Joint latent class model of survival and longitudinal data: An application to CPCRA study

There has been an increasing interest in the joint analysis of repeated measures and time to event data. In many studies, there could also exist heterogeneous subgroups. Thus a new model is proposed for the joint analysis of longitudinal and survival data with underlying subpopulations identified by latent class model. Within each latent class, a joint model of longitudinal and survival data with shared random effects is adopted. The proposed model is applied to Terry Beirn Community Programs for Clinical Research on AIDS study (CPCRA) to characterize the underlying heterogeneity of the cohort and to study the relation between longitudinal CD4 measures and time to death. The proposed model is desirable when the heterogeneity among subjects cannot be ignored and both the longitudinal and survival outcomes are of interest.     

Flavour formation in meat and meat products: a review

The characteristic flavour of cooked meat derives from thermally induced reactions occurring during heating, principally the Maillard reaction and the degradation of lipid. Both types of reaction involve complex reaction pathways leading to a wide range of products, which account for the large number of volatile compounds found in cooked meat. Heterocyclic compounds, especially those containing sulfur, are important flavour compounds produced in the Maillard reaction providing savoury, meaty, roast and boiled flavours. Lipid degradation provides compounds which give fatty aromas to cooked meat and compounds which determine some of the aroma differences between meats from different species. Compounds formed during the Maillard reaction may also react with other components of meat, adding to the complexity of the profile of aroma compounds. For example, aldehydes and other carbonyls formed during lipid oxidation have been shown to react readily with Maillard intermediates. Such interactions give rise to additional aroma compounds, but they also modify the overall profile of compounds contributing to meat flavour. In particular, such interactions may control the formation of sulfur compounds, and other Maillard-derived volatiles, at levels which give the optimum cooked meat flavour characteristics.     

Convergence agent model for developing u-healthcare systems

Ubiquitous networking, the interlinking of computers, consumer electronics, automobiles, home appliances, medical equipment, transportation systems, animals and plants through an overlapping of electronic spaces and physical spaces, is expected to provide an environment that enhances our lives through improved convenience, efficiency and safety in all areas.Today’s healthcare industry emphasizes safety, efficiency, patient-oriented approach, timeliness and balance. u-healthcare makes it possible to safely deliver appropriate services from any location at any time. To explain the emergence of u-healthcare, one must invoke, first of all, progress in IT and medical technology, and then the desire and willingness on the part of health care institutions to adopt the new service concept and increased health care demand. Digitalization of information, introduction of broadband communication and leaps made in healthcare technology in recent years have provided the technological capacity necessary for the achievement of u-healthcare.Based on recently reached theoretical results, integrating u-healthcare environments in virtual organizations, we proposed a methodology for the design and implementation of u-healthcare, linking the distributed mobile agents with medical entities into a convergence and collaborative environment. Despite the challenges in implementing and deploying u-healthcare, the advantages of ubiquitous healthcare are enabled by our smart model for the soft computing endowed ubiquitous. The strength of our approach is that it relates to u-healthcare a system which consists of its dual character emerging from the synergetic interaction between ubiquitous computing techniques and the mobile devices in convergence manner. We have developed a set of initial healthcare agent services on the mobile collaboration framework. We evaluate the functionality and effectiveness of our convergence mobile agent, whether the platform can manage services based on the model and whether the results of u-healthcare services discovery could satisfy user’s requirements with example cases.     

Phenolic and flavonoid content and antioxidants capacity of pressurized liquid extraction and perculation method from roots of Scutellaria pinnatifida A. Hamilt. subsp alpina (Bornm) Rech. f.

The extract was separated from roots of Scutellaria pinnatifida using perculation and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE). A circumscribed central composite (CCC) was used to optimize the effective extraction variables. For achieving maximum extraction yield via PLE the temperature, pressure, static time, dynamic time, and the solvent flow rate were adjusted 65.8 °C, 39.2 bar, 12.9 min, 18.9 min, and 0.76 mL/min, respectively. Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) (mmol/g) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity (mg/mL) were evaluated and the highest antioxidant activity was observed from the PLE extract. The total phenolic and flavonoid content was calculated and a good correlation founded between phenolic content and antioxidant activity. The results indicated the root of this plant is a potential source of natural antioxidants and flavonoids. The PLE method is quicker and it has more extraction yield than perculation.     

Two-stage economic and environmental load dispatching framework using particle filtering

Economic load dispatch (ELD) is the operation of generation plants producing reliable electricity at the lowest cost, while recognizing limitations of the system. The environmental economic load dispatch (EELD) problem extends the ELD to include environmental considerations which makes it even more challenging due to the fact that it considers a very large scale and dynamic system that is highly complex and has inherent uncertainty. In this study, we propose a novel two-stage economic and environmental load dispatching framework using particle filtering for the efficient and reliable dynamic dispatching of electricity under uncertainty. The proposed framework includes (1) a short term demand forecasting algorithm using wavelet transform adaptive modeling, and (2) a dynamic load dispatching algorithm using particle filtering developed in a simulation environment. The proposed approach has been successfully demonstrated for different scenarios in the original IEEE-30 bus test system, which has been benchmarked against contemporary models available in the literature; and a modified version of the IEEE-30 bus test system, where the loads are modeled to update according to the weather and other external conditions.     

The mycorrhizal status of selected poplar clones introduced in Alberta

Mycorrhizal associations are essential in the establishment and growth of plant species. The types of mycorrhizas were investigated in the roots of poplar clones introduced in Alberta. We sampled roots of 28 poplar clones from a 5-year old trial established at the Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc. mill site located $\text{40}\text{km}$ North of Boyle, Alberta. The two most common types of mycorrhizas were quantified in plant roots. The poplar clones showed variable degrees of colonization by both ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, suggesting differential host susceptibility. This highlights the potential use of selected strains of both ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for inoculation trials in populiculture to improve the establishment of introduced poplars on to previously cleared agricultural or disturbed sites in the province of Alberta in particular and in the Canadian prairie provinces in general.