2,416 research outputs found

    An Interactive Approach Based on Alternative Achievement Scale and Alternative Comprehensive Scale for Multiple Attribute Decision Making under Linguistic Environment

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    The aim of this paper is to develop an interactive approach for multiple attribute decision making with incomplete weight information under linguistic environment. Some of the concepts are defined, such as the distance between two 2-tuple linguistic variables, the expectation level of alternative, the achievement scale, the alternative comprehensive scale under linguistic environment. Based on these concepts, we establish some linear programming models, through which the decision maker interacts with the analyst. Furthermore, we establish a practical interactive approach for selecting the most desirable alternative(s). The interactive process can be realized by giving and revising the achievement scale and comprehensive scale of alternatives till the achievement scale and the comprehensive scale are achieved to the decision maker’s request. Finally, an illustrative example is also given.The author is very grateful to the associated editor and two anonymous referees for their insightful and constructive comments and suggestions that have led to an improved version of this paper. This work was partly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 90924027, No. 71101043), National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, No. 2010C B951104), Key Program of National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 10AJY005), College Philosophy and Social Science Research Project of Jiangsu Province under Grant 2011SJD630007.Xu, Y.; Wang, H.; Palacios Marqués, D. (2013). An Interactive Approach Based on Alternative Achievement Scale and Alternative Comprehensive Scale for Multiple Attribute Decision Making under Linguistic Environment. International Journal of Computational Intelligence Systems. 6(1):87-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/18756891.2013.756226S87956

    Alcohol Use, Abuse, and Dependency in Shanghai

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    The use of alcohol for social and ceremonial occasions was recorded in Chinese history as early as 1760 B.C. during the Yin Dynasty (Ci-Hai Encyclopedia, 1979:936). The cultural tradition of ancient China placed alcoholic beverages at the center of social occasions, which presumably was the origin of the adage: Without wine, there is no li (or etiquette). Thus, the use of alcoholic beverages has always been accompanied by the concept of propriety and the discharging of one\u27s role obligations m social functions, rather than that of personal indulgence

    Rational selection of small molecules that increase transcription through the GAA repeats found in Friedreich’s ataxia

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    AbstractFriedreich’s ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal recessive trinucleotide repeat disease with no effective therapy. Expanded GAA repeats in the first intron of the FRDA gene are thought to form unusual non-B DNA conformations that decrease transcription and subsequently reduce levels of the encoded protein, frataxin. Frataxin plays a crucial role in iron metabolism and detoxification. To discover small molecules that increase transcription through the GAA repeat region in FRDA, we have made stable cell lines containing a portion of expanded intron 1 fused to a GFP reporter. Small molecules identified using the competition dialysis method were found to increase FRDA-intron 1-reporter gene expression. One of these compounds, pentamidine, increases frataxin levels in patient cells. Thus our approach can be used to detect small molecules of potential therapeutic value in FRDA

    Lattice Boltzmann for Binary Fluids with Suspended Colloids

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    A new description of the binary fluid problem via the lattice Boltzmann method is presented which highlights the use of the moments in constructing two equilibrium distribution functions. This offers a number of benefits, including better isotropy, and a more natural route to the inclusion of multiple relaxation times for the binary fluid problem. In addition, the implementation of solid colloidal particles suspended in the binary mixture is addressed, which extends the solid-fluid boundary conditions for mass and momentum to include a single conserved compositional order parameter. A number of simple benchmark problems involving a single particle at or near a fluid-fluid interface are undertaken and show good agreement with available theoretical or numerical results.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, ICMMES 200

    Landau Transport equations in slave-boson mean-field theory of t-J model

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    In this paper we generalize slave-boson mean-field theory for tJt-J model to the time-dependent regime, and derive transport equations for tJt-J model, both in the normal and superconducting states. By eliminating the boson and constraint fields exactly in the equations of motion we obtain a set of transport equations for fermions which have the same form as Landau transport equations for normal Fermi liquid and Fermi liquid superconductor, respectively with all Landau parameters explicity given. Our theory can be viewed as a refined version of U(1) Gauge theory where all lattice effects are retained and strong correlation effects are reflected as strong Fermi-liquid interactions in the transport equation. Some experimental consequences are discussed.Comment: 19 page

    Quasiperiodic graphs: structural design, scaling and entropic properties

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    A novel class of graphs, here named quasiperiodic, are constructed via application of the Horizontal Visibility algorithm to the time series generated along the quasiperiodic route to chaos. We show how the hierarchy of mode-locked regions represented by the Farey tree is inherited by their associated graphs. We are able to establish, via Renormalization Group (RG) theory, the architecture of the quasiperiodic graphs produced by irrational winding numbers with pure periodic continued fraction. And finally, we demonstrate that the RG fixed-point degree distributions are recovered via optimization of a suitably defined graph entropy

    Impaired heterologous immunity in aged ferrets during sequential influenza A H1N1 infection

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    The major burden of influenza morbidity resides within the elderly population. The challenge managing influenza-associated illness in the elderly is the decline of immune function, where mechanisms leading to immunological senescence have not been elucidated. To better represent the immune environment, we investigated clinical morbidity and immune function during sequential homologous and heterologous H1N1 influenza infection in an aged ferret model. Our findings demonstrated experimentally that aged ferrets had significant morbidity during monosubtypic heterologous 2° challenge with significant weight loss and respiratory symptoms. Furthermore, increased clinical morbidity was associated with slower and shorter hemagglutinin antibody generation and attenuated type 1 T-cell gene responses in peripheral blood. These results revealed dampened immune activation during sequential influenza infection in aged ferrets. With the presence of an aged model, dissecting clinical morbidity, viral dynamics and immune response during influenza infection will aid the development of future prophylactics such as age specific influenza vaccines

    First-principles study of nucleation, growth, and interface structure of Fe/GaAs

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    We use density-functional theory to describe the initial stages of Fe film growth on GaAs(001), focusing on the interplay between chemistry and magnetism at the interface. Four features appear to be generic: (1) At submonolayer coverages, a strong chemical interaction between Fe and substrate atoms leads to substitutional adsorption and intermixing. (2) For films of several monolayers and more, atomically abrupt interfaces are energetically favored. (3) For Fe films over a range of thicknesses, both Ga- and As-adlayers dramatically reduce the formation energies of the films, suggesting a surfactant-like action. (4) During the first few monolayers of growth, Ga or As atoms are likely to be liberated from the interface and diffuse to the Fe film surface. Magnetism plays an important auxiliary role for these processes, even in the dilute limit of atomic adsorption. Most of the films exhibit ferromagnetic order even at half-monolayer coverage, while certain adlayer-capped films show a slight preference for antiferromagnetic order.Comment: 11 two-column pages, 12 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

    Cosmological distance indicators

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    We review three distance measurement techniques beyond the local universe: (1) gravitational lens time delays, (2) baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO), and (3) HI intensity mapping. We describe the principles and theory behind each method, the ingredients needed for measuring such distances, the current observational results, and future prospects. Time delays from strongly lensed quasars currently provide constraints on H0H_0 with < 4% uncertainty, and with 1% within reach from ongoing surveys and efforts. Recent exciting discoveries of strongly lensed supernovae hold great promise for time-delay cosmography. BAO features have been detected in redshift surveys up to z <~ 0.8 with galaxies and z ~ 2 with Ly-α\alpha forest, providing precise distance measurements and H0H_0 with < 2% uncertainty in flat Λ\LambdaCDM. Future BAO surveys will probe the distance scale with percent-level precision. HI intensity mapping has great potential to map BAO distances at z ~ 0.8 and beyond with precisions of a few percent. The next years ahead will be exciting as various cosmological probes reach 1% uncertainty in determining H0H_0, to assess the current tension in H0H_0 measurements that could indicate new physics.Comment: Review article accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews (Springer), 45 pages, 10 figures. Chapter of a special collection resulting from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Ag
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