Engineering Through the Eyes of Faith

What is a biblical perspective of engineering? This paper seeks to answer some key questions related to the integration of faith and engineering. It is the second paper in a three paper sequel on this topic. It attempts to build from some initial concepts presented in a paper at the 2013 Christian Engineering Education Society (CEES) conference [1] and deepen the analysis on common grace and use new examples and present some new ideas on dominion mandate and its application to engineering and engineering education. God is the Master Engineer. As an architect of His creation God presents wisdom as the basis of design in the universe. And this wisdom is no other than the Lord Jesus Christ. God is the source of all wisdom and all God’s creation reveals His intelligent design. Men’s knowledge is always secondary. By studying science and engineering, we are really reading God’s mind regarding His creation. We can imitate God by design and/or engineering for the good of ourselves and others. The doctrine of common grace helps those in science and engineering professions to understand God’s dominion mandate, and His will and purpose for the entire human race. Engineering is part of God’s common grace to mankind. He gave man this gift to help fulfill His call to “subdue the earth.” Non-Christians are also bestowed this dominion mandate and they could contribute to the work of “subduing the earth” according to God’s common grace. Examples from optical engineering are used to demonstrate this “subduing” process. Finally, implementation of these teachings in engineering curriculum is discussed

Partner selection in agile supply chains: A fuzzy intelligent approach

Partner selection is a fundamental issue in supply chain management as it contributes significantly to overall supply chain performance. However, such decision-making is problematic due to the need to consider both tangible and intangible factors, which cause vagueness, ambiguity and complexity. This paper proposes a new fuzzy intelligent approach for partner selection in agile supply chains by using fuzzy set theory in combination with radial basis function artificial neural network. Using these two approaches in combination enables the model to classify potential partners in the qualification phase of partner selection efficiently and effectively using very large amounts of both qualitative and quantitative data. The paper includes a worked empirical application of the model with data from 84 representative companies within the Chinese electrical components and equipment industry, to demonstrate its suitability for helping organisational decision-makers in partner selection

Critical Factors of Adopting Enterprise Application Integration Technology: An Empirical Study on Larger Hospitals

As hospitals extend their service scope, they adopt more information systems. These systems are implemented in different timelines and the interfaces of databases become varied. Frequently, the exchange of information between various systems requires additional coordination or even manual input for unifying data. To embrace automation, the solution is to adopt enterprise application integration (EAI) technology, the middleware, to convert data from among various information systems to enable an efficient flow of data in the hospital. In this paper, we discuss and verify the impact factors on the integration levels of EAI by surveying larger hospitals above the regional level in Taiwan and testing a proposed research model. The findings of this study show that information technology infrastructure, hospital size, external pressure, internal pressure, and external support significantly affect the EAI level

The nusA recognition site : Alteration in its sequence or position relative to upstream translation interferes with the action of the N antitermination function of phage lambda

The phage [lambda] transcription antitermination protein, pN, acts with host factors. Nus, at sites on the phage genome, nut, to render RNA polymerase resistant to subsequent downstream termination signals. The NusA protein appears to recognize a seven to eight base-pair consensus sequence (5'Py-G-C-T-C-T-T(T)3') called boxA that is found in the promoter-proximal part of the nut region.Two types of change within or near the boxA sequence in the nutR region are shown to interfere with pN-mediated antitermination of transcription that has initiated at the upstream pR promoter. (1) A change of one base-pair (from G to T at the second position) in the box A sequence significantly reduces pN action. (2) We prove that a frameshift mutation, cro[Delta]62, at the end of the gene promoter-proximal to the [lambda] nutR region, interferes with the pN antitermination reaction by allowing translation to proceed beyond cro into the nutR region. Using a series of plasmid constructions, we now show that the inhibition of antitermination caused by the cro[Delta]62 mutation can be suppressed when translation is terminated upstream from this mutation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24597/1/0000005.pd

Hadron widths in mixed-phase matter

We derive classically an expression for a hadron width in a two-phase region of hadron gas and quark-gluon plasma (QGP). The presence of QGP gives hadrons larger widths than they would have in a pure hadron gas. We find that the $\phi$ width observed in a central Au+Au collision at $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV/nucleon is a few MeV greater than the width in a pure hadron gas. The part of observed hadron widths due to QGP is approximately proportional to $(dN/dy)^{-1/3}$.Comment: 8 pages, latex, no figures, KSUCNR-002-9

Detecting the Companions and Ellipsoidal Variations of RS CVn Primaries: II. omicron Draconis, a Candidate for Recent Low-Mass Companion Ingestion

To measure the stellar and orbital properties of the metal-poor RS CVn binary o Draconis (o Dra), we directly detect the companion using interferometric observations obtained with the Michigan InfraRed Combiner at Georgia State University's Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array. The H-band flux ratio between the primary and secondary stars is the highest confirmed flux ratio (370 +/- 40) observed with long-baseline optical interferometry. These detections are combined with radial velocity data of both the primary and secondary stars, including new data obtained with the Tillinghast Reflector Echelle Spectrograph on the Tillinghast Reflector at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory and the 2-m Tennessee State University Automated Spectroscopic Telescope at Fairborn Observatory. We determine an orbit from which we find model-independent masses and ages of the components (M_A = 1.35 +\- 0.05 M_Sun, M_B = 0.99 +\- 0.02 M_Sun, system age = 3.0 -\+ 0.5 Gyr). An average of a 23-year light curve of o Dra from the Tennessee State University Automated Photometric Telescope folded over the orbital period newly reveals eclipses and the quasi-sinusoidal signature of ellipsoidal variations. The modeled light curve for our system's stellar and orbital parameters confirm these ellipsoidal variations due to the primary star partially filling its Roche lobe potential, suggesting most of the photometric variations are not due to stellar activity (starspots). Measuring gravity darkening from the average light curve gives a best-fit of beta = 0.07 +\- 0.03, a value consistent with conventional theory for convective envelope stars. The primary star also exhibits an anomalously short rotation period, which, when taken with other system parameters, suggests the star likely engulfed a low-mass companion that had recently spun-up the star.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, Accepted to Ap

Innovation Contests with Entry Auction

We consider procurement of an innovation from heterogeneous sellers. Innovations are random but depend on unobservable effort and private information. We compare two procurement mechanisms where potential sellers first bid in an auction for admission to an innovation contest. After the contest, an innovation is procured employing either a fixed prize or a first-price auction. We characterize Bayesian Nash equilibria such that both mechanisms are payoff-equivalent and induce the same efforts and innovations. In these equilibria, signaling in the entry auction does not occur since contestants play a simple strategy that does not depend on rivals' private information

Detecting the Companions and Ellipsoidal Variations of RS CVn Primaries: I. sigma Geminorum

To measure the properties of both components of the RS CVn binary sigma Geminorum (sigma Gem), we directly detect the faint companion, measure the orbit, obtain model-independent masses and evolutionary histories, detect ellipsoidal variations of the primary caused by the gravity of the companion, and measure gravity darkening. We detect the companion with interferometric observations obtained with the Michigan InfraRed Combiner (MIRC) at Georgia State University's Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) Array with a primary-to-secondary H-band flux ratio of 270+/-70. A radial velocity curve of the companion was obtained with spectra from the Tillinghast Reflector Echelle Spectrograph (TRES) on the 1.5-m Tillinghast Reflector at Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory (FLWO). We additionally use new observations from the Tennessee State University Automated Spectroscopic and Photometric Telescopes (AST and APT, respectively). From our orbit, we determine model-independent masses of the components (M_1 = 1.28 +/- 0.07 M_Sun, M_2 = 0.73 +/- 0.03 M_Sun), and estimate a system age of 5 -/+ 1 Gyr. An average of the 27-year APT light curve of sigma Gem folded over the orbital period (P = 19.6027 +/- 0.0005 days) reveals a quasi-sinusoidal signature, which has previously been attributed to active longitudes 180 deg apart on the surface of sigma Gem. With the component masses, diameters, and orbit, we find that the predicted light curve for ellipsoidal variations due to the primary star partially filling its Roche lobe potential matches well with the observed average light curve, offering a compelling alternative explanation to the active longitudes hypothesis. Measuring gravity darkening from the light curve gives beta < 0.1, a value slightly lower than that expected from recent theory.Comment: Accepted to ApJ, 11 pages, 6 figures, 8 table

Genetically-Engineered Pig-to-Baboon Liver Xenotransplantation: Histopathology of Xenografts and Native Organs

Orthotopic liver transplantation was carried out in baboons using wild-type (WT, n = 1) or genetically-engineered pigs (α1,3-galactosyltransferase gene-knockout, GTKO), n = 1; GTKO pigs transgenic for human CD46, n = 7) and a clinically-acceptable immunosuppressive regimen. Biopsies were obtained from the WT pig liver pre-Tx and at 30 min, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 h post-transplantation. Biopsies of genetically-engineered livers were obtained pre-Tx, 2 h after reperfusion and at necropsy (4–7 days after transplantation). Tissues were examined by light, confocal, and electron microscopy. All major native organs were also examined. The WT pig liver underwent hyperacute rejection. After genetically-engineered pig liver transplantation, hyperacute rejection did not occur. Survival was limited to 4–7 days due to repeated spontaneous bleeding in the liver and native organs (as a result of profound thrombocytopenia) which necessitated euthanasia. At 2 h, graft histology was largely normal. At necropsy, genetically-engineered pig livers showed hemorrhagic necrosis, platelet aggregation, platelet-fibrin thrombi, monocyte/macrophage margination mainly in liver sinusoids, and vascular endothelial cell hypertrophy, confirmed by confocal and electron microscopy. Immunohistochemistry showed minimal deposition of IgM, and almost absence of IgG, C3, C4d, C5b-9, and of a cellular infiltrate, suggesting that neither antibody- nor cell-mediated rejection played a major role