Analytical method for designing grating compensated dispersion-managed soliton systems

This paper was published in Journal of Optical Society of America B and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=JOSAB-21-4-706. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law. © 2004 The Optical Society.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Divergent Designs of Mandatory Takeovers in Asia

Optimal takeover regulation aims to promote efficient changes of corporate control while curbing inefficient takeovers. Viewed from a comparative perspective, the Anglo-American prototypes of takeover regulation spearhead not only the discourse but also the dissemination of takeover regulation globally. At one end of the spectrum, the law in the United States follows the market rule, whereby transfers of corporate control benefit from a regulatory free hand. At the other end of the spectrum lies the mandatory bid rule (MBR), epitomized by takeover regulation in the United Kingdom. Under the United Kingdom\u27s version of the MBR, an acquirer who acquires de facto control over a target must make a general offer to the remaining shareholders to acquire all of their shares at the same price it paid to acquire the controlling block. This Article aims to analyze how and why six significant Asian jurisdictions adopted the MBR and its variants. This is puzzling given that the jurisdictions display considerable divergence in terms of structural, legal, and institutional foundations, not only with their Anglo-American counterparts but also among themselves. This Article challenges the prevailing notion that the binary Anglo-American approach constitutes the framework for the dissemination of takeover regulation worldwide. The Article claims that because of the political economy of takeover regulation in the Asian jurisdictions, the choice to adopt various intermediate positions is by design and not by accident. Considering that the market rule provides suboptimal protection to minority shareholders and the MBR curbs the market for corporate control, the intermediate positions aim to balance these somewhat conflicting objectives. This study contributes to the wider debate surrounding the appropriate takeover regulation and, more specifically, the claims made by the proponents of the market rule on the one hand and the MBR on the other

A new stochastic and state space model of human colon cancer incorporating multiple pathways

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background and Purpose</p> <p>Studies by molecular biologists and geneticists have shown that tumors of human colon cancer are developed from colon stem cells through two mechanisms: The chromosomal instability and the micro-satellite instability. The purpose of this paper is therefore to develop a new stochastic and state space model for carcinogenesis of human colon cancer incorporating these biological mechanisms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Based on recent biological studies, in this paper we have developed a state space model for human colon cancer. In this state space model, the stochastic system is represented by a stochastic model, involving 2 different pathways-the chromosomal instability pathway and the micro-satellite instability pathway; the observation, cancer incidence data, is represented by a statistical model. Based on this model we have developed a generalized Bayesian approach to estimate the parameters through the posterior modes of the parameters via Gibbs sampling procedures. We have applied this model to fit and analyze the SEER data of human colon cancers from NCI/NIH.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicate that the model not only provides a logical avenue to incorporate biological information but also fits the data much better than other models including the 4-stage single pathway model. This model not only would provide more insights into human colon cancer but also would provide useful guidance for its prevention and control and for prediction of future cancer cases.</p> <p>Reviewers</p> <p>This article was reviewed by M.P. Little and M. Kimmel</p

Interface-Controlled Ferroelectricity at the Nanoscale

Recent experimental results demonstrate that in thin films ferroelectricity persists down to film thickness of a few unit cells. This finding opens an avenue for novel electronic devices based on ultathin ferroelectrics, but also raises questions about factors controlling ferroelectricity and the nature of the ferroelectric state at the nanoscale. Here we report a first-principles study of KNbO3 ferroelectric thin films placed between two metal electrodes, either SrRuO3 or Pt. We show that the bonding at the ferroelectric-metal interface imposes severe constraints on the displacement of atoms, destroying the bulk tetragonal soft mode in thin ferroelectric films. This does not, however, quench local polarization. If the interface bonding is sufficiently strong the ground state represents a ferroelectric double-domain structure, driven by the intrinsic oppositely-oriented dipole moments at the two interfaces. Although the critical thickness for the net polarization of KNbO3 film is finite - about 1 nm for Pt and 1.8 nm for SrRuO3 electrodes - local polarization persists down to thickness of a unit cell.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Cyclin F Is Degraded during G2-M by Mechanisms Fundamentally Different from Other Cyclins

Cyclin F, a cyclin that can form SCF complexes and bind to cyclin B, oscillates in the cell cycle with a pattern similar to cyclin A and cyclin B. Ectopic expression of cyclin F arrests the cell cycle in G2/M. How the level of cyclin F is regulated during the cell cycle is completely obscure. Here we show that, similar to cyclin A, cyclin F is degraded when the spindle assembly checkpoint is activated and accumulates when the DNA damage checkpoint is activated. Cyclin F is a very unstable protein throughout much of the cell cycle. Unlike other cyclins, degradation of cyclin F is independent of ubiquitination and proteasome-mediated pathways. Interestingly, proteolysis of cyclin F is likely to involve metalloproteases. Rapid destruction of cyclin F does not require the N-terminal F-box motif but requires the COOH-terminal PEST sequences. The PEST region alone is sufficient to interfere with the degradation of cyclin F and confer instability when fused to cyclin A. These data show that although cyclin F is degraded at similar time as the mitotic cyclins, the underlying mechanisms are entirely distinct

IoT Load Classification and Anomaly Warning in ELV DC Pico-grids using Hierarchical Extended k-Nearest Neighbors

The remote monitoring of electrical systems has progressed beyond the need of knowing how much energy is consumed. As the maintenance procedure has evolved from reactive to preventive to predictive, there is a growing demand to know what appliances reside in the circuit (classification) and a need to know whether any appliance requires attention and maintenance (anomaly warning). Targeting at the increasing penetration of dc appliances and equipment in households and offices, the described low-cost solution consists of multiple distributed slave meters with a single master computer for extra low voltage dc pico-grids. The slave meter acquires the current and voltage waveform from the cable of interest, conditions the data and extracts four features per window block that are sent remotely to the master computer. The proposed solution uses a hierarchical extended k-nearest neighbors (HE-kNN) technique that exploits the use of distance in kNN algorithm and considers a window block instead of individual data point for classification and anomaly warning to trigger the attention of the user. This solution can be used as an ad hoc standalone investigation of suspicious circuit or further expanded to several circuits in a building or vicinity to monitor the network. The solution can also be implemented as part of an Internet of Things application. This paper presents the successful implementation of HE-kNN technique in three different circuits: lightings, air-conditioning and multiple load dc pico-grids with accuracy of over 93%. Its performance is superior over other anomaly warning techniques with the same set of data

Corporate Brand Image: Antecedents, Mediating Role and Impact on Stakeholder Expectations

Corporate identity and image are shaped by the entirety of perceptions of a variety of stakeholders, both existing and potential ones, such as customers, suppliers, employees, general public, opinion makers, and government officials. Our study is an empirical investigation of corporate brand image and impact on one such stakeholder group made up of prospective employees. A large multinational, a technical and scientific research firm, a major recruiter of graduates from campuses of reputable universities across the nation was chosen as the subject. This paper develops and tests a path model of the antecedent factors affecting corporate brand image and specific expectations that stakeholders may have of a corporate brand. Based on a thorough literature review, a corporate brand image model that treated as antecedents the four constructs, awareness of organisation’s products, perceptions about culture, personality of the focal firm, and general expectations was proposed. Specific expectations that respondents may have about working with the firm was modeled to be influenced by the corporate brand image of the firm surveyed and also by the mentioned four antecedent constructs. The model is fitted to empirical data obtained from a national sample of 368 respondents using LISREL 8.5 methodology, and strong support was found for five, partial support for two of the nine hypotheses tested. Substantial evidence can be seen for the mediating role of corporate brand image in shaping specific expectations that stakeholders have from the corporate brand. Practical significance and managerial implications for marketing investments and organisational performance are detailed.

Ad Hoc Network Architecture for Multi-Media Networks

The desire for more intelligence in the battlefield has given rise to the idea of routing video images over wireless sensor networks. This would apprise combat decision makers with actual images of battlefield developments and allow them to make sound decisions. To achieve this objective, the characteristics of video traffic must be studied and understood. This thesis focuses on evaluating the possibility of routing video images over a wireless sensor network. Video traffic is modeled and simulations are performed via the use of the Sun Small Programmable Object Technology (Sun SPOT) Java development kits configured in three different network topologies: the star topology, binary tree topology and chain topology. It is known that video traffic is self similar and can be obtained by aggregating a large number of On-Off message sources. Hence, an On-Off model using Pareto distribution function is used to model video traffic over the network. In this thesis four self-similar shaping parameters, i.e., alpha(On) = 1.2, 1.4, 1.7 and 1.9 are used in the simulations. The performance of each topology is evaluated based on parameters like mean throughput, mean interarrival time, mean packet drop, and mean delay.http://archive.org/details/adhocnetworkarch109452988Singapore Armed Forces author.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Isobolographic analysis of the hypnotic interaction between propofol and thiopental

Introduction: Giving two intravenous anaesthetic agents simultaneously generally results in an additive effect. The aim of this study was to investigate the interaction between propofol and thiopental when given to patients who have had sedative premedication. Methods: Fifty patients were admitted into the study. All patients received oral midazolam 3.75 mg and intravenous fentanyl 100 mg before induction of anaesthesia. Twenty patients received an infusion of either propofol or thiopental while 30 patients received an infusion of an admixture of both drugs. Isobolographic analysis was used to determine the interaction between the two drugs. Results: The interaction between propofol and thiopental was additive. The average dose at loss of the eyelash reflex for propofol and thiopental was 0.71 mg kg-1 and 1.54 mg kg-1 respectively. Premedication decreased the induction dose by 38.2%. Conclusion: Propofol and thiopental interact in an additive fashion when given at induction of anaesthesia

A Probabilistic Generative Model for Latent Business Networks Mining

The structural embeddedness theory posits that a company’s embeddedness in a business network impacts its competitive performance. This highlights the theoretical and practical values toward business network mining and analysis. Given the fact that latent business relationships may exist and business networks continuously evolve over time, a manual approach for the discovery and analysis of business network is ineffective. Though numerous research has been devoted to social network discovery and analysis, relatively little research is conducted on business network discovery. Guided by the design science research methodology, the main contribution of our research is the design and development of a novel probabilistic generative model for latent business relationship mining. The proposed method can effectively and efficiently discover evolving latent business networks over time. Our experimental results confirm that the proposed method outperforms the well-known vector space model based latent business relationship mining method by 28% in terms of AUC value