Abstract The effect of investigator activity on Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) was assessed using the disturbance caused by an ongoing intensive study investigating chick growth and adult mass loss. Though the effects were small, investigator disturbance decreased adult nest attendance and increased daily chick loss rates. Whereas overall chick survival until day 18 post-hatch was significantly lower in the high-disturbance plot in the first year of the study, it was substantially higher in the second year. We hypothesize that changes in predator activity as an indirect consequence of disturbance were responsible for this pattern. Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) which nested near the high-disturbance plot and are the main predator of kittiwakes in our study area may have been more susceptible to the effect of disturbance than the kittiwakes themselves. There was otherwise no statistically significant impact of disturbance on chick growth, or on adult kittiwakes extending into the following year. Biases in studies of kittiwakes due to investigator disturbance may thus be negligible when the study is carefully designed. Future studies investigating effects of disturbance on birds should, however, include data concerning potential predators of the focal species and include more than one low-disturbance plot, and should be carried out over two or more years.


This paper derives a time-varying sterilization coefficient to examine those factors that determine the extent to which central banks might engage in monetary sterilization. There appear to be good reasons to do so: Sterilization neutralizes the monetary impact of reserve accumulation, which is an endogenous consequence of sustained capital inflows under some degree of management of exchange rates. A pooled sample of Asian economies incorporating Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, for 1994–2012 is employed. We find that this method does help to directly uncover the determinants of sterilization, and while capital inflows do not appear to influence the sterilization directly, there is substantial evidence to suggest it does so indirectly—particularly through domestic interest rates.


Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are the state of the art systems for image classification and scene understating. However, such techniques are computationally intensive and involve highly regular parallel computation. CNNs can thus benefit from a significant acceleration in execution time when running on fine grain programmable logic devices. As a consequence, several studies have proposed FPGA-based accelerators for CNNs. However, because of the huge amount of the required hardware resources, none of these studies directly was based on a direct mapping of the CNN computing elements onto the FPGA physical resources. In this work, we demonstrate the feasibility of this so-called direct hardware mapping approach and discuss several associated implementation issues. As a proof of concept, we introduce the haddoc2 open source tool, that is able to automatically transform a CNN description into a platform independent hardware description for FPGA implementation.


Policy-based dynamic resource management may involve interaction between independent decision-making components which can lead to conflicts. For example, conflicts can occur between the policies for allocating resources and those setting quotas for users or classes of service. These policy conflicts cannot be detected by static analysis of the policies at specification-time as the conflicts arise from the current state of the resources within the system and so can only be detected at run-time. In this paper we use policies related to quality of service (QoS) provisioning for configuring differentiated services (DiffServ) networks to illustrate techniques for the dynamic detection and resolution of conflicts. Configuration includes implementing network provisioning decisions, performing admission control, and adapting bandwidth allocation dynamically according to emerging traffic demands. We identify possible conflicts between policies that manage the allocation of resources, and we also investigate conflicts that may arise between these policies and higher-level directives refined at the dynamic resource management level, acting as constraints. The paper shows how event calculus can be used to detect conflicts, focusing on the ones that emerge at run-time, and provides an approach for specifying policies to automate conflict resolution. The latter is demonstrated through our initial implementation of a dynamic conflict analysis tool


The cooperation partner of the research project has developed a micro generator (1) based on the principle of electromagnetic induction, which is used in the product of a rotation sensor. The rotation sensor using the micro-generator is capable of counting the revolutions of a drive without applied supply voltage. In this paper it is shown how the generator system can be simulated using a block diagram based, mechatronic simulation tool. Based on the simulated static flux density of the magnetic circuit and a spring mass dampersystem, the induced electric voltage of the unloaded electrical circuit can be simulated. The obtained simulation curves can be compared with measurement data from the micro generator. With the simulation model of the electromagnetic micro generator further steps of optimization for instance more energy output or miniaturization can be realized.


Gaseous Electron Multiplier(GEM)-based position sensitive detectors are used and planned to be used in several experiments in the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics. At present eight triple-GEM detectors are installed in the KEDR experiment at the VEPP-4M collider where they operate in the tagging system measuring momenta of electrons and positrons after two-photon interactions. Several triple-GEM detectors made of very light components are planned to be installed in the DEUTERON experiment at the VEPP-3 storage ring. The first detector of this type is assembled and tested with dedicated electronics. We plan also to build large cylindrical GEM-based detector with two layers of cylindrical triple-GEMs of 60 cm inner diameter. This project is now discussed for the Cryogenic Magnetic Detector (CMD-3) at the VEPP-2000 collider.


Tylophorine, a phenanthroindolizidine alkaloid, is the major medicinal constituent of herb Tylophora indica. Tylophorine treatment increased the accumulation of c-Jun protein, a component of activator protein 1 (AP1), in carcinoma cells. An in vitro kinase assay revealed that the resultant c-Jun phosphorylation was primarily mediated via activated c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK). Moreover, flow cytometry indicated that ectopically overexpressed c-Jun in conjunction with tylophorine significantly increased the number of carcinoma cells that were arrested at the G1 phase. The tylophorine-mediated downregulation of cyclin A2 protein levels is known to be involved in the primary G1 arrest. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and reporter assays revealed that tylophorine enhanced the c-Jun downregulation of the cyclin A2 promoter activity upon increased binding of c-Jun to the deregulation AP1 site and decreased binding to the upregulation activating transcription factor (ATF) site in the cyclin A2 promoter, thereby reducing cyclin A2 expression. Further, biochemical studies using pharmacological inhibitors and RNA silencing approaches demonstrated that tylophorine-mediated elevation of the c-Jun protein level occurs primarily via two discrete prolonged signaling pathways: (i) the NF-κB/PKCδ_(MKK4)_JNK cascade, which phosphorylates c-Jun and increases its stability by slowing its ubiquitination, and (ii) the PI3K_PDK1_PP2A_eEF2 cascade, which sustains eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) activity and thus c-Jun protein translation. To the best of our knowledge, this report is the first to demonstrate the involvement of c-Jun in the anticancer activity of tylophorine and the release of c-Jun translation from a global translational blockade via the PI3K_PDK1_eEF2 signaling cascade.


High-dose thermoluminescence dosimetry properties of novel zinc oxide nanophosphors synthesized by a solution combustion method in a glycine-nitrate process are presented for the very first time in this work. Sintered particles with sizes ranging between ∼500 nm and ∼2 µm were obtained by annealing the synthesized ZnO at 900°C during 2 h in air. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate the presence of the ZnO hexagonal phase, without any remaining nitrate peaks observed. Thermoluminescence glow curves of ZnO obtained after being exposed to beta radiation consists of two maxima: one located at ∼149°C and another at ∼308°C, the latter being the dosimetric component of the curve. The integrated TL fading displays an asymptotic behavior for times longer than 16 h between irradiation and the corresponding TL readout, as well as a linear behaviour of the dose response without saturation in the studied dose interval (from 12.5 up to 400 Gy). Such features place synthesized ZnO as a promising material for high-dose radiation dosimetry applications.


Device optimization and ultrafast absorption spectroscopic investigations on the role of semiconducting polymer as hole-transport layer in solid-state dye sensitized solar cells suggest their dual role of dye-regeneration and light-antenna assisting in improved photoconversion-efficiencies.


Dermatophilus congolensis was isolated from a cat with dermatitis. The isolate was sensitive to oxytetracyclin, streptomycin and penicillin but resistant to ampicillin, amoxicillin, gentamycin and cefoperazone.


Adapting the visual designs of websites to a local target audience can be beneficial, because such design localization increases users' appeal, trust, and work efficiency. Yet designers often find it difficult to decide when to adapt and how to adapt the designs, mainly because there are currently no guidelines that describe common website designs in various countries. We contribute the first large-scale analysis of 80,901 website designs across 44 countries, made available via an interactive web-based design catalog. Using computational image metrics to compare the ~2,000 most visited websites per country, we found significant differences between several design aspects, such as a website's colorfulness, visual complexity, the number of text areas and the average saturation of colors. Our results contribute a snapshot of web designs that users in 44 countries frequently see, showing that the design of websites with a global reach are more homogenized compared to local websites between countries.


Abstract: This article discusses how to adapt Monte Carlo simulation techniques for the analysis of risk-sharing contracts. It outlines parallels with contingent claims analysis of risk-sharing contracts, and discusses the roles and effects of the different basic types of risk contracts in managing risk and improving the feasibility of projects, particularly large-scale resource and utility contracts. The author presents the simple analytics of how risk-sharing contracts affect the expected returns and variance in these returns of the various participants in a project, along with how to incorporate risk sharing in Monte Carlo simulation technique models of the appraisal of projects. These techniques make the analysis of different structures of often complicated contracts for large complex projects tractable.


Active optics has been proposed for application to space telescopes since the mid 1960s since it can help to relax manufacturing tolerances while guaranteeing diffraction-limited image quality, correct for thermal gradients and any errors due to launch loads. The James Webb Space Telescope, which will be segments, will incorporate active optics to ensure alignment of the segments as well as controlling segment shape. Monolithic mirror space telescopes have been proposed incorporating active control, either acting on the primary mirror or at a relayed pupil. This paper provides a historical review of Active Optics, with emphasis on the application to Space Telescopes concluding with some results of a laboratory prototype system developed for the European Space Agency.


Geoopt is a research-oriented modular open-source package for Riemannian Optimization in PyTorch. The core of Geoopt is a standard Manifold interface that allows for the generic implementation of optimization algorithms. Geoopt supports basic Riemannian SGD as well as adaptive optimization algorithms. Geoopt also provides several algorithms and arithmetic methods for supported manifolds, which allow composing geometry-aware neural network layers that can be integrated with existing models.


This is the first published description of the lymphoid and immunohaematopoietic tissues of an Australian polyprotodont, the stripe-faced dunnart, Sminthopsis macroura and the first account of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) in a metatherian. Histologically, the tissue beds are similar in appearance to those reported in other adult eutherian and metatherian mammals. The liver and bone marrow were mature and virtually no haematopoietic activity was observed. The thymus had undergone involution but retained some lymphocytes. The spleen was similar to that observed in other metatherians containing areas of red and white pulp separated by a marginal zone. Lymph nodes, except for a pair in the posterior abdomen, were difficult to locate but were similar to those observed previously in other adult metatherians. Peyer's patches were present; however, they lacked dome regions and sometimes had villi above them. BALT appeared to be both compartmentalised and non-compartmentalised in the adult stripe-faced dunnart.


A human skeletal remain of the Kofun period were excavated from North Kyushu where human skeletons of the Yayoi period with a high face and tall stature had been found. The Shimozuru Kofun skull has a high upper face, the orbit and nasal part are close to the Yayoi skeletons excavated in this area, and those heights are higher than the mean values of the Yayoi skeletons in North Kyushu.


Voltage stability assessment on a deterministic direction of loading variation may provide misleadingly high values of voltage stability margin due to uncertainties in load forecast. On the other hand, by disregarding loading forecast information and computing the worst case scenario, we may obtain unrealistic and very conservative margin values. This paper proposes a new voltage stability index that takes place between these two approaches. In this proposal, a set of credible loading variation directions is considered and the closest bifurcation point is determined within this set. A fast method for computation of this index is also proposed. The method is able to detect both saddle-node and limit-induced bifurcations. The efficiency of the proposed method is confirmed by means of numerical simulation on different power systems.


During an eight month period, 22 children less than 15 years of age (mean age of three years and seven months) who underwent operative treatment of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) were selected for study. All were symptomatic and unresponsive to medical therapy. Preoperative evaluation included esophageal pH probe monitoring in 18 patients, gastric isotope emptying study in 18 patients and contrast studies of the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract in ten patients. Four children with severe neurologic disorders who required placement of a feeding gastrostomy tube underwent fundoplication without preoperative evaluation. All 22 patients had GER and 14 had documented delayed gastric emptying (greater than 60 percent residual at 90 minutes) on radionuclide scan with appropriate meal for age. Each child underwent Nissen fundoplication and tube gastrostomy. Sixteen patients also had a modified pyloroplasty with a 2.5 to 4.0 centimeter vertical seromuscular incision on the antrum. When the patients achieved a full feeding schedule (postoperative day range three to 21 days, mean of 6.2 days), they were put on a fast for six hours and an aspirate was obtained from the gastrostomy tube. Analysis of pH and bile acid content served as indicators of alkaline reflux. The six children without pyloroplasty served as the control group. Intragastric pH ranged from 1.91 to 7.00 (mean of 3.71) and bile acid content ranged from 4 to 150 micrometers per liter (mean of 62 micrometers per liter). No significant differences were seen between patients with fundoplication alone and those with fundoplication and pyloroplasty (p = 0.97 for pH; p = 0.66 for bile acid content). Two patients with pyloroplasty showed slight elevation of intragastric bile acid content at the upper limits of normal. At follow-up evaluation from nine to 23 months (mean of 18 months), all patients were asymptomatic, with only two showing rare gagging. Additionally, nine patients have had complete resolution of their pulmonary symptoms. No patients demonstrated diarrhea, gas bloat or dumping. Nissen fundoplication combined with a modified pyloroplasty or "antroplasty" for delayed gastric emptying provides excellent clinical results with minimal demonstrable bile acid reflux and no change in intragastric pH at the one and one-half year follow-up evaluation.


Measurements are sometimes affected by excessively large round-off errors. Small rounding-off may safely be ignored for purposes of statistical inference however large rounding-off may have an effect. The importance of the round-off (δ) is determined by the ratio between the standard deviation σ and the instrument's scale step h, δ = σ/h. In this study, the authors estimate σ when δ is small (δ < 0.5) using a variant of the method of moments (MoM). The MoM estimators are compared with the maximum-likelihood estimators (MLE), using simulation. The authors find that the MoM can improve the estimation in terms of mean-square error and bias, especially under circumstances where the MLE method is not accurate or cannot provide a solution.


The use of aluminum in modern cars began in the early 1970s, when under the pressure of the oil crisis, car manufacturers around the world began to reduce the weight of cars in order to achieve the lowest possible fuel consumption. The first applications of larger volumes were radiators, engine blocks and wheels. Meanwhile, in Europe, the average amount of consumed aluminum has continued to increase, reaching an average of 180 kg per car. Aluminum castings, forgings, sheets and extruded parts are used for a large number of car parts, including car bodies, chassis, suspensions, wheels and many others. The use of aluminum is also important for hybrid and battery electric cars. Due to the threat of global warming due to the greenhouse effect, it is very important to reduce the weight of the car by using aluminum, and thus fuel consumption.This paper explains why, now more than ever, vehicle weight reduction is necessary and how aluminum can be used to further improve the sustainability and safety of future generations of cars. Special attention is given to the use of aluminum for car wheels, which represent almost 15% of the average aluminum content in passenger cars.


Problem identification is recognized as an important component of highway safety planning. Under the NHTSA/FHWA concept, problem identification is the first step in program planning and in the development of effective countermeasure programs. The annual highway safety plan (HSP) is the major planning tool used by the Virginia Department of Transportation Safety in meeting its objectives and in responding to the federal reporting requirements. Over the past 10 years, the HSP production process has become more efficient and responsive to state and local planning needs. However, the methodology applied in analyzing accident data and in evaluating trends has remained virtually unchanged since the process was initiated. Although the results of the problem identification process fulfill the federal reporting requirements, they are not applied as effectively as they could be to comprehensive highway safety program planning. This report describes Virginia's highway safety problem identification process and provides recommendations for changes in the administrative organization of the process and in the analytical methodology. The current methodology for the identification of systems support and impact problems is described and illustrated using 1980 data.


Some descriptive simplifications— like the concept that patients with coronary disease have either single-, double-, or triple-vessel involvement—plainly distort reality. Nature, it seems, has created "coronary arteries as variable as fingerprints." This gap between conceptualization and reality raises an important question. How can we intelligently select patients for coronary surgery if each individual does not accurately fit into the categories we have so far defined and analyzed? To lift one corner of the verbal veil that has hid the answer, the authors start by altering our perception of coronary disease distribution. After discarding the standard diagram of coronary arteries (in favor of a handdrawn sketch of each patient's peculiar anatomy and pattern of disease), the authors present fascinating detail on all phases of bypass surgery: the clinical indications; angiography and its interpretation; preoperative education, evaluation, and preparation; informed consent; anesthetic and operative techniques; and postoperative management. Throughout, the discussion achieves


The role of interleukin-12 (IL-12) in Th1 cell differentiation is well established. The heterodimer p70, composed of a p40 and a p35 chain, is the biologically active form. IL-12 production by human monocytes is enhanced by interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and inhibited by IL-10 and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals reportedly have impaired IL-12 p40 and p70 production on stimulation with Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I (SAC) in vitro. Both PGE2 and IL-10 previously were proposed to be instrumental in this defect in IL-12 production. Here, we studied IL-12 p40 and p70 production in relation to IL-10 and PGE2 production in whole blood cultures from HIV-infected individuals. On stimulation with lipopolysaccharide, IL-12 production was normal. However, on stimulation with SAC, IL-12 p40 and p70 production was decreased in HIV-infected individuals and correlated significantly with decreased peripheral blood CD4+ T-cell number and T-cell reactivity to CD3 monoclonal antibody in vitro. However, IL-10 and PGE2 production in cultures from HIV-infected individuals was normal and did not relate to IL-12 production. In conclusion, IL-12 production by cells from HIV-infected individuals is impaired under certain conditions in vitro and this decrease is independent of IL-10 or PGE2 production.


Very often, central policy and locally managed initiatives fail to anticipate—or perhaps acknowledge—organisational culture and "the way things work around here". The papers included in this JournalScan provide interesting insights into the disjunction between theoretical and actual views and suggest that one way to improve the success of initiatives is to contrast models of working with actual practise, leading to the improvement of both.

The papers look at two issues: the development of initiatives to improve patient involvement and the use of guidelines and evidence to improve practise.

### Importance of social interaction in the development of internal tacit guidelines ▸

A paper from Family Practice begins by saying that "little is known about the types of decisions nurses make in routine practice and the sources of information that inform these decisions". Research was undertaken in GP practices in the north of England through three case studies that involved interviews, observation, and documentary analysis. Interviews asked about "the use of research-based information in clinical decision making". Observation (120 hours) sought to contrast the nurses' accounts of their information seeking behaviour with observed "reality".

The types of decisions made by practice nurses and nurse practitioners can be divided into seven categories: (i) assessment; (ii) diagnosis; (iii) intervention (including (a) targeting, (b) timing and (c) prevention); (iv) communication (risks and benefits); (v) referral; (vi) service delivery and organisation (setting up a clinic, for example); and (vii) information seeking.

Nurses used several sources of information in making clinical decisions. Personal experience was important, "particularly with regard to wound care, to the extent of their being dismissive of research evidence". A nurse says she would ignore research evidence that contradicted her experience. Human sources of information are important where nurses experience clinical uncertainty. They preferred to seek information from a colleague rather than electronic or textual information. When information was sought using technology, nurses appeared to favour …


One of the fundamental requirements for conducting research is access to and sharing of information. Traditionally, books and journals were the main sources of reference materials, but over the last decade, the Internet and other sources of electronic information have played an increasingly important role, e.g. the recent advent of APAFRI's E-loan and GFIS-ASIA. Electronic access varies tremendously within the ASEAN region. Researchers in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Thailand have excellent to reasonably good access, but many in other ASEAN countries are not so fortunate. Many researchers may not even have access to a computer. However, even with good electronic access, the availability of appropriate information can vary. For example, university libraries in Malaysia with more generous budgets generally have much wider access than small research institutions, such as FRIM. Similarly, because of budget constraints and economies of scale, developing country research institutions find it difficult to subscribe to many international journals either in print or electronically. Close interaction and personal contact between researchers is one of the most important means of information access and exchange for researchers in developing countries. Senior researchers have the advantage over junior researchers who have yet to develop such extensive contacts.


The production of cellulase (filter paper activity, endoglucanase and )-glucosidase) by Aspergillus niger on three media in liquid shake culture was compared. The culture filtrate of this organism exhibited relatively highest activity of all three enzymes and extracellular protein content at 7-day interval during the course of its growth on Czapek-Dox medium supplemented with 1.0% (w/v) cellulose. Urea as a nitrogen source and pH 5.0 were found to be optimal for growth and cellulase production by  A.niger . Among various soluble organic carbon sources and lignocelluloses tested in this study, carboxymethylcellulose and sawdust at 1% supported maximum production of all three enzymes by  A.niger . Keywords: Aspergillus niger , cellulase activity, nutrients, 6-glucosidase


At the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting in December, technology vendors from the largest system integrators to mom-and-pop software startups hawked their products and services. Bedside bar-coding, medication management tools, and smart pumps were among the dominant product categories displayed.


The purpose of this investigation has been to explore whether differences existed between gifted and nongifted fifth graders and between genders and related subgroups with respect to attitudes toward science. Both groups (N = 25) were matched on the demographic characteristics of school-site, race, sex, and socio-economic background. Gifted students were found to have more positive attitudes toward science than nongifted students; however, no significant differences were found. In all cases, boys (all boys, gifted boys, and nongifted boys) exhibited more positive attitudes toward science; again, no significant differences were uncovered between the boys and their counterpart group or subgroups. The item which consistently reflected the most positive rating (gifted students, all boys and gifted boys, and all girls and nongifted girls) was "usefulness of things done in science class." Items where discrepancies surfaced included "usefulness of science when playing at home" where nongifted students and gifted girls were significantly more positive than their counterparts, and "spending more time doing science experiments" where all boys and gifted boys were significantly more positive than their counterparts.


In peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (PBHSCT) , the mobilization and circulating of bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells in blood with higher oxygen concentration all increase reactive oxygen species(ROS) production, which has negative effect on the biological function of BMHSC. In order to investigate the protective effect of antioxidant on hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), the ascorbic acid 2-phosphate (AA2P), an ascorbic acid derivative of vitamin C, was added in HSC culturing by imitating oxygen conditions which BMHSC experienced in peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. The protective effect of above-mentioned culture methods on the biologic functions of BMHSC was evaluated by vitro amplification assay, committed division assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS) measurement, CD34(+) HSC engraftment. The results showed that the ROS level in HSC from in vitro cultures was much higher than that freshly separated BMHSC, and the amplified AC133(+)CD34(+) HSC, BFU-E, CFU-GM, CFU-GEMM colonies, migration rate and severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)-repopulating cells (SRC) were all much more than HSC cultured without AA2P. It is concluded that antioxidant intervention may be an effective methods for protecting the biological function of PBHSC and improving the therapeutic effect of PBHSCT.


ABSTRACT The effects of different concentrations of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20-E) on hemocytes of Galleria mellonella were investigated in vitro. Hemocyte culture was performed in Grace's insect medium with fetal calf serum. The hormone was added to the cultures at two different concentrations. During a period of three days, the cells (plasmatocytes, granulocytes and total cell number) were counted under an inverted microscope. Obtained numbers were evaluated with one way variance analysis (ANOVA). Hormone treatment led to a dose-dependent decrease in total cell and granulocyte number. The number of plasmatocytes, which are the predominant cells for phagocytose activity in immune response, was enhanced by hormone treatment. Key Words: 20-hydroxyecdysone, hemocyte, in vitro, Galleria mellonella, insect


Purpose The study aims to describe the characteristics and etiologic causes of intermediate uveitis (IU) patients seen by a tertiary eye center in Singapore over 8 years. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of the clinical records of consecutive new cases of IU that presented to the uveitis subspecialty clinic from 2004–2011 at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Data collected included demographics, clinical and laboratory findings. Diagnoses were based on standardized clinical history, ophthalmological examination and investigations. Results There were 66 new cases of IU, comprising 5.7% of 1168 new uveitis patients. The median age of diagnosis was 40 years (mean 39.4±15.9), with largest subgroup of the patients in the age group of 41–60 years (36.4%). The majority was Chinese (57.6%), followed by Asian Indians (18.2%) and Malays (16.7%). The ethnicity distribution was dissimilar to our ethnic distribution in Singapore (p<0.001) with an increased incidence of IU in the Asian Indian population. Most were idiopathic (59.1%) in etiology, followed by tuberculosis (TB) (15.2%). Ocular complications developed in 21 patients (31.8%), with cystoid macular edema (CME) being the commonest (28.8%). Severe vitritis occurred in 9.1% of patients, and was significantly associated with TB-associated IU (p<0.001). There was a downward trend for the incidence of the proportion of IU patients over the total uveitis patients (p = 0.021), with Spearman's rho of −0.786. Conclusions Despite the downward trend, TB-associated IU was still of higher prevalence compared to less endemic areas, emphasizing the need for increased TB surveillance. A high index of suspicion for TB-associated IU is required in patients with severe vitritis. Comparisons with other countries revealed disparities in the IU etiologies, indicating possible geographical differences. Prevalence of known immune-mediated etiologies of IU is less compared to the western population. Our study also suggests a probable predisposition of the Singapore local Indian population for IU.


This paper analyzes the spatial patterns followed by the consumption of electricity in the Andalusian municipalities. 11 variables related to the total and sectorial power consumption as well as economic and demographic factors of them have been taken into account in the 661 municipalities that receive electricity from Sevillana-ENDESA. Their analysis allows observing the spatial pattern of consumption and making a typology of municipalities according to their consumption behavior. As a result a typology with fi ve different types of municipalities is set out.


Abstract Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) is a native shrub on the steep slopes of the mountains and on the plains in the Black Sea coast of Turkey. Turkey is the world's largest hazelnut producer and exporter, followed by Italy, Spain, the United States, and Greece. Within the scope of this project, a number of surveys were conducted in Turkey to understand the impact of a glyphosate ban on hazelnut production and the economy. Sixty farm surveys were conducted within the Black Sea region, and those data were used as primary information sources. Databases of institutions, theses, academic reports, and published articles were used as secondary data sources to determine the possible effects of a glyphosate ban on Turkish hazelnut production and economy. One of the most important findings of the study was that agricultural business and employment sustained by hazelnut production constitute a significant part of the rural economy. Tillage and mechanical strategies remain as the most sustainable alternative methods for controlling weeds. A potential glyphosate restriction may increase the demand for labor due to a higher need for mechanical strategies. The cost of these alternative methods are 80% more compared with glyphosate weed control systems. The benefit–cost model predicted that, in the case of no glyphosate use, total hazelnut production would decrease by 12% to 21% due to inefficient weed control. A glyphosate ban would result in a reduction in Turkish gross domestic product. Yearly, an average of US$2 billion in revenue is obtained from hazelnut exports, and this number corresponds to 1.37% of Turkey's annual export value. The glyphosate ban would cause a US$240 to US$420 million loss in hazelnut export value and reduce production by 66 to 115 million kg. Global demand for hazelnut is believed to be on the increase, and world production depends largely on Turkey.


Global and national fish sector trends require Italian operators to implement new marketing strategies for their production to evade foreign competition and exploit the Italian agro-food system synergies. This survey analyses customer purchase attitudes, especially towards farm-raised fish through a hierarchical clustering analysis performed on 300 buyers in traditional shops in Milan. The perception of the product seems to be tied to traditional customs. However, it is indicated that contemporary customers have the capacity to understand dif ferences between fish products, consequently allowing for new communica tion approaches. In particular, wild-caught fish, purchased by hedonic and old customers, can be displayed through new labels stating the product origin, in order to merge sensory and cultural-empathetic consumption together. The fish farmers' challenge is to enhance consumer loyalty to their product, through general communication campaigns related to the farm-raised fishes' intrinsic and environmental properties to fill the gap between producers' and buyers' knowledge.


The trajectory control of autonomous vehicles is an area which has attracted much research recently because it can prevent accidents caused by driver errors and significantly improve road capacity. Overtaking is one of the most complex and challenging manoeuvres for road vehicles and the autonomous control of the vehicle during this manoeuvre can greatly improve vehicle safety. As the innovative four-wheel independent steering (4WIS) and four-wheel independent driving (4WID) electric vehicle can provide redundant control actuators, this study focuses on utilising 4WIS–4WID techniques and vehicle dynamics control to achieve better control of autonomous vehicles. This study first introduces the traditional two-wheel proportional–integral–derivative (PID) steering control and two-wheel sliding mode controller (SMC) driving control for autonomous vehicle control. Then based on these, the four-wheel PID steering controller and four-wheel SMC steering controller are proposed. A four-wheel SMC driving controller and a four-wheel combined yaw rate and longitudinal velocity SMC driving controller are also proposed. Simulation results prove that the best control performance can be achieved when the four-wheel SMC steering controller and four-wheel combined yaw rate and longitudinal velocity SMC driving controller are used together.


Social insurance schemes have proved to be rather stable welfare state institutions enjoying broad popular support. It is widely assumed that the high degree of legitimacy is due to the insurance analogy because those schemes provide individually equitable returns on prior contribution payments. In this article it is demonstrated that all social insurance schemes contain interpersonal redistributions on a large scale, resulting from uniform contribution rates, provisions geared at social adequacy of benefits, and unequal treatment of different birth cohorts. In Germany, those redistributive elements are most pronounced in the statutory health care scheme. It is argued that the unchallenged functioning of social insurances is dependent on a prevailing culture of solidarity. It denotes an immunity to the temptation of individual utility maximization based upon recognized moral duties which then facilitates ongoing redistributive processes. Results from qualitative interviews with persons insured with the German statutory health care scheme clearly indicate the presence of those solidary virtues. The continued existence of this moral infrastructure appears to be less threatened by progressing individualization. Rather, it might be eroded by current political attempts to shift the balance between solidarity and self-reliance which intensify mistrust in the permanence of comprehensive health care protection.


The low participation of females in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects is a worldwide issue. There are so many problems being raised in the context of studying higher education for females. The purpose of this study is to explore the effecting factors in enrollment and success in STEM education for females. It is based on the review of literature on female enrollment and participation in STEM education. Due to several factors such as stereotypes and biases, societal and cultural misconceptions, lack of confidence and self-perception, and gender-based discrimination are the major causes to enhance the gender gap in STEM education. To create a more inclusive environment for females in STEM education the role of nation, society, and family is to be supportive. Women should fight against all kinds of discrimination based on their willpower. This study would help to empower women and also contribute to investigate the cause of gender inequality in STEM education and enhancing gender equality. This study can be important for states and organizations to make policies and plans to improve the education status of women in STEM education.


From the late eighteenth century the British military produced official 'fight books' outlining the methods with which the cavalry were to use their swords. As these 'fight books' were military manuals for instructors, designed to turn trainees into effective soldiers they are, for the most part, clear and precise compared to the sometimes esoteric nature of earlier 'fight books'. In addition, as they coincided with the introduction of standard patterns of cavalry swords the exact types of swords employed can be established. Hence, unusually in fight book studies, a full picture of why these works were produced, who they were aimed at, how widely they were disseminated and what exact forms of weapons these precise techniques were to be employed with can be known. The existence of contemporary accounts and other supplementary evidence can also help us understand how such 'fight books' were received and how effectively the theory contained within was borne out in practice on the battlefield. Over the first sixty years of British cavalry sword exercises, the role of cavalry and the threats they faced from other arms and weapon technologies did not drastically alter; but the way they fought with swords, and the swords themselves, did undergo considerable change.


Frontal collisions between passenger cars and trucks are the most severe vehicle-vehicle collisions observed in accident statistics. Regulation 93 was developed to reduce the risk of fatal injury through by preventing passenger cars from underriding heavy truck structures. Although this countermeasure can improve the interaction between the vehicles, the regulation does not fully address the higher energy of content in these collisions where passenger car structures cannot be expected to have sufficient energy absorbing capacity. One solution to problem is to incorporate energy absorbing structures into the Front Underrun Protection Device (e.a. FUPD). The performance of such device under crash with a passenger car has to be investigated.
This report shows the results obtained by simulations based on finite element method where the performance of the FUPD has been investigated through variation of the size of the FUPD front cross-beam surface, and its vertical and horizontal overlap with front end of a passenger car.


It is now well established in the adult literature that the ability to engage in flexible thought and action is a complex skill that relies on a number of underlying processes. The development of this skill has received growing interest in recent years. However, theories explaining children's ability to switch between different tasks typically focus on a single underlying process and are rarely extended to explain development beyond the preschool years. This article reviews the current literature on set shifting in children in comparison with task switching in adults, in order to highlight the range of factors that impact on children's ability to flexibly shift between tasks. In doing this we hope to set the scene for future research that can begin to establish the relationships between these processes and how they change with age.


Development of efficient algorithm on series compensated parallel transmission line is presented. The new algorithm is developed using instantaneous fault data collected from both ends of the line, in order to estimate the fault location and fault resistance accurately. Firstly, single transmission line with series compensation unit, which is located in the middle, is modelled using ATP program and tested with the new algorithm with number of different fault cases. Then the algorithm further improved for the testing of parallel series compensated parallel transmission lines. A sample example of estimation of fault location and resistance on single line model is reported and discussed in this paper, and a comprehensive summary of fault location estimations for single line model is presented in this paper. At present, the algorithm is being tested for parallel transmission lines and results obtained from trial run are satisfactory. However, further testing of parallel transmission lines case will be presented in publication.


Clinical assessment of a patient with a focal or diffuse thyroid tumor is but the first step in diagnostic evaluation. The diagnostic imaging process augments information obtained by the inspecting eye and the palpating hand; it allows the qualification (for example, cystic v solid) and the quantification (for example, size, extension, and assessment of physiologic function) of the thyroid tumor mass. This diagnostic input allows the establishment of a more realistic provisional diagnosis and directs a rational treatment approach to the patient. This presentation reviews the major imaging modalities available for thyroid tumor evaluation: diagnostic ultrasound, radionuclide scans, and conventional radiology and computed tomography. The applications of these various modalities and their critical potentials and limitations are placed in a contemporary clinical setting. It is hoped that an increasing familiarity with these imaging modalities will give better direction to the specialist in otolaryngology--head and neck surgery and greater surgical benefit to his or her patients.


Abstract New insights into the palaeogeographical evolution of the Rifian Internides and their external surroundings are inferred from six key stratigraphic successions selected across the Internides-Externides front. These successions span a time interval ranging from the late Cretaceous to the early Burdigalian. The main results are: (1) important lost palaeogeographical domains should be located during the late Cretaceous-Eocene between the present-day Ghomarides and the Dorsale Calcaire, on one hand, and between the Predorsalian units and the Flysch Trough as isolated carbonate platforms, on the other hand; (2) during the late Eocene-early Oligocene an extensional tectonic event, well marked in the Dorsale Calcaire, caused the collapse of these platforms and resulted in olistostromes and coarse-grained breccias in both the Predorsalian and the Béni Ider areas; (3) by the beginning of mid-Oligocene, an overturning contractional event in the Ghomarides resulted in the regional onset of the siliciclastic depositional regime throughout these palaeogeographical areas; (4) during the Aquitanian-early Burdigalian, the stepwise return of pelagic deposition in the Ghomarides indicates extensional phases, whereas the homogenization of the same pelagic facies over the Dorsale Calcaire and its external surroundings may indicate that the previously distant palaeogeographical areas were brought nearer (i.e. just before large-scale thrusting).


Carpolobia lutea is a medicinal plant commonly utilized in Nigeria to boost libido. The ethnomedicinal importance of any plant lies in some secondary metabolites. Hence, the present study was carried out to investigate the proximate and phytochemical composition of roots and leaves of this plant using standard methods. The proximate composition of leaves and roots showed moisture, ash, fibre, protein, fat and carbohydrate contents with values that ranged between 8.84-9.55, 3.48-3.65, 1.10-1.06, 6.64-8.39, 1.80-1.80 and 76.16-77.47% respectively. The leaves contained higher amount of ash, crude protein and fat than the roots. The results of ethanolic extracts showed the presence of alkaloids, anthraquinones, steroids, saponins, tannins, phenols, terpenoids, anthocyanin, carotenoids and flavonoids in both the leaves and roots. These phytochemicals were found to be significantly higher in roots except for anthraquinones, flavonoids and steroids which were significantly higher in the leaves. Among the phytochemicals, alkaloids were found to be highest in concentration followed in decreasing order by saponins, steroids, tannins, flavonoids, anthraquinones, anthocyanin, terpenoids, phenols and carotenoids. The results indicated that, C. lutea leaf and root have high nutritive and medicinal values and this could be explored for pharmaceutical purposes.


A ready-reference encyclopedia, now in its Third Edition, detailing the workings and personalities of the U.S. Congress, written in language that will be comprehensible to any level of researcher. 250 entries provide in-depth coverage of how Congress functions. Entries range from short definitions to a series of core essays exploring the legislative process, the seniority system, the committee system, the budget process, and other broad areas.


Wind-waves exert stress on coastal environment and wave power is a better representative of that stress rather than wave height alone. This study inspects the global changes in seasonal wave power by the end of the 21st century, compared to the 1979–2005 period as a result of projected climate change. We use multi-model wave climate simulations from WAVEWATCH-III, forced with surface winds simulated by 7 different CMIP5 Models. Our analysis of wave power reveals decreases over the Northern Hemisphere and increases over the tropics and Southern Hemisphere, with substantial seasonal and regional variations. We analyzed five different terms of differential wave power representing contribution from wave height and/or period. Although wave height changes dominantly control wave power change, contribution of wave period is pronounced over Southern hemisphere extra-tropics, remarkably over Indian Ocean sector during austral winter. Wave period increase is strikingly higher in austral winter than summer, which resembles with wave height of swells components generated in the Southern Ocean. Strong positive inter-model relationship between future change in wave power and SAM over the Southern Hemisphere is consistent with previously reported intensification of wind belt related to more frequent occurrences of positive SAM in future. Northern Hemisphere decrease can be attributed to reduced storm activity rising from lowered meridional temperature gradient, and lacked swell activity owing to smaller fraction of sea with respect to land than the Southern Hemisphere.


This research is part of a continuing program for the development of a coaxial depth electrode for research and diagnostic studies of neurological diseases. The requirements for this electrode include (1) strength and resistance to buckling sufficient to ensure self-forced penetration of brain tissue to a depth of 6 cm; (2) biocompatibility of the materials employed; (3) resistance to brittle fracture; and (4) a total diameter of less than 200 micrometer to minimize tissue damage. Earlier synthesis efforts using chemical vapor deposition techniques have been successful, although the process yield was 40% and an outer insulating layer had yet to be deposited. Plasma polymerization processes have been employed to realize an increase in the yield and provide an outer insulating layer. The starting material is W-26 at.% Re wire, nominally 125 micrometer in diameter. Hexamethyldisilazane(CH3)3SiNHSi(CH3)3 is used to deposit the insulating layers. The paper describes factors influencing the choice of materials, deposition techniques, and properties of electrodes.


The fact that helmets can prevent head injury is well-established. This paper describes the use of a dynamic, inelastic and large deformation finite element code LS-DYNA3D to simulate the impact response of motorcycle helmets. In order to verify the accuracy of the model, the simulation results of helmet drop on steel anvils were compared with experiments. The numerical predicted results matched experimental data very well. We then study the effects of ventilation holes. EPS shell with ventilation holes absorbed shock better than intact one when impacting the flat anvil, but not when impacting the hemi-sherical anvil. Next, a full FEM model which contain Hybrid III head, neck, and chest has been developed and couple with helmet FEM model for analyzing the kinematics of the neck motion and the associated dynamic transient response of the head subjected to various impact angles. The critical characteristics such as head C.G. acceleration, section forces and moments at the head-neck section and neck-chest section are investigated for each cases. Thus we have established a reliable 3D finite element model which can help us to better design the helmet.


Background: We conducted a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study and compared the treatment of medium-sized intracranial aneurysms with LVIS and Enterprise stent-assisted coil embolization (SACE) to determine the effects of hemodynamic changes caused by different stent and coil packing densities (PDs) in endovascular treatment. Methods: We enrolled 87 consecutive patients, with 87 medium-sized intracranial aneurysms (≥7, ≤ 12 mm), who underwent LVIS or Enterprise SACE. Aneurysms treated with LVIS SACE were allocated to the LVIS group, and the remainder were allocated to the Enterprise group. CFD were performed to assess hemodynamic alterations between before treatment, after stent deployment, and after SACE. Results: One aneurysm recanalized in the LVIS group (n = 42), and five recanalized in the Enterprise group (n = 45) (recanalization rate: 2.4 vs. 11.1%, respectively; P = 0.108). Higher complete obliteration rate (P = 0.069) was found in the LVIS group. Velocity at the neck plane showed a greater reduction ratio than velocity and WSS of the aneurysm in both groups after stent deployment, while velocity and WSS of the aneurysm showed a greater reduction ratio after coil placement. Further, there was a greater reduction in velocity at the neck plane (59.52 vs. 39.81%), aneurysmal velocity (88.46 vs. 69.45%), and wall shear stress (WSS) (85.45 vs. 69.49%) on the aneurysm in the LVIS group (P < 0.001 for all). Specifically, the reduction ratio of velocity at the neck plane showed significant difference between the groups in the multivariate analysis (P = 0.013). Conclusions : LVIS SACE showed a lower recanalization for endovascular treatment of medium-sized intracranial aneurysms, and the greater hemodynamic alterations might be the key factors.


Background: Cervical cancer is a major public health issue. It is the second most common cancer among women in the world, and one of leading cause of death by gynecologic malignant tumor in developing countries. Pap smear has been recognized as an effective strategy for reducing the incidence and mortality rate of cervical cancer. This study aimed to investigate the determinants of Pap smear utilization for cervical cancer early detection in women of reproductive age using path analysis model.

Subjects and Method: This was a case-control study conducted in Cilongok and Ajibarang Sub-districts, Banyumas, Central Java, from January 3 to February 3, 2018. A total sample of 200 women reproductive age was selected for this study by fixed disease sampling. The dependent variable was Pap smear utilization. The independent variables were education level, attitude, perception on the quality health care, access to the health center, family support, peer support, and health personnel support. The data were collected by questionnaire and analyzed by path analysis.

Results: The use of Pap smear increased with high education (b= 2.63; 95% CI= 1.77 to 3.48 p<0.001), good perception on quality of health care(b= 1.04; 95% CI= 0.22 to 1.86; p= 0.012), positive attitude (b= 1.48; 95% CI= 0.51 to 2.44 p= 0.003), good access to health center (b= 1.02; 95% CI= 0.20 to 1.84 p= 0.015), strong family support (b= 1.29; 95% CI= 0.22 to 2.61; p= 0.029), and strong health personnel support (b= 2.02; 95% CI= 0.60 to 3.45 p= 0.005). The use of Pap smear was indirectly associated with peer support through perception on quality health care.

Conclusion: The use of Pap smear increases with education, perception on quality of health care, attitude, access to health center, family support, and health personnel support.

Keywords: Pap smear, cervical cancer, education, attitude, perception, family support, peer support, health personnel support


This paper establishes a connection between object tracking from a systems point of view and the job-scheduling or job-shop problem. Often, surveillance areas cannot be fully monitored by a set of smart cameras at any given point in time. Decisions have to be made, which objects are to be tracked. The computer vision aspects of object tracking have made substantial strides which permits for elaborately planning the monitoring jobs. In this paper, object tracking is handled as a job-scheduling problem. As a result, tracked objects are considered as scheduling jobs that rely on smart cameras as resources that follow according tracking policies. The presented job-scheduling approach is based on proactive quotations advertised by the jobs. The main advantages of this algorithm are the avoidance of negotiation chains and the acceptance of local non-optimal solutions to benefit the overall performance.


kcne are evolutionarily conserved genes that encode accessory subunits of voltage-gated K+ (Kv) channels. Missense mutations in kcne1, kcne2, and kcne3 are linked to congenital and acquired channelopathies in Homo sapiens. Here we show an unique example of conservation of kcne activities at genetic, physiological, functional, and pathophysiological level in Caenorhabditis elegans. Thus, mps-4 is the homologue of kcne1 that operates in human heart and inner ear. Like its KCNE relatives, MPS-4 assembles with a Kv channel, EXP-2, to form a complex that controls pharyngeal muscle contractility. MPS-4 modulates EXP-2 function in a similar fashion as KCNE proteins endow human channels. When defective, MPS-4, can induce abnormal repolarization by mechanisms that resemble the way KCNE proteins are thought to provoke arrhythmia in human heart. Mutation of a conserved aspartate residue associated with human disease (MPS-4-D74N) alters the functional attributes of the C. elegans current. Taken together these data underscore a significant conservation of KCNE activities in different pumps. This implies that C. elegans can develop into a system to study the molecular and genetic basis of KCNE-mediated muscle contractility and disease states.


Background:Recent observations demonstrate that anesthetics rapidly impair synaptogenesis during neuronal circuitry development. Whether these effects are lasting and depend on the developmental stage at which these drugs are administered remains, however, to be explored. Methods:Wistar rats received propofol anesthesia at defined developmental stages during early postnatal life. The acute and long-term effects of these treatments on neuronal cytoarchitecture were evaluated by Neurolucida and confocal microscopy analysis after iontophoretic injections of Lucifer Yellow into layer 5 pyramidal neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex. Quantitative electron microscopy was applied to investigate synapse density. Results:Layer 5 pyramidal neurons of the medial prefrontal cortex displayed intense dendritic growth and spinogenesis during the first postnatal month. Exposure of rat pups to propofol at postnatal days 5 and 10 significantly decreased dendritic spine density, whereas this drug induced a significant increase in spine density when administered at postnatal days 15, 20, or 30. Quantitative electron microscopy revealed that the propofol-induced increase in spine density was accompanied by a significant increase in the number of synapses. Importantly, the propofol-induced modifications in dendritic spine densities persisted up to postnatal day 90. Conclusion:These new results demonstrate that propofol anesthesia can rapidly induce significant changes in dendritic spine density and that these effects are developmental stage-dependent, persist into adulthood, and are accompanied by alterations in synapse number. These data suggest that anesthesia in the early postnatal period might permanently impair circuit assembly in the developing brain.


This article presents imaginative agency as a new theoretical concept with great potential for life writing studies, especially digital life writing. It draws on a wide range of concepts and contexts to discuss selective histories and workings, proposing ways in which imaginative agency can fit into philosophical and aesthetic debates about capability, performativity, ethics and artificial intelligence. I argue for making a distinction between imaginative agency and creativity, owing to the monetizing of much creative activity. I explore agency in relation to aesthetic human capability, through comparison to the non-human, particularly whether bots can demonstrate imaginative agency in art and literature, and through questions of ethical agency in online practices like trolling and malware. Contexts relevant to imaginative agency in digital and social media practices, such as algorithms, crowdsourcing and augmented reality, are explored in terms of political considerations which tie cultural creation to wealth creation— a shackling from which imaginative agency can provide some liberation.


Sepsis‐associated encephalopathy (SAE) represents diverse cerebral dysfunctions in response to pathogen‐induced systemic inflammation. Peripheral exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of the gram‐negative bacterial cell wall, has been extensively used to model systemic inflammation. Our previous studies suggested that LPS led to hippocampal neuron death and synaptic destruction in vivo. However, the underlying roles of activated microglia in these neuronal changes remained unclear. Here, LPS from two different bacterial strains (Salmonella enterica or E. coli) were compared and injected in 14‐ to 16‐month‐old mice and evaluated for neuroinflammation and neuronal integrity in the hippocampus at 7 or 63 days post‐injection (dpi). LPS injection resulted in persistent neuroinflammation lasting for seven days and a subsequent normalisation by 63 dpi. Of note, increases in proinflammatory cytokines, microglial morphology and microglial mean lysosome volume were more pronounced after E. coli LPS injection than Salmonella LPS at 7 dpi. While inhibitory synaptic puncta density remained normal, excitatory synaptic puncta were locally reduced in the CA3 region of the hippocampus at 63 dpi. Finally, we provide evidence that excitatory synapses coated with complement factor 3 (C3) decreased between 7 dpi and 63 dpi. Although we did not find an increase of synaptic pruning by microglia, it is plausible that microglia recognised and eliminated these C3‐tagged synapses between the two time points of investigation. Since a region‐specific decline of CA3 synapses has previously been reported during normal ageing, we postulate that systemic inflammation may have accelerated or worsened the CA3 synaptic changes in the ageing brain.


We examine the task of strict sentence intersection: a variant of sentence fusion in which the output must only contain the information present in all input sentences and nothing more. Our proposed approach involves alignment and generalization over the input sentences to produce a generation lattice; we then compare a standard search-based approach for decoding an intersection from this lattice to an integer linear program that preserves aligned content while minimizing the disfluency in interleaving text segments. In addition, we introduce novel evaluation strategies for intersection problems that employ entailment-style judgments for determining the validity of system-generated intersections. Our experiments show that the proposed models produce valid intersections a majority of the time and that the segmented decoder yields advantages over the search-based approach.


Anyone undertaking a social history of English childhood in the nineteenth century and recording that history in 200 pages is at best overly ambitious. James Walvin does attempt this and, whilst the result is necessarily simplistic and descriptive, it is well written, and does convey a picture of English childhood in the nineteenth century. Indeed for those who want to validate perceptions regarding stereotypical English attitudes to sport, sex roles, public schools and street urchins they will be able to use this book to do just that. Walvin explores the period under thirteen headings including Death and the Child, Pain and Punishment, Working, Playing, The Facts of Life, The Law. In his introduction he acknowledges that much of the substance of the book was initially delivered in lectures, and this factor is noticeable throughout the book. The chapters are not woven together. The advantage of this is that they can be read on their own for reference. The disadvantages are repetition of material and a major lack of integration.


In order to study the effect of different redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) density on yield, yield components of soybean cultivar and determining competitive cultivar, a field experiment was carried out at Mazandaran agricultural research station 2006. Experiment was set up at a Randomized Complete Block Design with five rates of pigweed (0, 4, 8, 12 and 16 plant per square meter) and three cultivars of soybean (Telare, Sari and Sahare) in factorial arrangement with four replications. For calculating pod loss, number of seed per pod, 100 seed weight and yield; three parameter Cousense equation were employed. The results showed that, there were an inverse relationship between pigweed density and number of pod, seed per pod and 100 seed weight. The number of pod and 100 seed weight of grain decreased with increasing of the weed density, but the rate of pod number and 100 seed weight decrease in low pigweed density were more, than high density of pigweed. For this reason the relation between pigweed density with pod number and 100 seed weight was not linear, because in higher densities of pigweed by initiating intra-specific competition, the rate of competition reduced between weed and soybean, but between seed per pod and pigweed density there was a decreasing linear relation. The rate of number of pod per plant and weight of 100 seed decrease reduced with increasing the weed density. The soybean yield loss in 16 pigweed plant density in Sari, Telare and Sahare were 46.33%, 57.4% and 58.31% relative to the weed control, respectively. In conclusion the competition ability of Sari was more than other cultivars, and the amount of yield loss was lesser than Telar and Sahar cultivar.


ABSTRACT Lim, C.; Park, S.-H.; Kim, D.-Y.; Woo, S.-B., and Jeong, K.-Y., 2017. Influence of steric effect on the rapid sea level rise at Jeju Island, Korea. In: Lee, J.L.; Griffiths, T.; Lotan, A.; Suh, K.-S., and Lee, J. (eds.), The 2nd International Water Safety Symposium. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 79, pp. 189–193. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. According to a report by the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency (KHOA), the sea level rise in west coast (1.31 mm/yr), east coast (2.69 mm/yr) and south coast (2.05 mm/yr) of Korea are different. Especially, the seas around Jeju Island show one of the most rapid increase of sea level rise in recent years. This investigation on the data from Jeju and Seogwipo tidal station indicated that the sea level rises around Jeju and near Seogwipo were 5.63 mm/yr and 3.75 mm/yr, respectively. This shows that the northern and southern parts of the island have different temporal rates of sea level rise. The purpose of this research is to analyze the influence of the steric effect caused by density change in the water to the rate of sea level rise, by using sea temperature and salinity data measured by the National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS). It is found that the trend of seawater density variation near Jeju Island changed by the time of around 2006 and so does the sea level rise, indicating that there is a meaningful correlation between sea level rise and density variation. The rate of steric height rise by the density were calculated, resulting in a 15.8% and 23.2% of sea level rise in Jeju and Seogwipo, respectively.


As society and technology are developing, the amount of electrically powered devices is ever increasing. The traditional electrical grid, structured in a hierarchical way, is not capable of sustaining the rapid development and implementation of a more dynamical consumer. By incorporating solar panels and wind turbines at farm, businesses and even households the consumer becomes a producer as well. This transforms the conventional grid into a more dynamical and also distributed one. The project of which this thesis was a part of, deals with the integration of renewable energy by applying a new architecture that enables point-to-point power transmission and thus reduces instabilities and improves dynamical behavior. The key objective for the University of Twente (UT) is to find the best options for reducing interference, associated with fast switching semiconductors as applied in the novel converter type. This thesis starts with the development of a theoretical model based on the control signals applied to switching power devices. The model can be used to predict and estimate the conducted Electroagnetic Interference (EMI) generated in switching devices using sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (sPWM) waveforms. The model was verified in a conducted emission measurement. Combining the model with a radiated emission estimation model, gives a description of a noise source that is applied in the newly developed multi-level converter. For application in multi-level converters a sPWM generator was developed, which with its flexibility is used to perform measurements on Galium-Nitride (GaN) and Silicon-Carbide (SiC) based DC/AC converters, and multilevel converters. In case of conducted EMI measurements, the results were used to verify the theoretical model. In case of the magnetic radiated EMI measurements, a time domain measurement technique was developed that is comparable to using a traditional EMI receiver. The technique reduces measurement times from minutes to several seconds per orientation and placement. In case of large stacked multi-level converters it was deemed necessary to asses the magnetic radiation produced in such a structure. The electric field measurements are eventually used together with the developed mathematical model to determine the effective radiation efficiency of the system under test. The developed technique of determining the effective radiation efficiency, together with the concept for optimal placement of EMI in fully integrated systems are considered to be part of the main contributions of this thesis and can be seen as Mitigation through EMI placement. Another mitigation technique, which is a fairly classical Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) one, consist of implementing a filter along the propagation path of the disturbance. Part of the research objectives was developing behavioral circuit models based on full wave model and thus optimized filters implementing nano-crystalline materials. This thesis contributes with the development of an automated method for back annotating field effects into equivalent circuit simulations. Part of this work was the development of Gauss-Newton optimization algorithm that can fit impedance curves to equivalent circuit elements. This was applied to measurements and full-wave 3D simulations of relatively simple components like capacitors, which showed optimal capacitor placement can be investigated through circuit simulations rather then Electro-Magnetic (EM) field simulations. Extending the research to more complex structures and components, required the development of a 3D full wave high frequency models. This has been done for a two phased sectionally winded Common Mode Choke (CMC), incorporating complex permeabilities through a dispersion model. Overall it can be concluded that this thesis has contributed to the development of the future electrical grid, by investigating components that are attributed to the Multifunctional Multilevel Modular Converter (M3C), which is considered to enable the development of the 'smart grid '. Much work still needs to be done, from refining and applying the developed measurement techniques to larger and fully integrated systems to developing more accurate and faster fitting algorithms for determining equivalent circuit component values. Also the effect of proposed mitigation techniques on various functionalities of the M3C have to be investigated.


Renowned origami artist Peter Engel first astounded origami enthusiasts and the lay person alike with his popular Origami from Angelfish to Zen. Since that book, published in 1989, Engel has gone through a personal change in his philosophy of origami design, honed through decades of elevating what is often viewed as simple paper folding into a fine art. In Origami Odyssey, Engel takes paper crafters on a journey to the edge of paper folding, providing instruction for exquisite and original origami designs, including several that have been shown in galleries and museums throughout the world. Experienced folders will delight in the chance to grow as artists as they master the projects in this book, and new comers to origami will find the author's journey so inspiring that they'll be ready to begin an odyssey of their own. This unique do-it-yourself paper craft book includes: Full-colored photos and step-by-step instructions and diagrams 21 fun-to-do projects like the Green Horned Owl, Gingko Leaf, Stingray and much more! An instructional DVD with easy-to-follow video tutorials


Churning in Medicaid has been long recognized as a problem leading to breaks in coverage. Tenure in Medicaid managed care has received less attention. Recent reports indicate that children's tenures in health plans are far shorter than tenures in Medicaid itself, but explanations for the difference are not given. In the research reported here, we conducted case studies in five states to determine difference in tenure and reasons for the difference. Our investigation showed that children were enrolled in Medicaid two to four months longer than in specific Medicaid health plans. The major reasons for the gap were retroactive enrollment in Medicaid and delays in selecting a health plan. Frequent and burdensome Medicaid renewal processes exacerbate the problem, resulting in breaks in enrollment and the need to reenroll. The task of managing the care of Medicaid children is difficult without adequate tenures in health plans.


This work proposes a maximum a posteriori (MAP) based parameter learning algorithm for acoustic-to-articulatory inversion. Inversion method is based on single global linear dynamic system (GLDS) representation of acoustic and articulatory data. MAP based learning algorithm considers a prior distribution for the parameter set as well as the likelihood of the training data. Therefore in this paper, we investigate the selection of prior distributions with hyperparameters for GLDS to improve the performance of articulatory inversion. The performance of the proposed learning algorithm and comparison of it with the maximum likelihood (ML) based learning method are examined on an extensive set of examples. These results show that the performance of the articulatory inversion method based on GLDS is significantly improved via MAP based learning algorithm.


Cyclopropanated binaphthoquinones are obtained by addition of diazomethane to dimeric naphthoquinones and thermal or acidic degradation. 8,8′-dimethoxy-3′-methyl-2,3-dihydro-2,3-methano-2,2′-binaphthyldiquinone (9b) forms diastereomers by axial chirality and has a rotation barrier of about 20 kcal/mol.


Ambidextrous firms are those that can simultaneously manage exploitative and explorative innovation, which is why ambidexterity is key for firms that desire to pursue strategic entrepreneurship. Researchers have explored many of the reasons why some firms are more ambidextrous than others. However, little attention has been devoted to understanding how attributes of top decision makers can influence their firms' ambidexterity. By drawing on upper echelons theory and goal orientations research, we explain how firms' ambidexterity can be affected by top decision makers' motivations in achievement situations (i.e., goal orientations). Testing our hypotheses on a sample of 274 top decision makers of firms in the United States, we find that top decision makers' learning goal orientation – their desire to take risks and maximize learning–has an inverted U-shaped relationship with ambidexterity while top decision makers' performance prove goal orientation – their desire to demonstrate competence with existing skills – has a U-shaped relationship with ambidexterity. These effects are weaker for top decision makers who have greater role experience.


A variety of cases of scientific misconduct have been documented since the 1980s among biological scientists. These cases have focused the attention of the public and scientific community on this behavior and made it the centerpiece of the concern about ethics in the biological sciences. In contrast, the ethics movement in clinical medicine, which arose in the 1960s, was not basically directed at the problems of wrong-doing. Instead it concentrated on the difficult ethical choices that had to be made In the practice of medicine. In this essay, I discuss the two movements. The attention given to misconduct In the biological sciences has become excessive and diverts its ethics movement from exploring and teaching about the difficult ethical decisions scientists must make in weighing obligations to self, science, and society. A more balanced and selective approach to developing an ethical framework in the biological sciences is needed.


Our recent research has developed a technique for imbedding ultra high density deuterium "clusters" (D cluster) in Palladium (Pd) thin film. Experiments have shown that in Pd these condensed matter state clusters approach metallic conditions, exhibiting super conducting properties. This deuterium cluster is achieved through electrochemically loading-unloading deuterium into a thin metal film, such as Palladium (Pd). During the loading process, Palladium lattice expands significantly due to invasion of deuterium into the interstitial sites. With the large enough stress, some linear lattice imperfections, called dislocations, form at / transformation interface. These dislocation defects form a strong potential trap causing deuterium to condense. In the present study, a new method employing nano-structuring of the Pd is proposed to significantly improve the site density over the target volume, suggesting that a sizable region of the compressed target deuterium can reach densities an order of magnitude higher than possible with prior target designs. This improved cluster packing fraction will enable a significant increase of the fusion reaction burn density, hence the target burn-up efficiency.


A monoclonal antibody AP64 IgM binds to human acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) cell line HL60 and also cross-reacts with the homologous antigen in a rat ANLL cell. This antibody mediated by complement, has leukemia a suppression effect. In this study, we generated a recombinant single-chain variable domain fragment (ScFv) which were derived from V H and V L cDNA of AP64 IgM-secreting hybridoma by RT-PCR. The two variable regions were joined with a single 15 amino acid linker [G₄S]₃. This recombinant ScFv was expressed as a single polypeptide chain from Escherichia coli BMH 71-18. The recombinant ScFv was purified by applying the periplasmic extract to Ni+-NTA-agarose affinity column and detected with westernblot. The purified recombinant ScFv recognized a surface antigen [about 30 kDa] of HL60 cell Line which is the same antigen detected by parental AP64 IgM. But the affinity of ScFv for a surface antigen of HL60 was lower than that of the parental AP64 IgM, which needs to be further improved. Overall, the recombinant ScFv specific to HL60 might be a useful bioreagent for either diagnostic or therapeutic purposes.


This work analyzes the synergy between two complementary unit operations - adsorbent dehumidification and drying - and presents a mixed integer nonlinear programming approach to optimize energy performance in a two-stage system. Combined with active constraint analysis, the adsorbent properties that promote energy performance are derived. Microporous adsorbents with higher sorption capacities at low vapor pressures and requiring higher regeneration temperatures are preferred for ambient air dehumidification in the first stage. For exhaust air dehumidification, mesoporous adsorbents with lower regeneration temperatures are preferred such that the exhaust air from the first regeneration stage can sufficiently regenerate them. For drying below 50 C, energy consumption reductions of about 70% are achieved compared to conventional dryers without adsorbent dehumidification depending on adsorbent properties. The results demonstrate the usefulness of superstructure optimization in matching the drying process with the capabilities of the adsorbents to enhance process synergy for improved energy efficiency. © 2013 American Chemical Society.


Abstract Oil spills have killed thousands of birds during the last 100 years, but nonlethal effects of oil spills on birds remain poorly studied. We measured phenotype characters in 819 eiders Somateria mollissima (279 whole birds and 540 wings) of which 13.6% were oiled. We tested the hypotheses that (a) the morphology of eiders does not change due to oil contamination; (b) the anatomy of organs reflects the physiological reaction to contamination, for example, increase in metabolic demand, increase in food intake, and counteracting toxic effects of oil; (c) large locomotion apparatus that facilitates locomotion increases the risk of getting oiled; and (d) individual eiders with a higher production of secretions from the uropygial grand were more likely to have oil on their plumage. We tested whether 19 characters differed between oiled and nonoiled individuals, showing a consistent pattern. The final model retained seven predictor variables showing relationships between eiders contaminated with oil and food consumption, flight, and diving abilities. We tested whether these effects were due to differences in body condition, liver mass, empty gizzard mass, or other characters that could have been affected by impaired flight and diving ability. There was no evidence of such negative impact of oiling on eiders. We found that significant exposure to oil was associated with increased diversity of antibacterial defense. Oiled eiders did not constitute a random sample, and superior diving ability as reflected by large foot area was at a selective disadvantage during oil spills. Thus, specific characteristics predispose eiders to oiling, with an adaptation to swimming, diving, and flying being traded against the costs of oiling. In contrast, individuals with a high degree of physiological plasticity may experience an advantage because their uropygial secretions counteract the effects of oil contamination.


One of the biggest sources of state revenue derived from the tax sector. Tax revenue is used to finance government expenditures, construction, as well as to improve the welfare of the community through increased public facilities. In order to improve the quality of the tax service to taxpayers, Direktort General tax reform in the field of tax administration, namely in the framework of the implementation of the type of service delivery and the delivery of the Notice to the Annual Tax Extension and conducted electronically through the online system or so-called e-filing. With the implementation of this system, the delivery of the Notice is expected to be more effective and efficient. The purpose of this study is to measure how the effectiveness of the delivery system of annual income tax returns via e-filing in the Office of the Directorate General of Taxation, Central Java II. This study used qualitative methods. Data was collected through interviews, documentation, and literature study. The level of effectiveness of the delivery system through the Annual Income Tax e-filing is measured in two ways: using the ratio of effectiveness, and comparing the number of individual taxpayers registered with the number of individual taxpayers who use the e-filing. Based on the research results, it can be concluded that the implementation of e-filing in 2013 is classified in the category are not effective with effectiveness ratio of 0.21% and the ratio between the number of individual taxpayers registered with that use e-filing by 0.12%. . Keywords : effectiveness, Notice, e-filing


Work stress is related to accidents, violence in the workplace, organizational strain in the form of absenteeism, decreased work performance, increased injury rates and employee turnover. Nurses are professionals who have high risks of occupational stress. The purpose of this study is to get the prevalens of work stress in nurses in Indonesia and the that influencing factors, using the instrument of ENSS Indonesian version. ENSS is an instrument of stress assessment specifically designed for nurses. ENSS has been adapted to the specific working conditions and culture of Indonesia. A total of 124 nurses were recruited, coming from hospitals and primary healthcare facilities. The higher the level of work stress experienced by nurses, the higher the value of measurement. No relationship was found between demographic characteristics and the level of stress in each subscale in both groups of respondents.


Continuing work initiated in an earlier publication (Asada, MNRAS. 394 (2009) 818), we make a systematic attempt to determine, as a function of lens and source parameters, the positions of images by multi-plane gravitational lenses. By extending the previous single-plane work, we present a method of Taylor-series expansion to solve the multi-plane lens equation in terms of mass ratios except for the neighborhood of the caustics. The advantage of this method is that it allows a systematic iterative analysis and clarifies the dependence on lens and source parameters. In concordance with the multi-plane lensed-image counting theorem that the lower bound on the image number is $2^N$ for N planes with a single point mass on each plane, our iterative results show how $2^N$ images are realized. Numerical tests are done to investigate if the Taylor expansion method is robust. The method with a small mass ratio works well for changing a plane separation, whereas it breaks down in the inner domain near the caustics.


OBJECTIVE
Autophagy is a process of degrading the damaged organelles and macromolecules by lysosomes in cells, which belongs to the programmed cell death. Cerebral ischemia is one of the important reasons for activation of autophagy. Studies have showed that autophagy plays a protective role in neuronal death induced by ischemia. However, it has also been found that excessive activation of autophagy could aggravate cerebral ischemia injury. In recent years, more and more Chinese medicine has been proved to regulate the autophagy level of brain neurons and reduce cerebral ischemia injury. In this paper, the main molecular mechanism of autophagy in the process of cerebral ischemic injury and the intervention effects of Chinese herbs on autophagy arereviewed in order to explore the basic principle of regulating autophagy by Chinese herbs and to play a better role in the clinical treatment of cerebral ischemic diseases.


Introduction: Regular treatment with a fixed combination of long ‐acting β2‐adrenoreceptor agonist (LABA) and inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) led to asthma control in randomized controlled trials. Is it possible to reach similar results in a real ‐life setting? Methods: During a 3‐month multicenter prospective study, patients not meeting the criteria of total asthma control were treated for three months with a fixed combination of ICS/LABA guided by a physician. The patients were educated in proper inhaler technique and importance of adherence to treatment. Results: Four hundred and ninety ‐four patients were included with a mean age of 39.0 (SD 16.2) years and disease duration of 6.3 years (SD 7.5). During the treatment phase, a significant reduction in patients with day ‐time (from 93% to 23%, p < 0.001) and night ‐time symptoms (from 81% to 10%, p < 0.001) was observed. The mean Asthma Control Test score gradually increased from 16.7 (SD 3.8) to 23.8 (SD 1.7) (p < 0.001). The proportion of uncontrolled asthma patients decreased from 76% at the baseline visit to 2% at the end of the study period (p < 0.001). The mean dose of ICS decreased from the baseline 721 (SD 289) μg to the final 672 (SD 317) μg (p = 0.041) daily. According to multivariate analysis (logistic regression), an age ≥ 40 years (OR = 0.552, p = 0.002) and smoking (OR = 0.527, p = 0.026) significantly decreased asthma control. Conclusion: In a real ‐life scenario, regular treatment with ICS/LABA and improved adherence/inhaler handling resulted in a significant increase in asthma control in as little as three months.


Due to their large oscillator strengths, ZnSe microcavities with (Zn, Cd)Se quantum wells are particularly suited for investigation of the photon–exciton coupling behaviour in semiconductors. We have observed a strong coupling between the excitonic and photonic modes in a ZnSe microcavity with four (Zn, Cd)Se quantum wells and distributed Bragg mirrors of ZnS and YF3. A very large Rabi splitting meV was observed in temperature dependent photoluminescence investigations.


The present invention includes a method for freezing the surface of the object system change ice adhesion strength. The system comprising: an insulated electrode and the object; is connected to a DC power source and an electrode on the object (e.g., a battery). When the circuit is turned on ice, the DC power supply generates a DC bias at the interface between the ice and the object. This object is a conductor or a doped semiconductor, whereby, compared to zero bias, zero bias applied to the interface between ice and the object is capable of selectively varying the ice adhesion strength. Static (i.e., no bias is applied state) with respect to it, the ice adhesion strength can be increased or decreased. Thus, it is possible to facilitate the de-icing (e.g., ice on aircraft wing). Preferably the insulating material is provided between the object and the electrode system; and the shape of a substantially insulating material and the electrode and the same object. For most applications, the electrodes including the same shape and the surface of the gate electrode, and the gate electrode of each point and the average power is turned on. Accordingly, also commonly provided with a gate electrode material between the object and the gate insulating electrode. An embodiment of the present invention uses a porous material selectively permeable to the ice on the surface of the object-release additive; another embodiment uses a self-assembled monolayer to reduce the hydrogen bonding strength between the ice and metal. In one embodiment, the present invention also provides a transmission line coating characteristics thereof varies with temperature, the coating is capable of melting snow and ice on the power transmission line in icing conditions.


Engagement of CD137 receptor by agonistic monoclonal antibodies (mAb) stimulates IFN-gamma production and eradicates established tumors in syngeneic mouse models. Using IFN-gamma-deficient mice or neutralizing mAb, we demonstrate that IFN-gamma is an absolute requirement for the antitumor effect of CD137 mAb. Despite progressive tumor growth in IFN-gamma-depleted mice, a fully competent CD8(+) cytolytic T cell (CTL) response developed in the lymph nodes. In addition, tumor cell sensitivity to IFN-gamma was not required because expression of a dominant-negative IFN-gamma receptor on the tumor did not affect the therapeutic effect of CD137 mAb. However, in the absence of IFN-gamma, the number of tumor-infiltrating CD8(+) CTLs was drastically decreased. Our results demonstrate that IFN-gamma is a critical factor regulating the infiltration of antigen-specific CTL into the tumor.


Toxicity of chemotherapy remains an important point in the care of patients with malignancies. Since a few years, new compounds without any intrinsic anti tumoral activity have been developed to decrease the toxicity or to enhance the activity of anti-cancer drugs. From those used against the toxic activity of anti-cancer drugs, two classes could be isolated: the chemoprotectors that interact through a specific of chemotherapy in normal cells, and the chemocorrectors that enhance the spontaneous recovery after exposition to cytotoxic drugs. The most widely used chemoprotector remains the 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate (mesna) which protects against the bladder toxicity of ifosfamide and cyclophosphamide. However, two new drugs, amifostine and dextrazoxane have been recently or will be approved in France against the toxicity of cisplatin and anthracyclines, respectively. Mechanism of action and clinical applications of these new drugs in cancer chemotherapy are reviewed.


This paper addresses the problem of characterizing variability of soil moisture at various scales by combining information, such as measurements and soil hydrologic properties, available at different scales. This problem is motivated by the need to provide a way to predict subgrid/subpixel variability from measurements made at satellite footprint scale. A mean-differenced multiple scale fractal model is developed for soil moisture. The salient features of this model are as follows. 1) Differences in soil moisture in various hydrologic groups are modeled through a difference in mean, while the fluctuations are assumed independent of the mean. 2) Mean soil moisture is linearly related to available water capacity of the soil. 3) Fluctuations are modeled as fractional Gaussian noise. Estimation techniques based on multiresolution trees are implemented to obtain the values at multiple scales. Since estimation is a smoothing process that may not provide a good representation of the variability, particularly in regions where there are no observations, a complementary conditional simulation technique is developed. This allows the authors to construct synthetic fields that are representative of the intrinsic variability of the process. The technique is applied to problems of estimation and conditional simulation for the following scenarios: domain with missing values, sparsely sampled data, in domain outside of where measurements are available, and at scales smaller than at which measurements are available.


The spatial-temporal variation of cyanobacteria was studied from 2002 to 2007 on the Madeira River, a river with muddy waters of Amazon origins in the Andes, whose main characteristics are the massive amount of material in suspension and relative wealth of nutrients and inorganic ions. The presence of cyanobacteria in Madeira River was not associated with high levels of pollution or organic contents. Unique species of white waters and typical species of clear waters were found. The genera Oscillatoria and Anabaena were predominant, with a significant concentration of species (46.8%), highest number of taxa (63%) and higher values of species richness (S) and diversity index (H0) on the headwaters during the high water levels. About 57% of the identified taxa were considered accidentals. The traditional communities consume water from the river without prior treatment, so it can not be ruled out intoxication by cyanotoxins.


The Authorized Metrological Centre (AMS) working by SUJCHBO (National Institute for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection) ensures for the Czech Republic the metrological traceability for devices that measure the radon concentration and the energy equivalent radon concentration connected with the radon decay products (RnDP). The evaluation and the calibration of measuring devices for radon and RnDP require the stable conditions (first of all radon and the RnDP concentrations). The new AMS radon-aerosol chamber in Kamenná consists of the walk-in testing chamber with a volume of 10 m(3) and of the handling box with a volume of 0.3 m(3). The design of the chamber allows measurement and a control of environmental parameters such as the temperature, the pressure of air inside and outside of the chamber, the relative humidity of air, the concentration and the size distribution of aerosol particles and the air velocity.