Some results on 2n−m2^{n-m} designs of resolution IV with (weak) minimum aberration

It is known that all resolution IV regular $2^{n-m}$ designs of run size $N=2^{n-m}$ where $5N/16<n<N/2$ must be projections of the maximal even design with $N/2$ factors and, therefore, are even designs. This paper derives a general and explicit relationship between the wordlength pattern of any even $2^{n-m}$ design and that of its complement in the maximal even design. Using these identities, we identify some (weak) minimum aberration $2^{n-m}$ designs of resolution IV and the structures of their complementary designs. Based on these results, several families of minimum aberration $2^{n-m}$ designs of resolution IV are constructed.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/08-AOS670 the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Water Use Efficiency in a Furrow System

An existing volumetric balance approach in conjunction with the Kostiakov infiltration equation for determining soil infiltration parameters in a furrow is used to study furrow irrigation in the local environment. Other parameters required include furrow geometry, assumed subsurface profile and flow advance data. A set of adjacent furrows is used to indicate the performance of the field system. The procedure outlined here can be used to evaluate efficiency of continuous mode furrow irrigation. The spatial and temporal variation of infiltration characteristics of a soil are well known. As such, the performance of a furrow irrigation system which uses the soil as a medium of conveyance varies with the ever-changing infiltration behaviour. There is therefore a need for an evaluation procedure to determine water use efficiency which can be followed throughout the irrigation season so as to enable the irrigator to make any necessary changes to improve its performance. This determination of irrigation performance hinges very much on the correct evaluation of the infiltration process, in this case, in dynamic infiltration water flowing overland in small channels. An evaluation example is given

Lattice Boltzmann Approach to High-Speed Compressible Flows

We present an improved lattice Boltzmann model for high-speed compressible flows. The model is composed of a discrete-velocity model by Kataoka and Tsutahara [Phys. Rev. E \textbf{69}, 056702 (2004)] and an appropriate finite-difference scheme combined with an additional dissipation term. With the dissipation term parameters in the model can be flexibly chosen so that the von Neumann stability condition is satisfied. The influence of the various model parameters on the numerical stability is analyzed and some reference values of parameter are suggested. The new scheme works for both subsonic and supersonic flows with a Mach number up to 30 (or higher), which is validated by well-known benchmark tests. Simulations on Riemann problems with very high ratios ($1000:1$) of pressure and density also show good accuracy and stability. Successful recovering of regular and double Mach shock reflections shows the potential application of the lattice Boltzmann model to fluid systems where non-equilibrium processes are intrinsic. The new scheme for stability can be easily extended to other lattice Boltzmann models.Comment: Figs.11 and 12 in JPEG format. Int. J. Mod. Phys. C (to appear

Country report on building energy codes in Republic of Korea

노트 : This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor Battelle Memorial Institute, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof, or Battelle Memorial Institute. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof

Resources and student achievement – evidence from a Swedish policy reform

This paper utilizes a policy change to estimate the effect of teacher density on student performance. We find that an increase in teacher density has a positive effect on student achievement. The baseline estimate – obtained by using the grade point average as the outcome variable – implies that resource increases corresponding to the class-size reduction in the STAR-experiment (i.e., a reduction of 7 students) improves performance by 2.6 percentile ranks (or 0.08 standard deviations). When we use test score data for men, potentially a more objective measure of student performance, the effect of resources appears to be twice the size of the baseline estimate.Student performance; teacher/student ratio; policy reform; differences-in-differences

On the Conductance Sum Rule for the Hierarchical Edge States of the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect

The conductance sum rule for the hierarchical edge channel currents of a Fractional Quantum Hall Effect state is derived analytically within the Haldane-Halperin hierarchy scheme. We provide also an intuitive interpretation for the hierarchical drift velocities of the edge excitations.Comment: 11 pages, no figure, Revtex 3.0, IC/93/329, ASITP-93-5

Effect of mechanical stimulation on the degradation of poly(lactic acid) scaffolds with different designed structures

Biodegradability is one of the required scaffold functions for bone tissue engineering, and it is influenced by the mechanical micro-environment after scaffold implantation into body. This paper aimed to develop a mathematical model to numerically study the mechanical impact on the degradation of poly (lactic acid) (PLA) scaffolds with different designed structures. In addition, the diffusion-governed autocatalysis on the scaffold degradation was also included, and the scaffold collapse time by an author-developed algorithm was determined. The results showed that an increase in mechanical stimulation led to an increase in the scaffold degradation rate. Moreover, different structures with a similar porosity shared a degradation tendency but had different collapse times, which was very sensitive to the diffusion coefficient of the scaffold. The present study could be helpful to understand the dynamic degradation process of PLA scaffolds, and guide the design of PLA material and scaffold structure. It may be also used as a tool for the evaluation of the in vitro and in vivo degradation performance of scaffolds.</p

Development Methods and a Scenegraph Animation API for Cluster Driven Immersive Applications

This paper presents a scenegraph animation application programming interface (API), known as the Animation Engine, which was constructed for software developers to easily perform smooth transitions and manipulations to scenegraph nodes. A developer can use one line of code to enter the property, end state and number of frames to describe the animation, then the Animation Engine handles the rest in the background. The goal of the Animation Engine is to provide a simple API that integrates into existing applications with minimal effort. Additionally, techniques to improve virtual reality (VR) application performance on a large computer cluster are presented. These techniques include maintaining high frame rates with 4096 × 4096 pixel textures, eliminating extraneous network traffic and reducing long model loading time. To demonstrate the Animation Engine and the development techniques, an application known as the Virtual Universe was created. The Virtual Universe, designed to run in a six walled CAVE, allows users to freely explore a set of space themed environments. The architecture and development techniques for writing a stable immersive VR application on a large computer cluster, in addition to the creation of the Animation Engine, is presented in this paper