10,124 research outputs found
An Iterative Cyclic Algorithm for Designing Vaccine Distribution Networks in Low and Middle-Income Countries
The World Health Organization's Expanded Programme on Immunization (WHO-EPI)
was developed to ensure that all children have access to common childhood
vaccinations. Unfortunately, because of inefficient distribution networks and
cost constraints, millions of children in many low and middle-income countries
still go without being vaccinated. In this paper, we formulate a mathematical
programming model for the design of a typical WHO-EPI network with the goal of
minimizing costs while providing the opportunity for universal coverage. Since
it is only possible to solve small versions of the model optimally, we describe
an iterative heuristic that cycles between solving restrictions of the original
problem and show that it can find very good solutions in reasonable time for
larger problems that are not directly solvable.Comment: International Joint Conference on Industrial Engineering and
Operations Management- ABEPRO-ADINGOR-IISE-AIM-ASEM (IJCIEOM 2019). Novi Sad,
Serbia, July 15-17t
F-wave versus P-wave Superconductivity in Organic Conductors
Current experimental results suggest that some organic quasi-one-dimensional
superconductors exhibit triplet pairing symmetry. Thus, we discuss several
potential triplet order parameters for the superconducting state of these
systems within the functional integral formulation. We compare weak spin-orbit
coupling , , and symmetries via several thermodynamic
quantities. For each symmetry, we analyse the temperature dependences of the
order parameter, condensation energy, specific heat, and superfluid density
tensor.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Giant planets around two intermediate-mass evolved stars and confirmation of the planetary nature of HIP67851 c
Precision radial velocities are required to discover and characterize planets
orbiting nearby stars. Optical and near infrared spectra that exhibit many
hundreds of absorption lines can allow the m/s precision levels required for
such work. However, this means that studies have generally focused on
solar-type dwarf stars. After the main-sequence, intermediate-mass stars
(former A-F stars) expand and rotate slower than their progenitors, thus
thousands of narrow absorption lines appear in the optical region, permitting
the search for planetary Doppler signals in the data for these types of stars.
We present the discovery of two giant planets around the intermediate-mass
evolved star HIP65891 and HIP107773. The best Keplerian fit to the HIP65891 and
HIP107773 radial velocities leads to the following orbital parameters: P=1084.5
d; msin = 6.0 M; =0.13 and P=144.3 d; msin = 2.0
M; =0.09, respectively. In addition, we confirm the planetary nature
of the outer object orbiting the giant star HIP67851. The orbital parameters of
HIP67851c are: P=2131.8 d, msin = 6.0 M and =0.17. With
masses of 2.5 M and 2.4 M HIP65891 and HIP107773 are two of the
most massive stars known to host planets. Additionally, HIP67851 is one of five
giant stars that are known to host a planetary system having a close-in planet
( 0.7 AU). Based on the evolutionary states of those five stars, we
conclude that close-in planets do exist in multiple systems around subgiants
and slightly evolved giants stars, but probably they are subsequently destroyed
by the stellar envelope during the ascent of the red giant branch phase. As a
consequence, planetary systems with close-in objects are not found around
horizontal branch stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Heterogeneity of pneumococcal phase variants in invasive human infections
BACKGROUND: Streptococcus pneumoniae can be carried asymptomatically in the nasopharynx of its human host but can also cause a wide range of infections. A role for pneumococcal phase variants in the different lifestyles of this bacterium has been suggested but no systematic survey of the colony phenotypes of isolates associated with human infections has been undertaken. RESULTS: We report the colony opacity phenotypes of a genetically diverse set of 304 invasive isolates representing 10 serotypes. Over half of the isolates (52%) presented the opaque phenotype whereas transparent variants accounted for only 26% of the total. However, the frequency of recovery of each phase variant was not uniform, while serotypes 1, 4, 12B and 23F presented the opaque phenotype more frequently than expected by chance, serotypes 3 and 14 where less frequently associated with this phenotype. CONCLUSION: The opaque phenotype was the most frequent phenotype found among invasive isolates. An unexpected and equally important finding is the variability of the dominant opacity phenotype found among serotypes. This observation highlights the heterogeneity of opacity phenotypes in invasive isolates and lends further support to the proposal that other factors, in addition to the site of isolation, determine the opacity phenotype of a given isolate. The association between serotype and colonial opacity could help explain epidemiological differences observed among pneumococcal serotypes such as a higher invasive disease potential
Phase Fluctuations and Vortex Lattice Melting in Triplet Quasi-One-Dimensional Superconductors at High Magnetic Fields
Assuming that the order parameter corresponds to an equal spin triplet
pairing symmetry state, we calculate the effect of phase fluctuations in
quasi-one-dimensional superconductors at high magnetic fields applied along the
y (b') axis. We show that phase fluctuations can destroy the theoretically
predicted triplet reentrant superconducting state, and that they are
responsible for melting the magnetic field induced Josephson vortex lattice
above a magnetic field dependent melting temperature Tm.Comment: 4 pages (double column), 1 eps figur
An eccentric companion at the edge of the brown dwarf desert orbiting the 2.4 Msun giant star HIP67537
We report the discovery of a substellar companion around the giant star
HIP67537. Based on precision radial velocity measurements from CHIRON and FEROS
high-resolution spectroscopic data, we derived the following orbital elements
for HIP67537: msin = 11.1 M,
= 4.9 AU and = 0.59. Considering
random inclination angles, this object has 65% probability to be
above the theoretical deuterium-burning limit, thus it is one of the few known
objects in the planet to brown-dwarf transition region. In addition, we
analyzed the Hipparcos astrometric data of this star, from which we derived a
minimum inclination angle for the companion of 2 deg. This value
corresponds to an upper mass limit of 0.3 M, therefore the
probability that HIP67537 is stellar in nature is 7%. The large
mass of the host star and the high orbital eccentricity makes HIP67537 a
very interesting and rare substellar object. This is the second candidate
companion in the brown dwarf desert detected in the sample of intermediate-mass
stars targeted by the EXPRESS radial velocity program, which corresponds to a
detection fraction of = 1.6%. This value is larger than the
fraction observed in solar-type stars, providing new observational evidence of
an enhanced formation efficiency of massive substellar companions in massive
disks. Finally, we speculate about different formation channels for this
object.Comment: Accepted for publication to A&
Portuguese Adaptation of Students Engagement in Schools International Scale (SESIS)
The importance of student’s engagement has been recently pointed out in research. However, there has been a lack of engagement assessment instrument, pertaining psychometric qualities. Objective: This paper presents the Portuguese adaptation of the “Student’s Engagement in School International Scale” (SESIS), drawn up from a12 countries international study (Lam et al., 2012; Lam et al., in press). Method: Psychometric properties of this scale were examined with data from 685 students from different grades (6th, 7th, 9th and 10th), from both sexes, and different regions of the country. Results: Factorial analysis of the results, with varimax rotation, lead to three different factors which explain 50.88% of the variance. The scale integrates the original 33 items, and cognitive, affective and behavioural dimensions. For the external validity study, the relationship between student’s engagement in school results and other school variables — academic performance, self-concept — was considered, and significant relations were observed, as expected. Conclusion: The data presented highlights the qualities of SESIS, as well as its usefulness for research purposes. Suggestion: It is suggested the investigation of the extension of SESIS’s three-dimensionality, in future studiesKeywords: Innovation, technology, research projects, etc. [Arial 10-point, justified alignment]
Desenvolvimento de caracteres da panícula e frutificação de duas populações de cajueiros comum e anão-precoce (A. occidentale).
Apesar de sua importancia, sao escassas as informacoes sobre a biologia floral do cajueiro no Brasil. Em 1974-75 avaliaram-se, em Pacajus, CE, dez plantas de cajueiro-comum e dez de anao-precoce. Em cada uma foram avaliadas 28 paniculas por ponto cardeal; dezesseis colhidas aos 30, 45, 60 e 75 dias e as outras dize observadas diretamente nas plantas. Em cada panicula tomaram-se o comprimento, o numero de ramificacoes, de botoes florais, de flores masculinas e hermafroditas, a duracao do florescimento e o numero de frutos jovens e colhidos. Nas paniculas estufadas em laboratorio foram estimados a media e o intervalo de confianca por epoca de coleta, dentro e entre cada ano de observacao e, nas avaliadas em campo, as medias anuais para cada carater avaliado. Em ambos os casos aplicou-se o teste t a 5% de probabilidade. Os principais resultados foram os seguintes: o cajueiro-anao-precoce na media da maioria dos caracteres avaliados; as duas populacoes apresentaram baixo indice de flores hermafroditas (<10%); as paniculas com 30 e 45 dias exibiram maior numero de flores que as mais velhas; paniculas com 40 dias ja atingiram o comprimento normal pois nao diferiram estatisticamente daquelas com outras idades; a maior concentracao de flores hermafroditas ocorreu aos 45 e 75 dias, respectivamente, para os tipos anao-precoce e comum; a maior concentracao de flores masculinas ocorreu aos 45 e 60 dias, nos dois tipos de cajueiro; o periodo medio de florescimento, nos dois anos, foi de 97,8 dias para o anao-precoce e 102,2...bitstream/item/34967/1/Bp-008.pd
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