Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether damage to the physis, articular cartilage, medial collateral ligament (MCL) and medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) can be avoided during femoral tunnel drilling in an anatomic, all-epiphyseal double-bundle (DB) reconstruction of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in the skeletally immature knee using three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction modelling. Methods CT scans of eight male skeletally immature cadaveric knee specimens between the ages 5 and 11 years were used to create eight 3D models of paediatric femurs. Using these 3D models, 5 mm, 6 mm and 7 mm tunnels were placed in the anatomic footprints of the anterolateral (AL) and posteromedial (PM) bundles, simulating an outside-in technique. Both full-length and a predetermined socket length were simulated in various trajectories to achieve the following goals: (1) avoid the femoral physis and periphyseal ring; (2) create adequate spacing (≥2 mm) between the tunnels to avoid significant tunnel convergence in the PCL footprint; (3) avoid articular cartilage of trochlea and medial condyle; and (4) avoid the femoral origin of the MCL and MPFL. Results In all eight models, both tunnels could be placed in the PCL origin without damaging the physis, articular cartilage, MCL or MPFL. There was an adequate bone bridge (≥2 mm) between the two tunnels in ages 7–11 with a 6–7 mm AL tunnel and a 5–6 mm PM tunnel, as well as the 5-year-old model, using a 6 mm and 5 mm AL and PM tunnel, respectively. Conclusion This computer-aided design model demonstrated that 5 mm, 6 mm and 7 mm all-epiphyseal tunnels can be placed within the footprint of the PCL while avoiding direct injury to the femoral physis, articular cartilage, MCL and MPFL. By understanding the location and trajectory of tunnel and socket placement, DB PCL reconstruction may be performed in skeletally immature knees without causing damage to the distal femoral physis and surface ligament footprints. Level of evidence IV.


Mathematics learning disabilities (LD) have gained increased attention over the last decade from both researchers and practitioners. A large percentage of students receiving learning disability services experience difficulties with mathematics, but little research has examined the specific mathematics behaviors of students with LD who have teacher-identified math weaknesses. This study examines the literature on mathematics LD and identifies specific behaviors from that body of research for the purpose of determining the extent to which those behaviors are observed in students with LD. Data are presented from observations of 391 special education professionals on 1724 students with LD, 870 of whom had identified math weaknesses and 854 of whom did not. Our results validate the existing literature and provide implications for teachers, researchers, and others interested in studying mathematics LD.


After urea treatment of crop residue, Ammonia- Nitrogen (NH3-N) is dissociated and lost in the atmosphere reducing the nutritional potential of this treatment. The objectives of present study were to examine the effects of enzose, molasses, acidified molasses and acidified water on NH3-N retention in urea treated corncobs and their influence on feed intake, ruminal characteristics, digestion kinetics and nitrogen balance in buffalo bulls and growth performance in sheep. Nitrogen contents were increased in corncobs ensiled with enzose. In situ ruminal degradabilities and total tract digestibilities in fistulated buffalo bulls were significantly higher with urea treated corncobs ensiled with enzose and acidified molasses than those ensiled with other additives. The results were accompanied with increased intake better intake and N balance but with slow NH3 release. Enzose treatment remained at the top. Then 5% urea treated corncobs ensiled with 5% enzose were added in rations @ 30, 35 & 40% of DM. Ration containing treated material @ 40% resulted in better nutrient intake, digestibility, N balance and growth in Lohi sheep.


Deep learning has shown impressive performance on challenging perceptual tasks. However, researchers found deep neural networks vulnerable to adversarial examples. Since then, many methods are proposed to defend against or detect adversarial examples, but they are either attackdependent or shown to be ineffective with new attacks. We propose DAFAR, a feedback framework that allows deep learning models to detect adversarial examples in high accuracy and universality. DAFAR has a relatively simple structure, which contains a target network, a plugin feedback network and an autoencoder-based detector. The key idea is to capture the high-level features extracted by the target network, and then reconstruct the input using the feedback network. These two parts constitute a feedback autoencoder. It transforms the imperceptibleperturbation attack on the target network directly into obvious reconstruction-error attack on the feedback autoencoder. Finally the detector gives an anomaly score and determines whether the input is adversarial according to the reconstruction errors. Experiments are conducted on MNIST and CIFAR-10 data-sets. Experimental results show that DAFAR is effective against popular and arguably most advanced attacks without losing performance on legitimate samples, with high accuracy and universality across attack methods and parameters.


A newly developed fluorescence detector cell for capillary electrophoresis was described. Detection of analytes having fluorescence is performed in an on-capillary mode with a xenon are lamp. A grating monochromator was used for the selection of the excitation wavelength. Fluorescence emission was monitored by collection of light from the capillary using a newly devised detector cell positioned at right angle to the excitation beam. Emission wavelengths were isolated using a filter and amplified with a photomultiplier. The detection limits obtained using the newly devised detector cell for amino acids and carbohydrates labeled with a fluorescent reagent were compared with that obtained using a conventional quartz detector cell. The results indicated that 100 nM and 4 microM of amino acids and oligosaccharides labeled with 9-fluorenymethyl chloro-formate and 2-aminopyridine, respectively, could be detected with the newly devised detector cell, in contrast to no signals with the conventional quartz detector cell. The separation and detection of fluorescent derivatives of amino acids, peptides, monosaccharides and oligosaccharides were also performed and an appropriate linearity was observed in a detector response of the samples within the constant concentration.


The chemical manifestations of orbital interactions through four sigma-bonds in the base-induced and -directed reactions of monosulfonated tratis-perhydronaphthalene- and norbornane-1,4-diols are discussed. Through-bond interactions (TBI) and sigma-participation are the most important stereoelectronic effects which principally determine their reactivity. Dependent on the geometry of the relaying C-C bonds, these compounds react by three chief pathways: rearrangement, elimination, and homofragmentation. Substituents at carbon atoms adjacent to the carbon atom bearing the sulfonate ester group increase the contribution of sigma-participation, which-is expressed in a higher reactivity of these compounds. In cases where the ideal W arrangement is not distorted by alkyl substituents, the co-operation of TBI and sigma- participation results in a fast homofragmentation. Through-space interactions (TSI), if occurring next to TBI, have only a modest influence on the reactivity of these compounds. Secondary monosulfonate esters of rigid 1,4-diols do show these typical reactions after induced ionization but the ionization of primary sulfonate esters can not be induced in a similar way. The results obtained from the reactions on monomesylated cholestane-3,7-diols, as model systems for cyclic 1,5-diol monosulfonate esters, show that chemical consequences of TBI and sigma-participation still can be observed in these systems, but play only a minor role in their reaction patterns. Applications of reaction strategies in which orbital interactions through four sigma-bonds play an essential role are demonstrated in the total syntheses of cis-fused guaiane sesquiterpenes, alloaromadendrenes, alpha-santalanes and marasmanes.


We study the stability of cosmological scaling solutions within the class of spatially homogeneous cosmological models with a perfect fluid subject to the equation of state pγ = (γ − 1)ργ (where γ is a constant satisfying 0 < γ < 2) and a scalar field with an exponential potential. The scaling solutions, which are spatially flat isotropic models in which the scalar field energy density tracks that of the perfect fluid, are of physical interest. For example, in these models a significant fraction of the current energy density of the Universe may be contained in the scalar field whose dynamical effects mimic cold dark matter. It is known that the scaling solutions are late-time attractors (i.e., stable) in the subclass of flat isotropic models. We find that the scaling solutions are stable (to shear and curvature perturbations) in generic anisotropic Bianchi models when γ < 2/3. However, when γ > 2/3, and particularly for realistic matter with γ ≥ 1, the scaling solutions are unstable; essentially they are unstable to curvature perturbations, although they are stable to shear perturbations. We briefly discuss the physical consequences of these results.


New anatomical information, provided by reinterpretation of the pectoral girdle and exposure of previously unprepared portions of the holotype, reveals that the early tetrapod Archerpeton anthracos (Westphalian A of Joggins, Nova Scotia) is a microsaurian lepospondyl, rather than a reptile, as originally described. Archerpeton anthracos is similar to another Joggins microsaur, Asaphestera intermedia, from which it is distinguished by autapomorphies of the appendicular skeleton. The discovery that A. anthracos is a microsaur increases the number of lepospondyls at Joggins to six species and reduces the number of amniotes to two species, Hylonomus lyelli and Protoclepsydrops haplous.


Widest spanning tree is a broadcast tree with its bottleneck link bandwidth maximized. It provides a cost effective broadcasting solution in multi-channel multi-interface wireless mesh networks. To find the widest spanning tree, existing algorithms jointly consider channel assignment, routing and scheduling while assuming the number of network interface cards (NICs) at each node is given. In this paper, we treat the number of NICs at each node as a design parameter, whereas the total number of NICs in the system is given. By properly placing more NICs to more "critical" nodes, the bandwidth of the spanning tree can be further increased. To this end, a new Integer Linear Programming (ILP) is formulated for solving the widest spanning tree problem based on joint optimization of interface placement, channel assignment, routing and scheduling. Numerical results show that interface placement provides a significant boost to the bandwidth of the widest spanning tree found.


In this research the social media communications of the Swedish Embassies in London, Paris, Belgrade and Zagreb have been studied. All Swedish Embassies have been using Facebook and Twitter since it was declared in Statement of Government Policy in 2013. The aim is to evaluate how Twitter and Facebook have been utilised so far, what topics are highlighted, and provide ideas how to make the full advantage of social media as a foreign policy tool.The research data was gathered using both qualitative and quantitative methods: an interview with the Head of Digital Diplomacy at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and the Communication Specialists at the four Swedish Embassies. Information from the missions Facebook and Twitter accounts from a period of two months was collected using quantitative content analysis, along with Anholt's model of Competitive Identity.The results showed that the four Embassies are all using social media channels daily, with Twitter more actively than Facebook. The Embassies' social media communication covers mainly cultural topics, especially on Facebook. Twitter is used more for policy related topics, but culture still dominates both channels. Instead of using Facebook and Twitter as individual channels, they are often used as a platform with a link to other websites.Most of the Embassies' social media posts were informative, which seems to work in Twitter, but it is notable that in Facebook, more personal and informal updates gained more popularity and engagement from the public. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the missions wishing to engage on social media, need to seek ways to communicate informally and personally on Facebook, while concentrating on Twitter on information to the public.


Background: The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly affected healthcare systems. Down syndrome (DS) is a chronic disease caused by trisomy of chromosome 21 which is associated with a variety of medical problems such as autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) that necessitate comprehensive routine treatment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increasing an unavailability, which became an impediment to chronic disease patients' drug consumption. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the barriers to medication adherence faced by DS patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An observational analytic study was conducted from January to July 2021 among parents of DS patients who registered in the pediatric endocrinology outpatient clinic of Dr. Soetomo General Hospital. Inclusion criteria include: The parents of DS with AITD patients aged 1 - 18 years who came to the pediatric endocrinology polyclinic, routinely took oral medication before March 2020, can fill out questionnaire forms independently, and signed the informed consent. Exclusion criteria were parents of DS patients who did not take regular medication, or started treatment after March 2020. Data were collected and analyzed using the Wilcoxon comparison test Results: There are 31 DS patients responded and completed the questionnaires. Adherence to hospital visits in DS with AITD patients before and during the COVID-19 pandemic showed significant differences (P = 0.001). The main barriers to follow-up visits during the pandemic were lockdown protocol which made travel difficult (28%). The compliance for taking medication was still high although 13 (41.9%) obtained the medicine without a prescription. Conclusions: Changes in terms of medication adherence during the pandemic have highlighted the importance of improving DS patient's access to healthcare. Shifting medication counseling to the nearest primary health care provider with supervision from a tertiary referral specialist appears to be a reasonable and potentially cost-effective strategy in improving treatment adherence especially in a pandemic setting.


A new formulation for multifrequency electromagnetic scattering problems involving homogeneous or inhomogeneous bodies is introduced and discussed. The formulation is developed using the shifted-frequency internal equivalence in the construction of the internal equivalence in the scattering problem. With this approach, the equivalent currents for the internally equivalent problem radiate a chosen fixed frequency which is different from the frequency of the incident wave. These equivalent currents are functions of the incident and shifted frequencies, material parameters, and the total field inside the body and on its boundary. A combination of this internally equivalent problem with an externally equivalent one, so as to match the tangential fields at the boundary of the body, results in the new formulation. The formulation and its application to generate multifrequency data using internal data generated at a single frequency in a volume-surface integral-equation approach utilizing the method of moments in the solution are explained and exemplified using a simple inhomogeneous slab problem.


Institutional support for the older persons in the form of old age homes is a western concept. Although institutional care for the destitute has always existed in India but, for the elderly especially as an alternative living arrangement is a recent concept and a viable option. The requirements of institutionalization cannot be denied for those elderly who are neither able to manage their own affairs nor do they have any person to look after them. It also fulfils the affective needs of elderly to live with the same age group. Various stakeholders like NGOs, Welfare Department of the Government; Religious societies play an important role in establishment and effective management of these homes in providing facilities and services to the elderly. Old age homes offer a continuum of lifetime care for elderly with acess to various services including food, health, personal asssitance. This paper outlines the case studies of three Old Age Homes in terms of their provision of facilities and services. The paper tries to highlight some interventions that are being organised for the elderly. The findings suggest that there exist a vast scope of intervention that can be taken up at these homes for the welfare of the elderly people. The paper will suggest a roadmap for future need based interventions and activities that can be taken up for the elderly in these homes.


It is reported that stable glycosyl sulfonium salts can be generated via direct anomeric S-methylation of ethylthioglycosides. Mechanistically, this pathway represents the first step in the activation of thioglycosides for glycosidation; however, it can further allow for the synthesis and isolation of quasi-stable sulfonium ions, representing a new approach for studying these key intermediates.


AIMS AND BACKGROUND
The study aimed to validate model-based incidence estimates by means of observed incidence rates provided by Italian cancer registries, for five major cancer sites (stomach, colon and rectum, lung, breast and prostate cancers) and for all cancers together.

METHODS
Recent incidence rates observed by Italian population-based cancer registries were extracted from the data base of the Italian Association of Cancer Registries. Regional estimates of incidence rates for the same cancers were obtained by the MIAMOD method. Observed and estimated crude incidence rates and incidence trends were compared for the period of diagnosis 1985-2000. Eight Italian cancer registries and seven regions were selected for the analysis since they had incidence data available during the entire selected period.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
An excellent agreement between estimated and observed crude incidence rates was found for all single cancer sites, regarding absolute incidence levels and time trends. A partial exception was breast, where empirical data showed a sudden increase in the last three years of observation, perhaps due to organized screenings in some Italian regions, and not captured by statistical models. Substantial underestimation of model-based incidence rates was found for all cancers combined, where the difference tended to increase with calendar year, up to a maximum of 20% in recent years. The greatest part of the discrepancy can be attributed to multiple cancers, which were included in cancer registries statistics but were not accounted for in MIAMOD estimates.


The modern development of industrial production is closely connected with the use of science-based and high technologies to ensure competitiveness of the manufactured products on the world market. There is also much tension around an energy- and resource saving problem which can be solved while introducing new technological processes and  creation of new materials that provide productivity increase through automation and improvement of tool life. Development and implementation of such technologies are rather often considered as time-consuming processes  which are connected with complex calculations and experimental investigations. Implementation of a simulation modelling for materials processing using modern software products serves an alternative to experimental and theoretical methods of research. The aim of this paper is to compare experimental results while obtaining bimetallic samples of a forming tool through the method of speed hot extrusion and the results obtained with the help of computer simulation using DEFORM-3D package and a finite element method. Comparative analysis of plastic flow of real and model samples has shown that the obtained models provide high-quality and reliable picture of plastic flow during high-speed hot extrusion. Modeling in DEFORM-3D make it possible to eliminate complex calculations and significantly reduce a number of experimental studies while developing new technological processes.


This paper appraised the implementation process of Koha Integrated Library Management Software (ILMS) at the Babcock University (B.U.) Library, Nigeria. The software installation, data entry and data migration were successfully done and usage of the software began instantly. This study adopted a survey design using questionnaire as the instrument for gathering of data. It enumerates the experiences of B.U. Library in the implementation of Koha ILS using a total of 17 librarians and 24 technical staff that were part of the implementation program to illicit information. It explains strategies towards efficient migration of data from X-Lib to Koha, and elements responsible for adequate utilization of ILS. Analysis of data was only on challenges to the implementation program and strategies for successful implementation of Koha. This research was a result of the experiences of B.U. Library documented to support libraries. The software continues to receive improvement and upgrade by the user community worldwide. However, this research only describes the progress made and challenges faced on the implementation from June 2010. This research established no major problem since the implementation of the software at Babcock University Library. Library staff and majority of the library users have commended the decision of the University Library for installing dynamic software like Koha. Finding on Table 1 revealed that erratic power supply and insufficient manpower were bane for the smooth running of the software. It was also established on table 2 that ILS be incorporated as a course to be taught in the department of Information Resources Management (IRM) of Babcock University in order to train people who will manage the software. Moreover, 100% of the respondents agreed that seminars and workshops be organized. In addition, an effective collaboration between the ICT unit and the University Library was also seen as an advantage. This work was based on facts and experiences gathered before and during the implementation period. It elaborates the basics and suggests steps toward successful implementation of ILS. It is intended to serve as stepping stone for libraries especially in Nigeria that are in dare need to implement automation software. Key word: Koha; Data migration; Library automation; Integrated library software; Babcock University; Open source; ICT


Introduction: Venous lake (VL) is characterized by vascular proliferation, clinically evidenced as а soft tumor with redbluish color. If traumatized VL are prone to hemorrhage and their treatment usually requires caution to prevent bleeding. In the last decade lasers have changed the treatment options of VL permitting the application of non-surgical techniques that reduced the hemorrhage risks and unpleasant tissue deformities. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcome after non-contact laser assisted technique for management of VL. Materials and methods: Ten patients (3 men and 7 women) with VL on the lip were treated using a non-contact mode and power output of 2-3 W in continuous wave). The laser used in this study is a diode laser (LiteMedics, Italy, 980nm) selected due to its great affinity to hemoglobin. Results: After only one session, all lesions were successfully treated. Healing was completed in approximately 2 to 3 weeks, and none of the patients experienced complications. Postoperative discomfort and scarring were not present. Conclusions: Non-contact photocoagulation with diode laser is an effective, minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of VL. As usual in laser surgery to optimize the results and to reduce the risks and disadvantages, principle knowledge on laser devices and laser-tissue interaction is conditional.


Introduction
In many developed societies, children in poverty make up a significant minority across education sectors estimated to be 21% of children in the UK and 22% in the USA. Globally, ECEC has been prioritized as a key policy and practice lever to remediate child poverty by reducing the
'outcomes gap' in children's learning and development. Experiencing poverty has a negative effect, particularly for children in the early years range, and children in poverty are disadvantaged in their learning and development by the age of five years. An evidence base suggests quality ECEC provision can address educational and social inequality by improving outcomes for children in poverty.
But what constitutes quality early learning provision and
environments for children and their families experiencing poverty remains highly contested.
With such a significant minority of children experiencing disadvantage, though, for ECEC provision to have 'quality' it needs to be poverty sensitive. So provision should be characterized by poverty sensitivity and it should be
poverty proofed i.e. ECEC practitioners' delivery, practice and decision making will take poverty, social disadvantage and inequality into account in their everyday provision for children from disadvantaged families. Research, hough, which has considered early education practitioners' opinions on child poverty is rare and recent small -scale qualitative research completed by members of this research team has suggested poverty sensitivity cannot be assumed (Simpson et al,2015). The research reported here built up on this previous work to provide a broad -scale and unique exploration of ECEC practitioners' opinions about child poverty. Within the context described above, he central aim of the research was to develop knowledge of early education practitioners' opinions about child poverty and the extent to which they prioritize it in their practice across several geographic locations in England and the USA. The proposed research hoped to move beyond the restrictions of a country by country sui generis approach, allowing for translocal and transnational connections to be made between early education practitioners' opinions and engagement with child poverty and its remediation. There were good reasons for choosing to focus upon England and the USA to explore these issues. Increasingly there are parallels and points of tangency between the two countries in regard to child poverty and policies to remediate its impact in early childhood. For instance, as indicated above, there are currently high levels of child poverty in the UK and the USA
in comparison with other developed nations. Convergence includes prioritizing ECEC as a social mechanism to address
child poverty across both countries (Nandy and Minujin 2012). In England and the USA and many other countries,
a dominant neoliberal political discourse emphasizing individualism and limited state involvement pervades this prioritizing. ECEC is delivered via a mixed market model including a significant amount of private for profit provision, the costs of which are relatively high in both countries and prohibitive for low income families. Within the US this has necessitated federal and state level programmes. Across England several national schemes can also be seen to cater for those that are excluded from the ECEC market. In meeting the aim mentioned above the following objectives were achieved. The first objective was to ascertain and contrast early education practitioners' opinions about child poverty in a selection of geographic locations across England and the USA. The second objective was then to clarify the extent to which these ECEC practitioners engage with (or not) poverty sensitivity in their practice. The third objective was, through the research, to provide a mechanism for bringing practitioners' opinions to current policy, practice and academic debates around the role of early education in remediating child poverty. A final objective was to draw out wider implications for early education policy and practice including the possible need for poverty proofing toolkits in the early years.


The potash mine in the Asse salt structure, now used as repository for nuclear waste, is in some parts going to be refilled for mechanical stability reasons. As a part of that work, old blind shafts were prepared and offer the option for ground penetrating radar (GPR) measurements on vertical profiles in the mine. Horizontal profiles can be carried out in accessible drifts at the margin of the mine. The salt structure has mainly been explored from the surface by seismic measurements and boreholes. Due to the accuracy of these investigations and the openings and drifts inside the mine, the geological composition of the salt structure is known. East of the mine, the geological model is based on little information. Therefore, boreholes were drilled in that region and direction sensitive borehole tools provide additional structural knowledge. Vertical, horizontal and radial profiles in the mine have allowed imaging the complex geological structural information by mapping distance and direction of reflecting objects. With these results, a three dimensional geological model of the salt structures can now be optimized. This project is conceived and controlled by the operator of the mine the German Federal company BGE (Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung). BGR is commissioned amongst others for GPR measurements.


Combined heat and power (CHP) systems are able to increase the total energy use of primary energy sources. In the CHP system studied, internal combustion engines produce electricity and the hot engine cooling water is used for the heating of buildings. However, there is still waste heat left which can be fed to an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) to produce electricity. The objective of this study is to design an economic optimal ORC system taking into account the variable load for heating and the change in ambient temperature during a year. Also the auxiliary equipment such as pumps and fans are considered. A thermodynamic steady-state model is developed to simulate the changing behavior hour-by-hour of the complete system in different operating conditions. The ORC efficiency varies strongly over a year. The model allows selecting the optimal size of the heat exchangers (condenser and evaporator), the optimal mass flow rates and the maximal power of fans and pumps needed for the considered application.


Recent works have demonstrated non-line of sight (NLOS) reconstruction by using the time-resolved signal from multiply scattered light. These works combine ultrafast imaging systems with computation, which back-projects the recorded space-time signal to build a probabilistic map of the hidden geometry. Unfortunately, this computation is slow, becoming a bottleneck as the imaging technology improves. In this work, we propose a new back-projection technique for NLOS reconstruction, which is up to a thousand times faster than previous work, with negligible quality loss.


Submitted for the MAR10 Meeting of The American Physical Society First-Principles Design of Conductance Switching in Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes ELISE LI, NICOLAS POILVERT, NICOLA MARZARI, MIT — Functionalization of SWNT through addition reactions represents an effective method to engineer or manipulate carbon nanotubes. For armchair CNTs,the conductivity is often decreased by orders of magnitude by the introduction of monovalent functional groups which disrupt the conjugated π network, whereas in [1+2] cycloadditions of carbenes or nitrenes, the sp2 environment and therefore CNT metallicity can be recovered due to the sidewall bond breakage induced by the cyclopropane strain. In real systems, this bond cleavage depends heavily on the chirality and curvature of the tube, and the chemical nature of the addends. Here we explore the underlying mechanism of bond-cleavage chemistry in [1+2] cycloadditions on armchair carbon nanotubes using first-principles calculations. We find the high strain energy in cyclopropane moiety can be compensated by a through space π orbital interaction between the addend and the CNT which lowers the HOMO energy significantly in closed-bond configuration. A bond opening or closing switch marked by large conductance change can therefore be devised by modulating the proximity of the addend π system and the tube surface via optical or electrochemical control, which potentially has extensive applications in nanoscale devices.


With the advent of a new seismic attribute, generically termed correlation, interpreters have a non-specialist tool which enables decisions to be made on structural and stratigraphic patterns within a 3D dataset. The process behind the attribute may appear to be black box technology, however, the resultant data are straightforward and enable the interpreters to make their own conclusions about the seismic information presented. Correlation data are simply a quantified comparison of adjacent seismic traces. The value to be unlocked from this attribute lies in rapid delineation of fault and stratigraphic patterns. This requires a revised approach to the interpretation workflow, involving analysis of the correlation attribute volume during primary stages of any 3D-interpretation project. Using a technique termed 'ribbon interpretation', correlation data are analysed for information relating to lineaments and data inconsistencies. The identification of features using ribbons, which are short 2 point segments, can then be stacked and filtered by the interpreter to give direct information on faulting and stratigraphic features. The filtered ribbon data are then progressed through to horizon interpretation, where they can be integrated to provide a more robust structural or stratigraphic solution. Application of the ribbon interpretation technique within the mature environment of the structurally complex, Carboniferous play (UK SNS) (Fig. 1) has allowed faster and better results across exploration, appraisal and production scenarios.


The technique of surface-enhanced laser desorption/inionation-time of flight-mass spectra(SELDI-TOF-MS) provides the most effective platform for research of proteomics. SELDI-TOF-MS, which combine the technologies of proteinchip with time of flight-mass spectra and integrate separation, purification, analysis of sample and realize rapid, high performance and high throughput detection, is an extremely important tool for diagnosis of disease at the molecular level.


Transgenic herbicide-resistant sweet potato plants [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] produced through a biolistic transformation were used in this study. The objective of this research was to find out a rapid and reliable assay method for confirming glufosinate-ammonium resistance. The techniques tested include whole-plant bioassay, one leaf bioassay, and leaf disk bioassay. Parameters investigated in this study were leaf injury and ammonium accumulation at 1 and 5 days after treatment of glufosinate-ammonium. In the leaf disk bioassay, leaf injury of the transgenic line 7171 was 1.9-fold less affected by glufosinate-ammonium than the wild type. The leaf injury of 7171 in one leaf and whole-plant bioassays was 59- and 92-fold less affected by glufosinate-ammonium, respectively, compared with that of the wild type. Leaf disk, one leaf, and whole-plant bioassays showed that ammonium accumulation of the 7171 was 2 to 20-, 4 to 43-, and 6 to 115-fold less affected by 0.5-5 mM glufosinate-ammonium than that of the wild type. All three bioassays successfully distinguished the resistance from the transgenic lines, but one leaf bioassay is the simplest and quickest. Leaf injury and ammonium accumulation were the same in leaves 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 of 3 mM glufosinate-ammonium treated plants or nontreated plants. The one leaf bioassay was chosen as the standard procedure for future confirmation of resistance in transgenic sweet potato because it is a rapid and reliable assay.


This article reviews the development of agricultural air quality (AAQ) research on livestock and poultry environments, summarizes various measurement and control devices and the requirements of data acquisition and control (DAC) for comprehensive AAQ studies, and introduces a new system to meet DAC and other requirements. The first experimental AAQ study was reported in 1953. Remarkable progress has been achieved in this research field during the past decades. Studies on livestock and poultry environment expanded from indoor air quality to include pollutant emissions and the subsequent health, environmental, and ecological impacts beyond the farm boundaries. The pollutants of interest included gases, particulate matter (PM), odor, volatile organic compounds (VOC), endotoxins, and microorganisms. During this period the research projects, scales, and boundaries continued to expand significantly. Studies ranged from surveys and short-term measurements to national and international collaborative projects. While much research is still conducted in laboratories and experimental facilities, a growing number of investigations have been carried out in commercial livestock and poultry farms. The development of analytical instruments and computer technologies has facilitated significant changes in the methodologies used in this field. The quantity of data obtained in a single project during AAQ research has increased exponentially, from several gas concentration samples to 2.4 billion data points. The number of measurement variables has also increased from a few to more than 300 at a single monitoring site. A variety of instruments and sensors have been used for on-line, real-time, continuous, and year-round measurements to determine baseline pollutant emissions and test mitigation technologies. New measurement strategies have been developed for multi-point sampling. These advancements in AAQ research have necessitated up-to-date systems to not only acquire data and control sampling locations, but also monitor experimental operation, communicate with researchers, and process post-acquisition signals and post-measurement data. An on-site computer system (OSCS), consisting of DAC hardware, a personal computer, and on-site AAQ research software, is needed to meet these requirements. While various AAQ studies involved similar objectives, implementation of OSCS was often quite variable among projects. Individually developed OSCSs were usually project-specific, and their development was expensive and time-consuming. A new OSCS, with custom-developed software AirDAC, written in LabVIEW, was developed with novel and user-friendly features for wide ranging AAQ research projects. It reduced system development and operational cost, increased measurement reliability and work efficiency, and enhanced quality assurance and quality control in AAQ studies.


Graphene, an ultrathin membrane consisting of carbon, is currently the focus of numerous research groups around the world. Due to its outstanding physical properties, this new type of material is highly promising in enabling several novel applications. However, up until now, the integration of high-quality graphene into real devices remains challenging. This article presents a nanorobotic platform tailored for the rapid prototyping of graphene-based devices. Applying the capabilities of this platform, a nanorobotic strategy is proposed that enables the identification, electrical characterization, and integration of graphene into device structures without using any time-consuming lithographical procedures. In this way, graphene-based devices can be fabricated and classified within a few hours, significantly reducing the effort and, consequently, the costs of device prototyping. As an example of this strategy, graphene flakes are electrically characterized and transferred onto a target area of a final device.


Repeated‐dose studies received by the New Substances Assessment and Control Bureau (NSACB) of Health Canada are used to provide hazard information toward risk calculation. These studies provide a point of departure (POD), traditionally the NOAEL or LOAEL, which is used to extrapolate the quantity of substance above which adverse effects can be expected in humans. This project explored the use of benchmark dose (BMD) modeling as an alternative to this approach for studies with few dose groups. Continuous data from oral repeated‐dose studies for chemicals previously assessed by NSACB were reanalyzed using U.S. EPA benchmark dose software (BMDS) to determine the BMD and BMD 95% lower confidence limit (BMDL05) for each endpoint critical to NOAEL or LOAEL determination for each chemical. Endpoint‐specific benchmark dose‐response levels , indicative of adversity, were consistently applied. An overall BMD and BMDL05 were calculated for each chemical using the geometric mean. The POD obtained from benchmark analysis was then compared with the traditional toxicity thresholds originally used for risk assessment. The BMD and BMDL05 generally were higher than the NOAEL, but lower than the LOAEL. BMDL05 was generally constant at 57% of the BMD. Benchmark provided a clear advantage in health risk assessment when a LOAEL was the only POD identified, or when dose groups were widely distributed. Although the benchmark method cannot always be applied, in the selected studies with few dose groups it provided a more accurate estimate of the real no‐adverse‐effect level of a substance.


This article explores the benefits of bringing museum education into the composition classroom to help students develop confidence and skill in oral presentation. Drawing on current scholarship in object-based learning and engaging museum audiences, it outlines a project in which students closely observed objects at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and critiqued a museum tour before presenting on their objects on-site at the museum. As well as teaching students new skills, the project also encouraged them to use their own experiences as audience members in the classroom and the museum to create more engaging and coherent presentations for their peers. The article explains the logistics of the project and students' reactions, concluding with students' own reflections on the benefits of presenting in a museum setting.


Among 26,294 hospitalized patients monitored by the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program (BCDSP), 8,948 (34%) received at least one antibiotic, and none were diagnosed as having drug‐induced colitis due to in‐hospital antibiotic exposure. Seven patients who had taken antibiotics as outpatients, however, were admitted with antibiotic‐associated colitis. Six of these patients had taken lincomycin prior to the onset of symptoms; one had taken ampicillin. Six of the patients were hospitalized at a New Zealand hospital and one at a hospital in Canada. The give patients with lincomycin‐associated colitis at the New Zealand hospital were admitted over an 11‐month period. Severe colitis due to antibiotics has been a rare event in the BCDSP experience, especially in the United States.


In this study, a further extension of the vehicle routing problem with pickup and delivery (VRPPD) is considered. The VRPPD problem is seen in many practical applications as logistic, distribution and transportation. However, a formal definition of the VRPPD cannot fully represent the real-life daily macro routing problem. For this reason, firstly, a new model of the very close to real-life problem is defined. Secondly, a novel heuristic algorithm with a new objective function is proposed to solve the daily macro routing problem. The proposed nature-inspired algorithm called as Heuristic Bubble Algorithm (HBA) is suitable for the proposed problem because of its particular new operators and fast response. The Matlab simulation results motivate that the proposed model and HBA is capable of solving real-life macro routing problems.


We present an analytical solution to the problem of a screw dislocation in a four-phase piezoelectric laminate composed of two piezoelectric layers of equal thickness sandwiched between two semi-infinite piezoelectric media. A new version of the complex variable formulation is proposed such that the 2 × 2 real symmetric matrix appearing in the formulation becomes dimensionless. Using analytic continuation, the original boundary value problem is reduced to the identification of a single 2D analytic vector function which is completely determined following rigorous solution of the resulting linear recurrence relations in matrix form. An explicit expression for the image force acting on the piezoelectric screw dislocation is obtained once the single 2 × 2 real matrix function is identified. We also discuss the solution for a screw dislocation in an N -phase piezoelectric laminate composed of N − 2 piezoelectric layers of equal thickness sandwiched between two semi-infinite piezoelectric media.


The physical principles test, as compared to the pharmacological effects of a local anaesthetic, is stated to be quicker and more reliable in determining correct placement of plastic tubing in the epidural space.' This test depends primarily on the lumen of the plastic tubing being unobstructed after its placement, so that it can act as a manometer. However, if kinking (acute bend) occurs in the plastic tubing, the tubing can have a ball valve effect. Therefore, air or fluid injected into the tubing can pass the kink and exit from the tubing. However, the kink may not allow air and/or fluid to pass in the opposite direction; this precludes it from refluxing into the plastic tubing and acting as a manometer. Evidently, in such a situation, although not stated by Shah, the tubing is withdrawn even though it may be correctly placed in the epidural space. On the other hand, when a ball valve effect occurs, the pharmacological results of an effective test dose can be properly monitored and this avoids withdrawal of kinked plastic tubing which is, after all, in the epidural space. In the long run, the pharmacological test is quicker because the time to withdraw and re-insert the tubing is not required. In addition, the pharmacological test solution which I use, namely 0.015 mg of adrenaline, which within 45 seconds indicates an intravascular injection and a milligram dose of a local anaesthetic which within 2 minutes results in evidence of spinal block,2 does not require another person to compress the jugular veins,' which may cause discomfort. Furthermore, it is equally. or even more reliable. Since its routine use in 1979, I have had no systemic toxic reactions, high or total spinal blocks in over 5000 surgical or obstetrical epidural blocks while teaching residents. Prior to then, in every 2000 epidural blocks, 3 4 convulsions or one total spinal block resulted. Neither has fetal depression as demonstrated by the cardiotacograph been observed from 0.015 mg of adrenaline and if it is administered immediately after a uterine contraction it has always signalled intravascular placement of the needle's bevel or the end of the plastic tubing. To conclude, of various tests to rule out an intravascular or subarachnoid injection using a single test dose, the pharmacological effects of a local anaesthetic with adrenaline is safe and still the most reliable. Although in disagreement with Prince and McGregor' if administered as advised,z perhaps it is even foolproof.


The cost of managing storage systems has become one of the significant expense items in data centers. In this paper, we discuss the design and implementation of Flipstone, a new storage system with reduced storage management cost. Flipstone provides fail-in-place and deferred maintenance by aggregating large number of off-the-shelf, inexpensive storage systems. We show a significant improvement in total cost of ownership of storage systems by reducing the number of service calls when Flipstone is used.


Cluster scheduler is crucial in high-performance computing (HPC). It determines when and which user jobs should be allocated to available system resources. Existing cluster scheduling heuristics are developed by human experts based on their experience with specific HPC systems and workloads. However, the increasing complexity of computing systems and the highly dynamic nature of application workloads have placed tremendous burden on manually designed and tuned scheduling heuristics. More aggressive optimization and automation are needed for cluster scheduling in HPC. In this work, we present an automated HPC scheduling agent named DRAS (Deep Reinforcement Agent for Scheduling) by leveraging deep reinforcement learning. DRAS is built on a novel, hierarchical neural network incorporating special HPC scheduling features such as resource reservation and backfilling. A unique training strategy is presented to enable DRAS to rapidly learn the target environment. Once being provided a specific scheduling objective given by system manager, DRAS automatically learns to improve its policy through interaction with the scheduling environment and dynamically adjusts its policy as workload changes. The experiments with different production workloads demonstrate that DRAS outperforms the existing heuristic and optimization approaches by up to 45%.


The binding of Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) to Intracellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (ICAM-1) is a major pathological mechanism in severe malaria including cerebral malaria. The binding is mediated by PfEMP1-DBL2β domain. The study aimed to explore there combinant protein of PfEMP1-DBL2β domain of P. falciparum isolated from Indonesia. DNA was isolated from a severe malaria patient. The DBL2β domain was amplified using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) with specific primer and cloned into the pJET1 cloning vector. The DBL2β recombinant protein was constructed from DBL2β-pJET1 clone using pET-30a expression vector and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21-DE3. PCR colony and digestion of plasmid clones using restriction enzymes were conducted to confirm cloning result, and the expression of recombinant protein was analyzed using Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The expression of DBL2β-PfEMP1 domain is higher in pellet than in supernatant fraction. In conclusion, the DBL2β-PfEMP1 domain recombinant protein of P. falciparum isolated from Indonesia expressed as a ~66 kDa protein in full length. Keywords: DBL2β domain, Indonesia, PfEMP1, Plasmodium falciparum, recombinant protein.


An optical parallel processor for an image recognition system using microoptical devices has been developed. This system expands input images to coefficients of a two-dimensional Walsh spatial frequency domain and discriminates them by performing the inner product to the reference filter. In this paper, we demonstrate parallel optical discrimination of Arabic numerals using this method. First, the mechanism of this recognition method is presented. Next, the reference filter is designed. In order to implement the reference filter by using the microoptical devices, the fabrication problems were solved. Finally, the recognition system is constructed and effects of deformation on the input image are experimentally evaluated.


Abstract Based on percentages of undescribed species collected during intensive recent sampling campaigns in South America, tropical Africa, and the Caribbean, the current global total number of pholcid species is estimated to range from about 4,000 to 5,000. With the current rate of descriptions of about 570 pholcid species per decade, this suggests that a global inventory of the family could be completed within a few decades. However, I argue that a complete (or near-complete) inventory is neither realistic nor necessary and that knowing the majority of species of a particular group will answer most questions on that taxon's biology, while being a manageable task. At current rates of description, the majority of pholcid species might be known within 10–20 years.


A miniaturized implantable microstrip split‐ring antenna (IMSRA) is proposed for wireless biotelemetry. The IMSRA takes up a miniaturized volume of 153.35 mm3 (10.5 × 11.5 × 1.27) and provides a dual‐band operation in 360 to 620 MHz and 2.32 to 2.54 GHz that covers The Medical Device Radiocommunications Service (MedRadio) (401‐406 MHz) and Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) (433‐434 MHz and 2.4‐2.48 GHz) bands. The principal part of the radiator consists of three homocentric split‐ring elements. In addition, three conductor paths located between the split rings are used for precise adjustment of the frequency. In order to reduce the antenna size, a shorting pin is appropriately inserted between one of the metallic rings and the ground plane. The impedance matching of the antenna is improved by the use of a hook‐shaped slit placed on the ground plane. For verification of the in vivo operation, the proposed IMSRA was measured in two separate skin‐mimicking gels for MedRadio and ISM bands. A prototype was also tested in the skin tissue sample of a donor rat. The proposed antenna offers 53% (360 ~ 620 MHz) bandwidth at 490 MHz and 9% (2.32 ~ 2.54 GHz) bandwidth at 2.43 GHz. The IMSRA exhibits well‐behaved radiation patterns and SAR values at the respective bands.


We prove a Riemann-Roch-Grothendieck-type theorem concerning the direct image of a flat vector bundle under a submersion of smooth manifolds. We refine this theorem to the level of differential forms. We construct associated secondary invariants, the analytic torsion forms, which coincide in degree 0 with the Ray-Singer real analytic torsion. License or copyright restrictions may apply to redistribution; see https://www.ams.org/journal-terms-of-use


ABSTRACT
 A new species of Gliridae (Rodentia, Mammalia), Microdyromys remmerti, sp. nov., from the Aragonian type area in the Calatayud-Montalbán basin (Miocene, Spain) is described. This species is characterized by combining a relatively large size and a moderately complicated to very complicated and irregular dental morphology. It has a wide and continuous range of morphological variation with intermediate forms filling all the range. In the studied localities, M. remmerti, sp. nov., displays a general increase in the complexity of the dental pattern through time, showing a unique pattern of addition of extra ridges in the lower molars. Comparisons with morphologically similar species are discussed; a taxonomical and nomenclatorial issue regarding two named species of the genus is clarified. The combination of the morphometrical features that characterize M. remmerti, sp. nov., have never been found in any other glirid material outside the Calatayud-Montalbán basin, thus reinforcing the idea of the endemic character of the Gliridae faunas from the Iberian Miocene. Microdyromys koenigswaldi is proposed as most probable ancestor of M. remmerti, sp. nov. The divergent evolution of the latter species is discussed in its paleoecological context. The functional consequences of this morphological divergence could be related also with the opening of new ecological niches during the middle Aragonian (Middle Miocene).


Adolescent athletes are increasingly encouraged to specialize in a single sport year-round in an effort to receive a college scholarship. For collegiate baseball, only 11.7 scholarships are available for a 35-player team. The beliefs of the parents of baseball athletes towards sport specialization are unknown, along with whether they have an accurate understanding of college baseball scholarship availability. The parents of high school baseball athletes were recruited to complete an anonymous questionnaire that consisted of (1) parent and child demographics, (2) child baseball participation information, and (3) parent attitudes and beliefs regarding sport specialization and college baseball scholarships. One hundred and fifty-five parents participated in the questionnaire (female: 52.9%, age: 49.4 ± 5.5 years old). The parents spent a median of 3000 USD [Interquartile Range (IQR): 1500–6000] on their child's baseball participation. Most parents believed that specialization increased their child's chances of getting better at baseball (N = 121, 79.6%). The parents underestimated the number of college baseball scholarships available per team (median [IQR]: 5 [0–5]), but 55 parents (35.9%) believed it was likely that their child would receive a college baseball scholarship. Despite having a realistic understanding of the limited college scholarships available, the parents were optimistic that their child would receive a baseball scholarship.


THREE-DIMENSIONAL NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS WERE PERFORMED TO EXAMINE THE FORMATION AND SPATIAL DISPERSION PAT-TERNS OF INTEGRAL MULTIPLE EXPLOSIVELY FORMED PENETRATORS (MEFP) WARHEAD WITH SEVEN HEMISPHERICAL LINERS. NUMERICAL RESULTS HAD SUCCESSFULLY DESCRIBED THE FORMATION PROCESS AND DISTRIBUTION PAT-TERN OF MEFP. A GROUP OF PENETRATORS CONSISTING OF A CENTRAL PE-NETRATOR SURROUNDED BY 6 PENETRATORS IS FORMED DURING THE FORMA-TION PROCESS OF MEFP AND MOVES IN THE DIRECTION OF AIMING POSITION. THE MAXIMUM DIVERGENCE ANGLE OF THE SURROUNDING PENETRATOR GROUP WAS 7.8°, AND THE DAMAGE AREA COULD REACH 0.16 M2 AT 1.2 M. THE LAWS OF PERFORATION DISPERSION PATTERNS OF MEFP WERE ALSO OBTAINED THROUGH A NONLINEAR FITTING OF THE PERFORATION INFORMATION ON THE TARGET AT DIFFERENT STANDOFFS. THE TERMINAL EFFECTS OF THE MEFP WARHEAD WERE PERFORMED ON THREE #45 STEEL TARGETS WITH A DIMENSION OF 160CM  160CM  1.5CM AT VARIOUS STANDOFFS (60, 80, AND 120 CM). THE SIMULATION RESULTS WERE VALIDATED THROUGH PENETRATION EXPERIMENTS AT DIFFERENT STANDS. IT HAS SHOWN EXCELLENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENT RESULTS.


Abstract Modeling tools and operators help the user / developer to identify the processing field on the top of the sequence and to send into the computing module only the data related to the requested result. The remaining data is not relevant and it will slow down the processing. The biggest challenge nowadays is to get high quality processing results with a reduced computing time and costs. To do so, we must review the processing sequence, by adding several modeling tools. The existing processing models do not take in consideration this aspect and focus on getting high calculation performances which will increase the computing time and costs. In this paper we provide a study of the main modeling tools for BigData and a new model based on pre-processing.


Inter-ethnic marriage is both a cause and a consequence of immigrant integration. It is, however, unclear how individual preferences and opportunities for contact may combine to produce the spectrum of rates of inter-ethnic marriage we observe in the UK and elsewhere. The DITCH ("Diversity and Inter-ethnic marriage: Trust, Culture and Homophily") model has been designed to explore inter-ethnic marriage, but also to move towards adding layers of sophistication to the way such processes have previously been modelled. Utilising research and evidence from quantitative and
qualitative sources from across the social sciences, we seek to develop a complex model of emergent processes of differentiation and change in the marriage patterns and social cohesion of migrant communities.

Our approach with developing the DITCH model has been to start with a simple model that includes only processes and data essential to modelling (inter-ethnic) partnership formation, but which can be easily extended when necessary. The model version 1.0 is therefore constrained to simulating a cohort of single (at model initialisation) agents aged 18 - 35 years who search for a suitable partner within their social network.


Background The immune suppressive properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have garnered increasing attention over the past decades. MSCs that derived from human umbilical cord (UC) share similar immunosuppressive properties as MSCs obtained from bone marrow and cord blood in vitro. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by persistent synovitis and systemic inflammation, frequently leading to cartilage and bone destruction. Previous studies showed that MSCs transplantation had effect in an animal model of RA. However, the mechanism remains largely unknown. Objectives The purpose of this study was to confirm the hypothesis that UC-MSCs might suppress the generation of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells in RA patients. Methods The percentages of CXCR5+PD-1+CD4+ cells were analyzed by flow cytometry in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from RA patients and healthy controls. PBMC from RA patients stimulated with or without phytoagglutinin (PHA) were cultured with UC-MSCs supernatant or UC-MSCs at a ratio of 1 to 1, 1 to 10 or 1 to 100 in a cell-to-cell contact or in a transwell system for 3 days. Naïve T cells were isolated from PBMC of RA patients and then co-cultured with UC-MSC in the presence of anti-CD3, anti-CD28, anti-IFNg, anti-IL-4, anti-TGFb, IL-6, IL-21 and IL-12 for 4 days. The percentages of CXCR5+PD-1+CD4+ cells were tested by means of flow cytometry. Results The results showed that the circulating percentages of CXCR5+PD-1+CD4+ cells were significantly higher than that of healthy controls. UC-MSCs did not inhibit non-activated Tfh cells but dose-dependently inhibited the generation of Tfh cells when stimulated with PHA whether in a cell-to-cell contact or in a transwell system. The differentiation of Tfh cells were also blocked by UC-MSCs significantly. However, UC-MSCs supernatant was not able to suppress the generation of Tfh cells in RA. Conclusions These results suggest an inhibitory effect of UC-MSCs on the generation of Tfh cells via soluble factors secreted from UC-MSCs, which may be one the mechanism of UC-MSCs treatment in RA. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Changes of the proteins in food, brought about by processing conditions, affect texture and taste. Many studies have been conducted on the changes of the proteins in fermented sausages, which is aided by the proteolytic enzymes or lactic acid producing organisms. Information on the changes brought about by the meat enzymes and drying process as such is still unknown. We report results in this respect as observed for South African dried sausage. Results show insolubilization of certain proteins and protein hydrolysis similar to ripening conditions. Most changes in proteins were observed in the smaller proteins with molecular mass below 10 000 Da with consecutive release of amino acids. Drying at different temperatures were shown to affect the observed changes in proteins.
Keywords: Protein, unfermented sausage, South Africa, proteolytic enzyme, processing conditions J Food Tech in Africa (2002) 7, 101-


Haematuria in orthotopic neobladder can be due to upper urinary tract recurrence of the primary bladder tumour, the rare occurrence of a primary bowel tumour or benign conditions such as stones and infections. We report the case of a 60-year-old man with chronic hepatopathy who suffered severe bleeding from neobladder varices, which ultimately led to his death.


The purpose of this study is to establish the information needs, sources, and the information searching strategies of undergraduate students. The study adopted a descriptive survey method. The study covers 100-400 level undergraduate students in history in the humanities in three universities in the South-South geo-political zone of Nigeria. A sample size of 259 was used for the study. Random sampling technique was used in selecting the sampled respondents. The study opted the use of questionnaires, interviews and observation methods. It emerged that the undergraduate students use sources such as textbooks, journals, Internet, and rely heavily on human resources for information. The study also revealed that undergraduate students use search strategies such as starting, chaining, browsing, differentiating, monitoring and extracting. There is a significant difference between male and female students in the sources they use in obtaining information in the humanities and in their search strategies. Findings will enable library administrators and university management to see the need to integrate information literacy courses into the school curriculum. Also to enable librarians to intensify their efforts to educate students about the information environment rather than simply providing the knowledge of how to use specific tools.


Starting from a Lagrangian theory L with first class constraints up to N-th stage, we construct an equivalent Lagrangiañ L with at most secondary first class constraints presented in a Hamiltonian formulation. The Lagrangiañ L can be obtained by pure algebraic methods, it's manifest form in terms of quantities of the initial formulation is find. Local symmetries of˜L are find in closed form. All the constraints of L turns out to be gauge symmetry generators for˜L.


Outer-sphere electron transfer from several transition-metal polyhydride complexes, MH/sub m/L/sub n/, to Fe(bpy)/sub 3//sup 3 +/ is evaluated as a quantitative procedure for determining the number, m, of hydride ligands present. The strengths and limitations of the method are discussed, and its generalization to the oxidative evolution of CO from Co/sub 2/(CO)/sub 8/ is demonstrated. Possible additional applications of the procedure are also described.


Banking sector is highly influenced by development of the internet and networking technologies. The considerable number of studies in the field of internet banking acceptance and adoption reflects the importance of this issue for customers, stakeholders and developers of internet banking. The purpose of this study is to present a comprehensive overview of users' acceptance and adoption of internet banking. We conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) of 28 journal papers. Findings indicate the prevailing trend in the field, especially in developing countries. Integrated models have been found to be popular in internet banking acceptance researches. Additionally, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was the most used statistical method for analyzing data in studies. This study synthesizes the existing knowledge in the field by extracting research factors and the tested relationships in previous studies. In general 61 research factors and 127 relationships were extracted from studies. Moreover, this study suggests a new research model for future studies and highlights the gaps in this research field and then makes recommendations for future studies.


Experimental philosophers and psychologists investigate whether people perceive moral judgments to be objectively true or false. Existing research focuses on a single dimension of 'perceived objectivity'. The present research examines whether multiple dimensions of folk moral objectivity underlie moral judgments. It also examines whether such dimensions relate to perceived objectivity, tolerance, and people's behavioral intentions to punish norm-violators. Exploratory factor analysis on twenty ethical items revealed three different ways of perceiving moral truth (Independent Truth, Universal Truth, Divine Truth), which each form reliable subscales (Study 1). This three-factor structure was supported by confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2). Each of the dimensions is differently related to perceived objectivity (Study 3). With respect to tolerance, perceived objectivity is a mediator in the relationship between perceiving moral truth as absolute or universal and tolerance (Study 4). With respect to a willingness to harm measure, Independent Truth is negatively related and Universal Truth is positively related, to people's punitive attitudes toward norm-violators.


Backgound: The composition of stones formed in the urinary tract plays an important role in their management over time. The most common imaging method for the non-invasive evaluation of urinary stones is radiography and computed tomography (CT). However, CT is not very sensitive, and cannot differentiate between all critical stone types. In this study, we propose the application, and evaluate the potential, of a multi-modal (or multi-contrast) X-ray imaging technique called speckle-based imaging (SBI) to differentiate between various types of urinary stones. Methods: Three different stone samples were extracted from animal and human urinary tracts and examined in a laboratory-based speckle tracking setup. The results were discussed based on an X-ray diffraction analysis and a comparison with X-ray microtomography and grating-based interferometry. Results: The stones were classified through compositional analysis by X-ray diffraction. The multi-contrast images obtained using the SBI method provided detailed information about the composition of various urinary stone types, and could differentiate between them. X-ray SBI could provide highly sensitive and high-resolution characterizations of different urinary stones in the radiography mode, comparable to those by grating interferometry. Conclusions: This investigation demonstrated the capability of the SBI technique for the non-invasive classification of urinary stones through radiography in a simple and cost-effective laboratory setting. This opens the possibility for further studies concerning full-field in vivo SBI for the clinical imaging of urinary stones.


Psychiatric morbidity in patients with vitiligo Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of psychiatric morbidity in vitiligo patients treated at the dermatology outpatient clinic and to investigate the relation between anxiety, depression, social anxiety levels, and self esteem and disability in these patients. Method: Fourty-two patients with vitiligo were assessed with Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) and Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS). Control group included subjects matched to patients in terms of age, sex and education level. Results: In comparison to healthy controls, the rate of psychiatric morbidity was found to be higher and mean self-esteem score was found to be lower in the vitiligo group. There was no significant difference between groups in terms of social anxiety. Majority of the patients were mildly disabled. Among the vitiligo cases, psychiatric morbidity was found more frequent in female and young participants. Anxiety and social avoidance scores negatively correlated with age. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the rate of psychiatric morbidity is higher in patients with vitiligo than healthy control subjects. Patients with vitiligo treated at dermatology clinics should be assessed in terms of psychiatric disorders and psychiatric interventions may become necessary in the course of illness.


The subject of this paper is the design and analysis of a biped line walking robot for inspection of power transmission lines. With a novel mechanism the centroid of the robot can be concentrated on the axis of hip joint to minimize the drive torque of the hip joint. The mechanical structure of the robot is discussed, as well as forward kinematics. Dynamic model is established in this paper to analyze the inverse kinematics for motion planning. The line-walking cycle of the line-walking robot is composed of a single-support phase and a double-support phase. Locomotion of the line-walking robot is discussed in details and the obstacle-navigation process is planed according to the structure of power transmission line. To fulfill the demands of line-walking, a control system and trajectories generation method are designed for the prototype of the line-walking robot. The feasibility of this concept is then confirmed by performing experiments with a simulated line environment.


Modern demand for energy-efficient computation has spurred research at all levels of the stack, from devices to microarchitecture, operating systems, compilers, and languages. Unfortunately, this breadth has resulted in a disjointed space, with technologies at different levels of the system stack rarely compared, let alone coordinated. This work begins to remedy the problem, conducting an experimental survey of the present state of energy management across the stack. Focusing on settings that are exposed to software, we measure the total energy, average power, and execution time of 41 benchmark applications in 220 configurations, across a total of 200,000 program executions. Some of the more important findings of the survey include that effective parallelization and compiler optimizations have the potential to save far more energy than Linux's frequency tuning algorithms; that certain non-complementary energy strategies can undercut each other's savings by half when combined; and that while the power impacts of most strategies remain constant across applications, the runtime impacts vary, resulting in inconsistent energy impacts.


Introduction Tracheostomy is one of the most common procedures performed in the ICU. Tracheostomy decreases the dead space and the effort of breathing, and facilitates suction and chest drainage. The easy placement of the tracheostomy tube makes it the only acceptable method for home ventilation. Tracheostomy can be performed either through percutaneous dilatation using the Seldinger technique in the ICU or surgically by an ENT surgeon in the operating room (OR). The approach for tracheostomy, whether percutaneous or surgical, remains a point of debate. Aim This an observational (prospective cohort) study to compare percutaneous dilatation tracheostomy (PDT) with surgical tracheostomy (ST) with regard to both perioperative and late postoperative complications. Patients and methods A total of 200 patients admitted to King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital between February 2010 and December 2013 were allocated to two groups: group A included 100 patients who had undergone PDT, and group B included 100 patients who had undergone ST. Both perioperative and late postoperative complications were recorded and compared between the two groups. Changes in blood gases, atelectasis, emphysema, pneumothorax, failure to cannulate the trachea or false passage, tracheal ring fractures, wrong site, and tracheal wall injury were considered perioperative complications, whereas bleeding, infection, stenosis, and tracheoarterial and tracheoesophageal fistula were considered late postoperative complications. Results PDT resulted in a significantly higher perioperative complication rate as regards blood gas changes, false passage, and tracheal wall injury, but there was no significant difference with regard to atelectasis, tracheal ring fractures, wrong site, emphysema, and pneumothorax. However, PDT resulted in a significantly lower postoperative complication rate as regards bleeding and infection, but no statistically significant difference was found in the incidence of stenosis. Tracheoarterial and tracheoesophageal fistula were not reported in either PDT or ST. Conclusion PDT is a safe and reliable method for tracheostomy in all ICU cases and is associated with lower incidence of postoperative complications in terms of bleeding and stomal infection.


IMPORTANCE
Several classifications of cholesteatoma exist, but there are controversies about their clinical application.

OBJECTIVE
To classify cholesteatomas and describe the prevalence of the subtypes.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
A cross-sectional comparative study of 414 ears in 356 consecutive patients with middle ear cholesteatoma and no history of ear surgery treated at a tertiary hospital was conducted from March 8, 2000, to March 30, 2015. Data analysis was conducted from March 30, 2014, to March 30, 2015.

INTERVENTION
Otoendoscopy was conducted, and findings for both ears were recorded.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Cholesteatoma growth patterns were classified as anterior epitympanic, posterior epitympanic, posterior mesotympanic, 2 routes (both the pars flaccida and the pars tensa are involved), and undetermined.

RESULTS
Among the 356 patients in this study, mean (SD) patient age was 33.23 (19.81) years (range, 4-82 years), and 125 patients (35.1%) were female. The right ear was identified as the affected ear in 220 patients (61.8%). A total of 272 (65.7%) ears were from adults. Of the 414 ears that underwent otoendoscopy, posterior epitympanic (142 [34.3%]) and posterior mesotympanic (140 [33.8%]) were the most frequent types of cholesteatoma observed, followed by undetermined (67 [16.2%]) and 2 routes (57 [13.8%]). Anterior epitympanic type was the least frequent (8 [1.9%]). Posterior epitympanic cholesteatoma was more prevalent in adults (111 [40.8%]), whereas posterior mesotympanic cholesteatoma was more frequent in children (43.0%) (P < .001). Anterior epitympanic cholesteatoma was observed only in children.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Classifying cholesteatomas according to the growth pattern (anterior epitympanic, posterior epitympanic, posterior mesotympanic, 2 routes, and undetermined) includes all existing types of cholesteatomas of the middle ear. In general, the prevalence of posterior epitympanic and posterior mesotympanic cholesteatoma were similar. Whereas anterior epitympanic and posterior mesotympanic cholesteatomas were more prevalent in children, posterior epitympanic cholesteatoma was more frequent in adults.


The Hodgkin-Reed-Sternberg (HRS) malignant cells in Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) originate from germinal center B lymphocytes that did not undergo apoptosis. Protein Kinase C (PKC), a family of serine/threonine kinases, plays a crucial role in signal transduction modulating cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. Here, we report the expression of PKC isoforms in two HL-derived cell lines, L428 and KMH2 and their correlation with drug resistance to CPT and doxorubicin. Among the PKC isoforms examined, only PKCη and PKCβΙΙ were preferentially expressed in the drug resistant L428 cells. We have shown correlation between the response to apoptosis of L428 and KMH2 cells and PKCη expression in these cell lines. In order to directly demonstrate a role for PKCη in apoptosis, its expression was knocked-down by siRNA in the resistant L428 cells. Down-regulation of PKCη rendered L428 cells more sensitive to doxorubicin and CPT. Furthermore, PKCη knocked-down cells showed increased PARP-1 cleavage, cytochrome c release and caspase 7 activation. It appears that PKCη functions as an anti-apoptotic protein in HL-derived cell lines, and as we show here that it is also expressed in HRS of HL biopsies, it may have therapeutic relevance in HL. Thus, PKCη could provide a new target aimed to reduce resistance to anti-cancer treatments of HL and other cancer patients.


Abstract

Combustion of biomass in small-scale furnaces is widely used in many countries and in different applications. Often, the technology used is fixed grate combustion in small batch furnaces. The efficiency of such furnace is often low which results in a high environmental impact due to the poorly controlled combustion of the wood logs that are largely used as the heat source for baking bread in wood-fired bakery ovens. This work has been undertaken in order to develop an efficient and environment friendly bakery oven furnace fired by biomass. The work was performed in Mozambique, and a survey was used to evaluate the consumption of wood and the technology used in the process of bread baking in two selected townships. The data collected from the 104 bakeries consisted of the dimensions of the oven, the temperature profiles within the combustion chamber and baking oven and, finally, the baking time.
The circulation of hot gases within the baking oven was used to describe and predict the behaviour of the heat exchange and the quality of the products produced. Bi-dimensional cold flow equipment and a CFD model were used in conjunction to estimate the flow pattern inside the oven, which is one of the key factors in determining the baking efficiency of such ovens. Experiments were conducted in a physical model; various velocities were used to simulate changes in the air flow within the combustion chamber of the bakery ovens. Mathematical modelling was used to describe the flow using a standard k-ω model, which took the effects of the feeding door into account.
As much as 60 tons/day of green wood are consumed in the bread baking process in the investigated area. The bread baking process in a semi-direct bakery oven occurs when contact is made between the bread/dough and the flue gases as they exit the combustion chamber. The relationship between the mass of firewood consumed and mass of wheat processed (specific consumption) was found to be 0.55 in indirect ovens and 0.90 in semi-direct.
The temperature profile in a semi-direct oven beyond the inlet airflow is affected negatively by the feeding door, an effect that is magnified with manual feeding of the dough causing lack of uniformity on the quality of the bread produced. Surrounding air rushes in via the bottom edge of the feeding door when it is opened, whilst hot gases exit rapidly, flowing oven the top edge of the door, and thus affects the overall heat transfer by changing the effective thermal conductivity. Urgent improvement to this system is recommended not only to minimize this phenomenon but also to improve the efficiency of such ovens and the quality of the bread produced therein.
Comparisons made between the flow pattern achieved by the bi-dimensional cold flow model and the CFD model show acceptable agreement. The flow pattern inside the baking oven varies with variations in the hot gases leaving the combustion chamber. The increment in velocity directly improves the baking conditions in the temperature range desired by increasing the circulation and effective thermal conductivity of the hot gases within the baking oven.


The reproductive anatomy of the male tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri) was examined and compared with other Tupaiidae. The testes are located prepenially in a pigmented scrotum which is fused to the base of a pendulous penis. The terminal portion of the vas deferens is differentiated into an ampullary gland and joins the duct of the seminal vesicle to form a short ejaculatory duct. The prostate is a compact bilateral body drained by a main collecting duct. In the aggregate, these features indicate that the reproductive system in Tupaia is primate in character. Testicular function in tree shrews is affected by both social and seasonal factors. When males were housed communally, the majority exhibited testicular degeneration accompanied by a loss in the weight and fructose content of the seminal vesicles and in pigmentation of the scrotum. These changes may be due to the presence of dominant conspecifics since animals kept in isolation undergo normal sexual development. Animals captured throughout the year and isolated show seasonal fluctuations in androgenic and spermatogenic function. Reproductive capacity is maximal during the winter and minimal during the summer. Local environmental factors appear to regulate reproductive function so that the greatest number of births occur during the dry season.


In this paper, we study optimal control problems associated with a scalar hyperbolic conservation law modeling the development of ovarian follicles. Changes in the age and maturity of follicular cells are described by a two-dimensional conservation law, where the control terms act on the velocities. The control problem consists in optimizing the follicular cell resources so that the follicular maturity reaches a maximal value in fixed time. Formulating the optimal control problem within a hybrid framework, we prove necessary optimality conditions in the form of the hybrid maximum principle. Then we derive the optimal strategy and show that there exists at least one optimal bang-bang control with one single switching time.


In the case-mix system, diagnostic codes are used as the basis for classifying health service rates. The difference in tariffs between hospitals and the accuracy of the diagnosis code causes a gap where there are hospitals that benefit and are disadvantaged by the Indonesian case-based groups (INA-CBGs) tariff policy. This study assesses the gap factor between hospital rates and INA-CBGs rates, which include hospital characteristics and the accuracy of the diagnosis code. Samples were taken of 100 medical record documents of inpatients at two hospitals in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia in 2020 by stratified random sampling. Data were collected by observation and analyzed by Chi-Square test. There were errors in the primary diagnosis code 11 (32.35%), secondary diagnosis code 19 (55.88%), combination diagnosis code 4 (11.76%). Changes in the INA-CBG code that caused the inaccuracy of the claim rate were 26 (59.09%) case-mix main groups (CMG) codes, 44 (100%) CBG-specific codes, 31 (70.45%) severity level codes. Public-private hospitals with class B experienced a decrease in income of IDR 46,081,900 (-17.50%), while special government hospitals with class A experienced an additional income of IDR 99,733,869 (38.31%). An accurate diagnostic code can increase the odds by 42.128 times the accuracy of the INA-CBGs rate (b=42.128; 95% CI=11.127 to 159.497; p<0.001).


PURPOSE
To develop and validate non-fluorescent chromosome painting for bright-field microscopy using the peroxidase/diaminobenzidine (DAB) reaction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Peripheral blood lymphocytes were taken from patients with uterine cancer who had received heavy-ion radiation therapy. Chromosome slides were treated with RNase and pepsin, denatured mildly, hybridized with a biotinylated DNA probe specific for whole-chromosome 4 and stained using the peroxidase/DAB reaction with an avidin-biotin amplification. The slides were analysed under a bright-field microscope and an atomic force microscope. The detection rate of chromosome aberrations by DAB painting was compared with that obtained by dual analysis of Giemsa staining and FISH painting.

RESULTS
When chromosomes 4 were painted, 11.5% of unstable aberrations were detected by DAB painting, while 10.8% of them were found by dual analysis of Giemsa staining and FISH painting.

CONCLUSION
A DAB painting method that can effectively detect rearranged aberrations was established. It has advantages over FISH painting: the preparations can be analysed by bright-field microscope, can be preserved permanently and are suitable for analysis by an automated system.


The merit of extremely small capacitive accelerometers has been widely recognized. However, with decreasing size, the characterization of and readout circuitry for these devices become increasingly complex. In this contribution, the design and processing of a miniature silicon micromachined capacitive accelerometer are presented, as well as the typical difficulties for measuring extremely small capacitances and the solutions to these problems. The obtained results are discussed.


Uncertainty still exists as to the immunologic and physiologic properties of human amnion. It is clear, however, that these cells have a unique function and ultrastructure and may lack histocompatibility antigens. This raises the possibility of using the amnion for the replacement of a defective tissue or to protect an incompatible graft. In addition, the amniotic epithelial cells could be used to treat patients with inborn errors of metabolism. With this in mind, we have investigated the in vitro transfer of a number of compounds across the human amniotic membrane and furthermore have assessed the suitability of the amnion for transplantation purposes in an experimental model.


Various incarnations of Stefan Bergman's notion of representative coordinates will be given that are useful in a variety of contexts. Bergman wanted his coordinates to map to canonical regions, but they fail to do this for multiply connected regions. We show, however, that it is possible to define generalized Bergman coordinates that map multiply connected domains to quadrature domains which satisfy a long list of desirable properties, making them excellent candidates to be called Bergman representative domains. We also construct a kind of Bergman coordinate that maps a domain to an algebraic variety in C2 in a natural way, and thereby show that Bergman-style coordinates can be used to convert problems in conformal mapping to problems in algebraic geometry. Many of these results generalize routinely to finite Riemann surfaces.


ABSTRACT The Mycobacterium tuberculosis alternate sigma factor, SigF, is expressed during stationary growth phase and under stress conditions in vitro. To better understand the function of SigF we studied the phenotype of the M. tuberculosis ΔsigF mutant in vivo during mouse infection, tested the mutant as a vaccine in rabbits, and evaluated the mutant's microarray expression profile in comparison with the wild type. In mice the growth rates of theΔ sigF mutant and wild-type strains were nearly identical during the first 8 weeks after infection. At 8 weeks, theΔ sigF mutant persisted in the lung, while the wild type continued growing through 20 weeks. Histopathological analysis showed that both wild-type and mutant strains had similar degrees of interstitial and granulomatous inflammation during the first 12 weeks of infection. However, from 12 to 20 weeks the mutant strain showed smaller and fewer lesions and less inflammation in the lungs and spleen. Intradermal vaccination of rabbits with the M. tuberculosis ΔsigF strain, followed by aerosol challenge, resulted in fewer tubercles than did intradermal M. bovis BCG vaccination. Complete genomic microarray analysis revealed that 187 genes were relatively underexpressed in the absence of SigF in early stationary phase, 277 in late stationary phase, and only 38 genes in exponential growth phase. Numerous regulatory genes and those involved in cell envelope synthesis were down-regulated in the absence of SigF; moreover, the ΔsigF mutant strain lacked neutral red staining, suggesting a reduction in the expression of envelope-associated sulfolipids. Examination of 5′-untranslated sequences among the downregulated genes revealed multiple instances of a putative SigF consensus recognition sequence: GGTTTCX18GGGTAT. These results indicate that in the mouse the M. tuberculosis ΔsigF mutant strain persists in the lung but at lower bacterial burdens than wild type and is attenuated by histopathologic assessment. Microarray analysis has identified SigF-dependent genes and a putative SigF consensus recognition site.


Nearly three-fourths of the world's mobile data traffic will be video in the next 5 years. Video is one of the most demanding services in terms of network efficiency, reliability, and quality. In this work, we present a comparative performance evaluation of three different video streaming protocols, namely MPEG-DASH, RTSP, and RTMP for both on-demand and live video streaming over 4G and Wi-Fi (under different network conditions) in terms of Quality of user Experience (QoE). QoE measurements have been done (i) applying the recently standardized ITU-T Rec P-1201.1, which specifies the model algorithm for non-intrusive monitoring of video quality of IP-based video services based on packet header information for the lower resolution application area, and (ii) an extended non-standardized parametric model for comparative purposes. Results suggest that RTSP is more efficient than MPEG DASH for starting the video playback, but at the expense of decreasing QoE due to packet losses. We have also detected that PLR has a bigger influence over re-buffering events than end-to-end delay both in 4G/LTE and Wi-Fi, and that a slightly best quality is achieved by using QPSK at 20 MHz in 4G/LTE. QoE is noticeably higher with MPEG DASH than that attained by using RTSP, but slightly worse than that obtained with RTMP. Finally, our findings suggest that the use of parametric models for video QoE evaluation should be carefully review in terms of the weight that packet losses should have when streaming protocols based on reliable transport protocols (e.g., TCP) are used.


Bacteria often coordinate virulence factors to fine‐tune the host response during infection. These coordinated events can include toxins counteracting or amplifying effects of another toxin or though regulating the stability of virulence factors to remove their function once it is no longer needed. Multifunctional autoprocessing repeats‐in toxin (MARTX) toxins are effector delivery toxins that form a pore into the plasma membrane of a eukaryotic cell to deliver multiple effector proteins into the cytosol of the target cell. The function of these proteins includes manipulating actin cytoskeletal dynamics, regulating signal transduction pathways and inhibiting host secretory pathways. Investigations into the molecular mechanisms of these effector domains are providing insight into how the function of some effectors overlap and regulate one another during infection. Coordinated crosstalk of effector function suggests that MARTX toxins are not simply a sum of all their parts. Instead, modulation of cell function by effector domains may depend on which other effector domain are co‐delivered. Future studies will elucidate how these effectors interact with each other to modulate the bacterial host interaction.


The research had as objective to define the shortest period necessary to carry out B. brizantha cv. Marandu germination test, and determine the dormancy breaking method and the germination temperature, which provides the largest germination in the shortest period of time. In the first part, 30 lots of seeds were submitted to the germination test, under two temperatures regimes (15-35oC and 20-35oC), evaluated with three dormancy breaking methods (H2SO4, KNO3, Control), forming six treatments. It was carried out daily counting of the seed germination to define the better date for the end of the test. In the second part, germination tests were carried out in eight lots of distinct vigor levels, in the same six treatments and ending on the date indicated in the first part. For the B. brizantha germination test the treatments that provided the highest germination in the shortest period were the seed scarification with H2SO4 and the temperature of 20-35oC, for those the germination test can be concluded in 11 days after sowing.


Purpose

Grounded in destination web reputation, the purpose of this paper is to propose a methodological framework for the analysis of the destination image-building process, where the sentiment analysis (SA) is integrated with social network analysis (SNA) tools and social media analytics (SMA), making them accessible and functional for destination management choices. The outlined framework was successively tested through an empirical analysis carried out on the image and web reputation of Naples as a tourism destination.

Design/methodology/approach

Critical analysis of literature on web reputation has allowed the building of the conceptual framework applied to analyse the online reputation of the case study of the city destination of Naples. The empirical research was based on the use of a platform to listen to and analyse social media conversations that allowed one to collect the data on both the destination image and the online reputation of the city.

Findings

The paper conceptualises the theme of destination web reputation, proposing an online discourses classification, presenting and ranking destination dimensions, which might influence prospective tourist decision-making processes. Furthermore, this study can also be apt for all destination managers who need to monitor their destination online reputation and brand, and better manage their online presence.

Originality/value

From a theoretical perspective, through the integration of destination management principles with SA, SNA and SMA, this paper provides an original point of view for the analysis. The web reputation analysis of a destination is one of the instruments which – if systematically used – allows us to develop an effective policy to promote a destination in a tourist-centric way, in which the local offer system will be increasingly co-created and thus tailored to customers.


FAULTS combines a forms-based user interface with a facility-wide relational database to record equipment maintenance and repair events as they occur. The semantics of preventive maintenance and repair events are formalized to create clear and unambiguous maintenance reports. Storing preventive maintenance and equipment failure information in a structured database has several benefits. Accumulated information is automatically indexed to aid diagnosis of failures as they occur. Equipment failure information isavailable to utility programs for display and sta tistical analysis to produce summaries such as preventive maintenance intervals, mean time between failures, predicted downtimes, performance trends, etc. FAULTS is installed in the U.C. Berkeley Microfabrication Facility where it isused to manage more than a hundred pieces of equipment. The FAULTS system has provided a significant improvement inthe management ofpreventive maintenance and equipment repair information.