Cutoff for the noisy voter model

Given a continuous time Markov Chain $\{q(x,y)\}$ on a finite set $S$, the associated noisy voter model is the continuous time Markov chain on $\{0,1\}^S$, which evolves in the following way: (1) for each two sites $x$ and $y$ in $S$, the state at site $x$ changes to the value of the state at site $y$ at rate $q(x,y)$; (2) each site rerandomizes its state at rate 1. We show that if there is a uniform bound on the rates $\{q(x,y)\}$ and the corresponding stationary distributions are almost uniform, then the mixing time has a sharp cutoff at time $\log|S|/2$ with a window of order 1. Lubetzky and Sly proved cutoff with a window of order 1 for the stochastic Ising model on toroids; we obtain the special case of their result for the cycle as a consequence of our result. Finally, we consider the model on a star and demonstrate the surprising phenomenon that the time it takes for the chain started at all ones to become close in total variation to the chain started at all zeros is of smaller order than the mixing time.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/15-AAP1108 in the Annals of Applied Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aap/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Panel III: Implications of the New Telecommunications Legislation

We present a method that employs a tree-based Neural Network (NN) for performing classification. The novel mechanism, apart from incorporating the information provided by unlabeled and labeled instances, re-arranges the nodes of the tree as per the laws of Adaptive Data Structures (ADSs). Particularly, we investigate the Pattern Recognition (PR) capabilities of the Tree-Based Topology-Oriented SOM (TTOSOM) when Conditional Rotations (CONROT) [8] are incorporated into the learning scheme. The learning methodology inherits all the properties of the TTOSOM-based classifier designed in [4]. However, we now augment it with the property that frequently accessed nodes are moved closer to the root of the tree. Our experimental results show that on average, the classification capabilities of our proposed strategy are reasonably comparable to those obtained by some of the state-of-the-art classification schemes that only use labeled instances during the training phase. The experiments also show that improved levels of accuracy can be obtained by imposing trees with a larger number of nodes

Locomotion in Response to Shifting Climate Zones: Not So Fast

Although a species’ locomotor capacity is suggestive of its ability to escape global climate change, such a suggestion is not necessarily straightforward. Species vary substantially in locomotor capacity, both ontogenetically and within/among populations, and much of this variation has a genetic basis. Accordingly, locomotor capacity can and does evolve rapidly, as selection experiments demonstrate. Importantly, even though this evolution of locomotor capacity may be rapid enough to escape changing climate, genetic correlations among traits (often due to pleiotropy) are such that successful or rapid dispersers are often limited in colonization or reproductive ability, which may be viewed as a trade-off. The nuanced assessment of this variation and evolution is reviewed for well-studied models: salmon, flying versus flightless insects, rodents undergoing experimental evolution, and metapopulations of butterflies. This work reveals how integration of physiology with population biology and functional genomics can be especially informative

Thermal/structural analyses of several hydrogen-cooled leading-edge concepts for hypersonic flight vehicles

The aerodynamic heating at high flight Mach numbers, when shock interference heating is included, can be extremely high and can exceed the capability of most conventional metallic and potential ceramic materials available. Numerical analyses of the heat transfer and thermal stresses are performed on three actively cooled leading-edge geometries (models) made of three different materials to address the issue of survivability in a hostile environment. These analyses show a mixture of results from one configuration to the next. Results for each configuration are presented and discussed. Combinations of enhanced internal film coefficients and high material thermal conductivity of copper and tungsten are predicted to maintain the maximum wall temperature for each concept within acceptable operating limits. The exception is the TD nickel material which is predicted to melt for most cases. The wide range of internal impingement film coefficients (based on correlations) for these conditions can lead to a significant uncertainty in expected leading-edge wall temperatures. The equivalent plastic strain, inherent in each configuration which results from the high thermal gradients, indicates a need for further cyclic analysis to determine component life

The 4-H Dairy Club

June, 1939."Prepared by M. J. Regan and Warren Gifford, Extension Dairyman, in collaboration with T. T. Martin and E . T. Itschner, State Club Agents. Acknowledgment is made of material used from Mo. Exp. Sta. Bul. 377, 'Raising the Dairy Calf,' by A. H. A. Herman."Cover title.I. Calf -- II. Heifer -- III. Cow -- IV. Cow testing

The 4-H dairy club : V. Dairy goats. Leader's guide ... to be used with 4-H Club circular 65, Missouri Experiment Station Bul. 375.

September, 1940.At head of title: "Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics, University of Missouri, College of Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture cooperating. J. W. Burch, Director, Agriculture Extension Service. Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8, and June 30, 1914.""Prepared by T. T. Martin and E. T. Itschner, State Club Agents, in collaboration with M. J. Regan, Extension Dairyman."Title from cover

Application of a new screening model to thermonuclear reactions of the rp process

A new screening model for astrophysical thermonuclear reactions was derived recently which improved Salpeter's weak-screening one. In the present work we prove that the new model can also give very reliable screening enhancement factors (SEFs) when applied to the rp process. According to the results of the new model, which agree well with Mitler's SEFs, the screened rp reaction rates can be, at most, twice as fast as the unscreened ones.Comment: 8 RevTex pages + 7 ps figures. (Revised version). Accepted for publication in Journal of Physics

Assessing Student Outcomes in an Engineering Design and Graphics Course

The Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin has embarked on systemic educational reform throughout the curriculum.  Called PROCEED, for Project-Centered Education, this curriculum reform is an attempt to bring real-world projects into the classroom that underscore the need to learn fundamental principles while adding excitement and relevance to the experience.  The “Engineering Design and Graphics” course at the University of Texas is an integral part of PROCEED.  This freshman course emphasizes the development of a 3-D geometric computer model and application of this digital database to all phases of the design process.  The students make freehand sketches, build computer models, mate assemblies of parts, perform various analyses, create kinematics simulations, build rapid prototypes, and generate final design drawings.  An assessment of student outcomes in the course was conducted in the Fall 2002 semester using a series of self-reported learning surveys.  This paper depicts examples of class work that support these graphics learning activities and presents the results of these preliminary surveys, which universally showed a positive learning trend in the course