On almost bad Boolean bases

AbstractAs known, there is a dependence of the formula complexity of explicit sequences of Boolean functions on the basis chosen. This paper is devoted to a description of bases for which one could hope to obtain nonlinear lower bounds on the formula complexity of such sequences most probably

Essays on the Macroeconomics of Labor Markets

This dissertation consists of two essays studying macroeconomics questions about labor markets. The research in this document is separated into chapters that study distinct features of aggregate labor market outcomes. The first essay documents the change in behavior of fertility rate at business cycle frequencies in the United States between the 1970s and 1990s and shows how the cyclical and secular properties of fertility can be used to distinguish among several proposed theories that account for the rise in labor force participation of married mothers. The model, in which households make fertility, female labor force participation and asset accumulation decisions, is estimated using data for the 1960s and 1970s. The model shows how fertility and women’s labor participation decisions are related and replicates countercyclical fertility. The changes in the determinants of female labor supply are introduced into the model and the implications for female labor force participation and properties of fertility are analyzed. The second essay (co-authored with Marcus Hagedorn and Iourii Manovskii) studies the relation between taxes and the unemployment rate using the Mortensen and Pissarides search and matching equilibrium theory of unemployment. The proposed quantitative model with ex-ante worker skill heterogeneity and two technology shocks is consistent with a strong response of labor market variables to cyclical fluctuations in productivity and a relatively weak response to changes in tax rates. The model also matches the properties of group-specific labor market variables. The key to achieve these results is endogenous response of aggregate and group-specific productivities

The Challenge of Individuality in Cultural- Historical Activity Theory: “Collectividual” Dialectics from a Transformative Activist Stance

In addressing the persistent challenge of fully integrating individual dimensions and humansubjectivity within the cultural-historical activity theory, this paper suggests several steps to reviseits core onto-epistemology in an expansive approach termed the transformative activist stance.This approach outlines the subtle dialectics of individual and collective planes of human praxiswhereby each individual is shaped by collective history and collaborative practices while at thesame time shaping and real-izing them through contributing to their collective, dynamicmateriality in moving beyond the status quo. In capitalizing on people always transcending whatexists in ‘the here and now,’ in a non-adaptive fashion, based in a commitment and vision to howthe world “ought to be,” the individual subjectivity is reclaimed as itself a fully social, embodied,material-discursive process. Individual subjectivity and agency gain status through contributing tochanges in “collectividual” practices as the primary onto-epistemology of a unitary realm that isindividual and social/collective at the same time

Raise the Seawalls: Local Governments & Flood Protection

Rising seas and more frequent and severe storms are increasing the risks and costs of flooding. Using 2009-2018 data for the U.S. state of Florida from FEMA’s Community Rating System program (CRS), which scores participating local governments on their flood risk mitigation activities: I study (1) whether increasing flood risks have led to increases in program participation and score among Florida towns and cities; (2) what risk, fiscal, and demographic factors are driving local governments to invest in CRS-recognized flood risk mitigation measures; and (3) the association between CRS measures and home values

When a Language Question Is at Stake. A Revisited Approach to Label Sensitive Content

Many under-resourced languages require high-quality datasets for specific tasks such as offensive language detection, disinformation, or misinformation identification. However, the intricacies of the content may have a detrimental effect on the annotators. The article aims to revisit an approach of pseudo-labeling sensitive data on the example of Ukrainian tweets covering the Russian-Ukrainian war. Nowadays, this acute topic is in the spotlight of various language manipulations that cause numerous disinformation and profanity on social media platforms. The conducted experiment highlights three main stages of data annotation and underlines the main obstacles during machine annotation. Ultimately, we provide a fundamental statistical analysis of the obtained data, evaluation of models used for pseudo-labelling, and set further guidelines on how the scientists can leverage the corpus to execute more advanced research and extend the existing data samples without annotators' engagement.Comment: Ukrainian language, pseudo-labelling, dataset, offensive-languag

Description and texts for the auxiliary programs for processing video information on the YeS computer. Part 3: Test program 2

The functions were discribed and the operating instructions, the block diagram and the proposed versions are given for modifying the program in order to obtain the statistical characteristics of multi-channel video information. The program implements certain man-machine methods for investigating video information. It permits representation of the material and its statistical characteristics in a form which is convenient for the user

Determining the elastic constants of hydrocarbons of heavy oil products using molecular dynamics simulation approach

We have performed a molecular dynamics study in order to verify the assumption that saturated hydrocarbons can be characterized by generalized Hook's law using the fourth rank tensor of elastic constants. In this study normal paraffins were treated as crystals of hexagonal symmetry. Thus, we obtained original numerical values of Young's modulus and the Poisson's ratio in both anisotropic and isotropic planes and the values of the shear modulus at three different temperatures. Negative Poisson's ratio of n-paraffins is of a particular interest. The author believes that auxetic behavior of saturated hydrocarbons is the result of their liquid-crystalline nature. Another remarkable point is the non-linear elasticity of n-paraffins detected in a wide temperature range. This provides an additional experimental confirmation of the phase transition process of hydrocarbons earlier reported in scientific works. We have shown that the matrix of elasticity of a particular heavy petroleum product can be estimated using the elastic parameters of the n-paraffins obtained. The numerical values of five independent elastic constants are directly proportional to the composition of a heavy petroleum product. The simplified representation of the composition can be defined by a few saturated hydrocarbons with different carbon numbers. The numerical results obtained in this research may be useful for those interested in heavy petroleum fractions rheology as well as those who perform numerical studies in petroleum hydrodynamics and acoustics

On the mechanism of membrane transport of zinc ions by ZntB

Zinc is essential for all branches of life and is the second most abundant transition metal divalent cation in living organisms after iron. Since metal ions cannot be synthesized, all living organisms rely on membrane proteins to take up metal cations from the environment. However, in many cases an excess of metals is toxic, thus there must be also membrane proteins capable to expel unnecessary ions. To fully understand these processes of metal transport in and out the cell, it is essential to solve structures of the membrane proteins in the presence and absence of their substrates, and to characterize them biochemically to propose and validate their transport mechanism. This thesis contributes in the understanding on the transport of zinc, and several other metal ions, via ZntB and other members of the 2-TM-GxN family, which are present in every kingdom of life