First record of the Spiny blaasop Tylerius spinosissimus (Regan, 1908) (Tetraodontidae) from the Turkish coasts

The non-indigenous tetraodontid of Indo-Pacific origin Tylerius spinosissimus is recorded for the first time in Turkish waters and for the third time in the Mediterranean Sea. This record increases to 53 the number of Indo-Pacific alien fish species present along the coasts of Turkey

Length-weight and length-length relationships of the Mediterranean shad Alosa agone (Scopoli, 1786) from the Northeastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey

The relationships between total length (TL), fork length (FL) and standard length (SL), and between TL and weight were investigated for Mediterranenan shad, Alosa agone, from two estuary localities (Karaduvar and Samandag), North-eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. A total of 297 specimens, 150 males and 147 females, were captured by gill net and trammel net between September 2006 and May 2007 from the NE Mediterranean Sea coast of Turkey. The values of the exponent b of the length-weight relationships (LWRs) were 3.50 for female and 3.49 for male. The length-length relationship (LLRs) between the three length measurements (TL-FL-SL) were highly correlated (r2>0.99, P<0.001). This study presented the first reference on LWRs and LLRs for Mediterranean shad species from NE Mediterranean coast of Turkey.Key words: Alosa agone, Mediterranean shad, length-weight relationship, length-length relationship, NE Mediterranean Sea

Facial expression recognition with emotion-based feature fusion

© 2015 Asia-Pacific Signal and Information Processing Association. In this paper, we propose an emotion-based feature fusion method using the Discriminant-Analysis of Canonical Correlations (DCC) for facial expression recognition. There have been many image features or descriptors proposed for facial expression recognition. For the different features, they may be more accurate for the recognition of different expressions. In our proposed method, four effective descriptors for facial expression representation, namely Local Binary Pattern (LBP), Local Phase Quantization (LPQ), Weber Local Descriptor (WLD), and Pyramid of Histogram of Oriented Gradients (PHOG), are considered. Supervised Locality Preserving Projection (SLPP) is applied to the respective features for dimensionality reduction and manifold learning. Experiments show that descriptors are also sensitive to the conditions of images, such as race, lighting, pose, etc. Thus, an adaptive descriptor selection algorithm is proposed, which determines the best two features for each expression class on a given training set. These two features are fused, so as to achieve a higher recognition rate for each expression. In our experiments, the JAFFE and BAUM-2 databases are used, and experiment results show that the descriptor selection step increases the recognition rate up to 2%

General Complementarities on Complete Partial Orders

Cataloged from PDF version of article.This paper proves the existence of a Nash equilibrium for extended (semi-) uniform g-modular games, i.e., non-cooperative games where the strategy space is a complete partially ordered set, and the best reply correspondence satisfies certain monotonicity requirements

ELIGMOS: time domain simulation of the maneuvering of ships in deep and shallow waters

Calm water manoeuvring simulations are commonly used at the initial design stage as they provide useful an practical insight concerning ship's manoeuvrability and compliance with the relevant IMO criteria. In this paper the authors present ELIGMOS; a time-domain numerical code utilizing a 3-DOF manoeuvring model based on the MMG method. For the validation of the code's predictions, a comparison with the experimental results on the turning ability of S-175 has been conducted. The paper presents also the investigation performed regarding the accuracy of certain empirical formulas for the derivation of the manoeuvring derivatives is also investigated, especially for the case of shallow water where experimental data and results remain scarce. The code is written in C++ programming language, adopting a modular approach for the calculation of external forces and moment (i.e. hydrodynamic hull, rudder and propeller) which allows future enhancements with the introduction of additional terms

Saddle-node bifurcations in an optimal growth model with preferences for wealth habit

This paper studies the dynamic implications of preferences for wealth habit in a one-sector optimal growth model. We show that the dynamics may encounter saddle-node bifurcations with respect to the parameters of the preferences: the relative weight of wealth in utility and the degree of wealth habit. We analytically provide the monotone comparative statics and the continuity of the critical capital stock with respect to the discount factor, the relative weight of wealth in utility and the degree of wealth habit. © 2014 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston 2014

First record of the broad-banded cardinal fish Apogon fasciatus (White, 1790) from Turkey

Two specimens of the alien cardinal fish Apogon fasciatus (White, 1790) are recorded for the first time from Turkey and second time from the Mediterranean Sea. This is the fourth Indo-Pacific apogonid species documented in the Mediterranean Sea, and the introduction of this species to the eastern Mediterranean is due to migration from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal

Mechanical Properties of Calcareous Fly Ash Stabilised Soil

Construction of any type of structure on clayey ground could be problematic due to the high swelling potential and/or low strength characteristics of the soil. This can lead to low stability or differential settlement of the ground. Many soil stabilization techniques have been proposed to prevent the uneven settlement and failure of the soil. Stabilization of soil with class C fly ash offers many advantages such as improving engineering caracteristics, being cost-effective and being environmentally friendly. Class C fly ash chemically reacts with clay which results in a more durable and stronger soil. It has been shown by various researchers that fly ash-stabilized soil is typically stiff and strong even though there is no available standard or guidelines for the use of fly ash in construction industry. This paper presents the results from a program of experimental research on stabilization of a fine-grained soil with fly ash. Laboratory experiments, including Atterberg limits, compaction, uniaxial, and consolidation tests, were conducted on samples of a clay soil with different percentages of fly ash. The results show that adding fly ash decreased the plasticity index, increased compressive strength, and decreased the swelling and compressibility index. The maximum dry density increased and optimum moisture content decreased with addition of over 5 % fly ash by dry weight of the soil.Turkish governmentEuropean Union Horizon 202

The Effect of Work-Home Conflict on IT Employees in Japan: The Moderating Role of Conscientiousness

The purpose of this study is to propose and test a model explicating the effect of work-home conflict on job satisfaction and professional self-efficacy of IT employees in Japan. Conscientiousness was included as a moderator of the relationships above. The model was subjected to structural equation modelling analysis by using the data collected from 312 Japanese IT employees. The results indicate that work-home conflict has a negative impact on both job satisfaction and professional self-efficacy. The negative effect of work-home conflict on job satisfaction is stronger for those who exhibit a higher degree of conscientiousness. In contrast to expectations, conscientiousness does not moderate the negative relationship between work-home conflict and professional self-efficacy of IT employees. Managers should be aware of the negative consequences of work-home conflict because it reduces their employees’ degree of job satisfaction and professional self-efficacy. They should also pay more attention to highly conscientious employees

The Protective Effect of L-carnitine on Ionizing Radiation-induced Free Oxygen Radicals

Ionizing radiation is known to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can be removed by antioxidants.  L-carnitine, a natural component of mammalian tissue, is a necessary factor in the utilization of long-chain  fatty acids to produce energy. Furthermore it has been shown that L-carnitine is an antioxidant which has  a scavenger effect on ROS and a stabilizing effect on damaged cell membranes. The aim of the study was  to evaluate the potential protective effect of L-carnitine on radiation-induced free radicals in hamsters. Lcarnitine  was given by gavage at a dose of 50 mg/kg for 15 consecutive days before irradiation with a single  dose of 8 Gy. 24 h after radiation exposure, the hamsters were sacrificed and samples were taken from  blood and tissues, and the biochemical and histopatological determinations were carried out. In the irradiated  group, there were significant increases in plasma and liver malondialdehyde (MDA) with marked  reduction in glutathione (GSH) levels in the liver, compared with controls. In red blood cells, superoxide  dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities were also reduced. All these effects were reversed by L-carnitine.  In conclusion, L-carnitine with its antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties could play a modulatory  role against the cellular damage produced by free radicals induced by ionizing radiation.