Action: Baseline Channel Model for SCCC-X and DVB-S2X

This paper analyzes the impact to the error performance of very high-order modulations, specifically 256APSK and 128APSK, in the DVB-S2X and SCCC-X proposals due to transmitter distortions, i.e. phase and amplitude imbalance, amplification non-linearities, and phase noise. The receiver is assumed to be a matched filter with angle derotation capabilities. An exact theoretical prediction is developed as well as supporting simulations is provided

Plaque instability biomarkers: a comparison between acute coronary syndrome and chronic stable angina patients

Biomarkers play a pivotal role in the diagnosis and management of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Some biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L), placental growth factor (PlGF) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) have been reported to be involved in plaque destabilization. The levels of these biomarkers were studied in ACS and chronic stable angina (CSA) patients aged ≤ 45 years and aged > 45 years. The relationship between these biomarkers in the coronary circulation and peripheral circulation was also investigated. This study was the first attempt to investigate the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) in ACS. A total of 79 patients (ACS: n = 39, CSA: n = 40) was recruited. The blood was sampled from the occluded coronary artery (coronary circulation) and also from the median cubital vein antecubital fossa (peripheral circulation). The serum protein levels of CRP, sCD40L and PlGF and plasma levels of MPO were measured using ELISA. The intracellular levels of PPARs were semiquantified using Western blot. The mRNA levels of the biomarkers were measured by real-time PCR. All ACS patients that underwent six months clinical follow-up was assessed for major adverse cardiac events (MACE) after the acute event. The peripheral levels of CRP, MPO, sCD40L and PlGF were significantly increased in ACS compared to CSA patients. Furthermore, the peripheral concentrations of these biomarkers were significantly correlated with the concentrations found in the coronary circulation. The patients aged below 45 years and above 45 years shared similar profiles of biomarkers. The expression of PPAR-γ was significantly increased in the ACS patients and correlated with both sCD40L and MPO. Serum CRP demonstrated the highest area under the curve value of 0.79 (p < 0.001) in discriminating ACS, followed by PlGF, MPO and sCD40L. In addition, the biomarkers also showed their promising prognostic abilities in predicting 30-day and six-month MACE in ACS patients. In conclusion, this study provided additional information on the proteins and gene expression profiles of plaque instability markers in both CSA and ACS patients. The biomarkers contribute to the formation of unstable plaque by triggering vascular inflammation, firous cap thinning and formation of large lipid core in coronary plaque. Their accuracies in discriminating ACS and predicting MACE also showed promising results

Design of a man-wearable control station for a robotic rescue system

This report details the design, development, and testing of a man-wearable operator control station for the use of a low-cost robotic system in Urban Search and Rescue (USAR). The complete system, dubbed the "Scarab", is the 1st generation developed and built in the Robotics and Agents Research Laboratory (RARL) at the University of Cape Town (UCT), and was a joint effort between three MSc students. Robots have found a place in USAR as replaceable units which can be deployed into dangerous and confined voids in the place of humans. As such, they have been utilized in a large variety of disaster environments including ground, aerial, and underwater scenarios, and have been gathering research momentum since their first documented deployment in the rescue operations surrounding the 9/11 terrorist attacks. However one issue is their cost as they are not economical solutions, making them less viable for inclusion into a rescue mission as well as negatively affecting the operator‟s decisions in order to prioritise the safety of the unit. Another concern is their difficulty of transport, which becomes dependent on the size and portability of the robot. As such, the Scarab system was conceived to provide a deployable robotic platform which was lowcost, with a budget goal of US $ 500. To address the transportability concerns, it aimed to be portable and light-weight; being able to be thrown through a window by a single hand and withstanding a drop height of 3 m. It includes an internal sensor payload which incorporates an array of sensors and electronics, including temperature monitors and two cameras to provide both a normal and IR video feed. Two LED spotlights are used for navigation, and a microphone and buzzer is included for interaction with any discovered survivors. The operator station acts as the user interface between the operator and the robotic platform. It aimed to be as intuitive as possible, providing quick deployment and minimalizing the training time required for its operation. To further enhance the Scarab system‟s portability, it was designed to be a manwearable system, allowing the operator to carry the robotic platform on their back. It also acts as a charging station, supplying power to the robotic platform‟s on-board charging circuitry. The control station‟s mechanical chassis serves as the man-wearable component of the system, with the functionality being achieved by integration onto a tactical vest. This allows the operator to take the complete system on and off as a single unit without assistance, and uses two mounting brackets to dock the robotic platform. Key areas focussed upon during design were the weight and accessibility of the system, as well as providing a rugged housing for the internal electronics. All parts were manufactured in the UCT Mechanical Engineering workshop

Information, Trading and Stock Returns: Lessons from Dually-Listed Securities

This paper compares the intra-day patterns on the NYSE and AMEX of volatility, trading volume and bid-ask spreads for European dually- listed stocks, Japanese dually-listed stocks also listed in London, and Japanese dually-listed stocks not listed in London with American stocks of comparable average trading volume and volatility. It is shown that the intra-day patterns for these stocks are remarkably similar even though the public information flows differ markedly across these stocks during the trading day. In the morning, Japanese stocks have the greatest volatility and volume, followed by European stocks and American stocks. These rankings are reversed in the afternoon. We argue that these patterns are consistent with markets reacting to the overnight accumulation of public information which is greatest for Japanese stock and smallest for American stocks and inconsistent with the view that early morning volatility can be attributed to monopolistic specialist behavior.

Student perceptions and learning approaches of using blogs in IT education for reflection and knowledge construction

Blogging is a commonly-used tool in supporting reflection in student learning. The present research explored the possibility of using blogs as an assessment tool for promoting self-reflection and knowledge construction to the associate-degree students from four different cohorts who were taught by the researcher. Students were required to write reflective journals weekly in their blog as part of the course assessment. The primary goal of the study was to explore any evidence of the student constructing knowledge via the blogging exercises and evaluate the blogging technology in promoting in-depth self-reflection. The research adopted a mixed research method which combines both quantitative and qualitative methods. The study included a questionnaire which is composed of two previously developed questionnaires, the Reflection Questionnaire (RQ) (Kember, 2000) and the Revised Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) (Biggs et al., 2001) for exploring the relationships between students’ perceptions of blogging and their learning approaches and their level of reflective thinking. The results would then triangulate with the findings of content analysis of blog posts and student interviews. The study showed that deep approach scores and scores of reflective thinking scales have been found as a significant contribution to the explanation of the portfolio and total course marks. It also showed that there is strong relationship between the learning approach and the students’ habit of reflective thinking. By comparing the pre-teaching with post-teaching scores, it is found that a positive change in the total scores of deep approach in particular in deep strategy subscale and a positive change in the total scores of higher levels of reflective thinking (reflection and critical reflection). Furthermore, the results showed that a negative change in the total scores of the lowest level of reflective thinking – habitual action. These implied that blogging may motivate students to learn deeper and drive them to think reflectively

Ketoksikan Lima Racun Serangga terhadap Larva Kupu-kupu Beras, Corcyra cephalonica St.

The effects of five insecticides namely chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, malathion, permethrin and pirimiphos- methyl was tested in vitro on the six larval instars of Corcyra cephalonica St. Based on the LCs 0 values, the order of susceptibility of the different larval instars was 2>1>3>4>5>6while for dichlorvos it was 1>2>3>4>5> 6. The order for malathion, permethrin and pirimiphos-methyl was 1>2>3>4> 6>5. The order of relative toxicity of the five insecticides was dichlorvos >chlorpyrifos >permethrin >pirimiphos-methyl >malathion for the second to the fifth instar, while for the first and sixth instar it was dichlorvos >pirimiphos-methyl > malathion for the second to the fifth instar, while for the first and sixth instar it was dichlorvos >pirimiphos-methyl >permethrin >chlorpyrifos > malathion, and dichlorvos > permethrin > chlorpyrifos > pirimiphos-methyl > malathion, respectively. I!.ichlorvos is recommended to replace malathion for the control of certain species of stored preduct pests

INDUSTRY STANDARDS USE AND ADAPTIVE KNOWLEDGE CREATION: A STUDY BASED ON INDUSTRY CONSORTIUM PERSPECTIVE

In order to facilitate the rapid development of B2B e-business and supply chain, many industry consortia develop industry-specific standards. This paper differentiates between two distinct dimensions characterizing organizations’ standards use: breadth and depth. We examine how industry consortia’ promotion strategies influence the breadth and depth of standards use, and how standards use influences adaptive knowledge creation. We also examine how firm size moderates the relationship between promotion strategies and standards use. The hypotheses are tested using survey data collected from organizations in China who have implemented RosettaNet standards. The empirical results show that relationship, policies, and technology strategies significantly affect standards use, and firm size moderates the influence. Further, only the depth of standards use influence adaptive knowledge creation

Cues or Content? Examining the Moderating Role of Crowdfunder Experience

Crowdfunders face information asymmetry problems when making funding decisions. How crowdfunders overcome this problem has become a centerpiece of crowdfunding research. We examine how crowdfunder experience might affect crowdfunder reliance on various types of information provided on the crowdfunding page. Drawing on the Elaboration Likelihood Model, we find that experienced crowdfunders are more likely to pay attention to the content of the information, whereas less experienced crowdfunders are more likely to pay attention to simple cues. Our study highlights the important role of crowdfunder experience in crowdfunding research. We also discuss the implications of this study for various participants of the crowdfunding platform