Comparison of Weighted Sum Fitness Functions for PSO Optimization of Wideband Medium-gain Antennas

In recent years PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) has been successfully applied in antenna design. It is well-known that the cost function has to be carefully chosen in accordance with the requirements in order to reach an optimal result. In this paper, two different wideband medium-gain arrays are chosen as benchmark structures to test the performance of four PSO fitness functions that can be considered in such a design. The first one is a planar 3 element, the second one a linear 4 element antenna. A MoM (Method of Moments) solver is used in the design. The results clearly show that the fitness functions achieve a similar global best candidate structure. The fitness function based on realized gain however converges slightly faster than the others

THE ROLE OF RELEVANT BASIC EDUCATION IN ACHIEVING FOOD SECURITY AND SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Security and Poverty, Labor and Human Capital,

Mutations in \u3cem\u3eRhizobium phaseoli\u3c/em\u3e that Lead to Arrested Development of Infection Threads

Two Rhizobium phaseoli mutants, isolated previously by Tn5 mutagenesis, elicited infection threads which ceased development prematurely, usually within root hairs. These infection threads were wide, globular, and otherwise altered in morphology, compared with normal infection threads. Anatomy and division of the root cortical cells during initial stages of nodule morphogenesis appeared normal. However, later nodule differentiation deviated considerably from normal development, and release of bacteria from infection threads was not observed. In tryptone-yeast extract medium the mutants sedimented during growth in shaken cultures and formed rough colonies on agar. Electrophoresis of washed cultures solubilized in dodecyl sulfate revealed that the major carbohydrate band was absent from the mutants. The behavior of this carbohydrate in phenol-water extraction and gel chromatography, its apparent ketodeoxyoctonate content, and its susceptibility to mild acid hydrolysis suggested that it was a lipopolysaccharide. From the results of genetic crosses or reversion analysis, the defect in synthesizing this carbohydrate material and the defect in infection could be attributed to a single mutation in each mutant

Miconazole resistance in fungal biofilms : a molecular point of view

The interest in fungal biofilm formation and in the resistance of fungal biofilms against antimicrobial agents has increased due to the expanding problem of biofilm-related infections. In this doctoral research the activity of miconazole against biofilms of Candida species has been investigated. Furthermore, we have focused on the molecular mechanisms involved in fungal biofilm formation and in resistance to miconazole. The data showed that miconazole has a fungicidal activity against Candida spp. biofilms. The exact mechanism leading to cell death could not be elucidated, and possibly includes other mechanisms than increased ROS levels. Notwithstanding the fungicidal activity of miconazole against Candida spp. biofilms, we noticed a resistant fraction (1% - 10%) of sessile cells that was able to survive a high dose of miconazole. The molecular mechanisms of biofilm formation and the resistance to miconazole were unraveled by screening a S. cerevisiae deletion mutant bank. The results of the screening highlighted the multi-factorial complexity of biofilm formation and resistance. An in depth analysis of the results revealed that two major biological processes play an important role in S. cerevisiae biofilm formation and the susceptibility to miconazole, i.e. the organization of two types of organelles, the mitochondria and the peroxisomes. Furthermore, we demonstrated that phytosphingosine-1-phosphate has a protective effect against miconazole treatment. Experiments in C. albicans indicated that this intermediate of the sphingolipid biosynthesis acts as a signaling molecule enhancing the export of miconazole. This doctoral research showed that miconazole has a fungicidal activity against Candida spp. biofilms and unraveled the mechanisms involved in fungal biofilm formation and resistance to miconazole

Health Care Policy, Finance, and Law

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68304/2/10.1177_014572178801400121.pd