Fuzzy System and Game Theory for Green Supply Chain

In this paper, an optimization model using fuzzy game theory for three players is developed, which is affected by customer demands in a green supply chain. The proposed model includes a practical solution to increase the confidence level of players to choose plausible green strategy. Initially, the strategies are formulated using the game theory as manufacturer, costumer and government, to be able to optimize the pay-off uncertainty conditions of demands, by combining computational fuzzy set with ability of sensitive analysis of related fuzzy parameters to enhance the calculations and problem solving, with presenting Nash equilibrium the problem solving part

A method to isolate the CTD of RNA Polymerase II for proteomics analysis

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)In an effort to advance the methodology in analyzing RNAPII protein-protein interaction network and to determine the role of the CTD in controlling RNAPII transcription, we devised a method to specifically isolate the CTD-associated and CTD-less RNAPII to identify the proteins that interact with both the CTD and the globular core of RNAPII using novel purification scheme coupled to quantitative proteomics

Spectroelectrochemistry of Intrinsically Conducting Furan-Thiophenes Copolymers

Die elektrochemische Copolymerisation von Furan und Thiophen oder 3-Chlorothiophen wurde erfolgreich realisiert in einer Elektrolytlösung von Bortrifluorid-Diethylether + Ethylether (Verhältnis 1:2) bei konstantem Elektrodenpotenzial. Die Zugabe von Trifluoroessigsäure (TFA) (10 Vol-%) zu Bortrifluorid-Diethylether + Ethylether (Verhältnis 1:2) erniedrigte das Oxidationspotenzial der Monomere; die Polymerisationsgeschwindigkeit erhöhte sich, da TFA die Ionenleitfähigkeit des Elektrolyts vergrößert. Die Homopolymere zeigen nur einen Redoxpeak, verursacht durch Polymeroxidation und - reduktion. Die elektrochemische Copolymerisation wird bei verschiedenen Potenzialen und mit unterschiedlichen Thiophen- oder 3-Chlorothiophenkonzentrationen untersucht. Die Copolymere zeigen ein Redoxpeakpaar, dessen Position sich wesentlich von der der Homopolymere unterscheidet. Mit zunehmendem Polymerisationspotenzial und/oder zunehmender Konzentration an Thiophen- oder 3-Chlorothiophen werden auch mehr Thiophen- oder 3-Chlorothiopheneinheiten in den Copolymerfilm eingebaut. Ein Elektropolymerisationmechanismus wird für die Copolymere vermutet und die Copolymere weisen eine recht gute Langzeitstabilität der Redoxaktivität nach Zyklen in Acetonitril auf. In situ UV-Vis-Spektren der Homo- und Copolymerfilme wurden gemessen und λ1max, welches dem π → π*- Übergang entspricht, wurde bestimmt. Der optische Übergang bei λ2max vom Valenzband in das höhere Bipolaronband wurde ebenfalls bestimmt. Die Bandlücke für die Homo- und Copolymerfilme beim direkten Übergang wurde von der Kante im Absorptionsspektrum abgeschätzt. Die elektrochemische Thermodynamik für die Homo- und Copolymerfilme deutet darauf hin, dass jeweils ein Elektron von den Polymersegmenten, bestehend aus 4 Monomereinheiten, entfernt wird. Die untersuchten leitfähigen Filme zeigen einen Leitfähigkeitssprung mit einer stabilen Leitfähigkeit bis EAg/AgCl= 2 V. Diese Leitfähigkeitsänderung ist reversibel. Polyfuran hat verglichen mit Polythiophen eine geringere Leitfähigkeit und die Leitfähigkeit von Poly(3-chlorothiophen) ist rund eine Zehnerpotenz niedriger als die von Polythiophen. Da das in situ Leitfähigkeitsverhalten der Copolymere nicht die Summe der einzelnen Homopolymere bildet, kann man ausschließen, dass es sich bei den abgeschiedenen Copolymeren um Blockcopolymere handelt. Mit Hilfe der FTIR-Spektroskopie wurden Schwingungsspektren der Homo- und Copolymerfilme aufgenommen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass es zur α-α'-Verknüpfung zwischen den Radikalkationen während der Copolymerisation kommt, was charakteristisch ist für α-substituierte fünfgliedrige heterozyklische Verbindungen. Der Mechanismus der elektrochemischen Degradation von Furan-Thiophen-Copolymeren wird ebenfalls mit Hilfe der gemessenen Spektren beschrieben. Die in situ Resonanz-Raman-Spektroskopie ergab, dass die spektroskopischen Eigenschaften der Copolymere zwischen denen der Homopolymere lagen. Bei höheren Polymerisationspotenzialen und höheren Konzentrationen an Thiophen oder 3-Chlorothiophen werden mehr Thiophen- oder 3- Chlorothiopheneinheiten in die Copolymerketten eingebaut. Es ist offensichtlich, dass die Ramanspektren der Copolymere wesentlich komplexer sind als die der Homopolymere, wodurch die Auswertung erschwert wird. Dennoch erinnern die Ramanspektren der Copolymere an die der Homopolymere. Die spektroelektrochemischen Eigenschaften der Copolymere haben bestätigt, dass deren Charakteristika zwischen denen der Homopolymere liegen, was deutlich macht, dass die Oxidation von Monomeren möglich ist und dass die Copolymerketten demnach aus Furan- und Thiophen- bzw. 3- Chlorothiopheneinheiten bestehen können.Electrochemical copolymerization of furan and thiophene or 3-chlorothiophene was successfully realized in a solvent system consisting of boron trifluoride ethyl ether (BFEE) + ethyl ether (EE) (ratio 1:2) at constant electrode potential. The addition of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) (10 % by volume) to BFEE + EE (ratio 1:2) decreased the oxidation potential of the monomers; the polymerization rate was also accelerated because TFA increases the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte. The homopolymers have only one redox peak caused by polymer oxidation and reduction. Electrochemical copolymerization both at different potentials and with different thiophene or 3-chlorothiophene concentrations is investigated. The copolymers show one anodic/cathodic peak couple that appears at a position quite different from the positions observed with homopolymers. More thiophene or 3-chlorothiophene units are incorporated into the copolymer film with an increasing polymerization potential of the copolymer and/or with an increasing concentration of thiophene or 3- chlorothiophene in the feed. An electropolymerization mechanism of copolymers has been proposed, and the copolymers show a fairly good long-term stability of the redox activity after cycling in acetonitrile. In situ UV-Vis spectra of the homo- and copolymer films were measured and λ1max which corresponds to the π → π* transition is determined. The optical transition with λ2max from the valence band into the higher bipolaron band is also assigned. The band gap (Eg) for homo- and copolymer films from a direct interband transition is estimated from the absorption edge of the spectrum. The redox thermodynamics of the homo- and copolymer films suggest that one electron is removed from polymer segments containing four monomer units. The studied conducting films show a single conductivity change with a stable conductivity up to EAg/AgCl= 2 V. The conductivity of these films is almost restored when the potential shift direction is reversed. Polyfuran compared to polythiophene, has a lower conductivity and the conductivity of poly(3-chlorothiophene) is around one order of magnitude lower than that of polythiophene. The in situ conductivity properties of the copolymers are not the sum of those of the individual homopolymers. This result may eliminate the possibility that the copolymers can be considered as block copolymers. Vibrational spectra of homo- and copolymer films investigated in this study have been obtained using FTIR spectroscopy. The results indicate that α-α' coupling of radical cations has taken place in the copolymerization. This is a characteristic of α-substituted five-membered heterocyclic compounds. The electrochemical degradation mechanism of furan-thiophene copolymers is also described using the obtained spectra. The in situ resonance Raman spectroscopy of the copolymers shows spectroscopic properties intermediate between those of homopolymers. At higher polymerization potentials and at higher concentrations of thiophene or 3-chlorothiophene in the feed more thiophene or 3-chlorothiophene units are incorporated into the copolymer chains. It is obvious that the Raman spectra of the copolymers are more complex than those of homopolymers, which makes the assignment difficult. However, the in situ Raman spectra of the copolymers are reminiscent of those of the homopolymers. The spectroelectrochemical properties of the copolymers confirmed that the copolymers show intermediate characteristics between the homopolymers, implying that oxidation of monomers is possible and the copolymer chains may accordingly be composed of furan and thiophene or 3-chlorothiophene units

A Study of Spatio-Temporal Learning Approaches Using Echocardiograms for Risk Assessment of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms

Aortic dissection and rupture are fatal complications that happen when the aortic tissue’s integrity is compromised, leading to fatal consequences. Once an aortic dissection takes place, 41% of patients do not even make it to the hospital. Unfortunately, the diagnostic outlook is not much brighter. It is estimated that 40% of patients presenting with aortic dissection do not meet the current diagnostic criteria. This thesis aims to assess the risk levels of thoracic aortic aneurysms’ dissection and rupture from patients’ echocardiograms. To do this, we study the effects of spatial and temporal learning of the heart’s movement in the echocardiograms. We investigate the pure visual learning from still 2D images extracted from the echocardiogram’s sequence, then assess the temporal learning across frames in the echocardiogram video by incorporating 3D convolutions over the whole sequence, and in terms of aggregating the visually learned content of each frame in the echocardiogram over the sequence length. We also experiment with implementing a visual attention mechanism to filter out the visual context. Finally, we study the effect of adding a tabular data learning stream to our architecture that learns from the patient’s tabular data information and incorporates it into the best-performing model. The results of this thesis - although not conclusive- suggest that temporal dependencies are present between echocardiogram frames throughout the video, which points out the diagnostic importance of analyzing the movement of the beating heart tissue through time

A fuzzy logic approach to localisation in wireless local area networks

This thesis examines the use and value of fuzzy sets, fuzzy logic and fuzzy inference in wireless positioning systems and solutions. Various fuzzy-related techniques and methodologies are reviewed and investigated, including a comprehensive review of fuzzy-based positioning and localisation systems. The thesis is aimed at the development of a novel positioning technique which enhances well-known multi-nearest-neighbour (kNN) and fingerprinting algorithms with received signal strength (RSS) measurements. A fuzzy inference system is put forward for the generation of weightings for selected nearest-neighbours and the elimination of outliers. In this study, Monte Carlo simulations of a proposed multivariable fuzzy localisation (MVFL) system showed a significant improvement in the root mean square error (RMSE) in position estimation, compared with well-known localisation algorithms. The simulation outcomes were confirmed empirically in laboratory tests under various scenarios. The proposed technique uses available indoor wireless local area network (WLAN) infrastructure and requires no additional hardware or modification to the network, nor any active user participation. The thesis aims to benefit practitioners and academic researchers of system positioning

Spectroelectrochemistry of Intrinsically Conducting Selenophene-3- Chlorothiophene Copolymers

The electrochemical copolymerization between selenophene and 3-chlorothiophene monomers was successfully realized. The influence of the applied polymerization potential and the monomer feed ratio on the copolymer properties were investigated, and the results revealed that the obtained polymer films strongly depended on the polymerization conditions. The obtained copolymers showed good redox stability in acetonitrile-based electrolyte solution. Band gap energy of the homo-and copolymer films was estimated and the values were between 1.95-2.11 eV. The electrical conductivity measurements of selenophene-3-chlorothiophene copolymers were successfully achieved using a four-probe technique and generally increased with increasing temperature. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) characterization disclosed that the bands of homopolymers were retained in the spectra of copolymers with typical assignments suggesting that α-positions in the polymer chains were involved in the polymerization

Enhancing the competitive advantage for tourist souvenirs in Egypt: a marketing approach

Purpose: The main aim of this research is to study the relationship between innovative marketing - in its various dimensions (innovation in product, innovation in price, innovation in promotion, innovation in distribution) - and enhancing the competitive advantage of tourist souvenirs in Egypt. Research methodology: The study adopted the descriptive-analytical approach for accurate and detailed descriptions of the study’s subject quantitatively and qualitatively and analyzed data available on this subject. The field study included surveying a random sample of tourists who frequented the souvenirs and handicrafts stores in various tourist cities in Egypt. Results: There is a statistically significant effect of innovative marketing in enhancing tourist souvenirs’ competitive advantage in Egypt. Overall findings highlighted that all the hypotheses were accepted. Limitations: The repercussions of the COVID-19 virus crisis reduced the scope of the study to only tourists in South Sinai and Red sea Governorates; whereas, tourist souvenirs stores were allowed to operate in accordance with the precautionary measures in only three main governorates: the Red Sea, South Sinai, and Marsa Matrouh, in addition to some gift shops in major hotels. Contribution: The study findings provide guidelines for practitioners within the tourist souvenirs and handicrafts sector to undertake the results and adapt them to assess and enhance their performance. Thus, they could improve their competitiveness. Keywords: Tourist souvenirs, Innovative marketing, Competitive advantag