7,929 research outputs found

    List objects and recursive algorithms in elementary topoi

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    The paper generalizes results of [B] by formulating their background in categories with a sufficiently rich internal logic, e. g. elementary topoi, using the well known initial algebra approach. Thus the right setting for program transformations in the sense of [B] is given by embedding them into the generalisation of primitive recursion over the naturals in the sense of [F] to lists. Particularly there is a simple concept of tail recursion, hence an outline on a systematic transformation of naive recursive programs into tail recursive i. e. more efficient iterative forms

    Scattering properties of Venus' surface

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    Radar backscatter functions Sigma-(carat)(sub 0)(phi) for incidence angles between 0 less than or equal to phi less than or equal to 4-10 deg were derived from Magellan altimetry radar echoes. The procedure includes constrained solution of a system of simultaneous equations for which the echo-spectrum and echo time profile are inputs. A practical and workable set of constraints was applied; optimization and improved results are expected as the analysis matures. The scattering functions yield information on small-scale surface structures (tens of centimeters to tens of meters) but averaged over hundreds of sq km. RMS surface slopes derived from fits of analytic functions to the Sigma-(carat)(sub 0)(phi) results were converted to map form and show patterns similar to those reported using other techniques. While all three forms are found on Venus, fit residuals imply that an exponential scattering function matches data better than either the Hagfors or Gaussian form in most areas, although the Hagfors function may be a better descriptor at some sites. Limited study of image data indicates that average backscatter cross section, and possibly its slope, can be derived at oblique angles (17 deg less than or equal to phi less than or equal to 45 deg). Offsets of the echo peak in altimetry spectra are surprisingly common and are loosely correlated with Venus topography, but no cause for this phenomenon was identified

    Nesting behaviour influences species-specific gas exchange across avian eggshells

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    Carefully controlled gas exchange across the eggshell is essential for the development of the avian embryo. Water vapour conductance (GH2O) across the shell, typically measured as mass loss during incubation, has been demonstrated to optimally ensure the healthy development of the embryo while avoiding desiccation. Accordingly, eggs exposed to sub-optimal gas exchange have reduced hatching success. We tested the association between eggshell GH2O and putative life-history correlates of adult birds, ecological nest parameters and physical characteristics of the egg itself to investigate how variation in GH2O has evolved to maintain optimal water loss across a diverse set of nest environments. We measured gas exchange through eggshell fragments in 151 British breeding bird species and fitted phylogenetically controlled, general linear models to test the relationship between GH2O and potential predictor parameters of each species. Of our 17 life-history traits, only two were retained in the final model: wet-incubating parent and nest type. Eggs of species where the parent habitually returned to the nest with wet plumage had significantly higher GH2O than those of parents that returned to the nest with dry plumage. Eggs of species nesting in ground burrows, cliffs and arboreal cups had significantly higher GH2O than those of species nesting on the ground in open nests or cups, in tree cavities and in shallow arboreal nests. Phylogenetic signal (measured as Pagel's λ) was intermediate in magnitude, suggesting that differences observed in the GH2O are dependent upon a combination of shared ancestry and species-specific life history and ecological traits. Although these data are correlational by nature, they are consistent with the hypothesis that parents constrained to return to the nest with wet plumage will increase the humidity of the nest environment, and the eggs of these species have evolved a higher GH2O to overcome this constraint and still achieve optimal water loss during incubation. We also suggest that eggs laid in cup nests and burrows may require a higher GH2O to overcome the increased humidity as a result from the confined nest microclimate lacking air movements through the nest. Taken together, these comparative data imply that species-specific levels of gas exchange across avian eggshells are variable and evolve in response to ecological and physical variation resulting from parental and nesting behaviours

    Attorney Fee Arrangements: The U.S. and Western Perspectives

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    This article develops an analytical framework for viewing the rules on attorney fee arrangements that have been adopted in the United States and in major western European countries. In section II the paper explains the choice of economic agency theory as a starting point for developing this framework. Within the meaning of economic agency, the attorney is a dual agent, with duties to both the client and the judicial system. In section III the paper identifies five interests that form the basis for evaluating fee systems. These interests are derived from applying basic agency theory to the duties of the attorney as an agent of both the client and the judicial system, and extracting the more specific aspects of both types of duties. In sections IV and V the interest analysis is applied to three types of fee arrangements--the fixed fee, the hourly fee, and the contingency fee. We select these types of fee arrangements because they represents key distinct elements, one or more of which seems to be present in any of the fee systems used in the United States or in western Europe. The key distinct element of the fixed fee is that the attorney will be paid the amount agreed upon, without regard to effort or to risk. The key distinct element of the hourly fee is that the attorney will be compensated based on effort, as measured by time spent working, without regard to a fixed amount or to risk. The key distinct element of the contingency fee is that the attorney is compensated for assuming risk, without regard to an agreed upon amount or effort expended. By isolating the way these three distinct types of fee arrangements affect interests that are important in all of the western fees systems, we build a framework for evaluating the many fee arrangements that utilize and combine these key elements, such as the United Kingdom\u27s new conditional fee system. This framework avoids the dominant tendency of the literature to focus on the flaws of a particular fee system in isolation from its alternatives

    Attorney Fee Arrangements: The U.S. and Western Perspectives

    Get PDF
    This article develops an analytical framework for viewing the rules on attorney fee arrangements that have been adopted in the United States and in major western European countries. In section II the paper explains the choice of economic agency theory as a starting point for developing this framework. Within the meaning of economic agency, the attorney is a dual agent, with duties to both the client and the judicial system. In section III the paper identifies five interests that form the basis for evaluating fee systems. These interests are derived from applying basic agency theory to the duties of the attorney as an agent of both the client and the judicial system, and extracting the more specific aspects of both types of duties. In sections IV and V the interest analysis is applied to three types of fee arrangements--the fixed fee, the hourly fee, and the contingency fee. We select these types of fee arrangements because they represents key distinct elements, one or more of which seems to be present in any of the fee systems used in the United States or in western Europe. The key distinct element of the fixed fee is that the attorney will be paid the amount agreed upon, without regard to effort or to risk. The key distinct element of the hourly fee is that the attorney will be compensated based on effort, as measured by time spent working, without regard to a fixed amount or to risk. The key distinct element of the contingency fee is that the attorney is compensated for assuming risk, without regard to an agreed upon amount or effort expended. By isolating the way these three distinct types of fee arrangements affect interests that are important in all of the western fees systems, we build a framework for evaluating the many fee arrangements that utilize and combine these key elements, such as the United Kingdom\u27s new conditional fee system. This framework avoids the dominant tendency of the literature to focus on the flaws of a particular fee system in isolation from its alternatives

    The high-energy pulsed X-ray spectrum of HER X-1 as observed with OSO-8

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    Her X-1 was observed from 1977 August 30 to September 10 using the High-Energy X-Ray Scintillation Spectrometer on board the OSO-8 satellite. The observation, during which the source was monitored continually for nearly an entire ON-state, covered the energy range from 16 to 280 keV. Pulsed flux measurements as a function of binary orbit and binary phase are presented for energies between 16 and 98 keV. The pulsed flux between 16 and 33 keV exhibited a sharp decrease following the fourth binary orbit and was consistent with zero pulsed flux thereafter. The pulsed spectrum was fitted with a power law, a thermal spectrum without features, and a thermal spectrum with a superposed gaussian centered at 55 keV. The latter fit has the smallest value of chi - squared per degree of freedom, and the resulting integrated line intensity is 1.5 superscript + 4.1 subscript - 1.4 x .001 photons s superscript-1 cm superscript-2 for a width of 3.1 superscript + 9.1 subscript -2.6 keV. This result, while of low statistical significance, agrees with the value observed by Trumper (1978) during the same On-state

    Linking Classical and Quantum Key Agreement: Is There "Bound Information"?

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    After carrying out a protocol for quantum key agreement over a noisy quantum channel, the parties Alice and Bob must process the raw key in order to end up with identical keys about which the adversary has virtually no information. In principle, both classical and quantum protocols can be used for this processing. It is a natural question which type of protocols is more powerful. We prove for general states but under the assumption of incoherent eavesdropping that Alice and Bob share some so-called intrinsic information in their classical random variables, resulting from optimal measurements, if and only if the parties' quantum systems are entangled. In addition, we provide evidence that the potentials of classical and of quantum protocols are equal in every situation. Consequently, many techniques and results from quantum information theory directly apply to problems in classical information theory, and vice versa. For instance, it was previously believed that two parties can carry out unconditionally secure key agreement as long as they share some intrinsic information in the adversary's view. The analysis of this purely classical problem from the quantum information-theoretic viewpoint shows that this is true in the binary case, but false in general. More explicitly, bound entanglement, i.e., entanglement that cannot be purified by any quantum protocol, has a classical counterpart. This "bound intrinsic information" cannot be distilled to a secret key by any classical protocol. As another application we propose a measure for entanglement based on classical information-theoretic quantities.Comment: Accepted for Crypto 2000. 17 page

    Observations of celestial X-ray sources above 20 keV with the high-energy scintillation spectrometer on board OSO 8

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    High-energy X-ray spectra of the Crab Nebula, Cyg- XR-1, and Cen A were determined from observations with the scintillation spectrometer on board the OSO-8 satellite, launched in June, 1975. Each of these sources was observed over two periods of 8 days or more, enabling a search for day-to-day and year to year variations in the spectral and temporal characteristics of the X-ray emission. No variation in the light curve of the Crab pulsar was found from observations which span a 15-day period in March 1976, with demonstrable phase stability. Transitions associated with the binary phase of Cyg XR-1 and a large change in the emission from Con A are reported

    The High Energy X-ray Spectrum of 4U1700-37 Observed from OSO-8

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    The most intense hard X-ray source in the confused region in Scorpius is identified as 4U1700-37. The 3.4-day modulation is seen above 20 keV with the intensity during eclipse being consistent with zero flux. The photon-number spectrum from 20 to 150 keV is well represented by a single power law with a photo-number spectral index of -2.77 + or - 0.35 or by a thermal bremsstrahlung spectrum with kT = 27 96.8-min X-ray modulation previously reported at lower energies. Despite the difficulties in reconciling both the lack of periodic modulation in the emitted X-radiation and the orbital dynamics of the system with theories of the evolution and physical properties of neutron stars, the observed properties of 4U1700-37 are all consistent with the source being a spherically accreting neutron star rather than a black hole

    Quantum-noise--randomized data-encryption for WDM fiber-optic networks

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    We demonstrate high-rate randomized data-encryption through optical fibers using the inherent quantum-measurement noise of coherent states of light. Specifically, we demonstrate 650Mbps data encryption through a 10Gbps data-bearing, in-line amplified 200km-long line. In our protocol, legitimate users (who share a short secret-key) communicate using an M-ry signal set while an attacker (who does not share the secret key) is forced to contend with the fundamental and irreducible quantum-measurement noise of coherent states. Implementations of our protocol using both polarization-encoded signal sets as well as polarization-insensitive phase-keyed signal sets are experimentally and theoretically evaluated. Different from the performance criteria for the cryptographic objective of key generation (quantum key-generation), one possible set of performance criteria for the cryptographic objective of data encryption is established and carefully considered.Comment: Version 2: Some errors have been corrected and arguments refined. To appear in Physical Review A. Version 3: Minor corrections to version
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