The report presents the results of investigations carried out in 63 patients (49 children and 14 adults) with thin glomerular basement membrane disease. Of 49 children, 13 came from nine families with family members suffering from kidney diseases (mostly manifested by haematuria). In the group of children, the most frequent initial clinical symptom (noted in 29 cases) was isolated haematuria, more rarely (in eight cases) haematuria and proteinuria, and (in seven cases) nephrotic syndrome. Isolated proteinuria was observed in another three children. In the adults, only in five patients was isolated haematuria the initial symptom of the disease; more frequently (in seven cases), they presented with isolated proteinuria. In two patients, proteinuria and haematuria were noted. In the two groups of patients, in addition to markers of thin glomerular basement membrane disease, the authors also observed markers indicative of other glomerulopathies: in seven children and four adults focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) without any other glomerular pathologies (with the exception of thin glomerular basement membrane disease). Also in cases in which in addition to thin glomerular basement membrane disease other glomerular pathologies were present (mesangial hypercellularity, mesangial glomerulonephritis), matrix expansion was detected; this phenomenon might be considered a harbinger of glomerular sclerosis. In general, although not in each and every case, these pathologies were associated with duration of the disease.


Clearance is one of the useful concepts to manage large amounts of slightly contaminated solid radioactive materials generated from the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Cleared materials are expected to be disposed of as conventional wastes or recycled to produce consumer goods. In Japan, the legal framework for clearance was established in 2005 by amending the Law to regulate nuclear materials, reactors and so on. However, it is not so clear whether the general public understands clearance well. In this paper, major concerns about clearance from the general public are analyzed based on the public comments for reports on clearance prepared by the Nuclear Safety Commission and the Nuclear Institute Safety Agency. The major anxieties for clearance expressed by the general public are the safety of clearance, unknown factors of radiation effects, possibilities of excess radiation exposure due to inadequate measurements of radioactivities and fairness in decision making. In order to deal with those anxieties, some countermeasures including the confidence in nuclear operators and regulatory authorities and controllability of clearance by the general public are discussed to promote the social acceptance of clearance by the general public.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effects of experiential avoidance on the impact of childhood trauma and parent problem drinking on problem drinking of the university student children of theses parents. Methods: This study was conducted using a descriptive survey design. Participants were 250 university students from four universities in Gwangju city, Jeollanam-do, Jeollabuk-do, and Gyongsangnam-do. Data were collected from March 2 to March 31 2015 using self-report questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS 19.0. Results: There were significant positive correlations between childhood trauma, parent problem drinking, experiential avoidance and university students' problem drinking. It was found that experiential avoidance partially mediated the relationship between parent problem drinking and university students' problem drinking. Also, it was found that experiential avoidance fully mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and university students' problem drinking. Conclusion: Based on the present findings, nursing interventions should be developed to decrease experiential avoidance, with additional consideration of childhood trauma and parent problem drinking, in order to prevent problem drinking among university students.


This paper describes the use of a unique combination of an environmentally stable chemically amplified photoresist (UV113, Shipley) and a copolymer of methyl styrene and chloromethyl acrylate P(MS/CMA) resist (ZEP520, Zeon), without any additional intermediate layers, in the fabrication of micro- and nanochannels. The two resists used are innocuous to each other during the designed process flow, providing flexibility, high resolution, greater throughput and ease of use. We have also determined that the maximum channel length is limited by diffusion and mass transport effects, and that sub-100 nm nanochannels can be obtained with 30 micron lengths.


The distribution and some biological characteristics of commercially important giant sea catfish, Arius thalassinus (Ruppell, 1837) were studied in Mafia Island from October 2010 to October 2011. Samples were collected from artisanal fishing gear, mainly longlines, sharknets and ringnets, which yielded a total of 2,723 kg comprising 756 A. thalassinus individuals with the largest specimen measuring 1,000 mm TL. The species occurred only on the western coast of Mafia Island with the highest catch rate of 19.3 kg/fisher/day in March when murky water predominates. The reproductive biology of A. thalassinus was investigated to infer its vulnerability to fishing. A. thalassinus reached size-at-first maturity at (L M50 = 520 mm TL) and exhibited lower mean (± s.e.) batch fecundity of 65.6 ± 3.37 eggs per female of size range 605 – 970 mm TL comprising large-sized hydrated oocytes with mean (± s.e.) diameter of 15.2 ± 0.12 mm. A. thalassinus spawned once in a year during February and April under heavy precipitation conditions (124 - 499 mm). We therefore conclude that restricted distribution, large-bodied size, lower fecundity, late maturation, and reported high trophic level signify that A. thalassinus is potentially vulnerable to fishing pressure. It is therefore recommended to restrict fishing A. thalassinus during spawning season for its sustainability.


BACKGROUND/AIM
Dental trauma (DT) occurs frequently in children and adolescents. Therefore, understanding the factors associated with its occurrence in these age groups is important to establish specific preventive measures. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships of lip coverage, overjet, and open bite to dental trauma in Brazilian children and adolescents.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The review protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42020156290) and the bibliographic search was performed in nine electronic databases until July 2020. The studies included were observational, performed in Brazil, with healthy children and adolescents (0-19 years old), and without the restriction of date or language. Two reviewers assessed the individual risk of bias of the eligible studies with a standardized checklist. The meta-analyses were stratified by dentition stage and age range using fixed or random effects, odds ratio (OR) as the effect measure, and 95% confidence interval. The heterogeneity across studies was assessed with the I² test and the GRADE approach assessed the certainty of evidence.

RESULTS
The search presented 2493 initial results, from which 55 met the eligibility criteria and were included. Most studies (67%) presented a low risk of bias and were published between 2000 and 2019. Children and adolescents with inadequate lip coverage are 1.86-2.36 times more likely to suffer from DT, while those with increased overjet are 1.94-3.11 times more likely. Children with primary dentitions and anterior open bites are 1.76 (95% CI: 1.20-2.59) times more likely to suffer from DT. The certainty of evidence varied from very low to moderate.

CONCLUSIONS
Inadequate lip coverage, increased overjet, and anterior open bite are associated with the occurrence of dental trauma in Brazilian children and adolescents.


It was proved by the author earlier that every orthogonal extension of a reduced ring R is a subring of Q(R), the maximal two sided ring of quotients oiR and the orthogonal completion of R, if it exists, is unique upto an isomorphism. Here, in Theorem 2, we prove that the orthogonal completion of R, if it exists, is a ring of right quotients QF(R) of R with respect to an idempotent filter F of dense right ideals of R. Furthermore, it is shown in Proposition 5 that QF(R) is an orthogonal extension of R if and only if for every q G QF(R), there exists a maximal orthogonal subset {et\ i E /} of idempotents of Q(R) such that q maps (by left multiplication) the right i?-submodule of Q(R) generated by q~ ιR U (e,: / £ /} into R. Also an orthogonal extension QF(R) is an orthogonal completion of R if and only if for every iΐ-submodule MR of Q(R)R generated by a maximal orthogonal subset of idempotents of Q(R) and for every/ E Hom Λ(M, R) there exists a^E QF(R) such that/(ra) = qm for every m E M (Proposition 6). Thus we obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for a reduced ring to have an orthogonal completion without any reference to its idempotent which improves earlier known results derived by Burgess and Raphael. By examples we show that reduced rings without proper idempotents may also have an orthogonal completion.


BACKGROUND
The objective of regenerative periodontal therapy is the reconstitution of lost periodontal structures, such as cementum, periodontal ligament, and alveolar bone. Enamel matrix proteins (EMP) are used as a local adjunct to periodontal surgery to stimulate regeneration of periodontal tissues lost to periodontal disease. The aim of this split-mouth study evaluates and compares the healing of intrabony defects after treatment with an EMP with or without neodymium-doped:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser application for root surface conditioning.

METHODS
Forty-two intrabony defects in 21 patients with chronic periodontitis were randomly assigned to an access flap surgery with application of Nd:YAG laser (1 W, 10 Hz, 100 mJ, 1064 nm) and EMP (test group), and on the contralateral defect to an access flap surgery with application of EDTA and EMP alone (control group). Clinical periodontal parameters were assessed at baseline and after 6 and 12 months.

RESULTS
Both treatments yielded significant improvements in terms of decrease in probing depth (PD) and gain in clinical attachment level (CAL) compared to baseline values. At 12 months after therapy, in the test group, the mean PD value was reduced from 7.3 ± 0.6 to 3.3 ± 0.4 mm and the mean CAL value changed from 9.5 ± 0.7 to 6.9 ± 0.7 mm (P <0.001). The sites treated with EMP (control) showed a reduction in mean PD value from 7.3 ± 0.7 to 3 ± 0.4 mm and a change in mean CAL value from 9.3 ± 0.8 to 6.4 ± 0.5 mm (P <0.001). The control group showed a greater reduction in PD and gain in CAL compared to the test group (P <0.05).

CONCLUSION
Within the limits of the present study, it may be concluded that both therapies led to improvements of the clinical parameters, and Nd:YAG laser root conditioning as used in this study compared to EDTA root conditioning did not improve the outcome of EMP use.


This article presents novel methods for representing and analyzing a special class of multiagent bargaining settings that feature multiple players, large action spaces, and a relationship among players' goals, tasks, and resources. We show how to reduce these interactions to a set of bilateral normal-form games in which the strategy space is significantly smaller than the original settings while still preserving much of their structural relationship. The method is demonstrated using the Colored Trails (CT) framework, which encompasses a broad family of games and has been used in many past studies. We define a set of heuristics (metastrategies) in multiplayer CT games that make varying assumptions about players' strategies, such as boundedly rational play and social preferences. We show how these CT settings can be decomposed into canonical bilateral games such as the Prisoners' Dilemma, Stag Hunt, and Ultimatum games in a way that significantly facilitates their analysis. We demonstrate the feasibility of this approach in separate CT settings involving one-shot and repeated bargaining scenarios, which are subsequently analyzed using evolutionary game-theoretic techniques. We provide a set of necessary conditions for CT games for allowing this decomposition. Our results have significance for multiagent systems researchers in mapping large multiplayer CT task settings to smaller, well-known bilateral normal-form games while preserving some of the structure of the original setting.


The adhesion molecules involved in the migration and retention of activated effector CD8 T cells in the lung microcirculation and their recruitment into lung tissue are largely unknown. Here, we have analyzed the role of lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) and very late antigen-4 (VLA-4) on adhesion of influenza hemagglutinin (HA)-specific CD8 T-cell clone D4 under shear conditions in an in vitro binding assay and in an in vivo homing assay to the lungs of naive or transgenic Balb/c mice expressing HA (HA-Tg) by a lung-specific promoter. Blocking LFA-1 or intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) significantly inhibited adhesion of D4 cells to lung vascular endothelium and parenchyma of lung sections. However, blocking VLA-4 or vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) had no effect on cell adhesion. Blocking LFA-1 in vivo significantly delayed lethal injury following adoptive transfer of D4 cells into HA-Tg mice as assessed by weight loss and histology. Residence time of adoptively transferred Indium 111 (111In)-labeled D4 cells in lungs of normal and HA-Tg mice as analyzed by dual modality imaging revealed a significantly shorter transit time of 4 hours for the D4 cells upon in vivo blockade of LFA-1. These results demonstrate a crucial role for LFA-1 in retention of activated CD8 T cells in normal mouse lungs and in the progression of lethal injury in HA-Tg mice.


This chapter presents a description of musical practices ranging from the earliest forms of musical exploration in infancy to elaborate forms of spontaneous singing in children. It focuses on the biological origins of musical creativity, situating it as a multimodal and eminently social activity. Knowledge of the precocious musical abilities of infants has grown over the past years, but their functions remain obscure. This chapter suggests that a process of musical socialization is initiated in early infancy through social interactions involving affectionate speaking, singing, and moving of adults. Accordingly, it becomes difficult to disentangle the musical and linguistic features that characterize the kind of inventive sound-play infants and children partake in. The chapter argues, finally, that the discoveries made by developmental psychologists in this field should set the stage for new pedagogical practices for very young and older music learners.


Currently there is no convincing evidence concerning pathogenetic mechanisms of fibrous and sclerotic processes in pulmonary tissue as well as processes of bronchopulmonary system remodeling in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) of occupation etiology (OE). The purpose of the study was to identify relationship between the serum hyaluronic acid (HA) level and severity of obstructive pulmonary ventilation impairment according to spirometry data in subjects with COPD associated with the impact of silica-containing dust and chronic occupational non-obstructive (common) bronchitis (CONB) of occupational etiology. Materials and Methods. Patients ( n = 153) with the diagnosis OE COPD ( n = 92), OE CONB ( n = 36) and healthy subjects participated in the study. Results. The study data demonstrated that serum HA level in patients with OE COPD and CONB was 3–5 times higher than that in healthy subjects ( p = 0.0001). In patients with OE COPD HA concentration was significantly higher, than that in subjects with OE CONB ( p = 0.039). Negative correlation between HA concentration and forced expiratory volume in 1 second value was observed ( p = 0.006; R = –0.31). There was statistically significant positive correlation between HA level and disease duration ( р = 0.021; R = 0.21). Conclusion. Serum HA level in patients with OE-related COPD and CONB may be used as a biomarker of fibrous and sclerotic process in pulmonary tissue, reflecting progression of obstruction and remodeling of small bronchi.


The efficacy of a novel vaccine, infectious bursal disease virus-antibody complex vaccine (IBDV-Ab), was compared with that of a commercial IBDV vaccine in Shiqiza broiler with maternal antibodies against IBDV. Seventy-five birds were divided into four groups and raised in isolation units. Birds of group 3 and 4 were vaccinated at 10 days with IBDV-Ab vaccine and commercial vaccine, respectively, whereas chickens of group 1 and 2 were not vaccinated with any vaccine. The antibodies against IBDV were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) before and after vaccinations. All the broilers of groups 2, 3, 4 were challenged with a virulent IBDV strain at 35 days of age. The mean ELISA titres (ET) of group 3 and 4 at 21 days of age were 738 and 946, respectively, and these at 31 days of age were 2 403 and 1 700. After challenge, mortality of groups 2, 3 and 4 were 50% 1 5% and 10% , respectively. The results showed that the efficacy of vaccination with IBDV-Ab vaccine was better than that with commercial vaccine. The data herein suggested that being mixed with antibody against IBDV increase the efficacy of IBDV live vaccine.


Hereford cows and their spring-born calves grazed an irrigated grass pasture containing about 13% dandelion based on dry weight yield. Grazing treatments were 1) no grazing, 2) 4 days of grazing just before clipping, and 3) long-term grazing just before clipping. In clippings taken in June and July after the grazing treatments, the percentage dandelion in the forage was similar in all three grazing treatments, indicating that cattle used dandelion as readily as grass. The protein and mineral contents of dandelion were at appropriate levels to meet the established requirements of beef cattle.


A spheroid array of fetal mouse liver cells, which comprise various immature cells, was constructed on a PEG-gel micropatterned surface and its hepatic activity and degree of differentiation induction were significantly upregulated by co-culture with nonparenchymal liver cells as feeder-cells.


The NOvA collaboration has constructed a 14,000 ton, fine-grained, low-Z, total absorption tracking calorimeter at an off-axis angle to an upgraded NuMI neutrino beam. This detector, with its excellent granularity and energy resolution and relatively low-energy neutrino thresholds, was designed to observe electron neutrino appearance in a muon neutrino beam, but it also has unique capabilities suitable for more exotic efforts. In fact, if an efficient upward- going muon trigger with sufficient cosmic ray background rejection can be demonstrated, NOvA will be capable of a competitive indirect dark matter search for low-mass WIMPs. The cosmic ray muon rate at the NOvA far detector is about 100 kHz and provides the primary challenge for triggering and optimizing such a search analysis. The status of the NOvA upward-going muon trigger is presented.


We present a general multi-scale approach for modeling the interaction of controlled autonomous vehicles (AVs) with the surrounding traffic flow. The model consists of a scalar conservation law for the bulk traffic, coupled with ordinary differential equations describing the possibly interacting AV trajectories. The coupling is realized through flux constraints at the moving bottleneck positions, inducing the formation of non-classical jump discontinuities in the traffic density. In turn, AVs are forced to adapt their speed to the downstream traffic average velocity in congested situations. We analyze the model solutions in a Riemann-type setting, and propose an adapted finite volume scheme to compute approximate solutions for general initial data. The work paves the way to the study of general optimal control strategies for AV velocities, aiming at improving the overall traffic flow by reducing congestion phenomena and the associated externalities.


Unapproved ingredients included in herbal medicines and dietary supplements have been detected as adulterated synthetic drugs used for erectile dysfunction. Extraction from a dietary supplement was performed to isolate the compounds by HPLC analysis. The structural characterization was confirmed using mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF/MS and LC-MS/MS), 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectroscopy techniques. Results identified the thus-obtained compound to be sulfoaildenafil, a thioketone analogue of sildenafil. The biological activities of this active compound have been focused for the first time by the experimental point of view performance in vitro. The results revealed that sulfoaildenafil can affect the therapeutic level of nitric oxide through the upregulation of nitric oxide synthase and phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) gene expressions. This bulk material, which displays structural similarity to sildenafil, was analyzed for the presence of a PDE5 inhibitor using a theoretical calculation. These unique features of the potential activity of PDE5 protein and its inhibitors, sildenafil and sulfoaildenafil, may play a key consideration for understanding the mode of actions and predicting the biological activities of PDE5 inhibitors.


Growth of the autocloned Ta(2)O(5)/SiO(2) multilayer photonic crystal with a lateral sawtooth period was simulated. Ion-beam sputter (IBS) was applied to deposit the films and radio-frequency-bias (RF-bias) etching was applied simultaneously with the IBS on the Ta(2)O(5) film. Both simulation and experiment showed that the quality of the autocloning can be controlled by the RF-bias power; there is an intermediate power range within which the drop of peak-to-valley height variation of the sawtooth profile can be reduced significantly such that a high degree of autocloning can be achieved. Analysis showed that simultaneous deposition and etching at the proper RF-bias power on the Ta(2)O(5) film has the capability to compensate the flattening effect of the SiO(2) deposition such that the sawtooth surface profile can be maintained.


MyD88 is a Toll/IL-1 receptor (TIR) domain-containing adapter common to signaling pathways via Toll-like receptor (TLR) family. However, accumulating evidence demonstrates the existence of a MyD88-independent pathway, which may explain unique biological responses of individual TLRs, particularly TLR3 and TLR4. TIR domain-containing adapter protein (TIRAP)/MyD88 adapter-like, a second adapter harboring the TIR domain, is essential for MyD88-dependent TLR2 and TLR4 signaling pathways, but not for MyD88-independent pathways. Here, we identified a novel TIR domain-containing molecule, named TIR domain-containing adapter inducing IFN-β (TRIF). As is the case in MyD88 and TIRAP, overexpression of TRIF activated the NF-κB-dependent promoter. A dominant-negative form of TRIF inhibited TLR2-, TLR4-, and TLR7-dependent NF-κB activation. Furthermore, TRIF, but neither MyD88 nor TIRAP, activated the IFN-β promoter. Dominant-negative TRIF inhibited TLR3-dependent activation of both the NF-κB-dependent and IFN-β promoters. TRIF associated with TLR3 and IFN regulatory factor 3. These findings suggest that TRIF is involved in the TLR signaling, particularly in the MyD88-independent pathway.


Ranking functions are qualitative degrees of uncertainty ascribed to events charged by uncertainty and taking as their values non-negative integers in the sense of ordinal numbers. Introduced are ranking functions induced by real-valued possibilistic measures and it is shown that different possibilistic measures with identical ranking functions yield the same results when applied in decision procedures based on qualitative comparation of the magnitudes of the possibilistic measures in question ascribed to the uncertain events.


The performance dynamics of battery is very sensitive to operating conditions (i.e temperature, load current, and state of charge). A model developed based on certain conditions may perform well under the similar conditions but can not accurately predict the performance for changing conditions. Thus, a generalized model is needed which can accurately emulate the battery dynamic behavior under all conditions. In addition, the components of the model should relate to the physicochemical processes that occur inside the battery. Electrochemical impedance curve shows better visible reflection of the processes inside battery as compared to voltage curve. The model trained for parameterization using neural network has better generalization than simple curve fitting. Thus, this study proposes recurrent neural network based parameterization of the Lithium ion battery model followed by impedance based identification


Most research on organizational negotiations has concentrated on factors that affect negotiating outcomes, given some predefined problem or issue. In contrast, this paper focuses on the institutionalization of negotiations, or the process through which social definitions of negotiating issues, procedures and outcomes emerge and are accepted by participants as legitimate boundaries of negotiation. A two-stage model of the institutionalization process is proposed and a number of factors affecting the process at different stages are discussed. Historical and contemporary evidence from labor relations in the U.S. steel industry is used to illustrate these arguments. The implications of institutionalization for further research on negotiations in organizations are discussed.


This review describes the Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), an intracellular biodegradable microbial polymer. PHAs is formed from different types of three hydroxyalkanoic acids monomers, each unit forms an ester bond with the hydroxyl group of the other one and the hydroxyl substituted carbon has R configuration. The C-3 atom in β position is branched with at least one carbon atom in the form of methyl group (C1) to thirteen carbons in the form of tridecyl (C13). This alkyl side chain is not necessarily saturated. PHAs are biosynthesized through regulated pathways by specific enzymes. PHAs are accumulated in bacterial cells from soluble to insoluble form as storage materials inside the inclusion bodies during unbalanced nutrition or to save organisms from reducing equivalents. PHAs are converted again to soluble components by PHAs depolymerases and the degraded materials enter various metabolic pathways. Until now, four classes of enzymes responsible for PHAs polymerization are known. PHAs were well studied regarding their promising applications, physical, chemical and biological properties. PHAs are biodegradable, biocompatible, have good material properties, renewable and can be used in many applications. The most limiting factor in PHAs commercialization is their high cost compared to the petroleum plastics. This review highlights the new knowledge and that established by the pioneers in this field as well as the factors, which affect PHAs commercialization.


Net metering has become a widespread policy mechanism in the U.S. for supporting customer adoption of distributed photovoltaics (PV), allowing customers with PV systems to reduce their electric bills by offsetting their consumption with PV generation, independent of the timing of the generation relative to consumption. Although net metering is one of the principal drivers for the residential PV market in the U.S., the academic literature on this policy has been sparse and this dissertation contributes to this emerging body of literature.This dissertation explores the linkages between the availability of net metering, wholesale electricity market conditions, retail rates, and the residential bill savings from behind-the-meter PV systems. First, I examine the value of the bill savings that customers receive under net metering and alternatives to net metering, and the associated role of retail rate design, based on current rates and a sample of approximately two hundred residential customers of California's two largest electric utilities. I find that the bill savings per kWh of PV electricity generated varies greatly, largely attributable to the increasing block structure of the California utilities' residential retail rates. I also find that net metering provides significantly greater bill savings than alternative compensation mechanisms based on avoided costs. However, retail electricity rates may shift as wholesale electricity market conditions change. I then investigate a potential change in market conditions - increased solar PV penetrations - on wholesale prices in the short-term based on the merit-order effect. This demonstrates the potential price effects of changes in market conditions, but also points to a number of methodological shortcomings of this method, motivating my usage of a long-term capacity investment and economic dispatch model to examine wholesale price effects of various wholesale market scenarios in the subsequent analysis. By developing three types of retail rates (a flat rate, a time-of-use rate, and real-time pricing) from these wholesale price profiles, I examine bill savings from PV generation for the ten wholesale market scenarios under net metering and an alternative to net metering where hourly excess PV generation is compensated at the wholesale price. Most generally, I challenge the common assertion that PV compensation is likely to stay constant (or rise) due to constant (or rising) retail rates, and find that future electricity market scenarios can drive substantial changes in residential retail rates and that these changes, in concert with variations in retail rate structures and PV compensation mechanisms, interact to place substantial uncertainty on the future value of bill savings from residential PV.


Geotechnical centrifuge modelling is an advanced physical modelling technique for simulating and studying geotechnical problems. It provides physical data for investigating mechanisms of deformation and failure and for validating analytical and numerical methods. Due to its reliability, time and cost effectiveness, centrifuge modelling has often been the preferred experimental method for addressing complex geotechnical problems. In this ZENG Guo-xi Lecture, the kinematics, fundamental principles and principal applications of geotechnical centrifuge modelling are introduced. The use of the state-of-the-art geotechnical centrifuge at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), China to investigate four types of complex geotechnical problems is reported. The four geotechnical problems include correction of building tilt, effect of tunnel collapse on an existing tunnel, excavation effect on pile capacity and liquefied flow and non-liquefied slide of loose fill slopes. By reporting major findings and new insights from these four types of centrifuge tests, it is hoped to illustrate the role of state-of-the-art geotechnical centrifuge modelling in advancing the scientific knowledge of geotechnical problems.


The neurotransmitter transporter (NTT), a kind of glycoprotein situating on the presynaptic membrane, glial membrane, or vesicle membrane, has become the focusing point of neuroscience research in recent years. They could combine selectively with transmitters released into synaptic cleft and carry them back into cells to aid the termination of synaptic transmission. In this way, NTT took an important part in modulation of information between neurons. Study on NTT has not been reported domestically. This article reviewed recent studies on molecular structure, classification, study methods, distribution, function, modulating factors and gene modulation, focus of study and also unresolved problems of NTT.


General relativistic simulations of black hole-neutron star mergers have currently been limited to low-mass black holes (less than 7 solar mass), even though population synthesis models indicate that a majority of mergers might involve more massive black holes (10 solar mass or more). We present the first general relativistic simulations of black hole-neutron star mergers with 10 solar mass black holes. For massive black holes, the tidal forces acting on the neutron star are usually too weak to disrupt the star before it reaches the innermost stable circular orbit of the black hole. Varying the spin of the black hole in the range a/M = 0.5-0.9, we find that mergers result in the disruption of the star and the formation of a massive accretion disk only for large spins a/M>0.7-0.9. From these results, we obtain updated constraints on the ability of BHNS mergers to be the progenitors of short gamma-ray bursts as a function of the mass and spin of the black hole. We also discuss the dependence of the gravitational wave signal on the black hole parameters, and provide waveforms and spectra from simulations beginning 7-8 orbits before merger.


Today, it is generally acknowledged that substantial value can be generated in online or offline developer communities external to the firm. What is less understood is how this value can be captured by commercial companies within viable business models. In this paper, we investigate business models in the field of open design, i.e., the development of tangible products according to the open source model. Our analysis rests on a pool of 30 open design projects. We find that four stylised business models can be observed in open design. They employ several value isolating mechanisms that enable profit-oriented commercial offerings in 'extremely open' settings, such as open design.


In this report a summary is given of our experiments concerning the in vivo endogenous phosphate (P) content of myosin. It was found that besides the ester type phosphates of myosin there was a considerable amount of N-P type energy-rich phosphoryl groups bond to the basic amino acids of peptide chains. The endogenous P concentration of myosin depends on the source of the preparation. The concentration of P is much higher in myosin preparations of well-trained animals and human subjects compared to those found in the control muscles. As the P binding sites of fresh purified myosin are only partially saturated, the preparations can incorporate P up to a definite saturation only. The phosphorylating ability of myosins disappears after prolonged storage as a consequence of an alteration in structure of the myosin molecule. The P groups are moving inside the myosin molecule. It is supposed that the inorganic P release promoted by actin is connected with the thin filament movements towards the centre of the sarcomere, furthermore P replenishment, P linking and movement involve N3-trimethyl-lysine, 3-methylhistidine, P-Arg and two conformers of P-His. The two net negative charges of P group form electric monopoles of a minor battery (myosin head). They help to force generation at head rotation (90 degrees-45 degrees angle) and produce free energy changes that can be calculated from the number of N-P bonds.


Traditional vector autoregressions derive impulse responses using iterative techniques that may compound specification errors. Local projection techniques are robust to this problem, and Monte Carlo evidence suggests they provide reliable estimates of the true impulse responses. We use local linear projections to investigate the dynamic properties of a model for a small open economy, New Zealand. We compare impulse responses from local projections to those from standard techniques, and consider the implications for monetary policy. We pay careful attention to the dimensionality of the model, and focus on effects of policy on GDP, interest rates, prices and exchange rates.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the impact of cost-sharing increases on continuity of specialty drug use in Medicare beneficiaries with multiple sclerosis (MS) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING
Five percent Medicare claims data (2007-2010).

STUDY DESIGN
Quasi-experimental study examining changes in specialty drug use among a group of Medicare Part D beneficiaries without low-income subsidies (non-LIS) as they transitioned from a 5 percent cost-sharing preperiod to a ≥25 percent cost-sharing postperiod, as compared to changes among a disease-matched contemporaneous control group of patients eligible for full low-income subsidies (LIS), who faced minor cost sharing (≤$6.30 copayment) in both the pre- and postperiods.

DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS
Key variables were extracted from Medicare data.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
Relative to the LIS group, the non-LIS group had a greater increase in incidence of 30-day continuous gaps in any Part D treatment from the lower cost-sharing period to the higher cost-sharing period (MS, absolute increase = 10.1 percent, OR = 1.61, 95% CI 1.19-2.17; RA, absolute increase = 21.9 percent, OR = 2.75, 95% CI 2.15-3.51). The increase in Part D treatment gaps was not offset by increased Part B specialty drug use.

CONCLUSIONS
Cost-sharing increases due to specialty tier-level cost sharing were associated with interruptions in MS and RA specialty drug treatments.


The present paper is the first of the two parts showing a set of observations derived from Dr. Jorge Garcia Salman's reply to the article entitled "The debate on Natural and Traditional Medicine and its implications for the public health" published by this journal. The points of convergence with the opinions of Garcia Salman were stated and then an analysis was made on 25/06/2013 Medicina Convencional y Medicina N... C:/.../Medicina%20Convencional%20... 1/14 the criteria about the methodological aspects that deserve to be answered. Some criteria to defend the scientific method as a universally accepted process to make contributions to science were offered, and at the same time, the non-systematic use of this process by the Natural and Traditional Medicine was questioned. Some arguments were provided about the clinical experimentation as an intellectual conquest as well as the role of the randomized clinicals trials which provides the deepest and most revealing way of developing criteria about causality in the biomedical processes. Likewise, essential elements on the role of placebo in research were presented. It was concluded that the highest expression of respect to science in general and to Natural and Traditional Medicine in particular, lies in pointing out their occasional errors of which a number of examples was offered.


The long-time limit behavior of the variance and the correlation function for the output signal of a fractional oscillator with fluctuating eigenfrequency subjected to a periodic force is considered. The influence of a fluctuating environment is modeled by a multiplicative white noise and by an additive noise with a zero mean. The viscoelastic-type friction kernel with memory is assumed as a power-law function of time. The exact expressions of stochastic resonance (SR) characteristics such as variance and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) have been calculated. It is shown that at intermediate values of the memory exponent the energetic stability of the oscillator is significantly enhanced in comparison with the cases of strong and low memory. A multiresonancelike behavior of the variance and SNR as functions of the memory exponent is observed and a connection between this effect and the memory-induced enhancement of energetic stability is established. The effect of memory-induced energetic stability encountered in case the harmonic potential is absent, is also discussed.


The role of data scientist has been described as the "sexiest job of the 21st Century". While possibly there is a degree of hype associated with such a claim, there are factors at play such as the unprecedented growth in the amount of data being generated. This paper characterises the already established disciplines which underpin data science, viz., data engineering, statistics, and data mining. Following a characterisation of the previous fields, data science is found to be most closely related to data mining. However, in contrast to data mining, data science promises to operate over datasets that exhibit significant challenges in terms of the four Vs: Volume, Variety, Velocity and Veracity. This paper notes that the current emphasis, both in industry and academia, is on the first three Vs, which pose mainly scientific or technological challenges, rather than Veracity, which is a truly scientific (and arguably a more complex) challenge. Data Science can be seen to have a more ambitious objective than what traditionally data mining has: as a science, data science aims to lead to the creation of new theories and knowledge. This paper notes that, ironically, the veracity dimension, which is arguably the closest one relating to this objective, is being neglected. Despite the current media frenzy about data science, the paper concludes that more time is needed to see whether it will emerge as discipline in its own right.


Background: Increased consumption of natural antioxidants found in vegetables and fruits has been linked to a lower risk of disease caused by oxidative stress.Objective: The current study's focus was to compare the antioxidant properties of synthetic glutathione and glutathione derived from spinach against CCl4-induced stress in female albino rats. Materials and Methods: Cold chloroform extraction was used to prepare the spinach leaf extract. Glutathione was then extracted from the spinach leaf extract using preparative HPLC afterward when the concentration of glutathione was measured in the extract. Biological preventive and therapeutic experiments were conducted, where laboratory rats were divided into 6 groups, the first group G1 (positive control group), the second group G2 (negative control group), the third group G3 preventive experiment 1 (group glutathione extracted from spinach + CCl4), the fourth group G4 therapeutic experiment 1 (Group CCl4+ Glutathione extracted from spinach), the fifth group G5 Preventive experiment 2 (Group of synthetic glutathione + CCl4), the sixth group G6 therapeutic experiment 2 (Group CCl4+ Glutathione extracted from spinach). Results: Treatment of rats with spinach-derived synthetic glutathione, before or after they were given CCl4 subcutaneous, improved the values of parameters near to normal levels in the positive control animals in groups treated with spinach-derived glutathione (G3 and G4) compared to treatment with synthetic glutathione (G5 and G6). Administration of milk with glutathione derived from Iraqi spinach leaves exhibited favorable effects on oxidative stress, greatly enhanced the antioxidant system, and protected rats from liver damage brought on by carbon tetrachloride compared to milk with synthetic glutathione. Keywords: Iraqi spinach, Functional food, Natural antioxidant, Oxidative stress, synthetic glutathione.


The use of the rhodamine B as fluorescent tracer in hydrology ask the question of its possible toxic effects in the environment. This study aspire to specify and to complete the results of the former works by the successive examinations of the activity of the rhodamine B in regard to the "daphnies test", its DL50 on the rat and on the mouse, and its cutaneous tolerance. The obtained results confirm the former remarks and express that the solutions of the rhodamine B show any more immediate risks as soon as they appear no more coloured (higher dilutions 1.10(-7)). However it remains to evaluate its long-term carcenogenic activity.


The United States largely relies on a system of arbitration to handle retail consumer financial disputes. This approach has undergone significant challenge in recent years particularly in light of recent abuses of consumer credit arbitration mechanisms. This paper reports on the results of a non-randomized small-n survey which we label the "Financial Dispute Study" aimed at evaluating the relative effectiveness of two major approaches to financial dispute resolution – arbitration and ombuds services. Nearly a hundred survey questionnaires were distributed to financial dispute resolution practitioners throughout the world. A total of forty-eight arbitrators and ombuds people from East Asia, North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa responded. In the Study participants were asked how practitioners viewed the level of satisfaction, settlement rate and perceived increase or decrease in the use of the given method of financial dispute resolution – whether arbitration or ombuds service. This paper analyzes the method-effect, meaning we focus on the effect of the selected method of financial dispute resolution (whether ombuds or arbitration) on settlement, satisfaction and increase or decrease in use. In doing so, the study evaluates the relative effectiveness of two major approaches a financial dispute resolution mechanism might adopt.We find no statistically significant evidence that a given method, arbitration or the use of ombuds process has a large (or any) effect on the settlement rate, level of satisfaction and usage. To the contrary, arbitration and ombuds group point estimates are generally close to one another. Nevertheless, the data indicate slightly higher levels of settlement and overall increase in use in ombuds processes worldwide. These findings, combined with feedback from open ended interviews along with structural safeguards against repeat-player advantage integrated into the ombuds process ensuring that awards are rendered without prejudice to the claimant, suggest that merit may be found in exploring the potential applications and use of ombuds processes for the resolution of US consumer financial disputes. The paper concludes with some limited interpretation of the results.


Abstract We propose a model that includes interactions between the cortex, the basal ganglia (BG), and the thalamus based on a dual competition. We hypothesize that the striatum, the subthalamic nucleus (STN), the internal globus pallidus (GPi), the thalamus, and the cortex are involved in closed feedback loops through the hyperdirect and direct pathways. These loops support a competition process that results in the ability of BG to make a cognitive decision followed by a motor one. Considering lateral cortical interactions, another competition takes place inside the cortex allowing the latter to make a cognitive and a motor decision. We show how this dual competition endows the model with two regimes. One is driven by reinforcement learning and the other by Hebbian learning. The final decision is made according to a combination of these two mechanisms with a gradual transfer from the former to the latter. We confirmed these theoretical results on primates (Macaca mulatta) using a novel paradigm predicted by the model.


Background Various other biochemical and genetic factors apart from conventional risk factors are known to play an important role in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease. Polymorphism in the glutathione S-transferases gene leads to alteration in glutathione S-transferase levels which play an important role in detoxification of free radicals particularly those present in cigarette smoke. Methods One hundred angiographically diagnosed subjects and 100 normal controls were recruited. Detailed history and clinical examination of blood samples were collected and assessed for various biochemical parameters. GSTM1and GSTT1genotyping for GST gene was done by using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results The frequency of the GSTM1null genotype was found to be significantly higher in cases in the total population (P <0.0003), in smokers (P =0.018) and in subjects with hypertension (P =0.04). Though distribution of the GSTT1null genotype was not found to be significantly different in cases and controls, its concomitant presence with the GSTM1null genotype was found to increase the risk of CAD in all subjects (OR = 2.28) and in smokers (P =0.03), and to pose an additional risk in hypertensive (P =0.01) and diabetic (P <0.001) subjects. The most likely explanation for these findings may be that polymorphisms in the GST gene lead possibly to alteration in GST levels or activity which may further lead to variable detoxification of various toxins, mostly epoxides, including those present in cigarette smoke. Conclusion We conclude that GSTM1null genotype increases the risk of CAD in all subjects including smokers. Concomitant presence of GSTT1null and GSTM1null genotype was found to further increase the risk in all subjects: smokers, diabetic and hypertensive patients.


Graph Anomaly Detection (GAD) has recently become a hot research spot due to its practicability and theoretical value. Since GAD emphasizes the application and the rarity of anomalous samples, enriching the varieties of its datasets is fundamental work. Thus, this paper present DGraph, a real-world dynamic graph in the finance domain. DGraph overcomes many limitations of current GAD datasets. It contains about 3M nodes, 4M dynamic edges, and 1M ground-truth nodes. We provide a comprehensive observation of DGraph, revealing that anomalous nodes and normal nodes generally have different structures, neighbor distribution, and temporal dynamics. Moreover, it suggests that unlabeled nodes are also essential for detecting fraudsters. Furthermore, we conduct extensive experiments on DGraph. Observation and experiments demonstrate that DGraph is propulsive to advance GAD research and enable in-depth exploration of anomalous nodes.


Thermodynamics of weakly screened (near the one-component-plasma limit) Yukawa fluids in two and three dimensions is analyzed in detail. It is shown that the thermal component of the excess internal energy of these fluids, when expressed in terms of the properly normalized coupling strength, exhibits the scaling pertinent to the corresponding one-component-plasma limit (the scalings differ considerably between the two- and three-dimensional situations). This provides us with a simple and accurate practical tool to estimate thermodynamic properties of weakly screened Yukawa fluids. Particular attention is paid to the two-dimensional fluids, for which several important thermodynamic quantities are calculated to illustrate the application of the approach.


Grid-connected photovoltaic (GPV) using module-integrated-inverters is a well known method to use PVs in power networks. This paper proposes a novel structure of module-integrated GPV based on double input DC-DC converters. Special structure and switching strategy of the proposed converter result in high efficient power conditioning system for GPVs. The proposed structure of module-integrated GPV uses Dual-PV module(DPVM) contains two PVs. DPVM is connected to the proposed converter and the output of the converter is connected to the inverter. Two inputs of the converter assist the soft switching operation and lead to a high efficient power conditioning GPV. The proposed DPVM is presented and the application of high step up multi-input converter in DPVM is discussed. high step-up capability of the proposed converter is validated by mathematical relations. Experimental results are presented to evaluate the characteristics of the proposed converter.


Photovoltaic (PV) systems have caused residential and commercial building fires when an electrical arc fault initiates in the conduction path. Article 690.11 in the United States 2011 National Electrical Code requires new photovoltaic systems on or penetrating a building to include a listed arc fault protection device to prevent additional fires. In response, manufacturers are creating arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) using electrical frequencies for detection, but their operation is not fully characterized. Sandia National Labs has undergone a major effort to identify detection difficulties and establish tests for PV AFCI manufacturers to ensure their product can robustly detect arcing conditions while avoiding false trips from noise sources. In previous studies, arc fault signatures have been compared to string noise and frequency-dependant attenuation through PV modules has been quantified. In this paper, a frequency response analyzer was used to measure radio frequency (RF) propagation through arrays of varying irradiance and size. Irradiance did not affect module frequency response, but the length of unshielded wiring significantly affected the frequency response of the system above 100 kHz due to RF effects. Based on the RF affects in PV systems, it is recommended that arc fault circuit interrupter manufacturers select detection frequencies below 100 kHz.


The malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidney determines clinical and prognostic evaluations due to the poor therapeutic answer and to the uncertain prognosis. The Authors describe a case of nephroblastoma with anaplasia of the blastemal elements associated to rhabdomyosarcoma areas.


Amorphous metal oxides are attractive materials for various sensor applications, because of high electrical performance and easy processing. However, low absorption coefficient, slow photoresponse, and persistent photoconductivity of amorphous metal oxide films from the origin of deep-level defects are obstacles to their use as photonic applications. Here, we demonstrate ultrahigh photoresponsivity of organic-inorganic hybrid phototransistors featuring bulk heterojunction polymers and low-bandgap zinc oxynitride. Spontaneous formation of ultrathin zinc oxide on the surface of zinc oxynitride films could make an effective band-alignment for electron transfer from the dissociation of excitons in the bulk heterojunction, while holes were blocked by the deep highest occupied molecular orbital level of zinc oxide. These hybrid structure-based phototransistors are ultrasensitive to broad-bandwidth photons in ultraviolet to near-infrared regions. The detectivity and a linear dynamic range exceeded 10(12) Jones and 122.3 dB, respectively.


Current design of high performance turbopumps for rocket engines requires effective and robust analytical tools to provide design impact in a productive manner. The main goal of this study is to develop a robust and effective computational fluid dynamics (CFD) pump model for general turbopump design and analysis applications. A Finite Difference Navier-Stokes flow solver, FDNS, which includes the extended k-epsilon turbulence model and appropriate moving interface boundary conditions, was developed to analyze turbulent flows in turbomachinery devices. A second-order central difference scheme plus adaptive dissipation terms was employed in the FDNS code, along with a predictor plus multi-corrector pressure-based solution procedure. The multi-zone, multi-block capability allows the FDNS code to efficiently solve flow fields with complicated geometry. The FDNS code has been benchmarked by analyzing the pump consortium inducer, and it provided satisfactory results. In the present study, a CFD parametric study of the pump consortium impeller was conducted using the FDNS code. The pump consortium impeller, with partial blades, is a new design concept of the advanced rocket engines. The parametric study was to analyze the baseline design of the consortium impeller and its modification which utilizes TANDEM blades. In the present study, the TANDEM blade configuration of the consortium impeller considers cut full blades for about one quarter chord length from the leading edge and clocks the leading edge portion with an angle of 7.5 or 22.5 degrees. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect and trend of the TANDEM blade modification and provide the result as a design guideline. A 3-D flow analysis, with a 103 x 23 x 30 mesh grid system and with the inlet flow conditions measured by Rocketdyne, was performed for the baseline consortium impeller. The numerical result shows that the mass flow rate splits through various blade passages are relatively uniform. Due to the complexity of blade geometries, the TANDEM blade configurations were analyzed with the multi-zone grid structure. Both the 7.5 deg- and the 22.5 deg-clocking TANDEM blade cases utilized a 80K mesh system. The numerical result of two TANDEM blade modifications indicates the efficiency and the head are worse than those of the baseline case due to larger flow distortion. The gap between the TANDEM blade and the full blade allows the flow passes through and heavily loads the pressure side of the partial blade such that flow reversal occurs near the suction side of the splitter. The flow split at the exit of impeller blades is very non-uniform for TANDEM blade cases, and this will greatly induce the side load on the diffuser. Therefore, the TANDEM blade modification in the present CFD analysis does not improve the performance of the consortium impeller.


We present the results of the Romanian team for the multi-center grant "Paediatric Brain Monitoring with Information Technology (KidsBrainIT). Using IT Innovations to Improve Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury Intensive Care Management, Outcome, and Patient Safety", acronym KidsBrainIT. Children aged 2 to 16 years who require intensive care management after sustaining traumatic severe brain injury are included in this study in three neurosurgical hospital: "Prof. Dr. N. Oblu" Clinical Emergency Hospital Iasi, "Sf. Maria" Children Clinical Emergency Hospital Iasi and "Bagdasar-Arseni" Clinical Emergency Hospital Bucharest. Continuous real-time intracranial pressure monitoring became a "gold standard" in TBI intensive-care management and ICP-lowering therapy is recommended when ICP is elevated above 20 mmHg or more. Continuous ICP and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) monitoring allow calculation of cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) and to establish of an optimal CPP. This study aims to improve the treatments and the outcomes in severe traumatic brain injury in children.


The present investigation examined the characteristics of 7-year-old children attending language units in England. The study involved 242 participants who represented a randomized sample of all 7-year-old children spending 50% of more of the school week in a language unit. Results are discussed in terms of the following questions: what is the non-verbal ability of children attending language units?; do children attending language units fit the discrepancy criteria between verbal and non-verbal ability diagnostic of specific language impairment (SLI)?; and what types of language difficulties do children with SLI attending language units have?


Background
Cluster randomized trials (CRTs) are widely adopted in health and primary care research. However, the cluster effect needs to be taken into account appropriately in the design and analysis of CRTs. The objectives of this study were (i) to review the reporting of intracluster correlations in CRTs; and (ii) to evaluate whether the assumed intracluster correlation measures in sample size planning are consistent with those obtained in the analysis.

Methods
The Aggregate Analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov database was searched to identify CRTs registered between January 1, 2004 and March 27, 2016. The selected CRTs with accessible publications were screened according to eligibility criteria.

Results
Of the 281 CRTs identified, the percentage of studies accounting for cluster effect increased annually. A total of 183 studies accounted for clustering in sample size estimation, among them 43% of CRTs adopted the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) but the exact estimated value of ICC was provided in only 26% of the included studies. In different intervention types, there were no statistically significant differences between the assumed and reported values of ICC (all p-values >0.05).

Conclusion
Although the difference between the values of ICC assumed in sample size planning and that reported in the analysis was not statistically significant, deficiencies in CRTs are still common, such as low rates of considering cluster effect in sample size and reporting intracluster correlation estimates. We also suggest that researchers ought to be familiar with the properties of statistical approaches to improve the analysis of CRTs. Thus, more recommendations and guidelines such as the CONSORT statement for CRTs should be suggested to researchers.


BACKGROUND
Brown rot caused by Monilinia fructicola is one of most serious diseases of postharvest peach fruit. The objective of this study was to select effective antagonistic bacteria against Monilinia fructicola and evaluate the effects of these strains against brown rot.

RESULTS
Four bacterial strains producing inhibitory volatile gas against Monilinia fructicola were isolated from the peach rhizosphere soil. The volatiles produced by 12a (Bacillus vallismortis) and 14b (Bacillus altitudinis) showed considerable antagonistic activities. Monilinia fructicola showed 80.3% and 68.4% mycelial growth inhibition and cell damage in the presence of strains 12a and 14b, respectively. The inhibition rate of brown rot in peach fruit fumigated with the culture solution of 12a or 14b reached 77.1% and 50.0%, respectively. The volatile compounds produced by 12a and 14b were identified according to gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis. Among them, 6-methyl-2-heptanone and 2-pentylfuran completely inhibited mycelial growth at 100 µL L-1 concentration. Cedrol showed strong inhibitory activity against mycelial growth at 100 µg L-1 and isodecyl methacrylate inhibited growth at high concentration. The inhibition rate of the 50 µL L-1 artificial mixture of these four volatiles was 59.3% in vitro.

CONCLUSION
These results indicate that the two antagonistic bacteria and some volatiles produced by them have potential value in controlling brown rot in harvested peach fruit. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.


A joint rate control and power control mechanism in wireless ad hoc networks with Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements is proposed in this paper. Based on Network Utility Maximization (NUM) framework, we firstly analyze and give an optimization model which takes into consideration different QoS classes' requirements and network lifetime constraint. Then we decompose the primal optimization problem into three subproblems with Lagrange dual decomposition theory. A distributed joint rate control and power control algorithm with message passing is thus obtained. Our theoretical analysis proves rigorously that the proposed algorithm. can converge quickly.


We find fundamental solutions to p-Laplace equations with drift terms in the Heisenberg group and Grushin-type planes. These solutions are natural generalizations to the fundamental solutions discovered by Beals, Gaveau, and Greiner for the Laplace equation with drift term. Our results are independent of the results of Bieske and Childers, in that Bieske and Childers consider a generalization that focuses on a p-Laplace-type equation while we primarily concentrate on a generalization of the drift term.


Recently, distributed video coding (DVC) has attracted much more attention with advances in low-complexity encoder and flexible architecture, which could be effectively applied in mobile video communication and video surveillance network. But the gap with the conventional video codecs is still large. One of the key factors is the quality of side information as it directly affects the system's rate distortion performance. In this paper, existing algorithms of side information generation in multi-view DVC system are compared, and a new scheme based on feedback channel and fusion will be proposed. Experimental results represent that the proposed scheme can provide better rate distortion performance with the existing ones.


Clinching joining has become an alternative technique to conventional spot welding. This innovative joining technology can reduce the production costs and cycle times, and also offers a great prospective for a new product design and manufacturing. Without a better understanding on physical phenomena associated with the clinching process, the correcting unacceptable clinched joint is extremely costly and impossible for some cases. In this study, the overlap joining of low carbon steel and aluminum alloy in clinching process was experimentally and numerically investigated. The tensile-shear strength of overlap-clinched joints was evaluated by tensile-shear test. This test also was used to study the deformation and failure of clinched joints under tensile-shear loading. The results showed that the higher press load has a great influence for achieving better interlocking between steel-aluminum hybrid structures. Insufficient interlocking and thin neck thickness lead to the failure of clinched joints. It also was confirmed that the most critical region of the clinching tool located at the radius corner of punch and die. Development of simplified engineering approaches based on numerical simulation and correlations with experimental data could be very beneficial to industrial applications.


Background: During transitional period from adolescent to adulthood significant changes occur in the personality and behavior of the individual which are determined mainly by genetics but transaction with social environment also plays a role. Hence adolescents living away from family in hostels of higher educational institutes may get influenced by the environment there in. This study investigated the perception of female students about the environment of hostels and its impact on personality development. Methods: A cross sectional survey was carried out in a public sector university through a questionnaire. The responses about the various effects of hostel life were measured on a 5-point likert scale. Two groups of the study participants were then created according to age and results were dichotomized for statistical analysis. Chi-square test was applied for comparison among the two study groups. Results: The results showed that from amongst the various factors enlisted in the questionnaire, management skills were most agreed characteristic (92%) achieved by residing in hostel. Similarly, expense management, emotional stability and public dealing were agreed upon by 86%, 85% and 86% respective-ly. While 199 out of 272 respondents confessed to gain confidence and 230 hostel residents realized that they became more groomed. The results were significant at p<.0001 for all study variables between two groups of respondents. A few undesirable aspects of hostel life were also identified yet a great majority of the girls were not hesitant in recommending hostel residence to other scholars. Conclusion: Hostel residence besides providing opportunity for higher education to the students of distant towns can modify the behavior and personality of the residents in a positive manner.


This paper examines the struggle for gender equality in serves Nigeria. It observes that despite Nigeria's ratification of virtually all international instruments on protection and promotion of gender rights and equality, she has failed to domesticate most of them. Consequently, this has slowed down the pace of women emancipation in Nigeria; it has also denied women right s activists in Nigeria a wider and stronger platform to agitate for the enforcement of women's right. This paper further highlights and examines inter-alia, the galaxies of gender discriminatory laws that still exist in the pages of Nigerian statue in Nigeria. The paper also observes that the gender inequalities in the system have occasioned an intense marginalization and subjugation of Nigerian women to the background, in virtually every sphere of life, the paper recommends new strategies to be adopted by gender right activist in combating these institutionalized discriminations. The strategic include, an urgent review of all gender discriminatory laws in Nigeria, sensitization of Nigeria women to their legal right through intensified aggressive advocacy and enlightenment, establishment of more gender violation monitoring agencies in Nigeria. The sensitization of Nigeria law enforcement agent and judges on the need for a stricter enforcement of women's right's, immediate abolition by the Nigeria government of all harmful culture practices that impede women's right's, an urgent domestication of all internationals treaties, Nigeria has ratified, and enactment of more specific gender friendly based legislations. Finally, a case is made for more appointment of women to hold political offices. The paper further researches should be channeled towards discovering the reason for the high level of complacency of Nigerian women to these persistent flagrant violations of their rights.


Over the past 10 years combined techniques such as small angle and wide angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) with X-ray diffraction (XRD), have become the mainstay of time resolved experimental studies carried out at synchrotron radiation sources (SRS). However, these techniques have been limited by the detectors used to measure the wide angle scattering/diffraction pattern, and therefore restrict the dynamic experiments that can be studied. The HOTWAXS (high overall throughput wide-angle X-ray scattering) detector project was designed to address this issue by producing a position sensitive, parallax free, high count rate, photon counting detector based on microstrip gas chamber (MSGC) technology. The initial experiments, performed on station 16.1 of the Daresbury SRS, with a high density polyethylene sample, confirmed the local count rate per channel to be 1times106 counts per second. A global count rate over the 512 channel detector of 27times106 counts per second was also measured for this sample. Time resolved experiments on stations 2.1 and 9.3 with real 'user' samples have also been performed, the results of which are presented.


The equivalent dipoles of cardiac electrical activity are determined either by minimizing the square deviation between the measured potential distribution and that generated by the dipoles or by comparing them through their multiple expansion coefficients. The two methods, called the direct and indirect method, respectively, are applied to the potential distribution obtained from a three-dimensional heart model composed of about 50000 unit cells, and the dipole locations thus obtained are compared to the mean location of the excitation fronts. When there is a single excitation front with simple shape, the equivalent dipole location obtained from the single-moving-dipole approximation coincides with the mean location of the excitation front. The coincidence is better with the direct method, but it needs longer calculation time than with the indirect method. For 25-30 ms after the onset of the ventricular depolarization, the excitation fronts have complicated shapes, and the deviations of the equivalent dipole locations from their mean locations become large even if the two-moving-dipole approximation is used.<<ETX>>


In a preceding paper we introduced a formalism to study the scattering of low intensity fields from a system of multi-level emitters embedded in a $3$D dielectric medium. Here we show how this photon-scattering relation can be used to analyze the scattering of single photons and weak coherent states from any generic multi-level quantum emitter coupled to a $1$D waveguide. The reduction of the photon-scattering relation to $1$D waveguides provides for the first time a direct solution of the scattering problem involving low intensity fields in the waveguide QED regime. To show how our formalism works, we consider examples of multi-level emitters and evaluate the transmitted and reflected field amplitude. Furthermore, we extend our study to include the dynamical response of the emitters for scattering of a weak coherent photon pulse. As our photon-scattering relation is based on the Heisenberg picture, it is quite useful for problems involving photo-detection in the waveguide architecture. We show this by considering a specific problem of state generation by photo-detection in a multi-level emitter, where our formalism exhibits its full potential. Since the considered emitters are generic, the $1$D results apply to a plethora of physical systems like atoms, ions, quantum dots, superconducting qubits, and nitrogen-vacancy centers coupled to a $1$D waveguide or transmission line.


The birth of organizational culture in Islamic educational institutions can not be separated from the typology of visionary leadership. Organizations are therefore defined as a rational tool for coordinating and controlling a group of people in the process of achieving goals. Leadership appears in the process by which a person directs, guides, influences and or controls the thoughts, feelings and behavior of others. In the world of education, especially Islamic education, leadership in an Islamic educational institution has a strategic position in bringing Islamic educational institutions in the direction desired by a leader. Therefore, both the bad image of Islamic educational institutions is determined by both the poor performance, ability and image of a leader in managing the organization. In relation to the influence of the leadership of an Islamic educational institution-the head of a madrasah-, visionary leadership is needed as a requirement to create the effectiveness and efficiency of educational institutions, especially Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 2 Probolinggo, improving the quality of madrassas and forming the image of Islamic educational institutions.
Keywords: Leadership Visionary and Organizational Culture


In a cylindrical cavity, the convection and entropy of the hybrid nanofluid were studied. We have introduced a rectangular fin inside the cylinder; the fin temperature is at Th. The right waving wall is cooled to Tc. The upper and lower walls are insulated. This study contains the induction of a constant magnetic field. The Galerkin finite element method (GFEM) is utilized to treat the controlling equations obtained by giving Rayleigh number values between Ra (103–106) and Hartmann number ratio Ha (0, 25, 50, 100) and Darcy ranging between Da (10−2–10−5) and the porosity ratio is ε (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8), and the size of the nanoparticles is ϕ (0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08). The range is essential for controlling both fluid flow and the heat transport rate for normal convection. The outcomes show how Da affects entropy and leads to a decline in entropy development. The dynamic and Nusselt mean diverge in a straight line. The domain acts in opposition to the magnetic force while flowing. Highest entropy-forming situations were found in higher amounts of Ra, Da, and initial values of Ha. Parameters like additive nanoparticles (ϕ) and porosity (ε) exert diagonal dominant trends with their improving values.


Rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA) provides a flexible and promising non-orthogonal multiple access paradigm which relies on splitting user messages into common and private parts and utilizing successive interference cancellation at the receivers. By doing so, the achievable degrees of freedom can be increased so that different frameworks are available, ranging from the infinite blocklength regime to the finite blocklength regime. The latter one attracted considerable attention over the fifth generation (5G) and beyond 5G networks in the context of short packet transmission. In this respect, data-oriented approach introduces a transient performance metric for small data transmissions where the amount of data and available bandwidth play an essential role in the performance evaluation. Motivated by this fact, this letter represents the first framework where a data-oriented approach is applied to downlink RSMA systems under finite blocklength regime. Particularly, the optimization of the RSMA downlink system in the context of the data-oriented approach is proposed and the numerical results show that data-oriented RSMA systems introduce an efficient design for multi-user short-packet transmissions.


This article concerns the calculation of equilibria of ligand binding to multiple sites in macromolecules in the presence of conformational flexibility and conformation‐dependent interaction among the sites. A formulation of this problem is presented in which global conformational changes are distinguished from conformational changes that are confined to "locally flexible regions." The formalism is quite general in that ligands of different types, multivalent binding sites, tautomeric binding sites, and sites that bind more than one type of ligand can be accommodated. Strictly speaking, the separation of the conformational problem into global and local parts does not impose any loss of generality, although in practice it is necessary to restrict the number of global and local conformers. Because of the combinatorics of binding and conformational states, the computational complexity of a problem having only local conformational flexibility grows exponentially with the number of sites and the number of locally flexible regions. An iterative mobile clustering method for cutting off this exponential growth and obtaining approximate solutions with low computational cost is presented and tested. In this method, a binding site is selected, and a "cluster" of strongly interacting sites is set up around it; within the cluster, the binding and conformational states are fully enumerated, whereas the influences of sites outside the cluster on the sites inside are treated by a mean field approximation. The procedure then moves to the next site around which another (possibly overlapping) cluster is formed and the calculation is repeated. The procedure iterates through the list of sites in this way, using the results of previous iterations for the mean‐field terms of current iterations until a convergence criterion is met. The method is tested on a large set of randomly generated problems of varying size, whose geometries are chosen to have protein‐like statistical properties. It is found that the method is accurate and rapid with the computational cost scaling linearly to quadratically with the number of sites, except for a minority of cases in which large clusters occur by chance. The new method is more accurate than a Monte Carlo method, and may be faster or slower depending on the clustering criteria and details of the macromolecule. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 20: 1091–1111, 1999


The production of biogas is positioned as energy which can not only generate a source of renewable energy but also which recycles waste. In the context of sustainable development, the place of biogas is therefore essential. Several questions about safety issues, the harmonization of the regulations and the need to develop standards are discussed in this paper, based on the results of a work- shop on biogas safety and regulation organized in No- vember 2010 and the activities of the European Working Group on Biogas Safety and Regulation created after the workshop. The risks corresponding to the biogas produc- tion and use have been framed using iNTeg-Risk method


An essentially all-metal cryostat employing a standard design Dewar and a couple of Araldite joints, for the deposition of thin films with substrates at liquid helium temperatures and for in situ studies, is described. Contrary to general opinion regarding the unsuitability of Araldite joints for vacuum systems, this system remains leak-tight even after numerous runs. The apparatus is especially useful for studying the electrical properties of amorphous multiple films-one deposited over the other, which are easily oxidized or contaminated on exposure to air.


Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in Saudi Arabia.
This study explored cardiac rehabilitation programs identifying gaps in practice, barriers and enablers to attending programs by exploring patient experiences and views of healthcare providers working in public hospitals. The findings reveal staff were not aware of programs in their departments, lacked training and there were language and communication barriers. Gender, cultural and background differences were factors in discontinuity of care, compounded by distance and transport problems for patients. A cardiac rehabilitation program was modeled for the Saudi context recommending multifaceted and multidisciplinary approaches.


This paper reviews the stability analysis of continuous-time fuzzy-modelbased (FMB) control systems, with emphasis on state-feedback control techniques, which is an essential issue received a great deal of attention in the fuzzy control community. It gives an overview of the milestones and the trend of developments and achievements for the past decades. Focusing on the stability analysis of FMB control systems, it summarizes the issues in the four fundamental and essential aspects, namely, the types of membershipfunction matching, types of Lyapunov functions, types of stability analysis and the techniques of stability analysis are discussed. To start with systematic discussion, the FMB control systems are categorized into three types of membership-function matching, namely, perfectly, partially and imperfectly matched premises, regarding the premise membership functions and the number of rules used in the fuzzy model and fuzzy controller which forms the FMB control system. The features of each category are thoroughly discussed from theoretical to practical point of view. Various types of Lyapunov functions available in the literature for conducting stability analysis and their characteristics are then reviewed. Especially, the focus of this paper is to promote the concept of membership-function-dependent (MFD) stability analysis, which makes use of the information of membership funcEmail address: email@example.com (H.K. Lam) URL: www.inf.kcl.ac.uk/staff/hklam (H.K. Lam) Preprint submitted to Engineering Applications of Artificial IntelligenceSeptember 28, 2017 tions aiming to relax the stability conditions compared with the dominant membership-function-independent (MFI) stability analysis in the literature. The techniques for MFI and MFD stability analysis are then discussed in details, which provide some solid ideas to analyze the stability of FMB control systems. More importantly, it sheds light on the fact that MFD stability analysis demonstrates a greater potential than the MFI one for relaxing the conservativeness of stability analysis results, which points a promising research direction for this topic. The purposes of this paper are to provide a comprehensive update for the stability analysis of FMB control systems to the researchers in the field and serve as a quick guide for the potential researchers who want to enter the field.


Free-piston engine generator is a novel energy conversion system, which is known to have advantages of variable compression ratio and variable fuel. The free-piston must be controlled to overcome challenges like misfire, after-combustion, and other abnormal combustion in the starting process, as well as to prevent the piston from colliding with the cylinder head. This article proposes a control strategy based on the combustion state for the cold start-up process of single-cylinder two-stroke free-piston engine generator. The combustion state is judged based on in-cylinder pressure at the early beginning of expansion stroke, and the duration and direction of coil current are adjusted to ensure the aimed bottom turning center of the stroke. A control-oriented model including the cold start-up combustion model of the prototype is presented, and the control strategy is verified by the experiment of the prototype. The results show that the free-piston engine generator can start successfully and overcome abnormal combustion during the cold start-up process.


Myxococcus xanthus is a gram-negative bacterium which, upon starvation, undergoes a spectacular developmental cycle culminating in the formation of spore-filled fruiting bodies. We recently characterized a protein serine-threonine kinase (Pkn1) that is required for normal development (J. Munoz-Dorado, S. Inouye, and M. Inouye, Cell 67:995-1006, 1991). pkn1 was cloned by polymerase chain reaction amplification with primers designed from conserved sequences in eukaryotic protein kinases. In this study, a fragment of the pkn1 gene and an oligonucleotide corresponding to another highly conserved region were employed as probes for Southern blot analyses, which indicated that there are at least 26 putative kinase genes in M. xanthus. Most of the putative kinase genes were cloned, and complete or partial sequencing of eight clones revealed that they indeed contained highly conserved sequences present in eukaryotic kinases. These results suggest that complex kinase cascades similar to those described for eukaryotes might be involved in regulation of the M. xanthus life cycle.


An engineered approach which uses the collective wisdom of the Clinical Engineering profession has been applied at the grass-roots level successfully in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The success of this approach has allowed this technology management model to be expanded to provide leadership and support at the policy/bureaucratic level of the Department of Health and Social Services.


Transitional changes of the ruminal bacterial community structure in cows during the switch from roughage to high-grain diet were monitored by PCR amplification and sequencing of 16S rDNA clone libraries. In total, one hundred fifty 16S rDNA sequences of almost full-length (1.4 kb) were analysed from three libraries prepared from the rumen fluid on day 0, 3, and 28 of switch to high-grain diet. In the first library (day 0, hay diet) of 51clones, 90.2% of sequences were belonging to the low G+C Gram-positive bacteria (LGCGPB) phylum, with the minor inclusion of theCytophaga-Flavobacter-Bacteroides (CFB;3.9%), Proteobacteria (3.9%) and high G+C Gram-positive bacteria (HGCGPB;2.0%) phyla-related sequences. Six LGCGPB sequences were clustered with the well-known cellulolytics of the rumen, Ruminococcus flavefaciens and R. albus. In the second library (day 3 of high-grain diet) of 58 clones, the LGCGPB-related sequences still dominated (72.4%), albeit being represented by other species than in the first library. In particular, this library was enriched by representatives of Selenomonas-Succiniclasticum-Megasphaera group IX (17.2%), lactobacilli- (6.9%) and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens lineage 3-related (8.6%) sequences. Other phyla were represented by CFB (22.4%) and HGCGPB (3.4%). In the third library (day 28 of high-grain diet) of 41 clones, 95% of sequences fell into the LGCGPB phylum. About half of them (46%) were clustered within theSelenomonas-Succiniclasticum-Megasphaera group in Clostridium cluster IX. No HGCGPB-related sequences were detected and CFB was represented by only a single clone. No Streptococcus bovis -related sequences were detected in any of the three clone libraries.


Abstract Aaron Einbond was born in New York in 1978. He received his compositional education in the US (Harvard, University of California, Berkeley), the UK (Cambridge, Royal College of Music) and France (IRCAM), and his teachers have included Mario Davidovsky, Julian Anderson, Edmund Campion and Philippe Leroux. He currently teaches music composition, sound and technology at City University, London. He is interested in applications of technology within instrumental music, and almost all of his works combine electronics and acoustic instruments. Since 2007 – beginning with his piece Beside Oneself for viola and electronics (first performed by Ellen Ruth Rose), composed while studying at the University of California, Berkeley – he has also used audio analysis and retrieval software to transcribe recorded sounds into instrumental notation. Einbond's interest in phonographic transcription connects his work to that of other composers of his generation, including Patricia Alessandrini, Joanna Bailie, Richard Beaudoin and Cassandra Miller. (It also finds precedents in a wider musical interest in forms of transcription that one can find in the music of composers as diverse as Peter Ablinger, Luciano Berio and Michael Finnissy.) What makes Einbond's work distinctive is his focus on timbre as a musical parameter, rather than more abstract or easily quantifiable values such as pitch.


Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) is an important cool-season, annual forage crop for the grassland rotation system in Southern China. The primary aim of breeding programs is always to seek to improve forage quality in the animal productivity system; however, it is time- and labor-consuming when analyzed excessive large number of samples. The main objectives of this study were to construct near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) models to predict the forage chemistry quality of Italian ryegrass including the concentrations of crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and water soluble carbohydrate (WSC). The results showed that a broader range of CP, NDF, ADF and WSC contents (%DM) were obtained (4.45–30.60, 21.29–60.47, 11.66–36.17 and 3.95–51.52, respectively) from the samples selected for developing NIRS models. In addition, the critical wavelengths identified in this study to construct optimal NIRS models were located in 4,247–6,102 and 4,247–5,450 cm-1 for CP and NDF content, and both wavelengths 5,446–6,102 and 4,247–4,602 cm-1 could for ADF and WSC. Finally, the optimal models were developed based on the laboratory data and the spectral information by partial least squares (PLS) regression, with relatively high coefficients of determination (R2CV, CP = 0.99, NDF = 0.94, ADF = 0.92, WSC = 0.88), ratio of prediction to devitation (RPD, CP = 8.58, NDF = 4.25, ADF = 3.64, WSC = 3.10). The further statistics of prediction errors relative to laboratory (PRL) and the range error ratio (RER) give excellent assessments of the models with the PRL ratios lower than 2 and the RER values greater than 10. The NIRS models were validated using a completely independent set of samples and have coefficients of determination (R2V, CP = 0.99, NDF = 0.91, ADF = 0.95, WSC = 0.91) and ratio of prediction to deviation (RPD, CP = 9.37, NDF = 3.44, ADF = 4.40, WSC = 3.39). The result suggested that routine screening for forage quality parameters with large numbers of samples is available with the NIRS model in Italian ryegrass breeding programs, as well as facilitating graziers to monitor the forage development stage for improving grazing efficiency.


Examination was made of 750 scapular dry bone specimens from museum collections and 80 cadaver shoulders. Hooking of the acromion was not found in subjects under the age of 30 years. The hooked configuration developed at later ages in an increasing proportion of subjects as a result of calcification of the acromial attachment of the coracoacromial ligament.


In this paper, we describe a formulation and EM method to fuse heterogeneous sensor data for localizing and identifying objects. The heterogeneous sensors are such as cameras, RFID readers and range finders. They are different from each other in degree of accuracy of localizing and identifying objects. Errors in identifying objects is a problem which makes localization difficult. We formulate a localization and identification problem with a hidden variable R which describes associations between objects and observed values. We estimate objects' positions and the association vector R by an EM algorithm. We illustrate the algorithm in a case of using simulated cameras and RFID readers. Experimental results show that our method can localize and identify objects more accurately than other methods without the R


Charles Eastman, in collaboration with his wife, Elaine Goodale Eastman, has assembled in this collection a composite, condensed sampling of his tribe's values, and presents them in a language that is at once direct and engaging. To say these allegories are 'wise' begs the question; they are the distilled conclusions of generations upon gen-erations of Plains society and point to the essence of what it is to be a decent, thoughtful, respectable human being - a Sioux Tao told in prose a child of any culture, of any time, can comprehend. Charles A. Eastman (Ohiyesa) (1858-1939) was a mixed-blood Sioux who became one of the best-known Indians of his time. He earned a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth and a medical degree from Boston University. From his first appointment as a physician at Pine Ridge Agency; where he witnessed the events that culminated in the Wounded Knee massacre, he sought to bring understanding between Native and non-Native Americans. He wrote eleven books, some, such as "Sister to the Sioux" (also available as a Bison Book), in collaboration with Elaine Goodale Eastman. His "From the Deep Woods to Civilization: Chapters in the Autobiography of an Indian, Indian Boy-hood", "Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains", "Old Indian Days", and "The Soul of the Indian: An Interpretation" are all available as Bison Books.


The design of next-generation undersea weapon systems involves optimizing over many competing disciplines and objectives, and requires a broad range of technical expertise that is not resident within a single organization. Thus, the optimization and development of these systems requires the involvement of multiple government, academic, and commercial organizations. This paper provides lessonslearned as a result of a four-year effort in the Simulation Based Design (SBD) of undersea weapons. During this timeframe, Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC), Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), and Applied Research Laboratory/Penn State University (ARL/PSU) have explored different methods of collaborating across the organizations, and have identified many sources of friction hindering the collaboration. Some are well known, such as file incompatibility between CAD systems. Others are less studied but more fundamental, such as cultural differences between organizations. In order to facilitate collaboration and ultimately support the change in paradigm of acquisition, each must be addressed and resolved.


International capital markets linkages have been studied since early 90-es. Most of these studies have mainly focused on the US and other developed markets. There were only a few researches on this topic in the emerging markets. This paper examines the dynamic linkages among Indonesian and other Pacific-Basin stock markets using correlation analysis, Granger-causality and vector autoregressive (VAR) approach. All the methods give generally similar results. Our empirical results indicate a high degree of International co-movement among the stock price indices. The degree of integration among these markets after Asian Crisis increased substantially in compare to those before Asian Crisis. The results also show that there are close relationships among the geographically and economically closed markets such as ASEAN markets, New Zealand-Australian and also Hong Kong - South Korea. The pattern of impulse-response functions illustrates a rapid transmission of stock market events. Shocks in the developed markets are immediately transmitted to other markets. Shocks in the emerging markets are also transmitted to other markets, but without such a big effect comparing to those in the developed markets. The Jakarta stock exchange is strongly correlated with other Pacific-Basin markets, especially with ASEAN markets, Hong Kong and Australia. The strongest foreign effects for the JSX come from Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand. They can explain about 5 – 8% of error variance of the Jakarta Index. In contrast, the JSX index can explain 3 - 5 % of their error variances.


In a world of pervasive media and ubiquitous computing, this article asks what happens as everything (objects, subjects, and actions) moves toward animation across a network. How do media and mediation affect our sense of agency? I argue that the contemporary subject, as described by real-world media practice and animated film, exists within a space of accelerated mediation that distorts self-perception. I use the example of A Scanner Darkly, the 2006 Richard Linklater film, to discuss the effects of pervasive media and how it affects the parameters of self-reflection and agency. The importance of A Scanner Darkly to my argument is that it provides a vision of pervasive mediation in which subjects and objects collide. In A Scanner Darkly, I focus on the use of rotoscoping animation as visual effect and conceptual filter. Effectively, as I argue, animation is used in this case to illustrate the loss of face-to-face engagement – the impossibility of the unmediated encounter. In the first section of the article, I conceptualize a networked subject in reference to the film's rendition of a subject adrift in a field of mediation. In the second section, I contrast this vision with a formulation of networked subjectivity that engages modalities of mediated presence to explore issues of agency in light of a technologically animated environment. The question I ask is: if as a society we are subjected to a pervasive mediation, how may we imagine modes of agency within an animated world?


With its unique capabilities, the optical fiber Bragg grating has been used as a key component in the development of many sensors. Incorporating the theory of thin plates, the authors have developed an FBG-based pressure sensor by strategically attaching FBGs on the surface of a thin circular plate. The flexural strain in the circular plate induced by pressure applied to the circular plate is sensed by either a single FBG placed radially crossing a neutral point, or two FBGs placed respectively in zones where the strains are of opposite signs. When one FBG is used (i.e., the chirped FBG design), the applied pressure relates to the change in the chirped bandwidth of the FBG reflected waveform. When two FBGs are used (i.e., the differential FBG design), the pressure experienced by the circular plate is correlated to the difference in central wavelength from the two FBGs. In either case the sensing mechanism is immune to temperature fluctuation. The same configuration can potentially be applied for other purposes such as a load cell or displacement transducer. This paper describes the design principles of the FBG pressure sensor and demonstrates its capabilities through laboratory calibrations over a wide range of temperatures.