Most community financing schemes have evolved in the context of severe economic constraints, political instability, and lack of good governance. Usually government taxation capacity is weak, formal mechanisms of social protection for vulnerable populations absent, and government oversight of the informal health sector lacking. In this context of extreme public sector failure, community involvement in the financing of health care provides a critical albeit insufficient first step in the long march towards improved access to health care by the poor and social protection against the cost of illness. Health Financing for Poor People stresses that community financing schemes are no panacea for the problems that low-income countries face in resource mobilization. They should be regarded as a complement to - not as a substitute for - strong government involvement in health care financing and risk management related to the cost of illness. Based on an extensive survey of the literature, the main strengths of community financing schemes are the extent of outreach penetration achieved through community participation, their contribution to financial protection against illness, and increase in access to health care by low-income rural and informal sector workers. Their main weaknesses are the low volume of revenues that can be mobilized from poor communities, the frequent exclusion of the very poorest from participation in such schemes without some form of subsidy, the small size of the risk pool, the limited management capacity that exists in rural and low-income contexts, and their isolation from the more comprehensive benefits that are often available through more formal health financing mechanisms and provider networks. The authors conclude by proposing concrete public policy measures that governments can introduce to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of community involvement in health care financing.


We present a simple motorized rotation mount for a half-wave plate that can be used to rapidly change the polarization of light. We use the device to switch a high power laser beam between different optical dipole traps in an ultracold atom experiment. The device uses a stepper motor with a hollow shaft, which allows a beam to propagate along the axis of the motor shaft, minimizing inertia and mechanical complexity. A simple machined adapter is used to mount the wave plate. We characterize the performance of the device, focusing on its capability to switch a beam between the output ports of a polarizing beam splitter cube. We demonstrate a switching time of 15.9(3) ms, limited by the torque of the motor. The mount has a reaction time of 0.52(3) ms and a rotational resolution of 0.45(4)°. The rotation is highly reproducible, with the stepper motor not missing a step in 2000 repeated tests over 11 h.


INTRODUCTION AND AIMS
The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive annotated public-domain bibliography of the literature on spirituality and addictions to facilitate future research and scholarship.

DESIGN AND METHODS
A search was conducted of all citations listed in the MEDLINE, PsychINFO and ALTA Religion databases covering a period from 1941 to 2004 using the following search terms: substance abuse, substance dependence, addiction, religion, spirituality. A group of experts in the field then classified each citation according to empirically derived categories.

RESULTS
A total of 1353 papers met the search parameters and were classified into 10 non-exclusive categories: (1) attitudes toward spirituality and substance use, (2) commentaries, (3) spiritual practices and development in recovery, (4) spiritual and religion variables in the epidemiology of substance abuse, (5) psychoactive substances and spiritual experiences, (6) religious and spiritual interventions, (7) literature reviews, (8) measurement of spirituality and addictions, (9) 12-Step spirituality and (10) youth and development.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The literature is voluminous, but has focused primarily in a few areas. Common findings included an inverse relationship between religiosity and substance use/abuse, reduced use among those practising meditation and protective effects of 12-Step group involvement during recovery. Although sound instruments are available for measuring spirituality, studies have tended to use simplistic, often single-item measures.


In this article, we would like to estimate the surface temperature and heat flow pattern of the four corner walls of building envelope with thermal bridge. In doing so, this study made use of infra-red camera and the heat transfer simulation. The field measurement using infra-red thermography shows thermal bridge and thermal insulation performance of each part of actual existing building envelope. The heat transfer simulation program calculated 3-D steady state heat transfer properties in the corner walls of building envelope as boundary condition (structure shape, thermal insulation, ambient temperature). Through this study, we provide the mathematical models for estimating thermal bridge effect of the corner walls per boundary condition and we expect to contribute to the effecitve evaluation of thermal performance of the building envelope.


Recently, to realize broadband ISDN, ATM has been studied vigorously. As the switching network for ATM, the delta network and other switching networks have been investigated by a number of researchers. The delta network performs the self-routing based on the multistage connection of 2 × 2 sized matrix switches. However, this network has a problem in that the throughput is decreased drastically when the traffic imposed on the switching network is nonuniform.

To avoid such a situation, a method is proposed to make the whole network a Benes network by placing a distribution network preceding the delta network to balance out the traffic. The addition of the distribution network, however, has only been investigated for the case where all matrix switches are of the same size.

With this as the background, this paper discusses the switching network with several sizes of matrix switches. The method of placing the distribution network is discussed together with the characteristics, and application examples are presented.


Inference of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic conductances (SCs) from the spike trains is poorly addressed in the literature due to the complexity of the problem. As recent technological advancements make recording spikes from multiple (neighbor) neurons of a behaving animal (in some rare cases from humans) possible, this paper tackles the problem of estimating SCs solely from the recorded spike trains. Given an ensemble of spikes corresponding to population of neighbor neurons, we aim to infer the average excitatory and inhibitory SCs underlying the shared neural activity. In this paper, we extended our previously established Kalman filtering (KF)–based algorithm to incorporate the voltage-to-spike nonlinearity (mapping from membrane potential to spike rate). Having estimated the instantaneous spike rate using optimal linear filtering (Gaussian kernel), our proposed algorithm uses KF followed by expectation maximization (EM) algorithm in a recursive fashion to infer the average SCs. As the dynamics of SCs and membrane potential is included in our model, the proposed algorithm, unlike other related works, considers different sources of stochasticity, i.e., the variabilities of SCs, membrane potential, and spikes. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that our algorithm is blind to the external stimulus, and it performs only based on observed spikes. We validate the accuracy and practicality of our technique through simulation studies where leaky integrate and fire (LIF) model is used to generate spikes. We show that the estimated SCs can precisely track the original ones. Moreover, we show that the performance of our algorithm can be further improved given enough number of trials (spikes). As a rule of thumb, 50 trials of neurons with the average firing rate of 5 Hz can guarantee the accuracy of our proposed algorithm.


: The data obtained in the clinical and laboratory study of 72 hospitalized patients with acute enteric infection are presented. The observed outbreak was caused by H. alvei producing heat-stable enterotoxin. The role of this etiological agent is also confirmed by simultaneous occurrence of the disease after using the same foodstuff, a short incubation period, the severity of the course of the disease with pronounced symptoms of neurotoxicosis, a high detection rate of H. alvei in material taken from patients at the acute period of the disease, rapid disappearance of this agent in the period of convalescence and a pronounced rise in the titer of specific antibodies to H. alvei in the dynamics of the disease. At the same time in the feces of 8 patients rotavirus antigen was detected, which, in combination with residual catarrhal phenomena, hyperemia and granularity of the pharynx, yellow stool, was indicative of the simultaneous circulation of rotavirus among these patients.


Sweden's tourism industry stands out for its large contribution to the development of the national economy. The vast size of the country makes it possible to trace differences in incoming tourist flows from neighbouring countries. This circumstance accounts for the novelty of this study, which lies in viewing national tourism geography from the perspective of the theory of transboundary tourism-and-recreation region building. Interregional differences in the structure of incoming tourist flows help identify the country's cross-border tourism-and-recreation regions and delineate their borders. This research employs statistical and cartographic methods. The incoming tourist flow to Sweden grew steadily until 2020. However, the Covid-19 crisis has led to a drastic reduction in the number of incoming tourists. Based on the 2019 statistics, the findings confirm the existence of a developed transboundary tourism-and-recreation mesoregion that brings together Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. The formation boasts strong tourist links. There are another five cross-border tourism-and-recreation mesoregions: Sweden-Norway-Denmark, Middle Sweden-Norway, Sweden-Norway-Finland, Middle Sweden-Finland, and South Sweden-Finland. The number of tourists visiting cross-border mesoregions indicates the degree of development of the latter.


CD4+ T cells play a critical role in the immune system and protecting the body from infection. Cell differentiation of T-cells leads to the specialization of the immune system and has been determined to have plasticity. Differentiation of the CD4+ T cells depends on cytokines present in the environment, concentration of antigens, types of antigen – presenting cells (APCs), and costimulatory molecules (Luckheeram, 2012). Commonly known differentiated T-cells include the T-helper 1 (Th1) and the T-helper 2 (Th2) cells. Upon CD4+ T cell activation, the cells undergo metabolic changes that allow for cell growth and division. By characterizing the metabolic network of these cells, we gain a better understanding of metabolic processes that are characteristic of each cell type. Expression data was gathered and used to identify essential genes within the differentiated cells. With statistical analysis of these cell's gene expression and regulation, we can more fully understand each gene that plays a role in the differentiation of the naïve cell. Specifically, I will focus on the differentiation of Th2 cells from the naïve CD4+ T cell. With computational modeling, the metabolic network of Th2 cells was built.


Nanoparticles (Np), as single particles with diameters smaller than 100 nm, represent a subgroup of nanomaterials. Their production and consumption have exponentially increased in recent years since they are used in the consumer products by different industrial sectors, for example, agriculture, construction, cosmetic, food and medicine. Nevertheless, researches on contamination caused by nanoproducts in aquatic environments are still scarce. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been used in various cosmetic applications due its ability to absorb UV light. Np-TiO2 in sunscreens has the same composition as the larger white TiO2 particles, but in nanoscale TiO2 is transparent, being more cosmetically elegant. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2- Np) on microalgae Chattonella subsalsa exposed to different concentrations of a sunscreen formulation. C. subsalsa was exposed for 30 minutes and 96 hours to 10, 25 and 50 mgL-1 of TiO2-Np under visible light and analyzed by photographic records, cell counting. The oxidative stress was monitored by specific activity of catalase. In this study, C. subsalsa did not form cell clusters but showed significant increase in catalase production after 96 hours of treatment at concentrations higher than 25 mgL-1. Such observations suggest higher resistance of these microalgae to the exposure to the sunscreen formulation based on TiO2-Np when compared to other algae already described in the literature.


Commenting on the document is possible without registration, but for editing, you need to:Register on Authorea: https://www.authorea.com/Join the DiversityNet group: https://www.authorea.com/inst/18886Come back hereCode: https://github.com/startcrowd/DiversityNetBlog post: https://medium.com/the-ai-lab/diversitynet-a-collaborative-benchmark-for-generative-ai-models-in-chemistry-f1b9cc669cbaTelegram chat: https://t.me/joinchat/Go4mTw0drJBrCdal0JWu1gGenerative AI models in chemistry are increasingly popular in the research community. They have applications in drug discovery and organic materials (solar cells, semi-conductors). Their goal is to generate virtual molecules with desired chemical properties (more details in this blog post). However, this flourishing literature still lacks a unified benchmark. Such benchmark would provide a common framework to evaluate and compare different generative models. Moreover, this would allow to formulate best practices for this emerging industry of 'AI molecule generators': how much training data is needed, for how long the model should be trained, and so on.That's what the DiversityNet benchmark is about. DiversityNet continues the tradition of data science benchmarks, after the MoleculeNet benchmark (Stanford) for predictive models in chemistry, and the ImageNet challenge (Stanford) in computer vision.


This research was conducted to improve the operation of a parking area for vehicles waiting for export, and reduce the cost of management fees, through implementation of a barcode system. Barcoding is an automated identification system which is powerful technology and applied in many fields. A barcode system was designed and tested to see if it could solve the parking problem.
The focus company in this research manufactures vehicles in Thailand for export.  Its internal operations are very good, but identifying where each vehicle is in the special parking area awaiting export was rudimentary. To begin to solve this problem, all relevant data was collated, such as the current ABC Company information and operation, historical data of cost, company volume, and the parking problem. All this was analyzed so as to develop a new and improved parking process.  To implement the barcode system, ABC Company had to invest in equipment and software. The Company also modified the parking area by installing stud bars on the ground. Calculation of the Net Present Value of the returns from this project shows that the investment is valuable to the organization.
When all the improvements were finished and applied, the researcher compared the old operation with the new operation, concerning the process and cost. The results of implementing the barcode system not only solved the problem but also improved the vehicle export operation process. This project eliminates non-value added activities and enhances the skill of manpower. Communication inside and outside the Company is easier, accurate, and reliable. All concerned parties quickly dealt with urgent issues. The Company's supply chain is more efficient and effective than before. The Company reduces costs, gains advantage over its competitors and improves collaboration with its partners.


Information providers in Internet are facing a highly competitive environment and a lack of insight into the customer's current and potential value and the customer's behaviour and requirements. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a customer-focused business strategy designed to optimise profitability, revenue and customer satisfaction that enables to develop valuable customer relationships and create a competitive position. Most of its success, however, relies on the ability to properly segment and profile customers for differentiated product offerings and service levels. We address the need of an information provider that offers a subscription-based access to Scientific and Technological databases. The service collects, for accounting purposes, data on system usage through an application server. These data are much richer than web logs data usually collected by web servers and permit the recognition of the single events that take place inside a user session. We show how these data can be successfully mined to extract knowledge on user behavioux. We apply a clustering algorithm to the accounting data, summarized at the user level, to obtain a customer segmentation. The results show the existence of different strategies of usage of the service resources. We show how these segmentation results serve to focus the attention on specific set of customers to understand and address their common needs, opportunities or threats. The obtained user profiles provide the basis for targeted marketing campaigns, customer retention and service improvement. Finally the data mining results are integrated in a wider process of Customer Relationship Management already implemented by the information provider.


Software configuration management ( SCM) is an emerging discipline. An important aspect of realizing SCM is the task of maintaining the configurations of evolving software systems. In this paper, we provide an approach to resolving some of the conceptual and technical problems in maintaining configurations of evolving software systems. The approach provides a formal basis for existing notions of system architecture. The formal properties of this view of configurations provide the underpinnings for a rigorous notion of system integrity, and mechanisms to control the evolution of configurations. This approach is embodied in a language, NuMIL, to describe software system configurations, and a prototype environment to maintain software system configurations. We believe that the approach and the prototype environment offer a firm base to maintain software system configurations and, therefore, to implement SCM.


Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSMEs) are key contributors to wealth creation and economic development of a country. Yet measuring their performance has been a challenge for researchers, data collectors and the policy makers. Non availability of structured historical data, virtual absence of regulatory filing, widespread under reporting of financial performance to avoid taxes and thick veil of secrecy on every bit of their information is a global phenomenon with MSME. Past research has experimented with various objective and subjective measures of organizational performance some of which were necessitated by non availability of accounting data. The present qualitative study, apart from putting MSME's contribution to the economic growth and corporate tax avoidance in perspective, deals with social and cultural mindset of small entrepreneurs in India. Multiple lines of enquiry like subjective indicators of performance measurement, non-intrusive techniques for on the spot assessment and cross verification with data available in the public domain were used to validate the findings. Study intends to meet the growing need for alternate tools and techniques to measure MSME performance. Further research in developing a comprehensive rubric of subjective measures for organizational performance is suggested.

Keywords: MSME, Organizational performance, Financial indicators, Non-financial parameters, Performance measurement.


Based on documentary material the A. presents the memories of the 1941-1945 period, related by three inhabitants of the village of Koritno. These are memories of their childhood and the harsher their childhood was, the more memories they have. To date several memoirs have been published on life in exile, but they are mainly memories of people's life in concentration camps. However, some people were not only expelled, but also forcibly germanized, while others, who stayed behind, were in constant fear of being expelled. The article contains memories of the childhood of the latter group. These stories are recorded as accurately as possible, sometimes word by word. To be understandable, the use of dialect expressions was restricted to a minimum. The stories are complemented by quotations from Tone Ferenc's articles in the collection Izgnanci (Expellees) and from his book Nacisticna raznarodovalna politika v Sloveniji v letih 1941-1945 (The Nazi Germanization Policy in Slovenia in 1941-1945). The A. used them to complement, explain or substantiate people's memories.


The magnetic cataclysmic variable HU Aquarii displayed pronounced quasi-periodic modulations of its eclipse timing. These were interpreted in terms of the light-travel time (LTT) effect caused by a circumbinary planet or planetary system. We report new photometric observations that revealed another precise eclipse timing for the October 2013 epoch, the first obtained in a high accretion state after many years in low or intermediate states. The eclipse was observed to occur earlier by 95.3 +- 2.0 s or 62.8 +- 2.0 s than expected for an assumed linear or quadratic ephemeris, respectively. The implied apparent strong evolution of the orbital period calls for a revision of the current planetary model or the planetary parameters. The object deserves further monitoring to uncover the true nature of the observed variability and to constrain the properties of the proposed planet or planetary system. The new observations prove that advanced amateur equipment can successfully be used in the growing field of planet search in wide circumbinary orbits via the LTT effect.


Aiming at the improvement in piston lubrication and the reduction of piston friction loss under this study, piston friction forces of cylinders with different surface roughness and treatment methods have been measured by means of a floating liner method, and the piston surface conditions have been also observed. As a result, it is found that the piston lubrication can be markedly improved by reducing the cylinder surface roughness. It is also verified that the deterioration in lubrication can be reduced even if some low viscosity oil is used, and the effect on the friction loss reduction becomes greater by reducing the piston surface roughness. On the other hand, it is found that many small vertical flaws are generated on the cylinder surface by reducing the surface roughness. In order to cope with this problem, etching and DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) coating have been tested as the surface treatments. As a result, it is confirmed that DLC coating is effective for the above.


: Surgical treatment of 298 patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease with both laparotomy and mini-invasive technologies is analyzed. New method of anti-reflux surgeries using synthetic implants is described. Short- and long-term results are analyzed. Advantage of laparoscopic procedures is demonstrated in long-term period. Excellent and good results were achieved at 82.3% patients.


In the application of ocean color remote sensing, remote sensing reflectance spectral (Rrs(λ)) is the most important and basic parameter for the development of bio-optical algorithms. Atmospheric correction of ocean color data is a key factor in obtaining accurate water Rrs(λ) data. Based on the QA (quality assurance) score spectral quality evaluation system, the quality of Rrs(λ) spectral of GOCI (Geostationary Ocean Color Imager) obtained from four atmospheric-correction algorithms in the Bohai Sea were evaluated and analyzed in this paper. The four atmospheric-correction algorithms are the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) standard near-infrared atmospheric-correction algorithm (denoted as Seadas—Default), MUMM (Management Unit of the North Sea Mathematical Models, denoted as Seadas—MUMM), and the standard atmospheric-correction algorithms of KOSC GOCI GDPS2.0 (denoted as GDPS2.0) and GDPS1.3 (denoted as GDPS1.3). It is shown that over 90% of the Rrs(λ) data are in good quality with a score ≥4/6 for the GDPS1.3 algorithm. The probability of Rrs(λ) with a QA score of 1 is significantly higher for the GDPS1.3 algorithm (57.36%), compared with Seadas—Default (37.91%), Seadas—MUMM (35.96%), and GDPS2.0 (33.05%). The field and MODIS measurements of Rrs(λ) were compared with simultaneous GOCI Rrs(λ), and they demonstrate that the QA score system is useful in evaluating the spectral shape of Rrs(λ). The comparison results indicate that higher QA scores have higher accuracy of the Rrs band ratio. The QA score system is helpful to develop and evaluate bio-optical algorithms based on the band ratio. The hourly variation of QA score from UTC 00:16 to 07:16 was investigated as well, and it demonstrates that the data quality of GOCI Rrs(λ) can vary in an hour scale. The GOCI data with high quality should be selected with caution when studying the hourly variation of biogeochemical properties in the Bohai Sea from GOCI measurements.


The present study experimentally investigates adiabatic film cooling effectiveness for high performance flow auxetic geometries (S-Slot and Ellipsoid). Both geometries are auxetic structures that were designed around a Negative Poisson Ratio (NPR). Manufactured NPR combustion liners offer higher quality fracture resistance [1] and high energy absorption [2]. Film cooling effectiveness results for test geometries were non-dimensionalized by a baseline case of circular inline orifices. Non-intrusive pressure sensitive paint (PSP) technique was utilized to obtain local surface pressure gradients for each experimental geometry. Adiabatic film cooling effectiveness measurements were tested for multiple blowing ratios (BR) ranging between 0.05–1.15. Three plate configurations were studied with void inclination angles of 0 degrees. Analyses demonstrate that blowing ratios of 0.5 and 0.75 are optimal for S-slot adiabatic effectiveness. Film cooling results for the Ellipse configuration show increasing effectiveness up to an optimal blowing ratio of 0.5, and decreases as BR is increased beyond that. Additional experiments were performed by keeping the differential pressure across the plates constant. Results indicate that the S-slot provides optimum film cooling effectiveness while the differential pressure conserved in comparison to Ellipses and Circles.


Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of topical 5% hesperidin application on healing. Materials and Methods: After 48 rats were randomized and divided into 7 groups, on the first day, an epithelial defect was created in the center of the cornea with the help of microkeratome under intraperitoneal ketamine + xylazine and topical 5% proparacaine anesthesia for the groups to be infected with keratitis according to the groups mentioned below. An amount of 0.05 mL of the solution containing 108 colony-forming units/mL Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA-ATC27853) will be taken and inoculated per rat. At the end of the 3 days incubation period, rats with keratitis will be added to the groups, and active substances and antibiotics will be given topically together with other groups for 10 days. At the end of the study, the ocular tissues of the rats will be removed and examined histopathologically. Results: A clinically significant reduction in inflammation was detected in the groups using hesperidin. No transforming growth factor-β1 staining was detected in the group in which keratitis + hesperidin was treated topically. In the group in which hesperidin toxicity was examined, mild inflammation and thickening of the corneal stroma layer were observed, and it was evaluated as a negative transforming growth factor-β1 expression in the lacrimal gland tissue. Corneal epithelial damage was minimal in the keratitis group, and the toxicity group was treated with only hesperidin when compared to the other groups. Conclusion: Topical hesperidin drops may be an important therapeutic factor in tissue healing and in the fight against inflammation in the treatment of keratitis.


China's remarkable progress has shown that modernity does not only belong to the West. At the same time, China's modernization has been largely fueled by direct investment of foreign firms which also dominate key technologies and critical positions in the global supply chain. In this section we get the real facts on the interpenetration of China and the global economy. A leading Chinese entrepreneur and thinker puts modernization with Chinese characteristics in historical perspective. One of China's leading dissidents assesses the arrest of Ai Weiwei.


Abstract Outbreaks of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in Egypt, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia have indicated the potential for this disease to spread from its enzootic areas in sub-Saharan Africa. Because little is known about the potential for most African mosquito species to transmit RVF virus (family Bunyaviridae, genus Phlebovirus, RVFV), we conducted studies to determine the vector competence of selected African species of mosquitoes for this virus. All eight species tested [Aedes palpalis (Newstead), Aedes mcintoshi Huang, Aedes circumluteolus (Theobald), Aedes calceatus Edwards, Aedes aegypti (L.), Culex antennatus (Becker), Culex pipiens (L.), and Culex quinquefasciatus Say], were susceptible to infection, and all except Ae. calceatus, Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus transmitted RVFV by bite after oral exposure. Estimated transmission rates for mosquitoes that successfully transmitted RVFV by bite ranged from 5% for Ae. mcintoshi to 39% for Ae. palpalis for mosquitoes that fed on a hamster with a viremia ≥108 plaque-forming units of virus/ml. We did not recover RVFV from any of 3,138 progeny of infected female mosquitoes. RVFV is unusual among arboviruses in that it has been isolated in nature from a large number of species and that numerous mosquitoes and other arthropods are able to transmit this virus in the laboratory. The recent introduction and spread of West Nile virus into the Americas and the spread of RVFV to the Arabian Peninsula illustrates the potential for viruses, once enzootic in Africa, to spread to other parts of the world.


Human actions rather than natural forces are the source of most contemporary changes in the state and flows of the biosphere. Understanding these actions and the social forces that drive them is crucial to understanding, modelling and predicting local, regional as well as global environmental change and also for managing and responding to such change. The present study investigates the patterns of urban land transformation in Srinagar City, which lies in fragile hill eco-system of Kashmir valley. The results points towards unplanned and haphazard urban expansion and transformation. These transformations have severely destroyed the water bodies both in terms of area as well as its quality.


In the historical stages of the West Germanic languages ne has been part of the negation system. In Old Dutch through Early New Dutch (c. 600 – 1600/1700) this particle had various specific functions and senses, depending on the sentence structure and on whether or not it co-occurred with other negation elements, such as negative indefinites and adverbs. The present paper focuses on the way in which this particle as function word is described in the four successive historical dictionaries of Dutch. As these dictionaries were compiled in different periods and on different editorial principles, one can expect differences in treatment of the particle. Sometimes shortage of material plays a role. The focus on translation in Modern Dutch rather than on a precise grammatical analysis, causes inadequate descriptions in other cases. Especially with respect to the conjunctional construction with ne, the lexicographer is in need of clear, insightful discussions of this complicated phenomenon in the linguistic literature as a basis to his description. In spite of these shortcomings, the dictionaries together contain a comprehensive survey of the various uses of ne, in some of them with a detailed inventory of contexts, together with a large amount of mostly dated illustrative citations.


Some years ago we received a collection of foraminifera-bearing samples from Dr. H. K. Kugler and Dr. E. Lehner for examination, in sequence to the collection of larger foraminifera already examined from Central Falcon (Venezuela). (See Nettie E. Gorter and I. M. van der Vlerk, L.G.M., Dl. IV, afl. 2, 1932, p. 94—122). The material from Trinidad is very rich in representatives of the Orbitoididae family. On a closer study of the different genera of this family, for which the large collection of Indian and European Orbitoididae in the National Geological Museum in Leiden provided ample material, we observed that for the determination of genus the interlocular canalsystem is the most important feature. In the Orbitoididae the plasma is conveyed through the equatorial plane by means of canals and stolons. The first complete description of this was given by H. J. Carter in the Annals of Nat. Hist., 3rd series, vol. VIII, p. 449—453. In this article he remarks that in Orbitoides there are always four stolons to each chamber, while in infiltrated specimens of Orbitolites (= Lepidocyclina) mantelli, he sometimes found ever 6. C. W. Gumbel, Abh. k. bayer. Ak. W., II, Cl, X, Bd. II, 1868, p. 673, pointed out that these stolons formed a system, which he calls an interlocular canalsystem in analogy to the "interseptal canalsystem" which runs through the septa of the chambers in most foraminifera, but which is absent in the Orbitoididae. To avoid confusion with this interseptal canalsystem which in the literature is called simply canalsystem, we thought it better to use the expression "stolonsystem" here. It now appears that this system differs in different groups of Orbitoididae. For the sake of brevity however we will here confine ourselves to the groups connected with the genera to be dealt with in this monograph.


Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common chronic systemic autoimmune disease worldwide. Although incurable, there are available therapies to effectively control the disease activity and minimize the joint damage. Numerous cytokines, enzymes and other forms of proteins have been implicated in the disease process of RA. In general, pharmacological therapies in RA target cytokine pathways. Despite a wide variety of disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD), a significant proportion of patients remain refractory to the available therapies. Hence, the search for newer drugs with different modes of actions is an ongoing process. The present review aimed to explore novel therapeutic targets in RA based on data from the literature. Inhibitors of spleen tyrosine kinase, choline kinase, galectin 3 and hypoxia-inducible factor may have a promising role in the


The nonsymbiotic N fixing azotobacter is an obligate aerobe living in the soil, the rhizosphere and the plant root. The ability of various strains to fix atmospheric N positively affect plant growth and yields. Microbial interactions with roots may involve either endophytic or free living microorganisms and can be symbiotic, assosiative or casual in nature. Associative and free living microorganisms may also contribute to the nutrition of plants through a variety of mechanisms including direct effects on nutrient awailability (N2-fixation), enhancement of root growth (PGPR – plant growth promoting rhizobacteria) as antagonists of root pathogenes or as saprophytes that decompose soil detritus and subsequently increase nutrient availability through mineralization and microbial turnover. Therefore, the abundance of azotobacter, fungi, actinomycetes and the total number of microorganisms in inoculated and non-inoculated sugar beet rhizosphere were determine in this study. Simultaneously we studied the effects of application of nitrogen fertilizer, manure and harvest residues. Samples of rhizosphere soil were taken three times in the course of growing season (May, July, September). The experiment included two variants (inoculated with Azotobacter chroococcum and non-inoculated) at four fertilization levels (non-fertilized control, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg N/ha), in five replication. Total number of microorganisms was determined in soil agar (dilution of 10). Fungi were determined on Chapek agar (dilution of 10), actinomycetes on a synthetic agar (dilution of 10) and azotobacters on Fiodor substrate (dilution of 10). The results of the study for all four fertilization types and all four levels of added N showed that azotobacter abundance was higher in inoculated treatments than in the non-inoculated ones. The highest increases of total microbial abundance and number of free N-fixing bacteria were recorded in the inoculated treatments with NPK fertilizer alone and in the inoculated treatments with 100 kg N/ha. The highest percentage increases of azotobacter were obtained in the inoculated treatments with manure and manure plus harvest residues, respectively and in the variant without N.


Formation of surface heterojunctions in photocatalysts through tailoring the exposed crystal facets is an efficient strategy to boost charge separation. In this work, successive surface heterojunctions with large space-charge separation were achieved in a nanostep structured La2Ti2O7 (LTO NSP) single crystal exposed periodically with (010) and (012) facets. The three-dimensional (3D) nanosteps were found to enhance the photocatalytic hydrogen generation performance 35 and 74 times, compared with LTO nanosheets and nanoparticles with the same surface area, respectively. The ultrahigh superficial charge accumulation in LTO NSP verified by surface photovoltage (SPV) measurements suggested the efficient migration of photogenerated charge carriers to the surface. Femtosecond time-resolved diffuse reflectance (TDR) spectroscopy provided direct evidence that the electrons generated from the excited sites of LTO NSP were effectively delivered to the high energy (012) facets and temporarily stored there for further reduction reactions, originating from the successive (010) and (012) surface heterojunctions.


Intercellular communication is a fundamental mechanism for maintaining cell homeostasis, facilitating the evolution of multicellular organisms. Classical modes of intercellular communication primarily focus on paracrine and endocrine signaling mechanisms or direct cellular exchange of cytoplasmic contents through gap-junctions. Recently, a novel mechanism of cellular communication was discovered that allows for direct transfer of intercellular contents through thin nanotubular projections forming continuous connections between cells. These structures, referred to as tunneling nanotubes (TNTs), have been found in a variety of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell types. TNTs mediate transfer of a diverse array of intercellular contents including organelles, proteins, and pathogens. Here we report, TNTs allow for intercellular communication between metastatic breast cancer cells and the endothelium, introducing a potentially novel mechanism for breast cancer progression. Human endothelial cells were allowed to undergo tubulogenesis in a 3D matrigel matrix. To the preformed endothelial vessels, metastatic breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells were added. The resulting phenotype was characterized using both fluorescent and electron microscopy. Interestingly, when added to the human endothelial cells, the metastatic breast cancer cells preferentially align and incorporate within the endothelial vessels, invading the tubular structures, instead of forming the expected mammary bodies. The physical proximity between the cell types facilitates the formation of TNTs that originate from the metastatic breast cancer cells to form continuous membrane connections with the endothelial vessels. To test for transfer of intercellular contents, the metastatic breast cancer cells were loaded with fluorescently labeled small molecules. Transfer of intercellular contents was quantified using both fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry. The TNTs were found to transfer a variety of intercellular contents from the metastatic cells to the endothelium including green fluorescent protein, CFSE, and quantum dots. Between 20-40% of the isolated endothelial cell population received transfer of intercellular contents from the metastatic cells. Communication via the TNTs occurred quickly, with the membrane structures forming 4-6hrs post seeding, and intercellular transfer beginning at 6hrs and peaking at approximately 16-20hrs. In conclusion, TNTs provide a novel mechanism for communication between the tumor compartment and the angiogenic component, introducing a new paradigm of cancer progression where tumor cells can directly manipulate the surrounding cell populations to facilitate cancer pathology. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4222. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4222


—This paper presents an economic framework for designing demand curves in Forward Capacity Market (FCM). Capacity demand curves have been recognized as a way to reduce the price volatility inherited from fixed capacity requirements. However, due to the lack of direct demand bidding in FCM, obtaining demand curves that appropriately reflect load's willingness to pay for reliability is challenging. The proposed framework measures the value of reliability by the Cost of Unserved Energy (CUE), i.e., Expected Unserved Energy (EUE) multiplied by Value of Lost Load (VOLL). The total cost of capacity and CUE are then minimized, allowing economic tradeoffs between different reliability levels. EUE, a multivariate function of the total system capacity and its distribution among capacity zones, is decomposed into single-variable functions, which form the base for system and zonal demand curves. VOLL is implied from the Net Cost of New Entry (Net-CONE) based on long-term market equilibrium properties. The proposed framework is applied to a multi-zone ISO New England system to demonstrate its effectiveness.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to create a generic and flexible framework for the exploration, evaluation and side-by-side comparison of novel propulsion architectures. The intent for these evaluations was to account for varying operation strategies and to support architectural design space decisions, at the conceptual design stages, rather than single-point design solutions.

Design/methodology/approach
To this end, main propulsion subsystems were categorized into energy, power and thrust sources. Two types of matrices, namely, the property and interdependency matrices, were created to describe the relationships and power flows among these sources. These matrices were used to define various electrified propulsion architectures, including, but not limited to, turboelectric, series-parallel and distributed electric propulsion configurations.

Findings
As a case study, the matrices were used to generate and operate the distributed electric propulsion architecture of NASA's X-57 Mod IV aircraft concept. The mission performance results were acceptably close to the data obtained from the literature. Finally, the matrices were used to simulate the changes in the operation strategy under two motor failure scenarios to demonstrate the ease of use, rapidness and automation.

Originality/value
It was seen that this new framework enables rapid and analysis-based comparisons among unconventional propulsion architectures where solutions are driven by requirements.


This paper presents a real-time stereo algorithm that estimates scene depth information with high accuracy. Our algorithm consists of two novel components. First, we apply a modified two-pass aggregation to the adaptive cost aggregation process, use color similarity to calculate support weight, and introduce a credibility estimation mechanism to reduce accuracy loss during two-pass aggregation. Second, we present an amended scan-line optimization technique, which combines winner-take-all and dynamic programming. Our algorithm runs at 20 fps on 320×240 video with a disparity search range of 24. The experimental results are evaluated on the Middlebury benchmark data sets, showing that our method achieves the best reconstruction accuracy among all real-time stereo algorithms.


Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are an attractive form of electromechanical transducer, possessing high energy densities, an efficient design, mechanical flexibility, high speed, and noiseless operation. They have been incorporated into a variety of elegant devices, such as microfluidic devices, tunable optics, haptic displays, and minimum-energy grippers. Dielectric elastomer minimum energy structures (DEMESs) take advantage of the prestretch of the DEA to bend a non-stretchable but flexible component to perform mechanical work. The gripper is perhaps the most intuitive type of DEMES, capable of grasping objects but with only small to moderate forces. We present a novel configuration of a DEA using electrodes made of a conductive shape-memory polymer (SMP), incorporated into the design of a gripper. The SMP electrodes allow the DEA to be rigid in the cold state, offering greater holding force than a conventional gripper. Joule heating applied to the SMP electrodes softens them, allowing for electrostatic actuation. Cooling then locks in the actuated position without the need for continued power to be supplied. Additionally, the Joule heating voltage is at least one order of magnitude less than electrostatic actuation voltages, allowing for addressing of multiple actuator elements using commercially available transistors. The shape memory gripper incorporates this addressing into its design, enabling the three segments of each finger to be controlled independently.


Background Teams traditionally train in specialty-specific silos, missing opportunities for learning crisis resource management skills based on team interactions. We introduced in-situ whole team training to address this. Debriefing teams brought specific challenges. There is scant literature on debriefing teams. We reviewed the literature and applied it to our practice. Methodology We ran twelve in-situ simulated trauma scenarios, the debrief involved the whole team. Significant deviations from standard debriefing were identified as we learned from each situation. Outcomes We changed our debriefing method based on our experiences. The traditional 'describe, analyse, apply' ('DAA') model did not fit in the short time allowed before the team returned to clinical duties. We facilitated discussions 'back-to-front' headlining a non-technical skill, such as communication and encouraged team self-debriefing centred on 'TEAM' and T-NOTECHS scales for trauma team working. This allowed discussions to focus on key behaviours in a short time-frame. Encouraging a flexible debriefing structure ensured all team members contributed to the discussion. Secondly, we found that structuring the debrief around two or three key issues, emerging from how the scenario played out, allowed us to draw in each component of the trauma team, whereas the 'DAA' approach had been driven by the leaders and did not encourage the followers to contribute. Thirdly, these debriefs created a series of action points which have been put into place to improve trauma team interaction and patient outcomes. Potential impact Adapting a debrief for an entire team is important in reducing the 'authority gradient' and has potential to translate into improved patient care. Turning a debrief round highlighting specific non-technical skills first allows whole team involvement and a focused debrief in a short time. In-situ team debriefing requires skill and flexibility different from traditional approaches used in our simulation suites. References Steinemann S, et al. In-situ, multidisciplinary, simulation-based teamwork training improves early trauma care. J Surg Educ 2011;68(6):472–7 Salas E, et al. Debriefing teams: 12 evidence-based practices and tips. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2008;34(9):518–27 Lyons R, et al. Enhancing the effectiveness of team debriefings in medical simulation: more best practice. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2015;41(3):115–25 Fanning RM, Gaba DM. The role of debriefing in simulation-based learning. Simul Healthc. 2007;2(2):115–25


The number of studies addressing the latent structure of specific screening and diagnostic tools for autism spectrum conditions is still limited. The current study explored the latent structure of the Bulgarian CAST (Childhood Autism Spectrum Test) in screening for autism in the Bulgarian population. The data were analysed using factor analyses. A hierarchical model with two primary factors yielded best data fit. This structure is consistent with the two main categories adopted in the DSM-5 and current accounts of the range of conditions broadly falling into two main clusters of symptoms. These results confirm the validity of CAST as a tool for screening for autism spectrum conditions in other cultures and support the construct validity of the model and criteria included in the DSM-5. Furthermore, our results demonstrate how factor analysis can be exploited to reveal the underlying structure of screening tools aimed at capturing the behavioural traits of deficit phenotypes.


This paper describes the design and implementation of Mobile Cobrowsing Service based on embedded Linux Mobile Cobrowsing supports the sharing of same web page among mobile users. For effective web page sharing among mobile users, Mobile Cobrowsing provides the synchronization of web page movement, synchronization of web page scroll, synchronization of annotation, and management of control authority. It also provides the voice chatting function among users. Mobile Cobrowsing is developed on MCC mobile terminal made by ETRI and we verify the Mobile Cobrowsing service using web page contents.


In this paper presents an accurate AFM used in liquid that is free from the Z-directional distortion of a servo actuator is described. Two correction methods are employed in this AFM. One is the external-monitoring method, and the other is the in situ self-calibration method. The external-monitoring method, is based on the fact that PZT actuators from the same class show similar hysteresis patterns. The same voltage signal used to control the servo actuator is applied to another PZT actuator which is termed the reference actuator. The displacement of the reference actuator is measured by a displacement sensor. As a result, the distortion of the AFM image can be corrected satisfactorily. In the in situ self-calibration method, the derivative of the calibration curve function of the PZT actuator is calculated from the profile measurement data sets which are obtained by repeating measurements after a small Z-directional shift. Input displacement at each sampling point is approximately estimated first by using a straight calibration line. The derivative is integrated with reference to the approximate input to obtain the approximate calibration curve. Then the approximation of the input value of each sampling point is improved using the obtained calibration curve. Next the integral of the derivative is improved using the newly estimated input values. As a result of repeating these improving process, the calibration curve converges to the correct one, and the distortion of the AFM image can be corrected. Principles and experimental results of the two methods are presented.


Content Based Video Retrieval (CBVR) has been increasingly used to describe the process of retrieving desired videos from a large collection on the basis of features that are extracted from the videos. The extracted features are used to index, classify and retrieve desired and relevant videos while filtering out undesired ones. Videos can be represented by their audio, texts, faces and objects in their frames. An individual video possesses unique motion features, color histograms, motion histograms, text features, audio features, features extracted from faces and objects existing in its frames. Videos containing useful information and occupying significant space in the databases are under-utilized unless CBVR systems capable of retrieving desired videos by sharply selecting relevant while filtering out undesired videos exist. Results have shown performance improvement (higher precision and recall values) when features suitable to particular types of videos are utilized wisely. Various combinations of these features can also be used to achieve desired performance. In this paper a complex and wide area of CBVR and CBVR systems has been presented in a comprehensive and simple way. Processes at different stages in CBVR systems are described in a systematic way. Types of features, their combinations and their utilization methods, techniques and algorithms are also shown. Various querying methods, some of the features like GLCM, Gabor Magnitude, algorithm to obtain similarity like Kullback-Leibler distance method and Relevance Feedback Method are


In the perspective of the forthcoming English translation of K.H. Miskotte's Biblical ABC's and therewith its foreseeable renewed appropriation, some aspects of this classical document in the Dutch history of theology deserve reconsideration. These aspects are successively: 1. Its genesis in a course for leaders of biblical reading groups in neighbourhoods all over the city of Amsterdam (1941), of which Miskotte himself afterwards didn't have a correct recollection; 2. Its background both in the method of the discovery of the Leitwortstil (M. Buber) or the Formgeheimnis of Biblical narratives (F. Rosenzweig) and in the, at least in Miskotte's perception, 'Israelitish' tendency of K. Barth's doctrine of the divine perfections (1940); 3. Its earliest reception, in which J. Koopmans remarkably noticed, that 'now' (i.e. under the German occupation of the Netherlands) 'we don't have a Church anymore, apart from the form, in which she can be found in the Bible'; 4. Some characteristics of its post-war edition of 1966, revised by Miskotte himself, added utterances on new frontiers (e.g. questioning all authority, the 'death of God'). With such a multi-layered text as its result, one can understand why the English translators return to the more unequivocal edition of 1941.


The study was conducted to analyse four Organophosphorus (OP) pesticide namely Chlorpyrifos, Diazinon, Fenitrothion and Quinalphos residues in cabbage. Fifty samples were collected from five different local markets of Dhaka city namely Rampura, Kawran Bazar, Taltola Bazar, Jatrabari and Mohammadpur Krishi Market during September 2016 to March 2017. The collected samples were extracted using Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) extraction technique and analyzed by Gas Chromatography (GC) coupled with Flame Thermionized Detector (FTD) and Electron Capture Detector (ECD).  Total 6 samples (12%) contained pesticide residues and interestingly all of them 8 were above the maximum residue limits (MRLs) set by European Commission (EC). Among the four organophosphorus insecticide tested only Chlopyrifos and Diazinon were detected above the MRLs. This study reflects a snapshot scenario of pesticide contamination in one of the common winter vegetable available in the local markets of Dhaka city, which is related to the consumer safety.


Background There is a lack of good-quality instruments measuring stigma experienced by family members of stigmatised people. Aims To develop a self-report measure of stigma among families of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and examine associations between family stigma and other variables. Method The new Family Stigma Instrument (FAMSI) was tested with 407 family carers, 53% of whose offspring had an autism spectrum disorder in addition to intellectual disability. They also completed measures of subjective well-being, caregiver burden, self-esteem and social support. Results The FAMSI yielded a five-factor structure and had good reliability. Perceived family stigma, caregiver burden and subjective well-being were the strongest predictors of family stigma. Conclusions This instrument can advance our understanding of the impact of stigma on family members. It can also help us understand sociodemographic, psychosocial and contextual variables of both the carer and cared for person that may influence family members' experiences. Declaration of interest None.


Correlated product state distributions have been measured for the photodissociation of several weakly bound binary complexes. In addition, large electric fields are used to orient the parent molecules prior to photolysis. Although the experimental final state distributions are overall highly non-statistical, the results indicate that a subset of the available phase space may be sampled statistically. We consider a number of different systems, classifying their behaviour in terms of which degrees of freedom are strongly coupled, and result in statistical distributions in the corresponding fragment modes, and which are decoupled from this statistical part of the phase space.


In the Shiquanhe area of far‐western Tibet, mid‐Cretaceous strata lie unconformable on ophiolitic melange and Jurassic flysch associated with the Bangong‐Nujiang suture zone. On the basis of our mapping and geochronologic studies, we suggest that these Cretaceous strata were shortened by >57% over a north south distance of 50 km during Late Cretaceous‐early Tertiary time. The Late Cretaceous Narangjiapo thrust placed Permian strata >20 km over ophiolitic melange and Cretaceous strata. North of the Narangjiapo thrust, >40 km of shortening was accommodated by the Late Cretaceous‐early Tertiary south directed Jaggang thrust system that involves Jurassic flysch and Cretaceous strata, and roots into a decollement within ophiolitic melange. The most recent shortening was accommodated to the south of the Narangjiapo thrust, along the north dipping Shiquanhe thrust. The Shiquanhe thrust cuts flat‐lying 22.6 ± 0.3 Ma volcanic rocks and underlying folded, Tertiary nonmarine strata in its footwall and was likely active during slip along the Oligocene Gangdese thrust system of southern Tibet. Ophiolitic melange and structurally overlying Jurassic flysch near Shiquanhe are interpreted to represent remnants of a subduction‐accretion complex and forearc basin, respectively, that were obducted southward onto the margin of the Lhasa terrane during Late Jurassic‐Early Cretaceous closure of the Bangong‐Nujiang Ocean. Subsequent imbrication of the obducted sheet could have produced the two east‐west trending belts of ophiolitic melanges, separated by ∼100 km, in western Tibet. Late Cretaceous‐early Tertiary thin‐skinned shortening may have been accommodated in the deeper crust by northward underthrusting and duplexing of Lhasa terrane rocks beneath the obducted ophiolitic melange and the Qiangtang terrane to the north.


Eliminating background-scattering effects from the detected signal is crucial in improving the performance of super-high-resolution apertureless scanning near-field optical microscopy (A-SNOM). Using a simple mathematical model of the A-SNOM detected signal, this study explores the respective effects of the phase modulation depth, the wavelength and angle of the incident light, and the amplitude of the tip vibration on the signal contrast and signal intensity. In general, the results show that the background-noise decays as the order of the Bessel function increases and that higher-order harmonic frequencies yield an improved signal contrast. Additionally, it is found that incident light with a longer wavelength improves the signal contrast for a constant order of modulation frequency. The signal contrast can also be improved by reducing the incident angle of the incident light. Finally, it is demonstrated that sample stage scanning yields an improved imaging result. However, tip scanning provides a reasonable low-cost and faster solution in the smaller scan area. The analytical results presented in this study enable a better understanding of the complex detected signal in A-SNOM and provide insights into methods of improving the signal contrast of the A-SNOM measurement.


Some patients with intracranial hypertension may have nonrelated Chiari I malformations that are not responsive to surgical decompression. These authors set out to identify a subset of patients with IH who had tonsillar ectopia. They found that 21% of their patients with IH had cerebellar tonsillar ectopia that was often peglike and simulated true Chiari I malformations. An ancillary helpful finding was that in patients with IH and tonsillar ectopia the fourth ventricular obex was lower than in controls, implying that all posterior fossa structures are inferiorly displaced in this group of patients. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: IIH is a syndrome of elevated intracranial pressure without hydrocephalus, mass, or identifiable cause. Diagnosis is made by clinical presentation, intracranial pressure measurement, and supportive imaging findings. A subset of patients with IIH may have tonsillar ectopia, meeting the criteria for Chiari malformation type I but not responding to surgical decompression for Chiari I. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and morphology of cerebellar tonsillar ectopia in patients with IIH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-three patients with clinically confirmed IIH and 44 age-matched controls were included. Two neuroradiologists with CAQs reviewed sagittal T1-weighted MRI in a blinded fashion and measured cerebellar tonsil and obex positions relative to the foramen magnum and prepontine cistern width at the level of the midpons. RESULTS: Nine of 43 patients with IIH and 1/44 controls had cerebellar tonsillar ectopia of ≥5 mm. Five of 9 of patients with IIH with ectopia of ≥5 mm also had a "peglike" tonsil configuration. Patients with IIH had a significantly lower tonsillar position (2.1 ± 2.8 mm) than age-matched controls (0.7 ±1.9 mm, P < .05). The obex position was significantly lower in patients with IIH versus controls (−7.9 mm [above the FM] versus −9.4 mm [above the FM], P < .05). The prepontine width was not significantly different between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Cerebellar tonsil position in patients with IIH was significantly lower than that in age-matched controls, often times peglike, mimicking Chiari I. A significantly lower obex position suggests an inferiorly displaced brain stem and cerebellum. When tonsillar ectopia of >5 mm is identified, imaging and clinical consideration of IIH are warranted to avoid misdiagnosis as Chiari I.


This paper presents an optimal design and its realization of poly-phase induction motor using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The optimization algorithm considers the efficiency, starting torque and temperature rise as objective function (which are considered separately) and nine performance related items as constraints. The PSO algorithm was implemented on a test motor and the results are compared with the Simulated Annealing (SA) technique and normal design. From the test results PSO gave better results and more suitable to motor's design optimization. Optimized variables are realized by PC-IMD (Induction Motor Drives) of SPEED (Scottish Power Electronics and Electric Drives) software. C++ code is used for implementing entire algorithms.


This paper hopes that architects designing social housing for people originally living in informal settlements consider the importance of social practices, namely work activities, held by residents within the established informal settlements. Both the analysis and reflection hinge upon the practices previously established by a group of resettled inhabitants from the Favela Sururu de Capote, that exists in Maceio (Brazil) since the 1970's, to Vila Sao Pedro, a housing project developed by Brazilian Government in 2009. In fact, the research shows that labor, the social practice that most of all shapes and governs spaces in the favela (Cavalcanti, 2017), also drove the modifications that significantly altered the original shape of the social housing designed according to principles of formal architecture.
The ethnographic research was developed according to participant observation through a multi-year field research started in 2008, before the resettlement of residents and continued after one and seven years from relocation. Information consisted of interviews, audio records of residents' monologues, drawings, photos and video. In sum, the socio-economic traditions of residents were analysed before and after the resettlement process, both in the favela and in the social housing. Already little time after relocation, the social housing was profoundly modified and 'mischaracterized' by residents. Thus, the original project failed its mission, as it happened twenty years before in a similar attempt, in a project designed by the housing program PROMORAR, in 1989. From the analysis, it emerges that the herein emplaced working activities mostly drove residents to profoundly change the social housing designated to them according to traditional design and management schemes. According to this research, nearly 87% of the incremental changes in external spaces and ground level of the 380 housing units of the Vila Sao Pedro were devoted to give room to labor activities. The elaborated information constitutes the roots of an intellectual reflection about the in-depth reasons of this phenomenon. In fact, all the observed modifications are emplaced to preserve the source of income of residents of favelas, needed for the inhabitant to pay their bills and therefore to guarantee their permanence in the new housing units. Thus, these necessities overcome any aesthetic rigor, hygienic standards, canons, program, formal/legal constrains that are inherent the designing criteria of formal housing. This impellent necessity of unprivileged groups of society should question the role of architects within the delicate mission of providing dwelling solutions to informal settlements. But the consequences arising from this reflection invest many sectors, from institutions to academia. In fact, in the context of informal settlements, the right to have spaces to work is embedded in the right to have a housing unit. Possible strategies to rethink policies, knowledge on incremental processes, urbanization, design strategies, and the right to dwelling in a neoliberal society to consider the socio-economic tradition of labor within both the context of the architecture in informal settlements or, the resettlement process of its inhabitants, are presented in this paper.


Carriers of Staphylococcus aureus have an important role in its dissemination. The colonization rates of S. aureus in anterior nose nares from 210 healthy volunteers (70 from the non-hospital adult personnel in the community, 68 from clinical students and 72 from healthcare workers "HCWs" in 6 hospitals) in the eastern region, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia were determined. The percentage of nasal carriers of S. aureus in the community was 37%, whereas it was 26% in both clinical students and HCWs groups. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) colonization was 9% and it was only isolated from clinical students and HCWs. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed that 90.5% of the 63 strains isolated from all volunteers were ampicillin resistant. Three multi-resistant strains to three antibiotics or more were identified; two from HCWs (one of them is MRSA), one from clinical students and none from the community group. No resistance was detected to linezolid and vancomycin in all isolates. Coagulase negative staphylococci carriage was 87% in all our volunteers and was highest in the HCWs (93%). In conclusion, the study shows the need for a periodic screening of both the community and hospital personnel to adopt strategies for treating S. aureus carriers; specifically MRSA carriers; hence overcome acquiring S. aureus infections.


The topic of this study is one specific area where the tension between instrumental rationality and value rationality becomes prominent: the question whether we have a rational responsibility for nature or not. Such a responsibility cannot be derived from instrumental reason, but it is argued that it can be derived from discourse ethics and communicative rationality.The study begins with an examination of Georg-Henrik von Wright's cultural criticism. It is argued that his subjectivist view of values limits reason to the realm of instrumental rationality.Horkheimer and Adorno's theory of instrumental reason is examined. They claim that instrumental reason, through the negative dialectics of the enlightenment, have created a vacuum with regard to values.Marcuse's anthropological solution to the problem of values, and his theory of an emancipatory science and technology, are examined and rejected as Utopian.The philosophy of Jurgen Habermas is examined, and it is shown how he solves the problem of his predecessors through the dual framework of work and interaction. His hypothesis of three knowledge- constitutive interests is analyzed, and it is concluded that a general theory of communication is needed in order to solve the problem of value rationality.It is shown how Habermas later theory of communicative rationality and discourse ethics overcomes the shortcomings of his earlier theory. It is argued, among other things, that his theory of communicative rationality is compatible with a correspondence theory of truth, ontological realism and epistemological fallibilism.Discourse ethics makes a rational discussion of values and norms possible. It is argued that it solves the problem of value rationality, but without providing a definition of the good or the right. It is shown that revisabilty is an important part of discourse ethics. This is manifested in the hypothetical status of discourse ethics, and in the revisability of the norms proposed.It is argued that we are in fact able to rationally propose a norm, which demands responsibility for nature within the framework of communicative rationality and discourse ethics, although such a norm must be the result of the outcome of a rational discourse and is itself, revisable.


Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to compare the frequency of implant failure and the extent of pelvic canal narrowing associated with the fixation of ilial fractures in cats with a single veterinary cuttable plate (SLP) or double veterinary cuttable plates (DLP) applied to the lateral surface of the ilium. Study Design Radiographic evaluation of feline ilial fractures plated laterally using SLP or DLP. Pelvic canal narrowing directly postoperatively and at 6 weeks follow-up was objectively measured using the sacral index (SI). Radiographs were evaluated for implant failure and fracture healing. Results Seventy-seven cats satisfied the inclusion criteria. Twenty-nine fractures were treated with a SLP and 48 with DLP. Implant failure occurred significantly more (p = 0.001) in the SLP group (14/29) compared with the DLP group (6/48). Follow-up SI was significantly different between the two groups (p = 0.048, SLP median: 1.0 range: 0.83–2.4, DLP median: 0.98; range: 0.76–1.45). Median change in SI was −0.04 (range: −1.4 to 0.05) in the SLP group and 0.0 (range: −0.23 to 0.23) in the DLP group. This difference was significantly different (p = 0.031). Conclusion DLP leads to significantly less implant failure and significantly less pelvic canal narrowing compared with SLP. This difference in pelvic canal narrowing was small and the clinical relevance remains unclear.


Different solvent fractions of ethanolic extract of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta were evaluated against standard bacteria and clinical isolates. The solvent partitioning protocol involving ethanol, petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and water, was used to extract various fractions of dried pulverized Cryptolepis sanguinolenta roots. Qualitative phyto-constituents screening was performed on the ethanol extract, chloroform fraction and the water fraction. The disk diffusion method was employed to ascertain the antibiogram of the test organisms while the agar diffusion method was used to investigate the antimicrobial properties of the crude plant extracts. The microplate dilution method aided in finding the MICs while the MBCs were obtained by the method of Nester and friends. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, reducing sugars, polyuronides, anthocyanosides and triterpenes. The ethanol extract inhibited 5 out of 8 (62.5%) of the standard organisms and 6 out of 8 (75%) clinical isolates. The petroleum ether fraction inhibited 4 out of 8 (50%) of the standard microbes and 1 out of 8 (12.5%) clinical isolates. It was also observed that the chloroform fraction inhibited the growth of all the organisms (100%). Average inhibition zones of 14.0 ± 1.0 mm to 24.67 ± 0.58 mm was seen in the ethyl acetate fraction which halted the growth of 3 (37.5%) of the standard organisms. Inhibition of 7 (87.5%) of standard strains and 6 (75%) of clinical isolates were observed in the water fraction. The chloroform fraction exhibited bactericidal activity against all the test organisms while the remaining fractions showed varying degrees of bacteriostatic activity. The study confirmed that fractions of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta have antimicrobial activity. The chloroform fraction had the highest activity, followed by water, ethanol, petroleum ether and ethyl acetate respectively. Only the chloroform fraction exhibited bactericidal activity and further investigations are needed to ascertain its safety and prospects of drug development.


We present a passive computer vision method that exploits existing mapping and navigation databases in order to automatically create 3D building models. Our method defines a grammar for representing changes in building geometry that approximately follow the Manhattan-world assumption which states there is a predominance of three mutually orthogonal directions in the scene. By using multiple calibrated aerial images, we extend previous Manhattan-world methods to robustly produce a single, coherent, complete geometric model of a building with partial textures. Our method uses an optimization to discover a 3D building geometry that produces the same set of façade orientation changes observed in the captured images. We have applied our method to several real-world buildings and have analyzed our approach using synthetic buildings.


Hemoglobin (Hb) is not solely a passive oxygen transporter but an active molecule with multiple homeostatic and also disease mediating activities. These activities become most apparent when red blood cells (RBC) burst and Hb is released into the circulation. More intensively investigated examples of the non-O2 ligand binding and enzymatic functions of Hb are the avid interaction with nitric oxide (NO) which results in reduced bioavailabilty of this central vasodilator or Hb's reaction with physiologic oxidants resulting in the generation of oxygen free radicals and accumulation of toxic heme-, protein- and lipid-peroxidation products. Clinical situations likely related to these non-oxygen binding adverse activities of Hb involve vascular complications of hemolytic anemias (i.e. the acute chest syndrome, stroke and pulmonary arterial hypertension in sickle cell disease or related hemolytic anemias). More recently, the evolution of cerebral malaria - one of the most severe complications of plasmodium infection - was causally linked to intravascular free Hb release and heme toxicity.

A unique situation faced to unresolved issues of Hb toxicity involves the administration of artificial oxygen carriers (HBOCs). The rational for HBOCs is found in the unparalleled oxygen transport properties of chemically modified Hb molecules and if once established as save and effective therapeutics HBOCs will serve an unmet need for an oxygen transport agent with immediate and unrestricted availability. Primary fields of potential applications of these therapeutics are severe bleeding when allogenic RBC transfusion is not available or the supplementation of tissue oxygenation during local ischemia (i.e. stroke, myocardial infarction, critical limb ischemia). The current generation of HBOCs is based on the concept that chemical modification of Hb can optimize circulating half live while maintaining the unique O2-binding and transport properties of Hb. Some of these therapeutics have been intensively investigated in large clinical trials. However, although some products might be fairly effective in terms of oxygen transport, overt toxicity directly related to the physiologic adverse effects of cell free Hb preclude their further clinical application. Therefore, reliable strategies to alleviate Hb associated toxicities are needed to revitalize this economically promising field of transfusion medicine.

Physiologic Hb scavenger and detoxification pathways have evolved to clear and detoxifying cell free Hb within the circulation and in Hb exposed tissues. However, it only recently became apparent that these endogenous mechanisms are also highly effective in countering exactly those side effects of free Hb which are also responsible for the complications of hemolysis, cerebral malaria and the failure of current generation HBOCs. It seems thus to be a logic and reasonable approach to explore supplementation of the endogenous Hb scavenger pathways as a novel and global strategy to resolve Hb toxicity in hemolytic diseases and to implement these pathways into a new paradigm for the design of oxygen therapeutics.


We evaluate the performance of a combined feedforward/feedback control architecture applied to the raster scan of a piezo-based positioning system. Proper design of feedforward filters for minimum and nonminimum-phase plants is discussed. Further, empirical work suggests that a nontraditional variation upon the feedforward plant-injection architecture allows our system to track a raster pattern at a greater performance level than previously achieved in our research. This variation is manifested as additional delay inserted in the feedforward control system rather than a unity-gain filter constructed from plant parameters. An online adaptive technique is used to determine the required amount of additional delay. The key benefit of the algorithm is an adaptation calculation that does not require knowledge of plant parameters. This method can be applied to piezo-based positioning systems including atomic force microscopes, other scanning probe microscopes, probe-based data storage systems or other systems in which raster tracking is a critical control objective.


The spin-coupled (SC) theory of molecular electronic structure is introduced as the modern development of classical valence bond (VB) theory. Various important aspects of the SC wave function are described. Attention is particularly focused on the construction and properties of different sets of N-electron spin function in different spin bases, such as the Kotani, Rumer and Serber. Applications of the SC description to a range of different kinds of chemical problems are presented, beginning with simple examples: the H2 and CH4 molecules. This is followed by the description offered by the SC wave function of more complex situations such as the insertion reaction of H2 into CH2(1A1), the phenomenon of hypervalence as displayed by molecules such as diazomethane, CH2N2, SF6 and XeF2. The SC description of the ground and excited states of benzene is briefly surveyed. This is followed by the SC description of antiaromatic systems such as C4H4 and related molecules.


Some iconic symbols representing numbers are more animated, picturesque,
and impressive. Here we describe a kind of new numeral symbols from one
to septillion. These symbols are regular and simple. Meanwhile it is
easy to write and remember these number symbols. They are composed of 27
basic components. After these basic components are regularly combined,
simple and effective numeral symbols from one to septillion can be
generated. They might be used in games, movies, animations, and even in
other arts.


Planck found, when attempting to describe the way in which hot bodies glow, that energy at microscopic scales often comes in discrete chunks. Thus began the long and intimate relationship between the field of thermodynamics, which explores our ability to manipulate heat and other energy transfers between macroscopic systems, and quantum mechanics, which explains the dynamics of individual microscopic systems. Even as both our technology and our theoretical investigations have extended to ever-smaller devices, our understanding of quantum effects on thermodynamics has remained almost exclusively limited to the quantized nature of energy. There is much more, however, to quantum theory than energy quantization. In this thesis we focus on the property of quantum coherence, the ability of quantum systems to emulate Schrödingers cat and somehow be neither dead nor alive, but something completely different altogether. We provide a simple and elegant formulation for the processing of coherence in thermodynamics, relying on the fact that thermodynamical processes possess an underlying time-translation symmetry. This fact allows us to quantify the ways in which coherence can play an active role, facilitating otherwise impossible thermodynamic transformations. We argue that coherence should be thought of as a distinctly quantum-mechanical thermodynamic resource. By considering an isolated quantum system connected, for some period of time, to a thermal bath, we give fundamental limitations on how coherence can be irreversibly manipulated. These limitations are related to those dictated on energy transfer by the second law of thermodynamics. Others topics that are investigated here is what is the role of correlations at the smallest scales and the conversion of quantum coherence into work. It has long been appreciated that thermodynamics is subtly interlinked with the notion of information. This work provides evidence that, to apply the laws of thermodynamics to the smallest systems around us, we must develop deeper insights into the nature of quantum information.


The TGF-β signaling pathways are not as insulated from each other as was once thought. The TGF-β–PI3K connection TGF-β signaling stimulates various intracellular pathways that can promote migration in tumor cells. These pathways are generally thought to be either dependent or independent of transcription factors called SMADs. One of the SMAD-independent pathways (PI3K-AKT) is mediated by a direct interaction between PI3K and the TGF-β type I receptor. However, Hamidi et al. found that the TGF-β–induced activation of PI3K depends on another ubiquitin ligase–mediated mechanism and a SMAD protein but is independent of the kinase function of TβRI. The binding of TGF-β to its receptor triggered the recruitment of PI3K and the ubiquitin ligase TRAF6, which polyubiquitylated the regulatory PI3K subunit p85α, thus enabling phosphorylation of the catalytic PI3K subunit p110, but only in the presence of SMAD7. The abundance of ubiquitylated p85α correlated with migration in cultured cells and prostate tumor grade in patient samples. TRAF6 mediates activation of the other "SMAD-independent" (JNK) pathway. These data suggest that, although distinct, the TGF-β signaling pathways are not as insulated from each other as was once thought. Transforming growth factor–β (TGF-β) is a pluripotent cytokine that regulates cell fate and plasticity in normal tissues and tumors. The multifunctional cellular responses evoked by TGF-β are mediated by the canonical SMAD pathway and by noncanonical pathways, including mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways and the phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase (PI3K)–protein kinase B (AKT) pathway. We found that TGF-β activated PI3K in a manner dependent on the activity of the E3 ubiquitin ligase tumor necrosis factor receptor–associated factor 6 (TRAF6). TRAF6 polyubiquitylated the PI3K regulatory subunit p85α and promoted the formation of a complex between the TGF-β type I receptor (TβRI) and p85α, which led to the activation of PI3K and AKT. Lys63-linked polyubiquitylation of p85α on Lys513 and Lys519 in the iSH2 (inter–Src homology 2) domain was required for TGF-β–induced activation of PI3K-AKT signaling and cell motility in prostate cancer cells and activated macrophages. Unlike the activation of SMAD pathways, the TRAF6-mediated activation of PI3K and AKT was not dependent on the kinase activity of TβRI. In situ proximity ligation assays revealed that polyubiquitylation of p85α was evident in aggressive prostate cancer tissues. Thus, our data reveal a molecular mechanism by which TGF-β activates the PI3K-AKT pathway to drive cell migration.


Fully dense ZrO2-TiN composites containing 1.75-2 mol %Y2O3, 1 mol% Y2O3 and 1 mol% Nd2O3 stabilizers, small amounts of Al2O3, and electrical conductive TiN particles (40-70 vol%) have been produced by hot pressing and spark plasma sintering at 1550°C. Although the intrinsic hardness of TiN (1400 kg/mm²) is higher than that of t-ZrO2 (1200 kg/mm²), the decreasing hardness trend can be attributed to the larger TiN grain size with the higher TiN content. Since TiN is more brittle, the fracture toughness decreases with increasing TiN content. Transformation toughening has been attributed as the main toughening mechanism as a result of fracture toughness decreasing with the transformability. Spark Plasma sintering temperature was too high for mechanical properties and hydrothermal stability of the mixed stabilized composites. The transformability decreases so hydrothermal stability increases linearly with increasing TiN content as a result of smaller volume fraction of t-ZrO2 grains becoming susceptible to hydrothermal transformation due to the shielding effect of the present TiN grains.


This paper studies urban growth in Korean cities. First, I document that population growth patterns change over time and that the current population distribution supports random urban growth. I confirm two empirical laws—Zipf's law and Gibrat's law—both of which hold in the period of 1995-2015, but do not hold in the earlier period of 1975-1995. Second, I find a systematic employment growth pattern of Korean cities in spite of the random population growth. I examine market access effects on employment growth. Market access, a geographical advantage, has a significant influence on urban employment growth. The market access effect is higher in the Seoul metropolitan area than in the rest of the country. This effect is stronger on employment growth in the manufacturing industry compared to employment growth in the service industry. These results are robust with various checks (e.g., different definitions of urban areas). The results here suggest that policymakers should consider geographical characteristics when they make policy decisions with respect to regional development.


Majority and minority carrier properties such as type, density and mobility represent fundamental yet difficult to access parameters governing semiconductor device performance, most notably solar cells. Obtaining this information simultaneously under light illumination would unlock many critical parameters such as recombination lifetime, recombination coefficient, and diffusion length; while deeply interesting for optoelectronic devices, this goal has remained elusive. We demonstrate here a new carrier-resolved photo-Hall technique that rests on a new equation relating hole-electron mobility difference ($\Delta\mu$), Hall coefficient ($H$), and conductivity ($\sigma$), and a rotating parallel dipole line ac-field Hall system with Fourier/lock-in detection for clean Hall signal measurement [1]. We successfully apply this technique to recent world-record-quality perovskite film and map the results against varying light intensities, demonstrating unprecedented simultaneous access to the above-mentioned parameters.


SUMMARY Aims - This study aimed to explore psychiatric patients' experiences of involuntary admission and treatment by reviewing qualitative studies. Method - Qualitative studies investigating patients' experiences of involuntary treatment were identified. Relevant databases were searched and authors were contacted. Thematic analysis was applied for the synthesis of emerging issues. Results - Five studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The main areas that appear to be of importance are: patients' perceived autonomy and participation in decisions for themselves, their feeling of whether or not they are being cared for and their sense of identity. In these areas both negative and positive consequences from involuntary admission were mentioned. However, methodological weaknesses were also found, such as small sample sizes. Furthermore, it is not described whether these themes are mentioned by all participants as negative and positive aspects of their experience or whether they reflect views supported by distinct groups. Conclusions - Although the perceived impact of involuntary treatment is fairly clearly described, differences between distinct patient groups are not examined. Future research should investigate such differences in order to inform relevant policy decisions for particular groups. Declaration of Interest: None.


Recently, several metallic materials with ultrafine-grained structures and characterized by high strength and toughness have been developed. When these ultrafine-grained materials are practically used, welding and joining processes are required. However, conventional fusion welding processes result in deterioration of the good mechanical properties of these ultrafine-grained materials due to the drastic grain growth of the ultrafine grains. On the other hand, friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process having lower heat-input than fusion welding processes, enabling formation of a fine grain structure in the stir zone. Thus, this process would effectively alleviate deterioration of mechanical properties of the ultrafine-grained materials. The authors applied FSW to ultrafine-grained Al alloys and then examined the microstructural features associated with hardness in the friction stir welds. The present paper reviews microstructural evolution of ultrafine-grained Al alloys, produced by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) and accumulative roll-bonding (ARB), during FSW.


Recent studies have revealed participation of chemokines in cancer by regulating leukocyte movement to modify local immunoresponse. The chemokine CCL21 has been identified to play a pivotal role in homing and localization of immune cells to lymphoid tissue and into organ of non-lymphoid origin. In the cancer biology CCL21 seems to have multifaceted roles. CCL21 attracts CCR7 bearing cells especially T and dendritic cells but also various cancer cells. Besides the antitumour role as leukocyte recruiting, CCL21 has been shown to facilitate dendritic cell functions and to exert an angiostatic effect. To gain insight into the possible influence of CCL21 on colorectal cancer (CRC) we determined whether the CCL21 is altered in CRC tissue. Collectively, by using ELISA we noted a significant lower CCL21 level in cancer tissue compared with paired normal tissue. Patients with a tumour localized in the rectum revealed significantly lower level of CCL21 than patients with a tumour localized in the colon both compared with paired normal tissue. We used immunohistochemistry and found heterogeneous immunoreactivity predominantly within areas of stromal cells mainly in macrophages. We also used a TaqMan system to investigate two single-nucleotide polymorphisms rs 11574915 and rs 2812377 with supposed effect on CRC. No significant difference was observed between CRC and control subjects regarding genotype and allelic distributions or associations to clinical characteristics or CCL21 tissue levels. Our study implied that lower level of CCL21 in CRC tissue supports the idea that cancer is related to immunodeficiency probably depending on regulatory factors produced by tumour cells and that the different levels of CCL21 in rectum and colon may reflect divergent mechanisms in colorectal carcinogenesis. Further studies are needed to clarify whether the CCL21 level has an impact on CRC progression and survival rate.


The gate rotor was a main part of the single screw compressor. In order to study the vibration characteristics of the gate rotor, wavelet finite element was used to have vibration analysis for it. The Daubechies wavelet plate element was used for meshing depending on transverse deforming theory. The Daubechies wavelet plate element was established by using Daubechies wavelet as shape function, and the finite elment formulation was deduced finally. The top six natural frequencies and mode shapes of the gate rotor were acquired. The results were close to that calculated by ANSYS software. And the correctness of wavelet finite element method was verified. Through calculating the vibration properties of the gate rotor offered the theory instruction for designing and using it.


We investigate price duration variance estimators that have long been neglected in the literature. In particular, we consider simple-to-construct non-parametric duration estimators, and parametric price duration estimators using autoregressive conditional duration specifications. This paper shows (i) how price duration estimators can be used for the estimation and forecasting of the integrated variance of an underlying semi-martingale price process and (ii) how they are affected by discrete and irregular spacing of observations, market microstructure noise, and finite price jumps. Specifically, we contribute to the literature by constructing the asymptotic theory for the non-parametric estimator with and without the presence of bid/ask spread and time discreteness. Further, we provide guidance about how our estimators can best be implemented in practice by appropriately selecting a threshold parameter that defines a price duration event, or by averaging over a range of non-parametric duration estimators. We also provide simulation and forecasting evidence that price duration estimators can extract relevant information from high-frequency data better and produce more accurate forecasts than competing realized volatility and option-implied variance estimators, when considered in isolation or as part of a forecasting combination setting.


Joint power-subcarrier-time resource allocation is imperative for wireless mesh networks due to the necessity of packet scheduling for quality-of-service (QoS) provisioning, multi-channel communications, and opportunistic power allocation. In this work, we propose an efficient intra-cluster packet-level resource allocation approach. Our approach takes power allocation, subcarrier allocation, packet scheduling, and QoS support into account. The proposed approach combines the merits of a Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT)-driven approach and a genetic algorithm (GA)-based approach. It is shown to achieve a desired balance between time complexity and system performance. Bounds for the throughputs obtained by real-time and non-real-time traffic are also derived analytically.


Biopolymeric films have to appear as a viable technological alternative for two different strands, in order to replace the polymers of the petrochemical industry and to meet the growing world demand for fresh and healthy food, so the packaging is post-harvest technological solutions capable of reducing metabolic activity and preserve nutrients for long periods of storage. Biopolymeric films of cassava starch 2% were obtained; beeswax (BW) was added as a hydrophobic agent in the polymeric network at different concentrations relative to the dry biopolymer base (0%, 5%, and 10%). The contact angle of the systems containing beeswax indicated the hydrophobic behavior of the films, corroborating with the analysis of the Water Vapor Permeability (WVP) when it showed the behavior change between the films with and without BW for the shelf- life in fruits. The thermogravimetric analysis also evidenced that the addition of BW produced changes in the thermal decomposition behavior of the starch.


This article analyzes a dilemma faced by a young religious teacher in the Indonesian province of Aceh—namely, whether to continue teaching in an Islamic boarding school or to find more lucrative work elsewhere so that he can pursue a spouse. It argues that the way this teacher poses this dilemma as a choice between two mutually exclusive ethical goods makes visible an Islamic everyday constituted by different kinds and degrees of reflective awareness. This Islamic everyday brings different models of Islamic time to bear upon the details of a life in ways that frame multiple, and sometimes competing, accounts of self. In so doing, it challenges a distinction between Islam and the everyday that has been central in the anthropology of Islam.