Vocabulary in interviews as related to respondent characteristics

Responses in personalinterviews about education and career with 415Swedish men and women (age 34) forms the basisof a speech corpus with 1.8 million words. Thevocabulary is described by means of two sets ofvariables. One is based on the number of tokensand types, word length and sectioning of therunning text. The other set divides the corpusinto grammatical categories. Both sets ofvariables are related to a number of backgroundvariables such as gender, socioeconomicbackground, education, and indicators of verbalproficiency at age 13 and 32. This possibilityto study the relationship between vocabularyand a broad set of respondent characteristicsis a unique feature of this corpus.     

Static characterization and parameter extraction in MOS transistors

This paper describes the basic concepts for efficient parameter extraction. The focus is on efficiency in parameter extraction and often analytical manipulation of the model equations can be used to increase efficiency. In particular, extraction of the linear region miniset parameters, and how series resistance and effective geometry can be derived from these parameters, will be discussed. Furthermore, extraction of the saturation and subthres-hold region parameters are discussed and the importance of the underlying model is highlighted.     

Research Needs and Opportunities in the Dry Conservation of Fruits and Vegetables

The consumer demand for healthy convenience meals with 'near fresh' properties challenges researchers and industry to develop new or improved conservation procedures for food products. However, this recent food trend towards fresh image on one ride and convenience on the other side often conflict. In most cases the fresh quality is negatively affected by the processing procedure. Therefore nowadays efforts ars focussed on extending the shelf life of fresh products. However, sophisticated energy demanding facilities are required for storage and transporation, whereas thc use of ecologically unsound cooling agents is a major drawback.

The development of a dehydration process on the basic of electromagnetic energy (EME) may bring about a major breakthrough with respect to the retention of product quality and improved rehydration characteristics. Due to the tenfold weight reduction established in the dehydration process transport and storage costs are minimised thus reducing energy consumption. In comparison with fresh and frozen products minimal storage facilities are required.

The strategy of a consortium of five EC-research centres and two dutch drying companies is to combine and fine tune hot air drying (low processing costs) and EME-drying (quality retention) into a hybrid process, to compare the performance with conventional methods and to include packaging and storage effects.

Optimisation of the rewettability is one of the major concems since food materials with near fresh properties can only be obtained from dry material if rehydration characteristics ars excellent. To establish such dried fruit and vegetables will be considered as blends of polymeric materials. Many quality deterioration mechanisms can be attributed to the mobility of the polymeric matrix and the diffusion of water. Properties thus depend on the composition, the physical properties of the polymers (mobility) and the overall structure of the dried material.     

Mechanical properties of sawn timber from Norway spruce

Picea abies ) of three different cross sectional sizes: 38×89 mm², 38×140 mm², and 38×184 mm². Specific material characteristics for the lumber are presented. The tests also enabled comparison between results from two testing methodologies. The mean value for the modulus of elasticity established from the dynamic tests was found to be approximately 10% higher than the corresponding value established from static tests. The statistical correlation between statically and dynamically established moduli is very strong. The dynamic E modulus was found to be as good a strength predictor as the static E modulus. Cross sectional size and the existence of the pith in the sawn lumber were found to significantly influence the material properties. In general terms, it was found that deeper beams correspond to lower values for the E modulus and for the bending strength. The reason for this tendency is believed to be a combination of a volumetric effect (in the case of strength) and a phenomenon related to the log selection and sawing process in the mills. Lumber that comprises the pith has been found to have generally lower values of the E modulus and bending strength while the shear modulus is higher, compared to lumber without pith sawn further out in the log.

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Picea abies ) wurden dynamische und statische Prüfungen vorgenommen. Die Proben hatten drei verschiedene Querschnitte: 38×89 mm², 38×140 mm² und 38×184 mm². Anhand der vorgelegten Ergebnisse wurden auch zwei Prüfmethoden verglichen. Die Mittelwerte der dynamischen MOE-Prüfung lagen etwa 10% h?her als die statisch ermittelten Werte. Die Korrelation beider MOE-Werte ist sehr streng. Beide Werte k?nnen zur Vorhersage der Festigkeit verwendet werden. Der Querschnitt und die Anwesenheit von Markanteilen beeinflussen das Ergebnis wesentlich. Je tiefer die Balken waren d.h. je n?her sie der Markr?hre lagen, desto geringer waren E-Modul und Biegefestigkeit. Die Gründe dafür werden teils einem Volumeneffekt zugeschrieben (im Falle der Festigkeit), teils auf das Auswahlverfahren der St?mme im S?gebetrieb zurückgeführt. Schnittholz mit Markanteil hatte allgemein. einen geringeren E-Modul und niedrigere Biegefestigkeit als Proben aus ?u?eren Stammbereichen; die Scherfestigkeit lag dagegen h?her.

     

Tumor therapy with an antibody-targeted superantigen generates a dichotomy between local and systemic immune responses

Repeated injections of a fusion protein containing the superantigen staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) combined with a Fab fragment of a tumor-specific antibody is a highly efficient immunotherapy for mice expressing lung melanoma micrometastasis. In the present study, the systemic and local immune responses generated by this therapy were analyzed at a cellular level. Two distinct but coupled immune reactions occurred after repeated therapy. Tumor necrosis factor and macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha and -1 beta were immediately synthesized, in the absence of T lymphocytes, at the local tumor site in the lung. This was followed by the induction of VCAM-1 adhesion molecule expression on pulmonary vascular endothelial cells. Concurrently, the early response in the spleen was characterized by the induction of selective T cells producing interleukin (IL)-2. The primed and expanded SEA-reactive V beta 3- and V beta 11-expressing T lymphocytes accumulated to the tumor area only after Fab-SEA therapy and were not present in the lung when SEA, Fab fragment, or recombinant IL-2 was injected. The tumor-infiltrating T cells produced large amounts of interferon-gamma, but no IL-2 or Th2 type of lymphokines were detected at the tumor site in the Fab-SEA-targeted antitumor immune response. These results emphasize the necessity to investigate several sites of antigen presentation to elucidate the effects of immunotherapy.     

Agreement between artificial neural networks and experienced electrocardiographer on electrocardiographic diagnosis of healed myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnoses of healed myocardial infarction made from the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) by artificial neural networks and an experienced electrocardiographer. BACKGROUND: Artificial neural networks have proved of value in pattern recognition tasks. Studies of their utility in ECG interpretation have shown performance exceeding that of conventional ECG interpretation programs. The latter present verbal statements, often with an indication of the likelihood for a certain diagnosis, such as "possible left ventricular hypertrophy." A neural network presents its output as a numeric value between 0 and 1; however, these values can be interpreted as Bayesian probabilities. METHODS: The study was based on 351 healthy volunteers and 1,313 patients with a history of chest pain who had undergone diagnostic cardiac catheterization. A 12-lead ECG was recorded in each subject. An expert electrocardiographer classified the ECGs in five different groups by estimating the probability of anterior myocardial infarction. Artificial neural networks were trained and tested to diagnose anterior myocardial infarction. The network outputs were divided into five groups by using the output values and four thresholds between 0 and 1. RESULTS: The neural networks diagnosed healed anterior myocardial infarctions at high levels of sensitivity and specificity. The network outputs were transformed to verbal statements, and the agreement between these probability estimates and those of an expert electrocardiographer was high. CONCLUSIONS: Artificial neural networks can be of value in automated interpretation of ECGs in the near future.     

Deterministic annealing with Potts neurons for multi-robot routing

A deterministic annealing (DA) method is presented for solving the multi-robot routing problem with min–max objective. This is an NP-hard problem belonging to the multi-robot task allocation set of problems where robots are assigned to a group of sequentially ordered tasks such that the cost of the slowest robot is minimized. The problem is first formulated in a matrix form where the optimal solution of the problem is the minimum-cost permutation matrix without any loops. The solution matrix is then found using the DA method is based on mean field theory applied to a Potts spin model which has been proven to yield near-optimal results for NP-hard problems. Our method is bench-marked against simulated annealing and a heuristic search method. The results show that the proposed method is promising for small-medium sized problems in terms of computation time and solution quality compared to the other two methods.

     

Performance of a Thermoelectric Module Based on n-Type (La0.12Sr0.88)0.95TiO3−δ and p-Type Ca3Co4−xO9+δ

Here, we present the performance of a thermoelectric (TE) module consisting of n-type (La_0.12Sr_0.88)_0.95TiO₃ and p-type Ca₃Co_4?xO_9+δ materials. The main challenge in this investigation was operating the TE module in different atmospheric conditions, since n-type has optimum TE performance at reducing conditions, while p-type has optimum at oxidizing conditions. The TE module was exposed to two different atmospheres and demonstrated higher stability in N₂ atmosphere than in air. The maximum electrical power output decreased after 40 h when the hot side was exposed to N₂ at 600°C, while only 1 h at 400°C in ambient air was enough to oxidize (La_0.12Sr_0.88)_0.95TiO₃ followed by a reduced electrical power output. The module generated maximum electrical power of 0.9 mW (～?4.7 mW/cm²) at 600°C hot side and δT?～?570 K in N₂, and 0.15 mW (～?0.8 mW/cm²) at 400°C hot side and δT?～?370 K in air. A stability limit of Ca₃Co_3.93O_9+δ at ～?700°C in N₂ was determined by in situ high-temperature x-ray diffraction.

     

A multivariate process monitoring strategy and control concept for a small-scale fermenter in a PAT environment

This work describes a multivariate monitoring and control concept for bioprocesses based on historical process data. The concept is demonstrated for a Saccharomyces Cerevisiae (baker’s yeast) fermentation process executed in a small-scale bioreactor, which is equipped with common probes to analyze the broth and off-gases. The data of “in-control” fermentation processes were evaluated by means of a principal component analysis to define confidence limits for subsequent fermentations. A violation of these limits indicated that a process had to be classified as “out-of-control”. Fault diagnosis was provided by the components of the squared prediction error, which can also be used to determine the appropriate counteractions, e.g. via an expert system control strategy as described in this study. The sensitivity of fault diagnosis was demonstrated via various erroneous runs. The duration of bioprocesses can vary distinctly, which complicates the definition of time dependent control limits. Therefore, this study utilizes a three-component partial least squares regression model to quantify the current batch maturity during the process. This maturity is then used to reference current data to the appropriate historical data and the assigned control limits.