Statistical Design And Imaging Of Position-Encoded 3D Microarrays

We propose a three-dimensional microarray device with microspheres having controllable positions for error-free target identification. Here targets: such as mRNAs, proteins, antibodies, and cells) are captured by the microspheres on one side, and are tagged by nanospheres embedded with quantum-dots: QDs) on the other. We use the lights emitted by these QDs to quantify the target concentrations. The imaging is performed using a fluorescence microscope and a sensor. We conduct a statistical design analysis to select the optimal distance between the microspheres as well as the optimal temperature. Our design simplifies the imaging and ensures a desired statistical performance for a given sensor cost. Specifically, we compute the posterior Cram&eacuter-Rao bound on the errors in estimating the unknown target concentrations. We use this performance bound to compute the optimal design variables. We discuss both uniform and sparse concentration levels of targets. The uniform distributions correspond to cases where the target concentration is high or the time period of the sensing is sufficiently long. The sparse distributions correspond to low target concentrations or short sensing durations. We illustrate our design concept using numerical examples. We replace the photon-conversion factor of the image sensor and its background noise variance with their maximum likelihood: ML) estimates. We estimate these parameters using images of multiple target-free microspheres embedded with QDs and placed randomly on a substrate. We obtain the photon-conversion factor using a method-of-moments estimation, where we replace the QD light-intensity levels and locations of the imaged microspheres with their ML estimates. The proposed microarray has high sensitivity, efficient packing, and guaranteed imaging performance. It simplifies the imaging analysis significantly by identifying targets based on the known positions of the microspheres. Potential applications include molecular recognition, specificity of targeting molecules, protein-protein dimerization, high throughput screening assays for enzyme inhibitors, drug discovery, and gene sequencing

How Reshoring Impacts Economy and Transportation Logistics- A Us Perspective

Reshoring is a relatively new trend across the world, particularly in developed nations like the US and European countries. Its impact on the economy and transportation and logistics is expected to be significant. However, there is a lack of research on the reasons behind companies\u27 decision to reshore, the major players involved, the economic implications, and how to align transportation for maximum benefit. To address this gap, a study was conducted using location quotients, which compare the economic composition of smaller areas to a base geographical area. Two datasets were used: the US Census Bureau\u27s County Business Patterns employment dataset and Esri\u27s US Business Locations dataset. Results show that location quotients greater than one indicated a more specialized economy in each industry subsector or group in a county compared to the national economy. This study also develops a Reshorability Index (RI) that can measure the readiness of outsourced products to be brought back to the US. The study highlights the impact of reshoring on the US transportation and logistics, with a focus on the ports importing necessary commodities. Companies are expected to prioritize lowering transportation costs, resulting in a shift towards North-Eastern, South-Eastern, and Eastern ports in the US. While reshoring will reduce the burden on US ports, it may put pressure on local and regional transportation infrastructures. The findings of this research are transferable and implementable in the industry, as demonstrated by a pilot implementation at Bridgestone APM company, USA, which resulted in over $4 million in 301 tariff savings for the company

Major histocompatibility complex class I involvement in the rejection of allogeneic erythrocytes in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Major histocompatibility complex genes are thought to be involved in allogeneic graft rejection but not many reports are available on their functional analysis in fish. Analysis of available sequences of MHC genes suggests functions in antigen presentation similar to those found in higher vertebrates. In mammals, the MHC class I and class II molecules are major determinants of allogeneic graft rejection due to their polymorphism in conjunction with their antigen presenting function. In fish, MHC class H molecules are found to be involved in rejection of allogeneic scale grafts. The present study was designed to investigate the involvement of MHC class I molecules in allograft rejection. Erythrocytes were collected from donors of rainbow trout expressed different class MHC class I alleles, stained with two dyes, mixed and grafted to the recipients that were of the same sibling group as the donors. The grafts were rejected by allogeneic recipients and the MHC class I linkage group was the major determinant for the rejection

High level of hybridisation in three species of Indian major carps

Thirty individuals of each species of Indian major carps, i.e., Catla catla, Cirrhinus cirrhosus (C. mrigala) and Labeo rohita, obtained from a nursery near Mymensingh, Bangladesh were analysed by means of allozyme electrophoresis. Twenty-one loci were studied. Several loci revealed significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg expectations caused by deficiency of heterozygotes, indicating Wahlund effects due to problems with species identification. Moreover, bimodal distributions of individual heterozygosity within the three putative species indicated hybridisation. This was confirmed using analysis of individual admixture proportions, as individuals misidentified to species and hybrids between species were observed. Furthermore, factorial correspondence analysis to visualize genetic relationships among individuals revealed three distinct groups containing misclassified individuals, along with some intermediate individuals interpreted as hybrids. Ten per cent of all C. catla and L. rohita had been erroneously identified to species, and 40 per cent of all presumptive C. catla were hybrids between C. catla x C. cirrhosus and C. catla x L. rohita. In the case of C. cirrhosus, 37 per cent of the samples were C. cirrhosus x L. rohita hybrids. Thirty per cent of all presumptive L. rohita turned out to be hybrids between L. rohita x C. catla and L. rohita x C. cirrhosus. The high incidence of hybrids in C. catla might be responsible for slower growth of the fish in aquaculture

The Ethical Dilemma of Green Economy: Examining the Human and Environmental Costs of Cobalt Mining in DRC

This article discusses the ethical challenges of the green economy using cobalt mining in the DRC as an example The rising demand for cobalt a crucial mineral in the manufacture of renewable energy technologies has resulted in serious abuses of human rights and environmental damage in the DRC The article offers suggestions for addressing the ethical and environmental issues linked with cobalt mining in the DRC These ideas include responsible sourcing policy interaction with the community sustainable mining techniques and support for alternative technologies The production of essential minerals must prioritize human rights and environmental preservation and community engagement and sustainable mining techniques can assist in mitigating negative impacts and ensuring equitable distribution of benefits The shift to a low-carbon economy is crucial to combating climate change but it must be accomplished in an ethical and sustainable manner By addressing the ethical and environmental considerations involved with the creation of renewable energy technology we can ensure that the transition to a low-carbon economy is accomplished in a way that is beneficial to both people and the environment To build a more just and equitable green economy it is vital to take a complete and balanced strategy that evaluates the benefits and possible costs of renewable energy technologie

Small enterprise development in Bangladesh : a study of nature and effectiveness of support services

This thesis examines empirically the demand for as well as the supply, design and the effects of small enterprise support services in Bangladesh. Recognition of the role of small enterprises in economic growth and development has resulted in promoting institutions for providing support services to these enterprises in most developing countries. From the very beginning, expectations have been very high on the effectiveness of this supply-side intervention in fostering healthy growth of the small enterprises sector. As a result, there now exist numerous agencies, both in the public and private sector, for providing support services. However, the initial high expectations about the effectiveness of these services now seem somewhat over optimistic or, as in some cases, even unrealistic, giving rise to a re-examination of the effectiveness of these services and the institutions involved, particularly between the public and private sector organisations. In the literature, apart from the question of the nature and need for support services from small enterprises, there is also the issue of how these services can be evaluated. To address the issues of evaluation, a framework is developed, bringing together major influences on the evaluation process. The framework was applied to a sample of predominantly manufacturing small enterprises, located in the district of Dhaka - the capital city of Bangladesh. Data were gathered through interviews with owner-managers of the small firms. The study also surveyed major public and private support agencies involved in the small enterprise sector. The findings support a view that, overall, the effect of assistance is low, in terms of growth in sales, employment and value added. Financial assistance, however, seems to have a considerable effect on survival, start-up process, production and sales turnover of small firms. Here, the study underlines the importance of extensive support, comprising financial and non financial components. It uncovered that most firms do not receive the services they need and want. The study confirms the view that an agency - which is private, small, autonomous, closer to its clients in terms of people, processes and structures employed, and provider of financial and non financial assistance - can effectively meet the needs of small firms. Thus, private support agencies are well suited in terms of design and are more effective, perhaps due to their pre-selection of few viable small firms, unlike the public agencies. There is evidence, however, to conclude that public support organisations play a major role in the survival of small firms, usually less attractive to private support agencies. Overall, the study underpins the view that assistance can be a trigger to the development of small enterprises, if it is selective. Evaluation of support services, as the findings suggest, can be done by an exploration of the supply-demand interaction, viewing supply-inputs through a process to ultimate outputs. Finally, the study recommends, among others, a restructuring by formation of partnership between the public and private support agencies for the promotion and development of small enterprises in Bangladesh