Non-specific tail sequences are often added to the 5'-terminus of primers to improve the robustness and overall performance of diagnostic assays. Despite the widespread use of tailed primers, the underlying working mechanism is not well understood. To address this problem, we conducted a detailed in vitro and in silico analysis of the enhancing effect of primer tailing on 2 well-established foo...

In this paper we present an algorithm for the valuation and optimal operation of natural gas storage facilities. Real options theory is used to derive nonlinear partial-integro-differential equations (PIDEs) for the valuation and optimal operating strategies. The equations are designed to incorporate a wide class of spot price models that can exhibit the same time-dependent, mean-reverting dyna...

Fire test data of boats in rack storage are needed to establish more specific requirements for fire control and protection for this type of vessel in high piled rack storage configurations. Since there is no current large or full scale fire test data available, we have embarked upon testing fire and thermal properties of boat material, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite, by using Differen...

The Korean government has strived to secure a disposal site for the safe management of radioactive waste since the early 1980s. The 249 th meeting of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) held in September 1998 established the “National Radioactive Waste Management Policy”, which aims at completing the construction of a Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste (LILW) disposal facility by 2008,...

RFID (Radio-Frequency IDentification) is a key emerging technology for supply-chain monitoring and detection of counterfeit and grey-market goods. The most prevalent RFID tags are, however, simply “wireless barcodes,” themselves vulnerable to cloning and counterfeiting. While continuous monitoring can, in principle, detect cloning attacks, real-world supply chains often contain significant blin...

Thermal energy storage (TES) system has been introduced as a practical facility for shifting load from peak hours to off-peak hours. Because of different energy consumption during day and night, peak and off peak period is created on load curve. Ice storage technology which is a kind of TES system, is implemented in different points of the world with the purpose of solving load shifting problem...

Underground caverns in rock salt deposits are the most secure disposal method and a type of gas-storing facility. Gas storage plays a vital role in ensuring that a strategic relationship is secured between an established energy infrastructure provider and a midstream energy company. The Fischells Brook area is a pillow-shaped body of salts located in the St. George's Bay area of southwest Newfo...

Workability is a key performance criterion for mining cemented tailing backfill, which should be defined in terms of rheological parameters such as yield stress and plastic viscosity. Cemented tailing backfill is basically composed of mill tailings, Portland cement, or blended cement with supplementary cement material (fly ash and blast furnace slag) and water, among others, and it is important...