196,552 research outputs found
Structural health monitoring by probability density function of autoregressive-based damage features and fast distance correlation method
No full textIn this article, the autoregressive time series analysis is used to extract reliable features from vibration measurements of civil structures for damage diagnosis. To guarantee the adequacy and applicability of the time series model, Leybourne–McCabe hypothesis test is used. Subsequently, the probability density functions of the autoregressive model parameters and residuals are obtained with the aid of a kernel density estimator. The probability density function sets are considered as damage-sensitive features of the structure and fast distance correlation method is used to make decision for detecting damages in the structure. Experimental data of a well-known three-story laboratory frame and a large-scale bridge benchmark structure are used to verify the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method. Results indicate the capability of the method to identify the location and severity of damages, even under the simulated operational and environmental variability
A comparison of hydroponic and soil-based screening methods to identify salt tolerance in the field in barley
No full textSuccess in breeding crops for yield and other quantitative traits depends on the use of methods to evaluate genotypes accurately under field conditions. Although many screening criteria have been suggested to distinguish between genotypes for their salt tolerance under controlled environmental conditions, there is a need to test these criteria in the field. In this study, the salt tolerance, ion concentrations, and accumulation of compatible solutes of genotypes of barley with a range of putative salt tolerance were investigated using three growing conditions (hydroponics, soil in pots, and natural saline field). Initially, 60 genotypes of barley were screened for their salt tolerance and uptake of Na+, Cl–, and K+ at 150 mM NaCl and, based on this, a subset of 15 genotypes was selected for testing in pots and in the field. Expression of salt tolerance in saline solution culture was not a reliable indicator of the differences in salt tolerance between barley plants that were evident in saline soil-based comparisons. Significant correlations were observed in the rankings of genotypes on the basis of their grain yield production at a moderately saline field site and their relative shoot growth in pots at ECe 7.2 [Spearman’s rank correlation (rs)=0.79] and ECe 15.3 (rs=0.82) and the crucial parameter of leaf Na+ (rs=0.72) and Cl– (rs=0.82) concentrations at ECe 7.2 dS m−1. This work has established screening procedures that correlated well with grain yield at sites with moderate levels of soil salinity. This study also showed that both salt exclusion and osmotic tolerance are involved in salt tolerance and that the relative importance of these traits may differ with the severity of the salt stress. In soil, ion exclusion tended to be more important at low to moderate levels of stress but osmotic stress became more important at higher stress levels. Salt exclusion coupled with a synthesis of organic solutes were shown to be important components of salt tolerance in the tolerant genotypes and further field tests of these plants under stress conditions will help to verify their potential utility in crop-improvement programmes.Ehsan Tavakkoli, Foad Fatehi, Pichu Rengasamy and Glenn K. McDonal
Antioxidant therapy: Current status and future prospects
No full textReactive oxygen species (ROS) are widely believed to cause or aggravate several human pathologies such as neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, stroke and many other ailments. Antioxidants are assumed to counteract the harmful effects of ROS and therefore prevent or treat oxidative stress-related diseases. In this report, recent human studies exploring the efficiency of antioxidants in prevention and treatment of various diseases are reviewed. Few antioxidants including edaravone (for ischemic stroke in Japan), N-acetylcysteine (for acetaminophen toxicity), alfa-lipoic acid (for diabetic neuropathy) and some flavonoids (polyphenolic compounds present in dietary plants), such as micronized purified flavonoid fraction (diosmin and hesperidin) and oxerutins (for chronic venous insufficiency) as well as baicalein and catechins (for osteoarthritis) have found accepted clinical use. However, despite much enthusiasm in the 1980s and 1990s, many well-known agents such as antioxidant vitamins and also more recently developed compounds such as nitrones have not successfully passed the scrutiny of clinical trials for prevention and treatment of various diseases. This has given rise to a pessimistic view of antioxidant therapy, however, the evidence from human epidemiological studies about the beneficial effects of dietary antioxidants and preclinical in vitro and animal data are compelling. We have probably wasted too much time on agents like antioxidant vitamins instead of focusing on more disease specific, target-directed, highly bioavailable antioxidants. We here discuss possible reasons for the lack of success in some clinical trials and seek to provide some suggestions to be considered if antioxidant therapy is to succeed as an effective therapeutic strategy
A hybrid of clustering and meta-heuristic algorithms to solve a p-mobile hub location–allocation problem with the depreciation cost of hub facilities
No full textHubs act as intermediate points for the transfer of materials in the transportation system. In this study, a novel p-mobile hub location–allocation problem is developed. Hub facilities can be transferred to other hubs for the next period. Implementation of mobile hubs can reduce the costs of opening and closing the hubs, particularly in an environment with rapidly changing demands. On the other hand, the movement of facilities reduces lifespan and adds relevant costs. The depreciation cost and lifespan of hub facilities must be considered and the number of movements of the hub's facilities must be assumed to be limited. Three objective functions are considered to minimize costs, noise pollutions, and the harassment caused by the establishment of a hub for people, a new objective that locates hubs in less populated areas. A multi-objective mixed-integer non-linear programming (MINLP) model is developed. To solve the proposed model, four meta-heuristic algorithms, namely multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO), a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), a hybrid of k-medoids as a famous clustering algorithm and NSGA-II (KNSGA-II), and a hybrid of K-medoids and MOPSO (KMOPSO) are implemented. The results indicate that KNSGA-II is superior to other algorithms. Also, a case study in Iran is implemented and the related results are analyzed
Dr. Duane M. Jackson, Morehouse College, July 2011
No full textThis video is a conversation with Dr. Duane M. Jackson. Dr. Jackson talks about his paper, "Recall and the Serial Position Effect: The Role of Primacy and Recency on Accounting Students' Performance." Jackie Daniel, AUC Woodruff Library, is the interviewer
"Reflections on the subject of Emigration from Europe with a view to Settlement in the United States" By M. Carey.
No full text"Reflections on the subject of Emigration from Europe with a view to Settlement in the United States: containing bried sketches of the moral and political character of those states.
By M. Carey, member of the American philosophical, and of the American Antiquarian Society, and author of The Olive Branch, Cindiciae Hibernicae, essays on banking, on political economy, and on internal improvement.
To which are now added the English editor's comments on the subject; together with Important Advice to Emigrants, and Cautions Against Impositions Practiced in the Outports
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Dr. Glendon Swarthout
No full textHosted by Roger M. Busfield, MSU Assistant Professor of Speech and Theater, Meet the Author is designed to introduce a general audience to a contemporary author and their work through in-depth interviews. This episode features a conversation between Dr. Glendon Swarthout, prolific author and English professor at MSU, and assistant professors Sam S. Baskett and Theodore B. Strandness
Novel indole-based melatonin analogues: evaluation of antioxidant activity and protective effect against amyloid β-induced damage
No full textOxidative stress has been recognized as a contributing factor in ageing and various diseases including cancer and neuropathological disorders. Indole derivatives such as the neurohormone melatonin (MLT) constitute an important class of therapeutic agent in medicinal chemistry. MLT can scavenge different reactive oxygen species and can also stimulate the synthesis of antioxidant enzymes. As a part of our ongoing studies, a series of new indole-based hydrazide/hydrazone derivatives were synthesized as MLT analogues. Their antioxidant activity was investigated in human erythrocytes by evaluating their reducing effect against oxidation of a redox-sensitive fluorescent probe. Possible inherent cytotoxicity of the compounds was investigated in CHO-K1 cells by lactate dehydrogenase leakage test. Protection of neuronal PC12 cells against amyloid β-induced damage was examined by MTT assay and their ability in reduction of ROS generation induced by amyloid β was tested. MLT analogues having an o-halogenated aromatic moiety exhibited effective antioxidant properties without having any membrane-damaging effect. Moreover, derivatives having o-halogenated and dihalogenated aromatic side chain significantly protected neuronal cells at concentrations of 10 and 100 μM. In conclusion, MLT derivatives represent promising scaffolds for discovery of effective antioxidant and neuroprotective agents
Simulation of thermal plant optimization and hydraulic aspects of thermal distribution loops for large campuses
No full textFollowing an introduction, the author describes Texas A&M University and its utilities system. After that, the author presents how to construct simulation models for chilled water and heating hot water distribution systems. The simulation model was used in a $2.3 million Ross Street chilled water pipe replacement project at Texas A&M University. A second project conducted at the University of Texas at San Antonio was used as an example to demonstrate how to identify and design an optimal distribution system by using a simulation model. The author found that the minor losses of these closed loop thermal distribution systems are significantly higher than potable water distribution systems. In the second part of the report, the author presents the latest development of software called the Plant Optimization Program, which can simulate cogeneration plant operation, estimate its operation cost and provide optimized operation suggestions. The author also developed detailed simulation models for a gas turbine and heat recovery steam generator and identified significant potential savings. Finally, the author also used a steam turbine as an example to present a multi-regression method on constructing simulation models by using basic statistics and optimization algorithms. This report presents a survey of the author??s working experience at the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) at Texas A&M University during the period of January 2002 through March 2004. The purpose of the above work was to allow the author to become familiar with the practice of engineering. The result is that the author knows how to complete a project from start to finish and understands how both technical and nontechnical aspects of a project need to be considered in order to ensure a quality deliverable and bring a project to successful completion. This report concludes that the objectives of the internship were successfully accomplished and that the requirements for the degree of Degree of Engineering have been satisfied
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