Decomposing the value of cigarettes using experimental auctions.

Using a new brand of cigarettes with less nicotine content than conventional cigarettes, we conducted experimental auctions at two grocery stores to estimate smokers' value of nicotine. Our approach is novel because the brand of cigarettes auctioned was new to the market and the cigarette's nicotine content is reduced using genetic modification, with no effect on the taste of the cigarettes. We found smokers would be willing to pay US$1.25-$1.45 for a pack of cigarettes with no nicotine and $1.59-$1.66 for a pack of cigarettes with low levels of nicotine.     

Modelling of airborne dust emissions in CNC MDF milling

All dust control measures are necessary to reduce dust exposure in MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard)-milling, because of the high amount and fineness of the dust produced and a potential risk of exposure to formaldehyde or other glue chemicals during the machining of MDF. The most effective way of reducing dust exposure is to reduce the emission of dust at the source. Airborne dust emission was studied and modelled in the milling. In the milling of MDF, airborne dust emission was much higher than in the milling of solid materials. Milling of MDF produced airborne particles with a mass median diameter of 6–7 µm. The most significant factor affecting the amount of dust created from milling was average chip thickness. In order to reduce the amount of dust, milling parameters should be chosen so that the average chip thickness is greater than 0.05 mm. The average chip thickness could be obtained with different milling parameters, for example with different combinations of feed and traverse rates. The same chip thicknesses resulted in around the same percentage fraction of fine dust mass regardless of how the average chip thickness was obtained. The relationship between the percentage fraction of fine dust mass from the removed mass (c_%) and the chip thickness (h_m) was modelled and presented in the form of c_% = 0.194 h _m ^-1. The model developed can be used to estimate the percentage fraction of fine dust mass as a function of chip thickness. The model can be used in optimisation programs for CNC milling machines to minimize the airborne dust generated and to reduce dust exposure.     

Particulate emissions from large-scale medium-speed diesel engines: 2. Chemical composition

The effect of diesel fuel and operation mode on diesel particulate matter (PM) emissions was studied using a combination of a gravimetric impactor (DGI) and SEM/EDX analysis of PM particles from 0.005 to 2.5 μm aerodynamic size. Tests were made with heavy fuel oil (HFO) and light fuel oil (LFO) with medium speed (500 rpm), turbo-charged, power per cylinder ~1 MW, multivariable large-scale diesel engines. Diesel PM was sampled from diluted and cooled exhaust gases. The sampled PM was found to be primarily made of carbon and sulphur derived from the fuel and lube oil but contain several other chemical species as well. In this paper the submicron particle size range (0.2-0.5 μm and 0.5-1.0 μm) is discussed. The EDX analysis gave reasonably accurate quantitative results featuring the important elements present in the samples, namely, C, O, Mg, Si, S, Cl, Ca, V, Fe, Ni, Zn (and Al). The results indicate that the finest particles originate primarily from the fuel while the somewhat larger particles contain also significant amounts of elements derived from the lubrication oil. As expected, the concentrations of sulphur and certain metallic elements such as V, Ni, Ca, Zn, Fe, Mg are significantly higher in diesel PM from HFO firing than for LFO firing.     

Cartesian authentication codes from functions with optimal nonlinearity

In this paper, we present several classes of authentication codes using functions with perfect nonlinearity and optimum nonlinearity. Some of the authentication codes are optimal. On the other hand, these authentication codes are easy to implement due to their simple algebraic structures.     

Spectroscopic Sorting of Aerosols by a Compact Sensor Employing UV LEDs

A compact sensor for physically sorting bioaerosols based on fluorescence spectra from single particles excited using arrays of ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV LEDs) is presented. The optical system integrates electronics for real-time processing of spectral data and a miniaturized aerodynamic deflector for particle separation. Fluorescent polystyrene latex spheres are used to demonstrate fluorescence collection on-the-fly, operation of a real-time spectral algorithm, and physical separation of individual particles. This sensor illustrates the utility of recently developed UV LEDs, in conjunction with novel optical design and custom electronics, to shrink the size of aerosol fluorescence detection systems.     

Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals for Next‐Generation Optoelectronics

Colloidal perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) combine the outstanding optoelectronic properties of bulk perovskites with strong quantum confinement effects at the nanoscale. Their facile and low‐cost synthesis, together with superior photoluminescence quantum yields and exceptional optical versatility, make PNCs promising candidates for next‐generation optoelectronics. However, this field is still in its early infancy and not yet ready for commercialization due to several open challenges to be addressed, such as toxicity and stability. Here, the key synthesis strategies and the tunable optical properties of PNCs are discussed. The photophysical underpinnings of PNCs, in correlation with recent developments of PNC‐based optoelectronic devices, are especially highlighted. The final goal is to outline a theoretical scaffold for the design of high‐performance devices that can at the same time address the commercialization challenges of PNC‐based technology.     

Burrows-Wheeler post-transformation with effective clustering and interpolative coding

Lossless compression methods based on the Burrows-Wheeler transform (BWT) are regarded as an excellent compromise between speed and compression efficiency: they provide compression rates close to the PPM algorithms, with the speed of dictionary-based methods. Instead of the laborious statistics-gathering process used in PPM, the BWT reversibly sorts the input symbols, using as the sort key as many following characters as necessary to make the sort unique. Characters occurring in similar contexts are sorted close together, resulting in a clustered symbol sequence. Run-length encoding and Move-to-Front (MTF) recoding, combined with a statistical Huffman or arithmetic coder, is then typically used to exploit the clustering. A drawback of the MTF recoding is that knowledge of the character that produced the MTF number is lost. In this paper, we present a new, competitive Burrows-Wheeler posttransform stage that takes advantage of interpolative coding—a fast binary encoding method for integer sequences, being able to exploit clusters without requiring explicit statistics. We introduce a fast and simple way to retain knowledge of the run characters during the MTF recoding and use this to improve the clustering of MTF numbers and run-lengths by applying reversible, stable sorting, with the run characters as sort keys, achieving significant improvement in the compression rate, as shown here by experiments on common text corpora.     

On the effect of a spherical shield on the radiation Q and efficiency of ideal dipole antennas

A method is developed for calculating the radiation efficiency and quality factor, Q, for azimuthally symmetric electric (Tm) and magnetic (Te) multipole fields surrounded by a semi-transparent spherical shield of variable thickness, dielectric and magnetic constants involving losses. A matrix method is used to connect the transverse field components at adjacent interfaces. The Q and efficiency are determined by computing the energy stored in the near field of the multipole as well as the power radiated and dissipated in the shield. A numerical comparison of the performance of electric and magnetic dipole radiators is given as a function of frequency. An expression is derived for the permittivity of the shield which optimisés the Q.     

Association of lumbar artery narrowing, degenerative changes in disc and endplate and apparent diffusion in disc on postcontrast enhancement of lumbar intervertebral disc

Objective  A decreased supply of nutrition to the intervertebral disc can lead to disc degeneration. Nutrient supply can be simulated in vivo by measuring gadolinium enhancement of the disc. We aimed to study the changes associated with disc degeneration that may have effect on the nutrition of the disc, i.e. lumbar artery narrowing, Modic changes, endplate defects, and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in nucleus pulposus. Patients and methods  Twenty male volunteers underwent a lumbar spine examination at 1.5 T for anatomical imaging, diffusion weighted imaging, magnetic resonance angiography, and for T1 relaxation time quantification of contrast enhancement of intervertebral disc. Results  Enhancement of the disc increased with degeneration. Disc space narrowing associated strongly with the enhancement (Pearson’s correlation coefficient 0.46, P < 0.001). The enhancement rate in discs adjacent to Modic type 2 changes was 24%, adjacent to type 1/2 changes 58%, and 13% in the absence of Modic changes. Discs adjacent to endplate defects enhanced 32% compared to 10% of normal endplates. Lumbar artery narrowing or ADC in the disc were not associated with the enhancement. Conclusion  Increased enhancement of a degenerated disc is associated mostly with disc space narrowing and with the presence of degenerative endplate changes and endplate defects.