政策改革がパキスタンの貿易実績に及ぼした影響の計量経済学的分析

公共政策プログラム / Public Policy Program政策研究大学院大学 / National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies論文審査委員: Kaliappa Kalirajan（主査）, Jonna P. Estudillo, 大山 達雄, Wade Pfau, ナーワーラゲ・Ｓ・クーレイ（国際大学

A validated bioluminescence-based assay for the rapid determination of the initial rate of kill for discovery antimalarials

Objectives: A future treatment for uncomplicated malaria will contain at least one component that exerts a rapid rate of kill (RoK). We describe here the validation and application of a simple, robust and rapid bioluminescence-based assay for the determination of the initial RoK in intraerythrocytic asexual stages of Plasmodium falciparum. Methods: A modification to the concentration-response bioluminescence (here termed bioluminescence relative rate of kill, BRRoK) assay, utilizing exposure to fold-IC50 concentrations (0.33x to 9x), is used to monitor the immediate cytocidal effect of 372 open source compounds for antimalarial drug discovery available through the Medicine for Malaria Venture’s Malaria Box. Results: Antimalarial drugs that exert a rapid cytocidal effect produce a concentration dependent loss of bioluminescence signal that correlates with available in vitro and in vivo estimates of parasite clearance time and parasite reduction ratio. Following the measurement of IC50 for the Malaria Box compounds in Dd2luc30 , the BRRoK assay was used to identify and rank 372 compounds for their initial cytocidal activity. Fifty three compounds in the Malaria Box show an initial relative RoK greater than that of chloroquine, with 17 of these with an initial relative RoK greater than that of dihydroartemisinin. Conclusion: The BRRoK assay provides a rapid assay format for the estimation of a key pharmacodynamic property of antimalarial drug action. The simplicity and robustness of the assay suggests it would be readily scalable for high throughput screening and a critical decision-making tool for antimalarial drug development

Variance

Variance continues my long-standing interest in the Victorian polymath Francis Galton, having first researched Galton as part of my (2000) publication Death’s Witness and associated MPhil. This research formed the basis of my (2005) artist’s film Vanitas: Seed-Head, based on Galton’s composite photographic portraits and his proto-genetic inheritance studies. Variance is also influenced by Galton’s studies of inheritance (all six photographs are of my extended family) but extends this research into an exploration of his pioneering work on statistics and biometrics. According to Elizabeth Edwards (1997) Francis Galton’s composite photographs constituted “…lived concepts – embodied or concrete ideas to render the unseen or non-existent empirically: in other words, a taxonomic essence within a dialectic of the visible and invisible.” Variance plays on this tension between the seen and unseen, the known and unknown, to comment on the impossibility of ever being able to construct human typologies in the way Galton attempted. Variance incorporates scanning electron microscopy images of brain activity to create a series of ‘thought portraits’, which bring into question contemporary neuro-biological imaging technologies and interpretations, which allegedly allow neuroscientists to ‘see’ and ‘measure’ our thoughts and emotions. Variance raises awareness of the hidden nuances of scientific interpretation and meaning that lurk just below the surface of the posited reality of neuroscience

Design of Solar PV System for Educational Institutes in Rural Areas of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Pakistan is the country facing deficiency of electrical power. The metropolitan areas of the country, however, have the moderate electric energy supply while rural areas suffer from the problem of no supply of electric energy as one of the serious problems in these areas. In this paper, the Solar PV System parameters are calculated for educational institutes as the solution of this no or insufficient electric energy supply in rural areas of Kpk. The main aim of this research is to increase the social and computer literacy level in these areas keeping in mind the cost effectiveness of the Solar PV system. Computer literacy rate improvement requires the uninterrupted power supply in rural areas which can be done by the installation of Solar PV System in these areas. The average load of one High, one Middle and one Primary school is forecasted for computer labs is made on daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. The current WAPDA supply system for these areas is examined which is insufficient for the operation of computer labs in educational institutions. According to the WAPDA tariff rules, the electricity consumption for operating computer labs in these schools have been calculated if there is uninterrupted electric power supply. At the end the cost effectiveness of the WAPDA power supply system and that of the proposed Solar PV System is analyzed. At the end it has been concluded that Solar PV System is the best option for eliminating the electric energy supply problem for improving the social living standards and computer literacy in these areas

Characterization of newly synthesized ZrFe2O5 nanomaterial and investigations of its tremendous photocatalytic properties under visible light irradiation

High functional ZrFe2O5 nanoparticles were synthesized using coprecipitation technique. The chemical composition of nanomaterials was studied by energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX). To observe the morphology, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used. X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was utilized to appraise the structure of the synthesized material. The photocatalytic behavior of ZrFe2O 5 nano-particles was investigated by measuring the degradation rate of toluidine blue O (TBO) dye in aqueous solution in the presence of ZrFe 2O5 nano-particles under visible light irradiation. A steady decrease in absorption peak under visible light irradiation was observed by increasing exposure time. The degradation efficiency was observed as 92% after 140 min of exposure to visible light. Besides, ZrFe2O 5 nanophotocatalyst could be recovered and recycled easily. The rate of TBO and total organic carbon (TOC) removal under visible light irradiation decreased by only 5% and 10%, respectively, after seven cycles of use, demonstrating the high photostability of the synthesized nano-photocatalyst material

Zeolitic imidazolate frameworks blended polysulfone hollow fiber membranes for natural gas purification

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have received world-wide attention for natural gas purification due to their superior performance in terms of permeability and selectivity. In this study, zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF) based polysulfone (PSf) hollow fiber membranes were fabricated for natural gas purification. A new micron-sized leaf-like ZIF (ZIF-L) and hexagonal nano-sized ZIF-8 were synthesized in an aqueous basic solution at room temperature with the same molar ratio of reagents (Zn+2/Hmim = 8). Furthermore, various moles of triethylamine (TEA)/total moles ratio of reactants ranging from 0–0.006 were used. Both ZIF powders were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, CO2 temperature programmed desorption, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and surface area and pores textural properties using nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis. ZIF- 8 particles have shown improved thermal stability, textural properties, basic sites and CO2 adsorption capacity compared to ZIF-L. The neat PSf membrane and mixed matrix hollow fiber membranes incorporated with the various loading of ZIF-8 ranging from 0–1.25% were fabricated at bore fluid rate of 1.5 and 1.8 ml/min. The prepared membranes were further investigated with respect to their structural morphology, thermal stability, functional groups, surface roughness and finally gas separation performance. The gas permeation results at room temperature showed that fabricated MMM at 1.8 ml/min of bore fluid and loaded with 0.5 wt% of ZIF-8 showed 28% higher CO2/CH4 selectivity at 6 bar (g) feed pressure compared to neat PSf membrane. High loading of ZIF-8 =0.75 wt% deteriorated the separation performances. However, CO2/CH4 selectivity decreased at elevated pressure (8 and 10 bar) due to CO2-induced plasticization. The amine modification of ZIF-8 particles with 25 ml ammonium hydroxide solution at room temperature was found to significantly improve textural properties, basic sites strength and CO2 desorption capacity. MMM prepared at 1.8 ml/min of bore fluid rate and loaded with 0.25 wt% of amine modified ZIF-8 showed 18% increase in CO2/CH4 selectivity compared to unmodified ZIF-8 based membrane. The amine modification was proven to be a membrane’s anti-plasticization agent with superior gas separation performance at elevated pressure. In comparison to the neat PSf membrane, amine modified MMM prepared at the bore fluid rate of 1.8 ml/min has shown 50, 72 and 69% higher selectivity at 6, 8 and 10 bar (g) feed pressure respectively. Also, the selectivity of A-M0.25 was 18% higher than unmodified ZIF-8 based MMM at 6 bar (g) feed pressure. The permeance of both gases decreased at an acceptable level with an increase of selectivity at elevated pressure. Hence, the promising results obtained in this study has demonstrated the potential of amine modified ZIF-8 based MMMs for natural gas purification

Potential of machine learning/Artificial Intelligence (ML/AI) for verifying configurations of 5G multi Radio Access Technology (RAT) base station

Abstract. The enhancements in mobile networks from 1G to 5G have greatly increased data transmission reliability and speed. However, concerns with 5G must be addressed. As system performance and reliability improve, ML and AI integration in products and services become more common. The integration teams in cellular network equipment creation test devices from beginning to end to ensure hardware and software parts function correctly. Radio unit integration is typically the first integration phase, where the radio is tested independently without additional network components like the BBU and UE. 5G architecture and the technology that it is using are explained further. The architecture defined by 3GPP for 5G differs from previous generations, using Network Functions (NFs) instead of network entities. This service-based architecture offers NF reusability to reduce costs and modularity, allowing for the best vendor options for customer radio products. 5G introduced the O-RAN concept to decompose the RAN architecture, allowing for increased speed, flexibility, and innovation. NG-RAN provided this solution to speed up the development and implementation process of 5G. The O-RAN concept aims to improve the efficiency of RAN by breaking it down into components, allowing for more agility and customization. The four protocols, the eCPRI interface, and the functionalities of fronthaul that NGRAN follows are expressed further. Additionally, the significance of NR is described with an explanation of its benefits. Some benefits are high data rates, lower latency, improved spectral efficiency, increased network flexibility, and improved energy efficiency. The timeline for 5G development is provided along with different 3GPP releases. Stand-alone and non-stand-alone architecture is integral while developing the 5G architecture; hence, it is also defined with illustrations. The two frequency bands that NR utilizes, FR1 and FR2, are expressed further. FR1 is a sub-6 GHz frequency band. It contains frequencies of low and high values; on the other hand, FR2 contains frequencies above 6GHz, comprising high frequencies. FR2 is commonly known as the mmWave band. Data collection for implementing the ML approaches is expressed that contains the test setup, data collection, data description, and data visualization part of the thesis work. The Test PC runs tests, executes test cases using test libraries, and collects data from various logs to analyze the system’s performance. The logs contain information about the test results, which can be used to identify issues and evaluate the system’s performance. The data collection part describes that the data was initially present in JSON files and extracted from there. The extraction took place using the Python code script and was then fed into an Excel sheet for further analysis. The data description explains the parameters that are taken while training the models. Jupyter notebook has been used for visualizing the data, and the visualization is carried out with the help of graphs. Moreover, the ML techniques used for analyzing the data are described. In total, three methods are used here. All the techniques come under the category of supervised learning. The explained models are random forest, XG Boost, and LSTM. These three models form the basis of ML techniques applied in the thesis. The results and discussion section explains the outcomes of the ML models and discusses how the thesis will be used in the future. The results include the parameters that are considered to apply the ML models to them. SINR, noise power, rxPower, and RSSI are the metrics that are being monitored. These parameters have variance, which is essential in evaluating the quality of the product test setup, the quality of the software being tested, and the state of the test environment. The discussion section of the thesis explains why the following parameters are taken, which ML model is most appropriate for the data being analyzed, and what the next steps are in implementation