Connection space reduction mechanism

A connector assembly comprised of two halves, each respectively including a shell type connector subassembly, one being an active half and the other being a passive half is described. The active half includes an alignment cusp that causes a coupling motion in response to coming in contact with the outer portion of the other half, which causes the respective connectors within the two subassemblies to move toward each other into coupling relationship at twice the rate at which the two subassemblies come together. Both halves are adapted to rotate about and translate along respective mutually orthogonal axes to facilitate an interconnection

Modeling of Cane Sugar Colorant Removal in Packed-Bed Ion Exchange Columns and an Investigation into Pretreatment Methods

Cane sugar colorants have been extensively researched but still little is known about their exact compositions. Rather than distinct compounds, they are a mixture of many compounds. Some it is assumed can be classified into the pseudo components that have been defined using gel permeation chromatography, based on molecular weight. The defining of these components has allowed the colorants to be modeled independently, instead of as one lumped color parameter. The measured colored components were modeled using a linear driving force adsorption model, which could be applied in the design process for optimizing the decolorizing capacity of the resins. The majority of these colored compounds possess a charge allowing the removal by packed-bed ion exchangers and decolorizing processes such as the White Sugar Mill (WSM) process. The WSM process has the advantage of producing white sugar directly from sugar cane as opposed to producing raw sugar, which required refining to make white sugar. This is done by performing ultra-filtration on juice, before sending the permeate to a continuous ion exchange operation. One of the disadvantages of the WSM process is the high capital and associated running cost of ultra-filtration. As a result an alternative for this pretreatment has been investigated in the form of a packed carbon bed. Some advantages to a carbon bed pretreatment, followed by the ion exchange treatment, have been identified, namely the removal of colorants and their precursors as well as inorganic material. The removal by ion exchange of these inorganic materials, which can be deposited on the evaporator tubes reducing heat transfer coefficients, could have huge effects on cleaning costs and operability at the mill. It was found that carbon beds could increase the overall color removal, and prolong resin life, even without the removal of suspended solids by ultra-filtration. Preliminary testing was done using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent in conjunction with a carbon bed pretreatment. Results have shown that this form of treatment could extend the number of bed cycles before regeneration and improve overall colorant removal to the extent that white sugar can be produced directly

Vertical integration, separation in the rail industry: a survey of empirical studies on efficiency

Whether vertical separation of the rail industry creates demonstrable performance and efficiency gains is an issue of ongoing economic analysis and public policy debate. To assist in consideration of the merits and disbenefits of vertical separation this paper provides a summary of the different studies that have been undertaken to gauge the effects of vertical separation on the rail industry, and analyses and codifies the main findings of this research. The evidence indicates that whether separation will improve efficiency of a jurisdiction’s rail industry, and the extent to which this will occur, depends upon a number of specific conditions including what range of services are being provided – that is, passenger and/or bulk or general freight –the intensity of track use, and the extent to which inter-modal competition exists. The research highlights the merits of undertaking preliminary analysis of the characteristics of a jurisdiction’s rail sector before initiating structural reform of this nature

Synthesis of 2-acetyl-5,8-dihydro-1,4-dihydroxy-3-methyl naphthalene: a product from the isomerisation of Diels-Alder adducts of both 5-methyl- and 6-methyl-2-acetyl-1,4-benzoquinone with 1,3-butadiene

2-Acetyl-5,8-dihydro-1,4-dihydroxy-3-methyl-naphthalene was synthesised via Diels-Alder addition of 2-acetyl-3-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone to buta-1,3-diene followed by enolisation. It was identical with material obtained by pyridine-induced acetyl migration from the 1,3-butadiene adducts of both 3- and 6-methyl-2-acetyl-1,4-benzoquinone

Bromination of 2,S-dimethoxybenzaldehyde

Bromination of 2,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde (1) gives 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxy-benzaldehyde (2) and not 6-bromo-2,5-dimethoxybenzaldehyde (3) as previously reported by Rubenstein (1925). It appears that the conjugation of the carbonyl group with the ortho methoxy group (as structure 4) does not control the orientation of this bromination reaction. A series of reactions which confirm the structure of the bromination product will be discussed

A Simple and Clean Method for Methoxymethylation of Phenols

A simple and clean procedure for the preparation of methoxymethyl ethers (MOM = CH2 OMe) of phenols having internally hydrogen bonded hydroxy groups is described. Thus treatment of 2,5-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (1) with a 1:1 mixture of methoxymethyl chloride-methyl acetate in ether at room temperature gives 2.5-bis( methoxymethoxy)benzaldehyde (2) in 57% yield; under similar conditions, the methoxymethyl ether (6) of salicylaldehyde was isolated in 75% yield. Yields of61-81 %, not optimised, of methoxymethyl ethers of several phenols lacking internal hydrogen bonding were also obtained

BTG-AC: Break-The-Glass Access Control Model for Medical Data in Wireless Sensor Networks

This article has been accepted for publication in IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics following peer review. Available online at doi:10.1109/JBHI.2015.2510403.Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have recently attracted much interest in the research community because of their wide range of applications. An emerging application for WSNs involves their use in healthcare where they are generally termed wireless medical sensor networks. In a hospital, outfitting every patient with tiny, wearable, wireless vital sign sensors would allow doctors, nurses, and other caregivers to continuously monitor the state of their patients. In such a scenario, patients are expected to be treated in reasonable time, so an access control model is needed, which will provide both real-time access to comprehensive medical records and detect unauthorized access to sensitive data. In emergency situations, a doctor or nurse needs to access data immediately. The loss in data availability can result in further decline in the patient's condition or can even lead to death. Therefore, the availability of data is more important than any security concern in emergency situations. To address that research issue for medical data in WSNs, we propose the break-the-glass access control (BTG-AC) model that is a modified and redesigned version of the break-the-glass role-based access control (BTG-RBAC) model to address data availability issue and to detect the security policy violations from both authorized and unauthorized users. Several changes within the access control engine are made in BTG-RBAC in order to make the new BTG-AC to apply and fit in WSNs. This paper presents the detailed design and development of the BTG-AC model based on a healthcare scenario. The evaluation results show that the concepts of BTG, prevention and detection mechanism, and obligation provide more flexible access than other current access control models in WSNs. Additionally, we compare the BTG-AC model with an adaptive access control (A2C) model, which has similar properties, for further evaluation. Alongside with the comparison, the advantages and disadvantages of BTG-AC over current WSN access control models are presented.Peer reviewe

Recognising Scientific Entrepreneurship in New Zealand

To increase wealth and well-being, New Zealand needs to both increase the productivity of its traditional economic base and grow new economic sectors in a competitive global marketplace. Innovation underpins both of these objectives and the combination of Research, Science and Technology (RS&T) and entrepreneurship has the potential to make a particularly potent contribution since it can create new, knowledge-based sectors with sustainable competitive advantage. However, a review of the literature and documentary analysis of aspects of the New Zealand RS&T system shows that commercialisation tends to be based on mental models which conceptualise RS&T and entrepreneurship as separate realms and are more appropriate for existing economic sectors than for new ones. The origins of these existing mental models are explained and they are critiqued from a human capital perspective. A subset of human capital theory is used to derive an alternative, competency-based model of scientific entrepreneurship. The competency-based model is included in a methodological framework for interviewing key respondents engaged in the commercialisation of products and services arising from scientific research. Using a grounded theory approach to analysis, an expanded metacompetency model of scientific entrepreneurship is developed and it is argued that adoption of this model will better enable recognition of scientific entrepreneurship, leading to its increased incidence and consequently higher levels of innovation in the New Zealand economy. The implications of these findings for national innovation policy and the management of RS&T are discussed. Conclusions are also drawn on the efficacy of the methodology used, both for the purposes of the current research and for other public policy questions. Finally, suggestions are made as to further avenues of research indicated by the findings