Ionizing radiation and marketing simulation on bioactive compounds and quality of grapefruit (Citrus paradisi c.v. Rio Red)

Bioactive compounds in citrus fruits have been shown to be protective against chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease, but their levels may be affected by postharvest treatments such as storage and irradiation. In this study, grapefruits were exposed to gamma irradiation at 0, 150 and 300 Gy and then stored at 10 °C for 36 d, followed by an additional 20 d at 20 °C. Flavonoid content, terpenoid content, quality (acidity and total soluble solids) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity were evaluated at regular intervals during storage. Irradiation and storage affected (P ? 0.05) the levels of bioactive compounds in grapefruit; however, the effect of storage was prominent. Irradiation differentially affected the flavonoid content of pulp and peel. Fruits exposed to 300 Gy had higher (P ? 0.01) narirutin content in peel compared to control fruits at 12 and 56 d after storage. While storage increased the d-limonene and myrcene content in all treatments, control fruit had higher terpenoid content at the end of the storage. PAL activity was found to be in traces in the peel. In general, irradiation or storage had no considerable effect on total soluble solids; however, acidity decreased (P ? 0.05) with storage.     

Using connectionist models to guide assessment of psycological disorder.

Connectionist models are introduced as promising tools for understanding the nature of psychological disorders and guiding their assessment. Specifically, ways in which connectionist models can guide the following aspects of the assessment process are described: understanding what constructs are relevant to assess, designing approaches to assessing these constructs, and understanding individual differences in data from assessments. Two extended examples are given based on the authors' research on cognitive aspects of depression and Alzheimer's disease. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and job performance: Test of the mediating effects of motivation among sales representatives.

Research shows consistent relations between personality and job performance. In this study the authors develop and test a model of job performance that examines the mediating effects of cognitive-motivational work orientations on the relationships between personality traits and performance in a sales job (N=164). Covariance structural analyses revealed proximal motivational variables to be influential mechanisms through which distal personality traits affect job performance. Specifically, striving for status and accomplishment mediate the effects of Extraversion and Conscientiousness on ratings of sales performance. Although Agreeableness was related to striving for communion, neither Agreeableness nor communion striving was related to success in this sales job. The importance of the proposed motivational orientations model is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shape-driven segmentation of the arterial wall in intravascular ultrasound images

Segmentation of arterial wall boundaries from intravascular images is an important problem for many applications in the study of plaque characteristics, mechanical properties of the arterial wall, its 3-D reconstruction, and its measurements such as lumen size, lumen radius, and wall radius. We present a shape-driven approach to segmentation of the arterial wall from intravascular ultrasound images in the rectangular domain. In a properly built shape space using training data, we constrain the lumen and media-adventitia contours to a smooth, closed geometry, which increases the segmentation quality without any tradeoff with a regularizer term. In addition to a shape prior, we utilize an intensity prior through a nonparametric probability-density-based image energy, with global image measurements rather than pointwise measurements used in previous methods. Furthermore, a detection step is included to address the challenges introduced to the segmentation process by side branches and calcifications. All these features greatly enhance our segmentation method. The tests of our algorithm on a large dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.     

澳大利亚越野轮胎起重机市场

在澳大利亚资源开发的热潮中．各家起重机租赁公司争先恐后地购买越野轮眙起重机。     

松下演示三维等离子蓝光系统

10月初，在CEATEC上，松下公司展示了“世界上第一个三维全高清等离子影院系统”以及世界上最大的150英寸108019的等离子显示器。     

JVC亏损增加关闭电视工厂

JVC美国公司的母公司为日本Victor Co.,后者近日宣布,它将会关闭位于日本和苏格兰的电视机工厂,将制造部分转移到别的领域,以此提高公司利润率。和之前报道情况不一样的是,该公司称它将会削减电视机在日本的销售数量,而且不再销售消费市场的液晶电视机型,因为它     

Estimating urban trail traffic: Methods for existing and proposed trails

The paper presents findings from the most comprehensive, continuous trail monitoring system in the United States, a network of 30 infrared monitors on five multiuse trails in Indianapolis, Indiana operating for periods of one to more than four years. We describe variation in traffic across different trails and segments of individual trails and present traffic ratios that describe variations in traffic by month, day of week, and time of day. We also present regression models for estimating traffic from temporal, weather, socio-demographic, and urban form variables. We propose and validate procedures for use of traffic ratios to extrapolate hourly counts to annual estimates and use of regression models to estimate traffic. Our procedures provide estimates within 20–30% of actual counts. Limitations of the models are noted. Potential applications range from forecasting traffic on proposed new trails to assessing the need for safety improvements such as stop lights at intersections.     

Predicting the Fire Dynamics of Exposed Timber Surfaces in Compartments Using a Two-Zone Model

There is an increasing desire to use more engineered timber products in buildings, due to the perceived aesthetics of timber and desire for more sustainable architecture. However, there are concerns about fire performance of these products especially in taller buildings. This has led to renewed research to understand the behaviour of timber surfaces in compartments exposed to fire. This paper describes a two-zone calculation model for determining the fire environment within a compartment constructed from timber products where varying amounts of timber are exposed on the walls and ceiling. A set of eight full-scale compartment experiments previously reported in the literature are used to assess the capability of the model. The fire load energy density in the experiments ranged from 92 MJ/m² to 366 MJ/m² comprising either wood cribs or bedroom furniture with the largest compartment having dimensions 4.5?×?3.5?×?2.5 m high with an opening 1.069 m wide?×?2.0 m high. The experiments were ventilation-controlled. It is shown that the model can be used to provide conservative predictions of the fire temperatures for compartments with timber exposed on the walls and/or ceiling as part of an engineering analysis. There are several limitations that are discussed including the need to consider the debonding of layers in the case of cross-laminated timber. It is recommended that further benchmarking of the model be done for different ventilation conditions and with engineered timber products where debonding does not occur. This will test the model under a wider range of conditions than examined in this paper.