Existence Of Feedback Research Articles

Advance in Applied Cryptography Theory: Survey and Some New Results. Part 2. Keyless Cryptography

Actuality. The current paper is the second part of the paper “Advance in Applied Cryptography Theory: Survey and Some New Results. Part 1. Key Cryptography” published in the journal PTU, n.4, 2024. It is devoted to such specific area of applied cryptography as keyless one (KC\ Actuality of the current paper consists in the fact that considered in it methods allow to provide a confidentiality of information transmission over public communication channels, either without any its encryption in advance, executing a natural properties of communication channels or executing conventional key cryptography but with the keys which are elaborated before by means of KC. The natural properties of communication channels can be the following: additive noise, multiray wave propagation, MIMO technology and existence of feedback channel.Our paper starts with a consideration of Wyner’s concept of wire-tap channels and corresponding to it encoding and decoding methods providing very reliable information transmission over the main channels and negligible amount of information leaking over the wire-tap channels to eavesdroppers. Next it is investigated scenario with a commutative encryption (CE) and corresponding protocol of message exchange over ordinary noiseless public channel that provides security of encrypted information but without any key exchange between users in advance. It is proved which of well known symmetric and asymmetric ciphers are commutative or non-commutative ones. Next model concerns a fading channels under the application of Dean-Goldsmith protocol in frames of MIMO technology. We are proving that this protocol is secure if, and only if, the number of eavesdropper antennas is less than the number of antennas at legitimate users. Next scenario executes variable directional antennas (VDA) and it is proved for which conditions on a locations of legitimate users and eavesdroppers such approach occurs secure given the number of propagation rays is at least two.. We show in the next chapter that there is an attack compromising of recently proposed EVESkey cryptosystem and hence such one is not secure in spite of the statement of its authors.Finally, we investigate several protocols intended for key sharing over noiseless constant public channels (like Internet) and established that they are mostly insecure because have all zero secret capacity. Only one protocol based on matrix channel exchange is able to provide security of key sharing but in terms of the required breaking complexity. Thus such approach can be used only for the case when legitimate users belong to low level of security requirements.At the end of the paper we formulate several fundamental problems of applied cryptography which after of their solutions could be very useful for practice.

Communication Model of Islamic Religious Extenders in Building a Sakinah Family in Deli Tua District

This study aims to analyze the communication model and implementation by Islamic Religious Counselors in Building Sakinah Families in Deli Tua District and the Barriers to Applying Islamic Religious Extension Communication Models in Building Sakinah Families in Deli Tua District. This research uses a descriptive analysis method and the approach uses a qualitative approach. Sources of data come from primary, namely through interviews, and secondary data by examining books, journals, and other documents. Based on the results of the study that the communication model used by Islamic Religious Counselors in building the Sakinah Family in the Deli Tua sub-district, namely using a two-way communication model. The two-way model applied by Islamic Religious Counselors when building a sakinah family, namely the existence of feedback. Implementation of the communication model is done by going directly to the community and interacting. The communication process is carried out with lectures accompanied by questions and answers with the community. As for the obstacles of Islamic Religious Counselors in building a sakinah family in Deli Tua District, namely, first, the presence of provocateurs to incite them not to attend the coaching to build a sakinah family, the domicile of the community being fostered are Javanese, technological stuttering, the clashing schedule of coaching with the harvest season. The solution to overcome these obstacles is to evaluate yourself on the style of speaking so that you can adjust to whom you interact with, Involve power from outside yourself, and be smart so that you get used to using non-verbal communication.

Impact of Information Services through the Application for Quick Information Service Assistant for Class II District Court, Tanah Grogot Regency, Paser Regency

This article describes the impact of achieving the goals of bureaucratic reform through the following aspects: transparency, reducing administrative corruption, improving services, and empowerment by using the Quick Information Service Assistant application at the Class II District Court Office, Tanah Grogot Regency. The problem is focused on the impact of using the ALICE application. To approach this problem, a theoretical reference is used (Indrayani, 2020) that e-Government applications have shown an impact on the goals of public sector reform through information disclosure for the public, service transparency, increasing community participation. have an impact on reducing corruption, increasing accessibility and empowering the public. The implementation of the ALICE application is still at the emerging stage in terms of e-Government implementation, while the level of innovation is in the first stage, namely e-information. The data were collected through interview techniques, observations, and literature studies and analyzed through interactive model data analysis techniques (Miles et al., 2014). This article concludes that the Quick Information Service Assistant Application has provided essential information for the public regarding requests for ticket fines, requests for certificates, information on the trial agenda, information on fees and remaining down payments, court fees, and information on the Supreme Court e-court. The positive impact felt by the presence of the Rapid Information Service Assistant, namely increasing service transparency and encouraging active community participation. Then the impact in reducing the occurrence of administrative corruption occurs because there is no meeting between the public and officers. In contrast, in the aspect of improving the quality of service, the public does not need to spend transportation costs to get information. Aspects of empowerment, namely the existence of feedback from the public in services, will be able to improve the quality of information and good collaboration and reduce the practice of brokering. the public does not need to spend transportation costs to get information. Aspects of empowerment, namely the existence of feedback from the public in services, will be able to improve the quality of information and good collaboration and reduce the practice of brokering. the public does not need to spend transportation costs to get information. Aspects of empowerment, namely the existence of feedback from the public in services, will be able to improve the quality of information and good collaboration and reduce the practice of brokering.

System of electron-proton. Movement, rotation, pulsation and Gravity Forces

The new Field Theory consist two new Axioms and eight new Laws. It has been proposed and developed in previous reports by the same author. This report uses two axioms and six laws only. According to the first axiom (Axiom1), the author replaces uniform motion in a closed circle with non-uniform motion in an open vortex. According to the second axiom (Axiom2), it exists a pairs of vortices that are mutually orthogonal or they work in a system of resonance. The most probable of all of variants is the following pair: accelerating vortex from the center outwards connected with a decelerating vortex from the periphery inwards. This case is a model of the connected proton-electron pair. In this report the properties of a system only of linked electrons and protons are studied. It is known that the Electromagnetic Field propagates at a constant speed and the waves are only transverse. According to the new Axioms and Laws in the electron-proton system, the internal connections are of variable speed and the waves are not only transverse but and longitudinal. It appears that the interactions between the proton and the electron are not Electromagnetic. They include cross vortex with variable velocity and longitudinal vortex with variable velocity as well. From previous developments it is clear that the electron is not a concentric open vortex but an eccentric open vortex, centered in the second quadrant. And the proton is not a concentric open vortex but an eccentric open vortex, centered in the first quadrant. This is the reason for the formation of eccentricity vectors that decompose along the x and y axes. Because the eccentricity of the electron is greater than the eccentricity of the proton then the component along the y axis rotates the electron around the proton (in orbit). And besides, since the decelerating vortex of the electron emits elementary decelerating vortices (Law 5) inward which are bent in the direction of the decelerating velocity, the electron will rotate parasitically and slowly around its own axis (in spin). The electron and proton are repelled gravitationally by a transverse component and are attracted gravitationally by a longitudinal component which are with variable speed. The existence of feedback between the electron and the proton (Law 7 and Law 8) explains the reason for the presence of elementary cross vortices. When they are emitted outward - are called “free energy”. And because they are invisible -are called and “black matter” as well.

Evidence-based implementation of normal childbirth: what are the obstacles? (qualitative study)

Evidence-based is a very effective strategy to improve the quality of midwifery services. One of the most frequently problems faced is the gap between midwifery practices that are in accordance with the procedures (based on evidence-based) with clinical care practices that occur in the clinic. The purpose of this study was to explore in-depth the obstacles to the implementation of evidence-based normal childbirth, which are the position of delivery, monitoring and documenting delivery by using partographs in the Independent Practice of Midwives of Gunungkidul District, Yogyakarta.This research was a qualitative research with a phenomenological descriptive approach. The participants of this study were midwives who had the Independent Midwife Practice (PMB) consisting of 7 informants. Participant selection in this study used a purposive sampling technique with convenience sampling and identification of obstacles used was the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Data collection used was semi-structured interviews and observations. Data analysis used was a thematic analysis.The interview and observation of delivery assistance is done at the Independent Midwife Practice Center (PMB). The position of delivery that was often used by patients was lithotomy and left slant, and the application of evidence-based monitoring and documentation using partograph was still not optimal. This was because there were several obstacles in its application, which were obstacles from patients, families, midwives, and obstacles from the organization. The impact of these obstacles was that it can reduce the quality of obstetric care in patients according to evidence-based. The evaluation of clinical practice based on evidence-based by the organization and the existence of feedback from patients to midwives are expected to improve the quality of service to patients.   Â

Social Media’s Role, Opportunities and Limitations in Building a Dialogue between the Population and the Authorities: The Russian Practice

In this paper, we rely on research of specific features of social media’s Internet audience conducted by VCIOM, BrandAnalytics, RBC and other expert and informational communities and consider the social media’s role, opportunities and limitations in building a dialogue between the population and authorities’ representatives. To this end, we assess the level of activity and productivity of authorities representatives’ presence and the existence of feedback from the public on social media like VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Facebook and Instagram. The paper’s theoretical and methodology foundation is the secondary analysis of domestic and Western publications studying specific features of social media as a platform for civil journalism of a new type. Also, we apply comparative analysis of sociological research methods of socio-digital activity. Officials’ reliance on opinion polls that are inefficient (unlike content analysis) in terms of monitoring the socio-digital activity leads to their underestimating the popularity level of social media (VKontakte, Odnoklassniki) “loved by the people” and preferring foreign ones (Facebook and Instagram) or offline communications. This causes officials’ insufficiently quick reaction to acute problems and public needs and, consequently, distribution of fake information (especially under crisis and panic conditions). Medialogy automated mass media monitoring (content-based) system proved to be a good tool of political forecasting to neutralize these phenomena. In this paper, we research the prospects of its application and make a conclusion on the need of its broader deployment in the practice of public opinion monitoring by regional and municipal authorities.

Analysis of Feedback Parameter with Vibration Sensor on Signal Self-Mixing Interferometry

In the research aims to analyzed feedback parameter on Self-Mixing Interferometry (SMI) signals. It is because the feedback parameter is one of the determined parameters in SMI vibration sensor research. The experimental apparatus consists of a laser diode as the light source, mirror as a target, collimator as light alignment, and PLX-DAQ as data acquisition executed by Arduino Uno. The principle of data retrieval with the manner of the light source is directed exactly perpendicular to the vibrating target, then reflected and arrested by the detector (photodiode) contained in the laser diode. Light arrested by the photodiode in the form of optical value then automatically converted into voltage value displayed on a personal computer (PC). This feedback on SMI is obtained by variation of the vibration frequency given to a target. The variation of vibration given is 10-100 Hz with 10 Hz increment and each frequency is taken 1000 data. Based on the research that has been done then results obtained at the frequency of 10-30 Hz feedback does not appear because the vibration small so that the vibration sensor is less than optimal. Feedbacks appear at frequencies 40 Hz and 50 Hz but are clearly visible at frequencies 50 Hz. While at 60-80 Hz frequency feedback begins to disappear. The existence of feedback on frequency 50 Hz indicated that vibration sensors on SMI can be applied to industry and medical field

Technical and economic evaluation of justification for preventing negative effects of feedback in local elements of interaction of rail yards

The operation of rail yards is characterized not only by direct links, but also by feedback in the local elements of interaction, resulting in a violation of interaction conditions between adjacent elements, which causes a negative effect on the state and functioning of the elements. The duration of the track occupation in the arrival yard depends on both its parameters: the marshalling hump and the operation of other elements of the yard located at the arrival yard in the direction of cargo traffic processing. Therefore, when choosing the rational parameters of the rail yards, attention should be paid to the existence of feedbacks in the local elements of interaction and conditions of their negative manifestation should be investigated in order to justify measures to eliminate them. In the article, the issue of improving the customer transport service quality by technical and technological modernization of railway enterprises was studied. Technical and economic evaluation on justification of measures for the elimination of negative effects of feedback in local elements of interaction of the rail yards is presented for practical use.

The Role of Media Communication & Social Networks Influence on the Business Environment in Georgia

Nowadays modern media is very significant in the business success. At present, 90%of consumers always look forthe information on interesting companies (including Facebook or Instagram pages) before purchasing their products/services. Any company is able to be successful thanks to its properly planned marketing strategy. Modern media apply the outcomes of the scientific and technological progress to the maximum extent. This process is characterized by specific peculiarities: (1) the indirect character of media users and business operators; (2) the existence of feedback; (3) a simultaneous interaction of diverse audiences; (4) the message content universality; (5) the frequency information transfer; (6) the regularity; (7) a variety of technical capabilities. These days, the Georgian media are deemed as a powerful means of social activity and comprise a wide range of the latest technologies, viz. computers, video equipment, satellite television and Internet. Their influence on the society and business is the subject of mass media sociology. Currently, most companies communicate with consumers through the social media. In our case, they have chosen Facebook on the Georgian market.

Adaptive filtration of parameters of the movement UAV according to sensor networks based on measurements of the received signal strength

Introduction. In modern conditions increasingly important begin to play unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which give rise to a new class of threats. This leads to the need to develop security systems that solve tasks of detection, location and motion parameters of the UAV. At the radiation of the UAV of signals, his location can be defined by wireless sensor networks using the method of RSS (received-signal strength). Changing the type of UAV motion occurs at random times. At intervals of hovering and motion of the UAV without a maneuver it is possible to significantly improve the accuracy of estimation of its coordinates. Thus, in practice, it is often of interest to determine the types of UAV motion. Statement of the problem. UAV movement with different types of maneuver in a rectangular coordinate system is described by a stochastic dynamical system with random structure in discrete time. For definition of location of the UAV on the plane the wireless sensor network has to consist of three or more sensors. When using the RSS method, the model of direct distribution of a signal which considers only his attenuation is used. Required to synthesize an adaptive algorithm of a filtration of parameters of the movement UAV according to the sensor network. The main part. The optimum algorithm of the adaptive filtering is recurrent and describes evolution of posteriori probability density of the expanded mixed Markov process including a continuously valued vector of parameters of movement of the UAV and the discrete valued variable of switching describing type of its movement. The optimum device realizing an algorithm is multichannel with number of channels M and belongs to the class of devices with feedback between channels. Existence of feedback between channels is caused by Markov property of a discrete component. In obtained by linearization of the equation of measurements of the quasi-optimal algorithm of adaptive filter are calculated first and second moments aposteriori conditional distributions of the vector of motion parameters of the UAV and it allows to keep the representation of the a posteriori probability density of the continuous component as a sum of M Gaussian densities of probabilities. It implements a parallel procedure perform calculations when entering measurements from sensors of a sensor network. The quasioptimum device realizing an algorithm also is multichannel with number of channels M and generally keeps the structure and feedback inherent in the optimum device. Analysis of the effectiveness of the algorithm. Analysis of the effectiveness of the developed algorithm for estimating the parameters of motion of the UAV with the discovery of the maneuver was conducted using the statistical modeling. The sensor network is composed of eight sensors. For descriptive reasons works of an algorithm the test trajectory of the movement UAV has been created. A comparison of the accuracy characteristics of the considered algorithms with the lower bound of Rao-Cramer is carried out. For the considered model example, the use of trajectory filtering allows to reduce the MSD error of the positioning of the UAV compared with the MSD error of the positioning method RSS in 2 – 4 times. Compared with Kalman filter based on the model, motion of the UAV to maneuver, developed an adaptive algorithm allows to improve the location accuracy in areas hovering and motion without maneuver more than 2-3 times to avoid systematic errors estimates. At the same time the adaptive filter allows to recognize a freeze and nearly uniform motion of a UAV with a probability close to one. Conclusions. On the basis of the mixed Markov processes in discrete time optimum and quasioptimum adaptive algorithms a filtration of parameters of the movement UAV according to sensor network on the basis of measurement of power of the accepted signal are synthesized. Realizing their devices, are multichannel and belongs to the class of devices with feedback between channels. At the same time in them the parallel procedure of performance of calculations at receipt of measurements from sensors network is realized. The analysis of a quasioptimum algorithm is made by means of statistical modeling on the computer.

Analysis of using the features of communication models in social groups and virtual communities

The research of features of use of communication models in social groups and virtual communities is carried out in the article. In particular, the essence and features of functioning of various social groups are described. The following key characteristics of social groups are selected: stability; unity of their members; composition homogeneity. The following features of division of social groups into categories are designated: depending on the nature of interaction, depending on the method of implementation and depending on the quantitative composition or socially important characteristics. The role and value of communications in social groups are established. It is specified that communication in social networks in the global network is almost direct, contact communication between users which is similar to communication in social groups in a form of a dialogue or polylogue. The specific of use of interpersonal communication models in social groups is defined. It is noted that application of interactive and dialogical models in social groups is the most expedient one in comparison with linear and transactional models due to existence of feedback and support of adequacy of information perception. The prospects of use of results of social groups' research, in particular, concerning virtual communities, for improvement of commercial activity of the companies with the use of information technologies are marked out. The need of construction of graphic model of process of creation of system of clients' information consolidation within the business processes tool is proved. The given research is a fundamental for further development and implementation of models of systems of information consolidation in Internet social groups on the basis of systemological classification analysis.

Tailored parameter optimization methods for ordinary differential equation models with steady-state constraints.

BackgroundOrdinary differential equation (ODE) models are widely used to describe (bio-)chemical and biological processes. To enhance the predictive power of these models, their unknown parameters are estimated from experimental data. These experimental data are mostly collected in perturbation experiments, in which the processes are pushed out of steady state by applying a stimulus. The information that the initial condition is a steady state of the unperturbed process provides valuable information, as it restricts the dynamics of the process and thereby the parameters. However, implementing steady-state constraints in the optimization often results in convergence problems.ResultsIn this manuscript, we propose two new methods for solving optimization problems with steady-state constraints. The first method exploits ideas from optimization algorithms on manifolds and introduces a retraction operator, essentially reducing the dimension of the optimization problem. The second method is based on the continuous analogue of the optimization problem. This continuous analogue is an ODE whose equilibrium points are the optima of the constrained optimization problem. This equivalence enables the use of adaptive numerical methods for solving optimization problems with steady-state constraints. Both methods are tailored to the problem structure and exploit the local geometry of the steady-state manifold and its stability properties. A parameterization of the steady-state manifold is not required.The efficiency and reliability of the proposed methods is evaluated using one toy example and two applications. The first application example uses published data while the second uses a novel dataset for Raf/MEK/ERK signaling. The proposed methods demonstrated better convergence properties than state-of-the-art methods employed in systems and computational biology. Furthermore, the average computation time per converged start is significantly lower. In addition to the theoretical results, the analysis of the dataset for Raf/MEK/ERK signaling provides novel biological insights regarding the existence of feedback regulation.ConclusionMany optimization problems considered in systems and computational biology are subject to steady-state constraints. While most optimization methods have convergence problems if these steady-state constraints are highly nonlinear, the methods presented recover the convergence properties of optimizers which can exploit an analytical expression for the parameter-dependent steady state. This renders them an excellent alternative to methods which are currently employed in systems and computational biology.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12918-016-0319-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Existence of Feedback Modulates the Neural Mechanism Underlying Deception

Deception will result in some consequences(deception consequence),which will in turn affect the mechanism underlying deception process. Previous studies have demonstrated that the deception consequence modulates the corresponding deception process; however,the neural mechanism underlying this modulation effect remains unclear. The present study investigated how the neural signals elicited by deceptive response would be modulated by whether response would be judged by the lie-detector about its facticity. After a mock murder situation,BOLD responses in the brains of 31 healthy volunteers were recorded while they underwent two versions of guilt knowledge test(GKT) paradigm. In the GKT paradigm for the feedback group,a feedback indicating whether the response was judged honest or deceptive was given by the lie-detector after each response of the participant,while in the GKT paradigm for the no-feedback group,there was no feedback after their responses. The results showed that the feedback group showed stronger acitivities in the left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex,insula,parietal lobe,the bilateral occipital lobe,and the right cerebellum than the no-feedback group,irrespective of whether the participants did deceptive responses or honest responses. While deceptive responses elicited stronger activities in the right ventral lateral prefrontal cortex,posterior medial frontal cortex,middle temporal gyrus,the bilateral supramarginal gyrus,and the left insua,relative to honest responses,regardless of which group the participants belonged to. Most importantly,the left insula and the bilateral striatum were selectively more responsive for the deceptive response versus honest response in the feedback group than in the no-feedback group. These results initially demonstrate the important influence of deception consequence on the neural mechanism of producing deception,suggesting that deception would arouse stronger risk evaluation and reward predication processes when the deceiver had to face some consequences after telling lies than when there were no consequences following their lies.

The disturbance decoupling problem with stability for switching dynamical systems

The disturbance decoupling problem with stability is dealt with by means of the geometric approach for switching systems. The existence of feedbacks which decouple the disturbance and, at the same time, assure stability is difficult to characterize, since the action of the feedback couples with that of the switching law. Under suitable conditions, it is shown that the above requirement can be dealt with in separate ways and this allows us to state a checkable necessary condition and, on that basis, also a sufficient condition for solvability of the problem.

Numerical study on the development of asymmetric convection and vertical wind shear during tropical cyclone landfall

Idealized simulations on an f-plane of tropical cyclone (TC) landfall under a quiescent environment in the Southern Hemisphere are performed to investigate the effects of land–sea surface contrast on precipitation. In the control simulation, with realistic roughness and moisture over land to the south of the TC, the simulated vortex moves toward land due to a land-induced steering flow. The abrupt decrease (increase) of tangential wind at the surface leads to convergence (divergence) on the onshore (offshore) flow side. Enhanced convergence at the top of the planetary boundary layer is found on both onshore and offshore sides and is caused by advection from the surface and the enhanced offshore radial wind. The boundary-layer top convergence pattern is consistent with the rainfall distribution. Vertical wind shear develops during the landfall process associated with the low- and upper-level asymmetric flows across the model domain. The wavenumber-1-like low-level asymmetric flow is introduced by an asymmetric geopotential height field that is generated by the large area of frictionally induced convergence on the onshore side and divergence on the offshore side. The upper-level asymmetric flow is attributed to asymmetric convection and associated diabatic heating after landfall. Most rainfall is found in the down-shear right quadrant, which is consistent with previous studies that focused on the effect of environmental shear. Although the existence of feedback from the vertical wind shear to rainfall remains an open question, the relation between maximum rainfall and vertical wind shear is robust, especially when the shear magnitude is large after landfall.

On the Feedback Capacity of the Fully Connected $K$-User Interference Channel

The symmetric K-user interference channel with fully connected topology is considered, in which 1) each receiver suffers interference from all other (K-1) transmitters, and 2) each transmitter has causal and noiseless feedback from its respective receiver. The number of generalized degrees of freedom (\ssr GDoF) is characterized in terms of α, where the interference-to-noise ratio (\ssr INR) is given by \ssr INR = \ssr SNRα. It is shown that the per-user \ssr GDoF of this network is the same as that of the two-user interference channel with feedback, except for α = 1, for which existence of feedback does not help in terms of \ssr GDoF. The coding scheme proposed for this network, termed cooperative interference alignment, is based on two key ingredients, namely, interference alignment and interference decoding. Moreover, an approximate characterization is provided for the symmetric feedback capacity of the network, when the \ssr SNR and \ssr INR are far apart from each other.

Economic growth and health in India: a panel cointegration assessment

Literature cites plenty of support for positive impact of spending on health on a country’s growth. However, following primarily a one-size-fit-all rather than differentiated policies to spend government grants to promote health, different Indian states report divergent results. To probe this anomaly, this paper delves deeper into any nexus between health expenditure and growth. Indian data for the 1980–2010 – one marked with India’s strategic switch to free market economy – is used. This study finds that health expenditure and growth are cointegrated, indicating the presence of long run equilibrium relationship between them. Granger causality test confirms the existence of bidirectional causality, indicating existence of feedback between these two at national level, both in the short run and long run. However, this nexus gets complicated at individual state level where we find bidirectional, unidirectional and in some cases no causality between health expenditure and growth. The study suggests that policy makers would be wiser by probing deeper into state-specific conditions. Economic growth, particularly in the more prosperous and urbanized states, may be controlled significantly by factors other than health status of their citizens.

Model for the development of rhythmically banded wollastonite-hedenbergite skarns at the Dal’negorsk deposit, southern Russian Far East

Skarns at the Dal’negorsk boron deposit belong to the infiltration type. In their outer contact zone (bounded by limestone and consisting of wollastonite + hedenbergite), rhythmically banded textures developed, with alternating wollastonite and hedenbergite bands. The petrological study and modeling of the process that produced them led us to propose a mechanism for the genesis of such textures. They are thought to form as a consequence of a dissipative structure in the infiltrating solution and its interaction with the rock. The dissipative structure itself resulted from the instability of the equilibrium state of the skarn-solution system and the development of pervasive spatial oscillations in the redox potential of the solution. The progressive development of the banded texture was associated with a change in the dissipative structure because of the existence of feedback (mutual influence) between the structure of the solution and the texture of the rock. The rhythms generated thereby are of several orders (as follows from their thicknesses and the distances between them), which is an indication of a large-scale invariance of the developing texture. The simulation of the process involved the analysis of a system of kinetic equations, the stability of the equilibrium, and the conditions of the stability of spatial oscillations in the concentrations of major components in the solution. A necessary condition of the stability of the dissipative structure is a low velocity of fluid filtration, which should be no higher than a critical value, with the latter controlled by kinetic parameters of the system. The proposed model can be modified and adapted for rhythmically banded skarns of other composition and for banded hydrothermal mineralized veins with the aim of constraining the petrogenetic conditions and elucidating the role of banded textures as precipitators of ore and minor components of the solution.

Exhaustive identification of steady state cycles in large stoichiometric networks.

BackgroundIdentifying cyclic pathways in chemical reaction networks is important, because such cycles may indicate in silico violation of energy conservation, or the existence of feedback in vivo. Unfortunately, our ability to identify cycles in stoichiometric networks, such as signal transduction and genome-scale metabolic networks, has been hampered by the computational complexity of the methods currently used.ResultsWe describe a new algorithm for the identification of cycles in stoichiometric networks, and we compare its performance to two others by exhaustively identifying the cycles contained in the genome-scale metabolic networks of H. pylori, M. barkeri, E. coli, and S. cerevisiae. Our algorithm can substantially decrease both the execution time and maximum memory usage in comparison to the two previous algorithms.ConclusionThe algorithm we describe improves our ability to study large, real-world, biochemical reaction networks, although additional methodological improvements are desirable.

The contents of whistleblowing/confidential reporting procedures in the UK

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to explain why whistleblowing is important and to examine the recent empirical research relating to such confidential reporting/whistleblowing procedures in the UK.Design/methodology/approach – This article refers to the 1999 IRS Employment Trends/Public Concern at Work survey of public and private sector organisations, together with the work conducted in local government, further and higher education, schools and National Health Service (NHS) Trusts by researchers at Middlesex University between 2000 and 2003.Findings – The article establishes the prevalence of whistleblowing procedures, why they were introduced and the extent of trade union involvement. It identifies who can use these procedures, the types of concern that can be raised and who investigates them. Other issues discussed include: the need for confidentiality; the problems of reprisal and malicious allegations; the availability of advice and assistance and the existence of feedback. The article also ...