bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
STRAIN SENSITIVITY AND TEMPERATURE INFLUENCE OF NICHROME (80/20 wt.%) THIN FILM FABRICATED BY MAGNETRON SPUTTERING
Authors: YAN JIANWU , ZHOU JICHENG
Published: September 2007

The electromechanical properties of nichrome ( Ni – Cr 80/20 wt.%) used as a common material for application in thin film strain gauges have been studied. The surface topography and chemical composition of Ni – Cr thin films grown on the glass substrate by magnetron sputtering have been analyzed by atomic force microscope (AFM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. The temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) has been determined by a Nano-volt/Micro ohm meter. The gauge factor (FG) has been determined by the cantilever method. Low stable TCR values (22 ppm to 46 ppm in the 50–150°C temperature range) have been obtained. Resistance stability is achieved by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 300°C for 10 min combined with a 24 h thermal annealing (TA) at 150°C. The desired 45 Ω/m sheet resistance and a gauge factor of 2.6 have been attained for 40-nm-thickness films. The films have very small roughness of 2.1~4.4 nm.
PERSISTENT SPIN CURRENT IN SPIN-ORBIT COUPLING SYSTEMS IN THE ABSENCE OF AN EXTERNAL MAGNETIC FIELD
Authors: SUN QING-FENG , XIE X. C.
Published: September 2007

The spin-orbit coupling systems with a zero magnetic field are studied under the equilibrium situation, i.e., without a voltage bias. A persistent spin current is predicted to exist under most circumstances, although the persistent charge current and the spin accumulation are identically zero. In particular, a two-dimensional quantum wire is investigated in detail. Surprisingly, a persistent spin current is found to flow along the confined direction, due to the spin precession accompanied by the particle motion. This provides an interesting example of constant spin flowing without inducing a spin accumulation, contrary to common intuition.
QUANTUM STATE OF JOSEPHSON JUNCTION AS COOPER PAIR NUMBER-PHASE ENTANGLED STATE IN THE BOSONIC OPERATOR JOSEPHSON MODEL
Authors: FAN HONG-YI , WANG JI-SUO , MENG XIANG-GUO
Published: September 2007

Based on Feynman's explanation about Cooper pair that "a bound pair acts as a Bose particle" and the bosonic operator Hamiltonian of the Josephson junction, we realize that the quantum state of the Josephson junction is a Cooper pair number-phase entangled state constructed by the phase operator across the junction. Its Schmidt decomposition is derived. The Cooper pair number-phase squeezed state's projection onto this entangled state leads to a geometric distribution.
HOLOGRAPHIC STORAGE PERFORMANCE OF NEAR-STOICHIOMETRIC In:Fe:LiNbO3 CRYSTALS
Authors: WANG YI-JIE , DAI LI , YU HAI-TAO , XU WUSHENG , XU YUHENG
Published: September 2007

The near-stoichiometric In:Fe:LiNbO 3 crystals (In:Fe:SLN) were grown by the TSSG technology for the first time. The infrared spectra and the photo-scattering resistance ability were measured. The threshold concentration of In 3+ decreased to 2 mol% from 3 mol% of the congruent In:Fe:LiNbO 3 (In:Fe:CLN) crystal. The mechanism of OH - absorption peak shift was studied with the infrared spectra. The diffraction efficiency, writing time and erasure time were studied by using the two-wave coupling method, and the photorefractive sensitivity and dynamic range were calculated. The comprehensive indexes of the photorefractive properties of In:Fe:SLN crystals were superior to those of Fe:LN and In:Fe:CLN crystals. The In:Fe:SLN crystal was used as the storage material and the relative recognition of photorefractive volume holographic images was first realized with the material and good results were obtained.
STUDY OF LOW-TEMPERATURE SINTERED NANO-CRYSTALLITE Mn-Cu-Zn FERRITE PREPARED BY CO-PRECIPITATION METHOD
Authors: MATHUR P. , THAKUR A. , SINGH M.
Published: September 2007

Active powder of Cu -substituted Mn-Zn ferrite was synthesized by soft chemical approach called co-precipitation method. The initial permeability, density, grain size, Curie temperature and dc resistivity were studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) method confirmed the sample to be a single-phase spinel and of nano-structure (~ 65 nm). Further, scanning electron micrograph (SEM) also confirmed nano-phase and the uniformity of the particles. The initial permeability values did not exhibit much variation with temperature, except near Curie temperature where it falls sharply. The initial permeability was found to increase with the increase in sintering temperature. This is attributed to the increase in the grain size.
FOUR-ELECTRON SYSTEMS CONFINED IN MULTILAYER QUANTUM DOTS
Authors: XIE WENFANG
Published: September 2007

In this paper, we studied four-electron systems confined in one-, two-, and four-layer quantum dots, by the exact diagonalization method. A vertical magnetic field to the confinement plane is considered. The ground-state electronic structures and the spin and angular momentum transitions for different magnetic fields are investigated. Series of magic numbers of angular momentum which minimize the ground-state electron–electron interaction energy have been discovered. These are connected to the exchange and rotational symmetries of the systems.
STUDIES OF THE ENERGY SPECTRUM AND THE WAVE FUNCTION FOR LOW ENERGY EXCITED STATES IN LIQUID HELIUM II
Authors: LIN DE-HUA , ZOU PING , ZHANG ZHONG-WEI , WANG HONG-LEI , PAN JUN , YANG YUN-GUO , CUI DA-JIAN
Published: September 2007

In this paper, we study the elementary excitations and energy spectrum proposed by L. D. Landau in liquid helium II. On the basis of the energy spectrum for the phonons and rotons, we put forward a uniform expression of energy spectrum in liquid helium II, which is limited in a specific temperature range. By using the wave function for low energy excited states proposed by R. P. Feynman or the modified one proposed by Feynman and Cohen, it can be found that the estimated energy spectrum is quite different from the experimental data, especially for the region with large wave numbers. By proposing an improved form for the wave function, we re-analyze the energy spectrum in liquid helium II, and our results show a better agreement with the experimental data.
SHEAR VISCOSITY OF STRONGLY-COUPLED TWO-DIMENSIONAL YUKAWA LIQUIDS: EXPERIMENT AND MODELING
Authors: DONKÓ Z. , HARTMANN P. , GOREE J.
Published: September 2007

This paper reviews experimental and modeling efforts aimed at the determination of the shear viscosity of strongly-coupled Yukawa liquids. After briefly reviewing prior work on three-dimensional (3D) systems, recent experimental and computer simulation studies of two-dimensional (2D) settings are presented in detail. In the experiments two counterpropagating laser beams were used to perturb a dusty plasma monolayer and monitoring of the velocity field reconstructed from particle trajectories allowed the determination of the shear viscosity with the aid of an analytical model. Subsequent computer simulations based on the molecular dynamics approach resulted in velocity profiles which are in very good agreement with the experimental ones. Further simulation studies of idealized 2D Yukawa liquids (in which gas friction is neglected) gave results for the shear viscosity over a wide range of system parameters and demonstrated the existence of the shear thinning effect (non-Newtonian behavior) of the liquid at high shear rates.
A PATTERN FRAMEWORK FOR SOFTWARE QUALITY ASSESSMENT AND TRADEOFF ANALYSIS
Authors: FOLMER EELKE , BOSCH JAN
Published: September 2007

The earliest design decisions often have a significant impact on software quality and are the most costly to revoke. One of the challenges in architecture design is to reduce the frequency of retrofit problems in software designs; not being able to improve the quality of a system cost effectively, a problem which frequently occurs during late stages. Software architecture assessment is essential in the design of a high quality system. However, assessing the effect of individual design decisions with respect to quality is often complicated by the fact that it is hard to identify exactly how particular qualities and quality factors are improved or impaired by design decisions. In this paper we present a framework that formalizes some of the relationships between software architecture and software quality; it compiles existing design knowledge (quality improving patterns) in a format suitable for architecture assessment. This framework may prevent the retrofit problem and can assist in reasoning about intra- and inter- quality tradeoffs. We illustrate our framework by creating an instance for it for the qualities usability, security and safety.
ASSESSMENT OF LINUX' DATA PATH IMPLEMENTATIONS FOR DOWNLOAD AND STREAMING
Authors: HALVORSEN PÅL , DALSENG TOM ANDERS , GRIWODZ CARSTEN
Published: September 2007

Distributed multimedia streaming systems are increasingly popular due to technological advances, and numerous streaming services are available today. On servers or proxy caches, there is a huge scaling challenge in supporting thousands of concurrent users that request delivery of high-rate, time-dependent data like audio and video, because this requires transfers of large amounts of data through several sub-systems within a streaming node. Unnecessary copy operations in the data path can therefore contribute significantly to the resource consumption of streaming operations. Despite previous research, off-the-shelf operating systems have only limited support for data paths that have been optimized for streaming. Additionally, system call overhead has grown with newer operating systems editions, adding to the cost of data movement. Frequently, it is argued that these issues can be ignored because of the continuing growth of CPU speeds. However, such an argument fails to take problems of modern streaming systems into account. The dissipation of heat generated by disks and high-end CPUs is a major problem of data centers, which would be alleviated if less power-hungry CPUs could be used. The power budget of mobile devices, which are increasingly used for streaming as well, is tight, and reduced power consumption an important issue. In this paper, we prove that these operations consume a large amount of resources, and we therefore revisit the data movement problem and provide a comprehensive evaluation of possible streaming data I/O paths in the Linux 2.6 kernel. We have implemented and evaluated several enhanced mechanisms and show how to provide support for more efficient memory usage and reduction of user/kernel space switches for content download and streaming applications. In particular, we are able to reduce the CPU usage by approximately 27% compared to the best approach without kernel modifications, by removing copy operations and system calls for a streaming scenario in which RTP headers must be added to stored data for sequence numbers and timing.
PROTECT VIRTUAL PROPERTY IN ONLINE GAMING SYSTEM
Authors: SONG RONGGONG , KORBA LARRY , YEE GEORGE , CHEN YING-CHIEH
Published: September 2007

Massively multiplayer role-playing gaming (MMORPG) has become a very popular entertainment in Asia. Along with the success of the massively multiplayer role-playing gaming industry in Asia, online gaming-related crimes have grown at an amazing rate. Most of the criminal cases are related to virtual properties since markets have developed for the virtual properties giving them real world values. There has been little research and resulting technologies for MMORPG virtual property protection. In order to reduce the crimes and protect online gaming systems, one potential solution is protecting the virtual properties in online gaming systems. In this paper, we propose a virtual property management language to meter the use of virtual property. The language provides a framework for managing the use of virtual properties and recording the history of transactions to trace the life of virtual properties.
RBS: A ROBUST BIMODAL SYSTEM FOR FACE RECOGNITION
Authors: ABATE ANDREA F. , NAPPI MICHELE , RICCIO DANIEL , TORTORA GENOVEFFA
Published: September 2007

During the last few years, many algorithms have been proposed in particular for face recognition using classical 2-D images. However, it is necessary to deal with occlusions when the subject is wearing sunglasses, scarves and such. In the same way, ear recognition is arising as a new promising biometric for people recognition, even if the related literature appears to be somewhat underdeveloped. In this paper, several hybrid face/ear recognition systems are investigated. The system is based on IFS (Iterated Function Systems) theory that are applied on both face and ear resulting in a bimodal architecture. One advantage is that the information used for the indexing and recognition task of face/ear can be made local, and this makes the method more robust to possible occlusions. The distribution of similarities in the input images is exploited as a signature for the identity of the subject. The amount of information provided by each component of the face and the ear image has been assessed, first independently and then jointly. At last, results underline that the system significantly outperforms the existing approaches in the state of the art.
QUANTUM ANALYSIS FOR THE EVOLUTION OF THE COSMOLOGICAL CONSTANT VIA UNITARY TRANSFORMATION
Authors: CHOI JEONG RYEOL
Published: September 2007

The expectation value of the vacuum energy density tied to the cosmological constant is derived from the non-relativistic quantum description of the reheating process using the unitary transformation method. Our research is performed for two special cases, i.e. under the assumption of two different duration terms for the radiation-dominated era. We suppose that the radiation-dominated era lasted for 3,000 years in the first case, and for a very short time so that it can be ignored in the other case. For the former case, the resulting present cosmological constant is much higher than the previously known one. However, for the latter case, it is in good agreement with that obtained from recent cosmic microwave background radiation measurements. Hence, we cannot exclude the possibility that the change of the universe from the radiation-dominated era to the matter-dominated era might have progressed very swiftly after the beginning of reheating. The analysis shows that the vacuum energy density has been dissipated by the nonconservative force acting on the coherent oscillations of the scalar field according to the expansion of the universe.
DILATON COUPLED QUINTESSENCE MODEL IN THE ω - ω′ PLANE
Authors: HUANG Z. G. , LU H. Q. , FANG W.
Published: September 2007

In this paper, we regard the dilaton in Weyl-scaled induced gravitational theory as a coupled quintessence. Based on this consideration, we investigate the dilaton coupled quintessence (DCQ) model in the ω - ω′ plane, which is defined by the equation of state parameter for the dark energy and its derivative with respect to N (the logarithm of the scale factor a). We find the scalar field equation of motion in the ω - ω′ plane, and show mathematically the properties of attractor solutions which correspond to ωσ ~ -1, ωσ = 1. Finally, we find that our model is a tracking one which belongs to "freezing" type models classified in the ω - ω′ plane.
CANONICAL REALIZATIONS OF DOUBLY SPECIAL RELATIVITY
Authors: GALÁN PABLO , MENA MARUGÁN GUILLERMO A.
Published: September 2007

Doubly special relativity is usually formulated in momentum space, providing the explicit nonlinear action of the Lorentz transformations that incorporates the deformation of boosts. Various proposals have appeared in the literature for the associated realization in position space. While some are based on noncommutative geometries, others respect the compatibility of the space–time coordinates. Among the latter, there exist several proposals that invoke in different ways the completion of the Lorentz transformations into canonical ones in phase space. In this paper, the relationship between all these canonical proposals is clarified, showing that in fact they are equivalent. The generalized uncertainty principles emerging from these canonical realizations are also discussed in detail, studying the possibility of reaching regimes where the behavior of suitable position and momentum variables is classical, and explaining how one can reconstruct a canonical realization of doubly special relativity starting just from a basic set of commutators. In addition, the extension to general relativity is considered, investigating the kind of gravity's rainbow that arises from this canonical realization and comparing it with the gravity's rainbow formalism put forward by Magueijo and Smolin, which was obtained from a commutative but noncanonical realization in position space.
GENERALIZED RADAR 4-COORDINATES AND EQUAL-TIME CAUCHY SURFACES FOR ARBITRARY ACCELERATED OBSERVERS
Authors: ALBA DAVID , LUSANNA LUCA
Published: September 2007

All existing 4-coordinate systems centered on the world-line of an accelerated observer are only locally defined, as for Fermi coordinates both in special and general relativity. As a consequence, it is not known how non-inertial observers can build equal-time surfaces which (a) correspond to a conventional observer-dependent definition of synchronization of distant clocks, and (b) are good Cauchy surfaces for Maxwell equations. Another type of coordinate singularities generating the same problems are those connected to the relativistic rotating coordinate systems used in the treatment of the rotating disk and the Sagnac effect. We show that the use of Hamiltonian methods based on 3+1 splittings of space–time allows one to define as many observer-dependent globally defined radar 4-coordinate systems as nice foliations of space–time with space-like hyper-surfaces admissible according to Møller (for instance, only the differentially rotating relativistic coordinate system, but not the rigidly rotating ones of non-relativistic physics, are allowed). All these conventional notions of an instantaneous 3-space for an arbitrary observer can be empirically defined by introducing generalizations of the Einstein ½ convention for clock synchronization in inertial frames. Each admissible 3+1 splitting has two naturally associated congruences of time-like observers: as a consequence every 3+1 splitting gives rise to non-rigid non-inertial frames centered on any one of these observers. Only for Eulerian observers are the simultaneity leaves orthogonal to the observer world-line. When there is a Lagrangian description of an isolated relativistic system, its reformulation as a parametrized Minkowski theory allows one to show that all the admissible synchronization conventions are gauge equivalent, as also happens in the canonical metric and tetrad gravity, where, however, the chrono-geometrical structure of space–time is dynamically determined. The framework developed in this paper is not only useful for a consistent description of the rotating disk, but is also needed for the interpretation of the future ACES experiment on the synchronization of laser-cooled atomic clocks and for the synchronization of the clocks on the three LISA spacecrafts.
QUASINORMAL MODES AND LATE-TIME TAILS OF CANONICAL ACOUSTIC BLACK HOLES
Authors: XI PING , LI XIN-ZHOU
Published: September 2007

In this paper, we investigate the evolution of classical wave propagation in the canonical acoustic black hole by a numerical method and discuss the details of the tail phenomenon. The oscillating frequency and damping time scale both increase with the angular momentum l. For lower l, numerical results show the lowest WKB approximation gives the most reliable result. We also find that the time scale of the interim region from ringing to tail is not affected obviously by changing l.
PROBING DYNAMICS OF DARK ENERGY WITH SUPERNOVA, GALAXY CLUSTERING AND THE THREE-YEAR WILKINSON MICROWAVE ANISOTROPY PROBE (WMAP) OBSERVATIONS
Authors: ZHAO GONG-BO , XIA JUN-QING , ZHANG XIN-MIN , FENG BO
Published: September 2007

Using the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method, we perform a global analysis constraining the dynamics of dark energy in light of the supernova (Riess "gold" samples), galaxy clustering (SDSS 3D power spectra and SDSS Lyman-α forest) and the latest three-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) observations. We have allowed the dark energy equation of state to get across -1 and pay particular attention to the effects when incorrectly neglecting dark energy perturbations. We find the parameter space of dynamical dark energy is now well-constrained with [Formula: see text]. Neglecting dark energy perturbations will make the parameter space of dark energy non-trivially smaller. The dynamical dark energy model where the equation of state crosses -1 is mildly favored and the standard ΛCDM model is still a good fit to the current data.
IS RADIATION OF QUANTIZED BLACK HOLES OBSERVABLE?
Authors: KHRIPLOVICH I. B. , PRODUIT N.
Published: September 2007

If primordial black holes (PBH) saturate the present upper limit on the dark matter density in our Solar system and if their radiation spectrum is discrete, the sensitivity of modern detectors is close to that necessary for detecting this radiation. This conclusion is not in conflict with the upper limits on the PBH evaporation rate.
Snapshot of Malaysian Biotechnology
Authors: Mitra Robin , Muralitharan Morley Somasundaram
Published: September 2007

This article deals about the top priority on Biotechnology in Malaysia.
Biotechnology in Malaysia: A Current Perspective
Authors: Quah Soon-Cheang
Published: September 2007

This article shortly reveals the current perspective on Biotechnology in Malaysia.
Enhancing Awareness of Biotechnology in Malaysia: THE ROLE OF AN NGO
Authors: Arujanan Mahaletchumy
Published: September 2007

This article provides the public awareness on biotechnology in Malaysia.
Plant Biotechnology in Malaysia
Authors: Pillai Vilasini , Abu Bakar Umi Kalsom
Published: September 2007

This article deals about the activities on plant Biotechnology in Malaysia.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MONASH UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA
Authors: Singh Jasbir , Quah Soon Cheang , Song Keang Peng
Published: September 2007

This article shortly reveals about the exciting research projects on Biotechnology at Monash University in Malaysia.
Key Advances in Thailand Biotechnology
Authors: Muralitharan Morley Somasundaram , Mitra Robin
Published: September 2007

This article denotes the advances on biotechnology in Thailand.
Healthcare Tourism in Thailand: Pain ahead?
Authors: Teh Ivy
Published: September 2007

This article deals with the Medical tourism growth in Thailand.
IP and Other Legal Issues Relevant to Biotech Entrepreneurs in Thailand
Authors: Mattei Fabrice
Published: September 2007

This article describes the IP and Other Legal Issues on Biotechnology in Thailand.
Medicinal Plants of Thailand
Authors: Mitra Robin , Agricola Sebastian , Mitchell Brad , Orbell John , Gray Chris , Muralitharan Morley Somasundaram
Published: September 2007

This article reveals some common medicinal plants from Thailand.
Government Perspective on the Life Science
Authors: Lee Chong-Chou
Published: September 2007

This article deals about the Government Perspective on the Life Science in Taiwan.
Biotech/Life Science Industry Boom
Authors: Duh Tyzz-Jiun
Published: September 2007

This article reveals the current status of biotechnology industry in Taiwan.
The Role of National Core Facilities in the NRPGM and in Research
Authors: Tsai Ming-Daw , Su Steven
Published: September 2007

This article provides a general introduction of the national core facilities in NRPGM.
Past, Present and Future of the DEVELOPMENT CENTER FOR BIOTECHNOLOG (DCB)
Authors: Wu Ming-Chi
Published: September 2007

This article briefly denotes the past, present and future of the development center for biotechnology in Taiwan.
ITRI: Bridging Innovative Biomedical Engineering R&D to Bioeconomy
Authors: Liu Chung-Cheng
Published: September 2007

This article shortly explains about bridging innovative biomedical engineering R&D to bioeconomy in Taiwan.
Taiwan Biotech and the Pharmaceutical Industries
Authors: Chen Chei-Hsiang
Published: September 2007

This article shortly reveals about the status of Taiwan's biotech and pharmaceutical industries.
Pharmaceutical Infrastructure and Industry
Authors: Teng Che-Ming
Published: September 2007

This article explains about the pharmaceutical infrastructure and industry in Taiwan.
New Trends in Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Development
Authors: Wong Chi-Huey
Published: September 2007

This article deals about the new trends in biotechnology and pharmaceutical development in Taiwan.
A New Direction for the Computational Biology Research Center
Authors: Asai Kiyoshi
Published: September 2007

This article shortly delevers the unique feature of CBRC, facilating as a large scale computations.
The Five Year Project for Genome Research in Japan: Genome Science 2004–2009
Authors: Fujiyama Asao
Published: September 2007

This article describes about the Five Year Project for Genome Research in Japan.
A Pioneer with Strong Reliance on Advanced Technology
Authors: Honmyo Izumi
Published: September 2007

This article explains about how MKI venturing into advanced tehnology contributing to rapidly growing genome research.
OVERCOMING BIOINFORMATICS CHALLENGES WITH SUPERCOMPUTING
Authors: Miyano Satoru
Published: September 2007

This article gives the overview of bioinformatics with supercomputing.
Proteomics Research at the Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University
Authors: Nakamura Haruki
Published: September 2007

This article shortly explains about the proteomics research at Osaka University.
A Pioneer of Bioinformatics Services
Authors: Misoo Kiyotaka
Published: September 2007

This article shortly describes about analytical services using the latest IT Technology.
BIOINFORMATICS AT THE INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED BIOSCIENCES, KEIO UNIVERSITY
Authors: Robert Martin
Published: September 2007

This article reveals about the bioinformatics and computational biology at Keio University.
THE JAPANESE SOCIETY OF BIOINFORMATICS (JSBi)
Authors: Nakai Kenta
Published: September 2007

This article gives a short understanding on Japanese Society of bioinformatics.
OVERVIEW OF BIOINFORMATICS CENTER INSTITUTE FOR CHEMICAL RESEARCH, KYOTO UNIVERSITY
Authors: Yamanishi Yoshihiro
Published: September 2007

This article gives the overview of bioinformatics center for chemical research at Kyoto University.
BIOINFORMATICS EDUCATION AT KEIO UNIVERSITY
Authors: Sakakibara Yasubumi
Published: September 2007

This article gives short view on bioinformatics education at Keio university.
A Unique Center for Bioinformatics Research
Authors: Morishita Shinichi
Published: September 2007

This article describes about the bioinformatics research at University of Tokyo.
Tests of the Functional Form, the Wealth Effect, Currency Substitution, and Capital Mobility for Taiwan's Money Demand Function
Authors: Hsing Yu
Published: September 2007

The Box–Cox transformation indicates that the log-linear form for M2 demand cannot be rejected while the Fair (1987) specification and the linear form can be rejected at the 5% level in favor of general functional form. M2 demand is positively influenced by real GDP, the deposit rate, and the real stock price and negatively affected by the nominal exchange rate, the foreign interest rate, and the expected inflation rate. Hence, the wealth effect of an increased real stock price is greater than the substitution effect. The substitution effect of the deprecation of the New Taiwan dollar dominates the wealth effect. The capital mobility effect of an increased foreign interest rate is greater than the cost of borrowing effect. The general functional form for M2 demand performs better in forecasting than the Fair specification and the linear form.
Foreign Exchange Volatility Shifts and Futures Hedging: An ICSS-GARCH Approach
Authors: Mansur Iqbal , Cochran Steven J. , Shaffer David
Published: September 2007

In this study, the impact of volatility regime shifts on volatility persistence and hedge ratio estimation is determined for four major currencies using an iterated cumulative sums of squares (ICSS)-GARCH model. Employing a standard GARCH (1,1) model as the benchmark, within-sample results demonstrate that the inclusion of volatility shifts substantially reduces volatility persistence and the significance of the ARCH and GARCH coefficients. In terms of hedging effectiveness, the ICSS-GARCH model outperforms the standard GARCH model for all four currencies. In comparison to two constant volatility models, the standard GARCH model yields the lowest performance, whereas the ICSS-GARCH model performs at least as well as these models. In out-of-sample analysis, the GARCH model provides substantial variance reductions relative to the constant volatility models. Moreover, the ICSS-GARCH model yields positive variance reductions relative to all competing models, including the standard GARCH model. The results suggest that in cases where dynamic hedging is important, sudden shifts in volatility should not be ignored.
The Dynamic Relationship between the Investment Behavior and the Morgan Stanley Taiwan Index: Foreign Institutional Investors' Decision Process
Authors: Chen Mei-Ling , Wang Kai-Li , Sung Ya-Ching , Lin Fu-Lai , Yang Wei-Chuan
Published: September 2007

This research employs VAR models, impulse response function, forecast error variance decomposition and bivariate GJR GARCH models, to explore the dynamic relationship between foreign investment and the MSCI Taiwan Index (MSCI–TWI). The estimations of the VAR, impulse-response functions and predicted error variance decomposition tests show that stronger feedback effects exist between net foreign investment and MSCI–TWI. In particular, our results demonstrate that the MSCI–TWI has the greatest influence over the decision-making processes of foreign investors. Also, we see that exchange rates exert a negative influence on both net foreign investment dollars and the MSCI–TWI. In addition, US–Taiwan interest rate difference has a positive influence on net foreign investment dollars and a negative influence on the MSCI–TWI. As for asymmetric own-volatility transmission, negative shocks in the MSCI–TWI tend to create greater volatility for itself in the following period than positive shocks. Our research indicates an asymmetric information transmission mechanism from net foreign investment to MSCI–TWI markets. Moreover, the estimated correlation coefficient shows that MSCI–TWI and net foreign investment dollar have a positive contemporaneous correlation.
LATERAL DYNAMIC STABILITY ANALYSIS OF A CANTILEVER LAMINATED COMPOSITE BEAM WITH AN ELASTIC SUPPORT
Authors: KARAAGAC CELALETTIN , ÖZTÜRK HASAN , SABUNCU MUSTAFA
Published: September 2007

In this paper, static and dynamic stabilities of a cantilever laminated composite beam, having a linear translation spring as elastic support whose position is changeable from the free end to midspan of the beam, subjected to periodic vertical end loading, are examined. The beam is assumed to be an Euler beam and the finite element model used can accommodate symmetric and antisymmetric lay-ups. Solutions referred to as combination resonance are investigated for the dynamic stability analysis. The effects of length-to-thickness ratio, the variation of cross-section in one direction, orientation angle, static and dynamic load parameters, stiffness and position of the elastic support on stability are examined.
FOURIER p-ELEMENTS FOR DYNAMIC STABILITY OF COLUMNS
Authors: FAN JIE , ZHANG XIAOCHUN , LEUNG A. Y. T. , TSUI D. W. S. , XU J. N.
Published: September 2007

Using Fourier series as shape functions practically eliminates the ill-conditioning problem associated with high-order polynomials in structural analyses as confirmed by the newly constructed condition number diagram. This paper extends the Fourier p-elements to study the dynamic stability of frame structures. Both conservative and follower forces are considered. The results compare very well to the exact method of dynamic stiffness. It is found that the Fourier p-elements outperform the dynamic stiffness method in terms of versatility in applications and numerical stability at the very low and high ends of the frequency spectrum. New results of follower tension are given. Follower tension buckling under uniformly distributed follower tension is originally reported.
ACCURATE FREQUENCIES AND MODE SHAPES FOR MODERATELY THICK, CANTILEVERED, SKEW PLATES
Authors: LEISSA A. W. , HUANG C. S. , CHANG M. J.
Published: September 2007

Accurate free vibration frequencies and mode shapes are presented for complete sets of moderately thick, cantilevered skew plates of triangular, trapezoidal and parallelogram shape. These accurate results are obtained by using the Ritz method applied to the Mindlin plate theory. Two sets of functions are employed simultaneously for each of the three dependent variables: transverse displacement (w) and bending rotations (ϕxand ϕy). One set is the widely used algebraic polynomials. The other is the set of corner functions which provide the proper stress singularities in the reentrant clamped-free corner, and accelerates the convergence of the solutions. The extensive frequencies presented are exact to the four digits shown. Corresponding mode shapes are also shown, by means of nodal patterns, most of which are novel in the published literature.
POSTBUCKLING BEHAVIOR OF CROSS-PLY LAMINATED CONICAL AND JOINED CONICAL-CYLINDRICAL SHELLS SUBJECTED TO THERMO-MECHANICAL LOADS
Authors: SINGH S. , PATEL B. P. , NATH Y.
Published: September 2007

Using Green's strains based on Sanders' approximation, the postbuckling behavior of cross-ply laminated composite conical and joined conical-cylindrical shells subjected to thermo-mechanical loads are studied employing the semi-analytical finite element method. The formulation is based on the first-order shear deformation theory and the field consistency principle. The Newton–Raphson iteration technique coupled with the displacement control method is used for the solution of nonlinear governing equations to trace the pre- and post-buckling equilibrium paths. A small magnitude load spatially proportional to the linear buckling mode shape is employed as asymmetric perturbation to initiate the bifurcation of the shell deformation. The influence of semi-cone angle and number of circumferential waves on prebuckling/postbuckling characteristics of cross-ply laminated conical and joined conical-cylindrical shells are investigated.
EXPLICIT LOCAL BUCKLING ANALYSIS OF ROTATIONALLY RESTRAINED COMPOSITE PLATES UNDER BIAXIAL LOADING
Authors: QIAO PIZHONG , SHAN LUYANG
Published: September 2007

A variational formulation of the Ritz method is used to establish an eigenvalue problem for the local buckling behavior of composite plates elastically restrained (R) along their four edges (the RRRR plates) and subjected to biaxial compression, and the explicit solution in terms of the rotational restraint stiffness (k) is presented. Based on the different boundary and loading conditions, the explicit local buckling solution for the rotationally restrained plates is simplified to several special cases (e.g. the SSSS, SSCC, CCSS, CCCC, SSRR, RRSS, CCRR, and RRCC plates) under biaxial compression (and further reduced to uniaxial compression) with a combination of simply-supported (S), clamped (C), and/or restrained (R) edge conditions. The deformation shape function is presented by using the unique harmonic functions in both the axes to account for the effect of elastic rotational restraint stiffness (k) along the four edges of the orthotropic plate. A parametric study is conducted to evaluate the influences of the loading ratio (α), the rotational restraint stiffness (k), the aspect ratio (γ), and the flexural-orthotropy parameters (α OR and β OR ) on the local buckling stress resultants of various rotationally restrained plates, and design plots with respect to these parameters are provided. The present explicit local buckling solution of the elastically restrained composite plates and the associated design plots can be employed to facilitate design analysis of composite structures (e.g. stiffened panels, thin-walled structures, and honeycomb cores).
A FINE DREAM
Authors: ANDREWS GEORGE E.
Published: September 2007

We shall develop further N. J. Fine's theory of three parameter non-homogeneous first order q-difference equations. The object of our work is to bring the Rogers–Ramanujan identities within the purview of such a theory. In addition, we provide a number of new identities.
RAMANUJAN'S CONGRUENCES FOR THE PARTITION FUNCTION MODULO 5, 7, AND 11
Authors: BERNDT BRUCE C.
Published: September 2007

Using Ramanujan's differential equations for Eisenstein series and an idea from Ramanujan's unpublished manuscript on the partition function p(n) and the tau function τ(n), we provide simple proofs of Ramanujan's congruences for p(n) modulo 5, 7, and 11.
VECTOR-VALUED MODULAR FORMS AND LINEAR DIFFERENTIAL OPERATORS
Authors: MASON GEOFFREY
Published: September 2007

We consider holomorphic vector-valued modular forms F of integral weight k on the full modular group Γ = SL(2, ℤ) corresponding to representations of Γ of arbitrary finite dimension p. Assuming that the component functions of F are linearly independent, we prove that the inequality k ≥ 1 - p always holds, and that equality holds only in the trivial case when p = 1 and k = 0. For any p ≥ 2, we show how to construct large numbers of representations of Γ for which k = 2 - p. The key idea is to consider representations of Γ on spaces of solutions of certain linear differential equations whose coefficients are modular forms.
RANK LOWERING OPERATORS ON GL(n, ℝ)
Authors: GOLDFELD DORIAN
Published: September 2007

If one takes the Mellin transform of an automorphic form for GL(n) and then integrates it along the diagonal on GL(n - 1) then one obtains an automorphic form on GL(n - 1). This gives a rank lowering operator. In this paper a more general rank lowering operator is obtained by combining the Mellin transform with a sum of powers of certain fixed differential operators. The analytic continuation of the rank lowering operator is obtained by showing that the spectral expansion consists of sums of Rankin–Selberg L-functions of type GL(n) × GL(n - 1).
CLASSIFYING LOW HEIGHT GEODESICS ON $\Gamma^3 \backslash \mathcal{H}$
Authors: SCHMIDT THOMAS A. , SHEINGORN MARK
Published: September 2007

We show that low height-achieving non-simple geodesics on a low-index cover of the modular surface can be classified into seven types, according to the topology of highest arcs.

The lowest geodesics of the signature (0;2,2,2,∞)-orbifold [Formula: see text] are the simple closed geodesics; these are indexed up to isometry by Markoff triples of positive integers (x, y, z) with x2 + y2 + z2 = 3xyz, and have heights [Formula: see text]. Geodesics considered by Crisp and Moran have heights [Formula: see text]; they conjectured that these heights, which lie in the "mysterious region" between 3 and the Hall ray, are isolated in the Markoff Spectrum. As a step in resolving this conjecture, we characterize the geometry on [Formula: see text] of geodesic arcs with heights strictly between 3 and 6. Of these, one type of geodesic arc cannot realize the height of any geodesic.
ODD VALUES OF FOURIER COEFFICIENTS OF CERTAIN MODULAR FORMS
Authors: RAM MURTY M. , KUMAR MURTY V.
Published: September 2007

Let f be a normalized Hecke eigenform of weight k ≥ 4 on Γ0(N). Let λf(n) denote the eigenvalue of the nth Hecke operator acting on f. We show that the number of n such that λf(n) takes a given value coprime to 2, is finite. We also treat the case of levels 2aN0 with a arbitrary and N0 = 1, 3, 5, 15 and 17. We discuss the relationship of these results to the classical conjecture of Lang and Trotter.
LOW HEIGHT GEODESICS ON $\Gamma^3 \backslash \mathcal{H}$: HEIGHT FORMULAS AND EXAMPLES
Authors: SCHMIDT THOMAS A. , SHEINGORN MARK
Published: September 2007

The Markoff spectrum of binary indefinite quadratic forms can be studied in terms of heights of geodesics on low-index covers of the modular surface. The lowest geodesics on [Formula: see text] are the simple closed geodesics; these are indexed up to isometry by Markoff triples of positive integers (x, y, z) with x2 + y2 + z2 = 3xyz, and have heights [Formula: see text]. Geodesics considered by Crisp and Moran have heights [Formula: see text]; they conjectured that these heights, which lie in the "mysterious region" between 3 and the Hall ray, are isolated in the Markoff Spectrum.

In our previous work, we classified the low height-achieving non-simple geodesics of [Formula: see text] into seven types according to the topology of highest arcs. Here, we obtain explicit formulas for the heights of geodesics of the first three types; the conjecture holds for approximation by closed geodesics of any of these types. Explicit examples show that each of the remaining types is realized.
Variscan events: early Palaeozoic continental rift metamorphism and late Palaeozoic crustal shortening
Authors: Weber K.
Published: September 2007

Variscan events are interpreted in terms of a geodynamic process of long duration. It began in the early Palaeozoic, possibly in the late Precambrian in some regions, with widespread rifting of the continental lithosphere. Granulite facies metamorphism, widely in evidence in the Ordovician and Silurian, coincides in time with igneous activity and with continuous accumulation of sediment at the surface. That association is taken to indicate continental rift metamorphism above anomalous regions of the mantle. Folding and metamorphism of what is now regarded as the basement began early in the Devonian. By Upper Devonian at the latest wide areas of crystalline basement had been deeply exposed by erosion. The orogenic crustal shortening which began early in Devonian time induced intensive development of nappe tectonics involving the basement rocks. This resulted in deep-reaching crustal imbrications, especially well shown at the Moldanubian-Saxothuringian zone and Saxothuringian-Rhenohercynian zone boundaries, which evolved to carry crystalline basement rocks towards their foreland regions over distances greater than 100 km. During the course of these nappe developments folding of the adjacent sedimentary troughs proceeded. A geodynamic model of the northern flank of the central European Variscan orogen is presented. (Rb/Sr data are given using λRb
87
= 1.42 × 10
−11
y
−1
. The error limits are taken from the original papers, original data are given in brackets.)
Late events in the tectonic history of the Saxothuringian zone
Authors: Franke Wolfgang
Published: September 2007

The Saxothuringian zone lies between the Moldanubian block (largely consolidated in late Precambrian time) to the south and the Rhenohercynian zone to the north. It is characterized by exotic blocks of relatively high-grade metamorphic rocks set among very low-grade Palaeozoic sequences. These ‘Zwischengebirge’ (Münchberg, Wildenfels, Frankenberg) were formerly interpreted as metamorphic ‘diapirs’. Recent investigations have led to a revival of the nappe concepts previously proposed by Suess, Wurm, Kossmat and others.

The Münchberg complex is a pile of later Proterozoic to early Palaeozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks, some now at advanced states of metamophism, in which both stratigraphic sequences and metamorphic grades appear in inverted order. These rocks rest upon a Carboniferous wildflysch, which, in its turn, rests upon an autochthonous Devonian and, locally, a Lower Carboniferous sequence. The flysch material, like the nappes above, was derived from sources in the SE.

Special features of the sedimentary facies, the tectonic deformation, and the state of very low-grade metamorphism, combine with the evidence of a well-developed thrust at the base of the wildflysch sequence to suggest that this sequence should be treated as the lowest tectonic unit in the Münchberg pile of nappes.

Tectonic deformation of the Palaeozoic sequence began with the production of tight to isoclinal, recumbent, NW-facing folds, accompanied and outlasted by subhorizontal thrusting. It was at this time that the nappe-like tectonic units (already in their metamorphic state) were emplaced. An F
2
refolding produced open, upright to SE-facing folds.

A study of illite crystallinity has indicated the significance of a transverse zone, which was the locus of enhanced heat flow throughout the time of deformation, and has confirmed that a metamorphic inversion was introduced when the (relatively strongly metamorphic) wildflysch was thrust over the autochthonous Devonian and Carboniferous.

The Saxothuringian zone shows the closest approach to an alpino-type character found in the northern part of the Variscides. Basin development, deformation and metamorphism are best explained in terms of a model based on horizontal tectonism.
Inverted metamorphic zonation and large-scale thrusting in the Variscan Belt: an example in the French Massif Central
Authors: Burg J. P. , Matte Ph. , Leyreloup A. , Marchand J.
Published: September 2007

Half of the northern part of the French Massif Central has been shown to be allochthonous. In the allochthonous rocks, preserved high-pressure granulites represent an early tectonometamorphic event which took place before thrusting. During the southward-directed overthrusting of this high-grade metamorphic slab a plurifacial inverted metamorphism was developed in the underlying sediments. Adjacent areas show different types of metamorphism in the autochthonous and parautochthonous pelites. The climax of the metamorphism is shown to have been reached by the end of the thrusting episode. This was followed by the retrogression of the high-grade rocks and the establishment of a low-pressure metamorphism in both the thrust unit and the autochthonous-parautochthonous terranes beneath. We describe this example of inverted metamorphic zonation associated with the large-scale thrusting of an already metamorphosed series.
Palaeozoic evolution of the Plateau d’Aigurande (NW Massif Central, France)
Authors: Quenardel Jean-Michel , Rolin Patrick
Published: September 2007

The Plateau d’Aigurande represents the north-westernmost part of the French Massif Central. It is overlain by the sediments of the Paris Basin to the north and bounded by the La Marche shear zone to the south. Detailed mapping, mainly from the Creuse Valley region, indicates thrust and nappe tectonics.

Beginning at the base of the sequence one can recognize: (1) the Fougères unit (schists of low to medium grade) intruded by syntectonic leucogranites; (2) the Eguzon unit (medium- to high-grade schists which are partly diaphtoretic in the lower part of the unit); (3) the Gargilesse unit (high-grade schists); and (4) the Migmatitic unit.

The metasediments of the Fougères, Eguzon and Gargilesse units were originally coarse grained clastics. They are interbanded with magmatic units (orthogneisses and amphibolites). The migmatites are derived from greywacke-type rocks intruded by magmatic rocks (orthogneisses and amphibolites).

Following a high-pressure (Silurian?) tectonometamorphic event, the piling up of tectonostratigraphic units occurred during two periods of deformation. The main one, probably of late Caledonian (Acadian?) age, was synchronous with or slightly after the climax of metamorphism. The second, of Westphalian age, was accompanied by the emplacement of leucogranitic magma and by retrograde metamorphism. The shear-sense appears to have been from SW to NE during the Acadian phase and from NW to SE during the Westphalian. Structural and lithological studies suggest that the three lowermost units may have been derived from the same palaeogeographic domain while the migmatites have a distinctly different history.