A Simplified Cellular Automaton Model for City Traffic

We systematically investigate the effect of blockage sites in a cellular automaton model for traffic flow. Different scheduling schemes for the blockage sites are considered. None of them returns a linear relationship between the fraction of ``green'' time and the throughput. We use this information for a fast implementation of traffic in Dallas.Comment: 12 pages, 18 figures. submitted to Phys Rev

Cohen-Macaulay graphs and face vectors of flag complexes

We introduce a construction on a flag complex that, by means of modifying the associated graph, generates a new flag complex whose $h$-factor is the face vector of the original complex. This construction yields a vertex-decomposable, hence Cohen-Macaulay, complex. From this we get a (non-numerical) characterisation of the face vectors of flag complexes and deduce also that the face vector of a flag complex is the $h$-vector of some vertex-decomposable flag complex. We conjecture that the converse of the latter is true and prove this, by means of an explicit construction, for $h$-vectors of Cohen-Macaulay flag complexes arising from bipartite graphs. We also give several new characterisations of bipartite graphs with Cohen-Macaulay or Buchsbaum independence complexes.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures; major updat

Interaction between the Circadian Clock and Regulators of Heat Stress Responses in Plants.

The circadian clock is found ubiquitously in nature, and helps organisms coordinate internal biological processes with environmental cues that inform the time of the day or year. Both temperature stress and the clock affect many important biological processes in plants. Specifically, clock-controlled gene regulation and growth are impacted by a compromised clock or heat stress. The interactions linking these two regulatory pathways include several rhythmic transcription factors that are important for coordinating the appropriate response to temperature stress. Here we review the current understanding of clock control of the regulators involved in heat stress responses in plants

Evaluating democracy in New Zealand under MMP

In the debate that culminated in the November 2011 referendum, arguments for and against New Zealand’s mixed member proportional (MMP) electoral system focused on two values: governmental strength and representational fairness.&nbsp

The Legal/Extra-Legal Controversy: Judicial Decisions in Pretrial Release

This study analyzes data for state criminal defendants prosecuted in New York to determine the bases upon which judges make pretrial release decisions for these defendants. Treating statutory law as defining the category of legal variables, it finds legal factors substantially affect decisions about whether to release a defendant on recognizance, the amount of bail required, and whether to offer a defendant a cash alternative to a surety bond. The impact of these factors varies, however, depending upon the particular decision being made. Factors not prescribed in the statute-extra-legal factors—are also found to affect these pretrial release decisions. Their impact, too, is decision context specific. Among the extra-legal factors that affect pretrial release decisions, the effects of status characteristics of the defendant pale in comparison to the effects of bench bias and measures of the defendant\u27s dangerousness