Master of Arms

This project studied the Higgins Armory Museum’s copy of the martial arts treatise The Art of Combat, written by Joachim Meyer in 1570. The team researched the author’s life and times, and studied the longsword, rapier, halberd, and other weapons from the treatise to understand their history and their use in Meyer’s time. The outcome was an instructional video and documentary to accompany the artifact and to enrich the Armory’s historic combat classes

FROM MARKET MAGIC TO CALYPSO SCIENCE POLICY A Review of Terence Kealey's The Economic Laws of Scientific Research

The current reconsideration of public research funding policies in the U.S., and U.K. and other industrialized economies makes it important that policy makers and the public understand the valid economic grounds for government support of science. This review article of a book that which argues for the ending of all government support of non-military R&D, provides an occasion to take stock of what is known about the subject. The review concludes that the extreme laissez-faire science policy arguments adroitly advanced by Terrance Kealey's book are analytically without foundation, and are based upon distortions and misinterpretations of the evidence of economic history, as well as on the misuse of econometric methods. The problem is that Mr. Kealey is an engaging writer and there still is in some policy circles an audience for his message, hence to undo the damage will call for concerted and persistent efforts on the part of economists specializing in the economics of science and technology.

FPGA IMPLEMENTATION FOR ELLIPTIC CURVE CRYPTOGRAPHY OVER BINARY EXTENSION FIELD

Elliptic curve cryptography plays a crucial role in network and communication security. However, implementation of elliptic curve cryptography, especially the implementation of scalar multiplication on an elliptic curve, faces multiple challenges. One of the main challenges is side channel attacks (SCAs). SCAs pose a real threat to the conventional implementations of scalar multiplication such as binary methods (also called doubling-and-add methods). Several scalar multiplication algorithms with countermeasures against side channel attacks have been proposed. Among them, Montgomery Powering Ladder (MPL) has been shown an effective countermeasure against simple power analysis. However, MPL is still vulnerable to certain more sophisticated side channel attacks. A recently proposed modified MPL utilizes a combination of sequence masking (SM), exponent splitting (ES) and point randomization (PR). And it has shown to be one of the best countermeasure algorithms that are immune to many sophisticated side channel attacks [11]. In this thesis, an efficient hardware architecture for this algorithm is proposed and its FPGA implementation is also presented. To our best knowledge, this is the first time that this modified MPL with SM, ES, and PR has been implemented in hardware

Fiscal Increasing Returns, Hysteresis, Real Wages and Unemployment

European unemployment is widely regarded as a problem of excessive real wages. This view as it is usually expressed carries the disturbing implication that there is a sharp conflict between the interests of those currently employed and the unemployed because it suggests that increases in employment will require reductions in the real wages of those currently employed. The first part of this paper shows that increases in employment in Europe are likely to be associated with rising real take-home pay for workers because of fiscal increasing returns. Increases in employment and output will make possible reductions in taxes sufficiently large to offset any effects of diminishing returns to labor. The second part of the paper considers alternative explanations for the failure of nominal wages to adjust so as to restore full employment and their implications for the efficacy of fiscal policies. It concludes that under a variety of plausible conditions tax cuts would succeed in stimulating employment.

Transition of wire-disturbed cylinder wake flow

The transition of the flow behind bluff bodies has been the main topic of research for many decades. Despite the efforts of many scientist and engineers, understanding of the transition mechanism of wake flows behind both streamlined and bluff bodies is still a challenge. The focus in this research is the modified flow regime in the wake of a circular cylinder. The modification is obtained by placing a very thin wire at a particular position in the cylinder wake. The occurring transitional flow is denoted as Mode-C, in comparison to Mode-A and Mode-B transition for the non-wired cylinder. The flow structures have been investigated both experimentally and numerically for different Reynolds numbers (Re=100-250) using flow visualizations based on tin-precipitation method, velocity measurements using Particle Image Velocimetry and numerical simulations based on Spectral Element method. In the laminar two-dimensional flow regime Re=100, it is observed, both numerically and experimentally, that the wake of the cylinder is taking different trajectories with respect to the wire position. A hypothesis is formulated about the reasons of the wake deflection using a Point Vortex Model. The hypothesis is supported with the assessment of vortex trajectories, strengths, lift and drag characteristics. It is concluded that the deflection of the wake is primarily caused by a modification of the vortex arrangement in the wake. This modified vortex arrangement is caused by different formation times of the upper and lower vortices, by different vortex strengths or by both. A three-dimensional transition of the wired cylinder flow is observed for Re>170. This transition is characterized by the so-called Mode-C instability. The analysis of the experimental results shows that this Mode-C instability consists of secondary vortices with a period-doubling character, ie. the secondary vortices alternate sign from one shedding cycle to the next. It is shown that a feedback mechanism of the streamwise vortices between the two consecutively shed upper von Karman vortices causes the period-doubling character of the wake. The analysis of Mode-C transition is further extended using the data from comprehensive PIV experiments. The three-dimensional wake structure and vortex dynamics are investigated with a particular focus on the energy distribution of the wake, vortex strengths and vortex trajectories. The secondary vortices are shown to be counter rotating vortex pairs with a spanwise wavelength of ¿Z/D=2.16. In the final stage of the research, experiments are performed to evaluate the wake behind a rotating cylinder, particularly focusing on the so-called Shedding Mode II regime. In literature only numerical proof is found for the existence of this Shedding Mode II for which a single vortex is shed with a much lower frequency compared to non-rotating case. Both flow visualization and PIV techniques are used to investigate this kind of flow. Shedding Mode II is experimentally detected for a Reynolds number of Re=100 in the same rotation rate regime as in the numerical studies

Wages, profits and rent-sharing

The paper suggests a new test for rent-sharing in the U.S. labor market. Using an unbalanced panel from the manufacturing sector, it shows that a rise in a sector's profitability leads after some years to an increase in the long-run level of wages in that sector. The paper controls for workers' characteristics, for industry fixed-effects, and for unionism. Lester's range of wages is estimated, for rent-sharing reasons alone, at approximately 24 per cent of the mean wage

暗号モジュールへの故障利用攻撃に対する安全性評価手法に関する研究

Tohoku University青木孝

Is the incidence of dementia declining?

Action on preventative health could lower the risk of dementia for future generations, argues this report. Executive summary The world-wide projections of the prevalence of dementia in the coming decades have been a source of great concern to health systems and societies around the world. The World Alzheimer Report 2010 estimated that there were 36 million people with dementia in 2010, with an expected doubling every 20 years to nearly 115 million in 2050. These sobering figures are based on assumptions that the age-adjusted prevalence of dementia would remain constant and the population would continue to age at the current rate. The assumption that the incidence of dementia will remain stable is now being put into question. There is emerging evidence to suggest that the incidence of dementia in older individuals may be declining. It appears that this change may be recent and has possibly occurred only in the last one to two decades. It may also be restricted so far to high income countries, although data from low and middle income countries are lacking. The reasons for this change are not understood, but education, more stimulating environments and better control of vascular risk factors may have contributed. The data are still preliminary and more studies are needed to establish the extent of this change and understand its causes. It should be noted that the decline is not large enough to offset the increase in prevalence of dementia due to the ageing of the population and therefore investment and efforts to develop better treatments and care for people with dementia need to continue. The fact that dementia rates are malleable is an encouraging finding but the reduction cannot be taken for granted as gains in population health can easily be lost if societies do not remain vigilant and continually proactive. These preliminary findings provide a strong argument for large scale Government investment in dementia-prevention strategies, which should start from early life