Description: In this article, the authors introduce a new method for detecting scaling in time series. The method uses the properties of the probability flux for stochastic self-affine processes and is called the 'probability flux analysis' (PFA). The advantages of this method are: 1) it is independent of the finiteness of the moments of the self-affine process; 2) it does not require a binning procedure for numerical evaluation of the probability density function. These properties make the method particularly efficient for heavy tailed distributions in which the variance is not finite, for example, in Lévy α-stable processes. This utility is established using a comparison with the 'diffusion entropy' (DE) method.

Description: This article discusses projectile charge-state dependence of K-shell ionization by silicon ions. X-ray production cross sections measured in K-shell ionization of ₂₁Sc, ₂₂Ti, ₂₉Cu, and ₃₂Ge by 52-MeV ₁₄²⁸Si(+q) projectiles with q=7 to 14 are reported, which demonstrate, through their charge-state dependence, the validity of a recently developed electron-capture theory with a reduced binding effect. Furthermore, the data provide evidence for the applicability of the perturbed stationary-state theory of direct ionization for values of 0.44 ≤ Z₁/Z₂ ≤ 0.67.

Description: This report is on the workshop 'Transformative Research: Ethical and Societal Implications'. Workshop conversations cluster under the four headings of the history and definitions, promotion, evaluation, and integration of transformative research (TR): 1. History and Definitions: The National Science Board's 2007 report (NSB-07-32) on transformative research called for more effort directed at defining TR. The present report offers additional context and clarity regarding meanings of the term. But it also argues that there are virtues in leaving the term open to multiple interpretations. 2. Promotion: The report welcomes new mechanisms for promoting TR, such as NSF 'CREATIV' grants. It embraces additional means for promoting TR, such as increased emphasis on interdisciplinary research, and explores how different interpretations of how TR occurs imply different strategies for promoting TR. It also calls for increased attention to the broader societal impacts of TR at the levels of policy, of NSF programs, and of individual research projects. 3. Evaluation: The report emphasizes the need to develop means for evaluating attempts to promote TR. It also concludes that research should be directed toward evaluating transformative research at the project level. 4. Integration: The report suggests that consideration of the broader societal impacts of TR be ...

Description: This is a Publisher's Note for the article 'Beyond the Death of Linear Response: 1/f Optimal Information Transport' [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 040601 (2010)].

Description: This article accompanies a poster presentation on the quantification of emotional bias by an Emotional-Gain model. The authors have developed a computational model that quantifies emotion objectively based on neurobiological mechanisms that increases the chance of survival in the real world. This model is based on the EMOTION-I and EMOTION-II models with the extension of proportionality hypothesis added to the desirable gain signal to these models.