Channel and source considerations of a bit-rate reduction technique for a possible wireless communications system's performance enhancement

In wireless commercial and military communications systems, where bandwidth is at a premium, robust low-bit-rate speech coders are essential. They operate at fix bit rates and those bit rates cannot be altered without major modifications in the vocoder design. A novel approach to vocoders, in order to reduce the bit rate required to transmit speech signal, is proposed. While traditional low-bit-rate vocoders code original input speech, the proposed procedure operates on the time-scale modified signal. The proposed method offers any bit rate from 2400 b/s to downwards without modifying the principle vocoder structure, which is the new NATO standard, Stanag 4591, Mixed Excitation Linear Prediction (MELP) vocoder. We consider the application of transmitting MELP-encoded speech over noisy communication channels by applying different modulation techniques, after time-scale compression is applied. Three different time-scale modification algorithms have been evaluated and waveform similarity overlap and add (WSOLA) algorithm has been selected for time-scale modification purposes. Computer simulation results, both source and channel, are presented in terms of objective speech quality metrics and informal subjective listening tests. Design parameters such as codec complexity and delay are also investigated. Simulation results lead to a possible wireless communications system, whose performance might be enhanced by using the spared bits offered by the procedure.     

A recombinant bacterial cell surface (S-layer)-major birch pollen allergen-fusion protein (rSbsC/Bet v1) maintains the ability to self-assemble into regularly structured monomolecular lattices and the functionality of the allergen

The mature crystalline bacterial cell surface (S-layer) proteinSbsC of Bacillus stearothermophilus ATCC 12980 comprises aminoacids 31–1099 and assembles into an oblique lattice type.As the deletion of up to 179 C-terminal amino acids did notinterfere with the self-assembly properties of SbsC, the sequenceencoding the major birch pollen allergen (Bet v1) was fusedto the sequence encoding the truncated form rSbsC_31–920.The S-layer fusion protein, termed rSbsC/Bet v1, maintainedthe ability to self-assemble into flat sheets and open-endedcylinders. The presence and the functionality of the fused Betv1 sequence was proved by blot experiments using BIP1, a monoclonalantibody against Bet v1 and Bet v1-specific IgE-containing serumsamples from birch pollen allergic patients. The location andaccessibility of the allergen moiety on the outer surface ofthe S-layer lattice were demonstrated by immunogold labelingof the rSbsC/Bet v1 monolayer, which was obtained by orientedrecrystallization of the S-layer fusion protein on native cellwall sacculi. Thereby, the specific interactions between theN-terminal part of SbsC and a distinct type of secondary cellwall polymer were exploited. This is the first S-layer fusionprotein described that had retained the specific propertiesof the S-layer protein moiety in addition to those of the fusedfunctional peptide sequence.     

Semantic enrichment process: An approach to software component reuse in modernizing enterprise systems

In today’s dynamic business environments, organizations are under pressure to modernize their existing software systems in order to respond to changing business demands. Service oriented architectures provide a composition framework to create new business functionalities from autonomous building blocks called services, enabling organizations to quickly adapt to changing conditions and requirements. Characteristics of services offer the promise of leveraging the value of enterprise systems through source code reuse. In this respect, existing system components can be used as the foundation of newly created services. However, one problem to overcome is the lack of business semantics to support the reuse of existing source code. Without sufficient semantic knowledge about the code in the context of business functionality, it would be impossible to utilize source code components in services development. In this paper, we present an automated approach to enrich source code components with business semantics. Our approach is based on the idea that the gap between the two ends of an enterprise system—(1) services as processes and (2) source code—can be bridged via similarity of data definitions used in both ends. We evaluate our approach in the framework of a commercial enterprise systems application. Initial results indicate that the proposed approach is useful for annotating source code components with business specific knowledge.     

Parameters Estimation for Condition Based Maintenance with Uncorrelated and Correlated Observations

Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) is based on the assessment of equipment state which is obtained by measuring some indicators. When there is uncertainty concerning the state of the equipment, the measurements gathered are called imperfect. In this case the equipment aging and degradation process is assumed to follow a Markov process and is modeled by a Hidden Markov Model (HMM). This article describes a general procedure that can be used to estimate the parameters of the HMM. It is based on the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm. The procedure deals with independent as well as correlated maintenance observations. The latter are most common in CBM applications. Simulated examples are presented.     

Biodiesel from safflower oil and its application in a diesel engine

Safflower seed oil was chemically treated by the transesterification reaction in methyl alcohol environment with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to produce biodiesel. The produced biodiesel was blended with diesel fuel by 5% (B5), 20% (B20) and 50% (B50) volumetrically. Some of important physical and chemical fuel properties of blend fuels, pure biodiesel and diesel fuel were determined. Performance and emission tests were carried out on a single cylinder diesel engine to compare biodiesel blends with petroleum diesel fuel. Average performance reductions were found as 2.2%, 6.3% and 11.2% for B5, B20 and B50 fuels, respectively, in comparison to diesel fuel. These reductions are low and can be compensated by a slight increase in brake specific fuel consumption (Bsfc). For blends, Bsfcs were increased by 2.8%, 3.9% and 7.8% as average for B5, B20 and B50, respectively. Considerable reductions were recorded in PM and smoke emissions with the use of biodiesel. CO emissions also decreased for biodiesel blends while NO_x and HC emissions increased. But the increases in HC emissions can be neglected as they have very low amounts for all test fuels. It can be concluded that the use of safflower oil biodiesel has beneficial effects both in terms of emission reductions and alternative petroleum diesel fuel.     

Microbial transformation of beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol into 26-oxygenated derivatives

The genetically modified Mycobacterium sp. BCS 396 strain has been used to transform sterols with stigmastane side chain in order to obtain 26-oxidized metabolites. beta-Sitosterol (I) was transformed to 4-stigmasten-3-one (II), 26-hydroxy-4-stigmasten-3-one (III), and 3-oxo-4-stigmasten-26-oic acid (IV), while stigmasterol (V) was converted to 4,22-stigmastadien-3-one (VI), 6 beta-hydroxy-4,22-stigmastadien-3-one (VII), 26-hydroxy-4,22-stigmastadien-3-one (VIII), 3-oxo-4,22-stigmastadien-26-oic acid methyl ester (IX), and 3-oxo-1,4,22-stigmastatrien-26-oic acid methyl ester (X) with that strain. In both beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol, 26-oxidation generates the R-configuration on C-25.     

The current status of wind energy in Turkey and in the world

The rapid increase in world energy demand, the depletion of conventional energy sources and the pollution caused by conventional fuels have increased the importance of developing new and renewable energy sources. Additionally, technological developments have resulted in increased energy demand for the entire world, including Turkey, especially for electrical energy. At present, wind energy is receiving considerable attention. This report focuses on the current status of wind energy in Turkey and in the world. An overview of wind energy in Turkey is presented, and its current status, application, support mechanisms and associated legislation in Turkey are described. Wind energy and its status in the world are also addressed. It can be concluded from this analysis that wind energy utilization in Turkey and throughout world has sharply increased. Turkey has an abundance of wind energy sources.