Induction of mosaic sex-linked recessive lethals in the different germ cell stages of Drosophila melanogaster by bleomycin

The dead-end filtration characteristics of the dimorphic yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus var. marxianus (formerly fragilis) NRRLy2415 were investigated for a range of mean cell morphologies, ranging from predominantly yeast-like to predominantly filamentous. Semiautomated image analysis was used to measure the mean cell specific surface area, Sv, and the mean ratio of cell length to equivalent cylindrical diameter, Ldm, in each broth. The method of Ju and Ho (Biotechnol. Bioeng. 1988, 32, 95-99) was used to show that for broths with Ldm values between 1.72 and 10.03, the voidage of cell pellets formed by centrifugation increased with increasing Ldm. In the pressure range 30-180 kPa, the specific filter cake resistance, alpha, was found to be related to pressure, DeltaP, through the equation alpha = alpha0(1 + kcDeltaP). The dependence of alpha0/Sv2 on Ldm was found to be qualitatively consistent with the pellet voidage data and the Carman-Kozeny equation. Considerably better agreement with the experimental data was obtained when the Kozeny constant, K, was treated as variable and related to Ldm through the equation K = 4.83 + 7.08 log10 Ldm. The cake compressibility constant, kc, was found to increase with increasing Ldm, a phenomenon consistent with the wide range of voidages that can be displayed by beds of long cylinders.     

Composition Dependence and Irradation Effects on Residual Resistivity in Cu-Al Alloys

Residual electrical resistivity due to short-range order has been calculated for Cu100-xAlx (x=9.13,13.56, 14.5 and 14.76 in at pct) alloys using pseudopotential approach, and the results have been discussed in the light of experimental studies of the local-order structure of these alloys. In case of Cu85.5Al14.5, change in the total residual electrical resistivity due to neutron-irradiation effects has been estimated by including contributions from the short-range order and static atomic displacement correction. Our results show a decrease in the residual resistivity in the irradiated Cu-Al solid solution as compared to the unirradiated sample. This is in accordance with the experimental results     

Software for dynamic reconfigurable order picking systems

This paper describes an approach, conceptual framework, and software architecture for dynamic reconfiguration of the order picking system. The research and development project was sponsored by the Material Handling Research Center (MHRC), a National Science Foundation sponsored Cooperative Industry/University Research Center. The storage configuration is assumed to be an in-the-aisle order picking system in which stockkeeping units (SKUs) can occupy variable capacity storage locations and stock-splitting is allowed among zones (clusters). The product mix may include multiple product families with different life cycles, correlated demand within families and commonality of demand across families.     

A novel chaotic Henry gas solubility optimization algorithm for solving real-world engineering problems

The paper proposes a novel metaheuristic based on integrating chaotic maps into a Henry gas solubility optimization algorithm (HGSO). The new algorithm is named chaotic Henry gas solubility optimization (CHGSO). The hybridization is aimed at enhancement of the convergence rate of the original Henry gas solubility optimizer for solving real-life engineering optimization problems. This hybridization provides a problem-independent optimization algorithm. The CHGSO performance is evaluated using various conventional constrained optimization problems, e.g., a welded beam problem and a cantilever beam problem. The performance of the CHGSO is investigated using both the manufacturing and diaphragm spring design problems taken from the automotive industry. The results obtained from using CHGSO for solving the various constrained test problems are compared with a number of established and newly invented metaheuristics, including an artificial bee colony algorithm, an ant colony algorithm, a cuckoo search algorithm, a salp swarm optimization algorithm, a grasshopper optimization algorithm, a mine blast algorithm, an ant lion optimizer, a gravitational search algorithm, a multi-verse optimizer, a Harris hawks optimization algorithm, and the original Henry gas solubility optimization algorithm. The results indicate that with selecting an appropriate chaotic map, the CHGSO is a robust optimization approach for obtaining the optimal variables in mechanical design and manufacturing optimization problems.

     

Constitution of the Ni3Cr-Ni3Al-Ni3W system

Isothermal sections of the Ni-Cr-Al-W system have been investigated at 75 at % Ni and temperatures of 1523 and 1273 K, by means of phase compositional analysis, X-ray diffraction and microscopical examination. The alloys studied lay in the range 2.5 to 10 at % Cr, 12.5 to 20 at% Al, 2.5 to 6.25 at % W, The phases formed were, and the bcc solid solution based on tungsten (designated ₂). The maximum extent of the region was found to be 3 at % each of chromium and tungsten. Preferential partitioning of tungsten to occurred. Study of an Ni-10Cr-12.5Al-2.5W alloy aged at 1273 and 1073 K, after quenching from 1573 K, showed that changes in and compositions and lattice parameters occur as a function of ageing time.     

Attitudes towards mobile banking: are there any differences between users and non-users?

Extant research has focused on monitoring the behaviour of people who use mobile banking (MB) but it has paid little attention to understanding the impact of information technology usage behaviour due to cultural differences. Humans are the weakest link in information technology adoption; past research has shown that not all users are predisposed to change their behaviour radically and adopt new channels of banking. This paper examines the demographic patterns of users and non-users of MB. The paper also investigates the attitudinal influences of users and non-users of MB based on innovation attributes. Using empirical research, the study identifies constructs of innovation attributes that were perceived to be significantly different among the users and non-users of MB. The study provides valuable insights into MB in Saudi Arabia that have not been previously investigated. From a practical point, findings of this study will be particularly useful to banks, financial institutions and telecommunication service providers.     

Modeling and Analysis of Temperature Compensation for Multi-temperature Zone Sintering Furnace Temperature Sensing

International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems - The surface temperature of workpieces in a multi-temperature zone sintering furnace is an important parameter to characterize the...     

Aligning Collaborative Business Processes—An Organization-Oriented Perspective

Business collaboration encompasses the coordination of information flows among organizations as well as the composition of their business processes toward mutual benefits. While integrating business processes of different organizations seamlessly, it brings great challenges to keep participating organizations as autonomous entities. To address this issue, we propose a new perspective on modeling collaborative business processes with a novel concept called relative workflow (RWF). With its visibility control mechanism, the RWF model defines what a participating organization can perceive in collaboration and thereby allows each organization to customize its own collaboration process and behaviors. In this paper, we present a formal definition of RWFs and related algorithms for generating RWFs. A prototype is implemented on the Web service platform for the proof-of-concept purpose.     

Sustainability evaluation framework for building cooling systems: a comparative study of snow storage and conventional chiller systems

In Canada, the residential building sector consumes 17 % of the total energy and 15 % of the total greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, the energy demand for cooling in the residential sector is increasing due to the large occupancy floor area and high usage of air conditioning. Minimizing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions is one of the highest priority goals set for national energy management strategies in developed countries including Canada. In this study, a framework based on the life cycle assessment approach is developed to assess the environmental impacts of different building cooling systems, namely conventional snow storage system, watertight snow storage system, high-density snow storage system, and the conventional chiller cooling system. Moreover, all these systems have varying energy requirements and associated environmental impacts during different phases (extraction and construction, utilization, and end of life) of the life cycle of a building. A low-rise residential building in Kelowna (BC, Canada) has been selected for the pragmatic application of the proposed framework. The annual cooling energy demand for the building is estimated for different phases. Subsequently, the life cycle impact assessment has been carried out using SimaPro 8.1 software and TRACI 2.1 method. For sustainability evaluation of different cooling systems over their life cycle, multi-criteria decision analysis has been employed using the ‘Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE II).’ The results showed that the snow storage systems tend to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and associated environmental impacts more than the conventional system.