Multiplicities in ultrarelativistic proton-(anti)proton collisions and negative binomial distribution fits

Likelihood ratio tests are performed for the hypothesis that charged-particle multiplicities measured in proton-(anti)proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 0.9 and 2.36 TeV are distributed according to the negative binomial form. Results indicate that the hypothesis should be rejected in the all cases of ALICE-LHC measurements in the limited pseudo-rapidity windows, whereas should be accepted in the corresponding cases of UA5 data. Possible explanations of that and of the disagreement with the least-squares fitting method are given.Comment: 14 pages, clarified version, reference added. To appear in International Journal of Modern Physics

Context and consequences of liquor sachets use among young people in Malawi

This article presents a relatively new phenomenon regarding alcohol related problems in Malawi; the context and consequences of the consumption of liquor sachets among young people. The results presented are part of a larger study looking at the prevalence and social norms related to alcohol use, as well as people’s opinions on policies and interventions related to alcohol in Malawi. The results presented here are from a qualitative component in three Malawian communities. The results imply that the introduction of sachets has contributed to an increase in alcohol consumption among young people. Major issues of concern are issues of age limits, packaging and alcohol content, as well as lack of empirical evidence on which to base policies and interventions. Finally, there is a need to mobilize positive adult role models for young people with regards to alcohol.Key words: Liquor sachets, Malawi, youth, alcohol consequences, qualitative stud

Information filtering via Iterative Refinement

With the explosive growth of accessible information, expecially on the Internet, evaluation-based filtering has become a crucial task. Various systems have been devised aiming to sort through large volumes of information and select what is likely to be more relevant. In this letter we analyse a new ranking method, where the reputation of information providers is determined self-consistently.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication on Europhysics Letter

The Ehrenfest urn revisited: Playing the game on a realistic fluid model

The Ehrenfest urn process, also known as the dogs and fleas model, is realistically simulated by molecular dynamics of the Lennard-Jones fluid. The key variable is Delta z, i.e. the absolute value of the difference between the number of particles in one half of the simulation box and in the other half. This is a pure-jump stochastic process induced, under coarse graining, by the deterministic time evolution of the atomic coordinates. We discuss the Markov hypothesis by analyzing the statistical properties of the jumps and of the waiting times between jumps. In the limit of a vanishing integration time-step, the distribution of waiting times becomes closer to an exponential and, therefore, the continuous-time jump stochastic process is Markovian. The random variable Delta z behaves as a Markov chain and, in the gas phase, the observed transition probabilities follow the predictions of the Ehrenfest theory.Comment: Accepted by Physical Review E on 4 May 200

Generalized Master Equations for Non-Poisson Dynamics on Networks

The traditional way of studying temporal networks is to aggregate the dynamics of the edges to create a static weighted network. This implicitly assumes that the edges are governed by Poisson processes, which is not typically the case in empirical temporal networks. Consequently, we examine the effects of non-Poisson inter-event statistics on the dynamics of edges, and we apply the concept of a generalized master equation to the study of continuous-time random walks on networks. We show that the equation reduces to the standard rate equations when the underlying process is Poisson and that the stationary solution is determined by an effective transition matrix whose leading eigenvector is easy to calculate. We discuss the implications of our work for dynamical processes on temporal networks and for the construction of network diagnostics that take into account their nontrivial stochastic nature

Shark depredation: future directions in research and management

Shark depredation is a complex social-ecological issue that affects a range of fisheries worldwide. Increasing concern about the impacts of shark depredation, and how it intersects with the broader context of fisheries management, has driven recent research in this area, especially in Australia and the United States. This review synthesises these recent advances and provides strategic guidance for researchers aiming to characterise the occurrence of depredation, identify the shark species responsible, and test deterrent and management approaches to reduce its impacts. Specifically, the review covers the application of social science approaches, as well as advances in video camera and genetic methods for identifying depredating species. The practicalities and considerations for testing magnetic, electrical, and acoustic deterrent devices are discussed in light of recent research. Key concepts for the management of shark depredation are reviewed, with recommendations made to guide future research and policy development. Specific management responses to address shark depredation are lacking, and this review emphasizes that a “silver bullet” approach for mitigating depredation does not yet exist. Rather, future efforts to manage shark depredation must rely on a diverse range of integrated approaches involving those in the fishery (fishers, scientists and fishery managers), social scientists, educators, and other stakeholders

Firm heterogeneity and wages under different bargaining regimes : does a centralised union care for low-productivity firms?

This paper studies the relationship between wages and the degree of firm heterogeneity in a given industry under different wage setting structures. To derive testable hypotheses, we set up a theoretical model that analyses the sensitivity of wages to the variability in productivity conditions in a unionsised oligopoly framework. The model distinguishes centralised and decentralised wage determination. The theoretical results predict wages to be negatively associated with the degree of firm heterogeneity under centralised wage-setting, as unions internalise negative externalities of a wage increase for low-productivity firms. We test this prediction using a linked employeremployee panel data set from the German mining and manufacturing sector. Consistent with our hypotheses, the empirical results suggest that under industry-level bargaining workers in more heterogeneous sectors receive lower wages than workers in more homogeneous sectors. In contrast, the degree of firm heterogeneity is found to have no negative impact on wages in uncovered firms and under firm-level contracts

Concise and Tight Security Analysis of the Bennett-Brassard 1984 Protocol with Finite Key Lengths

We present a tight security analysis of the Bennett-Brassard 1984 protocol taking into account the finite size effect of key distillation, and achieving unconditional security. We begin by presenting a concise analysis utilizing the normal approximation of the hypergeometric function. Then next we show that a similarly tight bound can also be obtained by a rigorous argument without relying on any approximation. In particular, for the convenience of experimentalists who wish to evaluate the security of their QKD systems, we also give explicit procedures of our key distillation, and also show how to calculate the secret key rate and the security parameter from a given set of experimental parameters. Besides the exact values of key rates and security parameters, we also present how to obtain their rough estimates using the normal approximation.Comment: 40 pages, 4 figures, revised arguments on security, and detailed explanaions on how to use theoretical result