bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Media Strategy of TV Advertising in Indonesia
Authors: Purwanegara Mustika Sufiati , Indriani Mia T. D. , Merriska Augustine , Ch Evy Rachmawati
Published: January 2014

There is an increasing number of TV channel in Indonesia. The competitive environment in TV advertising has made advertisers pull many different media strategies to get audience’s attention. The media strategies consider several factors, such as television channel, product categories, program rating, and advertising rates. The purpose of this research is to explore media strategy for TV advertising in Indonesia, defined by number of advertising played on TV. We analyzed data on the behavior of TV advertisers in February 2010. From the research we found that television channel, product categories, and advertising rate had significant relationships with the number of advertising played on TV. Meanwhile, program rating did not have significant relationships with the number of advertising played on TV.
Analysis of Factors Affecting Income Smoothing Among Listed Companies in Indonesia
Authors: Sherlita Erly , Kurniawan Putri
Published: January 2014

This study examines the factors that influence income smoothing practice, such as firm size, profitability, financial leverage, and net profit margin. Grouping among the companies that perform income smoothing, and that does not do income smoothing using Eckel index to net income for the manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. The research sample totaling 68 companies with a sub-sample of 204 financial reports. Observations were made during the three years, from 2008 to 2010. Statistical analysis using binary logistic regression to determine the factors that influence income smoothing. The results showed that the variables of profitability and net profit margins have significant differences between smoothing company profits by not smoothing profits, while the variable firm size and financial leverage has no significant difference. Test results using a multivariate binary logistic regression either simultaneously or separately on the four independent variables thought to affect the practice of income smoothing apparently no one has proved influential. Thus it can be concluded that firm size, profitability, financial leverage, and net profit margin has no effect on the practice of income smoothing.
Factors Affecting Small and Medium Enterprises Success: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Jebna Abdul Karim Kanaan , Baharudin Ahmad Suhaimi
Published: January 2014

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the main contributor toward prospering the Malaysian economy [1]. Despite the fact that Malaysia is a fast growing economy in South-East Asia, death of SMEs is unavoidable. An exploratory study was conducted to investigate the factors that have an impact on business performance and success in Malaysia. Interviews with SMEs from different industries were conducted. Several factors were found to contribute to the success of business. The factors are classified into financial and non-financial determinants. These factors include customer satisfaction, service quality, experience, business expansion, competitor orientation, solving problems, cash flow, and the amount of sales and revenue. Building on these interviews, a discussion and conclusion have been provided.
Auditors’ Behavioral Intention Towards Dysfunctional Audit Behavior Applying Theory of Reasoned Action
Authors: Khan Sadaf , Panatik Siti Aisyah , Muhamed Saat Maisarah , Perveeen Hina
Published: January 2014

Dysfunctional audit behaviors behind corporate fiascos are a burning issue in today’s ever changing globalized business world. After the Enron scandal that saw the demise of Arthur Andersen LLP., a growing research interest in the field of audit quality is being witnessed. With this negative publicity of professional auditing firms, it is pertinent to execute an efficient audit, causes of these dysfunctional audit behaviors should necessarily be identified and eliminated. To help address this issue, the paper attempted to explain an auditor's behavioral intention to engage or not to engage in dysfunctional audit behaviors through the lens of the Theory of Reasoned Action.  The study proposed a Theory of Reasoned Action as a guide for a valid prediction of auditors's intention to involve in dysfunctional audit behaviors. This proposed framework is recommended for not only practitioners who engaged in the auditing profession, but also for many other regulators including the board of directors, audit committees, top management, stakeholder, and governing bodies, to enable them take initiatives to enhance the ethics in their work environments.
Influence of Iron Bacteria on the Corrosion Behavior of Carbon Steel: SEM Study
Authors: Hamzah E. , Khohr C. L. , Abdolahi Ahmad , Ibrahim Z.
Published: January 2014

In this work, the iron bacteria were cultured and inoculated into the cooling water before immersion, and low carbon steel coupons were immersed for one month. Then, microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) of carbon steel in the presence of these bacteria was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) and weight loss methods. SEM results showed that large amounts of corrosion products and heterogeneous biofilm layer were formed on the coupon surface. SEM also revealed the uniform-pitting corrosion on the steel surface due to bacteria colonization. XRD results show that the main constituents present in corrosion product are composed of iron oxides and iron hydroxides.
Ultrasound Signals Response Associated to Fatigue Failure Behaviour using Statistical Analysis
Authors: Padzi M. M. , Abdullah S. , Nuawi M. Z.
Published: January 2014

In this paper, ultrasound signals had been analysed using a statistical-based approach to evaluate and predict fatigue failure of carbon steel AISI 1045. Fatigue tests were performed according to the ASTM E466-96 standard with the attachment of an ultrasound sensor to the tested specimen. The material used in this test was the AISI 1045 carbon steel due to its extensive application in automotive and machinery industry. Fatigue test was carried out at a constant loading stress at the sampling frequency of 8 Hz. A set of data acquisition system was used to collect those fatigue ultrasound signals. All obtained data were analysed using specific software. Ultrasound signals were collected during fatigue test in order to detect any structural changes occurs during the test. Fatigue damage characteristics were observed based on the ultrasound signals characteristics and a further analysis was performed using statistical approach. The results of signals distribution, r.m.s value and energy content of the signals were discussed to correlate fatigue failure behaviour and ultrasound signals.
Akad dalam Perbankan Internet
Authors: Rosland Anitha , Borhan Joni Tamkin
Published: January 2014

Corak hidup masyarakat pada masa kini telah banyak berubah tahun demi tahun. Malah dunia tanpa sempadan ini juga telah membawa perubahan yang sangat besar kepada sistem perbankan yang sedia ada. Pada masa kini, perbankan Internet merupakan alternatif terkini yang diguna pakai oleh pelanggan untuk berurusan dengan bank. Dengan cara ini, pelanggan hanya melayari laman web bank berkenaan tanpa perlu bersusah-payah beratur dan menunggu di kaunter bank. Kajian ini akan membincangkan tentang perkhidmatan perbankan Internet dari sudut muamalah Islam. Di mana, kajian ini menyentuh mengenai aplikasi akad yang terdapat dalam perkhidmatan perbankan Internet. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa perkhidmatan perbankan Internet ini dibenarkan dalam Islam serta sah akadnya walaupun di awal kemunculan Islam kecanggihan teknologi Internet ini masih lagi belum wujud.
Measurement of Effectiveness and Difficulty of Traffic Management Measures in Disasters
Authors: Minhans Anil
Published: January 2014

Traffic managers view disasters as events depicting sudden surge in traffic demand and deficient transport supplies. In disasters, increments of transport capacities by transport-related development are impractical and traffic management measures are viable yet inexpensive options to mitigate the effects of disasters. This paper presents the methodology of qualitative assessment conducted on 27 pre-selected traffic management (TM) measures that are applicable to disasters. The methodology of the assessment includes: (i) estimation of relative weight of traffic management factors using analytic hierarchy process (AHP), (ii) self-assessment and rating of measures based on effectiveness and difficulty scales, (iii) determination of priority classes of measures based on qualitative assessment model, and (iv) the determination of residual measures signifying low applicability. Such an assessment aids decision-making process regarding the selection of measures and their applicability in the event of real disasters. The results from the assessment indicated that all the 27 measures were found effective in disasters, seven of them were not found applicable, thereby leaving only 20 measures, which were found both effective and applicable.
Membrane Performance: TiO2 Nanoparticles Coated on Polysulfone (PSf) Ultrafiltration Membrane Surfaces
Authors: Mohamad Siti Hawa , Abdullah Hasan Zuhudi , Idris Maizlinda Izwana , Harun Zawati
Published: January 2014

This study focuses on the modification polysulfone (PSf) ultrafiltration membrane surfaces via coated and irradiated with titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles with UV lights respectively. Basically, the flat sheet membrane was prepared using phase inversion technique with three conditions: (i) uncoated PSf membrane, (ii) coated PSf membrane with TiO2 and (iii) PSf membrane coated with TiO2 irradiated to UV. The coating process was carried out using dipping method into TiO2 nanoparticles suspension at different concentrations (0.01, 0.03 and 0.05 wt.%). Membrane was immersed in all suspension for 15 and 30 minutes. Then, coated membranes were exposured under 184 Watts UV lamp at two different durations, 15 and 30 minutes. The performance of membranes was evaluated in terms of pure water flux (PWF) and humic acid (HA) rejection. The morphology of membranes was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Analysis of the result revealed that 15 minutes immersion of membrane in TiO2 suspension showed a better performance in term permeation and rejection of compared to 30 min immersion. This is due to the pore plugging as time of immersion increased. Therefore, the coated membranes with 0.03 wt.% of TiO2 nanoparticles at 15 minutes immersion and 15 minutes exposure of UV light irradiation were determined as an ideal performance of rejection and permeation compared to the other.
Performance Investigation of Pilot Study for Wastewater Reclamation Using Ferric Chloride as Coagulant
Authors: Ong Chin Boon , Mohammad Abdul Wahab , Sheikh Abdullah Siti Rozaimah , Abu Hasan Hassimi
Published: January 2014

A pilot study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of ferric chloride as coagulant agent on the long term performance to reverse osmosis membrane technology. The pilot unit comprised of 50m3/day pore controllable fiber (PCF) technology as a pre-treatment prior to RO for water reclamation from an effluent treatment plant based in Malaysia. The additions of ferric chloride ahead of PCF unit give high rejection of permeate quality after RO such as TSS, COD, alkalinity, and nitrite. However, there is deterioration of RO membrane performance after the pilot unit has been run continuously for 24 hours over 3 months. Average percentage reduction for parameters such as BOD5, COD, TDS, conductivity, and TSS for PCF-RO over 3 months operation is 51.12%, 70.01%, 68.36%, 68.39% and 69.17% respectively. Fouled RO membranes for both lines were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and EDS coupled with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). EDS-SEM results showed that the foulants deposit on RO membrane for PCF-RO about 4.29-6.23µm and Fe element at 14.81% by the mean of weight. These imply that ferric chloride residual contribute to RO membrane fouling and thus affect the system stability and efficiency.
Membrane Hydrophilization: Towards Low Fouling Polymeric Membranes
Authors: Susanto Heru
Published: January 2014

In this work, hydrophilization strategies to manufacture low fouling membranes, which include (i) post-modification performed by photo-graft copolymerization of hydrophilic monomers onto a commercial polyethersulfone (PES) UF membrane, (ii) hydrophilization via blend polymer membrane with hydrophilic additive during phase separation (NIPS) and (iii) reactive PS method performed by UV-irradiating the proto-membrane before coagulation, are presented. The results suggest that all hydrophilization methods resulted in membranes having lower contact angles indicating more hydrophilic. Furthermore, the membranes demonstrated higher resistances towards adsorptive and ultrafiltration fouling. Consequently, higher permeate fluxes were resulted from hydrophilized membranes than without hydrophilization.
The Scattering of Acoustic Wave by a Chain of Elastic Spheres in Liquid
Authors: Zhang Yanru , Wei Peijun
Published: January 2014

The scattering of acoustic waves by a chain of elastic spheres in liquid is studied. The incident wave, the scattering wave in the host, and the transmitted waves (including longitudinal and transverse wave modes) in the elastic spheres are all expanded in the form of a series of spherical wave functions. The total waves are obtained by the addition of all scattered waves from individual elastic sphere. The addition theorem of spherical wave function is used to perform the coordinates transform for the scattering waves from different spheres. The expansion coefficients of scattering waves are determined by the interface condition between the elastic spheres and the liquid host. The scattering cross section and the scattering amplitude in far field are computed as numerical examples. Two cases, steel spheres and lead spheres embedded in water, are considered in the numerical examples.
Effect of a Single Pulsed Shortwave Diathermy Treatment on Extensibility of the Hamstrings
Authors: Martínez-Rodríguez Alicia , Bello Olalla , Yañez-Brage Isabel
Published: January 2014

Context:

Lack of extensibility of the hamstrings is manifested by a restricion of knee extension range of motion.

Objective:

To quantify the effect of a single pulsed shortwave diathermy treatment on extensibility of the hamstrings.

Participants:

Twenty volunteers with tight hamstrings (< 150° of active knee extension).

Intervention:

Subjects were randomly allocated to receive either a pulsed shortwave diathermy treatment (experimental group) or a simulated pulsed shortwave diathermy treatment that did not produce a deep tissue heating effect.

Main Outcome Measurements:

Measurements of active and passive range of movement were recorded before and after the treatment, as well as the subjective level of discomfort perceived during the passive stretching.

Results:

No statistically signifcant differences were found.

Conclusion:

A single pulsed shortwave diathermy treatment, without stretching, did not increase hamstring extensibility.
Model of Bias-Driven Trend Followers and Interaction with Manipulators
Authors: Liu Ke , Lai Kin Keung , Yen Jerome , Zhu Qing
Published: January 2014

Stock investors are not fully rational in trading and many behavioral biases that affect them. However, most of the literature on behavioral finance has put efforts only to explain empirical phenomena observed in financial markets; little attention has been paid to how individual investors’ trading performance is affected by behavioral biases. As against the common perception that behavioral biases are always detrimental to investment performance, we conjecture that these biases can sometimes yield better trading outcomes. Focusing on representativeness bias, conservatism and disposition effect, we construct a mathematical model in which the representative trend investor follows a Bayesian trading strategy based on an underlying Markov chain, switching beliefs between trending and mean-reversion. By this model, scenario analysis is undertaken to track investor behavior and performance under different patterns of market movements. Simulation results show the effect of biases on investor performance can sometimes be positive. Further, we investigate how manipulators could take advantage of investor biases to profit. The model’s potential for manipulation detection is demonstrated by real data of well-known manipulation cases.
Unified formalism for higher-order variational problems and its applications in optimal control
Authors: Colombo Leonardo , Prieto-Martínez Pedro Daniel
Published: January 2014

In this paper, we consider an intrinsic point of view to describe the equations of motion for higher-order variational problems with constraints on higher-order trivial principal bundles. Our techniques are an adaptation of the classical Skinner–Rusk approach for the case of Lagrangian dynamics with higher-order constraints. We study a regular case where it is possible to establish a symplectic framework and, as a consequence, to obtain a unique vector field determining the dynamics. As an interesting application we deduce the equations of motion for optimal control of underactuated mechanical systems defined on principal bundles.
DETECTION OF WEAK SIGNALS IN HIGH-DIMENSIONAL COMPLEX-VALUED DATA
Authors: ONATSKI ALEXEI
Published: January 2014

This paper considers the problem of detecting a few signals in high-dimensional complex-valued Gaussian data satisfying Johnstone's [On the distribution of the largest eigenvalue in principal components analysis, Ann. Statist.29 (2001) 295–327] spiked covariance model. We focus on the difficult case where signals are weak in the sense that the sizes of the corresponding covariance spikes are below the phase transition threshold studied in Baik et al. [Phase transition of the largest eigenvalue for non-null complex sample covariance matrices, Ann. Probab.33 (2005) 1643–1697]. In contrast to the majority of previous studies, we base the signal detection on the information contained in all the eigenvalues of the sample covariance matrix, as opposed to a few of the largest ones. This allows us to detect weak signals with non-trivial asymptotic probability when the dimensionality of the data and the number of observations go to infinity proportionally. We derive a simple analytical expression for the maximal possible asymptotic probability of correct detection holding the asymptotic probability of false detection fixed. To accomplish this derivation, we establish a novel representation for the hypergeometric function [Formula: see text] of two p × p matrix arguments, one of which has a deficient rank r < p, as a repeated contour integral of the hypergeometric function [Formula: see text] of two r × r matrix arguments.
THE BETA-MANOVA ENSEMBLE WITH GENERAL COVARIANCE
Authors: DUBBS ALEXANDER , EDELMAN ALAN
Published: January 2014

We consider adding arbitrary covariance to the β-Jacobi random matrix model. We recall that for β = 1 the Jacobi random matrix model may be thought of as the eigenvalues, λi, of YtY(XTX + YtY)-1 where X and Y are matrices whose elements are i.i.d. standard normals. Equivalently we can take the generalized cosine singular values of (Y, X), ci, and use [Formula: see text]. When β = 1 we add covariance by considering YtY(YtY + ΩXtXΩ)-1, for a positive definite diagonal matrix Ω. Equivalently, and preferably, we consider the generalized singular value decomposition (gsvd) of (Y, XΩ). We refer to Ω = I as the Jacobi case and the general Ω case as the MANOVA case. In this paper, we provide a matrix model for the general β-MANOVA ensemble. In particular, we provide an algorithm for the numerical sampling of eigenvalues or generalized cosine singular values. The β-MANOVA algorithm uses the β-Wishart algorithm of Forrester and Dubbs–Edelman–Koev–Venkataramana as a subroutine, perhaps making β-MANOVA the first "second-order" continuous-β random matrix algorithm. Our proofs make use of a conjecture of MacDonald (proven by Baker and Forrester), a theorem of Kaneko, and many identities from Forrester's Log-Gases and Random Matrices. We supply numerical evidence that our theorems are correct.
Characterization of Denitrifying Phosphorus Removal Microorganisms in a Novel Two-Sludge Process by Combining Chemical with Microbial Analysis
Authors: Zou Haiming , Lu Xiwu , Abualhail Saad
Published: January 2014

The present work focuses on the investigation of denitrifying phosphorus removal organisms (DPB) in a novel two-sludge denitrifying phosphorus removal process by combining chemical with microbial analysis. When the two-sludge process operated stably over one year, good phosphorus (P) release and P uptake performance of activated sludge samples collected from this process were present in anaerobic and anoxic conditions, respectively, via batch test, showing that the ratio of P release specific rate to P uptake specific rate was 1.31. The analysis of energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) showed that P content of activated sludge samples collected at the end of anoxic phase was 12.3% of dry weight, further demonstrating the existence of microorganisms responsible for phosphorus removal in this two-sludge process. From polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis, the presence of microorganisms mostly belonging to the phyla Firmicutes and Proteobacteria was observed, previously evidenced in the phosphorus removal wastewater treatment process. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) quantitative analysis showed thatAccumulibacterresponsible for phosphorus removal was dominant in this two-sludge process, accounting for 69.7% of all bacteria in activated sludge. These results obtained from chemical and microbial analysis in this study suggested that denitrifying phosphorus removal microorganisms were completely enriched in the two-sludge process proposed here.
Integrated Fractional Resolvent Operator Function and Fractional Abstract Cauchy Problem
Authors: Li Ya-Ning , Sun Hong-Rui
Published: January 2014

We firstly prove thatβ-times integratedα-resolvent operator function ((α,β)-ROF) satisfies a functional equation which extends that ofβ-times integrated semigroup andα-resolvent operator function. Secondly, for the inhomogeneousα-Cauchy problemcDtαu(t)=Au(t)+f(t),t∈(0,T),u(0)=x0,u'(0)=x1,ifAis the generator of an(α,β)-ROF, we give the relation between the functionv(t)=Sα,β(t)x0+(g1*Sα,β)(t)x1+(gα-1*Sα,β*f)(t)and mild solution and classical solution of it. Finally, for the problemcDtαv(t)=Av(t)+gβ+1(t)x,t>0,v(k)(0)=0,k=0,1,…,N-1,whereAis a linear closed operator. We show thatAgenerates an exponentially bounded(α,β)-ROF on a Banach spaceXif and only if the problem has a unique exponentially bounded classical solutionvxandAvx∈Lloc1(ℝ+,X).Our results extend and generalize some related results in the literature.
Arterial Elasticity, Strength, Fatigue, and Endurance in Older Women
Authors: Hunter Gary R. , Neumeier William H. , Bickel C. Scott , McCarthy John P. , Fisher Gordon , Chandler-Laney Paula C. , Glasser Stephen P.
Published: January 2014

Arterial health may influence muscle function in older adults. Study purpose was to determine whether arterial elasticity is related to strength, central and peripheral fatigue, fatigue at rest, and treadmill endurance. Subjects were 91 healthy women aged >60. Treadmill endurance and maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) were measured. Peripheral and central fatigue for the knee extensors were evaluated using two isometric fatigue tests (one voluntary and one adding electrical stimulation). Arterial elasticity was determined using radial artery pulse wave analysis. Linear multiple regression was used in statistical analysis. Large artery elasticity was associated with central fatigue(P<0.01)and treadmill endurance(P<0.02)after adjusting for VO2max and knee extension strength. Subjective fatigue at rest was related to large artery elasticity after adjusting for ethnic origin (<0.02). Strength was significantly related to small artery elasticity after adjusting for ethnic origin, leg lean tissue, age, and blood pressure. Arterial elasticity is independently related to strength and fatigue in older women, especially in the central nervous system where arterial elasticity is independently related to perceptions of fatigue at rest and central fatigue. These results suggest that arterial health may be involved with the ability of the central nervous system to activate muscle in older women.
Tour Route Multiobjective Optimization Design Based on the Tourist Satisfaction
Authors: Han Yan , Guan Hongzhi , Duan Jiaying
Published: January 2014

The question prompted is how to design the tour route to make the tourists get the maximum satisfactions considering the tourists’ demand. The influence factors of the tour route choices of tourists were analyzed and tourists’ behavior characteristics and psychological preferences were regarded as the important influence factors based on the tourist behavioral theories. A questionnaire of tourists’ tour route information and satisfaction degree was carried out. Some information about the scene spot and tourists demand and tour behaviors characteristic such as visit frequency, number of attractions visited was obtained and analyzed. Based on the convey datum, tour routes multiobjective optimization functions were prompted for the tour route design regarding the maximum satisfaction and the minimum tour distance as the optimal objective. The available routes are listed and categorized. Based on the particle swarm optimization model, the priorities of the tour route are calculated and finally the suggestion depth tour route and quick route tour routes are given considering the different tour demands of tourists. The results can offer constructive suggestions on how to design tour routes on the part of tourism enterprises and how to choose a proper tour route on the part of tourists.
Cernunnos/XLF Deficiency: A Syndromic Primary Immunodeficiency
Authors: Çipe Funda Erol , Aydogmus Cigdem , Babayigit Hocaoglu Arzu , Kilic Merve , Kaya Gul Demet , Yilmaz Gulec Elif
Published: January 2014

Artemis, DNA ligase IV, DNA protein kinase catalytic subunit, and Cernunnos/XLF genes in nonhomologous end joining pathways of DNA repair mechanisms have been identified as responsible for radiosensitive SCID. Here, we present a 3-year-old girl patient with severe growth retardation, bird-like face, recurrent perianal abscess, pancytopenia, and polydactyly. Firstly, she was thought as Fanconi anemia and spontaneous DNA breaks were seen on chromosomal analysis. After that DEB test was found to be normal and Fanconi anemia was excluded. Because of that she had low IgG and IgA levels, normal IgM level, and absence of B cells in peripheral blood; she was considered as primary immunodeficiency, Nijmegen breakage syndrome. A mutation in NBS1 gene was not found; then Cernunnos/XLF deficiency was investigated due to clinical similarities with previously reported cases. Homozygous mutation in Cernunnos/XLF gene (NHEJ1) was identified. She is now on regular IVIG prophylaxis and has no new infection. Fully matched donor screening is in progress for bone marrow transplantation which is curative treatment of the disease. In conclusion, the patients with microcephaly, bird-like face, and severe growth retardation should be evaluated for hypogammaglobulinemia and primary immunodeficiency diseases.
Global Structure of Positive Solutions for a Singular Fourth-Order Integral Boundary Value Problem
Authors: Shen Wenguo , He Tao
Published: January 2014

We consider fourth-order boundary value problemsu′′′′(t)=λh(t)f(u(t)),  0<t<1,  u(0)=∫01‍u(s)dα(s),  u′(0)=u(1)=u′(1)=0, where∫01‍u(s)dα(s)is a Stieltjes integral withα(t)being nondecreasing andα(t)being not a constant on[0,1];h(t)may be singular att=0andt=1,h∈C((0,1),[0,∞))withh(t)≢0on any subinterval of(0,1);f∈C([0,∞),[0,∞))andf(s)>0for alls>0, andf0=∞,  f∞=0,  f0=lims→0+f(s)/s,  f∞=lims→+∞f(s)/s.We investigate the global structure of positive solutions by using global bifurcation techniques.
Adsorption of Monobutyl Phthalate from Aqueous Phase onto Two Macroporous Anion-Exchange Resins
Authors: Xu Zhengwen , Zhao Yunlong , Shi Jing , Lu Jiangang , Cheng Ling , Chen Mindong
Published: January 2014

As new emerging pollutants, phthalic acid monoesters (PAMs) pose potential ecological and human health risks. In the present study, adsorption performance of monobutyl phthalate (MBP) onto two macroporous base anion-exchange resins (D-201 and D-301) was discussed. It was found that the adsorption isotherms were best fitted by the Langmuir equation while the adsorption kinetics were well described by pseudo-first-order model. Analyses of sorption isotherms and thermodynamics proved that the adsorption mechanisms for DBP onto D-201 were ion exchange. However, the obtained enthalpy values indicate that the sorption process of MBP onto D-301 is physical adsorption. The equilibrium adsorption capacities and adsorption rates of DBP on two different resins increased with the increasing temperature of the solution. D-301 exhibited a higher adsorption capacity of MBP than D-201. These results proved that D-301, as an effective sorbent, can be used to remove phthalic acid monoesters from aqueous solution.
Puerarin Attenuates Ovalbumin‐Induced Lung Inflammation and Hemostatic Unbalance in Rat Asthma Model
Authors: Dong Feng , Wang Chengbin , Duan Jinyan , Zhang Weiyi , Xiang Daijun , Li Mianyang
Published: January 2014

Aim. We aimed to investigate and evaluate the preventive activity of puerarin on the ovalbumin‐induced asthma rat model. Materials and Methods. Male Wistar rats were sensitized intraperitoneally on days 0, 7, and 14 and challenged to ovalbumin intratracheally on day 21. Groups of sensitized rats were treated randomly either with placebo, puerarin, dexamethasone, or puerarin combined with dexamethasone, from days 15 to 20. Inflammatory markers, including cell counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), inflammatory cytokines, histopathology, and coagulation parameters, such as coagulation tests and the activity of coagulation factors, were analyzed. Results. Puerarin significantly inhibited the recruitment of inflammatory cells in BALF and lung tissue. At the same time, the release of IL‐4, IL‐10, and IFN‐γ in serum and the expression of mRNAs in lung tissue homogenate were changed by puerarin. Administration of puerarin also effectively rectified the coagulation disorder in asthmatic rats, such as prothrombin time (PT) (P < 0.01), thrombin time (TT) (P < 0.05), fibrinogen (FIB) (P < 0.01),the activity of factor II (FII) (P < 0.01), the activity of factor V (FV) (P < 0.05), the activity of factor VII (FVII) (P < 0.05), the activity of factor X (FX) (P < 0.05), the activity of factor VIII (FVIII) (P < 0.01), the activity of factor IX (FIX) (P < 0.05), and the activity of factor XII (FXII) (P < 0.05). Conclusions. Our results provide a clue that puerarin was useful for the preventive of allergic airway disease in rodents.
BPN Based Likelihood Ratio Score Fusion for Audio-Visual Speaker Identification in Response to Noise
Authors: Islam Md. Rabiul , Sobhan Md. Abdus
Published: January 2014

This paper deals with a new and improved approach of Back-propagation learning neural network based likelihood ratio score fusion technique for audio-visual speaker Identification in various noisy environments. Different signal preprocessing and noise removing techniques have been used to process the speech utterance and LPC, LPCC, RCC, MFCC, ΔMFCC and ΔΔMFCC methods have been applied to extract the features from the audio signal. Active Shape Model has been used to extract the appearance and shape based facial features. To enhance the performance of the proposed system, appearance and shape based facial features are concatenated and Principal Component Analysis method has been used to reduce the dimension of the facial feature vector. The audio and visual feature vectors are then fed to Hidden Markov Model separately to find out the log-likelihood of each modality. The reliability of each modality has been calculated using reliability measurement method. Finally, these integrated likelihood ratios are fed to Back-propagation learning neural network algorithm to discover the final speaker identification result. For measuring the performance of the proposed system, three different databases, that is, NOIZEUS speech database, ORL face database and VALID audio-visual multimodal database have been used for audio-only, visual-only, and audio-visual speaker identification. To identify the accuracy of the proposed system with existing techniques under various noisy environment, different types of artificial noise have been added at various rates with audio and visual signal and performance being compared with different variations of audio and visual features.
Pricing Arithmetic Asian Options under Hybrid Stochastic and Local Volatility
Authors: Lee Min-Ku , Kim Jeong-Hoon , Jang Kyu-Hwan
Published: January 2014

Recently, hybrid stochastic and local volatility models have become an industry standard for the pricing of derivatives and other problems in finance. In this study, we use a multiscale stochastic volatility model incorporated by the constant elasticity of variance to understand the price structure of continuous arithmetic average Asian options. The multiscale partial differential equation for the option price is approximated by a couple of single scale partial differential equations. In terms of the elasticity parameter governing the leverage effect, a correction to the stochastic volatility model is made for more efficient pricing and hedging of Asian options.
Fluid Evolution of the Magmatic Hydrothermal Porphyry Copper Deposit Based on Fluid Inclusion and Stable Isotope Studies at Darrehzar, Iran
Authors: Alizadeh Sevari B. , Hezarkhani A.
Published: January 2014

The Darrehzar porphyry Cu-Mo deposit is located in southwestern Iran (~70 km southwest of Kerman City). The porphyries occur as Tertiary quartz-monzonite stocks and dikes, ranging in composition from microdiorite to diorite and granodiorite. Hydrothermal alteration and mineralization at Darrehzar are centered on the stock and were broadly synchronous with its emplacement. Early hydrothermal alteration was dominantly potassic and propylitic and was followed by later phyllic and argillic alteration. The hydrothermal system involved both magmatic and meteoric water which were boiled extensively. Copper mineralization was accompanied by both potassic and phyllic alterations. Based on number, nature, and phases number which are available in room temperature, three types of fluid inclusions are typically observed in these veins: (1) vapor rich, (2) liquid rich and (3) multi phase. The primary multiphase inclusions within the quartz crystals were chosen for microthermometric analyses. Early hydrothermal alteration was caused by high-temperature, high-salinity orthomagmatic fluid and produced a potassic assemblage. Phyllic alteration was caused by high-salinity and lower-temperature orthomagmatic fluid. Magmatic and meteoric water mixtures were developed in the peripheral part of the stock and caused propylitic alteration which is attributed to a liquid-rich, lower temperature.
Autologous Fat Transfer: An Aesthetic and Functional Refinement for Parotidectomy
Authors: Vico Pierre G. , Delange Axel , De Vooght Axel
Published: January 2014

Parotidectomy is a surgical procedure associated to functional (Frey’s syndrome) as well as aesthetic (facial asymmetry) complications that can be very disturbing for the patient. Several procedures have been described to primarily avoid or secondarily reconstruct the facial defect and treat the neurological iatrogenic syndrome. Autologous fat transfer was primarily used in 10 cases to avoid such complications. It is an easy technique widely used in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. This technique gives very satisfying long-term results on the cosmetic as well as on the physiological point of view.
Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Regenerative Therapy: Optimization of Cell Preparation Protocols
Authors: Ikebe Chiho , Suzuki Ken
Published: January 2014

Administration of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is an innovative approach for the treatment of a range of diseases that are not curable by current therapies including heart failure. A number of clinical trials have been completed and many others are ongoing; more than 2,000 patients worldwide have been administered with culture-expanded allogeneic or autologous MSCs for the treatment of various diseases, showing feasibility and safety (and some efficacy) of this approach. However, protocols for isolation and expansion of donor MSCs vary widely between these trials, which could affect the efficacy of the therapy. It is therefore important to develop international standards of MSC production, which should be evidence-based, regulatory authority-compliant, of good medical practice grade, cost-effective, and clinically practical, so that this innovative approach becomes an established widely adopted treatment. This review article summarizes protocols to isolate and expand bone marrow-derived MSCs in 47 recent clinical trials of MSC-based therapy, which were published after 2007 onwards and provided sufficient methodological information. Identified issues and possible solutions associated with the MSC production methods, including materials and protocols for isolation and expansion, are discussed with reference to relevant experimental evidence with aim of future clinical success of MSC-based therapy.
Overcoming Acquired BRAF Inhibitor Resistance in Melanoma via Targeted Inhibition of Hsp90 with Ganetespib
Authors: Acquaviva Jaime , Smith Donald L. , Jimenez John-Paul , Zhang Chaohua , Sequeira Manuel , He Suqin , Sang Jim , Bates Richard C. , Proia David A.
Published: January 2014

Activating BRAF kinase mutations serve as oncogenic drivers in over half of all melanomas, a feature that has been exploited in the development of new molecularly targeted approaches to treat this disease. Selective BRAFV600E inhibitors, such as vemurafenib, typically induce initial, profound tumor regressions within this group of patients; however, durable responses have been hampered by the emergence of drug resistance. Here, we examined the activity of ganetespib, a small-molecule inhibitor of Hsp90, in melanoma lines harboring the BRAFV600E mutation. Ganetespib exposure resulted in the loss of mutant BRAF expression and depletion of mitogen-activated protein kinase and AKT signaling, resulting in greater in vitro potency and antitumor efficacy compared with targeted BRAF and MAP–ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitors. Dual targeting of Hsp90 and BRAFV600E provided combinatorial benefit in vemurafenib-sensitive melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, ganetespib overcame mechanisms of intrinsic and acquired resistance to vemurafenib, the latter of which was characterized by reactivation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling. Continued suppression of BRAFV600E by vemurafenib potentiated sensitivity to MEK inhibitors after acquired resistance had been established. Ganetespib treatment reduced, but not abolished, elevations in steady-state ERK activity. Profiling studies revealed that the addition of a MEK inhibitor could completely abrogate ERK reactivation in the resistant phenotype, with ganetespib displaying superior combinatorial activity over vemurafenib. Moreover, ganetespib plus the MEK inhibitor TAK-733 induced tumor regressions in vemurafenib-resistant xenografts. Overall these data highlight the potential of ganetespib as a single-agent or combination treatment in BRAFV600E-driven melanoma, particularly as a strategy to overcome acquired resistance to selective BRAF inhibitors. Mol Cancer Ther; 13(2); 353–63. ©2014 AACR.
Comparison of Probabilistic Statistical Forecast and Trend Adjustment Methods for North American Seasonal Temperatures
Authors: Wilks Daniel S.
Published: January 2014

The three multivariate statistical methods of canonical correlation analysis, maximum covariance analysis, and redundancy analysis are compared with respect to their probabilistic accuracy for seasonal forecasts of gridded North American temperatures. Derivation of forecast error covariance matrices for the methods allows a probabilistic formulation for the forecasts, assuming Gaussian predictive distributions. The three methods perform similarly with respect to probabilistic forecast accuracy as reflected by the ranked probability score, although maximum covariance analysis may be preferred because of its slightly better forecast skill and calibration. In each case the forecast accuracy for North American seasonal temperatures compares favorably to results from previously published studies. In addition, two alternative approaches are compared for alleviating the cold biases in the forecasts that derive from ongoing climate warming. Adding lagging 15-yr means to forecast temperature anomalies improved forecast accuracy and reduced the cold bias in the forecasts, relative to using the more conventional lagging 30-yr mean.
Asymmetries between Wavenumber Spectra of Along- and Across-Track Velocity from Tandem Mission Altimetry
Authors: Wortham Cimarron , Callies Jörn , Scharffenberg Martin G.
Published: January 2014

Satellite altimetry has proven to be one of the most useful oceanographic datasets, providing a continuous, near-global record of surface geostrophic currents, among other uses. One limitation of observations from a single satellite is the difficulty of estimating the full geostrophic velocity field. The 3-yr Jason-1–Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon tandem mission, with two satellites flying parallel tracks, promised to overcome this limitation. However, the wide track separation severely limits the tandem mission’s resolution and reduces the observed velocity variance. In this paper, the effective filter imposed by the track separation is discussed and two important consequences for any application of the tandem mission velocities are explained. First, while across-track velocity is simply low-pass filtered, along-track velocity is attenuated also at wavelengths much longer than the track separation. Second, velocity wavenumber spectral slopes are artificially steepened by a factor of k−2 at wavelengths smaller than the track separation. Knowledge of the effective filter has several applications, including reconstruction of the full velocity spectrum from the heavily filtered observations. Here, the hypothesis that the tandem mission flow field is horizontally nondivergent and isotropic is tested. The effective filter is also used to predict the fraction of the eddy kinetic energy (EKE) that is captured for a given track separation. The EKE captured falls off rapidly for track separations greater than about 20 km.
Introduction: Sociology as a combat sport
Authors: Burawoy Michael
Published: January 2014

This introduction sets out from the unresolved paradox to be found in the writings of Bourdieu, namely the theoretical impossibility of public sociology and his own sustained practical engagement with publics. I appropriate and develop his concept of the ‘field’ to account for his success as a public sociologist. It requires us to understand that public sociology is only possible at the intersection of two distinct fields – the academic field and the political field. Public sociology proves to be a rather precarious pursuit, then; first, because of competing demands internal to the academic field; second, because of the difficulty in operating at the intersection of the academic and political fields; and third, because of the obduracy of common sense that cannot be easily dislodged, the very attempt often arousing open hostility. Difficult though it may be, the development of its public face will be necessary for the survival of sociology as well as an important ingredient in defending human existence from extinction by market fundamentalism.
In times of civil war: On being a schizophrenic (public) sociologist
Authors: Sundar Nandini
Published: January 2014

This article addresses some of the dilemmas that sociologists in the Global South face – how does one choose between the demands of the public moment, the university as a space of work and struggle, and our duty to our ‘disciplines’? How do we engage in practically extending the democracy and equality that we routinely learn and teach about and yet seize the time and space required for reflecting and producing research that is valued to the extent that it is seen to be ‘disinterested’? And how do those of us who live and work in the global academic periphery validate our sociology in a world where the standards are often set by scholars abroad?
Is ‘Spiritual Gift(s)’ a Linguistically Fallacious Term? A Lexical Study of Χάρισµα, Πνευµατικός, and Πνεῦµα
Authors: Ong Hughson T.
Published: January 2014

This article argues that the term ‘spiritual gifts’ is a theologically loaded English concept that is often used to catalogue certain gifts, abilities, or ministries. It also argues that ‘spiritual gifts’ should be seen and used more broadly to refer to any kind of gift (including eternal life, for example) that is of/from the Holy Spirit. This article employs some basic theories from modern lexical semantics to analyze χάρισµα, πνευµατικός, and πνεῦµα, three Greek lexemes that have been rendered as ‘spiritual gifts’ in Rom 1:11, 1 Cor 1:7, 12:1, 14:1, and 14:12.
The willingness to pay for green apartments: The case of Nanjing, China
Authors: Hu Hong , Geertman Stan , Hooimeijer Pieter
Published: January 2014

Faced with the challenge of developing sustainable cities, the Chinese government sets green construction as part of the national strategy to reduce energy consumption. However, the consumer market has shown limited response to such policies. To upscale green building, it is crucial to understand the market demands for green apartments. This article employs a conjoint model to estimate the willingness to pay for green dwellings versus accessibility to metros and jobs and neighbourhood quality by different socio-economic groups in Nanjing, China. Results show that the socio-economic status of homebuyers determines their willingness to pay for green attributes. Only the rich are prepared to pay for green apartments to improve their living comfort. To all, the notion of health is appealing as consumers are willing to pay for an unpolluted environment and for non-toxic construction materials used in buildings in good locations.