Search

Why do institutional investors improve firms’ engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) investments? We show that CSR activities are driven by institutional investors with long investment horizons, and that this is due to the reputation insurance that CSR spending provides. Specifically, longer horizon investors benefit more from such insurance, and so do their agents, the investment managers that interact with portfolio firms. Additional tests show that this positive relationship between shareholder horizons and CSR is enhanced by market myopia, managerial agency risks, and motivated investors. We address the endogeneity concerns by employing Russell 1000/2000 index switches as sources of exogenous variation in shareholder investment horizons. The influence of shareholder horizons on CSR is also related to social norms. Our main results hold for all but one category of CSR and appear to be driven by CSR strengths.

ObjectiveWe aimed to compare the therapeutic effects of stereotactic aspiration and best medical management in patients who developed supratentorial hypertensive intracerebral haemorrhage (HICH) with a volume of haemorrhage between 20 and 40 mL.MethodsThe clinical data of 220 patients with supratentorial HICH with a volume between 20 and 40 mL were retrospectively analysed. Among them, 142 received stereotactic aspiration surgery (stereotactic aspiration group) and 78 received best medical management (conservative group). All were followed up for 6 months. Multivariate logistic regression and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare the outcome between the two groups.ResultsThe rebleeding rate was lower in the group that had stereotactic aspiration when compared with the group with medical treatment (6 [4.2%] vs 9 [11.5%], χ2=4.364, p=0.037). After 6 months, although the mortality rate did not differ significantly between the two groups (8 cases [5.6%] vs 10 cases [12.8%], χ2=3.461, p=0.063), the rate of a favourable outcome was higher in the group who received stereotactic aspiration (χ2=15.870, p=0.000). Logistic regression identified that medical treatment (OR=1.64, p=0.000) was an independent risk factor for an unfavourable outcome. The Kaplan-Meier curves indicated that the median favourable outcome time in the stereotactic aspiration group was 59.5 days compared with that in the medically treated group (87.0 days). The log-rank test indicated that the prognosis at 6 months was better for those treated with stereotactic haematoma aspiration (χ2=29.866, p=0.000). However, the 6-month survival rate was similar between the two groups (χ2=3.253, p=0.068).ConclusionsStereotactic haematoma aspiration significantly improved the quality of life, although did not effectively reduce the rate of mortality. When selected appropriately, patients with HICH may benefit from this type of surgical intervention.

Fabricating electrochemical power sources with both high specific energy and power is highly desirable but remains challenging. In this work, a kind of self-charging hybrid electric power device (HEPD) is created with an intrinsic combination of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells and supercapacitors on the electrode level. Because of the unique processes of electrocatalytic reactions boosted by the fast pseudocapacitive discharge, remarkably high specific energy (1550 Wh kg–1) and power (4080 W kg–1) can be delivered by the hybrid device. The working mechanism of HEPD is proposed and demonstrated by in situ characterization and extensive electrochemical investigations. The self-charging HEPD with its synergistic electrochemical processes will broaden the applications of electrochemical power sources.

The main purpose of this study was to establish a data-driven approach and assess its potential for shallow landslide susceptibility mapping of the Shennongjia Forestry District, China. For the data processing, Fisher segmenting was used for the classification of topographical factors (gradient, relief amplitude, plan curvature, and normalized difference vegetation index) and the improved Otsu method was used to determine the buffer length thresholds of the locational factors (proximity to roads, rivers and faults). The computations show that these two objective methods help to avoid the uncertainty caused by the subjective judgments and the obtained thresholds are more consistent with actual conditions. Considering the different data types, the locational and topographical factors were evaluated by fuzzy comprehensive evaluation while the geological factors were evaluated by frequency index, and then the three separate evaluations were combined using radar chart analysis. The validation result shows that the susceptibility map based on a data-driven approach has a high accuracy of prediction and this approach will be salutary for risk mitigation and land-use management in mountainous regions.

PurposeThis paper aims to propose a shape factor for granular materials based on particle shape. The scientific goal is to investigate the influence of particle shape on the mechanical properties of rockfill materials.Design/methodology/approachThe method of generating four regular-shaped particles is based on the observation that most rockfill grains are regarded as like-triangle, like-rhombus, like-square and like-hexagon. A shape factorFthat is developed using the Blaschke coefficient and a concave–convex degree is proposed. A biaxial compression test on rockfill materials under stress path is numerically simulated by discrete element method. The evolution of the shape factorFunder the simulated stress paths is analyzed, and particle breakage rate, peak intensity and peak-related internal friction angle for rockfill materials are derived. A method of determining the shape factorFinvolved in the two functions is proposed.FindingsA new micro-parameter is calibrated using the test data of one rockfill material. Particle shape greatly affects the particle breakage rate, peak intensity and peak-related internal friction angle for rockfill materials. The final experimental grading curves all approach the particle breakage grading curve proposed by Einav (the fractal dimension is 2.7).Originality/valueThis study proposes a shape factorF, which describes the geometric features of natural rockfill particles. The proposed shape factorFhas a simple structure, and its parameters are easy to determine. The method provides an opportunity for a quantitative study on the particle shape of granular materials, and this study helps to better understand the influence of particle shape on the mechanical characteristics of rockfill materials.

Because of the absence of tolerable and effective carriers for in vivo delivery, the applications of small interfering RNA (siRNA) in the clinic for therapeutic purposes have been limited. In this study, development of a novel siRNA delivery system based on ultrasound-sensitive nanobubbles (NBs, nano-sized echogenic liposomes) and cell-permeable peptides (CPPs) is described. A CPP-siRNA conjugate was entrapped in an NB, (CPP-siRNA)-NB, and the penetration of CPP-siRNA was temporally masked; local ultrasound stimulation triggered the release of CPP-siRNA from the NBs and activated its penetration. Subsequent research revealed that the (CPP-siRNA)-NBs had a mean particle size of 201 ± 2.05 nm and a siRNA entrapment efficiency >85%. In vitro release results indicated that >90% of the encapsulated CPP-siRNA was released from NBs in the presence of ultrasound, whereas

Consistent with the theoretical predictions of Goel and Thakor (2008), we find that overconfident CEOs create significant value for the firm through superior stock return performance and take more risk, compared to their non-overconfident counterparts. We also differentiate between innovative and non-innovative industries and find for each subsample that overconfident CEOs create firm value. We find these results even when we control for founder CEOs as they add value and make similar corporate policy decisions as overconfident CEOs. Finally, consistent with the predictions of Goel and Thakor (2008), we find that overconfident CEOs are hired less frequently, take less risk, and add less value after the enactment of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act in 2002, which put in place strict penalties for poor quality information disclosures by corporations. This finding has significant implications for empirical study as this paper provides evidence of the important impact the Sarbanes–Oxley Act has on the relation between CEO overconfidence and firm policies.

In this paper, a flow model for avalanches based on the three-dimensional yield criterion is presented in an attempt to allow the relaxation of the assumption of lateral confinement pressure that is adopted in the traditional three-dimensional Savage–Hutter model (S–H model). One of the advantages of this model is that a simplified constitutive relationship for granular flow, which could reveal the internal mechanism of avalanches, is adopted. Additionally, another advantage is that the strength parameters used in the proposed model are readily available for natural materials. The flow properties of avalanches are influenced by the generalized friction coefficient, which is a parameter that can be assessed by introducing the three-dimensional yield criterion. By comparing the results obtained by numerical simulations using the model proposed in this paper and laboratory experiments, a reasonably good agreement can be reached with regard to the prediction of the moving process of avalanches.

This paper examines the effects of shareholder investment horizons on insider trading. We find that insiders are less likely to trade on private information and the profitability of insider trades is lower when shareholder investment horizons are longer. We further examine two channels through which shareholders with longer investment horizons can impede insider trading: direct monitoring and better information environment. Consistent with the direct monitoring channel, we show that insiders in firms with longer shareholder investment horizons are more likely to shift trades from the month right before earnings announcements to the month right after earnings announcements. Moreover, the impact of investment horizons are stronger in firms with higher ex ante litigation risk, with lower corporate governance quality, and that are not targets of hedge fund activists. Consistent with the information environment channel, we show that longer shareholder investment horizons increase the frequencies of information disclosure and insiders in firms with longer shareholder investment horizons are more likely to trade in an isolated manner rather than in sequences.

While recent studies show that long vesting periods in managerial compensation increase corporate investments, it may reshape the shareholder-debtholder conflict as shareholders have to split the gains with creditors. We find that firms with longer CEO pay durations use more short-maturity debts, which is consistent with that firms shorten debt maturity to mitigate the agency costs of debt. The effect is stronger in firms with more growth opportunities and financial constraints. We strengthen the identification by exploiting the compliance of a regulatory change (FAS 123-R) that is staggered quasi-randomly by firms’ fiscal-year-end months. Our paper provides evidence that the duration of executive compensation affects corporate financing decisions.

As the resolution of DEMs is becoming higher, both the efficiency and accuracy of channel head recognition are important for drainage network extraction. In this paper, a D8-compatible high-efficient channel head recognition method is proposed. For each potential channel, this method first calculates a geomorphologic parameter series along the flow path, and then determines the channel head by detecting the change point in the series. Instead of directly using one threshold value for a whole region that is still commonly used in D8-based methods, the proposed method recognizes channel heads by their local geomorphology one by one. The proposed method is applied with high resolution DEMs for different terrains, and the identified channel heads and extracted drainage networks show good agreement with observations. In comparison with a popular software with state-of-the-art channel head recognition method, the proposed one shows similar accuracy but much higher computational efficiency.

Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in atherosclerosis animal model of type 2 diabetes mellitus treated with simvastatin was investigated. Clean grade mature Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were divided into three groups: Normal control (n=10), model (n=13) and treatment group (n=13); low-dose simvastatin was administered. The changes of VEGF and TGF-β1 levels were analyzed by tail vein blood sampling. The relationship between levels of VEGF, TGF-β1 and treatment time was analyzed. The expression level of VEGF in the treatment group after 4 and 8 weeks of intervention was lower compared with the model group (P

Hair plays important roles, ranging from the conservation of body heat to the preservation of psychological well-being. Hair loss or alopecia affects millions worldwide and can occur because of aging, hormonal dysfunction, autoimmunity, or as a side effect of cancer treatment (Gilhar et al., 2012; Petukhova et al., 2010). Methods that can be used to regrow hair are highly sought after, but lacking. Here we report that hair regeneration can be stimulated by small molecules that activate autophagy, including the longevity metabolites α-ketoglutarate and α-ketobutyrate, and the prescription drugs rapamycin and metformin which impinge on TOR and AMPK signaling.

If firms balance the benefits and costs of leverage, then we might expect corporate asset shocks to trigger a change in corporate target leverage. We investigate the impact of corporate asset restructuring and find that target leverage after restructuring is reduced for downsizing firms and increased for upsizing firms. Changes in target leverage are stabilized by the second year after the restructuring event and are monotonic relative to the degree of restructuring. Decomposition analysis shows that corporate asset restructuring directly and significantly affects target debt ratios. Compared to control firms, downsizing firms adjust claims by repurchasing debt while upsizing firms issue debt securities. As expected, debt repurchases are associated with lower tax liabilities while debt issuance decisions correspond to lower growth proxies and are consistent with a higher adverse selection cost of issuing equity, positive leverage deficit, higher tax liabilities, and lower bankruptcy risk.

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the effects of corporate debt maturity on firms’ acquisition decisions using a large sample of acquisitions from 1991 to 2010. We find that firms with shorter debt maturity are less likely to undertake acquisitions. If they do, they are more likely to undertake smaller deals, take more time to complete, are less likely to make all cash offers, and tend to use less cash in the payment. These results support the predictions of the increased liquidity risk hypothesis. We also find that acquirers with shorter debt maturity realize higher announcement returns and experience better long-term stock returns and operating performance. These results suggest that short debt maturity improves the efficiency of capital allocation through acquisition decisions.

From insider trading filings, we compile a comprehensive sample of executive options granted to executives and board members around initial public offerings (IPOs) from 1996 to 2008 and find a spike of option grants around IPOs. Using this sample, we investigate the determinants of IPO options and their effects on IPO pricing and long term performance. We find that granting IPO options is correlated with insiders selling secondary shares and reducing ownership stake in the offering. This evidence suggests that IPO options are likely substitutes for insiders’ diluted ownership due to IPOs. IPO options, however, are not a management self-serving mechanism as we find no significant relation between IPO options and underpricing, nor do they align executive interest with shareholders for better performance as we find that IPOs with IPO options do not have better long-run stock returns or operating performance than IPOs without IPO options.

The lockup is an agreement between issuing firms and underwriting investment bankers that prohibits firm insiders from selling shares prior to lockup expiry. Using a manually corrected sample of 7546 SEOs between 1988 and 2007, this study investigates the role of these agreements by separately examining the valuation of primary and secondary market investors. Reported evidence shows that announcement day returns increase with the presence and length of lockup, which suggests that secondary market investors value lockups positively. Tests on the SEO discount provide no evidence that primary market investors value lockups. Long-term performance tests also reveal no evidence that lockup SEOs have superior quality. These findings are consistent with the commitment device hypothesis, stating that lockups serve as a commitment mechanism to ameliorate moral hazard issues.

This paper investigates the impact of institutional shareholder investment horizons on a firm's use of bank debt. We find that short-term institutional ownership of the borrowing firm has a negative effect on bank debt financing. This finding provides evidence consistent with the monitoring avoidance incentives of short-term shareholders. In contrast, long-term institutional ownership has a positive impact on the firm's reliance on bank debt financing. These effects are attenuated by higher managerial ownership and more motivated investors and are exacerbated by higher information opacity. Our results are robust to potential endogeneity concerns, the potential use of bonds, firm size effects, and alternative measures of investment horizon. Investigating the effects of investment horizons on other aspects of debt corroborates our main findings.

Hyperalgesia and allodynia are commonly observed in patients with diabetic neuropathy. The mechanisms responsible for neuropathic pain are not well understood. Thus, in this study, we examined the role played by purinergic P2X3 receptors of the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) in modulating diabetes-induced neuropathic pain because this brain region is an important component of the descending inhibitory system to control central pain transmission. Our results showed that mechanical withdrawal thresholds were significantly increased by stimulation of P2X3 receptors in the dorsolateral PAG of rats (n = 12, P

A very large percentage of piping cases have been brought about by internal erosion, which is the primary cause of dam failures. This study developed a numerical model to simulate the pipe progression in a levee foundation by analyzing the inception and transportation of erodible particles from the soil fabric. An approach that considers the turbulent flow in an erodible pipe and the seepage flow in the remaining area of a levee foundation is employed to capture the main hydraulic characteristics of piping. The mechanical analysis of individual erodible particles is considered to quantify the critical condition for particle inception in an erodible pipe. In addition, physical piping model tests are numerically simulated to examine the proposed approach. The simulation demonstrates that the flow in a pipe can progress backward from downstream to upstream when the upstream water head reaches a critical value. Furthermore, the function mechanism of a cut-off wall can be explained by this model. The results have revealed that this model can reproduce the experimental data, such as the critical water head and the progression time, which are obtained from the physical model. The relationship between the depth of a suspended cut-off wall and the critical water head is obtained; this relationship facilitates the practical design of the critical depth of a cut-off wall for a given water head.

By merging REIT SEO data with executive option exercise data, we investigate insider trading implications around REIT SEOs. Event study results show persistent negative abnormal returns for long-term SEO aftermarket performance. After isolating "strategic" option exercises of REIT insiders around the SEO, we assess whether REIT insiders can benefit from asymmetric information. We find enhanced exercise activity around the SEO consistent with REIT executives acting on insider information that the REIT is overvalued at the SEO. However, when exercise activity is linked to long-term performance the results suggest that REIT insiders are not especially skilled in identifying which SEOs will underperform.

A hierarchical optimization method is presented for an assessment of the potential maximum energy output of the Three Gorges Project and Gezhouba cascade hydropower stations in China. The optimization incorporates a detailed description of daily load dispatching among different types of hydropower units. The optimization method is divided into three levels to render feasible the computation of the global optimization problem. In levels 1 and 2, a genetic algorithm is applied to optimize discharge and water head distribution between the upstream and downstream reservoirs. Level 1 selects the water levels at the beginning of each month in a year. Level 2 selects the water levels at the beginning of each day in a month. Level 3 solves a linear programming problem for allocation of water among the heterogeneous types of hydropower generation. Hydrological data of the years 2004 and 2005 are used to perform an optimized power generation process within the operating rules. The maximal annual energy prod...

Effective utilization of scarce water resources has presented a significant challenge to respond to the needs created by rapid economic growth in China. In this study, the efficiency of the joint operation of the Three Gorges and Gezhouba cascade hydropower plants in terms of power generation was evaluated on the basis of a precise simulation-optimization technique. The joint operation conditions of the Three Gorges and Gezhouba hydropower plants between 2004 and 2010 were utilized in this research in order to investigate the major factors that could affect power output of the cascade complex. The results showed that the current power output of the Three Gorges and Gezhouba cascade complex had already reached around 90% of the maximum theoretical value. Compared to other influencing factors evaluated in this study, the accuracy of hydrological forecasts and flood control levels can have significant impact on the power generating efficiency, whereas the navigation has a minor influence. This research provides a solid quantitative-based methodology to assess the operation efficiency of cascade hydropower plants, and more importantly, proposes potential methods that could improve the operation efficiency of cascade hydropower plants.

article The spatial and temporal distribution of snow and its response to changes in climate were investigated from 1979 to 2005 in eastern Tibet. The Lhasa River basin, Niyang River basin and Changdu region cover an area of

This paper presents a real time prediction approach for floods caused by failure of natural dams due to overtopping. The approach adopts the observed outflow data of the preceding failure process for calibrating a simulation model, and the calibrated model is then implemented to predict the remaining failure process and flood characteristics. A widely used parametric model of dam failure is adopted in consideration of practicability and computational simplicity. The problems raised by interrelation among the model parameters and impeding the model calibration are analytically identified, and a simple but effective solution method is proposed. The approach was examined through two idealized cases where there exist no model inadequacy and measurement errors. Its effectiveness of and applicability to predicting the peak discharge and the time to peak of various outflows were exhibited. The real world case of Tangjiashan Quake Lake in China was further analyzed. The outflow peak discharge and the time to peak were reasonably predicted with one and a half hours ahead, demonstrating its potential for practical applications. Multistage features of the breach growth in nature may lower its performance due to raising difficulties in the identification of reasonable predictions. Future work of improving the model adequacy and observation accuracy would enhance its applicability to natural environments.

This study provides evidence that the outcome for shareholders resulting from asset sales is determined at the time of transaction by the value for the asset sold. Assets sold above market value are followed by positive and significant abnormal returns over the following three months; these returns are magnified in firms where the balance of power in corporate governance favors shareholders. Abnormal returns following undervalued asset sales are insignificant from zero, indicating value-preservation. Value-preservation when the assets are sold below market value becomes less likely as firms approach financial constraints. The reverse is true when assets are sold above market value. This evidence is documented for apartment REITs, which have a large number of comparable transactions available for estimating expected market values.

Physically based modeling approach has been widely developed in recent years for simulation of dam failure process resulting from overtopping flow. Due to the lack of field data, there exist few applications to natural quake dams with complex erosion mechanisms. This paper presents a physically based simulation of the failure process of the Tangjiashan Quake Dam formed as a result of the “May 12, 2008” Wenchuan earthquake in China. The one-dimensional model adopted features as cost saving but enables capturing the main characteristics of the failure process, where selective sediment transport and gravitational slope collapse are accounted for. The simulated flow hydrograph and breach progression process are generally in good agreement with the observed data. Unsteadiness and non-uniformity are found to be substantial characteristics of breach progression during the failure process of natural quake dams. Sensitivity analysis showed that the Manning resistance coefficient and the erodibility coefficient in Osman and Thorne’s (J Hydraul Eng 114(2):134–150, 1988) model significantly influences the flow peak discharge but has less influence on its occurrence time, while the velocity lag coefficient associated with bed-load transport may affect the two breaching parameters substantially.

The massive 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan Earthquake triggered huge landslides, avalanches, and debris flows that blocked rivers and created 34 important quake lakes, including the Tangjiashan Quake Lake on the Tongkou River. More than half of these lakes were identified to be of moderate or high hazard levels, so activities needed to be undertaken for hazard mitigation of potential flooding. This paper presents the mitigation processes of quake lake hazards, which involve various techniques such as rapid hazard analysis, scenario-based mitigation planning, and real-time forecasting of outburst flooding for implementation actions. The shortage of hydrologic and geological data and the nature of emergency situations raise substantial challenges in the hazard mitigation of quake lakes. This paper suggests a potential approach in dealing with quake lake hazards, which integrates the automatic monitoring network, hydrologic models, and hydrodynamic models with a comprehensive indicator for hazard levels. The necessity of improving the integrated methodology is highlighted.

We examine executive stock option exercises around a sample of 1,268 seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) from 1996 to 2004 focusing on a subset of exercises we identify as potentially informed. Consistent with the theory that firms issue equity when stock is overvalued, we document a surge in informed exercise in the months surrounding the SEO. From six months prior to the announcement date to six months after issuance, an average 1.76% of the total market capitalization for issuing firms is exercised and sold. Interestingly, we find a positive association between informed option exercises and long-run performance. Overall, our collective evidence indicates that insiders are not particularly good at timing exercises around SEOs.

We investigate the motives for executives to exercise executive stock options on the options’ vesting date versus a later early exercise. We find that executives frequently exercise on the vesting date, executives with a greater need for portfolio diversification and riskier underlying stocks are more likely to exercise their options on the vesting date versus a later early exercise, and private information appears less relevant to vesting date exercises.

Lease financing is a well-recognized mechanism for reducing the agency costs of debt. This study examines whether firms that attempt to control the agency costs of equity through strong governance structures, including Chief Executive Officer compensation alignment and board structure, are more likely to use an agency cost reducing debt structure, such as leasing. For a sample of large firms, we find that firms who use more incentive compensation and have more outside directors also tend to use more lease financing, suggesting these agency cost reducing measures are complements.

To improve the targeting delivery efficiency of anticancer drug to tumor sites, a new strategy combining cell-permeable peptide (CPP) and ultrasound was reported in this article. In this study, we devised and tested a strategy for functional payload delivery to cells by loading CPP-camptothecin conjugate (CPP-CPT) into nanobubble (CPP-CPT NB). Here, CPP existing in the conjugation form of CPP and CPT was hidden in nanobubble to cloak the penetration activity of CPP. Meanwhile, local tumor ultrasound was utilized to achieve specific targeting of CPP-CPT to the tumor cells. The mean particle size of the prepared CPP-CPT NB was ∼200 nm, and the drug entrapment efficiency was >80%. Stimulated by ultrasound, over 90% of the entrapped CPP-CPTs would release from the nanobubbles. Subsequent research demonstrated that the CPP-CPT NB showed effective cellular uptake and significant cytotoxic activity in HeLa cells in vitro. Additionally, after systemic administration in mice, CPP-CPT NB with ultrasound showed a higher tumor inhibition effect in nude mice xenografted HeLa cells tumors and excellent body safety when compared with normal CPT injection group. In conclusion, the carrier constructed in this study would be a safe and efficiently drug delivery system for specific cancer treatment.

A new drug-targeting system for CD13(+) tumors has been developed, based on ultrasound-sensitive nanobubbles (NBs) and cell-permeable peptides (CPPs). Here, the CPP-doxorubicin conjugate (CPP-DOX) was entrapped in the asparagine-glycine-arginine (NGR) peptide modified NB (CPP-DOX/NGR-NB) and the penetration of CPP-DOX was temporally masked; local ultrasound stimulation could trigger the CPP-DOX release from NB and activate its penetration. The CPP-DOX/NGR-NBs had particle sizes of about 200 nm and drug entrapment efficiency larger than 90%. In vitro release results showed that over 85% of the encapsulated DOX or CPP-DOX would release from NBs in the presence of ultrasound, while less than 1.5% of that (30 min) without ultrasound. Cell experiments showed the higher cellular CPP-DOX uptake of CPP-DOX/NGR-NB among the various NB formulations in Human fibrosarcoma cells (HT-1080, CD13(+)). The CPP-DOX/NGR-NB with ultrasound treatment exhibited an increased cytotoxic activity than the one without ultrasound. In nude mice xenograft of HT-1080 cells, CPP-DOX/NGR-NB with ultrasound showed a higher tumor inhibition effect (3.1% of T/C%, day 24), longer median survival time (50 days) and excellent body safety compared with the normal DOX injection group. These results indicate that the constructed vesicle would be a promising drug delivery system for specific cancer treatment.

This paper addresses a knowledge-based approach for reservoir system optimization. The approach takes a more detailed consideration of each turbine in a hydropower plant than the traditional constant output coefficient method. To use this approach, a knowledge expression and a knowledge function are defined for hydropower plant operation. The knowledge expression is extracted by dynamic programming to save all possibly optimal situations of unit commitment, and further, the knowledge function is formulated based on a two-dimensional interpolation of the knowledge expression. Through the use of the knowledge expression and the knowledge function, computer memory requirements can be reduced and unnecessary computations can be avoided in the reservoir operation optimization. To overcome the decomposition schemes in time and in space and guarantee finding the global optimum (in a discrete sense) with an extended time horizon, up to 400 CPU cores are used to run a parallel dynamic programming model, wh...

The objective of this study was to explore the expression and the clinical and prognostic significance of high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) in human gliomas. The expression of HMGB1 in 15 samples of normal brain tissue and 65 samples of different-grade glioma tissue was assayed using immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis. The associations between the differences in expression and pathology grades were analyzed statistically. Uni- and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the prognostic value of HMGB1 expression and its expression levels. The positive rates of HMGB1 expression in normal brain and glioma tissue were 20.0% (3/15) and 76.9% (50/65), respectively. The expression of HMGB1 in glioma tissue was higher than that in normal tissue (P

The monitoring and management of bus is the most significant and most crucial among city construction and its intelligent transport construction. Based on the characters of city lanes, this paper provides a bus lane real-time monitoring method based on image processing, which combines the characters of city structural road and adopts the Hough transform under constraint conditions to detect straight-line lane. After detecting the bus lane area, this method provides further study of binary image in the lane. Extract and coordinate the patch information in the lane, to predict if it is the vehicle, then tests the vehicle utilizing the radar measurement technology. At last, this method utilizes the proportion method, to calculate the parameters of objects ahead and distinguish the objects, which achieves the goal of monitoring.

Studies have analyzed the impact of firm and issue characteristics but not liquidity and solvency components of financial distress on the use of bond covenants. Using a comprehensive database of corporate bonds from 2001 to 2012, we find that firm liquidity, measured by standardized Lambda, has a negative statistical and economic impact on the inclusion of all categories and sub-categories of restrictive bond covenants. Developed from financial statement information by Emery and Lyons (1991), Lambda is designed as a coverage ratio that, under certain distribution assumptions, maps into the probability of a firm being unable to pay its short-term bills. The strongest solvency proxy is the 10-year credit default swap (CDS) spread which is significant across the categories and sub-categories for investment and payment covenants, weakly significant for the subordinated debt sub-category of the subsequent financing covenant, but strongly significant for the control poison put sub-category of event covenants. This evidence supports a model that uses SLambda as a proxy for liquidity risk and the 10-year CDS spread as a proxy for solvency risk. The liquidity/covenant relationship is dampened when firms have access to commercial paper funding or bank loans. However, during the recent financial crisis liquidity event this liquidity/covenant relationship was enhanced especially for firms which were dependent on commercial paper during this time when the commercial paper market was deteriorating.

An evaluation framework for joint operation of cascade hydropower stations was developed in this study. This framework is helpful to evaluate the operation performance of the cascade hydropower stations in order to improve the operation level. The power benefit of the cascade hydropower stations is chosen to be the evaluation object for multipurpose reservoirs and other targets are described as constraints according to the mandatory operation policy. The power generation is maximized by means of an optimal algorithm which is linked to a joint operation simulation model. This theoretical maximum power generation is introduced as an evaluative criterion to assess the indicated additional benefits compared with actual hydropower generation. In addition, an analysis module is involved to assess the influence of various factors on the operation performance. The developed framework was verified by the joint operation of the Three Gorges Project and Gezhouba cascade hydropower stations.

Based on MODIS snow cover products from 2003 to 2008, spatial and temporal distribution of snow is analyzed in Yangbajain basin of Lhasa River Basin. In spatial characteristics, snow-cover ratio varied with elevation in "S" style. In temporal features, there is not a significant trend of snow-covered ratio in the 6-year series from annual-scale. While in a year, the elevation zone between 4800-6400m behaves seasonal cycle. And in the regions above 6400m glacier and perpetual snow covers while below 4800m it rains more than snowfall. It is just an application of MODIS data and data mining in a certain region. We will study more regions and consider more factors to quantify snow covered regime in future work. Those will firstly support us to characterize snow distribution; secondly, provide a reliable input for hydrological model.