Hermite spectral method for the inelastic Boltzmann equation

We propose a Hermite spectral method for the inelastic Boltzmann equation, which makes two-dimensional periodic problem computation affordable by the hardware nowadays. The new algorithm is based on a Hermite expansion, where the expansion coefficients for the VHS model are reduced into several summations and can be derived exactly. Moreover, a new collision model is built with a combination of the quadratic collision operator and a linearized collision operator, which helps us to balance the computational cost and the accuracy. Various numerical experiments, including spatially two-dimensional simulations, demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of this numerical scheme

Coordination mechanism of SaaS service supply chain: based on compensation contracts

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to build new contracts theories of SaaS service supply chain. Software as a Service (SaaS) has become a hot topic in this industry . Compared with traditional manufacturing supply chain and general service supply chain, the new IT service supply chain which based on SaaS has characteristics of both service and IT. And SaaS is completely different from traditional software package model. Therefore the classic contracts, which be widely used in traditional manufacturing supply chain, can’t be directly applied in SaaS service supply chain. The necessary way of IT services developing is to study the SaaS service supply chain combining with characteristics of SaaS. Therefore, It focuses on the coordination of SaaS service supply chain. Design/methodology/approach: It tries to answer the following question: how do the ISV motivate SaaS operators to improve the service level through effective contracts mechanism under conditions of asymmetric information. In order to answer these questions, this paper does some researches including: Under the conditions of information asymmetry, supposing the service level (is related to the degree of effort) of SaaS operator was private information, we construct model of compensation contract, i.e., to motivate SaaS operator to improve service level through transfer payments of compensation price. Findings and Originality/value: The study finds out that when ISV get to “positive feedback”, instead of the traditional market equilibrium, compensation contract (linear) can coordinate satisfactorily the SaaS service supply chain. In the point of “positive feedback”, the marginal revenue equals the marginal cost, but it is not the equilibrium of ISV’profit-maximization. Research limitations/implications: There are some limitations in this research. In the linear compensation contracts, the compensation price is fixed value. If in the contract, we can create a change value which is related to the sales volume of service, the coordination efficiency of compensation will be increased. And in the future, the nonlinear compensation contracts should be researched. Practical implications: In the practical implication, it will promote the development of study and practice of SaaS and IT service industry. And it is beneficial to ISV, platform operators and customers. Originality/value: From the theoretical perspective, this paper put forward some new contracts and motivating mechanism for effective coordination of SaaS service supply chain and the conclusion will enrich content of service supply chain theory system. In theory, it has more significance for further researching on SaaS and service supply chain.Peer Reviewe

Quantum Hydrodynamic Model by Moment Closure of Wigner Equation

In this paper, we derive the quantum hydrodynamics models based on the moment closure of the Wigner equation. The moment expansion adopted is of the Grad type firstly proposed in \cite{Grad}. The Grad's moment method was originally developed for the Boltzmann equation. In \cite{Fan_new}, a regularization method for the Grad's moment system of the Boltzmann equation was proposed to achieve the globally hyperbolicity so that the local well-posedness of the moment system is attained. With the moment expansion of the Wigner function, the drift term in the Wigner equation has exactly the same moment representation as in the Boltzmann equation, thus the regularization in \cite{Fan_new} applies. The moment expansion of the nonlocal Wigner potential term in the Wigner equation is turned to be a linear source term, which can only induce very mild growth of the solution. As the result, the local well-posedness of the regularized moment system for the Wigner equation remains as for the Boltzmann equation

Pristimerin induces apoptosis in imatinib-resistant chronic myelogenous leukemia cells harboring T315I mutation by blocking NF-κB signaling and depleting Bcr-Abl

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is characterized by the chimeric tyrosine kinase Bcr-Abl. Bcr-Abl-T315I is the notorious point mutation that causes resistance to imatinib and the second generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors, leading to poor prognosis. CML blasts have constitutive p65 (RelA NF-κB) transcriptional activity, and NF-κB may be a potential target for molecular therapies in CML that may also be effective against CML cells with Bcr-Abl-T315I.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this report, we discovered that pristimerin, a quinonemethide triterpenoid isolated from Celastraceae and Hippocrateaceae, inhibited growth and induced apoptosis in CML cells, including the cells harboring Bcr-Abl-T315I mutation. Additionally, pristimerin inhibited the growth of imatinib-resistant Bcr-Abl-T315I xenografts in nude mice. Pristimerin blocked the TNFα-induced IκBα phosphorylation, translocation of p65, and expression of NF-κB-regulated genes. Pristimerin inhibited two steps in NF-κB signaling: TAK1→IKK and IKK→IκBα. Pristimerin potently inhibited two pairs of CML cell lines (KBM5 versus KBM5-T315I, 32D-Bcr-Abl versus 32D-Bcr-Abl-T315I) and primary cells from a CML patient with acquired resistance to imatinib. The mRNA and protein levels of Bcr-Abl in imatinib-sensitive (KBM5) or imatinib-resistant (KBM5-T315I) CML cells were reduced after pristimerin treatment. Further, inactivation of Bcr-Abl by imatinib pretreatment did not abrogate the TNFα-induced NF-κB activation while silencing p65 by siRNA did not affect the levels of Bcr-Abl, both results together indicating that NF-κB inactivation and Bcr-Abl inhibition may be parallel independent pathways.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>To our knowledge, this is the first report to show that pristimerin is effective <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo </it>against CML cells, including those with the T315I mutation. The mechanisms may involve inhibition of NF-κB and Bcr-Abl. We concluded that pristimerin could be a lead compound for further drug development to overcome imatinib resistance in CML patients.</p

Im/possible Lives: Gender, Class, Self-Fashioning, and Affinal Solidarity in Modern South Asia

Drawing on ethnographic research and employing a micro-historical approach that recognizes not only the transnational but also the culturally specific manifestations of modernity, this article centers on the efforts of a young woman to negotiate shifting and conflicting discourses about what a good life might consist of for a highly educated and high caste Hindu woman living at the margins of a nonetheless globalized world. Newly imaginable worlds in contemporary Mithila,South Asia, structure feeling and action in particularly gendered and classed ways, even as the capacity of individuals to actualize those worlds and the “modern” selves envisioned within them are constrained by both overt and subtle means. In the context of shifting cultural anchors, new practices of silence, literacy, and even behaviors interpreted as “mental illness” may become tactics in an individual’s negotiation of conflicting self-representations. The confluence of forces at play in contemporary Mithila, moreover, is creating new structures of feeling that may begin to reverse long-standing locally held assumptions about strong solidarities between natal families and daughters, on the one hand, and weak solidarities between affinal families and new daughters-in-law, on the other

Determination of Temperature-Dependent Stress State in Thin AlGaN Layer of AlGaN/GaN HEMT Heterostructures by Near-Resonant Raman Scattering

The temperature-dependent stress state in the AlGaN barrier layer of AlGaN/GaN heterostructure grown on sapphire substrate was investigated by ultraviolet (UV) near-resonant Raman scattering. Strong scattering peak resulting from the A1(LO) phonon mode of AlGaN is observed under near-resonance condition, which allows for the accurate measurement of Raman shifts with temperature. The temperature-dependent stress in the AlGaN layer determined by the resonance Raman spectra is consistent with the theoretical calculation result, taking lattice mismatch and thermal mismatch into account together. This good agreement indicates that the UV near-resonant Raman scattering can be a direct and effective method to characterize the stress state in thin AlGaN barrier layer of AlGaN/GaN HEMT heterostructures

Assemblies of Nanoparticles as 3D Scaffolds for New Materials Design: from Polymer Crosslinked Aerogels to Polymer Matrix Composites

From a materials perspective, nanotechnology furnishes materials with useful macroscopic properties by manipulating matter in the 1-100 nm size regime. Improvements in performance in terms of strength, modulus and wetability are accomplished by, for example, introducing nanoparticles as fillers in plastics . Two issues that usually interfere with optimal materials performance are agglomeration of the nanoparticles and materials compatibility. Agglomeration cancels the advantage of using nanoparticulate matter as dopant, while lack of materials compatibility introduces a discontinuity at the polymer/dopant interface from where failure may begin. Agglomeration is encountered with surfactants that keep nanoparticles dispersed, while materials compatibility is improved by chemical bonding of the filler with the polymer. Overall the criterion for success is enhancement of the materials properties beyond what is obtained by simple mixing nanoparticles in the matrix. Silica is the most common dopant in use as a filler in plastics. Silica derived through a base-catalyzed sol-gel process consists of interconnected string of nanoparticles dispersed randomly in the 3D space, leaving up to \u3e99% empty mesoporous space between the nanoparticle network. If we consider providing those mesoporous surfaces with functional groups capable of covalent bonding with a polymer formed from monomers introduced in the mesopores, then we can achieve two extreme structures with distinct materials properties: (a) at one end, we may deposit only a thin conformal polymer layer on the nanoparticle network; while, (b) at the other end, we may grow enough polymer to fill the mesopores completely. The first kind of structure emphasizes the materials properties deriving from the porosity, that is lightweight, low thermal conductivity and dielectric constants, and high acoustic impedance. The second kind of structure refers to nanoparticle/matrix polymer composites tackling both issues of dispersion and covalent bonding between matrix and dopant all at once