Flavonoid delivery system

The invention relates to a flavonoid delivery system comprising a co-precipitate of a hydrophobic flavonoid and a protein. The flavonoid delivery system comprises a high ratio of flavonoid to protein, allowing food products to be fortified with relatively large amounts of flavonoid without compromising the sensory properties of the food product

Voltage security evaluation based on perturbation method

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2009 Elsevier B.V.This paper proposes a new algorithm for estimating voltage security margin. The algorithm is based on the perturbation method and has significant computational efficiency. The proposed algorithm can be used for on-line voltage security evaluation. It has been validated using IEEE-14, IEEE-30 and IEEE-57 bus systems. Results from the tests show higher efficiency and smaller error margins compared to continuation power flow (CPF) method. Voltage collapse is a serious threat to the security of stressed power systems; therefore, voltage security (VS) has become a major challenge for management of power systems. The motivation for this research is a direct consequence of the deregulation of electricity industries and markets worldwide

Hybrid mutation particle swarm optimisation method for available transfer capability enhancement

A Hybrid Mutation Particle Swarm Optimisation (HMPSO) technique for improved estimation of Available Transfer Capacity (ATC) is proposed in this paper. This is achieved by firstly comparing a typical application of the Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) technique with conventional Genetic Algorithm (GA) methods. Secondly, a multi-objective optimisation problem concerning optimal installation and capacity allocation of Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) devices is presented and demonstrated. Modern heuristic techniques such as PSO have been demonstrated to be suitable in solving non-linear power systems problems. The outcome of this research further demonstrates that with better utilisation of FACTS devices it is possible to improve transmission capabilities. The motivation of this research is a direct consequence of the deregulation of electricity industries and markets worldwide. The current deregulated environment provides transmission systems operators (TSO) with more options when procuring transmission services. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated across a range of case studies and the results are validated through analyses conducted on IEEE 30-bus and 57-bus test systems

Outcomes of chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention from the RAIAN (RAjaie - Iran) registry

Objective: While most of the evidence in CTO interventions emerge from Western and Japanese studies, few data have been published up today from the Middle East. Objective of this study was to evaluate technical success rates and clinical outcomes of an Iranian population undergoing CTO PCI in a tertiary referral hospital. Moreover, we sought to evaluate the efficacy of our CTO teaching program. Methods: This is a retrospective single-center cohort study including 790 patients who underwent CTO PCI performed by operators with different volumes of CTOs PCI performed per year. According to PCI result, all patients have been divided into successful (n = 555, 70.3 %) and unsuccessful (n = 235, 29.7 %) groups. Study endpoints were Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events and Health Status Improvement evaluated using the Seattle Angina Questionnaire at one year. Results: A global success rate of 70 % for antegrade and 80 % for retrograde approach was shown despite the lack of some CTO-dedicated devices. During the enrollment period, the success rate increased significantly among operators with a lower number of CTO procedures per year. One-year MACE rate was similar in both successful and unsuccessful groups (13.5 % in successful and 10.6 % in unsuccessful group, p = 0.173). One year patients' health status improved significantly only in successful group. Conclusions: No significant differences of in-hospital and one-year MACE were found between the successful and unsuccessful groups. Angina symptoms and quality of life significantly improved after successful CTO PCI. The RAIAN registry confirmed the importance of operator expertise for CTO PCI success

Recent advances in programmable photonic-assisted ultrabroadband radio-frequency arbitrary waveform generation

The article of record as published may be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/JQE.2015.2506987This paper reviews recent advances in photonic-assisted radio-frequency arbitrary generation (RF-AWG), with emphasis on programmable ultrabroadband microwave and millimeter-wave waveforms. The key enabling components in these techniques are programmable optical pulse shaping, frequency-to-time mapping via dispersive propagation, and high-speed photodetection. The main advantages and challenges of several different photonic RF-AWG schemes are discussed. We further review some proof-of-concept demonstrations of ultrabroadband RF-AWG applications, including high-resolution ranging and ultrabroadband non-line-of-sight channel compensation. Finally, we present recent progress toward RF-AWG with increased time aperture and time-bandwidth product.This work was suspported in part by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering under the National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellowship program through grant N00244-09-1-0068 frfom the Naval Postgraduate Schoo

Assessing Time between Arriving to Hospital and Administration of Streptokinase in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction in Emergency Department of Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2003-4

Abstract: Introduction: Acute myocardial infarction is one of the major causes of mortality in developing countries such as Iran. One of the most important progresses in acute myocardial infarction is early administration of therombolytic agents such as streptokinase. This study was performed to determine the time interval from patients’ referral to the emergency wards to the introduction of thrombolytic therapy and the factors associated with delay in drug administration. Methods: In a period of 8 months, 130 patients with presumed acute myocardial infarction were investigated. In order to determine the causes of delay in streptokinase administration, duration of symptoms onset to drug administration was divided into 4 specified periods and measured in minutes. Results were analyzed using ANOVA and t-test. Results: Findings showed a mean elapsed time of 298 minutes between pain onset and referring to the emergency ward, 73 minutes between patient’s arrival and streptokinase administration. Mean time from symptom onset to drug infusion was 370 minutes. There was a delay of 2 hours in drug administration in 18% of patients. The most important causes of delay were long distance and delay of physicians and staff. Conclusion: Considering the findings, increasing people’s knowledge about the symptoms of heart problem, providing medical facilities and instruction of medical staff play important role in decreasing delay time in drug administration and increasing streptokinase output. Keywords: Myocardial infarction, Streptokinas

Prognozowanie postępu wiercenia przy użyciu wiertła udarowo-obrotowego przy wykorzystaniu sztucznych sieci neuronowych – studium przypadku

Penetration rate in rocks is one of the most important parameters of determination of drilling economics. Total drilling costs can be determined by predicting the penetration rate and utilized for mine planning. The factors which affect penetration rate are exceedingly numerous and certainly are not completely understood. For the prediction of penetration rate in rotary-percussive drilling, four types of rocks in Sangan mine have been chosen. Sangan is situated in Khorasan-Razavi province in Northeastern Iran. The selected parameters affect penetration rate is divided in three categories: rock properties, drilling condition and drilling pattern. The rock properties are: density, rock quality designation (RQD), uni-axial compressive strength, Brazilian tensile strength, porosity, Mohs hardness, Young modulus, P-wave velocity. Drilling condition parameters are: percussion, rotation, feed (thrust load) and flushing pressure; and parameters for drilling pattern are: blasthole diameter and length. Rock properties were determined in the laboratory, and drilling condition and drilling pattern were determined in the field. For create a correlation between penetration rate and rock properties, drilling condition and drilling pattern, artificial neural networks (ANN) were used. For this purpose, 102 blastholes were observed and drilling condition, drilling pattern and time of drilling in each blasthole were recorded. To obtain a correlation between this data and prediction of penetration rate, MATLAB software was used. To train the pattern of ANN, 77 data has been used and 25 of them found for testing the pattern. Performance of ANN models was assessed through the root mean square error (RMSE) and correlation coefficient (R2). For optimized model (14-14-10-1) RMSE and R2 is 0.1865 and 86%, respectively, and its sensitivity analysis showed that there is a strong correlation between penetration rate and RQD, rotation and blasthole diameter. High correlation coefficient and low root mean square error of these models showed that the ANN is a suitable tool for penetration rate prediction.Postęp wiercenia przy wierceniach skał jest jednym z podstawowych parametrów decydujących o opłacalności przedsięwzięcia. Całkowite koszty prowadzenia prac wiertniczych określa się w oparciu o prognozowane tempo postępu wiercenia, parametr ten uwzględnia się następnie przy planowaniu prac wydobywczych. Niektóre spośród licznych czynników wpływających na postęp wiercenia przy użyciu wiertła obrotowo-udarowego nie zostały jeszcze w pełni rozpoznane. Przy prognozowaniu postępu wiercenia prowadzonego przy użyciu urządzeń udarowo-obrotowych uwzględniono cztery rodzaje skał obecnych w kopalni Sangan, leżącej w prowincji Khorasan-Razavi w północno -wschodniej części Iranu. Wybrane czynniki mające wpływ na postęp prac wiertniczych pogrupowano w trzy kategorie: właściwości skał, warunki prowadzenia prac wiertniczych oraz plan prowadzenia wiercenia. Parametry określające właściwości skał to gęstość, jakość skał (RQD) i wytrzymałość na ściskanie jednoosiowe, wytrzymałość skał otrzymywana w oparciu o test brazylijski, porowatość, twardość Mohra, moduł Younga, prędkość propagacji fali, Parametry określające warunki prowadzenia wierceń obejmują: udar, prędkość obrotowa, siła naporu, ciśnienie płukania, zaś parametry związane z planem prowadzenia wiercenia obejmują: wymiary otworu wiertniczego i długość. Właściwości skał określono laboratoryjnie, warunki i plan wierceń badano w terenie. Korelacji pomiędzy prędkością postępu wiercenia i właściwościami skał oraz warunkami i planem prac wiertniczych poszukiwano przy użyciu sztucznych sieci neuronowych (ANN). Zbadano 102 otwory wiertnicze, przeanalizowano warunki prowadzenia wierceń, plany prac i zarejestrowano czasy ich prowadzenia. W celu znalezienia korelacji pomiędzy tymi danymi a prognozowaną prędkością wiercenia wykorzystano oprogramowanie MATLAB. W treningu sieci neuronowej wykorzystano 77 danych, 25 z nich otrzymano w drodze testowania wzorca. Wyniki działania sieci neuronowych oceniono w oparciu o błąd średniokwadratowy (RMSE) oraz współczynnik korelacji (R2). Dla zoptymalizowanego modelu (14-14-10-1) błąd średniokwadratowy i współczynnik korelacji wynoszą odpowiednio 0.1865 i 86%. Analiza wrażliwości wykazała istnienie silnej korelacji pomiędzy prędkością wiercenia a jakością skały, prędkością obrotową wiertła i średnicą otworu wiertniczego. Wysoki współczynnik korelacji i niska wartość błędu średniokwadratowego otrzymana dla tych modeli wskazuje, że metody wykorzystujące sztuczne sieci neuronowe są odpowiednie do prognozowania prędkości wiercenia

Supervisory Control Synthesis of Timed Automata Using Forcible Events

Considering real-valued clocks in timed automata (TA) makes it a practical modeling framework for discrete-event systems. However, the infinite state space brings challenges to the control of TA. To synthesize a supervisor for TA using the conventional supervisory control theory, existing methods abstract TA to finite automata (FA). For many applications, the abstraction of real-time values results in an explosion in the state space of FA. This paper presents a supervisory control synthesis algorithm directly applicable to the TA without any abstraction. The plant is given as a TA with a set of uncontrollable events and a set of forcible events. Forcible events can preempt the passage of time when needed. The synthesis algorithm works by iteratively strengthening the guards of edges labeled by controllable events and invariants of locations where the progression of time can be preempted by forcible events. The synthesized supervisor, which is also a TA, is guaranteed to be controllable, maximally permissive, and results in a nonblocking and safe supervised plant