What Lessons have been learnt since the East Asian Crisis in 1997/98? CIBS, Capital Flows, and Exchange Rates

This paper discusses the movement of capital flows to and from the exchange rate regimes and monetary policies of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa (CIBS). Furthermore, we compare the level of financial stability, and the composition and duration of capital flows of the countries on a policy level according to the ? ?third generation? crisis models?; following which the East Asian Crisis of 1997/98 linkages between the corporate and financial sectors, and foreign short-term debt are given further attention. The paper concludes by comparing all four countries and analysing possible risks in CIBS financial systems.international financial markets, financial stability, capital flows, exchange rates, China, India, Brazil, South Africa

Multidimensional en-face OCT imaging of the retina.

Fast T-scanning (transverse scanning, en-face) was used to build B-scan or C-scan optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of the retina. Several unique signature patterns of en-face (coronal) are reviewed in conjunction with associated confocal images of the fundus and B-scan OCT images. Benefits in combining T-scan OCT with confocal imaging to generate pairs of OCT and confocal images similar to those generated by scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO) are discussed in comparison with the spectral OCT systems. The multichannel potential of the OCT/SLO system is demonstrated with the addition of a third hardware channel which acquires and generates indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence images. The OCT, confocal SLO and ICG fluorescence images are simultaneously presented in a two or a three screen format. A fourth channel which displays a live mix of frames of the ICG sequence superimposed on the corresponding coronal OCT slices for immediate multidimensional comparison, is also included. OSA ISP software is employed to illustrate the synergy between the simultaneously provided perspectives. This synergy promotes interpretation of information by enhancing diagnostic comparisons and facilitates internal correction of movement artifacts within C-scan and B-scan OCT images using information provided by the SLO channel

Visual Aspects of Intercultural Technical Communication: A Cognitive Scientific and Semiotic Point of View

This article presents a cognitive scientific view of the role of verbal and visual aspects in the translation of technical texts. The semiotic differentiation between symbols and icons is discussed from both the cognitive scientific and the translation studies perspectives. The article refers to the definition of text as a unit of communication (and translation) that includes both verbal and visual aspects and thus emphasises the function of the visual dimension in translation. The theoretical discussion is related to professional practices in the modern translation workplace: through its discussion of the results of a recent empirical field study based on participant observation over an extended period of time in a translation agency, the present research seeks to determine the extent to which the visual dimension can be taken into account in technical translation. In particular, the results point to the consequences of the use of translation technologies (translation memories, translation management systems, localisation software, etc.) in the modern translation workplace. The dominance of the verbal aspect induced by the use of some such technologies can make it increasingly difficult for translators to pay attention to the visual elements in translation. This stresses the importance of the inclusion of courses on the critical and professional use of translation technologies within translation studies programmes.L’article vise à présenter une approche cognitive scientifique du rôle du verbal et du visuel dans la traduction des textes techniques. Tout d’abord, les auteurs discutent les différences entre les symboles et les icônes en respectant les perspectives des sciences cognitives et de la traductologie. Partant d’une définition du texte en tant qu’unité de communication (et de traduction) comprenant des aspects verbaux et visuels, l’article met dans la suite l’accent sur la dimension visuelle du texte à traduire. Cette discussion théorique fournit la base pour l’analyse des pratiques professionelles en ce qui concerne l’intégration de la dimension visuelle dans le processus de traduction. Une étude de terrain dans un service de traduction fournit les données empiriques. Les résultats de cette observation participante montrent l’influence des technologies de traduction (mémoires de traduction, systèmes de gestion de traduction, logiciels de localisation) sur le rôle du visuel dans le poste de travail moderne du traducteur. L’importance que ces technologies donnent au verbal rend de plus en plus difficile pour le traducteur de faire attention aux éléments visuels. Les auteurs en tirent la conclusion que la gestion critique et professionelle de la dimension visuelle doit être intégrée dans la formation des traducteurs

What lessons have been learnt since the East Asian Crisis in 1997/98? CIBS, capital flows and exchange rates

This paper discusses the movement of capital flows to and from the exchange rate regimes and monetary policies of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa (CIBS). Furthermore, we compare the level of financial stability, and the composition and duration of capital flows of the countries on a policy level according to the - third generation crisis models'; following which the East Asian Crisis of 1997/98 linkages between the corporate and financial sectors, and foreign short-term debt are given further attention. The paper concludes by comparing all four countries and analysing possible risks in CIBS financial systems

The Cross-Cultural Invariance of the Servant Leadership Survey: A Comparative Study across Eight Countries

This paper tests and confirms the cross-cultural equivalence of the Servant Leadership Survey (SLS) in eight countries and languages: The Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Finland. A composite sample consisting of 5201 respondents from eight countries that all filled out the SLS was used. A three-step approach was adopted to test configural invariance, measurement equivalence, and structural equivalence. For the full 30-item version of the SLS, configural invariance and partial measurement equivalence were confirmed. Implications of these results for the use of the SLS within cross-cultural studies are discussed

Ректор ТПИ А. А. Воробьев - изобретатель электроимпульсного способа разрушения горных пород

Представлена история создания электроимпульсного способа разрушения горных пород ректором ТПИ А. А. Воробьевым

Optical Coherence Tomography for Examination of Parchment Degradation

A novel application of Optical Coherence Tomography utilizing infrared light of 830 nm central wavelength for non invasive examination of the structure of parchment, some covered with iron gall ink, is presented. It is shown that both the parchment and the ink applied are sufficiently transparent to light of this wavelength. In the study, Spectral OCT (SOCT) as well as Polarisation Sensitive OCT (PS-OCT) techniques were used to obtain cross-sectional images of samples of parchment based on scattering properties. The second technique was additionally employed to recover the birefringence properties and the optical axis orientations of the sample. It was shown that freshly produced parchment exhibits a degree of birefringence. However, this property declines with ageing, and samples of old parchment completely depolarise the incident light

QuaSI: Quantile Sparse Image Prior for Spatio-Temporal Denoising of Retinal OCT Data

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) enables high-resolution and non-invasive 3D imaging of the human retina but is inherently impaired by speckle noise. This paper introduces a spatio-temporal denoising algorithm for OCT data on a B-scan level using a novel quantile sparse image (QuaSI) prior. To remove speckle noise while preserving image structures of diagnostic relevance, we implement our QuaSI prior via median filter regularization coupled with a Huber data fidelity model in a variational approach. For efficient energy minimization, we develop an alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) scheme using a linearization of median filtering. Our spatio-temporal method can handle both, denoising of single B-scans and temporally consecutive B-scans, to gain volumetric OCT data with enhanced signal-to-noise ratio. Our algorithm based on 4 B-scans only achieved comparable performance to averaging 13 B-scans and outperformed other current denoising methods.Comment: submitted to MICCAI'1

Experimental dynamic evaluation of the Guarda footbridge

This paper deals with the methodologies used for footbridges design and their application to a steel footbridge built over a road junction in Guarda, Portugal. The complexity of the bridge behavior and the high uncertainty connected with the damping and natural frequencies estimation supported the decision to carry out vibration measurements included in the commissioning tests. A modal identification was performed and a FE model of the bridge was updated accordingly. Tests with pedestrians were also performed in order to gain as much information as possible towards the final decision to be made concerning the installation or not of the foreseen tuned mass dampers. Tests included continuous streaming of pedestrian groups with increasing size crossing the bridge in synchronized walking at various pace rates