Localized Frames and Compactness

We introduce the concept of weak-localization for generalized frames and use this concept to define a class of weakly localized operators. This class contains many important operators, including: Short Time Fourier Transform multipliers, Calderon-Toeplitz operators, Toeplitz operators on various functions spaces, Anti-Wick operators, and many others. In this paper, we study the boundedness and compactness of weakly localized operators. In particular, we provide a characterization of compactness for weakly localized operators in terms of the behavior of their Berezin transform

Risk of perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus in Jordan.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the risk of perinatal transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Jordan. METHODS: Plasma samples from 1000 pregnant Jordanian women were screened by ELISA for HBV markers (HBsAg, HBeAg, anti-HBe, anti-HBc and anti-HBs). RESULTS: HBsAg and HBeAg were detected in 4.3% and 0.1% of the pregnant women, respectively. The overall prevalence of antibodies was 6%, 11.1% and 7.5% for anti-HBe, anti-HBc and anti-HBs, respectively. Women were assigned to four groups according to the serological patterns of HBV markers: susceptible (85.9%), with acute infection (2.9%), with chronic infection (1.4%) and previously infected (9.8%). Most women were at the third trimester of pregnancy, therefore women with acute and chronic hepatitis at this gestational age were at risk of transmitting HBV infection to their newborns. Women who belonged to the low socio-economic class were at higher risk of HBV infection. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results, we recommend screening women for HBV during pregnancy in order to identify HBV carriers. All newborns born to carriers should be vaccinated immediately after birth, both passively and actively. Also vaccination of HBV seronegative pregnant women is recommended

Industrial Experience and Disciplinary Knowledge Impact on Creative Outcomes in a Making Context: A Case Study of Graduate Level Industrial Engineering Course

Background: Design and creativity are essential elements of problem-solving. Purpose: The purpose of the research presented herein is to identify the impacts of learning in different study programs on students’ abilities to generate and implement creative design solutions. Design/Method: An experiment was designed and conducted within the context of a semester-long graduate engineering course titled “Human-Centered Design and Manufacturing” at a large American public university. The experiment featured classroom data collection from an experimental cohort at four different stages of an intervention using a questionnaire. Results were then compared to those of a control group’s. Results: Preliminary results showed that students’ systematic creativity learning lessened the differences in creative outcomes due to industrial experience and formal degree program differences. Conclusions: Results from this study could help better prepare students for the ever-increasing interdisciplinary nature of engineering teams in different industrial settings all over the world. The intervention designed for this study will also help students more effectively transition from conceptualizing design concepts, to manufacturing those designs, and finally presenting results to key shareholders

The Effect of Website Improvements of the Amman Stock Exchange on Its Financial Performance

The big revolution in the field of information technology and information network (Internet) a significant impact on the performance of various institutions activities . So This study aimed to identify the impact of the evolution of the website of the Amman Stock Exchange on its financial performance study sample consisted of (50) individual included managers, department heads, and staff., Where results showed the presence of the impact the development of the website of the Amman Stock Exchange on its financial performance. Keywords: financial performance, website, Amman stock exchange (ASE).

Credit Default Swap and Liquidity

The recent global economic downturn that erupted in the mid 2007 saw an increase of the Credit Default Swaps (CDS) by hundred basis points and severe liquidity crunch in the financial sector of the United States. The recession phase highlighted the importance of the liquidity for the investors and underlined the importance of understanding the connection between the liquidity of the market and the credit markets. In depth, this study tries to understand the relation between the liquidity risk in the CDS market and the credit risk. Along the same line of this study, a study conducted on the different Swiss and German companies revealed that credit risk is not the direct originator of the liquidity risk, but it created by a negative credit shock. In addition, this paper focuses on the causes that intensified the global crisis of (2007) as well as the macro-prudential policies are highlighted that will prevent a similar type of crisis in the future. Keywords: Credit Risk, Liquidity, Financial Crisis. JEL Classifications: G31, G33

Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in the Soils of the Gulf of Aqaba (Northwestern Saudi Arabia): Integration of Geochemical, Remote Sensing, GIS, and Statistical Data

Ghrefat, H.; Zaman, H.; Batayneh, A.; El Waheidi, M.M.; Qaysi, S.; Al-Taani, A.; Jallouli, C., and Badhris, O., 2021. Assessment of heavy metal contamination in the soils of the Gulf of Aqaba (Northwestern Saudi Arabia): Integration of geochemical, remote sensing, GIS, and statistical data. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(4), 864872. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Rock and soil sample geochemical analysis was conducted to investigate the extent and causes of soil contamination in the Gulf of Aqaba region in NW Saudi Arabia. The inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to determine the concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, Co, Cr, Mn, Fe, Hg, Mo, and Cd in 23 soil samples and 25 samples from granitic and Cenozoic marine sedimentary formations. The geochemical results have been integrated with remote sensing, GIS, and statistical analysis to assess the severity of soil pollution in the area. The concentrations of heavy metals (ppm) in the collected soil samples were as follows: Fe (2259.70), Mn (101.85), Zn (20.15), Pb (10.74), Cr (8.67), Cu (6.10), Co (1.35), Mo (0.69), Hg (0.30), and Cd (0.17). A significant variation in the mean metal concentrations was observed for the rock samples. The correlation analysis results showed that different degrees of positive and negative relationships exist among different metals in the area. Two factors (PC1 and PC2) were identified using the principal component analysis (PCA) and were responsible for about 60% of the total variance in the data. The studied metals were separated and classified into two factors based on their geochemical features and source. In contrast, the hierarchical cluster analysis grouped the identified metals into different groups based on the similarity of their characteristics. The principal component (PC2) applied to the Sentinel-2A image classified the land cover in the area into three classes: vegetation, barren rocks, and urban area. The enrichment factor shows a relatively higher percentage of enriched Mo; however, the indices of geo-accumulation and potential ecological risk generally reveal no substantial metallic contamination in the study area. The main sources of soil contamination with metals are rock-weathering processes and various agricultural works that are widely practiced in the area

Conceptual Design of a Single DOF Human-Like Eight-Bar Leg Mechanism

Abstract Legs are the most important elements for accomplishing human physical work including transportation or displacement. The article presents a mechanical reproduction of the human walking apparatus. Using design rules, a final mechanism configuration is achieved such that the crank is a binary link connected to a binary ground link. The resulting linkage is a single degree-of-freedom (DOF) eight-bar mechanism. The mechanism exemplifies the shape and movement of a human leg. The mechanism is simulated and tested to verify the proposed synthesis

Populism as identity politics: Perceived ingroup disadvantage, collective narcissism and support for populism

Populists combine anti-elitism with a conviction that they hold a superior vision of what it means to be a true citizen of their nation. We expected support for populism to be associated with national collective narcissism—an unrealistic belief in the greatness of the national group, which should increase in response to perceived ingroup disadvantage. In Study 1 (Polish participants; n=1007), national collective narcissism predicted support for the populist Law and Justice party. In the experimental Study 2 (British participants; n=497), perceived long-term ingroup disadvantage led to greater support for Brexit and this relationship was accounted for by national collective narcissism. In Study 3 (American participants; n=403), group relative deprivation predicted support for Donald Trump and this relationship was accounted for by national collective narcissism. These associations were present even when we controlled for conventional national identification. We discuss implications of the link between collective narcissism and support for populism