Alternative Lines Research Articles

Finding optimal hyperpaths in large transit networks with realistic headway distributions

This paper implements and tests a label-setting algorithm for finding optimal hyperpaths in large transit networks with realistic headway distributions. It has been commonly assumed in the literature that headway is exponentially distributed. To validate this assumption, the empirical headway data archived by Chicago Transit Agency are fitted into various probabilistic distributions. The results suggest that the headway data fit much better with Loglogistic, Gamma and Erlang distributions than with the exponential distribution. Accordingly, we propose to model headway using the Erlang distribution in the proposed algorithm, because it best balances realism and tractability. When headway is not exponentially distributed, finding optimal hyperpaths may require enumerating all possible line combinations at each transfer stop, which is tractable only for a small number of alternative lines. To overcome this difficulty, a greedy method is implemented as a heuristic and compared to the brute-force enumeration method. The proposed algorithm is tested on a large scale CTA bus network that has over 10,000 stops. The results show that (1) the assumption of exponentially distributed headway may lead to sub-optimal route choices and (2) the heuristic greedy method provides near optimal solutions in all tested cases.

Moving forward on facilitation research: response to changing environments and effects on the diversity, functioning and evolution of plant communities.

Once seen as anomalous, facilitative interactions among plants and their importance for community structure and functioning are now widely recognized. The growing body of modelling, descriptive and experimental studies on facilitation covers a wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic systems throughout the globe. However, the lack of a general body of theory linking facilitation among different types of organisms and biomes and their responses to environmental changes prevents further advances in our knowledge regarding the evolutionary and ecological implications of facilitation in plant communities. Moreover, insights gathered from alternative lines of inquiry may substantially improve our understanding of facilitation, but these have been largely neglected thus far. Despite over 15 years of research and debate on this topic, there is no consensus on the degree to which plant-plant interactions change predictably along environmental gradients (i.e. the stress-gradient hypothesis), and this hinders our ability to predict how plant-plant interactions may affect the response of plant communities to ongoing global environmental change. The existing controversies regarding the response of plant-plant interactions across environmental gradients can be reconciled when clearly considering and determining the species-specificity of the response, the functional or individual stress type, and the scale of interest (pairwise interactions or community-level response). Here, we introduce a theoretical framework to do this, supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence. We also discuss current gaps in our knowledge regarding how plant-plant interactions change along environmental gradients. These include the existence of thresholds in the amount of species-specific stress that a benefactor can alleviate, the linearity or non-linearity of the response of pairwise interactions across distance from the ecological optimum of the beneficiary, and the need to explore further how frequent interactions among multiple species are and how they change across different environments. We review the latest advances in these topics and provide new approaches to fill current gaps in our knowledge. We also apply our theoretical framework to advance our knowledge on the evolutionary aspects of plant facilitation, and the relative importance of facilitation, in comparison with other ecological processes, for maintaining ecosystem structure, functioning and dynamics. We build links between these topics and related fields, such as ecological restoration, woody encroachment, invasion ecology, ecological modelling and biodiversity-ecosystem-functioning relationships. By identifying commonalities and insights from alternative lines of research, we further advance our understanding of facilitation and provide testable hypotheses regarding the role of (positive) biotic interactions in the maintenance of biodiversity and the response of ecological communities to ongoing environmental changes.

The Loadability of Overhead Transmission Lines—Part II: Analysis of Double-Circuits and Overall Comparison

This is the second part of an investigation aimed at providing a thorough technical comparison between traditional and alternative overhead power transmission lines based on the loadability characteristics. The previous Part I outlined and applied the fundamentals of the loadability analysis to three comparable single-circuit lines. In Part II, the analysis is broadened to three comparable double-circuit lines: traditional three-phase ac double-circuit lines (assumed as the reference system for the comparison) and bipolar HVDC lines and nonconventional combined ac-dc lines. As in Part I, the loadability analysis takes into account thermal limits, voltage drop, power losses, and - when feasible - steady state and transient stability. Part II also performs an overall comparison among the different systems in single-circuit and double-circuit configuration to draw final conclusions.

Modelling of Productions Lines Selection for Mass Production of Sanitary Products

Production lines are complex mechatronic systems. They incorporate mechanical, electronic, software and control sub-systems in their structures. The complexity of these systems is in this case identified for mass production of sanitary products. As part of the task solution new models are being searched, aiming at the selection of optimal production line in terms of achieving the effect for both, the manufacturer and the customer, as well. One of the ways, which allows achieving the desired effects is a professionally executed multi-criteria problem optimization. The experimental basis is based on the specific conditions of one of the major worldwide companies. The identification of criteria is focused on specific production lines. The result is a model of multi-criteria assessment of the alternative lines for the production of sanitary products, processed in Microsoft Excel.

Emotional Ambivalence across Times and Spaces: Mapping Petrarch’s Intersecting Worlds

Petrarch stands at the top of Mount Ventoux and proclaims his longing to return home. His soul turns toward Italy. Yet Petrarch has no “home” as such, and Italy does not exist except as a post-imperial territorial designation. There certainly is no Italian nation. How can we understand these paradoxes? How does Petrarch’s passion relate to the question of nation formation? Through an exploration of Petrarch’s emotional responses to Italy, and by tracking his variable senses of space and time, this essay explores the tensions expressed by a deracinated intellectual caught between two different but contemporaneous ontological formations: the traditional and the modern. Here, the concept of “the traditional” is not treated as being the same as “the pre-modern.” Rather the essay works with a post-binary method of ontological valences or orientations. The colliding valence­s of Petrarch’s evocations are used to illustrate the ways we can open up alternative lines of inquiry into a crucial period in the life of Italy. The essay seeks an alternative to the mainstream tendency to either to make contentious overstatements or to slide into overcautious interpretative ambiguity.

Adjudicating Deep Time

This paper draws upon perspectives on legal personhood, expert knowledge practices, and social relations influential in STS and anthropology to revisit the legal procedural framing of the United States’ now-defunct high-level nuclear waste repository project at Yucca Mountain. Specifically, it examines how this project reinvented both (a) conventional figures of legal personhood as what is called a ‘reasonably maximally exposed individual’ and (b) legal adjudication’s familiar ‘rule-facts-judge’ template as a frame for establishing the repository licensing regime’s delegation of roles, responsibilities, and duties in response to its unique regulatory horizons that extended millennia into the future. Unpacking the implications of these familiar legal figures being brought to bear on historically unprecedented ‘deep’ timescales, this paper concludes by offering alternative lines of inquiry for interdisciplinary analysis of nuclear energy and its associated waste products.

Low-Voltage Electron-Probe Microanalysis of Fe–Si Compounds Using Soft X-Rays

Conventional electron-probe microanalysis has an X-ray analytical spatial resolution on the order of 1-4 μm width/depth. Many of the naturally occurring Fe-Si compounds analyzed in this study are smaller than 1 μm in size, requiring the use of lower accelerating potentials and nonstandard X-ray lines for analysis. Problems with the use of low-energy X-ray lines (soft X-rays) of iron for quantitative analyses are discussed and a review is given of the alternative X-ray lines that may be used for iron at or below 5 keV (i.e., accelerating voltage that allows analysis of areas of interest <1 μm). Problems include increased sensitivity to surface effects for soft X-rays, peak shifts (induced by chemical bonding, differential self-absorption, and/or buildup of carbon contamination), uncertainties in the mass attenuation coefficient for X-ray lines near absorption edges, and issues with spectral resolution and count rates from the available Bragg diffractors. In addition to the results from the traditionally used Fe Lα line, alternative approaches, utilizing Fe Lβ, and Fe Ll-η lines, are discussed.

A Comparative Analysis on the Micro-level Genealogies of Conflict in the Philippines' Mindanao Island and Indonesia's Ambon Island

Through a comparative micro-level study of conflicts in the Indonesian island of Ambon and the Philippine island of Mindanao, the article will show how the master narrative of a Christian–Muslim cleavage obscures the prominence of localized sub-identities in shaping the escalation of conflict in both places. Whilst in Ambon communal violence erupted between Muslims and Christians from 1999 until 2004, armed conflict on the island of Mindanao is generally understood as a decade-long struggle between Muslim armed groups fighting for autonomy against a Christian-dominated Philippine state. Yet, despite these different types of armed struggle, in both cases, everyday tensions about resource access became incorporated in a complex conflict dynamic. These localized tensions are linked to sub-identities within the general Christian versus Muslim dichotomy, thereby creating alternative fault lines and alliances. In conclusion, this article puts forward a renewed understanding of armed conflict as a dynamic and transformative process, producing new opportunities, alliances, contradictions and narrative frameworks.

Spectral interference study of uranium on other analytes by using CCD based ICP-AES

Due to the multi-electronic nature, uranium is having line rich emission spectra and is expected to interfere during the determination of analytes at the trace level in uranium matrix. Therefore, chemical separation of uranium followed by the determination of trace metallic impurities in the raffinate by ICP-AES is generally adopted procedure in nuclear industries. There is restriction on choosing alternate analytical lines of elements by photomultiplier tube based ICP-AES associated with the polychromator while monochromator needs significant time to scan different analytical lines of all the elements. Since charged coupled detector (CCD) consists of array of pixels, it is having more option in choosing alternative analytical lines of the analytes. Therefore, an attempt was made to study the spectral interference of uranium on different analytical lines of analytes viz. Al, Ga, In, Si, Li, Ti, Mg, Sr, K, Ce, Nd, Lu, Sc, V, Er, Y, Ba, Bi, Pb, W, La, Tl, Sn, Yb, Mo, Sb, Pr and Zr; and the correction factors were evaluated (where ever necessary) using CCD based ICP-AES technique. The sensitivity and the detection limits of the analytical channels of the elements in presence of uranium matrix were calculated. The present study also deals with the identification of suitable analytical lines of uranium and its detection limits.

Engineering Skeletal Muscle Tissues from Murine Myoblast Progenitor Cells and Application of Electrical Stimulation

Engineered muscle tissues can be used for several different purposes, which include the production of tissues for use as a disease model in vitro, e.g. to study pressure ulcers, for regenerative medicine and as a meat alternative (1). The first reported 3D muscle constructs have been made many years ago and pioneers in the field are Vandenburgh and colleagues (2,3). Advances made in muscle tissue engineering are not only the result from the vast gain in knowledge of biochemical factors, stem cells and progenitor cells, but are in particular based on insights gained by researchers that physical factors play essential roles in the control of cell behavior and tissue development. State-of-the-art engineered muscle constructs currently consist of cell-populated hydrogel constructs. In our lab these generally consist of murine myoblast progenitor cells, isolated from murine hind limb muscles or a murine myoblast cell line C2C12, mixed with a mixture of collagen/Matrigel and plated between two anchoring points, mimicking the muscle ligaments. Other cells may be considered as well, e.g. alternative cell lines such as L6 rat myoblasts (4), neonatal muscle derived progenitor cells (5), cells derived from adult muscle tissues from other species such as human (6) or even induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) (7). Cell contractility causes alignment of the cells along the long axis of the construct (8,9) and differentiation of the muscle progenitor cells after approximately one week of culture. Moreover, the application of electrical stimulation can enhance the process of differentiation to some extent (8). Because of its limited size (8 x 2 x 0.5 mm) the complete tissue can be analyzed using confocal microscopy to monitor e.g. viability, differentiation and cell alignment. Depending on the specific application the requirements for the engineered muscle tissue will vary; e.g. use for regenerative medicine requires the up scaling of tissue size and vascularization, while to serve as a meat alternative translation to other species is necessary.

An Alternative Three-phase Transmission Lines Model in Phase Domain

The objective of this paper is to show an alternative model of a non-transposed three-phase transmission line with a vertical symmetry plane in phase domain. Due the line physical characteristics, it can be represented by a system consisting of a single?phase and a two-phase line. In this system, the equations describing the behavior of the values in single-phase line terminals are known, while the equations for two-phase line to be obtained. Using a transformation matrix written explicitly according to three-phase line parameters, it is possible to obtain the currents and voltages in phase domain of two-phase line. Then, modal values of three-phase line are converted into phase domain and thus obtain the analytical model for this line. To verify the performance of this model, it was used to simulate the energization of a 440 kV three-phase line and the results were compared to results obtained using a classical model.

This is Not a Pencil: A Deleuzoguattarian Re-Imagining of the Classroom Milieu

This article presents an examination of the classroom milieu as a means to engage with children's [nomads’] becomings in alliance with associated milieus of others – objects and persons. In the milieu of the classroom the child is becoming student/nomad, and the adult is becoming teacher/State. As the child is nomad in this milieu, it follows that s/he would resist the restrictive implications of shifting identity from child to student (especially the ‘good’ student), manifesting a nomadic penchant for creating lines of flight and resisting the restrictive techniques of power that the school-State serves to impose. The child co-creates and then resists a dynamic milieu especially via situated and moving objects/markers: the school desk/seat, the carpet, and especially the pencil. The classroom as a Deleuzoguattarian place concept is always changing and mutating, and this article is a sort of nomadography revealing and constructing alternative lines of flight that will provoke us to re-imagine the classroom in enlightening and productive new ways.

Innovative IPV From Attenuated Sabin Poliovirus Or Newly Designed Alternative Seed Strains

This article gives an overview of the patent literature related to innovative inactivated polio vaccine (i-IPV) based on using Sabin poliovirus strains and newly developed alternative recombinant poliovirus strains. This innovative approach for IPV manufacturing is considered to attribute to the requirement for affordable IPV in the post-polio-eradication era, which is on the horizon. Although IPV is a well-established vaccine, the number of patent applications in this field was seen to have significantly increased in the past decade. Currently, regular IPV appears to be too expensive for universal use. Future affordability may be achieved by using alternative cell lines, alternative virus seed strains, improved and optimized processes, dose sparing, or the use of adjuvants. A relatively short-term option to achieve cost-price reduction is to work on regular IPV, using wild-type poliovirus strains, or on Sabin-IPV, based on using attenuated poliovirus strains. This price reduction can be achieved by introducing efficiency in processing. There are also multiple opportunities to work on dose sparing, for example, by using adjuvants or fractional doses. Renewed interest in this field was clearly reflected in the number and diversity of patent applications. In a later stage, several innovative approaches may become even more attractive, for example the use of recombinant virus strains or even a totally synthetic vaccine. Currently, such work is mainly carried out by research institutes and universities and therefore clinical data are not available.

Biofuel and Food-Commodity Prices

The paper summarizes key findings of alternative lines of research on the relationship between food and fuel markets, and identifies gaps between two bodies of literature: one that investigates the relationship between food and fuel prices, and another that investigates the impact of the introduction of biofuels on commodity-food prices. The former body of literature suggests that biofuel prices do not affect food-commodity prices, but the latter suggests it does. We try to explain this gap, and then show that although biofuel was an important contributor to the recent food-price inflation of 2001–2008, its effect on food-commodity prices declined after the recession of 2008/09. We also show that the introduction of cross-price elasticity is important when explaining soybean price, but less so when explaining corn prices.

BiotecVisions 2012, August

BiotecVisions 2012, August

Seeds of Innovation in Accounting Scholarship

S everal senior scholars have recently suggested that innovation in modern accounting scholarship is low (Demski 2007; Fellingham 2007; Hopwood 2007; Kaplan 2011; Sunder 2011). These essays lead to three questions about innovation in current accounting scholarship that I consider here. First, what is ‘‘innovation’’ and how do we know that the level of innovation in accounting scholarship is low? Second, if innovation in accounting scholarship is low, how did this state of affairs come to exist? Third, if accounting scholarship is low on innovation, can we actually do anything to change it? For present purposes, I define ‘‘scholarly innovation’’ as material long-run improvement in the state of knowledge within an academic discipline. The (unobservable) construct I have in mind is the change through time in the extent to which thinking about accounting is supported by a body of theory and empirical evidence that explains why accounting exists and takes the form that it does. Stated broadly, scholarly innovation refers to positive long-run change in the body of knowledge present in an academic discipline. I see scholarly innovation as an evolved characteristic that requires both variation in ideas and robust selection among competing ideas. Variation in ideas is present when scholars (1) pursue alternative lines of inquiry using different theoretical and methodological perspectives, and (2) take risks that introduce intellectual ‘‘mutations’’ that open new lines of inquiry. Selection results from

Genome-wide Transcriptome Profiling Reveals the Functional Impact of Rare De Novo and Recurrent CNVs in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Copy-number variants (CNVs) are a major contributor to the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but the functional impact of CNVs remains largely unexplored. Because brain tissue is not available from most samples, we interrogated gene expression in lymphoblasts from 244 families with discordant siblings in the Simons Simplex Collection in order to identify potentially pathogenic variation. Our results reveal that the overall frequency of significantly misexpressed genes (which we refer to here as outliers) identified in probands and unaffected siblings does not differ. However, in probands, but not their unaffected siblings, the group of outlier genes is significantly enriched in neural-related pathways, including neuropeptide signaling, synaptogenesis, and cell adhesion. We demonstrate that outlier genes cluster within the most pathogenic CNVs (rare de novo CNVs) and can be used for the prioritization of rare CNVs of potentially unknown significance. Several nonrecurrent CNVs with significant gene-expression alterations are identified (these include deletions in chromosomal regions 3q27, 3p13, and 3p26 and duplications at 2p15), suggesting that these are potential candidate ASD loci. In addition, we identify distinct expression changes in 16p11.2 microdeletions, 16p11.2 microduplications, and 7q11.23 duplications, and we show that specific genes within the 16p CNV interval correlate with differences in head circumference, an ASD-relevant phenotype. This study provides evidence that pathogenic structural variants have a functional impact via transcriptome alterations in ASDs at a genome-wide level and demonstrates the utility of integrating gene expression with mutation data for the prioritization of genes disrupted by potentially pathogenic mutations.

The Impact of Biofuels on Commodity Food Prices: Assessment of Findings

For years, agriculture has provided most of the fuel for vehicular transportation. Concerns about availability of fuels, balance of trade, and climate change led to the introduction of biofuel programs in the United States, Brazil,EuropeanUnion(EU),andothercountries. The impacts of these programs and the relationship between the food and fuel markets have become major topics of economic research. This paper summarizes the main findings of alternative lines of research on the relationship between the food and fuel markets and identifies gaps and quandaries that warrant further research. This is not meant to be a complete survey, and it emphasizes several of our studies within the broader literature. The paper distinguishes between two bodies of literature: one on the relationship between food and fuel prices and another on the impact of the introduction of biofuel on commodity food prices. While biofuel prices do not seem to affect food-commodity prices, we explain why the introduction of biofuel does. Moreover,biofuelshavenotbeenthemostdominant contributor to the recent food-price inflation and different biofuels have different impacts.

Direct solid sampling electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric determination of toxic and potentially toxic elements in certified reference materials of brown coal fly ash

This work describes a method for the direct determination of Bi, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sn and Zn in reference materials of brown coal fly ash, using solid sampling electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The use of chemical modifiers was found to be necessary for obtaining reproducible and sufficiently sensitive signals for the analytes under study. The mixture of Pd and Mg(NO3)2 was used for the determination of Bi, Cd, Pb, Sb, Sn and Zn, W (permanent modifier) in combination with Mg(NO3)2 (as aqueous modifier) provided well-defined signal profiles for Cr and Ni determination in coal fly ash samples. A systematic study focused on the use of alternative (less sensitive) lines for obtaining sufficient sensitivity. The following analytical lines were used: Bi 306.8nm, Cd 326.1nm, Cr 520.6nm, Ni 305.1nm, Pb 205.3nm, Sb 206.8nm, Sn 300.9nm, Zn 307.6nm. The limits of detection were 0.057μg g−1 for Bi, 0.21μg g−1 for Cd, 1.1μg g−1 for Cr, 1.4μg g−1 for Ni, 4.0μg g−1 for Pb, 0.13μg g−1 for Sb, 0.33μg g−1 for Sn and 16μg g−1 for Zn, respectively.

Alternative cell lines to improve the rescue of infectious human astrovirus from a cDNA clone

A reverse genetics system for human astrovirus (HAstV) was established previously; however, it has not been exploited mainly because cells used for virus packaging are not permissive, requiring several rounds of replication to obtain acceptable infectious virus. In this work, in the search for alternative permissive cell lines to be used as packaging cells, Hek-293 and Huh7.5.1 were tested. Given that HAstV infection in Hek-293 showed differences with that in Caco-2, the gold standard for HAstV growth but scarcely transfectable, and it was more similar to that observed in the hepatoma Huh7.5.1 cell line, these last cells were further used to transfect viral RNA. Virus titers near to 10(8) infectious particles per ml (ffu/ml) were obtained at 16-20 h after transfection with RNA from infected cells. However, virus titers close to 10(6) ffu/ml were obtained by using in vitro transcribed RNA from a cDNA HAstV-1 clone. In contrast, virus recovery in BHK-21, reported previously as the packaging cells, from this RNA was of about 10(4) ffu/ml, two logarithms less than in Huh7.5.1. Apparently, the 5'-end modification of the viral RNA determined its specific infectivity, since virus recovery was abolished when the total RNA was treated with proteinase-K, probably by removing a protein-linked genome protein, but it increased when capping of the in vitro transcribed RNA was more efficient. Thus, an alternative and more efficient reverse genetics system for HAstV was established by using Huh7.5.1 cells.