Channel-forming integral protein (CHIP) is the archetypal member of the Aquaporin family of water channels. Delayed CHIP expression was shown recently in perinatal rat (Smith, B. L., R. Baumgarten, S. Nielsen, D. Raben, M. L. Zeidel, and P. Agre. 1993. J. Clin. Invest. 92:2035-2041); here we delineate the human patterns. Compared with adult, second and third trimester human fetal red cells had lower CHIP/spectrin ratios (0.72 +/- 0.12, 0.94 +/- 0.22 vs 1.18 +/- 0.11) and reduced osmotic water permeability (0.029, 0.026 vs 0.037 cm/s); CHIP was already present in human renal tubules by the second trimester. A patient with a novel form of congenital dyserythropoietic anemia (CDA) with persistent embryonic and fetal globins and absent red cell CD44 protein was studied because of reduced CHIP-associated Colton antigens. Novel CDA red cells contained < 10% of the normal level of CHIP and had remarkably low osmotic water permeability (< 0.01 cm/s), but no mutation was identified in Aquaporin-1, the gene encoding CHIP. These studies demonstrate: (a) unlike rat, human CHIP expression occurs early in fetal development; (b) red cell water channels are greatly reduced in a rare phenotype; and (c) disrupted expression of red cell CHIP and CD44 suggests an approach to the molecular defect in a novel form of CDA.


The nakhlite meteorites provide excellent access to the alteration mineralogy formed in short-term, high-temperature fluid pulses in Martian rocks (Changela and Bridges, MAPS, 45, 1847-1867; Hicks et al. LPSC 2012, #2253). Veins within the Lafayette nakhlite contain a succession of Fe-rich carbonate, Fe-saponite and gel of the same composition as the smectite. We apply thermochemical modelling to the observed alteration assemblages to gain insights into the formation conditions. Carbonate formed from a CO2-rich hydrothermal fluid at 150 ≤ T ≤ 200 °C, pH of 6–8 with a water to rock ratio (W/R) ≤300. This was followed by phyllosilicate formation at 50 °C, at pH 9 and W/R of 6 (Bridges and Schwenzer, EPSL in review). Subsequent rapid cooling led to gel formation. The fluid forming the phyllosilicate was enriched in the most soluble elements. When evaporating, a succession of salts, such as gypsum (or hydrated sulphates), halite and eventually sylvite can precipitate. Some of these salts are present in the nakhlites (Bridges et al. 2001).
Given the high-temperatures required for carbonate precipitation, the much lower temperatures at which phyllosilicate forms, and the small size of the veins in the nakhlites, we assume alteration of the nakhlite pile (Mikouchi et al. 2003, Antarctic Met. Res. 16: 34–57) happened in a sharp, short thermal pulse. Since typical volcanic volatiles such as SO 2 , HCl or HF would cause alteration minerals indicative for them (e.g., fluorite, Filiberto and Schwenzer, this conference), but those are not observed in the mineral assemblage, we assume an impact heating of ground ice as heat and water source for the hydrothermal fluid pulse. The observed alteration assemblage thereby represents the crustal clays ubiquitously observed on Mars from orbit (Ehlmann et al. 2011, Nature, 479: 53–60). Orbital observations are single mineral detections or give insights into a small number of minerals found in one place. They cannot alone provide the geologic context and assemblage information needed to determine formation conditions. Meteorite work therefore provides the basis needed to more accurately use orbiter observations to assess Martian subsurface conditions and habitability.
The case study of mineralogical observations combined with thermochemical modeling of Lafayette also demonstrates the insights to be gained from data returned from landed missions, which are capable of observing detailed geologic context in combination with mineral species and chemistry. In particular, the Mars Science Laboratory mission will obtain an accurate set of chemical and mineralogical data from ChemCam, CheMin, APXS, and SAM; the geologic context will be provided by a set of cameras, including close up views from MAHLI (Grotzinger et al. 2012, Space Sci. Rev., DOI 10.1007/s11214-012-9892-2). The likely data are comparable to that being gained from meteorites. Thermochemical modeling routines as presented here are thus expected to give insights into P, T, and X of the observed sites, aiding the assessment of habitability.


Monte Carlo methods commonly used in tissue optics are limited to a layered tissue geometry and thus provide only a very rough approximation for many complex media such as biological structures. To overcome these limitations, a Meshed Monte Carlo method with flexible phase function choice (fpf-MC) has been developed to function in a mesh. This algorithm can model the light propagation in any complexly shaped structure, by attributing optical properties to the different mesh elements. Furthermore, this code allows the use of different discretized phase functions for each tissue type, which can be simulated from the microstructural properties of the tissue, in combination with a tool for simulating the bulk optical properties of polydisperse suspensions. As a result, the scattering properties of tissues can be estimated from information on the microstructural properties of the tissue. This is important for the estimation of the bulk optical properties that can be used for the light propagation model, since many types of tissue have never been characterized in literature. The combination of these contributions, made it possible to use the MMC-fpf for modeling the light porapagation in plant tissue. The developed Meshed Monte Carlo code with flexible phase function choice (MMC-fpf) was successfully validated in simulation through comparison with the Monte Carlo code in Multi-Layered tissues (R2 > 0.9999) and experimentally by comparing the measured and simulated reflectance (RMSE = 0.015%) and transmittance (RMSE = 0.0815%) values for tomato leaves.


From the Publisher:
In recent years, debate on the state's economic role has too often devolved into diatribes against intervention. Peter Evans questions such simplistic views, offering a new vision of why state involvement works in some cases and produces disasters in others. To illustrate, he looks at how state agencies, local entrepreneurs, and transnational corporations shaped the emergence of computer industries in Brazil, India, and Korea during the seventies and eighties. Evans starts with the idea that states vary in the way they are organized and tied to society. In some nations, like Zaire, the state is predatory, ruthlessly extracting and providing nothing of value in return. In others, like Korea, it is developmental, promoting industrial transformation. In still others, like Brazil and India, it is in-between, sometimes helping, sometimes hindering. Evans's years of comparative research on the successes and failures of state involvement in the process of industrialization have here been crafted into a persuasive and entertaining work, which demonstrates that successful state action requires an understanding of its own limits, a realistic relationship to the global economy, and the combination of coherent internal organization and close links to society that Evans calls "embedded autonomy."


In this, the final paper in the recent series on the new twin-tori model of cosmology, the model is developed in a logical way. Its historical development is included, and what follows is a statement of the central axioms of the theory. The reasons for them are described and their use in the theory is shown. What then follows is a brief description of the cosmological side of the theory, and its application to large scale structures and astrophysics. The paper then begins to develop the opposite length scale of the model, that on the order of the nuclear scale and ranging down to planck scale physics and Quantum Gravity. The theory is developed by laying theoretical foundations and mathematical idea's and structures and building on these using phenomenology and statistical techniques to fit parameters for the theory, including the dark energy - dark matter coupling constants. Many basic simplified models are then set out in various dimensions and with varying degrees of physical relevance. The models are also tested against current theory using observations of various physical systems ranging from nuclear physics, both earth-bound and stellar, to galactic dynamics and rotations. Historical deatils are included to increase readability from a variety of backgrounds.


This paper presents an overview and a few point designs for multiple-reheat Brayton cycle power conversion systems (PCSs) using heat from high-temperature molten salts or liquid metals. All designs are derived from the General Atomics gas turbine-modular helium reactor (GT-MHR) power conversion unit (PCU). Analysis shows that, with relatively small engineering modifications, multiple GT-MHR PCUs can be connected together to create a PCS in the >1000 MW(electric) class. The resulting PCS is quite compact, and results in what is likely the minimum gas duct volume possible for a multiple-reheat system. To realize this, compact plate type liquid-to-gas heat exchangers (power densities from 10 to 120 MW/m3) are needed. Different fluids such as helium, nitrogen and helium mixture, and supercritical CO2 are compared for these multiple-reheat Brayton cycles. For turbine inlet temperatures of 900, 750, and 675°C, the net thermal efficiencies for helium cycles are 56, 51, and 48%, respectively, and corresponding PCU power densities are 560, 490, and 460 kW(electric)/m3, respectively. The very high PCU power densities could imply a large material saving and low construction cost, and bring down the specific PCU cost to about half that of the current GT-MHR PCS design.


We present photometric and spectroscopic observations performed in the field of the Galactic open cluster Roslund 4, which contains the two cataloged nebulae IC 4954 and IC 4955. UBVRI photometry was carried out in a field of 11′ × 6′ around the cluster center. Medium-resolution optical spectroscopy has been obtained for 41 stars, including previously selected main-sequence and pre–main-sequence candidate cluster members. Narrowband Hα, [S II], and continuum images have been secured. The observations allow us the measurement of different physical parameters for the cluster. Assuming an absorption coefficient AV/E(B - V) = 3.1 and a reddening slope E(U - B)/E(B - V) = 0.72, we obtain a color excess E(B - V) = 1.1 ± 0.2 and a distance modulus DM0 = 11.7 ± 0.5. Fitting of isochrones to the color-magnitude diagrams gives log age(yr) = 7.2 ± 0.2, and the spectroscopic measurements provide the value VR = -15.7 ± 5.2 km s-1 for the heliocentric radial velocity. Among the 41 stars with spectroscopic data, 11 stars are probable cluster members on the basis of their radial velocity, and another 10 are considered as possible members. Two probable member stars of spectral types A5 and G1 show hints of absorption in the Li I 6708 Å line, with respective equivalent widths of 0.10 and 0.28 Å, and 22 stars of spectral types from B2 to G0 show different degrees of emission in Hα, [N II], and [S II] lines. With the exception of three stars of spectral type earlier than A0, the emission of which is mainly photospheric, all other emissions seen in Hα and forbidden lines have a nebular origin. They arise in an ionized cloud that surrounds the cluster and is causing diffuse emission and, possibly, local variations in the extinction law from star to star. In addition to the stars, spectra of several nebular condensations with relatively higher excitation have been analyzed. Two of them have been suggested to be Herbig-Haro (HH) objects. Our spectra indicate that only one of these condensations could be considered as an HH object.


Integration of analysis into early design phases in support of improved building performance has become increasingly important. It is considered a required response to demands on contemporary building design to meet environmental concerns. The goal is to assist designers in their decision making throughout the design of a building but with growing focus on the earlier phases in design during which design changes consume less effort than similar changes would in later design phases or during construction and occupation.Multi-disciplinary optimization has the potential of providing design teams with information about the potential trade-offs between various goals, some of which may be in conflict with each other. A commonly used class of optimization algorithms is the class of genetic algorithms which mimic the evolutionary process. For effective parallelization of the cascading processes occurring in the application of genetic algorithms in multi-disciplinary optimization we propose a cloud implementation and describe its architecture designed to handle the cascading tasks as efficiently as possible.


Bacterial wilt of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) caused by Ralstonia
solanacearum is a major constraint to the production of the crop in Malaysia.
To-date very few resistant germplasm of chilli to the pathogen is known.
Information on the mechanism of infection and resistance, and multiplication
of the pathogen in chilli are lacking. There is also no information on the
anatomical characters of the hosts which might be related to resistance. The
present study was, therefore, undertaken to obtain this information which
would provide an understanding of the disease. It could be useful in
formulating wilt-resistance breeding programme in chilli and an effective
control measures for the disease.
Greenhouse evaluation of the susceptibility of accessions/cultivars of
Capsicum spp. to R. solanacearum revealed that the cultivar 'Kulai' was
highly resistant. Three accessions were moderately resistant while all others
were susceptible to highly susceptible.
Anatomical study of resistant and susceptible cultivars showed
significant differences in several anatomical characters which may
contribute to the limitation of the infection process, movement and
multiplication of the pathogen.
Population dynamics of the pathogen in susceptible and resistant
cultivars revealed that in susceptible cultivar bacterial population did not
differ after inoculation, at all sites tested, regardless of inoculation techniques
used. Bacterial population differed significantly between cultivars at similar
sites tested and for all the techniques used. Bacterial population in stem, root
and soil-inoculated resistant plants decreased significantly at all sites.
However, when soil-inoculated, the pathogen was not detected from the mid
stem only. Thus, the infection was not limited but the resistance may be due
to the lower rate of multiplication of the pathogen in resistant plants.


The average concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has been increasing since the start of the industrial revolution in the 18th century from 280 ppm to 385 ppm nowadays, and continues to increase because of the enormous human usage of fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal). This can strongly affect the climate, causing the Earth's surface to warm up, the so called 'amplified greenhouse effect'. To alleviate these environmental concerns regarding the current CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) is investigated as one of the possible routes. Due to the acidic character of CO2, basic oxides are expected to be suitable sorbents. Hydrotalcite, a natural clay, is specifically suitable for pre-combustion capture (250- 400 C), due to its acceptable sorption capacity and facile regeneration. The influence of lateral platelet size (~40 nm- 2 ?m), the use of a support (carbon nanofibers, CNF) and addition of a promoter (alkali carbonate: K2CO3/Na2CO3) on the CO2 capture properties of HT was investigated. There was no significant difference in the CO2 sorption capacities at 523 K fsor all unsupported HTs, regardless the platelet size of the HT precursor (~0.1 mmol.g-1). The use of activated, promoted (alkali carbonate) hydrotalcites showed a much higher capacity (~0.3 mmol.g-1) at 523 K. In addition, the capacities of the activated supported HT at 523 K were significantly increased compared to the activated unsupported HT (1.3- 2.5 mmol.g-1HT). The alkali-loaded supported HTs showed capacities slightly higher than the capacity of supported unpromoted HT. The increase in capacity for the promoted and/or supported HTs points to a higher concentration of defects (low-coordination of oxygen sites) on the surface of the activated (alkali-)loaded HTs compared to the unloaded and unsupported HT. The higher concentration of adsorption for the promoted (supported) HTs, might be caused by the presence of Na+/K+ on the surface of Mg(Al)Ox. Due to the larger size of these alkali ions, incorporation in an activated HT would therefore be difficult and it is proposed that the K+/Na+ are located at the surface and not in the 'bulk' of the MgAlOx. The tentative mechanism is that K+ substitutes an Mg2+ and additional oxygen vacancies at the surface are created. Finally, a new developed sorbent, i.e. potassium carbonate (K2CO3) deposited on carbon nanofibers for CO2 capture at low temperatures (373 K, post-combustion capture), was compared with potassium carbonate deposited on activated coal (AC) and alumina (Al2O3). K2CO3 loaded on the CNF support revealed excellent properties as CO2 sorbent compared to the K2CO3-AC and K2CO3-Al2O3 sorbents, having the highest capacity and fast desorption kinetics at low desorption temperatures (423- 523 K). These favorable properties of K2CO3-CNF are considered to originate from relatively small K2CO3 particles combined with a good accessibility of these particles surrounded by the CNF. Moreover, the K2CO3-CNF could be regenerated with a low energy input estimated at 2- 3 MJ/ton CO2, far below the energy needed for the currently used amine-scrubbers, which shows this sorbent's potential to become competitive with established post-combustion sorbents.


Increasing soft error rates for semiconductor devices manufactured in later technologies enforces the use of fault tolerant techniques such as Roll-back Recovery with Checkpointing (RRC). However, RRC introduces time overhead that increases the completion (execution) time. For non-real-time systems, research have focused on optimizing RRC and shown that it is possible to find the optimal number of checkpoints such that the average execution time is minimal. While minimal average execution time is important, it is for real-time systems important to provide a high probability of meeting given deadlines. Hence, there is a need of probabilistic guarantees that jobs employing RRC complete before a given deadline. Therefore, in this paper we present a mathematical framework for the evaluation of level of confidence, the probability that a given deadline is met, when RRC is employed.


We have investigated the patterns of expression and cellular localization of polypeptides and mRNAs encoding IGF-I and IGF-II in intact bovine oviduct and two bovine oviductal primary cultures (monolayers and vesicles) which are utilized for supporting development in vitro. IGF-I and IGF-II polypeptides were localized by immunocytochemistry in intact oviduct and in both primary cultures for an 8-day culture interval, but IGF-II polypeptide displayed a more restricted distribution in day 8 monolayer cultures. IGF-I and IGF-II mRNAs were localized in both oviductal cell cultures as assessed by in situ hybridization. We were unable to detect IGF-I and IGF-II mRNAs in intact oviduct by in situ hybridization; however, transcripts encoding IGF-I and IGF-II mRNAs were detected in intact oviduct cell preparations and all primary culture samples by reverse transcription-PCR methods. The origin and phenotypic stability of these cultures was assessed by immunostaining with antibodies raised against vimentin (mesenchymal cell marker) and cytokeratin (epithelial cell marker). Over the culture period, the proportion of vimentin-immunoreactive cells increased in the monolayer cultures but remained at a low level in the vesicle cultures which were predominantly composed of cytokeratin-positive cells. The results suggest that oviductal cell co-culture may facilitate early mammalian development, in part, by the establishment of paracrine growth factor circuits.


One of the major challenges in neuroscience is to determine how noise that is present at the molecular and cellular levels affects dynamics and information processing at the macroscopic level of synapti- cally coupled neuronal populations. Often noise is incorporated into deterministic network models using extrinsic noise sources. An alternative approach is to assume that noise arises intrinsically as a collective population effect, which has led to a master equation formulation of stochastic neural networks. In this paper we extend the master equation formulation by introducing a stochastic model of neural population dynamics in the form of a velocity jump Markov process. The latter has the advantage of keeping track of synaptic processing as well as spiking activity, and reduces to the neural master equation in a particular limit. The population synaptic variables evolve ac- cording to piecewise deterministic dynamics, which depends on population spiking activity. The latter is characterized by a set of discrete stochastic variables evolving according to a jump Markov process, with transition rates that depend on the synaptic variables. We consider the particular problem of rare transitions between metastable states of a network operating in a bistable regime in the deterministic limit. Assuming that the synaptic dynamics is much slower than the transitions between discrete spiking states, we use a WKB approximation and singular perturbation theory to determine the mean first passage time to cross the separatrix between the two metastable states. Such an analysis can also be applied to other velocity jump Markov processes, including stochastic voltage-gated ion channels and stochastic gene networks.


The scalar dissipation rate statistics were measured in an isothermal flow formed by discharging a central jet in an annular stream of swirling air flow. This is a typical geometry used in swirl-stabilised burners, where the central jet is the fuel. The flow Reynolds number was 29 000, based on the area-averaged velocity of 8.46 m/s at the exit and the diameter of 50.8 mm. The scalar dissipation rate and its statistics were computed from two-dimensional imaging of the mixture fraction fields obtained with planar laser induced fluorescence of acetone. Three swirl numbers, S, of 0.3, 0.58, and 1.07 of the annular swirling stream were considered. The influence of the swirl number on scalar mixing, unconditional, and conditional scalar dissipation rate statistics were quantified. A procedure, based on a Wiener filter approach, was used to de-noise the raw mixture fraction images. The filtering errors on the scalar dissipation rate measurements were up to 15%, depending on downstream positions from the burner exit. The maximum of instantaneous scalar dissipation rate was found to be up to 35 s−1, while the mean dissipation rate was 10 times smaller. The probability density functions of the logarithm of the scalar dissipation rate fluctuations were found to be slightly negatively skewed at low swirl numbers and almost symmetrical when the swirl number increased. The assumption of statistical independence between the scalar and its dissipation rate was valid for higher swirl numbers at locations with low scalar fluctuations and less valid for low swirl numbers. The deviations from the assumption of statistical independence were quantified. The conditional mean of the scalar dissipation rate, the standard deviation of the scalar dissipation rate fluctuations, the weighted probability of occurrence of the mean conditional scalar dissipation rate, and the conditional probability are reported.


First-order methods have been studied for nonlinear constrained optimization within the framework of the augmented Lagrangian method (ALM) or penalty method. We propose an improved inexact ALM (iALM) and conduct a unified analysis for nonconvex problems with either convex or nonconvex constraints. Under certain regularity conditions (that are also assumed by existing works), we show an $\tilde{O}(\varepsilon^{-\frac{5}{2}})$ complexity result for a problem with a nonconvex objective and convex constraints and an $\tilde{O}(\varepsilon^{-3})$ complexity result for a problem with a nonconvex objective and nonconvex constraints, where the complexity is measured by the number of first-order oracles to yield an $\varepsilon$-KKT solution. Both results are the best known. The same-order complexity results have been achieved by penalty methods. However, two different analysis techniques are used to obtain the results, and more importantly, the penalty methods generally perform significantly worse than iALM in practice. Our improved iALM and analysis close the gap between theory and practice. Numerical experiments are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method.


Watershed management is an integrated approach that evaluates system-wide implications of natural resource problems. It has received considerable attention among communities and resource managers as an appropriate approach to deal with complex problems. Problem-solving is an important aspect of watersheds that involves diagnosis, assessment, solution, and implementation issues that often mean processing an enormous amount of information. A typical problem requires compilation of information from a variety of sources and is time consuming. This book will use a problem-based approach to present information on each problem facing watersheds. The subject area derives from a variety of disciplines and experiences and is presented clear and systematically throughout for easy reading and understanding. The problems covered in the book are major ones facing watersheds through the globe. The first chapter introduces principles of watershed management and is followed by chapters that are problem specific. Each problem is dealt with systematically with introduction, analysis, strategies, and further references. Watershed Management provides a valuable reference to professionals, students, scientists, and common citizens who are interested in learning about the variety of problems and approaches in watershed management.


Abstract This study aims to provide some acoustic documentation of two unusual and variable allophones in Aswan Arabic. Although many rural villages in southern Egypt enjoy ample linguistic documentation, many southern urban areas remain understudied. Arabic linguists have investigated religion as a factor influencing linguistic variation instead of ethnicity. This study investigates the role of ethnicity in the under-documented urban dialect of Aswan Arabic. The author conducted sociolinguistic interviews in Aswan from 2012 to 2015. He elected to measure VOT as a function of allophone, ethnicity, sex, and age in apparent time. The results reveal significant differences in VOT lead and lag for the two auditorily encoded allophones. The indigenous Nubians prefer a different pronunciation than their Ṣ a' ī d ī counterparts who trace their lineage to Arab roots. Women and men do not demonstrate distinct pronunciations. Age also does not appear to be affecting pronunciation choice. However, all three variables interact with each other.


This paper introduced a clustering-based Chinese sentiment analysis approach which is a new method to sentiment analysis appropriated for short text such as Sina Weibo. By building Sentiment Sequence from Weibo text, we apply the Longest Common Sequence algorithms to measure the sentiment different from two Sentiment Sequence, and K-Medoids clustering method to break a mass of Sentiment Sequences into groups. It has great advantages over the existing sentiment analysis method such as classification by supervised learning algorithms. The experiment result shows the sentiment distribution and groups of a mass of Weibo data aggregated by a given topic, and in a specific period. The method is well performed, efficient, and non-human participating, and appropriated for Chinese short text.


[1] During the 20th century, solar activity increased in magnitude to a so-called grand maximum. It is probable that this high level of solar activity is at or near its end. It is of great interest whether any future reduction in solar activity could have a significant impact on climate that could partially offset the projected anthropogenic warming. Observations and reconstructions of solar activity over the last 9000 years are used as a constraint on possible future variations to produce probability distributions of total solar irradiance over the next 100 years. Using this information, with a simple climate model, we present results of the potential implications for future projections of climate on decadal to multidecadal timescales. Using one of the most recent reconstructions of historic total solar irradiance, the likely reduction in the warming by 2100 is found to be between 0.06 and 0.1 K, a very small fraction of the projected anthropogenic warming. However, if past total solar irradiance variations are larger and climate models substantially underestimate the response to solar variations, then there is a potential for a reduction in solar activity to mitigate a small proportion of the future warming, a scenario we cannot totally rule out. While the Sun is not expected to provide substantial delays in the time to reach critical temperature thresholds, any small delays it might provide are likely to be greater for lower anthropogenic emissions scenarios than for higher-emissions scenarios.


The complex Poynting theorem has been used to study power flow and energy storage for the case in which a plane wave (polarization wherein the electric field is in the plane of incidence) is scattered from a generally lossy, anisotropic, non-Hermitian diffraction grating. The full electromagnetic fields of the diffraction grating system were specified, and, in applying the complex Poynting theorem to the grating system, a full calculation of the diffraction efficiency, the electromagnetic (electric and magnetic) energy, and the real, reactive, dissipative, and evanescent power of the grating was made. A step profile grating was used to test numerical examples, and, in all cases considered, the complex Poynting theorem was obeyed to a high degree of numerical accuracy. In the study the effects that anisotropy and lossiness of the grating system had on the complex power of the system were illustrated. A comparison of the complex power that resulted from scattering from diffraction gratings composed of Hermitian and non-Hermitian anisotropic materials was numerically studied.


Taste acuity of adult patients undergoing cancer treatment has been well investigated; however, studies of taste acuity after completion of cancer treatment are limited, particularly in children. This study aimed to assess taste acuity in pediatric cancer patients after treatment completion. Seventy-three patients who had completed cancer treatment (median age, 13 years; range, 7 18 years) and had not received any further treatment for at least 6 months were enrolled. Eighty-one healthy children (median age, 10 years; range, 8 19 years) served as controls. We determined the thresholds for four tastes (sweet, salty, sour, and bitter) using the filter-paper disc method. There was no significant difference in the thresholds of taste acuity for the four test solutions between the patient and control groups. The duration since treatment completion (<5 years vs. ≥5 years) had no significant impact on taste acuity for the four test solutions. The threshold for tasting salt was significantly higher in the group that had received chemotherapy + radiation and/or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation than that in the group that had received chemotherapy-only. Our results indicated that taste acuity after treatment completion in pediatric cancer patients was the same as that in healthy children. However, some treatment modalities were correlated with an impaired ability to taste salt. Gustatory test results should be considered while deciding nutritional support modalities after treatment completion in pediatric cancer patients.


The research we conducted attempted to investigate the effects of cloud cover. Our research wanted to see if cloud cover acts as a shield to insolation, allowing less insolation to reach Earth's surface, allowing the Earth to cool. We did this by investigating the relation of cloud cover and sun insolation. We hypothesized that insolation would reduce as the cloud cover increased, which we assessed by calculating insolation and cloud cover using data collected from a pyranometer and a time lapse camera, and then relating them with each other. Our data suggest that our hypothesis was correct. As cloud cover increased, the insolation decreased. It appeared that clouds block out insolation, meaning they might not be a cause of global warming.


This paper sets out a general algorithm for calculating true cost-of-living indices or true producer price indices when demand is not homothetic, i.e. when not all expenditure elasticities are equal to one. In principle, economic theory tells us how we should calculate a true cost-of-living index or Konus price index: first estimate the consumer's expenditure function (cost function) econometrically and then calculate the Konus price index directly from that. Unfortunately this is impossible in practice since real life consumer (producer) price indices contain hundreds of components, which means that there are many more parameters than observations. Index number theory has solved this problem, at least when demand is homothetic (all income elasticities equal to one). Superlative index numbers are second order approximations to any acceptable expenditure (cost) function. These index numbers require data only on prices and quantities over the time period or cross section under study. Unfortunately, there is overwhelming evidence that consumer demand is not homothetic (Engel's Law). The purpose of the present paper is to set out a general algorithm for the nonhomothetic case. The solution is to construct a chain index number using compensated, not actual, expenditure shares as weights. The compensated shares are the actual shares, adjusted for changes in real income. These adjustments are made via an econometric model, where only the responses of demand to income changes need to be estimated, not the responses to price changes. This makes the algorithm perfectly feasible in practice.


Antarctic krill Euphausia superba, a keystone species in the Southern Ocean, is highly relevant for studying effects of climate-related shifts on management systems. Krill provides a key link between primary producers and higher trophic levels and supports the largest regional fishery. Any major perturbation in the krill population would have severe ecological and economic ramifications. We review the literature to determine how climate change, in concert with other environmental changes, alters krill habitat, affects spatial distribution/abundance, and impacts fisheries management. Findings recently reported on the effects of climate change on krill distribution and abundance are inconsistent, however, raising questions regarding methods used to detect changes in density and biomass. One recent study reported a sharp decline in krill densities near their northern limit, accompanied by a poleward contraction in distribution in the Southwest Atlantic sector. Another recent study found no evidence of long-term decline in krill density or biomass and reported no evidence of a poleward shift in distribution. Moreover, with predicted decreases in phytoplankton production, vertical foraging migrations to the seabed may become more frequent, also impacting krill production and harvesting. Potentially cumulative impacts of climate change further compound the management challenge faced by CCAMLR, the organization responsible for conservation of Antarctic marine living resources: to detect changes in the abundance, distribution, and reproductive performance of krill and krill-dependent predator stocks and to respond to such change by adjusting its conservation measures. Based on CCAMLR reports and documents, we review the institutional framework, outline how climate change has been addressed within this organization, and examine the prospects for further advances toward ecosystem risk assessment and an adaptive management system.


Debt relief measures for individuals under South African insolvency law : a historical investigation It is currently not the main aim of the South African Insolvency Act to provide debtors with debt relief. Neither does South African law provide for a procedure for the release from debt outside the scope of the Insolvency Act. In contrast, many other countries have witnessed large-scale reform of their legal systems in order to address the problem of overspending by individuals. In this regard the American insolvency system leads the way by accepting debt relief by means of a processual discharge as its theoretical basis, and in so doing enables the debtor to make a ""fresh start"". From the 2000 Draft Insolvency Bill of the South African Law Commission, it would appear that the Commission has taken cognisance of international developments regarding the American fresh-start approach. The Commission accepts as its point of departure that bona fide debtors should be given the opportunity of making a new beginning, and that a balance should be achieved between the interests of debtors and creditors. The purpose of this article is to investigate the historical development of debt relief measures under South African insolvency law in order to obtain a better understanding of its current aims. Part 1 contains a discussion of the situation in Roman law, whilst part 2 discusses the position in Roman-Dutch and South African law. From this investigation it is clear that the debtor's position has improved progressively from the time of the Twelve Tables. However, it is submitted that the introduction of the current Insolvency Act resulted in a drastic shift of the balance of rights between creditors and debtors, ultimately favouring the creditors. In the light of international developments regarding the American fresh start approach, it is submitted that the time has come for the reform of South African insolvency legislation that can afford bona fide debtors the opportunity of making a fresh start. It is submitted that the proposals of the Law Commission, namely that provision be made for a pre-liquidation composition in section 74X of the Magistrates' Courts Act and the proposed reform of the administration procedure, would be a step in the right direction.


High room-temperature electron mobility and optical transparency in the visible spectrum distinguishes BaSnO3 from other perovskite oxides. The origin of low mobility in thin films as compared to their bulk counterpart is attributed to the presence of dislocations in films with nearly no discussion on the role of point defects such as cation non-stoichiometry. Using high-resolution X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, thermal, and electronic transport measurements, we show that a growth window, in which cation stoichiometry is self-regulating, can be achieved for BaSnO3 films on SrTiO3(001) and (La0.3Sr0.7)(Al0.65Ta0.35)O3(001) (LSAT) substrates using a hybrid molecular beam epitaxy approach. BaSnO3 films on SrTiO3 grown within the growth window yielded a mobility value of 105 cm2 V−1 s−1 at a density, 2.5 × 1020 cm−3. Bulk-like thermal conductivity of 13.3 ± 1.46 W m−1 K−1 was achieved for stoichiometric films. Both Ba- and Sn-deficient films resulted into charge compensation and low mobility, with a stronger dependence for Sn-deficient films.


This paper presents development of tool wear prediction models in end milling of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites. Adaptive network based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was employed to accurately predict the amount of tool wear as a function of spindle speed, feed rate and measured machining forces. End milling experiments were performed with K20 tungsten carbide end mill cutter under dry condition in order to gather all experimental data. Results show that ANFIS is capable of estimating tool wear with excellent accuracy in the highly nonlinear region of tool wear and the machining forces relationships. Statistical analyses of the two tool wear-machining force ANFIS models reveal that the tool wear-feed force relationship has better predictive capability compared to that of the tool wear-cutting force relationship.


This paper deals with rebound hammer testing of concrete in the early stage of ageing. Six types of concrete were produced for the purpose of the presented experiment and differed in the water/cement ratio and were otherwise identical as to the input components. SilverSchmidt PC L test hammer was used to determine the rebound coefficient Q and compressive strength of cube test specimens. The aim of the experiment was to verify the possibility of creating a conversion relationship between the determined parameter of the used non-destructive method and the real compressive strength of concrete in the first days of ageing of concrete. Based on the conducted experiment, it may be stated that the SilverSchmidt PC L test hammer with a mushroom plunger is a suitable instrument for determining the initial compressive strength of concrete, starting from the value of about 5 N/mm2. An important conclusion is the fact that it is possible to create a regression model with relatively high accuracy, in this case approximately ± 3 N/mm2.


The circulating, pro-thrombotic glycoprotein von Willebrand factor (VWF) is essential for haemostasis, but has also been implicated in the development of atherosclerosis. The majority of plasma VWF is secreted from endothelial cells lining the blood vessels and it is unclear what influence attenuation of the endothelial cell secretory pathway might have on the physiology or pathology of VWF.

Statins are inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis and are widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases due to their cholesterol lowering ability. However, they have also been shown this research and in the literature to have 'pleiotropic effects' caused by inhibition of the synthesis of biosynthetic intermediates (such as prenyl-lipids used for modification of small GTPases) rather than cholesterol itself. As a result this research has studied the pleiotropic actions of statins on the VWF secretory pathway in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC).

As well as confirming an inhibitory effect of statins on the stimulated secretion of VWF, we found that treatment of HUVEC with statins led to a decrease in the intracellular storage of both VWF and its non-covalently associated propolypeptide (Pro-region), while the intra- and extra-cellular levels of the VWF precursor, Pro-VWF, significantly increased. All these effects were rescued by addition of the geranylgeranyl lipids used for prenylation of the Rho and Rab GTPases, but not the farnesyl lipids used for the majority of Ras family members. Using specific inhibitors of the two disitinct enzymes responsible for either Rho or Rab geranylgeranylation we have uncovered a complex picture with neither inhibitor able to reproduce all of the effects of statins of VWF. In addition to VWF, we have also discovered Rab GTPase associated effects of statins on the transferrin receptor and on the recyling of a trans Golgi network associated protein (TGN-46).

In conclusion this work highlights that statins do more to vasculature than simply lowering circulating cholesterol levels and extends the complex pleiotropic effects of these drugs to influencing other cellular pathways.


With the rapid development of Internet, more and more people got medical information through Medical and Health Website. However, Medical and Health Website is still in infancy, its social influence is not significant, and this new Internet technology has not been widely accepted in our country. Most scholars mainly concentrate on technology and management institution when researching the Medical and Health Website. In order to study user's behavioral intention and use behavior on Medical and Health website, a theoretical model is built based on Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) with the consumer perceived risk theory and perceived cost. The questionnaire is designed according to the theory model. Then, the data is analyzed by descriptive statistics, reliability and validity and multiple linear regression. The results indicate that people's use behavior is positive influenced by behavioral intention and effort expectancy. On the contrary, perceived cost has negative influence on use behavior. Perceived risk has negative influence on behavioral intention. Gender and experience have moderating effects on behavioral intention. However, it is not verified that social influence has positive influence on behavioral intention. At last, this paper provides some countermeasures and suggestions to promote the development of Medical and Health website.


Following the growth of Islamic Economy, the demand for Islamic Accounting is higher than any other time. This study reviews and scrutinizes accounting postulates and principles from an Islamic perspective. In this respect, Islamic accounting has been one of the most important aspects in today's business practices and procedures, most particularly for Islamic organisations and businesses. This is because of the growing number of Islamic organisations around the world and the growing adherence to Islamic Shari'ah by Islamic organisations as part of their operations. The purpose of this study is to investigate the concept of Islamic accounting, distinguishing Islamic accounting from conventional or typical accounting and identifying the current challenges and issues facing Islamic accounting practices. This study also addresses issues regarding the notion of Islamic accounting methodology and practices the way they are presented in the balance sheet. Questionnaires were conducted to five Islamic accounting organisation systems with a total of 50 participants. Findings showed significant perceptions of participants with the characteristics of Islamic accounting, and most especially on the characteristics pointing to compliance with Islamic Shari'ah teachings and values. Findings also noted that there was a strong agreement amongst participants with regards to the objectives of Islamic accounting identified by literature.


Additive manufacturing (AM) is a rapidly emerging technology that has the potential to produce personalized scaffolds for tissue engineering applications with unprecedented control of structural and functional design. Particularly for bone defect regeneration, the complex coupling of biological mechanisms to the scaffolds properties has led to a widespread trial-and-error approach. To mitigate this, shape or topology optimization can be a useful tool to design a scaffold architecture that matches the desired design targets, albeit at high computational cost. Here, we consider two complementary approaches: first, an efficient macroscopic optimization routine based on a simple one-dimensional time-dependent model for bone regeneration in the presence of a bioresorbable polymer scaffold is developed. The result of the optimization procedure is a scaffold porosity distribution which maximizes the stiffness of the scaffold and regenerated bone system over the regeneration time, so that the propensity for mechanical failure is minimized. This part of the presentation is based on [1]. Second, we consider a periodic microstructure optimization problem for scaffold architectures based on a domain-splitting. This part of the presentation is based on [2].


A rust fungus on kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex Chiov.) was identified as Phakopsora apoda (Har. & Pat.) Mains., and was reported for the first time in South Africa. An investigation was conducted into the direct penetration mechanisms employed by the urediospore germlings, using light, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The infection processes of P. apoda were found to parallel closely those of Phakopsora pachyrhizi. Infection structures of P. apoda produced on artificial membranes are similar to those observed in the host leaf. The binucleate urediospore germinates to form a typically short germ tube, which differentiates an appressorium, delimited by a septum. The two nuclei migrate into the appressorium, where mitosis occurs, resulting in four nuclei in the mature appressorium. Appressoria appear to form preferentially at epidermal cell junctions. When germinated on artificial membranes, germlings differentiate appressoria against microfabricated ridges and on smooth surfaces, possibly with a marginal preference for ridge-associated differentiation (significant at the 5% but not the 1% level of significance). A penetration pore develops in the basal wall of the mature appressorium, over the infection site. A cone-like structure develops around the pore. The basal wall of the appressorium is thinned and electron dense in the vicinity of the cone, and the cone appears to be attached to the appressorial wall by means of a collar of similar, electron-dense material. The membrane-bound cone is elaborately branched, and numerous, electron-dense glycogen-like particles are associated with these cone elaborations. A penetration peg, its walls continuous'with an inner wall layer of the cone, penetrates the epidermal cell wall and expands into an intracellular penetration hypha within the host cell. The penetration hole formed by the peg has smooth edges, and there is little deformation of the epidermal cell wall fibrils, indicating a predominantly enzymatic mode of penetration. The penetration hypha traverses the epidermal cell, and emerges into an intercellular space of the mesophyll, narrowing to form a penetration neck at the exit site. Both the penetration peg and the neck, contain multivesicular bodies associated with parallel arrays of microtubules. The intercellular penetration hypha contains an elaborate endomembrane system, and is virtually devoid of glycogenlike particles. Lomasomes often occur in the vicinity of the penetration neck. Signs of host disruption and the formation of papilla-like structures are apparent in mesophyll cells adjacent to the infection site 12 hours after inoculation. A septum delimits the penetration hypha from the primary hypha, which extends further into the mesophyll and forms secondary branches.


Old fashioned, centralised and bureaucratic systems of natural resources management have been blamed for the failure to conserve forest resources. Such arrangements are alleged to result in top-down decision making processes, low levels of community participation, and lack of transparency. These criticisms have led to claims that the devolution of forest management to the community will improve resource management and more effectively deliver sustainable development. The devolution from the state to local communities of natural resource management access rights has been an important policy tool for forest management over the last several decades.
This research examines to what extent, and how, decentralized forest governance delivers enhanced economic, social and environmental benefits. More specifically this study develops and tests a framework to assess how devolved forest governance performs across the indicators of participation, transparency, accountability, effectiveness, efficiency, and equity. A set of policy relevant and locally applicable governance indicators was developed through a participatory process that involved a large number of stakeholders including CFUG members and policy makers. To explore this topic, the study combines a single case study of devolved forest governance in Nepal with a medium-n research design of perceptions of community forestry operations in nine community forest user groups from three districts representing three different Nepalese ecological zones. A purposive sampling method was used to select CFUGs with different characteristics and CFUG members' opinions were collected using both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
The study reveals that the key elements and indicators of governance are dialectically interconnected. Governance performance on one element and associated indicators shapes the outcome of other elements and indicators. Community forests located in the Middle Hills and High Mountains regions of Nepal generally perform well across the various governance indicators used, while a lower level of performance was observed in Terai region. However the research finds that ecological zone is not a determining factor of good governance; instead, socio-economic factors are found to shape the success of community forestry governance and outcomes. In addition, the research reveals that external agencies actually enhance community forest governance and outcomes as a result of synergy, interaction and cross-fertilization of knowledge between community forestry participants, government officials and other stakeholders. It is also the case that the better a community forest is governed, the more it flourishes and the wealthier it becomes. However, the distribution of the wealth and capital generated by a community forest remains a concern as the benefits are not being shared with the wider community.
The research highlights the need to build the capacity of community forest users and, especially, to empower poor and disadvantaged people to ensure they obtain access to and are able to utilise the available resources. By developing an innovative framework to assess governance at local level, this study not only informs us about decentralised community forestry in Nepal, but the framework can also be utilised to assess community-based natural resource management initiatives in other developing countries.


The Nineteenth International FLAIRS Conference (FLAIRS-19) was held 11-13 May 2006 at the Crowne Plaza Melbourne Oceanfront Hotel in Melbourne Beach, FL. The general cochairs were Philip Chan and Debasis Mitra, from the Florida Institute of Technology. The program cochairs were Geoff Sutcliffe, from the University of Miami, and Randy Goebel, from the University of Alberta. The special tracks chair was Barry O'Sullivan, from University College Cork. The conference was attended by almost 200 AI researchers from around the world.


Co/Mg/Al hydrotalcite-type catalysts have been loaded onto ceramic honeycombs and tested in the ethanol steam reforming (ESR) reaction for producing hydrogen under practical conditions. In contrast with previously reported cobalt-based systems, the formation of carbon was scarce. This has been ascribed to the unique formation of traces of metallic cobalt particles under reaction conditions, as inferred from HRTEM, magnetic measurements, and in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) experiments. The best catalytic performance has been exhibited by the catalyst derived from the hydrotalcite with a Co:Mg:Al molar ratio of 1:2:1, where CoAl spinel and CoO strongly interacting with MgO phases have been identified.


Introduction: Vehicle crashes causing 'whiplash injuries', is of great concern worldwide. These injuries occur at relatively low velocity changes (Δv), typically < 25 km/h, and in impacts from all directions. Rear impacts are, however, associated with the highest risk and the highest frequency. A number of studies have shown that the whiplash injury risk is higher for females than for males, even in similar crash conditions. Yet, there is only one size of rear impact crash test dummy available – the 50th percentile male (BioRID or RID3D). It does not represent females in terms of mass distribution and dynamic response, and the size corresponds to a ~90th–95th
percentile female. Consequently, the existing whiplash protection concepts are more effective for males than females, with 60% risk reduction of permanent medical impairment for males compared to 45% for females. The objective of this study was to start addressing this shortcoming by developing a finite element model of a 50th percentile female rear impact crash dummy, 'EvaRID'.

Materials and Methods: To establish anthropometric specifications of the 50th percentile female, several sources were assessed, such as anthropometric data
from different countries and review of previous publications from the development of the other dummy sizes. The EvaRID V1.0 model was obtained by scaling an existing BioRID II LS-DYNA model. Mass and geometrical dimensions were scaled to obtain values representative of the 50th percentile female. Width and depth dimensions were then established based on scaling of each body segment. Stiffness and damping properties of materials and discrete elements were kept in accordance with the BioRID II model. The EvaRID V1.0 model was evaluated with regard to rear impact tests with female volunteers at Δv 7 km/h, Carlsson et al. (1). The volunteers were selected based on their stature and mass being close to the 50th percentile female. Parts of this work have been published in more detail, Chang et al. (2).

Results and Conclusions: Until ~250 ms, good correlations were found between the EvaRID V1.0 model and the volunteer tests for head and T1 accelerations and x-displacements, and head angular displacements. The EvaRID model showed markedly less angular motion of the upper thoracic spine in extension compared to the female volunteers. To improve this it will be necessary to adjust the stiffness of the spinal joints. In the future, the EvaRID dummy model has the potential to become a valuable tool when evaluating seats and whiplash protection systems. It may potentially be used as a template for the development of a physical female size dummy.

Acknowledgements: This study is part of the ADSEAT project, European Commission, ID 233904. Additional funding
was received from the Swedish Transport Agency.

References
1. Carlsson A, Linder A, Svensson MY, Davidsson J, Schick S, Horion S, Hell W. Female volunteer motion in rear impact sled tests in comparison to results from earlier male volunteer tests. (2008): Publ ID 88835, http://
publications.lib.chalmers.se/cpl/
2. Chang F, CarlssonA, Lemmen P, Svensson MY, Davidsson J, Schmitt K-U, et al. EvaRID: a dummy model representing females in rear end impacts. (2010): Publ ID 128706, http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/cpl/


A stereodivergent synthesis of enantiopure 3,6-dihydro-2H-pyrans is presented. The addition of lithiated enol ethers to carbohydrate-derived nitrones afforded syn- or anti-configured hydroxylamine derivatives 4a–d that were cyclized under Lewis acidic conditions to yield functionalized dihydropyrans cis- or trans-5a–d containing an enol ether moiety. This functional group was employed for a variety of subsequent reactions such as dihydroxylation or bromination. Bicyclic enol ether 19 was oxidatively cleaved to provide the highly functionalized ten-membered ring lactone 20. The synthesized enantiopure aminopyrans 24, 26, 28 and 30 can be regarded as carbohydrate mimetics. Trimeric versions of 24 and 28 were constructed via their attachment to a tricarboxylic acid core.


R-loops, three-stranded structures that form when transcripts hybridize to chromosomal DNA, are potent agents of genome instability. This instability has been explained by the ability of R-loops to induce DNA damage. Here, we show that persistent R-loops also compromise DNA repair. Depleting endogenous RNase H activity impairs R-loop removal in budding yeast, causing DNA damage that occurs preferentially in the repetitive ribosomal DNA locus (rDNA). We analyzed the repair kinetics of this damage and identified mutants that modulate repair. Our results indicate that persistent R-loops in the rDNA induce damage that is slowly repaired by break-induced replication (BIR). Furthermore, R-loop induced BIR at the rDNA leads to lethal repair intermediates when RNA polymerase I elongation is compromised. We present a model to explain how removal of R-loops by RNase H is critical in ensuring the efficient repair of R-loop induced DNA damage by pathways other than BIR.


Under the regime of Regulation 1/2003 on the implementation of the rules of competition laid down in Articles 101 and 102 TFEU undertakings are obliged to take care by themselves of their compliance with the competition rules. For practical purposes this is also true when it comes to the rules applicable to the the control of concentrations under Regulation 139/2004. In order to facilitate the task of undertakings, which has become even more difficult according to the more economic approach to competition law, the Commission has published a number of guidelines which are setting out the relevant criteria applied by the Commission itself. A closer look reveals, however, that the criteria defined in the various guidelines are far from reflecting a coherent, precise and consistent approach of the Commission. At least four distinct legal tests may be identified, such as a consumer harm-test, a negative market effects-test, a market power-test and a competitive process-test. This paper analyses the various guidelines in order to demonstrate how these different approaches are embedded in their wording. The unavoidable conclusion is that undertakings get much less guidance from the guidelines than they would be justified to expect. This is all the more deplorable, because the European cours' jurisdprudence continues to follow an approach which is considerably different from the Commission's.


The two-level fault recovery scheme of distributed system inherits the merits of both disk-based and diskless checkpointing schemes. It makes use of diskless checkpointing strategy in its first-level recovery and follows disk-based checkpointing in second level recovery. This paper clearly specifies the conditions that lead for diskless checkpointing or disk-based checkpointing. The diskless checkpointing protocols available in literature have not addressed the problem of checkpointing applications with high locality of reference. Our paper addresses this issue and presents a solution to this problem. The earlier work on Two-level recovery scheme is based on analytical issues and not on experimental results. Our work includes the performance evaluation of proposed protocol in comparison with other schemes i.e. Neighbor based checkpointing scheme, N+1 parity and disk-based scheme and by means of simulation. Since the checkpoint overhead, checkpoint latency and overhead ratio is minimal in case of Enhanced Two-level Recovery Scheme, it has been concluded that the proposed scheme performs better than the other schemes available in the literature.


A number of studies have recently used eye movements of a user inspecting the content as implicit relevance feedback for proactive retrieval systems. Typically binary feedback for images or text paragraphs is inferred from the gaze pattern. We seek to make such feedback richer for image retrieval, by inferring which parts of the image the user found relevant. For this purpose, we present a novel Bayesian mixture model for inferring possible target regions directly from gaze data alone, and show how the relevance of those regions can then be inferred using a simple classifier that is independent of the content or the task


Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in under-resourced settings. It is also a major cause of severe acute morbidity in well-resourced settings. The maternal mortality ratio for PPH in South Africa in the years 2005-2007 was 18.8 deaths per 100,000 live births; there were 491 deaths in 3 years. It should be noted that although the known causes of PPH are uterine atony, genital tract trauma (including ruptured uteri), retained placenta inverted uterus, bleeding following abruptio placenta and placenta praevia, and maternal bleeding disorders, there can be more than 1 cause for PPH for an individual patient. All causes can be complicated by a coagulopathy which results from massive blood loss and PPH can occur at and after caesarean section. The majority of deaths attributed to PPH in South Africa were preventable. It is vital that all levels of health care can deal with the emergency management of PPH and are also aware of the preventable factors.


Nutritional and structural analysis of S. mycrophylla were investigated using standard methods. Elemental analysis of the  purified  S. mycrophylla gum sample  revealed the content of potassium, sodium, calcium, manganese, magnesium, iron and zinc to be 600.0 ± 1.52 mg/g, 300.23 ± 0.2 mg/g, 0.31 ± 0.00 mg/g, 410.33 ±1.0 mg/g, 149.6 ± 4.60, 8.7±0.00 mg/g and 61.1±0.22 mg/g respectively. Gum had high content of potassium, sodium, magnesium and zinc and lower concentration of calcium, manganese and iron. Proximate analysis shows moisture content to be 5.70 ± 0.15%, Ash content 2.80±0.05%, Protein content 1.43 ± 0.01%, crude fiber 4.30 ± 0.01%, and crude fat 1.50. ± 0.03%, and carbohydrate 85.98±1.10%. These results compared favorably with acacia senegal gum (gum arabic) and makes this exudate gum highly recommendable for use in food and pharmaceutical industries. NMR spectroscopy revealed that the gum is a galactomannan type polysaccharide with mannose/ galactose ratio of 2.60. Due to its good physicochemical properties and mannose/ galactose ratio, Sweitenia mycrophylla galactomannan could be a useful polysaccharide for food and pharmaceutical industry.


—This correspondence presents an image compression approach that integrates our proposed parameter-assistant inpainting (PAI) to exploit visual redundancy in color images. In this scheme, we study different distributions of image regions and represent them with a model class. Based on that, an input image at the encoder side is divided into featured and non-featured regions at block level. The featured blocks fitting the predefined model class are coded by a few parameters, whereas the non-featured blocks are coded traditionally. At the decoder side, the featured regions are restored through PAI relying on both delivered parameters and surrounding information. Experimental results show that our method outperforms JPEG in featured regions by an average bit-rate saving of 76% at similar perceptual quality levels.


Abstract De Quervain tenosynovitis is characterized by pain that overlies the radial aspect of the wrist and that is aggravated by ulnar deviation of the hand. The most common cause of de Quervain tenosynovitis is overuse of the thumb musculature. The authors report a case of bilateral de Quervain tenosynovitis observed in a woman aged 48 years at a rural outpatient primary care office. The condition was induced by the patient's excessive use of the text messaging feature on her cellular telephone. Treatment, including naproxen, cock-up wrist splints, and limitation of texting, resulted in complete recovery of the patient. The authors urge physicians to be aware of the potential association between a patient's tenosynovitis symptoms and excessive texting.


BACKGROUND
It has been suggested that a time-lag bias exists whereby research studies with striking results are more likely to be stopped earlier than originally planned, published quicker, or both. If time-lag bias exists, new interventions might be mistakenly assumed to be effective.

OBJECTIVES
To study the extent to which time to publication of a clinical trial is influenced by the significance of its result.

SEARCH STRATEGY
Studies were identified by searching the Cochrane Methodology Register (The Cochrane Library, Issue 3, 2005), MEDLINE (1966 to May 2005), EMBASE (1980 to May 2005), Science Citation Index (June 2005) and by handsearching journals and conference abstracts.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Studies were eligible if they contained analyses of any aspect of the time to publication of clinical trials and tracked the publication of a cohort of clinical trials.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Data extraction was performed independently by two authors. Data were extracted on the median time from the date the trial started to the date of publication. Data were also extracted on source of trials under investigation; source of funding; area of health care; means by which the publication status of these trials were sought; and methodological quality of the empirical study.

MAIN RESULTS
Two studies with a total of 196 trials met the inclusion criteria. In both studies just over half of all trials had been published in full. Trials with positive results (i.e. statistically significant in favour of the experimental arm) were published in approximately 4 to 5 years. Trials with null or negative results (i.e. not statistically significant or statistically significant in favour of the control arm) were published after about 6 to 8 years. One study suggested that this difference could, in part, be attributed to the length of time taken to publish the results of a trial once follow up has been completed. This study showed that trials with null or negative findings took, on average, just over a year longer to be published than those with positive results.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Our review shows that trials with positive results are published sooner than other trials. This has important implications for the timing of the initiation and updating of a review, especially if there is an association between the inclusion of a trial in a review and its publication status. It is of particular concern when one considers reviews containing only a small number of studies.


Problem statement: In snake robot research, one of the most efficient forms of locomotion is the lateral undulation. However, lateral undulation, also known as serpentine locomotion, is ill-suited for narrow spaces, as the body of the snake must assume a certain amount of curvature to propel forward. Approach: To overcome the inability to adapt to narrow spaces, a novel type of a gait was introduced in this study. Scales, often overlooked in snake locomotion research, play an important role in snake movement by increasing backward and lateral friction while minimizing it in forward direction. In this study a new kinematic structure of a snake robot was proposed that uses scales underneath the alternate links. Mathematical model of the structure for kinematics analysis was also presented. Results: Kinematics analysis of the proposed snake model showed that snake motion was possible with minimum of two actuators. However, higher numbers of actuators help distributed the driving load and provided a redundant structure for managing accidental failure of any link. Lateral displacement of the links was found to be less than the width of its body. Conclusion: Thus this structure as well as the mathematical model was expected to help built snake robots for narrow space applications like pipe inspection, disaster scenario mapping.


We have investigated the regulation mechanism of chemical stress-induced HSP70 gene expression in human colorectal carcinoma cells (COLO205 and HT29). Our data show that chemical treatments including sodium arsenite and curcumin, induced significant synthesis of HSP70 and its mRNA. The induced HSP70 gene expression appears to be increased at the transcriptional level. The increase in HSP70 gene expression by both chemicals is associated with an increase in HSF binding to HSE and induction of HSF1 di- or trimerization. Phosphorylation and activation of extracellular signal-regulated proteins (ERK1/2) were detected in sodium arsenite-treated COLO205 and HT29 cells, and the free radical scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) was able to inhibit this ERK1/2 activation and HSP70 gene expression. MAPK blockade by the specific MEK1 inhibitor (PD98059) decreased the ability of sodium arsenite to increase HSP70 gene expression in a dose-dependent manner along with dephosphorylation of ERK1/2 proteins. In contrast to arsenite treatment, activation of ERK1/2 was not detected in curcumin-treated colorectal carcinoma cells, and NAC and PD98059 did not show any inhibitory effect on HSP70 gene expression induced by curcumin. Overexpression of a dominant negative mutant of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 1 (MEKK1-DN) prevents arsenite-induced ERK1/2 phosphorylation and HSP70 protein synthesis. These results indicated that the ERK signaling pathway can participate in HSP70 gene expression induced by the prooxidant sodium arsenite, but not by the antioxidant curcumin.


INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM In the summer of 2007, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) introduced its new Model Curricula for Journalism Education for Developing Countries and Emerging Democracies (1) at the World Journalism Educators Congress sponsored by the Asian Media Information Centre, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and other international journalism education organizations. It was drafted by an impressive group of international experts and perhaps reflects United Nations dedication to impartiality and neutrality by wholly avoiding discussion or identification of anticipated country-specific or region-specific impediments to its adoption. It concentrates on the "nuts and bolts" of implementing what it assumes to be a universally adaptable guide for building a quality journalism program. The UNESCO report fails to discuss perhaps-insurmountable obstacles and problems that will invariably arise when poor countries, authoritarian countries, and countries with strong cultural and religions constraints on "democratic journalism" go about the process of implementing the model, in whole or in part. Yet history informs us that no single model of journalism education is universally applicable. (2) Designers of the model curricula promote it as a vehicle to improve journalism education worldwide. Although not explicitly stating so, UNESCO appears to assume that this generic model is universally applicable in diverse national, social, economic, political, and cultural contexts. Yet there is a crucial distinction, as Krimsky would draw, between adopting a model on one side rather than using experiences elsewhere as precedents. (3) It is important to recognize the severity of obstacles to implementation, even in a globalized world where many physical, cultural, and political borders are blurring or disappearing. Although UNESCO's efforts in guiding international journalism education and seeking to improve journalistic practices are laudatory, both obvious and understated obstacles exist to adopting the model in many developing nations. This article attempts to identify obstacles most likely to be so insurmountable that it would be ineffective, a waste of limited resources, and, in some instances, even dangerous for educators attempting implementation. Some of the general, anticipatable, and most visible barriers to adopting its Western-centric curricula are: (1) lack of qualified faculty to teach recommended courses; (2) inadequate computer equipment, instructional materials, and support to conduct practical and investigative courses; (3) students without requisite educational backgrounds and language abilities to succeed with the rigorous, challenging content the report advocates; (4) university administrative structures that protect corrupt practices and cannot effectively recruit, compensate, and retain qualified faculty; and (5) a scarcity of profitable media organizations to attract successful graduates and reward them with jobs that allow them to practice their new skills. Other macro-level obstacles include: insufficient financial resources to provide such education; incompatibility with a country's historical, religious, political, and cultural values; and governmental controls on the press and university curricula. (4) In addition, students who graduate with this kind of education may be overqualified for low-paid domestic journalism jobs that are available, although they may be good candidates for employment by government or business. The well-educated, skilled, and motivated graduates we would expect from programs based on such curricula would also be prime candidates for emigration to developed nations, graduate study abroad, or jobs with foreign rather than domestic news agencies. On a micro-level, the detailed subject matter UNESCO recommends for basic and advanced courses raises questions about: availability and suitability of predominantly North American and Western European content; availability and appropriateness of suggested texts and instructional materials; and suitability of course-specific pedagogical approaches that the report advocates. …


Background In this study we aimed to explore the effects of pregabalin on a traumatic brain injury model in rats. Material/Methods This study included 40 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats randomized into 4 groups, each of which contained equal numbers of animals. The control group had no head trauma and thus was not treated. The trauma group had head trauma but was not treated. The pregabalin group had no head trauma but was treated by pregabalin. The trauma + pregabalin group had head trauma treated with pregabalin. The biopsy samples taken from the study animals were histopathologically examined for the presence of edema, inflammation, and neuronal damage. Results All animals in the trauma group had edema, inflammation, and neuronal damage. Four subjects in the control group, 6 in the pregabalin group, and 4 in the trauma + pregabalin group had edema; inflammation was present in 1 subject in the control group, 3 subjects in the pregabalin group, and 3 subjects in the trauma + pregabalin group; neuronal damage existed in 1 subject in the control group, 1 subject in the pregabalin group, and 6 subjects in the trauma + pregabalin group. The trauma group had significantly higher edema and neuronal damage scores than the other groups. Similarly, inflammation was significantly more prevalent in the trauma group than the control and trauma + pregabalin groups. Conclusions The results of the present study indicated anti-edema, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects of pregabalin in an experimental head trauma model in rats. Pregabalin may thus be beneficial in humans with acute TBI by relieving concomitant edema and inflammation.


In Runge-Kutta Theory, it is common knowledge that the bounds for the local truncation errors do not form a suitable basis for monitoring the local truncation error [7]. In a number of literatures including [1], Richardson Extrapolation technique has been shown to be a very reliable means of obtaining error estimates for Runge-Kutta methods. In this paper, we have sought to investigate, by means of rigorous numerical experiments, if this effectiveness of Richardson extrapolation technique extends to ARK methods and our results show that it doesn't.


Seamless connectivity plays a key role in realizing QoS-based delivery in mobile networks. However, current handover mechanisms hinder the ability to meet this target, due to the high ratio of handover failures, packet loss and service interruption. These challenges are further magnified in Heterogeneous Cellular Networks (HCN) such as Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-Advanced) and LTE in unlicensed spectrum (LTE-LAA), due to the variation in handover requirements. Although mechanisms, such as Fast Handover for Proxy Mobile IPv6 (PFMIPv6), attempt to tackle these issues; they come at a high cost with sub-optimal outcomes. This primarily stems from various limitations of existing IP core networks. In this paper we propose a novel handover solution for mobile networks, exploiting the advantages of a revolutionary IP over Information-Centric Networking (IP-over-ICN) architecture in supporting flexible service provisioning through anycast and multicast, combined with the advantages of random linear coding techniques in eliminating the need for retransmissions. Our solution allows coded traffic to be disseminated in a multicast fashion during handover phase from source directly to the destination(s), without the need for an intermediate anchor as in exiting solutions; thereby, overcoming packet loss and handover failures, while reducing overall delivery cost. We evaluate our approach with an analytical and simulation model showing significant cost reduction compared to PFMIPv6.


In the five novels by Ireland's greatest comic writer, we can explore the full range of his invention, from the multi-layered madness of "At Swim-Two-Birds" to the piercing realism of "The Hard Life" and the surreal logic of "The Third Policeman". This is a world where bicycles listen to conversations, inventors search for methods of 'diluting' water, and characters play truant while novelists sleep; a world where spiteful fairies wreak havoc and heroes from legend blunder into suburban sitting-rooms. This is recognizably the Ireland of Joyce and Beckett - rowdy, high-spirited, by turns sensual and cerebral -transformed by O'Brien's unique vision.


Natural stones have been used as a construction material since prehistoric age. Stone buildings and their protection and restoration are nowadays in the focus of interest. Natural disasters like fire can strongly damage or even may ruin these buildings. In this study, the resistance of building stones against high temperature was determined by ultrasonic measurements. The current study focuses on changes in the ultrasonic velocity of building stone subjected to simulated fire situations in the laboratory. 14 stones having different petrographical, physical and mechanical properties were used in the laboratory studies. The ultrasonic measurements and laboratory observation have shown that the texture and mineral composition of building stones are changed by heating. These changes influence the strength and durability of building stones. The evaluation of these results provides useful information when replacing damaged stone or one has to choose the suitable restoring method for the damaged part of buildings.


Life is the primary view point (alternate word may be used) of human for which they started their journey towards the wisdom of healthy life. Ayurveda, the pioneer approach of health science, established the absolute wisdom about life with clear idea about the components of life from base to sky view. The most vital component of life is life promoters which make and protect the building blocks simultaneously. These are administered as substances in form of food or drug and or practices having variable importance towards the objective. The merit regards the best as it can decide the right and wrong and follow the righteousness, thus the behavioral conducts have been placed first among all sorts of means for promotion of life (two separate sentences can be made out of this sentence). The following article is reviewed through Ayurveda classics regarding the view point on life and its promotional approach in day to day basis for the enhancement of quality in terms of health and quantity or span of life.


Can motor expertise be robustly predicted by the organization of frequency‐specific oscillatory brain networks? To answer this question, we recorded high‐density electroencephalography (EEG) in expert Tango dancers and naïves while viewing and judging the correctness of Tango‐specific movements and during resting. We calculated task‐related and resting‐state connectivity at different frequency‐bands capturing task performance (delta [δ], 1.5–4 Hz), error monitoring (theta [θ], 4–8 Hz), and sensorimotor experience (mu [μ], 8–13 Hz), and derived topographical features using graph analysis. These features, together with canonical expertise measures (i.e., performance in action discrimination, time spent dancing Tango), were fed into a data‐driven computational learning analysis to test whether behavioral and brain signatures robustly classified individuals depending on their expertise level. Unsurprisingly, behavioral measures showed optimal classification (100%) between dancers and naïves. When considering brain models, the task‐based classification performed well (~73%), with maximal discrimination afforded by theta‐band connectivity, a hallmark signature of error processing. Interestingly, mu connectivity during rest outperformed (100%) the task‐based approach, matching the optimal classification of behavioral measures and thus emerging as a potential trait‐like marker of sensorimotor network tuning by intense training. Overall, our findings underscore the power of fine‐tuned oscillatory network signatures for capturing expertise‐related differences and their potential value in the neuroprognosis of learning outcomes.


The accuracy of a speech recognition (SR) system depends on many factors, such as the presence of background noise, mismatches in microphone and language models, variations in speaker, accent and even speaking rates. In addition to fast speakers, even normal speakers will tend to speak faster when using a speech recognition system in order to get higher throughput. Unfortunately, state-of-the-art SR systems perform significantly worse on fast speech. In this paper, we present our efforts in making our system more robust to fast speech. We propose cepstrum length normalization, applied to the incoming testing utterances, which results in a 13% word error rate reduction on an independent evaluation corpus. Moreover, this improvement is additive to the contribution of Maximum Likelihood Linear Regression (MLLR) adaptation. Together with MLLR, a 23% error rate reduction was achieved.


intelligence (BI) has gained a strategic importance in today's global competitive environment. However, high-quality BI is not easy to obtain on the Web due to information overload and difficulty to present complicated relationships among various types of business stakeholders. Unfortunately, existing BI tools lack the capability of analyzing and visualizing such relationships and research on BI systems is sparse. In this paper, we review the current market of BI tools and related research, describe an approach to support the development of tools that provide high-quality BI, and report the findings of a user evaluation study of the prototype developed based on the proposed approach. The approach combines information visualization and Web mining techniques with human knowledge to enable business analysts to analyze and visualize complicated business stakeholder relationships. Results of an experiment involving 62 subjects show that the prototype significantly outperformed a traditional method of BI analysis in terms of efficiency, quality of BI, and user satisfaction. The subjects provided favorable comments and expressed strong preferences toward the prototype in most applications. This research contributes to advancing BI research and to providing new empirical findings for BI systems evaluation.


Background. Challenges related to work are in focus when employed people with common mental disorders (CMDs) consult their GPs. Many become sickness certified and remain on sick leave over time. Objectives. To investigate the frequency of new CMD episodes among employed patients in Norwegian general practice and subsequent sickness certification. Methods. Using a national claims register, employed persons with a new episode of CMD were included. Sickness certification, sick leave over 16 days and length of absences were identified. Patient- and GP-related predictors for the different outcomes were assessed by means of logistic regression. Results. During 1 year 2.6% of employed men and 4.2% of employed women consulted their GP with a new episode of CMD. Forty-five percent were sickness certified, and 24 percent were absent over 16 days. Thirty-eight percent had depression and 19% acute stress reaction, which carried the highest risk for initial sickness certification, 75%, though not for prolonged absence. Men and older patients had lower risk for sickness certification, but higher risk for long-term absence. Conclusion. Better knowledge of factors at the workplace detrimental to mental health, and better treatment for depression and stress reactions might contribute to timely return of sickness absentees.


Although intracellular mechanisms underlying the arteriolar myogenic response have been well-defined, the mechanotransduction events transducing the mechanical stimulus remain unclear. Recently, ligand-independent activation of G protein-coupled receptors (in particular, the angiotensin II type 1 receptor; AT1R) has been suggested to play a major role in vascular smooth muscle mechanotransduction, thereby contributing to myogenic constriction. However, the downstream pathways following ligandindependent activation of the AT1R have not been clearly elucidated. Our studies provide pharmacological evidence that the mechanically activated AT1R generates diacylglycerol which in turn activates PKC that subsequently induces actin cytoskeleton reorganization for myogenic constriction. In terms of physiological roles, the arterial myogenic response acts to generate vascular tone, prevent capillaries from being damaged, and reduce edema due to high capillary hydrostatic pressure. Thus, an exaggerated AT1R-mediated myogenic constriction could conceivably contribute to vascular disorders. As a result, small arteries likely exhibit negative feedback regulatory mechanisms to prevent such an exaggerated myogenic response. In regard to this, we discovered that ligand-dependent or -independent activation of the AT1R causes trafficking of an important regulatory molecule, RGS5 (Regulators of G protein Signaling) protein, which may modulate Ang II or myogenic-mediated constriction by terminating Gq/11 protein-dependent signaling.


For several hours following the Chicxulub impact, the entire Earth was bathed with intense infrared radiation from ballistically reentering ejecta. The global heat pulse would have killed unsheltered organisms directly and ignited fires at places where adequate fuel was available. Sheltering underground, within natural cavities, or in water would have been a necessary but not always sufficient condition for survival. Survival through sheltering from an initial thermal pulse is not adequately considered in literature about Cretaceous- Tertiary nonmarine extinctions. We compare predicted intense, short-term, thermal effects with what is known about the fossil record of nonmarine vertebrates and suggest that paleontological evidence of survival is compatible with theoretical results from bolide physics.


The mercury removal efficiency of a novel metal‐organic framework (MOF) derived from the amino acid S‐methyl‐L‐cysteine is presented and the process is characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray crystallography. A feasibility study is further presented on the performance of this MOF—and also that of another MOF derived from the amino acid L‐methionine—when used as the sorbent in mixed matrix membranes (MMMs). These MOF‐based MMMs exhibit high efficiency and selectivity—in both static and dynamic regimes—in the removal of Hg2+ from aqueous environments, due to the high density of thioalkyl groups decorating MOF channels. Both MMMs are capable to reduce different concentration of the pollutant to acceptable limits for drinking water (<2 parts per billion). In addition, a novel device, consisting of the recirculation and adsorption of contaminated solutions through the MOF–MMMs, is designed and successfully explored in the selective capture of Hg2+. Thus, filtration of Hg2+ solutions with multiple passes through the permeation cell shows a gradual decrease of the pollutant concentration. These results suggest that MOF‐based MMMs can be implemented in water remediation, helping to reduce either contaminants from accidental unauthorized or deliberate metal industrial dumping and to ensure access for clean and potable freshwater.


Background

We aimed to develop a risk model, monitoring the FDRs of patients with type 2 diabetes, who have normal glucose tolerance, to predict the onset of developing diabetes and prediabetes. In this study, 1765 FDRs of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, who had normal glucose tolerance, were subjected to statistical analysis. Diabetes risk factors including anthropometric indices, physical activity, fast plasma glucose, plasma glucose concentrations two-hour after oral glucose administration, glycosylated hemoglobin, blood pressure, and lipid profile at the baseline were considered as independent variables. Kaplan-Meier, log Rank test, univariate, and multivariable proportional hazard Cox regression were conducted. The optimal cut point for risk score was created according to receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis.
Results

The best diabetes predictability was achieved by a model in which waist to hip ratio (WHR), HbA1c, OGTT and the lipid profile were included. The best prediabetes risk model included HbA1c, systolic blood pressure, the lipid profile, and the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). These multivariable risk models were compared with FPG, HbA1c, and OGTT. The predictive efficiencies of models were higher than FPG and HbA1c; however the best predictive model of the current study showed comparable predictive efficiency to OGTT-AUC. Additionally, both diabetes models showed better performance than FINDRISC.
Conclusion

We recommend regular tests for FDRs of patients with type 2 diabetes to predict the risk of diabetes and prediabetes by using the OGTT-AUC. As a health check assessment tool, our diabetes models showed a more precise predictor compared to FINDRISC in our population.


This paper discusses the application of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in the evaluation of the impacts of climate change on hydrological services provided by dry forests and savannah ecosystems in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Preliminary results demonstrate that erratic and intensive rainfall leads to higher peaks of discharge in the rainy season. This results in a decline of water availability and less groundwater recharge. Under such climatic conditions the sediment load also increases, affecting the water quality. Although general trends are clear, the quantitative impact of climate change yet has to be established. An evaluation of uncertainty and sensitivity of input parameters is now undertaken. Then the most sensitive and uncertain input datasets will be revised to improve the accuracy of predicted outputs. However, the first results are promising. SWAT seems to be an appropriate tool for evaluation of climate change impacts on the water balance.


At part load operation of Francis turbine, the swirl in the draft tube leads to flow instability known as vortex breakdown. This flow instability can interact with the rest of the hydraulic circuit through axially propagating plane-waves. Moreover, at low cavitation index , the gaseous rope is suspected to modify locally the propagation velocity. Acoustic models have been commonly used to tackle this problematic. In order to validate the parameters of those models, an experiment with equivalent phenomenology has been setup. The experiment is designed so that the flow characteristic are similar to draft tube surge, but with strong simplification in order to facilitate the study of the flow instability and its interaction with the acoustic field. The hydraulic circuit consists in a square pipe connecting two constant pressure reservoirs. The excitation mechanism is obtained by the shedding of vortices in the wake of a bluff body placed at ¾ of the pipe length. The excitation frequency can be adjusted through the flow velocity. To examine the influence of vapor cavity formed in the wake of the obstacle, the mean pressure inside the pipe is also adjustable. Without cavitation, the analyses of the pressure field along the circuit highlights the acoustic modes shapes and Eigen frequencies of the system. It is also demonstrated that the amplitudes along the circuit are strongly increased as the excitation frequency matches the Eigen frequency of the system. In a second step, the relation of the cavitation index with the Eigen mode shapes and frequencies has been systematically analyzed. A direct influence of the vapor cavity on the local propagation velocity is shown. Finally, at particular cavitation index, important amplification of fluctuations has been noticed. From the author's point of view, it is a consequence of the vapor volume unsteadiness.


This is the final volume in the monograph series resulting from archaeological excavations in the Ebbsfleet Valley in advance of High Speed 1 and the Ebbsfleet International station. It provides the full account of the discovery, excavation and subsequent analysis of rich and deeply buried archaeological horizons found late in the construction programme, dating to early in the Palaeolithic and associated with the Hoxnian interglacial between about 425,000 and 375,000 years ago. The highlight of this work was recovery of the remains of an extinct straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus surrounded by the undisturbed scatter of flint tools used for its butchery, made and abandoned at the spot. Rich fossil palaeo-environmental remains provide a remarkable record of the climate and environment, showing that the elephant lived and died at a time of peak interglacial warmth, when the Ebbsfleet Valley was a lush, densely-wooded tributary of the Thames, containing a quiet, almost stagnant swamp. The abundant lithic remains from the elephant horizon are attributable to the Clactonian industrial tradition, after Clacton-on-Sea, Essex where similar remains have been found. The evidence from this new site provides the best record yet of Clactonian remains from the Hoxnian, establishing that Britain was re-settled (after local extinction due to the great Anglian glaciation) by hominins who did not make handaxes, generally the typical artefact of the earlier Palaeolithic. The elephant horizon is overlain by a younger deposit rich in handaxes of various forms, including sharply pointed specimens, bluntly pointed sub-cordates and twisted ovates. Possible interpretations for this sequence of greatly contrasting lithic industries are discussed in the volume. This monograph provides a fascinating case-study of Palaeolithic excavation methods, and how archaeological work is carried out in conjunction with large engineering developments such as High Speed 1.