Introduction: Peritoneal metastasis from colorectal cancer (PM-CRC) is a condition with poor prognosis, even in patients undergoing potentially curative treatment with cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC). The ImmunoPeCa trial explores the tolerability of combining intraperitoneally administered MOC31PE immunotoxin with CRS-HIPEC. MOC31PE, consisting of the monoclonal antibody MOC31, which recognizes the tumor associated cell surface antigen EpCAM, and Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE), has shown excellent anti-cancer efficacy in preclinical studies. The immunotoxin was well tolerated upon intravenous administration in a previous clinical phase I trial, where the dose limiting toxicity (DLT) was reversible liver toxicity. In this trial, MOC31PE was administered intraperitoneally in humans for the first time, with the rationale that killing residual cancer cells in the peritoneal cavity after CRS-HIPEC will improve outcome. Patients and methods: The ImmunoPeCa phase I/II clinical trial (NCT02219893) startet enrollment in 2014 and adult patients with EpCAM positive PM-CRC accepted for CRS-HIPEC were included. MOC31PE was administered on the first postoperative day through abdominal drainage catheters that were clamped for 6h before they were reopened to remove intraabdominal fluid. Standard dose escalation was applied, with four dose levels (2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 μg/kg). Main endpoints were safety and toxicity (CTCAE version 4.0), and pharmacokinetic analyses of serum and peritoneal fluid were performed. Results: Twelve patients have received MOC31PE without major toxicity, and a maximum tolerated dose was not reached. Interestingly, MOC31PE was not detected in patient serum, suggesting that there was no systemic absorption of the drug. In peritoneal fluid samples at 6h and 24h MOC31PE was present in cytotoxic concentrations based on in vivo and in vitro studies, at least for the two highest dose levels, and the drug was impressively still fully active when analyzed in cell based assays. Conclusions: No DLT was observed upon peritoneal administration of MOC31PE, which is consistent with no systemic absorption. Remarkably, MOC31PE was fully active in peritoneal fluid samples 24h after treatment, with the intraperitoneal drug concentration in the cytotoxic range based on in vitro and in vivo studies. Taken together, treatment with MOC31PE represents a unique possibility for intraperitoneal treatment intensification without systemic toxicity. The highest dose level (10 μg/kg) has been chosen for further testing in a planned phase II expansion of the trial. Citation Format: Kjersti Flatmark, Yvonne Andersson, Ben Davidson, Svein Dueland, Oystein Fodstad, Ida S. Froysnes, Karl Erik Giercksky, Lars Julsrud, Stein G. Larsen, Kari H. Olsen, Janne M T Oien. Novel intraperitoneal treatment for peritoneal metastases: results from the Immunotoxin in Peritoneal Carcinomatosis (ImmunoPeCa) phase I clinical trial. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr CT055.


Human rhinovirus (RV)-induced exacerbations of asthma and wheeze are a major cause of emergency room presentations and hospital admissions among children. Previous studies have shown that immune response patterns during these exacerbations are heterogeneous and are characterized by the presence or absence of robust interferon responses. Molecular phenotypes of asthma are usually identified by cluster analysis of gene expression levels. This approach however is limited, since genes do not exist in isolation, but rather work together in networks. Here, we employed personal network inference to characterize exacerbation response patterns and unveil molecular phenotypes based on variations in network structure. We found that personal gene network patterns were dominated by two major network structures, consisting of interferon-response versus FCER1G-associated networks. Cluster analysis of these structures divided children into subgroups, differing in the prevalence of atopy but not RV species. These network structures were also observed in an independent cohort of children with virus-induced asthma exacerbations sampled over a time course, where we showed that the FCER1G-associated networks were mainly observed at late time points (days four–six) during the acute illness. The ratio of interferon- and FCER1G-associated gene network responses was able to predict recurrence, with low interferon being associated with increased risk of readmission. These findings demonstrate the applicability of personal network inference for biomarker discovery and therapeutic target identification in the context of acute asthma which focuses on variations in network structure.


OBJECTIVE
To search for evidence on the training of advanced practice nurses, through clinical practice and nursing care with cancer patients.

METHOD
Systematic review, searching the databases: MEDLINE-PubMed, LILACS, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL and Cochrane CENTRAL. A manual search of the reference list and Google Scholar was also carried out. To assess the methodological quality of the studies, the following tools were used: Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool (RoB 1) for randomized controlled trials and Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) for quasi-experimental studies.

RESULTS
A total of 12 experimental studies were identified. The main intervention identified in the studies was educational guidance. The studies showed improvement in pain control or other symptoms related to disease and/or treatment, satisfaction and improvement in the quality of life of cancer patients.

CONCLUSION
It is observed that there are studies that demonstrate the value of advanced practice nursing in oncology, through differentiated clinical training and advanced professional performance. Registration number of the systematic review: CRD42018098906.


Abstract - Limnothlypis swainsonii (Swainson's Warbler) readily colonizes novel habitat formations that meet basic requirements for understory stem density and visual screening. Little is known about the warbler's behavioral response to naturalized populations of introduced plants. I surveyed the incidence of introduced invasive Ligustrum spp. (privet) and native Arundinaria spp. (cane) on breeding territories (n = 590) of Swainson's Warbler in the southeastern United States. Privet occurred frequently on territories in Mississippi (65.0%), Alabama (55.7%), Louisiana (52.8%), and Texas (39.5%). Territories with privet (49.6% of total) were observed in 90 counties and parishes. The survey revealed numerous instances of warbler territories located in near-monocultures of Ligustrum sinense (Chinese Privet). Territories with cane (33.1% of total) were observed in 72 counties and parishes. In a broader context, the survey data suggest that Swainson's Warbler populations have rapidly adapted to invasive privets, which are physiognomically similar to several native thicket-forming shrubs.


Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) plays a central role in the regulation of the immune response. HLA class II molecules are essential for T cell-mediated adaptive immunity and present peptide antigens to CD4(+) T cells. Because of its important role in the immune response and its high degree of polymorphism, the HLA system is associated with many diseases. We examined the polymorphisms of HLA-DRB alleles and the sequences of the HLA-DRB promoter region in 97 unrelated patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and in 62 unrelated normal controls of the Han nationality from North China, using PCR with sequence-specific primers and PCR direct sequencing. We found that the frequency of HLA-DRB1*15 was significantly higher in the pulmonary tuberculosis group than in the healthy control group. The P value was 0.001, and the odds ratio was 3.793. The pulmonary tuberculosis group had the same HLA-DRB1 promoter region sequences as the control group. We concluded that the HLA-DRB1*15 allele is associated with pulmonary tuberculosis in the Han nationality from North China. The HLA-DRB1 promoter region sequences had no association with the development of pulmonary tuberculosis.


In the last decade, the use of shotcrete in tunnel construction has rapidly increased and the shotcrete has become an important element of the modern tunnel support techniques. Nevertheless, the properties of shotcrete have not been sufficiently investigated.This paper presents the results of an experimental program to evaluate the properties of shotcrete relevant to the tunnel support systems. In the experiments the cubic specimens were prepared and tested to obtain the mechanical properties, especially the strength and Young's modulus in relation to curing time. From these results, the relationship among the uniaxial compressive strength, Young's modulus, curing time, failure strain and ultrasonic velocity are proposed and their relevancy are discussed.


The recent increase in the amount of stored company data and exceeding interest in data analysis has resulted in new requirements on Data Warehousing solutions. This has led to the development of Data Warehouse Appliances, which this research project aims to investigate the business value of. The result is intended to support companies that are considering an investment, and give them an understanding of the technology's benefits.The research project was conducted in two parts. Vendors of the Appliance technology were interviewed, as well as their customers. The results from the vendor interviews together with a literature study provided a knowledge base for the analysis of the user companies' interviews. The results clearly indicate that there is value in the technology for larger companies.The research shows that although the main benefits advocated by the vendors match the perceived ones of the user companies, there are other aspects which they value even more. Examples of this include a reduced amount of administrative tasks and support from a single source. The research also reveals that the benefits estimated by the customer at the time of purchase were not their most valued benefits in hindsight.


Colonies of Microcystis aeruginosa have dominated the phytoplankton in Lund tube C, a limnetic enclosure in Blelham Tarn, English Lake District, during the summer and autumn in recent years. Following holomixis in autumn the previously buoyant colonies sedimented from the water column onto the bottom mud. In all samples gas vesicles, which provided the colonies with buoyancy, were present in sufficient volume to negate the combined ballast provided by protein, carbohydrate, lipid and phosphate, the major cell components. The gas vesicles, which accounted for about 10% of the cell protein, were too strong to be collapsed or regulated by cell turgor pressure. Consequently, the loss of buoyancy could not be explained by an increase in cell ballast or by disappearance of gas vesicles. Colonies collected in sediment traps were found to be buoyant after they had been agitated and diluted with lake water, which removed a colloidal precipitate from them. Similarly, 66% of the sinking fraction of a net tow sample was found to be buoyant after it had been treated in the same way. Previously buoyant colonies could be made to sink on mixing with the colloidal precipitate. This demonstrated the ability of the precipitate to trap colonies and to cause their sedimentation. The colloid comprised approximately equal amounts of organic and inorganic matter and was rich in iron. Colloids of this type form when the dissolved iron in the anoxic water of the hypolimnion becomes oxidized on mixing with the aerated water of the epilimnion.


Three cases of oat cell carcinoma appearing as a bronchocele on the chest radiograph are described. A bronchocele as the major radiologic manifestation of oat cell carcinoma has not been emphasized previously. Such a bronchocele may be filled with neoplastic cells rather than only inspissated mucus. Needle aspiration biopsy was definitive in two of the cases when conventional diagnostic methods failed.


Purpose

Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, this study aims to apply the emotional labour concept to illustrate about the relationship between customer orientation (CO) and job burnout, further demonstrating how the relationship is established in the hospitality industry. This study intends to find that emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between CO and emotional labour.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses descriptive statistical analysis and reliability analysis. Then, the study uses confirmatory factor analyses to ensure the model fit and discriminant validity of the measures. Finally, the hypothesised relationship model is tested and analysed via regression analysis.

Findings

The study finds three dimensions of emotional labour all partially mediated the relationship between CO and job burnout. Meanwhile, the study finds that emotional intelligence would moderate the relationship between CO and three dimensions of emotional labour.

Research limitations/implications

First, the respondents in this study come from five-star hotels in Beijing, China. As the results of this study are based on a sample of Chinese five-star hotel employees, the selection of a single service setting and a single country may raise concerns for the issue of generalisability. Thus, the findings of this study may not generalise to other hospitality contexts, other cultures or other times; research in other settings, geographical areas or times might yield different results.

Practical implications

High employee job burnout is a thorny problem in the hospitality industry, so it is a great challenge for hospitality management to solve high employee job burnout. As a personality resource, CO will decrease job burnout. Emotional labour is a common issue in hospitality. The study intends to explore the lived experiences of the frontline employees in hospitality industry to explain the role of CO directives on employee job burnout in an emotional labour perspective. The results give suggestions for the hospitality management.

Social implications

After reviewing of relevant literature, two research gaps are found. First, despite the amount of research showing a negative relationship between CO and job burnout, remarkably little is known about how these relationships are established. Second, a more important gap lies in overlooking the emotional nature of hospitality service work. The results of the study can fill the theoretical gap.

Originality/value

First, the recruitment and selection of frontline employees should incorporate an assessment of the level of CO. Second, hospitality management should teach and train the employees about the proper control of emotional labour. Third, the recruitment and selection of frontline employees should incorporate an assessment of the level of emotional intelligence; meanwhile, it is necessary to strengthen the emotional intelligence training.


Heavy ion irradiation of high-voltage power MOSFETs with long-range ions (>123/spl mu/m in silicon) was performed using 14, 19, 22, 24, 28, and 39 MeV-cm/sup 2//mg ions at normal incidence. Prior to catastrophic failure some DUTs exhibited unusual electrical characteristic: all devices demonstrated high current transients (or current spikes) at voltages significantly lower than the voltage at which the devices failed.


A) Mastering the Art of Cemented Femoral Stem Fixation

Abstract: Fixation of cemented femoral stems is reproducible and provides excellent early recovery of hip function in patients 60–80 years old. The durability of fixation has been evaluated up to 20 years with 90% survivorship. The mode of failure of fixation of cemented total hip arthroplasty is multi-factorial; however, good cementing techniques and reduction of polyethylene wear have been shown to reduce its incidence. The importance of surface roughness for durability of fixation is controversial. This presentation will describe my personal experience with the cemented femoral stem over 30 years with 3 designs and surface roughness (RA) ranging from 30 to 150µm.

Results: Since 1978, three series of cemented THA have been prospectively followed using periodic clinical and radiographic evaluations. All procedures were performed by the author using the posterior approach. Excellent results and Kaplan-Meier survivorship ranged from 90% to 99.5% in the best case scenario were noted at 10–20 year follow-up.

Conclusion: With a properly-designed femoral stem, good cement technique, proper cement mantle, and surface roughness of 30–40 microinches, the cemented femoral stem provides a durable hip replacement in patients 60–80 years old with up to 95% survivorship at 10–20 year follow-up.

B) Cemented Primary Acetabulum

Introduction: I am going to present a technique of cementing an all-poly socket, a brief review of our clinical experience, and all-poly socket design features. Since 1991, we have been using direct compression molded polyethylene sockets. The minimum thickness of poly is 8mm. We keep the socket orientation at 45 degrees of lateral opening and 15 degrees of anteversion. The preparation of the socket involves multiple fixation holes with Midas Rex. The bone is cleaned with water lavage. The cement is pressurised at a doughy state.

Radiographic Features: The cement/bone interface has been classified into three types of radiograph. Type 1 has a perfect merge of the cement into the cancellous bone in all three zones. Type III interface shows radiolucency in one or more zones.

A commonly asked question is, "is this technique reproducible?" The answer is "yes".

Our Data: We have looked at our all-poly socket from 1992 to 1998 and the total number of hips are over 1,000, with a follow-up of 2–8 years. We have not revised a single socket for fixation failure.

Summary: The indication are patients 60 years and older with a diagnosis of osteoarthritis. Relative contraindications are excessive bleeding, extensive cyst formation, weak cancellous bone such as in rheumatoid, JRA, DDH, and protrusio patients. Cemented THA in patients 60 years and older with DJD and molded all-poly cup have provided the best results in terms of a high degree of reproducibility, high quality of function, and durability.


In 2002, the UN International Law Commission added to its program of work the topic of Shared Natural Resources: transboundary groundwater, oil and gas. Six years later, the UN ILC completed its work on the first sub-topic by adopting at second reading nineteen draft articles on the law of transboundary aquifers. The draft articles were then deferred to the UN General Assembly, which adopted Resolution A/RES/63/124 including the draft articles in annex. In the Resolution, the UN GA "encourages the States concerned to make appropriate bilateral or regional arrangements for the proper management of their transboundary aquifers, taking into account the provisions of these draft articles". The paper will go through the main principles codified in the draft articles. The UN ILC had benefited from a unique cooperation on the science of hydrogeology from UNESCO's International Hydrological Program; hence it considered and covered issues of main importance for hydrogeologists.


It can be life-saving to monitor the respiratory rate (RR) even for healthy people in real-time. It is reported that the infected people with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), generally develop mild respiratory symptoms in the early stage. It will be more important to continuously monitor the RR of people in nursing homes and houses with a non-contact method. Conventional, contact-based, methods are not suitable for long-term health monitoring especially in-home care services. The potentials of wireless radio signals for health care applications, such as fall detection, etc., are examined in literature. In this paper, we focus on a device-free real-time RR monitoring system using wireless signals. In our recent study, we proposed a non-contact RR monitoring system with a batch processing (delayed) estimation method. In this paper, for real-time monitoring, we modify the standard joint unscented Kalman filter (JUKF) method for this new and time-critical problem. Due to the nonlinear structure of the RR estimation problem with respect to the measurements, a novel modification is proposed to transform measurement errors into parameter errors by using the hyperbolic tangent function. It is shown in the experiments conducted with the real measurements taken using healthy volunteers that the proposed modified joint unscented Kalman filter (ModJUKF) method achieves the highest accuracy according to the windowing-based methods in the time-varying RR scenario. It is also shown that the ModJUKF not only reduces the computational complexity approximately 8.54% but also improves the accuracy 36.7% with respect to the standard JUKF method.


Quadratic signal processing is often computationally more intense than the linear case, and hence attention to concurrent computation is an important concern, particularly in real-time applications. The author addresses the concurrent computation issue in the context of systolic array processors. As a prototype the data processing requirements inherent in the calculation of discrete Wigner distributions (DWD) are considered, extending their focus to bilinear (bipower) functions in general. The author summarizes a class of systolic arrays (cylindrical arrays) that prove to be well matched to the computational needs of the bilinear functions in question. He discusses the synthesis of the DWD and bilinear functions and summarizes the computational speeds of the DWD and the general bilinear case. The study makes use of recent results in fast form algorithms and their implementation by dynamically switchable systolic arrays. >


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Emerging studies have reported the mechanosensitive Piezo1 (piezo type mechanosensitive ion channel component 1) plays essential roles in regulating the vascular tone through mechanistic actions on intracellular calcium homeostasis. However, the specific roles of Piezo1 in pulmonary vessels remain incompletely understood. We aim to investigate whether and how Piezo1 regulates the intracellular calcium homeostasis in human pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) under normal and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) conditions. Cultured human PASMCs isolated from both control donors and idiopathic PAH patients were used as cell models. Fura-2 based intracellular calcium imaging was performed to measure the intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i). Results showed that activation of Piezo1 by Yoda1 increases [Ca2+]i by inducing both intracellular calcium release from internal calcium stores through the intracellular (intra-) Piezo1 localized at the subcellular organelles, including endoplasmic reticulum/sarcoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and nucleus; as well as extracellular calcium influx through the plasma membrane-localized Piezo1 in a mechanism independent of the store-operated calcium entry. Moreover, the Piezo1-mediated increase of [Ca2+]i is linked to increased contraction and proliferation of PASMCs. Yoda1 induces dose-dependent vasocontraction in endothelium-denuded rat intrapulmonary arteries. Significant upregulation and increased activity of Piezo1 were observed in idiopathic PAH-PASMCs versus donor-PASMCs, contributing to the increased [Ca2+]i and excessive proliferation of idiopathic PAH-PASMCs. In summary, Piezo1 mediates the increase of [Ca2+]i by triggering both intracellular calcium release and extracellular influx. The enhanced Piezo1 expression and activity accounts, at least partially, for the abnormally elevated [Ca2+]i and proliferation in idiopathic PAH-PASMCs.


Unusual walking and non-weight bearing on one side of the body is called limping. The incidence of this complication, as an acute complaint in children, is among the causes of emergency department visits and considered as one of the medical challenges in this unit. It is safe to claim that in emergency department, finding the exact cause is not a priority; conversely, it is more important to know that it is not caused by a serious condition. In other words, in the emergency department, ensuring that the cause does not threaten the patient's life or limb is prioritized over reaching the final diagnosis. Emergency medicine specialists play an important role in detection, diagnosis, and proper referral of these patients. The current manuscript was written in order to facilitate clinical decision-making regarding treatment of children with acute limping visiting emergency department.


New technology always brought some more fraudulent criminal activities developed around these technologies. Ex: Photocopiers, fax machines, credit cards, and mobile phones, ATMs, PCs and now Internet. By the time the regulatory bodies, law enforcement agencies etc take preventive measures to cope up with the present environment and it gets stabilized, either the environment itself changes or some more new elements like new technology emerges making the criminals find a new home and commit fraud. So prevention is basically a cycle of monitor, analyse, detect, act and protect. In this paper we discuss about the technology based opportunities that thieves take advantage and its prevention and how to build future technology based banking services that can limit the frauds.


The present paper proposes the concept of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing networks that allow participants (peers) to freely assign structured meta-data to files. As a concrete example, we consider an unstructured P2P network using vectorized Kansei (human sensitivity) information as structured meta-data for file search. Vectorized Kansei information as meta-data indicates what participants feel to their own files and is assigned by the participant to each of their own files. Therefore, vectorized Kansei information is a sort of structured meta-data that people can freely assign to files. A search query also has the same form of vectorized Kansei information and indicates what participants want to feel to files that they will eventually obtain. A method that enables file search using vectorized Kansei information is the Kansei query-forwarding method, which probabilistically propagates a search query from a peer making the query to peers that are likely to hold more files having meta-data that is similar to the query. The similarity between the search query and the meta-data is measured in terms of their dot product. From the viewpoint of P2P file sharing, in which all of the peers are equal in terms of function, it is not good for certain peers to have an advantage in P2P file search due to their Kansei information. Therefore, the simulation experiments herein examine if the Kansei query-forwarding method can provide equal search performance for all peers in a network in which the Kansei information of the peers and the tendency of the peers with respect to file collection are diverse. The simulation results show that the Kansei query forwarding method and a random-walk-based query forwarding method, for comparison, work effectively in different situations and are complementary.


Objectives To develop and validate a deep learning-based diagnostic model incorporating uncertainty estimation so as to facilitate radiologists in the preoperative differentiation of the pathological subtypes of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) based on CT images. Methods Data from 668 consecutive patients, pathologically proven RCC, were retrospectively collected from Center 1. By using five-fold cross-validation, a deep learning model incorporating uncertainty estimation was developed to classify RCC subtypes into clear cell RCC (ccRCC), papillary RCC (pRCC), and chromophobe RCC (chRCC). An external validation set of 78 patients from Center 2 further evaluated the model's performance. Results In the five-fold cross-validation, the model's area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for the classification of ccRCC, pRCC, and chRCC was 0.868 (95% CI: 0.826-0.923), 0.846 (95% CI: 0.812-0.886), and 0.839 (95% CI: 0.802-0.88), respectively. In the external validation set, the AUCs were 0.856 (95% CI: 0.838-0.882), 0.787 (95% CI: 0.757-0.818), and 0.793 (95% CI: 0.758-0.831) for ccRCC, pRCC, and chRCC, respectively. Conclusions The developed deep learning model demonstrated robust performance in predicting the pathological subtypes of RCC, while the incorporated uncertainty emphasized the importance of understanding model confidence, which is crucial for assisting clinical decision-making for patients with renal tumors. Clinical relevance statement Our deep learning approach, integrated with uncertainty estimation, offers clinicians a dual advantage: accurate RCC subtype predictions complemented by diagnostic confidence references, promoting informed decision-making for patients with RCC.


Incineration and landfilling of waste from the timber industry are practices condemned and unused. The reuse of wood waste as a dispersive phase in composite materials has been the focus of much research to develop new products, mainly for the automotive and construction industries. The wood–plastic composites (WPC) present characteristics, such as moderate strength, light weight, and high durability. Besides, they are inexpensive and sustainable, which make them attractive for innovative design. This work investigates the effect of eucalyptus sawdust, a chemical admixture and silica particles on the physical and mechanical properties of WPC upon a statistical methodology. The silica-particle addition was added by the matrix phase replacement to reduce the overall costs, because the latter is nearly 87 % more expensive. A microstructural analysis was conducted to better assess the variables studied. Results have shown that the composites made with 20 wt. % of sawdust addition, 10/50 US-Tyler sawdust particle size and maleic anhydride addition appeared to have acceptable properties for engineering applications.


The solution synthesis of rhodium nanoparticles (Rh NPs) was achieved from the organometallic complex [Rh(η3-C3H5)3] under mild reaction conditions in the presence of a polymer (PVP), a monophosphine (PPh3) and a diphosphine (dppb) as a stabilizer, leading to very small Rh NPs of 2.2, 1.3 and 1.7 nm mean size, with PVP, PPh3 and dppb, respectively. The surface properties of these nanoparticles were compared using a model catalysis reaction namely, hydrogenation of cyclohexene, first under colloidal conditions and then under supported conditions after their immobilization onto an amino functionalized silica-coated magnetite support. PVP-stabilized Rh NPs were the most active catalyst whatever the catalytic conditions as a result of a strong coordination of the phosphine ligands at the metal surface that blocks some surface atoms even after several recycles of the supported nanocatalysts and limit the reactivity of the metallic surface.


While not classified as an essential plant nutrient, silicon (Si) assimilation following exogenous Si application has enhanced the wear resistance of cool-season turfgrass. Given this beneficial supplementation of lignin by Si reported in epidermal tissue of monocotyledonous plants, our research objective was to quantify root morphology, vegetative nutrition and vigor, soil chemistry, and putting green performance in response to split applications of pelletized liming agents rich in Si and/or Ca and Mg. Field evaluation of granular liming agent treatment, 2441 kg (ha year)−1, was conducted on creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L. cv. Penn G-2) putting green maintained in the Mid-Atlantic US. Pelletized Ca/Mg-SiO3 slag or dolomitic limestone treatments were conducted in frequent split applications and incorporated into the upper 5 cm of the rootzone. Measurements of canopy color and density, shoot growth as clipping yield, soil pH, Si and nutrient content of clippings, and soil extractable Si were performed each season. Cumulative Ca/Mg-SiO3 application (kg ha−1) increased mean acetic acid (HOAc) extractable Si by 35 to 60 mg kg−1 and leaf Si content by 1.0 to 1.5 g kg−1. However, neither putting green canopy quality, shoot nutrient concentration, 5 to 15 cm depth root length density nor ball roll distance was improved by liming agent treatment. Liming agent-treated or untreated plots showed statistical, yet inconsistent, differences in clipping yield 4, 14, 15, 16, and 17 months from initiation (MFI). This thorough shuffling of treatment rank, resulting in identical experiment-wide means precludes the expectation of dependably superior vigor by any.


The Arctic climate is changing rapidly, yet predicting how aquatic species will respond to these changes remains challenging given the lack of empirical data for most highlatitude taxa. Acoustic telemetry has recently emerged as an important methodology for understanding horizontal and vertical space-use patterns in fishes. Here, we used acoustic telemetry to document marine habitat use and depth/temperature preference of 26 anadromous Arctic char Salve linus alpinus within the Kitikmeot Sea region of the Canadian central Arctic over 4 yr (2013− 2016). Most detections (~70%) were within the top 3 m of the water column, and most were in estuarine (72.6%) vs. marine (27.4%) habitats. Arctic char preferred deeper waters later in the summer, but the temperature they occupied remained relatively constant throughout the marine feeding season (~5−8°C). Most Arctic char exhibited some degree of repetitive diving behavior, with individuals diving to 35 m. Diving activity increased later in the summer marine feeding season and is likely a response to the seasonal transition of their preferred prey to deeper waters as the season progresses. Finally, Arctic char preferred deeper waters with less ice cover and during the day, the latter suggesting potential diel patterns to marine habitat use. Finally, year-to-year variation in Arctic char depth and temperature use was very modest despite differences in climatic and ice conditions. This result suggests that habitat use is relatively fixed and may reflect their thermal and osmoregulatory physiology, which has important implications for forecasting the impacts of a changing Arctic on this economically valuable species.


Software developers with service oriented technologies usually put a lot of efforts to deploy and manage supporting middleware and tools. Meanwhile PaaS in cloud computing aims at provide efficient support for software developers. In the light of this consideration, we have designed and implemented Service4All, a service cloud platform targeting at improve productivity of service oriented software developers. In this paper, we describe the design of SAE, a key component in Service4All, in terms of scalability. First, we present the key technical issues and architecture design of SAE. Second, we describe a software appliance based mechanism for elastic middleware management. Third, we describe a micro-kernel based AppEngine core for efficient coordination of various components. Finally, through a real application deployed on Service4All, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our solution.


The relationship between trunk muscle morphology as measured on transverse magnetic resonance images and isokinetic lifting, psychophysical lifting, and static back muscle endurance testing was examined in 110 men, ages 35-67 years (mean, 48 years), who had been chosen based on their exposure to a wide variety of occupational and leisure-time physical activities. The computed T2-relaxation times and the T2-weighted and proton density-weighted signal intensities of the erector spinae, quadratus lumborum, and psoas major muscles had almost no association with any of the strength tests. The cross-sectional areas of the muscles had good correlations with isokinetic lifting strength (r = 0.46-0.53). They did not correlate well with psychophysical lifting and static back muscle endurance. Other characteristics or neurological or psychological factors may have more influence on those tests.


Regional aerosol concentrations are governed by an evolving balance between aerosol sources and sinks. Here, a simple technique is described for making estimates of the extent to which seasonal aerosol variability is controlled by wet scavenging rather than the efficiency of transport from pollution source regions. Carbon monoxide (CO) is employed as an assumed passive tracer of pollution transport efficiency, to which the magnitude of aerosol light scattering is compared. Because aerosols, unlike CO, are affected by wet scavenging as well as transport efficiency, the ratio of short-term perturbations in these two quantities provides a measure of the relative roles of these two processes. This technique is applied to surface measurements in the Arctic at Barrow, Alaska (71◦N) for the decade between 2000 and 2009. What is found is that a well-known seasonal cycle in 'Arctic Haze' is dominated by variability in wet scavenging. Crossing the freezing threshold for warm rain production appears particularly critical for efficiently cleaning the air.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the iodine status in a random group of adults in a rural region.

DESIGN
A cross-sectional study; urinary iodine concentrations (UIC) were correlated with results of a questionnaire that collected demographic information.

SETTING
Primary care.

PARTICIPANTS
A total of 173 adults from the Riverina region provided a morning midstream urine sample and completed a questionnaire. There were no exclusion criteria.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Iodine status was based upon mean UIC (MUIC) values and categorised according to World Health Organisation criterion. Subgroups were classified according to sex, age, town, salt usage, vitamin/supplement usage, pregnant or breast-feeding status and diet.

RESULTS
The MUIC for the study population was 79 microg L(-1); 29% were iodine-replete, 52% had mild deficiency and 18.5% were moderately to severely deficient. Use of iodised salt produced a non-clinically significant increase in MUIC of 81 microg L(-1)compared with 71 microg L(-1)(P = 0.1907). Daily vitamin supplementation led to iodine sufficiency with a MUIC of 111 microg L(-1)(P = 0.0011). Participants aged 50-59 years had a significantly lower MUIC than participants aged 18-39 years (67 versus 89 microg L(-1), respectively, P = 0.0106). Further, the MUIC decreased with age from 18 to 59 years (P = 0.0208).

CONCLUSIONS
A mild iodine deficiency was found in this sample of the Riverina population, consistent with other Australian studies. Salt iodisation might not be an effective strategy to correct iodine deficiencies within Australia.


The Hamilton Army Airfield Wetlands Restoration project involved the construction of more than 8 kilometres of levees over deep deposits of soft high plastic clay, along the margins of San Francisco Bay. The levees contain extensive hydraulic filling that was part of the wetlands restoration program. This paper addresses the staged construction design at the North-1 section of the levee system. Staged construction was used to improve the stability of the new proposed containment dike and wetlands fill, and reduce post-construction settlements. The Stress History And Normalized Soil Engineering Properties (SHANSEP) design procedure was used to develop the shear strength parameters that were necessary for the evaluation of stability at different stages during construction. The design process was based on extensive in-situ field vane testing and a comprehensive laboratory testing program. The use of vertical wick drains was evaluated for different areas along the levee. Various consolidation periods between construction stages were considered, and their impacts on shear strength increase assessed.


ABSTRACT The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans is a significant medical threat, especially for immunocompromised patients. Experimental research has focused on specific areas of C. albicans biology, with the goal of understanding the multiple factors that contribute to its pathogenic potential. Some of these factors include cell adhesion, invasive or filamentous growth, and the formation of drug-resistant biofilms. The Gene Ontology (GO) (www.geneontology.org) is a standardized vocabulary that the Candida Genome Database (CGD) (www.candidagenome.org) and other groups use to describe the functions of gene products. To improve the breadth and accuracy of pathogenicity-related gene product descriptions and to facilitate the description of as yet uncharacterized but potentially pathogenicity-related genes in Candida species, CGD undertook a three-part project: first, the addition of terms to the biological process branch of the GO to improve the description of fungus-related processes; second, manual recuration of gene product annotations in CGD to use the improved GO vocabulary; and third, computational ortholog-based transfer of GO annotations from experimentally characterized gene products, using these new terms, to uncharacterized orthologs in other Candida species. Through genome annotation and analysis, we identified candidate pathogenicity genes in seven non-C. albicans Candida species and in one additional C. albicans strain, WO-1. We also defined a set of C. albicans genes at the intersection of biofilm formation, filamentous growth, pathogenesis, and phenotypic switching of this opportunistic fungal pathogen, which provides a compelling list of candidates for further experimentation.


Surgical treatment of corrosive esophagitis with gastric perforation is a high risk operation. Nonthoracotomy esophagectomy plus total gastrectomy was performed upon seven patients and compared with cervical esophagostomy plus total gastrectomy performed upon five patients. Two patients in the first group and all of the patients in the second group died. Transpleural esophagectomy for these critically ill patients is usually dangerous with high morbidity rates, while nonthoracotomy esophagectomy is a procedure which has lower risks and more advantages for removing the damaged esophagus of the patient with corrosive esophagitis.


The ability of certain foods to impair or augment the absorption of various vitamins and minerals has been recognized for many years. However, the contribution of botanical dietary supplements (BDSs) to altered micronutrient disposition has received little attention. Almost half of the US population uses some type of dietary supplement on a regular basis, with vitamin and mineral supplements constituting the majority of these products. BDS usage has also risen considerably over the last 2 decades, and a number of clinically relevant herb-drug interactions have been identified during this time. BDSs are formulated as concentrated plant extracts containing a plethora of unique phytochemicals not commonly found in the normal diet. Many of these uncommon phytochemicals can modulate various xenobiotic enzymes and transporters present in both the intestine and liver. Therefore, it is likely that the mechanisms underlying many herb-drug interactions can also affect micronutrient absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. To date, very few prospective studies have attempted to characterize the prevalence and clinical relevance of herb-micronutrient interactions. Current research indicates that certain BDSs can reduce iron, folate, and ascorbate absorption, and others contribute to heavy metal intoxication. Researchers in the field of nutrition may not appreciate many of the idiosyncrasies of BDSs regarding product quality and dosage form performance. Failure to account for these eccentricities can adversely affect the outcome and interpretation of any prospective herb-micronutrient interaction study. This review highlights several clinically relevant herb-micronutrient interactions and describes several common pitfalls that often beset clinical research with BDSs.


The DNA of kinetoplastid like Leishmania and Trypanosoma, thymine (T) base is modified into Dglucosyl-hydroxy-methyluracil (base J). The J-binding protein (JBP) plays a crucial role in conversion of base T into base J. In this study, comparison of JBP is done at both : the sequence and structural level in both the species in order to examine the possibility of a common drug target. Several tools and bio-informatics approaches have been used for the three-dimensional structural modeling, validation of modeled structures, sequence and structural alignment, R-R contact propensity and docking of JBP with modeled DNA. The protein sequences are modeled by the ModWeb server by using 2XSE as a template. More than 95% residues are fallen into allowed region of modeled structures of JBP of both the species. So these structures are used in the further analysis. The sequence of JBP of L.major and T.bucei are not identical but it these are much similar at the structural level. The L.major is much similar with template than the T.brucei. In the conservation profile. Residue-residue contact propensity is higher in L.major than T.brucei. The JBP of both the species shows more or less similar pattern of interaction with the thymine base present in the telomeric sequences. Subsequently these thymine bases are modified during the binding process. The interaction may be check by performed mutation on the thymine. On the basis of structural similarity and interaction with DNA, it might be used as a common drug target for drug design in both the species.


The present study highlights the existence of a post-evolution of the fracture and damage in glassy polymers at zero-stress relaxation evidencing that the dynamic is not frozen below the glass transition but that it releases at zero stress in the plastic regime from past stresses. The observation of a further evolution of the glass without applied stress (at zero stress) is unexpected and inaccessible using conventional tensile tests since they are not designed to enable a zero-stress measurement. Non-contact methods such as confocal microscopy and autocorrelation analysis are used to examine polymethylmethacrylate samples plastically deformed (up to 8% elongation rate) and subsequently studied in the unloaded state. The zero-stress evolution is morphologically characterized by a nucleation of new microfractures and an evolution of the existing cracking. The analysis of the image correlation indicates that the strain field continues to evolve revealing an intermittent retraction of the displacement field at time scales up to several days. Different temperatures from −75 ∘ Cu p to−45 ∘ C below the glass transition have been tested and prove that the retraction process is thermally activated. The retraction process (about 1% − 2% of the deformation rate) implies that plastic deformation does not relax completely from anterior stresses but exhibits a delayed elasticity. These properties have profound consequences impacting the future physical and mechanical properties of the material. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry


Even though we are not aware of the some effects of computer games and similar applications that offer high reality visualization, they made virtual reality a part of our technological life. Current technology demos already shown that it is possible to visualize the growth of a grass and micro details on its surface by using upcoming game consoles. Such cutting-edge applications designed by talented graphics artists and realized by industries most smart software developers set new standards for virtual reality applications. No matter what type of real environments visualization you are working on, you should meet many standards defined by other virtual reality applications. In this study, we tried to develop software that can be used to visualize outdoors scene of the landscapes that really exist on the earth. Instead of texture-mapped model scenes we tried to generate virtual worlds that simulate the dynamism of the life as it is. In order to increase the usage areas we used on-the-shelf PC hardware. Our software can be evaluated as satisfactory considering the quality of the scenes and rendering performance. 1 This work is supported by 3D TV European Network of Exellence funded by the EC 6th Framework IST Programme.


High-level waste from spent commercial PWR fuel was vitrified during the Nuclear Waste Vitrification Project (NWVP), conducted at Pacific Northwest Laboratory in 1978 and 1979. The solidification equipment employed sintered metal filters and a conventional wet off-gas cleanup system to decontaminate the gases generated during waste processing. This report is a summary of a study completed under contract with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to determine the fate of volatile fission products in the filters and off-gas system. The study objectives were to determine (1) the extent of volatile fission product deposition within the sintered metal filters, (2) the distribution of fission products in the off-gas system, and (3) the factors that control the distribution. Such information is needed for the design and operation of future waste immobilization systems. The scope of the study included identification, preparation, and microprobe analyses of suitable filter samples and radiochemical analyses of off-gas system samples. The report describes the methods of sample selection and gathering, the analytical methods and results, and the interpretations of the results. Relationships to vitrification system operations are defined and operating conditions to minimize problems recommended. 37 figures, 14 tables.


Analysis of the thermal diffusion contribution to laser-irradiation-induced dissolving in semiconductors of inhomogeneities enriched in metallic components has been carried out for the laser spectral region h(cross) omega <Eg, where Eg is the energy band gap of the semiconductor. Experimental dependences of the rates of variation of free-carrier concentrations in narrow-gap Pb1-xSnxTe(Se) semiconductors, associated with filling of electrically active metal vacancies with atoms from inclusions formed in the process of semiconductor growth, have allowed evaluation of the parameters of the thermodiffusion and diffusion mechanisms, and of the criteria for predominance of the former of these. The experimental values of the times for variation of the electrical characteristics of Pb1-xSnxTe(Se) crystals are close to the theoretical predictions.


News - or foresight - about future economic fundamentals can create rational expectations equilibria with non-fundamental representations that pose substantial challenges to econometric efforts to recover the structural shocks to which economic agents react. Using tax policies as a leading example of foresight, simple theory makes transparent the economic behavior and information structures that generate non-fundamental equilibria. Econometric analyses that fail to model foresight will obtain biased estimates of output multipliers for taxes; biases are quantitatively important when two canonical theoretical models are taken as data generating processes. Both the nature of equilibria and the inferences about the effects of anticipated tax changes hinge critically on hypothesized information flows. Different methods for extracting or hypothesizing the information flows are discussed and shown to be alternative techniques for resolving a non-uniqueness problem endemic to moving average representations.


Oxidized alginate (OA)-based hydrogels have drawn considerable attention as biodegradable materials for tissue engineering applications. OA possesses a faster degradation rate and contains more reactive groups compared to native alginate. This review summarizes the research publications reporting the development of OA-based hydrogels for tissue engineering applications including bone, cartilage, blood vessel, cornea, and other soft tissues, highlighting OA key properties and processing approaches.


Twenty-first century methods of communication are changing. Technology and the way it is used has the potential to revolutionise health care. In the same way information technology (IT) has had a massive impact on commerce and industry, it is also having a substantial impact on the practice of community nurses and the ways in which care is delivered. In order for the impact of IT to be a positive one, community nurses and other health professionals will have to learn and develop a range of new skills. Nurses can and should be directing and becoming involved in the ways in which the IT revolution unfolds. Nurses working with systems development teams also need to make known their needs making clear what information the various IT systems have to contain and how these will fit in with their nursing practice.


The author's point of departure is that building today is the early architecture of the age of science. It increasingly uses scientific methods and technologies of science. Consequently there are many pressures and necessities to innovate, but resistances exist in the form of inertia of the industry, the educational deficiencies of the professions and constructors, the demanding conditions for trouble-free design and construction, and the penalties now consequent upon trouble. In order to open the way for safe innovation there has been a shift towards regulation by performance criteria in place of the former definition by specific requirements; and in order to assess performance in advance of experience, a systematic evaluation is now available. The existence of these two developments has been made possible by the growth of building science, and they in turn define the monitoring and feed-back of experience as important functions of building research for the future. There is a need and capability developing to analyse building problems with increasing precision in several directions, and the process often defines new needs for materials and techniques. This is a centreto-periphery process, and the reverse also takes place, where product makers thrust into the market innovations which result from some matching of fresh ideas to apparent needs. In all cases the needs are defined consciously or unconsciously from the context of the subsystem within which the product or component will function. Buildings are always systems comprising many subsystems. Examples are then given of directions in which the author foresees needs for new developments being defined.


The genetic hallmark of the Ewing sarcoma family of tumours (ESFT) is the presence of the t(11;22)(q24;q12) translocation, present in up to 85% of cases of ESFT, which creates the EWS/FLI1 fusion gene and results in the expression of a chimeric protein regulating many other genes. The inhibition of this protein by antisense strategies has shown its predominant role in the transformed phenotype of Ewing cells. In addition, the junction point at the mRNA level offers a target for short therapeutic nucleic acids that is present only in the cancer cells and not in the normal tissues of a patient. Several teams have, therefore, investigated the activity of antisense oligonucleotides and siRNAs targeted against the junction point in mRNA; thus, inhibiting EWS/FLI1 synthesis. Generally speaking, the molecules induce a cell growth inhibition in culture. Apoptosis has also been reported. One laboratory has reported the in vivo tumour inhibitory effect of phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotide directed against the EWS part of EWS/FlI1 when injected intratumourally. Independently, a tumour inhibitory effect of oligonucleotides targeting the junction point has been demonstrated provided they are delivered by polymeric nanoparticles through the intratumoural route. Alongside this target, other genes participating to the maintenance of the transformed phenotype of Ewing cells have been downregulated by antisense strategies.


BACKGROUND
Reducing neointima formation and atherosclerosis are key goals in preventing late vein graft failure. Although pharmacologic and mechanical solutions have been proposed, the demonstration that these influence both aspects of vein graft pathology have been lacking. Supporting grafts externally with an oversized, highly porous polyester stent dramatically reduces neointima formation in normocholesterolemic pigs. However, its effects in the presence of hypercholesterolemia are unknown.

METHODS
We compared wall thickening, cholesterol concentration, foam-cell formation, and the expression of the leukocyte adhesion molecule vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 after 3 months in stented and unstented saphenous vein interposition grafts into the carotid arteries of pigs fed cholesterol to cause modest hypercholesterolemia (11.2 +/- 1.2 mmol/L).

RESULTS
Stenting reduced neointima formation from 5.6 +/- 0.4 to 1.2 +/- 0.2 mm(2) (n = 7; P <.00002, paired t test) and graft cholesterol concentration from 4.7 +/- 1.2 to 2.1 +/- 1.3 mg/g wet weight (P <.02). Foam cells were observed in unstented grafts (mean, 1.5% +/- 0.5% of all cells) but never in stented grafts. Vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 was strongly expressed in 53% +/- 8% of intimal and medial cells in unstented grafts but was weakly expressed in only 19% +/- 3% (n = 4, P <.05) of stented grafts.

CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that external stenting with polyester favorably influences both neointima formation and early atherosclerosis, both of which are key aspects of vein graft disease, and that decreased expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 is part of the underlying mechanism.


Raman and i.r. spectra (4000–70 cm.–1) are reported for solid ferrocene and for the isoelectronic cation bis-(π-cyclopentadienyl)cobalt(III)+, in the solid state as the tribromide, [Co(C5H5)2]+Br3–, and in solution as the chloride. Raman polarization measurements assist the assignment, which agrees with that originally proposed for ferrocene by Lippincott and Nelson rather than with the revised assignment recently put forward by Fritz. A reason is suggested for the unusually low Raman intensity of the totally symmetric C–H bending fundamental ν2 at ca. 800–850 cm.–1 in bis(cyclopentadienyl)metal compounds. In comparison with ferrocene, the metal–ring stretching force constant is slightly higher in the cobalticinium ion, but is dependent on the physical state of the sample. Although most of the ring fundamentals are similar in the two compounds, the frequencies of the out-of-plane C–H deformation modes of the cobalticinium ion are markedly higher. The possible origins of these effects are discussed.


Submarine landslides can be triggered by several processes and involve a variety of mechanisms. These phenomena are important sediment transport processes, but they also constitute a significant geohazard. Mapping of the southwestern Caribbean Sea using 3D seismic data has allowed identification of several submarine landslides in the Colombian Margin in the area dominated by the Southern Sinú Fold Belt (SSFB). A poststack depth-migrated seismic cube survey with a 12.5 by 12.5 m bin spacing was used to identify landslides in an area covering 5746 km2. Landslides were interpreted using a seafloor morphologic parameter identification process and the internal deformation of the slope-forming material, as seen from seismic data. A total of 93 landslides were identified and classified based on their movement styles as follows: 52 rotational, 29 translational, and 12 complex landslides. In addition, 12 distinct deformational zones and a zone of mass transport complex (MTC) were identified. Five different ground condition terrains were interpreted based on landslide type and distribution as well as in geologic structures and seismic reflection analysis. Two main processes seem to influence landslides in the study area. First is the folding and faulting involved in the SSFB evolution. This process results in oversteepened slopes that start as deformational zones and then fail as translational or rotational slides. Those individual landslides progressively become complex landslide zones that follow geologic structural orientation. Second is the continental shelf break erosion by debris flows, which fills in intraslope subbasins and continental rise with several MTCs. According to the results, risk of damage by landslides increases in distances shorter than 4 km along structural ridge foothills in the study zone.


In this paper, we propose a CGSA (Coarse Grained Spatial Architecture) which processes different kinds of convolution with high performance and low energy consumption. The architecture's 16 coarse grained parallel processing units achieve a peak 152 GOPS running at 500MHz by exploiting local data reuse of image data, feature map data and filter weights. It achieves 99 frames/s on the convolutional layers of the AlexNet benchmark, consuming 264mW working at 500MHz and 1V. We evaluated the architecture by comparing some recent CNN's accelerators. The evaluation result shows that the proposed architecture achieves 3× energy efficiency and 3.5× area efficiency than existing work of the similar architecture and technology proposed by Chen.


Child labour is prevalent worldwide, occurring both in developing and developed countries. It is estimated that about 352 million children are engaged in some form of economic activity in the world. Estimates of the number of children at full work in developing countries were put at 120 million and those combining working and schooling at 250 million. In extreme forms or cases, child labour iinvolves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities at a very early age. The study examined the perceived effect of child labour by women farmers organisation in Oyo West Local Government area of Oyo State, Nigeria. Simple random technique was used to select one hundred and twenty (120) respondents from the three major communities in the study area. The result of the study revealed a significant relationship between income and the factors associated with child labour activities among the respondents (r = 0.54). Since it has been observed that the respondents had a low income capability, the study recommends that there is need for government to intensify efforts in finding solutions to the issue of poverty eradication of child labour activities. Keywords: Child Labour, Agriculture, Perceived effect of activities.


Preferred embodiments of the invention comprise an automatic reel (100) capable assisting a user when attempting to unspool a linear material, such as a water hose. The automatic reel includes a control system (200) having a motor controller (224) capable of sensing a pulling of, or increased tension of, the linear material and capable of causing a motor to rotate to unspool the linear material. In certain embodiments, the motor controller tracks the length of the unspoiled portion of the linear material and/or reduces the spooling a speed of the motor when retracting a terminal portion of the linear material.


In the past few years workflow management has become an important topic both, for the research community as well as for the commercial arena. One important topic which has been treated at less detail so far is providing security and integrity in workflow management. The main goal of the paper is to study what kind of security requirements need to be enforced during workflow management and which components of a workflow are effected by appropriate security measures.


This paper introduces a versatile and reliable photovoltaic systems simulator. It includes the main components of a photovoltaic plant: a PV string and a PWM controlled boost chooper. The key feature of this simulator is the ability to consider different and non-uniform irradiation and temperature conditions (partial shading and partial heating of the strings). All the different I-V and P-V or P-I characteristics can then be determined in such non-uniform irradiation and temperature conditions, with the aim to try different MPPT algorithms. The simulator also allows to verify an enhanced version of the Incremental Conductance algorithm (IncCond) where, in order to reach the real absolute maximum power condition, the reference control current of the boost chopper are periodically reset to a given percentage of the short circuit current at standard conditions. After this perturbation, the steady state power values are registered and compared to establish the final value of reference current that allows the IncCond algorithm to reach a steady state at the real abolute maximum power transfer.


The binding of a small molecule to a protein through non-covalent interactions mainly depends on its size and electronic environment. Such binding can change the stability of the three dimensional protein structure which sometimes may destabilize it to accelerate or to inhibit protein aggregation. Coumarin is a widely used fluorescent dye with several biological applications. Different substituents (electron-donating and electron-withdrawing) at different positions of the coumarin moiety can influence its molecular volume, physical and chemical properties. Here we investigate the effect of such substituents of coumarin on the aggregation of a model protein, beta-lactoglobulin (β-lg) through a multi spectroscopic approach. It was observed that coumarin methyl ester with an 8-hydroxyl group can inhibit the β-lg aggregation. This compound can bind the hydrophobic site of beta-lactoglobulin and stabilize a particular protein conformation through the formation of hydrogen bond and hydrophobic interactions. Thus a properly designed compound can inhibit protein–protein interactions through protein–small molecule interactions. Other coumarinoid compounds also are effective in the prevention of thermal aggregation of β-lg.


Ablative SBRT to liver malignancies on MRI-Linac is a novel and rapidly evolving technology allowing visualization of tumor and nearby organs at risk (OAR). Reliable identification of liver tumors has direct impact on radiotherapy planning and outcome. SPION agent Ferumoxytol® (Feraheme, AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Waltham, MA) was applied as MRI contrast during adaptive planning on Elekta Unity MR-Linac. Compared to the non-contrast images, liver tumors after Ferumoxytol® injection, were superiorly visible for accurate delineation during the entire treatment course. This study is the first to report the impact of SPION contrast agent on liver tumor visualization in a 1.5T Elekta MR-Linac.


We consider a simple approach of standard Ginzburg–Landau free-energy functional for a wire to study the properties of superconducting nanowires, and analyze the problem of quantum and thermally activated phase slips. In such systems one can consider a possibility for phase slips to be created not only due to thermal but also due to quantum fluctuations of a superconducting order parameter. We obtain some expressions of the free energy, the entropy, the specific heat and the bias current, respectively. The bias current I is a function of the temperature and the length of superconducting nanowires, and has a quantum phase slip. We obtain the stochastic dynamics of superconductive-resistive switching in hysteretic current-biased superconducting nanowires undergoing phase-slip fluctuations, and obtain the distribution of switching currents. Our results can be verified in modern experiments with superconducting nanowires.


This essay explores cross-cultural adjustment learning (CCAL) for managers in small international enterprises (SIE) in the context of Chinese small international enterprises based in the U.K in particular. It highlights the perceptions of SIE managers towards cultural differences in business behaviours between China and the UK It also places an emphasis on exploring the possible barriers to learning for these SIE managers in relation to cross-cultural adjustment. A review of literature indicates that through taking cross-cultural adjustment learning SIE managers could develop their managerial skills and build the capacity for development for the enterprises to meet their business needs in the UK environment. However, discussion of various scenarios also implies that learning to make cross-cultural adjustment may be specific to enterprises. To achieve effective learning result, external facilitation of cross-cultural adjustment learning needs to be in place in addition to individual active learning.


The nature and content of any duty to provide information prior to contract is a matter which lies at the heart of European private law. It forms part of the acquis communautaire and is seen as a basic tool of consumer protection. It is not neglected in the proposed Common Frame of Reference which, in its third part, will produce Model Rules which, inter alia, specify the information which should be given before the conclusion of a contract. Yet, this is a topic in which one sees a particular common and civil law divide. The author uses English and French law to demonstrate differing approaches to this question, termed ?non-disclosure? by one system and ?l?obligation de renseignement? by the other. The reasons for this divide, in particular the forms of reasoning adopted by the courts, are examined and signs of overlap identified. It is suggested that only by first recognizing the diversity in approach can one move forward to find core principles which will reflect a common understanding of the moral, economic and political issues at stake.


A satellite, with the call sign RUFS-1, will attempt in the first half of 2016 a launch into low Earth polar orbit. This feasibility study shows that RUFS-1 is from an overall technical perspective capable of fulfilling its mission. This was determined by a break down of the mission requirements into a few key questions. These were answered through various means; firstly an orbital simulation, secondly a link budget and finally a risk assessment of the entire satellite project.


The multicolumn countercurrent solvent gradient purification process (MCSGP) is a semicontinuous, chromatographic separation process used in the production of monoclonal antibodies) . The process is characterized by high model complexity and periodicity that challenge the development of control strategies, necessary for feasible and efficient operation and essential toward continuous production. A novel approach for the development of control policies for the MCSGP process, which enables efficient continuous process control is presented. Based on a high fidelity model, the recently presented PAROC framework and software platform that allows seamless design and in-silico validation of advanced controllers for complex systems are followed. The controller presented in this work is successfully tested against disturbances and is shown to efficiently capture the process periodic nature. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 2341–2357, 2016


Abstract—Studies were performed to test the hypothesis that reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) contribute to the pathogenesis of aldosterone/salt-induced renal injury. Rats were given 1% NaCl to drink and were treated with one of the following combinations for 6 weeks: vehicle (0.5% ethanol, SC, n=6); aldosterone (0.75 &mgr;g/H, SC, n=8); aldosterone plus a selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist; eplerenone (0.125% in chow, n=8); aldosterone plus an antioxidant; and tempol (3 mmol/L in drinking solution, n=8). The activities of MAPKs, including extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK)1/2, c-Jun-NH2-terminal kinases (JNK), p38MAPK, and big-MAPK-1 (BMK1) in renal cortical tissues were measured by Western blot analysis. Aldosterone-infused rats showed higher systolic blood pressure (165±5 mm Hg) and urinary excretion of protein (106±24 mg/d) than vehicle-infused rats (118±3 mm Hg and 10±3 mg/d). Renal cortical mRNA expression of p22phox, Nox-4, and gp91phox, measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction, was increased in aldosterone-infused rats by 2.3, 4.3, and 3.0-fold, respectively. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) content in renal cortex was also higher in aldosterone (0.23±0.02) than vehicle-infused rats (0.09±0.01 nmol/mg protein). ERK1/2, JNK, and BMK1 activities were significantly elevated in aldosterone-infused rats by 3.3, 2.3, and 3.0-fold, respectively, whereas p38MAPK activity was not changed. Concurrent administration of eplerenone or tempol to aldosterone-infused rats prevented the development of hypertension (127±2 and 125±5 mm Hg), and the elevations of urinary excretion of protein (10±2 and 9±2 mg/day) or TBARS contents (0.08±0.01 and 0.11±0.01 nmol/mg protein). Furthermore, eplerenone and tempol treatments normalized the activities of ERK1/2, JNK, and BMK1. These data suggest that ROS and MAPK play a role in the progression of renal injury induced by chronic elevations in aldosterone.


A Bayesian model averaging procedure is presented within the class of vector autoregressive (VAR) processes and applied to two empirical issues. First, stability of the "Great Ratios" in U.S. macro-economic time series is investigated, together with the presence and e¤ects of permanent shocks. Measures on manifolds are employed in order to elicit uniform priors on subspaces defned by particular structural features of linear VARs. Second, the VAR model is extended to include a smooth transition function in a (monetary) equation and stochastic volatility in the disturbances. The risk of a liquidity trap in the USA, UK and Japan is evaluated, together with the expected cost of a policy adjustment of central banks. Posterior probabilities of different models are evaluated using Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques.


Science hackathons can help academics, particularly those in the early stage of their careers, to build collaborations and write research proposals.


This article reports on the on-going CoRoLa project, aiming at creating a reference corpus of contemporary Romanian (from 1945 onwards), opened for online free exploitation by researchers in linguistics and language processing, teachers of Romanian, students. We invest serious efforts in persuading large publishing houses and other owners of IPR on relevant language data to join us and contribute the project with selections of their text and speech repositories. The CoRoLa project is coordinated by two Computer Science institutes of the Romanian Academy, but enjoys cooperation of and consulting from professional linguists from other institutes of the Romanian Academy. We foresee a written component of the corpus of more than 500 million word forms, and a speech component of about 300 hours of recordings. The entire collection of texts (covering all functional styles of the language) will be pre-processed and annotated at several levels, and also documented with standardized metadata. The pre-processing includes cleaning the data and harmonising the diacritics, sentence splitting and tokenization. Annotation will include morpho-lexical tagging and lemmatization in the first stage, followed by syntactic, semantic and discourse annotation in a later stage.


In this paper, we propose a method to represent a fingerprint image by an ordered, fixed-length bit-string providing improved accuracy performance, faster matching time and compressibility. First, we devise a novel minutia-based local structure modeled by a mixture of 2D elliptical Gaussian functions in the pixel space. Each local structure is mapped to the Euclidean space by normalizing the local structure with the number of minutiae that associates to it. This simple yet crucial crux enables fast dissimilarity computation of two local structures with Euclidean distance without distortion. A complementary texture-based local structure to the minutia-based local structure is also introduced whereby both can be compressed via principal component analysis and fused easily in the Euclidean space. The fused local structure is then converted to a K-bit ordered string via a K-means clustering algorithm. This chain of computation with sole use of Euclidean distance is vital for speedy and discriminative bit-string conversion. The accuracy can be further improved by a finger-specific bit-training algorithm in which two criteria are leveraged to select useful bit positions for matching. Experiments are performed on Fingerprint Verification Competition (FVC) databases for comparison with existing techniques to show the superiority of the proposed method.


RhoJ is an endothelially expressed member of the Cdc42 (cell division cycle 42) subfamily of small Rho GTPases. It is expressed in both the developing mammalian vasculature and the vascular beds of a number of adult tissues, with its expression regulated by the endothelial transcription factor ERG (ETS-related gene). RhoJ has been shown to regulate endothelial motility, tubulogenesis and lumen formation in vitro, and modulates the vascularization of Matrigel plugs in vivo. Both vascular endothelial growth factor and semaphorin 3E have been found to affect its activation. RhoJ has been shown to be a focal-adhesion-localized Rho GTPase which can modulate focal adhesion number, actomyosin contractility and activity of Cdc42 and Rac1. The present review discusses the biology of RhoJ with a focus on recent reports of its role in endothelial cells and angiogenesis.


Nickel-Copper (Ni-Cu) alloys exhibit simultaneously high strength and toughness, excellent corrosion resistance, and may show good wear resistance. Therefore, they are widely used in the chemical, oil, and marine industries for manufacturing of various components of equipment, such as: drill collars, pumps, valves, impellers, fixtures, pipes, and, particularly, propeller shafts of marine vessels. Processing technology includes bar forging, plate and tube rolling, wire drawing followed by heat treatment (for certain alloy compositions). Growing demand for properties improvement at a reduced cost initiate developments of new alloy chemistries and processing technologies, which require a revision of the microstructure-properties relationship. This work is dedicate to analysis of publicly available data for the microstructure, mechanical properties and strengthening mechanisms in Ni-Cu alloys. The effects of composition (Ti, Al, Mn, Cr, Mo, Co contents) and heat treatment on grain refinement, solid solution, precipitation strengthening, and work hardening are discussed.


Rough volatility models are continuous time stochastic volatility models where the volatility process is driven by a fractional Brownian motion with the Hurst parameter smaller than half, and have attracted much attention since a seminal paper titled "Volatility is rough" was posted on SSRN in 2014 showing that the log realized volatility time series of major stock indices have the same scaling property as such a rough fractional Brownian motion has. We however find by simulations that the impressive approach tends to suggest the same roughness irrespectively whether the volatility is actually rough or not; an overlooked estimation error of latent volatility often results in an illusive scaling property. Motivated by this preliminary finding, here we develop a statistical theory for a continuous time fractional stochastic volatility model to examine whether the Hurst parameter is indeed estimated smaller than half, that is, whether the volatility is really rough. We construct a quasi-likelihood estimator and apply it to realized volatility time series. Our quasi-likelihood is based on the error distribution of the realized volatility and a Whittle-type approximation to the auto-covariance of the log-volatility process. We prove the consistency of our estimator under high frequency asymptotics, and examine by simulations its finite sample performance. Our empirical study suggests that the volatility is indeed rough; actually it is even rougher than considered in the literature.


While the prognosis of gastric cancer (GC) remains poor, PD-1 and PD-L1/L2 are promising prognostic biomarkers. We evaluated PD-1 and PD-L1/L2 expression in tumor cells (TCs) and tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs). We determined the Helicobacter pylori (Hp) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection status in a GC cohort (n=340), then analyzed the relationship between the expression of PD-1, PD-L1/L2 and GC prognosis. We found that PD-1, PD-L1, and PD-L2 mRNA levels were up-regulated in GC tissues, and were positively correlated with one another (P=0.043, P=0.008 and P=0.035). PD-1 protein expression in TIICs was observed in 22.6% of GC patients. The PD-L1 and PD-L2 positivity rates were 40.3% and 53.8% in TCs, respectively, and 60.0% and 60.9% in TIICs, respectively. PD-L1 was up-regulated in EBV-infected GC patients in both TCs (P=0.009) and TIICs (P=0.003). Hp status was not associated with PD-1 or PD-L1/PD-L2 expression. In TIICs, PD-L1 expression was independently associated with better GC prognosis (HR=0.72, 95%CI: 0.53-0.99). Co-expression of PD-1 and PD-L1, but not PD-L2, was a favorable prognostic marker that indicated a dose effect on the mortality risk of GC patients (P-value for trend=0.005). Comprehensive evaluation of PD-1 and PD-L1 in TCs and TIICs could help predict the prognosis of gastric cancers, as well as reveal patients who might benefit from targeted treatment.


We propose a multiparameter inversion method for VTI medium based on the dip-oriented imaging method. By virtue of previous studies on the reflection coefficient for VTI medium, we derive the gradients for VTI anisotropic parameters. To eliminate the cross-talk artifacts between different parameters, we analyze the data dependency on the parameters through their radiation patterns and find the optimal parameterization. We extend the prestack time-domain migration image in the incident angle dimension in order to distinguish the parameters' contributions to the waveform of the recorded data. For simple models, It is an efficient and stable way to do FWI or modified seismic inversion and makes the anisotropic inversion more practicable. Results with synthetic data illustrate the benefits and limitations of this method.


Abstract. Estimating carbon exchange at regional scales is paramount to understanding feedbacks between climate and the carbon cycle, but also to verifying climate change mitigation such as emission reductions and strategies compensating for emissions such as carbon sequestration. This paper discusses evidence for a number of important shortcomings of current generation modelling frameworks designed to provide regional scale budgets from atmospheric observations. Current top-down and bottom-up approaches targeted at deriving consistent regional scale carbon exchange estimates for biospheric and anthropogenic sources and sinks are hampered by a number of issues: we show that top-down constraints using point measurements made from tall towers, although sensitive to larger spatial scales, are however influenced by local areas much more strongly than previously thought. On the other hand, classical bottom-up approaches using process information collected at the local scale, such as from eddy covariance data, need up-scaling and validation on larger scales. We therefore argue for a combination of both approaches, implicitly providing the important local scale information for the top-down constraint, and providing the atmospheric constraint for up-scaling of flux measurements. Combining these data streams necessitates quantifying their respective representation errors, which are discussed. The impact of these findings on future network design is highlighted, and some recommendations are given.


Objectives To estimate the frequency of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) in women with central nervous system (CNS) metastasis from epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and to evaluate for a potential relationship between HBOC status and survival. Methods and Materials A total of 1240 cases of EOC treated between 1995 and 2014 were reviewed to identify CNS metastasis. Demographics, treatment, family history, genetic testing, and survival outcomes were recorded. Women were then classified as HBOC+ or HBOC− based on histories and genetic testing results. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and univariable Cox proportional hazards models were used. Results Of 1240 cases, 32 cases of EOC with CNS metastasis were identified (2.58%). Median age was 52.13 (95% confidence interval [CI], 40.56–78.38) years, and 87.10% had stage III to IV disease. Among those with documented personal and family history, 66.7% (20/30) were suspicious for HBOC syndrome. Among those who underwent germline testing, 71.43% (5/7) had a pathogenic BRCA mutation. The median time from diagnosis to CNS metastasis was 29.17 (95% CI, 0–187.91) months. At a median survival of 5.97 (95% CI, 0.20–116.95) months from the time of CNS metastasis and 43.76 (95% CI, 1.54-188.44) months from the time of EOC diagnosis, 29 women died of disease. Univariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare HBOC− to HBOC+ women and did not reveal a significant difference for survival outcomes. Conclusions Confirmed BRCA mutations and histories concerning for HBOC syndrome are common in women with EOC metastatic to the CNS. We did not demonstrate a relationship between HBOC status and survival outcomes, but were not powered to do so.


In modern society people are concerned about their state of health and if they do unfortunately become ill they want the best possible treatment to be made available to them. In order to satisfy these demands new treatments have to be developed. This can be a long and expensive process. Before any new treatment can come to market it has to be proved to be both clinically effective and economically cost-effective. With limited health care resources the cost-effectiveness of treatments is becoming ever more relevant.

In order to show whether a treatment is clinically effective a clinical trial is carried out and this is now usually accompanied by an economic evaluation, so that the cost effectiveness of the treatment can be assessed. When a clinical trial aimed at preventing clinical events is analysed, a time-to-first event analysis is often performed together with a cost-effectiveness analysis. These analyses do not always make the best use of the large amounts of patient information recorded during the clinical trial. Using the randomised controlled trial (RCT) the Impact Of Nicorandil in Angina (IONA) as an exemplar, ways in which the clinical and economic evaluations of clinical trials can be expanded are explored.

There are three main parts of this thesis. Firstly, following a more detailed introduction in Chapter 1, in Chapters 2 and 3 the IONA Study is introduced and the main clinical results of the study are given. Secondly, in Chapters 4, 5 and 6 the fact that patients could suffer more than one clinical endpoint is considered. The models that can be used to incorporate the recurrent events are introduced and then applied to the data from the IONA Study. Following on from this, through the simulation of recurrent event data, the performance of the models under different known conditions is assessed. Thirdly, in Chapters 7 and 8 an introduction to health economics is given and following this the main results of the economic evaluation of the IONA Study are presented. Areas in which the results of the economic evaluation can be expanded are then investigated. Finally, in Chapter 9 there is a discussion of the work as a whole and areas where there would be the possibility of further work.


Advancements in precision agriculture technologies enable producers to achieve higher yields; however, in some cases, these innovations have not reached widespread adoption despite years of availability. We sought to understand producers' adoption experiences with two precision agriculture technologies: Nitrogen (N)-Rich Strips and the Sensor Based Nitrogen Rate Calculator (SBNRC). These technologies can help producers optimize their application of nitrogen fertilizer on growing crops, especially small grains such as wheat. Using Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovations theory as an explanatory framework, this descriptive-exploratory study examined the adoption behaviors of producers from two midwestern states. Rogers' (2003) theoretical lens guided instrument development and interpretation of results. To better understand the effects of change agents' actions and potential adopters' behaviors during the innovation-decision process, more research is needed regarding disenchantment discontinuance and replacement discontinuance, the potential for pro-innovation bias, and of the innovation attribute compatibility. The future development of precision agriculture technology with the perceptions of potential adopters in mind, especially those averse to adoption and continuance, may assist in overcoming barriers to widespread diffusion.


The dense noradrenergic innervation of the sympathetic cell bodies in the intermediolateral column suggests a role of noradrenergic pathways in cardiovascular control. We have attempted to specifically lesion these pathways by injecting 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the tyrosine-hydroxylase containing bundle of the first cervical segment. We examined the sympathetic vasopressor responses (nasopharyngeal stimulation under methscopolamine and intracisternal graded bolus of angiotensin II) in baro-intact and sino-aortically denervated conscious rabbits, 3-4 weeks after 6-OHDA or vehicle injections into the first cervical segment. At this time spinal cord noradrenaline was markedly reduced, particularly at segments closest to the injection site. Injections caused little non-specific damage and had no effect on spinal cord serotonin levels. The 6-OHDA treated animals demonstrated marked attenuation of the pressor responses to nasopharyngeal stimulation (27 p. 100, p less than 0.001) and to intracisternal angiotensin after sino-aortic denervation (delta ED50 = 3.1 log units, p less than 0.001). We conclude from these studies that the descending catecholamine pathways participate in sympathetic vasoconstriction following nasopharyngeal stimulation or stimulation of central angiotensin II receptors. However these effects are normally inhibited by baro-reflex mechanisms.


Wilson Disease (WD) is an autosomal recessive congenital disease which can result as a hepatic and neuropsychiatric disease at different degrees. Among 20% of patients, neuropsychiatric symptoms are seen such as mood disorders, personality disorders, and cognitive disorders. In this case report; the connection between brain areas affected because of WH, accompanying bipolar disorder and mixt symptoms are aimed to be discussed.


Two cases of orbital varicosities without extraorbital extension are presented. Radiographic evidence of the varices was obtained in both cases. One varix was demonstrated by orbital venography while in the other, orbital phleboliths were conspicuous in the plain film. In one case the varix was clinically evident at birth while the other became evident only in the third decade. Both cases had the clinical sign of intermittent exophthalmos. No surgery was attempted in the patients. A review of cases of intermittent exophthalmos in the literature revealed a variety of lesions, including localized orbital varices, orbital varices with intracranial extension, and arteriovenous malformations.


Abstract The key requirement for the modern endoprosthesis is high durability of the friction components, which results in long and trouble-free operation in the human body. The durability of currently used endoprosthesis is often limited by tribological wear processes of friction components (e.g. between the head and the acetabular component in a hip joint endoprosthesis) [8, 19, 23, 24]. In order to compare the tribological wear, tribological tests were carried out by means of tribometer on friction pairs of the following composition: implantation steel 316 LVM/PE-UHMW and titanium alloy Ti13Nb13Zr/PE-UHMW. Determining of the friction coefficient, measured profiles of surface roughness and microscopic observation allowed to evaluate the abrasive wear of the tested biomaterials.


Vibrio vulnificus is an organism commonly found in the marine environment whose pathogenic potential for humans has been recently recognized. Two patients are described who developed rapidly progressing wound infections and bacteremia due to this halophilic, lactose-positive vibrio. The clinical manifestations of the resulting infection differed from patterns reported by other authors.


In order to understand if and how employer branding influences employees? work behaviours and enhances employees? ability to contribute to organizational productivity, effectiveness, and competitiveness, one needs to examine its functionality and capacities beyond that of employee attraction and retention to that of employee development, engagement, and performance. This research aims to do that by answering the following questions:1. What are the factors present in the content and delivery of employer brand promises and how might they influence employee performance?2. What influence does employees? perceived level of employer brand promise fulfilment by their organization have on their level of organizational citizenship and task performances?A mix method case study was conducted on one of Canada?s best-of-the-best employers. In total, 19 managers were interviewed and 316 employees were surveyed.Five themes emerged to reflect the employer brand promise content factors that could influence performance. They are the factors of personal sustainability, personal connectedness and belonging, opportunities and growth, personal stake and influence, as well as significance and esteem. Three themes emerged to reflect the employment benefit materialization factors. They are brand championship, branding control, and stakeholder selection and interaction. Quantitative results suggest that as a whole, statistically significant, positive, and generally weak to moderate influence exists between employees? perceived level of employer brand promise fulfillment and their organizational citizenship performance. The influence on task performance is much weaker. However, there is stronger indication that employees? perceived fulfillment of employer brand promises positively influences their perception of 1) their employment experience as being desirable and distinctive, 2) their organization as being a great place to work, 3) their happiness to spend the rest of their career at the organization, and 4) their lack of frequency in thinking of leaving the organization, and these positive perceptions, in turn, further influence employees? organizational citizenship and task performances.


Leadership has been an important aspect in the affairs of men as far back as the beginning of the ages. It has provided the compass with which humanity found its way in times when existence needed to be maintained or change became desirable. It has shaped the way many reasons; it has shaped civilizations, industries, and institutions. But existing side by side with the concept is that of followership which we have used in this work to mean 'employee'. Both concepts have been employed in this work within the realms of modern-day corporate business organizations. They have been highlighted and polished to reveal what makes business organizations work the way they do and to determine what room there is for improvement and how to exploit it. While the authors acknowledge the fact that the concept of leadership has metamorphosed and developed into different styles, it does not constitute a dilution but remains pivotal in organizational efficiency and needs to be harnessed. Of concern, therefore, is how we can determine the best styles leadership has to offer and analyses the role it plays in motivating employees and spurring them to perform better within the organization they are committed to. This work is therefore centered on the effectiveness of the various styles of leadership are in influencing an employee of a given organization to do more at his job and deliver better results.


Motion capture (MOCAP) systems are used in many fields of application (e.g., machine vision, navigation, industrial measurements, medicine) for tracking and measuring the 6DOF (Degrees-Of-Freedom) of bodies. A variety of systems has been developed in the commercial, as well as research domain, exploiting different sensors and techniques, among which optical methods, based on multi-epoch photogrammetry, are the most common. The authors have developed an off-line low-cost MOCAP system made up of three consumer-grade video cameras, i.e. a multi-view camera system. The system was employed in two different case studies for measuring the motion of personnel working onboard a fishing boat and of a ship model in a towing tank (or model basin) subjected to different sea conditions. In this contribution, the same three single cameras are separately processed to evaluate the performances of a sequential space resection method for estimated the 6DOF of a rigid body (a ship model during high frequency tests in a model basin). The results from each video camera are compared with the motion estimated using the multi-view approach, with the aim of providing a quantitative assessment of the performances obtainable.


A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a system that conveys messages and commands directly from the human brain to a computer. The BCI system described in this work is based on P300 speller BCI paradigm designed by Farwell and Donchin in 1988. It has been the most widely used and a benchmark in P300 BCI. In this paradigm, a 6x6 matrix of letters and numbers is displayed and subject focuses on a character while different rows and columns flash. The work presented in this paper is an attempt to improve the accuracy of P300 BCI systems by understanding a source of error in this paradigm. It is shown that adjacent rows and columns to the target ones play major role in the error. This can be attributed to human error that when the adjacent row or column to the target one flashes, it attracts subject's attention and creates the P300.