bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Love-wave waveform inversion in time domain for shallow shear-wave velocity
Authors: Pan Yudi , Xia Jianghai , Xu Yixian , Gao Lingli , Xu Zongbo
Published: November 2015

High-frequency surface-wave techniques are widely used to estimate S-wave velocity of near-surface materials. Surface-wave methods based on inversions of dispersion curves are only suitable to laterally homogeneous or smoothly laterally varying heterogeneous earth models due to the layered-model assumption during calculation of dispersion curves. Waveform inversion directly fits the waveform of observed data, and it can be applied to any kinds of earth models. We have used the Love-wave waveform inversion in the time domain to estimate near-surface S-wave velocity. We used the finite-difference method as the forward modeling method. The source effect was removed by the deconvolution technique, which made our method independent of the source wavelet. We defined the difference between the deconvolved observed and calculated waveform as the misfit function. We divided the model into different sizes of blocks depending on the resolution of the Love waves, and we updated the S-wave velocity of each block via a conjugate gradient algorithm. We used two synthetic models to test the effectiveness of our method. A real-world case verified the validity of our method.
Targeted reflection-waveform inversion of experimental ground-penetrating radar data for quantification of oil spills under sea ice
Authors: Bradford John H. , Babcock Esther L. , Marshall Hans-Peter , Dickins David F.
Published: November 2015

Rapid spill detection and mapping are needed with increasing levels of oil exploration and production in the Arctic. Previous work has found that ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is effective for qualitative identification of oil spills under, and encapsulated within, sea ice. Quantifying the spill distribution will aid effective spill response. To this end, we have developed a targeted GPR reflection-waveform inversion algorithm to quantify the geometry of oil spills under and within sea ice. With known electric properties of the ice and oil, we have inverted for oil thickness and variations in ice thickness. We have tested the algorithm with data collected during a controlled spill experiment using 500-MHz radar reflection data. The algorithm simultaneously recovered the thickness of a 5-cm-thick oil layer at the base of the ice to within 8% of the control value, estimated the thickness of a 1-cm-thick oil layer encapsulated within the ice to within 30% of the control value, and accurately mapped centimeter-scale variations in ice thickness.
Model-based dispersive processing of borehole dipole wave data using an equivalent-tool theory
Authors: Lee Sheng-Qing , Tang Xiao-Ming , Su Yuan-da , Zhuang Chun-Xi
Published: November 2015

We have developed a model-based processing technique for borehole dipole S-wave logging data to estimate formation shear slowness from the data. During dipole acoustic logging, the presence of the logging tool can significantly affect the dispersion characteristics of flexural waves. Therefore, modeling the effects of the tool is essential for model-based processing. We have determined that an equivalent-tool theory using only two parameters, tool radius, and modulus, can adequately model the flexural-wave-dispersion characteristics. We used this theory, together with a calibration procedure, to determine the tool parameters to formulate an inversion method for the logging data processing. Our use of the equivalent tool theory played an important role in fitting the theoretical dispersion curve to the actual flexural-wave-dispersion data, enabling fast processing of the field acoustic data. An advantage of this model-based method is its prediction power, which, in the absence of low-frequency dispersion data, allows for predicting formation shear slowness from the low-frequency limit of the model-fitted dispersion curve. We have also developed an application procedure of the method for field-data processing and demonstrated its effectiveness in the dispersion correction using field acoustic data from fast and slow formations.
Inversion-based interpretation of logging-while-drilling gamma-ray spectroscopy measurements
Authors: Ajayi Oyinkansola , Torres-Verdín Carlos , Preeg William E.
Published: November 2015

Neutron-induced spectroscopy measurements are commonly used to quantify in situ elemental compositions of rocks from the processing of measured gamma-ray energy spectra. However, geometric effects on the measured spectroscopy logs, such as thin beds, dipping beds, and deviated well trajectories, can cause shoulder-bed averaging that compromises the assessment of the true layer elemental composition. We have developed an inversion-based interpretation method to evaluate layer elemental compositions from spectroscopy measurements acquired with a commercial 14-MeV pulsed-neutron logging-while-drilling spectroscopy tool. The algorithm is based on a new spectroscopy fast-forward simulation technique, and it estimates layer-by-layer elemental relative yields, weight concentrations, and their uncertainties. Calculations are performed with inelastic and capture gamma-ray spectroscopy measurements that arose from high- and low-energy neutron interactions, respectively. This strategy provides two sets of data that independently validate estimated elemental compositions and can ascertain chemical elements present in only one measurement mode. In laminated formations in which layer thicknesses are appreciably below the vertical resolution of the tool, it is impossible to quantify layer properties with inversion methods. We have therefore developed an additional interpretation method based on a spectroscopy mixing law to estimate elemental compositions within individual laminae. The new inversion-based interpretation methods were successfully verified with two challenging synthetic cases and implemented in two field cases with varying lithology and well trajectories. Our results found that the developed methods reduced shoulder-bed averaging effects on the measured spectroscopy logs by as much as a 0.4 yield fraction and a 0.17 weight fraction. Estimated elemental compositions with reduced shoulder-bed averaging effects improved the calculations in subsequent spectroscopy-based petrophysical interpretation.
Multichannel predictive deconvolution based on the fast iterative shrinkage-thresholding algorithm
Authors: Li Zhong-Xiao , Li Zhen-Chun , Lu Wen-Kai
Published: November 2015

Multichannel predictive deconvolution can accommodate the lateral variations of subsurface structures to some extent and better preserve primaries than can single-channel predictive deconvolution. To solve the 2D predictive filter, traditional multichannel predictive deconvolution uses the least-squares (LS) algorithm, which requires orthogonality between primaries and multiples. In areas where primaries and multiples overlap, traditional LS-based multichannel predictive deconvolution can cause distorted primaries and residual multiples. To avoid the orthogonality assumption required by the LS algorithm, the iterative reweighted LS (IRLS) algorithm and the fast iterative shrinkage-thresholding (FIST) algorithm can be used to solve the prediction filter using the [Formula: see text] norm. The FIST algorithm uses the shrinkage-thresholding operator to promote the sparsity of estimated primaries and solves the predictive filter with iterative steps. Compared with the IRLS algorithm, the FIST algorithm can reduce the computation burden effectively while achieving similar accuracy. We have used the FIST algorithm for multichannel predictive deconvolution using the [Formula: see text] norm. Compared with traditional FIST-based single-channel predictive deconvolution and LS-based multichannel predictive deconvolution, our method can better balance primary preservation and multiple removal. Tests using synthetic and field data sets proved the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Photoreceptors at a glance
Authors: Molday Robert S. , Moritz Orson L.
Published: November 2015

Retinal photoreceptor cells contain a specialized outer segment (OS) compartment that functions in the capture of light and its conversion into electrical signals in a process known as phototransduction. In rods, photoisomerization of 11-cis to all-trans retinal within rhodopsin triggers a biochemical cascade culminating in the closure of cGMP-gated channels and hyperpolarization of the cell. Biochemical reactions return the cell to its ‘dark state’ and the visual cycle converts all-trans retinal back to 11-cis retinal for rhodopsin regeneration. OS are continuously renewed, with aged membrane removed at the distal end by phagocytosis and new membrane added at the proximal end through OS disk morphogenesis linked to protein trafficking. The molecular basis for disk morphogenesis remains to be defined in detail although several models have been proposed, and molecular mechanisms underlying protein trafficking are under active investigation. The aim of this Cell Science at a Glance article and the accompanying poster is to highlight our current understanding of photoreceptor structure, phototransduction, the visual cycle, OS renewal, protein trafficking and retinal degenerative diseases.
Meeting report – Getting Into and Out of Mitosis
Authors: Mchedlishvili Nunu , Jonak Katarzyna , Saurin Adrian T
Published: November 2015

The Company of Biologists Workshop ‘Getting Into and Out of Mitosis’ was held 10–13 May 2015 at Wiston House in West Sussex, UK. The workshop brought together researchers from wide-ranging disciplines and provided a forum to discuss their latest work on the control of cell division from mitotic entry to exit. This report highlights the main topics and summarises the discussion around the key themes and questions that emerged from the meeting.
Integrity of the core mitochondrial RNA-binding complex 1 is vital for trypanosome RNA editing
Authors: Huang Zhenqiu , Faktorová Drahomíra , Křížová Adéla , Kafková Lucie , Read Laurie K. , Lukeš Julius , Hashimi Hassan
Published: November 2015

Trypanosoma brucei is the causative agent of the human and veterinarian diseases African sleeping sickness and nagana. A majority of its mitochondrial-encoded transcripts undergo RNA editing, an essential process of post-transcriptional uridine insertion and deletion to produce translatable mRNA. Besides the well-characterized RNA editing core complex, the mitochondrial RNA-binding 1 (MRB1) complex is one of the key players. It comprises a core complex of about six proteins, guide RNA-associated proteins (GAPs) 1/2, which form a heterotetramer that binds and stabilizes gRNAs, plus MRB5390, MRB3010, and MRB11870, which play roles in initial stages of RNA editing, presumably guided by the first gRNA:mRNA duplex in the case of the latter two proteins. To better understand all functions of the MRB1 complex, we performed a functional analysis of the MRB8620 core subunit, the only one not characterized so far. Here we show that MRB8620 plays a role in RNA editing in both procyclic and bloodstream stages of T. brucei, which reside in the tsetse fly vector and mammalian circulatory system, respectively. While RNAi silencing of MRB8620 does not affect procyclic T. brucei fitness when grown in glucose-containing media, it is somewhat compromised in cells grown in the absence of this carbon source. MRB8620 is crucial for integrity of the MRB1 core, such as its association with GAP1/2, which presumably acts to deliver gRNAs to this complex. In contrast, GAP1/2 is not required for the fabrication of the MRB1 core. Disruption of the MRB1 core assembly is followed by the accumulation of mRNAs associated with GAP1/2.
Design for learning – a case study of blended learning in a science unit
Authors: Gleadow Roslyn , Macfarlan Barbara , Honeydew Melissa
Published: November 2015

Making material available through learning management systems is standard practice in most universities, but this is generally seen as an adjunct to the ‘real’ teaching, that takes place in face-to-face classes. Lecture attendance is poor, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage students, both in the material being taught and campus life. This paper describes the redevelopment of a large course in scientific practice and communication that is compulsory for all science students studying at our Melbourne and Malaysian campuses, or by distance education. Working with an educational designer, a blended learning methodology was developed, converting the environment provided by the learning management system into a teaching space, rather than a filing system. To ensure focus, topics are clustered into themes with a ‘question of the week’, a pre-class stimulus and follow up activities. The content of the course did not change, but by restructuring the delivery using educationally relevant design techniques, the content was contextualised resulting in an integrated learning experience. Students are more engaged intellectually, and lecture attendance has improved. The approach we describe here is a simple and effective approach to bringing this university’s teaching and learning into the 21st century.
Axiomatizing umwelt normativity
Authors: Champagne Marc
Published: November 2015

Prompted by the thesis that an organism’s umwelt possesses not just a descriptive dimension, but a normative one as well, some have sought to annex semiotics with ethics. Yet the pronouncements made in this vein have consisted mainly in rehearsing accepted moral intuitions, and have failed to concretely further our knowledge of why or how a creature comes to order objects in its environment in accordance with axiological charges of value or disvalue. For want of a more explicit account, theorists writing on the topic have relied almost exclusively on semiotic insights about perception originally designed as part of a sophisticated refutation of idealism. The end result, which has been a form of direct givenness, has thus been far from convincing. In an effort to bring substance to the right-headed suggestion that values are rooted in the biological and conform to species-specific requirements, we present a novel conception that strives to make explicit the elemental structure underlying umwelt normativity. Building and expanding on the seminal work of Ayn Rand in metaethics, we describe values as an intertwined lattice which takes a creature’s own embodied life as its ultimate standard; and endeavour to show how, from this, all subsequent valuations can in principle be determined.
What is 'the subject' the name for? The conceptual structure of Alain Badiou’s theory of the subject
Authors: Vihalem Margus
Published: November 2015

The present paper outlines some basic concepts of Alain Badiou’s philosophy of the subject, tracking down its inherent and complex philosophical implications. These implications are made explicit in the criticism directed against the philosophical sophistry which denies the pertinence of the concept of truth. Badiou’s philosophical innovation is based on three nodal concepts, namely truth, event and subject, and it must be revealed how the afore-mentioned concepts are organized and interrelated, eventually leading to reformulating the concept of the subject. In its exercise, philosophy is intimately affiliated to the four adjacent procedures of mathematics, art, love and politics that could be understood as overall conditions on the margins of which philosophical thinking takes place. Separating philosophy from ontology and charging philosophy with what exceeds being, Badiou transforms it to the general theory of the event. Consequently the concept of the subject is disconnected from that of the object, the subject being not an instance of knowledge, but always a part of generic procedures and thus definable simply as a finite fragment or an operative configuration of the traces of the event. Therefore, it could be stated that Badiou’s theory of the subject is formal and refuses all essentialist connotations.
Lotman’s scientific investigatory boldness: The semiosphere as a critical theory of communication in culture
Authors: Machado Irene
Published: November 2015

The main focus of this article is the analysis of the concept of semiosphereas it has emerged from the conception of culture as information — instead of describing the transmission of messages from A to B, it is based on the general process of meaning generation. Following Lotman’s criticism on the paradoxes in communication and its theoretical domain, the article confronts the paradoxical concepts on: (1) the concept of message transmission from the addresser to addressee; (2) the notion of isolated processing systems; (3) the idea that culture speaks a unique language. From the standpoint of the semiosphere, the new object for studying such controversies could be found in the concept of text. When text is taken at the centre of the analysis of culture, nothing appears in an isolated  fashion. Lotman’s thinking does not fear the new hypothesis in proposing the conceptual domain of semiosphere to the scientific study of culture.
Cultural codes in the iconography of St Nicholas (Santa Claus)
Authors: Haładewicz-Grzelak Małgorzata
Published: November 2015

This paper examines some aspects of the cultural codes implied in the iconography of St Nicholas (Santa Claus). The argument posits the iconography of St Nicholas as a vessel for capturing meanings and accumulating them in the construction of public culture. The discussion begins from the earliest developments of the Christian era and proceeds to contemporary depictions (imagology). The study is conducted on the basis of a representative selection of renditions of Saint Nicholas, including 350 pictures of medieval representations (Western and Eastern Christianity), folk extensions and secular representations and it is theoretically grounded in the Tartu School of semiotics.
The significance-effect is a communicational effect: Introducing the DynaCom
Authors: Thellefsen Torkild , Sørensen Bent , Thellefsen Martin
Published: November 2015

The paper presents the concept significance-effect outlined in a Peircean inspired communication model, named DynaCom. The significance effect is a communicational effect; the formal conditions for the release of the significanceeffect are the following: (1) Communication has to take place within a universe of discourse; (2) Utterer and interpreter must share collateral experience; and (3) The cominterpretant must occur. If these conditions are met the meaning of the communicated sign is likely to be correctly interpreted by the interpreter. Here, correctly means in accordance with the intentions of the utterer. The scope of the significance-effect has changed from knowledge effects caused by technical terms to emotional effects caused by lifestyle values in brands, for example.
From semantics to semiotics: A page of early Soviet intellectual history
Authors: Velmezova Ekaterina
Published: November 2015

The paper focuses on a particular episode in the (pre)history of semiotics in the USSR in the 1920s–1930s. At that time, an attempt to create an “integral” science was made by linguists, among whom N. Ja. Marr was one of the best-known. Several semantic laws formulated by Marr could be either reformulated in order to be applied to other disciplines (literary studies, anthropology, archeology, biology) or “proved” by the facts or discoveries drawn from them. Another “proof” that these linguistic theories were correct consisted in the possibility of transferring the corresponding models and schemes from one field of knowledge to another: at that epoch the refusal to make a clear methodological separation between disciplines which were primarily concerned with “matter” and those that were more “spiritual” was an important tendency for scholars both in the Soviet Union and in other countries.
Biological Treatment of Wastewater Discharged from Small-Scale Biodiesel Plant
Authors: Ilham Zul , Zulkarnain Nur Nabiha
Published: November 2015

This study reported on a biological treatment system for wastewater discharged from small-scale alkali-catalyzed biodiesel (BDF) production plant. BDF wastewater is normally highly alkaline, contains oil residues with hexane and low in nitrogen concentrations, inhibiting the growth of microorganisms. Due to this unfavorable condition, biological treatment is difficult. In this study, microbial treatment using Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, a yeast with the ability to degrade oil was applied by adjusting the BDF wastewater pH to 6.8 and providing several nutrients such as nitrogen source (ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride or urea), yeast extract and physiological saline. It was found that the optimal initial concentrations of yeast extract was 1g/L and the optimal C/N ratio was between 17 and 68 when using urea as nitrogen source. However, microorganisms could not grow at solid contents higher than 2.14 g/L in the BDF wastewater. Dilution was introduced to prevent growth inhibition and the best oil degradation was observed. This biological treatment system is simple and suitable for small-scale BDF plant as no controllers are needed, except for suitable temperature.
THE ROLE OF GENETIC TESTING IN PATIENTS WITH CONGENITAL MYASTHENIA
Authors: TSIMAKIDI CHRYSANTHI , LOLI-MAGREPLI NOMIKI
Published: November 2015

The role of genetic testing in patients with congenital myasthenia

Tsimakidi C. MD, Magrepli-Loli N. MD
Neurology Department, Aghia Sophia Pediatric Hospital

Background: Congenital myasthenic syndromes form a group of inherited disorders with dysfunction of neuromuscular transmission, characterized by fatigable weakness of skeletal muscle with onset shortly after birth or in early childhood. According to the defect of each subtype, they are classified as presynaptic, synaptic or postsynaptic. The diagnosis is based on a combination of the patients history, electrophysiological testing, response to acetylcholine-inhibitors, muscle biopsy and genetic testing.
Methods/results: We present the cases of three Greek patients (one female, two males) of Gypsy ethnic origin, who have been diagnosed with congenital myasthenia at infancy and are being treated with pyridostimine ever since. All three patients presented with progressive ptosis, external ophthalmoparesis, swallowing and respiratory problems at infancy. They had positive response to the administration of edrophonium and started treatment with pyridostigmine. At present they are seven to twelve years of age and present mild symptoms, mostly frequent respiratory infections.We took blood samples from these patients and their parents and had it analyzed. The mutation 1267delG was identified in an homozygous state in all of them. The parents were carriers of the mutation.
Conclusions: The identified mutation is situated in exon 12 of the AChR epsilon subunit and leads to autosomal recessive congenital myasthenia with variable phenotype. The mutation is quite frequent among patients of Gypsy origin, which complies with findings of similar studies (3). The identification of the mutation confirms the diagnosis as its not unusual for those patients to being wrongly diagnosed and treated (e.g. for myasthenia Gravis). Apart from that, the type of the mutation and the identification of the carriers enables us to promote effective genetic counseling.

Bibliography:
1. Hantai D., Richard H., Koenig J., Eymard B. Congenital myasthenic syndromes. Curr Opin Neurol 2004; 17:539-551
2. Engel AG, Shen XM, Selcen D, Sine SM. Congenital myasthenic syndromes: pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment. Lancet Neurol. 2015 Apr;14(4):420-34. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(14)70201-7
3. Abicht A, Stucka R, Karcagi V, Herczegfalvi A, Horvath R, Mortier W, Schara U, Ramaekers V, Jost W, Brunner J, Janssen G, Seidel U, Schlotter B, Muller-Felber W, Pongratz D, Rudel R, Lochmuller H. A common mutation in congenital myasthenic patients of Gypsy ethnic origin. Neurology 1999 Oct 22; 53(7):1564-9
Criteria for open access and publishing
Authors: Olijhoek Tom , Mitchell Dominic , Bjørnshauge Lars
Published: November 2015

This article gives an overview of the history and current status of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). After a brief historical overview, DOAJ policies regarding open access, intellectual property rights and questionable publishers are explained in detail. The larger part of this article is a much requested explanation on how DOAJ uses its new set of criteria for the evaluation of open access journals and the rationale behind choosing the seven extra criteria that qualify for the DOAJ Seal. A final section is devoted to the extended possibilities that DOAJ will be offering shortly to scholars and publishers for searching the database and for uploading metadata. The result is a renewed DOAJ that offers a more robust platform, a more stable database and enhanced services to allow the upload and collection of metadata.
The Unity of Aristotle’s Theory of Constitutions
Authors: Riesbeck David J.
Published: November 2015

For several decades, most philosophical studies of Aristotle’s Politics have treated the work as more or less unified in substance, if not in form. Recently, however, a challenge to this emerging consensus has been raised by Mogens Herman Hansen, who maintains that the Politics in fact contains two fundamentally incompatible theories of constitutions (
Teamwork Efficiency and Company Size
Authors: Galashin Mikhail , Popov Sergey V.
Published: November 2015

We study how ownership structure and management objectives interact in determining the company size without assuming information constraints or any explicit costs of management. In symmetric agent economies, the optimal company size balances the returns to scale of the production function and the returns to collaboration efficiency. For a general class of payoff functions, we characterize the optimal company size, and we compare the optimal company size across different managerial objectives. We demonstrate the restrictiveness of common assumptions on effort aggregation (e.g., constant elasticity of effort substitution), and we show that common intuition (e.g., that corporate companies are more efficient and therefore will be larger than equal-share partnerships) might not hold in general.
A Comparison of Some Approximate Confidence Intervals for a Single Proportion for Clustered Binary Outcome Data
Authors: Saha Krishna K. , Miller Daniel , Wang Suojin
Published: November 2015

Interval estimation of the proportion parameter in the analysis of binary outcome data arising in cluster studies is often an important problem in many biomedical applications. In this paper, we propose two approaches based on the profile likelihood and Wilson score. We compare them with two existing methods recommended for complex survey data and some other methods that are simple extensions of well-known methods such as the likelihood, the generalized estimating equation of Zeger and Liang and the ratio estimator approach of Rao and Scott. An extensive simulation study is conducted for a variety of parameter combinations for the purposes of evaluating and comparing the performance of these methods in terms of coverage and expected lengths. Applications to biomedical data are used to illustrate the proposed methods.
The Problem of China: Orientalism, "Young China", and Russell's Western Audience
Authors: Argon Charles
Published: November 2015

Bertrand Russell’s trip to China (1920–21) led him to write numerous articles about China culminating in The Problem of China. This paper reconsiders The Problem of China using Edward Said’s discussion of Orientalism and contextualizes it with Russell’s other published and unpublished writings on China and the reactions of his Chinese contemporaries. I argue that Russell’s views reflect his prior philosophy and Western influences more than an analysis of his trip and reveal that this was what his Western readers wanted. Moreover, his reliance on the research of other scholars and popular writers was unusual, even at the time. He was an intellectually honest but relatively unqualified and imprecise interpreter, not a Said-style Orientalist. He recognized Orientalism, but was unable to avoid reproducing Orientalist stereotypes. These findings help us understand both how Russell processed foreign phenomena and the origins of Western perceptions of China in the 1920s.
Fair Trade USA: Scaling for Impact
Authors: Walske Jennifer , Tyson Laura D.
Published: November 2015

This case study focuses on Fair Trade USA (the leading third-party certifier of fair trade products in North America) and founder, President, and CEO Paul Rice and his challenges scaling FT USA. The case study covers the growth strategies that he and his team are debating at a key point in FT USA's history amidst increasing competition from other certification organizations like Rainforest Alliance and Utz and general market confusion over consumer packaging labels. Rice and his team are grappling with how to make the Fair Trade USA label more prevalent as well as how to build a viable, long-term business model. The case discusses FT USA's role in helping companies like Hershey's develop sustainable supply chains.
Towards Pricing Mechanisms for Delay Tolerant Services
Authors: Marentes Luis Andres , Wolf Tilman , Nagurney Anna , Donoso Yezid
Published: November 2015

One of the applications of Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) is rural networks. For this application researchers have argued benefits on lowering costs and overcoming challenging conditions under which, for instance, protocols such as TCP/IP cannot work because their underlying requisites are not satisfied. New responses are required in order to understand the true adoption opportunities of this technology. Constraints in service level agreements and viable alternative pricing schemes are some of the new issues that arise as a consequence of the particular operation mode. In this paper, we propose a novel model for pricing delay tolerant services, which adjusts prices to demand variability subject to constraints imposed by the DTN operation. With this model we also show how important parameters such as channel rental costs, cycle times of providers, and market sensitivities affect business opportunities of operators.
Computing Sorted Subsets for Data Processing in Communicating Software/Hardware Control Systems
Authors: Sklyarov Valery , Skliarova Iouliia , Rjabov Artjom , Sudnitson Alexander
Published: November 2015

Computing and filtering sorted subsets are frequently required in statistical data manipulation and control applications. The main objective is to extract subsets from large data sets in accordance with some criteria, for example, with the maximum and/or the minimum values in the entire set or within the predefined constraints. The paper suggests a new computation method enabling the indicated above problem to be solved in all programmable systems-on-chip from the Xilinx Zynq family that combine a dual-core Cortex-A9 processing unit and programmable logic linked by high-performance interfaces. The method involves highly parallel sorting networks and run-time filtering. The computations are done in communicating software, running in the processing unit, and hardware, implemented in the programmable logic. Practical applications of the proposed technique are also shown. The results of implementation and experiments clearly demonstrate significant speed-up of the developed software/hardware system comparing to alternative software implementations.
Predictive Input Delay Compensation with Grey Predictor for Networked Control System
Authors: Kuzu Ahmet , Bogosyan Seta , Gokasan Metin
Published: November 2015

The performance of networked control systems is affected strictly by time delay. Most of the literature in the area handle the problem from a stability perspective. However, stability optimized algorithms alone are not sufficient to reduce synchronization problems caused by time delay between the action and reaction in geographically distant places, and the effect and performance of other system components should also be taken into account. In teleoperation applications the reference is often provided by a human, known as the operator, and due to the nature of the human system, references provided by the human operator are of a much lower bandwidth when compared to common control reference inputs. This paper focuses on the operator, and proposes an approach to predict the manipulator’s motion (created by the operator) ahead of time with an aim to reduce the time delay between the master and slave manipulator trajectories. To highlight the improvement offered by the developed approach, hereby called Predictive Input Delay Compensator (PIDC), we compare the performance with the only other study in the literature that handles this problem using the Taylor Series approach. The performance of these two approaches is evaluated experimentally for the forward (control) path on a PUMA robot, manipulated by a human operator and it has been demonstrated that the efficient latency in the forward path is decreased by 100ms, on average, reducing the forward latency from 350ms to 250ms.
ANN Based Inverse Dynamic Model of the 6-PGK Parallel Robot Manipulator
Authors: Moldovan Liviu , Grif Horațiu-Ștefan , Gligor Adrian
Published: November 2015

This paper presents an inverse dynamic model estimation based on an artificial neural network of a complete new parallel robot manipulator prototype 6- PGK with six degrees of freedom, built at Petru Maior University of Tirgu-Mures. The model estimation of the parallel robot manipulator is performed with a feedforward artificial neural network. In the control engineering domain there are control structures that need the direct or inverse model of the process for ensuring the process control at the imposed performances. Usually, the determination of the direct/inverse mathematical model is a difficult or impossible task to be achieved. In these cases different non-parametric or parametric, off-line or on-line identification methods are used. A solution that may support the on-line parametric methods is represented by the feedforward artificial neural networks. By implementing feedforward artificial neural networks as a nonlinear autoregressive model with exogenous inputs, the authors investigate the possibility of choosing the optimum parameters that characterize the neural network so that it approximates as better as possible the model of the 6-PGK prototype robot. Finally an innovative algorithm is developed for obtaining the optimal configuration parameters set of the feedforward artificial neural network. The proposed algorithm helps in setting the optimal parameters of the neural network that offer high opportunities to provide satisfactory identification of the robot model. Experimental results obtained by a structure derived from the proposed solution demonstrate a good approximation related to the studied system, which is characterized by nonlinearities and high complexity.
Fuzzy Linear Physical Programming for Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Under Uncertainty
Authors: ElSayed Ahmed , Kongar Elif , Gupta Surendra M.
Published: November 2015

This paper presents a newly developed fuzzy linear physical programming (FLPP) model that allows the decision maker to introduce his/her preferences for multiple criteria decision making in a fuzzy environment. The major contribution of this research is to generalize the current models by accommodating an environment that is conducive to fuzzy problem solving. An example is used to evaluate, compare and discuss the results of the proposed model.
Personnel Ranking and Selection Problem Solution by Application of KEMIRA Method
Authors: Kosareva Natalja , Kazimieras Zavadskas Edmundas , Krylovas Aleksandras , Dadelo Stanislav
Published: November 2015

In this study KEmeny Median Indicator Rank Accordance (KEMIRA) method is applied for solving personnel ranking and selection problem when there are two subgroups of evaluating criteria. Each stage of KEMIRA method illustrated with the examples. In the first stage Kemeny median method is applied to generalize experts’ opinions for setting criteria priorities. Medians were calculated for all experts opinions generalization and for experts majority opinions generalization. In the second stage criteria weights calculated and alternatives ranking accomplished simultaneously by Indicator Rank Accordance method. The obtained solutions compared with the results received in previous work of authors.
Membrane Computing and Economics: A General View
Authors: Păun Gheorghe
Published: November 2015

Three are the points we briefly discuss here: using membrane computing tools for efficient computing/optimization, the possibilities of using “general" membrane computing (P systems using multisets of symbol objects processed by biochemical-like evolution rules) as a framework for modeling economic processes, and the numerical P systems, a class of computing devices explicitly defined with a motivation related to economics. The discussion is rather informal, only pointing out research directions and providing bibliographical information.
Information, Contract Design, and Unsecured Credit Supply: Evidence from Credit Card Mailings
Authors: Han Song , Keys Benjamin , Li Geng
Published: November 2015

How do lenders of unsecured credit use screening and contract design to mitigate the risks of information asymmetry and limited commitment in the absence of collateral? To address this question, we take advantage of a unique dataset of over 200,000 credit card mail solicitations to a representative sample of households over the recent credit cycle – a period that includes the implementation of the CARD Act. We find that while lenders use credit scores as a prominent screening device, they also take into account a wide array of other information on borrowers' credit histories and financial and demographic characteristics. For instance, the likelihood of receiving an offer is sensitive to the exact timing of a prior bankruptcy filing. We also find that credit market conditions affect the marginal information used in lenders' offer decisions, as lenders sharply reduced credit supplied to subprime borrowers during the crisis and in response to the CARD Act. Finally, we document that lenders extend multiple distinct offers to the same consumers over a relatively short period, likely designed such that consumers reveal private information in their choice of contract.
International Trade, Risk and the Role of Banks
Authors: Niepmann Friederike , Schmidt-Eisenlohr Tim
Published: November 2015

International trade exposes exporters and importers to substantial risks. To mitigate these risks, firms can buy special trade finance products from banks. This paper explores under which conditions and to what extent firms use these products. We find that letters of credit and documentary collections cover about 10 percent of U.S. exports and are preferred for larger transactions, indicating substantial fixed costs. Letters of credit are employed the most for exports to countries with intermediate contract enforcement. Compared to documentary collections, they are used for riskier destinations. We provide a model that rationalizes these empirical findings and discuss implications.
Eliciting GDP Forecasts from the FOMC’s Minutes Around the Financial Crisis
Authors: Ericsson Neil R.
Published: November 2015

Stekler and Symington (2016) construct indexes that quantify the Federal Open Market Committee’s views about the U.S. economy, as expressed in the minutes of the FOMC’s meetings. These indexes provide insights on the FOMC’s deliberations, especially at the onset of the Great Recession. The current paper complements Stekler and Symington’s analysis by showing that their indexes reveal relatively minor bias in the FOMC’s views when the indexes are reinterpreted as forecasts. Additionally, these indexes provide a proximate mechanism for inferring the Fed staff’s Greenbook forecasts of the U.S. real GDP growth rate, years before the Greenbook’s public release.
The Effect of Festival Experience Program on Children's Emotional Response and Sociality Development
Authors:   The Tourism Sciences Society Of Korea, Cho Young-Hee , Kim Chang-Soo
Published: November 2015

The recent trend of festivals in Korea is characterized by the steady evolvement from watching to visitor‐centered activities of touching, feeling, and experiencing. Most of festival visitors have been found to visit festivals in order to educate their children, to have new experiences, or to improve human relationships. Experience programs in festivals have educational effects for children’s physical growth and personality development, and they also reflect the characteristics of the festivals. For these reasons, it is necessary to actively utilize experience programs reflecting the characteristics of the festivals on the spot. Assuming that children’s emotional response to festival experience programs would be highly valuable, this study aimed to analyze how elementary school children’s emotional responses affected their social development. According to the results of this study, the most noticeable positive effect of children’s emotional response to festival experience programs was the enhancement of their perspective taking ability, which is the ability to get out of one’s own perspective and to understand and accept others’ positions, and this effect promoted their social development. This finding means that festivals can be very useful education programs based on field experiences for children’s social development. This also suggests that we need to recognize festival experience programs as valuable resources of children’s education and to develop new creative ideas and various experience programs continuously.
The Relations of Knowledge on Climate Change and Purchase Intention of Environment-friendly Tourism Products
Authors:   The Tourism Sciences Society Of Korea, Min Woong-Ki , Kim Nam-Jo
Published: November 2015

The study is to explore how tourists’ knowledge on climate change, one of the most important environmental problems the world faces, affects their purchase intention for an environment-friendly tourism product. It has been discussed that modern tourists generally acquire objective knowledge on tourism product they want to purchase through a variety of mass media, and they seek reasonable consumption. The study found that tourists’ thinking, that is, they think they know a lot of climate change, affected their intention to purchase an environment-friendly tourism product, not their volume of objective knowledge on climate change. Therefore, tourism businesses are required to make tourists be directly aware of environmental problems based on their objective knowledge, and to implement marketing strategies to let tourists subjectively perceive that they know climate change well, to facilitate sales of environment-friendly tourism products.
Montessori Early Childhood Teacher Perceptions of Family Priorities and Stressors
Authors: Epstein Ann
Published: November 2015

Teachers of young children work closely with families. One component of teacher-family partnerships is teachers’ understanding of family priorities and stressors. This study examines Montessori early childhood (ages three through six) teacher perceptions of family priorities and stressors through an analysis of responses to two parallel surveys.  Eighty teachers (37% of those who received the survey) and forty-nine family members (representing a 55% response rate) completed the survey.  Significant differences were found between teachers’ perceptions of four (of seven) family priorities and families’ actual responses. Teachers ranked “making academic progress” as the most important of seven possible family priorities. However, families stated that “developing kindness” is the most important priority for their young children. No significant differences were found when comparing teacher rankings of family stressors with actual family responses. Montessori early childhood teachers ranked “not having enough time” as the most stressful of six possible stressors. Families confirmed that time pressures cause them the most stress. Maria Montessori’s recommendations for teachers and families are summarized. Recommendations for building stronger family partnerships in the context of Montessori’s philosophy, for example on-going self-reflection, are provided.

            Keywords: Montessori, teacher-family partnerships, early childhood teacher perceptions
Montessori and Non-Montessori Early Childhood Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Inclusion and Access
Authors: Danner Natalie , Fowler Susan
Published: November 2015

Montessori and non-Montessori general education early childhood teachers were surveyed about their attitudes towards including children with disabilities and providing access in their classrooms.  Both groups reported similar and positive supports for inclusion within their schools. Montessori teachers reported having less knowledge about inclusion and less special education professional development than their non-Montessori counterparts.   Implications for professional development and teacher preparation are described.
From the Editor
Authors: Murray, PhD Angela K.
Published: November 2015

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Um caso fotográfico
Authors: Mota Virgínia Virgínia
Published: November 2015

Neste trabalho procuramos entender o entrelaçamento entre distância e proximidade (aura e vestígio) na obra de Walter Benjamin. Para tal, analisamos uma imagem fotográfica resgatada pelo autor. A partir dessa relação conceitual vislumbramos uma determinada imbricação metodológica que surge entre o exercício perceptivo e a escrita. Diante dessa imagem, optamos por um olhar mais demorado tentando seguir uma reflexão presente no texto “Franz Kafka: a propósito do décimo aniversário de sua morte”, escrito por Benjamin em 1934. Tal foi feito em virtude de um hiato temporal através do qual certa atividade perceptiva ganharia forma: algo que designamos de percepção vibrátil. O objeto fotográfico em questão, um caso paradigmático, que pela mão de Benjamin aproximaria os dois autores, nos permite, a nós seus leitores, alcançar uma outra noção de imagem dialética e uma complexidade inerente a tal exercício perceptivo.
A estética primeva na obra de Giuseppe Penone
Authors: Dayrell Marina Andrade Câmara
Published: November 2015

Busca-se no presente artigo, por meio dos conceitos bejaminianos de estética e política – principalmente em seus desenvolvimentos em Jaques Rancière e Susan Buck-Morss –, aparatos teóricos capazes de problematizar os procedimentos escultóricos trabalhados por Giuseppe Penone em um amplo apanhado de suas obras. Partindo do contexto italiano em que surge a Arte Povera, grupo do qual Penone fazia parte no início de seu percurso artístico, ponderamos em que sentido o escultor italiano se identifica com as demais produções do grupo para apontarmos aquelas noções privilegiadas por seu trabalho. Delineando os conceitos norteadores de sua produção, verificamos a pertinência de voltar-nos à etimologia da palavra estética, explorada por Walter Benjamin e seus estudiosos, a fim de compreender as implicações políticas da obra de Penone.
A construção das personagens femininas nos contos 'The Courtship of Mr. Lyon' e 'The Snow Child', de Angela Carter
Authors: Trevisoli Maísa Dos Santos
Published: November 2015

Este artigo traz uma análise das personagens femininas em duas obras da escritora britânica Angela Carter, The Courtship of Mr. Lyon e The Snow Child, com o intuito de comparar a construção dessas em relação às personagens dos contos de fadas tradicionais que serviram de inspiração para a autora. Procura-se problematizar como Carter transforma seus contos de fadas, aproximando-os ou afastando-os dos moldes e características dos contos de fadas tradicionais estudados por Vladimir Propp, Max Lüthi e Tzvetan Todorov. O feminino, tanto na voz das escritoras quanto na construção das personagens, é analisado ao longo do artigo segundo obras sobre este tema em contos de fadas escrito por autores como Joan Gould, Cristina Bacchilega e Marina Warner. A partir das análises empreendidas, é possível concluir que Carter aproxima-se ao mesmo tempo em que se afasta das características tradicionais dos contos de fadas, construindo assim um novo tipo para o gênero.