Environmental management systems [EMS] are now a well established management tool in the 'greening' of industry. There is a large body of literature on methodological procedures and application strategies for implementing EMS. Associated with this proliferation of 'how to' manuals has been a limited discussion of why a firm ought to implement a management tool that inevitably affects the bottom line of profitability. We argue that there has been much less by way of methodologically rigorous and academically objective analysis of the motivation for EMS application. Much of this literature is coined in terms of the potential benefits (social, ethical and financial) with arguably an insufficient emphasis on potential real cost burdens. This arises in part because researchers and analysts in the field want firms to adopt EMS. This can be motivated by environmental zeal and/or an enthusiasm to promote the sales of 'how to' manuals by accentuating the positive. The aim of this research is provide an objective and methodologically robust motivational analysis in the field of EMS applications. The methodology that we apply - Analytical Hierarchy Process [AHP], a variant of multi criteria analysis- has not to our knowledge been applied in the 'greening' of industry. Most methodologies relating to semi-structured interviews of respondents who have applied environmental management tools are either open-ended or apply a 5 point Likert scale or equivalent, where 1-5 corresponds with how important the respondent considers a given factor(e.g. affect on longrun profitability) is in stimulating EMS adoption. The outcome of such studies in general is that many factors contribute but that the extent to which one factor is more or less important remains unresolved. Under AHP, respondents make pair-wise ratings of importance between various attributes (e.g. profitability, corporate social responsibility) as well as between the 'qualities' or levels within an attribute (e.g. long term profitability, short term profitability). The outcome of the AHP is a set of attribute and quality weights that reflect their relative importance as well as their implied ranking. In this study, five attributes (profitability; compliance with legislation; competitiveness; social impacts and environmental impacts) with a total of 13 qualities were tested across a sample of respondents from SMEs that already had an EMS in place. The attributes ranged from financial (e.g. increases in production efficiency), social (e.g. improved public perceptions) to environmental (e.g. reduced emissions). We chose to investigate the motivations for on-going EMS adoption as managers would then have had the time to learn the extent to which the potential benefits had actually been realised and the costs incurred.. The results are interesting in that the most important factors were increased long term profitability and the opportunity to enter new product niches. The latter may arise owing to 'supplier challenges' applied by larger firms to their SME suppliers. A high scoring was achieved for improving local community relations. The highest score for the environmental attribute was reduced resource usage, linked to decreasing production costs. This score was significantly higher than CSR-type global concerns such as emissions reductions. However, overall environmental outcomes were not rated highly which perhaps suggest that the case that CSR stimulates the adoption of corporate eco-change might be overstated in the literature.


Previous studies in this laboratory have demonstrated that exposure to 5-Bromo-2- deoxyuridine (BrdU) induces differentiation in the lung epithelial cancer cell lines DLKP and A549. This induction o f differentiation was accompanied by increased protein expression of cytokeratins-8 and -18, a 2Pi integrin, cell-adhesion protein Ep- CAM, eukaryotic initiation factor eIF-4E and the transcription factors c-myc and YY1. Following exposure to BrdU, RT-PCR analysis identified large increases in the mRNA levels of MRP1, MRP3, BCRP, BAXa, MRIT, COX-2 and eIF-2a, together with smaller gene expression increases for MRP2, a-catenin and E-cadherin, in the DLKP cell line. Survivin gene and protein expression was decreased. Increased gene expression of MRP 1 and BCRP, as well as decreased MRP2, MRP4 and mdr-1 gene expression was observed in A549. DNA microarray analysis of BrdU-treated DLKP detected significantly increased gene expression of ETR103, p55CDC, Inil, NSEP, EB1, RPS19 and FNRB, and significantly decreased gene expression o f CREB2, c-myc, RPL6, TBP, CNBP, HIP116 and SOD1.

RT-PCR analysis of the DLKP cells identified increased expression of the MRP1, MRP2 and BCRP genes following exposure to cisplatin, o f MRP2, a-catenin and Ecadherin following exposure to taxol and of MRP1, MRP2 and a-catenin following exposure to VP 16. These results suggested that patterns of gene induction following exposure to an inducing agent are specific for that agent.

Transfac™ transcription factor analysis of the 5' promoter regions of MRPs 1-3, BCRP, MRIT, COX-2, eIF-2a, a-catenin and E-cadherin identified seven potentially shared factors. These factors were GATAs 1-3, MZF1, Ik-2, CdxA and AML-la. RT-PCR analysis revealed increased GATA-2 and GATA-3 expression in BrdU-treated DLKP, but no change in BrdU-treated A549. RT-PCR analysis also revealed increased GATA- 2 expression in VP16-treated DLKP.

Luciferase reporter plasmids attached to truncated regions of the MRP1 5' promoter identified the major regulatory region in normal DLKP cells. This region encompassed -91 to +103 bases relative to the transcriptional start site. When the DLKP cells were treated with BrdU, luciferase production increased dramatically in another area of the promoter (beween -91 and -411 bases, relative to the transcriptional start). This region of the MRP1 contains a single GATA-2 transcription factor recognition sequence. A similar result was observed following exposure to VP 16. However, no significant change in luciferase readings was observed between BrdU-treated and untreated cells over the whole 2kb promoter, indicating that the major transcriptional target for BrdU is outside this region of the gene.

RT-PCR analysis on a number o f human lung, breast and oesophageal tumour samples was carried out to examine the expression o f MRPs 1-6, BCRP, mdr-1, mdr-3, COX-1, COX-2, MRIT, BAXa, B c I -x l, B c l-x s , Bcl-2a, Survivin, BAG, BAP, eIF-4E, eIF-2a and c,-myc.

A novel ribozyme to MRP1 was designed and was observed to cleave its intended target in an in vitro cleavage assay. The ribozyme was successfully transfected into MRP1- expressing DLKP-SQ cells. However, the transfections did not affect significantly neither MRP1 RNA or protein expression nor the drug resistance profiles of the cells. RNaseH activity assays for antisense oligonucleotides analyses were also successfully set up using an mdr-1 antisense. However, the identification of effective MRP1 antisense oligonucleotides was not made by either in vitro or in vivo studies.


Self-emitting blue and red EuOX (X = F, Cl, Br, and I) were successfully synthesized and characterized. Far-infrared and Raman measurements revealed that the vibration modes prominently reflected the Eu-O and Eu-X bond characters of these materials. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of the red-emitting EuOX compounds showed that Eu exclusively existed as Eu3+, while in the blue-emitting EuOX, a mixed Eu3+/Eu2+ state was observed. For the red-emitting EuOX (X = F, Cl, and Br), the maximum wavelengths of the charge-transfer (CT) bands were red-shifted: F → Cl → Br (282, 320, and 330 nm for F, Cl, and Br, respectively). Using one-electron spin-polarized band structure calculations, it was verified that the red-shift of the CT energy from F to Br in EuOX was mainly due to the relative positions of the halogen orbital energies being gradually increased, following the trend in their electronegativity. For the blue-emitting EuOX (X = Cl, Br, and I), the emission band maxima were red-shifted from Cl to I (409, 414, and 432 nm for Cl, Br, and I, respectively), which was quite opposite to the trend predicted based on the spectrochemical series in crystal field theory, which was in good agreement with the previous results of the calculated 5d → 4f transition energies of the Eu2+ activator based on the crystal field theory. Through photoluminescence, UV-visible absorbance, and XPS, it was elucidated that the red emission due to Eu3+ was strongly masked by the intensified blue emission associated with the small amount of Eu2+ in the blue-emitting EuOX (X = Cl, Br, and I). These materials may provide a platform for modeling new phosphors for application in solid-state lighting.


In this paper, we show that the communication channel known as writing in memory with defective cells is a relevant information-theoretical model for a specific case of passive warden steganography when the sender embeds a secret message into a subset C of the cover object X without sharing C with the recipient. The set C, which is also called the selection channel, could be arbitrary, determined by the sender from the cover object using a deterministic, pseudo-random, or a truly random process. We call this steganography "writing on wet paper" and realize it using a simple variable-rate random linear code that gives the sender a convenient flexibility and control over the embedding process and is thus suitable for practical implementation. The importance of the wet paper scenario for covert communication is discussed within the context of adaptive steganography and perturbed quantization steganography. Heuristic arguments supported by tests using blind steganalysis indicate that the wet paper steganography provides improved steganographic security and is less vulnerable to steganalytic attacks compared with existing methods with shared selection channels.


Novel magnetic gas sensors are characterized by extremely high efficiency and low energy consumption, therefore, a search for a two-dimensional material suitable for room temperature magnetic gas sensors is a critical task for modern materials scientists. Here, we computationally discovered a novel ultrathin two-dimensional antiferromagnet V3S4, which, in addition to stability and remarkable electronic properties, demonstrates a great potential to be applied in magnetic gas sensing devices. Quantum-mechanical calculations within the DFT + U approach show the antiferromagnetic ground state of V3S4, which exhibits semiconducting electronic properties with a band gap of 0.36 eV. A study of electronic and magnetic response to the adsorption of various gas agents showed pronounced changes in properties with respect to the adsorption of NH3, NO2, O2, and NO molecules on the surface. The calculated energies of adsorption of these molecules were −1.25, −0.91, −0.59, and −0.93 eV, respectively. Obtained results showed the prospective for V3S4 to be used as effective sensing materials to detect NO2 and NO, for their capture, and for catalytic applications in which it is required to lower the dissociation energy of O2, for example, in oxygen reduction reactions. The sensing and reducing of NO2 and NO have great importance for improving environmental protection and sustainable development.


Rising e-commerce volumes the world over provide opportunities to global marketers to expand their markets using the Internet. While Internet casinos have had their share of failures, the industry still rakes in three times the revenues as web pornography. Converging web technology allows for Internet gaming operators to expand their markets all over the world. However, appealing to consumers in different countries and regions requires adaptation of websites to the cultural milieu of the various target markets. This paper reviews existing literature on culture and website design and goes on to discuss the impact of culture on designing Internet gaming sites. A series of propositions hypothesizing the impact of culture on consumer responses to online gaming sites have been formulated using Hofstede's cultural dimensions. Theoretical and managerial implications of the proposed framework have also been discussed.


The deflection of light in ferroelastic crystals results from refraction and reflection at domain walls. When the tilt angle of the principal axes in neighboring domains is small, simple relationships between the crystal birefringences and the angles of the deflected beams can be deduced from Snell's law of refraction. As a rule, this condition is satisfied at W-domain walls in ferroelastic species that have a biaxial prototype phase. In this case, measurement of the deflection angles permits one to determine the birefringences easily. This method has as its main advantages independence of the sample thickness and the need for only rough sample preparation. It is absolutely insensitive to temperature fluctuations. We have applied the method to crystals of rubidium hydrogen selenate and dihydrated barium chloride as illustrative examples.


Economic development of Indonesia has increased risk of global financial crisis. The global crisis has affected the economy of the world, including Indonesia. The impact is increasingly felt both through the market for goods and financial markets (banking and capital markets). Changes and developments in various economic variables of a country would give effect to the capital market in Indonesia. The objective of this research is to investigate the effect of investment factors, inflation factors, international monetary factors and risk to price return of Manufacturer Industries in 2000 – 2007. This research used four regression model, and the models are: 1st model to investigate effect of the investment factors (Debt to Equity Ratio, Dividend Payout Ratio, Profitability, and Growth) to the investment decisions; 2nd model used to investigate effect of the inflation factors (SBI, foreign exchange, and M2) to the inflation; 3rd model used to investigate effect of the investment,, inflation, the fed, dow jones index, oil price and firm risk to the price return. Population of this research is manufacturing companies listed in BEI. The sampling method used in this research is purposive sampling and the results are 128 companies according to the criteria of the sample. Pooling data method and judgment sampling is used to collect the data and two stage least squares (2 SLS) as the analysis method. Base on the hypothesis test it can be summarized that all predictor have significant effect simultaneously. Result of the 1st Model, Dividend Payout Ratio, Profitability and Growth Effect to the Investment partially ; 2nd model,  SBI, KURS, and M2 effect to the inflation partially; 3rd model investment, inflation, the fed, and oil price effected to the price return partially. Keywords:   price return, price book value, investment, inflation, the fed, dow jones index, firm risk, two stage least square, pooled data.


Many natural hazards and other phenomena have cyclic/periodic behaviour, e.g. radon and soil gases, earthquakes (under some circumstances), annual/seasonal droughts and floods, whereas others are anomalous, recurring apparently randomly with regard to time, e.g. earthquakes and volcanic eruptions (under most circumstances). For the cyclic cases, an analysis of past time-series can yield an expectation and perhaps some degree of forecasting, even if only at the level of 'more probable' and 'less probable' times of occurrence.

The aim of this two-part short-course is to provide an introduction to and overview of key techniques of time-series analysis to identify and quantify – and potentially predict – natural hazards and other phenomena. It will take the key question "Are we looking for cyclic, recurrent or anomalous phenomena?" as its starting point.

In the first part, the aim will be to provide an introduction to and overview of what is arguably the key technique of time-series analysis in this context: the Fast (Discrete) Fourier Transform. The focus will be on the application of the Fast Fourier Transform, as implemented in many software packages, and interpretation of the output. In the second part, the aim will be to consider techniques which are based on and/or allied to the Fast (Discrete) Fourier Transform, such as Short-Time Fourier-Transforms and spectrograms and auto- and cross- correlation techniques. Anticipating that most of those who attend will be 'technique users' rather than 'technique developers', coverage of the underlying mathematics will be kept to a necessary minimum to facilitate informed interpretation of the techniques considered.


Herbal medicine is still the mainstay of about 75-80% of the whole population, and the major part of traditional therapy involves the use of plant extract and their active constituents in the indigenous. The plant genus Phyllantus is widely distributed in most of tropical and subtropical countries like China, India, Southeast Asia and Indonesia [1,2]. Phyllantus spesies have long been used in folk medicine to tread a broad spectrum of disorders. Phyllantus emblica or Indian gooseberry (Figure 1), belonging to family Euphorbeaceae has been reported to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, adaptogenic, anti-diabetic, antimicrobial and immunomodulatory potential [3]. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of ethanolic extract of malaka leaves (Phyllanthus emblica) on renal function by analyzing creatinine level in mice blood (Mus musculus).


the inherent mobility of MP2P peers lead to an efficient of existing resources positioning method low, and the proposed application model is single. The proposed methods considered the resource positioning in the direction of the resource provider's, and implement it base on the diffusion resource index, which are spread in the model of epidemic. Networking connectivity model is built in the diffusion path. Diffusion resources index are used to position resources, so as to solve the low positioning efficiency of existing positioning method and large time delay. By comparing the proposed method, the flooding resource location method and the Structural resources localization methods, the obtained simulation results show that the proposed method can effectively improve resource efficiency and accuracy of the location method.


Cybersecurity is an increasingly important element of infrastructure and commerce. Courts are starting to shape the doctrine of third party liability for cyberattacks and data breaches. For businesses that rely on computers and the Internet, these developments affect their bottom line. There is a lot of interest in managing these emerging cyber risks and associated cyber losses, and many companies are looking to insurance policies for coverage.
Unfortunately, commercial general liability policies are becoming narrower as insurers increasingly remove electronic data from the scope of coverage. Cyber insurance is becoming increasingly available, but the market for these policies is plagued by informational asymmetries, data scarcity, and high potential for moral hazard problems.
In this article, we examine insurance as a risk management tool in the cybersecurity context, with special emphasis on the emerging market for cyber insurance and how to overcome the dangers to this market's effectiveness and growth through better risk assessment. In order to understand the legal risk in policy coverage, we present an empirical study and findings regarding litigation concerning insurance coverage for cyber harms involving intangible property, digital data, and cybersecurity. Our work emphasizes the need for developing cyber-specific insurance products, instead of relying on commercial general liability (CGL) policies to cover cyber losses. We urge that collaboration between the government and private sector will be necessary to better estimate the technological risk in this cyber environment for insurance purposes. We also analogize the cyber insurance market to the Workers' Compensation system and the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and analyze the lessons that can be drawn from them.


One of the most promising and recent advances in computer-based planning is the transition from classical geometric modeling to building information modeling (BIM). Building information models support the representation, storage, and exchange of various information relevant to construction planning. This information can be used for describing, e.g., geometric/physical properties or costs of a building, for creating construction schedules, or for representing other characteristics of construction projects. Based on this information, plans and specifications as well as reports and presentations of a planned building can be created automatically. A fundamental principle of BIM is object parameterization, which allows specifying geometrical, numerical, algebraic and associative dependencies between objects contained in a building information model. In this paper, existing challenges of parametric modeling using the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) as a federated model for integrated planning are shown, and open research questions are discussed.


In what follows I examine the function of the term Hīnayāna as a referent to an institutional entity in the academic study of the history of Buddhism. I begin by surveying the use of the term by Chinese pilgrims travelling in India, followed by taking up to the Tarkajvālā's depiction of the controversy between adherents of the Hīnayāna and the Mahāyāna. I then turn to the use of the term in the West, in particular its promotion by the Japanese delegates at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. I conclude that the current academic use of the term as a referent to a Buddhist school or Buddhist schools is misleading.


We propose and theoretically study a metallo-dielectric photonic crystal (MDPhC) based on metallic annular aperture arrays (AAA) associated to a nonlinear material (LiNbO(3)) for the second harmonic generation (SHG). An optimal structure design can be found thanks to the relations that link the geometrical parameters to the operating point namely the wavelength of the fundamental and SHG signals. A slow light phenomenon, which occurs at the cut-off frequency of the guided mode through the annular cavities, is at the origin of the SHG signal enhancement. The benefit of the AAA is demonstrated through a comparison with cylindrical aperture arrays.


The present article has as an aim to assess the data of a school based education on the periphery area in Distrito Federal and that has been obtaining, according to the results of the National System of Basic Education Assessment (SAEB) and Prova Brasil, successive increase in the rank of the Index of Development of Basic Education (IDEB) in the years 2005, 2007 and 2009 and that works the participative management by means of discussions among the head of the school, teachers, students and their parents. The IDEB refers to the quality indicator, created by the federal government that integrates the aims of the Development Plan of Education (PDE). The IDEB is calculated based on the performance of students in institutional evaluations of Portuguese and Mathematics, data of failure, school dropout and rates of the students passing in examinations. As a main objective, the article has a proposal to present these results and discuss the proposed actions by the head of the school and the parents' participation, teachers, staff and students.


The authors, who conducted an inquiry in to the state of marketing education in China, found that 75% of the students they interviewed say that what they learn in the classroom is not relevant in the marketplace. This fact underlines the rather poor state of marketing education in the world's second-largest economy. The authors serve up a sound prescription for improving the way marketing is taught, and for making it much easier for western managers to hire local marketers. While our research has shown that the development of marketing is well under way in China, a range of severe road blocks can be anticipated as a result of the country's flawed approach to nurturing marketing talent. Now -- and for the future -- the challenge is to change mindsets from the ad-hoc to the systematic and from the tactical to the strategic, to avoid the overly theoretical and to combine sound practical instincts with state of the art analysis.


Infrequent bus service because of a sudden rise in international gas prices has created a significant social problem in South Korea. Bus service frequency is determined by considering bus operation costs to the service supplier, passenger demand, and so forth. Optimal bus frequency was determined and a timetable for each bus stop was created by applying the DTR (demand- and travel time–responsive) model or the DTRC (demand- and travel time–responsive model for critical scheduling areas); both use data for each bus stop and route segment. A bus headway control model that can monitor and assess punctuality of an operation was also developed. This model was based on real-time event data, such as bus stop departures and arrivals for buses operating on a line-based timetable, constructed for each bus stop. It was also based on the bus stop traffic cost, which was applied in the bus scheduling model. The model's ability to evaluate the punctuality of operation made it possible to transmit headway control instructions (when to decelerate or accelerate) to a bus driver via an onboard unit. A model verification process was implemented by using data collected from a bus management system and integrated transit fare card system for the bus route in Seoul. To evaluate the reliability and uncertainty of the optimal solution, a sensitivity analysis was implemented for the various parameters and assumptions used in the models.


Over the past fifteen years, urban decision-makers in several countries have experimented with specific policies which seek to increase the social mix of particular urban areas, specifically via interventions in the housing mix, in order to tackle socio-spatial segregation, concentrations of deprivation and social exclusion. These interventions are based on the notion of the neighbourhood effect (or area effect), which hypothesizes that a high concentration of poor, or ethnic minority, people in specific areas reinforces and perpetuates poverty and exclusion. This contribution briefly analyses the policy initiatives set up in the United Kingdom by the New Labour government between 1997 and 2010 to encourage so-called mixed communities. The key assumption was that mixing different types of housing tenure would lead to greater social mix and to positive effects for (poor) urban residents and for deprived neighbourhoods at large. The paper reviews the arguments and approaches used to encourage such mixed communities and summarizes the state of academic research on the impacts and effectiveness of such policies. There is, to date, rather limited evidence that interventions in the housing mix alone can lead to greater social mix and to positive effects for deprived urban neighbourhoods and their residents. In the conclusion of the paper, succinct lessons are drawn for urban policies and area-based interventions in Spain and Catalonia.


Based on the demographic data of 2001 census, a total number of 4,612 revenue villages have been identified by the Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Govt. of West Bengal, India as the most backward in the state. Cooch Behar (one of the sub Himalayan district of the said state) also had declared 52 (fifty two) villages as backward in two consecutive phases. Some extra developmental impetus had been given in those villages to facilitate growth and prosperity. The present investigation was undertaken in the backward villages of Cooch Behar District of West Bengal (India) to study the success status of government development programmes running in the villages. A sample of 10% families was taken randomly for the study. Besides analyzing the secondary data obtained from ICDS projects (Integrated Child Development Project) and village Panchayat, an index called Composite Success Index (CSI) was developed for assessing the present status of success of the development programmes undertaken by the government agencies. The study revealed that the success of development programmes were low to medium in most of the villages. It is also revealed that success status is more where backwardness is more i.e. more backward villages achieved more success with respect to implementation of different development programmes.


TGF-β signaling inhibits cell growth in epithelial cells and thus acts as tumor suppressor, yet increased TGF-β signaling often promotes cancer progression through effects on the tumor micro-environment and effects on the carcinoma cells that can lead to epithelial plasticity responses and increased invasion. The responsive epithelial or carcinoma cells can regulate their cell surface levels of TGF-β receptors, and thus enhance their responses to TGF-β. In addition to transcription control of TGF-β receptor expression, the cells can rapidly mobilize TβRII and TβRI from a large intracellular receptor pool to the cell surface, and thus enhance their TGF-β responsiveness. For example, high glucose, as seen in hyperglycemia, rapidly induces high levels of cell surface receptors that increase the cell's TGF-β responsiveness, resulting in extracellular matrix production and increased cell size. Similarly, increased cell surface TGF-β receptor levels and TGF-β responsiveness also occur in response to insulin, which is therapeutically used against diabetes-associated hyperglycemia. The insulin-induced increase in cell surface levels requires activation of Akt, which then phosphorylates the membrane-associated RabGAP AS160, thus alleviating AS160-mediated retention of vesicles containing TβRII and TβRI, and allowing them to reach the cell surface. Additionally, the levels of functional TGF-β receptor complexes at the cell surface is controlled by TACE-mediated ectodomain shedding, which is activated in response to Erk and p38 MAPK activation. We will discuss the physiological implications of these multiple levels of control of TGF-β receptor cell surface presentation and TGF-β responsiveness in cancer cell behavior and cancer progression. Finally, the epithelial plasticity response to TGF-β is also controlled by the direct interaction of activated Smad3 with a methyltransferase, which consequently controls the histone modifications of the gene encoding the transcription factor Snail, a master regulator that drives epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Thus, Smad-mediated changes of histone methylation complement direct Smad-mediated transcription effects in the control of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Citation Format: Rik Derynck, Erine Budi, Baby-Periyanayaki Muthusamy, Yoko Katsuno, Dan Du. Control of TGF-β responsiveness and epithelial plasticity. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Developmental Biology and Cancer; Nov 30-Dec 3, 2015; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2016;14(4_Suppl):Abstract nr IA31.


Abstract : The effects of acute and chronic doses of morphine on intracellular levels and distribution of catecholamines (CA) were studied in the rat. Brain homogenates were fractioned into crude synaptosomal pellets and supernatants. The synaptosomes were osmotically shocked, and dopamine (DA) and norephinephrine (NE) levels were measured as bound (synaptic vesicles), free (extravesicular), and extrasynaptosomal fractions in the supernatant. The rate of synthesis of CA was determined by estimating conversion of injected CC14) tyrosine into CC14) DA and CC14) NE. Acute injections of morphine (60 mg/kg body weight) resulted in significant increases in the extrasynaptosomal and free fractions of NE. An increase in endogenous levels of DA was seen in the extrasynaptosomal CC14) DA at 30 and 60 min respectively. The bound fractions demonstrated no appreciable differences at any of the testing intervals. In chronically treated rats, endogenous extrasynaptosomal levels of both DA and NE were higher than in controls, while only NE was increased in the free fraction. These data are consistent with a morphine-induced increase in the biosynthesis of DA and NE, resulting in increased levels of NE in the nonfunctional storage pools rather than in the more readily available pools. This is supported by the lack of change in the levels of the bound fraction suggesting preferential release of newly synthesized NE followed by replenishment due to increased synthesis. These conditions could result in constant equilibration of the bound fraction.


The latest book from the bestselling author Kim Thittichai focuses on the range of ideas and techniques for layering your textiles. These layers can produce simple to extreme surfaces for stitch. Layering is a major feature of today's textile art, whether to create relief, colour, texture or dimension. The author takes you through a number of key materials - papers, synthetic and natural fabric, translucent materials, wires, paints and sprays - that can be incorporated into layered textiles. Various techniques are combined with these materials, from using heat guns, soldering irons and lazer cutting to machine and hand stitch to give the reader endless ideas for their own creative work. As always, the author has provided exercises for the creative process and the techniques but combined them with the work of the best textile artists around the world today. It provides the ultimate guide to the subject of layered textiles for readers looking to experiment with their own textile art.


Measurements taken before and after the commissioning of three wind farms reveal that the wind speeds just upstream of each wind farm decrease relative to locations farther away after the turbines are turned on. At a distance of two rotor diameters upstream, the average derived relative slowdown is 3.4%; at seven to ten rotor diameters upstream, the average slowdown is 1.9%. Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations point to wind-farm-scale blockage as the primary cause of these slowdowns. Blockage effects also cause front row turbines to produce less energy than they each would operating in isolation. Wind energy prediction procedures in use today ignore this effect, resulting in an overprediction bias that pervades the entire wind farm.


AIMS
Agonists that evoke smooth muscle cell hyperpolarization have the potential to stimulate both local and conducted dilation. We investigated whether the endothelium-dependent vasodilators acetylcholine (ACh) and SLIGRL stimulated conducted dilation and whether this was altered by deficiency in apolipoprotein E (ApoE(-/-)).

METHODS AND RESULTS
Isolated mesenteric arteries were cannulated, pressurized, and precontracted with phenylephrine. Agonists were either added to the bath to study local dilation or were restricted to one end of arteries to study conducted dilation. An enhanced sensitivity to both ACh and SLIGRL was observed in mesenteric arteries from ApoE(-/-) mice compared with wild-type controls. Inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthase blocked ACh responses, but had no effect on maximum dilation to SLIGRL. SLIGRL increased endothelial cell Ca(2+), hyperpolarized smooth muscle cells, and fully dilated arteries. The NO-independent dilation to SLIGRL was blocked with high [KCl] or Ca(2+)-activated K(+)-channel blockers. The hyperpolarization and dilation to SLIGRL passed through the artery to at least 2.5 mm upstream. The conducted dilation was not affected by a deficit in ApoE and could also be stimulated by ACh, suggesting NO itself could stimulate conducted dilation.

CONCLUSION
In small mesenteric arteries of ApoE(-/-) mice, NO-independent dilation is enhanced. Since both NO-dependent and -independent pathways can stimulate local and conducted dilation, the potential for reducing vascular resistance is improved in these vessels.


How to identify effective teachers who improve student achievement despite diverse student populations and school contexts is an ongoing discussion in public education. The need to show communities and parents how well teachers and schools improve student learning has led districts and states to seek a fair, equitable and valid measure of student growth using student achievement. This study investigated a two stage hierarchical model for estimating teacher effect on student achievement. This measure was entitled a Classroom Effectiveness Index (CEI). Consistency of this model over time, outlier influences in individual CEIs, variance among CEIs across four years, and correlations of second stage student residuals with first stage student residuals were analyzed. The statistical analysis used four years of student residual data from a state-mandated mathematics assessment (n=7086) and a state-mandated reading assessment (n=7572) aggregated by teacher. The study identified the following results. Four years of district grand slopes and grand intercepts were analyzed to show consistent results over time. Repeated measures analyses of grand slopes and intercepts in mathematics were statistically significant at the .01 level. Repeated measures analyses of grand slopes and intercepts in reading were not statistically significant. The analyses indicated consistent results over time for reading but not for mathematics. Data were analyzed to assess outlier effects. Nineteen statistically significant outliers in 15,378 student residuals were identified. However, the impact on individual teachers was extreme in eight of the 19 cases. Further study is indicated. Subsets of teachers in the same assignment at the same school for four consecutive years and for three consecutive years indicated CEIs were stable over time. There were no statistically significant differences in either mathematics or reading. Correlations between Level One student residuals and HLM residuals were statistically significant in reading and in mathematics. This implied that the second stage of the model was consistent for all students. Much is still unknown concerning teacher effect on student achievement, especially when confined to teacher activity within one school year. However, results indicate the utility of using statistical modeling of student achievement within the context of teacher accountability.


In many computer vision tasks, scene changes hinder the generalization ability of trained classifiers. For instance, a human detector trained with one set of images is unlikely to perform well in different scene conditions. In this paper, we propose an incremental learning method for human detection that can take generic training data and build a new classifier adapted to the new deployment scene. Two operation modes are proposed: i) a completely autonomous mode wherein first few empty frames of video are used for adaptation, and ii) an active learning approach with user in the loop, for more challenging scenarios including situations where empty initialization frames may not exist. Results show the strength of the proposed methods for quick adaptation.


Many investigations have been conducted on the growth conditions of SiO2 on SiC to improve the oxide quality and the properties of the silicon carbide-silicon dioxide interface. In this work a comparison between a wet oxidation and an oxidation in N2O ambient diluted in N2 is proposed. The interface state density Dit near the conduction-band edge of SiC has been evaluated by conventional C-V measurements obtaining results similar or better than the literature data. Furthermore, the slow trapping phenomena have been studied and preliminary results are reported.


Purpose. We assessed the placement of magazine advertising for sun care products to lay the groundwork for broader promotion to more diverse and high-risk demographic groups. Methods. We reviewed 579 issues of 24 magazines published between the months of May and September from 1997 to 2002. We conducted a cover-to-cover review of top-selling magazines for men, women, teens, parents, travelers, and outdoor recreation users. We determined if there were any advertisements for the following sun care products: sun tanning lotions containing sun protection factor (SPF), sunless tanners without SPF, sunscreen with SPF, moisturizers with SPF, or cosmetics with SPF (which include sunless tanners containing SPF). Results. Sun care products, including sunscreens, were advertised primarily in women's magazines (77%). Nearly two thirds of all sun care products advertised were either for cosmetics (38%) or moisturizers (26%) containing SPF, followed by ads for sunscreen sold as a stand-alone product (19%). None of the ads contained all of the recommendations for safe use of sunscreen: a minimum SPF of 15, both UVA and UVB protection, reapplication instructions, and an adequate application coverage of 2 milligrams per square centimeter. Discussion. Magazine advertising to men, travelers, outdoor recreation users, and parents/ families (totaling a circulation of 41 million readers) during this six-year period were far fewer than those for women, despite high rates of excessive sun exposure in these groups.


Abstract. Satellite measurements of coseismic displacements are typically based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry or amplitude tracking, or based on optical data such as from Landsat, Sentinel-2, SPOT, ASTER, very high-resolution satellites, or air photos. Here, we evaluate a new class of optical satellite images for this purpose – data from cubesats. More specific, we investigate the PlanetScope cubesat constellation for horizontal surface displacements by the 14 November 2016 Mw 7.8 Kaikoura, New Zealand, earthquake. Single PlanetScope scenes are 2–4 m-resolution visible and near-infrared frame images of approximately 20–30 km  ×  9–15 km in size, acquired in continuous sequence along an orbit of approximately 375–475 km height. From single scenes or mosaics from before and after the earthquake, we observe surface displacements of up to almost 10 m and estimate matching accuracies from PlanetScope data between ±0.25 and ±0.7 pixels (∼ ±0.75 to ±2.0 m), depending on time interval and image product type. Thereby, the most optimistic accuracy estimate of ±0.25 pixels might actually be typical for the final, sun-synchronous, and near-polar-orbit PlanetScope constellation when unrectified data are used for matching. This accuracy, the daily revisit anticipated for the PlanetScope constellation for the entire land surface of Earth, and a number of other features, together offer new possibilities for investigating coseismic and other Earth surface displacements and managing related hazards and disasters, and complement existing SAR and optical methods. For comparison and for a better regional overview we also match the coseismic displacements by the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake using Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 data.


In this study, the quality of groundwater aquifer of Gavkhooni basin was investigated in agriculture. For this purpose, water quality data related to 96 wells prepared by Isfahan Regional Water Authority during the statistical period 2015-2016 were used. In this study, sodium parameters, electrical conductivity, chloride, hydrogen bicarbonate and sodium absorption ratio (SAR) were used. Then, groundwater quality classification across the study area was carried out using agricultural water quality index (IWQI), which is based on the FAO standards. Results of IWQI varied from 40 to 80, corresponding to high and low limitations for agricultural use. It was shown that groundwater quality had declined over years from the upstream to the downstream of the basin. Furthermore, some changes in the quality index in the northern region of the study area were found to be more affected by the climate conditions of the region. In the middle and eastern territories, the surface streamflow of Zayandehroud River and agricultural activities had caused changes in the water quality. In general, in the Gavkhooni area, excessive groundwater exploitation, drought conditions and agricultural activities had reduced the groundwater quality. By reducing groundwater withdrawals and agricultural activities in areas where water is required only through water drainage, groundwater quality can be managed, even in dry years.


A word $w$ is said to contain the pattern $P$ if there is a way to substitute a nonempty word for each letter in $P$ so that the resulting word is a subword of $w$. Bean, Ehrenfeucht and McNulty and, independently, Zimin characterised the patterns $P$ which are unavoidable, in the sense that any sufficiently long word over a fixed alphabet contains $P$. Zimin's characterisation says that a pattern is unavoidable if and only if it is contained in a Zimin word, where the Zimin words are defined by $Z_1 = x_1$ and $Z_n=Z_{n-1} x_n Z_{n-1}$. We study the quantitative aspects of this theorem, obtaining essentially tight tower-type bounds for the function $f(n,q)$, the least integer such that any word of length $f(n, q)$ over an alphabet of size $q$ contains $Z_n$. When $n = 3$, the first non-trivial case, we determine $f(n,q)$ up to a constant factor, showing that $f(3,q) = \Theta(2^q q!)$.


A descriptive and experimental approach was used to study patterns of nitrogen concentrations in tallgrass prairie streams in Kansas. Nitrate concentrations varied depending on the year, season, time of day, stream flow conditions, source of water, and location where the sample was taken. Mean nitrate concentrations during the dormant season decreased from 1982 to 1984, corresponding to above-normal precipitation during this same period. Nitrate concentrations decreased from third-order (grass/shrub riparian vegetation) to fourth-order channels (gallery forests). Nitrate, organic N, and total N were higher in a third-order intermittent stream than in a third-order perennial stream. Water from seeps and tributaries had higher nitrate concentrations than stream water; however, streams and tributaries had higher organic N than seeps. Maximum nitrate concentrations during storm flows were directly related to the magnitude of storms and inversely related to the frequency of storm events. The activity of terrestrial vegetation influenced nitrate concentrations within streams, seeps, and tributaries; nitrate concentrations were always higher during periods of vegetation dormancy. Aquatic biota influenced both spatial patterns (downstream decrease in nitrate concentrations and increase in organic N) and diel patterns of nitrate concentration (night > day). Uptake rates of nitrate by biota were greater during the day than during the night as determined by experimental addition of nitrate. Nitrogen (N) and/or phosphorus (P) limitations of algal growth were tested experi- mentally using nutrient-diffusing substrata (clay saucers filled with enriched agar) and enrichment of artificial channels. Addition of N and P in combination increased algal biomass (chlorophyll a and ash-free dry mass) over controls or single addition of N or P. Thus, algal biomass was N and P limited; however, individual taxa responded to specific N and/or P concentrations or atomic N:P ratio.


Abstract:This essay attempts to elucidate the transformation of civil-military relations in Turkey since the failed coup of 15 July 2016. After presenting an overview of these relations prior to the coup, the essay focuses on emerging aspects of them in the postcoup environment and attempts to analyze a pattern. It argues that while a harsh domination has been established over the military by civilian politicians through massive efforts in structural, educational, and legislative domains, those efforts are far from being overarching. Whether it has produced a democratic form of civil-military relations and an irreversible transformation in the mindsets of officer corps is dubious.


Many street-level bureaucrats (such as caseworkers) have the dual task of helping some clients, while sanctioning others. We develop a model of such a street-level bureaucracy and study the implications of its personnel policy on the self-selection and allocation decisions of agents who differ in altruism towards clients. When bureaucrats are paid flat wages, they do not sanction, and the most altruistic types sort into bureaucracy. Pay-for-performance induces some bureaucrats to sanction, but necessitates an increase in expected wage compensation, which can result in sorting from both the top and bottom of the altruism distribution. We also show how client composition affects sorting and why street-level bureaucrats often experience an overload of clients.


This research provides an analysis of the relationship between demographic information and between specific vocational rehabilitation services and employment outcome in RSA consumers with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The findings suggest that these is a relationship between a consumers' race (i.e., White, Black, Hispanic, and Hawaiian), level of education, and presence of substance abuse. No relationship was identified between a consumers' gender, age, or race of Asian or American Indian consumers. When specific services of assessment, job placement, job search, and diagnosis/treatment were provided consumers were more likely to obtain employment. The specific services of job placement, job search and diagnosis/treatment also predicted consumers' employment outcome. Only three of these services, job placement, job search, and diagnosis/treatment were significantly related to consumers' weekly earnings at case closure. Diagnosis/Treatment was positively related, while job placement and job search were negatively associated.


Honey samples produced by Apis mellifera, both unifloral and multifloral (i.e. longan, sabsua, lychee, rambutan, sunflower, kapok, sesame, para rubber and wild flowers) from different sources in Thailand were examined for their antibacterial and antifungal activities as well as antioxidant properties. An agar incorporation technique was used to assess the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of honey against fourteen species of bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus luteus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Listeria monocytogenes, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Serratia marcescens, Salmonella typhimurium and Propionibacterium acnes) and two species of yeasts (Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The Folin-Ciocalteu assay was used to measure phenol content and the 2,2-diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was used to determine the scavenging activity of the honey samples. The honey samples were found to inhibit all of the tested bacteria but not the two species of yeasts. Antioxidant properties, determined by average phenol content was in the range of 493.79 ± 34.78 -1,160.39 ± 348.66 mg GAE/kg. The DPPH radical scavenging assay was found to have an IC50 in the range of 5.8 ± 1.55-19.76 ± 6.09 mg/mL.


Summary The London Clay is well known as an engineering material and it is probably the most publicized example of a stiff fissured clay. Recently, growing interest has been shown in the small-scale structural discontinuities of this clay and their effects on the engineering behaviour of the material. The paper deals with observations of small discontinuities (or fissures) at sites in the London and Hampshire Basins. Orientation data from the various sites are plotted and analysed in the form of stereographic projections. The size and form of the discontinuity surfaces are considered and their distribution related to orientation and possible modes of origin. Both orientation and surface forms of discontinuities are related to the regional structure of the clay and adjacent sediments, and it is tentatively concluded that the general trends of discontinuity patterns in local areas, the local regional structure, and geological history can be correlated.


The X-Culture project is an innovative modern form of experiential learning predominantly in International Management and International Business. Although experiential learning has some advantages, namely, developing cross-cultural competencies, cultural intelligence, intercultural communication and management skills, differences in personality or conditions also arise as a downside. X-Culture has been evolving throughout the years since 2010 when the original objective was to supplement the theoretical material and in-class teaching. Nowadays more than 4000 master, bachelor and MBA students, mostly of management and economics from more than 37 countries, take part in the project every semester. X-Culture is aimed at students of International Business college courses and training programs with the task of writing a business report or consulting propositions by offering business solutions for a hypothetical client. This paper outlines the theoretical background of the X-culture project. It describes the evolution and practical and theoretical experience of this project since 2010.


Examination of the public documents available on the Challenger explosion shows that a history of miscommunication contributed to the accident. This miscommunication was caused by several factors, including managers and engineers interpreting data from different perspectives and the difficulty of believing and then sending bad news, especially to superiors or outsiders. An understanding of the dynamics at work in the Challenger case can help engineers and engineering managers elsewhere reduce miscommunication in their own companies. >


In mitosis, duplicated deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) goes through a condensation/decondensation cycle. This is followed by nuclear envelope dissolution, mitotic spindle assembly, migration of the sister chromatid pairs to the metaphase plate, division and segregation of identical sets of chromosomes into daughter nuclei and nuclear envelope reformation. This process results in the formation of two genetically identical daughter cells. Dynamic structural changes and the mitotic spindle-mediated movement are two major features that occur to chromosomes during cell division. Both features are well coordinated with temporal progression of mitosis consisting of five distinct stages (prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase), which are regulated by checkpoint mechanisms to maintain genomic integrity. Defects in chromosome segregation are linked to cancer and several genetic diseases. Some enzymes involved in chromosome regulation during cell division have become attractive drug targets.

Key Concepts:

Mitosis is the process of cell division that results in two genetically identical daughter cells.

Mitosis consists of five stages: prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase.

Chromosomes are classified according to centromere location as metacentric, submetacentric or acrocentric.

Chromosome movement in mitosis is a dynamic process controlled by microtubule dynamics and microtubule-associated motor or nonmotor proteins.

Sister chromatid cohesion is established in S phase and is dissolved in two steps in vertebrate mitoses.

A kinetochore complex forms at the centromere in mitosis to allow microtubule capture.

Mitosis is a coordinated process regulated by checkpoint mechanisms to maintain genomic integrity.

Chromosomal missegregation results in cell death or aneuploidy.

Keywords:

mitosis;
chromosomes;
spindle assembly checkpoint;
kinetochore;
centromere;
centrosome;
condensation;
cohesion;
kinesin


Abstract The aim of the present study was to better understand humor in individuals with Asperger's syndrome. Therefore, various humor and laughter related phenomena were investigated by means of various standardized humor instruments. Forty individuals with AS and 113 controls filled out several self-report questionnaires and tests. The results revealed that individuals with AS scored significantly lower on trait cheerfulness and higher on trait seriousness (both describing the susceptibility to humor). Furthermore, they scored low on scales related to social communication (affiliative humor, humor entertainment) and portrayed a more socially cold humor style. In addition, individuals with AS scored low on mean-spirited humor, and used less adaptive (self-enhancing) and more maladaptive humor styles (self-defeating humor). Finally, they preferred incongruity-resolution humor, representing a more reality-oriented processing style. These findings add to previous studies on humor and expand the knowledge of components associated with successful humor appreciation.


The geohydrologic data collected at Rainier Mesa provide the only extensive observations in tunnels presently available on flow and transport in tuff units similar to those of a potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. This information can, therefore, be of great value in planning the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) testing in underground drifts at Yucca Mountain. In this paper, we compare the geohydrologic characteristics of tuff units of these two sites and summarize the hydrochemical data indicating the presence of nearly meteoric water in Rainier Mesa tunnels. A simple analytic model is used to evaluate the possibility of propagating transient pulses of water along fractures or faults through the Paintbrush nonwelded tuff unit to reach the tunnel beds below. The results suggest that fast flow could occur without significant mixing between meteoric fracture water and matrix pore water. The implications of these findings on planning for the ESF Calico Hills study at Yucca Mountain are discussed.


Abstract. Silicate mineral dissolution rates depend on the interaction of a number of factors categorized either as intrinsic (e.g. mineral surface area, mineral composition) or extrinsic (e.g. climate, hydrology, biological factors, physical weathering). Estimating the integrated effect of these factors on the silicate mineral dissolution rates therefore necessitates the use of fully mechanistic soil evolution models. This study applies a mechanistic soil evolution model (SoilGen) to explore the sensitivity of silicate mineral dissolution rates to the integrated effect of other soil-forming processes and factors. The SoilGen soil evolution model is a 1-D model developed to simulate the time-depth evolution of soil properties as a function of various soil-forming processes (e.g. water, heat and solute transport, chemical and physical weathering, clay migration, nutrient cycling, and bioturbation) driven by soil-forming factors (i.e., climate, organisms, relief, parent material). Results from this study show that although soil solution chemistry (pH) plays a dominant role in determining the silicate mineral dissolution rates, all processes that directly or indirectly influence the soil solution composition play an equally important role in driving silicate mineral dissolution rates. Model results demonstrated a decrease of silicate mineral dissolution rates with time, an obvious effect of texture and an indirect but substantial effect of physical weathering on silicate mineral dissolution rates. Results further indicated that clay migration and plant nutrient recycling processes influence the pH and thus the silicate mineral dissolution rates. Our silicate mineral dissolution rates results fall between field and laboratory rates but were rather high and more close to the laboratory rates possibly due to the assumption of far from equilibrium reaction used in our dissolution rate mechanism. There is therefore a need to include secondary mineral precipitation mechanism in our formulation. In addition, there is a need for a more detailed study that is specific to field sites with detailed measurements of silicate mineral dissolution rates, climate, hydrology, and mineralogy to enable the calibration and validation of the model. Nevertheless, this study is another important step to demonstrate the critical need to couple different soil-forming processes with chemical weathering in order to explain differences observed between laboratory and field measured silicate mineral dissolution rates.


In language contact studies, specific features of the contact languages are often seen to be the result of transfer (interference), but it remains difficult to disentangle the role of intra-systemic and inter-systemic factors. We propose to unravel these factors in the analysis of a feature of Brussels French which many researchers attribute to transfer from (Brussels) Dutch: the adverbial use of une fois. We compare the use of this particle in Brussels French with its occurrence in corpora of other varieties of French, including several that have not been influenced by a Germanic substrate or adstrate. A detailed analysis of the frequency of occurrence, the functions and the distribution of the particle over different syntactic positions shows that some uses of une fois can be traced back to sixteenth-century French, but that there is also ample evidence for overt and covert transfer (Mougeon and Beniak, 1991) from Brussels Dutch.


Net ecosystem production was examined in the Mandovi and Zuari estuaries (southwestern India) and the adjoining coastal waters for a period of 1 yr (January to December 1998). The study period encompassed premonsoon, monsoon, and postmonsoon seasons. At the estuarine stations, net ecosystem production showed monthly variation and a transition from net autotrophy of 49 mmol C m−2 d−1 during the nonmonsoon seasons (premonsoon and postmonsoon) to net heterotrophy of —46 mmol C m−2 d−1 in the monsoon season. Seasonal monsoon‐driven changes such as increased allochthonous inputs resulted in enhanced heterotrophic respiration and reduced primary production in the estuaries. In the coastal station, the monthly variation in net ecosystem production was not significant, and net heterotrophy was prevalent whenever measurements were made, thereby potentially serving as the net source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Results suggest that the excess organic matter from these tropical estuaries supports heterotrophy in the adjacent coastal ecosystem.


Water stress is one of the most important growth limiting factors in crop production around the world. Water in plants is required to permit vital processes such as nutrient uptake, photosynthesis, and respiration. There are several methods to evaluate the effect of water stress on plants. A promising and commonly practiced method over the years for stress detection is to use information provided by remote sensing. The adaptation of remote sensing and other non-destructive techniques could allow for early and spatial stress detection in vegetables. Early stress detection is essential to apply management practices and to maximize optimal yield for precision farming. Therefore, this study was conducted to 1) determine the effect of water stress on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) grown under different watering regime and 2) explore the performance of the artificial neural network (ANN) technique to estimate the lettuce yield using spectral vegetation indices. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), green NDVI, red NDVI, simple ratio (SR), chlorophyll green (CLg), and chlorophyll red edge (CLr) indices were used. The study was carried out in vitro conditions at three irrigation levels with four replicates and repeated tree times. The different irrigation levels applied to the pots were 33, 66 and 100 % (control) of pot water capacity. Spectral measurements were made by a hand-held spectroradiometer after the irrigation. Decrease in irrigation water resulted in reduction in plant height, plant diameter, number of leaves per plant, and yield. Using all indices in a feed-forward, back-propagated ANNs model provided the best prediction with R 2 values of 0.86, 0.75, and 0.92 for 100, 66, and 33 % water treatments, respectively. The overall results indicated that spectral data and ANNs have high potential to predict the lettuce yield exposed to water deficiency .


Relatively few articles are published about determining the level of retail trade internationalisation, and its assessment. Due to increased scope of retail internationalisation, researchers and scientists are engaging in a more in-depth analysis of the complexity of international retail process. There is a wide range of theoretical and empirical information regarding international retail and internalisation models. Moreover, the assessment of marketwide internalisation process could be a complex and difficult process. The determining of a country's retail internationalisation level is an essential factor for the government and country itself. Policy could be adjusted with regard to international manufacturers' involvement in the domestic retail business. Customers (individuals), local businesses and even country itself could be influenced by international players and their policy inside the country. Researchers provided a number of available research methodologies and discussed positive and negative impact of the internationalisation level on the country, businesses and individuals (consumers).


Introduction: The Swedish Health Care Law requires the health system to provide good care on equal terms to all. However, several reports from different governmental agencies have revealed that health care is uneven in quality, lacking in accessibility, and not offered on equal terms to all people. Recent public health reports show that inequalities in health in the population have increased. To provide health care on equal terms has become a challenge for health care.In order to apply methods for developing practice and policy in promoting health and equity the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions developed and implemented a national project entitled Care on Equal Terms. The project began in 2011 and was completed in 2014 at seven Primary Health Care Units (PHCUs) in five regions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of this project.Methods: Based on a program theoretical approach an evaluation design was developed which included process, results and economical evaluation. In the data collection and analysis mixed methods were applied.Results: According to the process evaluation, seven different strategies were applied in the process to develop primary health care on equal terms. One of the key observations was that in order to achieve health on more equal terms, health care needs to be provided on unequal terms, i. e. more needs to be done to reach those who need more assistance to access health services. Health promotion was one of the applied strategies and it was the most common strategy at some of the health care centers with the aim of developing patients' knowledge, awareness and understanding about health, care and self-care. The results evaluation showed that the PHCUs staff identified structural and organizational factors in health care as important factors for developing health promotion and equity in access. The health economic evaluation showed that the costs for implementing the activities for an improved equity were limited. Yet the majority of the PHCUs thought that the detailed regulation of their financing and reporting requirements were a limitation in their work for improved equity. Four of five county councils have recently introduced a primary care provider payment system (ACG) which may not be supportive of efforts to improve equity in access.Conclusions: It is possible to develop and maintain practices that can contribute to more equitable care and increase health care personnel's awareness about practice and policy in promoting health and equity.


Murphree, Vanessa. The Selling of Civil Rights: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Use of Public Relations. New York: Roudege, 2006. 144 pp. $95. Opening a new discussion of the civil rights movement is difficult, given the extensive and prominent coverage of the era to date. After all, the record might seem complete in light of dominant mainstream histories by David Garrow, Taylor Branch, John Egerton, and Adam Fairclough among others. But understanding how these historians have staked out their positions on this ground can show us how Vanessa Murphree has made her mark among them with this smaller but important volume. Each of these historians has made decisions in defining the period, focus, and narrative structure of his work. Garrow focused on Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Branch's epic trilogy took movement history in epic stages, and Fairclough and Egerton opted for more specific frames. In the former case, the movement's definition came from the study of its interactions with Louisiana, a level of legal oversight that showed how state laws, as much as regional actions, defined the movement. In turn, Egerton addressed the subject by researching the generation that preceded the actual movement. In each case, the definition and location of the subject offers a place for a new and important history of the movement. By engaging the historical study of media studies-here the study of public relations as it was applied in a grassroots political action organization-Murphree's The Selling of Civil Rights has found its place within the extant mainstream literature by constructing an interesting, if highly specific, intersection between media studies and mainstream history. Albeit from the place of an allied media practice, public relations, this fruitful space answers Jim Carey's call for mainstream and journalism histories to pay more attention to each other. As such, this case study addresses the application of public relations within the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In this way, she offers the reader a lens for interpreting how it "came to pass," as J.H Hexter would say, that SNCC could get its message out while holding itself together long enough to succeed. The author's attention to history is firm. The names raised in the case reflect the pantheon of movement history: Ella Jo Baker of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), who gave the student group its start; Julian Bond, an early media relations director for SNCC; James Lawson, Jr., and Bayard Rustin, both advisors from SCLC, which acted as a parent organization; and Marion Barry, SNCC's first chairman. …


OBJECTIVE
To establish the prevalence of anthelmintic resistance in ovine gastrointestinal nematodes in southern Queensland.

DESIGN
An observational parasitological study using the faecal egg count reduction test.

METHODS
Sheep farms (n = 20) enrolled in this study met the twin criteria of using worm testing for drench decisions and having concerns about anthelmintic efficacy. On each farm, 105 sheep were randomly allocated to one of six treatment groups or an untreated control group. Faecal samples were collected on day 0 and days 10-14 for worm egg counts and larval differentiation. Single- and multi-combination anthelmintics, persistent and non-persistent, oral liquid or capsule, pour-on and injectable formulations were tested. Monepantel was not tested. Farmers also responded to a questionnaire on drenching practices.

RESULTS
Haemonchus contortus was the predominant species. Efficacy <95% was recorded on 85% of farms for one or more anthelmintics and on 10% of farms for six anthelmintics. No resistance was identified on three farms. The 4-way combination product was efficacious (n = 4 farms). Napthalophos resistance was detected on one farm only. Resistance to levamisole (42% of farms), moxidectin injection (50% of farms) and the closantel/abamectin combination (67% of farms) was identified. Moxidectin oral was efficacious against Trichostrongylus colubriformis, which was predominant on only one farm. Of the farms tested, 55% ran meat breeds, 60% dosed more than the recommended dose rate and 70% always, mostly or when possible practised a 'drench and move' strategy.

CONCLUSION
This level of anthelmintic resistance in southern Queensland will severely compromise worm control and force increased use of monepantel.


Structured prediction can be thought of as a simultaneous prediction of multiple labels. This is often done by maximizing a score function on the space of labels, which decomposes as a sum of pairwise and unary potentials. The above is naturally modeled with a graph, where edges and vertices are related to pairwise and unary potentials, respectively. We consider the generative process proposed by Globerson et al. and apply it to general connected graphs. We analyze the structural conditions of the graph that allow for the exact recovery of the labels. Our results show that exact recovery is possible and achievable in polynomial time for a large class of graphs. In particular, we show that graphs that are bad expanders can be exactly recovered by adding small edge perturbations coming from the Erdős-Renyi model. Finally, as a byproduct of our analysis, we provide an extension of Cheeger's inequality.


The performance of deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) has been reaching or even exceeding the human level on large number of tasks. Some examples are image classification, Mastering Go game, speech understanding etc. However, their lack of decomposability into intuitive and understandable components make them hard to interpret, i.e. no information is provided about what makes them arrive at their prediction. We propose a technique to interpret CNN classification task and justify the classification result with visual explanation and visual search. The model consists of two sub networks: a deep recurrent neural network for generating textual justification and a deep convolutional network for image analysis. This multimodal approach generates the textual justification about the classification decision. To verify the textual justification, we use the visual search to extract the similar content from the training set. We evaluate our strategy on a novel CUB dataset with the ground-truth attributes. We make use of these attributes to further strengthen the justification by providing the attributes of images.


Neospora caninum is an apicomplexan parasite of veterinary importance which invades many different cell types and tissues. N. caninum tachyzoites proliferate intracellularly by endodyogeny. Eventually the massive proliferation of tachyzoites leads to host cell lysis and the newly formed parasites are released and invade neighbouring cells. Tachyzoite cell surface molecules could serve as ligands, mediating host cell adhesion and invasion. Nc-p43 is a recently identified N. caninum tachyzoite surface protein which is functionally involved in the processes leading to host cell invasion in vitro. Affinity-purified antibodies directed against Nc-p43 were used to screen a lambda gt22A-cDNA expression library constructed from N. caninum tachyzoites. The cDNA insert of one immunoreactive clone was subcloned and expressed in E. coli as a poly-histidine fusion protein. The identity of the resulting recombinant antigen termed recNc-p43 was confirmed by immunoblotting, immunofluorescence and electron microscopy using affinity-purified antibodies. The sequence of the cDNA insert encoding recNc-p43 was determined. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence revealed that Nc-p43 exhibited similarity to SAG1 (p30) and SAG3 (p43), 2 major surface antigens of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites. These similarities were not reflected on the immunochemical level, since no cross-antigenicity between SAG1, SAG3 and Nc-p43 was observed.


RhD incompatibility between the pregnant mother and her fetus is a significant problem due to the possibility of haemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDF/N). In paternal RhD heterozygosity antenatal diagnosis of fetal RhD status for all RhD negative pregnant women is highly desirable for both financial and ethical reasons. Free fetal DNA in maternal plasma has been proved to be a good source of genetic prenatal non invasive diagnosis. Different sensitivities have been quoted on its use to detect RhD status in RhD negative pregnant women. In this study we aimed to assess whether fetal DNA in maternal plasma can be used to determine the fetal RhD status. The reliability of the PCR technique at different gestational ages was evaluated. Plasma and serum samples were collected from 40 RhD negative women at different stages of pregnancy. Samples were genotyped for RhD using polymerase chain reaction. Cord blood RhD serologic examination was done for all delivered babies as a gold standard. Samples from ten non-pregnant women (5 RhD+ and 5 RhD-) were included as controls for genotyping. Twenty seven babies were serologically proven to be RhD positive and thirteen were RhD negative. Starting from the second trimester, the PCR based assay accurately (100%) predicted the fetal RhD status and showed 100%specificity and sensitivity. No false positive results were reported.There was one false negative case in the first trimester. Maternal plasma samples were better than maternal serum (sensitivity96% vs 88%). It is concluded that maternal free fetal DNA is a promising non-invasive prenatal diagnosis. It can accurately be used starting from the second trimester to predict RhD positive cases where further measures to protect the fetus would be used.


Bacterial inclusion bodies (IBs) are proteinaceous aggregates that are used as
nanoparticulate materials to engineer the nanoscale topography. They assist cell culture,
proving a positive impact not only on colonization and proliferation, but also on cell
morphology. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are formed as a result of a
spontaneous self-organization of functionalized organic molecules onto appropriate
substrates into stable, well-defined structures.
The interaction between different types of SAMs and IBs was studied: different selfassembled
molecules give place to different interactions with IBs. Maleimide and OH
terminated SAMs were produced, and this platform, surface functionalization using
SAMs combined with IBs, was used to perform preliminary studies of cell guidance.
Escherichia coli and Lactococcus lactis IBs were produced, purified and characterized.
Microcontact printing (μCP) using a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp was carried
out to provide a stripe pattern of IBs on the SAMs, thus providing IB substrate scaffolds
in a pattern, which assisted growth and guidance of cultured neuroblastoma cells. Actin,
nuclei and paxillin staining of the cells was performed and observation with confocal
microscopy revealed that focal adhesions (FA) were formed specifically on the IB
patterns. Cell alignment on the pattern and cellular bridges were also observed and it
was determined that L. lactis IBs promoted more FA formation per cell than E. coli IBs.
This new approach opens new horizons in the field of tissue engineering and
regenerative medicine towards the development of a new generation of innovative
biotechnologically engineered biomaterials


Health systems worldwide struggle to provide the optimal treatment amid the rapid pace of scientific progress and frequent structural changes. Learning health systems (LHS) that continuously analyze their data to generate evidence and to enable informed decisions have been proposed as a possible solution. This paper investigates the involvement of laboratory medicine in LHS and evaluates relevant systems according to their scope, enabling technologies, architecture for evidence generation, data-action latency, and social aspects. While laboratory medicine provides a central source of information in many large-scale LHS, there are also systems with a particular focus on laboratories. For example, external quality assessments are performed by sending samples with known quantities to laboratories worldwide to verify their analytical methods. This data are also analyzed for other purposes, such as post-market surveillance of devices. These schemes have operated successfully over several decades. Newer, innovative tools harvest the possibilities of wearable devices and increased connectivity. LHS in laboratory medicine need to be recognized and incorporated into systems of systems to generate better evidence. Further research on the roles of other stakeholders will identify opportunities and obstacles for building and maintaining successful LHS.


Approaches to animal communication have for the most part been quite different in semiotics and evolutionary biology. In this context the writings of a leading evolutionary biologist who has also been attracted to semiotics — John Maynard Smith — are an interesting exception and object of study. The present article focuses on the use and adaptation of semiotic terminology in Maynard Smith's works with reference to general theoretical premises both in semiotics and evolutionary biology. In developing a typology of animal signals, Maynard Smith employs the concepts of icon, index and symbol to denote distinct signal classes. He uses "indices" or "indexes" to express a signal type where the relation between signal properties and meaning is restricted because of physical characteristics. Such approach also points out the issue of the motivatedness of signs, which has had a long history in semiotics. In the final part of the article the usage and content of the concepts of signal form and meaning in Maynard Smith's writings are analysed. It appears that in evolutionary biology, the "signal" is a vague concept that may denote a variety of things from an animal's specific physiological status to artificial theoretical constructs. It also becomes evident that in actual usage the concept of signal often includes references to the receiver's activity and interpretation, which belong rather to the characteristics of sign process. The positive influence of Maynard Smith's works on semiotics could lie in paying attention to the role of physical necessities in animal communication. Physical constraints and relations also seem to have a significant role in semiotic processes although this is not always sufficiently studied or understood in semiotics.


With the continuous development of today's technology, IC design becomes a more complex process. The designer now not only takes care of the normal design and layout parameters as usual, but also needs to consider the process variation impact on the design to preserve the same chip functionality with no failure during fabrication. In the current process, schematic designers go through extensive simulations to cover all the possible variations of their design parameters and hence of the design functionality. At the same time, layout designers perform time-consuming process-aware simulations (such as lithography simulations) on the full chip layout, which impacts the design turnaround time. In this paper, we present a fast physical layout-and electrical-aware Design-For-Manufacturability (DFM) solution that detects hotspot areas in the full chip design without requiring extensive electrical and process simulations. Novel algorithms are proposed to implement the engines that are used to develop this solution. Our proposed flow is examined on a 45 nm industrial Finite Impulse Response (FIR) full chip. The proposed methodology is able to define a list of electrical hotspot devices located on the FIR critical path that experience up to 17% variation in their DC current values due to the effect of process and design context. The total runtime needed to identify and detect these electrical hotspots on the FIR full chip takes nearly 3 minutes, compared to hours when using conventional electrical and process simulations.


INTRODUCTION
Previous studies have suggested that erectile dysfunction (ED) is associated with chronic inflammation, which is also a principle mechanism of carcinogensis. However, very few studies have attempted to examine the association between ED and subsequent cancer.

AIM
Using a nationwide population-based data set, the aim of this study is to investigate the risk for cancer during a 5-year follow-up period after a diagnosis of ED, compared to patients without ED during the same period, while adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Stratified Cox proportional hazard regression was performed to compare the 5-year cancer-free survival rate for the two cohorts.

METHODS
This study used data sourced from the Taiwan "Longitudinal Health Insurance Database." The study cohort comprised 1,882 patients with ED and 9,410 randomly selected subjects as the comparison cohort. Each patient was then individually tracked for 5 years from their index ambulatory care visit to identify those who had diagnosed episodes of cancer.

RESULTS
Of the sampled patients, 183 (1.6%) had cancer within the 5-year follow-up period, that is, 43 individuals (2.3% of the patients with ED) from the study cohort and 140 individuals (1.6% of patients in the comparison cohort) from the comparison cohort. After adjusting for the patients' monthly income, the geographic location and urbanization level of the community in which the patient resided, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hyperlipidemia, regression analysis reveals that the hazard of having cancer during the 5-year follow-up period was 1.42 (95% CI = 1.03-2.09, P = 0.039) times greater for patients with ED than comparison patients. However, data on smoking, which is an important factor in ED and cancer, is not available and remains a potential confounder.

CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that the incidence of cancer in the 5 years after an ED diagnosis is significantly higher than in the general population.


Although Edward W. Said published a considerably large amount of articles and books during his professional life, his autobiographical memoir Out of Place (1999) — written during acute illness — remains a peculiarly special case for further study and assessment for what it is worth. For that, the book is a remarkable documentation of postcolonial themes within the general frame of a personal story taking the form of a confessional illness narrative. Illness, we argue, is what augments the writer"s identity crisis of being an exile. The memoir interrogates mixed notions like terminal illness, the divided affiliations of the self, identity confusion, cultural dislocation and linguistic displacement. As the memoir makes clear, Said"s name reflects the conflicting affiliations of his identity: the Western part and the Eastern Arabic one. Moreover, his American citizenship and Christian background add more conflicting values to his upbringing in Palestine, Cairo and Lebanon in dominantly Islamic societies and his early exposure through education and lifestyle to English, Arabic, and French. Therefore, the book is a confessional story of the postcolonial theme of cultural dissonance and identity confusion augmented by a sense of living through terminal illness, namely leukemia. As a non-fictional work, Out of Place is a book that interrogates postcolonial themes while it simultaneously edges into an illness narrative, reflecting a unique embodiment of the interplay between theory and non-fiction. Hence, the book is a hybrid cultural text par excellence working at the intersection of the private experiences of the individual and the public, sociopolitical context.


A composite of themoplastic polyurethane (TPU) reinforced with short kenaf (Hibiscus Cannabinus L.) fiber (KF) was prepared by a melt-mixing method. Mixing was followed by compression molding to produce sheets for specimen cutting. Five samples were cut from the composite sheet. A mean value was taken for each sample according to ASTM standards. The aims of this study were to optimize the processing parameters and fiber size of TPU/KF composite. The method used to develop this composite consisted of two main steps. First, the influence of processing parameters such as temperature, time, and speed on tensile properties was studied. Second, effects of different fiber size on tensile properties, flexural properties, and impact strength were tested. The optimum blending parameters were 190°C, 11 min, and 40 rpm for temperature, time and speed, respectively. TPU/KF composites with different fiber sizes were prepared, namely, <125, 125-300, and 300-425 µm. Tensile and flexural strength and modulus were best for fiber size range between 125 and 300 µm. Impact strength showed a slight increasing trend with an increase in fiber size.


Objectives: Comparison between efficacy of combined treatment with trichloroacetic acid (TCA) chemical cautery and steroid nasal spray in the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR) with inferior turbinate hypertrophy (ITH). Patients and Methods: A total of 132 patients with ITH due to AR were included in the study. Forty-four patients each were treated with TCA chemical cauterization of inferior turbinate (Group A), steroid nasal spray (Group B), or combined treatment with TCA cautery and steroid nasal spray (Group C). The Symptom Severity Grade (SSG) 1-5 based on a validated Questionnaire Sheet (QS) as well as Visual Analog Scale were documented before and after treatment. Results: Before treatment, the SSG was 3-5 in 37 (84%), 36 (81.8%), and 40 (90.9%) patients in groups A, B, and C, respectively. At six months post-treatment, SSG 1-2 was achieved in 20 patients (45.4%) in Group A, 18 patients (40.9%) in group B and 31 patients (70.4%) in Group C. Statistically significant improvement was found in patients who received the combined treatment. Conclusion: Combined treatment with TCA chemical cauterization of inferior turbinate and steroid nasal spray can be effective therapy for amelioration of symptoms of AR and ITH.


Even though signalised intersections are necessary for
urban road traffic management, they can act as bottlenecks and disrupt
traffic operations. Interrupted traffic flow causes congestion, delays,
stop-and-go conditions (i.e., excessive acceleration/deceleration) and
longer journey times. Vehicle and infrastructure connectivity offers the
potential to provide improved new services with additional functions
of assisting drivers. This paper focuses on one of the applications of
vehicle-to-infrastructure communication namely Green Light Optimal
Speed Advisory (GLOSA). To assess the effectiveness of GLOSA in
urban road network an integrated microscopic traffic simulation
framework is built into VISSIM software. Vehicle movements and
vehicle-infrastructure communications are simulated through the
interface of External Driver Model. A control algorithm is developed
for recommending an optimal speed that is continuously updated in
every time step for all vehicles approaching a signal-controlled point.
This algorithm allows vehicles to pass a traffic signal without stopping
or to minimise stopping times at a red phase. This study is performed
with all connected vehicles at 100% penetration rate. Conventional
vehicles are also simulated in the same network as a reference. A
straight road segment composed of two opposite directions with two
traffic lights per lane is studied. The simulation is implemented under
150 vehicles per hour and 200 per hour traffic volume conditions to
identify how different traffic densities influence the benefits of
GLOSA. The results indicate that traffic flow is improved by the
application of GLOSA. According to this study, vehicles passed
through the traffic lights more smoothly, and waiting times were
reduced by up to 28 seconds. Average delays decreased for the entire
network by 86.46% and 83.84% under traffic densities of 150 vehicles
per hour per lane and 200 vehicles per hour per lane, respectively.


Catherine O'Flynn, author of the Man Booker prize winning "What Was Lost" offers a 'funny, moving, acutely observed story about family and loss' in "The News Where You Are". Frank Allcroft, a regional TV news presenter, has just had a ratings boost. His puns, a website declares, makes him 'the unfunniest man on God's Earth'. Mortified colleagues wonder how he stands being a public joke. But Frank doesn't mind. As long as Andrea and Mo, his wife and eight-year-old daughter, are happy, who gives a stuff what others think? Besides, Frank has a couple of other matters on his mind. He has taken to investigating the death of Phil, his (actually quite funny) predecessor, killed in a mysterious hit and run six months ago. Also, he's telling Mo about the architect grandfather she never met by taking her to see vanished and soon-to-be-vanished buildings. Because Frank knows that it is between what we see and what we can't, what has gone and what's left behind, that the answers lie...Very funny, warm and moving, "The New Where You Are" is a story of family, friendship and trying to reconnect with the past before it is gone. "Under the wisecracking surface ...surprisingly profound". ("The Times"). "A flow of laugh-out-loud satire". ("Independent on Sunday"). "Awesomely talented". ("Tatler"). "Seriously uplifting, hilarious. A funny, moving, acutely observed story about family and loss. A pleasurable, satisfying gem of a novel". ("Scotland on Sunday"). "A blend of Dickens and Alan Bennett. I loved it". (Fay Weldon). "A comic genius". ("Daily Mail"). Catherine O'Flynn was born in 1970 and raised in Birmingham, the youngest of six children. Her parents ran a sweet shop. She worked briefly in journalism, then at a series of shopping centres. She has also been a web editor, a postwoman and a mystery shopper.


Abstract. This study focuses on the role that magnetically dominated fluctuations have within the solar wind MHD turbulence. It is well known that, as the wind expands, magnetic energy starts to dominate over kinetic energy but we lack of a statistical study apt to estimate the relevance of these fluctuations depending on wind speed, radial distance from the sun and heliographic latitude. Our results suggest that this kind of fluctuations can be interpreted as non-propagating structures, advected by the wind during its expansion. In particular, observations performed in the ecliptic revealed a clear radial dependence of these magnetic structures within fast wind, but not within slow wind. At short heliocentric distances (~0.3 AU) the turbulent population is largely dominated by Alfvenic fluctuations characterized by high values of normalized cross-helicity and a remarkable level of energy equipartition. However, as the wind expands, a new-born population, characterized by lower values of Alfvenicity and a clear imbalance in favor of magnetic energy becomes visible and clearly distinguishable from the Alfvenic population largely characterized by an outward sense of propagation. We estimate that more than 20% of all the analyzed intervals of hourly scale within fast wind are characterized by normalized cross-helicity close to zero and magnetic energy largely dominating over kinetic energy. Most of these advected magnetic structures result to be non-compressive and might represent the crossing of the border between adjacent flux tubes forming, as suggested in literature, the advected background structure of the interplanetary magnetic field. On the other hand, their features are also well fitted by the Magnetic Field Directional Turnings paradigm as proposed in literature.


The chapter describes the fundamental aspects of the effects of scale on surface phenomena in condensed films. Experimental and theoretical data for the size and temperature dependencies of the surface energy (including the solid phase); wetting of solid surfaces and free thin films by small metal particles are discussed. Several modern methods of contact angle measurement in small-sized systems based on the optical and electron microscopy methods are described.


Rotor vibration control during start-up, acceleration and deceleration phases are one of the key problems besides stable levitation, in high-speed applications of bearing less switched reluctance motor (BSRM) [1-3]. Global sliding mode controller (GSMC) is proposed to control the speed and position of BSRM. Sensor less operation is achieved with sliding mode observer. Rotor displacement tracking error functions were used in the sliding mode switching functions. New sliding mode displacement control and speed tracking equations obtained using extra exponential fast decaying nonlinear function and conventional linear sliding mode switching. Simulation is carried on hybrid 12/14 BSRM with the proposed controller and observer. 12 stator poles and 14 rotor poles were selected. Pole arc was 25.71. FEM analysis showed Torque pole arc was 12.85. Air gap length was 0.25 0.5 mm. Stator diameters -112/60.2, stator yoke thickness 7.7 mm, shaft diameter of 18 mm, coil width of 4 mm, rotor pole arc of 12.85, axial stack length of 40 mm, rotor yoke thickness of 9.7 mm-were the major design parameters. FEM of motor parameters under different loads for speed, torque load, switching angle, voltage, phase resistance and moment of inertia was performed. Separated single winding, wide suspending force region, higher power density, natural decoupling of torque from suspending force, low magnetic motive force, low core cost of hybrid 12/14 BSRM makes it ideal as motor for total artificial heart as destination therapy.