Nonlinear phenomena such as saturation in magnetic flux give considerable effects in power system analysis. It is reported that a failure in a real 500kV system triggered islanding operation, where resultant even harmonics caused malfunctions in protective relays. It is also reported that the major origin of this wave distortion is nothing but unidirectional magnetization of the transformer iron core. Time simulation is widely used today to analyze this type of phenomena, but it has basically two shortcomings. One is that the time simulation takes two much computing time in the vicinity of inflection points in the saturation characteristic curve because certain iterative procedure such as N-R (Newton-Raphson) should be used and such methods tend to be caught in an ill conditioned numerical hunting. The other is that such simulation methods sometimes do not help intuitive understanding of the studied phenomenon because the whole nonlinear equations are treated in a matrix form and not properly divided into understandable parts as done in linear systems.This paper proposes a new computation scheme which is based on so called perturbation method. Magnetic saturation in iron cores in a generator and a transformer are taken into account. The proposed method has a special feature against the first shortcoming of the N-R based time simulation method stated above. In the proposed method no iterative process is used to reduce the equation residue but uses perturbation series, which means free from the ill condition problem. Users have only to calculate each perturbation terms one by one until he reaches necessary accuracy. In a numerical example treated in the present paper the first order perturbation can make reasonably high accuracy, which means very fast computing.In numerical study three nonlinear elements are considered. Calculated results are almost identical to the conventional Newton-Raphson based time simulation, which shows the validity of the method. The proposed method would be effectively used in a screening where many case studies are needed.


This special section of ASME Journal of Nanotechnology in Engineering and Medicine focuses on reporting state-of-the-art nanoscale materials, devices, and systems for advanced biosensing, biomanipulation, and biofabrication. Such nanoscale materials, devices, and systems can be organic, inorganic, and hybrid, and their applications for advanced biosensing, biomanipulation, and biofabrication have generated significant impact for important biology and biomedical applications. Nanotechnology has seen rapid progress in recent years, with advanced capabilities to generate and manipulate precisely engineered nanoscale organic and inorganic materials and their assemblies pointing toward the emergence of disruptive functionalities for diverse biological and biomedical applications. Furthermore, nanofabricated devices and systems such as nanofluidics, nanoelectromechanical systems, and nanophotonic structures with critical dimensions comparable to the molecular scale open up new possibilities for direct observation, manipulation, and analysis of biomolecules, thus providing a novel basis for ultrasensitive and high-resolution sensors and diagnostic systems. Nanoscale surface patterning tools for precisely controlling biomoleculeand cell-surface interactions and nanotools such as atomic force microscopy and optical and magnetic tweezers are also extremely powerful for controlling cell fate and function and studying molecular and cellular biomechanics. The following small but diverse selection of articles from different nanotechnology research areas describes current important topics of nanobiotechnology that we believe to be interesting, informative, and educational for the reader. An ongoing important research direction using nanotechnology is the sorting, enrichment, and informative analysis of rare cells from bodily fluids including circulating tumor cells (CTCs), antigen-specific T-cells, and hematopoietic stem cells. Highsensitivity sorting, detection, and analysis of such extremely rare cells can provide critical information for disease diagnosis and prognosis and advancing fundamental cellular understanding of physiological and pathological conditions. Qian et al. provide a concise review of the recent advance of using functional nanotopographic biomaterials for isolation of CTCs from blood specimens and their related nanofabrication methods. Qian et al. further discuss putative cellular mechanisms involving cell adhesion underlying the intrinsic nanotopography sensitive responses of CTCs. Another review contributed by Lee et al. provides a concise review of recent advances in micro/nanotechnology to improve the method of micropipette aspiration for applications in molecular and cellular biomechanics. Another emerging research area of nanotechnology is to develop synthetic nanostructured materials and surfaces for engineering control of cell-surface interactions and cell fate. In this issue, Han et al. report a method of generating single-crystalline nanoporous gallium nitride (GaN) thin films with tunable pore sizes ranging from 20 to 100 nm. Surface nanotopographies with critical size dimensions comparable to cell adhesion structures can influence cell adhesion and more importantly downstream intracellular adhesion-mediated signaling that is important for cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation. Importantly, Han et al. report that human mesenchymal stem cells demonstrate the maximum osteogenic differentiation when seeded on GaN nanoporous substrates with a mean pore size of 30 nm, which is correlated with their optimal cell spreading, strongly supporting that cell adhesion, spreading, and stem cell differentiation are interconnected. In this issue, Yi and Zhao provide an interesting study to examine the effect of nanoparticles on subzero biotransport phenomena of living cells, which is of significant importance for the application of nanotechnology in the field of cryobiology. In another paper, Goldberg et al. describe the development of a novel nanoparticle-embedded chitosan sponge for topical and local administration of chemotherapeutic agents. Such nanoscale material-based drug delivery tools can have great advantages in reducing systemic toxicity while increasing treatment efficacy. In the perspective of the application of nanotechnology for biosensing, relevant to cell signaling and biomarker detection, surface enhance Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy has attracted intensive interest owing to its significant advantages in label free, multiplex, and ultrasensitive molecule detection. Liu et al. report SERS biosensing applications using nanocapsule structures with densely distributed Ag nanoparticles on the surfaces. Applications of electric fields on microelectrodes in a microfluidic chamber result in the nanocapsules to be aligned into ordered arrays while simultaneously concentrating molecules and enhancing SERS sensitivity. This work demonstrates an interesting approach to achieve local deterministic and ultrasensitive biochemical detections in a highly controllable and efficient manner. This themed section of ASME Journal of Nanotechnology in Engineering and Medicine focusing on nanotechnology for biology and biomedical applications presents a collection of manuscripts selected in the spirit of demonstrating the power of interdisciplinary nanotechnology research enabling advanced biosensing and engineered control of cell–biomaterial interactions. Sincerely, we hope that you will enjoy reading this themed section.


Since 2001 the Space Science and Engineering Lab (SSEL) at Montana State University has designed and built a variety of space hardware, as well as developed the facilities necessary for environmental testing of flight hardware. In late 2005, the SSEL began developing a system to simulate the vacuum environment of near-space which would allow for rudimentary outgassing testing as well as thermal testing of electronics and spacecraft components. To truly test hardware and validate hardware analysis and design, the ability to cycle between the expected temperature extremes in a vacuum environment was essential. The usage and operation of thermal vacuum systems was investigated, requirements for a thermal vacuum system were defined, and possible design options were considered. A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was performed to predict the heat load in Watts on the system when a 40 kg nanosatellite (50 cm x 50 cm x 60 cm) was cycled between -40‰ and +80‰ at rates of temperature change from 1‰/min to 5‰/min. Additional research, analysis, and design was performed on a thermal shroud surrounding the same nanosatellite and operating under identical conditions. Radiation heat transfer between the satellite on the shroud's inside and the vacuum chamber on the shroud's outside was calculated using the radiation network approach. The LU decomposition method was used to solve the resulting set of simultaneous equations. From the results, a design was selected for the system base plate on which the nanosatellite rested, with the capability of sinking or sourcing 833 W of heat power. Similarly, the thermal shroud was designed to sink or source up to 704 W through the shroud body, and up to 229 W through the shroud top. Testing was performed to validate both the FEA model and the physical hardware. Temperature measurements were taken during system testing to validate the design, and as a means to compare the FEA model of the base plate and the radiation heat transfer calculations with the performance of the system hardware. The results indicated that the system functioned as designed, that it met the design requirements, and that it was capable of completely and safely testing satellites and other space hardware.


Abstract Aims: A preliminary study to compare cervical lordosis by means of cervical cephalometric analysis, before and after six months of continuous mandibular advancement appliance (MAA) use, and to show how physical therapy posture re-education would improve the cervical lordosis angle. Methodology: Twenty-two female patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and cervical pain with lordosis <20° were included. Patients had to have a muscle pain history for at least six months, and with an intensity ≥6, measured by means of a visual analog scale (a horizontal 0–10 numeric rating scale with 0 labeled as 'no pain' and 10 as 'worst imaginable pain'). Patients had to present the angle formed by the posterior tangents to C2 and C7 of equal or less than 20°. Cephalometric and clinical diagnostics were performed initially (baseline) and at the end of the study period (six months). During the third month with MAA treatment, a physical therapist evaluated the postural deficit and performed a program of postural re-education. Angular and linear dimension data presented a normal distribution (P>0·05; Shapiro Wilk Test), so the paired comparison of the cephalometric measurements was made by t-test for dependent samples. Results: Angle 1 (OPT/7CVT); angle 3 (CVT/EVT) and angle 4 (2CL/7CL) showed a significant increase in the cervical lordosis. Angle 2 (MGP/OP), angle 5 (HOR/CVT) and the distances C0–C2 and Pt–VER, presented no significant changes. Conclusions: The increase in cervical lordosis implies that six months of continuous MAA use, together with a program of postural re-education, promotes the homeostasis of the craniocervical system.


Over the last decade the concept of integrated transport strategies for urban areas and a means of evaluating them have been developed and widely accepted into practice by major studies of cities such as London (May and Gardner, 1990), Birmingham (Wenban-Smith et al, 1990) and Edinburgh (May, Roberts and Mason, 1992). The development of integrated transport strategies (May, 1991) has been based on the identification of synergy between transport policy instruments (May and Roberts, 1995). These concepts led indirectly, particularly through experience in Birmingham, to the introduction by the Department of Transport of the Package Approach for urban transport funding (May, 1994a) and more directly to the development of the Common Appraisal Framework for assessing Package Approach bids (MVA et al, 1994). It is now generally accepted that transport strategies designed to meet the objectives of economic efficiency and sustainability will require a combination of measures to manage the existing infrastructure more effectively, to provide selective enhancements to that infrastructure and to impose appropriate pricing mechanisms on both public and private transport. In a recent study, funded by EPSRC, we have developed a methodology for identifying optimal specifications for such strategies, and have shown that their performance is particularly sensitive to the contribution of pricing measures such as fares and road pricing (May, Bonsall, Bristow and Fowkes, 1995).

However, while we are now able to formulate optimal transport strategies, very few studies have been able to demonstrate that transport policy measures alone will achieve a sustainable situation in which fuel consumption and emissions are maintained at or below current levels (May and Roberts, 1995). In most cases, land use changes will need to be co-ordinated with transport measures if sustainability is to be achieved, and recommendations for appropriate land use measures are beginning to emerge (DoE, DoT, 1993; DoE, 1994). An initial assessment of the potential for co-ordinating transport and land use strategies was carried out using the results of the Edinburgh study (Still, 1992), and showed that the preferred transport strategy would be up to 10% more effective in achieving sustainability when combined with a concentrated land use strategy. However, that study assumed no feedback from transport measures to land use effects. Literature reviews and interviews have demonstrated that the impact of transport on land use is perceived as a serious gap in policy understanding. Interviews also revealed that land use-transport models are treated with some scepticism, because there is insufficient understanding of the relationships within them and because the existing models are perceived as unduly complex (Still, 1996).

As a result of this lack of understanding, there is a danger that impacts of transport on land use might have counter-productive effects on the land use - transport strategy. For example, road pricing, which may be a key element in a sustainable transport strategy (May, 1994b), may reduce accessibility by private car, and hence lead to outmigration of business, thus producing a less sustainable land use pattern. Conversely it could enhance the city centre environment, and hence encourage certain firms to relocate to the centre. These twin impacts of transport policy on accessibility and on environmental quality are the key elements in predicting the resulting location decisions of individuals and firms, and need to be better understood if sustainable land use - transport strategies are to be developed.


Abstract. Recently reported model-measurement discrepancies for the concentrations of the HOx radical species (OH and HO2) in locations characterized by high emission rates of isoprene have indicated possible deficiencies in the representation of OH recycling and formation in isoprene mechanisms currently employed in numerical models; particularly at low levels of NOx. Using version 3.1 of the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM v3.1) as a base mechanism, the sensitivity of the system to a number of detailed mechanistic changes is examined for a wide range of NOx levels, using a simple box model. The studies consider sensitivity tests in relation to three general areas for which experimental and/or theoretical evidence has been reported in the peer-reviewed literature, as follows: (1) implementation of propagating channels for the reactions of HO2 with acyl and β-oxo peroxy radicals with HO2, with support from a number of studies; (2) implementation of the OH-catalysed conversion of isoprene-derived hydroperoxides to isomeric epoxydiols, as characterised by Paulot et al.~(2009a); and (3) implementation of a mechanism involving respective 1,5 and 1,6 H atom shift isomerisation reactions of the β-hydroxyalkenyl and cis-δ-hydroxyalkenyl peroxy radical isomers, formed from the sequential addition of OH and O2 to isoprene, based on the theoretical study of Peeters et al. (2009). All the considered mechanistic changes lead to simulated increases in the concentrations of OH, with (1) and (2) resulting in respective increases of up to about 7% and 16%, depending on the level of NOx. (3) is found to have potentially much greater impacts, with enhancements in OH concentrations of up to a factor of about 3.3, depending on the level of NOx, provided the (crucial) rapid photolysis of the hydroperoxy-methyl-butenal products of the cis-δ-hydroxyalkenyl peroxy radical isomerisation reactions is represented, as also postulated by Peeters et al.~(2009). Additional tests suggest that the mechanism with the reported parameters cannot be fully reconciled with atmospheric observations and existing laboratory data without some degree of parameter refinement and optimisation which would probably include a reduction in the peroxy radical isomerisation rates and a consequent reduction in the OH enhancement propensity. However, an order of magntitude reduction in the isomerisation rates is still found to yield notable enhancements in OH concentrations of up to a factor of about 2, with the maximum impact at the low end of the considered NOx range. A parameterized representation of the mechanistic changes is optimized and implemented into a reduced variant of the Common Representative Intermediates mechanism (CRI v2-R5), for use in the STOCHEM global chemistry-transport model. The impacts of the modified chemistry in the global model are shown to be consistent with those observed in the box model sensitivity studies, and the results are illustrated and discussed with a particular focus on the tropical forested regions of the Amazon and Borneo where unexpectedly elevated concentrations of OH have recently been reported.


Objective: To examine racial differences in survival among small, large, and appropriate for gestational age (SGA, LGA and AGA, respectively) infants born to non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white mothers and assess the impact of selected sociodemographic and behavioral risk factors on infant survival for the three weight for gestational age (WGA) groups. Methods: Data were obtained from the North Carolina (U.S.) linked birth/infant death files from 1999 to 2007. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression were used to assess the effect of maternal race and other factors on infant survival for all WGA groups. Results: Unadjusted analyses demonstrated that black SGA and LGA infant survival time was greater than that of white infants in these categories. However, when our analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic, behavioral, and life factors, the significant differences in survival between black and white infants no longer remained for any of the three WGA groups. We did not find any significant racial differences in survival time among the AGA infants. Conclusion: Overall, the findings of this study indicate that infants born to black mothers do not survive longer than infants born to white mothers. Further, our results show that several socioeconomic and behavioral factors need to be addressed if the national Healthy People 2020 objective of reducing infant mortality rate is to be met.


A scientist assesses the potential of stem cell therapies for treating such brain disorders as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease.Stem cell therapies are the subject of enormous hype, endowed by the media with almost magical qualities and imagined by the public to bring about miracle cures. Stem cells have the potential to generate new cells of different types, and have been shown to do so in certain cases. Could stem cell transplants repair the damaged brain? In this book, neurobiologist Jack Price assesses the potential of stem cell therapies to treat such brain disorders as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injuries.Certainly brain disorders are in need of effective treatments. These disorders don't just kill, they disable, and conventional drug therapies have not had much success in treating them. Price explains that repairing the human brain is difficult, largely because of its structural, functional, and developmental complexity. He examines the self-repairing capacity of blood and gut cells?and the lack of such capacity in the brain; describes the limitations of early brain stem cell therapies for neurodegenerative disorders; and discusses current clinical trials that may lead to the first licensed stem cell therapies for stroke, Parkinson's and macular degeneration. And he describes the real promise of pluripotential stem cells, which can make all the cell types that constitute the body. New technologies, Price reports, challenge the very notion of cell transplantation, instead seeking to convince the brain itself to manufacture the new cells it needs. Could this be the true future of brain repair?


Maize is an important staple crop in Mexico, and the recent intensification of climate variability, in combination with non-climatic forces, has hindered increases in production, especially for smallholder farmers. This article demonstrates the influence of these drivers on maize production trends in the three states of the Yucatan Peninsula using a mixed methods approach of climatic analysis and semi-structured interviews. Climate trend analysis and generalized additive models (GAMs) demonstrate relationships between production and climatic variability, using 1980-2010 precipitation and temperature data. Data from forty interviews with government officials and representatives of farmers' associations (gathered in 2015 and 2016) highlight the influence of agricultural policy on maize production in the region. The climate trend analysis yielded mixed results, with a statistically significant negative rainfall trend for Quintana Roo and variability in maximum temperature changes across the region, with an increase in Yucatan State and Quintana Roo and a decrease in Campeche. Climate and production GAMs indicate a strong significant relationship between production and climate fluctuations for Campeche (79%) and Quintana Roo (72%) and a weaker significant relationship for the Yucatan State (31%). Informants identified precipitation variability and ineffective public policies for smallholder agricultural development as primary obstacles for maize production, including inadequate design of agricultural programs, inconsistent agricultural support, and ineffective farmers' organizations. Quantifying the influence of climate change on maize production, and the amplifying influence of national and regional agricultural policy for smallholder farmers, will inform more appropriate policy design and implementation.


In his preface to this major study on preaching by John Stott, Michael Green writes, "Much of the current uncertainty about the gospel and the mission of the church must be due to a generation of preachers which has lost confidence in the Word of God." Perhaps no one is more eminently qualified to address this concern than John Stott whose scholarship and personality have shown generations of believers that he has total confidence in the Word of God and in preaching. "I believe that nothing is better calculated to restore health and vitality to the Church or to its members into maturity in Christ" reflects Stott, than a recovery of true, biblical, contemporary preaching." His book provides precisely those practical guidelines and experienced perspectives needed for such a recovery. After beginning with a historical sketch of preaching, Stott examines contemporary objections to preaching, looking in particular at the Cybernetics Revolution and the influence of television. He then moves on to the theological foundations for preaching after which he examines how preaching can serve to build bridges across chasms of political, social, and ethical controversies. His study then takes on a more practical slant as he discusses how to cultivate and overcome the obstacles to Bible study as well as how to prepare sermons. He ends with a frank yet thoughtful reflection on the preacher's responsibility to live his message through sincerity, earnestness, courage, and humility. Addressed to the head as well as to the heart, this book will encourage and challenge both ministers and laypersons to give themselves more wholeheartedly to their calling -- to make known God s message of salvation to a world in dire need of hearing it."


Snow accumulation in the surroundings of the two wintering-over bases Georg-von-Neumayer (GvN, 1981-1992) and Neumayer II (1992-2009) was determined by means of two stake arrays. These arrays have been maintained by the meteorologists who wintered over at the Neumayer stations. One of the stake arrays was located close to the base and therefore it was possible to make weekly stake readings. In 1991 another stake array was established 15 km south of the base GvN. Since then it was not relocated. It has been visited once in a month for stake readings. The density values needed to calculate accumulation rates from stake readings were taken from snow pit studies. Usually a density value of 350 kg/m3 was used. This value may be discussed. In addition, the results of two shallow firn cores were available for comparison with the stake read-ings. The first firn core was drilled on Dec. 12, 1989 approximately at that location (70.658610° S, 8.25250° W), where it was planned to construct the Neumayer II station two years later. The core contains the annual snow layers from 1975-1988. The second firn core was drilled on Jan. 03, 2002 adjacent to the stake array of the Neumayer II station at 70.655700° S, 8.25363° W. This core contains the annual layers from 1980-2001. The firn cores were mainly dated by means of the seasonal cycles of the content of the stable isotope 18O.The paper compares the data resulting from the three stake arrays with the accumulation data from the firn cores. The absolute values of the different time series differ from each other. How-ever, in the coinciding periods the patterns are very similar. It is remarkable, that in the period 1980-1994 all time series show declining accumulation rates. For the period in which Neumayer II had been in operation no trend of the accumulation rates can be seen. Only strong interannual variations can be observed.For the three stake arrays the following annual mean values and standard deviations were found: stake array GvN (1982-1992) 277 ±52 kg m-2 a-1, stake array Neumayer-II (1993-2008) 235 ±84 kg m-2 a-1 and stake array South (1991-2008) 320 ±122 kg m-2 a-1. The firn core from 2002 (1980-2001) yields a value of 329 ±109 kg m-2 a-1 and the firn core from 1989 (1975-1988) a value of 353 ±109 kg m-2 a-1. It can be observed that the accumulation rates are lower in the sur-roundings of the bases than at the array located further south and at greater distance to the coast. In addition, the values calculated by means of stake readings are lower than those calculated from firn cores.


Despite early warnings about knowledge-enabled mass destruction and the ongoing battle over agricultural biotechnology, the development of nanotechnology in Europe has been remarkably quiet over the past decade: non-governmental organization (NGO) campaigns against nano were all but inexistent and the wider public appears largely uninterested in nanotechnology. Why has Europe's experience with nanotechnologies been so fundamentally different from that with genetically modified organisms (GMOs)? This article argues that differences in the technologies as such cannot fully explain this divergence. Instead, a convergence of interests across key groups of stakeholders, the institutional evolution of the European Union (EU) and the experience from the GMO case enabled and facilitated a highly anticipatory and proactive approach to nanotechnology risk governance. This approach, marked by early capacity building, stakeholder involvement and gradual regulation succeeded in avoiding public polarization and in promoting a responsible development of nanotechnologies.


Recent advances in the design of high dynamic range (HDR) monitors enable the display of images having a large dynamic range, close to that encountered in the real world. As their usage will increase, we will be confronted with the problem of rerendering images that have been mapped to standard dynamic range (SDR) displays so that they look natural on HDR monitors. We address this issue for SDR images representing original HDR scenes. We propose a tone scale function that takes advantage of the increase in dynamic range of HDR monitors to recreate the brightness of specular highlights, which were clipped or compressed by the capturing and rendering process to SDR. We validate the use of such functions with a psychovisual experiment conducted on an HDR display, where the observers' task was to judge pairs of tone-scaled images. The result of the experiment shows that using part of the extension of dynamic range provided by HDR displays to enhance the brightness of specular highlights leads to more natural looking images.


Are liability ""crises"" an inevitable part of the modern industrial landscape? Does the inherent nature of the insurance industry promote recurring liability crises? What have been the effects of the liability reforms of the 1990s? Should lawyers be given de facto regulatory authority? This report provides perspective on these and other key issues concerning the law and economics of products liability. The authors begins with a brief description of the evolution of products liability doctrine in the U.S., up to the point of the liability crisis of the late 1980s. They discuss the economic implications of product risk for both consumers and producers, offer economic hypothesis on the implications of the increased scope of liability and subsequent reforms, and provide an update of trends in litigation and liability law. The book ends with a discussion of pending legislation and prospects for further improvements. Moore and Viscusi make the point that effective liability policy calls for a balancing of the incentives for improved public safety on one hand, and the benefits of new and existing products on the other.


The rises of the culinary industry in Indonesia nowadays has opened opportunities for startup developers to create online culinary directories platforms. One of popular online culinary directories or well known by online restaurant searcher in Indonesia is Zomato. To formulate Zomato's promotional strategies, a study is needed on the sources of knowledge that can not be controlled by the company (non-business controlled). Based on this problem, the aims of this study are to identify the Zomato user characteristics and the relation with Zomato use decisions, to idenitify a relevant consumer sources of knowledge, to analyze it, and, to know its effect on Zomato use decisions. This study uses primary data and secondary data. This study is using logistic regression as analytical model. The result of this study shows that Zomato user is dominated by 16-25 age single woman. Most of them are student and lives in Jakarta. Average income of them are <Rp 2.000.000,- and monthly food expenses in range Rp 500.000,- - Rp 1.000.000,-. The responden using Zomato for looking hangout place or place to eat. The characteristics that affect the Zomato to use decisions are sex and food expenses per month. Logistic regression results at a significant level of 15 percents shows friends, idols, internet forums, bulletin boards, and government publications are the relevant sources of knowledge to the decision for using Zomato. Respondents who strongly agree to know Zomato through friends and government publications tend to use Zomato apps than the other categories. Respondents who know Zomato through idols tend to use apps. Respondents who disagree to know Zomato through internet forums tend to use Zomato website, and respondents who know Zomato through bulletin boards tend to use the Zomato website.


A long-term study (1998 to 2009) was initiated on eleven tile-drained field plots, ranging in size from 0.19 to 0.47 ha, to investigate the effects of poultry manure application on subsurface drainage water quality in Iowa under a corn-soybean rotation system. The experimental treatments included poultry manure at rates of 168 kg N ha-1 (PM) and 336 kg N ha-1 (PM2), each with three replications; nitrogen application from chemical fertilizer, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), at a rate of 168 kg N ha-1 with four replications; and a control treatment that received 0 kg N ha-1. Subsurface drainage (tile) flow volume was monitored, and drainage samples were collected and analyzed for nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N). The results from this 12-year study show that NO3-N losses with tile drainage were more likely to occur during the early stages of crop production (April to June) and were more related to the monthly distribution of precipitation than the total rainfall amount. The overall results of this study indicate that applying poultry manure at 168 kg N ha-1 resulted in significantly lower flow-weighted nitrate concentrations (PM < UAN < PM2) and the lowest nitrogen losses to subsurface drain water compared to UAN and PM2 application(PM < UAN < PM2), as well as higher crop yields compared to UAN application. Therefore, it can be concluded that poultry manure application at a rate of 168 kg N ha-1 is an environmentally sound N application practice with good yield potential for corn and soybean production systems with poorly drained soils in the upper Midwest. Future work is recommended to identify new practices and technologies to reduce nitrate loss to water systems.


The ANDRILL (Antarctic Geological Drilling Program) Southern McMurdo Sound Project (SMS) drilled a 1138-m-deep borehole (AND-2A) within Neogene strata in the southern Victoria Land Basin of the West Antarctic Rift in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, during the 2007–2008 austral spring. An extensive downhole logging program was carried out in the SMS borehole that included temperature and spectral gamma ray logs. These logging data were combined with lab measurements of the thermal conductivity of core samples to deduce several thermal parameters of the borehole country rock. The results indicate a bottom-hole temperature of 57.8 °C and an average temperature gradient of 51.9 K/km. Thermal conductivities on core samples range from 1.22 to 2.95 W/mK and average 1.57 W/mK. Thermal conductivities coupled with the average temperature gradient yield an average heat flow of 81.5 mW/m2, a minor amount (1.1 mW/m2) of which is generated by radiogenic heat production. Temperature, gradient, and heat flow are considered as possible minimum values. The average heat flow determined for the SMS borehole therefore provides important confirmation that heat flows are locally above average values for continental crust in the southern Victoria Land Basin of the West Antarctic Rift system. This new heat flow constraint is consistent with extension and volcanism within the Terror Rift, which was active in Neogene time.


Campylobacter jejuni is a major cause of bacterial gastroenteritis. C. jejuni encodes a protein glycosylation (Pgl) locus responsible for the N-glycosylation of membrane-associated proteins. We examined two variants of the genome sequenced strain NCTC11168: O, a representative of the original clinical isolate, and GS, a laboratory-adapted relative of O. Comparative proteomics by iTRAQ and two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (2D-LC-MS/MS) allowed the confident identification of 1214 proteins (73.9% of the predicted C. jejuni proteome), of which 187 were present at statistically significant altered levels of abundance between variants. Proteins associated with the O variant included adhesins (CadF and FlpA), proteases, capsule biosynthesis, and cell shape determinants as well as six proteins encoded by the Pgl system, including the PglK flippase and PglB oligosaccharyltransferase. Lectin blotting highlighted specific glycoproteins more abundant in NCTC11168 O, whereas others remained unaltered. Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) and LC-MS/MS identified 30 completely novel glycosites from 15 proteins. A novel glycopeptide from a 14 kDa membrane protein (Cj0455c) was identified that did not contain the C. jejuni N-linked sequon D/E-X-N-X-S/T (X ≠ Pro) but that instead contained a sequon with leucine at the -2 position. Occupied atypical sequons were also observed in Cj0958c (OxaA; Gln at the -2 position) and Cj0152c (Ala at the +2 position). The relative O and GS abundances of 30 glycopeptides were determined by label-free quantitation, which revealed a >100-fold increase in the atypical glycopeptide from Cj0455c in isolate O. Our data provide further evidence for the importance of the Pgl system in C. jejuni.


Recently, a framework has been proposed to monitor plankton ecosystems in the North Atlantic and adjacent seas using calanoid copepod species. In this study, we use this framework to investigate, at the community structure (calanoid copepod) level, the long-term changes in plankton ecosystems related to hydro-climatic variability in the North Sea during the period 1958-1999. A chronology of ecological events that occurred in the North Sea is outlined. In addition to the long- term and year-to-year variability, this study reveals that North Sea plankton ecosystems had 2 dynamic regimes during the period 1958-1999: a cold-biological (1962-1982) and a warm-biological dynamic regime (1984-1999). The impact of the regime shift on the community structure of calanoid copepods and total diversity (as mean number of calanoid copepod species per continuous plankton recorder sample) is detectable in the stratified regions of the North Sea after ca. 1983. This study reveals that the regime shift resulted from the conjunction of both local and regional hydro-climatic forcing and a change in the location of an oceanic biogeographical boundary in the north-east Atlantic Ocean. Results indicate a strong dependence of ecological processes in the North Sea to both hydro-climatic and biological variability in the north-east Atlantic Ocean. If the current climate warming persists, results suggest that this may continue to alter the structure of North Sea ecosys- tems and lead to other regime shifts, thus making it very challenging to predict future responses of North Sea pelagic ecosystems to climate change.


In this paper, I review the empirical literature in the intersection of banks and corporate income taxation that emerged over the last two decades. To structure the included studies, I use a stakeholder approach and outline how corporate income taxation plays into the relation of banks and their four main stakeholders: bank regulators, customers, investors and tax authorities. My contribution to the literature is threefold: First, I contribute by providing, to the best of my knowledge, a first comprehensive review on this topic. Second, I point to areas for future research. Third, I deduce policy implications from the studies under review. In sum, the studies show that taxes distort banks' pricing decisions, the relative attractiveness of debt and equity financing, the decision to report on or off the balance sheet and banks' investment allocations. Empirical insights on how tax rules affect banks' decision-making are helpful for policymakers to tailor suitable and sustainable tax legislation directed at banks. JEL CLASSIFICATION G21, H22, H25, M41


Anguillid glass eels were sampled between October 2000 and October 2001 in an estu- arine goby-fry traditional fishery of Reunion Island (21° S, 56° E), Mascarene Islands, western Indian Ocean. Recruitment occurred from November to April. Among the 633 specimens collected, 4 species were identified by biometric measurements coupled with number of vertebrae (61.9% of the speci- mens were Anguilla marmorata, 19.4% A. bicolor bicolor, 18.3% A. mossambica and 0.3% A. nebu- losa labiata). A. mossambica had the shortest total length at recruitment (51.2 ± 2.7 mm), compared to A. marmorata (53.3 ± 2.5 mm) and A. bicolor bicolor (54.0 ± 2.1 mm). Most juvenile pigmentation corresponded to the glass eel stage (VA to VB). We extracted 34 otoliths and visualized their microstructure by SEM. The short-finned A. bicolor bicolor had the shortest leptocephalus stage (46.2 ± 5.8 d) and age at recruitment (79.8 ± 7.7 d). The long-finned glass eels had the same age at recruitment (120.2 ± 24.7 and 123.6 ± 17 d for A. marmorata and A. mossambica respectively) and the same leptocephalus stage duration (96.9 ± 26.4 and 102.1 ± 17.2 d for A. marmorata and A. mossam- bica respectively). Otolith readings and sampling dates showed that A. mossambica hatched about 2 mo earlier than A. marmorata. Their identical early life histories should imply adjoining spawning grounds, whereas A. bicolor bicolor must spawn in a distinctive location. Hypotheses for spawning area locations are discussed as a function of the region's oceanic circulation.


On 7 June 2007, the National Endowment for Democracy commemorated the twenty-fifth anniversary of the "Westminster Address" with a panel discussion and reception in Madison Hall at the Library of Congress. The panel discussion featured brief presentations by three eminent U.S. Scholars—Thomas Carothers, NED Board member Jean Bethke Elshtain, and Journal of Democracy coeditor Larry Diamond—and by two eloquent and thoughtful democratic activists, Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia and Zainab Hawa Bangura of Sierra Leone. Their remarks include some interesting reflections not just on the past accomplishments and future prospects of democracy assistance but also on the new dangers confronting democracy itself.


After the election of the nation's first African-American president, it has been asserted that America is evolving into a post-racial society and the younger generation has fewer reservations about race and ethnicity. To test this hypothesis, a group of students were given a survey that was paired with a slide show that contained a quote, a statistic, a fact, and an image. All elements of the presentation showed information pertaining to racial relations between Caucasians and people from minority groups. The quote and the image presented information on racial relations in the past while the statistic was relevant to modern racial inequalities in society. Students were asked to report whether they experienced emotions of shame, anger, gratefulness, or any combination of the three while looking at the slides. The goal of the survey was to determine if Caucasian adolescents still harbored white guilt, defined as feelings of shame and embarrassment for discrimination applied to peoples of color by their ancestors, and the advantages they still receive in society as a result. From these tests, Caucasian students reported feelings of shame when presented with slides that pertained to past racial relations, but reported feelings of anger when presented with slides that pertained to current racial relations. These results suggest that there are still vestiges of white guilt among adolescents today and that Caucasian students recognize current inequalities in society.


Summary 1. Considerable debate surrounds the extent to which tropical forests can be managed for resource extraction while conserving biodiversity and ecosystem properties, which depend on functional composition. Here we evaluate the compatibility of these aims by examining the effects of logging on taxonomic and functional diversity and composition in a tropical forest. 2. Twenty years after selective logging, we inventoried 4140 stems regenerating in logging gaps and adjacent undisturbed areas, and we integrated a database of 13 functional traits describing leaf and wood economics of tropical trees. 3. We found no differences in taxonomic and functional richness among habitats, but logging gaps had significantly higher taxonomic and functional evenness. 4. Logging also effected striking, long-term changes in both species and functional composition. In particular, the xylem density of recruits in logging gaps was 6% less than in unlogged forests, leaves were 11% less tough and had 6–13% greater mineral nutrient concentrations. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that managers of tropical forests should limit overall surface area converted to logging gaps by creating fewer, larger gaps during selective logging, to reduce impacts on the taxonomic and functional composition of the regenerating stand.


Prefabrication technologies have been used in the building industry since the 19th century. The technologies vary from the innovative materials to novel techniques of construction and the prefabricated systems range from individual components to the entire structure. The major prefabrication technologies prevalent today include sandwich panel walling elements, hollow core slabs, light gauge steel frames as well as modular housing. Even though prefabrication technologies have been widely used in slabs, beams and columns, prefab foundation system is still a relatively new concept. The construction of foundation is the most important part of building process and hence a sound prefabricated foundation system is the need of the hour. In this paper, an attempt has been made for construction of a portable prefabricated reinforced concrete foundation which can be used in buildings up to three storeys.


The flow over a 2D bump at moderate Reynolds numbers is studied as a pro- totype of detached boundary layers. It is well known that such non-normal systems can exhibit large energy amplification even in their stable regime, as characterized by transient growth in the time domain or by optimal gain in the frequency domain. This study characterizes optimal gains in the bump flow in the stable regime, Re < 590. These optimal gains reach very large values in a range of frequencies close to those of least stable eigenmodes. Their variation with Re is depicted in Figure 1. Corresponding optimal forcings are mainly located close to the summit of the bump, whereas optimal responses are located further downstream. Next, regions where steady forcing in the domain or blowing at the wall leads to greatest increase or decrease of the optimal gains are identified, as illustrated in Figure 2. These regions of maximum sensitivity are determined using a Lagrangian formalism3 and validated against full simulations. This sensitivity information is useful to design an efficient open-loop control aiming at reducing noise amplification in this flow.


This paper examines that how significant move it would be to involve youth in the main stream development and governance projects in Africa. It is obvious reality that no inclusive and sustainable development and governance can be built without involvement of youth. Successful democracy needs participation of all citizens especially the active role and participation of youth is paramount. Reviewing and re-looking the engagement of youth in some of the African nations would be the main discourse of this paper. I will be looking into the point why there is less participation of youth in main stream development and governance of the world nations in general and in particular in Africa? What are the main constraints which prevent youth in taking active participation in the political and democratic process of their specific nations? How could we motivate youth thereby they could be the part and parcel of overall development and governance of their nations in Africa? In summation, it can be said that youth engagement and voluntarism could make governance more stable and effective in African continent. Cases of youth engagement are cited from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Sudan and Ethiopia. African nations could make a big difference if the youth engagement will be taken into consideration.


As a coagulase negative Staphylococcus species, S. caprae is not considered as a clinically-significant member, unlike S. epidermidis. In this report, we describe a case of sepsis resulting from S. caprae infection. This relatively young woman was in generally good health and contracted S. caprae most probably during her treatment of an acute pulmonary embolism. The purpose of this report is to raise awareness of this otherwise innocuous staphylococcal species in clinical settings.


This paper outlines the RF design of the CLIC (Compact Linear Collider) 30 GHz main linac accelerating structure and gives the resulting longitudinal and transverse mode properties. The critical requirement for multibunch operation, that transverse wakefields be suppressed by two orders of magnitude within 0.7 ns (twenty fundamental mode cycles), has been demonstrated in a recent ASSET experiment. The feasibility of operating the structure at an accelerating gradient of 150 MV/m for 130 ns has yet to be demonstrated. Damage of the internal copper surfaces due to high electric fields or resulting from metal fatigue induced by cyclic surface heating effects are a major concern requiring further study.


Developments in information technology are bringing about changes in science education. This reader focuses on the theoretical and practical consideration of using information and communications technologies in teaching and learning. It examines current approaches to teaching and learning in science at various levels of education, and ways in which science in made more accessible. This will include the future potential of such current developments as access to practical work delivered on the web.
The Reader is divided into three sections:
What are the current issues in using ICT to teach and learn in science?
Designing and evaluating ICT to teach and learn science
Extending access to science learning
This is a companion book to Reconsidering Science Education, also published by RoutledgeFalmer.
Mediating Science Learning Through ICT is a valuable resource for teachers on Masters courses in science education and academics in science education.


The importance of the correct procedure and interpretation of findings in the anal medical examination of sexually abused children cannot be overemphasised. In this article a brief summary is given of the development of the anal examination, followed by findings that can be regarded as normal and signs that are indicative of sexual abuse and their interpretation. It forms a framework that should be useful in practice. Hopefully it will also help other professionals who regularly see medical reports in the course of their duties to obtain a better grasp of the type of detail that should be reflected in such a report.


This article deals mainly with frontal impacts of vehicles of various classes (small cars, middle class, Pick ups/SUVs, etc.) into a fixed barrier according to the NHTC (National Car Traffic Safety Administration) for the US-NCAP (New Car Assessment Program). The acceleration record was processed from the accelerometer through the Logger Pro program package. If the accelerometer was firmly connected from the car's rear floor, the deformation path (maximum deformation) or plastic deformation was calculated. If the accelerometer was firmly connected from the manikin's head, the severity index (SI index) was calculated to increase the active and passive safety of the passengers


As the use of unmanned vehicles continues to grow, so does the need for systems to safely test and operate these vehicles. While there are safety systems designed for this purpose, they are often developed for a specific vehicle platform. The Multi-Level Emergency Stop (MLES) system provides three userdefined emergency response contingencies that can be adapted to a wide variety of unmanned vehicles. The Multi-Level Emergency Stop system is designed to be an ad-on safety system that can be integrated into ground, air, or surface unmanned vehicles. A complete MLES system consists of a hand held transmitter and a vehicle mounted receiver. The three levels of contingencies are controlled by three switches on the transmitter. These switches engage and disengage contacts located in the receiver via a wireless link. The function of these contacts is determined by the user for each unique application. Presented in this thesis is the detailed hardware design and software layout of the Multi-Level Emergency Stop system. Also included are the performance results and operational tests.


This paper examines empirically the value of early exercise by testing the ability of two American put valuation models to predict the early exercise premium for the S&P 100 American put options. An accuracy test and a quality test are performed on (1) the MacMillan and Barone-Adesi and Whaley model, and (2) the Carr, Jarrow and Myneni model. The test results show that early exercise premium is significant regardless of moneyness. Moreover, consistent with the theory, the value of early exercise is significantly negatively related to moneyness and interest rates and significantly positively related to time to maturity and to the volatility of the underlying index. Both American put valuation models examined do not fully capture the value of early exercise embedded in American put prices.


In this paper we examine a perceptron learning task. The task is realizable since it is provided by another perceptron with identical architecture. Both perceptrons have nonlinear sigmoid output functions. The gain of the output function determines the level of nonlinearity of the learning task. It is observed that a high level of nonlinearity leads to overfitting. We give an explanation for this rather surprising observation and develop a method to avoid the overfitting. This method has two possible interpretations, one is learning with noise, the other cross-validated early stopping. 1 Learning Rules from Examples The property which makes feedforward neural nets interesting for many practical applications is their ability to approximate functions, which are given only by examples. Feed-forward networks with at least one hidden layer of nonlinear units are able to approximate each continuous function on a N-dimensional hypercube arbitrarily well. While the existence of neural function approximators is already established, there is still a lack of knowledge about their practical realizations. Also major problems, which complicate a good realization, like overfitting, need a better understanding. In this work we study overfitting in a one-layer percept ron model. The model allows a good theoretical description while it exhibits already a qualitatively similar behavior as the multilayer perceptron. A one-layer perceptron has N input units and one output unit. Between input and output it has one layer of adjustable weights Wi, (i = 1, ... ,N). The output z is a possibly nonlinear function of the weighted sum of inputs Xi, i.e. z = g(h) , with 1 N h = I1tT L Wi Xi . vN i=l (1) A Realizable Learning Task Which Exhibits Overfitting 219 The quality of the function approximation is measured by the difference between the correct output z* and the net's output z averaged over all possible inputs. In the supervised learning scheme one trains the network using a set of examples ;fll (JL = 1, ... , P), for which the correct output is known. It is the learning task to minimize a certain cost function, which measures the difference between the correct output z~ and the net's output Zll averaged over all examples. Using the mean squared error as a suitable measure for the difference between the outputs, we can define the training error ET and the generalization error Ea as


Modeling and synthesizing image noise is an important aspect in many computer vision applications. The long-standing additive white Gaussian and heteroscedastic (signal-dependent) noise models widely used in the literature provide only a coarse approximation of real sensor noise. This paper introduces Noise Flow, a powerful and accurate noise model based on recent normalizing flow architectures. Noise Flow combines well-established basic parametric noise models (e.g., signal-dependent noise) with the flexibility and expressiveness of normalizing flow networks. The result is a single, comprehensive, compact noise model containing fewer than 2500 parameters yet able to represent multiple cameras and gain factors. Noise Flow dramatically outperforms existing noise models, with 0.42 nats/pixel improvement over the camera-calibrated noise level functions, which translates to 52% improvement in the likelihood of sampled noise. Noise Flow represents the first serious attempt to go beyond simple parametric models to one that leverages the power of deep learning and data-driven noise distributions.


Cherry leaf roll virus (CLRV) infection in Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi nc plants induces the expression of, among others, basic and acidic chitinases at 3 d.p.i. (days postinoculation) and 8 d.p.i. in inoculated and uninoculated, systemically infected leaves, respectively. The spatial distribution of the acidictobacco chitinases (PR-P and PR-Q) mRNAs in CLRV-infected tobacco leaves has been studied by tissue printing and Northern (RNA) blot analysis. The mRNA was preferentially detected in and around the concentric necrotic rings caused by the viral infection. In addition, the accumulation pattern of the proteins was very similar although a basal signal was detected in nonsymptomatic tissue in uninoculated, systemically infected leaves. These results indicate a positive association of acidic chitinase gene expression with the necrotic tissue, where the virus is mainly localized, in the CLRV-tobacco interaction.


Well over a century ago, legal and policy analysts realized that the days of purely individual action in matters of business and labor were over, and that legal rules must adapt to the social and economic power of large corporations. Among the rules that changed were archaic limitations on joinder of claims and parties in litigation and laissez faire "liberty of contract" doctrines invalidating labor legislation. Recently, lawyers representing large corporate employers have urged a revival of old rules limiting class actions and labor rights. But, as this Article will show, it is not at all clear that their clients will benefit from the legal regime the lawyers have created. As long as employers have large workforces working under uniform policies, they will face dozens or hundreds of similar claims challenging pay practices, discrimination, and harassment. Group adjudication arose to address efficiently the many similar claims that arise when large institutions adopt uniform policies. Individual arbitration of such claims may result in fewer claims being filed, especially if confidentiality provisions keep co-workers from learning from each other about how to assert successful claims. But unless or until employers figure out a way to shift all the costs of dispute resolution onto the claimaints (and thus far courts have resisted such efforts), and to silence all claimants and their lawyers, employers will face many similar claims, will be paying part or all of the costs of lots of identical arbitrations, and will be paying lawyers to handle them separately rather than on a classwide basis.The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects the right of employees to engage in "concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection." The National Labor Relations Board ("the Board") has long held that protected activity includes asserting claims in courts, agencies, and in arbitration. In D.R. Horton, the Board found the NLRA to prohibit enforcement of an employer-imposed requirement that employees waive their right to bring a collective action challenging their working conditions. On petition for review, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected the Board's determination, holding that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) requires enforcement of the mandatory arbitration agreement, including its class action waiver.This Article explains why collective action waivers or requirements to arbitrate individually are unenforceable under the National Labor Relations Act and the Norris LaGuardia Act. The Article also explains why arbitration agreements requiring claims to be brought by individuals are not covered by the Supreme Court's reasoning in Concepcion and Italian Colors to the extent they prohibit joinder of fewer parties than would be required to bring a large class action and, therefore, remain protected by labor law. The Article notes the inconsistency in the FAA cases about whether agreements can waive the right to file charges with some agencies and courts rather than others and therefore critiques the Fifth Circuit's ruling that the FAA trumps the employees' rights under NLRA sections 7 and 8(a)(1) to file group actions in court or arbitration but does not trump section 8(a)(4), which protects the right to file unfair labor practice charges. Finally, the Article raises some questions about the practical wisdom of the courts' willingness to allow employers to require employees to pursue claims only as individuals. State and federal courts universally allow liberal joinder of plaintiffs and defendants because it is more efficient and avoids some truly thorny issues about the preclusive effect of judgments. The Fifth Circuit majority's assumption, like the Supreme Court majority's in Concepcion, that individual determination of claims is better suited to arbitration is simply wrong in many cases. Unless employers can opt out of the usual rules for the binding effects of judgments and the usual rules for joinder of claims and parties, the notion that individual arbitration is superior for everyone (including employers) is simply wrong.


This study explored how women were able to leave a male partner who assaulted them, and the common critical success factors of leaving and establishing a new life for themselves and any children in their care.
Conducted from a feminist standpoint, a qualitative exploration of 53 women's perceptions of being able to leave was undertaken, using a non-probability purposive sampling method and semi-structured, in-depth interviews.
Applying a thematic analysis, the results indicated that women used a variety of strategies to 'manage' and resist the abuse and violence, encountering numerous barriers to stopping the violence and/or to leaving, before reaching
a final turning point. The pathways out of the violence included formal and informal support, supportive beliefs and information and underpinning structural supports, including relevant policies and laws. The study's findings
highlight the importance of developing strategies that focus on men taking responsibility for their use of violence, effective government and community responses, and changing societal attitudes.
The study provided examples of individual good practice in the responses of a range of workers, and identified a number of characteristics of good practice.
Based on these characteristics, the study identified a generic framework for practice suggesting good practice at each of five identified phases of leaving.
The study highlighted the importance of specialist domestic violence services and, in particular, mobile domestic violence crisis services, as an effective domestic violence service model. Integral to their effectiveness were: (a) their formal liaison with the police, through police Standing Orders; and (b) regional locations. Four key issues emerged requiring urgent attention: (1) women
having to leave their homes; (2) the impoverishment of women who leave a violent partner; (3) the need for a consistent and integrated response across the service system; and (4) the importance of understanding both the role of hope and the concept of relational autonomy when responding to women who are assaulted by a male partner. The study discusses these findings in relation to contemporary social work practice.


Four nose wheels fabricated from 2014-T6 aluminum alloy and cold worked at the flange were examined. Visual examination showed that the failure started in the tube well area on the wheel with serial number 31. The failure initiated in the flange fillet on wheels with serial numbers 67, 217, and 250. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination of the fractures showed that failure initiated by SCC or a corrosion pit on all failures examined. The failures then progressed by fatigue. Dye penetrant testing revealed no additional flaws on the wheels that had failed in the flange area. There was, however, one flaw area in the flange of the wheel that failed in the tube well. This flaw resembled a corrosion pit. It was concluded that failure of nose wheels 67, 217, and 250 was caused by cracking due to SCC or pitting. The failures progressed by fatigue. Because failure occurred in the same general area on all three wheels, these locations are suspect as being underdesigned. It was recommended that the nose wheel be redesigned and additional service data be accumulated to understand the contributing factors that resulted in wheel failure.


ABSTRACT Using confirmatory factor analyses and multiple indicators per construct, we examined a number of theoretically derived factor structures pertaining to numerous trust-relevant constructs (from 9 to 12) across four institutional contexts (police, local governance, natural resources, state governance) and multiple participant-types (college students via an online survey, community residents as part of a city's budget engagement activity, a random sample of rural landowners, and a national sample of adult Americans via an Amazon Mechanical Turk study). Across studies, a number of common findings emerged. First, the best fitting models in each study maintained separate factors for each trust-relevant construct. Furthermore, post hoc analyses involving addition of higher-order factors tended to fit better than collapsing of factors. Second, dispositional trust was easily distinguishable from the other trust-related constructs, and positive and negative constructs were often distinguishable. However, the items reflecting positive trust attitude constructs or positive trustworthiness perceptions showed low discriminant validity. Differences in findings between studies raise questions warranting further investigation in future research, including differences in correlations among latent constructs varying from very high (e.g. 12 inter-factor correlations above .9 in Study 2) to more moderate (e.g. only three correlations above .8 in Study 4). Further, the results from one study (Study 4) suggested that legitimacy, fairness, and voice were especially highly correlated and may form a single higher-order factor, but the other studies did not. Future research is needed to determine when and why different higher-order factor structures may emerge in different institutional contexts or with different samples.


Social interest: the new challenge of health sector and academic achievement Undoubtedly the most valuable asset of any society is its manpower. Among the most critical factors for success in all areas, institutions and organizations, including industrial, office, service and training is that healthy relationships are based on cooperation and solidarity among community members. Mental health of students at each community is priority for education systems, so a student who has been psychologically healthy, he can more easily achieve their educational goals and cooperate with others with the understanding of the processes of management of society and its independence in future 1. The concept of social interest was raised for the first time in 1927 by Alfred Adler. This term roughly refers to feeling of oneness with all humanity and refers to the membership of all individuals at society. Social interest was Adler`s criteria for evaluating mental health and thus is the only criterion of human values. If an individual has more social interest, he is psychologically more mature and more efficient. Also immature individuals are deprived of the social interest, are selfish and try to show power and superiority to others. Healthy people are more interested in others, faithfully and welfare of all human beings including targets. Adler believes the foundation of every kind of discord is the immature social interest. Social interest should be developed in a social environment. Manifestation so social interest is a useful measure to assess mental health. According to Ancbacher, "The manifestation of social interest is a useful criterion for assessing the psychological health of an individual" 2. Various reports of findings show increasing social interest increases various aspects of mental health. For example, Leak and Leak 3 at extensive research showed that social interest have positive and significant relationships with life satisfaction, confidence, creativity, self-actualization, self esteem, agreeableness, and adjustment values. High school students in particular junior high school and pre-college levels have been in ages that are on the boundary login to community in order to pick different jobs or entrance to university it requires a spirit of community and empathy with people who in the course of their lives, will be inevitable. Thus, identifying characteristics associated with social interest at this segment of the population can help to correctly predict the future of their relationship. Kobasa 4 also found that individuals with high social interest reported levels of life satisfaction, even in terms of job stressful. Social interest means seeing with the eyes of others, and hearings with the ears of others. It now can be expected that its increase facilitate understanding of other`s world and this provides the background to solve social issues and will increase and strengthens individuals believe in his control over the environment and behavior and creates a sense of self-efficacy in person. The main idea is that the tendency of young people to profession and technical in the fields of public and social education is not coincidence by any means but it is based on a deep interest toward issues relating to other people, such as children, adults and people with disabilities. Adler argued that in order to prevent the development of criminal behavior in children and adolescent's global programs to encourage interest and social orientation should be implemented across schools and be incorporated at the head of educational content. He also argued that interpersonal relationships of adolescents with parents, teachers and peers positive impact on his ways to develop relationships with the world around over the next few years. Also with educating and encouraging children and adolescents to social interest, they will become influential members of the community and their self-efficacy and locus of control will be increased due to relying on their inner abilities 5. Undoubtedly people who have a close relationship with others and integrated will benefit from the deeper mental health. Unlike people with high social interest, lack of social interest in adolescents located at the age of entry into the wider community, result in the loss of opportunities in order to develop skills and relationships that are typically provided in the classroom and outside the school environment. Thus, adolescents without social interest or with lower interest on arrival in the community in forming positive relationships and benefit from them will in a defective manner.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
ATP1A3 is associated with a broad spectrum of predominantly neurological disorders, that continues to expand beyond the initially defined phenotypes of Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood (AHC), Rapid-onset Dystonia Parkinsonism (RDP) and Cerebellar ataxia, Areflexia, Pes cavus, Optic atrophy, Sensorineural hearing loss syndrome (CAPOS). This phenotypic variability makes it challenging to assess pathogenicity of an ATP1A3 variant found in an undiagnosed patient. We describe the phenotypic features of individuals carrying a pathogenic/likely pathogenic ATP1A3 variant and perform a literature review of all ATP1A3 variants published thus far in association with human neurological disease. Our aim is to demonstrate the heterogeneous clinical spectrum of the gene and look for phenotypic overlap between patients that will streamline the diagnostic process.

METHODS
Undiagnosed individuals with ATP1A3 variants were identified within the cohort of the Deciphering Developmental Disorders (DDD) study with additional cases contributed by collaborators internationally. Detailed clinical data was collected with consent through a questionnaire completed by the referring clinicians. PubMed was searched for publications containing the term "ATP1A3" from 2004 to 2021.

RESULTS
Twenty-four individuals with a previously undiagnosed neurological phenotype were found to carry 21 ATP1A3 variants. Eight variants have been previously published. Patients experienced on average 2-3 different types of paroxysmal events. Permanent neurological features were common including microcephaly (7;29%), ataxia (13;54%), dystonia (10;42%) and hypotonia (7;29%). All patients had cognitive impairment. Neuropsychiatric diagnoses were reported in 16 (66.6%) individuals. Phenotypes were extremely varied and most individuals did not fit clinical criteria for previously published phenotypes.On review of the literature, 1108 individuals have been reported carrying 168 different ATP1A3 variants. The most common variants are associated with well-defined phenotypes, while more rare variants often result in very rare symptom correlations, such as are seen in our study.CADD scores of pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants were significantly higher and variants clustered within six regions of constraint.

CONCLUSION
Our study shows that looking for a combination of paroxysmal events, hyperkinesia, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and cognitive impairment, as well as evaluating CADD score and variant location can help identify an ATP1A3-related condition, rather than applying diagnostic criteria alone.


A simulated learning hierarchical architecture for vector classification is presented. The hierarchy used homogeneous scripted classifiers, maintaining similarity tables, and selforganising maps for the input. The scripted classifiers produced output, and guided learning with permutable script instruction tables. A large space of parametrised script instructions was created, from which many different combinations could be implemented. The parameter space for the script instruction tables was tuned using a genetic algorithm with the goal of optimizing the networks ability to predict class labels for bit pattern inputs. The classification system, known as Dura, was presented with various visual classification problems, such as: detecting overlapping lines, locating objects, or counting polygons. The network was trained with a random subset from the input space, and was then tested over a uniformly sampled subset. The results showed that Dura could successfully classify these and other problems. The optimal scripts and parameters were analysed, allowing inferences about which scripted operations were important, and what roles they played in the learning classification system. Further investigations were undertaken to determine Dura's performance in the presence of noise, as well as the robustness of the solutions when faced with highly stochastic training sequences. It was also shown that robustness and noise tolerance in solutions could be improved through certain adjustments to the algorithm. These adjustments led to different solutions which could be compared to determine what changes were responsible for the increased robustness or noise immunity. The behaviour of the genetic algorithm tuning the network was also analysed, leading to the development of a super solutions cache, as well as improvements in: convergence, fitness function, and simulation duration. The entire network was simulated using a program written in C++ using FLTK libraries for the graphical user interface.


The vicuna is mainly used in two ways: wild captured, shorn and returned to the wild; or wild captured and maintained in captivity as part of a programme of sustainable use in the Andes of South America. Farming of wild vicunas has hitherto involved no assessment of their welfare. In this study we measured a set of basic blood parameters in order to characterise baseline values in captivity, and we then characterised adrenal cortical responsiveness using an ACTH challenge. The ACTH challenge is widely used for assessing neuroendocrine responses to stress and is now increasingly being applied to studies of wild animals' welfare. Five male vicunas were injected with exogenous ACTH and their responses compared with those of a control group injected with placebo. Behavioural and haematological changes were monitored. Injection of ACTH produced a 4.5-fold increase in cortisol concentration within 1 h. Total white blood cell count almost doubled in less than 5 h. The neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio also changed, with a decrease in lymphocytes and an increase in neutrophils, suggesting that the neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio was affected by the ACTH challenge. Packed cell volume increased from 40% to 44%. Observations of individual vicunas during sampling revealed no discernible behavioural differences between treated and control animals; however, animals that had higher initial baseline cortisol concentration made more attempts to escape, and vocalised more during handling, regardless of whether they were treated with ACTH or placebo. The results reveal the different blood parameter levels associated with stress in different species and highlight the hazard of interpreting stress levels in one species on the basis of measures calibrated in another. We provide calibrated reference values for future studies of stress in vicunas.


Data sketches are approximate succinct summaries of long data streams. They are widely used for processing massive amounts of data and answering statistical queries about it. Existing libraries producing sketches are very fast, but do not allow parallelism for creating sketches using multiple threads or querying them while they are being built. We present a generic approach to parallelising data sketches efficiently and allowing them to be queried in real time, while bounding the error that such parallelism introduces. Utilising relaxed semantics and the notion of strong linearisability, we prove our algorithm's correctness and analyse the error it induces in some specific sketches. Our implementation achieves high scalability while keeping the error small. We have contributed one of our concurrent sketches to the open-source data sketches library.


Background: Recently, public attention to the area of personal hygiene has increased for a variety of reasons and one of them is due to the growing awareness that a majority of microbes that cause diseases among humans gain access through various portals of entry and transmitted to these portals mainly through hands. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of an integrated handwash and mouthrinse programme on the general health of young adolescent school children's in Puttur taluk. Material and Methods: A single-blinded randomized control trial was designed and conducted among school going young adolescents of Puttur taluk in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. Two schools were randomly included as experimental and control group. Mouth rinsing was integrated to handwashing program for the experimental group. Mouth rinsing program was implemented and monitored for 7 months. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistics was performed and paired "t" test was used to compare the difference in means. Results: Mean age of the school children was 12.33 ± 1.3 years, gender ratio of male: female was 0.5:1 and 0.7:1 of case and control groups, respectively. Analysis of oral health and general health parameters of study group and control group at final evaluation revealed modified Oral Hygiene Index Scores significantly reduced in study group from 1.52 ± 0.6 to 1.07 ± 0.5 (P < 0.01), Gingival Index scores significantly reduced in study group from 1.12 ± 0.6 to 0.75 ± 0.5 (P < 0.01). Mean incidence of absentees among study group reduced from 5.16 ± 0.5 to 2.45 ± 0.5 (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Integrating a monitored mouth rinsing to existing handwashing program will not incur additional financial or logistic constraints but may have an effect in improving general health, personal hygiene, and oral health among school children.


The small scale, short duration and hostile environment for instrumentation presented by cold spray coating makes experimental observations challenging, and therefore requires computational models capable of capturing the splat formation process. Current coating models are dominated by the Finite Element Method (FEM); whilst this has lead to significant improvements in understanding, the method is limited due to the reliance on a mesh coupled with the significant strains and strain rates involved. Eulerian methods have also been applied but retrieval of material histories and accurate interface tracking remains challenging. The Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method is a meshless method that combines the advantages of FEM and Eulerian approaches. The current work extends the work of applying SPH to solid mechanics with heat conduction, improved tensile stability corrections and a novel zero impedance boundary. Solver performance is increased with the application of the multi-threading capabilities of the C++ 11 standard. The development of the SPH solver is described, validated and benchmarked against known analytical and experimental test cases. An in-depth investigation of parameters affecting splat morphologies is performed. Finally, a model of a coating formation process involoving multiple feedstock impact events is described and analysed in order to demonstrate the capabilities of the newly developed solver.


Following the crises of the late 1990s and the subsequent slowdown in the world economy, many countries in the developed and developing world are at the crossroads in their trade strategy, uncertain whether to advance with trade reforms, to stand still or increase protection. While the case for liberalisation has been widely accepted as a long-term goal for economic policy, the gains from trade have not always been forthcoming and macroeconomic crises have exacerbated the situation. The delayed and uncertain benefits of reform, plus the costs of adjustment, the need to offset tariff revenue losses, and the possible benefits of some degree of intervention to foster industrialisation have all contributed to this indecision. Support for the WTO multilateral negotiations now appears half-hearted, and there are calls for increased protection. Following the slow progress of multilateral negotiations, attention has inevitably turned to regional and bilateral agreements. Indonesia provides an interesting case study of the potential benefits and costs of alternative trade strategies that are under active consideration in many developing countries. The ASEAN region has recently announced a deepening of its commitments and is considering widening the agreement to include countries such as China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. A bilateral agreement with the United States is also a possibility. Against this background, Indonesias options on trade policy range from increasing protection to actively pursuing bilateral, regional and multilateral initiatives. The results of a global general equilibrium analysis point to several interesting implications for policy makers. The results from the model show that increasing protection results in economic losses while a stand-still and more liberalisation produce economic gains. After undergoing full adjustment, estimated annual gains to Indonesia from a conservative Uruguay Round-style outcome within the WTO system total an estimated US$380 million (0.22 per cent of GDP). However, annual gains from a completely liberalised ASEAN plus China, Japan and Republic of Korea regional trade agreement are estimated at US$2.3 billion, again after adjustment. Indonesia could capture half of these benefits by liberalising unilaterally. The major source of the gains from unilateral, regional and multilateral liberalisation is improved efficiency following removal of tariffs on politically sensitive sectors such as motor vehicles. This improves productivity in many downstream sectors. There are significant trade diversion effects from regional integration, with non-members worse off as a result. The results have implications for other countries having second thoughts about their strategy.


I will show how the general trilinear interactions of the top quark (or any other fermion) arising from dimension-six gauge invariant operators are simplified when several operators in the Buchmuller & Wyler list, recently found to be redundant (arxiv:0811.3842, arxiv:0904.2387) are dropped. I will present some practical applications of this simplification for phenomenology, including the study of top FCNC processes (arxiv:1003.3173).


Cimbiosys is a novel peer-to-peer replication platform that permits each device to define its own content-based filter criteria. Cimbiosys attains two properties not achieved by previous systems: (1) eventually, every device stores exactly those items whose latest version meets its arbitrary filter criteria, independent of any hierarchical namespace and (2) eventually, every device can summarize its metadata in a compact form, with size proportional to the number of devices rather than the number of items. The first property is a matter of correctness; the second a matter of efficiency. This report describes and presents a specification of the Cimbiosys synchronization protocol, CIMSync. The specification is written in TLA+ and checked with the TLC model checker.


The lumbosacral spine (L5–S3) was examined by high resolution computed tomography (CT) in five canine cadaver specimens and one anesthetized dog using 5mm thick transverse slices at 5mm intervals. In each dog, anatomic features observed on CT images were confirmed by comparison with corresponding 5 mm thick anatomic transverse sections and section radiographs. CT anatomic features visualized in all dogs included the vertebral bodies, pedicles, laminae, articular processes, spinous processes, transverse processes, mammillary processes, basivertebral venous canals, vertebral foramina, intervertebral foramina, sacral wings, median sacral crest, intermediate sacral crests, lateral sacral crests, articular process joints, sacroiliac joints, internal vertebral venous plexus, epidural fat, thecal sac, L5–S3 nerve roots, and spinal nerves. Spinal ganglia, yellow ligaments, and portions of the intervertebral discs were visible in some dogs. The spinal cord, intrathecal nerve roots, dorsal and ventral longitudinal ligaments, spinal arteries, and radicular vessels were not distinguishable. Accessory processes were identified on the caudal L5 pedicles in most dogs, an observation that differed from descriptions in standard anatomy texts. Previously undescribed osseous grooves, termed "lateral recesses," were identified in the caudal L7 vertebral foramen of all dogs.


The use of the internet in homes rivals the advent of the telephone, radio, or television in social significance. Daily use of the World Wide Web and e-mail is taken for granted in many families, and the computer-linked internet is becoming an integral part of the physical and audiovisual environment. The internet's features of personalization, interactivity, and information abundance raise profound new issues for parents and children.Most researchers studying the impact of the internet on families begin with the assumption that the family is the central influence in preparing a child to live in society and that home is where that influence takes place. In The Wired Homestead, communication theorists and social scientists offer recent findings on the effects of the internet on the lives of the family unit and its members. The book examines historical precedents of parental concern over "new" media such as television. It then looks at specific issues surrounding parental oversight of internet use, such as rules about revealing personal information, time limits, and web site restrictions. It looks at the effects of the web on both domestic life and entire neighborhoods. The wealth of information offered and the formulation of emerging issues regarding parents and children lay the foundation for further research in this developing field. The contributors include Robert Kraut, Jorge Reina Schement, Ellen Seiter, Sherry Turkle, Ellen Wartella, and Barry Wellman.


: Maternal exposures to traffic-related air pollution have been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Exposures to traffic-related air pollutants are strongly influenced by time spent near traffic. However, little is known about women's travel activities during pregnancy and whether questionnaire-based data can provide reliable information on travel patterns during pregnancy. Examine women's in-vehicle travel behavior during pregnancy and examine the difference in travel data collected by questionnaire and global positioning system (GPS) and their potential for exposure error. We measured work-related travel patterns in 56 pregnant women using a questionnaire and one-week GPS tracking three times during pregnancy (<20 weeks, 20-30 weeks, and >30 weeks of gestation). We compared self-reported activities with GPS-derived trip distance and duration, and examined potentially influential factors that may contribute to differences. We also described in-vehicle travel behavior by pregnancy periods and influences of demographic and personal factors on daily travel times. Finally, we estimated personal exposure to particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PB-PAH) and examined the magnitude of exposure misclassification using self-reported vs. GPS travel data. Subjects overestimated both trip duration and trip distance compared to the GPS data. We observed moderately high correlations between self-reported and GPS-recorded travel distance (home to work trips: r = 0.88; work to home trips: r = 0.80). Better agreement was observed between the GPS and the self-reported travel time for home to work trips (r = 0.77) than work to home trips (r = 0.64). The subjects on average spent 69 and 93 minutes traveling in vehicles daily based on the GPS and self-reported data, respectively. Longer daily travel time was observed among participants in early pregnancy, and during certain pregnancy periods in women with higher education attainment, higher income, and no children. When comparing self-reported vs. GPS data, we found that estimated personal exposure to PB-PAH did not differ remarkably at the population level, but the difference was large at an individual level. Self-reported home-to-work data overestimated both trip duration and trip distance compared to GPS data. Significant differences in PAH exposure estimates were observed at individual level using self-reported vs. GPS data, which has important implications in air pollution epidemiological studies. Abstract Background: Maternal exposures to traffic-related air pollution have been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Exposures to traffic-related air pollutants are strongly influenced by time spent near traffic. However, little is known about women ' s travel activities during pregnancy and whether questionnaire-based data can provide reliable information on travel patterns during pregnancy. Objectives: Examine women ' s in-vehicle travel behavior during pregnancy and examine the difference in travel data collected by questionnaire and global positioning system (GPS) and their potential for exposure error. Methods: We measured work-related travel patterns in 56 pregnant women using a questionnaire and one-week GPS tracking three times during pregnancy (<20 weeks, 20 – 30 weeks, and >30 weeks of gestation). We compared self-reported activities with GPS-derived trip distance and duration, and examined potentially influential factors that may contribute to differences. We also described in-vehicle travel behavior by pregnancy periods and influences of demographic and personal factors on daily travel times. Finally, we estimated personal exposure to particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PB-PAH) and examined the magnitude of exposure misclassification using self-reported vs. GPS travel data. Results: Subjects overestimated both trip duration and trip distance compared to the GPS data. We observed moderately high correlations between self-reported and GPS-recorded travel distance (home to work trips: r = 0.88; work to home trips: r = 0.80). Better agreement was observed between the GPS and the self-reported travel time for home to work trips (r = 0.77) than work to home trips (r = 0.64). The subjects on average spent 69 and 93 minutes traveling in vehicles daily based on the GPS and self-reported data, respectively. Longer daily travel time was observed among participants in early pregnancy, and during certain pregnancy periods in women with higher education attainment, higher income, and no children. When comparing self-reported vs. GPS data, we found that estimated personal exposure to PB-PAH


Abstract In the last years, many pubs, bars and restaurants began to include in their offer cultural activities. Some cultural institutions also began to attract the public by offering a "leisure" space in the proximity, by association with private firms. This relatively recent phenomenon raised several specific questions about the identity of these spaces, the profile of their audience and the relation between artist, public and space, but also general questions about the emergent relation between economic and artistic sectors. The aim of this article is mapping the independent cultural urban spaces in Bucharest. On one hand we shall highlight the specificity of these hybrid spaces. On the other hand, the article analyses the customers' attributes depending on age, education and occupation. At last, the manner of negotiating the culture-business relation between the participants, the established limits and the tensions and strategic alliances give more information on how economic and cultural spheres are and can be integrated.


MATERIAL AND PROBLEM For the investigation of the anatomical pattern of Natrix vittata, the same material was used as for the description of the life of this snake. A preliminary question was whether both groups from Surabaia and from Tjimahi may be used for statistical treatment as a single unit or if they represent different varieties. The animals are easily recognisable and there is no outward sign which would indicate a difference between the group from the eastern coastal plains and the one from the western hills although the distance between both localities is about 800 km. The range of the body length is for both groups the same, for adult males in Surabaia 341-441 and in Tjimahi 346-457, and for females 392-560 and 395-555. In none of the other measures did we find any real difference between the groups of these two localities, so that we feel justified in taking the lot together as a single variety for Java. LENGTH AND WEIGHT The difference in body length for both sexes shown by the curve of Galton can be measured by the averages for adult animals, males 397.4 ± 3.84 and females 453.2 ± 4.51. The difference is obvious. The figures for weight also show a sex difference, the females being heavier, 37.14 ±1.38 gram versus males 24.25 ± 0.86. The correlation between body length and weight is for females r = 0.79 or Z = 1.05 ±: 0.13, for males r = 0.67 or Z = 0.85 ± 0.13. In % of the body length the weight is for males 6 and for females 8.3, the latter are stouter. In the animals with a complete tail, the relation between tail length and total length is in both sexes the same, round 25 %, as we have seen before.


Ethiopia is among the African countries with high maternal and child mortality rates, with a fast-growing population. To prevent the fast growing population; availability, the stability of contraceptive method and identifying factors that affects the practice of modern contraceptives should be given a priority. Thus, this study aims to identify the practice of contraceptives focusing on women's empowerment and other gender-related factors among married women. Primary data were collected from 984 married women out of which 561 (57.01) were users of contraceptives in Amhara region. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and econometric models such as multiple and multilevel logistic regressions. The results showed that; zone, the educational status of the couple, the age of women, discussing family planning issues with a partner, decisions about how each partner's income would be used, the income of women, wife beating and sexual response were significant factors in family planning. The multilevel analysis found that the variance of the random component related to the intercept term was found to be statistically significant, implying differences in the prevalence of family planning among the zone. It also found that the educational status of the couple, the age of the women, discussing family planning issues with a partner, decisions making in income earnings, the income of women, wife beating and sexual response were significant determinants of varying proportions of family planning.

 Key words: Family planning, multilevel logistic regression model, women empowerment.


To explore new stable phases in metal nitride halides, the structural, electronic and optical properties, and chemical bonding characteristics of Zn2NI under pressure were studied on the basis of crystal structure predicting evolution and density function calculations. Three new high-pressure phases of Zn2NI were revealed: Pna21 and Pnma-II phases with NZn4 tetrahedrons, and P63/mmc phase with NZn6 polyhedrons above 6, 23, and 94 GPa, respectively. The calculated electronic structures of all the phases of Zn2NI under pressure indicated that they are all semiconductors except P63/mmc phase. Therefore, pressure can simulated Zn2NI a transition from a semiconductor to a metal. The optical properties (e.g., absorption coefficient, dielectric function) of these high-pressure phases were also discussed.