A Monte Carlo Study of the Effects of Variability and Outliers on the Linear Correlation Coefficient

Monte Carlo simulations are used to investigate the effect of two factors, the amount of variability and an outlier, on the size of the Pearson correlation coefficient. Some simulation algorithms are developed, and two theorems for increasing or decreasing the amount of variability are suggested

Multiple weak gauge boson production in high energy hadronic collisions

The electroweak standard model, as well-known, has been remarkably successful in describing a broad spectrum of high energy physics and has also given a satisfactory and consistent theoretical description of all the experimental data which has been obtained so far. The aim of the present work is to investigate some of the most important processes associated with the standard model which involve the charged intermediate bosons W(^±), the neutral intermediate boson Z, the pair production of weak gauge bosons and the Higgs boson. First of all we start with the study of the effect of the strong interaction on the direct production of weak gauge boson production at hadron colliders. We calculate the first order perturbative QCD corrections O(a(_s)) to the lowest order cross sections for photon and Z pair production at hadron colliders. The calculation contains divergences, represented in dimensional regularisation by poles of order O(1/ϵ) and O(1/ϵ(^2)), where ϵ = 4-n(_2). The order O(1/ϵ(^2)) terms are eliminated when real and virtual corrections are combined, and the remaining 0(1/ϵ) corrections will be absorbed into the quark momentum distribution functions. We then study the production rate of weak gauge boson pairs for proton- proton and proton-antiproton colliders using single and double parton scattering mechanisms. We extrapolate to the next generation of hadron colliders with centre-of-mass energy E(_cm)= 10-200 TeV. We find comparable values for the single and double scattering cross sections at very high energies. To expand our investigation, we study also the production rate of multiple gauge bosons at hadron supercolliders using the double parton scattering mechanism. These kinds of processes are important and represent a potential significant background for Higgs boson production. Finally, and for completeness, we study Higgs boson phenomenology, which now forms a substantial part of the physics program at the next generation of high-energy colliders. The calculation covers the production rate of single and double Higgs production at hadron colliders via gluon-gluon fusion, their branching ratios and decay widths

Potential use of drone ultra-high-definition videos for detailed 3D city modeling

Ongoing developments in video resolution either using consumer-grade or professional cameras has opened opportunities for different applications such as in sports events broadcasting and digital cinematography. In the field of geoinformation science and photogrammetry, image-based 3D city modeling is expected to benefit from this technology development. Highly detailed 3D point clouds with low noise are expected to be produced when using ultra high definition UHD videos (e.g., 4K, 8K). Furthermore, a greater benefit is expected when the UHD videos are captured from the air by consumer-grade or professional drones. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have been published to quantify the expected outputs when using UHD cameras in terms of 3D modeling and point cloud density. In this paper, a quantification is shown about the expected point clouds and orthophotos qualities when using UHD videos from consumer-grade drones and a review of which applications they can be applied in. The results show that an improvement in 3D models of ≅65% relative accuracy and ≅90% in point density can be attained when using 8K video frames compared with HD video frames which will open a wide range of applications and business cases in the near future

Serum Levels of Selenium, Zinc, Copper and Magnesium in Asthmatic Patients: a Case Control Study.

Background: Free radicals have harmful effects on cells and tissues and are thought to be responsible for the pathogenesis of many diseases including bronchial asthma. Selenium (Se), Zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and magnesium (Mg) are trace elements required for the antioxidant enzymes and hence the optimal functions of the immune system. Changes in the levels of these elements may lead to a reduction in antioxidant activities in asthma. Objective: This study was conducted to determine serum levels of the trace elements Se, Zn, Cu, and Mg in asthmatic patients in order to evaluate the associations of these nutrients with asthma in adults Subjects and Methods: Serum Se, Zn, Cu, and Mg concentrations were measured in 100 asthmatic adult patients and 170 healthy control subjects matched for age and sex. The patients were recruited from asthma casualties, referred clinics and wards of Elshaab and Omdurman Teaching Hospital, Khartoum Sudan. Socio- demographic data and clinical history of all subjects were collected in questionnaires. Results: Serum Se and Cu levels were found to be significantly decreased in asthmatic patients compared to controls. Mean serum Se and Cu for patients were 65.8 5.5Ig/l (mean SD) and 0.711 0.37g/l respectively while that for controls were 78.2 7.5 Ig/l and 0.939 0.322g/l respectively (P value was < 0.001). On the other hand the mean serum Zn level was significantly higher in patients compared to controls (1.2 0.51g/l and 0.94 0.254g/l respectively) (P value wa

Variation of Y-Chromosomal STRs in Yezidi and Chaldean Population in Iraqi Kurdistan

Purpose: Because many ethnic groups live in the northern part of Iraq which represents the Iraqi part of Kurdistan. Short tandem repeats are widely used in population genetics and forensic science. This research aims to analyze the Y-chromosomal STR markers of the two ethnic groups Yezidi and Chaldean. Subjects and Methods: A DNA from Peripheral blood from a total of 44 unrelated males was extracted (22 for each ethnic group) and analysis for eight STRs of the Y-chromosome (Y-GATA-H4, Y-GATA-C4, DYS458, DYS456, DYS448, DYS437, DYS392 and DYS19). Then, the PCR products were run on 10% gel of polyacrylamide and stained by silver nitrate. The results were analyzed by Power marker V3.25 and dendogram created by Mega X software. Results: The highest diversity observed at Y-GATA-C4 (GD: 0.81) while lowest diversity was observed at DYS456 (GD: 0.64) at Yezidi group. At Chaldean group DYS458 (GD: 0.88) was the most diverse, while the least diverse marker was in Y-GATA-H4 0.66 in Chaldea and in Chaldean samples loci DYS458. The marker Y-GATA-C4 was found to be the most informative marker in both groups with PIC value of 0.8605. Conclusions: The study confirmed the high discrimination ability of the Y-STRs analysis and providing dataset on these two ethnic groups of Iraqi Kurdistan. The dendogram of Yezidi and Chaldean datasets reveals that the Yezidi individuals are more closely related to each other as compared to Chaldean group because Yezidi people because of intermarriage among them more than the Chaldean

Sustainability Analysis of the Company Financial Reports

In this paper, we analyze financial reports to measure the degree of harmonization between the disclosure in financial statements and sustainability reports. Content analysis has been employed to measure the harmonization degree to reveal the extent of complying with the sustainability reports. The sample contains thirteen Iraqi companies listed in the Iraqi stock exchange. It is shown that a low level of harmonization between financial statements disclosure and the sustainability reports. Nevertheless, the study found real interest by the Iraqi companies to adopt a standard of sustainable reports

Investigation of the Effect of the Force-Frequency on the Behaviour of a New Viscous Damper for Railway Applications

The primary purpose of this work is to experimentally investigate the damping coefficient of a viscous damper, intended to be used in railway applications to reduce noise emission. The viscous shock absorber used in this study is a commercial vehicle damper to which minor modifications were added. This investigation was focused on detecting the variation in the damping coefficient value over a wide range of frequencies. The experimental setup tends to simulate the railway vibration represented by a strong steel metal sheet structure attached to a shaker from its lower side. The shaker itself is connected to the damper rod through a dual acceleration-force sensor. A sinusoidal load with wide range of frequencies was applied by the shaker to the top of the damper's rod. Both acceleration and force time-responses were collected, stored and analyzed to extract the Force-Displacement and the Force-Velocity graphs. Based on the damping coefficients obtained for the different values of excitation frequencies, the results show that the damping coefficient is not constant and depends on the excitation frequency

The effect of exercises by using VertiMax device in the development of explosive strength and defensive blocking for handball players

This study aims to prepare special exercises using VertiMax device and to identify the effect of these exercises on the explosive strength and defensive blocking of senior handball players. The researchers have adopted the experimental approach, and the case study is identified by the senior handball players of Al- Dagharah handball club whose number is 16, and their lengths ranged (182.4 ± 3.282 cm), weights (82 ± 4.387 kg) and ages (23 ± 1.846 years). They are divided by a simple random method into two groups by (8) players per group in which the experimental group has used exercise by VertiMax device, while the control group has used team coach exercises. The researchers have conducted the explosive strength and defensive blocking tests of the study sample. The training method has included 3 units per week for a period of 6 weeks using the method of high-intensity interval training. The results of the explosive strength and defensive blocking tests have been presented and analysed. It is concluded that the exercises by using the VertiMax as auxiliary and effective devices can be relied upon in developing the explosive strength and defensive blocking of the handball

Long term finance programmes in the banking industry: the case of Islamic & traditional Arab banks

This research draws empirically a clear and comprehensive picture of long term programme finance in the Islamic and traditional Arab banking industries: Islamic banking industry is examined through musharaka, mudaraba, murabaha and muzaraha and; traditional banking industry is examined through lending. It pioneers and lays out the foundation of the research in this area. A survey was conducted on long term finance programmes in both the Islamic and traditional banking industries. A total of 109 banks were surveyes, 34 of which were Islamic banks. One main obstacle encountered in the research investigation was collecting the required primary data from banks. The research investigates questions related to the differences between groups and subgroups of banks: a) Islamic banks and traditional banks; b) Islamic banks located in Islamic economies and Islamic banks located in non Islamic economies; c) commercial banks and specialised banks; d) younger banks and older banks and e) smaller banks and larger banks. The findings of the research investigation suggests that there is generally a lack of differences amongst groups and subgroups of banks in terms of size, growth, ownership and long term finance programme performance. The performance is determined in terms of proportion of resources, involvement, required rate of return and the degree of success in long term finance programmes. Apart from the basis of their operations, Islamic banks differ from traditional banks in their age, growth, involvement and the required rate of return on long term finance programmes. The research investigates the practice and the importance of four Islamic finance politics namely; musharaka, mudaraba, murabaha and muzaraha to long term finance in the Islamic banking industry. The findings suggest that musharaka, mudaraba and murabaha are equally important: muzaraha is the least used in the long term finance programmes in the Islamic banking industry. The analysis of 80 hypotheses lead to 18 being accepted and 62 being rejected. Although some hypotheses are more important than others the findings suggest that the literature of banking is in bad need for further empirical research investigations