Despite a significant progress and numerous publications over the last few decades a comprehensive understanding of the process of waves' excitation by wind still has not been achieved. The main goal of the present work was to provide as comprehensive as possible set of experimental data that can be quantitatively compared with theoretical models. Measurements at various air flow rates and at numerous fetches were carried out in a small scale, closed-loop, 5 m long wind wave flume. Mean airflow velocity and fluctuations of the static pressure were measured at 38 vertical locations above the mean water surface simultaneously with determination of instantaneous water surface elevations by wave gauges. Instantaneous fluctuations of two velocity components were recorded for all vertical locations at a single fetch. The water surface drift velocity was determined by the particle tracking velocimetry (PTV) method. Evaluation of spatial growth rates of waves at various frequencies was performed using wave gauge records at various fetches. Phase relations between various signals were established by cross-spectral analysis. Waves' celerities and pressure fluctuation phase lags relative to the surface elevation were determined. Pressure values at the water surface were determined by extrapolating the measured vertical profile of pressure fluctuations to the mean water level and used to calculate the form drag and consequently the energy transfer rates from wind to waves. Directly obtained spatial growth rates were compared with those obtained from energy transfer calculations, as well as with previously available data.


The importance of Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represents a favorable tool for new clinical concepts in supporting tissue engineering and cellular therapy. Bone marrow (BM) was considered important source contain mesenchymal stem cells .Another promising source of MSCs is adipose tissue (AT). MSCs derived from these sources compared regarding morphology, the success rate of isolating MSCs, expansion potential by rate of colony forming and immune phenotype. The obtained results from this study showed no obvious considerable differences concerning the morphology and immune phenotype of the MSCs derived from these sources were obvious. Differences observed concerning to the success rate of isolating MSCs, which was approximately more than 90% for BM, while it reached about 70% for AT after seven days of culturing, as well as the rate of colony forming was lower in AT cells in comparison to that obtained in BM at the same period. However, AT-MSCs could be required longest time to complete monolayer confluence, whereas BM-MSCs had the shortest proliferation period. Cells from both sources determined according to immunohistochemistry by CD105 + and CD34. ̄ Conclusions revealed that MSCs can easily and successfully obtained from bone marrow and adipose tissues, and both tissues appears suitable sources of stem cells for potential use in regenerative medicine, repairing damaged tissue nevertheless the BM-MSCs more effectual in expansion and proliferation.


The use of alternative 5' splice sites in the simian virus 40 early-transcription unit controls the ratio of large T to small t antigen during viral infection. To study the regulation of these alternative 5' splice sites, we made two mutants which improve the match of the large-T-antigen 5' splice site to the 5' splice site consensus sequence. Whether these mutants were assayed in vitro or in vivo, we found that the efficiency of large-T splicing is increased by improving the match of the large-T-antigen 5' splice site to the consensus. We conclude that the match of a 5' splice site is an important determinant of 5' splice site utilization and that the simian virus 40 large-T-antigen 5' splice site is almost certainly recognized by the U1 small nuclear RNA component of the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle.


The socio-cultural changes occurring in the post-war world have transformed the way, the speed and intensity of how people interpret their demands for goods and services. However, the highly bureaucratic state did not follow such changes and has seen its ability to adapt to change, increasingly limited, acting as its institutional rigidity. The emerging fiscal crisis, combined with an increasingly global economy, deepened the state of governmental inertia action and limited the State even in his last subterfuge, the public debt. Thus, the National States were required to reverse or mitigate the situation, focusing on administrative reforms intended to increase the institutional flexibility, efficiency and effectiveness of public sector towards society. These challenges were present in Brazil and its federatives units, also in Minas Gerais, through the "Shock Management", conducted from 2002, came to be noted the need to reform the state. A comparative analysis of the initiatives of the Government of Minas Gerais with the practice adopted by states around the world can bring in gains in knowledge "usable" for our own context, even if the realities are different, since this will enable us to draw lessons about the institutional policies and their likely effects.


A novel approach for illumination normalization is proposed by exploiting the correlation of discrete cosine transform (DCT) low-frequency coefficients to illumination variations. The input image contrast is stretched using full image histogram equalization. Then the low-frequency DCT coefficients (except first) are re-scaled to lower value to compensate the illumination variations. The first (DC) coefficient is scaled to higher value for further contrast enhancement. The experiments are performed on the Yale B database and the results show that the performance of the proposed approach is better for the images with large illumination variations. The proposed technique is computationally efficient and can easily be implemented for real time face recognition system.


The Čiprovci ore zone is known for its polygenic and polychronous mineralizations formed in a siderite-calcite marble bed of Early Paleozoic age. Its general leatures as well as structures, textures and mineral composition record the following events. 1. Deposition of chemogene calcite limestone with hydrothermal-sedimentary siderite interlayers associated with a basic volcanism. Presumable age: Cambrian. 2. Greenschist regional dynamothermal metamorphism that transformed the carbonate rocks into finegrained marbles. Siderite contains 27 ± 5 mol% MnCO3, 6 ± 3 mol% MgCO3 and 1-2 mol% CaCO3. The two kinds of ma1ble are compositionally mosaic due to each grain growing with the composition of its seed carbonate during the metamorphic recrystallization. 3. Formation of a hydrothermal low-temperature silver-lead sulphide mineralization (Pb-Pb model age of 320-340 Ma). It developed metasomatically in the siderite bodies mainly. The hydrothermal fluids were magnesium-rich and their first product was dolomite MgO0.8FeO0.1Mn0.1. They gradually became richer in Fe and Mn supplied during the metasomatic replacement of earlier material, and the dolomite crystals were overgrown by ankerite (up to Fe0.7Mg0.3) and manganian ankerite (up to Fe0.5Mn0.4Mg0.1). Siderite and calcite were redeposited during the later stages of the process. The main characteristics of these metasomatic·carbonate crystals is that they are idiomorphic and compositionally zoned. 4. Formation of syn- and postmagmatic mineralizations associated with a granite intrusion (Pb-Pb model age of 255 ± 17 Ma). Carbonate minerals formed and were transformed during asuccession of processes involving: 1. Thermal metamorphism that converted the siderite marble partly or completely into magnetite ore; 2. Skarn formation in the calcite marbles; and 3. Deposition of a post-skarn oxide-sulphide-arsenide high to medium-temperature mineralization. During the magnetite fo rmation, the fluids were enriched in manganese and magnesium solutes: (Fe, Mn. Mg)CO3+H2O → Fe3O4+Mn2++Mg2++CO-. They deposited high-temperature zoned Ca-Mg-Fe-rhodochrosite, Fe-Mn-magnesite and Mg-Mn-sideritc with end members Mn0.6Fe0.2Ca0.1 Mg0.1 and Mg0.5,Fe0.3,Mn0.2. The rhodochrosite-magnesite solid-solution interval shows a solubility gap observable even on areas smaller than 1 mm2. The end of the process produced also ankerites part of which show high manganese contents (reaching kutnahorite compositions Mn0.5Fe0.3Mg0.2). Formation of a quartz-barite mineralisat ion (Late Cretaceous?). The earlier carbonates were partly redeposited or recrystallized.


The question of the effect of variations in body weight on longevity is of enormous importance. Due in large part to the industrial and agricultural revolutions, relative body weight has been steadily increasing in the United States and most of the Western world (1). Consequently, rates of obesity have risen dramatically (2). As agricultural and industrial technology spreads into much of the nonWestern world, evidence suggests that the relative body weights and rates of obesity are increasing in those populations as well (1). Given this background and the fact that weight is something that is possessed by all humans and therefore of potential interest to all humans, it is not surprising that enormous attention has been focused on relative body weight. Relative body weight is the subject of government policies and guidelines (1), employment policies and guidelines, public education campaigns, insurance policies, a target of the food and pharmaceutical industries, and substantial scientific investigation. Despite all of this effort and attention, the effect of variations in relative body weight on longevity remains the subject of considerable debate (3—6). At one extreme, some authors suggest that the relationship between relative body weight and longevity is monotonic decreasing (7). In other words, one can never be too thin. At the other extreme, some authors have suggested that relative body weight has little important impact on longevity (8). In the middle, several authors have suggested that the relationship between relative body weight and mortality within a given period of time is U-shaped or J-shaped (9), that the relationships may vary as a function of individuals' demographic characteristics such as age, sex, and race (10,11), or that the relationships are simply not fully understood at this time (12,13). We divide this chapter in two broad sections. First, because methodological issues have been and continue to be so prominent in this area, we begin with a review of a few methodological points. We then follow this with a discussion focusing on current findings and needs for future research.


The increasing demand to produce enantiomerically pure pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, flavors, and other fine chemicals has advanced the field of asymmetric catalytic technologies.1,2 Among all asymmetric catalytic methods, asymmetric hydrogenation utilizing molecular hydrogen to reduce prochiral olefins, ketones, and imines, have become one of the most efficient methods for constructing chiral compounds.3 The development of homogeneous asymmetric hydrogenation was initiated by Knowles4a and Horner4b in the late 1960s, after the discovery of Wilkinson's homogeneous hydrogenation catalyst [RhCl(PPh3)3]. By replacing triphenylphosphine of the Wilkinson's catalystwithresolvedchiralmonophosphines,6Knowles and Horner reported the earliest examples of enantioselective hydrogenation, albeit with poor enantioselectivity. Further exploration by Knowles with an improved monophosphine CAMP provided 88% ee in hydrogenation of dehydroamino acids.7 Later, two breakthroughs were made in asymmetric hydrogenation by Kagan and Knowles, respectively. Kagan reported the first bisphosphine ligand, DIOP, for Rhcatalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation.8 The successful application of DIOP resulted in several significant directions for ligand design in asymmetric hydrogenation. Chelating bisphosphorus ligands could lead to superior enantioselectivity compared to monodentate phosphines. Additionally, P-chiral phosphorus ligands were not necessary for achieving high enantioselectivity, and ligands with backbone chirality could also provide excellent ee's in asymmetric hydrogenation. Furthermore, C2 symmetry was an important structural feature for developing new efficient chiral ligands. Kagan's seminal work immediately led to the rapid development of chiral bisphosphorus ligands. Knowles made his significant discovery of a C2-symmetric chelating bisphosphine ligand, DIPAMP.9 Due to its high catalytic efficiency in Rh-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of dehydroamino acids, DIPAMP was quickly employed in the industrial production of L-DOPA.10 The success of practical synthesis of L-DOPA via asymmetric hydrogenation constituted a milestone work and for this work Knowles was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2001.3k This work has enlightened chemists to realize * Corresponding author. 3029 Chem. Rev. 2003, 103, 3029−3069


Cyclopentenone prostaglandins (cyPG) are endogenous lipid mediators involved in the resolution of inflammation and the regulation of cell proliferation and cellular redox status. Upon exogenous administration they have shown beneficial effects in models of inflammation and tissue injury, as well as potential antitumoral actions, which have raised a considerable interest in their study for the development of therapeutic tools. Due to their electrophilic nature, the best-known mechanism of action of these mediators is the covalent modification of proteins at cysteine residues through Michael addition. Identification of cyPG targets through proteomic approaches, including MS/MS analysis to pinpoint the modified residues, is proving critical to characterize their mechanisms of action. Among the targets of cyPG are proinflammatory transcription factors, proteins involved in cell defense, such as the regulator of the antioxidant response Keap1 and detoxifying enzymes like GST, and key signaling proteins like Ras proteins. Moreover, cyPG may interact with redox-active small molecules, such as glutathione and hydrogen sulfide. Much has been learned about cyPG in the past few years and this knowledge has also contributed to clarify both pharmacological actions and signaling mechanisms of these and other electrophilic lipids. Given the fact that many cyPG targets are involved in or are targets for redox regulation, there is a complex interplay with redox-induced modifications. Here we address the modification of protein cysteine residues by cyPG elucidated by proteomic studies, paying special attention to the interplay with redox signaling.


Retrospective analysis of the results of treatment chronic myeloid (CML) leukemia in 80 children was done. From among 72 children treated by conventional methods the probability of 10 years survival had 17%. Statistically significant better results was obtained in the group of children with adult than juvenile type of CML (23 and 8%). Allogenic bone marrow transplantation was performed in six children, two children were treated with interferon. New approaches of treatment may offer the better chance for constitution of normal bone marrow function.


The use of hermeneutics in understanding the Qur'an is confronted with controversies in disclosure, revolving around hermeneutic historicity, hermeneutic dissimilarities with interpretation, differences in the character of the Qur'an and the Bible, subjectivity and relativity of interpretation, reproduction of meaning and contextuality, not in detail, and not procedural. For groups who consider strengths and weaknesses in the interpretation of the Koran actually has the same purpose, namely to explain the purpose and message of the Qur'an as religious texts as a guide to human beings that is appropriate at every time and place. For those who are considered media interpreters of the Koran trying to elaborate the teachings of the Koran according to its context as a strength. Whereas those who consider hermeneutic weaknesses as a means of interpretation of religious texts feel obliged to apply the Qur'an in the lives of Muslims throughout time, which have been understood literally by the ulama and maintain the genuine and very established methods that have been formulated by Salafus shâlih namely interpretation and takwil methods that cannot be matched with hermeneutics. When accepting a new method, Muslims must be able to be wise to see strengths and weaknesses as a means of interpreting religious texts, not rejecting blindly and also not accepting as a whole, selective attitude is very necessary. Hermeneutics is accepted as a method of interpretation aimed at living the world of texts which nuances of the past with the empirical world today, so that it can answer all the problems that occur in the midst of society, by paying attention to the interpretation methods that have been formulated by scholars with compromise. Keywords: Hermeneutics, Religious texts, Accept and reject, compromise


ABSTRACT A new CHROMagar KPC medium was compared to MacConkey agar with carbapenem discs and PCR for the blaKPC gene for rapid detection of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. The sensitivity and specificity relative to PCR were 100% and 98.4%, respectively, for CHROMagar KPC and 92.7% and 95.9%, respectively, for MacConkey agar.


In this article, we present the design of a smart electrostimulator for muscle rehabilitation or reinforcement, using fast computations, in order to control the muscular force. The Ding and al. model allows to predict and to optimize the muscular force response to functional electrical stimulation. [1]. We analyze the estimation of the Ding and al. parameters using an approximation of the force response [5] which depends upon the 6 parameters of the Ding's model and we derive optimization scheme which bypass the time computational expensive integration of the dynamics of the Ding and al. equations.


Human neutrophilic myeloperoxidase (MPO) is involved in the defence mechanism of the body against micro-organisms. The enzyme catalyses the generation of the strong oxidant hypochlorous acid (HOCl) from hydrogen peroxide and chloride ions. In normal neutrophils MPO is present in the dimeric form (140 kDa). The disulphide-linked protomers each consist of a heavy subunit and a light one. Reductive alkylation converts the dimeric enzyme into two promoters, 'hemi-myeloperoxidase'. We studied the initial activities of human dimeric MPO and hemi-MPO at the physiological pH of 7.2 and found no significant differences in chlorinating activity. These results indicate that, at least at neutral pH, the protomers of MPO function independently. The absorption spectra of MPO compounds II and III, both inactive forms concerning HOCl generation, and the rate constants of their formation were the same for dimeric MPO and hemi-MPO, but hemi-MPO required a slightly larger excess of H2O2 for complete conversion. Hemi-MPO was less stable at a high temperature (80 degrees C) as compared to the dimeric enzyme. Furthermore, the resistance of the chlorinating activity of hemi-MPO against its oxidative product hypochlorous acid was somewhat lower (IC50 = 32 microM HOCl) compared to dimeric MPO (IC50 = 50 microM HOCl). The higher stability of dimeric MPO in the presence of its oxidative product compared to that of monomeric MPO might be the reason for the occurrence of MPO as a dimer.


BACKGROUND: HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count) syndrome occurs in about 0.5%–0.9% of all pregnancies, but its prevalence is higher in patients with severe preeclampsia, accounting for a substantial maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. According to the latest American Society for Apheresis guidelines, Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) performed for postpartum cases and antepartum HELLP syndrome cases fall in Categories III and IV, respectively. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis was done at our tertiary care center from January 2014 to June 2019 for patients diagnosed with HELLP syndrome. Clinical data for age, gestational age at the time of diagnosis, type of delivery, outcome of pregnancy, history of preeclampsia /eclampsia, hemoglobin levels, AST, ALT, LDH, platelet counts, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, international normalised ratio, complete blood count, was obtained from patients' electronic medical records. The TPE was initiated within 24 hrs of diagnosis. All TPE was done on Spectra Optia apheresis system (Terumo BCT, Inc, USA). Statistical testing was conducted with the statistical package for the social science system version SPSS 20.0 and R-3.2.0. Continuous variables were expressed as mean±SD and were compared between Pre and Post TPE records of patients by using the paired T test. RESULTS: Nine patients fulfilled the criteria of HELLP syndrome. Seven (77.8%) were diagnosed in the postpartum period and 2 (22.2%) during the second trimester. Out of the total nine patients, two patients (22.2%) recovered completely and were discharged on day 15 ± 7 days, whereas 4 (44.4%) patients were discharged on day 21 ± 7 days with the advice of hemodialysis. Two (22.2%) patients had an intrauterine death and were discharged 3–4 days after the demise. In all these patients (except one), the TPE was initiated within 24 h of the diagnosis. A significant increase in platelet count and decrease in the lactate dehydrogenase levels (P < 0.05) was observed post TPE. CONCLUSION: Our data showed that TPE improved the treatment outcome in patients with HELLP syndrome despite being a Category III and IV indication among postpartum and antenatal females, respectively. However, a timely diagnosis and management are of paramount importance for a favorable outcome. TPE needs to be performed within 24 h of the diagnosis postdelivery when the patient is not responsive to the usual therapies, especially in class I HELLP syndrome.


In order to study the mutagenic effects of site-specific, covalent modifications of biologically active DNA, we need host cells that are permissive for any type of mutation that might be produced in vivo from the modified DNA. Specifically, we require a general, in vivo complementation system for the bacteriophage phiX174 gene G, an essential gene that we have chosen for our initial studies of chemical mutagenesis. Toward this end, we have constructed a plasmid (pphiXG) that carries a functional copy of phiX174 gene G. Three different bacterial strains that are nonpermissive for am9, a gene G amber mutant, have been transformed with pphiXG. The transformants are now permissive for this gene G mutant, but not for the gene A or E mutants that have been tested. This paper describes the construction and the biochemical characterization of this plasmid, pphiXG, and describes some of the biological properties exhibited by the pphiXG-bearing strains.


Resource-Oriented Architecture is a new Web service modeling method. Based on Capability-Injection (CI) pattern, ROA could be extended for telecommunication value-added service description and creation. With the CI based ROA requirements analysis, a Pub/Sub based capability injection method is proposed in this paper. The Pub/Sub capability utilization will transform the value-added service control logic from interface control to resource statement monitoring. Therefore, the CI interface can be described as uniformed Pub/Sub method. Finally, a new extended language named RSML-QL is introduced to support the Pub/Sub capability. RSML-QL provides method guarantee for service building based on CI model.


Objective: To investigate patients' and occupational physicians' satisfaction with the quality of a vocational rehabilitation programme for maintaining work ability in chronic rheumatic diseases. Methods: The vocational rehabilitation programme was developed for patients with rheumatic diseases and consisted of systematic assessment of the problems at work and the development of individual solutions. The programme was run by a multidisciplinary team comprising a rheumatologist, a social worker, a physical and occupational therapist, and a psychologist. Satisfaction ratings were measured using a multidimensional questionnaire involving a rating scale (0–10) and a structured telephone interview. Results: 59 of the 65 patients who participated in the programme (91%) completed the questionnaire. Patients were most satisfied with the interpersonal approach and professional knowledge, and least satisfied with the waiting time for the final report and the practical application of the given advice. Mean satisfaction score was 7.3 (SD 1.0). Twenty eight of the occupational physicians involved were interviewed. They were satisfied with the programme overall; 21 (75%) stated that their role in the vocational rehabilitation process could be defined more clearly, and they would appreciate more contact with the team members, preferably in the early phases. Conclusions: Patients' and occupational physicians' satisfaction with a multidisciplinary vocational rehabilitation programme was good. Areas for improvement mainly concerned the speed of the process and the communication between team members and occupational physicians.


ABSTRACT Li, L.; Wu, L.; Wang, X., and Cui, Z., 2015. Seismic response of underground structures in saturated soil based on the fluid-solid coupling dynamic formulation. In this paper, the seismic response of the underground structures in the saturated soil is studied by ABAQUS, with the saturated soil being simulated by the pore pressure element based on the fluid-solid coupling dynamic formulation of fluid-saturated porous media. It is illustrated that by the end of the earthquake input, the value of Mises stress is maximal on the two bottom corners of the structure. The value of pore pressure and vertical displacement is large in the bottom area near the structure, and the value of pore pressure and vertical displacement is equal on two sides of the structure. The vertical displacement of the soil decreases with the increase of depth. The maximal seismic response occurs when the acceleration of the earthquake input is maximal.


Gearboxes are extensively used in various areas including aircraft, mining, manufacturing, and agriculture, etc. The breakdowns of the gearbox are mostly caused by the gear failures. It is therefore crucial for engineers and researchers to monitor the gear conditions in time in order to prevent the malfunctions of the plants. In this paper, a condition monitoring and faults identification technique for rotating machineries based on independent component analysis (ICA) and fuzzy k-nearest neighbor (FKNN) is described. In the diagnosis process, the ICA was initially employed to separate characteristic vibration signal and interference vibration signal from the parallel time series obtained from multi-channel accelerometers mounted on different positions of the gearbox. The wavelet transform (WT) and autoregressive (AR) model method then were performed as the feature extraction technique to attain the original feature vector of the characteristic signal. Meanwhile, the ICA was used again to reduce the dimensionality of the original feature vector. Hence, the useless information in the feature vector could be removed. Finally, the FKNN algorithm was implemented in the pattern recognition process to identify the conditions of the gears of interest. The experimental results suggest that the sensitive fault features can be extracted efficiently after the ICA processing, and the proposed diagnostic system is effective for the gear multi-faults diagnosis, including the gear crack failure, pitting failure, gear tooth broken, compound fault of wear and spalling, etc. In addition, the proposed method can achieve higher performance than that without ICA processing with respect to the classification rate.


A case of renal vein and inferior cava thrombosis in a previously catheterized infant with cyanotic congenital heart disease is reported. The different origins of R.V.T. in newborns and infants are briefly discussed. The different factors that favour the beginning of thrombotic process (cyanotic heart disease diabetic mother, etc.) are also emphasized. Some considerations are made on the danger inherent to the use of intravascular catheters.


The Treaty of Lausanne was signed after the Turkish-Geerk War in Anatolia. By the virtue of that treaty, Cyprus was relinqished by Turkey to the United Kingdom. The first purpose of this study is, to study the difficulties encountered during the British rule by the the Turkish society which lived there. The other purpose is, to study the effct of the social revolution occuring in Turkey upon the establishment of the republic.


OBJECTIVE
To study the change in lymphocyte subsets of a renal allograft recipient who acquired human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

PATIENT AND METHODS
A 53-year-old Japanese man who acquired HIV infection at the time of renal transplantation and died from opportunistic infection 3 years later was studied. Lymphocyte subsets were examined serially throughout his clinical course.

RESULTS
The numbers of CD4 positive cells were severely decreased but those of CD8 positive cells were stable; the CD 4/8 ratio was extremely low. The numbers of B cells were also decreased but production of immunoglobulin was increased. In spite of this immunosuppressive state, graft rejection was noted when the patient's immunosuppressive medication was reduced.

CONCLUSION
The lymphocyte subsets of renal transplant patients with HIV infection should be closely observed, as should the nature and timing of opportunistic infection in relation to transplantation, and the administration of immunosuppressive medication.


Phonetic symbol guide (2nd. ed.). Geoffrey K. Pullum and William Ligne Directe Student's Book and Cassette Set: listening activities for Ladushaw. The University of Chicago Press, 1996. ISBN 0 226 learners of French. Jacqueline Bidard-Gibson and Marie Therese 68536 5 £15.95 pb. (£35.95 hb. ISBN 0 226 68535 7). Villamana. Hodder & Stoughton, 1996. Book ISBN 0 340 64824 4, £5.99. Cassette set ISBN 0 340 64825 2, £25.00 + VAT. Vocabulary


Color flux tubes (quark-gluon strings), formed at early stages of hadron-hadron collisions, may overlap in case of suffciently high densities and interact, producing longrange azimuthal correlations. In the hypothesis of repulsive interaction, each string may acquire, before the hadronization, the additional transverse boost, which is an effcient sum of all accounted string-string interactions. This modifies transverse momenta to the particles formed in string decay, leading to modification of event-wise observables, like azimuthal asymmetry of two-particle correlations, over a wide range of rapidity.In this report we discuss results of Monte Carlo model with string repulsion, where efficient string-string interaction radius is introduced. We show that the effect of string repulsion can be the main dynamic origin of the elliptic flow and of the higher harmonics, which are reflected in the complicated structures observed in two-particle long-range correlation topology in nucleus-nucleus collisions at RHIC and at LHC.


Mutation testing has been used to assess and improve the quality of test inputs. Generating test inputs to achieve high mutant-killing ratios is important in mutation testing. However, existing test-generation techniques do not provide effective support for killing mutants in mutation testing. In this paper, we propose a general test-generation approach, called PexMutator, for mutation testing using Dynamic Symbolic Execution (DSE), a recent effective test-generation technique. Based on a set of transformation rules, PexMutator transforms a program under test to an instrumented meta-program that contains mutant-killing constraints. Then PexMutator uses DSE to generate test inputs for the meta-program. The mutant-killing constraints introduced via instrumentation guide DSE to generate test inputs to kill mutants automatically. We have implemented our approach as an extension for Pex, an automatic structural testing tool developed at Microsoft Research. Our preliminary experimental study shows that our approach is able to strongly kill more than 80% of all the mutants for the five studied subjects. In addition, PexMutator is able to outperform Pex, a state-of-the-art test-generation tool, in terms of strong mutant killing while achieving the same block coverage.


Dubin-Johnson syndrome (DJS) is an often-missed diagnosis of neonatal cholestasis. We report two patients with DJS, who presented with neonatal cholestasis. The first patient underwent extensive investigations for infantile cholestasis with no definitive etiology reached; the diagnosis of DJS was missed until the age of 14 years old. The diagnosis was confirmed genetically with c.2273G > T, p.G758V mutation in exon 18 of the ABCC2 gene. The 2nd patient is a 7-day-old baby, the son of the 1st patient who gave birth to him at the age of 21 years old. He was diagnosed with DJS at the age of 2 weeks based on normal clinical and laboratory workup apart from direct hyperbilirubinemia. He had the same mutation as his mother in homozygous status. The husband was heterozygous for the same mutation. DJS is one of the often-missed differential diagnoses of neonatal cholestasis. It should be suspected in patients of infantile cholestasis, who have an, otherwise, normal physical examination, and laboratory investigations to avoid unnecessary lengthy, invasive, and expensive workups.


A serological study aimed at measuring the distribution and extent of the HIV infection in the population was carried out from 1 October to 30 November 1990 among 689 pregnant women seen during prenatal consultations in the Health Centers of the National Social Security Service. Serological tests according to ELISA method were used. They were anonymous and uncorrelated. Specific seroprevalence was found to be high among young women between 20 and 29 years (10.10%) and among nulliparous women. Some correlation was observed between the parity and the seropositivity; the seroprevalence was higher among nulliparous women (chi 2 = 52.4; ddl = 4; p < 0.001). The authors recommend the reinforcement of preventive measures and the establishment of counselling in Mother and Child Health Care Centers (MCH).


This Handbook sets out and assesses the international legal framework governing the protection of cultural heritage. Cultural heritage is frequently not bounded by national territory and can only effectively be protected through international cooperation. This is a primary driving force of contemporary multilateral, regional, and bilateral initiatives, including legal measures. Accordingly, the Handbook is primarily focused on public international law, but it embraces also aspects of private international law and comparative law. It analyses the substance of cultural heritage protection and explores its links with other areas of public and private international law, as well as the ways in which cultural heritage law is contributing to the development of international law itself. The Handbook concludes with an examination of the implementation of cultural heritage law and of regional approaches. It reflects the diversity of developments in almost every field of international law which is leading to this specialist area of law and provides an overarching rationale for understanding and teaching cultural heritage law as a coherent body of law with key principles and practices. The book is designed in such a manner to enable a reader, whether it be a practitioner, policymaker, teacher or student, to pick and choose according their individual needs.


Abstract This paper summarizes the results of seven field expeditions aboard the Naval Postgraduate School's R/V Acania, designed specifically to study the formation of marine fog along the California coast. On the basis of observations and analyses, physical models have been formulated for the formation and persistence of at least four different types of marine fog which occur off the West Coast: 1) fog triggered by instability and mixing over warm water patches; 2) fog developed as a result of lowering (thickening) stratus clouds; 3) fog associated with low-level mesoscale convergence; and 4) coastal radiation fog advected to sea via nocturnal land breezes. In addition, it has been found that the triggering of embryonic fogs and further downwind development produces a synoptic-scale fog-stratus system and is responsible for redevelopment of the unstable marine boundary layer after Santa Ana events.


Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious eating disorder characterized by self‐starvation and extreme weight loss. It has the highest mortality rate among all psychiatric disorders. Recent research indicates that malnutrition in AN patients induces various kinds of functional brain damage, but the pathophysiology of AN remains unclear. We report here the neuropathological findings of a 31‐year‐old Japanese woman. At age 24, she had a fear of gaining weight and reduced her dietary intake; she had extremely low body weight associated with overeating then self‐induced vomiting. She was clinically diagnosed as having AN and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital with severe depression and suicidal thoughts. At age 31, she died despite intensive physical care and psychotherapy. Neuropathological examination revealed increased capillary blood vessels and slight fibrillary gliosis in the mammillary bodies, with similarities to Wernicke encephalopathy. The brainstem exhibited the characteristic features of central pontine myelinolysis, characterized by a sharply demarcated region of myelin pallor and relative sparing of axons. Senile changes, including neurofibrillary tangles/senile plaques, were not significant. Severe fibrillary gliosis was prominent around periventricular regions, including the caudate nucleus and nucleus accumbens, which are associated with cognition, emotion, and emotional behaviors via the dopaminergic pathways. These findings indicate that prolonged malnutrition in AN patients may induce brain damage, leading to dysfunction of the reward‐related dopaminergic pathways. Furthermore, they represent the first pathological evidence that dysfunction of the cortico–limbic–striatal circuitry is involved in the pathophysiology of psychiatric symptoms in AN patients.


UNLABELLED
In Spain, the Therapeutic Community (TC) constitutes a common model of treatment in the field of addictions, although there hardly exists any investigation about its efficiency and the persistence of its attainments.

AIMS
To evaluate the short, half and long term effects of treatment of addiction to alcohol or cocaine in the TC run by "Fundacion Salud y Comunidad" (Foundation Health and Community).

DESIGN
descriptive pilot study, with a sequential design of cohort. 91 users completed a survey specifically designed to know their evolution at different follow-up periods (1, 3, 5 or 10 years after their exit from the TC): socio-demographic, psychoactive substance use, other variables related to the stay at the TC. Changes between before the TC and the present time regarding variables such as academic, labour, drug consumption, health, family and social adaptation and their criminal behaviour are described.

RESULTS
the cohorts showed a relatively common previous socio-demographic pattern having received a similar treatment. The users reported to have diminished the frequent consumption of the main drug, having 48.9% never relapsed even through an occasional consumption of the drug/s. Also they perceived to have improved their health and family relations, as well as their aggressive behaviour and legal problems linked with their consumption of drug/s.

CONCLUSIONS
after their rehabilitation in a TC, the users report a global decrease of the consumption of drugs and perceive an improvement of their health, family relations, violence and other problems linked to their former drug use.


Despite their immense popularity, deep learning-based acoustic systems are inherently vulnerable to adversarial attacks, wherein maliciously crafted audios trigger target systems to misbehave. In this paper, we present SirenAttack, a new class of attacks to generate adversarial audios. Compared with existing attacks, SirenAttack highlights with a set of significant features: (i) versatile -- it is able to deceive a range of end-to-end acoustic systems under both white-box and black-box settings; (ii) effective -- it is able to generate adversarial audios that can be recognized as specific phrases by target acoustic systems; and (iii) stealthy -- it is able to generate adversarial audios indistinguishable from their benign counterparts to human perception. We empirically evaluate SirenAttack on a set of state-of-the-art deep learning-based acoustic systems (including speech command recognition, speaker recognition and sound event classification), with results showing the versatility, effectiveness, and stealthiness of SirenAttack. For instance, it achieves 99.45% attack success rate on the IEMOCAP dataset against the ResNet18 model, while the generated adversarial audios are also misinterpreted by multiple popular ASR platforms, including Google Cloud Speech, Microsoft Bing Voice, and IBM Speech-to-Text. We further evaluate three potential defense methods to mitigate such attacks, including adversarial training, audio downsampling, and moving average filtering, which leads to promising directions for further research.


This study investigated size effect to earnings management. In this study, it is investigated whether medium and large-sized firm more aggressive to use earnings management through reporting positive earnings to avoid losses and/or earnings decreases by examining the earnings (change) frequency distribution and probit analysis. Docu-mented is empirical evidence that small-, medium-and large-sized firms tend to report positive earnings to avoid earnings losses. However, this study observed that firm size plays differing roles in earnings management. This study found that medium-and large-sized firms do not engage more earnings management aggressively than small firms for both avoiding reporting earnings losses and earnings decreases.


Patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) display a wide spectrum of oncologic outcomes, suggesting significant underlying biologic diversity. Despite two notable exceptions in the cases of EGFR mutations and ALK rearrangements, current therapeutic management is largely homogeneous for a given stage. To advance genotype-directed therapy in NSCLC, we sought to identify genetic determinants of therapeutic resistance by leveraging cancer genomic data with a recently developed high-throughput platform for measuring radiation survival (Cancer Res. 2013. 73(20): 6289-98). To adequately represent the biologic spectrum of lung cancer and maximize power to detect clinically relevant genotypes, we profiled 104 lung cancer cell lines, including 89 NSCLC and 15 small cell lung cancer (SCLC) lines. We used our recently validated high-throughput proliferation assay to measure survival. Genomic correlates of radiosensitivity were explored by accessing Oncomap data from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia, the COSMIC database of the Cancer Genome Project, and The Cancer Genome Atlas. Radiation survival across lineages reflected clinical experience and the literature regarding differential response to radiation, inasmuch as lung squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma (ACA) had similar radiosensitivity, whereas SCLC was less radiosensitive. Importantly, radiosensitivity varied more within a lineage than across lineages, with a 6-fold difference in integral survival among ACA lines. Correlation with cancer genomic data revealed clustering of BRAF mutations within the most resistant ACA lines (p = 0.035). When radiation survival distributions were compared by mutation status, BRAF-mutant ACA lines were significantly more resistant than BRAF wild-type ACA lines (p = 0.023). Some of the mutations identified by our analysis have been previously annotated by The Cancer Genome Atlas lung adenocarcinoma dataset and others appear to be novel. The identified BRAF mutations located in the highly conserved kinase domain enhanced kinase activity in a fashion analogous to the well-known BRAF V600E mutation. Integration of high-throughput radiation survival profiling with large-scale cancer genomic data suggests BRAF mutations are associated with therapeutic resistance in lung ACA. Our analysis nominates BRAF pathway inhibitors, which are commercially available, as therapeutic sensitizers in select BRAF-mutant lung ACA. Further investigation has the potential to yield an additional genotype-directed therapy that could impact up to 7% of patients with lung ACA, a prevalence comparable to that of ALK rearrangements (4%) or EGFR mutations (10%). Citation Format: Mohamed Abazeed, Brian Yard, Drew Adams, Pablo Tamayo, Jason Hearn, Eui Kyu Chie, Stuart Schreiber, Matthew Meyerson, Craig Peacock, Peter Hammerman. Functional genomic profiling of lung adenocarcinoma identifies BRAF mutations as novel therapeutic targets. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3315. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3315


Neurofibromatosis type 1 is diagnosed clinically based on the presence of two of seven criteria developed by a panel of experts in 1987. The sixth criterion focuses on skeletal findings and is as follows: "A distinctive osseous lesion such as sphenoid dysplasia or thinning of long bone cortex, with or without pseudarthrosis." The wording for this criterion is misleading. In particular, "thinning of long bone cortex" is not the characteristic radiographic presentation, and no mention of long bone bowing is included. The distinctive clinical feature of long bone dysplasia in neurofibromatosis type 1 is anterolateral bowing of the lower leg (portion of the body delimited by the knee and ankle). The usual radiographic findings of long bone dysplasia in neurofibromatosis type 1 at first presentation, prior to fracture, are anterolateral bowing with medullary canal narrowing and cortical thickening at the apex of the bowing. We suggest that anterolateral bowing of the lower leg, with or without fracture or pseudarthrosis, is a more appropriate description of the primary finding that a clinician will use to fulfill the sixth diagnostic criterion for neurofibromatosis type 1. Clarification of this diagnostic criterion is important for the clinician and for research protocols. Appropriate interpretation will improve understanding of the natural history and pathophysiology of neurofibromatosis type 1.


Study level/applicability
The case would be relevant to undergraduate level or an introductory master's level course in operations management (OM), supply chain management and production.

Subject area
The case can be used as part of a core OM course in the MBA curriculum or any OM or supply chain elective.

Case overview
As a highly diversified manufacturing services company, Jabil's S&OP solution supports customers across many industries such as automotive, cloud computing, consumer packaging, healthcare, mobile, retail and telecommunications. Jabil's customers expect a rapid and accurate response to their demand within hours. Previously, Jabil used a series of legacy disconnected planning tools, unsynchronized data required time-consuming manipulation with Excel. Processes were conducted in siloes leading to a "load and chase" approach, which resulted in excess inventory, component shortages and inadequate capacity. The case focuses on one of the Jabil executives, Lizet Tymon (she). Struggling with the issues caused by the disconnected planning tools, Lizet champions implementing a fully integrated suite of services (built on top of the Kinaxis' RapidResponse software platform). The technology solution proposed by Lizet was ultimately implemented across the company, and the project received high marks, and it opened up career opportunities for her. However, it was not a smooth ride at the very beginning. The case focuses on the issues experienced by Lizet, as she is introducing a new technological solution approach and trying to earn support from her team, her peers, her immediate supervisor, her customers and her higher-level executives.

Expected learning outcomes
The teaching objectives include: understanding and appreciating the supply chain complexities experienced by a global contract manufacturer; helping students think critically regarding the issues around the sales and ops planning; identifying the data needs for the operation and management of a worldwide, connected supply chain; investigating agile solution approaches for information sharing, decision-making and decision-sharing; and exposing the challenges associated with a large-scale technology adaptation.

Social Implications
This case study describes the supply chain challenges experienced by a global manufacturing solutions provider and illustrates the technology adaptation led by a female executive.

Supplementary materials
Teaching Notes are available for educators only.

Subject code
CSS 9: Operations and Logistics


Here, we propose a planning method for knotting/unknotting of deformable linear objects. First, we propose a topological description of the state of a linear object. Second, transitions between these states are defined by introducing four basic operations. Then, possible sequences of crossing state transitions, i.e. possible manipulation processes, can be generated once the initial and the objective states are given. Third, a method for determining grasping points and their directions of movement is proposed to realize derived manipulation processes. Our proposed method indicated that it is theoretically possible for any knotting manipulation of a linear object placed on a table to be realized by a one-handed robot with three translational DOF and one rotational DOF. Furthermore, criteria for evaluation of generated plans are introduced to reduce the candidates of manipulation plans. Fourth, a planning method for tying knots tightly is established because they fulfill their fixing function by tightening them. Finally, we report knotting/unknotting manipulation performed by a vision-guided system to demonstrate the usefulness of our approach. KEY WORDS—linear objects, deformable, manipulation, planning, knotting, unknotting, tightening


Cutaneous melanoma, a type of skin tumor originating from melanocytes, often develops from premalignant naevoid lesions via a gradual transformation process driven by an accumulation of (epi)genetic lesions. These dysplastic naevi display altered morphology and often proliferation of melanocytes. Additionally, melanocytes in dysplastic naevi show structural mitochondrial and melanosomal alterations and have elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. For this study we performed genome-wide expression and proteomic analysis of melanocytes from dysplastic naevus (DNMC) and adjacent normal skin (MC) from 18 patients. Whole genome expression profiles of the DNMC and MC of each individual patient subjected to GO-based comparative statistical analysis yielded significantly differentially expressed GO classes including "organellar ribosome," "mitochondrial ribosome," "hydrogen ion transporter activity," and "prefoldin complex." Validation of 5 genes from these top GO classes revealed a heterogeneous differential expression pattern. Proteomic analysis demonstrated differentially expressed proteins in DNMC that are involved in cellular metabolism, detoxification, and cytoskeletal organization processes, such as GTP-binding Rho-like protein CDC42, glutathione-S-transferase omega-1 and prolyl 4-hydroxylase. Collectively these results point to deregulation of cellular processes, such as metabolism and protein synthesis, consistent with the observed elevated oxidative stress levels in DNMC potentially resulting in oxidative DNA damage in these cells.


Long before contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island art transformed Australian art history through its proactive assertion of the sovereignty of Australian First Nations people, museums in Australia had been constructing and distributing a version of the Aboriginal past that was entirely authored and often misrepresented by non‑Indigenous people. Following the self‑determination movements of the 1970s, artists and communities have successfully asserted the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people to depict and represent their culture on their own terms. This transformation has come about through the work and struggles of many artists, activists and curators. The results of their arduous fight for change can be read through several recent precedents that signal an altogether different understanding of how Aboriginal philosophies can enlighten audiences today.


Experimental results are presented on the use of Au/Pd/Ge and Au/Pd/Ni/Ge for the formation of sintered ohmic contacts to n-GaAs. The specific contact resistance is found to be of the order of 10-5 Omega cm2 for a substrate doping of 1017 cm-3. The presence of Ni consistently results in a substantial reduction in the specific contact resistance and significant improvements in the ohmic contact surface morphology. Furthermore, under optimum conditions, the scanned electron beam annealing process always gives lower values of specific contact resistance when compared with standard furnace annealing at 450 degrees C. Additional experimental data indicates that the presence or absence of the Au/Pd overlayer during the annealing process results in little or no change in the measured specific contact resistance. All of these results suggest that the palladium layer is an effective barrier to gold diffusion leading to ohmic contacts which do not rely on the formation of any Au-Ge based alloys for fabrication. The contacts exhibit little degradation after 25 h of aging at 500 degrees C.


With the development of the urbanization process, the spatial-temporal behavior of the urban crowd is becoming focus of the research in urban transportation, environment and evacuation etc. The model of the spatial-temporal behavior of the crowd has wholly turned to micro and detailed from traditional mean. Traditional GIS data model rarely considers the behavior of human activities in micro-geographical environment, and it lacks consideration of surface features possessing various affections to the human. Individual daily travel behavior often depends on the change of the urban surface features' spatial distribution. These space objects have different functions (such as home, school, hospital), different states (mobile car, fixed house), which are directly bound up with individual spatial-temporal behavior. Therefore, the human-earth relationship is an important part during the construction of urban crowd's spatial-temporal model. In this paper, the author raise the method for modeling of individual and group's spatial-temporal daily behavior, through constructing urban crowd's human-earth relationship model, which is based on the exploration of the method that used by complex human and land information's acquisition and processing. In addition, a prototype system has been built a prototype system for preliminary application experiment, in which the urban crowds' spatial-temporal behavior simulated.


Lung atelectasis caused by shallow breathing patterns is common after cardiac, thoracic and upper abdominal surgeries. A common method used to address this problem is to encourage patients to perform breathing exercises using incentive spirometers in the postoperative period. However, to be effective, this procedure must be repeated regularly so that adequate lung volumes can be maintained to prevent atelectasis. Current models of single-use, low-cost incentive spirometers do not have features that can track and store data on breathing exercises. This makes it difficult to monitor patients' breathing exercises effectively. We present here a device designed to be interfaced with the Spiro-ball incentive spirometer and programmed to monitor the incentive spirometry performance. Laboratory based validation performed indicate that there were no significant differences between the value obtained from the device and manual reading; p-value >0.05 and root-mean-square error (RMSE) is 3.882. The device was able to retrieve and display pertinent data on incentive spirometry performance. It was also able to correctly track and register random sets of inspiration data through different dates and timelines. Being a separate entity which is reusable, it does not add to the cost of the single-use incentive spirometer.


The article proposes a system of indicators to measure the performance of BIM (Building Information Modelling) projects. Proposed indicators divided into two groups: quantitative (cost and time related numerical values) and qualitative (verbally expressed measures recalculated to scores according to proposed four-point rating scale). The metrics include the calculation of time and cost variations, the assessment of the organizational scale of BIM deployment, BIM competency granularity level, BIM capability level, BIM maturity level. In the case study, the proposed indicators applied for the evaluation of the results of the real construction project. The limitations and difficulties faced up during the project implementation discussed, and the benefits of the application of the BIM methodology revealed. The application of the proposed methodology is useful in assessing, at which level the BIM applied in construction projects and measuring the progress towards achieving project goals. The proposed methodology may also be useful for constant monitoring of the BIM implementation in construction projects.


During the past several years, mass spectrometry has made great progress in the analytical field of biological molecules. The progress has been mainly achieved with the development of new soft ionization techniques, such as plasma desorption, laser desorption, molecular secondary ion mass spectrometry, and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, and with the development of a big mass spectrometer. It has been demonstrated that polar nonvolatile big bioorganic molecules can be ionized without dissociation by soft ionization methods, which are called desorption ionization. The soft ionization methods and recent applications are overviewed. Newly developed thermospray ionization seems to be obtaining a reputation as a suitable ionization method for LC/MS and several applications have been achieved more recently. The application of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to structure analysis or mixture analysis of bioorganic samples has started recently, while it was widely used as a method for analyzing the ion structure of small molecules. These combination techniques of using a mass spectrometer with a liquid chromatograph or another mass spectrometer are promising methods for mixture analysis and they are also reviewed here.


Micro and nanotechnologies are called to play a key role in the fabrication of small and low cost sensors with excellent performance enabling new continuous monitoring scenarios and distributed intelligence paradigms (Internet of Things, Trillion Sensors). Harvesting devices providing energy autonomy to those large numbers of microsensors will be essential. In those scenarios where waste heat sources are present, thermoelectricity will be the obvious choice. However, miniaturization of state of the art thermoelectric modules is not easy with the current technologies used for their fabrication. Micro and nanotechnologies offer an interesting alternative considering that silicon in nanowire form is a material with a promising thermoelectric figure of merit. This paper presents two approaches for the integration of large numbers of silicon nanowires in a cost-effective and practical way using only micromachining and thin-film processes compatible with silicon technologies. Both approaches lead to automated physical and electrical integration of medium-high density stacked arrays of crystalline or polycrystalline silicon nanowires with arbitrary length (tens to hundreds microns) and diameters below 100 nm.


The past years have witnessed great progress on remote sensing (RS) image interpretation and its wide applications. With RS images becoming more accessible than ever before, there is an increasing demand for the automatic interpretation of these images. In this context, the benchmark datasets serve as an essential prerequisites for developing and testing intelligent interpretation algorithms. After reviewing existing benchmark datasets in the research community of RS image interpretation, this article discusses the problem of how to efficiently prepare a suitable benchmark dataset for RS image interpretation. Specifically, we first analyze the current challenges of developing intelligent algorithms for RS image interpretation with bibliometric investigations. We then present the general guidances on creating benchmark datasets in efficient manners. Following the presented guidances, we also provide an example on building RS image dataset, i.e., Million Aerial Image Dataset (Online. Available: https://captain-whu.github.io/DiRS/0), a new large-scale benchmark dataset containing a million instances for RS image scene classification. Several challenges and perspectives in RS image annotation are finally discussed to facilitate the research in benchmark dataset construction. We do hope this article will provide the RS community an overall perspective on constructing large-scale and practical image datasets for further research, especially data-driven ones.


Due to the unique methods and outstanding productivity of powder metallurgy (PM), it has already become firmly established as a field in metal processing technologies and in recent years has shown ever greater growth. Particularly in automobiles where many sintered machine parts are used together with sintered bearing parts, the increased use of PM parts, which require less machining, is expected to significantly reduce the base price of automobiles. Furthermore, high–strength PM products that could not be obtained through previous methods are becoming more and more common, and in the future the percentage of PM parts used in automobiles is expected to increase even further. This paper describes several advances made in powder metallurgy and future trends while giving some examples of the current use of PM parts in automobile engines.


ation – could perhaps have benefited from an ex position which did not so heavily rely on historic al sources, but the discussion in relation to MerleauPonty, Bourdieu, Derrida, and others locates the idea most fruitfully. Less well located are the ways in which the kinesthetic sense is explained. If it can indeed be demonstrated in future that the idea of kinesthetic empathy or metakinesis is any thing more than a historic ally bound notion, then there is indeed value in studying it. In the end, this book tempts the reader to in ves tigate much further, giving some clear new insights into modern dance of the pre-war years and how Cunningham's work disrupted this. For those with an interest in re-reading dance history, there is a great deal to think about and explore. mike huxley


Nonobstetric surgery during pregnancy is common. Administration of safe anesthesia to a pregnant patient, while minimizing its side effects on the fetus, is a major challenge for the anesthesiologist. Both general anesthesia and central neuraxial block are associated with risks during early pregnancy. Regional nerve blocks are being explored as possible alternatives whenever feasible. This report emphasizes the usefulness of ultrasound-guided, modified bilateral paravertebral block in a first-trimester pregnant patient undergoing microdiscectomy for cauda equina syndrome.


ackground: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in which many cells and cellular elements play a role, leading to recurrent episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and coughing. Although clinicians are satisfied with this definition, epidemiologists are still searching for their own. Studies on asthma used either questionnaire or histopathophysiologic way to define asthma each has its privileges and drawbacks. Asthma has become more common in both children and adults around the world in recent decades. Its prevalence has been dramatically increased during last few years, but still no definite asthma prevalence is specified in Iraq. Aim of the Study: To define the prevalence of some risk factors in Iraqi asthmatics, patterns of presentation, and to find the level of education about asthma among the patients, this study was conducted. Method :Two hundred twenty five asthmatic patients diagnosed by questionnaire, supported by clinical detection of wheeze, were included in a cross sectional study done in outpatients clinic, Baghdad Teaching hospital in Baghdad, collected from December 2007 to March 2008. Results: mean age for the study sample is 38 years, 50 are men and 175 are women. Normal body mass index reported in 86 patients, 78 patients (33.7 %) have positive family history of allergic diseases, 110 patients reported exposure to environment with house dust mite, and 49 patients (21.7%) were passive smoker. Persistent symptoms are commonest pattern of asthma reported in 157 patients. Eighty eight patients use their treatment regularly, and 31 patients used steroid inhalers. Proper usage of inhalers as assessed by demonstration found in only 39 patients. Spirometry or pulmonary function tests are performed only in 11 patients (4.9 %) for diagnosis or asthma follow-up. Conclusions: High body mass index, exposure to an environment in favored for house mite inhabitance, family history of atopy, history of allergic diseases, Gastro-intestinal symptoms suggestive of gastroesophageal reflux disease and Allergic rhinitis and sinusitis are the commonest risk factors reported by asthmatics.Irregular treatment with inhalers especially corticosteroid and their improper usage are still widely spread among our patients, also spirometry and other pulmonary function tests are still rarely used in diagnosis, and management of asthmatic patients.


Abstract This work reports experimental observation and theoretical explanation of the dynamics and morphology of a droplet passing through a soap film. During the process, the film undergoes four sequential responses: (1) film deformation upon droplet impact; (2) drop–film detachment; (3) coalescence of the film shell with the drop; (4) peel-off of the film shell. Physical models and the corresponding analytical expressions are developed to reveal the underlying physics for the observed four responses. It is identified that the film is an elongated catenoid under continuous stretch by the droplet, and that they separate at the fixed height of 5.8 times of the droplet radius while the detach point is located at the centre of the height. After separation, the droplet is wrapped with a film shell, which is then punctured by the ring tip of the converging surface wave at the impacting Weber number range of [45, 225]. The film shell then coalesces with the droplet, falls off with a fixed velocity and is eventually ejected as a bubble leaving the droplet with a transplanted surface of the soap solution.


Richard Lansdown, "Suicide, Melancholia, and Manic Defense in Byron's Manfred" (pp. 1–32)
 This essay presents a literary-critical account of Lord Byron's verse drama Manfred (1817) from the perspective of Freudian and Object Relations psychological theories, in particular as regards the distinction between melancholia and mourning and the presence of part-objects within the psyche. It argues that whereas it is important to preserve a distinction between the poet and his works, such a distinction can never be total: like Childe Harold, Manfred is clearly in part a personal projection, given Byron's state of mind at the time of composition. To provide context for these discussions the essay surveys both Byron's personal views concerning suicide and the history of self-slaughter in Western culture, with Romanticism as a particular focus. The poet's attitudes were many and various, depending on which cases he had in mind. Furthermore, the Romantic tradition initiated by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774) and continued by Byron's numerous treatments of suicide mark a complication of the attitudes we find voiced by Enlightenment philosophers and, indeed, by Sigmund Freud himself.


5-Hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) is an important platform chemical because it can be upgraded to various drop-in and performance-advantaged products. The cascade reaction of HMF production from glucose over a Lewis acid (CrCl3) and a Bronsted acid (HCl) catalyst in aqueous media is investigated in a microreactor at short residence times and high temperatures. We study the formation of various chromium species using UV-visible spectrophotometry and elucidate the Cr(III) speciation. The catalyst reactivity increases sharply at short residence times, and then drops at long times. This indicates that the catalyst treatment plays a vital role in getting optimal reactivity, and recording the catalyst history is necessary. We develop a kinetic model to describe the catalyst speciation as well as the Lewis and Bronsted acid-catalyzed reaction kinetics using a hierarchical approach. The model is in good agreement with experiments. We demonstrate the benefits of tandem Lewis-external added Bronsted acid catalysis in processing time, productivity, and catalyst stability. We apply this model to optimize the HMF yield and obtain ∼36% yield at 200 °C in 7 min and report the highest productivity of ∼15% yield per min, demonstrating the opportunity of reaching high productivity at short residence times.


Most IR experiments lack both internal and external validity. Top performance is mostly an illusion, given the lack of solid statistical evidence. Thus, reviewers should ignore performance numbers in their judgement, and pay more attention to proper methodology. Researchers need to focus more on performance analysis and prediction.


Refactoring is an activity that improves the internal structure of the code without altering its external behavior. When performed on the production code, the tests can be used to verify that the external behavior of the production code is preserved. However, when the refactoring is performed on test code, there is no safety net that assures that the external behavior of the test code is preserved. In this paper, we propose to adopt mutation testing as a means to verify if the behavior of the test code is preserved after refactoring. Moreover, we also show how this approach can be used to identify the part of the test code which is improperly refactored.


60?70% of all patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus will ultimately require insulin therapy for the management of their diabetes. Irisulin may be used alone, or in combination with oral agents. The early use of insulin can be very important in decreasing the incidence of micro-vascular complications and in helping to delay the onset of macro-vascular complications. The United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study and the Kumamoto Study have shown the beneficial effects of good glucose control in type 2 diabetes mellitus. The DECODE study has related overall mortality to the level of glucose control and specifically to the postprandial glucose. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists has established a goal of 6.5% or less for HgbAlc. The appropriate use of insulin will allow us to achieve this goal without causing the patient any undue harm. There are many barriers to insulin therapy including psychological barriers of both the patient and the doctor, and unrealistic fears of both insulin therapy and therapy with self-administered injections. These barriers will be discussed as well as methods to overcome them. Insulin therapy is beneficial and has no long term adverse effects. The incidence of severe hypoglycemia is extremely low in type 2 diabetes. Weight gain is minimal. Insulin therapy by reducing glucose toxicity may also increase the effectiveness of oral anti-hyperglycemic agents. The physician taking care of patients with diabetes should be aggressive and should have no fears of initiating insulin therapy. Insulin dosage is flexible and good control is possible in most patients. The most common use of insulin in type 2 diabetes is as an add-on to oral agents if control with oral agents alone is unsatisfactory. Frequently this involves the use of a single dose of intermediate or long acting insulin or an insulin mixture in the evening. If control is not attained with a single dose, then the patient can be placed on an insulin mixture 2 or 3 times a day. An alternative would be a short acting insulin analogue prior to each meal with a longer acting insulin given 1 or 2 times a day. Titration schedules for insulin dosing will be presented. Insulin available in Russia will be listed along with some guidelines on using these insulins. Increasing the use of insulin and starting insulin earlier in type 2 diabetes will lead to better control of diabetes, increased patient compliance, and decreased long-term complications of diabetes mellitus.


Despite the widely accepted view that transcription of gid and mioC is required for efficient initiation of cloned oriC, we show that these transcriptions have very little effect on initiation of chromosome replication at wild-type chromosomal oriC. Furthermore, neither gid nor mioC transcription is required in cells deficient in the histone-like proteins Fis or IHF. However, oriC that is sufficiently impaired for initiation by deletion of DnaA box R4 requires transcription of at least one of these genes. We conclude that transcription of mioC and especially gid is needed to activate oriC only under suboptimal conditions. We suggest that either the rifampicin-sensitive step of initiation is some other transcription occurring from promoter(s) within oriC, or the original inference of transcriptional activation derived from the rifampicin experiments is incorrect.


ABSTRACT In many countries, local government size is increasingly thought to be insufficient to operate efficiently. Two possible solutions to this problem are amalgamation and intermunicipal cooperation. This paper applies a novel methodology to shed light on the efficiency implications of this choice. Using a unique and rich micro-level dataset, we find that intermunicipal organisations (IOs) in the Netherlands consistently pay higher interest rates than municipalities, while there is no economic reason to do so. We interpret this as a form of inefficiency. Municipal amalgamation, on the other hand, does not result in higher interest rates. Our analysis eliminates one possible explanation, dispersed ownership of IOs, as the number of partners cooperating in an IO does not affect interest rates (no 'law of 1/n'). This leaves the introduction of extra hierarchical layers as a result of cooperation, and the ensuing reduction in monitoring, as the most probable explanation.


Engineering graphics course is one of the specialized core courses for the major "civil construction". But it is difficult for college freshmen because it is comparatively logical and needs professional knowledge. So some teaching methods for college students are very important and essential in instructional activities. According to questionnaire result, the article summarized some problems which existed in teaching process. And a series of teaching methods were proposed for improving the teaching quality and teaching effect. As a result, the methods to enrich teaching contents were effective for engaging students.


(03/11/2019) Effect of Gastrointestinal Protease Digestion on Bioactivity of Marine Peptides Focus in nutritional science has turned towards components in, or added to, foods that may possess health beneficial activities beyond the classical nutritional value, namely functional food. Bioactive peptides are examples of such components. In vitro studies on bioactivities have mainly been executed without concerning subsequent digestion after intake and the aim of this work was hence to investigate how the in vitro antioxidative, antihypertensive and caspase activating activities of peptides are affected by digestion with gastrointestinal (GI) proteases. Five different fish protein hydrolysates were chosen to study the effect of in vitro digestion on bioactivity. The protein concentration decreased in all samples during digestion and the molecular weight distribution of the peptides shifted towards lower values. Thus, in vitro digestion with GI proteases resulted in a further degradation of the peptides obtained by hydrolysis. The antihypertensive effect increased in all samples after digestion with GI proteases whereas the antioxidative capacity decreased. The effect on the caspase activity depended on the proteases used in the preparation of hydrolysates. In conclusion, the caspase activity and antihypertensive activity are maintained during digestion with GI proteases, while the antioxidative capacity seems to be reduced.


This paper presents experiments for realistic landscape visualization using high resolution digital aerial photographs and elevation modeis. The natural environment of a river in northern Switzerland is visualized. Photogrammetrically measured digital elevation data and ortho-rectified remote sensing imagery (Landsat Thematic Mapper/TM and aerial photographs) are combined to compute realistic 3D views of the landscape. To renderthe landscape more realistically, the digital elevation model (DEM) is transformed to a digital surface model (DSM), representing the surface and including objects like forests or bushes. For this transformation land cover information and GIS tools were used. Unnaturally looking vertical borders between different land cover classes were suppressed by interpolating transition zones. Additionally, 3D objects (trees) are used in the foreground to increase the realism of the views.


Although the Internet has become a hub around which every aspect of our lives—from commerce to leisurely activities—is centered, many around the world are not able to freely access information over the Internet. Some governments censor what the people can and cannot see. In this paper, regardless of the socio-political view points, we focus on the design of anti-censorship technology that can be implemented on the side of the information purveyors. The primary objective is to develop a framework for combating censorship. Our approach aims to make it too expensive and impractical for the adversary to censor Web sites. In particular, we propose the use of Mobile IPv6 to form a moving target defense strategy, where the Web servers logically behave as if they are the mobile nodes (without actually moving). The potential efficacy of this framework is modeled analytically. Probabilistic models are used to derive important metrics and parameters. One key factor termed swarming ratio enables hosting sites to reason about the amount of resources needed to force the adversary's costs over practical limits. This model is used to guide the performance goals and architectural setup of the prototype implementation (modifications are made on the server-side software and Kernel without changing the standard Mobile IPv6 protocol). Hence, the solution can be utilized without any changes to the existing network infrastructure. Furthermore, we introduce a novel, credit-based accounting strategy for grouping of users to drastically shift resource requirements in our favor. Lab-based tests are used to measure performance overheads, and based on the findings, targeted optimizations are performed to consider practical deployment scenarios. The end result is a solution that may also be combined with existing anti-censorship methods (that are end-user-based and/or assisted by friendly network assets) to form a robust anti-censorship solution.


One of the main properties of spiders increasing their pest regulation potencial is their use of passive dispersal, employing wind and silk fibers. This behaviour is crucial for the spiders' usefulness as pest control agent in agroecosystems as their fauna is regularly decimated by agricultural disturbances such as ploughing, cutting or application of pesticides and thus has to be regularly restored by recolonisation. In early spring we witnessed the mass dispersal of the linyphiid spider Oedothorax apicatus (Blackwall, 1850) in the central European agricultural landscape. During the first sunny days of 2017 we observed horizontally oriented "sheet webs" continuously covering grassland vegetation on circa 3000 m2 area. We estimated over three million O. apicatus individuals were present in the study area. The observed sheet webs were probably an accumulation of O. apicatus draglines. The majority of collected spiders tended to disperse in laboratory conditions. Most of those performed "tip-toeing" behaviour that precedes ballooning, the rest performed dropping on dragline that precedes rapelling dispersal.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of x-ray tube current on the accuracy of cerebral perfusion parameters obtained by CT perfusion studies using multi-detector row CT (MDCT). Following the standard CT perfusion study protocol, continuous (cine) scans (1 s/rotation × 60 s) consisting of four 5 mm thick contiguous slices were performed using an MDCT scanner with a tube voltage of 80 kVp and a tube current of 200 mA. We generated the simulated images with tube currents of 50 mA, 100 mA and 150 mA by adding the corresponding noise to the raw scan data of the original image acquired above using a noise simulation tool. From the original and simulated images, we generated the functional images of cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV) and mean transit time (MTT) in seven patients with cerebrovascular disease, and compared the correlation coefficients (CCs) between the perfusion parameter values obtained from the original and simulated images. The coefficients of variation (CVs) in the white matter were also compared. The CC values deteriorated with decreasing tube current. There was a significant difference between 50 mA and 100 mA for all perfusion parameters. The CV values increased with decreasing tube current. There were significant differences between 50 mA and 100 mA and between 100 mA and 150 mA for CBF. For CBV and MTT, there was also a significant difference between 150 mA and 200 mA. This study will be useful for understanding the effect of x-ray tube current on the accuracy of cerebral perfusion parameters obtained by CT perfusion studies using MDCT, and for selecting the tube current.


PURPOSE
To quantify motion sensitivity in patients with infantile esotropia who, as a subgroup, have been previously reported to have abnormal oculomotor control. In addition, to probe abnormal binocular development as a factor underlying abnormal motion perception in infantile esotropia (IE), motion sensitivity was compared among participants with and without stereopsis.

METHODS
Monocular sensitivity to leftward and rightward motion was assessed across the horizontal meridian, using partially coherent random dot kinematograms. Participants included 11 observers with IE, 5 observers with acquired esotropia, and 11 observers with normal eye alignment.

RESULTS
Participants with IE showed no deficits in motion sensitivity to any visual field locations when motion thresholds were collapsed across direction. However, they showed an abnormal variation in directional anisotropy. Although sensitivity to centripetal motion was superior in both hemifields of control participants and in the temporal hemifields of participants with IE, a centrifugal bias was revealed in the nasal hemifields of IE. Stereoblind observers with acquired esotropia showed a normal centripetal directional anisotropy, whereas binocular observers with acquired esotropia showed directional anisotropy similar to that in the IE group.

CONCLUSIONS
Motion perception, like oculomotor function in IE, is characterized by a variation of directional anisotropy for stimuli presented to the nasal hemifields. This finding supports the hypothesis that abnormal oculomotor control and motion perception in IE reflect a common disruption of the visual system. A similar variation of directional sensitivity in patients with acquired esotropia with normal stereopsis suggests that the interruption of binocularity is not the underlying cause of abnormal motion perception in IE.


Elevated serum level of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. LDL receptor (LDLR)-mediated LDL clearance is the major factor determining the LDL-C level in the circulation. LDL binds to the LDLR on the cell surface and enters the cells through classical clathrin-coated vesicles. In the acidic endosome, LDLR is uncoupled from LDL and recycles back to the cell surface. The released LDL is transported to the lysosome for degradation. The proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 (PCSK9) gene encodes a hepatic secretory protein, and its mutations are strongly associated with levels of LDL-C. We and others have shown that PCSK9 directly interacts with LDLR on the cell surface and both are internalized through the clathrin-coated vesicles. However, in the acidic endosome, PCSK9 and LDLR form a tight complex and are targeted to lysosome for degradation, thereby reducing the level of LDLR on the surface of hepatocytes and decreasing hepatic clearance of LDL-C, which plays an important role in maintaining a relatively constant level of LDL in the plasma. Thus, blocking PCSK9 function has become a new strategy to treat hypercholesterolemia.In this review, we will summarize the latest progress in the functional and mechanistic studies of PCSK9 and also highlight the research progress of PCSK9 inhibitors. It aims to provide a reference for the study of PCSK9-LDLR pathway and the regulation of cholesterol metabolism.


Summary 4-Nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4NQO) damages bacterial genomes but not phage genomes. A reduction product of 4NQO, 4-hydroxyaminoquinoline 1-oxide (4HAQO), damages both the bacterial and phage genomes. These results imply that Salmonella typhimurium is able to convert 4NQO to 4HAQO and that 4HAQO reacts with the genomes. When phage P22 is treated with 4HAQO and assayed on S. typhimurium strains lysogenic for P221, a rapid inactivation of P22 and a greatly increased frequency of recombination between P22 and the prophage P221 are observed. With the use of this phage assay system, experiments were designed to search for activating enzymes which convert 4NQO to 4HAQO or a reactive intermediate that inactivates bacteriophage. When phage P22 was incubated with 0.1 mm 4NQO, 0.1 mm NADH, and bacterial protein fractions obtained by diethylaminoethyl cellulose column chromatography, it was found that only one protein peak was able to cause phage inactivation and recombination; this same peak was the only one with bacterial diaphorase and 4NQO-reducing activity. Similarly, experiments with rat liver cytosol fractions showed that there are two peaks that activate 4NQO, and these also corresponded to diaphorase activity. These results suggest that diaphorase is an activating enzyme for 4NQO.


Inspired by CapsNet's routing-by-agreement mechanism, with its ability to learn object properties, and by center-of-mass calculations from physics, we propose a CapsNet architecture with object coordinate atoms and an LSTM network for evaluation. The first is based on CapsNet but uses a new routing algorithm to find the objects' approximate positions in the image coordinate system, and the second is a parameterized affine transformation network that can predict future positions from past positions by learning the translation transformation from 2D object coordinates generated from the first network. We demonstrate the learned translation transformation is transferable to another dataset without the need to train the transformation network again. Only the CapsNet needs training on the new dataset. As a result, our work shows that object recognition and motion prediction can be separated, and that motion prediction can be transferred to another dataset with different object types.


Preform heating is one of the most important steps in the polymer fibre fabrication process due to the potential distortion that can be introduced when exposing the structure to high temperatures. Such heating is further complicated when internal air-structures are introduced into the preform, such as in microstructured polymer optical fibre (MPOF) preforms. The aim of this study was thus to investigate heat transfer in an MPOF preform. The effect of air-structure was studied using both numerical heat transfer simulations and preform heating experiments. A two-dimensional conductive heat transfer model with surface radiation was used in simulating the transient heat transfer in MPOF preforms with the results compared to those for a solid preform. It was found that relatively long heating times were required to reach a uniform temperature distribution within a preform, and that depending on the preform's air fraction its centre could heat up either faster or slower than a solid preform. Experimental tests, where both a solid and an air-structured preform were heated in a drawing furnace with internal temperatures measured across the preform, confirmed the findings from the numerical simulations.


Protein components from eight lines of winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) seeds which were originally introduced from Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Ishigaki, and cultivated inOkinawa and Fukuoka, were investigated. Two major peaks which had sedimentation coefficients, s20, of about 2.5S and about 6.5S (6.0 to 6.6 for the 8 lines), and no larger component were observed in all specimens with more than 90% extraction. Electrophoretic profiles of the "6.5S" component(s) which was separated with Sepharose 6B column chromatography showed a main broad band and a few minor bands which seemed to be essentially similar among the eight lines of winged bean. Thus the "6.5S" protein surely could be regarded as the commonstorage protein in winged bean seeds. The subunit structure of the "6.5S" component(s) in SDS solution consisted of four major bands. The "2.5S" components were mixtures and combinations of various proteins which were distinctly different from one selection to another.


[Objective] To analyze the application of antimicrobial drugs for preoperative patients in the general surgery department in our hospital and make objective evaluation. [Methods] Make statistic analysis of the antimicrobial drug application in preoperative period from the 100 general surgical operation cases randomly drawn during the period from May to December in2006. [Results] Antimicrobial drugs were used by all patients in preoperative period. Cephalosporins was the most commonly used, which 73% patients used in less than 2 h before surgery, 22% patients used more than 2 h and 5% patients did not use. Antimicrobial drugs were used for comparatively longer period after surgery. [Conclusions] Regulation for antimicrobial drug application in preoperative period should be made to strengthen the rational use of drugs by clinical doctors. The supervision of drug administrative department should be reinforced.


As the licenses of many nuclear power plants in the US and abroad are being extended, the accurate knowledge of system and component condition is becoming more important. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has funded a project with the primary goal of developing lifecycle prognostic methods that generate accurate and continuous remaining useful life (RUL) estimates as components transition through each stage of the component lifecycle. These stages correspond to beginning of life, operations at various expected and observed stress levels, the onset of detectable degradation, and degradation towards the eventual end of life. This paper provides an overview and application of a developed lifecycle prognostic approach and applies it to a heat exchanger fouling test bed under accelerated degradation conditions. The results of applying the lifecycle prognostic algorithms to the heat exchanger fouling experiment are given, followed by a discussion of the strengths and shortcomings of the developed techniques for this application.


The results of the research of states of adaptation and health in workers of the aluminum industry are provided. Functional connection of the level of adaptability in respect of the parameter of adaptation (AP) with the length of employment has been revealed. The technologies of rehabilitative treatment under the conditions of the chronic fluoric intoxication have been presented.


A comparison was made between Butterfield's buffered phosphate solution. 0.1% peptone in distilled water. 0.5% peptone in distilled water, 0.85% NaCl in distilled water, and pure distilled water as diluents for total bacterial counts of 28 different food samples. Plates were incubated at 35 and 22 C for 2 and 5 days, respectively. Butterfield's diluent afforded the highest overall mean count for most samples regardless of the incubation temperature. Highest counts occurred with all diluents at 22 C. Although Butterfield's diluent. 0.1% peptone, and 0.5% peptone appeared to yield higher counts for most samples than did distilled water or 0.85% NaCl, statistically the mean counts obtained for the live diluents used were not significantly different from each other. It appears that no single diluent is suited for every possible sample type.


Information and communication technology is changing every facet of our lives, and thus changing how we live. This in turn impacts on the way we utilise information and communication technology in multi-purpose community centres, which provide support services to the communities in which they are located. A case study was conducted at the information and communication technology-equipped Ikageng Multi-purpose Community Centre in Itsoseng, situated in the North West Province of South Africa, to investigate the services delivered; the Centre utilises information and communication technology infrastructure to deliver needed services to the community. The lack of ongoing and sustained training for Centre staff, as well as the challenge of maintaining the Centre's equipment, were some of the shortcomings identified by the study in terms of service delivery.


The formulation presented in this paper is based on the boundary element method (BEM) and implements Kirchhoff's decomposition into viscous, thermal, and acoustic components, which can be treated independently everywhere in the domain except on the boundaries. The acoustic variables with losses are solved using extended boundary conditions that assume (i) negligible temperature fluctuations at the boundary and (ii) normal and tangential matching of the boundary's particle velocity. The proposed model does not require constructing a special mesh for the viscous and thermal boundary layers as is the case with the existing finite element method (FEM) implementations with losses. The suitability of this approach is demonstrated using an axisymmetrical BEM and two test cases where the numerical results are compared with analytical solutions.


Vertical integration for microelectronics poses significant challenges related to dissipation of heat generated in multiple device planes. Thermal management of 3-D integrated circuits (3-D ICs) is recognized to be one of the foremost technological and research challenges currently blocking the widespread adoption of this promising technology. The computation of steady-state and transient temperature fields in a 3-D IC is critical for determining the thermal characteristics of a 3-D IC and for evaluating any candidate thermal management technology. This paper presents an analytical solution for the 3-D temperature field in a 3-D IC based on the solution of the governing energy equations using Fourier series expansion for steady-state temperature fields. In addition, this approach is combined with Laplace transforms to determine transient temperature fields. Comparison of the temperature fields predicted by the proposed models with finite-element simulations shows excellent agreement. The model is used to compute the temperature field in a representative 3-D IC, and it is shown that by utilizing a thermal-friendly floorplanning approach, the maximum temperature of the 3-D IC is reduced substantially.