Hierarchical modelling of acclimatory processesstar, open

The term acclimation has been used with several connotations in the field of acclimatory physiology. An attempt has been made, in this paper, to define precisely the term “acclimation” for effective modelling of acclimatory processes. Acclimation is defined with respect to a specific variable, as cumulative experience gained by the organism when subjected to a step change in the environment. Experimental observations on a large number of variables in animals exposed to sustained stress, show that after initial deviation from the basal value (defined as “growth”), the variables tend to return to basal levels (defined as “decay”). This forms the basis for modelling biological responses in terms of their growth and decay. Hierarchical systems theory as presented by Mesarovic, Macko & Takahara (1970) facilitates modelling of complex and partially characterized systems. This theory, in conjunction with “growth-decay” analysis of biological variables, is used to model temperature regulating system in animals exposed to cold. This approach appears to be applicable at all levels of biological organization. Regulation of hormonal activity which forms a part of the temperature regulating system, and the relationship of the latter with the “energy” system of the animal of which it forms a part, are also effectively modelled by this approach. It is believed that this systematic approach would eliminate much of the current circular thinking in the area of acclimatory physiology.

Development and evaluation of a spatial decision support system for malaria elimination in Bhutan

Background: Bhutan has reduced its malaria incidence significantly in the last 5 years, and is aiming for malaria elimination by 2016. To assist with the management of the Bhutanese malaria elimination programme a spatial decision support system (SDSS) was developed. The current study aims to describe SDSS development and evaluate SDSS utility and acceptability through informant interviews. Methods: The SDSS was developed based on the open-source Quantum geographical information system (QGIS) and piloted to support the distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) in the two sub-districts of Samdrup Jongkhar District. It was subsequently used to support reactive case detection (RACD) in the two sub-districts of Samdrup Jongkhar and two additional sub-districts in Sarpang District. Interviews were conducted to ascertain perceptions on utility and acceptability of 11 informants using the SDSS, including programme and district managers, and field workers. Results: A total of 1502 households with a population of 7165 were enumerated in the four sub-districts, and a total of 3491 LLINs were distributed with one LLIN per 1.7 persons. A total of 279 households representing 728 residents were involved with RACD. Informants considered that the SDSS was an improvement on previous methods for organizing LLIN distribution, IRS and RACD, and could be easily integrated into routine malaria and other vector-borne disease surveillance systems. Informants identified some challenges at the programme and field level, including the need for more skilled personnel to manage the SDSS, and more training to improve the effectiveness of SDSS implementation and use of hardware. Conclusions: The SDSS was well accepted and informants expected its use to be extended to other malaria reporting districts and other vector-borne diseases. Challenges associated with efficient SDSS use included adequate skills and knowledge, access to training and support, and availability of hardware including computers and global positioning system receivers.

Open access and soft power: Chinese voices in international scholarship

Networked digital technologies and Open Access (OA) are transforming the processes and institutions of research, knowledge creation and dissemination globally: enabling new forms of collaboration, allowing researchers to be seen and heard in new ways and reshaping relationships between stakeholders across the global academic publishing system. This article draws on Joseph Nye’s concept of ‘Soft Power’ to explore the role that OA is playing in helping to reshape academic publishing in China. It focusses on two important areas of OA development: OA journals and national-level repositories. OA is being supported at the highest levels, and there is potential for it to play an important role in increasing the status and impact of Chinese scholarship. Investments in OA also have the potential to help China to re-position itself within international copyright discourses: moving beyond criticism for failure to enforce the rights of foreign copyright owners and progressing an agenda that places greater emphasis on equality of access to the resources needed to foster innovation. However, the potential for OA to help China to build and project its soft power is being limited by the legacies of the print era, as well as the challenges of efficiently governing the national research and innovation systems.

Afatinib versus gefitinib as first-line treatment of patients with EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (LUX-Lung 7): a phase 2B, open-label, randomised controlled trial

Background The irreversible ErbB family blocker afatinib and the reversible EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib are approved for first-line treatment of EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of afatinib and gefitinib in this setting. Methods This multicentre, international, open-label, exploratory, randomised controlled phase 2B trial (LUX-Lung 7) was done at 64 centres in 13 countries. Treatment-naive patients with stage IIIB or IV NSCLC and a common EGFR mutation (exon 19 deletion or Leu858Arg) were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive afatinib (40 mg per day) or gefitinib (250 mg per day) until disease progression, or beyond if deemed beneficial by the investigator. Randomisation, stratified by EGFR mutation type and status of brain metastases, was done centrally using a validated number generating system implemented via an interactive voice or web-based response system with a block size of four. Clinicians and patients were not masked to treatment allocation; independent review of tumour response was done in a blinded manner. Coprimary endpoints were progression-free survival by independent central review, time-to-treatment failure, and overall survival. Efficacy analyses were done in the intention-to-treat population and safety analyses were done in patients who received at least one dose of study drug. This ongoing study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01466660. Findings Between Dec 13, 2011, and Aug 8, 2013, 319 patients were randomly assigned (160 to afatinib and 159 to gefitinib). Median follow-up was 27·3 months (IQR 15·3–33·9). Progression-free survival (median 11·0 months [95% CI 10·6–12·9] with afatinib vs 10·9 months [9·1–11·5] with gefitinib; hazard ratio [HR] 0·73 [95% CI 0·57–0·95], p=0·017) and time-to-treatment failure (median 13·7 months [95% CI 11·9–15·0] with afatinib vs 11·5 months [10·1–13·1] with gefitinib; HR 0·73 [95% CI 0·58–0·92], p=0·0073) were significantly longer with afatinib than with gefitinib. Overall survival data are not mature. The most common treatment-related grade 3 or 4 adverse events were diarrhoea (20 [13%] of 160 patients given afatinib vs two [1%] of 159 given gefitinib) and rash or acne (15 [9%] patients given afatinib vs five [3%] of those given gefitinib) and liver enzyme elevations (no patients given afatinib vs 14 [9%] of those given gefitinib). Serious treatment-related adverse events occurred in 17 (11%) patients in the afatinib group and seven (4%) in the gefitinib group. Ten (6%) patients in each group discontinued treatment due to drug-related adverse events. 15 (9%) fatal adverse events occurred in the afatinib group and ten (6%) in the gefitinib group. All but one of these deaths were considered unrelated to treatment; one patient in the gefitinib group died from drug-related hepatic and renal failure. Interpretation Afatinib significantly improved outcomes in treatment-naive patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC compared with gefitinib, with a manageable tolerability profile. These data are potentially important for clinical decision making in this patient population.

Open Access to Scientific Publications – An Analysis of the Barriers to Change?

One of the effects of the Internet is that the dissemination of scientific publications in a few years has migrated to electronic formats. The basic business practices between libraries and publishers for selling and buying the content, however, have not changed much. In protest against the high subscription prices of mainstream publishers, scientists have started Open Access (OA) journals and e-print repositories, which distribute scientific information freely. Despite widespread agreement among academics that OA would be the optimal distribution mode for publicly financed research results, such channels still constitute only a marginal phenomenon in the global scholarly communication system. This paper discusses, in view of the experiences of the last ten years, the many barriers hindering a rapid proliferation of Open Access. The discussion is structured according to the main OA channels; peer-reviewed journals for primary publishing, subject- specific and institutional repositories for secondary parallel publishing. It also discusses the types of barriers, which can be classified as consisting of the legal framework, the information technology infrastructure, business models, indexing services and standards, the academic reward system, marketing, and critical mass.

A Hybrid Multilevel Inverter Topology for an Open-End Winding Induction-Motor Drive Using Two-Level Inverters in Series With a Capacitor-Fed H-Bridge Cell

In this paper, a new five-level inverter topology for open-end winding induction-motor (IM) drive is proposed. The open-end winding IM is fed from one end with a two-level inverter in series with a capacitor-fed H-bridge cell, while the other end is connected to a conventional two-level inverter. The combined inverter system produces voltage space-vector locations identical to that of a conventional five-level inverter. A total of 2744 space-vector combinations are distributed over 61 space-vector locations in the proposed scheme. With such a high number of switching state redundancies, it is possible to balance the H-bridge capacitor voltages under all operating conditions including overmodulation region. In addition to that, the proposed topology eliminates 18 clamping diodes having different voltage ratings compared with the neutral point clamped inverter. On the other hand, it requires only one capacitor bank per phase, whereas the flying-capacitor scheme for a five-level topology requires more than one capacitor bank per phase. The proposed inverter topology can be operated as a three-level inverter for full modulation range, in case of any switch failure in the capacitor-fed H-bridge cell. This will increase the reliability of the system. The proposed scheme is experimentally verified on a four-pole 5-hp IM drive.

Potentiometric determination of activities in the two-phase fields of the system Na2O---(α)Al2O3

Three compounds have been found to be stable in the pseudobinary system Na2O---(α)Al2O3 between 825 and 1400 K; two nonstoichiometric phases, β-alumina and β″-alumina, and NaAlO2. The homogeneity of β-alumina ranges from 9.5 to 11 mol% Na2O, while that of β″-alumina from 13.3 to 15.9 mol% Na2O at 1173 K. The activity of Na2O in the two-phase fields has been determined by a solid-state potentiometric technique. Since both β- and β″-alumina are fast sodium ion conductors, biphasic solid electrolyte tubes were used in these electrochemical measurements. The open circuit emf of the following cells were measured from 790 to 980 K: [GRAPHICS] The partial molar Gibbs' energy of Na2O relative to gamma-Na2O in the two-phase regions can be represented as: DELTA-GBAR(Na2O)(alpha- + beta-alumina) = -270,900 + 24.03 T, DELTA-GBAR(Na2O)(beta- + beta"-alumina) = -232,700 + 56.19 T, and DELTA-GBAR(Na2O)(beta"-alumina + NaAlO2) = -13,100 - 4.51 T J mol-1. Similar galvanic cells using a Au-Na alloy and a mixture of Co + CoAl(2+2x)O4+3x + (alpha)Al2O3 as electrodes were used at 1400 K. Thermodynamic data obtained in these studies are used to evaluate phase relations and partial pressure of sodium in the Na2O-(alpha) Al2O3 system as a function of oxygen partial pressure, composition and temperature.

Constructing a Community : Myths and Realities of the Open Development Model

The open development model of software production has been characterized as the future model of knowledge production and distributed work. Open development model refers to publicly available source code ensured by an open source license, and the extensive and varied distributed participation of volunteers enabled by the Internet. Contemporary spokesmen of open source communities and academics view open source development as a new form of volunteer work activity characterized by hacker ethic and bazaar governance . The development of the Linux operating system is perhaps the best know example of such an open source project. It started as an effort by a user-developer and grew quickly into a large project with hundreds of user-developer as contributors. However, in hybrids , in which firms participate in open source projects oriented towards end-users, it seems that most users do not write code. The OpenOffice.org project, initiated by Sun Microsystems, in this study represents such a project. In addition, the Finnish public sector ICT decision-making concerning open source use is studied. The purpose is to explore the assumptions, theories and myths related to the open development model by analysing the discursive construction of the OpenOffice.org community: its developers, users and management. The qualitative study aims at shedding light on the dynamics and challenges of community construction and maintenance, and related power relations in hybrid open source, by asking two main research questions: How is the structure and membership constellation of the community, specifically the relation between developers and users linguistically constructed in hybrid open development? What characterizes Internet-mediated virtual communities and how can they be defined? How do they differ from hierarchical forms of knowledge production on one hand and from traditional volunteer communities on the other? The study utilizes sociological, psychological and anthropological concepts of community for understanding the connection between the real and the imaginary in so-called virtual open source communities. Intermediary methodological and analytical concepts are borrowed from discourse and rhetorical theories. A discursive-rhetorical approach is offered as a methodological toolkit for studying texts and writing in Internet communities. The empirical chapters approach the problem of community and its membership from four complementary points of views. The data comprises mailing list discussion, personal interviews, web page writings, email exchanges, field notes and other historical documents. The four viewpoints are: 1) the community as conceived by volunteers 2) the individual contributor s attachment to the project 3) public sector organizations as users of open source 4) the community as articulated by the community manager. I arrive at four conclusions concerning my empirical studies (1-4) and two general conclusions (5-6). 1) Sun Microsystems and OpenOffice.org Groupware volunteers failed in developing necessary and sufficient open code and open dialogue to ensure collaboration thus splitting the Groupware community into volunteers we and the firm them . 2) Instead of separating intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, I find that volunteers unique patterns of motivations are tied to changing objects and personal histories prior and during participation in the OpenOffice.org Lingucomponent project. Rather than seeing volunteers as a unified community, they can be better understood as independent entrepreneurs in search of a collaborative community . The boundaries between work and hobby are blurred and shifting, thus questioning the usefulness of the concept of volunteer . 3) The public sector ICT discourse portrays a dilemma and tension between the freedom to choose, use and develop one s desktop in the spirit of open source on one hand and the striving for better desktop control and maintenance by IT staff and user advocates, on the other. The link between the global OpenOffice.org community and the local end-user practices are weak and mediated by the problematic IT staff-(end)user relationship. 4) Authoring community can be seen as a new hybrid open source community-type of managerial practice. The ambiguous concept of community is a powerful strategic tool for orienting towards multiple real and imaginary audiences as evidenced in the global membership rhetoric. 5) The changing and contradictory discourses of this study show a change in the conceptual system and developer-user relationship of the open development model. This change is characterized as a movement from hacker ethic and bazaar governance to more professionally and strategically regulated community. 6) Community is simultaneously real and imagined, and can be characterized as a runaway community . Discursive-action can be seen as a specific type of online open source engagement. Hierarchies and structures are created through discursive acts. Key words: Open Source Software, open development model, community, motivation, discourse, rhetoric, developer, user, end-user

Points-to Analysis as a System of Linear Equations

We propose a novel formulation of the points-to analysis as a system of linear equations. With this, the efficiency of the points-to analysis can be significantly improved by leveraging the advances in solution procedures for solving the systems of linear equations. However, such a formulation is non-trivial and becomes challenging due to various facts, namely, multiple pointer indirections, address-of operators and multiple assignments to the same variable. Further, the problem is exacerbated by the need to keep the transformed equations linear. Despite this, we successfully model all the pointer operations. We propose a novel inclusion-based context-sensitive points-to analysis algorithm based on prime factorization, which can model all the pointer operations. Experimental evaluation on SPEC 2000 benchmarks and two large open source programs reveals that our approach is competitive to the state-of-the-art algorithms. With an average memory requirement of mere 21MB, our context-sensitive points-to analysis algorithm analyzes each benchmark in 55 seconds on an average.

A Case Study in Matching Service Descriptions to Implementations in an Existing System

A number of companies are trying to migrate large monolithic software systems to Service Oriented Architectures. A common approach to do this is to first identify and describe desired services (i.e., create a model), and then to locate portions of code within the existing system that implement the described services. In this paper we describe a detailed case study we undertook to match a model to an open-source business application. We describe the systematic methodology we used, the results of the exercise, as well as several observations that throw light on the nature of this problem. We also suggest and validate heuristics that are likely to be useful in partially automating the process of matching service descriptions to implementations.

Analysis of a linear one-dimensional active noise control system by means of block diagrams and transfer functions

In arriving at the ideal filter transfer function for an active noise control system in a duct, the effect of the auxiliary sources (generally loudspeakers) on the waves generated by the primary source has invariably been neglected in the existing literature, implying a rigid wall or infinite impedance. The present paper presents a fairly general analysis of a linear one-dimensional noise control system by means of block diagrams and transfer functions. It takes into account the passive as well as active role of a terminal primary source, wall-mounted auxiliary source, open duct radiation impedance, and the effects of mean flow and damping. It is proved that the pressure generated by a source against a load impedance can be looked upon as a sum of two pressure waves, one generated by the source against an anechoic termination and the other by reflecting the rearward wave (incident on the source) off the passive source impedance. Application of this concept is illustrated for both the types of sources. A concise closed-form expression for the ideal filter transfer function is thus derived and discussed. Finally, the dynamics of an adaptive noise control system is discussed briefly, relating its standing-wave variables and transfer functions with those of the progressive-wave model presented here.

Tar characterisation in new generation agro-residue gasifiers - Cyclone and downdraft open top twin air entry systems

This paper deals with the characterisation of tar from two configurations of bioresidue thermochemical conversion reactors designed for producer gas based power generation systems. The pulverised fuel reactor is a cyclone system (R1) and the solid bioresidue reactor (denoted R2) is an open top twin air entry system both at 75-90 kg/h capacity (to generate electricity similar to 100 kVA). The reactor, R2, has undergone rigorous test in a major Indo-Swiss programme for the tar quantity at various conditions. The former is a recent technology development. Tars collected from these systems by a standard tar collection apparatus at the laboratory at Indian Institute of Science have been analysed at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden. The results of these analyses show that these thermochemical conversion reactors behave differently from the earlier reactors reported in literature in so far as tar generation is concerned. The extent of tar in hot gas is about 700-800 ppm for R1 and 70-100 ppm for R2. The amounts of the major compounds - naphthalene and phenol-are much lower that what is generally understood to happen in the gasifiers in Europe. It is suggested that the longer residence times at high temperatures allowed for in these reactors is responsible for this behavior. It is concluded the new generation reactor concepts extensively tried out at lower power levels hold promise for high power atmospheric gasification systems for woody as well as pulverisable bioresidues.

Development of micro-shock wave assisted dry particle and fluid jet delivery system

Small quantity of energetic material coated on the inner wall of a polymer tube is proposed as a new method to generate micro-shock waves in the laboratory. These micro-shock waves have been harnessed to develop a novel method of delivering dry particle and liquid jet into the target. We have generated micro-shock waves with the help of reactive explosive compound high melting explosive (octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine) and traces of aluminium] coated polymer tube, utilising 9 J of energy. The detonation process is initiated electrically from one end of the tube, while the micro-shock wave followed by the products of detonation escape from the open end of the polymer tube. The energy available at the open end of the polymer tube is used to accelerate tungsten micro-particles coated on the other side of the diaphragm or force a liquid jet out of a small cavity filled with the liquid. The micro-particles deposited on a thin metal diaphragm (typically 100-mu m thick) were accelerated to high velocity using micro-shock waves to penetrate the target. Tungsten particles of 0.7 mu m diameter have been successfully delivered into agarose gel targets of various strengths (0.6-1.0 %). The device has been tested by delivering micro-particles into potato tuber and Arachis hypogaea Linnaeus (ground nut) stem tissue. Along similar lines, liquid jets of diameter 200-250 mu m (methylene blue, water and oils) have been successfully delivered into agarose gel targets of various strengths. Successful vaccination against murine salmonellosis was demonstrated as a biological application of this device. The penetration depths achieved in the experimental targets are very encouraging to develop a future device for biological and biomedical applications.

A Hybrid Multilevel Inverter System Based on Dodecagonal Space Vectors for Medium Voltage IM Drives

Dodecagonal (12-sided) space vector pulsewidth modulation (PWM) schemes are characterized by the complete absence of (6n +/- 1)th-order harmonics (for odd n) in the phase voltages, within the linear modulation range and beyond, including over-modulation. This paper presents a new topology suitable for the realization of such multilevel inverter schemes for induction motor (IM) drives, by cascading two-level inverters with flying-capacitor-inverter fed floating H-bridge cells. Now, any standard IM may be used to get the dodecagonal operation which hitherto was possible only with open-end winding IM. To minimize the current total harmonic distortion (THD), a strategy for synchronous PWM is also proposed. It is shown that the proposed method is capable of obtaining better THD figures, compared to conventional dodecagonal schemes. The topology and the PWM strategy are validated through analysis and subsequently verified experimentally.