Conservation practices such as no-till and cover crops have been shown to have on- and off-farm benefits. However, when benefits of a practice do not go to the provider, underinvestment may occur. Farmland rental arrangements where tenants may not reap the benefits of conservation investments are a commonly cited barrier to conservation practice adoption in agriculture and may result in lower adoption rates on rented land than on owner-operated fields. This issue is especially important since more than half of Midwestern farmland is rented out. This article examines the factors driving adoption of four key conservation practices—no-till, cover crops, buffer strips, and ponds/sediment basins—using a statistically representative survey of Iowa landowners. We find evidence supporting the hypothesis that adoption is lower on rented land for cover crops, buffer strips, and sediment basins, but not for no-till. Our results also show that the large proportion of the state's land owned by nonoperating landowners and absentee landowners could present a barrier to increasing adoption of conservation practices. Furthermore, landowners seem open to increasing the use of cover crops in the immediate future, and a sizable number are even willing to incentivize tenants by paying for part of the cover crop planting cost. Finally, almost half of landowners would be willing to increase the area of their land under conservation practices if they could receive conservation-related tax credits or deductions, suggesting a potential policy strategy to increase adoption.


Radiarta, I N., Saitoh, S-I., and Yasui, H. 2011. Aquaculture site selection for Japanese kelp (Laminaria japonica) in southern Hokkaido, Japan, using satellite remote sensing and GIS-based models. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 773–780.Japanese kelp (Laminaria japonica) is an important species cultured and harvested in Japan. The most suitable areas for hanging culture in southern Hokkaido were determined using geographic information system (GIS) models and a multicriteria evaluation approach. Analyses of physical parameters (sea surface temperature and suspended solid from SeaWiFS and MODIS) and available bathymetric data indicated that some 74% (1139 km 2 ) of the total potential area with bottom depths <60 m had the two highest suitability scores. A local sensitivity analysis indicated that suspended solids were more important than temperature in affecting model output. This study demonstrates that GIS databases of different formats and sources can be used effectively to construct spatial models for kelp aquaculture.


The strict anaerobe Clostridium difficile is the most common cause of nosocomial diarrhea, and the oxygen-resistant spores that it forms have a central role in the infectious cycle. The late stages of sporulation require the mother cell regulatory protein σK. In Bacillus subtilis, the onset of σK activity requires both excision of a prophage-like element (skinBs) inserted in the sigK gene and proteolytical removal of an inhibitory pro-sequence. Importantly, the rearrangement is restricted to the mother cell because the skinBs recombinase is produced specifically in this cell. In C. difficile, σK lacks a pro-sequence but a skinCd element is present. The product of the skinCd gene CD1231 shares similarity with large serine recombinases. We show that CD1231 is necessary for sporulation and skinCd excision. However, contrary to B. subtilis, expression of CD1231 is observed in vegetative cells and in both sporangial compartments. Nevertheless, we show that skinCd excision is under the control of mother cell regulatory proteins σE and SpoIIID. We then demonstrate that σE and SpoIIID control the expression of the skinCd gene CD1234, and that this gene is required for sporulation and skinCd excision. CD1231 and CD1234 appear to interact and both proteins are required for skinCd excision while only CD1231 is necessary for skinCd integration. Thus, CD1234 is a recombination directionality factor that delays and restricts skinCd excision to the terminal mother cell. Finally, while the skinCd element is not essential for sporulation, deletion of skinCd results in premature activity of σK and in spores with altered surface layers. Thus, skinCd excision is a key element controlling the onset of σK activity and the fidelity of spore development.


The pharmacokinetics of the enzyme inducer, phenobarbital, was evaluated in genetically obese and lean Zucker and lean Sprague-Dawley rats. The volume of distribution of phenobarbital in obese Zucker rats was larger (0.416 liter) than for lean Zucker (0.299 liter) or Sprague-Dawley rats (0.312 liter). Standardizing the volume of distribution for total body weight in the obese and lean Zucker and lean Sprague-Dawley rats resulted in similar volume terms. Intra- and inter-strain differences in phenobarbital clearance were observed between the obese and lean Zucker (11.9 and 14.1 ml/hr, respectively) and lean Sprague-Dawley rats (23.0 ml/hr). Greater differences in phenobarbital clearance were observed when clearance was corrected for body weight. Whether comparing the absolute or standardized pharmacokinetic data, lean and obese Zucker rats will exhibit 2- to 3-fold higher phenobarbital plasma concentrations after administration of a standard 75- to 100-mg/kg enzyme-inducing regimen relative to Sprague-Dawley rats. Pharmacokinetic parameters from the single dose study were used to calculate appropriate phenobarbital doses (21-58 mg/kg/12 hr) to achieve similar steady-state phenobarbital plasma concentrations after chronic oral administration in all three groups of rats. Steady-state phenobarbital clearance values were not significantly different from clearance values after single dose administration in each group of rats. The dramatic intra- and inter-strain alterations in phenobarbital disposition demonstrated in this study explain the high mortality reported in Zucker rats after administration of traditional enzyme induction doses of phenobarbital. Differences in phenobarbital disposition should be considered in enzyme induction studies.


The release on medical parole of a prominent and influential South African businessman, Mr Schabir Shaik, who served less than 3 years of his 15-year prison term, put the issue of medical parole under the spotlight with several newspaper articles, radio stations and television channels expressing different views regarding his release. There were also allegations that the medical officers who had recommended his release had acted unprofessionally – until they were vindicated by the Health Professions Council of South Africa. This article discusses the law relating to medical parole in South Africa and cases where courts have released offenders on medical parole, and gives statistics of offenders who have been released on medical parole since 1996. It also highlights some of the contentious issues relating to medical parole.


Image segmentation divides the image into different regions. Accurate segmentation of objects of interest in an image gently facilitates further analysis of the objects. There are three compound image segmentation methods for compound image compression which are object based, layer based and block based segmentation. This paper discusses about six segmentation methods which are object based, block based, layer based, Hybrid Model1(Block + Layer),Hybrid Model2(Layer + Object) and Hybrid Model3(Block + Object). In this paper two hybrid models are proposed for segmenting compound images. The proposed hybrid models results are compared with the existing segmentation methods.


Modern software development and operations rely on monitoring to understand how systems behave in production. The data provided by application logs and runtime environment are essential to detect and diagnose undesired behavior and improve system reliability. However, despite the rich ecosystem around industry-ready log solutions, monitoring complex systems and getting insights from log data remains a challenge. Researchers and practitioners have been actively working to address several challenges related to logs, e.g., how to effectively provide better tooling support for logging decisions to developers, how to effectively process and store log data, and how to extract insights from log data. A holistic view of the research effort on logging practices and automated log analysis is key to provide directions and disseminate the state-of-the-art for technology transfer. In this paper, we study 108 papers (72 research track papers, 24 journals, and 12 industry track papers) from different communities (e.g., machine learning, software engineering, and systems) and structure the research field in light of the life-cycle of log data. Our analysis shows that (1) logging is challenging not only in open-source projects but also in industry, (2) machine learning is a promising approach to enable a contextual analysis of source code for log recommendation but further investigation is required to assess the usability of those tools in practice, (3) few studies approached efficient persistence of log data, and (4) there are open opportunities to analyze application logs and to evaluate state-of-the-art log analysis techniques in a DevOps context.


When her brother Hiroki disappears after a violent altercation with school bullies, the young Yuriko finds a magical book in his room. The book leads her to another world where she learns that Hiroki has been possessed by a spirit from the Book of Heroes.She visits the magical Nameless Land, where she is told how to save her brother, and is sent back to Earth with a young monk named Sora and the magical book, transformed into a mouse named Azu. Yuriko has to piece together the mystery of Hiroki, and has a library of powerful magical books at her disposal to do so!


One recurring problem in the punitive damages case law is the degree to which the wealth of the defendant should matter in the determination of a punitive award. Intuition suggests that the wealthy should pay more than the non-wealthy. On the other hand, the view has been expressed that wealth should not play a role in the determination of a punitive award. I will use examples to develop several arguments. The claim that wealth is seldom relevant to the determination of a punitive award is unsupportable. The key proposition advanced in this paper is that the defendant's wealth is relevant when either the victim's loss or the defendant's gain from wrongdoing is unobservable and correlated with the defendant's wealth. Since the victim's loss typically will be observable, wealth will tend to be a relevant factor when optimal deterrence requires elimination of the defendant's gain.


This book provides a unified description of elementary particle interactions and the underlying theories, namely the Standard Model and beyond. The authors have aimed at a concise presentation but have taken care that all the basic concepts are clearly described. Written primarily for graduate students in theoretical and experimental particle physics, The Physics of the Standard Model and Beyond conveys the excitement of particle physics, centering upon experimental observations (new and old) and a variety of ideas for their interpretation.


For complex technical systems in the electricity and pulp and paper industries, maintenance management addresses how to exploit physical assets in the most profitably way. This is a difficult task that requires taking into consideration parameters of totally different natures – e.g. reliability data, operating costs, condition of technical systems, the environment and rules and regulation. An incorrect estimate of a residual lifetime can result in a premature renewal with accompanying high capital costs. If, however, renewal is delayed, a breakdown may occur which can cause major damage to technical equipment and a loss of income due to outages. Because of the complexity of many technical systems, it can be hard to select adequate data to use when making decisions about renewal strategies. To cope with this, one approach is to use less detailed models that are operated by skilled analysts. This work demonstrates the advantage of such an approach by proposing two methods applied in a joint methodology that has its origins in RCM. The methodology consists of Dynamic Lifetime Model (DLA) and the Condition Based Index (CBI). The DLA method copes with the financial risk associated with the point in time for when a renewal is carried out and the CBI method uses critical parameters to estimate the condition of a technical system. The two methods together create a quantitative connection between reliability, maintenance and financial risk. A case study based validation of the methodology was carried out at SCA Ortvikens paper mill on a refiner system and Forsmark nuclear power plant. Lessons learned from the case study showed that the methodology could be used to identify which components could cause costly breakdown. By using the methodology a manager gets a decision support tool for estimating short-term and long-term consequences of decisions regarding maintenance management in order to maximize utility of the system concerned


In tennis competition "Hawk-Eye" actually is capturing three-dimensional coordinate, speed size, direction when tennis is flying, calculating its flight trajectory and defining its drop points. According to "Hawk-Eye" principle, the paper firstly assumes it's breezeless and has even air density, tennis generated deformation by hitting is ignored, it accurately makes tennis flight suffered gravity, air resistance, decomposes tennis movements into vertical direction and horizontal direction, utilizes calculus thought to solve, and then gets tennis shooting range, dropping time and dropping position. Finally it increases tennis rotation, according to Bernoulli conservation formula, pressure generated Magnus force that is vertical to speed direction and angular speed direction, applies integral principle to solve Magnus force coefficient, by calculating vertical direction's tennis rising height required time, it establishes mathematical model and detailed describes flight trajectory and drop point in case tennis is rotating, and utilizes Matlab software to draw intuitional flight trajectory graph.


Torching the Fink Books and Other Essays on Vernacular Culture. By Archie Green. Foreword by Robert Cantwell. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001. Pp. xxvii + 242, illustrations, author bibliography, index. $49.95 cloth, $18.95 paper) On a drizzly afternoon, I stood with Archie Green in the atrium of one of San Francisco's glass-fronted corporate piles near Market Street. As we dodged office workers and took a breather from our foot-, bus- and BART-tour of the city's labor landmarks, Archie stood with his hands behind his back, facing the interior of the building. He caressed the wooden railing that followed the glass building's huge footprint and continued his observations of labor and labor study in the city. As he talked, his hands seeking out the smooth surface of the teak, I gradually began to understand that the story he was telling about careful joinery and old-time craftsmanship juxtaposed against the flagrant monumentalism of the corporate headquarters was not a mere Archie observation, nor yet another irony of work culture in a world that could care less. He was not talking about just anyjoinery or craft experience, he was talking about his role in planning, shaping and constructing the very railing he was touching. This was a building Archie had worked on. This personal attachment, this bi- and tri-cultural ability to tangibly forge new meanings out of a variety of cultural contexts, characterizes Archie's thinking and writing. In Torching the Fink Books and Other Essays on Vernacular Culture, we look over his shoulder as he traces the etymology of words like "dutchman," "fink," "cosmic cowboy," and "hillbilly." We join in the celebration as he pays tribute to the work of people like Cecil Sharp, Robert W. Gordon, Tom Benton, and-in a more personal vein-Jack Fitch and Peter Tamony. This rich Mulligan stew of a book suggests how much we owe Archie Green for the subtlety and grace of his scholarship and his craftsmanship. A short introduction by Robert Cantwell draws attention to the stylistic elements of Archie's delivery. Archie draws upon insights from a variety of sources simultaneously; he pauses to remind us that he is speaking and he consistently draws our attention to predecessors, insiders and colleagues whose insights, hard work and (in the case of Richard M. Dorson) approbation brought him to a particular course of action. Action. Active. This is work. Archie exhibits his skill at combining traditional scholarship with a keen eye for visual representation and, if we could but listen to the music he describes and annotates, for aural experience. These are not just experiences of the mind and citations from published sources. These are accounts of real people who have committed themselves to an ethos of sacrifice for their craft-difficult, but satisfying. Examples are seen in Archie's description of Lawrence Roberts's lessons in woodsmanship; his admiration for the ringing integrity of Sarah Ogan Gunning; his joy at seeing the massive collection of his lifelong friend Peter Tamony preserved for research. …


Excess precipitation in Iowa and many other agricultural production areas is
removed artificially via subsurface drainage systems that intercept and usually divert
it to surface waters. Nitrogen, either applied as fertilizer or manure and derived from
soil organic matter, can be carried as nitrate with the excess water in quantities that can cause deleterious effects downstream. A four-year, five-replication, field study
was initiated in the fall of 1999 in Pocahontas County, Iowa on 0.05 ha plots that are
predominantly Nicollet, Webster, and Canisteo clay loams with 3-5% organic matter.
The objective was to determine the influence of seasonal N application and the use of
nitrapyrin [inhibitor; 2-chloro-6 (trichloromethyl) pyridine] on flow-weighted nitratenitrogen
concentrations and yields in a corn-soybean rotation, combined on single
plots. Six aqua-ammonia nitrogen treatments (168 and 252 kg/ha at planting and in
late fall, and 168 kg/ha at planting and late fall with nitrapyrin) were imposed on
subsurface drained, continuous-flow-monitored plots. Combined fall 1999 and spring
2000 precipitation was 42% of normal average. Subsequently, normal precipitation
was recorded for both fall and spring periods (after fall application, and before spring
application) until spring and fall 2002 (51% and 73% of normal, respectively). Spring
2003 precipitation was again only 51% of normal average. Four-year average, flowweighted
nitrate-nitrogen concentrations ranked in highest to lowest order: spring-
252(22.9 mg/L;a) > fall-252(18.1 mg/L;b) > spring-168 w/inhibitor(17.7 mg/L;bc) > fall-
168 w/inhibitor(16.0 mg/L;bcd) > spring-168(14.8 mg/L;cd) > fall-168(14.2 mg/L;cd).
Spring application plots had significantly greater soybean yield the following season
compared to fall applications. Greatest corn yields were observed for the spring-252
and fall-168 rates, but were only significantly different than the spring-168 rate for
yield. Therefore, under slightly dry to normal precipitation conditions, corn yields and
nitrate-nitrogen concentrations in subsurface drainage were not significantly different
between seasonal timing or inhibitor use treatments at the 168 kg/ha nitrogen rate.


One of the nation's most famous name trains - the "Overland Limited" - train No. 1 (westbound) on Union Pacific rails in Echo Canyon, Utah. The train is headed by a Mountain, type 4-8-2 locomotive with a Vanderbilt tender (oil burner) headed by Engine No. 7038 with a consist of eleven cars, all standard heavyweight equipment. This train was a joint-operation of three rail entities: Chicago and Northwestern from Chicago to Omaha; Union Pacific from Omaha to Salt Lake City; and Southern Pacific from Salt Lake City to San Francisco and on to Los Angeles. In the "Roaring Twenties" the "Overland Limited" was the flagship of the Union Pacific's fleet.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of a multiple injection regimen with a mixture of 75% lispro and 25% intermediate-acting insulin (lispro high mixture [HM]) before meals on glycemic control, physiological responses to hypoglycemia, well-being, and treatment satisfaction.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS
We studied 35 type 1 diabetes patients. After an 8- to 10-week lead-in period, patients were randomized to HM or human regular insulin therapy for 12-14 weeks. During the lead-in and treatment periods, HbA1c levels and hypoglycemic frequencies were measured, and patients completed the Well-Being Questionnaire and the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire. In 19 patients, responses to hypoglycemia were tested during stepped euglycemic-hypoglycemic clamps.

RESULTS
HM treatment improved postprandial glycemia but had no effect on HbA1c, frequency of hypoglycemia, well-being, or treatment satisfaction. During experimental hypoglycemia, HM therapy was associated with a slightly lower total adrenaline response and a higher autonomic symptom threshold (i.e., the autonomic symptom response occurred at a lower blood glucose level) than human regular insulin therapy. We speculate that this effect resulted from an accumulation of insulin during the night.

CONCLUSIONS
Multiple injection therapy with HM rather than human regular insulin before meals does not offer advantages regarding glycemic control, frequency of hypoglycemia, well-being, or treatment satisfaction. In addition, this regimen causes an attenuation of the adrenaline and autonomic symptom responses to hypoglycemia.


A new method for simulating a frequency independent absorption within DHI's Mike 21 Boussinesq wave (BW) model is presented. This provides an increase in the accuracy of the simulation of wave processes around a hypothetical WEC array. Multiple monochromatic wave simulations are combined to represent a wave spectrum. Wave device characteristics are then simulated using porosity layers. A frequency dependent porosity for each device is then applied based on data taken from an experimental study. This method is tested for nearshore shallow water devices where the wave energy disturbance is quantified for flat and varying domain gradients.


Summary Malignant gliomas represent about 70 % of all brain tumors. Despite advances in standard therapy consisting of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy, gliomas remain an essentially fatal disease, with a median survival time of 10 to 12 months and a 2-year survival rate of 8 % to 12 %. Electro-hyperthermia applied either alone or in combination with chemo- and/or radio-therapy is an advanced hyperthermia technique that has been used as adjuvant treatment for patients with malignant glioma. We present the results of a retrospective study of 140 patients with different stages of malignant glioma, which were treated/followed from January 2000 to February 2005. The endpoint was the overall survival and the survival from the 1st electro-hyperthermia treatment. The overall median survival time for patients with mostly advanced malignant glioma who received adjuvant electro-hyperthermia in this study was 20.4 months. The median survival time from the first electro-hyperthermia treatment was 6.6 months. Electro-hyperthermia was safe and well tolerated. The presented results show the feasibility of the treatment and suggest a benefit of the electro-hyperthermia treatment for patients with advanced malignant glioma.


"Afternoon Remembrances" is an attempt to answer a question that many of us are afraid to ask ourselves, or to even contemplate when asked by wise elders to consider the meaning of our condition. To do this, I told the story of my contemplating in story format, condensing several months of pondering and Soul-Listening down to a few pages, and setting this "mind conversation" in a place familiar to many of us via some experience or another. The "characters" are representatives, archetypes really, of very real people. Like all good questions, it has led to more questions than answers.


Performance and reliability is essential factor for deploying the solar Photovoltaic (PV) technology in desert environment due to the high ambient temperature and high humidity. During daytime, the PV conversion efficiency decreases considerably due to high temperature and weak natural cooling effects on PV modules. During night, sky radiation cooling promotes atmospheric water vapor condensation on PV modules surface, where dust accumulates and consequently, leading to cementation of dust that necessitates manual or mechanical cleaning in absence of rainfall. Therefore, thermal management in hot climates is crucial for reliable application of PV systems to prevent the efficiency drop due to high temperature rise during day time and to keep the module temperature above the dew point during night time to avoid mud formation on PV modules surface. Thermal management of PV modules in hot climates can be achieved by either active or passive cooling. Active cooling includes air-cooling, through natural or forced air flow, and water cooling. In hot summer, air-cooling would be less effective as the ambient temperature reaches up to 50°C, hence water cooling or passive thermal management of PV cells become a necessity. The present research focuses on utilization of Phase Change Materials (PCM) for passive thermal management of solar PV systems. The main focus is to explore the effect of utilization of PCM-based cooling elements on the thermal behavior of solar PV modules. By attaching PCM-Absorbers to the back side of PV modules, the modules temperature can be regulated by the virtue of PCM to extract and accumulate heat at high density, as PCM have a high specific heat density capacity due to latent heat of fusion during melting and solidification. Moreover, the PCM absorber can help reducing atmospheric water vapor condensation during night on the surface of PV module by releasing the absorbed thermal energy during the daytime to keep the PV module on a temperature above the dew point. Some of the important advantages of the proposed solution include, simplicity, no moving parts such as coolant circulation pumps or air blowers are needed, low tech and can be manufactured locally from aluminum waste and oil waste, zero self-energy consumption, involves no hazards such as chemical toxicity, flammability or explosivity, and has a longer life time than the life span of top quality PV modules available in the international market. The PV module and PCM material have been modelled using Finite Element method in COMSOL Multiphysics software. A macro scale transient model has been developed to capture the underlying physics related to energy and heat transfer balances. The setup contains six main sections; transparent top glass cover, PV cells, aluminum back sheet, heat conduction film, PCM matrix absorber and aluminum heat fins. The effect of PCM thickness, i.e. heat storage capacity, PCM melting temperature, fiber porosity and thermal conductivity of matrix absorber with/without heat fins has been extensively studied. The numerical simulation results showed that there are optimum thermos-physical properties for PCM Absorbers for cooling of PV modules under Qatar weather conditions. It has been concluded that the ideal PCM-Absorber should have a melting temperatures of 53–54 °C, 30 mm PCM thickness, and 85 % fiber porosity of metallic aluminum fiber structure and with aluminum heat fins. With the optimum design of PCM-Absorber, the PV module's peak temperature can be reduced by 16 °C during daytime and at night it can be maintained at 3-5 °C higher than conventional modules, which reduces water vapor condensation tendency. Furthermore, depending on the temperature coefficient of a PV module, the power production can be increased by up to 6–8% for mono and poly crystalline cells respectively, and up to 5% for thin film technology. The module's instantaneous efficiency can be increased by 1–2%. In addition, study of the effect of passive thermal management on PV modules lifetime is ongoing and preliminary results revealed that a significant increase in lifetime would be expected. A techno-economic analysis for commercial scale application of the proposed thermal management solution has also revealed promising results, especially under local manufacturing in Qatar utilizing oil waste, which makes it economically viable.


The DARPA CORONET project seeks to develop the target network architectures and technologies needed to build next-generation long-distance IP-over-Optical-Layer (IP/OL) networks. These next-generation networks are expected to scale 10-100 times larger than today's largest commercial IP/OL network. Furthermore, DARPA has established advanced objectives for very rapid provisioning of new IP or private line connections, very rapid restoration against up to three simultaneous network failures, and future dynamic ldquowavelengthrdquo services ranging from speeds of 40-800 Gigabits per second. Besides these ambitious goals, the CORONET project seeks to establish a commercially-viable network architecture that supports both commercial and government services. In this paper, we describe the CORONET program requirements, and present our initial architectures and analysis of the early phases of this long-term project. We propose a novel 2-Phase Fast Reroute restoration method that achieves 50-100 ms restoration in the IP-Layer in a cost-effective manner, and a commercially viable OL restoration method that can meet the rapid CORONET requirements. We also estimate the magnitude of the extra capacity needed to provide dynamic wavelength services compared to that of static services, and show that the extra capacity to restore a small percentage of high priority traffic against multiple failures requires a small amount of extra capacity compared to that of single failures.


Abstract: Considerable attention has recently been focused on using levels of developmental instability among members of a population to detect environmental or genetic stresses on animals or plants. It is not yet clear, however, that high developmental instability in a sample of individuals always indicates environmental stress or poor genetic quality. We studied 13 fragmented populations of prairie phlox (  Phlox pilosa L.) to test the hypothesis that developmental instability should decrease with increasing population size—as expected if small populations suffer genetic problems associated with inbreeding or are exposed to more environmental stress than larger populations. We used two different measures of developmental instability, each calculated for two different traits: radial asymmetry of flowers (for petal width and petal length) and modular fluctuating asymmetry of leaves (  for leaf widths at two points along the leaf  ). There were weak but significant correlations among individuals for four of six pairwise combinations of these measures. Surprisingly, three of our four measures of developmental instability showed strong population size effects that were opposite to those expected: developmental instability increased with population size. We conclude that measures of developmental instability cannot be applied uncritically for biomonitoring without considerable knowledge of developmental mechanisms, natural history, and population biology of the species in question.


One square nautical degree within the active part of the Romanche Fracture Zone was surveyed at about long 17°W during the 1988 Equamarge II cruise of the R/V Jean Charcot to the equatorial Atlantic. SeaBeam mapping and seismic-reflection profiles of the trench and adjacent northern and southern transverse ridges emphasize the contrast between the apparent simplicity of the major morphostructural lineaments and the complexity of the second-order features. The vertical displacement associated with the main strike-slip movement of major oceanic transform faults is clearly illustrated by positive topographic anomalies of the transverse ridges. The bathymetric map and samples collected confirm that the flat-topped northern transverse ridge actually emerged at a time when peridesertic climate shaped basaltic basement into ventifact pebbles coated with desert varnish.


Watersheds in cold regions are undergoing climate warming and permafrost degradation, which result in quantitative shifts in surface water – groundwater interaction. Daily discharge, annual maximum frozen depth (AMFD) of seasonal frozen soil, precipitation and negative degree-day temperature were analyzed to explore changes and correlations of climate, runoff and permafrost in the Upper Yellow River Basin from 1980 to 2009. Plausible permafrost degradation trends were found at two of the stations, but an unsubstantiated trend was found at Huangheyan Station. The winter recession processes slowed down gradually from 1980 to 2009 at three stations but had little relation to AMFD. Meanwhile, the ratio of monthly maximum to minimum discharge reduced significantly. It is clear that permafrost degradation and runoff variations have already occurred in the basin, particularly in zones where the permafrost coverage is above 40%. It is proposed that the variations in the hydrological regimes were caused by permafrost degradation which enlarges infiltration and sub-surface water contribution to winter discharge. The differences of changes in runoff generation and confluence in various regions were thought to be affected by different permafrost coverage and changes because the exchange of groundwater and surface-water mediated by permafrost.


The genus Gloxinia (Gesneriaceae, Gesnerieae, Gloxiniinae) comprises four species distributed from Nicaragua to Argentina. Historically, Koellikeria major has been problematic to place taxonomically due to the morphological similarity with Gloxinia erinoides, and as a result is currently treated as a synonym. Here, we present a molecular phylogenetic and morphological study that allowed us to demonstrate that Koellikeria major is distinct from G. erinoides. As a result, we formally transfer Koellikeria major to Gloxinia major. Here G. major is described, illustrated, and compared to morphologically similar species. Data on its distribution, habitat, and taxonomic treatment are provided.


We introduce space-time block coding, a new paradigm for communication over Rayleigh fading channels using multiple transmit antennas. Data is encoded using a space-time block code and the encoded data is split into n streams which are simultaneously transmitted using n transmit antennas. The received signal at each receive antenna is a linear superposition of the n transmitted signals perturbed by noise. Maximum-likelihood decoding is achieved in a simple way through decoupling of the signals transmitted from different antennas rather than joint detection. This uses the orthogonal structure of the space-time block code and gives a maximum-likelihood decoding algorithm which is based only on linear processing at the receiver. Space-time block codes are designed to achieve the maximum diversity order for a given number of transmit and receive antennas subject to the constraint of having a simple decoding algorithm. The classical mathematical framework of orthogonal designs is applied to construct space-time block codes. It is shown that space-time block codes constructed in this way only exist for few sporadic values of n. Subsequently, a generalization of orthogonal designs is shown to provide space-time block codes for both real and complex constellations for any number of transmit antennas. These codes achieve the maximum possible transmission rate for any number of transmit antennas using any arbitrary real constellation such as PAM. For an arbitrary complex constellation such as PSK and QAM, space-time block codes are designed that achieve 1/2 of the maximum possible transmission rate for any number of transmit antennas. For the specific cases of two, three, and four transmit antennas, space-time block codes are designed that achieve, respectively, all, 3/4, and 3/4 of maximum possible transmission rate using arbitrary complex constellations. The best tradeoff between the decoding delay and the number of transmit antennas is also computed and it is shown that many of the codes presented here are optimal in this sense as well.


Abstract In this paper we consider the problem of characterizing those perfect squares that can be expressed as the sum of consecutive squares where the initial term in thus sum is k 2 . This problem is intimately related to that of finding all integral points on elliptic curves belonging to a certain family which can be represented by a Weierstras equation with parameter k . All curves in this family have positive rank, and for those of rank 1 a most likely candidate generator of infinite order can be explicitly given in terms of k . We conjecture that this point indeed generates the free part of the Mordell–Weil group and give some heuristics to back this up. We also show that a point which is modulo torsion equal to a nontrivial multiple of this conjectured generator cannot be integral. For k in the range 1⩽ k ⩽100 the corresponding curves are closely examined, all integral points are determined and all solutions to the original problem are listed. It is worth mentioning that all curves of equal rank in this family can be treated more or less uniformly in terms of the parameter k . The reason for this lies in the fact that in Sinnou David's lower bound of linear forms in elliptic logarithms—which is an essential ingredient of our approach—the rank is the dominant factor. Also the extra computational effort that is needed for some values of k in order to determine the rank unconditionally and construct a set of generators for the Mordell–Weil group deserves special attention, as there are some unusual features.


The Indian Child Welfare Act establishes a cultural safeguard for Alaska Native children caught up in the child welfare system by requiring professionals to make "active efforts" toward reunifying the child with family members and their tribe. Complying with this standard has been a challenge because the adversarial system governing the child welfare proceedings does not fully recognize the Alaska Native belief that the family and tribe have a shared responsibility in the upbringing of children. In this Comment, the author discusses how utilizing Family Group Conferencing, a procedure originating in New Zealand that encourages family and community involvement and respects the unique values and customs of indigenous peoples, will assist child welfare professionals in meeting the "active efforts" standard.


This paper relates the results of deliberation of youth juries about the use of autonomous weapons systems (AWS). The discourse that emerged from the juries centered on several key issues. The jurors expressed the importance of keeping the humans in the decision-making process when it comes to militarizing artificial intelligence, and that only humans are capable of moral agency. They discussed the perennial issue of control over AWS and possibility of something going wrong, either with software or hardware. Concerns over proliferation of AWS and possible arms race also entered the discussion and the jurors were skeptical about the possibility of regulation and compliance once AWS enter military arsenals. We conclude that the juries were very apprehensive and hostile to the introduction of autonomous weapons systems into military conflicts.


Existing vision-language pre-training (VLP) methods primarily rely on paired image-text datasets, which are either annotated by enormous human labors, or crawled from the internet followed by elaborate data cleaning techniques. To reduce the dependency on well-aligned image-text pairs, it is promising to directly leverage the large-scale text-only and image-only corpora. This paper proposes a data augmentation method, namely cross-modal CutMix (CMC), for implicit cross-modal alignment learning in unpaired VLP. Specifically, CMC transforms natural sentences from the textual view into a multi-modal view, where visually-grounded words in a sentence are randomly replaced by diverse image patches with similar semantics. There are several appealing proprieties of the proposed CMC. First, it enhances the data diversity while keeping the semantic meaning intact for tackling problems where the aligned data are scarce; Second, by attaching cross-modal noise on uni-modal data, it guides models to learn token-level interactions across modalities for better denoising. Furthermore, we present a new unpaired VLP method, dubbed as VLMixer, that integrates CMC with contrastive learning to pull together the uni-modal and multi-modal views for better instance-level alignments among different modalities. Extensive experiments on five downstream tasks show that VLMixer could surpass previous state-of-the-art unpaired VLP methods.


The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of several experimental pretreatment crosslinker solutions on the resin polymer–dentine interface created using a representative universal adhesive system, by means of microtensile bond strength testing (μTBS), nanomechanical properties and ultramorphology confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Five experimental solutions containing different flavonoids were applied as dentine pretreatment after acid etching. A control pretreatment group containing no flavonoid was also employed. A representative modern universal adhesive was then applied, followed by a 3 mm thick composite built up. Specimens were sectioned into sticks and submitted to a μTBS test or nanoindentation analysis along the interface (24 h or 25,000 thermocycles). The ultramorphology of the polymer–resin interface was also evaluated using CLSM. The results were analyzed using two-way ANOVA and Bonferroni's post hoc test (α = 0.05). All flavonoids improved short- and long-term μTBS values (p < 0.01), while only some specific such solutions improved the nanomechanical properties (p < 0.05) and preserved the structural morphology of the interface after aging. Pretreatment of acid-etched dentine using specific flavonoid-containing solutions may be a promising approach to improve both the nanomechanical properties and the durability of modern universal adhesive systems.


Objective: Small animal microSPECT is an important pre‐clinical imaging modality. However, the quantitative accuracy may be somewhat limited by photon loss due to attenuation in the body of the subject. Our goal is investigate the effects of including attenuation correction in the reconstruction of rat SPECT/CT data, and to assess the impact on the quantitative uptake in the myocardium and the uniformity of the distribution of uptake. Method: A rat was injected with ∼2.0 mCi of 99mTc‐tetrofosmin (Myoview) and scanned with a nanoSPECT scanner (BioScan, Washington, DC). Scan parameters were as follows: single, 1.5 mm pinhole, 4 hour scan duration commencing 30 minutes post injection, 48 projections, and circular scan. The rat was also scanned with the built‐in CTscanner (45 keV, cone beam). The CT data were reconstructed using filtered backprojection and rescaled to generate a linear attenuation map for the 140 keV 99mTc photons. The SPECT data were reconstructed using an iterative ordered subsets expectation maximization (OSEM) algorithm. Iterative reconstruction allows photon attenuation to be modelled as part of the reconstruction algorithm, and the reconstruction was done both with and without including attenuation. Results: As expected, inclusion of attenuation correction in the reconstruction increased by about 30% the total observed activity in the heart. However, we found no evidence that ignoring the attenuation correction introduces any significant artefacts in the uniformity of the reconstructed activity map. Conclusions: Including attenuation correction in the reconstruction of 99mTc cardiac images has little impact on the measured distribution of activity in the myocardium.


Focusing Resources, Economic Investment, and Guidance to Help Transportation Act of 2011 - Declares U.S. policy with respect to freight transportation. Establishes within the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) an Office of Freight Planning and Development. Directs the Secretary to develop a long-term National Freight Freight Transportation Strategic Plan to guide planning and investments in the national transportation system to move freight. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop new or improve existing tools to support an outcome-oriented, performance-based approach to evaluate proposed freight-related and other transportation projects; (2) facilitate the collection of transportation-related data to support a broad range of evaluation methods and techniques to assist in making transportation investment decisions; and (3) consider improvements to the Commodity Flow Survey that reduce identified freight data gaps and deficiencies and help evaluate forecasts of transportation demand. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a competitive grant program for capital investment projects that improve the efficiency of the national transportation system to move freight, and (2) give priority to projects with the highest system performance improvement relative to their benefit-cost analysis. Limits the federal share of project net capital costs at 80%. Requires a grant recipient to submit to the Secretary: (1) a project management plan and an annual financial plan for a project with a total cost of $500 million or more, and (2) an annual financial plan for a project with a total cost of $100 million or more. Repeals specified prohibitions against the transfer of amounts from the Highway Trust Fund to the Port Infrastructure Development Fund.


Stopping the malicious spread and production of false and misleading news has become a top priority for researchers. Due to this prevalence, many automated methods for detecting low quality information have been introduced. The majority of these methods have used article-level features, such as their writing style, to detect veracity. While writing style models have been shown to work well in lab-settings, there are concerns of generalizability and robustness. In this paper, we begin to address these concerns by proposing a novel and robust news veracity detection model that uses the content sharing behavior of news sources formulated as a network. We represent these content sharing networks (CSN) using a deep walk based method for embedding graphs that accounts for similarity in both the network space and the article text space. We show that state of the art writing style and CSN features make diverse mistakes when predicting, meaning that they both play different roles in the classification task. Moreover, we show that the addition of CSN features increases the accuracy of writing style models, boosting accuracy as much as 14\% when using Random Forests. Similarly, we show that the combination of hand-crafted article-level features and CSN features is robust to concept drift, performing consistently well over a 10-month time frame.


Purpose: The objective of this research is to empirically analyze the role played by corporate image, sustainability, and innovative orientation on export performance. Design/methodology/approach: hypothesis testing was conducted with a sample of 180 manufacturing SMEs in Seville (Spain) and a structural equation system is modeled using the technique Partial Least Squares (PLS). The research model includes the following variables: corporate image, sustainability, and innovative orientation on export performance. Findings: The results show the positive effect of sustainability and innovative orientation on export performance, as well as the mediator effect of corporate image on these relationships. Research limitations/implications: The results may be more general if we had used a national sample and cross cultural. The conclusions cannot be directly extrapolated to other countries. This work propose future research doing the same study with other types companies. Originality/value: Corporate image requires special attention, as it acts as a filter of the impacts of sustainability and innovative orientation. The creation of corporate image not only as a result of tangible items, but as a result of the actions and behavior of the company. In this research is showed that there is a high level of complexity in the management of intangibles since the intangibles influence each other, such as the influence of sustainability and innovative orientation on corporate image. Managers should focus on proper design and management of the company image, in order to compete and grow in the international area.


Assessing cognitive development in children is of paramount importance in understanding the development of critical neural pathways of the brain. In particular, recognition of stimuli, task accuracy and response time are key features that can inform on stages of brain cognition with respect to age and within age group differences. In this study we investigate neurophysiological responses of the Eriksen Flanker task - an experimental paradigm for assessing attention and cognition - in middle childhood ages (seven-nine years). We analyse EEG data in two age groups: 45 healthy subjects aged seven years with a follow-up study on the same subjects at age nine years. We examine spectral coherence - a method for analysing the correlation between electrode pairs - for all possible combination of pairs. Comparisons of coherence values based on Flanker task conditions (incongruent versus congruent) were assessed in each age group. Consequently, these assessments were used as indicators to the cognitive conflict induced by Flanker incongruent stimuli. For both age groups (seven and nine years) inter-hemispherical coherence increased in the right hemisphere. Moreover, the older children showed less Flanker conflict compared with children aged seven years, especially within the theta band. This decrease in the effect of the cognitive conflict may indicate age-related cognitive developments.


Background: Surgical site infection(SSI) is a major cause of morbidity, mortality and financial burden in healthcare. Worldwide it accounts for as much as USD 10 billion annually in direct and indirect medical cost.Many strategies have been developed to try and reduce SSI. Objective:To determine the effectiveness of triclosan coated polyglactin 910 sutures in reduction of superficial surgical site infection in clean wounds as well as infection rates in clean wounds Design: A non-blinded randomised controlled trial. Setting: Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), the minor theatre in clinic 24. Subjects: A total of 157patients underwent excision of breast lump. Results: The prevalence rate of SSI in the study group was 5%(4 of 79 patients) while in the control group it was 4%(3 of 78 patients). The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant(P-value 0.507). Conclusion: This study did not demonstrate a reduction of superficial surgical site when triclosan coated polyglactin 910 suture was used in clean wounds. Currently, the clinical role and indication for use of triclosan coated polyglactin 910 is yet to be fully defined.


Since the inception of Robotics, visual information has been incorporated in order to allow the robots to perform tasks that require an interaction with their environment, particularly when it is a changing environment. Depth perception is a most useful information for a mobile robot to navigate in its environment and interact with its surroundings. Among the different methods capable of measuring the distance to the objects in the scene, stereo vision is the most advantageous for a small, mobile robot with limited energy and computational power. Stereoscopy implies a low power consumption because it uses passive sensors and it does not require the robot to move. Furthermore, it is more robust, because it does not require a complex optic system with moving elements. On the other hand, stereo vision is computationally intensive. Objects in the scene have to be detected and matched across images. Biological sensory systems are based on simple computational elements that process information in parallel and communicate among them. Analog VLSI chips are an ideal substrate to mimic the massive parallelism and collective computation present in biological nervous systems. For mobile robotics they have the added advantage of low power consumption and high computational power, thus freeing the CPU for other tasks. This dissertation discusses two stereoscopic methods that are based on simple, parallel cal- culations requiring communication only among neighboring processing units (local communication). Algorithms with these properties are easy to implement in analog VLSI and they are also very convenient for digital systems. The first algorithm is phase-based. Disparity, i.e., the spatial shift between left and right images, is recovered as a phase shift in the spatial-frequency domain. Gabor functions are used to recover the frequency spectrum of the image because of their optimum joint spatial and spatial-frequency properties. The Gabor-based algorithm is discussed and tested on a Khepera miniature mobile robot. Two further approximations are introduced to ease the analog VLSI and digital implementations. The second stereoscopic algorithm is difference-based. Disparity is recovered by a simple calculation using the image differences and their spatial derivatives. The algorithm is simulated on a digital system and an analog VLSI implementation is proposed and discussed. The thesis concludes with the description of some tools used in this research project. A stereo vision system has been developed for the Webots mobile robotics simulator, to simplify the testing of different stereo algorithms. Similarly, two stereo vision turrets have been built for the Khepera robot.


This paper details the results of an empirical investigation of the random errors associated with decomposition estimates of multiattribute utility. In a riskless setting, two groups of subjects were asked to evaluate multiattribute alternatives both holistically and with the use of an additive decomposition. For one group, the alternatives were described in terms of three attributes, and for the other in terms of five. Estimates of random error associated with the various elicitations (holistic, single-attribute utility, scaling constants, or weights) were obtained using a test-retest format. It was found for both groups that the additive decomposition had significantly smaller levels of random error than the holistic evaluation. However, the number of attributes did not seem to make a significant difference to the amount of random error associated with the decomposition estimates. The levels of error found in the various elicitations were consistent with theoretical bounds that have recently been proposed in the literature. These results show that the structure imposed on the problem through decomposition results in measurable improvement in quality of the multiattribute utility judgements, and contribute to a greater understanding of the decomposition method in decision analysis.


Two perspectives of scientific inquiry-both making use of the notion of culture-are analyzed from the perspective of how general knowledge is being constructed by each. It is demonstrated how cross-cultural psychology has made use of traditional psychology's inductive emphasis on comparisons of samples (and generalization to populations). Crosscultural psychology has been a part of general and differential psychologies. In contrast, the cultural psychology that has developed in parallel with cross-cultural psychology on the basis of anthropology and developmental psychology has been built upon the notion of systemic causality, and on the basis of developmental assumptions. There is overlap in the practical work of cultural and cross-cultural psychologists-cross-cultural evidence can be used in cultural-psychological theorizing. Both disciplines share the focus on interdisciplinary cooperation, and are haunted by the usual limits on inductive inference that plagues all contemporary social sciences. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. This article is available in Online Readings in Psychology and Culture: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol2/iss1/7


Augmented Reality (AR) is technology that provides a view of real world environment with which has augmented or virtual components. In this thesis I explore how AR can be used for in-vehicle applications. AR systems can be used for navigation applications, combining this with capabilities like monitoring of data relevant to the driver could be a powerful tool for in vehicle assistance in automobiles. Some research is being done on using AR in automobiles for in-vehicle assistance using different technologies like see-through head mounted displays (HMD) or using projectors to use the windshield as a see through, heads up display (HUD). With all the research being done on AR display technologies in vehicles, a concern that arises is the possibility of the AR components distracting the driver from their normal driving activities. Less research has been done on comparing between different AR display types. For my master thesis, I investigated the effectiveness of three technologies to show AR content: • using an HMD similar to Google Glass • using the Windshield as a display • using a dashboard mounted console Based on the results of the study, it was found that the Windshield based AR HUD was superior over the fixed console based HDD (AR Lens) and the Head Mounted Display. The Windshield Display performed superior to the other displays in terms of ratio of number of navigational errors, maintaining the speed limit and ability to detect objects in the surrounding. It was also preferred by the subjects over the other displays. The AR Lens performed relatively average in the test study and performed higher than the HMD for most of the tests. The HMD showed comparatively better results than the AR Lens in maintaining the speed limit but was the least preferred by most of the participants.


A novel method for automated annual layer counting in seasonally-resolved paleoclimate records has been developed. It relies on algorithms from the statistical framework of hidden Markov models (HMMs), which originally was developed for use in machine speech recognition. The strength of the layer detection algorithm lies in the way it is able to imitate the manual procedures for annual layer counting, while being based on statistical criteria for annual layer identification. The most likely positions of multiple layer boundaries in a section of ice core data are determined simultaneously, and a probabilistic uncertainty estimate of the resulting layer count is provided, ensuring an objective treatment of ambiguous layers in the data. Furthermore, multiple data series can be incorporated and used simultaneously. In this study, the automated layer counting algorithm has been applied to two ice core records from Greenland: one displaying a distinct annual signal and one which is more challenging. The algorithm shows high skill in reproducing the results from manual layer counts, and the resulting timescale compares well to absolute-dated volcanic marker horizons where these exist.


IL-3 is known to enhance the secretion of several mediators from human basophils activated by receptor-mediated stimuli. IL-3 can cause a qualitative change in the mediator release pattern for C5a-mediated stimulation; without IL-3, C5a causes no leukotriene release whereas in the presence of IL-3, significant leukotriene occurs. This study examines the influence of a 15-min pretreatment of basophils with IL-3 (10 ng/ml) on several signal transduction events. Basophils stimulated with C5a typically displayed only a transient cytosolic Ca2+ response [Ca2+]i, attributed to the release of intracellular calcium stores. IL-3 had sporadic, statistically nonsignificant, effects on the peak of this initial response as well as inconsistent effects on the generation of a second phase in the [Ca2+]i response (i.e., that which is caused by the influx of extracellular Ca2+). IL-3 also had no effect on resting [Ca2+]i levels. Challenge of basophils in the presence of EGTA had little effect on the amount of leukotrienes generated. This maneuver did not influence the initial transient elevation of [Ca2+]i. Although basophil leukotriene release is usually slow, after exposure to IL-3 it was found that leukotriene release occurred rapidly, during the brief window of time (0 to 45 s) in which the [Ca2+]i transient occurred. These results suggested that the generation of AA was accelerated by pretreatment with IL-3. Subsequent mass measurements of free AA by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy showed: 1) IL-3 itself caused no free AA generation; 2) without IL-3, C5a stimulated little or no free AA generation; and 3) in the presence of IL-3, C5a generated substantial levels of free AA at an accelerated rate. A similar acceleration in the rate of free AA generation, without any apparent increase in the amount, occurred in IL-3-primed basophils stimulated with FMLP. Additional studies showed that IL-3 had no effects on whole cell ATP levels and that the kinase inhibitor, staurosporine, did not inhibit the ability of IL-3 to cause enhanced responses to C5a. We conclude that the primary effect of a short period of pretreatment with IL-3 is to couple the generation of free AA to C5a-mediated stimulation in particular and to accelerate its generation after other stimuli. Enhancements of the [Ca2+]i response, while sporadic and at best modest, may have some influence on enhanced mediator release but did not clearly explain the functional effects of IL-3.


ABSTRACT Self-management support programs are reported to have positive effects on the health and care of people with physical disabilities. It is unclear how physiotherapists (PTs) view self-management support. A cross-sectional study with mixed-methods design using Q-methodology was conducted to determine the perspectives of Dutch PTs on self-management support. PTs (n = 39) rank-ordered 37 validated statements about self-management support from "most disagree (−3)" to "most agree (+3)." Differences in perspectives on self-management support were explored in a by-person centroid factor analysis on the basis of the explained variance (R2). After having sorted the statements, PTs explained their ranking of −3 and +3 statements in semi-structured interviews. All PTs recognized self-management support as intrinsic part of physiotherapy practice. Nevertheless, four particular perspectives could be identified: (1) the "externally driven educator" (R2 = 14%), (2) "internally driven educator" (R2 = 9%), (3) "client-centered coach" (R2 = 13%), and (4) "client-initiated coach" perspective (R2 = 15%). Each perspective reflects particular goals and perceptions of self-management support. Differences were identified with respect to the PTs' role perception (educating or coaching), drive (external or internal), and collaboration with the patient (as partner or not). The identified perspectives can be used in the physiotherapy education curriculum to create awareness about the various ways of practicing self-management support and the skills needed to be able to tailor support to patient needs and to switch between perspectives.


It is assumed by the projects demonstrating Positive Energy District (PED) concepts in cities across Europe that citizens should want and need to be involved in the development of new energy concepts, such as PEDs for these concepts to be deployed successfully. Six different PED research and innovation projects are investigating the types and expectations of citizen engagement. They evaluate the impact of energy citizenship on the success of PED deployment across Europe.


This paper extends the application of Constrained Ant Colony Optimization Algorithms (CACOAs) to optimal operation of multi-reservoir systems. Three different formulations of the constrained Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) are outlined here using Max-Min Ant System for the solution of multi-reservoir operation problems. In the first two versions, called Partially Constrained ACO algorithms, the constraints of the multi-reservoir operation problems are satisfied partially. In the third formulation, all the constraints of the underlying problem are implicitly satisfied by the provision of tabu lists to the ants which contain only feasible options. The ants are, therefore, forced to construct feasible solutions and hence the method is referred to as a Fully Constrained ACO algorithm. The proposed constrained ACO algorithms are formulated for both possible cases of taking storage/release volumes as the decision variables of the problem. The proposed methods are used to optimally solve the well-known problems of four- and ten-reservoir operations and the results are presented and compared with those of the conventional unconstrained ACO algorithm and existing methods in the literature. The results indicate the superiority of the proposed methods over conventional ACOs and existing methods to optimally solve large scale multi-reservoir operation problems.


Reasoning plays an essential role in Visual Question Answering (VQA). Multi-step and dynamic reasoning is often necessary for answering complex questions. For example, a question "What is placed next to the bus on the right of the picture?" talks about a compound object "bus on the right," which is generated by the relation . Furthermore, a new relation including this compound object is then required to infer the answer. However, previous methods support either one-step or static reasoning, without updating relations or generating compound objects. This paper proposes a novel reasoning model for addressing these problems. A chain of reasoning (CoR) is constructed for supporting multi-step and dynamic reasoning on changed relations and objects. In detail, iteratively, the relational reasoning operations form new relations between objects, and the object refining operations generate new compound objects from relations. We achieve new state-of-the-art results on four publicly available datasets. The visualization of the chain of reasoning illustrates the progress that the CoR generates new compound objects that lead to the answer of the question step by step.


The pathophysiological significance of the glucose-fatty acid cycle in skeletal muscle in vivo is uncertain. We have examined the short term effects of increased availability of nonesterified FFA on tissue-specific glucose uptake and storage in rat tissues in vivo basally and during a hyperinsulinemic (150 mU/liter) euglycemic clamp. Circulating FFA were elevated to 2 mmol/liter (FFA 1) or 4 mmol/liter (FFA 2). Elevated FFA produced a dose-dependent inhibition of myocardial glucose utilization in both basal (FFA1, 42%; FFA2, 68%; P less than 0.001, by analysis of variance) and clamp groups (FFA1, 39%; FFA2, 49%; P less than 0.001) and also suppressed brown adipose tissue glucose utilization during the clamp (-42%, P less than 0.001). In contrast to heart, glucose utilization in skeletal muscle was suppressed by FFA only in the FFA1 basal group (-36%, P less than 0.001); in other groups (e.g., FFA2 clamp) elevated FFA produced increased skeletal muscle glucose utilization (+68%, P less than 0.001) that was directed toward glycogen (+175%, P less than 0.05) and lipid deposition (+125%, P less than 0.005). FFA stimulated basal glucose utilization in white (e.g., FFA2, +220%, P less than 0.005) and brown adipose tissue (e.g., FFA2, +200%, P less than 0.005). Thus elevated FFA can acutely inhibit glucose utilization in skeletal muscle in addition to cardiac muscle in vivo supporting a possible role for the glucose-fatty acid cycle in skeletal muscle in acute insulin resistance. However, at high levels or with elevated insulin, FFA stimulates glucose utilization and storage in skeletal muscle. By promoting accumulation of glucose storage products, chronic elevation of FFA may lead to skeletal muscle (and therefore whole body) insulin resistance.


With the tremendous success of WLAN technology for wireless local area networks, people are eager to access all kinds of multimedia applications through their wireless devices, on the move, and at all times. This is causing significant changes in the nature of traffic generated in the network. The current access networks must support heterogeneous traffic for which they have to ensure minimum performance quality of service (QoS). In addition, M2M applications are having a huge increase, growing at a rate of nearly 40 percent per year between 2010 and 2013. To cope with such demanding scenario, recent research works have provided new communications mechanisms that improve the performance of wireless communications. An example of such contributions is the MAC protocol (medium access control) called Distributed Point Coordination Function (DPCF) which outperforms legacy communication protocols used at the MAC layer of WLANs. This project studies the performance DPCF protocol for different traffic types, taking into account the need for coexistence between high traffic demand (e.g. streaming), and emerging M2M traffic, which is posing a challenge for the operation of communications networks. Performance evaluation of the protocol for different types of traffic has been evaluated through the MACSWIN simulator. This simulator allows for simulations of wireless communications for different MAC protocols. This has revealed the performance of each type of traffic in terms of throughput and transmission delay, and has allowed comparing the results of DPCF under different traffic models with those of legacy IEEE 802.11 networks. The results of the simulations have shown how the MAC protocol DPCF improves the throughput and transmission delay of the MAC DCF and PCF, protocols defined by the IEEE for WLAN.


Application for wireless networking has been evolving rapidly and is becoming an integral part in our everyday life. Also with the recent performance advancement in wireless communication technologies, mobile wireless ad-hoc networks has been used in many areas such as military, health and commercial applications. Mobile ad hoc networks utilize radio waves and microwaves to maintain communication channel between computers. 802.11 (Wi-Fi) is the pre-eminent technology for building general purpose wireless networks. Mobile ad-hoc networking (MANET) utilize the Internet Protocol (IP) suite and aims at supporting robust and efficient operation by incorporating routing functionality into the mobile nodes. MANET is among one of the wireless networks that uses 802.11 to transmit data from the source to the destination. Since MANET is used in applications like defense, security is of vital importance due to its wireless nature. Wireless networks are vulnerable to attacks like eavesdropping, Man-In-The-Middle-Attack (MITM), hijacking, and so are MANETs. A malicious node can get within the wireless range of the nodes in the MANET and can disrupt the communication process. Various routing protocols have been proposed using encryption techniques to protect routing in MANETs. In this thesis, I implemented security encryption techniques (SHA-1 and RSA)in two reactive routing protocols which are Ad Hoc On Demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol and Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) routing protocol and compared their network performance using performance evaluation parameters: Average end-to-end-delay, routing load, packet delivery fraction. Encryption techniques like SHA-1 and RSA were used to maintain the confidentiality and the integrity of the messages send by the nodes in the network. There have been several researches so for but no one has ever compared the performance of secured MANET protocols. I am going one step further by comparing the secured routing protocols which would be helpful in determining which protocol performs better that can be used in scenario where security is of utmost importance.


The c-Abl tyrosine kinase functions in multiple locations within the cell to promote apoptosis in response to various stress stimuli. In the nucleus, c-Abl contributes to apoptotic signals in response to genotoxic stress or DNA damage, and in the cytoplasm, activation of c-Abl occurs in response to oxidative stress. Now Ito et al. present evidence that c-Abl also has a role in the control of cell death by the "unfolded protein response" in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). They show by confocal microscopy, electron microscopy, and subcellular fractionation that c-Abl is localized to the ER in Rat1 fibroblasts. Furthermore, when ER stress was induced by treatment of cells with the calcium ionophore A23187 or with brefeldin A (which blocks transport of proteins from the ER to the Golgi), the amount of c-Abl in the ER decreased, and activated c-Abl accumulated in the mitochondria. In mouse embryo fibroblasts lacking c-Abl, A23187 and brefeldin A failed to cause release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria or apoptosis. Stable transfection of such cells with c-Abl restored the apoptotic response to ER stress. The results indicate that accumulation of excess proteins or unfolded proteins in the ER causes translocation of c-Abl from the ER to the mitochondria, where the activated kinase causes release of cytochrome c and consequent apoptosis. Y. Ito, P. Pandey, N. Mishra, S. Kumar, N. Narula, S. Kharbanda, S. Saxena, D. Kufe, Targeting of the c-Abl tyrosine kinase to mitochondria in endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced apoptosis. Mol. Cell. Biol. 21, 6233-6242 (2001). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Being a giant bulk Rashba semiconductor, the ambient-pressure phase of BiTeI was predicted to transform into a topological insulator under pressure at 1.7-4.1 GPa [Nat. Commun. 2012, 3, 679]. Because the structure governs the new quantum state of matter, it is essential to establish the high-pressure phase transitions and structures of BiTeI for better understanding its topological nature. Here, we report a joint theoretical and experimental study up to 30 GPa to uncover two orthorhombic high-pressure phases of Pnma and P4/nmm structures named phases II and III, respectively. Phases II (stable at 8.8-18.9 GPa) and III (stable at >18.9 GPa) were first predicted by our first-principles structure prediction calculations based on the calypso method and subsequently confirmed by our high-pressure powder X-ray diffraction experiment. Phase II can be regarded as a partially ionic structure, consisting of positively charged (BiTe)(+) ladders and negatively charged I- ions. Phase III is a typical ionic structure characterized by interconnected cubic building blocks of Te-Bi-I stacking. Application of pressures up to 30 GPa tuned effectively the electronic properties of BiTeI from a topological insulator to a normal semiconductor and eventually a metal having a potential of superconductivity.


In this paper we study the kernel multiple ridge regression framework, which we refer to as multitask regression, using penalization techniques. The theoretical analysis of this problem shows that the key element appearing for an optimal calibration is the covariance matrix of the noise between the different tasks. We present a new algorithm to estimate this covariance matrix, based on the concept of minimal penalty, which was previously used in the single-task regression framework to estimate the variance of the noise. We show, in a non-asymptotic setting and under mild assumptions on the target function, that this estimator converges towards the covariance matrix. Then plugging this estimator into the corresponding ideal penalty leads to an oracle inequality. We illustrate the behavior of our algorithm on synthetic examples.


Background: About 30% of genes code for membrane proteins, which are involved in a wide variety of crucial biological functions. Despite their importance, experimentally determined structures correspond to only about 1.7% of protein structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank due to the difficulty in crystallizing membrane proteins. Algorithms that can identify proteins whose high-resolution structure can aid in predicting the structure of many previously unresolved proteins are therefore of potentially high value. Active machine learning is a supervised machine learning approach which is suitable for this domain where there are a large number of sequences but only very few have known corresponding structures. In essence, active learning seeks to identify proteins whose structure, if revealed experimentally, is maximally predictive of others. Results: An active learning approach is presented for selection of a minimal set of proteins whose structures can aid in the determination of transmembrane helices for the remaining proteins. TMpro, an algorithm for high accuracy TM helix prediction we previously developed, is coupled with active learning.We show that with a well-designed selection procedure, high accuracy can be achieved with only few proteins. TMpro, trained with a single protein achieved an F-score of 94% on benchmark evaluation and 91% on MPtopo dataset, which correspond to the state-of-the-art accuracies on TM helix prediction that are achieved usually by training with over 100 training proteins. Conclusion: Active learning is suitable for bioinformatics applications, where manually characterized data are not a comprehensive representation of all possible data, and in fact can be a very sparse subset thereof. It aids in selection of data instances which when characterized experimentally can improve the accuracy of computational characterization of remaining raw data. The results presented here also demonstrate that the feature extraction method of TMpro is well designed, achieving a very good separation between TM and non TM segments.


Non-Gaussian probability distribution radar clutter not only is temporal correlated between different pulses, but also is spatial correlated between different range bins. In this paper, the method of simulation and validation of radar clutter is proposed using spherically invariant random processes (SIRP). The amplitude probability function and temporal correlation function of radar clutter can be controlled respectively, and the spatial correlation function can be also specified. The computer simulation of K-distribution and CHI-distribution radar clutter is used to validate the method, and is to validate the amplitude probability function, temporal-spatial 2D correlation function.


Abstract Vaughan's (1905) zonation of the Carboniferous Limestone in the Bristol district was a pioneer biostratigraphical study, which because of its meticulous execution can be reinterpreted in a modern context. The replacement of his scheme with a chronostratigraphical one by George et al. (1976) had a similar revolutionary affect on British Dinantian stratigraphy. However, it is now time to revise the British Dinantian stages so that they more closely correspond to biostratigraphical events. Dinantian biostratigraphy still requires considerable refinement, but it has now achieved a diversity of techniques and resolution far beyond that which was available at the time of these earlier proposals. It is the most pragmatic and closest approximation to widespread chronostratigraphical correlation available. This paper discusses these and related issues and presents a review and correlation of current biozonations.


Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy can be a useful tool in regard to disease diagnosis and prevention. Advantage of SERS over conventional Raman spectroscopy is its significantly increased signal (up to factor of 106-108) which allows detection of trace amounts of substances in the sample. So far, this technique is successfully used for analysis of food, pieces of art and various biochemical/biomedical samples. In this work, we survey the possibility of applying SERS spectroscopy for detection of trace components in urinary deposits. Early discovery together with the identification of the exact chemical composition of urinary sediments could be crucial for taking appropriate preventive measures that inhibit kidney stone formation or growth processes. In this initial study, SERS spectra (excitation wavelength - 1064 nm) of main components of urinary deposits (calcium oxalate, uric acid, cystine, etc.) were recorded by using silver (Ag) colloid. Spectra of 10-3-10-5 M solutions were obtained. While no/small Raman signal was detected without the Ag colloid, characteristic peaks of the substances could be clearly separated in the SERS spectra. This suggests that even small amounts of the components could be detected and taken into account while determining the type of kidney stone forming in the urinary system. We found for the first time that trace amounts of components constituting urinary deposits could be detected by SERS spectroscopy. In the future study, the analysis of centrifuged urine samples will be carried out.


Complex injectable formulations, such as protein therapeutics, controlled release systems and cell therapy products, are gaining a paramount position in the therapy of many life-threatening and chronic diseases. Most of these products have in common that sub-visible particles (SVP), i.e., particulate matter in the size range of about 1 – 100 µm, are critical
quality attributes. Most protein therapeutics are liquid or freeze-dried formulations in which the presence of SVP is unwanted; many injectable controlled release systems are based on particulate drug delivery systems in the sub-visible size range; and cell concentration and viability are important characteristics of cell therapy products. With the continuous
improvement of existing and emerging particle analysis techniques, the potentials of these tools in addressing current characterization challenges in the field of complex injectable formulations have to be investigated. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to develop methods, based on a set of state-of-the-art particle analysis techniques, for characterization of pharmaceutically relevant sub-visible particles and to study the value of these methods in the characterization of complex injectable formulations.


We have systematized possible ways of forming the isomers of mini-fullerenes, namely elementary fullerenes: tetrahedron C4, triangular prism C6, cube C8, pentagonal prism C10, hexagonal prism C12, as well as their derivatives, which were obtained by joining elementary fullerenes. Combined with the graph analysis, this approach allows obtain a clear knowledge of their structure. Among them there are barrel-shaped fullerenes: C12, C16, C20; tetrahedral ones C12 and C16; bi-shamrocks C14 and C18, bipyramids C14 and C18; regular and irregular dodecahedrons C20 as well as intermediate compounds. The three simplest elementary fullerenes, C4, C6, C8; have only electronic isomers and no space atomic isomers at all. After a cube, the next in size carbon fullerene C10 is a pentagonal prism. We have designed an isomer of it by fusion of a tetrahedron and a triangular prism. For the pentagonal prism shape fullerene the energy lies in the range from 974 to 2464 kJ/mol, for the hybrid of a tetrahedron and a triangular prism does in the range from 1396 to 2433 kJ/mol; it depends both on the number of single and double bonds as well as on their position in space. Fullerene of twelve carbon atoms C12 produces four isomers: a hexagonal prism, a barrel-shape fullerene, a truncated tetrahedron and a tetra-penta octahedron. They have different energies depending on the number of single and double bonds and their position in space. In a like manner other fullerenes studied, C14, C16, C18 and C20, have two or three isomers with different energies.


The importance of fungal infections in both human and animals has increased over the last decades. This article represents an overview of the different categories of fungal infections that can be encountered in animals originating from environmental sources without transmission to humans. In addition, the endemic infections with indirect transmission from the environment, the zoophilic fungal pathogens with near-direct transmission, the zoonotic fungi that can be directly transmitted from animals to humans, mycotoxicoses and antifungal resistance in animals will also be discussed. Opportunistic mycoses are responsible for a wide range of diseases from localized infections to fatal disseminated diseases, such as aspergillosis, mucormycosis, candidiasis, cryptococcosis and infections caused by melanized fungi. The amphibian fungal disease chytridiomycosis and the Bat White-nose syndrome are due to obligatory fungal pathogens. Zoonotic agents are naturally transmitted from vertebrate animals to humans and vice versa. The list of zoonotic fungal agents is limited but some species, like Microsporum canis and Sporothrix brasiliensis from cats, have a strong public health impact. Mycotoxins are defined as the chemicals of fungal origin being toxic for warm-blooded vertebrates. Intoxications by aflatoxins and ochratoxins represent a threat for both human and animal health. Resistance to antifungals can occur in different animal species that receive these drugs, although the true epidemiology of resistance in animals is unknown, and options to treat infections caused by resistant infections are limited.


Though psychologists' interest in the empirical study of spirituality has resurfaced, diverging opinions regarding the meaning of the construct among both researchers and the general public pose a serious challenge to research. To expand knowledge regarding how individuals implicitly define the term, an idiographic, experimental approach called policy-capturing was utilized to determine what factors college students take into consideration when making determinations about others' spirituality. Participants were exposed to a series of 50 profiles describing hypothetical people, each of which contained a unique combination of different levels of five factors believed to characterize spirituality by researchers. Participants rated each profile to indicate degree of perceived spirituality. Regression analyses were utilized to reveal if individuals used the factors in a consistent manner when rating the profiles, as well as the relative importance of each factor in their policies of spirituality. Results indicated that consistency of policies and the importance placed on individual factors varied widely. No differences were found between more religious and less religious college students with regard to ratings of spirituality assigned to the profiles, consistency of policies of spirituality, the relative importance of any of the five spirituality factors, or the number of factors that were important in the policies. Findings support the idiosyncratic nature of the meanings attributed to spirituality, but call into question whether college students are consistently using the same definitional models of the construct as used by researchers. The discussion highlights the conceptual challenges that researchers of spirituality face and encourages the use of varied methods for continued investigation in this area.


The variation in near‐surface ground‐ice content of the uppermost 1 m of permafrost was examined by drilling at 71 sites within the Kendall Island Bird Sanctuary of the outer Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories. Permafrost has aggraded in coastal low‐lying alluvial wetlands during the last 1500 to 500 years, and high near‐surface ground‐ice contents have developed in this saturated environment. In contrast, the ground ice in upland terrain has accumulated since the early Holocene. Permafrost in these uplands has a mean excess‐ice content of 24%, lower than in the alluvial wetlands (34%), and ground‐ice distribution is inherently more variable in upland terrain than in lowlands. Gravimetric moisture content is statistically related to soil organic‐matter content, but the organic‐matter content confounds the relation between gravimetric moisture and excess‐ice content due to its low bulk density. Topographically controlled moisture availability and soil organic‐matter content are important to ground‐ice distribution in uplands, given the order of magnitude increase in gravimetric moisture contents downslope, and the occurrence of massive ice lenses over 50 cm thick at the base of slopes. The potential mean subsidence of alluvial wetlands due to thawing of the uppermost 1 m of permafrost is 34 cm. Such subsidence would substantially increase the frequency of flooding for portions of this area. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada.


SUMMARY A method for studying cognitive conflicts using the repertory grid technique is presented. By means of this technique, implicative dilemmas can be identified, cognitive structures in which a personal construct for which change is wished for implies undesirable change on another construct. We assessed the presence of dilemmas and the severity of symptoms in 46 participants who met criteria for dysthymia and compared then to a non-clinical group composed of 496 participants. Finally, an analysis of the specific content of the personal constructs forming such dilemmas was also performed. Implicative dilemmas were found in almost 70% of the dysthymic participants in contrast to 39% of controls and in greater quantity. In addition, participants in both groups with this type of conflict showed more depressive symptoms and general distress than those without dilemmas. Furthermore, a greater number of implicative dilemmas was associated with higher levels of symptom severity. Finally, content analysis results showed that implicative dilemmas are frequently composed of a constellation of moral values and emotion, indicating that symptoms are often related to moral aspects of the self and so change processes may be hindered. Clinical implications of targeting implicative dilemmas in the therapy context are discussed.


More data provide more possibilities. Growing number of genomic data provide new perspectives to understand some complex biological problems. Many algorithms for single-study have been developed, however, their results are not stable for small sample size or overwhelmed by study-specific signals. Taking the advantage of high throughput genomic data from multiple cohorts, in this dissertation, we are able to detect novel fusion transcripts, explore complex gene regulations and discovery disease subtypes within an integrative analysis framework.

In the first project, we evaluated 15 fusion transcript detection tools for paired-end RNA-seq data. Though no single method had distinguished performance over the others, several top tools were selected according to their F-measures. We further developed a fusion meta-caller algorithm by combining top methods to re-prioritize candidate fusion transcripts. The results showed that our meta-caller can successfully balance precision and recall compared to any single fusion detection tool.

In the second project, we extended liquid association to two meta-analytic frameworks (MetaLA and MetaMLA). Liquid association is the dynamic gene-gene correlation depending on the expression level of a third gene. Our MetaLA and MetaMLA provided stronger detection signals and more consistent and stable results compared to single-study analysis. When applied our method to five Yeast datasets related to environmental changes, genes in the top triplets were highly enriched in fundamental biological processes corresponding to environmental changes.

In the third project, we extended the plaid model from single-study analysis to multiple cohorts for bicluster detection. Our meta-biclustering algorithm can successfully discovery biclusters with higher Jaccard accuracy toward large noise and small sample size. We also introduced the concept of gap statistic for pruning parameter estimation. In addition, biclusters detected from five breast cancer mRNA expression cohorts can successfully select genes highly associated with many breast cancer related pathways and split samples with significantly different survival behaviors.

In conclusion, we improved the fusion transcripts detection, liquid association analysis and bicluster discovery through integrative-analysis frameworks. These results provided strong evidence of gene fusion structure variation, three-way gene regulation and disease subtype detection, and thus contribute to better understanding of complex disease mechanism ultimately.


OBJECTIVE To investigate effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-4I) sitagliptin or glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist liraglutide treatment on renal hemodynamics, tubular functions, and markers of renal damage in overweight patients with type 2 diabetes without chronic kidney disease (CKD). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In this 12-week, randomized, double-blind trial, 55 insulin-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes (mean ± SEM: age 63 ± 7 years, BMI 31.8 ± 4.1 kg/m2, glomerular filtration rate [GFR] 83 ± 16 mL/min/1.73 m2; median [interquartile range]: albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) 1.09 mg/mmol [0.47–3.31]) received sitagliptin (100 mg/day), liraglutide (1.8 mg/day), or matching placebos. GFR (primary end point) and effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) were determined by inulin and para-aminohippuric acid clearance, respectively. Intrarenal hemodynamic variables were estimated. Absolute and fractional excretions of sodium (FENa), potassium, and urea (FEU) and renal damage markers (ACR, neutrophil gelatinase–associated lipocalin [NGAL], and kidney injury molecule-1 [KIM-1]) were measured. Plasma renin concentration (PRC) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) were assessed. At weeks 2 and 6, estimated GFR and fractional electrolyte excretions were determined. RESULTS At week 12, GFR was not affected by sitagliptin (−6 mL/min/1.73 m2 [95% CI −14 to 3], P = 0.17) or liraglutide (+3 mL/min/1.73 m2 [−5 to 11], P = 0.46), compared with placebo. Sitagliptin modestly reduced estimated glomerular hydraulic pressure (PGLO; P = 0.043). ERPF, other intrarenal hemodynamic variables, renal damage markers, and PRC did not change for both treatments. Both agents reduced HbA1c. Only at week 2, sitagliptin increased FENa and FEU (P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS Twelve-week treatment with sitagliptin or liraglutide does not affect measured renal hemodynamics. No sustained changes in tubular functions or alteration in renal damage markers were observed. The validity and clinical relevance of the slight sitagliptin-induced PGLO reduction remains speculative.


: Purpose: This article presents the functioning of a production company in the construction chemicals industry. Design/Methodology/Approach: In the article, the following objectives were indicated, analysing the course of logistics and production processes in the analysed enterprise, developing a map of the production implementation process and the production line retooling process, analysing the possibilities of implementing tools to improve logistics and production processes and developing recommendations for the enterprise. Furthermore, LM also has the task of keeping inventory at a minimum, delivering materials depending on demand based on the Kanban system, high organization and visualization of workplaces using the 5S principles and reducing machine downtime to a minimum. Findings: Based on the literature research, the following thesis was formulated, the use of tools to improve logistics processes significantly improves and increases the efficiency of production processes in the analysed enterprise. In the research part, the authors proposed Lean Production improvement tools (SMED, TPM, Method 5S) to optimize logistics processes and production. Practical Implications: Lean Management is one of the most popular concepts to improve the company production process, based on the principles and tools of the Toyota Production System. It is defined as a management philosophy, according to which the company strives for the optimal use of work resources, and its activities are focused on self-improvement and the constant elimination of waste. Originality/value: The authors argue that it is important to introduce the proposed improvements to optimize logistics processes and production, and that they are possible to implement in other manufacturing companies.


Abstract The fractal dimension values of several kaolins with different structural order and properties have been calculated from N2-adsorption isotherm data according to the Neimark method. All kaolins show a fractal regime in the same nitrogen relative pressure range, with fractal dimension values ranging between 2.38 and 2.57. The correlation between fractal dimension and other kaolin characteristics (structural order of kaolinite, BET surface area, brightness and particle-size distribution) was determined. The correlation matrix shows that the fractal dimension (Ds) is highly correlated with the degree of structural order-disorder and is also moderately correlated with the particle-size distribution and brightness. No correlation was observed between BET and Ds, probably because the first is a measurement of the accessible surface while Ds represents the scaling properties of the area. As Ds is a parameter easily calculated and related to the degree of surface heterogeneity, and well correlated with other kaolinite parameters, it can be used to estimate a set of kaolin technical properties for suitability of the kaolin in the paper industry.