Energy dissipation prediction of particle dampers

This paper presents initial work on developing models for predicting particle dampers (PDs) behaviour using the Discrete Element Method (DEM). In the DEM approach, individual particles are typically represented as elements with mass and rotational inertia. Contacts between particles and with walls are represented using springs, dampers and sliding friction interfaces. In order to use DEM to predict damper behaviour adequately, it is important to identify representative models of the contact conditions. It is particularly important to get the appropriate trade-off between accuracy and computational efficiency as PDs have so many individual elements. In order to understand appropriate models, experimental work was carried out to understand interactions between the typically small (1.5–3 mm diameter) particles used. Measurements were made of coefficient of restitution and interface friction. These were used to give an indication of the level of uncertainty that the simplest (linear) models might assume. These data were used to predict energy dissipation in a PD via a DEM simulation. The results were compared with that of an experiment

K Means Segmentation of Alzheimers Disease in PET scan datasets: An implementation

The Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan image requires expertise in the segmentation where clustering algorithm plays an important role in the automation process. The algorithm optimization is concluded based on the performance, quality and number of clusters extracted. This paper is proposed to study the commonly used K Means clustering algorithm and to discuss a brief list of toolboxes for reproducing and extending works presented in medical image analysis. This work is compiled using AForge .NET framework in windows environment and MATrix LABoratory (MATLAB 7.0.1)Comment: International Joint Conference on Advances in Signal Processing and Information Technology, SPIT201

Individual Attitudes toward the Impact of Multinational Corporations on Domestic Businesses: How Important are Individual Characteristics and Country-Level Traits?

We study the importance of individual characteristics and national factors influencing individual attitudes towards the impact of multinational corporations on local businesses. Our sample includes more than 40 000 respondents in 29 countries from the 2003 National Identity Survey conducted by the International Social Survey Programme. We find that individual demographic factors and socioeconomic status, such as gender, age, income and education, are strong predictors of their attitudes. For example, income and education are positively associated with favourable attitudes towards the impact of multinational corporations (MNCs) on local businesses while age is negatively associated with individual attitudes towards MNCs. In addition, hierarchical ordered logit model results show that approximately 8% of total variations in individual attitudes around our sample mean are not explained by differences in personal traits. Instead, they are due to country-level heterogeneity such as, but not limited to, different degrees of openness or different aggregate income

Testing Monetary Policy Intentions in Open Economies

Temple (2002) argues that the inflation level used in Romer (1993) lacks power in revealing the policy intentions of monetary authorities. Temple also points out that Romer\u27s use of the openness--inflation correlation cannot be explained by time consistency theory. In this article, we demonstrate that more open economies experience less inflation volatility and persistence. We attribute our findings to the hypothesis that monetary authorities in more open economies adopt more aggressive monetary policies. This pattern emerges strongly after 1990. Our results indicate that the near-universal regime shift in 1990 is not just a simple process of increased monetary policy aggressiveness, but an increased response to economic openness

Extravascular inflammation in experimental atherosclerosis : the role of the liver and lungs

In this thesis, the role of the liver and lungs in atherosclerosis development were studied. The liver plays an important role in lipid metabolism and inflammation, the two main processes involved in atherogenesis. We show that continuous enhanced inflammation in hepatocytes increased the hepatic production of VLDL and aggravated atherosclerosis development in hyperlipidemic APOE*3-Leiden (E3L) mice as compared to control E3L mice. Poor lung function, most commonly caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is a risk factor for atherosclerosis development. To this end, we investigated whether elastase-induced alveolar wall destruction, a model for COPD, would worsen atherosclerosis development in E3L mice. No difference in atherosclerotic lesion size was observed between mice after elastase or vehicle instillation, indicating that alveolar destruction per se is not responsible for the increased risk for atherosclerosis in COPD patients. Furthermore, we studied the anti-atherosclerotic effects of resveratrol which can be found in red wine and Asian medicinal herbs. Hyperlipidemic E3L.CETP mice were fed a diet without (control) or with resveratrol, atorvastatin, or both. Resveratrol protected against atherosclerosis development, but did not add to the anti-atherogenic effects of atorvastatin. Finally, the clinical implications and future perspectives of these results are discussed.Dutch Heart FoundationUBL - phd migration 201

Ranking Economics Journals, Economics Departments, and Economists Using Teaching-Focused Research Productivity

This paper constructs new rankings of economics journals, economics departments, and economists that employ a measure of teaching-focused research productivity, an area of growing importance in recent years. The ranking methodologies presented here use information from articles that were published from 1991 through the early part of 2005 within the Journal of Economic Literature\u27 s economic education classifications (A200-A290). The Journal of Economic Literature tops the list of journals, followed by the Review of Economics and Statistics and the American Economic Review . Among the top institutions are Vanderbilt University, Indiana University, and the University of Wisconsin. Others that rank high here, such as Oberlin College and Denison University, do not often fare as well using methodologies that evaluate more traditional types of economics research. Finally, among the economists we find that John Siegfried, William Becker, and Michael Watts are ranked above other economists

Global Symposium on Women in Fisheries

All over the world, women contribute in multiple ways to the production, processing, marketing and management of fish and other living aquatic resources. The first ever Global Symposium on Women in Fisheries, held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan on 29 November 2001 generated the present collection of papers on women in fisheries. The reader of this volume will find in it a wealth of information, albeit in a very heterogeneous form, that the authors have had to draw from many different sources. Some are primary research studies whereas most are historical reviews from first hand experience of the authors or derived from other written materials, often contained in reports of fisheries development projects, newspapers and source materials well outside the fish sectors.Women, Participation, Sustainability, Poverty, Fisheries, Development projects, Fishery technology

J/Psi suppression in colliding nuclei: statistical model analysis

We consider the $J/\Psi$ suppression at a high energy heavy ion collision. An ideal gas of massive hadrons in thermal and chemical equilibrium is formed in the central region. The finite-size gas expands longitudinally in accordance with Bjorken law. The transverse expansion in a form of the rarefaction wave is taken into account. We show that $J/\Psi$ suppression in such an environment, when combined with the disintegration in nuclear matter, gives correct evaluation of NA38 and NA50 data in a broad range of initial energy densities.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Missed opportunities in full immunization coverage:findings from low- and lower-middle-income countries

Background: An estimated 23 million infants are still not being benefitted from routine immunization services. We assessed how many children failed to be fully immunized even though they or their mothers were in contact with health services to receive other interventions. Design: Fourteen countries with Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys carried out after 2000 and with coverage for DPT (Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis) vaccine below 70% were selected. We defined full immunization coverage (FIC) as having received one dose of BCG (bacille Calmette-Guérin), one dose of measles, three doses of polio, and three doses of DPT vaccines. We tabulated FIC against: antenatal care (ANC), skilled birth attendance (SBA), postnatal care for the mother (PNC), vitamin A supplementation (VitA) for the child, and sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed-net (ITN). Missed opportunities were defined as the percentage of children who failed to be fully immunized among those receiving one or more other interventions. Results: Children who received other health interventions were also more likely to be fully immunized. In nearly all countries, FIC was lowest among children born to mothers who failed to attend ANC, and highest when the mother had four or more ANC visits Côte d'Ivoire presented the largest difference in FIC: 54 percentage points (pp) between having four or more ANC visits and lack of ANC. SBA was also related with higher FIC. For instance, the coverage in children without SBA was 36 pp lower than for those with SBA in Nigeria. The largest absolute difference on FIC in relation to PNC was observed for Ethiopia: 31 pp between those without and with PNC. FIC was also positively related with having received VitA. The largest absolute difference was observed in DR Congo: 41 pp. The differences in FIC among whether or not children slept under ITN were much smaller than for other interventions. Haiti presented the largest absolute difference: 16 pp. Conclusions: Our results show the need to develop and implement strategies to vaccinate all children who contact health services in order to receive other interventions