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This article aims to identify and gain an understanding of the internal and external factors that affect building occupants’ energy consumption behavior, which includes biological, psychological, socioeconomic, sociodemographic, contextual, government regulations, time, physical environment, and building characteristics. Based on these factors a series of intervention programs and strategies are proposed aiming to change occupants’ behavior towards energy saving based on the well-known theory of planned behavior. The intervention strategies include feedback system, education, government incentive and policy, and social/peer influence strategies. In addition, the standard economic theory was introduced to provide a theoretical base for modeling the negative effect of energy price on energy consumption behavior. It should be pointed out that in addition to the implication of building energy saving practice, the frameworks, strategies, and factors presented in this article also provide pointers for future research.

The NAV discount is a long standing puzzle in the listed real estate context. In this paper we extend the existing literature’s rational and noise trader explanations by exploring the influence of specific irrational behaviors. Based on behavioral biases identified in the stock and real estate markets, we hypothesize the existence of a relationship between lagged NAV growth and the NAV discount. The findings provide initial evidence of trend-chasing behavior between the dual real estate markets. The results have broader implications for the perception of the relationship between public and private real estate markets.

This paper studies the influence of CEO overconfidence on firms’ financial performance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the US real estate investment trust (REIT) market. CEO overconfidence has been shown to have both negative and positive influences on firms. This paper is the first to combine the two sides in a single framework. We find that firms with overconfident CEOs tend to have better CSR performance. In addition, better CSR performance can increase firms’ financial performance, but this positive relationship is undermined by the existence of overconfident CEOs. Our results not only shed light on the two sides of CEO overconfidence in the real estate sector, but also provide a new prospective for research on the CSR–financial performance relationship.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the volatility clustering in the return of land markets through both theoretical and empirical approaches.Design/methodology/approach– Using extensive monthly panel data at the provincial level from 1986 to 2013, the authors identify the existence of time-correlated and time-varying returns in Canadian land markets.Findings– Consistent with the proposed theory, volatility clustering in land markets tends to be observed in more populated areas.Originality/value– The result has significant implications for portfolio management, economic theory and government policy by revealing the systematic pattern of volatility clustering in land markets.

By laser melting technique, TiCxNy ceramics are prepared under the laser powers of 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 W, respectively. The size of molten pool decreases with the increase of scanning speed from 1 to 4 mm/s at a certain power. TiCxNy microstructure continuously changes from the top to bottom of molten pool. Based on the XRD spectrum, the composition of ceramic can be confirmed as Ti(O0.19C0.53N0.32), C0.7N0.3Ti, C2MoTi, and Ti8C5. Based on the analysis of the growth process, the growth conditions can be confirmed. The maximum depth of molten pool obtained at the laser energy density of 500 W/cm2. The more deviation from this value, the more shallow the pool. The corrosion experiment result shows that TiCxNy ceramic has good corrosion resistance to various corrosive agents except HNO3.

Purpose – In this research, the purpose of this paper is to assess the relative pricing behavior for land in Beijing, China. The paper sees this as important for three core reasons. First, China has a strong growth economy but is still in many ways an undeveloped country and thus the paper do not have significant data about asset pricing behavior there. Second, China has not traditionally had a market-based land and property transfer system – thus, it is interesting to assess how prices are determined relative to typical market expectations. Third, the authors have extensive evidence on pricing behavior in the USA and Europe but little such evidence on China – are the same variables important in land pricing in China and are there other unique local variables. Design/methodology/approach – This paper analyzes prices of non-industrial and industrial land separately using a comprehensive data set and a semi-parametric framework. The data and flexible model specification allow the hedonic price coefficients to be estimated more accurately. Findings – The key results are that pricing behavior in general follows the traditional expected variables as determined by size, planning use, location and other neighborhood characteristics. However, the authors also find that land prices are associated with buyer characteristics; for example, foreign investors pay less than local investors. Originality/value – The study fills the gap in the literature in two ways. First, this paper analyzes prices of non-industrial and industrial land separately using a comprehensive data set and a semi-parametric framework. The data and flexible model specification allow the hedonic price coefficients to be estimated more accurately. Second, and more importantly, the authors find evidences that land prices in China are determined by both market force and “Chinese characteristics.” The land market, although established only recently, is at work. In line with the literature, determinants such as size and planning uses are found to be important in determining land prices.

Vehicle communication technology, as the core technology of intelligent transportation system, is expected to pass various communication connection means, combined with artificial intelligence, situational awareness, monitoring device, and precise positioning system, to solve the demand of the intelligent transportation system in the car safety, transportation efficiency, and the information service, etc. And it has the potential to serve driverless system. Device-to-device(D2D) communication is suitable for short distance vehicle communication because of its related characteristics and advantages. D2D users multiplexing cellular network spectrum will bring the same frequency interference problems. In order to avoid interference, improve system performance, this paper proposes a vehicle networking D2D communication mode based on spectrum sensing dynamic selection method. Simulation results show that the system capacity can be maximized by changing the sensing time of spectrum. Dynamic selection model is verified through the comparison superiority, and provides the intelligent transportation system a better vehicle-to-vehicle communication method.

Summary Wnt pathways play an important role in pre-implantation embryo development, blastocyst implantation, and post-implantation uterine decidualisation. However, little is known about the potential role that Wnt signaling plays in patients with unexplained recurrent spontaneous miscarriage (URSM), and no single biomarker with a high predictive value of maternally caused URSM has been identified. We aim to study the molecular mechanisms by which the Wnt pathway controls the progression of early pregnancy by investigating the expression of Dickkopf-1 (DKK1), one of the Wnt agonists, in URSM patients. Plasma and fresh decidual tissues samples were collected from 59 subjects (29 patients with URSM and 30 patients with normal, early pregnancy). Time-resolved immunofluorometric assay system and quantitative real-time RT-PCR were used to determine the serum levels of DKK1 and DKK1 mRNA in the deciduas, respectively. Western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to measure DKK1 protein levels in the deciduas. Serum DKK1 levels were significantly higher in URSM patients compared to the control group (P

For the first time a novel wideband tunable forced-mode ring resonator is proposed, which consists of a half guided-wavelength (λ g/2) ring resonator and two loading capacitors with different values. By controlling the respective values of the two capacitors, the fundamental resonant frequency (f fund) of the proposed ring resonator can be shifted up and down, resulting in a bi-directional tuning of f fund. With this new design, the tuning range of f fund can then be significantly extended to approximately double the range of the conventional tunable ring resonator. Meanwhile, no other resonance occurs in the wideband frequency-tuning range of f fund. The design equations of the proposed ring resonator are derived by using odd- and even-mode analysis, and the operating principle is investigated and presented. For demonstration, the proposed tunable technique is verified by the simulation and experiment, and the measured tuning range of f fund reaches 1.25 octaves, that is 0.68 → 1.53 GHz.

In this study, tunable dual-mode microstrip patch resonators are presented and utilised to design microstrip bandpass filters (BPFs). The novelty of the designs lies in that the performance of frequency agility can be realised by using either the signal line or the return path (the ground) of microwave transmission line. For the proposed resonators, the resonant frequencies of two coupled degenerate modes can be tuned using a square-loop slot with loaded tunable capacitors on the ground plane or on the patch. The locations of the capacitors are determined according to the electric field distributions of the two orthogonal modes. The variations of the modes in spectrum are studied. Finally, two types of demonstration compact tunable BPFs are designed and fabricated, and the simulated and measured results show good agreement.

A novel microstrip tri-band bandpass filter (BPF) based on stub-loaded triple-mode resonator is proposed. The open- and short-circuited stubs are asymmetrically loaded to a uniform impedance open-loop resonator, constructing a triple-mode resonator. Benefiting from the proposed asymmetrical loading scheme, the designed tri-band BPF not only possesses the controllable bandwidths of the three passbands, but also shows very wide stopband. Finally, a tri-band microstrip BPF with good performance is designed at 1.5, 2.57, and 3.83 GHz. Three transmission zeros near the passbands are obtained to improve the selectivity of the tri-band BPF. Meanwhile, the other transmission zeros produced in the stopband enhance the harmonic suppression level. The rejection level from 4.3 to 13.7 GHz is better than 20 dB. The measured results are in good agreement with the simulated data.

Bioactive oils extracted from sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) berries contain highly nutritional and medicinal compounds; however, the oil contents of sea buckthorn berries are very low. Thirteen inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers were used to identify markers associated with oil content of dry pulp in 51 cultivars and lines, which clustered into three major groups based on 137 polymorphic markers. Dry pulp oil contents in 45 cultivars and lines in Group I ranged from 6.6 to 33.1%; these accessions belonged to H. rhamnoides ssp mongolica and its hybrids with H. rhamnoides ssp sinensis. Three lines (H. rhamnoides ssp mongolica) in Group II had high dry pulp oil contents (33.7 to 37.5%), whereas three lines of hybrids in Group III had low dry pulp oil contents (10.9 to 17.5%). The dry pulp oil content of H. rhamnoides ssp mongolica (27.2 ± 0.9%) was higher than that of hybrids (12.0 ± 1.2%) (P < 0.01). Four ISSR markers (881340, 8251000, 817380, and 8071100) had positive association with high dry pulp oil content (P < 0.01) using stepwise multiple regression analysis. The use of these ISSR markers is a potential strategy to select genotypes with high dry pulp oil content and suitable parental combinations for improvement of sea buckthorn berries.

To compare the clinical features and high-resolution esophageal motility-impedance characteristics among esophagogastric junction outflow obstruction (Eoo) patients, type Ⅱ achalasia (Ach) patients and healthy controls (Con), in order to explore the values of esophageal high-resolution manometry (HRM) in diagnosis and treatment of Eoo patients.Patients with dysphagia were enrolled from December 2011 to December 2014 at the outpatient department of Peking University Third Hospital, so were age-matched healthy volunteers. All the patients with organic obstruction were excluded. All the participants were tested with high-resolution esophageal motility-impedance measurement, the patients were diagnosed as Eoo or Ach according to the Chicago classification criteria. Clinical features and esophageal motility characteristics of Eoo, Ach and Con were analyzed.A total of 23 Eoo, 24 Ach and 20 Con were enrolled, whose gender ratios, average ages and body mass indexes were of no significant differences(all P0.05). (1) The Eoo group had higher percentage of food reflux[21.7% (5/23) vs 0(0/24), P=0.005]and belching[17.4% (4/23) vs 0 (0/24), P=0.013], but lower percentage of dysphagia[47.8% (11/23) vs 79.2% (19/24), P=0.025]and vomiting[0(0/23) vs 12.5%(3/24), P=0.040]compared with the Ach group, with no significant differences in other symptoms(all P0.05). Besides, the Eoo group had lower Eckardt scores than the Ach group[1(1, 2) vs 3 (2, 5), P0.001]. (2) The lower esophageal sphincter (LES) basal pressure-minimum in the Eoo was higher than the Con[(26.73±2.77) vs (17.16±1.76) mmHg, P0.05]. The mean LES basal pressure; and the LES integrated relaxation pressure (IRP), IRP-maximum, and LES relaxation percentage were significantly different among Eoo, Ach and Con[(19.80±1.25) vs (35.95±2.36), (8.43±0.72) mmHg, both P0.05; (23.22±2.02) vs (48.37±3.71), (12.32±1.29) mmHg, bothP0.05; 38.61%±3.10% vs 12.42%±5.66%, 64.00%±3.85%, both P0.05]. (3) There were significant differences in velocity, amplitude, and duration of esophageal peristaltic wave and intrabolus pressure (all P0.05) among Eoo, Ach and Con; and failed contraction percentage, panesophageal pressurization percentage, premature contraction percentage, and rapid contraction percentage of Eoo were lower than Ach (all P0.05) while complete contraction percentage of Eoo was high compared with Ach (P0.001), but no significant differences between Eoo and Con. (4) The Eoo had significantly less incomplete bolus clearance[0.00% (0.00%, 20.00%) vs 100.00% (90.00%, 100.00%), P0.001]and shorter bolus transit time[(5.44±0.29) s vs (24.13±1.69) s, P0.001]than Ach, but there were no significant differences between Eoo and Con in these two indexes[0.00% (0.00%, 20.00%) vs 0.00% (0.00%, 9.75%); (5.44±0.29) s vs (5.30±0.19) s; both P0.05].The clinical manifestations and esophageal HRM characteristics of Eoo appear to be between Ach and Con, which suggests that Eoo may be an early-stage of Ach. Further study of the pathophysiological characteristics of Eoo patients may provide more evidence to elucidate the pathogenesis of achalasia.

The ISI 2012 met in Washington, DC, 18-22 June 2012, bringing together researchers and their students spanning an unusually wide range of disciplines including quantum and physical chemistry, cosmochemistry, atmospheric chemistry, chemical oceanography, biogeochemistry, organic and inorganic geochemistry. The diversity of subject matter was matched geographically with 92 attendees hailing from Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the USA. Although diverse, the group was united in its commitment to use the light stable isotopes of H, C, N, O, and S, with their equilibrium, kinetic, and intramolecular fractionations, to understand the material cycles and their dynamics between atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere that make life possible on Earth. A distinct benefit of a small meeting like ISI 2012 is the opportunity for everyone to talk to each other. The historic rooms of the Carnegie Institution of Washington offered a cozy and warm atmosphere for participants in ISI 2012 to talk science and life in a casual, relaxed, and in-depth fashion. Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers were particularly appreciative of being able to spend five days together with old and new colleagues in comfortable quarters. Many commented that they hadmore » gained a lot more in building their life-long working relationships with colleagues at this meeting than at larger meetings.« less

To investigate the long-term effect of biventricular (BIV) and right ventricular apical (RVA) pacing on cardiac function in patients with high-degree atrioventricular block (AVB) and left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)over 35%.A total of 118 consecutive patients with high-degree AVB in six hospitals from East China between May 2009 and December 2012 were enrolled in this randomized, double-blind and parallel controlled study. Patients were randomly assigned to BIV and RVA pacing with or without LV lead on after one-week cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Cardiac function including New York Heart Association(NYHA), 6 minute walking distance (6MWD), Minnesota living with heart failure (MLHF) score, LVEF, left ventricular end-diastolic volumes/diameters (LVEDV/LVEDD) and other echocardiography parameters, as well as N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP)were assessed at 6 months and 12 months.A total of 114 patients were successfully implanted with CRT. Cardiac function was significantly improved after one-week BIV pacing (n=57) compared with pre-CRT: rate of patients with NYHA Ⅲ (25.44%(29/114) vs. 9.65%(11/114)), MLHF score (17.1±13.6 vs. 26.9±21.6), 6MWD ((315.4±121.8)m vs. (291.8±102.9)m) and NT-proBNP (157.0(70.0, 639.0) ng/L vs. 444.7(144.0, 1 546.0)ng/L, all P0.05). In BIV group, 6MWD extended from (314.8±142.7)m to (332.7±117.5)m at 6 months (P0.05), LVEF increased from (60.7±7.9)% at 1 week to (56.6±10.7)% at 6 months(P0.05), both LVEDV and LVEDD decreased at 12 months compared with at 1 week ((116.2±39.5)ml vs. (131.4±49.6)ml and (50.2±5.6)mm vs. (52.5±6.8)mm, P0.05). In RVA group (n=57), 6MWD increased at 6 months compared that at 1week ((342.4±109.9)m vs. (310.2±105.1)m, P0.05), NT-proBNP was higher at 12 months than that at 1 week (349.5(191.8, 884.3)ng/L vs. 127.0(70.3, 336.7)ng/L, P0.05). Compared with RVA group, BIV group had a bigger shrink in LVEDV decrease at 12 months was more significant in BIV group ((-16.68±24.30)ml vs. (9.09±29.30)ml, P0.05).Cardiac pacing could acutely improve the cardiac function in patients with high-degree AVB and LVEF over 35%. Improvements on cardiac function and remodeling are more significant after 12-month BIV pacing than that of RVA pacing. Clinical Trail Registry: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR-TRC-10000832.

This paper provides an analytical solution to describe the trajectories of fixed cutting edges in machining spherical surfaces when the relative motion between the cutting edges and the workpiece surface involves three independent rotations. The concepts of surface coverage ratio and trajectory uniformity were introduced to measure the efficiency of machining the curved surfaces. The effects of the maximum half-swing angle, rotational speeds and rotational direction of the tool and workpiece on the uniformity of the trajectory pattern were analysed in detail. It was found that with the aid of the analytical solution, an optimal machining condition can be obtained, which enables a uniform distribution of the cutting edge trajectories and a good surface coverage in a short period of machining time.

Using a feed-forward artificial neural network (ANN), the tensile strength of a series of poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone)(PPESK) blended with different contents of polyetheretherketone(PEEK), polysulfone(PSF), polyphenylene sulide (PPS) and reinforced with various amounts of whisker(TK) composites has been predicted based on a measured database. Compared with the experimental results, the maximum error obtained is not more than 0.8%. It is concluded that the predicted data are well acceptable. A well-trained ANN is expected to be very helpful mathematical tool in the structure-property analysis of polymer composites. Finally, using ANN modeling data and experimental data, the tensile strength properties related to whisker weight percent were established.

It is proposed that myocardial cell apoptosis causes ventricular remodeling and heart failure. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of rutaecarpine (Rut) on hypoxia–reoxygenation (H–R)-induced apoptosis in myocardial cell line H9c2, as well as the underlying mechanisms. Cultured H9c2 cells were exposed to hypoxia for 24 h, followed by 12 h reoxygenation. Rut (in concentrations of 0.1, 1, and 10 µmol/L) was added 1 h prior to H–R. Cell viability and lactate dehydrogenase were measured to evaluate the cell injuries. Apoptosis was evaluated by Hoechst 33258 staining and flow cytometry. NADPH oxidase activity was measured by assay kit; intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was detected by 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein diacetate; and Nox2, Nox4, and p47phox mRNA and protein expression were analyzed by real-time PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The results showed that H–R significantly decreased cell viability and increased the lactate dehydrogenase release, as well as the apoptotic rate, concomitantly with enhanced NADPH oxidase activity. H–R also upregulated mRNA and protein expressions of Nox2, Nox4, and p47phox and increased ROS production. Treatment with Rut markedly reversed these effects introduced by H–R. These results suggest that the protective effects of Rut against H–R-induced myocardial cell injury and apoptosis might, at least partly, be due to the inhibition of the NADPH oxidase – ROS pathway.

This article establishes a new model for estimating the peak indentation force of the edge chipping of rocks when using a conical or a pyramidal point-attack pick. The investigation points out that the existing formulation in the literature is based on an inappropriate stress assumption and equilibrium, and hence leads to incorrect cutting force estimations. The new model developed in this study is based on an analysis of the penetration force and energy dissipation using fracture mechanics, similarity of chip geometry, and edge chipping tests on four different rock materials. It is found that the peak indentation force and the depth of cut follow a power law, that the new model can reasonably estimate the experimental measurements, and that it provides useful information for the shape optimization of point-attack picks in mechanical excavation.

To study the house price dynamics in China, this paper extends the traditional life-cycle model by incorporating land supply, regime shifts and government regulation factors. The models are estimated with an error correction framework using quarterly data from 2000 to 2007 in Beijing. The conclusions are as follows. (1) There exits a stable co-integration relationship between house price and fundamentals; land supply and financial regimes are also important determinants of long-run equilibrium house prices. (2) Short-run dynamics depend on changes of fundamentals and the adjustment process of housing market. Land supply has a significant impact on house price fluctuations while demand factors such as user costs, income and residential mortgage loan have greater influences. The adjustment speed of real house prices to the long-run equilibrium has been reduced significantly since 2005 which means exogenous shocks can cause prolonged deviation of real house prices from the equilibrium level.

The widely used method of calculating electric distances is sensitivity method. The sensitivity matrix is the result of linearization and based on the hypothesis that the active power and reactive power are decoupled, so it is inaccurate. In addition, it calculates the ratio of two partial derivatives as the relationship of two dependent variables, so there is no physical meaning. This paper presents a new method for calculating electrical distance, namely transmission impedance method. It forms power supply paths based on power flow tracing, then establishes generalized branches to calculate transmission impedances. In this paper, the target of power flow tracing is S instead of Q. Q itself has no direction and the grid delivers complex power so that S contains more electrical information than Q. By describing the power transmission relationship of the branch and drawing block diagrams in both forward and reverse directions, it can be found that the numerators of feedback parts of two block diagrams are all the transmission impedances. To ensure the distance is scalar, the absolute value of transmission impedance is defined as electrical distance. Dividing network according to the electric distances and comparing with the results of sensitivity method, it proves that the transmission impedance method can adapt to the dynamic change of system better and reach a reasonable subarea division scheme.

Political instability may weaken investors' belief in property rights, putting the investors in fear that part of the investment may be wasted due to poor protection. As a result, the investors are unwilling to pay a premium for the security of rights when facing political uncertainty. This article attempts to test the above hypothesis using 10-year freehold and leasehold housing transaction data in Hong Kong and Singapore, where different political scenarios, comparable land lease structures as well as similar property cycles were established during the period. The conceptual model yields testable predictions about our hypotheses, and the empirical results verify the predictions.

This paper establishes an analytical solution for describing the trajectories of abrasives in polishing spherical surfaces when the motions of the tool and workpiece involve three independent angular velocities. As an example of its applications, the solution is used to show the effect of angular velocities on the trajectory coverage uniformity on a spherical surface – a key aspect for the control of a uniform material removal in a polishing operation. This solution provides a theoretical tool for the parameter selection of such machining processes.

In this paper, a differential oscillator using parallel-strip line (PSL) with an inserted ground plane is proposed. Its two identical sub-oscillators on the opposite sides of a dielectric substrate, sharing a common PSL resonator and common ground plane in the middle of the substrate, generate anti-phase fundamental signals and in-phase second harmonics. At the common PSL output, the second harmonics are inherently cancelled out while the fundamental signals are well combined. The combination circuits, as required by the conventional differential circuits, are no longer needed. To further enhance the suppression of the second harmonics, the inset length of the ground plane into the PSL resonator is optimized to make the second harmonics be suppressed inside each sub-oscillator.

Over the past several decades, a series of new methods have been developed in China for the diagnosis of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). These methods are theoretically consistent with Office International des Epizooties standards for FMD diagnosis and include: antigen-capture ELISA and colloid-gold test strip for viral antigen typing, liquid-phase blocking ELISA (LPBE) for detection of antibodies against O and Asia 1 FMDV, and an indirect ELISA for detection of antibodies against the non-structural protein (NSP) 3ABC (3ABC-I-ELISA). Several molecular diagnostic methods have also been developed for detection of fragments of the FMDV genome within viral samples, such as multiplex RT-PCR, typing RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR. In China, FMD vaccines are compulsorily used in all livestock. In such a situation, monitoring of the immune status of animal herds and disease surveillance become very important. Liquid-phase blocking ELISA is routinely used in China for monitoring the immune status, and 3ABC-I-ELISA is feasible for large-scale serological surveys based on differentiation of FMDV-infected animals from vaccinated animals. Combined use of 3ABC-ELISA and mRT-PCR is described for survey of FMD virus-prevalent herds and virus carriers.

In hedonic housing price modeling, real estate researchers and practitioners are often not completely ignorant about the parameters to be estimated. Experience and expertise usually provide them with tacit understanding of the likely values of the true parameters. Under this scenario the subjective knowledge about the parameter value can be incorporated as non-sample information in the hedonic price model. In this paper, we consider a class of Generalized Stein Variance Double k-class (GSVKK) estimators which allows real estate practitioners to introduce potentially useful information about the parameter values in the estimation of hedonic pricing models. The GSVKK estimator is a generalization of a family of shrinkage estimators introduced by Ohtani and Wan (2002, Econometric Reviews). Data from the Hong Kong real estate market are used to investigate the estimators' performance empirically. Compared with the traditional Ordinary Lease Squares approach, the GSVKK estimators have smaller predictive mean squared errors and lead to more precise parameter estimates. Some results on the theoretical properties of the GSVKK estimators are also presented.

In this paper, numerical simulation with soil-water coupling finite element-finite difference (FE-FD) analysis is conducted to investigate the settlement and the excess pore water pressure (EPWP) of a piled-raft foundation for high-speed train (speed: 300km/h) due to cyclic train loading. To demonstrate the performance of this numerical simulation, the changes of the settlement and EPWP of Shanghai soils under train loading within one month was calculated and confirmed by monitoring data, which shows that the change of the settlement and EPWP can be simulated well on the whole. Based on the results obtained in this paper, it is possible for us to predict the long-term settlement and the changes of EPWP far longer time than one month using the proposed numerical method.

Successful embryo implantation requires functional luminal epithelia to establish uterine receptivity and blastocyst-uterine adhesion. During the configuration of uterine receptivity from prereceptive phase, the luminal epithelium undergoes dynamic membrane reorganization and depolarization. This timely regulated epithelial membrane maturation and precisely maintained epithelial integrity are critical for embryo implantation in both humans and mice. However, it remained largely unexplored with respect to potential signaling cascades governing this functional epithelial transformation prior to implantation. Using multiple genetic and cellular approaches combined with uterine conditional Rac1 deletion mouse model, we demonstrated herein that Rac1, a small GTPase, is spatiotemporally expressed in the periimplantation uterus, and uterine depletion of Rac1 induces premature decrease of epithelial apical-basal polarity and defective junction remodeling, leading to disrupted uterine receptivity and implantation failure. Further investigations identified Pak1-ERM as a downstream signaling cascade upon Rac1 activation in the luminal epithelium necessary for uterine receptivity. In addition, we also demonstrated that Rac1 via P38 MAPK signaling ensures timely epithelial apoptotic death at postimplantation. Besides uncovering a potentially important molecule machinery governing uterine luminal integrity for embryo implantation, our finding has high clinical relevance, because Rac1 is essential for normal endometrial functions in women.

The development of high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is receiving more and more attention, and a high precision deformation measurement in real time of the airfoil long baseline antenna is of great significance to ensure the antenna performance. According to the theory of fuzzy self-structure, a self-structuring fuzzy network deformation measurement (SSFNDM) which is suitable for the real-time measurement of the airfoil deformation is proposed to build a network to approximate the relationship between the strain and the displacement automatically. A deformation measurement experiment on the aluminum airfoil model under static load is also presented. The results show that the SSFNDM has a high accuracy and a fast speed for training to provide a new way for the airfoil deformation measurements.

The central difference method (CDM) that is explicit for pseudo-dynamic testing is also believed to be explicit for real-time substructure testing (RST). However, to obtain the correct velocity dependent restoring force of the physical substructure being tested, the target velocity is required to be calculated as well as the displacement. The standard CDM provides only explicit target displacement but not explicit target velocity. This paper investigates the required modification of the standard central difference method when applied to RST and analyzes the stability and accuracy of the modified CDM for RST. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Presented is a novel multilayer dual-mode dual-band bandpass filter (BPF) using two identical microstrip cross-slotted patch resonators placed back-to-back. The lengths of the slots on the patch resonator are designed to be different, which can be used to control the two degenerate modes individually so as to build two passbands of the proposed BPF. Two separated coupling paths for the two modes can be realised by the etched slits on the common ground plane of the two microstrip resonators. As a result, the coupling coefficients between the two resonators in each passband can be controlled independently. Furthermore, a new source-load coupling scheme is incorporated in this design to enhance the stopband rejection and then improve the band-to-band isolation significantly.

Presented is a vertically and horizontally folded half-wavelength resonator in a three-dimension (3D) environment and its application to a balanced bandpass filter (BPF). Benefiting from the multilayered resonator based on the transmission line theory and low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology, the proposed balanced BPF can obtain compact size and good performance. For demonstration, a LTCC balanced BPF centred at 2.45GHz has been designed using the proposed resonator, and the size of the circuit is 6.0 × 5.0 × 1.6 mm 3 .

For completely describing the movement of a bead in an optical tweezer system, the measurement of the axial movement of the bead is necessary as well as its lateral movement. In order to find a convenient method to measure the axial displacement of the trapped bead, a new method based on Shannon's information entropy is developed. When the bead is in a different axial position, the value of the information entropy of its image is different. The key of the method is calibrating the relation between the information entropy and the axial displacement. In the paper the experimental methods for axial position measurement of a static bead and a suspended bead are introduced in turn. The results with a 3 µm diameter polystyrene sphere indicate that when the bead moves in a certain axial range the relation between the information entropy and the axial displacement is linear and the range of the axial displacement corresponding to the linear region is larger than 2 µm with a sensitivity of 5 nm.

Traditionally in estimating hedonic housing price functions, investigators use parametric models involving specific functional forms and a finite number of unknown parameters. Some investigators have questioned whether the underlying theory is capable of conveying sufficient information to enable a correct and successful specification of parametric models and have instead proposed the less restrictive semiparametric approach to the problem. In this paper, we illustrate how the technique of smoothing splines can be used to estimate hedonic housing price models. Smoothing splines are a powerful approach to the analysis of housing data as they are exceptionally flexible in their functional forms and provide a computationally tractable method even with a large number of explanatory variables. Our illustration takes the form of a rather limited, but very promising, application with Hong Kong data. In the forecasting comparison, the spline smoothing procedure outperforms the traditional parametric Box–Cox model in mean square error terms for out-of-sample predictions. Our results also suggest that the distortion caused by underfitting the model is smaller for spline smoothing than for the kernel and k-nearest-neighbor semiparametric procedures.

Summary Objectives: To improve the latency change estimation of evoked potentials (EP) under the lower order -stable noise conditions by proposing and analyzing a new adaptive EP latency change detection algorithm (referred to as the NLST). Methods: The NLST algorithm is based on the fractional lower order moment and the nonlinear transform for the error function. The computer simulation and data analysis verify the robustness of the new algorithm. Results: The theoretical analysis shows that the iteration equation of the NLST transforms the lower order α-stable process en (k) into a second order moment process by a nonlinear transform. The simulations and the data analysis showed the robustness of the NLST under the lower order α-stable noise conditions. Conclusions: The new algorithm is robust under the lower order -stable noise conditions, and it also provides a better performance than the DLMS, DLMP and SDA algorithms without the need to estimate thevalue of the EP signals and noises.

Intergrowth Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 -SrBi 4 Ti 4 O 15 (BT-SBTi) thin film was fabricated on Pt/TiO 2 /SiO 2 /Si(110) substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique. P r = 12 w C/cm 2 was obtained in the fi...