Time-dependent Hyperstar algorithm for robust vehicle navigation in time-dependent stochastic road networks.

The vehicle navigation problem studied in Bell (2009) is revisited and a time-dependent reverse Hyperstar algorithm is presented. This minimises the expected time of arrival at the destination, and all intermediate nodes, where expectation is based on a pessimistic (or risk-averse) view of unknown link delays. This may also be regarded as a hyperpath version of the Chabini and Lan (2002) algorithm, which itself is a time-dependent A* algorithm. Links are assigned undelayed travel times and maximum delays, both of which are potentially functions of the time of arrival at the respective link. The driver seeks probabilities for link use that minimise his/her maximum exposure to delay on the approach to each node, leading to the determination of the pessimistic expected time of arrival. Since the context considered is vehicle navigation where the driver is not making repeated trips, the probability of link use may be interpreted as a measure of link attractiveness, so a link with a zero probability of use is unattractive while a link with a probability of use equal to one will have no attractive alternatives. A solution algorithm is presented and proven to solve the problem provided the node potentials are feasible and a FIFO condition applies for undelayed link travel times. The paper concludes with a numerical example.

Roll Project Rich Vehicle Routing benchmark problems.

This document describes a large set of Benchmark Problem Instances for the Rich Vehicle Routing Problem. All files are supplied as a single compressed (zipped) archive containing the instances, in XML format, an Object-Oriented Model supplied in XSD format, documentation and an XML parser written in Java to ease use.

Rubisco small subunit, chlorophyll a/b-binding protein and sucrose : fructan-6-fructosyl transferase gene expression and sugar status in single barley leaf cells in situ. Cell type specificity and induction by light

Chungui Lu, Olga A. Koroleva, John F. Farrar, Joe Gallagher, Chris J. Pollock, and A. Deri Tomos (2002). Rubisco small subunit, chlorophyll a/b-binding protein and sucrose : fructan-6-fructosyl transferase gene expression and sugar status in single barley leaf cells in situ. Cell type specificity and induction by light. Plant Physiology, 130 (3) pp.1335-1348 Sponsorship: BBSRC RAE2008

Between a demonstrative and an article. The status of "in" in Old Swedish

The definite article in the Modern Nordic languages is a suffix, etymologically related to a demonstrative. The form is not attested in runic inscriptions, the oldest linguistic sources, but first appears in Icelandic sagas as well as in Swedish and Danish legal codices from 13th century onwards. However, in these texts it does not appear with the same regularity as in modern languages. The Old Swedish form constitutes an intermediate form between a demonstrative, from which it is derived, and the article it has become in Modern Swedish. In the oldest texts it appears in contexts where demonstratives can only be found sporadically and its form suggests it no longer is a demonstrative. At the same time it is not yet obligatory. The aim of this paper is to show the grammaticalization of the definite article as a gradual, dynamic process, involving changes in the form and functional scope of the grammaticalizing item and to consider the properties of the Old Swedish form -in, derived from the distal demonstrative hin ‘that’.

Self perceived health status of schizophrenic patients in Spain: an analysis of geog raphical differences using bayesian approach

Objectives. This paper explores the use of regression models for estimating health status of schizophrenic patients, from a Bayesian perspective. Our aims are: 1- To obtain a set of values of health states of the EQ-5D based on self-assessed health from a sample of schizophrenic patients. 2- To analyse the differences in the health status and in patients’ perceptions of their health status between four mental-health districts in Spain. Methods. We develop two linear models with dummy variables. The first model seeks to obtain an index of the health status of the patients using a VAS as a dependent variable and the different dimensions of EQ-5D as regressors. The second model allows to analyse the differences between the self-assessed health status in the different geographic areas and also the differences between the patients’ self-assessed health states, irrespective of their actual health state, in the different geographic areas. The analysis is done using Bayesian approach with Gibbs sampling (computer program WinBUGS 1.4). Data concerning self-assessed EQ-5D with VAS from four geographic areas of schizophrenic patients were obtained for the purposes of this analysis. Results. We obtained the health status index for this sample and analysed the differences for this index between the four geographic areas. Our study reveals variables that explain the differences in patients’ health status and differences in their health states assessment. We consider four possible scenarios.

Enhancing the health-status of processed meats through ingredient manipulation and its effects on sensory and physiochemical product attributes

An important component of this Ph.D. thesis was to determine the European consumers’ views on processed meats and bioactive compounds. Thus a survey gathered information form over 500 respondents and explored their perceptions on the healthiness and purchase-ability for both traditional and functional processed meats. This study found that the consumer was distrustful towards processed meat, especially high salt and fat content. Consumers were found to be very pro-bioactive compounds in yogurt style products but unsure of their feelings on the idea of them in meat based products, which is likely due to the lack of familiarity to these products. The work in this thesis also centred on the applied acceptable reduction of salt and fat in terms of consumer sensory analysis. The products chosen ranged in the degree of comminution, from a coarse beef patty to a more fine emulsion style breakfast sausage and frankfurter. A full factorial design was implemented which saw the production of twenty beef patties with varying concentrations of fat (30%, 40%, 50%, 60% w/w) and salt (0.5%, 0.75%, 1.0%, 1.25%, 1.5% w/w). Twenty eight sausage were also produced with varying concentrations of fat (22.5%, 27.5%, 32.5%, 37.5% w/w) and salt (0.8%, 1%, 1.2%, 1.4%, 1.6%, 2%, 2.4% w/w). Finally, twenty different frankfurters formulations were produced with varying concentrations of fat (10%, 15%, 20%, 25% w/w) and salt (1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%, 3% w/w). From these products it was found that the most consumer acceptable beef patty was that containing 40% fat with a salt level of 1%. This is a 20% decrease in fat and a 50% decrease in salt levels when compared to commercial patty available in Ireland and the UK. For sausages, salt reduced products were rated by the consumers as paler in colour, more tender and with greater meat flavour than higher salt containing products. The sausages containing 1.4 % and 1.0 % salt were significantly (P<0.01) found to be more acceptable to consumers than other salt levels. Frankfurter salt levels below 1.5% were shown to have a negative effect on consumer acceptability, with 2.5% salt concentration being the most accepted (P<0.001) by consumers. Samples containing less fat and salt were found to be tougher, less juicy and had greater cooking losses. Thus salt perception is very important for consumer acceptability, but fat levels can be potentially reduced without significantly affecting overall acceptability. Overall it can be summarised that the consumer acceptability of salt and fat reduced processed meats depends very much on the product and generalisations cannot be assumed. The study of bio-actives in processed meat products found that the reduced salt/fat patties fortified with CoQ10 were rated as more acceptable than commercially available products for beef patties. The reduced fat and salt, as well as the CoQ10 fortified, sausages were found to compare quite well to their commercial counterparts for overall acceptability, whereas commercial frankfurters were found to be the more favoured in comparison to reduced fat and CoQ10 fortified Frankfurters.

Vitamin D status and requirements during pregnancy and lactation

Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy, lactation, and early infancy has been widely reported. Current understanding of vitamin D metabolism during pregnancy and lactation is incomplete, and to date, experimental data to support vitamin D requirements for these life stages are scarce. There is a shortage of nationally representative data and appropriate reference ranges for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) during pregnancy, lactation and infancy, including in umbilical cord blood. This thesis described concentrations of total 25OHD and individual metabolites including 25OHD3, 25OHD2, and 3-epi-25OHD3 at 15 weeks’ gestation in a large seasonally balanced pregnancy cohort study (n 1768), carried out in Cork, Ireland (52oN). The prevalence of low 25OHD concentrations in pregnant women was higher than published reports in other Caucasian women, and was highest among non-users of vitamin D-containing supplements during winter. A longitudinal pregnancy study was included which suggested gestational stages had an impact on the total serum 25OHD concentration. This thesis incorporated a randomized controlled trial carried out among 100 women across 3 intervention groups using 20 μg/day of vitamin D3 with or without 500 mg calcium, or placebo, over 12-weeks of lactation to investigate the vitamin D requirement for lactating mothers and the vitamin D content of human milk. A daily intake of 25 μg/day was suggested to meet the requirement of lactating women to maintain a 25OHD levels above 50 nmol/L in 97.5% of the population at 52oN all year around. However, vitamin D content in human milk did not increase in response to supplementation. Serum 25OHD concentration has been used as a predictor of a number of health outcomes. This thesis reported large differences in serum 25OHD concentrations using different methods in 86 umbilical cord samples. The need for international standardization of serum 25OHD measurements was re-emphasized in this thesis.