Evaluation of normalisation methods for uniaxial bias extension tests on engineering fabrics

An investigation has been conducted to evaluate the performance of normalisation methods for the uniaxial bias extension test. The predictions of two published theories for rate-independent behaviour are examined and a third heuristic method is proposed. Using hypothetical test data, the predictions of the two rate-independent theories are shown to be equivalent for specimen dimensions of high aspect ratio; in this case the predictions can be well-represented using the simple heuristic formula. The predictions diverge for specimens of low aspect ratio, when specimens are sheared to very high shear angles. In order to examine the significance of this divergence on real data, results from tests on several different engineering fabrics are normalised. Differences in the predictions of the normalisation methods are observed and the question of the significance of these differences is discussed. The paper also examines the applicability of rate-independent theory for normalising rate-dependent materials

ESCRT-III mediated cell division in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius - a reconstitution perspective

In the framework of synthetic biology, it has become an intriguing question what would be the minimal representation of cell division machinery. Thus, it seems appropriate to compare how cell division is realized in different microorganisms. Inparticular, the cell division system of Crenarchaeota lacks certain proteins found in most bacteria and Euryarchaeota, such as FtsZ, MreB or the Min system. The Sulfolobaceae family encodes functional homologs of the eukaryotic proteins vacuolar protein sorting 4(Vps4) and endosomal sorting complex required for transport-III (ESCRT-III). ESCRT-III is essential for several eukaryotic pathways, e.g., budding of intraluminal vesicles, or cytokinesis, whereas Vps4 dissociates the ESCRT-III complex from the membrane. Cell Division A(CdvA) is required for the recruitment of crenarchaeal ESCRT-III proteins to the membrane at mid-cell. The proteins polymerize and form a smaller structure during constriction. Thus, ESCRT-III mediated cell division in Sulfolobus acidocaldarius shows functional analogies to the Z ring observed in prokaryotes like Escherichia coli, which has recently begun to be reconstituted in vitro. In this short perspective, we discuss the possibility of building such an in vitro cell division system on basis of archaeal ESCRT-III

Correction to ‘Evaluation of normalisation methods for uniaxial bias extension tests on engineering fabrics’

This short communication is intended to correct certain erroneous conclusions drawn in the recently published paper by Härtel and Harrison (2014). The investigation of Härtel and Harrison (2014) was intended to evaluate the performance of normalisation methods for the uniaxial bias extension test. Predictions of two published theories for rate-independent behaviour were examined. New conclusions drawn in light of the error found in Härtel and Harrison (2014) are presented and corrected results are provided

The EU should abandon ‘soft power’ in Ukraine and adopt a new approach focused on geostrategic concerns

Ukraine’s refusal to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union has been seen as a significant blow for the EU’s neighbourhood strategy. André Härtel writes that this failure stems from the EU’s misunderstanding of Ukrainian politics, its inability to act coherently on foreign policy, and its preoccupation with normative aims such as democratisation. He argues that the EU requires a new approach which puts aside ‘soft power’ and seeks to integrate Ukraine into Europe – irrespective of the country’s progress in implementing democratic reforms

The asymptotic behavior of the term structure of interest rates

In this dissertation we investigate long-term interest rates, i.e. interest rates with maturity going to infinity, in the post-crisis interest rate market. Three different concepts of long-term interest rates are considered for this purpose: the long-term yield, the long-term simple rate, and the long-term swap rate. We analyze the properties as well as the interrelations of these long-term interest rates. In particular, we study the asymptotic behavior of the term structure of interest rates in some specific models. First, we compute the three long-term interest rates in the HJM framework with different stochastic drivers, namely Brownian motions, Lévy processes, and affine processes on the state space of positive semidefinite symmetric matrices. The HJM setting presents the advantage that the entire yield curve can be modeled directly. Furthermore, by considering increasingly more general classes of drivers, we were able to take into account the impact of different risk factors and their dependence structure on the long end of the yield curve. Finally, we study the long-term interest rates and especially the long-term swap rate in the Flesaker-Hughston model and the linear-rational methodology

To treat or not to treat: the historical source before the input

Die verschiedenen historischen Disziplinen haben eine Vielzahl von unterschiedlichen Fragestellungen an historische Quellen. Aus diesem Grund gibt es sehr unterschiedliche Formen der Präsentation des historischen Materials in den Quellen-Editionen und Datenbänken. Es kann ein vollständiger Text wiedergegeben werden, der nach den Regeln einer philologischen oder historisch-kritischen Ausgabe bearbeitet wurde. Das Problem hierbei ist, Standards für eine Gesamtausgabe zu finden, die von der gesamten Wissenschaftsgemeinde akzeptiert werden können. Es scheint so, daß Standardisierungen einer formalisierten Dokumentation, was die Details der Text-Behandlung anbetrifft, die Austauschbarkeit und allgemeine Benutzbarkeit von maschinen-lesbaren Quellen eher sicherstellt, als die Standardisierung der Textbearbeitung. Eine formalisierte Dokumentation könnte auch für eine computergestützte Produktion kritischer Ausgaben von Quellentexten genutzt werden. (pka)'The various historical disciplines have a lot of different requests to the historical sources. As a result of that there are different ways how to represent a historical source in an edition or in a data-base. A full-text can be represented, e.g., according to the rules of the historical or the philological edition. The problem is to find out a standard of full-text input which is acceptable for the whole scientific community. It is more likely that standardization of formalized documentation (concerning the details of text-treatment) can ensure the exchangeability and general usability of machine-readable sources than standardization of text treatment can do. A formalized documentation could also be used for computer-supported producing of critical editions according to different rules on the basis of one and the same literal transcription.' (author's abstract