When a system of parallel equidistant cooling crack propagates into halfspace, it reaches at a certain depth a critical state at which the growth of every other crack is arrested. Later these cracks reach a second critical state at which they close. The intermediate cracks, at doubled spacing, open about twice as wide and advance further as cooling penetrates deeper. Determination of the critical states requires calculation of the derivatives of the stress intensity factors with regard to crack lengths, which is here accomplished by finite element method. It is found that the crack depth-to-spacing ratio at which the critical state is reached is extremely sensitive to the temperature profile. This ratio greatly increases as the cooling front becomes steeper. The effect of transverse isotropy of the material upon the location of critical states is found to be relatively mild. The results are of interest for one recently proposed geothermal energy scheme for hot dry rock, as well as for shrinkage cracks in concrete.


After the end of the Cold War had signalled for many the demise of political theatre, a re-emergence of British political plays since the turn of the century has become an acknowledged phenomenon. Customary definitions of this cultural practice, however, have become historically and theoretically obsolete. An alternative philosophical framework is needed which breaks with both the unrealistic expectations of the traditional Left and the defeatist limitations of postmodernist positions.
This thesis aims to provide a revised definition of political theatre based on the ideas of Jurgen Habermas. The development of his philosophical project is described together with its refinement as the result of interjections by other thinkers from within the neo-Marxist tradition of Critical Theory, in particular feminist contributors. In addition to exploring key concepts such as the reconstruction of historical materialism, the paradigm of discourse ethics and the model of post avant-garde political art, greater focus is placed on the notion of the public sphere, which has special relevance when examining the contemporary dynamics of political theatre.
The second part of the thesis comprises case studies of plays written since the fall of the Berlin Wall, with emphasis on those performed from 2000 onwards, illustrating how the theoretical framework can be employed to interpret these works. The plays are representative of different strands of current political theatre, including (reconstructed) epic theatre, verbatim and tribunal forms, and feminist writing that deals with public/private and local/global dichotomies. The proposed redefinition offers an emancipatory framework for a productive understanding of political theatre in the changing world of the new century.


A defining difference of macro-style stress testing is the explicit consideration of profitability dynamics in the stress scenario. Traditional stress testing had focused almost exclusively on losses only, but a complete assessment of capital adequacy under stress must take into account not just the balance sheet but also the income statement. For instance, in the 2013 US stress test, reduction in projected income for the 18 mandatory bank holding companies (BHCs) covered nearly 60% of projected stress losses. We describe and discuss a framework for modeling the major components of the income statement for BHCs using the U.S. regulatory reports as an empirical illustration. We review approaches taken by the industry and trace its remarkable development in the wake of the financial crisis. We find – perhaps unsurprisingly and in line with previous literature – that successfully modeling profitability requires a tailored BHC-specific approach to revenue segmentation and modeling. We argue that failure to pursue a relatively granular income source segmentation along different business activities, far more granular than reflected in typical regulatory reports, will obscure significant underlying differences in macro risk factor sensitivities.


OBJECTIVES
Existing studies on the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) have produced diverse results regarding the types and prevalence of CAM use due, in part, to variations in the measurement of CAM modalities. A questionnaire that can be adapted for use in a variety of populations will improve CAM utilization measurement. The purposes of this article are to (1) articulate the need for such a common questionnaire; (2) describe the process of questionnaire development; (3) present a model questionnaire with core questions; and (4) suggest standard techniques for adapting the questionnaire to different languages and populations.

METHODS
An international workshop sponsored by the National Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NAFKAM) of the University of Tromsø, Norway, brought CAM researchers and practitioners together to design an international CAM questionnaire (I-CAM-Q). Existing questionnaires were critiqued, and working groups drafted content for a new questionnaire. A smaller working group completed, tested, and revised this self-administered questionnaire.

RESULTS
The questionnaire that was developed contains four sections concerned with visits to health care providers, complementary treatments received from physicians, use of herbal medicine and dietary supplements, and self-help practices. A priori-specified practitioners, therapies, supplements, and practices are included, as well as places for researcher-specified and respondent-specified additions. Core questions are designed to elicit frequency of use, purpose (treatment of acute or chronic conditions, and health maintenance), and satisfaction. A penultimate version underwent pretesting with "think-aloud" techniques to identify problems related to meaning and format. The final questionnaire is presented, with suggestions for testing and translating.

CONCLUSIONS
Once validated in English and non-English speaking populations, the I-CAM-Q will provide an opportunity for researchers to gather comparable data in studies conducted in different populations. Such data will increase knowledge about the epidemiology of CAM use and provide the foundation for evidence-based comparisons at an international level.


The Frog Embryo Teratogenesis Assay-Xenopus (FETAX) is a powerful and flexible bioassay that makes use of the embryos of the anuran amphibian Xenopus laevis. The FETAX can detect xenobiotics that affect embryonic development, when mortality, teratogenicity and growth inhibition are used as endpoints. The FETAX was used to compare the embryotoxic and teratogenic potentials of two chemical species of mercury: inorganic mercury(II) chloride (HgCl2) and organic methylmercury chloride (MeHgCl). MeHgCl, with an estimated median lethal concentration [LC50] of 0.313μM and a median teratogenic concentration [TC50] of 0.236μM, showed a higher toxicity than HgCl2, with estimated LC50 and TC50 values of 0.601μM and 0.513μM, respectively. On the basis of these results, HgCl2 and MeHgCl can be classified as "slightly teratogenic compounds", as the ratio of LC50/TC50 is less than 1.5. There was a significant deviation from the commonly described monotonic behaviour of the concentration–response curves, suggesting a hormetic effect of both species of mercury. Uptake experiments, followed by neutron activation analysis, showed a higher incorporation of mercury in embryos exposed to MeHgCl compared with those exposed to HgCl2. Interestingly, Hg-exposed embryos showed a higher content of selenium and zinc than did control embryos.


Background Despite indications that infection-related mortality in sub-Saharan Africa may be decreasing and the burden of non-communicable diseases increasing, the overwhelming reality is that health information systems across most of sub-Saharan Africa remain too weak to track epidemiological transition in a meaningful and effective way. Proposals We propose a minimum dataset as the basis of a functional health information system in countries where health information is lacking. This would involve continuous monitoring of cause-specific mortality through routine civil registration, regular documentation of exposure to leading risk factors, and monitoring effective coverage of key preventive and curative interventions in the health sector. Consideration must be given as to how these minimum data requirements can be effectively integrated within national health information systems, what methods and tools are needed, and ensuring that ethical and political issues are addressed. A more strategic approach to health information systems in sub-Saharan African countries, along these lines, is essential if epidemiological changes are to be tracked effectively for the benefit of local health planners and policy makers. Conclusion African countries have a unique opportunity to capitalize on modern information and communications technology in order to achieve this. Methodological standards need to be established and political momentum fostered so that the African continent's health status can be reliably tracked. This will greatly strengthen the evidence base for health policies and facilitate the effective delivery of services.


This classic series will excite students' imaginations while enriching skills in logical thinking. Logic Countdown problems are easy to incorporate into lesson plans and are formatted to enhance the fullest spectrum of curriculum areas while sharpening thinking skills. Challenging and instructional, these thought-provoking books present sequential exercises in logical reasoning that include relationships, analogies, syllogisms, sequences, deductive reasoning, inference, truth-values, and logical notation. Simple grids coupled with intriguing problems evoke enthusiasm and inspire students to higher and higher levels of thinking. Each book builds on concepts presented previously in the series to offer a comprehensive logic adventure for young thinkers.The skills students build by using this book are applicable to several areas of the curriculum. Academic skills used for reading, math, writing, and science all depend on the ability to perceive and define relationships and to form inferences. But, beyond the academic world, students will find logical thinking an integral part of everyday life.This is the first in a three-book series designed to sharpen children's logical thinking skills. Once students master the skills presented in this book, they will be ready for new challenges in Logic Liftoff and Orbiting with Logic.Grades 3-4


Objective: The dual-specificity phosphatase-6 (DUSP-6) is a member of dual-specificity protein phosphatase (DUSP) family, it can make residues of threonine and tyrosine dephosphorylate. In recent years, it was found that DUSP-6 is correlated with tumour generation and progress. In this study we have detected the effect of DUSP-6 gene methylation on invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods: RT-PCR and methylation-specific PCR are used to detect mRNA expression and methylation state of DUSP-6 gene in nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues and CNE2 cell line. The changes of mRNA expression and methylation state of DUSP-6 gene, proliferation and invasion of cells were detected after 5-aza- 2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-cdR) treated CNE2 cell line. Results: These results showed that DUSP-6 gene expression is related to its promoter methylation state, cervical lymph node metastasis is related to DUSP-6 gene promoter methylation state in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, 5-aza-cdR can inhibit invasion of CNE2 cells, and make re-expression of DUSP-6 gene by promoter demethylation in CNE2 cells. Conclusion: DUSP-6 gene promoter methylation state is possibly an important factor that effected invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. DUSP-6 gene may make a novel marker for prognostic evaluation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.


A dynamic model of investment process for a technology innovator in a market environment is designed. The "light" dynamics of the active innovator is described by the system of exponential trajectories in which one can quickly change growth parameters. It is assumed that the innovator operates in the inert market environment which can be presented by "heavy" exponential trajectories. The growth parameters of the market trajectories vary slowly and can be identified to some accuracy in the dynamic process of econometric observation basing on information of the current technology stock (the average market technology stock) and its rate (the average market technology rate). The model consists of three decision making levels for dynamical identification, optimization of the commercialization time and optimal control design. On the first level the innovator makes assessment for the current commercialization time using econometric characteristics of the current level of the market technology stock and the market technology rate. Since the market environment is inert and its acceleration (the second derivative) is small then information about the market technology stock (current position) and the market technology rate (current first derivative) gives an opportunity to estimate exponential parameters of the market growth trajectories, to forecast the market commercialization time and indicate its sensitivity. On the second level the innovator optimizes its commercialization time basing on its own current technology stock and taking into account the forecast of the market commercialization time. Two scenarios are possible for the innovator: the "slow" scenario with "large" time of innovation is oriented on the local extremum with usual level of sales of invented products, the "fast" scenario with "small" time of innovation maximizes the early level of innovation with bonus sales due to the market overtaking. On the third level the innovator solves an optimization problem for the investment policy basing on information about the chosen scenario, the commercialization time, and the difference between the achieved technology stock and the demanded technology stock for starting commercialization. Dynamical optimality principles for optimizing discounted innovation costs on investment trajectories are used for finding the optimal investment plan and designing optimal feedback for its realization. Properties of sensitivity and robustness are investigated for the optimal profit result and innovation feedbacks.


ABSTRACT Reverse transcription–quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is one of the most sensitive, economical and widely used methods for evaluating gene expression. However, the utility of this method continues to be undermined by a number of challenges including normalization using appropriate reference genes. The need to develop tailored and effective strategies is further underscored by the burgeoning field of extracellular vesicle (EV) biology. EVs contain unique signatures of small RNAs including microRNAs (miRs). In this study we develop and validate a comprehensive strategy for identifying highly stable reference genes in a therapeutically relevant cell type, cardiosphere-derived cells. Data were analysed using the four major approaches for reference gene evaluation: NormFinder, GeNorm, BestKeeper and the Delta Ct method. The weighted geometric mean of all of these methods was obtained for the final ranking. Analysis of RNA sequencing identified miR-101-3p, miR-23a-3p and a previously identified EV reference gene, miR-26a-5p. Analysis of a chip-based method (NanoString) identified miR-23a, miR-217 and miR-379 as stable candidates. RT-qPCR validation revealed that the mean of miR-23a-3p, miR-101-3p and miR-26a-5p was the most stable normalization strategy. Here, we demonstrate that a comprehensive approach of a diverse data set of conditions using multiple algorithms reliably identifies stable reference genes which will increase the utility of gene expression evaluation of therapeutically relevant EVs.


www.avianbiology.org Journal of Avian Biology 2 20: e02 62 Studies on the relationship between behavioral traits and dispersal are necessary to understand the evolution of dispersal syndromes. Empirical studies have mainly focused on natal dispersal, even though behavioral differences between dispersers and philopatric individuals are suspected to hold through the whole life cycle, potentially affecting breeding dispersal propensity. Using capture–mark–recapture data and behavioral trials in a forest passerine, the thorn-tailed rayadito Aphrastura spinicauda, we describe inter-individual differences in exploratory behavior and aggressiveness, and investigate the relationship between those traits and breeding dispersal. Our study took place in Fray Jorge National Park, north-central Chile, where a relatively isolated population of rayaditos inhabits a naturally fragmented environment. We found that scores for behavioral traits were consistent between years. Exploratory behavior was similar between sexes, while males showed higher levels of aggression towards a conspecific male intruder. Only exploratory behavior was related to breeding dispersal propensity, with fast-exploring rayaditos being more likely to have dispersed between seasons. This finding provides indirect evidence for the existence of a dispersal strategy that could reduce dispersal costs in the fragmented landscape of Fray Jorge. To our knowledge, this is the first study documenting an association between breeding dispersal and exploratory behavior in a wild bird population. A longitudinal individual-based study will help determining whether this association constitutes a behavioral syndrome.


The regulation of the activity of transcription factors by controlling their distribution between cytoplasm and nucleus is well known. Qutob et al. extend this observation to a member of the steroid receptor coactivator (SRC) family, p300/CBP-interacting protein (p/CIP). They found that, in mouse tissues and in cell lines, p/CIP was present in both the cytoplasm and nucleus. The distribution of p/CIP changed during the cell cycle (being exclusively cytoplasmic during S phase and M phase), and stimulation of cells with growth factors or phorbol esters promoted nuclear accumulation. One surprising result was that the cytoplasmic distribution was coincident with that of the microtubule network, and cytoplasmic p/CIP was found in a large-molecular-mass complex (700 kD) that also contained tubulin. If the microtubule network was disrupted with colchicine, p/CIP did not redistribute to the nucleus in response to the phorbol ester PMA. Thus, the interaction of P/CIP with microtubules may serve both a passive sequestering role in keeping this transcription factor in the cytoplasm and a more active role in controlling transport into the nucleus. M. S. Qutob, R. N. Bharracharjee, E. Pollari, S. P. Yee, J. Torchia, Microtubule-dependent subcellular redistribution of the transcription coactivator p/CIP, Mol. Cell. Biol. 22, 6611-6626 (2002). [Abstract] [Full Text]


In this paper, we introduce a Bayesian time series model approach for gas concentration estimation using Metal Oxide (MOX) sensors in Open Sampling System (OSS). Our approach focuses on the compensation of the slow response of MOX sensors, while concurrently solving the problem of estimating the gas concentration in OSS. The proposed Augmented Switching Linear System model allows to include all the sources of uncertainty arising at each step of the problem in a single coherent probabilistic formulation. In particular, the problem of detecting on-line the current sensor dynamical regime and estimating the underlying gas concentration under environmental disturbances and noisy measurements is formulated and solved as a statistical inference problem. Our model improves, with respect to the state of the art, where system modeling approaches have been already introduced, but only provided an indirect relative measures proportional to the gas concentration and the problem of modeling uncertainty was ignored. Our approach is validated experimentally and the performances in terms of speed of and quality of the gas concentration estimation are compared with the ones obtained using a photo-ionization detector.


While assessing the prognostic implications of immunophenotyping in 382 patients enrolled in treatment protocols of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) for de novo adult acute myeloid leukaemia, we identified 95 patients with a unique antigen profile characterized by high expression of the leucocyte integrin CD11b (CD11b+ AML). High expression of CD11b was defined as 32% positive blasts based on the retrospectively established prognostic cut‐off point for this antigen. Although CD11b is normally expressed by mature monocytes, natural killer cells and granulocytes, leukaemic blasts in CD11b+ AML lacked other immunologic monocytic features (e.g. CD14 and CD122, the interleukin‐2 receptor β chain) and demonstrated a high degree of immaturity, as reflected by a high incidence of blasts expressing the stem cell factor receptor, CD117, and few blasts positive for the myeloid differentiation antigen CD15. Furthermore, by FAB criteria, only 41% of CD11b+ AML cases were classified as M4/M5. Patients with CD11b+ AML had a low response rate (54%) when compared with acute monocytic leukaemia (AMOL; 82%, P = 0.006) or AML overall (68%, P = 0.031), independent of age, cytogenetic abnormalities and P‐glycoprotein expression. Because of its poor prognosis, recognition of CD11b+ AML is clinically warranted and, given its morphologic and cytogenetic ambiguity, must be based on the unique antigen profile.


The Introduction addresses problems in the history of the essay, and criticism and scholarship on it. Although the essay's origin is easy to date—Montaigne's Essais (1580) was the first book of that title—it is notoriously difficult to define, and there is remarkably little scholarship and criticism on it. This introduction asks why, offering a prehistory in Plutarch, Seneca, miscellaneous writing, and commonplacing; examining the metaphorical range of the term 'essay', and various other names for the form; exploring the transformation of Montaigne's legacy in England; surveying criticism on the essay; and exploring the contradictions in its use in pedagogy. Rather than attempting a definition, the Introduction explores how the essay resists one, exposing a sequence of contradictions which anticipate the subsequent chapters: that the essay can be institutional or amateurish; methodical or anti-methodical; artistic or scientific; detached or polemical; intimate or formal; sociable or isolated; journalistic or philosophical; poetic or novelistic.


In this study, the Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other Environmental Impacts (TRACI) of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the methodology of the Centre for Environmental Studies (CML) of the University of Leiden are two approaches applied as provided for in the GaBi5 (Holistic Balancing) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software database, to classify and characterize environmental impacts of municipal wastes in Ogbomoso South Local Government Area (LGA), Nigeria. On waste composition, 5 representative households were selected, each from the cardinal polling units in Ibapon (ward 4) for the study. Wastes samples were collected from the households over a period of 5 days, sorted, classified according to their constituents and weighed accordingly. For the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA), two waste management scenarios/models were developed and compared using GaBi5 software. Scenario 1 involves collection, transportation and landfilling, while Scenario 2 ends with incineration. The Impact Indices determined from both scenarios were: Global Warming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP) and Ozone Layer Depletion Potential (ODP). Findings show that the overall mean percent (%) wastes composition for biodegradable, metal, textile, paper, plastic, glass and wood were respectively found to be 55.9, 9.5, 2.4, 6.5, 6.7, 6.6, and 12.2. From the results of LCIA methods studied, landfilling of wastes poses a lesser burden on the environment, using the ODP index, as compared to incineration. It is concluded that of the management scenarios considered, landfilling of wastes is more environmentally friendly and therefore recommended for use in the study area.


In the first part of this thesis we discuss some of the issues arising in extending the ABJM action of multiple M2-branes to include couplings to the background 3-form field. These couplings are analogous to the Myers-Chern-Simons terms of the multiple D2-brane action. We review and extend previous results to include terms which are quadratic in the background 3-form. These are fixed by requiring that we recover the correct terms after using the novel Higgs mechanism to reduce the ABJM action to the multiple D2-brane action. We also discuss the problem of constructing a gauge invariant pull-back in the ABJM action.

In the second part of this thesis, we begin by exploring the low energy dynamics of charge two instantons in $\SU(2)$ five dimensional Yang-Mills via the moduli space approximation of Manton. We also investigate dyonic instantons which have an excited scalar field and create a potential on the moduli space. In Chapter 5 we explicitly calculate the moduli space metric and potential for charge two (dyonic) instantons. These calculations are performed by using the ADHM construction.

In Chapter 6 we perform a numerical study of the low-energy dynamics of instantons and dyonic instantons. We see that instantons undergo right-angled scattering and understand this analytically in terms of symmetries of the underlying ADHM data. We also present a comprehensive study of the scattering behaviour of instantons and dyonic instantons under various initial conditions. Finally we exhibit some examples of closed geodesics on the moduli space of dyonic instantons, and geodesics which hit the moduli space singularities in finite time.

In Chapter 7 we investigate instantons with a large amount of symmetry. We first understand how the action of a symmetry on an instanton is lifted to the underlying ADHM data. The transformation of the ADHM data must be undoable by a transformation which leaves the instanton invariant, and we search for symmetric instantons by finding such transformation matrices that are representations of the symmetry group. With this method we are able to find solutions to the ADHM constraints that describe instantons with the symmetries of the 5-cell, 16-cell and 24-cell, with charge 4, 7, and 23 respectively. Finally, we see that these solutions correspond to solutions which can be constructed from the JNR ansatz.


Only a few previous observations of very low O 3 mixing ratios in the upper troposphere are available. The aim of this study was to examine the rich MOZAIC data set for more. Flights with at least 25 4 s averaged mixing ratios less than 8 ppbv at pressures lower than 500 hPa measured using commercial aircraft within the MOZAIC project have been analysed. There are eleven flights that fulfil these conditions (excluding artefacts as discussed below), representing about 0.001% of all measurements during the analysed period August 1994-December 1997. The low O 3 events occurred over Southeast Asia, Africa, Brazil and the sea area 200 km east of Florida (US) and were all likely to be associated with transport of air masses from tropical sea areas. These low mixing ratio events occur in the upper troposphere during periods with generally low mixing ratios. They are not only found over sea, but also over land at pressure levels as low as 179 hPa. It could well be that some of the low O 3 mixing ratio events measured during two or more flights belong to the same bigger low O 3 mixing ratio area.


Despite the growing body of knowledge regarding software engineering and management of projects involving software development or integration, such projects frequently overrun cost and schedule estimates by a factor of two or more. In the first part of this two-part series, it was argued that conventional methods of estimating the effort involved in software development projects are flawed because they do not take rework into account, or at the very least are unable to accommodate reliably the need for rework effort. Rework impacts upon almost every aspect of software projects, from the earliest stage when requirements are being captured, through to final acceptance testing. How rework impacts upon each phase of the project, and the project overall, is identified through the use of a dynamic simulation coupled with scenario planning. Using the approach described in this article, managers of projects involving software development can identify where management and engineering efforts are best directed, before committing to delivering a project which subsequently proves unexpectedly costly or involves undue risk.


Subject guide with library and web resources to help medical students choose a specialty, find and research specialty programs, and apply and interview


This thesis investigates the pricing-to-market (PTM) behaviour of the UK export sector. Unlike previous studies, this study econometrically tests for seasonal unit roots in the export prices prior to estimating PTM behaviour. Prior studies have seasonally adjusted the data automatically. This study's results show that monthly export prices contain very little seasonal unit roots implying that there is a loss of information in the data generating process of the series when estimating PTM using seasonally-adjusted data. Prior studies have also ignored the econometric properties of the data despite the existence of ARCH effects in such data. The standard approach has been to estimate PTM models using Ordinary Least Square (OLS). For this reason, both EGARCH and GJR-EGARCH (hereafter GJR) estimation methods are used to estimate both a standard and an Error Correction model (ECM) of PTM. The results indicate that PTM behaviour varies across UK sectors. The variables used in the PTM models are co-integrated and an ECM is a valid representation of pricing behaviour. The study also finds that the price adjustment is slower when the analysis is performed on real prices, i.e., data that are adjusted for inflation. There is strong evidence of auto-regressive condition heteroscedasticity (ARCH) effects – meaning that the PTM parameter estimates of prior studies have been ineffectively estimated. Surprisingly, there is very little evidence of asymmetry. This suggests that exporters appear to PTM at a relatively constant rate. This finding might also explain the failure of prior studies to find evidence of asymmetric exposure in foreign exchange (FX) rates. This study also provides a cross sectional analysis to explain the implications of the observed PTM of producers' marginal cost, market share and product differentiation. The cross-sectional regressions are estimated using OLS, Generalised Method of Moment (GMM) and Logit estimations. Overall, the results suggest that market share affects PTM positively.Exporters with smaller market share are more likely to operate PTM. Alternatively, product differentiation is negatively associated with PTM. So industries with highly differentiated products are less likely to adjust their prices. However, marginal costs seem not to be significantly associated with PTM. Exporters perform PTM to limit the FX rate effect pass-through to their foreign customers, but they also avoided exploiting PTM to the full, since to do so can substantially reduce their profits.


Transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy with tissue plasminogen activator, gas and intravitreal bevacizumab in the management of predominantly hemorrhagic age-related macular degeneration Purpose: To determine the efficacy and safety of treating predominantly hemorrhagic age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy (TSV), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), and intravitreal bevacizumab. Methods: Retrospective study, consecutive case series. Patients with acute hemorrhagic AMD treated with 25-or 23-gauge TSV, subretinal or intravitreal tPA, fluid-air-SF6 exchange and intravitreal injection of bevacizumab. All operations were performed within the first 5 days after the start of symptoms, which consisted of visual acuity (VA) loss and central scotoma. Results: Fifteen eyes from 15 patients were included. The patients' mean age was 79.6 years, and the mean follow-up was 11.8 months. Five patients (33%) were receiving oral anticoagulant treatment. At baseline, the mean VA (logMAR values) was 1.5 (20/640 Snellen equivalent). At the last follow-up visit, the mean VA was 1.1 (20/250) (P  0.0001; paired t-test). The submacular hemorrhage was successfully displaced in all the cases. Complications consisted of three cases of vitreous hemorrhage and a tear or the retinal pigment epithelium. Twelve cases (80%) did not require further treatment during the follow-up period. Conclusion: A surgical approach with 25-or 23-gauge TSV, tPA, SF6 and intravitreal bevaci-zumab is an efficacious and safe procedure in patients with hemorrhagic AMD. Early treatment is advisable for obtaining the optimal outcome.


In this paper, we analyze the spatial distribution of US employment and earnings against an urban wage-efficiency background, where leisure and effort at work are complementary. Using data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) for the period 2003-2014, we analyze the spatial distribution of employment across metropolitan areas. We also empirically study the relationship between individual earnings and commuting and leisure. Our empirical results show that employment is mostly concentrated in metropolitan cores, and that earnings increase with "expected" commuting time, which gives empirical support to our urban wage-efficiency theory. Furthermore, we use Geographical Information System models to show that there is no common pattern of commuting and the employees-to-unemployed rate, although we find higher wages in comparatively crowded states, where average commuting times are also higher.


Part of an Ohio State Law Journal symposium on the Supreme Court's decision finding an individual right to arms in District of Columbia v. Heller, this article offers five takes on what the Heller decision might mean, and how it may play out in lower courts. First, we argue that Heller essentially followed the prevailing national consensus on the meaning of the Second Amendment. Second, we argue that this fact furnishes an important data point for those who argue that the Court usually follows, rather than leads, public opinion on disputed matters; and that, when it invalidates laws, it does so with respect to policy outliers. Third, we speculate on what has already opened up as the second front in gun rights litigation strategy: the incorporation of the Second Amendment through the Fourteenth Amendment. Fourth, we discuss how lower courts will likely treat Heller-will they apply it or, as has happened with other "landmark" Supreme Court cases, ignore it? Finally, we discuss the notable incongruities among the Justices that Heller produced.


Executive Summary This article provides an overview and critique of US immigration and asylum policies from the perspective of the author's 46 years as a public servant. The article offers a taxonomy of the US immigration system by positing different categories of membership: full members of the "club" (US citizens), associate members (lawful permanent residents, refugees, and "asylees"), friends (nonimmigrants and holders of temporary status), and persons outside the club (the undocumented). It describes the legal framework that applies to these distinct populations and recent developments in federal law and policy that relate to them. It also identifies a series of cross-cutting issues that affect these populations, including immigrant detention, immigration court backlogs, state and local immigration policies, and constitutional rights that extend to noncitizens. It ends with a series of recommendations for reform of the US asylum system, and a short conclusion.


When DNA replication is stalled at sites of DNA damage, a cascade of responses is activated in the cell to halt cell cycle progression and promote DNA repair. A pathway initiated by the kinase Ataxia teleangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR) and its partner ATR interacting protein (ATRIP) plays an important role in this response. The Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway is also activated following genomic stress, and defects in this pathway cause a cancer-prone hematologic disorder in humans. Little is known about how these two pathways are coordinated. We report here that following cellular exposure to DNA cross-linking damage, the FA core complex enhances binding and localization of ATRIP within damaged chromatin. In cells lacking the core complex, ATR-mediated phosphorylation of two functional response targets, ATRIP and FANCI, is defective. We also provide evidence that the canonical ATR activation pathway involving RAD17 and TOPBP1 is largely dispensable for the FA pathway activation. Indeed DT40 mutant cells lacking both RAD17 and FANCD2 were synergistically more sensitive to cisplatin compared with either single mutant. Collectively, these data reveal new aspects of the interplay between regulation of ATR-ATRIP kinase and activation of the FA pathway.


This study basically aims at comparing the financial performance of Samba and AlRajhi banks from 2006-2011 by using the DuPont model of financial analysis. Samba and AlRajhi are considered the largest banks by market value in Saudi Arabia. The DuPont model is derived from an analysis of return on equity that divide performance into three parts: Operating efficiency ratio which is also known as financial performance ratio is measured by profit margin, asset use efficiency which determine if assets was utilized efficiently which is measured by total asset turnover, and financial leverage which shows to what extent the bank relies on debts which is measured by the equity multiplier. The results of the study discover that, the financial performance of the two banks as regards to net profit margin is relatively steady and reflects minimal volatility. Asset utilization has declined for both banks over the years under study. Equity multiplier was higher for Samba than AlRajhi, but volatility was almost low for both banks. Also, AlRajhi had less financial leverage to fund its assets. Furthermore, return on equity has sloped down for both banks over the period of this study.


To unify the methodology of Virtual Fit platforms and allowing cross platform integration of 3D Body Scanning, the current Virtual Fit platforms need to be assessed in terms of their size recommendation approach and user interaction. Digital data, interactivity, and internet technology are changing the ways we interact in online shopping, with the Virtual Fit platforms having great potential to increase retail engagement and market share. This will support online purchasing activities while minimising the perceived risk in garment returns due to the poor sizing fit information. Current research has focused on the analysis of computer modelling techniques, avatars, cloth, fabric draping simulations, and customer behaviour / aesthetic impact in the online domain. From a technical perspective, these investigations offer an interesting insight, although do not address issues of implementation or customer attitude. Therefore, to judge the current and potential impact of such technologies, it is important to understand 1) how they are being enacted online, 2) the Interaction Design elements of the user journey, 3) the application (or lack thereof) of mathematical models, and 4) how such interfaces are embedded within websites. Once these four key questions have been answered a greater understanding of how 3D Body Scanning and Technologies integrated into eCommerce and Virtual Fit platforms in the consumer market may be reached. Through analysis of nine leading Virtual Fit platforms, the persona of a single female dress form was used to work through the customer journey. Through this, screen shot data captured along each stage in relation to the four research questions listed above. Following this, the study utilised content analysis structure with NVivo as a qualitative thematic analysis tool. This study found that despite a large number of platforms using virtual fit technology, only a handful companies exist that provide such technology and interfaces; often based upon subjective 'previous purchases' rather than scientific prediction. This issue is made more complicated in how subjective measures such as personal perception of one's body is required (e.g. what size are you), besides body shape; a concept shown to be 'broken' and not fit-for-purpose. In addition, many of the technologies use limited and often misinterpreted body measurements, the impact of which is explored in greater detail within the paper. This study contributes to the understanding of the information required from users by virtual fit platforms, and the understanding of the output as presented by virtual fit platforms. The research goal is to contribute to knowledge as a potential guideline for any future projects in virtual fit and to help direct body scanning developments to better support these platforms.


Within the broader debate over the political economy of statebuilding, the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in fragile and post-conflict settings is increasingly controversial but still understudied. This paper examines the tensions between the good governance agenda currently being implemented in Iraq and the investment dynamics occurring at the country's national and provincial levels. Drawing on disaggregated data, the paper argues that the flow of FDI is reinforcing destabilizing dynamics in Iraq by increasing levels of inequality, deepening the decentralization process, and undermining internal and external balances of power.


With the increasing importance of computer-based communication technologies, communication networks are becoming crucial in supply chain management. Given the objectives of the supply chain, supply chain management is situated at the intersection of different professional sectors, each of them with its own vocabulary, its own knowledge and rules. This paper provides a review of the main approaches to supply chain communications through the analysis of different ways of modelling a supply chain and the presentation of new semantic-based approaches that have been and are being developed to improve the quality of the information exchanges within the supply chain.


This study highlighted the humanistic-transformational perspectives via portfolio assessment which offers a conceptual framework for teaching and assessment. More specifically, it attempted toexplore the effectof portfolioassessmenton EFL learners'reading comprehension ability and motivation in the context of Iran. It adopted the quasi-experimental design comprising the pretest-treatment-posttest paradigm. To achieve the purpose, the researchers collected the triangulated data about the participants. Two classes were selected as the experimental and control groups from TabaranInstitute of Higher Education. They were 65 female university students majoring in translation. The only difference between the two groups was integrating portfolio into learning strategy-based instruction for the experimental group (portfolio-based instruction vs. non-portfolio instruction). At the post-testing stage, the both groups were retested through the reading comprehension test and the motivation questionnaire. A self-report assessment was also utilized to increase the credibility of the motivation test. The resultobtained from Mann Whitney U tests and t-testsrevealed that portfolio assessment as a constructivist strategy empowers participants' reading comprehension and motivation.


Various neutrophil functions such as phagocytosis, superoxide production, and survival are regulated by integrin signaling. Despite the essential role of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in mediating this signaling pathway, its exact function in neutrophils is ill defined. In this study, we investigated the role of FAK in neutrophils using a myeloid-specific conditional FAK knockout mouse. As reported in many other cell types, FAK is required for regulation of focal adhesion dynamics when neutrophils adhere to fibronectin or ICAM-1. Adhesion on VCAM-1-coated surfaces and chemotaxis after adhesion were not altered in FAK null neutrophils. In addition, we observed significant reduction in NADPH oxidase-mediated superoxide production and complement-mediated phagocytosis in FAK null neutrophils. As a result, these neutrophils displayed decreased pathogen killing capability both in vitro and in vivo in a mouse peritonitis model. In adherent cells, the defects associated with FAK deficiency are likely due to suppression of phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P3) signaling and chemoattractant-elicited calcium signaling. Disruption of FAK also reduced chemoattractant-elicited superoxide production in suspended neutrophils in the absence of cell adhesion. This may be solely caused by suppression of PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 signaling in these cells, because the fMLP-elicited calcium signal was not altered. Consistent with decreased PtdIns(3,4,5)P3/Akt signaling in FAK null neutrophils, we also observed accelerated spontaneous death in these cells. Taken together, our results revealed previously unrecognized roles of FAK in neutrophil function and provided a potential therapeutic target for treatment of a variety of infectious and inflammatory diseases.


Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the nuances of management, prognostic factors, and outcome of ischemic priapism in patients seen at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively studied the case notes of all patients managed for ischemic priapism in the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, over a period of 10 years (2006–2015). The data extracted included patients' age, occupation, duration of painful penile erection, and previous episodes. Addition information including precipitating factors, hemoglobin genotype, treatment, and complications was also retrieved. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: The records of a total of forty patients managed for priapism over the period under review were retrieved. Thirty-three (82.5%) of these patients had an operative intervention. The mean age was 23.7 years with a range of 8–53 years. Sixty percent of patients were young adults in their third decade of life. The minimum duration of erection at presentation was 18 h and a maximum period of 10 days with a mean of 105.5 h (4 days). Thirty-three patients (82.5%) had sickle cell anemia (HbSS). Erectile dysfunction (ED) accounted for 60% of all forms of postpriapism complications. Five patients (12.5%) had residual tumescence from fibrosis, and three patients had recurrence outside the immediate postoperative period. Duration of symptoms before surgical intervention, SSA and previous episodes were the most important prognostic factors. Conclusion: Priapism is a disease of the young, mostly sickle cell anemic patients. Late presentation remains the norm in our environment, hence a higher incidence of ED. The distal penile shunt is an effective means of achieving detumescence even with failed conservative management. Favorable outcome is highly dependent on the duration of erection and early intervention.


Orthopaedic injuries can be highly problematic and in need of systematic evaluation (Tom & Miller, 2003). Joint pathology, both acute and chronic are frequently established through clinical examination, however subtle injuries can be especially
difficult to diagnosis. Consequently the referral to assessment technologies such as MM, CT scans and ultrasound is performed. Though these are effective tools they do possess various disadvantages such as their invasiveness, financial burden and limited availability. These factors emphasise the restrictions apparent within joint assessment and demonstrate the potential for a new diagnostic technology to amend this. It is the intention of this study to examine Acoustic Emission (AE) technology for such a role.
AE is a method of non-destructive testing used within industry and is employed to determine structural failure through the collection of inaudible sound. The use of AE in a clinical environment would not attempt to replace physical examination or
diagnostic technologies. AE would provide a unique, convenient aid for healthcare professionals dealing with ambiguous pathologies. AE would be more accessible to smaller practices due to the units small cost and size, reducing the need for referral so producing quicker and cheaper diagnosis yet remaining sensitive and specific. The primary focus of this study was to examine the repeatability of AE measures within the healthy knee joint, endeavouring to illustrate its potential as a clinical tool. This study investigated the within-subject implications to AE measures of sensor location, sensor attachment methods and the angular velocity of the knee joint during data collection. These results would allow better understanding of methodological implications for the further analysis of between subject repeatability of AE. Data collection was achieved via a joint monitor that recorded the AE from the healthy knee whilst the joint was passively moved. Results illustrated incidents of within subject repeatability from differing sensor locations and attachment techniques. Joint angular velocity presented no consistent influence upon AE measures. With consideration to AE distribution during movement a significant difference was
apparent across all variables. However there was some evidence that AE measures are repeatable between like subjects. In conclusion this work demonstrated the influence of certain variables upon AE measures and presents the potential for AE to adapt to clinical use through further study.


[Abstract]How can a company implement its stakeholder orientation in the interaction with its stakeholders via the media? The study is a descriptive analysis of the starting point for a campaign-oriented approach using Pfizer Switzerland as a case study. In this paper, a framework is developed on the basis of the stakeholder and the campaigning approach. This allows a company to identify how its declared stakeholder orientation is perceived within the company, by the population and the media, in order to initiate a comprehensive stakeholder communication and encourage the stakeholders to communicate with the company in appropriate fields of interaction. To achieve this, the social-economic survey research was used as a process instrument. This is generally accepted as an objectification function. On a comprehensive structural level, it should enable management to understand its environment pertaining to a specific issue, and to communicate in such a way as to achieve the desired effect. The framework was applied to the issue of trust at Pfizer.

The study concludes that the role of the media, in its primary function and in its role as a platform for initiating dialogues on appropriate interaction fields, contains potential for Pfizer. At the same time, a distinction was made between the relevance of the media, and the difference between the reports published by the media and the actual perception in the population. In particular, political orientation appears to be significant for the question of having trust in Pfizer. The framework, developed on the basis of empirical opinion research, has contributed toward the management of Pfizer seeing how the company is actually perceived in the population, thereby providing a basis for further critical reflection and decision making.

At Pfizer, one is convinced that the media play an important role in the communicative implementation of a stakeholder-oriented vision. Challenges need to be met so that in the future a direct and mutual exchange with the relevant stakeholders will lead to the goal of actually being perceived by the population as a trustworthy company.


In this paper, we propose and describe sProxy - smart proxy, a software tool in Web Services transaction. sProxy acts as a gateway between transaction management systems and Web services which implements a key abstraction of proxy management systems. This enables to perform transactions in the loosely coupled environment i.e. loose coupling among services. Proxies are useful to invoke Web services to allow an easy programming model that facilitates the serialization and transmission of service invocations. Our proposed model supports relaxation of traditional ACID properties with existing commit and recovery protocols. The model works on non-ACID type of transactions which encapsulates Web services. It also uses multithreading proxies to check and update transaction simultaneously. The proposed model solves the current problems with distributed computational activities which involves both transactions and Web Services. The proposed model is more abstract and generic as demonstrated in the paper.


ABSTRACT The three-component reactions with a hetaryl thioketone, 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-thioxocyclobutanone, and excess benzyl azide performed at 60°C in the presence of LiClO4 lead to the formation of two types of 1,2,4-trithiolanes. As the major products, the non-symmetrical dihetaryl-substituted spiro-1,2,4-trithiolanes are formed. In addition, the symmetrical dispiro-1,2,4-trithiolane is identified. These products are formed in competitive [3+2] cycloadditions of the in-situ-generated thiocarbonyl S-sulfide with the thioketones used in the reaction. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


Whole-body vibration training has become increasingly popular as a training modality in fitness and health centres hence some evidence also indicates that it can produce salutogenic outcomes in patients suffering metabolic such as blood pressure and other defects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of a 12-week whole-body vibration training intervention on cardiovascular performance of apparently healthy, but sedentary male adults. Fifty (50) adult males (age 18 – 40 years) were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups to participate in a 12-week intervention study. During baseline testing, the following parameters were determines namely; heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and double product (SBPxHR). Cardiac ultrasound recordings were used to determine end-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume, stroke volume and ejection fraction. The intervention group (IG) followed a 12-week progressive whole-body vibration training (WBVT) regimen, while the control group (CG) continued with their normal daily activities. Following the 12-week WBVT, 23 and 17 participants in the IG and CG respectively were re-assessed. Results showed a statistically significant changes after 12 weeks of WBVT in the following cardiovascular parameters: systolic (132 mmHg vs. 116 mmHg) and diastolic (85 mmHg vs. 78 mmHg) blood pressure, double product (9176 vs. 8446) and end-diastolic volume (312 ml vs. 437 ml) in the IG, while in the CG, a significantly lower ejection fraction occurred in the post-intervention assessment. During pre-intervention assessment significant differences were observed between the IG and CG in the variables, viz. systolic blood pressure (132 mmHg v. 124 mmHg), double product (9196 vs. 8902), enddiastolic volume (312 ml vs. 363 ml) and end-systolic volume (141 ml vs. 101 ml). In the posttest assessment all differences in the pre-test assessment were statistically corrected for. The results in this study therefore indicate that WBVT could be used as an  ffective training modality to improve cardiovascular function in adult males. As such, WBVT is recommended for use in sedentary adults given its benefits. Keywords: Whole-body vibration training, heart rate, blood pressure, cardiovascular responses.


Traditional machinery for manufacturing processes are characterised by actuators powered and co-ordinated by mechanical linkages driven from a central drive. Increasingly, these linkages are replaced by independent electrical drives, each performs a different task and follows a different motion profile, co-ordinated by computers. A design methodology for the servo control of high speed multi-axis machinery is proposed, based on the concept of a highly adaptable generic machine model. In addition to the dynamics of the drives and the loads, the model includes the inherent interactions between the motion axes and thus provides a Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) description. In general, inherent interactions such as structural couplings between groups of motion axes are undesirable and needed to be compensated. On the other hand, imposed interactions such as the synchronisation of different groups of axes are often required. It is recognised that a suitable MIMO controller can simultaneously achieve these objectives and reconciles their potential conflicts. Both analytical and numerical methods for the design of MIMO controllers are investigated. At present, it is not possible to implement high order MIMO controllers for practical reasons. Based on simulations of the generic machine model under full MIMO control, however, it is possible to determine a suitable topology for a blockwise decentralised control scheme. The Block Relative Gain array (BRG) is used to compare the relative strength of closed loop interactions between sub-systems. A number of approaches to the design of the smaller decentralised MIMO controllers for these sub-systems has been investigated. For the purpose of illustration, a benchmark problem based on a 3 axes test rig has been carried through the design cycle to demonstrate the working of the design methodology.


Current Controlled Ovarian Stimulation (COH) for Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) pursues three main objectives: hypophyseal activity suppression, multiple follicle growth stimulation, and ovulation induction. By suppressing hypophyseal activity, it is possible to prevent untimely LH surge and allow the appropriate development of the leading follicle. The classical GnRH agonist long protocol is the most widely used in COH for ART. However, an alternative regimen based on GnRH antagonist has been recently introduced in clinical practice. As competitive antagonists, these drugs display an immediate and quickly reversible effect and they avoid hormonal withdrawal side effects. Moreover, this protocol shows undeniable advantages, including the shorter duration of the treatment, the lower amount of gonadotropin required, the shorter hormonal and ultrasound monitoring of patients, milder physical and emotional stress, and a lower risk of Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS). The use of GnRH antagonists was traditionally restricted to selected patients, as "poor responders" and women at high-risk of developing OHSS such as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and patients who had previously experienced OHSS. These findings could prompt a trend to change from the standard agonist protocol to the antagonist protocol in all categories of patients. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the use of GnRH antagonist protocols applied both to IVF techniques and to IUI procedures in the Italian experience.


Objective
To investigate a diabetic retinopathy (DR) detection algorithm based on transfer learning in small sample dataset.

Methods
Total of 4 465 fundus color photographs taken by Gaoyao People's Hospital was used as the full dataset.The model training strategies using fixed pre-trained parameters and fine-tuning pre-trained parameters were used as the transfer learning group to compare with the non-transfer learning strategy that randomly initializes parameters.These three training strategies were applied to the training of three deep learning networks: ResNet50, Inception V3 and NASNet.In addition, a small dataset randomly extracted from the full dataset was used to study the impact of the reduction of training data on different strategies.The accuracy and training time of the diagnostic model were used to analyze the performance of different training strategies.

Results
The best results in different network architectures were chosen.The accuracy of the model obtained by fine-tuning pre-training parameters strategy was 90.9%, which was higher than the strategy of fixed pre-training parameters (88.1%) and the strategy of randomly initializing parameters (88.4%). The training time for fixed pre-training parameters was 10 minutes, less than the strategy of fine-tuning pre-training parameters (16 hours) and the strategy of randomly initializing parameters (24 hours). After the training data was reduced, the accuracy of the model obtained by the strategy of randomly initializing parameters decreased by 8.6% on average, while the accuracy of the transfer learning group decreased by 2.5% on average.

Conclusions
The proposed automated and novel DR detection algorithm based on fine-tune and NASNet structure maintains high accuracy in small sample dataset, is found to be robust, and effective for the preliminary diagnosis of DR.

Key words:
Diabetic retinopathy; Transfer learning; NASNet; Medical image classification; Artificial intelligence


We tested key predictions of a theoretical model positing that confusion, which accompanies a state of cognitive disequilibrium that is triggered by contradictions, conflicts, anomalies, erroneous information, and other discrepant events, can be beneficial to learning if appropriately induced, regulated, and resolved. Hypotheses of the model were tested in two experiments where learners engaged in trialogues on scientific reasoning concepts in a simulated collaborative learning session with animated agents playing the role of a tutor and a peer student. Confusion was experimentally induced via a contradictory information manipulation involving the animated agents expressing incorrect and/or contradictory opinions and asking the (human) learners to decide which opinion had more scientific merit. The results indicated that self-reports of confusion were largely insensitive to the manipulations. However, confusion was manifested by more objective measures that inferred confusion on the basis of learners' responses immediately following contradictions. Furthermore, whereas the contradictions had no effect on learning when learners were not confused by the manipulations, performance on multiple-choice posttests and on transfer tests was substantially higher when the contradictions were successful in confusing learners. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed.


Abstract The reception of Esther has often been fraught with attempts to make the book more palatable to the audience receiving it and to interpret the book in a manner more consistent with the values of that community. This is evidence in cinematic adaptations of the book, where the story is transformed to better suit the genre expectations of the Biblical epic and the perspectives of the intended viewers. By examining two films based on Esther – Esther and the King (1960) and One Night with the King (2006) – some of the interpretive issues surrounding the tone and content of the Biblical source become apparent. If Esther is best understood as a carnivalesque work, as many scholars have suggested, then the expectations of this kind of work have not been met in the cinematic adaptations. Given the importance of film in contemporary Biblical reception, these new readings of Esther are perhaps particularly influential, at least within the restricted communities who view these movies. Likewise, analysis of these changes highlights the values of the makers of these films and the audiences who consume them.


An analysis is carried out of the longest available records of atmospheric CO2 and its 13C/12C ratio from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography network of fixed stations, augmented by data in the 1950s and 1960s from ships and ice floes. Using regression analysis, we separate the interhemispheric gradients of CO2 and 13C/12C into: (1) a stationary (possibly natural) component that is constant with time, and (2) a time-evolving component that increases in proportion to fossil fuel emissions. Inverse calculations using an atmospheric transport model are used to interpret the components of the gradients in terms of land and ocean sinks. The stationary gradients in CO2 and 13C/12C are both satisfactorily explained by ocean processes, including an ocean carbon loop that transports 0.5 PgC yr-1 southwards in the ocean balanced by an atmospheric return flow. A stationary northern land sink appears to be ruled out unless its effect on the gradient has been offset by a strong rectifier effect, which seems doubtful. A growing northern land sink is not ruled out, but has an uncertain magnitude (0.3-1.7 PgC yr-1 centred on year 2003) dependent on the rate at which CO2 from fossil fuel burning is dispersed vertically and between hemispheres.


Purpose: Effective communication lies at the heart of a patient--doctor relationship. Communication skills (CS) teaching and assessment is not a part of the postgraduate (PG) curriculum. Lack of effective CS in current PG students' results in patient distrust and dissatisfaction, conflicts, and compromised healthcare. The regulatory authorities of medical education have recognized the need to inculcate soft skills among medical graduates, one of which is CS. The purpose of this study was to assess the need for teaching CS to ophthalmology PG students and develop and introduce a module for the same. Methods: In this prospective, interventional study done at the ophthalmology department of a tertiary hospital, a validated 8 day CS workshop was conducted for 60 PG students through interactive lectures, observations, video sessions, and role plays. Feedbacks were obtained through narratives, validated Google survey, reflections and verbal method and analyzed. Results: In the needs assessment done on 27 departmental faculties, 20 faculties found poor communication to be a major reason for patient complaints. All faculties agreed that CS should be taught to medical students. Statistically significant improvement in CS awareness was noted among students after the workshop. Lack of CS training, work burden, and language were identified as main barriers to effective communication. All the students were satisfied with the workshop and wanted it to be conducted regularly. Conclusion: This study establishes that CS training is essential to improve patient satisfaction and patient-doctor relationships. Barriers to effective CS could be identified, for which possible solutions could be found.


Physiological responses to brain trauma, such as edema, are often much more injurious to the brain than the initial trauma event itself. Although intrinsic protective responses also occur subsequent to brain injury, the promotion of protection over pathological responses in such circumstances would help ameliorate irreversible brain damage. Panikashvili et al. studied brain trauma in mice and found that amounts of the endogenous cannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) were increased following brain injury and provided protection. Amounts of endogenous 2-AG in the brain peaked at 4 hours after trauma. Mice treated with exogenous 2-AG had less apoptosis in hippocampal neurons and reduced brain edema as compared with untreated animals, suggesting that 2-AG provided some protection from deleterious swelling. The neuroprotective effect of 2-AG was inhibited by treating injured brains with cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) antagonists, indicating that at least some neuroprotection was mediated by CB1. Protection was also enhanced by adding other endogenous substances that were thought to increase the receptor occupancy of CB1 by 2-AG. Thus, 2-AG, which is known to suppress the activation of tumor necrosis factor α, a proinflammatory cytokine, and endothelin-1, a potent vasoconstrictor, appears to mediate a physiological protective response in brain injury. Augmentation of this response may further increase the observed protective effect. D. Panikashvili, C. Simeonidou, S. Ben-Shabat, L. Hanu, A. Breuer, R. Mechoulam, E Shohami, An endogenous cannabinoid (2-AG) is neuroprotective after brain injury. Nature 413, 527-531 (2001). [Online Journal]


Shape-preserving conversion reactions have the potential to unlock new routes for self-organization of complex three-dimensional (3D) nanomaterials with advanced functionalities. Specifically, developing such conversion routes toward shape-controlled metal selenides is of interest due to their photocatalytic properties and because these metal selenides can undergo further conversion reactions toward a wide range of other functional chemical compositions. Here, we present a strategy toward metal selenides with controllable 3D architectures using a two-step self-organization/conversion approach. First, we steer the coprecipitation of barium carbonate nanocrystals and silica into nanocomposites with controllable 3D shapes. Second, using a sequential exchange of cations and anions, we completely convert the chemical composition of the nanocrystals into cadmium selenide (CdSe) while preserving the initial shape of the nanocomposites. These architected CdSe structures can undergo further conversion reactions toward other metal selenides, which we demonstrate by developing a shape-preserving cation exchange toward silver selenide. Moreover, our conversion strategy can readily be extended to convert calcium carbonate biominerals into metal selenide semiconductors. Hence, the here-presented self-assembly/conversion strategy opens exciting possibilities toward customizable metal selenides with complex user-defined 3D shapes.


Bayesian probability problems are notoriously difficult for people to solve accurately. Base rate neglect refers to the hypothesis that people ignore base rate information in preference for individuating information when making these probability judgments (Kahneman & Tversky, 1973). Correct answers to base rate neglect problems often require complex Bayesian calculations involving probability information embedded within realistic event descriptions. The past research emphasis on base rate neglect responses for such problems has overlooked the fact that responses can actually vary widely across participants and within participants from one problem to the next. The verbal protocol analyses of participants' decision making processes found in the current study revealed that participants use a variety of cognitive strategies to solve such problems. The between-participant and within-participant variability can result from simple miscalculations to difficulties with translating probability statements into numerical calculations. This translation process can be further complicated by idiosyncratic subjective interpretations of the event descriptions and a basic misunderstanding of objective probability information. The results of the current study highlight that improving an individual's Bayesian reasoning requires the instructional procedure to be tailored to their sources of difficulties, and that individual protocol analyses could help define these instructional procedures.


In this Review Essay, I reveal the considerable contribution made by Professor Samuel Bagenstos in his book, Law & the Contradictions of the Disability Rights Movement, where he acknowledges and tackles most of the contradictions and tensions within the disability law field. Instead of repeating familiar arguments about a backlash against the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Bagenstos recognizes and explains that much of the lack of success of the ADA can be attributed to tensions in the goals and projects of the disability rights movement. He makes a very convincing argument that the anti-discrimination and accommodation model of the ADA, while worthwhile and therefore worth preserving and reinforcing, has limitations that cannot be overcome simply by amending the ADA. Instead, Bagenstos argues that we need to explore social welfare interventions and we need to tailor them in such a way as to avoid "unnecessary paternalism and dependence." While Bagenstos does an admirable job exploring and suggesting solutions to most of the tensions in the disability law area, the one that he does not explore is a conflict that I believe will be pivotal as courts begin deciding cases after the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. Because the Amendments have made it easier for individuals to pass the threshold issue of coverage, more courts will be forced to analyze the underdeveloped reasonable accommodation provision in the ADA. Many of these cases will involve the tension that arises when the accommodation needed by an individual with a disability conflicts with the rights or interests of other employees in the workplace. This Review will discuss this conflict, exploring a resolution that draws support from the lessons learned in Bagenstos's book, while infusing the discussion with a communitarian influence.


Purpose The objective of this exploratory study was to evaluate the effects of a brief intervention intended to optimize the sleep environment in older people living in the community and to examine the way these effects change over time. Methods The sample was made up of 44 participants (19 men and 25 women) aged 65–85 years, with a mean age of 71.4. The intervention consisted in a group training session that covered the reasons for and ways to ("why" and "how") optimize a sleep environment. It comprises six themes: air quality and odors, luminosity, noises and sounds, comfort of the mattress, comfort of the pillow, and temperature. Participants completed a set of questionnaires before the intervention, and one month and four months later. Results Four months after the intervention, the replies to the questionnaires showed that the participants experienced reduced severity of insomnia, sleep latency and anxiety. The subjective quality of the participants' sleep along with their sleep efficacy also increased significantly during the same period. Conclusion A brief intervention intended to optimize the sleep environment appears promising as an addition or alternative to the two other sleep improvement options generally offered to older people: medication and cognitive behavioral therapy.


Consumption of fresh vegetables is increasing as people strive to eat healthy diets and benefit from the year-round availability of pre-cut salad items. Salad vegetables belong to convenient, minimally processed food of ready-toeat type which carry a natural non-pathogenic epiphytic microflora; the majority of which consists of Gram-negative bacteria belonging to Enterobacteriaceae. In the present study, 350 raw vegetable samples were investigated for the occurrence of Entero Hemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), and only 44(12.6%) samples were detected to be harboring E. coli. The isolates were subjected to PCR detection of EHEC using primers specific for eaeA, ehlyA and fliC virulent genes. According to molecular detection, 9 E. coli isolates exhibited presence of fliC gene, ehlyA and eaeA gene. Antibiotic resistances were detected against Piperacillin/tazobactam, Amoxyclav, Levofloxacin, Azetreonam, Ceftriaxone, Imipenem EDTA, Nalidixic acid, Erythromycin, and Kanamycin.


In this paper a new phase contrast method with fringe contrast adjustable is proposed. In the Fourier plane of the object wave, two Ronchi gratings i.e., a central grating and a surrounding grating, are used to modulate the phases of the undiffracted and diffracted components, respectively. By loading the two gratings separately on spatial light modulator, the undiffracted and diffracted components can be measured independently, which simplify greatly the reconstruction process. Besides, the fringe contrast of the phase contrast interferogram can be adjusted by changing the modulation depth of the two gratings. The feasibility of the proposed method is verified by theoretical analysis and experiment.


Biotransformation of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in the presence of microsomal fractions derived from liver and epiderm of adult and weanling rats was examined. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of age on the capacity of two organs in transformation of BaP. Subcellular fractions were prepared from skin and liver by ultracentrifugation and were used as the source of BaP metabolizing enzymes in a reconstitution assay system. Microsomal fractions are sources of cytochrome P-450 and cytosols are the source of glutathione Stransferase (GST). In a metabolic activation assay system, cytochrome P-450 catalyses the formation of reactive epoxide of BaP which can then interact with exogenous DNA. Adult rat liver microsomes with the highest cytochrome P-450 and maximum capacity for BaP-DNA adducts formation (~204 pmol BaP bound/mg DNA) are considered as positive control in this assay system. The adduct formation in the presence of adult and young rats was approximately 204 and 27 pmol/mg DNA, respectively. Microsomes prepared from skin samples of adult and young rats mediated approximately 49 and 16 pmol BaP binding to DNA respectively. With the addition of cytosol to the microsome-mediated system an in vitro detoxification model has been established. The results obtained by the addition of different cytosolic samples showed that liver cytosol which contains highest GST activity caused about 28% inhibition in BaP binding to DNA. The inhibitory effects of cytosolic fraction from weanling liver, adult skin and weanling skin were 17, 19 and ~9% respectively. These data show that isolated subcellular fractions from young rats are less efficient in the biotansformation of BaP. However, the results obtained in vitro do not reflect the changes in vivo. Further, in vivo experiments should be carried out after BaP administration to animals to confirm the differences in the BaP-DNA adduct formation and BaP-glutathione conjunction in tissues of young and adult animals.


Microsoft's .NET is revolutionizing Windows-based software development. Since its initial release in 2002, .NET has changed significantly, becoming the foundation for a new generation of Windows applications. The .NET Framework and Visual Studio, the two core aspects of this initiative, provide a multilanguage environment in which developers can create Web services, graphical user interfaces, and other kinds of applications. Taken as a whole, the .NET technologies have changed the way nearly every Windows application is built.Now fully updated for version 2.0 of the .NET Framework and Visual Basic 2005, Understanding .NET, Second Edition, is a concise guide to the landscape of Windows development. Margin notes, detailed diagrams, and lucid writing make this book easy to read and navigate, while analysis sections explore controversial issues and address common concerns. David Chappell's independent perspective and straightforward descriptions clarify both how the .NET technologies work and how they can be used.Coverage includes An overview of .NET and its goals The Common Language Runtime (CLR) The .NET languages, including C#, Visual Basic, and C++ The .NET Framework class library Building Web Applications with ASP.NET Accessing Data with ADO.NET .NET framework integration with SQL Server 2005The key to using a new technology is to understand the fundamentals. This book provides the robust foundation developers and technical managers need to make the right decisions and maximize the potential of this revolutionary framework.


The main reason for the success of the 20th century Green Revolution in Asia was the development of large-scale irrigation projects. But, since the late 1990s, these investments were out of the development agenda, partly because the success of the Green Revolution reduced the need for such irrigation development and partly because the lower-than-expected performance of many large-scale irrigation projects resulted from difficulties in designing, constructing, operating, and managing large-scale irrigation schemes. This was the case in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as well. During the past decade, however, large-scale irrigation development seems to be coming back in SSA as a means to promote a Green Revolution there. This revival has evoked heated discussion as to whether the conditions that made the large-scale irrigation projects an infeasible option have been overcome. This paper examines whether large-scale irrigation construction in SSA is economically feasible by estimating how much it would cost if the Mwea Irrigation Scheme in Kenya, one of the best performing irrigation schemes in SSA, were to be constructed today as a brand-new scheme. The results show that the new construction of the Mwea Scheme may be economically viable if the shadow price of rice is as high as the world price that prevailed during the mini-rice crisis in 2008-2013; however, the viability is marginal, by no means robust. The project costs per unit of beneficiary irrigated area of our hypothetical 'Mwea Project' and a few 21st-century large-scale irrigation projects in planning or under construction are two to four times higher than those of 20th-century counterparts. For such expensive projects to be economically viable, the agricultural performance of these projects must be two to four times higher as well, which means, in terms of rice yield, 9 t/ha/year to 20 t/ha/year. There is certainly untapped potential in SSA for large-scale irrigation development, either construction of new schemes or rehabilitation of the existing ones, but the economically feasible potential remains limited. International donor agencies and national governments wanting to plan large-scale irrigation projects are recommended to assess seriously whether their plan is economically and technologically feasible and indisputably superior to other types of irrigation development, many of which were not available during the construction boom in the 20th century but are available now.


The present study investigates static and dynamic approaches to agendasetting research by means of cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. The data bases used are weekly surveys on problem awareness of the public regarding 16 issues and a content analysis of the main German television news shows in 1986. Although static analysis of the data reveals nearly no relationship between media coverage and problem awareness, dynamic analysis demonstrates that media coverage caused problem awareness of four prominent issues in 1986 (energy supply, defense, environmental protection, and European politics). Problem awareness, on the other hand, caused media coverage on three issues (pensions, public debt, and public security). Time lags ranked between 1 and 3 weeks. The direction of influence seems to be dependent on the kind of issue and the investigated time interval. In addition, there are significant differences in the type of effects. Although the public generally reacted to media coverage with corresponding increases and declines of problem awareness, the media sometimes reacted to problem awareness by counterbalancing the trend of public opinion.


There is a growing trend in cities toward establishing localized, shared energy infrastructure. As existing energy infrastructure ages and demand increases, cities face rising energy costs and security risks combined with mandates to decrease carbon emissions. Local energy infrastructure provides cities and neighborhoods with greater control over their energy production and consumption, including the ability to lower the cost of energy, move to low-carbon energy technologies, and improve energy reliability and security. This thesis seeks to understand how stakeholders in urban commercial districts are creating organizations to implement two types of shared local energy infrastructure: district energy and microgrids. Building district energy and microgrids is a complex undertaking, which is one reason that they proliferate in urban environments where that complexity is reduced, such as universities, hospitals, and military bases. These areas may have single property owners, single land-owners or preexisting energy infrastructure that simplifies regulatory, legal, and development complexities of building new energy systems. Commercial businesses districts are significantly more complicated; they have multiple properties that abut public right of ways and that are owned by multiple, unaffiliated customers of legacy energy utilities. Establishing such a system in a commercial district requires addressing local utility rights, public right-of-way and franchise issues, as well as creating a new organizational structure that allows for the involvement of multiple parties in developing the system. This thesis assesses the feasibility of two organizational models for implementing local energy infrastructure in commercial districts: a joint cooperative model and an independent provider model. In a joint cooperative, all properties in a district become customers of a jointly owned, operated, and managed energy system. With an independent provider, all district properties become customers of an independently owned and operated system. These models are evaluated through two cases in which they are currently being tested: a proposed district energy system in Portland, Oregon and a proposed microgrid in Stamford, Connecticut. Therein, barriers to implementation such as perception of risk and lack of familiarity with shared energy systems are also examined. Thesis Advisor: Stephen Hammer Title: Lecturer in Energy Planning, MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning


Electrical Engineering (ABSTRACT) In a conventional electronic ballast for a fluorescent lamp, inductor-capacitor-transformer tank circuit is used. A Piezoelectric Transformer (PT) can potentially be used to replace such a tank circuit to save space and cost. In the past, ballast design using a PT requires selecting a PT from available samples which are normally not matched to specific application and therefore resulting in poor performance. In this thesis, a design procedure was proposed for designing a PT tailored for a 120-V 32-W electronic ballast with high power factor, high efficiency and Zero-Voltage-Switching (ZVS) of the inverter transistors that drive the lamp. This involves selection of PT materials, determination of geometries and the number of physical layers of the PT. A radial mode piezoelectric transformer prototype based on this design process was fabricated by Face Electronics Inc. and was tested experimentally, the results showed that the ballast using this custom-made PT achieved high power factor, Zero-Voltage-Switching and a 83% overall efficiency. iii Acknowledgments


In recent years, scholarship around media technologies has finally shed the assumption that these technologies are separate from and powerfully determining of social life, looking at them instead as produced by and embedded in distinct social, cultural, and political practices. Communication and media scholars have increasingly taken theoretical perspectives originating in science and technology studies (STS), while some STS scholars interested in information technologies have linked their research to media studies inquiries into the symbolic dimensions of these tools. In this volume, scholars from both fields come together to advance this view of media technologies as complex sociomaterial phenomena. The contributors first address the relationship between materiality and mediation, considering such topics as the lived realities of network infrastructure. The contributors then highlight media technologies as always in motion, held together through the minute, unobserved work of many, including efforts to keep these technologies alive.ContributorsPablo J. Boczkowski, Geoffrey C. Bowker, Finn Brunton, Gabriella Coleman, Gregory J. Downey, Kirsten A. Foot, Tarleton Gillespie, Steven J. Jackson, Christopher M. Kelty, Leah A. Lievrouw, Sonia Livingstone, Ignacio Siles, Jonathan Sterne, Lucy Suchman, Fred Turner


Dependency networks are a compelling alternative to Bayesian networks for learning joint probability distributions from data and using them to compute probabilities. A dependency network consists of a set of conditional probability distributions, each representing the probability of a single variable given its Markov blanket. Running Gibbs sampling with these conditional distributions produces a joint distribution that can be used to answer queries, but suffers from the traditional slowness of sampling-based inference. In this paper, we observe that the mean field update equation can be applied to dependency networks, even though the conditional probability distributions may be inconsistent with each other. In experiments with learning and inference on 12 datasets, we demonstrate that mean field inference in dependency networks offers similar accuracy to Gibbs sampling but with orders of magnitude improvements in speed. Compared to Bayesian networks learned on the same data, dependency networks offer higher accuracy at greater amounts of evidence. Furthermore, mean field inference is consistently more accurate in dependency networks than in Bayesian networks learned on the same data.


Coming into prominence at the present time, e-learning is a great opportunity for learners. It provides tremendous assets most valuable of which is distance free learning. Besides, there is a great deal of e-learning resources on the web that causes information overload. Accordingly, it turns into a requisite that you ask for recommendation so as to find the resource you surely need. There are readily available recommendation services arranged for that purpose. Such systems have various rating systems; furthermore users tend to rate the materials in different manners. Our goal with this paper is to generate confidential referrals thanks to Naive Bayesian algorithm for e-learning materials rated multifariously by learners. We also researched the effects of several data preprocessing techniques on achieving this goal.


A survey of the five local government areas that make up Ilorin Emirate in Kwara State, Nigeria, revealed extensive use of economic trees as timber woods and fuel woods. The forest resources are indiscriminately exploited by the poor inhabitants who solely depend on the forest to earn their livelihood. Tree species such as Pterocarpus erinaceus, Parkia biglobosa, Prosobis africana, Trichilia emetica, Anogeissus leiocarpus, Danielia oliveri, Khaya senegalensis, Tectonia grandis, Milicia excelsa and Vitellaria paradoxa are popular among the inhabitants as fuelwoods, with Vitellaria paradoxa being the most frequently used. Among timber woods, Pterocarpus erinaceus is the most highly demanded by artists, casket builders and furniture workers. The hitherto harmonious relationships between the people and the plants whereby the people of a particular culture use plant to cure many inherent diseases and for other natural benefits have been defeated. Presently, the relationships have turned to destruction of many forests and endangering of many species of trees. Thus many forests have been turned to mere woodlands in the study areas.


A Legacy of Catholic-Jewish Dialogue: The Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lectures. Edited by Thomas A. Baima. Chicago, 111.: Liturgy Training Publications, 2012. xxvi + 210 pp. $18.00 (paper).This collection of the first ten annual Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Jerusalem Lectures gives an excellent snapshot of the state of Catholic-Jewish dialogue in Chicago between 1995 and 2005, in light of the historic Second Vatican Council document concerning the relationship of the church to non-Christian religions, Nostra Aetate. These lectures had their beginning with the Catholic-Jewish trip the Cardinal led to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza in 1995, and the lecture "Anti-Semitism: The Historical Legacy and Challenge for Christians," which he delivered at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as a part of that visit. Upon their return to Chicago, the editor of this book, Thomas Baima, and three other participants in the trip discussed the idea of a series of annual Jerusalem Lectures and were able to obtain the full support of Cardinal Bernardin.Thomas Baima in his preface writes that the first ten lecturers have "produced the most sustained engagement of public intellectual dialogue on Catholic-Jewish relations in the United States" (p. vii). In his "Introduction," which itself is an address he gave at the American Academy of Religion regional meeting in 2005, Baima gives a "summary of the manifold ways in which the Archdiocese of Chicago has engaged its several Jewish partners in dialogue through initiatives promoting the common good, through scholarly engagement of the two communities' sometimes mutually exclusive religious claims" (p. ix). The first nine lecturers reflected on the theological and historical issues which separated these two faith communities. As one would expect, these issues include anti-Semitism, anti-Judaism, the Catholic Church's role in the Holocaust, the significance of the Holocaust, and the creation of the State of Israel for the Jewish people.Bernard McGinns lecture, "How Jewish and Christian Mystics Read the Bible," strikes a positive note as he sheds light on how Christian and Jewish mystical hermeneutics were more alike than one would expect. Francis Cardinal George, in the tenth lecture, "Catholics, Jews, and American Culture," challenged the dialogue partners with these words: "If we are to make a contribution to the development of a new culture here, the biblical religions must find their respective voices and claim a new visibility. …


Proper conservation and management of wild salmonid populations requires correct identification of the array of life histories present and their contribution to adult recruitment. I used otolith microchemistry to identify natal origin and scale patterns to determine outmigration age in Missouri River rainbow trout where whirling disease could potentially cause a population collapse. First, I reviewed the otolith microchemistry literature and concluded that there have been a limited number of freshwater studies, and there has been limited rigorous testing of the many instruments used. Second, I tested the efficacy of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and found that Sr:Ca could be precisely measured in an otolith 'standard', there is a strong relation between qualitative ToF-SIMS results and concentrations measured with an electron microprobe, and the ambient water strongly influences otolith composition. Third, I analyzed the chemical composition of lake trout otoliths to identify the likely source of illegally transplanted lake trout in Yellowstone Lake. Changes in otolith microchemistry of suspected transplants accurately (>90%) determined the likely source of the introduction, and transect analyses indicated that lake trout have possibly been in Yellowstone Lake since as early as the mid-1980s. Finally, I used otolith microchemistry to identify natal origin and scale patterns to identify outmigration age in Missouri River rainbow trout. Otolith microchemistry was not an effective technique for this particular system because of similarities between the two major rainbow trout producing tributaries. However, I demonstrated a technique that uses the relation between otolith and water Sr:Ca to estimate sample sizes required to detect differences between streams. This can be used in future studies as a preliminary test to determine if otolith microchemistry is feasible. Scale patterns revealed that the yearling outmigration life history contributed most (88%) to adult recruitment in the mainstem fishery and the proportion of young-of-the-year to yearling outmigrants did not change post-whirling disease. Rainbow trout in the Missouri River have two obstacles to overcome: 1) severe whirling disease infection if the natal stream has Myxobolus cerebralis; and 2) low probability of surival if they manage to avoid severe infection but leave the stream too early.


We have investigated a molecular relaxation process in a solid polymer filled with dispersed magnetite particles (Fe3O4 in epoxy resin). In particular, we compare systems containing nano-particles with diameters between 20 and 30 nm and micro-particles with diameters between 0.5 and 5 µm. Temperature-dependent broadband dielectric spectroscopy in a frequency range between 50 Hz and 1 GHz reveals that the presence of nano- or micro-particles does not affect the molecular dynamics, i.e. frequency, shape and thermal activation of the relaxation process. However, there is a marked difference in the polymer's relaxation strength, reflecting both the polarizability and the number of relaxing units. This quantity is evaluated from the measured effective data using the spectral representation, i.e. in spite of the complex microstructure we are able to separate unambiguously the contribution of the polarized conductive particles. While in the micro-composites the polymer matrix behaves bulk-like, its relaxation strength increases in the nano-composites, the deviation from the bulk value being proportional to the volume fraction of particles. We discuss the results in terms of interphases of thickness δ around particles and agglomerates, the volume fraction of which increases with increasing particle concentration and decreasing particle size.


The Internet of things (IoT) has become an integral part of our life at both work and home. However, these IoT devices are prone to vulnerability exploits due to their low cost, low resources, the diversity of vendors, and proprietary firmware. Moreover, short range communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth or ZigBee) open additional opportunities for the lateral movement of an attacker within an organization. Thus, the type and location of IoT devices may significantly change the level of network security of the organizational network. In this paper, we quantify the level of network security based on an augmented attack graph analysis that accounts for the physical location of IoT devices and their communication capabilities. We use the depth-first branch and bound (DFBnB) heuristic search algorithm to solve two optimization problems: Full Deployment with Minimal Risk (FDMR) and Maximal Utility without Risk Deterioration (MURD). An admissible heuristic is proposed to accelerate the search. The proposed method is evaluated using a real network with simulated deployment of IoT devices. The results demonstrate (1) the contribution of the augmented attack graphs to quantifying the impact of IoT devices deployed within the organization on security, and (2) the effectiveness of the optimized IoT deployment.