A derivation of the source-channel error exponent using nonidentical product distributions

This paper studies the random-coding exponent of joint source-channel coding for a scheme where source messages are assigned to disjoint subsets (referred to as classes), and codewords are independently generated according to a distribution that depends on the class index of the source message. For discrete memoryless systems, two optimally chosen classes and product distributions are found to be sufficient to attain the sphere-packing exponent in those cases where it is tight. © 2014 IEEE.

Determination of the macroscopic optical properties for the NAEC/PEK-c guest-host polymer films

The polyetherketone (PEK-c) guest-host polymer films doped with (4'-nitro)-3-azo-9-ethyl-carbazole (NAEC) were prepared. The films were poled by corona-onset poling at elevated temperature (COPET). The orientational order parameter of the chromophores NAEC in poled polymer film was determined by measuring the absorption spectra of the films before and after being poled. By using the two-level model, the measured dispersion of the refractive index of the polymer film, and the dispersion of the first hyperpolarizability of chromophore NAEC, the dispersion of the macroscopic second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) and linear electrooptic (EO) coefficients was evaluated for the NAEC/PEK-c guest-host polymer film. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fourier transformation study of the Franz-Keldysh Oscillation in SIN+ GaAs structures

Fourier transformation (FT) method has been used in the theoretical lineshape analysis of the Franz-Keldysh Oscillation (FKO) in detail by numerical simulation. The FKO of a set of GaAs SIN+ samples was obtained in photoreflectance measurements. The FT spectra of a part of the samples,including of the real part,imaginary part, and mode of the FT,are well consistent with the theoretical lineshapes. The ratio of the square root of the reduced mass of the light hole (LH) to the heavy hole (HH), root mu(1)/root mu(h), obtained in the analysis was in the range of 0.805 to 0.816 for different samples. In addition,the built-in electric field F-1, and the modulation field delta F = F-1 - F-2 induced by photo-modulation were also obtained in the analysis. However,for a few samples great difference was found in the lineshape of the real part and imaginary part of their FT spectra from the theoretical lineshape. In this case the mode of the FT spectra still can be used to obtain useful information.

Principle and analysis of the moving-optical-wedge interferometer

A new type of interferometer, the moving-optical-wedge interferometer, is presented, and its principle and properties are studied. The novel interferometer consists of one beam splitter, two flat fixed mirrors, two fixed compensating plates, one fixed optical wedge, and one moving optical wedge. The optical path difference (OPD) as a function of the displacement of the moving optical wedge from the zero path difference position is accomplished by the straight reciprocating motion of the moving optical wedge. A large physical shift of the moving optical wedge corresponds to a very short OPD value of the new interferometer if the values of the wedge angle and the refractive index of the two optical wedges are given properly. The new interferometer is not so sensitive to the velocity variation of the moving optical wedge and the mechanical disturbances compared with the Michelson interferometer, and it is very applicable to low-spectral-resolution application for any wavenumber region from the far infrared down to the ultraviolet. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.

The radio counter-jet of the QSO 3C 48

We present multi- frequency radio observational results of the quasar 3C 48. The observations were carried out with the Very Large Array ( VLA) at five frequencies, 0.33, 1.5, 4.8, 8.4, and 22.5 GHz, and with the Multi- Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network ( MERLIN) at the two frequencies of 1.6 and 5 GHz. The source shows a one- sided jet to the north within 1", which then extends to the northeast and becomes diffuse. Two bright components ( N2 and N3), containing most of the flux density, are present in the northern jet. The spectral index of the two components is alpha(N2) similar to -0.99 +/- 0.12 and alpha(N3) similar to - 0.84 +/- 0.23 ( S proportional to nu(alpha)). Our images show the presence of an extended structure surrounding component N2, suggestive of strong interaction between the jet and the interstellar medium ( ISM) of the host galaxy. A steep- spectrum component, labelled S, located 0.25 " southwest to the flat- spectrum component which could be the core of 3C 48, is detected at a significance of > 15 sigma. Both the location and the steepness of the spectrum of component S suggest the presence of a counter- jet in 3C 48.

Variation in joint mode of the tropical Indian-Pacific Ocean thermodynamic anomaly

Previous research has defined the index of the Indian-Pacific thermodynamic anomaly joint mode (IPTAJM) and suggested that the winter IPTAJM has an important impact on summer rainfall over China. However, the possible causes for the interannual and decadal variability of the IPTAJM are still unclear. Therefore, this work investigates zonal displacements of both the western Pacific warm pool (WPWP) and the eastern Indian Ocean warm pool (EIOWP). The relationships between the WPWP and the EIOWP and the IPTAJM are each examined, and then the impacts of the zonal wind anomalies over the equatorial Pacific and Indian Oceans on the IPTAJM are studied. The WPWP eastern edge anomaly displays significant interannual and decadal variability and experienced a regime shift in about 1976 and 1998, whereas the EIOWP western edge exhibits only distinct interannual variability. The decadal variability of the IPTAJM may be mainly caused by both the zonal migration of the WPWP and the 850 hPa zonal wind anomaly over the central equatorial Pacific. On the other hand, the zonal migrations of both the WPWP and the EIOWP and the zonal wind anomalies over the central equatorial Pacific and the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean may be all responsible for the interannual variability of the IPTAJM.

Seasonal variations in growth and clearance rate of the Zhikong scallop Chlamys farreri suspended in the deep water of Haizhou Bay, China

The growth and survival of the Zhikong scallop Chlamys farreri suspended in deep water of Haizhou Bay were studied from July 2007 to June 2008, and the biodeposition method was used to estimate the clearance rate of C. farreri under field conditions. Results showed that the scallop grew fast during all the culture time, with the exception of summer. The condition index of the scallop increased with time and reached the highest value in spring of the second year. The survival of scallops was 60.8 +/- A 3.9% at the end of this study, mortality occurring mainly during the summer and autumn of the first year. The clearance rate fluctuated obviously with season,with the highest value in September 2007, and the lowest value in March 2008. Factors accounting for variations in growth and clearance rate of scallops are also discussed.

Reactivity of the 4d transition metals toward N hydrogenation and NH dissociation: A DFT-based HSAB analysis

The density functional theory (DFT) based hard-soft acid-base (HSAB) reactivity indices, including the electrophilicity index, have been successfully applied to many areas of molecular chemistry. In this work we test the applicability of such an approach to fundamental surface chemistry. We have considered, as prototypical surface reactions, both the hydrogenation of atomic nitrogen and the dissociative adsorption of the NH molecular radical. By use of a DFT methodology, the minimum energy reaction pathways, and corresponding reaction barriers, of the above reactions over Zr(001), Nb(110), Mo(110), Tc(001), Ru(001), Rh(111), and Pd(111) have been determined. By consideration of the chemical potential and chemical hardness of the surface metal atoms, and the principle of electronegativity equalization, it is found that the charge transferred to the NH radical during the process of dissociative adsorption correlates very well with that determined by Mulliken population analysis. Furthermore, it is found that the stability of the NH/surface transition state complex relates directly to this charge transfer and that the trend in transition state stability predicted by a HSAB; treatment correlates very strongly with that determined by DFT calculations. With regards to N hydrogenation, we find that during the course of the reaction, H loses cohesion to the surface, as it must migrate from a 3-fold hollow site to either a bridge or top site, to react with N. Partial density of states (PDOS) and Mulliken population analysis reveal that this loss of bonding is accompanied by charge transfer from H to the surface metal atoms. Moreover, by simple modeling, we show that the reaction barriers are directly proportional to this mandatory charge transfer. Indeed, it is found that the reaction barriers correlate very well with the electrophilicity index of the metal atoms.

Application of continuous wavelet transform to the analysis of the modulus of the fractional Fourier transform bands for resolving two component mixture

In this paper, the fractional Fourier transform (FrFT) is applied to the spectral bands of two component mixture containing oxfendazole and oxyclozanide to provide the multicomponent quantitative prediction of the related substances. With this aim in mind, the modulus of FrFT spectral bands are processed by the continuous Mexican Hat family of wavelets, being denoted by MEXH-CWT-MOFrFT. Four modulus sets are obtained for the parameter a of the FrFT going from 0.6 up to 0.9 in order to compare their effects upon the spectral and quantitative resolutions. Four linear regression plots for each substance were obtained by measuring the MEXH-CWT-MOFrFT amplitudes in the application of the MEXH family to the modulus of the FrFT. This new combined powerful tool is validated by analyzing the artificial samples of the related drugs, and it is applied to the quality control of the commercial veterinary samples.

Application of Continuous Wavelet Transform to the Analysis of the Modulus of the Fractional Fourier Transform Bands for Resolving Two Component Mixture

In this paper, the fractional Fourier transform (FrFT) is applied to the spectral bands of two component mixture containing oxfendazole and oxyclozanide to provide the multicomponent quantitative prediction of the related substances. With this aim in mind, the modulus of FrFT spectral bands are processed by the continuous Mexican Hat family of wavelets, being denoted by MEXH-CWT-MOFrFT. Four modulus sets are obtained for the parameter a of the FrFT going from 0.6 up to 0.9 in order to compare their effects upon the spectral and quantitative resolutions. Four linear regression plots for each substance were obtained by measuring the MEXH-CWT-MOFrFT amplitudes in the application of the MEXH family to the modulus of the FrFT. This new combined powerful tool is validated by analyzing the artificial samples of the related drugs, and it is applied to the quality control of the commercial veterinary samples.

Variability of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation described by three-dimensional empirical orthogonal functions

We describe the use of bivariate 3d empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) in characterising low frequency variability of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC) in the Hadley Centre global climate model, HadCM3. We find that the leading two modes are well correlated with an index of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) on decadal timescales, with the leading mode alone accounting for 54% of the decadal variance. Episodes of coherent oscillations in the sub-space of the leading EOFs are identified; these episodes are of great interest for the predictability of the THC, and could indicate the existence of different regimes of natural variability. The mechanism identified for the multi-decadal variability is an internal ocean mode, dominated by changes in convection in the Nordic Seas, which lead the changes in the MOC by a few years. Variations in salinity transports from the Arctic and from the North Atlantic are the main feedbacks which control the oscillation. This mode has a weak feedback onto the atmosphere and hence a surface climatic influence. Interestingly, some of these climate impacts lead the changes in the overturning. There are also similarities to observed multi-decadal climate variability.

On the long-term interannual variability of the east Asian winter monsoon

The East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM) and Siberian High (SH) are inherently related, based on prior studies of instrumental data available for recent decades (since 1958). Here we develop an extended instrumental EAWM index since 1871 that correlates significantly with the SH. These two indices show common modes of variation on the biennial (2-3 year) time scale. We also develop an index of the pressure gradient between the SH and the Aleutian Low, a gradient which critically impacts EAWM variability. This difference series, based on tree-ring reconstructions of the SH and the North Pacific Index (NPI) over the past 400 years, shows that the weakening of this gradient in recent decades has not been unusual in a long-term context. Correlations between the SH series and a tree-ring reconstruction of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) suggest a variable tropical-higher latitude teleconnection.

Effects of the extensive culture system as finishing production strategy on biometric and chemical parameters in rainbow trout

The effect of finishing extensive farming period, to reduce fat content and manipulate the fatty acid profile of fish muscle, was evaluated in rainbow trout. Fish were stocked in an artificial lake, in which fish were fed only on naturally available nutrients with no supply of artificial feed, for different lengths of time from 0 to 120 days. No weight loss was noted during the whole finishing period while total length increased from 228±7 to 269±3 mm and the condition factor decreased from 1.41±0.04 to 0.89±0.02. The total fat content of the fillets decreased considerably from 4.7±0.6% at the beginning to 2.4±0.4% and 0.7±0.2% after 45 and 120 days respectively. Fillet fatty acid composition was affected by the time of stocking in the extensive farm. In contrast to the reduction in C18:1n-9, C18:2n-6, total monounsaturated fatty acid and total n-6 percent values, an increase in the C20:5n-3, C22:6n-3, total polyunsaturated fatty acid and total n-3 percent values was observed. It was shown that while other finishing strategies for salmonids have some disadvantages, the extensive culture system seems to be a potentially useful tool for increasing the general quality of the end product.

Dietary composition of pregnant women is related to size of the baby at birth

The fetal origins theory of adult disease suggests that term infants who are small for their gestational age have an increased susceptibility to chronic disease in adulthood as a consequence of physiologic adaptations to undernutrition during fetal life. Consistent evidence for an influence of women's dietary composition during pregnancy on growth of their babies is lacking, despite robust effects in animal experiments. We undertook a prospective observational study of 557 women aged 18-41 y, living in Adelaide, South Australia. Diet was assessed in early and late pregnancy using an FFQ. In early pregnancy, medians for energy intake, the proportion of energy derived from protein and from carbohydrate were 9.0 MJ, 17 and 48%, respectively. In late pregnancy the corresponding medians were 9.2 MJ, 16 and 49%. In early pregnancy, the percentage of energy derived from protein was positively associated with birth weight (P = 0.02) and placental weight (P = 0.07), independently of energy intake and weight gain during pregnancy, and after adjustment for potential confounders, including maternal age, parity, and smoking. Effects were stronger among women (n = 429) who had reliable data, based on prespecified criteria including the plausibility of dietary data when referenced against estimated energy expenditure. In addition, for this subgroup, the percentage of energy from carbohydrate in early and late pregnancy was negatively associated with ponderal index of the baby, and a specific effect of protein from dairy sources was identified. These data support the proposition that maternal dietary composition has an effect on fetal growth. Maternal diet in Western societies may therefore be important for the long-term health of the child.

Review of the green consumers' perception formation about the environmentally safe products

This study examines the influence of various factors on the green purchase intention of customers in Australia. A conceptual model has been proposed and was subjected to empirical verification with the use of a survey of metropolitan and regional households in Victoria. The results indicate that corporate perception with respect of companies not placing higher priority on reducing pollution than increasing profitability was the significant predictor of customers’ negative overall perception toward environmentally safe products. The only positive contribution to customers’ perceptions was their past experience with the product. Other factors including the perception of environmentally safe products, product labels, and regulatory protection did not appear to influence customers’ perceptions. The results also suggest that customers are not tolerant of lower quality and higher prices of environmentally safe products. The present findings provide an understanding of the antecedents of green purchasing and highlight that green customers rely more on personal experience with the product rather than the information provided by the marketer.