A class of squaramide-based tripodal molecules was employed as new ionophores for highly sensitive and selective sulfate-selective sensors. Compared with the reported tripodal ionophore with urea, squaramide groups as superior hydrogen bonding donor were introduced into the tripodal structure to obtain new ionophores leading to better electrode performance. Three derivatives with unsubstituted (I), p-carbon trifluoride (II), and p-nitro (III) phenyl groups were attached to squaramide groups for the optimization of ionophore based sensors. Electron withdrawing p-nitrophenyl groups gave a greater enhancement of the hydrogen bond donor ability of squaramide so that Ionophore III was chosen as the best candidate for sulfate ion recognition. Such a membrane with 30 mol% TDMACl exhibited a Nernstian slope of -30.2 mV per decade to sulfate ions with a linear range from 1 μM to 100 mM in potentiometric measurement. The selectivity coefficients of the proposed sensor over H2PO4(-), Cl(-), Br(-), NO3(-), SCN(-), I(-) and ClO4(-) were -4.3, -3.4, -2.5, -0.6, +3.1, +3.4 and +5.9, respectively, which were much better than the existing sulfate-selective sensors. The new sensors with high selectivity were successfully applied for the quantification of sulfate in cell lysates and drinking water with good recoveries.


Abstract Background To evaluate the anorectal motility characteristics, the quality of life and psychological health of accident-related neurogenic fecal incontinence(ArNFI) patients. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 26 patients with ArNFI visiting the gastrointestinal motility center of affiliated provincial hospital of Anhui medical university were collected as research objects from January 2016 to August 2019. The anorectal motility characteristics of these patients were recorded and analysed by high resolution manometry (HRM), 10 healthy subjects for the same period were recruited as the control group. The psychological characteristics of these patients and healthy subjects were compared by HAMA and HAMD scores,and their quality of life was investigated by SF36. Results Anal sphincter resting pressure in the ArNFI group was more lowwer than that of the control group (21.18± 4.68vs34.83± 14.13, P<0.05). Anorectal compliance in the ArNFI group was more lowwer than that of the control (1.41± 0.32vs4.03± 1.06, P<0.05). Maximal squeeze pressure were in the ArNFI group was also lowwer than that of the control(53.66±14.59 vs 143.95±19.82, P<0.05).HAMA ,HAMD scores of the ArNFI group in the ArNFI group were all higher than that of the control ( 21.29±2.06 vs 7.63±1.41 ;22.00±3.70 vs 8.75±1.91, respectively.all P<0.01). There were significant differences between SF36 scores of ArNFI group and the control group in the 8 dimensions of PF,RP,GH,VT,SF,RE and MH.(P<0.01) . Conclusion In patients with ArNFI,there were significantly reduced anorectal motility characteristics, increased HAMA.HAMD scores,and their life quality was obviously declined.


Abstract Two iron-sulfur proteins from Bacillus polymyxa (ferredoxins I and II) have been shown to transfer 1 electron per 4 iron atoms at a potential of -380 and -420 mv, respectively, at pH 7. The proteins contain 4 iron and 4 labile sulfur atoms and 4 cysteine residues in molecules of about 9,000 daltons; electron paramagnetic resonance and optical properties suggest that each contains an iron-sulfur cluster similar to one of those present in bacterial-type ferredoxins which contain 8 iron atoms distributed between two clusters. These proteins therefore represent an example of a subclass of the bacterial-type ferredoxins, in which 4 iron atoms appear to occur in a cluster which transfers 1 electron at a potential near that of the hydrogen couple. These potential, electron paramagnetic resonance, and absorbance properties distinguish this subclass of proteins from the "high potential iron-sulfur proteins" of Chromatium sp. and Rhodopseudomonas sp.


Dialectology proper has traditionally focused on the geographic distribution of language variation as an end in itself and has remained relatively segregated from other branches of linguistic and extra-linguistic inquiry. Cross-fertilizing winds have been blowing through the field for more than a decade, but much work remains for adequate synthesis. This book seeks to further the interdisciplinary integration of the field by highlighting, and harnessing, the many dialectic tensions inherent in language variation research and dialect definition. Undertaking a broadscale experiment in applied dialectics, the book demonstrates multiple grounds for insisting on a more robust, integrational approach to dialectology while simultaneously demonstrating grounds for defining the Phula languages of China and Vietnam. The Phula languages belong to the Burmic sub-branch of the Tibeto-Burman family and are primarily spoken in southeastern Yunnan Province, China. With origins as early as the ninth century, these language varieties have been left undefined, and largely unresearched, for hundreds of years. Based on extensive original fieldwork, the book identifies 24 synchronic Phula languages descended from three distinct macro-clades diachronically. This is accomplished by blending typological-descriptive, historical-comparative and socio-cognitive perspectives. Diagnostics include both qualitative and quantitative measurements, and insights from history, geography, ethnology, language contact, sociolinguistics and more are called on for data interpretation. This dialogic approach incorporates complexity by asserting that dialectology itself best flourishes as an interdependent dialectic - a dynamic synthesis of competing perspectives.


Background As the number of people living with chronic illnesses increases, providing wide-reaching and easy-to-use support tools is becoming increasingly important. Supporting people in this group to recognize and use more of their personal strengths has the potential to improve their quality of life. With this in mind, we have developed the MyStrengths app prototype, a gamefully designed app aimed at aiding users in both identifying their strengths and using these strengths more actively in their daily life. Objective The goal of this study was to evaluate the user-reported feasibility and usefulness of the MyStrengths app. The study additionally aimed to explore whether the use of MyStrengths could be associated with selected psychosocial outcomes. Methods A 31-day explorative feasibility trial with a pretest-posttest design and an optional end of study interview was conducted. Data collection included system-use log data, demographic information, pre– and post–psychosocial measures (ie, strengths use, self-efficacy, health-related quality of life, depression), user experience measures (ie, usability, engagement, flow), and interview data. Results In total, 34 people with at least 1 chronic condition were enrolled in the study, with 26 participants (mean age 48 years, range 29-62 years; 1 male) completing the trial. Among these individuals, 18 were also interviewed posttrial. Participants used the MyStrengths app an average of 6 days during the trial period, with 54% (14/26) using the app over a period of at least 19 days. In total, 8738 unique app actions were registered. Of the psychosocial outcome measures, only 1 subscale, general health in the RAND 36-Item Health Survey, yielded significant pre- and posttest changes. Posttrial interviews showed that the number of participants who considered the MyStrengths app to be useful, somewhat useful, or not useful was evenly distributed across 3 groups. However, every participant did voice support for the strengths approach. All participants were able to identify a multitude of personal strengths using the MyStrengths app. Most participants that reported it to be useful had little or no previous experience with the personal strengths approach. A multitude of users welcomed the gameful design choices, particularly the rolling die feature, suggesting strengths exercises, activities that use a specific strength, were well received. Conclusions Although the reported usefulness and feedback from use varied, most participants were favorable to the strengths-focused approach to care and support. Consequently, low-threshold and wide-reaching mobile health tools that use a strengths-focused approach, such as MyStrengths, hold the potential to support people living with chronic illness in performing self-management and achieving mastery of their life.


To predict the effect of hydrogen gas tank explosion on a nearby pipeline, air pressure rise and velocity on a pipeline after a strong explosion is evaluated first. Then, bending of an initially straight pipe is calculated. This bending amplitude was further scrutinized at various exploded masses of hydrogen, distances measured from the explosion center to the pipeline, and thicknesses of steel pipeline walls. (R2) The proposed analytic approach provides a conservative estimate of the worst-case accident scenario of an instantaneous explosion of a large hydrogen mass leading to formation of a shock wave. It can be useful for plant engineers to evaluate risks associated with pipelines under the presumed explosion scenario of not only hydrogen, but also any other fuel types.


Diversely polarized antenna arrays are widely used in RF applications. The diversity of response provided by such arrays can greatly improve direction nding performance over arrays sensitive to only one polarization component. For d emitters, directly implementing a multidimensional estimation algorithm (e.g., maximum likelihood) would require a search for 3d parameters: d directions of arrival (DOAs), and 2d polarization parameters. In this paper, we present a more eecient solution based on the so-called noise subspace tting (NSF) algorithm. In particular, we show how to decouple the NSF search into a two-step procedure, where the DOAs are estimated separately. The polarization parameters are then obtained by solving a linear system of equations. The advantage of this approach is that the search dimension is reduced by a factor of three, and no initial polarization estimate is required. In addition, the algorithm can be shown to yield asymptotically minimum variance estimates provided no perfectly coherent signals are present. Simulation examples are included to compare the NSF approach with a similar generalization of the MUSIC algorithm.


This paper describes the development of a series of propeller designs incorporating advanced technology for workboats, which have been found to reduce propeller-induced vibration levels by approximately 50% and increase propeller efficiency by up to 7%, as compared to conventional workboat propeller designs. To date, the New Generation propeller design series has been installed on more than 30 different applications in both open and ducted propeller configurations ranging from 3 to 12 ft (0.9 to 3. 6 m) in diameter.
 An analysis of the existing propeller design technology and the poor operating environment typical of these applications is given. A description of the design process used to develop an advanced blade section profile and radial blade geometry distributions optimized for the given operating conditions is given. The results of an analytical study to determine the preferred geometry characteristics to optimize backing performance is presented. Full-scale operating experience is given, including comparisons of measured vibration, bollard thrust, propulsive efficiency and backing characteristics with predicted performance.


Since the early 1990s, Bollywood has witnessed a significant shift from its traditional 'formulae', particularly in terms of formal elements (i.e. narrative, themes, mise-en-scene) in its attempt to reach international audiences. The term Masala, often used to refer to all Bollywood films, has become one of the most popular genres of Bollywood. The 'angry young man' era of the 1970s and 1980s has lost its popularity in the last two decades as a self-conscious genre cinema has developed in Bollywood. This change has not only influenced genre conventions but also audience expectations. As a result, genres such as horror and science fiction have gained popularity within India and abroad. Despite changes in form and expectation, the critical discourse on Bollywood has mostly retained its focus on the genres of 'classical' Bollywood and its 'golden era'. These shifts in Bollywood in the new millennium require re-visiting our understanding of this cinema. One of my central arguments is that horror and science fiction have developed through a process of Bollywoodization while the dominant discourse often credits Indianization as the main factor. Bollywoodization, in this case, refers to the transnational cinematic shifts in which genre conventions from other industries are appropriated to a specific Bollywood style. This thesis aims to expand the understanding of genre cinema in Bollywood whilst claiming it as what Tom Ryall has called a 'cinema of genres'.


Evidence of the impact of large-scale land transfers on household food security is scarce in Africa. This study investigated the effect of large-scale agricultural investments in the Monapo and Gurue districts of Mozambique. The sample of 504 households was classified into households (i) in which at least one member was employed (ii) households in the same area that were not employees of the agribusiness (non-engaged) and (iii) counterfactual households from another community. Although a third of households in the factual zones reported having lost land, severe hunger and food insecurity were not common. Employed households reported better dietary quality, food security and resilience. The counterfactual households had higher food security indexes than non-engaged households in the factual zones. It is not possible to draw concrete conclusions on whether the large-scale agricultural investments had a positive or negative effect on household food security as the effect could be influenced by a number of factors. In the case of female-headed households, dietary quality was worse among employed households. The study concludes that large-scale agricultural investments may provide employment opportunities in remote area and improve food security. However, policy makers and investors should take employment quotas for women into consideration when providing employment. Keywords: Large-scale agricultural investment, Food security, Mozambique, dietary diversity, coping strategies


Water is a Human Right of first necessity. We verified that water resources have been used at a rate higher than their replacement capacity, causing problems of water scarcity. This study aims to draw attention of the world community to the need to implement measures to a real social responsibility and cooperative. A review of the literature and an analysis of the various international legal instruments on water resources will be carried out to highlight the absence of social and cooperative responsibility and the need to create sanctions. It is observed that states and international organisations have failed to develop measures to curb their misuse and to overcome the shortage of water in some regions. We believe that the current situation can only be improved through the implementation of policies in terms of social responsibility and cooperative and the companies or the organisations in general.
Keywords: Environment, management, water, water shortage.


This official three-volume centenary history is to be published during 1993/1994. The first volume, "The University Movement in Wales" by J. Gwynn Williams, will be published in November 1993; Volumes II and III by J. Gwynn Williams and Prys Morgan, respectively, will follow in 1994. It was with a sense of pride and conviction that the founding fathers of the University of Wales created a national institution "in and for Wales" in 1893. This volume celebrates the centenary of the University by recalling the foundation and early days. It casts a critical eye on an institution which was reputed at its inception to represent "the soul of the nation".


Given the complexity of diagnosis validation studies, the criteria suggested for each phase of this process and those usually adopted by researchers in the development of their studies, the authors considered it appropriate to identify, in a reflexive way, points related to the range, constitutive elements of the validated diagnoses, types of validation, as well as the selection of experts and subjects in studies in this area. This course aims to contribute to reflections about guidelines for future nursing validation studies. Key words: Nursing diagnosis; Diagnosis validation; Nursing processes.


It has been proposed that oral malodour occurs at neutral and alkaline pH, and is inhibited by an acid environment. Thus the production of lactic and acetic acids from carbohydrate fermentation by oral streptococci generates a low pH that can interfere with the growth of other microorganisms. Additionally, some streptococci may produce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and/or bacteriocins. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether products of streptococcal growth and carbohydrate metabolism had any effect in vitro on the growth of selected anaerobes associated with oral malodour. Oral streptococci were compared for their ability to ferment glucose or sucrose using acid indicator media and pH measurement, and for their ability to produce H2O2. The inhibition of anaerobes by end products of streptococcal growth in glucose-containing medium was evaluated using both an agar overlay technique and a cross-streak technique. Anaerobic bacteria were inhibited by products of growth of oral streptococci, particularly strains of Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus salivarius in the presence, but not in the absence, of glucose. It is most likely that this inhibition results from the production of lactic acid rather than H2O2 or bacteriocins, because the pattern of inhibition agreed more with acidogenicity than with any other variable. Oral streptococci may play an important role in the ecology of the oral flora and in the control of oral malodour.


Abstract. Environmental heterogeneity is ubiquitous, but environmental systems are often analyzed as if they were homogeneous instead, resulting in aggregation errors that are rarely explored and almost never quantified. Here I use simple benchmark tests to explore this general problem in one specific context: the use of seasonal cycles in chemical or isotopic tracers (such as Cl−, δ18O, or δ2H) to estimate timescales of storage in catchments. Timescales of catchment storage are typically quantified by the mean transit time, meaning the average time that elapses between parcels of water entering as precipitation and leaving again as streamflow. Longer mean transit times imply greater damping of seasonal tracer cycles. Thus, the amplitudes of tracer cycles in precipitation and streamflow are commonly used to calculate catchment mean transit times. Here I show that these calculations will typically be wrong by several hundred percent, when applied to catchments with realistic degrees of spatial heterogeneity. This aggregation bias arises from the strong nonlinearity in the relationship between tracer cycle amplitude and mean travel time. I propose an alternative storage metric, the young water fraction in streamflow, defined as the fraction of runoff with transit times of less than roughly 0.2 years. I show that this young water fraction (not to be confused with event-based "new water" in hydrograph separations) is accurately predicted by seasonal tracer cycles within a precision of a few percent, across the entire range of mean transit times from almost zero to almost infinity. Importantly, this relationship is also virtually free from aggregation error. That is, seasonal tracer cycles also accurately predict the young water fraction in runoff from highly heterogeneous mixtures of subcatchments with strongly contrasting transit-time distributions. Thus, although tracer cycle amplitudes yield biased and unreliable estimates of catchment mean travel times in heterogeneous catchments, they can be used to reliably estimate the fraction of young water in runoff.


The paper discusses the use of digital computers in developing dynamic tests for testing a control system during its actual operation, or for a test rig which simulates the system's working conditions. Usually three levels are required in any successful test scheme: a check-out test to classify the system as faulty or non-faulty, a diagnostic test to locate the parameter or component responsible for the fault and finally an estimation test to establish a quantitative measure for the faulty component before it is repaired or replaced. The scheme is applied in a case study of a throttle control servosystem, where a digital model of the actual system used as a vehicle for the study.


Introduction . The traditional curing of vanilla pods includes "killing" and sweating steps when pods are exposed to heat (35–65 ℃) for various lengths of time. Although it is known that liberation of vanillin and other phenolics from their non-aromatic glucosides is due to the action of an endogenous β-glucosidase, its in vivo kinetics remained unknown. Materials and methods . Mature green vanilla pods were pretreated for 2 h at 50 ℃, 55 ℃ and 60 ℃, then stored for 118 days at 27 ℃. Phenolic glucosides and their aglycons were extracted at regular intervals during the storage period and analyzed by HPLC. Results and discussion . All phenolic β-glucosides were slowly hydrolyzed during the storage period with production of vanillin, p -hydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillic acid, and other unknown aglycons. Most of the β-glucosidase was heat-denatured by the pretreatment, and analysis of its kinetic parameters showed that it adopts, in vivo , an allosteric mode of functioning with a lower affinity for glucovanillin than in vitro , where it behaves as a Michaelian enzyme. Conclusion . Extensive research is needed to confirm the allosteric mechanism of the vanilla β-glucosidase in vivo .


Abstract The majority of aggressive children exhibit symptoms of anxiety, yet none of our developmental models of aggression incorporate the role of anxiety, and our treatments ignore this comorbidity. This article outlines a novel theoretical model that specifies three hypotheses about comorbid anxious and aggressive children: (a) unpredictable parenting induces anxiety in children that in turn triggers aggressive behavior; (b) prolonged periods of anxiety deplete children's capacity to inhibit impulses and trigger bouts of aggression, and aggression in turn functions to regulate levels of anxiety; and (c) minor daily stressors give rise to anxiety while cognitive perseveration maintains anxious moods, increasingly disposing children to aggress. Little or no research has directly tested these hypotheses. Extant research and theory consistent with these claims are herein reviewed, and future research designs that can test them specifically are suggested. The clinical implications most relevant to the hypotheses are discussed, and to improve the efficacy of treatments for childhood aggression, it is proposed that anxiety may need to be the primary target of treatment.


An appealing idea to material scientists is to characterize the mechanical behavior of materials with minimal experimental effort while guaranteeing highly reliable results. Nanoindentation is a candidate technique to reach this objective. Though it is already a standard method to extract hardness and Young's modulus, the technique is not yet fully exploited. The authors demonstrate on the example of Ni and W, with microstructures ranging from single crystalline to nanocrystalline dimensions, how Hall–Petch parameters and flow curves can be extracted by using four pyramidal tips with varying apex angle. Applying appropriate definitions of indentation stress and strain and considering the indentation size effect, the obtained values coincidence well with literature values determined by uniaxial tests.


The design and fabrication of polysilicon flexural beam resonators with very high mechanical quality factors (Q) is essential for many MEMS applications. Based on an extension of the well-established theory of thermoelastic damping in homogeneous beams, we present closed-form expressions to estimate an upper bound on the attainable quality factors of polycrystalline beam resonators with thickness (h) much larger than the average grain size (d). Associated with each of these length scales is an independent damping mechanism; we refer to them as Zener and intracrystalline thermoelastic damping, respectively. For representative polysilicon beam resonators (h = 2 /spl mu/m; d = 0.1 /spl mu/m) at 300 K, the predicted critical frequencies for these two mechanisms are /spl sim/7 MHz and /spl sim/14 GHz, respectively. The model is consistent with data from the literature in the sense that the measured values approach, but do not exceed, the calculated thermoelastic limit. From the viewpoint of the maximum attainable Q, our model suggests that single-crystal silicon, rather than fine-grained polysilicon, is the material of choice for the fabrication of flexural beam resonators for applications in the gigahertz frequency range.


Woven is one of art thats very close to life. Woven has a pattern consisting of  two-dimensional (2D) and has a basic pattern. Along with the development times, technology is also growing including computer technology. Computer can be used for mathematical calculation process, one of them is fractal. Fractal Sierpinski carpet is formed from a square that use Iterated Function System (IFS) method. This method is exact self-similar resulting in the same fractal with the original constituent object. The writer want to get woven pattern using computer technology, that is GUI application in Matlab that utilizes the IFS method on fractal. Woven patterns formed from woven that have a grid size of  n x n and are given a few iterations. So, that it can make it easier for craftsmen to make woven pattern that are interesting and varied.


Prediction of a promoter is one of the many active areas of bioinformatics. The outcome of a promoter detection algorithm is directly or indirectly influenced by the success of identifying the location of a TATA box in a promoter sequence. A profiling technique is very often used to find putative TATA boxes, but discriminating a TATA box from putative TATA boxes is still a challenging problem. In this work, we formulate the problem and provide solutions using both a linear and a non linear classifiers.


This study aims to investigate the behavior and strength of self-compacted ferrocement slabs under punching shear load. Experimental results of thirteen square ferrocement slabs of 500×500 mm simply supported on all edges are presented.  The main parameters investigated include the volume fraction of reinforcement, slab thickness and size of load-bearing plate. The load deflection and cracking characteristics of the tested slabs are studied and compared.  The test results showed that the volume fraction of wire mesh has significant effect on both ultimate load and displacement. The increase of slab thickness leads to decrease in deflection values and increase in stiffness of slabs. Both ductility and stiffness increase as the loaded area size is increased.


The adsorption of krypton on alkali halide crystals with the NaCl-type structure has been studied theoretically in order to analyze detailed experimental data given in a succeeding paper. Emphasis was placed on the mutual interaction between adsorbates, perturbed by the solid adsorbent (the third body effect). Changes of lateral vibrational state of the adsorbed krypton with coverage were taken into consideration in deriving an adsorption isotherm.An analysis is given of the third body effect in the localized adsorption model, and an equation derived which correlates the third body effect with the surface electric field. Using this equation, one can estimate the order of magnitude of the field strength, and, in favourable cases, verify the existence of the distortion of the surface lattice postulated by Benson and coworkers.


Botulinum toxin (BTX) is a powerful neurotoxin which blocks cholinergic transmission at the neuromuscular junction. Judiciously applied, it can reduce local muscle overactivity while maintaining the strength in other muscles. To date BTX has not been licensed for use in spasticity in the UK and the literature pertaining to clinical practice is still relatively scant. However, controlled trials have provided evidence of the effectiveness of BTX both in reducing spasticity itself and in achieving functional gain. The guidance given here to clinicians involved in the management of spasticity covers the types of patient suitable for treatment using BTX, the appropriate dosage, and the necessary follow-up procedures and documentation.


This article seeks to rethink digital politics and make the case for a digital bill of rights, along the lines advocated by think tank Cybersalon, to which the authors are affiliated. The authors argue that recent reports and proposed bills by the US and UK governments to regulate the internet tend to focus on users as consumers rather than citizens, and to prioritise commercial and security interests over individual rights. They also argue that we need better laws on copyright that take more account of the way digital media works: the new ways of collaborating and creating opened up by the web and internet should be celebrated rather than closed down. They argue that, as internet users at the beginning of the digital age, we all have responsibility as citizens to participate in the shaping of the future.


: Sport has relatively recently ceased to be an applied institution of social life. If earlier the sport had a strictly defined additional orientation (for example, it served the purposes of increasing the combat training of the army), then after the Second World War, sport becomes a means of demonstrating the prestige of the state, reaching the international level. Sport becomes a professional activity and an independent direction of the commercial life of the society. This paper is a preliminary research which gathers quantitative and qualitative information about social bonding for two categories of stake-holders: intellectually disabled athletes and partners from mainstream schools, training and competing in unique teams. This approach aimed at: identifying the perception of self-concept and self-esteem among ID athletes in relation to their social integration, determining the way ID athletes think they are perceived by their school friends and partners within Special Olympics events, identifying the positive effects on both personal and social levels, by participating in Sports events, identifying the partners' perception related to the athletes' abilities and possibility to advocate in this respect. All data confirmed that regular training and Sports competition attendance leads to greater social inclusion, an interesting self-concept and self-esteem perception of the athletes, as well as certain inside ways of viewing the positive outcomes of delivering such educational programs.


Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) has recently been identified as an endogenous gaseous signaling molecule. In the vascular system, the formation of H(2)S is catalyzed by cystathionine γ‑lyase (CSE). Previous studies have demonstrated the protective effects of H(2)S on ischemic injury in various types of tissue. However,, little is known about the role of H(2)S in diabetes-associated vascular diseases. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine the possible role of H(2)S in high glucose-induced vascular dysfunction, and to explore the underlying mechanisms. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were isolated from human umbilical veins. The levels of H(2)S following treatment with various levels of glucose were determined and the secretion of endothelin-1 (ET-1) was measured by ELISA. The mRNA and protein expression of CSE in the HUVECs was determined by real-time RT-PCR and western blot analysis, respectively. Treatment with high glucose (25 mmol/l) for 48 h significantly increased the secretion of ET-1 by HUVECs, with the concomitant suppression of H(2)S production and CSE protein expression. The increase in exogenous H(2)S levels through the administration of sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) attenuated the high glucose-induced downregulation of CSE protein expression, and significantly inhibited the secretion of ET-1. These results suggest that the downregulation of CSE protein expression and the subsequent decrease in H(2)S production play a role in high glucose-induced vascular dysfunction possibly by increasing the secretion of ET-1 by endothelial cells.


The objective of the present study was to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of 136 canine isolates of Staphylococcus intermedius and 10 canine isolates of S. schleiferi subspecies coagulans to 16 fluoroquinolones (FQs), and to investigate the mechanisms of resistance in the nonsusceptible isolates. Of the 136 of S. intermedius tested 98.5% were susceptible to all 16 FQs whereas only 40% of the 10 isolates of S. schleiferi subspecies coagulans were susceptible. Two isolates of S. intermedius and six isolates of S. schleiferi, were found to be resistant to 13 out of 16 FQs, while they retained their susceptibility to fourth generation FQs such as gatifloxacin, moxifloxacin and trovafloxacin. Sequencing of the quinolone-resistance determining regions of gyrA and grlA genes showed that in S. intermedius, dichotomous resistance to FQs was associated with the occurrence of one alteration in GyrA-84 and one in GrlA-80, while in S. schleiferi the same pattern of resistance was observed in isolates showing these changes only in gyrA. This study is the first to screen FQs of the second, third and fourth generation for antimicrobial resistance in clinical isolates of S. intermedius and S. schleiferi of canine origin, and to describe mutations in gyrA and grlA associated with FQ resistance in these bacterial species.


Abstract In the fields of agriculture and resource economics, good economics is predicated by good science. By partnering more with physical scientists, economists will be better able to provide the broad policy-making community with practical recommendations for addressing resource issues. An example of collaboration is presented for the development of environmental indicators of the potential risk to the environment of die loss of pesticides from farm fields, which will be used by economists to adjust conventionally measured agricultural output for water quality impacts associated with agricultural production.


How can we, people working within the field of occupational hygiene and health, support the sustainable development goals? The latest figures show that 2.78 million workers continue to die each year from work-related injuries and illnesses. Especially when we realise ourselves that 2.4 million of these deaths can be attributed to work-related diseases alone. With this information in our minds we have to support the SDG in order to achieve a, healthy sustained, inclusive economic growth for everybody in the future. The first important step is to consider what is the desired effect we want and which strings do we have to pull for this desired effect. In this presentation we will look for information which can help us to decide which choices we have and what the mechanisms might be that sort the best effect. The second question to be answered is how should we approach the problems we have to solve? It is clear that to achieve the 17 intertwined Sustainable Development Goals before 2030 we will need 'all hands on deck' and we have to get in to motion. So how can the diversity of our backgrounds drive the innovation for new ideas, perspectives and solutions. This presentation will focus on the idea that we need to change to achieve these goals, and that this can only happen if we can we overcome the challenges and see and share the opportunities we have in this connected world.


More than 25% of the present radiology workforce, or nearly 8300 radiologists, are actively practicing late-career radiologists. While these individuals could decide to retire from active practice, their continued presence in the workforce helps to maintain adequate and appropriate patient imaging services. To ensure their continued participation, issues important to all late-career radiologists need to be appreciated, discussed, and addressed. These issues include call-duty requirements, compensation, physical and cognitive health, and organized phase-out programs. The gamut of these issues is addressed in this review article. ©RSNA, 2018.


Is it the job of state law to intervene in or follow in the footsteps of natural law, and to stipulate that the duty of a parent to raise his child while showing warmth and love- a natural norm- should receive a legalistic, enforceable form? Does the law have solutions when a parent is not interested or is not capable of protecting that valuable asset that is the emotional bond between him and his children? Can a civil suit between a parent and a child on the basis of the failure to fulfill the duty of emotional concern even be handled with the regular tools of inter-personal disputes? Is placing a positive duty on the parent to love his child the way for the law to set this norm, or should the law perhaps confine itself to a negative duty that places upon a parent liability for the omission of "emotional neglect," which caused the child emotional, mental, or developmental damage? Or should the law perhaps prefer to stay out of the family unit and leave the authority in the hands of the parent rather than realize the rights of the child, as expressed in giving an opportunity to file an action for his damages? This is a group of questions, all of which are clearly connected to the question of the legal policy that should be taken regarding the essence of legal intervention in the family unit in general and in the parent-child relationship specifically, and the scope of such intervention, that this Article will attempt to address while presenting a few models of legal intervention, their advantages and their disadvantages, and proposing an original model. The model that will be proposed will attempt to "dodge between the raindrops," and this is out of an understanding that local intervention in the relations between two organs in the family cannot be disconnected from the general influence over the set of relationships in it and over its stability and the foundations upon which it rests, while simultaneously considering the rights of the child. Thus the proposed model will attempt to serve as a thread that connects and bridges between opposing models by finding a compromise and balancing point that can match the nature of the modern family.


How are immigration and trade related? Migration leads to the formation of social networks across borders, driving down trade costs. Immigrants may also retain a preference for their native country's products, creating a local market for exports. I examine these two competing theories by estimating the immigration-trade linkage separately for migrants moving from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to Europe and North America. While these two groups originate in the same location and have similar preferences, they are quite different in terms of both income and education, with migrants to North America tending to be less numerous but more educated. The greater degree of economic assimilation for North American migrants should strengthen migrant network effects, but greater cultural assimilation weakens both network and preference effects. I find the migration-trade link to be stronger for migrants to Europe, with the strongest effect for imports. The link is stronger for differentiated goods than for homogeneous goods and strongest for differentiated goods imports into Europe. These results suggest that while network effects matter, immigrant preferences for native country goods are the key factor driving the migrationtrade link.


Abstract: This study assesses the foraminiferal morphogroup concept as a quantitative tool for interpreting environments of deposition in the geological record. This was achieved by first establishing a solid paleoenvironmental framework based on assessment of trace fossils (Zoophycos, Cruziana, and Phycosiphon ichnofacies, and the unnamed brackish-water association), sedimentology, and facies analysis of shallow-marine siliciclastic units of the upper Albian Viking Formation of the Western Interior Seaway, Canada. Foraminiferal morphogroups were integrated into a framework of six well-defined marine mudstone-dominated facies—estuarine, embayment, prodelta, upper offshore, lower offshore, and marine shelf. Seven morphogroups were recognized, quantified, and labeled using alphanumeric codes—A (tubular), B1 (globular), B2 (coiled, flat), B3 (lenticular), C1 (elongate), C2 (quinqueloculine), and D (trochospiral). Tubular forms (A, Bathysiphon) occur rarely in these shallow-marine facies. Globular forms (B1, Lagenammina) are common in estuarine (33%) and embayment (23%) facies, but also occur elsewhere in low numbers (7–14%). Coiled planar forms (B2, Ammodiscus) occur only rarely (1–8%), but have a minor presence in embayment facies (8%). Lenticular forms (B3, Haplophragmoides) are dominant in estuarine facies (43%) and occur commonly in other environments (9–29%) as well. Elongate forms (C1, Ammobaculites, Reophax, Verneuilinoides) dominate all shallow-marine facies (43–80%), except estuarine (10%). Quinqueloculine forms (C2, Miliammina) have a minor presence in prodelta and marine facies (5%) but are generally rare. Trochoid forms (D, Trochammina) occur rarely, but are relatively common in the prodeltaic facies (15%). Albian foraminiferal morphogroups of the Viking Formation are comparable to those of modern-day offshore environments from water depths of 13 to 160 meters. Foraminiferal morphogroups are objective entities independent of taxonomic determinations. Analysis of their form and function is applicable not only in the shallow-marine facies of the Albian Western Interior Seaway, but in similar facies throughout the geologic record.


Gamma-ray spectrometry was used to determine uranium activity and investigate the presence of depleted uranium in soil samples collected from camping sites of the Greek expeditionary force in Kosovo. Assessment of 238U concentrations was based on measurements of the 63.3 keV and 92.38 keV emissions of its first daughter nuclide, 234Th. To determine the isotopic ratio of 238U/235U, secular equilibrium along the two radioactive series was first ensured and thereby the contribution of 235U under the 186 keV peak was deduced. The uranium activity in the samples varied from 48 to 112 Bq kg(-1), whereas the activity ratio of 238U/235U averaged 23.1+/-4.3.


With standard algorithms for generating the classical Kolakoski sequence, the numerical calculation of the digit distribution uses a linear amount of space. Here, we present an algorithm for calculating the distribution of the digits in the classical Kolakoski sequence that uses logarithmic space and still runs in linear time. The algorithm is easily adaptable to generalized Kolakoski sequences.


Doppler cloud radars are amazing tools to characterize cloud and fog properties and to improve their representation in models. However commercially-available cloud radars (35 and 95 GHz) are still very expensive, which hinders their widespread deployment. In this study we present the development of a lower-cost semi-operational 95 GHz Doppler cloud radar called BASTA for Bistatic rAdar SysTem for Atmospheric studies. In order to drastically reduce the cost of the instrument a different approach is used compared to traditional pulsed radars: instead of transmitting a large amount of energy for a very short time period (as a pulse), a lower amount of energy is transmitted continuously. In the paper we show that using specific signal processing technique the radar can challenge expensive radars and provide high-quality measurements of cloud and fog. The latest version of the instrument has a sensitivity of about -50 dBZ at 1 km for 3 s integration and a vertical resolution of 25 m. BASTA radar currently uses four successive modes for specific applications: the 12.5 m vertical resolution mode is dedicated to fog and low clouds, the 25 m mode is for liquid and ice mid-tropospheric clouds and the 100 m and 200 m are ideal for optically-thin high-level ice clouds. We also highlight the advantage of such a radar for calibration procedures and field operations. The radar comes with a set of products dedicated to cloud and fog studies. For instance, cloud mask, corrected Doppler velocity and multi mode products combining high sensitivity mode and high resolution modes are provided.


Background Type I interferons (IFNs) have been confirmed to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Rheumatoid arthritis (RA). IFN activity is usually monitored using a whole blood signature of IFN responsive genes. However; (i) these signatures do not correlate with disease activity, (ii) they also do not predict response to anti-IFN therapy. This may be because IFN response varies in different cell populations whose frequency varies in different disease states. We therefore sought a cell specific IFN signature using surface expression of the IFN response protein, Siglec-1 (sialoadhesin, CD169), which represents type I IFN activity on monocytes. B cells are involved in both diseases and have been target of therapy by different biologics. Changes in B cell subsets (esp. plasmablast (PB) expansion) are associated with disease activity. Hence, we investigated the correlation of different B cell subsets with the level of Siglec-1 in RA and SLE patients. Objectives To study the use of a flow cytometry cell specific assay for interferon signature in SLE. Methods Peripheral blood was collected from 27 SLE patients, 18 RA patients and 5 healthy controls (HC) and was analyzed for the level of Siglec-1 (CD169) expression on monocytes as well as for the numbers of naïve, memory and PB B cell subsets using multi-parameter flow cytometry using panels including: CD19, CD27, CD38, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD16, CD14, CD56, CD64, CD69 and CD169. Disease activity was measured by BILAG-2004 for SLE patients and DAS-28 for RA patients. Results Siglec-1 was found significantly higher in SLE and RA than in HC (p=0.03) (ANOVA test). However, no significant difference was found between RA and SLE Siglec-1 expression. In SLE patients, Siglec-1 was found significantly higher in patients with high BILAG score (n=6) than those with low BILAG (n=17) (p=0.0002) (Mann Whitney test). Moreover, Siglec-1 was significantly correlated with levels of autoantibodies in SLE patients (P=0.0175, r=0.634) (Spearman); the number of autoantibody positivity was associated with higher Siglec-1 expression on monocytes. Although BILAG score was significantly correlated with percentage of PB in SLE patients' blood (p=0.008, r=0.681) (Spearman R), we found no significant correlation between PB numbers or other cell subsets and Siglec-1 levels on monocytes. Interestingly, CD64 on monocytes was also upregulated in SLE and significantly correlated with Siglec-1. Conclusions Monocyte Siglec-1 expression level as a measure of type I IFN activity were correlated with the disease activity and the number of autoantibody positivity in SLE. However, it does not explain the characteristic changes in B cell differentiation. Moreover, it does not act as a disease specific marker since it was invariably high in the active state of both diseases. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Banks of all sorts are troubled institutions. The cost of public bail-outs associated with the subprime crisis in the United States alone may be as high as US$2 trillion. What is the problem with banks? Why do they seem to be at the centre of economic and financial turmoil down through the ages? In this provocative and timely book, Sinclair and Rethel seek answers to these questions, arguing that banks suffer from perennial problems, and that developments in the financial markets and government in recent decades have simply exacerbated these issues.

The Problem With Banks examines banking activity in America, Asia and Europe, and how specific historical circumstances have transformed banks' behaviour and attitude to risk. While many see government as a constraint on banks, Sinclair and Rethel argue that what governments do in terms of regulation shapes banks and their motivations, as can be seen in the shortcomings of current reform proposals. Instead, more far-reaching, alternative ways of regulating and shaping banks are needed.


Importance For patients with asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis and normal left ventricular function, current practice guidelines empirically recommend serial evaluations every 6 to 12 months. The benefit of this clinical monitoring is unknown. Objective To determine the association of guideline adherence with clinical outcomes in patients with asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective cohort study involved 300 patients with asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis who were seen in the ambulatory Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. Rates of survival and adverse clinical events, including myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure hospitalization, were compared between patients who adhered to serial evaluation guidance and those who did not. Medical records were reviewed from July 25, 2007, to December 6, 2012. Data analysis took place from February 4, 2017, to July 10, 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures All-cause mortality, heart failure hospitalization, and major adverse clinical events during follow-up. Results The study population of 300 comprised 143 men (47.7%) and had a mean (SD) age of 78.6 (11.5) years. There were no differences in age, race/ethnicity, sex, comorbidities, insurance status, left ventricular function, and aortic stenosis severity between patients with (n = 202) and patients without (n = 98) guideline adherence. Aortic valve replacement (surgical or catheter based) was performed more frequently (54.0% vs 19.4%; P < .001) and the median (interquartile range) time for this performance was earlier (2.2 [1.2-3.6] years vs 3.5 [2.0-5.8] years; P < .001) in patients with guideline adherence. All-cause mortality was higher for nonadherent patients (hazard ratio [HR], 1.57; 95% CI, 1.07-2.30; P < .001), and these patients also had a higher rate of hospital admission for heart failure decompensation in follow-up (HR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.27-2.18; P < .001). Four-year survival that is free from death and heart failure hospitalization was higher for adherent patients than for nonadherent patients (38.7% vs 23.3%; P < .001), and this difference remained significant in models adjusted for baseline variables (adjusted HR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.04-2.29; P = .03). Conclusions and Relevance The findings of this study support the need for close monitoring of patients with asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis and help to validate current guidelines for serial evaluations. These findings also support initiatives to improve guideline adherence in clinical practice.


Introduction The UK ambulance service often attends to suspected seizures. Most persons attended to will not require the facilities of a hospital emergency department (ED) and so should be managed at scene or by using alternative care pathways. Most though are transported to ED. One factor that helps explain this is paramedics can have low confidence in managing seizures. Objectives With a view to ultimately developing additional seizure management training for practicing paramedics, we explored their learning needs, delivery preferences and potential drivers and barriers to uptake and effectiveness. Design and setting Semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of paramedics from the English ambulance service. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed. Participants A diverse sample of 19 professionals was recruited from 5 different ambulance NHS trusts and the College of Paramedics. Results Participants said seizure management was neglected within basic and postregistration paramedic training. Most welcomed additional learning opportunities and identified gaps in knowledge. This included how to differentiate between seizure types and patients that do and do not need ED. Practical, interactive e-learning was deemed the most preferable delivery format. To allow paramedics to fully implement any increase in skill resulting from training, organisational and structural changes were said to be needed. This includes not penalising paramedics for likely spending longer on scene. Conclusions This study provides the first evidence on the learning needs and preferences of paramedics regarding seizures. It can be used to inform the development of a bespoke training programme for paramedics. Future research should develop and then assess the benefit such training has on paramedic confidence and on the quality of care they offer to seizure patients.


Many cell functions require a concerted effort from multiple membrane proteins, for example, for signaling, cell division, and endocytosis. One contribution to their successful self-organization stems from the membrane deformations that these proteins induce. While the pairwise interaction potential of two membrane deforming spheres has recently been measured, membrane-deformation induced interactions have been predicted to be non-additive and hence their collective behavior cannot be deduced from this measurement. We here employ a colloidal model system consisting of adhesive spheres and giant unilamellar vesicles to test these predictions by measuring the interaction potential of the simplest case of three membrane-deforming spherical particles. We quantify their interactions and arrangements and for the first time experimentally confirm and quantify the non-additive nature of membrane-deformation induced interactions. We furthermore conclude that there exist two favorable configurations on the membrane: (1) a linear, and (2) a triangular arrangement of the three spheres. Using Monte Carlo simulation we corroborate the experimentally observed energy minima and identify a lowering of the membrane deformation as the cause for the observed configurations. The high symmetry of the preferred arrangements for three particles suggests that arrangements of many membrane-deforming objects might follow simple rules.


The changes in cardiac output distribution in rats have been studied after hepatic artery ligation and additional ligament division. These procedures resulted initially in a marked decrease in the arterial blood supply to the liver and this effect was pronounced still four weeks after the operation. Evidence was found that the decrease in liver blood supply induced by the procedure was in part counterbalanced by arteriovenous shunting in the preportal region. Furthermore, a temporary redistribution of cardiac output with reduced fractions to colon and spleen was found two weeks after these operations.


Five cases of double cancers involving the lung and the stomach cancer are reported. The final diagnosis were done by the autopsy. Through the use of sodium hypochlorite and a Millipore filter, many ferrous bodies were detected in all cases. Three of the subjects had occupational histories involving exposure to asbestos that may have had a connection with their cancers and many crocidolites were found in their autopsied lungs. The two other cases, however, did not have any such occupational history and few pathological asbestos bodies. Further, most subjects were heavy smokers. These findings suggested that a high percentage of double cancers of lung and stomach might have been induced by the expose to asbestos in this area.


This Article offers an answer to key questions in modern American legal ethics: when and why did the legal profession stop talking about professional conduct in moral terms? Mining the history of current rules governing lawyer conduct, this Article reveals that while the 1969 Model Code of Professional Responsibility sought to revolutionize legal ethics by creating a professional code that was more transparent, democratized, and less hierarchical than the preceding 1908 Canons of Legal Ethics, that effort also excised a moral understanding of lawyering in order to facilitate a particular understanding of pluralism.The drafters of the 1969 Model Code faced a difficult task. They recognized women and minorities were entering the legal profession in unprecedented numbers. Aware of impending conflicts within the newly diverse bar and unsure how to resolve them, drafters of the Model Code struck a devil's bargain: in exchange for the peaceable coexistence of heterogeneous parties, the Model Code sought to remove moral disputes from the workplace by embracing neutral partisanship. This Article discusses the consequences of that choice. It argues that in order to permit one form of pluralism (demographic pluralism) the bar adopted a professional conduct system (neutral partisanship) that now impedes the inclusion of full substantive pluralism (including value pluralism).Neutrality is not neutral. Avoidance has its costs. The Model Code did not actually re-move morality from practice: it only prevented new lawyers from having the language and means to challenge and change existing moral norms in the profession. Modern legal ethics' endorsement of neutral partisanship structurally impedes substantive discussions amongst students, lawyers, judges, and academics about proper ends and appropriate means. This Article is a call to reopen discussion as it reveals why the legal profession embraced this particular model of lawyering in the first place and how that purpose has been frustrated over time.


Paradoxical embolism through a patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been recognized as a potential cause of transient ischemia attack (TIA) and stroke especially in younger patients. The therapeutic options are medical treatment (antiaggregation or anticoagulation) with an annual recurrence rate of 3% to 4% for stroke or TIA, surgical PFO closure, or catheter closure. Randomized studies are ongoing; however, the results will not be available soon. Since August 1994, we have attempted catheter closure of a PFO in 281 patients (age 17 to 79 years, mean 46.8 +/- 13.2) with paradoxical embolism. Of these, 184 patients had at least one embolic stroke, 112 patients at least one TIA, and 15 patients at least one peripheral embolism. The diameter of the PFO, measured with a balloon catheter, ranged from 3 mm to 24 mm with a mean of 10 +/- 3.5 mm. Implantation of the occluder was technically successful in all patients (two attempts in four patients). Seven different devices were used: 26 Sideris buttoned, 11 ASDOS, 19 Angel Wings, 98 PFO-Star, 37 Cardioseal-Starflex, 57 Amplatzer and, 33 Helex devices. One patient suffered from septicemia and subsequently died. In 2 patients, device embolization occurred during or after the procedure (1 Sideris, 1 PFO-Star; catheter retrieval successful). Thirty-seven patients had other minor complications without long-term sequelae: atrial fibrillation within the first weeks after implantation in five patients, asymptomatic thrombus on the device at routine transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) in 7 patients (1 Angel Wings, 1 ASDOS, 1 CardioSeal, 4 PFO-Star), and device frame fracture in 25 patients (2 Sideris, 4 ASDOS, 1 Angel Wings, 1 CardioSeal, 17 PFO-Star). No complications occurred with the newer devices (Amplatzer and Helex). A residual shunt after 6 months was found in 5.5% of the patients who had completed their 6-month TEE follow-up. In two patients, a second occluder was implanted because of a residual shunt. During a follow-up period of 1 month to 71 months (mean 12 +/- 16 months, 268 patient years), a recurrence of an embolic event (seven TIA, two stroke) occurred in eight patients. None of these occurred with the newer devices (Amplatzer, Helex). Freedom from recurrence of the combined end point of TIA, ischemic stroke, and peripheral embolism was 95.7% (95% CI: 89.0%-98.4%) at 1 year and 94.1% (95% CI: 80.1-98.4%) at 3 years. Catheter PFO closure is a technically simple procedure. With the newer devices and increasing experience, the success rate has improved and the complication rate has decreased. The advantage of the procedure is that closing the defect means a causal treatment. However, catheter closure of PFO despite a very low morbidity has inherent potential risks like any other interventional procedure. Furthermore, selection of patients who definitely have PFO as the cause of their cerebral event has not been defined. For these reasons, further studies are warranted.


Author(s): Dishaw, Adam Leo | Advisor(s): Richman, Jeffrey D | Abstract: This dissertation describes a search for supersymmetry in 35.9 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collisions with sqrt(s) = 13 TeV produced by the LHC and recorded by the CMS experiment. The search targets events having a final state with a single lepton, high jet multiplicity, at least one b-tagged jet, and missing transverse momentum. Standard model background yields are estimated using the sum of the masses of large-radius jets in each event. The observed yields are consistent with the estimated background yields. This consistency is interpreted in term of simplified models of supersymmetry in which gluinos are pair produced and each subsequently decay into a top quark, anti-top quark, and neutralino via an intermediate on- or off-shell stop squark. Assuming a 100% branching fraction for this decay chain, gluino masses up to approximately 1.9 TeV are excluded at a 95% confidence level for neutralino masses below 1 TeV. Similarly, neutralino masses up to approximately 1175 GeV are excluded when the gluino mass is 1.7 TeV.


1. This paper describes the long-term dynamics of the macrozoobenthic communities in the Orbetello Lagoon, one of the largest Western Mediterranean lagoons, which was affected by eutrophication processes that began in the 1980s and peaked with two severe anoxic crises in 1992 and 1993.

2. The aim of the present research was first to establish the characteristics of this basin prior to the anoxic crises, and second to assess the recovery of the lagoon after various restoration measures were completed in 1996. Investigations were carried out by studying macrozoobenthic communities in 4 years (1976, 1988, 1994, 1999) that were representative of the different (eu)trophic status in the lagoon.

3. Results of multivariate analyses indicated that each year was significantly different from the others. The years 1976 and 1999 exhibited the highest number of species as compared with 1988 and 1994. The majority of species characterizing the 1976 communities were marine taxa whereas 1988 and 1994 showed a lower percentage of marine species and a higher percentage of opportunistic organisms in comparison with 1976. The species assemblage in 1999 showed an intermediate composition between 1976 and 1988–1994.

4. Eutrophication processes caused a clear impoverishment of the macrobenthic communities in 1988 and 1994. The increase in overall number of species during 1999 may have been due to improved environmental conditions of the lagoon. However, the composition of the community suggested that still there were signs of disturbance in the lagoon in 1999, 6 years after the last intense anoxic crises and even after completion of the environmental restoration measures.

5. It was hypothesized that secondary disturbance events, sustained by high seasonal release of nutrients from the sediments, could cause the deviations from the expected improvement in benthic conditions. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Olea europaea is one of the oldest species of domesticated trees. We used microsatellite markers for fingerprinting and for evaluation of genetic similarity and structure of 26 Greek olive cultivars, which cover most of the olive cultivation regions of Greece, including previously undescribed denominations from northern Greece. Eighty-one alleles were revealed with six SSR loci that were selected as most informative of 10 SSR primers that were initially investigated. The number of alleles per locus varied from 7 to 20 (mean, 13.5). Heterozygosity ranged from 0.240 at locus DCA-3 to 0.826 at locus UDO99-9, with a mean value of 0.600. Analysis of 104 trees representing 26 denominations (four trees per denomination) revealed 26 distinct SSR profiles, indicating 26 olive cultivars; no intracultivar variability was observed. Genetic and geographic distances were not significantly correlated, based on the Mantel test. These SSR loci allowed unequivocal identification of all the cultivars and will be useful for future breeding and olive germplasm management efforts.


The authors demonstrate an optical TDMA LAN with a 40 Gbit/s capacity, which is being used to interconnect high-end computer workstations. The entire LAN requires only one optical pulse source, and uses very few components at each node to read and write data.


In this paper, the Brain Emotional Learning Based Intelligent Controller (BELBIC) and fuzzy controller were used to control output voltage of the full bridge DC-DC converter. The converter is presented by its state space averaged model assuming that it operates in the continuous conduction mode (CCM). A comparison was also made between the results. The effectiveness of control approaches are demonstrated by the uncertainty of system parameters and acceptable load variations. The performance of the BEBLIC and fuzzy controller in controlling the output voltage of the full bridge DC-DC converter was satisfactory. Since these controllers are not designed to reduce error to zero, it is not possible to claim that the error rate is precisely zero. Compared to the fuzzy controller, the BELBIC shows negligible overshoots and fluctuations. Both controllers reach stabilization almost at once. It is, therefore, concluded that the BELBIC acts better than the fuzzy controller. Considering the uncertainty of system parameters (including inductance, capacitance, and input voltage and acceptable variations of load), BELBIC acts better than the fuzzy controller.


A sample of 203 parents of preschool children served as respondents for a 60-item questionnaire. The items dealt with parental practices which previous research findings cite as influential in childhood cognitive development. The items were factor analyzed and six factors extracted: (1) Willingness to devote time to the child, (2) Parental guidance, (3) Aspiration for achievement, (4) Rejection vs. Acceptance, (5) Provision for the child's needs, and (6) Dependence upon external resources. Scale scores derived from the factors were correlated with family (demographic) characteristics.


The invention relates to water-free, topically applicable agents for treating nail problems caused by mycoses, and for nail care, said agents containing at least one C1-C4 alkyl ester of lactic acid,malic acid, tartaric acid or citric acid and physiologically compatible auxiliary substances. The agents according to the invention can also be used in veterinary medicine for treating fungal infections of hooves, claws and talons of pets, working animals and wild animals in captivity.


Extrusion is a process in which the soybean is plasticized and baked through a process combination  that involves high temperature, reduced time, pressure and friction, to inactivate the antinutritional factors present in soybeans, among them factor antitrypsin, chymotrypsin and others. Thus, the study aimed to evaluate losses during extrusion processing of soybean after the reactor output. A total of 10 samples were collected from the final product and then classified into six groups: total sample grain; normal whole; spoiled whole; burnt whole; normal broken, and burnt broken. The analyses were performed based on the quality controls such as moisture; crude protein; soluble protein, and urease. However, the physical-chemical analyses results found for normal whole grain were mostly different (P < 0.05) from those found for the other samples evaluated. The burnt broken grains presented lower (P < 0.05) values of humidity, crude protein, soluble protein and urease in relation to those obtained for normal whole grain. It was concluded that after the extrusion process the samples of grains whole normal and broken represent up the largest yield of the final portion (90%) and urease, soluble protein within values parameters required by the National Association of Feed Manufacturers. However 10% of the samples final fraction showed low nutritional value and should be used for other purposes. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14685/rebrapa.v2i1.32


Cryptosporidium spp. cause Cryptosporidiosis in humans through zoonotic and anthroponotic transmission. Previous studies have illustrated the significance of domestic animals as reservoirs of this parasite. However, there is no information on the Cryptosporidium spp. and genotypes circulating in Njoro Sub County. A total of 2174 samples from humans, cattle, chicken, sheep and goats were assessed for presence of Cryptosporidium spp. Thirty-three positive samples were successfully sequenced. The sequences obtained were compared to Cryptosporidium sequences in the GenBank using NCBI's (National Center for Biotechnology Information) online BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) algorithmic program. Sequence alignment was done using the Clustal W program and phylogenetic analysis was executed in MEGA 6 (Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis version 6.0). The Cryptosporidium spp. present in the watershed showed great genetic diversity with nine (9) Cryptosporidium spp. namely: C. parvum, C. hominis, C. ubiquitum, C. meleagridis, C. andersoni, C. baileyi, C. muris, C. xiaoi and C. viatorum. Cattle were the biggest reservoirs of zoonotic Cryptosporidium spp. hence a potential source of zoonosis in humans while goats had the least species. This is the first study that reported presence of C. viatorum in Kenya.


Candida maltosa was cultivated in the liquid phase of residual brewing yeast, a major brewery residue, to produce biomass and biofilm. Using response surface methodology, the effect of two variables at two different levels was investigated. The independent variables were agitation speed (at 100 and 200 rpm), and aeration (at 1 and 3 L min−1). Aeration was identified to be important for the production of both biomass and biofilm, while agitation was the only factor significantly affecting biofilm production. The maximal production of biofilm (2.33 g L−1) was achieved for agitation of 200 rpm and aeration of 1 L min−1, while the maximum for biomass (16.97 g L−1) was reached for 100 rpm agitation and 3 L min−1 air flow. A logistic model applied to predict the growth of C. maltosa in the exponential phase and the biofilm production, showed a high degree of agreement between the prediction and the actual biomass measured experimentally. The produced biofilms were further characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). FTIR allowed the identification of methyl, carbonyl ester and sulfate groups, and revealed the presence of uronic acid moieties and glycosidic bonds. Water-retention ability up to relatively high temperatures was revealed by TGA, and that makes the produced biofilm suitable for production of hydrogels. SEM also gave indications on the hydrogel-forming potential of the biofilm.


This study examines the influence of Soret and Dufour effects on double diffusive transient free convective boundary layer flow of a couple-stress fluid flowing over a semi-infinite vertical cylinder. A set of non-dimensional governing equations namely, the continuity, momentum, energy and concentration equations is derived and these equations are unsteady non-linear and coupled. As there is no analytical or direct numerical method available to solve these equations, they are solved by using the CFD techniques. An unconditionally stable Crank-Nicolson type of implicit finite difference scheme is employed to obtain the discretized forms of governing equations. These equations are solved using the Thomas and pentadiagonal algorithms. The numerical results are compared and found to be in good agreement with previously published results as special cases of the present investigation. Transient velocity, temperature and concentration profiles, average skin-friction, Nusselt number and Sherwood number are shown graphically for different values of Soret (So) and Dufour (Du) numbers. In all these profiles it is observed that, as the values of So decreases or the Du increases, the time required to reach the temporal maximum and the steady-state increases. It is also observed that the average values of skin-friction and heat transfer rate increases with the increasing values of So or decreasing values of Du. Whereas the reverse trend is observed for the average mass transfer rate.


The transition to multicore processors has brought synchronization, a fundamental challenge in computer science, into focus. In looking for solutions to the problem, interest has developed in the lock-free approach, which has been proven to achieve several advantages over the traditional mutual exclusion approach. This thesis studies challenges in interprocess synchronization in shared memory multicore systems using the lock-free approach. Our contributions focus on efficient design and implementation, composition, and dynamic memory reclamation of lock-free data structures, a key component in lock-free solutions to synchronization problems.

First, we show that lock-free synchronization offers several advantages. Lock-free implementations of data structures can achieve decent throughput performance while managing to provide competitive fairness among the sharing participants in accessing the shared data. We also show that although lock-freedom does not guarantee starvation-freedom, it is composable in terms of the progress guarantee. Multiple lock-free data objects can concurrently use another lock-free object without compromising their lock-free progress guarantees because operations they invoke at that object get starved.

Having shown that lock-free synchronization possesses several advantages, we then propose lock-free implementations of data structures, as they play a vital role in solving synchronization problems. We present a lock-free hash table based on cuckoo hashing scheme and a lock-free skip-list with extended functionality.
Cuckoo hashing uses two hash tables to offer two positions for any key, so hashing conflicts are solved efficiently and simply by placing conflicted keys in different positions. We develop a lock-free implementation by addressing challenges in manipulating elements in their two possible positions. The evaluation results show that our lock-free cuckoo hash table outperforms other state-of-the-art hash tables in the literature. The extended functionality for the skip-list is motivated by the parallelization of mark-split, an algorithm in the literature designed to reclaim unused memory.

Programming lock-free data structures raises a challenge in reclamation of dynamic memory; this is the subject that we study in the last part of the thesis. Reclaiming dynamically allocated memory blocks of data structures has always been a big issue, because they can be accessed, removed, or freed by any parallel processes. In lock-free programming the problem becomes even more complicated; because no process is allowed to wait for others. Automatic memory reclamation, or garbage collection, can free programmers from such a challenging task by safely reclaiming memory blocks that are no longer used. Based on the introduced skip-list, we propose a parallel design and implementation of the mark-split, a garbage collection algorithm that collects garbage using two steps: "mark" live objects and "split" free memory chunks to exclude occupied spaces from free memory. Furthermore, we address performance bottlenecks in the garbage collection when working on Non-uniform Memory Access (NUMA) multicore systems and introduce a NUMA-aware mark-compact garbage collector which is implemented in the OpenJDK's HotSpot virtual machine.


This paper purports to estimate the characteristics of women who had experiences of abortion in 1991 based on an economic model of fertility. The study makes use of a national survey on the knowledge of, attitude towards, and practice of family planning and reproductive health among married women in Taiwan. The results show that older women with higher family income and who live in urban areas were more likely to have the pregnancy terminated. In addition, the decision to have an abortion was negatively correlated with prior pregnancy loss, but positively associated with the number of previous live births. On the other hand, the availability of abortion services as measured by the number of legal abortion providers at city and county levels had a negative effect on the demand for abortions. The local female unemployment rate was found to be positively correlated with the woman's decision to have an abortion.


Using full three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic numerical simulations, we study the effects of magnetic field sigmoidity or helicity on the properties of the fundamental kink oscillation of solar coronal loops. Our model consists of a single denser coronal loop, embedded in a plasma with dipolar force-free magnetic field with a constant α-parameter. For the loop with no sigmoidity, we find that the numerically determined oscillation period of the fundamental kink mode matches the theoretical period calculated using WKB theory. In contrast, with increasing sigmoidity of the loop, the actual period is increasingly smaller than the one estimated by WKB theory. Translated through coronal seismology, increasing sigmoidity results in magnetic field estimates that are increasingly shifting toward higher values, and even surpassing the average value for the highest α value considered. Nevertheless, the estimated range of the coronal magnetic field value lies within the minimal/maximal limits, proving the robustness coronal seismology. We propose that the discrepancy in the estimations of the absolute value of the force-free magnetic field could be exploited seismologically to determine the free energy of coronal loops, if averages of the internal magnetic field and density can be reliably estimated by other methods.


Cerebral endothelial cells play an essential role in brain angiogenesis, and their function has been found to be impaired in diabetes. Methylglyoxal (MG) is a highly reactive dicarbonyl metabolite of glucose formed mainly during glycolysis, and its levels can be elevated in hyperglycemic conditions. MG is a potent precursor of AGEs (advanced glycation end-products). In this study, we investigated if MG can induce angiogenesis dysfunction and whether MG scavengers can ameliorate angiogenesis dysfunction induced by MG. Here, we used cultured human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) treated with MG and oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) to mimic diabetic stroke in vitro. We also used the MG challenged chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) to study angiogenesis in vivo. Interestingly, administration of MG significantly impaired cell proliferation, cell migration, and tube formation and decreased protein expression of angiogenesis-related factors, which was rescued by three different MG scavengers, glyoxalase 1 (GLO1), aminoguanidine (AG), and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). In cultured CAM, MG exposure significantly reduced angiogenesis and the angiogenesis-related dysfunction could be attenuated by pretreatment with AG or NAC. Treatment of cultured HBMECs with MG plus OGD increased cellular apoptosis significantly, which could be prevented by exposure to GLO1, AG, or NAC. We also noted that administration of MG increased cellular oxidative stress as measured by reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, enhanced AGE accumulation, and receptor for advanced glycation end-product (RAGE) expression in the cultured HBMECs, which were partially reversed by GLO1, AG, or NAC. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that GLO1, AG, or NAC administration can ameliorate MG-induced angiogenesis dysfunction, and this can be mainly attributed to attenuated ROS production, reduced cellular apoptosis, and increased levels of angiogenic factors. Overall, this study suggested that GLO1, AG, or NAC may be promising candidate compounds for the treatment of angiogenesis dysfunction caused by hyperglycemia in diabetic ischemic stroke.


This study compared the meat quality of Sicilian and Landrace pigs breeds and supported these results with biochemical and histological measurements on the samples collected from the m. Longissimus Dorsi, at the level of the 8th thoracic vertebra, before electrical stimulation. Twenty clinically healthy swine, 10 male (5 for each pig breed) and 10 female (5 for each pig breed), were slaughtered at 1 year of age at a body mass of 135±10 kg and 150±10 respectively for Sicilian and Landrace pigs. Particularly on the muscle considered the morphometric characteristics of FG (fast glycolytic), FOG (fast oxidative glycolytic) and SO (slow oxidative) fibre types and their percentage were determined. Measurements related to myofibrillar fragmentation, sarcomere length and connective tissue properties gave convincing support. Sicilian pig produced more tender meat than Landrace, mainly due to favourable calpain-to-calpastatin ratios.


Hydrogen gas and air are supplied to a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). The air and the hydrogen form water and condensation may occur in the cathode side. The generated water may affect the fuel cell performance because of blocking the oxygen from reaching cathode reaction area. An imaging system with a neutron image intensifier (NII) was used for visualizing the water behaviour in the PEFC. The water distributions in the proton exchange membrane (PEM) and the gas diffusion layers (GDL) were measured by the imaging system. Visualization experiments were performed during the PEFC operation in order to clarify the water distributions in the experiments with different utilization. The generated water was discharged into the channel after the amount of water thickness in the GDL increased to a certain value of about 600 μm in thickness in the through-plane direction. The discharged water formed water drops in the channel. The effects of the water drops in the channel on the fuel cell performance could be observed clearly. It was shown that the cell voltage increased when the water was evacuated. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of ITMNR-7


Plasma exists in abundance throughout the universe and governs a large number of astrophysical processes that have been observed and are of interest. Studying the interactions of plasma with magnetic field waves, magnetic dipoles and counter-streaming plasma flows can provide insight in the fundamental physics that govern the universe and its evolution. In order to study these phenomena in-situ, we are limited to spacecraft measurements in the heliosphere. Planetary missions are the ones that provide the largest quantities of measurements of the same phenomenon, due to their orbital parameters. On the other hand, the cost of these missions, generally limits them to a single spacecraft with the exception of spacecraft that orbit the Earth.
This thesis is mainly concerned with the study of the interactions of plasma at the boundary of magnetic dipoles and the electromagnetic waves that are present in such environments. Upstream of the boundary between the Earth's magnetic field and the interplanetary magnetic field, the magnetopause (average distance from Earth ∼ 10RE ∼ 63000 km), a region of plasma heated by the bow shock exists, the magnetosheath. This region is rich in electromagnetic emissions and magnetic structures. The physical processes at the bow shock can provide insight in astrophysical phenomena. The interaction of the waves in the magnetosheath with the surrounding plasma is also of great interest as they govern the behaviour of the plasma.
Specifically this thesis initially examines the physical processes at the bow shocks of Earth and Venus. The magnetic environments of the two planets are different, as Venus does not have a magnetic field generated by the rotation of its core, unlike Earth. This means that there is benefit in studying both under the same framework in order to determine the underlying physics. The work then continuous with the examination of electromagnetic emissions downstream of the Earth's bow shock. These waves have been named lion roars and their exact origin is unclear, although they have been shown to change the properties of the plasma they interact with.


Selected oligosaccharides appear to be a class of potential agents against digestive diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of diet supplementation with oligofructose (OF) in the prevention of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)-like lesions induced by clostridial species using gnotobiotic quails. Germ-free quails were inoculated with three pre-term fecal specimens involving C. perfringens and differing in bacterial levels and associations. They were fed for 3 weeks either a control diet (inducing NEC-like lesions) or an OF-containing diet, where 3% of OF replaced 3% of the 6% of lactose in the control diet. When fed the control diet, NEC-like lesions varied from 17% in group 1 (C. perfringens < 106 CFU/g, Klebsiella ) to 67% in group 2 (C. perfringens ca. 107 CFU/g, C. difficile) and group 3 (C. perfringens ca. 108 CFU/g, C. difficile, C. paraputrificum). Supplementation with OF led to the inhibition of the disease in group 1 and to less extensive tissue necrosis and a sharp decrease in haemorrhages in groups 2 and 3. Only in group 3 was the OF beneficial effect associated with a decrease in C. perfringens (ca. 106/g, p < 0.05) and C. paraputrificum. Whatever the group, OF did not alter caecal pH or short-chain fatty acid concentrations. Health promoting effects of OF against NEC-like lesions caused by a polymicrobial infection were demonstrated. The possible mechanisms involved are discussed. Oligosaccharides in human milk have major physiological functions. Therefore, a supplementation with a synthetic analogue could offer a new approach to improve pre-term formula milk.


The aim of this study was to reveal the dynamic characteristics of the liquid-liquid ejector with a pulse current. A three-dimensional ejector model was established. The performances of sucking fluids and mixing performance between the steady ejector and pulsed ejectors with different frequency and amplitude were analyzed. The simulation results showed that the efficiency of the pulsed ejector was higher than that of the steady ejector under the same operating conditions. The ER (entrainment ratio) and η (working efficiency) of the pulsed ejector with higher pulsation amplitude and frequency was much higher than that of the steady ejector. Therefore, it can be concluded that pulsed jet can effectively improve the performances of liquid-liquid ejector.


The author attempts to explore the current road safety framework in India with a specific focus on powered two-and three-wheelers (PTWs). The paper starts with an underline assumption of driver's behaviour being the major cause of road accidents and attempts to understand the factors leading to those causes. While doing so, the author explores the macro, meso and micro factor that influences driver's behaviour. Further, based on the existing secondary data and primary data, captured through unstructured in-depth interviews on risk perception and safety culture of the road users at Bangalore, India, the author attempts to redefine the problem of road safety from stakeholder's perspective. Furthermore, the author maps the existing legal and institutional road safety framework in India and evaluates it with respect to the International standards and best practices around the world. Lastly, as an attempt to combat accidents, the author suggests behavioural strategies both coercive and non-coercive as a solution to the redefined problem of road accidents. Hence, this paper tends to contribute to the discussion on understanding road safety from the PTWs driver's perspective to come up with behavioural strategies to combat road accidents.


COMPLETE PROLAPSE or procedentia of the rectum is best defined as a circumferential descent of the entire thickness of the rectal wall through the anus. The abnormal extrusion of the mucous membrane only is termed an incomplete or a mucosal prolapse and will be excluded from the discussion in this paper. Nearly four score operative procedures have been described for this distressing and frequently recurring condition, particularly at the two extremes of life and in the mentally defective. Although the entity has been attacked rationally from an anatomic basis, the results achieved, both immediate and particularly remote, leave much to be desired. Especially disheartening is the fact that even after an apparent anatomic success in controlling the protrusion of the herniating mass, the poor functional result often persists, if only worse in some cases. In order to lay down the principles of management of this disease, it is of paramount


Although many studies have examined whether job stability and security have declined over time, the role of technology in job turnover has received little attention. This analysis examines the relationship between the likelihood that a worker remains at the same job for two years and various measures of technology usage across industries. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth over 1980-98, the results indicate that the relationship between job retention and technology varies across measures of technology. Almost all of the relationship between job retention likelihoods and technology is due to quits, not to involuntary job loss. The results suggest that the relationship between technology, quits, and involuntary job loss differs between college graduates and less-educated workers.


The use of information technology at present is considered as one of the solutions for business establishments for their expense and quality issues. It is their key to staying ahead of their competitors. The study is intended to trace and monitor the transactions of the New Canaan Insurance Agency, Inc. (NCIA) involving collection, payment, delivery, and pick-up. It also monitored the performance of the liaison officers and the request of transaction is centralized. The researcher developed the Centralized Collection and Delivery System (CCDS) of New Canaan Insurance Agency, Inc (NCIA). The descriptive and applied types of research were employed in the study. Data were gathered through interview and feedback form. The respondents were from the 28 employees of NCIA. The Evolutionary Prototype model was used in the development of the system and the USE questionnaire to test its usability. The gathered data were analyzed and interpreted using frequency count and mean. Findings revealed that the procedures on collection, delivery, payment, and pick-up start with an employee's request forwarded to the liaison officers which is done manually. Using the Evolutionary Prototype Model, the Centralized Collection and Delivery System was developed. The developed system was found to be efficient because it was designed to fit the needs of NCIA.


Effects of two-body dipolar interactions on the effective permittivity/conductivity of a binary, symmetric, random dielectric composite are investigated in a self-consistent framework. By arbitrarily splitting the singularity of the Green tensor of the electric field, we introduce an additional degree of freedom into the problem, in the form of an unknown "inner" depolarization constant. Two coupled self-consistent equations determine the latter and the permittivity in terms of the dielectric contrast and the volume fractions. One of them generalizes the usual Coherent Potential condition to many-body interactions between single-phase clusters of polarizable matter elements, while the other one determines the effective medium in which clusters are embedded. The latter is in general different from the overall permittivity. The proposed approach allows for many-body corrections to the Bruggeman-Landauer (BL) scheme to be handled in a multiple-scattering framework. Four parameters are used to adjust the degree of self-consistency and to characterize clusters in a schematic geometrical way. Given these parameters, the resulting theory is "exact" to second order in the volume fractions. For suitable parameter values, reasonable to excellent agreement is found between theory and simulations of random-resistor networks and pixelwise-disordered arrays in two and tree dimensions, over the whole range of volume fractions. Comparisons with simulation data are made using an "effective" scalar depolarization constant that constitutes a very sensitive indicator of deviations from the BL theory.


Drones have been suggested as an emerging technology that has the potential to disrupt and improve healthcare. The attitude among healthcare workers towards the use of drones is important for its successful implementation. Our aim was to examine individual and institutional variables among employees that may be relevant for the successful implementation of drones. This study used a self-administered questionnaire to investigate the expectations and beliefs among 400 employees at three Norwegian healthcare organizations regarding the future role of drones in the provision of healthcare. The results showed that the use of drones in healthcare is positively perceived across professional groups, age, and location. Working in an innovative environment, having experienced previous technological change in one's working environment, and having leadership that supports new ideas were identified as drivers of individual beliefs regarding the use of drones as an innovative solution in future healthcare services. Men had significantly higher scores than women, and this was associated with reporting innovative leadership. This may indicate that a future implementation of drone usage should focus on local system environments and may depend on the presence of innovative leadership. Our results are harvested from a developed health care system and should be applicable for similar technologically advanced systems where the full potential of drone solutions may benefit from the integration of drones into the overall socio-technical system.


A picture-hanging puzzle is the task of hanging a framed picture with a wire around a set of nails in such a way that it can remain hanging on certain specified sets of nails, but will fall if any more are removed. The classical brain teaser asks us to hang a picture on two nails in such a way that it falls when any one is detached. Demaine et al (2012) proved that all reasonable puzzles of this kind are solvable, and that for the k-out-of-n problem, the size of a solution can be bounded by a polynomial in n. We give simplified proofs of these facts, for the latter leading to a reasonable exponent in the polynomial bound.


Bottom-Up (BU) saliency models do not perform well in complex interactive environments where humans are actively engaged in tasks (e.g., sandwich making and playing the video games). In this paper, we leverage Reinforcement Learning (RL) to highlight task-relevant locations of input frames. We propose a soft attention mechanism combined with the Deep Q-Network (DQN) model to teach an RL agent how to play a game and where to look by focusing on the most pertinent parts of its visual input. Our evaluations on several Atari 2600 games show that the soft attention based model could predict fixation locations significantly better than bottom-up models such as Itti-Kochs saliency and Graph-Based Visual Saliency (GBVS) models.


The increasing cyber threat with the expansion of Web applications demands a constant need for safeguarding our own network resources from vulnerability exploits. Attacks can occur at the network and application level. The existent solutions like firewalls perform well at the network level. The application level detection is based on raw content matching and hence is prone to errors. This paper proposes a design, implementation and performance of an intelligent IDS which looks into the semantics of the application header and also the Web presentation language. The model presented is compatible to work with semantic processors like the XAMBALA semantic processor (XSP), that can look at the structure and content of the traffic


We present here a complete bibliography of Anne's scholarly publications. Many of these works are referenced in the two essays published in this issue. However, it seemed both important and worthwhile to make this complete list available, both to give a comprehensive overview of Anne's contributions across several disciplines and to provide an easily accessed source of reference for interested readers.


The effect of external pressure on the plasma parameters (pressure, density, velocity, temperature, kinetic energy) in an ablative capillary discharge is studied for electrothermal and electrothermal-chemical launchers. A comparison between the plasma parameters in such a situation and those obtained when the pressure outside the capillary is negligibly small was performed. The theoretically predicted results for the electrical characteristics of the discharge were compared to the corresponding experimentally obtained values, and were found to be in good agreement.


From the urines of colon carcinoma patients and normal subjects we have isolated a nucleoside in which an amino group of aspartic acid is attached to the six position of purine ribonucleoside. The structure, N6-succinyladenosine, N-(9-B-D-ribofuranosylpurin-6-yl)aspartic acid was assigned on the basis of spectral data, chemical degradation, and by synthesis. The ultraviolet and mass spectra, chromatographic and electrophoretic mobilities, and the chemical properties of the naturally occurring nucleoside were identical to those of the synthetic N6-succinyladenosine. In contrast to the methylated and hypermodified nucleosides which are products of RNA catabolism, this urinary nucleoside appears to be derived from adenylosuccinic acid, a key intermediate required in the biosynthesis of ubiquitous, natural purine nucleotide adenosine-5'-monophosphate (AMP).