On the voting power of an alliance and the subsequent power of its members

Even, and in fact chiefly, if two or more players in a voting game have on a binary issue independent opinions, they may have interest to form a single voting alliance giving an average gain of influence for all of them. Here, assuming the usual independence of votes, we first study the alliance voting power and obtain new results in the so-called asymptotic limit for which the number of players is large enough and the alliance weight remains a small fraction of the total of the weights. Then, we propose to replace the voting game inside the alliance by a random game which allows new possibilities. The validity of the asymptotic limit and the possibility of new alliances are examined by considering the decision process in the Council of Ministers of the European Union.

Study of ISM tracers in galaxies

We collected data for two samples of normal and interacting galaxies for a total of 2953 galaxies having fluxes in one or more of the following wavebands: FIR, 21 cm line, CO(1-0) lines and soft X-ray. The large set of data obtained allowed us to revisit some of the already known relations between the different tracers of the interstellar medium (ISM), such as the link between the FIR flux and the CO line emission, the relation between X-ray emission and the blue or FIR luminosity. The relation lacking from observations for early-type galaxies has been discussed and explained in detail in the frame of a suitable theoretical model, obtained by coupling chemo-dynamical N-body simulations with a dusty spectrophotometric code of population synthesis.Comment: 2 pages, o appear in the Proceedings of the Conf. "From Stars to Galaxies: Building the Pieces to Build Up the Universe", Vallenari et al. eds., ASP Conf. Serie

Magnon squeezing in an antiferromagnet: reducing the spin noise below the standard quantum limit

At absolute zero temperature, thermal noise vanishes when a physical system is in its ground state, but quantum noise remains as a fundamental limit to the accuracy of experimental measurements. Such a limitation, however, can be mitigated by the formation of squeezed states. Quantum mechanically, a squeezed state is a time-varying superposition of states for which the noise of a particular observable is reduced below that of the ground state at certain times. Quantum squeezing has been achieved for a variety of systems, including the electromagnetic field, atomic vibrations in solids and molecules, and atomic spins, but not so far for magnetic systems. Here we report on an experimental demonstration of spin wave (i.e., magnon) squeezing. Our method uses femtosecond optical pulses to generate correlations involving pairs of magnons in an antiferromagnetic insulator, MnF2. These correlations lead to quantum squeezing in which the fluctuations of the magnetization of a crystallographic unit cell vary periodically in time and are reduced below that of the ground state quantum noise. The mechanism responsible for this squeezing is stimulated second order Raman scattering by magnon pairs. Such squeezed states have important ramifications in the emerging fields of spintronics and quantum computing involving magnetic spin states or the spin-orbit coupling mechanism

Strategic decision-making process (SDMP) in times of crisis:evidence from Greek banks

This paper investigates the strategic decision making process (SDMP) of Greek banks’ top management in the context of profound organisational changes introduced in 2012 due to the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. It focuses on the impact of three key dimensions of the SDMP, namely, rationality, intuition and political behaviour, relating to four changes introduced, namely, mergers and acquisitions, branch network rationalisation, integration of information technology (IT) and downsizing of operations and personnel. A survey questionnaire was conducted, targeting Greek banks’ top management. Out of 140 questionnaires, 78 were returned, a 55.71% response rate. Data was analysed using structural equation modelling. Research findings identify rationality as a key dimension of SDMP for all organisational changes, as there was high focus on identifying and analysing all required information, use of external financial advisors, and reliance on multiple methods of information gathering. Decision-makers used their intuition in the form of past experience when making acquisition decisions, whilst their personal judgment and “inner voice” were neglected.Finally, political behaviour was not displayed during this process, as decision-makers were open with each other about their interests and preferences, and there was no bargaining, negotiation or use of power amongst them. One limitation was that of not considering all the factors that might help measure SDMP. Also, this study was conducted in a period of political and financial uncertainty for Greek banks, as well as for the Greek economy in general, so findings may not be generalizable to other industries and countries. Conducting interviews could have offered deeper insight as well. This study’s value lies in the fact that the organisational changes were determined by Greece’s leaders, and thus the Greek banks had to operate under a dynamic, inflexible and non-autonomous environment. Also, this study extends prior SDMP research by examining the impact of the three key SDMP dimensions on four types of organisational change

Polyelectrolyte multilayer films as backflushable nanofiltration membranes with tunable hydrophilicity and surface charge

A diverse set of supported polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) membranes with controllable surface charge, hydrophilicity, and permeability to water and salt was designed by choosing constituent polyelectrolytes and by adjusting conditions of their deposition. The membranes were characterized in terms of their water and MgSO4 permeabilities and resistance to colloidal fouling. The commercial nanofiltration membrane (NF270) was used as a comparative basis. Highly hydrophilic and charged PEMs could be designed. For all membranes, MgSO4 permeability coefficients of NF270 and all PEM membranes exhibited a power law dependence on concentration: Ps [is proportional to] C-[tau], 0.19 < [tau] < 0.83. PEM membranes were highly selective and capable of nearly complete intrinsic rejection of MgSO4 at sufficiently high fluxes. With the deposition of colloids onto the PEM surface, the separation properties of one type of polyelectrolyte membrane showed similar rejection and superior flux properties compared to NF270 membranes. We hypothesize that a PEM-colloid nanocomposite was formed as a result of colloidal fouling of these PEM films. The feasibility of regenerating the PEM membranes fouled by colloids was also demonstrated. In summary, the PEM-based approach to membrane preparation was shown to enable the design of membranes with the unique combination of desirable ion separation characteristics and regenerability of the separation layer

Induction of apoptosis in human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 by phytochemicals from Gmelina asiatica

Currently, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop alternative therapeutic measures against this deadly disease. Many componentsfrom dietary or medicinal plants have been identified that possess substantial chemopreventive properties. India has unique plant varieties yet to be studied for anticancer components. Therefore, cytotoxicity activity and the mechanism of cell death exhibited by the extracts prepared from Gmelina asiatica, in human breast cancer MCF-7cells was investigated. The MCF-7 cells were seeded in 96-well culture plates in the presence and absence of different concentrations of extracts of G. asiatica to determinetheir anticancer effects using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Mechanism of cell death was evaluated by chromatin condensation using Hoest staining and morphological changes with the use of a contrast microscope. Plant extracts of G. asiatica were observed to induce apoptosis of MCF-7 cells as evidenced by MTT-cell proliferation assay, cell-morphological changes and chromatin condensation. The cytotoxicity of the chloroform extract was greater than other extracts of G. asiatica. The results of the present investigation is the first report on the potential anticancer activity of G. asiatica extracts and its possible mechanism of action on cancer cell proliferation in breast cancer MCF-7 cell lines

Analisis Penyebab Unclaimed Berkas Bpjs Pasien Rawat Inap Di Rumah Sakit Umum Imelda Pekerja Indonesia (RSU Ipi) Medan

Pending atau sering disebut dengan unclaimed yang artinya tidak terklaim atau tertunda. Hal ini disebabkan terdapat kasus yang ditatalaksanakan di rumah sakit tersebut diragukan kesimpulan medisnya karena ketidakcocokan atau ketidaklengkapan data-datanya. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk menganalisis penyebab unclaimed berkas BPJS pasien rawat inap berdasarkan identifikasi input dan proses. Jenis penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan fenomenologi. Waktu penelitian dilakukan pada bulan Februari-Juli 2018 di RSU Imelda Pekerjaan Indonesia Medan. Populasi yaitu rekam medis BPJS rawat jalan yang dipending pada bulan Februari-Juli 2018 sebanyak 490 berkas. Sampel diambil secara proposional stratified random sampling yang berjumlah 83 berkas. Informan kunci berjumlah 6 orang yang terdiri dari 1 orang kepala ruangan BPJS RSU IPI,3 orang  petugas koder BPJS RSU IPI dan 2 orang petugas administrasi BPJS. Data dikumpulkan melalui wawancara dan observasi. Untuk analisis data dirangkum secara deskriptif melalui reduksi data, penyajian dan penarikan kesimpulan. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan penyebab unclaimed berkas BPJS pasien rawat inap di Rumah Sakit Umum Imelda Pekerja Indonesia (RSU IPI) Medan adalah jumlah SDM, sarana, teknologi, perencanan berupa ketersediaan SOP, dan evaluasi. Berdasarkan 83 berkas BPJS yang terpending ada 45% berkas BPJS dikarenakan dari kesalahan pengkodingan, 22% dikarenakan dari indikasi medis dan 33% dikarenakan  administrasi. Disarankan untuk pihak rumah sakit agar menambah jumlah SDM, perbaikan terhadap sarana dan teknologi, perencanaan dan evaluasi sehingga dapat menurunkan jumlah unclaimed berkas BPJS pada rumah sakit

Martensitic Thin Wires under Restrained Recovery: Theoretical and Experimental Aspects

A one-dimensional model for the evolution of microstructure in single crystal shape memory wires has been recently proposed in (Rizzoni (2011)). The model is based on the constrained theory of martensite introduced by (Ball et al. (1995); De Simone and James (2002)) and on the assumption that stable equilibrium configurations are deformations lying at the energy wells on most parts of the wire. In this paper we compare the response simulated for restrained recovery conditions (Rizzoni (2011)) with experimental data obtained in restrained recovery tests performed on NiTi wires. As an application, we consider a truss made of shape memory wires and rigid elements, and we calculate its deformation after thermal activation of the shape recovery

Novel approach to a perfect lens

Within the framework of an exact analytical solution of Maxwell equations in a space domain, it is shown that optical scheme based on a slab with negative refractive index ($n=-1$) (Veselago lens or Pendry lens) does not possess focusing properties in the usual sense . In fact, the energy in such systems does not go from object to its "image", but from object and its "image" to an intersection point inside a metamaterial layer, or vice versa. A possibility of applying this phenomenon to a creation of entangled states of two atoms is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

Evidence of very low metallicity and high ionization state in a strongly lensed, star-forming dwarf galaxy at z=3.417

We investigate the gas-phase metallicity and Lyman Continuum (LyC) escape fraction of a strongly gravitationally lensed, extreme emission-line galaxy at z=3.417, J1000+0221S, recently discovered by the CANDELS team. We derive ionization and metallicity sensitive emission-line ratios from H+K band LBT/LUCI medium resolution spectroscopy. J1000+0221S shows high ionization conditions, as evidenced by its enhanced [OIII]/[OII] and [OIII]/Hbeta ratios. Consistently, strong-line methods based on the available line ratios suggest that J1000+0221S is an extremely metal-poor galaxy, with a metallicity of 12+log(O/H) < 7.44 (< 5% solar), placing it among the most metal-poor star-forming galaxies at z > 3 discovered so far. In combination with its low stellar mass (2x10^8 Msun) and high star formation rate (5 Msun/yr), the metallicity of J1000+0221S is consistent with the extrapolation to low masses of the mass-metallicity relation traced by Lyman-break galaxies at z > 3, but it is 0.55 dex lower than predicted by the fundamental metallicity relation at z < 2.5. These observations suggest the picture of a rapidly growing galaxy, possibly fed by the massive accretion of pristine gas. Additionally, deep LBT/LBC in the UGR bands are used to derive a limit to the LyC escape fraction, thus allowing us to explore for the first time the regime of sub-L* galaxies at z > 3. We find a 1sigma upper limit to the escape fraction of 23%, which adds a new observational constraint to recent theoretical models predicting that sub-L* galaxies at high-z have high escape fractions and thus are the responsible for the reioization of the Universe.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures and 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter