Direct Trade-off Research Articles

Global public goods, fiscal policy coordination, and welfare in the world economy

A two-region endogenous growth model of the world economy with local and global public goods is used to study strategic interactions between national policymakers. Distortionary taxes are used to finance infrastructure investment at home and generate resources for vaccine production by a global fund. While the global public good is nonexcludable, it is partially rival. Optimal tax rates under cooperation and noncooperation are solved for analytically, under both financial autarky and openness, and numerical experiments are performed to evaluate the welfare gain from cooperation. Whether optimal levies are higher or lower under cooperation, and the magnitude of welfare gains, depend on the degree of integration of capital markets, the existence of a direct trade-off between expenditure components, and the nature of the tax base. When the health levy takes the form of a capital or wealth tax, cooperation is welfare-improving under both autarky and financial openness, but enforcement and collection costs may narrow the scope of taxation under all policy regimes.

Exact Solution to Lambert’s Problem Using Contour Integrals

A novel method for solving Lambert’s problem based around the universal variable formulation is presented. By extending the transfer time function into the complex plane, an exact solution is derived for Lambert’s boundary value problem. This solution is a function of complex contour integrals of the transfer time function that must be approximated numerically. For integrals of this type, the composite trapezoidal rule is exponentially convergent and is used to approximate the solution to a high degree of accuracy for both zero- and n-revolution Lambert problems. Different families of contours are presented for the cases of hyperbolic, zero-revolution elliptic, and n-revolution elliptic transfers, and numerical examples are presented for all the cases. Monte Carlo analysis demonstrates a direct tradeoff between accuracy and computation speed based on the number of points used to approximate the integrals. When choosing a number of points with a balanced accuracy to speed, this method demonstrates an exceptionally fast computation speed, faster than all other methods we compare to in this paper.

Reproduction has immediate effects on female mortality, but no discernible lasting physiological impacts: A test of the disposable soma theory

The disposable soma theory (DST) posits that organisms age and die because of a direct trade-off in resource allocation between reproduction and somatic maintenance. DST predicts that investments in reproduction accentuate somatic damage which increase senescence and shortens lifespan. Here, we directly tested DST predictions in breeding and nonbreeding female C57BL/6J mice. We measured reproductive outputs, body composition, daily energy expenditure, and oxidative stress at peak lactation and over lifetime. We found that reproduction had an immediate and negative effect on survival due to problems encountered during parturition for some females. However, there was no statistically significant residual effect on survival once breeding had ceased, indicating no trade-off with somatic maintenance. Instead, higher mortality appeared to be a direct consequence of reproduction without long-term physiological consequences. Reproduction did not elevate oxidative stress. Our findings do not provide support for the predictions of the DST.

Salience network connectivity is altered in 6-week-old infants at heightened likelihood for developing autism

Converging evidence implicates disrupted brain connectivity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, the mechanisms linking altered connectivity early in development to the emergence of ASD symptomatology remain poorly understood. Here we examined whether atypicalities in the Salience Network – an early-emerging neural network involved in orienting attention to the most salient aspects of one’s internal and external environment – may predict the development of ASD symptoms such as reduced social attention and atypical sensory processing. Six-week-old infants at high likelihood of developing ASD based on family history exhibited stronger Salience Network connectivity with sensorimotor regions; infants at typical likelihood of developing ASD demonstrated stronger Salience Network connectivity with prefrontal regions involved in social attention. Infants with higher connectivity with sensorimotor regions had lower connectivity with prefrontal regions, suggesting a direct tradeoff between attention to basic sensory versus socially-relevant information. Early alterations in Salience Network connectivity predicted subsequent ASD symptomatology, providing a plausible mechanistic account for the unfolding of atypical developmental trajectories associated with vulnerability to ASD.

Ultrafast hybrid fermion-to-qubit mapping

Fermion-to-qubit mappings play a crucial role in representing fermionic interactions on a quantum computer. Efficient mappings translate fermionic modes of a system to qubit interactions with a high degree of locality while using few auxiliary resources. We present a family of locality-preserving fermion-to-qubit mappings that require fewer auxiliary qubits than all existing schemes known to date. One instance requires only 1.016 qubits-per-fermion compared with 1.25 for the best-known locality-preserving mapping by Chen and Xu []. Our family of mappings (parameterized by integer n) establishes a direct trade-off between the number of auxiliary qubits (1/n2) and the circuit length [O(logn)]. Furthermore, we present a nonlocal variant that combines the strengths of the Jordan-Wigner and Bravyi-Kitaev mappings to give 98% shorter circuits than the Jordan-Wigner mapping. This is achieved by applying seemingly incompatible mappings at different scales, making it possible for their respective strengths to complement each other. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Antimicrobial Resistance Challenge to Sustainable Development Goals and Targets: A One-Health Perspective

Abstract Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest challenges to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Antimicrobial resistance is primarily associated with misuse, abuse, or overuse of antimicrobials, resulting in no effect of antibiotics on microorganisms in humans, animals, and the environment in the domain of One Health. AMR directly affects Sustainable Development (SDG) Goals 1,3, and 4 related to wellbeing considered the inner component, SDG Goals 2, 6, 8, 9, and 12 the infrastructural middle component, and SDG Goal 17 the related component of cooperation and coordination. AMR indirectly affects SDG Goals 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, and 16. This interpretation is based on the dynamic interaction of various components that leads to direct or indirect tradeoff in achieving SDG goals based on the One-Health approach. Thus, understanding this dynamic interaction among various components of One Health is important to underscore the importance of AMR challenging Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Antimicrobial resistance extends beyond misuse, abuse, or overuse in healthcare settings, encompassing inadequate access to clean water, substandard practices in human and animal sanitation and hygiene, limited availability of early diagnostic tools, and insufficient legislation addressing the issue. Notably, a widespread lack of awareness and understanding regarding the issue poses a potential threat to SDGs. Hence, efforts must encompass strategic and synchronized actions across various tiers of the systems, coupled with evidence-based policy formulation, to yield sustainable outcomes on a global scale with the transdisciplinary approach of One Heath.

How Healthy Older Adults Enact Lateral Maneuvers While Walking

BackgroundWalking requires frequent maneuvers to navigate changing environments with shifting goals. Humans accomplish maneuvers and simultaneously maintain balance primarily by modulating their foot placement, but a direct trade-off between these two objectives has been proposed. As older adults may rely more on foot placement to maintain lateral balance, they may be less able to adequately adapt stepping to perform lateral maneuvers. Research questionHow do older adults adapt stepping to enact lateral lane-change maneuvers, and how do physical and perceived ability influence their task performance? MethodsTwenty young (21.7 ± 2.6 yrs) and 18 older (71.6 ± 6.0 yrs) adults walked on a motorized treadmill in a virtual environment. Following an audible and visual cue, participants switched between two parallel paths, centered 0.6 m apart, to continue walking on their new path. We quantified when participants initiated the maneuver following the cue, as well as their step width, lateral position, and stepping variability ellipses at each maneuver step. ResultsYoung and older adults did not differ in when they initiated the maneuver, but participants with lower perceived ability took longer to do so. Young and older adults also did not exhibit differences in step width or lateral positions at any maneuver step, but participants with greater physical ability reached their new path faster. While only older adults exhibited stepping adaptations prior to initiating the maneuver, both groups traded off stability for maneuverability to enact the lateral maneuver. SignificancePhysical and perceived balance ability, rather than age per se, differentially influenced maneuver task performance. Humans must make decisions related to the task of walking itself and do so based on both physical and perceived factors. Understanding and targeting these interactions may help improve walking performance among older adults.

Overcoming a legacy of racial discrimination: competing policy goals in South African academia

AbstractBecause discrimination is systemic, efforts to counter it must also be systemic. The South African case is instructive because it is extreme: Apartheid deliberately excluded the majority of the population, Black South Africans, from fully participating in society, but post-Apartheid efforts to achieve transformation have had limited success. This article examines the university system, where transformation involves increasing the size of the system; improving scientific quality and changing the racial composition. This will require more Black South Africans to do PhDs, to select academic careers and to be selected into the top universities. Policy interventions can be developed for each of these elements, but will they be complementary or contradictory? We simulate a calibrated model to address this question. Results reveal direct trade-offs, with different combinations resulting in different benefits. By highlighting the differential gains of different policy combinations, this article can support informed policy-making about a highly complex issue.

Preference, perceived change, and professed relationship among ecosystem services in the Himalayas

The demand side of ecosystem service (ES), especially preference and perception of supply and interactions among ES, is an important yet underexplored research area for landscape planning and management in human-dominated landscapes. Taking a case of multifunctional landscape in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region, we carried out a social survey of ES, focusing on preference, perceived change, and observed relationship among six major ES from the local people's perspective. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, data collection was done from 300 households from 10 categories of human settlements, based on watershed and land cover types. Garrett mean score (GMS), ordinal logistic regression estimates, and Chi-square test were performed for quantitative data, while an inductive approach was adopted for qualitative data analysis. The results show that at the landscape level, local people preferred water yield (GMS = 70) and crop production (GMS = 66) as the most preferred ES, whereas habitat quality (GMS = 37) and carbon sequestration (GMS = 35) were among the least preferred ES. More than 70% of the respondents believed that the supply of crop production has decreased over the last two decades; however, the supply of other provisioning and non-provisioning ES has increased as observed by majority of the respondents. Among the 15 pairs of ES, local people believe that co-occurrence of ES is possible. Majority of the respondents said that there exist synergistic relationship among 13 pairs of ES, except crop production which is negatively related with timber production and carbon sequestration. Among the identified trade-offs in ES, majority of local people believed that direct trade-offs (i.e., linear inverse relationship) is dominant as observed in 8 pairs of ES, followed by concave and convex trade-offs. Based on our analysis, we argue that the preference and perceived change of ES is more dependent on spatial heterogeneity of communities (i.e., watershed type, municipal category, and land cover type of residence) than socio-economic determinants. Further, we have discussed and suggested few policy and management measures including place-based spatial assessment of the social demand and preference, embracing agroforestry practices in ecosystem management programs, mainstreaming non-local ES in local decision making by incentives, and optimizing the supply of desired ES though integrated biophysical and socio-economic assessment of the landscape.

Performance Analysis of the Multi-connection Tactile Internet Protocol over 5G

Tactile Internet is an Internet network that combines ultra-low latency with extremely high availability and reliability. Since traditional protocols, such as UDP and TCP, cannot support this operation, other transport protocols are required to meet the stringent requirements of the Tactile Internet. This paper evaluates the implementation of the Multi-connection Tactile Internet Protocol (MTIP), a multi-connectivity transport protocol for the Tactile Internet. MTIP uses application and network status information to select network paths intelligently and, in so doing, to improve reliability and latency. The paper studies how different configurations of the MTIP algorithm impact its path selection and the effect on lost and late packets. This evaluation is performed in an emulated environment and in a 4G/5G lab to evaluate the protocol in diverse scenarios. The results show a direct trade-off between higher reliability requirements and the number of duplicate packets.

Associations between thalamocortical functional connectivity and sensory over-responsivity in infants at high likelihood for ASD.

Despite growing evidence implicating thalamic functional connectivity atypicalities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it remains unclear how such alterations emerge early in human development. Because the thalamus plays a critical role in sensory processing and neocortical organization early in life, its connectivity with other cortical regions could be key for studying the early onset of core ASD symptoms. Here, we investigated emerging thalamocortical functional connectivity in infants at high (HL) and typical (TL) familial likelihood for ASD in early and late infancy. We report significant thalamo-limbic hyperconnectivity in 1.5-month-old HL infants, and thalamo-cortical hypoconnectivity in prefrontal and motor regions in 9-month-old HL infants. Importantly, early sensory over-responsivity (SOR) symptoms in HL infants predicted a direct trade-off in thalamic connectivity whereby stronger thalamic connectivity with primary sensory regions and basal ganglia was inversely related to connectivity with higher order cortices. This trade-off suggests that ASD may be characterized by early differences in thalamic gating. The patterns reported here could directly underlie atypical sensory processing and attention to social vs. nonsocial stimuli observed in ASD. These findings lend support to a theoretical framework of ASD whereby early disruptions in sensorimotor processing and attentional biases early in life may cascade into core ASD symptomatology.

How does the timing of weapon loss influence reproductive traits and trade-offs in the insect Narnia femorata?

A longstanding goal of evolutionary biology is to understand among-individual variation in resource allocation decisions and the timing of these decisions. Recent studies have shown that investment in elaborate and costly weapons can result in trade-offs with investment in testes. In this study, we ask the following questions: At what point plasticity in resource allocation to these different structures ceases during development, if at all? Furthermore, can individuals tailor their reproductive behavior to accompany structural changes? We experimentally addressed these questions in the insect Narnia femorata, quantifying resource reallocation across development for the first time, using a phenotypic engineering approach. To investigate whether allocation plasticity diminishes throughout ontogeny, we induced weapon loss at a range of different developmental stages and examined subsequent testes mass and reproductive behavior. We found that relative testes mass increased as weapon investment decreased, implying a direct trade-off between testes and weapon investment. However, autotomy postadulthood ceased to induce larger testes mass. Intriguingly, losing a weapon while young was associated with extended adult mating duration, potentially enabling compensation for reduced fighting ability. Our results highlight the importance of examining the ontogeny of trade-offs between reproductive traits and the flexibility of the relationship between reproductive morphology and behavior.

Bayesian Rule Set: A Quantitative Alternative to Qualitative Comparative Analysis

We introduce the Bayesian Rule Set (BRS) as an alternative to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) when data are large and noisy. BRS is an interpretable machine learning algorithm that classifies observations using rule sets, which are conditions connected by logical operators (e.g., IF (condition A AND condition B) OR (condition C), THEN Y = TRUE). Like QCA, BRS is highly interpretable and capable of revealing complex nonlinear relationships in data. It also has several advantages over QCA: it is compatible with probabilistically generated data, it avoids overfitting and improves interpretability by making direct trade-offs between in-sample fitness and complexity, and it remains computationally efficient with many covariates. Our contributions are threefold: we modify the BRS algorithm to facilitate its usage in the social sciences, propose methods to quantify uncertainties of rule sets, and develop graphical tools for presenting rule sets. We illustrate these methods with two empirical examples from political science.

Individual pitch control by convex economic model predictive control for wind turbine side-side tower load alleviation

The wind turbine side-side tower motion is known to be lightly damped. One viable active damping solution is realized by deploying individual pitch control (IPC) such that counteracting blade forces are created to alleviate the tower fatigue loading caused by this motion. Existing IPC methods for side-side tower damping in the literature, such as linear quadratic regulator and lead-lag controller, cannot accommodate direct optimization and tradeoff tunings of the wind turbine economic performance. In this work, a novel side-side tower damping IPC strategy under a convex economic model predictive control (CEMPC) framework is therefore developed to address these challenges. The main idea of the framework lies in the variable transformation in power and energy terms to obtain linear dynamics and convex constraints, over which the economic performance of the wind turbine is maximized with a globally optimal solution in a receding horizon manner. The effectiveness of the proposed method is showcased in a high-fidelity simulation environment under both steady and turbulent wind cases. Lower fatigue damage on the side-side tower bending moment is attained with an acceptable level of pitch activities, negligible impact on the blade loads, and minor improvement on the power production.

No apparent trade-off between the quality of nest-grown feathers and time spent in the nest in an aerial insectivore, the Tree Swallow

Abstract Life history theory provides a framework for understanding how trade-offs generate negative trait associations. Among nestling birds, time spent in the nest, risk of predation, and lifespan covary, but some associations are only found within species while others are only observed between species. A recent comparative study suggests that allocation trade-offs may be alleviated by disinvestment in ephemeral traits, such as nest-grown feathers, that are quickly replaced. However, direct resource allocation trade-offs cannot be inferred from interspecific trait associations without complementary intraspecific studies. Here, we asked whether there is evidence for a within-species allocation trade-off between feather quality and time spent in the nest in Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Consistent with the idea that ephemeral traits are deprioritized, nest-grown feathers had lower barb density than adult feathers. However, despite substantial variation in fledging age among nestlings, there was no evidence for a negative association between time in the nest and feather quality. Furthermore, accounting for differences in resource availability by considering provisioning rate and a nest predation treatment did not reveal a trade-off that was masked by variation in resources. Our results are most consistent with the idea that the interspecific association between development and feather quality arises from adaptive specialization, rather than from a direct allocation trade-off.

The Effect of Faculty Research on Student Learning in College

Whether faculty research affects college student learning has long been the subject of debate. Previous studies use subjective measures of student learning; focus on correlation rather than causation; and typically focus on one college, thus lacking generalizability. Using unique, large-scale survey and assessment data that we collected from nationally representative samples of STEM undergraduates in China, India, and Russia, as well as a causal identification strategy that accounts for differential sorting of students to faculty, we present generalizable estimates of the effect of faculty research on objective, standardized measures of student learning. Results show that faculty research has a negative effect on student learning, suggesting direct trade-offs between the university’s dual mission of producing research and learning.

3D Printed RFID Tag Antenna Miniaturized Through Volumetric Folding and Slow-Wave Structures

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is becoming important with emerging applications for smart cities. RFID Tags are required to be small in size, low in cost and must exhibit as long read range as possible. There is a direct tradeoff between Tag antenna size and its read range. In this work, we study this tradeoff through the use of a relatively higher dielectric constant substrate, volumetric folding, and slow-wave structures (SWS). A 3D antenna design is chosen due to two reasons, 1) it can be folded on a 3D structure, 2), the 3D structure can be used as a package for electronics (in case of active RFID implementation). To enable a low-cost realization, the antenna substrate (package) has been 3D printed with filaments of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\varepsilon }_{r}={5}.{3}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> . A dipole antenna has been folded on this 3D substrate, in a way that the electromagnetic fields radiating from various segments of the antenna do not cancel with each other. Finally, the antenna is loaded with specially designed SWS, whose values have been estimated using artificial transmission line theory. The final antenna design, operating at 866.9 MHz, has a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${ka}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of 0.26 and demonstrates a radiation efficiency of 32%. The antenna is integrated with a commercial RFID chip (Monza R6) through a silver paste and the measured read range is 2.73 m, while the corrected read range is 4.05 m when the impedance mismatch is considered. Despite being one of the smallest and the lowest cost design (involving 3D printing), the Tag demonstrates one of the highest read range.

Beyond the myths about Indonesia’s deforestation: linking oil palm cultivation to forest degradation and sustainable development goals

Oil palm cultivation is under scrutiny by various stakeholders, arguing that it is the main cause for Indonesia’s deforestation. This paper highlights the decades of forest degradation before the first land clearing for oil palm within the context of Indonesia’s development policies. Using ‘direct photointerpretation’ of ‘Historical Imagery’, it assesses the forest degradation and deforestation caused by oil palm cultivation in Indonesia, particularly in light of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Forest degradation has direct trade-offs with most of the SDGs, with the most affected SDGs being Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG12) and Life on Land (SDG15). Historical satellite imagery indicates that the first land clearing for the 176 Kha of oil palm estates sampled palm occurred around 1994. In contrast, only half of this area contained (natural) forests in 1984- a decade before the first land clearing. None of the remaining forests were (near) intact natural forests; all were (heavily) degraded and their biodiversity was strongly compromised. This indicates that oil palm cultivation is not linked to the degradation of Indonesia’s natural forests. Regarding SDG12, we found significant positive impacts from both the direct and indirect land-use changes by oil palm. For SDG15, we observed major positive impacts from the direct land-use changes and minor positive impacts from the indirect land-use changes. Hence, we conclude that oil palm cultivation in the sampled estates has positive impacts on Indonesia’s SDGs and Indonesia’s development policies align with its SDGs.

Trustworthiness is distinct from generosity in children.

Interpersonal trust is a key component of cooperation, helping support the complex social networks found across societies. Trust typically involves two parties, one who trusts by taking on risk through investment in a second party, who can be trustworthy and produce mutual benefits. To date, the developmental literature has focused primarily on the trustor, meaning we know little about the ontogeny of trustworthiness. Whereas trusting can be motivated by self-interest, one-shot trustworthiness is more squarely situated in the prosocial domain, involving a direct tradeoff between self-interest and others' interests. However, this raises the question of whether trustworthiness is distinct from generosity. In this preregistered study, we examine the origins of trustworthiness using an intuitive version of the Trust Game, in which a first party invests resources in a second party who can split the gains. We recruited N = 118 5-to-8 year-old American children (Mage = 6.94, n = 59 girls, 57% White, 88% of parents with bachelor's degree or higher), split between the Trustworthiness condition, where another party's investment is instrumental for obtaining greater resources, and the Generosity condition, where the other party is a passive recipient. We found that children in the Trustworthiness condition shared significantly more resources than those in the Generosity condition. Further, children in the Trustworthiness condition predicted that the first party expected them to share a greater number of resources. Overall, these results demonstrate that trustworthiness is distinct from generosity in childhood and suggest that children spontaneously grasp and engage in a key aspect of cooperation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Tracking a Target on a 450 Degree Turn with the Multi-fractional Order Estimator (MFOE)

This paper presents a method of tracking a maneuvering target during a 450 turn with the polynomial multi-fractional order estimator (MFOE) from statistically corrupted measurement samples. The novel concept of the MFOE is to trade-off noisy measurements for fractions of estimated position, velocity, acceleration, jerk, etc. (fractions of estimated polynomial coefficients) to improve tracking accuracy by reducing the size of the MSE (variance plus bias-squared). Although the direct or ostensible trade-off is between the number of measurement samples vs. fractions of polynomial coefficients, the secondary or actual trade-off is between the variance and bias-squared. The MFOE creates a set of weights and applies them to the noisy measurement samples to yield the predicted position and MSE. MFOE features: The sum of the weights equals 1 and the sum of the squares of the weights is the variance normalized with respect to the noise variance. Of course, the bias is the square root of the difference between the MSE and the variance. Plots included are the target trajectory, the range and azimuth of the target as seen by the sensor (radar), as well as the individual range and azimuth tracking errors: measurement noise standard deviation (SD), prediction noise SD, RMSE, and bias. Particularly surprising is that the azimuth MFOE predictor SD is smaller during constant velocity after the turn than is the SD of the conventional polynomial second order predictor; i.e., first degree polynomial representing a constant velocity trajectory. (Note: Estimator order equals polynomial degree plus 1 from the Kalman filter.