Large deviations for ideal quantum systems

We consider a general d-dimensional quantum system of non-interacting particles, with suitable statistics, in a very large (formally infinite) container. We prove that, in equilibrium, the fluctuations in the density of particles in a subdomain of the container are described by a large deviation function related to the pressure of the system. That is, untypical densities occur with a probability exponentially small in the volume of the subdomain, with the coefficient in the exponent given by the appropriate thermodynamic potential. Furthermore, small fluctuations satisfy the central limit theorem.Comment: 28 pages, LaTeX 2

Willingness to participate in a lifestyle intervention program of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a conjoint analysis

Background: Several studies suggest that lifestyle interventions can be effective for people with, or at risk for, diabetes. The participation in lifestyle interventions is generally low. Financial incentives may encourage participation in lifestyle intervention programs. Objetive: The main aim of this exploratory analysis is to study empirically potential effects of financial incentives on diabetes patients' willingness to participate in lifestyle interventions. One financial incentive is negative ("copayment") and the other incentive is positive ("bonus"). The key part of this research is to contrast both incentives. The second aim is to investigate the factors that influence participation in a lifestyle intervention program. Methods: Conjoint analysis techniques were used to empirically identify factors that influence willingness to participate in a lifestyle intervention. For this purpose diabetic patients received a questionnaire with descriptions of various forms of hypothetical lifestyle interventions. They were asked if they would be willing to participate in these hypothetical programs. Results: In total, 174 observations were rated by 46 respondents. Analysis showed that money was an important factor independently associated with respondents' willingness to participate. Receiving a bonus seemed to be associated with a higher willingness to participate, but having to pay was negatively associated with participation in the lifestyle intervention. Conclusion: Conjoint analysis results suggest that financial considerations may influence willingness to participate in lifestyle intervention programs. Financial disincentives in the form of copayments might discourage participation. Although the positive impact of bonuses is smaller than the negative impact of copayments, bonuses could still be used to encourage willingness to participate

Lawvere-Tierney sheaves in algebraic set theory

We present a solution to the problem of defining a counterpart in Algebraic Set Theory of the construction of internal sheaves in Topos Theory. Our approach is general in that we consider sheaves as determined by Lawvere-Tierney coverages, rather than by Grothendieck coverages, and assume only a weakening of the axioms for small maps originally introduced by Joyal and Moerdijk, thus subsuming the existing topos-theoretic results.Comment: 33 pages; a revised version of the earlier paper "A general construction of internal sheaves in algebraic set theory"; accepted for publication in the Journal of Symbolic Logi

Optical Scattering Measurements of Laser Induced Damage in the Intraocular Lens

This study optically determines whether the amount of light scatter due to laser-induced damage to the intraocular lens (IOL) is significant in relation to normal straylight values in the human eye. Two IOLs with laser-induced damage were extracted from two donor eyes. Each IOL had 15 pits and/or cracks. The surface area of each pit was measured using a microscope. For 6 pits per intraocular lens the point spread function (PSF) in terms of straylight was measured and the total straylight for all 15 pits was estimated. The damage in the IOLs was scored as mild/moderate. The total damaged surface areas, for a 3.5 mm pupil, in the two IOLs were 0.13% (0.0127 mm2) and 0.66% (0.064 mm2), respectively. The angular dependence of the straylight caused by the damage was similar to that of the normal PSF. The total average contribution to straylight was log(s) = −0.82 and −0.42, much less than the straylight value of the normal eye

Copula-based downscaling of spatial rainfall: a proof of concept

Fine-scale rainfall data is important for many hydrological applications. However, often the only data available is at a coarse scale. To bridge this gap in resolution, stochastic disaggregation methods can be used. Such methods generally assume that the distribution of the field is stationary, i.e. the distribution for the entire (fine-scale) field is the same as the distribution of a smaller region within the field. This assumption is generally incorrect and we provide a proof of concept of a method to estimate the distribution of a smaller region. In this method, a copula is used to construct a bivariate distribution describing the relation between the scales. This distribution is then used to estimate the distribution of the fine-scale rainfall within a single coarse-scale pixel, by conditioning on the coarse-scale rainfall depth

Фразеологизм как особый тип терминологической номинации

Анализируется когнитивная специфика фразеологизмов в сфере терминологической номинации, выявляется соотношение данных единиц с различными типами знания. Особое внимание уделяется причинам и факторам выбора фразеологической номинации при передаче специального знания. Автор статьи утверждает, что термин-фразеологизм вербализует комплексную информацию о внеположенном профессиональном объекте, воспринятом номинатором в его нерасчлененной целостности.The article examines the cognitive nature of phraseologisms in terminological nomination, reveals correlation of these units with different types of knowledge. Special attention is paid to the reasons and factors of choosing of phraseological nomination when transmitting special knowledge. The author of the article claims that the term-phraseologism verbalizes comprehensive information about outer professional object, perceived by the nominator in its nonsegmented integrity

Partially ordered models

We provide a formal definition and study the basic properties of partially ordered chains (POC). These systems were proposed to model textures in image processing and to represent independence relations between random variables in statistics (in the later case they are known as Bayesian networks). Our chains are a generalization of probabilistic cellular automata (PCA) and their theory has features intermediate between that of discrete-time processes and the theory of statistical mechanical lattice fields. Its proper definition is based on the notion of partially ordered specification (POS), in close analogy to the theory of Gibbs measure. This paper contains two types of results. First, we present the basic elements of the general theory of POCs: basic geometrical issues, definition in terms of conditional probability kernels, extremal decomposition, extremality and triviality, reconstruction starting from single-site kernels, relations between POM and Gibbs fields. Second, we prove three uniqueness criteria that correspond to the criteria known as bounded uniformity, Dobrushin and disagreement percolation in the theory of Gibbs measures.Comment: 54 pages, 11 figures, 6 simulations. Submited to Journal of Stat. Phy

Our Administrative System of Criminal Justice

To commemorate our founding in 1914, the Board of Editors has selected six influential pieces published by the Law Review over the past 100 years and will republish one piece in each issue. The fourth piece selected by the Board is Our Administrative System of Criminal Justice, an article written by Gerard E. Lynch that is among the most cited works in the Law Review’s history. This article illustrates how the practice of plea bargaining blurs the boundaries between adversarial and inquisitorial criminal justice systems. Judge Lynch now sits on the Second Circuit having eventually succeeded the late Judge Joseph M. McLaughlin, who also is honored in the pages of this book for the permanent mark he left on Fordham Law School and the Law Review. We think it is fitting that the Law Review feature two of the many contributions that judges of the Second Circuit have made to legal education and scholarship in this issue