Patents and Competition in the Automobile Industry

Methane (CH4) fluxes from world rivers are still poorly constrained, with measurements restricted mainly to temperate climates. Additional river flux measurements, including spatio-temporal studies, are important to refine extrapolations. Here we assess the spatio-temporal variability of CH4 fluxes from the Amazon and its main tributaries, the Negro, Solimoes, Madeira, Tapajos, Xingu, and Para Rivers, based on direct measurements using floating chambers. Sixteen of 34 sites were measured during low and high water seasons. Significant differences were observed within sites in the same river and among different rivers, types of rivers, and seasons. Ebullition contributed to more than 50% of total emissions for some rivers. Considering only river channels, our data indicate that large rivers in the Amazon Basin release between 0.40 and 0.58 Tg CH4 yr(-1). Thus, our estimates of CH4 flux from all tropical rivers and rivers globally were, respectively, 19-51% to 31-84% higher than previous estimates, with large rivers of the Amazon accounting for 22-28% of global river CH4 emissions.Funding Agencies|FAPESP [08/58089-9, 2011/06609-1, 2011/14502-2, 2012/17359-9]</p

Exchange-correlation functionals from the strongly-interacting limit of DFT: Applications to model chemical systems

We study model one-dimensional chemical systems (representative of their three-dimensional counterparts) using the strictly-correlated electrons (SCE) functional, which, by construction, becomes asymptotically exact in the limit of infinite coupling strength. The SCE functional has a highly non-local dependence on the density and is able to capture strong correlation within Kohn- Sham theory without introducing any symmetry breaking. Chemical systems, however, are not close enough to the strong-interaction limit so that, while ionization energies and the stretched H2 molecule are accurately described, total energies are in general way too low. A correction based on the exact next leading order in the expansion at infinite coupling strength of the Hohenberg-Kohn functional largely improves the results.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to PCCP's Themed Collection on Density Functional Theory and its Application

Geotechnical Evaluation of Road Failure along 20th Street BDPA, Benin City, Nigeria

This work investigated the cause of road failure using geotechnical analysis along the 20th Street, BDPA, Benin-city, Nigeria. Soil samples from the failed section of the road were analyzed to ascertain their particle size distribution, limit liquid, plastic limit, maximum dry density, optimum moisture content and California bearing ratio using the British Standard Institution (BS 1377 1990). The result from the particle size distribution analysis showed that soils were well graded (GW) with percentage fines ranging from 26 to 49.7%, specific gravity from 2.4 to 2.6, liquid limit from 21.52-29.79%, plastic limit ranged from 11.73-18.80%, plasticity index 8.29-12.49% and California bearing ratio(unsoaked) from 9-29%. The compaction test results showed that the Maximum Dry Density (MDD) ranged from 1.7mg/m3-1.8mg/m3 and Optimum Maximum Content from 11-14%. It was found that there is a significant difference between the geotechnical characteristics of the soil and the standard for geotechnical characteristics set by the Federal Ministry of Works. This led to the conclusion that the soil geotechnical characteristics is a causative factor of road failure as well as the geology. Hence, it was recommended that the geotechnical and geological characteristics of sub-grades and fill materials be taken into consideration during road construction

Large-Scale Detection of Non-Technical Losses in Imbalanced Data Sets

Non-technical losses (NTL) such as electricity theft cause significant harm to our economies, as in some countries they may range up to 40% of the total electricity distributed. Detecting NTLs requires costly on-site inspections. Accurate prediction of NTLs for customers using machine learning is therefore crucial. To date, related research largely ignore that the two classes of regular and non-regular customers are highly imbalanced, that NTL proportions may change and mostly consider small data sets, often not allowing to deploy the results in production. In this paper, we present a comprehensive approach to assess three NTL detection models for different NTL proportions in large real world data sets of 100Ks of customers: Boolean rules, fuzzy logic and Support Vector Machine. This work has resulted in appreciable results that are about to be deployed in a leading industry solution. We believe that the considerations and observations made in this contribution are necessary for future smart meter research in order to report their effectiveness on imbalanced and large real world data sets.Comment: Proceedings of the Seventh IEEE Conference on Innovative Smart Grid Technologies (ISGT 2016

Agile Stage-Gate Management (ASGM) for physical products

We present a qualitative study of Agile Stage-Gate Management (ASGM),: a hybrid new product development methodology that combines Agile and Stage-Gate Management (SGM) approaches for the coordination of new product development. When applied to software projects, Agile is expected to deliver reduced development times, improved resource utilization, and greater financial success. We examine whether ASGM practitioners realize similar outcomes in a sample of global firms developing complex electro-mechanical products (e.g., automobile components, railway propulsion systems, and medical devices). Our grounded theory approach articulates an understanding of ASGM through extensive interviews of experienced professionals. Our thematic analysis supports many expected benefits (i.e., speed to market, innovation enabling), but also does not encourage others, and reveals new pitfalls that deserve recognition (i.e., resource inefficiency). ASGM is not a panacea for all product development. Overall, physical product firms adopting this method can expect reduced development times and higher levels of innovation but will expend more resources to complete development projects, but a dichotomy exists. Physical product developers using ASGM experience a negative impact on project resource efficiency due to the need for dedicated resources, frequent product demonstrations, and duplicative management structures

It Takes More than Public Speaking: A Leadership Analysis of The King’s Speech

In a time of global anxiety, a recent internationally acclaimed film aptly shows the development of a leader who never intended to lead. This leadership analysis of The King\u27s Speech critically explores transformation shaped by the pressures of war, modernity, and a public figure\u27s speech impediment in the advent of radio broadcasting. Supportive leadership and followership are examined, as the Duchess of York serves as an exemplar of both. The central catalyst of transformative leadership comes from Lionel Logue, who exercises his role with emotional intelligence and key strategies that are invaluable to the eventual King finding his voice. The servant leadership role is discussed, as it resonates strongly with an ongoing need for transformative and shrewd servant leaders in an increasingly fragmented and information-based global economy

Microsatellite Markers For Studies With The Carnivorous Plant Philcoxia Minensis (plantaginaceae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Premise of the study: Microsatellite markers were developed for the critically endangered carnivorous species Philcoxia minensis (Plantaginaceae) for further population genetic studies aiming at its conservation. Methods and Results: We identified 29 clones containing 40 microsatellites from a genomic enriched library. A total of 27 primer pairs were developed and evaluated in 30 individuals of a natural P. minensis population. Seventeen markers successfully presented amplification products within the expected size range, of which 12 were polymorphic. The expected and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.03 to 0.65 and from 0.00 to 0.77, respectively. Positive transferability with the related species P. bahiensis was observed for the same 17 markers. Conclusions: The 12 polymorphic microsatellite markers are suitable for studies in genetic diversity and structure, mating system, and gene flow in P. minensis and also may be useful for similar issues regarding the related species P. bahiensis.38Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Post-Graduate program in Plant Biology, Instituto de Biologia, UNICAMPCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)FAPESP [2012/12927-9