ABSTRACT Fan, J.; Yan, C.; Lei, P.; Wang, C., and Liu, G., 2020. Study on flow characteristics of three-dimensional backward-facing step at high Reynolds. In: Gong, D.; Zhang, M., and Liu, R. (eds.), Advances in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 106, pp. 522–525. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Based on FLUENT, the three-dimensional Realizable k-ε turbulence model is used to simulate the flow over a backward-facing step at 40 Reynolds numbers between 500 and 80,000, and the results are combined with the results of particle image velocimetry experiments to verify the reliability of the model. The three-dimensional flow characteristics of the flow over a backward-facing step at Re = 25,822 are analyzed. The results show that in the two-dimensional aspect, the numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental values, the separation and reattachment zone length change curves are consistent, the flow field structure is similar, and the model reliability is high. In three dimensions, slight differences occur in the flow distribution of the sections perpendicular to Z axis, and the closer the section is to the wall, the greater the change of flow is. Along the Z axis, the velocity and turbulent energy of water flow are unevenly distributed in the spreading direction, showing strong three-dimensional flow characteristics.


I would be most appreciative if you would advise me how best to reply, within the Journal, to an article in your Autumn 1985 issue. In your Autumn 1985 issue William Miller ("A View from the Inside: Brainwaves and Television Viewing." pp 508-514) reports brain wave responses of 56 subjects to various television programs such as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Shogun," and concludes that " . . . television viewing produces brainwave patterns that are much like those of other waking activities . . . television viewing appears to be nothing special (p. 514):' He does not specify what other 'waking activities' he has in mind, nor does he present any such data. Miller takes issue with two articles of mine in the Journal ofAdvertising Research which suggest other conclusions. He does this, again, by ignoring comparisons and comparative data. For example, his data are on television programs and mine are on commercials. This is ignored as he attacks my different findings. In the first article mentioned ("Brainwave measures of media involvement." Journal of Advertising Research, I I:p. 3-9, 1971) he reports that my single subject reacted to television commercials with a predominantly passive or alpha wave response. He fails to report that the purpose of the article was to compare responses as the subject switched from reading print advertising to the viewing of commercials. In fact, a dramatic change in response from beta to alpha was vividly illustrated and was the main finding of the article, but this comparison is totally ignored by Miller. In the second article ("Point of view: sustained viewing of television." Journal of Advertising Research. 2065-68. 1980) 1 comment on a comparison of brainwave responses to commercials shown three times, and I report declining left brain dominance with each repetition, as follows:


The evaluation of human individual characteristics is very important for any ergotechnical system optimization, especially in occupational safety. Investigations were carried out for this purpose. An important classification of ergonomic characteristics for construction workers was prepared. The importance and relevance of the choice of those characteristics as well as their application are presented in the article.


The analysis of the spectrum of doubly ionized fluorine, F III, has been revised and extended by using a sliding spark as a light-source. Many new lines (about 700) are identified, particularly in the regions 742-2 206 A and 3 436-9 078 A, where no lines were previously known. The nf and ng levels have been found and compared with those derived from the theoretical expressions for pair coupling. Altogether about 150 new energy levels are established. The sextet terms are connected with the other terms, giving for the quantity x in Atomic Energy Levels the value +21.6 cm-1. The first ionization limit (3P0) has been determined to 505 777 ± 5 cm-1.


The background of Paul's ethical instructions in Rom 13:1114, that, in view of the imminent return of Christ, Christians should eschew sinful behaviour and instead live righteously, have been assumed by several commentators to have derived from a cluster of disparate images. This approach however results in an irregular and unsatisfactory appreciation of the powerful rhetorical effects of the passage. In this paper, by exploring elements of Paul's doctrine of the "Last Adam" and its associations, especially the "Divine Warrior" motif, I propose that the images in the passage are derived from this Last Adam doctrine. Christians must be motivated to live godly lives because they will imminently inherit the incorruptible and glorious nature of the Last Adam by sharing in the image of the


Previous studies have led to a model in which the promoter-specific recognition of prokaryotic transcription initiation factor, sigma (σ), is core dependent. Most σ functions were studied on the basis of this tenet. Here, we provide in vitro evidence demonstrating that the intact Bacillus subtilis primary sigma, σA, by itself, is able to interact specifically with promoter deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), albeit with low sequence selectivity. The core-independent promoter-specific interaction of the σA is −10 specific. However, the promoter −10 specific interaction is unable to allow the σA to discern the optimal promoter spacing. To fulfill this goal, the σA requires assistance from core RNA polymerase (RNAP). The ability of σ, by itself, to interact specifically with promoter might introduce a critical new dimension of study in prokaryotic σ function.


This paper presents an analysis and system-level design of a capacitive harvester of vibration energy composed from a mechanical resonator, capacitive transducer and a conditioning circuit based on the BUCK DC-DC converter architecture. The goal of the study is to identify optimal power performance of the system, to understand the electromechanical coupling phenomena and to propose the optimal timing of switching between charge pump and flyback circuits. To achieve the study we provided a VHDL-AMS/ELDO mixed model based on physical equations describing the resonator and transducer operation. To test different algorithms of the switching, we developed a behavioral functional model of the switch commuting between the two operation phases. We demonstrated that to guarantee an optimal power generation, switching should be driven by the internal state of the circuit. This paper provides the keys of the underlying analysis and provides a basic algorithm of the switch ldquointelligentrdquo command.


The process of image formation in transmission mode scanning near-field optical microscopy is analyzed both theoretically and experimentally. Changes in the dielectric and topographic properties of the sample influence not only the total transmitted intensity, but also its angular distribution in the far field. This opens up an additional source of optical information about the sample. Some of this additional information is retrieved by separate but simultaneous detection of the radiation emitted at angles smaller (allowed light) and larger (forbidden light) than the critical angle of total internal reflection, respectively. Different experimental setups and their respective advantages are discussed. High resolution, constant height mode optical images of test structures are compared with theoretical predictions. Forbidden-light optical images frequently provide enhanced resolution and/or contrast as compared to allowed light images. For small phase objects, in contrast to amplitude objects, a contrast reversal between forbidden and allowed light images is observed.


Conventional arteriography (CA) was performed for 78 of 688 patients who underwent digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for suspected extracranial carotid arterial disease. Prospective readings by radiologists and retrospective readings by the authors were used to compare the results of the two studies in 142 internal carotid arteries (ICAs). DSA findings were uninterpretable for 10% (prospective) and 16% (retrospective) of the ICAs. For detecting the presence or absence of any disease evident on CA, the sensitivity and specificity of DSA (prospective) were 86% and 88%, respectively. The accuracy for differentiating diameter stenosis greater than 50% from stenosis of lesser degree was 80% sensitivity and 94% specificity. Negative or uninterpretable DSA results occurred in 22% of ICAs with stenosis visible on CA, in 22% of 46 ICAs subjected to endarterectomy, and in 66% of ICAs with ulcerated plaques. DSA obviated CA for 34% of patients undergoing endarterectomy. Symptoms had little influence on the decision to obtain CA, but the degree of stenosis did--the greater the stenosis visible on DSA, the more likely that CA was performed. DSA is a good method for evaluating disease at the carotid bifurcation, but its limitations must be appreciated if it is to be employed rationally.


Though it is well established that gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) is crucial to the early innate defense of murine listeriosis, its sources remain controversial. In this study, intracellular cytokine staining of IFN-gamma-expressing splenocytes early after Listeria monocytogenes infection revealed that NK1.1(+), CD11c(+), CD8(+) T, and CD4(+) T cells expressed IFN-gamma 24 h after infection. Contrary to the previous report, most IFN-gamma(+) dendritic cells (DC) were CD8alpha(-) DC. Unexpectedly, almost all CD11c(+) IFN-gamma-expressing cells also expressed NK1.1. These NK1.1(+) CD11c(+) cells represented primary IFN-gamma-expressing cells after infection. In situ studies showed these NK1.1(+) CD11c(+) cells were recruited to the borders of infectious foci and expressed IFN-gamma. A significant NK1.1(+) CD11c(+) population was found in uninfected spleen, lymph node, blood, and bone marrow cells. And its number increased significantly in spleen, lymph node, and bone marrow after L. monocytogenes infection. Using interleukin-12 (IL-12) p40(-/-) mice, IFN-gamma expression was found to be largely IL-12 p40 dependent, and the number of IFN-gamma-expressing cells was only about one-third of that of wild-type mice. Moreover, the IFN-gamma expression was absolutely dependent on live L. monocytogenes infection, as no IFN-gamma was detected after inoculation of heat-killed L. monocytogenes. Our findings not only provide an insight into IFN-gamma expression after in vivo infection but may also change the current perceptions of DC and natural killer cells.


We report extensive density functional calculations of the energetics of N2adsorption and dissociation on a Fe(111) surface. From the calculations we can present a detailed picture of the rate limiting step in the ammonia synthesis which is consistent with available experimental observations. Four different molecularly adsorbed states are identified, including a new state not seen by experiment. The new state is the true precursor to dissociation. We find that there are two dissociation channels, one going through all the molecular states sequentially with a low energy barrier, but a high entropy barrier, and the other a direct channel into the new precursor, which is highly activated. In this way we can explain both the measured sticking probability for a thermal gas of N2above a Fe(111) surface and the molecular beam scattering experiments. During ammonia synthesis conditions the low barrier channel is expected to dominate, but at the highest synthesis temperatures, the high barrier channels may become the most effective. The origin of the alkali promotion of the N2dissociation process is also discussed.


Osteoporosis is a serious and common condition with very high associated healthcare costs. However, methods for earlier detection and more effective treatment appear likely to produce significant improvement both in the immediate future and in the longer term. Introduction of biological markers of bone turnover should greatly assist in the conduct and evaluation of clinical trials. In addition, a number of very novel approaches are also under investigation that could lead to the introduction of new agents with a wide range of mechanisms of action. These developments were discussed at the Second Joint Meeting of the European Calcified Tissue Society and the International Bone and Mineral Society, held June 25-29, 2005, in Geneva, Switzerland.


To the Editor.— Antoniades et al (234:628, 1975) recently described two simultaneous, separate hepatic adenomas in a patient taking oral contraceptives and indicated that liver scans "could be of assistance in evaluating these tumors." Ishak and Rabin 1 reported finding two or more separate nodules in 22 of 75 women who had hepatic adenomas during the reproductive period. Stauffer et al 2 also found multiple nodules of focal nodular hyperplasia in a woman taking oral contraceptives. Thus, the occurrence of multiple synchronous hepatic adenomas in the same patient is probably a frequent phenomenon. Contrary to what Antoniades and colleagues suggest, liver scans lack the accuracy required for the diagnosis and follow-up of these tumors. The following report illustrates the limitations of the liver scan in a patient with multiple adenomas. Report of a Case.— A 37-year-old woman complained of indigestion and weakness of one month's duration. She had taken oral


AIDS is a new disease that was first recorded in 1981. In the 1980s and early 1990s, there were concerns that it would decimate populations; prevention was slow to take hold, and there was no cure. By the mid-1990s it was clear, in the developed world, that it would be mostly contained to specific populations. Effective but expensive treatment was unveiled in 1996. However, in Africa there were fears of a continent-wide epidemic. AIDS emerged in central Africa (HIV1) and west Africa (HIV2) and spread from there. In the 1990s it reached southern Africa, the current epicenter.
 It has become evident that AIDS has not meant the collapse of economies and nations or the hollowing out of populations. Treatment options mean people can live normally provided they adhere to the drug regime, but they are costly. The worst epidemic is in the southern cone of Africa. Here it continues to have political consequences, although causality is hard to ascribe.
 Unique features of the disease are that the modes of transmission include its geographic location and the excessive involvement of donors in the response; the lack of African ownership makes it a global political problem. At the moment the lives of millions of Africans depend on the generosity of the West, and that future is uncertain. AIDS is a greater challenge to southern and eastern African states than anywhere in Africa and indeed the world. The international engagement particularly in the provision of treatment means the disease has global political ramifications.


Background: Labial adhesion is a condition of prepubertal girls where the labia are fused over the vaginal opening and/or urethra. Objective: The purpose of the study was to compare the outcome of estrogen and betamethasone cream in the treatment of labial adhesion. Materials and methods: This prospective comparative study was conducted among 100 pre-pubertal girls with labial adhesion where at least 50% vaginal opening was fused. Patients previously treated with estrogen or betamethasone for labial adhesion was excluded from the study. Fifty patients were treated with betamethasone cream (group 1) and fifty patients with estrogen cream (group 2) after randomization. All patients were followed at 3rd week, 6th week, 3rd month, 6th month and then release of adhesion and adverse effects were noted. Results: Within 3 weeks no adhesion was found in 84.0% participants in group 1 and 64.0% participants in group 2, which showed significant statistical differences (p=0.023). Within 6 months recurrence of adhesion was found in 2.2% participants in group 1 and 23.4% in group 2, which also showed highly significant statistical differences (p=0.004). Success rate was 90.0% and 72.0% within 6 months in group 1 and in group 2 respectively and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.022). Conclusion: Betamethasone cream appears to be a superior agent in terms of effectiveness, safety and cost than estrogen cream in the treatment of labial adhesion in pre-pubertal girls.


The zearalenone content of maize, wheat, barley, swine feed, and poultry feed samples was determined by immunoaffinity column cleanup followed by liquid chromatography (IAC-LC). Samples were extracted in methanol-water (8 + 2, v/v) solution. The filtered extract was diluted with distilled water and applied to immunoaffinity columns. Zearalenone was eluted with methanol, dried by evaporation, and dissolved in acetonitrile-water (3 + 7, v/v). Zearalenone was separated by isocratic elution of acetonitrile-water (50 + 50, v/v) on reversed-phase C18 column. The quantitative analysis was performed by fluorescence detector and confirmation was based on the UV spectrum obtained by a diode array detector. The mean recovery rate of zearalenone was 82-97% (RSD, 1.4-4.1%) on the original (single-use) immunoaffinity columns. The limit of detection of zearalenone by fluorescence was 10 ng/g at a signal-to-noise ratio of 10:1 and 30 ng/g by spectral confirmation in UV. A good correlation was found (R2 = 0.89) between the results obtained by IAC-LC and by the official AOAC-LC method. The specificity of the method was increased by using fluorescence detection in parallel with UV detection. This method was applicable to the determination of zearalenone content in cereals and other kinds of feedstuffs. Reusability of immunoaffinity columns was examined by washing with water after sample elution and allowing columns to stand for 24 h at room temperature. The zearalenone recovery rate of the regenerated columns varied between 79 and 95% (RSD, 3.2-6.3%). Columns can be regenerated at least 3 times without altering their performance and without affecting the results of repeated determinations.


In the present article, we develop tensorial analysis for solutions w of the following nonlinear elliptic system ∂ π w = 0, d(w∗λ ◦ j) = 0, associated to a contact triad (M, λ, J). The novel aspect of this approach is that we work directly with this elliptic system on the contact manifold without involving the symplectization process. In particular, when restricted to the case where the one-form w∗λ◦ j is exact, all a priori estimates for w-component can be written in terms of the map w itself without involving the coordinate from the symplectization. We establish a priori Ck coercive pointwise estimates for all k ≥ 2 in terms of the energy density ‖dw‖2 by means of tensorial calculations on the contact manifold itself. Further, for any solution w under the finite π-energy assumption and the derivative bound, we also establish the asymptotic subsequence convergence to 'spiraling' instantons along the 'rotating' Reeb orbit.


A review of current literature presented related to the problems of developing biocompatible implants based on modern technologies including bioengineering and nanostructuring. The advantages and disadvantages of implants demonstrated, as well as the ways of improving their biological and mechanical properties.


Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely studied as electron sources for field emission displays (FEDs). This report concerns heatproofing CNT electron sources formed by screen-printing. Silver-particles are often added to the CNT print paste to secure electro-conductivity in the film and/or to harden the film. However, when the Ag-CNT paste is baked in air, silver promotes the combustion of CNTs. Therefore, to lower the temperature of the heating process or to carry out the heating process in inactive atmospheres (Kim et al., 2001) is necessary in FED-panel-manufacturing, so as not to burn CNTs. The heating process in air is preferred because the heating process in inactive atmospheres raises the FED manufacturing cost. It is known that adding boron to carbon materials improves their heat resistance (McKee, 1991). We made an attempt to improve heatproofing of CNT electron sources by mixing boron into the Ag-CNT paste.


Software has gained its importance in all aspects of every walk of life. Algorithms play a vital role in ensuring the successful operation of any software. According to the applications, various algorithms have been designed in order to accomplish the desired goals. This paper therefore aims to provide an insight on significance of performance and further, throw light on various matrix multiplication algorithms. The paper also puts forth a comparative analysis on the efficiency of performance of matrix multiplication algorithms by considering suitable factors. This work thus enables one to comprehend the suitability of the algorithm based on the chosen factors.


To alleviate the challenges of building Knowledge Graphs (KG) from scratch, a more general task is to enrich a KG using triples from an open corpus, where the obtained triples contain noisy entities and relations. It is challenging to enrich a KG with newly harvested triples while maintaining the quality of the knowledge representation. This paper proposes a system to refine a KG using information harvested from an additional corpus. To this end, we formulate our task as two coupled sub-tasks, namely join event extraction (JEE) and knowledge graph fusion (KGF). We then propose a Collaborative Knowledge Graph Fusion Framework to allow our sub-tasks to mutually assist one another in an alternating manner. More concretely, the explorer carries out the JEE supervised by both the ground-truth annotation and an existing KG provided by the supervisor. The supervisor then evaluates the triples extracted by the explorer and enriches the KG with those that are highly ranked. To implement this evaluation, we further propose a Translated Relation Alignment Scoring Mechanism to align and translate the extracted triples to the prior KG. Experiments verify that this collaboration can both improve the performance of the JEE and the KGF.


Emotional Intelligence is a significant factor for occupational success as it supports employees in decision making, team work, communication, relationships and exhibits transformation in evaluating emotions and thoughts. Every profession is having its own importance, demands, challenges and consequences. Likewise nursing is a profession where most time has to be spent with patients in the hospital. As it is a patient centered profession, nurses require certain skills that bolster the professional abilities to lead effectively. The researcher desires to study the affinity of demographic factors and EI in managing occupational stress in healthcare sector among nurses. Survey method was conducted among nurses comparing selected public and private teaching hospitals of Guntur and Vijayawada Cities of Andhra Pradesh. The sample size of the study is 639 respondents. The statistical tools used were Independent Sample T-Test, One-way ANOVA and Multiple Regression Analysis Forward Stepwise. There is a statistically significant difference among the means of Family Members in the Nursing Profession, Marital Status, Type of Family, Age, Qualification, Experience and Income of public hospitals with EI and OS, where p<0.05 and there is no statistically significant difference among the means of private hospitals, where p>0.05. There is no statistically significant difference among the means of work shifts and EI and OS in both the hospitals. As one unit in age increases, the EI increase with 7.044 and OS decreases with -5.862 respectively. As one unit increase in experience and income, the EI and OS also increase with 3.109 and 3.364 respectively (statistically significant linear relationship, where p<0.05). It is suggested that the management should recruit candidates after conducting the EI test or give rigorous training for improvement of EI levels for the lower age respondents. The management should focus on reward monetary and nonmonetary benefits and peer to peer relations. The night shifts should split into two groups to minimize the stress. The demographic factors have moderating effect on EI and OS in public hospitals. There is an inverse relationship between age, EI and OS. EI training to nurses can decrease the OS and helps them to buffer, resile and agile for survival of the fittest.


How to improve the performance of single failure recovery has been an active research topic because of its prevalence in large-scale storage systems. We argue that when erasure coding is deployed in a cluster file system (CFS), existing single failure recovery designs are limited in different aspects: neglecting the bandwidth diversity property in a CFS architecture, targeting specific erasure code constructions, and no special treatment on load balancing during recovery. In this paper, we reconsider the single failure recovery problem in a CFS setting, and propose CAR, a cross-rack-aware recovery algorithm. For each stripe, CAR finds a recovery solution that retrieves data from the minimum number of racks. It also reduces the amount of cross-rack repair traffic by performing intra-rack data aggregation prior to cross-rack transmission. Furthermore, by considering multi-stripe recovery, CAR balances the amount of cross-rack repair traffic across multiple racks. Evaluation results show that CAR can effectively reduce the amount of cross-rack repair traffic and the resulting recovery time.


This protective clothing design project responds to the urgent need for research into the redesign of personal protective equipment (PPE) isolation gowns, to be more fit for purpose and reusable to enhance the experiences of healthcare workers treating patients with COVID-19 and variants. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) the research addresses the engineering question: "What new materials, design and manufacturing approaches should we start to consider in preparation for pandemics e.g. reusable PPE to replace single use?" The article focuses on the online questionnaire/ survey, its main findings and the 'participatory clothing design' methodology which prioritises the lived experiences and expressed needs of healthcare workers wearing disposable and reusable PPE in acute care scenarios. Research methods include literature and gown reviews, selected interviews and survey directed at nurses, to acquire first-hand qualitative data about the impact of current gown design and procurement policies on wearers. Selected results and commentary from the ongoing survey are presented and thematically analysed to inform the development of reusable gowns. Semi-structured interviews with clinical leads and caregivers, as well as responses from users, will be important to integrate expertise in fashion, textile and uniform design, clinical practice, and manufacturing. Further design will be based on a complex design brief that balances the needs of wearers and critical care providers while considering regulations, protection, comfort, sustainability, and cost. This research focuses on enhancing an overlooked area of critical care clothing and the people who wear it while reducing its detrimental impact on the planet.


In 1960, Dr. Bayard Clarkson described a patient experiencing sporadic episodes of hypovolemia, hypotension, and edema. Plasma during the acute attack induced a "shock"-like syndrome when given systemically in rats. The unusual and enigmatic "Systemic Capillary Leak Syndrome" (SCLS) named for Dr. Clarkson is of unknown etiology and is characterized by transient, severe, reversible hemoconcentration and hypoalbuminemia due to leakage of fluids and macromolecules (up to 900 kDa) into tissues (1). Fewer than 150 cases of SCLS have been reported since 1960, but the nonspecific presenting symptoms and signs and high mortality rate may have resulted in under-recognition of this disorder. Given the substantial overlap of SCLS with other "shock" syndromes, including sepsis, anaphylaxis, and angioedema, clinicians should consider this diagnosis in patients with unexplained edema, increased hematocrit, and hypotension.


Extracellular vesicles (EV) are membrane‐surrounded vesicles that represent a novel way of intercellular communication by carrying biologically important molecules in a concentrated and protected form. The intestinal epithelium is continuously renewed by a small proliferating intestinal stem cell (ISC) population, residing at the bottom of the intestinal crypts in a specific microenvironment, the stem cell niche. By using 3D mouse and human intestinal organoids, we show that intestinal fibroblast‐derived EVs are involved in forming the ISC niche by transmitting Wnt and epidermal growth factor (EGF) activity. With a mouse model that expresses EGFP in the Lgr5+ ISCs, we prove that loss in ISC number in the absence of EGF is prevented by fibroblast‐derived EVs. Furthermore, we demonstrate that intestinal fibroblast‐derived EVs carry EGF family members, such as amphiregulin. Mechanistically, blocking EV‐bound amphiregulin inhibited the EV‐induced survival of organoids. In contrast, EVs have no role in transporting R‐Spondin, a critical niche factor amplifying Wnt signaling. Collectively, we prove the important role of fibroblast‐derived EVs as a novel transmission mechanism of factors in the normal ISC niche.


Presents a methodology for data mining and knowledge discovery in large, distributed and heterogeneous databases. In order to obtain potentially interesting patterns, relationships and rules from such large and heterogeneous data collections, it is essential that a methodology be developed to take advantage of the suite of existing methods and tools that are available for data mining and knowledge discovery in databases (KDD). One of the most important methodologies is an integration of diverse learning strategies that cooperatively performs a variety of discovery techniques that achieves high-quality knowledge. The KDLC (knowledge discovery life-cycle) model is an extended study of AqBC, which is a multi-strategy knowledge discovery approach that combines supervised inductive rule learning and unsupervised Bayesian classification via a constructive induction mechanism. A case study dealing with crop yields for a farm in the state of Idaho, USA is presented, and preliminary results are visualized by using the ArcView geographical information system (GIS). The significance of the multi-strategy knowledge discovery and visualization process in analyzing the classifications and learned rules has been empirically verified in KDLC.


A small, low cost power supply controller module was developed for distributed control of DC power supplies on a CAN-bus network. The controller is based on an INTEL 80C251SB microprocessor and the 82527 CAN-bus interface. The analogue section contains one 16 bit DAC and one 20 bit, 4 channel ADC. The minimum digital configuration contains 1 bit for ON/OFF control and status read back. All analogue and digital I/O for power supply control is optically isolated from the CPU and bus sections. The controller connects to a specific power supply's remote control connector via a transition module which contains a serial number / non-volatile RAM IC. The transition module can contain additional digital I/O. For the ISAC ion source test stand, a network of 30 controllers was implemented and integrated with the EPICS based control system.


Considerable effort has been devoted to study the initiation and stable growth of cracks in quasibrittle materials, especially concrete, under mixed mode I/II loading conditions. A general agreement is practically achieved about that there is not a testing procedure to reproduce a "real" mixed mode I/II fracture for quasibrittle materials. The testing procedures, developed by several researchers, always lead to a local mode I growth of the crack under global mixed mode I/II fracture testing conditions. This obstacle makes difficult to evaluate the influence of the shear parameters on the mixed-mode fracture of quasibrittle materials. Since some concrete civil structures often show cracks subjected to mixed mode growth, a mixed mode fracture testing procedure would be welcome. This paper presents a summary of the study of the influence of shear parameters on mixed mode I/II fracture of concrete. Various experimental procedures, involving several geometries and sizes of the specimens, were used. Numerical modelling of the mixed mode fracture, based on the cohesive crack approach, was also proposed. The model properly fits the experimental results of the authors and other researchers, and gives a picture of the evolution of the stresses along the cohesive crack during testing. Combining experimental results and numerical analysis helps in better understanding the physical phenomena involved in crack growth under mixed mode loading conditions. The paper concludes with some ideas about the necessity of new testing procedures for a better knowledge of the mixed mode fracture of quasibrittle materials. This topic is important for the incorporation of the concrete fracture techniques in the evaluation of the structural integrity by practitioners.


Hotel industry is a management intensive industry as well as a distinct real estate asset class. During the 80is, a reduced number of hotel groups led the internationalization of the Spanish tourism industry. In the decade of the 90is, the process of internationalization wraps to a growing and dynamic volume of hotel chains, acquiring an exponential growth. Spanish hotel firms have nearly one hundred thousand rooms outside their home nations in three hundred and forty six thousand properties at the end of 1999. This growth has been hurried by the imminent saturation of the national land, the spectacular generation of benefits experienced by the tourist industry and the globalization of the industry by the developing of international alliances between professionals and investors. Despite the growing ownership interest by direct equity investors in hotel real estate, the international expansion of hotel chains does not always imply the property of real estate assets. Interfirms collaborations are common in this new management landscape and control is only loosely correlated with ownership (Contractor & Kundu, 1998). What determines the optimum choice of organizational mode? Which factors lead Spanish hotel operators to invest in international real estate hotel assets? The present paper tests if accepting a syncretic approach as a conceptual framework (Contractor & Kundu, 1998), concepts derived from cost-transaction theory (Anderson & Gatignon, 1986; Buckley & Casson, 1998), agency theory (Shane, 1996) and organizational capabilities perspective (Teece, 1987; Winter, 1987), are able to explain the modes of entry of the Spanish hotel industry to foreign markets (Figure 1). Within this aim a model ordinal Logit analysis, technique used in numerous previous studies related to the modal choice of entry in foreign environments (Gatignon & Anderson, 1988; Kogut & Singh 1988; Trepstra & Yu, 1988; Erramilli, 1991; Fladmoe-Linquist, 1995; Contractor & Kundu, 1998), is considered. The data sustaining this study come from a field work carried out during the year 1999, consistent basically in interviews in depth with the international managers of the Spanish hotel chains with presence in more than one country and then, filling in a questionnaire. This study covers 100% of franchised properties, 90,8% of total management contracts outside Spain, 85,7% of joint-venture properties and 98,5% of fully owned properties. The choice of entry mode is shown to be determined by both country or environmental variables as well as firm-specific variables. The results show that wholly property investment is more common in low political, economic and financial risk countries, with high GDP per capita. Cultural similarities with the home country also influence the investment decision. The mechanism whereby each firm may exercise control over the foreign business determines as well the kind of investment chosen. The results of the study allow us to confirm the applicability of the syncretic theory to the modality of entry of the Spanish hotel industry to foreign destinations. On the other hand our conclusions show that the main differences on entry mode choice between the Spanish hotel firms and the international hotel industry, make reference to dissimilarities on the stage of internationalization and the vacacional orientation of the Spanish hotel firm.


In Chinese modern literature history, Shen Congwen's creations have a kind of sophisticated aesthetics and build multiple eyeshot through the observation to the life and aesthetics experiences. His fictional works on Xiangxi unify the nationality and modernity. That is, the two qualities have completed by each other. The values of Shen Congwen and his creations lie in the role of enrichment and complement to Chinese modernity choices.


Systropha is a small genus of bees belonging to Rophitinae (sister-group to all remaining Halictidae). Three subgenera are recognized in Systropha: Austrosystropha and Systrophidia that are sub-Saharan endemics, and Systropha s.str., which occurs in Africa and Eurasia. As a result of the rarity of Systropha specimens in collections and the difficulty in associating males and females due to sexual dimorphism, there remain numerous undescribed or unassociated sexes in S. (Austrosystropha). The present paper gives the descriptions of a new species Systropha oti sp. n. (from Kenya) and the previously undescribed female of S. aethiopica, both in the subgenus Austrosystropha. We further discuss the diagnostic features of the subgenus with regard to these new taxa and update the previous key to species.


Introduction. Asthma/COPD overlap syndrome is a clinical condition that includes characteristics of both diseases. Objective. To compare clinical characteristics, pulmonary function, and response to β2-agonist between patients with asthma and patients with asthma/COPD overlap syndrome. Methods. The study included 97 patients, 52 patients with asthma and 45 patients with asthma/COPD overlap syndrome. Asthma was diagnosed according to the GINA 2011 criteria, whereas the overlap syndrome was diagnosed according to the criteria of Soler-Cataluna et al. (2012). Results. We found significantly lower prevalence of current smokers and subjects with history of exposure to noxious particles and gases other than tobacco in the asthma group then in the overlap syndrome group (13.7% vs. 37.8% and 9.8% vs. 31.1%, respectively). There was no significant difference between two groups regarding sex, age, body mass index, and history of upper airway disease. The mean peripheral eosinophil count (cells/mm3) was higher in the asthma group but statistically significant difference was not reached (473 vs. 421, P = 0.072). The mean values of all spirometric parameters were higher in the asthma group with significantly higher mean value of MEF25-75 (78.9% vs. 56.7%, P < 0.05). The response to β2-agonist expressed as a percentage of the change in the post-bronchodilator FEV1 was significantly higher in the asthma group (23.7% vs. 14.2%, P < 0.05). Conclusion. Our findings indicate some phenotype features of the overlap syndrome of asthma and COPD.


Depending on the geochemical forms, heavy metal (HM) accumulation is one of the most serious environmental problems in the world and poses negative impacts on soil, plants, animals, and humans. Although the use of biochar to remediate contaminated soils is well known, the huge quantities of waste used and its recycling technique to sustain soil in addition to its use conditions are determinant factors for its characteristics and uses. A pot experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block design to evaluate metal forms and their availability under the application of garden waste biochar (GB) pyrolyzed at different temperatures, and a sequential extraction procedure was designed to fractionate Pb, Cd, Zn, and Cu of the contaminated soil. The results show that the TCLP-extractable Pb, Cd, Zn, and Cu were significantly decreased depending on the biochar addition rate, pyrolysis temperature, and tested metal. The acid extractable fraction was significantly decreased by 51.54, 26.42, 16.01, and 74.13% for Pb, Cd, Zn, and Cu, respectively, at the highest application level of GB400 compared to untreated pots. On the other hand, the organic matter bound fraction increased by 76.10, 54.69, 23.72, and 43.87% for the corresponding metals. The Fe/Mn oxide bound fraction was the predominant portion of lead (57.25–62.84%), whereas the acid fraction was major in the case of Cd (58.06–77.05%). The availability of these metals varied according to the application rate, pyrolysis temperature, and examined metals. Therefore, the GB is a nominee as a promising practice to reduce HM risks, especially pyrolyzed at 400 °C by converting the available fraction into unavailable ones.


PURPOSE
To determine the frequency of preoperative computed tomography (CT) in the evaluation of patients suspected of having appendicitis at one institution during the past 10 years and to determine whether changes in CT utilization were associated with changes in the negative appendectomy rate.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Institutional review board approval was obtained, and a waiver of informed consent was granted for this HIPAA-compliant study. A surgical database search yielded medical record numbers of 925 patients (526 [ 56.9%] men and 399 [43.1%] women; mean age, 38 years (range, 18-95 years]) who underwent urgent appendectomy between January 1998 and September 2007. Patients who were younger than 18 years of age at the time of surgery were excluded. CT, pathology, and surgery reports were reviewed. By using logistic regression, changes in the proportion of patients undergoing CT and in the proportion of patients undergoing each year appendectomy in which the appendix was healthy were evaluated. Subgroup analyses based on patient age (<or= 45 years or > 45 years) and sex also were performed.

RESULTS
Prior to urgent appendectomy, 18.5% of patients underwent preoperative CT in 1998 compared with 93.2% of patients in 2007. The negative appendectomy rate for women 45 years of age and younger decreased from 42.9% in 1998% to 7.1% in 2007. However, the timing of the decline in negative appendectomy rates for women 45 years and younger could not be proved to be associated with the increase in CT use. There was no significant trend toward a lower negative appendectomy rate for men regardless of age or for women older than 45 years of age with increased use of preoperative CT. The shift from single-detector CT to multidetector CT and the use of decreasing section thickness also correlated with a reduction in false-positive diagnoses.

CONCLUSION
Rising utilization of preoperative CT and advances in technology coincided with a decrease in the negative appendectomy rate for women 45 years and younger but not in men of any age or women older than 45 years.


Purpose – The purpose of this study is to discover how Korean expatriates that are currently employed in Korean subsidiaries operational in Malaysia possibly suffer from career dissatisfaction due to differences between Korean Corporate Culture (KCC) and Malaysian Corporate Culture (MCC). The integration of KCC into MCC is discussed.
Research design, data, and methodology – The analysis herein is via a qualitative research. Forty-six interviewees voluntarily participated in in-depth interviews. Document analysis and qualitative interviews were utilized to develop participant profiles and to generate the framework. Interview data were transcribed and subsequently analysed to facilitate the development of themes and ultimately led to emerging patterns. The framework discusses the following Confucian pillars pronounced in KCC: Control Systems, Power Structures, Organisational Structures, Authority and Harmony and Stories and Myths. Those pillars are analysed and the results of the interviews are discussed in detail.
Results – Korean expatriates on assignment in Malaysia endure struggles in all five selected Confucian pillars as they are not symmetrical with Korean Corporate Culture common at head companies in Korea.
Conclusion – As a consequence, there is substantial disharmony which needs to be rectified if Korean companies are to continue their 'miraculous' economic movement into the country.


Reasonable arguments can be advanced to show that companies have an ethical responsibility towards animals. However, hardly any empirical research has been conducted to establish whether companies acknowledge these responsibilities and how they articulate them. This study shows that 47% of the 200 largest companies in the world make statements of ethical responsibility towards animals. The findings show great divergence in the expressed commitment towards animal welfare among these companies. Companies that express responsibility show quite a high level of concern in their words, but they do so in documents of relatively low importance. Statements regarding ethical responsibility for animal welfare are generally made in consequentialist terms. The results of this study show that it is high time for the fields of business ethics and animal ethics to start working more closely together.


A simple procedure was developed for detection of Theileria sergenti infection on the basis of hybridization of parasite DNA with a specific probe. A genomic DNA library of T. sergenti constructed in pUC-18 was screened to detect clones containing the parasite's DNA sequences by colony and Southern hybridizations. Two positive DNA inserts were purified from the recombinant plasmids and used as probes labelled with 32P or non-isotopic reagent, biotin-11-dUTP. 32P-radiolabelled and non-radioactive probes appear to be sensitive enough to detect 15 pg (equivalent to 1,200 parasites) and 125 pg (equivalent to 10,000 parasites) of purified T. sergenti DNA, and in diluted T. sergenti-infected red blood cells, they are able to detect 8,000 parasites and 16,000 parasites, respectively.


EDITOR, The report from Thomas et al may lead us to alter our current understanding of the association of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and central nervous system dysfunction. ' The suggestion, however, that M pneumoniae should be considered in all cases of encephalopathy, regardless of preceding respiratory infection, could potentially lead to considerable overdiagnosis for the following reasons. Complement fixation serology, which is raised as a function of both IgG and IgM, may not be specific due to the use of a potentially cross reactive glycolipid antigen. Complement fixation titres may be raised in the diagnostic range in a small subset of normal individuals, and therefore a background of high titres should exist as well in patients with neurological disorders regardless of the diagnosis. Furthermore, specific increases have been previously found in some central nervous system disorders, for example, Kleemola and Kayhty previously demonstrated a fourfold change in complement fixation titres in 40/7% of paired sera from patients with bacterial meningitis and 10-3% of patients with bacteraemias.2 Most current IgM assays will also yield positive results in approximately 2-10% of asymptomatic populations, and therefore a similar frequency is at least likely in all patient populations regardless of illness. The frequency of true disease in a patient population will affect the predictive value of a positive test. A positive serological test forM pneumoniae is more likely to be truly positive in patients who have had respiratory manifestations in contrast to those who have not. Therefore, if one were to adopt the position that all encephalopathies should be screened serologically for M pneumoniae despite the low frequency of true positives, there would be a good chance of false positives equalling or exceeding true positive assays. The problems here are analogous to those encountered in the use of screening tests for populations with low endemicity. The potential for endemic seropositivity needs to be especially considered when association between a positive test and an uncommon disease is made. It would be preferable then to establish more definitively the diagnosis of M pneumoniae infection by adding independent methods such as direct bacterial isolation, IgM anti-Pl immunoblotting,3 and/or direct polymerase chain reaction assay of respiratory secretions.4 The respiratory manifestations of M pneumoniae infection are variable and may range from a mild sore throat to atypical pneumonia. In the context of an acute encephalopathy, it would be easy to disregard a mild form of respiratory illness when the focus of history taking and physical examination is the neurological illness. The existing body of medical literature still indicates that the majority of M pneumoniae-associated central nervous system diseases are associated with a preceding or coexisting respiratory illness. N CIMOLAI Department ofPathology, British Columbia's Children's Hospital, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4, Canada


The options matrix tool (OMT) is a spreadsheet-based decision making tool designed to help managers apply a set of decision criteria to a variety of alternatives or strategic options. It is particularly useful for decisions that require substantial judgment and for which numbers may not be available. By working through a series of decision-process steps, managers can establish criteria for the assessment and comparison of different possible alternatives and then compare choices. The tool allows managers to list and weigh various decision criteria deemed important for a given business situation or problem alternative. The most desirable option is then identified in a final spreadsheet along with an evaluation of each option. While the OMT is self-explanatory and designed to be easy to use, this report offers a brief description and examples of how to use the tool. Making judgment-based decisions among a variety of viable options is made easier when a systematic process is utilized such as the one offered in this tool.


The present paper describes a query-by-sketch image retrieval system aimed at reducing the semantic gap between low-level features and high-level semantics by adopting relevance feedback. To reduce the semantic gap in this content-based image retrieval system, user sketches play an important role in relevance feedback. When users mark similar images of output images with "relevant" labels, these "relevant" images are relevant to the sketch image in feedback. On the other hand, when users mark dissimilar images of output images with "irrelevant" labels, these "irrelevant" images are irrelevant to the sketch image in feedback. However, in the method the effect of the feedback has been limited by the images with "relevant" and "irrelevant" labels. The purpose of the present paper is to expand the effect on other images, using query-by-sketch retrieval and rough sets. The proposed method is applied to 7,500 images in Corel Photo Gallery. Experimental results show that the proposed method is effective in retrieving images.


This report presents data from summative usability tests conducted by User-View on behalf of multiple vendors as part of MU2 and MU3 certification. The objective is to present findings related to performance metrics and use errors associated with each prioritized certification criteria, shine the light on EHR effectiveness, and contribute to ongoing discussions of EHR usability.


In the past decade, hog production has increasingly become consolidated, with larger operations producing a greater volume of hog manure on smaller areas. With less cropland for spreading the manure, hog farmers may be compensating through more effective manure management. The authors use data from 1998 to 2009 collected in three national surveys of hog farmers. Over this period, structural changes in the hog sector altered how manure is stored and handled. Changes to the Clean Water Act, State regulations, and local confl icts over air quality also affected manure management decisions. The fi ndings further suggest that environmental policy has infl uenced conservation-compatible manure management practices. The authors examine how the use of nutrient management plans and of practices such as controlled manure application rates vary with scale of production and how these practices changed over the study period. This report is an update of an earlier report, Changes in Manure Management in the Hog Sector: 1998-2004.


Comorbid endocrine and cardiovascular situations with bipolar disorder usually result from the bipolar disorder itself or as a consequence of its treatment. With habits and lifestyle, genetic tendency and side effects, this situation is becoming more striking. Subpopulations of bipolar disorders patients should be considered at high risk for diabetes mellitus. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in bipolar disorder may be three times greater than in the general population. Comorbidity of diabetes causes a pathophysiological overlapping in the neurobiological webs of bipolar cases. Signal mechanisms of glycocorticoid/insulin and immunoinflammatory effector systems are junction points that point out the pathophysiology between bipolar disorder and general medical cases susceptible to stress. Glycogen synthetase kinase (GSK-3) is a serine/treonine kinase and inhibits the transport of glucose stimulated by insulin. It is affected in diabetes, cancer, inflammation, Alzheimer disease and bipolar disorder. Hypoglycemic effect of lithium occurs via inhibiting glycogen synthetase kinase. When comorbid with diabetes, the other disease -for example bipolar disorder, especially during its acute manic episodes-,


Although SMART NoC, as an emerging dynamically reconfigurable NoC architecture, is able to improve the communication efficiency significantly when scheduling real-time flows, it introduces uncertainty due to the nondeterministic latency. In this regard, we first study the schedulability of a set of arbitrary-deadline flows with given priorities. Based on schedulability analysis, an efficient priority assignment algorithm is proposed to minimize deadline misses. To our best knowledge, this is the first work of arbitrary-deadline flow scheduling on SMART NoC, which involves sophisticated computation of the worst case traversal time.


Self-diffraction and phase conjugation by degenerate four-wave mixing have been observed in a dyed nematic liquid crystal at intensities of a few watts per square centimetre continuous. The change in the extraordinary refractive index due to absorption of laser light, enhanced by the dye, was used. The time response of the non-linearity was measured roughly in the self-diffraction set-up and found to be of the order of a few milliseconds. This is fast compared with effects involving molecular reorientation, but slower than expected from thermal diffusion. Although the diffraction efficiency of the refractive index grating formed was low, typically less than 10-4, self diffraction was observed with an unfocused 6 mW HeNe laser. The dependence of the diffraction efficiency on liquid crystal temperature and power in the input beams was measured.


A progressive rise in the number of patients accepted for renal replacement therapy has been reported world wide [1]. Permanent vascular access (VA) is the life-line for the majority of these patients, when hemodialysis is the treatment of choice. Thus, the successful creation of permanent vascular access and the appropriate management to decrease the complications is mandatory. A well functional access is also vital in order to deliver adequate hemodialysis therapy in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Unfortunately, despite the advances in hemodialysis technology, the introduction of the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) graft and the cuffed double lumen silicone catheter were the only changes in the field of vascular access in the last years. However the cost of vascular access related care was found to be more than fivefold higher for patients with arteriovenous graft (AVG) compared with patients with a functional arteriovenous fistula (AVF) [2]. It seems that the native arteriovenous fistula that Brescia and Cimino described in 1966, still remains the first choice VA [3]. Thereafter, vascular access still remains the "Achilles' heel" of the procedure [4] and hemodialysis vascular access dysfunction is one of the most important causes of morbidity in this population [5]. It has been estimated that vascular access dysfunction is responsible for 20% of all hospitalizations; the annual cost of placing and looking after dialysis vascular access in the United States exceeds 1 billion dollars per year [6, 7]. Nowadays, three types of permanent vascular access are used: arteriovenous fistula (AVF), arteriovenous grafts (AVG) and cuffed central venous catheters. They all have to be able to provide enough blood flow in order to deliver adequate hemodialysis, have a long use-life and low rate of complications. The native forearm arteriovenous fistulas (AVF) have the longest survival and require the fewest interventions. For this reason the forearm AV is the first choice, followed by the upper-arm AVF, the arteriovenous graft (AVG) and the cuffed central venous catheter as a final step [8-10].


The Internet follows the power law. For this reason its traffic pattern takes many forms, which change without warning. For example it may change suddenly from LRD (long-range dependence) such as heavy-tailed or self-similar to SRD (short-range dependence) such as Poisson or multifractal. This makes it difficult to run time-critical pervasive applications over the Internet successfully because it is hard to control the response timeliness of the logical TCP (transmission control protocol) channels. The proposed real-time traffic pattern detector (RTPD) technique is generic and detects and identifies LRD and SRD traffic pattern online. If it is implemented as a logical object, then realtime and pervasive applications can use its detected results to self-reconfigure at runtime for better performance that includes shorter service roundtrip time (RTT) and fault tolerance. The RTPD is conceptually the "M3RT + R/S + filtration" combination. The M 3RT (micro mean message response time) tool is the micro implementation of the convergence algorithm (CA), which is an IEPM (Internet end-to-end performance measurement) model with feedback. Alternatively known as the micro CA (MCA), this tool predicts the mean of any waveform quickly and accurately, either on-line or in a postmortem manner with pre-collected traces. A micro IEPM tool operates as an independent object, to be invoked for service anytime and anywhere by message passing. If M3RT is inhibited, then RTPD works with the traditional R/S (rescaled adjusted statistics) estimator, but still detects the LRD and SRD patterns on-line. If M3RT support is activated, then RTPD works with the enhanced R/S or E-R/S. The proposed RTPD technique differs from other post-mortem approaches (e.g. Hill estimator) because it detects and identifies traffic patterns on the fly. Its contribution to Internet-based pervasive applications is significant because its output enables these applications to reconfigure on the fly and adapt quickly to new operational criteria. The result is better system performance in light of a shorter service roundtrip time (RTT) that makes the client happy


PTH is a potent systemic regulator of cellular differentiation and function in bone. It acts upon cells of the osteoblastic lineage via the G protein-coupled type-1 PTH/PTH-related peptide receptor (PTH1R). Carboxyl fragments of intact PTH(1-84) (C-PTH fragments) are cosecreted with it by the parathyroid glands in a calcium-dependent manner and also are generated via proteolysis of the hormone in peripheral tissues. Receptors that recognize C-PTH fragments (CPTHRs) have been described previously in osteoblastic and chondrocytic cells. To directly study CPTHRs in bone cells, we isolated clonal, conditionally transformed cell lines from fetal calvarial bone of mice that are homozygous for targeted ablation of the PTH1R gene and transgenically express a temperature-sensitive mutant SV40 T antigen. Cells with the highest specific binding of the CPTHR radioligand (125)I-[Tyr(34)]hPTH(19-84) exhibited a stellate, dendritic appearance suggestive of an osteocytic phenotype and expressed 6- to 10-fold more CPTHR sites/cell than did osteoblastic cells previously isolated from the same bones. In these osteocytic (OC) cells, expression of mRNAs for CD44, connexin 43, and osteocalcin was high, whereas that for alkaline phosphatase and cbfa-1/osf-2 was negligible. The CPTHR radioligand was displaced completely by hPTH(1-84), hPTH(19-84) and hPTH(24-84) (IC(50)s = 20-50 nM) and by hPTH(39-84) (IC(50) = 500 nM) but only minimally (24%) by 10,000 nM hPTH(1-34). CPTHR binding was down-regulated dose dependently by hPTH(1-84), an effect mimicked by ionomycin and active phorbol ester. Human PTH(1-84) and hPTH(39-84) altered connexin 43 expression and increased apoptosis in OC cells. Apoptosis induced by PTH(1-84) was blocked by the caspase inhibitor DEVD. We conclude that osteocytes, the most abundant cells in bone, may be principal target cells for unique actions of intact PTH(1-84) and circulating PTH C-fragments that are mediated by CPTHRs.


Surgery is the initial form of treatment for glioblastoma, and a maximum resection without impairing neurological function improves survival. Wounded Glioma Syndrome (WGS) is a clinical picture observed after the resection of high-grade tumors. This syndrome, developing within hours or a few days after glioma surgery, is characterized by hemorrhage into the surgical bed and cerebral edema, and at times occurring in areas distant from the site of the resection, i.e., Distant WGS. We report a case of an elderly male presenting with an acute-onset left leg weakness, with a large peripherally-enhancing mass with central non-enhancement suggestive of necrosis in the right frontal lobe. A gross total resection of the tumor was done, and the histopathologic evaluation yielded a high-grade glioma, favoring a diagnosis of Glioblastoma WHO Grade-IV. During the postoperative period, he was drowsy and was able to move the right extremities. He had a series of generalized tonic-clonic seizures three hours after the operation. After eight hours, the patient became comatose with signs of increasing intracranial pressure. A cranial CT revealed diffuse cerebral edema, and hemorrhage into the operative site in the right frontal lobe, as well as subarachnoid hemorrhages in the bilateral fronto-parietal sulci. There were also small hemorrhages seen in the left caudate head, midbrain and left hemipons. Death occurred the following day. This case report demonstrates an unusual case of a WGS with a concurrent Distant WGS in the brainstem after a gross total resection of a frontal lobe glioma. This case shows a significant uncommon sequela that a patient undergoing glioma surgery can present, leading to rapid deterioration and death. Resection of a glioma carries a significant risk, and its impact in the immediate postoperative period merits evaluation when planning the perioperative management, taking prompt action if these syndromes occur.


Background With an estimated 38 million people worldwide currently infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and an additional 4.1 million people becoming infected each year, it is important to understand how this virus mutates and develops resistance in order to design successful therapies. Methodology/Principal Findings We report a novel experimental method for amplifying full-length HIV genomes without the use of sequence-specific primers for high throughput DNA sequencing, followed by assembly of full length viral genome sequences from the resulting large dataset. Illumina was chosen for sequencing due to its ability to provide greater coverage of the HIV genome compared to prior methods, allowing for more comprehensive characterization of the heterogeneity present in the HIV samples analyzed. Our novel amplification method in combination with Illumina sequencing was used to analyze two HIV populations: a homogenous HIV population based on the canonical NL4-3 strain and a heterogeneous viral population obtained from a HIV patient's infected T cells. In addition, the resulting sequence was analyzed using a new computational approach to obtain a consensus sequence and several metrics of diversity. Significance This study demonstrates how a lower bias amplification method in combination with next generation DNA sequencing provides in-depth, complete coverage of the HIV genome, enabling a stronger characterization of the quasispecies present in a clinically relevant HIV population as well as future study of how HIV mutates in response to a selective pressure.


Virtual garment design and simulation involves a combination of a large range of techniques, involving mechanical simulation, collision detection, and user interface techniques for creating garments. Here, we perform an extensive review of the evolution of these techniques made in the last decade to bring virtual garments to the reach of computer applications not only aimed at graphics, but also at CAD techniques for the garment industry.


Mexico Unconquered is an evocative report on the powers of violence and corruption in Mexico and the rebel underdogs who put their lives on the line to build justice from the ground up. Mexico Unconquered probes the overwhelming divisions in contemporary Mexico, home to the world's richest man, Carlos Slim, and to destitute millions. John Gibler weaves narrative journalism with lyrical descriptions, combining the journalist's trade of walking the streets and the philosopher's task of drawing out the tremendous implications of the seemingly mundane. John Gibler has reported for In These Times, Common Dreams, YES! Magazine, ColorLines, and Democracy Now!.


Objective: Assess postoperative morbidity and patient-reported outcomes after unilateral and bilateral breast reconstruction in patients with unilateral breast cancer. Background: Relatively little is known about the morbidity associated with and changes in quality of life experienced by patients who undergo contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) and breast reconstruction. This information would be valuable for decision making in patients with unilateral breast cancer. Methods: Women undergoing mastectomy and breast reconstruction for unilateral breast cancer were recruited for this prospective observational study. Postoperative complications after implant and autologous breast reconstruction in patients undergoing unilateral or bilateral mastectomy were recorded. Preoperative and 1 year patient-reported outcomes were measured. Univariate tests and logistic regression analyses were performed, studying the effects of reconstructive method, laterality, and risk factors on surgical complication rates, patient satisfaction, and anxiety. Results: We identified 1144 women who underwent either unilateral (47.2%) or bilateral (52.8%) mastectomies with reconstruction. Bilateral autologous (odds ratio 1.73, 95% confidence interval 1.07–2.81) and implant reconstructions (odds ratio 1.73, 95% confidence interval 1.22–2.47) were associated with a higher risk of complications compared with unilateral reconstructions. Baseline anxiety was greater in women who chose bilateral compared with unilateral implant reconstructions (P = 0.001). There was no difference in anxiety levels between groups postoperatively. Postoperatively, women who chose CPM with implant reconstructions were more satisfied with their breasts than women with unilateral reconstructions (P = 0.034). Conclusions: Although higher postoperative complications were observed after CPM and reconstruction, these procedures were associated with decreased anxiety levels and improved satisfaction with breasts for women who underwent implant reconstructions.


Jazz Lecture Series presentation by Gene Bertoncini on March 10, 1987 at 2:00PM at the UNT College of Music. Includes lecture and performance by Gene Bertoncini, guitar, interspersed with questions from the audience.


A large theoretical literature shows that competition reduces banks' franchise values and induces them to take more risk. Recent research contradicts this result: When banks charge lower rates, their borrowers have an incentive to choose safer investments, so they will in turn be safer. However, this argument does not take into account the fact that lower rates also reduce the banks' revenues from non-defaulting loans. This paper shows that when this effect is taken into account, a U-shaped relationship between competition and the risk of bank failure generally obtains.


This paper proposed a face detection method for tracking the faces of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in a robotic assistive therapy. The face detection is a novel approach in robotic assistive therapy involving autistic children since it is believe that those children will positively react with high-end devices, gadget and cutting edge devices. The intention of tracking the autistic children's faces is to measure the concentration level of the children in social interaction and communication since everyone knows that those children are suffering from communication disabilities and deficits due to brain developmental disorder. Humanoid Robot Nao with 573.2mm height equipped with 2 internal cameras is utilized for this research. The face detection tools in choregraphe and telepathe based on Graphical User Interface (GUI) module is used in this study. The non-verbal interaction between humanoid robot and autistic children is recorded by using 2 internal cameras from the robot's head. The interaction is going to take about 30 minutes and supervised by occupational therapist and certified psychologist. The autistic children will be introduced to the Humanoid Robot Nao and their reaction will be recorded simultaneously while the robot is trying to track their faces.


The maternal skeleton resorbs during lactation to provide calcium to milk and the lost mineral content is restored after weaning. The changes are particularly marked in Ctcgrp null mice, which lose 50% of spine mineral content during lactation but restore it fully. The known calciotropic hormones are not required for skeletal recovery to occur; therefore, unknown factors that stimulate bone formation may be responsible. We hypothesized that the genes responsible for regulating postweaning bone formation are differentially regulated in bone or marrow, and this regulation may be more marked in Ctcgrp null mice. We confirmed that Ctcgrp null mice had twice as many osteoclasts and 30-40% fewer osteoblasts as compared with wild-type mice during lactation but no deficit in osteoblast numbers after weaning. Genome-wide microarray analyses on tibial RNA showed differential expression of 729 genes in wild-type mice at day 7 after weaning vs prepregnancy, whereas the same comparison in Ctcgrp null mice revealed only 283 genes. Down-regulation of Wnt family inhibitors, Sost and Dkk1, and inhibition of Mef2c, a sclerostin stimulator, were observed. Ctsk, a gene expressed during osteoclast differentiation, and Igfbp2, which stimulates bone resorption, were inhibited. Differential regulation of genes involved in energy use was compatible with a net increase in bone formation. The most marked changes occurred in genes not previously associated with bone metabolism. In conclusion, the postlactation skeleton shows dynamic activity with more than 700 genes differentially expressed. Some of these genes are likely to promote bone formation during postweaning by stimulating the proliferation and activity of osteoblasts, inhibiting osteoclasts, and increasing energy use.


This paper introduces a kind of immune genetic algorithm which regards objective function as antigen, solution as antibody and updates the population using evolutionary strategy. After economic emission load dispatch which belongs to multi-objective constrained optimization problems is discussed, main processes of immune genetic algorithm to solve this matter is given. Through tests a power system model with five coal-burning generating units, feasibility and validity of this algorithm is proved. And by comparing with genetic algorithm and Hopfield neural network, optimization and quick constringency of this algorithm to solve similar problems are proved


In this present world, the realization of the available of fossil fuels [diesel] is limited and hence it is necessary for the efficient use of the fuel. The increasingly environmental regulations also make it necessary to improve the functioning of the diesel engine in terms of their durability and efficiency. Thus, there is a high scope in engine technology to increase the engine ratings and reduce fuel consumption. For this purpose, the Thermal Barrier Coating (TBC) has been extensively used in engine technology. The T.B.C technology has been applied on some parts of Diesel engine (piston crown and cylinder head) Plasma Spray technique was used for spraying process. The piston crown and Cylinder head of the diesel engine were coated for a thickness of 0.25mm. Callophyllum oil was converted into biodiesel by two stage Transesterification process using NaOH as a catalyst. Several tests have been carried out to examine properties, performance and emission characteristics for different blends such as [B100, B20, B30, B40 and B100] in comparison with pure diesel for varying injection pressures like 160 bar, 180 bar and 200 bar pressure. These tests were conducted on a single cylinder, 4 stroke, water cooled, direct injection computerized compression ignition engine.


Abstract This paper investigates firm incentives for developing environmentally clean technologies in a simple two-country model with international oligopoly and lack of regulatory commitment, and compares the incentives under price and quantity regulations with and without policy cooperation between governments. We examine whether policy coordination (choices of policy instruments or policy harmonization) encourages environmental innovation when firms have strategic innovation incentives that may influence future regulation. In a case where policies are non-cooperatively set by governments, quantity regulations yield a greater static benefit for countries; however, dynamically, price regulations encourage more innovation than quantity regulations when environmental damages are not so large. Under both price and quantity regulation regimes, cooperative policy harmonization necessarily enhances net benefits in each country, whereas it discourages firms' innovation incentives when environmental damages are not so small.


For many complex sensory and perceptual judgments, the human is indispensable. However, awareness of sources of human error is necessary in order to take advantage of the unique capabilities of human beings in sensory evaluation. In this context, the literature in experimental psychology which treats complex discriminations, illusions, expectancy, and response bias is discussed. Judicial and human engineering examples are presented, and literature sources are suggested.


Proximal femoral fractures in children can be divided into three groups: femoral neck fractures, apophyseal trochanteric separations and subtrochanteric fractures. Femoral neck fractures are extremely rare. They are classified according to Delbet and Colonna into four types. The more lateral is the line of the fracture, the better is the prognosis, and the less sequelae occur. The treatment of femoral neck fractures in children is in nearly all cases surgical, only in some pertrochanteric and in the minority of non-complete basicervical fractures conservative treatment can be considered. The surgical treatment is either a closed manipulation with internal fixation, or an open reduction with fixation. The authors prefer closed manipulation, if it is possible to perform. They have themselves treated 5 pathological separations of the femoral head of the coxxa vara adolescentium origin. These injuries are aligned with femoral neck fractures, because they are caused by a traumatic mechanism, and are to be treated like a fracture. Further the authors have treated two cervicotrochanteric fractures by open reduction and 4 patients with pertrochanteric fractures conservatively by skin traction. Apophyseal trochanteric separations are convenient to be treated conservatively, only in case of greater displacement of the greater trochater can an open reduction and internal fixation by traction cerclage be recommended because of the risk of a valgous deformation of the femoral neck. The authors have treated conservatively 3 patients with a separation of the lesser and 2 patients with a separation of the greater tochanter. Subtrochanteric femoral fractures are different from typical diaphyseal fractures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The increasing world population and rapid industrial development is driving the need for sustainable management solutions and preservation of the natural resources and the ecosystem. The Internet of Things (IoT) and big data (BD) analytics are expected to play key role toward sustainability in areas such as water, agriculture, energy, transportation and smart city. In this chapter, the focus is sustainability in water. To address the issues of sustainability of clean accessible water for human use and other living things, a water ecosystem is presented. The water ecosystem consists of five major elements which are water source, treatment, reservoir, consumption and wastage. There are several issues faced in sustainable water supply such as decreasing fresh water resources, loss of revenue due to water loss, complexity in managing the increasing demands. Existing water-management models are not efficient in addressing these issues. In addition, due to seasonal variations, changes in environmental laws, varying plant-operating conditions and other factors, there is a need for effective and efficient monitoring. The application of IoT and BD analytics technology is promising and can provide sustainable management solution in water. The practical deployment of IoT and BD analytics consists of four major components which are IoT devices, communication technology, internet and BD. The emerging low power wide area (LPWA) communication technology is expected to enhance massive connectivity required for water monitoring, data acquisition and promote sustainability in water. Hence, in this chapter, the features of the water ecosystem, the system architecture of IoT and BD and the application in water sustainability, challenges such as cyber security, policy and regulations, accuracy of the data and technology interoperability are discussed.


Background: The effect of somatic extract and culture filtrate of fusarium solani on peripheral blood leukocyte could be used in pharmacological studies. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of somatic and culture filtrate of fusarium solani on peripheral blood leukocytes counts in mouse. Methods: Fusarium solani strains UAMH7419 and UAMH3317 were used to prepare the somatic extract and culture filtrate. These substances with or without adjuvant, were injected intraperitoneally. Peripheral blood leukocytes count was then carried out and data were analyzed using non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. Findings: The somatic extract and filtrate culture of F. solani strains UAMH3317 and UAMH7419 induced leukocytosis and lymphocytosis in mouse. Conclusion: Leukocytosis producing effect of fusarium solani strains UAMH7419 and UAMH3317 could be used for therapeutic purposes especially in those with leukopenia although more studies are needed.


The stability problem of the grid-connected inverter with LCL filter adopting a digital single-loop controller without extra damping resistance is analyzed. The digital single-loop control based on the grid-side current feedback can attenuate the resonance introduced by LCL filters due to the inherent damping characteristic embedded in the control loop. The stability analysis is performed by means of a Nyquist diagram in the discrete domain and to provide a general design direction for filter and controller. The quantitative relationship of ratios of LCL resonance angular frequency to control frequency and controller parameters on the system stability is investigated. It is derived that the system would obtain preferable stability margin when the ratio is located at a certain range. The theoretical analyses are validated by experimental tests based on a 5-kW single-phase inverter laboratory prototype.


Dirac's equation has been considered in a Schwarzschild (Reissner-Nordstrom) background. Resonances in a continuum of states are found, similar to the Klein-Gordon case. Also the solutions of the Dirac and Klein-Gordon equations are investigated for an extended gravitating source. Special attention has been given to the case in which the radius of the source tends towards its Schwarzschild radius. A limiting charge-to-mass ratio for black holes is obtained.


This paper demonstrates that dietary knowledge can influence nutrient intake differently depending on whether expected food availability is increasing or decreasing. Using data from China, we find that overall dietary knowledge has larger and more statistically significant effects on total calorie intake and the intake of three macro nutrients (carbohydrate, fat, and protein) when expected food availability increases than when it decreases. Without distinguishing the direction of changes in expected food availability, most of the corresponding effects become smaller and statistically insignificant. Thus, the effect of dietary knowledge on nutrient intake might have been underestimated in previous studies. We discuss the implications of these findings for the design and implementation of dietary education programs.


Ferronickel slags, due to their physicochemical characteristics, have good potential to improve the performance of construction materials when properly and adequately used as a component in these materials. As such, instead of being a waste that harms the environment, they can be turned into valuable materials for the construction industry assuring an efficient use of resources. As part of a bigger cooperation project with FLOGEN Technologies Inc. this paper gives the results of an investigation on the use of ferronickel slags from Ferronickel Company in Kosovo in several construction materials such as cement, asphalt, concrete, etc. The goal of the project is to determine the best recipes for the optimal use of the ferronickel slags in the construction materials in order to achieve their best physico-mechanical properties. Based on numerous laboratory analysis various mixture ratios of slag in the construction products have been studied followed by laboratory examination of the physical-mechanical properties of the corresponding mixtures. It was found that the use of ferronickel slag from Ferronickel Company can be beneficial to improve the mechanical and physical properties of all construction materials and at the same time protect the environment by turning a waste of metallurgical industry in a useful primary material for the construction industry.


Angiotensin II is a peptide hormone regulator of blood pressure and fluid balance in mammals. Evidence obtained largelyin vitro has also suggested that angiotensin II has growth-promoting effects and that it might thereby contribute to such pathological phenomena as cardiac hypertrophy, a major risk factor for cardiovascular mortality. It has been difficult to test for the direct growth-promoting effects of angiotensin II in vivo, however, because of the generalized effects of the peptide on hemodynamics. To overcome this limitation and to test for cardiac-specific functions of angiotensin II, we generated transgenic mice expressing an angiotensin II-producing fusion protein exclusively in cardiac myocytes. Our findings are the first to distinguish between local and systemic effects of angiotensin II on the heart and introduce a novel technique for studying tissue-specific peptide function.


Step-index optical fibers are widely used waveguides for light transmission. However, non-linear effects are always a severe challenge for optical fibers with increasing power level. This challenge is more severe at shorter wavelengths, where core size has to be much smaller in order to maintain a single mode operation. For an example, for 0.005 core refractive index with respect to cladding, a 10µm core diameter can ensure single mode operation at 1550nm. On other hand, core diameter has to be ~4µm and ~2µm at lambda=632nm and 300nm respectively for single mode operation. At these shorter wavelengths, photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and hollow core photonic bandgap fiber (HC-PBGF) have been proposed to address non-linear effects by offering large core diameter and air-core respectively [1-2]. However, such fibers are relatively difficult to fabricate. Moreover, presence of air-holes causes considerable difficulties in cleaving and splicing. Recently, we proposed an all-solid fiber design known as multi-trench fiber (MTF) as shown in Fig. 1(a) [3]. In this paper, we demonstrated their mode area scaling capability for UV-VIS wavelengths. Numerical simulations show the potential of achieving an effective single mode for 10µm and 20µm core diameter MTF by ensuring high loss to the higher order modes (HOMs) at ~300nm and ~632nm respectively. Fig. 1(b) shows numerically computed bending loss of a 20µm core MTF with trench thickness (t)=1.34µm, refractive index difference between core and cladding (Delta.n)=0.005, and resonant ring thickness (d)=6µm at 632nm. It is important to note that MTF ensures similar level of loss (as shown in Fig. 1(b)) to the HOMs even in an unbent case thanks to the resonant coupling between modes of core and resonant ring, which ensures suitability for beam delivery applications. Fig. 1(c) shows the RIP and microscope image of a 20µm core MTF fabricated by MCVD process in conjunction with rod-in-tube technique. Fig. 1(d) shows the measured bending loss of fiber. The loss remains lower than 0.2dB/m and 0.5dB/m at ~30cm and ~15cm bend radius respectively at ~632nm. This loss can even be reduced down with further refinement in fabrication process. We investigated the output profile of a 2m long MTF using the experimental set-up shown in Fig. 1(e) with respect to the multi-mode input beam as shown in Fig. 1(g). Fig. 1(f) shows the output for different offset launching, while fiber is coiled at ~20cm bend radius. On the other hand, Fig. 1(h) shows the output at different coil radii for optimum launching. In this paper, for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, an effective-single-mode behaviour of an all-solid and cylindrical symmetrical fiber of a large core (~20µm) fiber at ~632nm has been demonstrated. All-solid design and cylindrical symmetry ensure suitability for mass-scale production and easy cleaving and splicing. Further, with these advantages, a large core (~10µm) MTF at ~300nm as confirmed by our simulations can also be achieved and details will be presented at conference.


Entrepreneurship courses are offered in almost all university majors and study programs. This is a pledge to assist the government in its efforts to minimize the number of unemployed. However, the factual conditions discovered a number of issues, including students' lack of entrepreneurial interest, the lack of a product marketing forum, and inadequate facilities and infrastructure. The aim of this program is to create an entrepreneurial studio that will serve as a venue for students to learn more about entrepreneurship. Preparation for the establishment of a studio and soft launching, as well as an entrepreneurial inspiring speaking (BISA) webinar, are the methods employed in this service. According to participant testimonies, this activity resulted in the creation of an entrepreneurial studio as a forum for students entrepreneurship, as well as an increase in students' interest in entrepreneurship after participating in the Entrepreneurship Inspirational Talk (BISA).


Background. Recent studies have shown that CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is involved in the progression and metastasis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, the prognostic value of CXCR4 expression in RCC remains controversial. The aim of our meta-analysis is to evaluate the prognostic value of high CXCR4 expression in RCC. Methods. Relevant studies focused on the relationship between high CXCR4 expression and the outcome of RCC were searched in PubMed and EMBASE/Cochrane Library database. Hazard ratios (HRs) of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were our evaluation index. The individual and pooled HRs with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were analyzed. Results. A total of 1068 patients from 7 studies were included in our meta-analysis. The results suggested that high CXCR4 expression predicted a poor OS (random effect model (REM) HR = 2.77, 95% CI = 1.80−4.27) and PFS (REM HR = 4.83, 95% CI = 2.30−10.15) for RCC patients. Conclusion. The results of meta-analysis indicated that high CXCR4 expression was correlated with worse OS and PFS for patients with RCC. However, some larger samples and well-matched studies should be designed to estimate the potential prognosis of RCC patients.


Lots of debris is usually generated during the GaAs wafer dicing process leading to chip defects and scum on the chip and ultimately, low wafer yield. In this study we combine the cutting fluid with an appropriate water pressure to make the GaAs debris easy to be carried away from the chip surface. Furthermore, we increase the DI water cleaning time after a sawing process to ensure the chip cleanness. An oxygen plasma process after DI water cleaning is also implemented to further clean any remaining amount of debris from GaAs chips. The wafer re-work rates are significantly reduced from 60 – 70% to 1 - 3%, resulting in high wafer yield and shortened backend processing time.


Acting during phase II metabolism, sulfotransferases (SULTs) serve detoxification by transforming a broad spectrum of compounds from pharmaceutical, nutritional, or environmental sources into more easily excretable metabolites. However, SULT activity has also been shown to promote formation of reactive metabolites that may have genotoxic effects. SULT subtype 1E1 (SULT1E1) was identified as a key player in estrogen homeostasis, which is involved in many physiological processes and the pathogenesis of breast and endometrial cancer. The development of an in silico prediction model for SULT1E1 ligands would therefore support the development of metabolically inert drugs and help to assess health risks related to hormonal imbalances. Here, we report on a novel approach to develop a model that enables prediction of substrates and inhibitors of SULT1E1. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to investigate enzyme flexibility and sample protein conformations. Pharmacophores were developed that served as a cornerstone of the model, and machine learning techniques were applied for prediction refinement. The prediction model was used to screen the DrugBank (a database of experimental and approved drugs): 28% of the predicted hits were reported in literature as ligands of SULT1E1. From the remaining hits, a selection of nine molecules was subjected to biochemical assay validation and experimental results were in accordance with the in silico prediction of SULT1E1 inhibitors and substrates, thus affirming our prediction hypotheses.


These poems are part of a larger cycle of poems about Celeste Gerber Ackerman, an American who traveled to Labrador in the 1940s as part of the Grenfell Nursing Mission and remained in Labrador for the rest of her life, and of her husband Gordon Ackerman. Some of the poems are specifically about medical topics and the nursing mission, while others speak more broadly of life (and death) in Labrador.


Commercial Air Service Agreements remain the overwhelming focus when it comes to assessing the degree of liberalisation and deregulation in air transport markets. If individual countries are assessed for levels of traffic growth, competition and overall competitiveness, it becomes clear that there is a wide range of policy levers that can restrict markets but go way beyond the realms of official Air Service Agreements. This study provides a fresh holistic view of policy barriers restricting growth in world air transport markets by assessing non-ASA policies affecting the airline sector directly as well as levels of (de)regulation in the related airport sector. A selection of case countries provides evidence that if traffic growth, competition and resultant consumer welfare as a result of overall competitiveness are the objective functions of policy-makers, it is advisable for states to create much more comprehensive commercial air policy frameworks and more holistic measures/indices by which to benchmark levels of policy 'liberalness'.


Decline in children's participation in active school transportation (AST) has drawn attention of those concerned with children's health and wellbeing. Recent researcher has shown links between built environment, individuals' psychological and social behaviour, and AST. However, no known research has empirically evaluated their hypothesized relationship simultaneously. This study explored the association between the built environment, parental perceptions of traffic safety and walking environment, sociodemographic characteristics, and AST. Structural equation modeling was employed to quantitatively analyse data on 720 students and their parents, collected from 16 elementary schools in Toronto, Ontario. Findings of this study add new knowledge to the existing literature. Parental perception of the neighbourhood walking environment was found to play a noteworthy role; but the perception of traffic safety had no effect on children's odds of walking to school. Additionally, dissonance was found between parental subjective views and the objective built environment characteristics. Evidently, AST mode choice is a multilevel and complex process. Suggested improvements include development of new school level programs founded in new City-level children specific policies.


Historically, women in the workforce in New Zealand, like their counterparts in many other countries, have been disadvantaged vis-a-vis their male peers. They have been concentrated in relatively few (mostly low-pay) jobs, in lower rather than higher positions in occupations with promotional structures, and/or have been paid less than men for doing the same work. Even fairly recent studies of working conditions - in, for example, the banking industry (Neale, 1984), the Department of Social Welfare (Burns, Rutherford, Neale and Searancke, 1987), the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (Warren, 1988), and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (Green, 1991) - document the persistence of these inequities. Women in certain minority groups (for example, Maori women, women with physical disabilities) have tended to be particularly disenfranchised in these respects (National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women, 1990).


Stress is the most important parameter to understand basin dynamics and the evolution of hydrocarbon systems. The state of stress can be quantified by numerical geo-mechanical modelling techniques. These techniques require static elastic parameters of the rocks as input, while tectonic and gravitational forces are given as explicit boundary conditions to compute the local state of stress at different scales. We developed a technique to determine the density and elastic constants at seismic frequencies using full Zoeppritz inversion on angle-dependent seismic reflection data. The dynamic elastic parameters as obtained from seismic data differ from their static equivalents, which are necessary to determine the static state of stress. The dynamic elastic parameters are related to their static equivalents through experimentally obtained relations. In these rockphysics experiments, the static and dynamic elastic parameters are measured simultaneously during different external loading conditions. The experiments used here are all carried out in a tri-axial pressure machine under equal axial stresses. Then prestack seismic data analysis in combination with the relation between the static and dynamic elastic parameters, from the rockphysics experiments, provides the input parameters for geo-mechanical modelling. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.