A simple method for detecting chaos in nature

Chaos, or exponential sensitivity to small perturbations, appears everywhere in nature. Moreover, chaos is predicted to play diverse functional roles in living systems. A method for detecting chaos from empirical measurements should therefore be a key component of the biologist's toolkit. But, classic chaos-detection tools are highly sensitive to measurement noise and break down for common edge cases, making it difficult to detect chaos in domains, like biology, where measurements are noisy. However, newer tools promise to overcome these limitations. Here, we combine several such tools into an automated processing pipeline, and show that our pipeline can detect the presence (or absence) of chaos in noisy recordings, even for difficult edge cases. As a first-pass application of our pipeline, we show that heart rate variability is not chaotic as some have proposed, and instead reflects a stochastic process in both health and disease. Our tool is easy-to-use and freely available

Appeal For Unity

https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/crs_books/1090/thumbnail.jp

Internationalization of Research & Development and Host-Country Patenting : The Dynamics of Innovation and Trans-Border R&D Flows between Developed and Emerging Countries

The international business world has profoundly changed through globalization in the last years and decades. The cross-border exchange of products and people, as well as information, technology and capital has increased. Furthermore, companies are faced with an increasingly distributed knowledge base which means that one centralized Research & Development (R&D) base, usually at the headquarters is not sufficient and a companys success rather depends on its ability to identify and occupy selected locations across the globe for R&D activities. While the degree of R&D Internationalization of large multinational corporations (MNCs) has been increasing for the last decades, the group of source countries has remained small: the headquarters of the leading R&D conducting MNCs have been largely based in the US, Japan and several European countries (e.g. Germany, Switzerland) and R&D Internationalization had been remaining within this group. Since the beginning of this millennium, however, several emerging countries (e.g. China or India) have entered the stage and increasingly attracted foreign R&D investments as target countries. R&D has therefore not only increased in intensity, it has also increased in breadth, i.e. the degree of target country diversification has grown. This dissertation addresses and is driven by the following overarching research question: How can we capture even more precisely to what extent and in what fields MNCs conduct R&D abroad and how have the patterns changed in the time period 2000 2019? Six major trends can be identified to answer the research question: 1. The share of R&D conducted abroad by MNCs in relation to their total R&D has increased in the last decades. 2. The number of target countries and their technological diversification degree has increased. 3. A select number of target countries, particularly ambitious emerging countries (China, India and partly some Eastern European countries) have significantly increased in relevance as a base for R&D activities. 4. Target countries attract foreign R&D in respective specific technological fields. Particularly the uprising emerging countries have built up competences in certain areas and participate in R&D in these fields on a relevant global degree. 5. A strong shift across the R&D conducting industries can be observed. Particularly high tech industries (e.g. pharma and biotech) and new technologies (IT, internet, software) have significantly increased in relevance compared to classic manufacturing industries and account for an increasing share of R&D activities across all industries. 6. Conducting R&D abroad generally pays off compared to purely domestic R&D, although there is indication that too much internationality can be detrimental as well.Die internationale Geschäftswelt hat sich in den letzten Jahren und Jahrzehnten durch die Globalisierung tiefgreifend verändert. Der grenzüberschreitende Austausch von Produkten und Menschen sowie von Informationen, Technologie und Kapital hat zugenommen. Darüber hinaus sind die Unternehmen mit einer zunehmend verteilten Wissensbasis konfrontiert, was bedeutet, dass eine zentrale Forschungs- und Entwicklungsbasis (F&E), in der Regel am Hauptsitz, nicht ausreicht und der Erfolg eines Unternehmens stattdessen von dessen Fähigkeit abhängt, ausgewählte Standorte auf der ganzen Welt für F&E-Aktivitäten zu identifizieren und besetzen. Während der Grad der F&E-Internationalisierung großer multinationaler Unternehmen (MNUs) in den letzten Jahrzehnten zugenommen hat, ist die Gruppe der Herkunftsländer klein geblieben: Die Hauptsitze der führenden F&E betreibenden MNUs befanden sich größtenteils in den USA, Japan und einigen europäischen Ländern (z.B. Deutschland, Schweiz), und eine F&E-Internationalisierung fand weitestgehend innerhalb dieser Gruppe statt. Seit Beginn dieses Jahrtausends haben jedoch mehrere Schwellenländer (z. B. China oder Indien) die Bühne betreten und zunehmend ausländische F&E-Investitionen als Zielländer angezogen. Die Intensität der F&E hat also nicht nur zugenommen, sondern auch die Breite, d. h. der Grad der Diversifizierung der Zielländer hat zugenommen. Diese Dissertation befasst sich mit der folgenden übergeordneten Forschungsfrage und wird von ihr geleitet: Wie können wir noch genauer erfassen, in welchem Umfang und in welchen Bereichen multinationale Unternehmen F&E im Ausland betreiben, und wie haben sich die Muster im Zeitraum 2000 bis 2019 verändert? Zur Beantwortung der Forschungsfrage lassen sich sechs Haupttrends ausmachen: 1. Der Anteil der von multinationalen Unternehmen im Ausland durchgeführten F&E an ihrer gesamten F&E hat in den letzten Jahrzehnten zugenommen. 2. Die Zahl der Zielländer und ihr technologischer Diversifizierungsgrad haben zugenommen. 3. Einige ausgewählte Zielländer, insbesondere aufstrebende Schwellenländer (China, Indien und teilweise einige osteuropäische Länder), haben als Basis für F&E-Aktivitäten erheblich an Bedeutung gewonnen. 4. Die Zielländer ziehen ausländische F&E in jeweils spezifischen Technologiebereichen an. Insbesondere die aufstrebenden Schwellenländer haben in bestimmten Bereichen Kompetenzen aufgebaut und beteiligen sich in einem weltweit relevanten Umfang an F&E in diesen Bereichen. 5. Es ist eine starke Verschiebung zwischen den F&E-betreibenden Branchen zu beobachten. Insbesondere Hochtechnologiebranchen (z.B. Pharma und Biotech) und neue Technologien (IT, Internet, Software) haben gegenüber dem klassischen verarbeitenden Gewerbe deutlich an Bedeutung gewonnen und machen über alle Branchen hinweg betrachtet einen zunehmenden Anteil der F&E-Aktivitäten aus. 6. Die Durchführung von F&E im Ausland zahlt sich im Allgemeinen im Vergleich zu rein inländischer F&E aus, obwohl es Anzeichen dafür gibt, dass zu viel Internationalität auch nachteilig sein kann

Electrically induced strain and polarization fatigue in lead-free ceramics

Piezoelectric ceramics have traditionally been used in commercial applications such as actuators and sensors. By far the most popular piezoceramics currently in use are Pb(Zr,Ti)O3-based (PZT) ceramics. PZT ceramics are able to produce large strain and polarization with the application of an electric field, and this is due to the Morphotropic phase boundary (MPB). A MPB is associated with the boundary between tetragonal and rhombohedral perovskite phases. A disadvantage of PZT ceramics is that they contain ≥ 60 wt. % of lead. Since lead is toxic, this poses an environmental and health hazard because lead is released into the surroundings during fabrication and disposal. Because of this, there is a push to discover lead-free alternatives that have comparable properties to PZT but none of the health risks. One possibility is Bi1/2(Na0.8K0.2)1/2Ti0.985Ta0.015O3 (BNKT-1.5Ta). In addition to comparable electrical properties, any lead-free alternatives must have decent fatigue resistance to be useful for applications. This thesis focuses on the fatigue properties of BNKT-1.5Ta. The composition demonstrates high strain for a given applied electric field. To determine the fatigue resistance of BNKT-1.5Ta, data was gathered on how strain and polarization changed over number of cycles. Furthermore, fatigue tests at different temperatures were performed to ascertain if temperature affected fatigue life. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and dielectric measurements were also collected to further examine any change in crystal structure and relative permittivity, respectively, before and after cycling

Continuous-Time Limits in the Generalized Ho-Lee Framework under the Forward Measure

The forward measure in the discrete time Ho/Lee model is derived and passages to the continuous time limit are carried out under this measure. In particular the continuous time valuation formula for call options on zero coupon bonds is obtained as a limit of its discrete time equivalent as well as the continuous time distribution of the continuously compounded short rate. Finally it is shown that the trinomial and quattronomial generalizations of the Ho/Lee model by Bühler and Schulze are essentially equivalent to the Ho/Lee model as concernes their discrete time properties and their continuous time limits.Ho/Lee model, forward measure, continuous time limit, trinomial and quattronomial models.

Host-Country Patenting and Inventorship in Emerging Countries

We analyze the increasing globalization of worldwide research and development (R&D) with a focus on emerging countries, by using patent data as a proxy. The number of host-country patents has skyrocketed in the emerging countries, for example, the number of US patents created with foreign inventors in China and India has more than decupled between 2000 and 2013. At the same time, emerging countries, such as China, Korea, India, Israel, Brazil, and Russia have significantly increased their patenting efforts, with China attaining rank 3 with more than 10% of all worldwide Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT) patents in 2013, up from position 9 in 2000. Thereby, the former dominance of the Triadic countries has been reduced considerably. We conclude that the flow of innovation in emerging countries is not a one-way street anymore, but rather goes in both directions

An Exposure of an Unfortunate Man

https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/crs_books/1347/thumbnail.jp

A Systematic Approach to Pricing and Hedging of International Derivatives with Interest-Rate Risk

We deal with the valuration and hedging of non path-dependent European options on one or several underlyings in a model of an international economy which allows for both interest rate and exchange rate risk. Using martingale theory we provide a unified and easily applicable approach to pricing and hedging Black-Scholes type options on stocks, bonds, forwards. futures and exchange rates. We also cover the pricing and hedging of options to exchange two Black-Scholes type options for one another. The contigent claims may pay off in arbitrary currencies.Arbitrage, interest rate risk, exchange rate risk, option pricing, hedging

Color-Coulomb Force Calculated from Lattice Coulomb Hamiltonian

The static color-Coulomb potential is calculated as the solution of a non-linear integral equation. This equation has been derived recently as a self-consistency condition which arises in the Coulomb Hamiltonian formulation of lattice gauge theory when the restriction to the interior of the Gribov horizon is implemented. The potential obtained is in qualitative agreement with expectations, being Coulombic with logarithmic corrections at short range and confining at long range. The values obtained for the string tension and $\Lambda_{\overline{MS}}$ are in semi-quantitative agreement with lattice Monte Carlo and phenomenological determinations.Comment: 4 pages (including 1 figure); (latex using espcrc2.sty). Talk presented at LATTICE96(poster