Bis[4,5-dimethyl-2-(2-pyrid­yl)-1H-imidazole-κ2 N 2,N 3](1H-imidazole-κN 3)copper(II) bis­(perchlorate)

In the title complex, [Cu(C3H4N2)(C10H11N3)2](ClO4)2, the CuII cation has a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal geometry defined by a CuN2N′2N′′ donor set. The imidazole ligand is disordered over two orientations of equal occupancy. Two of the perchlorate ion sites are located on a twofold rotation axis, and one of is disordered over two sites of equal occupancy. In the crystal structure there is a two-dimensional infinite network of hydrogen-bonded mol­ecules parallel to the ab plane

Culture and service quality: the case of Hong Kong

This article uses the dataset of tourist satisfaction index of Hong Kong to investigate the impact of culture difference on the gap between tourists’ expectations and their perceptions of actual service performance. When the demographic profile and travel experience are controlled, it is found that small culture difference (Hong Kong and China) has positive impact on Expectation-Performance Gap (EPG); whereas negative relationship with EPG is identified for large culture difference (Hong Kong and western countries). The practical implication for tourism managers in Hong Kong is that service providers should manage EPG in accordance with the aspects of the culture difference between the destination and the source markets

Study of Electroless-Deposited Zn on the Surface of Mg-Li Alloy

The Mg-Li alloy stands as the lightest metallic structural material known to date, finding a wide range of applications. However, its development has been hindered by its susceptibility to oxidation and corrosion. In this study, we aimed to address this issue by employing electroless deposition to form a protective zinc layer on the surface of a magnesium–lithium alloy. The optimization of the zinc layer was achieved through varying parameters such as the zinc dipping time (1~10 min), temperature (20~70 °C), and zinc content (20~200 g/L). Surface characterization was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction, while electrochemical tests and scratch tests were conducted to evaluate corrosion resistance and coating adhesion. The results demonstrated the successful formation of a uniform and dense pure zinc layer on the surface of the Mg-Li alloy when the zinc-dipping time was set at 5 min, the temperature was at 30 °C, and the zinc content was at 50 g/L. Under these conditions, the corrosion potential of the Mg-Li alloy experienced the greatest positive shift, reaching as high as −1.38 V. Additionally, the corrosion current was minimized, measuring at 2.78 × 10−6 A/cm2. Furthermore, the maximum arc tolerance radius was observed. Consequently, the electroless deposition of zinc onto Mg-Li alloys significantly improves their corrosion resistance and bonding, opening up new prospects for the application of zinc-plated Mg-Li alloys

The combination of interval forecasts in tourism

Combination is an effective way to improve tourism forecasting accuracy. However, empirical evidence is limited to point forecasts. Given that interval forecasts can provide more comprehensive information, it is important to consider both point and interval forecasts for decision-making. Using Hong Kong tourism demand as an empirical case, this study is the first to examine if and how the combination can improve interval forecasting accuracy for tourism demand. Winkler scores are employed to measure interval forecasting performance. Empirical results show that combination improves the accuracy of tourism interval forecasting for different forecasting horizons. The findings provide government and industry practitioners with guidelines for producing accurate interval forecasts that benefit their policy-making for a wide array of applications in practice

Fast and Accurate: Efficient Full-Domain Functional Bootstrap and Digit Decomposition for Homomorphic Computation

The functional bootstrap in FHEW/TFHE allows for fast table lookups on ciphertexts and is a powerful tool for privacy-preserving computations. However, the functional bootstrap suffers from two limitations: the negacyclic constraint of the lookup table (LUT) and the limited ability to evaluate large-precision LUTs. To overcome the first limitation, several full-domain functional bootstraps (FDFB) have been developed, enabling the evaluation of arbitrary LUTs. Meanwhile, algorithms based on homomorphic digit decomposition have been proposed to address the second limitation. Although these algorithms provide effective solutions, they are yet to be optimized. This paper presents four new FDFB algorithms and two new homomorphic decomposition algorithms that improve the state-of-the-art. Our FDFB algorithms reduce the output noise, thus allowing for more efficient and compact parameter selection. Across all parameter settings, our algorithms reduce the runtime by up to 39.2%. Our homomorphic decomposition algorithms also run at 2.0x and 1.5x the speed of prior algorithms. We have implemented and benchmarked all previous FDFB and homomorphic decomposition algorithms and our methods in OpenFHE

Contention-Aware Mapping and Scheduling Optimization for NoC-Based MPSoCs (Student Abstract)

We consider spacial and temporal aspects of communication to avoid contention in Network-on-Chip (NoC) architectures. A constraint model is constructed such that the design concerns can be evaluated, and an efficient evolutionary algorithm with various heuristics is proposed to search for better solutions. Experimentations from random benchmarks demonstrate the efficiency of our method in multi-objective optimization and the effectiveness of our techniques in avoiding network contention

The combination of interval forecasts in tourism

Combination is an effective way to improve tourism forecasting accuracy. However, empirical evidence is limited to point forecasts. Given that interval forecasts can provide more comprehensive information, it is important to consider both point and interval forecasts for decision-making. Using Hong Kong tourism demand as an empirical case, this study is the first to examine if and how the combination can improve interval forecasting accuracy for tourism demand. Winkler scores are employed to measure interval forecasting performance. Empirical results show that combination improves the accuracy of tourism interval forecasting for different forecasting horizons. The findings provide government and industry practitioners with guidelines for producing accurate interval forecasts that benefit their policy-making for a wide array of applications in practice

Novel Splicing Factor RBM25 Modulates Bcl-x Pre-mRNA 5′ Splice Site Selection▿

RBM25 has been shown to associate with splicing cofactors SRm160/300 and assembled splicing complexes, but little is known about its splicing regulation. Here, we characterize the functional role of RBM25 in alternative pre-mRNA splicing. Increased RBM25 expression correlated with increased apoptosis and specifically affected the expression of Bcl-x isoforms. RBM25 stimulated proapoptotic Bcl-xS 5′ splice site (5′ ss) selection in a dose-dependent manner, whereas its depletion caused the accumulation of antiapoptotic Bcl-xL. Furthermore, RBM25 specifically bound to Bcl-x RNA through a CGGGCA sequence located within exon 2. Mutation in this element abolished the ability of RBM25 to enhance Bcl-xS 5′ ss selection, leading to decreased Bcl-xS isoform expression. Binding of RBM25 was shown to promote the recruitment of the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle (snRNP) to the weak 5′ ss; however, it was not required when a strong consensus 5′ ss was present. In support of a role for RBM25 in modulating the selection of a 5′ ss, we demonstrated that RBM25 associated selectively with the human homolog of yeast U1 snRNP-associated factor hLuc7A. These data suggest a novel mode for Bcl-xS 5′ ss activation in which binding of RBM25 with exonic element CGGGCA may stabilize the pre-mRNA-U1 snRNP through interactions with hLuc7A

Contention-Aware Mapping and Scheduling Optimization for NoC-Based MPSoCs

Network-on-Chip (NoC) has emerged as an alternative interconnecting paradigm in the state-of-the-art multi-core architectures. Its capability of parallel data transfer over various paths increases the possibility of resource contention and causes network congestion. How to avoid contention, as well as to optimize performance and energy consumption becomes a great challenge for system designers. In this paper, we consider spatial and temporal aspects of communication to avoid contention. In spatial aspect, we propose to utilize overlapped communication paths to estimate the degree of contention, such that they can be minimized in mapping stage. In temporal aspect, we sequentialize data transfer with potential contention by introducing additional latency. To optimize the design concerns with the corresponding constraint model, we further provide an efficient algorithm to search for better solutions for the problem, which integrates a local search process into a genetic algorithm and applies various heuristics in initialization and evolution process. Experimentations from random and real-case benchmarks demonstrate the efficiency of our method in multi-objective optimization and the effectiveness of our techniques in avoiding network contention, while keeping performance and energy consumption optimized