Virtual Element Methods for hyperbolic problems on polygonal meshes

In the present paper we develop the Virtual Element Method for hyperbolic problems on polygonal meshes, considering the linear wave equations as our model problem. After presenting the semi-discrete scheme, we derive the convergence estimates in H^1 semi-norm and L^2 norm. Moreover we develop a theoretical analysis on the stability for the fully discrete problem by comparing the Newmark method and the Bathe method. Finally we show the practical behaviour of the proposed method through a large array of numerical tests

Acting Like an Administrative Agency: The Federal Circuit En Banc

When Congress created the Federal Circuit in 1982, it thought it was creating a court of appeals. Little did it know that it was also creating a quasi-administrative agency that would engage in substantive rulemaking and set policy in a manner substantially similar to administrative agencies. In this Article, I examine the Federal Circuit\u27s practices when it orders a case to be heard en banc and illustrate how these practices cause the Federal Circuit to look very much like an administrative agency engaging in substantive rulemaking. The number and breadth of questions the Federal Circuit agrees to hear en banc and the means by which it hears them goes beyond the limited role of a court – to decide the case before it. Instead of exercising restraint and addressing only what it must, the Federal Circuit raises wide-ranging questions and makes broad pronouncements of law that sets or changes patent policy. This role has traditionally been delegated to administrative agencies that must comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, particularly the notice and comment provisions. Despite being an appellate court and not being subject to the notice and comment requirements, the Federal Circuit seems to comply with these requirements when it orders cases to be heard en banc. And although there are strong objections as to why the en banc Federal Circuit should refrain from acting like an administrative agency by engaging in substantive rulemaking and policy setting, I argue that the Federal Circuit is probably in the best position to do so, although other governmental bodies can or should play a larger role in shaping patent policy

Patent Reform and Best Mode: A Signal to the Patent Office or a Step Toward Elimination?

On September 16, 2011, President Obama signed the America Invents Act (AIA), the first major overhaul of the patent system in nearly sixty years. This article analyzes the recent change to patent law\u27s best mode requirement under the AIA. Before the AIA, patent applicants were required, at the time of submitting their application, to disclose the best mode of carrying out the invention as contemplated by the inventor. A failure to disclose the best mode was a basis for a finding of invalidity of the relevant claims or could render the entire patent unenforceable under the doctrine of inequitable conduct. The AIA still requires patent applicants to disclose the best mode, but has removed the traditional enforcement mechanisms – declarations of invalidity and unenforceability – as defenses to patent infringement. In this article, I propose and explore a couple innovative techniques that could be used to add teeth to the seemingly toothless best mode requirement. Ultimately, I reject these proposals as not being workable solutions and suggest that Congress\u27s resolution of the best mode problem is nonsensical and that it should completely eliminate the requirement rather than sending mixed signals to the Patent Office and patent practitioners

Odderon in QCD

A review on how the Odderon idea does appear in QCD is given. In the last years it has been developed a non-perturbative QCD approach based on the stochastic vacuum model and a perturbative one based on resummation techniques in the small x QCD region. Last developments on the perturbative analysis are shown in some details, in particular in application to diffractive eta_c production.Comment: 6 pages, 1 eps figure, Talk at the 9th International Workshop on Deep Inelastic Scattering and QCD (DIS2001), Bologna, Italy, Apr. 27 - May 1, 200

An unexpected crisis? Looking at pricing effectiveness of different banks

This paper shows how credit quality transition matrices of loans to Italian firms changed during a cyclical downturn (2008-09), compared with a previous time of growth (2006-07). Once transition matrices were linked to interest rates, banks appear to have been remarkably able at calibrating required risk premiums to actual idiosyncratic risk, both during expansion and recession. However, the uncertainty generated by the crisis accentuated the unexpected component of credit worsening, thus lowering pricing effectiveness. The main finding is that larger banking groups were more affected by the sudden deterioration of credit quality than smaller ones, as far as ability to price risk is concerned. The bank-size effect can be tackled through an efficient use of hard or soft information: both rating users and decentralized banks showed an above-average ability in calibrating rates to risk during the crisis; banks with a stronger relationship with borrowers smoothed the risk-price curve in normal times.banking, crisis, credit migration, credit risk pricing

Functional RG flow of the effective Hamiltonian action

After a brief review of the definition and properties of the quantum effective Hamiltonian action we describe its renormalization flow by a functional RG equation. This equation can be used for a non-perturbative quantization and study also of theories with bare Hamiltonians which are not quadratic in the momenta. As an example the vacuum energy and gap of quantum mechanical models are computed. Extensions of this framework to quantum field theories are discussed. In particular one possible Lorentz covariant approach for simple scalar field theories is developed. Fermionic degrees of freedom, being naturally described by a first order formulation, can be easily accommodated in this approach.Comment: 31 pages, late