Methods Of Variational Analysis In Pessimistic Bilevel Programming

Bilevel programming problems are of growing interest both from theoretical and practical points of view. These models are used in various applications, such as economic planning, network design, and so on. The purpose of this dissertation is to study the pessimistic (or strong) version of bilevel programming problems in finite-dimensional spaces. Problems of this type are intrinsically nonsmooth (even for smooth initial data) and can be treated by using appropriate tools of modern variational analysis and generalized differentiation developed by B. Mordukhovich. This dissertation begins with analyzing pessimistic bilevel programs, formulation of the problems, literature review, practical application, existence of the optimal solutions, reformulation and related to the other programming. The mainstream in studying optimization problems consists of obtaining necessary optimality conditions for optimality, and the main focus of this dissertation is to obtain necessary optimality conditions for pessimistic bilevel programming problems. Optimality conditions for the optimistic version of bilevel programming are extensively discussed in the literature. However, there are just a few papers devoted to the pessimistic version of bilevel programming problems and most of these papers concern the existence of optimal solutions. This dissertation is devoted to establish, by a variety of techniques from convex and nonsmooth analysis, several versions of first order necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for pessimistic bilevel programming problems. To achieve our goal, we first use the implicit programming techniques, and depending on the continuous, Lipschitz, and Fréchet differentiable selections, we obtain necessary optimality conditions. The value function technique plays a central role in sensitivity analysis, controllability, and even in establishing necessary optimality conditions. We consider constructions or estimations of the subdifferential of value functions and come up with the optimality conditions using minimax programming approach treating the cases: convex data, differentiable (strict) data, and Lipschitz data separately. We also use the duality programming approach and obtain optimality conditions extending the convex case to the nonconvex case. In the last chapter, we produce the necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for pessimistic bilevel programming with the rational reaction (optimal solutions set of the lower level problem) set of finite cardinality, but not singleton. We present then some classes of pessimistic bilevel programs for which there are finite rational responses

Chronic Benzene Exposure Aggravates Pressure Overload-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction

Benzene is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant abundant in household products, petrochemicals, and cigarette smoke. Benzene is a well-known carcinogen in humans and experimental animals; however, little is known about the cardiovascular toxicity of benzene. Recent population-based studies indicate that benzene exposure is associated with an increased risk for heart failure. Nonetheless, it is unclear whether benzene exposure is sufficient to induce and/or exacerbate heart failure. We examined the effects of benzene (50 ppm, 6 h/day, 5 days/week, and 6 weeks) or high-efficiency particulate absorbing-filtered air exposure on transverse aortic constriction (TAC)-induced pressure overload in male C57BL/6J mice. Our data show that benzene exposure had no effect on cardiac function in the Sham group; however, it significantly compromised cardiac function as depicted by a significant decrease in fractional shortening and ejection fraction, as compared with TAC/Air-exposed mice. RNA-seq analysis of the cardiac tissue from the TAC/benzene-exposed mice showed a significant increase in several genes associated with adhesion molecules, cell-cell adhesion, inflammation, and stress response. In particular, neutrophils were implicated in our unbiased analyses. Indeed, immunofluorescence studies showed that TAC/benzene exposure promotes infiltration of CD11b(+)/S100A8(+)/myeloperoxidase(+)-positive neutrophils in the hearts by 3-fold. In vitro, the benzene metabolites, hydroquinone, and catechol, induced the expression of P-selectin in cardiac microvascular endothelial cells by 5-fold and increased the adhesion of neutrophils to these endothelial cells by 1.5- to 2.0-fold. Benzene metabolite-induced adhesion of neutrophils to the endothelial cells was attenuated by anti-P-selectin antibody. Together, these data suggest that benzene exacerbates heart failure by promoting endothelial activation and neutrophil recruitment

Programmatic use of molecular xenomonitoring at the level of evaluation units to assess persistence of lymphatic filariasis in Sri Lanka

BACKGROUND:Sri Lanka's Anti Filariasis Campaign distributed 5 rounds of mass drug administration (MDA with DEC plus albendazole) to all endemic regions in the country from 2002-2006. Post-MDA surveillance results have generally been encouraging. However, recent studies have documented low level persistence of Wuchereria bancrofti in Galle district based on comprehensive surveys that include molecular xenomonitoring (MX, detection of filarial DNA in mosquitoes) results. The purposes of this study were to demonstrate the use of MX in large evaluation units (EUs) and to field test different mosquito sampling schemes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Galle district (population 1.1 million) was divided into two EUs. These included a coastal EU with known persistent LF and an inland EU with little persistent LF. Mosquitoes were systematically sampled from ~300 trap locations in 30 randomly selected clusters (health administrative units) per EU. Approximately 28,000 Culex quinquefasciatus were collected with gravid traps and tested for filarial DNA by qPCR. 92/625 pools (14.7%) from the coastal EU and 8/583 pools (1.4%) from the inland EU were positive for filarial DNA. Maximum likelihood estimates (MLE) for filarial DNA rates were essentially the same when the same number of mosquito pools were collected and tested from 75, 150, or 300 trap sites (range 0.61-0.78% for the coastal EU and 0.04-0.07% for the inland EU). The ability to use a smaller number of trap sites reduces the cost and time required for mosquito sampling. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:These results suggest there is widespread persistence of W. bancrofti infection in the coastal Galle EU 8 years after the last round of MDA in 2006, and this is consistent with other data from the district. This study has shown that MX can be used by national programs to assess and map the persistence of W. bancrofti at the level of large EUs in areas with Culex transmission

Inhibition of in vitro mycelial growth of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum by biofumigant crops

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum has been identified as a significant pathogen infecting a wide range of plants, including economically important vegetable crops in New Zealand. Biofumigant crops, especially members of the Brassica family, are reported to inhibit the survival, growth and reproduction of many fungi. The present study focused on assessing the biofumigation effect of four selected crops on in vitro mycelial growth of S. sclerotiorum. Four different biofumigant crops, i.e. Brassica juncea (‘Caliente 199’), Brassica juncea (unknown), Eruca sativa (‘Nemat’), Sinapis alba (‘SKU 4295’) were assessed for the inhibitory effect against ten S. sclerotiorum isolates. A sandwich plate assay was set up with 5 g of macerated whole plant tissue, at 50% anthesis stage for each of the selected biofumigant crops, and placed into the inverted lid of a Petri dish containing Potato Dextrose Agar inoculated with a S. sclerotiorum mycelial disc. No contact between the plant tissues and the fungus occurred. Four replicates were set up for each S. sclerotiorum isolate and each biofumigant crop treatment combination, including untreated controls in a completely randomised design. The colony diameter (mm) of each plate was measured until the mycelial growth in the untreated S. sclerotiorum isolate controls reached the edge of the Petri plate (3 days). The inhibitory efficiency (%) of the different treatments calculated by comparing to the mycelial growth in the respective isolate controls. There was a significant effect of treatment and isolate on the inhibition of mycelial growth of S. sclerotiorum (P<0.001). Brassica juncea (‘Caliente 199’) showed maximum inhibition (60.4%) followed by Eruca sativa (‘Nemat’) (28.6%). Brassica juncea (‘Caliente 199’) provided the best suppression of in vitro mycelial growth of S. sclerotiorum. However, further studies will be carried out to determine the best application rate, plant tissue type and growth stage at plant tissue harvest resulting in the maximum suppression of S. sclerotiorum

Recent progresses in wearable triboelectric nanogenerators

Integrating electronics with clothing and the human body to support people's lifestyle is quickly becoming a reality. Some of these electronics, including health sensors, communication devices, and personal electronics, contain the potential to revolutionize life in the future. One of the most demanding aspects of such electronic designs is their power supply systems, which necessitate not only a continuous power supply, but also wearable characteristics and durability, which many conventional power-supply methods have failed to fulfill. The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), which depends on static charging between materials, can convert mechanical vibrations into electricity. TENGs are foreseen as a leading candidate to power wearable electronics due to their advantages such as high instantaneous power outputs and efficiency, low cost, ease of fabrication, lightweight, and wearability. This paper is a comprehensive review on the most prominent wearable TENG categories; textiles-based TENGs for clothing applications, footwear-incorporated TENG designs, and other TENG accessories. Herein, the most important developments in these categories, with a focus on their materials, fabrication, features, advantages, and drawbacks, are examined. Finally, a detailed analysis is provided on the main challenges impeding the progress of wearable TENGs with the insights into potential improvement techniques, targeting the widespread commercialization of this technology

Reassessment of areas with persistent Lymphatic Filariasis nine years after cessation of mass drug administration in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to initiate a lymphatic filariasis (LF) elimination program based on WHO guidelines. The Anti-Filariasis Campaign provided 5 annual rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) with diethylcarbamazine plus albendazole in all 8 endemic districts from 2002-2006. Microfilaremia (Mf) prevalences have been consistently <1% in all sentinel and spot-check sites since 2006, and all evaluation units passed school-based transmission assessment surveys (TAS) in 2013. We previously reported results from comprehensive surveillance studies conducted in 2011-2013 that documented low-level persistence of Wuchereria bancrofti in 19 high risk areas in 8 endemic districts. We now present results from repeat surveys conducted 3 to 4 years later in 6 areas that had the strongest LF signals in the prior study.The surveys assessed prevalence of filarial antigenemia (CFA) and Mf in communities, CFA and anti-filarial antibody in school children (ages 6-8), and filarial DNA in Culex mosquitoes (molecular xenomonitoring, MX). Three study areas had significantly improved infection parameters compared to the prior study, but three other areas had little change. MX was more sensitive for detecting W. bancrofti persistence, and it was a better predictor than other parameters. Adult males accounted for more than 80% of infections detected in the study.These results suggest that W. bancrofti transmission was near the break point in some of the areas studied in 2011-13. LF is likely to decline to zero without further intervention in these areas, while other areas may require further intervention. Long term surveillance may be needed to verify W. bancrofti elimination in areas like Sri Lanka with efficient transmission by Culex. Test and treat or other programs targeting adult males plus bed net promotion may be more effective than MDA for clearing remaining hotspots of transmission in Sri Lanka