Indentation testing of a finite poroelastic layer is considered. Finite element modeling was used to investigate spherical contact creep tests, with emphasis on the influence of layer thickness and of finite rise time on the time-dependent deformation. Thin layers are stiffened by the substrate constraint even at very small relative indenter penetrations and reach steady state more quickly than thick layers. The degree of consolidation following loading is affected by the interaction of layer thickness and rise time and cannot be predicted from either alone. These results provide guidance for micro- and nanoindentation testings of hydrogel coatings for biomedical applications.


This paper compares the cost-effectiveness/utility of drug regimens based on fluoxetine and moclobemide in the treatment of depression in Finland. The outcome data are based on a 6 week double-blind RCT (n=209) and the cost data on a cost study linked to the RCT (n=141). Quality of life changes were measured by 15D. Five different outcome measures were used. Moclobemide showed consistently a better outcome in all outcome measures, but the differences did not generally reach the conventional limit of statistical significance (5%). The difference in the average time-weighted quality-of-life gain on a 0-1 scale was 0.02 (p=0.08). The direct costs were on average lower in the moclobemide regimen, but the difference was not significant (p=0.14), whereas the average total costs (direct and indirect) were almost the same in both regimens. These results suggest that in terms of incremental cost-effectiveness/utility the moclobemide regimen would dominate (produce a better marginal outcome at a equal or less cost), but this conclusion is surrounded by a slightly higher degree of uncertainty than what is conventionally applied. A larger study is needed to give more precision especially to the cost estimates. Cost-Effectiveness/Utility Analysis of Two Drug Regimens in the Treatment of Depression


Automatic differentiation (AD) is a family of techniques to generate derivative code from a mathematical model expressed in a programming language. AD computes partial derivatives for each operation in the input code and combines them to produce the desired derivative by applying the chain rule. Activity analysis is a compiler analysis used to find active variables in automatic differentiation. By lifting the burden of computing partial derivatives for passive variables, activity analysis can reduce the memory requirement and run time of the generated derivative code. This paper compares a new context-sensitive flow-insensitive (CSFI) activity analysis with an existing context-insensitive flow-sensitive (CIFS) activity analysis in terms of execution time and the quality of the analysis results. Our experiments with eight benchmarks show that the new CSFI activity analysis runs up to 583 times faster and overestimates up to 18.5 times fewer active variables than does the existing CIFS activity analysis.


We assume that service robots will have spare time in between scheduled user requests, which they could use to perform additional unrequested services in order to learn a model of users' preferences and receive rewards. However, a mobile service robot is constrained by the need to travel through the environment to reach users in order to perform services for them, as well as the need to carry out scheduled user requests. We assume service robots operate in structured environments comprised of hallways and floors, resulting in scenarios where an office can be conveniently added to the robot's plan at a low cost, which affects the robot's ability to plan and learn. We present two algorithms, Planning Thompson Sampling and Planning UCB1, which are based on existing algorithms used in multi-armed bandit problems, but are modified to plan ahead considering the time and location constraints of the problem. We compare them to existing versions of Thompson Sampling and UCB1 in two environments representative of the types of structures a robot will encounter in an office building. We find that our planning algorithms outperform the original naive versions in terms of both reward received and the effectiveness of the model learned in a simulation. The difference in performance is partially due to the fact that the original algorithms frequently miss opportunities to perform services at a low cost for convenient offices along their path, while our planning algorithms do not.


Gender is an important variable in medicine and psychiatry. The initial interest in gender issues was stimulated by recognition that women were absent from much medical research. Now, however, the field has expanded to include more specific and sensitive attention to men and the role of gender and gender differences.


The debate about the relationship between democracy and economic development seems to have been reconciled by Gabriel Almond's work, which states "that democracy and capitalism are both positively and negatively related, that they both support and subvert each other." Yet, in recent literature the debate about the topic is not finished. This paper focuses specifically on how economic development affects democracy. Scholars such as Fish, Kwon, Mainwaring, Perez-Linan, Bellin, Przeworksi, and Limongi believe that, to a certain degree, economic development promotes democracy. On the other hand, Kwon explicitly rejects the possibility of contingency at the country level.
In order to measure the level of democracy, there are two independent variables in this research paper: Political Right (PR) and Civil Liberty (CL). Data for these two variables are taken from Freedom House in the World Historical Rankings Comparative Scores for all countries from 1973 to 2006. The data are ranked from 1 (very democratic) to 7 (very undemocratic), for both variables. The economic development indicators used in this research as the dependent variables are: GDP growth, GNI per capita, foreign investment, inflation rate, and trade. Data for those variables are taken fromWorld Bank under WDI (World Development Index) dataset.
This paper concludes that the model of how economic development affects democracy works differently in countries studied. This is proof of how universalism (Fish and Bellin) and regionalism (Kwon, Przeworski and Limongi, and Mainwaring and Perez-Linan) do not apply in Southeast Asia.


There has been much discussion in medical (and statistical) circles over the last ten years in regard to the possibility, practicality and significance of a clinical trial in which only one patient (or individual) is studied; that is, n (conventionally the number studied) is equal to one.

The deficiencies of such trials are widely recognized. The patient studied may not be typical or representative of the disorder or disease under investigation. Blinding may be difficult. In a chronic disorder, the patient may be entering a natural remission which results in a false positive effect (vis medicatrix naturae; the healing power of nature). Moreover the intense interest of the physician exerted on a single individual may exert a profound placebo effect which can substantially distort the outcome.

Very occasionally, however, there is such a marked effect by the drug (or procedure) that a positive response cannot, in the end, be denied. One such is the miracle at St Alfege's Hospital Greenwich, London, as described by Mary Broadfoot Walker in her letter to the Lancet in 1934.1

First, to set the context: myasthenia gravis was at that time an incurable progressive neurological illness that resulted in double vision, muscular weakness, difficulty in swallowing and eventually respiratory paralysis. Walker reported a rapid response to physostigmine:1

'Several comments can be made about this patient's reponse to physostigmine:

The improvement in the ptosis (lid droop) produced by the drug was dramatic;

The effect of the drug physostigmine was dose-related in terms of the duration of the effect on the muscles, suggesting a specific antagonistic action;

When saline and other chemical modalities were given there was no effect;

These results tend to rule out a placebo effect (saline inactive) and to confirm the specificity of physostigmine (lack of action of ephedrine; strychnine; pilocarpine and adrenaline).'

Walker's seminal observation fell on stony ground: in short, no one took the slightest notice! In part this negative response may have been conditioned by the hypothesis that Mary Walker had put forward to explain her result—namely that myasthenia gravis was caused by a circulating excess of a curariform-like chemical substance and that physostigmine temporarily reversed the effect of this poison on the motor end plates, perhaps by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase. As events would turn out, Mary Walker was correct in her observation but wrong in her inference.

Fortunately her cause was taken up by Dr Philip Hamell, a lecturer in pharmacology at St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School, who persuaded Dr Walker to demonstrate the effect of physostigmine on a second patient with myasthenia gravis at the Clinical Section of the Royal Society of Medicine in London on 8 February 1935. At this meeting, both physostigmine and a new synthetic congener called prostigmine were shown to reverse the symptoms of myasthenia gravis substantially, albeit temporarily.2 Hamell commented during this meeting, cautiously but optimistically: 'Whatever be the mechanism of myasthenia gravis, physostigmine and its ally prostigmine reverse and overcome this defect at least for a period.' n had now risen to 2. The public demonstration at the Royal Society of Medicine stimulated widespread interest. As a result Blake Pritchard3 at the Maida Vale Hospital and LPE Laurent4 at University College Hospital reported small series of patients, all of whom had responded positively (seven cases and seven cases respectively). n had risen to 16!

The phenomenon of physostigmine reversal now seemed to be well-established and the message jumped the Atlantic. The first patient was treated in April 1935 at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and subsequently a Myasthenia Gravis Clinic was established there. This clinic later became world-famous in the diagnosis and treatment of this rare but devastating neurological illness. Viets and Schwab5 designed and standardized a diagnostic test for the disease using prostigmine. Later, another quaternary derivative was employed for diagnosis—edrophonium, a shorter acting, safer compound.

The question remained as to the nature of 'the Walker effect'. Some twelve months later, in 1936, Sir Henry Dale and his colleagues Feldberg and Vogt demonstrated that acetylcholine was indeed the transmitter at the neuromuscular junction of mammals. Moreover, physostigmine (and prostigmine) prolonged the action of the released ester by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, which usually brought transmission to an end by destroying this ester of choline.

In myasthenia gravis, some mechanism was blocking either the production or the action of acetylcholine at the motor endplate. Was it, as Walker had suggested, curare or a curare-like substance? The answer we now know is in the negative. Autoantibodies produced by T lymphocytes bind to the motor end plates and prevent the depolarizing effect of the released acetylcholine. To demonstrate this pathological mechanism would take another fifty years.

Nevertheless, Walker's leap into the darkness with an inadequate n=1 trial had demonstrated that myasthenia gravis could be treated with physostigmine, and this observation would prove important and robust. Moreover it would lead, with the work of Dale and other investigators, to the conclusion that acetylcholine was indeed the transmitter at the 'nicotinic' receptors in muscle. This discovery was of overarching significance, as it had been disputed for years. It had consequences that would lead on to the present day in the manufacture (and use) of 'nerve gases' such as the organophosphates, which attack the motor end plate.

Mary Walker remained in the background after her momentous observation.6 She never received a Fellowship of a Royal College of Physicians and never occupied a teaching hospital post. Having retired to her native Scotland she died in comparative obscurity at Wigtown in Dumfriesshire in 1974 at the advanced age of 86 years. Nevertheless she had made, with her n=1 trial, one of the greatest clinical observations of the twentieth century. Despite much initial scepticism, anticholinesterase drugs such as physostigmine (and its modern congeners) have become a cornerstone in the treatment of myasthenia gravis. A shy, self-effacing individual, her leap of faith, though founded on a false proposition, has served to transform the lives of sufferers from myasthenia gravis the world over.


Some agricultural practices, such as irrigation, have the potential to buffer seasonal dietary gaps and thus improve diets, particularly for subsistence farmers but also for rural and urban households that purchase irrigated produce from local markets. While the seasonality of households and children's diets is well documented, little is known about the seasonality of women's diets and the influence of irrigation. Using longitudinal data from Ethiopia, this study characterized women's diet over time and evaluated the potential implications of seasonality and irrigation on women's diet. Women's dietary diversity was low (3-4 out of 10 food groups) and exhibited high seasonal variability (P<0.05). Diets were predominantly plant-based, with little consumption of nutrient dense foods, such as fruits and animal source foods. High seasonal variability in energy, protein, vitamin C, calcium, iron, and zinc intakes were observed (P<0.01). Irrigators were more likely to meet the minimum dietary diversity for women (MDDW), had higher energy and calcium intake, and lower prevalence of anemia, than women from non-irrigating households (P< 0.05). No cases of malaria were reported from the three rounds of screening. Our preliminary findings suggest that there is high seasonal variation in women's diet, but this can be partly offset by irrigation practices.


The numerical integration of particle trajectories in curved spacetimes is fundamental for obtaining realistic models of the particle dynamics around massive compact objects such as black holes and neutron stars. Generalized algorithms capable of handling generic metrics are required for studies of both standard spacetimes Schwarzschild and Kerr metrics) and non-standard spacetimes (e.g. Schwarzschild metric plus non-classical perturbations or multiple black hole metrics). The most commonly employed explicit numerical schemes (e.g. Runge-Kutta) are incapable of producing highly accurate results at critical points, e.g. in the regions close to the event horizon where gravity causes extreme curvature of the spacetime, at an acceptable computational cost. Here, we describe a generalized algorithm for the numerical integration of time-like (massive particles) and null (photons) geodesics in any given 3+1 split spacetime. We introduce a new, exactly energy-conserving implicit integration scheme based on the preservation of the underlying Hamiltonian, and we compare its properties with a standard fourth-order Runge-Kutta explicit scheme and an implicit midpoint scheme. We test the numerical performance of the three schemes against analytical solutions of test particle and photon orbits in Schwarzschild and Kerr spacetimes. We also prove the versatility of our framework in handling more exotic metrics such as Morris-Thorne wormholes and quantum-perturbed Schwarzschild black holes. The generalized approach is also discussed in the perspective of future extensions to more complex particle dynamics, e.g. the addition of the Lorentz force acting on charged particles.


The use of emoticons in different forms such as text-based, computer-mediated and Instant Messaging services is ever increasing. Emoticons which evolved decades ago, was basically used to represent emotion. With the advent of technology, emoticons have been graphically/digitally transformed and evolved in the way people look and for what they are used for. With a wide array of emoticons at disposal, these emoticons are used for expressing emotions and also numerous activities and phrases. The usage of emoticons, their perception and interpretation varies from person to person. The study reveals that majority believe that emoticons make conversations more interactive, enhance online message communication and generate the required response from the receiver. The study also showed that over majority of the respondents look at both eye and mouth of emoticons for facial emotion recognition.


After determining the best course of action for control of an invasive plant population, it is important to understand the variety of methods available to the integrated pest management professional. A variety of methods are now widely used in managing invasive plants in natural areas, including chemical, mechanical, and cultural control methods. Once the preferred method of control is identified and the appropriate personal protective equipment has been chosen, the next step is to determine the specific types of equipment that should be used to create the most selective, efficient and affect control of the target species. Chemical control is one of the most frequently utilized tools in this industry. Proper use of chemicals is important and the applicator must always remember that the label is the law. No application offers guaranteed success, but proper use of chemicals and associated tools will increase the effectiveness of the treatment. This involves an understanding of the benefits of adjuvants, proper mixing and application protocols, and finally the correct choice and proper use of low volume, high volume or selective spray equipment.


Abstract Background: The treatment of choice for cycloid psychosis has traditionally been electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), but there is a lack of studies on its effectiveness. Aims: The primary aim of this register study was to determine the rates of remission and response after ECT for cycloid psychosis. The secondary aim was to examine possible predictors of outcome. Methods: Data were obtained from the National Quality Register for ECT in Sweden. The study population was patients (n = 42) who received ECT for acute polymorphic psychotic disorder without symptoms of schizophrenia or for cycloid psychosis between 2011–2015 in 13 hospitals. Remission and response rates were calculated using Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) and -Improvement scores, respectively. Variables with possible predictive value were tested using Chi-square and Fisher's exact test. Results: The response rate was 90.5%. The remission rate was 45.2%. Of 42 patients, 40 improved their CGI-S score after ECT (p < 0.001). The mean number of ECT treatments was 2.5 for non-responders and 7.0 for responders (p = 0.010). The mean number of ECT treatments did not differ significantly between remitters and non-remitters (7.2 vs 6.1, p = 0.31). None of the other investigated potential predictors was statistically significantly associated with outcome. Conclusions: ECT is an effective treatment for cycloid psychosis. Future studies need to compare the outcome of ECT to that of other treatment strategies. Clinical implications: The high response rate with ECT indicates that cycloid psychosis is a clinically useful diagnosis.


The maturing field of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) results in long-lived deployments that produce large amounts of sensor data. Lightweight online on-mote processing may improve the usage of their limited resources, such as energy, by transmitting only unexpected sensor data (anomalies). We detect anomalies by analyzing sensor reading predictions from a linear model. We use Recursive Least Squares (RLS) to estimate the model parameters, because for large datasets the standard Linear Least Squares Estimation (LLSE) is not resource friendly. We evaluate the use of fixed-point RLS with adaptive thresholding, and its application to anomaly detection in embedded systems. We present an extensive experimental campaign on generated and real-world datasets, with floating-point RLS, LLSE, and a rule-based method as benchmarks. The methods are evaluated on prediction accuracy of the models, and on detection of anomalies, which are injected in the generated dataset. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is comparable, in terms of prediction accuracy and detection performance, to the other LS methods. However, fixed-point RLS is efficiently implement able in embedded devices. The presented method enables online on-mote anomaly detection with results comparable to offline LS methods.


This report is concerned with laboratory equipment development, laboratory testing, and field investigations of a water seepage barrier consisting of plastic-reinforced asphalt. Three testing methods were utilized and evaluated in the asphalt-plastic-asphalt-chip-coated (APAC) membrane investigation. The first test method evaluated the hydrostatic puncture resistance of an asphalt-polyethylene combination. This test confirmed the hypothesis that the asphalt effectively increases the puncture resistance of the APAC membrane over that of plain polyethylene. The second test investigated the slope stability of a protective APAC chip seal. It was found that a typical 3/8-in. (9.5-mm) cover aggregate remained stable on constructed slopes of 3:1 and 4:1 and also remained stable on a 2:1 slope up to a surface temperature of 122°F (50°C). The third test method evaluated adhesive materials and determined the best suited adhesive for sealing polyethylene overlaps. Subsequent field investigations resulted in equipment development that increased construction efficiency in the installation of the APAC membrane.


Many patients affected by severe mitral regurgitation (MR) do not currently undergo surgery, mainly because of the high surgical risk due to old age, impaired left ventricular function and comorbidities. Consequently, many transcatheter devices are emerging with the purpose of treating MR in a less-invasive fashion, using different approaches and addressing different anatomic targets. The most widely used device in the clinical setting at present is the MitraClip system (Abbott Vascular, Inc., Menlo Park, CA, USA), which 'clips' the mitral leaflets together to force coaptation, and has shown optimal safety and acceptable clinical results, despite the high-risk profile of the patients in which it is commonly used. Other repair technologies include percutaneous neochordae implantation, direct and indirect annuloplasty, and reshaping of the left ventricle, but these are still undergoing limited clinical trials or preclinical experience. The combination of different repair techniques is likely to be required to achieve good long-lasting results. Transcatheter mitral valve implantation is also under development, and has already been carried out successfully in the context of valve-in-valve, whereas in the native scenario it remains an open challenge because of the particular anatomic and physiologic features of the mitral complex; hence, various prostheses using different concepts are emerging, and the first human cases have already been treated. Because data on the safety, efficacy and durability of all transcatheter mitral therapies are still limited, they are currently reserved to high-risk and inoperable patients, and their application requires an integrated Heart-Team approach. However, they represent the natural evolution of surgery and promise to expand treatment options and improve patient outcomes in the near future.


Actually, cancer is considered one of the leading causes of death in the world. Various therapeutic strategies have been developed to combat this dangerous disease. This article investigates a promising therapeutic strategy by proposing a mathematical model that describes the dynamics of cancer treatment with oncolytic viruses. The proposed model integrates the time needed for infected tumor cells to produce new virions after viral entry, the probability of surviving during the latent period, and the saturation effect. We first prove the well-posedness of model and the existence of three equilibria that represent the desired outcome of therapy, the complete failure of therapy and the partial success of therapy. Furthermore, the stability analysis of equilibria and the existence of Hopf bifurcation are rigourously investigated.


This paper examines agricultural intensification and its impact on deforestation in a frontier region of the Philippines. Panel data covering the period 1994–2000 are used to study labor demand and resource reallocation in response to lowland irrigation development. Results illustrate how irrigation has led to changes in employment, incomes, and activities at the forest margin. Findings indicate that the off-farm employment opportunities created by irrigation development have helped to reduce rates of forest clearing. Although some initial employment gains have been reversed, wage-induced increases in agricultural productivity in the uplands have reduced forest pressure. Results show that lowland irrigation has had direct, indirect, and lagged effects on rates of forest clearing, and that a virtuous cycle may be at play, with irrigation leading to both poverty reduction and reduced forest pressure.


Forward genetics is a powerful approach used to link genotypes and phenotypes, and mutant screening/analysis has provided deep insights into many aspects of plant physiology. Gravitropism is a tropistic response in plants, in which hypocotyls and stems sense the direction of gravity and grow upward. Previous studies of gravitropic mutants have suggested that shoot endodermal cells in Arabidopsis stems and hypocotyls are capable of sensing gravity (i.e., statocytes). In the present study, we report a new screening system using hypergravity conditions to isolate enhancers of gravitropism mutants, and we also describe a rapid and efficient genome mapping method, using next-generation sequencing (NGS) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based markers. Using the endodermal-amyloplast less 1 (eal1) mutant, which exhibits defective development of endodermal cells and gravitropism, we found that hypergravity (10 g) restored the reduced gravity responsiveness in eal1 hypocotyls and could, therefore, be used to obtain mutants with further reduction in gravitropism in the eal1 background. Using the new screening system, we successfully isolated six ene (enhancer of eal1) mutants that exhibited little or no gravitropism under hypergravity conditions, and using NGS and map-based cloning with SNP markers, we narrowed down the potential causative genes, which revealed a new genetic network for shoot gravitropism in Arabidopsis.


Biomaterial scaffolds engineered to promote osteogenesis which can subsequently remodel in an identical fashion to that of natural tissue, is an excellent clinical strategy for treating the defects of bone in the maxillofacial region. This study has developed, using a novel melt electrowriting (MEW) technique, various graded porous polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds able to imitate the bimodal structure of cortical and cancellous bone tissue in terms of their morphological pore structure. These scaffolds were subsequently shown to facilitate the proliferation of osteoblasts with significant alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. Scaffolds with a staggered architecture i.e. those where the corresponding fibers in different layers are offset horizontally during the printing process, increases the number of contact points, enables larger pores, facilitates cell attachment and creates a highly porous structure with interconnected networks favourable for improved cell migration and vascularization. MEW is a relatively new technology that fills a gap between conventional fused deposition modelling 3D printing and solution electrospinning by affording significantly better control over the fabrication of the porosity in scaffolds. This is due to the highresolution during printing of the fibers which enables small pore sizes in the desired porosity. PCL polymer with its advantages of less immunoreactivity following implantation and mechanically suitability for the support of bone cells, has flexibility in design and is widely used in bone applications. However poor bioactivity and cellular affinity as well aslong-term degradation issues with PCL have been reported.


In this thesis I am investigating the religious ideas of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, H. P.
Blavatsky and Annie Besant as examples of early approaches to religious pluralism. In this
context, the term 'religious pluralism' refers to the belief that all religious traditions are
paths to genuine religious ends. Thus, religions other than one's own are considered to be
of significance to people of all faiths and even to those who are not believers.
I relate the appearance of these early notions of religious pluralism to the historical and
ideological setting in which they were proposed, particularly the late nineteenth-century
debate about science and religion in the West and its spheres of influence. I argue that
theories of evolution, in addition to the emerging field of historical biblical criticism,
presented a serious challenge to traditional understandings of religion. Together, these two
strands of thought made a strong case for a purely materialistic worldview and for the
further development of modern sciences on such a basis. In response to this crisis of
religion, the four thinkers proposed religious teachings inspired by their own intense
religious experience. They emphasised the experiential aspect of these teachings in order to
claim an epistemic status of religious knowledge equal to that of scientific or empirical
knowledge. In order to universalise this claim, they appealed to religious experience and
religious knowledge originating in all faith traditions.
In my assessment of these arguments I suggest that the two main thinkers, i.e.
Ramakrishna and Blavatsky, may have been led towards pluralistic ideas of religion
through their endorsement of the esoteric traditions of Tantrism and Hermeticism,
respectively. Moreover, I trace the impact of the British colonial presence in India on the
content, presentation and reception of the teachings of all four thinkers.
I conclude that the teachings of Ramakrishna et al. represent early attempts to engage with
the fact of religious plurality from a religious perspective. Thus, the four thinkers
encouraged people to relate to the beliefs and practices of other faiths and to explore them
in relation to their own life. These early efforts in interreligious understanding represented
the initial steps towards our current debates about religious pluralism and interreligious
dialogue.


A key issue for the realization of the smart grid vision is the implementation of effective demand-side management. One possible approach involves exposing dynamic energy prices to end-users. In this paper, we consider a resulting problem on the user's side: how to adaptively heat a home given dynamic prices. The user faces the challenge of having to react to dynamic prices in real time, trading off his comfort with the costs of heating his home to a certain temperature. We propose an active learning approach to adjust the home temperature in a semi-automatic way. Our algorithm learns the user's preferences over time and automatically adjusts the temperature in real-time as prices change. In addition, the algorithm asks the user for feedback once a day. To find the best query time, the algorithm solves an optimal stopping problem. Via simulations, we show that our algorithm learns users' preferences quickly, and that using the expected utility loss as the query criterion outperforms standard approaches from the active learning literature.


In this thesis, the features of electric field signatures of narrow bipolar pulses (NBPs) generated by cloud flashes are investigated and their effects on wireless communication systems are studied. A handful amount of NBPs (14.5%) have been observed to occur as part of cloud-to-ground flashes in South Malaysia. Occurrence of NBPs in Sweden has been reported for the first time in this thesis. The electric field waveform characteristics of NBPs as part of cloud-to-ground flashes were similar to isolated NBPs found in Sweden and South Malaysia and also to those isolated NBPs reported by previous studies from various geographical areas. This is a strong indication that their breakdown mechanisms are similar at any latitudes regardless of geographical areas.A comparative study on the occurrence of NBPs and other forms of lightning flashes across various geographical areas ranging from northern regions to the tropics is presented. As the latitude decreased from Uppsala, Sweden (59.8°N) to South Malaysia (1.5°N), the percentage of NBP emissions relative to the total number of lightning flashes increased significantly from 0.13% to 12%. Occurrences of positive NBPs were more common than negative NBPs at all observed latitudes. However, as latitudes decreased, the negative NBP emissions increased significantly from 20% (Sweden) to 45% (South Malaysia). Factors involving mixed-phase region elevations and vertical extents of thundercloud tops are invoked to explain the observed results. These factors are fundamentally latitude dependent.In this thesis, the interaction between microwave radiations emitted by cloud-to-ground and cloud flashes events and bits transmission in wireless communication networks are also presented. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time such effects are investigated in the literature. Narrow bipolar pulses were found to be the strongest source of interference that interfered with the bits transmission.


This Article is a follow-up to an earlier article, Choice of Law Outline for Texas Courts, 18 Tex. Tech L.Rev. 785 (1987), which attempted to illustrate the proper Texas choice of law analysis under the then-recently-adopted "most significant relationship test." The prior Article was intended for Texas judges, and considered only what ought to occur in a Texas state or federal court. This successor Article is for Texas practitioners, but goes beyond the Texas courtroom. It focuses on the choice of law process in Texas state and federal courts, but is broad enough to acquaint the reader with choice of law in all courts in the United States, and to some extent, courts outside the United States. It is directed to litigators, but should also be useful to transactional attorneys facing choice of law decisions.Two premises are essential to understanding choice of law analysis: 1) Forum law controls choice of law. This premise has three implications. First, the initial task in choice of law analysis is to identify the forum, then to identify the forum's pertinent choice of law rules. If the lawsuit has not yet been filed, the attorney must analyze choice of law as to potential forums, that is, those forums with personal and subject matter jurisdiction. Second, in transactional matters, attorneys should give any potential forums' choice of law rules the same consideration as personal jurisdiction and substantive law, taking care to verify that the intended applicable law will not be undone by contrary public policy or law (either substantive law or choice of law rules). Thus, do not use renvoi unless the forum's choice of law rules require it. 2) In the United States, choice of law rules have three sources, generally in the following priority: First, specific choice of law statutes, unless the forum allows the statutory choice of law to be superseded by a contractual choice of law;6 second, contractual choice of law agreements, if the forum allows them; third, general choice of law rules usually governed by forum common law, such as the most significant relationship test used in Texas courts. These three choice of law sources are subject to preemption by constitutional rules and potentially by international law rules, both of which are part of forum law.


Concern about the international migration of skilled human resources has traditionally focused on migratory flows to industrialized countries, i.e., about what has come to be known as the "brain drain". There are, however, migratory movements of this segment of the labour force within the region as well. This "horizontal" migration is analysed briefly in the present article; in so doing, the author reviews its causes, possible implications, the characteristics of these flows of skilled migrants, and the relationship between what is to be observed in some countries and the official attitude adopted by their Governments. This examination suggests that the emigration of skilled human resources, regardless of their destination, is invariably a loss for developing countries owing to these resources' high social value and economic cost. The author concludes that the subject calls for in-depth research at the intraregional level.


Recent Commonwealth rights charters, various scholars have argued, represent a new "weaker" model of constitutional rights protection than the U.S. constitutional model: unlike the U.S. Bill of Rights, they give legislatures broad formal power to override rights, and therefore also court decisions. The article argues, however, that in practice such powers have rarely if ever been used by Commonwealth legislatures, and therefore, that if judicial review is in fact weaker in Commonwealth countries, compared to the U.S., it is only because Commonwealth courts have been more willing than the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold ordinary legislative attempts to override court decisions. While this may be connected to the greater availability of a formal power of legislative override in the Commonwealth, it also far from given response by Commonwealth courts to the existence of such powers. This more limited – and contingent – view of the difference between Commonwealth and U.S. constitutionalism in this context also has clear practical implications for processes of constitutional "borrowing" across countries.


Neuregulin 4 released by brown adipose tissue attenuates lipogenesis in the liver. Genetic analysis suggests that brown adipose tissue (BAT) can increase systemic energy metabolism not only by dissipating energy in the form of heat, but also through endocrine effects. Wang et al. identified neuregulin 4 (NRG4), an epidermal growth factor–like domain–containing ligand that binds to ErbB receptors, as a factor secreted by BAT that acted on hepatocytes. Nrg4 expression was detected in white adipose tissue (WAT) and was enriched in brown adipocytes. Nrg4 expression was increased during differentiation of brown preadipocytes and by stimuli that increase the activity of brown fat (such as norephinephrine treatment of differentiated brown adipocytes or acute cold exposure in mice). When expressed in HEK293 cells, NRG4 was cleaved and released into the medium. Binding assays indicated that recombinant NRG4 bound to ErbB3 and ErbB4 receptors in liver. When fed a high-fat diet, mice lacking Nrg4 had greater plasma triacylglyceride concentrations, lower glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, and greater hepatic lipid accumulation than wild-type mice. The livers of Nrg4-deficient mice showed higher expression of genes encoding enzymes required for de novo lipogenesis and lower expression of genes involved in fatty acid β-oxidation than those of wild-type mice. In mouse hepatocytes expressing ErbB4, recombinant Nrg4 treatment increased the tyrosine phosphorylation of ErbB3 (which can be phosphorylated in a ligand-dependent manner when heterodimerized with ErbB4) and of the transcription factor STAT5, and inhibited the drug-induced activation of the liver X receptor (LXR), a nuclear hormone receptor that responds to nutritional cues. Luciferase assays performed in Hepa1 hepatoma cells suggested that STAT5 transrepressed LXR, which activates the transcription factor SREBP1c, which in turn activates genes that encode lipogenic enzymes. Nrg4 expression was reduced in the WAT of mice fed a high-fat diet or ob/ob and db/db mice, which are genetic models of obesity, the BAT of ob/ob and db/db mice, and the WAT of individuals with decreased glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes. When fed a high-fat diet, mice overexpressing Nrg4 in adipose tissue had decreased hepatic steatosis, plasma triacylglyceride concentrations, glucose and insulin concentrations, mRNA and protein abundance of SREBP1c, and mRNA expression of lipogenic enzyme-encoding genes than wild-type mice. These results suggest that NRG4 could be developed as a treatment for metabolic disorders. G.-X. Wang, X.-Y. Zhao, Z.-X. Meng, M. Kern, A. Dietrich, Z. Chen, Z. Cozacov, D. Zhou, A. L Okunade, X. Su, S. Li, M. Blüher, J. D. Lin, The brown fat–enriched secreted factor Nrg4 preserves metabolic homeostasis through attenuation of hepatic lipogenesis. Nat. Med. 20, 1436–1443 (2014). [PubMed]


With the advent of the Global Position System (GPS), we now have the ability to determine absolute position anywhere on the globe. Although GPS system work well in open environments with no overhead obstructions, they re subject to large unavoidable errors when the reception from some of the satellites is blocked. This occurs frequently in urban environments, such as downtown New York City. GPS systems require at least four satellites visible to maintain a good position 'fix', and tall buildings and tunnels often block several, if not all, of the satellites. Additionally, due to selective availability, where small amounts of error are intentionally introduced, GPS errors can typically range up to 100 ft or more. This paper proposes several methods for improving the position estimation capabilities of a system by incorporating other sensor and data technologies, including Kalman filtered inertial navigation system, rule- based and fuzzy-based senors fusion techniques, and a unique map-matching algorithm.


Exhumation and landscape evolution along strike‐slip fault systems reflect tectonic processes that accommodate and partition deformation in orogenic settings. We present 17 new apatite (U‐Th)/He (He), zircon He, apatite fission‐track (FT), and zircon FT dates from the eastern Denali fault zone (EDFZ) that bounds the Kluane Ranges in Yukon, Canada. The dates elucidate patterns of deformation along the EDFZ. Mean apatite He, apatite FT, zircon He, and zircon FT sample dates range within ~26–4, ~110–12, ~94–28, and ~137–83 Ma, respectively. A new zircon U‐Pb date of 113.9 ± 1.7 Ma (2σ) complements existing geochronology and aids in interpretation of low‐temperature thermochronometry data patterns. Samples ≤2 km southwest of the EDFZ trace yield the youngest thermochronometry dates. Multimethod thermochronometry, zircon He date‐effective U patterns, and thermal history modeling reveal rapid cooling ~95–75 Ma, slow cooling ~75–30 Ma, and renewed rapid cooling ~30 Ma to present. The magnitude of net surface uplift constrained by published paleobotanical data, exhumation, and total surface uplift from ~30 Ma to present are ~1, ~2–6, and ~1–7 km, respectively. Exhumation is highest closest to the EDFZ trace but substantially lower than reported for the central Denali fault zone. We infer exhumation and elevation changes associated with ~95–75 Ma terrane accretion and EDFZ activity, relief degradation from ~75–30 Ma, and ~30 Ma to present exhumation and surface uplift as a response to flat‐slab subduction and transpressional deformation. Integrated results reveal new constraints on landscape evolution within the Kluane Ranges directly tied to the EDFZ during the last ~100 Myr.


Intestinal trefoil factor (ITF) is a small peptide bearing the unique motif of intrachain disulfide bonds characteristic of the trefoil family. Previous work had localized expression of ITF primarily within goblet cells in the small and large bowel, making it a candidate gene for the study of the molecular basis of intestinal and goblet cell-specific gene expression. In order to study the regulation of ITF expression, we have cloned the rat ITF gene and sequenced 1.7 kilobases of the 5′-flanking region. RNase protection analysis demonstrated a single transcriptional start site. Various lengths of the 5′-flanking region were linked to the reporter gene luciferase and transfected into the colon cancer cell lines LS174T and Caco-2, representing, respectively, cells with and without goblet cell-like phenotype. Expression in the goblet cell-like LS174T colon cancer cell line was nearly 10-fold greater than expression in Caco-2 cells which exhibit columnar enterocyte-like phenotype. The pattern of goblet cell-associated selective transcription required only 153 base pairs of the rat ITF 5′-flanking sequence. Transfection of a construct of human growth hormone under the control of the rat ITF promoter in the N2 subclone of HT-29 cells demonstrated expression of the reporter gene only in those cells exhibiting a goblet cell phenotype as assessed by expression of immunoreactive mucin. These initial studies of the 5′-flanking region of the ITF gene demonstrate the presence of cis-regulatory elements capable of directing goblet cell specific expression.


Abstract Cyriocosmus peruvianus sp. nov., C. itayensis sp. nov., C. aueri sp. nov., C. giganteus sp. nov. from Peru, Loreto region, C. hoeferi sp. nov. from Brazil, C. williamlamari sp. nov. and C. nicholausgordoni sp. nov. from Venezuela are described, illustrated, diagnosed and both sexes, if known, keyed. New Peruvian species can be distinguished from all congeners, except C. bertae Pérez-Miles, 1998 and C. pribiki Pérez-Miles and Weinmann, 2009, by the uniformly coloured carapace and abdomen without stripes and by the short paraembolic apophysis in male palpal bulb. The female of Cyriocosmus ritae Pérez-Miles, 1998 is described for the first time from a known Peruvian population near Iquitos.


This study offers a new interpretation of the puritan 'Antinomian' controversy and a skilful analysis of its wider and long term social and cultural significance. Breen argues that the controversy both reflected and fostered larger questions of identity that would persist in puritan New England throughout the seventeenth century: How much room for individualism among them of a more 'cosmopolitan' nature? How did they respond to those who did not share their celebrated tolerance toward Quakers, Indians, and outside influences in general? Central to Breen's study is the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massuchusetts, a private military company modelled on the fashionable 'artillery gardens' of London. Essentially an elite social club, this organization attracted a heterogeneous yet prominent membership whose diversity contrasted with the the social and religious ideals of the cultural majority.


Nonvolatile acid is produced from the metabolism of organic sulfur in dietary protein and the production of organic anions during the combustion of neutral foods. Organic anion salts that are found primarily in plant foods are directly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract and yield bicarbonate. The difference between endogenously produced nonvolatile acid and absorbed alkali precursors yields the dietary acid load, technically known as the net endogenous acid production, and must be excreted by the kidney to maintain acid-base balance. Although typically 1 mEq/kg/day, dietary acid load is lower with greater intake of fruits and vegetables. In the setting of CKD, a high dietary acid load invokes adaptive mechanisms to increase acid excretion despite reduced nephron number, such as increased per nephron ammoniagenesis and augmented distal acid excretion mediated by the renin-angiotensin system and endothelin-1. These adaptations may promote kidney injury. Additionally, high dietary acid loads produce low-grade, subclinical acidosis that may result in bone and muscle loss. Early studies suggest that lowering the dietary acid load can improve subclinical acidosis, preserve bone and muscle, and slow the decline of glomerular filtration rate in animal models and humans. Studies focusing on hard clinical outcomes are needed.


Description: The rapid development of HPLC instrumentation and technology opens numerous possibilities – and entails new questions. Which column should I choose to obtain best results, which gradient fits to my analytical problem, what are recent and promising trends in detection techniques, what is state of the art regarding LC–MS coupling? All these questions are answered by experts in ten self–contained chapters. Besides these more hardware–related and technical chapters, further related areas of interest are covered: Comparison of recent chromatographic data systems and integration strategies, smart documentation, efficient information search in internet, and tips for a successful FDA inspection. This practical approach offers in a condensed manner recent trends and hints, and will also display the advanced reader mistakes and errors he was not aware of so far.


A simple technique is described that detects structural-type clashes across compilation units with an arbitrarily high degree of confidence. The type of each external object is described in canonical form. A hash function compresses the description into a short code. If the code is embedded in a symbol-table name, then consistency can be checked by an ordinary linker. For distributed programs, run-time checking of message types can be performed with very little overhead. >


The Australian MRI-Linac consists of a fixed horizontal photon beam combined with a MRI. Commissioning required PDD and profiles measured in a horizontal set-up using a combination of water tank measurements and gafchromic film. To validate the methodology, measurements were performed comparing PDD and profiles measured with the gantry angle set to 0 and 90° on a conventional linac. Results showed agreement to within 2.0% for PDD measured using both film and the water tank at gantry 90° relative to PDD acquired using gantry 0°. Profiles acquired using a water tank at both gantry 0 and 90° showed agreement in FWHM to within 1 mm. The agreement for both PDD and profiles measured at gantry 90° relative to gantry 0° curves indicates that the methodology described can be used to acquire the necessary beam data for horizontal beam lines and in particular, commissioning the Australian MRI-linac.


Purpose: This paper reports the development and trialling of a suite of online modules for teaching evidence based practice (EBP), to support introductory EBP teaching for university students undertaking a health science degree, and review the transition to final publication as an open access etextbook.

Setting/Participants/Resources: College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University. First year health sciences students studying a common, core first year subject: 'Research and Evidence in Practice'.

Brief Description: Evidence based practice and research methods are widely entrenched in the curricula of tertiary level health science degrees. Yet frequently students report a lack of confidence and competency in learning the content, and fail to see its relevance to clinical practice. With increasing availability of new technologies to support teaching education practices, educators should consider ways of making learning about EBP and research methods more effective. The online modules were written in a deliberate conversational and engaging style, and included figures, tables, diagrams and videos. Modules included the what, why and how of EBP; research design: methods, bias, validity and reliability; and measurement and analysis; and were the major teaching resource for this subject, negating the need for students to purchase a textbook.

Results/Outcomes: Initial feedback and evaluation was received from 220 students and six expert EBP educators. Further analysis of quantitative and qualitative data indicated students and educators viewed the content as high quality, interactive and engaging, whilst successfully achieving pedagogical goals. A comprehensive review of the content was undertaken in 2018 to consider how the modules had supported teaching practice over the previous six years. The reviewed content was published in 2018 as an open textbook, by the University Library's eBureau publishing program http://www.latrobe.edu.au/ebureau. This completes this work as a professional and innovative method of teaching content, critical for health professionals in training, and ensures that students continue to have access to this important resource, which is now open access, and contributes to international open educational resources. 'Research and evidence in practice' is available at https://doi.org/10.26826/1007


Smart materials, one of the more focused points in materials research, deal primarily with the chemistry, physics and applications of materials in the real world because it induces conformational changes in complex structures and properties which are useful for the control of them. The thrust area of these types of materials are the combination of functional properties like thermal, electric, magnetic, superconducting and optical, which have led to the development of a wide range of new technological devices. These types of materials have been found to be very useful and interesting for various solid state devices. This book examines research developments of smart materials, including processing, properties and applications, which include device materials and environmentally friendly materials.


This richly illustrated book to accompany the PBS science documentary Intimate Strangers: Unseen Life on Earth (Executive Producer, Peter Baker) combines vivid, descriptive images from the series and original artwork with the compelling story of the world of microbes and their role in the Earth's ecosystem. The authors have built upon the series content to offer a more comprehensive view of our relationship with the planet's tiniest inhabitants.
Targeted to a general audience, the book's lively style will engage parents and their children and teachers and their students, along with other members of the science-interested public, putting the vitally important role of the microbial world into stories and terms familiar to the reader.
For more information on the telecourse, video series, and PBS science documentary, visit MicrobeWorld and the Annenberg/CPB Project.
Electronic Only, 191 pages, full-color illustrations.


For many years, it was generally understood that a.c. transmission systems could not be controlled fast enough to handle dynamic system conditions. The dynamic system problems were usually handled by over-design, which resulted in under utilisation of the system. Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) devices play an important role in improving the dynamic performance of a power system and hence achieve better utilisation of the available system. They are principally employed to 'rapidly' control one or more of the three main parameters directly affecting a.c. power transmission, namely the system impedance, magnitude and phase angle of the system voltage. The Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) is the basic building block of most FACTS devices. The multi-level VSI topologies are becoming the favourite power circuits for the 2nd generation of FACTS shunt compensators. The research reported in this thesis is to investigate the reliability of Voltage Source Inverter topologies that are used in high power applications, mainly the Advanced Static VAr Compensator (ASVC). The inherent redundancy of the diode-clamped multi-level VSI topology, with respect to short-circuit and open- circuit device faults, is investigated using a space-vector nodal representation. The harmonic performance of the ASVC under normal and during 'device fault' operating conditions is also investigated. A new multi-level inverter topology is proposed to improve the robustness of the conventional diode-clamped VSI topology. Harmonic spectrum 'recovery' techniques to be utilised in the event of device failure are also investigated and discussed. An adaptive PWM controller is proposed to maintain an acceptable low order harmonic performance for the ASVC under normal and abnormal operating conditions. The results obtained show that the proposed system can maintain uninterrupted operational performance throughout certain device failure conditions. An experimental 3-level discharge path protection switch clamped (DPPSC) VSI system has been designed, constructed and analysed. To demonstrate the 3-level adaptive SHEM strategy, the adaptive DPPS controller was implemented on a TMS320F240 DSP evaluation module (EVM). The results were in good agreement with those predicted in the analytical and simulation parts of the work. The research carried out in this work showed that under loaded operating conditions, the low frequency harmonic components targeted by SHEM techniques are not fully eliminated from the output voltage spectrum. This investigation revealed that this is due to the harmonic interaction between the a.c. and d.c. sides of the multi-level inverter. A new 'Dynamic Selective Harmonic Elimination Modulation (DSHEM)' scheme is proposed to overcome this problem. The DSHEM dynamically adjusts the switching angles according to the system operating point. The proposed method is verified using simulation and the experimental model.


The microstructural approach to the exchange rate market claims that order flows on a currency can accurately reflect the short-run dynamics of its exchange rate. In this paper, instead of focusing on order flows analysis we employ an alternative microstructural approach: We focus on investors' sentiment on a given exchange rate as a possible predictor of its future evolution. As a proxy of investors' sentiment we use StockTwits posts, a message board dedicated to finance. Within StockTwits investors are asked to explicitly state their market expectations. We collect daily data on the nominal exchange rate of four currencies against the U.S. dollar and the extracted market sentiment for the year 2013. Employing econometric and machine learning methodologies we develop models that forecast in out-of-sample exercise the future direction of the four exchange rates. Our empirical findings reject the Efficient Market Hypothesis even in its weak form for all four exchange rates. Overall, we find evidence that investors' sentiment as expressed in public message boards can be an additional source of information regarding the future directional movement of the exchange rates to the ones proposed by economic theory.


Process algebra is a widely accepted and much used technique in the specification and verification of parallel and distributed software systems. This book sets the standard for the field. It assembles the relevant results of most process algebras currently in use, and presents them in a unified framework and notation. The authors describe the theory underlying the development, realization and maintenance of software that occurs in parallel or distributed systems. A system can be specified in the syntax provided, and the axioms can be used to verify that a composed system has the required external behavior. As examples, two protocols are completely specified and verified in the text: the Alternating-Bit Protocol for Data Communication, and Fischer's Protocol of Mutual Exclusion. The book serves as a reference text for researchers and graduate students in computer science, offering a complete overview of the field and referring to further literature where appropriate.


This paper provides an overview of the resource sharing networks introduced by Massoulie and Roberts [20] to model the dynamic behavior of Internet flows. Striving to separate the model class from the applications that motivated its development, we assume no prior knowledge of communication networks. The paper also presents an open problem, along with simulation results, a formal analysis, and a selective literature review that provide context and motivation. The open problem is to devise a policy for dynamic resource allocation that achieves what we call hierarchical greedy ideal (HGI) performance in the heavy traffic limit. The existence of such a policy is suggested by formal analysis of an approximating Brownian control problem, assuming that there is "local traffic" on each processing resource.


For fast, easy modeling, this practical guide provides all the essential information you need to know. A wide range of topics is covered, including custom protocols, programming in C++, External Model Access (EMA) modeling and co-simulation with external systems, giving you the guidance not provided in the OPNET documentation. A set of high-level wrapper APIs is also included to simplify programming custom OPNET models, whether you are a newcomer to OPNET or an experienced user needing to model efficiently. From the basic to the advanced, you will find topics are easy to follow with theory kept to a minimum, many practical tips and answers to frequently asked questions spread throughout the book and numerous step-by-step case studies and real-world network scenarios included.


The essay surveys the future of regional development, based on the experiences of regional development and policy in Europe in the 20th century. The first chapter analyses the cohesion and differentiation of the European space, summing up the long-term processes that contribute to the formation of the space and the possible directions of the development of trans-national regions. One of the conclusions drawn by the author is that the space-forming role of the globalisation will be the most influential in the beginning of the 21st century, which may result in a strong differentiation if the development policies of the less developed regions fait to react effectively enough to the new challenges. In the development strategies, the knowledge of the operation of the regional economy is especially important. The decrease of the limiting role of the state borders within the European integration, the institutionalised development of the European economic space and the Eastern enlargement of the European Union put the development perspectives of the cross-border regions into a new light. When increasing the competitiveness of the continent, besides the community, national and sub-national frameworks we also have to consider the European macro-regions as important strategic units, those large-capacity regions which are suited to meet the criteria of the economies of scale, the long-term development of the integrated network systems and the increase of the efficiency. The major political trend in the new century will be decentralisation. A basic interest of the nation states will be in the future to try to compensate the external pressure, coming from the globalisation and integration, by increasing their power over the economic policy, increasing the decisionmaking potential within the countries and enhancing the abilities of the regions to enforce their interests. The traditional development practice of the Keynesian economic policy can no longer be used successfully in the new paradigm, the regional policy of the state is replaced by the own policies of the regions. This change of paradigm, however, cannot occur automatically, the interests of the regions at different development levels in the institutionalisation of the regionalism vary to a significant extent, not to mention the differences in the decentralisation concepts of the governments in the Central-East European countries. The second part of the study deals with the challenges of the Hungarian regional policy. The main elements in the economic transformation, which influence the long-term trends of the economic growth and the evolution of the spatial structure, are the foliowing: desindustrialisation, tertiarisation, change of technology, decentralisation, European integration and sustainable development. Based on these expected effects, the author defines the current tasks of the Hungarian regional policy. He states that the future of the spatial structure of Hungary basically depends on the decentralisation strategy that Hungary will apply in the use of the new resources available after the EU accession. Regions will be necessary in Hungary, as the practice of regional development in Europe has clearly demonstrated that it is the sub-national levei with a population of 1.5-2 million inhabitants, administered by local governmental principles, i.e. the regions, which are best suited for economic development and the enforcement of the regional interests. Finally, the essay outlines the perspectives of the institutionalisation of region-building in Hungary.


An increasing interest in exploring how digital innovation could support dementia care has been leading research responding to e-health movements, from caregiving and medical perspectives . Not much investigation has included standpoints of the people with dementia though . The Ageing Playfully project , offered a creative space during a series of playful workshops, where by co-designing collages and models, participants with demenia had an opportunity to catalyse imagination and social interaction, and reclaim agency in the context of their own lives. Twelve co-designers with dementia their carers, and an interdisciplinary research team took part in four workshops set up within the context of an existing AgeUK 'circle of support'. The workshops were led by participant preferences. For instance, themes that were received with great enthusiasm in one session were continued with in the next while the selection of materials was optimised to be inclusive for all. The succession of the workshops engaging in creative tasks, triggered enthusiasm in the participants and also led to increased interaction. Participants as co-designers expressed enjoyment and enthusiasm when given this opportunity to engage playfully with each other in imagining and building models and stories, as well as using the models as musical instruments to play music and sing along. Their carers and support workers noted how the workshop activities seemed to encourage interaction, with even the reticent, less confident members of the group joining in with the model building. Stimulating active, social interactions is an important and timely challenge that requires more design research attention. Using codesign as a tool to engage with people with dementia is a novel approach. People with dementia in the future can be stimulated in imagination, and social interaction through similar codesign workshops. For this reason the project has produced a short video that recounts the workshop journey and the experience of the co-designers with dementia. Also a number of practical recommendations have been developed that can be relevant for carers and researchers working with and involving people with dementia.


We report on the Beppo SAX monitoring of a giant outburst of the transient X-ray pulsar XTE J1946+274 in 1998. The source was detected with a flux of ~4 × 10 -9 erg cm -2  s -1 (in 0.1−120 keV range). The broadband spectrum, typical for accreting pulsars, is well described by a cutoff power law with a cyclotron resonance scattering feature (CRSF) at ~38 keV. This value is consistent with earlier reports based on the observations with Suzaku at factor of ten lower luminosity, which implies that the feature is formed close to the neutron star surface rather than in the accretion column. Pulsations with P ~ 15.82 s were observed up to ~70 keV. The pulse profile strongly depends on energy and is characterised by a "soft" and a "hard" peaks shifted by half period, which suggests a strong phase dependence of the spectrum, and that two components with roughly orthogonal beam patterns are responsible for the observed pulse shape. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the CRSF, despite its relatively high energy, is only detected in the spectrum of the soft peak of the pulse profile. Along with the absence of correlation of the line energy with luminosity, this could be explained in the framework of the recently proposed "reflection" model for CRSF formation. However more detailed modelling of both line and continuum formation are required to confirm this interpretation.


This study investigates the feasibility of a different new approach to determining the microleakage volume associated with dental restorations (Class V cavity restorated with glass ionomer cement + high copper amalgam) and the relative marginal adaptation deficiency of dog, bovine and human permanent teeth in in vitro conditions. Also researched is the appropriateness of using dog and bovine teeth in in vitro studies rather than human teeth. Our method utilizes the molecular adsorption characteristics of methylene blue. Within the framework of this study, 60 permanent teeth (20 human, 20 dogs and 20 bovine) were used. These groups were evaluated statistically, of which indicated no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05). It was also concluded that this preliminary investigation showed that the new microleakage volume measurement method may be a valuable new technique for the in vitro study of microleakage dynamics around dental restorations.


Determining Marshall design test results is time consuming. If the researchers can obtain stability and flow values by mechanical testing, rest of the calculations will just be mathematical manipulations. Marshall stability and flow tests were carried out on specimens fabricated with dierent type of polypropylene fibers. It has been shown that addition of polypropylene fibers improved Marshall stabilities and Marshall quotient values in a considerable manner. Input variables in the developed genetic programming model use the physical properties of standard Marshall specimens such as polypropylene type, polypropylene percentage, bitumen percentage, specimen height, calculated unit weight, voids in mineral aggregate, voids filled with asphalt and air voids. Performance of the genetic programming model is quite satisfactory. Besides, to obtain main eects plot, a wide range of parametric studies have been performed. The presented closed form solution will also help further researchers willing to perform similar studies, without carrying out destructive tests.


The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of concept map to enhance academic performance of students in DNA concepts. Quasi experimental design was used for the study. Thirty-nine (39) students from Boakye Tromo Senior High/Technical School, Duayaw Nkwanta in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana were purposively selected and used for the study. Molecular Concept Achievement Test (MCAT) was developed, and used for both pre-test and post-test. The reliability coefficient of MCAT was established at 0.87 using Kudder-Richardson formula 20 (KR 20). All the thirty nine (39) students were taught the DNA concepts with conventional lecture-based instructional approach without any analogy for a period of two weeks and then tested to serve as pre-test. They were then exposed to the concepts again using analogy-based instructional approach such as "building a house and bread baking analogies" for another two weeks, tested at the end of the treatment period to serve as post-test. The null hypothesis was tested at p ≤ 0.05 levels using paired sample t-test together with Wilcoxon signed rank test. The study proved that there is a significant difference between the pretest and posttest mean scores of the students in favour of the post test (p<0.01). The students' performance was massively improved when taught with analogy-based instructional approach (treatment) compared to those taught with the conventional lecture-based instructional approach (prior to treatment) (t = -18.29, p < .001; Z = -5.53, d = 2.98). It was then concluded from the findings that the analogy-based instructional approach of teaching and learning employed during the treatment processes improved the students' academic achievements, and lead to improvement in their performance of the DNA concepts.


Life is full of risks – in war and peace. Risks that we often try to avoid, eliminate or - at least - reduce. Military activities often include risks – in war requiring excessive countermeasures but also in peacetime situations and during international military missions where competent risk reducing actions must be searched for.Military Technology within SNDU focuses research on military utility as a measure when evaluating technical systems for military purposes. The definition of military utility often must be different for different applications and measured in different units, e.g. economic costs, cost in time to complete a task or costs in human lives - or even combinations of units for different systems.A recent research program at SNDU handles risks in explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) operations based upon the military utility.The wide use of light anti-tank weapons and the scattering of sub-munitions have made clearance of unexploded ordnance containing shaped charge warheads - a frequent task for EOD personnel.Several circumstances are characteristic for EOD operations and have to be taken into consideration when evaluating the military utility: the limited information availability, the short time frames, the working methods and the technology level.Protective measures such as evacuation of a hazardous area or building of a protective construction often have to be executed to reduce risks. Two conditions are unique for protective constructions in EOD operations on shaped charge ammunition: constructions built from sandbags and long standoff distances.As has been shown in earlier ISMS annual conferences measures to handle risks were identified and acted upon in the SNDU program[i],[ii]. The result up until now is a tool meeting the military requirements - e.g. which can be used under field conditions, within a limited time frame and without access to advanced calculating equipment. The format is a simple diagram included in a complete design tool.This tool is now being implemented in regulations and training for EOD personnel in the Swedish Armed Forces.The result reached so far fill a gap, but it does not represent the ultimate solution for risk handling –it rather form a step forward within EOD operations. The tool, however transparent and based upon verified tests, only handles the two cases: either full countermeasures or no countermeasures. This binary approach to risk factors is not unique for this situation, many methods and tools are designed for extrema, nothing in between.To establish a protective construction that completely eliminates the risk is often not possible, simply because the large dimensions require resources or time to complete the construction that are not available.What if only partial protection is possible– what risk does that leave us with?The surroundings also affect the actual risk. Infrastructure, terrain formations and vegetation can both decrease and increase the effects from the ammunition. Furthermore, what influence do different render safe procedures and applied clearance charges have on the risk? Only suitable tools that consider the actual influence of these aspects will provide the necessary foundation for estimation of a more correct risk. Here we are still without rules to apply.Basic questions like "What risk is acceptable?", "During what conditions?" and "How do we reach acceptable risk levels?" remain to be answered. Furthermore, we have to develop how we communicate the risk to decision makers, particularly in extreme situations. If a risk described in mathematical format is not rightly understood by everyone other formulations that are perfectly clear must be used.We know that the attitude towards risks varies with individuals, with the situation and over time but we do not have vehicles to give us adequate quantitative measures. The answers to questions on acceptable risk not only relate to technical issues but also comprise military judgement, leadership and communications as well as they have judicial and ethical dimensions.The objective for future research in the field is a dynamic risk management model comprising also other situations than those studied up until now and to evaluate and appreciate alternative mitigation measures along the chain of clearance activities.A dynamic risk management concept developed for EOD operations should be a step in the handling of the general threat from explosive remnants of war, i.e. land mines, UXO:s and IED:s, which often have significant impact on a military operation as a whole. These threats exist on all levels of conflict and their constantly changing character requires a dynamic approach when it comes to risk handling.War fighting is evolving, with a continuous struggle between our measures and the opponents countermeasures. There is no clear distinction between friend and foe, peace and war or danger and safety - military activities take place in a grey-zone. Supportive programs have to be adapted to this reality and methods for dynamic risk management tailored for military operations. The military utility of such a concept is obvious with good possibilities to generalisation, a worthwhile starting point for dynamic risk handling methods for other military activities.The paper is focused on a dynamic risk management concept where not only technical issues are dealt with, but also other military concerns are addressed with the military utility as a basic measure. [i]Johnsson, F, Vretblad, B & Sivertun, A, Shaped Charge Calculation Models for Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operations. International Society of Military Sciences (ISMS) 2012 Annual Conference. Kingston, Canada, 2012. [ii]Johnsson, F & Vretblad, B, Experimentally developed model for the design of protective measures against shaped charge jet penetration during EOD operations. International Society of Military Sciences (ISMS) 2014 Annual Conference. Vienna, Austria, 2014.


This report, written as part of a wider review of human rights in EU foreign policy, describes and assesses the current decision-making structures and procedures for EU military, police and civilian crisis management missions throughout the world. EU interventions or missions in non-member countries are a relatively recent development, and have largely been undertaken to ensure more effective co-ordination of humanitarian, peace-keeping, and peace building efforts by Member States in response to international conflicts and crises - and perhaps also to project the role of the EU as a major actor on the global stage. EU missions may involve the deployment of military forces in peace-keeping or peace enforcement operations, the deployment of military and police personnel in a preventive role or with a view to maintaining public order or controlling criminal activity, or they may involve the provision of civilian support for the rebuilding or redevelopment of the rule of law in countries where governmental structures have broken down. This report examines the incidence of these interventions, as well as their interaction with other bodies such as the UN, NATO, the African Union and voluntary coalitions, and the complex diplomatic and military negotiations leading to particular operations. The focus on assistance reflects the primary responsibility of the EU not to act independently of the UN and other international bodies but to provide support and assistance to the wider international community. The main aim of the report is not to provide a detailed analysis of the success or failure of particular missions, but is to describe the often complex and confusing structures developed over the past decade and to assess the past, present and future of the EU's responsibility to intervene in international crises.


This thesis presents a technique to improve the precision of data-flow analyses on objectoriented programs in the presence of correlated calls. We say that two method calls are correlated if they are polymorphic (have multiple targets) and are invoked on the same object. Correlated calls are problematic because they can make existing data-flow analyses consider certain infeasible data-flow paths as valid. This leads to loss in precision of the analysis solution. We show how infeasible paths can be eliminated for Inter-procedural Finite Distributive Subset (IFDS) problems, a large class of data-flow analysis problems. We show how the precision of IFDS problems can be improved in the presence of correlated calls, by using the Inter-procedural Distributive Environment (IDE) algorithm to eliminate infeasible paths. Using IDE, we eliminate the infeasible paths and obtain a more precise result for the original IFDS problem. Our analysis is implemented in Scala, using the WALA framework for static program analysis on Java bytecode.


Integrated coal Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) is the most advanced technology for coal‐fired power generation. The two‐stage entrained flow gasification process allows for the use of a wide range of coal, as long as the gasification temperature is above the ash melting point of a used fuel. In this gasification technology, lignite, which often has a low ash melting point, can be preferably utilized. However, ash fluidity is also another importance, because the behaviour of molten slag can diminish a stable ash discharge from a gasifier. As the eligibility of coal ash properties is a considerable factor, water physically and chemically kept in lignite (30 – 60% in mass) attributes to deteriorating gasification efficiency, because it causes significant heat loss and increasing oxygen consumption. Developing a thermal evaporative lignite drying method will be a necessary attempt to apply lignite to the coal gasification process. For those preceded objectives, coal and ash properties and drying characteristics of several grades of Polish lignite, extracted from Belchatow and Turow deposits, have been experimentally investigated in a preliminary study evaluating the applicability and consideration for its utilization in state‐of‐the‐art clean coal technology, IGCC. This paper particularly discusses the eligibility of Polish lignite from the perspective of the fusibility and fluidity of ash melts and the fundamental drying kinetics of lignite in superheated steam in the light of water removal. The viscosity of ash melts is measured at high temperature up to 1700 °C. In the drying tests, the significant influence of structural issues, because of the provenance and origin of lignite on the drying characteristics, was found by applying the method of sensitivity analysis of physical propensity. This paper concludes that the investigated Polish lignite has characteristics favourable for utilization in IGCC technology, once the precautions related to its high moisture have been carefully addressed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This study estimates the impacts of different types of government expenditure on agricultural growth and rural poverty in Thailand. The results show that, despite Thailand's middle-income status, public investments in agricultural R&D, irrigation, rural education, and infrastructure (including roads and electricity), still have positive marginal impacts on agricultural productivity growth and rural poverty reduction. Additional government spending on agricultural research and development improves agricultural productivity the most and has the second largest impact on rural poverty reduction. Investments in rural electrification reduce poverty the most and have the second largest growth impact. These two investments dominate all others and are win-win for growth and poverty reduction. Road expenditure has the third largest impact on rural poverty reduction, but only a modest and statistically insignificant impact on agricultural productivity. Government spending on rural education has only the fourth largest impact on poverty, but a significant economic impact through improved agricultural productivity. Irrigation investment has the smallest impact on both rural poverty reduction and productivity growth in agriculture. Additional investments in the Northeast region contribute more to reducing poverty than investments in other regions. This is because most of the poor are now concentrated in the Northeast and it has suffered from under investment in the past. The poverty reducing impacts of infrastructure investments, such as electricity and roads, are particularly high in this region. The growth impacts of many investments are also greatest in the Northeast than in other regions, hence there is no evident tradeoff between investments for growth and investments for poverty reduction. Thailand is a middle-income country and it is insightful to compare these results with similar studies undertaken in low-income countries like India, China, and Uganda. Some of the results are similar, for example, the high returns to public investments in agricultural research and some kinds of rural infrastructure arise in most countries because of the inherent market failures associated with these types of public goods. But others results are different. For example, the returns to public investment in education in Thailand are quite low, partly because of increasing private investment but also the inappropriate composition of much public spending on education. Within infrastructure, results from low-income countries often show higher returns to road investments than telecommunications and electricity. But in the case of Thailand, it is investment in electricity that shows the highest return. Thailand has invested heavily in rural roads and a dense road network has already been built, suggesting that additional investment may yield diminishing returns. Also, there has been significant investment by the private sector in rural telecommunication, leading to a much-reduced role for the public sector. This situation differs from many low-income countries, especially in Africa, where the private sector is still embryonic and the public sector must play a dominant investment role for the foreseeable future.


(Received 10 August 1973) SUMMARY 1. The alveolar-arterial oxygen-tension gradient was measured in duplicate, in fortyeight healthy subjects (twenty-four men and twenty-four women) aged from 20 to 74 years, while breathing oxygen concentrations of approximately 14, 21, 40, 60 and 2. The gradient increased with age and with inspired O2 concentration up to 60%. Above 60%, during normal breathing, there was no significant change in gradient. 3. Breathing 100% 0, in deep breaths decreased the gradient in all age-groups, significantly so in subjects of 50 years and younger. The remaining gradient was due to anatomical venous shunt. 4. When this anatomical shunt was allowed for, the differences in gradient between age-groups were largely abolished at all inspired O2 conceqtrations. The gradient which was not due to anatomical shunt, when breathing air, remained higher in subjects over 60 years than in the younger subjects. 5. The results can be interpreted to mean that three components contribute to the normal gradient : (a) irreversible anatomical shunt; (b) closed, unventilated alveoli which can only be inflated by deep breaths; and (c) cyclical airway closure during normal breathing in subjects over 60 years. Diffusion disequilibrium may contribute a gradient of up to 3 mmHg during the breathing of low 0, concentrations.


The present review study was an effort to assess the perception of various researchers (Available in the form of literature) regarding the causes, sign, symptoms, and effects of malnutrition on human health. Various research articles congregated for the purpose to review the perceptions of different researchers regarding the causes, sign and symptoms and effects of malnutrition on the health of children. After study the perception of different researchers available in the form of literature, the researcher arrived at conclusion that unbalance diet, psychological problems, digestive syndromes and stomach conditions etc all are the causes of malnutrition. It also concluded by the researcher from the available literature, that loss of fat, difficulty in respiration, and complication during surgery are the main sign and symptoms of malnutrition. Furthermore, under nutrition can lead the body toward weakness and over nutrition lead the body toward obesity.


The USGS, in cooperation with NOAA, is producing detailed maps of the seafloor off southern New England. The current phase of this cooperative research program is directed toward analyzing how bathymetric relief relates to the distribution of sedimentary environments and benthic communities. As part of this program, digital terrain models (DTMs) from bathymetry collected as part of NOAA's hydrographic charting activities are converted into ESRI raster grids and imagery, verified with bottom sampling and photography, and used to produce interpretations of seabed geology and hydrodynamic processes. Although each of the 7 continuous-coverage, completed surveys individually provides important benthic environmental information, many applications require a geographically broader perspective. For example, the usefulness of individual surveys is limited for the planning and construction of cross-Sound infrastructure, such as cables and pipelines, or for the testing of regional circulation models. To address this need, we integrated the 7 contiguous multibeam bathymetric DTMs into one dataset that covers much of Block Island Sound. The new dataset is adjusted to mean lower low water, is provided in UTM Zone 19 NAD83 and geographic WGS84 projections, and is gridded to 4-m resolution. This resolution is adequate for seafloor-feature and process interpretation, but small enough to be queried and manipulated with standard GIS programs and to allow for future growth. Natural features visible in the grid include boulder lag deposits of submerged moraines, sand-wave fields, and scour depressions that reflect the strength of the oscillating tidal currents. Bedform asymmetry allows interpretations of net sediment transport. Together the merged data reveal a larger, more continuous perspective of bathymetric topography than previously available, providing a fundamental framework for research and resource management activities off this portion of the Rhode Island coast. For more information on the ground-truth surveys see http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=2011-006-FA


The Tax Relief Act of 1997 created an important tax provision which helped taxpayers offset the cost of higher education. This provision was in the form of education tax credits. Because a tax credit is a dollar for dollar reduction in tax liability, these education credits were designed to reduce the amount of tax due for college students or their parents. Introduced in 1998, and known as the Hope Scholarship and the Lifetime Learning tax credits, these credits were established to counterbalance the monies spent on tuition, fees, and some course materials during postsecondary education. While these credits proved to be beneficial to many taxpayers over the past decade, most recently, the signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 provided a new provision which was intended to increase access to education and to stimulate the economy. The ARRA of 2009 established for two years (2009 and 2010) the "American Opportunity" tax credit as a replacement for the Hope credit. Similar to the previous education credits, the American Opportunity tax credit helps students and families pay for post-secondary education. However, the most significant condition of this credit is that 40% of the American Opportunity tax credit is refundable and therefore available to households with little or no tax liability. Since refundable credits generate refunds over and above the withholding amount instead of just reducing the tax liability, the American Opportunity tax credit is available to the lowest income tax payers. As a result, it is possible for many taxpayers to receive a maximum amount of refundable credit of up to $1,000. Unfortunately, the American Opportunity credit is proposed to be available only on a taxpayer's 2009 and 2010 tax return. After this time, the credit is expected to revert to its original form prior to the ARRA of 2009. Many taxpayers will no longer be eligible for the refundable portion of the credit nor many of its other beneficial provisions. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the new American Opportunity Credit and to show the need for the continuance of this credit that is not only crucial for the welfare of the lower to middle income taxpayers but the larger, refundable credit would extend educational assistance to low to moderate income students, making it easier for them or their parents to afford college and thus encouraging attendance.


This study evaluated adolescent and parent predictors of behavioural intention to use an online healthy weight website for adolescents using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), cohort (parent or adolescent), and adolescent BMI-for-age z-score. It also considered adolescent and parent preferences regarding the content of an online healthy weight website for adolescents. Participants included both a community and treatment sample of 67 adolescents and 76 parents who completed a questionnaire booklet containing demographic questions, the TAM scale and an evaluation of the value of possible website content. The hypothesis that TAM would be a significant predictor of behavioural intention to use the online weight management program was supported. Results contributed to an understanding of behavioural intention to use in the unique setting of an online healthy weight website and have important implications for researchers, clinicians and designers of obesity and online interventions.


While critics have long acknowledged Jane Austen's literary debt to William Shakespeare, little attention has been paid to her infrequent use of direct quotations from his work. Perhaps because these instances of quotation are so rare, most critics who take note of them classify them as purely ironic: Austen quotes the Bard as a means by which to satirize the eighteenth-century vogue for Shakespeare epigrams, mocking other writers who ineptly or inaptly cite well-worn passages in a transparent bid for artistic legitimacy. While true to a certain extent, this conclusion does not do justice to Austen's admiration of Shakespeare nor to the range of her sophisticated irony. Opening up such a critical standpoint in this article, I closely examine instances of direct quotations from Shakespeare in Austen's novels and argue that Austen does not simply mock those writers who misuse Shakespeare; her quotations also reinvigorate his most clichéd aphorisms and demonstrate both their continuing relevance and her own keen understanding of their complex original contexts.


The far field acoustics generated by turbulent flow over rough surfaces has been experimentally investigated in an acoustically treated wall jet facility. The facility allows direct measurement of the far field sound from small patches of surface roughness, without contamination from edge or other aerodynamic noise sources. The facility is capable of generating turbulent boundary layer flows with momentum thickness Reynolds numbers, (θUe/ν), between 450 and 1160. The variation of surface conditions tested cover the range from hydrodynamically smooth surfaces through most of the transitional range, with h variations from 3 to 85. Single microphone narrow band acoustic spectra, measured in the far field, show sound levels as much as 15 dB above the background from 0.186 m roughness patches. The measurements revealed the spectral shape and level variations with flow velocity, boundary layer thickness, and roughness size; providing the first data set large enough to assess the affects of many aerodynamic properties on the acoustic spectra. Increases in the size of grit type roughness produced significant increases in acoustic levels. Patches of hydrodynamically smooth roughness generated measurable acoustic levels, confirming that acoustic scattering is at least one of the physical mechanisms responsible for roughness noise. The shapes of the measured spectra show a strong dependence on the form of the surface roughness. The acoustic spectra generated by periodic two-dimensional surfaces have a much narrower louder peak than that generated by three-dimensional grit type roughness. Measurements also show the orientation of the two-dimensional surface significantly affects the acoustic levels and directivity. The variation of sound levels with flow velocity and roughness size suggests the acoustic field is significantly affected by changes in the near wall flow due to the presence of the roughness. Previously proposed scaling models showed the general trends seen in measurements for flows over grit and two-dimensional roughness in the range of 20<h<50. However, in cases with a low Reynolds number or large grit size, where the roughness is likely to significantly affect the hydrodynamic pressure field, the scaling models did not perform as well.


What characterizes emergency today is the proliferation of the term. Any event or situation supposedly has the potential to become an emergency. Emergencies may happen anywhere and at any time. They are not contained within one functional sector or one domain of life. The substantive focus of the articles collected in this special issue reflects this proliferation: they explore ways of governing in, by and through emergencies across different types of emergencies and different domains of life. In response to this proliferation, the issue opens up critical work on the politics of emergency beyond the 'state of exception' as dominant paradigm. Emergency is treated as a problem for government that calls for the invention of new techniques or the redeployment of existing techniques. Through this shift in emphasis, the articles in this issue disclose relations between modalities of power and emergency life that differ from the 'lightening flash' of a sovereign decision on the exception taken from outside of life, or the capacity to 'mould' an always-already emergent life from within life.