Framing the Issues: Economic Research on Employment Policy for People with Disabilities

This paper is designed to serve as a vehicle to engage the broad policy community in a discussion about proposed research to be conducted at Cornell’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) for Economic Research on Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities. The paper provides a brief introduction of the purpose of RRTCs followed by a description of the research projects to be conducted over the next five years. Because the projects are in the formative stage, suggestions about information that is most useful to the policy community will aid in targeting the research

The Impact of Personal Experience on Behavior: Evidence From Video-Rental Fines

Personal experience matters. In a field setting with longitudinal data, we disentangle the effects of learning new information from the effects of personal experience. We demonstrate that experience with a fine, controlling for the effect of learning new information, significantly boosts future compliance. We also show that experience with a large fine boosts compliance more than experience with a small fine, but that the influence of experience with both large and small fines decays sharply over time

Decay of Quantum Accelerator Modes

Experimentally observable Quantum Accelerator Modes are used as a test case for the study of some general aspects of quantum decay from classical stable islands immersed in a chaotic sea. The modes are shown to correspond to metastable states, analogous to the Wannier-Stark resonances. Different regimes of tunneling, marked by different quantitative dependence of the lifetimes on 1/hbar, are identified, depending on the resolution of KAM substructures that is achieved on the scale of hbar. The theory of Resonance Assisted Tunneling introduced by Brodier, Schlagheck, and Ullmo [9], is revisited, and found to well describe decay whenever applicable.Comment: 16 pages, 11 encapsulated postscript figures (figures with a better resolution are available upon request to the authors); added reference for section

Dynamical Characterization and Room-Temperature Control of an Optically Addressable Single Spin in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), a wide bandgap, two-dimensional solid-state material, hosts pure single-photon emitters that have shown signatures of optically-addressable electronic spins. Here, we report on a single emitter in h-BN exhibiting optically detected magnetic resonance at room temperature, and we propose a model for its electronic structure and optical dynamics. Using photon emission correlation spectroscopy in conjunction with time-domain optical and microwave experiments, we establish key features of the emitter's electronic structure. Specifically, we propose a model that includes a spinless optical ground and excited state, a metastable spin-1/2 configuration, and an emission modulation mechanism. Using optical and spin dynamics simulations, we constrain and quantify transition rates in the model, and we design protocols that optimize the signal-to-noise ratio for spin readout. This constitutes a necessary step toward quantum control of spin states in h-BN.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2201.0888

Transition from localized to extended eigenstates in the ensemble of power-law random banded matrices

We study statistical properties of the ensemble of large $N\times N$ random matrices whose entries $H_{ij}$ decrease in a power-law fashion $H_{ij}\sim|i-j|^{-\alpha}$. Mapping the problem onto a nonlinear $\sigma-$model with non-local interaction, we find a transition from localized to extended states at $\alpha=1$. At this critical value of $\alpha$ the system exhibits multifractality and spectral statistics intermediate between the Wigner-Dyson and Poisson one. These features are reminiscent of those typical for the mobility edge of disordered conductors. We find a continuous set of critical theories at $\alpha=1$, parametrized by the value of the coupling constant of the $\sigma-$model. At $\alpha>1$ all states are expected to be localized with integrable power-law tails. At the same time, for $1<\alpha<3/2$ the wave packet spreading at short time scale is superdiffusive: $\langle |r|\rangle\sim t^{\frac{1}{2\alpha-1}}$, which leads to a modification of the Altshuler-Shklovskii behavior of the spectral correlation function. At $1/2<\alpha<1$ the statistical properties of eigenstates are similar to those in a metallic sample in $d=(\alpha-1/2)^{-1}$ dimensions. Finally, the region $\alpha<1/2$ is equivalent to the corresponding Gaussian ensemble of random matrices $(\alpha=0)$. The theoretical predictions are compared with results of numerical simulations.Comment: 19 pages REVTEX, 4 figure

The Fermi GBM Gamma-Ray Burst Spectral Catalog: Four Years Of Data

In this catalog we present the updated set of spectral analyses of GRBs detected by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) during its first four years of operation. It contains two types of spectra, time-integrated spectral fits and spectral fits at the brightest time bin, from 943 triggered GRBs. Four different spectral models were fitted to the data, resulting in a compendium of more than 7500 spectra. The analysis was performed similarly, but not identically to Goldstein et al. 2012. All 487 GRBs from the first two years have been re-fitted using the same methodology as that of the 456 GRBs in years three and four. We describe, in detail, our procedure and criteria for the analysis, and present the results in the form of parameter distributions both for the observer-frame and rest-frame quantities. The data files containing the complete results are available from the High-Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC).Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

RNA-Seq identifies SPGs as a ventral skeletal patterning cue in sea urchins

The sea urchin larval skeleton offers a simple model for formation of developmental patterns. The calcium carbonate skeleton is secreted by primary mesenchyme cells (PMCs) in response to largely unknown patterning cues expressed by the ectoderm. To discover novel ectodermal cues, we performed an unbiased RNA-Seq-based screen and functionally tested candidates; we thereby identified several novel skeletal patterning cues. Among these, we show that SLC26a2/7 is a ventrally expressed sulfate transporter that promotes a ventral accumulation of sulfated proteoglycans, which is required for ventral PMC positioning and skeletal patterning. We show that the effects of SLC perturbation are mimicked by manipulation of either external sulfate levels or proteoglycan sulfation. These results identify novel skeletal patterning genes and demonstrate that ventral proteoglycan sulfation serves as a positional cue for sea urchin skeletal patterning

A Randomized Trial to Identify Accurate and Cost-Effective Fidelity Measurement Methods for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Project FACTS Study Protocol

Background: This randomized trial will compare three methods of assessing fidelity to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for youth to identify the most accurate and cost-effective method. The three methods include self-report (i.e., therapist completes a self-report measure on the CBT interventions used in session while circumventing some of the typical barriers to self-report), chart-stimulated recall (i.e., therapist reports on the CBT interventions used in session via an interview with a trained rater, and with the chart to assist him/her) and behavioral rehearsal (i.e., therapist demonstrates the CBT interventions used in session via a role-play with a trained rater). Direct observation will be used as the gold-standard comparison for each of the three methods. Methods/design: This trial will recruit 135 therapists in approximately 12 community agencies in the City of Philadelphia. Therapists will be randomized to one of the three conditions. Each therapist will provide data from three unique sessions, for a total of 405 sessions. All sessions will be audio-recorded and coded using the Therapy Process Observational Coding System for Child Psychotherapy-Revised Strategies scale. This will enable comparison of each measurement approach to direct observation of therapist session behavior to determine which most accurately assesses fidelity. Cost data associated with each method will be gathered. To gather stakeholder perspectives of each measurement method, we will use purposive sampling to recruit 12 therapists from each condition (total of 36 therapists) and 12 supervisors to participate in semi-structured qualitative interviews. Discussion: Results will provide needed information on how to accurately and cost-effectively measure therapist fidelity to CBT for youth, as well as important information about stakeholder perspectives with regard to each measurement method. Findings will inform fidelity measurement practices in future implementation studies as well as in clinical practice. Trial registration: NCT02820623, June 3rd, 2016