A hybrid model approach for strange and multi-strange hadrons in 2.76 A TeV Pb+Pb collisions

Using the VISHNU hybrid model, we calculate the multiplicity, spectra, and elliptic flow of $\Lambda$, $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ in 2.76 A TeV Pb+Pb collisions. Comparisons between our calculations and the ALICE measurements show that the model generally describes the soft hadron data of these strange and multi-strange hadrons at several centrality bins. Mass ordering of elliptic flow among $\pi$, K, p, $\Lambda$, $\Xi$ and $\Omega$ has also been studied and discussed. With a nice description of the particle yields, we explore chemical and thermal freeze-out of various hadrons species at the LHC within the framework of the VISHNU hybrid model.Comment: version 2: with several references added, published in PR

Cleaning Data Helps Clean the Air

In this project, students use a real-world, complex database and experience firsthand the consequences of inadequate data modeling. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created the database as part of a multimillion dollar data collection effort undertaken in order to set limits on air pollutants from electric power plants. First, students explore the database to identify design limitations from the perspective of a data analyst with a specific goal. Second, students create a new database design which overcomes identified problems. Through this case study, students develop the skill to infer usage implications by studying the design of an existing database. This is important since developers often inherit databases designed by others. Students also learn how to prepare data stored in a relational database for a data analysis project. By experiencing the consequences of an inadequate design from a user perspective, students can better appreciate the importance of relational database design principles and become more committed to using them

Hierarchical decision making with supply chain applications

Hierarchical decision making is a decision system, where multiple decision makers are involved and the process has a structure on the order of levels. It gains interest not only from a theoretical point of view but also from real practice. Its wide applications in supply chain management are the main focus of this dissertation.The first part of the work discusses an application of continuous bilevel programming in a remanufacturing system. Under intense competitive pressures to lower production costs, coupled with increasing environmental concerns, used products can often be collected via customer returns to retailers in supply chains and remanufactured by producers, in orderto bring them back into “as-new” condition for resale. In this part, hierarchical models are developed to determine optimal decisions involving inventory replenishment, retail pricingand collection price for returns. Based on the simplified assumption of a single manufacturer and a single retailer dealing with a single recoverable item under deterministic conditions,all of these decisions are examined in an integrated manner. Models depicting decentralized, as well as centralized policies are explored. Analytical results are derived and detailed sensitivity analysis is performed via an extensive set of numerical computations.In the second part of this dissertation, a discrete bilevel problem is illustrated by investigating a biofuel production problem. The issues of governmental incentives, industry decisions of price, and farm management of land are incorporated. While fixed costs are natural components of decision making in operations management, such discrete phenomena have not received sufficient research attention in the current literature on bilevel programming, due to a variety of theoretical and algorithmic difficulties. When such costs are taken into account, it is not easy to derive optimality conditions and explore convergence properties due to discontinuities and the combinatorial nature of this problem, which is NP-hard. In order to solve this problem, a derivative-free search technique is used to arrive at a solution to this bilevel problem. A new heuristic methodology is developed, which integrates sensitivity analysis and warm-starts to improve the efficiency of the algorithm.Ph.D., Decision Sciences -- Drexel University, 201

Molecular Logic Computation with Debugging Method

Seesaw gate concept, which is based on a reversible DNA strand branch process, has been found to have the potential to be used in the construction of various computing devices. In this study, we consider constructing full adder and serial binary adder, using the new concept of seesaw gate. Our simulation of the full adder preformed properly as designed; however unexpected exception is noted in the simulation of the serial binary adder. To identify and address the exception, we propose a new method for debugging the molecular circuit. The main idea for this method is to add fan-outs to monitor the circuit in a reverse stepwise manner. These fan-outs are fluorescent signals that can obtain the real-time concentration of the target molecule. By analyzing the monitoring result, the exception can be identified and located. In this paper, examples of XOR and serial binary adder circuits are described to prove the practicability and validity of the molecular circuit debugging method

4-Bromo-2-meth­oxy-6-(1-phenyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)phenol

The title compound, C20H15BrN2O2, crystallized with three independent molecules in the asymmetric unit. Intramolecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds induce coplanarity of the substituted benzene ring and the benzimidazole ring, with mean deviations from the planes of 0.0931 (10), 0.0448 (10) and 0.0083 (11) Å in the three mol­ecules

Overexpression of an isoform of AML1 in acute leukemia and its potential role in leukemogenesis

AML1/RUNX1 is a critical transcription factor in hematopoietic cell differentiation and proliferation. From the _AML1_ gene, at least three isoforms, _AML1a_, _AML1b_ and _AML1c_, are produced through alternative splicing. AML1a interferes with the function of AML1b/1c, which are often called AML1. In the current study, we found a higher expression level of _AML1a_ in ALL patients in comparison to the controls. Additionally, AML1a represses transcription from promotor of macrophage-colony simulating factor receptor (M-CSFR) mediated by AML1b, indicating that AML1a antagonized the effect of AML1b. In order to investigate the role of _AML1a_ in hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis _in vivo_, bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) from mice were transduced with AML1a and transplanted into lethally irradiated mice, which develop lymphoblastic leukemia after transplantation. Taken together, these results indicate that overexpression of AML1a may be an important contributing factor to leukemogenesis