Insect Pests of Christmas Trees

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The Cardinality of an Oracle in Blum-Shub-Smale Computation

We examine the relation of BSS-reducibility on subsets of the real numbers. The question was asked recently (and anonymously) whether it is possible for the halting problem H in BSS-computation to be BSS-reducible to a countable set. Intuitively, it seems that a countable set ought not to contain enough information to decide membership in a reasonably complex (uncountable) set such as H. We confirm this intuition, and prove a more general theorem linking the cardinality of the oracle set to the cardinality, in a local sense, of the set which it computes. We also mention other recent results on BSS-computation and algebraic real numbers

Noncomputable functions in the Blum-Shub-Smale model

Working in the Blum-Shub-Smale model of computation on the real numbers, we answer several questions of Meer and Ziegler. First, we show that, for each natural number d, an oracle for the set of algebraic real numbers of degree at most d is insufficient to allow an oracle BSS-machine to decide membership in the set of algebraic numbers of degree d + 1. We add a number of further results on relative computability of these sets and their unions. Then we show that the halting problem for BSS-computation is not decidable below any countable oracle set, and give a more specific condition, related to the cardinalities of the sets, necessary for relative BSS-computability. Most of our results involve the technique of using as input a tuple of real numbers which is algebraically independent over both the parameters and the oracle of the machine

Simulation modeling and preliminary analysis of TIMS data from the Carlin area and the northern Grapevine Mountains, Nevada

A theoretical radiance model was employed together with laboratory data on a suite of igneous rock to evaluate various algorithms for processing Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) data. Two aspects of the general problem were examined: extraction of emissivity information from the observed TIMS radiance data, and how to use emissivity data in a way that is geologically meaningful. The four algorithms were evaluated for appropriate band combinations of TIMS data acquired on both day and night overflights of the Tuscarora Mountains, including the Carlin gold deposit, in north-central Nevada. Analysis of a color composited PC decorrelated image (Bands 3, 4, 5--blue/green/red) of the Northern Grapevine Mountains, Nevada, area showed some useful correlation with the regional geology. The thermal infrared region provides fundamental spectral information that can be used to discriminate the major rock types occurring on the Earth's surface

Optimal tail estimates for directed last passage site percolation with geometric random variables

In this paper, we obtain optimal uniform lower tail estimates for the probability distribution of the properly scaled length of the longest up/right path of the last passage site percolation model considered by Johansson in [12]. The estimates are used to prove a lower tail moderate deviation result for the model. The estimates also imply the convergence of moments, and also provide a verification of the universal scaling law relating the longitudinal and the transversal fluctuations of the model.Comment: AMS-LaTex, 41 pages, 17 figure

The Effect of Solo-Masturbation and Moral Disapproval on the Relationship Between Internet Pornography Use, Religious Struggles, Sexual Shame, and Depression: A Moderated Mediation Model

Recently, the topics of Internet pornography use and masturbation have received increased attention among researchers, even though there is a cultural reluctance to discuss the common sexual behavior. This reticence is particularly true for religious and moral communities that have stigmatized the behavior and have historically viewed masturbation as taboo and morally offensive. Similarly, many religious groups morally disapprove of sexually explicit media. Despite morally disapproving of viewing pornography, the nearly universal availability of Internet pornography has resulted in an unprecedented increase in religious individuals viewing Internet pornography. Researchers have found a connection between the moral incongruence associated with Internet pornography use and psychological distress. Recent findings suggest a strong association between pornography use, depression, and masturbation. Although there is a recent surge in the study of masturbation and its relationship with psychological distress, no studies have investigated the effects of masturbation and moral disapproval on psychological distress. This study explores the effects of solo-masturbation and moral disapproval on the relationship between Internet pornography use, religious struggles, sexual shame, and depression. Using an online sample of religious participants (N = 804) that reported viewing pornography in the last month, the present study examined the conditional direct and indirect effects of solo-masturbation and moral disapproval on the hypothesized Internet pornography use-moral religious struggles-sexual shame-depression causal sequence. The results indicated a strong association between Internet pornography use, religious struggles, sexual shame, and depression, with moral disapproval moderating those relationships. Solo-masturbation did not significantly moderate any relationships in the model