Podcasting Reconsidered

2015

In this doctoral thesis the development, implementation and evaluation of the architecture for a vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure access network have been presented. The work started in 2006, when the original concept of the intelligent hybrid wireless traffic service architecture between cars supported with wireless transceivers on the roadside was initially presented. The original communication architecture was based on traditional Wi-Fi communication between vehicles and infrastructure, supplemented with GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) communication within a cellular GSM network as the backbone access method. The original wireless traffic service architecture developed in this work presented an innovative solution for hybrid vehicular networking, based on wireless networking and mobile communication solutions available at that time. The enhanced access network protocol standard and mobile access system with commercial equipment available allowed the further development of the architecture. The key objective was to provide an intelligent hybrid wireless traffic safety network between cars and infrastructure, relying now on a short-range (local wireless vehicular) access network, combined with the overlay cellular network. Furthermore, there was a set of example services concentrating on accident warnings (both critical and minor incidents) and road weather data, reflecting rather well the general type of vehicular networking services, and employing the platform resources, both in terms of capacity and reaction time. The IEEE 802.11p vehicular communication standard based platform was first tested in an extensive set of different kinds of vehicular networking scenarios. The communication capacity and connectivity was tested in vehicle-to-infrastructure, vehicle-to-vehicle, as well as vehicle-to-vehicle-to-vehicle communication entities. The field tests with a limited amount of vehicles were extended into simulation scenarios with a larger platoon of vehicles. The resulting communication platform was found to be appropriate for the preliminary example services, and finally the entire architecture, together with 3G backbone communication and embedded services, was pilot tested in the demonstration system. This communications architecture, particularly tailored for vehicular networking, is the main topic of this thesis. The further development of the communication architecture focuses more and more on near-the-market services and multi-standard communication. Both of these goals are combined in the Finnish Meteorological Institute approach to employing a vehicular networking entity to provide route weather information for vehicles passing our combined Road Weather Station (RWS)/Road Side Unit (RSU). Route weather is a special type of weather service tailored for dedicated road stretches, based on a road weather model and data collected from local RWSs and from vehicles themselves. Publishing unit Classification (UDC) Keywords 351.817 Vehicular networking, IEEE 802.11p, Wi-Fi, road weather ISSN and series title 0782-6117 Finnish Meteorological Institute Contributions ISBN Language Pages ISBN 978-951-697-857-7 (paperback) ISBN 978-951-697-858-4 (pdf) English I would like to thank Prof. Marina Petrova from RWTH Aachen and Prof. Chai Keong Toh, Tsing Hua honor Chair Professor of EECS for reviewing the manuscript and providing helpful comments. I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Risto Kulmala and Prof. Chai Keong Toh, acting as the opponents of my Doctoral thesis. I am especially grateful to Prof. Toh, who has provided me scientific advises, support and encouragement ever since we first met in 2001. I am also grateful to Gordon Roberts for revising the language. I am grateful to my parents, my brothers and sister and their families for their care and support throughout my life. I am also grateful to my friends and other relatives. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my wife Marjo and my daughters Venla and Elisa for their support throughout the years. They have shown great support and patience during this journey. This work is dedicated to Venla and Elisa. You are my precious ones, my pride and my delight.

Atherosclerosis, 2010

Objective: We recently described anti-atherogenic properties of the dual domain peptide Ac-hE18A-NH 2 derived by covalently linking the heparin binding domain 141-150 of apoE to 18A, a class A amphipathic helical peptide. In this paper we have compared the properties of Ac-hE18A-NH 2 with the non-heparin binding 151-160 region of apoE linked to 18A (Ac-nhE18A-NH 2 ). Methods and results: Both peptides were highly helical in solution and in association with lipids. Ac-hE18A-NH 2 and not Ac-nhE18A-NH 2 enhanced uptake of low density lipoprotein (LDL) in HepG2 cells. While Ac-hE18A-NH 2 retarded the electrophoretic mobility of LDL, Ac-nhE18A-NH 2 slightly enhanced mobility. Ac-hE18A-NH 2 reduced monocyte association with endothelial cells, while Ac-nhE18A-NH 2 increased it. Ac-hE18A-NH 2 also reduced lipid hydroperoxide content of LDL while Ac-nhE18A-NH 2 increased it. A single administration of Ac-hE18A-NH 2 (100 g/mouse) into apoE null mice dramatically reduced cholesterol (from 600 mg/dL to 180 mg/dL at 5 min and to 60 mg/dL at 5 h) while Ac-nhE18A-NH 2 had no effect. Administration (100 g/mouse/day, three days a week) into apoE null mice for six weeks showed Ac-hE18A-NH 2 group having a moderate aortic sinus lesion reduction compared with the control group (−15.1%), while the Ac-nhE18A-NH 2 administered group had increased lesion area (+33.0% vs controls and 36.1% vs Ac-hE18A-NH 2 ). Plasma from mice administered Ac-hE18A-NH 2 for six weeks showed a significant reduction in plasma cholesterol and triglyceride levels and increase in paraoxonase-1 (PON-1) activity compared to controls, while Ac-nhE18A-NH 2 caused no change in plasma cholesterol and decreased PON-1 activity. Conclusion: It is proposed that Ac-hE18A-NH 2 reduced lesion progression in apoE null mice due to its anti-inflammatory and lipoprotein clearing properties, while Ac-nhE18A-NH 2 exhibited pro-atherogenic effects.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

In this paper we construct life-cycle profiles of U.S. health care spending using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). We separate pure age effects on health expenditure from time effects (i.e. productivity effects, business cycle effects, etc.) and cohort effects (i.e. initial condition effects) by estimating a seminonparametric partial linear model. After controlling for time and cohort effects, we find that medical expenditure-age profiles follow an upward trend. Time and cohort effects introduce a significant estimation bias into predictions of health expenditures per age group. It is demonstrated that failing to adequately control for time and cohort effects results in an overprediction of the effect of age on health expenditures, especially for agents older than 60. Cohort effect biases dominate time effect biases in estimates of health expenditures that do not adequately control for both effects. Estimation biases introduced by cohort effects increase monotonically with age while time effects are non-monotone.

Journal of Mammalian Ova Research, 2008

Pile failures during driving are not uncommon. This may be interpreted as physical deterioration of precast piles such as crushing or shattering of the pile head, cracking or fracture of pile shafts or even cracking and spalling of pile toes. This will render pile groups and the subsequent pile caps as 'unsafe' to sustain column loads due to eccentric moments which causes loads distributed to piles to be greater than that of the pile working load capacities! The most practical solution usually adopted on site to rectify this problem is by installing replacement pile/s. This helps to reduce the intensity of loads distributed to all piles to values lower than the pile working load capacities. However questions on the number and location of these replacement piles to be driven for each pile group arrangements such that previous pile cap designs are still safe and applicable, has to be addressed. Moreover does the net pile group eccentricity prior to driving of replacement piles and the net service load of a column supported by a particular pile group arrangement as well as the pile spacing play a role in determining the numbers and optimum location of these replacement piles, is also of concern. Thus against the background of all these uncertainties the primary aim of this study is to evaluate the optimum number and position of replacement piles for several common pile group arrangement resulting from the failure of a single pile in a pile group. Results of this study indicate that the recommended number of replacement pile depends almost entirely on the pile group efficiency factor adopted. This factor is applied in cases where spacing of piles is generally reduced to less than three times the pile dimension due to the insertion of replacement piles within the pile group, thus reducing the overall load carrying capacity of the pile group. Whereas for the optimum location of these replacement piles it is directly influenced by the actual location of the failed pile, the initial net pile group eccentricity as well as the net column service load and also the pile spacing adopted. Thus this study contributes by developing Optimum Replacement Pile Location Charts for several common pile group arrangements usually adopted in practice. These charts can be referred to on site to locate optimum position of replacement piles against actual net pile group eccentricities recorded on site, as well as taking into account the net column service loads and pile spacing adopted. The secondary output of this study is the development of the Safe Zone Of Replacement Pile Position. This chart helps engineers in selecting several other options by providing a range or zone of suitable coordinates for the replacement piles, apart from the optimum position, such that it still yields a safe design.

Procedia Engineering, 2011

The present work reports the damage evolution during low (LCF) and high (HCF) cycle fatigue behavior in an embrittled duplex stainless steel type DIN 1.4462. For LCF, the results have shown microcracks nucleating mainly along the most favorable oriented slip planes regarding the Schmid factor in the ferrite and propagating along similar planes. Occasionally, they nucleate at -grain boundaries. For these cracks, phase boundaries seem to be an effective barrier against the propagation in contrast to grain boundaries. During HCF, cracks initiate at -grain or at -phase boundaries and propagate in an intercrystalline mode and propagate in the neighbor grain. LCF and HCF characteristics have been related to the associated dislocation structure and with the local crystallography obtained by EBSD analysis in order to understand the propagation behavior.

2010

The relational model has recently been extended to so-called K-relations in which tuples are assigned a unique value in a semiring K. A query language, denoted by RAK+, similar to the classical positive relational algebra, allows for the querying of K-relations. In this paper, we define more expressive query languages for K-relations that extend RAK+ with the difference and constant annotations operations on annotated tuples. The latter are natural extensions of the duplicate elimination operator of the relational algebra on bags.

The Sorghum flakes were prepared by two methods. The first method adopted by a local company, which manufactures cereal based flakes. Whole and de-hulled sorghum ware separately soaked in water for 18 h to improve the moisture content. Moisture contents increased to 45% in de-hulled whereas 38% in whole grain respectively. Water was drained and grain was roasted in hot pan at 200 O C till popping sound. Then pressed in an edge runner and roller flaker to obtain fine flakes. Another method was developed by Dr. Kellog, the process adopted in preparation of corn flakes. De-hulled sorghum was cooked in boiling water until the starch gets completely gelatinized. The time required for complete gelatinization of starch was determined by checking the complete disappearance of chalkiness when cooked grains is pressed between two glass plates, then tempered for 20 to 30 min in ambient air and then dried in tray drier at 70 O C and 15 min. The sorghum grits were then roasted for 11 min at 200 O C and then pressed in edge runner to obtain fine flakes. Color and overall acceptability were high in case of flakes obtained by the process described by Dr. Kellogg.

british journal of social psychology, 2015

Recent work in intergroup relations stresses the role of two fundamental dimensions, competence and warmth, which organize the perception of social groups. A pattern often encountered in people's ratings is one of compensation in that a group that is evaluated higher than another group on one of the two fundamental dimensions is also judged lower on the other fundamental dimension. Based on Social Identity Theory, the present work extends previous research on compensation by examining boundary conditions as well as underlying psychological processes. Two studies involving experimental and correlational evidence, minimal and real groups, and different kinds of conflict, reveal that compensation is more likely when the groups are in asymmetrical relation and share a cooperative view of the intergroup setting. Our data also suggest that, among members of low status groups, compensation is associated with social creativity. In contrast, and in line with the 'noblesse oblige' effect, members of high status group would seem to rely on compensation as a means to appear non-discriminatory.