Influence of agglomeration and selection effects on the Chinese construction industry

The determination of whether market size can influence industrial agglomeration or selection is an important topic in economic development. To analyse the differential economic development of the construction industry under different market sizes, this research analyses the employment density of China’s provinces and their Total factor productivity (TFP). It also analyses whether the difference in the provinces’ productivity are explained by their agglomeration and selection effects. First, a DEA-Malmquist model is used to calculate the TFP of each construction industry sub-sector. Then, a nested model is used to measure the influence of the selection and the agglomeration effects on the TFP at different market sizes of the construction industry. Results evidence that there are significant differences in the construction productivity at different sub-sectors in different regions of China. These differences are mainly the consequence of the agglomeration effect, rather than the selection effect. Findings of this study suggest that the Chinese construction industry should optimise its structure in different provinces to achieve a balanced growth at different market sizes

Scattering of massive W bosons into gravitinos and tree unitarity in broken supergravity

The WW scattering into gravitino and gaugino is here investigated in the broken phase, by using both gauge and mass eigenstates. Differently from what is obtained for unbroken gauge symmetry, we find in the scattering amplitudes new structures, which can lead to violation of unitarity above a certain scale. This happens because, in the annihilation diagram, the longitudinal degrees of freedom in the propagator of the gauge bosons disappear from the amplitude, by virtue of the SUGRA vertex. We show that the longitudinal polarizations of the on-shell W become strongly interacting in the high energy limit, and that the inclusion of diagrams with off-shell scalars of the MSSM does not cancel the divergences.Comment: 26 pages, 17 figures. Uses JHEP3.cls, epsfig.sty and axodraw.sty. Some references, together with Ward identities in the basis of mass eigenstates, have been added. Version accepted for publication in JHE

Asymmetric magnetization reversal in exchange biased polycrystalline F/AF bilayers

This paper describes a model for magnetization reversal in polycrystalline Ferromagnetic/Antiferromagnetic exchange biased bilayers. We assume that the exchange energy can be expanded into cosine power series. We show that it is possible to fit experimental asymmetric shape of hysteresis loops in exchange biased bilayer for any direction of the applied field. The hysteresis asymmetry is discussed in terms of energy considerations. An angle beta is introduced to quantify the easy axis dispersion of AF grains.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

Planar Antennas

This article reviews the state of the art in broadband antennas for emerging UWB applications and addresses the important issues of the broadband antenna design for UWB applications. First, a variety of planar monopoles with finite ground planes are reviewed. Next, the roll antennas with enhanced radiation performance are outlined. After that, the planar antennas printed on PCBs are described. A directional antipodal Vivaldi antenna is also presented for UWB applications. Last, a UWB antenna for wearable applications is exemplifie

Uniaxial Phase Transition in Si : Ab initio Calculations

Based on a previously proposed thermodynamic analysis, we study the relative stabilities of five Si phases under uniaxial compression using ab initio methods. The five phases are diamond, beta-tin, sh, sc, and hcp structures. The possible phase-transition patterns were investigated by considering the phase transitions between any two chosen phases of the five phases. By analyzing the different conributions to the relative pahse stability, we identified the most important factors in reducing the phase-transition pressures at uniaxial compression. We also show that it is possible to have phase transitions occur only when the phases are under uniaxial compression, in spite of no phase transition when under hydrostatic commpression. Taking all five phases into consideration, the phase diagram at uniaxial compression was constructed for pressures under 20 GPa. The stable phases were found to be diamond, beta-tin and sh structures, i.e. the same as those when under hydrostatic condition. According to the phase diagram, direct phase transition from the diamond to the sh phase is possible if the applied uniaxial pressures, on increasing, satisfy the condition of Px>Pz. Simiilarly, the sh-to-beta-tin transition on increeasing pressures is also possible if the applied uniaxial pressures are varied from the condition of Px>Pz, on which the phase of sh is stable, to that of Px<Pz, on which the beta-tin is stable

A rapid and accurate approach to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms of mitochondrial DNA using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are involved in physiological and pathological conditions. We developed a rapid, accurate, highly sensitive and high-throughput approach with low cost to identify mtDNA SNPs. Methods: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was used to detect 18 SNPs of mtDNA by uniplex and multiplex assays. The sensitivity and specificity of the MALDI-TOF MS were evaluated. The accuracy of the approach was validated by the comparison of using the robust sequencing analysis. Results: The detection limit achieved with the assays corresponded to the identification of five-genome equivalence of mtDNA per reaction after first round PCR amplification. The testing system enabled the discrimination of as little as 5% of mtDNA polymorphism in the predominating background of mtDNA not containing the SNP. No false positive and false negative results were obtained using the uniplex and multiplex MALDI-TOF MS assays for the analysis of the 18 SNPs compared with those obtained by sequencing analysis. Conclusions: Possible fields which could benefit from this powerful and sensitive tool include forensic medicine, tracing of matrilineage, transplantation immunology, transfusion medicine, the diagnosis of mtDNA mutation related disorders, and the research regarding aging, apoptosis and carcinogenesis based on physiologic and pathogenic alterations of mtDNA for the analysis of large-scale samples, multiple SNPs or rare mtDNA. Clin Chem Lab Med 2008;46:299-30

Escalated regeneration in sciatic nerve crush injury by the combined therapy of human amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells and fermented soybean extracts, Natto

Attenuation of inflammatory cell deposits and associated cytokines prevented the apoptosis of transplanted stem cells in a sciatic nerve crush injury model. Suppression of inflammatory cytokines by fermented soybean extracts (Natto) was also beneficial to nerve regeneration. In this study, the effect of Natto on transplanted human amniotic fluid mesenchymal stem cells (AFS) was evaluated. Peripheral nerve injury was induced in SD rats by crushing a sciatic nerve using a vessel clamp. Animals were categorized into four groups: Group I: no treatment; Group II: fed with Natto (16 mg/day for 7 consecutive days); Group III: AFS embedded in fibrin glue; Group IV: Combination of group II and III therapy. Transplanted AFS and Schwann cell apoptosis, inflammatory cell deposits and associated cytokines, motor function, and nerve regeneration were evaluated 7 or 28 days after injury. The deterioration of neurological function was attenuated by AFS, Natto, or the combined therapy. The combined therapy caused the most significantly beneficial effects. Administration of Natto suppressed the inflammatory responses and correlated with decreased AFS and Schwann cell apoptosis. The decreased AFS apoptosis was in line with neurological improvement such as expression of early regeneration marker of neurofilament and late markers of S-100 and decreased vacuole formation. Administration of either AFS, or Natto, or combined therapy augmented the nerve regeneration. In conclusion, administration of Natto may rescue the AFS and Schwann cells from apoptosis by suppressing the macrophage deposits, associated inflammatory cytokines, and fibrin deposits

Phenomenology of flavor-mediated supersymmetry breaking

The phenomenology of a new economical SUSY model that utilizes dynamical SUSY breaking and gauge-mediation (GM) for the generation of the sparticle spectrum and the hierarchy of fermion masses is discussed. Similarities between the communication of SUSY breaking through a messenger sector, and the generation of flavor using the Froggatt-Nielsen (FN) mechanism are exploited, leading to the identification of vector-like messenger fields with FN fields, and the messenger U(1) as a flavor symmetry. An immediate consequence is that the first and second generation scalars acquire flavor-dependent masses, but do not violate FCNC bounds since their mass scale, consistent with effective SUSY, is of order 10 TeV. We define and advocate a minimal flavor-mediated model (MFMM), recently introduced in the literature, that successfully accommodates the small flavor-breaking parameters of the standard model using order one couplings and ratios of flavon field vevs. The mediation of SUSY breaking occurs via two-loop log-enhanced GM contributions, as well as several one-loop and two-loop Yukawa-mediated contributions for which we provide analytical expressions. The MFMM is parameterized by a small set of masses and couplings, with values restricted by several model constraints and experimental data. The next-to-lightest sparticle (NLSP) always has a decay length that is larger than the scale of a detector, and is either the lightest stau or the lightest neutralino. Similar to ordinary GM models, the best collider search strategies are, respectively, inclusive production of at least one highly ionizing track, or events with many taus plus missing energy. In addition, D^0 - \bar{D}^0 mixing is also a generic low energy signal. Finally, the dynamical generation of the neutrino masses is briefly discussed.Comment: 54 pages, LaTeX, 8 figure

Lepton Mixing Matrix in Standard Model Extended by One Sterile Neutrino

We consider the simplest extension of the standard electroweak model by one sterile neutrino that allows for neutrino masses and mixing. We find that its leptonic sector contains much less free physical parameters than previously realized. In addition to the two neutrino masses, the lepton mixing matrix in charged current interactions involves (n-1) free physical mixing angles for n generations. The mixing matrix in neutral current interactions of neutrinos is completely fixed by the two masses. Both interactions conserve CP. We illustrate the phenomenological implications of the model by vacuum neutrino oscillations, tritium beta decay and neutrinoless double beta decay. It turns out that, due to the revealed specific structure in its mixing matrix, the model with any n generations cannot accommodate simultaneously the data by KamLAND, K2K and CHOOZ.Comment: 14 pages, no figures; version 2: (1) added a short paragraph at the end of subsec 2.2 to record the counting of physical parameters for any numbers of generations and sterile neutrinos for completeness; (2) added a note in ref list, item [18] to quote and comment on an earlier work; (3) added the second paper to ref list, item [17]; (4) fixed typo

Diagonalization of the neutralino mass matrix and boson-neutralino interaction

We analyze a connection between neutralino mass sign, parity and structure of the neutralino-boson interaction. Correct calculation of spin-dependent and spin-independent contributions to neutralino-nuclear scattering should consider this connection. A convenient diagonalization procedure, based on the exponetial parametrization of unitary matrix, is suggested.Comment: 21 pages, RevTex