In Photoacoustic (PA) imaging, a pulsed light excites ultrasound (US) waves in proportion to
the optical absorption of the tissue. This unique combination of light and sound brings together
optical contrast and resolution in a simple imaging modality. Many molecules in the tissue, such
as oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, water, etc., have a characteristic optical absorption at spe-
ci�c wavelengths. The intrinsic optical contrast of tissue molecules at speci�c wavelengths in the
near-infrared window enables PA imaging to be a potential modality in clinical applications like
early cancer diagnosis, metabolism imaging, etc. This advantage of PA imaging makes it ideal for
diagnostic applications. Over the past two decades, PA imaging has made it to several applications
including microscopy, small animal studies, pre-clinical studies and in vivo clinical studies.
An ideal clinical imaging system should be real-time, cost-e�ective and be a faithful diagnostic
tool. Following are the challenges in translating PA imaging for in vivo studies: (i) Massive data
acquisition hardware requirement for volumetric imaging. (ii) Non-realtime imaging due to com-
putationally complex reconstruction methods. (iii) Low signal strength with limited intensity laser
exposure resulting in poor image quality. In this work, these challenges have been addressed and
proposed methods for in vivo PA imaging. Speci�cally, two approaches were explored to address
these challenges. (i) To reduce hardware requirement, Compressed Sensing (CS) techniques were
also explored. (ii) To address the non real time and SNR issues, a physical acoustic lens based
solutions have been provided.
Under mild conditions, CS methods can recover a signal from highly undersampled measurements.
A simulation study was conducted on PA signals with random sensing and signal recovery using
CS techniques. Further, it was found that the inter-signal correlation between transducers is high.
This motivated the use of Distributed Compressed Sensing (DCS) signal recovery by combining in-
formation from neighboring transducer responses. Once the signal is recovered, any well known PA
reconstruction algorithm can be used to form an image. The results show that the image formed us-
ing DCS can provide better image quality than with the standard CS method. This method requires
a two-step reconstruction; �rst, the PA signal has to be recovered from compressed measurements,
and then the image has to be reconstructed. To directly form the image from compressed mea-
surements, model based imaging is employed. The model-based imaging in this context uses a PA
system matrix, and image reconstruction is done using matrix inversion. The literature is rich with
several PA system matrices, however, they do not always capture all the underlying phenomenon
(wave propagation, medium properties, and ultrasound transducer properties) involved in PA imag-
vii
ing. To address this shortcoming a pseudo spectral PA system matrix was proposed which model
wave propagation, medium properties, and ultrasound transducer properties. The purpose of using
the proposed matrix was to model the PA phenomena accurately and reconstruct the image from
undersampled measurements to improve image quality. It is evident from the results that recon-
struction using the proposed matrix provides better image quality than conventional reconstruction
algorithms in addition to enabling direct image reconstruction from undersampled measurements.
The proposed matrix was validated using experimental PA signal, and its e�ciency was tested
against other PA system matrices.
To address the challenge of non real-time imaging and low SNR, an acoustic lens based approach is
provided. An acoustic lens can be used to focus sound in a manner that is similar to how an optical
lens focuses light. An acoustic lens o�ers the following advantages: (i) Lens focusing can eliminate
reconstruction algorithms, which in turn enables real-time imaging. (ii) A larger lens aperture can
be used to focus the signal to a smaller transducer array, thereby reducing the number of transducers
required to collect the wavefront. This in turn, reduces the number of transducers, and acquisition
channels. (iii) The focusing action of the lens improves ultrasound signal strength which contributes
to improving the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR). (iv) Further, an acoustic lens can be manufactured
using 3D printing which enables inexpensive solution. However, the use of acoustic lens was limited
to ex vivo studies as the lens can only focus an object plane to the image plane. Volumetric imaging
using an acoustic lens was impeded by defocusing at depths other than the focused object plane
and the aperture of the lens, which degrades the lateral resolution. In this thesis a volumetric PA
imaging was proposed using an acoustic lens. Two methods to overcome the above limitations were
proposed. First, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) based residual refocusing method was proposed
to simultaneously refocus the pressure signal from multiple depths. The second uses the concept
of spatial compounding, where a target object is viewed at multiple angles and combined to form
the �nal image. The refocusing method can improve the resolution to the di�raction limit of the
lens, while spatial compounding was shown to provide uniform and high resolution throughout the
imaging volume. Through phantom and tissue imaging studies, the e�cacy of these methods was
demonstrated.
In this thesis, challenges in in vivo PA imaging namely, hardware complexity, non real-time nature
and low SNR are addressed using theory, modeling and experimental studies. Finally, a novel in
vivo PA imaging system con�guration for thyroid imaging is proposed using an acoustic lens.


Based on the atmospheric regional climate model HIRHAM5, the single-column model version HIRHAM5-SCM was developed and applied to investigate the performance of a relative humidity based (RH-Scheme) and a prognostic statistical cloud scheme (PS-Scheme) in the central Arctic. The surface pressure as well as dynamical tendencies of temperature, specific humidity, and horizontal wind were prescribed from the ERA-Interim data set to enable the simulation of a realistic annual cycle. Both modeled temperature and relative humidity profiles were validated against radio soundings carried out on the 35th North Pole drifting station (NP-35). Simulated total cloud cover was evaluated with NP-35 and satellite-based ISCCP-D2 and MODIS observations. The more sophisticated PS-Scheme was found to perform more realistically and matched the observations better. Nevertheless, the model systematically overestimated the monthly averaged total cloud cover. Sensitivity studies were conducted to assess the effect of modified "tuning" parameters on cloud-related model variables. Two tunable parameters of the PS-Scheme and six tuning parameters contained in the cloud microphysics were analyzed. Lower values of the PS-Scheme adjustment parameter q0, which defines the shape of the symmetric beta distribution (acting as probability density function), as well as higher values of the cloud water threshold CWmin or autoconversion rate γ1 are able to reduce the overestimation of Arctic clouds. Furthermore, a lower cloud ice threshold γthr, which controls the Bergeron–Findeisen process, improves model cloudiness and the ratio of liquid to solid water content.


Wader species migrating through the Sivash (Ukraine) use hypersaline and brackish lagoons. We studied the use of the two habitat types, and focused on the profitability of Brine Shrimp Artemia salina, prey species in hypersaline lagoons for Dunlins Calidris alpina, Curlew Sandpipers Calidris ferruginea and Broad-billed Sandpipers Limicola falcinellus (although the latter was abundant in the brackish habitat only). Colour-marked Dunlins restricted feeding to the lagoon type in which they were initially captured. Dunlins and Curlew Sandpipers fed in areas where Brine Shrimps were of average size (0.23-0.34 mg AFDM). Artemia intake may be restricted by the visual foraging mode, as during rain and twilight pecking rates decreased to 45.9-76.8% of values measured during dry periods in full daylight. Feeding activities were higher in hypersaline than in brackish lagoon (84.6 and 69.0%, respectively). Broad-billed Sandpipers feeding on Artemia had longer handling times (0.87 s prey(-1)) than Dunlins and Curlew Sandpipers (0.58 and 0.54 s prey(-1)), which performed surface tension transport (STT) of prey in their pointed, thin bills. There were no differences in body mass increases in Dunlins in hypersaline and brackish lagoons. In Broad-billed Sandpipers, catching results suggest an increase in body mass in the brackish lagoon only. Supported by intake rate-based calculations of potential mass gain rates, we conclude that Brine Shrimp can form a profitable prey for Dunlins and for Curlew Sandpipers, but apparently not for Broad-billed Sandpipers.


In vitro cultivation of Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme spirochetosis, allows for the isolation and growth of this bacterium from infected tissues. However, continuous cultivation in modified Kelly medium causes a reduction in the number of detectable plasmids and the loss of infectivity in the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus. In an unpassaged culture of B. burgdorferi, nine plasmids were present, including seven linear plasmids ranging in size from 49 to 16 kilobases (kb) and two circular plasmids of 27 and 7.6 kb. The 7.6-kb circular and 22-kb linear plasmids were no longer detectable in spirochetes noninfective in white-footed mice, suggesting that a gene(s) encoding for factors responsible for infection may be present on one or more of these extrachromosomal elements. Furthermore, changes in spirochetal proteins and lipopolysaccharide-like material were observed also during early cultivation and may be related to loss of infectivity.


The dual nature of artworks has had a wrenching impact on art-historical scholarship. At one extreme, historians interpret visual artworks in terms of their historical eras, cultural conditions, and artists' biographies. At the other, historians receive artworks as aesthetic objects and interpret their formal structures. In the former construct artworks are understood as semiotic systems that operate like text. The latter focuses on the perceptual experience of viewing. This thesis addresses how postmodern appropriation art engages the dual nature of artworks to redefine visual representation as a translational and transformative event. Postmodern appropriation art takes two different forms: art after media and art after art. Although this thesis focuses on the latter, the introduction reviews the development of both and establishes how material expression functions differently in each. Chapter one considers the emergence of rephotography in 1979 to demonstrate how even this---the most exact version of art after art---embodies difference at the material level. Applying Gilles Deleuze's insight that repetition expresses difference, this thesis then redefines appropriation art as the movement of images into new contextual and material expressions. The body of the thesis takes up each of these elements---context, image, and material---and specifically explores how they produce creative outcomes. Throughout, this thesis examines how the practice of postmodern art after art demonstrates that visual artworks provide territories in which performative events occur. However, unlike what was suggested during Abstract Expressionism, this is not a performance between an authorial artist and the artwork; it is a performance between the artwork's material condition, which generates affective qualities, and its contextual frame, which sets up referential relationships that are tied to social and cultural forces. Through an analysis of individual artworks, this thesis demonstrates that these outcomes---the qualitative changes and new referential relationships---are neither predictable nor obvious in the source artworks, they must be actualized to become apparent. Thus, authorship is realigned with the art object, the artist is redefined as a viewer, and visual representation becomes a material event.


Importance There are important differences among guideline recommendations for using statin therapy in primary prevention. New recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) emphasize therapy based on the presence of 1 or more cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and a 10-year global CVD risk of 10% or greater. Objective To determine the difference in eligibility for primary prevention statin treatment among US adults, assuming full application of USPSTF recommendations compared with the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines. Design, Setting, and Participants National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data (2009-2014) were used to assess statin eligibility under the 2016 USPSTF recommendations vs the 2013 ACC/AHA cholesterol guidelines among a nationally representative sample of 3416 US adults aged 40 to 75 years with fasting lipid data and triglyceride levels of 400 mg/dL or less, without prior CVD. Exposures The 2016 USPSTF recommendations vs 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines. Main Outcomes and Measures Eligibility for primary prevention statin therapy. Results Among the US primary prevention population represented by 3416 individuals in NHANES, the median weighted age was 53 years (interquartile range, 46-61), and 53% (95% CI, 52%-55%) were women. Along with the 21.5% (95% CI, 19.3%-23.7%) of patients who reported currently taking lipid-lowering medication, full implementation of the USPSTF recommendations would be associated with initiation of statin therapy in an additional 15.8% (95% CI, 14.0%-17.5%) of patients, compared with an additional 24.3% (95% CI, 22.3%-26.3%) of patients who would be recommended for statin initiation under full implementation of the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines. Among the 8.9% of individuals in the primary prevention population who would be recommended for statins by ACC/AHA guidelines but not by USPSTF recommendations, 55% would be adults aged 40 to 59 years with a mean 30-year cardiovascular risk greater than 30%, and 28% would have diabetes. Conclusions And Relevance In this sample of US adults from 2009-2014, adherence to the 2016 USPSTF recommendations for statin therapy, compared with the 2013 ACC/AHA guidelines, could lead to a lower number of individuals recommended for primary prevention statin therapy, including many younger adults with high mean long-term CVD risk.


We introduce a formal model for capturing the notion of mashup in its globality. The basic component in our model is the mashlet. A mashlet may query data sources, import other mashlets, use external Web services, and specify complex interaction patterns between its components. A mashlet state is modeled by a set of relations and its logic specified by datalog-style active rules. We are primarily concerned with changes in a mashlet state relations and rules. The interactions with users and other applications, as well as the consequent effects on the mashlets composition and behavior, are captured by streams of changes. The model facilitates dynamic mashlets composition, interaction and reuse, and captures the fundamental behavioral aspects of mashups.


Olivine with oriented ilmenite inclusions occurs in garnet peridotites and in basic layered intrusions. In all cases, the ilmenite inclusions are elongated parallel to [010] ol but exhibit different morphology (rods versus platelets). These morphological differences observed for ilmenite inclusions in olivine can be correlated with variations in the chemical composition of the precipitating phase. Determination of the topotactic misfits between host and inclusion have been calculated for three chemical compositions along the ilmenite-geikielite join. The elongation of ilmenite parallel to [010] ol corresponds to the direction along which the mismatch between the two phases is the smallest, i.e. , ≤ 1.1%. In section perpendicular to [010], the lattice misfit is compensated by dislocation coronas along the interface between ilmenite and olivine. The rod morphology of the ilmenite inclusions concurs with minimum topotactic misfits between the lattices of olivine (Fo90) and Mg-bearing ilmenite and does not require a perovskite precursor. The formation of ilmenite inclusions in olivine requires only cation diffusion within a relatively undisturbed oxygen framework.


SIR, We report an otherwise healthy 44-year-old woman complaining of a solitary lesion of 3 months' duration, located on the right side of the nasal dorsum underneath the frame of her spectacles. Excisional biopsy was performed with the clinical diagnosis of capillary haemangioma. The formalin-®xed tissue received for histopathological examination was 8 ́ 4 ́ 2 mm in size. No gross lesion was visible on the biopsy specimen. Histology revealed a circumscribed and super®cially located neoplastic vascular lesion within the dermis consisting of dilated vascular spaces with occasional endoluminal stromal papillary projections. The non-arborizing narrow vascular structures dissected the collagen with a tendency to progressively disappear into the reticular dermis (Figs 1,2). These neoplastic vascular spaces were lined by plump endothelial cells with scant cytoplasm and large nuclei exhibiting ÔhobnailÕ cytomorphology, which was particularly prominent in the super®cial vessels (Fig. 3). Vascular lumina contained a small number


Nurses are at the forefront of recognizing and managing patient situations which may be potentially life-threatening. This study examines the nature and extent to which nursing experience and selected educational variables have on nurses' perceptions of their competence in managing deteriorating patient situations in acute care. Self-awareness of nurses' competence in managing these types of patient situations is critical. Benner's Novice to Expert Model of developmental competency is the theoretical framework for this study. A survey methodology was used to gather data on the variables: years of experience in nursing, years working in current specialty, educational preparation, national certification, area of specialization, crosstraining in more than one specialty, and advanced life support or rapid response team member training. Attendance at a case review session where actual cases were reviewed was also a variable. Instrumentation included an adapted version of the Nurse Competence Scale, a thirteenitem scale related to managing patient situations. Content validity was established by an expert panel of nurses practicing in acute care in the roles of Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Manager, and staff nurses. The setting for the study was an acute care community hospital in the Northeast. Of 212 registered nurses eligible to participate in the survey, the data producing sample of 74 subjects resulted in a 35% return rate. Using SAS, data analysis included univariate descriptive statistics and logistic regression to determine predictive values on nurses' self-perceived competence in managing deteriorating patient situations. Of special interest was the potential association with attendance at case review sessions. Results indicate the overall score for nurses' competence in managing patient situations is in the "good" range (between 8 and 9 on the study scale). Those who attended a case review session had higher overall scores in eleven of the thirteen aspects on the study scale. Cross-training to more than one specialty was predictive of nurses' self-perceived competence in managing patient situations. Limitations of this study include the small sample size, and that it was conducted in one community hospital and so findings may not be generalizable to other settings. This study contributes to the knowledge base in nurse competence and nurses' role in managing patient deterioration. Implications for nursing education and practice include integrating such competencies in program planning for orientation and continuing education.


Literary symbols contain something archaic, sometimes going back to pre-literate times, and every new context gives to these symbols a new meaning. The poetical text segment carries with it its old context from the older or archaic text and, if it is situated in a new context, the new context also adds new meaning to the symbol. The archaic aspect and a new textual context combine in the literary symbols; it comes from the past and passes on into the future. That is the most important idea in terms of the essence and the dynamics of the literary symbol. This paper analyses the well-known literary figure Hamlet, how Hamlet has become a literary symbol, and how it works as a literary symbol in unexpected cultural relationships. There are very different performances and interpretations throughout the world, but thanks to the archaic aspect we still recognize the old story of Hamlet. The paper concentrates on the examples of Hamlet as a literary or cultural symbol in various cultural and literary texts from Estonian culture. For example, Hamlet as a symbol of new life in Gustav Suits's poetry or Hamlet as a symbol of the resistance movement in Paul-Eerik Rummo's poetry, Estonian theatre and choral music. There are several religious myths and symbols embedded in Suits's poem "Hamleti proloog" ("The Prologue of Hamlet", 1913). Suits's poem "Oma saar" ("My Island") is a literary text which represents the possibility that whole the poem may be a symbol (cf. William Blake's poem "Sick Rose"). A symbol works in culture as a place where the fundamentally new is created, and it is a process which contains the moment of explosion, as we see in different cultures, including in the Estonian culture's use of the literary symbol Hamlet or an island. All these symbols are dynamic and it depends on the context and on readers how these literary figures and texts are interpreted.


The ability to improve the limited resolving power of optical imaging systems while approaching the theoretical diffraction limit has been an attractive discipline with growing interest over the last years due to its benefits in many applied optics systems. This paper presents a new approach to achieve transverse superresolution in far-field imaging systems, with direct application in both digital microscopy and digital holographic microscopy. Theoretical analysis and computer simulations show the validity of the presented approach.


It is argued that complexity has only a limited use as a paradigm against reductionist approaches and that it has a much richer potential as a comparable property. What can complexity be usefully said to be a property of is discussed. It is argued that it is unlikely to have any useful value as applied to "real" object or systems. Further that even relativising it to an observer has problems. It is proposed that complexity can be only usefully applied to constructions within a given language. It is argued that complexity is usefully differentiated from the concepts of size, ignorance, variety, minimum description length and order. A definition of complexity is proposed which can be summarised as follows: "That property of a language expression which makes it difficult to formulate its overall behaviour even when given almost complete information about its atomic components and their inter- relations.". Some of the consequences of this definition are discussed. It is shown that this definition encompasses several existing varieties of complexity measures and is then applied to some examples pertaining to the evolution of "complex" systems including: "What is the complexity that has evolved in organisms and has it increased?".


The paper examines one of the corner-stones of the language/action (LAP) approaches: communication loop modelling. This kind of modelling is used in approaches like Action Workflow and DEMO and it includes the modelling of two fundamental roles; customer and performer. The paper extends earlier critical analysis of two-role models. It introduces the principle of multi-responsiveness, meaning that one organisational action can be a response to several different communication acts. The difference between a present triggering initiative and trans-situational background initiatives are described. The paper uses a reference case, the pizza shop case, well-known in the LAP community through earlier use in many papers.


An intelligent agent must be capable of using its past experience to develop an understanding of how its actions affect the world in which it is situated. Given some objective, the agent must be able to effectively use its understanding of the world to produce a plan that is robust to the uncertainty present in the world. This thesis presents a novel computational framework called the Adaptive Modelling and Planning System (AMPS) that aims to meet these requirements for intelligence. The challenge of the agent is to use its experience in the world to generate a model. In problems with large state and action spaces, the agent can generalise from limited experience by grouping together similar states and actions, effectively partitioning the state and action spaces into finite sets of regions. This process is called abstraction. Several different abstraction approaches have been proposed in the literature, but the existing algorithms have many limitations. They generally only increase resolution, require a large amount of data before changing the abstraction, do not generalise over actions, and are computationally expensive. AMPS aims to solve these problems using a new kind of approach. AMPS splits and merges existing regions in its abstraction according to a set of heuristics. The system introduces splits using a mechanism related to supervised learning and is defined in a general way, allowing AMPS to leverage a wide variety of representations. The system merges existing regions when an analysis of the current plan indicates that doing so could be useful. Because several different regions may require revision at any given time, AMPS prioritises revision to best utilise whatever computational resources are available. Changes in the abstraction lead to changes in the model, requiring changes to the plan. AMPS prioritises the planning process, and when the agent has time, it replans in high-priority regions. This thesis demonstrates the flexibility and strength of this approach in learning intelligent behaviour from limited experience.


Abstract In the case of a fire accident in a fusion plant, tritiated organic substances will be produced. We have developed a Pd/ZrO2 catalyst applicable for the oxidation of tritiated organic substances. In this study, two different weight ratios of palladium, 5 and 10 g/l, were selected. The overall reaction rate constant of tritiated methane oxidation with the palladium catalysts in a flow-through system were determined as a function of space velocity from 1200 to 7000 h-1, methane concentration in carrier from 0.004 to 100 ppm, and temperature of catalyst from 323 to 673 K. As-received catalysts showed a large overall reaction rate constant over the whole tested temperature range. However, the constants gradually decreased after a while. The considerable decrease was evaluated especially over the lower temperature range. The decrease has been explained as caused by the layers of produced water that formed on the surface of the catalyst playing the role of obstacle to reactant transport onto the noble metal deposited on the catalyst. The performance of 10 g/l catalyst was superior to that of 5 g/l over the whole tested temperature range. The overall reaction rate constant was dependent on the space velocity and independent of methane concentration in the carrier.


The worldwide research in the field of thermal barrier coatings has suggested zirconia (ZrO2) as a highly suitable material for high temperature engineering applications. In the present investigation, oxy-acetylene flame heating tests were conducted over plasma sprayed yttria partially stabilized zirconia (7Y-PSZ), coated over an aluminium alloy substrate of grade A336 using an intermediate bond coat of NiCrAlY and it was found that the coating was highly effective in lowering the temperatures within the substrate. A coating of thickness of 150 microns caused a drop of 4.48% in the maximum temperature set up within the substrate while the coating of 300 microns thickness resulted into a temperature decrease of 8.11% at the same surface. Similarly, top surface temperature was found to improve by 21.12% and 35.24% for 150 microns and 300 microns thick coatings, respectively. Further, the special techniques of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to visualize the effects of high temperature atmosphere on the coating material and the results showed that the thicker coating was more prone to degradation as compared to the thinner one.


The rapid growth of the mechanised fishing fleet in the country consequent on the boom in the
export trade for frozen shrimp, has increased the fishing pressure on the coastal marine fishery
resources leading to stagnation of fish catches and economic overfishing. The consequent competition between the mechanised and artisanal sectors for the same resources lead to frequent conflicts.
This has stimulated many maritime States to enact Marine Fishing Regulation Acts for purpose of
safeguarding the interests of both the indigenous and industrial fisheries sectors. These regulations
are examined in relation to judicious exploitation and conservation of the fishery resources.
The management objectives are more or less similar in all the States and the Rules formulated
ate more directed towards avoiding conflicts between indigenous fishermen and the mechanised fishing
vessels. Little attention has been paid to the management of the fishery resources as such. This
is no doubt due to the lack of adequate information for formulating definite regulatory measures.
The importance of the States* capability to enforce the regulations effectively is stressed. Educating the fishermen about the principles of conservation of fishery resources and the benefits that
can accrue to them if the regulations are implemented faithfully can go a long way in persuading them
to adopt the methods willingly. Proper extension work along these lines is vital to the success of
these management measures.


Although the gastrointestinal (GI) tract possesses intrinsic neural plexuses that allow a significant degree of autonomy over GI functions, the central nervous system (CNS) provides extrinsic neural inputs that regulate, modulate, and control these functions. While the intestines are capable of functioning in the absence of extrinsic inputs, the stomach and esophagus are much more dependent upon extrinsic neural inputs, particularly from parasympathetic and sympathetic pathways. The sympathetic nervous system exerts a predominantly inhibitory effect upon GI muscle and provides a tonic inhibitory influence over mucosal secretion while, at the same time, regulates GI blood flow via neurally mediated vasoconstriction. The parasympathetic nervous system, in contrast, exerts both excitatory and inhibitory control over gastric and intestinal tone and motility. Although GI functions are controlled by the autonomic nervous system and occur, by and large, independently of conscious perception, it is clear that the higher CNS centers influence homeostatic control as well as cognitive and behavioral functions. This review will describe the basic neural circuitry of extrinsic inputs to the GI tract as well as the major CNS nuclei that innervate and modulate the activity of these pathways. The role of CNS-centered reflexes in the regulation of GI functions will be discussed as will modulation of these reflexes under both physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Finally, future directions within the field will be discussed in terms of important questions that remain to be resolved and advances in technology that may help provide these answers.


France has been extremely hostile to the idea of U.S. defense against ballistic missiles, yet France at the height of its power was sheltered behind a complex and effective multilayered defense system. The desire to see the value of its nuclear investment presented is one of the major motivating factors behind current French policy. Yet the world is changing and perhaps French policy may change with it. Key Words: French Strategic Policy, French Military History, Ballistic Missile Defense, Nuclear Strategy, NATO, Military Technology, European Defense Policy. Antimissile weapons, French-U.S. Relations. Over the next few years France and the United States of America face two apparently separate but actually interrelated problems. First of all how the new European Defense Identity will relate to NATO and to the U.S.'? Is it to be hostile to America, will it drag the E.U. into a cold war type confrontation with the "American Hyperpower"? Secondly, how will Europe in general, and France in particular, react to the New American consensus on missile defense? In spite of distrust and considerable anguish in liberal quarters over the fate of the much violated ABM treaty, America is moving inexorably towards equipping itself with the ability to shoot down at least some incoming missiles. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) launched by Ronald Reagan in 1983 produced enough knowledge so that the U.S. Government now has an excellent idea of what works and what does not. The old arguments from the arms controllers have been devalued in the face of mounting and irrefutable evidence that the USSR cheated massively on almost every Arms Control agreement they signed. Defending the American homeland against missile attack is today accepted in the U.S. as a perfectly respectable idea: Academic conventional wisdom opposing ballistic missile defense is now on the losing end of policy debate; it dominated policy in the 1970s, and fought a successful delaying action against Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative in the 1980s, but has lost its influence in the 1990s. Even Bill Clinton - who populated his foreign policy team with liberals and arms controllers who would fall on their swords to save the ABM treaty - has accepted that the United States should deploy missile defenses."1 From the French point of view Strategic Defense has an apparently mixed record. The so-called failure of the Maginot Line in 1940 was a failure of strategic operational doctrine more than anything else. Over the years, France has done rather well using balanced, multilayered systems of offense and defense. Indeed the years of France's greatest geopolitical power in the 18th century where those when it used the flexible defensive system of Fortresses and fortified towns designed by Vauban. It was Louis XIV (1643-1715) who effectively fortified the frontiers of the kingdom. Responsible for this program, was the greatest military engineer of the age the Lord of Vauban. During years of almost ceaseless travel along the muddy roads of late seventeenth century France, Vauban built what came to be known as the ceinture de fer, a multilayer system of fortified town and fortresses that roughly defined the borders of France, today's "Hexagone." This comprised a line of frontier forts backed up by a support line which in turn was backed by the King's field armies, which were themselves backed up by the leftover medieval militia system of Le Ban etl'arriere-Ban, giving France a level of military security unmatched by any other continental power. Behind this protective cover France thrived as the greatest of the European nations. In spite of defeats, bankruptcy and revolution, no foreign power or powers were able to successfully invade the heart of France until in 1813, exhausted and bled dry by Napoleon and his wars (1804-1814), particularly by his failed 1812 invasion of Russia, a coalition that included Prussia, Austria, Russia and Britain, occupied Paris and restored the House of Bourbon. …


This study has principally been concerned with the structural assessment of a range of II-VI epitaxial layers using the combined techniques of cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and microdiffraction. Iodine reactive ion sputtering has been used for the final stage of sample preparation, and this has been shown to produce electron transparent foils with a greatly reduced artefactual defect content, as compared with samples prepared by argon ion milling.- The two conflicting conventions for the polarity determination of CdTe, as proposed by Warekois (1962) and Fewster (1983), have led to considerable confusion in the recent international literature. This issue has been resolved using the microdiffraction technique to identify the best {111} CdTe polar face for the epitaxial growth of (Hg,Cd)Te. This proved to be the {ĪĪĪ}Te: surface, and this result is in agreement with the Fewster convention for CdTe crystal polarity. The study of wide band-gap II- VI compounds has been mainly concerned with heterostructures of ZnSe/ZnS grown by MOVPE on (001) oriented GaAs. Observations along orthogonal directions demonstrated the strong anisotropy in the defect distribution of these epitaxial layers. Microtwins were found exclusively in the [IĪ0] epi- layer projection lying on advancing {111}A planes. A model has been proposed, based on the differential motion of a and β dislocations in the sphalerite structure, to explain the defect anisotropy. It is considered that the large difference in the ionic radii of Zn(^2+) and S(^2-), and material doping are primarily responsible for this phenomenon. The study of narrow band-gap II-VI compounds has been mainly concerned with the structural assessment of hybrid substrates for the epitaxial growth of (Hg,Cd)Te. Lamella twins lying parallel to the interfacial plane characterised {111} CdTe epitaxial layers grown by MOVPE on {100} and {in}B GaAs, and on {ĪĪĪ}B CdTe substrates, while the {100} CdTe/{100}GaAs system exhibited a network of misfit dislocations. MOVPE grown layers of (Hg,Cd)Te on both {ĪĪĪ}B CdTe and CdTe/{ĪĪĪ}B GaAs hybrid substrates have also been investigated. This study is complemented by an assessment of the anisotropic defect distribution in MBE grown (Cd,Zn)Te/CdTe strained layer superlattices, which have potential application as high quality lattice matched substrates for (Hg,Cd)Te. Finally a provisional study of the intermediate band-gap ZnTe and ZnTe/CdTe multilayer system is presented.


This study analyses the relationship between the state's political ideologies and the implementation of cost management strategies during the re-privatisation of a public sector organisation. Drawing on the Dillard et al.'s (2004) conceptual framework, we conducted a case study in a public sector organisation operating in the electricity market of Egypt. Data was gathered through document analysis, interviews, meetings observations and continuous interactions with key informants from 2013 to 2014. The findings show that the implementation of cost management strategies had a political basis, grounded in the state's reformative ideologies concerning re-privatisation of the public sector organisation. The re-privatisation failed because the state failed to convince a potential international investor. A theoretical contribution is to show the relevance of cost management strategies when used as a political tool to achieve a business goal, such as improving a public sector organisation's performance management in a developing country. This is the first empirical case study to analyse management accounting change based on the state's political ideologies in the Maghreb region of Africa. The key difference between this global trend elsewhere and in the Egyptian State, as in some other Islamic countries, is that Egypt was both nationalistic and militarised.


OBRA's charitable contribution substantiation rules put new obstacles in the path of contributors and charities. Beginning this year, dramatic changes in the tax rules for acknowledging and substantiating the giving and receiving of charitable contributions take effect. In accordance with the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, contributors seeking a federal income tax deduction under Internal Revenue Code section 170 must produce, if asked, a written receipt from the charity if a contribution's value is $250 or more. This limit applies to each contribution, not to total contributions for the tax year. (The Internal Revenue Service expects to issue antiabuse rules that will, in certain cases, allow small contributions to be aggregated. Before 1994, donors needed only to produce a canceled check to substantiate cash contributions. Section 170(f)(8) places the burden of obtaining a receipt on the contributor, not the charity. But charities must tell contributors if some of their contributions may not be fully deductible based on the value of goods or services received in connection with a fund-raising event. Exhibit 1, page 56, shows the required documentation for contributions made after 1993. Exhibit 2, pages 58-59, outlines the substantiation rules for gifts made after 1993. These rules are explained in greater detail below. [TABULAR DATA OMITTED] SUBSTANTIATION No particular form of receipt is required, although it must * Accurately describe the cash or property donated. * State whether the contributor received any goods or services of value in return for the contribution. If so, the charity must make a good-faith estimate of their value. * Show the date of the contribution. * Show that the contributor received only "intangible religious benefits" if the charity is a religious organization, the contribution exceeds $250 and the goods and services received are entirely intangible religious benefits. (Such benefits in for example, the spiritual support religious institutions provide and extend to sacramental wine used in religious observances. The IRS issued publication 171, Charitable Contributions--Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements, in early 1994 to provide guidance on contribution receipts. Unless a charity provides something of value in return for a contribution, it is not required to estimate the value of noncash contributions. (Sample text for a receipt letter to donors who receive no goods or services in return for their contributions appears on page 57. An alternative is for the charity to disclose contributions on its tax return. Treasury regulations will be issued to guide charities in making such disclosures. However, charities, particularly those that never have filed returns, may be reluctant to make such disclosures and contributors could lose their tax deductions if their contributions are mistakenly omitted. FUND-RAISING EVENTS After repeated IRS efforts to persuade charities to follow its rules for fund-raising events, many charities failed to comply. As a result, Congress enacted IRC section 6115, which places a burden on the charity to report to contributors the "net amount" of contributions to fund-raising events. When a contributor donates $75 or more, a charity must disclose to the donor, in writing, the charity's good-faith estimate of the value of the goods or services the contributor received in connection with the event. Further, the charity must state that the contributor's deduction is limited to the excess of the contribution over the value received. Such requirement is different from the contributor's receipt for contributions of $250 and over. Sample text for a letter to donors who contribute $75 or more and receive goods or services in return appears on page 57. Charities have limited relief from these requirements because revenue procedures 90-12 (1990-1 C. …


Background The present study aimed to investigate the dose response relationship between the prescriptions of antimicrobial agents and infection/colonization with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) taking additional factors like stay in a health care facility into account. Methods Multi-centre retrospective study on a cohort of patients that underwent microbiological diagnostics in Belgium during 2005. The bacteriological results retrieved from 17 voluntary participating clinical laboratories were coupled with the individual antimicrobial consumption patterns (July 2004-December 2005) and other variables as provided by pooled data of health insurance funds. Multivariate analysis was used to identify risk factors for MRSA colonization/infection. Results A total of 6844 patients of which 17.5% died in the year 2005, were included in a logistic regression model. More than 97% of MRSA was associated with infection (clinical samples), and only a minority with screening/colonization (1.59%). Factors (95% CI) significantly (p≤<0.01) associated with MRSA in the final multivariate model were: admission to a long term care settings (2.79–4.46); prescription of antibiotics via a hospital pharmacy (1.30–2.01); age 55+ years (3.32–5.63); age 15–54 years (1.23–2.16); and consumption of antimicrobial agent per DDD (defined daily dose) (1.25–1.40). Conclusions The data demonstrated a direct dose-response relationship between MRSA and consumption of antimicrobial agents at the individual patient level of 25–40% increased risk per every single day. In addition the study indicated an involvement of specific healthcare settings and age in MRSA status.


Disputes are one of the major factors negatively affecting the development process of any nation. They divert resources that could otherwise be used productively; hence, there appears to be general agreement on their undesirability (Alexander 2005). Dispute- resolution practices and peace-building mechanisms remain problematic for most societies in the world including those in Africa, as most of them are trying to imitate Western modalities instead of using their own indigenous knowledge systems and skills. The dispute-resolution practices of the ancient Ethiopians in have been established for many thousands of years, and have been used to prevent loss of life and the destruction of property. This paper reveals that the dispute-resolution practices of the Afar people of Ethiopia significantly contributed to the development process. The article reveals that it is difficult to attain development without developing dispute resolution practices and it also shows that it is difficult, though not impossible, to resolve disputes without assuring development by eliminating poverty. Thus, it concludes that the ancient Aksumite, which was one of the first four great civilizations on earth, must have developed a unique type of dispute resolution practices that enabled Ethiopia of that time to be one of the leading countries in the globe during that time. No doubt every nation has its own indigenous dispute-resolution practices. It is thus possible to resolve disputes in by using indigenous knowledge systems, instead of using Western modalities. In this paper, the dispute-resolution practices of the Afar people of Ethiopia are discussed.


The South African Department of Health adopted numerous strategies to manage the HIV epidemic. Recently, the global 90-90-90 HIV treatment strategy was adopted. This strategy hope to ensure that 90% of people living with HIV will know their status, 90% of those testing HIV positive will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and 90% of those receiving antiretroviral therapy will reach and maintain viral suppression by 2020. With a focus on literature, policies and implementation interventions, this chapter aims to provide an overview on current strategies used to reach the 90-90-90 goals and dis- cusses how these strategies can be strengthened among sero-discordant couples within the South African public health system.


The ability to simultaneously acquire objective physiological measures of emotion concurrent with fMRI holds the promise to enhance our understanding of the biological bases of affect and thus improve our knowledge of the neural circuitry underlying psychiatric disorders. However, the vast majority of neuroimaging studies to date examining emotion have not anchored the examination of emotion-responding circuitry to objective measures of emotional processing. To that end, we acquired EMG activity of a valence-sensitive facial muscle involved in the frowning response (corrugator muscle) concurrent with fMRI while twenty-six human participants viewed negative and neutral images. Trial-by-trial increases in corrugator EMG activity to negative pictures were associated with greater amygdala activity and a concurrent decrease in ventromedial PFC activity. Thus, this study highlights the reciprocal relation between amygdalar and ventromedial PFC in the encoding of emotional valence as reflected by facial expression.


Coal combustion by-products (CCPs) have been around since man understood that burning coal generates electricity, and its utilization in concrete production for nearly a century. The concept of sustainable development only reawaken our consciousness to the huge amount of CCPs around us and the need for proper reutilization than the current method of disposal which has  severe consequences both to man and the environment. This paper presents the result of utilization of waste from thermal power plants to improve some engineering properties of concrete. Coal bottom ash (CBA) and fly ash were utilized in partial replacement for fine aggregates and cement respectively. The results of compressive strength at 7, 28, 56 & 90 days curing are presented because of the pozzolanic reaction. Other properties investigated include physical properties, fresh concrete properties and density. The results showed that for a grade 35 concrete with a combination of CBA and fly ash can produce 28 day strength above 30 MPa.


This article presents results of an experimental study of (AFD); atmospheric freeze-drying which uses a vortex tube to produce low temperature air, as an alternative to vacuum freeze-drying (VFD). An experimental setup was designed and built to permit simultaneous application of convection, conduction and radiation heat input to the drying material without heating it above the freezing point of water contained in it. Potato slices were used as a model heat sensitive product for testing. Four heat input schemes were compared experimentally: Case 1 – pure convection, Case 2 – two-stage convection, Case 3 – radiation-coupled convection and Case 4 – radiation-conduction coupled with convection. Drying kinetics, quality parameters and physical properties of the model product (colour, rehydration properties, scanning electron micrographs) were analysed. Experiments were also conducted in a well-instrumented heat pump dryer and a vacuum freeze dryer for direct comparison with the AFD results. The proposed AFD system is shown to be a viable alternative to vacuum freeze-drying.


Abstract:In Iran, the supreme leader's absolute power over the government emanates not from the people, but rather from the divine authority of the Twelfth (or Hidden) Imam. Elections are thus mere administrative procedures whose legitimacy depends upon the pre-election vetting of the candidates and the postelection approval of the results by the unelected, cleric-dominated Council of Guardians. Even so, it is clear that the civil-rights movement put its mark on the content of the 2009 presidential campaign and the rhetoric of the candidates. And while the movement may have miscalculated in assuming that some degree of popular sovereignty—waiting to be activated by the voting masses—lay dormant in the 1979 Constitution, the regime has nevertheless remained unable to usurp popular legitimacy.


Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) to announce and exchange routes for de- livering packets through the internet. ISPs must carefully configure their BGP routers to ensure traffic is routed reli- ably and securely. Correctly configuring BGP routers has proven challenging in practice, and misconfiguration has led to worldwide outages and traffic hijacks. This paper presents Bagpipe, a system that enables ISPs to declaratively express BGP policies and that automatically verifies that router configurations implement such policies. The novel initial network reduction soundly reduces policy verification to a search for counterexamples in a finite space. An SMT-based symbolic execution engine performs this search efficiently. Bagpipe reduces the size of its search space using predicate abstraction and parallelizes its search using symbolic variable hoisting. Bagpipe's policy specification language is expressive: we expressed policies inferred from real AS configurations, policies from the literature, and policies for 10 Juniper TechLibrary configuration scenarios. Bagpipe is efficient: we ran it on three ASes with a total of over 240,000 lines of Cisco and Juniper BGP configuration. Bagpipe is effective: it revealed 19 policy violations without issuing any false positives.


The strong presence of large countries in World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement and the absence of very poor ones have raised concerns that increasing legalisation in the global trading system has not diminished discrimination against less powerful countries as much as expected. This article examines dispute initiations in all WTO member state dyads in 1995–2003 to shed more light on this issue. The analysis suggests that the main driver of dispute initiation is a gravitational one: larger economies and bigger traders are more likely to become involved in trade disputes primarily because their economies are more diversified, and also because greater market size makes them more attractive targets of litigation. While evidence is not found for discriminatory effects against countries with small legal capacity, the results of the article point to a more complex form of power bias – namely a preponderance effect. They suggest that disputes among country dyads including a much more powerful defendant than complainant or vice versa are dealt with outside the WTO. This finding is potentially worrying because it is, arguably, easier to reduce legal capacity differences than to reduce power differences.


The religious element in the "spirit of unity" is an important element that maintains harmony and peace among the multiracial society in Malaysia. Hence, this article aimed to identity the factors that influence the religious element in the "spirit of unity" among adolescents living in community housing areas in Malaysia. This study had used a quantitative-based cross-sectional survey framework involving 244 adolescents as respondents living in three community housing areas, namely the Desa Rejang, Pantai Ria and Seri Pantai community housing areas. The data were analysed using the descriptive test and the multiple regression analysis using a stepwise method. The descriptive analysis showed that the majority (59.8%) of adolescents living in these community housing areas had a moderate level of religiousness that needed enhancement. The multi-regression analysis found that the "selfhealth" factor (β=.539, p<.05) was the main indicator that influenced the religious element in the "spirit of unity" among adolescents. Whereas the combination of "self-health" (β=.405, p<.05) and "pro-social behaviour" (β=.289, p<.05) contributed to 6.6% extra changes to "spirit of unity". The "neighbourly relations" and "Love Malaysia spirit" factors had contributed 3.1% and 1.4% variance, respectively, towards the "spirit of unity" factor. The combination of all these four predicting factors had contributed 40.1% variance towards the religiousness element in the "spirit of unity" among adolescents in the PPR areas. The findings render positive implications to interested parties who prepare comprehensive strategic plans aimed at enhancing programs that build the religiousness element in the "spirit of unity" among residents, especially adolescents, living in community housing areas in Malaysia.


This thesis is concerned with the estimation
of costs
in
economic evaluation.
The
thesis reviews the theoretical and applied
literature
on costing
and
highlights that
studies generally ignore cost variation
across
health
care settings.
The thesis
aims
to
assess why costs vary across health care
settings,
and the implications for
economic
evaluations.
The study uses microeconomic theory to
pose
hypotheses for
cost
variation across
health care settings and uses a consistent methodology to
collect costs across
a range
of health care settings. The analysis
uses
multilevel
models
(MLMs) to test
hypotheses concerning cost variation.
Statistical theory
suggests that
MLMs
accommodate the hierarchical structure of
the
data
and
may
therefore
be
more
appropriate than ordinary least squares
(OLS)
models
for identifying
reasons
for
cost
variation across settings. The use of MLMs and
OLS
models
for
analysing reasons
for
cost variation are compared. The OLS models
find that
both
patient
and
higher-level
covariates are associated with length of
hospital
stay
(LOS)
and total
cost,
but these
models overestimate the precision of the
higher-level
variables.
By
contrast,
the
MLMs show that none of the higher-level variables are
associated
with
LOS,
and
the
national level of spending on health care
is the
only
higher-level
variable associated
with total cost.
The empirical investigation also illustrates that
using
OLS
regression
analysis
to
report cost-effectiveness can lead to inaccurate
estimates.
By
contrast,
the
MLMs
recognise the structure of the data and accurately
quantify
mean
incremental
cost-
effectiveness and the associated levels of
uncertainty.
The thesis concludes that ignoring cost
variation
across
health
care
settings
can
lead
to inaccurate estimates of cost and
cost-effectiveness.
Basing
decision-making
on
inaccurate information can move the allocation
of
health
care
resources
away
from the
target of allocative efficiency. This thesis presents
a methodology
for improving the
conduct of cost analyses that future economic evaluations can
adopt.


ABSTRACT. Solifugids (camel spiders) are widespread throughout arid regions of western North America and are thought to be important in structuring desert arthropod communities. Despite the ubiquity of camel spiders, little is known about their ecology. Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) are also widespread in western North America and are important ecosystem engineers, but they have been reduced in extent because of human activity. Here we report significantly greater numbers of camel spiders on black-tailed prairie dog colonies in southern New Mexico. The difference in vegetation structure created by prairie dog activity is likely the reason for the increased prevalence of camel spiders on colonies. Because camel spiders are important predators and prey, the observation that colonies support higher numbers of these animals provides a mechanism explaining differences in arthropod communities on and off colonies and explaining the preferential foraging behavior of vertebrates associated with prairie dog colonies.


PURPOSE
To assess the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of emergency thrombolysis as a treatment strategy for thromboembolic intracerebral events.

METHODS
Thirty-four patients with symptoms suggestive of middle cerebral artery occlusion were included. Eight of these patients were treated with intraarterial urokinase. Effectiveness was determined by comparing the admission National Institutes of Health stroke score to the 24-hour National Institutes of Health stroke score. The cost and length of stay of both populations were derived and used as measures of direct cost. The likelihood of admission to extended care facilities and estimated length cost of admission was used as a measure of indirect cost.

RESULTS
The control population became slightly worse, with a change in National Institutes of Health score of -0.5, whereas the treated population improved slightly, with a change in National Institutes of Health score of +5.12. Analysis of the direct costs data between the two populations revealed a slight increased mean for the treated population ($15,202) as compared with the control population ($13,478). The unpaired t test, however, revealed no significant cost difference between the two groups. By reducing the number of completed strokes by one third or by decreasing the severity by the same factor (as shown in our study), the likelihood of admission to an extended nursing facility also is decreased. The cost saving per patient from extended care facilities is approximately $3435.

CONCLUSION
The emergency application of intraarterial thrombolysis with urokinase results in a statistically significant positive change in National Institutes of Health score by at least five points. A statistically significant benefit is realized through the use of intraarterial urokinase. A statistically insignificant additional cost is shown by this study. This insignificant cost is more than offset by the saved nursing home costs.


Wellness has recently emerged as an industry sector and a multidimensional academic discipline that includes psychological, physiological, social, demographic and ecological dimensions. Wellness enhances resilience and is therefore a survival imperative that is fundamental to life, yet current Western definitions of wellness do not refer to fundamental a priori principles. Eastern medicine on the other hand does refer to universal principles and suggests that bliss is a natural homeostatic set-point and that wellness can be achieved by living according to the Tao. Congruence between Eastern concepts and thermodynamics further suggests that Qi is related to information and flow, and that wellness arises from maximal flow and minimum entropy production. These principles, which can be represented by an Illness-Wellness Vortex, suggest that the healthiest lifestyle provides maximal enjoyment with minimal waste. Thus, conscious consumption and cultivation of psychological flow can provide the means for achieving wellness through aligning internal and external states.


We examine eight different techniques for developing visual representations in machine vision tasks. In particular we compare different versions of principal component and independent component analysis in combination with stepwise regression methods for variable selection. We found that local methods, based on the statistics of image patches, consistently outperformed global methods based on the statistics of entire images. This result is consistent with previous work on emotion and facial expression recognition. In addition, the use of a stepwise regression technique for selecting variables and regions of interest substantially boosted performance.


OBJECTIVE Type 2 diabetes is growing in epidemic proportions and disproportionately affects lower-income, diverse communities. Text messaging may provide one of the most rapid methods to overcome the "digital divide" to improve care. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A randomized, nonblinded, parallel-groups clinical trial design allocated N = 126 low-income, Hispanic participants with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes to receive the Dulce Digital intervention or usual care (UC). Dulce Digital participants received up to three motivational, educational, and/or call-to-action text messages per day over 6 months. The primary outcome was HbA1c; lipids, blood pressure, and BMI were secondary outcomes. Satisfaction and acceptability were evaluated via focus groups and self-report survey items. RESULTS The majority of patients were middle-aged (mean age 48.43 years, SD 9.80), female (75%), born in Mexico (91%), and uninsured (75%) and reported less than a ninth-grade education level (73%) and mean baseline HbA1c 9.5% (80 mmol/mol), SD 1.3, and fasting plasma glucose 187.17 mg/dL, SD 64.75. A statistically significant time-by-group interaction effect indicated that the Dulce Digital group achieved a significantly greater reduction in HbA1c over time compared with UC (P = 0.03). No statistically significant effects were observed for secondary clinical indicators. The number of blood glucose values texted in by participants was a statistically significant predictor of month 6 HbA1c (P < 0.05). Satisfaction and acceptability ratings for the Dulce Digital intervention were high. CONCLUSIONS Use of a simple, low-cost text messaging program was found to be highly acceptable in this sample of high-risk, Hispanic individuals with type 2 diabetes and resulted in greater improvement in glycemic control compared with UC.


A society-wide consumer revolution is underway with the rise of online user-generated review websites such as Yelp, Angie's List, and Zagat. Service provider reviews are now available with an intensity and scope that attracts increasing numbers of reviewers and readers. Health care providers are not exempt from this new consumer generated scrutiny though they have arrived relatively late to the party and as somewhat unwilling guests.The thesis of this article is that online patient feedback on physicians is relevant and valuable even though it is also uncomfortable for health care providers. This is because the modern physician-patient relationship is sufficiently commercial that physician reputation information is amenable to information sharing in this format. This is also because individual physician-patient feedback highlights the cooperative nature of modern health care delivery and consumption. In an era of chronic disease treatment, health outcome success is often based on the need for an ongoing responsive physician-patient relationship.This article begins by discussing the availability of online patient feedback on specific physicians and the vision of the modern role of patient that informs it. Next, this article makes the case that patient experience data is empirically relevant to service quality and efficiency. Part of this discussion concerns the interest commercial health insurance and government agencies are displaying in anecdotal patient experience information. Finally, this article considers both whether online anecdotal patient experience information is fair to physicians – grappling with the problems of representative data, anonymous posting, practical and legal limitations on physician response, and the unlimited shelf life of on online data – as well as whether it is fair to patients – considering the risk of liability for online defamation and the enforceability of gag clauses and prospective copyright assignments for anecdotal reviews of physicians. Throughout, this paper takes the position that this kind of data universe can and should flourish in a way that is fair to all concerned while also producing a public good. Both the values of transparency and fairness can be advanced through the collection and dissemination of anecdotal patient-generated physician reviews.


We describe a simple scheme, which we call the Raman smart pump, to allow for the achievement of flat gain over broad bands with backward-pumped Raman amplification. The proposed method, based on time-division multiplexing, also removes all interaction among the various pump wavelengths and allows for dynamic gain control through simple electronic means.


In the context of group decision making with fuzzy preferences, consensus measures are employed to provide feedback and help guide automatic or semi-automatic decision reaching processes. These measures attempt to capture the intuitive notion of how much inputs, individuals or groups agree with one another. Meanwhile, in ecological studies there has been an ongoing research effort to define measures of community evenness based on how evenly the proportional abundances of species are distributed. The question hence arises as to whether there can be any cross-fertilization from developments in these fields given their intuitive similarity. Here we investigate some of the models used in ecology toward their potential use in measuring consensus. We found that although many consensus characteristics are exhibited by evenness indices, lack of reciprocity and a tendency towards a minimum when a single input is non-zero would make them undesirable for inputs expressed on an interval scale. On the other hand, we note that some of the general frameworks could still be useful for other types of inputs like ranking profiles and that in the opposite direction consensus measures have the potential to provide new insights in ecology.


The strategic European paper "Flightpath 2050" claims dramatic reductions of noise for aviation transport scenarios in 2050: "...The perceived noise emission of flying aircraft is reduced by 65%. These are relative to the capabilities of typical new aircraft in 2000...". There is a consensus among experts that these far reaching objectives cannot be accomplished by application of noise reduction technologies at the level of aircraft components only. Comparably drastic claims simultaneously expressed in Flightpath 2050 for carbon dioxide and NOX reduction underline the need for step changes in aircraft technologies and aircraft configurations. New aircraft concepts with entirely different propulsion concepts will emerge, including unconventional power supplies from renewable energy sources, ranging from electric over hybrid to synthetic fuels. Given this foreseen revolution in aircraft technology the question arises, how the noise impact of these new aircraft may be assessed. Within the present contribution, a multi-level, multi-fidelity approach is proposed which enables aircraft noise assessment. It is composed by coupling noise prediction methods at three different levels of detail. On the first level, high fidelity methods for predicting the aeroacoustic behavior of aircraft components (and installations) are required since in the early stages of the development of innovative noise reduction technology test data is not available. The results are transferred to the second level, where radiation patterns of entire conventional and future aircraft concepts are assembled and noise emissions for single aircraft are computed. In the third level, large scale scenarios with many aircraft are considered to accurately predict the noise exposure for receivers on the ground. It is shown that reasonable predictions of the ground noise exposure level may be obtained. Furthermore, even though simplifications and omissions are introduced, it is shown that the method is capable of transferring all relevant physical aspects through the levels.


Planning of forest harvesting operations is one of the key elements of successful forest management. The integration of modern tools and traditional forestry procedures is something that must be done in contemporary forestry. This research investigated the use of multicriteria decision support (AHP) and GIS in choosing the optimal harvesting system for predominantly selection cutting forest management on the example of two Forest Management Units (FMU). Results showed that AHP could be easily integrated into GIS using the extAHP tool and its results could be of help, along with other input data, in choosing the optimal harvesting system. Spatial analysis of raster data in GIS gives a comprehensive insight into the stand and terrain characteristics and shows the relative share of the area proposed for each system. In FMU »Kozara–Mlječanica«, the harvesting system chainsaw-skidder had the highest relative share with 44% of the area, meaning that it is almost the only harvesting system in current use, followed by chainsaw-forwarder (36%), chainsaw-cable yarder (19%), and chainsaw-adapted agriculture tractor (AAT) (1%). The system harvester-forwarder was not used at all, which is understandable considering that FMU »Kozara–Mlječanica« has a higher average slope and higher diameter of trees to be cut than FMU »Prosara«, where harvester-forwarder system accounts for a significant 36% of the area. The dominant system in FMU »Prosara« was chainsaw-forwarder (42%), followed by chainsaw-cable yarder (17%), chainsaw-skidder (4%) and chainsaw-AAT (1%). It should be noted that the presence of chainsaw-skidder system is insignificant. It is replaced by the system chainsaw-forwarder. Traditional harvesting system chainsaw-skidder, which prevails in Bosnia and Herzegovina, should be upgraded with the new technologies and methods. Using tools like multicriteria decision support and GIS could be of great help in that process.


In this paper, a channel precoding technique is proposed for M-ary continuous phase modulation (CPM) for multipath downlink channels. The proposed pre-equalizer, based on the approximation of CPM signals by complex exponential functions, applies modulo-arithmetic operations to ensure the stability as in Tomlinson-Harashima method. Spectrally efficient precoded signals are obtained with small envelope variations by employing a transmit antenna selection technique. Because the equalization functions are transferred to the base station, the complexity in the mobile terminals is reduced significantly. The simulation results depict the power spectral density of the transmitted signals and the bit-error rate. An upper bound on the error performance is computed and the relation between the number of transmit antennas and the spectral efficiency is derived.


In recent years, the theory of rules and discretion in monetary policy has fascinated scores of academic economists and policymakers alike. This paper asks whether it can be applied to understand the history of the world monetary system, by focusing on the setup and the experience of the Bretton Woods regime, and comparing it with its predecessors, in particular the classical gold standard. The paper first discusses the underpinnings, and some of the problems, of a theory of the evolution of the international monetary regime based on alternating rules and discretion. It then assesses the ability of such theories to explain the historical record. It first reviews the rules that characterized the classical gold standard, and the motivations to return to gold in the interwar period. Then it evaluates the British and US plan for world monetary reform published in 1943, and the IMF Articles of Agreement. Finally, the paper analyzes the data on interest rates and exchange rates during the classical gold standard and the Bretton Woods period to assess the stabilizing properties of the two exchange-rate regimes.


In this article, we imagine a future Canada (circa 2030) wherein the world has managed to avoid the worst climate change but nevertheless has begun to experience considerable warming. Governments of all levels, but especially provincial ones, are incurring unprecedented costs to mitigate the effects of climate change and to adapt to new and uncertain climatic regimes. We then consider how legislatures might respond to these challenges. In our view, the answer may lie in the unprecedented story of tobacco liability, and especially the promulgation in the late 1990s of provincial legislation specifically designed to enable provinces to recover the public healthcare costs of tobacco-related disease. Although comparisons between the tobacco industry and the fossil-fuel industry are increasingly common, this article is the first to consider the legally-relevant differences and similarities between these two contexts in detail. It also sets out the main elements of a potential Climate Change Damages and Adaptation Costs Recovery Act. As will be seen, the design of such legislation engages several complex legal issues, implicating not only tort doctrine but also questions of legislative competence and private international law. Nevertheless, our initial assessment is that such legislation is both likely and feasible. Our analysis focuses primarily on Canadian law but should also be relevant to other jurisdictions that are increasingly grappling with the costs of climate change mitigation and adaptation.


Abstract The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) has the potential to be a landmark treaty on many grounds. According to European and American officials, one of the main features that should differentiate the TTIP from other bilateral free trade agreements is, beyond its unprecedented scale, the ambition of its regulatory dimension. On both sides of the Atlantic there is a strong incentive to mitigate the impacts of "behind-the-border" obstacles that mostly stem from existing divergences between laws and regulations applied in Europe and in the United States. To do this, trade negotiators, together with policymakers and regulators, attempt, when possible and desirable, to facilitate the convergence of the policies that frame the European and the American markets. This paper analyzes how convergence may be reached with regards to the regulation of the digital economy, a relatively new area of interest in the field of trade law and policy studies, that seems to deserve a specific attention considering the growing importance it has taken at the domestic level and in the context of trade negotiations.


Due to shifts in the contexts of the production and presentation of the music video, more and more people start to talk about a possible end of this genre. At the same time disciplines such as visual-, film- and media-studies, art- and music-history begin to realize that despite the fact that the music video obviously has come of age, they still lack a well defined and matching methodical approach for analyzing and discussing videoclips. For the first time this volume brings together different disciplines as well as journalists, museum curators and gallery owners in order to take a discussion of the past and present of the music video as an opportunity to reflect upon suited methodological approaches to this genre and to allow a glimpse into its future.


The language of business In order to understand how your business is performing right now and to evaluate, assess, and devise new strategies to boost future performance, you need information. Financial statements are a critical source of the information you need. In direct and simple terms, Richard A. Lambert, Miller-Sherrerd Professor of Accounting at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, demystifies financial statements and concepts and shows you how you can apply this information to make better business decisions for long-term profit. You will learn to use and interpret financial data; find out what we can learn from Pepsi, Krispy Kreme, General Motors, and other companies; learn how to evaluate investment strategies; and apply your financial know-how to develop a coherent business strategy.


OBJECTIVES
To determine the expression of mRNA encoding the proteoglycans aggrecan, versican, biglycan and decorin in mid-tendon samples of chronic painful Achilles tendinopathy and ruptured Achilles tendons, compared with normal tendons.

METHODS
Total RNA isolated from frozen tendon samples (14 normal, 13 painful, 14 ruptured) was assayed by relative quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for aggrecan, versican, biglycan and decorin mRNA, normalized using 18S rRNA. Differences between sample groups were tested by univariate analysis of variance with age as co-variate.

RESULTS
In normal tendon samples expression of each of the proteoglycan mRNA decreased with increasing age. Decorin mRNA was the most highly-expressed of the proteoglycan mRNA, while versican mRNA expression was higher (3.8-fold) than that of aggrecan. In painful tendinopathy both aggrecan and biglycan mRNA expression increased (more than 10-fold and 5-fold, respectively) compared with normal tendon samples, but levels of versican and decorin mRNA were not significantly changed. In ruptured tendons the levels of aggrecan, biglycan and versican mRNA were not changed compared with normal tendon samples, but decorin mRNA decreased markedly.

CONCLUSIONS
Increased aggrecan and biglycan mRNA expression in painful tendinopathy resembles the pattern in fibrocartilaginous regions of tendon, and may reflect an altered mechanical environment at the site of the lesion. Increased aggrecan mRNA expression may underlie the increase in glycosaminoglycan observed in painful tendinopathy.


OBJECTIVE
To measure patients' and providers' delays in the presentation and treatment of newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis.

DESIGN
Retrospective study using structured questionnaires.

SETTING
Tuberculosis and Chest Service, Centre of Health Protection, Department of Health.

PARTICIPANTS
Tuberculosis patients notified to the Department of Health, selected by systematic sampling of all notifications in the first 2 weeks of every even month in the year 2004.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Health-seeking behaviour of pulmonary tuberculosis patients, including respective demographic, clinical, and disease factors.

RESULTS
Of a total of 6262 notified tuberculosis patients in 2004, 1662 (26.5%) were recruited into the study; of these, 42.6% first presented to private doctors, and 57.4% to the public sector. The diagnosis of tuberculosis was made in 13.7% of these patients by the former and 86.3% by the latter. The median patient delay (elapsed time from symptoms to medical consultation) and provider delay (elapsed time from medical consultation to treatment) were both 20 days; 25th to 75th percentiles being 7-37 and 6-55 days, respectively. Longer patient delay was associated with positive sputum smear and culture, and more extensive radiological disease. On multiple regression analysis, unemployment independently predicted longer patient delay, while haemoptysis predicted shorter patient and total delay. Patients older than 60 years, with no initial sputum and chest X-ray examination predicted longer provider and total delays.

CONCLUSIONS
Our patient and provider delays compared favourably with those of other countries, and very likely reflect easy service access. Adverse social factors and non-specific presentations prolong patient delay, whilst older age and unavailable bacteriological/radiological evidence delay diagnosis and treatment.


How can environmental degradation be stopped? How can it be reversed? And how can the damage already done be repaired? The authors of this volume argue that a two-pronged approach is needed: reducing demand for ecosystem goods and services and better management of them, coupled with an increase in supply through environmental restoration."Restoring Natural Capital" brings together economists and ecologists, theoreticians, practitioners, policy makers, and scientists from the developed and developing worlds to consider the costs and benefits of repairing ecosystem goods and services in natural and socioecological systems. It examines the business and practice of restoring natural capital, and seeks to establish common ground between economists and ecologists with respect to the restoration of degraded ecosystems and landscapes and the still broader task of restoring natural capital. The book focuses on developing strategies that can achieve the best outcomes in the shortest amount of time as it: considers conceptual and theoretical issues from both an economic and ecological perspective examines specific strategies to foster the restoration of natural capital and offers a synthesis and a vision of the way forwardNineteen case studies from around the world illustrate challenges and achievements in setting targets, refining approaches to finding and implementing restoration projects, and using restoration of natural capital as an economic opportunity. Throughout, contributors make the case that the restoration of natural capital requires close collaboration among scientists from across disciplines as well as local people, and when successfully executed represents a practical, realistic, and essential tool for achieving lasting sustainable development."


For patients with 'locked-in' syndrome (LIS), brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) based on hemodynamics are a promising tool to regain communication. Visual and motor imagery are oftenused information-encoding strategies despite frequent visuo-motor impairments in LIS. However, evoking imagery not grounded in recent sensory experience is very challenging. Therefore, somatosensory imagery might be more suitable, as somatosensation is preserved even in late-stage LIS. Using 7T fMRI in healthy subjects, we find that somatosensory imagery is associated with topographic decoding-weight patterns in primary somatosensory cortex and show high-accuracy decoding with little pre-training. We immediately implement these novel findings to drive brain-based communication, providing a promising proof-of-concept for a novel type of communication BCI with high clinical potential. Our new BCI-control strategy paves the way for several future applications. Next to brain-based communication, it might be employed for neurofeedback-based training to restore somatotopy in stroke and chronic pain patients suffering somatosensory deficits.


Endonuclease II (EndoII) of bacteriophage T4 is a GIY-YIG enzyme involved in host DNA breakdown during phage infection of E. coli. EndoII combines features of restriction endonucleases with those of homing endonucleases in that it breaks down DNA foreign to itself but recognizes a 16 bp long asymmetric and ambiguous sequence. This investigation addresses the biological function of EndoII, its mode of interaction with its substrate and roles of individual residues in catalysis, sequence recognition and binding.It is shown here that EndoII increases the frequency of non-homologous recombination in phage-infected cells, showing that EndoII indeed can induce recombinational events. Although single-stranded nicks are frequent in in vitro reactions with purified protein, the enzyme is found to produce mostly double-stranded breaks in vivo, since nicks are repaired. Mutations of residues positioned on the putative catalytic surface result in severely reduced catalytic activity, while residues in the N-terminal region and a middle region (MR) appear to mainly contribute to substrate binding. Mutation of the putatively magnesium-binding residue E118 renders the enzyme catalytically inactive. Residues K76 (in the MR and positioned on the catalytic surface) and G49 and R57 (on the catalytic surface) also contribute to substrate recognition. All mutants bind as tetramers to two DNA molecules, indicating that the wildtype would also bind as a tetramer. EndoII E118A alone can bind also in monomeric and dimeric form to one DNA molecule, possibly because the glutamate charge normally repels the DNA. The solved crystal structure of tetrameric EndoII E118A shows a striking X-shape with two putative catalytic surfaces to each side positioned so that double-stranded cleavage would require severe DNA distortion. Combination of all data suggests that upon binding in vivo EndoII scans the DNA for a second binding site, binding to both sites but nicking or cleaving only one of them.


Background: Carcinoma of the breast is the second most common malignancy among South African women, its incidence is rising and the mortality rate is significantly higher than in the developed world. Offering quality treatment in a resource-limited environment with poor patient socioeconomic circumstances is an ongoing challenge. Frail health, lack of support in the event of severe toxicity, and the lack of advanced pharmaceuticals, taxane regimens and biologicals limit treatment options for chemotherapy. Methods: Records of 250 consecutive female patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer from January to October 2008, were retrieved and analysed. Staging at diagnosis, demographic data, histopathology, treatment given, compliance and outcomes were recorded retrospectively. Results: Average follow-up time was 36.2 months, the mean age was 56 years, 205 patients underwent surgery, and 84.4% of patients were fully compliant with therapy. Stage I and stage IV overall survival was similar to developed world figures. Combined stage II/III survival was 64.7%, which is significantly lower than survival figures in the developed world (84.6%). A large proportion of patients (15.7%) with stage II and III breast cancer in our series did not receive chemotherapy. For stage III patients, not a single pathologically complete response was recorded; in stage II complete response rate was 10%. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered to 41 out of 51 patients (80.3%) with node-negative tumours larger than 2 cm and only 3 out of 14 patients (21.4%) with 1 - 2 cm node-negative tumours. Adjuvant radiotherapy was administered to 83.8% node-positive stage II and 88% stage III patients. Hormonal therapy was administered to 90.7% of the oestrogen receptor positive tumours and 64% of these patients were still taking treatment at time of last follow-up. Conclusion: Combined stage II and III disease-related survival in this series was considerably lower than developed world figures. Adjuvant radiotherapy and hormonal therapy were well applied where indicated. The options of neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy were underutilised in this series – for a large proportion of these patients (10.7%) the reason remains unknown. Administrative error, patient comorbid conditions and patient refusal also contributed to the underutilisation of chemotherapy. Moreover, tumours showed poor response to chemotherapy regimens administered. The emphasis on the expansion of the services to women with breast cancer should concentrate on the extension of medical oncological services to improve outcomes. Biologicals as well as advanced chemotherapeutic options including taxane regimens should be made available.


Graph Convolutional Networks (GCNs) have received increasing attention in recent machine learning. How to effectively leverage the rich structural information in complex graphs, such as knowledge graphs with heterogeneous types of entities and relations, is a primary open challenge in the field. Most GCN methods are either restricted to graphs with a homogeneous type of edges (e.g., citation links only), or focusing on representation learning for nodes only instead of jointly optimizing the embeddings of both nodes and edges for target-driven objectives. This paper addresses these limitations by proposing a novel framework, namely the GEneralized Multi-relational Graph Convolutional Networks (GEM-GCN), which combines the power of GCNs in graph-based belief propagation and the strengths of advanced knowledge-base embedding methods, and goes beyond. Our theoretical analysis shows that GEM-GCN offers an elegant unification of several well-known GCN methods as specific cases, with a new perspective of graph convolution. Experimental results on benchmark datasets show the advantageous performance of GEM-GCN over strong baseline methods in the tasks of knowledge graph alignment and entity classification.


This study aimed to examine the research support and availability of print resources to university students during COVID-19 in Pakistan Along with other pandemic related issues during the lockdown, university students faced study issues as all the teaching activities were shifted to online, and they faced unavailability of print resources A quantitative study design was opted to conduct the study A total of 2745 university students participated in the survey This form was sent to 5950 students through their emails and WhatsApp groups A well-structured questionnaire was constructed and pre-tested from 30 randomly selected students The study findings showed that COVID-19 affected the educational institutions of several countries generally and Pakistan particularly The university libraries were closed as lockdown and social distancing was implemented as per the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) University students were restricted to their homes and were not allowed to visit the library Therefore, they faced the non-accessibility of books, periodicals, manuscripts, and lack of research support facilities This study concluded that university libraries were closed during the COVID-19 outbreak and the students faced a deficit of research support and non-availability of print resources in Pakistan It is recommended that the university libraries should strengthen their digital resources to facilitate students in terms of research support facilities and availability of online books, manuscripts, and periodicals to tackle the issues of university students


What is the digital revolution the revolution of ? What is turned upside down and disturbed, reformed and transformed, in the so-called 'digital revolution' ? To answer this, digital revolution is approached here from the point of view of a phenomenology of technology which assumes that our being-in-the-world is fundamentally conditioned by technique and always has been. The main hypothesis is that a technical revolution is always 'ontophanic', that is to say a shaking of the structures of perception and of the process through which the being (ontos) appears (phaino) to us — and, consequently, a change of the very idea that we have of reality. I rely here on the notion of "Phenomenotechnique" borrowed from French philosopher of science Gaston Bachelard. It leads me to defend a phenomenological constructivism according to which any new technique, in every age, can be considered as an 'ontophanic matrix' that shapes our possible experience-in-the-world.

For instance, looking at the sky in the living silence of the mechanisms of wood and water during the Renaissance or looking at the sky in the age of the steam engine and of the metal, it is not the same qualitative experience of the sky than at the time of digital interfaces, where we almost never look up to the sky since we are immersed in our screens (on which the sky can still re-appear as a wallpaper). It means that the quality of our being-in-the world is 'technology sensitive'. That's why, in all ages, it is so hard for people to accept new technologies : new technologies always shake us by shaking our phenomenological habits. The phone did it. The computer did it. The Web is doing it. Each time, this shaking is what I call an 'ontophany shift'. 'Ontophany' means a new phenomenological configuration (depending on historical and cultural factors) between techniques and perception.

Then, as all previous ones, Digital Revolution is just a new revolution (i.e. replacement) of our perceptive structures. But such a change is huge. Because it requires us to change the idea we learnt of what is 'reality'. That's why, in the 1990's, French scholars (but most probably not only French ones) used to consider digital technologies as 'virtual worlds', in a sense that 'virtual worlds' would be different from the 'real world' (or the 'real life', IRL). Today, we know that this was a metaphysical mistake based on a Platonic illusion that cyberspace would be a 'separate reality'. As American psychologist Sherry Turkle said very early (1995), "in the culture of simulation, if it works for you, it has all the realiy it needs" because "We have learned to take things at interface value". Yes, we have learned. We have learned to live with the cyberspace, the Web and the social networks. We have learned new phenomenological habits and we have acquired new perceptive structures. We have learned to live into the 'digital ontophany' era. And we are still learning.


Smoke emissions and particulate matter (PM) size distributions were investigated on a direct-injection single-cylinder diesel engine running on both gas-to-liquid (GTL) and diesel fuels utilizing a novel spiral-helical intake manifold design. Smoke opacity was measured at a wide range of engine loads and speeds with both fuels to examine the effect of using the new manifold on smoke emissions. In addition, total PM numbers of fine particles (PM diameter = 1.0 µm) and coarse particles (>1.0 µm) were quantified with both fuels. Moreover, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images were taken with different resolutions to observe the PM sizes produced from each fuel when using the new and normal manifolds. The results showed that using the novel manifold reduced smoke emissions for both GTL and diesel fuels with about 36% at low loads and 7% at high loads. However, using the new manifold with GTL fuel showed superior performance to reduce smoke with about 60% at low loads and 10% at high loads. For the PM size distribution, the new manifold reduced total PM emissions in general. However, significant reductions were obtained with fine PM sizes (0.3 – 1.0 µm) when GTL fuel was used with about 30% for constant load tests, and about 40% for constant speed tests. On the other hand, the new manifold tended to increase slightly the coarse PM sizes. The HRTEM images of the PM structure for both manifolds and fuels have confirmed the above results.