1,177 research outputs found
Cross-Border Investment, Conflict of Laws, and the Privatization of Securities Law
The rapid acceleration of transnational investing is occurring in an environment in which emerging markets, and foreign interest in these markets, are exploding. The issues involved with cross-border investment, conflict of laws and the privatization of securities law are examined
Batch Greenkhorn Algorithm for Entropic-Regularized Multimarginal Optimal Transport: Linear Rate of Convergence and Iteration Complexity
In this work we propose a batch multimarginal version of the Greenkhorn algorithm for the entropic-regularized optimal transport problem. This framework is general enough to cover, as particular cases, existing Sinkhorn and Greenkhorn algorithms for the bi-marginal setting, and greedy MultiSinkhorn for the general multimarginal case. We provide a comprehensive convergence analysis based on the properties of the iterative Bregman projections method with greedy control. Linear rate of convergence as well as explicit bounds on the iteration complexity are obtained. When specialized to the above mentioned algorithms, our results give new convergence rates or provide key improvements over the state-of-the-art rates. We present numerical experiments showing that the flexibility of the batch can be exploited to improve performance of Sinkhorn algorithm both in bi-marginal and multimarginal settings
Modeling and identification of an RRR-robot
A dynamic model of a robot with 3 rotational degrees of freedom is derived in closed form. A systematic procedure for estimation of model dynamic parameters is suggested. It consists of the following steps: (i) identification of friction model parameters for each joint; (ii) calculation of optimal exciting trajectories, required for estimation of the remaining dynamic model parameters; (iii) estimation of these parameters using a least-squares method. The estimated model satisfactory reconstructs experimental control signals, justifying its use in model-based nonlinear control
PGI7 Optimal Treatment of Chron’s Disease With Biologicals In A Western Balkan Country: Estimates of Cost/Utility By Markov Model And Budget Impact Analysis
SPG10 is a rare cause of spastic paraplegia in European families
Background: SPG10 is an autosomal dominant form of hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP), which is caused by mutations in the neural kinesin heavy chain KIF5A gene, the neuronal motor of fast anterograde axonal transport. Only four mutations have been identified to date.Objective: To determine the frequency of SPG10 in European families with HSP and to specify the SPG10 phenotype.Patients and methods: 80 index patients from families with autosomal dominant HSP were investigated for SPG10 mutations by direct sequencing of the KIF5A motor domain. Additionally, the whole gene was sequenced in 20 of these families.Results: Three novel KIF5A mutations were detected in German families, including one missense mutation (c.759G>T, p.K253N), one in frame deletion (c.768_770delCAA, p.N256del) and one splice site mutation (c.217G>A). Onset of gait disturbance varied from infancy to 30 years of age. All patients presented clinically with pure HSP, but a subclinical sensory--motor neuropathy was detected by neurophysiology studies.Conclusions: SPG10 accounts for approximately 3% of European autosomal dominant HSP families. All mutations affect the motor domain of kinesin and thus most likely impair axonal transport. Clinically, SPG10 is characterised by spastic paraplegia with mostly subclinical peripheral neuropathy
Fracture mechanics of laser sintered cracked polyamide for a new method to induce cracks by additive manufacturing
This paper presents an experimental investigation on specimens manufactured by Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), with the purposes of giving designers advice when designing 3D printed parts, and laying the basis for a step forward in the field of fracture mechanics of 3D complex parts. The aim is to investigate the effect of building direction in Polyamide (PA) 3D printed samples and to assess whether a crack can be initiated directly from the sintering process for fracture mechanics study purposes. Six different configurations of Mode I Compact Tension (CT) specimens were manufactured and tested; the experiments were monitored by Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and fractured surfaces were analyzed using microscopy. Results showed that samples with better mechanical performance are those in which all the layers contain a portion of the crack. On the other hand, those with layers parallel to the crack plan offer a preferential pathway for the crack to propagate. DIC and fractography investigations showed that, under certain conditions, small-radius geometries, or too-close surfaces may glue depending on printer resolution. Experiments also showed that SLS is capable of printing specimens with internal cracks that can be used to study fracture mechanics of complex parts or parts with internal cracks
Paramagnetic Meissner Effect in Multiply-Connected Superconductors
We have measured a paramagnetic Meissner effect in Nb-Al2O3-Nb Josephson
junction arrays using a scanning SQUID microscope. The arrays exhibit
diamagnetism for some cooling fields and paramagnetism for other cooling
fields. The measured mean magnetization is always less than 0.3 flux quantum
(in terms of flux per unit cell of the array) for the range of cooling fields
investigated. We demonstrate that a new model of magnetic screening, valid for
multiply-connected superconductors, reproduces all of the essential features of
paramagnetism that we observe and that no exotic mechanism, such as d-wave
superconductivity, is needed for paramagnetism.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, LaTe
Content of Trace Metals in Medicinal Plants and their Extracts
The heavy metals (Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn) contents of selected plant species, grown in Southeast region of Serbia, that are traditionally used in alternative medicine were determined. Among the considered metals, iron content was the highest one and varied from 137.53 up to 423.32 mg/kg, while the contents of Cu, Zn and Mn were remarkably lower, and ranged from 8.91 to 62.20 mg/kg. In addition, an analysis of plants extracts showed a significant transfer of heavy metals during extraction procedure; therefore, the corresponding extraction coefficients reached values up to 88.8%. Those were especially high in the ethanol based extracts. Moreover, it is was established that such coefficients mostly depend on the solvent nature and also on the treated plant species. The obtained results impose that medicinal plants from Southeast region of Serbia due to rather low content of heavy metals are appropriate for preparation of teas and medicinal extracts
Development of tumor-reactive T cells after nonmyeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
PURPOSE: Allogeneic nonmyeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplant (NM-HSCT) can result in durable remission of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). It is thought that the efficacy of NM-HSCT is mediated by recognition of tumor cells by T cells in the donor stem cell graft. We evaluated the development of CTLs specific for CLL after NM-HSCT to determine if their presence correlated with antitumor efficacy. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from 12 transplant recipients at intervals after NM-HSCT were stimulated in vitro with CLL cells. Polyclonal T-cell lines and CD8(+) T-cell clones were derived from these cultures and evaluated for lysis of donor and recipient target cells including CLL. The presence and specificity of responses was correlated with clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Eight of the 12 patients achieved remission or a major antitumor response and all 8 developed CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cells specific for antigens expressed by CLL. A clonal analysis of the CD8(+) T-cell response identified T cells specific for multiple minor histocompatibility (H) antigens expressed on CLL in six of the responding patients. A significant fraction of the CD8(+) T-cell response in some patients was also directed against nonshared tumor-specific antigens. By contrast, CLL-reactive T cells were not detected in the four patients who had persistent CLL after NM-HSCT, despite the development of graft-versus-host disease. CONCLUSIONS: The development of a diverse T-cell response specific for minor H and tumor-associated antigens expressed by CLL predicts an effective graft-versus-leukemia response after NM-HSCT
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