The European economy has been struggling with their debt level since the 2008 financial crisis. Unlike United States whose centralized government play a key role in reverting economic downturns, there is no quantitative easing or definitive centralized authorities in the European Union who can single handily stop the downward economic spiral. To analyze how detrimental the economic conditions are in Europe, personal interviews, data collection and primary research have been conducted to take a deeper dive into how the European economy operates. In addition, the analysis will cover in more depth about how Spain – known for being one of the most fragile economic powerhouses in Europe – has recovered in a much quicker pace, and how its economic figures don't explain the entire story. Debt levels, corporate indices, macroeconomics and most importantly, culture play a vital role in how Spain is coming back from its heavy economic pressure.


Before the 2008 crisis, the cross-sectional skewness of banks' leverage went up and macro risk concentrated in the balance sheets of large banks. Using a model of profit-maximizing banks with heterogeneous Value-at-Risk constraints, we extract the distribution of banks' risk-taking parameters from balance sheet data. The time series of these estimates allow us to understand systemic risk and its concentration in the banking sector over time. Counterfactual exercises show that (1) monetary policymakers confront the trade-off between stimulating the economy and financial stability, and (2) macroprudential policies can be effective tools to increase financial stability.


Relationships can shape the self-concept, draw out unique aspects of an individual's personality, and influence individual perspectives and goals. Yet the self is not a passive player in relationships as self-related goals and motives can also influence how relationships form and develop. While the field is replete with research on the unidirectional influence between self and relationships, surprisingly little has been done on synergistic effect of combined self and relationship influences. I present a new theory of couple identity negotiation that captures how two individuals in a relationship negotiate their independent identities to form a unified couple identity. I hypothesize that the process through which an individual and his/her partner merge to create a new couple identity is crucial in determining relationship longevity and satisfaction. I draw from social identity theory (Turner et al., 1987) and identity fusion theory (Swann et al., 2009) to propose three models of couple identity negotiation: Model A involves the self being subsumed by the partner; Model B involves a negotiation wherein the self and partner both contribute to the couple identity; Model C the self subsuming the partner's self. Study 1 tests the links between the different models to relationship outcomes, namely relationship satisfaction and commitment. Study 2 explores personality correlates of the models. Results demonstrate that couple identity negotiation models predict different levels of relationship quality. Furthermore, the models are not significantly correlated with personality variables, suggesting that the models are specific to the relationship, and are not driven solely by individual differences.


Abstract Background and aims : The job safety is one of the necessary aspects of efficiency in humane resource manangement of every organization, and if organizations were able to reduce the rate of job accidents and undesirable stress, then the performance of workers would become more efficient. Hence, job rotation is as good as a rest to increase efficiency. The aim of this research is to design an appropriate job rotation system in order to reduce job risks in terms of ergonomic risks of jobs. Methods : This research is aimed to design a job rotation system by using a mathematical modeling approach in which in addition to satisfying employer needs, it reduces ergonomic risk of jobs. The research method in this research is application in terms of goal, and is mathematical descriptive in terms of method, which includes: (1) problem extraction, (2) modeling, (3) model solving, (4) model verification, and (5) model implementation. The aim is to all of the risks R_ijt is assigned to n workers such that maximum risk of all workers are minimized (problem extraction). According to conditions and constraints of system, the problem is modeled as a linear programming model. The parts of this model includes objective function of minimization of maximum job risk of human resource, structural constraints of problem (each job should be assigned just to one worker at any time, and each worker should occupy just one job), parameters (n workers, n jobs at time interval T, jobs risks R_ijt), and variables (job assignment at time intervals to workers) (modeling). Since the model is a linear programming model, the Lingo optimization software and coding in it is used to solve optimally (model solving and verification). Results : The optimal model of job rotation system was evaluated in semi-industrial work-station where dissatisfaction of workers from ergonomics problems has been reported (model implementation). This mathematical linear model is constructed with 144 decision variables, 57 constraints and a objective function. The model is implemented by Lingo software and the results include 138 zero optimal variables and 6 one optimal variables. These results provide an optimal sequence of assignment and workers job rotation that can be used to make most moderate state of job risks and divide the job risks in a logical proportion among all workers. The optimal assignment of jobs to workers implies the reduction of job risks for all workers to 1.25 (calculated value for optimal objective function). Conclusion : The main output of this research is an optimal plan for job assignment in a work plan of a production system which not only considers job conditions but also minimizes ergonomic risk of jobs and also leads to job satisfaction due to moderate job risk. The results demonstrate outstanding effect of job rotation on setting of job risk among workers at an appropriate level, and improvement on workers' satisfaction.


Silvopasture, the intentional combination and integrated management of trees, forage, and livestock on the same area of land, has drawn interest in the Southeastern United States because of potential environmental, economic, and animal welfare benefits. However, it is as yet not widely adopted in the region. Therefore, aspiring adopters do not have peer models to observe, and technical service providers and researchers do not have a firm grasp of practical issues adopters may face or their views of challenges, benefits, and adaptations for implementation. In particular, very little is known about how the scale of operation may affect establishment and management. The goal of this research was to observe and document four case studies of early adopters of silvopasture in the States of North Carolina and Virginia to help potential future adopters, technical service providers, and researchers understand practical issues related to establishment and management of the practice. Each of the four case study producers was a cow-calf farmer who had established silvopasture by thinning trees and then planting forages in the understory. There were many similarities in how the producers managed their silvopasture and whole farm, yet there were differences in how they viewed and ultimately addressed the practical implementation (such as stump removal, grazing rotation, etc.) and system outputs (marketing of beef products, production of sawtimber versus pulpwood, etc.) of silvopasture. Three of the four producers were generally satisfied and had a positive view of the system, and the fourth indicated he likely would not continue silvopasture in the future. Among this limited sample, scale did not seem to affect establishment and management of silvopasture specifically to a great degree, because small-scale silvopasture could be managed concurrently with operations on nearby conventional forest stands and pastures. Still, scale issues seemed to come into play at the whole-farm level.


The daily volume of Tweets in Twitter is around 500 million, and the impact of this data on applications ranging from public safety, opinion mining, news broadcast, etc., is increasing day by day. Analyzing large volumes of Tweets for various applications would require techniques that scale well with the number of Tweets. In this work we come up with a theoretical formulation for sampling Twitter data. We introduce novel statistical metrics to quantify the statistical representativeness of the Tweet sample, and derive sufficient conditions on the number of samples needed for obtaining highly representative Tweet samples. These new statistical metrics quantify the representativeness or goodness of the sample in terms of frequent keyword identification and in terms of restoring public sentiments associated with these keywords. We use uniform random sampling with replacement as our algorithm, and sampling could serve as a first step before using other sophisticated summarization methods to generate summaries for human use. We show that experiments conducted on real Twitter data agree with our bounds. In these experiments, we also compare different kinds of random sampling algorithms. Our bounds are attractive since they do not depend on the total number of Tweets in the universe. Although our ideas and techniques are specific to Twitter, they could find applications in other areas as well.


This researh aimed to determine the effect of water level and organic mulch on physical and chemical properties of peatland in palm oil plantation. Research was conducted for four months which is started on November 2014 to February 2015 at palm oil plantation of PT. Teguh Karsa Wana Lestari (TKWL) in Buantan Besar village, sub district Bungaraya, Siak District. By used 8 years old of palm oil plant. This research used Split Plot Design, consist of 2 factors. The first factor is the water level as main plot, were: the level of 40-50 cm water, 60-70 cm water level and 80-90 cm water level. The second factor is giving organic mulch as sub plot, were: without giving organic mulch, giving palm oil empty fruit bunch (POEFB), palm frond and Mucuna Bracteata . Therefore obtained 12 combinations of treatments and 3 replications, so obtained 36 units experiment. Parameters observed were physical and chemical properties. Data were analyzed by Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and were further tested by Least Significant Diference (LSD) at5 % level. Based on statistical data obtained non significant effects by water level and organic mulch in physical and chemical properties of peatland. The result of single factor by organic mulch obtained significant effects in physical and chemical properties of peatland. The result of single factor by water level  obtained significant effects in peatland water content parameters. Keywords : Physical and chemical properties, water level, organic mulch in peatland


Abstract We assessed selective extinction patterns in bivalves during a late Neogene mass extinction event observed along the temperate Pacific coast of South America. The analysis of 99 late Neogene and Quaternary fossil sites (recorded from 7°S to 55°S), yielding ∼2800 occurrences and 118 species, revealed an abrupt decline in Lyellian percentages during the late Neogene–Pleistocene, suggesting the existence of a mass extinction that decimated ∼66% of the original assemblage. Using the late Neogene data set (n = 59 species, 1346 occurrences), we tested whether the extinction was nonrandom according to taxonomic structure, life habit, geographic range, and body size. Our results showed that the number of higher taxa that went extinct was not different than expected by random. At first sight, extinction was selective only according to life habit and geographic range. Nevertheless, when phylogenetic effects were accounted for, body size also showed significant selectivity. In general, epifaunal, small-sized (after phylogenetic correction), and short-ranged species tended to have increased probability of extinction. This is verified by strong interactions between the variables herein analyzed, suggesting the existence of nonlinear effects on extinction chances. In the heavily decimated epifaunal forms, survival was not enhanced by widespread ranges or larger body sizes. Conversely, the widespread and large-sized infaunal forms tended to have lower probability of extinction. Overall, the ultimate extinction of late Neogene bivalve species along the Pacific coast of South America seems to have been determined by a complex interplay of ecological and historical (phylogenetic) effects.


Medicine is one of the branches of scientific research in which numerical simulation can give a great support. In particular, a well mature branch like computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can provide a substantial help for the understanding of several pathologies of the cardiovascular system. The local behavior of blood flow may affect substantially the on-rise of such pathologies: a remarkable instance is atherosclerosis, which is unfortunately largely widespread in Western Countries. An accurate fluid dynamics analysis can better enlight these mechanisms, and CFD becomes necessary since physical data from ``in vivo'' measures are troublesome to obtain. Moreover, allowing completely controlled simulations, CFD can eventually provide a useful paradigm for clinical practice, for instance suggesting optimal strategy for a surgeric operation. par However, the study of biological systems is a difficult task not only from the numerical viewpoint, but also in the modeling phase. Indeed, different systems interact each other at mechanical or biochemical level. Therefore, making a hierarchy of simplifications in the models considered is almost always mandatory. These notes illustrate some specific features of the blood flow problem, in the case of ``large'' vessels, where the atherosclerotic plaques are localized. In particular, the interaction between blood and compliant vessel walls is of upmost interest. The purpose is to review shortly the existing literature on the field (limitedly to the most genuine mathematical aspects) and mention a first contribution from our side to the modeling of blood-wall interaction and its numerical simulation.


Research of the effect of cooking temperature and stirring speed on the quality of brown sugar cane were processed by vacuum vertical evaporator have been done. Brown sugar cane produced from purified green cane juice. The purification was done with addition of Ca(OH)2. Pure juice cooked with cooking temperature of 60, 70, and 80 oC, and the stirring speed of 200 and 250 rpm. Brown sugar cane was analyzed for color, moisture content, ash content, sucrose, and organoleptic test (hedonic quality test for color, flavor, and texture of hardness). The results showed that the higher of cooking temperature, the better the quality of color, flavor, and hardness brown sugar cane produced. While the higher stirring speed, lower moisture content of brown sugar, so the hardness of brown sugar was better. Besides effect of cooking temperature and stirring speed, quality of brown sugar cane was affected by the quality of cane juice and juice purification process. Good quality of cane juice will produce high yield, low moisture content, high sucrose, and good color, flavor, and hardness. The best result was obtained on brown sugar cane produced by cooking temperature of 70 oC and stirring speed of 250 rpm, which was obtained yield of 8.23%, sucrose of 75.37%, hardness of 4.52 kg/cm2, bright and high color intensity of brown sugar cane. Keywords: cane sugar, vacuum evaporator, brown sugar, stirring, cooking temperature


The colubrid snake Dendrelaphis subocularis is distributed throughout Indochina, the southern limit of its range corresponding with the Isthmus of Kra, an important biogeographic barrier that separates the Indochinese biota from the Sundaic biota. This study presents five museum specimens that represent a hitherto unknown population that inhabits the Sundaic island Java. Thus, the distribution of Dendrelaphis subocularis is disjunct, with the Javan population being isolated by 2000 kilometres from the nearest mainland population. Principal Components Analysis was applied to morphological data taken from the five Javan specimens as well as from 26 museum specimens of Indochinese origin. Regression analysis of the spatial pattern of the resulting scores indicated that: 1) the Javan population exhibits negligible morphological differentiation, and 2) a phenetic cline exists from which the Javan population does not appreciably deviate in spite of its isolated status. These findings suggest a vicariant origin of the Javan population entailing climatic changes and formation of land bridges during Pleistocene glaciations. The Javan and Indochinese populations represent independent sister lineages, and are therefore valid species within the framework of a lineage-based species concept. However, to conform to current taxonomic practice, the Javan population is not named separately due to the fact that it is not diagnosable.


This paper reports the main findings from a survey of some 200 Polish firms carried out at the end of 1993. The central focus is on the relationship between different emerging forms of ownership and the extent and nature of enterprise level adjustments taking place. Four broad categories of enterprises that distinguish the main ownership forms that characterize Polish industry were included in the survey: (a) traditional state-owned enterprises, (b) corporatized state-owned enterprises that have been converted into joint stock companies but whose shares are now owned by the State Treasury; (c) former state-owned firms that have been privatized; and (d) privately-owned firms which were established de novo. Some of the main findings from the survey are as follows. Growth and investment in 1993 were widely diffused through the economy, but rather more concentrated in the private sector and especially in de novo private firms, while financial distress as revealed by low profit margins was concentrated in the state-owned sector. The survey suggests that all firms in Poland have experienced a considerable increase in competition, and have faced the need radically to restructure their patterns of input purchases and marketing strategy. In general, de novo private firms have led the way, and changes have been fewer and less deep in the state-owned sector. Developments on the labor side in our sample are rather modest, and to be heavily oriented to satisfy the preferences of insiders, especially workers. Overmanning remains rife in both the state-owned and privatized sector, and differences between the two groups of firms in wage determination appear to stem more from the operation of the excess wage tax than from differences in motivation. Behavior in the de novo private firms is, however, clearly different, with a concern to hire not fire, and with lower employee influence. With respect to finance, we find that privatized and especially de novo private firms are financially relatively healthy, with higher profits and fewer bad debts than the state-owned firms. Although almost half of private sector firms hold no bank debt, bank credit is flowing fastest to these firms and in general they report the fewest problems in servicing it. Overdue trade credit is common among all ownership groups but more so among state firms; however, the flow problem is not serious, and volumes of total and overdue trade credit are comparable to West European levels. The main method by which severely financially-distressed firms, nearly all of which are state-owned, finance their losses is by running up tax arrears; financing by banks and by trade credit is much less significant.


We propose a method for constructing conditional option return distributions. In our model, uncertainty about the future option return has two sources: Changes in the position and shape of the implied volatility surface that shift option values (holding moneyness and maturity fixed), and changes in the underlying price which alter an option's location on the surface and thus its value (holding the surface fixed). We estimate a joint time series model of the spot price and volatility surface and use this to construct an ex ante characterization of the option return distribution via bootstrap. Our "ORB" (option return bootstrap) model accurately forecasts means, variances, and extreme quantiles of S&P 500 index conditional option return distributions across a wide range of strikes and maturities. We illustrate the value of our approach for practical economic problems such as risk management and portfolio choice. We also use the model to illustrate the risk and return tradeoff throughout the options surface conditional on being in a high or low risk state of the world. Comparing against our less structured but more accurate model predictions helps identify misspecification of risks and risk pricing in traditional no-arbitrage option models with stochastic volatility and jumps.


Luck Egalitarianism has frequently been discussed in the recent literature because of the potential impact of this theory on health financing. Luck Egalitarianism puts forth a theory of distributive justice which says that the fundamental aim of equality is to compensate people for undeserved bad luck such as being born with poor native endowments, having difficult family circumstances or suffering from accidents and illness. On the other hand, if individuals face ill health because of faults of their own, then society has no duty to supply health services to them. Many arguments for and against this theory have been raised since it was first introduced. The proponents of Luck Egalitarianism focus on the concepts that free choice and respecting the autonomy of the individual determine whether health services are deserved. The criticisms against the concept of Luck Egalitarianism are that it is harsh to the needy and abandons the wretched, discriminates against the disabled, is against basic humanitarian principles, is incompatible with human dignity, and is in dissonance with real life. We agree with the basic proposition of Luck Egalitarian theory, which states that "inequalities deriving from unchosen features of people's circumstances are unjust and therefore should be compensated for". Our agreement leads us to an opposite conclusion. We propose that the "unchosen features of people's circumstances" include more than personal disadvantages. The social features to be included in the context of inequalities deriving from unchosen features of peoples circumstances are, socioeconomic status (SES), access to social determinants of health, and the ethnic, cultural and religious identity of individuals. Our other propositions are the mutable character of choices which makes individual responsibility of preferences implausible; the problematic causal relationship between responsibility and ill-health; the disregard of the motives behind decisions; problems with implementation in real health service circumstances; and the contradictory nature of Luck Egalitarianism for principles of medical ethics. These arguments draw attention to possible ethical and practical consequences of implementation of health policies arising from Luck Egalitarian view for patients and for health care providers. In this paper, we will first define Luck Egalitarianism. Then, we will discuss arguments for and against the theory in the literature. Our final task is to suggest additional criticisms of the theory and justify them.


A coupled Lagrangian interface‐tracking and Eulerian level set (LS) method is developed and implemented for numerical simulations of two‐fluid flows. In this method, the interface is identified based on the locations of notional particles and the geometrical information concerning the interface and fluid properties, such as density and viscosity, are obtained from the LS function. The LS function maintains a signed distance function without an auxiliary equation via the particle‐based Lagrangian re‐initialization technique. To assess the new hybrid method, numerical simulations of several 'standard interface‐moving' problems and two‐fluid laminar and turbulent flows are conducted. The numerical results are evaluated by monitoring the mass conservation, the turbulence energy spectral density function and the consistency between Eulerian and Lagrangian components. The results of our analysis indicate that the hybrid particle‐level set method can handle interfaces with complex shape change, and can accurately predict the interface values without any significant (unphysical) mass loss or gain, even in a turbulent flow. The results obtained for isotropic turbulence by the new particle‐level set method are validated by comparison with those obtained by the 'zero Mach number', variable‐density method. For the cases with small thermal/mass diffusivity, both methods are found to generate similar results. Analysis of the vorticity and energy equations indicates that the destabilization effect of turbulence and the stability effect of surface tension on the interface motion are strongly dependent on the density and viscosity ratios of the fluids. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A targeting device (35) determines a first location in an area under examination with reference to a system (13) of coordinates and makes coordinates for the first location available as a first coordinate set allocated to the first location. A topology capture device (37) produces a record of topological data in a 3D expanded area around the first location. An Independent claim is also included for a device for displaying the extent of a section produced from a section under examination. A device for detecting direction of glance records a user's direction of glance at the section under examination. An input device (63) accepts the establishment of a data link through the user. A display device displays a dimension defined by the set of coordinates in the user's field of vision.


The story of Atlantis, inspiration (on a recent estimate) of more than 20,000 books, rests entirely on an elaborate Platonic myth (Timaeus 20d–26e, continued in Critias 108d–121c), allegedly based on a private, oral tradition deriving from Solon. Solon himself is supposed to have heard the story in Egypt; a priest obligingly translated it for him from hieroglyphic inscriptions in a temple in Sais. It might be added that (unlike his modern readers) Plato is less concerned with Atlantis than with her rival and conqueror, the Athens of that antediluvian age 9600 B.C. That Plato himself made the whole story up (fashionable recent theories about Thera notwithstanding) is indeed virtually demonstrable. This is not the place for such a demonstration (not that any amount of proof could destroy the faith of the true believer), but it is at any rate possible to eliminate completely one of the crucial props on which belief has always leaned.


This qualitative study of high-technology projects investigated how enduring conflict can operate as a precursor to project failure. Three types of conflict were found to be indicative to the outcome of projects. Unexposed conflict represented problems with obtaining knowledge and coherency for important project-related differences. Unexplored conflict reflected issues with power and voice, where important communication about known differences was consistently inhibited or suppressed. Finally, unresolved conflict centered on issues of timing and action which involved difficulties with adapting to change, negotiating solutions to problems, and agreeing on priorities and scope. Two contextual factors, project complexity and the ambiguity of success provided a substantial contribution to the experience of these conflicts among the participants. The theoretical construct of sensemaking (Weick, 1995) provided a framework to understand how each type of conflict was constructed and had the potential to become enduring. Implications are discussed with emphasis on the potential for qualitative assessments to provide important insights into the status of complex high technology projects.


The objective of this study was to determine the nutritional and functional properties of Amaranthus cruentus grain grown in Kenya for preparation of a ready-to-eat product that can be recommended as infant complementary food. Amaranth grains were subjected to steeping and steam pre-gelatinization to produce a ready-to-eat nutritious product with improved solubility during reconstitution. The effect of processing on the functional and nutritional properties of amaranth grain was analyzed. Two blends were prepared from raw and processed amaranth grains. Standard procedures of Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) were used to determine the proximate chemical composition. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used quantify amino acid, water soluble vitamins, αtocopherols and phytates, while Atomic Absorption Flame Emission spectrophotometry was used to determine the mineral element composition. Fatty acid composition was determined using Gas Liquid Chromatography (GLC). Tannin composition was determined using vanillin hydrochloric acid method. The overall results indicated that processing amaranth grain did not significantly affect its nutritional and physicochemical properties. Amaranth grain product was rich in protein with 0.5 g/10g of lysine, a limiting amino acid in cereals, and methionine, a limiting amino acid in pulses. The product had good amount 44.4 mg/100g of αtocopherols important for infant development. The product was also rich in oleic acid (36.3%) and linoleic acid (35.9%) with some amounts of linolenic acid (3.4%) that are important for infant growth. It also had good amounts of minerals of importance such as potassium (324.4 mg/100g), phosphorous (322.8 mg/100g), calcium 189.1 (mg/100g), magnesium (219.5 mg/100g), iron (13.0 mg/100g) and zinc (4.8mg/100g). Considering amaranth grain product fed to infant three times a day, at a reconstitution of 15% product, the levels of magnesium, manganese and tocopherols were far above the recommended intakes, while protein, phosphorous, iron, zinc, riboflavin and niacin were above the average requirements. Therefore, reconstituting the product with milk would enrich the deficient nutrients, especially for iron and zinc which are crucial nutrients for infants. The processing method is a practical approach aimed at combating the problem of malnutrition among infants and young children in Kenya and other developing countries. The product developed in this study would also be appropriate for use in geriatrics care and also in immuno-compromised individuals. The technique in this study can be easily adopted at both household and village levels to produce high protein-energy weaning food to help enhance the nutritional status of Kenyans.


Videogames are both an expressive medium and a persuasive medium; they represent how real and imagined systems work, and they invite players to interact with those systems and form judgments about them. In this innovative analysis, Ian Bogost examines the way videogames mount arguments and influence players. Drawing on the 2,500-year history of rhetoric, the study of persuasive expression, Bogost analyzes rhetoric's unique function in software in general and videogames in particular. The field of media studies already analyzes visual rhetoric, the art of using imagery and visual representation persuasively. Bogost argues that videogames, thanks to their basic representational mode of procedurality (rule-based representations and interactions), open a new domain for persuasion; they realize a new form of rhetoric. Bogost calls this new form "procedural rhetoric," a type of rhetoric tied to the core affordances of computers: running processes and executing rule-based symbolic manipulation. He argues further that videogames have a unique persuasive power that goes beyond other forms of computational persuasion. Not only can videogames support existing social and cultural positions, but they can also disrupt and change those positions, leading to potentially significant long-term social change. Bogost looks at three areas in which videogame persuasion has already taken form and shows considerable potential: politics, advertising, and education. Bogost is both an academic researcher and a videogame designer, and Persuasive Games reflects both theoretical and game-design goals.


I Introduction "BABY, YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY!" This catchy one-liner, devised by Madison Avenue for a leading cigarette manufacturer, was aimed at the modern women of the late 1970s. Today, most women would strongly resent being called "baby" and would seriously question just how far they have come. There is good cause for skepticism on a number of economic fronts: occupational access, vertical career mobility, male-female pay equality, access to education and on-the-job training, and, not least, the valuation of household production, the focus of this article. Attempts to measure household production are routinely undertaken by forensic economists for assessment of damages in divorce, and wrongful injury and death litigation. In such cases, household production is often the single or principal source of economic value to the plaintiff or the estate. The accurate measurement of household production may be of substantial pecuniary significance to affected parties, but, unfortunately, is highly problematic. The purpose of this article is to examine the valuation of household production by forensic economists. Both research and practice are explored. Survey data obtained by the author provide important insights into current practice. The data suggest a lower-bound, conservative approach as being accepted practice by forensic economists. The remainder of the article is organized as follows. In Part II, a brief review of the main methodological approaches for valuing household production advanced in the literature is presented. This literature is contrasted with questionnaire data on current practices by forensic economists in Part III. In Part IV the implications of these findings are examined. Finally, in Part V, a summary and conclusions are set forth. II Methodology DIFFERENT METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES have been advanced in the literature for measuring household production. Those that have received the most attention by researchers (see Fischer, 1993) are reviewed below. Opportunity Cost. A strategic concept in economic decision making is opportunity (or sacrifice) cost. Opportunity cost valuation approaches assume that individuals act rationally (act upon benefit-cost considerations), and that the highest paying alternative use of one's time, skills and efforts is a reasonable basis for determining their value in the use at hand (Larimore, 1991). The application of opportunity cost to the measurement of household production is straightforward: (1) homemakers are assumed to be rational (maximizers), (2) thus, if one chooses to be a homemaker it must be her/his best alternative, and (3) therefore, the value of home production must at least equal the value of the next-best alternative in the market (Leonesio, 1988). In the orthodox approach, the next-best alternative is defined as that labor market employment which offers the best fit with current household producer's productivity-related characteristics--job experience, training/education, aptitude, etc. The driving element behind value in this approach is the current productivity profile of the homemaker. However, as some have argued (Becker, 1981; Becker and Tolmes, 1986; Ireland, 1991), this may result in an undervaluation of home production since homemaker skills often do not have direct relevance to labor markets. That is, if a homemaker had invested in developing labor market skills to the extent she/he did in acquiring home production skills, the next-best alternative in the market would probably be greater in value than the current alternative, given current human capital. Interestingly, the converse is ruled out by opportunity cost theory--that is, an individual possessing high job market skills, but few homemaking skills, being overvalued as a poor or incompetent homemaker. This would violate the assumption of maximizing behavior whereby an individual always chooses his/her first-best option. …


Terahertz phase imaging can reveal the depth information of an optically opaque object and provide much better contrast for weak-absorption materials. We demonstrate a continuous-wave terahertz interferometric imaging method in which a far-infrared laser interferometer is used to measure the phase distribution with diffraction-limited lateral resolution and subwavelength axial resolution. An improved four-step phase-shifting algorithm is introduced to retrieve the phase map with very high accuracy and low distortion. The relative depth profiles of two transparent samples are successfully extracted by using this method. Experimental results verify that terahertz interferometric imaging in combination with the phase-shifting technique enables effective reconstruction of the phase image of the object under test.


This thesis focuses on an online Taiwanese community named the Spiteful Tots. The long-term participants are mainly gay men, with several lesbian women, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and heterosexual people. The community, whilst accessible by anyone via a registered screen ID name, operates like a private club. As a part of this community from its beginning in 2000, I am interested in the community in this particular location, not least because of my own affiliation with Taiwan, but because of the cultural specificity of Taiwan as non-Western and yet Westernised. My research methodology is based on approaches inspired by ethnography. I observe the dynamics, participate in the community, collect data, and visit online and offline sites to formulate ideas in relation to both the inside and outside of the community. I use knowledge and experience gained from my interaction with the Spiteful Tots participants and with the wider Taiwanese society. I locate the community within the culture of contemporary Taiwan, utilising and critiquing previous literature on the politics of sexuality, gender theories, and critical analyses of heteronormativity. My findings are: a) the Spiteful Tots participants carefully negotiate ways of maintaining privacy within the group, and do not 'come out' in recognised LGBT ways; b) the Spiteful Tots community focuses on discussion of mundane everyday life, rather than on sexual politics. My findings have the following implications: a) privacy and everydayness enables the Spiteful Tots participants to assert 'freedom from scrutiny and created a zone of "relative insularity"' (Cohen 2000); b) a rejection to heteronormativity is enabled by (re)asserting the right of privacy and validating everyday life as a gay or queer subject, and c) therefore, there needs to be consideration and recognition of gay or queer subjects' right of privacy, as well as academic and political attention to the representation of sexual minorities' everydayness.


Initially, the Motorik-Module (MoMo) Longitudinal Study was surveyed between 2003 and 2006 using a sub-sample from the baseline German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS). The federal representative sub-sample of KiGGS consisted of 4,528 children and adolescents aged 4 to 17. To date, there have been two further survey waves: 2009-2012 (Wave 1) and 2015-2017 (Wave 2). MoMo Wave 2 consists of motor performance tests, anthropometric measurements, questionnaire-based information collection on activity habits and motion sensor data. Initial results of MoMo Wave 2 will be published in the second half of 2018. The total size of the Wave 2 sample is estimated to reach 5,200 participants. As its central goal, the MoMo longitudinal survey aims to contribute towards the long-term improvement of child and adolescent health in Germany. A focus will be on developmental (age-related) and periodic (over time) trends in motor performance and physical activity, underlying factors and the impacts on physical and mental health in the development of children and adolescents.


Abstract. Bakri S, Setiawan A, Nurhaida I. 2018. Coffee bean physical quality: The effect of climate change adaptation behavior of shifting up cultivation area to a higher elevation. Biodiversitas 19: 413-420. The coffee cultivation shifting into a higher elevation can be considered as a farmer's behavioral adaptation to the climate change to find an optimum temperature and more fertile soil for the coffee growth. The behavior is rampant for Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora) planters in Lampung Province, the main contributor area that places Indonesia as the second largest coffee bean exporting country for more than two decades. The behavior certainly causes environmental deterioration, while the positive impact has not been well-measured, even for physical bean performance that determine its export competitiveness. This study aimed to determine the effect of the behavior on two coffee bean physical indices, the 1000-dried fruit weight or the index of [W_1000], and the percentage of floated fruit upon water soaking or the index of [FLOAT]. Ordinary Least Square Model was applied at a significance level of 10% with the two indices as the response variables. The predictor variable is the elevation area, accompanied by slope steepness and area position in relation to its exposure against solar radiation. The field survey lasted from June to August 2017. Riped coffee fruit samples were collected from 32 sites, ranging from 300 to 1,170 m asl. The results suggested that the behavior would improve the [W_1000] index but worsening the other.
Keywords: climate change adaptation, coffee bean quality, shifting up to a higher elevation


In this paper we analyze the conditions under which increasing technical efficiency of water use in the agricultural sector might not reduce water demand and pressures on water ecosystems. Departing from this basic problem we discuss how policy measures performed to enhance water productivity in the agriculture might be transformed into effective alternatives to improve the conservation of water resources and then guarantee the successful implementation of the Water Framework Directive. A preference revelation model is presented in the third section of the paper and one empirical application to an irrigation district in southern Spain is used in the fourth section to discuss the effectiveness of water savings measures.


Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a condition that affects women of reproductive age resulting in hormonal, reproductive and metabolic abnormalities with an associated constellation of symptoms including disturbed menstrual cycle, hyperandrogenism, acne, weight gain, hair loss, diabetic predisposition, depression, mood swings and sub-fertility. Although a very complex disorder, PCOS can be managed optimally in some cases with the help of lifestyle intervention, nutritional therapy and Ayurveda. The subject of this study was a 30-year-old obese female with a clinical history of PCOS due to which she was unable to conceive. Her blood tests showed hyperinsulinism and borderline high cholesterol. She had low immunity and low energy coupled with high stress levels. The purpose of this case study was to determine the benefits of an Integrated Approach, that included nutritional therapy, ayurvedic herbs, vitamins, minerals, lifestyle modifications, along with exercise and counselling, in the management of PCOS and its comorbidities. During the 12-week treatment with the Integrated Approach, the patient lost 6 kg weight, felt more energetic, had reduction in fasting serum insulin levels, improved body composition, improved immunity and reduced stress that culminated in a successful pregnancy. © 2019 Published by Innovative Publication.


The killing of day-old male chicks of laying breeds is common practice and is widely discussed within society. There are few alternatives available to replace this practice. One possibility is the use of dualpurpose chicken breeds. The use of these chicken breeds would have implications not only for the entire supply food chain but also for consumers. Their meat and eggs have a different appearance, and the resulting products would be more expensive. Furthermore, little is known about consumers' opinions of dualpurpose
chickens at present. For this reason, it is essential to explore consumer acceptance of dualpurpose chickens. Mixed methods with a combination
of qualitative and quantitative methods proved to be an appropriate approach to learn more about this matter. The results of six focus groups with an exploratory character served as the basis for an online survey with 1,502 respondents in Germany. The data was analysed with the aid of a factor analysis that identified seven factors explaining consumers' attitudes
towards dual-purpose chickens. A cluster analysis segmented the respondents into three cluster groups: opponents (37.5%), supporters (23.4%), and indifferents (39.1%). The indifferents represent the largest group of respondents and are therefore an important target group when it comes to potential marketing strategies of products from dual-purpose
chickens. The results illustrate the importance of analysing consumer acceptance with regard to emerging issues and before a new product is introduced to the market.


This study revealed the important role of adult input in the development of children's communicative competence. The results of the investigation showed that mothers asked more questions that were meant to gauge the children's linguistic and cognitive development. The mothers also used a variety of verbal and nonverbal communication strategies and techniques (i.e.,repetition, extension, expansion, preformulation, reformulation, gestural support, use of deixis, and contingent queries) that help the children develop their pragmatic skills such as turn-taking, initiating, maintaining and closing conversations, noticing and responding to nonverbal features of the interaction, observing conversational principles and knowing how to respond to questions. In addition, this study also showed that the mothers' discourse styles strongly influenced the quality of responses from children. Variation in speech style often signaled to the children important aspects of the context which needed to be considered before formulating a response.


Flow sorting cytometry has been shown to repeatedly produce viable sexed sperm at a level necessary for commercialization. Previous reports have shown that pregnancies rates were lower using sexed semen than commercial nonsexed semen. Sperm concentration, acrosome activation, and time to ovulation are some factors explaining the low conception. The objective of the present study was to compare pregnancy rates using sexed semen (3 × 106 sperm) deposited in different locations of the bovine uterus (body v. horn) and inseminated (AI) at 2 different times (52 h v. 58 h after progesterone intravaginal device removal). Holstein heifers, between 15 to 18 mo of age and a body condition score 3.05 ± 0.22 were used. All heifers were evaluated by transrectal ultrasonography to determine ovarian structures (284/357, 79.5% had a CL). On Day 0, all heifers received an intravaginal progesterone (P4) device (1.9 g of P4, CIDR, Pfizer, Buenos Aires, Argentina) plus 70 μg of D-cloprostenol (Bioprost, Biotay, Argentina) i.m. and 2 mg of estradiol benzoate (EB, Syntex SA, Buenos Aires, Argentina). On Day 8, CIDR devices were removed and heifers received 150 μg of D-cloprostenol i.m. at the same time. On Day 9, all heifers received 1 mg of EB i.m. and were randomly allocated in 4 different groups (2 × 2 factorial): group Body-52 h, AI in the body of the uterus at 52 h (n = 98); group Body-58 h: AI in the body of the uterus at 58 h (n = 104); group Horn-52 h: AI in the ipsilateral horn of the ovulatory follicle (detected by ultrasonography) at 52 h (n = 90) and group Horn-58 h: AI in the ipsilateral horn to the ovulatory follicle at 58 h (n = 65). All heifers were inseminated with only one dose of sexed semen. At time of AI an ultrasound examination was done to determine the size and the location of the preovulatory follicle. AI was done by a single inseminator using a traditional AI gun, and an embryo transfer gun (ET sheath, SBS Cryotec SA, Argentina) was used for deep AI. Pregnancy diagnosis was evaluated by transrectal ultrasonography using a 7.5-MHz transducer (Mindray 6600) 30 days after AI. Data were analyzed by logistic regression. Sixty percent of the preovulatory follicles were on the right ovary, and there were no differences between the sizes of the preovulatory follicle among groups (overall mean ± SEM: 15.5 ± 1.0 mm). Although pregnancy rates did not differ between horn (64/155, 41.2%) and body (70/202, 34.3%; P < 0.1) inseminations and between 52 h (67/188, 36.7% and 58 h (67/169, 39.6%), pregnancy rates were higher (P < 0.05) in heifers inseminated in the horn at 58 h (32/65, 49.2%) than those inseminated in the body at 58 h (35/104, 33.6%) and tended (P < 0.09) to be higher than heifers inseminated in the horn at 52 h (32/90, 35.5%) and in the body at 52 h (35/98, 35.7%). Fixed-time artificial insemination using ultrasonography and deep insemination could contribute to enhanced pregnancy rates using sexed semen in Holstein heifers. This research was done with the support of ADECO SA, SBS Cryo Tec SA.


Background: Food security is recognized as one of the major health, social, economic and political issues. Different factors can affect food security status at different levels. Meanwhile, some special conditions pose a challenge for the elderly to enjoy food security. In this study, considering that there is no valid measurement tool for assessing food insecurity of the elderly in Iran, validity of the elderly foodsecurity measurement tool was examined in terms of both content validity and internal consistency and reliability. Methods: In this study, following the principles of HFIAS (Household Food Insecurity Access Scale Indicator Guide, Version 3) and 'Technical Guide to Developing a Direct, Experience-based Measurement Tool for Household Food Insecurity', five steps were taken for examining content validity and internal consistency and reliability including: translation into Farsi, reviewing with key informants, refining the questionnaire through interviewing with 20 representatives of the survey population, estimation of Cronbach's and examining the back-translated items. Results: The questionnaire was modified based on the results of each step. Cronbach's of this questionnaire turned out to be 0.858. The results also showed that 7, 3, 5 and 5 participants considered food secure, food insecure without hunger, food insecure with moderate hunger, and food insecure with severe hunger respectively. Conclusions: This study provides a content-valid and internally-consistent pre-measurement tool for assessment of food insecurity among the elderly in Iran. However, it is recommended that other validation processes including construct and criterion validation be carried out in a larger society in view of different factors which have an impact on food security status.


Among the skeletal elements in fishes, the urohyal bone which lies in the lower part of the head - the central part of the mandibular skeleton- has proved to be of special significance in fish systematics. The urohyal bone is considered to be a synapomorphic structure in teleostean fish. The urohyal bone of six brackish water Aphanius species (i.e., Aphanius hormuzensis , A. stoliczkanus , A. furcatus , A. ginaonis , A. mento , A. sirhani ) was compared using morphological description and linear measurements to explore the effectiveness of urohyal bone morphology in the separation of the Aphanius species. Description of the urohyal bones and their morphological variation allowed identification of the A. furcatus , A. mento and A. sirhani from their relatives. Moreover, the UH.UL separates significantly A. dispar and A. ginaonis , and the MH.UL discriminates significantly A. mento from others studied relatives. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) separated the studied species with high classification success (overall mean 94.7%). These results suggest the power of urohyal bone morphology in separating of the Aphanius species analyzed, and highlighting the taxonomic value of the urohyal bone. By considering the phylogenetic relationships among the studied species, it can be concluded that the observed variation in their urohyal morphology is largely consistent with their phylogeny. This indicated that at least some morphological characters in the shape of urohyal bone in Aphanius are encoded probably by genetic factors, which can be used for species discrimination.


Cancer ResearchDiabetics treated with an insulin-lowering drug known as metformin have from 25% to 40% less cancer than those who receive insulin as therapy or take sulfonylurea drugs that increase insulin secretion from the pancreas. The idea that reducing insulin and insulin-like hormones in circulation may prevent tumors has become a bright hope for drug research, and a host of insulin-suppressing drugs are in the pharmaceutical industry pipeline. There is a caveat to the observational research linking metformin use to a decrease in cancer incidence, however: Studies of this kind are incapable of establishing a causal relationship. Maybe metformin prevents cancer in type 2 diabetics. Maybe insulin and the sulfonylurea drugs given instead of metformin promote cancer risk. Maybe something else entirely is going on.


Disaster response authorities in many states have been increasingly using social media data for emergency management. In so doing, it is crucial to consider the ethical and factual provenance of data being processed. This article explores the legal scenario that a software harvesting social media to extract data in disaster management decision support may face. Three legal components are considered: human rights law; international humanitarian law; and the international law on disasters. It is argued that a coherent way of ethically and pragmatically handling this complex regulatory set is by adopting a human rights-based stance. This is also recommended to contrast a shared vision that highlights disproportionately the technological and 'digital' dimensions of the humanitarian action. It is argued that for a software device whose purpose is to surf the Internet and grab information to better manage disaster relief operations, key components are context-sensitive design, interoperability, transparency and people-centeredness.


The synthesis and X-ray diffraction study of bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) ethylene titanium (I) are reported. This complex represents the first example of an isolable ethylene adduct of a group IV metal, a key intermediate in Ziegler-Natta olefin polymerization schemes. While treatment of I with ethylene leads to only traces of polymer after months, I participates in a wide range of stoichiometric and catalytic reactions. These include the catalytic conversion of ethylene specifically to butadiene and ethane and the catalytic isomerization of alkenes. Detailed studies have been carried out on the stoichiometric reactions of I with nitriles and alkynes. At low temperatures, nitriles react to form metallacycloimine species which more slowly undergo a formal 1,3-hydrogen shift to generate metallacycloeneamines. The lowest energy pathway for this rearrangement is an intramolecular hydrogen shift which is sensitive to the steric bulk of the R substituent. The reactions of I with alkynes yield metallacyclopentene complexes with high regioisomer selectivity. Carbonylation of the metallacyclopentene (η-C5Me5)2TiC(CH3)=C(CH3)CH2CH2 under relatively mild conditions cleanly produces the corresponding cyclopentenone and [C5(CH3)5]2Ti(CO)2. Compounds derived from CO2 and acetaldehyde have also been isolated. The synthesis and characterization of bis-(η-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) niobium(III) tetrahydroborate (II) are described and a study of its temperature-dependent proton NMR spectroscopic behavior is reported. The complex is observed to undergo a rapid intramolecular averaging process at elevated temperatures. The free energy of activation, ΔG≠ = 16.4 ± 0.4 kcal/mol, is calculated. The reinvestigation of a related compound, bis(η-cyclopentadienyl)niobium(III) tetrahydroborate, established ΔG≠ = 14.6 ± 0.2 kcal/mol for the hydrogen exchange process. The tetrahydroborate complex, II reacts with pyridine and dihydrogen to yield (η-C5Me5)2NbH3 (III). The reactivity of III with CO and ethylene is reported.


Can CO2 storage cause earthquakes? What is the maximum possible earthquake magnitude resulting from CO2 injection? Here, as a theoretical case study we investigate these questions using coupled hydromechanical modeling with multiphase flow and seismological variables for quantifying earthquake magnitude and energy. Our simulations consider transient fluid flow and stress coupling, and the evolution of fault properties. We simulate CO2 injection into a reservoir‐caprock system bounded by a subvertical normal fault subjected to different extensional stress regimes and over a range of initial fault permeability values. For our assumed system and injection rate, the simulation results show that sudden stress drop and fault slip primarily initiated along the fault portion intersecting the storage reservoir after a few months of injection when a sufficiently high reservoir pressure has been reached. The size of the rupture area, and consequently, the earthquake magnitude and energy, depends on initial horizontal‐to‐vertical stress ratio and fault permeability, which strongly influences the size of the pressurized area, and subsequent stress variations.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the mathematics anxiety treatment messages in a computer-based environment on ninth-grade students' mathematics anxiety and mathematics learning. The study also examined whether the impact of the treatment messages would be differentiated by learner's gender and by learner's prior mathematics anxiety levels (High vs. Medium vs. Low). Participants were 161 ninth-grade students, who took a required introductory algebra class in a public high school neighboring Utah State University. The learning environment was integrated with a pedagogical agent (animated human-like character) as a tutor. This study employed a pretest and posttest experimental design. Participants' mathematics anxiety was measured at the beginning and at the end of the intervention; participants' mathematics learning was measured before and after each lesson (four lessons in total). The participants were randomly assigned to work with either an agent presenting mathematics anxiety treatment messages (TR) or an agent without presenting the treatment messages (NoTR). Because of student attrition, only 128 students were included for data analysis.
The results suggested that mathematics anxiety treatment messages provided by a pedagogical agent had no impact on student mathematics anxiety and mathematics learning. Second, there were no main or interaction effects of the treatment messages and learners' gender on mathematics anxiety and mathematics learning. Third, there were significant interaction effects between treatment messages and learner's prior mathematics anxiety levels only on current mathematics anxiety (p < .05). High-anxious students in the TR condition decreased their anxiety more than those in the NoTR condition. Medium-anxious students in the TR condition increased their anxiety whereas those in the NoTR condition decreased their anxiety. Low-anxious students in the TR condition did not change their anxiety whereas those in the NoTR condition increased their anxiety.


Abstract. Air pollution is the most important environmental problem in Zonguldak city center. Since bituminous coal is used for domestic heating in houses and generating electricity in thermal power plants, particulate matter (PM10) is the leading air pollutant. Previous studies have shown that the water vapor in the troposphere is responsible for the tropospheric zenith delay in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) measurements. In this study, data obtained from the ZONG GNSS station from Turkiye Ulusal Sabit GNSS Agi (TUSAGA-Active network) in the central district of Zonguldak province, processed with GIPSY-OASIS II and GAMIT/GlobK software using the VMF1 mapping function, which is developed previously and considered to be the most accurate model. The resulting values were examined separately in terms of software. The meteorological parameters obtained from the Turkish State Meteorological Service and the air pollution values obtained from the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning were analyzed and the zenith delay values were compared. When wet zenith delays of different days with different amounts of PM10 concentrations were examined in succession and under the same meteorological conditions, differences in the range of 20–40 mm on ZTD were observed.


The aim of this article is investigation of the wake of an airfoil Naca0012 in the wind tunnel. The measurement has been done at different angles of attach of airfoil α= 0, 5, 10, 15 degrees and locate in test section of wind tunnel a turbulence maker net with intensity of 5% in the entrance of test section. The wind tunnel which is used in this experimental has area section of 1600 mm2 and 2000 mm length; with minimum free turbulence level less than 0.1% without any net and maximum speed is 30 m/s. For measuring favorite parameters in this test we apply hot wire anemometer, In this paper we focus on wake turbulence behind the airfoil in the angles of 0,5,10,15 degrees and in X/C=0,0.05,0.01,0.15,0.2(that X means distance behind airfoil and C means airfoil thickness). To comparison data wake results in a certain degree for various stations. On the other hand, in certain stations for various degrees, we tried our test in 20m/s velocity. From the diagram at the certain angles can conclude that on the certain angle whatever approach to the farther stations we have increasing on velocity and diagram goes to flatten. We can conclude from diagram at certain stations with increasing in angle the velocity is decrease. Also with increasing in angle the diagram of velocity shifts toward negative and with increasing of airfoil angle from station x/c = 0.5 to the next velocity defect increases.


When an experimental mussel bed was created in 1987 on the mudflats south of Schiermonnikoog, Herring Gulls immediately increased in numbers, consuming starfish and damaged Mussels. The build-up of oyster catcher numbers was more gradual, but persisted for longer. Most Oystercatchers attracted to the mussel bed fed on Mussels. The proportion of Oystercatchers that hammered Mussels was relatively high, which may have been due to the relatively thin shells of the Mussels fished from the subtidal. Intake rates on the experimental mussel bed were on average higher than those achieved by birds feeding on other prey (mainly Macoma balthica and Nel-eis diversicolor), but the difference did not reach statistical significance. As the feeding density on the mussel bed increased, intake rates dropped, but it is not known if this relationship has a causal basis. Previous suggestions that the hammering birds substantially depleted the hammerable Mussels seem less likely in the light of our current analysis. The discussion stresses that the experimental creation of mussel beds is a powerful technique to test in the field distribution models derived from ideal free theory and investigates what lessons can be learned from the current pilot experiment that may be of use in the design elf future experiments.


The pursuit of anonymous market liquidity despite significant fragmentation has bedeviled the buyside trading community since the advent of decimalization. Brokers have also become more selective in how they commit capital, posing an additional challenge for executing block trades on a timely and cost-efficient basis. The author, a Director of Sales and Trading at Investment Technology Group, Inc. (ITG), explores the use of dark pools of liquidity, such as ATSs (Alternative Trading Systems), to bring buyers and sellers of block sizes together. He also explains the steep downside to ATSs: increased fragmentation, which can require additional time, money and resources to track down hidden pockets of liquidity, as well as greater cost of execution. The author portrays the current state of liquidity fragmentation, examining the direct and indirect costs for traders. He then objectively explores ATS Aggregators as one solution, looking at both the positives and the pitfalls, as well as recommendations for avoiding these negative scenarios in the future.


Generally speaking, in anomaly intrusion detection, modeling the normal behavior of activities performed by a user or a program is an important issue. Currently most machine-learning algorithms which are widely used to establish user's normal behaviors need labeled data for training first, so they are computational expensive and sometimes misled by artificial data. This study proposes a PSO-based optimized clustering method IDCPSO for modeling the normal patterns of a user's activities which combines an unsupervised clustering algorithm with the PSO technique, PSO algorithm is used to optimize the clustering results and obtain the optimal detection result. IDCPSO needs unlabeled data for training and automatically establishes clusters so as to detect intruders by labeling normal and abnormal groups. The famous KDD Cup 1999 dataset is used to evaluate the proposed system. In addition, we compare the performance of PSO optimization process with GA.


It is commonly assumed in private label literature that store brands are of lower quality than competing national brands. In this paper, we contest this notion by studying quality competition between a national- brand manufacturer and a store-brand retailer. The manufacturer sells its national-brand products through the retailer who produces a competing store brand at the same time. The two parties first invest in their brand qualities, after which the manufacture determines the wholesale price for the national brand and the retailer decides the retail prices for both brands. With a general quality-dependent cost structure, we explicitly characterize the equilibrium in both price and quality levels under various channel power structures. The results suggest that the store brand could possibly be of higher quality than the national brand even in absence of cost disparity; however, the store brand will charge a lower retail price whether its quality is superior to the national brand or not. Further, price competition and quality competition bear opposite implications on equilibrium solutions as well as profitability levels. Surprisingly, the manufacturer may benefit from a more costly production or quality investment scenario, while both the retailer and the supply chain will suffer from the same. The paper highlights the importance of accounting for quality decisions in the study of private label products.


Voltage-gated K+ channels open in response to cell depolarization, reacting to the change in potential by movement of four charged Arg residues, which opens the pore and allows only K+ ions to exit the cell. X-ray crystallographic structures of bacterial channels have revealed the basis of the K+ selectivity. Forming crystals of the larger, multisubunit eukaryotic K+ channels has been more challenging, but Long et al. (see the cover and the news story by Service) now present in two papers a 2.9-angstrom-resolution crystal structure and a mechanistic analysis for eukaryotic Kv1.2 channels from the Shaker family. The crystals, which were formed by adding lipids during crystallization, include the oxido-reductase β subunit and are probably in a native, open state. The β subunits are positioned directly below the intracellular opening to the pore but far enough away to allow the K+ ions access to the pore through four large side portals. The voltage-sensor domains act as almost independent regions positioned within the membrane beside the cylindrical pore, with at least one of the charge-sensing arginines in direct contact with lipid. Movement of the voltage sensor causes pore opening through the S4-S5 linker helix, which constricts and dilates the S6 "inner" helices around the pore. This structure explains many apparently contradictory results reported to date on K+ channel structure and function. S. B. Long, E. B. Campbell, R. MacKinnon, Crystal structure of a mammalian voltage-dependent Shaker family K+ channel. Science 309, 897-903 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text] S. B. Long, E. B. Campbell, R. MacKinnon, Voltage sensor of Kv1.2: Structural basis of electromechanical coupling. Science 309, 903-908 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text] R. F. Service, A new portrait puts potassium pore in a fresh light. Science 309, 867 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Objective (1) Determine the correlation of awake tonsil scores and preadenotonsillectomy (pre-AT) sleep endoscopy findings. (2) Assess the relationship between polysomnographic AT outcomes with awake tonsil scores and sleep endoscopy ratings of tonsil and adenoid obstruction. Study Design Retrospective case series with chart review. Setting Tertiary care children's hospital. Subjects and Methods Children aged 1 to 18 years who underwent sleep endoscopy and AT from January 1, 2013, to August 30, 2016, were included. Pre-AT sleep endoscopy findings were scored with the Sleep Endoscopy Rating Scale. Awake tonsil scores and sleep endoscopy ratings were compared with Spearman correlation. Associations between changes in pre- and post-AT polysomnography parameters and (1) awake tonsil scoring and (2) sleep endoscopy scoring were assessed with 1-way analysis of variance and linear regression. Results Participants included 36 children (mean ± SD age, 6.8 ± 4.3 years; 68% male, 44% obese). Awake tonsil scores and sleep endoscopy ratings were strongly correlated (R = 0.58, P = .003). Awake tonsil scores were not associated with changes in any polysomnography parameters after AT (all P > .05), while sleep endoscopy ratings of adenotonsillar obstruction were significantly associated (all P < .05, R2 = 0.16-0.35). Patients with minimal adenotonsillar obstruction during sleep endoscopy had less improvement than those with partial or complete obstruction (mean obstructive apnea-hypopnea index change: −8.2 ± 11.5 vs −15.9 ± 14.3, and −46.8 ± 31.3, respectively; P < .001). Conclusions In children at risk for AT failure, assessment of dynamic collapse with sleep endoscopy may better predict the outcome of AT than awake tonsil size assessment, thus helping to inform surgical expectations.


A 77-GHz, +17.5 dBm power amplifier (PA) with fully integrated 50-Omega input and output matching and fabricated in a 0.12-mum SiGe BiCMOS process is presented. The PA achieves a peak power gain of 17 dB and a maximum single-ended output power of 17.5 dBm with 12.8% of power-added efficiency (PAE). It has a 3-dB bandwidth of 15 GHz and draws 165 mA from a 1.8-V supply. Conductor-backed coplanar waveguide (CBCPW) is used as the transmission line structure resulting in large isolation between adjacent lines, enabling integration of the PA in an area of 0.6 mm2. By using a separate image-rejection filter incorporated before the PA, the rejection at IF frequency of 25 GHz is improved by 35 dB, helping to keep the PA design wideband


Background: Alternative approaches to anatomy teaching are becoming popular in response to a reduction in timetabled anatomy teaching and a decline in the number of body donors. This study ascertained students' perceptions of body painting (BP) as a tool for learning anatomy.
Summary of work: 133 medical students participated in 24 focus groups (2007-09). Data analysis utilised a grounded theory approach.
Summary of results: 5 themes emerged: 1) BP as a fun learning activity, 2) BP promoting retention of knowledge, 3) factors contributing to the memorability of body painting, 4) removal from comfort zone, 5) the impact of body painting on students' future clinical practice.
Conclusions: Students perceive BP to be a fun learning activity, which aids their retention of the anatomical knowledge acquired during the session. Sensory factors, such as visual stimuli, especially colour, and the tactile nature of the activity, promote recall. Students' preference for painting or being painted is often dependent upon their learning style.
Take-home messages: BP is a useful adjunct to traditional anatomy and clinical skills teaching. The fun element involved in the delivery of this teaching defuses the formal academic context, promoting a positive learning environment. The undressing involved encouraged students to consider issues surrounding body image; this informs their attitudes towards future patients.


ABSTRACT Shortleaf pine-oak-hickory woodlands provided the principal vegetation cover in the Tallahassee Red Hills prior to land clearing for plantation agriculture in the 19th century. Ample historical documentation and extant remnants of that community, including old-growth, support this conclusion. This woodland was maintained by surface fires and consisted principally of open stands of shortleaf pine, post oak, Spanish oak, black oak, mockernut hickory, and dogwood. The species-diverse and predominantly herbaceous ground cover was dominated by grasses, legumes, and composites. Coppice sprouting of trees and shrubs after fires was common. In the absence of fire, shortleaf pine-oak-hickory woodlands convert to oak-hickory forest with similar tree species composition and loss of herbaceous species. Within the past 130 years, nearly all stands of shortleaf pine-oak-hickory woodlands and oak-hickory forests have been extirpated or compromised beyond recognition by intrusions of offsite tree species that are typical of moist soils at less elevated landscape positions.


The speaker welcomes the attendees, who come from fourteen different countries, and outlines five common characteristics that unite those present. First, there is a significant number of people in our societies who live below the poverty line and who routinely have their legal needs overlooked. Second, the attendees recognize that basic human needs are protected by legal rights, and legal assistance and access to justice are necessary to vindicate those rights. Third, the resources currently available to help the poor address their legal needs are woefully inadequate in almost all of the countries represented. Fourth, those meeting today share a common commitment to find new ways to effectively address the legal needs of the poor. Finally, all share a belief that each can learn something from, and contribute to, other conference participants.


Industrial assembly involves sensing the pose (orientation and position) of a part. Efficient and reliable sensing strategies can be developed for an assembly task if the shape of the part is known in advance. In this article we investigate two problems of determining the pose of a polygonal part of known shape for the cases of a continuum and a finite number of possible poses, respectively. The first problem, named sensing by inscription, involves determining the pose of a convex n-gon from a set of m sup porting cones. An algorithm with running time O(nm) that almost always reduces to O(n + m log n) is presented to solve for all possible poses of the polygon. We prove that the number of possible poses cannot exceed 6n, given m ≥ 2 supporting cones with distinct vertices. Simulation experiments demonstrate that two supporting cones are sufficient to determine the real pose of the n-gon in most cases. Our results imply that sensing in practice can be carried out by obtaining viewing angles of a planar part at multiple exterior sites in the plane. On many occasions a parts feeder will have reduced the number of possible poses of a part to a small finite set. Our second problem, named sensing by point sampling, is con cerned with a more general version: finding the minimum number of sensing points required to distinguish between n polygonal shapes with a total of m edges. In practice this can be implemented by embedding a series of point light detectors in a feeder tray or by using a set of mechanical probes that touch the feeder at a finite number of predeter mined points. We show that this problem is equivalent to an NP-complete set-theoretic problem introduced as Discriminat ing Set, and present an O(n2m2 ) approximation algorithm to solve it with a ratio of 2 In n. Furthermore, we prove that one can use an algorithm for Discriminating Set with ratio c log n to construct an algorithm for Set Covering with ratio c log n + O(log log n). Thus the ratio 2 In n is asymptotically optimal unless NP ⊂ DTIME(n poly log n ), a consequence of known results on approximating Set Covering. The complexity of subproblems of Discriminating Set is also analyzed, based on their relationship to a generalization of Independent Set called 3-Independent Set. Finally, simulation results suggest


Tilting and motion are widely used as interaction modalities in smart objects such as wearables and smart phones (e.g., to detect posture or shaking). They are often sensed with accelerometers. In this paper, we propose to embed liquids into 3D printed objects while printing to sense various tilting and motion interactions via capacitive sensing. This method reduces the assembly effort after printing and is a low-cost and easy-to-apply way of extending the input capabilities of 3D printed objects. We contribute two liquid sensing patterns and a practical printing process using a standard dual-extrusion 3D printer and commercially available materials. We validate the method by a series of evaluations and provide a set of interactive example applications.


Purpose: To assess impacts of the CSO control, two continuous monitoring stations were located upstream and downstream from the CSO outfall. The monitors recorded dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, pH, and conductivity at 30-minute increments between the months of March and November. Nearly three years of baseline conditions were recorded before the swirl concentrator went online in August 1990. To date, five years of post-construction conditions have been recorded. The purpose of this study was to analyze the continuous monitoring data to assess impacts, if any, of the CSO swirl concentrator on the DO concentrations in the Anacostia River.


Charter schools are publicly funded schools that have considerable independence from public school districts in their curriculum development and staffing decisions, and their enrollments have increased substantially over the past two decades. Charter schools are changing public and private school enrollment patterns across the United States. This study analyzes district-level enrollment patterns for all states with charter schools, isolating how charter schools affect traditional public and private school enrollments after controlling for changes for the socioeconomic, demographic, and economic conditions in each district. While most students are drawn from traditional public schools, charter schools are pulling large numbers of students from the private education market and present a potentially devastating impact on the private education market, as well as a serious increase in the financial burden on taxpayers. Private school enrollments are much more sensitive to charters in urban districts than in non-urban districts. Overall, about 8 percent of charter elementary students and 11 percent of middle and high school students are drawn from private schools. In highly urban districts, private schools contribute 32, 23, and 15 percent of charter elementary, middle, and high school enrollments, respectively. Catholic schools seem particularly vulnerable, especially for elementary students in large metropolitan areas. The flow of private-school students into charters has important fiscal implications for districts and states. When charters draw students from private schools, demands for tax revenue increase. If governments increase educational spending, tax revenues must be increased or spending in other areas reduced, or else districts may face pressures to reduce educational services. The shift of students from private to public schools represents a significant shift in the financial burdens for education from the private to the public sector.


In one word the core subject of this thesis is holography. What we mean by holography broadly is the mapping of a gravitational theory in D dimensions to a quantum mechanics system or quantum field theory in one less dimension In chapter 1, we give a basic and self-contained introduction of the various physical notions that one needs to be familiar with in order to read this thesis. In chapter 2,we revisit the old black hole S-matrix construction and its new partial wave expansion of 't Hooft. Inspired by old ideas from non-critical string theory and the c = 1 Matrix Quantum Mechanics, we formulate the scattering in terms of a quantum mechanical model –of waves scattering off- inverted harmonic oscillator potentials– that exactly reproduces the unitary black hole S-matrix for all spherical harmonics; each partial wave corresponds to an inverted harmonic oscillator with ground state energy that is shifted relative to the s-wave oscillator. Identifying a connection to two dimensional string theory allows us to show that there is an exponential degeneracy in how a given total initial energy may be distributed among many partial waves of the four dimensional black hole. In chapter 3, we study Matrix Quantum Mechanics (MQM) on the Euclidean time orbifold S1/Z2. Upon Wick rotation to Lorentzian time and taking the double-scaling limit this theory provides a toy model for a big-bang/big-crunch universe in two dimensional non-critical string theory where the orbifold fixed points become cosmological singularities. We derive the partition function both in the canonical and grand canonical ensemble in two different formulations and demonstrate a matching between them. We pinpoint the contribution of twisted states in both of these formulations either in terms of bi-local operators acting at the end-points of time or of branch-cuts on the complex plane. Finally we discuss some interesting features of the partition function and the possibility of realising it as a tau- function of an integrable hierarchy. In chapter 4, we investigate quantum critical points in a 2+1- dimensional gauge theory at finite chemical potential and magnetic field. The gravity dual is based on four dimensional N = 2 Fayet-Iliopoulos gauged supergravity and the solutions we consider –that are constructed analytically– are extremal, dyonic, asymptotically AdS4 black branes with a nontrivial radial profile for the scalar field and extremal, magnetically charged, asymptotically AdS4 acceptable singular solutions with a nontrivial radial profile for the scalar field. We discover a line of second order fixed points at a critical value of the magnetic field between the dyonic black brane and an extremal "thermal gas" solution with a singularity of good-type, according to the acceptability criteria of Gubser. The dual field theory is a strongly coupled nonconformal field theory at finite charge and magnetic field, related to the ABJM theory deformed by a triple trace operator. We find similarities between the behaviour of the VeV of the scalar operator under B and that of the quark condensate in 2 + 1- dimensional Nambu-Jona-Lasinio models.


Experiments are performed in which dust particles are levitated at varying heights above the powered electrode in a radio frequency plasma discharge by changing the discharge power. The trajectories of particles dropped from the top of the discharge chamber are used to reconstruct the vertical electric force acting on the particles. The resulting data, together with the results from a self-consistent fluid model, are used to determine the lower levitation limit for dust particles in the discharge and the approximate height above the lower electrode where quasineutrality is attained, locating the sheath edge. These results are then compared with current sheath models. It is also shown that particles levitated within a few electron Debye lengths of the sheath edge are located outside the linearly increasing portion of the electric field.


This paper presents the main features of design, construction, performance analyses and experimental studies of a brushless self-excited three-phase synchronous generator. The basic construction, principle of operation, and exciting characteristics are described. In proposed machine the rotor winding is shorted through diodes and the self-excitation is reached by a slip between rotor and stator winding built with different pole numbers. Computer simulations performed with MATLAB® software were used to verify the mathematical model of the brushless self-excited synchronous generator and the achieved results showed similar behavior with experimental values.


Abstract A major safety factor in marine reactor design, critical heat flux (CHF), is assessed using the MARS system analysis code under heaving conditions. As gravity acceleration changes, the CHF is affected by the thermal hydraulics in the reactor through inlet flow fluctuations. Performing the analysis with the MARS code, which uses the properties of water for the working fluid, requires applying the CHF experimental data using fluid-to-fluid (FTF) scaling because most CHF experiments are conducted with Freon (R-113) as the working fluid. The FTF scaling methods suggested by Ahmad, Katto, and Coffield are adopted and compared. Otsuji et al.'s experiment, which was conducted using mass flow rate oscillation, is applied to evaluate the capability of MARS for heaving conditions. According to the calculations the FTF methods of Ahmad, Katto, and Coffield show good agreement (within an error of ±10.73% for Otsuji et al.'s experiment) for inlet flow rate oscillation corresponding to gravity acceleration in a vertical direction. In addition, variation of the acceleration affects the flow conditions, such as the mass flow rate and the void fraction. Thus, MARS has a noteworthy ability to predict the CHF for heaving conditions by simulating inlet flow rate oscillation.


This article reviews existing research on the motivations and experiences of interns in media and cultural industries. Digital labour theories are used to organize and make sense of the existing internship literature. Throughout the article, parallels are also drawn between the experiences of interns and those of digital creative labourers—both professionals and peer producers. Three key themes are identified within the internship literature: 1) interns derive satisfaction from work they con- sider meaningful, particularly hands-on work executed under the training and trust of effective supervisors; 2) interns see their work as future-oriented investments in their skills, professional networks, and personal brands; and 3) the ambiguity and professional necessity of media and cultural industries internships make them fertile ground for exploitation and self-exploitation. In conclusion, I argue that attentiveness to meaning, temporality, and ambiguity will be essential to future critical investigations of internships.


In this thesis, the long-run Purchasing Power Parity model and the Flexible Price Monetary Approach to the exchange rate are studied. The purching power parity (hereafter the PPP) model is a two country model and basically assumes that, the same goods or basket of goods should sell for the same price in any two countries when measured in a common currency. This implies that the exchange rate depends upon the price levels. Similarly, the flexible price monetasry approach (hereafter the FPMA) is also a two country model, however, it assumes that the exchange rate is influenced by relative money supplies, relative income and relative interest rates instead of the relative price levels. These models are examined via the estimation of a single equation using co integration analysis techniques developed by Engle and Granger (1987). Co integration is a very powerful and reliable technique in investigations involving non-stationary series. By their nature, non-stationary series fluctuate up and down away from their mean, implying that they have the tendency to possess different mean at different point in time. However, the linear combination of two or more non-stationary series integrated of the same order (have the same property) is expected to change to stationary (stability), and co integration technique was developed to achieve this transformation (change non-stationary series to stationary series). The Engle and Granger (1987) two stage procedure for co-integration analysis has been widely applied in cases involving up to two variables (nonstationary time series). The present study involves more than two variables in a single equation. Therefore it makes an original contribution to the literature in that it has successfully applied the single equation approach widely used for estimations of up to two variables. Thus, the study provides a bridge between the conventional approaches that adopt standard testing procedures, and the more recent sophisticated approaches that adopt multivariate equations or the full information maximum likelihood (FIML). Stationarity properties of individual series including exchange rates are analysed via a unit root test by means of both the Dickey Fuller (DF) and Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) procedures. The Lagrange Multiplier (LM) was applied to select an appropriate number of augmentations in the case of the ADF tests. When initially tested in levels, all series showed the property of non-stationary 1(1) variable, but were all changed to stationary variables when tested in first difference form. The period-by-period deviations of the models from their respective equilibrium positions are analysed via the error correction mechanisms (ECMs). The ECMs encompass the variables of the short-run dynamic model as well as those of the long-run static model, all of which are estimated in a single error correction equation. The robustness of this approach (single equation estimation) shed a great light on the treatment of the PPP model and FPMA respectively as long-run models of exchange rate determination.


There exist two different approaches to self-organizing maps (SOMs). One approach, rooted in theoretical neuroscience, uses SOMs as computational models of biological cortex. The other approach, taken in computer science and engineering, views SOMs as tools suitable to perform, for example, data visualization and pattern classification tasks. While the first approach emphasizes fidelity to neurobiological data, the latter stresses computational efficiency and effectiveness.
In the research reported here, I developed and studied a class of SOMs that incorporates the multiple, simultaneous winner nodes implicit in many biologically-oriented SOMs, but determines the winners using the same efficient one-shot algorithm employed by computationally-oriented, single-winner SOMs. This was achieved by generalizing single-winner SOMs, using localized competitions. The resulting one-shot multi-winner SOM was found to support the formation of multiple adjacent, mirror-symmetric topographic maps. It constitutes the first computational model of mirror-image map formation, and raises questions about the role of Hebbian-type synaptic changes in the formation of mirror-symmetric maps that are often observed in the sensory neocortex of many species, including humans. The model unexpectedly predicted the occasional occurrence of adjacent, rotationally symmetric maps. It is natural to speculate that such atypically oriented maps might contribute to abnormal cortical information processing in some neurodevelopmental disorders.
Traditional SOMs lack applicability to problems where the inputs are not single patterns, but temporal sequences of patterns. Several SOM extensions have been proposed as a remedy, but there is no standard for processing temporal sequences with SOMs. I focused on the task of learning unique spatial representations for non-trivial sets of temporal sequences. The one-shot multi-winner SOM extended by temporally-asymmetric Hebbian synapses proved effective when applied to this task. The learned representations retained information about sequence similarity. The feature maps that formed show that temporal sequence processing and map formation are not mutually exclusive. Since the sequence processing one-shot multi-winner SOM was trained with phonetic transcriptions of spoken words, the results can be related to the internalization of spoken words during language acquisition. A final redesign of the network and the subsequent multi-objective optimization of its parameters using a genetic algorithm produced a more effective system.


Oral and fecal microbial biomarkers have previously been associated with cardiometabolic (CM) risk, however, no comprehensive attempt has been made to explore this association in minority populations or across different geographic regions. We characterized gut- and oral-associated microbiota and CM risk in 655 participants of African-origin, aged 25-45, from Ghana, South Africa, Jamaica, and the United States (US). CM risk was classified using the CM risk cut-points for elevated waist circumference, elevated blood pressure and elevated fasted blood glucose, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and elevated triglycerides. Gut-associated bacterial alpha diversity negatively correlated with elevated blood pressure and elevated fasted blood glucose. Similarly, gut bacterial beta diversity was also significantly differentiated by waist circumference, blood pressure, triglyceridemia and HDL-cholesterolemia. Notably, differences in inter- and intra-personal gut microbial diversity were geographic-region specific. Participants meeting the cut-points for 3 out of the 5 CM risk factors were significantly more enriched with Lachnospiraceae, and were significantly depleted of Clostridiaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, and Prevotella. The predicted relative proportions of the genes involved in the pathways for lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and butyrate synthesis were also significantly differentiated by the CM risk phenotype, whereby genes involved in the butyrate synthesis via lysine, glutarate and 4-aminobutyrate/succinate pathways and LPS synthesis pathway were enriched in participants with greater CM risk. Furthermore, inter-individual oral microbiota diversity was also significantly associated with the CM risk factors, and oral-associated Streptococcus, Prevotella, and Veillonella were enriched in participants with 3 out of the 5 CM risk factors. We demonstrate that in a diverse cohort of African-origin adults, CM risk is significantly associated with reduced microbial diversity, and the enrichment of specific bacterial taxa and predicted functional traits in both gut and oral environments. As well as providing new insights into the associations between the gut and oral microbiota and CM risk, this study also highlights the potential for novel therapeutic discoveries which target the oral and gut microbiota in CM risk.


The linear-chain Conditional Random Field (CRF) model is one of the most widely-used neural sequence labeling approaches. Exact probabilistic inference algorithms such as the forward-backward and Viterbi algorithms are typically applied in training and prediction stages of the CRF model. However, these algorithms require sequential computation that makes parallelization impossible. In this paper, we propose to employ a parallelizable approximate variational inference algorithm for the CRF model. Based on this algorithm, we design an approximate inference network that can be connected with the encoder of the neural CRF model to form an end-to-end network, which is amenable to parallelization for faster training and prediction. The empirical results show that our proposed approaches achieve a 12.7-fold improvement in decoding speed with long sentences and a competitive accuracy compared with the traditional CRF approach.


To explore application of step gating system in LFC, filling process of two types of step gating system was simulated, their filling patterns were found, and several engineering examples were analyzed basing on these patterns. It was found the metal start filling through all ingates almost simultaneously if the gating system is open, otherwise the sequence of the ingate filling follow increasing sequence of streamline length from the inlet. It was also found the metal volume through each ingate increased gradually bottom-top when the common step gating system is filled by EPS, but when the common step gating system is open or step gating system have an auxiliary sprue, the metal volume decreases gradually. Analysis on several engineering examples shows the simulation confluence of two liquid metal fronts is basically in accordance with the casting defect locations.


Domain decomposition methods are widely used and effective in the approximation of solutions to partial differential equations. Yet the optimal construction of these methods requires tedious analysis and is often available only in simplified, structured-grid settings, limiting their use for more complex problems. In this work, we generalize optimized Schwarz domain decomposition methods to unstructured-grid problems, using Graph Convolutional Neural Networks (GCNNs) and unsupervised learning to learn optimal modifications at subdomain interfaces. A key ingredient in our approach is an improved loss function, enabling effective training on relatively small problems, but robust performance on arbitrarily large problems, with computational cost linear in problem size. The performance of the learned linear solvers is compared with both classical and optimized domain decomposition algorithms, for both structured- and unstructured-grid problems.