Recommendations for the prevention of coronary artery disease in Asians: a scientific statement of the International College of Nutrition

PURPOSE: Two types of glass wool were used to remove leukocytes in semen for evaluation of reactive oxygen species production by spermatozoa in oligozoospermic patients with leukocytospermia. METHODS: Semen samples were prepared using fine-structure glass wool (SpermFertil) and coarse-structure glass wool. In each treatment group, native semen was evaluated for sperm concentration, percentage motility, viability, leukocyte concentration, and production of reactive oxygen species. RESULTS: Electron microscopically, SpermFertil showed a higher number of leukocytes attached to the fibers compared to coarse-structure glass wool. Leukocytes in native semen and after glass wool filtration as determined by peroxidase cytochemistry confirmed this observation. Reactive oxygen species decreased from 45.303 counts/10(7) viable cells in native semen to 15.806 counts/10(7) cells in coarse structure wool and 7.465 counts/10(7) cells in Spermfertil, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Removal of leukocytes from semen of oligozoospermic patients by means of glass wool filtration is a useful method to distinguish production of reactive oxygen species by leukocytes versus sperm cells.     

A resilience optimization approach for workforce-inventory control dynamics under uncertainty

The presence of uncertainties in manufacturing systems and supply chains can cause undesirable behavior. Failure to account for these in the design phase can further impair the capability of systems to respond to changes effectively. In this work, we consider a dynamic workforce-inventory control problem wherein inventory planning, production releases, and workforce hiring decisions need to be made. The objective is to develop planning rules to achieve important requirements related to dynamic transient behavior when system parameters are imprecisely known. To this end, we propose a resilience optimization model for the problem and develop a novel local search procedure that combines the strengths of recent developments in robust optimization technology and small signal stability analysis of dynamic systems. A numerical case study of the problem demonstrates significant improvements of the proposed solution in controlling fluctuations and high variability found in the system’s inventory, work-in-process, and workforce levels. Overall, the proposed model is shown to be computationally efficient and effective in hedging against model uncertainties.     

Holography: a behavior‐based profiler for malware analysis

Behavior‐based detection and signature‐based detection are two popular approaches to malware (malicious software) analysis. The security industry, such as the sector selling antivirus tools, has been using signature and heuristic‐based technologies for years. However, this approach has been proven to be inefficient in identifying unknown malware strains. On the other hand, the behavior‐based malware detection approach has a greater potential in identifying previously unknown instances of malicious software. The accuracy of this approach relies on techniques to profile and recognize accurate behavior models. Unfortunately, with the increasing complexity of malicious software and limitations of existing automatic tools, the current behavior‐based approach cannot discover many newer forms of malware either. In this paper, we implement ‘holography platform’, a behavior‐based profiler on top of a virtual machine emulator that intercepts the system processes and analyzes the CPU instructions, CPU registers, and memory. The captured information is stored in a relational database, and data mining techniques are used to extract information. We demonstrate the breadth of the ‘holography platform’ by conducting two experiments: a packed binary behavior analysis and a malvertising (malicious advertising) incident tracing. Both tasks are known to be very difficult to do efficiently using existing methods and tools. We demonstrate how the precise behavior information can be easily obtained using the ‘holography platform’ tool. With these two experiments, we show that the ‘holography platform’ can provide security researchers and automatic malware detection systems with an efficient malicious software behavior analysis solution. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electric direct-reduction process

Here is another new steelmaking process. It makes use of a double-hearth, low-frequency induction furnace for the production of pig iron or steel. It can produce high-quality and alloy steels.     

The early nineteenth century planning of Newcastle upon Tyne

This article seeks to re‐examine the social, political and economic factors involved in the redevelopment of central Newcastle between 1834–1840, and to suggest possible parallels with aspects of planning practice today. It emphasizes the contribution of the entrepreneur Richard Grainger and — utilizing the author's recent study — the architect John Dobson's possible advisory role. Using a number of previously unpublished maps and plans, earlier replanning schemes by Dobson and others are analysed in the context of the history and development of the town. In particular, attention is paid to ways in which these differed from, but may have influenced, the central area redevelopment scheme. This itself is assessed in terms of both the planning principles involved and its essentially commercial rationale, highlighted by details of the actual occupation of sites. Examination is also made of Grainger's relationship with the municipal authorities of the day and his financial methodology.     

Novel portable electrical detection system for DNA SENSOR application

A novel, portable, electrical detection system was constructed for DNA sensor application to detect DNA hybridisation. The read-out circuit consists of an analogue circuit and a digital circuit. The analogue circuit with an IC MAX038 generates a sine wave with a constant frequency (10?kHz), which serves as the input for the DNA sensor. The DNA sensor consists of active and reference sensors. DNA hybridisation between the DNA probe and the target sequences causes changes in the conductance of the conductive membrane (DNA/MWCNTs) on the sensor surface, which lead to changes in the amplitude of the sine wave from the sensor output compared with that of the reference signal output (input sine wave). We used a digital circuit with a microprocessor (PIC33FJ256MC710) to determine the change in the amplitude of the sine wave signal of the sensor. From these digital data, the difference in the amplitudes of the active and reference sensors was calculated and displayed on the liquid crystal display. Measurement results show that the portable electrical detection system can detect DNA target concentrations as low as 0.16?µM. The detection of the amplified polymerase chain reaction sample and the reproducibility of the DNA sensor results were also determined using the designed readout circuit. The proposed electrical detection system is suitable for DNA sensor application.