A Point Decision For Partially Identified Auction Models

This paper proposes a decision theoretic method to choose a single reserve price for partially identified auction models, such as Haile and Tamer, 2003, using data on transaction prices from English auctions. The paper employs Gilboa and Schmeidler, 1989 for inference that is robust with respect to the prior over unidentified parameters. It is optimal to interpret the transaction price as the highest value, and maximize the posterior mean of the seller’s revenue. The Monte Carlo study shows substantial gains relative to the average revenues of the Haile and Tamer interval.

Mathematical Modeling and Simulation of Rapeseed Drying on Concurrent-Flow Dryer

Mathematical modeling for rapeseed drying on concurrent-flow dryer was built based on energy and mass transfer balances. The fourth-order Runge–Kutta method was used for solving four ordinary differential equations. A computer simulation program for circulating concurrent-flow rapeseed dryer was developed using these models. A pilot-scale concurrent-flow dryer was used to verify the fitness of simulation program. Two drying experiments were conducted. The output parameters of the simulation program were compared and analyzed with experiment data. The RMSE of simulated moisture contents ranged from 0.334 to 0.506%w.b. with the coefficient of determinations ranged from 0.994 to 0.997. The RMSE of simulated rapeseed temperatures during drying process ranged from 1.15 to 1.77°C with the R2 ranging from 0.904 to 0.925. The experimental drying rates were 2.38 and 2.80% w.b./h. In comparison with simulated values, the difference between simulated value and measured value of drying rate were 5.04 and 5.08%; drying time were 7.14 and 0.47%; and germination ratio were 1.87 and 0.47%. The simulated fuel energy consumption for drying were 4.62 and 8.57% lower than the experimental values. The analytic results showed that the simulation results have good fitness with experimental data

Self-similar Properties of Decelerating Turbulent Jets

The flow in a decelerating turbulent round jet is investigated using direct numerical simulation. The simulations are initialised with a flow field from a statistically-stationary turbulent jet. Upon stopping the inflow, a deceleration wave passes through the jet, behind which the velocity field evolves towards a new statistically-unsteady self-similar state. Assumption of unsteady self-similar behaviour leads to analytical relations concern-ing the evolution of the centreline mean axial velocity and the shapes of the radial profiles of the velocity statistics. Consistency between these predictions and the simulation data supports the use of the assumption of self-similarity. The mean radial velocity is predicted to reverse in direction near to the jet centreline as the deceleration wave passes, contributing to an approximately three-fold increase in the normalised mass entrainment rate. The shape of the mean axial velocity profile undergoes a relatively small change across the deceleration transient, and this observation provides direct evidence in support of previous models that have assumed that the mean axial velocity profile, and in some cases also the jet spreading angle, remain approximately constant within unsteady jets.<br/

A NETWORK LINK PREDICTION MODEL BASED ON OBJECT-OBJECT MATCH METHOD

In this paper, we proposed and evaluated a new network link prediction method that can be used to predict missing links in a social network. In the proposed model, to improve the prediction accuracy, the network link prediction problem is transformed to a general object-object match prediction problem, in which the nodes of a network are regarded as objects and the neighbors of a node are regarded as the node\u27s associated features. Also a machine learning framework is devised for the systematic prediction. We compare the prediction accuracy of the proposed method with existing network link prediction methods using well-known network datasets such as a scientific co-authorship network, an e-mail communication network, and a product co-purchasing network. The results showed that the proposed approach made a significant improvement in all three networks. Also it reveals that considering the neighbor\u27s neighbors are critical to improve the prediction accuracy

Prognosis of Elderly Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer without Serosal Invasion

Introduction: The impact of age on the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer is controversial. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathologic features and prognosis of elderly, advanced gastric cancer patients without serosal invasion compared to their younger counterparts. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 43 elderly patients with advanced gastric cancer without serosal invasion. The clinicopathologic findings were compared between the elderly (age &gt;70 years) and young (age &lt;36 years) patients. Results: Significantly higher numbers of elderly patients had tumors with differentiated histology, whereas more young patients had tumors with undifferentiated histology (P &lt; 0.01). Curability (risk ratio, 3.122; confidence interval, 1.242-4.779; P &lt; 0.001) was an independent prognostic factor of survival. The 5-year survival rates were not significantly different between the elderly and the young patients according to the absence of serosal invasion (80.0% vs 77.9%; P = 0.654) and undergoing curative resection (82.0% vs 78.9%; P = 0.312). Meanwhile, among the elderly patients, those who underwent curative resection had a better survival rate than those with non-curative resection (82.0% vs 67.8%; P &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: Elderly patients with advanced gastric cancer without serosal invasion do not have a worse prognosis than their younger counterparts, indicating that age does not impact the prognosis of advanced gastric cancer. The important prognostic factor was whether the patients underwent curative resection

Short-Term Effects of Combined Serial Casting and Botulinum Toxin Injection for Spastic Equinus in Ambulatory Children with Cerebral Palsy

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis that combination therapy of serial cast and botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) injection can further enhance the effects of a BTX-A injection in ambulant children with cerebral palsy (CP) who have an equinus foot. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Children in group A (30 legs of 21 children) received a serial casting application after an injection of BTX-A, and children in group B (25 legs of 17 children) received only a BTX-A injection. Assessments were performed before the intervention and 1 month after the intervention. RESULTS: After the intervention, there were significant improvements in tone, dynamic spasticity, and passive range of motion (ROM) in both groups. However, the changes were greater in group A than in group B. Dimension D (standing) in Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM)-66 was significantly improved in group A but not in group B. On the other hand, there were no significant changes in dimension E (walking, running, jumping) in GMFM-66 in either group. CONCLUSION: The results of our study suggest that a serial casting application after BTX-A injection can enhance the benefits of BTX-A injection in children with cerebral palsy.ope

Nonequilibrium fluctuations for a single-particle analog of gas in a soft wall

We investigate the motion of a colloidal particle driven out of equilibrium by a time-varying stiffness of the optical trap that produces persistent nonequilibrium work. Measurements of work production for repeated cycles composed of the compression and expansion processes for the optical potential show huge fluctuations due to thermal motion. Using a precise technique to modulate the stiffness in time, we accurately estimate the probability distributions of work produced for the compression and expansion processes. We confirm the fluctuation theorem from the ratio of the two distributions. We also show that the average values of work for the two processes comply with the Jarzynski equality. This system has an analogy with a gas in a breathing soft wall. We discuss about its applicability to a heat engine and an information engine operated by feedback control.open1

Enhanced overall efficiency of GaInN-based light-emitting diodes with reduced efficiency droop by Al-composition-graded AlGaN/GaN superlattice electron blocking layer

AlxGa1-xN/GaN superlattice electron blocking layers (EBLs) with gradually decreasing Al composition toward the p-type GaN layer are introduced to GaInN-based high-power light-emitting diodes (LEDs). GaInN/GaN multiple quantum well LEDs with 5- and 9-period Al-composition-graded AlxGa1-xN/GaN EBL show comparable operating voltage, higher efficiency as well as less efficiency droop than LEDs having conventional bulk AlGaN EBL, which is attributed to the superlattice doping effect, enhanced hole injection into the active region, and reduced potential drop in the EBL by grading Al compositions. Simulation results reveal a reduction in electron leakage for the superlattice EBL, in agreement with experimental results. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.open1133sciescopu