A Walsh-Fourier approach to the circulant Hadamard conjecture

We describe an approach to the circulant Hadamard conjecture based on Walsh-Fourier analysis. We show that the existence of a circulant Hadamard matrix of order $n$ is equivalent to the existence of a non-trivial solution of a certain homogenous linear system of equations. Based on this system, a possible way of proving the conjecture is proposed.Comment: 8 page

Cuando la nueva tecnología se une a los documentos antiguos y el oriente se encuentra con el oeste: la reconstrucción virtual del faro pagoda de Fisher Island (China)

[EN] Located on the route between Xiamen and Taiwan (China), the Penghu (Pescadores Islands) are an archipelago and the site of a military garrison. The second largest island, Xiyu or Fisher Island, was accordingly an obvious point to build a navigational marker to guide sailors. Records indicate that some type of a marker, in the form of a tower or pagoda, was constructed in the 17thcentury. However, in 1778the original was replaced by a different sort of pagoda tower. The new structure has long been known to have been a purpose fully designed lighthouse. Although today’s Yuwengdao lighthouse, built in 1875, has become a famous heritage landmark, the earlier 1778 structure, it can be argued has greater heritage significance in that it was an entirely original creation preceding the introduction of western lighthouse technology in China by nearly a century. Thanks to the fortunate discovery of a hitherto unknown photograph of this earlier lighthouse backed by further research in early navigational documents, gazetteers, charts and inscriptions and The authors have been able to make a 3D virtual reconstruction using state-of-the-art Revit software and thus answer several research questions about this old lighthouse pagoda, including dimensions, location, orientation, function and materials.[ES] Situado en la ruta entre Xiamen y Taiwán(China), Penghu (Islas Pescadores) es un archipiélago que históricamente tenía una guarnición militar. La segunda isla más grande, Fisher Island, era por lo tanto un punto obvio para construir una señal de navegación para guiar a marineros. Los registros muestran que un tipo de torre o pagoda sirvió también como señal de navegación, que se construyó en el siglo XVII. Sin embargo, en 1778 fue reemplazado por una pagoda conocida por haber sido diseñada principalmente como un faro. Aunque hoy en día el faro de Yuwengdao, construido en 1875, se ha convertido en un hito famoso de la herencia cultural, la estructura anterior de 1778 se puede argumentar que fue de mayor significancia patrimonial porque era una creación enteramente original, precediendo la introducción de la tecnología occidental de un faro en China casi un siglo. Gracias al afortunado descubrimiento de la fotografía hasta ahora desconocida de este antiguo faro, respaldada por investigaciones adicionales en los primeros documentos de navegación, nomenclátores, tablas e inscripciones, los autores han sido capaces de hacer una reconstrucción virtual 3D utilizando el software de última generación Revit y responder consiguientemente a varias preguntas de investigación sobre este antiguo faro pagoda ,incluyendo sus dimensiones, ubicación, orientación, función y materiales.The lead author is grateful for support from Prof. Steve Ching and Prof. Stephen Davies during the exercise. We also owe a debt of thanksto support from The Royal Geographical Society Picture Library for providing the 1875 terrestrial image.Leung, AK.; Davies, S.; Ching, SH. (2018). When new technology joins old documents and east meets west: virtually reconstructing the Fisher Island Pagoda Lighthouse (China). Virtual Archaeology Review. 9(18):12-27. doi:10.4995/var.2018.7982SWORD122791

Understanding pandemic behaviours in Singapore – Application of the Terror Management Health Model

The novel coronavirus, now known as COVID-19, was first reported in China in December 2019 and became a global crisis by March 2020. Both adaptive and maladaptive behaviours were observed in response to aspects of the crisis, some of which appeared to be contradictory to coping and curbing the threat of COVID-19. For instance, the purchase and use of surgical masks and sanitisers could be understood as logical health-oriented behaviours relevant to coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. The breaching of social distancing measures and forwarding unverified news, however, might have done more harm than good. In applying the proximal and distal defences proposed within the Terror Management Health Model (TMHM), this article suggests explanations for these behaviours as individuals’ attempts to alleviate anxiety arising from reminders of their mortality. Information from local newspapers and media is used to highlight and identify common behaviours observed in the pandemic, and the TMHM is applied to explain these behaviours. This paper briefly concludes with a call for empirical validation of the TMHM for the behaviours observed in relation to COVID-19, and for the use of TMHM conceptualisations to develop countermeasures to reduce maladaptive behaviours in the current, and future, pandemics in Singapore

Conservación del patrimonio cultural utilizando nuevos métodos de comunicación: la Pagoda de madera de Yingxian, China

[EN] Architectural landmarks that represent a culture’s identity are also sanctuaries for cultural heritage preservation. The tallest and oldest wooden multi-story structure in the world, the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda of China is tilting at an ongoing rate that requires an urgency to find solutions to revert the damage. To preserve the evolving humanistic and artistic understandings of ancient Chinese architecture, and to cultivate the scientific reasoning behind ancient Chinese carpentry, new media allows digital and computational methods to replace human users who once manually analyzed data and information from cultural sites and artifacts. This article will exemplify new media tools such as animation via 3D/2D modeling, 3D scanning and virtual reality photography to examine material evidence of the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda of China, and the role new media can assist in its fight to sustain its originality since 1056.Highlights: Examination, documentation, research and education of architectural heritage sites using new media methods.Integration of old archives and digital/computational software to represent the outstanding value of the oldest and tallest wooden skyscraper in the world.Use of 2D/3D modelling and virtual reality photography developing information to increase awareness on cultural heritage sites suffering wood deterioration.[ES] Los hitos arquitectónicos que representan la identidad de una cultura también son santuarios para la preservación del patrimonio cultural. La pagoda de madera de Yingxian en China, la estructura de madera de varios pisos más alta y antigua del mundo, se inclina a un ritmo constante que requiere encontrar solución es urgentes que reviertan el daño. Para preservar la evolución humanística y la comprensión artística de la antigua arquitectura china, y para cultivar el razonamiento científico detrás de la antigua carpintería china, los nuevos medios de comunicación permiten asistencia digital y computacional a los usuarios humanos que analizaban manualmente los datos y la información de los sitios culturales y los artefactos. La evidencia alcanzada a partir de las investigaciones previas unido a que los métodos de documentación clásicos requerían una comprensión sólida de la información realizada por el investigador, conlleva a que los registros se puedan describir como estáticos y anticuados, y que solo pueden ofrecer información tal y como se presenta. Los nuevos medios de comunicación ofrecen a la Pagoda de madera de Yingxian la última asistencia digital para encontrar descubrimientos que no eran posibles de llevar a cabo en investigaciones anteriores usando los métodos clásicos. La ayuda de programas y herramientas computacionales amplía la evidencia ocultada en los sitios patrimoniales. Este artículo ejemplificará las nuevas herramientas de comunicación, como la animación a través del modelado 3D/2D, el escaneado 3D y la fotografía de realidad virtual para examinar la evidencia material de la Pagoda de madera de Yingxian, y el papel que los nuevos medios pueden desempeñar en su lucha por mantener la originalidad de esta pagoda budista de madera desde 1056.Lai, DS.; Leung, AK.; Chan, D.; Ching, SH. (2019). Cultural heritage preservation using new media methods: Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, China. Virtual Archaeology Review. 10(21):103-115. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2019.11071SWORD1031151021ACRL, (2015, February 9). Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. American Library Association. (p. 7-8)Ching, H.S. (2018, March). Turning a Service Learning Experience into a Model of Student Engagement: The Lighthouse Heritage Research Connections (LHRC) Project in Hong Kong. Elsevier BV: The Journal of Academic Librarianship, ISSN: 0099-1333, Vol: 44, Issue: 2, (p. 196-206).Eggers, R. (2017, January 9). Virtual Reality: The Future of Photography?. Retrieved from http://www.direporter.com/products/360o/virtual-reality-future-photography.Heidegger, M. (1971). 'The Thing'. In Poetry, Language, Thought, translated by A. Hofstafter. New York: Harper & Row.Hernandez, M. (2018, June 11). The Dougong: A nailless Chinese construction method. Retrieved from https://multimedia.scmp.com/culture/article/forbidden-city/architecture/chapter_02.html. South China Morning Post.Hou, W.D (侯卫东). (2016). Ying Xian Mu Ta Bao Hu Yan Jiu (应县木塔保护研究). Beijing, China: Beijing Shi : Wen Wu Chu Ban She (文物出版社).Jia, D.Y. (2015). Principles for the Conservation Heritage Sites in China. Beijing, China: Beijing Shi : Wen Wu Chu Ban She (文物出版社). (p. 100).Lai, D. (2018). (Director). The Preservation of the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda. Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong. Retrieved from https://www.cityu.edu.hk/cityvod/video/play/LIB/Yingxian_Pagoda.aspxLeary, C. (n.d.). 360 VR Panoramic Photography. Retrieved from http://chrisleary.photography/360-vr-panoramic-photography/Manovich, L. (2001) The language of new media. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. (p. 36)Malpas, J. (2008) New Media. Cultural Heritage and the Sense of Place: Mapping the Conceptual Ground. International Journal of Heritage Studies. (p. 198)NOAA. (2018). Significant Earthquake Search - sorted by Data. Retrieved from https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?bt_0=1056&st_0=2018&type_17=EXACT&query_17=30&op_12=eq&v_12=CHINA&type_12=Or&query_14=None%20Selected&type_3=Like&query_3=Shanxi&st_1=&bt_2=&st_2=&bt_1=&bt_4=&st_4=&bt_5=&st_5=&bt_6=&st_6=&bt_7=&st_7=&bt_8=&st_8=&bt_9=&st_9=&bt_10=&st_10=&type_11=Exact&query_11=&type_16=Exact&query_16=&bt_18=&st_18=&ge_19=&le_19=&type_20=Like&query_20=&display_look=1&t=101650&s=1&submit_all=Search%20Database. National Centers for Environmental Information.Thompson, R.M. (2017). Firearm Identification in the Forensic Science Laboratory. 10.13140/RG.2.2.16250.59846. (p.7)Tian, W., Wang Y.R., 山西省应县县志办公室. (1984). 应州志. China: 山西省应县县志办公室重印.Tollefson, J. (2017, May 17). The wooden skyscrapers that could help to cool the planet. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/news/the-wooden-skyscrapers-that-could-help-to-cool-the-planet-1.21992UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (2013). Wooden Structures of Liao Dynasty-Wooden Pagoda of Yingxian County, Main Hall of Fengguo Monastery of Yixian County. Retrieved from https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5803

Implicações das prioridades de gasto do estado sobre a dinâmica econômica brasileira

XX Encontro Nacional de Economia Política: desenvolvimento Latino-Americano, Integração e Inserção Internacional - UNILA, Foz do Iguaçu, 26 a 29 de maio de 2015A sociedade brasileira tem passado, nas últimas décadas, por transformações importantes em seu contexto político e econômico. Este artigo trata principalmente de dois fatos que ainda, atualmente, impactam na dinâmica do gasto público. O processo de redemocratização, em fi nais dos anos de 1980 e a globalização econômica com a consequente fi nanceirização dos mercados. Estas transformações infl uenciam a forma de atuação do Estado na economia, principalmente no que se refere à defi nição de alocação de recursos públicos. Assim, este artigo aprofunda o entendimento da evolução das despesas públicas na esfera federal, pela análise dos gastos sociais bem como da dívida pública, constatando os impactos econômicos destas despesas e levantando conclusões sobre a viabilidade de determinados gastos governamentais sob a dinâmica econômica e social do país. A realização deste estudo contribui para o debate sobre as estratégias de política fi scal que vêm sendo adotadas e o impacto de priorização de determinados gastos, sobre o crescimento econômico do paísBanco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES); Usina Hidrelétrica de Itaipu (ITAIPU); Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) e Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana (UNILA

Having a family doctor is associated with some better patient-reported outcomes of primary care consultations

<b>Background</b> Hong Kong (HK) has pluralistic primary care that is provided by a variety of doctors. The aim of our study was to assess patient-reported outcomes of primary care consultations in HK and whether having a family doctor (FD) made any difference.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> We interviewed by telephone 3148 subjects from 5174 contacted households (response rate 60.8%) randomly selected from the general population of HK about the experience of their last primary care consultations in September 2007 and April 2008. We compared the patient-reported outcomes (PRO) and patient-centered process of care in those with a FD, those with other types of regular primary care doctors (ORD) and those without any regular primary care doctor (NRD). PRO included patient enablement, global improvement in health, overall satisfaction, and likelihood of recommending their doctors to family and friends. Patient-centered process of care indicators was explanations about the illness, and address of patient’s concerns.<p></p> <b>Results</b> One thousand one hundred fifty, 746, and 1157 reported to have FD, ORD, and NRD, respectively. Over 80% of those with FD consulted their usual primary care doctors in the last consultation compared with 27% of those with NRD. Compared with subjects having ORD or NRD, subjects with FD reported being more enabled after the consultation and were more likely to recommend their doctors to family and friends. Subjects with FD and ORD were more likely than those having NRD to report a global improvement in health and satisfaction. FD group was more likely than the other two groups to report receiving an explanation on the diagnosis, nature, and expected course of the illness, and having their concerns addressed. Patient enablement was associated with explanation of diagnosis, nature, and expected course of illness, and address of patient’s concerns.<p></p> <b>Conclusion</b> People with a regular FD were more likely to feel being enabled and to experience patient-centered care in consultations

Factors affecting public access defibrillator placement decisions in the United Kingdom: A survey study

AIM: This study aimed to understand current community PAD placement strategies and identify factors which influence PAD placement decision-making in the United Kingdom (UK). METHODS: Individuals, groups and organisations involved in PAD placement in the UK were invited to participate in an online survey collecting demographic information, facilitators and barriers to community PAD placement and information used to decide where a PAD is installed in their experiences. Survey responses were analysed through descriptive statistical analysis and thematic analysis. RESULTS: There were 106 included responses. Distance from another PAD (66%) and availability of a power source (63%) were most frequently used when respondents are deciding where best to install a PAD and historical occurrence of cardiac arrest (29%) was used the least. Three main themes were identified influencing PAD placement: (i) the relationship between the community and PADs emphasising community engagement to create buy-in; (ii) practical barriers and facilitators to PAD placement including securing consent, powering the cabinet, accessibility, security, funding, and guardianship; and (iii) ‘risk assessment’ methods to estimate the need for PADs including areas of high footfall, population density and type, areas experiencing health inequalities, areas with delayed ambulance response and current PAD provision. CONCLUSION: Decision-makers want to install PADs in locations that maximise impact and benefit to the community, but this can be constrained by numerous social and infrastructural factors. The best location to install a PAD depends on local context; work is required to determine how to overcome barriers to optimal community PAD placement

The BPAG1 locus: alternative splicing produces multiple isoforms with distinct cytoskeletal linker domains, including predominant isoforms in neurons and muscles

Bullous pemphigoid antigen 1 (BPAG1) is a member of the plakin family with cytoskeletal linker properties. Mutations in BPAG1 cause sensory neuron degeneration and skin fragility in mice. We have analyzed the BPAG1 locus in detail and found that it encodes different interaction domains that are combined in tissue-specific manners. These domains include an actin-binding domain (ABD), a plakin domain, a coiled coil (CC) rod domain, two different potential intermediate filament–binding domains (IFBDs), a spectrin repeat (SR)-containing rod domain, and a microtubule-binding domain (MTBD). There are at least three major forms of BPAG1: BPAG1-e (302 kD), BPAG1-a (615 kD), and BPAG1-b (834 kD). BPAG1-e has been described previously and consists of the plakin domain, the CC rod domain, and the first IFBD. It is the primary epidermal BPAG1 isoform, and its absence that is the likely cause of skin fragility in mutant mice. BPAG1-a is the major isoform in the nervous system and a homologue of the microtubule actin cross-linking factor, MACF. BPAG1-a is composed of the ABD, the plakin domain, the SR-containing rod domain, and the MTBD. The absence of BPAG1-a is the likely cause of sensory neurodegeneration in mutant mice. BPAG1-b is highly expressed in muscles, and has extra exons encoding a second IFBD between the plakin and SR-containing rod domains of BPAG1-a