8,559 research outputs found
Expressiveness and Robustness of First-Price Position Auctions
Since economic mechanisms are often applied to very different instances of
the same problem, it is desirable to identify mechanisms that work well in a
wide range of circumstances. We pursue this goal for a position auction setting
and specifically seek mechanisms that guarantee good outcomes under both
complete and incomplete information. A variant of the generalized first-price
mechanism with multi-dimensional bids turns out to be the only standard
mechanism able to achieve this goal, even when types are one-dimensional. The
fact that expressiveness beyond the type space is both necessary and sufficient
for this kind of robustness provides an interesting counterpoint to previous
work on position auctions that has highlighted the benefits of simplicity. From
a technical perspective our results are interesting because they establish
equilibrium existence for a multi-dimensional bid space, where standard
techniques break down. The structure of the equilibrium bids moreover provides
an intuitive explanation for why first-price payments may be able to support
equilibria in a wider range of circumstances than second-price payments
Treatment of Young Children with HIV Infection: Using Evidence to Inform Policymakers
PMCID: PMC3404108This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Evaluation of LANDSAT MSS vs TM simulated data for distinguishing hydrothermal alteration
The LANDSAT Follow-On (LFO) data was simulated to demonstrate the mineral exploration capability of this system for segregating different types of hydrothermal alteration and to compare this capability with that of the existing LANDSAT system. Multispectral data were acquired for several test sites with the Bendix 24-channel MSDS scanner. Contrast enhancements, band ratioing, and principal component transformations were used to process the simulated LFO data for analysis. For Red Mountain, Arizona, the LFO data allowed identification of silicified areas, not identifiable with LANDSAT 1 and 2 data. The improved LFO resolution allowed detection of small silicic outcrops and of a narrow silicified dike. For Cuprite - Ralston, Nevada, the LFO spectral bands allowed discrimination of argillic and opalized altered areas; these could not be spectrally discriminated using LANDSAT 1 and 2 data. Addition of data from the 1.3- and 2.2- micrometer regions allowed better discriminations of hydrothermal alteration types
A SaTScan™ macro accessory for cartography (SMAC) package implemented with SAS(® )software
BACKGROUND: SaTScan is a software program written to implement the scan statistic; it can be used to find clusters in space and/or time. It must often be run multiple times per day when doing disease surveillance. Running SaTScan frequently via its graphical user interface can be cumbersome, and the output can be difficult to visualize. RESULTS: The SaTScan Macro Accessory for Cartography (SMAC) package consists of four SAS macros and was designed as an easier way to run SaTScan multiple times and add graphical output. The package contains individual macros which allow the user to make the necessary input files for SaTScan, run SaTScan, and create graphical output all from within SAS software. The macros can also be combined to do this all in one step. CONCLUSION: The SMAC package can make SaTScan easier to use and can make the output more informative
Geometry of Valley Growth
Although amphitheater-shaped valley heads can be cut by groundwater flows
emerging from springs, recent geological evidence suggests that other processes
may also produce similar features, thus confounding the interpretations of such
valley heads on Earth and Mars. To better understand the origin of this
topographic form we combine field observations, laboratory experiments,
analysis of a high-resolution topographic map, and mathematical theory to
quantitatively characterize a class of physical phenomena that produce
amphitheater-shaped heads. The resulting geometric growth equation accurately
predicts the shape of decimeter-wide channels in laboratory experiments,
100-meter wide valleys in Florida and Idaho, and kilometer wide valleys on
Mars. We find that whenever the processes shaping a landscape favor the growth
of sharply protruding features, channels develop amphitheater-shaped heads with
an aspect ratio of pi
Higher Order Methods for Simulations on Quantum Computers
To efficiently implement many-qubit gates for use in quantum simulations on
quantum computers we develop and present methods reexpressing exp[-i (H_1 + H_2
+ ...) \Delta t] as a product of factors exp[-i H_1 \Delta t], exp[-i H_2
\Delta t], ... which is accurate to 3rd or 4th order in \Delta t. The methods
we derive are an extended form of symplectic method and can also be used for
the integration of classical Hamiltonians on classical computers. We derive
both integral and irrational methods, and find the most efficient methods in
both cases.Comment: 21 pages, Latex, one figur
Geologic application of thermal inertia imaging using HCMM data
Three test sites in the western US were selected to discriminate among surface geologic materials on the basis of their thermal properties as determined from HCMM data. Attempts to determine quantitatively accurate thermal inertia values from HCMM digital data met with only partial success due to the effects of sensor miscalibrations, radiative transfer in the atmosphere, and varying meteorology and elevation across a scene. In most instances, apparent thermal inertia was found to be an excellent qualitative representation of true thermal inertia. Computer processing of digital day and night HCMM data allowed construction of geologically useful images. At some test sites, more information was provided by data than LANDSAT data. Soil moisture effects and differences in spectrally dark materials were more effectively displayed using the thermal data
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