An integral part of air quality management is knowledge of the impact of pollutant sources on ambient concentrations of particulate matter (PM). There is also a growing desire to directly use source impact estimates in health studies; however, source impacts cannot be directly measured. Several limitations are inherent in most source apportionment methods motivating the development of a novel h...

The exponential increase of availability of digital data and the necessity to process it in business and scientific fields has literally forced upon us the need to analyze and mine useful knowledge from it. Traditionally data mining has used a data warehousing model of gathering all data into a central site, and then running an algorithm upon that data. Such a centralized approach is fundamenta...

Distributed simulation is an enabling concept to support the networked interaction of models and real world elements that are geographically distributed. This technology has brought a new set of challenging problems to solve, such as Data Distribution Management (DDM). The aim of DDM is to limit and control the volume of the data exchanged during a distributed simulation, and reduce the process...

Human dental pulp cells have been known to have the stem cell features such as self-renewal and multipotency. These cells are differentiated into hard tissue by addition of proper cytokines and biomaterials. Hydroxyapatite-tricalcium phosphates (HA-TCPs) are essential components of hard tissue and generally used as a biocompatible material in tissue engineering of bone. Demineralized dentin mat...

Free discontinuity problems arising in the variational theory for fracture mechanics are considered.AΓ -convergence proof for an r-adaptive 3Dfinite element discretization is given in the case of a brittle material. The optimal displacement field, crack pattern and mesh geometry are obtained through a variational procedure that encompasses both mechanical and configurational forces. Possible ex...

This work studies the convergence properties of mixed non-overlapping domain decomposition method (DDM) commonly named “Latin method”. As all DDM, Latin is sensitive to near-interface heterogeneity and irregularity. Using a simple yet fresh point view, we analyze role Robin parameters as well second level (coarse space) correction — which are characteristic method. In particular, show how build...

Localized deformation such as shear bands, compaction bands, dilation bands, combined shear/compaction or shear/dilation bands, fractures, and joint slippage are commonly found in rocks. Thus, modeling their inception, development and propagation, and effect on stress response is important with regard to making informed engineering design decisions involving these materials. Following a GulfRoc...

BACKGROUND Following the 1988 World Health Assembly resolution to eradicate polio, the government of Nigeria, with support from partners, has been implementing several rounds of supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) each year. In addition to the technical requirements, the success of the polio eradication initiative depends on timely provision of adequate financial resources. Disbursemen...