Ultra-low-loss inverted taper coupler for silicon-on-insulator ridge waveguide

An ultra-low-loss coupler for interfacing a silicon-on-insulator ridge waveguide and a single-mode fiber in both polarizations is presented. The inverted taper coupler, embedded in a polymer waveguide, is optimized for both the transverse-magnetic and transverse-electric modes through tapering the width of the silicon-on-insulator waveguide from 450 nm down to less than 15 nm applying a thermal oxidation process. Two inverted taper couplers are integrated with a 3-mm long silicon-on-insulator ridge waveguide in the fabricated sample. The measured coupling losses of the inverted taper coupler for transverse-magnetic and transverse-electric modes are ∼ 0.36 dB and ∼ 0.66 dB per connection, respectively.     

Third-order design of aspheric spectacle lenses

The theory of third-order aberrations for a system of rotationally symmetric aspheric thin lenses and relations for calculation of the shape of rotationally symmetric aspheric spectacle lenses with zero astigmatism are described. A comparison of aspheric and spherical spectacle lens design is presented. Possible applications of aspheric lens surfaces are proposed including the design of a spectacle lens with two types of primary aberrations corrected, an anastigmatic spectacle lens with minimum weight and a spectacle lens with the desired aesthetic shape. Our work performs a complex analysis of the third-order design of spectacle lenses considering not only astigmatism but all types of primary aberrations and their combinations.     

An algorithm for the determination of graphs associated to fold maps between closed surfaces

The aim of this paper is to introduce a computational tool that checks theoretical conditions in order to determine whether a weighted graph, as a topological invariant of stable maps, can be associated to stable maps without cusps (ie, fold maps) from closed surfaces to the projective plan.     

Examining the design features of a communication-rich,problem-centred mathematics professional development

While there is considerable scholarship describing principles for effective professional development, there have been few attempts to examine these principles in practice. In this paper, we identify and examine the particular design features of a mathematics professional development experience provided for middle grades teachers over 14 weeks. The professional development was grounded in a set of mathematical tasks that each had one right answer, but multiple solution paths. The facilitator engaged participants in problem solving and encouraged participants to work collaboratively to explore different solution paths. Through analysis of this collaborative learning environment, we identified five design features for supporting teacher learning of important mathematics and pedagogy in a problem-solving setting. We discuss these design features in depth and illustrate them by presenting an elaborated example from the professional development. This study extends the existing guidance for the design of professional development by examining and operationalizing the relationships among research-based features of effective professional development and the enacted features of a particular design.     

Existence of incomplete canonical Kirkman packing designs

For $u,v$ positive integers with $u\equiv v\equiv 4\left(mod6\right)$, let ICKPD$(u,v)$ denote a canonical Kirkman packing of order $u$ missing one of order $v$. In this paper, it is shown that the necessary condition for existence of an ICKPD$(u,v)$, namely $u\ge 3v+4$, is sufficient with a definite exception $(u,v)=(16,4)$, and except possibly when $v>76$, $v\equiv 4\left(mod12\right)$ and $u\in \{3v+4,3v+10\}$.     

A principal–agent problem with heterogeneous demand distributions for a carbon capture and storage system

Mechanism design problems optimize contract offerings from a principal to different types of agents who have private information about their demands for a product or a service. We study the implications of uncertainty in agents’ demands on the principal’s contracts. Specifically, we consider the setting where agents’ demands follow heterogeneous distributions and the principal offers a menu of contracts stipulating quantities and transfer payments for each demand distribution. We present analytical solutions for the special case when there are two distributions each taking two discrete values, as well as a method for deriving analytical solutions from numerical solutions. We describe one application of the model in carbon capture and storage systems to demonstrate various types of optimal solutions and to obtain managerial insights.     

Optimal insurance with belief heterogeneity and incentive compatibility

People may evaluate risk differently in the insurance market. Motivated by this, we examine an optimal insurance problem allowing the insured and the insurer to have heterogeneous beliefs about loss distribution. To reduce ex post moral hazard, we follow Huberman et al. (1983) to assume that alternative insurance contracts satisfy the principle of indemnity and the incentive-compatible constraint. Under the assumption that the insurance premium is calculated by the expected value principle, we establish a necessary and sufficient condition for an optimal insurance solution and provide a practical scheme to improve any suboptimal insurance strategy under an arbitrary form of belief heterogeneity. By virtue of this condition, we explore qualitative properties of optimal solutions, and derive optimal insurance contracts explicitly for some interesting forms of belief heterogeneity. As a byproduct of this investigation, we find that Theorem 3.6 of Young (1999) is not completely true.     

基于广义回归估计的校准加权设计效应模型研究

校准是最常用的加权调整方法,然而传统加权调整设计效应模型只考虑有差异权数导致的精度损失,忽略使用辅助信息后的精度改进,因此应用于设计效应计算时存在一定的缺陷。本文在Spencer模型的基础上进行拓展,引入反映辅助变量和调查变量相关关系的广义回归估计量,构建了校准加权设计效应的一般模型。数值分析结果显示,校准加权设计效应模型的效果优于传统加权调整设计效应模型;尤其在调查变量与辅助变量高度相关的情形下,校准加权设计效应模型能够准确地估计出不等概率抽样设计和校准调整的综合效率。     

On designing experiments for a dynamic response modeled by regression splines

Dynamic response systems are often found in science, engineering, and medical applications, but the discussion on experimental design for such a system is relatively rare in literature. For an experimenter, designing such experiments requires making decisions on (1) when or where to take response measurements along the dynamic variable and (2) how to choose the combination of experimental factors and their levels. The first consideration is unique for such experiments, especially when the measurement cost is high. In this paper, we present a design approach through the mixed‐effect linear model, which is based on a hierarchical B‐spline function for the dynamic response. We develop several theorems that can assist in finding a statistically efficient sampling plan and propose an algorithm for searching the D‐optimal design of a dynamic response system.     

Developing and refining a framework for mathematical and linguistic complexity in tasks related to rates of change

We present and develop a preliminary framework for describing the relationship between the mathematical and linguistic complexity of instructional tasks used in secondary mathematics. The initial framework was developed through a review of relevant literature. It was refined by examining how 4 ninth grade mathematics teachers of linguistically diverse groups of students described the linguistic and mathematical complexity of a set of tasks from their curriculum unit on linear functions. We close by presenting our refined framework for describing the interaction of linguistic complexity and mathematical complexity in curriculum materials, and discuss potential uses of this framework in the design of more accessible classroom learning environments for linguistically diverse students.