About gauge invariance in compactified extra dimensions

Gauge theories formulated in a space-time manifold that includes compact extra dimensions can show a nontrivial gauge structure. Depending on whether the gauge parameters propagate or not in the extra dimensions, two different Kaluza--Klein theories can arise when the extra dimensions are compactified. A comparison between these two possibilities, in the context of a five dimensional theory, is presented from both the theoretical and phenomenological viewpoints. The phenomenological implications of these theories are contrasted by discussing the one--loop decay of the Higgs boson into two photons. It is shown that the amplitude for this decay differs substantially from one approach to the other and that such a difference is intimately related to gauge invariance.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

An integration of partial evaluation in a generic abstract interpretation framework

Information generated by abstract interpreters has long been used to perform program specialization. Additionally, if the abstract interpreter generates a multivariant analysis, it is also possible to perform múltiple specialization. Information about valúes of variables is propagated by simulating program execution and performing fixpoint computations for recursive calis. In contrast, traditional partial evaluators (mainly) use unfolding for both propagating valúes of variables and transforming the program. It is known that abstract interpretation is a better technique for propagating success valúes than unfolding. However, the program transformations induced by unfolding may lead to important optimizations which are not directly achievable in the existing frameworks for múltiple specialization based on abstract interpretation. The aim of this work is to devise a specialization framework which integrates the better information propagation of abstract interpretation with the powerful program transformations performed by partial evaluation, and which can be implemented via small modifications to existing generic abstract interpreters. With this aim, we will relate top-down abstract interpretation with traditional concepts in partial evaluation and sketch how the sophisticated techniques developed for controlling partial evaluation can be adapted to the proposed specialization framework. We conclude that there can be both practical and conceptual advantages in the proposed integration of partial evaluation and abstract interpretation

Education Blog General Physics for University Students of Engineering and Academic Perfomance

La investigación tuvo como objetivo establecer si el uso del blog en el curso de Física General influye en el rendimiento académico de los alumnos del primer ciclo de la Facultad de Ingeniería Industrial y Sistemas en una universidad privada de Lima. Se seleccionó a 31 alumnos a quienes se les enseñó Física General haciendo uso del blog Física sin fronteras (http://www.fisica-1dued.blogspot.com/) y otro grupo de 31 alumnos sin el uso del blog, con el método tradicional. Para medir el aprendizaje de ambos grupos de se utilizó dos instrumentos de medición, con características similares considerando las dimensiones de aprehensión, flexibilidad, mecanismos de soporte, destreza y organización del curso con y sin el uso del blog. Los resultados más importantes se dan en el nivel de aprehensión, destreza del alumno y organización. Se concluye que el uso adecuado del blog en la asignatura de Física General influye en el buen rendimiento académico.Abstract: The research aimed to establish whether the use of blog in the course of General Physics influences academic performance of students in the first cycle of the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at a private university in Lima. 31 selected students who were taught Physics General Physics using the blog without borders (http://www.fisica-1dued.blogspot.com/) and another group of 31 students without the use of blog, with the method traditional. To measure the learning of both groups of two measuring instruments used, with similar characteristics considering the dimensions of apprehension, flexibility, support mechanisms, skills and organization of the course without the use of the blog. The most important results are given in the level of apprehension, student and organization skills. It is concluded that the proper use of blog in the course of General Physics in academic performance

How Demanding Should Equality of Opportunity Be, and How Much Have We Achieved?

[Excerpt] This chapter proposes tests of various notions of equality of opportunity and applies them to intergenerational income data for the United States and Britain. Agreement is widespread that equality of opportunity holds in a society if the chances that individuals have to succeed depend only on their own efforts and not on extraneous circumstances that may inhibit or expand those chances. What is contentious, however, is what constitutes effort and circumstances. Most people, we think, would say that the social connections of an individual\u27s parents would be included among circumstances: equality of opportunity is incomplete if some individuals get ahead because they have well-connected parents. This and other channels through which circumstances affect income opportunities in an intergenerational context are discussed in Section 2. Section 3 then formulates four, increasingly stringent criteria for equality of opportunity. In Section 4, we turn to an empirical implementation of these criteria to test for equality of opportunity in the United States and Britain. The results, presented in Section 5, provide only the weakest of support for equality of opportunity in the United States and no support at all in Britain. Concluding remarks are presented in Section 6

Post-training discriminative pruning for RBMs

One of the major challenges in the area of artificial neural networks is the identification of a suitable architecture for a specific problem. Choosing an unsuitable topology can exponentially increase the training cost, and even hinder network convergence. On the other hand, recent research indicates that larger or deeper nets can map the problem features into a more appropriate space, and thereby improve the classification process, thus leading to an apparent dichotomy. In this regard, it is interesting to inquire whether independent measures, such as mutual information, could provide a clue to finding the most discriminative neurons in a network. In the present work we explore this question in the context of Restricted Boltzmann Machines, by employing different measures to realize post-training pruning. The neurons which are determined by each measure to be the most discriminative, are combined and a classifier is applied to the ensuing network to determine its usefulness. We find that two measures in particular seem to be good indicators of the most discriminative neurons, producing savings of generally more than 50% of the neurons, while maintaining an acceptable error rate. Further, it is borne out that starting with a larger network architecture and then pruning is more advantageous than using a smaller network to begin with. Finally, a quantitative index is introduced which can provide information on choosing a suitable pruned network.Fil: Sánchez Gutiérrez, Máximo. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana; MéxicoFil: Albornoz, Enrique Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional; ArgentinaFil: Rufiner, Hugo Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas. Instituto de Investigación en Señales, Sistemas e Inteligencia Computacional; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos; ArgentinaFil: Close, John Goddard. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana; Méxic

Grupo focal: acceso y políticas de información

Access to information can be seen from different perspectives. MaCreadie and Rice argue that it could be defined based on the conceptualization of information. According to these authors, access can be seen as access to knowledge, technology, communication, goods or comfort, control and participation. For the purposes of this study, the focus group technique was applied to a couple of groups (one of them made of nine participants and the other one made of sixteen), in order to know what access to information visualized.The results of these focus groups could help to develop be

The Case of Ty Jackson: An Interactive Module on LGBT Health Employing Introspective Techniques and Video-Based Case Discussion

Introduction: The Institute of Medicine's 2011 report on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health and the legalization of same-sex marriage are just two of the numerous milestones that have hastened medical schools' efforts to prepare trainees to address the needs of LGBT community members. Early awareness of sexual diversity through self- and peer introspection and video-based education can help trainees build a foundation towards providing affirming care to LGBT patients. Methods: The Kern model was used to develop, implement, and evaluate an interactive multimodal workshop to provide first-year medical students with a formative introduction to LGBT health. Learning objectives focused on comprehending the spectrum of human sexuality, health issues for LGBT patients, and better practices for promoting affirming care. The module consisted of a PowerPoint presentation, sexuality survey, videos of provider-patient encounters, and community-based resources. Results: The workshop was implemented among 178 first-year medical students in September 2018, with 93% completing the pre-/postworkshop evaluations. Comparison of evaluations showed an increase in confidence in addressing each of the three learning objectives. Over 85% rated the PowerPoint and videos as very good or excellent. Discussion: This workshop was effective in helping first-year medical students appreciate the spectrum of sexual diversity, health issues facing LGBT individuals, and better practices to promote affirming care. The real-time sexuality survey helped trainees appreciate sexual diversity through self-reflection and near-peer sharing. The videos and accompanying discussion provided real-life encounters, along with common pitfalls in and pearls for communicating with LGBT patients

Inversion of focal mechanism data for the directions of stress near Redoubt Volcano, Alaska

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 20001. Introduction -- 2. Background -- 3. Volcanology of the eruptions -- 3.1. Summary of volcanological aspects of the eruptions -- 4. Instrumentation and data used in this study -- 4.1. Description of seismicity at Redoubt Volcano during December 1989 -- December 1990 -- 4.2. Description of seismicity recorded during the deployment in July 1991 -- 5. Fault plane solutions at Redoubt -- 5.1. Fault plane solutions from December 1989 to December 1990 -- 5.2. Fault plane solutions from July 1991 -- 6. Stress tensor inversion -- 6.1. The cumulative misfit method -- 6.2. Stress inversions at Redoubt Volcano 1989-1990 -- 6.2.1. Stress near Redoubt as a function of time -- 6.3. Stress inversions July 1991 -- 6.3.1. Stress near Redoubt as a function of space -- 6.4. Summary of results -- 7. Discussion -- 7.1. Changes in stress with time at Redoubt Volcano -- 7.2. Changes of stress as a function of space at Redoubt Volcano -- 7.3. Rotation of stress axes at Redoubt and estimation of absolute levels of stress -- 7.4. Deviation of stresses at Redoubt from the expected Regional field resulting from plate collision -- Conclusions -- Suggestions for future research -- References -- Appendix

Providing Diverse Trainees an Early and Transparent Introduction to Academic Appointment and Promotion Processes.

IntroductionThe growth in number of medical schools and increased numbers of faculty tracks have combined with evolving criteria for promotion to trigger a call for greater transparency of academic appointment and promotion processes. Most vulnerable to confusion about these changes are first-generation and diverse medical students and residents, the upstream pipeline of the academic medicine workforce. Diverse medical students have expressed diminished interest in academia because of perceived obstacles in appointment and promotion processes.MethodsThis workshop was designed to utilize didactics and career reflection exercises to help trainees learn: (1) how to define core terms related to academic appointment and promotion processes, (2) how to compare data elements for different CVs and portfolios, (3) common steps in submitting a promotion package, and (4) that they can immediately begin to document content for academic CVs, portfolios, and promotion packages.ResultsOne hundred forty-five diverse participants completed an evaluation at eight conferences across the U.S. More than 90% strongly agreed or agreed that the aforementioned objectives were met. Participants commented that the workshop was "illuminating," was "very informative," and "provided an inside look of how faculty are evaluated." Results showed an immediate impact on participants' self-reported confidence to negotiate appointment and promotion processes.DiscussionIncreases in self-rated confidence to negotiate appointment and promotion processes may help sustain trainees' interest in becoming future faculty. Further monitoring will be needed to determine if early exposure to these concepts improves probability of seeking, obtaining, and maintaining appointments