A Hybrid Decision Model for Improving Warehouse Efficiency in a Process-oriented View

published_fina

Singularity Avoidance of Charged Black Holes in Loop Quantum Gravity

Based on spherically symmetric reduction of loop quantum gravity, quantization of the portion interior to the horizon of a Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m black hole is studied. Classical phase space variables of all regions of such a black hole are calculated for the physical case $M^2> Q^2$. This calculation suggests a candidate for a classically unbounded function of which all divergent components of the curvature scalar are composed. The corresponding quantum operator is constructed and is shown explicitly to possess a bounded operator. Comparison of the obtained result with the one for the Swcharzschild case shows that the upper bound of the curvature operator of a charged black hole reduces to that of Schwarzschild at the limit $Q \rightarrow 0$. This local avoidance of singularity together with non-singular evolution equation indicates the role quantum geometry can play in treating classical singularity of such black holes.Comment: To be appeared in International Journal of Theoretical Physic

Elevated Perioperative Transaminase Level Predicts Intrahepatic Recurrence in Hepatitis B-related Hepatocellular Carcinoma After Curative Hepatectomy

OBJECTIVEWe aimed to evaluate the role of elevated perioperative alanine aminotransferase (ALT) as a surrogate marker of hepatitis activity in determining the risk of recurrence and survival in hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative hepatectomy.METHODSA retrospective review of the hepatectomy database was performed and 142 patients were found who had hepatitis B-related HCC from January 2001 to March 2006. Their ALT levels preoperatively and 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months postoperatively were recorded. The risk factors for recurrence and prognostic factors of survival were analysed.RESULTSAn elevated perioperative ALT level (p = 0.021), multiple tumour nodules in the resected specimen (p < 0.001), and a tumour size greater than 5 cm (p = 0.001) were significant independent risk factors for tumour recurrence. The latter two factors were also independent prognostic factors for overall survival and disease-free survival. An elevated ALT level was an independent prognostic factor for disease-free survival (p = 0.025).CONCLUSIONAn elevated perioperative ALT level, which reflects increased hepatitis activity, is an independent risk factor for intrahepatic recurrence of hepatitis B-related HCC. It is also associated with a poorer disease-free survival rate

Hyperbolic billiards of pure D=4 supergravities

We compute the billiards that emerge in the Belinskii-Khalatnikov-Lifshitz (BKL) limit for all pure supergravities in D=4 spacetime dimensions, as well as for D=4, N=4 supergravities coupled to k (N=4) Maxwell supermultiplets. We find that just as for the cases N=0 and N=8 investigated previously, these billiards can be identified with the fundamental Weyl chambers of hyperbolic Kac-Moody algebras. Hence, the dynamics is chaotic in the BKL limit. A new feature arises, however, which is that the relevant Kac-Moody algebra can be the Lorentzian extension of a twisted affine Kac-Moody algebra, while the N=0 and N=8 cases are untwisted. This occurs for N=5, N=3 and N=2. An understanding of this property is provided by showing that the data relevant for determining the billiards are the restricted root system and the maximal split subalgebra of the finite-dimensional real symmetry algebra characterizing the toroidal reduction to D=3 spacetime dimensions. To summarize: split symmetry controls chaos.Comment: 21 page

Tunneling and propagation of vacuum bubbles on dynamical backgrounds

In the context of bubble universes produced by a first-order phase transition with large nucleation rates compared to the inverse dynamical time scale of the parent bubble, we extend the usual analysis to non-vacuum backgrounds. In particular, we provide semi-analytic and numerical results for the modified nucleation rate in FLRW backgrounds, as well as a parameter study of bubble walls propagating into inhomogeneous (LTB) or FLRW spacetimes, both in the thin-wall approximation. We show that in our model, matter in the background often prevents bubbles from successful expansion and forces them to collapse. For cases where they do expand, we give arguments why the effects on the interior spacetime are small for a wide range of reasonable parameters and discuss the limitations of the employed approximations.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, typos corrected, matches published versio

The prevalence of different African horsesickness virus serotypes in the Onderstepoort area near Pretoria, during an outbreak of African horsesickness in South Africa in 1995/1996

During 1995/1996 parts of South Africa experienced exceptionally high rainfall. Large numbers of Culicoides midges were seen and an outbreak of African horse sickness (AHS) followed. In the Onderstepoort area, near Pretoria in Gauteng, a number of horses died of suspected AHS. Virus isolation and typing was done from blood and/or organ samples of 21 suspected cases as well as from 5 zebra which were kept in the area. Virus was isolated from 14 of the 21 suspected cases but not from the zebra. The neutralizing antibody response of the zebra to the nine African horsesickness virus (AHSV) serotypes was determined. Results indicated the highest prevalence of serotypes 2 and 4 followed by serotypes 1, 6 and 9. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed on total RNA extracted from blood samples of the zebra. AHSV RNA was detected in three of five zebra by agarose gel electrophoresis analysis of amplicons and in four of five zebra after Southern blot hybridization using a 32P-labelled probe. RT-PCR can be used together with serological techniques in studies of AHS to further clarify the epizootiology of the disease.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format

Controls on luminescence signals in lake sediment cores:A study from Lake Suigetsu, Japan

The luminescence characteristics of sediments are driven by a range of environmental factors and can be used as indicators of both local and regional environmental shifts. Hence, rapid luminescence profiling techniques are increasingly employed during multiproxy analysis of sediment cores, overcoming the practical limitations of traditional (dating) methods. One emerging application of luminescence profiling is in the palaeoenvironmental investigation of lake cores. This study demonstrates the versatility of rapid core profiling using portable optically stimulated luminescence and laboratory profiling techniques for appraising the luminescence characteristics of the Lake Suigetsu (Japan) sediment cores. These techniques were employed across four key time periods, each selected for their unique environmental context and significance on either a local or global scale, in order to identify relationships between down-core luminescence and environmental change. We demonstrate that the luminescence characteristics of the cores are susceptible to a range of environmental perturbations and can therefore act as proxies of past change. Additionally, the quantification of these luminescence signals, alongside an assessment of dose rate variations down-core, supports the notion that future luminescence dating is feasible. The results of this analysis contribute to the wider understanding of the application of luminescence techniques – both profiling and dating – to lake sediment cores

The Centurion 18 telescope of the Wise Observatory

We describe the second telescope of the Wise Observatory, a 0.46-m Centurion 18 (C18) installed in 2005, which enhances significantly the observing possibilities. The telescope operates from a small dome and is equipped with a large-format CCD camera. In the last two years this telescope was intensively used in a variety of monitoring projects. The operation of the C18 is now automatic, requiring only start-up at the beginning of a night and close-down at dawn. The observations are mostly performed remotely from the Tel Aviv campus or even from the observer's home. The entire facility was erected for a component cost of about 70k$ and a labor investment of a total of one man-year. We describe three types of projects undertaken with this new facility: the measurement of asteroid light variability with the purpose of determining physical parameters and binarity, the following-up of transiting extrasolar planets, and the study of AGN variability. The successful implementation of the C18 demonstrates the viability of small telescopes in an age of huge light-collectors, provided the operation of such facilities is very efficient.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, some figures quality was degraded, accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Anomalous Heat Conduction and Anomalous Diffusion in Low Dimensional Nanoscale Systems

Thermal transport is an important energy transfer process in nature. Phonon is the major energy carrier for heat in semiconductor and dielectric materials. In analogy to Ohm's law for electrical conductivity, Fourier's law is a fundamental rule of heat transfer in solids. It states that the thermal conductivity is independent of sample scale and geometry. Although Fourier's law has received great success in describing macroscopic thermal transport in the past two hundreds years, its validity in low dimensional systems is still an open question. Here we give a brief review of the recent developments in experimental, theoretical and numerical studies of heat transport in low dimensional systems, include lattice models, nanowires, nanotubes and graphenes. We will demonstrate that the phonon transports in low dimensional systems super-diffusively, which leads to a size dependent thermal conductivity. In other words, Fourier's law is breakdown in low dimensional structures