Application Of New Model Research Articles

Asynchronous interface between a finite element commercial software ABAQUS and an academic research code HEREZH++

The aim of this paper is to describe an efficient method to connect two independent softwares so as to jointly use best qualities of each software around a complex problem solved by the finite element method (FEM). This connection makes it possible to extend quickly and easily the applicability of new models developed in academic softwares, by their simultaneous use with commercial softwares. This is particularly interesting when these models are very difficult to implement directly in commercial softwares. Most of the commercial FEM applications allow users to add additional features, physical models or boundary conditions via a programming interface. Within these user routines, access to internal data structures is possible, either through subroutine parameters and global variables, or via internal modules for reading and storing data. We use these capabilities to link the commercial software ABAQUS and an academic object-oriented C++ software HEREZH++, via the user-defined mechanical material behaviour ( Umat). In this interface, HEREZH++ computes the mechanical behaviour of material and the code coupling performs a communication procedure between ABAQUS and HEREZH++. This paper describes this architecture which allows to implement easily original behaviour law in the commercial ABAQUS code. The asynchronous code coupling is made with a named piped interprocess communication method and an interface written in c/ C++. Several test samples are presented to show the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed implementations concerning the computational time. In particular, an industrial test is carried out with an original behaviour model of elasto–visco-hysteresis which would have been very difficult to implement directly in ABAQUS.

Comparison of China’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Law with the European Union (EU) EIA Directive

In this paper, we first review the development of China's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system in the past 30 years. Then we compare the framework and operational procedures of China's new EIA law with those of the EU EIA Directive. We also compare public participation, as well as sanctions and control in the two EIA systems. In addition, we identify where the processes in both EIA systems are similar or different from one another. By comparison, we noted that there are at least three obvious weaknesses in China's EIA system: (1) the application of new models for EIA legislation; (2) the improvement of EIA guidance and education; and (3) the enhancement of public participation in EIA process. Our study indicates that these three major shortcomings should be overcome and improved in China's EIA system, when compared with the EU EIA system.

New Light on Chromotherapy: Grakov′s ‘Virtual Scanning’ System of Medical Assessment and Treatment

Virtual Scanning incorporates novel uses of colored light into its system of health assessment and therapy. Independent investigations of its effectiveness in Russia and the UK have revealed unique abilities to correct incipient and fully developed chronic conditions. As such it forms an important new addition to the field of Chromotherapy. It differs from most others, in that its development depended on discoveries in neuroscience by its inventor, and subsequent application of new models in computational neuroscience.

Household Portfolio Diversification: A Case for Rank-Dependent Preferences

The proliferation of novel preference theories in financial economics is hampered by a lack of non-experimental evidence and by the theories’ additional complexity which has not been shown to be critical in applications. In this article I present arguments in support of preferences with rank dependency. Using the Survey of Consumer Finances data, I document two widespread patterns inconsistent with expected utility: (i) many households simultaneously invest in well-deversified funds and in poorly-diversified portfolios of stocks; and (ii) some households with substantial savings do not invest anything in equities. I show that portfolio choice models with rank-dependent preferences, plausibly parameterized and under fully rational assumptions, are quantitatively consistent with the observed diversification. These results call for further efforts to integrate the models of rank-dependent preferences in portfolio theory and asset pricing. The decision theoretic literature has long acknowledged the shortcomings of the expected utility theory of Von Neumann and Morgenstern (1944). Several generalizations of the theory are inspired by the experimental evidence and aimed at improving its descriptive accuracy. However, there are few applications of new models of preferences in finance, and expected utility continues to dominate the field. 1 Two principal hurdles slow the proliferation of novel preferences in financial economics: first, the lack of empirical (non-experimental or ‘‘field’’) data confirming that the behavior motivating non-expected utilities is widespread outside the laboratory settings; second, the additional and often significant complexity of the alternative preferences which has not been shown to be critical in applications where the models based on expected utility fall short of reasonable predictions. This article presents empirical and theoretical This paper was previously circulated under the title ‘‘Household Portfolio Diversification.’’ The paper has benefited from the comments of Shlomo Benartzi, Luca Benzoni, Markus Brunnermeier, John Dickhaut, Maria Perozek, Raj Singh, Hersh Shefrin, and workshop participants at Minnesota Finance bag lunch, 2003 Wharton conference ‘‘Household Financial Decision Making and Portfolio Choice’’ and 2003 summer meetings of Econometric Society. I would like to thank Cam Harvey (the editor) and an anonymous referee for many helpful comments and suggestions. A special thanks to Jack Kareken for comments and editorial help on an earlier draft. I am grateful to Donna Zerwitz for editorial assistance. The views expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis or the Federal Reserve System. All errors and omissions are the sole responsibility of the author. Address correspondence to Valery Polkovnichenko, Finance 3-122 CSOM, 319 19 th

Bench-to-bedside review: Fundamental principles of acid-base physiology

Complex acid–base disorders arise frequently in critically ill patients, especially in those with multiorgan failure. In order to diagnose and treat these disorders better, some intensivists have abandoned traditional theories in favor of revisionist models of acid–base balance. With claimed superiority over the traditional approach, the new methods have rekindled debate over the fundmental principles of acid–base physiology. In order to shed light on this controversy, we review the derivation and application of new models of acid–base balance.

What Variational linguistics can learn from Galician

This short overview reviews, in the first part, some of the most important fields of investigation where studies on Galician have contributed to variational linguistics, including macro- and micro-sociolinguistic studies (sections 1-3). The second part (sections 4-7) postulates some possible theoretical and empirical areas which we recommend to be included in future research. We propose a critical application of new models of linguistic variation, including recent frameworks such as studies on grammaticalisation, OT, intonational phonology, etc., but also call for the inclusion of established insights into language variation common in the European tradition. The high concentration of research institutions and the strongly dynamic situation of contemporary Galician could serve as an empirical touchstone for these theoretical frameworks, and Galician linguistics should apply them in a critical, flexible and creative way. This means that research on Galician will not only learn from theory but also contribute to it. We also briefly mention some of the areas where the studies of Galician have already contributed some important results to an overall perspective on linguistic variation

Currency Crises. Edited by Paul Krugman. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Pp. 356. $47.00.

Currency Crises is a collection of papers by leading thinkers on the subject, all presented at a 1998 NBER conference. Paul Krugman edits the volume and asks aloud what the reader can only silently wonder: Why is yet another conference on such a well-established research field necessary? The answer, according to Krugman, is that “despite two decades of research on the causes and consequences of such crises, important issues are either unresolved or require a fresh look in the face of new experience†(p. 2). This is made immediately clear in the pages that follow. The volume contains applications of new models to old crises, as well as new ways of thinking about recent episodes. It also treats different types of currency crises, including not only those that can and do occur in industrial countries (usually because of policy inconsistencies), but also the breed of animal that rears its head in emerging markets.

Background and framework for ILSI's collaborative evaluation program on alternative models for carcinogenicity assessment. International Life Sciences Institute.

The willingness of the agencies involved in the regulation of pharmaceuticals to accept data from newly proposed models for carcinogenicity testing (eg, transgenic animals, neonatal rodent models, initiation-promotion models) has stimulated international interest in gaining experience and a greater understanding of the strengths and limitations of the specific models. Over a 4-year period, the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Health and Environmental Science Institute (HESI) has coordinated a large-scale collaborative research program to help to better characterize the responsiveness of several models proposed for use in carcinogenicity assessment. The overall objective of this partnership among industry, government, and academic scientists was to evaluate the ability of these new models to provide useful information for human cancer risk assessment. This research program reflected a commitment of nearly US$35 million by over 50 industrial, govemment, and academic laboratories from the United States, Europe, and Japan. Evaluation of the models required the development of standardized protocols to allow reproducibility and comparability of data obtained across multiple laboratories. Test compounds were selected on the basis of mechanistically meaningful carcinogenic activity or noncarcinogenicity in the rodent bioassay as well as humans. Criteria were established for dose selection, pathology review, quality control, and for evaluation of study outcome. The database from these studies represents an important contribution to the future application of new models for human cancer risk assessment. Beyond the data, the collaborative process by which the models were evaluated may also represent a prototype for assessing new methods in the future.

Chance constrained integer programming models for capital budgeting in fuzzy environments

This paper attempts to model capital budgeting problems by chance constrained integer programming in a fuzzy environment (rather than a stochastic environment). Some examples are also provided to illustrate the potential applications of new models. Finally, a fuzzy simulation based genetic algorithm is designed for solving chance constrained integer programming models with fuzzy parameters.

Testing the tightening bond hypothesis: An application of new models for analysing trends in multiway tables

The tightening bond hypothesis postulates that in modern economies individuals are increasingly allocated to occupations on meritocratic principles. This hypothesis is tested on a set of nine contingency tables of class of job by qualification level for new male recruits to jobs, obtained from the annual Labour Force Survey in Great Britain for the period 1983 1991. A number of statistical models for examining the changes in the association of a pair of variables over the levels of a third variable are described and evaluated. These include the log-multiplicative layer effect model, multiple-group association RC(M) models and ‘levels’ models. All the models fitted indicate a slight loosening of the bond between qualifications and class of job so that the tightening bond hypothesis is rejected with confidence. The effects of the complex sample design used in the surveys are also evaluated; design effects for the parameters measuring changes in the association between class of job and qualification over years are negligible.

Simplification of micromixing calculations. I. Derivation and application of new model

The micromixing model reported by us in 1984 consists of a set of partial differential equations to express unsteady diffusion and reaction in deforming laminated structures formed by engulfment in a turbulent fluid. This engulfment—deformation—diffusion (EDD) model has been widely applied to interpret experiments showing an effect of mixing on the product distribution of the reactions between 1-naphthol and diazotized sulphanilic acid. Theoretical arguments and recent experimental results show how the EDD model can be simplified by neglecting deformation and diffusion provided that Sc ⪡ 4000 and F ⪡ 1. The new E model retains fluid engulfment as the rate-determining step in micromixing and contains no arbitrary parameters. Application to two complex reactions has shown that engulfment is also product determining, i.e. the product distribution does not depend on deformation and diffusion. The new E model consists of a set of ordinary differential equations; it is one to two orders of magnitude faster to compute and a wider choice of software is available for its numerical implementation. Micromixing calculations have been simplified and accelerated.