We study the classical Hermite–Hadamard inequality in the matrix setting. This leads to a number of interesting matrix inequalities such as the Schatten p-norm estimates

$$ \begin{align*}\left(\|A^q\|_p^p + \|B^q\|_p^p\right)^{1/p} \le \|(xA+(1-x)B)^q\|_p+ \|((1-x)A+xB)^q\|_p, \end{align*} $$

$n\times n$

$A,B$

$0<q,x<1$

$X^*X+Y^*Y=XX^*+YY^*=I$

$$ \begin{align*}(X^*AX+Y^*BY)\oplus (Y^*AY+X^*BX) =\frac{1}{2n}\sum_{k=1}^{2n} U_k (A\oplus B)U_k^*, \end{align*} $$

$2n\times 2n$

$U_k$

We obtain several norm and eigenvalue inequalities for positive matrices partitioned into four blocks. The results involve the numerical range $W(X)$ of the off-diagonal block $X$, especially the distance $d$ from $0$ to $W(X)$. A special consequence is an estimate,

$$\begin{eqnarray}\text{diam}\,W\left(\left[\begin{array}{@{}cc@{}}A & X\\ X^{\ast } & B\end{array}\right]\right)-\text{diam}\,W\biggl(\frac{A+B}{2}\biggr)\geq 2d,\end{eqnarray}$$

Direct measurements of spatially distributed vertical strain within ice masses are scientifically valuable but challenging to acquire. We use manual marker tracking and automatic cross correlation between two repeat optical televiewer (OPTV) images of an ~100 m-long borehole at Derwael Ice Rise (DIR), Antarctica, to reconstruct discretised, vertical strain rate and velocity at millimetre resolution. The resulting profiles decay with depth, from −0.07 a−1 at the surface to ~−0.002 a−1 towards the base in strain and from −1.3 m a−1 at the surface to ~−0.5 m a−1 towards the base in velocity. Both profiles also show substantial local variability. Three coffee-can markers installed at different depths into adjacent boreholes record consistent strain rates and velocities, although averaged over longer depth ranges and subject to greater uncertainty. Measured strain-rate profiles generally compare closely with output from a 2-D ice-flow model, while the former additionally reveal substantial high-resolution variability. We conclude that repeat OPTV borehole logging represents an effective means of measuring distributed vertical strain at millimetre scale, revealing high-resolution variability along the uppermost ~100 m of DIR, Antarctica.

Automatic enrollment has substantially increased employee participation in defined contribution plans. Yet little is known about how retirement plan design features influence retirement wealth accumulation in a setting of labor market turnover. We find that employees separating from jobs with automatic enrollment plans are significantly more likely to take a cash distribution (and potentially pay a tax penalty) than those separating from jobs with voluntary enrollment plans, offsetting some of the benefits from automatic enrollment. Yet given the sizeable improvements in plan participation from automatic enrollment, wealth accumulation for automatically enrolled participants, net of cash-outs and penalties, remain higher than it would have been under voluntary enrollment.

Competitive interactions between native plants and nonnative, invasive plant species have been extensively studied; however, within degraded landscapes, the effect of interspecific interactions among invasive plants is less explored. We investigated a competitive interaction between two sympatric, invasive mustard species that have similar life history strategies and growth forms: garlic mustard and damesrocket. Greenhouse experiments using a full range of reciprocal density ratios were conducted to investigate interspecific competition. Garlic mustard had a negative effect on the final biomass, number of leaves, and relative growth rate in height of damesrocket. Survival of damesrocket was not negatively affected by interspecific competition with garlic mustard; however, garlic mustard showed higher mortality because of intraspecific competition. These results indicated that although garlic mustard has been observed to be the dominant species in this landscape, it may not completely outcompete damesrocket in all situations. Studies of invasive species in competition are important in degraded landscapes because this is the common situation in many natural areas.

To evaluate the appropriateness of the screening strategy for healthcare personnel (HCP) during a hospital-associated Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, we performed a serologic investigation in 189 rRT-PCR–negative HCP exposed and assigned to MERS patients. Although 20%–25% of HCP experienced MERS-like symptoms, none of them showed seroconversion by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT).

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:234–238

How do we know where languages begin and where they end? It is widely assumed that languages exist as discrete, distinct entities, an idea that forms the basis of mono- and multilingualism, as well as of source and target languages in translation theory. What created that clear-cut division between languages? I argue that our current conception of language was invented as part of the process of the creation of the nation-state. The idea of a language, and therefore of translation, was a product of nation-state formation that required the construction of boundaries to divide homogeneous territories, peoples, and their languages. The Stammbaum model of linguistic filiation emerged as part of the same politicized ideology of modernity. Against this, I consider the alternative model of language mixture, which conceptualizes language as a transformative process of interaction without boundaries and challenges ideas of a language and of translation.

Epidemiological studies have identified increased colorectal cancer (CRC) risk with high red meat (HRM) intakes, whereas dietary fibre intake appears to be protective. In the present study, we examined whether a HRM diet increased rectal O6-methyl-2-deoxyguanosine (O6MeG) adduct levels in healthy human subjects, and whether butyrylated high-amylose maize starch (HAMSB) was protective. A group of twenty-three individuals consumed 300 g/d of cooked red meat without (HRM diet) or with 40 g/d of HAMSB (HRM+HAMSB diet) over 4-week periods separated by a 4-week washout in a randomised cross-over design. Stool and rectal biopsy samples were collected for biochemical, microbial and immunohistochemical analyses at baseline and at the end of each 4-week intervention period. The HRM diet increased rectal O6MeG adducts relative to its baseline by 21 % (P< 0·01), whereas the addition of HAMSB to the HRM diet prevented this increase. Epithelial proliferation increased with both the HRM (P< 0·001) and HRM+HAMSB (P< 0·05) diets when compared with their respective baseline levels, but was lower following the HRM+HAMSB diet compared with the HRM diet (P< 0·05). Relative to its baseline, the HRM+HAMSB diet increased the excretion of SCFA by over 20 % (P< 0·05) and increased the absolute abundances of the Clostridium coccoides group (P< 0·05), the Clostridiumleptum group (P< 0·05), Lactobacillus spp. (P< 0·01), Parabacteroides distasonis (P< 0·001) and Ruminococcus bromii (P< 0·05), but lowered Ruminococcus torques (P< 0·05) and the proportions of Ruminococcus gnavus, Ruminococcus torques and Escherichia coli (P< 0·01). HRM consumption could increase the risk of CRC through increased formation of colorectal epithelial O6MeG adducts. HAMSB consumption prevented red meat-induced adduct formation, which may be associated with increased stool SCFA levels and/or changes in the microbiota composition.

Some subadditivity inequalities for matrices and concave functions also hold for Hilbert space operators, but (unfortunately!) with an additional $\varepsilon $ term. It does not seem possible to erase this residual term. However, in case of compact operators we show that the $\varepsilon $ term is unnecessary. Further, these inequalities are strict in a certain sense when some natural assumptions are satisfied. The discussion also emphasizes matrices and their compressions and several open questions or conjectures are considered, both in the matrix and operator settings.

Plan knowledge and trust in financial institutions – two variables missing from standard neoclassical or behavioral models of decision-making – are strongly correlated to 401(k) savings behavior based on results from this paper. In voluntary enrollment settings, plan knowledge and demographic characteristics are related to participation in a 401(k) plan. In automatic enrollment settings, trust in financial institutions and knowledge of an available plan match are related to participation. Although this study cannot prove causality of the relationships, it does extend our understanding of the complex factors underlying savings choices. Policy implications are discussed.

Sources for low frequency noise in polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors are analytically investigated. The grain boundary is modeled as symmetric Schottky barrier and a new device equation for current conduction in thin-film transistors is presented. At lower currents where barrier height is large enough to provide necessary distribution of time constants for 1/f noise, the number fluctuation via barrier height modulation at the grain boundary is found to be the main noise generation mechanism. At higher currents, mobility and diffusivity fluctuation are found to be dominant

Two brown algae, Pelvetia canaliculata and Laminaria saccharina, from the higher and lower mediolittoral belts respectively, have been tested for their capacity to overcome high-light stress in water and in air (in both fully hydrated and desiccated states). When exposed to supersaturating light irradiance in water, the two species developed non-photochemical quenching of fluorescence (NPQ) which was correlated with an increase in the de-epoxidation ratio (DR) of the xanthophyll cycle carotenoids (violaxanthin, antheraxanthin and zeaxanthin) and was followed by a slower decrease in oxygen evolution. NPQ reached values of up to 9 in P. canaliculata but only 4·5 in L. saccharina, at DRs of 0·65 and 0·5, respectively. In air, the xanthophyll cycle was also operative but the efficiency of de-epoxidation decreased linearly with the degree of hydration of the thallus. Photoprotection capacities in air also appeared higher in P. canaliculata than in L. saccharina, probably due to the higher molar content of the xanthophyll cycle pool size relative to chlorophyll a (Chl a) in the former (nearly double of that L. saccharina at 19 carotenoid molecules per 100 Chl a), which may be associated with a higher DR at the same level of desiccation. The concomitant higher accumulation of zeaxanthin in P. canaliculata might divert a higher percentage of the incident energy from the reaction centres, as demonstrated by the levels of NPQ, with steady-state fluorescence reduced to below the initial F0 level. Such differences, together with the unequal resistance to desiccation of the operation of the xanthophyll cycle, should be considered as possible factors responsible for the distribution for these two species on the shore.

The compound BaBiTe3 was prepared by the reaction of Ba/Bi/Te at over 700 °C either in K2TE4 or BaTe3 flux and was recrystallized in Ba/Te3 flux. The black rod-shaped polycrystalline material crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P212121 with a=4.6077(2) A, b=17.0437(8) Å, c=18.2997(8) Å. Its structure is made of interdigitating columnar anionie [Bi4Te10(Te2)] ∞2+ “herring-bone” shaped segments which arrange into layers with Ba ions between them. The electrical conductivity, thermopower, thermal lattice conductivity, infrared absorption properties of this material suggest it is a narrow gap semiconductor.

Family history was examined to determine whether suicide in index patients is associated with suicidal behaviour or mental disorder in their first-degree relatives. Twenty-seven suicides occurred within 5½ years among 955 affectively disordered probands. Among 5042 proband relatives aged 18 years and older, 44 had committed suicide prior to proband entry to the study; however, only one was the relative of a proband suicide. Only two of the relatives who committed suicide were themselves related. As to attempted suicide of relatives, neither the number of attempts nor the severity of attempt was predictive of suicide in probands. Comparison of diagnosis between groups of relatives showed more drug abuse among relatives of proband suicides; this appears to be related to drug abuse among the proband suicides themselves. In contrast to the clustering of suicides within biological families found in other research, these data do not support the use of family history as a clinically useful indicator of suicidal potential in affectively disordered probands.