Charged Particle Dynamics in the Field of a Slowly Rotating Compact Star

We study the dynamics of a charged particle in the field of a slowly rotating compact star in the gravitoelectromagnetic approximation to the geodesic equation . The star is assumed to be surrounded by an ideal, highly conducting plasma (taken as a magnetohydrodynamic fluid) with a stationary, axially symmetric electromagnetic field. The general relativistic Maxwell equations are solved to obtain the effects of the background spacetime on the electromagnetic field in the linearized Kerr spacetime. The equations of motion are then set up and solved numerically to incorporate the gravitational as well as the electromagnetic effects. The analysis shows that in the slow rotation approximation the frame dragging effects on the electromagnetic field are absent. However the particle is directly effected by the rotating gravitational source such that close to the star the gravitational and electromagnetic field produce contrary effects on the particle's trajectory.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures in B & W PostScript Forma

Policies And International Integration: Influences On Trade And Foreign Direct Investment

This paper assesses the importance of border and non-border policies for global economic integration. The focus is on four widely-advocated policies: removing explicit restrictions to trade and FDI; promoting domestic competition; improving the adaptability of labour markets; and ensuring adequate levels of infrastructure capital. The analysis covers FDI and trade in both goods and services, thus aiming to account for the most important channels of globalisation and dealing with most modes of cross-border services supply. It first describes trends in trade, FDI and the four sets of policies using a large set of structural policy indicators recently constructed by the OECD, including the new summary indicators for FDI-specific regulations described in Golub (2003). It then estimates the impact of policies on bilateral trade and bilateral and multilateral FDI. The results highlight that, despite extensive liberalisation over the past two decades, there is scope for further reducing policy barriers to integration of OECD markets. Remaining barriers have a significant impact on trade and FDI, with anticompetitive domestic regulations and restrictive labour market arrangements estimated to curb integration as much as explicit trade and FDI restrictions. Simulating the removal of such barriers suggests that the quantitative effects of further liberalisation of trade, FDI and domestic product and labour markets on global integration could be substantial

STR-811: EXAMINATION OF EFFECTIVE LENGTH FACTOR FOR RC COLUMNS IN NON-SWAY FRAMES

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Standard for Design of Concrete Structures (A23.3-04) permits the use of moment magnifier method for computing the design ultimate strength of slender reinforced concrete (RC) columns that are part of non-sway frames. This computed strength is influenced by the column effective length factor K, effective flexural stiffness EI, and equivalent uniform bending moment diagram factor Cm among others. Previous investigations by the authors examined the equations available in literature for computing EI and Cm factor. For this study, nearly 3000 simple non-sway reinforced concrete frames subjected to short-term loads were simulated and used to investigate the effect of using different equations for the effective length factor K when computing the strength of columns in these frames by the moment magnifier approach. An elaborate theoretical model was developed and used for computing the ultimate strength of columns in simulated frames. The theoretically computed column ultimate strengths were compared to the ultimate strengths of the same columns computed from the CSA moment magnifier method using selected equations for K available in literature. For the purpose of analysis, the theoretically computed strengths were divided by the CSA strengths to obtain the so-called strength ratios. The statistical analyses of strength ratios presented in this paper show that, for computing the CSA ultimate strength of columns in non-sway frames, the current practice of using Jackson-Moreland Alignment Chart is the most accurate method for determining the effective length factor

Optimization of Uplink CSI Training for Full-Duplex Multiuser MIMO Systems

In this letter, we investigate the optimization of uplink (UL) channel state information (CSI) training in the full-duplex (FD) based multiuser (MU) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. Here, an FD-assisted BS performs simultaneous UL CSI training and downlink data transmission that produces self interference (SI). Following the UL training stage, the BS uses the conventional half-duplex (HD) MU MIMO transmission with zero-forcing precoding. To find an optimal UL CSI training length that achieves a balance between the training overhead and CSI quality, we formulate an optimization problem that maximizes the sum spectral efficiency of the network. To ease the analysis, we derive a lower bound on the user rate in the FD phase, which is then used together with the HD user rate to obtain the sub-optimal solution. We also provide a closed-form expression to approximate the UL training length. Numerical results show that the performance of the proposed UL training outperforms the fixed length training and it closely matches the performance with an exhaustive search

In Infancy, It’s the Extremes of Arousal That Are ‘Sticky’: Naturalistic Data Challenge Purely Homeostatic Approaches to Studying Self-Regulation

Most theoretical models of arousal/regulatory function emphasise the maintenance of homeostasis; consistent with this, most previous research into arousal has concentrated on examining individuals’ recovery following the administration of experimentally administered stressors. Here, we take a different approach: we recorded day-long spontaneous fluctuations in autonomic arousal (indexed via electrocardiogram, heart rate variability and actigraphy) in a cohort of 82 typically developing 12-month-old infants while they were at home and awake. Based on the aforementioned models, we hypothesised that extreme high or low arousal states might be more short-lived than intermediate arousal states. Our results suggested that, contrary to this, both low- and high-arousal states were more persistent than intermediate arousal states. The same pattern was present when the data were viewed over multiple epoch sizes from 1 second to 5 minutes; over 10-15-minute time-scales, high-arousal states were more persistent than low- and intermediate states. One possible explanation for these findings is that extreme arousal states have intrinsically greater hysteresis; another is that, through ‘metastatic’ processes, small initial increases and decreases in arousal can become progressively amplified over time. Rather than exclusively studying recovery, we argue that future research into self regulation during early childhood should instead examine the mechanisms through which some states can be maintained, or even amplified, over time

Comparison of superficial surgical site infection following use of diathermyand scalpel for making skin incision in inguinal hernioplasty

The method of making surgical incision remains a complex problem. Although controversial, the use of diathermy instead of scalpel for skin incision and underlying tissue dissection is gradually gaining wide acceptance. This is due to the observation that no change in wound complication rate or postoperative pain is reportedwith the use ofDiathermy. However, the fear of excessive scarring and poorwound healing has curtailed itswidespread use for skin incision. The objective of the study is to compare superficial surgical site infection (SSSI) in diathermy and scalpel skin incision in inguinal hernioplasty. Quasi experimental study. Study was conducted at Surgical Unit II, Holy Family Hospital. Rawalpindi from1 Jan. 2008 to 30 September. 2008. Atotal of 80 patients who presented with inguinal hernias were included in the study. Patientswere divided in two groups. Group1: In 40 patients skin incisionwasmadewithDiathermy,Group 2: The other 40 had skin incisionwith scalpel. Themean age of patients in the intervention group (Group 1)was 50 years while in the control group (Group 2) itwas 46 years. 48% patients in Group 1 and 55% in the Group 2 had indirect inguinal hernias. SSSI was noted in 12.5% cases in Group 1 whereas in Group 2 it was 17.5% but this difference was not found to be statistically significant (p value=0.378). The use of diathermy for making skin incisions is as safe as scalpel and there is no significant difference amongst both regardingwound infection. Keywords: Diathermy incision, electrocautery, scalpel skin incision, superficial surgical site infectio

Transcendence over Diversity: black women in the academy

Universities, like many major public institutions have embraced the notion of ‘diversity’ virtually uncritically- it is seen as a moral ‘good in itself’. But what happens to those who come to represent ‘diversity’- the black and minority ethnic groups targeted to increase the institutions thirst for global markets and aversion to accusations of institutional racism? Drawing on existing literature which analyses the process of marginalization in higher education, this paper explores the individual costs to black and female academic staff regardless of the discourse on diversity. However despite the exclusion of staff, black and minority ethnic women are also entering higher education in relatively large numbers as students. Such ‘grassroots’ educational urgency transcends the dominant discourse on diversity and challenges presumptions inherent in top down initiatives such as ‘widening participation’. Such a collective movement from the bottom up shows the importance of understanding black female agency when unpacking the complex dynamics of gendered and racialised exclusion. Black women’s desire for education and learning makes possible a reclaiming of higher education from creeping instrumentalism and reinstates it as a radical site of resistance and refutation

Portfolio optimisation with higher moments of risk at the Pakistan Stock Exchange

Stock markets play an important role in spurring economic growth and development through diversification opportunities. However, diversification cannot be truly achieved if we continue to ignore additional dimensions of risk, namely skewness and kurtosis. This study incorporates higher moments of risk to form a mean-varianceskewness-kurtosis based framework for portfolio optimisation. Inclusion of higher moments in optimisation framework acknowledges the risk of asymmetric returns and fat-tail risk and can help investors in formulating optimal portfolios of stocks which can be significantly divergent from the ones they obtain through the Markowitz meanvariance optimisation. Our results confirm the presence of tradeoff between returns and additional dimensions of risk in Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) and strongly suggest including them in the optimisation framework to avoid sub-optimal decisions and to curtail exposure towards higher moments of risks

Parents mimic and influence their infant’s autonomic state through dynamic affective state matching

When we see someone experiencing an emotion, and when we experience it ourselves, common neurophysiological activity occurs [1, 2]. But although inter-dyadic synchrony, concurrent and sequential [3], has been identified, its functional significance remains inadequately understood. Specifically, how do influences of partner A on partner B reciprocally influence partner A? For example, if I am experiencing an affective state and someone matches their physiological state to mine, what influence does this have on me – the person experiencing the emotion? Here, we investigated this using infant-parent dyads. We developed miniaturised microphones to record spontaneous vocalisations and wireless autonomic monitors to record heart rate, heart rate variability and movement in infants and parents concurrently in naturalistic settings. Overall, we found that infant-parent autonomic activity did not covary across the day – but that ‘high points’ of infant arousal led to autonomic changes in the parent, and that instances where the adult showed greater autonomic responsivity were associated with faster infant quieting. Parental responsivity was higher following peaks in infant negative affect than in positive affect. Overall, parents responded to increases in their child’s arousal by increasing their own. However, when the overall arousal level of the dyad was high, parents responded to elevated child arousal by decreasing their own arousal. Our findings suggest that autonomic state matching has a direct effect on the person experiencing the affective state, and that parental co-regulation may involve both connecting, and disconnecting, their own arousal state from that of the child contingent on context