice for the singular
$K3$ surfaces $X_{[3,3,3]}$, $X_{[3,2,3]}$ and $X_{[3,0,3]}$.


title: b-Spline Curves and Surfaces as a Minimization of Quadratic Operators

abstract:
  The goal of this short note is to prove that every b-spline curve or surface
(generated by uniform knots, without multiplicity) may be defined as minimum of
positive quadratic operator.


title:
On protocol and physical interference models in Poisson wireless
  networks

abstract:
  This paper analyzes the connection between the protocol and physical
interference models in the setting of Poisson wireless networks. A transmission
is successful under the protocol model if there are no interferers within a
parameterized guard zone around the receiver, while a transmission is
successful under the physical model if the signal to interference plus noise
ratio (SINR) at the receiver is above a threshold. The parameterized protocol
model forms a family of decision rules for predicting the success or failure of
the same transmission attempt under the physical model. For Poisson wireless
networks, we employ stochastic geometry to determine the prior, evidence, and
posterior distributions associated with this estimation problem. With this in
hand, we proceed to develop five sets of results: i) the maximum correlation of
protocol and physical model success indicators, ii) the minimum Bayes risk in
estimating physical success from a protocol observation, iii) the receiver
operating characteristic (ROC) of false rejection (Type I) and false acceptance
(Type II) probabilities, iv) the impact of Rayleigh fading vs. no fading on the
correlation and ROC, and v) the impact of multiple prior protocol model
observations in the setting of a wireless network with a fixed set of nodes in
which the nodes employ the slotted Aloha protocol in each time slot.


title:
NPCs Vote! Changing Voter Reactions Over Time Using the Extreme AI
  Personality Engine

abstract:
  Can non-player characters have human-realistic personalities, changing over
time depending on input from those around them? And can they have different
reactions and thoughts about different people? Using Extreme AI, a
psychology-based personality engine using the Five Factor model of personality,
I answer these questions by creating personalities for 100 voters and allowing
them to react to two politicians to see if the NPC voters' choice of candidate
develops in a realistic-seeming way, based on initial and changing personality
facets and on their differing feelings toward the politicians (in this case,
across liking, trusting, and feeling affiliated with the candidates). After 16
test runs, the voters did indeed change their attitudes and feelings toward the
candidates in different and yet generally realistic ways, and even changed
their attitudes about other issues based on what a candidate extolled.


title:
Comment on 'Linking Spatial Distributions of Potential and Current in
  Viscous Electronics'

abstract:
  In recent paper of Falkovich and Levitov it was shown, that geometry of
separatrixes for viscous electronic flow in graphene is sensitive to boundary
conditions. Here we discover theis relation in details. Also we propose, how
boundary conditions could be probed experimentally, using weak magnetic field
and observed features of separatrixes.


title: Deep Kinematic Pose Regression

abstract:
  Learning articulated object pose is inherently difficult because the pose is
high dimensional but has many structural constraints. Most existing work do not
model such constraints and does not guarantee the geometric validity of their
pose estimation, therefore requiring a post-processing to recover the correct
geometry if desired, which is cumbersome and sub-optimal. In this work, we
propose to directly embed a kinematic object model into the deep neutral
network learning for general articulated object pose estimation. The kinematic
function is defined on the appropriately parameterized object motion variables.
It is differentiable and can be used in the gradient descent based optimization
in network training. The prior knowledge on the object geometric model is fully
exploited and the structure is guaranteed to be valid. We show convincing
experiment results on a toy example and the 3D human pose estimation problem.
For the latter we achieve state-of-the-art result on Human3.6M dataset.


title:
Centrality dependence of chemical freeze-out parameters from net-proton
  and net-charge fluctuations using hadron resonance gas model

abstract:
  We estimate chemical freeze-out parameters in HRG and EVHRG model by fitting
the experimental information of net-proton and net-charge fluctuations measured
in Au + Au collisions by the STAR collaboration at RHIC. We observe that
chemical freeze-out parameters obtained from lower and higher order
fluctuations are though almost same for $\sqrt{s_{NN}} > 27$ GeV, tend to
deviate from each other at lower $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$. Moreover, these separations
increase with decrease of $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ and for a fixed $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$
increase towards central collisions. Furthermore, we observe an approximate
scaling behaviour of $(\mu_B/T)/(\mu_B/T)_{central}$ with
$(N_{part})/(N_{part})_{central}$ for the parameters estimated from lower order
fluctuations for 11.5 GeV $\le \sqrt{s_{NN}} \le$ 200 GeV. Scaling is violated
for the parameters estimated from higher order fluctuations for $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=
11.5$ and 19.6 GeV. It is observed that the chemical freeze-out parameter,
which can describe $\sigma^2/M$ of net-proton very well in all energies and
centralities, can not describe the $s\sigma$ equally well and vice versa.


title:
Regenerative Soot-VI: The excited states of neutral and ionized carbon
  in regenerative sooting discharges

abstract:
  We report the mechanisms of production and the state of excitation of the
neutral and singly charged monatomic carbon in the regenerative soot as a
function of the discharge parameters in graphite hollow cathode (HC) sources.
Two distinctly different source configurations have been investigated.
Comparisons of the level densities of various charged states of C1 have
identified the regenerative properties of the C radicals in graphite HC soot.


title: Lower bounds for sensitivity of graph properties

abstract:
  We prove that the sensitivity of any non-trivial graph property on $n$
vertices is at least $\lfloor \frac{1}{2}n \rfloor$ , provided $n$ is
sufficiently large.


title: Ripping RNA by Force using Gaussian Network Models

abstract:
  Using force as a probe to map the folding landscapes of RNA molecules has
become a reality thanks to major advances in single molecule pulling
experiments. Although the unfolding pathways under tension are complicated to
predict studies in the context of proteins have shown that topology plays is
the major determinant of the unfolding landscapes. By building on this finding
we study the responses of RNA molecules to force by adapting Gaussian network
model (GNM) that represents RNAs using a bead-spring network with isotropic
interactions. Cross-correlation matrices of residue fluctuations, which are
analytically calculated using GNM even upon application of mechanical force,
show distinct allosteric communication as RNAs rupture. The model is used to
calculate the force-extension curves at full thermodynamic equilibrium, and the
corresponding unfolding pathways of four RNA molecules subject to a
quasi-statically increased force.Our study finds that the analysis using GNM
captures qualitatively the unfolding pathway of \emph{T}. ribozyme elucidated
by the optical tweezers measurement. However, the simple model is not
sufficient to capture subtle features, such as bifurcation in the unfolding
pathways or the ion effects, in the forced-unfolding of RNAs.


title: Signal Transmissibility in Marginal Granular Materials

abstract:
  We examine the "transmissibility" of a simulated two-dimensional pack of
frictionless disks formed by confining dilute disks in a shrinking, periodic
box to the point of mechanical stability. Two opposite boundaries are then
removed, thus allowing a set of free motions. Small free displacements on one
boundary then induce proportional displacements on the opposite boundary.
Transmissibility is the ability to distinguish different perturbations by their
distant responses. We assess transmissibility by successively identifying free
orthonormal modes of motion that have the {\em smallest} distant responses. The
last modes to be identified in this "pessimistic" basis are the most
transmissive. The transmitted amplitudes of these most transmissive modes fall
off exponentially with mode number. Similar exponential falloff is seen in a
simple elastic medium, though the responsible modes differ greatly in structure
in the two systems. Thus the marginal pack's transmissibility is qualitatively
similar to that of a simple elastic medium. We compare our results with recent
findings based on the projection of the space of free motion onto interior
sites.


title:
An advanced Study on Cryptography Mechanisms for Wireless Sensor
  Networks

abstract:
  Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is consisting of independent and distributed
sensors to monitor physical or environmental conditions, such as temperature,
sound, pressure, etc. The most crucial and fundamental challenge facing WSN is
security. Due to minimum capacity in-term of memory cost, processing and
physical accessibility to sensors devices the security attacks are problematic.
They are mostly deployed in open area, which expose them to different kinds of
attacks. In this paper, we present an illustration of different attacks and
vulnerabilities in WSN. Then we describe and analyze security requirement,
countermeasures based on cryptography mechanisms in literature. Finally, we
present possible directions in future research.


title:
Truncated Product Representations for $L$-Functions in the Hyperelliptic
  Ensemble

abstract:
  We investigate the approximation of quadratic Dirichlet $L$-functions over
function fields by truncations of their Euler products. We first establish
representations for such $L$-functions as products over prime polynomials times
products over their zeros. This is the hybrid formula in function fields. We
then prove that partial Euler products are good approximations of an
$L$-function away from its zeros, and that, when the length of the product
tends to infinity, we recover the original $L$-function. We also obtain
explicit expressions for the arguments of quadratic Dirichlet $L$-functions
over function fields and for the arguments of their partial Euler products. In
the second part of the paper we construct, for each quadratic Dirichlet
$L$-function over a function field, an auxiliary function based on the
approximate functional equation that equals the $L$-function on the critical
line. We also construct a parametrized family of approximations of these
auxiliary functions, prove the Riemann hypothesis holds for them, and that
their zeros are related to those of the associated $L$-function. Finally, we
estimate the counting function for the zeros of this family of approximations,
show that these zeros cluster near those of the associated $L$-function, and
that, when the parameter is not too large, almost all the zeros of the
approximations are simple.


title: How to Discover the Rogers--Ramunujan Identities

abstract:
  We examine a method to conjecture two very famous identities that were
conjectured by Ramanujan, and later found to be known to Rogers.


title: Preduals and complementation of spaces of bounded linear operators

abstract:
  For Banach spaces X and Y, we establish a natural bijection between preduals
of Y and preduals of L(X,Y) that respect the right L(X)-module structure. If X
is reflexive, it follows that there is a unique predual making L(X) into a dual
Banach algebra. This removes the condition that X have the approximation
property in a result of Daws.
  We further establish a natural bijection between projections that complement
Y in its bidual and L(X)-linear projections that complement L(X,Y) in its
bidual. It follows that Y is complemented in its bidual if and only if L(X,Y)
is (either as a module or as a Banach space).
  Our results are new even in the well-studied case of isometric preduals.


title: The marginally stable Bethe lattice spin glass revisited

abstract:
  Bethe lattice spins glasses are supposed to be marginally stable, i.e. their
equilibrium probability distribution changes discontinuously when we add an
external perturbation. So far the problem of a spin glass on a Bethe lattice
has been studied only using an approximation where marginally stability is not
present, which is wrong in the spin glass phase. Because of some technical
difficulties, attempts at deriving a marginally stable solution have been
confined to some perturbative regimes, high connectivity lattices or
temperature close to the critical temperature. Using the cavity method, we
propose a general non-perturbative approach to the Bethe lattice spin glass
problem using approximations that should be hopeful consistent with marginal
stability.


title:
Hermite interpolation by piecewise polynomial surfaces with polynomial
  area element

abstract:
  This paper is devoted to the construction of polynomial 2-surfaces which
possess a polynomial area element. In particular we study these surfaces in the
Euclidean space $\mathbb R^3$ (where they are equivalent to the PN surfaces)
and in the Minkowski space $\mathbb R^{3,1}$ (where they provide the MOS
surfaces). We show generally in real vector spaces of any dimension and any
metric that the Gram determinant of a parametric set of subspaces is a perfect
square if and only if the Gram determinant of its orthogonal complement is a
perfect square. Consequently the polynomial surfaces of a given degree with
polynomial area element can be constructed from the prescribed normal fields
solving a system of linear equations. The degree of the constructed surface
depending on the degree and the quality of the prescribed normal field is
investigated and discussed. We use the presented approach to interpolate a
network of points and associated normals with piecewise polynomial surfaces
with polynomial area element and demonstrate our method on a number of examples
(constructions of quadrilateral as well as triangular patches


title: Online Group-exercises for Older Adults of Different Physical Abilities

abstract:
  In this paper we describe the design and validation of a virtual fitness
environment aiming at keeping older adults physically and socially active. We
target particularly older adults who are socially more isolated, physically
less active, and with less chances of training in a gym. The virtual fitness
environment, namely Gymcentral, was designed to enable and motivate older
adults to follow personalised exercises from home, with a (heterogeneous) group
of remote friends and under the remote supervision of a Coach. We take the
training activity as an opportunity to create social interactions, by
complementing training features with social instruments. Finally, we report on
the feasibility and effectiveness of the virtual environment, as well as its
effects on the usage and social interactions, from an intervention study in
Trento, Italy


title: Exploring The Lambda Model Of The Hybrid Superstring

abstract:
  The purpose of this contribution is to initiate the study of integrable
deformations for different superstring theory formalisms that manifest the
property of (classical) integrability. In this paper we choose the hybrid
formalism of the superstring in the background AdS_{2}xS^{2} and explore in
detail the most immediate consequences of its lambda-deformation. The resulting
action functional corresponds to the lambda-model of the matter part of the
fairly more sophisticated pure spinor formalism, which is also known to be
classical integrable. In particular, the deformation preserves the
integrability and the one-loop conformal invariance of its parent theory, hence
being a marginal deformation.


title:
Measurement and QCD analysis of double-differential inclusive jet
  cross-sections in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV and ratios to 2.76 and 7
  TeV

abstract:
  A measurement of the double-differential inclusive jet cross section as a
function of the jet transverse momentum pT and the absolute jet rapidity abs(y)
is presented. Data from LHC proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV,
corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 inverse femtobarns, have been
collected with the CMS detector. Jets are reconstructed using the anti-kT
clustering algorithm with a size parameter of 0.7 in a phase space region
covering jet pT from 74 GeV up to 2.5 TeV and jet absolute rapidity up to
abs(y) = 3.0. The low-pT jet range between 21 and 74 GeV is also studied up to
abs(y) = 4.7, using a dedicated data sample corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of 5.6 inverse picobarns. The measured jet cross section is
corrected for detector effects and compared with the predictions from
perturbative QCD at next-to-leading order (NLO) using various sets of parton
distribution functions (PDF). Cross section ratios to the corresponding
measurements performed at 2.76 and 7 TeV are presented. From the measured
double-differential jet cross section, the value of the strong coupling
constant evaluated at the Z mass is alpha[S(M[Z]) = 0.1164 +0.0060 -0.0043,
where the errors include the PDF, scale, nonperturbative effects and
experimental uncertainties, using the CT10 NLO PDFs. Improved constraints on
PDFs based on the inclusive jet cross section measurement are presented.


title:
Reinventing Solid State Electronics: Harnessing Quantum Confinement in
  Bismuth Thin Films

abstract:
  Solid state electronics relies on the intentional introduction of impurity
atoms or dopants into a semiconductor crystal and/or the formation of junctions
between different materials (heterojunctions) to create rectifiers, potential
barriers, and conducting pathways. With these building blocks, switching and
amplification of electrical currents and voltages is achieved. As
miniaturization continues to ultra-scaled transistors with critical dimensions
on the order of ten atomic lengths, the concept of doping to form rectifying
junctions fails and heterojunction formation becomes extremely difficult. Here
it is shown there is no need to introduce dopant atoms nor is the formation of
a heterojunction required to achieve the fundamental electronic function of
current rectification. Ideal diode behavior or rectification is achieved for
the first time solely by manipulation of quantum confinement in approximately 2
nanometer thick films consisting of a single atomic element, the semimetal
bismuth. Crucially for nanoelectronics, this new quantum approach enables room
temperature operation.


title:
Like-charge attraction and opposite-charge decomplexation between
  polymers and DNA molecules

abstract:
  We scrutinize the effect of polyvalent ions on polymer-DNA interactions. We
extend a recently developed test charge theory to the case of a stiff polymer
interacting with a DNA molecule in an electrolyte mixture. The theory accounts
for one-loop level electrostatic correlation effects such as the ionic cloud
deformation around the strongly charged DNA molecule as well as image-charge
forces induced by the low DNA permittivity. Our model can reproduce and explain
various characteristics of the experimental phase diagrams for polymer
solutions. First, the addition of polyvalent cations to the electrolyte
solution results in the attraction of the negatively charged polymer by the DNA
molecule. The glue of the like-charge attraction is the enhanced shielding of
the polymer charges by the dense counterion layer at the DNA surface. Secondly,
through the shielding of the DNA-induced electrostatic potential, mono- and
polyvalent cations of large concentration both suppress the like-charge
attraction. Within the same formalism, we also predict a new opposite-charge
repulsion effect between the DNA molecule and a positively charged polymer. In
the presence of polyvalent anions such as sulfate or phosphate, their repulsion
by the DNA charges leads to the charge screening deficiency of the region
around the DNA molecule. This translates into a repulsive force that results in
the decomplexation of the polymer from DNA. This opposite-charge repulsion
phenomenon can be verified by current experiments and the underlying mechanism
can be beneficial to gene therapeutic applications where the control over
polymer-DNA interactions is the key factor.


title:
What makes people bond?: A study on social interactions and common life
  points on Facebook

abstract:
  In this paper we aim at understanding if and how, by analysing people's
profile and historical data (such as data available on Facebook profiles and
interactions, or collected explicitly) we can motivate two persons to interact
and eventually create long-term bonds. We do this by exploring the relationship
between connectedness, social interactions and common life points on Facebook.
The results are of particular importance for the development of technology that
aims at reducing social isolation for people with less chances to interact,
such as older adults.


title:
Evolution of the cycles of magnetic activity of the Sun and Sun-like
  stars in time

abstract:
  We applied the method of continuous wavelet-transform to the time-frequency
analysis to the sets of observations of relative sunspot numbers, sunspot areas
and to 6 Mount Wilson HK-project stars with well-defined magnetic cycles.
Wavelet analysis of these data reveals the following pattern: at the same time
there are several activity cycles whose periods vary widely from the
quasi-biennial up to the centennial period for the Sun and vary significant
during observations time of the HK-project stars. These relatively
low-frequency periodic variations of the solar and stellar activity gradually
change the values of periods of different cycles in time. This phenomenon can
be observed in every cycles of activity


title:
Monte Carlo Study of Temperature-dependent Non-diffusive Thermal
  Transport in Si Nanowires

abstract:
  Non-diffusive thermal transport has gained extensive research interest
recently due to its important implications on fundamental understanding of
material phonon mean free path distributions and many nanoscale energy
applications. In this work, we systematically investigate the role of boundary
scattering and nanowire length on the nondiffusive thermal transport in thin
silicon nanowires by rigorously solving the phonon Boltzmann transport equation
using a variance reduced Monte Carlo technique across a range of temperatures.
The simulations use the complete phonon dispersion and spectral lifetime data
obtained from first-principle density function theory calculations as input
without any adjustable parameters. Our BTE simulation results show that the
nanowire length plays an important role in determining the thermal conductivity
of silicon nanowires. In addition, our simulation results suggest significant
phonon confinement effect for the previously measured silicon nanowires. These
findings are important for a comprehensive understanding of microscopic
non-diffusive thermal transport in silicon nanowires.


title:
miniAdapton: A Minimal Implementation of Incremental Computation in
  Scheme

abstract:
  We describe a complete Scheme implementation of miniAdapton, which implements
the core functionality of the Adapton system for incremental computation (also
known as self-adjusting computation). Like Adapton, miniAdapton allows
programmers to safely combine mutation and memoization. miniAdapton is built on
top of an even simpler system, microAdapton. Both miniAdapton and microAdapton
are designed to be easy to understand, extend, and port to host languages other
than Scheme. We also present adapton variables, a new interface in Adapton for
variables intended to represent expressions.


title:
Monte Carlo Simulation of Single-Crystalline PbSe Nanowire Thermal
  Conductivity Using First-Principle Phonon Properties

abstract:
  Prior experimental studies showed that nanowires are promising structures for
improving the thermoelectric performance of practical thermoelectric materials
due to the strongly induced phonon-boundary scattering. However, few studies
examined the impact of phonon-boundary scattering on the thermal conductivity
of thermoelectric nanowires from a first-principle approach. In this work, we
systematically study the role of phonon-boundary scattering with different
boundary specularities on the thermal conductivity of PbSe nanowires by
rigorously solving the full phonon Boltzmann transport equation without any
adjustable parameters. We observe significant thermal conductivity reduction
for rough PbSe nanowires with diameters less than a few hundred nanometers. The
reduction reaches ~ 40% for 10 nm thick rough PbSe nanowires at room
temperature. The diameter-dependent thermal conductivities are found to contain
important information about the phonon mean free path distribution from a
standard reconstruction algorithm. The simulation results are important for
fundamental understanding of nanoscale thermal transport in thermoelectric
materials and will guide future design of thermoelectric devices to achieve
better energy conversion efficiency.


title:
Better than Counting Seconds: Identifying Fallers among Healthy Elderly
  using Fusion of Accelerometer Features and Dual-Task Timed Up and Go

abstract:
  Devices and sensors for identification of fallers can be used to implement
actions to prevent falls and to allow the elderly to live an independent life
while reducing the long-term care costs. In this study we aimed to investigate
the accuracy of Timed Up and Go test, for fallers' identification, using fusion
of features extracted from accelerometer data. Single and dual tasks TUG
(manual and cognitive) were performed by a final sample (94% power) of 36
community dwelling healthy older persons (18 fallers paired with 18
non-fallers) while they wear a single triaxial accelerometer at waist with
sampling rate of 200Hz. The segmentation of the TUG different trials and its
comparative analysis allows to better discriminate fallers from non-fallers,
while conventional functional tests fail to do so. In addition, we show that
the fusion of features improve the discrimination power, achieving AUC of 0.84
(Sensitivity=Specificity=0.83, 95% CI 0.62-0.91), and demonstrating the
clinical relevance of the study. We concluded that features extracted from
segmented TUG trials acquired with dual tasks has potential to improve
performance when identifying fallers via accelerometer sensors, which can
improve TUG accuracy for clinical and epidemiological applications.


title: Enhanced visible light absorption in ZnO/GaN heterostructured nanofilms

abstract:
  ZnO/GaN alloys exhibit exceptional photocatalyst applications owing to the
flexibly tunable band gaps that cover a wide range of the solar spectrum, and
thus have attracted extensive attentions over the past few years. In this
study, first-principles calculations were employed to investigate structural
stabilities and electronic properties of (1-100) and (11-20) ZnO/GaN
heterostructured nanofilms. The effects of nanofilm thickness and GaN ratio
were explored. It was found that all studied heterostructured nanofilms were
less stable than the corresponding pure ZnO film but more stable than pure GaN
one, exhibiting a much thicker film with better stability. Electronic band
structures displayed that both two types of (1-100) and (11-20)
heterostructured nanofilms were semiconductors with band gaps strongly
depending on the GaN ratios as well as the thicknesses. Of particular
interesting is that the band gaps decreased firstly, and then increased with
the increasing GaN ratio. Furthermore, electronic contribution to the valence
band maximum and the conduction band minimum, and optical absorption were
discussed. Our results of ZnO/GaN heterostructured nanofilms with spatial
separation of electrons and holes, and flexibly tunable band gaps hold great
promise for applications in visible-photovoltaic field.


title:
Learning Low-Complexity Autoregressive Models via Proximal Alternating
  Minimization

abstract:
  We consider the estimation of the state transition matrix in vector
autoregressive models, when time sequence data is limited but nonsequence
steady-state data is abundant. To leverage both sources of data, we formulate
the least squares minimization problem regularized by a Lyapunov penalty. We
impose cardinality or rank constraints to reduce the complexity of the
autoregressive model. We solve the resulting nonconvex, nonsmooth problem by
using the proximal alternating linearization method (PALM). We show that PALM
is globally convergent to a critical point and that the estimation error
monotonically decreases. Furthermore, we obtain explicit formulas for the
proximal operators to facilitate the implementation of PALM. We demonstrate the
effectiveness of the developed method on synthetic and real-world data. Our
experiments show that PALM outperforms the gradient projection method in both
computational efficiency and solution quality.


title:
Fast and Effective Algorithms for Symmetric Nonnegative Matrix
  Factorization

abstract:
  Symmetric Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (SNMF) models arise naturally as
simple reformulations of many standard clustering algorithms including the
popular spectral clustering method. Recent work has demonstrated that an
elementary instance of SNMF provides superior clustering quality compared to
many classic clustering algorithms on a variety of synthetic and real world
data sets. In this work, we present novel reformulations of this instance of
SNMF based on the notion of variable splitting and produce two fast and
effective algorithms for its optimization using i) the provably convergent
Accelerated Proximal Gradient (APG) procedure and ii) a heuristic version of
the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) framework. Our two
algorithms present an interesting tradeoff between computational speed and
mathematical convergence guarantee: while the former method is provably
convergent it is considerably slower than the latter approach, for which we
also provide significant but less stringent mathematical proof regarding its
convergence. Through extensive experiments we show not only that the efficacy
of these approaches is equal to that of the state of the art SNMF algorithm,
but also that the latter of our algorithms is extremely fast being one to two
orders of magnitude faster in terms of total computation time than the state of
the art approach, outperforming even spectral clustering in terms of
computation time on large data sets.


title: Multi-type Sequent Calculi

abstract:
  Display calculi are generalized sequent calculi which enjoy a `canonical' cut
elimination strategy. That is, their cut elimination is uniformly obtained by
verifying the assumptions of a meta-theorem, and is preserved by adding or
removing structural rules. In the present paper, we discuss a proof-theoretic
setting, inspired both to Belnap's Display Logic and to Sambin's Basic Logic,
which generalises these calculi in two directions: by explicitly allowing
different types, and by weakening the so-called display and visibility
properties.
  The generalisation to a multi-type environment makes it possible to introduce
specific tools enhancing expressivity, which have proved useful e.g. for a
smooth proof-theoretic treatment of multi-modal and dynamic logics. The
generalisation to a setting in which full display property is not required
makes it possible to account for logics which admit connectives which are
neither adjoints nor residuals, or logics that are not closed under uniform
substitution.
  In the present paper, we give a general overview of the calculi which we
refer to as multi-type calculi, and we discuss their canonical cut elimination
meta-theorem.


title: Optimisations for Real-Time Volumetric Cloudscapes

abstract:
  Volumetric cloudscapes are prohibitively expensive to render in real time
without extensive optimisations. Previous approaches render the clouds to an
offscreen buffer at one quarter resolution and update a fraction of the pixels
per frame, drawing the remaining pixels by temporal reprojection. We present an
alternative approach, reducing the number of raymarching steps and adding a
randomly jittered offset to the raymarch. We use an analytical integration
technique to make results consistent with a lower number of raymarching steps.
To remove noise from the resulting image we apply a temporal anti-aliasing
implementation. The result is a technique producing visually similar results
with 1/16 the number of steps.


title: Generalized residual vector quantization for large scale data

abstract:
  Vector quantization is an essential tool for tasks involving large scale
data, for example, large scale similarity search, which is crucial for
content-based information retrieval and analysis. In this paper, we propose a
novel vector quantization framework that iteratively minimizes quantization
error. First, we provide a detailed review on a relevant vector quantization
method named \textit{residual vector quantization} (RVQ). Next, we propose
\textit{generalized residual vector quantization} (GRVQ) to further improve
over RVQ. Many vector quantization methods can be viewed as the special cases
of our proposed framework. We evaluate GRVQ on several large scale benchmark
datasets for large scale search, classification and object retrieval. We
compared GRVQ with existing methods in detail. Extensive experiments
demonstrate our GRVQ framework substantially outperforms existing methods in
term of quantization accuracy and computation efficiency.


title:
Association of 3He-Rich Solar Energetic Particles with Large-Scale
  Coronal Waves

abstract:
  Small 3He-rich solar energetic particle (SEP) events have been commonly
associated with extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) jets and narrow coronal mass
ejections (CMEs) which are believed to be the signatures of magnetic
reconnection involving field lines open to interplanetary space. The elemental
and isotopic fractionation in these events are thought to be caused by
processes confined to the flare sites. In this study we identify 32 3He-rich
SEP events observed by the Advanced Composition Explorer near the Earth during
the solar minimum period 2007-2010 and examine their solar sources with the
high resolution Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) EUV images.
Leading the Earth, STEREO-A provided for the first time a direct view on
3He-rich flares, which are generally located on the Sun's western hemisphere.
Surprisingly, we find that about half of the 3He-rich SEP events in this survey
are associated with large-scale EUV coronal waves. An examination of the wave
front propagation, the source-flare distribution and the coronal magnetic field
connections suggests that the EUV waves may affect the injection of 3He-rich
SEPs into interplanetary space.


title: The existence of the graphs that have exactly two main eigenvalues

abstract:
  An eigenvalue of a graph $G$ is called a main eigenvalue if it has an
eigenvector the sum of whose entries is not equal to zero. It is well known
that a graph $G$ has exactly two main eigenvalues if and only if there exists a
unique pair of integers $a$ and $b$ such that $\sum_{u\in N(v)}d(u)=ad(v)+b$
for every vertex $v\in V(G)$. We collect such connected graph $G$ in the set
$\mathscr{G}(a,b)$. In this paper, we mainly focus to the existence of such $a$
and $b$, and give the necessary and sufficient condition for
$\mathscr{G}(a,b)\neq\emptyset$. In addition, we give the bound for the vertex
degrees of $G\in\mathscr{G}(a,b)$ and use the bound to characterize the graphs
in $\mathscr{G}(a,b)$ for some feasible pairs $(a,b)$.