Development of Payment System: Case of Central Bank in Bahrain

This study analyses the payment system of the Central Bank of Bahrain based on interviews with bankers in addition to distributing 70 questionnaires to seven banks. The study presents the historical development of the Central Bank of Bahrain and reviews related studies. The results show that the value relevance of the payment system is important and there are various new tools for implementing this system. Further, the analysis reveals that there is a need to develop the infrastructure to fit the needs of Bahrain as the financial capital of the Middle East

Algebraic Properties of Valued Constraint Satisfaction Problem

The paper presents an algebraic framework for optimization problems expressible as Valued Constraint Satisfaction Problems. Our results generalize the algebraic framework for the decision version (CSPs) provided by Bulatov et al. [SICOMP 2005]. We introduce the notions of weighted algebras and varieties and use the Galois connection due to Cohen et al. [SICOMP 2013] to link VCSP languages to weighted algebras. We show that the difficulty of VCSP depends only on the weighted variety generated by the associated weighted algebra. Paralleling the results for CSPs we exhibit a reduction to cores and rigid cores which allows us to focus on idempotent weighted varieties. Further, we propose an analogue of the Algebraic CSP Dichotomy Conjecture; prove the hardness direction and verify that it agrees with known results for VCSPs on two-element sets [Cohen et al. 2006], finite-valued VCSPs [Thapper and Zivny 2013] and conservative VCSPs [Kolmogorov and Zivny 2013].Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1207.6692 by other author

Macroevolutionary patterns in cranial and lower jaw shape of ceratopsian dinosaurs (dinosauria, ornithischia). phylogeny, morphological integration, and evolutionary rates

Organisms: Ceratopsians were herbivorous, beaked dinosaurs, ranging from 1 m to 9 m in body length, usually four-footed, and with a bony frill that extended backwards from the cranium over the nape of the neck. Known from Asia, Europe, and North America, they appeared in the Late Jurassic and persisted until the end of the Late Cretaceous. Questions: Which evolutionary processes drive the phenotypic evolution of skulls and lower jaws within Ceratopsia? What is the degree of morphological integration between the skull and lower jaw, and between the snout and frill among clades? Finally, are there any morphological evolution rate shifts across the ceratopsian phylogeny? Data: Photographs from 121 ceratopsian skulls and 122 lower jaws in lateral view, both from original photos and published pictures. Fifty-five ceratopsian species are represented in the sample. Methods: We investigated cranial and lower jaw shape changes across ceratopsians applying two-dimensional geometric morphometrics. We also investigated the morphological variation of the snout and the frill. Using phylogenetic generalized least squares regression, we estimated the degree of phylogenetic signal in size and shape data, as well as in the shape-size relationship. We performed phenotypic evolutionary rate analysis on shape data to describe phenotypic shifts across the phylogeny. Using a rarefied version of Escoufier's RV coefficient, we tested morphological integration between skulls and lower jaws, and between snouts and frills. Finally, we explored the potential link between cranial and frill shape evolution in ceratopsians and the radiation of angiosperms using a linear regression model. Results: Skull, snout, and frill shapes differ among clades (with the exception of leptoceratopsids and protoceratopsids). Lower jaws show distinct morphologies among groups. Size and shape changes are phylogenetically structured. The frill drives the morphological variation of the skull, co-varying much more with the lower jaw than with the snout. The frill appears to evolve to co-vary better with the lower jaw in the more morphologically derived clades than in basal ones. A significant linear relationship does exist between cranial shape and angiosperm occurrences, suggesting the hypothesis that the frill evolved in response to changes in dietary compositions associated with the turnover between gymnosperms and angiosperms during the Cretaceous. Significant negative shifts in evolutionary rates characterize skull, snout, frill, and lower jaw shapes, corresponding to nodes where psittacosaurids diverge from other taxa. In contrast, a significant positive shift in skull and snout shape rate of evolution characterizes the clade Ceratopsoidea. Conclusion: The frill is the main driving force in the overall cranial shape within Ceratopsia and evolved secondarily to better co-vary with the lower jaw to produce a more efficient masticatory apparatus. The changes in frill shape are correlated with the angiosperm diversification that occurred in the Cretaceous and thus correlated with changes in diet. Ceratopsians exhibit a slowdown in the phenotypic evolutionary rate in the Early Cretaceous and an acceleration of the phenotypic rate in the Late Cretaceous

Use and abuse of statistics in tobacco industry-funded research on standardised packaging

In this commentary we consider the validity of tobacco industry-funded research on the effects of standardised packaging in Australia. As the first country to introduce standardised packs, Australia is closely watched, and Philip Morris International has recently funded two studies into the impact of the measure on smoking prevalence. Both of these papers are flawed in conception as well as design but have nonetheless been widely publicised as cautionary tales against standardised pack legislation. Specifically, we focus on the low statistical significance of the analytical methods used and the assumption that standardised packaging should have an immediate large impact on smoking prevalence

Sparticle Spectrum Constraints

The supersymmetric standard model with supergravity-inspired soft breaking terms predicts a rich pectrum of sparticles to be discovered at the SSC, LHC and NLC. Because there are more supersymmetric particles than unknown parameters, one can write down sum rules relating their masses. We discuss the pectrum of sparticles from this point of view. Some of the sum rules do not depend on the input parameters and can be used to test the consistency of the model, while others are useful in determining the input parameters of the theory. If supersymmetry is discovered but the sum rules turn out to be violated, it will be evidence of new physics beyond the minimal supersymmetric standard model with universal soft supersymmetry-breaking terms.Comment: 25 pages. NUB-3067-93TH, UFIFT-HEP-93-16, SSCL-Preprint-439, June 199

Turbulent shear layers in confining channels

We present a simple model for the development of shear layers between parallel flows in confining channels. Such flows are important across a wide range of topics from diffusers, nozzles and ducts to urban air flow and geophysical fluid dynamics. The model approximates the flow in the shear layer as a linear profile separating uniform-velocity streams. Both the channel geometry and wall drag affect the development of the flow. The model shows good agreement with both particle-image-velocimetry experiments and computational turbulence modelling. The low computational cost of the model allows it to be used for design purposes, which we demonstrate by investigating optimal pressure recovery in diffusers with non-uniform inflow

New Neighbours: Modelling the Growing Population of Gamma-ray Millisecond Pulsars

The Fermi Large Area Telescope, in collaboration with several groups from the radio community, have had marvellous success at uncovering new gamma-ray millisecond pulsars (MSPs). In fact, MSPs now make up a sizable fraction of the total number of known gamma-ray pulsars. The MSP population is characterized by a variety of pulse profile shapes, peak separations, and radio-to-gamma phase lags, with some members exhibiting nearly phase-aligned radio and gamma-ray light curves (LCs). The MSPs' short spin periods underline the importance of including special relativistic effects in LC calculations, even for emission originating from near the stellar surface. We present results on modelling and classification of MSP LCs using standard pulsar model geometries.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, proceedings of the ICREA Workshop on The High-Energy Emission from Pulsars and their Systems (HEEPS), Sant Cugat, Spai

Two Types of K⁺ Channel Subunit, Erg1 and KCNQ2/3, Contribute to the M-Like Current in a Mammalian Neuronal Cell

The potassium M current was originally identified in sympathetic ganglion cells, and analogous currents have been reported in some central neurons and also in some neural cell lines. It has recently been suggested that the M channel in sympathetic neurons comprises a heteromultimer of KCNQ2 and KCNQ3 (Wang et al., 1998) but it is unclear whether all other M-like currents are generated by these channels. Here we report that the M-like current previously described in NG108–15 mouse neuroblastoma x rat glioma cells has two components, “fast” and “slow”, that may be differentiated kinetically and pharmacologically. We provide evidence from PCR analysis and expression studies to indicate that these two components are mediated by two distinct molecular species of K+ channel: the fast component resembles that in sympathetic ganglia and is probably carried byKCNQ2/3 channels, whereas the slow component appears to be carried by merg1a channels. Thus, the channels generating M-like currents in different cells may be heterogeneous in molecular composition

Evaluation of the impact of a psycho-educational intervention for people diagnosed with schizophrenia and their primary caregivers in Jordan: A randomized controlled trial

© Hasan et al. Background: Psycho-educational interventions for people diagnosed with schizophrenia (PDwS) and their primary caregivers appear promising, however, the majority of trials have significant methodological shortcomings. There is little known about the effects of these interventions delivered in a booklet format in resource-poor countries. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted from September, 2012 to July, 2013 with 121 dyads of PDwS and their primary caregivers. Participants aged 18 years or older with DSM-IV schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and their primary caregivers, from four outpatient mental health clinics in Jordan, were randomly assigned to receive 12 weeks of a booklet form of psycho-education, with follow-up phone calls, and treatment as usual [TAU] (intervention, n = 58), or TAU (control, n = 63). Participants were assessed at baseline, immediately post-intervention (post-treatment1) and at three months follow-up. The primary outcome measure was change in knowledge of schizophrenia. Secondary outcomes for PDwS were psychiatric symptoms and relapse rate, with hospitalization or medication (number of episodes of increasing antipsychotic dosage), and for primary caregivers were burden of care and quality of life. Results: PDwS in the intervention group experienced greater improvement in knowledge scores (4.9 vs -0.5; p <0.001) at post-treatment and (6.5 vs -0.7; p <0.001) at three month-follow-up, greater reduction in symptom severity (-26.1 vs 2.5; p <0.001: -36.2 vs -4.9; p <0.001, at follow-up times respectively. Relapse rate with hospitalization was reduced significantly at both follow-up times in the intervention group (p <0.001), and relapse with medication increased in the intervention group at both follow-up times (p <0.001). Similarly there was a significant improvement in the primary caregivers knowledge score at post-treatment (6.3 vs -0.4; P < 0.001) and three month-follow-up (7.3 vs -0.7; p <0.001). Primary caregivers burden of care was significantly reduced in the intervention group (-6.4 vs 1.5; p <0.001; -9.4 vs 0.8; p <0.001), and their quality of life improved (9.2 vs -1.6; p = 0.01; 17.1 vs -5.3; p <0.001) at post-treatment and three month-follow-up. Conclusions: Psycho-education and TAU was more effective than TAU alone at improving participants' knowledge and psychological outcomes