Slope selection, i.e. selecting the slope with rank k among all ( n 2 ) lines induced by a collection P of points, results in a widely used robust estimator for linefitting. In this paper, we demonstrate that it is possible to perform slope selection in expected O(n·log2 n) time using only constant extra space in addition to the space needed for representing the input.

Introduction: Slope streaks, commonly dark features in the high albedo, low thermal inertia, dust-rich equatorial regions of Mars, have been observed in images from all orbiting spacecraft since Mariner 9 [1-9] and are thought to fade or brighten over time due to mantling of dust [2,3,8]. Recent studies using images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera [10] have s...

There has been increased use of cable median barriers in recent years to address the growing problem of crossmedian crashes. Cable median barriers are viewed as a highly effective means to mitigate the problem at a lower cost and in a shorter time frame. This has occurred despite limited current guidance on effective use of the various designs that have emerged over the past ten years. Research...

1 Department of Geography, College of Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA28PP, UK; E-mails: [email protected] (N.K.); [email protected] (S.O.L.); [email protected] (P.R.J.N.); [email protected] (J.A.B.R.) 2 Centre for Studies of Carbon Cycle and Climate Interactions (LUCCI), Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Lund,...

A practical procedure is described for implementing Spencer’s method of slices with varying side force inclination. The search for the noncircular critical slip surface is accomplished using spreadsheet-automated constrained optimization. The deterministic formulation is then extended probabilistically to compute the Hasofer-Lind reliability index via constrained optimization of the dispersion ...

Whenever some form of beneficent killing--for example, voluntary euthanasia--is advocated, the proposal is greeted with a flood of slippery-slope arguments warning of the dangers of a Nazi-style slide into genocide. This paper is an attempt systematically to evaluate arguments of this kind. Although there are slippery-slope arguments that are sound and convincing, typical formulations of the Na...

A mechanism for the generation of subsurface cyclones and jets when a warm ring smashes onto a continental slope and shelf is proposed based on the results of a primitive-equation three-dimensional numerical model. The warm ring initially ‘sits’ over a slope with an adjoining shelf in a periodic channel, and its subsequent evolution is examined. The ‘inviscid’ response is cyclonic ‘peeling-off’...