Symmetric Index Research Articles

Propagation properties of Gaussian beam through a asymmetric negative index slab system by transfer matrix

Propagation properties of Gaussian beam through a asymmetric negative index slab system are investigated by transfer matrix. Firstly, transfer matrix related to negative index slab is derived; then the electric field distribution of each region in the system is obtained by ABCD law and the beam focusing both inside and outside the negative index slab is researched. On the paraxial approximation, the propagation properties of Gauss beam through a asymmetric negative index slab system are clearly revealed. When the positive index materials on both sides of the slab are the same, our conclusion can be evolved into the conclusion of a special case, the evolution of conclusion is the same as that of a symmetric negative index slab system.

LocalizedPT-symmetric directionally invisible scatterers

We demonstrate how to create localized $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric directionally invisible scatterers directly from a governing wave equation. Moreover, we can construct general non-$\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric objects which exhibit directional invisibility, though such an effect is typically associated with $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric objects. Whereas previously the determining condition for an optical $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric device was a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric complex refractive index, we show that a broader condition, requiring only the scattering potential to be $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric, leads to the same behavior. This enables the construction of $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric objects without a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric complex refractive index, effectively doubling the number of possible invisible objects. Consequently, the set of gain-loss invisible objects is much broader than previously realized, and several examples are shown.

Bending losses of trench-assisted few-mode optical fibers.

A semianalytical method based on the perturbation theory is developed to calculate the bending losses of individual modes of few-mode fibers (FMFs); it is applicable for optical fibers with arbitrary circularly symmetric index profile, especially for trench-assisted fibers. The bending performance of trench-assisted step-index FMFs and parabolic-index FMFs are investigated with three key parameters (i.e., the refractive index difference of trench-cladding, the width of the trench, and the distance of the core-trench). Then, a performance index is defined to estimate the bending performance for FMFs. It is shown that changing the distance of the trench-core, for each order of mode, there is a minimum bending loss, which can be used for fiber optimization. This optimization position (core-trench distance) decreases as the mode order increases. It is found that the bending performance of parabolic-index FMFs is better than that of step-index FMFs with fixed core radius and cutoff wavelength. The conclusions are helpful for understanding the mechanism of bending loss for FMFs, and make contributions to designing and manufacturing of few-mode bend-insensitive fibers.

Symmetric ambulatory arterial stiffness index in the young

The ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) and the symmetric ambulatory arterial stiffness index (s-AASI) have been shown to correlate to arterial stiffness in adults. This study assesses these indices with anthropometric and blood pressure (BP) measures in children. A total of 102 children at a pediatric hypertension clinic who had ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) done from 2009 to 2013 were included (75% males, 7-22yo, 47% hypertensive, 24% prehypertensive, and 34% white-coat hypertensives). AASI is 1 minus the regression slope of diastolic BP values on systolic BP values from a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. s-AASI is the symmetric regression of AASI. Obese patients had a significantly higher AASI. s-AASI correlated with systolic BP variability. In multivariable regression, BP variability independently correlated with AASI and s-AASI. s-AASI is related to systolic dipping.AASI and s-AASI are highly dependent on BP variability in children. Further studies are necessary to assess their utility.

Comparison of dynamic electromyographic analysis of masticatory capsules with materials of different textures

Objectives:The aim of this study was to compare the mastication electromyographic indexes of capsules used for the masticatory efficiency evaluation “ME-mastig” and of materials of different textures (gum, raisins, and peanuts).Methods: Thirty young, healthy, adult subjects, with an average age of 23.46 years old, with no symptoms of temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD), confirmed by the clinical exam, RDC/TMD, and the static test of electromyography (EMG) were chosen. Afterward, dynamic tests were performed (bilateral mastication of the compounds) to determine number of chewing cycles (CYCLES); masticatory frequency (FREQ); SMI (symmetrical masticatory index – corresponding to the value of neuromuscular coordination during mastication); and IMPACT (corresponding to impact – total electromyographic activity performed by the system during chewing).Results: Cycle and frequency were similar. Regarding SMI and IMPACT, the raisin, the capsule, and the peanut were similar between each other, and different from the gum.Conclusions: Masticatory capsules and the natural foods with different textures had similar results regarding EMG indexes.

Revisiting the concept of a symmetric index of agreement for continuous datasets.

Quantifying how close two datasets are to each other is a common and necessary undertaking in scientific research. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient r is a widely used measure of the degree of linear dependence between two data series, but it gives no indication of how similar the values of these series are in magnitude. Although a number of indexes have been proposed to compare a dataset with a reference, only few are available to compare two datasets of equivalent (or unknown) reliability. After a brief review and numerical tests of the metrics designed to accomplish this task, this paper shows how an index proposed by Mielke can, with a minor modification, satisfy a series of desired properties, namely to be adimensional, bounded, symmetric, easy to compute and directly interpretable with respect to r. We thus show that this index can be considered as a natural extension to r that downregulates the value of r according to the bias between analysed datasets. The paper also proposes an effective way to disentangle the systematic and the unsystematic contribution to this agreement based on eigen decompositions. The use and value of the index is also illustrated on synthetic and real datasets.

Effects of inclined treadmill walking training with rhythmic auditory stimulation on balance and gait in stroke patients.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to determine if an inclined treadmill with rhythmic auditory stimulation gait training can improve balance and gait ability in stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty participants were randomly divided into three groups: inclined treadmill with rhythmic auditory stimulation training group (n=10), inclined treadmill training group (n=10), and treadmill training group (n=10). For all groups, the training was conducted for 4 weeks, 30 minutes per session, 5 times per week. Two subjects dropped out before study completion. [Results] All variables of balance and gait, except for the timed up and go test in the treadmill group, significantly improved in all groups. Moreover, all variables showed a more significant improvement in the inclined treadmill with rhythmic auditory stimulation group when compared with the other groups. Timed up and go test, Berg balance scale, 6 m walking test, walking speed, and symmetric index were significantly improved in the inclined treadmill group when compared with the treadmill group. [Conclusion] Thus, for stroke patients receiving gait training, inclined treadmill with rhythmic auditory stimulation training was more effective in maintaining balance and gait than inclined treadmill without rhythmic auditory stimulation or only treadmill training.

Karyomorphology ofSolanum viarumDunal-An Ethnomedicinal species of Tripura

The karyomorphological analysis of Solanum viarum Dunal showed the somatic chromosome count to be 2n=24 with n=12 normal bivalents which corroborates previous report. The chromosomes are small with an average size 2.54 ±0.18μm having karyotype formula 2A+4B+12C+6D. The karyotype is symmetric in nature and falls under “1A” of Stebbins symmetric index. The somatic chromosome count and constancy of the karyotype recorded in the present population could be utilised in exploiting cytological and karyomorphological variability among the ecotypic populations of the species.

리듬청각자극을 동반한 경사 트레드밀 보행훈련이 뇌졸중 환자의 균형 및 보행에 미치는 영향: 예비연구

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify whether inclined treadmill gait training with rhythmic auditory simulation (RAS) could improve on balance and gait in stroke patients. Method: Fifteen stroke patients who had agreed with the study were allocated to the group 1(n=5), group 2(n=5), or group 3(n=5). The group 1, group 2 and group 3 performed RAS with inclined treadmill gait training, inclined treadmill gait training and treadmill without incline gait training respectively for 3 weeks (30 minutes per session, 5 times in a week). The balance was assessed using Timed Up & Go (TUG) and Berg Balance Sale (BBS), and the gait was evaluated using 6 Minutes Walking Test (6MWT) and spatio-temporal walking variables as walking speed, cadence, Single Limb Support of affected side(SLS) and Symmetric Index(SI) before and after training. Result: Both the group 1 and group 2 showed significant improvement after training in all variables of balance and gait. The group 3 showed significant improvement in TUG values, 6MWT values, walking speed, cadence and SI. The changes in the group 1 were significantly greater in all dependent variables of balance and gait than those of the group 2 and group 3. The changes in the group 2 were significantly greater in TUG values, BBS scores, 6MWT values, walking speed, and cadence than those of the group 3. Conclusion: The result of this study show inclined treadmill gait training with RAS is more effective to improve balance and gait in stoke patients than inclined treadmill or general treadmill gait training without RAS.

Effects of disease severity and medication state on postural control asymmetry during challenging postural tasks in individuals with Parkinson’s disease

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of disease severity and medication state on postural control asymmetry during challenging tasks in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Nineteen people with PD and 11 neurologically healthy individuals performed three standing task conditions: bipedal standing, tandem and unipedal adapted standing; the individuals with PD performed the tasks in ON and OFF medication state. The participants with PD were distributed into 2 groups according to disease severity: unilateral group (n=8) and bilateral group (n=11). The two PD groups performed the evaluations both under and without the medication. Two force plates were used to analyze the posture. The symmetric index was calculated for various of center of pressure. ANOVA one-way (groups) and two-way (PD groups×medication), with repeated measures for medication, were calculated. For main effects of group, the bilateral group was more asymmetric than CG. For main effects of medication, only unipedal adapted standing presented effects of PD medication. There was PD groups×medication interaction. Under the effects of medication, the unilateral group presented lower asymmetry of RMS in anterior–posterior direction and area than the bilateral group in unipedal adapted standing. In addition, the unilateral group presented lower asymmetry of mean velocity, RMS in anterior–posterior direction and area in unipedal standing and area in tandem adapted standing after a medication dose. Postural control asymmetry during challenging postural tasks was dependent on disease severity and medication state in people with PD. The bilateral group presented higher postural control asymmetry than the control and unilateral groups in challenging postural tasks. Finally, the medication dose was able to reduce postural control asymmetry in the unilateral group during challenging postural tasks.

Comparison of dynamic electromyographic analysis of masticatory capsules with materials of different textures

Objectives:The aim of this study was to compare the mastication electromyographic indexes of capsules used for the masticatory efficiency evaluation “ME-mastig” and of materials of different textures (gum, raisins, and peanuts).Methods: Thirty young, healthy, adult subjects, with an average age of 23.46 years old, with no symptoms of temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD), confirmed by the clinical exam, RDC/TMD, and the static test of electromyography (EMG) were chosen. Afterward, dynamic tests were performed (bilateral mastication of the compounds) to determine number of chewing cycles (CYCLES); masticatory frequency (FREQ); SMI (symmetrical masticatory index – corresponding to the value of neuromuscular coordination during mastication); and IMPACT (corresponding to impact – total electromyographic activity performed by the system during chewing).Results: Cycle and frequency were similar. Regarding SMI and IMPACT, the raisin, the capsule, and the peanut were similar between each other, and different from the gum.Conclusions: Masticatory capsules and the natural foods with different textures had similar results regarding EMG indexes.

Pod, seed traits and cytotaxonomic studies of some Vicia narbonensis L. accessions (Fabaceae).

This study aimed to characterize eight accessions of Vicia narbonensis L. originated from different Mediterranean countries. The cytology of these species is rarely known despite the fact of its great socio-economical and ecological interest in these arid and semi-arid zones. This work aimed mainly to characterize the karyotype, morphological pod and seed traits of the species. Karyotypes of all accessions were similar to a diploid number of 2n = 2x = 14. All the accessions have submetacentric chromosomes with a secondary constriction attached to the long arm of pair VII close to the centromere. Variation in chromosome size was observed; it ranged from 5.86 μm to 7.62 μm. Indices of karyotype asymmetry were calculated as the total form percentage (TF%) and symmetric indices (Syi) which ranged from 33.75% to 35.42% and from 51.01% to 54.85%, respectively. The predominance of submetacentric chromosomes indicated that the karyotype is symmetrical and can be considered as primitive. However, the analysis of quantitative parameters measured on pods and seeds showed a significant variation between accessions. A relationship between centromeric index and the pod beak length was found. Estimation of phenotypic diversity using the Shannon diversity index (H′) showed that the length, the seed color and the number of seeds per pod are the most polymorphic traits with respectively, H′ = 0.92, 0.80 and 0.83. Cluster analysis of karyological, pod and seed traits showed four groups of accessions. This clustering is partially due to the geographical origin of the studied accessions. The variation in chromosome size, pod and seed traits could offer potentially valuable genetic resources for the improvement of V. narbonensis which is considered as neglected and underutilized crop species (NUCS).

Abstract 14875: Impact of Calcification and Long-Term Outcomes of Intravascular Ultrasound-Guided Stent Implantation for Atherosclerotic Subclavian Artery Obstructive Lesions

Background: Currently, stent implantation for Subclavian artery obstructive lesions (SAOD) is an established method. Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) provides valuable information for vessel and lumen at pre and post stenting, but there are a few reports on the effect of calcification and long-term outcomes of these methods using IVUS. Methods: We performed IVUS-guided stent implantations for SAOD in 14 arteries of 14 patients between February 2010 and December 2014. The main indications for subclavian artery stenting were arm claudication (10 patients), subclavian steal syndrome (3 patients) and coronary steal syndrome (1 pateint). Ten lesions were stenotic and four lesions were completely obstructed. We divided our patients into 2 groups according to the grade of calcification using IVUS: mild-calc group who showed none or 1/3 circumference calcification in the lesion and severe-calc group who showed more than 1/3 circumference calcification. We compared the IVUS parameters including pre minimum lumen diameter (MLD) (short axis), pre minimum lumen area (MLA), post minimum stent area (MSA), post minimum stent diameter (MSD) (short axis) and symmetric index (minimum/maximum stent diameter) between the two groups. Resutls: IVUS-guided stent implantations for SAOD were successful without perioperative complications in all patients. During follow-up observation (4-60 months, mean 21.8 months), 1 restenosis occurred. Post MSD (short axis) and post MSA were significantly lower in severe-calc group than mild-calc group while there were no significant differences between the two groups. Conclusion: IVUS-guided stent implantation for SAOD achieved satisfactory long-term outcomes. However, calcification may be correlated with worse outcomes in these lesions.

Extending Protein Domain Boundary Predictors to Detect Discontinuous Domains.

A variety of protein domain predictors were developed to predict protein domain boundaries in recent years, but most of them cannot predict discontinuous domains. Considering nearly 40% of multidomain proteins contain one or more discontinuous domains, we have developed DomEx to enable domain boundary predictors to detect discontinuous domains by assembling the continuous domain segments. Discontinuous domains are predicted by matching the sequence profile of concatenated continuous domain segments with the profiles from a single-domain library derived from SCOP and CATH, and Pfam. Then the matches are filtered by similarity to library templates, a symmetric index score and a profile-profile alignment score. DomEx recalled 32.3% discontinuous domains with 86.5% precision when tested on 97 non-homologous protein chains containing 58 continuous and 99 discontinuous domains, in which the predicted domain segments are within ±20 residues of the boundary definitions in CATH 3.5. Compared with our recently developed predictor, ThreaDom, which is the state-of-the-art tool to detect discontinuous-domains, DomEx recalled 26.7% discontinuous domains with 72.7% precision in a benchmark with 29 discontinuous-domain chains, where ThreaDom failed to predict any discontinuous domains. Furthermore, combined with ThreaDom, the method ranked number one among 10 predictors. The source code and datasets are available at https://github.com/xuezhidong/DomEx.

Three kinds of numerical indices of a Banach space II

For a Banach space E and a positive integer k, we study about three kinds of numerical indices of E, the multilinear numerical index (E), the symmetric multilinear numerical index (E) and the polynomial numerical index (E). First we show that (E**) ≤ (E) for I=m, s and present some inequalities among (E), (E) and (E). We also prove that if E is a strictly convex Banach space, then (E)=0 for every k ≥ 2.

PADRÃO DE ESPECIALIZAÇÃO DO COMÉRCIO INTERNACIONAL DE SANTA CATARINA (1999-2014)

: This paper analyzes the specialization pattern of international trade in the state of Santa Catarina, identifying the most dynamic productive sectors, between the years of 1999 and 2014. In order to do this, it was calculated indicators such as the Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage index (RSCA), the Intra-industry Trade Index (IIT), the indicator of Export Concentration and the Imports coverage rate. The results indicated that despite the fact that the state aims to strive for diversification of the productive sector and of the export portfolio, it remains predominantly comprised of sectors based on agro-industrial activities; such as food, tobacco and beverages; and timber. Therefore, it is possible to infer that the sectors specialized in international trade are those with conventional comparative advantages, although it was detected the existence of Intra-industry trade in the sectors of machinery and equipments. Keywords: Exports. Comparative advantage. Santa Catarina.

Perturbative unidirectional invisibility

We outline a general perturbative method of evaluating scattering features of finite-range complex potentials and use it to examine complex perturbations of a rectangular barrier potential. In optics, these correspond to modulated refractive index profiles of the form $n(x)=n_0+f(x)$, where $n_0$ is real, $f(x)$ is complex-valued, and $|f(x)|\ll1\leq n_0$. We give a comprehensive description of the phenomenon of unidirectional invisibility for such media, proving five general theorems on its realization in ${\cal PT}$-symmetric and non-${\cal PT}$-symmetric material. In particular, we establish the impossibility of unidirectional invisibility for ${\cal PT}$-symmetric samples whose refractive index has a constant real part and show how a simple scaling transformation of a unidirectionally invisible ${\cal PT}$-symmetric index profile with $n_0=1$ may be used to generate a hierarchy of unidirectionally invisible ${\cal PT}$-symmetric index profiles with $n_0>1$. The results pertaining unidirectional invisibility for $n_0>1$ open up the way for the experimental studies of this phenomenon in a variety of active material. As an application of our general results, we show that a medium with $n(x)=n_0+\zeta e^{iK x}$, $\zeta$ and $K$ real, and $|\zeta|\ll 1$ can support unidirectional invisibility only for $n_0=1$. We then construct unidirectionally invisible index profiles of the form $n(x)=n_0+\sum_\ell z_\ell e^{iK_\ell x}$, with $z_\ell$ complex, $K_\ell$ real, $|z_\ell|\ll 1$, and $n_0>1$.

Trade in Manufactured Products between India and ASEAN A Symmetric RCA Analysis

There is a proliferation of large number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) in world trading system in the recent past. Realising the importance of East Asia in the emerging global economic order, India signed a FTA with ASEAN which came in to force from 1st January 2010. India - ASEAN FTA in trade in goods envisages reduction and elimination of tariffs in 89.34 percent of the product lines and the remaining 10.66 percent product lines are kept outside the ambit of tariff reduction in the negative list. For any Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) to be successful, it is imperative on partner countries to have favourable trade structure between them. Countries which got complementary trade structure are likely to trade more where as economies with similar trade structure often struggle to improve trade share unless there is substantial intra industry trade. Manufacturing sector is very important for India as it provides value added products and employment opportunities to the people. In this context, the paper looked in to the trade structure of India and ASEAN countries on the manufacturing sector to identify complementary sectors and product groups for enhanced trade cooperation. Revealed Symmetric Comparative Index (RSCA) is constructed at three levels namely product group, HS-2 and HS-4 to get trade complementarity and Similarity. From the analysis it is revealed that there are complementary products available in the manufacturing sector for greater cooperation between India and ASEAN.

Trends and Patterns of India’s Trade with Six EU Countries

India and European Union trade relations go back to 1960s. Both sides started their bilateral trade relations after their first summit which, was held in 2000 and after that India-EU has gone through various rounds of summits and negotiations for improving the bilateral trade ties. As a result, Free Trade Agreement was agreed upon between them in 2007 but it is still not fully implemented. EU is India’s largest trading partner which has accounted 14.8 percent in its total trade in 2011. The study has taken up six nations of EU namely Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and UK as   India has a large average share of trade with these countries during 1996-2011. The study strives to find out the trade trends of India with these six EU countries namely Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and UK. The study  is an attempt to find out the trade competitiveness and patterns of India with these countries by using various indices like Revealed Comparative Advantage Index (RCA), Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage Index (RSCA) and Intra Industry Trade Index (IIT).  The study finds out that European debt crisis have vigorously affected Indian pattern of trade with these six countries.  Â

On the coupled interactions between ring current intensity and high-latitude ionospheric electron density variations

Investigations on the magnetospheric–ionospheric processes form an important element of research in the understanding of the solar–terrestrial interactions. In this work, we have investigated the linkage between the ring current intensity and the high-latitude ionospheric plasma density variations during different geomagnetic conditions. The Global Positioning System (GPS) derived Vertical Total Electron Content (VTEC) during 2011–2013 over high- and low-latitude stations in both the hemispheres and the symmetric ring current index (SYM-H) have been used in this study. A cross-correlation analysis performed between the variations of these two parameters during a wide range of geomagnetic conditions reveal that there is a seasonal, latitudinal and hemispherical dependence in the interrelationship between SYM-H and VTEC. The best cross-correlation between SYM-H and VTEC over both the hemispheres is obtained during equinoctial months which can be attributed to the semiannual variation of the solar wind–magnetospheric–ionospheric coupling. Summer time VTEC over southern hemisphere exhibits a better correlation with SYM-H index in comparison to that of the northern hemisphere. These results have been explained in the light of relative contributions from seasonal and hemispherical variation that exists in the ionospheric plasma. The results are striking as the correlation is found between the variation in two independent processes occurring at widely separated regions in space, namely, the ring current intensity and the behavior of ionospheric densities at high-latitudes. Season-dependent high- and low-latitude coupling of the ionospheric VTEC is observed during the disturbed geomagnetic conditions.