Nanoparticles (NPs) have been extensively studied for oral drug delivery. NPs are taken up intact by M cells of peyer's patches of gut associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) followed by its systemic circulation thereby preventing first pass metabolism. This mechanism provides a chance to target antiretroviral drugs to lymphatic tissue. Lopinavir has poor oral bioavailability due to extensive first pass effect and limited intestinal uptake due to p-glycoprotein efflux. Main goal of study includes formulation and characterization of Lopinavir NPs for bioavailability enhancement and lymphatic targeting. PLGA NPs were prepared using Nanoprecipitation method. Formulation was optimized by 3 3 full factorial design using Particle size (PS) and entrapment efficiency (EE) as response parameters. Entrapment efficiency, Particle size and Zeta potential for optimized batch were found to be 90.36± 0.426%, 169.9± 0.231nm, -13.7 mV respectively. HPLC analysis was done using C 18 column (250 X 4.0 mm, 5 μ) at 210 nm. In vitro drug release studies showed the sustained release from NPs for 144h. Ex vivo studies through rat stomach and intestine confirmed that negligible amount of drug was released from NPs in the stomach. Lopinavir loaded NPs can be a suitable alternative to conventional tablet formulation.


ABSTRACTEnglish language enjoys a prominent role in Pakistan as an effective communication medium at local and international circles. It is used as a medium of instruction not only in schools but also in colleges and universities. The aim of this study was to explore writing difficulties in the English language faced by second language learners. A survey was conducted for this purpose. Data were collected from four boys and girls public sector colleges. Two hundred and forty five 12th graders studying English as a compulsory subject were randomly selected out of five hundred and twenty. Results of the study indicated that students were facing a lot of difficulties in writing English language due to lack of vocabulary, poor spelling, L1 interference and a poor understanding of grammatical structure. The girls face more writing difficulties than the male students in English language. The method based on identification, investigation, and solutions to language related real life problems should be used for teaching of English from primary school level to higher levels of education.KEYWORD: English language, writing difficulties, process writing, genre approach, writing modesThe Importance of LanguageToday, communication across the cultures and nations is more important than ever before. Language is the best medium of communication and is therefore essential for human interaction. In this globalized world, many people speak more than one language. Besides many other languages being taught in Pakistan, the English language is widely recognised for personal and professional use. It is considered as a lingua franca in all types of communication. The acquisition and use of a second language is essential to the everyday lives of people around the world. The trend for acquisition of second language affects the careers and life styles of people (Cook, 2001). English enjoys a status of second language in Pakistan as it is used extensively for many purposes in society. For acquiring and using any language effectively and efficiently, it is essential to master four basic skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing. Writing is not a natural activity, so explicit instructions are required for learning this skill (Aronoff& Rees- Miller, 2007). "Writing is a system of more or less permanent marks used to represent an utterance in such a way that it can be recovered exactly without intervention of the utterer" (Daniels & Bright, 1996). Audio lingual approach to language teaching ranks writing at an inferior level. It is a cognitive as well as a social process (MacArthur, 2006). Written expression is more effective in social cognitive instances of communication than oral expression. Unlike speaking, writing enables human beings to convey a message independent of time and space (Hughes, 1996). It is considered man's best academic achievement based on skills or components like mechanics, production, conventions, linguistics and cognition. The act of writing is independent of time and place; the writer has to depend upon formal features to convey the intended meanings. Failure to take advantage of these features correctly causes frustration for the writer (Leisak, 1989). English is the second and official language in Pakistan as well as an easy language to work with and learn science and technology at higher levels. It is taught as a compulsory subject in Urdu (L1) as well as English (L2) medium schools, however the majority of students with rural and urban backgrounds cannot communicate properly in English and perceive it as a very difficult subject. At secondary (grade 9-10), intermediary (grade 11-12) and bachelor levels (grade 13-14), many of the students from the Arts and Humanities areas cannot meet the requirements of the examination in English. The purpose of the study was to explore the difficulties in writing English language. It specifically aimed to know difficulties in writing English language related to grammar, punctuation, L1 interference, vocabulary, and spellings for students with English as a second language. …


Strongly rooted in the Internet of Things and Cyber-Physical Systems-enabled manufacturing, disruptive paradigms like the Factory of the Future and Industry 4.0 envision knowledge-intensive industrial intelligent environments where smart personalized products are created through smart processes and procedures. The 4th industrial revolution will be based on CyberPhysical Systems that will monitor, analyze and automate business processes, transforming production and logistic processes into smart factory environments where big data capabilities, cloud services and smart predictive decision support tools are used to increase productivity and efficiency. This survey provides insights into the latest developments in these domains, and identifies relevant research challenges and opportunities to shape the future of intelligent manufacturing environments.


VMware is the king when it comes to virtualization. Windows PowerShell has received huge accolades as an extremely powerful tool for automation of IT tasks. These two technologies make a lot of sense together, and VMware is now making that happen with the release of their VI Toolkit for Windows.In "Managing VMware Infrastructure With Windows PowerShell", you will learn how to perform everything from simple ad-hoc reporting at the command-line ("Are any of my virtual machines powered off?") to complex scripts to automate a massive deployment of hundreds of virtual machines. Simple, yet powerful; concise, yet robust; you will enjoy using this new language to solve your old problems using less code than you thought possible.If you are a system administrator responsible for managing a VMware Virtual Infrastructure (version 2.0 or above), or a standalone ESX Server (version 3.0 or above), then you need this book. Aimed at scripters of every level, the book starts off with a PowerShell primer and continues well into the internals of virtualization on the VMware platform.


Parsi legal culture has played an important role in the constitutional life of modern India, helping nationalists pivot from extra-legal resistance to the business of running a state. This article suggests that Parsi legal culture reinforced constitutionalism and the rule of law in India. As ideals, the latter two concepts impose restraints on the exercise of power. During the late colonial period, elite Parsis led the early 'constitutionalist' phase of the Indian National Congress movement (1885-1919) and insisted on working for change through existing state processes and structures. Early Congress leaders Dadabhai Naoroji, Pherozeshah Mehta, and Dinsha Wacha were products of Parsi legal culture. They were turning outward"for the benefit of all Indians"the law-focused strategy that had worked so well during the preceding half-century for their own community. Their approach was abandoned as the nationalist movement became a mass movement circa 1920 under Gandhi's leadership. The values of Parsi legal culture and the Congress constitutionalists were relegated to the back burner from the 1920s until the late 1940s. However, they were brought back to life upon independence, particularly in the Constituent Assembly that created the Indian Constitution (1947-50) and in the interpretation of the Indian Constitution after 1950. The early Congress model of 'constitutional agitation' fed into what B. R. Ambedkar would call India's 'constitutional morality.' Both required the relinquishment of 'the bloody methods of revolution' and of Gandhian civil disobedience alike. Early independent India could re-activate constitutionalism and the rule of law as ideals because these ideas were preserved readymade within a particular politico-legal tradition, albeit one that had fallen out of favor in the decades before independence. This tradition was heavily influenced by Parsi legal culture. This article also answers the question of whether rule-of-law values were inescapably colonial: they were not. A history of tension within the colonial state highlights the distinction between those who believed there had to be restraints on the exercise of power, and those who wanted to rule without law. Debates among colonial state actors and the harnessing of rule-of-law values by the early constitutionalists reflected the distinction between the projects of colonialism and the rule of law. The British initially used the rule of law to justify colonialism because it was there, neatly packaged and ready to ship, in metropolitan thought and political culture. They underestimated the concept's autonomy and its potential to eat away at the foundations of empire. This insight also addresses the question: how did a population that achieved such affluence and success under British rule reposition itself in decolonisation mode? In fact, there was no necessary contradiction between Parsi legal culture and the rejection of colonial rule. Through its embrace of rule-of-law values and constitutionalism, Parsi legal culture helped build a solid foundation for the newly independent polity.


The question of who owns the world's lands and natural resources is a major source of contestation around the globe, affecting prospects for rural economic development, human rights and dignity, cultural survival, political stability, conservation of the environment, and efforts to combat climate change. To inform advocacy and action on community land rights, RRI has published Who Owns the World's Land? A global baseline of formally recognized indigenous & community land rights ("the global baseline"), which identifies the amount of land national governments have formally recognized as owned or controlled by Indigenous Peoples and local communities across 64 countries constituting 82 percent of global land area. The report focuses on community-based tenure regimes, which include any system where formal rights to own or manage land or terrestrial resources are held at the community level, including lands held under customary tenure regimes. This brief summarizes findings on community ownership and control of lands in the 19 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that were included in the global baseline.


This paper develops a perfect foresight general equilibrium simulation model of life cycle savings that may be used to investigate the potential impact of a wide range of government policies on national savings and economic welfare. The model can provide quantitative answers to a number of long-standing questions concerning the government's influence on capital formation. These include the degree of crowding out of private investment by debt financed increases in government expenditure, the differential effect on consumption of temporary versus more permanent tax cuts, the announcement effects of future changes in tax and expenditure policy, and the response to structural changes in the tax system, including both the choice of the tax base and the degree of progressivity. The model tracks the values of all economic variables along the transition path from the initial steady state growth path to the new steady state growth path. Hence, it can be used to compute the exact welfare gains or losses for each age cohort associated with tax reform proposals.


The spontaneous activity of the brain is characterized by an elaborate temporal structure with scale-free properties as indexed by the power law exponent (PLE). We test the hypothesis that spontaneous brain activity modulates task-evoked activity during interactions with animate versus inanimate stimuli. For this purpose, we developed a paradigm requiring participants to actively touch either animate (real hand) or inanimate (mannequin hand) stimuli. Behaviorally, participants perceived the animate target as closer in space, temporally more synchronous with their own self, and more personally relevant, compared with the inanimate. Neuronally, we observed a modulation of task-evoked activity by animate versus inanimate interactions in posterior insula, in medial prefrontal cortex, comprising anterior cingulate cortex, and in medial superior frontal gyrus. Among these regions, an increased functional connectivity was shown between posterior insula and perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (PACC) during animate compared with inanimate interactions and during resting state. Importantly, PLE during spontaneous brain activity in PACC correlated positively with PACC task-evoked activity during animate versus inanimate stimuli. In conclusion, we demonstrate that brain spontaneous activity in PACC can be related to the distinction between animate and inanimate stimuli and thus might be specifically tuned to align our brain with its animate environment.


Although the presence of apertural folds and lamellae is the most recognizable character of the Odontostomidae, some species lack them, mostly in Anctus Martens, 1860, Bahiensis Jousseaume, 1877 and Moricandia Pilsbry & Vanatta, 1898. Eudioptusavellanedae Doering, 1881 – a slender odontostomid species that lacks even the slightest trace of folds or lamellae in its shell aperture – was however transferred to Odontostomus by Pilsbry in 1902 on the basis of its building forward of the aperture-margins. It is currently placed in its own monotypic subgenus, Cyclodontina (Ventania) Parodiz, 1940, on the basis of about the same argument. In this paper we redescribe its shell morphology and, for the first time, describe the internal anatomy of the pallial complex and the reproductive and digestive systems. The presence of a spongy gland in the pallial complex; of a short penis sheath with no retractor muscle; of a bursa copulatrix duct longer than spermoviduct, and of an epiphallic gland strongly support the inclusion of this unusual species in Odontostomidae. The species is diagnosable by the sculpture of the protoconch, which is not smooth as previously described, but has waved axial ribs crossed by spiral lines in young specimens; the distinctive external and internal shape of the bursa copulatrix duct; the internal penis wall divided in three regions of different sculpture; the smooth inner wall of the vagina; the long and cylindrical epiphallus with a distal widening indicating the presence of an epiphallic gland, and the penis retractor muscle inserted in the distal end of a short flagellum. These characters support the validity of Ventania Parodiz, 1940, different from Cyclodontina Beck, 1837.


Introduction: Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) suggest a highly reactive, nonspecific oxidant namely hydroxyl radical (OH•), that oxidize a wide range of pollutants fast and nonselective in wastewater and water. Materials and methods: In this work, the nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles were primed by sol-gel method, characterized by X-ray diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), for the degradation of Acid Red 40 (AR 40) solution in water. The effectiveness of the treatment method applied for the degradation of AR 40 based on AOPs was investigated. Results: The three various key parameters were optimized by using response surface modeling, namely: pH, TiO2-N concentration and the initial AR 40 concentrations. The optimized values were obtained at pH = 11, TiO2-N concentration = 0.09 g/L, and the initial AR 40 concentration = 19 mg/L. Conclusion: Under the optimum conditions, performance of photocatalytic degradation reaches 92.47% in 1 hr. Kinetic constant was evaluated using first-order equation to obtain the rate constant, K.


Autonomous mobile robots require efficient control of their movement. There are several very good approaches for controlling autonomous robots under bound conditions; however , self-adaptation to dynamic environments is very complicated. This paper focuses on part of an autonomous mobile robot prototype named FIC (Fluent Interactive Codelets framework) that has both a main controller and a secondary controller. We conducted an in-depth analysis of the secondary controller implementation. The secondary controller implementation complements the main close-loop controller providing it with further information processing about the current robot status, and suggesting alternate actions. This advisory subsystem implements a new lightweight version of conscious modeling based on the design of Dr. Stan Franklin at the University of Memphis and uses short program pieces named Codelets. This paper focuses on the engineering process performed during FIC prototyping, from requirement collection through design until implementation of the conscious subsystem , as well as how real-world concepts should be properly modeled by Codelet based systems such as FIC.


Across the world, companies are forming some of the most complex and exciting collaborations in the business world: cross-border alliances (CBAs). Yet while this offers multinational companies a way into the global marketplace, there is no guarantee of success. This book looks at the business and human resource issues arising in these complex collaborations, putting forward the case that the handling of these issues can determine the CBA's success. The book takes readers through the two main kinds of CBA - International Joint Ventures (IJV), and International Mergers and Acquisitions (IMA) - explaining how each type works and which human resource issues will arise. As well as analyzing these issues and explaining the relevant management, economics and sociological theories, this impressive text uses short end-of-chapter case studies and in depth end-of-text case studies to provide numerous practical examples. The first major textbook that seriously studies human resource issues in a CBA context, this book offers both students of human resource / international business and practicing human resource professionals alike the frameworks for truly understanding the complexities of the area.


Telestroke is a telemedicine intervention that facilitates communication between stroke centers and lower-resourced facilities to optimize acute stroke management. Using administrative claims data, we assessed trends in telestroke use among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries with acute ischemic stroke and the association between providing telestroke services and intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV tPA) and mechanical thrombectomy use, mortality, and medical expenditures, by urban versus rural county of residence in the period 2008-15. The proportion of ischemic stroke cases receiving telestroke increased from 0.4 to 3.8 per 1,000 cases, with usage highest among younger, male, non-Hispanic white, and patients in rural or super rural areas (super rural is the bottom quartile of rural areas. Compared with patients receiving usual care, those receiving telestroke had greater IV tPA and mechanical thrombectomy use regardless of county type, while those in super rural counties had lower thirty-day all-cause mortality. Despite increased telestroke use, rural patients remained less likely than urban patients to receive IV tPA. The findings suggest that telestroke service expansion efforts have increased, especially in rural and super rural counties, and have improved outcomes.


In two-location inventory systems, unidirectional transshipment policies are considered when an item is not routinely stocked at a location in the system. Unlike the past research in this area which has concentrated on the simple transshipment policies of complete pooling or no pooling, the research presented in this thesis endeavors to develop an understanding of a more general class of transshipment policy. The research considers two major approaches: a decomposition approach, in which the two-location system is decomposed into a system with independent locations, and Markov decision process approach. For the decomposition approach, the transshipment policy is restricted to the class of holdout transshipment policy. The first attempt to develop a decomposition approach assumes that transshipment between the locations occurs at a constant rate in order to decompose the system into two independent locations with constant demand rates. The second attempt modifies the assumption of constant rate of transshipment to take account of local inventory levels to decompose the system into two independent locations with non-constant demand rates. In the final attempt, the assumption of constant rate of transshipment is further modified to model more closely the location providing transshipments. Again the system is decomposed into two independent locations with non-constant demand rates. For each attempt, standard techniques are applied to derive explicit expressions for the average cost rate, and an iterative solution method is developed to find an optimal holdout transshipment policy. Computational results show that these approaches can provide some insights into the performance of the original system. A semi-Markov decision model of the system is developed under the assumption of exponential lead time rather than fixed lead time. This model is later extended to the case of phase-type distribution for lead time. The semi-Markov decision process allows more general transshipment policies, but is computationally more demanding. Implicit expressions for the average cost rate are derived from the optimality equation for dynamic programming models. Computational results illustrate insights into the management of the two-location system that can be gained from this approach.


Recently we identified four conjugated glucuronide metabolites of epicatechin, (−)-epicatechin-3′-O-glucuronide (E3′G), 4′-O-methyl-(−)-epicatechin-3′-O-glucuronide (4′ME3′G), (−)-epicatechin-7-O-glucuronide (E7G) and 3′-O-methyl-(−)-epicatechin-7-O-glucuronide (3′ME7G) from plasma and urine. E3′G and 4′ME3′G were isolated from human urine, while E7G and 3′ME7G were isolated from rats that had received oral administration of (−)-epicatechin (Natsume et al. (2003), Free Radic. Biol. Med. 34, 840–849). It has been suggested that these metabolites possess considerable in vivo activity, and therefore we carried out a study to compare the antioxidant activities of the metabolites with that of the parent compound. This was achieved by measuring superoxide scavenging activity, reduction of plasma TBARS production and reduced susceptibility of low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) to oxidation. (−)-Epicatechin was found to have more potent antioxidant activity than the conjugated glucuronide metabolites. Both (−)-epicatechin and E7G had marked antioxidative properties with respect to superoxide radical scavenging activity, plasma oxidation induced by 2,2′-azobis-(2-aminopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) and LDL oxidation induced by copper ions or 2,2′-azobis(4-methoxy-2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile) (MeO-AMVN). In contrast, the other metabolites had light antioxidative activities over the range of physiological concentrations found in plasma.


This article aims to illuminate how non-state actors participate in forging public institutions and in establishing public agendas. It also sets out to identify novel mechanisms of state building. It does so by examining the historical experience of the Immigrants' Protective League (IPL) from its founding in 1908 through 1924. The history of the IPL highlights the role of organized, networked women in generating new boundary stories and doing boundary work; in conducting research and enhancing legibility; in incubating new policy experiments; and in moving the national, state, and local governments to take up new tasks in the progressive era. Focusing on women's activism in this period, and efforts to link immigrants to categories of the vulnerable, reveals that porous boundaries, hybrid power-sharing arrangements, and public-private collaborations may be more typical in forging new American institutions and public agendas than is generally recognized—and insufficiently captured by a narrative of a weak state borrowing temporary capacity from private actors.


Project Towards No Drug Abuse (Project TND) is a drug use prevention program for high school youth. The current version of the curriculum is designed to help students develop self-control and communication skills, acquire resources that help them resist drug use, improve decisionmaking strategies, and develop the motivation to not use drugs. It is packaged in 12 40-minute interactive sessions to be taught by teachers or health educators. The TND curriculum was developed for high-risk students in continuation or alternative high schools. It has also been tested among traditional high school students.


Drylands worldwide are exposed to a highly variable environment and face a high risk of degradation. The effects of global climate change such as altered precipitation patterns and increased temperature leading to reduced water availability will likely increase this risk. At the same time, an elevated atmospheric CO2 level could mitigate the effects of reduced water availability by increasing the water use efficiency of plants. To prevent degradation of drylands, it is essential to understand the underlying processes that affect water availability and vegetation cover. Since water and vegetation are strongly interdependent in water‐limited ecosystems, changes can lead to highly non‐linear effects. We assess these effects by developing an ecohydrological model of soil moisture and vegetation cover. The water component of the model simulates the daily dynamics of surface water and water contents in two soil layers. Vegetation is represented by two functional types: shrubs and grasses. These compete for soil water and strongly influence hydrological processes. We apply the model to a Namibian thornbush savanna and evaluate the separate and combined effects of decreased annual precipitation, increased temperature, more variable precipitation and elevated atmospheric CO2 on soil moisture and on vegetation cover. The results show that two main factors control the response of plant types towards climate change, namely a change in water availability and a change in water allocation to a specific plant type. Especially, reduced competitiveness of grasses can lead to a higher risk of shrub encroachment in these systems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in a reflective mode has been utilized to study the dynamics of molecular structure in a polymeric liquid crystalline melt. The experimental setup included a thermo-electric cell which allows heating, melting of the sample, and also application of an electric () field during spectroscopic observation. It was therefore possible to monitor orientation of dipolar groups as a function of time during thermal and electrical treatments. The material studied was a liquid crystalline copolyester, and orientation was monitored through absorbance associated with stretching of carbonyl bonds. Measurements taken on a melt of this material reveal an orientational response of carbonyl groups which begins immediately upon application of a relatively low -field (3750 V cm−1) and continues over a period of approximately one hour. It was somewhat surprising that a measurable change in dipolar orientation was observed. Cooperative dipolar phenomena and the torque-transmitting elasticity of the mesomorphic fluid are thought to be important factors in the observed behavior.


In today's world, health views have found a wider perspective in which non-medical expectations are particularly catered to. The health system reform plan seeks to improve society's health, decrease treatment costs, and increase patient satisfaction. This study investigated factors affecting the successful establishment of a health system reform plan. A mixed qualitative – quantitative approach was applied to conduct to explore influential factors associated with the establishment of a health system reform plan in Iran's public hospitals. The health systems and approaches to improving them in other countries have been studied. A Likert-based five-point questionnaire was the measurement instrument, and its content validity based on content validity ratio (CVR) was 0.87. The construct validity, calculated using the factorial analysis and Kaiser Mayer Olkin (KMO) techniques, was 0.964, which is a high level and suggests a correlation between the scale items. To complete the questionnaire, 185 experts, specialists, and executives of Iran's health reform plan were selected using the Purposive Stratified Non Random Sampling and snowball methods. The data was then analyzed using exploratory factorial analysis and SPSS and LISREL software applications. The results of this research imply the existence of a pattern with a significant and direct relationship between the identified independent variables and the dependent variable of the establishment of a health system reform plan. The most important indices of establishing a health system reform plan, in the order of priority, were political support; suitable proportion and coverage of services presented in the society; management of resources; existence of necessary infrastructures; commitment of senior managers; constant planning, monitoring, and evaluation; and presentation of feedback to the plan's executives, intrasector/extrasector cooperation, and the plan's guiding committee. Considering the indices, it can be argued that the presented models enjoyed good model fit and the desired correspondence existed between the depicted or constructed model and the experimental data. In other words, the above-named variables possess the necessary qualifications to be used in the form of a final research model.


Firearm-related deaths are the third leading cause of injury-related deaths in the United States. Yet limited data exist on contemporary epidemiological trends and risk factors for firearm-related injuries. Using data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, we report epidemiological trends and quantify the clinical and financial burden associated with emergency department (ED) visits for firearm-related injuries. We identified 150,930 patients-representing a weighted total of 704,916 patients nationally-who presented alive to the ED in the period 2006-14 with firearm-related injuries. Such injuries were approximately nine times more common among male than female patients and highest among males ages 20-24. Of the patients who presented alive to the ED, 37.2 percent were admitted to inpatient care, while 8.3 percent died during their ED visit or inpatient admission. The mean per person ED and inpatient charges were $5,254 and $95,887, respectively, resulting in an annual financial burden of approximately $2.8 billion in ED and inpatient charges. Although future research is warranted to better understand firearm-related injuries, policy makers might consider implementing universal background checks for firearm purchases and limiting access to firearms for people with a history of violence or previous convictions to reduce the clinical and financial burden associated with these injuries.


Cities around the world are emerging as leaders in the fight against climate change, embracing low-carbon transport, high-efficiency buildings, renewable energy and other strategies to reduce emissions while building more vibrant urban communities. At the same time, urban areas are growing astoundingly fast: 1.4 million new urban dwellers each week, and with corresponding demands for energy, goods, and services. Therefore, how our cities are built is a critical factor in the intensity of urban energy use. From the types of housing and commercial buildings, to our road networks and transport systems, to how we get our heat and power, urban infrastructure determines, to a great extent, whether a city has high or low greenhouse gas emissions. Here, we look at two scenarios of urban development over the next 15 years. We find that, in the reference scenario, new, energy-inefficient urban development may substantially "lock in" future CO2 emissions, as roughly 30% of future CO2 emissions "committed" annually occur due to new, urban building and transport systems. However, in an aggressive "urban action" scenario, urban policymakers can instead deploy the most energy-efficient technologies and urban design, and avoid committing about 45 Gt CO2 of cumulative future emissions. Making these choices now, instead of attempting costlier retrofits later, can substantially lower the cost of meeting stringent climate objectives for cities and nations alike. At the same time, retrofitting of existing infrastructure – urban and otherwise – is also necessary to "unlock" the existing roughly 800 Gt CO2 of emissions already "committed" and help keep emissions within the 1,000 Gt CO2 carbon "budget". CARBON LOCK-IN DUE TO URBAN DEVELOPMENT SEI-WP-2015-11


Presented by Australia ICOMOS in association with the Sydney Opera House and the Heritage Council of NSW, the Jim Kerr Address held on the International Day for Monuments and Sites pays respect to Jim's legacy by perpetuating open inquiry into the understanding of place and the constant review of progress in conservation philosophy and practice.  The 2016 guest speaker was the cultural media expert and philanthropist Joe Skrynski AO. Joe's talk was titled: From Griffin to Utzon and From "The Man from Snowy River" to "Go Back To Where You Came From". This summary video contains much of Joe's presentation about his involvement in considering future changes to the Sydney Opera House and includes part of the introduction given by Louise Herron, CEO of the Sydney Opera House.


There is a bustling, fluorescent clamor that governs hospital hallways during the day and so fills the air that any sound wanting attention has to vie for it, each alarm louder and more cacophonous than the last. But at night, an altogether different temper settles over the hospital. A restrained, low-lit quiet descends, transforming those long corridors into a space that seems smaller and almost comforting. Almost any sound stands out at night. I was once trudging down one of those subdued nighttime hallways after many busy hours on call, allowing the glimpse of sleeping patients in each passing room to give me hope for a nap that night, too. My head was down and my thoughts were elsewhere, but the faint sound of a person struggling for breath stopped me cold. At a nearby workstation, a young nurse's aide was sitting bent over the desk, breathing heavily and holding a burrito. Her eyes were glassy but vaguely focused on the burrito, which she looked intent on eating. I asked her if she was all right. She struggled to tell me between gasps that she felt faint, and that she thought she would feel better if she could eat. She did not look in any shape to be eating; I suggested that she put the burrito down. Acquiescent and apparently relieved, she let the burrito drop into its Styrofoam container. She was becoming pale and sweaty. Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she began to slide from her chair as she mumbled that she was going to fall. As she did, I found my way under her to catch her. We landed in a heap, her weight pinning me to the wall while she slumped backward onto my chest and outstretched legs like a large, sleeping child. A nurse came by, and I asked her for a stethoscope. Because of our tandem position on the ground, I turned the stethoscope back toward us as though the aide were a part of me and I was listening to my own heart through a double-thick rib cage. Her heart was racing. The nurse took her vital signs, which confirmed an extremely fast heart rate, but were otherwise stable. I glanced down at her, still slumped against my chest and breathing heavily. She looked pale and scared and on the edge of consciousness. By that time, quite a crowd of nurses and aides had gathered around us. One of them called the emergency department and reported back that someone would be up soon with a stretcher to take her there. Another nurse brought ice water for me to apply to her face (a maneuver that could decrease her pulse if the cause was an aberrant electrical conduction path in her heart). I held an ice-cold washcloth to her face and asked her to take deep breaths, trying to calm her down, but her heart rate stayed stubbornly high in the 180s. While we waited for the stretcher, she was able to tell me her name, her medical history, her medications and allergies. The nurses who knew her filled in the gaps--this had happened several times before, she had undergone a thorough workup, and the cause had not been found. When the emergency department staff arrived, we transferred her to the stretcher. When I stood up, I felt light and insubstantial without her weight upon me. I rode the elevator down to the emergency department with her, followed her to the trauma bay, and waited for the emergency physicians to rush in. I quickly gave them all the information I had about her. When I said goodbye to the girl on the stretcher, she still seemed to me like a child, terrified and young. We looked at each other. She thanked me, and I told her I'd be thinking about her. I rode the elevator back upstairs and went to my call room, this time without incident. I lay down, no longer sleepy, and stayed awake worrying about the young woman for a while before nodding off. When I woke several hours later, one of the nurses told me that she had been discharged from the emergency department with an improved heart rate but still no obvious cause for the arrhythmia. …


Composite materials are widely used in the aerospace, marine and automotive industries. One of their main advantages is that their stacking sequence can be tailored to maximise/minimise a specific structural performance. Efficient and non-computational-expensive algorithms are always needed to find the optimum stacking sequence of a composite laminate whose thickness is either to be minimised or may be kept constant (i.e.the thickness and the plies orientation percentages are pre-determined; the problem of the optimisation is therefore permutational).A modified branch and bound algorithm is proposed here and used to determine the stacking sequence for single and multi-objective optimisation problems. Laminate thickness and orientation percentages are either variables or determined a priori (the optimisation problem is therefore permutational). Computational time is drastically reduced when compared with other meta-heuristic techniques.The proposed method is a branch and bound algorithm, modified from the original work proposed by Kim and Hwang [10]. The main novelty is the starting point of the optimisation sequence: a laminate formed by "Ideal" layers, described in this paper.The modified branch and bound has been first tested with a laminate having fixed thickness and a fixed percentage of layer orientation. Three different problems have been investigated: maximisation of natural frequencies, minimisation of tip deflection and maximisation of buckling critical load. The algorithm has been also tested, secondly, for a problem of weight minimisation subjected to buckling and strength constraints.The MBB has been shown to give good fidelity and significant computational advantages compared with a GA. Despite the simplicity of the structures in the numerical examples, it is anticipated that the MBB can be used to determine lay-ups in multi-part structures. The method was used to determine stacking sequences for several problems. The modified branch and bound method was shown to determine good laminate designs and offer significant efficiency savings.A "Good Design" is here defined as a solution producing "Near Global Optima" fitness values by minimising the computational effort. It was shown that for a single objective without ply competition, global optima were obtained.


Abstract. The functional group composition of various organic aerosols (OA) is investigated using a recently developed analytical approach based on atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation-tandem mass spectrometry (APCI-MS/MS). The determinations of three functional groups contents are performed quantitatively by neutral loss (carboxylic and carbonyl groups, R-COOH and R-CO-R´ respectively) and precursor ion (nitro groups, R-NO2) scanning modes of a tandem mass spectrometer. Major organic aerosol sources are studied: vehicular emission and wood combustion for primary aerosol sources; and a secondary organic aerosol (SOA) produced through photooxidation of o-xylene. The results reveal significant differences in the functional group contents of these source aerosols. The laboratory generated SOA is dominated by carbonyls while carboxylics are preponderate in the wood combustion particles. On the other hand, vehicular emissions are characterised by a strong nitro content. The total amount of the three functional groups accounts for 1.7% (vehicular) to 13.5% (o-xylene photooxidation) of the organic carbon. Diagnostic functional group ratios are then used to tentatively discriminate sources of particles collected in an urban background environment located in an Alpine valley (Chamonix, France) during a strong winter pollution event. The three functional groups under study account for a total functionalisation rate of 2.2 to 3.8% of the organic carbon in this ambient aerosol, which is also dominated by carboxylic moieties. In this particular case study of a deep alpine valley during winter, we show that the nitro- and carbonyl-to-carboxylic diagnostic ratios can be a useful tool to discriminate sources. In these conditions, the total OA concentrations are highly dominated by wood combustion OA. This result is confirmed by an organic markers source apportionment approach which assess a wood burning organic carbon contribution of about 60%. Finally, examples of functional group mass spectra of all aerosols under study are presented, and additional perspectives offered by the mass spectra in terms of OA characterisation are discussed.


Fault location detection plays a crucial role in power transmission network, especially on security, stabilization and economic aspects. Accurate fault location detection in transmission network helps to speed up the restoration time, therefore, reduce the outage time and improve the system reliability [1]. With the development of Wide Area Measurement System (WAMS) and Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU), various fault location algorithms have been proposed. The purpose of this work is to determine, modify and test the most appropriate fault location method which can be implemented with a PMU only linear state estimator. The thesis reviews several proposed fault location methods, such as, one-terminal [2], multi-terminal [3]-[11] and travelling wavelets methods [12]-[13]. A Two-stage fault location algorithm using PMU voltage measurements proposed by Q. Jiang [14] is identified as the best option for adaption to operate with a linear state estimator. The algorithm is discussed in details and several case studies are made to evaluate its effectiveness. The algorithm is shown to be easy to implement and adapt for operation with a linear state estimator. It only requires a limited number of PMU measurements, which makes it more practical than other existing methods. The algorithm is adapted and successfully tested on a real linear state estimator monitored high voltage transmission network.


COVID-19, being a dreadly viral infection, has put the entire globe in a pandemic situation in the present scenario. The RNA virus was first reported in later 2019; various diagnostic modalities are applied including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) since PCR detects RNA viruses and their strain. Though many theories had been proposed and accepted worldwide, the path and sequelae of COVID-19 is debatable especially after the release of the autopsy analysis conducted at Italy, the results of which turned out to be a revolutionary tool in managing COVID-19 patients. The coronavirus could be classified based on its characteristics into many types such as O, A2, A2a, A3, B, B1, totally numbering to 11 strains. It has been proved by research studies including an Indian institute's study that "A2a" strain is the most predominant and virulent strain. The basic pathogenic molecular mechanism of SARS-Cov2 is by entering the lung system and cells and disrupting the 1-β chain of hemoglobin and extracting out the porphyrin rings and dissociating the iron content from it, thereby releasing iron into the circulation. The increased Hb production eventually leads to increase in the blood viscosity level with recurrent and diffuse microand macrocirculatory thrombosis in the form of blood clot, the major underlying reason substantiating the elevated levels of D-dimer among the infected patients and thus explaining the cause of sudden deterioration and death. COVID-19 management warrants a multidimensional approach in management, and judicious laboratory diagnosis plays a vital role in picking up the infected cases. Scientific reviews throws light on the primary underlying pathophysiology, thereby redirecting the mode of approach and subsequent management and proclaiming that the grave condition is associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation with microthrombi warranting rationale treatment with anti-inflammatory and anti-coagulant drugs rather than empirical and irrational usage of mechanical ventilators.


International business negotiations are prone to several difficulties, one of the most fundamental of which being differences in cultural conceptualizations ( Sharifian 2011 ). In order to explore how Brazilians and Germans conceptualize respect in business negotiations, interviews in English with business negotiators were conducted and cultural conceptualizations analyzed. Following an 'organic' ( Quinn 2005 ) and (mainly) qualitative approach to data, this paper presents: (a) the main conceptualizations found for both groups; (b) a cognitive-linguistic analysis of collocations of 'respect' found in the interviews; and (c) a preliminary sketch of group-level conceptualizations of respect in business negotiations for both groups. For Brazilians, the source domains location and vertical splitting were salient, which points to the relevance of hierarchy. For Germans, the source domain horizontal splitting and the sphere separation cultural schema were recurrent, which signals appreciation for the public-private sphere separation. These conceptual differences might have practical consequences in international negotiation scenarios.


This essay argues that moral accountability depends upon having a shared system of social norms. In particular, it argues that the Strawsonian reactive attitude of resentment is only fitting when people can reasonably expect a mutual recognition of the justified demands to which they are being held. Though such recognition should not typically be expected of moral demands that are thought to be independent of any social practice, social norms can ground such mutual recognition. On this account, a significant part of a society's social norms are also properly seen as moral norms. The essay defends this overlap of social and moral norms in contrast to views on which moral norms and social norms are sharply distinguished. Lastly, the essay concludes by addressing challenges for accountability in circumstances of norm change.


Abstract In a changing media environment, television is being transformed by the adoption of practices such as audience participation and interactivity. This article analyses the ways in which managers and producers in Finnish and Israeli public service and hybrid television companies perceive participation and interactivity. We suggest that while these concepts can be described by hybrid broadcasters using the technologically- and commercially-oriented concept of 'social TV', the term does not adequately address the perceptions of socially-oriented public service broadcasters (PSBs). Hence, we propose the society- and value-oriented concept of 'soci(et)al TV' in an effort to conceptualise the PSBs' perceptions concerning the adoption of interactivity and participation practices while they seek to fulfil their social commitments and objectives. Our argument is based on a comparative study of two different broadcasting models (public service vs. hybrid) in two national media systems and cultures.


Abstract Objective: Chest pain is one of the most common reasons people seek emergency care—and one of the most critical. In the United States, chest pain is the second most common reason for emergency department (ED) visits. A patient's primary complaint of "chest pain" may reflect a broad range of underlying causes; therefore, it is important that emergency medical service (EMS) agencies gain a thorough understanding of these cases, beginning with the initial management of chest pain in the 9-1-1 center. The primary objective of this study was to compare hospital-confirmed patient discharge diagnoses to all calls handled by emergency medical dispatchers (EMDs) using the Chest Pain/Chest Discomfort (Non-Traumatic) Chief Complaint Protocol. Methods: The retrospective descriptive study utilized emergency medical dispatch, EMS, and hospital datasets, collected at two emergency communication centers in North America, from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2014. Patients who were dispatched using the Chest Pain/Chest Discomfort Chief Complaint Protocol and matched to hospital datasets were included. The primary outcome was the number and percentage of cases classified as ischemic heart disease (IHD), other cardiac-related conditions, or non-cardiac-related conditions associated with chest pain. We also evaluated the distribution of causes of chest pain across demographic indicators and dispatch determinants. Results: 3,007 cases were identified as "chest pain" at dispatch for which corresponding hospital records were identified. Cases in the study were obtained by linking EMS/Hospital and Emergency Medical Dispatch datasets. Of these cases, 47.1% (n = 1,417) were due to cardiac-related causes of chest pain, 61.5% of which were Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD), while the rest had other cardiac-related causes. Of the IHDs, 32.1% were Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI). Conclusions: Underlying causes of non-traumatic chest pain reported to 9-1-1 demonstrate a wide range of etiologies, with a mix similar to that of chest pain patients in several other healthcare settings, including hospital emergency departments. Most IHD events are triaged by EMDs to the (highest) DELTA priority level, while the CHARLIE level captures nearly all of the remaining IHD cases.


In his runaway bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond brilliantly examined the circumstances that allowed Western civilizations to dominate much of the world. Now he probes the other side of the equation: What caused some of the great civilizations of the past to fall into ruin, and what can we learn from their fates? Using a vast historical and geographical perspective ranging from Easter Island and the Maya to Viking Greenland and modern Montana, Diamond traces a fundamental pattern of environmental catastrophe - one whose warning signs can be seen in our modern world and that we ignore at our peril. Blending the most recent scientific advances into a narrative that is impossible to put down, Collapse exposes the deepest mysteries of the past even as it offers hope for the future.


This paper presents a new method for solving rank-one multivariate regression problems, providing a solution that maximizes the sum of squared correlations of the one-dimensional fitted pattern with the target variates. The suitability of the method and the consistency of the estimator are formally proved and experimentally tested. In particular, it is shown that the estimate converges not only as a function of the number of items, but also as a function of the number of target variates. An equivalent conventional reduced-rank regression case is identified, and it inherits the convergence properties of the new approach. Application programs in Matlab/Octave code are provided and numerical examples using artificial data as well as real data are presented.


According to current climate projections, Mediterranean countries are at high risk for an even pronounced susceptibility to changes in the hydrological budget and extremes. These changes are expected to have severe direct impacts on the management of water resources, agricultural productivity and drinking water supply. The different regions of the Mediterranean landscape are already experiencing and expecting a broad range of natural and man-made threats to water security. Current projections of future hydrological change, based on regional climate model results and subsequent hydrological modeling schemes, are very uncertain and poorly validated. The Rio Mannu di San Sperate Basin, located in Sardinia, Italy, is one test site of the CLIMB project. The catchment has a size of 472.5 km2. The catchment was already affected by multi-drought periods (1990-2000) (Piras et al. 2014).
The process-based Water Simulation Model (WaSiM) was set up to model current and future hydrological conditions. The availability of measured meteorological and hydro-logical data is poor as it is common for many Mediterranean catchments. The lack of available measured input data hampers the calibration of the model setup and the validation of model outputs. A soil sampling campaign was conducted together with the department of Geography of the University of Kiel to assess more precisely the physical properties of the top soil (30cm depth) at 239 locations in the Rio Mannu catchment. Different deterministic and hybrid geostatistical regionalization methods like Multi-Linear Regression, Inverse Distance Weighting, Ordinary Kriging and Regression Kriging (Odeh et al. 1995) were used to calculate spatially distributed maps of particular lab-analyzed soil information. The applied regionalization methods were then tested on the prediction performance. The best performing prediction method was used to calculate a new classified soil texture map for the catchment. Soil hydrological properties were assigned to the soil texture classes by pedo-transfer functions.
WaSiM was then parameterized in 2 different settings. One setting (WASiM-ARU) used the standard available soil information of Aru et al. (1990) and the other (WASiM-RKS) the improved new soil information. The WaSiM-ARU setting was used for calibration and validation. WaSiM-ARU was calibrated and validated with spatially distributed evapotranspiration rates derived with the triangle method (Jiang and Islam, 1999) and soil moisture records, due to missing adequate gauging information in the catchment. The modeled evapotranspiration result girds using WaSiM-RKS setup with the improved soil model setup show a better fit especially for the growing season to those derived from remote sensing without further calibration. Both WaSiM setups were driven with the meteorological forcing taken from 4 different ENSEMBLES climate projections for a reference (1971-2000) and a future (2041-2070) times series. The climate change impact was assessed based on differences between reference and future time series and with climate change indices like the standardized difference precipitation index, the evapotranspiration index and by the number of consecutive flow conditions. Furthermore long-term annual and monthly mean changes were analyzed.
The simulated results show a reduction of all hydrological quantities in the future. Furthermore simulation results reveal an earlier onset of dry conditions in the catch-ment. The comparison of modeling results shows that the quality of the soil model setup has a major impact on the spatial distribution of modeling outputs.
Finally runoff modeling results of both WaSiM setups were compared to other modeling results which were processed with other hydrological models in the test site within CLIMB. Those models used a very similar setup as WaSiM-ARU. The comparison shows a significant uncertainty in the processed results based on to the applied hydrological model. Especially in ungauged catchments like the Rio Mannu those uncertainties need to be considered in the climate change impact assessment analysis, the resulting adaption strategies and for the policy decision making. However, findings also show that the quality of soil input and parametrization creates uncertainties when using WaSiM that are in the same range as the uncertainties produced by the different applied hydrological models.
The study shows that the combination of sophisticated climate model downscaling and bias correction techniques, improved hydrological model parametrization with improved soil information, and validation with in-situ and remote sensing measurements, has a high potential to improve environmental impact assessment in data scarce regions.


We describe the iterative design of two collaborative storytelling technologies for young children, KidPad and the Klump. We focus on the idea of designing interfaces to subtly encourage collaboration so that children are invited to discover the added benefits of working together. This idea has been motivated by our experiences of using early versions of our technologies in schools in Sweden and the UK. We compare the approach of encouraging collaboration with other approaches to synchronizing shared interfaces. We describe how we have revised the technologies to encourage collaboration and to reflect design suggestions made by the children themselves.


For many biological creatures sensory whiskers are an effective means of detecting and recognising nearby objects. The project described in this paper has the aim of demonstrating that whisker sensors can be used as a similarly effective form of robot sensing. Many mobile robots have used whiskers as simple switches to warn of an imminent collision. However, these devices cannot provide the detailed surface profile information required to recognise and accurately locate objects. Several research groups have built advanced whisker sensors that can determine the position of a contact along the length of the whisker. Although these whisker sensors are usually little more than a length of flexible spring material they do require complex sensing and actuation mechanisms at the whisker root. In this project an array of eight whisker sensors is scanned over external objects by the motion of the robot. The resulting deflection of the whiskers is monitored by a potentiometer at each whisker root. By recording the deflection of the whiskers as they slide over external objects sequences of surface points can be determined. Object recognition algorithms have been developed that allow the robot to recognise, grasp and retrieve a range of objects using the whisker data. In this paper the robot, WhiskerBOT, is described together with the object recognition and localisation algorithms. Results of practical experiments are also presented.


The interplay of sea-level fall, climate, and sedimentological changes is recorded across two sequence boundaries at the top of two Triassic carbonate platform systems in the Western Tethys (earliest Carnian and Norian-Rhaetian boundary in age, paleolatitude 18°–25° N). The sea-level falls caused subaerial exposure of the platform top and decreased carbonate production, leading to starvation in the intraplatform basins, followed by deposition of shale. Evidence of freshwater input indicates that the change in sedimentation was driven by increased rainfall on the previously arid European hinterland and Tethys coast. A uniformitarian approach (Holocene sea-level changes and global warming are coupled with changes in the distribution of precipitation) implicates global cooling as the probable cause of the observed sea-level, climate, and sedimentological changes. Global cooling likely triggered the sea-level fall by increased storage of fresh water in continental settings and change in seawater density, probably coupled with ephemeral ice sheet development, possible even during greenhouse intervals such as the Triassic. Furthermore, global cooling caused a shift toward the equator of the poleward boundary of the arid belt. This model is supported by the traceability of the sequence boundaries and climate-sensitive facies from the Tethys shelf up to the European continent. The observed association of global climate changes, sea-level fall, sedimentological changes, and shift toward humid climate documents how climate-sensitive facies record the control exerted by global changes on local sedimentation.


We discuss first and second order optimality conditions for nonlinear second-order cone programming problems, and their relation with semidefinite programming problems. For doing this we extend in an abstract setting the notion of optimal partition. Then we state a characterization of strong regularity in terms of second order optimality conditions.


In the past decade, inflation in Australia and most other industrialised countries has been extremely well behaved. An important question is whether this reflects a series of favourable shocks to prices or a more fundamental change in the inflation process. In this paper, we explore developments in each of the key explanators of inflation. We find that some of the determinants of inflation in Australia have exhibited unusual or structural change in recent years. Using a mark-up model of inflation, we attempt to identify whether there has been a change in the relationship between inflation and its determinants. We find some tentative evidence of change. Although this change is not statistically significant, it may be economically significant. It leaves open the possibility that some forces may be emerging that could help reduce the variability of inflation in response to shocks.


"The world is awash in chemicals created by fellow citizens, but we know little to nothing about them. Understanding whether even the most prevalent ones are toxic would take decades. Many people have tragically suffered serious diseases and premature death, including children during development. Why has this occurred? Many factors contribute, but two important ones are the laws permitting this and the manner in which science has been used to identify and assess whether or not products are toxic. Both are the outcome of legislative, corporate, and judicial choices. Congress created laws that in fact keep public health officials and the wider population in the dark about the toxicity of virtually all substances other than prescription drugs and pesticides. Facing considerable ignorance about toxic substances, impartially motivated scientists seeking to protect the public health are constrained by the natural pace of studies to reveal toxic effects. Corporate pressures on public health officials and scientific obstruction substantially heighten the barriers to protecting the public. When people have suffered serious as well as life-threatening diseases likely traceable to toxic substances, judicial errors barring relevant science in the personal injury (tort) law can and have frustrated redress of injustices. Under both public health law and the tort law, there are possibilities for improved approaches, provided public leaders make different and better choices. This book describes these issues and suggests how we could be better protected from myriad toxic substances in our midst."


One of the treatments for patients with metastatic malignant melanoma is interferon-α (IFN-α); however, the success rate is only 10 to 15%. Previous studies suggest that IFN-α treatment of T cell lines leads to increased production of members of the suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) family of proteins, which are well characterized in their ability to inhibit cytokine signaling. SOCS1 and SOCS3 inhibit IFN-α-mediated signal transduction. Zimmerer et al. investigated the effect of IFN-α treatment on the abundance of SOCS mRNAs and proteins in primary cells from healthy donors and patients with metastatic melanoma. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy donors treated in vitro with IFN-α had increased amounts of mRNAs for SOCS1, SOCS2, SOCS3, and the SOCS family member, cytokine-inducible Src homology 2 (SH2)-containing protein (CIS). Western blot analysis of immunoprecipitates from PBMCs showed that the abundance of these SOCS family members was also increased after IFN-α treatment. Further cell-specific analyses demonstrated that the strongest effect of IFN-α treatment was found within T cells. Analysis of PBMCs from patients with metastatic melanoma 1 hour after intravenous administration of IFN-α showed increased amounts of the mRNAs for some SOCS family members analyzed in healthy donors. Treatment of SOCS1-deficient mice (in a mouse model of malignant melanoma) with IFN-α reduced tumors in 70% of mice, without side effects, whereas all of the IFN-α-treated wild-type mice died. These data suggest that modulating SOCS activity in the context of cytokine treatment may improve clinical outcome. J. M. Zimmerer, G. B. Lesinski, S. V. Kondadasula, V. I. Karpa, A. Lehman, A. RayChaudhury, B. Becknell, W. E. Carson III, IFN-α-induced signal transduction, gene expression, and antitumor activity of immune effector cells are negatively regulated by suppressor of cytokine signaling proteins. J. Immunol. 178, 4832-4845 (2007). [PubMed]


OBJECTIVE
To describe the use of alteplase for intravesicular thrombolysis in a dog after development of urinary tract obstruction from a blood clot in the urinary bladder.

CASE SUMMARY
A 5.8 kg, 6.5-year-old female neutered Bichon Frise was presented for signs of acute hematuria. A complete blood count (CBC) revealed marked thrombocytopenia and leukopenia, and nonregenerative anemia. Bone marrow aspirate cytology revealed mild hypercellularity, mild megakaryocytic hyperplasia, mildly left-shifted erythroid maturation, and moderately left-shifted myeloid maturation, suggesting ongoing recovery from an acute bone marrow insult. Thrombocytopenia and hematuria resolved concurrently; however, stranguria and oliguria developed acutely. Ultrasonography identified two large presumed thrombi within the urinary bladder. A urinary catheter was placed and 4 doses of 0.5 mg of alteplase diluted in 10 mL of 0.9% sodium chloride were instilled into the bladder with a 4-hour dwell time at 12-hour intervals. Prothombin and activated partial thromboplastin times were monitored during therapy and remained within normal limits. One thrombus was successfully dissolved after 48 hours of therapy and the remaining thrombus was reduced in size and was voided upon removal of the urinary catheter.

NEW OR UNIQUE INFORMATION PROVIDED
This report describes the use of alteplase in a dog for thrombolysis of intravesicular thrombi. In patients that develop intravesicular thrombi, intravesical instillation of alteplase can be considered as a method for dissolution of these thrombi.


This article-cum-narrative reflects on the use — indeed usefulness — of a dictionary in helping the researcher to identify metaphorical and non-metaphorical uses of language. Focusing on a group of 'saying' verbs as they were used in a face-to-face conversation between a university lecturer and an undergraduate student, it describes a researcher's attempts to use the dictionary recommended by the Pragglejaz Group in their seminal article on metaphor identification (2007) to discover what basic sense of different words might (or might not) motivate their metaphorical meaning in context. The quest to identify the basic meanings of these verbs using this dictionary was fraught with difficulties and led to a less than satisfactory denouement.


PURPOSE
Citation-based metrics, such as the H-classics method, have been used as an indicator to assess academic performance in the scientific community. However, information addressing issues regarding self-citation, citation half-life, and subject area of origin in implant dentistry is lacking. The purpose of this study was to investigate the citation characteristics of H-classics articles in implant dentistry throughout different time periods.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
H-classics implant dentistry articles were searched and selected by applying the H-classics method from the Scopus database. Bibliometric analysis was conducted to evaluate the citation characteristics, including institutional and journal self-citation, citation half-life, and subject area of origin of identified H-classics articles.

RESULTS
The International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants and Clinical Oral Implants Research are the leading journals contributing the majority of citations to the retrieved H-classics articles. Articles published in the United States cited the most H-classics articles. Journal self-citation was 12.41% on average, while institutional self-citation was approximately 7.81%. Citation half-life decreased significantly across time periods, with an average decreasing ratio of 43.95%. Research on Scope III, bioengineering interventions, had the most prominent distribution citation frequency in the subject area "Others."

CONCLUSION
This study provides insightful views regarding citation characteristics of H-classics articles in implant dentistry (eg, interdisciplinary publications on bioengineering interventions) during the investigation periods, which may foster the translation of preclinical research into clinical applications in the future.


Biogeography and ecology of southern Portuguese butterflies and burnets (Lepidoptera) During several visits to the western part of the Algarve (southern Portugal), the author mapped the butterflies and burnets of this region. In total, I observed 58 butterfly species (51 Papilionoidea, 7 Hesperiidae) and 6 Zygaenidae during my observations in spring and summer. More than 80% of the species are Palaearctic faunal elements, three species are considered Holarctic, three are Nearctic and four are Palaeotropic. Around 75% of the Palaearctic species are Mediterranean faunal elements. Within the Palaearctic group, the 23 species belonging uniquely to the Atlanto- Mediterranean faunal type are by far the largest group. Siberian elements are lacking. Thus, the observed species composition is characteristic for the Atlanto-Mediterranean region. Some of the observed species can be found all over the study area, often in a variety of habitats. Other species are more or less geographically restricted. Their regional distribution patterns depend on geomorphological and ecological constraints. Several species are restricted to the limestone areas, others are limited to the acid schist and granite areas. Several species were only observed in the western coastal dunes. Some species occur exclusively in the mountain areas. Some species were not recorded along the windy western and south-western coastal areas. Several species become rare or even disappear in suitable habitats that show little diversity of the vegetation. The occurrence of many species is directly linked to one or few distinct types of vegetation like cork oak forests, deciduous forests and natural hedges along water courses, Cistus macchias, garigues on limestone, dry grasslands or hot rocky places with little vegetation.


Data on the numbers of Pekin ducks transported to slaughterhouses between 2009 and 2014 and the numbers of ducks that died during these transports were recorded in cooperation with the State Veterinary Administration of the Czech Republic. In the monitored period, a total of 12,327,017 ducks were transported, of which 9,545 (0.077%) died. The levels of transport-related mortality over these years varied significantly (P < 0.001); the lowest mortality was observed in 2011 (0.059%) and the highest in 2013 (0.089%). The impact of distance on transport-related mortality in ducks was demonstrated. The lowest transport-related mortality (0.052%) was found for distances shorter than 50 km. It was significantly (P < 0.001) lower than the mortality rates connected with longer journeys. The greatest mortality rates were found for transport distances of 101–200 km (0.105%). In addition, the season of the year significantly affected transport-related mortality in Pekin ducks. The highest death losses were found in the summer (0.090%). Death losses of ducks connected with summer transports were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in comparison with transport-related mortality rates in any other season of the year. The lowest death losses were found in duck transports carried out in the autumn and winter (0.069% and 0.072%, respectively) with no significant difference between those two seasons. Shortening transport distances and maintaining a suitable micro-climate inside transport vehicles especially in the summer are thus two important factors that can contribute to reducing transportrelated mortality in Pekin ducks in commercial practice. Poultry, transport, death on arrival, season, distance, welfare Transportation is regarded as a major stressor for livestock and may have harmful effects on


Objective: To carry out a community-based research approach to determine the most effective educational interventions to reduce smoking among African-American smokers. The intervention included preparation of the community, planning and developing a model of change, and developing a community-based intervention. The study population consisted of 2,544 randomly selected adult African-American smokers residing in four sites in the northeastern and southeastern parts of the United States. The research design provided a comparison of active intervention sites with passive control sites as well as low income and moderate income areas. Major Outcome Measures: Point prevalence of non-smoking at the time of interview; Period prevalence of non-smoking at the time of interview; Period prevalence of quit attempts in the prior six months; Number of smoke-free days in the prior six months; Number of cigarettes smoked daily at the time of interview. Results: Based upon a survey eighteen months after baseline data was collected, all four measures of cigarette smoking behavior showed a strong statistically significant reduction of personal smoking behavior among those receiving active interventions versus the passive group. On the basis of process variable analysis, direct contact with the project staff in the prior six months was significantly higher in the active intervention areas. There was only a small non-significant increase in personal smoking behavior in moderate income groups as opposed to low income groups. Conclusion: An analysis of process variables strongly suggests that, within this African-American Community, "hands on" or "face to face" approaches along with mass media, mailings, and other less personal approaches were more effective in reducing personal smoking behavior than media, mailings, and other impersonal approaches alone addressed to large audiences.


Cocoa agroforest remained the main cultivated agroforest in West Africa. This study examined the effects of shading regime, soil depth and soil texture on the growth of immature cocoa trees. A field experiment was conducted during one year in forest zone in Togo and data was collected in twelve cocoa orchards established in June - July 2014. Three equal size plots (12 x 10 m²) were randomly located in each orchard, where agronomic variables and soil samples were collected and analysed. The results showed that, more the shading regime was dense (p<0.05) more the young cocoa trees crown were developed, more the crown radius were extended and less the cocoa trees died. When the orchard soil was deeper (p<0.05), better the cocoa trees used rainwater and more quickly they were developed. The cocoa trees mortality rate was less when the soil texture was sandy-loam (p<0.05) and more numerous were the crowns formed. The optimum condition for immature cocoa trees growth was an agroecosystem who meet a sandy-loam soils, deep more than one meter and covering by a shading trees which prevent from 75-100% of sunlight. Cocoa trees ( Theobroma cacao Linn.) agroforests replanting in Togo: what appropriate agroecosystems?


Compressive Sensing for Feedback Reduction in Wireless Multiuser Networks Khalil Elkhalil User/relay selection is a simple technique that achieves spatial diversity in multiuser networks. However, for user/relay selection algorithms to make a selection decision, channel state information (CSI) from all cooperating users/relays is usually required at a central node. This requirement poses two important challenges. Firstly, CSI acquisition generates a great deal of feedback overhead (air-time) that could result in significant transmission delays. Secondly, the fed-back channel information is usually corrupted by additive noise. This could lead to transmission outages if the central node selects the set of cooperating relays based on inaccurate feedback information. Motivated by the aforementioned challenges, we propose a limited feedback user/relay selection scheme that is based on the theory of compressed sensing. Firstly, we introduce a limited feedback relay selection algorithm for a multicast relay network. The proposed algorithm exploits the theory of compressive sensing to first obtain the identity of the "strong" relays with limited feedback air-time. Following that, the CSI of the selected relays is estimated using minimum mean square error estimation without any additional feedback. To minimize the effect of noise on the fed-back CSI, we introduce a back-off strategy that optimally backs-off on the noisy received CSI. In the second part of the thesis, we propose a feedback reduction scheme for full5 duplex relay-aided multiuser networks. The proposed scheme permits the base station (BS) to obtain channel state information (CSI) from a subset of strong users under substantially reduced feedback overhead. More specifically, we cast the problem of user identification and CSI estimation as a block sparse signal recovery problem in compressive sensing (CS). Using existing CS block recovery algorithms, we first obtain the identity of the strong users and then estimate their CSI using the best linear unbiased estimator (BLUE). Moreover, we derive the error covariance matrix of the post-detection noise to be used in the back-off strategy. In addition to this, we provide exact closed form expressions for the average maximum equivalent SNR at the destination user. The last part of the thesis treats the problem of user selection in a network MIMO setting. We propose a distributed user selection strategy that is based on a well known technique called semi-orthogonal user selection when the zero-forcing beamforming (ZFBF) is adopted. Usually this technique requires perfect channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT) which might not be available or need large feedback overhead. Instead, we propose a distributed user selection technique where no communication between base stations is needed. In order to reduce the feedback overhead, each user set a timer that is inversely proportional to his channel quality indicator (CQI). This technique will allow only the user with the highest CQI to feedback provided that the transmission time is shorter than the difference between his timer and the second strongest user timer, otherwise a collision will occur. In the case of collision, we propose another feedback strategy that is based on the theory of compressive sensing, where collision is allowed and each user encode its feedback using Gaussian codewords and feedback the combination at the same time with other users. We prove that the problem can be formulated as a block sparse recovery problem and that this approach is agnostic on the transmission time, thus it could be a good alternative to the timer approach when collision is dominant. Simulation results 6 show that the proposed CS-based selection algorithms yield a rate performance that is close to the ones achieved when perfect CSI is available while consuming a small amount of feedback.


Immunotherapy has become one of the most promising avenues for cancer treatment, making use of the patient's own immune system to eliminate cancer cells. Clinical trials with T-cell-based immunotherapies have shown dramatic tumor regressions, being effective in multiple cancer types and for many different patients. Unfortunately, this progress was tempered by reports of serious (even fatal) side effects. Such therapies rely on the use of cytotoxic T-cell lymphocytes, an essential part of the adaptive immune system. Cytotoxic T-cells are regularly involved in surveillance and are capable of both eliminating diseased cells and generating protective immunological memory. The specificity of a given T-cell is determined through the structural interaction between the T-cell receptor (TCR) and a peptide-loaded major histocompatibility complex (MHC); i.e., an intracellular peptide–ligand displayed at the cell surface by an MHC molecule. However, a given TCR can recognize different peptide–MHC (pMHC) complexes, which can sometimes trigger an unwanted response that is referred to as T-cell cross-reactivity. This has become a major safety issue in TCR-based immunotherapies, following reports of melanoma-specific T-cells causing cytotoxic damage to healthy tissues (e.g., heart and nervous system). T-cell cross-reactivity has been extensively studied in the context of viral immunology and tissue transplantation. Growing evidence suggests that it is largely driven by structural similarities of seemingly unrelated pMHC complexes. Here, we review recent reports about the existence of pMHC "hot-spots" for cross-reactivity and propose the existence of a TCR interaction profile (i.e., a refinement of a more general TCR footprint in which some amino acid residues are more important than others in triggering T-cell cross-reactivity). We also make use of available structural data and pMHC models to interpret previously reported cross-reactivity patterns among virus-derived peptides. Our study provides further evidence that structural analyses of pMHC complexes can be used to assess the intrinsic likelihood of cross-reactivity among peptide-targets. Furthermore, we hypothesize that some apparent inconsistencies in reported cross-reactivities, such as a preferential directionality, might also be driven by particular structural features of the targeted pMHC complex. Finally, we explain why TCR-based immunotherapy provides a special context in which meaningful T-cell cross-reactivity predictions can be made.


Low-temperature (LT) plasmas have a substantial role in diverse scientific areas and modern technologies. Their stochastic and nonlinear dynamics strongly determine the ef‐ ficiency and effectiveness of LT plasma-based procedures involved in applications such as etching, spectrochemical analysis, deposition of thin films on substrates, and others. Understanding and controlling complex behaviors in LT plasmas have become a serious research problem. Modeling their behavior is also a major problem. However, models based on hydrodynamic equations have proven to be useful in their study. In this chap‐ ter, we expose the use of fluid models taking into account relevant kinetic processes to describe out from equilibrium LT plasma behavior. Selected topics on the stability, sto‐ chastic, and nonlinear dynamics of LT plasmas are discussed. These include the coexis‐ tence of diffusive and wave-like particle transport and delayed feedback control of oscillatory regime with relaxation.


Far-field automatic speech recognition (ASR) is a key enabling technology that allows untethered and natural voice interaction between users and Amazon Echo family of products. A key component in realizing far-field ASR on these products is the suite of audio front-end (AFE) algorithms that helps in mitigating acoustic environmental challenges and thereby improving the ASR performance. In this paper, we discuss the key algorithms within the AFE, and we provide insights into how these algorithms help in mitigating the various acoustical challenges for far-field processing. We also provide insights into the audio algorithm architecture adopted for the AFE, and we discuss ongoing and future research.


Consequences of poorly collected, incorrectly transported, and inadequately prepared samples include failure to recover and identify the foodborne pathogens or toxins present and the misidentification of potential hazards or sources of contamination. Investigations should also extend beyond the immediate preparation of the implicated food and investigate the processing chain environment from farm to fork including sources of ingredients, processing and storage environments, and transportation. This chapter focuses on the foodborne illness outbreak scenario, and much of it is applicable to validation procedures relevant to hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP) or to situations in which a customer complaint is received. In terms of food safety microbiology, a sample may be considered to be a portion of food, surface, or air considered representative of a larger matrix. Sample collection methods include contact plates, destructive samples (food/excision), food rinsates, cotton swabs, premoistened sponge, wipes, sterile tongue depressors, and air sampling vacuums (agar plate/filter). When examining a food processing plant, sampling should initially be based on the HACCP plan. The chapter highlights the main problem with sampling surfaces, where the swab method may only remove a fraction of the microbial flora from a carcass when compared to an excision sample. It is critical that professionals involved in public health have well planned strategies to efficiently deal with foodborne outbreak scenarios including rapid sampling techniques, sampling plans, rapid detection, and molecular subtyping protocols for the major foodborne pathogens.


A convergence of factors has made food security one of the most important global issues. It has been the core concept of the Milan Expo 2015, whose title, Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life, embodied the challenge to provide the world's growing population with a sustainable, secure supply of safe, nutritious, and affordable high-quality food using less land with lower inputs. Meeting the food security agenda using current agricultural production techniques cannot be achieved without serious degradation to the environment, including soil degradation, loss of biodiversity and climate change. Organic farming is seen as a solution to the challenge of sustainable food production, as it provides more nutritious food, with less or no pesticide residues and lower use of inputs. A limit of organic farming is its restricted capability of producing food compared to conventional agriculture, thus being an inefficient approach to food production and to food security.  The authors maintain, on the basis of a scientific literature review, that organic soils tend to retain the physical, chemical and biological properties over the long term, while maintaining stable levels of productivity and thereby ensuring long-term food production and safety.  Furthermore, the productivity gap of organic crops may be worked out by further investment in research and in particular into diversification techniques. Moreover, strong scientific evidence indicates that organic agricultural systems deliver greater ecosystem services and social benefits. Keywords: organic farming, sustainable agriculture, environment, food security, 2015 Milan Expo, global governance


Iteratively reweighted least square (IRLS) is a popular approach to solve sparsity-enforcing regression problems in machine learning. State of the art approaches are more efficient but typically rely on specific coordinate pruning schemes. In this work, we show how a surprisingly simple reparametrization of IRLS, coupled with a bilevel resolution (instead of an alternating scheme) is able to achieve top performances on a wide range of sparsity (such as Lasso, group Lasso and trace norm regularizations), regularization strength (including hard constraints), and design matrices (ranging from correlated designs to differential operators). Similarly to IRLS, our method only involves linear systems resolutions, but in sharp contrast, corresponds to the minimization of a smooth function. Despite being non-convex, we show that there is no spurious minima and that saddle points are"ridable", so that there always exists a descent direction. We thus advocate for the use of a BFGS quasi-Newton solver, which makes our approach simple, robust and efficient. We perform a numerical benchmark of the convergence speed of our algorithm against state of the art solvers for Lasso, group Lasso, trace norm and linearly constrained problems. These results highlight the versatility of our approach, removing the need to use different solvers depending on the specificity of the ML problem under study.


Four respected scholars of the Hebrew Bible and early Judaism provide a clear portrait of the family in ancient Israel. Important theological and ethical implications are made for the family today. The Family, Culture, and Religion series offers informed and responsible analyses of the state of the American family from a religious perspective and provides practical assistance for the family's revitalization.


As the technology evolves, new ways of learning based systems are ascending. Nowadays, there are several Mobile Learning based program which are already adopted by different institutions all over the world. The Mobile Learning based system is a derivation from the well integrated electronic learning system. The new learning approach tries to fill in several gaps which are found in the classical and electronically types of learning. In this paper, the author has the intent to analyze and present several advantages which can be found in the methodology of Mobile Learning. Among them, new ideas are pointed out such as wireless classrooms learning based systems, and industrial trainings based on mobile communication devices.
Another purpose of this paper is to briefly examine the existing devices and technologies available on market, which are capable in supporting Mobile Learning as a new path of the progress derived from electronically supported learning.


Opalinus Clay formation (OPA) is an indurated shale under study in the context of geological deep disposal of nuclear waste in Switzerland. We will study the frictional properties of fault zones in OPA to evaluate the long-term safety performance of the repository. A better understanding of fault stability and possible related leakages are the main goals. In this project, we will focus on the effect of pore fluid pressure and micro-structural texture on the frictional properties of OPA. Series of friction experiments at different slip velocities and normal stress, on solid and granular material will be carry out. We have considered dry, fluid-saturated, and fluid reactive environments for the planned tests. The main objective is to study the mechanisms involved during deformation and fracture permeability change. Using a bi-axial and a rotary shear apparatus, the systematic study of experimental faults should allow us to identify the couplings between hydraulic and mechanical properties, but also alteration reactions occurring during deformation. Systematic investigations with different techniques have being carried out, and are planned to characterize OPA faulting zone. Among the techniques, we have studied the microstructure through X-Ray powder diffraction, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), SEM images and others. Petro-physical properties have been measured such as porosity (Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry and permeability (transient state method). First results on the characterization of the faulting zone properties are presented.


In this combined experimental and theoretical research, magnetic nano-particle (mNP) mediated energy transfer due to high intensity-focused ultrasound (HIFU) sonication has been evaluated. HIFU sonications have been performed on phantoms containing three different volume percentages (0%, 0.0047%, and 0.047%) of mNPs embedded in a tissue mimicking material (TMM). A theoretical model has been developed to calculate the temperature rise in the phantoms during HIFU sonication. It is observed from theoretical calculation that the phonon layer at the interface of the mNPs and TMM dominates the attenuation for higher (0.047%) concentration. However, for a lower concentration (0.0047%) of mNPs, intrinsic absorption is the dominating mechanism. Attenuation due to the viscous drag becomes the dominating mechanism for larger size mNPs (>1000 nm). At a higher concentration (0.047%), it is observed from theoretical calculations that the temperature rise is 25% less for gold nano-particles (gNPs) when compared to mNPs. However, at lower concentrations (0.0047% and 0.002%), the difference in temperature rise for the mNPs and gNPs is less than 2%.


From the first century, when Buddhism entered China, the foreign religion shaped Chinese philosophy, beliefs, and ritual. At the same time, Buddhism had a profound effect on the material world of the Chinese. This wide-ranging study shows that Buddhism brought with it a vast array of objects big and small--relics treasured as parts of the body of the Buddha, prayer beads, and monastic clothing--as well as new ideas about what objects could do and how they should be treated. Kieschnick argues that even some everyday objects not ordinarily associated with Buddhism--bridges, tea, and the chair--on closer inspection turn out to have been intimately tied to Buddhist ideas and practices. Long after Buddhism ceased to be a major force in India, it continued to influence the development of material culture in China, as it does to the present day. At first glance, this seems surprising. Many Buddhist scriptures and thinkers rejected the material world or even denied its existence with great enthusiasm and sophistication. Others, however, from Buddhist philosophers to ordinary devotees, embraced objects as a means of expressing religious sentiments and doctrines. What was a sad sign of compromise and decline for some was seen as strength and versatility by others. Yielding rich insights through its innovative analysis of particular types of objects, this briskly written book is the first to systematically examine the ambivalent relationship, in the Chinese context, between Buddhism and material culture.


This thesis conforms conventional and advanced experimental techniques for the measurement of and mathematical prediction of velocity pressure-loss factors (kfactors) for fittings used in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. After an extensive study of different tracer-gas experimental techniques, the constant injection method is applied to various duct fittings on a small scale HVAC system situated in a laboratory. The results are compared with those of experiments performed using a more conventional technique using a Pitot-static tube. The basis of the experimental procedure is to achieve an accurate method of measuring the mean air velocity within a duct. This allows an accurate estimate of the velocity pressure-lossf actor to be obtained.

A wide variety of duct fittings are investigated experimentally and numerically including bends, transitions, branches, inlets, outlets and obstructions such as orifice plates, wire mesh and lateral pipe obstructions. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is applied to each duct fitting tested in the lab. A commercially available package FLUENT is used with a high powered computer to simulate the
airflow through various duct fittings. The pressure loss and velocity vectors are predicted for each particular duct fitting and therefore a prediction for k-factors is obtained. k-factor predictions are compared with experimental results and published data given in ASHRAE and CIBSE guides in order to assess the accuracy of CFD prediction.

It is shown that as an accurate method for prediction of k-factors in duct fittings, CFD is a useful tool for the design and development of HVAC systems. The application of CFD allows the designer to vary any duct component with ease to observe the effect on a particular duct fitting without incurring the expense of laboratory experimentation. It is also shown that values of current published kfactors are greatly over estimated leading to oversizing of HVAC system fans. Experimentally produced k-factors obtained using the tracer-gas method and CFD predictions are approximately 20% lower than current data available to HVAC system designers.

CFD may be applied to various applications in the field of heat-pumps and refrigeration systems. A detailed investigation is carried out here to compare CFD prediction and experimental results of several low pressure and high pressure ejectors commonly found in refrigerator absorption cycles. The compressible flow of refrigerants was modelled through an ejector to obtain a prediction of the entrainment ratio ( i. e. the ejector's ability to entrain a refrigerant from an evaporator using a hot main flow through a nozzle). These predictions were then compared with experimental results and this indicated that CFD could serve as a useful tool in the design of refrigeration systems.

Application of CFD has also been studied in relation to the investigation of pressure loss through different types of evaporator/condensecr oils found in heat pump systems; here the design of such coils is important to the operating efficiency. The pressure loss across heat-pipes found in ducted flows is also predicted using CFD; in this case the geometry and the thermal conditions play an important role in the overall pressure loss.