We test the possibility that exchange rates from nine developed countries have a unit root against the alternate possibility that they are fractionally integrated. Theoretically, exchange rates are only expected to follow a random walk under restrictive assumptions. However, most traditional unit root tests cannot reject a unit root in exchange rates, and time series tests that allow for fractiona

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease of the pancreas. Acute abdominal pain is the most common symptom. Pancreatic injury is mild in 80% of patients, who recover without complications. The remaining patients have a severe disease with local and systemic complications such as acute lung injury (ALI). Gallstone migration into the common bile duct and alcohol abuse are the most frequent

The increase of the consumer electronics market the last couple of decades has been one of the main drivers of IC process technology development. The majority of the ICs are used in digital applications, and for these CMOS is the choice of technology. The urge to squeeze more transistors on to a given area has led to shrinking feature sizes. It has resulted in higher transition frequencies and red

Currently, no method exists for determining the prestress forces in prestressed concrete structures. According to the theory of acoustoelasticity, the modulus of elasticity of concrete is stress dependent, which means that the resonance frequency of a concrete structure also is stress dependent. In this study, both short-term and long-term measurements of the resonance frequencies of four prestres

This paper views waste as a resource and anaerobic digestion (AD) as an established biological process for waste treatment, methane production and energy generation. A powerful simulation tool was developed for the optimization and the assessment of co-digestion of any combination of solid waste streams. Optimization was aimed to determine the optimal ratio between different waste streams and hydr

For robots to be productive co-workers in the manufacturing industry, it is necessary that their human colleagues can interact with them and instruct them in a simple manner. The goal of our research is to lower the threshold for humans to instruct manipulation tasks, especially sensorcontrolled assembly. In our previous work we have presented tools for high-level task instruction, while in this p

The Amazon is one of the few continental regions where atmospheric aerosol particles and their effects on climate are not dominated by anthropogenic sources. During the wet season, the ambient conditions approach those of the pristine pre-industrial era. We show that the fine submicrometer particles accounting for most cloud condensation nuclei are predominantly composed of secondary organic mater

The aim of this research is evaluation of land suitability for urban land-use planning. Four factors and fourteen criteria were selected for suitability analysis and land-use planning. Factors and criteria were defined based on literature survey, experts' opinions, local contexts and availability of data. GIS-based Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used as a Multi-criteria Decision Making mod

We have modified the popular MM/PBSA or MM/GBSA approaches (molecular mechanics for a biomolecule, combined with a Poisson-Boltzmann or generalized Born electrostatic and surface area nonelectrostatic solvation energy) by employing instead the statistical-mechanical, three-dimensional molecular theory of solvation (also known as 3D reference interaction site model, or 3D-RISM-KH) coupled with mole

Double emulsions have potential applications in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries as vehicles for encapsulation and delivery of nutrients during food digestion or as drug release. The major drawback of this type of emulsions is that they are often difficult to stabilize. Particle stabilized emulsions, known as Pickering emulsions, show special features, such as being extremely stabl

Analysis of the novel Die Ästhetik des Widerstands by Swedish/German author Peter Weiss. The aim of the analysis is to trace the views of film art that the author presents in this novel. The conclusion is that Weiss expresses explicit views on film art and cinematography, but also that there are implicit patterns in the structure of the narrative that can be explained as a cinematic imagination.

We present a systematic study of charged-pion and kaon interferometry in Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV. The kaon mean source radii are found to be larger than pion radii in the outward and longitudinal directions for the same transverse mass; this difference increases for more central collisions. The azimuthal-angle dependence of the radii was measured with respect to the second-order

With special reference to India and Indonesia the paper considers a number of methodological issues connected with the study of corruption. These include definitions of corruption, a public administration approach, the bazaar concept vs questions of family, network, and patronage, limitations to corruption, and the political impact.

von Willebrand disease (VWD) is the most common inherited bleeding disorder characterized by spontaneous or tissue injury related, mostly mucocutaneous, bleeding events. VWD affects both males and females and is caused by quantitative or qualitative deficiency of von Willebrand factor. The diagnostic procedure is complicated because VWD is highly heterogeneous, and differential diagnosis from plat

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key players in the regulation of neuronal processes by targeting a large network of target messenger RNAs (mRNAs). However, the identity and function of mRNAs targeted by miRNAs in specific cells of the brain are largely unknown. Here, we established an adeno-associated viral vector (AAV)-based neuron-specific Argonaute2:GFP-RNA immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughpu

The ease with which Zebra Finches can be kept and bred in captivity makes them a suitable model for avian quantitative genetic studies. After a brief introduction to some quantitative genetic concepts, we here provide an up-to-date overview of quantitative genetic studies in Zebra Finches. We discuss what these studies can teach us about the evolutionary and behavioural ecology of Zebra Finches an