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This article investigates the possibilities of frequency tuning of a Self-diplexing antenna (SDA) using different liquid dielectrics. Tuning analysis is carried out using the fluidic pockets introduced into the substrate by drilling blind vias starting at the bottom layer. To examine the frequency tuning, the pockets can be filled with either air, olive oil, transformer oil, acetone, or distilled water and sealed with copper tape. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed antenna can be configured to operate in the 3.25 to 3.52 GHz and 4.5 to 5.04 GHz bands. The proposed SDA is designed and fabricated on a substrate of 1.575 mm thick Rogers 5880 ( ϵ r = 2.2 and tan δ = 0.0009). It is observed that frequency shift is more when using higher permittivity fluids. The proposed antenna model has competitive features such as simple design, compact size ( 0.34 λ g 2 ), better isolation (>30 dB), and fine-tuning, which makes it suitable for modern multiband and multifunctional gadgets. The simulated and measured circuit responses are in good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrical conductivity is an important characteristic for safe and economic handling of aviation turbine fuels which have the potential to accumulate static charges. Jet fuels are highly refined product with very low conductivity. To ensure safe fuel storage and distribution, Jet fuel specifications have been established specifying permissible levels of fuel conductivity. Static Dissipater Additive (SDA) or conductivity improver, is often added to fuel to achieve specification requirements. Controlling of SDA concentration via conductivity measurement is essential for commercial practice due to its surface active nature and anti-electrostatic properties All possible factors affecting the conductivity of jet fuel has been taken into account and described in this research article. The effect of 0.5 to 3.5 mg/l SDA on water separation characteristic (MSED) are also studied and presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this contribution, novel design is presented for a very compact shielded quarter-mode substrate-integrated waveguide (S-QMSIW) based self-diplexing antenna (SDA) for WiMAX/WLAN applications. In order to achieve dual-band features, a slot is etched onto the top of the metal. Two orthogonal microstrip feed lines in the full-wave EM-simulator (HFSS) simulate the S-QMSIW resonator at two different frequencies (3.45 and 5.45 GHz). The proposed antenna pattern is extremely adaptable, allowing for simple frequency adjustments for each resonant frequency. A lumped circuit model is expected to be used to assess the antenna structure. A self-diplexing antenna based on S-QMSIW was designed, fabricated and tested to claim the proposed concept. At 3.45 and 5.45 GHz, the proposed antenna peak gains are 4.7 and 5.6 dBi, respectively. It offered port isolation better than 38 dB. The antenna front-to-back ratio was greater than 19.5 dB in each band. The proposed antenna circuit size was very compact ( 0.08 λ g 2 ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new framework for investigating regional CO2 emissions from the perspective of the domestic supply chain, with a combination of linkage analysis and structural decomposition analysis (SDA), which allows for a better understanding of spatial emission distributions and cross-boundary potential for CO2 mitigation. Based on the multi-regional input–output (MRIO) tables of 2007 and 2012, Chinese provinces (cities) are categorised into three groups according to linkage characteristics, among which, Group I is suggested to be given priority in formulating mitigation policies due to their stronger regional CO2 influence characteristics. Moreover, regions in Group I have been more affected by inter-regional trade than other groups with regard to their local CO2 emissions. Therefore, turning Group I into a low-carbon production pattern could help construct greener domestic supply chains. The results emphasise that regional analysis on CO2 emissions should go beyond the local factors, and that regional mitigation polices should consider the position and participation degree of different regions in domestic supply chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing sufficient daylight and view access to the outdoors is crucial to creating a productive work environment and ensuring employees' wellbeing and mental health in offices. To these aims, determining an optimum shading form can be challenging for designers. This study applied an 'external shading form-finding' and a novel 'dynamic view access assessment' method to find the optimum shading devices from 723 shading systems. Each system contains a typical louvre blade with two equidistant shading devices. These were externally fixed in front of a south-facing window with a dynamic interior blind, and were tested across three window-to-wall ratios. Optimum forms were selected according to LEED v4 daylight needs and unobstructed views. The results indicate that these proposed methods have the potential to support decision-making related to shading design, helping designers and architects to study the view quantitatively and combine its results with daylight assessment leading to improved building performance, employee mental health and wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale education data are collected via complex sampling designs that incorporate clustering and unequal probability of selection. Multilevel models are often utilized to account for clustering effects. The probability weighted approach (PWA) has been frequently used to deal with the unequal probability of selection. In this study, we examine the performance of an intuitive, easy to implement approach named the sample distribution approach (SDA) that utilizes Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods and Bayesian inference. Our simulation design focused on clustering effects, represented by the Intraclass Correlation (ICC) and on the sample size of the cluster. We analyzed a large-scale educational assessment dataset (Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Kindergarten 2011) to compute estimates for the simulation. Findings reveal that the SDA overall generated reliable posterior distributions of parameters and had small error variances. In addition, although design informativeness is important, the ICC and cluster sample size factors had little impact on the performance of this model-based approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a noncompetitive input-output analysis, this paper estimates the embodied carbon emissions in Sino-Korean trade from 2000 to 2014 from a new value-added perspective. In addition, using structural decomposition analysis, we decompose the factors driving embodied carbon emissions and analyze the carbon emissions responsibilities that China and Korea should each bear under "shared responsibility." Our results show that the traditional statistical method overestimates the true level of embodied carbon emissions and the overestimation rate is about 60%. Moreover, the input technology structure effect and the export scale effect are two important factors accounting for the surplus in China's embodied carbon emissions. In addition, under the principle of "shared responsibility," the carbon emissions values in trade are lower. This study offers a new way to scientifically allocate the responsibility of embodied carbon emissions in trade, which can ease the surplus of embodied carbon in global value chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of US–China trade in the changes of US employment. Through an input–output framework and structural decomposition analysis method, we decompose US employment and show the importance of all the determinants of employment in one place. The result shows that, over the period of 2000–2014, improvement in labor productivity was the dominant cause of US job losses, whereas only approximately 2% of the job decline was due to imports from China. The negative impact of imports from China for consumption demand is greater than for investment demand because imports from China for consumption demand have higher labor intensity. US employment depends on intermediate exports more than on final exports, and imports from China embody more services as intermediate inputs and, therefore, contribute indirectly to the employment of services in the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physicochemical characteristics of Euphorbia resinifera honey were studied. Considering the low water content, the majority of the honeys presented a proper maturity. The values of acidity revealed the absence of inappropriate fermentation, while the low values of hydroxymethylfurfural (0.4-16.48 mg/kg) were suitable for of unprocessed honeys. The average values for electrical conductivity and ashes were 451 µS/cm and 1.6 g/kg, respectively. As for the mineral content, the K was the most abundant element; Ca, Na, Mg, P, S, and Si are all present in differing quantities in the honeys. On the other hand, Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Stepwise Discriminant Analysis (SDA) were applied to distinguish between three related Euphorbia honey types. PCA showed that the cumulative variance of the two first factors explained approximately 53%. The results of SDA showed that variables with a higher discriminant power were K, C*ab and a*, and 100% of the samples were properly classified in their corresponding class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely known that geographic information systems (GIS) should include more spatial data analysis (SDA) techniques. The issues of which techniques should be included and how statistical analysis can be integrated with GIS are still widely debated. This paper focuses on the development of a framework that implements R SDA techniques in the uDig. For this purpose, a simple interface is designed between two open-source software applications, uDig and the R statistical software package. The tight coupling strategy is adopted with the RCaller interpreter. Overall, the integration is successfully implemented and tested by users and developers. Fourteen geospatial and four non-geospatial techniques are integrated into uDig successfully, which demonstrates the success of the proposed framework. Among these techniques, the kernel density estimation (KDE) technique is explained with a sample data set to show every step of the implementation. The user tests also prove the success of the integration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Nucleic acid amplification technologies are used in the field of molecular biology and recombinant DNA technologies. These techniques are used as leading methods in detecting and analyzing a small quantity of nucleic acids. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the most widely used method for DNA amplification for detection and identification of infectious diseases, genetic disorders and other research purposes. However, it requires a thermocycling machine to separate two DNA strands and then amplify the required fragment. Novel developments in molecular biology of DNA synthesis in vivo demonstrate the possibility of amplifying DNA in isothermal conditions without the need of a thermocycling apparatus. DNA polymerase replicates DNA with the aid of various accessory proteins. Recent identification of these proteins has enabled development of new in vitro isothermal DNA amplification methods, mimicking these in vivo mechanisms. There are several types of isothermal nucleic acid amplification methods such as transcription mediated amplification, nucleic acid sequence-based amplification, signal mediated amplification of RNA technology, strand displacement amplification, rolling circle amplification, loop-mediated isothermal amplification of DNA, isothermal multiple displacement amplification, helicase-dependent amplification, single primer isothermal amplification, and circular helicase-dependent amplification. In this article, we review these isothermal nucleic acid amplification technologies and their applications in molecular biological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The AM1 semiempirical method was employed to study megazol and 13 of its analogues where their activity against Trypanosoma equiperdum was obtained from in vitro tests. Several molecular properties (descriptors or variables) were calculated for the 14 compounds studied to be correlated with the biological activity. For a practical analysis of large data sets, it is necessary to reduce the dimensionality and select the most relevant descriptors related to the biological activity under study. For this purpose, the following chemometric methods were employed: principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), K-nearest neighbour (KNN), stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA) and soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA). These methods showed that the descriptors molecular electronic energy (Eelet), charge on the first nitrogen at substituent 2 (qN), volume of substituent at C5 position (V-S5), dihedral angle (D3) and bond length between atom C4 and its substituents (L4) are responsible for the separation between active and inactive compounds against T. equiperdum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hempseed oil is a rich and balanced source of omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Anecdotal evidence indicated that dietary hempseed oil might be useful in treating symptoms of atopic dermatitis. Patients and methods: Dietary hempseed oil and olive oil were compared in a 20-week randomized, single-blind crossover study with atopic patients. Fatty acid profiles were measured in plasma triglyceride, cholesteryl and phospholipid fractions. A patient questionnaire provided additional information on skin dryness, itchiness and usage of dermal medications. Skin transepidermal water loss (TEWL) was also measured. Results: Levels of both essential fatty acids (EFAs), linoleic acid (18:2n6) and alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n3), and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA; 18:3n6) increased in all lipid fractions after hempseed oil, with no significant increases of arachidonic acid (20:4n6) in any lipid fractions after either oil. Intra-group TEWL values decreased (p?=?0.074), qualities of both skin dryness and itchiness improved (p?=?0.027) and dermal medication usage decreased (p?=?0.024) after hempseed oil intervention. Conclusions: Dietary hempseed oil caused significant changes in plasma fatty acid profiles and improved clinical symptoms of atopic dermatitis. It is suggested that these improvements resulted from the balanced and abundant supply of PUFAs in this hempseed oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hempseed offers a unique nutritional package, in terms of dietary oil, protein, vitamins and minerals, which can be produced at high latitudes ( > 50° latitude). Hempseed oil is highly unsaturated and contains both essential fatty acids (linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid) in a nutritionally balanced ratio, in addition to considerable amounts of biochemically important gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) and stearidonic acid (SDA). The protein in hempseed is complete, in that it contains all of the essential amino acids in nutritionally significant amounts, and lacks the nutritional inhibiting factors found in soya. Hempseed could become a viable replacement for imported soya in Northern Europe, particularly as feed stock for animals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]