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This paper examines the nature of female offending patterns in relationship to societal gender equality using cross-national analysis of 27 European countries for the year 2006. Importantly, our analysis uses a conceptually innovative indicator (the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index) to determine relative levels of gender equality. Results show that countries with a narrower gender gap in the Global Gender Gap indexes of political empowerment were likely to have a higher female prosecution rate, and that political empowerment was also significantly associated with female conviction rates as well as rates of property offending. The pattern of results generally supports the liberation thesis. Finally, limitations and suggestions for future study are addressed.

Construction of the Mengkuang dam upgrading project was exposed to potential piping risk at several key areas. The variability in site geology, foundation conditions and construction materials added to the difficulty in predicting piping risk of the project. In some cases the risk factors were only uncovered during construction stage after the dam foundation was exposed. Changes to the original design, construction procedures and contract specifications had to be made in order to mitigate the risks. The techniques applied and measures implemented for risk reduction varied in each case in order to suit the actual site conditions and nature of risk encountered. This paper discussed the techniques developed and the issues related to the piping risk reduction measures implemented for the dam upgrading project. The techniques developed for alleviating piping risk was effective, judging from behavior of the dam and dam instrumentation records that were within expected ranges.

Funding Acknowledgements National Medical Research Council OnBehalf National Heart Centre Singapore BACKGROUND Adverse cardiac remodelling is associated with worse cardiovascular outcomes. Development of left ventricular hypertrophy (defined as increased myocardial mass) is a complex process mediated by myocardial wall thickening and/or ventricular dilatation. Sex-related differences in the relationship between myocardial mass and wall thickening/ventricular dilatation have not been well-described. PURPOSE We examine differences in determinants and patterns of cardiac remodeling between males and females. METHODS Comprehensive cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 1006 participants: 316 healthy volunteers (50% males, 46 ± 14 years) and 690 asymptomatic hypertensive patients (60% males, 57 ± 11 years). Myocardial mass, ventricular volumes and maximal myocardial wall thickness (across 16 myocardial segments) were measured using standardized contouring techniques. Clinically relevant variables (age, weight, height, and adiposity) that demonstrated significant univariate association with myocardial mass (P RESULTS Increased body weight, lower body fat composition and higher systolic blood pressures were independently associated with increased myocardial mass in healthy volunteers (males and females) and hypertensive females. In hypertensive males, only increased body weight and elevated systolic blood pressure were independently associated with increased myocardial mass. The association between myocardial mass and ventricular volumes was almost identical between males and females (P = 0.65 for interaction; Figure). Conversely, there was a significant gender-related difference in the association between wall thickness and myocardial mass after adjusting for potential confounders (P CONCLUSION There were sex-related differences in concentric remodeling at progressive stages of myocardial hypertrophy that may explain the higher prevalence of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction reported in females. Abstract P1419 Figure

Dams have been constructed in Malaysia for many purposes largely taming rivers for agriculture, power, water supply, flood mitigation and storage and mining wastes. The first hydroelectric dam (Chenderoh Dam) was built in the early 1930’s for the purposes of power generation and it continues to be in operation till today. There are more than 100 dams in the country. The structural safety of dams was (and still is today) largely self-regulated by owners and operators of dams. By and large the structural safety of dams has not been regulated by any authority (Federal or State) as there is currently no legislation pertaining to such matter. Major owners of dams are Tenaga Nasional Bhd (National Power Company) and water supply operators (State Water Supply Corporations and State governments) and The Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) owns/operates dams for irrigation and flood mitigation. In 2016, the Malaysian Government, via DID, embarked on a project to upgrade the safety of dams in the country. The Malaysia Dam Safety Management Guidelines (MyDAMS) was finalised and formally adopted in September 2017. It is being slowly implemented by the industry. Work on drafting of the legislation for safety of dams is currently in process. This paper outlines the process adopted, critical issues faced, relevant international practices compared, constitutional options for legislation - federal law or law for uniformity and institutional challenges for the adoption and implementation of the legislation.

The Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia (DID) has established a national guidelines on dam safety management for a safe governance of dams and resilient community surrounding the dams in Malaysia, titled Malaysia Dam Safety Management Guidelines (MyDAMS) in September 2017. This is the first national guidelines ever established. While the guidelines outline the best management practices on dam safety management, there is still a major gap towards its implementation into the dam industry. MyDAMS emphasized on all aspects of dam safety comprising legal requirements, potential hazards, safety principles, safety management system, investigation, design, construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance, surveillance and safety review, rehabilitation, emergency preparedness, changes and decommissioning of dams. There is a need to establish the framework of the government agencies towards its dam safety management as per MyDAMS. Meanwhile, the stakeholders have to gear up immediately towards capacity building to achieve the overarching objective of dam safety management as stated in MyDAMS. This paper discussed some required framework and way forward to be carried out by stakeholders on what entail next after the recent establishment of MyDAMS.

The dam owners are responsible for the safety of their dams. The importance of dam owners to establish a dam safety management system is emphasized. By adopting a comprehensive set of guidelines which impose a strict standard of care in relation to safety procedures in the design, construction, commissioning and operation of dams will enable the owners to have some certainty in respect of their civil and criminal obligations in the event of dam failure. The owner of a dam may be civilly liable for damage caused by processes which arise as a natural consequence of the existence of the dam. Adverse natural processes occurring which is attributed to the damming of the river, require the owner, under a duty of care to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. This paper discusses the technical obligation and legal implications of dam owners. Those areas whereby both owners and operators can be held legally liable for damage or potential damage will be discussed.

In September to December 2016, the most severe leaf blight disease outbreak in the last 30 years occurred in the paddy field of Sekinchan, Selangor, Malaysia, causing 50 to 70% loss of the crop yield. During this outbreak, the newly introduced rice cultivar MR 284 suffered the most damage. Infected rice leaf blades showed brownish stripes, which subsequently turned pale and dry. Symptomatic leaves from the MR 284 plants were cut into 1-cm² pieces, surface sterilized, and plated on peptone sucrose agar (Poulin et al. 2014). Yellowish bacterial colonies that were obtained after incubation at 28°C for 2 days were purified by streaking on nutrient agar. Identification of six randomly chosen bacterial isolates was performed using the BioMerieux Vitek 2 microbial identification system, which classified the isolates as Pantoea spp. with 93 to 96% identity probabilities. Subsequently, 16S rRNA gene amplification was performed using the universal primers 27F and 1492R. BLASTn analysis of the partial 16S rRNA gene sequences from the six isolates revealed that the sequences (1,421 bp) from two isolates, designated as PA strains, were identical to those of Pantoea ananatis (GenBank accession no. CP028033.1), and the sequences (1,435 bp) of four isolates, designated as PC strains, were identical to those of Pantoea dispersa (GenBank accession no. AB273743.1). The partial 16S rRNA gene sequences of PA and PC strains were deposited at GenBank under accession numbers MK578186 and MK263020, respectively. Pathogenicity assays of PA and PC strains were conducted on 60-day-old rice plants of cultivar MR 284 using the clipping method (Kauffman et al. 1973). The bacterial strains were cultured overnight on nutrient broth, and the inocula were adjusted to 10⁸ cells/ml. Three fully extended leaves from the second and third tillers of each plant were inoculated by cutting at 3 to 4 cm from the leaf tip. Control plants were mock inoculated with sterile saline solution. The experiment was performed in duplicate. From 3 to 14 days after bacterial inoculation, the inoculated leaves showed progressive necrosis with color change from pale green, brown, and pale, whereas the control plants remained symptomless. Bacterial colonies were reisolated from inoculated leaves, producing colonies that were morphologically identical to those of PA and PC strains. The identities of these bacterial isolates were further verified to be the inocula PA and PC strains by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, thus fulfilling the Koch’s postulates. Previous reports had established Pantoea spp. as rice pathogens (Kini et al. 2017; Lee et al. 2010; Mondal et al. 2011). To our knowledge, this is the first report of rice leaf blight caused by P. ananatis and P. dispersa in Malaysia. The isolation of these pathogens allows newly developed cultivars to be more adequately tested before these cultivars are introduced to the farmers for mass cultivation.

This paper presents the effect of implementing interruptible loads (ILs) from the demand side for reserve allocation in an electricity supply system. A unit commitment (UC) objective function is used to incorporate the energy/reserve providers and to schedule energy and reserves simultaneously. An innate IL reliability modelling methodology is explicitly presented. A thermal unit system with demand-side participation is traversed by varying the size of the ILs, the reserve offer prices, and the value of lost load (VOLL). A penalty cost is imposed on IL service providers whose loads are supposed to be interrupted when initiated but fail to respond and grid service providers who are responsible for the maintenance of under-frequency relays (UFRs) and circuit-breakers (CBs) connected to ILs. The objective of this penalty cost proposal is to achieve a better and healthier energy supply system. The results in this paper provide useful insight into how the Demand Side Management and penalty scheme is capable of maintaining and/or improving the operation of the electricity supply system.

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing body of literature associating testicular microlithiasis (TM), a common finding on testicular ultrasound, with testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT) and intratubular germ cell neoplasia of unclassified type (ITGCNU). Determining these associations is pertinent both clinically and biologically. To the authors' knowledge, no previous systematic review or meta-analysis has been performed. METHODS: A comprehensive systematic literature review was performed without language restrictions through July 2009 and included an exhaustive search of electronic databases and article references. Two reviewers extracted data independently. Studies were categorized according to the clinical context in which sonography was performed. The primary study outcomes were concurrent diagnoses of TGCT or ITGCNU, with TM. In addition, studies with prospective follow-up of patients with TM were reviewed. RESULTS: Thirty-three studies met inclusion criteria. TM was not associated with an increased risk of TGCT in asymptomatic men. However, in referral populations, TM was associated overall with a risk ratio of 8.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.5-16.1; P < .001) for a concurrent diagnosis of TGCT and 10.5 (95% CI, 5.3-20.8; P < .0001) for ITGCNU. Seventeen observational studies were identified in which the interval development of TGCT in patients with TM was reported; however, the majority of those studies did not report the follow-up of a control arm and could not be summarized. CONCLUSIONS: In the presence of risk factors, TM was associated with a substantially elevated risk of a concurrent diagnosis of TGCT and ITGCNU. The authors suggest modifications to recently proposed guidelines for the management of TM. Cancer 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society.

Although the topic of supply chain (SC) and logistics (L) has been discussed in many fora, placing it in today’s cyber (e) space is still a subject that receives little attention. This paper analyzes the role of e-SC/L in the context of global business to business (B2B) electronic commerce (e-commerce). A major beneficiary of e-SC/L are small and medium enterprises (SMEs), who can leverage information technology to bypass the extra cost associated with employing a third-party broker, who traditionally bridges the gap between suppliers and retailers. In this paper, a framework for incorporating both e-commerce and e-SC/L for SMEs is proposed in an e-marketplace context. The model consists of a trading platform with e-SC/L capabilities, and a classification scheme for different levels e-SC/L collaboration, presented with relevant types of information, communication and transportation technology (ICTT) needed to facilitate the design of each collaboration level. Included in the highest level are transportation, identification, and modeling and simulation technologies that enable the design of effective forward-looking collaboration.

The effects of UV intensity and turbidity on selected microbial indicator inactivation were investigated. Results showed that UV disinfection was effective in killing all the selected microbial indicators, the resistance order of the microorganisms was as follows: MS-2 coliphage > Bacillus subtilis > E. coli > Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. UV intensity had influence on the inactivation of all the microorganisms, high UV disinfection efficency was obtained with higher UV intensity. Turbidity had impact on the bacteria inactivation rate, but there was no evidence that turbidity had any negative contribution to MS-2 coliphage. Under the same UV dosage, higher UV intensity could overcome the negative influence of turbidity on UV performance, enhanced microorganism inactivation effect in turbidity water.

Advances in machining technology, particularly in the field of micro-machining, have led to the design and creation of miniature components suitable for use in the precision engineering industry. However, the need to contain ubiquitous burrs still exists and has to be addressed. Previous studies on deburring have mostly focused on the parametric investigations of orientation, temperature, type of liquid media and abrasives, frequency, deburring time and power. It is hypothesized that by inducing compressive residual stresses on a pre-machined workpiece surface, the resulting burrs caused by machining can be minimized or even eliminated. The paper presents the findings of an investigative study into the possibility of inducing compressive residual stresses on machined surfaces by the use of ultrasonic cavitation, with the aim of reducing or eliminating burr formation. The paper also briefly reviews the development of ultrasonic cavitation and covers published work on deburring by ultrasonic cavitation. Experimental results are presented on the performance of ultrasonic cavitation peening on the residual stress in Stavax stainless steels and on micro-burr formation.

The paper is concerned with a feasibility study of tool life and tool wear when employing high depths of cut (between 10 and 20 mm) and different cutter path strategies in the high-speed milling (HSM) of hardened die/mould steel. Following a review of previous work, experimental data are presented on the peripheral milling of hardened AISI H13 steel (HRC 52) using raster, single-direction raster and offset machining strategies. Coated carbide corner-radius end mills with a diameter of 10mm were employed with a fixed cutting speed of 314m/min and a feed per tooth of 0.067mm. From the experimental results it was realized that a raster cutter path strategy (combination of up and down milling) combined with high-depth roughing achieved the lowest tool wear. The offset strategy achieved the lowest tool life at all axial depths of cut within the range investigated. The experimental results clearly show that cutter path strategies and axial depths of cut have a significant effect on the tool life and tool wear for the cutters employed.

Previous work has shown that the use of an offset cutter path strategy when high-speed rough milling hardened steel using an axial depth of 15 mm resulted in the lowest tool life as compared to the use of raster and single-direction raster strategies [1]. The paper describes a novel approach on improving the offset cutter path strategy by selecting the proper entrance and exit conditions in order to improve the volume of metal removed and tool life. The effects of an offset strategy and a modified offset strategy are investigated in terms of the tool life, tool wear and cutting force signatures generated. It was found that the modified offset strategy showed a near four-fold increase in tool life. This was mainly attributed to the avoidance of cutter in-feed that occurred in the middle of the workpiece.

An open-type electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer to measure a sample located outside a resonator was fabricated. As the resonator, the field modulation coils, and the main magnet were integrated on the resonator side in the sensor head, the space for a sample was opened. Thus, a large sample could be placed at the end of the resonator without much limitation on the size. For an application of this apparatus, various coal masses were placed on the resonator of the sensor head and EPR measurements were performed nondestructively. It was found that the EPR signal intensity of coals showed a good correlation with the carbon-to-hydrogen ratio, one of the parameters for classifying coal.

This study is part of a bigger picture on investigating three main cutter path strategies—raster, single-direction raster, and offset—in order to evaluate the feasibility of employing high axial depths of cut (10 mm ≤ A d ≤ 20 mm) when high-speed rough milling hardened AISI H13 hot work tool steel with the aim of achieving high volume of metal removed with short machining time. Here, comparative studies were made of the surface topography maps induced at various axial depths of cut in order to gain an in-depth understanding of their effects on the surface texture obtained via the parametric study of alternative cutter path strategies. Previous work has shown that the use of an offset cutter path strategy when high-speed rough milling hardened steel using an axial depth of 15 mm resulted in the lowest tool life, as compared with the use of raster and single-direction raster strategies.[1]This article also describes a novel approach on improving the offset cutter path strategy by selecting the pro...

This article develops a general thermodynamic framework for the modeling of an irreversible absorption chiller at the design point, with application to a single-stage ammonia–water absorption chiller. Component models of the chiller have been assembled so as to quantify the internal entropy production and thermal conductance (UA) in a thermodynamically rigorous formalism, which is in agreement with the simultaneous heat-and-mass transfer processes occurring within the exchangers. Local thermodynamic balance (viz. energy, entropy, and mass balance) and consistency within the components is respected, in addition to the overall thermodynamic balance as determined by the inlet and outlet states of the components. For the absorbers, Colburn-and-Drew mass transfer equations are incorporated to describe the absorption process. Furthermore, the impact of various irreversibilities on the performance of chiller is also evaluated through the use of a general macroscopic equation.

A methodology for autotuning decentralized proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers for multivariable systems is proposed. It combines the autotuning procedure involving sequential loop closing and relay tests with time-domain curve fitting via least squares to identify suitable transfer function models that account for interactions among the loops, using limited response data. Simulation results reveal that the curve fitting is able to identify models using only the first few oscillations of the relay-test response. Thus, there is no need to wait for the process to reach steady oscillations. A controller tuning method developed by Semino and Scali (J. Process Control 1998, 8 (3), 219-227) is adopted to tune the PI controllers. Detailed results on several 2x2, 3x3, and 4x4 multivariable processes show that the proposed methodology gives PI controllers having performances comparable with those tuned by the ATV+ method of Parabita et al. (Sequential Identification and Autotuning by Relay Techniques of Decentralised Controllers for MIMO Processes, ADCHEM 2000, Pisa, Italy, 2000) or Luyben's BLT technique (Ind. Eng. Chem. Process Des. Dev. 1986, 25 (3), 654-660). The major advantage of the proposed autotuning with least-squares is the significant reduction in the duration of relay tests. Computations involved in the methodology can be carried out on a personal computer in reasonable time.

We have developed a two-dimensional neutron imaging method using rectangular scintillators with wavelength shifting (WLS) fibers for neutron scattering experiments using a next-generation high-intense pulsed-neutron source. In the method, rectangular scintillators are arranged at longitudinal direction and transverse direction and WLS fibers are arranged on the four sides of these scintillators. Luminescences generated in the scintillator are absorbed by the four fibers and wavelength-shifted luminescences are detected by multi-anode photomultipliers. The position of incident neutron is decided by coincidence of the four signals. By preliminary experiments using 5 mm×5 mm×2 mm t 6 Li glass scintillators and 0.5 mm∅ WLS fibers, it was concluded that detection efficiency for thermal neutron was 13%. By scanning experiment using a 4×4 6 Li glass scintillator array neutron detection system, we obtained the clear spot of incident neutron beam that the cross talk was

Aims: The effect of high organic loading rate (OLR) on the physical characteristics of aerobic granules was studied. Methods and Results: Two column-type sequential aerobic sludge blanket reactors were fed with either glucose or acetate as the main carbon source, and the OLR was gradually raised from 6 to 9, 12 and 15 kg chemical oxygen demand (COD) m−3 d−1. Glucose-fed granules could sustain the maximum OLR tested. At a low OLR, these granules exhibited a loose fluffy morphology dominated by filamentous bacteria. At higher OLRs, these granules became irregularly shaped, with folds, crevices and depressions. In contrast, acetate-fed granules had a compact spherical morphology at OLRs of 6 and 9 kg COD m−3 d−1, with better settling and strength characteristics than glucose-fed granules at similar OLRs. However, acetate-fed granules could not sustain high OLRs and disintegrated when the OLR reached 9 kg COD m−3 d−1. Conclusions: The compact regular microstructure of the acetate-fed granules appeared to limit mass transfer of nutrients at an OLR of 9 kg COD m−3 d−1. The looser filamentous microstructure of the glucose-fed granules and the subsequent irregular morphology delayed the onset of diffusion limitation and allowed significantly higher OLRs to be attained. Significance and Impact of the Study: High organic loading rates are possible with aerobic granules. This research would be helpful in the development of aerobic granule-based systems for high-strength wastewaters.

This paper examines energy alternatives in the UK and worldwide to reduce CO2, SO2, and NOx emissions up to the year 2020: environmental mechanisms in restructured markets, future energy alternatives, green electricity, energy efficiency, and pricing. At the outset, world energy resources, nonfossil resources, world energy demand, and the role of existing and planned mechanisms to achieve environmental benefits in restructured electricity markets are reviewed. Technological and institutional challenges of real, long-term reductions in carbon dioxide and other emissions from the electric sector are discussed. The paper then focuses on renewable energy in the UK, the green pool, and trends in power marketing considering green pricing programs, and public policy for renewable energy. Considered is trends in energy supply structure: energy consumption and CO2 release, role of nuclear power, and European efforts for controlling CO2 emissions. The main part of the paper presents a case study on ensuring future ...

In this article, a general definition of the process average temperature has been developed, and the impact of the various dissipative mechanisms on 1/COP of the chiller evaluated. The present component-by-component black box analysis removes the assumptions regarding the generator outlet temperature(s) and the component effective thermal conductances. Mass transfer resistance is also incorporated into the absorber analysis to arrive at a more realistic upper limit to the cooling capacity. Finally, the theoretical foundation for the absorption chiller T-s diagram is derived. This diagrammatic approach only requires the inlet and outlet conditions of the chiller components and can be employed as a practical tool for system analysis and comparison. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.

This article presents a thermodynamically consistent set of specific enthalpy, entropy, and heat capacity fields for LiBr-$H_2O$ solution. The temperatures span from 0 to $190^oC$, while the concentrations span from 0 to 75 wt%. The work is based on the empirical inputs of Duhring's gradient and intercept, specific heat capacity data at a reference concentration of 50 wt% and density data. These properties have been evaluated using most of the experimental data available in the literature. The present approach circumvents the issue of negative dew point at low temperatures and high concentrations. The information provided in this article could be useful for designers of absorption chillers.

This study determined the soft tissue attachment strength and extent of ingrowth to a porous tantalum biomaterial. Eight dorsal subcutaneous implants (in two dogs) were evaluated at 4, 8, and 16 weeks. Upon retrieval, all implants were surrounded completely by adherent soft tissue. Implants were harvested with a tissue flap on the cutaneous aspect and peel tested in a servo-hydraulic tensile test machine at a rate of 5 mm/min. Following testing, implants were dehydrated in a solution of basic fuschin, defatted, embedded in methylmethacrylate, and processed for thin-section histology. At 4, 8, and 16 weeks, the attachment strength to porous tantalum was 61, 71, and 89 g/mm respectively. Histologic analysis showed complete tissue ingrowth throughout the porous tantalum implant. Blood vessels were visible at the interface of and within the porous tantalum material. Tissue maturity and vascularity increased with time. The tissue attachment strength to porous tantalum was three- to six-fold greater than was reported in a similar study with porous beads. This study demonstrated that porous tantalum permits rapid ingrowth of vascularized soft tissue, and attains soft tissue attachment strengths greater than with porous beads.

Although the topic of supply chain (SC) and logistics (L) has been discussed in many fora, placing it in today’s cyber (e) space is still a subject that receives little attention. This paper analyzes the role of e-SC/L in the context of global business to business (B2B) electronic commerce (e-commerce). A major beneficiary of e-SC/L are small and medium enterprises (SMEs), who can leverage information technology to bypass the extra cost associated with employing a third-party broker, who traditionally bridges the gap between suppliers and retailers. In this paper, a framework for incorporating both e-commerce and e-SC/L for SMEs is proposed in an e-marketplace context. The model consists of a trading platform with e-SC/L capabilities, and a classification scheme for different levels e-SC/L collaboration, presented with relevant types of information, communication and transportation technology (ICTT) needed to facilitate the design of each collaboration level. Included in the highest level are transportation, identification, and modeling and simulation technologies that enable the design of effective forward-looking collaboration.

Aiming at high-position-resolution and high-counting-rate neutron imaging, a novel centroid-finding method is proposed for a scintillation neutron-imaging detector with crossed-fiber readout. Crossed wavelength-shifting fibers are arranged on and under the scintillator. Luminescences generated in the scintillator are emitted and detected by a few fibers surrounding the incident point of a neutron. In the novel method, X and Y positions of the incident neutron are decided by coincidence of a central signal and neighboring signals, respectively. By fundamental experiments using a ZnS:Ag/6LiF scintillator of 0.5-mm thickness and crossed wavelength-shifting fibers with a size of 0.5×0.5 mm2, it was confirmed that the position resolution is about 0.5 mm and the limitation of the neutron-counting rate is 320 kcps.

A high counting rate two-dimensional neutron-imaging method using rectangular scintillators with wavelength-shifting (WLS) fibers has been developed for neutron-scattering experiments at a next-generation high-intensity pulsed-neutron source. Rectangular scintillators are arranged in longitudinal and transverse directions and WLS fibers are attached along four sides of these scintillators. Luminescences generated in the scintillator are absorbed by the four fibers and wavelength-shifted luminescences are detected by multi-channel photomultipliers. The position of an incident neutron is decided by coincidence of the four signals. By experiments using 5 mm×5 mm×2 mm-thickness 6Li glass scintillators and 0.5-mm square WLS fibers, it was confirmed that the maximum counting rate for each pixel was 3 Mcps with the coincidence time of 100 ns.

The phosphor material SrBPO5:Eu2+ has been investigated for two-dimensional imaging for a pulsed-neutron source. We found that this phosphor itself shows photostimulated luminescence by illumination with 635-nm laser light after neutron irradiation without adding any neutron-sensitive materials such as Gd. The neutron sensitivity was proportional to E-0.5, where E is the neutron energy. The neutron sensitivity was also increased by using enriched boron instead of natural boron. The Sγ/Sn ratio of this phosphor using enriched boron was better than that of a commercially available imaging plate, where Sγ and Sn are the gamma and neutron sensitivities, respectively.

A novel high-speed readout method of an imaging plate using wavelength-shifting fibers and a streak camera was developed aiming at real-time imaging. Imaging plate is scanned by a line-shape laser to read out all the pixels in one axis of imaging plate at the same time. Released photostimulated luminescences are detected from backside of the plate by the fibers and the streak camera. With preliminary experiments, it is confirmed that a radiation image can be measured by this method.

In today’s global economy, products and services are provided across international borders. The sourcing of these products and services becomes an integral part of international businesses. Information, communication and transportation technologies (ICTT) have made this job significantly more streamlined. However, there is an advantage that big companies, such as Wal-Mart, have over small and medium size ones. While the big companies have the ICTT resources to source globally at will, small and medium enterprises (SME) are much less prepared to do so, resulting in a large competitive disadvantage. By contrasting SMEs with their more successful “big brothers,” we highlight the salient ICTT features in a system architecture. This serves as a checklist for any assistance that might be rendered to SMEs and other entities in overcoming their competitive impediment. These findings are the result of numerous international workshops and conferences held in Hong Kong (the export city for a bulk of the Chinese consumer products) and in Arkansas (the headquarters of Wal-Mart).

This paper presents a novel methodology in the formulation of expected energy not served (EENS) considering the forecast errors on load demand and wind generation. The EENS value is then integrated into the objective function to optimize the energy, reserve procurement and EENS costs. Studies on the schedule cost and reliability of the thermal unit system due to forecast errors of system load and wind power generation are performed. This work illustrates the impact on conventional generation systems when the wind energy penetration is varied.

This paper presents the determination of the 10-minute operating reserve (OR) of the unit commitment (UC) function based on the probabilistic approach. An initial deterministic reserve criterion is used to test the system performance of a 6-thermal unit system. This work takes into account the demand side participation for reserve contributions and studies the system economics and reliability of a power system which incorporates interruptible loads (ILs). It illustrates the feasibility of IL incorporation at different load levels thus enables ISO to better manage reserve allocation.

This paper addresses the issues on high operation cost, start up and operation reliability of rapid-start units, such as open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs), for energy scheduling and online/offline reserve allocation in the deregulated electricity market. A probabilistic technique is presented in this paper to assess the un-realised reserve which has been allocated to the rapid-start generators that failed during starting up while considering their response time needed for reserve contribution. This is accomplished by modelling the process in term of expected energy not served (EENS) with an enumerated mathematical formulation. A study on the variation of OCGTs characteristics is performed and the results are compared with those of the 26-thermal unit system from IEEE-RTS integrated with 3 interruptible loads (ILs). Numerical results and discussions documented in this paper may be helpful to provide a guide for economic deployment of rapid-start units for energy and reserve contributions.

In common CT or MRI scanning, volumetric data are acquired as a series of separated slices. Normal practice requires radiologists to interpret the three-dimensional (3D) object or volumetric data by studying these individual slices. Nevertheless, this process is burdensome and time-consuming. With the help from rendering techniques, these indirectly will ease the decision-making process and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of treatment planning. In general, surface rendering and volume rendering are among techniques widely used in medical applications. Among these, volume rendering is the most common visualization technique used to render both geometric and densitometric of data under investigation. This project implements three types of visualization methods based on volume rendering technique which are maximum intensity projection (MIP), local maximum intensity projection (LMIP) and ray-casting to investigate their limitations and significances. Different methods can be used to depict different features of the object in the data. The uses of methods are dependent on user demand and specified application. In order to assist radiologists to understand better on the nature of the 3D object and increase efficiency on detecting locations of abnormalities in the structure of the object, this project is also implementing volume rotation methods, which are Euclidean transformation and shear transformation to rotate the volumetric data in three-dimension space based on user-defined viewing angles. With the incorporation of volume rotation and rendering methods, these might help radiologists to depict different features of the object in any viewing angles.

Current best evidence is in favour of early institution of enteral feeding in acute severe pancreatitis with promising results from trials in immunonutrition on other patient groups.To identify which groups of patients and products are associated with benefit, we investigated immunonutrition in patients with predicted acute severe pancreatitis.A randomised trial of a study feed containing glutamine, arginine, tributyrin and antioxidants versus an isocaloric isonitrogenous control feed was undertaken.Thirty-one patients with a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis predicted to develop severe disease: 15 study feeds and 16 control feeds.Enteral feeding via nasojejunal tube for 3 days. If patients required further feeding the study was continued up to 15 days.Reduction in C-reactive protein (CRP) by 40 mg/L after 3 days of enteral feeding was the primary endpoint. Carboxypeptidase B activation peptide (CAPAP) levels were taken at regular intervals.After 3 days of feeding, in the study group 2/15 (13%) of patients had reduced their CRP by 40 mg/L or more. In the control group 6/16 (38%) of patients had reduced their CRP by this amount. This difference was found to be near the statistical significant limit (P=0.220).The cause of the unexpectedly higher CRP values in the study group is unclear. The rise in CRP was without a commensurate rise in CAPAP or outcome measures so there was no evidence that this represented pancreatic necrosis. The contrast between the CRP and CAPAP results is of interest and we believe that specific pancreatic indices such as CAPAP should be considered in larger future studies.

We present an experimental context-aware application that provides context depended information to the visitors of a museum. The application combines the productivity of the Java platform with the universal connectivity of Bluetooth wireless technology. We present our first experiences using BIuetooth and Java technology in ubiquitous . We describe the overall architecture and detail the implementation steps taken to create our BIuetooth and Java based context-aware application. Finally we run some initial experiments in a small test-bed to evaluate the proposal performance and behaviour.

Accurate and reproducible molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growths of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) and various vertical-cavity structures are achieved using an extremely simple, cost-effective and compact diode laser reflectometry pre-growth calibration system. Average growth accuracy of 0.25% with a 0.40% standard deviation is obtained over a period of 6 months for a variety of growth structures. Low threshold continuous wave room temperature operation is achieved from all the VCSEL wafers. >

We demonstrate a spatially-chirped resonant wavelength in vertical cavities grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The wavelength shift is achieved by varying the GaAs growth rate across the wafer using backside temperature patterns. We have demonstrated, for the first time, 8-nm periodic cavity mode shifts in GaAs-AlAs Fabry-Perot vertical cavities. The measured rate of mode shift is 5.3 nm/mm. Patterns transfer with a resolution on the millimeter scale. >

In order to investigate the prevalence of infections with three feline retroviruses feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline syncytial virus (FSV) in Taiwan, we collected a total of 75 blood samples from cats from veterinary hospitals, a breeding cattery and a homeless shelter in 1993 and 1994. We examined the presences of anti-FIV and FSV antibodies and FeLV-p27 antigen in these samples by the indirect immunofluorescence and/or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. All of the serum samples positive for FIV were obtained from homeless cats and the overall FIV positive rate was 4%. The overall positive rates of FSV and FeLV were 28% and 1.3%, respectively. From these results, together with previous seroepidemiological surveys by others, it was revealed that the prevalence of FIV and FeLV infections appeared to be lower in Taiwan than in the United States or Japan. In contrast, the prevalence of FSV infection in Taiwan was as high as that in Japan.

This study determined the soft tissue attachment strength and extent of ingrowth to a porous tantalum biomaterial. Eight dorsal subcutaneous implants (in two dogs) were evaluated at 4, 8, and 16 weeks. Upon retrieval, all implants were surrounded completely by adherent soft tissue. Implants were harvested with a tissue flap on the cutaneous aspect and peel tested in a servo-hydraulic tensile test machine at a rate of 5 mm/min. Following testing, implants were dehydrated in a solution of basic fuschin, defatted, embedded in methylmethacrylate, and processed for thin-section histology. At 4, 8, and 16 weeks, the attachment strength to porous tantalum was 61, 71, and 89 g/mm respectively. Histologic analysis showed complete tissue ingrowth throughout the porous tantalum implant. Blood vessels were visible at the interface of and within the porous tantalum material. Tissue maturity and vascularity increased with time. The tissue attachment strength to porous tantalum was three- to six-fold greater than was reported in a similar study with porous beads. This study demonstrated that porous tantalum permits rapid ingrowth of vascularized soft tissue, and attains soft tissue attachment strengths greater than with porous beads.

Recent developments in the automotive and telematics industries have led to a new emerging domain known as vehicular wireless networks. Vehicular wireless networks enable several new classes of vehicular applications that can improve traffic safety, driver convenience, roadway efficiency, and facilitate many types of in-vehicle services. Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) involve not only vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) but also vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications.

The role of early endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and sphincterotomy in acute pancreatitis is controversial. Recent randomised controlled trials mostly support the value of this procedure, but concerns remain as to its safety, efficacy and practicability. This debate critically assesses the evidence for and against the use of early ERCP in acute pancreatitis.