Multi-objective optimization of the design of two-stage flash evaporators: Part 2. Multi-objective optimization

Flash evaporation process is currently developing in the wine industry where it is used for flash-cooling or concentration. The design of flash evaporators is faced with specific constraints and must take into account multiple design objectives. In this paper, the development of a multi-objective optimization method is investigated for the joint optimization of design objectives such as process transportability, environmental efficiency, operative cost or cooling power. The optimization method is based on the aggregation of design objectives through desirability functions and indexes. Desirability functions are suitable for formulating design constraints more precisely than inequality relations and, moreover, the global design model results in an unconstrained optimization problem. However, aggregation methods do make it difficult to compute the global optimum of the design problem. This difficulty has been addressed by developing a distributed genetic algorithm which is not so sensitive to this type of numerical solving difficulty. Another difficulty arises from the weighting method for the aggregation of desirability functions since weight parameters have no physical meaning. This weighting problem is approached through a sensitivity analysis of the weight parameters and by observing their relative influence.     

Closed-loop phase behaviour in block copolymers

Closed-loop phase diagrams are known in systems with specific intermolecular interactions. In weakly interacting systems, however, such behaviour has never been observed. Here, diblock copolymers formed from polystyrene covalently linked to poly (n-pentylmethacrylate), P(S-b-nPMA), which have only weak segmental interactions, are shown to exhibit a closed-loop phase behaviour over a narrow range of molecular weight. The endothermic transitions from the disordered to ordered and back to the disordered state, as a function of increasing temperature, are dominantly entropic in origin. The morphology and rheological properties of P(S-b-nPMA) undergo characteristic changes at the transitions. Whereas the disorder-to-order transition temperature increases with decreasing molecular weight, the order-to-disorder transition temperature decreases. At a limiting molecular weight, the closed-loop vanishes and no ordering occurs. These findings provide quantitative insight into an elusive transition in weakly interacting multicomponent systems.     

Outcome of subacute stroke rehabilitation: a randomized controlled trial

We compared the biological activity of a new group of keto-C-glycosides to that of a narrow spectrum of unsaturated ketonucleosides in a panel of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells with various levels of intrinsic resistance to standard chemotherapy drugs. Unlike cisplatin, etoposide, adriamycin, or taxol, for which a significant difference in the cytotoxic effect was observed between sensitive cell lines (H460, H125, and MGH4) and drug-resistant cell lines (H661, MGH7, and FADU), nucleoside analogs were equally cytotoxic in NSCLC cell lines, with compound 92 being 10-fold more active than compound 43, 44, 81, or 161, while compound 3 was the least active. Apoptotic measurements with flow cytometric analysis of terminal uridine deoxynucleotide nick end-labeled cells revealed that the cytotoxic activity of these nucleosides correlated with their potency to induce apoptosis. Compound 92 triggered death in cells with wild-type p53, mutated p53, or p53 gene deletion. Our findings suggest that keto-C-glycosides may be promising alternative anticancer agents which merit further studies in in vivo cancer models refractory to standard chemotherapy drugs.     

Transit-time flow measurement for detection of early graft failure during myocardial revascularization

BACKGROUND: A low-flow situation in arterial and venous grafts has been associated with high rates of perioperative infarction and mortality. This study was designed to look at intraoperative graft flow and resistance in patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS: Coronary artery bypass graft flow was measured in 46 patients. Transit-time flow was used for coronary flow measurements at rest as well as after maximal vasodilation with adenosine infusion. RESULTS: Forty-three of the 46 patients showed normal internal mammary artery graft flow (>20 mL/min); 3 patients had no or minimal graft flow. Redoing the graft anastomosis in these 3 patients resulted in normalization of graft flow. The mean flow increased significantly after correction from 0.5 +/- 0.7 mL/min to 15.7 +/- 9.6 mL/min (p < 0.02). Conversely, vascular resistance decreased significantly from 138 +/- 10 to 4.8 +/- 1.8 Ohmv (p < 0.0001), as did the pulsatility index (from 146.9 +/- 95.7 to 3.4 +/- 1.8; p < 0.001). After correction, coronary flow reserve was 2.5 +/- 1.1. CONCLUSIONS: Measurements of intraoperative flow and resistance as well as derived variables allow assessment of early graft function and thus help prevent graft failure and reduce perioperative infarction. Transit-time volume flow might be a simple tool for quality control in coronary bypass procedures.     

The laboratory diagnosis of spring-summer infections in Yekaterinburg in the epidemic season for tick-borne encephalitis

The authors propose a comprehensive approach to laboratory diagnosis of seasonal transmissible infections, based on modern methods permitting etiological deciphering of disease. A universal diagnostic algorithm notably accelerated the laboratory diagnosis due to cutting the period between collection of material from a patient and consecutive screening for antibodies to agents of tick-borne encephalitis, Lyme disease, and California encephalitis.     

Role of lysine-57 in the catalytic activities of Escherichia coli formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase (Fpg protein)

The Escherichia coli Fpg protein is involved in the repair of oxidized residues. We examined, by targeted mutagenesis, the effect of the conserved lysine residue at position 57 upon the various catalytic activities of the Fpg protein. Mutant Fpg protein with Lys-57-->Gly (K57G) had dramatically reduced DNA glycosylase activity for the excision of 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-guanine (8-oxoG). While wild type Fpg protein cleaved 8-oxoG/C DNA with a specificity constant ( k cat/ K M) of 0.11/(nM@min), K57G cleaved the same DNA 55-fold less efficiently. FpgK57G was poorly effective in the formation of Schiff base complex with 8-oxoG/C DNA. The efficiency in the binding of 8-oxoG/C DNA duplex for K57G mutant was decreased 16-fold. The substitution of Lys-57 for another basic amino acid Arg (K57R) had a slight effect on the 8-oxoG-DNA glycosylase activity and Schiff base formation. The DNA glycosylase activities of FpgK57G and FpgK57R using 2,6-diamino-4-hydroxy-5N-methylformamidopyrimidine residues as substrate were comparable to that of wild type Fpg. In vivo, the mutant K57G, in contrast to the mutant K57R and wild type Fpg, only partially restored the ability to prevent spontaneously induced transitions G/C-->T/A in E.coli BH990 ( fpg mutY ) cells. These results suggest an important role for Lys-57 in the 8-oxoG-DNA glycosylase activity of the Fpg protein in vitro and in vivo.     

Vocabulary competence in early childhood: measurement, latent construct, and predictive validity

We systematically examined relations among 6 measures of child language derived from 3 sources, including observations of the child's speech with mother, experimenter assessments, and maternal reports. A total of 184 20-month-olds and their mothers contributed complete information about child language comprehension and expression. Correlations of child language measures with socioeconomic status and maternal education were accounted for, as were correlations of child language measures with mothers' verbal intelligence, maternal report measures with mothers' tendency to respond in a socially desirable fashion, and experimenter assessments with child social competence. Structural equation modeling supported (1) strong relations among child language measures derived from observations of the child's speech with mother, experimenter assessments, and maternal reports; (2) the loading of multiple measures of child language from different sources on a single latent construct of vocabulary competence; and (3) the predictive validity of the vocabulary competence latent variable at 20 months, as well as receptive vocabulary specifically, for both verbal and performance IQ (verbal better than performance) at 48 months. Neither an index of child monologing (a nonvocabulary language measure) nor symbolic play (a nonlinguistic representational measure) covaried with vocabulary competence. Girls consistently outperformed boys on individual language measures, but no differences emerged in any model in the fit for boys and girls.     

Modelling of low-pressure subcooled flow boiling using the RELAP5 code

A new model for upward vertical subcooled flow boiling at low pressure has been proposed. The model considers the most relevant closure relationships of one-dimensional thermal-hydraulic codes that are important for accurate prediction of vapour contents in the channel: wall evaporation model, condensation model, flow regime transition criterion and drift-flux model. The new model was incorporated in the current version of the RELAP5 code, MOD3.2.2 Gamma. The modified code was validated against a number of published low-pressure subcooled boiling experiments, and in contrast to the current code, shows good agreement with experimental data. The presented analysis also leads to a better understanding of the basic mechanisms of subcooled flow boiling at low pressure.     

Annual variation of fresh water quality in the Gachang Dam reservoir

This paper investigated the relationship between the annual variation of the algae population and the physicochemical properties of the water reservoired in the Gachang Dam in the hopes of serving as a guideline in the production of a clean water supply to regions of the city of Taegu. Summer thermal stratification was formed in the freshwater reservoired in the Gachang Dam and thus dissolved oxygen (DO) decreased according to the depth of the water. The pH of epilimnion was much higher than that of hypolimnion in summer because of the difference in the photosynthesis rate of algae. In July, at the beginning of the rainy season, the amount of total nitrogen (T-N) in the freshwater reached a maximum of 1.92 mg/L without an increase in the amount of total phosphorus (T-P). In August, the concentration of T-P in the freshwater increased steeply and reached 0.12 mg/L.Aulacoseira spp. (diatoms) were predominantly distributed in the freshwater throughout the year andSynedra andAsterionella (diatoms) predominantly populated in the spring. However,Anabaena andMicrocystis (blue-green algae), which caused malodor and a bad taste, flourished predominantly in epilimnion in August when the temperature of the water at the surface region increased to the maximum and the concentration of T-P was sufficiently high.     

The attraction of contributors in free and open source software projects

As firms increasingly sanction an open sourcing strategy, the question of which open source project to undertake remains tentative. The lack of established metrics makes it difficult to formulate such strategy. While many projects have been formed and created, only a few managed to remain active. With the majority of these projects failing, firms need a reliable set of criteria to assess what makes a project appealing not only to developers but also to visitors, users and commercial sponsors. In this paper, we develop a theoretical model to explore the contextual and causal factors of project attractiveness in inducing activities such as source code contribution, software maintenance, and usage. We test our model with data derived from more than 4000 projects spanning 4 years. Our main findings include that projects’ set of conditions such as license restrictiveness and their available resources provide the context that directly influence the amount of work activities observed in the projects. It was also found that indirect and unintended contributions such as recommending software, despite of being non-technical, cannot be ignored for project activeness, diffusion and sustainability. Finally, our analysis provide evidence that higher attractiveness leads to more code-related activities with the downside of slowing down responsiveness to address projects’ tasks, such as the implementation of new features and bug fixes. Our model underscores the significance of the reinforcing effects of attractiveness and work activities in open source projects, giving us the opportunity to discuss strategies to manage common traps such as the liability of newness. We conclude by discussing the applicability of the research model to other user-led initiatives.