Derrida always stressed the importance of his engagement with Heidegger and often returned throughout his life to different aspects of Heidegger's thought. With the recent publication of his 1964-65 course, Heidegger: The Question of Being and History greater insight is now possible into the exact terms of Derrida's early engagement with Heidegger and the significance he would accord it in the major works of 1967 and beyond. With the reception of this text just beginning, many lines of interpretation are being unfolded. However, one aspect not yet addressed in this early reception which will be crucial for approaching and orienting this work is the theme of auto-affection. The concept of auto-affection is important for assessing Derrida's Heidegger course for two reasons. Firstly, Derrida understands auto-affection to be Heidegger's most radical figuration of temporality in the period of Being and Time. Secondly, tracing Derrida's early focus on auto-affection in Heidegger can provide an important context for understanding the initial development of what would become a prominent theme in Derrida's own work. My argument in this paper is structured in three sections. In the first, I give a brief introduction to Derrida's course. I then present the theme of auto-affection in this course and demonstrate its central importance. In conclusion, I show how Derrida's treatment of this theme in the context of his early Heidegger engagement can be seen to look forward to his employment of auto-affection in Speech and Phenomena.


This thesis deals with a new solution for the problem of eigenstructure assignment in control systems design. A wide range of challenging issues is examined involving the problem of eigenstructure assignment and associated system properties through different forms of complexity which are strongly related to control system design. In this thesis, specific attention has been given to the issue of skewness of the closedloop eigenframe of the state matrix. In fact, the aim is to develop a new methodology for determining the best angle between closed-loop eigenvectors by optimising the minimal condition number of the closed-loop eigenvector matrix. This problem is strongly linked to sensitivity of eigenvalues to parameter uncertainty, perturbations to model parameter uncertainty. The importance of this methodology can be expressed in terms of results related to the Sensitivity of eigenvalues, Relative measures of controllability and observability and also deviations from strong stability to overshooting behaviour. Among this variety of eigenstructure assignment methods, special consideration has been paid to Geometric Theory, which introduces an alternative solution to the assignability of spectrum of controllability subspaces (cs) based on an eigenvector approach and then develops a new pole assignment algorithm based on openloop/ closed-loop spectra as a practical application of this approach. In order to tackle the problem of measuring the skewness of angles between closed-loop eigenvalues, some measures for Eigenframe skewness have been defined in general and so the necessary and efficient conditions have been derived for the angle between some subspaces in a direct sum decomposition to be maximized. This has been done via three metrics; Condition Number, Determinant of Gram Matrix and Singular Values. The thesis presents the parametrisation of closed-loop eigenframes result by the method generated in [4]. Within this thesis, a non-smooth algorithm has been developed in order to select the most orthogonal closed-loop eigenframe and so the influence of selected closed-loop spectra. Also, the parametrisation of controllability subspaces in a standard direct sum decomposition using matrix fraction description (MFD) has been derived.

Within this thesis the construction and the existence of controllability subspaces connected to (A,B)-invariant subspaces, has also been studied. In addition, an algebraic description of the total system behaviour which leads to an algebraic characterisation of the total input, state and output behaviour in an implicit formulation is given based on properties of MFD descriptions, a topic which remains open for future studies.


This paper re-examines the trade-based explanation of increased wage inequality in developed countries by focusing on international outsourcing. It is the first detailed study to address the effects of outsourcing on labour markets in the UK. In a recent paper, Feenstra and Hanson (1996) estimate the effect of international outsourcing on wage inequality in the US. This paper extends the FH approach by using more detailed definitions of outsourcing and skill. The analysis applies to UK manufacturing over the period 1982-1997. Extending the analysis to the 1990s is considered to be crucial as outsourcing is predominantly a phenomenon of the 1990s. The econometric results suggest that technical change, import penetration and outsourcing all play an important role in explaining UK wage inequality. Outsourcing may account for about half of the increase in domestic wage inequality.


I. INTRODUCTION The purpose of the United States patent system is "[t]o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts." (1) Currently, there is a heated emotional debate about whether patents directed to genetic sequences promote or hinder the progress of science, a debate which may soon find its way to the United States Supreme Court. (2) Unfortunately, the debate is too often characterized in terms of policy concerns. In Association for Molecular Pathology v. United States Patent and Trademark Office, Judge Sweet broke with three decades of United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) precedent, (3) declaring the method and system claims to the genetic sequences of BRCA1 and BRCA2 ineligible for patents. (4) Judge Sweet created a blanket exception to 35 U.S.C. [section] 101 by characterizing genes under the "law of nature" exception to patentability. (5) Myriad Genetics Inc. (Myriad) appealed, and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 29, 2011. (6) The Federal Circuit reversed Judge Sweet's ruling by upholding claims directed to isolated genetic sequences as subject matter eligible for patenting under 35 U.S.C. [section] 101. (7) However, the Federal Circuit invalidated diagnostic method claims that merely compared a genetic sequence to an individual's native genetic sequence as an abstract mental process. (8) Both parties filed a petition for rehearing in the Federal Circuit. (9) The real issue in Association for Molecular Pathology is patient access to health care, which should not be achieved through a judicially-created exception to the statutory definition of patent eligible subject matter. While the Federal Circuit focuses on the science, the underlying issues largely guide their interpretation. It is unlikely that agreement on the science and how it applies to patent eligible subject matter will ever be achieved. Judge Moore, in his concurring opinion, rightly states that it is the policy that tips the scales towards patentability. (10) Weakening biotechnology patent law by declaring claims to genetic sequences patent ineligible, as products of nature under 35 U.S.C. [section] 101, would negatively impact patient access to biotechnology advances by decreasing the incentive of investors to enter the market more than it could possibly help promote patient access to BRCA1 and BRCA2 diagnostic technologies. Patient access to second opinions, affordable diagnostic technologies, patient counseling, comprehensive genetic testing, and insurance coverage are not aspects of patent law, and are best addressed through meaningful health care reform. II. Background A. 35 U.S.C. [section] 101 Patentable Subject Matter Patentable subject matter, the threshold test for patentability, is defined as "any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof." (11) The statute on patentable subject matter, 35 U.S.C. [section] 101, is given broad meaning through the use of the word "any" in describing the type of new and useful processes that are patentable, the legislative history surrounding its enactment, and the interpretation that "anything under the sun that is made by man" is patentable. (12) The proper forum for excluding a specific subject matter from the patent bargain lies with Congress in the legislative body and not the judiciary. (13) However, courts recognize some subject matter as ineligible for patentability under 35 U.S.C. [section] 101. Exceptions to patentable subject matter include laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas. (14) Products of nature should be "free to all men and reserved exclusively to none." (15) Laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas are recognized as a type of scientific discovery, rather than a novel invention. This promotes the policy that a discovery is left to the public domain while an invention benefits from intellectual property rights. …


Focusing on the mid-20th century, this paper explores the relationship between design and economics. Then, through the postwar emergence of user-centered design, it explores the positive and negative outcomes that this dominant approach has had on larger social relations, specifically asking: How are the motivations influencing user-centered design processes inherited by its products and their users? Using case studies and insights from design theorists, historians and practitioners, the paper calls for a new approach to industry lead design research and practices that evolves the question "how does this work for me?" to include "how does this work for us?"


As global networks are being used by more and more people, they are becoming increasingly interesting for commercial applications. The success and change in direction of the World-Wide Web is a clear indication for this. However this success met a largely unprepared communications infrastructure. The Internet as an originally non-profit network did neither offer the security, nor the globally available accounting infrastructure by itself. These problems were addressed in the recent past, but in a seemingly ad-hoc manner. Several different accounting schemes sensible for only certain types of commercial transactions have been developed, which either seem to neglect the problems of scalability, or trade security for efficiency. Finally, some proposals aim at achieving near perfect security at the expense of efficiency, thus rendering those systems to be of no practical use. In contrast, this paper presents a suitably configurable scheme for accounting in a general, widely distributed client/server environment. When developing the protocol, special attention has been paid to make this approach work well in the future setting of high-bandwidth, high-latency internets. The developed protocol has been applied to a large-scale distributed application, a WWW-based software development environment.


This book looks at the distribution of income and wealth and the effects that this has on the macroeconomy, and vice versa. Is a more equal distribution of income beneficial or harmful for macroeconomic growth, and how does the distribution of wealth evolve in a market economy? Taking stock of results and methods developed in the context of the 1990s revival of growth theory, the authors focus on capital accumulation and long-run growth. They show how rigorous, optimization-based technical tools can be applied, beyond the representative-agent framework of analysis, to account for realistic market imperfections and for political-economic interactions. The treatment is thorough, yet accessible to students and nonspecialist economists, and it offers specialist readers a wide-ranging and innovative treatment of an increasingly important research field. The book follows a single analytical thread through a series of different growth models, allowing readers to appreciate their structure and crucial assumptions. This is particularly useful at a time when the literature on income distribution and growth has developed quickly and in several different directions, becoming difficult to overview.


Abstract Two phlogopite, two mixed-layer phlogopite-vermiculite, and two vermiculite samples collected from the Palabora Complex of South Africa have been investigated at 295 K by X-ray diffraction, chemical analysis, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. In addition the temperature dependence of the Mössbauer spectra has been measured between 95 and 295 K for one phlogopite and one mixed-layer sample. The results of the chemical analyses and the Mössbauer spectra improve our knowledge of the vermiculitization process in the Palabora Complex. Both techniques indicate oxidation of the Fe ions during the sequence: phlogopite → mixed-layer → vermiculite. Further, the Mössbauer spectra indicate that Fe oxidation occurs mainly in the octahedral sites and suggest that migration and oxidation of the Fe2+ ions from the octahedral sites to the tetrahedral sites may occur during the transformation of phlogopite into a mixed-layer phase. Finally, the vermiculitization process involves both Fe oxidation and loss of K with a concomitant increase in the Mg content.


Three permanent magnet arrays are aboard the Viking lander. By sol 35, one array, fixed on a photometric reference test chart on top of the lander, has clearly attracted magnetic particles from airborne dust; two other magnet arrays, one strong and one weak, incorporated in the backhoe of the surface sampler, have both extracted considerable magnetic mineral from the surface as a result of nine insertions associated with sample acquisition. The loose martian surface material around the landing site is judged to contain 3 to 7 percent highly magnetic mineral which, pending spectrophotometric study, is thought to be mainly magnetite.


Abstract Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are at high risk for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and evidence suggests that poor glycemic control is linked to heightened risk of progressive NAFLD. We conducted an observational study based on data from a telehealth trial conducted in 2018-2020. Our objectives were to (1) characterize patterns of NAFLD testing/care in a cohort of individuals with poorly controlled T2DM; and (2) explore how laboratory based measures of NAFLD (eg, liver enzymes, fibrosis-4 [FIB-4]) vary by glycemic control. We included individuals with poorly controlled T2DM (n = 228), defined as hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) ≥ 8.5% despite clinic-based care. Two groups of interest were (1) T2DM without known NAFLD; and (2) T2DM with known NAFLD. Demographics, medical history, medication use, glycemic control (HbA1c), and NAFLD testing/care patterns were obtained by chart review. Among those without known NAFLD (n = 213), most were male (78.4%) and self-identified as Black race (68.5%). Mean HbA1c was 9.8%. Most had liver enzymes (85.4%) and platelets (84.5%) ordered in the outpatient department over a 2-year period that would allow for FIB-4 calculation, yet only 2 individuals had FIB-4 documented in clinical notes. Approximately one-third had abnormal liver enzymes at least once over a 2-year period, yet only 7% had undergone liver ultrasound and 4.7% had referral to hepatology. Among those with known NAFLD (n = 15), mean HbA1c was 9.5%. Only 4 individuals had undergone transient elastography, half of whom had advanced fibrosis. NAFLD is underrecognized in poorly controlled T2DM, even though this is a high-risk group for NAFLD and its complications.


By some point in the fall of 2011, Egyptians in large numbers no longer viewed the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) as the guardian of the revolution and even considered it the revolution's antagonist. "The army and the people are one" was a common slogan in the early days following Mubarak's ouster on February 11, 2011, but the situation had changed dramatically by the landmark date of October 9, when the military used violence against its own citizens, killing approximately twenty-five Christians at a protest outside Maspero, the headquarters of the Egyptian state television. Violence against protestors continued to escalate, leading to the attack by military police on female protesters in Tahrir Square in mid-December and the now-famous video of officers ripping off the garments of a young woman on the ground and then proceeding to beat her. SCAF's assertions of political power angered Egyptians in November when it issued "supra-constitutional principles" that were intended to control the drafting of a new constitution, a task clearly in the jurisdiction of the new parliament according to the March 30 constitutional declaration, a document discussed below. These proposed principles included the provision that only SCAF would have access to the details of the military's budget and that all legislation concerning the military would have to be approved by SCAF; the parliament would only control the total sum allocated to the military. The principles also gave SCAF the power to veto any provision of the new constitution that "contradicts the basic tenets of Egyptian state and society and the general rights and freedoms confirmed in successive Egyptian constitutions." This document of supra-constitutional principles, along with a series of subsequent statements by SCAF, also indicated SCAF's attempt to control the selection of the constitution's drafters, in contradiction to the constitutional declaration.While these events marked key moments in SCAF's attempts to control the political process, SCAF had laid the groundwork for such efforts much earlier in the post-revolutionary period. The crucial turning point that showed that SCAF was a self-interested participant, willing to ignore the democratic choices of the Egyptian people if necessary to advance its own interests, came in the form of the constitutional declaration issued by SCAF on March 30, following the constitutional referendum of March 19. At that time, SCAF's actions drew little attention by foreign observers and even slight response within Egypt, in part due to the fact that it required a careful reading of the lengthy constitutional declaration in order to see exactly what SCAF had accomplished. While at that time SCAF surely had not formulated a full plan for the subsequent transitional period, it was clearly already anticipating that it would want to exercise far more control, and for a far greater time, than it had envisioned prior to the constitutional referendum. This essay examines the constitutional referendum and then the constitutional declaration with the goal of answering several questions. First, what was the constitutional referendum and what were SCAF's goals in drafting it and submitting it to the public for a vote? Second, why did SCAF subsequently determine that the referendum was not adequate and how did it seek to modify and supplement the referendum to produce the declaration? Third, how did SCAF embed in the declaration the basis for its own later assertion of greater power over the political and constitutional process? While the declaration was praised for replacing the 1971 constitution, a goal of the referendum's opponents, and for providing more clarity about the transitional process, the declaration was also the first clear expression by SCAF of its long-term ambitions, even as it was not until later in 2011 that the significance of that expression became vividly clear.


Max-Min Fairness is a flexible resource allocation mechanism used in most datacenter schedulers. However, an increasing number of jobs have hard placement constraints, restricting the machines they can run on due to special hardware or software requirements. It is unclear how to define, and achieve, max-min fairness in the presence of such constraints. We propose Constrained Max-Min Fairness (CMMF), an extension to max-min fairness that supports placement constraints, and show that it is the only policy satisfying an important property that incentivizes users to pool resources. Optimally computing CMMF is challenging, but we show that a remarkably simple online scheduler, called Choosy, approximates the optimal scheduler well. Through experiments, analysis, and simulations, we show that Choosy on average differs 2% from the optimal CMMF allocation, and lets jobs achieve their fair share quickly.


The devastating inherited disease cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) anion channel. The recent approval of the CFTR potentiator drug ivacaftor (Vx-770) for the treatment of CF patients has marked the advent of causative CF therapy. Currently, thousands of patients are being treated with the drug, and its molecular mechanism of action is under intensive investigation. Here we determine the solubility profile and true stimulatory potency of Vx-770 towards wild-type (WT) and mutant human CFTR channels in cell-free patches of membrane. We find that its aqueous solubility is ~200 fold lower (~60 nanomolar), whereas the potency of its stimulatory effect is >100 fold higher, than reported, and is unexpectedly fully reversible. Strong, but greatly delayed, channel activation by picomolar Vx-770 identifies multiple sequential slow steps in the activation pathway. These findings provide solid guidelines for the design of in vitro studies using Vx-770.


Kernicterus is a bilirubin induced brain dysfunction that results from unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia in a newborn. It can cause
athetoid cerebral palsy, hearing loss and sometimes intellectual disabilities. Cerebral palsy is the leading cause of childhood disability
affecting function and development. [1] The incidence of the condition has not changed in more than 4 decades. [2] Populationbased
studies from around the world report prevalence estimates of CP ranging from 1.5 to more than four per 1,000 live births. [3]
In India, the estimated incidence is around 3/1000 live births. [4] About 60% of full-term newborns and 80% of premature babies
get jaundice. [5] Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy and bilirubin encephalopathy (Kernicterus) are the principle causes of Athetoid
Cerebral Palsy. Phototherapy and Exchange transfusion remains the only effective therapy to prevent development of bilirubin
encephalopathy. These treatment modalities were not available in rural areas of India in the past. But over last 10 to 15 years,
these technologies along with Lab and imaging facilities are being widely used in the periphery as a result of which the incidence
of kernicterus and athetoid cerebral palsy has dropped significantly in the rural areas including my own. We share our experience
of effectively treating neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in our peripheral setup. We report 10 cases treated between October 2018 and
October 2019 in our 20 bedded primary care rural centre. The outcome was very encouraging. All the newborn were saved from
developing neurologic complication of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Study from India, [7] Dutta et al. reported that severe jaundice
represented 15.3% of neonatal admissions, with a CFR (case fatality rate) of 6.7% and 4.4% of jaundice related deaths.


Eucalyptus nitens is widely planted in temperate-cold regions around the world,
mainly for pulpwood production. However there is interest in its use for veneerbased
engineered wood products to increase the value and market opportunities
for the E. nitens plantation resource. This study examined such opportunities by
studying factors which affect veneer recovery as well as those which influence
wood properties important for veneer quality.
This thesis had four main experiments. The first experiment examined log-end
splitting with respect to log storage, steaming, plantation site and tree position.
Log-end splitting is a major defect of Eucalyptus logs which has the potential to
significantly reduce the recovery of veneer. Log-end splitting was assessed
immediately post-felling, after transport and storage and immediately prior to
veneer peeling, using upper and lower logs from each of 41 trees from three 20-22
year old plantations. The study found that log-end splitting varied across sites, was
higher in upper than lower logs, and increased with time in storage particularly in
the upper log. In the system studied, log steaming did not significantly affect the
severity of log-end splitting.
The three remaining studies dealt with the assessment of three important wood
properties: density, microfibril angle and modulus of elasticity. SilviScan was the
main approach used for assessing radial and site variation in these characteristics.
However, in the second study an attempt was made to develop more rapid and cost
effective approaches using near-infrared spectroscopy. Radial scans of breast-height
samples from 86 trees and three sites were used to successfully develop nearinfrared
calibrations of these wood properties against 1 mm resolution SilviScan
measurements. However, the capacity of these models to predict wood properties
when applied to independent sites was mixed and generally poor. SilviScan
measurements were therefore used throughout the remainder of the thesis where
comparisons across sites were the main focus.
The third study examined radial change in density, microfibril angle and modulus of
elasticity. While radial change in these veneer-critical wood properties is known to
occur, the extent to which patterns vary, both between sites and trees within sites,
is poorly understood in Eucalyptus. Radial models were developed to determine the
trends in these wood properties from pith to cambium using samples from 2.5 m
above ground level taken from forty-one 20-22 year old trees from three E. nitens
plantations. Simple linear regression models were used to model density, while
non-linear functions were used to model the radial variation of microfibril angle
(asymptotic function) and modulus of elasticity (sigmoidal function), against both
cambial age and percentage area from pith. The radial trends from pith to cambium
in density, microfibril angle and modulus of elasticity found in this study were clear
and matched the general trends in other studies of Eucalyptus. However, significant
differences were obtained in the pattern of radial variation in these wood
properties both among trees within sites as well as between sites. The radial
patterns of change were similar regardless of whether they were assessed based on
cambial age or percentage of the cross-sectional area and site rankings were the
same.
Lastly, the site variation in density, microfibril angle and modulus of elasticity across
the Tasmanian E. nitens plantation estate was modelled. This study was based on
area-weighted tree means obtained from radial SilviScan data. Three trees from
each of 46 sites were used to develop the models and those from an additional 13
sites used as a validation data set. Site-level averages for the three wood
properties were modelled using various forest, environmental and climatic variables
as explanatory variables. Stepwise backward regression was used to select the most
parsimonious linear model for each wood property. The final models included only
plantation age and annual precipitation for all three wood properties as well as
elevation for density. These models were well validated and used to map predicted
spatial variation in these veneer-critical wood properties across the Tasmanian
plantation estate to aid resource characterisation and forest management.
A key result to emerge from this thesis was the importance of site-level factors on
log traits and wood properties likely to impact the quantity and quality of veneer
from Tasmanian E. nitens plantations. This thesis was able to characterise and
predict variation in these wood properties, both within individual trees and across
the Tasmanian plantation estate. These results have direct management
implications, allowing quantification of the impact of different growing conditions
on the wood properties of harvested logs and therefore on the potential veneer
recovery. Coupled with growth and economic models, these results will assist in
optimisation of available forestry resources and future planning.


This paoer describes the Multiple Hypothesis Network Tracker (MHNT) being developed by BAE Systems. The goal here was to design, develop and implement a tracker capable of tracking multiple vehicles moving across a network of geographically distributed static sensors, where each sensor's coverage area is small compared to the distance between sensors. Each sensor reports the time when a target crosses the sensor's coverage area Sensors may also report features associated with the target. A centralized tracker receives reports from all of the sensors and, using prior information regarding target motion across the network of sensors and actual travel times, assign reports to tracks and computes the most likely set of assignments.


This thesis presents a theoretically informed social history of the New Zealand Needle Exchange Programme (NEP) which has operated since 1988. Close attention is paid to how this 'harm reduction' programme demonstrates a pattern of 'peer-professional' hybridity a form of quasiprofessionalism developed by injecting drug user (IDU) peers who began operating private needle exchanges funded by both illicit clients and state agencies. In this hybrid mechanism, the personal distrust required to pursue 'criminal' motivations has been connected, through the vulnerable yet influential intermediaries of peers and syringes, to the trust required to 'empower' the health of marginalised IDU communities. This research has drawn on immersed participant experience and on accounts from archival documents, supported by interviews. A reworking of actor-network methodologies has provided a core analytical approach to tracing the critical moments and boundary-shifts in the development and realignments of the NEP's hybrid heterogeneous assemblages. The assembling and reassembling has entangled policy goals, technologies, historical reviews, stigma, laws, logics, logistic systems, narratives, organisations, sterile and bloody syringes, monitoring systems, and professional occupations. IDU, health policy officials, peerprofessionals, managers, politicians, HIV/AIDS community organisers, and medical professionals have prevented HIV transmission by altering key strategic connections and alignments within this active network, while pursuing their public-private interests. The peer-professionals have publicly represented IDU, have advocated professionally for inclusive rather than exclusive public health provisions, while guaranteeing that the monitoring of syringes by state agencies would not harm IDU. The difficulties in shaping and stabilising the NEP have illustrated the 'messy reality' of its institutional and policy environment, yet have also led to highly successful and sustainable health promotion work. 1


Recently in most of the industrial automation process an ever increasing degree of automation has been observed. This increasing is motivated by the higher requirement of systems with great performance in terms of quality of products/services generated, productivity, efficiency and low costs in the design, realization and maintenance. This trend in the growth of complex
automation systems is rapidly spreading over automated manufacturing systems (AMS), where the integration of the mechanical and electronic technology, typical of the Mechatronics, is merging with other technologies such as Informatics and the communication networks. An AMS is a very complex system that can be thought constituted by a set of flexible working stations, one or more transportation systems. To understand how this machine are important in our society let considerate that every day most of us use bottles of water or soda, buy product in box like food or cigarets and so on. Another important consideration from its complexity derive from the fact that the the consortium of machine producers has estimated around 350 types of manufacturing machine. A large number of manufacturing
machine industry are presented in Italy and notably packaging machine industry,in particular a great concentration of this kind of industry is located in Bologna area; for this reason the Bologna area is called "packaging valley".
Usually, the various parts of the AMS interact among them in a concurrent and asynchronous way, and coordinate the parts of the machine to obtain a desiderated overall behaviour is an hard task. Often, this is the case in large scale systems, organized in a modular and distributed manner. Even if the success of a modern AMS from a functional and behavioural point of view is still to attribute to the design choices operated in the definition of the mechanical structure and electrical electronic architecture, the system that
governs the control of the plant is becoming crucial, because of the large number of duties associated to it. Apart from the activity inherent to the automation of themachine cycles, the supervisory system is called to perform other main functions such as: emulating the behaviour of traditional mechanical members thus allowing a drastic constructive simplification of the machine and a crucial functional flexibility; dynamically adapting the control strategies according to the different productive needs and to the different operational scenarios; obtaining a high quality of the final product through the verification of the correctness of the processing; addressing the
operator devoted to themachine to promptly and carefully take the actions devoted to establish or restore the optimal operating conditions; managing in real time information on diagnostics, as a support of the maintenance operations of the machine. The kind of facilities that designers
can directly find on themarket, in terms of software component libraries provides in fact an adequate support as regard the implementation of either top-level or bottom-level functionalities, typically pertaining to the domains of user-friendly HMIs, closed-loop regulation and motion control, fieldbus-based interconnection of remote smart devices. What is still lacking is a reference framework comprising a comprehensive set of highly reusable logic control components that, focussing on the cross-cutting functionalities characterizing the automation domain, may help the designers in the process of modelling and structuring their applications according to the specific needs. Historically, the design and verification process for complex automated industrial systems is performed in empirical way, without a clear distinction between functional and technological-implementation concepts and without a systematic method to organically deal with the complete system. Traditionally, in the field of analog and digital control design and verification through formal and simulation tools have been adopted since a long time ago, at least for multivariable and/or nonlinear controllers for complex time-driven dynamics as in the fields of vehicles, aircrafts, robots, electric drives and complex power electronics equipments. Moving to the field of logic control, typical for industrial manufacturing automation, the design and verification process is approached in a completely different way, usually
very "unstructured". No clear distinction between functions and implementations, between functional architectures and technological architectures and platforms is considered. Probably this difference is due to the different "dynamical framework"of logic control with respect to
analog/digital control. As a matter of facts, in logic control discrete-events dynamics replace time-driven dynamics; hence most of the formal and mathematical tools of analog/digital control cannot be directly migrated to logic control to enlighten the distinction between functions
and implementations. In addition, in the common view of application technicians, logic control design is strictly connected to the adopted implementation technology (relays in the past, software nowadays), leading again to a deep confusion among functional view and technological
view. In Industrial automation software engineering, concepts as modularity, encapsulation, composability and reusability are strongly emphasized and profitably realized in the so-calledobject-oriented methodologies. Industrial automation is receiving lately this approach, as testified by some IEC standards IEC 611313, IEC 61499 which have been considered
in commercial products only recently. On the other hand, in the scientific and technical literature many contributions have been already proposed to establish a suitable modelling framework for industrial automation. During last years it was possible to note a considerable growth in the exploitation of innovative concepts and technologies from ICT world in industrial automation systems. For what concerns the logic control design, Model Based Design (MBD) is being imported in industrial automation from software
engineering field. Another key-point in industrial automated systems is the growth of requirements in terms of availability, reliability and safety for technological systems. In other words, the control system should not only deal with the nominal behaviour, but should also deal with other important duties, such as diagnosis and faults isolations, recovery and safety management. Indeed, together with high performance, in complex systems fault occurrences increase. This is a consequence of the fact that, as it typically occurs in reliable mechatronic systems, in complex systems such as AMS, together with reliable mechanical elements, an increasing
number of electronic devices are also present, that are more vulnerable by their own nature. The diagnosis problem and the faults isolation in a generic dynamical system consists in the design of an elaboration unit that, appropriately processing the inputs and outputs of the dynamical
system, is also capable of detecting incipient faults on the plant devices, reconfiguring the control system so as to guarantee satisfactory performance. The designer should be able to formally verify the product, certifying that, in its final implementation, it will perform itsrequired function guarantying the desired level of reliability and safety; the next step is that of preventing faults and eventually reconfiguring the control system so that faults are tolerated.
On this topic an important improvement to formal verification of logic control, fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control results derive from Discrete Event Systems theory. The aimof this work is to define a design pattern and a control architecture to help the designer of control logic in industrial automated systems. The work starts with a brief discussion on
main characteristics and description of industrial automated systems on Chapter 1. In Chapter 2 a survey on the state of the software engineering paradigm applied to industrial automation is discussed. Chapter 3 presentes a architecture for industrial automated systems based on the new concept of Generalized Actuator showing its benefits, while in Chapter 4 this architecture is refined using a novel entity, the Generalized Device in order to
have a better reusability and modularity of the control logic. In Chapter 5 a new approach will be present based on Discrete Event Systems for the problemof software formal verification and an active fault tolerant control architecture using online diagnostic. Finally conclusive remarks
and some ideas on new directions to explore are given.
In Appendix A are briefly reported some concepts and results about Discrete Event Systems which should help the reader in understanding some crucial points in chapter 5; while in Appendix B an overview on the experimental testbed of the Laboratory of Automation of University of Bologna, is reported to validated the approach presented in chapter 3, chapter 4 and chapter 5. In Appendix C some components model used in chapter 5 for formal verification
are reported.


"Mechanical objectivity," which Lorraine Daston and Peter Galison trace to the mid-nineteenth century, often coincided with efforts to inscribe nature "directly," such as through automatic registering machines. But what did this inscription entail? Addressing this question requires that we reexamine indexicalization: the shift in semiotic ideology whereby medial technologies are imagined and acted on as if they preserved material traces of the real. Indexicalization is no simple reflex of mechanical objectivity and is more varied and consequential than commonly imagined. This essay demonstrates this by returning to the sciences of face-to-face interaction, which crystallized in postwar America but drew inspiration from earlier research on talk therapy. Returning to efforts to record psychoanalysis sessions in the early 1930s "objectively," it chronicles a shift in the technosemiotic mediation of knowledge. Whereas transcripts were originally "verbatim" records of literal content, researchers came to seek tacit, symptomological signs. And whereas mechanical recording was introduced to avoid an observer effect, it was later deemed necessary to preserve indexical traces for fine-grained analysis. This indexicalization had ontological as well as epistemological effects, and it was inspired not by mechanical objectivity but by the parallel capacities of the perceptive psychoanalyst and the receptive mechanical recorder, both virtuosic in registering the indexical richness of the communicative unconscious.


We propose a test for the rank of a cross-section of processes at a set of jump events. The jump events are either specific known times or are random and associated with jumps of some process. The test is formed from discretely sampled data on a fixed time interval with asymptotically shrinking mesh. In the first step, we form nonparametric estimates of the jump events via thresholding techniques. We then compute the eigenvalues of the outer product of the cross-section of increments at the identified jump events. The test for rank r is based on the asymptotic behavior of the sum of the squared eigenvalues excluding the largest r. A simple resampling method is proposed for feasible testing. The test is applied to financial data spanning the period 2007–2015 at the times of stock market jumps. We find support for a one-factor model of both industry portfolio and Dow 30 stock returns at market jump times. This stands in contrast with earlier evidence for higher-dimensional factor structure of stock returns during "normal" (nonjump) times. We identify the latent factor driving the stocks and portfolios as the size of the market jump.


The prediction of geometric variation and its consequences is one important aspect of product development. For welded assemblies it has been shown that positioning errors of the parts prior to welding affects the weld-induced distortion. Therefore, to accurately predict geometric variation in welded assemblies, variation simulation and welding simulation need to be performed in combination. This is usually a very time consuming task, and therefore, the relatively fast SCV-method is utilized. This method is used to calculate welding distortion when positioning errors are present and it consists of the fol-lowing three steps: 1) a steady state computation of the thermal distribution during welding, 2) the melted zone along the full joint is encapsulated by sweeping a two-dimensional convex hull along the weld gun path, and 3) a uniform temperature is applied to all nodes inside this zone. The two-dimensional convex hull is computed so that when swept along the weld path, it will encapsulate the melted zone from the steady state temperature computation. The weld-induced distortion is obtained from the elastic volumetric shrinkage. In this article the focus is on the first step in this method; the temperature distribution computation. The positioning error can cause the connecting parts to have varying distances to each other at the joint, which cause the melted region to vary along the weld path. Therefore, it is not sufficient to capture the steady state temperature distribution at only one location. Depending on the geometry surrounding the weld path, several locations may be needed. In this new approach, the two-dimensional convex hull that is to be swept along the weld path, can vary along the weld path, and is computed from an interpolation of the multiple two-dimensional convex hulls obtained from the multiple steady state temperature computations. A comparison of the melted region using transient temperature calculation, a single steady state temperature calculation and this new approach has been made. Furthermore, the implication on distortion calculation has been studied.


The multiple drug resistance (MDR) gene P-glycoprotein product is a transmembrane efflux pump that prevents toxicity of a variety of chemotherapeutic agents, including the anthracyclines, Vinca alkaloids, podophyllins, and taxol. The bone marrow toxicity of these drugs is due to the low or absent expression of MDR in marrow cells. Transfer and expression of the human MDR gene into bone marrow progenitors should prevent this toxicity. We report here the efficient transfer and expression of the MDR gene by retroviral-mediated gene transfer into CD34(+) cells isolated from peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs), comparable to that obtained using bone marrow-derived progenitors. Optimal MDR transduction of these PBPC-derived cells requires exposure to growth factors and a period of preincubation. In addition, we demonstrate that we can transduce up to 100% of progenitor cells derived from PBPCs and can protect up to 25% of these progenitors from a dose of taxol toxic to untransduced controls.


When designing large complex vessels, the evaluation of a particular design can be both complicated and time consuming. Designers often resort to the use of concept design models enabling both a reduction in complexity and time for evaluation. Various optimisation methods are then typically used to explore the design space facilitating the selection of optimum or near optimum designs. It is now possible to incorporate considerations of seakeeping, stability and costs at the earliest stage in the ship design process. However, to ensure that reliable results are obtained, the models used are generally complex and computationally expensive. Methods have been developed which avoid the necessity to carry out an exhaustive search of the complete design space. One such method is described which is concerned with the application of the theory of Design Of Experiments (DOE) enabling the design space to be efficiently explored. The objective of the DOE stage is to produce response surfaces which can then be used by an optimisation module to search the design space. It is assumed that the concept exploration tool whilst being a simplification of the design problem, is still sufficiently complicated to enable reliable evaluations of a particular design concept. The response surface is used as a representation of the concept exploration tool, and by it's nature can be used to rapidly evaluate a design concept hence reducing concept exploration time. While the methodology has a wide applicability in ship design and production, it is illustrated by its application to the design of a catamaran with respect to seakeeping. The paper presents results exploring the design space for the catamaran. A concept is selected which is robust with respect to the Relative Bow Motion (RBM), the heave, pitch and roll at any particular waveheading. The design space is defined by six controllable design parameters; hull length, breadth to draught ratio, distance between demihull centres, coefficient of waterplane, longitudinal centre of floatation, longitudinal centre of buoyancy, and by one noise parameter, the waveheading. A Pareto-optimal set of solutions is obtained using RBM, heave, pitch and roll as criteria. The designer can then select from this set the design which most closely satisfies their requirements. Typical solutions are shown to yield average reductions of over 25% in the objective functions when compared to earlier results obtained using conventional optimisation methods.


My thesis is positioned at the intersection of H.G. Wells and disability studies and discusses two aspects of Wells's expansive literary career: Wells's progressive approach to disability when compared to other authors of his time and how Wells can, and should, be considered an avatar for current disability studies scholarship. In order to accomplish these tasks, I first consider Wells in his own epoch and how he depicts his disabled characters in three different texts. To aid the understanding of the significance of Wells's work, I discuss the deconstruction method of literary theory, as well as examine the normal/abnormal binary in disability studies, to situate the reader in the work of this thesis. Next, using two short stories, "The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes" (1895) and "The Country of the Blind (1904, 1939)," I discuss Wells's unusual approach to the vision/blindness binary. Similarly, by exploring the novel Christina Alberta's Father (1925), I showcase Wells's disruption of the mental health binary of sane/insane. Added to these analyses is a comparison between Wells and his contemporaries who are writing about the same topics (blindness and mental health) and what Wells does that is distinctly different in terms of depicting disability from these other authors, in order to lay the groundwork for the next step of my work. The second aspect of this thesis is applying the above findings to the current disability studies tenets to reveal where Wells is, in fact, progressive and even anticipatory, in his characterization of his disability. I posit that, through these texts, Wells subverts and destabilizes all binaries of the chosen disability topics he undertakes and, in the process, disrupts the normal/abnormal binary underlying the tenets of disability studies and that are at the heart of the ongoing resistance to the disability studies movement found yet today.


Open-system processes have a large capacity to modify magma compositions during differentiation. Obtaining the rates of such processes is essential to understanding and constraining the evolution of magmatic systems. Here we quantify the time scales for magmatic assimilation of hydrous mafic to ultramafic cumulates by ascending basalts using the zoning patterns of olivine xenocrysts. Robust diffusion modeling results have been obtained by treating multiple compositional profiles for multiple elements (Fe-Mg, Ni, Mn, Ca) on multiple crystals from multiple flows. We find that the time between assimilation and eruption ranges from a few months to ∼25 yr, although 80% of the results are <10 yr. These ranges are shorter than either magma transport times from the mantle to the surface or typical repose periods of arc volcanoes. Thus, modification of the geochemical and mineralogical features of basalts by assimilation of plutonic rocks is a fast and probably unavoidable magmatic process.


Smart meters have been deployed in many countries across the world since early 2000s. The smart meter as a key element for the smart grid is expected to provide economic, social, and environmental benefits for multiple stakeholders. There has been much debate over the real values of smart meters. One of the key factors that will determine the success of smart meters is smart meter data analytics, which deals with data acquisition, transmission, processing, and interpretation that bring benefits to all stakeholders. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of smart electricity meters and their utilization focusing on key aspects of the metering process, different stakeholder interests, and the technologies used to satisfy stakeholder interests. Furthermore, the paper highlights challenges as well as opportunities arising due to the advent of big data and the increasing popularity of cloud environments.


Oceanic arcs and deep-sea trenches are the surface expressions of oceanic plates subducting into the Earth's mantle. We use a new numerical technique for simulating the dynamical evolution of the lithosphere-mantle interaction in order to assess the causes of arc curvature. We group the possible causes into two classes, external feedback between the migrating lithosphere and the secondary induced mantle flow, and internal heterogeneities within the lithosphere, e.g., owing to differences in cooling ages of the plate at the trench. We statistically assess that almost all arcs on the Earth can be described by these hypotheses. The method is also directly applied to the Tonga and Aleutian arcs, bringing new insights on the origin of their shapes.


Few Americans know much about contemporary farming, which has evolved dramatically over the past few decades. In The Changing Scale of American Agriculture, the award-winning geographer and landscape historian John Fraser Hart describes the transformation of farming from the mid-twentieth century, when small family farms were still viable, to the present, when a farm must sell at least $250,000 of farm products each year to provide an acceptable level of living for a family.The increased scale of agriculture has outmoded the Jeffersonian ideal of small, self-sufficient farms. In the past farmers kept a variety of livestock and grew several crops, but modern family farms have become highly specialized in producing a single type of livestock or one or two crops. As farms have become larger and more specialized, their number has declined. Hart contends that modern family farms need to become integrated into tightly orchestrated food-supply chains in order to thrive, and these complex new organizations of large-scale production require managerial skills of the highest order. According to Hart, this trend is not only inevitable, but it is beneficial, because it produces the food American consumers want to buy at prices they can afford.Although Hart provides the statistics and clear analysis such a study requires, his book focuses on interviews with farmers: those who have shifted from mixed crop-and-livestock farming to cash-grain farming in the Midwest agricultural heartland; beef, dairy, chicken, egg, turkey, and hog producers around the periphery of the heartland; and specialty crop producers on the East and West Coasts. These invaluable case studies bring the reader into direct personal contact with the entrepreneurs who are changing American agriculture. Hart believes that modern large-scale farmers have been criticized unfairly, and The Changing Scale of American Agriculture, the result of decades of research, is his attempt to tell their side of the story.


Lameness in dairy cows is an important welfare issue. As part of a welfare assessment, herd level lameness prevalence can be estimated from scoring a sample of animals, where higher levels of accuracy are associated with larger sample sizes. As the financial cost is related to the number of cows sampled, smaller samples are preferred. Sequential sampling schemes have been used for informing decision making in clinical trials. Sequential sampling involves taking samples in stages, where sampling can stop early depending on the estimated lameness prevalence. When welfare assessment is used for a pass/fail decision, a similar approach could be applied to reduce the overall sample size. The sampling schemes proposed here apply the principles of sequential sampling within a diagnostic testing framework. This study develops three sequential sampling schemes of increasing complexity to classify 80 fully assessed UK dairy farms, each with known lameness prevalence. Using the Welfare Quality herd-size-based sampling scheme, the first 'basic' scheme involves two sampling events. At the first sampling event half the Welfare Quality sample size is drawn, and then depending on the outcome, sampling either stops or is continued and the same number of animals is sampled again. In the second 'cautious' scheme, an adaptation is made to ensure that correctly classifying a farm as 'bad' is done with greater certainty. The third scheme is the only scheme to go beyond lameness as a binary measure and investigates the potential for increasing accuracy by incorporating the number of severely lame cows into the decision. The three schemes are evaluated with respect to accuracy and average sample size by running 100 000 simulations for each scheme, and a comparison is made with the fixed size Welfare Quality herd-size-based sampling scheme. All three schemes performed almost as well as the fixed size scheme but with much smaller average sample sizes. For the third scheme, an overall association between lameness prevalence and the proportion of lame cows that were severely lame on a farm was found. However, as this association was found to not be consistent across all farms, the sampling scheme did not prove to be as useful as expected. The preferred scheme was therefore the 'cautious' scheme for which a sampling protocol has also been developed.


To understand Microsoft developers' typical tools and work habits and their level of satisfaction with these, we performed two surveys and eleven interviews with developers across all business divisions. This report provides a summary of the resulting data. From the set of potential problems we gave them, the top three that Microsoft developers agree they have are: understanding the rationale behind a piece of code (66%); having to switch tasks often because of requests from teammates or managers (62%); and being aware of changes to code elsewhere that impact their own code (61%). The most notable take-away from the data is that developers go to great lengths to create and maintain rich mental models of code and don't rely on external representations. The mental nature of these models requires frequent, disruptive, face-to-face meetings to keep individuals' models in sync, which greatly slow the rate at which a newcomer to a team can become productive. These interruptions also burden more senior development team members, as they have to recover what they were doing in the code following the interruption from team members.


The paper establishes some special features of Hyssopus officinalis growth, development and morphology when being introduced in the ZhNAEU's Botanical Garden. The results of investigations of H. officinalis ontogenesis ex situ are presented for the next periods: latent, pregenerativе and generative. The signs of the age states of individuals are specified. In the period of 7 years of growing the maximum indices of shrub height were observed in the 3rd year of life (89,7±2,7 cm), whereas the maximum numder of vegetative and generative sprouts – in the 5th year (96,7±8,4 cm). The green mass yielding capacity of hyssop in the 4th year – 38,91± 2,04 t/ha and in 7th year – 36,19±1,12 t/ha. It has been stated that while introduced, plants of the species under consideration go through the complete cycle of growth and development, which speaks about sufficient rate of adaptation of the species to the conditions of the region.


A convergent route is described to the super-potent 1D-myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor agonist adenophostin A (2) and analogues 5 and 7, in which the glucose bisphosphate unit is replaced by corresponding xylose bisphosphate and mannose bisphosphate units respectively. Adenosine was converted into its 2′,3′-O-p-methoxybenzylidene derivative 8ab, which was selectively N6-dimethoxytritylated by a transient protection method. 5′-O-Benzylation followed by reductive acetal cleavage gave, after separation from its 3′-O-p-methoxybenzyl isomer, the versatile glycosyl acceptor 5′-O-benzyl-N6-dimethoxytrityl-2′-O-p-methoxybenzyladenosine 13. Coupling of 13 with selectively protected glucopyranosyl, xylopyranosyl or mannopyranosyl dimethyl phosphites gave the required 3′-O-α-pyranosyl adenosine derivatives. Acidic hydrolysis gave corresponding N6-unprotected triols which were phosphitylated using bis(benzyloxy)(diisopropylamino)phosphine and imidazolium triflate without further N6-protection. Deprotection gave the target trisphosphates 2, 5 and 7. Synthetic adenophostin A (2) was identical with a sample of natural material in all respects. Analogues 5 and 7 will be useful for structure–activity studies on the adenophostins.


Recent studies in bioinspired artificial olfaction, especially those detailing the application of spike-based neuromorphic methods, have led to promising developments towards overcoming the limitations of traditional approaches, such as complexity in handling multivariate data, computational and power requirements, poor accuracy, and substantial delay for processing and classification of odors. Rank-order-based olfactory systems provide an interesting approach for detection of target gases by encoding multi-variate data generated by artificial olfactory systems into temporal signatures. However, the utilization of traditional pattern-matching methods and unpredictable shuffling of spikes in the rank-order impedes the performance of the system. In this paper, we present an SNN-based solution for the classification of rank-order spiking patterns to provide continuous recognition results in real-time. The SNN classifier is deployed on a neuromorphic hardware system that enables massively parallel and low-power processing on incoming rank-order patterns. Offline learning is used to store the reference rank-order patterns, and an inbuilt nearest neighbor classification logic is applied by the neurons to provide recognition results. The proposed system was evaluated using two different datasets including rank-order spiking data from previously established olfactory systems. The continuous classification that was achieved required a maximum of 12.82% of the total pattern frame to provide 96.5% accuracy in identifying corresponding target gases. Recognition results were obtained at a nominal processing latency of 16ms for each incoming spike. In addition to the clear advantages in terms of real-time operation and robustness to inconsistent rank-orders, the SNN classifier can also detect anomalies in rank-order patterns arising due to drift in sensing arrays.


Presents the design criteria for developing machines to automate the process of transferring live birds from a moving conveyor onto a processing line without causing damage or stress. The process includes inserting both legs of the bird into a shackle, flipping and hanging it for subsequent processing. Specifically, the paper illustrates the operating principles of the transfer system and describes the method for manipulating the leg kinematics for shackling. Unlike the traditional articulated robotic arm where the actuations are applied directly through the joint angles, the legs of a live object can only be manipulated indirectly. In addition, natural objects are typically characterized bp varying sizes and shapes in batch processing and their natural reflexes (or voluntarily motion) contribute to the overall dynamics. The design criteria have been verified experimentally with live broilers (meat chickens) in a realistic environment. It is expected that the analytical model presented would provide an essential basis for the design, analysis and control of the transfer mechanism.


Abstract:In the reception of Tang literature during the Song Dynasty, the anthology Wen cui 文粹 (Literature's Finest), compiled by the Northern Song scholar Yao Xuan 姚鉉 (968–1020) in 1011, survives as the earliest attempt by an individual scholar to provide a comprehensive overview of Tang literature. The Wen cui collected over two thousand pieces of prose and poetry, making it the largest anthology of Tang literature to circulate widely in the Song and later dynasties in multiple editions. It became famous for its polemical views of "excellence" in Tang literature, which are laid out in the preface to the anthology, and focused its selections on mid-Tang writers, especially those associated with Han Yu 韓愈 (768–824) and antiquity. In this essay, the author demonstrates that the Wen cui vision of the "finest" Tang literature was more nuanced and carefully constructed than its later reputation as simply a guwen 古文 (ancient-style prose) anthology would suggest. By analyzing the claims of the preface, Yao Xuan's unusual organizational strategies, and some key theoretical texts in the "letters discussing literature" section of the anthology, the author shows that Yao Xuan used his selections to defend the necessity of wenzhang 文章 (literary composition) in governance and literati culture more broadly defined. Although this view of literature's importance was challenged by later Daoxue adherents, the Wen cui gives us an important window on the more catholic and diverse conceptions of literature's place in the culture that flourished in the early years of the Song Dynasty.


Background/Aim: Fluid volume overload occurs in chronic kidney disease (CKD), leading to the compensatory release of natriuretic peptides. However, the elevated cardiac peptides may also be associated with malnutrition as well as volume overload. Methods: Body fluid composition was measured in 147 patients with CKD between 2009 and 2015, and its relationship to brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels was examined. Body fluid composition was separated into three components: (a) a water-free mass consisting of muscle, fat, and minerals; (b) intracellular water (ICW) content, and (c) extracellular water (ECW) content. Excess fluid mass was calculated using Chamney's formula. Results: The measured BNP levels in the tertile groups were 10.9 ± 5.4, 36.3 ± 12.5, and 393 ± 542 pg/ml, respectively. Patients in a higher log-transformed BNP level tertile were more likely to be older, to have a higher frequency of cardiac comorbidities, pulse pressure, C-reactive protein levels, and proteinuria, and to have lower serum sodium, kidney function, and serum albumin (p < 0.05). In body fluid composition, decreased body mass was significantly associated with the ECW-to-ICW ratio in relation to the downward ICW slope (r = -0.235, p = 0.004) and was strongly correlated with excess fluid mass (r = -0.701, p < 0.001). The ECW-to-ICW ratio and excess fluid mass was independently associated with the BNP levels. Conclusion: Fluid volume imbalance between intra- and extracellular water regulated by decreased cell mass was independently associated with BNP levels, which may explain the reserve capacity for fluid accumulation in patients with CKD.


This paper is concerned with the analysis of the spoken language of teenagers, taken from a newly developed specialised corpus the British and Taiwanese Teenage Intercultural Communication Corpus (BATTICC). More specifically, the study employs a discourse analytical approach to examine vague language in an intercultural context among a group of British and Taiwanese adolescents, paying particular attention to the three categories of vague expressions: (a) vague categories, (b) approximations and (c) hedging. Initial quantitative analysis is employed to inform further qualitative analysis to identify the pragmatic functions of each type of vague langue. The different use of vague expressions between Taiwanese and British participants will also be presented in detail. The research findings demonstrate the pedagogical merit of the analyses of naturally-occurring discourse and thus help in the design of English courses for adolescent intercultural interaction.


Background: Hypoglycemia poses significant risk to inpatients. Nursing management of hypoglycemia is a challenge, despite established best practice guidelines. Social media is an effective tool for sharing information and could overcome barriers to clinical education at a multicenter hospital. Aims: The purpose of this quality improvement intervention was to create and disseminate social media posts about best practices in hypoglycemia management. Design: An unmatched pre-and post-survey assessed nursing knowledge of hypoglycemia management. Methods: Social media posts were created to visually outline the steps for hypoglycemia management over 2 weeks, across a nursing social media platform. We assessed the reach of the posts via Facebook and a survey. Results: The posts reached 2962 users during the first week, and 1491 users the second week. Conclusions: A social media intervention can have a substantial reach and distribute information across a multicenter hospital. Additional study is needed to determine what factors could support an increase in nursing knowledge through a social media campaign.


Accessibility research studies often gather subjective responses to technology using Likert-type items, where participants respond to a prompt statement by selecting a position on a labeled response scale. We analyzed recent ASSETS papers, and found that participants in non-anonymous accessibility research studies gave more positive average ratings than those in typical usability studies, especially when responding to questions about a proposed innovation. We further explored potential positive response bias in an experimental study of two telephone information systems, one more usable than the other. We found that participants with visual impairment were less sensitive to usability problems than participants in a typical student sample, and that their subjective ratings didn't correlate as strongly with objective measures of performance. A deeper understanding of the mechanism behind this effect would help researchers to design better accessibility studies, and to interpret subjective ratings with more accuracy.


Path loss modeling for both regular and irregular terrains is still gaining significant attention from researchers. A sloped terrain is one specific kind of an irregular terrain that—as far as we are aware—has not been completely studied. Although some results have been published for slope path loss modeling in cellular communication, an adequate model for the case when the transmitter (Tx) and the receiver (Rx) both have low-height antennas and are located on or near a slope does not exist. In this paper, for complete analysis of such conditions, we consider four scenarios: 1) two vehicles are located at opposite ends of the slope; 2) one vehicle is on the slope, and the other vehicle is beyond the slope crest; 3) one vehicle is on the slope, and the other is away from the slope at the bottom; 4) both vehicles are on the slope. For scenarios 1 and 2, we have developed analytical path loss models. We have also made some corroborating measurements for scenario 1. Scenarios 3 and 4 are addressed by models already in the literature. Simulation results for two vehicles traveling toward, on, and then beyond a slope (a sequence of our scenarios) are also shown to illustrate how sloped-terrain path loss varies in contrast to the typical flat-earth condition. Our models for scenarios 1 and 2 add to the literature and can be used to numerically estimate path losses for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication over a slope.


The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 mandates that a financial institution seeking to share nonpublic customer information with third parties is required to give its customers an opportunity to prevent information sharing, or opt out. Privacy advocates have argued for a more stringent opt in provision explicit consent before sharing personal information about them. Economists view financial privacy as one of a bundle of characteristics of the service an institution offers. This straightforward insight implies that, regardless of whether opt-out or opt-in is the legal standard, competitive markets should deliver an appropriate desire for privacy and the economic value of information sharing.


Introduction How do the network positions of the first individuals in a society to receive information about a new product affect its eventual diffusion? To answer this question, we develop a model of information diffusion through a social network that discriminates between information passing (individuals must be aware of the product before they can adopt it, and they can learn from their friends) and endorsement (the decisions of informed individuals to adopt the product might be influenced by their friends' decisions). We apply it to the diffusion of microfinance loans, in a setting where the set of potentially first-informed individuals is known. We then propose two new measures of how "central" individuals are in their social network with regard to spreading information; the centrality of the first-informed individuals in a village helps significantly in predicting eventual adoption. Diffusion of information and participation. (Left) First-informed households have decided whether to participate and stochastically pass on information to their neighbors. (Right) Participation may affect the probability of passing information. Newly informed nodes make their decisions, possibly being influenced by the decisions of their neighbors. After newly informed nodes make their participation decisions, all informed nodes engage in another round of stochastic communication. Methods Six months before a microfinance institution entered 43 villages in India and began offering microfinance loans to villagers, we collected detailed network data by surveying households about a wide range of interactions. The microfinance institution began by inviting "leaders" (e.g., teachers, shopkeepers, savings group leaders) to an informational meeting and then asked them to spread information about the loans. Using the network data, the locations in the network of these first-informed villagers (or injection points), and data regarding the villagers' subsequent participation, we estimate the parameters of our diffusion model using the method of simulated moments. The parameters of the model are validated by showing that the model correctly predicts the evolution of participation in each village over time. The model yields a new measure of the effectiveness of any given node as an injection point, which we call communication centrality. Finally, we develop an easily computed proxy for communication centrality, which we call diffusion centrality. Results We find that a microfinance participant is seven times as likely to inform another household as a nonparticipant; nonetheless, information transmitted by nonparticipants is important and accounts for about one-third of the eventual informedness and participation in the village because nonparticipants are much more numerous. Once information passing is accounted for, an informed household's decision to participate is not significantly dependent on how many of its neighbors have participated. Communication centrality, when applied to the set of first-informed individuals in a village, substantially outperforms other standard network measures of centrality in predicting microfinance participation in this context. Finally, the simpler proxy measure—diffusion centrality—is strongly correlated with communication centrality and inherits its predictive properties. Discussion Our results suggest that a model of diffusion can distinguish information passing from endorsement effects, and that understanding the nature of transmission may be important in identifying the ideal places to inject information. Infectious Information? Much of the recent work on how individuals in social networks behave has relied upon the established Susceptible, Infectious, Recovered model developed in epidemiology. Information, however, differs from disease in one respect, namely that an individual might acquire information and yet not use it (or become "infected" by it). Banerjee et al. (1236498) examined the spread of information about microfinance and its adoption in 43 villages in Karnataka, a state in southern India. Adopters of microfinance were more likely to pass information about it on, and a new measure—diffusion centrality—of the first person to learn new information predicted how widely and quickly others would be likely to make use of it. The first person in a village to learn about microfinance influences how widely the information spreads. To study the impact of the choice of injection points in the diffusion of a new product in a society, we developed a model of word-of-mouth diffusion and then applied it to data on social networks and participation in a newly available microfinance loan program in 43 Indian villages. Our model allows us to distinguish information passing among neighbors from direct influence of neighbors' participation decisions, as well as information passing by participants versus nonparticipants. The model estimates suggest that participants are seven times as likely to pass information compared to informed nonparticipants, but information passed by nonparticipants still accounts for roughly one-third of eventual participation. An informed household is not more likely to participate if its informed friends participate. We then propose two new measures of how effective a given household would be as an injection point. We show that the centrality of the injection points according to these measures constitutes a strong and significant predictor of eventual village-level participation.


Trust has long been considered an important factor that influences people's relationship with news. However, the increase in the volume of information available online, together with the emergence of new tools and services that act as intermediaries and enable interactivity around the news, may have changed this relationship. Using Reuters Institute Digital News Report survey data (N = 21,524), this study explores the impact of individual trust in the news media on source preferences and online news participation behaviour, in particular sharing and commenting, across 11 countries. The results show that those with low levels of trust tend to prefer non-mainstream news sources like social media, blogs, and digital-born providers, and are more likely to engage in various forms of online news participation. These associations tend to be strongest in northern European countries, but are weaker elsewhere. Seeking alternative views and attempting to validate the credibility of news may be among the motivations behind these associations.


The goal of crash prevention necessitates a range of interventions to influence road user behaviour and to stimulate the adoption of training that develops and refines rider/driver awareness and skills. A recurring dilemma for police authorities is how to engage with road users who have traditionally demonstrated apathy towards further training and misplaced confidence in personal riding/driving skills. BikeSafe is a motorcycle road safety initiative instigated by North Yorkshire Police in the United Kingdom. It was set up in response to rising road casualty rates that accompanied a formidable increase in participation in motorcycling; a trend mirrored in many parts of the developed world. This paper sets out how the innovatory BikeSafe scheme was designed as a road safety intervention with the intention of engaging with motorcyclists for the purpose of assessing their training needs, then providing motivation and direction to riders for further training. Alongside the roll out of BikeSafe across the UK a major research programme was undertaken to explore the alternative directions of rider development taken by motorcyclists. The implications of the research are set out and demonstrate how the generation of a well-configured, attractive and competitive development offers intense, positive experiences for participating motorcyclists.


When a mixture of cations in solution is precipitated by the addition of carbonate, the resulting mixed carbonate precipitate, when subjected to infrared examination, does not usually exhibit the individually characteristic absorption bands due to each of the carbonates constituting the mixture. Instead, various interesting anomalies such as blending of bands, shifting of positions, and changing of intensities are observed. Such anomalous behavior may hamper any qualitative or quantitative measurements on such samples. Representative spectra and possible explanations for some of these anomalies are presented.


The rational agency assumption limits systems to domains of application that have never been observed. Moreover, representing agents as being rational in the sense of maximising utility subject to some well specified constraints renders software systems virtually unscalable. These properties of the rational agency assumption are shown to be unnecessary in representations or analogies of markets. The demonstration starts with an analysis of how the rational agency assumption limits the applicability and scalability of the IBM information filetering economy. An unrestricted specification of the information filtering economy is developed from an analysis of the properties of markets as systems and the implementation of a model based on intelligent agents. This extended information filtering economy modelis used to test the analytical results on the scope for agents to act as intermediaries between human users and information sources.


Aim: To study the effectiveness of coblation technology in performing Kashima's procedure for bilateral abductor vocal fold paralysis. Methodology: Managing patients with bilateral vocal fold abductor paralysis is rather tricky one. It calls for delicate balance between airway and phonation. Various endolaryngeal techniques have been used to manage this problem. Here the authors describe their experience with posterior cordectomy using coablator. This study includes 10 patients who presented with stridor following bilateral abductor paralysis. All our patients were on tracheostomy tubes. They were very anxious with the tube and wanted decannulation done. All of these patients were operated by the same senior surgeon. These patients were managed with posterior cordotomy using coablation. Laryngeal wands were used in all these patients. These patients underwent spiggoting of their tracheostomy tube on the first post operative day. Decannulation was completed on the third post operative day. Early decannulation was made possible because there was negligible soft tissue oedema as these patients underwent coblation procedure.
Observation: On discharge all of them had a good voice and adequate airway. These patients were able to climb two flights of stairs without discomfort.Although the causes of bilateral abductor paralysis of vocal cords are multifactorial post traumatic paralysis formed a large majority of our patients ( 8 who developed bilateral vocal fold paralysis following total thyroidectomy).


The attention on prefabricated modules and components is resurging in the New Zealand residential construction industry. This is driven by its relative benefits and technological advancements. However inspite of this attention, there has not been commensurate understanding of its manufacturing supply chain and the enhancement of their performance. Similarly, there has been little research considering the supply chain and supply chain integration in module/component manufacturing in residential construction in New Zealand. Therefore, this paper presents a comprehensive overview of the modular manufacturing process and the barriers and enablers for supply chain integration in module manufacturing. The identified barriers are discussed with their relevant enablers. Information for the study investigation was collected through twelve semi-structured face to face interviews with prefabrication experts. The information obtained was analysed using content analysis that enabled the development of a framework that illustrates barriers and enablers for supply chain integration. Ad-hoc relationships, poor planning and scheduling, transporting of volumetric modules and information sharing are a few significant barriers in the manufacturing process of modular bathroom pods and wall panels in New Zealand. The proposed framework provides a guide for the wall panel and bathroom pods manufacturing companies to improve integration across their entire manufacturing process.


This study examines the relationship between accounting choice for intangible assets and their value relevance as well as the moderating effect of firm life cycle on this relationship, in the pre- and post-Australian Equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards (AIFRS) periods. In the pre-AIFRS period, Australian firms enjoyed wide discretion in accounting for intangible assets. However, with the adoption of AIFRS in 2005, managerial discretion in accounting for the assets has become more restrictive. This allows the impacts of alternative accounting practices in these two periods to be investigated.
The sample used in this study consists of 900 and 1,225 firm-years for the pre and post AIFRS period, respectively. Sample firms are classified into three life cycle stages; Growth, Mature and Decline, based on Anthony and Ramesh's (1992) classification method. Four regression models based on the Ohlson (1995) valuation model are used in the tests of value relevance.
The findings indicate that during the pre-AIFRS period, capitalised identifiable intangible assets are regarded by the Australian market as value relevant. The results also suggest that although there is a significant difference in value relevance between Decline and Mature firms, the same effect is not present between Growth and Mature firms. Further, the results indicate that identifiable intangible assets for Growth and Mature firms are value relevant but not for Decline firms. Although the findings provide support to previous studies on the use of accounting choice as a signalling mechanism, there is also evidence to suggest that it is not employed homogeneously across firms.
A comparison between the pre- and post-AIFRS period suggests that the market attaches higher value relevance to identifiable intangible assets after the adoption of AIFRS. The findings also suggest that AIFRS implementation has led to an increase in the value relevance in all three firm life cycle stages and that there is no significant difference between these stages. Nonetheless, the impact of AIFRS implementation is more substantial for Decline firms with evidence of value relevance found only in the post-AIFRS period.
This suggests that the concerns over a more restrictive accounting treatment for intangible assets following the adoption of AIFRS could lead to firms providing less value-relevant information might be overstated and unwarranted. The findings presented in this study should be useful to both researchers and accounting standard setters in the ongoing debate on allowing managerial discretion with regards to accounting for intangible assets, particularly following the adoption of AIFRS.


This piece is a commentary on Professor Jane C. Ginsburg's 5th Annual Niro Distinguished Intellectual Property Lecture: The Concept of Authorship in Comparative Copyright Law, 52 DePaul Law Review 1063 (2003). In her Article, Professor Ginsburg attempts to stimulate discussion of who is an author in copyright law by positing Six Principles. I find her multi-faceted approach to be an extremely useful way of contemplating the authorship issue, an issue that I agree has been largely overlooked in both the copyright jurisprudence and literature in the United States and elsewhere. In this commentary, I explore the Dead Sea Scrolls litigation in the context of Professor Ginsburg's multi-faceted approach to authorship, and argue that her approach would support a finding of authorship in this situation. I conclude that the issues with which Professor Ginsburg grapples require further exploration of the psychological and spiritual dimensions of the creative process.


About the 80 percent part of the world is covered by the water , they are with the large oceans and the seas ,in them lies the photosynthetic algae , they are preset about the depth of the 160 meters , it depends on the water  nature and about its pollution level .Algae occur in the shores and coast , the bottom attached with any basic body ( benthic algae ) and some time they follows on the water by the free living activity these are the plank tonic organism .Fresh water of the body like the ponds and the lakes and the rivers are also attached by the many kinds of the forms of the algae , and many of the species of the algae are also the terrestrial form .algae accounts for the half of the primary production of the photosynthesis .about all the aquatic organism depends on the algae for their primary production and the water biogeochemical cycles are the result of the algae production ,they are the primary producers Algae are very valuable ecologically as well as the phylogenetically . This is the reasons in the sea one can finds the major evolutionary lineages in the oceans and in the sea. For the tracing out the evolution of the plant world and the animals we have to understand the evolution and the phylogeny of the algae.


Small-scale irrigation continues to cushion the food security gap in sub-Saharan Africa. Irrigation is largely governed by water availability, soil type and crop water requirements, among other factors. Thus, a study was conducted to assess the suitability of various water sources for irrigation in northern Ghana. Specifically, the study sought to assess quality of water sources in the Savelugu, Kasena-Nankana East, and Nabdam districts for small-scale irrigation development. The water quality parameters used were: pH, electrical conductivity (EC w ), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), sodium percent (Na%), soluble sodium percentage (SSP), magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR), Kelley9s ratio (KR), total hardness (TH), Chloride (Cl), E. coli , and Faecal coliforms. While we found most of the irrigation water sources, including small reservoirs, dams, wells and rivers suitable, few unsuitable irrigation water sources were also identified. Overall, the study found that opportunities for scaling small-scale irrigation exist in all the sites. The knowledge generated from this study will guide irrigation water use, and agricultural policy for sustainable smallholder irrigation development in the region.


To better understand the different processes and interactions that govern the earth system and to determine whether recent human-induced changes could ultimately de-stabilise its dynamics, both natural system variability and the consequences of human activities have to be observed and quantified. In this context, the European Space Agency published in 2006 "The Changing Earth: New Scientific Challenges for ESA's living Planet Programme" as the main driver of ESA's new EO science strategy. The document outlines 25 major scientific challenges covering all the different aspects of the Earth system, where EO technology and ESA missions may provide a key contribution. In this context, and responding to a request from ESAC (Earth Science Advisory Committee) to enhance the ESA scientific support towards the achievement of "The Challenges", the Agency has launched the Changing Earth Science Network as an important programmatic component of the new Support To Science Element (STSE) of the Earth Observation Envelope Programme (EOEP). In this paper we summarize the objectives of this initive and provide a review of the first projects that were selected in 2009 and are now generating their first results.


Obesity is a chronic disease that is increasing in prevalence in adults, adolescents and children. It is now considered to be a global epidemic. It is estimated that more than one in three women are obese. Obesity impacts negatively on the health of women and increases their risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer. By reducing their weight, obese women can lower their risk of these conditions, and in some cases, control the disease. This article reviews the complications that are associated with obesity in women.


The production of beef on pasture is one of the potentials of Brazilian agriculture, mainly due to the territorial extension and climatic conditions. Therefore, the production of beef on tropical pastures mainly consists of the use of tropical forages; when correctly handled, forage plants show good productivity and improvement in the nutritive value. Among main factors that affect the performance of beef cattle fed on pastures, the availability and quality of the pasture stand first. In tropical regions, during the dry period of the year, the production of forage as well as its nutritive value is diminished. Hence, it is necessary to use protein supplements as a feed strategy to promote increased intake and improved nutrient utilization efficiency by animals. In view of this, by-products of biodiesel from oilseeds, such as peanuts, cottonseed and sunflower seeds, with high nutritional values can be used as an animal feed alternative to the protein sources commonly used for the formulation of supplements. Protein supplementation contributes to an increase in live weight gain as well as improvement in ruminal microbiota activity and, consequently, potentiates nutrient utilization efficiency in beef cattle fed with tropical pasture.


Belgian archaeological research abroad dates back to the late nineteenth century. However, until the 1930s, research projects outside Belgium were undertaken only very sporadically. This changed when the Royal Museums for Art and History (RMAH) started large excavation programmes in Syria and Egypt. The period after World War II witnessed a growth in investigations abroad largely due to the increasing research by universities.Furthermore, Belgian research itself followed the global trend of increasing scientific interdisciplinary cooperation in archaeological research. At present, Belgian institutes also integrate the broader socio-cultural context of archaeological heritage research through an extensive collaboration with local stakeholders, which can assist in a number of areas such as the development of local educational programmes or sustainable heritage management practices.


Considerable academic research exists on the impact of the timing of release of corporate and investment information on performance measurement. For instance, accounting research has indicated that firms that delay monthly or quarterly reports generally report lower performance than firms which report early in the reporting cycle. Similarly, it could be expected that hedge funds and/or CTAs which report returns early in the monthly reporting cycle may have returns greater than similar hedge funds and/or CTAs which report later in the monthly reporting cycle. In this article, the relative performance of hedge funds and commodity trading advisors (CTAs) who report early in the monthly reporting cycle is compared with hedge funds and CTAs who report later in the reporting cycle. Reported early estimates and end of month hedge fund and CTA index values are used in the analyses. Results show that hedge funds, and to a lesser extent CTAs, who delay reporting returns often report lower performance than those who report early. In contrast to hedge funds, however, the average returns of CTAs reporting after the estimate is calculated is closer to the average of estimated returns.


BACKGROUND
Little information is available about the relationship of socioeconomic status (SES) to blunted nocturnal ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) dipping among Hispanics and whether this relationship differs by race. We sought to characterize ABP nondipping and its determinants in a sample of Hispanics.

METHODS
We enrolled 180 Hispanic participants not on antihypertensive medications. SES was defined by years of educational attainment. All participants underwent 24-hour ABP monitoring. A decrease of <10% in the ratio between average awake and average asleep systolic BP was considered nondipping.

RESULTS
The mean age of the cohort was 67.1 ± 8.7, mean educational level was 9.4 ± 4.4 years, and 58.9% of the cohort was female. The cohort was comprised of 78.3% Caribbean Hispanics with the rest from Mexico and Central/South America; 41.4% self-identified as white Hispanic, 34.4% self-identified as black Hispanic, and 24.4% did not racially self- identify. The percentage of nondippers was 57.8%. Educational attainment (10.5 years vs. 8.6 years; P <0.01) was significantly higher among dippers than nondippers. In multivariable analyses, each 1-year increase in education was associated with a 9% reduction in the likelihood of being a nondipper (odds ratio [OR], 0.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.84-0.98; P = 0.01). There were significantly greater odds of being a nondipper for black Hispanics than for white Hispanics (OR, 2.83, 95% CI, 1.29-6.23; P = 0.005). Higher SES was significantly protective of nondipping in white Hispanics but not black Hispanics.

CONCLUSIONS
These results document a substantial prevalence of nondipping in a cohort of predominantly normotensive Hispanics. Dipping status varied significantly by race. Lower SES is significantly associated with nondipping status, and race potentially impacts on this relation.


This paper describes a real-time online prototype driver-fatigue monitor. It uses remotely located charge-coupled-device cameras equipped with active infrared illuminators to acquire video images of the driver. Various visual cues that typically characterize the level of alertness of a person are extracted in real time and systematically combined to infer the fatigue level of the driver. The visual cues employed characterize eyelid movement, gaze movement, head movement, and facial expression. A probabilistic model is developed to model human fatigue and to predict fatigue based on the visual cues obtained. The simultaneous use of multiple visual cues and their systematic combination yields a much more robust and accurate fatigue characterization than using a single visual cue. This system was validated under real-life fatigue conditions with human subjects of different ethnic backgrounds, genders, and ages; with/without glasses; and under different illumination conditions. It was found to be reasonably robust, reliable, and accurate in fatigue characterization.