Preliminary metabolic screening method for clone selection in the ambr15

Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Reachable sets analysis in the cooperative control of pursuer vehicles

This thesis is concerned with the Pursuit-and-Evasion (PE) problem where the pursuer aims to minimize the time to capture the evader while the evader tries to prevent capture. In the problem, the evader has two advantages: a higher manoeuvrability and that the pursuer is uncertain about the evader's state. Cooperation among multiple pursuer vehicles can thus be used to overcome the evader’s advantages. The focus here is on the formulation and development of frameworks and algorithms for cooperation amongst pursuers, aiming at feasible implementation on real and autonomous vehicles. The thesis is split into Parts I and II. Part I considers the problem of capturing an evader of higher manoeuvrability in a deterministic PE game. The approach is the employment of Forward Reachable Set (FRS) analysis in the pursuers’ control. The analysis considers the coverage of the evader’s FRS, which is the set of reachable states at a future time, with the pursuer’s FRS and assumes that the chance of capturing the evader is dependent on the degree of the coverage. Using the union of multiple pursuers’ FRSs intuitively leads to more evader FRS coverage and this forms the mechanism of cooperation. A framework for cooperative control based on the FRS coverage, or FRS-based control, is proposed. Two control algorithms were developed within this framework. Part II additionally introduces the problem of evader state uncertainty due to noise and limited field-of-view of the pursuers’ sensors. A search-and-capture (SAC) problem is the result and a hybrid architecture, which includes multi-sensor estimation using the Particle Filter as well as FRS-based control, is proposed to accomplish the SAC task. The two control algorithms in Part I were tested in simulations against an optimal guidance algorithm. The results show that both algorithms yield a better performance in terms of time and miss distance. The results in Part II demonstrate the effectiveness of the hybrid architecture for the SAC task. The proposed frameworks and algorithms provide insights for the development of effective and more efficient control of pursuer vehicles and can be useful in the practical applications such as defence systems and civil law enforcement

Effect of steam jet cooking on the destruction of corn starches

AbstractSteam jet cooking has been used for years to prepare aqueous starch dispersions for food application. The steam jet cooking generates high shear stress to starch. The objective of this research is to study the effect of shear stress on structure of corn starch granules by steam jet cooking. A laboratory scale steam jet cooker has been established with flow rate about 1L/min. Three kinds of corn starch, waxy, regular, and high amylose were used. Starch slurries (5% w/w) were cooked by steam jet cooker at temperature 100°C (SJ100), 120°C (SJ120) and 135°C (SJ135) compared with hot water boiling at 90°C 30min (HB). The insoluble particles of cooked starches were investigated by particle size analyzer, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and damage starch assay kit. There was a significant decrease in percent yield of insoluble particles of cooked dispersions for all starches in the order HB > SJ100 > SJ120 > SJ 135.The data also showed that SJ100 has higher destruction than HB, although the temperature of heat treatment was similar. The particle size of cooked starches was much larger than uncooked starches, and the particle size of HB was larger than SJ100 for all starches. This may be due to the time of cooking, 30min for HB vs. a few sec for SJ100. Percentage damaged starch of cooked dispersions for all starches became higher with increasing of cooking temperature. Although, the time of heat treatment was much shorter for SJ100 than HB, the damaged starch was higher as well. Those date all revealed the effect of shear stress from steam cooking. On SEM observation, the damaged granules showed sponge like structure for the starch dispersions cooked by HB. The starches heated by steam jet cooking were fractured into small fragments

Analysis of abnormal operation procedures in sequences of loss of the RHRS at midloop operation

Several studies indicate the importance that the sequence of loss of residual heat removal system (RHRS) at midloop operation has in the global risk of the plant. In this sense, several simulations of loss of the RHRS with closed and open primary system with the TRACE V4.160 code have been performed considering different availability of steam generators. This paper aims to analyze not only the thermalhydraulic behavior of the plant after the loss of RHRS, but also the interaction of the simulation results with the abnormal operation procedures and with the event trees of the sequences of loss of RHRS at midloop operation. The simulation results show that the main parameters depends on primary vent and the number of steam generators available. After a detailed study of phenomenology and abnormal procedures some modifications have been proposed in these procedures

A three-phase parallel algorithm for solving linear recurrences

AbstractWe present in this paper a three-phase parallel algorithm on the unshuffle network for solving linear recurrences. Through a detailed analysis on the special matrix multiplications involved in the computation we show that the first n terms of an mth order linear recurrence can be computed in O(m3 log nm) time using Θ(nm log nm) processors. For the usual case when m is a small constant. the algorithm achieves cost optimality

Nature's objects : geology, aesthetics, and the understanding of materiality in eighteenth-century Britain and France

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 353-390).Explorations of aesthetic design and scientific experimentation have traditionally relied upon the natural world as a source of inspiration. Notably absent from previous studies of the eighteenth century is the dynamic connections between contrasting disciplines of this time period. Terrestrial objects such as diamonds, silver, gold, and stone, situated between architecture, the decorative arts, and geology, superseded classical models of Aristotelian emulation, which privileged original visual forms. They evoked newfound tensions between modalities of intuition and empirical observation, providing alternate paradigms of nature based upon firsthand experience. This dissertation takes up an extensive assembly of historical actors who analyzed these objects - architects, artisans, chemists, collectors, engravers, geologists, jewelers, and silversmiths. Late Enlightenment designers Robert Adam, William Chambers, and Batty Langley as well as intellectuals Denis Diderot and Louis Dutens explored some of the same materials that piqued the curiosity of silversmiths Pierre-Simon Augustin Dupre, Francois-Thomas Germain, and Jacques Roettiers. Artisan Pierre de Fontanieu and chemists Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier and Jean-Louis Baptiste Rome de l'Isle also problematized the aesthetic usages of these objects, arriving at differing conclusions. Pervasive debates throughout Europe attempted to determine the quotient of hardness in minerals, plasticity of metal, or durability of stone. These provocative cross-currents between the domains of the arts, sciences, and politics generated remarkable insight into these objects taken from the earth; in turn, these intersections shaped a unique conception of materiality, which anticipated untapped potential for architectural styles, artistic production, and geological determination. Mining and related images of the subterranean - mineralogical atlases, etchings of rock formations, maps of sedimentary deposits, imagined grottos, and utopian architecture - are framed as part of a geological imaginary, a contributor to modernism's early inheritance. The first chapter contemplates how the cutting of diamonds as raw stones cultivated attitudes towards jewelry settings, formulas for false gemstones, and chemical demonstrations. Artisans judged a diamond's functional and authentic attributes in order to craft acceptable imitations. In focusing upon silver and gold, the second chapter traces the material transformations of valuable metals from decorative ornament into commemorative coins and medals during the French Revolution. Fiscal currency circulated as economic signifiers that embodied human values superimposed onto natural resources. The third chapter examines several types of stone from limestone, granite, to marble demonstrating how their visual and structural properties became articulated through Gothic revival practices in Georgian England. Antiquarian and genealogical discourses not only influenced conceptions of stone as a building material, but they also focused upon geological explanations as a mutual foundation of comprehension. The conclusion merges the mythological stories behind these objects with their historical narratives, elucidating why cultural misinterpretations are as important as factual evidence. Derived from corporeal perception and abstract theorization, materiality revealed unknown dimensions of these prosaic objects, whose telluric origins became recast as both ancient and modem.Ph.D

Development of an Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention Using a Model of Actionable Feedback

We describe the development of an audit and feedback intervention to improve antibiotic prescribing in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) using a theoretical framework. Participants included attending physicians, neonatal fellows, pediatric residents, and nurse practitioners. The intervention was based on the “model of actionable feedback” which emphasizes that feedback should be timely, individualized, nonpunitive, and customized to be effective. We found that real-time feedback could not be provided for the parameters established in this study, as we had to collect and analyze numerous data elements to assess appropriate initiation and continuation of antibiotics and required longer intervals to examine trends in antibiotic use. We learned during focus groups that NICU clinicians strongly resisted assigning individual responsibility for antibiotic prescribing as they viewed this as a shared responsibility informed by each patient's laboratory data and clinical course. We were able to create a non-punitive atmosphere thanks to written informed consent from NICU attendings and assurance from leadership that prescribing practices would not be used to assess job performance. We provided customized, meaningful feedback integrating input from the participants. Adapting the principles of the “model of actionable feedback” to provide feedback for antimicrobial prescribing practices proved challenging in the NICU setting