Spatial Mobility in the Formation of Agent-Based Economic Networks

We extend the model of spatial social network formation of Johnson and Gilles (Review of Economic Design, 2000, 5, 273-299) by situating each economic agent within one of a set of discrete spatial locations and allowing agents to maximise the utility that they gain from their direct and indirect social contacts by relocating, in addition to forming or breaking social links. This enables the exploration of scenarios in which agents are able to alter the distance between themselves and other agents at some cost. Agents in this model might represent countries, firms or individuals, with the distance between a pair of agents representing geographical, social or individual differences. The network of social relationships characterises some form of self-organised persistent interaction such as trade agreements or friendship patterns. By varying the distance-dependent costs of relocation and maintaining social relationships we are able to identify conditions that promote the formation of spatial organisations and network configurations that are pairwise stable and efficient. We also examine the associated patterns in individual and aggregate agent behaviour. We find that both relative location and the order in which agents are allowed to act can drastically affect individual utility. These traits are found to be robust to random perturbations

Equivalence transformation for the filtration problem

AbstractIn this paper, I am considering a filtration equation, and by using Ovsiannikov's method, I intend to construct the most general equivalence algebra. Moreover, some algorithms are performed in order to extend the principal algebra

Distance Learning Education of Software Engineering: Principles and Experiences

Whether distance learning spells the end of traditional campuses, as some maintain, or whether distance learning instead represents a powerful addition to a growing array of delivery options for higher education, its impact on higher education is great and growing. Distance learning is creating alternative models of teaching and learning, new job descriptions for faculty, and new types of higher education providers. The advent of Distance and Distributed Learning has raised numerous questions about quality and quality assurance: ² How do established distance learning institutions ensure quality? ² What more needs to be done? ² How do quality assurance agencies view the distinction between on- and off-campus teaching and learning? This talk discusses these issues from the viewpoints of funding organisa- tion, quality assurance agencies and the learners

Attitudes of Teachers towards Principal’s Evaluations and Its Effects on Their Teaching Performances

This research is a pioneer research, which examined the attitudes and feelings of teachers to the evaluation process they go through by their principals, and the effect that the principals’ evaluation of the teachers’ work has on their function and performances on both the pedagogic and didactic levels. Two hundred and seventy three Arab and Jewish teachers, who teach at different schools, have participated in the research. A structured questionnaire has been used in the current research. Based on the literature review, seven hypotheses that produced the following findings have been formulated: the Jewish teachers express and report more positive standpoints toward the evaluation of the principals than Arab teachers. They also report that the principal conducts more evaluation processes than Arab teachers, moreover, they report that their managers make more use of the evaluation tools than Arab teachers. It was also found that the managers’ evaluation of teachers by conducting and implementing evaluation processes, improves the function and performances of the teachers on both pedagogic and didactic levels, the effect on the function of the Jewish teachers is higher than the function of the Arab teachers. Positive standpoints of teachers toward their managers’ evaluation of them, effect the teacher’s function and performances on both the pedagogic and didactic levels, regardless of nationality

Discovering the pathways and GO terms associated with Mettl3 modified circular RNAs in the embryonic cerebral cortex of mice.

Circular RNAs (cirRNAs) are a class of RNA molecules that result from the alternative back-splicing events that join the 3’ and 5’ ends normally present in the linear RNA molecules. It has been published that cirRNAs can function as gene regulators and as “microRNA sponges” to negatively control the functions of microRNAs. While many studies have been conducted to understand the regulatory roles of Mettl3 in linear messenger RNAs, fewer contributions were applied to understand the impact of Mettl3 modified cirRNAs on gene expression and on the regulation of different KEGG biological pathways and GO terms. This thesis was conducted to identify the role of Mettl3 modification of cirRNAs in regulating gene expression and controlling different KEGG biological pathways and GO terms in the embryonic cerebral cortex of mice using high-throughput data sequencing. We constructed a generalized framework that led us to the identification of the cirRNA sequences that are significantly enriched in miRNA binding motifs and ultimately to the associated KEGG pathways and GO terms related to these interactions. It has been found by this study that Mettl3 modification in cirRNAs can regulate gene expression by controlling different KEGG biological pathways and GO terms in a manner that is similar, but not identical, to their corresponding linear mRNAs. While some KEGG pathways and GO terms appeared to be regulated by the Mettl3 modification of both linear mRNAs and cirRNAs, few GO terms were regulated in mRNAs but not in cirRNAs. Interestingly, it has been found that Mettl3 modification in cirRNAs can promote the regulation of unique KEGG biological pathways and GO processes (not being regulated by the Mettl3 modified mRNAs) that are significant to the regulation of the neurological diseases’ progressions such as brain tumors and intellectual disabilities in the embryonic cerebral cortex of mice

GRAPHENE-BASED SEMICONDUCTOR AND METALLIC NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS

Exciting periods of scientific research are often associated with discoveries of novel materials. Such period was brought about by the successful preparation of graphene which is a 2D allotrope of carbon with remarkable electronic, optical and mechanical properties. Functional graphene-based nanocomposites have great promise for applications in various fields such as energy conversion, opteoelectronics, solar cells, sensing, catalysis and biomedicine. Herein, microwave and laser-assisted synthetic approaches were developed for decorating graphene with various semiconductor, metallic or magnetic nanostructures of controlled size and shape. We developed a scalable microwave irradiation method for the synthesis of graphene decorated with CdSe nanocrystals of controlled size, shape and crystalline structure. The efficient quenching of photoluminescence from the CdSe nanocrystals by graphene has been explored. The results provide a new approach for exploring the size-tunable optical properties of CdSe nanocrystals supported on graphene which could have important implications for energy conversion applications. We also extended this approach to the synthesis of Au-ceria-graphene nanocomposites. The synthesis is facilely conducted at mild conditions using ethylenediamine as a solvent. Results reveal significant CO conversion percentages between 60-70% at ambient temperatures. Au nanostructures have received significant attention because of the feasibility to tune their optical properties by changing size or shape. The coupling of the photothermal effects of these Au nanostructures of controlled size and shape with GO nanosheets dispersed in water is demonstrated. Our results indicate that the enhanced photothermal energy conversion of the Au-GO suspensions could to lead to a remarkable increase in the heating efficiency of the laser-induced melting and size reduction of Au nanostructures. The Au-graphene nanocomposites are potential materials for photothermolysis, thermochemical and thermomechanical applications. We developed a facile method for decorating graphene with magnetite nanocrystals of various shapes (namely, spheres, cubes and prisms) by the microwave-assisted-reduction of iron acetylacetonate in benzyl ether. The shape control was achieved by tuning the mole ratio between the oleic acid and the oleyamine. The structural, morphological and physical properties of graphene-based nanocomposites described herein were studied using standard characterization tools such as TEM, SEM, UV-Vis and PL spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, XPS and Raman spectroscopy

Effects of formula milk packaging design on breastfeeding Palestinian women’s purchasing decisions

Background: Although the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes states that ‘labels should be designed to provide the necessary information about the appropriate use of the product so as not to discourage breast-feeding’, baby formula manufacturers do not ignore the promotional role of packaging, and consequently use various packaging elements to intensively advertise their products, with the aim of attracting more customers.Objective: This study aims to identify the effect of formula milk packaging design, including visual and verbal packaging elements, on the purchasing decisions of Palestinian women who breastfeed. No previous research has examined the issue in Palestine.Method: The study was based on a cross-sectional survey, as a primary source. The survey targeted breastfeeding women in the Gaza Strip, who were reached through health institutions, between November and December 2016. A stratified sampling technique was used to select 384 study participants. In addition, face-to-face interviews were conducted using structured questionnaires to collect data from respondents. A high response rate of 94.8% was achieved, with 364 completed and usable questionnaires. The data were analyzed using a binary logistic regression model to identify the effect of formula milk packaging design on the purchasing decisions of Palestinian women who breastfeed. The statistical tool employed in this study was factor analysis. Twenty-three variables related to formula milk purchase decisions were identified.Results: The findings prove that the visual packaging design of breast-milk substitutes has a positive effect on the breastfeeding Palestinian women’s purchasing decisions. It was revealed that breastfeeding women in GS are four times more likely to purchase formula milk when visual and verbal packaging is used. Packaging that incorporates attractive colors, shapes and other visual characteristics seem to be effective in influencing mothers’ decisions.Conclusions: Visual and verbal packaging design affect the breastfeeding Palestinian women’s purchasing decisions. This indicates that baby formula companies are breaching the spirit of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, at least in the Palestinian context. [Ethiop.J. Health Dev. 2019; 33(1):59-61]Keywords: Visual packaging design, verbal packaging design, breast-milk substitutes, breastfeeding women’s purchasing decisions, Palestin

Biological Control Of Mycotoxigenic Fungi And Associated Mycotoxins By The Application Of Bacterial And Yeast Antifungal Compounds

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of mycotoxigenic fungi and are considered as a serious threaten to the life of humans and animals, since some of these mycotoxins are carcinogenic compounds. In this M.Sc research project, we demonstrated that the low fermenting yeast L. thermotolerans 751 has a great antifungal potential through the synthesis of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) that are able to act against the mycotoxigenic fungi and the synthesis of their mycotoxins. L. thermotolerans 751 has also shown a great adsorption potential to mycotoxins in in-vitro experiments. In addition, these VOCs were applied in in-vitro experiments to inhibit the fungal growth and spores’ germination and protection of fungi inoculated tomato fruit, for more than one month. On the other hand, our second biocontrol agent, the Qatari bacterial strain Burkholderia cepacia (QBC03) has shown a broad antifungal spectrum and a very efficient inhibition of the synthesis of mycotoxins.This research work was made possible by the sponsorship of Qatar National Research Foundation; NPRP grant #8-392-4-00

The Design and Analysis of Context-Aware, Secure Workflow Systems

Workflows are set of activities that implement and realise business goals. Modern business goals add extra requirements on workflow systems and their management. Workflows may cross many organisations and utilise services on a variety of devices and/or supported by different platforms. Current workflows are therefore inherently context-aware. Each context is governed and constrained by its own policies and rules to prevent unauthorised participants from executing sensitive tasks and also to prevent tasks from accessing unauthorised services and/or data. We present a sound and multi-layered design language for the design and analysis of secure and context aware workflows systems