The Escherichia coli SOS mutagenesis proteins UmuD and UmuD′ interact physically with the replicative DNA polymerase

The Escherichia coli umuDC operon is induced in response to replication-blocking DNA lesions as part of the SOS response. UmuD protein then undergoes an RecA-facilitated self-cleavage reaction that removes its N-terminal 24 residues to yield UmuD′. UmuD′, UmuC, RecA, and some form of the E. coli replicative DNA polymerase, DNA polymerase III holoenzyme, function in translesion synthesis, the potentially mutagenic process of replication over otherwise blocking lesions. Furthermore, it has been proposed that, before cleavage, UmuD together with UmuC acts as a DNA damage checkpoint system that regulates the rate of DNA synthesis in response to DNA damage, thereby allowing time for accurate repair to take place. Here we provide direct evidence that both uncleaved UmuD and UmuD′ interact physically with the catalytic, proofreading, and processivity subunits of the E. coli replicative polymerase. Consistent with our model proposing that uncleaved UmuD and UmuD′ promote different events, UmuD and UmuD′ interact differently with DNA polymerase III: whereas uncleaved UmuD interacts more strongly with β than it does with α, UmuD′ interacts more strongly with α than it does with β. We propose that the protein–protein interactions we have characterized are part of a higher-order regulatory system of replication fork management that controls when the umuDC gene products can gain access to the replication fork.

Perceptual motion standstill in rapidly moving chromatic displays

In motion standstill, a quickly moving object appears to stand still, and its details are clearly visible. It is proposed that motion standstill can occur when the spatiotemporal resolution of the shape and color systems exceeds that of the motion systems. For moving red-green gratings, the first- and second-order motion systems fail when the grating is isoluminant. The third-order motion system fails when the green/red saturation ratio produces isosalience (equal distinctiveness of red and green). When a variety of high-contrast red-green gratings, with different spatial frequencies and speeds, were made isoluminant and isosalient, the perception of motion standstill was so complete that motion direction judgments were at chance levels. Speed ratings also indicated that, within a narrow range of luminance contrasts and green/red saturation ratios, moving stimuli were perceived as absolutely motionless. The results provide further evidence that isoluminant color motion is perceived only by the third-order motion system, and they have profound implications for the nature of shape and color perception.

Embedding partial G-designs where G is a 4-cycle with a pendant edge

Let D denote the graph consisting of a cycle of length 4 with a pendant edge. In this paper, two very different small embeddings of partial D-designs are presented. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Embedding a restricted class of partial K-4-designs

Given a partial K-4-design (X, P), if x is an element of X is a vertex which occurs in exactly one block of P, then call x a free vertex. In this paper, a technique is described for obtaining a cubic embedding of any partial K-4-design with the property that every block in the partial design contains at least two free vertices.

Eigenvalue sensitivity analysis for probabilistic small signal stability assessment

This paper presents a method to analyze the first order eigenvalue sensitivity with respect to the operating parameters of a power system. The method is based on explicitly expressing the system state matrix into sub-matrices. The eigenvalue sensitivity is calculated based on the explicitly formed system state matrix. The 4th order generator model and 4th order exciter system model are used to form the system state matrix. A case study using New England 10-machine 39-bus system is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. This method can be applied into large scale power system eigenvalue sensitivity with respect to operating parameters.

Diagonalizable Complex Systems, Reduced Dimension and Hermitian Systems II

2002 Mathematics Subject Classification: 35L40

Radio frequency identification and time-driven activity based costing:RFID-TDABC application in warehousing

Purpose: This paper extends the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) data for accounting of warehouse costs and services. Time Driven Activity Based Costing (TDABC) methodology is enhanced with the real-time collected RFID data about duration of warehouse activities. This allows warehouse managers to have accurate and instant calculations of costs. The RFID enhanced TDABC (RFID-TDABC) is proposed as a novel application of the RFID technology. Research Approach: Application of RFID-TDABC in a warehouse is implemented on warehouse processes of a case study company. Implementation covers receiving, put-away, order picking, and despatching. Findings and Originality: RFID technology is commonly used for the identification and tracking items. The use of the RFID generated information with the TDABC can be successfully extended to the area of costing. This RFID-TDABC costing model will benefit warehouse managers with accurate and instant calculations of costs. Research Impact: There are still unexplored benefits to RFID technology in its applications in warehousing and the wider supply chain. A multi-disciplinary research approach led to combining RFID technology and TDABC accounting method in order to propose RFID-TDABC. Combining methods and theories from different fields with RFID, may lead researchers to develop new techniques such as RFID-TDABC presented in this paper. Practical Impact: RFID-TDABC concept will be of value to practitioners by showing how warehouse costs can be accurately measured by using this approach. Providing better understanding of incurred costs may result in a further optimisation of warehousing operations, lowering costs of activities, and thus provide competitive pricing to customers. RFID-TDABC can be applied in a wider supply chain.

Razionalizzazione di un magazzino componentistica per linee di assemblaggio di segnali aeroportuali: il caso Ocem Airfield Technology

Questa tesi si propone di illustrare il lavoro da me svolto presso l’azienda Ocem Airfield Technology all’interno del magazzino componentistica mirato alla riorganizzazione del supermarket delle linee di assemblaggio nell’ottica della minimizzazione dei tempi di prelievo. La continua ricerca di flessibilità sulla base delle esigenza della clientela ha un drastico effetto sul magazzino e sulla sua gestione. Il magazzino rappresenta un elemento estremamente oneroso nel bilancio aziendale e contribuisce per il 20% ai costi interni dell’impresa. Hanno un ruolo cruciale nel funzionamento aziendale: i magazzini sono il luogo di attesa per i prodotti dal punto di origine a quello di consumo, garantiscono l’immagazzinamento e lo stoccaggio della merce ed infine sono un driver fondamentale per ridurre l’incertezza. Tra le attività più costose si colloca il prelievo frazionato della merce o order picking, responsabile del 55% dei costi operativi logistici. Nell'ambito Ocem è stato implementato un progetto per la riduzione dei tempi di prelievo ispirandosi a modelli nati in letteratura. Il progetto inizialmente è stato testato su una linea pilota a bassi volumi per monitorare i possibili vantaggi. Una volta confermata la riduzione effettiva dei tempi di prelievo, il progetto è stato replicato con le opportune modifiche sulle restanti linee di assemblaggio raggiungendo incrementi di efficienza significativi. Il parametro adottato come performance index è stata la riduzione percentuale del tempo di prelievo dall’as-is al to-be.

Optimisation of a crossdocking distribution centre simulation model

This paper reports on continuing research into the modelling of an order picking process within a Crossdocking distribution centre using Simulation Optimisation. The aim of this project is to optimise a discrete event simulation model and to understand factors that affect finding its optimal performance. Our initial investigation revealed that the precision of the selected simulation output performance measure and the number of replications required for the evaluation of the optimisation objective function through simulation influences the ability of the optimisation technique. We experimented with Common Random Numbers, in order to improve the precision of our simulation output performance measure, and intended to use the number of replications utilised for this purpose as the initial number of replications for the optimisation of our Crossdocking distribution centre simulation model. Our results demonstrate that we can improve the precision of our selected simulation output performance measure value using Common Random Numbers at various levels of replications. Furthermore, after optimising our Crossdocking distribution centre simulation model, we are able to achieve optimal performance using fewer simulations runs for the simulation model which uses Common Random Numbers as compared to the simulation model which does not use Common Random Numbers.

H-infinity control design for time-delay linear systems: a rational transfer function based approach

The aim of this paper is to present new results on H-infinity control synthesis for time-delay linear systems. We extend the use of a finite order LTI system, called comparison system to H-infinity analysis and design. Differently from what can be viewed as a common feature of other control design methods available in the literature to date, the one presented here treats time-delay systems control design with classical numeric routines based on Riccati equations arisen from H-infinity theory. The proposed algorithm is simple, efficient and easy to implement. Some examples illustrating state and output feedback design are solved and discussed in order to put in evidence the most relevant characteristic of the theoretical results. Moreover, a practical application involving a 3-DOF networked control system is presented.

Systems of coupled clamped beams equations with full nonlinear terms: Existence and location results

This work gives sufficient conditions for the solvability of the fourth order coupled system┊ u⁽⁴⁾(t)=f(t,u(t),u′(t),u′′(t),u′′′(t),v(t),v′(t),v′′(t),v′′′(t)) v⁽⁴⁾(t)=h(t,u(t),u′(t),u′′(t),u′′′(t),v(t),v′(t),v′′(t),v′′′(t)) with f,h: [0,1]×ℝ⁸→ℝ some L¹- Carathéodory functions, and the boundary conditions {┊ u(0)=u′(0)=u′′(0)=u′′(1)=0 v(0)=v′(0)=v′′(0)=v′′(1)=0. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time in the literature where two beam equations are considered with full nonlinearities, that is, with dependence on all derivatives of u and v. An application to the study of the bending of two elastic coupled campled beams is considered.

Analisi ed implementazione di sistemi innovativi per lo stoccaggio della normaleria nel settore automotive. Il caso Lamborghini Automobili spa.

Attraverso questa tesi si vuole mostrare il valore aggiunto che i sistemi di immagazzinamento automatico della merce possono offrire alle aziende, facendo un focus particolare sulle aziende manifatturiere. La scelta di approfondire questa tematica nasce dall’esperienza di tirocinio svolta all’interno di Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. situata a Sant’Agata Bolognese (Bologna), nota in tutto il mondo per la produzione di Super Sport Cars. Partendo dall'introduzione dell'order picking e delle tipologie di magazzini esistenti, si passerà all'introduzione di algoritmi per il posizionamento dei codici all'interno di un magazzino. Una volta introdotto il problema dello stoccaggio dei codici di normaleria all'interno di un magazzino, verrà identificata la soluzione implementata in Automobili Lamborghini.

Environmental issues and international relations, a new global (dis)order - the role of International Relations in promoting a concerted international system

Is it possible to talk about the rise of a new global (dis)order founded on the challenges posed by environmental issues? Through the review of the state of the art on the subject, this article analyzes the growing importance of the environment, and natural resources in particular, in international relations; and aims to raise awareness among International Relations scholars to the potential positive impact of the development of the discipline in integration with global environmental change studies.

Root-locus practical sketching rules for fractional-order system

For integer-order systems, there are well-known practical rules for RL sketching. Nevertheless, these rules cannot be directly applied to fractional-order (FO) systems. Besides, the existing literature on this topic is scarce and exclusively focused on commensurate systems, usually expressed as the ratio of two noninteger polynomials. The practical rules derived for those do not apply to other symbolic expressions, namely, to transfer functions expressed as the ratio of FO zeros and poles. However, this is an important case as it is an extension of the classical integer-order problem usually addressed by control engineers. Extending the RL practical sketching rules to such FO systems will contribute to decrease the lack of intuition about the corresponding system dynamics. This paper generalises several RL practical sketching rules to transfer functions specified as the ratio of FO zeros and poles. The subject is presented in a didactic perspective, being the rules applied to several examples.

Fractional-order impulse response of the respiratory system

This paper presents the measurement, frequency-response modeling and identification, and the corresponding impulse time response of the human respiratory impedance and admittance. The investigated adult patient groups were healthy, diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kyphoscoliosis, respectively. The investigated children patient groups were healthy, diagnosed with asthma and cystic fibrosis, respectively. Fractional order (FO) models are identified on the measured impedance to quantify the respiratory mechanical properties. Two methods are presented for obtaining and simulating the time-domain impulse response from FO models of the respiratory admittance: (i) the classical pole-zero interpolation proposed by Oustaloup in the early 90s, and (ii) the inverse discrete Fourier Transform (DFT). The results of the identified FO models for the respiratory admittance are presented by means of their average values for each group of patients. Consequently, the impulse time response calculated from the frequency response of the averaged FO models is given by means of the two methods mentioned above. Our results indicate that both methods provide similar impulse response data. However, we suggest that the inverse DFT is a more suitable alternative to the high order transfer functions obtained using the classical Oustaloup filter. Additionally, a power law model is fitted on the impulse response data, emphasizing the intrinsic fractal dynamics of the respiratory system.