| 1. |
- van den Dool, Annemieke, et al.
(author)
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The future is distributed: a vision of sustainable economies
- 2009
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- “The Future is distributed: a vision of sustainable economies” is a collection of case studies on distributed economies, a concept describing sustainable alternatives to the existing business models. The authors of this publication are international Masters students of the Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management Programme at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics at Lund University in Sweden. The aim of their work is to demonstrate that local, small-scale, community-based economies are not just part of the theory, but have already been implemented in various sectors and geographical settings.
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| 2. |
- Almimi, Ashraf A., et al.
(author)
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Checking the adequacy of fit of models from split-plot designs
- 2009
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In: Journal of QualityTechnology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0022-4065. ; 41:3, s. 272-284
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- One of the main features that distinguish split-plot experiments from other experiments is that they involve two types of experimental errors: the whole-plot (WP) error and the subplot (SP) error. Taking this into consideration is very important when computing measures of adequacy of fit for split-plot models. In this article, we propose the computation of two R2, R 2-adjusted, prediction error sums of squares (PRESS), and R 2 -prediction statistics to measure the adequacy of fit for the WP and the SP submodels in a split-plot design. This is complemented with the graphical analysis of the two types of errors to check for any violation of the underlying assumptions and the adequacy of fit of split-plot models. Using examples, we show how computing two measures of model adequacy of fit for each split-plot design model is appropriate and useful as they reveal whether the correct WP and SP effects have been included in the model and describe the predictive performance of each group of effects.
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| 3. |
- Almimi, Ashraf A., et al.
(author)
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Follow-up designs to resolve confounding in split-plot experiments
- 2008
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In: Journal of QualityTechnology. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0022-4065. ; 40:2, s. 154-166
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Split-plot designs are effective in industry due to time and/or cost constraints, restriction on randomization of the treatment combinations of the hard-to-change factors, and different sizes of experimental units. Some of the results of fractional factorial split-plot experiments can be ambiguous and a need may arise to conduct follow-up experiments to separate effects of potential interest by breaking their alias links with others. For completely randomized fractional factorial experiments, methods have been developed to construct follow-up experiments. In this article, we extend the foldover technique to break the alias chains of split-plot experiments. Because it is impractical or not economically possible to foldover the whole-plot factors, as their levels are often hard or expensive to change, the focus of this article is on folding over only one or more subplot factors in order to de-alias certain effects. Six rules are provided to develop foldovers for minimum aberration resolution III and resolution IV fractional factorial split-plot designs.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Ashraf, Ali, et al.
(author)
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Self-reported use of tobacco products in nine rural INDEPTH Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems in Asia
- 2009
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In: Global Health Action. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 2, s. 19-27
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of premature death and disability. Even though tobacco use is common in many Asian countries, reliable and comparable data on the burden imposed by tobacco use in this region are sparse, and surveillance systems to track trends are in their infancy.OBJECTIVE: To assess and compare the prevalence of tobacco use and its associated factors in nine selected rural sites in five Asian countries.METHODS: Tobacco use among 9,208 men and 9,221 women aged 25-64 years in nine Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) sites in five Asian countries of the INDEPTH Network were examined in 2005 as part of a broader survey of the major chronic non-communicable disease risk factors. All sites used a standardised protocol based on the WHO STEPS approach to risk factor surveillance; expanded questions of local relevance, including chewing tobacco, were also included. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess demographic factors associated with tobacco use.RESULTS: Tobacco use, whether smoked or chewed, was common across all sites with some notable variations. More than 50% of men smoked daily; this applied to almost all age groups. Few women smoked daily in any of the sites. However, women were more likely to chew tobacco than men in all sites except Vadu in India. Tobacco use in men began in late adolescence in most of the sites and the number of cigarettes smoked daily ranged from three to 15. Use of both forms of tobacco, smoked and chewed, was associated with age, gender and education. Men were more likely to smoke compared to women, smoking increased with age in the four sites in Bangladesh but not in other sites and with low level of education in all the sites.CONCLUSION: The prevalence of tobacco use, regardless of the type of tobacco, was high among men in all of these rural populations with tobacco use started during adolescence in all HDSS sites. Innovative communication strategies for behaviour change targeting adolescents in schools and adult men and women at work or at home, may create a mass awareness about adverse health consequences of tobacco smoking or chewing tobacco. Such efforts, to be effective, however, need to be supported by strong legislation and leadership. Only four of the five countries involved in this multi-site study have ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and even where it has been ratified, implementation is uneven.
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| 6. |
- Deraz, Sahar, et al.
(author)
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Mode of action of acidocin D20079, a bacteriocin produced by the potential probiotic strain, Lactobacillus acidophilus DSM 20079
- 2007
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In: Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1367-5435 .- 1476-5535. ; 34:5, s. 373-379
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lactobacillus acidophilus DSM 20079 is the producer of a novel bacteriocin termed acidocin D20079. In this paper, mode of action using three various concentrations of acidocin D20079 (2,048, 128 and 11.3 AU/ml) was determined against an indicator strain L. delbrueckii subsp. lactis DSM 20076. These concentrations all led to marked decreases in both the number of viable cells and in optical density, indicating that the activity of the acidocin D20079 was bactericidal with concomitant cell lysis. Moreover, the probiotic potential of L. acidophilus DSM 20079 was analyzed for its ability to survive and retain viability at conditions (acid and bile concentrations) mimicking the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, under which it survived exposure to pH 2.0 with a 1.2 log cycle reduction in viability and where 45% of the original population survived in a medium containing 0.3% bile for 3 h.
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| 7. |
- Deraz, Sahar, et al.
(author)
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Production and physicochemical characterization of acidocin D20079, a bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus acidophilus DSM 20079
- 2007
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In: World Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0959-3993 .- 1573-0972. ; 23:7, s. 911-921
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lactobacillus acidophilus DSM 20079 is the producer of a novel bacteriocin termed acidocin D20079. In this paper, a partial sequence of this peptide is determined, together with data on its secondary structure. A modification of the MRS-growth medium (replacing the detergent Tween 80 with oleic acid), was shown to improve the production level of the peptide by one order of magnitude, as well as to stabilize the activity level. Addition of a detergent (Tween 20, less interfering in mass spectrometric analysis), was however necessary for solubilization of the purified acidocin D20079. Digestion of the peptide followed by de-novo sequencing of generated fragments, allowed determination of a partial sequence consisting of 39 of the totally estimated 65 residues. Acidocin D20079 has a high content of glycine residues, hydrophobic residues, and acidic residues. No modified amino acids were found. Edman degradation, and C-terminal sequencing failed, suggesting that the peptide may be cyclic, and a novel member of class IIc bacteriocins. Circular dichroism spectroscopy and secondary structure prediction showed random coil conformation in aqueous solution, but secondary structure was induced in the presence of sodium-dodecyl sulfate. The data could be fitted assuming 2-13% of the residues to be in alpha-helix and 23-27% of the residues to be in beta-strand conformation. This indicates that a membrane/membrane-mimicking hydrocarbon-water interface induces an active conformation.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Khalil, Ashraf A., et al.
(author)
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Biomarker discovery: A proteomic approach for brain cancer profiling
- 2007
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In: Cancer Science. - : Wiley. - 1349-7006 .- 1347-9032. ; 98:2, s. 201-213
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Gliomas in the form of astrocytomas, anaplastic astrocytomas and glioblastomas are the most common brain tumors in humans. Early detection of these cancers is crucial for successful treatment. Proteomics promises the discovery of biomarkers and tumor markers for early detection and diagnosis. In the current study, a differential gel electrophoresis technology coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy was used to investigate tumor-specific changes in the proteome of human brain cancer. Fifty human brain tissues comprising varying diagnostic groups (non-tumor, grade I, grade II, grade III and grade IV) were run in duplicate together with an internal pool sample on each gel. The proteins of interest were automatically picked, in-gel digested and mass spectrometry fingerprinted. Two hundred and eleven protein spots were identified successfully and were collapsed into 91 unique proteins. Approximately 20 of those 91 unique proteins had, to our knowledge, not been reported previously as differentially expressed in human brain cancer. Alb protein, peroxiredoxin 4 and SH3 domain-binding glutamic acid-rich-like protein 3 were upregulated in glioblastoma multiform versus non-tumor tissues. However, aldolase C fructose-biphosphate, creatine kinase, B chain dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase, enolase 2, fumarate hydratase, HSP60, lactoylglutathione lyase, lucine aminopeptidase, Mu-crystallin homolog, NADH-UO 24, neurofilament triplet L protein, septin 2, stathmin and vacuolar ATP synthase subunit E were downregulated in glioblastoma multiform compared with non-tumor tissues. These differentially expressed proteins provided novel information on the differences existing between normal brain and gliomas, and thus might prove to be useful molecular indicators of diagnostic or prognostic value.
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| 10. |
- Khan, Muhammad Gufran, et al.
(author)
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Measurements and Analysis of UWB Channels in Industrial Environments
- 2005
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Communication in industrial environments is an important scenario for ultra wideband (UWB) systems. The characteristics of this environment differ considerably from office environments, where most of the channel measurements reported in the literature are performed. In this paper, we present the results and analysis of UWB channel measurements in an industrial environment. We investigate both peer-to-peer non-line-of-sight (P-P NLOS) and base station NLOS (BS NLOS) scenarios. The measurements are performed in the frequency range 3.1 to 8 GHz, at distances 2-16 m, using a vector network analyzer in conjunction with virtual antenna arrays. From these measurements, we extract channel model parameters such as power delay profiles, pathloss exponents, rms delay spread and the percentage of energy captured by RAKE receivers with a finite number of fingers. In addition, Saleh- Valenzuela parameters such as ray and cluster power decay constants and distribution of cluster interarrival times are extracted.
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| 11. |
- Kildal, Per-Simon, 1951, et al.
(author)
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Wideband, lowloss, low-cost, quasi-TEM metamaterial-based local waveguides in air gaps between parallel metal plates
- 2009
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In: International Conference on Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications (ICEAA 2009), Torino, Italy, September 14-18, 2009. - 9781424433858 ; 1-2, s. 565-568
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The paper presents a new waveguide appearing in the air gap between two parallel metal plates. One of the plates has a metal texture, and confined local waves follow ridges in the texture whereas they are prohibited from propagating in other directions by metal pins in the texture. The pins (or bed of nails) provide a high impedance surface that creates a stop band when used together with a metal surface, i.e. a parallel plate cut-off. The principle performance of the ridge gap waveguide is explained by numerical simulations of the dispersion diagram, both to show the parallel plate cut-off generated by the pin surface, but also to see the quasi-TEM wave propagating along the ridge. The performance is validated by numerical simulations and experimentally of a ridge gap waveguide with two 90 deg bends, including transitions to coaxial connectors. The ridge gap waveguide has a large potential for use up to THz because it can be realized without conducting joints between metal parts, and it lends itself to co-design and integration with active components.
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| 12. |
- Ma, Li-Jun, et al.
(author)
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Genomic analysis of the basal lineage fungus Rhizopus oryzae reveals a whole-genome duplication.
- 2009
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In: PLoS genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7404. ; 5:7, s. e1000549-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Rhizopus oryzae is the primary cause of mucormycosis, an emerging, life-threatening infection characterized by rapid angioinvasive growth with an overall mortality rate that exceeds 50%. As a representative of the paraphyletic basal group of the fungal kingdom called "zygomycetes," R. oryzae is also used as a model to study fungal evolution. Here we report the genome sequence of R. oryzae strain 99-880, isolated from a fatal case of mucormycosis. The highly repetitive 45.3 Mb genome assembly contains abundant transposable elements (TEs), comprising approximately 20% of the genome. We predicted 13,895 protein-coding genes not overlapping TEs, many of which are paralogous gene pairs. The order and genomic arrangement of the duplicated gene pairs and their common phylogenetic origin provide evidence for an ancestral whole-genome duplication (WGD) event. The WGD resulted in the duplication of nearly all subunits of the protein complexes associated with respiratory electron transport chains, the V-ATPase, and the ubiquitin-proteasome systems. The WGD, together with recent gene duplications, resulted in the expansion of multiple gene families related to cell growth and signal transduction, as well as secreted aspartic protease and subtilase protein families, which are known fungal virulence factors. The duplication of the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway, especially the major azole target, lanosterol 14alpha-demethylase (ERG11), could contribute to the variable responses of R. oryzae to different azole drugs, including voriconazole and posaconazole. Expanded families of cell-wall synthesis enzymes, essential for fungal cell integrity but absent in mammalian hosts, reveal potential targets for novel and R. oryzae-specific diagnostic and therapeutic treatments.
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| 13. |
- Montgomery, Douglas C., et al.
(author)
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Estimation of missing observations in two-level split-plot designs
- 2008
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In: Quality and Reliability Engineering International. - : Wiley. - 0748-8017 .- 1099-1638. ; 24:2, s. 127-152
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Inserting estimates for the missing observations from split-plot designs restores their balanced or orthogonal structure and alleviates the difficulties in the statistical analysis. In this article, we extend a method due to Draper and Stoneman to estimate the missing observations from unreplicated two-level factorial and fractional factorial split-plot (FSP and FFSP) designs. The missing observations, which can either be from the same whole plot, from different whole plots, or comprise entire whole plots, are estimated by equating to zero a number of specific contrast columns equal to the number of the missing observations. These estimates are inserted into the design table and the estimates for the remaining effects (or alias chains of effects as the case with FFSP designs) are plotted on two half-normal plots: one for the whole-plot effects and the other for the subplot effects. If the smaller effects do not point at the origin, then different contrast columns to some or all of the initial ones should be discarded and the plots re-examined for bias. Using examples, we show how the method provides estimates for the missing observations that are very close to their actual values
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