Abstract This study aims to determine the perceptions of pre-service teachers regarding the concept of a "digitally competent teacher" through metaphors. The participants consist of 510 pre-service teachers. According to the findings, metaphors for a digitally competent teacher were classified under three themes: digital competence, pedagogical competence, and personal characteristics. Pre-service teachers describe a digitally competent teacher as an individual who has digital competences such as information and data literacy, communication, safety, problem-solving, and productivity; have pedagogical competences such as empowering learners, guiding their students, being the source and transmitter of information, and facilitating learning; have personal characteristics such as being open to change and development, equipped, versatility, valuable, using technology effectively, creative, innovative, and querent. It is predicted that the use of metaphors in the process of training a digitally competent teacher may be effective in correcting the misconceptions of pre-service teachers regarding the concept of a digitally competent teacher and determining the roadmap for their personal and professional development.


An international consensus group of clinician‐researchers in epilepsy, neurology, neuropsychology, and neuropsychiatry collaborated with the aim of developing clear guidance on standards for the diagnosis of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES). Because the gold standard of video electroencephalography (vEEG) is not available worldwide, or for every patient, the group delineated a staged approach to PNES diagnosis. Using a consensus review of the literature, this group evaluated key diagnostic approaches. These included: history, EEG, ambulatory EEG, vEEG/monitoring, neurophysiologic, neurohumoral, neuroimaging, neuropsychological testing, hypnosis, and conversation analysis. Levels of diagnostic certainty were developed including possible, probable, clinically established, and documented diagnosis, based on the availability of history, witnessed event, and investigations, including vEEG. The aim and hope of this report is to provide greater clarity about the process and certainty of the diagnosis of PNES, with the intent to improve the care for people with epilepsy and nonepileptic seizures.


The purpose of this study was to determine the patterns of presentation and early treatment outcomes of anterior cruciate ligament tears at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study in which the details of all anterior cruciate ligament injuries seen from January 2014 to December 2018 in our facility were noted. The bio-demographic details of the patients were noted as well as the side of the injury, mechanism of injury, type of sporting activity patient was engaged in at the time of injury and the early outcome of treatment of the patients were noted. A total of 19,707 new orthopaedic and musculoskeletal trauma cases were seen in the period. The overall hospital period prevalence rate of anterior cruciate ligament injury in the period was 3.6 per 1000 patients with a gender-specific prevalence rates of 5.7 per 1000 and 1.6 per 1000 for male and female patients respectively. The mean time between injury and presentation was 16 (±21) months with a range of 1-120 months. The commonest aetiology of anterior cruciate ligament injury was non-contact injury during sporting activities. There was a greater involvement of the young and active population in this injury. Sports and road traffic crash related injuries were the commonest injury aetiology in our environment. The early treatment outcomes revealed a significant improvement of the post-operative functional knee scores over the pre-operative functional knee scores.


Background Previous studies have suggested an association between idiopathic acute anterior uveitis (AAU) and spondyloarthritis (SpA), including showing that at least 40% of AAU patients have undiagnosed SpA. However, the clinical factors to predict the incident diagnosis or future development of SpA remain poorly recognized. Objectives The objectives of this study were: 1) to describe the patient characteristics of AAU patients with and without SpA diagnosis, and 2) to identify the predictive factors of SpA diagnosis among AAU patients using real-world data. Methods Adult patients with at least one diagnosis of AAU (ICD-9-CM: 364.01 or 364.02) were selected from a large US insurance claims database (01/01/2008–06/30/2015). The first AAU diagnosis was defined as the index date. Patients were required to have at least 6 months of continuous data availability before the index date. Patients with intraocular surgery, penetrating or blunt eye trauma, or a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis or SpA on or prior to the index date were excluded. Potential predictive factors for subsequesnt diagnosis of SpA included demographic characteristics, type of AAU (primary [first diagnosis] vs. recurrent), SpA-related comorbidities, and healthcare resource utilization prior to the index date. Factors predictive of SpA diagnosis were selected into a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model based on statistical significance and clinical relevance. Hazards ratios (HR) and p-values were estimated for each factor. Results A total of 48,822 patients with AAU were included, and among them, 1,032 patients were newly diagnosed with SpA during the follow-up period which was 24 months on average. Patients with SpA were younger (45.7 vs. 50.4 years), more likely to be male (52% vs. 42%), more likely to have recurrent AAU (44% vs. 29%), back pain (21% vs. 13%), SpA-related comorbidities including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (4% vs. 1%) and psoriasis (3% vs. 1%), and more likely to use corticosteroids (45% vs 40%). Predictive factors in the final Cox model were: male vs. female (HR=1.55; p-value<0.01), age<45 vs. ≥45 years old (1.65; <0.01), recurrent vs. primary AAU (1.94; <0.01), back pain under age 45 vs. no back pain (1.90; <0.01), back pain above age 45 vs. no back pain (1.46; <0.01), psoriasis (5.16; <0.01), IBD (2.50; <0.01), chiropractor/physical therapist visits (1.29; 0.01), conjunctivitis (1.23; 0.02), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (1.44; <0.01), use of conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (1.32; 0.05), joint pain (1.14; 0.19), imaging test use (1.03; 0.74), corticosteroids use (1.07; 0.33), and enthesitis/heel pain (1.13; 0.36). When sacroiliitis was included in the model, results remained largely similar. Conclusions There are significant differences among isolated AAU patients and AAU patients that developed SpA later. The most predictive factors of SpA diagnosis were male, age<45 years, recurrent AAU, back pain, and other extra-articular manifestations of SpA such as IBD and psoriasis. Since delayed diagnosis is common among SpA patients, identifying such predictive factors can help inform risk stratification. Disclosure of Interest M. Haroon Grant/research support from: AbbVie and Pfizer, K. Betts Consultant for: AbbVie, F. Mu Consultant for: AbbVie, M. Skup Employee of: AbbVie, J. Anderson Employee of: AbbVie, A. Joshi Employee of: AbbVie


Purpura fulminans (PF) is a very rare clinicopathologic skin disorder comprising dermal microvascular thrombosis associated with perivascular hemorrhage of multiple origins. It may occur as the presenting symptom of severe congenital deficiency of protein C (PC) or protein S (PS) during the newborn period, or later in life following oral anticoagulant therapy with vitamin K antagonists, or of sepsis that may be associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation. Treatment consists of anticoagulants and PC concentrates during acute episodes. We report our experience in the diagnosis and management of pediatric PF. The medical records of the 6 children aged 2–16 years (median: 5 years) who presented with PF to our tertiary care center between 1996 and 2013 were studied. The thrombophilia workup revealed either the presence of congenital homozygous PC deficiency, prothrombotic polymorphisms (factor V Leiden and FIIG20210A heterozygosity), acquired PC/PS deficiency, or no discernible thrombophilia. The skin necrosis resolved following conservative fresh-frozen plasma/anticoagulant therapy in 2 cases, whereas 3 children required interventional plastic surgery. The sixth case, a 10-year-old child with severe PC deficiency, heterozygous factor V Leiden, and FIIG20210A, received recombinant activated PC. PF in childhood is rare and has multiple etiologies. Understanding of the variable pathogenesis and risk factors will facilitate diagnosis and appropriate clinical management.


Nine subjects did repeated maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs) of the right knee extensors to induce fatigue. At regular intervals during this process, they matched the force of a 50% MVC in the fatiguing right muscle with a contraction of the unfatigued left muscle that felt like the same force. Perturbations in force sensation were achieved by applying high-frequency vibration (160 Hz) to the patellar tendon of the fatigued muscle during one of a pair of 50% MVCs. The neural drive to the muscle was monitored from the surface electromyogram. Cycles of 10 fatiguing contractions followed by 2 matching contractions were repeated until the subjects could no longer produce 50% of the initial MVC or until they chose to stop. On the average, MVC force fell to 68% of its initial value by the end of 50 fatiguing contractions; almost all of the force loss occurred after completing the first 20 contractions. Maximal electromyograms declined proportionally, and percutaneous shocks delivered during fatiguing contractions did not produce a measurable twitch. This indicated that there was no central fatigue and that force loss was due to failure of the contractile apparatus. In the non-vibrated trials, force sensation increased as a mirror image of force loss. Vibration increased force sensation in the fresh muscle but the effect of vibration disappeared in fatiguing contractions. These data suggest that the sensory analog of muscular fatigue is not necessarily a consequence of alterations in peripheral receptors but may also reside in the central nervous system.


In the past the descriptions of the usual relationship of the heart and its valves to the chest wall, in the works on anatomy, have been based upon dissections. These have been supplemented in some cases by the insertion of needles in order that the relationship between the surface and the deeper structures might be retained. That this method was not accurate is evidenced by the great variations in the location, for example, of the heart and its valves, as reported by different anatomists. For example, Gray 1 gives the following description of the heart: The base looks upward, backward and to the right and is separated from the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth thoracic vertebrae by the pericardium, esophagus, aorta and thoracic duct. The apex formed by the left ventricle is directed downward, forward and to the left, and is overlapped by the left lung and pleura; it lies


Talmy's (1975, 1985, 1991, 2000) seminal work on motion events representation in languages that led to significant typological distinctions is primarily based on the differences in encoding (framing) of the Path, as one of the basic semantic components of such events, either in the V(erb stem) or in the S(atellite) – which accounts for the proposed typological language dichotomy V-framed (VLs) and S-framed languages (SLs). Although the above distinction is a very important one, having implications at the level of syntactic structure, crosslinguistic data indicate to some variations that further prompted researchers to question a clear-cut binary typological opposition. Thus, more thorough data from Romance languages (in addition to Spanish, French and Italian) led to re-considering their status as VLs and rather considering them belonging to the third class of "split" languages (Talmy). The aim of the paper is to analyze the place of Romanian in this typological classification, through making observation on the Path representation in motion events in contrasted narrative texts translated from English (a SL) into Romanian. The hypothesis is that Romanian might claim a mixed typological status, eventually belonging to the class of "split" languages based on the assumption that, first, it is not so poor in manner of motion verbs (MmV) as it is presumably the case of VLs (see the alternative labels sometimes attached to SLs vs. VLs, respectively – manner-rich vs. manner-poor languages) and, second, it does not exclude the possibility of using complex Path as satellite to a MmV, particularly boundary-crossing, which can serve as a test to determine the typological class of language (e.g., a țâșnit de după perdea (lit. rushed from behind the curtain) – 'rushed out from behind the curtain'; a lunecat de pe acoperiș (lit. slipped from on the roof) – 'slipped from the roof'. In this respect, the paper aims at focusing on the nature of the second preposition.


The pathologic and progressive generation of thrombin in human blood can result in the development of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), a syndrome associated with many underlying conditions and manifested as microvascular thrombosis, tissue hypoxia, and organ damage. DIC can be either acute or chronic, with acute DIC resulting from generation of a large amount of thrombin in a brief time period and chronic (compensated) DIC developing as a result of exposure of the coagulation system to small amounts of tissue factor leading to increased but nonacute levels of thrombin generation. DIC can also be considered a thrombohemorrhagic syndrome. Acute DIC at first manifests in a hypercoagulable state and leads to thrombosis, but can be followed by the development of a so-called hypocoagulable phase caused by depletion of clotting factors. This depletion can sometimes lead to bleeding. Bleeding is less common in chronic DIC, as coagulation factors and platelets are more likely to be able to be replenished in the majority of patients. Diagnosis of DIC can sometimes be difficult, depending upon the stage and presentation of the syndrome. During the thrombotic phase of DIC, many common laboratory parameters remain normal, with the important exception of an early drop in circulating platelets. DIC is easier to diagnose when the patient is bleeding, as abnormalities can normally be detected in global coagulation tests and factor assays. Therapy involves identification and treatment of the underlying condition, if possible. In the interim, measures to control bleeding can be administered, if necessary, and may include supportive care with blood products, antithrombin, heparin, and other agents.


Objectives: Patients with painful bone metastasis treated with palliative radiation therapy (RTH) may require
re-irradiation. This work aims at assessing the efficacy and safety of re-irradiation for painful bone metastases using
single 8 Gy fractions versus (4 Gy × 5 fractions).
Methods: From June 2011 to December 2012, previously irradiated bone metastases were re-irradiated with
single 8 Gy fractions (group I) or, 4 Gy × 5 fractions (group II). Pain management index (PMI) was determined.
Pearson's r correlation coefficient was calculated between negative PMI at presentation and age, ECOG
Performance Status, sex, and primary cancer site.
Results: Two months after RTH, about one fifth of patients achieved no pain, mild pain in 75.5% of the
remaining patients and no patient suffered from severe pain. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between
groups (I and II) regarding pain relief. Negative PMI score, was reduced to from 37% at presentation to 25%, at 2
months follow up. A strong negative association between PMI and performance status (p=0.0057, 95% confidence
interval between 0.109 and 0.557) was found.
Conclusion: Palliative re-irradiation with either single 8 Gy fraction or with, 4 Gy × 5 fractions was effective
and safe in pain relief.


Abstract: Spatial and temporal variation in seedling dynamics was assessed using records of community-wide seedling demography collected with identical monitoring methods at four tropical lowland forests in Panama, Malaysia, Ecuador and French Guiana for periods of between 3 and 10 y. At each site, the fates of between 8617 and 391 777 seedlings were followed through annual censuses of the 370–1008 1-m2 seedling plots. Within-site spatial and inter-annual variation in density, recruitment, growth and mortality was compared with among-site variability using Bayesian hierarchical modelling to determine the generality of each site's patterns and potential for meaningful comparisons among sites. The Malaysian forest, which experiences community-wide masting, was the most variable in both seedling density and recruitment. However, density varied year-to-year at all sites (CVamong years at site = 8–43%), driven largely by high variability in recruitment rates (CV = 40–117%). At all sites, recruitment was more variable than mortality (CV = 5–64%) or growth (CV = 12–51%). Increases in mortality rates lagged 1 y behind large recruitment events. Within-site spatial variation and inter-annual differences were greater than differences among site averages in all rates, emphasizing the value of long-term comparative studies when generalizing how spatial and temporal variation drive patterns of recruitment in tropical forests.


Repeatability at 12, 16, 20, 24 and 28-weeks of age of egg weight, egg length, yolk weight, albumen weight, shell thickness, shell membrane thickness, albumen index, yolk index, egg index and shape index was estimated based on the first three eggs laid in the week by forty-eight Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) pullets. The estimated repeatability for these traits was high (0.58 0.99) with a consistent increase in repeatability as laying age progressed. Repeatability of egg length, egg index and shape index showed a linear relationship with age, where as the remaining traits showed a curvilinear relationship. The general increase in repeatability of each trait with age indicates that fewer records would be required to adequately characterize the inherent producing ability of each quail hen for the trait as laying age progressed. Maximum repeatability estimates were observed at 28 weeks of age.


We demonstrated Ku-band (12-20 GHz) Si MOSFET monolithic amplifiers with on-chip matching networks. In these amplifiers, we used 3-/spl mu/m-thick Al-metal transmission lines on 8-/spl mu/m-thick polyimide-SiON-SiO/sub 2/ isolation layers for the matching networks. The amplifier showed a gain of 6-10 dB and a noise figure (NF) of 3.5-4 dB up to about 20 GHz, the highest gain and lowest NF yet reported for MOSFET amplifiers at this frequency. We also clarified the lossy on-chip inductor effect on the gain and noise performance of the amplifiers.


In the third part of the series presenting the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) microlensing studies of the dark matter halo compact objects (MACHOs), we describe results of the OGLE-III monitoring of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This unprecedented data set contains almost continuous photometric coverage over 8 years of about 35 million objects spread over 40 deg2. We report a detection of two candidate microlensing events found with the automated pipeline and an additional two, less probable, candidate events found manually. The optical depth derived for the two main candidates was calculated following a detailed blending examination and detection efficiency determination and was found to be τ= (0.16 ± 0.12) × 10−7. If the microlensing signal we observe originates from MACHOs, then it means their masses are around 0.2 M⊙ and they comprise only f= 3 ± 2 per cent of the mass of the Galactic halo. However, the more likely explanation of our detections does not involve dark matter compact objects at all and relies on the natural effect of self-lensing of LMC stars by LMC lenses. In such a scenario, we can almost completely rule out MACHOs in the subsolar mass range with an upper limit at f < 7 per cent reaching its minimum of f < 4 per cent at M= 0.1 M⊙. For masses around M= 10 M⊙, the constraints on the MACHOs are more lenient with f∼ 20 per cent. Owing to limitations of the survey, there is no reasonable limit found for heavier masses, leaving only a tiny window of mass spectrum still available for dark matter compact objects.


In spite of the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act, domestic violence is still prevalent in fictional work such as drama and soaps on the only station in Zimbabwe. This study concentrates mainly on physical abuse as depicted in locally produced fictional programs. Viewers look forward to these but they are also heavily influenced by the actors, especially the young viewers. It is not uncommon to hear people discussing or arguing about characters in soaps and drama as if they are real. The researchers note that the Domestic Violence Bill might have been passed into an act but there should be a concerted effort to re-orient the art producers to ensure that their work is compliant with the furtherance of the philosophy of a violent-free family and society. Many artists we contend have never read the contents of the said Act and as such they are unconsciously peddling an archaic and retrogressive set of values when it comes to family relations and as such the producers of the family television station should reach out and conscientize those who supply them with the art works about the dictates of the Act.


The empirical Darcy's law of water transport in porous media, Fick's law of chemical diffusion, and Fourier's law of thermal transport have been widely used in geophysics/geochemistry for over 150 years. However, the strong couplings between water, temperature, and chemicals in a membrane porous medium have made these laws inapplicable and present a significant hurdle to the understanding of multiphase flow in such a material. Extensive experiments over the past century have observed chemical osmosis and thermal osmosis, but a model for understanding their underlying physicochemical basis has remained unavailable, because of the highly cross‐disciplinary and multiscale‐multiphase nature of the coupling. Based on the fundamental principles of nonequilibrium thermodynamics and mixture coupling theory, a rigorously theoretical and mathematical framework is proposed and a general model accounting for all of the coupled influences is developed. This leads to a simple and robust mathematical matrix for studying multiphase couplings in a membrane porous medium when all chemical components are electrically neutral.


A repellent evaluation process used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a research program directed at reducing browsing damage to regenerating Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) by black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) in the Pacific Northwest is reviewed. Several methods of repellent testing to control deer damage to commercially valuable trees are being used in the United States. Our procedures to assess deer damage and efficacy of candidate repellents could be used in most of these evaluations to provide uniform data for comparisons of materials and aid in registration of deer repellents needed by land managers.


Changes in neuroendocrine function may predispose menopausal women to psychological disturbances characterized by depressed mood, anxiety, irritability, fatigue, insomnia, forgetfulness and decline in Libido. The acute tryptophan depletion paradigm was employed to examine the serotonergic contribution to mood and cognitive function in menopausal women who were within 4 weeks of recovery from an episode of major depression. MenopausaL women whose depression was responsive to treatment with oestradiol, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine, or a combination of both treatments underwent assessment of mood and verbal memory on active tryptophan depLetion and sham depLetion test days. Although performance on the deLayed paragraph recall subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale was impaired by tryptophan depletion, no subjects experienced a relapse of depression or a significant worsening of mood. Results from this pilot study indicate that menopausal women who have recently recovered from a major depressive episode do not experience a worsening of mood with acute tryptophan depletion, despite the existence in this sample of some known risk factors for depressive relapse as a result of these procedures. While preliminary, the results suggest that serotonin may be Less critical to the pathogenesis of depression during the menopause.


The dynamical system constituted by two spherically symmetric thin shells and their own gravitational field is studied. The shells can be distinguished from each other, and they can intersect. At each intersection, they exchange energy on the Dray, 't Hooft and Redmount formula. There are bound states: if the shells intersect, one, or both, external shells can be bound in the field of internal shells. The space of all solutions to classical dynamical equations has six components; each has the trivial topology but a non-trivial boundary. Points within each component are labelled by four parameters. Three of the parameters determine the geometry of the corresponding solution spacetime and shell trajectories and the fourth describes the position of the system with respect to an observer frame. An account of symmetries associated with spacetime diffeomorphisms is given. The group is generated by an infinitesimal time shift, an infinitesimal dilatation and a time reversal.


The effects of thyroid hormone (T3) on extracellular matrix (ECM) expression and organization in cerebellar astrocytes were studied. Control astrocytes exhibit laminin immunostaining distributed in a punctate configuration and fibronectin concentrated in focal points at the cell surface. These cells attach to the substratum by membrane points, as shown by scanning microscopy, possibly by focal points stained to fibronectin. In contrast, after T3 treatment, laminin assumes a fibrillary pattern and fibronectin becomes organized in filaments homogeneously distributed on the cell surface; the cells acquire a very flat and spread morphology. T3 treatment also modulates astrocyte adhesion. In addition, increased expression of both laminin and fibronectin was detected by Western blot. These alterations in fibronectin and/or laminin production and organization may be involved in the flat and spread morphology and in altered adhesion. We observed that fibroblast growth factor‐2 (FGF2) added to cultures had similar effects to those described to T3. Neutralizing antibodies against FGF2 reversed T3 effects on fibronectin and laminin distribution. We also observed that cerebellar neurons co‐cultured on T3‐treated astrocytes had an increase in the number of cells and presented longer neurites. Thus, we propose a novel mechanism of the effect of thyroid hormone on cerebellar development mediated by astrocytes: T3 may induce astrocyte secretion of growth factors, mainly FGF2, that autocrinally stimulate astrocyte proliferation, reorganization in ECM proteins, and alterations in cell spreading and adhesion. These effects may indirectly influence neuronal development. GLIA 42:359–369, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


An improved technique using a hot-wire probe is proposed in order to obtain a more reliable velocity vector field which is less strongly influenced by the prong wake of the hot-wire probe.
 In the present experiment, a parallel triple hot-wire probe was used and the velocity vectors were determined by a phase-averaging technique and the general response equations. The hot-wire probe was set not only parallel to (conventional technique) but also obliquely to the coming flow direction (improved technique). The improved technique was applied to the near wake flow field of a two-dimensional square-section cylinder.
 As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that the improved technique proposed here was useful for improving the experimental reliability for the velocity vector field of the square cylinder, except for the base region, compared with that measured by the conventional technique.


The first MEMS devices have been introduced into the market only about 20 years ago, but during these past two decades we have witnessed a tremendous success story of MEMS for sensor applications. Up to now, the progress in MEMS technology was mainly driven by the automotive market. MEMS sensors have prevailed in automotive applications because they offered significant advantages compared to conventional solutions based on fine mechanical or ceramic technologies. First of all, the MEMS technology enables miniaturized, highly precise sensor elements at much lower cost compared to conventional solutions, especially for high volume production. Furthermore, the integration of the sensor element with an ASIC drastically reduces the number of connections and external components and thus allows a higher reliability of the sensors. Additionally, the implementation of self-test, accuracy check and calibration in the ASIC improves reliability and preciseness. Due to these advantages, a modern European car is equipped with more than 50 MEMS sensors on average. They are enablers for e.g. airbag systems, vehicle dynamic control or motor management systems with low emissions. In total, the world market for automotive MEMS sensors has a volume of 1.5 Billion Euros in 2008 and it will even grow over the next years. The most important representatives are pressure, flow, acceleration and angular rate sensors. These sensors are more or less commodity nowadays. In the near future these sensors will become smarter: Multi axis sensors and sensor units comprising different measurands will be developed and sensors will be combined with actuators in one common unit. The sensors will be integrated and evolve into smart systems due to additional intelligence and functionality. Examples out of the automotive world will be shown below. Besides the automotive market, MEMS actuators for inkjet heads and micromirrors have gained a quite impressive market volume. However, these applications are beyond the scope of this paper. In addition to these existing products, market studies (Fig. 1) predict promising new opportunities for microsystems and smart systems with very high growth rates: Consumer and medical applications offer high volumes for sensors, actuators and smart systems within the next years.


Regimens using cyclosporin (CSP) and either methylprednisolone (MP) or methotrexate (MTX) have been useful in the prophylaxis of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). However, CSP produces a number of side effects, including neurologic toxicity. A retrospective review of recipients of 239 BMTs given CSP-based prophylactic regimens revealed that 10 patients (4.2%, 95% confidence interval 0% to 10.4%) experienced a syndrome characterized by hypertension, severe visual disturbances, seizures and occipital lobe density changes on brain computed tomography (nine patients) or nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (one patient). Neurologic findings were reversible in all cases, usually after temporary discontinuation of CSP. Univariate analysis identified the following risk factors for neurotoxicity: use of unrelated or HLA-mismatched related donors, administration of etoposide (VP-16) or total body irradiation as part of conditioning, use of corticosteroids for prophylaxis or treatment of acute GVHD, or development of either acute GVHD or clinically significant microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA) post-BMT. In multivariate analysis, the most important predictors were the use of VP-16 (p = 0.008), the use of a continuous infusion CSP plus MP prophylactic regimen for GVHD (p = 0.003) and the development of MAHA after BMT (p less than 0.001). The strong association with MAHA suggests that endothelial damage is related to the development of this complication.


We expand our previously founded basic theory of equiresidual algebraic geometry over an arbitrary commutative field, to a well-behaved theory of (equiresidual) algebraic varieties over a commutative field, thanks to the generalisation of affine algebraic geometry by the use of canonical localisations and $*$-algebras. We work here in an equivalent and more suggestive "concrete" setting with structural sheaves of functions into the base field, which allows us to give a set-theoretic description of the products of equivarieties in general. Locally closed subvarieties are naturally equipped with an equivariety structure as in the particular case of algebraically closed fields, and this allows in particular to embed all quasi-projective (equi)varieties in general into the category of algebraic (equi)varieties.


This paper analyses the determinants of financial risk attitudes and portfolio allocations as established by large-scale surveys in developed countries. After a literature review the paper proceeds with an analysis of two large-scale surveys on financial risk attitudes and the ownership of financial products in Slovakia. Risk attitudes are examined via a stated and revealed preference over portfolio allocations. Two dependent variables were used to test assumptions on investment choices: subjective financial risk tolerance (expressed via stated preferences over hypothetical portfolios) and objective risk tolerance (expressed via the actual share of risky investments out of the total financial assets). The standardised regression coefficients indicated that the risk attitudes seemed to be the most important predictors of both subjective and objective risk tolerance, followed by perceived and actual experience with financial investments. Sociodemographic variables (gender, age, education) had a relatively lower impact on portfolio allocations.


A 42-year-old woman presented with a classical history of a subarachnoid haemorrhage. An initial CT brain scan showed diffuse subarachnoid blood, equally distributed in Sylvian fissures and in the interhemispheric fissure. Two conventional cerebral angiograms had been performed and showed no aneurysm. In view of her age, clinical presentation and CT findings, a further catheter angiogram was performed, which showed a slight bulkiness at the left middle cerebral artery bifurcation (Fig. 1). However, the 3D angiogram revealed a definite middle cerebral artery aneurysm, measuring only 2 mm in size (Fig. 2). This was successfully treated with endovascular coiling Ruptured intracranial aneurysms have a significant re-bleeding risk of 15–20% in the first 2 weeks. Therefore, early confirmation of an aneurysm facilitates prompt treatment and catheter angiography remains the gold standard technique. But in recent years, three-dimensional rotational angiography has revolutionized catheter angiography. This technique involves selective carotid catheterization, and a


The authors address the user interface aspect of energy management systems (EMSs) in the move to open systems. They discuss the evolution of the user interface for an EMS including current solutions and technologies that are being applied. The discussion is then extended to areas of issues that will need to be addressed as the design of the user interface subsystem is evolved to incorporate open systems concepts and standards. Specific areas that are discussed include graphical user interface (GUI) styles, user interface management systems (UIMSs), and three-dimensional graphics. >


This study focused on the impact of college environments on the spiritual development of African American students. Using the Armstrong Measure of Spirituality (AMOS) survey administered to 125 African American college students, the study sought to ascertain whether or not there were differences in spirituality as reported by African American students attending a historically Black college and African American students attending a predominantly White institution. Gender differences and differences based on students' classifications were also examined. The results revealed that African Americans attending a predominantly White institution reported higher levels of spirituality than African Americans attending a historically Black college. The results also showed significant differences among the students on 2 of the AMOS subscales—spiritual beliefs and spiritual actions—in relation to gender and grade classification. Specifically, African American males attending the historically Black college scored significantly lower on the spiritual beliefs variable than the entire sample of females and males attending the predominantly White institution. Additionally, African American males in lower divisions scored significantly less on spiritual beliefs than African American males in upper divisions and females. Plausible explanations for these differences include a greater need among African Americans attending predominantly White institutions (a minority status) to seek and rely on spirituality for support and as a coping mechanism, and the fact that spirituality is a developmental construct which may be a reason that helps to explain the differences between African American males in lower and upper divisions.


NMR spectroscopy in combination with elemental analysis was used to study asphaltenes in biodegraded oils from Cenomanian pools of West Siberia. The sampling depths vary from 680 to 1800 m, formation temperatures – from 40°C to 70°C. For comparison, we used the data on asphaltenes in non-biodegraded oils of different genotypes. Given that biodegraded oils are very heavy (density: 910-950 kg/m3), they are characterized by high boiling point temperatures (145-270°C). Due to the loss of hydrocarbon components, they have higher resin and asphaltene content (9-20%) compared to non-degraded samples. Elemental analysis of asphaltenes in biodegraded and unaltered oils of different genotypes revealed an increasing trend for oxygen content in the asphaltenes from biodegraded samples, which may result from the oxidation of structural blocks of asphaltenes during microbial oxidation. It was shown that the aromaticity of the moderately biodegraded terrestrial-aquatic Novoaganskaya samples tends to increase with a decrease in asphaltene saturation, suggesting that the redistribution of structural groups of asphaltenes may be caused by biodegradation processes. High saturation of asphaltenes in strongly biodegraded Gubkinskaya and Novoportovskaya oils, along with a high degree of substitution of aromatic compounds in asphaltenes in Gubkinkaya oils (terrestrial and aquatic-terrestrial genotype) can be attributed to the formation of asphaltenes during strong biodegradation of hydrocarbon components in these oils.


The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 added the Part D prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program. This addition, which became effective in 2006, increased Medicare program costs by more than 10 percent in order to provide, for the first time, prescription drug coverage to enrollees. Part D has since enrolled a sizeable share of elders and now pays for a large percentage of their prescriptions. Despite the program's size and importance, however, little is known about its effectiveness. One way to measure its success is to determine to what extent it provides financial security to elders. If Part D covers prescription drug spending that was putting older Americans at financial risk, it may result in large social gains. If it simply substitutes for – or "crowds out" – existing insurance arrangements, the social gains may be much smaller. Beyond a crowd-out analysis, a full evaluation of Part D also needs to consider other social benefits and costs, such as the potential health benefits and the efficiency costs of subsidizing drug coverage. The study summarized in this brief evaluates Part D's impact using the 2002-5 and 2007 waves of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) before and right after the program's implementation. The brief is organized as follows. The first section presents background on Part D. The second section describes the MEPS data. The third section presents the results of Part D's effect on prescription drug coverage and expenditures and offers a tentative assessment of the program's overall social impact. The final section concludes that Part D has resulted in substantial crowd out of both coverage and expenditures and, as of 2007, has produced only modest benefits.


Wireless communication and networking is experiencing a dramatic growth, and all indicators point to an extension of this growth in the foreseeable future. This paper reflects on the demands and the opportunities offered with respect to the integrated implementation of these applications in the "systems-on-a-chip" era.


Identifying organic contaminants present in aquatic environments is of major concern for water quality
monitoring. New analytical and data treatment tools have been developed to meet this challenge. The
sample preparation before analyses is the first crucial step to be optimized before using suspect and nontarget-
screening approaches for qualitative evaluations of water pollution by contaminants from various
chemical and usage families.
As part of the action of Aquaref (www.aquaref.fr, French reference laboratory for environmental
monitoring in the Water Framework Directive), different solid phase extraction conditions (SPE, n=3 per
condition) were tested towards ultrahigh pressure liquid chromatography hyphenated to high resolution
mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) analysis. The SPE protocols varied according to the extraction phase
(Oasis HLB or multilayer cartridge), the elution solvent (methanol or methanol and dichloromethane)
and sample pH (pH 3 or 7). To ensure data quality, blank solvents, extracted blanks and quality control
(QC) were also injected. The QC sample corresponds to a pool of 5 μL of each sample extract and is
injected repeatedly throughout the injection sequence to monitor the analytical repeatability.
By suspect screening strategy, most of the investigated compounds were found in all SPE extracts. The
results revealed the presence of contaminants such as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, sweeteners, or anticorrosive
agents. For pesticides, approved (e.g. diuron) and not approved (e.g. terbutryn) compounds
were both detected. Concerning the pharmaceuticals, drugs acting on the nervous system were most
common (e.g. oxazepam), as well as betablockers (e.g. metoprolol). The without any a priori non-target
approach highlighted that the SPE conditions affect the quality and the interpretation of the data. For
each sample preparation method tested the number of signals (features) detected varies, as does the
number of signals associated with background noise.


This paper presents an extrinsic Fabry–Perot interferometer-based optical fiber sensor (EFPI) for measuring three-dimensional (3D) displacements, including interfacial sliding and debonding during delamination. The idea employs three spatially arranged EFPIs as the sensing elements. In our sensor, the three EFPIs are formed by three endfaces of three optical fibers and their corresponding inclined mirrors. Two coincident roof-like metallic structures are used to support the three fibers and the three mirrors, respectively. Our sensor was calibrated and then used to monitor interfacial sliding and debonding between a long square brick of mortar and its support structure (i.e., a steel base plate) during the drying/curing process. This robust and easy-to-manufacture triaxial EFPI-based 3D displacement sensor has great potential in structural health monitoring, the construction industry, oil well monitoring, and geotechnology.


The assessment of food production capacity is particularly important in small- and medium-sized cities, which have greater chances to develop local periurban farming. To date the literature has been focused on niche sectors of the food market, such as alternative food networks and public procurement for school canteens, but less attention has been paid to urban food production. We present a method to assess the food production capacity in periurban areas, which we tested on meat production (beef and lamb) in the urban region of Pisa, a medium-sized Italian city. The capacity of periurban livestock farms for meat production to fulfil urban demand was assessed on the basis of meat supply and demand. We derived meat demand from statistical data, whereas we calculated meat supply on the basis of three estimates ( i.e. potential, current, actual meat supply) taking into account both statistical and on-farm survey data. In particular, the potential meat supply was estimated from statistical data on slaughtered livestock, the current meat supply was estimated from meat production data of on-farm surveys, while the actual meat supply was estimated from the amount of meat sold by farmers on the local market from onfarm surveys. For the urban region of Pisa, we estimated that the potential meat supply met is equal to 16% of the beef demand and 62% of the lamb demand. This data could change, if the on-farm data is taken into account in the current supply, as was the case with lamb, which decreased to 37%, whereas beef remained almost unchanged (14%). The actual supply was 70% and 10% of the current supply for beef and lamb respectively. We identified some gaps between the three estimates, particularly for lamb production, suggesting that it may have some constraints in terms of production and commercialisation. Our results can contribute to assess local food systems and their drivers at the farm level. Furthermore these results also highlight the need for an agronomical approach to food systems based on the analysis of farm activities located in periurban areas in order to quantify the food supply that is actually produced for the local market. Food planning policies, as well as studies at the local level, could take advantage from this method.


Two cases of familial pulmonary arteriovenous fistula are reported. Case 1: A 54-year-old woman was admitted with exertional dyspnea. An abnormal shadow on chest X-ray had been noted since the age of 37 years. Pulmonary angiography demonstrated bilateral pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas. Case 2: A 25-year-old man, the son of Case 1, was admitted for operation for the same disease. The mother and son both suffered from repeated epistaxis due to Rendu-Osler-Weber disease. In order to reserve pulmonary function, fistulectomy was performed in both cases, and their subsequent clinical courses were good.


The sesamoid bone in the tendon of the m. abductor digiti primi longus is considered present in most dog breeds and is described to be radiologically detectable at the level of the carpus from the age of 4 months. However, an extensive investigation of this sesamoid bone has not been conducted before. The aim of this study was therefore to determine its prevalence in different dog breeds, to describe its histological development, and to determine the age at which it becomes radiologically visible. The prevalence of the sesamoid bone was assessed on radiographic images of the carpus or by dissection of the carpal region in 743 adult dogs of 115 breeds. Its development was studied by dissection and histological analysis in 45 puppies and its timing of radiological appearance was evaluated in 209 puppies. At least one sesamoid bone was present in all adult dogs, except for 14 dogs of six breeds of predominantly the small breed category. The lowest prevalence rate of 38.46% was exhibited in the French bulldog. The histological development could be divided into five stages. The first radiographic appearance corresponded to the coalescence of smaller ossification centers into one big nucleus (stage 4). The mean time of radiographic appearance was 108.4 days. This study provides extensive data on the prevalence and timing of the radiographic appearance of a sesamoid at the carpus of the dog. The data on radiographic appearance may be helpful in the age estimation of puppies.


The Piezoelectronic Transistor (PET) has been proposed as a post-CMOS device for fast, low-power switching. In this device, the piezoresistive channel is metalized via the expansion of a relaxor piezoelectric element to turn the device on. The mixed-valence compound SmSe is a good choice of PET channel material because of its isostructural pressure-induced continuous metal insulator transition, which is well characterized in bulk single crystals. Prediction and optimization of the performance of a realistic, nano-scaled PET based on SmSe requires the understanding of quantum confinement, tunneling, and the effect of metal interface. In this work, a computationally efficient empirical tight binding (ETB) model is developed for SmSe to study quantum transport in these systems and the scaling limit of PET channel lengths. Modulation of the SmSe band gap under pressure is successfully captured by ETB, and ballistic conductance shows orders of magnitude change under hydrostatic strain, supporting operability o...


Literacy skills are developing in children from the time they are born and should be nurtured during the preschool years (Joint Position Statement, 2005). There are important literacy skill sets for children to acquire to be competent readers. The 2009 National Early Literacy Panel has defined one of these skills as alphabetic knowledge (Bell & Westberg, 2009). Alphabetic knowledge is being able to recognize and name letters and their sounds. The research shows that mastery of alphabetic skills is required before children can engage successfully in phonemic awareness. (Bara, Gentaz & Cole, 2007). Parents can facilitate their child's mastery of these skills through activities that can be integrated into play and their child's daily schedule. Educators can provide resources and support for learning these skills through a school-to-home connection. This is invaluable to students who may be at-risk because of disabilities, being an English Language Learner, or living in a low-literacy or poverty home. This project provides a literature review of emergent literacy skills and the need for support of at-risk students. It also includes a resource book of activities that can be sent home for students to work on with their families.


Protected areas are fast becoming tourist attractions and as such have contributed increasingly to nature-based tourism , the industry's fastest growing sector. It is assumed that tourists visiting the protected areas are motivated by intangible values such as recreational, cultural and spiritual, educational, artistic and aesthetic, and existential values. This paper presents the findings of a study aimed at examining the kind of intangible values that had motivated tourists to the Pahang National Park (Taman Negara Pahang, TNP). A total of 341 samples was collected from a questionnaire survey involving both local and international tourists of the TNP. Results of the analyses revealed that tourists to TNP were generally motivated by particular recreational values ('to exercise'), cultural values ('to understand indigenous people's lifestyle'), educational values ('to recognize and gain knowledge about the local flora and fauna '), artistic and aesthetic values ('to show concern with the existence of natural environment'). As for the park existential values, local and international tourists demonstrated different perceptions. Most local tourists were not willing to pay more for park's entrance fee as compared to the international tourists. Both parties , nevertheless, were willing to pay more if it was to be used for nature conservation purposes. Keywords: intangible values, protected areas, quantitative method, Taman Negara Pahang, tourist demographic,tourist motivation


This study is based on certain gender-specific linguistic features which several researchers like Lakoff, Holmes, Coats, and West & Zimmerman have pointed out in their studies. As writers belong to one or the other gender, they must be influenced by their own gender-specific way of speaking, that must, in turn, influence the kind of language they choose for their characters in an interaction. To support our hypothesis, we selected three one-act plays each by a male and a female writer. The research analysed the dialogues of the characters. The study established that the male playwright could present a realistic portrayal of his male characters but was not able to present his female characters' speech realistically. Similarly, the female writer could portray her female characters to speak like women in real life but was not able to portray her male characters to speak like men in real life.


The aims of this research was to determine effect of equilibration time extender to post thawing motility and viability of Gembrong Goat's sperms in egg yolk skim thinners. This research used Gembrong Goat's fresh semen that collected in artificial vagina and divided to three treatment. The first treatment (P1) was semen equilibration 1 hour. The second treatment (P2) was semen equilibration 1,5 hour. The Third treatment (P3) was semen equilibration 2 hour. Experiment design used was randomized complete draft. The result was analysed used ANOVA (Analysis of Variant) and continued with different test (the smallest real LSD 5%). The post thawing motility's result was (P1) 31,67 a ± 2,58, (P2) 26,67 b ± 2,58, and (P3) 21,67 c ± 2,58. The post thawing viability's result was (P1) 52,33 a ± 4,18, (P2) 42,83 b ± 5,60, and (P3) 35,83 c ± 4,17, showed that the inherent motility and viability different treatment groups significantly with the first treatment (P1) was semen equilibration 1 hour.


Link prediction, aiming to find missing links in an observed network or predict those links that may occur in the future, has become a basic challenge of network science. Most existing link prediction methods are based on local or global topological attributes of the network such as degree, clustering coefficient, path index, etc. In the process of resource allocation, as the number of connections between the common neighbors of the paired nodes increases, it is easy to leak information through them. To overcome this problem, we proposed a new similarity index named ESHOPI (link prediction based on Dempster–Shafer theory and the importance of higher-order path index), which can prevent information leakage by penalizing ordinary neighbors and considering the information of the entire network and each node at the same time. In addition, high-order paths are used to improve the performance of link prediction by penalizing the longer reachable paths between the seed nodes. The effectiveness of ESHOPI is shown by the experiments on both synthetic and real-world networks.


The temperature dependence of bulk modules was given by Q. Liu & Q. He 13 using fundamental thermodynamic relations. The assumption in this theory was that volume thermal expansion coefficient is quadratic function of temperature. The new expressions and formulations were also derived by Tallon 14 . In the present study temperature of elastic constants is based on the combination of above mentioned formulations. A method to estimate the temperature dependence of bulk modules is developed with the approximation that coefficient of volume thermal expansion depends linearly on temperature. This approximation is valid only for small expansions in low temperature range.


While survey research has been at the heart of social science for decades and social scientific research with digital trace data has been growing rapidly in the last few years, until now, there are relatively few studies that combine these two data types. This may be surprising given the potential of linking surveys and digital trace data, but at the same time, it is important to note that the collection and analysis of such linked data are challenging in several regards. The three key issues are: (1) data linking including informed consent for individual-level studies, (2) methodological and ethical issues impeding the scientific (re)analysis of linked survey and digital trace data sets, and (3) developing conceptual and theoretical frameworks tailored toward the multidimensionality of such data. This special issue addresses these challenges by presenting cutting-edge methodological work on how to best collect and analyze linked data as well as studies that have successfully combined survey data and digital trace data to find innovative answers to relevant social scientific questions.


The papers were peer reviewed.Quantum communications, measurement and computing embodies the fledgling science of quantum information. It applies quantum physics to tackle the challenges of next generation information processing. The conference was the seventh in the series. These proceedings describe papers presented at the meeting and represent the forefront of current research. Topics include: quantum communication, measurement, quantum computation, entanglement, quantum cryptography, sources of quantum states, time, as well as dissipation and decoherence.


This paper is devoted to the description of magnetic field effects on zinc electrodeposition from basic media. The major effect of the magnetic field stems from a slight magnetohydrodynamic forced convection located close to the cathodic interface. Classical impedance analysis reveals that the reaction mechanism is governed by two diffusing species, Zn(II) and OH-, the contributions of which have been discerned. This leads to a good agreement between experimental and theoretical impedance diagrams and shows, once again, that the magnetic field exerts no effect upon the transfer kinetics.


Psychoanalysis as applied to psychiatric practice has followed a very special tradition in the United Kingdom. In this, the psychoanalyst, using his/her particular train ing and skills, has focused his/her interest on the total hospital environment as a means of helping the in patient to recover. Such a concept of the mental hospital as a therapeutic community owes its beginnings to the pioneering work of a number of psychoanalysts at Northfield Hospital at the end of the last World War. This experiment, in turn, led to another one at the Cassel Hospital where Main became Director in 1946 and continued in this role until 1976. Much of this collection of essays and speeches is devoted to his work at the Cassel Hospital. They are introduced by Rayner and his daughter, Johns, who edited the book. Its title is appropriate, for it is The Ailment which has been standard reading for psy chiatrists in training for many years. This paper pro vides an outstanding discussion of that group of †̃¿ special', r ther masochistic patients who can command so much attention from their therapeutic environment with so little by way of reward. This and other of Main's essays are devoted to studies of the therapeutic community and its implications for helping in-patients psychotherapeutically. They give an excellent picture of the work being done at the Cassel: the hallmark of this work has always been a lively curiosity "¿ about the exter nal and internal significance for the patient―,of his/her entry into and departure from the hospital. Regrettably, we seem to live in an age of rapid patient transit when few psychiatrists feel that they are given enough time to study these issues, let alone to look after their patients in hospital. Main and the Cassel have been so unusual in their concern to retain time for such study. Although most of the essays are devoted to Main's interest in the application of psychoanalysis to psy chiatry, three essays are written about a different set of problems concerning husbands and wives, motherhood, and a special group of patients at the Cassel, namely mothers and children. For many years Main worked with doctors in training at the Family Planning Associ ation helping them to deal with psychosexual problems. This led to the foundation of the Institute of Psycho sexual Medicine, ofwhich he is Life President. His essay entitled "¿ A fragment ofmothering― throws an interest ing light on the mother in her dual relationship to her child and her husband, and explores her conflicts in this situation; it places more emphasis on aspects of the mother's sexuality than other psychoanalytic writers have done. Some ofthe essays in this book are repetitious in their themes. I would have preferred a more conservative selection. This book comes at a timely moment, when the CasselHospital is under the threat of closure, and provides a valuable historical commentary on the thera peutic community movement asit developedwithin that hospital. Main's optimism is a much needed antedote to a prevailing mood of cynicism and despair about the value of in-patient psychotherapy in the care of the severelymentally sick.


The COVID-19 pandemic has strained the healthcare system. It has led to the use of temporary isolation systems and less-then-optimum patient placement configurations because of inadequate number of isolation rooms, both of which can compromise provider safety. Three key elements require special attention to reduce the maximum and average aerosolized contaminant concentration exposure to a healthcare worker in any isolation system: flow rate; air changes per hour; and patient placement. This is important because concentration exposures of aerosolized contaminants to healthcare workers in hospitals using temporary isolation systems can reach levels 21–30 times greater than a properly engineered negative pressure isolation room. A working knowledge of these three elements can help create a safer environment for healthcare workers when isolation rooms are not available.


Complex spectra of Xe and Sn, and their feasibility for use in the lithographic extreme ultraviolet (EUV) source, are investigated. By combining calculations of atomic data using the HULLAC code and the Whiam collisional radiative model with a simple radiative transfer model, the EUV spectrum is shown to originate from a large number of fine structure transitions. Satellite lines of 4d-4f and 4d-5p transitions from near ten times ionized states are found to make a significant contribution to the emission from an optically thick plasma. The wavelengths and transition probabilities of emission lines, charge state distribution, and level population in the plasma, as well as radiation intensity from a laser-produced plasma source have been calculated. The effect of opacity is taken into account assuming a local thermodynamic equilibrium population in the plasma. The calculated result reproduces the observed spectra both for Xe and Sn, showing applicability of the present method to the spectroscopy of hot dense plasmas.


In their stated objectives, the Chinese authorities have given a high profile to the issue of morality, something that, in the current context, is clearly under duress. The question raised is thus whether such discourse is rooted in a morality or ethics particular to Chinese society, insofar as it displays certain aspects that are part of a civic morality of a socialist orientation, along with other features drawing on Confucianism or other components of Chinese culture. The moral injunction would however be empty, if it were not coupled with a politics of well-being, something which must be grounded in an anthropology. Such an anthropology (the search for harmony, consensus, the dynamic equilibrium between contraries) differs significantly from that which prevails in the West. It can therefore be highly instructive for us. The article concludes with some considerations on the Chinese political system.


This paper looks at the post-conflict economic reconstruction of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It takes a stance that the international assistance in reconstruction planning needs to focus on the overall systems framework, where all the segments play a crucial and equal role and where all the issues are regarded as dynamic and treated as interconnected. A significant progress has been achieved in understanding the social, political and economic factors underlying the civil and ethnic wars but the complexity of these factors in post-war situations and their inter-dependency has been comparatively neglected. This paper draws attention to the importance of innovation, knowledge creation and proactive strategies for achieving a competitive post-conflict society. What seems to emerge from the analysis is that achieving a real-time reconstruction is very difficult without a holistic approach to planning and systemic thinking. This paper, also considers the importance of the regional context and competitive (dis)advantages of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


The purpose of this study was to observe the effects of aroma treatment on some stress related hormones to obtain the basic data for prevention of stress-related disease. On November 18, 2006, 37 healthy soldiers for the subject of investigation were divided into 4 groups. The four groups included aroma inhalation, aroma massage, regular oil massage and the control group that did not have any treatment. The effect of each treatment on the blood levels of ACTH and cortisol and blood pressure, pulse rate was observed. The results of this study: 1. At 40 minutes after the test, all the test groups except the control showed a tendency to elevate in blood pressure, especially the aroma massage group was higher in systolic (p<0.05) or diastolic blood pressure (p<0.01). And in the massage group, the systolic pressure was higher than the control (p<0.05). 2. After 20 or 40 minutes, all the groups except the control showed significantly decreased blood levels of ACTH (p<0.01). Furthermore, the aroma inhalation group showed the highest decreasing levels of ACTH among all groups (p<0.001). 3. Cortisol was significantly reduced in the all test groups but the control group (p<0.01) 20 minutes after the test. Cortisol continuously decreased in the aroma inhalation group (p<0.01) and massage group (p<0.05) 40 minutes after the test. The highest decrease of cortisol in the blood was shown in the aroma inhalation group. These results suggested that aroma inhalation and physical treatment such as massage might reduce the initial stress. To improve health science and alternative medical treatment, aroma inhalation is considered to be the meaningful method of treatment.


This chapter is concerned with the prohibition of cartels. It begins with a discussion of the widespread consensus among competition authorities worldwide that cartels should be condemned, and gives examples of recent enforcement that led to the imposition of significant fines and sentences of imprisonment. It also looks at anti-cartel enforcement in the EU. The chapter then considers the application of Article 101 to particular types of cartels: price fixing, market sharing, production quotas and other 'hard-core' cartel practices. The final section of this chapter looks at anti-cartel enforcement in the UK.


Abstract 418

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common non-hodgkin lymphoma. It can be subdivided into two major subtypes with different gene expression profiles. The first, called germinal center B cell-like (GCB), develops from normal germinal center (GC) B-cells. The second, called Activated B cell-like (ABC), is thought to develop from plasmablasts, a population of B cells at a later stage of differentiation. In agreement with these cellular origins, the somatic hypermutation process (SHM), responsible for an aberrant accumulation of chromosomal translocations and somatic mutations at multiple oncogenes in these pathologies, remains ongoing in all GCB but in only rare ABC cases.

Whether this ongoing SHM activity also participates in clinical evolutions is not known. To address this question, we have reconstructed the phylogenetic trees of 14 refractory/relapsed DLBCL cases by analysing the somatic mutations patterns at the IGH variable regions from different biopsies, obtained at diagnosis and during progressions. These lymphomas were classified as belonging to the GCB or ABC subtype by hierarchical clustering, using the expression of 18 genes that discriminate these two molecular subtypes. For each of the 30 biopsies we analysed, the clonotypic VDJ rearrangement was amplified by PCR, subcloned into the pGEM-T vector, and 10 individual colonies were sequenced. Phylogenetic trees rooted on the closest IGVH germline gene were reconstructed using the SeaView software and the PhyML algorithm. To avoid PCR artefact, only those mutations observed in at least two subclones were considered.

In this series, hierarchical clustering identified 5 ABC and 5 GCB DLBCLs. The four remaining cases showed intermediate gene expression profiles. As expected, intraclonal variations (ICV) were found in all 5 GCB and in only 1 ABC tumor at diagnosis. Three lymphomas, all from the ABC subtype, did not show any evidence of clonal evolution, presenting homogeneous and identical SHM patterns at diagnosis and progression. For five other cases (4 GCB and 1 undefined DLBCL), the evolution trees revealed that the progressions have resulted from the selection of cells already present at diagnosis. Surprisingly, 3 of these 4 GCB cases showed ICV in the first but not in the second biopsy, suggesting that the SHM process was not anymore active in the selected population. Finally, for the six remaining cases (2 ABC, 1 GCB and 3 undefined DLBCLs), our data revealed that the tumoral populations at diagnosis and at relapse have evolved in parallel from less mutated precursors ([Figure 1][1]). In these lymphomas, the tumoral cells within the different biopsies shared the same CDR3 region, confirming their clonal origin. They also shared several somatic mutations, suggesting that their precursors were of GC or post-GC origin. Interestingly, 3 of these cases relapsed as lower grade follicular lymphomas (FL). One, from the GCB subtype, showed ICV both at diagnosis and at relapse. The two others, one ABC and one undefined case, showed ICV only at relapse, in FL, but not at diagnosis in DLBCL, again suggesting that the activity of the SHM process can be influenced by other factors than the ABC/GCB signature.

In conclusion, our data show that progressions in DLBCL can develop from the dominant tumoral population or from the selection of minor subclones, maybe due to their inherent capacity to resist treatments. Alternatively, a significant percentage of clinical evolutions apparently develop from a pool of less mutated post-GC precursors, involved in an active diversification process driven by the SHM machinery.

![Figure][2]

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

 [1]: #F1
 [2]: pending:yes


Vedolizumab, which is used to effectively treat ulcerative colitis (UC), is a humanized monoclonal antibody that specifically inhibits α4β7 integrin on lymphocytes and prevents lymphocyte migration into the intestinal tissues. Herein, we report a case of acute tubulointerstitial nephritis (ATIN) probably caused by vedolizumab in a kidney transplant recipient (KR) with UC. Approximately 4 years after kidney transplantation, the patient developed UC and was treated initially with mesalazine. Treatment continued with the addition of infliximab later; however, he was hospitalized because of poor symptom control and treated with vedolizumab. His graft function declined rapidly after vedolizumab was administered. Allograft biopsy revealed ATIN. Since no evidence of graft rejection was found, vedolizumab-associated ATIN was diagnosed. The patient was treated with steroids, and his graft function improved. Unfortunately, he finally underwent total colectomy considering that UC was refractory to medical treatment. Previously, cases of vedolizumab-induced acute interstitial nephritis have been reported; however, none were associated with KRs. This is the first report of ATIN in KR which was possibly induced by vedolizumab.


We study hypersurfacesmoving under flow that depends on the mean curvature. The approach is based on a numerical technique that embeds the evolving hypersurface as the zero level set of a family of evolving surfaces. In this setting, the resulting partial differential equation for the motion of the level set function may be solved by using numerical techniques borrowed from hyperbolic conservation laws. This technique is applied to several problems: the evolution of a dumbbell, and related many-armed surfaces, collapsing under mean curvature; the construction of a minimal surface attached to a given one-dimensional wire frame in R3, and, more generally, the construction of surfaces whose mean curvature is a prescribed function of position; the motion of curves on two-manifolds under flow that depends on geodesic curvature. Some experiments involving flow controlled by Gaussian curvature are also included.


A grounding grid is designed with the capacity to minimize the very fast transient overvoltage generated during switching operations in a Gas Insulated Substation (GIS). The methodology takes the reference from the IEEE Std. 80-2000 and contains detailed models of GIS and grounding grid. By means an iterative process, new elements are added to the grounding grid for reducing magnitude of a very fast transient overvoltage in different points of a substation. This permits to improve the levels of personal security and the protection of apparatus in the substation.


X-rays entering a smooth surface such as glass at an extremely low angle reflect while maintaining the original strength (total reflection). An X-ray light-collecting device that produces a high-intensity X-ray microbeam using this phenomenon of X-ray total reflection is the X-ray guide tube. This article compares the X-ray guide tube with other X-ray light-collecting devices and outlines the process of X-ray guide tube development and the effects of the tube.


†† † This paper addresses the problem of using unrealistic mobility scenarios for simulation of adhoc routing protocols. We present CAD-HOC, a cousin tool to Network Simulator (ns), which allows ad-hoc networking experimentation to be performed under visually realistic scenarios such as an airport or a bus terminal, buildings, highways and other facilities. CAD-HOC focuses on capturing the visual scenario and transforming it into mobility and connection benchmarks, which are subsequently fed to ns to drive simulation experiments. Generation of mobility and connection benchmarks is facilitated by allowing the users to choose from Brownian, Column, Pursue, and Nomadic models, or to specify user-defined movements. The tool also provides on-line analyses on ad-hoc mobility, ad-hoc connectivity and message complexity, which give an estimate of the overall ns simulation complexity, as the mobility scenario is built. Comparative simulation based on CAD-HOC generated scenarios raise several questions about the reliability of ns simulation results of ad-hoc routing protocols based on random, non-realistic scenarios.


The capacity to form volatile sulfur compounds was tested in bacteria isolated from subgingival microbiotas and in a representative number of reference strains. A majority of the 75 tested oral bacterial species and 7 unnamed bacterial taxa formed significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide from L-cysteine. The most active bacteria were found in the genera Peptostreptococcus, Eubacterium, Selenomonas, Centipeda, Bacteroides and Fusobacterium. Methyl mercaptan from L-methionine was formed by some members of the genera Fusobacterium, Bacteroides, Porphyromonas and Eubacterium. When incubated in serum for 7 d, the most potent producers of hydrogen sulfide were Treponema denticola and the black-pigmented species, Bacteroides intermedius, Bacteroides loescheii, Porphyromonas endodontalis and Porphyromonas gingivalis. P. endodontalis and P. gingivalis also produced significant amounts of methyl mercaptan in serum. No other volatile sulfur compound was detected in serum or in the presence of L-cysteine and L-methionine. These findings significantly increase the list of oral bacteria known to produce volatile sulfur compounds.


We investigate the phase diagram of a two-band frustrated Hubbard model in the framework of dynamical mean field theory. While a first-order phase transition occurs from a paramagnetic (PM) metal to an antiferromagnetic (AF) insulator when both bands are equally frustrated, an intermediate AF metallic phase appears in each band at different $U_c$ values if only one of the two bands is frustrated, resulting in continuous orbital-selective phase transitions from PM metal to AF metal and AF metal to AF insulator. We argue that such intermediate phases are possibly related to the puzzling AF metallic state with small magnetization observed in undoped iron-pnictide superconductors as well as to the pseudogap features observed in optical experiments.


Is pain-free needle insertion possible? The most widely advocated technique in Dentistry is the use of topical anaesthetics before intra-oral needle insertion. Eutectic Mixture of Local Anaesthetics (EMLA) introduced to reduce the pain associated with venous cannulation and providing surface anaesthetic effect for harvesting skin grafts, was compared with commonly available topical anaesthetics: Lignocaine 2%, Benzocaine 20% and Placebo.The effectiveness was recorded by using Visual analogue scale (VAS),Lickerts' scale and Sound,Eye,Motor(SEM) scale. It was concluded that Eutectic Mixture of Local Anaesthetics (EMLA) showed the maximum reduction in pain. Hence, EMLA eliminates the pain of intra oral needle insertion as it has a greater depth of penetration,other advantages being rapid penetration of skin and mucosa, effective diffusion through the Keratinized tissue and plasma concentration remaining within safe levels justifies its use as a topical anaesthetic in dentistry especially pediatric dentistry.


Researchers investigating mobile and wireless systems can run experiments on many testbeds, but no existing option supports experimentation "in the wild" without sacrificing features such as access to low-level wireless state and efficient scheduling of co-local guests. To fill this void, we present a new architecture for mobile testbeds called CrowdLab. CrowdLab allows researchers to run guest virtual machines on volunteer mobile nodes and ensures efficient use of testbed resources through a new dual-mode networking abstraction and a weakly-consistent, replicated state store called a site directory. We have implemented two CrowdLab prototypes, one for x86 laptops and one for ARM-based Nokia N810 Internet Tablets, and evaluated them using power measurements, micro-benchmarks, and trace-driven emulation. Our evaluation demonstrates that handheld users can contribute 2.5 hours per day to CrowdLab and still have over 12.5 hours of idle time remaining. In addition, emulated mobility-trace replays show that CrowdLab's fault-tolerance mechanisms allow experiments to run uninterrupted, even in the face of high churn rates.


The sudden shift to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic left many instructors wondering how to minimize anxiety while keeping students engaged in their virtual courses. In this study, we explored (i) specific online instructional tasks that caused students to experience anxiety, (ii) factors that hindered student engagement with online instruction, and (iii) changes in student anxiety and engagement between spring 2020 and fall 2020. ABSTRACT The sudden shift to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic left many instructors wondering how to minimize anxiety while keeping students engaged in their virtual courses. In this study, we explored (i) specific online instructional tasks that caused students to experience anxiety, (ii) factors that hindered student engagement with online instruction, and (iii) changes in student anxiety and engagement between spring 2020 and fall 2020. Students enrolled in STEM classes were surveyed at the end of spring 2020 (N = 425) and fall 2020 (N = 347) semesters. Our results show that the majority of student respondents had more anxiety in fall 2020 than in spring 2020 with online learning in general, and less anonymous class activities tended to cause the greatest anxiety. Distractions from the environment and personal technologies commonly prevented engagement in both semesters, but no significant differences were observed between the spring and fall. In contrast, more students reported that health-related stress, work-related stress, and issues with technology prevented participation in fall 2020 than in spring 2020. As institutions consider expanding their online course offerings post-pandemic, these data provide valuable insight into the challenges students experienced with online instruction that can inform future pedagogical choices.


To examine in detail the relationship between fourth (D4) and fifth (D5) phase diastolic blood pressures, we used data from risk factor surveys of 4885 adults. Observers were carefully trained using audio tapes and double-stethoscope exams to record the onset of the first, fourth (muffling), and fifth (disappearance) phases of Korotkoff sounds with random-zero sphygmomanometers. The expected size of the difference between D4 and D5 pressures (D4-D5) was not discussed with observers. D4-D5 was greater (mean +/- SEM) in men (2.4 +/- 0.1 mmHg) than in women (1.9 +/- 0.1 mmHg), but two thirds of D4-D5s were not measurable, that is, 0 mmHg. Larger D4-D5s were associated with higher systolic and D4 levels, lower D5 levels, and younger ages. D4-D5 varied markedly among observers. Approximately 58% of D4-D5s exceeding 10 mmHg occurred among six observers who measured 16% of the blood pressures. However, generally the difference between D4 and D5 measured by our observers and methods was smaller than commonly believed. The possible reasons for this are discussed. We recommend that epidemiological studies measure and report both diastolic readings (D4 and D5) so that their interrelationship may be studied further in other populations.


A systematic approach for a model independent description of phenomenology at the LHC is presented. The most general linear interaction of scalars and fermions with pairs of standard model fields is considered at the renormalizable level. Searches for the new states are devised and the reach of TeVatron and LHC is discussed. Extensions to more general cases with more complicated spectra and interactions mediated by higher dimensional operators are briefly discussed.


Loiss is a novel byte-oriented stream cipher proposed in 2011. In this paper, based on solving systems of linear equations, we propose an improved Guess and Determine attack on Loiss with a time complexity of 2231 and a data complexity of 268, which reduces the time complexity of the Guess and Determine attack proposed by the designers by a factor of 216. Furthermore, a related key chosen IV attack on a scaled-down version of Loiss is presented. The attack recovers the 128-bit secret key of the scaled-down Loiss with a time complexity of 280, requiring 264 chosen IVs. The related key attack is minimal in the sense that it only requires one related key. The result shows that our key recovery attack on the scaled-down Loiss is much better than an exhaustive key search in the related key setting.


We study the coupling between backward- and forward-propagating wave modes, with the same group velocity, in a composite right- and left-handed nonlinear transmission line. Using an asymptotic multiscale expansion technique, we derive a system of two coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations governing the evolution of the envelopes of these modes. We show that this system supports a variety of backward- and forward-propagating vector solitons of the bright-bright, bright-dark, and dark-bright type. Performing systematic numerical simulations in the framework of the original lattice that models the transmission line, we study the propagation properties of the derived vector soliton solutions. We show that all types of the predicted solitons exist, but differ on their robustness: Only bright-bright solitons propagate undistorted for long times, while the other types are less robust, featuring shorter lifetimes. In all cases, our analytical predictions are in very good agreement with the results of the simulations, at least up to times of the order of the solitons' lifetimes.


The invention relates to a method for changing an orientation of a User Interface (UI), the method comprises the steps of detecting a course of motion that is performed on the UI, and changing the orientation of the UI with respect to a device in which the UI is integrated according to the detected course of motion. The course of motion that is performed on the UI may for instance be the dragging of an element across a touch-screen display or the drawing of a gesture on a touch-screen display. The invention further relates to a device, a mobile phone, a computer program and a computer program product.


The relevance. The ХХ century universalism became the platform of the Bauhaus experiment. Author of different art forms took part in it. Today, universalism is transformed into universality. Over the course of a hundred years, the author's thinking system has changed. The composition of the stage work was decided by using household stuff. Household object becomes worthy of the stage space and overlaps the person. The author of the ХХI century regains the right to be the main in interaction with the subject. This is the paradigm shift of the century.
The purpose of the study. Analysis of the transformation of the idea of universality of movement and subject-suit from "Triadical Ballet" and O. Schlemmer's theatre workshop to modern experimental performance projects. Art analysis of the interaction of movement and subject in the stage space of O. Schlemmer, G. Bohner and contemporary authors.
The methodology: historical and comparative analysis.
The result of the study was the analysis of the the author-creator's thinking system of plastic modern work.
The topicality of the study is the analysis of "Bauhaus tanzt II" (2018). Authors: M. Shurkal (Ukraine), A. Possarnig, P. Dominici (Austria).
The practical significance. The experience discussed in the article proves that without the past there is no future. We analyze the change of consciousness of the author-creator, which was visualized in the change of the technique of staged activity. We make a visual change of the way the subject is used on the stage as a scenery or prop, and as an acting character.
The conclusions. The mechanism of possible interaction of the object, costume, dance in the space of creative experiment gave universality to the Bauhaus triad.
We see the value of the transformation of the "Triadic Ballet" of the ХХ century in changing the author's thinking system. At the beginning of the ХХ century, the author's focus is on the suit object, which should be moved. Аt the beginning of the ХХI century the author's focus is on the interaction of the human performer and the object-suit by exploring the possibility of variety and amplitude of the movement.


Young migrants have been the major migrant labor force in urban China. But they may be more vulnerable in quality of life and mental health than other groups, due to their personal characteristic and some social/community policies or management measures. It highlights the need to focus on psychological wellbeing and probe driving and reinforcing factors that influence their mental health. This study aimed to investigate the influence of subjective/objective status and possible pathways of young migrants' life satisfaction and psychological distress. Data on 9838 young migrants in the China Migrants Dynamic Survey were analyzed by LISREL 8.8. A total of 94.03% migrated for jobs or business. Subjective status, including subjective socioeconomic status, social adaptation, and psychological integration, had positive effects on life satisfaction, whereas social adaptation and psychological integration negatively affected psychological distress. Objective status, including objective socioeconomic status and health insurance, had adverse effects on life satisfaction, whereas they positively affected psychological distress. Social participation and city belonging had only significant positive mediating roles on life satisfaction. It is essential to increase social adaptation and decrease integration stress according to younger internal migrants' practical needs. It is also necessary to enhance community/social resources and activities in the context of developing sustainability in the community to assist in mental health promotion.


A system of two dual-band dual-polarized antennas is proposed. It operates in two bands, 700 to 862 MHz and 2.5 to 2.69 GHz, thereby making it suitable for LTE applications. The design is composed of two compact orthogonal monopoles printed close to each other to perform diversity in mobile terminals such as tablets or laptops. For each band, two orthogonal polarizations are available and an isolation higher than 15 dB is achieved between the two monopoles spaced by λ0/10 (where λ0 the central wavelength in free space of the lower band). A good agreement is observed between simulated and experimental results. The antenna diversity capability is highlighted with the calculation of envelope correlation and mean effective gain for several antennas' positions in different environment scenarios.


'The child has been happy and in good health when suddenly a strange, terrifying feeling comes over him, the world goes black and he awakes to find himself in bed, the family excited and worried, and the doctor beside him. Big words are spoken, medicine prescribed, and he is made to stay in bed for the rest of the day with a dull headache and nothing to do. What happened, why all the excitement? He does not know, and something in the atmosphere gives him the feeling that he should not ask. The episode is never mentioned again.... Every day he is asked how he feels.... It does come again with the same feeling. He tries to run to mother, tries to call for help, but the awful blackness is upon him. Again he wakes to family excitement, but this time the doctor is sewing up a cut on his forehead, or he finds his tongue is very sore. . . . He hopes he will never get another one. But others follow, and he has them with increasing terror at the onset, and in between he is in more and more continual dread of them. Life becomes centred around these miserable spells, visits to doctors and hospitals, needles, medicines-everything that a boy wants to avoid. Furthermore, he is no longer allowed to go to school or to ride his bicycle. Why? A silly excuse for an answer. All the other children do, why shouldn't I? She doesn't like me. The other children act strangely towards him now....'


This article provides an analysis and discussion of the impacts of neoliberal, religiously conservative educational policies on early childhood education (ECE) in Turkey. After an introduction, the article is presented in four sections. The first section provides an overview of neoliberal, religiously conservative policies in the Turkish educational system since the 1980s. The second section presents a brief history of ECE. The third section reports on the impact of neoliberal, religiously conservative education policies on ECE, especially focusing on the last decade. The fourth section concludes with a discussion of the way in which ECE in Turkey is being approached as an economic and ideological education institution troubled by inequalities, rather than as one with a firm basis of equal rights in education.


Abstract Cellulose is a biodegradable polymer produced sustainably in large quantities by nature. It has been used by mankind for centuries because of its favorable properties, but suffers disadvantages such as the high cost of production and limited processibility. For example, it cannot be melted and is only soluble in less common solvents. The latter limitation can be overcome through appropriate derivatization of cellulose, which increases the solubility range and may generate thermoplastic materials. This paper will review three new developments leading to enhanced utilization of cellulosics. Firstly, an overview is given of the progress in the formulation of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic cellulose composites to facilitate extrusion processing. Cellulose-polypropylene composites show enhanced properties in comparison with neat polypropylene, and offer scope for replacing composites containing glass fibers, owing to resultant advantages in weight, recyclability, and ease of disposal. Progress is also reported in improving the predictability of essential physical quantities and melt flow in cellulose esters. Finally, an account is given of the successful development of microcrystalline cellulose (CFM) derivatives, synthesized in a heterogeneous manner, as chiral recognition agents in liquid chromatography. The structural features of these materials are decisive for their use. A model is proposed for the morphology of the cellulosic fibrils.


ABSTRACT This study investigates the intertwined effects of the employee-organization relationship (EOR), internal communication, and employees' situational perceptions on individuals' communicative behaviors – seeking and voicing – during periods of organizational crisis. Using the situational theory of problem solving (STOPS), the current study investigates employees' cognitive reactions as well as how their communicative behaviors are affected by the pre-crisis EOR and organizations' symmetrical communication effort in a crisis. An online survey was conducted with 410 full-time U.S. employees working in large corporations. Results indicated that a favorable pre-crisis relationship between an organization and its employees significantly affects how they perceive a crisis and their communicative behaviors. Employees' perceived symmetrical communication strengthens the relationship between the pre-established relationship with employees and their crisis perceptions. Findings provide a comprehensive picture of the process by which the EOR directs employee behaviors in a crisis, as well as the positive effects of symmetrical internal communication. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.


Energy-efficiency is generally regarded as one of the fundamental challenges for wireless sensor networks and the radio part is a major contributor to overall energy consumption of a sensor node. A Radio Triggered Sensor MAC (RTM) protocol was introduced in the literature, which could harvest the overall energy consumption in WSNs. In this paper, we propose, design and develop hardware which we refer as Passive Radio Sensor (PRS) and use is to study the RTM protocol in WSNs. A general radio transceiver, typically used in WSN, consumes a significant amount of energy when periodically listening to data messages. Our proposed transceiver hardware, PRS, powered by the incoming radio signals themselves and hence significantly reduces node energy consumption that is wasted in radio communications. The PRS circuit is independent of any other components on the node1.


Fixtures control the positions and orientations of parts in an assembly process. Inaccuracies of fixture locators or nonoptimal fixture layouts can result in the deviation of a workpiece from its design nominal and lead to overall product dimensional variability and low process yield. Major challenges involving the design of a set of fixture layouts for multistation assembly system can be enumerated into three categories: (1) highdimensional design space since a large number of locators are involved in the multistation system, (2) large and complex design space for each locator since the design space represents the area of a particular part or subassembly surfaces on which a locator is placed, (here, the design space varies with a particular part design and is further expanded when parts are assembled into subassemblies), and (3) the nonlinear relations between locator nominal positions and key product characteristics. This paper presents a new approach to improve process yield by determining an optimum set of fixture layouts for a given multistation assembly system, which can satisfy (1) the part and subassembly locating stability in each fixture layout and (2) the fixture system robustness against environmental noises in order to minimize product dimensional variability. The proposed methodology is based on a two-step optimization which involves the integration of genetic algorithm and Hammersley sequence sampling. First, genetic algorithm is used for design space reduction by estimating the areas of optimal fixture locations in initial design spaces. Then, Hammersley sequence sampling uniformly samples the candidate sets of fixture layouts from those predetermined areas for the optimum. The process yield and part instability index are design objectives in evaluating candidate sets of fixture layouts. An industrial case study illustrates and validates the proposed methodology. DOI: 10.1115/1.2977826


Rapid rate of industrialization, urbanization and automobile, cause severe contamination to air and soil. There
has been exponential increase in numbers of automobiles in Indian subcontinent. In this study we used four native
soil microorganisms for remediation of petroleum contaminated sites at Jaipur, India. The land areas of examination
were exclusively selected for its use as a stand for heavy transport vehicles. Surface soil was collected from the areas
within and surroundings of the Transport Nagar, Jaipur. Physiochemical studies, total petroleum hydrocarbon and
effect of various bacterial consortia were investigated. Results show that pH, electrical conductivity, bicarbonate and
water holding capacity in test samples (T1, T2 and T3) were substantially reduced. Measurement of chloride
however, showed huge elevation (P<0.05) in all three test samples (T1, T2 and T3), which was calculated as 53.9
mg/100 g, 71 mg/100 g and 146.26 mg/100 g, respectively. Wide ranges of alkanes (C8 to C29) including both short
chain and long chain alkanes were found in test samples. New peaks were observed following treatment with
bacterial consortia. In test sample T1 intermediate compounds were observed. The best result was recorded for
consortium D and E. Among these two consortia, consortium D (P. rhodesiae, C. henricii and P. koreense) showed
exceptional growth from 3rd day onward. At 10th day of incubation growth of consortium D reached highest peak
which was nearly 2-3 folds greater than other consortia. Our results showed that consortium D was a completely
usable and functional bioremediation tool to improve soil physiochemical characteristics and with effective biodegradation
of petroleum hydrocarbon.