A semi-dynamic timing analysis flow of dynamic drop consideration applicable to a large-scale circuit is proposed. This technique is compared not only with SPICE simulation but with measurements using built-in noise probing and on-chip delay monitoring techniques, which validates the proposed flow


Since the introduction of coronary stents into clinical practice in the late 1980s, the number of stent implantations has increased so rapidly that stents are currently used in over 80 percent of all percutaneous coronary interventions. Although stent implantation was initially limited to large vessels with proximal and discrete lesions, improvements in stent design and implantation technique now allow their deployment in more complex lesions in smaller and diffusely diseased vessels. The overall acceptance of stents by interventional cardiologists can be attributed to favorable acute and longterm results compared to balloon angioplasty alone. Interventionalists have also been quick to embrace the smoother and larger lumen after stenting, in a shorter procedure time and with no additional risk, especially since the risk of stent thrombosis has been overcome by the introduction of dual antiplatelet therapy with Aspirin and Ticlopidine or Clopidogrel. Although restenosis and the need for reinterventions is lower after stenting compared to balloon angioplasty it still remains significant with about 15 percent of all patients returning for an other revascularization procedure. Meanwhile, a completely new generation of stents promises to eliminate the problem of restenosis. Drug-eluting stents, coated with antiproliferative substances have been successfully tested in small randomized trials. The restenosis rates at 6 and 12 months were extremely low ranging between zero and nine percent, with no clinical drawbacks so far. If these results hold up in longer follow up and in real life practice with more complex lesions stented the treatment of symptomatic coronary artery disease will change even more dramatically.


PurposeCareers have come to dominate contemporary discourse on gendered entrepreneurship. This paper aims to explore entrepreneurial careers as recounted by commercially successful female entrepreneurs to examine how they strategize to construct desirable careers in contexts characterized by underdeveloped markets and weak institutions.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative research design, data for our inquiry come from publicly available life history accounts of 20 female entrepreneurs appearing on an enterprise focus television show in Nigeria. The authors supplemented the television interview data with archival data in the form of publicly available digital footprints of the entrepreneurs collected from their company websites, magazines, online newspapers featuring these entrepreneurs and their social media pages such as LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Facebook and Instagram.FindingsThe careers of female entrepreneurs operating in context of underdeveloped institution and markets, the authors found, are characterized by four heterogeneous ingrained dispositions and actions reflecting how they got in and got on with their entrepreneurial careers: (1) "Observing and playing business," (2) traipsing the "path less traveled," (3) a hook to the "Pierian spring" of entrepreneurship and (4) "Grace under pressure" in decision-making.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the entrepreneurship literature by providing insight into the lived experiences, agency and careers of commercially successful female entrepreneurs as played out in the form of a contextual practice of "wayfinding" to starting up and managing their own business ventures.


AIM
to assess effect of correction of moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR) in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (IMC) in immediate and remote period.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We included in a single center prospective study 76 patients with IMC, left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35 %, and moderate IMR. Patients with indications to postinfarction aneurism repair were not included. For randomization we used the method of envelopes. Thirty-eight patients were randomized in the group where coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) was combined with of mitral valve repair (MVR), and 38 patients in the control group of isolated CABG. Mean age of patients was 57±8 (from 30 to 75 лет) years. For IMR correction we used rigid MEDENG ring. Results. Inhospital mortality was 5.4 % (n=2) after isolated CABG and 10.81 % (n=4) after CABG + MVR. Main cause of death was acute heart failure. One- and 2‑year survival was 84 and 78 %, respectively, after CABG+MVR, and 84 and 71 % after isolated CABG. There was significant difference in three-year survival between groups (hazard ratio [HR] of death 0.457, p=0.04). Five-year survival was 45 and 74 % after isolated CABG and CABG+MVR, respectively (р=0.037). Factors associated with inhospital mortality were pulmonary hypertension (HR 2.177, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 2.299 to 9.831; p=0.043), NYHA class IV chronic heart failure (HR 3.027, 95 % CI 1.605 to 5.707; р=0.001), negative result of stress test echocardiography (HR 0.087, 95 %CI 0.041 to 0.186; р<0.001), atrial fibrillation (HR 4.754, 95 %CI 2.299 to 9.831; р<0.001).

CONCLUSION
Correction of moderate IMR in patients with IMC leads to improvement of parameters of survival in remote period. Five-year survival after isolated CABG was 45 %, while after CABG+MVR - 74 % (р=0.037).


Eighteen male patients, mean aged of 55.7 years, affected by psoriasis were treated for an average of 19 days with fluocinolone acetonide (FA) using an occlusive traditional dressing with a 0.025% cream or with a medicated plastic porous tape (8 micrograms/cm2), according to a controlled hemipart design. The average total quantity of FA administrated for each patient was 3.431 mg on the side treated with tape and 19.827 mg on the side treated with cream. Both the treatments showed excellent efficacy (ANOVA between times p less than 0.01), better with the tape than with the occlusive conventional dressing. The patients preferred the use of the tape to the cream. The tolerability was very good. Treatment with the medicated tape was shown to be more effective than the occlusive traditional dressing, and yielded a reduction of the quantity of corticosteroid administrated to the patients.


Initial sequencing of the human and mouse genomes revealed that substantial fractions were composed of retroelements (REs) and endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), the latter being relics of ancestral retroviral infection. Further study revealed ERVs constitute up to 10% of many mammalian genomes. Despite this abundance, comparatively little is known about their interactions, beneficial or detrimental, with the host.
This thesis details two distinct sets of interactions with the immune system. Firstly, the presentation of ERV-derived peptides to developing lymphocytes was shown to exert a control on the immune response to infection with Friend Virus (FV). A self peptide encoded by an ERV negatively selected a significant fraction of polyclonal FV-specific CD4+ T cells and resulted in an impaired immune response. However, CD4+ T cell-mediated antiviral activity was fully preserved and repertoire analysis revealed a deletional bias according to peptide affinity, resulting in an effective enrichment of high-affinity CD4+ T cells. Thus, ERVs exerted a significant influence on the immune response, a mechanism that may partially contribute to the heterogeneity seen in human immune responses to retroviral infections.
Secondly, a requirement for specific antibodies was shown in the control of ERVs. In a range of mice displaying distinct deficiencies in antibody production, products from the intestinal microbiota potentially induce ERV expression. Subsequent recombinational correction of a defective murine leukaemia virus (MLV) results in the emergence of infectious virus. In the long term, this leads to retrovirus-induced lymphomas and morbidity. ERVs, therefore, provide a potential link between the intestinal microbiota and a range of pathologies, including cancer. Finally, a new computational tool, REquest, was developed for use in the above studies. REquest allows the mining of retroelement (RE) and ERV expression data from the majority of commercially available human and murine microarray platforms and allows rapid hypothesis testing with publicly available data.


Several benthic cyanobacteria were found to produce significant amounts of extracellular flocculants. The macromolecular flocculants produced by Phormidium sp. strain J-1 and Anabaenopsis circularis PCC 6720 were characterized. The Phormidium flocculant is a sulfated heteropolysaccharide to which fatty acids and protein are bound. The polysaccharide backbone is composed of uronic acids, rhamnose, mannose, and galactose. The A. circularis flocculant is also an acidic polysaccharide containing keto acid residues and neutral sugars, but to which no fatty acids, proteins, or sulfates are linked. Both flocculants could be recovered from growth medium by precipitation with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and were found to bind the cationic dye Alcian-blue in a linear proportion to their concentration in solution. The latter property was used to quantify flocculant concentrations in culture supernatants and natural water samples and to compute their anion densities.


ABSTRACT Guided by the Next Generation Science Standards and elements of problem-based learning, four human–environment systems simulations are described in brief—carbon, energy, water, and watershed—and a fifth simulation on nitrogen is described in more depth. These science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education simulations illustrate design principles that make them engaging to students, such as dynamic visual environments that are controlled by the user and immediate visual feedback to user actions taken. The simulations are contextualized in real-world natural resources management challenges involving biogeochemical cycles, such as Gulf of Mexico hypoxia, which provide an opportunity to "win the game," while the introduction of complexity in steps provides scaffolding. Pretest versus posttest results indicate a substantial and statistically significant improvement in learning outcomes resulting from using the nitrogen simulation, though there was no comparable pedagogical control group. Attitudinal feedback indicates rich student engagement with the nitrogen simulation.


We present a novel implementation of supermassive black hole (SMBH) formation, dynamics and accretion in the massively parallel tree+SPH code, CHANGA. This approach improves the modelling of SMBHs in fully cosmological simulations, allowing for a more detailed analysis of SMBH-galaxy co-evolution throughout cosmic time. Our scheme includes novel, physically motivated models for SMBH formation, dynamics and sinking timescales within galaxies and SMBH accretion of rotationally supported gas. The sub-grid parameters that regulate star formation (SF) and feedback from SMBHs and SNe are optimized against a comprehensive set of z = 0 galaxy scaling relations using a novel, multidimensional parameter search. We have incorporated our new SMBH implementation and parameter optimization into a new set of high-resolution, large-scale cosmological simulations called ROMULUS. We present initial results from our flagship simulation, ROMULUS25, showing that our SMBH model results in SF efficiency, SMBH masses and global SF and SMBH accretion histories at high redshift that are consistent with observations. We discuss the importance of SMBH physics in shaping the evolution of massive galaxies and show how SMBH feedback is much more effective at regulating SF compared to SNe feedback in this regime. Further, we show how each aspect of our SMBH model impacts this evolution compared to more common approaches. Finally, we present a science application of this scheme studying the properties and time evolution of an example dual active galactic nucleus system, highlighting how our approach allows simulations to better study galaxy interactions and SMBH mergers in the context of galaxy-BH co-evolution.


Liquidity and its management determines to a great extent the growth and profitability of a firm. This is because either inadequate liquidity or excess liquidity may be injurious to the smooth operations of the organization. This seeming controversy has attracted a lot of interest in the subject of liquidity management. The primary aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between liquidity and profitability. The analysis is based on a sample of 30 manufacturing companies listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange for the period 2006- 2010. The result suggests that current ratio and liquid ratio are positively associated with profitability while cash conversion period is negatively related with profitability of manufacturing companies in Nigeria. The association in all the cases was however, statistically insignificant, indicating low degree of influence of liquidity on the profitability of manufacturing companies. Hence, the overall state of liquidity should be improved by establishing more realistic credit policy which would engender shorter cash conversion period (CCP), hence have a favourable impact on the profitability of the company


Direct yaw moment control can maintain the vehicle stability in critical situation. For four-wheel independently driven (4WD) electric vehicle with in-wheel motors (IWMs), direct yaw moment control (DYC) can be easily achieved. A fairly accurate calculation of the required yaw moment can improve vehicle stability. A novel sliding mode control (SMC) technique is employed for the motion control so as to track the desired vehicle motion, which is it for different working circumstances compared to the well-used traditional DYC. Through the weighted least square algorithm, the lower controller is used to determine the torque properly allocated to each wheel according to the desired yaw moment. Several actuator constraints are considered in the control strategy. In addition, a nonlinear tire model is utilized to improve the accuracy of tire lateral force estimation. Then, simulations are carried out and the values of vehicle states are compared. The simulation results show that the control system proposed can effectively improve the handling stability of the vehicle.


Dens invaginatus is a developmental anomaly resulting in a deepening or invagination of the enamel organ into the dental papilla prior to calcification of the dental tissues. The prevalence has been reported to vary from 0.04% to 10%. Dens invaginatus commonly affects lateral incisors and very rarely affects the mesiodens. This article presents a rare case of type II dens invaginatus affecting an impacted mesiodens in a 13-year-old boy and describes its gross and histological features. The associated tooth was dilated and showed invaginated enamel and dentin extending beyond the cement enamel junction. In this case, the clinical diagnosis was confirmed by histological evaluation of the internal morphology using a hard tissue microtome to section the tooth.


Mobile satellite relay voice communications systems must provide high quality and reliable voice communications using relatively simple and inexpensive mobile equipment and easily achievable effective isotropic radiated power. High noise level reception will occur with analog voice communication systems operating over a power-limited link. At high noise levels, the low-level speech phonemes become masked by noise, which results in reduced speech intelligibility. In addition, a listener subjected over an extended period of time to this high noise level can become discomforted to the extent that his ability to understand what is being communicated is significantly reduced. An amplitude control technique has been employed for use with analog voice communication systems, which improves low-level phoneme reception and eliminates the received noise between words and syllables. Tests were conducted at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on a narrow-band frequency-modulation simplex voice communication channel employing the amplitude control technique. Presented for both the modified rhyme word tests and the phonetically balanced word tests are a series of graphical plots of the tests' score distribution, mean, and standard deviation as a function of received carrier-to-noise power density ratio. At low received carrier-to-noise power density ratios, a significant improvement in the intelligibility was obtained. A voice intelligibility improvement of more than 2 dB was obtained for the modified rhyme test words, and a voice intelligibility improvement in excess of 4 dB was obtained for the phonetically balanced word tests.


This work presents a supervisory control strategy for Networked Control Systems (NCSs). This shows the identification and control of the plant using fuzzy theory. The fuzzy model incorporates the delay dynamics within the fuzzy rules based upon a real-time scheduling strategy. The controller is composed by a nominal control (PID) and a supervisory control which is proposed from the delay dynamics following the related predefined time delays. A scheduling algorithm is used based upon codesign strategy following mutual correlation among control and network algorithms. A system of magnetic levitation is presented as a case study.


We consider the problem of improving kernel approximation via randomized feature maps. These maps arise as Monte Carlo approximation to integral representations of kernel functions and scale up kernel methods for larger datasets. Based on an efficient numerical integration technique, we propose a unifying approach that reinterprets the previous random features methods and extends to better estimates of the kernel approximation. We derive the convergence behaviour and conduct an extensive empirical study that supports our hypothesis.


Extensive evidence shows that lump sum investing (LSI) beats dollar-cost averaging (DCA) in most stock markets. We show that DCA investors are not doomed to inferior returns. Motivated by the clean surplus accounting model of asset pricing, we consider a DCA strategy that invests in stocks with a high gross profits-to-asset ratio and high dividend yield. Using block bootstrap simulations of long-horizon (20-year) returns, we show that this profitable dividend yield strategy significantly outperforms LSI in the market index in many dimensions.


The location based encryption or Geo-Encryption technique that uses GPS technology to enhance the data security. This concept is developed so that at a particular position and time, the specific recipient will decrypt the files. This technology will be used to restrict unauthorized user for any violation. The approach is to use a security system to secure data by using an encryption algorithm and particular coordinates of the recipient with tolerance distance. It will set a limit to decrypt that encrypted data. It is an innovative technique to encode the location information into the encrypted keys. If an unauthorized person attempts to decrypt the file at some other location, the security system will not reveal any information about that original plain text.


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs of endogenous origin. Accumulating studies have shown aberrant miRNA expression plays an important role in many tumor types. However, the mechanisms by which miRNAs regulate esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) development remain poorly understood. In the present study, we assayed expression level of miR-192 in ESCC tissues and cell lines by real-time PCR, and defined the target gene and biological function by luciferase reporter assay, Western blot and apoptosis assay. We first verified that the expression level of miR-192 was significantly increased in ESCC tissues and cancer cells. Moreover, miR-192 over-expression inhibited cells apoptosis and promoted ESCC cells proliferation. We further demonstrated that miR-192 directly targeted 3'-UTR of Bim gene, and inhibited its protein expression. Importantly, Bim could reduce ESCC cells apoptosis ability induced by miR-192. These data suggest an important role of miR-192 in the molecular etiology of ESCC and implicate the potential application of miR-192 in ESCC therapy.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this cohort study was to evaluate the prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular risk factors in the studied population.

METHODS
Presented results are a part of the Polish-Norwegian Study (PONS) project. The study group consisted of 3,862 inhabitants of Świętokrzyskie Province aged 45-64 years (2,572 females and 1,290 males).

RESULTS
Prevalence, awareness and control of hypertension was evaluated in the studied population of 3,854 urban and rural inhabitants. Mean blood pressure in the whole studied population was 139.6/81.9 mmHg; of the studied population 61.7% were hypertensive. Hypertension was more prevalent in the studied males (70.63%) than in the females (57.24%). In both males and females, the older subgroups (55-64 y.o.) had significantly higher blood pressure than the younger subgroups (45-54). Education had a significant impact on the prevalence of hypertension, and the highest prevalence of hypertension was observed in the middle level educated groups of females and males. No significant difference was observed between rural and urban inhabitants. In both females and males, the prevalence of hypertension significantly decreased with level of education. Hypertension was well-controlled in only 13.8% of the subjects. More studied females than males achieved good control of blood pressure (14.09 vs. 12.7%), and better control of blood pressure was significantly more frequent in better those who were better educated. Hypertension was not diagnosed in 23.2% of studied population. Significantly, more males than females had undiagnosed hypertension (30.4 vs. 19.5%). No significant difference between rural and urban populations was observed. Interestingly, both in females and males, the better educated groups had more undiagnosed hypertension than those who were well-educated.

CONCLUSIONS
The studied group had a high prevalence of hypertension (61.7%), which was less frequent and better controlled in the studied females than in the males. No significant difference was observed between the urban and rural populations. Level of education had significant impact on the prevalence of hypertension.


Most markets that choose settlement day following expiration day select opening price rather than closing price as final settlement price (FSP) when index derivatives expire, while most markets that choose settlement day the same as expiration day select an average price rather than a single price as FSP. This study resolves this puzzle by exploring sources of expiration-day effects and investigates whether and how settlement procedures affect the trading in the underlying stock market at expiration of index derivatives. Four exogenous changes in TAIFEX settlement procedures provide us an excellent experimental ground to study the impact of the nature of settlement procedures on liquidity, market efficiency, and price discovery. We find market efficiency has the least reduction if FSP is determined by a single price, yet market efficiency is moved from the opening to pre-opening period if FSP is calculated by an average price. Moreover, we find a tradeoff between liquidity, market efficiency, and price discovery and manipulation prevention.


In this paper, we present self-supervised shared latent embedding (S3LE), a data-driven motion retargeting method that enables the generation of natural motions in humanoid robots from motion capture data or RGB videos. While it requires paired data consisting of human poses and their corresponding robot configurations, it significantly alleviates the necessity of time-consuming data-collection via novel paired data generating processes. Our self-supervised learning procedure consists of two steps: automatically generating paired data to bootstrap the motion retargeting, and learning a projection-invariant mapping to handle the different expressivity of humans and humanoid robots. Furthermore, our method guarantees that the generated robot pose is collision-free and satisfies position limits by utilizing nonparametric regression in the shared latent space. We demonstrate that our method can generate expressive robotic motions from both the CMU motion capture database and YouTube videos.


The Lower Devonian deposits were characterized in terms of their composition, texture and secondary transformations, the distribution of various types of pore space was analyzed and several types of dolomite textures were identified. The analysis showed that permeability, solubility and primary texture of carbonate rock or sediment, as well as temperature, volume and exposure time of dolomitizing fluids are key factors for dolomitization and depending on these factors dolomitization can lead to not only increase but also decrease of porosity.


Black walnut (Juglans nigra) is a specialty nut crop produced in the central USA. Most nuts are harvested from unimproved wild trees and are of poor quality; however, a growing number of nuts are coming from grafted orchards with superior quality. Our objective was to study the feasibility of converting mature unimproved black walnut trees to improved cultivars by grafting or top-working. A 20-year-old black walnut planting in southwest Missouri was used. 108 trees were divided into blocks and randomly designated as ungrafted, or grafted to one of three cultivars ('Sparrow', 'Kwik-Krop', 'Emma K') in May 2009. Fungicide treatments applied to rootstock trunks were also studied. Initial grafting success was 94%. Seven grafted trees had broken or died within five years leaving an overall success rate of 81%. By 2014, scion height averaged 5.5 m with mean girth 13.2 cm. As expected, increase in trunk diameter at breast height (137 cm) was greater in ungrafted trees (27.1%) compared with grafted trees (21.8%). Also as expected, nut production was reduced among grafted trees during the healing process; ungrafted trees yielded a cumulative average of 298 nuts tree-1 over five years, whereas grafted trees yielded 28 nuts. At the common market price of US $ 0.22 kg-1 for unimproved black walnuts, that represents an economic loss of only $ 88 over five years from 54 grafted trees. While top-working established black walnut trees is labor intensive, and may result in loss of some trees, the process is horticulturally feasible and the economic trade-off appears justifiable.


Five amphipathic peptides with antimicrobial, hemolytic, and insecticidal activity were isolated from the crude venom of the wolf spider Oxyopes kitabensis. The peptides, named oxyopinins, are the largest linear cationic amphipathic peptides from the venom of a spider that have been chemically characterized at present. According to their primary structure Oxyopinin 1 is composed of 48 amino acid residues showing extended sequence similarity to the ant insecticidal peptide ponericinL2 and to the frog antimicrobial peptide dermaseptin. Oxyopinins 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d have highly similar sequences. At least 27 out of 37 amino acid residues are conserved. They also show a segment of sequence similar to ponericinL2. Circular dichroism analyses showed that the secondary structure of the five peptides is essentially α-helical. Oxyopinins showed disrupting activities toward both biological membranes and artificial vesicles, particularly to those rich in phosphatidylcholine. Electrophysiological recordings performed on insect cells (Sf9) showed that the oxyopinins produce a drastic reduction of cell membrane resistance by opening non-selective ion channels. Additionally, a new paralytic neurotoxin named Oxytoxin 1 was purified from the same spider venom. It contains 69 amino acid residue cross-linked by five disulfide bridges. Application of mixtures containing oxyopinins and Oxytoxin 1 to insect larvae showed a potentiation phenomenon, by which an increase lethality effect is observed. These results suggest that the linear amphipathic peptides in spider venoms and neuropeptides cooperate to capture insects efficiently.


Potential ecotourism attraction in Rajegwesi Village, Meru Betiri National Park is high due to its high biodiversity, especially bird diversity, in the form of bird watching activity. This study was aimed to determine the species, level of abundance, and diversity of birds found in the Rajegwesi area. Further, this basic information is important to develop the bird watching track at Rajegwesi. We used Quantum-GIS to create the land classification and observation mapping. Bird observation used point count method in the morning and evening with three periods of hour and three repetitions. The study confirmed about 76 species of 39 bird families was found in Rajegwesi. The highest abundance was Pygnonotus goiavier (E:Yellow-vented Bulbul), at the meadows, village, and rehabilitation land. The diversity index showed that the highest diversity was found at the heterogeneous forest (H' index 3.745), followed by homogenous forest (H' index 3.150), rehabilitation land (H' index 2.845), village (H' index 2.693), paddy fields (H' index 2.529), and savanna (H' index 1.880). The observation track was divided into 3 lines based on the bird's distribution, the Village – Rehabilitation Land track (6.5 Km), Village track (2.3 Km), and Village – Rafflessia Park track (7.5 Km). Total of 25 bird species were found at the Village – Rehabilitation Land track, 22 species were found at the Village track, and 29 bird species were found at the Village – Rafflessia Park track. For the future of ecotourism development through birding development program, there are several issues that should be promoted: promoting birds conservation in the community through bird watching and birds observation competition (Bird race), training on conservation and ecotourism for the community, and strengthening the capacity and capability of Rajegwesi Ecotourism Society (RES) on the ecotourism program management. Keywords: bird watching, conservation, ecotourism development, RES


Cotton fibers found large applications especially in the woven and non-woven industrials. The cotton fibers exhibit good properties but it have main drawback because it is easy and rapid flammable. To overcome on this drawback, several works were done. These works focused on the properties of fibers or treated with flame retardant materials. The present work aimed to study the flammability of fibers in presence of flame retardant materials. A novel flame retardant material was prepared by using simple method. The produced sample contains the Ammonium poly phosphate (APP), montmorillonite (Mt) and Melamine (M). The prepared samples were characterized by using Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Also, the flammability of the treated samples was done by using the limiting oxygen index (LOI). The results of characterization indicated that the flame retardant formula was incorporated into the fibers as shown SEM. The mechanism of the incorporation was discussed, the flammability results show that the values for LOI increases from 19.2 for 100%cotton to 26.2 for treated samples.


Tsunami science has evolved differently from research on other extreme natural hazards, primarily because of the unavailability until recently of instrumental recordings of tsunamis in the open ocean. Here, the progress towards developing tsunami inundation modelling tools for use in inundation forecasting is discussed historically from the perspective of hydrodynamics. The state-of-knowledge before the 26 December 2004 tsunami is described. Remaining aspects for future research are identified. One, validated inundation models need to be further developed through benchmark testing and instrumental tsunameter measurements and standards for operational codes need to be established. Two, a methodology is needed to better quantify short-duration impact forces on structures. Three, the mapping of vulnerable continental margins to identify unrecognized hazards must proceed expeditiously, along with palaeotsunami research to establish repeat intervals. Four, the development of better coupling between deforming seafloor motions and model initialization needs further refinement. Five, in an era of global citizenship, more comprehensive educational efforts on tsunami hazard mitigation are necessary worldwide.


In many countries, we have seen an increase in economic inequality over the past 20 to 25 years. The populations might therefore have changed their attitude about how and how much different countries should intervene to reduce the extent of economic inequality. A question is whether there is any connection between changes in redistribution preferences and trends in economic inequality in the prosperous Nordic welfare states. This article contributes by examining whether there are differences in redistribution attitude and changes herein based upon socio-economic criteria, which might include self-interest arguments. Nordic countries are interesting because there have been differences in development, and even strong growth in economic inequality, especially in Sweden and Denmark, although these countries in the literature have been seen as highly equal societies. The analysis shows that support for redistribution is relatively stable over time in each country, but also that there are major differences between countries, with support being much higher in Finland compared with Denmark. Females, discriminated groups and the unemployed generally support redistribution to a higher degree. Ageing generally increases redistributional support, while more education reduces support for government redistribution in Finland. In all four countries, the highest income groups are less supportive of redistribution of income.


Hematological parameters and the iron status of 50 randomly selected infants who were attending the research infant welfare clinic of the Institute of Child Health, Ibadan (ICHI), for routine immunization were studied. Investigations included estimations of packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb), serum iron (Fe), unsaturated iron-binding capacity (UIBC) and total iron-binding Capacity (TIBC). Forty percent of the infants had PCVs below 0.32, 48% had Hbs below 10 g/dl and 27% had mean corpuscular volume (MVC) less that 70fl. Thirty-seven percent of the children had serum Fe below 3.58 mmol/l, but only 4% had UIBC above 320 mmol/l. Fifty-two percent had Transferin Saturation Index (TSI) below 10%. Eighteen percent had MCV below 70fl associated with TSI below 10% and 67% of these had Hbs below 10 g/dl. The prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia in infants as shown in this study is very high. The ill effects of iron deficiency in childhood have been well documented. It is suggested that screening for anaemia should be offered at 9 months as part of a Child Survival Programme and that infants found to be anaemic should be treated. However, for cost-effectiveness and taking into consideration the high prevalence rate of iron deficiency in this age group, it might be preferable to give iron and weekly prophylactic antimalarias routinely to infants aged 9 to 15 months in lieu of screening.


Causes of non-obstetric sepsis in pregnant women include malaria, HIV and pneumonia. Urinary tract infections are often linked as the most common cause of infection in pregnancy. Common causes of sepsis are gram-negative bacteria such as Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas sp and Eschericia coli. High risk for pregnant women is a condition of deviation from normal which directly causes morbidity and death of both mother and baby breech location in premigravida, severe infection/sepsis, preterm labor. Based on this description, researchers were interested in screening bacteria in pregnant women with sepsis in Mamuju Regency in West Sulawesi Province. The purpose of this study was to detect the presence of bacteria in pregnant women in Mamuju Regency. This type of research is descriptive observational research. The time of the study is in the months of May to November 2019. The population was all pregnant women who visit the PKM and/or Hospital in Mamuju Regency, taken using the accidental Sampling method. The results showed a bacterial infection with gram-negative (rod) and gram-positive (round) types in pregnant women. Early detection of the incidence of infection and the cause of the infection is still needed so the researchers recommend that early screening be done on pregnant women. This research can be continued with various specimens such as sputum or wound swabs in women with caesarean section.
Keywords: pregnant women; infections; bacteria; gram negative


Using the IllustrisTNG simulation, we study the interaction of large-scale shocks with the circum-galactic medium (CGM) and interstellar medium (ISM) of star-forming (SF) satellite galaxies in galaxy clusters. These shocks are usually produced by mergers and massive accretion. Our visual inspection shows that approximately half of SF satellites have encountered shocks in their host clusters at z ≤ 0 . 11. After a satellite crosses a shock front and enters the postshock region, the ram pressure on it is boosted significantly. Both the CGM and ISM can be severely impacted, either by striping or compression. The stripping of the ISM is particularly important for low-mass galaxies with log( M ∗ / M (cid:12) ) < 10 and can occur even in the outskirts of galaxy clusters. In comparison, satellites that do not interact with shocks lose their ISM only in the inner regions of clusters. About half of the ISM is stripped within about 0.6 Gyr after it crosses the shock front. Our results show that shock-induced stripping plays an important role in quenching satellite galaxies in clusters.


Abstract 1434 Poster Board I-457 Which cells are susceptible to leukemic transformation and which cellular properties need to be altered to cause transformation are critical issues in the understanding of leukemogenesis. We have identified that the engineered fusion gene between NUP98 and the homeodomain of HOXA10 (NA10hd) exhibits an extraordinary capacity to induce stem cell self-renewal in vitro without blocking differentiation in vivo and without having any detectable leukemogenic activity on its own. However, NA10hd induces rapid-onset leukemia in mice when it is co-expressed with Meis1. We have exploited this unique combination of defined factors to investigate the role of reactivation/intensification of the self-renewal program in leukemic transformation by assessing whether committed myeloid progenitors with essentially no intrinsic self-renewal activity can be transformed into cells with "stem-cell" like characteristics that drive leukemia. Populations enriched for hematopoietic stem cells (lin-Sca1+ckit+), common myeloid progenitors (lin-Sca1-ckit+CD34+CD16/32lo, CMP) and granulocyte-monocyte progenitors (lin-Sca1-ckit+CD34+CD16/32hi, GMP) were sorted from mouse bone marrow. Expression of NA10hd and Meis1 was achieved by retroviral transduction with MSCV based vectors carrying cassettes for NA10hd-IRES-GFP or Meis1-IRES-YFP. Transduced cells were assessed for colony formation (CFC assay) and transplanted into irradiated recipients to assess their potential to give rise to leukemia. We first temporally dissociated the potential stimulation of self-renewal by NA10hd as a "first hit" from Meis1 overexpression as a "second hit" by using bulk bone marrow cells or highly purified CMP and GMP from mice previously reconstituted with NA10hd-transduced stem cells. At the time of harvest, mice were healthy and progenitor populations from these mice showed a regular distribution and a limited replating potential. However, upon infection with Meis1 a sustained replating potential over multiple CFC rounds was induced. NA10hd-expressing CMP and GMP transduced with Meis1 also gave rise to rapid onset and aggressive AML (median latency of 46.5 days for bulk, 54 days for CMP and 92 days for GMP respectively) when transplanted into irradiated recipients. To further assess whether NA10hd plus Meis1 were sufficient for transformation of later progenitors, CMP and GMP were isolated from wildtype, normal mice and cotransduced with NA10hd and Meis. To minimize the chance of contamination of fractions, infections were also carried out with purified cells at limiting number (50 cells per culture). Neither CMP nor GMP transduced with NA10hd alone gave rise to significant engraftment and both were non-leukemogenic. In contrast, both CMP and GMP co-transduced with NA10hd and Meis1 gave rapid onset leukemia. Leukemias derived from CMP and GMP showed no obvious differences with respect to morphology, immunophenotype or capability to give rise to secondary transplants. However, there was an apparent small diminution in the potency of GMP to give rise to leukemias as indicated by slightly longer latency and incomplete penetrance (3/7 mice surviving with transduced bulk GMP). We conclude that late committed myeloid progenitor cells can give rise to leukemia in our model system and that reactivation of self-renewal potential appears to be a critical step in this transformation process. This novel model of leukemia induction now opens up possibilities to dissect the molecular mechanism by which transformation of differentiated progenitors can occur. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Background and Objective: Plants are perceived as a safe and trusted means of mosquito bite prevention. Many plant extracts and oils repel mosquitoes, with their effect lasting from several minutes to several hours. The present investigation is aimed to evaluate the mosquito repellent activity of Calendula officinalis (Marigold leaves), Citrus madurensis (Calamondin leaves), Carica papaya (Papaya leaves), Origanum vulgare (Oregano leaves), in combination with natural binders.
Materials and Methods: In present work we have produced an effective and purely natural mosquito repellent cakes using marigold leaves, calamondin leaves, papaya leaves, oregano leaves, and to determine if the component present on them are suitable as mosquito  repellent. To recognize this new combination and in addition use of natural binder in making these mosquito cakes is innovation of method. Evaluation was carried out in a net cage (45 cm×30 cm×25 cm) containing 100 blood starved mosquitoes.
Results: Study provides an herbal repellent with long lasting protection, safe for human life, and human with no side effect. The combination Paste of leaves + charcoal + 20% cow dung was found to be more repellency against mosquitoes under study.
Conclusion: Discovery of natural products, with potent phyto-constituents that have insecticidal properties, may help overcome problems of chemical insecticide resistance. Nature is the best combinatorial chemist to offer numerous natural products compounds from medicinal plants which can be effective as medicines, antibacterial, antifungal, insect repellent, cosmetics etc.


ABSTRACTFrequency-domain controlled-source electromagnetic surveys can be negatively affected by near-surface geologic features, resulting in static shifts in the observed electric field amplitude data. We propose using an equivalent source method to denoise electric field data from frequency-domain controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) surveys. The equivalent source method can either be applied individually to data from each measured frequency or simultaneously to data from all frequencies measured. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the method by denoising an individual synthetic CSEM survey with data contaminated with noise from near-surface conductive bodies, as well as a synthetic time-lapse survey representing resistivity changes in a target due to, for instance, CO2 sequestration. We also apply the equivalent source method to denoise a set of controlled-source audio-magnetotelluric data affected by static shift from a field survey in western China.


A novel OXONE® mediated direct difunctionalization of alkenes with NaNO2 in aqueous acetonitrile for the synthesis of α-nitrooximes was developed. The α-nitrooximes were readily prepared in moderate to high yields at room temperature under mild reaction conditions. The present protocol offers an easy and environmentally benign approach to access various α-nitrooximes derived from styrene derivatives.


With a continued strong increase in wind generator applications, the condition monitoring of wind turbine systems has become ever more important in ensuring the availability and reduced cost of produced power. One of the key turbine conditions requiring constant monitoring is the generator shaft alignment, which if compromised and untreated can lead to catastrophic system failures. This study explores the possibility of employing supervised machine learning methods on the readily available generator controller loop signals to achieve detection of shaft misalignment condition. This could provide a highly noninvasive and low-cost solution for misalignment monitoring in comparison with the current misalignment monitoring field practice that relies on invasive and costly drivetrain vibration analysis. The study utilises signal datasets measured on a dedicated doubly fed induction generator test rig to demonstrate that high consistency and accuracy recognition of shaft angular misalignment can be achieved through the application of supervised machine learning on controller loop signals. The average recognition accuracy rate of up to 98.8% is shown to be attainable through analysis of a key feature subset of the stator flux-oriented controller signals in a range of operating speeds and loads.


Most cellular ATP is made by rotary F1Fo ATP synthases using proton translocation-generated clockwise torque on the Fo c-ring rotor, while F1-ATP hydrolysis can force anticlockwise rotation and proton pumping. Although the interface of stator subunit-a containing the transmembrane half-channels and the c-ring is known from recent F1Fo structures, the torque generating mechanism remains elusive. Here, single-molecule studies reveal pH-dependent 11° rotational sub-steps in the ATP synthase direction of the E. coli c10-ring of F1Fo against the force of F1-ATPase-dependent rotation that result from H+ transfer events from Fo subunit-a groups with a low pKa to one c-subunit of the c-ring, and from an adjacent c-subunit to stator groups with a high pKa. Mutations of subunit-a residues in the proton translocation channels alter these pKa values, and the ability of synthase substeps to occur. Alternating 11° and 25° sub-steps then result in sustained ATP synthase rotation of the c10-ring.


Knowledge graph embedding (KGE) are routinely used to represent entities and their relations in knowledge bases with a quantitative measure, and the triples usually play the role of basic units in KGE learning. Considering that triples are sometimes far from adequate and knowledge graph itself contains a lot of information, this paper employs FCA-based technology to mine the deterministic knowledge from knowledge graph, that is, the formal concept, and attempts to establish the relationship between knowledge graph (KG) and formal concept analysis (FCA). Specically, each set of triples sharing the same head entity are grouped as a graph granule and the concepts of each graph granule are mined. By further exploration, the maximal concepts are integrated into embedding learning to develop a novel KGE model named TransGr for knowledge graph completion. This model learns a matrix for each maximal concept in graph granule as well as a vector for each entity and relation. The performed experiments on link prediction and triple classi cation tasks demonstrate that the proposed TransGr model is effective on the datasets with relatively complete graph granules.


In recent major international intercomparison exercises on intake and internal dose assessments from monitoring data, the results calculated by different participants varied significantly. Based on this experience the need for harmonisation of the procedures has been formulated within an EU 5th Framework Programme research project. The aim of the project, IDEAS, is to develop general guidelines for standardising assessments of intakes and internal doses. The IDEAS project started in October 2001 and ended in June 2005. The project is closely related to some goals of the work of Committee 2 of the ICRP and since 2003 there has been close cooperation between the two groups. To ensure that the guidelines are applicable to a wide range of practical situations, the first step was to compile a database of well-documented cases of internal contamination. In parallel, an improved version of an existing software package was developed and distributed to the partners for further use. A large number of cases from the database was evaluated independently by the partners and the results reviewed. Based on these evaluations, guidelines were drafted and discussed with dosimetry professionals from around the world by means of a virtual workshop on the Internet early in 2004. The guidelines have been revised and refined on the basis of the experiences and discussions in this virtual workshop. The general philosophy of the Guidelines is presented here, focusing on the principles of harmonisation, optimisation and proportionality. Finally, the proposed Levels of Task to structure the approach of internal dose evaluation are reported.


The effect of tolazamide on in vitro rates of gluconeogenesis, ketogenesis, and glycogenesis was determined in liver tissue from fasted normal and diabetic rats. Hormones were not added to the incubation mixture. Two concentrations of the drug were tested, one of which was therapeutic (40 micrograms/ml) and other immoderately elevated (400 micrograms/ml). Neither drug concentration affected hepatic glycogen synthesis. However, the low dose of tolazamide inhibited ketogenesis in the diabetic liver by 39% and in the control liver by 32%; oxidative CO2 production from palmitate was reduced in parallel with ketogenesis. The drug did not alter ketogenesis in isolated intact mitochondria. Similarly, this same therapeutic dose curtailed hepatic gluconeogenesis only in control liver (74% inhibition); this reaction was unaltered by this drug concentration in the explants derived from the diabetic rats. The logarithmically higher dose inhibited hepatic gluconeogenesis in both control and diabetic liver tissue by 56% and 51%, respectively. Hence, possibly acting at a postreceptor site, therapeutic concentrations of tolazamide can decrease rat hepatic in vitro gluconeogenesis and ketogenesis.


Dynamics deals with phenomena that varies over time. Dynamical systems are found in many areas of science, ranging from Engineering to Life Sciences. These systems can, in a great variety of cases, be described by Difference Equations or (Ordinary or Partial) Differential Equations. Analytical and numerical methods are essential tools in the analysis of dynamical systems. Application is understood to include modeling, simulation of realistic systems, and corroboration of theory with emphasis on demonstrated practicality.In recent years, a great deal of meetings has been devoted to paper presentations that mix together scientists from different fields. They include the fields of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Biology, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering , Aeronautic and Aerospace and Economics, among others. In This way, researchers from one field can benefit the knowledge of re-searchers of other fields and vice-versa. This stimulates the growth of Multidisciplinary research in the field of dynamical systems.This special issue contains selected papers that have been selected by the editorial board of the workshop on Dynamics, Control and Applications to Applied Engineering and Life Science to be held on Federal University of Technology - Parana (UTFPR), campus Ponta Grossa, helded in August 3 and 4, 2018, during the Workshop on Dynamics, Control and Applications to Applied Engineering and Life Science in the following potential topics that include 9 papers and one invited paper.


A growing number of researchers and stakeholders have started to address climate change from the bottom up: by devising scientific models, climate plans, low-carbon strategies and development policies with climate co-benefits. Little is known about the comparative characteristics of these interventions, including their relative efficacy, potentials and emissions reductions. A more systematic understanding is required to delineate the urban mitigation space and inform decision-making. Here, we utilize bibliometric methods and machine learning to meta-analyze 5635 urban case studies of climate change mitigation. We identify 867 studies that explicitly consider technological or policy instruments, and categorize these studies according to policy type, sector, abatement potential, and socio-technological composition to obtain a first heuristic of what is their pattern. Overall, we find 41 different urban solutions with an average GHG abatement potential ranging from 5.2% to 105%, most of them clustering in the building and transport sectors. More than three-fourth of the solutions are on demand side. Less than 10% of all studies were ex-post policy evaluations. Our results demonstrate that technology-oriented interventions in urban waste, transport and energy sectors have the highest marginal abatement potential, while system-wide interventions, e.g. urban form related measures have lower marginal abatement potential but wider scope. We also demonstrate that integrating measures across urban sectors realizes synergies in GHG emission reductions. Our results reveal a rich evidence of techno-policy choices that together enlarge the urban solutions space and augment actions currently considered in global assessments of climate mitigation.


Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of Problem-based Learning (PBL) in an interdisciplinary college class. This class was run under the theme of 'Nurse Social Content Creators' (NSCC) in the Korean Nurses Association (KNA)'s industry-university collaborative project designed to promote a positive image of nurses among the public. Methods: Study 1 examined changes in perception about nurses among the PBL participants before and after the program. A one-group pre-post test experimental design was applied, and the data were analyzed using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Study 2 identified differences of perceptions of nurses between people who had observed the PBL final presentation and people who had not. A post-test-only with nonequivalent group experimental design was used, and the data were analyzed using a Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Study 1 revealed a significant increase of positive perceptions towards nurses. Study 2 revealed a significant difference between the PBL presentation audience group and the control group. Students who had observed the PBL program showed more positive perceptions of nurses than students who had not. Conclusion: This research is an important study with high practicality in the area of media studies as well as in nursing. The PBL teaching method was proven to be effective in enhancing perceptions of nurses.


A nonstatistical statement of the orbit determination of a near-Earth space object in Earth orbit with certain limitations on the measurement errors is considered. The optimization criterion and the algorithms satisfying the limited error criterion are given. As distinguished from the traditionally used least-squares method, the interpolated algorithms are adapted to the measurement errors and always provide a guaranteed error range of the estimated parameters. The central algorithms, optimal in measurement errors in the minimax statement, have robust properties with regard to such errors. The projective robust-interpolated algorithms are independent of the measurement error upper limit. Computational schemes are given for the most practically interesting central and projective algorithms. The accuracy characteristics of such algorithms are given for different distributions of measurement errors using a mathematical simulation for typical situations occurring in the maintenance of a space objects catalog....


Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) and its major manifestation of acute myocardial infarction (MI) are considered as the most common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. MI in very young group of age is a significant issue to focus on, however there is a scarcity of data on premature coronary heart diseases-acute MI (AMI) in this group of age. This may underestimate the important difference that exists between young and old groups of age. Objective: The main aim of this study is to evaluate the most common risk factors, including hyperlipidemia, smoking, diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, and positive family history of AMI with their angiographic profile, among Iraqi patients of <35 years old. Materials and Methods: This study was enrolled in Surgical Specialty Hospital-Cardiac Center, Erbil, Iraq among 100 consecutive patients (77 males and 23 females) between November 2016 and December 2017 of those whose age was ≤35 years. Results: The mean age was 31.6 ± 2.91 years with an age range of 24–35 years. The incidence of AMI was significantly higher in male patients than females. The most common risk factors were hyperlipidemia (51%), smoking (49%), family history of premature CAD (44%), hypertension (25%), and DM (22%). The most common symptom and presentation of CAD was chest pain and anterior wall myocardial infarction, 67% and 64% respectively. About 56% of all the included patients who underwent Coronary Angiography, had obstructive CAD and among this group 89.2% had single vessel disease, 5.35% had three vessel disease, 3.57% had double vessel disease and 1.78% had abnormal characteristic of coronary artery (Muscle Bridge). The most common involved artery was the left anterior descending (LAD) (36%), followed by the right coronary artery (9%). Based on the electrocardiogram findings, 42% of the patients presented with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. Conclusion: CAD in patients younger than 35 years occurred more in the male gender. Hyperlipidemia was the most common risk factor among all the patients' and AWMI owing to the LAD artery was the most common presentation.


Abstract Cystic hygroma (CH) is characterized by abnormal accumulation of fluid in the region of the fetal neck and is a major anomaly associated with aneuploidy. Morphologically characterized by failure of the lymphatic system to communicate with the venous system in the neck, the clinical manifestations of CH depend on its size and location. Incidence is estimated at one case per 6000-16,000 live births. CH has autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive inheritance. This Utility Gene Test was developed on the basis of an analysis of the literature and existing diagnostic protocols. It is useful for confirming diagnosis, as well as for differential diagnosis, couple risk assessment and access to clinical trials.


Water splitting, leading to hydrogen and oxygen in a process that mimics natural photosynthesis, is extremely important for devising a sustainable solar energy conversion system. Development of earth-abundant, transition metal-based catalysts that mimic the oxygen-evolving complex of photosystem II, which is involved in oxidation of water to O2 during natural photosynthesis, represents a major challenge. Further, understanding the exact mechanism, including elucidation of the role of active metal-oxo intermediates during water oxidation (WO), is critical to the development of more efficient catalysts. Herein, we report Fe(III) complexes of biuret-modified tetra-amidomacrocyclic ligands (Fe-TAML; 1a and 1b) that catalyze fast, homogeneous, photochemical WO to give O2, with moderate efficiency (maximum TON = 220, TOF = 0.76 s(-1)). Previous studies on photochemical WO using iron complexes resulted in demetalation of the iron complexes with concomitant formation of iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) that were responsible for WO. Herein, we show for the first time that a high valent Fe(V)(O) intermediate species is photochemically generated as the active intermediate for the oxidation of water to O2. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first example of a molecular iron complex catalyzing photochemical WO through a Fe(V)(O) intermediate.


Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is entering the transportation market. MaaS aims at the full integration of the existing transportation services and it offers tailored mobility packages to the user. In MaaS ecosystems, on-demand services play an important role as complement to public transport due to their flexibility. However, to date, most attention has been placed on individual on-demand services. This study focuses on Demand Responsive Transport (DRT): collective on-demand services. Using an on-line survey, we analysed the characteristics of the respondents who chose different modes of transport among their selected modes. Results find a distinctive pattern in the willingness of users to use different modes, with different levels in what could be considered as a multimodality ladder. The different rungs of it would be: 1st car (if available), 2nd public transport, 3rd DRT and 4th taxi-like services. This way, a person standing on the third rung would include car, public transport and DRT in their consideration set, but not taxi. This finding suggests that, if implemented in the right way, DRT services can attract a larger number of users than taxi-like services, especially in a MaaS ecosystem where initial barriers to try this service can be lessened.


This paper considers the problem of temperature regulation in multicore processors by dynamic voltage-frequency scaling. We propose a feedback law that is based on an integral controller with adjustable gain, designed for fast tracking convergence in the face of model uncertainties, time-varying plants, and tight computing-timing constraints. Moreover, unlike prior works we consider a nonlinear, time-varying plant model that trades off precision for simple and efficient on-line computations. Cycle-level, full system simulator implementation and evaluation illustrates fast and accurate tracking of given temperature reference values, and compares favorably with fixed-gain controllers.


BRAZILIAN agriculture was deeply affected by the international crisis. In an interview with ESTUDOS AVANÇADOS, professor Guilherme Dias, renowned specialist in agriculture problems in the country, made a critical assessment of the principal problems in this sector, putting forth that "the crisis will determine signifi cant technological changes," which will not be easy owing to divergences in the rural environments. Dias drew attention to the errors from the destruction of international food reserves as a consequence of the World Trade Organization's own policies (WTO). He indicated the need to modify Brazil's commerce with China and emphasized that Brazil is in front of modifi cations in the production of automobiles and fuels. He defended the production of ethanol assuming respect for the social and environmental impact, and presented a new vision with respect to the expansion of the agricultural frontier in Amazonia, with relocation of 25 million Brazilians to the area. In the following we present a summary of the opinions of this tenured professor of Economics, Administration and Accounting (FEA) of USP, expressed in an interview given to journalist Marco Antônio Tavares Coelho, executive editor of ESTUDOS AVANÇADOS journal.


The  discrete  tourist  place  such as  Vivekananda  Rock Memorial  and  Thiruvalluvar  Statue  firmed  at  the  offshore  of  Kanyakumari  is connected  by  the  Plethora  Bridge.  This  bridge  is  designed  to  connect  the  span  of  550 m  between  Kanyakumari  sea  shore  and Vivekananda  Rock  Memorial  and  to  allied  the  short  span  of 110 m  between  anterior  bridge  and  Thiruvallur  Statue. It consists  of  a  Multi  Cellular  Concrete  Box  Girder  Deck  Slab,  Bearing,  Pier, Pile  Foundation and  Staircase. A  Multi  celled  prestressed  concrete  box girder  deck  is  designed  by  Prestressed  method  as  per  the  recommendation  of IRC: 21-2000, Clause 304.2.1, IRC:6-2000 by  using  Freyssinet type anchorages  with  M60  grade  concrete  and  Fe 415  grade  steel. Reinforced bearing plate is used in between Pier and Deck. Reinforced  bearing  plate is  designed  by  working stress  method  with  M30  grade  concrete  and  Fe 415  grade  steel.  The  Solid  RCC  Pier  is  designed  for  the  axial  dead  load  and   live  load  from  the  slab,  girders,  deck  beam. Pile  Foundation  is  designed  based on   safe  load  bearing   in  the  soil  and water  current. Staircase  is  designed  by  limit   state  method  with  M25  grade  concrete  and  Fe 415  grade  steel.


Globalization has a dual effect on the world financial system, contributing to its development and simultaneous occurrence of potential threats to financial security of states. Despite their rapid escalation to the real ones, most countries in the world do not perceive these threats as serious. Enhancement of the latter necessitates studying the problems of providing for the budget safety under conditions of world globalization, redefining directions when forming effective budgetary system in terms of secure development, strengthening the fiscal security of state. It is necessary to explore in detail the drivers that influence the level of budget safety and its interrelations with other components of economic security. The aim of present work is to examine relationships of budget safety taking into account effect of the process of financial globalization and to assess its level by the principles of retrospective analysis. We proposed our own interpretation of the concept of budget safety as the level of capability of a budgetary system to ensure solvency and financial stability of the state, effective use of budget funds taking into account strategic development priorities of budgetary relations and potential capability to resist and predict the threats of internal and external origin. Results of analysis of economic security indicate the highest rate of decline in financial security in 2015 by 14.1 percentage points to the level of 36.7 % among all the components of economic security. It was established that this situation is due to a decrease in revenues from basic budget-forming taxes with strengthening fiscal pressure on the economy, a sharp devaluation of the national currency, a significant growth of the state and the state-guaranteed debt with increased risk of default, illiquidity and insolvency of financial institutions, shrinking resource base of banks, problems with their capitalization. This determined critical and close to critical state of almost all the components of  financial security. We analyzed current status of indicators in budget security. The correlation links are assessed between the integral level of budget safety and other components of economic security. The factors and interrelations of impact on the level of budget safety were defined. Direct dependence and the largest impact on the poor level of fiscal security were caused by absolutely dangerous levels of currency and debt security. We substantiated the need to improve a methodological approach to determining the level of safety with regard to the globalization processes and drivers of exogenous and endogenous origin, which reflect the share of the shadow economy, debt and fiscal burden on the budget, inflation processes and other indicators, key to providing revenues to the budget. The scientific novelty of present research is in the following: based on the results of analytical assessment of interrelations in budget security, we defined methods, means and tools for state regulation over risks and threats, we performed a strategic monitoring, prediction and implementation of measures of preventive nature to ensure economic security. A practical significance of the results obtained is the verification of provisions to improve scientific and methodological principles for the assessment of level of budget security of the state taking into account the budget safety interrelations with other components of economic security. Results have practical value to the bodies of state administration when compiling strategic and program documents to ensure the economic security of the state.


Vehicular ad hoc networks have been used in wide variety of novel applications such as road safety, multimedia content sharing and commerce on wheels in wireless local area network technologies. Due to the high mobility of vehicles and frequent disconnections, multi hop information dissemination is limited. Currently geographic routing protocols are used for Vehicular ad hoc networks .They do not require route construction and route maintenance phases. Flooding protocol is used to obtain destination position which is reduced in city Environments. In the case of sparse and void regions, there exists a connectivity problem which increases the hop count. Geographic routing protocols use the minimum weighted algorithm to select intermediate intersections. This may lead to numerous intermediate intersections which results in routing paths with higher hop count. In this paper, they propose a hop greedy routing scheme that yields a routing path with the minimum number of intermediate intersections. Back bone nodes play a key role in providing connectivity. It tracks the movement of source as well as the destination and sends the packets to be forwarded in the changed direction. Simulation results signify the benefits of hop greedy algorithm in terms of high packet delivery ratio and shorter end-end delay.


To guide experimental work on the search for Majorana zero-energy modes, we calculate the superconducting pairing symmetry of a three-dimensional topological insulator in combination with an s-wave superconductor. We show how the pairing symmetry changes across different topological regimes. We demonstrate that a dominant p-wave pairing relation is not sufficient to realise a Majorana zero-energy mode useful for quantum computation. Our main result is the relation between odd-frequency pairing and Majorana zero energy modes by using Green functions techniques in three-dimensional topological insulators in the so-called Majorana regime. We discuss thereafter how the pairing relations in the different regimes can be observed in the tunneling conductance of an s-wave proximised three-dimensional topological insulator. We discuss the necessity to incorporate a ferromagnetic insulator to localise the zero-energy bound state to the interface as a Majorana mode.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the conceptual conflict method on achievement and bringing about conceptual change of acid-base concepts of the ninth grade students compared with the traditional method. The sample of the study consisted of 112 students in four classes. The classes were distributed randomly to form the experimental group (two classes) and the control group (two classes). While the experimental group received conceptual conflict based instruction, the control group was taught by traditionally designed chemistry instruction. All students were administered the acids and bases concept pre-test and post-test. A pretest-posttest control group design utilizing analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed a statistically significant difference between the experimental and the control groups in the favor of the experimental group after treatment. The results indicated that while the average percentage of students in the experimental group holding misconceptions has decreased from 63.2% to 10.1%, the percentage of misconceptions of the students in the control group has decreased from 63.9% to 23.5%.


Since the middle of the 1970s, lubrication of the high rail flange has been used to reduce wear rates. Field tests have been taking place since 1997 to evaluate the differences in wear characteristics between mineral oil based grease and new environmentally adapted greases. The field tests have also investigated whether the addition of graphite contributed to reduced flange wear. The wear reducing effect of trackside lubrication as a function of distance from point of application of the grease was also investigated. The field tests showed that environmentally adapted greases can be used without risk of increased rail wear and that the addition of solid lubricants, such as graphite, has no significant effect on the rate of wear. The highest wear rates were found during winter months when active lubrication stops due to problems associated with the sub‐zero temperatures common in northern Sweden. Year‐round lubrication would be expected to decrease wear rates significantly.


A method for monitoring the state of the myocardium during cardiosurgical interventions based on thermal IR imaging is presented. This method called active dynamic thermography (ADT) uses an external excitation source to induce thermal transient processes in a tested object. Recording time series of thermograms allows to calculate parametric images - distribution of the thermal time constant at the visible surface of the myocardium - correlated to the physiology state of tested tissues. In the experiment performed the blood arrest in the left ventricle (causing in longer period heart infarct) was generated by clamping the left anterior descending artery (LAD). During LAD occlusion the ADT procedure was applied using cooling external excitation source. In summary, the calculated time constant images provide data of the tested structure and functional information of myocardium infarct. This allows to track changes in blood flow in the myocardium and inspection of the quality of the intervention during cardiosurgical procedures.


We discuss the three-baryon interaction generated by the determinant interaction of quarks, known as the Kobayashi-Maskawa-'t Hooft (KMT) interaction. The expectation value of the KMT interaction operator is calculated in fully-antisymmetrized quark-cluster model wave functions for one-, two- and three-octet baryon states. The three-baryon potential from the KMT interaction is found to be repulsive for $NN\Lambda$ and $N\Lambda\Lambda$ systems, while it is zero for the $NNN$ system. The strength and range of the three-baryon potential are found to be comparable to those for the $NNN$ three-body potential obtained in lattice QCD simulations. The contribution to the $\Lambda$ single particle potential in nuclear matter is found to be 0.28 MeV and 0.73 MeV in neutron matter and symmetric nuclear matter at normal nuclear density, respectively. These repulsive forces are not enough to solve the hyperon puzzle, but may be measured in high-precision hyperisotope experiments.


Background: There is a wealth of publications establishing the involvement of genetic factors in the determination of inter-individual variability of head size traits. However, little is known about the mode of inheritance of craniofacial traits in the healthy population. Aim: The aims of this study were to investigate the mode of inheritance of horizontal (HOC) and vertical (VEC) components of head dimensions, and to test the hypothesis of a common major gene for these traits. Subjects and methods: The study was conducted on 1406 individuals belonging to 357 pedigrees. Univariate and bivariate complex segregation analyses were conducted on two principal components, HOC and VEC, extracted from 10 original head traits. Results: The hypothesis of Mendelian transmission was accepted in both studied traits. The inferred major genes explained 54.0% and 45.6% of HOC and VEC variance, adjusted for covariates. For both traits an additive mode of major gene alleles interaction was suggested. No positive evidence for a common major gene for both HOC and VEC was obtained. Conclusion: We conclude that head size in horizontal and vertical dimensions is determined by two different major genes together with modest and minor effect genes, the latter being partly shared by HOC and VEC.


Timbre and pitch are the two main perceptual properties of musical sounds. Depending on the target applications, we sometimes prefer to focus on one of them, while reducing the effect of the other. Researchers have managed to hand-craft such timbre-invariant or pitch-invariant features using domain knowledge and signal processing techniques, but it remains difficult to disentangle them in the resulting feature representations. Drawing upon state-of-the-art techniques in representation learning, we propose in this paper two deep convolutional neural network models for learning disentangled representation of musical timbre and pitch. Both models use encoders/decoders and adversarial training to learn music representations, but the second model additionally uses skip connections to deal with the pitch information. As music is an art of time, the two models are supervised by frame-level instrument and pitch labels using a new dataset collected from MuseScore. We compare the result of the two disentangling models with a new evaluation protocol called "timbre crossover", which leads to interesting applications in audio-domain music editing. Via various objective evaluations, we show that the second model can better change the instrumentation of a multi-instrument music piece without much affecting the pitch structure. By disentangling timbre and pitch, we envision that the model can contribute to generating more realistic music audio as well.


Small molecule JAK inhibitors have emerged as a major therapeutic advancement in treating autoimmune diseases. The discovery of isoform selective JAK inhibitors that traditionally target the catalytically active site of this kinase family has been a formidable challenge. Our strategy to achieve high selectivity for TYK2 relies on targeting the TYK2 pseudokinase (JH2) domain. Herein we report the late stage optimization efforts including a structure-guided design and water displacement strategy that led to the discovery of BMS-986165 (11) as a high affinity JH2 ligand and potent allosteric inhibitor of TYK2. In addition to unprecedented JAK isoform and kinome selectivity, 11 shows excellent pharmacokinetic properties with minimal profiling liabilities and is efficacious in several murine models of autoimmune disease. On the basis of these findings, 11 appears differentiated from all other reported JAK inhibitors and has been advanced as the first pseudokinase-directed therapeutic in clinical development as an oral treatment for autoimmune diseases.


Contractile function of an isolated right auricle of the rat was studied one day after producing an experimental infarction of the left ventricle. It was disclosed that in this non-ischemized heart area there developed marked decrease in myocardial extensibility and depression of contractile function manifesting in an approximately two-fold lowering of the developing tension. These stress-induced disturbances prevented by administering GABA prior to myocardial infarction production. It is assumed that the action of GABA is accounted for by its capability to protect non-ischemized areas of the myocardium against harmful stress action.


Background During offset of nondepolarizing neuromuscular block, a train-of-four (TOF) fade ratio of 0.70 or greater is considered to reliably indicate the return of single twitch height (T1) to its control value. Studies using mechanomyography or electromyography confirm this observation. The authors' impressions when using the acceleromyograph as a neuromuscular monitor did not support these results. Therefore, the authors studied the relation between T1 and the TOF ratio (when measured by acceleromyography) during recovery from neuromuscular block. Methods Sixteen adult patients were studied. Anesthesia was induced with intravenous opioid plus 2.0–2.5 mg/kg propofol. Laryngeal mask placement or tracheal intubation was accomplished without the use of muscle relaxants. Anesthesia was maintained with nitrous oxide, desflurane (2.0–3.0%, end- tidal), and fentanyl. The response of the thumb to ulnar nerve stimulation was recorded with the TOF-Guard® acceleromyograph (Organon Teknika BV, Boxtel, The Netherlands). TOFs were administered every 15 s. After final calibration, 0.15 mg/kg mivacurium was administered. No further relaxants were administered. T1 and the TOF ratio were then recorded until the TOF ratio had returned to its initial value (± 5%). Results At a TOF ratio of 0.70 (during recovery of neuromuscular function), T1 averaged only 69 ± 8% of control. At a TOF ratio of 0.90, T1 averaged 86 ± 5% of control. To achieve 90% recovery of T1, a TOF ratio of 0.93 ± 0.08 was required. Conclusion Assumptions regarding the relation between T1 and the TOF ratio derived from studies using mechanomyography and electromyography do not necessarily apply to observations obtained using acceleromyography.


theological ideas and decisions that are the "signposts" of later theological development. After specifying these basic theological ideas and decisions, Schmithals follows the direction of these signposts freely through the various New Testament documents in order to map the likely historical-theological development in relation to each of his topics. In so doing, he relates what can be historically reconstructed from the New Testament documents to the wider religious and cultural milieu. In this regard, his insistence upon the material importance of the synagogue for early Christian life and theology is particularly significant, as is the essay on Paul's interface with Greek philosophy. As a whole, this book proves valuable on many fronts, primarily because each of the chapters is an essay understandable in itself, replete with learned and interesting historical insights and the correlative implications for early Christian theology. The major drawbacks of the book are the tangential discussions of secondary literature in the main text, the neglect of nonGerman scholarship, the sharp division between "historically conditioned" and "timeless dogmatic" formulation, the failure to read the New Testament texts as wholes, and the corresponding carving up of intelligible, intact compositions. These reservations aside, Schmithals's book merits the effort of all those interested in the earliest stages of Christian belief and practice.


Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) has demonstrated its effectiveness in controlling metastases measuring less than 3 cm in several adult malignancies but not yet in osteosarcoma. We report our experience of RFA in the treatment of metastases in adolescents and young adults (AYA) with osteosarcoma. Procedure: Sixteen patients treated for osteosarcoma in French Society of Childhood Cancer centers had undergone an RFA procedure between 2006 and 2012. Results: Thirteen sessions were performed in 10 patients to treat 22 lung metastases. Seven patients were in complete remission at last follow up (range 19–51 months; median, 24 months after RFA). None had a recurrence at RFA sites. We report three cases each of hemoptysis and pneumothorax. Eight sessions were performed in seven patients to treat bone lesions. Procedure was intended as: curative for a small metastatic lesion (n = 3, all in remission more than 3 years after); local control of small bone lesions in multi-metastatic diseases (n = 3); analgesia (n = 1). Complications included one first-degree burn, one fracture, and one soft tissue infection. Conclusions: RFA is feasible in AYA with osteosarcoma. It efficiently achieved local control of small peripheral lung metastases. Its role in the curative care of small secondary bone lesions remains to be confirmed.


Acetylcholine was infused into the aorta of unanesthetized dogs above the origin of the renal arteries. It produced a statistically significant increase in Na, Cl, and K excretion rates and in renal plasma flow with respect to control values in the same experiments and to results obtained in separate control experiments on the same animals. No consistent change was found in glomerular filtration rate, urine flow, and osmolality. In similar experiments Pitressin was also infused. The renal effects of acetylcholine were slightly enhanced by Pitressin. It was concluded that the antidiuretic hormone was not an important mediator in the production of renal effects during acetylcholine infusion. The possible roles of increased medullary blood flow and of increased angiotensin production are discussed.


CMOS image sensors, also known as CMOS Active Pixel Sensors (APS) or Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS), are today the dominant imaging devices. They are omnipresent in our daily life, as image sensors in cellular phones, web cams, digital cameras, ... In these applications, the pixels can be very small, in the micron range, and the sensors themselves tend to be limited in size. However, many scientific applications, like particle or X-ray detection, require large format, often with large pixels, as well as other specific performance, like low noise, radiation hardness or very fast readout. The sensors are also required to be sensitive to a broad spectrum of radiation: photons from the silicon cut-off in the IR down to UV and X- and gamma-rays through the visible spectrum as well as charged particles. This requirement calls for modifications to the substrate to be introduced to provide optimized sensitivity. This paper will review existing CMOS image sensors, whose size can be as large as a single CMOS wafer, and analyse the technical requirements and specific challenges of large format CMOS image sensors.


This paper presents a general framework for pre- coder designs for MIMO systems using partial channel knowl- edge on the transmit and receive correlation matrices at the transmitter. It is shown that the optimal linear precoder for any uncoded and coded MIMO system based on the MMSE or ergodic capacity criterion, or for an orthogonal ST coded MIMO system based on the minimum PEP criterion, is an eigen- beamformer that transmits the signal along eigenvectors of the transmit correlation matrix. Based on the eigen-values of both the transmit and receive correlation matrices, power loading across the eigen-beams is determined by water-pouring policy. Individual effects of the transmit and receive correlation matrices on the system performance are investigated. Simulation results show noticeable performance improvement over MIMO systems without precoder, particularly when the transmit correlation matrix has low rank.


Objectives. The mechanism underlying the regulation of glucolipotoxicity-induced apoptosis by MAPKs was examined in INS-1 cells. Methods. The rat insulinoma cell line INS-1 was cotreated with glucose (30 mM) and palmitic acid (0.2 mM) (GLU+PA). Apoptosis was assessed by cell morphology and detection of PARP cleavage. The activation of MAPKs was examined by Western blotting using specific antibodies against the phosphorylated forms of JNK, ERK1/2, and P38. Results. (1) Live cell imaging studies showed that treatment with GLU+PA for 72 h induced significant cell death, concomitant with PARP-1 cleavage and caspase-3 activation, which peaked at 96 h of treatment. (2) Western blot analysis of the activation of MAPKs during GLU+PA-induced INS-1 cell apoptosis showed that phosphorylation of P38 increased gradually and reached a peak at 96 h, which coincided with PARP-1 cleavage. A transient increase of ERK activation was followed by a rapid decline at 96 h, whereas JNK phosphorylation status remained unchanged in response to GLU+PA. (3) Phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-2 at 48 h of treatment triggered its degradation, which coincided with P38 activation. (4) Inhibition of P38, but not JNK or ERK, blocked GLU+PA-induced INS-1 cell apoptosis. Conclusions. P38 may be involved in the regulation of glucolipotoxicity-induced apoptosis through the phosphorylation of IRS-2.


Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been considered an important avenue for ensuring patients' good health, full social participation, and independent living as long as possible through their entire life span. In the last decade, various ICT solutions were developed to facilitate medical organizations in sharing critical information about patients, to enable patients to monitor their health, and to prevent errors in medications. Currently, there is increasing interest in using the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to save lives, to prevent errors, and to reduce costs. Medical organizations have adopted RFID tags to track and manage medical assets to improve their utilization and to reduce the need for future expenditures on duplicating equipment. To improve patient safety and medical service, some are using RFID for tracking and tracing patients while they are in a hospital environment, for integrating with medical monitoring equipment for emergency alerts and for ensuring the removal of tagged items of surgical equipment during an operation. As product and patient safety are global concerns, tracking and tracing legitimate drugs using RFID tags are being mandated by government agencies around the world. Although using RFID can provide trustworthy benefits in the healthcare industry, it is not being widely used due to the lack of security on the RFID tags and limited space for data storage. To tackle such concerns, we propose an integrated framework to build a RFID card system by embedding smart tags in insurance cards, medical charts, and medical bracelets to store medical information. It will simplify the maintenance and transfer of patient data in a secure, feasible and cost effective way.


The premoult stages of Carcinus maenas (L.) megalopae were described from laboratory-reared larvae. Characterization of the premoult stage sequence was based upon a time sequence of morphological modifications of the distal segment of the second maxilliped, the uropod, and the telson. An intermoult plus seven premoult stages were identified, following a sequence of morphological modifications similar to the one described in previous studies of brachyuran decapods. The later premoult stages D3 and D4 mentioned by Drach were not observed, possibly owing to both the low calcification of the megalopae cuticle and the short duration of these moult stages. The knowledge of the time series of moult events will assist in the evaluation of the development state and competence of megalopae throughout the several phases of dispersal and recruitment, based on the observation of their morphological characters.


Objective An algorithm is presented for the automatic detection of intradural spaces in MR images of the human head. The primary motivation behind the present work has been to serve as a preprocessing step in automatic segmentation of brain tissue and CSF. A second objective was to use the algorithm in a fully automatic PET-MR registration algorithm. Materials and Methods The method is primarily designed for, and requires, dual echo (T1− and T2-weighted) MR images with transaxial orientations. The algorithm consists of three main stages. First, the head contour is detected using a series of low-level image-processing techniques. In the second stage, the pixels inside the head contour are clustered into a number of classes using the K-means algorithm. Finally, the extradural connected components are eliminated based on a number of heuristics. Results Test results are presented for 10 MR image sets consisting of 197 slices. As a quantitative measure of accuracy, manual segmentations were performed by radiologists on a number of slices and compared with the results obtained automatically. Conclusion Visual inspection and quantitative validation of the results indicate that the algorithm accurately detects the intradural spaces in MR images. This is an important step in fully automatic segmentation and registration of MR images.


This is an anthropological study of boyhood in a group of related Igbo villages called Afikpo, in souteastern Nigeria. About half of the book is taken up with the description and analysis of adolescent initiation rites, providing a close and detailed view of rituals that for the most part have only been touched upon in literature. The work makes use of psychoanalytic theory, with a logic that is grounded in data, blended with traditional cultural anthropological analysis. Ottenberg's understanding of the dynamics of the symbols and their unstated meanings contributes to the study of ritual process in any society. The data on ritual initiation alo0ne make this a major contribution to African ethnography, and Ottenberg's descriptive material on male secrecy and related gender distinctions provides a background fora more general understanding of West African secret societies. His examination of all phases of childhood at Afikpo--not just initiation--reveals how one society comes to terms with the special needs of infancy, while answering the society's need to produce a certain kind of adult. Ottenberg rejects the common notion that an adolescent arrives at his initiation as a tabula rasa upon which society's instructon is etched; he also rejects the equally common assumption that initiation marks a summing up or completion of socialization. Instead, Ottenberg analyzes initiation rites in the context of the boys' earlier experiences, as part of an ongoing and unfinished process of socialization. He traces the life and experiences of boys from birth through adolescent initiation to adulthood, with a focus on the ritual aspect, since rituals through their symbolic content reveal a society's attitudes and values. The Afikpo initiation rites recall aspects of the rites of birth and other early childhood experiences, and Ottenberg shows how many of these rituals are designed to assist in the transition from one stage to the next. The wealth of materials and close attention to detail in the analyses of boyhood rituals among the Afikpo reflect Ottenberg's superb skills as a field investigator. The detail in which he presents his data contributes greatly to our understanding of Afikpo cosmological beliefs and social structure. The presentation provides important materials for evaluating the interrelationship between adult and boyhood secret societies, making it valuable to scholars of other areas. Boyhood Rituals in an African Society makes a significant contribution to both psychological anthropology and African studies, but it will also be of interest to other scholars concerned with the cross-cultural study of socialization and childhood.


Abstract When ore is being selected from a regularised block model, a common procedure is to accept as ore any block whose iron content exceeds a cut-off value, and whose content in each contaminant analyte is below an appropriate cut-off value. This method defines a quadrant within the multidimensional analyte space, such that any block lying within the quadrant is accepted as ore and any block lying outside the quadrant is rejected as waste. The cut-off levels can be adjusted to maximise ore tonnage at a target grade (or analyte vector). When the method is applied to a project comprising multiple pits with systematically differing grades, it is found that ore tonnage at target grade is maximised if different cut-off quadrants are used for the different pits. This is apparently illogical, because it implies that an ore block from one pit may be accepted as ore, but an identical block from another pit rejected as waste, even when ore from both pits is to be blended into the same product and there are no production cost differences between the pits. The paradox is an example of the Theory of the Second Best: if there are multiple conditions for optimality and one condition is broken, then obeying the other conditions may not be the best policy. The problem lies with the quadrant cut-off method, which is shown to be inconsistent even for selecting ore from a single pit. A criterion that is inconsistent cannot be optimal. It is shown that a linear composite cut-off function provides maximum ore tonnage, and that a single composite cut-off criterion is consistent and optimal over multiple pits. Further, it is shown that a composite cut-off function not only maximises ore tonnage at a specified composition, but also can be used to select ore so as to maximise project value, if marginal costs and values are available.


The accurate atomic data of nitrogen and nitrogen-like ions have an importance role in fusion plasma studies and astrophysics studies. The precise calculation of fine-structures is required to obtain such atomic data. Along the whole nitrogen isoelectronic sequence, the contributions of the electron correlations, the Breit interactions and the quantum electrodynamics corrections on the ground-state fine-structures are elucidated. When Z is low, the electron correlations are important, and the Breit interactions, which cannot be neglected cause interesting anomalous fine-structure splittings. When Z is high, the electron correlations are less important, and the Breit interactions are important in addition to spin-orbit interactions for precise calculations.


Kimchi cabbage (known as Chinese cabbage) is major vegetable in Korea. An inbred line of 'Wonkyo20038ho', was developed by the National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, RDA in Republic of Korea. The microspore culture was carried out using 'Chunhuigohangwang' which was introduced from China in 2002. Among 3 DH inbred lines, 'Wonkyo20038ho' inbred line was finally selected after field exhibition in 2009. The horticultural traits of 'Wonkyo20038ho' inbred line; half-open head, white inner leaf colour, and dark green outer leaf colour. The average (for four years) head weight was 2025.3g, and head width and height were 15.8cm and 32.4cm, respectively. Head shape was narrow elliptic and degree of overlapping leaf was medium. Numbers of outer and internal leaves were 14.1 and 49.8, respectively. Harvest maturity was mid-late maturing type and average of seed yield for five years was 926 seeds. In addition, 'Wonkyo20038ho' inbred line is suitable for salad in that it possessed few trichome and narrow elliptic head shape.


Abstract We report a case of a 51-year old man with small cell lung cancer who developed superior vena cava syndrome due to obstruction of the superior vena cava at the junction of the brachiocephalic vein by a fibrotic band, 2 months after completing six cycles of chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposid. Superior vena cava syndrome caused by chemotherapy-induced pulmonary fibrosis should be kept in mind during follow-up.