Integrated or segmented? a wavelet transform analysis on relationship between stock and real estate markets

The goal of this paper is to investigate the relationship between stock and real estate markets via wavelet analysis. Based on wavelet transform, stock price index and REITs index are firstly decomposed into “volatility componentsâ€, that is, the wavelet coefficients. Secondly, we test the causality relationship between stock price index and REITs index of each subband under the concept of multi-resolution representation. The result revealed that the relationship between stock and real estates markets is neither simply segmented nor purely integrated; the behaviors would vary not only over various observation time scales but also with different REITs.REITS markets, stock markets, causality, wavelet transform

Effect Of Occlusal Vertical Dimension On Lip Positions At Smile

Purpose: In full mouth reconstructive dentistry, the occlusal vertical dimension(OVD) is often increased to provide adequate restorative space or for esthetic reasons. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of occlusal vertical dimension on dimensional measurements of the smile. Materials and Methods: 30 dental students, 12 male and 18 female between the ages of 21 - 30 participated in this study. Polyvinyl Siloxane bite splints of 2mm, 4mm, 6mm, 8mm thicknesses were fabricated on stone casts mounted on semi-adjustable articulators. A wall-mounted head positioning device, modified from a cephalometric unit was used to stabilize head positions. Three photographs each at OVD of +0mm, +2mm, +4mm, +6mm, +8mm were taken using a DSLR camera mounted on a tripod. Measurements were made in Adobe Photoshop CS5, using the width of the maxillary central incisors to convert pixel measurements to millimeter measurements. Results: One way repeated measures ANOVA found statistically significant differences in interlabial gap height, incisal edge - lower lip length, and display zone area with increasing OVD. No statistically significant differences were found for intercommisural width and incisal edge - upper lip length. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that excessive increase of OVD may lead to excessive interlabial gap height, incisal edge - lower lip length, and display zone area. A lengthening of the upper lip at smile should not be expected with increasing OVD. In addition, a change in the width of the smile should not be expected with increasing OVD

The Application of Computational Fluid Dynamics to Comfort Modelling

This thesis studies thermal comfort in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) scenarios with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models at domain and occupant levels. Domain level comfort modelling, where the details of the occupant are not modelled, is investigated utilising Fanger’s Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) comfort models. Occupant level comfort modelling, where the occupant geometry and skin temperature are required, is explored using two different models. The first model termed the thermal manikin model couples the University of California Berkeley (UCB) psychological model to a new physiological model which neglects the thermal regulation of the human body, and consists of a central core at constant temperature surrounded by a layer with thickness and corresponding thermal properties to allow the skin temperature to vary over the modelled human body. The second model based on Gagge’s two-node model, which includes thermal regulation, yet assumes the skin temperature of the occupant to be spatially uniform. The models are validated with the experimental results from the Technical University of Denmark, which provides the data of the air flow, and the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) laboratory at the University of Sydney, which offered the actual votes of human subjects for a range of environmental conditions. To conclude, the prediction of the skin temperature and its spatial variation is the most important parameter to predict occupant comfort correctly. The occupant level comfort modelling approach employing the thermal manikin is found to be the superior method to evaluate thermal comfort as it can still be accurate when the environment is complex. However, the computational cost and model setup time is high. Further work employing multi-node thermal manikin models would be a fruitful area of research if the accuracy of occupant comfort prediction in complex thermal environments is of interest

Synthesis, self-assembly and applications of tribenzopenta-phene derivatives and triphenylene-based conjugated foldamers

Title from PDF of title page, viewed on March 12, 2014Dissertation advisor: Zhonghua PengVitaIncludes bibliographic references (pages 154-171)Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dept. of Chemisty and and Pharmaceutical Sciences. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2013Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are interesting discotic liquid crystalline materials. Their often planar or near-planar geometry and extended π-delocalization render them appealing π-π stacking building blocks which can be utilized to dictate controlled self-assembly processes. In addition, the potentially high charge mobility along the stacked PAH column may find applications in sensors, field effect transistors and photovoltaic cells. In this dissertation, efficient synthetic approaches to tribenzopentaphene (TBP) derivatives are reported and their optical, electrochemical, self-assembly, and photovoltaic properties are studied. It is shown that TBP derivatives are good electron donors which, when coated on pre-grown perylenediimide (PDI) nanofibers can significantly enhance the photocurrent response of the PDI nanofibrils. The peripheral substituents on the TBP core are found to exhibit significant effect on its self-assembly properties which in turn affects the photocurrent response of the PDI/TBP heterojunction nanofibrils. Heterjunction solar cells using TBP derivatives as the donor and PDI or PCBM as the acceptor have also been fabricated and a power conversation efficiency of 0.12% has been achieved. Conjugated oligomers and polymers which can self-organize into a helical conformation have been extensively studied. Such studies have not only led to much better understanding of the principles behind noncovalent folding, but also brought about a number of exciting applications from selective and specific guest binding, functional group organization, to reactive sieves. The major driving forces responsible for the folding of π-conjugated systems are π-π stacking and solvophobic interactions. The strength of the π-π interaction depends on the size and the electronic nature of the aromatic systems. In general, the larger the size of the planar aromatic system is, the stronger the π-π interaction will be. Interestingly, studies on conjugated foldamers have so far been limited to single-ring aromatic systems, in which the mere existence of π-π interactions is questionable. Polycyclic aromatic systems (PCA), as far as we know, have not been utilized in conjugated foldamers. It is envisioned that, with PCAs in the conjugated polymer backbone, the polymer will not only exhibit much stronger propensity for folding due virtually to their stronger π-π stacking interactions, but also may lead to conjugated systems with very interesting electronic and optical properties. In the second part of this dissertation, we report the synthesis and optical properties of triphenylene-containing conjugated foldamers. Systematic optical property studies show that such polymers indeed fold in a variety of solvents. Depending on the solvents, the polymer may also adopt a random coil conformation or interchain aggregation. Among the three conformations, the folding conformation is found to exhibit the highest fluorescence quantum yield.Abstract -- Illustrations -- Tables -- Acknowledgements -- Synthesis and characterizations of new discotic tribenzopentaphene derivatives -- Photoconductivity and photovolataic applications of tribenzopentaphene derivatives -- Synthesis, self-assembley, and applications of a diphenyl-substituted tribenzopentaphene -- Syntheses and optical properties of triphenylene-containing conjugated foldamers -- Reference

Transient Global Amnesia After Ablation of the Left Lateral Accessory Pathway

Transient global amnesia (TGA) could be encountered in many situations even during invasive procedures. In ablation therapy for arrhythmia, there was only one reported case in the ablation of premature ventricular beats. We report a 31-year-old man having paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia who underwent TGA at the end of ablation and recovered quickly after 8-9 hours later. Long-term follow-up showed no neurologic deficits for 8 months