This paper analyzes the occurrence of political budget cycles in 604 West German cities between 1975 and 2007. Due to the idiosyncratic timing of state and local elections, the budgetary changes before elections at two tiers of the federalist government can be separately estimated and can also be distinguished from common time effects. Both local and state elections result in pre-election manipulation of the local finances of moderate size. Before both types of elections, we observe an increase in building investments, accompanied by increasing intergovernmental grants for investment purposes but also a halt in the increase of local tax rates. By contrast, elections at the two tiers of the government affect the size of the current budget differently: current revenues and expenditures decrease before local but increase before state elections, suggesting a difference in the tightness of the local budget constraint. The extent of these political budget cycles is more pronounced in municipalities that are politically aligned with the state governments and are politically more contested.


It is suggested that measurement of the proton polarisation and analysing power for the elastic scattering 7Li(p,p)7Li should provide a sensitive test of time reversal invariance. It is possible that the 441 keV resonance could be a suitable energy region for study; alternatively measurements at higher energies and at selected angles should be suitable.


Resistance to corona discharges and ozone, the well known ageing factors for polymeric materials used in outdoor insulation, has been listed as being of great importance among twelve properties identified by CIGRE WG D1.14 – Material Properties for Non-ceramic Outdoor Insulation. Numerous earlier experiences indicated that the influences of corona discharges on properties of polymeric insulators may yield among different effects material discoloration, surface erosion, and sheath/shed cutting, each of them affecting practically important material properties. The effects may vary depending on type of corona source, its spatial distribution and on discharge intensity. Therefore, for the purpose of investigating the corona ageing mechanisms, various types of artificial corona ageing test arrangements have been used.
In this thesis a multi-needle corona electrode arrangements was selected and used for testing the corona and ozone resistance in mechanically pre-stressed specimens of materials for outdoor applications. The main goal of this work concentrated first on designing the necessary equipment and then on defining test conditions. Thereafter, by strictly following the test procedures and specifications elaborated, changes imposed by corona and ozone treatment on electrical properties of five different grades of commercially available polymeric materials were investigated, including epoxy composite (EP), two types of silicone rubbers (LSR and HTV) ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA) and ethylene-propylene-diene (EPDM) elastomers, all containing fillers. It has been found that the 100 h long treatment had rather strong influences on surface resistivity of all the materials concerned, except for EVA, for which surface resistivity remained practically unchanged. The treatment had also an influence on mechanical properties of the tested materials. The observed changes could mainly be attributed to oxidation of the material surfaces, as revealed by additionally performed physical-chemical analysis. However, the changes incurred seemed to still lie far away from the level that could be considered as dangerous for material performance in outdoor environments. The effects of the treatment on volume resistivity, dielectric permittivity and dissipation factor (dielectric losses), all being the properties of the material bulk, did not exhibit high sensitivity to the treatment. In addition, based on the elaborated procedure, the resistance to corona and ozone was investigated for epoxy based composition containing micro- and nano-fillers at different proportions. Micro- and nano-fillers were found playing a significant role in the observed changes imposed by corona exposure. A clear effect of the nano-filler addition on activation energy of the dielectric response could be seen.
The elaborated testing procedure has been proposed to CIGRE for further evaluation through performing an international round-robin test.


To understand human action in general we must look toward its determinants in the agent's cognitive assessment of an existing situation and in the attitudes this has prompted. But we cannot fully determine why a deed is done without reference also to evaluative appraisal which reveals basic commitment to prescripts. Naturalism either overlooks the autonomy of commitment vis‐a‐vis attitude and cognitive assessment or, erroneously assimilating it to attitude, wholly distorts the plain fact of the clash of duty and inclination. Since the roots of conflict derive from the same source as those of action we respond to it appropriately only if we first identify its components. To ignore commitment distorts conflict as grievously as it does action.


Abstract: A flow cytometric assay for measurements of leukocyte CD11b expression in whole blood has been developed and evaluated. The method is based on triggering of the flow cytometer by a fluorescent pan leukocyte marker, RPE‐CD45. This enabled flow cytometric analysis in whole blood, and avoidance of in vitro artefacts related to cell purification and hemolysis. Our methodological evaluation suggested the following routine procedure: sampling with sodium citrate as the anticoagulant, sample incubation at 22°C, and mild sample fixation with 0.5% formaldehyde saline. The latter provided good sample stability during 24 h. Moreover, the assay provided good assay reproducibility, low labelling antibody consumption, and minimal sample manipulation (<30 min) and acquisition time demands. The assay seems to reflect the CD11b expression of circulating leukocytes, and is also suitable for studies of agonist stimulated CD11b expression in leukocyte subpopulations in vitro. When full CD11b responsiveness to agonist stimulation is desired, samples should be incubated at 37°C, but this also elevated CD11b expression in unstimulated samples. The present whole‐blood technique is thus suitable for analyses of CD11b expression for both research and clinical routine laboratory use. The assay can easily be modified for measurements of other leukocyte antigens by use of other specific fluorescent antibodies.


Despite the availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy and the resulting reduction in severe anemia associated with HIV infection, epoetin alfa has continued to play an important role in the management of HIV-infected patients. Mild-to-moderate anemia remains common, and its correction with epoetin alfa has resulted in significant improvements in quality of life, physical functioning, and possibly prolongation of survival. New research has demonstrated that epoetin alfa may have therapeutic potential beyond its ability to stimulate erythropoiesis due to its neuroprotective and antiapoptotic properties. Current and future research will further clarify the role of epoetin alfa in the clinical management of the HIV-infected population.


This study deals with a number of issues concerning the sculptural portrait in Latin America from the 191h century until me early 2001 century. We look into the aesthetic, artistic and typological factors, as well as the social, political and economic conditions, that favoured its appearance and shaped its development. The psychological connotations of the portraits, together with the ways in which commissioners, artists and critics played a part in the creation of a debate on the subject, are also analyzed. One aspect that stands out in most of the text is the gradual transition from the application of classical norms to the new ideas of realism. All the topics are analyzed from a continental standpoint by using a comparative methodology which enables us to link and connect the production from different countries.


Recent observations suggest that p53 mutations are responsible not only for growth of primary tumors but also for their dissemination. However, mechanisms involved in p53-mediated control of cell motility and invasion remain poorly understood. By using the primary ovarian surface epithelium cell culture, we show that conditional inactivation of p53 or expression of its mutant forms results in overexpression of MET receptor tyrosine kinase, a crucial regulator of invasive growth. At the same time, cells acquire increased MET-dependent motility and invasion. Wild-type p53 negatively regulates MET expression by two mechanisms: (i) transactivation of MET-targeting miR-34, and (ii) inhibition of SP1 binding to MET promoter. Both mechanisms are not functional in p53 absence, but mutant p53 proteins retain partial MET promoter suppression. Accordingly, MET overexpression, cell motility, and invasion are particularly high in p53-null cells. These results identify MET as a critical effector of p53 and suggest that inhibition of MET may be an effective antimetastatic approach to treat cancers with p53 mutations. These results also show that the extent of advanced cancer traits, such as invasion, may be determined by alterations in individual components of p53/MET regulatory network.


With the related applications of wireless sensor networks getting into our lives quickly, the research of WSN is growing more and more necessary. The most significant problem which threatens the successful deployment of sensor systems is privacy, there are many protocols providing the security of news content for the WSNs. However, due to the open feature of sensor networks, context information is still in an exposed state, which makes the network be vulnerable to traffic analysis attack and hop by hop tracing back packet attack. Thus location privacy protection programs have been proposed. In this paper, we analyze and compare the existing major schemes comprehensively, meanwhile illustrate their theoretical models, principles and the advantages and disadvantages in detail.


This study sought to determine the optimum dose of salbutamol and the most useful method for calculating bronchodilator response. Changes in FEV1 after inhalation of 3 doses of salbutamol 200 micrograms were measured in 150 adults (64 healthy individuals, 18 with rhinitis, 53 with asthma and 15 with bronchitis). Bronchodilator response was calculated by 4 different methods: absolute value, percent change form baseline FEV1, from theoretical value and from weighted value. Significant differences in response were observed among the various methods of assessment. Patients with asthma and bronchitis showed the greatest response to salbutamol and their results were used to analyze the usefulness of the reversibility indices. The index that discriminated best was percent of theoretical reference value, although the sensitivity of this index was low and specificity varied from 0.73 to 1 depending on the cut-off point used. This index of reversibility along with absolute value proved to be the least dependent on baseline FEV1. We conclude that bronchodilator response is best assessed by calculating changes in FEV1 in relation to a theoretical reference value. This bronchomotor test, however, does not adequately assess patients with asthma and bronchitis.


The problem of providing qualitative housing has been a concern for both the government and many individuals. Appreciating these problems, both the government (Public developers) and these individuals (Private developers) through their various activities strive to balance the gap in housing supply and demand, but the cost of building materials, stringent loan conditions from mortgage banks, government policies amongst other problems have been affecting housing delivery. Questionnaire and interview were used to obtain information from the staff of Public and Private Developers on housing delivery in Lagos Metropolitan areas. In order to increase housing delivery for the urban poor at an affordable rate, the use of indigenous materials and technology, provision of habitable home at subsidize rate, modification of some parts of 1978 landuse act and accessibility of developer s particularly private developers to land and mortgage loans at a low rate will go a long way in assisting developers in housing delivery in the country.


The cancer story is changing, by 2020, almost one in two people will get cancer and 47% of those who died that year will have had cancer. We are reminded that choice at the end of life is so important and Macmillan wants everyone to have more choice. This session looks at the Macmillan Specialist care at Home partnership approach to providing palliative care to people in the community. It's based on the successful model developed in Midhurst where people experienced less frequent A and E attendances, decreased hospital stays and a majority of people died in their preferred place. Macmillan have since identified and supported six innovation centres that have adopted this model. Each centre has adopted the model of person-centred care, which emphasises principles such as having a consultant led multidisciplinary team – doctors, nurses, clinical nurse specialist, occupational therapist, physiotherapists and counsellors; flexible teamwork between specialists, generalists and trained volunteers in the community. This has enabled timely referral, home-based clinical interventions and close, flexible collaboration between primary care and other community-based services. Each centre is working in partnership with many different partners such as commissioners of end of life care, community/hospital providers and hospices. The philosophy that makes the Macmillan Specialist Care at Home approach so successful is to ensure that the person and their families feel well supported and they receive personalised, coordinated care and this session will showcase some of the findings of this project.


Background: Treatment of complicated appendicitis remains challenging and controversial as immediate appendectomy is technically demanding. Interval appendectomy remains questionable and entirely conservative management is still debatable. This study aims to evaluate the need for interval appendectomy for complicated appendicitis and incidence of appendiceal neoplasm following it. Methods: A retrospective study included all patients with appendicitis treated either conservatively, emergency appendectomy or interval appendectomy between 2008 and 2018 in our hospital. Incidental appendectomy cases were excluded. Results: A total of 4,869 cases (males—2,425, females—2,444) who presented with acute appendicitis were included in our study. A total of 4,506 (92.5%) patients (males—2,215, females—2,291) had emergency appendectomy. Total number treated conservatively were 363. Out of this, 258 (5.3% of total) patients were treated entirely conservatively (male: 111, female: 147; age range, 5–96 years). LOS range: 1–32 days. Average LOS: 5 days. Readmission within 1 year was 54 (male: 26, female: 28), of which 48 were admitted once and 6 cases (2.2%) admitted twice. Remaining 105 patients underwent interval appendectomy (2.2%) (male: 49, female: 56; laparoscopic: 94, open: 11; age range, 6– 75 years). Average LOS: 3 days. Histology: chronic appendicit is : 35, normal appendix: 21, low grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm (LAMN): 17, faecoliths: 17, endometriosis: 3, parasite 3, diverticuli: 3, adenoma: 3, Crohn's: 1, carcinoid 1, adenocarcinoma: 1. All appendiceal tumours had preoperative radiological diagnosis. Conclusions: Immediate surgical management of complicated appendicitis remains standard. Our study does not support routine interval appendectomy but in selective cases based on surgical judgment supported by CT and colonoscopy.


A combined interpretation of the CALET $e^+\, +\, e^-$ spectrum up to 3 TeV and the AMS-02 positron spectrum up to 500 GeV was performed and the results are discussed. To parametrize the background electron flux, we assume a smoothly broken power-law spectrum with an exponential cut-off for electrons and fit this parametrization to the measurements, with either a pulsar or 3-body decay of fermionic Dark Matter as the extra electron-positron pair source responsible for the positron excess. We found that depending on the parameters for the background, both Dark Matter decay and the pulsar model can explain the combined measurements. While the Dark Matter decay scenario is constrained by the Fermi-LAT $\gamma$-ray measurement, we show that 3-body decay of a 800 GeV Dark Matter can be compatible with the $\gamma$-ray flux measurement. We discuss the capability of CALET to discern decaying Dark Matter models from a generic pulsar source scenario, based on simulated data for five years of data-taking.


Machine translations are commonly used for translation, but the result may not be correct, and the user might not know if the mistranslation happened. The research aims to identify the translation result of Japanese onomatopoeia that was translated using google translate to Indonesian, the difference between the google translate result and the Indonesian translated version, and the cause of mistranslation. The qualitative method through library research was applied. The data source was from the comic entitled Komi Can't Communicate by Tomohito Oda. Translation results would be analyzed using the descriptive analysis method. It can be concluded that the research found that google translates onomatopoeia translation had differences from the Indonesian version from the difference in word usage to mistranslation due to language ambiguity and missing data. The author also finds the possibility of the lack of Japanese onomatopoeic data on google translate or the lack of data for translating Japanese onomatopoeic to Indonesian, which causes translation errors. In addition, the authors also found that the translation technique used by Google Translate in translating onomatopoeia mainly uses the word-for-word translation method so that it produces one word from each translation process. However, there is also translation using the free translation method, which uses two words to translate one onomatopoeia so that the translation results can be better understood in the target language.


Population multiple components is a statistical tool useful for the analysis of time-dependent hybrid data. With a small number of parameters, it is possible to model and to predict the periodic behavior of a population. In this article, we propose two methods to compare among populations rhythmometric parameters obtained by multiple component analysis. The first is a parametric method based in the usual statistical techniques for comparison of mean vectors in multivariate normal populations. The method, through MANOVA analysis, allows comparison of the MESOR and amplitude-acrophase pair of each component among two or more populations. The second is a nonparametric method, based in bootstrap techniques, to compare parameters from two populations. This test allows one to compare the MESOR, the amplitude, and the acrophase of each fitted component, as well as the global amplitude, orthophase, and bathyphase estimated when all fitted components are harmonics of a fundamental period. The idea is to calculate a confidence interval for the difference of the parameters of interest. If this interval does not contain zero, it can be concluded that the parameters from the two models are different with high probability. An estimation of p-value for the corresponding test can also be calculated. Both methods are illustrated with an example, based on clinical data. The nonparametric test can also be applied to paired data, a special situation of great interest in practice. By the use of similar bootstrap techniques, we illustrate how to construct confidence intervals for any rhythmometric parameter estimated from population multiple components models, including the orthophase, bathyphase, and global amplitude. These tests for comparison of parameters among populations are a needed tool when modeling the nonsinusoidal rhythmic behavior of hybrid data by population multiple component analysis.


Zn2SiO4:Mn thin films were deposited and studied as thin film phosphors for flat panel cathodoluminescent displays. Crystallized films with improved electrical conductivity were obtained after conventional and rapid thermal annealings in a N2 environment at 850–11100 °C for 0.25 to 60 minutes. A maximum cathodoluminescent efficiency of 1.3 Lm/W was achieved under dc excitation at 1500 volts. The luminescent emission from these thin films was peaked around 525 nm. The decay time of these films was controlled in the range of 2 to 10 ms by varying the deposition and annealing parameters. The fast response time of these thin films overcomes the long decay limitation of the Zn2SiO4:Mn powder phosphor in practical display applications.


accepted and will, of course, be published as soon as possible. But for the immediate future it is requested that articles offered for publication be kept to a size no larger than clarity and the requirements of the subject demand. If members of the Branches understand the position and try to help where they can, the journal, which, as we have shown, is theirs, will the sooner be restored to its pre·war style and further progress will be possible. ..


This paper presents a novel approach to track multiple moving objects using the level-set method. The proposed method can track different objects no matter if they are rigid, nonrigid, merged, split, with shadows, or without shadows. At the first stage, the paper proposes an edge-based camera compensation technique for dealing with the problem of object tracking when the background is not static. Then, after camera compensation, different moving pixels can be easily extracted through a subtraction technique. Thus, a speed function with three ingredients, i.e. pixel motions, object variances and background variances, can be accordingly defined for guiding the process of object boundary detection. According to the defined speed function, different object boundaries can be efficiently detected and tracked by a curve evolution technique, i.e. the level-set-based method. Once desired objects have been extracted, in order to further understand the video content, this paper takes advantage of a relation table to identify and observe different behaviors of tracked objects. However, the above analysis sometimes fails due to the existence of shadows. To avoid this problem, this paper adopts a technique of Gaussian shadow modeling to remove all unwanted shadows. Experimental results show that the proposed method is much more robust and powerful than other traditional methods.


This study is limited on the elementary students vocabulary achievement after teaching by applying Jumble Letters Strategy. The objective of the study is the investigation of the effect of applying Jumble Letters Strategy on the elementary students vocabulary achievement. The study was obtained by conducting experimental research that needed two groups of sample, experimental group and control group. The subject of this study was the 2013/2014 fifth grade students of SDN 104214 Delitua. The sample that was involved in this research was 60 students that were chosen randomly, that in each group there were 30 students. The experimental group was taught by applying Jumble Letters Strategy, while control group was taught without applying Jumble Letters Strategy. The instrument used in this study was an objective test. The data were taken by administering the pre-test and post-test to both of experimental and control groups. Kudar Richardson (KR) 21 Formula was applied to acquire the reliability of the test. Based on the calculation, it shows that the reliability of the test was 0.46, categorized as moderate reliability. The data were statistically analyzed by using t-test formula at the level of significance α (0.05) = 2.002 with the degree of freedom (df) = 58. It was found that the tobserved was higher than ttable (tobserved= 2.548 > ttable = 2.002; α = 0.05). It means that Jumble Letters Strategy significantly affect the students vocabulary achievement.


The question 'who is my neighbour?' challenges the way we see ourselves as well as the way we see others. Especially in situations where we feel conflicted between our own self-identity and common identity within a wider society. Historically, religion has contributed to this inner conflict by creating 'us versus them' mentalities. Challenging this traditional view, this volume examines how religions and religious communities can use their resources, methodology and praxis to encourage peace-making.

 The book is divided into two parts - the first includes sources, theories and methodologies of crossing boundaries of prejudice and distrust from the perspectives of theology and religious studies. The second includes case studies of theory and practice to challenge prejudice and distrust in a conflict or post-conflict situation. The chapters are written by scholars, religious leaders and faith-motivated peace practitioners from various global contexts to create a diverse academic study of religious peace-building.


Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly lethal malignancy with a dismal 5-year survival rate. The current treatment modalities for the treatment-associated toxicity of immunotherapy-based approaches are limited. Immunotherapy for PC was needed to be further investigated. This report illustrates the combined use of anti PD-1 immunotherapy with other therapeutic strategies for cancer pain. In this case, a patient with PC was treated with surgical resection, chemotherapy, molecular targeted medicine, and anti-PD1 immunotherapy. The survival period of the patient was more than 6 years since diagnosis. Finally, we will present our perspective on the future development of immunotherapy for PC. In a word, this case report sheds lights on information that would be helpful for more rigorous exploration of PC treatments.

https://article.accscience.com/journal/TD/1/1/10.36922/td.v1i1.52/TD_ID_52 - Proof 4.0.pdf


Existing research on continual learning of a sequence of tasks focused on dealing with catastrophic forgetting, where the tasks are assumed to be dissimilar and have little shared knowledge. Some work has also been done to transfer previously learned knowledge to the new task when the tasks are similar and have shared knowledge. To the best of our knowledge, no technique has been proposed to learn a sequence of mixed similar and dissimilar tasks that can deal with forgetting and also transfer knowledge forward and backward. This paper proposes such a technique to learn both types of tasks in the same network. For dissimilar tasks, the algorithm focuses on dealing with forgetting, and for similar tasks, the algorithm focuses on selectively transferring the knowledge learned from some similar previous tasks to improve the new task learning. Additionally, the algorithm automatically detects whether a new task is similar to any previous tasks. Empirical evaluation using sequences of mixed tasks demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed model.


MF radar ionospheric drift measurements are usually performed by correlating signals from spaced antennas. It has long been noted that the speeds obtained tend to increase to a limiting value when the antenna spacing is increased, and noise was indicated as a likely factor. This paper takes the view that noise is the only significant factor, and, with the help of some simplifying assumptions, shows that elimination of the noise term also eliminates the speed discrepancy on experimental data from two receiving arrays, each with two available spacings.


We use long-run panel data to investigate the dynamic link between work and retirement in Australia and the UK. In particular, we ask whether job dissatisfaction affects future retirement decisions. The results in both countries indicate that, relative to satisfied workers, those reporting job dissatisfaction are significantly more likely to retire in the next period, although their retirement probability is not as high as those who are unemployed or not in the labour force in the current period. These large-scale panel results thus show that self-reported job satisfaction not only affects the decision to quit the job, but also the extensive margin of labour supply: the decision to leave the labour market altogether.


Agave inulin is non-digestible/fermentable carbohydrates capable of counteracting metabolic related alterations through the modification of the gut microbiota. The fructo-oligosaccharide content of agave inulin differs from inulin extracted from chicory root. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of agave inulin on the metabolic profile of overweight and obese dyslipidemic patients. An open clinical trial was carried out in 30 overweight and obese subjects, between 30 and 70 years old. All subjects received 15 g/day of inulin in the morning, during 60 days. Biochemical and metabolic profiles before and after pharmacological intervention were performed. After inulin administration, it was statistically significant decrease: fasting glucose levels (83.1 ± 13.4 vs. 76.5 ± 12.6 mg/dl; p=0.006), triglycerides and glucose (TyG) index (3.9 ± 0.1 vs. 3.8 ± 0.2; p=0.021) and urea (31.4 ± 8.6 vs. 26.3 ± 5.4 mg/dl; p=0.001), thus an increase in sodium levels (139.3 ± 3.0 vs.140.4 ± 2.1 mg/dl; p=0.021), was also found. Similarly, eventhough no statistical differences were detected for all cases, the serum concentration decreased 37% for total cholesterol (TC), 23% for LDL -c, 53% for total triglycerides (TG) and 63.3% for HBA1c while HDL-c levels increased. Anthropometric parameters did not change within the group and the soluble fiber intake did not produce any important gastrointestinal adverse effects. In this study, the increased fiber intake of inulin from Agave tequilana Weber blue variety was effective and safe in reducing glucose and urea levels as well as insulin resistance in overweight and obese dyslipidemic patients; however, sodium levels were increased but were not clinically significant.


Wireless technology for communication, represents a permanent and evolutionary need in transport field, motivated by the improvement of the efficiency and safety of transports. The use of the ultra-wideband (UWB) technique can satisfy such a need. UWB offers numerous advantages such as: the large offered bandwidth, the signal flexibility, the quality of service, the transmission power and the limited cost. In this paper, a new system dedicated to the domain of transport, based on UWB technology is presented. The implementation of the new modulation M-OAM (Orthogonal Amplitude Modulation) which is based on the use of original mathematical tools called Modified Gegenbauer functions (MGF), derived from orthogonal polynomials, increases the data rate flow and enhances the robustness ensured by UWB communication for multimedia and transport applications. With the purpose of improving the functioning of the communication system and ensuring the very high data rate, this work consists in combination of UWB and cognitive radio technologies in order to develop an adapted and efficient universal receiver. This receiver is able to detect the signal arrival and identify the coding parameters used in the transmission so as to be adapted to them automatically. The receiver requires intelligent capacities of observation, learning and decision, therefore, our conception is based on the concept of the cognitive radio which is characterized with the ability to detect the presence of the signal. In this paper, we present the principle of the modulation MOAM, the waveforms used in our system, and the method which allows the receiver to identify the type of the used modulation.


Effective solving of constraint problems often requires choosing good or specific search heuristics. However, choosing or designing a good search heuristic is non-trivial and is often a manual process. In this paper, rather than manually choosing/designing search heuristics, we propose the use of bandit-based learning techniques to automatically select search heuristics. Our approach is online where the solver learns and selects from a set of heuristics during search. The goal is to obtain automatic search heuristics which give robust performance. Preliminary experiments show that our adaptive technique is more robust than the original search heuristics. It can also outperform the original heuristics.


The subsurface shear-wave velocity (Vs) is considered to be a key parameter for site characterization and assessment of earthquake hazard because of its great influence on local ground-motion amplification. Array microtremor measurements are widely used for the estimation of shear-wave velocities. Compared to other methods such as frequency-wavenumber (f-k) methods, the spatial autocorrelation (SPAC) method requires fewer sensors and thus is relatively easier to implement and gives robust estimations of shear-wave velocity profiles for depths down to a few hundred meters. The quantity derived from observed data is the SPAC coefficient, which is a function of correlation distance, frequency and phase velocity. Generally, estimation of Vs profiles is a two stage process: Estimation of the dispersion data from the SPAC coefficients and inversion of the dispersion data for shear-wave velocity structure. In this study, instead of inverting dispersion curves, a more practical approach is used; that is, observed SPAC coefficients are directly inverted for the S-wave velocities. A synthetic case and a field data application are presented to test the potential of the inversion algorithm. We obtain an iterative damped least-squares solution with differential smoothing. The differential smoothing approach constrains the change in shear-wave velocities of the adjacent layers and thus stabilizes the inversion.


In preparing intracellular microbial samples for one- or two-dimensional electrophoresis, trichloroacetic acid (TCA) precipitation is frequently used to remove interfering compounds. Solubilization of TCA precipitate typically requires the addition of a number of chaotropes or detergents, in a multistep process, that requires hours to carry out. In this study, a simple, rapid, one-step method to solubilize TCA precipitated proteins is presented. Precipitated proteins are pretreated with 0.2 M NaOH for less than 5 min, followed by addition of standard sample solubilization buffer (SSSB). When compared to solubilization with SSSB alone, NaOH pretreatment of TCA-precipitated intracellular protein from Aspergillus oryzae and Escherichia coli shows an approximate 5-fold increase in soluble protein. In addition, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis on resolubilized proteins shows an equivalent number of proteins in samples with and without NaOH pretreatment.


Cloud Computing Environments enable business agility and enterprises to exploit/respond quickly to changes in the marketplace, competition, technology and operational environment. For enterprises, CCE present a number of issues and challenges. Some of these include the inability to take advantage of the dynamic resource elasticity of CCE, issues of data fragmentation and duplication, the challenge of migrating transactional systems to a CCE, or the challenge of utilizing SaaS applications in conjunction with the other enterprise applications, say, to implement end-to-end process integration. Enterprises, also, have extended partnerships and aim to extend integration of participating systems. This paper presents some of these challenges and mechanisms to alleviate some of these challenges of operating and managing a hybrid CCE. The paper also presents mechanisms for robust network interconnectivity and partitioning mechanisms to co-isolate cooperating systems.


The main objectives of a minimum wage are to ensure that low-wage workers have appropriate earnings and to reduce inequality. However, there is an active debate as to whether minimum wages improve productivity. This study presents evidence on the relationship between minimum wages and productivity using regional and firm-level panel data for Japan, where statutory minimum wages are determined at the prefecture-level and revised annually. The estimation results do not reveal evidence that an increase in minimum wages improves productivity.


Regular structures, like datapath, are important components of integrated circuits. Datapath logic is usually placed with high regularity and compactness for higher performance by using manual placement. The authors propose effective datapath regularity extraction and placement (DREP) techniques which simultaneously place datapath logic and random logic. This method detects datapath logic and effectively formats regular datapath structures while optimizing the order of functional stages and placement of datapath blocks. Moreover, the datapath structures are further optimized by using bit-slice order adjustment and partitioning techniques during global placement. Partitioning of a big datapath macro greatly increases the placement flexibility, since partitioned sub-blocks of the datapath macro can be optimally placed with other blocks. A new effective method is also suggested to decide the block to be partitioned and the granularity of partitioning. Similar to the manual placement results, the datapath logic is regularly placed and the datapath cells are aligned well, vertically or horizontally by the DREP techniques. When compared with the state-of-the-art works, the experimental results show that the new techniques produce significantly better results than other methods in terms of half perimeter wire length, Steiner wire length, and routability, measured from the detail routing results.


Anemia is the primary clinical manifestation of malarial infections and is responsible for the substantial rate of morbidity. The pathophysiology discussed till now catalogued several causes for malarial anemia among which ineffective erythropoiesis being remarkable one occurs silently in the bone marrow. A systematic literature search was performed and summarized information on erythropoietic response upon malaria infection and the factors responsible for the same. This review summarizes the clinical and experimental studies on patients, mouse models, and in vitro cell cultures reporting erythropoietic changes upon malaria infection as well as factors accountable for the same. Inadequate erythropoietic response during malaria infection may be the collective effect of various mediators generated by host immune response as well as parasite metabolites. The interplay between various modulators causing the pathophysiology needs to be explored further. Globin gene expression profiling upon malaria infection should also be looked into as abnormal production of globin chains could be a possible contributor to ineffective erythropoiesis.


We describe here the G12 pro-B cell clone that has been isolated from an IL-7 transgenic mouse. This clone has the phenotype B220+, BP-1+ , HSA +, CD43+ λ5+ , and CD25-, and has its Ig locus in a germline configuration. G12 cells spontaneously express cell-surface MHC class II molecules, although to a much lesser extent than the mature M12.4.1 B-cell lymphoma. G12 cells can process and present the native Hen Egg Lysozyme (HEL) to an MHC class II-restricted T-cell hybridoma. The efficiency of presentation is inferior to that obtained with M12.4.1 cells. This is the first report where a pro-B cell can serve as APC in an MHC class II-restricted presentation.


Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a menstrual cycle disorder that frequently appears in women. As a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) virus pandemic, the school from home program was implemented, which could affect physical activity and anxiety and therefore increase the incidence of PMS. This cross-sectional research analyzed the relationship between physical activity and anxiety with PMS in adolescents. The population was 221 adolescent girls in Surabaya, Indonesia. A consecutive sampling technique was used to select the 143 respondents. The independent variables were physical activity and anxiety while the dependent variable was PMS. The data was collected using a questionnaire and analyzed by the Spearman Rho test with a level of significance α<0.05. The results showed no significant correlation between physical activity and PMS among adolescents, however there was a significant correlation between anxiety and PMS in adolescents (p=0.000; r=0.463). Adolescents with anxiety have higher risk of PMS. The higher level of anxiety will be the more severe the symptoms of PMS.


The diatom flora of the Colombian and Peruvian Amazon is far less studied than the flora of the Brazilian sector of the basin. Here we present results related to the genera Encyonema, Encyonopsis and Gomphonema. Plankton and periphyton samples were collected in lotic and lentic waterbodies from the Amazonian-Andean region, the Amazon River, Japurá River and Porvenir River basins during 1993, 1994, 2001 and 2003. At each sampling station pH, temperature, water transparency and conductivity were registered. Samples were analyzed with phase contrast microscope (LM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Ten taxa are new records for the area; Encyonema for the Peruvian and Colombian Amazon and Encyonopsis for the Colombian Sector. Encyonema neogracile var. tenuipunctatum, E. vulgare, Encyonopsis frequentis, Gomphonema augur var. sphaerophorum and G. contraturris are recorded for the first time in Colombia; Encyonema venezolanum and G. neoapiculatum in Colombia and Peru and the latter also for Amazonia. E. angustecapitatum was mentioned in Colombia before at a pond located at 3000 m asl. We describe a new species from Porvenir River, Amazonas, Colombia: Encyonema amazonianum.


Immunocytokines (IC) leverage orthogonal mechanisms of action in one molecule to induce potent antitumor immune responses. PD-1-targeting ICs are of particular interest since they harbor the multifunctional ability to selectively target antigen-experienced PD-1+ CD8+ T cells enriched in the tumor microenvironment (TME), release them from PD-(L)1 pathway inhibition, be retained within the TME, and simultaneously deliver potent cytokine receptor stimulation to the same T cell in cis (cis-signaling).
 Interleukin (IL-18) is a proinflammatory cytokine that stimulates both innate and adaptive immunity and generates potent antitumor activity mediated by both T effector and NK cells. Recent evidence indicates that a subset of tumor-infiltrated PD-1+ CD8+ T effector cells hallmarked by high expression of IL-18 receptor exhibits a superior cytotoxic and proliferative phenotype. Hence, we developed a PD1-IL18 IC to specifically target and activate intratumoral IL-18R-expressing PD-1+ CD8+ T cells.
 We engineered a conjugatable variant of human IL-18 with enhanced potency and significant resistance to IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP) and utilized this enhanced IL-18 payload to create a PD1-IL18 IC (BPT567) via site-specific chemical conjugation to a defined lysine residue within the heavy chain of an anti-human PD-1 antibody (Ab). Conjugation did not affect the basic properties of the Ab as neither binding to PD-1 nor the interaction with the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) or Fcγ receptors were significantly impacted. Of note, the conjugation handle in our enhanced IL-18 variant was inserted at a site distinct from its N- or C-terminus to preserve the full potency and selectivity of the IL-18 payload. As a result, BPT567 exhibits increased potency and marked resistance to IL-18BP inhibition compared to wild-type IL-18.
 In vivo, BPT567 shows striking antitumor efficacy in multiple syngeneic mouse tumor models that is superior to responses induced by an anti-PD-1 Ab alone, a non-targeted IL-18 IC or the combination of both agents. Our evidence suggests that the strong in vivo efficacy observed is attributed to a preferential activation of PD-1+ tumor-infiltrated immune cells. The excellent tolerability and large therapeutic window observed in mice may be driven by less potent immune cell activation in the periphery.
 Citation Format: Jean-Philippe Carralot, Kea Martin, Rubén Alvarez Sanchez, Roy Meoded, Caoimhe Herr, Philipp Moosman, Arnaud Goepfert, Andrew Chi, Vijaya J. Pattabiraman, Bertolt Kreft. A first-in-class PD1-IL18 immunocytokine (BPT567) targets PD-1+ IL18R+ CD8+ T effector cells enriched in the tumor microenvironment and exhibits potent antitumor efficacy with excellent tolerability [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 1850.


ABTRACT Amsterdam has the ambition to develop as a competitive and sustainable European metropolis. The flows of energy, water and resources within the urban environment have a large potential to contribute to this ambition. Through a transition from a linear usage of resources and waste production towards a sustainable management of urban resources with circular flows of resources, the sustainability of cities can be increased. This Urban Harvesting Concept may be applied in Amsterdam. The challenge is how to operationalize this concept in practice. For two municipal companies in Amsterdam, Waternet (responsible for the water management) and AEB (the waste-to-energy company), initiatives were identified on how to do this. The focus is on water, energy, waste and material flows. Circular flows result in economic benefits and sustainability benefits, either expressed as Ecopoints or CO2-emissions. The integration of these flows is especially beneficial.


School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa; E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com There are enough platinum group element deposits in the Bushveld Complex in South Africa to supply world demands for many decades or even a century using current mining techniques. Demonstrated reserves and resources published by mining companies make detailed calculations up to a maximum of about twenty years ahead, but there is abundant and adequate geological evidence that these deposits continue far beyond where mining companies have proven according to rigorous international reporting codes. For each 1 km of depth into the Earth in the Bushveld Complex there is in the order of 350 million oz of platinum. For comparison, annual production of platinum from the Bushveld Complex currently is only around 5 million oz. The distinction between 'reserves','resources' and 'deposits' is also explained in this article.


Abstract Microbiological indicators (total coliforms, faecal coliforms, E. coli and enterococci) and phylogenetic groups (domain Archaea, classes Alpha-, Beta-, Gammaproteobacteria and the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium group) detected by FISH were detected in profiles of a highly anthropogenically-affected stream (Luzická Nisa; Northern Bohemia, Czech Republic). This study aimed to assess the changes in the microbial communities of such a polluted stream, and possible relationships between "classic indicators" and the phylogenetic groups. One particular aim concerned a characterisation of the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method, the source of any uncertainty and its limit in terms of quality control (QA/QC). Of the phylogenetic groups studied, the Proteobacteria phylum was more abundant in comparison to the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium group or the Archaea domain. The profile Lucany (above the start of city urban areas) was very different from later downstream profiles, because of its very low faecal bacteria content, low counts of Gammaproteobacteria, and evident dominance of the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium group together with Betaproteobacteria. Later profiles did not show such large differences among themselves. The group of Gammaproteobacteria was very common mainly in profiles with high amounts of untreated faecal pollution. The repeatability of counting bacteria by the FISH method was 14 % on average, an "uncertainty" similar to that of cultivation methods.


Jim Al-Khalili is a professor of theoretical physics at the University of Surrey, UK, where he also holds a chair in public engagement in science. David Smith spoke to him about being an academic and a communicator.


The fourth Editor of the Journal of Neurosurgery offers short vignettes on the Editors who preceded and succeeded him. He recounts some of the challenges that were faced and changes that were made during his time as Editor. One of the major changes was production of the Journal via computer.


Embedded captions in TV programs such as news broadcasts, documentaries and coverage of sports events provide important information on the underlying events. In digital video libraries, such captions represent a highly condensed form of key information on the contents of the video. In this paper we propose a scheme to automatically detect the presence of captions embedded in video frames. The proposed method operates on reduced image sequences which are efficiently reconstructed from compressed MPEG video and thus does not require full frame decompression. The detection, extraction and analysis of embedded captions help to capture the highlights of visual contents in video documents for better organization of video, to present succinctly the important messages embedded in the images, and to facilitate browsing, searching and retrieval of relevant clips.


Addressing user's emotions in human-computer interaction significantly enhances the believability and lifelikeness of virtual humans. Emotion recognition and interpretation is realized in our approach by integrating empathy as a designated process within the agent's cognitive architecture. In this paper we describe this empathy process which comprises of two interconnected components: a belief-desire-intention (BDI) based cognitive component and an affective component based on the emotion simulation system of the virtual human Max. The application and a preliminary evaluation of this empathy system are reported on in the context of a 3D competitive card game scenario.


Abstract : This paper deals with a nonparametric subset selection procedure for a two-way layout problem. The treatment effect with the largest unknown value is of interest to us. The block effect is a nuisance parameter in this problem. The proposed procedure is based on the Hodges-Lehmann estimators of location parameters. The asymptotic relative efficiency of the proposed procedure with the normal means procedure is evaluated. It is shown that the proposed procedure has a high efficiency. (Author)


Although the genetic/antigenic heterogeneity of human noroviruses (NoVs) is impressive, a few genogroup II strains of genotype 4 (GII.4) are dominant worldwide. GII.4 NoVs evolve rapidly and in the last 15 years six epidemic variants have been identified. In 2005–2006, surveillance of sporadic viral gastroenteritis in children in Palermo, Italy, resulted in the detection of NoV strains in 20.9% of the patients admitted to hospital. By restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequence analysis of region A in the RNA‐dependent RNA‐polymerase (RdRp) gene, 59 NoV strains were successfully characterized. Eighty‐one percent of the strains were characterized as GII.4, 14% as GIIb/Hilversum and 5% as GI.1. Phylogenetic analysis of region A and of the ORF1/ORF2 overlapping region of the GII.4 strains recovered in Palermo in the years 2002–2006 revealed the sequential emergence of four variants, GII.4 2002, 2004, 2006a, and 2006b. The variant GII.4 2006a was detected in June and July, 2006, while the variant 2006b first appeared in August, 2006, becoming predominant thereafter. Based on these findings, the dynamics of replacement and circulation of the GII.4 NoV variants in Italy in 2005–2006 appear to have matched the temporal pattern observed in Europe during the same period. J. Med. Virol. 81:139–145, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


On June 23, 2016, the Supreme Court announced its much-anticipated decision in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, allowing affirmative action in college admissions to continue. No single feature of Fisher surprised court watchers more than its author, Justice Anthony Kennedy. As Richard Primus wrote in the New York Times: "[T]he most deceptive thing about it is its first words: 'Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the court.'"No wonder. Until Fisher, Justice Kennedy had never voted to uphold race- conscious affirmative action. In his 2003 dissent in Grutter v. Bollinger, he derided the majority for accepting the University of Michigan Law School's use of the term "critical mass" to justify race-based affirmative action in admissions. No one would have predicted then that he would go on to deliver an opinion upholding affirmative action that invokes Grutter no less than a dozen times. How did Justice Kennedy go from affirmative action dissenter to defender?Bakke is the key to understanding Justice Kennedy's supposed reversal in Fisher. Commentators have missed this point, likely because Justice Kennedy's Fisher opinion does not directly cite Bakke even once. But Justice Kennedy's Grutter dissent adhered to Justice Powell's opinion in the 1978 decision Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. In Bakke, Justice Powell allowed limited use of racial preferences in admissions decisions in the pursuit of a diverse student body so long as it satisfied strict scrutiny. "The opinion by Justice Powell, in my view, states the correct rule for resolving this case," Kennedy wrote.Justice Kennedy admired Justice Powell's rule in Bakke yet detested its application in Grutter. He cautioned that Grutter diverged from Bakke in ways that would "perpetuate the hostilities that proper consideration of race is designed to avoid." Fisher presented him with an opportunity to reset the shape and trajectory of affirmative action in line with Bakke.This Essay demonstrates that we cannot understand the ruling in Fisher without looking at Bakke. Part I surveys the Bakke-Grutter-Fisher line of cases to explain how Grutter diverged from Bakke and why this bothered Justice Kennedy. Part II demonstrates how Fisher aims to preserve an understanding of affirmative action that is informed by Bakke and untainted by Grutter. Not only does Fisher describe affirmative action programs and precedent in ways that maintain fidelity to Bakke, but it also disregards aspects of Grutter that diverged from Bakke, including the use of critical mass as the measure of diversity. Part III identifies the concerns of social cohesion animating Justice Kennedy's return to Bakke and traces the evolution of those concerns since Bakke. While Bakke's concern for social cohesion focused on resentment among whites likely to arise from any use of racial preferences, Fisher is not limited in this way. Part IV concludes that universities interested in enrolling a diverse student body would do well to read Justice Powell's opinion in Bakke, reconsider the use of critical mass to justify race-based affirmative action, and recognize how concerns of social cohesion shape the form of constitutionally permissible affirmative action.


Compound marked MDL 646, a synthetic prostaglandin belonging to the 16-methyl-16-methoxy PGE1 series was tested for its motor effects on some in vitro and in vivo preparations from the rat. The lower esophageal sphincter (LES) was contracted at threshold doses ranging from 10 to 20 ng/ml; the fundus was even more sensitive whereas the pyloric sphincter showed remarkable differences according to the in vitro or in vivo preparation. In all the different tests MDL 646 showed a high degree of tachyphylaxis. PGE1 tested for comparison, exerted a constant relaxant effect in all the preparations excepting the gastric fundus. The present data emphasize the importance of the substitutions in positions 15 and 16 in the synthetic prostaglandin for determining the peculiar biological activity: in fact both MDL 646 and the parent PGE1 inhibit gastric secretion but they have almost opposite effects on gastroesophageal motility.


The aims of this case report is to report the result of upper eyelid coloboma repair with three steps surgery. A 5-month-old babywith upper eyelid defect in the left eye since she was born. There were tearing and discharge in the left eye. Examination on the lefteye revealed coloboma at 1/3 medial upper eyelid, symblepharon and pseudopterygium. In this case we performed three steps surgery.First step was releasing tissue as close as possible, second step was performing fullthickness graft from upper eyelid of the fellow eyeand third step was Z-plasty performing at the superior medial canthal. Follow up was done for 3 months after surgery with a goodresult. In a small baby with 1/3 upper eyelid defect although graft was already done to repair the coloboma, Z-plasty technique stillneeded to elongate the tissue and close the defect.


Abstract : This report is a summary of information collected from three separate oceanographic experiments, each with three moorings, whose objectives were to study the influence of topography on low-frequency motions. Two arrays were set near Bermuda and one in the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone (53 deg N, 34 deg W). All the moorings were recovered after nine or thirteen months at sea. Temperature and current velocity data are displayed graphically as time series plots, histograms and spectra. Progressive vector plots and pressure time series are also presented. The data are summarized in statistical tables.


Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2D) is a worldwide chronic epidemic with increasing incidence. The current algorithm for medical management of type 2 diabetes includes the pharmacological treatment with nine classes of anti-diabetic drugs. Among the nine classes of drugs approved, metformin, an oral hypoglycemic agent from the biguanide family is widely prescribed as the first-line anti-diabetic monotherapy for the treatment of initially diagnosed T2D individuals. The failure of monotherapy to achieve sustain glycemic control prompted the early use of aggressive combination therapies with other anti-diabetic drugs. The primary aim of T2D treatment is to achieve target glycemic control and reducing further complications of diabetes. Hence, fixed dose combination drugs are preferable in order to reduce pill burden and capital investment. Single pill combinations containing drugs for two different diseases can also be prescribed for avoiding extra medication and to reduce further diabetic complications. Our review addresses the mode of action of anti-diabetic drugs and their combinatorial therapy with metformin.


Background: Nurse has an important role especially in achieving plenary and holistic healthcare service. Nurse is frontline in improves the safety and quality of health in health services. This need leadership in nursing, which part the base of nursing care effective and nurse recognized as a leader in patients care. Health service system will continue to metamorphosis so nurse to adopt the quality of transformational leadership. Transformational leadership allow nurse in developing health policy, transforming the health technologies, and mentorship in new nurses or student. Mentorship can be defined as a process of knowledge, attitude, and skill by professional nurse (mentor) to new nurses/student (mentee). Aim: Explain transformational leadership in mentorship method as an effort to plenary health. Method: The search this article through Google search and CINAHL with keyword mentorship, new nurses, nursing, leadership, and transformational leadership. The search got 14 article appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria, among published in 2007-2017, in full text which are in criteria, then analysis in narrative. Results: The search data used keywords and criteria on electronic database, got 14 articles. The articles were grouped in transformational leadership, leadership in nursing, and mentorship. Conclusion: Mentorship very effective to give positive impacts to organizations health services.


INTRODUCTION
What health professional students know of AIDS and their attitudes towards PLWA enrich our knowledge in assuring quality of care administered to AIDS patients.

OBJECTIVES
This study was designed to assess 1) What Nigerian students in various health disciplines know about AIDS and how they behave towards PLWA. and 2) Determine the sociodemographic variables that could influence knowledge of AIDS and behaviour towards PLWA among students of the various health disciplines in a university in North- Eastern Nigeria.

METHODS
This cross-sectional study involving student volunteers (n=644) in the last two years of their professional training drawn from six disciplines were surveyed using a two-part questionnaire. Section I of which elicited students' sociodemographic and previous AIDS encounter information, and section II assessed knowledge and behaviour towards PLWA.

RESULTS
Students in surveyed health professions had an unsatisfactory level of knowledge on AIDS pathophysiology and their behaviour towards PLWA was negative. Gender, clinical year, religious affiliation, discipline, level of satisfaction with AIDS instructions, knowing a family member or another person with a diagnosis of AIDS and willingness to provide care for an AIDS patient influenced the students' knowledge and behaviour.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
The study revealed a real possibility for health professional students to hesitate to care for PLWA, or render uncoordinated or fragmented care at the time of their graduation. It suggests the need for intervention to include methodical and all inclusive clinical clerkship on HIV/AIDS and small group discussions with real life case scenerios involving PLWA while in training.


In the condition of weak signals,GPS receiver's baseband cannot lock on the modulated data in L1 signal to get accurate transmit time,but only get the fraction under 1 ms,or get 1 ms and the fraction under 1 ms but can not get 20 ms navigation-bit stream. On the other hand,while GPS module is embedded into mobile or other devices with time maintaining functional designed,GPS receiver starts working with a roughly initial time. With this initial time,we can estimate GPS signal transmit time's ambiguity (number of 1 ms or 20 ms) instantly as long as we get fraction time in GPS baseband processing and ephemeris from GPS signal or outside aiding information. At this time,the 5-parameter-model is used for positioning.This paper first addresses the algorithm in detail. Then we design two groups of starting test experiment using software receiver and log the middle-frequency data from RF output. Post-processing technology simulates the starting test with two groups of 950 trials and 600 trials,corresponding to 42 dBHz and 32 dBHz. The results show that even if in high power status,the N bit resolution with acceptable positions is successful at a rate of 90%. In middle-or low-power level (about 32 dBHz),the success rate is about 60%. These results indicate that strict quality control algorithm should be introduced into engineering development for the 5-parameter solution.


This article collects and examines all references to doctors in rhetorical exercises used in ancient Greek and Roman schools in the Roman Empire. While doctors are sometimes portrayed positively as philanthropic, expert practitioners of their divinely sanctioned art, they are more often depicted as facing charges for poisoning their patients.


Taxpayers pay tax on their nominal income without regard to their regional cost of living or the value of their regional amenities. Although commentators have argued that the income tax's failure to account for such differences is unfair - because residents of high-cost and low-amenity regions pay higher taxes than residents of low-cost and high-amenity regions - that argument is unpersuasive because migration tends to eliminate regional differences in living standards. The tax system's failure to adjust for regional differences is, however, likely to misallocate resources across regions in two ways. First, it is likely to discourage taxpayers from settling in high-cost regions where the high cost of living is matched by high salaries. Second, it is likely to discourage taxpayers from settling in low-amenity regions where the lower value of amenities is reflected in higher salaries. Both misallocations can be eliminated by multiplying each taxpayer's earned income (but not her unearned income) by the reciprocal of the region's relative salary level. Such a relative salary multiplier imposes the same nominal tax on each resident without regard to her location, thereby eliminating the tax-driven incentive for individuals to settle in low-tax regions.


An overview is presented of synthetic endeavours directed towards the assembly of the enantiopure quinone A and quinone A, natural derivatives of the aphid insect pigments protoaphin- fb and protoaphin- sl . These are achieved through intramolecular diastereoselective cyclization of tethered phenolic lactaldehydes. The conformational implications of the cyclization process are discussed. Model reactions allow the formulation of a more concise, convergent route to these natural derivatives through the corresponding intermolecular reactions, in which the required complementary diastereoselectivity is provided by the choice of either titanium or magnesium phenolates for reaction with the ethoxyethyl-protected asymmetric lactaldehyde.


This project is a study of free data dissemination and impediments to it. Drawing upon post-structuralism, Actor Network Theory, Participatory Action Research, and theories of the political stakes of the posthuman by way of Stirnerian egoism and illegalism, the project uses a number of theoretical, technical and legal texts to develop a hacker methodology that emphasizes close analysis and disassembly of existent systems of content control. Specifically, two tiers of content control mechanisms are examined: a legal tier, as exemplified by Intellectual Property Rights in the form of copyright and copyleft licenses, and a technical tier in the form of audio, video and text-based watermarking technologies.

A series of demonstrative case studies are conducted to further highlight various means of content distribution restriction. A close reading of a copyright notice is performed in order to examine its internal contradictions. Examples of watermarking employed by academic e-book and journal publishers and film distributors are also examined and counter-forensic techniques for removing such watermarks are developed. The project finds that both legal and technical mechanisms for restricting the flow of content can be countervailed, which in turn leads to the development of different control mechanisms and in turn engenders another wave of evasion procedures. The undertaken methodological approach thus leads to the discovery of on-going mutation and adaptation of in-between states of resistance.

Finally, an analysis of various existent filesharing applications is performed, and a new Tor-based BitTorrent tracker is set up to strengthen the anonymization of established filesharing methods. It is found that there exist potential de-anonymization attacks against all analyzed file-sharing tools, with potentially more secure filesharing options also seeing less user adoption.


Every year, many people lose their health and/or lives on Polish roads. One of the reasons for this is behavior of pedestrians at pedestrian crossings, which affects the road safety. The aim of the article was to conduct experimental research, the idea of which was to study the behavior of pedestrians at pedestrian crossings in the city of Pila, the results of which can be applied to Poland. During the research, the behavior of pedestrians and the impact on the probability of a road accident were analyzed. Undoubtedly, the prevailing epidemic, during which people are in many respects limited, had an impact on the results obtained, therefore the number of people at the analyzed crossings may have decreased. The conducted research confirmed the Police statistical data that the most dangerous crossings for pedestrians are those without traffic lights.


Benzoin is one of the most commonly used photoinitiators to induce free radical polymerization. Here, improved benzoin properties could be accomplished by the introduction of two methoxy substituents, leading to the formation of 3',5'-dimethoxybenzoin (DMB) which has a higher photo-cleavage quantum yield (0.54) than benzoin (0.35). To elucidate the underlying reaction mechanisms of DMB and obtain direct information of the transient species involved, femtosecond transient absorption (fs-TA) and nanosecond transient absorption (ns-TA) spectroscopic experiments in conjunction with density functional theory/time-dependent density functional theory (DFT/TD-DFT) calculations were performed. It was found that the photo-induced α-cleavage (Norrish Type I reaction) of DMB occurred from the nπ* triplet state after a rapid intersystem crossing (ISC) process (7.6 ps), leading to the generation of phenyl radicals on the picosecond time scale. Compared with Benzoin, DMB possesses two methoxy groups which are able to stabilize the alcohol radical and thus result in a stronger driving force for cleavage and a higher quantum yield of photodissociation. Two stable conformations (cis-DMB and trans-DMB) at ground state were found via DFT calculations. The influence of the intramolecular hydrogen bond on the α-cleavage of DMB was elaborated.


For the selection of drought tolerant genotype, a field trial was conducted to monitor the quantitative changes of biochemical parameters such as total sugar and total free amino acid, due to water deficit condition in groundnut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) seed. Plants were grown in irrigated and non-irrigated conditions. Mature seeds of forty genotypes and premature seeds of twenty one genotypes were freeze dried, defatted, ground and subjected to analysis. Drought exhibited no definite trend of increase or decrease for total free amino acid and sugar in mature as well as premature seed. Premature seed accumulated higher amount of total free amino acid having mean values 1.01% and 0.88% for control and drought respectively, than did the matured ones (control - 0.41% and drought - 0.43%). In mature seeds, drought augmented total free amino acid in twenty one genotypes and retrenched in the remaining nineteen. The data on immature seed was not much useful for selection purpose. In mature seeds of genotypes BINA-Chinabadam-2, 9267, ICGV-97228, ICGV-96295, and ICGV-95412, drought resulted in maximum elevation of total free amino acid. Accumulation of total sugar was higher in mature than in premature seeds. Drought brought about the increase in total sugar in mature seeds of thirty genotypes and decrease in the remaining ten. On imposing water stress, mature seeds of genotypes ICGV-92120, ICGV-94143, ICGV-96295, ICGV-95399 and ICGV-97228 showed comparatively high increment of total sugar. A particular genotype did not appear drought tolerant when the data on both the mature and premature seed are considered. However, in mature seed of genotype ICGV-97228, water stress induced a desired level of change in accumulation of total free amino acid and total sugar, and hence it may be preliminary considered as drought tolerant. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jesnr.v6i2.22077 J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 6(2): 01-05 2013


Abstract An interesting problem in plasma physics, when approached from the point of view of Statistical Mechanics is to obtain properties of collisionless plasmas, which are described by the Vlasov equation. Through what we call the Ehrenfest procedure, which uses statistical mechanical relations we obtain expectation value relations for arbitrary observables, which allows us to study the dynamics of the Earth's Outer Radiation Belt. Focusing on the velocity fluctuations, the width of the distribution function and the pitch angle, a computer simulation was performed to describe the system in order to compare and test the Ehrenfest approach. Our results show that the change in the average width of the distribution follows the analytical relation. However, for the velocity fluctuation results are not conclusive yet and require more exploration. It remains as future work to verify the relation for the pitch angle.


The title compound, C13H21N2O+.Br-, was crystallized from a CH2Cl2 solution of N-2, N-2-dibenzyl-N,N, 2-trimethylalaninamide and BBr3. The geometry of the cation is unexceptional. Intermolecular N-H (...) O and N-H (...) Br hydrogen bonds link two cations and two anions into a hydrogen-bonded cluster. The crystal packing is further stabilized by van der Waals forces.


This paper examines why and how political leaders in South Korea are constrained by domestic politics with respect to a territorial dispute with Japan. While Korean leaders desire to employ a low-key position vis-a-vis Japan's territorial claim, the public in South Korea increasingly demand that their leaders confront Japan more firmly. This creates a dilemma for leaders in Korea. Maintaining a calm diplomacy toward Japan infuriates the Korean public while employing a tough policy toward the neighboring state, in response to the public demand, leads the government of Tokyo into bolder provocations. This makes it difficult for South Korea to foster cooperation with Japan on various issues that are not directly related to the territorial problem.


Religious people are expected to believe in their religious creeds faithfully and firmly. How can one acquire such a belief? In order to answer that question, I propose a model for all belief-like propositional attitudes. The model differentiates, firstly, between voluntary and involuntary, and, secondly, between categorical and quantitative belief-like attitudes. The whole variety of belief-like attitudes is then reduced into two main groups. The first group combines all voluntary and categorical attitudes, and the second group combines all involuntary and quantitative attitudes. The resultant first-group attitude is called "judgment," and the second-group attitude — "confidence." Thus, judgment is the generic voluntary categorical propositional attitude, which can have only two values: "true" or "false." Confidence is the generic involuntary quantitative attitude, which can have any value between "certainly false" and "certainly true." A religious person can form the creedal judgment simply by her act of will, while her confidence depends upon the actual content of her doxastic system. However, a person can indirectly increase her confidence in the creedal statement via relevant factors that control her doxastic system. Such factors include corroboration, desirability, and ethicality of the proposition, and also its centrality and entrenchment in the doxastic system. I suggest several practical guidelines for increasing the relevant factors. I claim that the suggested model and the practical guidelines for acquiring the "faithful and firm belief" can be used not only within the religious context but can also be applied to any propositional beliefs.


Objective The aim of this study was to assess the role of triphasic computed tomography to predict tumor necrosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Background Triphasic computed tomography is a promising tool in prediction of HCC response after TACE. HCC exhibiting favorable criteria in triphasic computed tomography would be more likely to benefit from TACE. For HCC without these favorable criteria, alternative or adjuvant treatments or even no treatment may be considered. These favorable criteria are small size, solitary, well-defined margin, peripherally located, and typically enhanced HCC tumors. Patients and methods A total of 50 patients were included in the study. All patients underwent complete history taking, clinical examination, laboratory investigations, and then triphasic computed tomography examination of the liver as a baseline assessment. Thereafter, the patients were treated with TACE. Finally, the therapeutic response was evaluated after 21 days by triphasic computed tomography scan of liver according to modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors. Results Of the 50 patients, 23 showed complete necrosis, 22 showed partial necrosis, four were stable, and one showed progressive disease. Tumor size, its enhancement, and number were statistically highly significant, with a P value of less than 0.001. Location and margin of the tumor were statistically significant, with P value of 0.04. Conclusion Triphasic computed tomography is the most commonly used standard imaging technique for predicting and evaluating the therapeutic response in patients with HCC after TACE.


Abstract:Life writers describe extraordinary experiences that often extend far beyond the everyday lives of the readers they are trying to reach. How memoirists try to bring their pasts alive in readers' minds goes to the heart of why they write. Moving readers emotionally requires close engagement that can often be achieved through sensory simulation. As psychologists such as Lawrence Barsalou and literary scholars such as G. Gabrielle Starr have shown, fiction-writers and poets involve their readers by encouraging them to recreate their own past bodily sensations, especially multi-modal sensations (such as vision and touch) that blend as in lived experience. In this study of Jean-Dominique Bauby's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Natasha Trethewey's Memorial Drive, I will examine how two gifted memoirists encourage readers to imagine in several sensory modalities at once. Through expert use of language, Bauby and Trethewey open their experiences to a wide range of readers to share the most acute human joys and sufferings.


Palliative care is not just vital in controlling symptoms of the patient's disease condition, but also aims to extend the patient's life, giving it a better quality. However, several times in the course of management, the psychosocial impact of cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other life-limiting disease conditions may not be noticed and dealt with during the admission period, thereby giving rise to a more complex situation than the disease condition itself. This article aims to review some psychosocial issues and measures that can be taken to address them. It highlights the various roles and the importance of the clinician, nurse, social worker, and other members of the multidisciplinary team in tackling these issues and will help healthcare professionals in this field achieve better practice in the future.


In this work we present a non-parametric online market regime detection method for multidimensional data structures using a path-wise two-sample test derived from a maximum mean discrepancy-based similarity metric on path space that uses rough path signatures as a feature map. The latter similarity metric has been developed and applied as a discriminator in recent generative models for small data environments, and has been optimised here to the setting where the size of new incoming data is particularly small, for faster reactivity. On the same principles, we also present a path-wise method for regime clustering which extends our previous work. The presented regime clustering techniques were designed as ex-ante market analysis tools that can identify periods of approximatively similar market activity, but the new results also apply to path-wise, high dimensional-, and to non-Markovian settings as well as to data structures that exhibit autocorrelation. We demonstrate our clustering tools on easily verifiable synthetic datasets of increasing complexity, and also show how the outlined regime detection techniques can be used as fast on-line automatic regime change detectors or as outlier detection tools, including a fully automated pipeline. Finally, we apply the fine-tuned algorithms to real-world historical data including high-dimensional baskets of equities and the recent price evolution of crypto assets, and we show that our methodology swiftly and accurately indicated historical periods of market turmoil.


We assess the importance of the precautionary saving motive by relying on a direct question about precautionary wealth from the 1995 and 1998 waves of the Survey of Consumer Finances. In this survey, a new question has been designed to elicit the amount of desired precautionary wealth. This allows us to bound the amount of precautionary accumulation and to overcome many of the problems of previous works on this topic. We find that a precautionary saving motive exists and affects virtually every type of household. Even though this motive does not give rise to large amounts of wealth for young and middle-age households, it is particularly important for two groups: older households and business owners. Overall, we provide strong evidence that we need to take the precautionary saving motive into account when modeling saving behavior.


In response to the technical challenges surrounding the realization of software defined radio, high-performance digital signal processors and related software have emerged as key enabling technologies. This article focuses on high-performance digital signal processing architectures and devices. The partitioning of the transceiver functions between DSPs and programmable dedicated hardware is examined.


Causation plays a critical role in many predictive and inference tasks. Bayesian networks (BNs) have been used to construct inference systems for diagnostics and decision making. More recently, fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs) have gained consid- erable attention and offer an alternative framework for representing structured human knowledge and causal inference. In this paper I briefly introduce Bayesian networks and cognitive networks and their causal inference processes in intelligent systems.


Abstract Nature connectedness counts as a crucial predictor of pro-environmental behavior. For counteracting today's environmental issues a successful re-connection of individuals to nature is necessary. Besides the promotion of knowledge transfer the aim of the educational program presented in this study is to connect students to their environment. This research explores the impact of an outdoor environmental education program on primary and secondary school students' nature connectedness with regard to the extent of their nature experience and participant age. The intervention was implemented in two durations: one-day and five-days. Participants were divided into four subsamples from seven up to 18 years of age. Findings suggest that both intervention types evoke immediate shifts towards a stronger nature connectedness among students (p < .001). Notably, the five-day outdoor education interventions were significantly more effective in sustainably promoting nature connectedness compared to one-day field trips (p < .001). Seven to nine year old students performed the strongest shifts towards nature. The value of short-term and residential outdoor environmental education interventions is discussed.


A recent approach to automated mechanism design, differentiable economics, represents auctions by rich function approximators and optimizes their performance by gradient descent. The ideal auction architecture for differentiable economics would be perfectly strategyproof, support multiple bidders and items, and be rich enough to represent the optimal (i.e. revenue-maximizing) mechanism. So far, such an architecture does not exist. There are single-bidder approaches (MenuNet, RochetNet) which are always strategyproof and can represent optimal mechanisms. RegretNet is multi-bidder and can approximate any mechanism, but is only approximately strategyproof. We present an architecture that supports multiple bidders and is perfectly strategyproof, but cannot necessarily represent the optimal mechanism. This architecture is the classic affine maximizer auction (AMA), modified to offer lotteries. By using the gradient-based optimization tools of differentiable economics, we can now train lottery AMAs, competing with or outperforming prior approaches in revenue.


Sparse latent multi-factor models have been used in many exploratory and predictive problems with high-dimensional multivariate observations. Because of concerns with identifiability, the latent factors are almost always assumed to be linearly related to measured feature variables. Here we explore the analysis of multi-factor models with different structures of interactions between latent factors, including multiplicative effects as well as a more general framework for nonlinear interactions introduced via the Gaussian Process. We utilize sparsity priors to test whether the factors and interaction terms have significant effect. The performance of the models is evaluated through simulated and real data applications in genomics. Variation in the number of copies of regions of the genome is a well-known and important feature of most cancers. We examine interactions between factors directly associated with different chromosomal regions detected with copy number alteration in breast cancer data. In this context, significant interaction effects for specific genes suggest synergies between duplications and deletions in different regions of the chromosome.


This paper examines the determinants of individuals' preferences for government redistribution, focusing on people's beliefs about the role of effort and luck in individual success. The main contribution of the paper is to discriminate empirically between two theoretical channels by which these beliefs are supposed to affect individuals' attitudes towards redistribution. On one side, the beliefs about the role of effort and luck could be seen as a proxy for the expected incentive cost of redistribution. On the other side, some authors suggest that these beliefs affect the preferences for redistribution because individuals are concerned about the fairness of income distribution. Using ISSP micro survey data for 25 OECD countries, we run ordered logit regressions, attitudes towards government redistribution being our variable of interest. Controlling for standard determinants (income, occupation, gender, age...), we show that reciprocity concerns might partly explain the variance in preferences for redistribution, suggesting that fairness issues are far from being consensual in modern societies. But more importantly, our results show that the "disincentive effect" channel plays a significant role, even for people for which reciprocity concerns are expected to be high. Finally, we show that both fairness and disincentives concerns have a higher explanation power for richer individuals or individuals with a wealthy family background: this suggests that the impact of those concerns on redistributive preferences is not entirely independent from self-interest concerns.


With increased research, usage, and production, the cost of battery storage technology has significantly decreased in recent years, to the point where real economic benefit can sometimes result. This paper begins by providing a primer on battery storage which includes a discussion of common battery technologies as well as a number of battery energy storage systems (BESS) grid applications. Next, a discussion of process uptime within a petrochemical facility will help show the importance of electrical grid reliability and how BESS might help provide critical grid stability. Finally, a theoretical case study where a BESS is installed for spinning reserve will be presented showing the economic viability of this emerging technology.


ABSTRACT This article reassesses globalization in light of research, policy, and reforms directed towards 'the migrant' during times of crisis. In dialogue with Derrida's discussion of hospitality, the article questions the grounds that figure 'the migrant' as a metonym for globalization's dangers – as excess mobility menacing the foundational sovereignty of nation-states. With Sweden as a point of reference, the article interrelates three seemingly distinct techniques for evaluating notions of arrival – data visualizations comparing 'the migrant' against those 'without immigrant background', curriculum and pedagogy seeking to integrate and include according to psychologized norms and values, and critical qualitative research representing migrant voice. At issue in each is how the gesture of hospitality seeks to render arrival calculable, establishing the authority and beneficence of the host and leaving 'the migrant' indefinitely at the threshold of (non)belonging. Efforts to represent the migrant through notions of experience and 'voice' risk naturalizing hospitality's asymmetries and exclusions, while impeding reflexivity toward the conditions upon which hospitality remains tenuously granted.


The relationships among platelet adhesiveness, platelet N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA) content, platelet ATP content and lactic acid production rate were studied in human and rabbit. The NANA content of non-adhesive platelets was lower than that of platelets adhered on a glass bead surface. The treatment with neuramidase in vitro resulted in a marked decrease of NANA content and adhesiveness index in rabbit platelets. The long-term Warfarin administration reduced both NANA content and adhesiveness index in man and rabbit. NANA contents of platelets obtained from patients with ITP, von Willebrand's disease, SLE, uremia or liver cirrhosis, and patients under long-term Warfarin therapy were markedly reduced, accompanying with a decrease in adhesiveness index. A significant correlation was demonstrated between NANA content and adhesiveness index in platelets. ATP content and lactic acid production rate of non-adhesive platelets were markedly reduced. These results suggested that surface negative charge due to NANA plays a significant role in the mechanism of adhesion of the platelet on a glass bead surface and a metabolic energy supply is required for the following platelet aggregation.


The saluretic and diuretic properties of 4-chloro-5-sulfamoyl-2',6'-salicyloxylidide (xipamide) and 2,4,7-triamino-6-phenyl-pteridine (triamterene) were determined in rats following sole and combined application in various dosages and dose ratios. Xipamide dosages ranged from 0.01-30 mg/kg body weight. Xipamide, when given alone, revealed a significant dose-dependent increase in sodium excretion and urine volume compared to control animals even in the smallest dose to be tested (0.01 mg/kg). Triamterene as sole agent led to an increased sodium and water excretion when given in a natriuretic threshold dose of approximately 1.0 mg/kg. Potassium excretion was slightly enhanced following xipamide application and decreased significantly with triamterene treatment. The combined application of xipamide and triamterene in dose ratios of 1:1-1:4 (xipamide/triamterene) resulted in an increased sodium excretion which was almost additive following high triamterene dosages. Potassium elimination decreased significantly when threshold triamterene dosages were added. High triamterene dosages in all dose ratios of the combined application resulted in potassium levels which only could be registered following sole triamterene application.


Compartments can improve the efficiency of cascade reactions through retainment of ephemeral intermediates by minimizing competing elimination pathways. Numerous examples of compartments exist in biocatalysis, one such example being oxygen sensitive nitrogenases in microbes, where the enzyme is spatially located in an anaerobic domain to prevent deactivation. Recently, extensive efforts have been devoted to developing models and guiding design principles for compartmentalization of biocatalytic cascades. However, little to no effort has been devoted to analyzing compartmentalization of organometallic catalytic cycles from a theoretical perspective, which reasonably may benefit from compartmentalization given their numerous, common deactivation pathways. Herein, we develop a mathematical model for compartmentalization of a general three step organometallic catalytic cycle operating within a nanowire array electrode as an example nanostructure. Under the same kinetic parameters, the model predicts that compartmentalization enhances key reaction metrics, being intermediate elimination/outflux, reaction conversion, and turnover frequency in comparison to a non-compartmentalized cycle. We show that tuning mass transport through variation of nanostructure geometry is a viable approach to optimizing the turnover of a solution cascade reaction. Furthermore, we demonstrate that elimination reactions occurring outside of the compartment establish a concentration gradient that with feasible diffusive conductance, augments intermediate outflux. We posit that a well designed nanostructure will circumvent this issue even with fast eliminations. The model serves as a starting point and may be adapted to suit any organometallic catalytic cycle and nanostructure geometry.


To realize the real-time temperature measure and control rapidly and accurately in the incubator, a temperature measurement, control and display system is designed in the paper by using of the smart temperature sensor DS18B20 and the microcontroller AT89S52. The output mode of DS18B20 is serial in one-way, and its main function is to transform the temperature into the digital data and store the control word of the output conversion accuracy, which is available for data processing of single-chip microcomputer. In the actual temperature measurement it doesnt require any extra components including backup power supply, and the user can also choose the resolution. It is easy to realize multi-point measurement, connect and extend the real-time measure data. The system circuit can be applied to any field which needs multi-point measurement and real-time detection.


We report the first observations of nonlinear feature and optical bistability in n-CdHgTe at 77 K and obtained computer simulated curves, then discuss contribution due to thermal effect.


Summary and Conclusion Emergency Shutdown (ESD) valves and High Integrity Pressure Protection System (HIPPS) valves are final elements in Safety Instrumented Systems. Proof or functional testing are performed at specific intervals in order to ensure the valves' function. For these type of valves, such tests may require costly shutdowns. For a final element, like a valve, the interval between proof tests are by performance based standards like IEC61505/ 61511, related to the Probability of Failure on Demand (PFD) for the element's complete function. Partial Stroke Testing (PST) can reduce the time between such tests. PST is performed by allowing the valve to start closing, and to start reopening before the process is interrupted. By performing a partial test at a shorter interval, a fraction of the dangerous undetected failures, the PST coverage, are tested more often. This will reduce the PFD and imply that the proof test interval can be extended, still achieving the same Safety Integrity Level (SIL). Three systems for PST have been evaluated: The Emerson FieldVue DVC 6000 SIS, the Drallim Smart Valve Monitoring and the Crane ValveWatch II. ValveWatch and Smart Valve Monitoring provides leak testing in open and closed position, respectively. Leak testing on an open valve is treated as a partial test and is included in the PST coverage. FieldVue can not be used on hydraulic operated valves. Three ESD valves and one HIPPS valve on the Kollsnes gas processing plant have been analyzed. Two systems have been evaluated for each valve. A Failure Mode, E.ects and Diagnostic Analysis has been performed on the tested parts of each valve's complete function. Based on this analysis, the PST coverage and increased test intervals are calculated. The PST coverage found for the hydraulic operated ESD gate valves are 66% and 74% for ValveWatch and Smart Valve Monitoring, respectively. For the pneumatic operated ESD ball valve, a PST coverage of 21% has been found for FieldVue and 56% for Smart Valve Monitoring. The calculated intervals between functional tests to achive a SIL 2 rating, are between 0, 54 and 0, 89 years for these ESD valves. SIL 2 corresponds to a PFD < 10-2 . For the ESD valves, new control circuits with lower failure rates should be designed in order to improve the results. Today's one year proof test interval on ESD valves seems not to be in accordance with the standard used in this project, i.e to achieve SIL 2 the proof test interval should be reduced. A PST coverage of 100% and 0% has been found on the HIPPS solenoid valve for Smart Valve Monitoring and FieldVue, respectively. The PST coverage for the valve and actuator is 53% for both systems. Based on an inital annual test interval for the overall pressure protection system, is PST, by the system with best coverage, roughly estimated to increase the test interval by 76%. The results are highly dependent on the choices and assumptions made in this project. A closer study of experience data could have increased the quality of the analysis. Such data is not found easily available. The results are assumed to be relatively conservative. Deeper involvement of professionals with operational experience from relevant areas would probably also have improved the quality. The Drallim Smart Valve Monitoring has achieved the best results in this analysis. ValveWatch and FieldVue would improve their PST coverage if ESD solenoids were tested. They are also able to monitor actual shutdowns and may contribute to document a shutdown as proof test. These systems also make more measurements and may be better suited for predictive maintenance purposes. ValveWatch has achieved the highest PST coverage for a valve separately, because of its leak test. All the evaluated systems will give increased knowledge about the valve's condition, and thereby improve safety. The PFD will be substantially reduced. Future needs at Kollsnes should be analyzed further, and an eventual installation of such systems should be done according to these needs.