A typical broadcasting protocol for wireless network usually involves fixed transmission power that covers, for example an area within 250 meters (m). However, it is often unnecessary to broadcast using fixed power because a node that needs to be covered may just be 100m away. By reducing the transmission power enough to cover this node, energy expenditure would be reduced, thus, prolonging the lifetime of battery-powered wireless networks such as Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). Existing source-dependent broadcasting protocols do not have any mechanisms for adjusting the transmission power of nodes. Therefore, this paper proposes some effective mechanisms based on local neighborhood knowledge, while ensuring the overall network is still covered. Results of extensive simulations confirm the effectiveness of the proposed protocols in reducing energy consumption.


Cold atom manipulation may enable small quantum systems to be built to order In quantum science, the control of individual particles that was once unimaginable is now routine and expanding rapidly to a variety of platforms harnessing atoms, photons, solid-state circuits, molecules, and more. Yet, implementation on a large scale that retains individual particle control remains a frontier challenge. Large-scale quantum control is predicted to have revolutionary consequences for studying synthetic quantum matter and for information processing that harnesses quantum mechanics—that is, quantum computing. On pages 1021 and 1024 of this issue, Barredo et al. (1) and Endres et al. (2) report on an experimental approach in which controlling the spatial distribution of neutral atoms is taken to a new scale.


High-dimensional large sample data sets, between feature variables and between samples, may cause some correlative or repetitive factors, occupy lots of storage space, and consume much computing time. Using the Elman neural network to deal with them, too many inputs will influence the operating efficiency and recognition accuracy; too many simultaneous training samples, as well as being not able to get precise neural network model, also restrict the recognition accuracy. Aiming at these series of problems, we introduce the partial least squares (PLS) and cluster analysis (CA) into Elman neural network algorithm, by the PLS for dimension reduction which can eliminate the correlative and repetitive factors of the features. Using CA eliminates the correlative and repetitive factors of the sample. If some subclass becomes small sample, with high-dimensional feature and fewer numbers, PLS shows a unique advantage. Each subclass is regarded as one training sample to train the different precise neural network models. Then simulation samples are discriminated and classified into different subclasses, using the corresponding neural network to recognize it. An optimized Elman neural network classification algorithm based on PLS and CA (PLS-CA-Elman algorithm) is established. The new algorithm aims at improving the operating efficiency and recognition accuracy. By the case analysis, the new algorithm has unique superiority, worthy of further promotion.


The mode of IL-6-induced differentiation of Con A-stimulated CD4-CD8+ CTL-P was examined. Through application of neutralizing anti-IL-6, anti-IL-2, and anti-IL-4 mAb it was shown that IL-6 is an "early acting" factor for development of accessory cell-depleted thymocytes. IL-2 and IL-4 are obligatory "late acting" factors for this process. In accordance IL-4, but not IL-6, induced active CTL from CD4-CD8+ CTL-P. The increase of CD4-CD8+ CTL originates at least partially from CD4+CD8+ cells differentiating to active CTL in vitro. CTL development was paralleled by an increase in CD4-CD8+ cells and by a distinct increase in [3H]TdR uptake on day 2 of cultivation. Our data suggest that IL-6 induces Th cells to produce IL-2 and IL-4, the mediators for final differentiation of CD4-CD8+ cells.


The multiwavelength characteristics of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in YVO4 crystal excited by a picosecond laser at 1064nm are investigated theoretically and experimentally. Laser output with seven wavelengths is achieved coaxially and synchronously at 894, 972, 1175, 1312, 1486, 1713 and 2022nm in a YVO4 crystal. The maximum total Raman output energy is as high as 2.77 mJ under the pump energy of 7.75 mJ. A maximum total Raman conversion efficiency of 47.8% is obtained when the pump energy is 6.54 mJ. This is the highest order of Stokes components and the highest output energy generated by YVO4 reported up to date. This work expands the Raman spectrum of YVO4 crystal to the near-IR regime, with seven wavelengths covered at the same time, paving the way for new wavelength generation in the near-IR regime and its multiwavelength application.


Based on the firm-level micro data from China customs and industrial enterprise databases from 2000 to 2007,this paper comprehensively investigates the effects of changes in RMB exchange rates on Chinese manufacturing export firms' markups,and simultaneously reveals possible function mechanisms behind.It comes to the results as follows:firstly,RMB appreciation significantly reduces export firms' markups;and RMB appreciation has stronger negative effects on mark-ups of firms with higher dependence on export;secondly,dynamic analysis shows that the influence of RMB appreciation on export firms' markups may has a delay of one year,which means export firms' markups will decline more as time passes;thirdly,the effects of RMB exchange rates on export firms' markups are significantly featured by heterogeneity:the negative effect of RMB appreciation on export firms' markups decreases with the improvement of firm productivity,and increases with the enhancement of firm financing constraints;in view of firm ownership,markups of private export firms suffer a big hit from RMB appreciation,while processing export firms are less affected as for mode of trade.Furthermore,it explores the role of RMB appreciation in export firms' markups through a mediating effect model,and shows that RMB appreciation reduces export firms' markups through price competition and scale effects.This paper provides some enlightenment and reference for firm behavior choice and trade policy formulation under the condition of the opening-up capital market.


Beta-glucosidase and beta-galactosidase activity profile tested in different seeds during 24 h germination revealed reasonably high levels of activity in Vigna radiata, Cicer arietinum, and Trigonella foenum-graecum. In all seeds tested, beta-galactosidase activity was, in general, higher than that of beta-glucosidase. T. foenum-graecum seedlings exhibited maximal total and specific activities for both the enzymes during 72 h germination. Se supplementation as Na2SeO3 up to 0.75 ppm was found to be beneficial to growth and revealed selective enhancement of beta-galactosidase activity by 40% at 0.5 ppm Se. The activities of both the enzymes drastically decreased at 1.0 ppm level of Se supplementation. On the contrary, addition of Na2SeO3 in vitro up to 1 ppm to the enzyme extracts did not influence these activities. Hydrolytic rates of beta-glucosidase in both control and Se-supplemented groups were enhanced by 20% with 0.05 M glycerol in the medium and 30% at 0.1 M glycerol. The rates were marginally higher in Se-supplemented seedlings than the controls, irrespective of added glycerol in the medium. In contrast, hydrolysis by beta-galactosidase showed a trend of decrease in Se-supplemented seedlings compared to the control, when glycerol was present in the medium. Addition of Se in vitro in the assay medium showed no difference in the hydrolytic rate by beta-galactosidase when compared to control, while the activity of beta-glucosidase declined by 50%. Se-grown seedlings showed an enhancement of transglucosidation rate by 40% in the presence of 0.1 M glycerol. The study reveals a differential response to Se among the beta-galactosidase and beta-glucosidase of T. foenum-graecum with increase in the levels of beta-galactosidase activity.


The problems of the optimal recovery of functions and their derivatives from approximate values of their Fourier coefficients are considered. Explicit expressions for optimal recovery methods in classes of smooth and analytic functions defined on various compact manifolds are presented.


The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019) pandemic has affected almost all countries in the world. When the first cases were reported from Hubei, China, in late December 2019, the Vietnamese authorities acknowledged the potential risk of an epidemic having had the experience of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Avian flu. When it was clear that there was human-to-human transmission in the epidemic in Wuhan that started in January 2020, the Vietnamese government, health care system, and civil society were rapidly mobilized. How has a country with a population of about 100 million and a long porous border to China managed to prevent a larger outbreak? This case history is about how Hai Phong city implemented the initial COVID-19 response. Hai Phong reacted quickly after the COVID-19 outbreak in China by, quarantining people coming from pandemic areas, and carrying out contact tracing and extensive testing, closing schools and universities and implementing two weeks of social distancing measures. There are no detected positive cases until May 18, 2020 in Hai Phong.


Achieving change in assessment practices in higher education is difficult. One of the reasons for this is resistance among those responsible for teaching and assessing. This paper seeks to explore this resistance through an analysis of staff dialogue during a major attempt to change the assessment practices at one institution. An institution-wide intervention to pilot new assessment practices was initiated, involving 35 academics across 12 departments. This paper reports on patterns emerging in dialogue about this among academics, and between academics and educational development personnel. Findings suggest that resistance is not a unitary concept, but that different stakeholders under varied circumstances express it differently; and that resistance to assessment change is particularly resilient. Implications are discussed in terms of relevance to current theories of higher education assessment and learning change management, as well as the practical considerations of attempts by institutions to engage in assessment change.


ABSTRACT

Febrianto, Ramadani, Sani. 2018. Touchforsafe application for
anticipation of action android-based crime. Final Project, Informatics
Study Program, Faculty of Engineering, Majapahit Islamic University
(UNIM).
Mentor I
: Ronny M. A., S.Kom., M.Kom.
Mentor II : Dinarta Hanum, S.Si., M.Sc.

Increasing time and time, the level of crime that is happening is
getting higher, this makes people more watchful for existing criminal acts,
with the development of technology nowadays people who see crime can
more easily contact the police, but if we ourselves who experienced
criminal acts there is no chance to contact anyone.
By utilizing mobile technology and services with Android platforms,
such as GPS, and SMS, the author makes the application "Touch For
Safe" to Anticipate Android-based Crime Actions, this application is
created using Android Studio, the application utilizes GPS (Global Position
System) and SMS facilities (Short Message Service) to retrieve
coordinates and send these coordinates to a list of contacts that have
been entered via SMS (Short Message Service).
This application also functions to record the sound that occurs
when the button is pressed, voice recording will be evidence of criminality
that occurred. The last feature of this application will lock the screen
automatically. From some respondents who filled out the questionnaire, it
can be concluded that 95% of respondents feel calm after installing this
application.

Keywords: SMS, GPS, voice record, android.


The purpose of this paper is to investigate how investments in trade shows can be made more effective. The method was a descriptive study builds on primary and secondary sources. The primary source ...


The current study aims at examining the importance of characteristics that young individuals perceive as a stimulus in undertaking entrepreneurial activity in future. Two widely acknowledged tests, the attitudes toward enterprise (ATE) and the general enterprising tendency (GET) test, served as the research tools in order to draw indications regarding youth's potential entrepreneurial behaviour in the Greek context. Research in a sample of undergraduate students of different backgrounds indicated that the ATE test seems to work better and ranked youth's attitudes in the following order: creativity, achievement, leadership, personal control and intuition. Provided that young individuals increasingly constitute the recipients of entrepreneurial educational and policy initiatives, the current study contributes in several ways and responds to past research calls for the need to design appropriate entrepreneurial supportive processes, but also to effectively measure and evaluate the outcomes of existing entrepreneurial programmes and frameworks.


The effects of intravenously administered glycopyrrolate 0.2 mg (n = 10, Group I) or one orally given analgesic-spasmolytic combination preparation tablet (n = 10, Group II) on the contraction of human gallbladder during control oral cholecystography were compared with patients without any medication (n = 10, Group III). Neither drug had any effect on the gallbladder contraction and, hence, their usefulness in a patient with pain caused by gallstones is questionable. Heart rates and blood pressures were constant in Groups II and III but in Group I glycopyrrolate occasionally caused slight tachycardia and elevated blood pressure. Only in Group I 2 patients had mild side-effects (anticholinergic).


The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeking a restraining order and an injunction preventing the titanium dioxide producers Tronox and Cristal from merging. Tronox agreed to purchase its white pigment rival, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's National Industrialization Co., in February 2017 for $1.7 billion in cash, plus stock. In December, seeking to block the merger, FTC brought the case before an administrative judge, a process that hasn't been completed. The European Commission approved the deal earlier this month, requiring only the divestiture of a business in paper-laminate-grade TiO2. Should the merger proceed, FTC says, Tronox and rival Chemours would have a commanding U.S. market share for high-value chloride-process TiO2. "The proposed acquisition would substantially increase concentration in an already concentrated market," FTC says in its complaint. Tronox says the court date will provide "the company a forum to demonstrate how


BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE
Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) is effective in the prophylaxis and management of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, but requires daily administration because of its short half-life. Pegylated rhG-CSF (PEG-rhG-CSF) is a long-acting reagent that permits less frequent injection. This study was to evaluate the safety and tolerance of PEG-rhG-CSF in Chinese patients, and to explore its efficacy of enhancing absolute neutrophil count (ANC) and CD34+ cell count in peripheral blood.

METHODS
Naïve non-small lung cancer or breast cancer patients with normal bone marrow function were eligible for this open-labeled, dose-escalation trial. All patients received 2 cycles of chemotherapy of identical regimen. In cycle 1, rhG-CSF (150 microg/day) was administrated in case of febrile neutropenia or grade 4 neutropenia; in cycle 2, patients received a single injection of PEG-rhG-CSF (30 microg/kg, 60 microg/kg, 100 microg/kg, or 200 microg/kg) 48 h after administration of paclitaxel and carboplatin.

RESULTS
All the 16 patients enrolled (4 in each dose group) were evaluable for safety and efficacy of PEG-rhG-CSF. Main adverse events related to PEG-rhG-CSF were musculoskeletal pain or arthralgia (13/16), fatigue (10/16), dizziness (2/16), and injection-site pain (1/16). All adverse events were mild to moderate, and most of them were reversible without treatment. PEG-rhG-CSF enhanced ANC in a dose-dependent manner to some extent, and PEG-rhG-CSF at 60 microg/kg or higher doses prevented chemotherapy-induced neutropenia with sustained effect; CD34+ cells in peripheral blood were also increased.

CONCLUSIONS
PEG-rhG-CSF is well tolerated, with no serious adverse event in this trial. The recommended dose of PEG-rhG-CSF for phase II trial is 100 microg/kg because of its adequate efficacy and less adverse events than those of 200 microg/kg.


ABSTRACT Background In Tanzania only an estimated one-quarter of births are registered and certified. Birth registration uses a centralized system with geographic and cost barriers for families. A pilot decentralized birth registration system has been trialled in 11 of 26 regions, substantially increasing registration points, and enabling notification, registration and certification to occur in one step. Objective This study compares completeness of birth registration and certification and achievement of key birth registration milestones in two districts where the birth registration system decentralized and two districts with the existing centralized system. Methods Registration, notification, census and survey data were used to estimate birth registration completeness and quantify achievement of key registration milestones for births in 2012–16. These were compared between districts of Mbozi (decentralized in 2013) and Iringa (decentralized in 2016) and districts of Dodoma and Kibaha which remained centralized. Results For births that occurred from 2012 to 2016, completeness of birth registration/certification (by early 2017) was higher in districts that decentralized (Iringa 60%; Mbozi 52%) than remained centralized (Kibaha 36%; Dodoma 20%). Introduction of the decentralized system saw completeness for births registered within 12 months of occurrence increase in Iringa from 1% in 2014 to 67% in 2016, and in Mbozi from 15% in 2012 to 36% in 2013 before falling and subsequently increasing to 53% in 2016. In contrast, completeness in centralized districts did not increase. Although a higher proportion of births are notified in centralized than decentralized districts, registration and certification occurs for all notified births in decentralized districts but only one-third in centralized districts. Conclusions Benefits of a decentralized system are more proximate registration points and the merging of notification, registration and certification steps. The findings, while demonstrating the immediate impact of the decentralized system on completeness, also show that continued efforts are necessary to sustain these improvements.


Marcel Kahan and Edward Rock's Article, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Pill: Adaptive Responses to Takeover Law,' captures an intuition that has come to dominate the middle ground between supporters and critics of Delaware's takeover jurisprudence. This is the view that management's discretion to defeat hostile takeovers under Delaware law just does not matter much today. The reason is not that the current law is right-or wrong. Rather it is because offsetting developments within the corporation-option compensation and active boards-have made managers far more receptive to selling their companies today than they were during the turbulent 1980s. Kahan and Rock present a stylized history of the takeover market in three parts. First there was the big bang, an exogenous shock in the early 1980s that sharply increased hostile takeovers. This wave of hostile takeovers lasted only a few years, however. It soon was followed by a second period in which takeover activity-and hostile takeovers in particular-fell precipitously. Although the economy was largely responsible for this change, legal and corporate governance developments also contributed to it. During the midand late 1980s, state legislatures adopted antitakeover legislation, while management and its allies experimented with defensive tactics. Management's efforts at self-help culminated in the poison pill, which the Delaware Supreme Court blessed, at least provisionally, in 1986. The pill placed management back in the catbird seat, able to block hostile takeovers without seeking shareholder approval. But the system still was not in equilibrium. There was no turning back the clock; shareholders still wanted the takeover premia that accompanied a robust flow of deals. Equilibrium returned to the system only in the third and final period, beginning around 1992, when option compensation plans and independent boards of directors combined to spark a new wave of friendly acquisitions that profited both shareholders and the managers of target companies.


Spinel ferrites (iron cobalt oxide) were prepared by the microemulsion method at different temperatures and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) surfactant concentrations. Subsequently, a quantity of the different samples were coated with an intrinsically conducting polymer (ICP) shell of polypyrrole. The polymer shell was synthesized by a chemical route after the ferrites particle production. By combining in a single material the electrical conductivity of ICPs and the magnetic properties of nanopowder ferrites, new multifunctional materials have been developed. Different CoFe2O4 grain size particles were obtained ranging from 3 to 30 nm, as determined by x-ray diffraction (XRD). Particles with grain size below a critical size exhibit a superparamagnetic behaviour. These superparamagnetic particles, without and with a conducting polymer shell, were analysed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to find the grains' morphology and the growth evolution of the polypyrrole shell in the ferrites grains. The electrical conductivity of the nanocomposite was measured by the four points probe method, showing values of 120 ± 4 S cm−1 at ambient temperature. The behaviour of the magnetization and the coercivity with temperature, from nearly 0 K to the ambient, were measured in a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM).


An effective approach for increasing the Noble metal-utilization by decorating the atomic Pt clusters (1 wt.%) on the CoO2@SnPd2 nanoparticle (denoted as CSPP) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is demonstrated in this study. For the optimum case when the impregnation temperature for Co-crystal growth is 50 °C (denoted as CSPP-50), the CoPt nanoalloys and Pt-clusters decoration with multiple metal-to-metal oxide interfaces are formed. Such a nanocatalyst (NC) outperforms the commercial Johnson Matthey-Pt/C (J.M.-Pt/C; 20 wt.% Pt) catalyst by 78-folds with an outstanding mass activity (MA) of 4330 mA mgPt−1 at 0.85 V vs. RHE in an alkaline medium (0.1 M KOH). The results of physical structure inspections along with electrochemical analysis suggest that such a remarkable ORR performance is dominated by the potential synergism between the surface anchored Pt-clusters, CoPt-nanoalloys, and adjacent SnPd2 domain, where Pt-clusters offer ideal adsorption energy for O2 splitting and CoPt-nanoalloys along with SnPd2 domain boost the subsequent desorption of hydroxide ions (OH−).


Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) reasoned action theoretical model was used to examine physical education teachers' attitudes toward grading students with disabilities. Participants were 82 male and 100 female teachers who taught physical education in grade 6-8, representing 119 schools. The Physical Educators' Attitude Toward Teaching Individuals with Disabilities (PEATID-III) survey and a grading practices questionnaire were administered. A three-way ANOVA indicated no significant differences in grading practices between genders and between teachers with positive and negative attitudes. However, comparison of grading practices for students with (M = 122.83) and without disabilities (M = 133.49) revealed significant differences, F(1, 154) = 21.31, p < .001. It was concluded that criteria for grading students with disabilities are significantly different from those for nondisabled classmates. Neither attitude nor gender made a significant difference in grading practices.


VHF signal strength data from two NOAA weather radio transmitters, located in southern California and southwestern Arizona, were collected over a wide range of topography ranging from relatively flat to mountainous terrain. Signal strength data were collected using a mobile receiver traveling from 20 km to over 100 km, with the receiving antenna at a constant height of 2.2 meters above the ground. Meteorological information was obtained from local radiosonde measurement stations at Miramar (NKX) and Yuma Proving Ground (1Y7). This data is used as the basis for a validation study of the Advanced Propagation Model (APM) to determine its applicability for low altitude mobile radio communications applications over terrain


For the past several years, the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA) has provided ions of iron, silicon and gold, at energies from 600 MeV/nucleon to 10 GeV/nucleon, for the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) radiobiology research program. NASA has recently funded the construction of a new dedicated ion facility, the Booster Applications Facility (BAF). The Booster synchrotron will supply ion beams ranging from protons to gold, in an energy range from 40-3000 MeV/nucleon with maximum beam intensities of 10(10) to 10(11) ions per pulse. The BAF Project will be described and the future AGS and BAF operation plans will be presented.


ABSTRACT Yu, Y.; Xiong, W., and Cao, Y., 2015. A conceptual model of supply chain risk mitigation: The role of supply chain integration and organizational risk propensity. Supply chain risk management has drawn great attention from both researchers and practitioners in recent years. Economic globalization and the resultant complexity of the supply chain network plus the uncertainty of the environment makes risk and vulnerability a major challenge to related firms. This paper aims to establish a conceptual model for mitigating supply chain risk by introducing two variables named supply chain integration and organizational risk propensity. Based on extensive literature review, some major propositions are proposed including the following four aspects: supply chain risk is negatively related to supply chain integration; supply chain integration is positively related to company performance; organizational risk propensity moderates the relationship between supply chain risk and supply chain integration; the integrative model is moderated-mediation. The integrative model is theoretically valuable in further exploring the internal path and mechanism of the impact of supply chain risk on a firm's performance. The model is also practically useful in providing suggestions and references for supply chain risk management and supply chain integration. Finally, the future directions for empirical research are also presented.


The management of pelvic floor dysfunctions might need to be based on a comprehensive neuro-musculoskeletal therapy such as The Rolf Method of Structural Integration (SI). The aim of the study was to evaluate the pelvic floor muscle (PFM) after the tenth session of SI by using surface electromyography (sEMG). This was a randomized, interventional study. Thirty-three healthy women were randomly assigned to the experimental (SI) or control group. The outcome measures included PFM bioelectrical activity, assessed using sEMG and endovaginal probes. An intervention in the SI group included 60 min of SI once a week, and teaching on how to contract and relax PFMs; in the control group, only the teaching was carried out. In the SI group, a significant difference was found between the PFM sEMG activity during "pre-baseline rest" (p < 0.014) and that during "rest after tonic contraction" (p = 0.021) in the supine position, as were significant increases in "phasic contraction" in the standing position (p = 0.014). In the intergroup comparison, higher PFM sEMG activity after the intervention "phasic contraction" (p = 0.037) and "pre-baseline rest" (p = 0.028) was observed in the SI group. The SI intervention significantly changes some functional bioelectrical activity of PFMs, providing a basis for further research on a new approach to PFM facilitation, particularly in clinical populations.


Water is arguably nowadays one of the most important commodities of increasing socio-economic and political value. Several studies have investigated the factors influencing consumers' perception of water quality and water service quality and conclude that are influenced by a constellation of factors both internal and external. In many cases, the assessment of water quality is mainly influenced by organoleptic properties, especially taste whereas other factors are also identified in the literature such as risk perception, water chemicals, familiarity with specific water properties, trust in suppliers and informed consumption provided either by mass media or our personal networks. This study is focused on identifying basic trends in consumer's preference for drinking water. In particular, the main purpose of this study is to investigate if there is a correlation between the behavior of consumers choosing drinking water and their socio-demographic characteristics or their ecological consciousness towards major environmental challenges that clearly effect the availability and quality of drinking water. To address the research objective, we followed a mixed methods approach in a specific case study area in Greece. Data were obtained from a survey conducted on a random selected sample of 407 consumers in a period between June and September 2022 in the City of Kilkis. Multivariate data analysis was performed to explore the significant factors associated with consumers' choice of drinking water and identify consumer segments with similar consumption behavior based on their socio-demographic characteristics and their attitudes towards environmental issues. A focus group discussion with local experts and policy makers was also useful towards gaining insight. A better understanding of consumers' water consumption preferences and motives can be very useful for all stakeholders involved, as it can contribute to improvements both in water management and in a more effective commercialization in the market, for consumer satisfaction and ecological consciousness. Finally, it can contribute to improvements in consumer services and acceptance of future innovative approached towards water reuse.

Acknowledgements: This work has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union under the ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme. The contents of this document can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union or the Programme management structures".


Abstract : This research starts from the question of how North Korea decides upon the types of its provocations against the South. To find the answer, the author divides the major provocations into three periods, according to their characteristics, and examines how the major decisive factors of the North's crisis policy making, such as military strength, relations with China and the Soviet Union (Russia), regime stability, and economic power, affected its choice of provocation types. The results of the analysis suggest that Pyongyang has chosen the targets, scale, and methods of provocation by thoroughly evaluating its current military, diplomatic, political, and economic conditions. Therefore, what types of provocations will be initiated by North Korea in the future? One of the obvious points is that Pyongyang's confidence to defeat Seoul will not be restored soon, and the unexpected strong response of the United States and South Korea will confuse the North s strategic decision making. For that reason, the most effective way for South Korea to deter any possible provocations by the North is to put more pressure on the Kim regime by using its overwhelming national power and conveying its strong intention to retaliate against the North s threats on the basis of the firm ROK-U.S. military alliance.


We analyze the efficiency of available algorithms for the simulation of classical fidelity and show that their computational costs increase exponentially with the number of degrees of freedom. Then we present an algorithm for which the number of trajectories needed for convergence is independent of the system's dimensionality and show that, within a continuous family of algorithms, this algorithm is the only one with this property. Simultaneously we propose a general analytical approach to estimate efficiency of trajectory-based methods and suggest how to use it to accelerate calculations of other classical correlation functions. Converged numerical results are provided for systems with phase space volume 2^{1700} times larger than the volume of the initial state.


Environment-sensitive genic male sterility is a type of male sterility that is affected by both genetic and environmental factors. Environment-sensitive genic male sterile lines are not only used in two-line hybrid breeding but are also good materials for studying plant-environment interactions. In this study we review the research progress on environment-sensitive genic male sterility in rice from the perspectives of epigenetic, transcriptional, post-transcriptional, post-translational, and metabolic mechanisms as well as signal transduction processes. While significant progress has been made in the genetics, gene cloning, and understanding of the molecular mechanisms of environment-sensitive genic male sterility in recent years, the relevant regulatory network is still poorly understood in rice. We therefore also review studies of environment-sensitive genic male sterility in Arabidopsis and other crops, hoping to promote research in this field in rice. Finally, we analyze the challenges posed by environment-sensitive genic male sterility and provide corresponding suggestions. This review will contribute towards an understanding the molecular genetics of environment-sensitive genic male sterility and its application in two-line hybrid breeding in rice and other species. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Despite the crisis, oil and gas is still an irreplaceable energy resource. However, it is a non-renewable resource, so in addition to expanding the search, the rational exploitation of the existing fields is a challenge for the oilfield exploration and production. Combining methods including collecting, processing and analyzing existing documents and data; the results of the article have determined the workflow of building a parametric model suitable for the research object and applying geostatistics simutaneously to interpolate geological features as well as assess reliability and reduce risks. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) geological model is established according to updated datas, including geological, seismic, well log, well testing, and using as the data base for oil initially in place estimation. Specially, effectively supported establishing economic and technical plans for field development. The model results have clarified the reservoir parameters in Miocene formation, predicting potential reservoirs; expression the characteristics of reservoir distribution in 3D space. The 3D geological model of Dong Duong oilfield with a cycle is established on the basis application of geostatistical methods, stochastic simulation and is applied to describe the homogeneity of the reservoir as well as build up parameter models. The process of checking the accuracy of the model is conducted by comparing the data from the model and the input data: seismic, geological, reserve apprisal report,... illustrates that there is no difference any deviation beyond the allowable limit.


Correlative imaging of a specific cell with both the light microscope and the electron microscope has proved to be a difficult task, requiring enormous amounts of patience and technical skill. We describe a technique with a high rate of success, which can be used to identify a particular cell in the light microscope and then to embed and thin-section it for electron microscopy. The technique also includes a method to obtain many uninterrupted, thin serial sections for imaging by conventional or energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy, to obtain images for 3D analysis of detail at the suborganelle level.


This project is about "customer responsiveness on banking technology products in rural south India". This study is mainly done to measure the customer responsiveness towards the technology products of banks in rural Tamil Nadu. Indian banks today are as technology-savvy as their counterparts in developed countries. Branch networking coupled with ATM networks has resulted in expansion of banking services across the country. Introduction of new technology based products and services have put the bankingindustry on a new growth trajectory. The purpose of this research is to study the extent of usage of various banking products and services by customers. Field surveys with structured questionnaires (interview schedule) were used to collect primary data from the customers on random sample basis in Branches in rural Tamilnadu. Indian Banks have effectively leveraged technology and introduced several variants of traditional products and new e-based services. While ATM has become popular for cash withdrawals, other services like mobile banking and internet banking are suboptimally used. Customers are still not using the full range of services available in ATMs. This research would surely help the bank branches to know about the responsiveness level of rural customers towards technology products and helps them to take necessary steps to improve.


A diagnostic feature of silane-hydrogen glow-discharges is obtained by analysing the A2 Delta -X2II band system of the SiH radical. The measurement is performed with a moderate resolution spectrometer and, if combined with numerical calculation of the spectrum, is shown to lead to rotational and vibrational effective temperatures. Abnormal excitation of SiH is observed; however both results are relevant for comparing the microscopic state of the glow-discharge in various thin-film deposition devices.


The signal transmission module of a magnetic nanoparticle thermometer (MNPT) was established in this study to analyze the error sources introduced during the signal flow in the hardware system. The underlying error sources that significantly affected the precision of the MNPT were determined through mathematical modeling and simulation. A transfer module path with the minimum error in the hardware system was then proposed through the analysis of the variations of the system error caused by the significant error sources when the signal flew through the signal transmission module. In addition, a system parameter, named the signal-to-AC bias ratio (i.e., the ratio between the signal and AC bias), was identified as a direct determinant of the precision of the measured temperature. The temperature error was below 0.1 K when the signal-to-AC bias ratio was higher than 80 dB, and other system errors were not considered. The temperature error was below 0.1 K in the experiments with a commercial magnetic fluid (Sample SOR-10, Ocean Nanotechnology, Springdale, AR, USA) when the hardware system of the MNPT was designed with the aforementioned method.


A two-axes nano-scanner for a scanning probe microscope (SPMs) was developed. The flexure-guided nano-scanner can move SPM samples or the probe itself along the x and y axes. The theoretical stiffness and resonant frequency of the flexure guide were obtained by using Castigliano's theorem. An optimal nano-scanner that maximize the scanning speed under appropriate constraints was designed. The optimal results were compared with the results of a finite element analysis. The scanner performance was evaluated by using various experiments and was compared with the optimal design results. Finally, atomic force microscope images obtained by using the proposed nano-scanner are presented.


Background and Aims: Myocardial infarction (MI) is the clinical manifestation of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. Spirulina is an algae known to ameliorate cardiometabolic disorders and with proven anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. We investigated, in a highly translatable animal model, whether oral supplementation with spirulina protects against the deleterious effects triggered by ST-elevation MI (STEMI). Methods: Pigs were fed a regular diet supplemented with spirulina (1 g/animal/bid) or placebo-control for 10 days. Thereafter, animals were subjected to 1.5 h percutaneous balloon-induced coronary occlusion (STEMI) followed by 2.5 h reperfusion and then sacrificed. We assessed infarct size and cardiac function. Blood samples and infarcted and remote myocardial tissue were obtained. Results: Spirulina supplementation reduced infarct size by 64%, increased myocardial salvage by 18%, and improved cardiac function by 30% vs. controls (p < 0.05). These benefits were associated with attenuation in DNA-oxidative damage and apoptotic markers and increased iNOS in the infarcted myocardium, higher AMPK activation in the remote myocardium, and lower myocardial MCP-1 expression. Systemically, spirulina attenuated Cox-2 expression in STEMI-activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells and enhanced TNF-α release acutely post-STEMI. Additionally, spirulina decreased weight gain progression over time (p < 0.05) without changes in lipids, glucose, liver or kidney parameters. Conclusion: A 10-day supplementation with spirulina exerts cardioprotection in a preclinical setting of STEMI by limiting cardiac damage and improving ventricular contractility through anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic mechanisms.


Subthreshold concentrations of the depolarizing agents, acetylcholine and decamethonium, potentiated isotonic contractures of the isolated frog rectus abdominis muscle elicited by effective doses of either of these drugs or by choline in the absence of the anticholinesterases, sarin, or dyflos. Comparable potentiation of the contracture produced by decamethonium or choline could be obtained by alternate stimulation with acetylcholine in the absence of dyflos or sarin. Furthermore, dyflos alone did not effect potentiation in the absence of alternate stimulation with acetylcholine. Finally, the inhibitory action of tubocurarine, as measured by depression of the contracture elicited by decamethonium and acetylcholine, was not antagonized by sarin. It was concluded that the enhancement of the response to acetylcholine produced by dyflos and by sarin was brought about exclusively by their action as inhibitors of cholinesterase. The ability of dyflos and of sarin to potentiate contractures elicited by decamethonium or by choline may be attributed to a facilitation of the action of the depolarizing compounds by subthreshold concentrations of acetylcholine available in the presence of these anticholinesterases.


The structure of an isolated single vortex and the vortex lattice, and the magnetization in a d-wave superconductor are investigated within a phenomenological Ginzburg - Landau (GL) model including the mixture of the -wave and -wave symmetries. The isolated single-vortex structure in a weak magnetic field is studied both numerically and asymptotically. Near the upper critical field , the vortex lattice structure and the magnetization are calculated analytically.


Abstract : A previous issue of the AMEDD Journal included an article I wrote concerning solid waste disposal in the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations. That article described how the Department of Defense (DoD) conducted numerous monitoring studies at Joint Base Balad (JBB), the location with the US military's largest burn pit in theater. Screening health risk assessments, publicly released in 2008, stated that the burn pits at JBB and other US military locations in Iraq posed an acceptable health risk based on the contaminant levels measured. While sampling can be used to identify a potential concern, it does not refute every concern because it cannot address all locations and conditions at all times. I discussed the limitations of the sampling efforts, including the points that sampling identifies conditions at the time of sampling, and that burn pit sampling was intermittent while waste streams and meteorological conditions were variable. As waste streams vary, analyte concentrations would be expected to vary. The methodology does not incorporate particulate matter (PM) such as PM10 or PM2.5 concentrations. Particulate matter is a mixture, and does not have a toxicological value for use in the methodology. The list of analytes was not exhaustive. Screening health risk assessments indicate the general probability that a risk is present under very specific exposure conditions. This can be useful to make decisions regarding the need to take remedial actions, but is not well-suited to inform regarding an individual's health risk.


The author proposes an acupuncture which is characterized by its complete break with the ancient chinese physiopathology and its concepts of "acupuncture points" (in the old sense of the term) of "meridians", "energies", "ying-yang" etc.. This process of renewal of the practice and the theory has been coined "contemporary acupuncture". Its originality stands out in comparison with most teachings of acupuncture which have remained faithful to traditional acupuncture. Contemporary acupuncture creates bridges between acupunture and classical medicine. It offers simple therapeutic gestures to general practitioners. Acupuncture acts, from a clinical point of view, particularly through the following forms of action: a) a relaxing action on striated muscle; b) an anti-inflammatory action on the ligaments; c) an antidepressant and anxiolytic action.


Daily average solar proton flux data for the years 1963-1984 (two solar cycles) have been used in a proton energy degradation scheme to derive ion pair production rates and, subsequently, HOx (H, OH, HO2) and NOx (N, NO, NO2) production rates. These HOx and NOx production rates are computed in a form suitable for inclusion in an atmospheric two-dimensional time-dependent photochemical model. The HOx increases, although large for certain solar proton events (SPEs), are relatively short-lived because the HOx species have lifetimes of only hours in the middle atmosphere. For longer-lived NOx species, increases are important for 2-4 months past the more intense SPEs but are generally negligible 6 months after the SPE. The only exception to this scenario was the gigantic August 1972 SPE, whose stratospheric effects lasted about a year past the event. Comparisons of model results with the ozone data from the Nimbus 4 backscattered ultraviolet (BUV) instrument indicate relatively good agreement in the time dependence and magnitude of the ozone depletion for the middle stratosphere between the model and measurements for the August 1972 SPE and for 2 months past the event. The model predictions for the August 1972 SPE indicate at most a 1% decrease in total ozone at the highest latitudes with a significant interhemispheric difference. The model predicts a larger middle latitude stratospheric ozone change in the southern than the northern hemisphere caused by the difference in seasons between the two hemispheres. The computed ozone decreases associated with the HOx and NOx increases are substantial in the upper stratosphere at high latitudes for only a few SPEs in the 22 years studied. A mechanism ispresented for transport of NOy from the stratosphere to the ground, which may be involved in the enhancements in nitrate fluxes noticed in Antarctic deposition data. Our computations, however, indicate that the SPE contributions to these nitrate fluxes (even for the August 1972 SPE) are probably small.


The equivariant generalization of Billera and Sturmfels' fiber polytope construction is described. This gives a new relation between the associahedron and cyclohedron, a different natural construction for the type B permutohedron, and leads to a family of order-preserving maps between the face lattice of the type B permutohedron and that of the cyclohedron 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 52B12, 52B15


PURPOSE
Activation of phospholipase D (PLD) is believed to be an important signaling pathway involved in cell growth and differentiation in several tissues, in response to a variety of mitogens. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on PLD activity in rabbit corneal epithelial cells (RCEC). We have also examined whether the EGF effect is dependent on concurrent activation of phospholipase C (PLC), protein kinase C (PKC) or phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI-3-kinase) in these cells.

METHODS
RCEC, immortalized with adenovirus SV-40, were cultured until they became confluent. The cells were labeled with [3H]myristic acid and incubated with or without EGF or other agents for specified time intervals. PLD activity was measured by quantifying [3H]phosphatidylethanol in cells incubated in the presence of ethanol. PLC activity was determined by measuring the radioactivity in inositol trisphosphate in myo[3H]inositol-labeled RCEC. PI 3-kinase activity was assessed by measuring the production of PIP3 in 32P-labeled cells.

RESULTS
Addition of EGF to RCEC stimulated PLD activity in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The maximal effect was observed with 150 ng/ml EGF and at 10 min of incubation. The PLD activity was also stimulated when phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) was added to the cells. Treatment of the cells with EGF stimulated PLC activity which was inhibited by U73122, a PLC inhibitor. Under the same experimental conditions, the inhibitor had no effect on EGF-stimulated PLD activity. Down-regulation of PKC or treatment of the cells with RO31-8220, a PKC inhibitor, inhibited the PMA- but not EGF-stimulated PLD activity. Incubation of the cells with wortmannin, a PI 3-kinase inhibitor, abolished the EGF-stimulated PI 3-kinase activity, but potentiated the EGF-stimulated PLD activity. The EGF effect was inhibited by treatment of the cells with tyrphostin B42, a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that EGF stimulates PLD activity in RCEC by a mechanism that involves tyrosine phosphorylation of a protein(s) in the cascade of biochemical reactions initiated by EGF-receptor interaction, and it is not dependent on concurrent activation of PKC, PLC, or PI 3-kinase in these cells.


This guide supports academic and business writing, including a basic review of grammar fundamentals, writing guides, video tutorials on business writing, and resources for the TOEFL, IELTS, and PTE exams.


Nowadays, policy makers in charge of designing innovation policies, especially at the regional level, are more and more adopting the cluster approach either with a view to accelerate the existing clusters or for providing the basis for the emergence of new ones. In fact, not only as a consequence of their appeal as an interactive and territorially embedded vision of innovation but also owing to a lot of other reasons, clusters are usually considered as key instruments for promoting competitiveness, industrial development, innovation and growth. But, although cluster policies have a potential for generating benefits, the presence of potential benefits from cluster initiatives is not per se a sufficient foundation or a validation for policymakers to get involved, since clustering is something that has been happening spontaneously during time. The key question is whether and how policymakers can add value through appropriate measures, beyond the outcomes that markets and market players produce on their own. While there is an extensive literature that focuses on the cluster analysis, the connection between clusters and policy has been mainly ignored. This paper tries to shed light on this issue, highlighting the key features of both the cluster concept and policy. It also aims at contributing to diminish the existing gap between theory and policy comparing two broad models of cluster policy: the Asian and the OECD approach.


TaqMan probe based quantitative polymerase reaction (TaqMan qPCR) is a robust and reliable technique for detecting and quantifying target DNA copies. Quantitative molecular diagnosis of genetically diverse single stranded DNA (ssDNA) virus such as Pigeon circovirus (PiCV) can be challenging owing to difficulties in primer binding or low abundance of template DNA copies in clinical specimens. Several methods have been described for the detection of PiCV, being qPCR the most simple and reliable. As far as is known, two qPCR systems described until now are based on SYBR green. This study reports development and validation of a highly sensitive TaqMan qPCR targeted to Rep for the detection of highly diverse PiCV in pigeon samples with excellent reproducibility, specificity, and sensitivity. The limit of detection was determined as low as 2 (two) plasmid copies. Estimations of 100% specificity and 100% sensitivity were obtained based on the qPCR results with panel of 60 samples (known PiCV positive, n=30; known PiCV negative, n=20; samples positive to Beak and feather disease virus (BFDV), n=5 and samples positive to canine circovirus, n=5). Co-efficient of variation (CV) for Ct values ranged between 0.27% to 0.78% in the same assay and 1.84% to 2.87% in different assays.


Over 138 million women worldwide are affected by recurrent yeast vaginitis or Candidiasis [1]. Candidiasis is a type of infection caused by yeast Candida albicans overgrowth, and it is one of the most common diseases affecting women. Three out of four women will have a yeast infection during their lifetime, and most women experience infection at least two times [2]. Yeast infection is often mild with symptoms including vaginal itching, pain or discomfort during urinating, redness, and swelling in the vagina. To alleviate this infection, oral doses of fluconazole and vaginal doses of miconazole in the form of a suppository are prescribed. Sulconazole is currently used as a topical antifungal treatment for skin infections. Miconazole is reported with adverse effects such as diarrhea, headache, nausea [31]. Even though there are no adverse effects of low-dose fluconazole, patients experience adverse effects when prescribing with high-dose fluconazole daily [32]. Adverse effects of sulconazole include redness, irritation, and contact dermatitis [33]. Considering that oral administrated drugs need to circulate systemically, vaginal delivery is more optimal due to dosing directly to the site of infection. On the other hand, vaginal administration would have higher efficiency in drug delivery due to its local effect on the vaginal microbiota. To formulate drugs for vaginal delivery, nanosuspension of drugs under 300 nm can help to get through mucus layer for better absorption. Antifungal drugs fluconazole, miconazole, and sulconazole were formulated in nanosuspension using various Pluronic block copolymers as stabilizers. All antifungal drugs were tested in vitro to assess potency. The effectiveness of antifungal drugs in treating vaginal C. albicans infection in mice was then tested in vivo . Antifungal drugs formulated fluconazole and sulconazole showed effectiveness in killing C. albicans both in vitro and in vivo , however, formulated miconazole only showed effectiveness in killing C. albicans in vitro . More studies are needed.


The main features of a general reference solving system for EDIF (Electronic Design Interchange Format) applications are discussed. The solving process is rule-driven, in order to make it applicable to various versions of EDIF, and relies on a dual reduce-resolve method. In addition, the limits within which the system operates are investigated. It is noted that the system rule base can act as a model of the EDIF referencing schema. The system can therefore be used in assisting in the design of new EDIF versions. The reference subnet has been implemented for applications based on both EDIF Version 2 0 0 and Version 2 9 0.<<ETX>>


Pick-up and Delivery Route Prediction (PDRP), which aims to estimate the future service route of a worker given his current task pool, has received rising attention in recent years. Deep neural networks based on supervised learning have emerged as the dominant model for the task because of their powerful ability to capture workers' behavior patterns from massive historical data. Though promising, they fail to introduce the non-differentiable test criteria into the training process, leading to a mismatch in training and test criteria. Which considerably trims down their performance when applied in practical systems. To tackle the above issue, we present the first attempt to generalize Reinforcement Learning (RL) to the route prediction task, leading to a novel RL-based framework called DRL4Route. It combines the behavior-learning abilities of previous deep learning models with the non-differentiable objective optimization ability of reinforcement learning. DRL4Route can serve as a plug-and-play component to boost the existing deep learning models. Based on the framework, we further implement a model named DRL4Route-GAE for PDRP in logistic service. It follows the actor-critic architecture which is equipped with a Generalized Advantage Estimator that can balance the bias and variance of the policy gradient estimates, thus achieving a more optimal policy. Extensive offline experiments and the online deployment show that DRL4Route-GAE improves Location Square Deviation (LSD) by 0.9%-2.7%, and Accuracy@3 (ACC@3) by 2.4%-3.2% over existing methods on the real-world dataset.


© 2014 Society for Imaging Science and Technology. This work reports the first systematic survey of colloidal suspension jetting [1], as opposed to dripping liquids containing particles [2], and it complements a previous survey of the jetting of complex fluids [3]. Colloidal suspensions of stabilised polystyrene particles in water/ethylene glycol were formulated for maximum stable loadings (vol%) and low poly-dispersity index (PDI), for a range of spherical particle sizes (80 nm to 850 nm). Each preparation batch was characterised using squeeze mode rheometry [4] and filament stretching devices [5, 6] while being independently assessed using drop-on-demand (DoD) inkjet printing from MicroFab nozzles with either 30 μm or 80 μm diameter. Nozzle blocking was reduced for the jetting tests by maintaining a 100 Hz printing frequency throughout waiting periods. Additional experiments used a transparent containment chamber around the 30 μm nozzle exit to examine jetting behaviours that might be caused by the humidity level. Jetting for each batch (characterised by colloidal particle size, vol%, nozzle size, etc.) was considered successful if high speed videos used for measurements of drop speed and determination of the jet break-off time from nozzle meniscus were reliably and consistently achieved at several drive voltages. Jetted drop speeds for all the colloid suspensions tested showed a linear dependence on drive voltage above a threshold voltage as previously reported for Newtonian and weakly elastic drop speeds [7]. Mapping of successful DoD jetting as a function of colloidal particle size (nm) and vol% for 80 μm (30 μm) nozzle diameter reached 37 vol% (30 vol%) without any evidence for any spherical 80-850 nm (300-850 nm) particle size effect on jetting. The rheology of these colloidal suspensions, obtained independently from jetting, exhibits rather Newtonian behaviour with a range of viscosities within a factor of 2. Likewise, the filament stretching experiments that are sensitive to non-linear effects such as relaxation time [5, 6] could not discriminate between solvent and suspensions. Beyond issues with blocking (and stability), colloidal suspensions were jetted easily, in line with expectations based on the measured rheology and low nonlinear effects.


The authors generalize notions of transport in phase space associated with the classical Poincare map reduction of a periodically forced two-dimensional system to apply to a sequence of nonautonomous maps derived from a quasiperiodically forced two-dimensional system. They obtain a global picture of the dynamics in homoclinic and heteroclinic tangles using a sequence of time-dependent two-dimensional lobe structures derived from the invariant global stable and unstable manifolds of one or more normally hyperbolic invariant sets in a Poincare section of an associated autonomous system phase space. The invariant manifold geometry is studied via a generalized Melnikov function. Transport in phase space is specified in terms of two-dimensional lobes mapping from one to another within the sequence of lobe structures, which provides the framework for studying several features of the dynamics associated with chaotic tangles.


Background Natural products present in low quantity in herb medicines constitute an important source of chemical diversity. However, the isolation of sufficient amounts of these low abundant constituents for structural modification has been a challenge for several decades and subsequently halts research on the utilization of this important source of chemical entities for drug discovery and development. And, pro-angiogenic therapies are being explored as options to treat cardio-cerebral vascular diseases and wound healing recently. The present study investigates the pro-angiogenic potential of tanshinone derivatives produced by one-pot synthesis using zebrafish model. Methodology/Principal Findings In order to address the difficulty of chemical modification of low abundant constituents in herb medicines, a novel one-pot combinatorial modification was used to diversify a partially purified tanshinone mixture from Salvia miltiorrhiza. This led to the isolation of ten new imidazole-tanshinones (Compounds 1–10) and one oxazole-tanshinone (Compound 11), the structures of which were characterized by spectroscopic methods in combination with single-crystal X-ray crystallographic analysis. The angiogenesis activities of the new tanshinone derivatives were determined in an experimental model of chemical-induced blood vessels damage in zebrafish. Of all the tested new derivatives, compound 10 exhibited the most potent vascular protective and restorative activity with an EC50 value of 0.026 µM. Moreover, the mechanism underlying the pro-angiogenesis effect of 10 probably involved the VEGF/FGF-Src-MAPK and PI3K-P38 signalling pathways by gene expression analysis and a blocking assay with pathways-specific kinase inhibitors. Conclusions/Significance Taken together, our study demonstrated the more distinctive pro-angiogenic properties of 10 than other tanshinones and revealed 10 has potential for development as a pro-angiogenic agent for diseases associated with insufficient angiogenesis. Our results highlighted the great potential of adopting a newly modified one-pot approach to enhance the chemical diversity and biological activities of constituents from natural products regardless of their abundances.


Our aim was to develop the procedure for radiolabeling of an anticancer drug e.g., methotrexate with (99m)Tc for tumors diagnosis. The study included the radiolabeling of methotrexate, in vitro stability of radiolabeled drug, in vitro binding of radiolabeled drug with plasma protein, partition coefficient and biodistribution of radiolabeled drug in mice. Results showed 98.2±0.5% radiolabeling of methotrexate with technetium-99m ((99m)Tc). In vitro stability was studied for 5h and 79.3±5% of the drug was bound with plasma proteins. Partition coefficient of the labeled drug showed that it was highly hydrophilic. Biodistribution study in tumor bearing mice exhibited high uptake in tumor cells which were further investigated by histopathological studies. In conclusion, our study indicates that technetium-99m labeled methotrexate is a potentially strong tumor diagnostic agent with low uptake in normal tissues.


: Managing financial risk has proven difficult over time as evidenced by numerous high profile failures over the recent past including and especially those experienced in the stock market crash of 1987, the financial crisis of 1997-1998 (also known as the "Asian Contagion") and the 2007-2008 financial crisis (also known as "The Big Short"). Therefore, managing both the financial and social risks inherent in an impact investment, and across a portfolio of impact investments, could be particularly challenging in the absence of a practical framework. This paper profiles a framework for managing Impact Investment Risk as a function of investment risk, social impact risk, and the problem-set common to both. The taxonomy of the framework is illustrated, explained and then applied to a case study. The subject of the case is an actual impact investment that has been profiled as, "The Triple Bottom Line and Investing for Impact: The Case of Afram Plains District of Ghana." The case analysis leads to a discussion of performance measurement, basic statistical analysis and potential enterprise risk management considerations such as exposure classification and tracking, tail risk analysis, and potential broader uses of impact investment risk information.


Accurate, fine-grained online energy estimation and accounting of mobile devices such as smartphones is of critical importance to understanding and debugging the energy consumption of mobile applications. We observe that state-of-the-art, utilization-based power modeling correlates the (actual) utilization of a hardware component with its power state, and hence is insufficient in capturing several power behavior not directly related to the component utilization in modern smartphones. Such behavior arise due to various low level power optimizations programmed in the device drivers. We propose a new, system-call-based power modeling approach which gracefully encompasses both utilization-based and non-utilization-based power behavior. We present the detailed design of such a power modeling scheme and its implementation on Android and Windows Mobile. Our experimental results using a diverse set of applications confirm that the new model significantly improves the fine-grained as well as whole-application energy consumption accuracy. We further demonstrate fine-grained energy accounting enabled by such a fined-grained power model, via amanually implemented eprof, the energy counterpart of the classic gprof tool, for profiling application energy drain.


User authentication is widely used in many Internet services and is also used by automatic teller machines (ATMs). Recently, there has been an increase in the ATM password thefts using small charge-coupled device cameras. This study discusses a user authentication method in which graphical passwords, instead of alphanumeric ones as, are used to mitigate observation attacks. Several techniques for password authentication have been discussed in various studies. However, there has not been sufficient research on authentication methods that use pass-images instead of pass-texts. This study proposes a user authentication method that is tolerant to serious attacks when a user's pass-image selection operation is video recorded twice. In addition, usage guidelines recommending eight pass-images are proposed, and the corresponding security strength is evaluated.


An adequate set of computer procedures tailored to address the task of genome-scale analysis of protein sequences will greatly increase the beneficial impact of the genome sequencing projects on the progress of biological research. This is especially pertinent given the fact that, for model organisms, one-half or more of the putative gene products have not been functionally characterized. Here we described several programs that may comprise the core of such a set and their application to the analysis of about 3000 proteins comprising 75% of the E. coli gene products. We find that the protein sequences encoded in this model genome are a rich source of information, with biologically relevant similarities detected for more than 80% of them. In the majority of cases, these similarities become evident directly from the results of BLAST searches. However, methods for motif analysis provide for a significant increase in search sensitivity and are particularly important for the detection of ancient conserved regions. As a result of sequence similarity analysis, generalized functional predictions can be made for the majority of uncharacterized ORF products, allowing efficient focusing of experimental effort. Clustering of the E. coli proteins on the basis of sequence similarity shows that almost one-half of the bacterial proteins have at least one paralog and that the likelihood that a protein belongs to a small or a large cluster depends on the function of this particular protein.


In this paper, a simplified model for erosion in un-bonded flexible pipes caused by the sand entrained in the produced fluid is established. Flow field analysis is performed based on the governing equations of the continuous fluid and the discrete particles. A two-way coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian approach is employed to solve the gas-solid flow in the pipe bend. To eliminate the influence of the length of the straight pipe section on the stability of the flow field in the pipe, the flow field distribution under different lengths is analyzed to determine the optimal straight pipe length. Six commonly used erosion models are adopted to predict the erosion rate. After comparing the prediction results with experimental data, the most accurate Oka model is selected to calculate the effect of the fluid and structure parameters on erosion. Effects of particle parameters and pipe structural parameters on the erosion rate of curved flexible pipes are numerically fitted, and the quantitative description is given.


The article examines reflexion as a determinant factor in personality formation that ensures activity successfulness, and reflexivity as a mechanism for personal efficiency formation. Reflexion is defined as an integrative property and a mechanism that enables a personality to realize and assess personal subjective qualities, to analyze personal «Me», to set new goals on the basis of personal meaningful assessments of own potentials, and, in conjunction with these goals, adjust adequately the perception of oneself and personal attitudes toward people around. The article describes the modern meta-cognitiveinterpretations of reflexion as a rethinking of the contents of consciousness, which has regulatory functions. The article analyzes data obtained from the experimental research on the types and properties of reflexivity, according to the criterion of its orientation (intra- and inter-psychic), characteristic for pupils with different efficiency during their transition from junior school age to adolescence. Pupils with high personal efficiency at stable, «uncritical» periods of school life demonstrate a sufficiently successful mastery of the ability to self-analysis, self-understanding, and understanding of their attitudes to others. At the same time, it has been found that the transitional periods (from primary to secondary school, from junior school age to adolescence) and the periods of adaptation show appearance of destructive tendencies, «blocking», and a decrease in the rate of reflexivity development, especially in the groups of low-efficiency pupils. The article proves that pupils' intra-psychic reflexion is developed more intensively and constructively than inter-psychic during the period from the 3rd to 6th school years. This general tendency is observed in both groups of pupils: with low and with high personal efficiency. The development of intra-psychic reflexion is intensified at the transition to adolescence, as evidenced by an increased number of indicators showing average and higher than the average levels of this type of reflection, especially in groups of pupils with average and high-efficient levels.


Some problems of statistics can be reduced to extremal problems of minimizing functionals of smooth functions defined on the cube $[0,1]^m$, $m\geq 2$. In this paper, we study a class of extremal problems that is closely connected to the problem of testing multivariate independence. By solving the extremal problem, we provide a unified approach to establishing weak convergence for a wide class of empirical processes which emerge in connection with testing independence. The use of our result is also illustrated by describing the domain of local asymptotic optimality of some nonparametric tests of independence.


The dependence of the threshold coupling strength on the loss parameter and the incident-beam ratio is calculated and shown for a new mutually pumped phase conjugator with a novel photorefractive crystal of copper-doped potassium sodium strontium barium niobate, in which both incoherent beams are incident upon the negative-c face and they travel in geometric paths similar to the outline of two arches. The maximum reflectivity attained is 21%. The tolerances of the output to both incident angles and positions are assessed. A curve fit is also made between the measured results and theoretical calculation.


This paper presents the specification of an agent-based framework for conflict resolution into Open Multi-agent Systems by means of grievance protocols. In this framework, any grievance process primarily involves negotiation (with or without mediation) and arbitration or a combination of both. In this way, the result of a conflict resolution can be an agreement among the conflicting parties by which they voluntary settle the conflict, or a decision from the arbitrator (a neutral third party) which is final, and binding on both conflicting parties. The framework is designed in such a way that multiple agreement mechanisms may be available at any given time, to be activated and adjusted on demand (on-line) by participating agents. The framework is also generic enough so that new protocols may be easily added. The objective is to have a generic electronic institution that may be tailored to specific needs and grafted into other electronic institutions.


Abstract COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection likely ranks among the deadliest diseases in human history. As with other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 infection damages not only the lungs but also the heart and many other organs that express angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a receptor for SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 has upended lives worldwide. Dietary behaviors have been altered such that they favor metabolic and cardiovascular complications, while patients have avoided hospital visits because of limited resources and the fear of infection, thereby increasing out-hospital mortality due to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Clinical observations show that sex, age, and race all influence the risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection, as do hypertension, obesity, and pre-existing cardiovascular conditions. Many hospitalized COVID-19 patients suffer cardiac injury, acute coronary syndromes, or cardiac arrhythmia. SARS-CoV-2 infection may lead to cardiomyocyte apoptosis and necrosis, endothelial cell damage and dysfunction, oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species production, vasoconstriction, fibrotic and thrombotic protein expression, vascular permeability and microvascular dysfunction, heart inflammatory cell accumulation and activation, and a cytokine storm. Current data indicate that COVID-19 patients with cardiovascular diseases should not discontinue many existing cardiovascular therapies such as ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, steroids, aspirin, statins, and PCSK9 inhibitors. This review aims to furnish a framework relating to COVID-19 and cardiovascular pathophysiology.


Road user charging (RUC) is a key part of the British government's integrated transport policy. Whilst initial schemes in the UK may be paper-based, considerable development of electronic systems has occurred during the last 15 years. The technical development of electronic fee collection (EFC) has been largely focused on dedicated short-range communications (DSRC). The combination of an on-board positioning capability, typically using the GPS satellite system, with on-board processing and mobile communications now offers a viable alternative technology option for EFC. Trials in Hong Kong indicated that this approach-generically referred to as based on vehicle positioning systems (VPS)-is fast becoming a viable alternative to DSRC, particularly where there are concerns over the environmental intrusion of roadside DSRC infrastructure and where integration with other intelligent transport systems (ITS) applications is an important feature. The paper describes VPS technology for RUC, and discusses its development in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, the UK and, in particular, the Hong Kong electronic road pricing feasibility study. It briefly describes the INITIATIVE project that is demonstrating aspects of interoperability between DSRC and VPS-based EFC, and summarises the development of standards for VPS-based EFC within ISO and CEN. Finally it compares the advantages and disadvantages of DSRC and VPS for RUC, particularly in the light of current plans in the UK.


ABSTRACT In this article, it is argued that the constitutive principles of Just War Theory and the jus ad bellum/jus in bello duality do not transfer all that well to national security intelligence activity. Accordingly, while Just Intelligence Theory – comprising jus ad intelligentiam and jus in intelligentia – provides a useful starting point in the construction of a normative framework for national security intelligence activities, ultimately it is found to be wanting in a number of important respects. For instance, while war ought to be a last resort, intelligence collection and analysis ought to be a first resort. In addition, analyses are offered of the key principles of discrimination, necessity and proportionality, and it is shown in general terms how they apply, or ought to apply, to national security intelligence activity. Importantly, the principle of necessity has been given a novel analysis according to which it is in reality a set of different principles, depending on the institutional setting in which it is being used. Moreover, the analysis reveals that as typically used it consists (in part) of a means/end principle of rationality and one or other versions of a principle of harm minimisation. Finally, it is argued that there is a normative principle governing espionage, in particular, that is not a constitutive principle of Just War Theory; this is a principle of reciprocity.


Metafelsites in Waterloo area, Quebec, represent the only known silicic volcanic rocks in the predominantly basaltic Tibbit Hill Formation. Low-grade metamorphism accompanied by hydration and albitization has converted the felsic volcanic rocks mainly to muscovite–quartz–albite schists. The volcanic parent of these metafelsites was formed partly as lava flows and partly as tuffs. The principal compositional type was a comendite. A component of intermediate rocks is also present but its extent is undetermined and probably minor. U–Pb zircon studies of the metafelsites have yielded a reliable age of . This Early Cambrian age is probably representative of the age of the Tibbit Hill Formation as a whole.The Tibbit Hill Formation accumulated at one of the clearest examples of a RRR (rift–rift–rift) triple junction–the Sutton Mountains triple junction–of the continental rift system formed as a prelude to the opening of the Iapetus Ocean. Its volcanic rocks are products of the youngest major episode of rift-rela...


The IGF-I Gene: Structure, Expression, and Gene Products. The Insulin-Like Growth Factor I Receptor: Molecular Biology, Heterogeneity and Regulation. Biological Actions of the Insulin-Like Growth Factors. Insulin-Like Growth Factor II: Gene Structure and Expression into Messenger RNA and Protein. The Insulin-Like Growth Factor-II/Mannose 6-Phosphate Receptor. Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Proteins. Insulin. Structure and Function of the Insulin Receptor. Is Insulin a Growth Factor? Regulation of Insulin, IGF-I and IGF-II Gene Expression. Molecular (genetic) aspects of growth factors Binding proteins and receptors Factors affecting gene transcription and translation


Background: Androgens have been proposed to play pivotal roles in the development of human prostate cancer, and blockades of their actions have been also established as effective treatment of the patients. However, development of hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) is generally imminent and has emerged as one of the most critical clinical problems in the long-term management of the patients with prostate cancer. We previously postulated the significance of in situ androgen and estrogen production in human prostate cancer tissues in HRPC achievement via androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor beta (ER beta). The role for neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) in prostate cancer tissues has also been considered important in the development of high grade/stage. Carcinoma cells with NED produce and secrete serotonin (5-HT), and increased expression of 5-HT receptor, especially type 4 (5-HTR4), has been proposed to be involved in autocrine/paracrine loops to sustain growth of HRPC. While, mast cell recruitment around the tumor cells has been proposed to be involved during the formation of HRPC, which may also contribute to stimulating effects on angiogenesis in local environment. Mast cells are also known to produce and secret 5-HT. Therefore, our hypothesis is that 5-HT secreted by both carcinoma and mast cells may be involved in autocrine/paracrine environment to develop HRPC via 5-HTR4. In addition, 5-HTR4 expression level is possibly associated with local microenvironment regulated by androgen and estrogen.

Experimental design: We evaluated the expression levels of 5-HTR4 as well as the number of peritumoral mast cells and 5-HT positive carcinoma cells in human prostate cancer (n=112) using immunohistochemistry and correlated the findings with clinicopathological features of the patients and the expression levels of AR and ER beta.

Results: 5-HTR4 immunoreactivity was detected in 38 cases of prostate cancer (34%). In the cases positive for 5-HTR4, the number of peritumoral mast cells tended to be higher than those negative for the receptor, while 5-HT positive cells were sparsely detectable in all the cases. In addition, 5-HTR4 immunoreactivity was significantly correlated with that of ER beta (P<0.05). The status of 5-HTR4 immunoreactivity was not significantly correlated with clinicopathological parameters of the cases examined including patient age, concentration of serum PSA levels, Gleason score, pT stage, lymph node states, or AR level.

Conclusion: These data all suggest that 5-HTR4 plays a functional role in human prostate cancer via 5-HT secreted by both carcimoma and peritumoral mast cells. In addition, estrogens may possibly regulate the roles of 5-HTR4 via ER beta as previously reported in the other tissue, and their association may influence the development of HRPC.

Note: This abstract was not presented at the conference because the presenter was unable to attend.

Citation Format: Yasuhiro Nakamura, Takashi Maekawa, Kazue Ise, Shigeto Ishidoya, Yoichi Arai, Hironobu Sasano. Involvement of serotonin receptor 4 (5-HTR4) in estrogen receptor beta (ER beta) expression and invasion of peritumoral mast cells in human prostate cancer tissue [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Prostate Cancer Research; 2012 Feb 6-9; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(4 Suppl):Abstract nr A68.


In this paper we propose a novel application of Gaussian processes (GPs) to financial asset allocation. Our approach is deeply rooted in Stochas tic Portfolio Theory (SPT), a stochastic analysis framework introduced by Robert Fernholz that aims at flexibly analysing the performance of certain investment strategies in stock markets relative to benchmark indices. In particular, SPT has exhibited some investment strategies based on company sizes that, under realistic assumptions, outperform benchmark indices with probability 1 over certain time horizons. Galvanised by this result, we consider the inverse problem that consists of learning (from historical data) an optimal investment strategy based on any given set of trading characteristics, and using a user-specified optimality criterion that may go beyond outperforming a benchmark index. Although this inverse problem is of the utmost interest to investment management practitioners, it can hardly be tackled using the SPT framework. We show that our machine learning approach learns investment strategies that conside rably outperform existing SPT strategies in the US stock market. This poster from the UAI 2016 conference was given as an invited presentation at the Bayesian Modeling Applications Workshop. BMAW 2016 Page 57 of 59


An elastic finite element analysis was conducted to evaluate the stress distribution in the initiation zone of the adhesive rupture during the 3-point bending test. This test is used to measure the adherence between a polyepoxy adhesive and aluminum alloy with different surface treatments. The purpose is to compare, in the high stress concentration areas, the stress fields calculated using finite element method with the experimental data obtained in different configurations. Focusing on the load level at crack initiation, on the localization and the size of adhesive failure initiation, a local criterion for adhesive fracture is proposed based on the value of the stress normal to the interface.


Design and performance of clock-recovery GaAs ICs are presented. Four kinds of ICs were developed: a limiting amplifier, a tuning amplifier, a rectifier, and a differentiator. The cascaded limiting amplifier together with a tuning amplifier achieved a 58-dB gain and a 10-degree phase deviation with 20-dB input dynamic range at 10 GHz. A clock-recovery circuit successfully extracts a low-jitter 10-GHz clock signal of 1-dBm constant power from 10-Gb/s NRZ pseudorandom bit streams using a pulse pattern generator. >


The importance of hydrogen bonding in determining the potency of a general anesthetic is controversial. In order to investigate the role of hydrogen bonding further, we have used a multiple linear regression approach to quantify the relative importance of various physical properties of an anesthetic molecule (i.e., its ability to donate or accept a hydrogen bond, its dipolarity and polarizability, and its size) in determining its anesthetic potency. For comparison, we have applied the same approach to partitioning between water and three simple, but contrasting solvents (n-octanol, n-hexadecane, and N,N-dimethylacetamide) and to inhibition of an enzyme (firefly luciferase) which mimics many of the properties of general anesthetic target sites in animals. We present equations which accurately predict potencies (over many orders of magnitude) for producing general anesthesia and inhibiting the firefly luciferase enzyme. We find that the aqueous potency (defined as the reciprocal of the aqueous EC50 concentration) of a molecule as a general anesthetic or an inhibitor of luciferase is determined overwhelmingly by its size (which increases potency) and its ability to accept a hydrogen bond (which decreases potency), but only marginally by its ability to donate a hydrogen bond or by its dipolarity and polarizability. We conclude that general anesthetic target sites in animals must have, in addition to their overall hydrophobicity, a polar component which is a relatively poor hydrogen bond donor, but which can accept a hydrogen bond about as well as water.


Over the last few years there has been an increased level of interest in the development of miniaturised systems which require liquids to flow through narrow channels, often only a few microns across. Whilst much has been written on the design and fabrication of pumps, valves, flow channels and on their integration into useful systems, relatively little work has been done on modelling fluid flow behaviour on this scale. As micro-fluidic systems become more complex, the ability to model such flows will be seen as increasingly valuable. This paper begins by reviewing the limited amount of previous fluid modelling work which has been done on the micro-scale. The approach to Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling adopted by the authors and their use of the CFDS-FLOW3D package for this work are then described. Important assumptions and boundary conditions adopted in the analysis are outlined and a comparison given between code predictions and experimental results for fluid flows through a number of different channels of the order of tens of microns in width, showing good agreement. A more complex example in the use of CFDS-FLOW3D as a design tool for a micro-fluidic manifold structure is then given which, when compared with experimental observations, again shows that the methods employed give a valuable insight into flow behaviours on this scale. Finally, areas where future work is needed to improve microfluidic modelling are summarised. Transactions on the Built Environment vol 12, © 1995 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509


PURPOSE
Eye plaque brachytherapy is the most common approach for intraocular cancer treatment. It is, however, invasive and subject to large setup uncertainty due to the surgical operation. We propose a novel-focused kV x-ray technique with potential nanoparticle (NP) enhancement and evaluate its application in treating choroidal melanoma and iris melanoma by Monte Carlo (MC) dosimetry modeling.

METHODS
A polycapillary x-ray lens was used to focus 45 kVp x rays to achieve pinpoint accuracy of dose delivery to small tumors near critical structures. In addition to allowing for beam focusing, the use of kV x rays takes advantage of the strong photoelectric absorption of metallic NPs in that energy regime and hence strong radiosensitization. We constructed an MC simulation program that takes into account the x-ray optic modeling and used GEANT4 for dosimetric calculation. Extensive phantom measurements using a prototype-focused x-ray system were carried out. The MC simulation of simple geometry phantom irradiation was first compared to measurements to verify the x-ray optic lens modeling in conjunction with the Geant4 dosimetric calculation. To simulate tumor treatment, a geometric eye model and two tumor models were constructed. Dose distributions of the simulated treatments were then calculated. NP radiosensitization was also simulated for two concentrations of 2 nm gold NP (AuNP) uniformly distributed in the tumor.

RESULTS
The MC-simulated full width at half maximum (FWHM) and central-axis depth dose of the focused kV x-ray beam match those measured on EBT3 films within ~10% around the depth of focus of the beam. Dose distributions of the simulated ocular tumor treatments show that focused x-ray beams can concentrate the high-dose region in or close to the tumor plus margin. For the simulated posterior choroidal tumor treatment, with sufficient tumor coverage, the doses to the optic disc and fovea are substantially reduced with focused x-ray therapy compared to eye plaque treatment (3.8 vs 39.8 Gy and 11.1 vs 53.8 Gy, respectively). The eye plaque treatment was calculated using an Eye Physics plaque with I-125 seeds under TG43 assumption. For the energy spectrum used in this study, the average simulated dose enhancement ratios (DERs) are roughly 2.1 and 1.1 for 1.0% and 0.1% AuNP mass concentration in the tumor, respectively.

CONCLUSION
Compared to eye plaque brachytherapy, the proposed focused kV x-ray technique is noninvasive and shows great advantage in sparing healthy critical organs without sacrificing the tumor control. The NP radiation dose enhancement is considerable at our proposed kV range even with a low NP concentration in the tumor, providing better critical structure protection and more flexibility for treatment planning.


Two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae is a known serious pest of several crops. Due to its rapid outbreak and short life cycle, it is difficult to control T. Urticae. However, nowadays biological control using predatory mites and chemical control using miticides are available. Predatory mite Neoseiulus californicus, which feeds on a variety of prey, can effectively control T. Urticae. Thus to employ this method a better understanding of the role of infochemicals is required. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to review role of infochemicals in the relationships between two-spotted mite Tetranychus urticae and N. Californicus. To achieve this objective peer-reviewed articles were used and reviewed. The source of infochemicals can be T. Urticae itself, its host plants, the combination of the two and organisms related with T. Urticae. Thus, infochemicals originated from those listed sources have great role for the tritrophic interaction between N. Californicus, plants and T. Urticae. The infochemicals help T. Urticae to recognize the presence of their enemy such as N. Californicus. Infochemicals are used by N. Californicus to locate the prey, trace prey density and accessibility.


Performance of a repetitively pulsed self‐field MPD thruster consisting of a flared anode and a short cathode was numerically investigated. For a time‐averaged input power of 100 kW and argon propellant, thrust and thrust efficiency were surveyed for various discharge frequencies under the condition of continuous propellant injection and a constant discharge duty ratio of 0.5. The results suggest that thrust efficiency of repetitively pulsed discharge operation can be improved up to about 16% with increasing discharge frequency owing to a relatively high time‐averaged electromagnetic thrust and an increase in aerodynamic thrust, and can surpass that of continuous discharge operation above 50 kHz. It is also shown that the frozen flow loss can be reduced by increasing discharge frequency, because the input power needed for reionization of the propellant can be suppressed. © 2012 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


This review article puts forward the phenomena of chaotic oscillation in electrical power systems. The aim is to present some short summaries written by distinguished researchers in the field of chaotic oscillation in power systems. The reviewed papers are classified according to the phenomena that cause the chaotic oscillations in electrical power systems. Modern electrical power systems are evolving day by day from small networks toward large-scale grids. Electrical power systems are constituted of multiple inter-linked together elements, such as synchronous generators, transformers, transmission lines, linear and nonlinear loads, and many other devices. Most of these components are inherently nonlinear in nature rendering the whole electrical power system as a complex nonlinear network. Nonlinear systems can evolve very complex dynamics such as static and dynamic bifurcations and may also behave chaotically. Chaos in electrical power systems is very unwanted as it can drive system bus voltage to instability and can lead to voltage collapse and ultimately cause a general blackout.


Feature detection and tracking is a fundamental problem in computer vision research. By detecting and tracking features in an image sequence it is possible to recover information on both the motion of the viewer and the structure of the environment. We designed and tested a CMOS imager with analog VLSI focal plane computation for feature detection. The chip implements a feature detection algorithm that is suitable for integration in a compact analog VLSI chip. We review the algorithm, its analog VLSI implementation and results from the chip.