Novel Results on 3G Reconfigurable Outer Block Interleaving Based on FER

Outer block interleaving and time transmission interval (TTI) are two interrelated parameters for the design of 3G systems. Particularly, they represent a critical issue for the implementation of UMTS turbo coding in flat Rayleigh fading channels. Thus, an efficient TTI choice can save computational complexity. In this paper different scenarios are investigated using the maximum UMTS frame length and simulation results are presented for the four possible outer block interleaver configurations in the case of flat Rayleigh fading channel. Considering frame error rate (FER) performance we propose a TTI of 80 ms for rural and urban/suburban outdoor operating environments for the majority of scenarios. For indoor/low range outdoor operating environment 20 ms is the proposed choice apart from low data rates.     

Development of a database system for the calculation of indicators of environmental pressure caused by transport

The scope of this paper is to summarise a methodology developed for TRENDS (TRansport and ENvironment Database System-TRENDS). The main objective of TRENDS was the calculation of environmental pressure indicators caused by transport. The environmental pressures considered are associated with air emissions from the four main transport modes, i.e. road, rail, ships and air. In order to determine these indicators a system for calculating a range of environmental pressures due to transport was developed within a PC-based MS Access environment. Emphasis is given on the latest features incorporated in the model and their applications. One of the recently developed features of the software provides an option for simple scenario analysis including vehicle dynamics (such as turnover and evolution) for all EU15 member states. This feature is called the Transport Activity Balance module (TAB) and enables the production of collective results for all transport modes as well as a comparative assessment of air emissions produced by the various modes. Traffic activity and emission data obtained according to a basic (reference) scenario are displayed for the time period 1970-2020. In addition, a detailed assessment of the results produced by TRENDS was conducted by means of comparison with data found in the literature. Finally, vehicle emissions produced by the model for the EU15 member states were spatially disaggregated for the base year, 1995 and GIS maps were generated. Examples of these maps are displayed in this document, for the various modes of transport considered in the study.     

A quantitative analysis of the European Automakers’ voluntary commitment to reduce CO2 emissions from new passenger cars based on independent experimental data

The reduction of CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption from road transportation constitutes an important pillar of the European Union strategy for implementing the Kyoto Protocol. The commitment to reduce passenger car average CO₂ emissions at 140 g/km in 2008 signed by European car manufacturers and the European Commission is up to now the most important initiative towards limiting CO₂ emissions from road transportation and particularly from passenger cars. Until today, annual reports show the manufacturers’ efforts in limiting CO₂ emissions is within the intermediate target set by the commitment and these results are incorporated in emissions estimations and scientific studies. This paper analyses the origin of the progress achieved so far in CO₂ emissions and attempts an assessment of the commitment using independent experimental emission data. Additionally, the applicability of the commitment-monitoring data into policy and decision-making tools is being examined. The results indicate that a significant part of the reductions achieved so far is due to a market shift towards diesel vehicle sales and that no reduction factors should be applied yet in CO₂ emissions estimation models.     

Investigation of biofilm growth and attrition in a three‐phase airlift bioreactor using 35SO42− as a radiolabelled tracer

The growth and biomass loss pattern for immobilized cells growing on diatomaceous earth particles in a three‐phase airlift bioreactor (TPALB) is studied using ³⁵S as a radiolabelled tracer. A monoculture of Beneckea natriegens was grown immobilized on support particles in a 3 L TPALB. Sterile conditions were maintained during the experiments, and n‐propanol was used as the sole carbon source. After the system reached steady state, the unlabelled sulfate (SO₄^2?) in the feed tank was substituted by a radioactive grade (³⁵SO₄^2?), and the assimilation of ³⁵S in the immobilized and in the suspended cells was monitored. The results indicated that the growth rate of immobilized biomass was not uniform throughout the biofilm. More specifically, it was concluded that cells growing closer to the external biofilm layer exhibit a higher growth rate, and that biomass loss from the biofilm was through attrition at the outer biofilm surface rather than by sloughing off of whole sections of biofilm. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Optimal trajectory tracking of dynamic multistage ROT cooling process with stochastic disturbances

Random disturbance input is bound to cause a state uncertainty. In particular, when the random disturbance input is time correlated, the impact on the state uncertainty becomes more severe. Time correlation, which could also be expressed in terms of an interstage correlation, implies that the value of a one time instant is correlated with the value of another time instant; it suggests that the random disturbance is nonwhite. A run-out-table cooling is a complex dynamic multistage process with intrinsic characteristics such as, long time delay and time-correlated disturbance, therefore it constitutes an exceptional case to investigate stochastic optimization methods, in order to optimally track the temperature trajectory along its stages. Stochastic optimization is applied on an augmented state model, which is a combination of a dynamic disturbance model and the system equation. The merit of the optimal solutions obtained by this approach is confirmed by simulation experiments. The results demonstrate the state propagation and robust tracking performance in the presence of stochastic time-correlated disturbance inputs.     

On the safety evaluation of the space in the vicinity of an aperture antenna

In this paper, the safety evaluation of the space in the vicinity of an aperture antenna is presented. The basis of our consideration is the approximate similarity of the contours between uniformly and nonuniformly illuminated apertures. Using the equivalence of either the gain or the beam width, it was possible to derive the uniform aperture with similar contours to the corresponding nonuniform one. In order to avoid radiofrequency (RF) hazards, instead of the isoparametric contours, their envelopes have been studied. Also, in the case where the exact axial field and the radiation pattern of the aperture are known, the contours can be approximately presented. Several examples with different apertures show the procedure of drawing the contours and explain the validity of our method.     

Survival of acid-adapted or non-adapted Salmonella Enteritidis, Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7, in traditional Greek salads

The fate of three pathogens Salmonella Enteritidis, Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 that were inoculated in fish roe salad and aubergine salad with or without preservatives after being adapted in acid environment or not, was determined. The salads were stored at 10  ° C and the pathogens population was counted at regular intervals. Parameters (lag time, death rates calculated with Baranyi equation) were used to compare the behaviour of the pathogens. In the absence of preservatives the pathogens survived during the 15 days of storage. A 1 log reduction was observed for Listeria and 2 logs reduction for Salmonella and E. coli in both salads. In most cases, acid adaptation decreased the death rate even in the presence of preservatives. The addition of sorbic and benzoic acid in the salads increased the death rate of the pathogens during storage significantly and they were not detected at 7–10 days for Salmonella , 8–12 days for Listeria and 5 days for E. coli . It is concluded that a well-studied combination of hurdles is appropriate to ensure safety of home-made traditional salads free of preservatives.     

On performance of slowly varying systems

In this paper we present a result on the performance of slowly time varying systems. In particular we show that the performance of such systems cannot be much worse than that of the frozen-time systems which are time invariant. We also demonstrate via an example that optimal frozen-time design may in general result to far from optimal performance even though the time variations of the system can be arbitrarily slow.     

The addition of paclitaxel to continuous infusion 5-fluorouracil is an active regimen for metastatic breast cancer

We investigated tissue staining for Bcl-2 and Bax proteins, which regulate apoptosis, as indicators of chemotherapeutic effect in patients with gastric cancer. In 23 patients with gastric carcinoma biopsy specimens were obtained endoscopically prior to chemotherapy and stained immunohistochemically with anti-Bcl-2 and anti-Bax antibodies. Patients then were treated with continuous infusion of 5-FU and cisplatin. No correlation was seen between chemotherapeutic effect and Bcl-2 or Bax alone. However, among the Bax-positive cases, the patients with Bcl-2-positive tumors were significantly more chemoresistant (p = 0.036) and had worse prognoses (p = 0.008) than Bcl-2-negative cases. Therefore, immunohistochemical staining for Bcl-2 protein may predict chemotherapeutic efficacy or guide specific therapeutic choices in treating Bax-positive tumors.