bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
South Asia: Multilateral trade agreements and untapped regional trade integration
Authors: Kumar Rakesh 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThis paper presents the facts on existing and future prospects of regional trade integration in South Asia in the backdrop of multilateral trade agreements. The study applies trade intensity index of four largest South Asian countries (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) to estimates the short‐ and long‐run trade co‐integration in autoregressive multilateral framework. The results highlights that long‐run trade complementarities are found between the trade of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, while short‐run trade complementarities exist between India and Bangladesh, and between India and Sri Lanka. Pakistan and Bangladesh are found close trade competitors in South Asia in short run. The findings are important for policy implication which highlights how to bridge the untapped regional trade integration in South Asia. If trade barriers are overcome, the greater degree of trade openness can play vital role in achieving balanced regional economic development. India being the largest economy can play key role in striving the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) process for pursuing its objectives.
The implications of cash flows for future earnings and stock returns within profit and loss firms
Authors: Naoum Vassilios‐Christos , Papanastasopoulos Georgios A. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThe current study examines the association of cash subcomponents of earnings with future profitability and stock returns, conditional on the sign of current profitability. The empirical findings, based on a sample of U.K. listed firms for the period 1989–2013, indicate that, the higher persistence of the cash component of earnings is entirely attributable to cash distributions to equity holders and that investors fail to anticipate this higher persistence, leading to significant mispricing. Cash distributions to equity holders appear to have a positive relation with future returns. Furthermore, we show that the positive effect of the cash subcomponent related to equity financing activities on future earnings and stock price performance, is highly attenuated across profit firms, and becomes more severe across loss firms. Overall, our findings lend support to the earnings fixation hypothesis in explaining the pricing implications of the cash component of earnings on future stock returns.
Board gender composition and debt financing
Authors: Ahmed Ammad , Atif Muhammad 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThere is a recent upsurge in calls for more women on corporate boards around the world; however, a perception of women being risk‐averse that is created by lottery and gambling studies has affected women's advancement in their career ladder. Our study investigates women's risk averseness when they are on corporate boards in the context of a firm's use of debt financing. Using a unique Australian setting, we find that women on the board have a positive association with the firm's use of debt financing. This suggests that firms with women on the board are not conservative in using debt financing. Our results are robust to the use of alternative measures of gender diversity and to a series of sensitivity checks including propensity score matching, difference‐in‐differences and two‐stage least square techniques.
Money laundering and bank risk: Evidence from U.S. banks
Authors: Altunbaş Yener , Thornton John , Uymaz Yurtsev 
Published: August 2020

AbstractWe test for a link between bank risk and enforcements issued by U.S. regulators against banks for money laundering (ML) in a sample of 960 publicly listed U.S. banks over 2004–2015. ML‐related enforcements are associated with increased bank risk on several measures of risk with the result robust to a variety of estimation methodologies. Moreover, the impact of ML on bank risk is accentuated by the presence of powerful CEOs and only partly mitigated by large and independent executive boards.
Modelling opportunity cost effects in money demand due to openness
Authors: van Huellen Sophie , Qin Duo , Lu Shan , Wang Huiwen , Wang Qing Chao , Moraitis Thanos 
Published: August 2020

AbstractWe apply a novel model‐based approach to constructing composite international financial indices (CIFIs) as measures of opportunity cost effects that arise due to openness in money demand models. These indices are tested on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan Province of China (TPC), two economies which differ substantially in size and degree of financial openness. Results show that (a) stable money demand equations can be identified if accounting for foreign opportunity costs through CIFIs, (b) the monetary policy intervention in the PRC over the global financial crisis period temporarily mitigated disequilibrating foreign shocks to money demand, (c) CIFIs capture opportunity costs due to openness more adequately than commonly used US interest rates and (d) CIFI construction provides valuable insights into the channels through which foreign financial markets affect domestic money demand.
Removal of an encrusted ureteral stent by cutting the stent with a holmium laser using 4.5‐Fr semi‐rigid and flexible ureteroscopes
Authors: Imai Satoshi , Inoue Takaaki , Muramaki Mototsugu , Yamada Yuji , Fujisawa Masato 
Published: August 2020

IntroductionUreteral stents (double‐J stents) are widely used in urology to prevent or relieve ureteral obstruction and have become an integral part of urological practice. We have often experienced cases in which a stent cannot be removed due to encrustation.Case presentationWe describe the case of a 54‐year‐old male, who presented with a severely encrusted ureteral stent, which had only been inserted for one month until second surgery for renal stones. The ureteral stent could not be removed as it had become encrusted with renal stones. The encrusted ureteral stent was successfully removed by cutting it with a Ho:YAG laser using 4.5/6.5‐Fr semi‐rigid and flexible ureteroscopes retrogradely. The patient subsequently remained stone‐free without any complication.ConclusionWe experienced a case in which an encrusted ureteral stent was successfully removed retrogradely. Technological advancements in endourology will hopefully make the treatment of such cases safer and less invasive.
Translation and preliminary validation of a Korean version of the parental reflective functioning questionnaire
Authors: Lee Yujin , Meins Elizabeth , Larkin Fionnuala 
Published: August 2020

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to explore the factor structure, reliability, and validity of a Korean translation of the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ). The PRFQ consists of three subscales: prementalizing modes, certainty about mental states, and interest and curiosity in mental states. A convenience sample of 163 Korean parents completed the K‐PRFQ. Exploratory factor analysis showed three factors mapped on to the original PRFQ factors, but items from the original prementalizing modes subscale clustered into two additional factors. Data from a subsample (n = 67) showed that the certainty about mental states and interest and curiosity in mental states subscales correlated positively with more optimal self‐reported parenting. We discuss the validity of using the PRFQ in collectivistic cultures.
Agriculture sustainability in arid lands of southern Tunisia: Ecological impacts of irrigation water quality and human practices*
Authors: Dhaouadi Latifa , Besser Houda , Wassar Fatma , Kharbout Nissaf , Brahim Naima Ben , Wahba Mohamed As , Kang Yaohu Kang 
Published: August 2020

AbstractGroundwater resources in southwestern Tunisia are facing serious quantity and quality degradation. Given that they are the only source used for oasis irrigation, serious impacts on the soil of the region are expected. Accordingly, the main objective of this study is to evaluate the suitability of the sampled water from the Complex Terminal aquifer for irrigation purposes and to determine the potential impacts of their long‐term use within the present agricultural practices on soil properties.The calculated ionic ratios indicate different classes ranging from permissible to unsuitable waters with respect to alkalinity standards (sodium adsorption ratio from 3.68 to 9.34, %Na from 36.7 to 61.2, and rill erodibility from 0.48 to 1.43). Water samples present high values of electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, and potential salinity, about 54.5, 29.4, and 32.2%, respectively, which indicates serious salinity hazard. All the sampled waters may induce corrosion and clogging problems as deduced from the calculated light dynamic penetrometer and total hardness indices. The weighted water quality indices results (Canadian Water Quality Index and the irrigation water quality index) confirm the poor quality of the used irrigation water.The results of this study coupled with field investigations indicate that the cumulative impacts of low water quality and poor agricultural practices have damaged the total oasean ecosystem.
MiR‐1224‐5p acts as a tumor suppressor via inhibiting the malignancy of rectal cancer through targeting SLC29A3
Authors: Song Na‐Sha , Pei Zhi‐Dong , Fu Gui 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThe emphasis of our study was to determine the physiological function of miR‐1224‐5p in rectal cancer (RC) and its in‐depth mechanism. First, the expression of miR‐1224‐5p in RC tissues was analyzed using public data from the TCGA database. Then, miR‐1224‐5p expression in RC cell lines SW480 and SW837 was measured using the qRT‐PCR assay. The subsequent CCK‐8 assay was executed to assess the function of miR‐1224‐5p in the viability of the RC cell. Bioinformatics prediction prompted that SLC29A3 may be a potential target gene for miR‐1224‐5p. Western blotting and dual‐luciferase reporter assays were performed to affirm the above forecasting. Kaplan–Meier analysis and Cox multivariate analysis were carried out to assess the relationship between SLC29A3 and prognosis. Finally, CCK‐8, colony formation assay, and transwell assay were used for functional analysis of miR‐1224‐5p/ SLC29A3 axis in vitro. MiR‐1224‐5p was expressed at low levels in RC tissues and cell lines. Up‐regulation of miR‐1224‐5p inhibited SW480 cell viability, while inhibition of miR‐1224‐5p enhanced the viability of SW837 cells. What is more, we affirmed that miR‐1224‐5p could direct target SLC29A3, which was expressed at high levels in RC tissues. In addition, SLC29A3 could be used as an independent predictive factor of prognosis in patients with RC, and the higher SLC29A3 expression, the lower survival rate. Finally, cellular functional experiments evidenced that miR‐1224‐5p mimic can reduce the cell viability, invasion, and migration, while overexpression of SLC29A3 presented an opposite effect. Importantly, co‐transfection experiments indicated that SLC29A3 can reverse miR‐1224‐5p‐mediated inhibition in the malignant progression of RC cells. Our work raised the possibility that miR‐1224‐5p functioned as a tumor suppressor in RC, which achieved its function via targeting SLC29A3.
SOLUTION OF OPTIMAL CONTROL PROBLEMS ON A PARALLEL MACHINE USING THE EPSILON METHOD
Authors: Frick P. A , Stech D. J. 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYUsing Balakrishnan's epsilon formulation and the Rayleigh‐Ritz method with a Walsh function basis, optimal control problems are transformed from the standard two‐point boundary value problem form to an unconstrained non‐linear programming problem. The resulting matrix‐vector equations describing the optimal solution can be very easily implemented on say an IBM PC running Matlab or MatrixX on the one hand and have standard parallel solution methods for implementation on parallel computers on the other. Some computational results performed on an Intel hypercube are presented to illustrate that considerable computational savings can be realized by using the proposed algorithm.
REDUCED‐ORDER STATE SPACE MODELS FOR CONTROL OF METAL‐FORMING PROCESSES
Authors: Grandhi R. V. , Thiagarajan R. , Malas J. C. , Irwin D. 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYThis paper describes a systematic procedure to build reduced‐order analytical models for representing metal‐forming processes. The non‐linear finite element method (FEM) is used to model and simulate the metal‐forming process. The procedure for construction of the state space model from the finite element model is described. Available model reduction schemes are utilized in generating reduced‐order models from the full size state space representation of the system. The objective of the design process is to maintain specified effective strain rates in certain critical elements of the workpiece. The control input (ram velocity) is designed off‐line using the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) theory with finite time control. Three model reduction methods are studied and a suitable technique applicable to the metal‐forming process is identified. The selection is based on two performance measures, namely the designed velocity schedule and the infinity norm of the reduced‐order system. The method of building the reduced‐order process models is explained and demonstrated using two case studies.
NUMERICAL METHODS FOR HJB EQUATIONS OF OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS FOR PIECEWISE DETERMINISTIC SYSTEMS
Authors: Boukas E. K. 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYThis paper deals with numerical methods for the optimization of piecewise, stationary and deterministic systems. We mainly extend the methods used by Kushner and by Gonzales and Roffman to deal with a different kind of optimization problem and provide a comparison between these extended methods. The basic idea behind the numerical approximation methods is to build a discrete Markov decision process with finite state space and finite control space which is readily solvable and approximates the optimization problem for the class of piecewise deterministic systems. To illustrate the usefulness of the proposed methods, a numerical example in the field of production systems is presented.
ROBUST POWER SYSTEM LOAD‐FREQUENCY CONTROLLER DESIGN BASED ON H∞ OPTIMIZATION APPROACH
Authors: Wang Youyi , Zhou Rujing , Gao Long 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYAn H∞ controller based on the standard H∞ control design approach is proposed for power system load‐frequency control with system parametric uncertainties. The variation bounds of power system parameters are obtained by changing parameters by 30%‐50% simultaneously from their typical values. The existing H∞ control technique is applied to design a load‐frequency controller for power systems. The design procedure is given. The proposed H∞ controller is simple, effective and can ensure that the overall system is asymptotically stable for all admissible uncertainties. Our simulation results show that for the example system the proposed H∞ load‐frequency controller can achieve good performance even in the presence of generation rate constraint.
FIXED‐ORDER DYNAMIC OPTIMAL CONTROL DESIGN FOR ROBUST STABILITY OF LINEAR DISCRETE SYSTEMS
Authors: Kolla Sri R. 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYThis paper presents a fixed‐order dynamic optimal control design method for robust stability of linear discrete systems. The controller determination includes a stability robustness component in addition to the standard quadratic state and control terms in the performance criterion. The control design is based on a parameter optimization technique. The resulting controller involves the solution of three algebraic matrix equations, two of which are discrete‐time Lyapunov matrix equations.
APPLICATION OF RECEDING HORIZON CONTROL STRATEGY TO PURSUIT‐EVASION PROBLEMS
Authors: Shinar J. , Glizer V. J. 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYTime‐optimal interception of an arbitrarily manoeuvering evader is investigated using a simplified kinematic model of planar constant speed motion. Against such an uncertain evader behaviour a new and robust pursuer strategy, inspired by the ‘receding horizon’ control concept, is developed. Numerical results of an extensive simulation study show that for all the cases that have been tested the optimal horizon length is approximately 60% of the minimum time required to capture a straight‐flying evader. Moreover, the performance loss compared with the optimal control and game solutions is less than 1%. The proposed guidance algorithm, based on the ‘receding horizon’ control concept and using a singular perturbation approximation, is very simple to implement and leads almost always to a near‐optimal outcome.
ABOUT OPTIMAL SHAPE DESIGN IN FLUID DYNAMICS
Authors: Neittaanmäki P. , Rivkind V. , Seregin G. 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYIn this paper we study optimal shape design problems for systems governed by the Navier‐Stokes equations. Optimality conditions are presented. A numerical example for the design of an axisymmetric solid body surrounded by a Navier‐Stokes flow is given.
GLOBAL ASYMPTOTIC STABILIZATION OF THE SPINNING TOP
Authors: Wan Chih‐Jian , Coppola Vincent T. , Bernstein Dennis S. 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYWe consider the problem of controlling a top to the sleeping motion using two different actuation schemes. For a fixed‐base top two actuators are assumed to provide forces at the centre of mass in inertially fixed directions, while for a cart‐mounted top two actuators are assumed to apply forces to the cart in inertially fixed directions. The controller for the cart‐mounted top is obtained from the controller designed for the fixed‐base top using d'Alembert's principle. Both controllers are proved to be globally asymptotically stabilizing. For the uncontrolled fixed‐base top, necessary and sufficient conditions for Lyapunov stability of the sleeping motion are derived. For the case in which there is only one force actuator, locally asymptotically stabilizing control laws that drive the fixed‐base top to the sleeping motion are also obtained.
SHAPE OPTIMIZATION IN AERODYNAMICS USING NON‐LINEAR GENERALIZED MINIMAL RESIDUAL ALGORITHM
Authors: Vossinis Andreas 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYNon‐linear generalized minimal residual (GMRES) is suggested in order to solve the optimality conditions of unconstrained shape optimization problems in aerodynamics. These are formulated as optimal control problems. A brief description of GMRES and how to use it as an optimization tool is first given. The solution of a pressure recovery problem for an aerofoil in subsonic flow follows. The full potential state equation with lift is used; it is solved by a P1 finite element formulation on unstructured meshes. The cost function gradient is calculated by introducing the Lagrangian and an adjoint system, since the lift is treated as a state constraint. The same problem is also solved in transonic full potential flow. A mass flux upwinding is used in order to capture weak shocks and supersonic pockets. The lift is modelled with the help of an approximate Riemann solver on the wake. A P1 finite element method on unstructured meshes is used for the resolution of the state equation. The Lagrangian and an adjoint equation are used in order to calculate in a formal way the cost function gradient. Finally, the solution of a drag minimization problem is presented in the same kind of flow.
POWELL'S METHOD APPLIED TO LEARNING NEURAL CONTROL OF THREE UNKNOWN DYNAMIC SYSTEMS
Authors: Li C. James , Yan Lilai , Chbat Nicolas W. 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYThis paper describes a direct neural network (NN) learning controller that is capable of improving its performance in the control of a non‐linear system whose dynamics are unknown. This controller is able to improve its performance without having to identify a model of the plant, which is a necessity for most existing neural network controllers. This characteristic is obtained with a gradient‐free neural network learning algorithm, Powell's method. The performance of this new controller in the control of three non‐linear systems, a pendulum, a double pendulum and a robot, was evaluated by simulations and experiments. The new controller has shown fast learning and small tracking error in the control of these systems.
GRAMMIAN ASSIGNMENT FOR STOCHASTIC PARAMETER SYSTEMS AND THEIR STABILIZATION UNDER RANDOMLY VARYING DELAYS
Authors: Yaz Engin , Ray Asok 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYThe motivation for the work reported in this paper accrues from the necessity of finding stabilizing control laws for systems with randomly varying distributed delays. It reports the development of assignability conditions for mean square controllability and observability Grammians in discrete‐time stochastic‐parameter systems and shows how to parametrize the static output feedback gains to achieve a certain Grammian assignment. All assignable Grammians are expressed either as the simultaneous solutions of a Riccati‐like matrix inequality and a linear equation or as a non‐linear matrix equation with a free parameter.
ROBUST GUARANTEED COST CONTROL OF UNCERTAIN NON‐LINEAR ROBOTIC SYSTEM USING MIXED MINIMUM TIME AND QUADRATIC PERFORMANCE INDEX
Authors: Kaloust J. , Qu Z. 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYTo provide better transient performance in controlling robots, a mixed minimum time and quadratic performance index is used. For known and uncertain revolute robot manipulators a conventional optimal control and a robust guaranteed cost control are proposed respectively. Asymptotic stability is also discussed based on the Lyapunov direct method. The proposed robust control is continuous and requires no knowledge of the uncertain system except for bounding functions.
A PENALTY METHOD FOR POINT AND PATH STATE CONSTRAINTS IN TRAJECTORY OPTIMIZATION
Authors: Bartholomew‐Biggs M. C. 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYThis communication gives a brief description of a practical penalty function approach to the solution of optimal control problems involving constraints on the state variables. The work is motivated by a wish to retain some benefits of the Pontryagin approach to trajectory optimization when certain in‐flight constraints are included. A single computational example is used to demonstrate the viability of the method.
BARRIER STRATEGIES AND CAPTURE CRITERIA IN A 3D PURSUIT‐EVASION DIFFERENTIAL GAME
Authors: Segal A. , Miloh T. 
Published: August 2020

SUMMARYA 3D pursuit‐evasion situation where a highly manoeuvrable evader is engaged by a faster bank‐to‐turn pursuer is considered in this paper. The differential game (DG) is solved as a ‘game of kind’ (GOK), establishing barrier strategies and capture criteria in terms of the game parameters. Some of these strategies and the associated optimal pursuit‐evasion manoeuvres have been presented in two earlier papers for the ‘classical’ type of barrier surface, i.e. with a tangential termination on the target set. This paper covers a larger region in the game parameter space, introducing a new type of game termination.
Teaching New Literacies and Inquiry: A Grassroots Effort to Bring About Educational Change in Kenya
Authors: Kerkhoff Shea N. , Spires Hiller A. , Wanyonyi Peter 
Published: August 2020

AbstractPrint‐based literacy is no longer sufficient for the global digital age. However, distribution of the resources needed to learn new literacies is unequal. The authors describe a qualitative case study conducted with teachers in Kenya who participated in a professional development series on new literacies and inquiry. The professional development involved an inquiry‐based literacy approach that is technology‐rich and learner‐centered. Three themes emerged from the data: shifting to learner‐centered pedagogies: “I’m inspired to improve my teaching”; change is slow but coming: “We need to be empowered with more information about new technologies”; and strategies for teaching new literacies: “Creating is better than just talking.” The discussion focuses on the enduring challenges for educational transformation in Kenya coupled with the substantive changes that are being made by pioneering Kenyan educators.