Introducing a new technology 'Electromagnetic suspension system' which works on the principle of Faraday's law of Induction'. It replaces the hydraulic and air suspensions. Here we bring in the use of electromagnets to push/pull the wheel in and out of a dip without jostling of the car body that will result in easy and safe driving. This system consists of two electromagnets placed inside the cylinder. One of the electromagnet that is placed in the top end of the cylinder is fixed and the other placed in the bottom end of the cylinder is movable. A rheostat that is used for varying resistance isused here. The main purpose of the rheostat is that it could vary current. There is an additional fitting done to the movable end of the rheostat. A strong spring has to be attached to the movable end of the rheostat so that it could come back to its original position. A rod is attached from the jockey of the rheostat to the axle of the wheel. This rod will help the rheostat to vary the current. So when the current is passed to the electromagnets, there will be a repulsive force between them and so whenever there is an upward force acting on the wheel the current has to decrease so that the wheel alone will move up and down. This is the purpose why we prefer rheostat. The rod connected to it will vary and then come back to its original position. EMF is defined as the energy available per unit charge that travels once around the wire loop. Equivalently, it is the voltage that would be measured by cutting the wire to create an open circuit, and attaching a voltmeter to the leads. The maximum stress obtained after analyzing the electromagnetic suspension is 130.307 N/mm.2


The influences of natural forcings (i.e. solar radiation and volcanic aerosol) and anthropogenic forcings (i.e. greenhouse gases) on the tropical Pacific zonal sea‐surface temperature (SST) gradient are investigated through numerical sensitivity experiments, forced by natural forcing, anthropogenic forcing, or full forcing (both natural and anthropogenic forcing) using the Community Earth System Model (CESM) over the past two millennia. Under full forcing, during the present warming period (PWP; 1901–1999), the Pacific SST shows a larger warming over the tropical Pacific region than the subtropical Pacific region. This pattern is composed of an El Niño‐like SST gradient (due to the greenhouse gas forcing) and a La Niña‐like SST gradient (due to natural forcing). Two sensitivity experiments, the PWP under greenhouse gas forcing and the medieval warming period (MWP; 751–1250) under natural forcing, were used to examine the mechanisms. The results showed that under the greenhouse gas forcing, the larger warming over the eastern tropical Pacific is induced by an increased surface net heat flux, which is mainly caused by short‐wave radiation and long‐wave radiation. Under natural forcing, a larger warming is induced over the western tropical Pacific by changes in the ocean vertical heat transportation, caused by surface wind anomalies.


Energy use is a key issue in battery-operated mobile devices. In order to extend battery life, mobiles showing video often allow a controlled drop in quality, which is tolerable when the shortcomings of a small screen are combined with the imperfections of visual perception. Both energy consumption and video quality are affected by the Reed-Solomon codes and interleaving levels used in 3G video broadcast services. We explore the effect of these elements of MAC-layer error control, and show how they can be manipulated to save energy while maintaining acceptable video quality through a controlled reduction in the number of parity symbols in the Reed-Solomon code and the level of interleaving.


This paper presents an easily-configurable robot audition system using the Histogram-based Recursive Level Estimation (HRLE) method. In order to achieve natural human-robot interaction, a robot should recognize human speeches even if there are some noises and reverberations. Since the precision of automatic speech recognizers (ASR) have been degraded by such interference, many systems applying speech enhancement processes have been reported. However, performance of most reported systems suffer from acoustical environmental changes. For example, an enhancement process optimized for steady-state noise, such as fan noise, yields low performance when the process is used for non-steady-state noises, such as background music. The primary reason is mismatches of parameters because the appropriate parameters change according to the acoustical environments. To solve this problem, we propose a robot audition system that optimizes parameters adaptively and automatically. Our system applies linear and non-linear enhancement sub-processes. For the linear sub-process, we used Geometric Source Separation with the Adaptive Step-size method (GSS-AS). This adjusts the parameters adaptively and does not have any manual parameters. For the non-linear sub-process, we applied a spectral subtraction-based enhancement method with the HRLE method that is newly introduced in this paper. Since HRLE controls the threshold level parameter implicitly based on the statistical characteristics of noise and speech levels, our system has high robustness against acoustical environmental changes. For robot audition systems, all processes should be performed in real-time. We also propose implementation techniques to make HRLE run in real-time and show the effectiveness. We evaluate performance of our system and compare it to conventional systems based on the Minima Controlled Recursive Average (MCRA) method and Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) method. The experimental results show that our system achieves better performance than the conventional systems.


Though chemical warfare agents (CWAs) have been banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention, the threat that such chemicals may be used, including their deliberate addition to food, remains. In such matrixes, CWAs may hydrolyze to phosphonic acids, which are good surrogate markers of CWA contamination. The method described here details the extraction of five CWA degradation products, including methylphosphonic acid (MPA), ethyl-MPA, isopropyl-MPA, cyclohexyl-MPA, and pinacolyl-MPA, from five different beverages by strata-X solid phase extraction cartridges. Samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) with multiple reaction monitoring. The limit of quantitation ranged from 0.05 to 0.5 ng on-column, and the limit of detection was >0.02 ng on-column. Beverages were fortified with the five phosphonic acids at 1 microg/mL and 0.25 microg/mL and quantitated using both an internally standardized method and matrix-matched standards. Reasonable recoveries (>50%) were achieved for ethyl, isopropyl, cyclohexyl, and pinacolyl-MPA for most matrixes.


A significant extent of world energy consumption is by creating nations. Today, electric energy has turned into a basic and fundamental piece of the improvement of technology.. Generation and consumption of electrical energy, which encourages human life and builds work efficiency, are expanding each year. The artificial neural networks (ANNs) received attention in control applications due to the ability to produce complex dynamics, especially when they have feedback connections. The problem of finding the best parameter set for a network to solve a problem can be seen as a search and optimization problem In recent past, there are two widely used stochastic algorithms, genetic algorithms (GAs) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), applied to the problem of optimizing parameters of ANNs for the training of different research datasets.. ANN appears to be a decent indicator of electricity consumption.


In a computer controlled machine, software time delays are used to all full travel of actuated mechanisms before continuing the sequence. When the end of travel of the actuated member is constant and the time for full travel is predictable, the software time delay is cost effective and throughput efficient. If the time of full actuation is variable the time delay must be long enough to allow for the worst case. This results in throughput inefficiency. This situation can be improved by using a switch or other similar sensor at stroke's end. This eliminates the need for time delays, but adds cost to the apparatus, and possibly reduces reliability. If the end of the travel is variable, however, a switch or position sensor is not viable and a time delay which is long enough to account for the fullest travel may be necessary. The only alternative to the time delay in variable end-of-travel situations is an economical, reliable motion sensor. This paper focuses on the development of an integrated, economical motion sensor for the parts centering arms in the placement head of the 4621A Omniplace Surface Mounted Component Assembly System. The sensor is termed integrated because of it's streamlined incorporation with structures already present in the head and is economical due to this integral nature. In addition to these attributes, it is expected to be reliable and performance enhancing. The variable end-of-travel sensor is based on a 10,000 turn solenoid with a cylindrical magnet which moves in the air gap. The EME produced by this transducer is amplified and presented to an absolute value comparator circuit. The open collector output of the comparator circuit is compatible with a current sourcing optically isolated computer input. The computer program executes the next sequential event upon determining end-of-centering arm motion in either direction. Thus, whether centering a small part (with greater travel) or a large part (with smaller travel) the next event after centering occurs with no delay. The previous design employed a time delay which allowed for reliable centering of the smallest part. This paper details the transducer and signal conditioning circuit, the improvement to throughput efficiency, and the cost effective integration of these elements into the existing design.


List of contributors Introduction Roger C. Anderson, James S. Fralish, and Jerry M. Baskin Part I. Eastern/Southeastern Region: 1. Ecology and conservation of Florida scrub Eric S. Menges 2. Southeastern pine savannas William J. Platt 3. New Jersey pine plains: the 'true barrens' of the New Jersey pine barrens David J. Gibson, Robert A. Zampella and Andrew G. Windisch 4. Vegetation, flora, and plant physiological ecology of serpentine barrens of eastern North America R. Wayne Tyndall and James C. Hull 5. The mid-Appalachian shale barrens Suzanne H. Braunschweig, Eric T. Nilsen and Thomas F. Weiboldt 6. Eastern granite outcrops Donald J. Shure 7. High-elevation outcrops and barrens of the southern Appalachian mountains Susan K. Wiser and Peter S. White Part II. Central/Midwest Region: 8. Dry soil oak savanna in the Great Lakes region Susan Will-Wolf and Forest Stearns 9. Deep-soil savannas and barrens of the Midwestern United States Roger C. Anderson and Marlin L. Bowles 10. Open woodland communities of southern Illinois, western Kentucky and middle Tennessee James S. Fralish, Scott B. Franklin and David D. Close 11. The big barrens region of Kentucky and Tennessee Jerry M. Baskin, Carol C. Baskin and Edward W. Chester 12. Cedar glades of southeastern United States Jerry M. Baskin and Carol C. Baskin 13. Savanna, barrens and glade communities of the Ozark Plateaus Province Alice Long Heikens 14. The cross timbers B. W. Hoagland, I. H. Butler, F. L. Johnson and S. Glenn Part III. Western/Southwestern Region: 15. Ponderosa and limber pine woodlands Dennis H. Knight 16. The sand shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) communities of the Llano Estacado: history, structure, ecology and restoration Shivcharn S. Dhillion and Michelle H. Mills 17. Oak savanna in the American Southwest Mitchel P. McClaran and Guy R. McPherson 18. Juniper-Pinon savannas and woodlands of western North America Neil E. West 19. Serpentine barrens of western North America A. R. Kruckeburg 20. California oak savanna Barbara Allen-Diaz, James W. Bartolome and Mitchell P. McClaran Part IV. Northern Region: 21. Jack pine barrens of the northern Great Lakes region Kurt S. Pregitzer and Sari C. Sanders 22. The cliff ecosystem of the Niagara escarpment D. W. Larson, U. Mattes-Sears and P. E. Kelley 23. Alvars of the Great Lakes region Paul M. Catling and Vivian R. Brownell 24. The flora and ecology of southern Ontario granite barrens Paul M. Catling and Vivian R. Brownell 25. The aspen parkland of Canada O. W. Archibold 26. Subarctic lichen woodlands E. A. Johnson and K. Miyanishi Index of plants Index of animals Topic index.


During safety assessments of transport packages, cumulative damages are naturally accumulated for assessments performed using physical tests specimens. However, the cumulative damages are not as easily accounted when assessments are by numerical simulations. While analysts are comfortable with simulating packages for single events, it is not yet common practice to incorporate the effect handed over from a former event to the next, in a series of sequential load events. Thus, many numerical simulations in SAR (Safety Analysis Report) represent just a single event in the series of sequential event comprising the required accident condition. These single event numerical simulations are then based on initial conditions different from the analogous physical test specimen, which could contribute to a growing disparity in results between assessments by physically testing compared to numerical simulation. The reason why analyses do not consider the cumulative damage is difficulties in delivering the final result of the previous analysis to the current analysis.The hypothetical accident conditions described in the IAEA regulations include drop, puncture, fire, and water immersion conditions, which should be sequentially simulated. There can be cumulative damage between two accident conditions, such as drop and puncture, puncture and fire, and so forth. In this study, as the first step to consider cumulative damage, an analysis technology to perform a puncture analysis incorporating the final response field from a prior drop analysis is proposed. The necessity and validity of the proposed analysis technology are evaluated by a comparison with the results obtained by performing each analysis independently.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


Stacking fault energy (SFE) is considered an important parameter to predict the prevalent plastic deformation mechanism in face-centered cubic (fcc) alloys. Experimental methods for determining SFE presuppose that SFE is positive. Density functional theory (DFT) is a promising tool to predict alloy compositions with low SFEs and desirable mechanical properties. For metastable fcc alloys, DFT predicts negative SFE values, which cannot be validated by the existing experimental procedures. In this contribution, it is demonstrated that experimental procedures to assess SFE values only provide an apparent value that needs correction. The suggested correction relies on the critical resolved shear stress for twinning, which is grain size-dependent, just like the apparent SFE. The correction provides SFE values that are independent of grain size. Accordingly, negative SFEs predicted by DFT can be experimentally validated.


A valid method for trace silver (Ag) detection in geological samples was developed in this study using aerosol dilution inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry after extraction with inverse aqua regia. This was proposed primarily to reduce the interference from Nb and Zr during mass spectrometric measurements. Almost 93% of Nb and Zr was removed after the extraction. By mixing an appropriate amount of Ar with the sample aerosol using an aerosol dilution system prior to plasma, the residual Nb oxides and Zr oxides or hydroxides could be successfully removed. The relative yields of the interfering oxides and hydroxides were as low as 0.087% (NbO/Nb) and 0.013% (ZrOH/Zr), which were 3–5 times lower than those in the traditional mode without the addition of Ar. Moreover, the signal-to-noise ratio of Ag was five times higher than that in the traditional mode. The proposed method was applied to the determination of Ag in 68 standard reference materials (SRMs) of soil, sediment, and rock. The results for 47 of these geological SRMs were in good agreement with the reference values. The Ag levels in three SRMs (GSP-2 Granodiorite, STM-2, and SGR-1b) are being reported for the first time herein. For these SRMs, 10 separate aliquots of the sample were digested and analyzed over a period of three months, and analysis revealed that the determined values were reasonable. Thus, the proposed method shows significant potential for the accurate determination of trace Ag in various geological samples.


The 2-phenylaminopyrimidine derivative imatinib-mesylate, a powerful protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitor that targets abl, c-kit, and the platelet-derived growth factor receptors, is rapidly gaining a relevant role in the treatment of several types of neoplasms. Because first generation PTK inhibitors affect the activity of a large number of voltage-dependent ion channels, the present study explored the possibility that imatinib-mesylate could interfere with the activity of T-type channels, a class of voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels that take part in the chain of events elicited by PTK activation. The effect of the drug on T-type channel activity was examined using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique with Ba2+ (10 mM) as the permeant ion in human embryonic kidney-293 cells, stably expressing the rat CaV3.3 channels. Imatinib-mesylate concentrations, ranging from 30 to 300 μM, reversibly decreased CaV3.3 current amplitude with an IC50 value of 56.9 μM. By contrast, when imatinib-mesylate (500 μM) was intracellularly dialyzed with the pipette solution, no reduction in Ba2+ current density was observed. The 2-phenylaminopyrimidine derivative modified neither the voltage dependence of activation nor the steady-state inactivation of CaV3.3 channels. The decrease in extracellular Ba2+ concentration from 10 to 2 mM and the substitution of Ca2+ for Ba2+ increased the extent of 30 μM imatinib-mesylate-induced percentage of channel blockade from 25.9 ± 2.4 to 36.3 ± 0.9% in 2 mM Ba2+ and 44.2 ± 2.3% in 2 mM Ca2+. In conclusion, imatinib-mesylate blocked the cloned CaV3.3 channels by a PTK-independent mechanism. Specifically, the drug did not affect the activation or the inactivation of the channel but interfered with the ion permeation process.


In this paper, we propose a Riemannian version of the difference of convex algorithm (DCA) to solve a minimization problem involving the difference of convex (DC) function. We establish the equivalence between the classical and simplified Riemannian versions of the DCA. We also prove that, under mild assumptions, the Riemannian version of the DCA is well-defined, and every cluster point of the sequence generated by the proposed method, if any, is a critical point of the objective DC function. Additionally, we establish some duality relations between the DC problem and its dual. To illustrate the effectiveness of the algorithm, we present some numerical experiments.


The advent of Internet has brought down geographical distances but proportionally increased the digital geographical distances with masses of data and information that demands more than a mind to comprehend. Every digital megabyte is a mile of physical distance. Getting the wrong information is like taking a wrong turn. It wastes time, energy, productivity and money. This growth has led to the demanding needs of effectively using Digital Geography. Intelligent agents can play a role in ensuring this doesn't happen. They are pieces of software focused on organizing and getting the best out of our digital geography. They will become extensions of our will, aiding in the fulfillment of our needs and wants. They will venture into the digital wilderness and bring back to us the list of options we demand. This paper focuses on developing an intelligent agent DIGIGEO that have been applied to tourism industry, especially in the Indian Railways and discusses on how it deals with the limitation of handling time delay of searching information in the tourism sector and dealing with the problem of online ticket booking. A model of the Agent has been proposed along with deployment and a performance evaluation result has been added to highlight on the effectiveness of the system. This paper also gives a brief introduction to intelligent agents and electronic commerce, followed by a review of agent technologies involved in buying and selling and the methodologies to endorse future digital geography with intelligent agents.


This work explores an analysis and interpretation of the prose poem Marmur [Marble] by Jan Kasprowicz, from the volume O bohaterskim koniu i walącym się domu [On the brave horse and the crumbling house] (1906). The analysis focuses on the experiences of the main character (who is alsothe narrator) who first experiences a chance meeting with a pensioner, a supporter of social harmony, and then has a vision of fauns playing around the figure of St Genevieve. The article proposes two interpretations. First: man, irrespective of his views, usually surrenders to his inbred nature, biology, which is represented by the playing fauns. The second interpretation indicates the fauns' behaviour as a separate solution that invades between the conservative attitudes of the pensioner and the support of the main character for social transformations. It represents an affirmation of a full and joyful life as well as acceptance of variability as a permanent component of history and human fate.


Next generation high data rate applications such as High-Definition (HD) video transmission place a heavy load on wireless network resources. To achieve the strict quality of service requirements of HD video in a multi-user network requires efficient resource allocation. Rate-distortion theory provides an appropriate basis for this. The Nash Bargaining Solution (NBS) is proven to generate an optimal solution to a rate-distortion based convex resource allocation problem. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is a meta-heuristic optimizer capable of generating near-optimal solutions. PSO, however, is not constrained to convex optimization problems. The motivation of this work is to demonstrate a PSO implementation capable of achieving an optimal solution to the resource allocation problem. The capability of the PSO approach to reach an optimal solution suggests its potential for resource allocation in a network of heterogeneous applications where convex optimization methods do not apply.


Big data, combined with machine learning and artificial intelligence, is expected to increase the bulk of personal data in the hands of private and public entities, presenting a unique challenge to policymakers. Therefore, the question of how to incentivise firms to protect personal information is more relevant today than ever before. This study attempts to associate privacy breach announcements with the drop in share price using an event study. The results show that firms suffer a significant and immediate share price depreciation over a short window, and this is sustained over the entire forecast window after the event. Furthermore, this effect is greater when a larger number of customers are affected and the information exposed is financially sensitive. This represents a departure from previous studies, which found only a mild negative and temporary market reaction following a breach. These findings, using data from 2014-2018, will encourage policymakers to consider strict disclosure policies, thereby encouraging firms to invest in best data security practices.


An open question in stroke rehabilitation is, if and how chronic patients can still make improvements after they reached a plateau in motor recovery. Previous research has shown that Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) might be effective in treating hemiparesis and supporting functional improvements in chronic patients, but that it might also be associated with higher costs in terms of demand, resources and inconvenience for the patient. Here, we offer a new therapeutic approach that combines CIMT with a positive reinforcement component. We suggest that this new therapy, called Reinforcement-Induced Movement Therapy (RIMT), might be similarly effective as CIMT and could be suitable for a broader population of chronic stroke patients. We first implemented a computational model to study the potential outcome of different CIMT and RIMT therapy combinations. Then we present the results of an ongoing clinical trial that supports predictions from the model. We conclude that an optimally combined CIMT and RIMT therapy might propose a novel and powerful rehabilitation approach, addressing the specific needs of chronic stroke patients.


This study aimed to clarify factors promoting the discharge of very elderly patients with proximal femoral fractures to home. The following items were examined, involving patients with proximal femoral fractures aged 85 or over on the post-acute rehabilitation ward of a hospital: the age, sex, height, weight, surgical procedure, motor/ cognitive-FIM and MMSE scores, hand grip strength, and family structure. Logistic regression analysis was performed, with the patients divided into home and non-home groups based on their discharge destinations. Through analysis, the motor-FIM score and family structure were extracted as independent factors related to the discharge destination. Therefore, to promote the discharge of very old patients with proximal femoral fractures to home, importance should be attached to approaches to increase their levels of ADL independence and improve environmental arrangements, such as housing repair and assistive technology use. It may also be important to focus on the presence/absence of other family members living with them.


Hypertension is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality, which could be lowered by reducing dietary sodium. The potential health impact of a product reformulation in the Netherlands was modelled, selecting packaged soups containing on average 25% less sodium as an example of an achievable product reformulation when implemented gradually. First, the blood pressure lowering resulting from sodium intake reduction was modelled. Second, the predicted blood pressure lowering was translated into potentially preventable incidence and mortality cases from stroke, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), angina pectoris, and heart failure (HF) implementing one year salt reduction. Finally, the potentially preventable subsequent lifetime Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) were calculated. The sodium reduction in soups might potentially reduce the incidence and mortality of stroke by approximately 0.5%, AMI and angina by 0.3%, and HF by 0.2%. The related burden of disease could be reduced by approximately 800 lifetime DALYs. This modelling approach can be used to provide insight into the potential public health impact of sodium reduction in specific food products. The data demonstrate that an achievable food product reformulation to reduce sodium can potentially benefit public health, albeit modest. When implemented across multiple product categories and countries, a significant health impact could be achieved.


Theory and empirical research suggest that psychopathy may be disaggregated into primary and secondary variants. In practice, individuals with high scores on psychopathy measures are treated as a homogenous group. In this study, interviewers recruited 355 incarcerated youth to assess potential differences in trauma history, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and dissociative symptoms among high-anxious (secondary) and low-anxious (primary) variants of psychopathy. Results indicate that youth with secondary psychopathy report a greater history of traumatic experiences and past PTSD symptoms—but not dissociative symptoms—than primary variants. These results suggest that youth with high scores on measures of psychopathy are a heterogeneous group, necessitating nuanced assessment and treatment practices.


Background and Aims
Extracranial vertebral artery aneurysms are a rare cause of embolic stroke; various surgical and endovascular treatment options are available.

Methods
We report a 44-year-old man with a symptomatic proximal extracranial vertebral artery aneurysm of unclear etiology. The patient presented with brainstem infarction, and the diagnosis of primary extracranial vertebral artery aneurysm was made by computed tomography angiography (CTA).

Results
This patient's aneurysm was definitively treated using an endovascular approach with placement of a covered stent in the right proximal vertebral artery.

Conclusion
Although aneurysms of this location are traditionally repaired with open aneurysmectomy, we show that endovascular treatment can be a safe and effective alternative approach. In the case reported here, primary extracranial vertebral artery aneurysm presenting with embolic stroke was successfully treated with a covered stent. Complete exclusion of the aneurysm from blood circulation is advisable to achieve full resolution of the embolic source.


The rise of the low carbon consumer city / Matthew J. Holian & Matthew E. Kahn. NBER, January 2013 (Working Paper No. 18735) http://www.nber.org/papers/w18735.pdf Urban density both facilitates consumption opportunities and encourages individuals to drive less and walk and use public transit more. Using several data sets, we document that high quality of life consumer center cities are low carbon cities. We discuss possible causal channels for this association.


The interaction of rocket-triggered lightning with an airport runway lighting system has been studied. The lighting system included a buried counterpoise with attached vertical ground rods for protection of the series lighting cable from lightning. Experimental data for voltages and currents at various locations in the runway lighting system due to direct lightning strikes are presented along with the causative lightning current. The data include the first measurements of the responses of an underground bare conductor (counterpoise) to direct lightning strikes. These measurements can serve as ground truth for the testing of the validity of various counterpoise models.


e"> The CeMnO2 supports were prepared via co-precipitation method by ammonia as precipitating agent. The CuO/CeO2 and CuO/Ce(1-x)MnxO2 (x=0.1, 0.3 and 0.5) catalysts were synthesized by wet impregnation method. The physicochemical properties of the prepared CuO/Ce(1-x)MnxO2 catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and programmed H2 temperature reduction (H2-TPR). The effects of Cu and Mn loading were investigated on the catalytic performance. The findings illustrated that the 7% CuO/Ce0.9Mn0.1O2 catalyst shows high activity for CO-PrOx. The high activity of 7% CuO/Ce0.9Mn0.1O2 catalyst was ascribed to high surface area of the support, synergetic effects of CuO and CeO2 and increases of the mobility of lattice oxygen in ceria by addition of MnO2. The effects of presence of H2O in the reaction feed stream, oxygen to CO ratio (λ) and gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) on the catalytic activity of 7% CuO/Ce0.9Mn0.1O2 were evaluated. It was found that the best performance of 7% CuO/Ce0.9Mn0.1O2 catalyst was obtained at λ=2, GHSV=20000 h-1 and in addition, the presence of H2O had negative effects on the activity of the catalyst. In the long term stability test, nearly 100% CO conversion was maintained for 50 h at 120°C with 70-80% CO2 selectivity.


We show that recent experimental data and ab initio calculations agree on the charge state as a function of the Fermi energy of the dominant species for diffusion of self-interstitials , , and 0 and boron atoms in silicon. By mapping the experimental data onto the activation energy versus Fermi-level representation commonly used to display ab initio results, we can show that the experimental results are consistent with each other. While theoretical values for the boron activation energy as a function of the Fermi level agree well with experiment, values for self-interstitials are low, despite using total-energy corrections. © 2008 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2936081


In this paper, an effective and robust cipher scheme is proposed to cater for the resource-constrained nature of IoT devices. The proposed cipher scheme is a combination of static and dynamic cryptographic structures, towards ensuring better resistance and resilience against existing security attacks. More precisely, the proposed solution is designed to be a lightweight cipher scheme, iterating a round function just twice, along with a dynamic key-dependent block permutation. The proposed round function satisfies the required confusion and diffusion properties, and consequently, it guarantees the desired cryptographic aspects such as message and key avalanche effects. Finally, the security and performance tests confirm the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed cipher solution in terms of security level, the associated delay and required resources.


HIV and AIDS has had a devastating social and economic impact in Africa. The continent is losing a lot of resources in form of reduced work productivity, absenteeism from work, deaths and funeral expenses, replacements and training of new personnel. The situation regarding the disabled and HIV and AIDS in Africa is in need of more attention because they are more susceptible to contracting HIV and AIDS compared to their nondisabled peers. Many programmes and campaigns to create awareness on how to prevent, manage and live positively with HIV and AIDS have been set up in Kenya by the government, international agencies, nongovernmental organizations, faith-based organizations and community based organizations. These programmes and campaigns however are rarely made accessible to the visually impaired persons for instance, information is not provided in accessible formats like Braille and large print, and they have limited or no knowledge of how to live with HIV and AIDS or how to care for others with the disease. It is also evident that there are cases of illiteracy among visually impaired persons particularly in rural settings. Lack of skills is also an impediment to health practitioners in providing HIV and AIDS services to the visually impaired. As a result, support services are not modified to suit the needs of the visually impaired. Additionally, the infected persons receive little support from the community due to social stigmatization thus accelerating their immunity deficiency. In some circumstances, the vulnerability of the visually impaired persons to HIV is exacerbated by traditional beliefs and myths which presume visually impaired persons to be at no risk of contracting HIV and as a result they are excluded from voluntary counseling, testing and treatment facilities. This paper therefore seeks to address the plight of the visually impaired persons in accessing and utilizing HIV and AIDS services in Kenya. Based on these challenges, recommendations will be made on the ways and means of making these services more accessible to the visually impaired persons. As a result, it is expected that this will increase the degree of utilization of the available HIV and AIDS services by the visually impaired persons with the intent of eradicating the HIV and AIDS scourge in Africa and Kenya in particular.


BACKGROUND
Chloroquine is effective against the asexual blood stage of Plasmodium vivax. A high proportion of children are underdosed with the drug, but there are no studies comparing chloroquine exposure in adults and children aged 8-11 years old. The present study intends to compare these populations using the area under the curve (AUC) derived from the plasma concentration-time profile in patients with P. vivax.

METHODS
A prospective study of cases was performed on male children (aged 9-11 years) and adults with vivax malaria. Blood samples were collected after several days of treatment. Chloroquine was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. A non-compartmental pharmacokinetic model was used to calculate the pharmacokinetic parameters of the drug.

RESULTS
A total of 20 children and 25 adults were included in the study. Plasma concentrations of chloroquine in older children ranged from 67 to 1112 ng/ml, and in adults the value ranged from 74 to 1147 ng/ml. The AUC to the last measurable concentration and to infinite was significantly lower in children than in adults, indicating a lower exposure to the drug.

CONCLUSION
These data demonstrate lower exposure to chloroquine in children, which corroborates the importance of optimising the doses of chloroquine in the study age band to ensure adequate exposure to the drug.


Kaolin clay of known cation exchange capacity (CEC) was treated with cationic surfactant, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br) and used for batch adsorption studies of nitrate ion contaminant removal at pH 7.6 and 298K. The adsorbent dosage best for adsorption was found to be 200gL. It has a maximum removal efficiency of 81.27%. The maximum sorption capacity from the Langmuir isotherm was found to be 0.7815 mg/g. The results indicated that the Frumkin and Langmuir isotherms with highest R values of 0.9929 and 0.9965 respectively provide the best correlation for the experimental data. The separation factor (RL) was within the range 0<RL<1 (0.0685-0.4131) and showed a highly favourable and acceptable adsorption. The Elovich model parameter α with a maximum value of 190.2997 mg.g.min showed that adsorption was by chemisorption. The best fit kinetics was found to be the pseudo-second order model with a correlation coefficient (R) ranging from 0.9551-0.9999. The energy of sorption was best described by the Temkin isotherm and values of heat of sorption ranging from -0.3743 to -5.1716 J/mol predicted exothermic process. The values of energy E (kJ/mol) from Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm model showed that the mechanism of sorption was both physisorption and chemisorption since the values of E ranged from 4.1381-50.00 kJ/mol. Keywords— HDTMA-Br, Isotherms, Kinetics, Nitrate ion, Organo-kaolinite clay, Sorption.


Notwithstanding the important roles of calcium and magnesium ions in plant growth and development,the use of fertilizers containing them is not yet a common agricultural practice in Cameroon. Such fertilizers were applied on the soil and leaves of three most cultivated varieties of tomato in the Western Highlands of Cameroon. The effects of these treatments on plant health, growth, development, and yield and fruit quality were determined. The combination of soil application of calcium nitrate and foliar sprays of fertilizer containing calcium (T1) led to significant reductions of the severity and incidence of Phytophthora infestans and Septoria lycopersici on leaves of Rio Grande and Rio de Grenier tomato plants seven days after the first foliar application (d.a.f.a) of liquid fertilizers. At the same time significant reductions in the incidence and severity of S. lycopersici were observed on leaves of Roma plants previously treated with a solution of the fertilizer containing magnesium (T2) or simultaneously treated with calcium and magnesium solutions (T3). Twenty-one d.a.f.a there were reductions in the severity of Alternaria solani on leaves of Rio Grande, Rio de Grenier and Roma plants that previously received T3. Applications of T3 also led to the reduction of the incidence and severity of Fulvia fulva on the leaves of both Rio Grande and Rio de Grenier 21 d.a.f.a. T3 was very effective in enhancing the growth in length and yield of Rio Grande and Rio de Grenier plants. The green-life of fruits produced by these two tomato varieties that received T1 was respectively 10 and 6 days longer than that of control fruits. T2 prolonged the shelf-life of fruits from those varieties by 4 and 12 days respectively. On the whole, Rio Grande and Rio de Grenier plant were the tomato varieties whose health, growth, development, yield and fruit quality parameters were the most positively affected by treatments with fertilizers containing calcium oder magnesium. Roma tomato plants were affected to a lesser extent by these treatments. These results could be interpreted in terms of a temporal shift in the resistance of tomato plants to P. infestans and S. lycopersici on the one hand and A. solani and F. fulva on the other hand and also in terms of similarities of responses of closely related tomato varieties to fertilizers. Keywords : Calcium, fungal diseases, green-life, magnesium, shelf-life, Solanum lycopersicum


PURPOSE
One of the basic principles of nephron sparing surgery for renal cell carcinoma is resection of the tumor with normal tissue margins verified by frozen section analysis. In cases of positive tumor margins the surgeon is committed to complete the local resection or to perform radical nephrectomy. In this study we retrospectively evaluated the yield of frozen section analysis performed during nephron sparing surgeries, especially concerning compatibility with the final histological report and the long-term oncological outcome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Between 1988 and 2003, 172 men and 129 women with a mean age of 59 years (range 16 to 83) underwent nephron sparing surgery due to suspected renal tumors. Mean tumor size was 3.56 cm (range 1 to 12.5). Frozen section analysis was routinely performed during surgery.

RESULTS
Positive tumor margins in frozen section analysis were found in 2 cases (0.7%). In both cases the tumor was centrally located. Those 2 patients underwent immediate radical nephrectomy but no residual tumor was subsequently found in the radical nephrectomy specimens. Paraffin sections disclosed positive tumor margins in 4 other cases (1.3%) in whom the frozen section analysis had shown tumor negative margins. Of the 4 patients 1 underwent radical nephrectomy for tumor recurrence after 9 months. The other 3 patients showed no evidence of disease recurrence after 26, 59 and 120 months of followup.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that frozen section analysis during nephron sparing surgery has minimal clinical significance and hence routine incorporation in urological practice should be reconsidered.


The purpose of this study is to evaluate and establish the
function of Civic Center. The method is analyzing the Cultural
statistic data to be the indicators of establishing it's function.
 And, as a case study of these, analyze the data of S-Civic
Center's management and utilization to examine the property of
the facility. Through both results of these two analysises provide
the indicators for planning the Civic Center.


The conversion of e-governance to e-government implies transformation of all government departments to electronic form and connecting each of it by networking. Thereafter information will be freely accessible and automatically exchangeable amongst the departments depending on their usage. Today- e- governance is limited to few departments, but there is strong need for it's to cover all the departments. There is likelihood that citizen's torture and corruption are if not completely removed then at least minimum required levels would be achieved. Thus, e-government is the medium of good governance. Available statistical information will accordingly be correct. Thus e-governance will disprove age old presumption about statistics that it is half true and half false.


Abstract Rain-induced landslides are major geotechnical hazards. The influence of infiltration under various rainfall, ground conditions on slope stability is still poorly understood. In this paper, a finite element parametric study was carried out to investigate the influence of different rainfall events and ground conditions on transient pore water distributions in unsaturated soils. A steep, unsaturated colluvium hillside in Hong Kong was chosen: the initial water table, rainfall intensity and rainfall duration were variables. Pore water pressures predicted during the transient seepage analyses were used as input groundwater conditions for subsequent limit equilibrium analyses of the stability of the slope. Shear strength variation due to the presence of matrix suction was also taken into account. It was found that the factor of safety not only depended on the intensity of rainfall and the initial groundwater table, but also on rainfall duration. A critical rainfall duration was identified, when the factor of safety was the lowest.


In this study, a numeric model for the prediction of ideal surface roughness in the rounded end mill was derived from the shape of the tool and feed per tooth. The model is compared with the well-known model of a ball and flat end mill. The ideal surface roughness was matched to the actual surface roughness by the linear equation, from which the empirical constant should be gathered from the test machining systems in the industry.


In this study, antimycobacterial and cytotoxic activities of ethyl acetate extracts of fungal isolates from Lake Magadi were evaluated. The extracts were tested against Mycobacterium madagascariense (MM) and M. indicus pranii (MIP) , and cytotoxicity against brine shrimp ( Artemia salina ) larvae. Fungal strains were identified using sequence comparison of the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region. Potent antimycobacterial activities against MM were exhibited by extracts from Volutella colletotrichoides , Helicoon richonis , Penicillium limosum , P. sacculum , Aspergillus parasiticus and A. nomius strains that exhibited minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) in the range of 0.19 – 12.5 mg/mL. On the other hand, significant antimycobacterial effects against MIP was shown by extracts from V. colletotrichoides , H. richonis , A. parasiticus , Fusarium merismoides , A. silvaticus and A. fumigatus strains in the same MIC range. Notable cytotoxic activities of the extracts were from A. versicolor , A. nomius , P. janthinellum and H. richonis strains with LC 50 values ranging from 46.60 – 98.12 μg/mL. These results indicate that fungi inhabiting Lake Magadi have the ability to produce bioactive metabolites that could be further explored for potential medicinal agents. © 2017 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved. Keywords: Antimycobacterial, cytotoxic, Artemia salina , Mycobacterium madagascariense , Mycobacterium indicus pranii


In order to remain competitive, more and more companies are realizing the importance of innovation. Innovation is instrumental for business growth as well as attracting and retaining employees as half of employees would leave a satisfactory job if it did not meet their expectations concerning innovation. HR can assist by creating an innovative culture where innovation is supported by top leadership, employees are empowered to innovate and risk taking is supported by management. This is critical for organizational growth as innovation is rated as the second most critical long term challenge to drive business growth.


A spoken document retrieval (SDR) method for oral presentations is addressed. We propose an integration method of global information and local information based on a topic hierarchy of presentations. Specifically, for detecting a part of an oral presentation about one to two minutes (local document), we integrate similarities between a given query and longer units (global documents), for example a whole presentation, into a similarity between the given query and a local document contained in the global documents. For a short speech segment retrieval task from 604-hours presentation speech, we confirmed a statistical improvement of information retrieval performance.


Therapeutic biliary and pancreatic endoscopy has evolved over the last 30 years to a level where it represents the primarily mode of therapy for many frequently encountered diseases of the bile ducts liver and pancreas. The complication rates are expected to be low and the expectations of our colleagues are high. The endoscopist is expected to understand the origin and natural history of these diseases and the consequences of the various management options. The training of the endoscopist has taken on a very formal character, as has the emphasis on competency and quality improvement. The appearance of minimally invasive surgery and advanced imaging does not represent a threat to the biliary endoscopist but rather is complimentary and assists us so that unnecessary potentially morbid procedures are not done unnecessarily. The appearance of a new specialty: the minimally invasive biliary interventionalist, who would receive training by gastroenterologists, interventional radiologist and biliary-pancreatic surgeons, is the logical next step!


The process of germinated brown rice 3 in1 supplement into Kalamae dessert with Latte flavor" aims at studying the 3 different proportions of the germinated brown rice; 5%, 10% and 15% and Latte flavor; 10%, 20% and 30% added into Kalamae dessert. The experiment follows the Randomized complete Block design (RCBD) principle. The quality of senses; color, smell, criteria taste, texture and overall appreciation were evaluated and given up to 9point hedonic scale by 30 experimenters. The average was computed and the variance was analyzed by ANOVA at the 0.05 confidence intervals and the difference of averages were examined by Duncan' new multiple test through the prefabricated program. The results reveal that a supplement of 5% of germinated brown rice 3 in1 supplement into Kalamae dessert was accepted by the tastes with average scores of odor, criteria taste and overall appreciation being 7.62, 7.72 and 7.85, respectively. For a supplement of 10% of germinated brown rice, the color and texture of the products were approved with a score of 7.89 and 7.70. Analysis of variance and compared differences are statistically at 0.05. As for the evaluation of additional latte favor, the outcome demonstrates that 30% of Latte favor was the most satisfying to examiners with average scores of color, odor, criteria taste and overall appreciation which accounted for 7.83, 7.75, 7.70, 7.85 and 7.92 respectively, and only analysis of variance and compared difference of color and smell are statistically at 0.05.


We present the first record of the family Histeridae in late Pleistocene deposits in Chilean Northwestern Patagonia, based on fossil of a single elytron, registered at the Pilauco archaeo-paleontological site in Los Lagos Chilean region. We describe the fossil remain and discuss the paleoecology of the fossil related to the climate, fauna, and early human occupation context of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition.


High-resolution, air-gun seismic reflection profiles from the northern Straits of Florida (water depths < 800 m) have revealed the presence of large (up to 3,000 sq km) carbonate sediment drifts off the northwest corners of both Little Bahama and Great Bahama Banks. These drifts are hemiconical bodies of carbonate sands up to 600 m thick that have prograded north in response to an intensification of the Florida Current since the middle Miocene. Deposition of the sediment drifts occurred along the Bahama Banks on the lee side of the present oceanic circulation pattern, where there appears to be a convergence of bottom currents having velocities of up to 60 cm/sec. However, depositional rates may have been episodic, with the greatest rates correlating with intensified ci culation patterns during glacial events. Because of widespread submarine cementation, piston coring of these sediment drifts was difficult. Most cores contained less than 1 m of sand and angular rock fragments, suggesting that a thin veneer of sand overlays hardgrounds. In one 5-m-long core, granule-size material constitutes up to 40% of the total sediment (average of 3.9%), sands 50 to 80% (average of 60.4%), silts 5 to 35% (average of 25.0%), and clays 5 to 20% (average of 10.7%). Mean grain size ranges from 0.0 to 3.0 ^phgr (coarse to fine sand) and the sediments are moderately to poorly sorted. The granules are mostly submarine-lithified intraclasts; the fine sands are mostly planktonic Foraminifera; and the coarser sands consist of pteropods and shallow-water material such as Halimeda, peneropolid Foraminifera, fragment of coralline algae, ooids, or micritized mollusk debris. Off-bank sediment transport along the west side of the Bahama Banks and subsequent along-slope transport by the Florida Current appear responsible for the supply of bank-derived sediment to the drifts. Rocks recovered by dredging and in-situ sampling from submersibles are mostly grain-supported biomicrites, biomicrudites, and intramicrudites cemented by submicrocrystalline, amorphous to peloidal high-Mg calcite. Preliminary bulk-rock C14 dates suggest a late Pleistocene or older age. Porosities of up to 40% are common within these rocks, consisting of both primary intergranular and intragranular pores and secondary macroborings and microborings produced by endolithic organisms. In the rock record, sandy sediment drifts formed at relatively shallow depths (< ~ 1 km) by strong bottom currents associated with wind-driven surface currents may be attractive hydrocarbon reservoirs. In contrast, sediment drifts formed at abyssal depths (3 to 5 km) by relatively sluggish thermohaline bottom currents would probably contain too much impermeable muddy sediment to be potential reservoirs.


We consider a fully-implicit formulation for two-phase flow in a porous medium with capillarity, gravity, and compressibility in three dimensions. The method is implicit in time and uses the multiscale mortar mixed finite element method for spatial discretization in a non-overlapping domain decomposition context. The interface conditions between subdomains are enforced in terms of Lagrange multiplier variables defined on a mortar space. There are two novelties in our approach: first, we linearize the coupled system of subdomain and mortar variables simultaneously to form a global Jacobian and eliminate variables by taking Schur complements; and second, we adapt a two-stage preconditioning strategy to solve the resulting formulation. The new formulation exploits the local invertibility of mortar block matrices to obtain a system with subdomain variables as unknowns. The two-stage preconditioner uses the Householder transformation to decouple the pressure and saturation variables for each grid block. This allows the elliptic equation for the pressure and hyperbolic equation for the saturation to be solved in a decoupled manner. The algorithm is fully parallel and numerical tests show the low computational costs of eliminating the mortar variables to obtain the final Jacobian matrices. We have demonstrated parallel scalability using our two-stage preconditioner on large-scale heterogeneous two-phase reservoir simulation problems with over 10 million elements and over 1000 processors.


In order to provide a high-resolution underwater-ranging capability for scientific measurement, a commercially available optical-ranging system is analyzed for performance and feasibility. The system employs a structured-lighting technique using a laser-light plane and single-camera imaging system. The mechanics of determining range with such a system are presented along with predicted range error. Controlled testing of the system is performed and range error is empirically determined. The system is employed in a deep-sea application, and its performance is evaluated. The measurements obtained are used for a scientific application to determine seafloor roughness for very-high-spatial frequencies (greater than 10 cycles/meter). Use and application recommendations for the system are presented. Thesis Supervisor: W. Kenneth Stewart, Jr. D Woods I lole Oceanographic Institution


Random time delay and frequency data dropout can degrade the performance of networked control systems and even cause system instability. Liu et al. (2004) introduced a networked model based predictive control scheme to tackle this problem. In his method, a set of control sequences for every possible delay time are packed together and sent to the plant side, and on the plant side the relevant control signal corresponding to the measured time delay is selected. It is an effective method to compensate for the network delay. However, it raises a new problem that it would increase the network traffic, because a sequence requires more transmitting time than a single value. To solve this problem, this paper consider a least square method which is applied to compress the control sequence before it is send to the network.feedback control system


The advent of space-based photometry provides the opportunity for the first precise characterizations of variability in mercury-manganese (HgMn/CP3) stars, which might advance our understanding of their internal structure. We have carried out a spectroscopic and photometric investigation of the candidate CP3 star KIC 6128830. A detailed abundance analysis based on newly acquired high-resolution spectra was performed, which confirms that the star's abundance pattern is fully consistent with its proposed classification. Photometric variability was investigated using 4 yr of archival Kepler data. In agreement with results from the literature, we have identified a single significant and independent frequency f(1) = 0.2065424 d(-1) with a peak-to-peak amplitude of similar to 3.4 mmag and harmonic frequencies up to 5f(1). Drawing on the predictions of state-of-the-art pulsation models and information on evolutionary status, we discuss the origin of the observed light changes. Our calculations predict the occurrence of g-mode pulsations at the observed variability frequency. On the other hand, the strictly mono-periodic nature of the variability strongly suggests a rotational origin. While we prefer the rotational explanation, the present data leave some uncertainty.


Serine proteases are well known as enzymes involved in digestion of dietary proteins, blood coagulation, and homeostasis. Only recent groundbreaking studies revealed a novel role of serine proteases as signaling molecules acting via protease‐activated receptors (PARs). Important effects of PAR activation on leukocyte motility, cytokine production, adhesion molecule expression, and a variety of other physiological or pathophysiological functions have been described in vitro and in vivo. The crucial role of PAR activation during disease progression was revealed in animal models of different gastrointestinal pathologies, neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative processes, skin, joint and airway inflammation, or allergic responses. This review focuses on the findings related to the impact of PAR deficiency in animal models of inflammatory and allergic diseases. Additionally, we observe the role of PAR activation in the regulation of functional responses of innate and adaptive immune cells in vitro. Understanding the mechanisms by which PARs exert the effects of serine proteases on immune cells may lead to new therapeutic strategies in inflammation, immune defense, and allergy.


An exhibit commemorating the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 in 1942, and efforts at redress in the decades that followed


Sustainable and ecosystem-based marine spatial planning is a priority of Pacific Island countries basing their economy on marine resources. The urgency of management coral reef systems and associated coastal environments, threatened by the effects of climate change, require a detailed habitat mapping of the present status and a future monitoring of changes over time. Here, we present a remote sensing study using free available Sentinel-2 imagery for mapping at large scale the most sensible and high value habitats (corals, seagrasses, mangroves) of Palau Republic (Micronesia, Pacific Ocean), carried out without any sea truth validation. Remote sensing 'supervised' and 'unsupervised' classification methods applied to 2017 Sentinel-2 imagery with 10 m resolution together with comparisons with free ancillary data on web platform and available scientific literature were used to map mangrove, coral, and seagrass communities in the Palau Archipelago. This paper addresses the challenge of multispectral benthic mapping estimation using commercial software for preprocessing steps (ERDAS ATCOR) and for benthic classification (ENVI) on the base of satellite image analysis. The accuracy of the methods was tested comparing results with reference NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA) habitat maps achieved through Ikonos and Quickbird imagery interpretation and sea-truth validations. Results showed how the proposed approach allowed an overall good classification of marine habitats, namely a good concordance of mangroves cover around Palau Archipelago with previous literature and a good identification of coastal habitats in two sites (barrier reef and coastal reef) with an accuracy of 39.8–56.8%, suitable for survey and monitoring of most sensible habitats in tropical remote islands.


In this paper we have investigated the accelerated ageing of seven different thin-film module types through the use of sequential damp heat (85C/85% RH) or damp heat tests with additional stress factors such as applied voltage or Ultraviolet light. The module types [a-Si, tandem a-Si/a-Si micro-morph a-Si/μ-Si, triple junction a-Si, CIS (x2) and CdTe] were selected to cover a range of thin-film devices, materials and construction types. Sequential damp heat tests for cumulative exposure times of 250, 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000h have been achieved to date, with the modules subjected to visual inspection, electrical insulation measurements and electrical performance measurements (IV curves). A wide range of performance losses (Pmax), from practically zero to -88%, were evident for the different technologies. The damp heat tests with applied voltage yielded very fast (<500h) degradation of some modules, with the construction of the module (glass) being more important than the thin film technology. Initial exposure, up to 500h, to a combined Ultraviolet light and damp heat test has yet to provoke any significant damage. Sequential damp heat exposure tests can be used to induce accelerated aging on thin-film modules. However, it is not possible to equate loss of power to a number of years of outdoor exposure due to the lack of knowledge of the acceleration factors for each PV module type.


In this study, quantum-chemically derived parameters are developed for a limited number of halogenated aromatic compounds to model the anaerobic reductive dehalogenation reaction rate constants of these compounds. It is shown that due to the heterogeneity of the set of compounds used, no single descriptor or combination of descriptors was able to adequately model the reaction under investigation. Thus subsets had to be created out of the group of compounds. For these subsets it is shown that the assumed reaction mechanism was correct as indicated by the relatively good correlations established between the reaction rate constants and descriptors that can be explained in terms of the reaction mechanism. The database of reaction rate constants for halogenated heterocyclic aromatic compounds was too small to enable the creation of subsets. Therefore no satisfying relationships could yet be obtained ; it may be anticipated that upon additional data becoming available, similar results will be obtained for these compounds as well.


Ornithine aminotransferase [EC 126.96.36.199] was purified and crystallized from human liver by a procedure involving heat treatment, chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose, Octyl-Sepharose CL-4B and Sephadex G-200, and crystallization. The purified enzyme appeared to be homogeneous on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with and without sodium dodecyl sulfate. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated as 44,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate electrophoresis and as 177,000 by sucrose density gradient centrifugation, indicating that the enzyme is tetrameric. Various properties of the enzyme from human liver are similar to those of the enzyme from rat liver, including its molecular weight, pH optimum, Km values for ornithine, alpha-ketoglutarate and pyridoxal phosphate and specificity for amino acceptor from ornithine. The amino acid compositions of the two enzymes also have certain similarities, but the enzymes differ in electrophoretic mobility and antigenicity: the human enzyme moved more slowly to the anode, and on immunodiffusion analysis, the single precipitin lines formed between anti-human enzyme serum or anti-rat liver enzyme and the enzyme from human liver or lymphoblastoid cells and the rat liver enzyme fused with spur formation.


We investigate constraints on power spectra of the primordial curvature and tensor perturbations with priors based on single-field slow-roll inflation models. The Hubble slow-roll parameters are included in cosmological parameters and the primordial power spectra are generated using the inflationary flow equations. Using data from recent observations of CMB and several measurements of geometrical distances in the late Universe, we perform Bayesian parameter estimation and model selection for models that have separate priors on the slow-roll parameters. The same analysis is also performed adopting the standard parameterization of the primordial power spectra. We confirmed that the scale-invariant Harrison-Zel'dovich spectrum is disfavored with more significance than previous studies. While current observations appear to be optimally modeled with some simple models of single-field slow-roll inflation, data is not enough constraining to distinguish these models.


Khan, Z., N. K. Gautam, B. H. Gawade, and S. C. Dubey. 2018. Evaluation of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) germplasm for the source of resistance to root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita. Nematropica 48:27-33. Screening experiments were conducted during 2013 to 2015 to assess the host status of 350 accessions of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) for resistance to Meloidogyne incognita. Based on the number of root galls induced by M. incognita among the tested accessions, six (EC0517140, EC0528391, EC0723686, EC0724523, EC0725122, and IC0253277) were resistant, and the rest were susceptible. The resistant accessions reduced root gall formation by 96-99% as compared to highly susceptible accession EC0724571. Nematode penetrations were also lower in roots of all resistant cowpea accessions compared to the susceptible accession EC0724571 (P<0.05). Similarly, egg-mass formation was retarded in the resistant accessions when observed 45 d after inoculation (P<0.05). These resistant accessions may be useful in plant breeding programs to develop nematode resistant cowpea cultivars.


Surgical defects located within 5 mm of the nasal alar margin are at risk for alar elevation or collapse of the external nasal valve during wound healing. To reduce the chance of such complications, free cartilage grafts may be used as part of the reconstruction. However, if the defect is large enough so that the free cartilage graft does not fill most of the defect, wound contraction can still lead to alar displacement. In these situations, skin may need to be recruited from either the forehead or cheek in the form of an interpolation flap to cover both the free cartilage graft and the residual cutaneous defect. Typically, such reconstructions require multiple procedures at separate time periods and pose prolonged wound care and an inconvenience to the patient. We describe a case of a 94-year-old male who desired an aesthetic reconstruction of a large nasal alar defect that required only a single operative visit. To simplify the repair into a one-stage procedure, a tunneled cheek interpolation flap was performed over a free cartilage graft. J Drugs Dermatol. 2017;16(3):288-290..


Strongly cemented or indurated sediments such as duricrusts exhibit certain properties that are similar to clastic sedimentary rocks. However, based on mode of formation, duricrusts cannot be classified as rock although their material properties bear a resemblance of rock. Consequently, excavation of this particular material in the field may lead to disputes between contractors and clients particularly pertaining to method of excavation and rate of payment for the excavation work. This paper discusses an initial study on duricrusts which emphasises on their mode of formation based on geological factors, and their material properties that are related to rippability. The initial study indicates that duricrusts can be classified according to their mode of formation and the types of cement matrix that are associated with their formation. In addition, duricrusts seem to exhibit similar properties as clastic sedimentary rocks consequently, ripping may be the suitable method for their excavation. A number of further assessments (laboratory and field tests) have been proposed for detailed verifications on the degree of rippability of these indurated sediments.


p-Aminohippurate (PAH) uptake by teased flounder renal tubules was concentrative, Na-dependent, dependent on aerobic metabolism and inhibited by competitor organic anions and ouabain. Dose-response data for ouabain inhibition of PAH transport and tubule Na,K-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity were identical. In ouabain-treated tubules, reductions in PAH uptake correlated with alterations in total tissue Na and K even though both were not affected during the first 5 to 10 min of ouabain exposure. No such delay was found with HgCl2 and, as with ouabain, reductions in transport correlated well with alterations in tissue Na and K. Tissue respiration data indicated that low concentrations of HgCl2 rapidly affected the Na,K-ATPase. With higher HgCl2 concentrations, intracellular metabolic sites appeared to be affected. Transport studies with ouabain-poisoned tubules and plasma membrane vesicles indicated that the energetically uncoupled PAH carrier(s) were affected by HgCl2, but carrier sensitivities to Hg were lower than for the Na,K-ATPase. The data indicate that HgCl2 inhibits PAH transport primarily by reducing ion gradients that drive PAH transport. Both inhibition of Na,K-ATPase and increases in membrane permeability to Na and K appear to be involved.


Previous research on gender effects in robots has largely ignored the role of facial cues. We fill this gap in the literature by experimentally investigating the effects of facial gender cues on stereotypical trait and application ascriptions to robots. As predicted, the short-haired male robot was perceived as more agentic than was the long-haired female robot, whereas the female robot was perceived as more communal than was the male counterpart. Analogously, stereotypically male tasks were perceived more suitable for the male robot, relative to the female robot, and vice versa. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that gender stereotypes, which typically bias social perceptions of humans, are even applied to robots. Implications for design-related decisions are discussed.


The seed-feeding bug Lygaeus equestris changes and extends its food plant spectrum during its life-cycle. Whether this is the result of only the natural succession of the food plants, or also includes a change in the insect's food preference during its life, was the primary question of the present paper. Feeding-choice tests using ripe seeds from important food plants in the laboratory showed that Cynanchum vincetoxicum seeds were preferred during all stages of life. Among the lesser preferred seeds tested, a shift in preference occurred during the bug's development. It seems probable that this shift may be due as much to the physical as to the chemical properties of the seeds. It is suggested that most of the other plant species exploited for feeding by L. equestris probably serve mainly as substitute food when suitable developmental stages of C. vincetoxicum are absent or in short supply. Furthermore the paper gives some notes on duration of feeding upon seeds and effects of seed coat at initiation of feeding on Cynanchum and Helianthus seeds. During the third larval instar, the preference switches from the endosperm to the seed coat for initiation of feeding on Cynanchum seeds, and so it remains during the following stages. On Helianthus seeds, only adult L. equestris feed as willingly through the coat as directly from the endosperm.


Abstract Context: Herbal medicines play a paramount role in the treatment of wide range of diseases, so there is a growing need for their quality control and standardization. Traditionally, histological and morphological inspections have been the usual methods to authenticate herbs intended for medicinal applications. Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. (Lamiaceae) is native to Africa Temperate Asia and Europe and it's cultivated in Egypt. Objective: The macro- and micromorphology of the flowers of M. suaveolens Ehrh. cultivated in Egypt were studied to find the diagnostic characters of this species. In addition, the chemical composition of the essential oil of the flowers was also studied to define the chemotype of the plant. Materials and methods: Photographs of macro- and micromorphology were taken using Casio and Leica DFC500 digital cameras, respectively. In addition, the essential oil was prepared by hydrodistillation followed by gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric (GC/MS) analysis for identification of its components. Results: The macro- and micromorphological characteristics of M. suaveolens were determined. The yield of the essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from M. suaveolens flowers was 1.7% calculated on dry weight basis. GC/MS analysis of the oil resulted in identification of 29 components, which amounted to 99.77% of the total oil composition. The major component was carvone (50.59%) followed by limonene (31.25%). Discussion and conclusion: The results obtained herein revealed for the macro, micromorphological and chemical composition characteristics of the flowers. The results of GC/MS analysis of the essential oil supported that M. suaveolens cultivated in Egypt could be categorized as carvone-rich chemotype since this compound pertained its high relative percentile.


This paper presents a novel means of introducing conductive pyrolyzed polymer structures into a muTAS platform. Insulation structures of polymer materials can be transformed into conductive structures through pyrolysis, and MEMS structures consisting of pyrolyzed polymer can be formed by a dual process of micromachining and pyrolysis. This work focuses on gate type sensing by a three-dimensional pyrolyzed polymer electrode. The three-dimensional SU-8 original structure was micromachined by multi-angle inclined lithography. Three-dimensional structures of pyrolyzed SU-8, which have meshes of 10 mum times 20 mum in dimension, could be obtained by pyrolysis in N2 atmosphere. Furthermore, the structures were integrated into the SU-8 fluidic channel with the 100 mum in height and 200 mum in width by a post-pyrolysis process. We will demonstrate the cross sectional sensing in electrochemical detection by making the best use of the three-dimensional mesh structure to overcome the restriction of planar electrode.


A new type of a wide-band microwave filter is described and named the reentrant directional filter, in which resonance occurs in the form of a traveling wave rather than in the conventional form of a standing wave. This device is the network, which has the constant input impedance and is manufactured as the directional coupler's free construction. An analysis of the reentrant directional filter shows it to have advantages in the case of wide-bands when compared to previously used directional filters. This filter finds application in multiplexers, as well as in matched bandpass (band-stop) filters by using planar multilayer transmission-line technology. Experimental results verify the theoretical approach.


In Generative Social Science, modellers design agents at the micro-level to generate at the macro-level a target social phenomenon. In the Inverse Generative Social Science (iGSS), from a target phenomenon, the goal is to search for possible explanatory model structures. This model discovery process is a promising tool to improve the explanatory capability and theory exploration of computational social science. This paper presents a framework for iGSS and applies Grammatical Evolution to an empirically-calibrated agent-based model of alcohol use. Results of the model discovery process find many alternative rules for agent behaviours with different trade-offs. Future work should involve domain experts to evaluate the discovered structures in terms of theoretical credibility and knowledge contribution.


In regression analysis, the response is often transformed to remove heteroscedasticity and/or skewness. When a model already exists for the untransformed response, then it can be preserved by applying the same transform to both the model and the response. This methodology, which we call "transform both sides," has been applied in several recent papers and appears highly useful in practice. When a parametric transformation family such as the power transformations is used, then the transformation can be estimated by maximum likelihood. The maximum likelihood estimator, however, is very sensitive to outliers. In this article, we propose diagnostics to indicate cases influential for the transformation or regression parameters. We also propose a robust bounded-influence estimator similar to the Krasker-Welsch regression estimator:


BACKGROUND
Despite significant advances in the prevention and management of Neisseria meningitidis infection, invasive meningococcal disease continues to occur with significant morbidity and mortality.

OBJECTIVE
This article aims to provide an overview of the aetiology, pathogenesis, transmission, epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of meningococcal disease.

DISCUSSION
Neisseria meningitidis is now the commonest cause of meningitis and is a significant cause of septicaemia, particularly in children and young adults. The initial diagnosis may be difficult but early recognition and treatment is essential. Transmission occurs during close contact and prophylaxis is important to prevent invasive disease in contacts. The conjugate meningococcal C vaccine has recently been funded for all children aged 1-19 years in Australia.


Neuroendocrine tumors are rarely seen in the breast. They are commonly located in the gastrointestinal tract and the lungs. These tumors of the breast may be purely neuroendocrine or neuroendocrine diff erentiated. Some breast tumors may have neuroendocrine foci. The clinical signifi cance of these tumors are unclear. However, they are thought to have no relation with the prognosis and patient outcome. This is the report of a patient with neuroendocrine diff erentiated invasive breast carcinoma treated surgically in the classical manner.


The article are presented results study of some immunological activities in the patients with peptic ulcer associated with different culture of Helicobacter pylori. They are established the reduction of phagocytic activity of neutrofils and IgG, disbalances of subpopulation of T-lymphocytes (increasing CD4+ and decreasing CD8+) in blood of the patients with peptic ulcer associated with toxigenic culture of Helicobacter pylori. It is revealed the increasing of level of proinflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL- 1β, IL-8 and INFγ) and antiinflammatory cytokines IL-4, IL-10, transformed growth factor β1 (TGF- β1) strongly pronounced at the patients with peptic ulcer associated with toxigenic culture of Helicobacter pylori.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the developmental toxicity of ginsenoside Rb1 and the potential mechanism of it in vitro.

METHODS
Whole embryo culture system was used in this research. Embryos were exposed to various concentrations of ginsenoside Rb1, and scored for growth and development at the end of the 48h culture period.

RESULTS
With the concentration of Rb1 rising, the total morphological scores significantly decreased; Developments of forebrain, midbrain and optic system were relatively sensitive to Rb1 and were affected at the concentration of 30 microg/ml; hindbrain, Branchial arch and limb buds were affected at 50 microg/ml; Yolk sac was affected at the low concentration of 15 microg/ml and the indexes of embryonic growth and development decreased at the high concentration of 50 microg/ml. Moreover, the rate of embryo teratogenicity were obviously increased.

CONCLUSION
Ginsenoside Rb1 displayed teratogenic action in mice. The damage on structure and function of yolk sac might be part of teratogenic mechanisms of it.


Security architectures providing Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) have been an appealing research subject for a wide range of computer systems, from low-end embedded devices to powerful cloud servers. The goal of these architectures is to protect sensitive services in isolated execution contexts, called enclaves. Unfortunately, existing TEE solutions suffer from significant design shortcomings. First, they follow a one-size-fits-all approach offering only a single enclave type, however, different services need flexible enclaves that can adjust to their demands. Second, they cannot efficiently support emerging applications (e.g., Machine Learning as a Service), which require secure channels to peripherals (e.g., accelerators), or the computational power of multiple cores. Third, their protection against cache side-channel attacks is either an afterthought or impractical, i.e., no fine-grained mapping between cache resources and individual enclaves is provided.
In this work, we propose CURE, the first security architecture, which tackles these design challenges by providing different types of enclaves: (i) sub-space enclaves provide vertical isolation at all execution privilege levels, (ii) user-space enclaves provide isolated execution to unprivileged applications, and (iii) self-contained enclaves allow isolated execution environments that span multiple privilege levels. Moreover, CURE enables the exclusive assignment of system resources, e.g., peripherals, CPU cores, or cache resources to single enclaves. CURE requires minimal hardware changes while significantly improving the state of the art of hardware-assisted security architectures. We implemented CURE on a RISC-V-based SoC and thoroughly evaluated our prototype in terms of hardware and performance overhead. CURE imposes a geometric mean performance overhead of 15.33% on standard benchmarks.


Wireless sensor network gain enormous attention because of increase need of wireless sensing for application like weather forecasting, industrial automation. Deploying wireless networks on the same area get advantage. WSN lifetime is expected to be extended by cooperative packet sending across huge wireless sensor network. But WSN designer do not consider the heterogeneity in the characteristics of each WSN such as battery capacity, operation start time, and the number of sensor nodes, nodes locations, energy power consumption, packet size and/or data transmission timing, and route discovery. Clustering is a useful and practical solution for wireless sensor communication with low energy resources. The proposed system performance of WSNs. Proposed system implements solution for secure data transmission in cluster based network, where clusters are assigned and updated periodically. The energy pool is used as broker for fair cooperation. In order to energy efficient packet transmission in wireless network this system implements systematic and novel way of fairness driven queue management scheme. Fairness based queue management scheme helps to network traffic control by monitoring UDP data packet among clustered wireless communication. In order to overcome malicious packets transmission in the network, proposed system uses Identity based online and Identity based Online/Offline security mechanism. This help to avoid threats and its causes for drastic damage to the network. Proposed work improves a network security which targets at detection and prevention, compromised nodes detection energy hole attacks in wireless network.


This paper proposes a method to extract accurate plane of an object in unstructured environment for a humanoid robot by using a laser scanner. By panning and tilting 2D laser scanner installed on the head of a humanoid robot, 3D depth map of unstructured environment is generated. After generating the 3D depth map around a robot, the proposed plane extraction method is applied to the 3D depth map. By using the hierarchical clustering method, points on the same plane are extracted from the point cloud in the 3D depth map. After segmenting the plane from the point cloud, dimensions of the planes are calculated. The accuracy of the extracted plane is evaluated with experimental results, which show the effectiveness of the proposed method to extract planes around a humanoid robot in unstructured environment.


Cyanoacrylate closure, VenaSeal system, for the treatment of incompetent saphenous vein is a new technique. We report a successful case with a large great saphenous vein of 2.84 cm in diameter.


In current economic reality, there seems to be a clear need to recognize, characterize and place small scale agriculture in a setup which accounts for novel trends in the modes of doing business in the global economy and with respect to the changing role of agriculture along development transition. Providing that ground it will make it possible to design and promote appropriate policy strategies that will best accommodate small scale farmers' needs and exploit their potential for agricultural development. The present paper employs a multi country household survey database developed from ESA-FAO, and a series of ad hoc land thresholds to categorize rural households as small or large scale farmers and identify some of their key characteristics as well as their economic weight in the rural as well as the national economy.


ABSTRACT Oxygen isotope data are very useful in determining the source rocks of granitic magmas, particularly when used in combination with Sr, Pb, and Nd isotope studies. For example, unusually high δ18O values in magmas (δ18O> +8) require the involvement of some precursor parent material that at some time in the past resided on or near the Earth's surface, either as sedimentary rocks or as weathered or hydrothermally altered rocks. The isotopic systematics which are preserved in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic batholiths of western North America can be explained by grand-scale mixing of three broadly defined end-members: (1) oceanic island-arc magmas derived from a "depleted" (MORB-type?) source in the upper mantle (δ18O c. +6 and 87Sr/86Sr c. 0·703); (2) a high-18O (c. +13 to +17) source with a very uniform 87Sr/86Sr (c. 0·708 to 0·712), derived mainly from eugeosynclinal volcanogenic sediments and (or) hydrothermally altered basalts; and (3) a much more heterogeneous source (87Sr/86Sr c. 0·706 to 0·750, or higher) with a high δ18O (c. +9 to +15) where derived from supracrustal metasedimentary rocks and a much lower δ18O (c. +7 to +9) where derived from the lower continental crust of the craton. These end-members were successively dominant from W to E, respectively, within three elongate N–S geographic zones that can be mapped from Mexico all the way N to Idaho. 18O/16O studies (together with D/H analyses) can, however, play a more important and certainly a unique role in determining the origins of the aqueous fluids involved in the formation of granitic and rhyolitic magmas. Fluid-rock interaction effects are most clear-cut when low-18O, low-D meteoric waters are involved in the isotopic exchange and melting processes, but the effects of other waters such as seawater (with a relatively high δD c. 0) can also be recognised. Because of these hydrothermal processes, rocks that ultimately undergo partial melting may exhibit isotopic signatures considerably different from those that they started with. We discuss three broad classes of potential source materials of such "hydrothermal-anatectic" granitic magmas, based mainly on water/rock (w/r), temperature (T), and the length of time (t) that fluid-rock interaction proceeds: (Type 1) epizonal systems with a wide variation in whole-rock δ18O and extreme 18O/16O disequilibrium among coexisting minerals (e.g. quartz and feldspar); (Type 2) deeper-seated and (or) longer-lived systems, also with a wide spectrum of whole-rock δ18O, but with equilibrated 18O/16O ratios among coexisting minerals; (Type 3) thoroughly homogenised and equilibrated systems with relatively uniform δ18O in all lithologies. Low-18O magmas formed by melting of rocks altered in a Type 2 or a Type 3 meteoric-hydrothermal system are the only kinds of "hydrothermal-anatectic" granitic magmas that are readily recognisable in the geological record. Analogous effects produced by other kinds of aqueous fluids may, however, be quite common, particularly in areas of extensional tectonics and large-scale rifting. The greatly enhanced permeabilities in such fractured terranes make possible the deep convective circulation of ground waters and sedimentary pore fluids. The nature and origin of low-18O magmas in the Yellowstone volcanic field and the Seychelles Islands are briefly reviewed in light of these concepts, as is the development of high-D, peraluminous magmas in the Hercynian of the Pyrenees.


Introduction: Spondylo-epi-metaphyseal dysplasias (SEMD) are a heterogeneous group of skeletal disorders characterized by defective growth and modeling of the spine and long bones. Different types are described in the literature. Accurate classification of SEMDs is essential for proper genetic counseling.
Patients and Methods: This study included 20 cases of SEMDs diagnosed by clinical and radiological findings. Cases were classified based on additional associated clinical and/or radiological features into 7 subtypes. Different subtypes were discussed with review of the literature.
Results: The study illustrated the heterogeneity of SEMDs and emphasized the importance of detailed and meticulous clinical genetic and biochemical evaluation in addition to comprehensive radiological investigations for such group of disorders. It also recommends further molecular studies to identify the molecular bases of the different types. Keywords : Spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasias, Genetic heterogeneity, Dyggve-
Melchior-Clausen dysplasia, Glycoaminoglycans. Egypt. J. Hum. Genet Vol. 8 (2) 2007: pp. 147-172


The effect of uv irradiation on the solid solutions of MTHF and EtOH containing CuCl with HCl has been in- vestigated. The axial ESR spectra observed before uv irradiation at 73 K for these solutions indicate that Cu(II) ions exist in such a way that the unpaired electron density locates on 3d 9 orbital in the coordination structure associated with the ligand molecules. The new ESR signals observed after uv irradiation is inferred to Cu(II) ions of a transformed ligand structure that is formed via an exciplex "adiabatically". We infer that the new species induced by uv irradiation forms strong covalent bonds between Cu(II) ions and the ligand. The formation of the exciplex has also been evidenced by the absorption and emission properties for the same solutions at 77 K. Three types of emissive exciplexes have been pro- posed.


The water-borne pathogen Legionella pneumophila (Lp) strongly expresses the lpg1659 gene in water. This gene encodes a hypothetical protein predicted to be a membrane protein using in silico analysis. While no conserved domains were identified in Lpg1659, similar proteins are found in many Legionella species and other aquatic bacteria. RT-qPCR showed that lpg1659 is positively regulated by the alternative sigma factor RpoS, which is essential for Lp to survive in water. These observations suggest an important role of this novel protein in the survival of Lp in water. Deletion of lpg1659 did not affect cell morphology, membrane integrity or tolerance to high temperature. Moreover, lpg1659 was dispensable for growth of Lp in rich medium, and during infection of the amoeba Acanthamoeba castellanii and of THP-1 human macrophages. However, deletion of lpg1659 resulted in an early loss of culturability in water, while over-expression of this gene promoted the culturability of Lp. Therefore, these results suggest that lpg1659 is required for Lp to maintain culturability, and possibly long-term survival, in water. Since the loss of culturability observed in the absence of Lpg1659 was complemented by the addition of trace metals into water, this membrane protein is likely a transporter for acquiring essential trace metal for maintaining culturability in water and potentially in other metal-deprived conditions. Given its role in the survival of Lp in water, Lpg1659 was named LasM for Legionella aquatic survival membrane protein.


This thesis consists of five papers (Papers A-E) treating problems in non-parametric statistics, especially methods of kernel smoothing applied to density estimation for stochastic processes (Papers A-D) and regression analysis (Paper E). A recurrent theme is to, instead of treating highly positively correlated data as ``asymptotically independent'', take advantage of local dependence structures by using continuous-time models. In Papers A and B we derive expressions for the asymptotic variance of the kernel density estimator of a continuous-time multivariate stationary process and relate convergence rates to the local character of the sample paths. This is in Paper B applied to automatic selection of smoothing parameter of the estimators. In Paper C we study a continuous-time version of a least-squares cross-validation approach to selecting smoothing parameter, and the impact the dependence structure of data has on the algorithm. A correction factor is introduced to improve the methods performance for dependent data. Papers D and E treats two statistical inverse problems where the interesting data are not directly observable. In Paper D we consider the problem of estimating the density of a stochastic process from noisy observations. We introduce a method of smoothing the errors and show that by a suitably chosen sampling scheme the convergence rate of independent data methods can be improved upon. Finally in Paper E we treat a problem of non-parametric regression analysis when data is sampled with a size-bias. Our method covers a wider range of practical situations than previously studied methods and by viewing the problem as a locally weighted least-squares regression problem, extensions to higher order polynomial estimators are straightforward. (Less)


PT UNILEVER INDONESIA Tbk, one of the best companies
in Indonesia, is a company that produces daily needs products,
especially in nutrient, hygiene, and personal care. Their products spread
all over Indonesia with the highest market share for most of its products.
Plant SCC & C (Spread Cooking Category and Culinary) is one of the
factories that they privately owned. It produce margarine based products
and culinary seasonings.
The main concern in this research is planning the facility for
finish product storage. By predicting the amount of the product that need
to be kept, and then calculating the needs of facility and comparing it
with the existing condition of the warehouse. The gaps are collected and
improved. This improvement then involving the available alternative in
finish product storage and selecting the best alternative based on cost
and company's perspective.
Some aspects and parameters observed in this research shows
that the existing condition facility need to be improved. Some aspects
observed are storage space, material handling equipment and labor.
From the field observation, it can be concluded that there is lacks of
storage space in the finish product warehouse. The needs of storage is
3290 storage slots for three years ahead, and the existing facility only
have 2000 storage slots, it means that the gap is 1290 storage slots. And
then, after calculating the rate of incoming inventory for three years
ahead and simulating it with ARENA, the needs for material handling
equipments for facility adjustment alternative in year 2008 is 4 reach
truck and 2 forklift, in year 2009 is 4 reach truck and 2 forklift, in year
2010 is 5 reach truck and 2 forklift. The needs for material handling
equipments for lease public warehouse alternative in year 2008 is 3
reach truck and 2 forklift, in year 2009 is 3 reach truck and 2 forklift, in year 2010 is 4 reach truck and 2 forklift. Special for lease public
warehouse alternative, the material handling equipment need to be add
with 1 forklift and 1 wings truck for certain period (following the lease
warehouse period). In 2008 the period lies from July to September, in
2009 the period lies from May until September, in 2010 the period lies
from April until September. The number of labors needed will precisely
the same with number of material handling equipment of the chosen
alternative. And from the alternative selection, the value of benefit / cost
ratio for facility adjustment is 1.043 and 0.955 for the lease public
warehouse alternative. So, based on the value of benefit / cost ratio, the
best alternative is the facility adjustment.