4,448 research outputs found
The Hall algebras of annuli
We refine and prove the central conjecture of our first paper for annuli with at least two marked intervals on each boundary component by computing the derived Hall algebras of their Fukaya categories
Socially Optimal Mining Pools
Mining for Bitcoins is a high-risk high-reward activity. Miners, seeking to
reduce their variance and earn steadier rewards, collaborate in pooling
strategies where they jointly mine for Bitcoins. Whenever some pool participant
is successful, the earned rewards are appropriately split among all pool
participants. Currently a dozen of different pooling strategies (i.e., methods
for distributing the rewards) are in use for Bitcoin mining.
We here propose a formal model of utility and social welfare for Bitcoin
mining (and analogous mining systems) based on the theory of discounted
expected utility, and next study pooling strategies that maximize the social
welfare of miners. Our main result shows that one of the pooling strategies
actually employed in practice--the so-called geometric pay pool--achieves the
optimal steady-state utility for miners when its parameters are set
appropriately.
Our results apply not only to Bitcoin mining pools, but any other form of
pooled mining or crowdsourcing computations where the participants engage in
repeated random trials towards a common goal, and where "partial" solutions can
be efficiently verified
Benefits of Case-Based versus Traditional Lecture-Based Instruction in a Preclinical Removable Prosthodontics Course
This study compared the acceptability and relative effectiveness of case-based learning (CBL) versus traditional lecture-based (LB) instruction in a preclinical removable prosthodontics course in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry DDS curriculum. The entire second-year class (N=82) comprised this crossover study's sample. Assessments of baseline comprehension and confidence in removable partial denture (RPD) treatment planning were conducted at the beginning of the course. Near the end of the course, half of the class received CBL and LB instruction in an RPD module in alternating sequence, with students serving as their own control group. Assessments of perceived RPD treatment planning efficacy, comprehension, and instruction method preference were administered directly after students completed the RPD module and six months later. Analyses of variance accounting for period, carryover, and sequence effects were used to determine the relative effects of each approach using a p<0.05 statistical significance threshold. The results showed that the students preferred CBL (81%) over LB instruction (9%), a pattern that remained unchanged after a six-month period. Despite notable period and carryover effects, CBL was also associated with higher gains in RPD treatment planning comprehension (p=0.04) and perceived efficacy (p=0.01) compared to LB instruction. These gains diminished six months after the course-a finding based on a 49% follow-up response rate. Overall, the students overwhelmingly preferred CBL to LB instruction, and the findings suggest small albeit measurable educational benefits associated with CBL. This study's findings support the introduction and further testing of CBL in the preclinical dental curriculum, in anticipation of possible future benefits evident during clinical training
The Combinatorial World (of Auctions) According to GARP
Revealed preference techniques are used to test whether a data set is
compatible with rational behaviour. They are also incorporated as constraints
in mechanism design to encourage truthful behaviour in applications such as
combinatorial auctions. In the auction setting, we present an efficient
combinatorial algorithm to find a virtual valuation function with the optimal
(additive) rationality guarantee. Moreover, we show that there exists such a
valuation function that both is individually rational and is minimum (that is,
it is component-wise dominated by any other individually rational, virtual
valuation function that approximately fits the data). Similarly, given upper
bound constraints on the valuation function, we show how to fit the maximum
virtual valuation function with the optimal additive rationality guarantee. In
practice, revealed preference bidding constraints are very demanding. We
explain how approximate rationality can be used to create relaxed revealed
preference constraints in an auction. We then show how combinatorial methods
can be used to implement these relaxed constraints. Worst/best-case welfare
guarantees that result from the use of such mechanisms can be quantified via
the minimum/maximum virtual valuation function
Symmetry of two terminal, non-linear electric conduction
The well-established symmetry relations for linear transport phenomena can
not, in general, be applied in the non-linear regime. Here we propose a set of
symmetry relations with respect to bias voltage and magnetic field for the
non-linear conductance of two-terminal electric conductors. We experimentally
confirm these relations using phase-coherent, semiconductor quantum dots.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Fractal Markets Hypothesis and the Global Financial Crisis: Scaling, Investment Horizons and Liquidity
We investigate whether fractal markets hypothesis and its focus on liquidity
and invest- ment horizons give reasonable predictions about dynamics of the
financial markets during the turbulences such as the Global Financial Crisis of
late 2000s. Compared to the mainstream efficient markets hypothesis, fractal
markets hypothesis considers financial markets as com- plex systems consisting
of many heterogenous agents, which are distinguishable mainly with respect to
their investment horizon. In the paper, several novel measures of trading
activity at different investment horizons are introduced through scaling of
variance of the underlying processes. On the three most liquid US indices -
DJI, NASDAQ and S&P500 - we show that predictions of fractal markets hypothesis
actually fit the observed behavior quite well.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Tunneling Luminescence of the Surface of GaN Films Grown by Vapor Phase Epitaxy
We report scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images of surfaces of GaN films
and the observation of luminescence from those films induced by highly
spatially localized injection of electrons or holes using STM. This combination
of scanning tunneling luminescence (STL) with STM for GaN surfaces and the
ability to observe both morphology and luminescence in GaN is the first step to
investigate possible correlations between surface morphology and optical
properties.Comment: 12 pages, Revtex 3.0, submitted to Appl. Phys. Lett., three figures
available from Jian Ma at [email protected]
Secure ADS-B authentication system and method
A secure system for authenticating the identity of ADS-B systems, including: an authenticator, including a unique id generator and a transmitter transmitting the unique id to one or more ADS-B transmitters; one or more ADS-B transmitters, including a receiver receiving the unique id, one or more secure processing stages merging the unique id with the ADS-B transmitter's identification, data and secret key and generating a secure code identification and a transmitter transmitting a response containing the secure code and ADSB transmitter's data to the authenticator; the authenticator including means for independently determining each ADS-B transmitter's secret key, a receiver receiving each ADS-B transmitter's response, one or more secure processing stages merging the unique id, ADS-B transmitter's identification and data and generating a secure code, and comparison processing comparing the authenticator-generated secure code and the ADS-B transmitter-generated secure code and providing an authentication signal based on the comparison result
An Annotated Bibliography in Financial Therapy
The following annotated bibliography contains a summary of articles and websites, as well as a list of books related to financial therapy. The resources were compiled through e-mail solicitation from members of the Financial Therapy Forum in November 2008. Members of the forum are marked with an asterisk
Using the stated preference method for the calculation of social discount rate
The aim of this paper is to build the stated preference method into the social discount rate methodology. The first part of the paper presents the results of a survey about stated time preferences through pair-choice decision situations for various topics and time horizons. It is assumed that stated time preferences differ from calculated time preferences and that the extent of stated rates depends on the time period, and on how much respondents are financially and emotionally involved in the transactions. A significant question remains: how can the gap between the calculation and the results of surveys be resolved, and how can the real time preferences of individuals be interpreted using a social time preference rate. The second part of the paper estimates the social time preference rate for Hungary using the results of the survey, while paying special attention to the pure time preference component. The results suggest that the current method of calculation of the pure time preference rate does not reflect the real attitudes of individuals towards future generations
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