Young Children Create Partner-Specific Referential Pacts with Peers

Science.gov (United States)

Köymen, Bahar; Schmerse, Daniel; Lieven, Elena; Tomasello, Michael

2014-01-01

In 2 studies, we investigated how peers establish a "referential pact" to call something, for example, a "cushion" versus a "pillow" (both equally felicitous). In Study 1, pairs of 4-and 6-year-old German-speaking peers established a referential pact for an artifact, for example, a "woman's shoe," in a…

Secondary combined suicide pact.

Science.gov (United States)

Jayanth, S H; Girish Chandra, Y P; Hugar, Basappa S; Kainoor, Sunilkumar

2014-03-01

This article reports a combined suicide pact, where in a young couple; a 26 year old male and a 20 year old female committed suicide by using two methods. The couple had resorted to hanging and self-immolation to prevent failure of single method alone. In secondary combined suicides, several other methods of suicide are tried after the first method chosen has failed. It is primary combined suicide only when two or more methods are used simultaneously. Both types of combined suicide by one individual is well reported in the literature whereas the same by two persons together is rare. In this report, the deceased were disappointed lovers, poor and the family members were against their marriage. The investigation of scene, methods employed to commit suicide, autopsy findings and the interview with their relatives altogether suggested that it was a secondary combined suicide pact. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Inclusie door interprofessionele samenwerking. : Resultaten van de proeftuinen van PACT.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Doornenbal, Jeannette; Fukkink, Ruben; van Yperen, Tom; Balledux, Mariëlle; Spoelstra, Jolanda; Verseveld, Marloes

2017-01-01

Deze rapportage gaat over de resultaten van de PACT-proeftuinen waaraan in opdracht van Het Kinderopvangfonds van 2015 tot 2017 is gewerkt. PACT-proeftuinen zijn innovatieve praktijken waarin door middel van interprofessionele samenwerking tussen de kinderopvang, het basisonderwijs en de zorg wordt

Measuring cognitive change with ImPACT: the aggregate baseline approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce, Jared M; Echemendia, Ruben J; Meeuwisse, Willem; Hutchison, Michael G; Aubry, Mark; Comper, Paul

2017-11-01

The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT) is commonly used to assess baseline and post-injury cognition among athletes in North America. Despite this, several studies have questioned the reliability of ImPACT when given at intervals employed in clinical practice. Poor test-retest reliability reduces test sensitivity to cognitive decline, increasing the likelihood that concussed athletes will be returned to play prematurely. We recently showed that the reliability of ImPACT can be increased when using a new composite structure and the aggregate of two baselines to predict subsequent performance. The purpose of the present study was to confirm our previous findings and determine whether the addition of a third baseline would further increase the test-retest reliability of ImPACT. Data from 97 English speaking professional hockey players who had received at least 4 ImPACT baseline evaluations were extracted from a National Hockey League Concussion Program database. Linear regression was used to determine whether each of the first three testing sessions accounted for unique variance in the fourth testing session. Results confirmed that the aggregate baseline approach improves the psychometric properties of ImPACT, with most indices demonstrating adequate or better test-retest reliability for clinical use. The aggregate baseline approach provides a modest clinical benefit when recent baselines are available - and a more substantial benefit when compared to approaches that obtain baseline measures only once during the course of a multi-year playing career. Pending confirmation in diverse samples, neuropsychologists are encouraged to use the aggregate baseline approach to best quantify cognitive change following sports concussion.

Tangible Results and Progress in Flood Risks Management with the PACTES Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Costes, Murielle; Abadie, Jean-Paul; Ducuing, Jean-Louis; Denier, Jean-Paul; Stéphane

The PACTES project (Prévention et Anticipation des Crues au moyen des Techniques Spatiales), initiated by CNES and the French Ministry of Research, aims at improving flood risk management, over the following three main phases : - Prevention : support and facilitate the analysis of flood risks and socio-economic impacts (risk - Forecasting and alert : improve the capability to predict and anticipate the flooding event - Crisis management : allow better situation awareness, communication and sharing of In order to achieve its ambitious objectives, PACTES: - integrates state-of-the-art techniques and systems (integration of the overall processing chains, - takes advantage of integrating recent model developments in wheather forecasting, rainfall, In this approach, space technology is thus used in three main ways : - radar and optical earth observation data are used to produce Digital Elevation Maps, land use - earth observation data are also an input to wheather forecasting, together with ground sensors; - satellite-based telecommunication and mobile positioning. Started in December 2000, the approach taken in PACTES is to work closely with users such as civil security and civil protection organisms, fire fighter brigades and city councils for requirements gathering and during the validation phase. It has lead to the development and experimentation of an integrated pre-operational demonstrator, delivered to different types of operational users. Experimentation has taken place in three watersheds representative of different types of floods (flash and plain floods). After a breaf reminder of what the PACTES project organization and aims are, the PACTES integrated pre-operational demonstrator is presented. The main scientific inputs to flood risk management are summarized. Validation studies for the three watersheds covered by PACTES (Moselle, Hérault and Thoré) are detailed. Feedback on the PACTES tangible results on flood risk management from an user point of view

77 FR 50548 - Agency Information Collection: (PACT Qualitative Evaluation: Patient & Caregiver Interviews...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-21

... Collection: (PACT Qualitative Evaluation: Patient & Caregiver Interviews); Comment Request AGENCY: Veterans... ``OMB Control No. 2900-New (Patient & Caregiver). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: PACT Qualitative Evaluation: Patient & Caregiver Interviews. OMB Control Number: 2900--New Type of Review: New data collection...

Dos pactos políticos à política dos pactos na saúde From political pacts to health policy pacts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jória Viana Guerreiro

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Este artigo tem como objeto a política de pactuação do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS. Os poucos trabalhos na literatura sobre pactos na saúde frequentemente os relacionam à consolidação dos princípios do SUS, especificamente à implantação da descentralização. Aqui são evidenciadas as raízes dessa política, mostrando-se como estão articuladas ao movimento de reestruturação do próprio Estado brasileiro, ocorrido nas últimas décadas do século XX, por meio da reconstrução da democracia, do federalismo e da Reforma do Estado. Neste período, são identificados avanços na democracia política, porém pouca evolução na consolidação da democracia social. Os pactos na saúde articulam-se aos pactos sociais e políticos, estes últimos essenciais para tornar possível a vida em sociedade, garantir a legitimidade dos governos, a governabilidade e a efetividade das políticas públicas. A pactuação é um mecanismo de gestão que compreende negociação permanente, buscando a superação dos conflitos intergovernamentais, pautada pela responsabilização solidária. Por meio da negociação de metas, indicadores e ações, os pactos se constituem numa forma de accountability e transparência, capaz de favorecer o controle social e o do próprio governo.The object of this article is the pact policy of the Unified Health System (SUS. The few works available in the literature about health pacts frequently relates them to the principles of SUS consolidation, specifically to the implantation of decentralization. Here, the roots of this policy are evidenced showing how they are linked with the restructuration movement of the proper Brazilian State in the last decades from the 20th century, by democracy rebuilding, federalism and State Reform. During this period, some advances in politics democracy were identified, however a few results in consolidation of social democracy were identified. Health pacts are articulated with social and

Cloud-assisted mutual authentication and privacy preservation protocol for telecare medical information systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chun-Ta; Shih, Dong-Her; Wang, Chun-Cheng

2018-04-01

 With the rapid development of wireless communication technologies and the growing prevalence of smart devices, telecare medical information system (TMIS) allows patients to receive medical treatments from the doctors via Internet technology without visiting hospitals in person. By adopting mobile device, cloud-assisted platform and wireless body area network, the patients can collect their physiological conditions and upload them to medical cloud via their mobile devices, enabling caregivers or doctors to provide patients with appropriate treatments at anytime and anywhere. In order to protect the medical privacy of the patient and guarantee reliability of the system, before accessing the TMIS, all system participants must be authenticated.  Mohit et al. recently suggested a lightweight authentication protocol for cloud-based health care system. They claimed their protocol ensures resilience of all well-known security attacks and has several important features such as mutual authentication and patient anonymity. In this paper, we demonstrate that Mohit et al.'s authentication protocol has various security flaws and we further introduce an enhanced version of their protocol for cloud-assisted TMIS, which can ensure patient anonymity and patient unlinkability and prevent the security threats of report revelation and report forgery attacks.  The security analysis proves that our enhanced protocol is secure against various known attacks as well as found in Mohit et al.'s protocol. Compared with existing related protocols, our enhanced protocol keeps the merits of all desirable security requirements and also maintains the efficiency in terms of computation costs for cloud-assisted TMIS.  We propose a more secure mutual authentication and privacy preservation protocol for cloud-assisted TMIS, which fixes the mentioned security weaknesses found in Mohit et al.'s protocol. According to our analysis, our authentication protocol satisfies most functionality features

WindPACT Reference Wind Turbines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dykes, Katherine L [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Rinker, Jennifer [Former National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) employee

2018-04-02

To fully understand how loads and turbine cost scale with turbine size, it is necessary to have identical turbine models that have been scaled to different rated powers. The report presents the WindPACT baseline models, which are a series of four baseline models that were designed to facilitate investigations into the scalings of loads and turbine cost with size. The models have four different rated powers (750 kW, 1.5 MW, 3.0 MW, and 5.0 MW), and each model was designed to its specified rated power using the same design methodology. The models were originally implemented in FAST_AD, the predecessor to NREL's open-source wind turbine simulator FAST, but have yet to be implemented in FAST. This report contains the specifications for all four WindPACT baseline models - including structural, aerodynamic, and control specifications - along with the inherent assumptions and equations that were used to calculate the model parameters. It is hoped that these baseline models will serve as extremely useful resources for investigations into the scalings of costs, loads, or optimization routines.

Pollution added credit trading (PACT). New dimensions in emissions trading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaltegger, Stefan; Thomas, Tom

1996-01-01

To date, sources of hazardous, toxic, or otherwise harmful emissions have been regulated on a pollutant by pollutant basis. Environmental policies, even the more advanced 'incentive-based' programs, have focused on individual substances rather than on the overall environmental problem to which the substances contribute. This has produced results that are less economically efficient and ecologically effective than is desirable. A more comprehensive approach combines the principles of emission reduction credit trading with advances made recently in the field of environmental impact assessment, to yield an advanced form of inter-pollutant trading, which we refer to as pollution added credit trading (PACT). PACT incorporates a method for estimating the total environmental harm generated (pollution added) by a facility emitting a variety of pollutants. Weightings that reflect relative harm are used to calculate total pollution added. Each facility covered by PACT would receive annual allowances for total pollution added that they could discharge to the environment. As with existing emissions trading programs, surplus allowances could be sold and shortfalls would be covered by purchasing other facilities' surplus allowances. PACT is more efficient than single-pollutant emissions trading in that it captures differences in marginal reduction costs that exist between pollutants as well as between facilities. It is more ecologically effective because it focuses on the overall environmental problem, rather than on the individual pollutants that contribute to the problem

Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

This document is an informational bulletin about the problems associated with access to diagnosis and therapy of cancers in developing countries and the role of the Program of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT) of the International Atomic Energy Agency

The controversy around the Stability and Growth Pact

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jolanta Ciak

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Pact for Stability and Growth was to be a reliable way to ensure public finances. It commits the Economic Union countries to presenting a monetary budget in the medium term. The idea is to achieve a situation close to a balance in the budget, even a surplus. The deterioration of the fiscal situation of the European Union countries, including the euro area countries, especially in recent times, forcing the introduction of changes to the existing rules of the Pact. Undoubtedly, the introduction of the changes proposed by the European Commission should impact positively on the change in the approach to the problems of excessive deficits and public debt to GDP for the euro area, as well as for the future members of this zone in connection with ongoing processes of European integration.

Post-conflict pacts and inclusive political settlements: institutional perspectives from Solomon Islands

OpenAIRE

David Craig; Doug Porter

2014-01-01

Political settlements and pacts now feature prominently in donor narratives about transitions from conflict and institutional fragility to peace and prosperity. "Successful transitions" are said to occur when pacts between political and economic elites are deepened, made more democratically inclusive and gradually institutionalised through security and service delivery out to the edge of national territory. When mapped to any particular case, however, this narrative simplicity is confounded b...

WindPACT Turbine Rotor Design Study: June 2000--June 2002 (Revised)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malcolm, D. J.; Hansen, A. C.

2006-04-01

This report presents the results of the turbine rotor study completed by Global Energy Concepts (GEC) as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's WindPACT (Wind Partnership for Advanced Component Technologies) project. The purpose of the WindPACT project is to identify technology improvements that will enable the cost of energy from wind turbines to fall to a target of 3.0 cents/kilowatt-hour in low wind speed sites. The study focused on different rotor configurations and the effect of scale on those rotors.

Palestinian Adolescents Coping with Trauma (PACT) - Phase III ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Palestinian Adolescents Coping with Trauma (PACT) - Phase III. Violent conflict has been repeatedly shown to result in severe, long-term social and mental health problems for exposed children and adolescents. While in the developed world, it is generally accepted that individuals seek professional one-on-one ...

Scoring and psychometric validation of the Perception of Anticoagulant Treatment Questionnaire (PACT-Q©

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Essers B

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The 'Perception of Anti-Coagulant Treatment Questionnaire' (PACT-Q was developed to assess patients' expectations of, and satisfaction with their anticoagulant treatment. This questionnaire needs to be finalised and psychometrically validated. Methods The PACT-Q was included in the United States, the Netherlands and France into three phase III multinational clinical trials conducted to evaluate efficacy and safety of a new long-acting anticoagulant drug (idraparinux compared to vitamin K antagonist (VKA. PACT-Q was administered to patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT, atrial fibrillation (AF or pulmonary embolism (PE at Day 1, to assess patients' expectations, and at 3 and 6 months to assess patients' satisfaction and treatment convenience and burden. The final structure of the PACT-Q (Principal Component Analysis – PCA – with Varimax Rotation was first determined and its psychometric properties were then measured with validity of the structure (Multitrait analysis, internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha coefficients and known-group validity. Results PCA and multitrait analyses showed the multidimensionality of the "Treatment Expectations" dimension, comprising 7 items that had to be scored independently. The "Convenience" and "Burden of Disease and Treatment" dimensions of the hypothesised original structure of the questionnaire were combined, thus resulting in 13 items grouped into the single dimension "Convenience". The "Anticoagulant Treatment Satisfaction" dimension remained unchanged and included 7 items. All items of the "Convenience" and "Anticoagulant Treatment Satisfaction" dimensions displayed good convergent and discriminant validity. The internal consistency reliability was good, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.84 for the "Convenience" dimension, and 0.76 for the "Anticoagulant Treatment Satisfaction" dimension. Known-group validity was good, especially with regard to occurrence of

The implementation of the Plan Esperanza and response to the imPACT Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Vidaurre, Tatiana; Santos, Carlos; Gómez, Henry; Sarria, Gustavo; Amorin, Edgar; López, Marga; Regalado, Roxana; Manrique, Javier; Tarco, Duniska; Ayestas, Carlos; Calderón, Mónica; Mas, Luis; Neciosup, Silvia; Salazar, Miriam; Chávez, Juan Carlos; Ubillus, Milward; Limache, Abel; Ubillus, José Carlos; Navarro, Jeannie; Sarwal, Kavita; Sutcliffe, Simon; Gutiérrez-Aguado, Alfonso; Silva, Marianela; Mena, Amalia; Guillén, María Eugenia; Castañeda, Carlos; Abugattas, Julio

2017-10-01

Following the implementation of the National Cancer Prevention and Control Results-based Budget Programme (PpR Cancer-024) in 2011, the Peruvian Government approved the Plan Esperanza-a population-based national cancer control plan-in 2012. Legislation that ensured full government-supported funding for people who were otherwise unable to access or afford care and treatment accompanied the Plan. In 2013, the Ministry of Health requested an integrated mission of the Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (imPACT) report to strengthen cancer control in Peru. The imPACT Review, which was executed in 2014, assessed Peru's achievements in cancer control, and areas for improvement, including cancer control planning, further development of population-based cancer registration, increased prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and palliative care, and the engagement and participation of civil society in the health-care system. This Series paper gives a brief history of the development of the Plan Esperanza, describes the innovative funding model that supports it, and summarises how funds are disseminated on the basis of disease, geography, and demographics. An overview of the imPACT Review, and the government's response in the context of the Plan Esperanza, is provided. The development and execution of the Plan Esperanza and the execution of and response to the imPACT Review demonstrates the Peruvian Government's commitment to fighting cancer across the country, including in remote and urban areas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-Contention Mutual Exclusion by Elevator Algorithms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Buhr, Peter A.; Dice, Dave; Hesselink, Wim H.

2018-01-01

This paper presents new starvation-free hardware-assisted and software-only algorithms for the N-thread mutual-exclusion problem. The hardware-assisted versions use a single atomic-CAS instruction and no fences. The software-only algorithms simulate the CAS instruction using a variation of

Mutual emergency assistance in the event of accident during transport of radioactive materials within the member states of the European Community

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Selling, H.A.

1984-01-01

The study consist of a compilation of information on the relevant emergency response plans that are at present in existence in the ten countries of the European Community. Consideration is given to the development of proposals for facilitating co-operation between the emergency services in different countries, particularly with regard to accidents that might occur near national boundaries or in countries in which all the necessary resources might not be available. The particular items of interest covered in this study are: compilation of information on existing organizational emergency response arrangements within each Member State relating to accidents in the transport of radioactive materials by all modes, including road, rail, inland waterways, air and compilation of information on existing arrangements for receiving or providing assistance from or to other Member States. Identification of any avoidable incompatibilities on an international scale. Recommendations for improving the existing arrangements and for encouraging the development of adequate systems of mutual emergency notification, liaison and assistance as required by the circumstances, recommendations should be compatible with the broader framework of emergency response for all types of accidents developed within Member States and envisaged in the IAEA system for mutual emergency assistance

(Mutual Security Mutual Affluence) Negative Factors = Sustained Stability: A Framework for Establishing Stability Between Like States

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-31

160-163. 2 The Concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) dates back to the post-WWFI em and the Cold War where the United States and Soviet Unions...United States. Following its defeat in W\\VH, Japan was in shambles. The bombing campaigns left nine million Japanese homeless and three million more...the United States, the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in 2015, and the bombings in Istanbul in 2016. Michael Bamier, “From Mutual Assistance to

Breaking the stability pact: was it predictable?

OpenAIRE

Bonatti, Luigi; Cristini, Annalisa

2007-01-01

We show analytically that the credibility problem which has affected the European Stability Pact originates from the insufficient distinction between two reasons for having binding fiscal constraints. The first reason deals with the governments’ tendency to neglect the effects of their fiscal policy on foreign governments (fiscal free-riding). The second reason follows from the governments’ tendency to raise debt by lowering taxes or increasing expenditures, and then to leave it to their succ...

Brochure on Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT): Building partnerships to stop the global cancer epidemic. Grant raising prospectus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinley, D. III

2006-11-01

The Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT) was created within the IAEA in 2004. PACT builds upon IAEA's extensive experience in cancer therapy and was designed to strengthen the links between technology transfer for radiotherapy and national capacity building in cancer prevention and control. While the IAEA continues to focus on technology transfer in radiotherapy and nuclear medicine, PACT is aimed at integrating radiotherapy into the broader cancer prevention and control framework. This includes cancer prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative care as well as broader challenges such as capacity building in infrastructure development and surveillance (including cancer registries). Only through collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders in cancer prevention and control will low and middle income countries be able to build effective programmes that reduce avoidable cancers and cancer in its later stages, and therefore improve survival and quality of life for cancer patients. PACT is therefore building partnerships with leading cancer organizations worldwide. Each organization is making a significant contribution in their respective areas of expertise within the broader cancer control framework. Outreach to more international organizations continues. Together with these other agencies, PACT seeks to comprehensively support cancer control needs in low and middle income countries over the next 10 to 20 years and beyond. PACT is seeking to accelerate widespread and sustained access to all essential cancer care services, and make cancer therapy more effective. Such an approach is widely acknowledged to be the only viable way to attract major donors (including development banks, international health philanthropies and other charities) either directly or through the IAEA. Partnering with other organizations also raises, or in many cases, establishes the IAEA's profile within the international public health arena. To lay the groundwork for

Investigation into the susceptibility of Burkholderia cepacia complex isolates to photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT)

Science.gov (United States)

Cassidy, C. M.; Watters, A. L.; Donnelly, R. F.; Tunney, M. M.

2009-06-01

The main cause of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF) sufferers is progressive pulmonary damage caused by recurrent and often unremitting respiratory tract infection. Causative organisms include Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Haemophilus influenzae, but in recent years the Burkholderia cepacia complex has come to the fore. This group of highly drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria are associated with a rapid decline in lung function and the often fatal cepacia syndrome, with treatment limited to patient segregation and marginally effective antibacterial regimens. Thus, development of an effective treatment is of the upmost importance. PACT, a non-target specific therapy, has proven successful in killing both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In this study, planktonic cultures of six strains of the B. cepacia complex were irradiated (635 nm, 200 J cm-2,10 minutes irradiation) following 30 seconds incubation with methylene blue (MB) or meso-tetra (N-methyl-4-pyridyl) porphine tetra tosylate (TMP). Rates of kill of > 99 % were achieved with MB- and TMP-PACT. A MB concentration of 50 μg ml-1 and TMP concentration of 500 μg ml-1 were associated with highest percentage kills for each photosensitizer. PACT is an attractive option for treatment of B.cepacia complex infection. Further study, involving biofilm culture susceptibility, delivery of light to the target and in vivo testing will be necessary before it PACT becomes a viable treatment option for CF patients who are colonised or infected with B. cepacia complex.

A model of cooperation: the Pact op Zuid information system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frans Spierings

2010-06-01

Welzijnsorganisaties, onderzoekinstellingen, overheidsinstellingen en woningcorporaties zijn alle potentiële partners in stedelijke herstructureringsprogramma’s. Het combineren van de belangen van deze organisaties vormt een interessante managementuitdaging. Ook is het een uitdaging om een informatiesysteem te ontwikkelen dat tegemoet komt aan de informatiebehoefte van alle partners, zowel de afzonderlijke organisaties, als het collectief. Dit artikel zal deze uitdaging van informatiemanagement bespreken, door een case study naar cooperative knowledge production te presenteren. De case study heeft betrekking op het Rotterdamse stedelijk investeringssprogramma “Pact op Zuid”, een programma waarin tussen 2006 en 2016 1.5 miljard euro wordt geïnvesteerd in stedelijk gebied met 190.000 inwoners. Dit artikel geeft allereerst inzicht in literatuur over innovatieconfiguraties en lerende netwerken, concepten die belangrijk zijn om de complexiteit van stedelijke renovatie en cooperative knowledge production te begrijpen. Het bespreekt eveneens hoe cooperative knowledge production binnen Pact op Zuid plaatsvond.

Automation of PCXMC and ImPACT for NASA Astronaut Medical Imaging Dose and Risk Tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Bahadori, Amir; Picco, Charles; Flores-McLaughlin, John; Shavers, Mark; Semones, Edward

2011-01-01

To automate astronaut organ and effective dose calculations from occupational X-ray and computed tomography (CT) examinations incorporating PCXMC and ImPACT tools and to estimate the associated lifetime cancer risk per the National Council on Radiation Protection & Measurements (NCRP) using MATLAB(R). Methods: NASA follows guidance from the NCRP on its operational radiation safety program for astronauts. NCRP Report 142 recommends that astronauts be informed of the cancer risks from reported exposures to ionizing radiation from medical imaging. MATLAB(R) code was written to retrieve exam parameters for medical imaging procedures from a NASA database, calculate associated dose and risk, and return results to the database, using the Microsoft .NET Framework. This code interfaces with the PCXMC executable and emulates the ImPACT Excel spreadsheet to calculate organ doses from X-rays and CTs, respectively, eliminating the need to utilize the PCXMC graphical user interface (except for a few special cases) and the ImPACT spreadsheet. Results: Using MATLAB(R) code to interface with PCXMC and replicate ImPACT dose calculation allowed for rapid evaluation of multiple medical imaging exams. The user inputs the exam parameter data into the database and runs the code. Based on the imaging modality and input parameters, the organ doses are calculated. Output files are created for record, and organ doses, effective dose, and cancer risks associated with each exam are written to the database. Annual and post-flight exposure reports, which are used by the flight surgeon to brief the astronaut, are generated from the database. Conclusions: Automating PCXMC and ImPACT for evaluation of NASA astronaut medical imaging radiation procedures allowed for a traceable and rapid method for tracking projected cancer risks associated with over 12,000 exposures. This code will be used to evaluate future medical radiation exposures, and can easily be modified to accommodate changes to the risk

Elections to the Mutual Aid Fund

CERN Document Server

2016-01-01

Every two years, according to Article 6 of the Regulations of the Mutual Aid Fund, the Committee of the Mutual Aid Fund must renew one third of its membership. This year three members are outgoing. Of these three, two will stand again and one will not.   Candidates should be ready to give approximately two hours a month during working time to the Fund whose aim is to assist colleagues in financial difficulties. We invite applications from CERN Staff who wish to stand for election as a member of the CERN Mutual Aid Fund to send in their application before 17 June 2016, by email to the Fund’s President, Connie Potter (connie.potter@cern.ch).

Nato and warsaw pact | Wagner | Scientia Militaria: South African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 8, No 4 (1978) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register. Nato and warsaw pact. N Wagner ...

Alternative Design Study Report: WindPACT Advanced Wind Turbine Drive Train Designs Study; November 1, 2000 -- February 28, 2002

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poore, R.; Lettenmaier, T.

2003-08-01

This report presents the Phase I results of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) WindPACT (Wind Partnership for Advanced Component Technologies) Advanced Wind Turbine Drive Train Designs Study. Global Energy Concepts, LLC performed this work under a subcontract with NREL. The purpose of the WindPACT project is to identify technology improvements that will enable the cost of energy (COE) from wind turbines to be reduced. Other parts of the WindPACT project have examined blade and logistics scaling, balance-of-station costs, and rotor design. This study was designed to investigate innovative drive train designs.

The Preventable Admissions Care Team (PACT): A Social Work-Led Model of Transitional Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Basso Lipani, Maria; Holster, Kathleen; Bussey, Sarah

2015-10-01

In 2010, the Preventable Admissions Care Team (PACT), a social work-led transitional care model, was developed at Mount Sinai to reduce 30-day readmissions among high-risk patients. PACT begins with a comprehensive bedside assessment to identify the psychosocial drivers of readmission. In partnership with the patient and family, a patient-centered action plan is developed and carried out through phone calls, accompaniments, navigations and home visits, as needed, in the first 30 days following discharge. 620 patients were enrolled during the pilot from September 2010-August 2012. Outcomes demonstrated a 43% reduction in inpatient utilization and a 54% reduction in emergency department visits among enrollees. In addition, 93% of patients had a follow-up appointment within 7-10 days of discharge and 90% of patients attended the appointment. The success of PACT has led to additional funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the Community-based Care Transitions Program and several managed care companies seeking population health management interventions for high risk members.

Exometabolomics Assisted Design and Validation of Synthetic Obligate Mutualism.

Science.gov (United States)

Kosina, Suzanne M; Danielewicz, Megan A; Mohammed, Mujahid; Ray, Jayashree; Suh, Yumi; Yilmaz, Suzan; Singh, Anup K; Arkin, Adam P; Deutschbauer, Adam M; Northen, Trent R

2016-07-15

Synthetic microbial ecology has the potential to enhance the productivity and resiliency of biotechnology processes compared to approaches using single isolates. Engineering microbial consortia is challenging; however, one approach that has attracted significant attention is the creation of synthetic obligate mutualism using auxotrophic mutants that depend on each other for exchange or cross-feeding of metabolites. Here, we describe the integration of mutant library fitness profiling with mass spectrometry based exometabolomics as a method for constructing synthetic mutualism based on cross-feeding. Two industrially important species lacking known ecological interactions, Zymomonas mobilis and Escherichia coli, were selected as the test species. Amino acid exometabolites identified in the spent medium of Z. mobilis were used to select three corresponding E. coli auxotrophs (proA, pheA and IlvA), as potential E. coli counterparts for the coculture. A pooled mutant fitness assay with a Z. mobilis transposon mutant library was used to identify mutants with improved growth in the presence of E. coli. An auxotroph mutant in a gene (ZMO0748) with sequence similarity to cysteine synthase A (cysK), was selected as the Z. mobilis counterpart for the coculture. Exometabolomic analysis of spent E. coli medium identified glutathione related metabolites as potentially available for rescue of the Z. mobilis cysteine synthase mutant. Three sets of cocultures between the Z. mobilis auxotroph and each of the three E. coli auxotrophs were monitored by optical density for growth and analyzed by flow cytometry to confirm high cell counts for each species. Taken together, our methods provide a technological framework for creating synthetic mutualisms combining existing screening based methods and exometabolomics for both the selection of obligate mutualism partners and elucidation of metabolites involved in auxotroph rescue.

Neurocognitive performance and symptom profiles of Spanish-speaking Hispanic athletes on the ImPACT test.

Science.gov (United States)

Ott, Summer; Schatz, Philip; Solomon, Gary; Ryan, Joseph J

2014-03-01

This study documented baseline neurocognitive performance of 23,815 athletes on the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) test. Specifically, 9,733 Hispanic, Spanish-speaking athletes who completed the ImPACT test in English and 2,087 Hispanic, Spanish-speaking athletes who completed the test in Spanish were compared with 11,955 English-speaking athletes who completed the test in English. Athletes were assigned to age groups (13-15, 16-18). Results revealed a significant effect of language group (p Spanish-speaking athletes completing the test in Spanish scored more poorly than Spanish-speaking and English-speaking athletes completing the test in English, on all Composite scores and Total Symptom scores. Spanish-speaking athletes completing the test in English also performed more poorly than English-speaking athletes completing the test in English on three Composite scores. These differences in performance and reported symptoms highlight the need for caution in interpreting ImPACT test data for Hispanic Americans.

The USSR during the interwar period: political-diplomatic aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristian Sandache

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The foreign policy of the USSR in the interwar period was characterized by a realism that used the forces of the international Communism in accordance with the primordial interests of Stalinism. During this period, the USSR was the third industrial power in the world after USA and Germany. The installation of the National-Socialism in Germany caused a profound political change on the part of Stalin and also the Western democracies. These sought to defend themselves against a new German expansion and were suddenly much more forthcoming towards Moscow. The USSR was admitted to the League of Nations and signed mutual assistance pacts with France and Czechoslovakia. U.S. finally decided to recognize the Soviet government. On August 23rd, 1939, to the amazement of the whole world, the German-Soviet non-aggression pact was signed in the (Moscow Kremlin, pact which had a secret protocol attached, that provided for the division of Poland between Germany and the USSR.

An Analysis of the Mutual Fund Industry: Mutual Fund Investors, Mutual Fund Managers and Mutual Fund Companies

OpenAIRE

Fang, Jieyan

2012-01-01

In this dissertation I investigate the mutual fund industry, especially the three most important participants within this industry: mutual fund investors, mutual fund companies and mutual fund managers. The main research questions of this dissertation are: 1. Does rapid trading exist among German equity mutual fund investors? What are the determinants of rapid trading? Does rapid trading have a negative impact on mutual fund performance? 2. Do mutual fund investors, as a whole, have...

Mutual emergency assistance for radiation accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1971-01-01

This document presents the result of a questionnaire survey conducted in order to assess what type of emergency assistance IAEA member states could provide in the event of radiation accidents. The survey covers resources like skilled personnel in collection, analysis and interpretation of data, surveying and radiation protection equipment, radiochemical analysis facilities, and medical assistance capacities

Generalized mutual information and Tsirelson's bound

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wakakuwa, Eyuri [Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Murao, Mio [Institute for Nano Quantum Information Electronics, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan and Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan)

2014-12-04

We introduce a generalization of the quantum mutual information between a classical system and a quantum system into the mutual information between a classical system and a system described by general probabilistic theories. We apply this generalized mutual information (GMI) to a derivation of Tsirelson's bound from information causality, and prove that Tsirelson's bound can be derived from the chain rule of the GMI. By using the GMI, we formulate the 'no-supersignalling condition' (NSS), that the assistance of correlations does not enhance the capability of classical communication. We prove that NSS is never violated in any no-signalling theory.

Minimising post-operative risk using a Post-Anaesthetic Care Tool (PACT): protocol for a prospective observational study and cost-effectiveness analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Street, Maryann; Phillips, Nicole M; Kent, Bridie; Colgan, Stephen; Mohebbi, Mohammadreza

2015-06-01

While the risk of adverse events following surgery has been identified, the impact of nursing care on early detection of these events is not well established. A systematic review of the evidence and an expert consensus study in post-anaesthetic care identified essential criteria for nursing assessment of patient readiness for discharge from the post-anaesthetic care unit (PACU). These criteria were included in a new nursing assessment tool, the Post-Anaesthetic Care Tool (PACT), and incorporated into the post-anaesthetic documentation at a large health service. The aim of this study is to test the clinical reliability of the PACT and evaluate whether the use of PACT will (1) enhance the recognition and response to patients at risk of deterioration in PACU; (2) improve documentation for handover from PACU nurse to ward nurse; (3) result in improved patient outcomes and (4) reduce healthcare costs. A prospective, non-randomised, pre-implementation and post-implementation design comparing: (1) patients (n=750) who have surgery prior to the implementation of the PACT and (2) patients (n=750) who have surgery after PACT. The study will examine the use of the tool through the observation of patient care and nursing handover. Patient outcomes and cost-effectiveness will be determined from health service data and medical record audit. Descriptive statistics will be used to describe the sample and compare the two patient groups (pre-intervention and post-intervention). Differences in patient outcomes between the two groups will be compared using the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test and regression analyses and reported as ORs with the corresponding 95% CIs. This study will test the clinical reliability and cost-effectiveness of the PACT. It is hypothesised that the PACT will enable nurses to recognise and respond to patients at risk of deterioration, improve handover to ward nurses, improve patient outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group

Utility of the ImPACT test with deaf adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Reesman, Jennifer; Pineda, Jill; Carver, Jenny; Brice, Patrick J; Zabel, T Andrew; Schatz, Philip

2016-02-01

The goals of the study included empirical examination of the utility of the Immediate and Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) test with adolescents who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and to investigate patterns of performance at baseline that may arise in the assessment of this population. Baseline assessment of student-athletes has been conducted on a widespread scale with focus on performance of typically developing student-athletes and some clinical groups, though to date no studies have examined adolescents who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Retrospective and de-identified ImPACT baseline test used with deaf and hard-of-hearing high-school student-athletes (N = 143; 66% male, mean age = 16.11) was examined. Review indicated significant differences in some composite scores between the deaf and hard-of-hearing group and hearing normative comparisons. A possible marker of task misunderstanding was identified to occur more frequently within the deaf and hard-of-hearing sample (13% in deaf sample vs. .31% in hearing sample). Results may provide support for the consideration and use of additional measures to ensure comprehension of task demands when considering this tool for use with deaf and hard-of-hearing adolescents.

Parent-mediated communication-focused treatment in children with autism (PACT): a randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Jonathan; Charman, Tony; McConachie, Helen; Aldred, Catherine; Slonims, Vicky; Howlin, Pat; Le Couteur, Ann; Leadbitter, Kathy; Hudry, Kristelle; Byford, Sarah; Barrett, Barbara; Temple, Kathryn; Macdonald, Wendy; Pickles, Andrew

2010-06-19

Results of small trials suggest that early interventions for social communication are effective for the treatment of autism in children. We therefore investigated the efficacy of such an intervention in a larger trial. Children with core autism (aged 2 years to 4 years and 11 months) were randomly assigned in a one-to-one ratio to a parent-mediated communication-focused (Preschool Autism Communication Trial [PACT]) intervention or treatment as usual at three specialist centres in the UK. Those assigned to PACT were also given treatment as usual. Randomisation was by use of minimisation of probability in the marginal distribution of treatment centre, age (42 months), and autism severity (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic [ADOS-G] algorithm score 12-17 or 18-24). Primary outcome was severity of autism symptoms (a total score of social communication algorithm items from ADOS-G, higher score indicating greater severity) at 13 months. Complementary secondary outcomes were measures of parent-child interaction, child language, and adaptive functioning in school. Analysis was by intention to treat. This study is registered as an International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial, number ISRCTN58133827. 152 children were recruited. 77 were assigned to PACT (London [n=26], Manchester [n=26], and Newcastle [n=25]); and 75 to treatment as usual (London [n=26], Manchester [n=26], and Newcastle [n=23]). At the 13-month endpoint, the severity of symptoms was reduced by 3.9 points (SD 4.7) on the ADOS-G algorithm in the group assigned to PACT, and 2.9 (3.9) in the group assigned to treatment as usual, representing a between-group effect size of -0.24 (95% CI -0.59 to 0.11), after adjustment for centre, sex, socioeconomic status, age, and verbal and non-verbal abilities. Treatment effect was positive for parental synchronous response to child (1.22, 0.85 to 1.59), child initiations with parent (0.41, 0.08 to 0.74), and for parent-child shared attention (0.33, -0.02 to

77 FR 50546 - Agency Information Collection: (PACT Patient Experiences Survey); Comment Request

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-21

... Primary Care sites. This initiative supports the VHA's Universal Health Care Services Plan to redesign VHA... Health Administration Ambulatory Primary Care sites. The medical home provides accessible, coordinated... used by the VAAAHS PACT Demonstration Laboratory and the Ambulatory Care Service to evaluate the...

Louis Aragon: (Re writing the Nazi-Soviet Pact

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela KIMYONGÜR

2006-10-01

Full Text Available At the time of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact of 1939, Louis Aragon was a member of the French Communist Party (PCF, a well known novelist and poet and a journalist. Whilst his writing career had undergone several notable transformations, not least that from surrealist to socialist realist, his political commitment to the left and, from 1927 to the PCF, remained steadfast for much of his life. Indeed, unlike the PCF’s interpretation of the Second World War, which underwent a number of s...

The stability and growth pact in European Monetary Union. Institutional and economic foundations and a game-theoretical-experimental contribution to the credibility of sanctioning excessive deficits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutter, M.

1999-03-01

At the summit of the European Union (EU) in Amsterdam in June 1997, the Stability and Growth Pact has been concluded in order to ensure sound public finances in European Monetary Union (EMU). The pact's aim is to safeguard the compliance of EMU-member states with one of the Maastricht Treaty's fiscal convergence criteria, namely the requirement to hold a country's overall net deficit below 3 % of its GDP. Compliance within EMU shall be achieved by monetary sanctions against countries with an excessive deficit. Because the excessive deficit procedure, as laid down in the Maastricht Treaty, was rather loose, the stability and growth pact was formulated to clarify and speed up this procedure. The pact's effectiveness will essentially depend upon how strictly it will be applied. So far, the voting procedures in the EU-Council, which are crucial for sanctioning excessive deficits, has not been the subject of a detailed study in the literature on the pact. An analysis of the distribution of voting power when voting on an excessive deficit reveals that it is rather easy to bloc the imposition of sanctions, especially for relatively large EU-states and for those EMU-members opposing the imposition of sanctions. In addition to the institutional handicaps of the pact one can expect reciprocal voting behavior in the pact, which will further reduce the probability that a country with an excessive deficit in EMU will actually have to pay a fine. An experimental study into voting behavior in relatively small groups confirms this result. (author)

The Human dsRNA binding protein PACT is unable to functionally substitute for the Drosophila dsRNA binding protein R2D2 [v1; ref status: indexed, http://f1000r.es/201

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin K Dickerman

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The primary function of the dsRNA binding protein (dsRBP PACT/RAX is to activate the dsRNA dependent protein kinase PKR in response to stress signals.  Additionally, it has been identified as a component of the small RNA processing pathway.  A role for PACT/RAX in this pathway represents an important interplay between two modes of post-transcriptional gene regulation.  The function of PACT/RAX in this context is poorly understood.  Thus, additional models are required to clarify the mechanism by which PACT/RAX functions.  In this study, Drosophila melanogaster was employed to identify functionally orthologous dsRNA-binding proteins.  Transgenic Drosophila expressing human PACT were generated to determine whether PACT is capable of functionally substituting for the Drosophila dsRBP R2D2, which has a well-defined role in small RNA biogenesis.  Results presented here indicate that PACT is unable to substitute for R2D2 at the whole organism level.

Resultaten van de proeftuinen van PACT : inclusie door interprofessionele samenwerking in kindvoorzieningen 0-6 jaar

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Doornenbal, Jeannette; Balledux, Marielle; Fukkink, Ruben; Spoelstra, Jolanda; van Verseveld, Marloes; van Yperen, Tom

2018-01-01

In deze bijdrage worden de onderzoeksresultaten gepresenteerd van de ontwikkelingen in de PACT-proeftuinen om door middel van interprofessionele samenwerking tussen onderwijs, kinderopvang en zorg inclusie van elk kind te realiseren.

Parent-mediated social communication therapy for young children with autism (PACT): long-term follow-up of a randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Pickles, Andrew; Le Couteur, Ann; Leadbitter, Kathy; Salomone, Erica; Cole-Fletcher, Rachel; Tobin, Hannah; Gammer, Isobel; Lowry, Jessica; Vamvakas, George; Byford, Sarah; Aldred, Catherine; Slonims, Vicky; McConachie, Helen; Howlin, Patricia; Parr, Jeremy R; Charman, Tony; Green, Jonathan

2016-11-19

It is not known whether early intervention can improve long-term autism symptom outcomes. We aimed to follow-up the Preschool Autism Communication Trial (PACT), to investigate whether the PACT intervention had a long-term effect on autism symptoms and continued effects on parent and child social interaction. PACT was a randomised controlled trial of a parent-mediated social communication intervention for children aged 2-4 years with core autism. Follow-up ascertainment was done at three specialised clinical services centres in the UK (London, Manchester, and Newcastle) at a median of 5·75 years (IQR 5·42-5·92) from the original trial endpoint. The main blinded outcomes were the comparative severity score (CSS) from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), the Dyadic Communication Assessment Measure (DCMA) of the proportion of child initiatiations when interacting with the parent, and an expressive-receptive language composite. All analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. PACT is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN58133827. 121 (80%) of the 152 trial participants (59 [77%] of 77 assigned to PACT intervention vs 62 [83%] of 75 assigned to treatment as usual) were traced and consented to be assessed between July, 2013, and September, 2014. Mean age at follow-up was 10·5 years (SD 0·8). Group difference in favour of the PACT intervention based on ADOS CSS of log-odds effect size (ES) was 0·64 (95% CI 0·07 to 1·20) at treatment endpoint and ES 0·70 (95% CI -0·05 to 1·47) at follow-up, giving an overall reduction in symptom severity over the course of the whole trial and follow-up period (ES 0·55, 95% CI 0·14 to 0·91, p=0·004). Group difference in DCMA child initiations at follow-up showed a Cohen's d ES of 0·29 (95% CI -0.02 to 0.57) and was significant over the course of the study (ES 0·33, 95% CI 0·11 to 0·57, p=0·004). There were no group differences in the language composite at follow-up (ES 0·15, 95% CI -0�

An academic-VA partnership: Student interprofessional teams integrated with VA PACT teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Swenty, Constance L; Schaar, Gina L; Butler, Ryan M

2016-12-01

Veterans are challenged with multiple unique healthcare issues related to their military service environment. Likewise, health care providers must understand the special concerns associated with military conflict and recognize how the veteran's care can be optimized by interprofessional care delivery. Little is taught didactically or clinically that supports nursing students in addressing the unique issues of the veteran or the student's need to work collaboratively with allied health team members to enhance the veteran's care. Because of limited exposure to the veteran's special conditions, nursing students who may seek a career with the veteran population often face challenges in rendering appropriate care. The VA offers an invaluable opportunity for health profession students to collaborate with VA interprofessional Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT) ultimately optimizing veteran health outcomes. This academic partnership, that implements an interprofessional model, will prepare students to better embrace the veteran population. This article describes the immersion of health profession students in interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) using PACT team principles which ultimately promotes the students' ability to link theory content to patient care delivery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

WindPACT Turbine Design Scaling Studies: Technical Area 4 - Balance-of-Station Cost; ANNUAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shafer, D. A.; Strawmyer, K. R.; Conley, R. M.; Guidinger J. H.; Wilkie, D. C.; Zellman, T. F.

2001-01-01

DOE's Wind Partnerships for Advanced Component Technologies (WindPACT) program explores the most advanced wind-generating technologies for improving reliability and decreasing energy costs. The first step in the WindPact program is a scaling study to bound the optimum sizes for wind turbines, to define size limits for certain technologies, and to scale new technologies. The program is divided into four projects: Composite Blades for 80-120-meter Rotors; Turbine, Rotor, and Blade Logistics; Self-Erecting Tower and Nacelle Feasibility; and Balance-of-Station Cost. This report discusses balance-of-station costs, which includes the electrical power collector system, wind turbine foundations, communications and controls, meteorological equipment, access roadways, crane pads, and the maintenance building. The report is based on a conceptual 50-megawatt (MW) wind farm site near Mission, South Dakota. Cost comparisons are provided for four sizes of wind turbines: 750 kilowatt (kW), 2.5 MW, 5.0 MW, and 10.0 MW

WindPACT Turbine Design Scaling Studies Technical Area 1-Composite Blades for 80- to 120-Meter Rotor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Griffin, D.A.

2001-04-30

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) implemented the Wind Partnership for Advanced Component Technologies (WindPACT) program. As part of the WindPACT program, Global Energy Concepts, LLC (GEC), was awarded contract number YAM-0-30203-01 to examine Technical Area 1-Blade Scaling, Technical Area 2-Turbine Rotor and Blade Logistics, and Technical Area 3-Self-Erecting Towers. This report documents the results of GEC's Technical Area 1-Blade Scaling. The primary objectives of the Blade-Scaling Study are to assess the scaling of current materials and manufacturing technologies for blades of 40 to 60 meters in length, and to develop scaling curves of estimated cost and mass for rotor blades in that size range.

Crisis Gambit of the Moncloa Pact

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. O. Telin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article discusses current crisis of the contemporary Spanish political system. Both of authors suppose, previously made pragmatic decisions aimed to consolidate Spanish society after the era of Franco had become effective only in short-term perspective and are limited to only short-term positive effect today. Contemporary Spanish society faces a problem of political renewal – both in terms of party-political structure and in terms of the constitutional and legal basis of the whole system. Authors present a complex definition of the crisis as a phenomenon of political life and discuss the concept of the political stability in terms of actual practice conditions – including the realities of Spanish society. Various components of contemporary Spanish instability (the parties’ crisis, the lack of a strategic economic vector, the problems of identity and regional policy strictly connects to the sharp conservative belief of political actors in the constitutional grounds of the Spanish state and the Moncloa Pact behind these base.

26 CFR 1.831-3 - Tax on insurance companies (other than life or mutual), mutual marine insurance companies, mutual...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... mutual), mutual marine insurance companies, mutual fire insurance companies issuing perpetual policies, and mutual fire or flood insurance companies operating on the basis of premium deposits; taxable years... fire insurance companies issuing perpetual policies, and mutual fire or flood insurance companies...

WindPACT Turbine Design Scaling Studies Technical Area 2: Turbine, Rotor and Blade Logistics; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, K.

2001-01-01

Through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the United States Department of Energy (DOE) implemented the Wind Partnership for Advanced Component Technologies (WindPACT) program. This program will explore advanced technologies that may reduce the cost of energy (COE) from wind turbines. The initial step in the WindPACT program is a series of preliminary scaling studies intended to determine the optimum sizes for future turbines, help define sizing limits for certain critical technologies, and explore the potential for advanced technologies to contribute to reduced COE as turbine scales increase. This report documents the results of Technical Area 2-Turbine Rotor and Blade Logistics. For this report, we investigated the transportation, assembly, and crane logistics and costs associated with installation of a range of multi-megawatt-scale wind turbines. We focused on using currently available equipment, assembly techniques, and transportation system capabilities and limitations to hypothetically transport and install 50 wind turbines at a facility in south-central South Dakota

SU-C-204-06: Monte Carlo Dose Calculation for Kilovoltage X-Ray-Psoralen Activated Cancer Therapy (X-PACT): Preliminary Results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mein, S [Duke University Medical Physics Graduate Program (United States); Gunasingha, R [Department of Radiation Safety, Duke University Medical Center (United States); Nolan, M [Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University (United States); Oldham, M; Adamson, J [Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: X-PACT is an experimental cancer therapy where kV x-rays are used to photo-activate anti-cancer therapeutics through phosphor intermediaries (phosphors that absorb x-rays and re-radiate as UV light). Clinical trials in pet dogs are currently underway (NC State College of Veterinary Medicine) and an essential component is the ability to model the kV dose in these dogs. Here we report the commissioning and characterization of a Monte Carlo (MC) treatment planning simulation tool to calculate X-PACT radiation doses in canine trials. Methods: FLUKA multi-particle MC simulation package was used to simulate a standard X-PACT radiation treatment beam of 80kVp with the Varian OBI x-ray source geometry. The beam quality was verified by comparing measured and simulated attenuation of the beam by various thicknesses of aluminum (2–4.6 mm) under narrow beam conditions (HVL). The beam parameters at commissioning were then corroborated using MC, characterized and verified with empirically collected commissioning data, including: percent depth dose curves (PDD), back-scatter factors (BSF), collimator scatter factor(s), and heel effect, etc. All simulations were conducted for N=30M histories at M=100 iterations. Results: HVL and PDD simulation data agreed with an average percent error of 2.42%±0.33 and 6.03%±1.58, respectively. The mean square error (MSE) values for HVL and PDD (0.07% and 0.50%) were low, as expected; however, longer simulations are required to validate convergence to the expected values. Qualitatively, pre- and post-filtration source spectra matched well with 80kVp references generated via SPEKTR software. Further validation of commissioning data simulation is underway in preparation for first-time 3D dose calculations with canine CBCT data. Conclusion: We have prepared a Monte Carlo simulation capable of accurate dose calculation for use with ongoing X-PACT canine clinical trials. Preliminary results show good agreement with measured data and hold

Exploring Proxy Measures of Mutuality for Strategic Partnership Development: A Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayo-Gamble, Tilicia L; Barnes, Priscilla A; Sherwood-Laughlin, Catherine M; Reece, Michael; DeWeese, Sandy; Kennedy, Carol Weiss; Valenta, Mary Ann

2017-07-01

Partnerships between academic and clinical-based health organizations are becoming increasingly important in improving health outcomes. Mutuality is recognized as a vital component of these partnerships. If partnerships are to achieve mutuality, there is a need to define what it means to partnering organizations. Few studies have described the elements contributing to mutuality, particularly in new relationships between academic and clinical partners. This study seeks to identify how mutuality is expressed and to explore potential proxy measures of mutuality for an alliance consisting of a hospital system and a School of Public Health. Key informant interviews were conducted with faculty and hospital representatives serving on the partnership steering committee. Key informants were asked about perceived events that led to the development of the Alliance; perceived goals, expectations, and outcomes; and current/future roles with the Alliance. Four proxy measures of mutuality for an academic-clinical partnership were identified: policy directives, community beneficence, procurement of human capital, and partnership longevity. Findings can inform the development of tools for assisting in strengthening relationships and ensuring stakeholders' interests align with the mission and goal of the partnership by operationalizing elements necessary to evaluate the progress of the partnership.

Evaluating the test-retest reliability of symptom indices associated with the ImPACT post-concussion symptom scale (PCSS).

Science.gov (United States)

Merritt, Victoria C; Bradson, Megan L; Meyer, Jessica E; Arnett, Peter A

2018-05-01

The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) is a commonly used tool in sports concussion assessment. While test-retest reliabilities have been established for the ImPACT cognitive composites, few studies have evaluated the psychometric properties of the ImPACT's Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS). The purpose of this study was to establish the test-retest reliability of symptom indices associated with the PCSS. Participants included 38 undergraduate students (50.0% male) who underwent neuropsychological testing as part of their participation in their psychology department's research subject pool. The majority of the participants were Caucasian (94.7%) and had no history of concussion (73.7%). All participants completed the ImPACT at two time points, approximately 6 weeks apart. The PCSS was the main outcome measure, and eight symptom indices were calculated (a total symptom score, three symptom summary indices, and four symptom clusters). Pearson correlations (r) and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were computed as measures of test-retest reliability. Overall, reliabilities ranged from low to high (r = .44 to .80; ICC = .44 to .77). The cognitive symptom cluster exhibited the highest test-retest reliability (r = .80, ICC = .77), followed by the positive symptom total (PST) index, an indicator of the total number of symptoms endorsed (r = .71, ICC = .69). In contrast, the commonly used total symptom score showed lower test-retest reliability (r = .67, ICC = .62). Paired-samples t tests revealed no significant differences between test and retest for any of the symptom variables (all p > .01). Finally, reliable change indices (RCI) were computed to determine whether differences observed between test and retest represented clinically significant change. RCI values were provided for each symptom index at the 80%, 90%, and 95% confidence intervals. These results suggest that evaluating additional symptom

RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) Proteins PACT, TRBP, and Dicer are SRA binding nuclear receptor coregulators.

Science.gov (United States)

Redfern, Andrew D; Colley, Shane M; Beveridge, Dianne J; Ikeda, Naoya; Epis, Michael R; Li, Xia; Foulds, Charles E; Stuart, Lisa M; Barker, Andrew; Russell, Victoria J; Ramsay, Kerry; Kobelke, Simon J; Li, Xiaotao; Hatchell, Esme C; Payne, Christine; Giles, Keith M; Messineo, Adriana; Gatignol, Anne; Lanz, Rainer B; O'Malley, Bert W; Leedman, Peter J

2013-04-16

The cytoplasmic RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) contains dsRNA binding proteins, including protein kinase RNA activator (PACT), transactivation response RNA binding protein (TRBP), and Dicer, that process pre-microRNAs into mature microRNAs (miRNAs) that target specific mRNA species for regulation. There is increasing evidence for important functional interactions between the miRNA and nuclear receptor (NR) signaling networks, with recent data showing that estrogen, acting through the estrogen receptor, can modulate initial aspects of nuclear miRNA processing. Here, we show that the cytoplasmic RISC proteins PACT, TRBP, and Dicer are steroid receptor RNA activator (SRA) binding NR coregulators that target steroid-responsive promoters and regulate NR activity and downstream gene expression. Furthermore, each of the RISC proteins, together with Argonaute 2, associates with SRA and specific pre-microRNAs in both the nucleus and cytoplasm, providing evidence for links between NR-mediated transcription and some of the factors involved in miRNA processing.

Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Swiss Federal Council on Mutual Assistance in case of a catastrophe or a serious accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

This agreement, signed on 14 January 1987, was formally approved in France by Act No. 88-1255 of 30 December 1988 (published in the Journal Officiel de la Republique Francaise of 4 January 1989). The agreement was published by Decree No. 89-207 of 7 April 1989. It lays down a comprehensive legal framework for mutual emergency assistance. It provides, in particular, that rescue teams will be sent by the Parties in all cases of catastrophe and serious accidents, including nuclear incidents. (NEA) [fr

The nucleocapsid proteins of mouse hepatitis virus and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus share the same IFN-β antagonizing mechanism: attenuation of PACT-mediated RIG-I/ MDA5 activation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Zhen; Fang, Liurong; Yuan, Shuangling; Zhao, Ling; Wang, Xunlei; Long, Siwen; Wang, Mohan; Wang, Dang; Foda, Mohamed Frahat; Xiao, Shaobo

2017-07-25

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a huge threat to both humans and animals and have evolved elaborate mechanisms to antagonize interferons (IFNs). Nucleocapsid (N) protein is the most abundant viral protein in CoV-infected cells, and has been identified as an innate immunity antagonist in several CoVs, including mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV. However, the underlying molecular mechanism(s) remain unclear. In this study, we found that MHV N protein inhibited Sendai virus and poly(I:C)-induced IFN-β production by targeting a molecule upstream of retinoic acid-induced gene I (RIG-I) and melanoma differentiation gene 5 (MDA5). Further studies showed that both MHV and SARS-CoV N proteins directly interacted with protein activator of protein kinase R (PACT), a cellular dsRNA-binding protein that can bind to RIG-I and MDA5 to activate IFN production. The N-PACT interaction sequestered the association of PACT and RIG-I/MDA5, which in turn inhibited IFN-β production. However, the N proteins from porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), which are also classified in the order Nidovirales, did not interact and counteract with PACT. Taken together, our present study confirms that both MHV and SARS-CoV N proteins can perturb the function of cellular PACT to circumvent the innate antiviral response. However, this strategy does not appear to be used by all CoVs N proteins.

Act of 9 December 1983 approving an Agreement between the Governments of Belgium and France on mutual assistance in the event of catastrophes and serious accidents, signed in Paris on 21 April 1981

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

This Agreement between Belgium and France lays down a comprehensive legal framework for mutual emergency assistance. It provides that rescue teams will be sent by the Parties in all cases of catastrophe and serious accidents, including nuclear incidents. The Agreement also contains provisions on administrative competences, on quick border crossings by the rescue teams as well as on their supervision. Finally, other provisions settle the question of the costs incurred by assistance, compensation of damage and exchange of information. (NEA) [fr

Mutual aid fund commission

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2011-01-01

The composition of the Board of the Mutual Aid Fund for 2011 is as follows: President: Pascal Droux Vice-president: Connie Potter Treasurer: Louis Pereira Deputy treasurer: Barbara Brugger Secretary: Sonia Casenove Deputy secretary: Isabelle Mardirossian Members: Christopher David Thomas   Jean-Claude Vialis (GAC member)   Marie-Luce Falipou   Gunilla Santiard (Jean-Claude Vialis’s alternate) The role of the Fund is to provide financial help to members of personnel and beneficiaries of the Pension Fund who are in need of exceptional financial assistance. All requests are treated in the strictest confidence. Should you wish to apply for aid from the Fund, kindly contact any member of the Board as given above or Social Services, tel.74479 – 73867.

Evaluation of photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (PACT) against promastigotes form of the Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis: in vitro study

Science.gov (United States)

Barbosa, Artur F. S.; Sangiorgi, Bruno B.; Galdino, Suely L.; Pitta, Ivan R.; Barral Netto, Manoel; Correia, Neandder A.; Pinheiro, Antônio L. B.

2012-03-01

Leishmaniasis is a complex disease that affects more than 12 million people in 88 countries worldwide. Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis is the most common species in the Americas and the most important causative agent of cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis in Brazil. The therapeutic arsenal routinely employed to treat patients with leishmaniasis is limited and unsatisfactory. For cutaneous leishmaniasis, pentavalent antimonials are the first line therapeutic scheme recommended by the WHO. These compounds are highly toxic, poorly tolerated and their effectiveness highly variable. In this work, a technique with, so far, an unknown disadvantage is discussed. The aim of this study was to verify the effectiveness of PACT in vitro, as a new technique for the treatment of Leishmaniasis. For this, semiconductor laser (λ = 660nm, 40mW, 4.2J/cm2, CW) associated to phenothiazine's derivatives (5 and 10 μg/ml, TBO, Methylene Blue or Phenothiazine) on the promastigotes form of Leishmania braziliensis in a single session was used. Viability of the parasites was assessed in quadruplicates of each group. The samples were removed and analyzed in a hemocytometer 72h after PACT. We found an important decrease in the number of viable parasites on all treated groups in comparison to their controls. The results of present study showed significant percentage of lethality (above 95%) of the protocol. The 99.23% of lethality was achieved with 10 μg/ml of TBO. No lethality was seen on groups treated neither with laser nor with each compounds separately. The results are promising and indicative that the use of PACT may be a powerful treatment of leishmaniasis when compared to already available ones.

Report on the third meeting of the project advisory committee (technical) for IAEA/WHO Project EGY/6/004 (Egyptian Cancer Project) 27-29 April 1985, at NEMROCK, Cairo. PACT(3)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, C.B.G.

1985-06-01

The Project was launched in March 1983, with the first meeting of the Committee (PACT(I)). It was planned for a duration of four years. Now, after two years experience, PACT(III) met to review results so far and to advise on actions for the remaining two years. Appendix 1 lists those present at the meeting. Since 1983 a Pilot Project has been running at NEMROCK, the Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Oncology Centre at Cairo University Hospital, at which the Project is based. Two training courses have been given, in November 1983 and November 1984, and treatment has been given using protocols developed under the project. PACT(III) examined clinical results obtained so far and made recommendations for the extension of the scheme to other hospitals in Egypt

Capturing dynamic processes of change in GROW mutual help groups for mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

Finn, Lizzie D; Bishop, Brian J; Sparrow, Neville

2009-12-01

The need for a model that can portray dynamic processes of change in mutual help groups for mental health (MHGMHs) is emphasized. A dynamic process model has the potential to capture a more comprehensive understanding of how MHGMHs may assist their members. An investigation into GROW, a mutual help organization for mental health, employed ethnographic, phenomenological and collaborative research methods. The study examined how GROW impacts on psychological well being. Study outcomes aligned with the social ecological paradigm (Maton in Understanding the self-help organization: frameworks and findings. Sage, Thousand Oaks 1994) indicating multifactorial processes of change at and across three levels of analysis: group level, GROW program/community level and individual level. Outcome themes related to life skills acquisition and a change in self-perception in terms of belonging within community and an increased sense of personal value. The GROW findings are used to assist development of a dynamic multi-dimensional process model to explain how MHGMHs may promote positive change.

In vitro study of the photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (PACT) against promastigotes form of the leishmania (viannia) braziliensis: in vitro study

Science.gov (United States)

Barbosa, Artur F. S.; Sangiorgi, Bruno B.; Galdino, Suely L.; Pitta, Ivan R.; Barral-Netto, Manoel; Pinheiro, Antônio L. B.

2013-03-01

Leishmaniasis, a protozoan parasitic disease that remains a major worldwide health problem with high endemicity in developing countries. Treatment of cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) should be decided by the clinical lesions, etiological species and its potential to develop into mucosal Leishmaniasis. High cost, systemic toxicity, and diminished efficacy due to development of parasite resistance are the serious drawbacks of current treatment options. Thus, identifying new, effective, and safer anti-leishmanial drug(s) is of paramount importance. The aim of this study was to verify the effectiveness of PACT in vitro, as a new technique for the treatment of Leishmaniasis. For this, semiconductor laser (λ = 660nm, 40mW, 8.4J/cm2, CW) associated to phenothiazine's derivatives (5 and 10 μg/ml, TBO, Methylene Blue or Phenothiazine) on the promastigotes form of Leishmania braziliensis in a single session was used. Viability of the parasites was assessed in quadruplicates of each group. The samples were removed and analyzed in a hemocytometer 72h after PACT. We found an important decrease in the number of viable parasites on all treated groups in comparison to their controls. The results of present study showed significant percentage of lethality (above 92%) of the protocol. The 98.33% of lethality was achieved with 10 μg/ml of FTZ. No lethality was seen on groups treated neither with laser nor with each compounds separately. The results are promising and indicative that the use of PACT may be a powerful treatment of Leishmaniasis when compared to already available ones.

STUDY ON IDENTIFYING THE CONSULTANCY NEEDS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE TERRITORIAL PACT AND THE COUNTY PARTNERSHIPS IN THE CENTRE REGION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ALINA-TEODORA CIUHUREANU

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In order to ensure some quality consulting services within the activity “Providing consultancy services to develop applications for European funding with focus on the SOP HRD 2007-2013”, in order to identify the organisations’ consultancy needs, the problems they face in elaborating the financing applications and implementing projects, there has been elaborated, within the PTS, the document “Questionnaire on identifying the consultancy needs of the members of the Territorial Pact and the County Partnerships - Centre”. The questionnaire was sent via e-mail to the member organisations of the Pact and the County Partnerships and also, it has been posted on the web site www.stpcentru.ro, so that all members may have access to it. The questionnaires collected until May, 25th, 2010 from 27 organisations were centralised in an excel format Data base.

Minimizing Mutual Couping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2010-01-01

Disclosed herein are techniques, systems, and methods relating to minimizing mutual coupling between a first antenna and a second antenna.......Disclosed herein are techniques, systems, and methods relating to minimizing mutual coupling between a first antenna and a second antenna....

[Non-rigid medical image registration based on mutual information and thin-plate spline].

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Guo-gang; Luo, Li-min

2009-01-01

To get precise and complete details, the contrast in different images is needed in medical diagnosis and computer assisted treatment. The image registration is the basis of contrast, but the regular rigid registration does not satisfy the clinic requirements. A non-rigid medical image registration method based on mutual information and thin-plate spline was present. Firstly, registering two images globally based on mutual information; secondly, dividing reference image and global-registered image into blocks and registering them; then getting the thin-plate spline transformation according to the shift of blocks' center; finally, applying the transformation to the global-registered image. The results show that the method is more precise than the global rigid registration based on mutual information and it reduces the complexity of getting control points and satisfy the clinic requirements better by getting control points of the thin-plate transformation automatically.

A Trust-Based Pact in Research Biobanks. From Theory to Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchini, Virginia; Bonizzi, Giuseppina; Disalvatore, Davide; Monturano, Massimo; Pece, Salvatore; Viale, Giuseppe; Di Fiore, Pier Paolo; Boniolo, Giovanni

2016-05-01

Traditional Informed Consent is becoming increasingly inadequate, especially in the context of research biobanks. How much information is needed by patients for their consent to be truly informed? How does the quality of the information they receive match up to the quality of the information they ought to receive? How can information be conveyed fairly about future, non-predictable lines of research? To circumvent these difficulties, some scholars have proposed that current consent guidelines should be reassessed, with trust being used as a guiding principle instead of information. Here, we analyse one of these proposals, based on a Participation Pact, which is already being offered to patients at the Istituto Europeo di Oncologia, a comprehensive cancer hospital in Milan, Italy. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

26 CFR 1.831-1 - Tax on insurance companies (other than life or mutual), mutual marine insurance companies, and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... mutual), mutual marine insurance companies, and mutual fire insurance companies issuing perpetual... companies (other than life or mutual), mutual marine insurance companies, and mutual fire insurance... insurance companies and mutual fire insurance companies exclusively issuing either perpetual policies, or...

Mutual capacitor and its applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chun Li

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This study presents a new ac circuit element – the mutual capacitor, being a dual of the mutual inductor, which is also a new ac transformer. This element is characteristic of the mutual-capacitance coupling of a multi-capacitance system. A unity-coupled mutual capacitor works as an ideal current or voltage transformer, and incidentally acts as waveform separating when inductor employed or waveform converting from square-wave to quasi-sine or waveform filtering, between ports. As a transformer, the mutual capacitor is easy to design, easy for heat cooling, more accurate for current or voltage transformation, dissipating less energy as well as saving materials, suitable for high-power and high-voltage applications. Experiments to demonstrate performances of unity-coupled mutual capacitors are also given.

Partnered research in healthcare delivery redesign for high-need, high-cost patients: development and feasibility of an Intensive Management Patient-Aligned Care Team (ImPACT).

Science.gov (United States)

Zulman, Donna M; Ezeji-Okoye, Stephen C; Shaw, Jonathan G; Hummel, Debra L; Holloway, Katie S; Smither, Sasha F; Breland, Jessica Y; Chardos, John F; Kirsh, Susan; Kahn, James S; Asch, Steven M

2014-12-01

We employed a partnered research healthcare delivery redesign process to improve care for high-need, high-cost (HNHC) patients within the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system. Health services researchers partnered with VA national and Palo Alto facility leadership and clinicians to: 1) analyze characteristics and utilization patterns of HNHC patients, 2) synthesize evidence about intensive management programs for HNHC patients, 3) conduct needs-assessment interviews with HNHC patients (n = 17) across medical, access, social, and mental health domains, 4) survey providers (n = 8) about care challenges for HNHC patients, and 5) design, implement, and evaluate a pilot Intensive Management Patient-Aligned Care Team (ImPACT) for a random sample of 150 patients. HNHC patients accounted for over half (52 %) of VA facility patient costs. Most (94 %) had three or more chronic conditions, and 60 % had a mental health diagnosis. Formative data analyses and qualitative assessments revealed a need for intensive case management, care coordination, transitions navigation, and social support and services. The ImPACT multidisciplinary team developed care processes to meet these needs, including direct access to team members (including after-hours), chronic disease management protocols, case management, and rapid interventions in response to health changes or acute service use. Two-thirds of invited patients (n = 101) enrolled in ImPACT, 87 % of whom remained actively engaged at 9 months. ImPACT is now serving as a model for a national VA intensive management demonstration project. Partnered research that incorporated population data analysis, evidence synthesis, and stakeholder needs assessments led to the successful redesign and implementation of services for HNHC patients. The rigorous design process and evaluation facilitated dissemination of the intervention within the VA healthcare system. Employing partnered research to redesign care for high-need, high

Evolution of mutualism between species

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Post, W.M.; Travis, C.C.; DeAngelis, D.L.

1980-01-01

Recent theoretical work on mutualism, the interaction between species populations that is mutually beneficial, is reviewed. Several ecological facts that should be addressed in the construction of dynamic models for mutualism are examined. Basic terminology is clarified. (PSB)

Fiscal Sovereignty of Member States and Tax Harmonization on Mutual Assistance for the Recovery of Tax Claims

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arina DRAGODAN

2011-08-01

Full Text Available This work presents the impact of harmonization of legislation on the recovery of claims relating to taxes and duties by the mutual assistance between the EU Member States for their tax sovereignty. The research is grounded upon previous studies on the same topic conducted in during the research stage within the Graduate School of Public Law and Tax Law at the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, which was held during the year 2010. The objectives of the work aim at showing that tax sovereignty implies on the one hand the right of the National Parliament to determine taxes. On the other hand, taxation is the most important instrument of economic and social policy of the governments of member states. It is important to note that the States have broad discretion to create their own direct tax systems in a way that ensures best meet their objectives and internal politics as possible. With regard to the methodology, in order to realize this study it was used a combination of research methods, namely: bibliographical research, the systemic method, the logical method and the comparative method. We consider that our scientific approach presents timeliness and usefulness both academics and practitioners.

Societies of the Mutual Credit of Siberia at the Beginning of the XX Century: Number, Structure of Management and Composition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana A. Kattsina

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article based on the Siberian materials explores the number, the system of organization, number and social composition of mutual loan societies. These societies were usually small banks that served the small and middle bourgeoisie, urban and rural entrepreneurs; different from other credit institutions by two main features: 1 the owners of the enterprise are not lenders and borrowers themselves, and 2 the members of societies were linked by mutual responsibility. The article was written with the assistance of new archival materials that allow conclusions on the later of the beginning of mutual credit societies in the Siberian province, a relatively democratic system of governance based on personal acquaintance and mutual trust among participants; the predominance in their composition representatives of trade and industrial estates, and slight differences from the social structure of mutual credit societies in European Russia.

The European Stability Pact and the Effect of Uncertainty on the Debt and Deficit Ratios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rubin, Jonathan

to pecuniary sanctions. To provide a framework for an economic analysis of this proposed "stability and growth pact", this paper examines the dynamics of these interdependent ratios. The model demonstrates that the time path for the debt/GDP ratio is highly sensitive to the assumptions made about economic......Proposed regulations aimed at promoting fiscal discipline among states participating in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) employ dept-to-GDP and deficit-to-GDP ratios as criteria for fiscal performance. Countries participating in EMU are expected to maintain these criteria or be subject...

Warsaw Pact: The Question of Cohesion. Phase II, Volume 2. Poland, German Democratic Republic and Romania,

Science.gov (United States)

1984-11-01

integrated with the other members of the system. AccA ~zsiorj For -TAB -. f tion Ile r Cods mt/ori 2// ,a ft1 ___"-.- i ’ ,:,, un:ocl [] R9SUM9 Le...4. 100 Eugeniusz Walczuk, "Oficerowie, Polityka, 29 April 1972, pp. 1, 4-8. 101 Hinterhoft, "Armia Rokossowskiego." 102 Karel Kaplan , Rada vzajemne...and L.S. Kaplan , eds., The Warsaw Pact: Political Purpose and Military Means (Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, Inc., 1982), p. 149. 4 The

A case matched study examining the reliability of using ImPACT to assess effects of multiple concussions.

Science.gov (United States)

Barker, Trevor; Russo, Stephen A; Barker, Gaytri; Rice, Mark A; Jeffrey, Mary G; Broderick, Gordon; Craddock, Travis J A

2017-04-28

Approximately 3.8 million sport and recreational concussions occur per year, creating a need for accurate diagnosis and management of concussions. Researchers and clinicians are exploring the potential dose-response cumulative effects of concussive injuries using computerized neuropsychological exams, however, results have been mixed and/or contradictory. This study starts with a large adolescent population and applies strict inclusion criteria to examine how previous mild traumatic brain injuries affect symptom reports and neurocognitive performance on the Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) computerized tool. After applying exclusion criteria and case matching, 204 male and 99 female participants remained. These participants were grouped according to sex and the number of previous self-reported concussions and examined for overall differences on symptoms reported and scores obtained on the ImPACT neurocognitive battery composites. In an effort to further reduce confounding factors due to the varying group sizes, participants were then case matched on age, sex, and body mass index and analyzed for differences on symptoms reported and scores obtained on the ImPACT neurocognitive battery composites. Case matched analysis demonstrated males with concussions experience significantly higher rates of dizziness (p = .027, η 2  = .035), fogginess (p = .038, η 2  = .032), memory problems (p = .003, η 2  = .055), and concentration problems (p = .009, η 2  = .046) than males with no reported previous concussions. No significant effects were found for females, although females reporting two concussions demonstrated a slight trend for experiencing higher numbers of symptoms than females reporting no previous concussions. The results suggest that male adolescent athletes reporting multiple concussions have lingering concussive symptoms well after the last concussive event; however, these symptoms were found to

Semantic Representation of Mutual-Consent Divorce

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

مهری سادات موسوی

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This article discussed mutual-consent divorce in the context of thoughts and attitude of female applicants of this type of divorce with an inductive qualitative and ethnographic method. Based on the qualitative purposive sampling, 30 women of those who had referred for divorce to family court of Karaj, were selected and deeply interviewed. The results obtained in six major categories as follows: Rethinking the role of men as families’ breadwinners, inappropriate sexual relationships, emotional conflicts, cultural- social dissensions, normative pressures of family and relatives, and personality and behavioral disorders. The core-oriented category of this study is "Women's attitude towards mutual-consent divorce" that includes other major categories and can semantically alter and redirect women’s opinion about mutual-consent divorce. According to the results, the term of mutual-consent is thought-provoking in this type of divorce; because considering the situations which were leaded to mutual-consent divorce and quantifying them revealed that nearly 32% of mutual-consent divorces were not mutual in fact; since, these women accepted divorce with desperation, coercion and threat.

Harmonization versus Mutual Recognition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Jan Guldager; Schröder, Philipp

The present paper examines trade liberalization driven by the coordination of product standards. For oligopolistic firms situated in separate markets that are initially sheltered by national standards, mutual recognition of standards implies entry and reduced profits at home paired with the oppor......The present paper examines trade liberalization driven by the coordination of product standards. For oligopolistic firms situated in separate markets that are initially sheltered by national standards, mutual recognition of standards implies entry and reduced profits at home paired...... countries and three firms, where firms first lobby for the policy coordination regime (harmonization versus mutual recognition), and subsequently, in case of harmonization, the global standard is auctioned among the firms. We discuss welfare effects and conclude with policy implications. In particular......, harmonized standards may fail to harvest the full pro-competitive effects from trade liberalization compared to mutual recognition; moreover, the issue is most pronounced in markets featuring price competition....

Maximum mutual information regularized classification

KAUST Repository

Wang, Jim Jing-Yan

2014-09-07

In this paper, a novel pattern classification approach is proposed by regularizing the classifier learning to maximize mutual information between the classification response and the true class label. We argue that, with the learned classifier, the uncertainty of the true class label of a data sample should be reduced by knowing its classification response as much as possible. The reduced uncertainty is measured by the mutual information between the classification response and the true class label. To this end, when learning a linear classifier, we propose to maximize the mutual information between classification responses and true class labels of training samples, besides minimizing the classification error and reducing the classifier complexity. An objective function is constructed by modeling mutual information with entropy estimation, and it is optimized by a gradient descend method in an iterative algorithm. Experiments on two real world pattern classification problems show the significant improvements achieved by maximum mutual information regularization.

Maximum mutual information regularized classification

KAUST Repository

Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Wang, Yi; Zhao, Shiguang; Gao, Xin

2014-01-01

In this paper, a novel pattern classification approach is proposed by regularizing the classifier learning to maximize mutual information between the classification response and the true class label. We argue that, with the learned classifier, the uncertainty of the true class label of a data sample should be reduced by knowing its classification response as much as possible. The reduced uncertainty is measured by the mutual information between the classification response and the true class label. To this end, when learning a linear classifier, we propose to maximize the mutual information between classification responses and true class labels of training samples, besides minimizing the classification error and reducing the classifier complexity. An objective function is constructed by modeling mutual information with entropy estimation, and it is optimized by a gradient descend method in an iterative algorithm. Experiments on two real world pattern classification problems show the significant improvements achieved by maximum mutual information regularization.

The Analysis of Mutual Fund Performance: Evidence from U.S. Equity Mutual Funds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.P. Budiono (Diana)

2010-01-01

textabstractWe study the mutual fund performance for about 45 years. There are several key points that we can withdraw from this dissertation. First, to study the persistence of mutual fund performance, it is important to consider time-varying exposures because when they are ignored, the persistence

Mutuality in the provision of Scottish healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Howieson, Brian

2015-11-01

The backdrop to this article is provided by the Better Health, Better Care Action Plan (Scottish Government, 2007), Section 1 of which is entitled 'Towards a Mutual NHS'. According to Better Health, Better Care (Scottish Government, 2007: 5): 'Mutual organisations are designed to serve their members. They are designed to gather people around a common sense of purpose. They are designed to bring the organisation together in what people often call "co-production."' The aim of this article is to précis the current knowledge of mutuality in the provision of Scottish healthcare. In detail, it will: introduce the 'mutual' organisation; offer a historical perspective of mutuality; suggest why healthcare mutuality is important; and briefly, detail the differences in mutual health-care policy in England and Scotland. It is hoped that this analysis will help researchers and practitioners alike appreciate further the philosophy of mutuality in the provision of Scottish healthcare. © The Author(s) 2015.

The evolution of plant-insect mutualisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Bronstein, Judith L; Alarcón, Ruben; Geber, Monica

2006-01-01

Mutualisms (cooperative interactions between species) have had a central role in the generation and maintenance of life on earth. Insects and plants are involved in diverse forms of mutualism. Here we review evolutionary features of three prominent insect-plant mutualisms: pollination, protection and seed dispersal. We focus on addressing five central phenomena: evolutionary origins and maintenance of mutualism; the evolution of mutualistic traits; the evolution of specialization and generalization; coevolutionary processes; and the existence of cheating. Several features uniting very diverse insect-plant mutualisms are identified and their evolutionary implications are discussed: the involvement of one mobile and one sedentary partner; natural selection on plant rewards; the existence of a continuum from specialization to generalization; and the ubiquity of cheating, particularly on the part of insects. Plant-insect mutualisms have apparently both arisen and been lost repeatedly. Many adaptive hypotheses have been proposed to explain these transitions, and it is unlikely that any one of them dominates across interactions differing so widely in natural history. Evolutionary theory has a potentially important, but as yet largely unfilled, role to play in explaining the origins, maintenance, breakdown and evolution of insect-plant mutualisms.

Implementation of mutual exclusion in VHDL

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boersma, M.V.; Benders, L.P.M.; Stevens, M.P.J.; Wilsey, P.A.; Rhodes, D.

1994-01-01

In VHDL it is difficult to implement mutual exclusion at an abstract level since atomic actions are required. A local status model and an arbiter model are presented to achieve mutual exclusion in VHDL. Shared data, protected by a mutual exclusion mechanism, cannot be modelled as a simple, resolved

Probability and Confidence Trade-space (PACT) Evaluation: Accounting for Uncertainty in Sparing Assessments

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Leif; Box, Neil; Carter, Katrina; DiFilippo, Denise; Harrington, Sean; Jackson, David; Lutomski, Michael

2012-01-01

There are two general shortcomings to the current annual sparing assessment: 1. The vehicle functions are currently assessed according to confidence targets, which can be misleading- overly conservative or optimistic. 2. The current confidence levels are arbitrarily determined and do not account for epistemic uncertainty (lack of knowledge) in the ORU failure rate. There are two major categories of uncertainty that impact Sparing Assessment: (a) Aleatory Uncertainty: Natural variability in distribution of actual failures around an Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) (b) Epistemic Uncertainty : Lack of knowledge about the true value of an Orbital Replacement Unit's (ORU) MTBF We propose an approach to revise confidence targets and account for both categories of uncertainty, an approach we call Probability and Confidence Trade-space (PACT) evaluation.

Rating mutual funds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bechmann, Ken L.; Rangvid, Jesper

2007-01-01

We develop a new rating of mutual funds: the atpRating. The atpRating assigns crowns to each individual mutual fund based upon the costs an investor pays when investing in the fund in relation to what it would cost to invest in the fund's peers. Within each investment category, the rating assigns...... the return of a fund in a certain year generally contains only little information about the future return that the fund will generate. Finally, we have information on the investments in different mutual funds made by a small subgroup of investors known to have been exposed to both the atp...... five crowns to funds with the lowest costs and one crown to funds with the highest costs. We investigate the ability of the atpRating to predict the future performance of a fund. We find that an investor who has invested in the funds with the lowest costs within an investment category would have...

Rating Mutual Funds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bechmann, Ken L.; Rangvid, Jesper

We develop a new rating of mutual funds: the atpRating. The atpRating assigns crowns to each individual mutual fund based upon the costs an investor pays when investing in the fund in relation to what it would cost to invest in the fund’s peers. Within each investment category, the rating assigns......, whereas the return of a fund in a certain year generally contains only little information about the future return that the fund will generate. Finally, we have information on the investments in different mutual funds made by a small subgroup of investors known to have been exposed to both the atp...... five crowns to funds with the lowest costs and one crown to funds with the highest costs. We investigate the ability of the atpRating to predict the future performance of a fund. We find that an investor who has invested in the funds with the lowest costs within an investment category would have...

Pacific Association for Clinical Training (PACT): lessons learned and next steps in developing a sustainable continuing health professionals education system in the United States-Affiliated Pacific Island (USAPI) jurisdictions.

Science.gov (United States)

Buenconsejo-Lum, Lee E; Maskarinec, Gregory G; Palafox, Neal A

2007-03-01

In response to the 1998 Institute of Medicine report, "Pacific Partnerships for Health ", acknowledging the need for the continuing education of health workers in the United States-Affiliated Pacific Island (USAPI) jurisdictions, the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded a grant (1999-2003) to the University of Washington for a continuing education project in the Pacific. When shortfalls in HRSA funding threatened continuation of the program, Pacific advocates aggressively made a case for refunding of this important project. In 2003, HRSA announced competitive funding for a new program for continuing education. The Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) at the University of Hawai'i (UH), John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) was awarded the HRSA Cooperative Agreement to run from September 2003 through August 2007, creating PACT the Pacific Association for Clinical Training. PACT assembled a professional, community-based advisory board, most of whom were indigenous Pacific Islanders, and conducted a continuing clinical education needs assessment in every jurisdiction, subsequently developing and delivering programs utilizing distance education relevant to the needs of each USAPI jurisdiction. Priority health areas included diabetes, oral health and geriatrics, as mandated by HRSA. This report describes the processes, accomplishments, challenges and lessons learned from the project. PACT needs assessment reports for each jurisdiction and an executive summary are published as Original Articles in this issue of Pacific Health Dialog. As funding for PACT comes to an end, it is clear that much work remains to be done in the region. "Continuing clinical education" is only one part of a continuum of human resources for health (HRH) workforce development. Continued USAPI regional, U.S. national and international collaboration and resources are needed to achieve the ultimate goal of improved health and health care delivery

The chain rule implies Tsirelson's bound: an approach from generalized mutual information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wakakuwa, Eyuri; Murao, Mio

2012-01-01

In order to analyze an information theoretical derivation of Tsirelson's bound based on information causality, we introduce a generalized mutual information (GMI), defined as the optimal coding rate of a channel with classical inputs and general probabilistic outputs. In the case where the outputs are quantum, the GMI coincides with the quantum mutual information. In general, the GMI does not necessarily satisfy the chain rule. We prove that Tsirelson's bound can be derived by imposing the chain rule on the GMI. We formulate a principle, which we call the no-supersignaling condition, which states that the assistance of nonlocal correlations does not increase the capability of classical communication. We prove that this condition is equivalent to the no-signaling condition. As a result, we show that Tsirelson's bound is implied by the nonpositivity of the quantitative difference between information causality and no-supersignaling. (paper)

[Maintaining solidarity: is mutuality the solution?].

Science.gov (United States)

Gevers, J K M; Ploem, M C

2013-01-01

Solidarity is essentially the willingness to contribute to the community and its demands, which may even involve contributing more than one is expecting to receive. Another principle is mutuality: this refers to a balance between rights and obligations or between mutual obligations. In its advisory document 'The importance of mutuality......solidarity takes work!', The Dutch Council for Public Health and Health Care underlines the importance of ensuring solidarity within the Dutch health care system, e.g. by encouraging patients to take responsibility for their own health, possibly by introducing elements of mutuality. In our contribution, we comment on the Council's advice. Although we fully agree with the overall conclusion that solidarity should be maintained within the system, we do not see how the introduction of increased mutuality will contribute to this goal.

Entanglement in mutually unbiased bases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiesniak, M; Zeilinger, A [Vienna Center for Quantum Science and Technology (VCQ), Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, 1090 Vienna (Austria); Paterek, T, E-mail: tomasz.paterek@nus.edu.sg [Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 2, 117543 Singapore (Singapore)

2011-05-15

One of the essential features of quantum mechanics is that most pairs of observables cannot be measured simultaneously. This phenomenon manifests itself most strongly when observables are related to mutually unbiased bases. In this paper, we shed some light on the connection between mutually unbiased bases and another essential feature of quantum mechanics, quantum entanglement. It is shown that a complete set of mutually unbiased bases of a bipartite system contains a fixed amount of entanglement, independent of the choice of the set. This has implications for entanglement distribution among the states of a complete set. In prime-squared dimensions we present an explicit experiment-friendly construction of a complete set with a particularly simple entanglement distribution. Finally, we describe the basic properties of mutually unbiased bases composed of product states only. The constructions are illustrated with explicit examples in low dimensions. We believe that the properties of entanglement in mutually unbiased bases may be one of the ingredients to be taken into account to settle the question of the existence of complete sets. We also expect that they will be relevant to applications of bases in the experimental realization of quantum protocols in higher-dimensional Hilbert spaces.

Empirical study on mutual fund objective classification.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Xue-jun; Yang, Xiao-lan

2004-05-01

Mutual funds are usually classified on the basis of their objectives. If the activities of mutual funds are consistent with their stated objectives, investors may look at the latter as signals of their risks and incomes. This work analyzes mutual fund objective classification in China by statistical methods of distance analysis and discriminant analysis; and examines whether the stated investment objectives of mutual funds adequately represent their attributes to investors. That is, if mutual funds adhere to their stated objectives, attributes must be heterogeneous between investment objective groups and homogeneous within them. Our conclusion is to some degree, the group of optimized exponential funds is heterogeneous to other groups. As a whole, there exist no significant differences between different objective groups; and 50% of mutual funds are not consistent with their objective groups.

Multi-user quantum key distribution based on Bell states with mutual authentication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin Song; Huang Chuan; Liu Xiaofen

2013-01-01

A new multi-user quantum key distribution protocol with mutual authentication is proposed on a star network. Here, two arbitrary users are able to perform key distribution with the assistance of a semi-trusted center. Bell states are used as information carriers and transmitted in a quantum channel between the center and one user. A keyed hash function is utilized to ensure the identities of three parties. Finally, the security of this protocol with respect to various kinds of attacks is discussed. (paper)

Economic contract theory tests models of mutualism.

Science.gov (United States)

Weyl, E Glen; Frederickson, Megan E; Yu, Douglas W; Pierce, Naomi E

2010-09-07

Although mutualisms are common in all ecological communities and have played key roles in the diversification of life, our current understanding of the evolution of cooperation applies mostly to social behavior within a species. A central question is whether mutualisms persist because hosts have evolved costly punishment of cheaters. Here, we use the economic theory of employment contracts to formulate and distinguish between two mechanisms that have been proposed to prevent cheating in host-symbiont mutualisms, partner fidelity feedback (PFF) and host sanctions (HS). Under PFF, positive feedback between host fitness and symbiont fitness is sufficient to prevent cheating; in contrast, HS posits the necessity of costly punishment to maintain mutualism. A coevolutionary model of mutualism finds that HS are unlikely to evolve de novo, and published data on legume-rhizobia and yucca-moth mutualisms are consistent with PFF and not with HS. Thus, in systems considered to be textbook cases of HS, we find poor support for the theory that hosts have evolved to punish cheating symbionts; instead, we show that even horizontally transmitted mutualisms can be stabilized via PFF. PFF theory may place previously underappreciated constraints on the evolution of mutualism and explain why punishment is far from ubiquitous in nature.

Mutual funds: temporary problem or permanent morass?

OpenAIRE

Paula A. Tkac

2004-01-01

The improprieties in the mutual fund industry that surfaced in the fall of 2003 prompted the passage and drafting of legislation and regulations that cover nearly every facet of mutual fund pricing and operations. While this regulatory flurry is clearly intended to protect shareholders’ interests, the question remains: How will these scandals and regulatory changes ultimately affect mutual fund investors? ; When considering the problems inherent in mutual fund management and the best ways to ...

Comparison of investment opportunities in mutual funds

OpenAIRE

NOVÁKOVÁ, Petra

2012-01-01

This thesis deals with the comparison of selected mutual funds in the Czech Republic. The main aim of this thesis is to evaluate the situation on the securities market of mutual funds and help to the investor with right choice of mutual fund. Work is initially devoted to the characteristics and history of collective investment. The following section describes mutual funds their characteristics, classification, creation and termination. Conclusion of the theoretical part is devoted to investme...

Cost-effectiveness analysis of an 18-week exercise programme for patients with breast and colon cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy: the randomised PACT study.

Science.gov (United States)

May, Anne M; Bosch, Marcel J C; Velthuis, Miranda J; van der Wall, Elsken; Steins Bisschop, Charlotte N; Los, Maartje; Erdkamp, Frans; Bloemendal, Haiko J; de Roos, Marnix A J; Verhaar, Marlies; Ten Bokkel Huinink, Daan; Peeters, Petra H M; de Wit, G Ardine

2017-03-06

Meta-analyses show that exercise interventions during cancer treatment reduce cancer-related fatigue. However, little is known about the cost-effectiveness of such interventions. Here we aim to assess the cost-effectiveness of the 18-week physical activity during cancer treatment (PACT) intervention for patients with breast and colon cancer. The PACT trial showed beneficial effects for fatigue and physical fitness. Cost-effectiveness analyses with a 9-month time horizon (18 weeks of intervention and 18 weeks of follow-up) within the randomised controlled multicentre PACT study. Outpatient clinics of 7 hospitals in the Netherlands (1 academic and 6 general hospitals) PARTICIPANTS: 204 patients with breast cancer and 33 with colon cancer undergoing adjuvant treatment including chemotherapy. Supervised 1-hour aerobic and resistance exercise (twice per week for 18 weeks) or usual care. Costs, quality-adjusted life years (QALY) and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. For colon cancer, the cost-effectiveness analysis showed beneficial effects of the exercise intervention with incremental costs savings of €4321 and QALY improvements of 0.03. 100% of bootstrap simulations indicated that the intervention is dominant (ie, cheaper and more effective). For breast cancer, the results did not indicate that the exercise intervention was cost-effective. Incremental costs were €2912, and the incremental effect was 0.01 QALY. At a Dutch threshold value of €20 000 per QALY, the probability that the intervention is cost-effective was 2%. Our results suggest that the 18-week exercise programme was cost-effective for colon cancer, but not for breast cancer. ISRCTN43801571. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Sino-U.S. Strategic Mutual Trust

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yuan Peng; Zhang Yimeng

2008-01-01

Relations between China and the U.S. have been relatively stable for nearly seven years, for the first time since the end of the Cold War. Strategic mutual trust, however, is not enough and there is a long way to go before both countries can achieve a permanent strategic stability. Four problems have prevented stability in bilateral relations, namely structural, internal, accidental, and cognitive issues. The goal of building strategic mutual trust still remains distant, and developing a good understanding between each other is the thorniest problem for both countries. Better mutual understanding can lead to an expansion of bilateral relations. China and the U.S. need to increase mutual trust and work towards achieving strategic stability.

Performance Evaluation of Equity Mutual Funds in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irene Rini Demi Pangestuti

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Mutual funds considered as an investment alternative for investors. One type of mutual fund that attracts many investors was the equity mutual funds. Equity mutual fund is a type of mutual funds that most part of the investment consists of stocks in the capital market so the risk rate was higher than the other types of mutual funds. For its different characteristic, the measurement for equity funds performance did not be same with other types of mutual funds. As a stock portfolio, equity mutual funds can be measured by portfolio measurement methods such as Sharpe Index, Treynor Ratio, Jensen Index, Adjusted Sharpe Index, Adjusted Jensen Index, and Sortino Ratio. This study was conducted by using all of those performance measurements as most research in Indonesia was conducted by using limited performance measurements (focusing on Sharpe Index, Treynor Ratio, and Jensen Index. This study aims to evaluated the performance of 42 equity mutual funds available in Indonesia by employing Sharpe Index, Treynor Ratio, Jensen Index, Adjusted Sharpe Index (ASI, Adjusted Jensen Index (AJI, and Sortino Ratio because most previous researches in Indonesian setting disregards ASI and AJI. In general, it was concluded that the SAM Indonesian Equity was the best performing equity fund during the study period. It was further found that most equity mutual fund studied have been well diversified.

Explaining mutualism variation: a new evolutionary paradox?

Science.gov (United States)

Heath, Katy D; Stinchcombe, John R

2014-02-01

The paradox of mutualism is typically framed as the persistence of interspecific cooperation, despite the potential advantages of cheating. Thus, mutualism research has tended to focus on stabilizing mechanisms that prevent the invasion of low-quality partners. These mechanisms alone cannot explain the persistence of variation for partner quality observed in nature, leaving a large gap in our understanding of how mutualisms evolve. Studying partner quality variation is necessary for applying genetically explicit models to predict evolution in natural populations, a necessary step for understanding the origins of mutualisms as well as their ongoing dynamics. An evolutionary genetic approach, which is focused on naturally occurring mutualist variation, can potentially synthesize the currently disconnected fields of mutualism evolution and coevolutionary genetics. We outline explanations for the maintenance of genetic variation for mutualism and suggest approaches necessary to address them. © 2013 The Author(s). Evolution © 2013 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

12 CFR 563.74 - Mutual capital certificates.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... the funds for redemption are raised by the issuance of mutual capital certificates approved pursuant... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Mutual capital certificates. 563.74 Section 563...-OPERATIONS Securities and Borrowings § 563.74 Mutual capital certificates. (a) General. No savings...

Asset Allocation of Mutual Fund Investors

OpenAIRE

Dengpan Luo

2003-01-01

This paper studies mutual fund investors' asset allocation decisions using monthly flow data of U.S mutual fund industry from 1984 to 1998. We find that mutual fund investors change their asset allocations between stocks and bonds in reaction to business conditions tracked by changes in expected stock market returns. They tend to allocate less into stock funds during the trough of a business cycle when expected stock market returns are higher and to allocate more into stock funds during the p...

“Patti di morte”. Internet, suicidi e la spettacolarità del crimine / "Pactes de mort." Internet, suicides et spectacularité du crime / “Pact of death”: Web, Suicides and the Crime Show

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mason C.

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Il Web è diventato davvero uno specchio per vanitosi? Giovani e adulti si cimentano in bravate, oscenità, per poi filmarsi e pubblicare il video. Anche il suicidio può venire facilitato dal Web: mentre in Giappone si sottoscrivono patti di morte con sconosciuti, in occidente ci si toglie la vita di fronte la webcam nella solitudine della propria stanza. Se nel paese orientale le persone cercano di fuggire da una società che le rifiuta, che accetta solo la maschera che mostrano in pubblico e non il volto che essa cela, in occidente si scopre la mancanza di valore per la vita. Non essendo capaci di raccontarsi, scelgono di mostrare la propria immagine, l’unica cosa che è permesso loro gestire. Da spettatori, ora pretendono la parte dei protagonisti e la loro è una voglia di urlare parole rimaste soffocate per tanto tempo. Cercano di colpire gli occhi, costringendo il mondo ad assistere alla loro decisione definitiva. Le Web est-il vraiment devenu un miroir pour les vaniteux? Jeunes et adultes se livrent à des bravades, des obscénités, qu’ils filment dans la perspective de publier la vidéo. Ainsi, même le suicide peut être facilité par le Web. Alors qu’au Japon on signe des pactes de mort avec des inconnus, en Occident on s’ôte la vie devant une webcam, dans la solitude de son domicile. Si en Orient il s’agit d’une tentative de fuir une société qui refuse, qui accepte seulement le masque que l’on montre en public et non pas le visage qu’il cache, à l’Ouest nous découvrons le manque de valeur accordée à la vie. N'étant pas capables de se raconter, les gens choisissent de mettre en scène leur propre image, la seule chose qu’il leur est donné de gérer. Hier spectateurs, ils exigent aujourd’hui de devenir des protagonistes, et ainsi de pouvoir hurler des mots qui ont si longtemps été étouffés. Ils essaient de frapper les yeux, en obligeant le monde à assister à leur décision définitive.Is the Web

Mutual benefits in academic-service partnership: An integrative review.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadeghnezhad, Maliheh; Heshmati Nabavi, Fatemeh; Najafi, Fereshteh; Kareshki, Hossein; Esmaily, Habibollah

2018-05-30

Academic and service institutions involve with many challenges. Partnership programs are a golden opportunity to achieve mutual benefits to overcome these challenges. Identifying mutual benefits is the cornerstone of forming a successful partnership and guarantee to its continuity. There are definitions and instances of mutual benefits in the literature related to partnership programs, but there is no coherent evidence and clear picture of these benefits. This study is conducted to identify mutual benefits in academic-service partnership by analyzing the definitions and instances of it in the literature. An integrative review of key papers regarding mutual benefits in academic-service partnership was undertaken. This review was guided by the framework described by Whittemore and Knafl. Search of the following databases was conducted: MEDLINE, ERIC, Google Scholar, Emerald Insight and Science Direct. The search terms were mutual benefits, mutual gains, mutual interest, mutual expectations, mutual goals, mutual demand, partnership, collaboration, academic-service partnership and academic service collaboration. Cooper's five-stage integrative review method was used. Quality evaluation of articles was conducted. Data were abstracted from included articles. The analysis was conducted based on the qualitative content analysis of the literature suggested by Zhang and Wildemuth. 28 articles were included in this review. Mutual benefits are described in four categories include: synergy in training and empowerment of human resources, education improvement, access to shared resources, facilitate production and application of beneficial knowledge into practice. Mutual benefits in the academic-service partnership include a range of goals, interests, expectations, and needs of partner organizations that is achievable and measurable through joint planning and collaboration. We suggest academic and service policymakers to consider these benefits in the planning and evaluating

Election to the Board of the Mutual Aid Fund

CERN Multimedia

Mutual Aid Fund

2013-01-01

Every two years, the Board of the Mutual Aid Fund has to replace a proportion of its members. In accordance with article 6 of the Fund’s General Regulations, three members must leave and have to be replaced. These three members may subscribe again. All members of the CERN staff are eligible. If you are prepared to devote about two hours a month during working hours to assist your colleagues with financial problems, do not hesitate to join this self-governing Board. Candidates must announce their intention to stand for election by 31st January 2014. Fill in the present form and return it to P. Droux/FP (72265) who will also be pleased to provide further information. Name, First Name ................................................................. Department .................................... Tel .............................

Election to the Board of the Mutual Aid Fund

CERN Multimedia

Mutual Aid Fund

2013-01-01

Every two years, the Board of the Mutual Aid Fund has to replace a proportion of its members. In accordance with article 6 of the Fund’s General Regulations, three members must leave and have to be replaced. These three members may apply again. All members of the CERN staff are eligible. If you are prepared to devote about two hours a month during working hours to assist your colleagues with financial problems, do not hesitate to join this self-governing board. Candidates must announce their intention to stand for election by 31 January 2014. Fill in the present form and return it to P. Droux/FP (72265)  who will also be pleased to provide further information. Name, First Name: ................................................................. Department: .................................... Tel.: ..............................

Election to the Board of the Mutual Aid Fund

CERN Multimedia

Mutual Aid Fund

2011-01-01

Every year, the Board of the Mutual Aid Fund has to replace a proportion of its members. In accordance with article 6 of the Fund’s General Regulations, three members must leave and have to be replaced. These three members may subscribe again. All members of the CERN staff are eligible. If you are prepared to devote about two hours a month during working hours to assist your colleagues with financial problems, do not hesitate to join this self-governing Board. Candidates must announce their intention to stand for election by 1st Mars 2011. Fill in the present form and return it to P. Droux/FP (72265) or C. Potter/PH (74279) who will also be pleased to provide further information. Name, First Name ................................................................. Department .................................... Tel .............................

Danish mutual fund performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Michael

2013-01-01

This article provides the first independent performance analysis of Danish mutual funds. We analyse selectivity and market timing abilities for 71 mutual funds that have been in operation from 2001 to 2010. The results show great fund performance diversity. Half the funds have performed neutrally......, whereas 42% of the funds have shown significantly negative performance and only 7% of the funds have over-performed their benchmark. Furthermore, 14% of the funds analysed possess market timing abilities, but for 8 out of 10 funds, their market timing ability has been unsuccessful....

Trading Cost Management of Mutual Funds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

R. Xing (Rang)

2016-01-01

textabstractThis paper documents the trading behaviour of actively managed equity mutual funds from the perspective of their trading cost management. Consistent with the predictions in the literature of portfolio choice with trading costs, I present three main findings. Firstly, mutual funds trade

THE PERFORMANCE OF MUTUAL FUNDS IN SLOVAKIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Tudorache

2016-11-01

Full Text Available A good indicator for the financial markets performance in different countries is the evolution of mutual funds in terms of their inflows and outflows. The goal of the present paper is to analyse the performance of the mutual funds in Slovakia. The research objectives are twofold: to study the flows of funds into and out of mutual funds from Slovakia during the period 2007-2014 and to analyse how investors in Slovakian mutual funds behave in terms of their investment choice. The analysis focuses on identifying patterns in investors' decision making process and on examining the similarity of their behavioural patterns with the ones identi¬fied at international level.

Strategic culture of the Southern African Development Community ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

(SADC) Brigade took pride of place at the opening of the 2007 SADC Summit in Lusaka, Zambia. This SADC Brigade is tied in closely to both the security architecture of the African Standby Force (ASF) of the African Union (AU) and the SADC Mutual Defence Pact. In the recent past (1998), military interventions by SADC ...

Longitudinal analysis of mutual fund performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ter Horst, J.R.

1998-01-01

Many different motivations for investing in mutual funds have been provided in the literature, including the claim that managers of mutual funds have special abilities that can be used to outperform the market. Testing of the validity of these claims is complicated by two facts. First, the expected

Mutual Fund Flight-to-Liquidity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rzeznik, Aleksandra

This paper examines the liquidity choices of mutual funds during times of market uncertainty. I find that when markets are uncertain, mutual funds actively increase the liquidity of their portfolio – often referred to as a ‘flight-to-liquidity.’ In aggregate, mutual fund behaviour has implications...... for the market; the market driven flight-toliquidity places upward pressure on the liquidity premium. I examine the underlying mechanisms driving fund behaviour. I show that market volatility is associated with lower fund performance and withdrawals, which causes funds to adjust the composition...... of their portfolio towards more liquid assets in order to meet potential redemptions. This causal chain is consistent with Vayanos (2004), who argues that fund managers are investors with time-varying liquidity preferences due to threat of withdrawal. Aggregated over funds, the effect is substantial: a one standard...

Mutual Fund Flight-to-Liquidity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rzeznik, Aleksandra

This paper examines the liquidity choices of mutual funds during times of market uncertainty. I find that when markets are uncertain, mutual funds actively increase the liquidity of their portfolio { often referred to as a `flight-to-liquidity.' In aggregate, mutual fund behaviour has implications...... for the market; the market driven flight-toliquidity places upward pressure on the liquidity premium. I examine the underlying mechanisms driving fund behaviour. I show that market volatility is associated with lower fund performance and withdrawals, which causes funds to adjust the composition...... of their portfolio towards more liquid assets in order to meet potential redemptions. This causal chain is consistent with Vayanos (2004), who argues that fund managers are investors with time-varying liquidity preferences due to threat of withdrawal. Aggregated over funds, the effect is substantial: a one standard...

EGYPTIAN MUTUAL FUNDS ANALYSIS: HISTORY, PERFORMANCE, OBJECTIVES, RISK AND RETURN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petru STEFEA

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The present research aims to overview the mutual fund in Egypt. The establishment of the first mutual funds was achieved in 1994. Nowadays, the total mutual funds reached 90 funds , approximately. The income funds represent the largest share of the Egyptian mutual funds (40%, growth funds (25% and the private equity funds is at least (1%. The total population of the Egyptian mutual funds reached 22. Finally, the study proved that the Egyptian mutual funds have an impact on fund return , total risk and systemic; when analysis relationship between risk and return. The study found influencing for mutual fund's objectives on Sharpe and Terynor ratios.

Revisiting Mutual Fund Performance Evaluation

OpenAIRE

Angelidis, Timotheos; Giamouridis, Daniel; Tessaromatis, Nikolaos

2012-01-01

Mutual fund manager excess performance should be measured relative to their self-reported benchmark rather than the return of a passive portfolio with the same risk characteristics. Ignoring the self-reported benchmark introduces biases in the measurement of stock selection and timing components of excess performance. We revisit baseline empirical evidence in mutual fund performance evaluation utilizing stock selection and timing measures that address these biases. We introduce a new factor e...

Meanings of teaching education developed by the National Pact for Literacy at the Right Age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Maria Klein

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the teaching continuing education as a public policy focused on confronting the illiteracy problem in the early years of elementary school, through the perceptions of 1.515 literacy teachers from the northwestern region of São Paulo that participated in the federal program Pacto Nacional pela Alfabetização na Idade Certa (National Pact for Literacy at the Right Age during the year 2013. Teacher education is discussed based on the authors Tardif, Imbernón and Nóvoa. To collect data, a questionnaire with open and closed questions available on an online server for researches was used. The methodology was qualitative and the data shows that the processes involved in conducting training, such as group work and methodology, are as valued as access to new knowledge.

Election to the Board of the Mutual Aid Fund

CERN Multimedia

Fonds d'Entraide

2011-01-01

Every year, the Board of the Mutual Aid Fund has to replace a proportion of its members. In accordance with article 6 of the Fund’s General Regulations, three members must leave and have to be replaced. These three members may subscribe again. All members of the CERN staff are eligible. If you are prepared to devote about two hours a month during working hours to assist your colleagues with financial problems, do not hesitate to join this self-governing Board. Candidates must announce their intention to stand for election by 1st Mars 2011. Fill in the present form and return it to P. Droux/FP (72265) or C. Potter/PH (74279) who will also be pleased to provide further information. Name, First Name Department Tel  

MUTUAL CONCESSIONS - SPECIFIC ELEMENT OF THE COMPROMISE/TRANSACTION CONTRACT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georgeta-Bianca Spîrchez

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Given the usefulness and practical importance of the compromise contract conclusion and of the amicably dispute resolution, within the business world, we aim to analyze, in what follows, the concrete means by which these kind of settlement are achieved. Two questions become legitimate in the context of concerns about mutual concessions which the parties make in a compromise contract. These questions are the following: “What are the mutual concessions? Do mutual concessions mean equivalent concessions?” and “How mutual concessions are required to complete a valid settlement? Is the requirement of mutual concessions grounded?”

Mutual couling reduction using a lumped LC circuit

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thaysen, Jesper; Jakobsen, Kaj Bjarne

2004-01-01

A technique to reduce the mutual coupling between two Planar Inverted F Antennas (PIFA) is presented in this paper. By the use of a parallel LC circuit it is possible to reduce the mutual coupling between two antennas. This results in a 16 % improvement in the radiation efficiency.......A technique to reduce the mutual coupling between two Planar Inverted F Antennas (PIFA) is presented in this paper. By the use of a parallel LC circuit it is possible to reduce the mutual coupling between two antennas. This results in a 16 % improvement in the radiation efficiency....

Mutuality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arnould, E. J.; Rose, A. S.

2016-01-01

and epistemological grounds and reproduces an array of problematic modernist dichotomies (e.g., agency/structure, nurturing family/instrumental public, gift/market, and altruism/self-interest) that significantly constrain the analytical enterprise. This work redresses some of the conceptual problems in the current...... formulation. The critique highlights a focus on resource distribution based on a more holistic, socially grounded perspective on circulation. We offer the alternative concept of mutuality or generalized exchange and the metaphor of inclusion rather than exchange as central to this perspective. We argue...

PERFORMANCE OF SELECT MUTUAL FUNDS IN INDIA

OpenAIRE

Manoj Kumar Dash*

2018-01-01

Mutual funds is one of the major instruments for wealth creation and wealth saving in the current years. It is a financial instrument which gives positive result and satisfactory return to its investors. The mutual industries in have undergone a most successful phase in the last 15 years. The AUM has shown tremendous growth since inception from Rs. 25 crore in 1965 to Rs. 22,36,717 crore in December 2017. But this tremendous growth in the mutual fund industries in India is still lacking for b...

Mudaraba-Venture Capital Closed-end Mutual Funds and Mudaraba-Venture Capital Open-end Mutual Funds

OpenAIRE

Halil Ibrahim Bulut

2008-01-01

The important part of this study attempts to explain that both venture capital and interest-free financing are based on similar ground, if not the same. Two new models called Mudaraba-Venture Capital Closed-End Mutual Funds and Mudaraba-Venture Capital Open-End Mutual Funds, based on both the similarities and the needs of financial innovation in the interest-free financing system, are detailed. It is believed that the development of these two models could make some improvements not only in th...

A multiscale approach to mutual information matching

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pluim, J.P.W.; Maintz, J.B.A.; Viergever, M.A.; Hanson, K.M.

1998-01-01

Methods based on mutual information have shown promising results for matching of multimodal brain images. This paper discusses a multiscale approach to mutual information matching, aiming for an acceleration of the matching process while considering the accuracy and robustness of the method. Scaling

Reducing Deviance Through Youths' Mutual Aid Group Dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheung, Chau-kiu; Ngai, Steven Sek-yum

2016-01-01

The mutual aid group, as supported by the social worker, emerges to play a vital role in helping group members reduce their deviance or behavioral problem. However, how the collaboration of the group and social worker accomplishes the reduction has remained uncharted. Based on social capital theory, mutual aid and cohesion within the group and social workers' specific aid for the group are likely responsible for the reduction. The test of such hypotheses relies on a two-wave panel survey of the members of 60 mutual aid groups who had deviant behavioral problems, located in Hong Kong, China. These groups had 241 youths completing both initial and 1-year follow-up surveys. Results manifested the direct or unconditional contributions of mutual aid, group cohesion, and social workers' specific aid to reducing deviance. Hence, social workers can enhance the effectiveness of the mutual aid group in reducing youths' deviance. © The Author(s) 2014.

Benefit and cost curves for typical pollination mutualisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, William F; Vázquez, Diego P; Chacoff, Natacha P

2010-05-01

Mutualisms provide benefits to interacting species, but they also involve costs. If costs come to exceed benefits as population density or the frequency of encounters between species increases, the interaction will no longer be mutualistic. Thus curves that represent benefits and costs as functions of interaction frequency are important tools for predicting when a mutualism will tip over into antagonism. Currently, most of what we know about benefit and cost curves in pollination mutualisms comes from highly specialized pollinating seed-consumer mutualisms, such as the yucca moth-yucca interaction. There, benefits to female reproduction saturate as the number of visits to a flower increases (because the amount of pollen needed to fertilize all the flower's ovules is finite), but costs continue to increase (because pollinator offspring consume developing seeds), leading to a peak in seed production at an intermediate number of visits. But for most plant-pollinator mutualisms, costs to the plant are more subtle than consumption of seeds, and how such costs scale with interaction frequency remains largely unknown. Here, we present reasonable benefit and cost curves that are appropriate for typical pollinator-plant interactions, and we show how they can result in a wide diversity of relationships between net benefit (benefit minus cost) and interaction frequency. We then use maximum-likelihood methods to fit net-benefit curves to measures of female reproductive success for three typical pollination mutualisms from two continents, and for each system we chose the most parsimonious model using information-criterion statistics. We discuss the implications of the shape of the net-benefit curve for the ecology and evolution of plant-pollinator mutualisms, as well as the challenges that lie ahead for disentangling the underlying benefit and cost curves for typical pollination mutualisms.

Mutual funds : Management styles, social responsibility, performance and efficiency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Barkó, Tamás; Renneboog, Luc; Baker, H.; Filbeck, G.; Kiymaz, H.

2015-01-01

The mutual fund industry represents a substantial part of global financial markets with approximately 20 percent invested in mutual funds. Mutual funds offer a simple and easy-to-understand way to invest either into stocks or fixed income products, both for retail and institutional investors. This

Danish Mutual Fund Performance - Selectivity, Market Timing and Persistence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Michael

Funds under management by Danish mutual funds have increased by 25% annually during the last 10 years and measured per capita Denmark has the third largest mutual fund industry in Europe. This paper provides the first independent performance analysis of Danish mutual funds. We analyse selectivity...

[Historical succour of poverty and medical assistance in rural China.].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wen-Xian; Li, Ning-Xiu; Ren, Xiao-Hui

2009-11-01

There was considerable attention paid to the succour of poverty with widespread practice in China's history. Succour of poverty and medical assistance in rural areas were closely connected with famine relief carried out by the rulers. The mutual assistance of emotional and moral support long-term in rural communities is the most important form of medical assistance. A succour of poverty and medical assistance system in the modern sense should inherit and learn from the past consideration of poverty assistance and bring in the fine tradition of multiple forces to participate, in order to establish a succour of poverty and medical assistance system compatible with economic and social development. This is not only an important component of anti-poverty strategy in rural areas but also an inevitable requirement of historical development.

Mutually unbiased bases and semi-definite programming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brierley, Stephen; Weigert, Stefan, E-mail: steve.brierley@ulb.ac.be, E-mail: stefan.weigert@york.ac.uk

2010-11-01

A complex Hilbert space of dimension six supports at least three but not more than seven mutually unbiased bases. Two computer-aided analytical methods to tighten these bounds are reviewed, based on a discretization of parameter space and on Groebner bases. A third algorithmic approach is presented: the non-existence of more than three mutually unbiased bases in composite dimensions can be decided by a global optimization method known as semidefinite programming. The method is used to confirm that the spectral matrix cannot be part of a complete set of seven mutually unbiased bases in dimension six.

Mutually unbiased bases and semi-definite programming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brierley, Stephen; Weigert, Stefan

2010-01-01

A complex Hilbert space of dimension six supports at least three but not more than seven mutually unbiased bases. Two computer-aided analytical methods to tighten these bounds are reviewed, based on a discretization of parameter space and on Groebner bases. A third algorithmic approach is presented: the non-existence of more than three mutually unbiased bases in composite dimensions can be decided by a global optimization method known as semidefinite programming. The method is used to confirm that the spectral matrix cannot be part of a complete set of seven mutually unbiased bases in dimension six.

Law, bioethics and practice in France: forging a new legislative pact.

Science.gov (United States)

Berthiau, Denis

2013-02-01

In France, bioethics norms have emerged in close interaction with medical practices. The first bioethics laws were adopted in 1994, with provisions for updates in 2004 and most recently, in 2011. As in other countries, bioethics laws indirectly refer to certain fundamental values. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, I shall briefly describe the construction of the French bioethics laws and the values they are meant to protect. Secondly, I will show that the practice of clinical ethics, as reported in a few studies on ART, living organ donation and PGD, challenge the role attributed to doctors as "gatekeepers" of those fundamental values. Thirdly, I will suggest that the quality of medical practices would improve if the law focused on strengthening the tacit pact between doctors and patients, rather than putting doctors in charge of enforcing societal values. Doctors, for their part, would limit their role to what they can do best: provide sufficient patient support and safe care. Against those who argue that we should dispense with bioethics laws altogether, I hold that the laws are useful in order to limit the development of abusive practices. However, a new legislative approach should be adopted which would a positive presumption in favor of patients' requests.

Generalized Mutual Synchronization between Two Controlled Interdependent Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Quan Xu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper mainly focuses on the generalized mutual synchronization between two controlled interdependent networks. First, we propose the general model of controlled interdependent networks A and B with time-varying internetwork delays coupling. Then, by constructing Lyapunov functions and utilizing adaptive control technique, some sufficient conditions are established to ensure that the mutual synchronization errors between the state variables of networks A and B can asymptotically converge to zero. Finally, two numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results and to explore potential application in future smart grid. The simulation results also show how interdependent topologies and internetwork coupling delays influence the mutual synchronizability, which help to design interdependent networks with optimal mutual synchronizability.

Craving and illicit heroin use among patients in heroin-assisted treatment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blanken, Peter; Hendriks, Vincent M.; Koeter, Maarten W. J.; van Ree, Jan M.; van den Brink, Wim

2012-01-01

Aims: To investigate in heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) compared to methadone maintenance treatment (MMT): the course of heroin craving and illicit heroin use, their mutual association, and their association with multi-domain treatment response. Design: RCTs on the efficacy of 12 months

Mutual proximity graphs for improved reachability in music recommendation.

Science.gov (United States)

Flexer, Arthur; Stevens, Jeff

2018-01-01

This paper is concerned with the impact of hubness, a general problem of machine learning in high-dimensional spaces, on a real-world music recommendation system based on visualisation of a k-nearest neighbour (knn) graph. Due to a problem of measuring distances in high dimensions, hub objects are recommended over and over again while anti-hubs are nonexistent in recommendation lists, resulting in poor reachability of the music catalogue. We present mutual proximity graphs, which are an alternative to knn and mutual knn graphs, and are able to avoid hub vertices having abnormally high connectivity. We show that mutual proximity graphs yield much better graph connectivity resulting in improved reachability compared to knn graphs, mutual knn graphs and mutual knn graphs enhanced with minimum spanning trees, while simultaneously reducing the negative effects of hubness.

„STABILITY AND GROWTH PACT, COMMUNITY DOCUMENT „REVIVED” IN THE CURRENT GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ROXANA-DANIELA PAUN

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The article proposes to make a reasoned radiography Stability and Growth Pact, EU document revived therefore need to strengthen financial discipline and budget 6 to 7 September 2010 meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN. He talked about the introduction of the Stability and Growth in a 'European quarter' which will be monitored in structural and fiscal policies of the Member States. He also held a first exchange of views about the possible introduction of a levy on banks and a tax on financial transactions. Thus, the European Union has moved to create the world's first supranational system of control over the financial markets, particularly in order to reduce the risk of global financial crisis. The system will act in early 2011. For the first time in history, European financial control agencies will have more seats than national governments. In addition, the European Central Bank will see a branch that will track the emergence of crisis risk.The financial crisis has diminished the EU's growth potential, and made it clear just how interdependent its members' economies are, particularly inside the eurozone. The most important priority now is to restore growth and create effective mechanisms for regulating financial markets - in Europe and internationally. In strengthening its system of economic governance, Europe must learn from previous shortcomings which have put the financial stability of the whole eurozone at risk:- poor observance of the EU's sound rules and procedures for economic policy coordination- insufficient reduction in public debt during the good times – with peer pressure proving an adequate incentive- failure to deal effectively with the build-up of macroeconomic imbalances - despite the Commission's warnings – resulting in high current account deficits, large external indebtedness and high public debt levels in a number of countries (above the official 60% limit for eurozone countries. Greater economic

Downside Risk Timing by Mutual Funds

OpenAIRE

Bodnaruk, Andriy; Chokaev, Bekhan; Simonov, Andrei

2015-01-01

We study whether mutual funds systematically manage downside risk of their portfolios in ways that improve their performance. We find that actively managed mutual funds on average possess positive downside risk timing ability. Funds investing in large-cap and value stocks have stronger downside risk timing skills. Managers adjust funds’ downside risk exposure in response to macroeconomic information. The economic value of downside risk timing is comparable to that of market timing.

Performance of Mutual Funds In INDIA: 2000 - 2006.

OpenAIRE

Kabra, Krishna

2006-01-01

Numerous scholarly researches have been carried out to evaluate the performance of mutual funds. These researches may differ in time period but most studies conclude that mutual funds on average have failed to outperform the market and therefore the efficient market hypothesis holds good. This research is carried out to evaluate the performance of 20 surviving diversified equity growth mutual funds for the period of 6 years from July 2000 to June 2006. The data of the fund is collected on Mon...

Seasonal asset allocation: Evidence from mutual fund flows

OpenAIRE

Kamstra, Mark J.; Kramer, Lisa A.; Levi, Maurice D.; Wermers, Russ

2013-01-01

Over the past 30 years, mutual funds have become the dominant vehicle through which individual investors prepare for retirement via defined contribution plans. Further, money market mutual funds, which hold $2.7 trillion as of September 2013, are now a major part of the cash economy in the U.S. Accordingly, the flow of money to and from different mutual fund categories (e.g., equities vs. money funds) increasingly reflects the sentiment or risk aversion of the general population. In this stud...

Bright Lights and Questions: Using Mutual Interrogation

Science.gov (United States)

Adam, Aishikin; Alangui, Willy; Barton, Bill

2010-01-01

Mutual Interrogation is a research methodology for ethnomathematics proposed by Alangui in 2006 in an attempt to avoid the potential inequality set up when a restricted cultural practice is viewed through the lens of the near-universal and highly developed research domain of mathematics. Using three significant examples of mutual interrogation in…

Mutual inactivation of Notch receptors and ligands facilitates developmental patterning.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Sprinzak

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Developmental patterning requires juxtacrine signaling in order to tightly coordinate the fates of neighboring cells. Recent work has shown that Notch and Delta, the canonical metazoan juxtacrine signaling receptor and ligand, mutually inactivate each other in the same cell. This cis-interaction generates mutually exclusive sending and receiving states in individual cells. It generally remains unclear, however, how this mutual inactivation and the resulting switching behavior can impact developmental patterning circuits. Here we address this question using mathematical modeling in the context of two canonical pattern formation processes: boundary formation and lateral inhibition. For boundary formation, in a model motivated by Drosophila wing vein patterning, we find that mutual inactivation allows sharp boundary formation across a broader range of parameters than models lacking mutual inactivation. This model with mutual inactivation also exhibits robustness to correlated gene expression perturbations. For lateral inhibition, we find that mutual inactivation speeds up patterning dynamics, relieves the need for cooperative regulatory interactions, and expands the range of parameter values that permit pattern formation, compared to canonical models. Furthermore, mutual inactivation enables a simple lateral inhibition circuit architecture which requires only a single downstream regulatory step. Both model systems show how mutual inactivation can facilitate robust fine-grained patterning processes that would be difficult to implement without it, by encoding a difference-promoting feedback within the signaling system itself. Together, these results provide a framework for analysis of more complex Notch-dependent developmental systems.

mutual participation in the health worker-patient relationship

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Medunsa) ... Keywords: mutual participation, health worker-patient relationship, decision ... The importance of a mutual participatory model in medical care and decision ... workers become aware of differences in opinion or in the balance of power, ...

Defined Contribution Pension Plans: Mutual Fund Asset Allocation Changes

OpenAIRE

Clemens Sialm; Laura Starks; Hanjiang Zhang

2015-01-01

In this paper we compare changes in asset allocations between mutual funds held in defined contribution pension plans and funds held by other investors. We investigate how flows into equity and fixed income mutual funds depend on macroeconomic conditions. We find that defined contribution plans react more sensitively to these conditions, suggesting effects on mutual fund managers and other investors.

Performance of Mutual Funds in India: (2002-2006)

OpenAIRE

Saboo, Manish

2006-01-01

There has been many studies in the past on performance of Mutual Funds in comparison to the market. These studies might differ in time and the market under study but most of them concluded that on an average, Mutual Funds have failed to outperform the market and thus the Efficient Market Hypothesis holds good. This research was based on performance of 25 mutual funds for a period of almost 5 years on monthly basis. Funds were evaluated using measures like Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio, Jense...

Mutual information against correlations in binary communication channels.

Science.gov (United States)

Pregowska, Agnieszka; Szczepanski, Janusz; Wajnryb, Eligiusz

2015-05-19

Explaining how the brain processing is so fast remains an open problem (van Hemmen JL, Sejnowski T., 2004). Thus, the analysis of neural transmission (Shannon CE, Weaver W., 1963) processes basically focuses on searching for effective encoding and decoding schemes. According to the Shannon fundamental theorem, mutual information plays a crucial role in characterizing the efficiency of communication channels. It is well known that this efficiency is determined by the channel capacity that is already the maximal mutual information between input and output signals. On the other hand, intuitively speaking, when input and output signals are more correlated, the transmission should be more efficient. A natural question arises about the relation between mutual information and correlation. We analyze the relation between these quantities using the binary representation of signals, which is the most common approach taken in studying neuronal processes of the brain. We present binary communication channels for which mutual information and correlation coefficients behave differently both quantitatively and qualitatively. Despite this difference in behavior, we show that the noncorrelation of binary signals implies their independence, in contrast to the case for general types of signals. Our research shows that the mutual information cannot be replaced by sheer correlations. Our results indicate that neuronal encoding has more complicated nature which cannot be captured by straightforward correlations between input and output signals once the mutual information takes into account the structure and patterns of the signals.

26 CFR 1.597-2 - Taxation of Federal financial assistance.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Taxation of Federal financial assistance. 1.597-2 Section 1.597-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES (CONTINUED) Mutual Savings Banks, Etc. § 1.597-2 Taxation of Federal...

An operations-partnered evaluation of care redesign for high-risk patients in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA): Study protocol for the PACT Intensive Management (PIM) randomized quality improvement evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Evelyn T; Zulman, Donna M; Asch, Steven M; Stockdale, Susan E; Yoon, Jean; Ong, Michael K; Lee, Martin; Simon, Alissa; Atkins, David; Schectman, Gordon; Kirsh, Susan R; Rubenstein, Lisa V

2018-06-01

Patient-centered medical homes have made great strides providing comprehensive care for patients with chronic conditions, but may not provide sufficient support for patients at highest risk for acute care use. To address this, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) initiated a five-site demonstration project to evaluate the effectiveness of augmenting the VA's Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) medical home with PACT Intensive Management (PIM) teams for Veterans at highest risk for hospitalization. Researchers partnered with VHA leadership to design a mixed-methods prospective multi-site evaluation that met leadership's desire for a rigorous evaluation conducted as quality improvement rather than research. We conducted a randomized QI evaluation and assigned high-risk patients to participate in PIM and compared them with high-risk Veterans receiving usual care through PACT. The summative evaluation examines whether PIM: 1) decreases VHA emergency department and hospital use; 2) increases satisfaction with VHA care; 3) decreases provider burnout; and 4) generates positive returns on investment. The formative evaluation aims to support improved care for high-risk patients at demonstration sites and to inform future initiatives for high-risk patients. The evaluation was reviewed by representatives from the VHA Office of Research and Development and the Office of Research Oversight and met criteria for quality improvement. VHA aims to function as a learning organization by rapidly implementing and rigorously testing QI innovations prior to final program or policy development. We observed challenges and opportunities in designing an evaluation consistent with QI standards and operations priorities, while also maintaining scientific rigor. This trial was retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov on April 3, 2017: NCT03100526. Protocol v1, FY14-17. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Performance of Mutual Funds in India 2003-2008

OpenAIRE

Raizada, Shantanu

2008-01-01

Many studies have been conducted in the past on the performance of Mutual Funds in comparison to the market index. These studies may differ in their time period, but most of them concluded that on an average the Mutual Funds failed to outperform the market thus the Efficient Market Hypothesis holds good. This research was based on the performance of 20 open ended equity diversified growth Mutual Funds for a period of 5 years from April 2003 to March 2008 and was compared to the BSE 500. Funds...

Controlled mutual quantum entity authentication using entanglement swapping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Min-Sung; Hong, Chang-Ho; Heo, Jino; Lim, Jong-In; Yang, Hyung-Jin

2015-01-01

In this paper, we suggest a controlled mutual quantum entity authentication protocol by which two users mutually certify each other on a quantum network using a sequence of Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger (GHZ)-like states. Unlike existing unidirectional quantum entity authentication, our protocol enables mutual quantum entity authentication utilizing entanglement swapping; moreover, it allows the managing trusted center (TC) or trusted third party (TTP) to effectively control the certification of two users using the nature of the GHZ-like state. We will also analyze the security of the protocol and quantum channel. (paper)

Freedom and imperative: mutual care between older spouses with physical disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Torgé, Cristina Joy

2014-05-01

This article explores mutual caregiving between older spouses aging with physical disabilities. Nine older couples, where both partners had lived long lives with physical disabilities, were interviewed as dyads about mutual caregiving. The couples not only had access to different kinds and degrees of formal support but also provided mutual care to each other in a variety of ways. Interview coding using grounded theory led to two overarching categories from which motivation for mutual caregiving could be understood. These categories were Mutual care as freedom and Mutual care as imperative. The results extend understanding about how older couples with disabilities attached meaning to their mutual caregiving, and why mutual care was sometimes preferable, despite the availability of other sources of help and despite practical difficulties of providing this help. These findings suggest that health care professionals need to be sensitive to the dynamics of the couple relationship and carefully explore the couple's preferences for how formal support can best be provided in ways that honor and sustain the integrity of the couple relationship.

Mutually unbiased bases

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Mutually unbiased bases play an important role in quantum cryptography [2] and in the optimal determination of the density operator of an ensemble [3,4]. A density operator ρ in N-dimensions depends on N2 1 real quantities. With the help of MUB's, any such density operator can be encoded, in an optimal way, in terms of ...

Market timing and selectivity performance of mutual funds in Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abubakar Musah

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The growing interest in mutual funds in Ghana has been tremendous over the last decade as evidenced by the continuous increases in number and total funds under management. However, no empirical work has been done on the selectivity and timing ability of the mutual fund managers. Using monthly returns data hand-collected from the reports of the mutual fund managers for the period January 2007-December 2012, this paper examines the market timing and selectivity ability of mutual fund managers in Ghana using the classic Treynor-Mazuy (1966 model and Henriksson- Merton (1981 model. The results suggest that, in general mutual fund managers in Ghana are not able to effectively select stocks and also are not able to predict both the magnitude and direction of future market returns. More specifically, all of the sample mutual fund managers attain significant negative selectivity coefficients and also most of them attain insignificant negative timing coefficients.

24 CFR 203.420 - Nature of Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Nature of Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. 203.420 Section 203.420 Housing and Urban Development Regulations Relating to Housing and Urban... and Distributive Shares § 203.420 Nature of Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. The Mutual Mortgage...

Mutuality in Mother-Child Interactions in an Antillean Intervention Group

Science.gov (United States)

Boomstra, Nienke W.; van Dijk, Marijn W. G.; van Geert, Paul L. C.

2016-01-01

This article describes a study on mutuality in mother-child interaction during reading and playing sessions. Within mother-child interaction, mutuality is seen as important in language acquisition. The study was executed within a group of Netherlands Antillean mother-child dyads who participated in an intervention programme. Mutuality was…

Modelling nutritional mutualisms: challenges and opportunities for data integration.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Teresa J; Friel, Colleen A; Grman, Emily; Shachar-Hill, Yair; Friesen, Maren L

2017-09-01

Nutritional mutualisms are ancient, widespread, and profoundly influential in biological communities and ecosystems. Although much is known about these interactions, comprehensive answers to fundamental questions, such as how resource availability and structured interactions influence mutualism persistence, are still lacking. Mathematical modelling of nutritional mutualisms has great potential to facilitate the search for comprehensive answers to these and other fundamental questions by connecting the physiological and genomic underpinnings of mutualisms with ecological and evolutionary processes. In particular, when integrated with empirical data, models enable understanding of underlying mechanisms and generalisation of principles beyond the particulars of a given system. Here, we demonstrate how mathematical models can be integrated with data to address questions of mutualism persistence at four biological scales: cell, individual, population, and community. We highlight select studies where data has been or could be integrated with models to either inform model structure or test model predictions. We also point out opportunities to increase model rigour through tighter integration with data, and describe areas in which data is urgently needed. We focus on plant-microbe systems, for which a wealth of empirical data is available, but the principles and approaches can be generally applied to any nutritional mutualism. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Indirect control and power in mutual control structures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karos, D.; Peters, H.J.M.

2013-01-01

In a mutual control structure agents exercise control over each other. Typical examples occur in the area of corporate governance: firms and investment companies exercise mutual control, in particular by owning each others’ stocks. In this paper we formulate a general model for such situations.

Tax-Efficient Asset Management: Evidence from Equity Mutual Funds

OpenAIRE

Clemens Sialm; Hanjiang Zhang

2015-01-01

Investment taxes have a substantial impact on the performance of taxable mutual fund investors. Mutual funds can reduce the tax burdens of their shareholders by avoiding securities that are heavily taxed and by avoiding realizing capital gains that trigger higher tax burdens to the funds’ investors. Such tax avoidance strategies constrain the investment opportunities of the mutual funds and might reduce their before-tax performance. Our paper empirically investigates the costs and benefits of...

The Profile of a Polish Mutual Fund Manager

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dariusz Filip

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Aim/purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify the characteristics that are typical of mutual fund managers. Design/methodology/approach - The study concentrates on a set of socio-demographic data, such as: age, gender, education, experience, and professional qualifications of 336 portfolio managers. The applied research strategy relies on an analysis concerning a set of statistical metrics describing the population under examination. Findings - The average Polish fund manager is a 37-year-old man, a holder of a stock-broker or investment adviser license. He obtained the authorization from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF a few years after graduating from the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH. He has 11 years' experience in financial markets and 7 years' experience in the mutual fund industry. Research implications/limitations - The identification of managerial characteristics for the purpose of creating a profile of a Polish mutual fund manager will provide an important basis for further surveys and analyses aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of mutual funds. Originality/value/contribution - There are no investigations within the discussed area in Polish studies. Therefore, the identification of the characteristics that are typical of mutual fund managers will make a contribution to the finance literature.(original abstract

Estimation of skill of Russian mutual fund managers

OpenAIRE

Parshakov, Petr

2015-01-01

Our work is focused on Russian mutual funds managers’ skills versus luck estimating. Using bootstrap procedure we build Jensen’s alpha density for each fund. We find that only 5% of Russian equity mutual funds do have skills (in contrast to luck) to outperform the benchmark.

Mutual intelligibility between closely related language in Europe.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gooskens, Charlotte; van Heuven, Vincent; Golubovic, Jelena; Schüppert, Anja; Swarte, Femke; Voigt, Stefanie

2018-01-01

By means of a large-scale web-based investigation, we established the degree of mutual intelligibility of 16 closely related spoken languages within the Germanic, Slavic and Romance language families in Europe. We first present the results of a selection of 1833 listeners representing the mutual

Measuring the performance of mutual funds: A case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jakšić Milena

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we evaluate the performance of eight open-end mutual funds in the Republic of Serbia for the period 2009-2012, with the aim of testing the justification of active portfolio management of mutual funds, and determining the selection capability of Serbian portfolio managers. Risk-weighted returns of mutual funds are compared with the risk-weighted return of the leading Belgrade Stock Exchange index, Belex15, whereas the following are used as performance measures: Sharpe ratio (Si, Treynor ratio (Ti, and Jensen's or Alpha index (αi. The results suggest that the portfolio of Serbian mutual funds has inferior performance compared to the market portfolio, which indicates the lack of selection capabilities of domestic portfolio managers.

Modeling the Substrate Skin Effects in Mutual RL Characteristics.,

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. de Roest

2003-12-01

Full Text Available The goal of this work was to model the influence of the substrateskin effects on the distributed mutual impedance per unit lengthparameters of multiple coupled on-chip interconnects. The proposedanalytic model is based on the frequency-dependent distribution of thecurrent in the silicon substrate and the closed form integrationapproach. It is shown that the calculated frequency-dependentdistributed mutual inductance and the associated mutual resistance arein good agreement with the results obtained from CAD-oriented circuitmodeling technique.

Ranking mutual funds using Sortino method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khosro Faghani Makrani

2014-04-01

Full Text Available One of the primary concerns on most business activities is to determine an efficient method for ranking mutual funds. This paper performs an empirical investigation to rank 42 mutual funds listed on Tehran Stock Exchange using Sortino method over the period 2011-2012. The results of survey have been compared with market return and the results have confirmed that there were some positive and meaningful relationships between Sortino return and market return. In addition, there were some positive and meaningful relationship between two Sortino methods.

Measurement of particle velocity using a mutual inductance technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kerr, Stephen; Kirkpatrick, Douglas; Garden, Steven

2004-01-01

Preliminary work on the development of a novel method for the measurement of particle velocity is described. The technique relies on measurement of the mutual inductance between two coaxial coils, one stationary and the other perturbed by the shock wave. The moving coil is the gauge and is deposited on thin film. The method was developed to assist in the study of particle velocities in large samples of porous media surrounding an explosive charge. The technique does not require measurements to be taken in a region of uniform magnetic field and therefore dispenses with the need for Helmholtz coils, the size and cost of which can become prohibitive for large experiments. This has the added advantage of allowing measurements to be taken at points widely dispersed through a sample with relative ease. Measurements of particle velocity in porous media have been compared with those from co-located conventional electromagnetic particle velocity gauges with reasonable agreement

Too lonely to die alone: internet suicide pacts and existential suffering in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozawa-de Silva, Chikako

2008-12-01

Most striking in the recent rise of suicide in Japan are the increase in suicide among young Japanese and the emergence of Internet suicide pacts. An ethnography of suicide-related Web sites reveals a distinctive kind of existential suffering among visitors that is not reducible to categories of mental illness and raises questions regarding the meaning of an individual "choice" to die, when this occurs in the context of an intersubjective decision by a group of strangers, each of whom is too afraid to die alone. Anthropology's recent turn to subjectivity enables analyses of individual suffering in society that provide a more nuanced approach to the apparent dichotomy between agency and structure and that connect the phenomenon of suicide in Japan to Japanese conceptions of selfhood and the afterlife. The absence of ikigai [the worth of living] among suicide Web site visitors and their view of suicide as a way of healing show, furthermore, that analyses of social suffering must be expanded to include questions of meaning and loss of meaning and, also, draw attention to Japanese conceptions of self in which relationality in all things, including the choice to die, is of utmost importance.

[Support for Adult ASD in Medical Rework Program: Mutual Communication Program and Psychodrama].

Science.gov (United States)

Yokoyama, Motonori

2015-01-01

While carrying out the Medical Rework Program, we realized the necessity for a supplementary medical treatment program aimed at adult ASD. Consequently, we started the Mutual Communication Program, which consists of standard SST and the new element of psychodrama. As a result, 32 participants have returned to their workplace in the three-year period, and the rate of successfully continuing to work was 93.8% at the time of the investigation. Various psychological tests also indicated significant improvement. In this article, we present a case study, explain psychodrama techniques employed in the program, and discuss their usefulness. The results suggest that psychodrama is a very effective assistive technique when the characteristics of ASD are taken into consideration.

Anomalous behaviour of mutual information in finite flocks

Science.gov (United States)

Barnett, L.; Brown, J.; Bossomaier, T.

2017-11-01

The existing consensus is that flocks are poised at criticality, entailing long correlation lengths and a maximal value of Shannon mutual information in the large-system limit. We show, by contrast, that for finite flocks which do not truly break ergodicity in the long-observation-time limit, mutual information may not only fail to peak at criticality —as observed for other critical systems— but also diverge as noise tends to zero. This result carries implications for other finite-size, out-of-equilibrium systems, where observation times may vary widely compared to time scales of internal system dynamics; thus it may not be assumed that mutual information locates the phase transition.

Mutual intelligibility between closely related languages in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gooskens, C.; Heuven, van V.J.J.P.; Golubović, J.; Schüppert, A.; Swarte, F.; Voigt, S.

2017-01-01

By means of a large-scale web-based investigation, we established the degree of mutual intelligibility of 16 closely related spoken languages within the Germanic, Slavic and Romance language families in Europe. We first present the results of a selection of 1833 listeners representing the mutual

Expression levels of the microRNA maturing microprocessor complex component DGCR8 and the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) components argonaute-1, argonaute-2, PACT, TARBP1, and TARBP2 in epithelial skin cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Sand, Michael; Skrygan, Marina; Georgas, Dimitrios; Arenz, Christoph; Gambichler, Thilo; Sand, Daniel; Altmeyer, Peter; Bechara, Falk G

2012-11-01

The microprocessor complex mediates intranuclear biogenesis of precursor microRNAs from the primary microRNA transcript. Extranuclear, mature microRNAs are incorporated into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) before interaction with complementary target mRNA leads to transcriptional repression or cleavage. In this study, we investigated the expression profiles of the microprocessor complex subunit DiGeorge syndrome critical region gene 8 (DGCR8) and the RISC components argonaute-1 (AGO1), argonaute-2 (AGO2), as well as double-stranded RNA-binding proteins PACT, TARBP1, and TARBP2 in epithelial skin cancer and its premalignant stage. Patients with premalignant actinic keratoses (AK, n = 6), basal cell carcinomas (BCC, n = 15), and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC, n = 7) were included in the study. Punch biopsies were harvested from the center of the tumors (lesional), from healthy skin sites (intraindividual controls), and from healthy skin sites in a healthy control group (n = 16; interindividual control). The DGCR8, AGO1, AGO2, PACT, TARBP1, and TARBP2 mRNA expression levels were detected by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The DGCR8, AGO1, AGO2, PACT, and TARBP1 expression levels were significantly higher in the AK, BCC, and SCC groups than the healthy controls (P  0.05). This study indicates that major components of the miRNA pathway, such as the microprocessor complex and RISC, are dysregulated in epithelial skin cancer. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Financial Crisis and Corporate Social Responsible Mutual Fund Flows

OpenAIRE

Sitikantha Parida; Zhihong Wang

2018-01-01

In this paper, we investigate investment flows into mutual funds that hold more high corporate social responsible stocks (top CSR funds) vs. mutual funds that hold more low corporate social responsible stocks (bottom CSR funds). Using a large sample of equity mutual funds spanning 2003–2012, we find that top CSR funds on average receive about 5% less investment per annum compared to the other funds; whereas bottom CSR funds receive about 5.6% more investments. These relative negative and posi...

Performance Evaluation of Investment (Mutual Funds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Povilas Vyšniauskas

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The efficiency of an investment fund is one of the main components in evaluating the performance of the fund. This study seeks for introducing and comparing risk and performance evaluation ratios. The paper is aimed at testing the worked out ratios and at distinguishing between the best ones for the purpose of evaluating the performance of Lithuanian mutual funds. Scientific studies show that a standard deviation, alpha, beta, Sharpe and Treynor ratios are mostly employed for identifying the performance of mutual funds that are also compared with their benchmark index to establish if these funds are outperformed and if is it worth paying management fees to investment banks for managing mutual funds. Historical data were selected for the period from 2012-01-02 to 2013-10-15 analysing the prices of monthly funds. The paper points out the areas of a practical application of the proposed model for investment fund valuation, which may not only provide valuable outcomes for practitioners but also may inspire further research on this article.

Public-channel cryptography based on mutual chaos pass filters.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Einat; Gross, Noam; Kopelowitz, Evi; Rosenbluh, Michael; Khaykovich, Lev; Kinzel, Wolfgang; Kanter, Ido

2006-10-01

We study the mutual coupling of chaotic lasers and observe both experimentally and in numeric simulations that there exists a regime of parameters for which two mutually coupled chaotic lasers establish isochronal synchronization, while a third laser coupled unidirectionally to one of the pair does not synchronize. We then propose a cryptographic scheme, based on the advantage of mutual coupling over unidirectional coupling, where all the parameters of the system are public knowledge. We numerically demonstrate that in such a scheme the two communicating lasers can add a message signal (compressed binary message) to the transmitted coupling signal and recover the message in both directions with high fidelity by using a mutual chaos pass filter procedure. An attacker, however, fails to recover an errorless message even if he amplifies the coupling signal.

Holographic mutual information of two disjoint spheres

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bin; Fan, Zhong-Ying; Li, Wen-Ming; Zhang, Cheng-Yong

2018-04-01

We study quantum corrections to holographic mutual information for two disjoint spheres at a large separation by using the operator product expansion of the twist field. In the large separation limit, the holographic mutual information is vanishing at the semiclassical order, but receive quantum corrections from the fluctuations. We show that the leading contributions from the quantum fluctuations take universal forms as suggested from the boundary CFT. We find the universal behavior for the scalar, the vector, the tensor and the fermionic fields by treating these fields as free fields propagating in the fixed background and by using the 1 /n prescription. In particular, for the fields with gauge symmetries, including the massless vector boson and massless graviton, we find that the gauge parts in the propagators play an indispensable role in reading the leading order corrections to the bulk mutual information.

Mutual Fund Competition and Stock Market Liquidity

OpenAIRE

Massa, Massimo

2004-01-01

We study how competition in the mutual fund industry affects stock market liquidity. We argue that mutual fund families operate as multi-product firms, jointly choosing fees, performance and number of funds and sharing common research facilities. The family-based organization generates economies of scale in information that induce a trade off between performance and number of funds. The presence of more and relatively less-informed funds impacts the market, increasing stock liquidity. This in...

Stability of mutualisms in a lattice gas system of two species

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Yuanshi Wang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This article considers mutualisms in a lattice gas system of two species. The species are mutualistic since each one can provide resources to the other. They are also competitive since they compete for empty sites on the same lattice. The mutualisms are assumed to have a saturated response, and the intraspecific competition is considered because of self-limitation. The mutualism system is characterized by differential equations, which are derived from reactions on lattice and are extension of a previous model. Global stability analysis demonstrates that (i When neither species can survive alone, they can coexist if mutualisms between them are strong and population densities are large, which exhibits the Allee effect in obligate mutualism; (ii When one species can survive alone but the other cannot, the latter one will survive if the mutualistic effect from the former is strong. Even if the effect is intermediate, the latter species can survive by strengthening its mutualistic effect on the former and enhancing its population density; (iii When either species can survive alone, a weak mutualism will lead to extinction of one species. When in coexistence, intermediate strength of mutualism is shown to be beneficial under certain parameter range, while over- or under- mutualism is not good. Furthermore, extremely strong/weak mutualism is exhibited to result in extinction of one/both species. While seven typical dynamics are displayed by numerical simulation in a previous work, they are proved in this work and the eighth one is exhibited. Numerical simul ations validate and extend our conclusions.

Performance Evaluation of Open-Ended ELSS Mutual Fund ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study examined the performance of the open-ended equity linked saving mutual fund schemes (ELSS) in India during the financial distress in 2008-2009. In this study, the month end net asset values of selected equity linked saving mutual fund schemes were considered and the data was obtained from the website of ...

Learning curves for mutual information maximization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Urbanczik, R.

2003-01-01

An unsupervised learning procedure based on maximizing the mutual information between the outputs of two networks receiving different but statistically dependent inputs is analyzed [S. Becker and G. Hinton, Nature (London) 355, 161 (1992)]. For a generic data model, I show that in the large sample limit the structure in the data is recognized by mutual information maximization. For a more restricted model, where the networks are similar to perceptrons, I calculate the learning curves for zero-temperature Gibbs learning. These show that convergence can be rather slow, and a way of regularizing the procedure is considered

Evolutionary dynamics of fluctuating populations with strong mutualism

Science.gov (United States)

Chotibut, Thiparat; Nelson, David

2013-03-01

Evolutionary game theory with finite interacting populations is receiving increased attention, including subtle phenomena associated with number fluctuations, i.e., ``genetic drift.'' Models of cooperation and competition often utilize a simplified Moran model, with a strictly fixed total population size. We explore a more general evolutionary model with independent fluctuations in the numbers of two distinct species, in a regime characterized by ``strong mutualism.'' The model has two absorbing states, each corresponding to fixation of one of the two species, and allows exploration of the interplay between growth, competition, and mutualism. When mutualism is favored, number fluctuations eventually drive the system away from a stable fixed point, characterized by cooperation, to one of the absorbing states. Well-mixed populations will thus be taken over by a single species in a finite time, despite the bias towards cooperation. We calculate both the fixation probability and the mean fixation time as a function of the initial conditions and carrying capacities in the strong mutualism regime, using the method of matched asymptotic expansions. Our results are compared to computer simulations.

Can Chinese Mutual Fund Time Market Liquidity?

OpenAIRE

LI, Xiaoqing

2012-01-01

Extant researches have focused on mutual fund managers’ ability to time market returns or volatility. In this paper, the author offers a new perspective on the traditional timing issue by examining Chinese fund managers’ liquidity timing ability. Using the Chinese mutual fund database, the author finds little evidence that over the period from 2004 to 2012, fund managers cannot demonstrate the ability to time market liquidity in China, i.e., increase (reduce) market exposure in anticipation o...

Mutual phase-locking of several spin-torque nano-oscillators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prokopenko, O.V.; Sulimenko, O.R.

2011-01-01

Criterions for evaluating the effectiveness of mutual phase-locking of several spin-torque nano-oscillators (STNO) are proposed. An application of one of the criterions to describe the process of mutual phase-locking of the three almost identical STNO's is considered

MUTUAL FUND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS PRE AND POST FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 2008

OpenAIRE

Asadov, Elvin; Dinger, Tim

2017-01-01

Using a sample of 955 mutual funds, free of survivorship bias, we analyse the performance of diversified equity mutual funds in the United States of America that invest solely in stocks listed on the U.S. stock exchanges before and after the financial crisis of 2008. We categorize all mutual funds into their respective strategy including value, growth, and blend in order to see any relationship with respect to their strategic focus.We find that mutual funds were not able to provide a positive...

Supporting parent-child interactions: music therapy as an intervention for promoting mutually responsive orientation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasiali, Varvara

2012-01-01

Music therapists working with families address relationship and interpersonal communication issues. Few controlled studies exist in the literature but a growing body of documented practice is emerging. This study makes a contribution by documenting how music therapy supports mutuality and reciprocity in parent-child interactions. This study investigated mutually responsive orientation (MRO) behaviors of young children (aged 3-5) and their family members during music therapy. Participants were 4 families with low income and history of maternal depression as common risk factors. Data were collected by videotaping sessions, creating field notes and analytic memos, conducting parent interviews and reviewing parent journals. A cross-case analysis using MRO theory as a conceptualizing framework was used for the purpose of data reduction. Greeting and farewell rituals, and the flexibility of music-based therapeutic applications facilitated development of coordinated routines. Therapist's actions (e.g., encouraging and modeling musical interactions) and bidirectional parent-child actions (e.g., joint attention, turn-taking, being playful) facilitated harmonious communication. Behaviors promoting mutual cooperation were evident when adults attempted to scaffold a child's participation or when children sought comfort from parents, engaged in social referencing and made requests that shaped the direction of the session. The novelty of musical tasks captivated attention, increasing impulse inhibition. Parent actions (e.g., finding delight in watching their child participate, acting silly) and parent-child interactions (e.g., play exploration, shared excitement, cuddling) contributed to positive emotional ambiance. Music therapy assisted development of MRO within parent-child dyads by providing opportunities to rehearse adaptive ways of connecting with each other. Results of this study may serve as an archetypal model guiding clinical treatment planning.

Indian mutual fund industry: Opportunities and challenges

OpenAIRE

Jayant R. Kale; Venkatesh Panchapagesan

2012-01-01

This article presents an overview of the mutual fund industry in India and the reasons for its poor penetration, which includes lack of objective research. It benchmarks the industry globally, and raises key issues regarding the ownership and performance of mutual funds, the sensitivity of fund flows to performance, and the importance of regulation to its growth, all of which have been largely under researched in India. It then captures the views of leading practitioners on these and other is...

Mutual Visibility by Robots with Persistent Memory

OpenAIRE

Bhagat, Subhash; Mukhopadhyaya, Krishnendu

2017-01-01

This paper addresses the mutual visibility problem for a set of semi-synchronous, opaque robots occupying distinct positions in the Euclidean plane. Since robots are opaque, if three robots lie on a line, the middle robot obstructs the visions of the two other robots. The mutual visibility problem asks the robots to coordinate their movements to form a configuration, within finite time and without collision, in which no three robots are collinear. Robots are endowed with a constant bits of pe...

Thermalization of mutual information in hyperscaling violating backgrounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tanhayi, M. Reza [Department of Physics, Faculty of Basic Science,Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch (IAUCTB),P.O. Box 14676-86831, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); School of Physics, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM),P.O. Box 19395-5531, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-03-31

We study certain features of scaling behaviors of the mutual information during a process of thermalization, more precisely we extend the time scaling behavior of mutual information which has been discussed in http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/JHEP09(2015)165 to time-dependent hyperscaling violating geometries. We use the holographic description of entanglement entropy for two disjoint system consisting of two parallel strips whose widths are much larger than the separation between them. We show that during the thermalization process, the dynamical exponent plays a crucial rule in reading the general time scaling behavior of mutual information (e.g., at the pre-local-equilibration regime). It is shown that the scaling violating parameter can be employed to define an effective dimension.

The Mutual Investments in Romania - Current Developments and Trends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florina Oana VIRLANUTA

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Mutual fund industry in Romania has undergone significant growth in recent years in the number of investors and the net assets managed, but still very small compared to other European countries. Capital market development in Romania, the emergence of new investment instruments provides a greater variety of mutual funds investments. Managers decide on the structure of the portfolio by selecting categories of assets in accordance with the rules set out in the Prospectus and according to the degree of risk. In this paper we propose to realize an analysis of mutual investments system in Romania, the progress and their efficiency.

The Partnership Pact: Fulfilling School Districts' Research Needs with University-District Partnerships

Science.gov (United States)

Ralston, Nicole; Weitzel, Bruce; Waggoner, Jacqueline; Naegele, Zulema; Smith, Rebecca

2016-01-01

There has been a recent shift in university-district partnership models from traditional transactional partnerships, which lack a shared purpose, to transformational partnerships that are mutually beneficial to both universities and school districts. These transformational research-practice partnerships have gained popularity in the United States…

Information asymmetry, mutual funds and earnings management: Evidence from China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunhao Dai

2013-09-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates how information asymmetry and mutual fund ownership affect listed companies’ earnings management. We show that (1 reducing information asymmetry improves firms’ earnings management behavior; (2 relative to short-term mutual funds, long-term mutual funds promote earnings quality by adopting a monitoring role; and (3 by dividing firms into high/low information asymmetry groups, we find that the information environment significantly increases the effect of long-term mutual funds on firms’ earnings management. In this paper, we provide new evidence for the role that institutional investors play in a typical emerging capital market. Our results have clear policy implications: to increase earnings quality, it is essential to improve information transparency and develop long-term institutional investors.

Performance Measurement without Benchmarks: An Examination of Mutual Fund Returns.

OpenAIRE

Grinblatt, Mark; Titman, Sheridan

1993-01-01

This article introduces a new measure of portfolio performance and applies it to study the performance of a large sample of mutual funds. In contrast to previous studies of mutual fund performance, the measure used in this study employs portfolio holdings and does not require the use of a benchmark portfolio. It finds that the portfolio choices of mutual fund managers, particularly those that managed aggressive growth funds, earned significantly positive risk-adjusted returns in the 1976-85 p...

Public private partnership in in-service training of physicians: the millennium development goal 6-partnership for African clinical training (M-PACT) approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Oleribe, Obinna Ositadimma; Salako, Babatunde Lawal; Akpalu, Albert; Anteyi, Emmanuel; Ka, Mamadou Mourtalla; Deen, Gibrilla; Akande, Temilola; Abellona U, Mei Ran; Lemoine, Maud; McConnochie, Mairi; Foster, Matthew; Walker, Richard; Taylor-Robinson, Simon David; Jawad, Ali

2018-01-01

in-service training of healthcare workers is essential for improving healthcare services and outcome. The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 6 Partnership for African Clinical Training (M-PACT) program was an innovative in-service training approach designed and implemented by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and West African College of Physicians (WACP) with funding from Eco Bank Foundation. The goal was to develop sustainable capacity to tackle MDG 6 targets in West Africa through better postgraduate medical education. Five training centres were establised: Nigeria (Abuja, Ibadan), Ghana (Accra), Senegal (Dakar) and Sierra Leone (Freetown) for training 681 physicians from across West Africa. A curriculum jointly designed by the RCP-WACP team was used to deliver biannual 5-day training courses over a 3-year period. Of 602 trained in clinical medicine, 358 (59.5%) were males and 535 (88.9%) were from hosting countries. 472 (78.4%) of participants received travel bursaries to participate, while 318 (52.8%) were residents in Internal Medicine in the respective institutions. Accra had the highest number of participants (29.7%) followed by Ibadan, (28.7%), Dakar, (24.9%), Abuja, (11.0%) and Freetown, (5.6%). Pre-course clinical knowledge scores ranged from 35.1% in the Freetown Course to 63.8% in Accra Course 1; whereas post-course scores ranged from 50.5% in the Freetown course to 73.8% in Accra course 1. M-PACT made a positive impact to quality and outcome of healthcare services in the region and is a model for continued improvement for healthcare outcomes, e.g malaria, HIV and TB incidence and mortality in West Africa.

Performance of mutual funds in european countries

OpenAIRE

Γκογκάκη, Ελεωνόρα

2012-01-01

In this thesis, the performance of 220 open-end domestic equity mutual funds of european countries (from 'weak' and 'strong' economies) is analyzed for an eight- year period from 1st January 2004 until 31st December 2011, which is then split in two four-year sub periods in order to examine their performance prior to the global financial crisis and after its burst in 2008. In order to compare the mutual funds' performance to that of each country's market, it used as benchmarks the countries' m...

Generalized Mutual Synchronization between Two Controlled Interdependent Networks

OpenAIRE

Xu, Quan; Zhuang, Shengxian; Hu, Dan; Zeng, Yingfeng; Xiao, Jian

2014-01-01

This paper mainly focuses on the generalized mutual synchronization between two controlled interdependent networks. First, we propose the general model of controlled interdependent networks $A$ and $B$ with time-varying internetwork delays coupling. Then, by constructing Lyapunov functions and utilizing adaptive control technique, some sufficient conditions are established to ensure that the mutual synchronization errors between the state variables of networks $A$ and $B$ can asymptotically c...

Existence of positive periodic solution of mutualism system with several delays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Haihui; Xia Yonghui; Lin Muren

2008-01-01

In this paper, by using Mawhin coincidence degree, some sufficient conditions are obtained for the global existence of positive periodic solutions of a mutualism systems with bounded and unbounded delays. Our results generalize significantly improve those of Gopalsamy and He [Gopalsamy K, He XZ. Persistence, attractivity, and delay in facultative mutualism. J Math Anal Appl 1997;215:154-73], Yang et al. [Yang F, Jiang D, Ying A. Existence of positive solution of multidelays facultative mutualism system. J Eng Math 2002;3:64-8], Chen et al. [Chen FD, Shi JL, Chen XX. Periodicity in Lotka-Volterra facultative mutualism system with several delays. J Eng Math 2004;21(3)] and Xia and Lin [Xia YH, Lin M, Existence of positive periodic solution of mutualism system with infinite delays. Ann Diff Eqs 2005;21(3):448-53

Evaluation of AirMSPI photopolarimetric retrievals of smoke properties with in-situ observations collected during the ImPACT-PM field campaign

Science.gov (United States)

Kalashnikova, O. V.; Garay, M. J.; Xu, F.; Seidel, F.; Diner, D. J.; Seinfeld, J.; Bates, K. H.; Kong, W.; Kenseth, C.; Cappa, C. D.

2017-12-01

We introduce and evaluate an approach for obtaining closure between in situ and polarimetric remote sensing observations of smoke properties obtained during the collocated CIRPAS Twin Otter and ER-2 aircraft measurements of the Lebec fire event on July 8, 2016. We investigate the utility of multi-angle, spectropolarimetric remote sensing imagery to evaluate the relative contribution of organics, non-organic and black carbon particles to smoke particulate composition. The remote sensing data were collected during the Imaging Polarimetric and Characterization of Tropospheric Particular Matter (ImPACT-PM) field campaign by the Airborne Multiangle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (AirMSPI), which flew on NASA's high-altitude ER-2 aircraft. The ImPACT-PM field campaign was a joint JPL/Caltech effort to combine measurements from the Terra Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), AirMSPI, in situ airborne measurements, and a chemical transport model to validate remote sensing retrievals of different types of airborne particulate matter with a particular emphasis on carbonaceous aerosols. The in-situ aerosol data were collected with a suite of Caltech instruments on board the CIRPAS Twin Otter aircraft and included the Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS), the Differential Mobility Analyzer (DMA), and the Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP-2). The CIRPAS Twin Otter aircraft was also equipped with the Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP), nephelometer, a particle counter, and meteorological sensors. We found that the multi-angle polarimetric observations are capable of fire particulate emission monitoring by particle type as inferred from the in-situ airborne measurements. Modeling of retrieval sensitivities show that the characterization of black carbon is the most challenging. The work aims at evaluating multi-angle, spectropolarimetric capabilities for particulate matter characterization in support of the Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) satellite investigation

Mutuality, Self-Silencing, and Disordered Eating in College Women

Science.gov (United States)

Wechsler, Lisa S.; Riggs, Shelley A.; Stabb, Sally D.; Marshall, David M.

2006-01-01

The current study examined patterns of association among mutuality, self-silencing, and disordered eating in an ethnically diverse sample of college women (N = 149). Partner mutuality and overall self-silencing were negatively correlated and together were associated with six disordered eating indices. All four self-silencing subscales were…

The mutuality metaphor: understanding healthcare provision in NHS Scotland.

Science.gov (United States)

Howieson, Brian

2016-06-20

Purpose - Better Health, Better Care Action Plan (Scottish Government, 2007) sets out how the Scottish Government intends to strengthen public ownership of the National Health Service in Scotland. The purpose of this paper is to advance extant knowledge by understanding how a state-led mutual health policy may be interpreted, and importantly, communicated. Design/methodology/approach - The definitional problem of mutuality will be discussed and analysed in terms of how it is (or perhaps should be) communicated? will be offered. Findings - It actually may be more instructive to think of, and communicate, mutuality as a metaphor to aid understanding of the openness and fluidity found in NHS Scotland. Research limitations/implications - The existence of paradox and ambiguity does not, however, negate the usefulness of the term "mutuality". Quite the opposite in fact: it is precisely by examining healthcare and its delivery through the lens of mutuality (rather than rejecting its complexity as a failure) that this amorphousness can be better appreciated. Practical implications - There is a need for more public, professional, and academic debate to explore and clarify its implementation, and how it is to be led. This must be provided whilst recognising the daily imperatives that NHS leaders must face. This would suggest, therefore, that a dual development path may help. Originality/value - Although Better Health, Better Care Action Plan was published in 2007, some eight years on there is still confusion and misunderstanding as to what mutuality in healthcare is, not only in policy and theory, but also in practice. It is hoped that this analysis will help address, in part, some of this confusion and misunderstanding.

DYNAMICS OF MUTUAL FUNDS IN RELATION TO STOCK MARKET: A VECTOR AUTOREGRESSIVE CAUSALITY ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Shahadath Hossain

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In Bangladesh, primary and secondary mutual fund markets behave in a completely different way, where initial public offering (IPO investors of mutual funds earn more than 250 percent rerun, whereas secondary market investors cannot even manage to cover the opportunity cost of their investment. There are few other abnormalities present in this market – unlike everywhere in the world, most of the mutual funds are closed-end (92 percent and closed-end mutual funds are barred to issue bonus or right shares. A total of 714 day’s observations, from January 2008 to December 2010, of four variables– DSE (Dhaka Stock Exchange general index return, DSE general index turnover, mutual funds’ return and mutual funds’ turnover– are utilized. Stationarity of the variables are tested with Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF unit root test and found that variables are in different order of integration. Long-term equilibrium relationships among the variables are tested with Johansen cointegration and it is found that DSE general index return and mutual funds’ return are cointegrated. Toda-Yamamoto (TY version of granger non-causality test is employed and bidirectional causality is found moving from DSE (Dhaka Stock Exchange general index turnover to DSE general index return, whereas unidirectional causality is found moving from mutual fund’s return to DSE general index return, mutual funds’ return to mutual funds turnover, and DSE general index turnover to mutual funds turnover. This finding helps to conclude that equity shares’ demand drives the mutual funds demand but even higher demand of mutual funds fails to raise its own price unless underlying value of the mutual funds changes.

Risk and Return Analysis of Mutual Fund Industry in India

OpenAIRE

Bilal Ahmad Pandow; Khurshid Ahmad Butt

2017-01-01

The mutual funds is one of the important classes of financial intermediaries which enables millions of small and large savers spread across India as well as internationally to participate in and derive the benefits of the capital market growth. Thus the involvement of mutual funds in the transformation of Indian economy has made it urgent to view their services as they are playing role in mobilizing and allocation of investable funds through markets. The fact is that mutual funds have a lot o...

Investors’ perception on mutual funds with reference to Chidambaram town

OpenAIRE

N. Geetha; M. Ramesh

2011-01-01

Mutual funds in India play a vital role in mobilizing funds for capital and financial markets. The role of mutual funds in India felt significant as it generates funds from small investors at large across the country. The main objective of the study is to elucidate the perceptions and behaviours of the small investors located in the town of Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, South India towards the mutual funds and also suggest some measures to increase the quantum of investors and investments as well.

Do firm characteristics influence mutual fund performance? An empirical study for European mutual funds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Jong, F.C.J.M.; Wingens, L.

2013-01-01

This study investigates the influence of fund management firm characteristics on mutual fund performance. Using a sample of European domiciled open-end equity funds for the period 1998-2008, this study finds that the funds of private companies have performed better than the funds of public

Mutually unbiased coarse-grained measurements of two or more phase-space variables

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, E. C.; Walborn, S. P.; Tasca, D. S.; Rudnicki, Łukasz

2018-05-01

Mutual unbiasedness of the eigenstates of phase-space operators—such as position and momentum, or their standard coarse-grained versions—exists only in the limiting case of infinite squeezing. In Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 040403 (2018), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.040403, it was shown that mutual unbiasedness can be recovered for periodic coarse graining of these two operators. Here we investigate mutual unbiasedness of coarse-grained measurements for more than two phase-space variables. We show that mutual unbiasedness can be recovered between periodic coarse graining of any two nonparallel phase-space operators. We illustrate these results through optics experiments, using the fractional Fourier transform to prepare and measure mutually unbiased phase-space variables. The differences between two and three mutually unbiased measurements is discussed. Our results contribute to bridging the gap between continuous and discrete quantum mechanics, and they could be useful in quantum-information protocols.

Grounding Animal Rights in Mutual Advantage Contractarianism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Taylor

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Contrary to critics and advocates of contractarianism alike, I argue that mutual advantage contractarianism entails rights and protections for animals. In section one I outline the criteria that must be met in order for an individual to qualify for moral rights on the contractarian view. I then introduce an alternative form of ‘rights,’ which I call ‘protectorate status,’ from which an individual can receive protections indirectly. In section two I suggest guidelines for assigning animal rights based on two ways of categorizing animals. On the basis of the categorization according to benefit derived, I argue that animals used for companionship, security, hunting assistance, transportation, entertainment, medical service, nourishment, or clothing will tend to qualify for basic rights against starvation, predation, and disease. On the basis of the categorization according to species, I argue that, on top of the basic rights above, dogs tend to qualify for rights against abuse, and against frivolous medical experimentation, as well as further negotiated rights. Cows have the basic rights against starvation, predation, and disease, but squirrels and bears have no rights. In section three I argue that some animals qualify for protectorate status, which would establish various protections for different animals, but would also generally prohibit cruelty towards animals.

Two high-frequency mutual inductance bridges with high resolution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Flokstra, Jakob; Gerritsma, G.J.; Kreuwel, H.J.M.; van der Marel, L.C.

1980-01-01

Two mutual inductance bridges are described for operation up to about 100 kHz. Special attention is paid to the sensitivity and resolution of the bridges. Both bridges can be used to measure variations of about 10 pH in the mutual inductance. The first bridge consists of passive elements only

Hardware device binding and mutual authentication

Science.gov (United States)

Hamlet, Jason R; Pierson, Lyndon G

2014-03-04

Detection and deterrence of device tampering and subversion by substitution may be achieved by including a cryptographic unit within a computing device for binding multiple hardware devices and mutually authenticating the devices. The cryptographic unit includes a physically unclonable function ("PUF") circuit disposed in or on the hardware device, which generates a binding PUF value. The cryptographic unit uses the binding PUF value during an enrollment phase and subsequent authentication phases. During a subsequent authentication phase, the cryptographic unit uses the binding PUF values of the multiple hardware devices to generate a challenge to send to the other device, and to verify a challenge received from the other device to mutually authenticate the hardware devices.

Mutual Recognition of Financial Penalties between the EU Member States. Critical Observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minodora Ioana Rusu

2010-07-01

Full Text Available According to the special Romanian law, one of the forms of judicial assistance in criminal matters recognized in the relations between the EU member states is, among others, the one referringto the cooperation in applying the principle of mutual recognition of financial penalties. The European normative act that establishes the general cooperation norms in this matter is the Council’sDecision Frame 2005/214/JAI on February 24, 2005 on the application of the principle of mutual recognition of financial penalties. This European normative act has been transposed in the internallegislation through Law no.302/2004, according to the international judicial cooperation in criminal matters, with the subsequent amendments and completions, the latter being represented by Lawno.222/2008. The amendments and completions instituted by the abovementioned normative act establish the procedure of transmitting the decision, the procedures for recognition and execution ofsuch a decision by the competent Romanian judicial authorities, the grounds of non recognition and non execution, the definition of used terms, as well as other aspects referring to the recognition andexecution of such decisions. Commenting refers to a number of provisions in the law under both European and domestic in the special law, comments aimed in particular the replacement of terms ofrecognition or non-performance reasons, the procedure of identification of persons convicted when they are evade the enforcement of financial obligations and failure to transpose into national law of subsequent changes to European law.

Persistence of pollination mutualisms in the presence of ants.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yuanshi; Wang, Shikun

2015-01-01

This paper considers plant-pollinator-ant systems in which the plant-pollinator interaction is mutualistic but ants have both positive and negative effects on plants. The ants also interfere with pollinators by preventing them from accessing plants. While a Beddington-DeAngelis (BD) formula can describe the plant-pollinator interaction, the formula is extended in this paper to characterize the pollination mutualism under the ant interference. Then, a plant-pollinator-ant system with the extended BD functional response is discussed, and global dynamics of the model demonstrate the mechanisms by which pollination mutualism can persist in the presence of ants. When the ant interference is strong, it can result in extinction of pollinators. Moreover, if the ants depend on pollination mutualism for survival, the strong interference could drive pollinators into extinction, which consequently lead to extinction of the ants themselves. When the ant interference is weak, a cooperation between plant-ant and plant-pollinator mutualisms could occur, which promotes survival of both ants and pollinators, especially in the case that ants (respectively, pollinators) cannot survive in the absence of pollinators (respectively, ants). Even when the level of ant interference remains invariant, varying ants' negative effect on plants can result in survival/extinction of both ants and pollinators. Therefore, our results provide an explanation for the persistence of pollination mutualism when there exist ants.

Mutualism Disruption Threatens Global Plant Biodiversity: A Systematic Review.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clare E Aslan

Full Text Available As global environmental change accelerates, biodiversity losses can disrupt interspecific interactions. Extinctions of mutualist partners can create "widow" species, which may face reduced ecological fitness. Hypothetically, such mutualism disruptions could have cascading effects on biodiversity by causing additional species coextinctions. However, the scope of this problem - the magnitude of biodiversity that may lose mutualist partners and the consequences of these losses - remains unknown.We conducted a systematic review and synthesis of data from a broad range of sources to estimate the threat posed by vertebrate extinctions to the global biodiversity of vertebrate-dispersed and -pollinated plants. Though enormous research gaps persist, our analysis identified Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and global oceanic islands as geographic regions at particular risk of disruption of these mutualisms; within these regions, percentages of plant species likely affected range from 2.1-4.5%. Widowed plants are likely to experience reproductive declines of 40-58%, potentially threatening their persistence in the context of other global change stresses.Our systematic approach demonstrates that thousands of species may be impacted by disruption in one class of mutualisms, but extinctions will likely disrupt other mutualisms, as well. Although uncertainty is high, there is evidence that mutualism disruption directly threatens significant biodiversity in some geographic regions. Conservation measures with explicit focus on mutualistic functions could be necessary to bolster populations of widowed species and maintain ecosystem functions.

Mutual irradiation grafting on indigenous aramid fiber-3 in diethanolamine and epichlorohydrin and its effect on interfacially reinforced epoxy composite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xing, Lixin [School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001,China (China); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Liu, Li, E-mail: liuli@hit.edu.cn [School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001,China (China); Xie, Fei [School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001,China (China); Huang, Yudong [School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001,China (China); State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)

2016-07-01

Highlights: • High energy gamma rays were used to decorate the surface of aramid fiber via mutual irradiation grafting process in two medium. • The effects of different grafting medium on aramid fiber surface were investigated through SEM, AFM, XPS, wettability and adsorption measurements. • Interfacial properties of aramid reinforced polymer composites were remarkable improved after mutual irradiation. - Abstract: The surface of indigenous aramid fiber-3 (IAF3) was decorated via mutual irradiation grafting process in diethanolamine (DEA) and epichlorohydrin (ECH), respectively, with the assist of high energy gamma rays. This modification method with great permeability produced the homogeneous and ameliorative AF3 surfaces, which were observed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atom forced microscopy (AFM). Enhanced surface free energy and reduced contact angles of irradiated AF3 verified the fabulous effectiveness of mutual irradiation without seriously injured tensile strength. The composites based on epoxy resin (ER) polymer as the matrix and irradiated IAF3 grafted DEA and ECH as the reinforcement. By capitalizing on the irradiated IAF3 which has higher wettability and adsorption on resin, the irradiated IAF3-ECH/ER composites exhibit admirable interfacial mechanical performance as compared to the pristine IAF3 contained composites. The interfacial shear strength (IFSS), interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) and flexural strength of composites were remarkable improved to 86.5, 60.13 and 511 MPa respectively, from the pristine IAF3/ER composite with IFSS of 65.9 MPa, ILSS of 48.1 MPa, and flexural strength of 479 MPa.

Mutual irradiation grafting on indigenous aramid fiber-3 in diethanolamine and epichlorohydrin and its effect on interfacially reinforced epoxy composite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xing, Lixin; Liu, Li; Xie, Fei; Huang, Yudong

2016-01-01

Highlights: • High energy gamma rays were used to decorate the surface of aramid fiber via mutual irradiation grafting process in two medium. • The effects of different grafting medium on aramid fiber surface were investigated through SEM, AFM, XPS, wettability and adsorption measurements. • Interfacial properties of aramid reinforced polymer composites were remarkable improved after mutual irradiation. - Abstract: The surface of indigenous aramid fiber-3 (IAF3) was decorated via mutual irradiation grafting process in diethanolamine (DEA) and epichlorohydrin (ECH), respectively, with the assist of high energy gamma rays. This modification method with great permeability produced the homogeneous and ameliorative AF3 surfaces, which were observed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atom forced microscopy (AFM). Enhanced surface free energy and reduced contact angles of irradiated AF3 verified the fabulous effectiveness of mutual irradiation without seriously injured tensile strength. The composites based on epoxy resin (ER) polymer as the matrix and irradiated IAF3 grafted DEA and ECH as the reinforcement. By capitalizing on the irradiated IAF3 which has higher wettability and adsorption on resin, the irradiated IAF3-ECH/ER composites exhibit admirable interfacial mechanical performance as compared to the pristine IAF3 contained composites. The interfacial shear strength (IFSS), interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) and flexural strength of composites were remarkable improved to 86.5, 60.13 and 511 MPa respectively, from the pristine IAF3/ER composite with IFSS of 65.9 MPa, ILSS of 48.1 MPa, and flexural strength of 479 MPa.

The evolution of mutual ornamentation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kraaijeveld, Ken; Kraaijeveld-Smit, Femmie J. L.; Komdeur, Jan

2007-01-01

Many conspicuous ornamental traits in animals are expressed in both males and females. Despite this, most research has focused on sexually dimorphic ornamentation. Mutual ornamentation has often been viewed as a result of either a nonadaptive genetic correlation between the sexes or similar

Impact of Competition on Mutual Fund Marketing Expenses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sitikantha Parida

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, I study the impact of market competition on mutual fund marketing expenses. In a sample of US domestic equity mutual funds, I find that marketing expenses decrease with the competition. This effect is stronger for top-performing funds. These results are counterintuitive, as one would ordinarily expect funds to incur more marketing expenses in response to pressure from competing funds. However, these results support the narrative that mutual funds employ marketing to draw attention to their performance in a tournament-like market, where the top-performing funds (the winners are rewarded with disproportionately high new investments. Higher competition decreases the chances of each fund to outperform the others and adversely affect their ability to attract new investments, and the funds respond by decreasing marketing expenses. Thus, competition appears to have implications for investor search cost.

Rényi generalizations of the conditional quantum mutual information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berta, Mario; Seshadreesan, Kaushik P.; Wilde, Mark M.

2015-01-01

The conditional quantum mutual information I(A; B|C) of a tripartite state ρ ABC is an information quantity which lies at the center of many problems in quantum information theory. Three of its main properties are that it is non-negative for any tripartite state, that it decreases under local operations applied to systems A and B, and that it obeys the duality relation I(A; B|C) = I(A; B|D) for a four-party pure state on systems ABCD. The conditional mutual information also underlies the squashed entanglement, an entanglement measure that satisfies all of the axioms desired for an entanglement measure. As such, it has been an open question to find Rényi generalizations of the conditional mutual information, that would allow for a deeper understanding of the original quantity and find applications beyond the traditional memoryless setting of quantum information theory. The present paper addresses this question, by defining different α-Rényi generalizations I α (A; B|C) of the conditional mutual information, some of which we can prove converge to the conditional mutual information in the limit α → 1. Furthermore, we prove that many of these generalizations satisfy non-negativity, duality, and monotonicity with respect to local operations on one of the systems A or B (with it being left as an open question to prove that monotonicity holds with respect to local operations on both systems). The quantities defined here should find applications in quantum information theory and perhaps even in other areas of physics, but we leave this for future work. We also state a conjecture regarding the monotonicity of the Rényi conditional mutual informations defined here with respect to the Rényi parameter α. We prove that this conjecture is true in some special cases and when α is in a neighborhood of one

Team Reasoning and Intentional Cooperation for Mutual Benefit

OpenAIRE

Sugden Robert

2015-01-01

This paper proposes a concept of intentional cooperation for mutual benefit. This concept uses a form of team reasoning in which team members aim to achieve common interests, rather than maximising a common utility function, and in which team reasoners can coordinate their behaviour by following pre-existing practices. I argue that a market transaction can express intentions for mutually beneficial cooperation even if, extensionally, participation in the transaction promotes each party’s self...

AWARENESS OF MUTUAL FUND INVESTMENT AMONG THE INVESTORS – AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

OpenAIRE

Dr. B. Ravi Kumar; R. Padma Malini

2017-01-01

Capital market has been strengthened due to because of increase in investment in mutual funds by small and medium investors. Most of the investors are having awareness about mutual funds and its benefits like tax benefits, less risk, cost etc. The mutual fund industry in India has undergone a most successful phase in the last 15 years. The growth in number of schemes offered by Indian mutual funds from 403 schemes in 2002-03 to 1294 schemes in 2011-12 has shown the inclination of investors to...

Measurement reduction for mutual coupling calibration in DOA estimation

Science.gov (United States)

Aksoy, Taylan; Tuncer, T. Engin

2012-01-01

Mutual coupling is an important source of error in antenna arrays that should be compensated for super resolution direction-of-arrival (DOA) algorithms, such as Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm. A crucial step in array calibration is the determination of the mutual coupling coefficients for the antenna array. In this paper, a system theoretic approach is presented for the mutual coupling characterization of antenna arrays. The comprehension and implementation of this approach is simple leading to further advantages in calibration measurement reduction. In this context, a measurement reduction method for antenna arrays with omni-directional and identical elements is proposed which is based on the symmetry planes in the array geometry. The proposed method significantly decreases the number of measurements during the calibration process. This method is evaluated using different array types whose responses and the mutual coupling characteristics are obtained through numerical electromagnetic simulations. It is shown that a single calibration measurement is sufficient for uniform circular arrays. Certain important and interesting characteristics observed during the experiments are outlined.

Reducing Interpolation Artifacts for Mutual Information Based Image Registration

Science.gov (United States)

Soleimani, H.; Khosravifard, M.A.

2011-01-01

Medical image registration methods which use mutual information as similarity measure have been improved in recent decades. Mutual Information is a basic concept of Information theory which indicates the dependency of two random variables (or two images). In order to evaluate the mutual information of two images their joint probability distribution is required. Several interpolation methods, such as Partial Volume (PV) and bilinear, are used to estimate joint probability distribution. Both of these two methods yield some artifacts on mutual information function. Partial Volume-Hanning window (PVH) and Generalized Partial Volume (GPV) methods are introduced to remove such artifacts. In this paper we show that the acceptable performance of these methods is not due to their kernel function. It's because of the number of pixels which incorporate in interpolation. Since using more pixels requires more complex and time consuming interpolation process, we propose a new interpolation method which uses only four pixels (the same as PV and bilinear interpolations) and removes most of the artifacts. Experimental results of the registration of Computed Tomography (CT) images show superiority of the proposed scheme. PMID:22606673

Mutual Coupling Effects on Pattern Diversity Antennas for MIMO Femtocells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yue Gao

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Diversity antennas play an important role in wireless communications. However, mutual coupling between multiple ports of a diversity antenna has significant effects on wireless radio links and channel capacity. In this paper, dual-port pattern diversity antennas for femtocell applications are proposed to cover GSM1800, UMTS, and WLAN frequency bands. The channel capacities of the proposed antennas and two ideal dipoles with different mutual coupling levels are investigated in an indoor environment. The relation between mutual coupling and channel capacity is observed through investigations of these antennas.

Mutual Recogniton of Professional Qualifications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Enemark, Stig; Plimmer, Francis

The publication aims to review the concept of mutual recognition of qualifications within the world wide surveying community, and to develop a framework for the introduction of standards of global professional competence in this area. The publication also includes a number of case studies from...

An implementation of mutual inclusion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoogerwoord, R.R.

1986-01-01

We consider the parallel composition of two cyclic programs. The interaction of these programs consists of a form of synchronisation sometimes referred to as ‘mutual inclusion’. For a given implementation of this synchronisation by means of semaphore operations, we prove the correctness of the

Mutual repression enhances the steepness and precision of gene expression boundaries.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas R Sokolowski

Full Text Available Embryonic development is driven by spatial patterns of gene expression that determine the fate of each cell in the embryo. While gene expression is often highly erratic, embryonic development is usually exceedingly precise. In particular, gene expression boundaries are robust not only against intra-embryonic fluctuations such as noise in gene expression and protein diffusion, but also against embryo-to-embryo variations in the morphogen gradients, which provide positional information to the differentiating cells. How development is robust against intra- and inter-embryonic variations is not understood. A common motif in the gene regulation networks that control embryonic development is mutual repression between pairs of genes. To assess the role of mutual repression in the robust formation of gene expression patterns, we have performed large-scale stochastic simulations of a minimal model of two mutually repressing gap genes in Drosophila, hunchback (hb and knirps (kni. Our model includes not only mutual repression between hb and kni, but also the stochastic and cooperative activation of hb by the anterior morphogen Bicoid (Bcd and of kni by the posterior morphogen Caudal (Cad, as well as the diffusion of Hb and Kni between neighboring nuclei. Our analysis reveals that mutual repression can markedly increase the steepness and precision of the gap gene expression boundaries. In contrast to other mechanisms such as spatial averaging and cooperative gene activation, mutual repression thus allows for gene-expression boundaries that are both steep and precise. Moreover, mutual repression dramatically enhances their robustness against embryo-to-embryo variations in the morphogen levels. Finally, our simulations reveal that diffusion of the gap proteins plays a critical role not only in reducing the width of the gap gene expression boundaries via the mechanism of spatial averaging, but also in repairing patterning errors that could arise because of the

Mutual HIV status disclosure is associated with consistent condom use in public sector ART clients in Free State province, South Africa: a short report.

Science.gov (United States)

Booysen, Frederik le Roux; Wouters, Edwin; de Walque, Damien; Over, Mead

2017-11-01

Risky sexual behaviour in PLWHA on antiretroviral therapy threatens both prevention and treatment efforts, but disclosure promises to support safer sexual practices. This paper investigates the association between HIV self-disclosure and consistent condom use in a cohort of public sector patients on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. Using data from the FEATS cohort study, logistic regression analysis shows that knowledge of your partner's HIV status is positively associated with consistent condom use (OR 2.73, 95% CI 1.37-5.43, p = 0.004) and so too mutual HIV disclosure (OR 3.38, 95% CI 1.60-7.18, p = 0.001). Prevention and treatment programmes, through couple HIV counselling and testing (CHCT) and other assistance programmes, should focus on supporting the mutual disclosure of HIV status among PLWHA on ARV treatment.

Indian mutual fund industry: Opportunities and challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jayant R. Kale

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This article presents an overview of the mutual fund industry in India and the reasons for its poor penetration, which includes lack of objective research. It benchmarks the industry globally, and raises key issues regarding the ownership and performance of mutual funds, the sensitivity of fund flows to performance, and the importance of regulation to its growth, all of which have been largely under researched in India. It then captures the views of leading practitioners on these and other issues, including the challenges posed by poor financial literacy, the equity culture in the country, and the weakly supportive regulatory environment.

Quantum process reconstruction based on mutually unbiased basis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez-Perez, A.; Saavedra, C.; Klimov, A. B.

2011-01-01

We study a quantum process reconstruction based on the use of mutually unbiased projectors (MUB projectors) as input states for a D-dimensional quantum system, with D being a power of a prime number. This approach connects the results of quantum-state tomography using mutually unbiased bases with the coefficients of a quantum process, expanded in terms of MUB projectors. We also study the performance of the reconstruction scheme against random errors when measuring probabilities at the MUB projectors.

Application of data envelopment analysis in measuring the efficiency of mutual fund

Science.gov (United States)

Nik, Marzieh Geramian; Mihanzadeh, Hooman; Izadifar, Mozhgan; Nik, Babak Geramian

2015-05-01

The growth of mutual fund industry during the past decades emphasizes the importance of this investment vehicle particularly in prosperity of financial markets and in turn, financial growth of each country. Therefore, evaluating the relative efficiency of mutual funds as investment tool is of importance. In this study, a combined model of DEA (data envelopment analysis), and goal programming (GoDEA) approaches contributes widely to analyze the return efficiency of Mutual Funds in an attempt to separate efficient and inefficient Funds as well as identifying the inefficiency resources. Mixed asset local funds, which are managed jointly by CIMB and Public Mutual Berhad, have been selected for the purpose of this paper. As a result, Public Small Cap Fund (P Small Cap) is regarded as the most efficient mutual fund during the period of study. The integrated model aims to first guide investors to choose the best performing fund among other mutual funds, secondly provides the realistic and appropriate benchmark in compare to other classic method, and finally confirms the utility of data envelopment analysis (DEA) as decision-making tool.

31 CFR 103.131 - Customer identification programs for mutual funds.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Finance FINANCIAL RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING OF CURRENCY AND FOREIGN TRANSACTIONS Anti-Money Laundering Programs Anti-Money Laundering Programs § 103.131 Customer identification programs for mutual funds. (a... mutual fund's anti-money laundering program required under the regulations implementing 31 U.S.C. 5318(h...

Occurrence and characteristics of mutual interference between LIDAR scanners

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Gunzung; Eom, Jeongsook; Park, Seonghyeon; Park, Yongwan

2015-05-01

The LIDAR scanner is at the heart of object detection of the self-driving car. Mutual interference between LIDAR scanners has not been regarded as a problem because the percentage of vehicles equipped with LIDAR scanners was very rare. With the growing number of autonomous vehicle equipped with LIDAR scanner operated close to each other at the same time, the LIDAR scanner may receive laser pulses from other LIDAR scanners. In this paper, three types of experiments and their results are shown, according to the arrangement of two LIDAR scanners. We will show the probability that any LIDAR scanner will interfere mutually by considering spatial and temporal overlaps. It will present some typical mutual interference scenario and report an analysis of the interference mechanism.

Nectar bacteria, but not yeast, weaken a plant-pollinator mutualism.

Science.gov (United States)

Vannette, Rachel L; Gauthier, Marie-Pierre L; Fukami, Tadashi

2013-02-07

Mutualistic interactions are often subject to exploitation by species that are not directly involved in the mutualism. Understanding which organisms act as such 'third-party' species and how they do so is a major challenge in the current study of mutualistic interactions. Here, we show that even species that appear ecologically similar can have contrasting effects as third-party species. We experimentally compared the effects of nectar-inhabiting bacteria and yeasts on the strength of a mutualism between a hummingbird-pollinated shrub, Mimulus aurantiacus, and its pollinators. We found that the common bacterium Gluconobacter sp., but not the common yeast Metschnikowia reukaufii, reduced pollination success, seed set and nectar consumption by pollinators, thereby weakening the plant-pollinator mutualism. We also found that the bacteria reduced nectar pH and total sugar concentration more greatly than the yeasts did and that the bacteria decreased glucose concentration and increased fructose concentration whereas the yeasts affected neither. These distinct changes to nectar chemistry may underlie the microbes' contrasting effects on the mutualism. Our results suggest that it is necessary to understand the determinants of microbial species composition in nectar and their differential modification of floral rewards to explain the mutual benefits that plants and pollinators gain from each other.

Nectar bacteria, but not yeast, weaken a plant–pollinator mutualism

Science.gov (United States)

Vannette, Rachel L.; Gauthier, Marie-Pierre L.; Fukami, Tadashi

2013-01-01

Mutualistic interactions are often subject to exploitation by species that are not directly involved in the mutualism. Understanding which organisms act as such ‘third-party’ species and how they do so is a major challenge in the current study of mutualistic interactions. Here, we show that even species that appear ecologically similar can have contrasting effects as third-party species. We experimentally compared the effects of nectar-inhabiting bacteria and yeasts on the strength of a mutualism between a hummingbird-pollinated shrub, Mimulus aurantiacus, and its pollinators. We found that the common bacterium Gluconobacter sp., but not the common yeast Metschnikowia reukaufii, reduced pollination success, seed set and nectar consumption by pollinators, thereby weakening the plant–pollinator mutualism. We also found that the bacteria reduced nectar pH and total sugar concentration more greatly than the yeasts did and that the bacteria decreased glucose concentration and increased fructose concentration whereas the yeasts affected neither. These distinct changes to nectar chemistry may underlie the microbes' contrasting effects on the mutualism. Our results suggest that it is necessary to understand the determinants of microbial species composition in nectar and their differential modification of floral rewards to explain the mutual benefits that plants and pollinators gain from each other. PMID:23222453

Mutually orthogonal Latin squares from the inner products of vectors in mutually unbiased bases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, Joanne L; Rao, Asha

2010-01-01

Mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) are important in quantum information theory. While constructions of complete sets of d + 1 MUBs in C d are known when d is a prime power, it is unknown if such complete sets exist in non-prime power dimensions. It has been conjectured that complete sets of MUBs only exist in C d if a maximal set of mutually orthogonal Latin squares (MOLS) of side length d also exists. There are several constructions (Roy and Scott 2007 J. Math. Phys. 48 072110; Paterek, Dakic and Brukner 2009 Phys. Rev. A 79 012109) of complete sets of MUBs from specific types of MOLS, which use Galois fields to construct the vectors of the MUBs. In this paper, two known constructions of MUBs (Alltop 1980 IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 26 350-354; Wootters and Fields 1989 Ann. Phys. 191 363-381), both of which use polynomials over a Galois field, are used to construct complete sets of MOLS in the odd prime case. The MOLS come from the inner products of pairs of vectors in the MUBs.

Comparison of the performance of Islamic, Sri and green mutual funds

OpenAIRE

Paradinovic, Ivana

2017-01-01

This paper measures and compares performance of Islamic, SRI and Green mutual equity funds worldwide in the period from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2015. The sample consists of 611 mutual equity funds and their performance was assessed by using traditional risk-adjusted measures, namely Sharpe ratio, Modified Sharpe Ratio, Adjusted Sharpe Ratio, Treynor measure, Information ratio and Jensen’s alpha. The main findings show that Green mutual equity funds, on average, outperform both SRI and I...

UK equity mutual fund alphas make a comeback

OpenAIRE

Mateus, Irina B.; Mateus, Cesario; Todorovic, Natasa

2016-01-01

In this study, we re-visit the performance of 887 active UK equity mutual funds using a new approach proposed by Angelidis, Giamouridis, and Tessaromatis. The authors argue that mutual funds stock selection is driven by the benchmark index, so if the benchmark generates alpha, there will be a bias in interpretation of manager's stock-picking ability. In their model, the alpha of a fund is adjusted by the benchmark's alpha. By applying this method, we eliminate bias inflicted by the persistent...

Environmental quality modulates the cooperative and competitive nature of a microbial cross-feeding mutualism

Science.gov (United States)

Hoek, Tim; Axelrod, Kevin; Yurtsev, Eugene; Gore, Jeff

Mutualisms are essential for ecosystem function and stability. However, in some environments the competitive aspects of an interaction may dominate the mutualistic aspects. Although these transitions could have far-reaching implications, it has been difficult to study the causes and consequences of this mutualistic-competitive transition in experimentally tractable systems. Here we experimentally study a microbial cross-feeding mutualism in which each yeast strain supplies an essential amino acid for its partner strain. We find that, depending upon the amino acid concentration, this pair of strains can exhibit any of: obligatory mutualism, facultative mutualism, competition, parasitism, competitive exclusion, or failed mutualism leading to extinction of the population. A simple model capturing the essential features of this interaction predicts that environmental quality specifies the outcome and provides a ``phase diagram'' of net interactions in this mutualism. In addition, the model accurately predicts that changes in the dynamics of the mutualism in deteriorating environments can predict that population collapse is imminent. Our results provide a general framework for how mutualisms may transition between qualitatively different regimes of interaction.

77 FR 25349 - Mutual Insurance Holding Company Treated as Insurance Company

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-30

..., the first mutual fire insurer was established. The first American mutual insurance company, the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire, was founded in 1752.\\3\\ \\3\\ The...

Construction of women's citizenship: contributions of “the national pact to combat violence against women”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone Cristina Dufloth

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Over the last few years laws and public policies have been developed to support women in building their status as citizens. However, advances in Brazilian legislation show us that they are no longer the formal aspects that inhibit women full process of citizenship. Thus, in this scenario it is important to discuss what are the improvements and challenges today for the implementation of the rights guaranteed by law. It is highlighted here the analysis of instruments promoted by the government through the policies and actions taken to guarantee the exercise of rights already provided by law. This article analyzes the main contributions of the National Pact to Combat Violence against Women and the State Plan of Policies for Women for the construction of female citizenship, in particular the plan adopted by the State of Minas Gerais, from the understanding that it should be constantly examined how federal entities are mobilized to the topic in question. The survey was exploratory in nature, developed from several sources. It concludes that although there are growing initiatives technical directives, there is still an undeniable fragility in the structure offered by the government to combat violence against.

Evaluation of Performance of Mutual Funds in India from 2004-2009

OpenAIRE

Badani, Ankit

2009-01-01

Mutual funds play an important role in the globalization of the financial markets. Various past studies have been carried out by academics and researchers to analyse the performance of mutual funds. One of the important facts revealed by most of these studies is that a mutual fund cannot perform better than the market. Performance measures like Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio, Jensen measure etc are applied to evaluate the performance 30 open-ended equity diversified growth funds in India for the...

Landauer current and mutual information in a bosonic quantum dot

Science.gov (United States)

Shashikant Sable, Hrushikesh; Singh Bhakuni, Devendra; Sharma, Auditya

2018-02-01

We study the quantum transport of bosons through a quantum dot coupled to two macroscopic heat baths L and R, held at fixed temperatures TL and TR respectively. We manage to cast the particle as well as the heat current into the Landauer form. Following the correlation matrix approach, we compute the time-dependent mutual information of the dot with the baths. We find that mutual information goes logarithmically as the number of bosons, and at low temperatures, it is possible to set up the parameters in such a way that in steady-state, the mutual information goes quadratically as a function of current.

Risk assessment of chemicals: A central European perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bencko, Vladimir [Institute of Hygiene, 1st Medical Faculty, Charles University, Prague (Czech Republic); Ungvary, Gyoergy [National Institute of Occupational Health, Budapest (Hungary)

1992-07-01

During the last four decades in the Czech and Slovak federal Republic (CSFR) and Hungary, similar to the previous Soviet Union and all the Central and East European countries the prevention of the adverse health effects of chemicals in occupational and environmental settings, drinking water and food of population was intended to be achieved by determination and compulsory observance of hygienic limit values. From recent political developments it can be expected that due to the decay of the former Warsaw Pact and the related Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) the next development of risk assessment will reflect that new situation. The OECD principles of toxicity testing and risk assessment of exposure to chemicals will be sooner or later accepted in principle in the framework of a general economic integration of Central and Eastern European countries with EEC. During the 80s there was a growing feeling of the necessity to harmonize the activities of OECD and CMEA countries in the field of toxicological methodology and approaches to risk assessment of chemicals because of the growing production and mutual trade including transport of industrial and agricultural chemicals. As a contributory factor supporting this effort there was growing cross boundary air and river pollution in Europe. The former Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was an intergovernmental organization of 10 countries with a number of other countries and agencies cooperating with it in its work. CMEA as, and OECD still is concerned primarily with economic development but both had stated commitments to protecting human health and the environment. To help to mutual understanding and to promote harmonization of above mentioned obligations and commitments of the both organizations United Nation Environment Programme's International Registry of Potentially Toxic Chemicals and The International Programme on Chemical Safety (UNEP/IRPTC/IPCS) convened an International Consultation on

Risk assessment of chemicals: A central European perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bencko, Vladimir; Gyoergy Ungvary

1992-01-01

During the last four decades in the Czech and Slovak federal Republic (CSFR) and Hungary, similar to the previous Soviet Union and all the Central and East European countries the prevention of the adverse health effects of chemicals in occupational and environmental settings, drinking water and food of population was intended to be achieved by determination and compulsory observance of hygienic limit values. From recent political developments it can be expected that due to the decay of the former Warsaw Pact and the related Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) the next development of risk assessment will reflect that new situation. The OECD principles of toxicity testing and risk assessment of exposure to chemicals will be sooner or later accepted in principle in the framework of a general economic integration of Central and Eastern European countries with EEC. During the 80s there was a growing feeling of the necessity to harmonize the activities of OECD and CMEA countries in the field of toxicological methodology and approaches to risk assessment of chemicals because of the growing production and mutual trade including transport of industrial and agricultural chemicals. As a contributory factor supporting this effort there was growing cross boundary air and river pollution in Europe. The former Council for Mutual Economic Assistance was an intergovernmental organization of 10 countries with a number of other countries and agencies cooperating with it in its work. CMEA as, and OECD still is concerned primarily with economic development but both had stated commitments to protecting human health and the environment. To help to mutual understanding and to promote harmonization of above mentioned obligations and commitments of the both organizations United Nation Environment Programme's International Registry of Potentially Toxic Chemicals and The International Programme on Chemical Safety (UNEP/IRPTC/IPCS) convened an International Consultation on

The Mutual Storytelling Writing Game.

Science.gov (United States)

Scorzelli, James F.; Gold, Julie

1999-01-01

Because of differences in cultural backgrounds and learning styles, some children have a difficult time verbalizing their emotions or appear resistant to talking about themselves. Describes a technique, referred to as the mutual storytelling writing game, that has been found to be useful for children who have difficulty in engaging in traditional…

Enhanced mutual capture of colored solitons by matched modulator

Science.gov (United States)

Feigenbaum, Eyal; Orenstein, Meir

2004-08-01

The mutual capture of two colored solitons is enhanced by a modulator, to a level which enables its practical exploitation, e.g., for a read- write mechanism in a soliton buffer. The enhanced capture was analyzed using closed form particle-like soliton perturbation, and verified by numerical simulations. Optimal modulator frequency and modulation depth are obtained. This mutual capture can be utilized for all-optical soliton logic and memory.

A consumer-resource approach to the density-dependent population dynamics of mutualism.

Science.gov (United States)

Holland, J Nathaniel; DeAngelis, Donald L

2010-05-01

Like predation and competition, mutualism is now recognized as a consumer-resource (C-R) interaction, including, in particular, bi-directional (e.g., coral, plant-mycorrhizae) and uni-directional (e.g., ant-plant defense, plant-pollinator) C-R mutualisms. Here, we develop general theory for the density-dependent population dynamics of mutualism based on the C-R mechanism of interspecific interaction. To test the influence of C-R interactions on the dynamics and stability of bi- and uni-directional C-R mutualisms, we developed simple models that link consumer functional response of one mutualistic species with the resources supplied by another. Phase-plane analyses show that the ecological dynamics of C-R mutualisms are stable in general. Most transient behavior leads to an equilibrium of mutualistic coexistence, at which both species densities are greater than in the absence of interactions. However, due to the basic nature of C-R interactions, certain density-dependent conditions can lead to C-R dynamics characteristic of predator-prey interactions, in which one species overexploits and causes the other to go extinct. Consistent with empirical phenomena, these results suggest that the C-R interaction can provide a broad mechanism for understanding density-dependent population dynamics of mutualism. By unifying predation, competition, and mutualism under the common ecological framework of consumer-resource theory, we may also gain a better understanding of the universal features of interspecific interactions in general.

A consumer-resource approach to the density-dependent population dynamics of mutualism

Science.gov (United States)

Holland, J. Nathaniel; DeAngelis, Donald L.

2010-01-01

Like predation and competition, mutualism is now recognized as a consumer resource (C-R) interaction, including, in particular, bi-directional (e.g., coral, plant- mycorrhizae) and uni-directional (e.g., ant-plant defense, plant-pollinator) C-R mutualisms. Here, we develop general theory for the density-dependent population dynamics of mutualism based on the C-R mechanism of interspecific interaction. To test the influence of C-R interactions on the dynamics and stability of bi- and uni-directional C-R mutualisms, we developed simple models that link consumer functional response of one mutualistic species with the resources supplied by another. Phase-plane analyses show that the ecological dynamics of C-R mutualisms are stable in general. Most transient behavior leads to an equilibrium of mutualistic coexistence, at which both species densities are greater than in the absence of interactions. However, due to the basic nature of C-R interactions, certain density-dependent conditions can lead to C-R dynamics characteristic of predator-prey interactions, in which one species overexploits and causes the other to go extinct. Consistent with empirical phenomena, these results suggest that the C-R interaction can provide a broad mechanism for understanding density-dependent population dynamics of mutualism. By unifying predation, competition, and mutualism under the common ecological framework of consumer-resource theory, we may also gain a better understanding of the universal features of interspecific interactions in general.

26 CFR 1.822-5 - Mutual insurance company taxable income.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Companies and Other Than Fire Or Flood Insurance Companies Which Operate on Basis of Perpetual Policies Or... by the following examples: Example 1. The X Company, a mutual fire insurance company subject to the... 26 Internal Revenue 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Mutual insurance company taxable income. 1.822-5...

Mutual information and the fidelity of response of gene regulatory models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tabbaa, Omar P; Jayaprakash, C

2014-01-01

We investigate cellular response to extracellular signals by using information theory techniques motivated by recent experiments. We present results for the steady state of the following gene regulatory models found in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells: a linear transcription-translation model and a positive or negative auto-regulatory model. We calculate both the information capacity and the mutual information exactly for simple models and approximately for the full model. We find that (1) small changes in mutual information can lead to potentially important changes in cellular response and (2) there are diminishing returns in the fidelity of response as the mutual information increases. We calculate the information capacity using Gillespie simulations of a model for the TNF-α-NF-κ B network and find good agreement with the measured value for an experimental realization of this network. Our results provide a quantitative understanding of the differences in cellular response when comparing experimentally measured mutual information values of different gene regulatory models. Our calculations demonstrate that Gillespie simulations can be used to compute the mutual information of more complex gene regulatory models, providing a potentially useful tool in synthetic biology. (paper)

Mutual diffusion coefficients of isopropanol + n-heptane and isobutanol + n-heptane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Maogang; Peng, Sanguo; Zhang, Ying; Zhang, Shi; Liu, Xiangyang

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: Mutual diffusion coefficients of isopropanol + n-heptane as a function of mass fraction of isopropanol. - Highlights: • D_1_2 of isopropanol + n-heptane and isobutanol + n-heptane were measured. • Effect of T, w and M of the solute on D_1_2 were analyzed. • A new correlation is proposed for the experimental data. - Abstract: The mutual diffusion coefficients of isopropanol + n-heptane and isobutanol + n-heptane were measured at different concentrations and in the temperature range from (283.15 to 323.15) K. The measurements were carried out using a digital holographic interferometry system. For all the mixtures investigated, the mutual diffusion coefficient increases as the temperature increases. At the same concentration and temperature, the mutual diffusion coefficients of isobutanol + n-heptane were lower than those of isopropanol + n-heptane due to the fact that the molecular weight of isobutanol is larger than that of isopropanol. A new correlation is proposed for the mutual diffusion coefficients of isopropanol + n-heptane and isobutanol + n-heptane. The absolute average relative deviation between the correlation and experiment is less than 1.90%.

Estimation of time-delayed mutual information and bias for irregularly and sparsely sampled time-series

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albers, D.J.; Hripcsak, George

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Time-delayed mutual information for irregularly sampled time-series. ► Estimation bias for the time-delayed mutual information calculation. ► Fast, simple, PDF estimator independent, time-delayed mutual information bias estimate. ► Quantification of data-set-size limits of the time-delayed mutual calculation. - Abstract: A method to estimate the time-dependent correlation via an empirical bias estimate of the time-delayed mutual information for a time-series is proposed. In particular, the bias of the time-delayed mutual information is shown to often be equivalent to the mutual information between two distributions of points from the same system separated by infinite time. Thus intuitively, estimation of the bias is reduced to estimation of the mutual information between distributions of data points separated by large time intervals. The proposed bias estimation techniques are shown to work for Lorenz equations data and glucose time series data of three patients from the Columbia University Medical Center database.

Mutual attraction of magnetic knots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parker, E.N.

1978-01-01

It is observed that the magnetic knots associated with active regions on the Sun have an attraction for each other during the formative period of the active regions, when new magnetic flux is coming to the surface. The attraction disappears when new flux ceases to rise through the surface. Then the magnetic spots and knots tend to come apart, leading to disintegration of the sunspots previously formed. The dissolution of the fields is to be expected, as a consequence of the magnetic repulsion of knots of like polarity and as a consequence of the hydromagnetic exchange instability.The purpose of this paper is to show that the mutual attraction of knots during the formative stages of a sunspot region may be understood as the mutual hydrodynamic attraction of the rising flux tubes. Two rising tubes attract each other, as a consequence of the wake of the leading tube when one is moving behind the other, and as a consequence of the Bernoulli effect when rising side by side

Herbivory eliminates fitness costs of mutualism exploiters.

Science.gov (United States)

Simonsen, Anna K; Stinchcombe, John R

2014-04-01

A common empirical observation in mutualistic interactions is the persistence of variation in partner quality and, in particular, the persistence of exploitative phenotypes. For mutualisms between hosts and symbionts, most mutualism theory assumes that exploiters always impose fitness costs on their host. We exposed legume hosts to mutualistic (nitrogen-fixing) and exploitative (non-nitrogen-fixing) symbiotic rhizobia in field conditions, and manipulated the presence or absence of insect herbivory to determine if the costly fitness effects of exploitative rhizobia are context-dependent. Exploitative rhizobia predictably reduced host fitness when herbivores were excluded. However, insects caused greater damage on hosts associating with mutualistic rhizobia, as a consequence of feeding preferences related to leaf nitrogen content, resulting in the elimination of fitness costs imposed on hosts by exploitative rhizobia. Our experiment shows that herbivory is potentially an important factor in influencing the evolutionary dynamic between legumes and rhizobia. Partner choice and host sanctioning are theoretically predicted to stabilize mutualisms by reducing the frequency of exploitative symbionts. We argue that herbivore pressure may actually weaken selection on choice and sanction mechanisms, thus providing one explanation of why host-based discrimination mechanisms may not be completely effective in eliminating nonbeneficial partners. © 2014 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2014 New Phytologist Trust.

Theoretical and practical outline of the Copenhagen PACT narrative-based exercise counselling manual to promote physical activity in post-therapy cancer survivors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Midtgaard, Julie

2013-01-01

are able to adopt long-term physical activity habits depends largely on their motivation. AIM: This theoretical paper aims to outline how researchers and practitioners can draw from Antonovsky's salutogenetic theory and White & Epston's Narrative Therapy to develop and implement intervention efforts......BACKGROUND: Sedentary behaviour and reduced exercise capacity are potential persisting effects of anti-cancer therapy that may predispose to serious health conditions. It is well-established that physical exercise may prevent some of these problems. However, the extent to which cancer survivors...... centered on promotion of long-term physical activity behaviour, while at the same time increasing the individual cancer survivor's sense of meaning and personal health resources. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Copenhagen PACT (Physical Activity after Cancer Treatment) Study targeting adoption and maintenance...

Fuzzy Mutual Information Based min-Redundancy and Max-Relevance Heterogeneous Feature Selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daren Yu

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Feature selection is an important preprocessing step in pattern classification and machine learning, and mutual information is widely used to measure relevance between features and decision. However, it is difficult to directly calculate relevance between continuous or fuzzy features using mutual information. In this paper we introduce the fuzzy information entropy and fuzzy mutual information for computing relevance between numerical or fuzzy features and decision. The relationship between fuzzy information entropy and differential entropy is also discussed. Moreover, we combine fuzzy mutual information with qmin-Redundancy-Max-Relevanceq, qMax-Dependencyq and min-Redundancy-Max-Dependencyq algorithms. The performance and stability of the proposed algorithms are tested on benchmark data sets. Experimental results show the proposed algorithms are effective and stable.

On the behavior of mutual fund investors and managers

OpenAIRE

Goriaev, A.P.

2002-01-01

This thesis investigates empirically and theoretically the behavior of mutual fund investors and managers. These two aspects are closely related to each other. Investors try to select funds that follow an optimal investment policy from their point of view, while fund managers are typically interested in maximizing net fund inflows. In the first part of the thesis, we analyze the determinants of mutual fund flows, concentrating on the impact of past performance on fund flows. In particular, we...

Importance of mutual benefits in online knowledge sharing communities

OpenAIRE

Tian, Y.; Lau, L.M.S.; Dew, P.M.

2004-01-01

The sustainability of knowledge sharing e-communities is a major issue at present. A hypothesis was\\ud proposed at the outset in the paper that the provision of mutual benefits among participants will lead to positive\\ud participation. Drawing from the economic and social theories, a framework for analysis was developed and tested in\\ud an empirical study. The preliminary results demonstrated a direct relationship between mutual benefits and the level\\ud of participation, and hence supported ...

76 FR 77442 - Mutual Insurance Holding Company Treated as Insurance Company

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-13

... insurance industry traces its roots back to England, where, in 1696, the first mutual fire insurer was... FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION 12 CFR Part 380 RIN 3064-AD89 Mutual Insurance Holding Company Treated as Insurance Company AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). ACTION: Notice...

PERFORMANCE PERSISTENCE OF TURKISH A AND B TYPE MUTUAL FUNDS: THE PARAMETRIC AND NONPARAMETRIC APPROACH

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

VELİ AKEL

2013-06-01

Full Text Available In this study, single index models are applied to a free survivorship bias database of 51 A and 51 B Types Turkish mutual funds using monthly returns over 5 years from 2000 to 2004. Then, it has been investigated whether mutual fund managers have market timing ability. Turkish Institutional Investment Managers’ Association A and B Type Fund Indexes are firstly used as benchmark portfolios. The challenging question is whether Turkish mutual funds have performance persistency over the short and long term or not. This study uses both parametric and non-parametric techniques to examine performance persistence. The overall conclusion is that Type A mutual funds managers do not have stock selection and market timing ability. However, Type B mutual funds managers do have stock selection ability. Type A mutual funds show evidence of relative and absolute persistence in the short term while Type B mutual funds show significant results of relative and absolute persistence in both of the terms. Although there are various results in performance persistence of mutual funds, the repeat winner phenomenon is stronger over shorter periods of evaluation. Consequently, it seems that Turkish mutual funds have performance persistency at least for the short term.

External Monitoring and Dynamic Behavior in Mutual Funds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian Wang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper studies the impact of external monitoring on the behavior in mutual funds. Specifically, we investigate how and why external monitoring can alleviate contracting inefficiency caused by information asymmetry between investors and the manager. It is shown that efficiency loss emerges when investors contract with the manager just relying on her investment return history. The establishment of external monitoring that provides investors more information about the manager’s ability can improve contracting efficiency, which converges to first-best as external monitoring strengthens. These results provide strong support for tightening supervision in mutual fund industry.

An Intricate Multiple-Factor Approach To Evaluate Performance Of Indian Mutual Fund

OpenAIRE

Suyash Bhatt

2013-01-01

This research paper examines performance of top twelve Indian mutual funds by Asset Under Management (AUM).  We use seven portfolio performance measurement parameters like Alpha, Beta, Standard Deviation, R Squared, Sharpe Ratio, Treynor Ratio and Jensen’s Alpha. The study reveals which amongst these mutual fund is the best performer based on all these parameters and the benchmark taken for this is NIFTY Index. The mutual funds selected are HDFC Top 200 Fund, Franklin India Bluechip Fund, ICI...

EFFICIENCY OF INDONESIA’S MUTUAL FUNDS DURING 2007-2011 BY USING DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS (DEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riko Hendrawan

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to assess the efficiency of mutual funds in Indonesia during the period 2007to 2011. To measure their efficiencies, the output-input data consisting of a panel of 105 mutual funds thatconsisted of 29 equity mutual funds, 38 balanced mutual funds and 39 fixed mutual funds were empiricallyexamined based on the most commonly used non-parametric approach, namely, Data Envelopment Analysis(DEA. The study found that based on the average score in during 2007 – 2011 performance of equity mutualfund Commonwealth Life Investra Equity had the highest index score, meanwhile Trimegah - trim capital wasthe lowest, performance of balanced mutual fund Reksa Dana CIMB-principal Dollar had the highest indexscore, meanwhile first State Indonesian Multistrategy was the lowest. Performance of equity mutual fund BrentDana Tetap had the highest index score, meanwhile stable debenture fund had the lowest one.

Resource Availability Modulates the Cooperative and Competitive Nature of a Microbial Cross-Feeding Mutualism.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim A Hoek

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Mutualisms between species play an important role in ecosystem function and stability. However, in some environments, the competitive aspects of an interaction may dominate the mutualistic aspects. Although these transitions could have far-reaching implications, it has been difficult to study the causes and consequences of this mutualistic-competitive transition in experimentally tractable systems. Here, we study a microbial cross-feeding mutualism in which each yeast strain supplies an essential amino acid for its partner strain. We find that, depending upon the amount of freely available amino acid in the environment, this pair of strains can exhibit an obligatory mutualism, facultative mutualism, competition, parasitism, competitive exclusion, or failed mutualism leading to extinction of the population. A simple model capturing the essential features of this interaction explains how resource availability modulates the interaction and predicts that changes in the dynamics of the mutualism in deteriorating environments can provide advance warning that collapse of the mutualism is imminent. We confirm this prediction experimentally by showing that, in the high nutrient competitive regime, the strains rapidly reach a common carrying capacity before slowly reaching the equilibrium ratio between the strains. However, in the low nutrient regime, before collapse of the obligate mutualism, we find that the ratio rapidly reaches its equilibrium and it is the total abundance that is slow to reach equilibrium. Our results provide a general framework for how mutualisms may transition between qualitatively different regimes of interaction in response to changes in nutrient availability in the environment.

Canonical analysis based on mutual information

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg; Vestergaard, Jacob Schack

2015-01-01

combinations with the information theoretical measure mutual information (MI). We term this type of analysis canonical information analysis (CIA). MI allows for the actual joint distribution of the variables involved and not just second order statistics. While CCA is ideal for Gaussian data, CIA facilitates...

Starvation-free mutual exclusion with semaphores

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hesselink, Wim H.; IJbema, Mark

The standard implementation of mutual exclusion by means of a semaphore allows starvation of processes. Between 1979 and 1986, three algorithms were proposed that preclude starvation. These algorithms use a special kind of semaphore. We model this so-called buffered semaphore rigorously and provide

Partner selection in the mycorrhizal mutualism

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Werner, G.D.A.; Kiers, E.T.

2015-01-01

Partner selection in the mycorrhizal symbiosis is thought to be a key factor stabilising the mutualism. Both plant hosts and mycorrhizal fungi have been shown to preferentially allocate resources to higher quality partners. This can help maintain underground cooperation, although it is likely that

Sensitivity Analysis for Urban Drainage Modeling Using Mutual Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuanqi Li

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The intention of this paper is to evaluate the sensitivity of the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM output to its input parameters. A global parameter sensitivity analysis is conducted in order to determine which parameters mostly affect the model simulation results. Two different methods of sensitivity analysis are applied in this study. The first one is the partial rank correlation coefficient (PRCC which measures nonlinear but monotonic relationships between model inputs and outputs. The second one is based on the mutual information which provides a general measure of the strength of the non-monotonic association between two variables. Both methods are based on the Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS of the parameter space, and thus the same datasets can be used to obtain both measures of sensitivity. The utility of the PRCC and the mutual information analysis methods are illustrated by analyzing a complex SWMM model. The sensitivity analysis revealed that only a few key input variables are contributing significantly to the model outputs; PRCCs and mutual information are calculated and used to determine and rank the importance of these key parameters. This study shows that the partial rank correlation coefficient and mutual information analysis can be considered effective methods for assessing the sensitivity of the SWMM model to the uncertainty in its input parameters.

A Feature Subset Selection Method Based On High-Dimensional Mutual Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chee Keong Kwoh

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Feature selection is an important step in building accurate classifiers and provides better understanding of the data sets. In this paper, we propose a feature subset selection method based on high-dimensional mutual information. We also propose to use the entropy of the class attribute as a criterion to determine the appropriate subset of features when building classifiers. We prove that if the mutual information between a feature set X and the class attribute Y equals to the entropy of Y , then X is a Markov Blanket of Y . We show that in some cases, it is infeasible to approximate the high-dimensional mutual information with algebraic combinations of pairwise mutual information in any forms. In addition, the exhaustive searches of all combinations of features are prerequisite for finding the optimal feature subsets for classifying these kinds of data sets. We show that our approach outperforms existing filter feature subset selection methods for most of the 24 selected benchmark data sets.

Liquidity risk and the performance of UK mutual funds

OpenAIRE

Foran, Jason; O'Sullivan, Niall

2014-01-01

We examine the role of liquidity risk, both as a stock characteristic as well as systematic liquidity risk, in UK mutual fund performance for the first time. Using four alternative measures of stock liquidity we extract principal components across stocks in order to construct systematic or market liquidity factors. We find that on average UK mutual funds are tilted towards liquid stocks (except for small stock funds as might be expected) but that, counter-intuitively, liquidity as a stock cha...

A STUDY ON THE RISK-ADJUSTED PERFORMANCE OF MUTUAL FUNDS INDUSTRY IN INDIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shivangi Agarwal

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Investing through mutual funds has gained interest in recent years as it offers optimal risk adjusted returns to investors. The Indian market is no exception and has witnessed a multifold growth in mutual funds over the years. As of 2016, the Indian market is crowded with over two thousand mutual fund schemes, each promising higher returns compared to their peers. This comes as a challenge for an ordinary investor to select the best portfolio to invest making it critical to analyse the performance of these funds. While understanding and analysing the historical performance of mutual funds do not guarantee future performance, however, this may give an idea of how the fund is likely to perform in different market conditions. In this research we address multiple research issues. These include measuring the performance of selected mutual schemes on the basis of risk and return and compare the performance of these selected schemes with benchmark index to see whether the scheme is outperforming or underperforming the benchmark. We also rank funds on the basis of performance and suggest strategies to invest in a mutual fund and therefore, our findings have significant relevance for investing public.

Guidelines for mutual emergency assistance arrangements in connection with a nuclear accident or radiological emergency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-01-01

The document contains the recommendations of a group of experts from 22 Member States and three international organizations which met in April 1983. These recommendations may serve as guidelines for use by states for the negotiation of bilateral or regional agreements relating to emergency assistance in the event of a nuclear accident or radiological emergency

Why power matters: creating a foundation of mutual support in couple relationships.

Science.gov (United States)

Knudson-Martin, Carmen

2013-03-01

Research shows that equal power helps couples create intimacy and relationship success. However, though couples increasingly desire equal relationships, cultural models of mutual support are not well developed. Clinicians often approach heterosexual couple therapy as though partners are inherently equal, thus reinforcing unacknowledged gender inequities. This article examines research that shows why power imbalances are destructive to intimate relationships and focuses on four gender-related aspects of mutual support: (a) shared relational responsibility, (b) mutual vulnerability, (c) mutual attunement, and (d) shared influence. Case examples illustrate how socio-emotional attunement, interrupting the flow of power, and introducing alternative relational experience help couple therapists identify and address power disparities in these important relational processes. Encouraging the powerful person to take relational initiative and introducing alternative gender discourse are especially important. © FPI, Inc.

Study on mutual diffusion and phase diagram in the Ni-Ta system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pimenov, V.N.; Ugaste, Yu.Eh.; Akkushkarova, K.A.

1977-01-01

The mutual diffusion in the Ni-Ta system has been investigated with a view of refining the constitutional diagram. The mutual diffusion factors and their effective values in the various phases and the diffusion activation energies are calculated. Given are the dependences of the phase growth constants and the mutual diffusion factors upon the temperature. The existence of five new phases Ta 2 Ni, TaNi, TaNi 2 , TaNi 3 , TaNi 8 has been discovered in the range of temperatures between 1150 and 1300 deg C. It is established that all the phases have a small concentration range of existence. It is noted that the diffusion characteristics in the phases (mutual diffusion factor and activation energy) differ widely, but fail to correlate with their melting points

Creative tensions : mutual responsiveness adapted to private sector research and development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sonck, M.M.; Asveld, L.; Landeweerd, L.; Osseweijer, P.

2017-01-01

The concept of mutual responsiveness is currently based on little empirical data in the literature of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). This paper explores RRI’s idea of mutual responsiveness in the light of recent RRI case studies on private sector research and development (R&D). In

Fast mutual-information-based contrast enhancement

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Gang; Yu, Lifang; Tian, Huawei; Huang, Xianglin; Wang, Yongbin

2017-07-01

Recently, T. Celik proposed an effective image contrast enhancement (CE) method based on spatial mutual information and PageRank (SMIRANK). According to the state-of-the-art evaluation criteria, it achieves the best visual enhancement quality among existing global CE methods. However, SMIRANK runs much slower than the other counterparts, such as histogram equalization (HE) and adaptive gamma correction. Low computational complexity is also required for good CE algorithms. In this paper, we novelly propose a fast SMIRANK algorithm, called FastSMIRANK. It integrates both spatial and gray-level downsampling into the generation of pixel value mapping function. Moreover, the computation of rank vectors is speeded up by replacing PageRank with a simple yet efficient row-based operation of mutual information matrix. Extensive experimental results show that the proposed FastSMIRANK could accelerate the processing speed of SMIRANK by about 20 times, and is even faster than HE. Comparable enhancement quality is preserved simultaneously.

Sparse Bayesian Learning for DOA Estimation with Mutual Coupling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jisheng Dai

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Sparse Bayesian learning (SBL has given renewed interest to the problem of direction-of-arrival (DOA estimation. It is generally assumed that the measurement matrix in SBL is precisely known. Unfortunately, this assumption may be invalid in practice due to the imperfect manifold caused by unknown or misspecified mutual coupling. This paper describes a modified SBL method for joint estimation of DOAs and mutual coupling coefficients with uniform linear arrays (ULAs. Unlike the existing method that only uses stationary priors, our new approach utilizes a hierarchical form of the Student t prior to enforce the sparsity of the unknown signal more heavily. We also provide a distinct Bayesian inference for the expectation-maximization (EM algorithm, which can update the mutual coupling coefficients more efficiently. Another difference is that our method uses an additional singular value decomposition (SVD to reduce the computational complexity of the signal reconstruction process and the sensitivity to the measurement noise.

Mutual understanding: a communication model for general practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Hantho, Arne; Jensen, Lena; Malterud, Kirsti

2002-12-01

To present our pursuits towards development of a simple model for clinical communication intended for application by the practitioner as a tool for enhancing mutual understanding. Inspired by theories about patient-centredness and interactive modes of understanding, and supported by the perspectives of the Danish philosopher Niels Thomassen, we reviewed audiotapes from our own consultations. Recognising four dimensions assumed to be essential for mutual understanding in the transcripts, we explored these dimensions further. We present a communication model consisting of the following dimensions: The Framework, within which the communication takes place; The Subject, about which the communication takes place; The Persons, between whom the communication takes place; and The Action, verbally and non-verbally, through which communication takes place. We describe these dimensions in detail. The nature of the dimensions indicates that there is an interrelationship between them, implying that the character of the communication may change if one of the factors is changed. Analysis of an ongoing or recent consultation completed in accordance with these four dimensions allows the doctor to refocus the communication, thus leading to a more extensive mutual understanding and perhaps enhanced freedom of action.

Evaluation of Performance of Mutual Funds in India from 2000 to 2007

OpenAIRE

Saboo, Manish

2008-01-01

There have been many studies in the past on performance of Mutual Funds in comparison to the market. These studies might differ in time and the market under study but most of them concluded that on an average, Mutual Funds have failed to outperform the market and thus the Efficient Market Hypothesis holds good. This research was based on performance of 22 mutual funds for a period of almost 8 years on monthly basis. Funds were evaluated using measures like Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio, Jensen'...

31 CFR 103.15 - Reports by mutual funds of suspicious transactions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... suspected terrorist financing or ongoing money laundering schemes, a mutual fund shall immediately notify by... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Reports by mutual funds of suspicious transactions. 103.15 Section 103.15 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to Money and Finance...

Mutuality in Cambodian International University Partnerships: Looking beyond the Global Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Leng, Phirom

2016-01-01

This study examines the mutuality issue in international partnership programs between Cambodian universities and universities in France, the USA, Japan and South Korea. It adopts Galtung's and Held's four aspects of mutuality as its conceptual framework and follows a qualitative case study research design. The study finds that most partnership…

The Tradeoff Between Mutual Fund and Direct Stock Investments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marekwica, Marcel; Steininger, Bertram I.

2014-01-01

We study the tradeoff between direct and indirect stock investments through equity mutual funds for a utility-maximizing investor. Whereas direct investments impose higher transaction costs on the formation of a well-diversified portfolio, mutual funds charge fees for their services. Our results...... show that the fee levels that make private investors indifferent between direct and indirect stock investments vary heavily according to risk aversion, the amounts invested, correlations between assets, transaction costs, and the length of investment horizon. In particular, our results suggest...

The Feasibility of a Novel School Peer-Led Mentoring Model to Improve the Physical Activity Levels and Sedentary Time of Adolescent Girls: The Girls Peer Activity (G-PACT) Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Owen, Michael B; Kerner, Charlotte; Taylor, Sarah L; Noonan, Robert J; Newson, Lisa; Kosteli, Maria-Christina; Curry, Whitney B; Fairclough, Stuart J

2018-05-31

Regular physical activity (PA) is associated with numerous physical and psychological health benefits. Adolescents, specifically girls, are at risk of physical inactivity. To date, there is limited research on PA interventions involving peers, which could encourage more adolescent girls to engage in PA. The investigation aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a novel school three-tier peer-led mentoring model designed to improve PA levels and reduce sedentary time (ST) of adolescent girls. Two-hundred and forty-nine Year 9 adolescent girls (13⁻15 years old) from three UK secondary schools were invited to participate in a peer-led mentoring intervention (Girls Peer Activity (G-PACT) project). The peer-led mentoring model was delivered in all three schools. Two of the schools received an additional after-school PA component. PA and ST were assessed through wrist-worn accelerometry. Girls who received an exercise class after-school component significantly increased their whole day moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (3.2 min, p = 0.009, d = 0.33). Girls who received no after-school component significantly decreased their MVPA (3.5 min, p = 0.016, d = 0.36) and increased their ST (17.2 min, p = 0.006, d = 0.43). The G-PACT intervention demonstrated feasibility of recruitment and data collection procedures for adolescent girls. The peer-led mentoring model shows promise for impacting girls' MVPA levels when combined with an after-school club PA opportunity.

The Feasibility of a Novel School Peer-Led Mentoring Model to Improve the Physical Activity Levels and Sedentary Time of Adolescent Girls: The Girls Peer Activity (G-PACT Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael B. Owen

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Regular physical activity (PA is associated with numerous physical and psychological health benefits. Adolescents, specifically girls, are at risk of physical inactivity. To date, there is limited research on PA interventions involving peers, which could encourage more adolescent girls to engage in PA. The investigation aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a novel school three-tier peer-led mentoring model designed to improve PA levels and reduce sedentary time (ST of adolescent girls. Two-hundred and forty-nine Year 9 adolescent girls (13–15 years old from three UK secondary schools were invited to participate in a peer-led mentoring intervention (Girls Peer Activity (G-PACT project. The peer-led mentoring model was delivered in all three schools. Two of the schools received an additional after-school PA component. PA and ST were assessed through wrist-worn accelerometry. Girls who received an exercise class after-school component significantly increased their whole day moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA (3.2 min, p = 0.009, d = 0.33. Girls who received no after-school component significantly decreased their MVPA (3.5 min, p = 0.016, d = 0.36 and increased their ST (17.2 min, p = 0.006, d = 0.43. The G-PACT intervention demonstrated feasibility of recruitment and data collection procedures for adolescent girls. The peer-led mentoring model shows promise for impacting girls’ MVPA levels when combined with an after-school club PA opportunity.

The upcoming mutual event season for the Patroclus-Menoetius Trojan binary

Science.gov (United States)

Grundy, W. M.; Noll, K. S.; Buie, M. W.; Levison, H. F.

2018-05-01

We present new Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based Keck observations and new Keplerian orbit solutions for the mutual orbit of binary Jupiter Trojan asteroid (617) Patroclus and Menoetius, targets of NASA's Lucy mission. We predict event times for the upcoming mutual event season, which is anticipated to run from late 2017 through mid 2019.

Mutual Impact of Diabetes Mellitus and Tuberculosis in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Jun; Zhang, Hui; Zhao, Yan Lin; Wang, Li Xia; Chen, Ming Ting

2017-05-01

China has a double burden of diabetes mellitus and tuberculosis, and many studies have been carried out on the mutual impact of these two diseases. This paper systematically reviewed studies conducted in China covering the mutual impact of epidemics of diabetes and tuberculosis, the impact of diabetes on multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and on the tuberculosis clinical manifestation and treatment outcome, the yields of bi-directional screening, and economic evaluation for tuberculosis screening among diabetes patients. Copyright © 2017 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.

Cross Correlation versus Normalized Mutual Information on Image Registration

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Bin; Tilton, James C.; Lin, Guoqing

2016-01-01

This is the first study to quantitatively assess and compare cross correlation and normalized mutual information methods used to register images in subpixel scale. The study shows that the normalized mutual information method is less sensitive to unaligned edges due to the spectral response differences than is cross correlation. This characteristic makes the normalized image resolution a better candidate for band to band registration. Improved band-to-band registration in the data from satellite-borne instruments will result in improved retrievals of key science measurements such as cloud properties, vegetation, snow and fire.

Ambiguity Towards Multiple Historical Performance Information Signals: Evidence From Indonesian Open-Ended Mutual Fund Investors

OpenAIRE

Haris Pratama Loeis; Ruslan Prijadi

2015-01-01

This study focuses on the behavior of open-ended mutual fund investors when encountered with multiple information signals of mutual fund’s historical performance. The behavior of investors can be reflected on their decision to subscribe or redeem their funds from mutual funds. Moreover, we observe the presence of ambiguity within investors due to multiple information signals, and also their reaction towards it. Our finding shows that open-ended mutual fund investors do not only have sen...

Mutual Learning in the European Employment Strategy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nedergaard, Peter

in the European employment strategy have been either determined by the sender's interests or have underestimated how mutual learning between countries takes place. In stead the article develops a constructivist approach to learning and uses it to generate some concrete hypothesis about when learning in committees...... is most likely to take place. Afterwards, this constructivist approach is used to analyse the institutional framework surrounding the European employment strategy in order to evaluate whether the potential for learning is optimal. Finally, the article concludes that even though some basic premises......Mutual learning among the Member States is the primary purpose of the employment policy of the European Union. The two most important questions in this regard are how learning occurs and how much learning takes place. In this article I argue that the existing analyses of the effects of learning...

Improved inference in the evaluation of mutual fund performance using panel bootstrap methods

OpenAIRE

Blake, David; Caulfield, Tristan; Ioannidis, Christos; Tonks, I P

2014-01-01

Two new methodologies are introduced to improve inference in the evaluation of mutual fund performance against benchmarks. First, the benchmark models are estimated using panel methods with both fund and time effects. Second, the non-normality of individual mutual fund returns is accounted for by using panel bootstrap methods. We also augment the standard benchmark factors with fund-specific characteristics, such as fund size. Using a dataset of UK equity mutual fund returns, we find that fun...

Competition as a mechanism structuring mutualisms

Science.gov (United States)

Robert J. Warren; Itamar Giladi; Mark A. Bradford

2014-01-01

Summary 1. Hutchinsonian niche theory posits that organisms have fundamental abiotic resource requirements from which they are limited by competition. Organisms also have fundamental biotic requirements, such as mutualists, for which they also might compete. 2. We test this idea with a widespread ant–plant mutualism. Ant-mediated seed dispersal (myrmecochory) in...

Mutual fund performance: dividends do matter

OpenAIRE

De Mingo López, Diego Víctor; Matallín Sáez, Juan Carlos

2015-01-01

This article studies the bias in mutual fund performance when a nondividend-reinvesting benchmark is used. Our empirical findings show how performance worsens when using a benchmark that includes reinvestment dividends. We also find that inferences about managers’ ability related to economic states are biased by the effect of omitting dividends when selecting a benchmark.

On the Importance of Mutual Fund Families in Emerging Markets

OpenAIRE

Ekholm, Anders; Pasternack, Daniel; Sandvall, Thomas

2000-01-01

This study contributes to the mutual fund literature by looking at performance persistence on a fund family level, allowing for individual equity, bond and balanced funds to be included under single family umbrellas. The study is conducted on the emerging Finnish mutual fund market, an environment in which the importance of superior fund family teams is likely to be accentuated. Using both non–parametric and parametric tests we find robust evidence of performance persistence for the fund fami...

A Study of Shared-Memory Mutual Exclusion Protocols Using CADP

Science.gov (United States)

Mateescu, Radu; Serwe, Wendelin

Mutual exclusion protocols are an essential building block of concurrent systems: indeed, such a protocol is required whenever a shared resource has to be protected against concurrent non-atomic accesses. Hence, many variants of mutual exclusion protocols exist in the shared-memory setting, such as Peterson's or Dekker's well-known protocols. Although the functional correctness of these protocols has been studied extensively, relatively little attention has been paid to their non-functional aspects, such as their performance in the long run. In this paper, we report on experiments with the performance evaluation of mutual exclusion protocols using Interactive Markov Chains. Steady-state analysis provides an additional criterion for comparing protocols, which complements the verification of their functional properties. We also carefully re-examined the functional properties, whose accurate formulation as temporal logic formulas in the action-based setting turns out to be quite involved.

Cyber Mutual Assistance Workshop Report

Science.gov (United States)

2018-02-01

Threat Intelligence 19 2.13 Industry Forums and Groups 20 2.14 Cybersecurity Vendors 20 3 Conclusions and Recommendations 22 Appendix A List of...establishing reliable situational awareness from an OT per- spective, from manual change analysis to machine learning or artificial intelligence . From a...dark web, or following cybersecurity -related news. Workshop members identified other threat intelligence collection sources during the workshop, which

Cyber Mutual Assistance Workshop Report

Science.gov (United States)

2018-02-01

ethical hacking [54 – Vulnerability Assessment and Management] • red teaming [54 – Vulnerability Assessment and Management] 2.7.5 Securely Provision...same knowledge and tools as a malicious hacker, but in a lawful and legitimate manner to assess the security posture of a tar- get system(s) [EC...to be prepared? What actions could be employed to avoid , divert, lessen, or eliminate a threat or hazard? [FEMA 2015]. CMU/SEI-2018-SR-007

An Empirical Study of Mutual Fund Performance and Its Relation with Fund Size

OpenAIRE

Lu, Daofen

2007-01-01

The increasing popularity of mutual fund investment is a remarkable phenomenon of recent decades. Mutual funds have been among the largest investors and played an important role in the financial market worldwide. The evaluation of mutual fund performance has been achieving a great deal of academic interest since the 1960s. This study employed a time-series data to examine the performance of sixty actively-managed equity growth funds of the United States during the period of July, 2002 to June...

Development of an intervention to support patients and clinicians with advanced lung cancer when considering systematic anticancer therapy: protocol for the PACT study.

Science.gov (United States)

Anagnostou, Despina; Sivell, Stephanie; Noble, Simon; Lester, Jason; Byrne, Anthony; Sampson, Catherine; Longo, Mirella; Nelson, Annmarie

2017-07-12

Patient-centred care is essential to the delivery of healthcare; however, this necessitates direct patient involvement in clinical decision-making and can be challenging for patients diagnosed with advanced non-small cell lung cancer where there may be misunderstanding of the extent of disease, prognosis and aims of treatment. In this context, decisions are complex and there is a need to balance the risks and benefits, including treatment with palliative intent. The aim of the PACT study is to identify the information and decision support needs of patients, leading to the development of an intervention to support patients with advanced lung cancer when considering treatment options. PACT is a five-stage, multimethod and multicentre study. Participants : Patients and health professionals will be recruited from three health boards. Methods : Non-participant observation of multidisciplinary team meetings (n=12) will be used to determine patients' allocation to treatment pathways (stage I). Non-participant observation of patient-clinician consultations (n=20-30) will be used to explore communication of treatment options and decision-making. Extent of participation in decision-making will be assessed using the Observing Patient Involvement in Shared Decision-Making tool. Interviews with patients (stage III) and their clinicians (stage IV) will explore the perception of treatment options and involvement in decision-making. Based on stages I-IV, an expert consensus meeting will finalise the content and format of the intervention. Cognitive interviews with patients will then determine the face validity of the intervention (stage V). Analysis : analysis will be according to data type and research question and will include mediated discourse analysis, thematic analysis, framework analysis and interpretative phenomenological analysis. Ethical approval has been granted. The study findings will contribute to and promote shared and informed decision-making in the best interest

Butterfly effect and holographic mutual information under external field and spatial noncommutativity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Wung-Hong; Du, Yi-Hsien [Department of Physics, National Cheng Kung University,No. 1, University Road, Tainan City 701, Taiwan (China)

2017-02-07

We apply the transformation of mixing azimuthal and internal coordinate or mixing time and internal coordinate to a stack of N black M-branes to find the Melvin spacetime of a stack of N black D-branes with magnetic or electric flux in string theory, after the Kaluza-Klein reduction. We slightly extend previous formulas to investigate the external magnetic and electric effects on the butterfly effect and holographic mutual information. It shows that the Melvin fields do not modify the scrambling time and will enhance the mutual information. In addition, we also T-dualize and twist a stack of N black D-branes to find a Melvin Universe supported by the flux of the NSNS b-field, which describes a non-comutative spacetime. It also shows that the spatial noncommutativity does not modify the scrambling time and will enhance the mutual information. We also study the corrected mutual information in the backreaction geometry due to the shock wave in our three model spacetimes.

Mutualism and impacts of global change: response of an important and neglected component of the biodiversity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hossaert-Mckey, M.

2007-01-01

We are studying the impact of global change on two obligate species-specific insect-plant mutualisms. Our approach combines correlative methods (examining spatial patterns of genetic diversity in populations of pairs of mutualists, to examine their responses to past climate change) and experiments (studying responses of plant partners to CO 2 fertilization). Mutualisms function because the partners have contrasting and complementary biological traits, so that a service implying only a low cost to one partner may confer a great benefit to the other. Because they can lead mutualist partners to respond differently to rapid ecological change, the biological differences that are fundamental to mutualisms may also make them vulnerable. Imbalances thereby introduced can disrupt the functioning of the mutualism. By comparing two strongly contrasting systems-fig/wasp pollination mutualisms and ant-plant protection mutualisms-we aim to characterize the diversity of responses of mutualisms to global change. By identifying points in common, we also aim to propose robust generalizations about the response to global change of obligate, specific mutualisms, an important and neglected component of tropical biodiversity. Our results show that the two mutualisms studied differ greatly in their response to Pleistocene and Holocene climatic fluctuations. Fig/wasp systems show little spatial genetic differentiation, indicating that the great dispersal capacities of both figs and their pollinating wasps resulted in maintenance of high effective population sizes throughout cycles of climatic and vegetation change. In contrast, limited dispersal capacity of both ant and plant partners has resulted in greater impact of climatic fluctuations on ant/plant protection mutualisms: species-distribution patterns suggest restriction of the system to refugia, and strong spatial genetic structure indicates widespread bottlenecks during fragmentation and expansion. Alternate contraction and expansion

Cointegration and causality analysis of dynamic linkage between stock market and equity mutual funds in Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sasipa Pojanavatee

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The existing literature finds conflicting results on the magnitude of price linkages between equity mutual funds and the stock market. The study contends that in an optimal lagged model, the expectations of future prices using knowledge of past price behaviour in a particular equity mutual fund category will improve forecasts of prices of other equity mutual fund categories and the stock market index. The evidence shows that the long-run pricing of equity mutual funds is cointegrated with the stock market index. In the short run, the results indicate that some equity mutual fund categories possess both long-run and short-run exogeneity with the stock market. Therefore, the short-run dynamic indicates short-run Granger causal links running between different equity mutual fund categories.

Strangers and Orphans: Knowledge and Mutuality in Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein"

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez, Claudia Rozas

2013-01-01

Paulo Freire consistently upheld humanization and mutuality as educational ideals. This article argues that conceptualizations of knowledge and how knowledge is sought and produced play a role in fostering humanization and mutuality in educational contexts. Drawing on Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein," this article focuses on the…

Mutual aid in oil spill response: The Alaskan north slope model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKenzie, B.; Ingram, N.

1993-01-01

The Alaskan Arctic Region provides one of the world's most remote and challenging environments in which to mount an oil spill response. To facilitate the timeliness and appropriateness of the response, Alaska Clean Seas (ACS) and the operators of the North Slope oil fields have implemented a mutual aid concept for spill response. The concept is based upon each operator on the North Slope maintaining its own inventory of personnel [a spill response team (SRT)] and equipment that is available on short notice to respond to a spill. If the spill exceeds the responsible operator's resources, additional resources can be obtained from other operators and/or ACS through mutual aid. Individuals from diverse organizations are brought together in a mutual aid event. To allow different organizations to function effectively in a multi-organizational environment, a common management structure was required. The structure chosen for the North Slope was the incident command system (ICS). A key concern when discussing mutual aid is the provision of indemnification from liability for responders. For the North Slope, ACS and its member companies are indemnified when responding to a spill through provisions in the ACS charter and the ACS response action contract

26 CFR 1.581-2 - Mutual savings banks, building and loan associations, and cooperative banks.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Mutual savings banks, building and loan... § 1.581-2 Mutual savings banks, building and loan associations, and cooperative banks. (a) While the... deduction provided in section 172, any taxable year for which a mutual savings bank, building and loan...

Information Content of Mutual Fund Portfolio Disclosure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Y. Wang (Yu)

2011-01-01

textabstractAcademic financial economists have been keenly interested in the value of active portfolio management since the seminal paper of Jensen (1968). This book examines the information advantages that active mutual fund managers attain in financial markets through an analysis of disclosed fund

Strategy Diversity Stabilizes Mutualism through Investment Cycles, Phase Polymorphism, and Spatial Bubbles

Science.gov (United States)

Boza, Gergely; Kun, Ádám; Scheuring, István; Dieckmann, Ulf

2012-01-01

There is continuing interest in understanding factors that facilitate the evolution and stability of cooperation within and between species. Such interactions will often involve plasticity in investment behavior, in response to the interacting partner's investments. Our aim here is to investigate the evolution and stability of reciprocal investment behavior in interspecific interactions, a key phenomenon strongly supported by experimental observations. In particular, we present a comprehensive analysis of a continuous reciprocal investment game between mutualists, both in well-mixed and spatially structured populations, and we demonstrate a series of novel mechanisms for maintaining interspecific mutualism. We demonstrate that mutualistic partners invariably follow investment cycles, during which mutualism first increases, before both partners eventually reduce their investments to zero, so that these cycles always conclude with full defection. We show that the key mechanism for stabilizing mutualism is phase polymorphism along the investment cycle. Although mutualistic partners perpetually change their strategies, the community-level distribution of investment levels becomes stationary. In spatially structured populations, the maintenance of polymorphism is further facilitated by dynamic mosaic structures, in which mutualistic partners form expanding and collapsing spatial bubbles or clusters. Additionally, we reveal strategy-diversity thresholds, both for well-mixed and spatially structured mutualistic communities, and discuss factors for meeting these thresholds, and thus maintaining mutualism. Our results demonstrate that interspecific mutualism, when considered as plastic investment behavior, can be unstable, and, in agreement with empirical observations, may involve a polymorphism of investment levels, varying both in space and in time. Identifying the mechanisms maintaining such polymorphism, and hence mutualism in natural communities, provides a significant

Research Note: Networking Among Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Limborg, Hans Jørgen; Grøn, Sisse; Flensborg Jensen, Maya

2014-01-01

interviews, document analysis and observations were used to analyse two networks of small enterprises (in dairy and brewery) in Denmark that launched similar occupational health projects but had different outcomes. Whilst both Dairy (D) and Brewery (B) networks had active external funding, the following...... - limited), mutual trust (D - active, B - limited), workers involved in 'button up' process ( D - to some extent, B - nonexistent), exclusion criteria (D - agreed, B - none), pact on openness (D - agreed, B - not defined), shared commitment to new standards (D - limited, B - non-existent). It is concluded...

Behavioral aspects of negotiations on mutual security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Druckman, D.; Hopmann, P.T.

1989-01-01

This article surveys theory and research about the process of international negotiation. The goal, of this paper is to apply behavioral science research to find ways to negotiate an improved mutual security regime between the nuclear superpowers that would make nuclear war less likely in the years ahead. When President John F. Kennedy presented the first nuclear arms control agreement, the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, to the U.S. public in 1963 he noted the ancient Chinese proverb: A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. Just as the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty represented for Kennedy the first step on the road to nuclear arms control, so the research reviewed here represents at best the first few steps in a long journey to a better understanding of how to negotiate a regime of mutual security between the nuclear superpowers

Mutually shared team competence of professionals in early childhood intervention

OpenAIRE

Ališauskienė, Stefanija; Kairienė, Daiva

2011-01-01

The article is based on theoretical study as well as on written survey. The aim of theoretical analysis to present a theoretical model of the concept of the mutually shared team competence in an interprofessional team meeting early special needs of child and family and to find out presumptions of its development. The aim of survey is to reveal ECI professionals' reflections about competences necessary for teamwork. The mutually shared team competence is analysed on the basis of the teamwork p...

Mutual diffusion of sodium hyaluranate in aqueous solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veríssimo, Luís M.P.; Valada, Teresa I.C.; Sobral, Abilio J.F.N.; Azevedo, Eduarda E.F.G.; Azevedo, Maria L.G.; Ribeiro, Ana C.F.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Binary diffusion coefficients for the systems containing sodium hyaluronate. • Influence of the aggregation on diffusion of the sodium hyaluronate in the aqueous media. • Estimation of the thermodynamic and mobility factors from mutual diffusion. -- Abstract: The Taylor dispersion technique has been used for measuring mutual diffusion coefficients of sodium hyaluronate in aqueous solutions at T = 298.15 K, and concentrations ranging from (0.00 to 0.50) g · dm −3 . The results are interpreted on the basis of Nernst, and Onsager and Fuoss theoretical equations. From the diffusion coefficient at infinitesimal concentration, the limiting ionic conductivity and the tracer diffusion coefficient of hyaluronate ion were estimated. These studies have been complemented by molecular mechanics calculations

2D-DOA and Mutual Coupling Estimation in Vehicle Communication System via Conformal Array

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Zou

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Many direction-of-arrival (DOA estimation algorithms have been proposed recently. However, the effect of mutual coupling among antenna elements has not been taken into consideration. In this paper, a novel DOA and mutual coupling coefficient estimation algorithm is proposed in intelligent transportation systems (ITS via conformal array. By constructing the spectial mutual coupling matrix (MCM, the effect of mutual coupling can be eliminated via instrumental element method. Then the DOA of incident signals can be estimated based on parallel factor (PARAFAC theory. The PARAFAC model is constructed in cumulant domain using covariance matrices. The mutual coupling coefficients are estimated based on the former DOA estimation and the matrix transformation between MCM and the steering vector. Finally, due to the drawback of the parameter pairing method in Wan et al., 2014, a novel method is given to improve the performance of parameter pairing. The computer simulation verifies the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Mutually Unbiased Maximally Entangled Bases for the Bipartite System Cd⊗ C^{dk}

Science.gov (United States)

Nan, Hua; Tao, Yuan-Hong; Wang, Tian-Jiao; Zhang, Jun

2016-10-01

The construction of maximally entangled bases for the bipartite system Cd⊗ Cd is discussed firstly, and some mutually unbiased bases with maximally entangled bases are given, where 2≤ d≤5. Moreover, we study a systematic way of constructing mutually unbiased maximally entangled bases for the bipartite system Cd⊗ C^{dk}.

Study of three-dimensional PET and MR image registration based on higher-order mutual information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren Haiping; Chen Shengzu; Wu Wenkai; Yang Hu

2002-01-01

Mutual information has currently been one of the most intensively researched measures. It has been proven to be accurate and effective registration measure. Despite the general promising results, mutual information sometimes might lead to misregistration because of neglecting spatial information and treating intensity variations with undue sensitivity. An extension of mutual information framework was proposed in which higher-order spatial information regarding image structures was incorporated into the registration processing of PET and MR. The second-order estimate of mutual information algorithm was applied to the registration of seven patients. Evaluation from Vanderbilt University and authors' visual inspection showed that sub-voxel accuracy and robust results were achieved in all cases with second-order mutual information as the similarity measure and with Powell's multidimensional direction set method as optimization strategy

Higher-dimensional orbital-angular-momentum-based quantum key distribution with mutually unbiased bases

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mafu, M

2013-09-01

Full Text Available We present an experimental study of higher-dimensional quantum key distribution protocols based on mutually unbiased bases, implemented by means of photons carrying orbital angular momentum. We perform (d + 1) mutually unbiased measurements in a...

Russian Societies of the Mutual Credit in the years of Economic Recovery (1909–1913

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana A. Kattsina

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Тhe article is dedicated to one of the poorly studied branches of the bank loan system in the Russian Empire, i.e. the mutual loan societies. While making investments in industry and sales turnover, mutual loan societies contributed to their widening scope by means of remote areas of the country. The most important factor to determine the peculiarities of mutual loan societies development was their bankruptcy during the economic recovery before World War I. That is why main focus is made on internal causes (that developed on the activity of the organization itself of financial insolvency (bankruptcy occurrence of mutual loan societies. They allowed show basic problems of mutual loan societies on the example of particular organizations, due to which the factors of crisis and financial insolvency (bankruptcy risks appeared. The article reveals such inefficient strategies of mutual loan society’s development and management as lack of real-life experience (qualifications of the staff, use of investors' finances for the administration personal needs (malpractice, inefficient management of the floating capital, poor loan policy connected with illegal profit withdrawal.

Multi-objective portfolio optimization of mutual funds under downside risk measure using fuzzy theory

OpenAIRE

M. Amiri; M. Zandieh; A. Alimi

2012-01-01

Mutual fund is one of the most popular techniques for many people to invest their funds where a professional fund manager invests people's funds based on some special predefined objectives; therefore, performance evaluation of mutual funds is an important problem. This paper proposes a multi-objective portfolio optimization to offer asset allocation. The proposed model clusters mutual funds with two methods based on six characteristics including rate of return, variance, semivariance, turnove...

Financial Literacy and Mutual Fund Investments : Who Buys Actively Managed Funds?

OpenAIRE

Müller, Sebastian; Weber, Martin

2008-01-01

Previous research indicates that lacking financial sophistication among private investors might be important in explaining the strong growth in active management over the past. Based on questionnaire data with more than 3,000 mutual fund customers, we therefore construct an objective financial literacy score and analyze the relationship between financial literacy and mutual fund investment behavior. While sophisticated investors are indeed more aware of passive, low cost fund alternatives lik...

Defense mutualisms enhance plant diversification.

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Marjorie G; Agrawal, Anurag A

2014-11-18

The ability of plants to form mutualistic relationships with animal defenders has long been suspected to influence their evolutionary success, both by decreasing extinction risk and by increasing opportunity for speciation through an expanded realized niche. Nonetheless, the hypothesis that defense mutualisms consistently enhance plant diversification across lineages has not been well tested due to a lack of phenotypic and phylogenetic information. Using a global analysis, we show that the >100 vascular plant families in which species have evolved extrafloral nectaries (EFNs), sugar-secreting organs that recruit arthropod mutualists, have twofold higher diversification rates than families that lack species with EFNs. Zooming in on six distantly related plant clades, trait-dependent diversification models confirmed the tendency for lineages with EFNs to display increased rates of diversification. These results were consistent across methodological approaches. Inference using reversible-jump Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) to model the placement and number of rate shifts revealed that high net diversification rates in EFN clades were driven by an increased number of positive rate shifts following EFN evolution compared with sister clades, suggesting that EFNs may be indirect facilitators of diversification. Our replicated analysis indicates that defense mutualisms put lineages on a path toward increased diversification rates within and between clades, and is concordant with the hypothesis that mutualistic interactions with animals can have an impact on deep macroevolutionary patterns and enhance plant diversity.

Evaluating Selection and Timing Ability of a Mutual Fund

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duguleană L.

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the methodology and a case study to evaluate the performance of a mutual fund by taking a look at the timing and selection abilities of a portfolio manager. Separating the timing and selection abilities of the fund manager is taken into consideration by two major models. The data about the mutual fund chosen for study is the German blue chip fund “DWS Deutsche Aktien Typ O”, which includes most of the DAX 30 companies. The data consists of 117 monthly observations of the fund returns from January 1999 to September 2008. We used EViews to analyse the data.

Management of mutual health organizations in Ghana.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Baltussen, R.M.P.M.; Bruce, E.; Rhodes, G.; Narh-Bana, S.A.; Agyepong, I.

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Mutual Health Organizations (MHO) emerged in Ghana in the mid-1990s. The organizational structure and financial management of private and public MHO hold important lessons for the development of national health insurance in Ghana, but there is little evidence to date on their features.

Effects of Reentry Plasma Sheath on Mutual-Coupling Property of Array Antenna

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. W. Bai

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A plasma sheath enveloping a reentry vehicle would cause the failure of on-board antennas, which is an important effect that contributes to the “blackout” problem. The method of replacing the on-board single antenna with the array antennas and using beamforming technology has been proposed to mitigate “blackout” problem by many other researchers. Because the plasma sheath is a reflective medium, plasma will alter the mutual coupling between array elements and degrade the beamforming performance of array antenna. In this paper, the effects of the plasma sheath on the mutual coupling properties between adjacent array elements are studied utilizing the algorithm of finite integration technique. Results show that mutual coupling coefficients of array elements are deteriorating more seriously with the decrease of collision frequency. Moreover, when electron density and collision frequency are both large, plasma sheath improves the mutual coupling property of array elements; this conclusion suggests that replacing the on-board single antenna with the array antennas and using beamforming technology can be adopted to mitigate the blackout problem in this condition.

Mutual learning in a tree parity machine and its application to cryptography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosen-Zvi, Michal; Klein, Einat; Kanter, Ido; Kinzel, Wolfgang

2002-01-01

Mutual learning of a pair of tree parity machines with continuous and discrete weight vectors is studied analytically. The analysis is based on a mapping procedure that maps the mutual learning in tree parity machines onto mutual learning in noisy perceptrons. The stationary solution of the mutual learning in the case of continuous tree parity machines depends on the learning rate where a phase transition from partial to full synchronization is observed. In the discrete case the learning process is based on a finite increment and a full synchronized state is achieved in a finite number of steps. The synchronization of discrete parity machines is introduced in order to construct an ephemeral key-exchange protocol. The dynamic learning of a third tree parity machine (an attacker) that tries to imitate one of the two machines while the two still update their weight vectors is also analyzed. In particular, the synchronization times of the naive attacker and the flipping attacker recently introduced in Ref. 9 are analyzed. All analytical results are found to be in good agreement with simulation results

Mutual best friendship involvement, best friends' rejection sensitivity, and psychological maladaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowker, Julie C; Thomas, Katelyn K; Norman, Kelly E; Spencer, Sarah V

2011-05-01

Rejection sensitivity (RS) refers to the tendency to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and overreact to experiences of possible rejection. RS is a clear risk factor for psychological maladaptation during early adolescence. However, there is growing evidence of significant heterogeneity in the psychological correlates of RS. To investigate when RS poses the greatest psychological risk during early adolescence, this study examines mutual best friendship involvement (or lack thereof) and the best friends' RS as potential moderators of the associations between RS and psychological difficulties. Participants were 150 7th grade students (58 boys; M age = 13.05 years) who nominated their best friends, and reported on their RS, social anxiety, and self-esteem. Results from a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that mutual best friendship involvement and best friends' RS were both significant moderators when fear of negative evaluation (a type of social anxiety) served as the dependent variable. The association between RS and fear of negative evaluation was stronger for adolescents without mutual best friends than adolescents with mutual best friends. In addition, the association between RS and fear of negative evaluation was the strongest for adolescents whose best friends were highly rejection sensitive (relative to adolescents whose best friends were moderately or low in RS). Findings highlight the importance of considering best friendships in studies of RS and strongly suggest that, although having mutual best friendships may be protective for rejection sensitive adolescents, having a rejection sensitive best friend may exacerbate difficulties. The significance of friends in the lives of rejection sensitive adolescents is discussed as well as possible applied implications of the findings and study limitations.

Research on electricity consumption forecast based on mutual information and random forests algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Jing; Shi, Yunli; Tan, Jian; Zhu, Lei; Li, Hu

2018-02-01

Traditional power forecasting models cannot efficiently take various factors into account, neither to identify the relation factors. In this paper, the mutual information in information theory and the artificial intelligence random forests algorithm are introduced into the medium and long-term electricity demand prediction. Mutual information can identify the high relation factors based on the value of average mutual information between a variety of variables and electricity demand, different industries may be highly associated with different variables. The random forests algorithm was used for building the different industries forecasting models according to the different correlation factors. The data of electricity consumption in Jiangsu Province is taken as a practical example, and the above methods are compared with the methods without regard to mutual information and the industries. The simulation results show that the above method is scientific, effective, and can provide higher prediction accuracy.

Creative tensions: mutual responsiveness adapted to private sector research and development.

Science.gov (United States)

Sonck, Matti; Asveld, Lotte; Landeweerd, Laurens; Osseweijer, Patricia

2017-09-07

The concept of mutual responsiveness is currently based on little empirical data in the literature of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). This paper explores RRI's idea of mutual responsiveness in the light of recent RRI case studies on private sector research and development (R&D). In RRI, responsible innovation is understood as a joint endeavour of innovators and societal stakeholders, who become mutually responsive to each other in defining the 'right impacts' of the innovation in society, and in steering the innovation towards realising those impacts. Yet, the case studies identified several reasons for why the idea of mutual responsiveness does not always appear feasible or desirable in actual R&D situations. Inspired by the discrepancies between theory and practice, we suggest three further elaborations for the concept of responsiveness in RRI. Process-responsiveness is suggested for identifying situations that require stakeholder involvement specifically during R&D. Product-responsiveness is suggested for mobilising the potential of innovation products to be adaptable according to diverse stakeholder needs. Presponsiveness is suggested as responsiveness towards stakeholders that are not (yet) reachable at a given time of R&D. Our aim is to contribute to a more tangible understanding of responsiveness in RRI, and suggest directions for further analysis in upcoming RRI case studies.

The Behavioral Aspects of Mutual Funds and the Lessons Learned from the Financial Crisis

OpenAIRE

Åhlén, Tommy

2011-01-01

The fund industry has grown tremendously over the last decades and the function for mutual funds and their managers have gained importance. Sweden is today the greatest fund saving country in the world however the function of the mutual funds and their managers is still rather unexplored. Mutual fund managers were blamed for the recent financial crisis and their irrational behavior was highlighted. This indicated how weak the classic financial theories are when trying to explain the function ...

Mutual Mentoring for Early-Career and Underrepresented Faculty: Model, Research, and Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Yun, Jung H.; Baldi, Brian; Sorcinelli, Mary Deane

2016-01-01

In the beginning, "Mutual Mentoring" was little more than an idea, a hopeful vision of the future in which a new model of mentoring could serve as a medium to better support early-career and underrepresented faculty. Over time, Mutual Mentoring evolved from an innovative idea to an ambitious pilot program to a fully operational,…

Secure anonymous mutual authentication for star two-tier wireless body area networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Ibrahim, Maged Hamada; Kumari, Saru; Das, Ashok Kumar; Wazid, Mohammad; Odelu, Vanga

2016-10-01

Mutual authentication is a very important service that must be established between sensor nodes in wireless body area network (WBAN) to ensure the originality and integrity of the patient's data sent by sensors distributed on different parts of the body. However, mutual authentication service is not enough. An adversary can benefit from monitoring the traffic and knowing which sensor is in transmission of patient's data. Observing the traffic (even without disclosing the context) and knowing its origin, it can reveal to the adversary information about the patient's medical conditions. Therefore, anonymity of the communicating sensors is an important service as well. Few works have been conducted in the area of mutual authentication among sensor nodes in WBAN. However, none of them has considered anonymity among body sensor nodes. Up to our knowledge, our protocol is the first attempt to consider this service in a two-tier WBAN. We propose a new secure protocol to realize anonymous mutual authentication and confidential transmission for star two-tier WBAN topology. The proposed protocol uses simple cryptographic primitives. We prove the security of the proposed protocol using the widely-accepted Burrows-Abadi-Needham (BAN) logic, and also through rigorous informal security analysis. In addition, to demonstrate the practicality of our protocol, we evaluate it using NS-2 simulator. BAN logic and informal security analysis prove that our proposed protocol achieves the necessary security requirements and goals of an authentication service. The simulation results show the impact on the various network parameters, such as end-to-end delay and throughput. The nodes in the network require to store few hundred bits. Nodes require to perform very few hash invocations, which are computationally very efficient. The communication cost of the proposed protocol is few hundred bits in one round of communication. Due to the low computation cost, the energy consumed by the nodes is

By-product mutualism with evolving common enemies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Jaegher, K.J.M.

2017-01-01

The common-enemy hypothesis of by-product mutualism states that organisms cooperate when it is in their individual interests to do so, with benefits for other organisms arising as a by-product; in particular, such cooperation is hypothesized to arise when organisms face the common enemy of a

Deadlocks and dihomotopy in mutual exclusion models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raussen, Martin

2005-01-01

spaces, the directed ($d$-spaces) of M.Grandis and the flows of P. Gaucher. All models invite to use or modify ideas from algebraic topology, notably homotopy. In specific semaphore models for mutual exclusion, we have developed methods and algorithms that can detect deadlocks and unsafe regions and give...

Information trimming: Sufficient statistics, mutual information, and predictability from effective channel states

Science.gov (United States)

James, Ryan G.; Mahoney, John R.; Crutchfield, James P.

2017-06-01

One of the most basic characterizations of the relationship between two random variables, X and Y , is the value of their mutual information. Unfortunately, calculating it analytically and estimating it empirically are often stymied by the extremely large dimension of the variables. One might hope to replace such a high-dimensional variable by a smaller one that preserves its relationship with the other. It is well known that either X (or Y ) can be replaced by its minimal sufficient statistic about Y (or X ) while preserving the mutual information. While intuitively reasonable, it is not obvious or straightforward that both variables can be replaced simultaneously. We demonstrate that this is in fact possible: the information X 's minimal sufficient statistic preserves about Y is exactly the information that Y 's minimal sufficient statistic preserves about X . We call this procedure information trimming. As an important corollary, we consider the case where one variable is a stochastic process' past and the other its future. In this case, the mutual information is the channel transmission rate between the channel's effective states. That is, the past-future mutual information (the excess entropy) is the amount of information about the future that can be predicted using the past. Translating our result about minimal sufficient statistics, this is equivalent to the mutual information between the forward- and reverse-time causal states of computational mechanics. We close by discussing multivariate extensions to this use of minimal sufficient statistics.

Effect of acculturation and mutuality on family loyalty among Mexican American caregivers of elders.

Science.gov (United States)

Kao, Hsueh-Fen S; An, Kyungeh

2012-06-01

Informal family care for elders is conventional in Mexican American communities despite increasing intergenerational gaps in filial values. In our study, we explored whether acculturation and dyadic mutuality, as perceived by Mexican American family caregivers, explain the caregivers' expectations of family loyalty toward elderly relatives. A nonexperimental, correlational design with convenience sampling was used in El Paso, Texas, from October 2007 to January 2008. Three bilingual promotoras collected data from 193 Mexican American adult caregivers of community-dwelling elders using three scales designed for Mexican Americans: the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans II-Short Form, the Mutuality Scale, and the Expectations of Family Loyalty of Children Toward Elderly Relatives Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to analyze the data. Acculturation had a marginal effect (r = .21, p loyalty toward elderly relatives. There was no significant correlation between acculturation and mutuality (r = .05). Although Mexican American caregivers with strong Mexican orientation may have high expectations of family loyalty toward elderly relatives, mutuality exhibits more significant effects on expectations. Among Mexican Americans, mutuality between the caregiving dyad, as perceived by caregivers, may be a better predictor of filial values than caregivers' acculturation alone. It may be useful to incorporate the dual paradigm of acculturation and mutuality into immigrant family care for elderly relatives. © 2012 Sigma Theta Tau International.

The Persistence of Mutual Fund Performance.

OpenAIRE

Grinblatt, Mark; Titman, Sheridan

1992-01-01

This paper analyzes how mutual fund performance relates to past performance. These tests are based on a multiple portfolio benchmark that was formed on the basis of securities characteristics. The authors find evidence that differences in performance between funds persist over time and that this persistence is consistent with the ability of fund managers to earn abnormal returns. Copyright 1992 by American Finance Association.

The Effect of Mutual Coupling on a High Altitude Platform Diversity System Using Compact Antenna Arrays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tommy Hult

2010-01-01

Full Text Available We analyze the destructive effects of mutual coupling and spatial correlation between the separate antenna elements on a combined diversity system consisting of multiple HAPs (High-Altitude Platforms employing various compact MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output antenna array configurations, in order to enhance the mutual information in HAP communication links. In addition, we assess the influence of the separation angle between HAPs on system performance, and determine the optimal separation angles that maximize the total mutual information of the system for various compact MIMO antennas. Simulation results show that although the mutual information is degraded by mutual coupling and spatial correlation, the proposed HAP diversity system still provides better performance compared to a nondiversity system for all tested scenarios.

The N-Pact Factor: Evaluating the Quality of Empirical Journals with Respect to Sample Size and Statistical Power

Science.gov (United States)

Fraley, R. Chris; Vazire, Simine

2014-01-01

The authors evaluate the quality of research reported in major journals in social-personality psychology by ranking those journals with respect to their N-pact Factors (NF)—the statistical power of the empirical studies they publish to detect typical effect sizes. Power is a particularly important attribute for evaluating research quality because, relative to studies that have low power, studies that have high power are more likely to (a) to provide accurate estimates of effects, (b) to produce literatures with low false positive rates, and (c) to lead to replicable findings. The authors show that the average sample size in social-personality research is 104 and that the power to detect the typical effect size in the field is approximately 50%. Moreover, they show that there is considerable variation among journals in sample sizes and power of the studies they publish, with some journals consistently publishing higher power studies than others. The authors hope that these rankings will be of use to authors who are choosing where to submit their best work, provide hiring and promotion committees with a superior way of quantifying journal quality, and encourage competition among journals to improve their NF rankings. PMID:25296159

A Mutually Beneficial Relationship: University of the Third Age and a regional university campus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bronwyn Ellis

2011-11-01

Full Text Available A mutually beneficial relationship has developed over the past 15 years between a regional South Australian branch of the University of the Third Age (U3A and the local university campus. Arising from the initiative of a community member, the group sought assistance from the university, and has now become integrated into campus life. The university has provided a venue for meetings and access to other facilities, and university staff have contributed to the program of classes. The U3A has undoubtedly benefited from these inputs. However, the university has also benefited from these opportunities to engage with the wider community, the presence of willing volunteers to contribute in various ways to university classes and other activities, and favourable word-of-mouth marketing. Beginning with background information on U3A, the local branch and its setting, we reflect on the sustainability of this relationship with the university and the factors that have contributed to this. We draw on our U3A experience and on two qualitative research projects in which U3A members have taken part: projects which have investigated their motivation for participation in U3A classes and activities, and the contributions of U3A to the university and vice versa. Not only has the relationship itself been sustained thus far, it has also contributed to sustaining U3A members in their active involvement in learning and community activities, and has been a significant part of community engagement activities of the campus. Keywords University of the Third Age; university-community engagement; mutual benefit; lifelong learning; retirement; productive ageing

Measuring the influence of a mutual support educational intervention within a nursing team

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renée Bridges

2014-03-01

Conclusion: The study demonstrates that education can have an impact on perceptions and awareness of mutual support among nursing team members. The survey instrument can be used effectively to inform leadership areas for improvement and staff development in the effort to improve team coordination and mutual support.

Exposure to socially responsible investing of mutual funds in the Euronext stock markets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Plantinga, Auke; Scholtens, Bert; Brunia, Nanne

2002-01-01

This paper analyses fund management and exposure on the Euronext stock exchanges. Especially, we investigate to what extent mutual funds are engaged in socially responsible investing (SRI). In order to accomplish this goal, we use regression analysis to measure the exposure of mutual funds to stock

Front-running of Mutual Fund Fire-sales

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dyakov, T.C.; Verbeek, M.

2013-01-01

We show that a real-time trading strategy which front-runs the anticipated forced sales by mutual funds experiencing extreme capital outflows generates an alpha of 0.5% per month during the 1990-2010 period. The abnormal return stems from selling pressure among stocks that are below the NYSE mean

Mutual fund performance: A synthesis of taxonomic and methodological issues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.G. Badrinath

2010-12-01

Full Text Available This paper provides a comprehensive taxonomy of mutual funds and discusses the relative importance of these fund types. While most academic research focuses on US equity funds, we provide results for many more asset classes with this taxonomy—fixed income, balanced, global, International, sector, market-neutral and long-short funds. For each, we start by reporting statistics on the number of funds and their total net asset values at different intervals over the last four decades. We then identify short and long-term patterns in annual returns to mutual funds. We study the cross-sectional and time-series properties of the distribution of investor flows into different types of mutual funds, describe the relationship between flows and performance and discuss its implications for the strategic behaviour of managers and investors. We estimate and interpret fund performance alphas using both the single-factor and four-factor Fama-French models for each taxonomy type. Finally we describe the state of academic research on portfolio performance evaluation tilted towards an applied audience.

Integrated semiconductor twin-microdisk laser under mutually optical injection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zou, Ling-Xiu; Liu, Bo-Wen; Lv, Xiao-Meng; Yang, Yue-De; Xiao, Jin-Long; Huang, Yong-Zhen, E-mail: yzhuang@semi.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083 (China)

2015-05-11

We experimentally study the characteristics of an integrated semiconductor twin-microdisk laser under mutually optical injection through a connected optical waveguide. Based on the lasing spectra, four-wave mixing, injection locking, and period-two oscillation states are observed due to the mutually optical injection by adjusting the injected currents applied to the two microdisks. The enhanced 3 dB bandwidth is realized for the microdisk laser at the injection locking state, and photonic microwave is obtained from the electrode of the microdisk laser under the period-two oscillation state. The plentifully dynamical states similar as semiconductor lasers subject to external optical injection are realized due to strong optical interaction between the two microdisks.

Mutuality and reciprocity in the psychological contracts of employees and employers.

Science.gov (United States)

Dabos, Guillermo E; Rousseau, Denise M

2004-02-01

The authors assessed the joint perceptions of the employee and his or her employer to examine mutuality and reciprocity in the employment relationship. Paired psychological contract reports were obtained from 80 employee-employer dyads in 16 university-based research centers. On the basis of in-depth study of the research setting, research directors were identified as primary agents for the university (employer) in shaping the terms of employment of staff scientists (employees). By assessing the extent of consistency between employee and employer beliefs regarding their exchange agreement, the present study mapped the variation and consequences of mutuality and reciprocity in psychological contracts. Results indicate that both mutuality and reciprocity are positively related to archival indicators of research productivity and career advancement, in addition to self-reported measures of Met Expectations and intention to continue working with the employer. Implications for psychological contract theory are presented. ((c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)

Mutual Vulnerability: A Key Principle in a Humanising Pedagogy in Post-Conflict Societies

Science.gov (United States)

Zinn, Denise; Proteus, Kimberley; Keet, Andre

2009-01-01

In this article we argue that education in post-conflict and traumatised societies should be partly underpinned by the principle of "mutual vulnerability" as central to a humanising pedagogy. We explain the conceptual links between "reconciliation pedagogies", "mutual vulnerability" and "humanising pedagogies" and associate them with the broader…

Governing and Delivering a Biome-Wide Restoration Initiative: The Case of Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Severino R. Pinto

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In many human-modified tropical landscapes, biodiversity conservation and the provision of ecosystem services require large-scale restoration initiatives. Such initiatives must be able to augment the amount and the quality of remaining natural habitats. There is thus a growing need for long-term, multi-stakeholder and multi-purpose initiatives that result in multiple ecological and socioeconomic benefits at the biome scale. The Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact (AFRP is a coalition of 260+ stakeholders, including governmental agencies, private sector, NGOs and research institutions, aimed at restoring 15 million ha of degraded and deforested lands by 2050. By articulating, and then integrating common interests, this initiative has allowed different sectors of society to implement an ambitious vision and create a forum for public and private concerns regarding forest restoration. The AFRP adopts a set of governance tools so multiple actors can implement key processes to achieve long-term and visionary restoration goals. Having overcome some initial challenges, AFRP now has to incorporate underrepresented stakeholders and enhance its efforts to make forest restoration more economically viable, including cases where restoration could be less expensive and profitable. The AFRP experience has resulted in many lessons learned, which can be shared to foster similar initiatives across tropical regions.

Development of stock correlation networks using mutual information and financial big data.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Xue; Zhang, Hu; Tian, Tianhai

2018-01-01

Stock correlation networks use stock price data to explore the relationship between different stocks listed in the stock market. Currently this relationship is dominantly measured by the Pearson correlation coefficient. However, financial data suggest that nonlinear relationships may exist in the stock prices of different shares. To address this issue, this work uses mutual information to characterize the nonlinear relationship between stocks. Using 280 stocks traded at the Shanghai Stocks Exchange in China during the period of 2014-2016, we first compare the effectiveness of the correlation coefficient and mutual information for measuring stock relationships. Based on these two measures, we then develop two stock networks using the Minimum Spanning Tree method and study the topological properties of these networks, including degree, path length and the power-law distribution. The relationship network based on mutual information has a better distribution of the degree and larger value of the power-law distribution than those using the correlation coefficient. Numerical results show that mutual information is a more effective approach than the correlation coefficient to measure the stock relationship in a stock market that may undergo large fluctuations of stock prices.

Human Security and Mutual Vulnerability: The Global Political ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

-Cold War era: the search for an analytical framework that will help us understand this turbulent and chaotic period in human history. His lucid and visionary analysis rests on the concept of mutual vulnerability: that in an increasingly ...

75 FR 47063 - Mutual Fund Distribution Fees; Confirmations

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-04

... section 12(b) is to prevent mutual funds from incurring ``excessive sales, promotion expenses, and so... plans and used the revenue to pay for advertising and sales materials.\\55\\ In time, however, funds began... to revenue sharing. [[Page 47069

A Lightweight RFID Mutual Authentication Protocol Based on Physical Unclonable Function.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, He; Ding, Jie; Li, Peng; Zhu, Feng; Wang, Ruchuan

2018-03-02

With the fast development of the Internet of Things, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has been widely applied into many areas. Nevertheless, security problems of the RFID technology are also gradually exposed, when it provides life convenience. In particular, the appearance of a large number of fake and counterfeit goods has caused massive loss for both producers and customers, for which the clone tag is a serious security threat. If attackers acquire the complete information of a tag, they can then obtain the unique identifier of the tag by some technological means. In general, because there is no extra identifier of a tag, it is difficult to distinguish an original tag and its clone one. Once the legal tag data is obtained, attackers can be able to clone this tag. Therefore, this paper shows an efficient RFID mutual verification protocol. This protocol is based on the Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) and the lightweight cryptography to achieve efficient verification of a single tag. The protocol includes three process: tag recognition, mutual verification and update. The tag recognition is that the reader recognizes the tag; mutual verification is that the reader and tag mutually verify the authenticity of each other; update is supposed to maintain the latest secret key for the following verification. Analysis results show that this protocol has a good balance between performance and security.

Use of the mutual exclusivity assumption by young word learners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Markman, Ellen M.; Wasow, Judith L.; Hansen, Mikkel

2003-01-01

A critical question about early word learning is whether word learning constraints such as mutual exclusivity exist and foster early language acquisition. It is well established that children will map a novel label to a novel rather than a familiar object. Evidence for the role of mutual...... these concerns by having only a familiar object visible. Fifteen to seventeen and 18-20-month-olds were selected to straddle the vocabulary spurt. In Study 1, babies saw a familiar object and an opaque bucket as a location to search. Study 2 handed babies the familiar object to play with. Study 3 eliminated...

Organic Learning: Mutual Enterprise and the Learning and Skills Agenda. Policy Discussion Paper.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, Stephen

The term "cooperative and mutual enterprises" (CMEs) was developed in 1999 by a mutuality task force in Oxfordshire, England, as a modern way of reasserting the notion of the adult education movement as a cooperative movement for social (democratic) inclusion. CMEs recall the tradition of learning through clubs, unions, mechanics'…

26 CFR 1.501(c)(14)-1 - Credit unions and mutual insurance funds.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 501(c)(1)) without capital stock, organized and operated for mutual purposes and without profit, are... September 1, 1951 and operated for mutual purposes and without profit for the purpose of providing reserve... September 1, 1957, are exempt from tax under section 501(a) for taxable years beginning after December 31...

Bet hedging based cooperation can limit kin selection and form a basis for mutualism.

Science.gov (United States)

Uitdehaag, Joost C M

2011-07-07

Mutualism is a mechanism of cooperation in which partners that differ help each other. As such, mutualism opposes mechanisms of kin selection and tag-based selection (for example the green beard mechanism), which are based on giving exclusive help to partners that are related or carry the same tag. In contrast to kin selection, which is a basis for parochialism and intergroup warfare, mutualism can therefore be regarded as a mechanism that drives peaceful coexistence between different groups and individuals. Here the competition between mutualism and kin (tag) selection is studied. In a model where kin selection and tag-based selection are dominant, mutualism is promoted by introducing environmental fluctuations. These fluctuations cause reduction in reproductive success by the mechanism of variance discount. The best strategy to counter variance discount is to share with agents who experience the most anticorrelated fluctuations, a strategy called bet hedging. In this way, bet hedging stimulates cooperation with the most unrelated partners, which is a basis for mutualism. Analytic results and simulations reveal that, if this effect is large enough, mutualistic strategies can dominate kin selective strategies. In addition, mutants of these mutualistic strategies that experience fluctuations that are more anticorrelated to their partner, can outcompete wild type, which can lead to the evolution of specialization. In this way, the evolutionary success of mutualistic strategies can be explained by bet hedging-based cooperation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mutual partners' support in the process of the bereavement after the death of the child

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Polona Ozbič

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The death of a close person is one of the hardest situations which individuals face several times in their lifetimes. The death of a child is especially stressful. The partnership can be either mutually supportive or stressful; this is significantly related to coping with the loss. The purpose of the research was to study the mutual support of partners while grieving their child's loss. We conducted in-depth guided interviews with fourteen bereaved parents. We used a grounded theory to determine three main topics: the expectations of the bereaved from their partner; the characteristics of the mutual partners' support; and the relationship between partners in the process of bereavement. On the basis of these data the following categories prevailed: collective bereavement, individual bereavement with occasional collective bereavement, and isolated bereavement. Regardless of gender, the individuals with the first two patterns typically experience mutual understanding and the feeling of support in the process of bereavement. Those with the pattern of isolated bereavement have characteristically dysfunctional partnerships, which make mutual support difficult even when desired. Research showed a new finding in Slovenia: bereaved parents in functional partnerships often grieve individually and occasionally collectively, which they identify as adequate mutual support.

Is There Room for Coherence in Climate Financial Assistance?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurence Boisson de Chazournes

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This article takes a closer look at the complex web of financial assistance mechanisms in the climate change sector. These mechanisms are important tools for assisting developing countries to address the challenges associated with climate change. Mapping the various types of institutions and funds in this sector, the author underlines the important role played by the private sector but also highlights the increasing presence of financial mechanisms under the aegis of international organizations, such as the World Bank. Moreover, a particular focus is placed on the Green Climate Fund and the way in which the establishment of this mechanism may affect the functioning of existing financial mechanisms. In calling for better communication, coordination, and coherence among these actors and mechanisms, the author suggests that these ends may be achieved by placing an emphasis on plurality, complementarity, and mutual support through, inter alia, more effective policy oversight and enhanced inter-institutional relations.

Calculation of the mutual diffusion coefficient by equilibrium and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erpenbeck, J.J.; Kincaid, J.M.

1986-01-01

A nonequilibrium molecular dynamics method for the calculation of the mutual diffusion coefficient for a mixture of hard spheres is described. The method is applied to a 50-50 mixture of equidiameter particles having a mass ratio of 0.1 for the two species, at a volume of three times close-packing. By extrapolating the results to the limit of vanishing concentration gradient and infinite system size, we obtain a value in statistical agreement with the result obtained using a Green-Kubo molecular dynamics procedure, which is also described. The nonequilibrium calculation yields a mutual diffusion coefficient which decreases slightly with increasing concentration gradient. The Green-Kubo timecorrelation function for mutual diffusion displays a slow decay with time, qualitatively similar to the long-time tail which has been predicted by the hydrodynamic theory of Pomeau

Side-band mutual interactions in the magnetosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, D. C. D.; Helliwell, R. A.; Bell, T. F.

1980-01-01

Sideband mutual interactions between VLF waves in the magnetosphere are investigated. Results of an experimental program involving the generation of sidebands by means of frequency shift keying are presented which indicate that the energetic electrons in the magnetosphere can interact only with sidebands generated by signals with short modulation periods. Using the value of the memory time during which electrons interact with the waves implied by the above result, it is estimated that the length of the electron interaction region in the magnetosphere is between 4000 and 2000 km. Sideband interactions are found to be similar to those between constant-frequency signals, exhibiting suppression and energy coupling. Results from a second sideband transmitting program show that for most cases the coherence bandwidth of sidebands is about 50 Hz. Sideband mutual interactions are then explained by the overlap of the ranges of the parallel velocity of the electrons which the sidebands organize, and the wave intensity in the interaction region is estimated to be 2.5-10 milli-gamma, in agreement with satellite measurements.

Spillover Effects of Marketing in Mutual Fund Families

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.J.C.M. Verbeek (Marno); J.J. Huij (Joop)

2007-01-01

textabstractThis paper investigates the presence of spillover effects of marketing in mutual fund families. We find that funds with high marketing expenses generate spillovers, and enhance cash inflows to family members with low marketing expenses. In particular, low-marketing funds that are

Information content when mutual funds deviate from benchmarks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

H. Jiang (Hao); M.J.C.M. Verbeek (Marno); Y. Wang (Yu)

2014-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ The consensus wisdom of active mutual fund managers, as reflected in their average over-and underweighting decisions, contains valuable information about future stock returns. Analyzing a comprehensive sample of active U.S. equity funds from 1984 to 2008, we find that

Mutual Group Hypnosis: A Social Interaction Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Shirley

Mutual Group Hypnosis is discussed in terms of its similarity to group dynamics in general and in terms of its similarity to a social interaction program (Role Modeling) designed to foster the expression of warmth and acceptance among group members. Hypnosis also fosters a regression to prelogical thought processes in the service of the ego. Group…

Mutually opposing forces during locomotion can eliminate the tradeoff between maneuverability and stability

Science.gov (United States)

Cowan, Noah; Sefati, Shahin; Neveln, Izaak; Roth, Eatai; Mitchell, Terence; Snyder, James; Maciver, Malcolm; Fortune, Eric

A surprising feature of animal locomotion is that organisms typically produce substantial forces in directions other than what is necessary to move the animal through its environment, such as perpendicular to, or counter to, the direction of travel. The effect of these forces has been difficult to observe because they are often mutually opposing and therefore cancel out. Using a combination of robotic physical modeling, computational modeling, and biological experiments, we discovered that these forces serve an important role: to simplify and enhance the control of locomotion. Specifically, we examined a well-suited model system, the glass knifefish Eigenmannia virescens, which produces mutually opposing forces during a hovering behavior. By systematically varying the locomotor parameters of our biomimetic robot, and measuring the resulting forces and kinematics, we demonstrated that the production and differential control of mutually opposing forces is a strategy that generates passive stabilization while simultaneously enhancing maneuverability. Mutually opposing forces during locomotion are widespread across animal taxa, and these results indicate that such forces can eliminate the tradeoff between stability and maneuverability, thereby simplifying robotic and neural control.

Early transduction produces highly functional chimeric antigen receptor-modified virus-specific T-cells with central memory markers: a Production Assistant for Cell Therapy (PACT) translational application.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Jiali; Huye, Leslie E; Lapteva, Natalia; Mamonkin, Maksim; Hiregange, Manasa; Ballard, Brandon; Dakhova, Olga; Raghavan, Darshana; Durett, April G; Perna, Serena K; Omer, Bilal; Rollins, Lisa A; Leen, Ann M; Vera, Juan F; Dotti, Gianpietro; Gee, Adrian P; Brenner, Malcolm K; Myers, Douglas G; Rooney, Cliona M

2015-01-01

Virus-specific T-cells (VSTs) proliferate exponentially after adoptive transfer into hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients, eliminate virus infections, then persist and provide long-term protection from viral disease. If VSTs behaved similarly when modified with tumor-specific chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), they should have potent anti-tumor activity. This theory was evaluated by Cruz et al. in a previous clinical trial with CD19.CAR-modified VSTs, but there was little apparent expansion of these cells in patients. In that study, VSTs were gene-modified on day 19 of culture and we hypothesized that by this time, sufficient T-cell differentiation may have occurred to limit the subsequent proliferative capacity of the transduced T-cells. To facilitate the clinical testing of this hypothesis in a project supported by the NHLBI-PACT mechanism, we developed and optimized a good manufacturing practices (GMP) compliant method for the early transduction of VSTs directed to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Adenovirus (AdV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) using a CAR directed to the tumor-associated antigen disialoganglioside (GD2). Ad-CMVpp65-transduced EBV-LCLs effectively stimulated VSTs directed to all three viruses (triVSTs). Transduction efficiency on day three was increased in the presence of cytokines and high-speed centrifugation of retroviral supernatant onto retronectin-coated plates, so that under optimal conditions up to 88% of tetramer-positive VSTs expressed the GD2.CAR. The average transduction efficiency of early-and late transduced VSTs was 55 ± 4% and 22 ± 5% respectively, and early-transduced VSTs maintained higher frequencies of T cells with central memory or intermediate memory phenotypes. Early-transduced VSTs also had higher proliferative capacity and produced higher levels of TH1 cytokines IL-2, TNF-α, IFN-γ, MIP-1α, MIP-1β and other cytokines in vitro. We developed a rapid and GMP compliant method for the early transduction of

Investors Perception And Attitude Towards Mutual Fund As An Investment Option

OpenAIRE

Sharma, Priyanka; Agrawal, Payal

2015-01-01

Mutual funds have opened new vistas to millions of investors by virtually taking investment to their doorstep. In India, a investor generally goes for such kind of information, which do not provide hedge against inflation and often have negative real returns. He finds himself to be an odd man out in the investment game. Mutual funds have come, as a much needed help to these investors. Thus the success of MFs is essentially the result of the combined efforts of competent fund managers and aler...

The Formation of Optimal Portfolio of Mutual Shares Funds using Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yandra Arkeman

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Investments in financial assets have become a trend in the globalization era, especially the investment in mutual fund shares. Investors who want to invest in stock mutual funds can set up an investment portfolio in order to generate a minimal risk and maximum return. In this study the authors used the Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm Non-dominated Sorting II (MOGA NSGA-II technique with the Markowitz portfolio principle to find the best portfolio from several mutual funds. The data used are 10 company stock mutual funds with a period of 12 months, 24 months and 36 months. The genetic algorithm parameters used are crossover probability of 0.65, mutation probability of 0.05, Generation 400 and a population numbering 20 individuals. The study produced a combination of the best portfolios for the period of 24 months with a computing time of 63,289 seconds.

Complete N-Qubit Greenberger—Horne—Zeilinger States Analysis Assisted by Frequency Degree of Freedom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeng Zhi; Wang Chun; Li Xi-Han

2014-01-01

We present an efficient and simple protocol to unambiguously distinguish 2 N mutual orthogonal N-qubit Greenberger—Horne—Zeilinger states in polarization degree of freedom assisted by the frequency one. This scheme is based on N single photon Bell state measurements, which can be implemented non-locally. The success probability is 100% in principle and our scheme is feasible with current technology. All the advantages make our protocol meaningful and practical in quantum information processing. (general)

Environmental variation shifts the relationship between trees and scatterhoarders along the continuum from mutualism to antagonism.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawaya, Gina M; Goldberg, Adam S; Steele, Michael A; Dalgleish, Harmony J

2018-05-01

The conditional mutualism between scatterhoarders and trees varies on a continuum from mutualism to antagonism and can change across time and space, and among species. We examined 4 tree species (red oak [Quercus rubra], white oak [Quercus alba], American chestnut [Castanea dentata] and hybrid chestnut [C. dentata × Castanea mollissima) across 5 sites and 3 years to quantify the variability in this conditional mutualism. We used a published model to compare the rates of seed emergence with and without burial to the probability that seeds will be cached and left uneaten by scatterhoarders to quantify variation in the conditional mutualism that can be explained by environmental variation among sites, years, species, and seed provenance within species. All species tested had increased emergence when buried. However, comparing benefits of burial to the probability of caching by scatterhoarders indicated a mutualism in red oak, while white oak was nearly always antagonistic. Chestnut was variable around the boundary between mutualism and antagonism, indicating a high degree of context dependence in the relationship with scatterhoarders. We found that different seed provenances did not vary in their potential for mutualism. Temperature did not explain microsite differences in seed emergence in any of the species tested. In hybrid chestnut only, emergence on the surface declined with soil moisture in the fall. By quantifying the variation in the conditional mutualism that was not caused by changes in scatterhoarder behavior, we show that environmental conditions and seed traits are an important and underappreciated component of the variation in the relationship between trees and scatterhoarders. © 2018 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Conversion from mutual helicity to self-helicity observed with IRIS

Science.gov (United States)

Li, L. P.; Peter, H.; Chen, F.; Zhang, J.

2014-10-01

Context. In the upper atmosphere of the Sun observations show convincing evidence for crossing and twisted structures, which are interpreted as mutual helicity and self-helicity. Aims: We use observations with the new Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) to show the conversion of mutual helicity into self-helicity in coronal structures on the Sun. Methods: Using far UV spectra and slit-jaw images from IRIS and coronal images and magnetograms from SDO, we investigated the evolution of two crossing loops in an active region, in particular, the properties of the Si IV line profile in cool loops. Results: In the early stage two cool loops cross each other and accordingly have mutual helicity. The Doppler shifts in the loops indicate that they wind around each other. As a consequence, near the crossing point of the loops (interchange) reconnection sets in, which heats the plasma. This is consistent with the observed increase of the line width and of the appearance of the loops at higher temperatures. After this interaction, the two new loops run in parallel, and in one of them shows a clear spectral tilt of the Si IV line profile. This is indicative of a helical (twisting) motion, which is the same as to say that the loop has self-helicity. Conclusions: The high spatial and spectral resolution of IRIS allowed us to see the conversion of mutual helicity to self-helicity in the (interchange) reconnection of two loops. This is observational evidence for earlier theoretical speculations. Movie associated with Fig. 1 and Appendix A are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Investor Attrition and Fund Flows in Mutual Funds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christoffersen, Susan E. K.; Xu, Haoyu

2017-01-01

We explore the properties of equity mutual funds that experience a loss of assets after poor performance. We document that both inflows and outflows are less sensitive to performance, because performance-sensitive investors leave or decide not to invest after bad performance. Consistent with the ...

Link overlap, viability, and mutual percolation in multiplex networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Min, Byungjoon; Lee, Sangchul; Lee, Kyu-Min; Goh, K.-I.

2015-01-01

Many real-world complex systems are best modeled by multiplex networks. The multiplexity has proved to have broad impact on the system’s structure and function. Most theoretical studies on multiplex networks to date, however, have largely ignored the effect of the link overlap across layers despite strong empirical evidences for its significance. In this article, we investigate the effect of the link overlap in the viability of multiplex networks, both analytically and numerically. After a short recap of the original multiplex viability study, the distinctive role of overlapping links in viability and mutual connectivity is emphasized and exploited for setting up a proper analytic framework. A rich phase diagram for viability is obtained and greatly diversified patterns of hysteretic behavior in viability are observed in the presence of link overlap. Mutual percolation with link overlap is revisited as a limit of multiplex viability problem, and the controversy between existing results is clarified. The distinctive role of overlapping links is further demonstrated by the different responses of networks under random removals of overlapping and non-overlapping links, respectively, as well as under several link-removal strategies. Our results show that the link overlap facilitates the viability and mutual percolation; at the same time, the presence of link overlap poses a challenge in analytical approaches to the problem

Basolateral amygdala lesions abolish mutual reward preferences in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez-Lallement, Julen; van Wingerden, Marijn; Schäble, Sandra; Kalenscher, Tobias

2016-01-01

In a recent study, we demonstrated that rats prefer mutual rewards in a Prosocial Choice Task. Here, employing the same task, we show that the integrity of basolateral amygdala was necessary for the expression of mutual reward preferences. Actor rats received bilateral excitotoxic (n=12) or sham lesions (n=10) targeting the basolateral amygdala and were subsequently tested in a Prosocial Choice Task where they could decide between rewarding ("Both Reward") or not rewarding a partner rat ("Own Reward"), either choice yielding identical reward to the actors themselves. To manipulate the social context and control for secondary reinforcement sources, actor rats were paired with either a partner rat (partner condition) or with an inanimate rat toy (toy condition). Sham-operated animals revealed a significant preference for the Both-Reward-option in the partner condition, but not in the toy condition. Amygdala-lesioned animals exhibited significantly lower Both-Reward preferences than the sham group in the partner but not in the toy condition, suggesting that basolateral amygdala was required for the expression of mutual reward preferences. Critically, in a reward magnitude discrimination task in the same experimental setup, both sham-operated and amygdala-lesioned animals preferred large over small rewards, suggesting that amygdala lesion effects were restricted to decision making in social contexts, leaving self-oriented behavior unaffected. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Calculation of the mutual diffusion coefficient by equilibrium and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erpenbeck, J.J.; Kincaid, J.M.

1985-01-01

A nonequilibrium molecular dynamics method for the calculation of the mutual diffusion coefficient for a mixture of hard spheres is described. The method is applied to a 50-50 mixture of equidiameter particles having a mass ratio of 0.1 for the two species, at a volume of three times close-packing. By extrapolating the results to the limit of vanishing concentration gradient and infinite system size, we obtain a value in statistical agreement with the result obtained using a Green-Kubo molecular dynamics procedure which is also described. The nonequilibrium calculation yields a mutual diffusion coefficient which decreases slightly with increasing concentration gradient. The Green-Kubo time correlation function for mutual diffusion displays a slow decay with time, qualitatively similar to the long-time tail which has been predicted by the hydrodynamic theory of Pomeau

Main Determinants of the Mutual Funds Dynamics in Romania before and after the Financial Crisis

OpenAIRE

Radu Ioana; Nistor Ioan Alin; Ciupac-Ulici Maria Lenuþa

2012-01-01

In an attempt to identify the main determinants of attraction or inhibitive factors for investments, the current paper evaluates the Romanian mutual fund market development. Using a regression analysis on quarterly data during 2004Q3 – 2012Q2, the study explores the impact of current financial crisis on mutual funds. The paper is organized as it follows. Part 2 presents a brief literature review and extracts the studies that appreciate best the determinants of the mutual funds dynamics. Next ...

NEVER BOUGHT, ALWAYS SOLD: Salesmanship, the Small Investor, and the Early Postwar Surge in Mutual Fund Participation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janice M. Traflet

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Though today millions of investors flock to them, in 1945, mutual funds exuded no widespread appeal. This essay examines how, why, and when mutual funds first began to regain — and, indeed, exceed — the popularity they had only briefly enjoyed in the 1920s. A key focus is on the role of marketers in stimulating popular interest in mutual funds, particularly among small investors. As will be argued, the surge in mutual fund participation, which began in earnest after the Second World War, should be considered neither accidental nor inevitable.

Indian Mutual Fund Industry in the first decade of 21st Millennium

OpenAIRE

Ms. Vanipriya .R; Dr.Venkatramaraju.D

2011-01-01

The Indian mutual fund industry has witnessed significant growth in the past few years driven by several favorable economic and demographic factors such as rising income levels and the increasing reach of Asset Management Companies (AMCs) and distributors. Recent developments triggered by the global economic crisis have served to highlight the vulnerability of the Indian mutual fund industry to global economic turbulence and exposed our increased dependence on corporate customers and the reta...

Do Higher Fees Imply Better Performance? An Insight to Fee-performance Relationship in the US Mutual Fund Industry.

OpenAIRE

FAN, YI

2008-01-01

Recent studies propose that equity mutual fund managers generally do not have ability to generate abnormal returns to outperform the market, and their performance bear negative relationship with the expenses charged when investors invest in mutual funds. This study employs a data set including monthly returns from sixty equity mutual funds existing throughout the examined period from January 1998 to December 2007. These data are used to examine performance of actively managed mutual funds and...

Ambiguity towards Multiple Historical Performance Information Signals: Evidence from Indonesian Open-Ended Mutual Fund Investors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haris Pratama Loeis

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This study focuses on the behavior of open-ended mutual fund investors when encountered with multiple information signals of mutual fund’s historical performance. The behavior of investors can be reflected on their decision to subscribe or redeem their funds from mutual funds. Moreover, we observe the presence of ambiguity within investors due to multiple information signals, and also their reaction towards it. Our finding shows that open-ended mutual fund investors do not only have sensitivity towards past performance information signals, but also have additional sensitivity towards the ambiguity of multiple information signals. Because of the presence of ambiguity, investors give more consideration to negative information signals and the worst information signal in their investment decisions. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

Zero Cross-Talk Regimes in Dually Modulated Mutually-Coupled Nano-lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, H; Zhang, M J; Wang, Y C; Shore, K A

2017-01-01

The modulation properties of dually modulated mutually-coupled nano-lasers have been analyzed using rate equations which include the Purcell cavity-enhanced spontaneous emission factor F and the spontaneous emission coupling factor β . Analysis of the dynamical response of modulated mutually-coupled nano-lasers reveals the existence of regimes of zero cross-talk wherein the response of one nano-laser is not impacted by the dynamics of the other nano-laser. The availability of zero-cross talk regimes is seen to offer opportunities for exploitation in photonic integrated circuits. (paper)

Improvement of mutual understanding in risk communication by application of a debate support system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimoda, Hiroshi; Matsuda, Koji; Ishii, Hirotake; Yoshikawa, Hidekazu

2010-01-01

Given the recent problem of climate change, nuclear power has become perhaps the world's most important energy source. In Japan, however, it is difficult to build new nuclear facilities. One of the reasons for such difficulty lies in problems in risk communication. In this study, a support method has been proposed to improve mutual understanding in risk communication. The authors paid especial attention at the learning effect of debating and the benefits of employing a debate support system. A laboratory experiment including 30 university students was conducted in order to evaluate the proposed method. Results showed that the use of the system could improve mutual understanding especially with respect to the factors of risk 'reduction measures' and 'accident management'. In addition, it was found that using the system and debating from 'opposite positions' could improve subjective mutual understanding; however, this practice showed no effectiveness in terms of improving objective mutual understanding. (author)

Computationally Efficient 2D DOA Estimation for L-Shaped Array with Unknown Mutual Coupling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang-Yang Dong

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Although L-shaped array can provide good angle estimation performance and is easy to implement, its two-dimensional (2D direction-of-arrival (DOA performance degrades greatly in the presence of mutual coupling. To deal with the mutual coupling effect, a novel 2D DOA estimation method for L-shaped array with low computational complexity is developed in this paper. First, we generalize the conventional mutual coupling model for L-shaped array and compensate the mutual coupling blindly via sacrificing a few sensors as auxiliary elements. Then we apply the propagator method twice to mitigate the effect of strong source signal correlation effect. Finally, the estimations of azimuth and elevation angles are achieved simultaneously without pair matching via the complex eigenvalue technique. Compared with the existing methods, the proposed method is computationally efficient without spectrum search or polynomial rooting and also has fine angle estimation performance for highly correlated source signals. Theoretical analysis and simulation results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Quantum mutual information and the one-time pad

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schumacher, Benjamin; Westmoreland, Michael D.

2006-01-01

Alice and Bob share a correlated composite quantum system AB. If AB is used as the key for a one-time pad cryptographic system, we show that the maximum amount of information that Alice can send securely to Bob is the quantum mutual information of AB

Economy of scale: third partner strengthens a keystone ant-plant mutualism.

Science.gov (United States)

Prior, Kirsten M; Palmer, Todd M

2018-02-01

While foundation species can stabilize ecosystems at landscape scales, their ability to persist is often underlain by keystone interactions occurring at smaller scales. Acacia drepanolobium is a foundation tree, comprising >95% of woody cover in East African black-cotton savanna ecosystems. Its dominance is underlain by a keystone mutualistic interaction with several symbiotic ant species in which it provides housing (swollen thorns) and carbohydrate-rich nectar from extra-floral nectaries (EFN). In return, it gains protection from catastrophic damage from mega-herbivores. Crematogaster mimosae is the ecologically dominant symbiotic ant in this system, also providing the highest protection services. In addition to tending EFN, C. mimosae tend scale insects for carbohydrate-rich honeydew. We investigated the role of scale insects in this specialized ant-plant interaction. Specifically, does this putatively redundant third partner strengthen the ant-plant mutualism by making the ant a better protector of the tree? Or does it weaken the mutualism by being costly to the tree while providing no additional benefit to the ant-plant mutualism? We coupled observational surveys with two scale-manipulation experiments and found evidence that this third partner strengthens the ant-plant mutualism. Trees with scale insects experimentally removed experienced a 2.5X increase in elephant damage compared to trees with scale insects present over 10 months. Reduced protection was driven by scale removal causing a decrease in ant colony size and per capita baseline activity and defensive behavior. We also found that ants increased scale-tending and the density of scale insects on trees when EFN were experimentally reduced. Thus, in this system, scale insects and EFN are likely complementary, rather than redundant, resources with scale insects benefitting ants when EFN production is low (such as during annual dry periods in this semi-arid ecosystem). This study reveals that a third

MISTIC: mutual information server to infer coevolution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Simonetti, Franco L.; Teppa, Elin; Chernomoretz, Ariel

2013-01-01

of several information-related quantities using a circos representation. This provides an integrated view of the MSA in terms of (i) the mutual information (MI) between residue pairs, (ii) sequence conservation and (iii) the residue cumulative and proximity MI scores. Further, an interactive interface...... of circos representation of MI networks and the visualization of the cumulative MI and proximity MI concepts is novel....

Mutual information as an order parameter for quantum synchronization

Science.gov (United States)

Ameri, V.; Eghbali-Arani, M.; Mari, A.; Farace, A.; Kheirandish, F.; Giovannetti, V.; Fazio, R.

2015-01-01

Spontaneous synchronization is a fundamental phenomenon, important in many theoretical studies and applications. Recently, this effect has been analyzed and observed in a number of physical systems close to the quantum-mechanical regime. In this work we propose mutual information as a useful order parameter which can capture the emergence of synchronization in very different contexts, ranging from semiclassical to intrinsically quantum-mechanical systems. Specifically, we first study the synchronization of two coupled Van der Pol oscillators in both classical and quantum regimes and later we consider the synchronization of two qubits inside two coupled optical cavities. In all these contexts, we find that mutual information can be used as an appropriate figure of merit for determining the synchronization phases independently of the specific details of the system.

[Change management: An analysis of actors; perceptions about technical assistance in the Democratic Republic of Congo].

Science.gov (United States)

Ribesse, Nathalie; Iyeti, Alain; Macq, Jean

2015-01-01

Technical assistance (TA) is a common component of health system strengthening interventions. This type of intervention is too often designed and evaluated according to a logic that fails to take into account social complexity. Actors' perceptions are one element of this complexity. This article presents a study conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo designed to identify perceptions concerning two types of technical support providers for health system strengthening: long-term technical assistants (agents of development agencies) and provincial technical advisors (agents of the Ministry of Health). Interviews were conducted with an innovative tool inspired by the principles of systems thinking. Interviewees were actors involved in a TA intervention in the province of Bandundu. Their expectations regarding TA providers were identified in terms of personal characteristics (knowledge, know-how and interpersonal skills), roles, and styles of interaction for capacity building ("interventionist/ prescriptive axes"). Interviewees emphasized the importance of mutual learning and the quality of interactions, which depends on TA provider's interpersonal skills and mutual willingness. Perceptions of TA provider's characteristics tend to be similar, but several differences were observed concerning the expectations about the roles of TAs, and the style that should be adopted for capacity building. Ignoring these differences in expectations may be a threat to the effectiveness of TA.

Role of mutual punishment in the snowdrift game

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Han-Xin; Wang, Zhen

2015-09-01

The effects of punishment on cooperation have drawn increasing attention. In this paper, we propose a new mechanism of punishment, in which an individual will punish each neighbor if their strategies are different, and vice versa. We incorporate the mutual punishment into the snowdrift game. Results for well-mixed and structured populations have shown that, for no punishment or small values of punishment fine, the fraction of cooperators continuously decreases with the temptation to defect. However, for large values of punishment fine, there exists an abrupt transition point, at which the fraction of cooperators suddenly drops from 1 to 0. Compared to no punishment, mutual punishment promotes cooperation when the temptation to defect is small but inhibits cooperation when the temptation to defect is large. For weak (strong) temptation to defect, the cooperation level increases (decreases) with the punishment fine. For moderate temptation to defect, there exists an optimal value of the punishment fine that leads to the highest cooperation level.

The decision making on mutual investment of thai investors ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The decision making on mutual investment of thai investors. ... Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences. Journal Home ... The study was a research survey that used questionnaires to collect data from 400 samples of Thai investors.

Mutual incomprehension: U.S.- German value gaps beyond Iraq

OpenAIRE

Larres, Klaus

2003-01-01

Differences over Iraq policy have revealed deep U.S.- German value gaps over multilateralism, nationalism, and the role of force in international relations. Cooperation in four areas of mutual importance can help compensate for them.

On the International Transmission of Shocks: Micro-Evidence from Mutual Fund Portfolios

OpenAIRE

Claudio Raddatz; Sergio L. Schmukler

2011-01-01

Using micro-level data on mutual funds from different financial centers investing in equity and bonds, this paper analyzes how investors and managers behave and transmit shocks across countries. The paper shows that the volatility of mutual fund investments is quantitatively driven by investors through injections of capital into, or redemptions out of, each fund, and by managers changing the country weights and cash in their portfolios. Both investors and managers respond to returns and crise...

Technical assistance in Latin America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oteiza-Quirno, A.

1976-01-01

As in the other regions, nuclear technology development in Latin America reflects mainly the degree of technological development already existing in each country. It is quite significant that in nearly all countries in Latin America the medical profession has been the first to show interest in using nuclear techniques. As a result, a country such as Uruguay has become a source of recruitment for technical assistance experts in nuclear medicine to other developing countries, while at the same time it continues to receive assistance for new sophisticated techniques from the IAEA. Part of this assistance, in turn, comes from the neighbouring countries, Argentina and Brazil. For example, an expert from Uruguay is currently assigned under an Agency programme to Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala, and experts from Argentina and Brazil have been sent to Uruguay. This is an example of 'horizontal' development, meaning mutual assistance between developing countries under programmes supported by the United Nations Agencies, which is now being emphasized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Still in the field of nuclear medicine, another significant model is provided by Bolivia. With assistance from the IAEA, and thanks to the availability of a good professional infrastructure in that country, a net of nuclear medicine services has been started, consisting of a well-developed nuclear medicine centre in La Paz and regional centres in Cochabamba, Sucre and Santa Cruz. Because of its great variations in altitude, Bolivia is in the position of being able to conduct research on the adaptation of man to diverse environmental conditions. The Agency has contributed, and continues to do so, to these programmes by sending experts, providing for training abroad of Bolivian doctors under its fellowship programmes, and providing basic equipment for all four centres. Independently of the cases described above, the IAEA has implemented or is implementing a considerable

Human Security and Mutual Vulnerability: The Global Political ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Human Security and Mutual Vulnerability: The Global Political Economy of Development and ... that will help us understand this turbulent and chaotic period in human history. ... The Rapid Research Fund (RRF) for Ebola Virus Disease Outbreaks will fund ... Copyright · Open access policy · Privacy policy · Research ethics ...

Optimization of Training Signal Transmission for Estimating MIMO Channel under Antenna Mutual Coupling Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xia Liu

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reports investigations on the effect of antenna mutual coupling on performance of training-based Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO channel estimation. The influence of mutual coupling is assessed for two training-based channel estimation methods, Scaled Least Square (SLS and Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE. It is shown that the accuracy of MIMO channel estimation is governed by the sum of eigenvalues of channel correlation matrix which in turn is influenced by the mutual coupling in transmitting and receiving array antennas. A water-filling-based procedure is proposed to optimize the training signal transmission to minimize the MIMO channel estimation errors.

TELEsarPHONE: Mutual Telexistence Master-Slave Communication System Based on Retroreflective Projection Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Tachi, Susumu; Kawakami, Naoki; Nii, Hideaki; Watanabe, Kouichi; Minamizawa, Kouta

TELEsarPHONE is a conceptual prototype of a mutual telexistence system, designed for face-to-face telecommunication via robots. Because of the development of telexistence technology, we can acquire a feeling that we are present in several actual remote places using remote robots as our surrogates and can work and act freely there. However, people in the place where someone telexists using a robot see only the robot, and they cannot feel the existence of the telexisting person. Mutual telexistence aims to solve this problem so that the existence of a telexisting person (visitor) is apparent to the people in the remote environment by providing mutual sensations of presence. On the basis of the concept of mutual telexistence, we have designed and developed a prototype of a telexistence master-slave system for remote communication by applying retroreflective projection technology. In the TELEsarPHONE system, the face and chest of the slave robot TELESAR II are covered by retroreflective material. To provide the feeling of existence, the real-time image of the visitor is projected onto the robot so that people can see the visitor in real time.

Mutual learning and reverse innovation–where next?

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

There is a clear and evident need for mutual learning in global health systems. It is increasingly recognized that innovation needs to be sourced globally and that we need to think in terms of co-development as ideas are developed and spread from richer to poorer countries and vice versa. The Globalization and Health journal’s ongoing thematic series, “Reverse innovation in global health systems: learning from low-income countries” illustrates how mutual learning and ideas about so-called "reverse innovation" or "frugal innovation" are being developed and utilized by researchers and practitioners around the world. The knowledge emerging from the series is already catalyzing change and challenging the status quo in global health. The path to truly “global innovation flow”, although not fully established, is now well under way. Mobilization of knowledge and resources through continuous communication and awareness raising can help sustain this movement. Global health learning laboratories, where partners can support each other in generating and sharing lessons, have the potential to construct solutions for the world. At the heart of this dialogue is a focus on creating practical local solutions and, simultaneously, drawing out the lessons for the whole world. PMID:24673828

Mutual learning and reverse innovation--where next?

Science.gov (United States)

Crisp, Nigel

2014-03-28

There is a clear and evident need for mutual learning in global health systems. It is increasingly recognized that innovation needs to be sourced globally and that we need to think in terms of co-development as ideas are developed and spread from richer to poorer countries and vice versa. The Globalization and Health journal's ongoing thematic series, "Reverse innovation in global health systems: learning from low-income countries" illustrates how mutual learning and ideas about so-called "reverse innovation" or "frugal innovation" are being developed and utilized by researchers and practitioners around the world. The knowledge emerging from the series is already catalyzing change and challenging the status quo in global health. The path to truly "global innovation flow", although not fully established, is now well under way. Mobilization of knowledge and resources through continuous communication and awareness raising can help sustain this movement. Global health learning laboratories, where partners can support each other in generating and sharing lessons, have the potential to construct solutions for the world. At the heart of this dialogue is a focus on creating practical local solutions and, simultaneously, drawing out the lessons for the whole world.

Mutual punishment promotes cooperation in the spatial public goods game

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Han-Xin; Rong, Zhihai

2015-01-01

Punishment has been proved to be an effective mechanism to sustain cooperation among selfish individuals. In previous studies, punishment is unidirectional: an individual i can punish j but j cannot punish i. In this paper, we propose a mechanism of mutual punishment, in which the two individuals will punish each other if their strategies are different. Because of the symmetry in imposing the punishment, one might expect intuitively the strategy to have little effect on cooperation. Surprisingly, we find that the mutual punishment can promote cooperation in the spatial public goods game. Other pertinent quantities such as the time evolution of cooperator density and the spatial distribution of cooperators and defectors are also investigated

Spatially resolved detection of mutually locked Josephson junctions in arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keck, M.; Doderer, T.; Huebener, R.P.; Traeuble, T.; Dolata, R.; Weimann, T.; Niemeyer, J.

1997-01-01

Mutual locking due to the internal coupling in two-dimensional arrays of Josephson junctions was investigated. The appearance of Shapiro steps in the current versus voltage curve of a coupled on-chip detector junction is used to indicate coherent oscillations in the array. A highly coherent state is observed for some range of the array bias current. By scanning the array with a low-power electron beam, mutually locked junctions remain locked while the unlocked junctions generate a beam-induced additional voltage drop at the array. This imaging technique allows the detection of the nonlocked or weakly locked Josephson junctions in a (partially) locked array state. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Cash Holdings and Mutual Fund Performance

OpenAIRE

Mikhail Simutin

2014-01-01

Cash holdings of equity mutual funds impose a drag on fund performance but also allow managers to make quick investments in attractive stocks and satisfy outflows without costly fire sales. This article shows that actively managed equity funds with high abnormal cash—that is, with cash holdings in excess of the level predicted by fund attributes—outperform their low abnormal cash peers by over 2% per year. Managers carrying high abnormal cash compensate for the low return on cash by making su...

Comparative Analysis of Risk, Return and Diversification of Mutual Fund

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rais Ahmad

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Mutual Funds have become a widely popular and effective way for investors to participate in financial markets in an easy, low-cost fashion, while muting risk characteristics by spreading the investment across different types of securities, also known as diversification. It can play a central role in an individual's investment strategy. With the plethora of schemes available in the Indian markets, an investors needs to evaluate and consider various factors before making an investment decision. The present investigation is aimed to examine the performance of safest investment instrument in the security market in the eyes of investors. Five mutual fund large cap scheme have been selected for this purpose. The examination is achieved by assessing various financial tests like Sharpe Ratio, Standard Deviation, Alpha, and Beta. Furthermore, in-depth analysis also has been done by considering return over the period of last five years on various basis, expenses ratio, corpus-size etc. The data has been taken from various websites of mutual fund schemes and from www.valueresearch.com. The study will be helpful for the researchers and financial analysts to analyze various securities or funds while selecting the best investment alternative out of the galaxy of investment alternatives.

Synchronization in human musical rhythms and mutually interacting complex systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hennig, Holger

2014-09-09

Though the music produced by an ensemble is influenced by multiple factors, including musical genre, musician skill, and individual interpretation, rhythmic synchronization is at the foundation of musical interaction. Here, we study the statistical nature of the mutual interaction between two humans synchronizing rhythms. We find that the interbeat intervals of both laypeople and professional musicians exhibit scale-free (power law) cross-correlations. Surprisingly, the next beat to be played by one person is dependent on the entire history of the other person's interbeat intervals on timescales up to several minutes. To understand this finding, we propose a general stochastic model for mutually interacting complex systems, which suggests a physiologically motivated explanation for the occurrence of scale-free cross-correlations. We show that the observed long-term memory phenomenon in rhythmic synchronization can be imitated by fractal coupling of separately recorded or synthesized audio tracks and thus applied in electronic music. Though this study provides an understanding of fundamental characteristics of timing and synchronization at the interbrain level, the mutually interacting complex systems model may also be applied to study the dynamics of other complex systems where scale-free cross-correlations have been observed, including econophysics, physiological time series, and collective behavior of animal flocks.

Market Timing : A Decomposition of Mutual Fund Returns

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Swinkels, L.A.P.; van der Sluis, P.J.; Verbeek, M.J.C.M.

2003-01-01

We decompose the conditional expected mutual fund return in ve parts.Two parts, selectivity and expert market timing, can be attributed to manager skill, and three to variation in market exposure that can be achieved by private investors as well.The dynamic model that we use to estimate the relative

Institutionalized Mutuality in Canada-China Management Education Collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Shuguang; Liu, Xianjun

2015-01-01

This paper examines the Canada-China Management Education Program (CCMEP, 1983-1996) between the University of Toronto (UT) and Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST). In this paper, we create a "Three Levels/Four Parameters" analytical framework, based on the concept of mutuality from Johan Galtung (1980) and the concept…

Feature Selection for Chemical Sensor Arrays Using Mutual Information

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, X. Rosalind; Lizier, Joseph T.; Nowotny, Thomas; Berna, Amalia Z.; Prokopenko, Mikhail; Trowell, Stephen C.

2014-01-01

We address the problem of feature selection for classifying a diverse set of chemicals using an array of metal oxide sensors. Our aim is to evaluate a filter approach to feature selection with reference to previous work, which used a wrapper approach on the same data set, and established best features and upper bounds on classification performance. We selected feature sets that exhibit the maximal mutual information with the identity of the chemicals. The selected features closely match those found to perform well in the previous study using a wrapper approach to conduct an exhaustive search of all permitted feature combinations. By comparing the classification performance of support vector machines (using features selected by mutual information) with the performance observed in the previous study, we found that while our approach does not always give the maximum possible classification performance, it always selects features that achieve classification performance approaching the optimum obtained by exhaustive search. We performed further classification using the selected feature set with some common classifiers and found that, for the selected features, Bayesian Networks gave the best performance. Finally, we compared the observed classification performances with the performance of classifiers using randomly selected features. We found that the selected features consistently outperformed randomly selected features for all tested classifiers. The mutual information filter approach is therefore a computationally efficient method for selecting near optimal features for chemical sensor arrays. PMID:24595058

Financial Crisis and Corporate Social Responsible Mutual Fund Flows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sitikantha Parida

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we investigate investment flows into mutual funds that hold more high corporate social responsible stocks (top CSR funds vs. mutual funds that hold more low corporate social responsible stocks (bottom CSR funds. Using a large sample of equity mutual funds spanning 2003–2012, we find that top CSR funds on average receive about 5% less investment per annum compared to the other funds; whereas bottom CSR funds receive about 5.6% more investments. These relative negative and positive flows into the top and bottom CSR funds respectively were larger during the pre-financial crisis period (2003–2007. This trend, however, reversed during the financial crisis (2008–2009. Top CSR funds attracted about 8.7% more investments during the financial crisis compared to the pre-crisis period; whereas bottom CSR funds received about 9.8% less investment. This higher investment into the top CSR funds during the crisis seems to have disappeared during the post-crisis period (2009–2012. Additional analysis shows that the corporate social ratings of top CSR funds improved through the crisis, whereas it deteriorated for the bottom CSR funds. Our findings are consistent with the “flight to quality” phenomenon observed in financial markets during market crises, indicating that investors perceive top CSR fund investments as relatively safe or of higher quality and hence, invest more in them during financial crises.

Conditional selectivity performance of Indian mutual fund schemes: An empirical study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Subrata Roy

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The present study seeks to examine the stock-selection performance of the sample open-ended equity mutual fund schemes of Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund Company based on traditional and conditional performance measures. It is generally expected that inclusion of some relevant predetermined public information variables in the conditional CAPM provides better performance estimates as compared to the traditional measures. The study reports that after inclusion of conditioning public information variables, the selectivity performances of the schemes have dramatically improved relative to the traditional measure and also found that conditional measure is superior to traditional measure in statistical test.

The Evaluation of Mutual Fund Performance in Lithuania Considering Risk and Timing Ability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irma Gavrilova

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Over the last decade, Lithuania has witnessed a growing interest in investment promoted by the need to successfully manage available funds. Direct investments (e. g. buying and selling stocks require a specific knowledge of investment instruments. Therefore, an ordinary investor finds investment in mutual funds easier and cheaper. Usually the most important questions to the investor include measuring the results of a fund and the quality of the actions performed by the fund managers. The article evaluates the rates of mutual fund performance and identifies their shortages. The methods for evaluating investment return according to the level of risk and timing ability of the fund managers are presented using the Sharpe ratio and Treynor-Mazuy model on the basis of which mutual funds in Lithuania are analyzed.Article in Lithuanian

The Mutual Impact of Global Strategy and Organizational Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hotho, Jasper J.; Lyles, Marjorie A.; Easterby-Smith, Mark

2015-01-01

Despite the interest in issues of knowing and learning in the global strategy field, there has been limited mutual engagement and interaction between the fields of global strategy and organizational learning. The purpose of our article is to reflect on and articulate how the mutual exchange...... of ideas between these fields can be encouraged. To this end, we first conduct a review of the intersection of the fields of global strategy and organizational learning. We then present two recommendations regarding how the interaction between the two fields can be enhanced. Our first recommendation...... is for global strategy research to adopt a broader notion of organizational learning. Our second recommendation is for global strategy research to capitalize on its attention to context in order to inform and enhance organizational learning theory. We discuss the use of context in a number of common research...

Root-MUSIC Based Angle Estimation for MIMO Radar with Unknown Mutual Coupling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianfeng Li

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Direction of arrival (DOA estimation problem for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO radar with unknown mutual coupling is studied, and an algorithm for the DOA estimation based on root multiple signal classification (MUSIC is proposed. Firstly, according to the Toeplitz structure of the mutual coupling matrix, output data of some specified sensors are selected to eliminate the influence of the mutual coupling. Then the reduced-dimension transformation is applied to make the computation burden lower as well as obtain a Vandermonde structure of the direction matrix. Finally, Root-MUSIC can be adopted for the angle estimation. The angle estimation performance of the proposed algorithm is better than that of estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance techniques (ESPRIT-like algorithm and MUSIC-like algorithm. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm has lower complexity than them. The simulation results verify the effectiveness of the algorithm, and the theoretical estimation error of the algorithm is also derived.

Warming, CO2, and nitrogen deposition interactively affect a plant-pollinator mutualism.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoover, Shelley E R; Ladley, Jenny J; Shchepetkina, Anastasia A; Tisch, Maggie; Gieseg, Steven P; Tylianakis, Jason M

2012-03-01

Environmental changes threaten plant-pollinator mutualisms and their critical ecosystem service. Drivers such as land use, invasions and climate change can affect pollinator diversity or species encounter rates. However, nitrogen deposition, climate warming and CO(2) enrichment could interact to disrupt this crucial mutualism by altering plant chemistry in ways that alter floral attractiveness or even nutritional rewards for pollinators. Using a pumpkin model system, we show that these drivers non-additively affect flower morphology, phenology, flower sex ratios and nectar chemistry (sugar and amino acids), thereby altering the attractiveness of nectar to bumble bee pollinators and reducing worker longevity. Alarmingly, bees were attracted to, and consumed more, nectar from a treatment that reduced their survival by 22%. Thus, three of the five major drivers of global environmental change have previously unknown interactive effects on plant-pollinator mutualisms that could not be predicted from studies of individual drivers in isolation. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Cleaner mites: sanitary mutualism in the miniature ecosystem of neotropical bee nests.

Science.gov (United States)

Biani, Natalia B; Mueller, Ulrich G; Wcislo, William T

2009-06-01

Cleaning symbioses represent classic models of mutualism, and some bee mites are thought to perform cleaning services for their hosts in exchange for suitable environments for reproduction and dispersal. These mutual benefits, however, have not been rigorously demonstrated. We tested the sanitary role of bee mites by correlating mite loads with fungal contamination in natural nests of Megalopta genalis and Megalopta ecuadoria and by experimentally manipulating mite loads in artificial cells with developing brood. Field observations revealed significant correlations between the presence of mites and the absence of fungi inside the brood cells, as well as between the absence of mites and increased bee mortality. Likewise, experimental brood cells with mites have fewer fungal colonies than do cells without mites. Field observations and experimental manipulations, therefore, provide clear evidence of the sanitary effect of mites in nests of Megalopta bees. This bee-mite association constitutes one of the few examples of terrestrial cleaning mutualisms.

Synchronization scenario of two distant mutually coupled semiconductor lasers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mulet, Josep; Mirasso, Claudio; Heil, Tilmann

2004-01-01

We present numerical and experimental investigations of the synchronization of the coupling-induced instabilities in two distant mutually coupled semiconductor lasers. In our experiments, two similar Fabry-Perot lasers are coupled via their coherent optical fields. Our theoretical framework is ba...

26 CFR 1.592-1 - Repayment of certain loans by mutual savings banks, building and loan associations, and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Repayment of certain loans by mutual savings banks, building and loan associations, and cooperative banks. 1.592-1 Section 1.592-1 Internal Revenue... (CONTINUED) Mutual Savings Banks, Etc. § 1.592-1 Repayment of certain loans by mutual savings banks, building...

Managerial multitasking in the mutual fund industry

OpenAIRE

Agarwal, Vikas; Ma, Linlin; Mullally, Kevin

2015-01-01

We examine the determinants and consequences of mutual fund managers simultaneously managing multiple funds. Well-performing managers multitask by taking over poorly performing funds or launching new funds. Subsequent to multitasking, funds run by managers prior to multitasking (i.e., incumbent funds) experience performance deterioration while the performance of the acquired funds improves. Multitasking increases the assets of fund companies but results in a wealth transfer from shareholders ...

Precise Analysis on Mutual Inductance Variation in Dynamic Wireless Charging of Electric Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ainur Rakhymbay

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Wireless power transfer provides an opportunity to charge electric vehicles (EVs without electrical cables. Two categories of this technique are distinguished: Stationary Wireless Charging (SWC and Dynamic Wireless Charging (DWC systems. Implementation of DWC is more desirable than SWC as it can potentially eliminate challenges associated with heavy weight batteries and time-consuming charging processes. However, power transfer efficiency and range, lateral misalignment of coils as well as implementation cost are issues affecting DWC. These issues need to be addressed through developing coil architectures and topologies as well as operating novel semiconductor switches at higher frequencies. This study presents a small-scale dynamic wireless power transfer system for EV. It specifically concentrates on analyzing the dynamic mutual inductance between the coils due to the misalignment as it has significant influence on the EV charging process, particularly, over the output power and overall efficiency. A simulation study is carried out to explore dynamic mutual inductance profile between the transmitter and receiver coils. Mutual inductance simulation results are then verified through practical measurements on fabricated coils. Integrating the practical results into the model, an EV DWC power transfer simulation is conducted and the relation between dynamic mutual inductance and output power are discussed technically.

A Swedish Mutual Support Society of Problem Gamblers

Science.gov (United States)

Binde, Per

2012-01-01

Mutual support societies for problem gamblers have existed in Sweden for 20 years. They have helped more people with gambling problems than any other institution inside or outside the Swedish health care system. This paper outlines the background of these societies and describes the meetings of one of them. Data come from interviews with members…

An Empirical Study on Mutual Funds in the U.S. Market: Performance Evaluation and Its Relation with Fund Size

OpenAIRE

Du, Lin

2008-01-01

Mutual funds industry has grown rapidly since 1970s. As one popular type of financial intermediary, mutual fund investment becomes an important player in the financial market globally. The evaluation of mutual fund performance has been achieving a great deal of academic interest since 1960s. There has been a great deal of research which examined whether mutual funds can outperform well-diversified portfolios such as a market index. However, the findings are usually suggestive rather than conc...

Mutualized service for the management of the astronomical observations at the TBL and the OHP

Science.gov (United States)

Cottalorda, E.

2014-12-01

This article proposes the creation of a mutualized service for the management of the astronomical observations at the TBL and the OHP, which objective would be to optimize the scientific management of the observations, by mutualizing manpower and financial means for the two national telescopes in France.

About mutually unbiased bases in even and odd prime power dimensions

Science.gov (United States)

Durt, Thomas

2005-06-01

Mutually unbiased bases generalize the X, Y and Z qubit bases. They possess numerous applications in quantum information science. It is well known that in prime power dimensions N = pm (with p prime and m a positive integer), there exists a maximal set of N + 1 mutually unbiased bases. In the present paper, we derive an explicit expression for those bases, in terms of the (operations of the) associated finite field (Galois division ring) of N elements. This expression is shown to be equivalent to the expressions previously obtained by Ivanovic (1981 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 14 3241) in odd prime dimensions, and Wootters and Fields (1989 Ann. Phys. 191 363) in odd prime power dimensions. In even prime power dimensions, we derive a new explicit expression for the mutually unbiased bases. The new ingredients of our approach are, basically, the following: we provide a simple expression of the generalized Pauli group in terms of the additive characters of the field, and we derive an exact groupal composition law between the elements of the commuting subsets of the generalized Pauli group, renormalized by a well-chosen phase-factor.

About mutually unbiased bases in even and odd prime power dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Durt, Thomas

2005-01-01

Mutually unbiased bases generalize the X, Y and Z qubit bases. They possess numerous applications in quantum information science. It is well known that in prime power dimensions N = p m (with p prime and m a positive integer), there exists a maximal set of N + 1 mutually unbiased bases. In the present paper, we derive an explicit expression for those bases, in terms of the (operations of the) associated finite field (Galois division ring) of N elements. This expression is shown to be equivalent to the expressions previously obtained by Ivanovic (1981 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 14 3241) in odd prime dimensions, and Wootters and Fields (1989 Ann. Phys. 191 363) in odd prime power dimensions. In even prime power dimensions, we derive a new explicit expression for the mutually unbiased bases. The new ingredients of our approach are, basically, the following: we provide a simple expression of the generalized Pauli group in terms of the additive characters of the field, and we derive an exact groupal composition law between the elements of the commuting subsets of the generalized Pauli group, renormalized by a well-chosen phase-factor

Group-ID based RFID Mutual Authentication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LEE, Y.

2013-11-01

Full Text Available For passive type RFID tags, EPCglobal Class 1 Generation-2 Revision is used widely as a de facto standard. As it was designed for low cost, it is quite vulnerable to security issues, such as privacy concerns. This paper presents a new RFID mutual authentication protocol, which is designed to be configured on EPC Gen2 platform and to meet various security requirements while providing efficiency using PRNG (Pseudo Random Number Generator. Group-ID is used to minimize the authentication time. Security analysis of the proposed protocol is discussed.

Feature Selection Based on Mutual Correlation

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Haindl, Michal; Somol, Petr; Ververidis, D.; Kotropoulos, C.

2006-01-01

Roč. 19, č. 4225 (2006), s. 569-577 ISSN 0302-9743. [Iberoamerican Congress on Pattern Recognition. CIARP 2006 /11./. Cancun, 14.11.2006-17.11.2006] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR 1ET400750407; GA MŠk 1M0572; GA AV ČR IAA2075302 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 507752 - MUSCLE Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : feature selection Subject RIV: BD - Theory of Information Impact factor: 0.402, year: 2005 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/historie/haindl-feature selection based on mutual correlation.pdf

When are enhanced relationship tax compliance programs mutually beneficial?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Simone, L.; Sansing, R.; Seidman, J.K.

2013-01-01

This study investigates the circumstances under which “enhanced relationship” tax-compliance programs are mutually beneficial to taxpayers and tax authorities, as well as how these benefits are shared. We develop a model of taxpayer and tax authority behavior inside and outside of an enhanced

On the behavior of mutual fund investors and managers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goriaev, A.P.

2002-01-01

This thesis investigates empirically and theoretically the behavior of mutual fund investors and managers. These two aspects are closely related to each other. Investors try to select funds that follow an optimal investment policy from their point of view, while fund managers are typically

Multi-objective portfolio optimization of mutual funds under downside risk measure using fuzzy theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Amiri

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Mutual fund is one of the most popular techniques for many people to invest their funds where a professional fund manager invests people's funds based on some special predefined objectives; therefore, performance evaluation of mutual funds is an important problem. This paper proposes a multi-objective portfolio optimization to offer asset allocation. The proposed model clusters mutual funds with two methods based on six characteristics including rate of return, variance, semivariance, turnover rate, Treynor index and Sharpe index. Semivariance is used as a downside risk measure. The proposed model of this paper uses fuzzy variables for return rate and semivariance. A multi-objective fuzzy mean-semivariance portfolio optimization model is implemented and fuzzy programming technique is adopted to solve the resulted problem. The proposed model of this paper has gathered the information of mutual fund traded on Nasdaq from 2007 to 2009 and Pareto optimal solutions are obtained considering different weights for objective functions. The results of asset allocation, rate of return and risk of each cluster are also determined and they are compared with the results of two clustering methods.

Oklahoma Retailers' Perspectives on Mutual Benefit Exchange to Limit Point-of-Sale Tobacco Advertisements.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Andie; Douglas, Malinda Reddish; Ling, Pamela M

2015-09-01

Businesses changing their practices in ways that support tobacco control efforts recently have gained interest, as demonstrated by CVS Health's voluntary policy to end tobacco sales. Point-of-sale (POS) advertisements are associated with youth smoking initiation, increased tobacco consumption, and reduced quit attempts among smokers. There is interest in encouraging retailers to limit tobacco POS advertisements voluntarily. This qualitative exploratory study describes Oklahoma tobacco retailers' perspectives on a mutual benefit exchange approach, and preferred message and messenger qualities that would entice them to take voluntary action to limit tobacco POS advertisements. This study found that mutual benefit exchange could be a viable option along with education and law as strategies to create behavior change among tobacco retailers. Many retailers stated that they would be willing to remove noncontractual POS advertisements for a 6-month commitment period when presented with mutual exchange benefit, tailored message, and appropriate messenger. Mutual benefit exchange, as a behavior change strategy to encourage voluntary removal of POS tobacco advertisements, was acceptable to retailers, could enhance local tobacco control in states with preemption, and may contribute to setting the foundation for broader legislative efforts. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

The mutual diffusion coefficient for (meth)acrylate monomers as determined with a nuclear microprobe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leewis, Christian M.; Mutsaers, Peter H.A.; Jong, Arthur M. de; Ijzendoorn, Leo J. van; Voigt, Martien J.A. de; Ren, Min Q.; Watt, Frank; Broer, Dirk J.

2004-01-01

The value of the mutual diffusion coefficient D V of two acrylic monomers is determined with nuclear microprobe measurements on a set of polymer films. These films have been prepared by allowing the monomers to diffuse into each other for a certain time and subsequently applying fast ultraviolet photo-polymerization, which freezes the concentration profile. The monomer diffusion profiles are studied with a scanning 2.1 MeV proton microprobe. Each monomer contains a marker element, e.g., Cl and Si, which are easily detected with proton induced x-ray emission. From the diffusion profiles, it is possible to determine the mutual diffusion coefficient. The mutual diffusion coefficient is dependent of concentration, which is concluded from the asymmetry in the Cl- and Si-profiles. A linear dependence of the mutual diffusion coefficient on the composition is used as a first order approximation. The best fits are obtained for a value of b=(0.38±0.15), which is the ratio of the diffusion coefficient of 1,3-bis(3-methacryloxypropyl)-1, 1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane in pure 2-chloroethyl acrylate and the diffusion coefficient of 2-chloroethyl acrylate in pure 1,3-bis(3-methacryloxypropyl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane. Under the assumption of a linear dependence of the mutual diffusion coefficient D V on monomer composition, it follows that D V =(2.9±0.6)·10 -10 m 2 /s at a 1:1 monomer ratio. With Flory-Huggins expressions for the monomer chemical potentials, one can derive approximate values for the individual monomer diffusion coefficients

The alliance managing talent in the networked age

CERN Document Server

Hoffman, Reid; Yeh, Chris

2014-01-01

Introducing the new, realistic loyalty pact between employer and employee. The employer-employee relationship is broken, and managers face a seemingly impossible dilemma: the old model of guaranteed long-term employment no longer works in a business environment defined by continuous change, but neither does a system in which every employee acts like a free agent. The solution? Stop thinking of employees as either family or as free agents. Think of them instead as allies. As a manager you want your employees to help transform the company for the future. And your employees want the company to help transform their careers for the long term. But this win-win scenario will happen only if both sides trust each other enough to commit to mutual investment and mutual benefit. Sadly, trust in the business world is hovering at an all-time low. We can rebuild that lost trust with straight talk that recognizes the realities of the modern economy. So, paradoxically, the alliance begins with managers acknowledging that ...

12 CFR 544.5 - Federal mutual savings association bylaws.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... by the association. (3) Corporate governance procedures. A Federal mutual association may elect to follow the corporate governance procedures of the laws of the state where the main office of the... corporate governance procedures, and shall file a copy of such bylaws, which are effective upon adoption...

Prevention of Alcohol-Related Crime and Trauma (PACT: brief interventions in routine care pathway – a study protocol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jayaraj Rama

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Globally, alcohol-related injuries cause millions of deaths and huge economic loss each year . The incidence of facial (jawbone fractures in the Northern Territory of Australia is second only to Greenland, due to a strong involvement of alcohol in its aetiology, and high levels of alcohol consumption. The highest incidences of alcohol-related trauma in the Territory are observed amongst patients in the Maxillofacial Surgery Unit of the Royal Darwin Hospital. Accordingly, this project aims to introduce screening and brief interventions into this unit, with the aims of changing health service provider practice, improving access to care, and improving patient outcomes. Methods Establishment of Project Governance: The project governance team includes a project manager, project leader, an Indigenous Reference Group (IRG and an Expert Reference Group (ERG. Development of a best practice pathway: PACT project researchers collaborate with clinical staff to develop a best practice pathway suited to the setting of the surgical unit. The pathway provides clear guidelines for screening, assessment, intervention and referral. Implementation: The developed pathway is introduced to the unit through staff training workshops and associate resources and adapted in response to staff feedback. Evaluation: File audits, post workshop questionnaires and semi-structured interviews are administered. Discussion This project allows direct transfer of research findings into clinical practice and can inform future hospital-based injury prevention strategies.

Mutual information identifies spurious Hurst phenomena in resting state EEG and fMRI data

Science.gov (United States)

von Wegner, Frederic; Laufs, Helmut; Tagliazucchi, Enzo

2018-02-01

Long-range memory in time series is often quantified by the Hurst exponent H , a measure of the signal's variance across several time scales. We analyze neurophysiological time series from electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) resting state experiments with two standard Hurst exponent estimators and with the time-lagged mutual information function applied to discretized versions of the signals. A confidence interval for the mutual information function is obtained from surrogate Markov processes with equilibrium distribution and transition matrix identical to the underlying signal. For EEG signals, we construct an additional mutual information confidence interval from a short-range correlated, tenth-order autoregressive model. We reproduce the previously described Hurst phenomenon (H >0.5 ) in the analytical amplitude of alpha frequency band oscillations, in EEG microstate sequences, and in fMRI signals, but we show that the Hurst phenomenon occurs without long-range memory in the information-theoretical sense. We find that the mutual information function of neurophysiological data behaves differently from fractional Gaussian noise (fGn), for which the Hurst phenomenon is a sufficient condition to prove long-range memory. Two other well-characterized, short-range correlated stochastic processes (Ornstein-Uhlenbeck, Cox-Ingersoll-Ross) also yield H >0.5 , whereas their mutual information functions lie within the Markovian confidence intervals, similar to neural signals. In these processes, which do not have long-range memory by construction, a spurious Hurst phenomenon occurs due to slow relaxation times and heteroscedasticity (time-varying conditional variance). In summary, we find that mutual information correctly distinguishes long-range from short-range dependence in the theoretical and experimental cases discussed. Our results also suggest that the stationary fGn process is not sufficient to describe neural data, which

77 FR 5585 - Northwestern Mutual Series Fund, Inc. and Mason Street Advisors, LLC; Notice of Application

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-03

... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Investment Company Act Release No. 29939; File No. 812-13982] Northwestern Mutual Series Fund, Inc. and Mason Street Advisors, LLC; Notice of Application January 30, 2012... instruments. Applicants: Northwestern Mutual Series Fund, Inc. (``Company'') and Mason Street Advisors, LLC...

26 CFR 1.832-6 - Policyholders of mutual fire or flood insurance companies operating on the basis of premium...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 26 Internal Revenue 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Policyholders of mutual fire or flood insurance... Insurance Companies § 1.832-6 Policyholders of mutual fire or flood insurance companies operating on the... taxpayer insured by a mutual fire or flood insurance company under a policy for which the premium deposit...

Blind Direction-of-Arrival Estimation with Uniform Circular Array in Presence of Mutual Coupling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Song Liu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A blind direction-of-arrival (DOA estimation algorithm based on the estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance techniques (ESPRIT is proposed for a uniform circular array (UCA when strong electromagnetic mutual coupling is present. First, an updated UCA model with mutual coupling in a discrete Fourier transform (DFT beam space is deduced, and the new manifold matrix is equal to the product of a centrosymmetric diagonal matrix and a Vandermonde-structure matrix. Then we carry out blind DOA estimation through a modified ESPRIT method, thus avoiding the need for spatial angular searching. In addition, two mutual coupling parameter estimation methods are presented after the DOAs have been estimated. Simulation results show that the new algorithm is reliable and effective especially for closely spaced signals.

Analytical Calculation of Mutual Information between Weakly Coupled Poisson-Spiking Neurons in Models of Dynamically Gated Communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Cannon, Jonathan

2017-01-01

Mutual information is a commonly used measure of communication between neurons, but little theory exists describing the relationship between mutual information and the parameters of the underlying neuronal interaction. Such a theory could help us understand how specific physiological changes affect the capacity of neurons to synaptically communicate, and, in particular, they could help us characterize the mechanisms by which neuronal dynamics gate the flow of information in the brain. Here we study a pair of linear-nonlinear-Poisson neurons coupled by a weak synapse. We derive an analytical expression describing the mutual information between their spike trains in terms of synapse strength, neuronal activation function, the time course of postsynaptic currents, and the time course of the background input received by the two neurons. This expression allows mutual information calculations that would otherwise be computationally intractable. We use this expression to analytically explore the interaction of excitation, information transmission, and the convexity of the activation function. Then, using this expression to quantify mutual information in simulations, we illustrate the information-gating effects of neural oscillations and oscillatory coherence, which may either increase or decrease the mutual information across the synapse depending on parameters. Finally, we show analytically that our results can quantitatively describe the selection of one information pathway over another when multiple sending neurons project weakly to a single receiving neuron.

Frontal alpha oscillations distinguish leaders from followers: Multivariate decoding of mutually interacting brains

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Konvalinka, Ivana; Bauer, Markus; Stahlhut, Carsten

2014-01-01

-person paradigms to quantify the neuronal dynamics underlying social interaction. While several studies have shown the relevance of understanding complementary and mutually adaptive processes, the neural mechanisms underlying such coordinative behavioral patterns during joint action remain largely unknown. Here......, we employed a synchronized finger-tapping task while measuring dual-EEG from pairs of human participants who either mutually adjusted to each other in an interactive task or followed a computer metronome. Neurophysiologically, the interactive condition was characterized by a stronger suppression...

Mutualism and Adaptive Divergence: Co-Invasion of a Heterogeneous Grassland by an Exotic Legume-Rhizobium Symbiosis

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Stephanie S.; Stanton, Maureen L.; Rice, Kevin J.

2011-01-01

Species interactions play a critical role in biological invasions. For example, exotic plant and microbe mutualists can facilitate each other's spread as they co-invade novel ranges. Environmental context may influence the effect of mutualisms on invasions in heterogeneous environments, however these effects are poorly understood. We examined the mutualism between the legume, Medicago polymorpha, and the rhizobium, Ensifer medicae, which have both invaded California grasslands. Many of these invaded grasslands are composed of a patchwork of harsh serpentine and relatively benign non-serpentine soils. We grew legume genotypes collected from serpentine or non-serpentine soil in both types of soil in combination with rhizobium genotypes from serpentine or non-serpentine soils and in the absence of rhizobia. Legumes invested more strongly in the mutualism in the home soil type and trends in fitness suggested that this ecotypic divergence was adaptive. Serpentine legumes had greater allocation to symbiotic root nodules in serpentine soil than did non-serpentine legumes and non-serpentine legumes had greater allocation to nodules in non-serpentine soil than did serpentine legumes. Therefore, this invasive legume has undergone the rapid evolution of divergence for soil-specific investment in the mutualism. Contrary to theoretical expectations, the mutualism was less beneficial for legumes grown on the stressful serpentine soil than on the non-serpentine soil, possibly due to the inhibitory effects of serpentine on the benefits derived from the interaction. The soil-specific ability to allocate to a robust microbial mutualism may be a critical, and previously overlooked, adaptation for plants adapting to heterogeneous environments during invasion. PMID:22174755

Mutualism and adaptive divergence: co-invasion of a heterogeneous grassland by an exotic legume-rhizobium symbiosis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephanie S Porter

Full Text Available Species interactions play a critical role in biological invasions. For example, exotic plant and microbe mutualists can facilitate each other's spread as they co-invade novel ranges. Environmental context may influence the effect of mutualisms on invasions in heterogeneous environments, however these effects are poorly understood. We examined the mutualism between the legume, Medicago polymorpha, and the rhizobium, Ensifer medicae, which have both invaded California grasslands. Many of these invaded grasslands are composed of a patchwork of harsh serpentine and relatively benign non-serpentine soils. We grew legume genotypes collected from serpentine or non-serpentine soil in both types of soil in combination with rhizobium genotypes from serpentine or non-serpentine soils and in the absence of rhizobia. Legumes invested more strongly in the mutualism in the home soil type and trends in fitness suggested that this ecotypic divergence was adaptive. Serpentine legumes had greater allocation to symbiotic root nodules in serpentine soil than did non-serpentine legumes and non-serpentine legumes had greater allocation to nodules in non-serpentine soil than did serpentine legumes. Therefore, this invasive legume has undergone the rapid evolution of divergence for soil-specific investment in the mutualism. Contrary to theoretical expectations, the mutualism was less beneficial for legumes grown on the stressful serpentine soil than on the non-serpentine soil, possibly due to the inhibitory effects of serpentine on the benefits derived from the interaction. The soil-specific ability to allocate to a robust microbial mutualism may be a critical, and previously overlooked, adaptation for plants adapting to heterogeneous environments during invasion.

Characterization of actinobacteria associated with three ant-plant mutualisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanshew, Alissa S; McDonald, Bradon R; Díaz Díaz, Carol; Djiéto-Lordon, Champlain; Blatrix, Rumsaïs; Currie, Cameron R

2015-01-01

Ant-plant mutualisms are conspicuous and ecologically important components of tropical ecosystems that remain largely unexplored in terms of insect-associated microbial communities. Recent work has revealed that ants in some ant-plant systems cultivate fungi (Chaetothyriales) within their domatia, which are fed to larvae. Using Pseudomyrmex penetrator/Tachigali sp. from French Guiana and Petalomyrmex phylax/Leonardoxa africana and Crematogaster margaritae/Keetia hispida, both from Cameroon, as models, we tested the hypothesis that ant-plant-fungus mutualisms co-occur with culturable Actinobacteria. Using selective media, we isolated 861 putative Actinobacteria from the three systems. All C. margaritae/K. hispida samples had culturable Actinobacteria with a mean of 10.0 colony forming units (CFUs) per sample, while 26 % of P. penetrator/Tachigali samples (mean CFUs 1.3) and 67 % of P. phylax/L. africana samples (mean CFUs 3.6) yielded Actinobacteria. The largest number of CFUs was obtained from P. penetrator workers, P. phylax alates, and C. margaritae pupae. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of four main clades of Streptomyces and one clade of Nocardioides within these three ant-plant mutualisms. Streptomyces with antifungal properties were isolated from all three systems, suggesting that they could serve as protective symbionts, as found in other insects. In addition, a number of isolates from a clade of Streptomyces associated with P. phylax/L. africana and C. margaritae/K. hispida were capable of degrading cellulose, suggesting that Streptomyces in these systems may serve a nutritional role. Repeated isolation of particular clades of Actinobacteria from two geographically distant locations supports these isolates as residents in ant-plant-fungi niches.

A quantitative approach to choose among multiple mutually exclusive decisions: comparative expected utility theory

OpenAIRE

Zhu, Pengyu

2018-01-01

Mutually exclusive decisions have been studied for decades. Many well-known decision theories have been defined to help people either to make rational decisions or to interpret people's behaviors, such as expected utility theory, regret theory, prospect theory, and so on. The paper argues that none of these decision theories are designed to provide practical, normative and quantitative approaches for multiple mutually exclusive decisions. Different decision-makers should naturally make differ...

Chaotic behavior of light-assisted physical aging in arsenoselenide glasses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shpotyuk, O., E-mail: shpotyuk@novas.lviv.ua [Lviv Scientific Research Institute of Materials of SRC “Carat,” 202, Stryjska Str., Lviv 79031 (Ukraine); Institute of Physics of Jan Dlugosz University, 13/15, al. Armii Krajowej, Czestochowa 42201 (Poland); Balitska, V. [Lviv Scientific Research Institute of Materials of SRC “Carat,” 202, Stryjska Str., Lviv 79031 (Ukraine); Lviv State University of Vital Activity Safety, 35, Kleparivska str., Lviv 79007 (Ukraine); Kozdras, A. [Opole University of Technology, 75, Ozimska str., Opole 45370 (Poland); Hacinliyan, A. S. [Department of Physics, Yeditepe University, Atasehir 34755, Istanbul (Turkey); Department of Physics, Bogazici University, Bebek, Istanbul (Turkey); Department of Information Systems and Technologies, Yeditepe University, Atasehir 34755, Istanbul (Turkey); Skarlatos, Y. [Department of Physics, Bogazici University, Bebek, Istanbul (Turkey); Kusbeyzi Aybar, I. [Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology, Yeditepe University, Atasehir 34755, Istanbul (Turkey); Aybar, O. O. [Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science and Letters, Piri Reis University, Tuzla 34940, Istanbul (Turkey)

2014-12-15

The theory of strange attractors is shown to be adequately applicable for analyzing the kinetics of light-assisted physical aging revealed in structural relaxation of Se-rich As-Se glasses below glass transition. Kinetics of enthalpy losses is used to determine the phase space reconstruction parameters. Observed chaotic behaviour (involving chaos and fractal consideration such as detrended fluctuation analysis, attractor identification using phase space representation, delay coordinates, mutual information, false nearest neighbours, etc.) reconstructed via the TISEAN program package is treated within a microstructure model describing multistage aging behaviour in arsenoselenide glasses. This simulation testifies that photoexposure acts as an initiating factor only at the beginning stage of physical aging, thus facilitating further atomic shrinkage of a glassy backbone.

Chaotic behavior of light-assisted physical aging in arsenoselenide glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shpotyuk, O.; Balitska, V.; Kozdras, A.; Hacinliyan, A. S.; Skarlatos, Y.; Kusbeyzi Aybar, I.; Aybar, O. O.

2014-01-01

The theory of strange attractors is shown to be adequately applicable for analyzing the kinetics of light-assisted physical aging revealed in structural relaxation of Se-rich As-Se glasses below glass transition. Kinetics of enthalpy losses is used to determine the phase space reconstruction parameters. Observed chaotic behaviour (involving chaos and fractal consideration such as detrended fluctuation analysis, attractor identification using phase space representation, delay coordinates, mutual information, false nearest neighbours, etc.) reconstructed via the TISEAN program package is treated within a microstructure model describing multistage aging behaviour in arsenoselenide glasses. This simulation testifies that photoexposure acts as an initiating factor only at the beginning stage of physical aging, thus facilitating further atomic shrinkage of a glassy backbone

THE COOPERATIVE CREDIT MUTUAL IN BRAZIL.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laércio Baptista da Silva

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This study presents an analysis of the reality of credit unions in Brazil, in view of the singular importance of credit unions for the whole society as an alternative to private resources in favor of members of the community where they are located. It confirms that, in Brazil, the mutual credit unions, besides being presented as one of the viable options within the financial system, are also seen as an alternative by which some sectors of society promote the humanization of the financial system by offering credit and return on capital with fairer interest rates.

Yucca aloifolia (Asparagaceae) opts out of an obligate pollination mutualism.

Science.gov (United States)

Rentsch, Jeremy D; Leebens-Mack, Jim

2014-12-01

• According to Cope's 'law of the unspecialized' highly dependent species interactions are 'evolutionary dead ends,' prone to extinction because reversion to more generalist interactions is thought to be unlikely. Cases of extreme specialization, such as those seen between obligate mutualists, are cast as evolutionarily inescapable, inevitably leading to extinction rather than diversification of participating species. The pollination mutualism between Yucca plants and yucca moths (Tegeticula and Parategeticula) would seem to be locked into such an obligate mutualism. Yucca aloifolia populations, however, can produce large numbers of fruit lacking moth oviposition scars. Here, we investigate the pollination ecology of Y. aloifolia, in search of the non-moth pollination of a Yucca species.• We perform pollinator exclusion studies on Yucca aloifolia and a sympatric yucca species, Y. filamentosa. We then perform postvisit exclusion treatments, an analysis of dissected fruits, and a fluorescent dye transfer experiment.• As expected, Yucca filamentosa plants set fruit only when inflorescences were exposed to crepuscular and nocturnal pollinating yucca moths. In contrast, good fruit set was observed when pollinators were excluded from Y. aloifolia inflorescences from dusk to dawn, and no fruit set was observed when pollinators were excluded during the day. Follow up experiments indicated that European honeybees (Apis mellifera) were passively yet effectively pollinating Y. aloifolia flowers.• These results indicate that even highly specialized mutualisms may not be entirely obligate interactions or evolutionary dead ends. © 2014 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Interaction of Mutually Perpendicular Magnetic Fields in HTSC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasilyev Aleksandr Fedorovich

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In this article a problem of interaction of the crossed magnetic fields in superconductors is considered. Superconducting materials have nonlinear magnetic properties. It allows using a non-linear magnetic susceptibility for measurement of feeble magnetic fields. We place a wire of superconducting material in a constant parallel uniform magnetic field. Then we let through a wire the alternating current leak. Interaction of mutual and perpendicular variation magnetic fields, with adequate accuracy is described by Ginzburg-Landau's equations. Approximate solution of the written equations is received. The component of a magnetic field parallel to a wire contains a variable component. Frequency of a variable component of the magnetic field is equal to the doubled current frequency. Amplitude of the variable component of the magnetic field is proportional to strength of the constant magnetic field. The experimental installation for research of interaction of mutually perpendicular magnetic fields is created. The cylinder from HTSC of ceramics of the YBa2Cu3O7-x was used as a sensor. Dependence of amplitude of the second harmonica of a variation magnetic field on strength of a constant magnetic field is received.

On the determination of the mutual exclusion statistics parameter

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

On the determination of the mutual exclusion statistics parameter. SAPTARSHI MANDAL. Department of Theoretical Physics, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science,. 2A&2B Raja S.C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700 032, India. E-mail: mandal.saptarshi1@gmail.com. MS received 7 September 2012; revised ...

Mutual information and phase dependencies: measures of reduced nonlinear cardiorespiratory interactions after myocardial infarction.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoyer, Dirk; Leder, Uwe; Hoyer, Heike; Pompe, Bernd; Sommer, Michael; Zwiener, Ulrich

2002-01-01

The heart rate variability (HRV) is related to several mechanisms of the complex autonomic functioning such as respiratory heart rate modulation and phase dependencies between heart beat cycles and breathing cycles. The underlying processes are basically nonlinear. In order to understand and quantitatively assess those physiological interactions an adequate coupling analysis is necessary. We hypothesized that nonlinear measures of HRV and cardiorespiratory interdependencies are superior to the standard HRV measures in classifying patients after acute myocardial infarction. We introduced mutual information measures which provide access to nonlinear interdependencies as counterpart to the classically linear correlation analysis. The nonlinear statistical autodependencies of HRV were quantified by auto mutual information, the respiratory heart rate modulation by cardiorespiratory cross mutual information, respectively. The phase interdependencies between heart beat cycles and breathing cycles were assessed basing on the histograms of the frequency ratios of the instantaneous heart beat and respiratory cycles. Furthermore, the relative duration of phase synchronized intervals was acquired. We investigated 39 patients after acute myocardial infarction versus 24 controls. The discrimination of these groups was improved by cardiorespiratory cross mutual information measures and phase interdependencies measures in comparison to the linear standard HRV measures. This result was statistically confirmed by means of logistic regression models of particular variable subsets and their receiver operating characteristics.

Value Effect in Indonesian Stock Returns: The Implications for the Equity Mutual Fund Industry

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Samuel Kristianto Utomo

2015-04-01

Full Text Available We extend the persistence and pervasiveness of the presence of value effect to Indonesian stock returns in the last two decades by utilizing data set that is relatively free of survivor bias and selection bias. Our finding shows that value portfolios have been able to outperform growth portfolios. Furthermore, the presence of the effect as an asset pricing factor, along with the size effect, can significantly explain the returns of the aggregate equity mutual funds in Indonesia and unveil that the equity mutual fund industry does not provide sufficient risk-adjusted return to cover trading costs and fund expenses. Our proposition is that the equity mutual fund valuation will be better off to apply simpler model shown in this paper to capture the value premium as opposed to the general application of traditional valuation method.

Does the third mutual friction coefficient B'' exist

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mathieu, P.; Placais, B.; Simon, Y.

1985-01-01

Precise measurements of the attenuation of a second-sound wave propagation axially in rotating He II at first sight suggest that the third mutual-friction coefficient B'' has a non-zero value (B'' = 0.021 at 1.9 K). But the observation of metastable states associated with various levels of attenuation is not reconcilable with the semi-classical model of the vortex line [fr

Returns on Sustainable Mutual Funds in India

OpenAIRE

Jain, Anant

2011-01-01

The world has seen a huge growth in investment through the sustainable sector. But the study on the cost in construction and measuring the performance of such investments is confined to the limited countries. Thus to compare the performance of the sustainable investment with that of traditional investments it is necessary to increase the sample size of the study. Considering this in mind the paper aims to study the performance and risk of the sustainable mutual fund investments with that of t...

Skimming the Profit Pool: The American Mutual Fund Scandals and the Risk for Japan

OpenAIRE

Peterson, Andrew

2010-01-01

This paper examines conditions and structures that led to abuses in the American mutual fund industry. The scandals unfolded in 2003 when a whistleblower alerted authorities to illegal and unethical trading practices between institutional investors and mutual fund companies. The abuses included late trading, market timing, illegal sales practices, and excessive fees, with damages estimated at well over US $4 billion per year. While this scandal involved American companies, there are indicatio...

PRINCIPLE OF EFFECTIVE MAKING OF MUTUALLY ACCEPTABLE MULTI-PROJECTION DECISION

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Olga Nikolaevna Lapaeva

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The principle of effective making of mutually acceptable multi-projection decision in economics is set forth in the article. The principle envisages finding of effective variants by each stakeholder and result making by crossing of individual sets.

CC-MUSIC: An Optimization Estimator for Mutual Coupling Correction of L-Shaped Nonuniform Array with Single Snapshot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuguan Hou

2015-01-01

Full Text Available For the case of the single snapshot, the integrated SNR gain could not be obtained without the multiple snapshots, which degrades the mutual coupling correction performance under the lower SNR case. In this paper, a Convex Chain MUSIC (CC-MUSIC algorithm is proposed for the mutual coupling correction of the L-shaped nonuniform array with single snapshot. It is an online self-calibration algorithm and does not require the prior knowledge of the correction matrix initialization and the calibration source with the known position. An optimization for the approximation between the no mutual coupling covariance matrix without the interpolated transformation and the covariance matrix with the mutual coupling and the interpolated transformation is derived. A global optimization problem is formed for the mutual coupling correction and the spatial spectrum estimation. Furthermore, the nonconvex optimization problem of this global optimization is transformed as a chain of the convex optimization, which is basically an alternating optimization routine. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, which improve the resolution ability and the estimation accuracy of the multisources with the single snapshot.

Mutual information spectrum for selection of event-related spatial components. Application to eloquent motor cortex mapping.

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Alexei eOssadtchi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Spatial component analysis is often used to explore multidimensional time series data whose sources cannot be measured directly. Several methods may be used to decompose the data into a set of spatial components with temporal loadings. Component selection is of crucial importance, and should be supported by objective criteria. In some applications, the use of a well defined component selection criterion may provide for automation of the analysis.In this paper we describe a novel approach for ranking of spatial components calculated from the EEG or MEG data recorded within evoked response paradigm. Our method is called Mutual Information Spectrum and is based on gauging the amount of mutual information of spatial component temporal loadings with a synthetically created reference signal. We also describe the appropriate randomization based statistical assessment scheme that can be used for selection of components with statistically significant amount of mutual information. Using simulated data with realistic trial to trial variations and SNR corresponding to the real recordings we demonstrate the superior performance characteristics of the described mutual information based measure as compared to a more conventionally used power driven gauge. We also demonstrate the application of the Mutual Information Spectrum for the selection of task-related independent components from real MEG data. We show that the Mutual Information spectrum allows to identify task-related components reliably in a consistent fashion, yielding stable results even from a small number of trials. We conclude that the proposed method fits naturally the information driven nature of ICA and can be used for routine and automatic ranking of independent components calculated from the functional neuroimaging data collected within event-related paradigms.

Dynamics of chaotic oscillations in mutually coupled microchip lasers

CERN Document Server

Uchida, A; Kinugawa, S; Yoshimori, S

2003-01-01

We have numerically and experimentally investigated the dynamics of mutually coupled microchip lasers. Chaotic oscillations are observed in the vicinity of the boundary of the injection-locking range when the coupling strength and the difference of the optical frequencies are varied. Synchronization of chaos is always achieved under the condition to generate chaos.

The Cybathlon BCI race: Successful longitudinal mutual learning with two tetraplegic users.

Science.gov (United States)

Perdikis, Serafeim; Tonin, Luca; Saeedi, Sareh; Schneider, Christoph; Millán, José Del R

2018-05-01

This work aims at corroborating the importance and efficacy of mutual learning in motor imagery (MI) brain-computer interface (BCI) by leveraging the insights obtained through our participation in the BCI race of the Cybathlon event. We hypothesized that, contrary to the popular trend of focusing mostly on the machine learning aspects of MI BCI training, a comprehensive mutual learning methodology that reinstates the three learning pillars (at the machine, subject, and application level) as equally significant could lead to a BCI-user symbiotic system able to succeed in real-world scenarios such as the Cybathlon event. Two severely impaired participants with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI), were trained following our mutual learning approach to control their avatar in a virtual BCI race game. The competition outcomes substantiate the effectiveness of this type of training. Most importantly, the present study is one among very few to provide multifaceted evidence on the efficacy of subject learning during BCI training. Learning correlates could be derived at all levels of the interface-application, BCI output, and electroencephalography (EEG) neuroimaging-with two end-users, sufficiently longitudinal evaluation, and, importantly, under real-world and even adverse conditions.

The Cybathlon BCI race: Successful longitudinal mutual learning with two tetraplegic users.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serafeim Perdikis

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This work aims at corroborating the importance and efficacy of mutual learning in motor imagery (MI brain-computer interface (BCI by leveraging the insights obtained through our participation in the BCI race of the Cybathlon event. We hypothesized that, contrary to the popular trend of focusing mostly on the machine learning aspects of MI BCI training, a comprehensive mutual learning methodology that reinstates the three learning pillars (at the machine, subject, and application level as equally significant could lead to a BCI-user symbiotic system able to succeed in real-world scenarios such as the Cybathlon event. Two severely impaired participants with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI, were trained following our mutual learning approach to control their avatar in a virtual BCI race game. The competition outcomes substantiate the effectiveness of this type of training. Most importantly, the present study is one among very few to provide multifaceted evidence on the efficacy of subject learning during BCI training. Learning correlates could be derived at all levels of the interface-application, BCI output, and electroencephalography (EEG neuroimaging-with two end-users, sufficiently longitudinal evaluation, and, importantly, under real-world and even adverse conditions.

Empirical Studies on Actively Managed Mutual Funds: New Insights into the Costs and Benefits of Portfolio Disclosure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

T.C. Dyakov (Teodor)

2014-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ Dyakov’s dissertation bundles three empirical studies on actively managed mutual funds. His studies provide new knowledge of the costs and benefits of portfolio disclosure and shed more light into the question whether mutual fund investors have an information

Tax Planning by Mutual Funds: Evidence From Changes in the Capital Gains Tax Rate

OpenAIRE

Chen, Feng; Kraft, Arthur; Weiss, Ira

2011-01-01

We investigate whether mutual funds engage in tax planning by testing how they respond to changes in the capital gains tax rates. While previous evidence suggests that individual investors time capital gains realizations, mutual fund managers may not tax plan like individuals because fund managers have incentives to consider the tax liability of both current and potential investors. Our analysis spans over 44 years and six major tax changes, allowing us to examine the effects of both tax rate...

The Impact of Mutual Recognition: Inbuilt Limits and Domestic Responses to the Single Market

OpenAIRE

Schmidt, S.

2002-01-01

What have been the consequences of integrating the single market via mutual recognition? Did competitive deregulation result? Or were its implications less significant than expected? In this paper I analyse two previously highly regulated service sectors, insurance and road haulage, and study the impact of European policies in Germany and France. I find that the Council instituted mutual recognition in a restrictive way. This limits its impact on member states, which is moreover mediated by n...

Norwegian mutual fund performance based on Fama and French´s five-factor model

OpenAIRE

Mustafa, Daniel Amir; Ali, Mohammad Yousaf

2016-01-01

Masteroppgave(MSc) in Master of Science in Finance - Handelshøyskolen BI, 2016 The following paper uses a dataset free of survivorship bias for the period 2002-2011. We investigate whether Norwegian mutual funds possess enough skills to outperform a passive benchmark based on Fama and French’s five-factor model. Our results suggest that the mutual fund industry exhibits significant excess returns on a 10% level in the recent financial crisis. Further, we examine whether the results obtaine...

Creating a culture of mutual respect.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Kathryn; Mestel, Pamela; Feldman, David L

2010-04-01

The Joint Commission mandates that hospitals seeking accreditation have a process to define and address disruptive behavior. Leaders at Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, took the initiative to create a code of mutual respect that not only requires respectful behavior, but also encourages sensitivity and awareness to the causes of frustration that often lead to inappropriate behavior. Steps to implementing the code included selecting code advocates, setting up a system for mediating disputes, tracking and addressing operational system issues, providing training for personnel, developing a formal accountability process, and measuring the results. Copyright 2010 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Classifying Pediatric Central Nervous System Tumors through near Optimal Feature Selection and Mutual Information: A Single Center Cohort

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Faranoush

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Labeling, gathering mutual information, clustering and classificationof central nervous system tumors may assist in predicting not only distinct diagnosesbased on tumor-specific features but also prognosis. This study evaluates the epidemi-ological features of central nervous system tumors in children who referred to Mahak’sPediatric Cancer Treatment and Research Center in Tehran, Iran.Methods: This cohort (convenience sample study comprised 198 children (≤15years old with central nervous system tumors who referred to Mahak's PediatricCancer Treatment and Research Center from 2007 to 2010. In addition to the descriptiveanalyses on epidemiological features and mutual information, we used the LeastSquares Support Vector Machines method in MATLAB software to propose apreliminary predictive model of pediatric central nervous system tumor feature-labelanalysis. Results:Of patients, there were 63.1% males and 36.9% females. Patients' mean±SDage was 6.11±3.65 years. Tumor location was as follows: supra-tentorial (30.3%, infra-tentorial (67.7% and 2% (spinal. The most frequent tumors registered were: high-gradeglioma (supra-tentorial in 36 (59.99% patients and medulloblastoma (infra-tentorialin 65 (48.51% patients. The most prevalent clinical findings included vomiting,headache and impaired vision. Gender, age, ethnicity, tumor stage and the presence ofmetastasis were the features predictive of supra-tentorial tumor histology.Conclusion: Our data agreed with previous reports on the epidemiology of centralnervous system tumors. Our feature-label analysis has shown how presenting features maypartially predict diagnosis. Timely diagnosis and management of central nervous systemtumors can lead to decreased disease burden and improved survival. This may be furtherfacilitated through development of partitioning, risk prediction and prognostic models.

Role and convergent evolution of competing RNA secondary structures in mutually exclusive splicing.

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Yuan; Hou, Shouqing; Wang, Xiu; Zhan, Leilei; Cao, Guozheng; Li, Guoli; Shi, Yang; Zhang, Peng; Hong, Weiling; Lin, Hao; Liu, Baoping; Shi, Feng; Yang, Yun; Jin, Yongfeng

2017-10-03

Exon or cassette duplication is an important means of expanding protein and functional diversity through mutually exclusive splicing. However, the mechanistic basis of this process in non-arthropod species remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that MRP1 genes underwent tandem exon duplication in Nematoda, Platyhelminthes, Annelida, Mollusca, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, and early-diverging Chordata but not in late-diverging vertebrates. Interestingly, these events were of independent origin in different phyla, suggesting convergent evolution of alternative splicing. Furthermore, we showed that multiple sets of clade-conserved RNA pairings evolved to guide species-specific mutually exclusive splicing in Arthropoda. Importantly, we also identified a similar structural code in MRP exon clusters of the annelid, Capitella teleta, and chordate, Branchiostoma belcheri, suggesting an evolutionarily conserved competing pairing-guided mechanism in bilaterians. Taken together, these data reveal the molecular determinants and RNA pairing-guided evolution of species-specific mutually exclusive splicing spanning more than 600 million years of bilaterian evolution. These findings have a significant impact on our understanding of the evolution of and mechanism underpinning isoform diversity and complex gene structure.

An ant-plant mutualism through the lens of cGMP-dependent kinase genes.

Science.gov (United States)

Malé, Pierre-Jean G; Turner, Kyle M; Doha, Manjima; Anreiter, Ina; Allen, Aaron M; Sokolowski, Marla B; Frederickson, Megan E

2017-09-13

In plant-animal mutualisms, how an animal forages often determines how much benefit its plant partner receives. In many animals, foraging behaviour changes in response to foraging gene expression or activation of the cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) that foraging encodes. Here, we show that this highly conserved molecular mechanism affects the outcome of a plant-animal mutualism. We studied the two PKG genes of Allomerus octoarticulatus, an Amazonian ant that defends the ant-plant Cordia nodosa against herbivores. Some ant colonies are better 'bodyguards' than others. Working in the field in Peru, we found that colonies fed with a PKG activator recruited more workers to attack herbivores than control colonies. This resulted in less herbivore damage. PKG gene expression in ant workers correlated with whether an ant colony discovered an herbivore and how much damage herbivores inflicted on leaves in a complex way; natural variation in expression levels of the two genes had significant interaction effects on ant behaviour and herbivory. Our results suggest a molecular basis for ant protection of plants in this mutualism. © 2017 The Author(s).

Application of Joint Error Maximal Mutual Compensation to hexapod robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Veryha, Yauheni; Petersen, Henrik Gordon

2008-01-01

A good practice to ensure high-positioning accuracy in industrial robots is to use joint error maximum mutual compensation (JEMMC). This paper presents an application of JEMMC for positioning of hexapod robots to improve end-effector positioning accuracy. We developed an algorithm and simulation ...

Collision detection and prediction using a mutual configuration state approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schoute, Albert L.; Weiss, N.; Jesse, N.; Reusch, B.

A configuration state approach is presented that simplifies the mutual collision analysis of objects with known shapes that move along known paths. Accurate and fast prediction of contact situations in games such as robot soccer enables improved anticipatory and corrective actions of the state

On the Empirical Evidence of Mutual Fund Strategic Risk Taking

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goriaev, A.P.; Nijman, T.E.; Werker, B.J.M.

2001-01-01

We reexamine empirical evidence on strategic risk-taking behavior by mutual fund managers.Several studies suggest that fund performance in the first semester of a year influences risk-taking in the second semester.However, we show that previous empirical studies implicitly assume that idiosyncratic

77 FR 48566 - The Hartford Mutual Funds, Inc., et al.;

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-14

... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Investment Company Act Release No. 30164; File No. 812-14024] The Hartford Mutual Funds, Inc., et al.; Notice of Application August 8, 2012. AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission''). ACTION: Notice of an application under section 6(c) of the Investment...

Mutual Coupling Reduction of E-Shaped MIMO Antenna with Matrix of C-Shaped Resonators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raghad Ghalib Saadallah Alsultan

2018-01-01

Full Text Available E-shaped multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO microstrip antenna systems operating in WLAN and WiMAX bands (between 5 and 7.5 GHz are proposed with enhanced isolation features. The systems are comprised of two antennas that are placed parallel and orthogonal to each other, respectively. According to the simulation results, the operating frequency of the MIMO antenna system is 6.3 GHz, and mutual coupling is below −18 dB in a parallel arrangement, whereas they are 6.4 GHz and −25 dB, respectively, in the orthogonal arrangement. The 2 × 3 matrix of C-shaped resonator (CSR is proposed and placed between the antenna elements over the substrate, to reduce the mutual coupling and enhance the isolation between the antennas. More than 30 dB isolation between the array elements is achieved at the resonant frequency for both of the configurations. The essential parameters of the MIMO array such as mutual coupling, surface current distribution, envelop correlation coefficient (ECC, diversity gain (DG, and the total efficiency have been simulated to verify the reliability and the validity of the MIMO system in both parallel and orthogonal configurations. The experimental results are also provided and compared for the mutual coupling with simulated results. An adequate match between the measured and simulated results is achieved.

Spatially weighted mutual information image registration for image guided radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Samuel B.; Rhee, Frank C.; Monroe, James I.; Sohn, Jason W.

2010-01-01

Purpose: To develop a new metric for image registration that incorporates the (sub)pixelwise differential importance along spatial location and to demonstrate its application for image guided radiation therapy (IGRT). Methods: It is well known that rigid-body image registration with mutual information is dependent on the size and location of the image subset on which the alignment analysis is based [the designated region of interest (ROI)]. Therefore, careful review and manual adjustments of the resulting registration are frequently necessary. Although there were some investigations of weighted mutual information (WMI), these efforts could not apply the differential importance to a particular spatial location since WMI only applies the weight to the joint histogram space. The authors developed the spatially weighted mutual information (SWMI) metric by incorporating an adaptable weight function with spatial localization into mutual information. SWMI enables the user to apply the selected transform to medically ''important'' areas such as tumors and critical structures, so SWMI is neither dominated by, nor neglects the neighboring structures. Since SWMI can be utilized with any weight function form, the authors presented two examples of weight functions for IGRT application: A Gaussian-shaped weight function (GW) applied to a user-defined location and a structures-of-interest (SOI) based weight function. An image registration example using a synthesized 2D image is presented to illustrate the efficacy of SWMI. The convergence and feasibility of the registration method as applied to clinical imaging is illustrated by fusing a prostate treatment planning CT with a clinical cone beam CT (CBCT) image set acquired for patient alignment. Forty-one trials are run to test the speed of convergence. The authors also applied SWMI registration using two types of weight functions to two head and neck cases and a prostate case with clinically acquired CBCT/MVCT image sets. The

Spatially weighted mutual information image registration for image guided radiation therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Samuel B; Rhee, Frank C; Monroe, James I; Sohn, Jason W

2010-09-01

To develop a new metric for image registration that incorporates the (sub)pixelwise differential importance along spatial location and to demonstrate its application for image guided radiation therapy (IGRT). It is well known that rigid-body image registration with mutual information is dependent on the size and location of the image subset on which the alignment analysis is based [the designated region of interest (ROI)]. Therefore, careful review and manual adjustments of the resulting registration are frequently necessary. Although there were some investigations of weighted mutual information (WMI), these efforts could not apply the differential importance to a particular spatial location since WMI only applies the weight to the joint histogram space. The authors developed the spatially weighted mutual information (SWMI) metric by incorporating an adaptable weight function with spatial localization into mutual information. SWMI enables the user to apply the selected transform to medically "important" areas such as tumors and critical structures, so SWMI is neither dominated by, nor neglects the neighboring structures. Since SWMI can be utilized with any weight function form, the authors presented two examples of weight functions for IGRT application: A Gaussian-shaped weight function (GW) applied to a user-defined location and a structures-of-interest (SOI) based weight function. An image registration example using a synthesized 2D image is presented to illustrate the efficacy of SWMI. The convergence and feasibility of the registration method as applied to clinical imaging is illustrated by fusing a prostate treatment planning CT with a clinical cone beam CT (CBCT) image set acquired for patient alignment. Forty-one trials are run to test the speed of convergence. The authors also applied SWMI registration using two types of weight functions to two head and neck cases and a prostate case with clinically acquired CBCT/ MVCT image sets. The SWMI registration with

Caring as predominantly ‘silent’, sociomaterial acts of mutual well-becoming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chimirri, Niklas Alexander

of what good care in childrearing institutions entails. This verbal/non-verbal discrepancy becomes particularly evident when investigating children’s contributions to promoting one another’s as well as one’s own well-being, as a current participatory practice study situated at the Danish Center for Early...... Childhood and Care Research underlines: While acts of promoting well-being through caring pervade daycare institutions, the language available for negotiating and agreeing on which direction our mutual caregiving is to take tends to either draw on technocratic indicator models alienated from everyday...... practice, or on everyday concepts that can describe some of the more immediate emotional experiencing but have a difficult time projecting current practice into the future. Both possibilities render it difficult to ground negotiations and agreements on the directionality of mutual caregiving processes...

Comparison of co-expression measures: mutual information, correlation, and model based indices.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Lin; Langfelder, Peter; Horvath, Steve

2012-12-09

Co-expression measures are often used to define networks among genes. Mutual information (MI) is often used as a generalized correlation measure. It is not clear how much MI adds beyond standard (robust) correlation measures or regression model based association measures. Further, it is important to assess what transformations of these and other co-expression measures lead to biologically meaningful modules (clusters of genes). We provide a comprehensive comparison between mutual information and several correlation measures in 8 empirical data sets and in simulations. We also study different approaches for transforming an adjacency matrix, e.g. using the topological overlap measure. Overall, we confirm close relationships between MI and correlation in all data sets which reflects the fact that most gene pairs satisfy linear or monotonic relationships. We discuss rare situations when the two measures disagree. We also compare correlation and MI based approaches when it comes to defining co-expression network modules. We show that a robust measure of correlation (the biweight midcorrelation transformed via the topological overlap transformation) leads to modules that are superior to MI based modules and maximal information coefficient (MIC) based modules in terms of gene ontology enrichment. We present a function that relates correlation to mutual information which can be used to approximate the mutual information from the corresponding correlation coefficient. We propose the use of polynomial or spline regression models as an alternative to MI for capturing non-linear relationships between quantitative variables. The biweight midcorrelation outperforms MI in terms of elucidating gene pairwise relationships. Coupled with the topological overlap matrix transformation, it often leads to more significantly enriched co-expression modules. Spline and polynomial networks form attractive alternatives to MI in case of non-linear relationships. Our results indicate that MI

Influence Manager's Investment Attitude on Organization Environment and Portfolio Performance Reksadana Shares (Study on Mutual Fund Management Company Reksadana Shares in Indonesia)

OpenAIRE

Oswari, Teddy; Kowanda, Dionysia

2007-01-01

The purpose of this research is to measures the effect of investment manager attitude through operational employees to mutual funds work attitude portfolio, to analyse how big the organizational environment effect together with investment manager attitude, through operational employees to mutual funds work attitude portfolio and analyse the effect of organizational envirobment to investment manage attitude in mutual funds company. The observation conducted in 72 mutual funds company, the data...

5 CFR 2640.201 - Exemptions for interests in mutual funds, unit investment trusts, and employee benefit plans.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS GOVERNMENT ETHICS INTERPRETATION, EXEMPTIONS AND WAIVER GUIDANCE CONCERNING... in several mutual funds whose portfolios contain stock in a small computer company. Each mutual fund prospectus describes the fund as a “management company,” but does not characterize the fund as having a...

Light-weight Mutual Authentication with Non-repudiation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Clupek

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we focused on a problem of authentication on low-cost devices. We have proposed a new light-weight protocol for mutual authentication of communication entities with non-repudiation of realized events. The protocol is simple and suitable for implementation on low-cost devices. Non-repudiation of realized events is achieved by involving a Trusted Third Party (TTP to the communication. The proposed protocol uses only an appropriate lightweight hash function and pre-shared secret data. Security of the proposed protocol was verified by the BAN (Burrows-Abadi-Needham logic.

Physicians Mutual Aid Group: A Response to AIDS-Related Burnout.

Science.gov (United States)

Garside, Bruce

1993-01-01

Describes origins and functioning of physician's mutual aid group for physicians providing primary care to people with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Offers suggestions related to overcoming resistance physicians might have to participating in such a group and reviews modalities that were helpful in facilitating participants' ability…

Standard guide for mutual inductance bridge applications for wall thickness determinations in boiler tubing

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2010-01-01

1.1 This guide describes a procedure for obtaining relative wall thickness indications in ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic steels using the mutual inductance bridge method. The procedure is intended for use with instruments capable of inducing two substantially identical magnetic fields and noting the change in inductance resulting from differing amounts of steel. It is used to distinguish acceptable wall thickness conditions from those which could place tubular vessels or piping at risk of bursting under high temperature and pressure conditions. 1.2 This guide is intended to satisfy two general needs for users of industrial Mutual Inductance Bridge (MIB) equipment: (1) the need for a tutorial guide addressing the general principles of Mutual Inductance Bridges as they apply to industrial piping; and (2) the need for a consistent set of MIB performance parameter definitions, including how these performance parameters relate to MIB system specifications. Potential users and buyers, as well as experienced M...

The performance of mutual funds : evidence from Turkey

OpenAIRE

Parlak, Deniz

2014-01-01

In academic world much controversy exists regarding the performance of pension and mutual funds. Some studies have concluded that actively managed funds on average, underperform their passively managed counterparts whereas other studies have shown just the reverse. Another important debate centers on the persistence of under- and over-performance of portfolios. Still evidence from emerging markets which are characterized by high volatility in terms of terms of stock returns is scarce. Hence t...

Geometric Performance Analysis of Mutual Exclusion: The Model

OpenAIRE

Abrams, Marc

1990-01-01

This paper is motivated by the need to better understand parallel program run-time behavior. The paper first formally describes a general model of program execution based on Djkstra's progress graphs. The paper then defines a special case of the model representing two cyclic processes sharing mutually exclusive, reusable resources. Processes synchronize through semaphore operations that are not embedded in conditionally executed code segments. Model parameters are the times at which each ...

Individuals motivated to participate in adherence, care and treatment (imPACT): development of a multi-component intervention to help HIV-infected recently incarcerated individuals link and adhere to HIV care.

Science.gov (United States)

Golin, Carol E; Knight, Kevin; Carda-Auten, Jessica; Gould, Michele; Groves, Jennifer; L White, Becky; Bradley-Bull, Steve; Amola, Kemi; Fray, Niasha; Rosen, David L; Mugavaro, Michael J; Pence, Brian W; Flynn, Patrick M; Wohl, David

2016-09-06

Policy-makers promote a seek, test, treat and retain (STTR) strategy to expand HIV testing, support linkage and engagement in care, and enhance the continuous use of antiretroviral therapy for those HIV-infected. This HIV prevention strategy is particularly appropriate in correctional settings where HIV screening and treatment are routinely available yet many HIV-infected individuals have difficulty sustaining sufficient linkage and engagement in care, disease management, and viral suppression after prison release. Our research team developed Project imPACT (individuals motivated to Participate in Adherence, Care and Treatment), a multi-component approach for HIV-Infected recently incarcerated individuals that specifically targets their care linkage, retention, and medication adherence by addressing multiple barriers to care engagement after release. The ultimate goals of this intervention are to improve the health of HIV-infected individuals recently released from prison and reduce HIV transmission to their communities by maintaining viral suppression. This paper describes the intervention and technology development processes, based on best practices for intervention development and process evaluation. These processes included: 1) identifying the target population; 2) clarifying the theoretical basis for intervention design; 3) describing features of its foundational interventions; 4) conducting formative qualitative research; 5) integrating and adapting foundational interventions to create and refine intervention content based on target audience feedback. These stages along with the final intervention product are described in detail. The intervention is currently being evaluation and a two arm randomized, controlled trial in two US state prison systems. Based on a literature review, qualitative research, integration of proven interventions and behavioral theory, the final imPACT intervention focused on the transition period two to three months before and three

Mutualism, hybrid inviability and speciation in a tropical ant-plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Léotard, G; Saltmarsh, A; Kjellberg, F; McKey, D

2008-07-01

Although biotic interactions are particularly intricate in the tropics, few studies have examined whether divergent adaptations to biotic interactions lead to speciation in tropical organisms. Ant-plant mutualisms are widespread in the tropics. Within Leonardoxa africana, two subspecies present contrasting defences against herbivores. Young leaves of subsp. africana are defended by mutualistic ants, whereas subsp. gracilicaulis satiates herbivores by synchronized leaf production. Subsp. africana possesses hollow internodes and many large foliar nectaries, housing and feeding ants. We detected no genetic introgression between the two subspecies in the contact zone between them. F1 hybrids were present. They were intermediate in phenotype, expressing reduced, nonfunctional but costly myrmecophilic traits. However, they suffered more herbivory than their parents. Hybrids remained small, failing to reach reproductive size, probably due to their maladapted defence phenotype. Hence, there could be a direct link between adaptation to mutualism and reproductive isolation: biotic interactions could be a driver of tropical diversity.

A novel filtering mutualism between a sponge host and its endosymbiotic bivalves.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsubaki, Remi; Kato, Makoto

2014-01-01

Sponges, porous filter-feeding organisms consisting of vast canal systems, provide unique substrates for diverse symbiotic organisms. The Spongia (Spongia) sp. massive sponge is obligately inhabited by the host-specific endosymbiotic bivalve Vulsella vulsella, which benefits from this symbiosis by receiving protection from predators. However, whether the host sponge gains any benefit from this association is unclear. Considering that the bivalves exhale filtered water into the sponge body rather than the ambient environment, the sponge is hypothesized to utilize water exhaled by the bivalves to circulate water around its body more efficiently. We tested this hypothesis by observing the sponge aquiferous structure and comparing the pumping rates of sponges and bivalves. Observations of water currents and the sponge aquiferous structure revealed that the sponge had a unique canal system enabling it to inhale water exhaled from bivalves, indicating that the host sponge adapted morphologically to receive water from the bivalves. In addition, the volume of water circulating in the sponge body was dramatically increased by the water exhaled from bivalves. Therefore, this sponge-bivalve association can be regarded as a novel mutualism in which two filter-feeding symbionts promote mutual filtering rates. This symbiotic association should be called a "filtering mutualism".

Mutual research capacity strengthening: a qualitative study of two-way partnerships in public health research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Redman-MacLaren Michelle

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Capacity building has been employed in international health and development sectors to describe the process of ‘experts’ from more resourced countries training people in less resourced countries. Hence the concept has an implicit power imbalance based on ‘expert’ knowledge. In 2011, a health research strengthening workshop was undertaken at Atoifi Adventist Hospital, Solomon Islands to further strengthen research skills of the Hospital and College of Nursing staff and East Kwaio community leaders through partnering in practical research projects. The workshop was based on participatory research frameworks underpinned by decolonising methodologies, which sought to challenge historical power imbalances and inequities. Our research question was, “Is research capacity strengthening a two-way process?” Methods In this qualitative study, five Solomon Islanders and five Australians each responded to four open-ended questions about their experience of the research capacity strengthening workshop and activities: five chose face to face interview, five chose to provide written responses. Written responses and interview transcripts were inductively analysed in NVivo 9. Results Six major themes emerged. These were: Respectful relationships; Increased knowledge and experience with research process; Participation at all stages in the research process; Contribution to public health action; Support and sustain research opportunities; and Managing challenges of capacity strengthening. All researchers identified benefits for themselves, their institution and/or community, regardless of their role or country of origin, indicating that the capacity strengthening had been a two-way process. Conclusions The flexible and responsive process we used to strengthen research capacity was identified as mutually beneficial. Using community-based participatory frameworks underpinned by decolonising methodologies is assisting to redress

Mutual trust method for forwarding information in wireless sensor networks using random secret pre-distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chih-Hsueh Lin

2016-04-01

Full Text Available In wireless sensor networks, sensing information must be transmitted from sensor nodes to the base station by multiple hopping. Every sensor node is a sender and a relay node that forwards the sensing information that is sent by other nodes. Under an attack, the sensing information may be intercepted, modified, interrupted, or fabricated during transmission. Accordingly, the development of mutual trust to enable a secure path to be established for forwarding information is an important issue. Random key pre-distribution has been proposed to establish mutual trust among sensor nodes. This article modifies the random key pre-distribution to a random secret pre-distribution and incorporates identity-based cryptography to establish an effective method of establishing mutual trust for a wireless sensor network. In the proposed method, base station assigns an identity and embeds n secrets into the private secret keys for every sensor node. Based on the identity and private secret keys, the mutual trust method is utilized to explore the types of trust among neighboring sensor nodes. The novel method can resist malicious attacks and satisfy the requirements of wireless sensor network, which are resistance to compromising attacks, masquerading attacks, forger attacks, replying attacks, authentication of forwarding messages, and security of sensing information.

Prior Knowledge Facilitates Mutual Gaze Convergence and Head Nodding Synchrony in Face-to-face Communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Thepsoonthorn, C; Yokozuka, T; Miura, S; Ogawa, K; Miyake, Y

2016-12-02

As prior knowledge is claimed to be an essential key to achieve effective education, we are interested in exploring whether prior knowledge enhances communication effectiveness. To demonstrate the effects of prior knowledge, mutual gaze convergence and head nodding synchrony are observed as indicators of communication effectiveness. We conducted an experiment on lecture task between lecturer and student under 2 conditions: prior knowledge and non-prior knowledge. The students in prior knowledge condition were provided the basic information about the lecture content and were assessed their understanding by the experimenter before starting the lecture while the students in non-prior knowledge had none. The result shows that the interaction in prior knowledge condition establishes significantly higher mutual gaze convergence (t(15.03) = 6.72, p < 0.0001; α = 0.05, n = 20) and head nodding synchrony (t(16.67) = 1.83, p = 0.04; α = 0.05, n = 19) compared to non-prior knowledge condition. This study reveals that prior knowledge facilitates mutual gaze convergence and head nodding synchrony. Furthermore, the interaction with and without prior knowledge can be evaluated by measuring or observing mutual gaze convergence and head nodding synchrony.

Is debt restructuring needed to make the Stability and Growth Pact (more credible?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jens Körner

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The emergence of the so-called PIIGS crisis which in 2009 became acute due to strongly diverging risk premiums, marked the beginning of a new phase for the European Monetary Union. Whilst the run-up to EMU had been characterized by an encouraging convergence of macroeconomic fundamentals of its member countries, it is now facing a serious threat in particular due to excessive levels of public debt. In 1997, the Stability and Growth Pact introduced a mechanism designed to prevent excessive public debt of the type currently observed; the fact of the matter, however, seems to be that levels of public debt has continuously grown from one economic cycle to the next. But the SGP apparently not only failed to fulfil its aim to keep the deficit and the debt level within its limits but also suffered from a severe loss of credibility; unless some profound action is taken it may further diminish, severely hampering the loose structure of the European Monetary Union. In order to regain some credibility, mitigate financial market’s concerns and, hence, lower borrowing cost, a consolidation path is needed to returns to acceptable levels of debt in the foreseeable future. This process has already started and measures have been taken by several eurozone countries to speed up fiscal consolidation. The aim of the paper is to analyze whether or not the group of the PIIGS countries are likely to return to debt levels in accordance with the SGP criteria or if it might be necessary to undergo a process of debt restructuring or default. By analysing different scenarios where nominal interest rates on debt (r and nominal growth rates (n as well as gaps thereof (r-n, herein called the automatic debt dynamics, are varied, this paper comes to the conclusion, that debt restructuring or default is a likely outcome for some of the PIIGS; arithmetics is in particular playing against Greece. As disillusioning and disappointing this outcome might be for some observers, it

A measure of mutual divergence among a number of probability distributions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. N. Kapur

1987-01-01

major inequalities due to Shannon, Renyi and Holder. The inequalities are then used to obtain some useful results in information theory. In particular measures are obtained to measure the mutual divergence among two or more probability distributions.

Mutual Coupling Effects for Radar Cross Section (RCS of a Series-Fed Dipole Antenna Array

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. L. Sneha

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The estimation of RCS of a phased array depends on various parameters, namely, array geometry, operational frequency, feed network, mutual coupling between the antenna elements and so fourth. This paper presents the estimation of RCS of linear dipole array with series-feed network by tracing the signal path from the antenna aperture into the feed network. The effect of mutual coupling exhibited by the dipole antenna is considered for three configurations namely, side by side, collinear, and parallel in echelon. It is shown that the mutual coupling affects the antenna pattern (and hence RCS significantly for larger scan angles. Further it is inferred that the RCS of phased array can be optimized by (i reducing the length of the dipole, (ii termination of the isolation port of the coupler with a suitable load, and (iii using suitable amplitude distribution.