Minister Housing Allowance Presents New Challenges and Opportunities

For over 50 years, ministers have enjoyed the benefits of tax-free housing. IRC section 107 permits qualified ministers to exclude housing-related compensation from gross income to the extent it relates to service performed in their ministry

Glycemic-aware metrics and oversampling techniques for predicting blood glucose levels using machine learning.

Techniques using machine learning for short term blood glucose level prediction in patients with Type 1 Diabetes are investigated. This problem is significant for the development of effective artificial pancreas technology so accurate alerts (e.g. hypoglycemia alarms) and other forecasts can be generated. It is shown that two factors must be considered when selecting the best machine learning technique for blood glucose level regression: (i) the regression model performance metrics being used to select the model, and (ii) the preprocessing techniques required to account for the imbalanced time spent by patients in different portions of the glycemic range. Using standard benchmark data, it is demonstrated that different regression model/preprocessing technique combinations exhibit different accuracies depending on the glycemic subrange under consideration. Therefore technique selection depends on the type of alert required. Specific findings are that a linear Support Vector Regression-based model, trained with normal as well as polynomial features, is best for blood glucose level forecasting in the normal and hyperglycemic ranges while a Multilayer Perceptron trained on oversampled data is ideal for predictions in the hypoglycemic range

The Classification and Market Pricing of the Cash Flows and Accruals on Trading Positions

We investigate whether the market prices the change in net trading assets as an operating or non-operating activity or some mixture of the two, and whether this market pricing is consistent with the (fundamental) association of the change in net trading assets with future cash flows from operations. Our investigation is motivated by the observation that – despite the classification of the cash flows on trading positions as operating under FAS 102 – trading is economically a hybrid operating/non-operating activity. Reflecting this hybrid nature, we hypothesize and find that the change in net trading assets has a less positive association with returns and future CFO than do the pure operating components of cash flows and accruals, and that it has a more positive association with returns and future CFO than do the pure non-operating components of cash flows. To the best of our knowledge, our paper is the first to propose and test hypotheses about the valuation implications of such hybrid cash flows and accruals

Understanding Covalent versus Spin–Orbit Coupling Contributions to Temperature-Dependent Electron Spin Relaxation in Cupric and Vanadyl Phthalocyanines

Recent interest in transition-metal complexes as potential quantum bits (qubits) has reinvigorated the investigation of fundamental contributions to electron spin relaxation in various ligand scaffolds. From quantum computers to chemical and biological sensors, interest in leveraging the quantum properties of these molecules has opened a discussion of the requirements to maintain coherence over a large temperature range, including near room temperature. Here we compare temperature-, magnetic field position-, and concentration-dependent electron spin relaxation in copper(II) phthalocyanine (CuPc) and vanadyl phthalocyanine (VOPc) doped into diamagnetic hosts. While VOPc demonstrates coherence up to room temperature, CuPc coherence times become rapidly T₁-limited with increasing temperature, despite featuring a more covalent ground-state wave function than VOPc. As rationalized by a ligand field model, this difference is ascribed to different spin–orbit coupling (SOC) constants for Cu(II) versus V(IV). The manifestation of SOC contributions to spin–phonon coupling and electron spin relaxation in different ligand fields is discussed, allowing for a further understanding of the competing roles of SOC and covalency in electron spin relaxation

Understanding Covalent versus Spin–Orbit Coupling Contributions to Temperature-Dependent Electron Spin Relaxation in Cupric and Vanadyl Phthalocyanines

Recent interest in transition-metal complexes as potential quantum bits (qubits) has reinvigorated the investigation of fundamental contributions to electron spin relaxation in various ligand scaffolds. From quantum computers to chemical and biological sensors, interest in leveraging the quantum properties of these molecules has opened a discussion of the requirements to maintain coherence over a large temperature range, including near room temperature. Here we compare temperature-, magnetic field position-, and concentration-dependent electron spin relaxation in copper(II) phthalocyanine (CuPc) and vanadyl phthalocyanine (VOPc) doped into diamagnetic hosts. While VOPc demonstrates coherence up to room temperature, CuPc coherence times become rapidly T₁-limited with increasing temperature, despite featuring a more covalent ground-state wave function than VOPc. As rationalized by a ligand field model, this difference is ascribed to different spin–orbit coupling (SOC) constants for Cu(II) versus V(IV). The manifestation of SOC contributions to spin–phonon coupling and electron spin relaxation in different ligand fields is discussed, allowing for a further understanding of the competing roles of SOC and covalency in electron spin relaxation

Charge-coupled devices with fast timing for astrophysics and space physics research

A charge coupled device is under development with fast timing capability (15 millisecond full frame readout, 30 microsecond resolution for measuring the time of individual pixel hits). The fast timing CCD will be used in conjunction with a CsI microfiber array or segmented scintillator matrix detector to detect x rays and gamma rays with submillimeter position resolution. The initial application will be in conjunction with a coded aperture hard x ray/gamma ray astronomy instrument. We describe the concept and the readout architecture of the device

Connecting wind-driven upwelling and offshore stratification to nearshore internal bores and oxygen variability

This study utilizes field observations in southern Monterey Bay, CA, to examine how regional-scale upwelling and changing offshore (shelf) conditions influence nearshore internal bores. We show that the low-frequency wind forcing (e.g., upwelling/relaxation time scales) modifies the offshore stratification and thermocline depth. This in turn alters the strength and structure of observed internal bores in the near-shore. An internal bore strength index is defined using the high-pass filtered potential energy density anomaly in the nearshore. During weak upwelling favorable conditions and wind relaxations, the offshore thermocline deepens. In this case, both the amplitude of the offshore internal tide and the strength of the nearshore internal bores increase. In contrast, during strong upwelling conditions, the offshore thermocline shoals toward the surface, resulting in a decrease in the offshore internal tide amplitude. As a result, cold water accumulates in the nearshore (nearshore pooling), and the internal bore strength index decreases. Empirical orthogonal functions are utilized to support the claim that the bore events contribute to the majority of the variance in cross-shelf exchange and transport in the nearshore. Observed individual bores can drive shock-like drops in dissolved oxygen (DO) with rapid onset times, while extended upwelling periods with reduced bore activity produce longer duration, low DO events