1,478 research outputs found

    SUPERVISING MICROWAVE TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORKS WITH THE REALEX EXPERT SYSTEM SHELL

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    To effectively supervise a telecommunication network, an intelligent supervisory system is proposed consisting of a traditional process monitoring. a fault diagnostic, a communication handler and a database manager subsystem. The whole system is based on a generic expert system shell designed to operate in industrial environment. The diagnostic subsystem contains a two-level inference engine to operate on structural information and traditional if-then rules. To ensure easy mapping of the supervisory system to any telecommunication network a configuration environment consisting of several compilers integrated into a multi-window editor was also developed. The system was implemented on two interconnected IBM PC-s running MS WINDOWS 3.0

    Reduced density matrix sampling: Self-consistent embedding and multiscale electronic structure on current generation quantum computers

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    We investigate fully self-consistent multiscale quantum-classical algorithms on current generation superconducting quantum computers, in a unified approach to tackle the correlated electronic structure of large systems in both quantum chemistry and condensed matter physics. In both of these contexts, a strongly correlated quantum region of the extended system is isolated and self-consistently coupled to its environment via the sampling of reduced density matrices. We analyze the viability of current generation quantum devices to provide the required fidelity of these objects for a robust and efficient optimization of this subspace. We show that with a simple error mitigation strategy these self-consistent algorithms are indeed highly robust, even in the presence of significant noises on quantum hardware. Furthermore, we demonstrate the use of these density matrices for the sampling of nonenergetic properties, including dipole moments and Fermi liquid parameters in condensed phase systems, achieving a reliable accuracy with sparse sampling. It appears that uncertainties derived from the iterative optimization of these subspaces is smaller than variances in the energy for a single subspace optimization with current quantum hardware. This boosts the prospect for routine self-consistency to improve the choice of correlated subspaces in hybrid quantum-classical approaches to electronic structure for large systems in this multiscale fashion

    Understanding governmental activism

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    This article seeks to understand an understudied phenomenon: governmental players joining forces with non-governmental players in contentious actions against policies they want to prevent or redress. This behaviour, which we call ‘governmental activism’, problematizes important assumptions in the social movement literature on state–SMO dichotomies and on seeing ‘the state’ as a homogeneous and unified actor that solely provides the context for SMO activities. Governmental activism also problematizes assumptions on cooperation and ‘new’ modes of coordination in the governance literature. To understand governmental activism, we build on the strategic interaction perspective from social movement studies and on third-phase institutionalism from political science. In our analysis, we show the particulars of governmental activism. Our arguments are illustrated by empirical material on a case of municipal amalgamation in the Netherlands

    Absence of the proapoptotic Bax protein extends fertility and alleviates age-related health complications in female mice

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    The menopausal transition in human females, which is driven by a loss of cyclic ovarian function, occurs around age 50 and is thought to underlie the emergence of an array of health problems in aging women. Although mice do not undergo a true menopause, female mice exhibit ovarian failure long before death because of chronological age and subsequently develop many of the same age-associated health complications observed in postmenopausal women. Here we show in mice that inactivation of the proapoptotic Sax gene, which sustains ovarian lifespan into advanced age, extends fertile potential and minimizes many age-related health problems, including bone and muscle loss, excess fat deposition, alopecia, cataracts, deafness, increased anxiety, and selective attention deficit. Further, ovariectomy studies show that the health benefits gained by aged females from Bax deficiency reflect a complex interplay between ovary-dependent and -independent pathways. Importantly, and contrary to popular belief, prolongation of ovarian function into advanced age by Bax deficiency did not lead to an increase in tumor incidence. Thus, the development of methods for postponing ovarian failure at menopause may represent an attractive option for improving the quality of life in aging females. © 2007 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA

    Risks, alternative knowledge strategies and democratic legitimacy: the conflict over co-incineration of hazardous industrial waste in Portugal.

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    The decision to incinerate hazardous industrial waste in cement plants (the socalled ‘co-incineration’ process) gave rise to one of the most heated environmental conflicts ever to take place in Portugal. The bitterest period was between 1997 and 2002, after the government had made a decision. Strong protests by residents, environmental organizations, opposition parties, and some members of the scientific community forced the government to backtrack and to seek scientific legitimacy for the process through scientific expertise. The experts ratified the government’s decision, stating that the risks involved were socially acceptable. The conflict persisted over a decade and ended up clearing the way for a more sustainable method over which there was broad social consensus – a multifunctional method which makes it possible to treat, recover and regenerate most wastes. Focusing the analysis on this conflict, this paper has three aims: (1) to discuss the implications of the fact that expertise was ‘confiscated’ after the government had committed itself to the decision to implement co-incineration and by way of a reaction to the atmosphere of tension and protest; (2) to analyse the uses of the notions of ‘risk’ and ‘uncertainty’ in scientific reports from both experts and counter-experts’ committees, and their different assumptions about controllability and criteria for considering certain practices to be sufficiently safe for the public; and (3) to show how the existence of different technical scientific and political attitudes (one more closely tied to government and the corporate interests of the cement plants, the other closer to the environmental values of reuse and recycling and respect for the risk perception of residents who challenged the facilities) is closely bound up with problems of democratic legitimacy. This conflict showed how adopting more sustainable and lower-risk policies implies a broader view of democratic legitimacy, one which involves both civic movements and citizens themselves

    The effect of 5-aminolevulinic-acid (ALA) on the development of Saintpaulia ionantha

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    In recent work the effect of 5-aminolevulinic-acid (ALA) agent (commercial name Pentakeep-V) was examined on the chlorophyll content, growth and development of Saintpaulia ionantha. The newly re-rooted potted plants were irrigated or sprayed with 0.3‰ or 0.5‰ Pentakeep-V solution, and plus 30% long lasting fertilizer was added to half of the all treatments. Control plants were sprayed with tap water. Best result were obtained on the field of flowering. All the treatments promoted chlorophyll-content in the leaves especially spraying with 0.3‰concentration. Plants treated with Pentakeep-V in both concentrations and independently from the spraying or irrigation flowered more than two weeks earlier than control and those that got plus 30% fertilizer. Besides in the case of some treatments the diameter of leaf rosette, the number and surface size of leaves grew comparing to the control. The longlasting fertilizer had positive effect on the fresh weight but none of treatments had effect on the dry weight

    The effect of 5-aminolevulinic-acid (ALA) on the development of Saintpaulia ionantha

    Get PDF
    In recent work the effect of 5-aminolevulinic-acid (ALA) agent (commercial name Pentakeep-V) was examined on the chlorophyllcontent, growth and development of Saintpaulia ionantha. The newly re-rooted potted plants were irrigated or sprayed with 0.3‰ or 0.5‰Pentakeep-V solution, and plus 30% long lasting fertilizer was added to half of the all treatments. Control plants were sprayed with tap water.Best result were obtained on the field of flowering. All the treatments promoted chlorophyll-content in the leaves especially spraying with0.3‰concentration. Plants treated with Pentakeep-V in both concentrations and independently from the spraying or irrigation flowered morethan two weeks earlier than control and those that got plus 30% fertilizer. Besides in the case of some treatments the diameter of leaf rosette,the number and surface size of leaves grew comparing to the control. The longlasting fertilizer had positive effect on the fresh weight but noneof treatments had effect on the dry weight
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