Two-layer particle filter for multiple target detection and tracking

This paper deals with the detection and tracking of an unknown number of targets using a Bayesian hierarchical model with target labels. To approximate the posterior probability density function, we develop a two-layer particle filter. One deals with track initiation, and the other with track maintenance. In addition, the parallel partition method is proposed to sample the states of the surviving targets

Extended WKB method, resonances and supersymmetric radial barriers

Semiclassical approximations are implemented in the calculation of position and width of low energy resonances for radial barriers. The numerical integrations are delimited by t/T<<8, with t the period of a classical particle in the barrier trap and T the resonance lifetime. These energies are used in the construction of `haired' short range potentials as the supersymmetric partners of a given radial barrier. The new potentials could be useful in the study of the transient phenomena which give rise to the Moshinsky's diffraction in time.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 3 table

Compressed k2-Triples for Full-In-Memory RDF Engines

Current "data deluge" has flooded the Web of Data with very large RDF datasets. They are hosted and queried through SPARQL endpoints which act as nodes of a semantic net built on the principles of the Linked Data project. Although this is a realistic philosophy for global data publishing, its query performance is diminished when the RDF engines (behind the endpoints) manage these huge datasets. Their indexes cannot be fully loaded in main memory, hence these systems need to perform slow disk accesses to solve SPARQL queries. This paper addresses this problem by a compact indexed RDF structure (called k2-triples) applying compact k2-tree structures to the well-known vertical-partitioning technique. It obtains an ultra-compressed representation of large RDF graphs and allows SPARQL queries to be full-in-memory performed without decompression. We show that k2-triples clearly outperforms state-of-the-art compressibility and traditional vertical-partitioning query resolution, remaining very competitive with multi-index solutions.Comment: In Proc. of AMCIS'201

Wave Forcing of the Tropical Upwelling in the Lower Stratosphere under Increasing Concentrations of Greenhouse Gases

Two simulations from the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model, covering the periods 1950-2003 and 1980-2050, are used to investigate the nature of the waves that force the increase of the tropical upwelling in the lower stratosphere as the concentration of greenhouse gases increases. Decomposition of the wave field resolved by the model into stationary and transient wavenumber spectra allows attribution of trends in the Eliassen-Palm (EP) flux and its divergence to specific wave components. This analysis reveals that enhanced dissipation of stationary planetary waves is the main driver of trends in the tropical upwelling in the lower stratosphere. The contribution of transient waves is smaller and is responsible mainly for trends in wave forcing in the subtropics and middle latitudes, which, however, provide only minor contributions to the mean tropical upwelling. Examination of individual wave structures shows that the stationary waves are tropical Rossby waves trapped in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, whereas the transient components are synoptic waves present in the subtropics and middle latitudes. The authors also present evidence that trends in resolved wave forcing in the lower stratosphere are due to both changes in wave transmissivity and changes in wave excitation, with the first mechanism dominating the behavior of the simulation during the last half of the twentieth century, while the second is clearly more important in the simulation during the first half of the twenty-first century

Passivity Breakdown of Titanium in LiBr solutions

The passive behavior of titanium and its susceptibility to undergo localized attack in different LiBr solutions at 25 degrees C have been investigated using different electrochemical techniques: potentiodynamic polarization curves, potentiostatic passivation tests, EIS measurements and Mott-Schottky analysis. In low and moderately concentrated LiBr solutions, the breakdown potential E-b decreased with increasing bromide concentrations, while in highly concentrated LiBr solutions, E-b increased with increasing LiBr concentration. In the most concentrated LiBr solution (11.42M) Ti did not undergo passivity breakdown even at 9 V-Ag/AgCl. This observation can be explained by a a decrease in the activity of water in highly concentrated LiBr solutions. (C) 2013 The Electrochemical Society.We wish express our gratitude to the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (Project CTQ2009-07518), and to Dr. M. Asuncion Jaime. for her translation assistance.Fernández Domene, RM.; Blasco-Tamarit, E.; García-García, D.; García Antón, J. (2014). Passivity Breakdown of Titanium in LiBr solutions. Journal of The Electrochemical Society. 161(1):25-35. https://doi.org/10.1149/2.035401jesS25351611Been J. Grauman J. S. , in: Uhlig's Corrosion Handbook, 2nd ed., Winston Revie R. (ed.), 863-885, Wiley Interscience, New York (2000).Blasco-Tamarit, E., Igual-Muñoz, A., García Antón, J., & García-García, D. (2007). Corrosion behaviour and galvanic coupling of titanium and welded titanium in LiBr solutions. Corrosion Science, 49(3), 1000-1026. doi:10.1016/j.corsci.2006.07.007Huang, Y. Z., & Blackwood, D. J. (2005). Characterisation of titanium oxide film grown in 0.9% NaCl at different sweep rates. Electrochimica Acta, 51(6), 1099-1107. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2005.05.051Pan, J., Thierry, D., & Leygraf, C. (1996). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy study of the passive oxide film on titanium for implant application. Electrochimica Acta, 41(7-8), 1143-1153. doi:10.1016/0013-4686(95)00465-3Assis, S. L. de, Wolynec, S., & Costa, I. (2006). Corrosion characterization of titanium alloys by electrochemical techniques. Electrochimica Acta, 51(8-9), 1815-1819. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2005.02.121Birch, J. R., & Burleigh, T. D. (2000). Oxides Formed on Titanium by Polishing, Etching, Anodizing, or Thermal Oxidizing. CORROSION, 56(12), 1233-1241. doi:10.5006/1.3280511Peláez-Abellán, E., Rocha-Sousa, L., Müller, W.-D., & Guastaldi, A. C. (2007). Electrochemical stability of anodic titanium oxide films grown at potentials higher than 3V in a simulated physiological solution. Corrosion Science, 49(3), 1645-1655. doi:10.1016/j.corsci.2006.08.010Azumi, K., & Seo, M. (2001). Changes in electrochemical properties of the anodic oxide film formed on titanium during potential sweep. Corrosion Science, 43(3), 533-546. doi:10.1016/s0010-938x(00)00105-0Alves, V. A., Reis, R. Q., Santos, I. C. B., Souza, D. G., de F. Gonçalves, T., Pereira-da-Silva, M. A., … da Silva, L. A. (2009). In situ impedance spectroscopy study of the electrochemical corrosion of Ti and Ti–6Al–4V in simulated body fluid at 25°C and 37°C. Corrosion Science, 51(10), 2473-2482. doi:10.1016/j.corsci.2009.06.035Schmidt, A. M., Azambuja, D. S., & Martini, E. M. A. (2006). Semiconductive properties of titanium anodic oxide films in McIlvaine buffer solution. Corrosion Science, 48(10), 2901-2912. doi:10.1016/j.corsci.2005.10.013Sellers, M. C. K., & Seebauer, E. G. (2011). Measurement method for carrier concentration in TiO2 via the Mott–Schottky approach. Thin Solid Films, 519(7), 2103-2110. doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2010.10.071Jiang, Z., Dai, X., & Middleton, H. (2011). Investigation on passivity of titanium under steady-state conditions in acidic solutions. Materials Chemistry and Physics, 126(3), 859-865. doi:10.1016/j.matchemphys.2010.12.028Kong, D.-S., Lu, W.-H., Feng, Y.-Y., Yu, Z.-Y., Wu, J.-X., Fan, W.-J., & Liu, H.-Y. (2009). Studying on the Point-Defect-Conductive Property of the Semiconducting Anodic Oxide Films on Titanium. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 156(1), C39. doi:10.1149/1.3021008Roh, B., & Macdonald, D. D. (2007). Effect of oxygen vacancies in anodic titanium oxide films on the kinetics of the oxygen electrode reaction. Russian Journal of Electrochemistry, 43(2), 125-135. doi:10.1134/s1023193507020012Sazou, D., Saltidou, K., & Pagitsas, M. (2012). Understanding the effect of bromides on the stability of titanium oxide films based on a point defect model. Electrochimica Acta, 76, 48-61. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2012.04.158Roberge P. R. , Handbook of Corrosion Engineering, p. 756, McGraw-Hill, New York (2000).Basame, S. B., & White, H. S. (1995). Scanning electrochemical microscopy of native titanium oxide films. Mapping the potential dependence of spatially-localized electrochemical reactions. The Journal of Physical Chemistry, 99(44), 16430-16435. doi:10.1021/j100044a034Basame, S. B., & White, H. S. (2000). Pitting Corrosion of Titanium The Relationship Between Pitting Potential and Competitive Anion Adsorption at the Oxide Film/Electrolyte Interface. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 147(4), 1376. doi:10.1149/1.1393364Dugdale, I., & Cotton, J. B. (1964). The anodic polarization of titanium in halide solutions. Corrosion Science, 4(1-4), 397-411. doi:10.1016/0010-938x(64)90041-1Virtanen, S., & Curty, C. (2004). Metastable and Stable Pitting Corrosion of Titanium in Halide Solutions. CORROSION, 60(7), 643-649. doi:10.5006/1.3287839Trompette, J. L., Massot, L., Arurault, L., & Fontorbes, S. (2011). Influence of the anion specificity on the anodic polarization of titanium. Corrosion Science, 53(4), 1262-1268. doi:10.1016/j.corsci.2010.12.021Casillas, N. (1994). Pitting Corrosion of Titanium. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 141(3), 636. doi:10.1149/1.2054783Beck, T. R. (1973). Pitting of Titanium. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 120(10), 1310. doi:10.1149/1.2403253Huo, S., & Meng, X. (1990). The states of bromide on titanium surface prior to pit initiation. Corrosion Science, 31, 281-286. doi:10.1016/0010-938x(90)90120-tFernández-Domene, R. M., Blasco-Tamarit, E., García-García, D. M., & García-Antón, J. (2011). Cavitation corrosion and repassivation kinetics of titanium in a heavy brine LiBr solution evaluated by using electrochemical techniques and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy. Electrochimica Acta, 58, 264-275. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2011.09.034Srikhirin, P., Aphornratana, S., & Chungpaibulpatana, S. (2001). A review of absorption refrigeration technologies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 5(4), 343-372. doi:10.1016/s1364-0321(01)00003-xLee R. J. DiGuilio R. M. Jeter S. M. Teja A. 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G. , Molecular Thermodynamics of Fluid-Phase Equilibria, p. 517, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ (1999).Blandamer, M. J., Engberts, J. B. F. N., Gleeson, P. T., & Reis, J. C. R. (2005). Activity of water in aqueous systems; A frequently neglected property. Chemical Society Reviews, 34(5), 440. doi:10.1039/b400473fSelcuk, H., Sene, J. J., Zanoni, M. V. B., Sarikaya, H. Z., & Anderson, M. A. (2004). Behavior of bromide in the photoelectrocatalytic process and bromine generation using nanoporous titanium dioxide thin-film electrodes. Chemosphere, 54(7), 969-974. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2003.09.016Muñoz, A. I., Antón, J. G., Guiñón, J. L., & Herranz, V. P. (2003). Corrosion Behavior and Galvanic Coupling of Stainless Steels, Titanium, and Alloy 33 in Lithium Bromide Solutions. CORROSION, 59(7), 606-615. doi:10.5006/1.3277591Muñoz-Portero, M. J., García-Antón, J., Guiñón, J. L., & Leiva-García, R. (2011). Pourbaix diagrams for titanium in concentrated aqueous lithium bromide solutions at 25°C. Corrosion Science, 53(4), 1440-1450. doi:10.1016/j.corsci.2011.01.013Davydov, A. . (2001). Breakdown of valve metal passivity induced by aggressive anions. Electrochimica Acta, 46(24-25), 3777-3781. doi:10.1016/s0013-4686(01)00664-8Lin, L. F. (1981). A Point Defect Model for Anodic Passive Films. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 128(6), 1194. doi:10.1149/1.2127592Haruna, T. (1997). Theoretical Prediction of the Scan Rate Dependencies of the Pitting Potential and the Probability Distribution in the Induction Time. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 144(5), 1574. doi:10.1149/1.1837643Macdonald, D. D. (1992). The Point Defect Model for the Passive State. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 139(12), 3434. doi:10.1149/1.2069096Macdonald, D. D. (1999). Passivity–the key to our metals-based civilization. Pure and Applied Chemistry, 71(6), 951-978. doi:10.1351/pac199971060951Macdonald, D. D. (2011). The history of the Point Defect Model for the passive state: A brief review of film growth aspects. Electrochimica Acta, 56(4), 1761-1772. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2010.11.005Macdonald, D. D., & Sun, A. (2006). An electrochemical impedance spectroscopic study of the passive state on Alloy-22. Electrochimica Acta, 51(8-9), 1767-1779. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2005.02.103Park, K., Ahn, S., & Kwon, H. (2011). Effects of solution temperature on the kinetic nature of passive film on Ni. Electrochimica Acta, 56(3), 1662-1669. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2010.09.077Macdonald, D. D. (2008). On the tenuous nature of passivity and its role in the isolation of HLNW. Journal of Nuclear Materials, 379(1-3), 24-32. doi:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2008.06.004Paola, A. D. (1989). Semiconducting properties of passive films on stainless steels. Electrochimica Acta, 34(2), 203-210. doi:10.1016/0013-4686(89)87086-0Gomes, W. P., & Vanmaekelbergh, D. (1996). Impedance spectroscopy at semiconductor electrodes: Review and recent developments. Electrochimica Acta, 41(7-8), 967-973. doi:10.1016/0013-4686(95)00427-0Da Cunha Belo, M., Hakiki, N. ., & Ferreira, M. G. . (1999). Semiconducting properties of passive films formed on nickel–base alloys type Alloy 600: influence of the alloying elements. Electrochimica Acta, 44(14), 2473-2481. doi:10.1016/s0013-4686(98)00372-7Hakiki, N. B., Boudin, S., Rondot, B., & Da Cunha Belo, M. (1995). The electronic structure of passive films formed on stainless steels. Corrosion Science, 37(11), 1809-1822. doi:10.1016/0010-938x(95)00084-wHamadou, L., Kadri, A., & Benbrahim, N. (2005). Characterisation of passive films formed on low carbon steel in borate buffer solution (pH 9.2) by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Applied Surface Science, 252(5), 1510-1519. doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2005.02.135Wijesinghe, T. L. S. L., & Blackwood, D. J. (2008). Photocurrent and capacitance investigations into the nature of the passive films on austenitic stainless steels. Corrosion Science, 50(1), 23-34. doi:10.1016/j.corsci.2007.06.009Amri, J., Souier, T., Malki, B., & Baroux, B. (2008). Effect of the final annealing of cold rolled stainless steels sheets on the electronic properties and pit nucleation resistance of passive films. Corrosion Science, 50(2), 431-435. doi:10.1016/j.corsci.2007.08.013Li, D. G., Wang, J. D., & Chen, D. R. (2012). Influence of potentiostatic aging, temperature and pH on the diffusivity of a point defect in the passive film on Nb in an HCl solution. Electrochimica Acta, 60, 134-146. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2011.11.024Fernández-Domene, R. M., Blasco-Tamarit, E., García-García, D. M., & García-Antón, J. (2013). Passive and transpassive behaviour of Alloy 31 in a heavy brine LiBr solution. Electrochimica Acta, 95, 1-11. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2013.02.024Urquidi-Macdonald, M. (1989). Theoretical Analysis of the Effects of Alloying Elements on Distribution Functions of Passivity Breakdown. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 136(4), 961. doi:10.1149/1.2096894Schmidt, A. M., & Azambuja, D. S. (2006). Electrochemical behavior of Ti and Ti6Al4V in aqueous solutions of citric acid containing halides. Materials Research, 9(4), 387-392. doi:10.1590/s1516-14392006000400008Brug, G. J., van den Eeden, A. L. G., Sluyters-Rehbach, M., & Sluyters, J. H. (1984). The analysis of electrode impedances complicated by the presence of a constant phase element. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry and Interfacial Electrochemistry, 176(1-2), 275-295. doi:10.1016/s0022-0728(84)80324-1Valero Vidal, C., & Igual Muñoz, A. (2010). Study of the adsorption process of bovine serum albumin on passivated surfaces of CoCrMo biomedical alloy. Electrochimica Acta, 55(28), 8445-8452. doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2010.07.028Smart, N. G., & Bockris, J. O. (1992). Effect of Water Activity on Corrosion. CORROSION, 48(4), 277-280. doi:10.5006/1.3315933Frankel, G. S. (1998). Pitting Corrosion of Metals. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 145(6), 2186. doi:10.1149/1.1838615Blasco-Tamarit, E., Igual-Muñoz, A., & García-Antón, J. (2007). Galvanic corrosion of high alloyed austenitic stainless steel welds in LiBr systems. Corrosion Science, 49(12), 4452-4471. doi:10.1016/j.corsci.2007.05.020Crozier, P. S., & Rowley, R. L. (2002). Activity coefficient prediction by osmotic molecular dynamics. Fluid Phase Equilibria, 193(1-2), 53-73. doi:10.1016/s0378-3812(01)00734-8Burstein, G. T. (1989). The Dissolution and Repassivation of New Titanium Surfaces in Alkaline Methanolic Solution. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 136(5), 1313. doi:10.1149/1.2096913Banaś, J., Stypuła, B., Banaś, K., Światowska-Mrowiecka, J., Starowicz, M., & Lelek-Borkowska, U. (2008). Corrosion and passivity of metals in methanol solutions of electrolytes. 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Electrochemical characteristics of surface of titanium formed by electrolytic polishing and anodizing. Journal of Materials Science, 40(15), 4053-4059. doi:10.1007/s10853-005-2802-1Diamanti, M. V., Del Curto, B., & Pedeferri, M. (2008). Interference colors of thin oxide layers on titanium. Color Research & Application, 33(3), 221-228. doi:10.1002/col.20403Karambakhsh, A., Afshar, A., Ghahramani, S., & Malekinejad, P. (2011). Pure Commercial Titanium Color Anodizing and Corrosion Resistance. Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance, 20(9), 1690-1696. doi:10.1007/s11665-011-9860-

The power of an elector in the Spanish parliament: A study compared with power indices

The main goal of this article is to study, from a game theory perspective, the composition of the Spanish Parliament according to Article 68 of the Spanish Constitution, although the proposed model is applicable to the reduction of other representation chambers. It even allows for the sporadic design of the chamber in periods of crisis such as those we are currently experiencing. We use power indices to analyze feasible allocations of seats among the circumscriptions, modify- ing the size of the Parliament and considering different minimum initial numbers of seats per province. We propose two modifications of the composition following the cubic root rule of the de jure population. Finally, we compare the results of the general elections of December 2015 and June 2016 for the election of the members of the Congress of Deputies (Spanish Parliament) with the current system, which distributes a total number of 350 deputies among the provinces, with an initial minimum of two deputies (system 350/2), with another distribution system that distributed 360 deputies with an initial minimum of one deputy per province (system 360/1)