• Journal of applied mathematics & informatics
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• 제26권1_2호
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• pp.213-222
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• 2008

Iterative methods are often suitable for solving least squares problems min$||Ax-b||_2$, where A $\epsilon\;\mathbb{R}^{m{\times}n}$ is large and sparse. The well known LSQR algorithm is among the iterative methods for solving these problems. A good preconditioner is often needed to speedup the LSQR convergence. In this paper we present the numerical experiments of applying a well known preconditioner for the LSQR algorithm. The preconditioner is based on the $A^T$ A-orthogonalization process which furnishes an incomplete upper-lower factorization of the inverse of the normal matrix $A^T$ A. The main advantage of this preconditioner is that we apply only one of the factors as a right preconditioner for the LSQR algorithm applied to the least squares problem min$||Ax-b||_2$. The preconditioner needs only the sparse matrix-vector product operations and significantly reduces the solution time compared to the unpreconditioned iteration. Finally, some numerical experiments on test matrices from Harwell-Boeing collection are presented to show the robustness and efficiency of this preconditioner.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.509-516
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• 2018

The differential quadrature (DQ) and teaching-learning based optimization (TLBO) methods are coupled to introduce a hybrid numerical method for maximizing fundamental natural frequency of laminated composite skew plates. The fiber(s) orientations are selected as design variable(s). The first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is used to obtain the governing equations of the plate. The equations of motion and the related boundary conditions are discretized in space domain by employing the DQ method. The discretized equations are transferred from the time domain into the frequency domain to obtain the fundamental natural frequency. Then, the DQ solution is coupled with the TLBO method to find the maximum frequency of the plate and its related optimum stacking sequences of the laminate. Convergence and applicability of the proposed method are shown and the optimum fundamental frequency parameter of the plates with different skew angle, boundary conditions, number of layers and aspect ratio are obtained. The obtained results can be used as a benchmark for further studies.

• 대한원격탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한원격탐사학회 2008년도 International Symposium on Remote Sensing
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• pp.285-288
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• 2008

We analyzed evaporation data in the Japanese Ocean Flux Data Sets with Use of Remote Sensing Observations (J-OFURO) Ver.2. There exists huge evaporation in Gulf Stream, Kuroshio Extension, the ocean dessert and the southern part of the Indian Ocean. The temporal variation of evaporation is overwhelmingly large, of which the standard deviation is more than 120(mm), in the Kuroshio Extension region. Also, the result of harmonic analysis gives that this large variation is closely related to annual variation. In addition, the first EOF mode shows long-term variation showing the maximum amplitude between 1992 and 1994 and remarkable decrease after 1994, and large amplitude in the equatorial region and northeast of Australia. The second and third modes were strongly influenced by El Nino. Moreover, we compared J-OFURO2 evaporation product with other products. We used six kinds of data sets (HOAPS3 and GSSTF2 of satellite data, NRA1, NRA2, ERA40 and JRA25 of reanalysis data) for comparison. Most products show underestimation in the most regions, in particular, in the northern North Pacific, mid-latitudes of the eastern South Pacific, and high-latitudes of the South Pacific compared with J-OFUR02. On the other hand, JRA25 and NRA2 show large overestimation in the equatorial regions. RMS difference between NRA2 and J-OFURO2 in the Kuroshio Extension was significantly large, more than 120(mm).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제21권10호
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• pp.1026-1035
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• 2011

Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which owes its origin to the marine environment, is considered as one of the most common causes of infectious diarrhea worldwide. The present study investigated the pathogenicity of V. parahaemolyticus against the model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans. Infection in the host was localized with GFP-tagged V. parahaemolyticus using confocal laser scanning microscopy. The times required for causing infection, bacterial load in intestine, chemotactic response, and alteration in pharyngeal pumping were analyzed in the host system. In addition, the regulation of innate immune-related genes, lys-7, clec- 60, and clec-87, was analyzed using real-time PCR. The role of immune-responsible pmk-1 was studied using mutant strains. The pathogenicity of environmental strain CM2 isolated from the Gulf of Mannar, India was compared with that of a reference strain obtained from ATCC. The pathogen infected animals appeared to ward off infection by up-regulating candidate antimicrobial genes for a few hours after the exposure, before succumbing to the pathogen. For the first time, the pathogenicity of V. parahaemolyticus at both the physiological and molecular levels has been studied in detail using the model organism C. elegans.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제9권4호
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• pp.13-28
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• 2022

The growth of the Islamic finance sector has been well-documented. One of the most booming sectors has been Sukuk. According to several past studies, non-Islamic investors' interest in Sukuk is due, at least in part, to the diversification benefits that Sukuk provides in the context of a fixed-income portfolio. This paper compares a pair between Sukuk and Bonds in the Malaysian market issued by the same issuer to have an unbiased comparison. Using unconditional correlation methodology provides an initial examination of the relationship between the matched pairs. In addition, this paper adopts the standard GARCH-DCC approach of Engle (2002). This is a generalization of the Bollserslev (1990) GARCH model, allowing for the conditional correlation matrices to be time-varying. The findings reveal that the correlation between bonds and Sukuk is similar to that of bonds, making Sukuk a less appealing type of bond from a diversification standpoint. There are no significant differences between Sukuk and bonds. These finding questions the previously considered differences among different types of Sukuk and supports the argument that some Sukuk might not be compliant with Islamic rules and their structure, as contracts have the same risks for Sukuk holders regardless of the type of Sukuk.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제4권2호
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• pp.19-23
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• 2017

It is undisputable that crude oil and its price fluctuations are major components that affect most of the countries' economies. Recent studies have demonstrated that beside the impact that crude oil price fluctuations have on common macroeconomic indicators like gross domestic product (GDP), inflation rates, exchange rates, unemployment rate, etc., it also has a strong influence on stock markets and their performance. This relationship has been examined in a number of settings, but it is yet to be unraveled in the Omani context. Accordingly, the main purpose of this study is to examine the possible effect of the oil price fluctuations on stock price movements. The study applies Toda and Yamamoto's (1995) Granger non-causality test on the daily Oman stock index (Muscat Securities Market Index) and oil prices between the period of 2 January 2003 and 13 March 2016. The results indicated that the oil price fluctuations have a significant impact on stock index movements. However, the stock price movements do not have a significant impact on oil prices. These findings have significant implications not only for the Omani economy but also for the economy of similar countries, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The latter should carefully consider their policies and strategies regarding crude oil production and the generated income allocation as it might potentially affect the financial markets performance in these countries.

• 대한기계학회:학술대회논문집
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• 대한기계학회 2000년도 춘계학술대회논문집B
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• pp.899-905
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• 2000

The characteristics of air flow and engine performance with swirl ratio variance of intake port In a turbocharged DI diesel engine was studied in this paper. The intake port flow is important factor which have influence on the engine performance and exhaust emission because the properties in the injected fuel depend on the combustion characteristics. The swirl ratio for ports was modified by hand-working and measured by impulse swirl meter. For the effects on performance and emission, the brake torque and brake specific fuel consumption were measured by engine dynamometer and NOx, smoke were measured by gas analyzer and smoke meter. As a result of steady flow test, when the valve eccentricity ratio are closed to cylinder wall, the flow coefficient and swirl intensity are increased. And as the swirl ratio is increased, the mean flow coefficient is decreasing, whereas the gulf factor is increasing. Also, through engine test its can be expected to meet performance and emission by optimizing the main parameters; the swirl ratio of intake port, injection timing and compression ratio.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제7권8호
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• pp.473-483
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• 2020

Internationalization of SMEs has gathered pace in recent times with falling trade barriers and rising world trade encouraging small firms to seek profits and growth in foreign markets. This has attracted the attention of researchers, and several studies have been conducted in Western nations on the factors influencing the process of SME internationalization. However, hardly any study has been done on SME internationalization in the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) region, thus leaving a gap in the literature. This study investigates the influence of four factors, namely, human capital, network competency, entrepreneurial orientation, and market volatility on the degree of internationalization of SMEs in Oman. The study employs survey data collected from 150 SME owners and managers using a structured questionnaire having 27 items, and has been analyzed using correlation and logistic regression, as the dependent variable is binary in nature. The results reveal the impact of the chosen variables on the degree of internationalization of SMEs. The findings of the study suggest that network competency has the highest impact on degree of internationalization of Omani SMEs, followed by human capital and entrepreneurial orientation, while market volatility, though insignificant, moderated the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and degree of internationalization of Omani SMEs.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제8권7호
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• pp.11-19
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• 2021

The study aims to investigate the impact of seasonality in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries' share market during the month of Ramadan. It helps in finding the opportunities for stock market investors to earn abnormal (returns) gain by investing during Ramadan in GCC stock markets. This study uses stock returns data of GCC countries (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Dubai, and UAE) from January 2004 to November 2019. Stock prices indexes of GCC stock markets have been obtained from Datastream. The ARCH-GARCH model is used to study the impact of the Ramadan month on the return and volatility of the stock market in GCC countries. The results showed that the Ramadan month has a significant impact on share market prices in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. However, Ramadan has an insignificant impact on share market prices in Bahrain and Oman. The study found no evidence of serial correlational between residuals in Kuwait; meaning that stock return was not dependent on the prior stock returns in Kuwait, therefore, we cannot go for forecasting. The ARCH-LM test statistic for Qatar does not fulfill the requirement of a good regression model; therefore, we cannot go for forecasting or testing the hypothesis of Qatar.

• Ocean Science Journal
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• 제41권4호
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• pp.211-219
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• 2006

A comparison was made of population of the economically important cockle Anadara (=Scapharca) broughtoni (Bivalvia, Arcidae) inhabiting different areas of the Razdolnaya River estuary at the head of Amurskii Bay (Peter the Great Gulf, East Sea). Also, changes in cockle population density and structure, as well as in cockle growth rates during the last 20 years were studied. In all years of investigation, the morphometrical parameters and growth rates of cockles were smaller at the sites located close to the River mouth than farther down-estuary. The differences can be attributed to higher concentration of suspended particulate matter, decreased salinity and water temperature, as well as a longer exposure to these unfavorable environmental factors at sites located close to the River mouth, compared to farther sites. For two decades, cockle population density had decreased by almost 30 times at some sites in the River estuary. The main reason for this population decline is commercial over-fishing of the cockle. Besides, for the last 20 years, linear parameters of the cockles in the population decreased approximately by 30% and weight parameters, almost two times. Cockle growth rates also decreased for this period. Evidently, these facts are due to the damaging effect of dredging.