A Graphical petri nets simulator

This thesis is an application software system (Graphical Petri Net simulator GPNS) providing a window-oriented, menu-driven and graphical interface simulator for Petri nets. This simulator is based on Place/Transition nets (PT-nets). It allows users to design and simulate PT-net under an interactive graphical environment. GPNS also provides a utility, Auxiliary Application Program (AAP), to make it more useful. When applying the AAP with the GPNS, each function in the AAP can be attached to a corresponding transition in the Petri net. Whenever an enabled transition in the Petri Net is fired will cause the corresponding function in the AAP to be executed. In this case, It is closer to a Predicate/Action net than a Place/Transition net, except that no predicates are attached. This Petri Net simulator can be a very good tutorial tool in an educational environment. Subject to some restrictions, it can be a very useful tool for modeling and designing a system

Challenge Theory: The Structure and Measurement of Risky Binary Choice Behavior

Challenge Theory (Shye & Haber 2015; 2020) has demonstrated that a newly devised challenge index (CI) attributable to every binary choice problem predicts the popularity of the bold option, the one of lower probability to gain a higher monetary outcome (in a gain problem); and the one of higher probability to lose a lower monetary outcome (in a loss problem).  In this paper we show how Facet Theory structures the choice-behavior concept-space and yields rationalized measurements of gambling behavior. The data of this study consist of responses obtained from 126 student, specifying their preferences in 44 risky decision problems. A Faceted Smallest Space Analysis (SSA) of the 44 problems confirmed the hypothesis that the space of binary risky choice problems is partitionable by two binary axial facets: (a) Type of Problem (gain vs. loss); and (b) CI (Low vs. High). Four composite variables, representing the validated constructs: Gain, Loss, High-CI and Low-CI, were processed using Multiple Scaling by Partial Order Scalogram Analysis with base Coordinates (POSAC), leading to a meaningful and intuitively appealing interpretation of two necessary and sufficient gambling-behavior measurement scales

Risk as Challenge: A Dual System Stochastic Model for Binary Choice Behavior

Challenge Theory (CT) is a new approach to decision under risk that departs significantly from expected utility and is based firmly on psychological, rather than economic, assumptions. The paper demonstrates that a purely cognitive-psychological paradigm for decision under risk can yield excellent predictions, comparable to those attained by more complex economic or psychological models that remain attached to conventional economic constructs and assumptions. The study presents a new model for predicting the popularity of choices made in binary risk problems.A CT-based regression model is tested on data gathered from 126 respondents who indicated their preferences with respect to 44 choice problems. Results support CT's central hypothesis, strongly associating between the Challenge Index (CI) attributable to every binary risk problem, and the observed popularity of the bold prospect in that problem (with r=-0.92 and r=-0.93 for gains and for losses, respectively). The novelty of the CT perspective as a new paradigm is illuminated by its simple, single-index (CI) representation of psychological effects proposed by Prospect Theory for describing choice behavior (certainty effect, reflection effect, overweighting small probabilities and loss aversion)

Risk as Challenge: A Dual System Stochastic Model for Binary Choice Behavior

Challenge Theory (CT), a new approach to decision under risk departs significantly from expected utility, and is based on firmly psychological, rather than economic, assumptions. The paper demonstrates that a purely cognitive-psychological paradigm for decision under risk can yield excellent predictions, comparable to those attained by more complex economic or psychological models that remain attached to conventional economic constructs and assumptions. The study presents a new model for predicting the popularity of choices made in binary risk problems. A CT-based regression model is tested on data gathered from 126 respondents who indicated their preferences with respect to 44 choice problems. Results support CT's central hypothesis, strongly associating between the Challenge Index (CI) attributable to every binary risk problem, and the observed popularity of the bold prospect in that problem (with r=-0.92 and r=-0.93 for gains and for losses, respectively). The novelty of the CT perspective as a new paradigm is illuminated by its simple, single-index (CI) representation of psychological effects proposed by Prospect Theory for describing choice behavior (certainty effect, reflection effect, overweighting small probabilities and loss aversion)

Arab and Jewish Attitude: Toward a Palestinian State

This article deals with the attitudes of Arabs and Jews in Israel regarding a Palestinian state. These include their images of such a state, the costs and benefits perceived if a Palestinian state were established, and the fears and desires involved, including the desire to keep contact with the Palestinian population in the various life domains. The article will attempt to analyze the extent to which the attitudes toward the establishment of a Palestinian state and its likely character derive from a rational calculus of expected costs and benefits to one\u27s own group

Adsorption of lignosulfonates onto clay minerals and their effectiveness as a sacrificial agent

Surfactant adsorption on reservoir rock surface is a fundamental issue in surfactant based enhanced oil recovery. Reservoirs contain a significant amount of clays that results in large surface areas, thus causing a large portion of the surfactant to be adsorbed. Sacrificial agent (SA) is meant to be sacrificed, hence serving as a shield that protects the formation of rock by adsorbing into active adsorption site and prevents the subsequent surfactant to be adsorbed onto the surface. Despite the promising initial results, the suitability of numerous available types of lignosulfonate (LS) in the vast market as SA has yet to be investigated. Having that said, the objectives of this study are to determine the readiness of four LS types to adsorb onto clay minerals based on their functional groups, to investigate the adsorption capability and to define the effective method (mixture or pre-treatment), as well as to identify the underlying mechanism responsible for the effectiveness to reduce cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) adsorption. The most commonly used method to measure adsorption refers to the depletion method, where the concentration before and after adsorption are measured. Adsorption data obtained from the depletion method can be modelled into adsorption model to describe the adsorption process. Four types of LS, which are sodium LS (SLS), ammonium LS (ALS), magnesium LS (MLS), and calcium LS (CLS), were compared in terms of functional group, adsorption capability, and adsorption model to determine their readiness to adsorb onto kaolinite and montmorillonite. Different LS types, concentration, contact time, and model of adsorption were among the parameters tested with different brine salinity and pH. Both mixture and pre-treatment methods were investigated in depth to identify the underlying mechanism responsible to effectively reduce CTAB adsorption. A major finding from this study is that the functional groups in LS, such as (a) hydroxyl group in phenolic and aliphatic, (b) methyl and methylene, (c) aromatic, (d) sulfonic acids and stretching aliphatic, and (e) CHx bending out plane, were involved in the adsorption process onto kaolinite and montmorillonite. The mechanism appeared to be driven by electrostatic forces. SLS displayed the highest readiness to adsorb onto kaolinite and montmorillonite, which adhered to the following sequence SLS>ALS>CLS>MLS. Higher LS concentration and salinity led to higher adsorption, especially with the change of monovalent salt to divalent salt. Nonetheless, pH had no impact on adsorption. This signifies that pH modification may be ignored when using LS as SA. Equilibrium and kinetic adsorptions adhered to the Freundlich model and the pseudo-second order, respectively. Electrostatic forces, cation-p interaction, hydrophobic interaction, and cation bridging had a crucial role in the adsorption mechanism of LS with kaolinite and montmorillonite. The SLS as SA had successfully reduced CTAB adsorption via pre-treatment method. The effective underlying mechanism revealed in this study is SLS as SA that displayed high adsorption readiness, along with cation bridging assistance from divalent salt and reversed surface charge. As high as 50% CTAB reduction was recorded in the experimental work. As such, this study concludes that SLS is suitable to function as SA to reduce cationic adsorption onto kaolinite and montmorillonite. Pre-treatment is an effective way to reduce CTAB adsorption

Model For Decision Making In Implementing Process Imrpovement

Industries, especially the manufacturing industry, must respond quickly and efficiently to customer needs and to be market competitive. In response to the advanced rapid changes in the market, the industries needed to continuously refine their operational processes to reduce waste in production department. Industri, terutama industri pembuatan, perlu bertindak balas dengan cepat dan berkesan dengan keperluan pelanggan dan menjadi pasaran yang kompetitif. Sebagai tindak balas kepada perubahan pesat maju di pasaran, industri diperlukan untuk terus memperbaiki proses operasi mereka untuk mengurangkan pembaziran di bahagian pengeluaran

Immunotherapy for Lung Cancers

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Although treatment methods in surgery, irradiation, and chemotherapy have improved, prognosis remains unsatisfactory and developing new therapeutic strategies is still an urgent demand. Immunotherapy is a novel therapeutic approach wherein activated immune cells can specifically kill tumor cells by recognition of tumor-associated antigens without damage to normal cells. Several lung cancer vaccines have demonstrated prolonged survival time in phase II and phase III trials, and several clinical trials are under investigation. However, many clinical trials involving cancer vaccination with defined tumor antigens work in only a small number of patients. Cancer immunotherapy is not completely effective in eradicating tumor cells because tumor cells escape from host immune scrutiny. Understanding of the mechanism of immune evasion regulated by tumor cells is required for the development of more effective immunotherapeutic approaches against lung cancer. This paper discusses the identification of tumor antigens in lung cancer, tumor immune escape mechanisms, and clinical vaccine trials in lung cancer