Naresuan University Journal
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The Economic Contributions of Nanotechnology to Green and Sustainable Growth
No full textOne of the impact promises associated with nanotechnology is that it will facilitate greener and more sustainable economic growth. We explore the extent to which nanotechnology development and commercialization is achieving this goal, drawing on secondary sources and available data. After defining the concepts of nanotechnology and green and sustainable development, we examine six nanotechnology application areas that are pertinent to green growth and sustainability. These application areas are assessed relative to their scale and scope through market forecasts, green benefits and potential issues and limitations. These six application areas are: nanoenabled solar cells, energy storage, nanogenerators, thermal energy, fuel catalysis, and water treatment. Nanotechnology-enabled applications in these areas offer potential benefits, such as reduced costs, less toxicity, greater efficiency, operating frequency, voltage, reduced complexity, and reliability. However, many sales forecasts associated with these applications have been adjusted downwards not only as a result of the economic downturn in the first decade of the 2000s but also due to the limited value offered by these nanotechnology-enabled application compared to what is already on the market (the incumbent technology). We find that while green nanotechnologies have the potential to make contributions both to addressing green challenges and to fostering sustainable economic development, development and diffusion is taking longer than previously anticipated, and in some cases the promised scale of benefits is unlikely to be realized. Additionally, the potential life cycle environmental overheads of some complex engineered nanomaterials must be taken more fully into account in assessing net contributions to green growth
A variation of the Canadisation algorithm for the pricing of American options driven by Lévy processes
No full textCorrelation between structure and properties of annealed electroless Ni-W-P coatings
No full textNi-W-P coatings with different structures were prepared by electroless deposition. The correlation between the coating structure before and after annealing with hardness and corrosion resistance has been examined by microhardness measurement, potentiodynamic polarisation and corrosion weight loss tests, and by quantitative X-ray diffraction technology and scanning electron microscopy observation of the corrosion morphology. The results indicate that incorporation of tungsten (4-5 wt-%) in Ni-P deposits does not change the amorphous structure of the Ni-11.3 P (wt-%) coating or the mixed structure of the Ni-6.8 P (wt-%) coating, but it changes the Ni-5.1 W-9.3 P (wt-%) coating into a critical amorphous structure. The coating with a critical amorphous structure develops a higher degree of crystallisation, larger crystal size and smaller number of Ni3P crystallites after annealing >300 degrees C. It also exhibits the highest peak hardness and the poorest corrosion resistance after annealing at 400 degrees C compared with the other two structural coatings (e.g. amorphous and mixed structures)
Measurement of the top pair production cross section in 8 TeV proton-proton collisions using kinematic information in the lepton+jets final state with ATLAS
No full textDesigns for generalized linear models with random block effects via information matrix approximations
No full textThe selection of optimal designs for generalized linear mixed models is complicated by the fact that the Fisher information matrix, on which most optimality criteria depend, is computationally expensive to evaluate. We provide two novel approximations that reduce the computational cost of evaluating the information matrix by complete enumeration of response outcomes, or Monte Carlo approximations thereof: an asymptotic approximation that is accurate when there is strong dependence between observations in the same block; and an approximation via kriging interpolators. For logistic random intercept models, we show how interpolation can be especially effective for finding pseudo-Bayesian designs that incorporate uncertainty in the values of the model parameters. The new results are used to evaluate the efficiency, for estimating conditional models, of optimal designs from closed-form approximations to the information matrix derived from marginal models. Correcting for the marginal attenuation of parameters in binary-response models yields much improved designs, typically with very high efficiencies. However, in some experiments exhibiting strong dependence, designs for marginal models may still be inefficient for conditional modelling. Our asymptotic results provide some theoretical insights into why such inefficiencies occur
A Systematic Review of the Economic and Humanistic Burden of Gout.
No full textBACKGROUND: Gout is a chronic and inflammatory form of arthritis that is often overlooked despite the associated pain caused by acute flares and associated joint damage caused by the development of debilitating tophi. The increasing burden of gout, due to an aging population and the increased prevalence of known risk factors for hyperuricaemia, means that there is a continued need for new and effective urate-lowering treatments. The evaluation of these treatments will require a comprehensive and comparative evidence base describing the economic and humanistic burden of gout, taken from the perspective of patients, the healthcare system, and wider society. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to review and summarise the current evidence of the disease burden related to chronic gout, assessed in terms of both cost and health-related quality of life (HRQL), and to identify key factors correlated with an increased burden. The overall aim is to support the economic evaluation of new treatments for gout, and to highlight key data gaps that may need further study and exploration. METHODS: Relevant literature dating from January 2000 to July 2014 was sourced through searches of the MEDLINE database via PubMed and The Cochrane Library. Articles published in English and reporting either the economic burden (cost) or the humanistic burden (HRQL/utility) of gout were identified, and key data were extracted and summarised, with key themes and data gaps identified and discussed. RESULTS: Of the 323 studies identified, 39 met the inclusion criteria, of which 17 and 26 were relevant to the economic and humanistic burden, respectively. The economic burden of gout varied according to numerous factors, most notably serum urate acid levels and number of flares and tophi, resulting in higher healthcare resource use most often attributed to hospitalisation and inpatient stay. The incremental direct cost of gout has been suggested in the range of US5515 (2004 and 2005 values, respectively) climbing to US21,467 (2008 values) per annum where patients are experiencing regular acute flares and have tophi present. The humanistic burden of gout was largely due to physical disability and pain resulting from chronic clinical manifestations. Short Form 6 dimensions (SF-6D) assessed utility weights are estimated at 0.53 for a patient with severe gout (≥3 flares/year and tophi) compared with 0.73 for an asymptomatic gout patient with serum acid level
Chick tendon fibroblast transcriptome and shape depend on whether the cell has made its own collagen matrix
No full textCollagen- and fibrin-based gels are extensively used to study cell behaviour. However, 2D–3D and collagen-fibrin comparisons of gene expression, cell shape and mechanotransduction, with an in vivo reference, have not been reported. Here we compared chick tendon fibroblasts (CTFs) at three stages of embryonic development with CTFs cultured in collagen- or fibrin-based tissue engineered constructs (TECs). CTFs synthesised their own collagen matrix in fibrin-based TECs and better recapitulated the gene expression, collagen fibril alignment and cell shape seen in vivo. In contrast, cells in 3D collagen gels exhibited a 2D-like morphology and expressed fewer of the genes expressed in vivo. Analysis of YAP/TAZ target genes showed that collagen gels desensitise mechanotransduction pathways. In conclusion, gene expression and cell shape are similar on plastic and 3D collagen whereas cells in 3D fibrin have a shape and transcriptome better resembling the in vivo situation. Implications for wound healing are discussed
Application of Reynolds stress transport turbulence closure models to flows affected by Lorentz and buoyancy forces
No full textThe effect of magnetic field strength and orientation on two types of electromagnetically influenced turbulent flows was studied numerically under the Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) framework. Previous work (Wilson et al., 2014) used an electromagnetically extended linear eddy-viscosity model, whilst the current paper focuses on the performance of a more advanced Reynolds stress transport type model both with and without electromagnetic modifications proposed by Kenjereš et al. (2004). First, a fully-developed 2D channel flow is considered with a magnetic field imposed in either the wall-normal or streamwise direction. Both forms of the RSM gave good agreement with the DNS data for the wall-normal magnetic field across the range of Hartmann numbers with the additional electromagnetic terms providing a small, but noticeable, difference. For the streamwise magnetic field, where electromagnetic influence is only through the turbulence, the electromagnetically extended RSM performed well at moderate Hartmann numbers but returned laminar flow at the highest Hartmann number considered, contrary to the DNS. The RSM results were, however, significantly better than the previous eddy-viscosity model predictions. The second case is that of unsteady 3D Rayleigh–Bénard convection with a magnetic field imposed in either a horizontal or vertical direction. Results revealed that a significant reorganization of the flow structures is predicted to occur. For a vertically oriented magnetic field, the plume structures increase in number and become thinner and elongated along the magnetic field lines, leading to an increase in thermal mixing within the core in agreement with Hanjalic´ and Kenjereš (2000). With a horizontal magnetic field, the structures become two-dimensional and a striking realignment of the roll cells’ axes with the magnetic field lines occurs. The results demonstrate the capability of the Reynolds stress transport approach in modelling MHD flows that are relevant to industry and offer potential for those wishing to control levels of turbulence, heat transfer or concentration without recourse to mechanical means
A TOMM40 poly-T variant modulates gene expression and is associated with vocabulary ability and decline in nonpathologic aging
No full textThe Translocase of Outer Mitochondrial Membrane 40 Homolog and Apolipoprotein E (TOMM40-APOE) locus has been associated with a number of age-related phenotypes in humans including nonpathologic cognitive aging, late-onset Alzheimer's disease, and longevity. Here, we investigate the influence of the TOMM40 intron 6 poly-T variant (rs10524523) on TOMM40 gene expression and cognitive abilities and decline in a cohort of 1613 community-dwelling elderly volunteers who had been followed for changes in cognitive functioning over a period of 14 years (range = 12-18 years). We showed that the shorter length poly-T variants were found to act as a repressor of luciferase gene expression in reporter gene constructs. Expression was reduced to approximately half of that observed for the very long variant. We further observed that the shorter poly-T variant was significantly associated with reduced vocabulary ability and a slower rate of vocabulary decline with age compared to the very long poly-T variants. No significant associations were observed for memory, fluid intelligence or processing speed, although the direction of effect, where the short variant was correlated with reduced ability and slower rate of decline was observed for all tests. Our results indicate that the poly-T variant has the ability to interact with transcription machinery and differentially modulate reporter gene expression and influence vocabulary ability and decline with age.</p