In the Wattenberg Field, the Reservoir Characterization Project at the Colorado School of Mines and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy) (formerly the Anadarko Petroleum Corporation) collected time-lapse seismic data for characterization of changes in the reservoir caused by hydraulic fracturing and production in the Niobrara Formation and Codell Sandstone member of the Carlile Formation. We have acquired three multicomponent seismic surveys to understand the dynamic reservoir changes caused by hydraulic fracturing and production of 11 horizontal wells within a 1 mi2 section (the Wishbone Section). The time-lapse seismic survey acquisition occurred immediately after the wells were drilled, another survey after stimulation, and a third survey after two years of production. In addition, we integrate core, petrophysical properties, fault and fracture characteristics, as well as P-wave seismic data to illustrate reservoir properties prior to simulation and production. Core analysis indicates extensive amounts of bioturbation in zones of high total organic content (TOC). Petrophysical analysis of logs and core samples indicates that chalk intervals have high amounts of TOC (>2%) and the lowest amount of clay in the reservoir interval. Core petrophysical characterization included X-ray diffraction analysis, mercury intrusion capillary pressure, N2 gas adsorption, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Reservoir fractures follow four regional orientations, and chalk facies contain higher fracture density than marl facies. Integration of these data assist in enhanced well targeting and reservoir simulation.


Abstract Two three-component ocean bottom seismometers and a current meter were deployed a few hundred meters apart on the southern Blake Plateau off the United States eastern coast to study the effect of near-bottom currents on the background noise level of seismometers. Although analysis of the data is limited somewhat by instrumental problems, the increase in current speed, which ranged from 2 to 25 cm/sec, is correlated with a broadband increase in the noise level at frequencies below 10 Hz. Intermittent periods of narrow-band 8-Hz noise, which were also observed, are not correlative with bottom currents and were tentatively attributed to passing ships. Details of the mechanism of generation of the background noise cannot be determined from the present data set.


ABSTRACT Purpose/Aim: Angiogenesis is a central component of normal wound healing but it has not been fully characterized in lung repair following acute inflammatory injury. The current literature lacks vital information pertaining to the extent, timing, and location of this process. This information is necessary for examining mechanisms that drive normal lung repair in resolving acute inflammatory injury. The goal of our study was to formally characterize lung angiogenesis over a time course of bleomycin-induced lung injury. Materials and Methods: Female C57BL/6 mice age 8–12 weeks were treated with a single dose of intratracheal bleomycin. Total lung endothelial cells were quantified with flow cytometry 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days following bleomycin administration, and endothelial cell replication was assessed using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation. Results: Endothelial cell replication was maximal 14 days after bleomycin administration, while total lung endothelial cells peaked at day 21. Tissue analysis with stereology was performed to measure total lung vascular surface area in bleomycin at day 21 relative to controls and demonstrated a trend toward increased vasculature in the bleomycin group. Conclusions: Angiogenesis begins shortly after injury in the bleomycin model and leads to an expansion in the lung endothelial cell population that peaks at day 21. This study offers the first longitudinal examination of angiogenesis following acute inflammatory lung injury induced by bleomycin. Information provided in this study will be vital for further investigating mechanisms of angiogenesis in both normal and abnormal lung repair.


Introduction: Dementia is frequently associated with Parkinson's disease, especially in later stages. Efficacy of cholinesterase inhibitors (ChI) in Alzheimer's dementia is well established. However, treatment with ChI in Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) remains controversial. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the effects of ChI in PDD. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane library up to March 2014 using the descriptors "Parkinson's disease", "dementia in Parkinson's disease", "cognition", "acetylcholinesterase inhibitors", "cholinesterase inhibitors", "anticholinesterase agents", "rivastigmine", "donepezil" and "galantamine" (Pubmed search strategy). All randomized, doubleblinded, placebo-controlled trials that met the eligibility criteria and assessed the effects of ChI in PDD were considered for analysis. There were no restrictions regarding paper language. Summary effect-sizes were presented as standardized mean differences (SMD) and the pooled analysis was performed with a fixed-effects model. Outcomes considered for analysis were the Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE) score and the cognition scale for evaluation of dementia ADAS-Cog. The degree of heterogeneity between included studies was assessed through the I2 test. Results: After a comprehensive search, 175 references were retrieved. From these, five randomized trials involving 946PDD subjects were included in the review. Four studies used donepezil and only one study used rivastigmine. The pooled analysis of five studies that assessed the effects of ChI in MMSE total score showed a SMD of 0.24 (CI 95% 0.11 - 0.38). Three studies considered the effects of ChI on Adas-Cog and the pooled results showed a SMD of 0.21 (CI 95% 0.07 - 0.35). There was no significant heterogeneity between the studies. Conclusions: The results of this systematic review and meta- analysis suggest that ChI improves cognitive impairment in PDD subjects. Despite statistically significant, the translation of these results into relevant clinical improvement should be taken with caution, as the studies did not address what would be considered a clinically significant result.


Laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements are often made in the presence of transient index of refraction variations which bias the measured velocity. Transient temperature variation (e.g. as found in turbulent combustion or turbulent convective heat transfer situations) is the most common mechanism driving index of refraction changes in systems probed with LDV. The physical phenomena inducing this bias, referred to here as flame-induced velocity bias (FIVB), are outlined. Combustion system velocity RMS biases of 10% are possible. The literature currently lacks a model to predict, and a list of criteria to minimize, FIVB. To fill this need a model is developed to predict the magnitude of FIVB. Predictions are compared to experimental measurements of FIVB in a pool fire to confirm the validity of the model. Specific criteria identified for minimizing the FIVB include maximizing the beam crossing angle magnitude; using a Bragg cell frequency shift to reduce sampling times to less than 1 mu s; using the longest laser wavelength available; orienting beams parallel to index of refraction gradients to minimize the beam incidence angles; and when measuring velocities perpendicular to the main flow direction, orienting the beams such that the main flow is along the bisector of the beam crossing angle. Contrary to intuition, minimizing beam steering displacements by minimizing flame front to probe volume distance may increase the FIVB.


In this thesis, we prove that the Infinity-Laplace equation has a unique solution in the viscosity sense. We prove existence by approximating the equation by the p-Laplace equation, and uniqueness will be shown by use of the Theorem on Sums. We will also show that the viscosity solutions of the Infinity-Laplace equation enjoys comparison with cones, and vice versa.


In this timely volume, James E. Katz, a leading authority on social consequences of communication technology, analyzes the way new mobile telecommunications affect daily life both in the United States and around the world. "Magic in the Air" is the most wide-ranging analysis of mobile communication to date. Katz investigates the spectrum of social aspects of the cell phone's impact on society and the way social forces affect the use, display and reconfiguration of the cell phone. Surveying the mobile phone's current and emerging role in daily life, Katz finds that it provides many benefits for the user, and that some of these benefits are subtle and even counter-intuitive. He also identifies ways the mobile phone has not been entirely positive. After reviewing these, he outlines some steps to ameliorate the mobile phone's negative effects. Katz also discusses use and abuse of mobile phones in educational settings, where he finds that mobile phone use is eroding students' participation in class even as it is helping them to cheat on exams and cut class. Parents no longer object to their children having mobile phones in class in a post-Columbine and 9/11 era; instead they are pressing schools to change their rules to allow students to have their phones available during class. And mobile phone misbehaviour is, by no means, limited to students: Katz finds that teachers are increasingly taking calls in the middle of class, even interrupting their own lectures to answer what they claim are important calls. In keeping with the book's title, Katz explores the often overlooked psychic and religious uses of the mobile phone, an area that has only recently begun to command scholarly interest. "Magic in the Air" will be essential reading for communications specialists, sociologists, and social psychologists.


Interferons constitute the earliest immune response against viral infection. They elicit antiviral effects as well as multiple biological responses involved in cell growth regulation and immune activation. Because the interferon-induced cellular antiviral response is the primary defense mechanism against viral infection, many viruses have evolved strategies to antagonize the inhibitory effects of interferon. Here, we demonstrate a strategy that Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus uses to block virus-mediated induction of type I interferon. We found that a viral immediate-early protein, namely ORF45, interacts with cellular interferon-regulatory factor 7 (IRF-7). In consequence, IRF-7 phosphorylation is inhibited and the accumulation of IRF-7 in the nucleus in response to viral infection is blocked. IRF-7 is a transcription regulator that is responsible for virus-mediated activation of type I interferon genes. By blocking the phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of IRF-7, ORF45 efficiently inhibits the activation of interferon α and β genes during viral infection. Inhibition of interferon gene expression through a viral protein blocking the activation and nuclear translocation of a crucial transcription factor is a novel mechanism for viral immune evasion.


This paper investigates the effects of information avoidance, information overload, health literacy on individuals' shared health decision making. A research model is proposed based on sound theoretical background. Data from 155 respondents was collected via an online survey. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was applied to analyse the data. The findings suggest that information overload and information avoidance both exhibit negative effects on an individual's shared health decision making behaviour, while health literary possess positive effects. We also find that information avoidance has a positive impact on information avoidance. Moreover, health literacy is negatively related to both information overload and information avoidance. The paper enhances both theoretical and empirical understanding of the effects of individuals' health literacy, information overload and information avoidance on their shared health decision making behaviour. The results indicate that sufficient health literacy enables individuals to engage in their health decision making process and sharing their concerns with their physicians. However, information overload and information avoidance trigger negative effects which lead to individuals less involved in shared health decision making. Our results advocate more efforts to improve individual health literary as the means to mitigate the negative effects of information overload and information avoidance towards shared health decision making.


Background: Spasticity is common symptom following upper motor neurone lesions such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. It can cause multiple problems for people including pain, difficulty with functions, contractures and skin damage. People often benefit from an integrated physical and medical treatment plan to optimise management of this symptoms. Previously adults from the Hywel Dda University Health Board (HDUHB) who required input from a spasticity management service were referred to a consultant led regional service outside of the organisation.

Aims/purpose: Demonstrate the process of developing a physiotherapy led spasticity service and the impact on patient pathways.
Methods: Utilising national guidelines and evidence based practice principles HDUHB has developed a physiotherapy led spasticity management service by training advanced physiotherapy practitioners as botulinum toxin injectors and independent non-medical prescribers.

Results: A number of benefits have been achieved with the new service model including:
• Reducing travel for patients
• Improving access for patients who have difficulty travelling by providing treatment in their own homes
• Reducing costs by utilising Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioners to carry out roles previously provided by consultants
• Freeing up consultant capacity to deal with more complex

Conclusion: Many people with long term neurological conditions will need a combination of physical and medical management to meet their needs. Physiotherapists working in advanced practice are in a key position to meet these needs. Within spasticity management there is experience, guidance and evidence available to support the development of these roles.


Purpose Scholars have been increasingly interested in understanding business models. However, little attention has been paid to how business models change in reaction to exogenous circumstances and how business relationships alter as a result of business model changes. This paper investigates how the business model paradigm of the Italian music industry altered in response to two major exogenous influences that impacted the sector: the digital revolution and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach As the purpose of this study is to investigate phenomena in a real-world setting, qualitative research methodology has been selected as the most appropriate one. We decided to conduct sixteen semi-structured interviews with professionals active in the Italian music business that have been selected by a combination of snowball and convenience sampling
Findings Our empirical findings indicate that the digital revolution and COVID-19 pushed Italian music companies to revise their business models by either reducing the number of linkages to the existing ones or adding new linkages to the existing ones. This was done in order for the companies to remain competitive in an environment that is constantly changing and to outcompete competitors.
Originality/value Few studies have evaluated how business relationships alter in response to the many business models emerging in the music industry due to external causes. Our research is one of the first to examine music companies' reactions to exogenous events such as crises or disruptive advances that affect the competitive landscape.


Microfluidic systems for cell separation and analysis have attracted increasing research activity over the past decades. In particular, the prospect of integrating all steps from sample preparation to assay readout in a single microfluidic cartridge, which is inserted into a compact, portable and potentially low-cost instrument, bears great promise to leverage next-generation diagnostic products and to advance life-science research with novel cell and particle manipulation, and analysis tools. Within the range of microfluidic actuation principles available, the centrifugal force is exceptionally well suited for cell handling due to its rotationally induced 'artificial gravity field', which can be varied over several orders of magnitude and which can manipulate bioparticles even in the absence of flow. We will survey how the base centrifugal force has been combined with the hydrodynamic Stokes drag, magnetic, dielectrophoretic and other forces to enable multidimensional separation and manipulation. The same centrifugal microfluidic toolbox has also been applied to investigate particles such as biofunctionalized beads, bacteria and multicellular microorganisms. This review summarizes the significant progress in modular unit operations such as cell removal, filtering, lysis, separation, sorting, encapsulation, trapping, assaying, sensing, cytometry and detection, even derived from low-cost conventional optical disc drive technology (e.g., CD and DVD), towards integrated and automated centrifugal microfluidic platforms for the handling and analysis of cells and bioparticles.


The paper presents an application of Burmester's circular theory to the determination of the optimal mechanism used to reproduce the motion of the tibia with respect to the femur. The research takes its start from the idea of studying an external fixator to guide the motion of a tibia in a way physically compatible to the actual patient's anatomy, in order to firmly guide the two bones after, for instance, joint reconstructive surgery, while avoiding any contact between the articular surfaces. The physiological data were determined in researches presented in other papers.
 However, in the initial research phases the idea was to determine the best position of an existing four-bar link, produced for an orthopaedic tutor, without any attempt at synthesising an ad hoc one. The idea of using Burmester's theory in this operation was in reality an old one, but previous attempts were not successful.
 Naturally, the required four-bar link had also to be small in order to fit on the external fixator. The results of the research are extremely satisfactory, since it was possible to determine a mechanism which allows relative motion with errors in the order of fractions of millimetres, when the imposed motion had to keep the two bones separated by a minimum of one millimetre. As a consequence the two bones will never go in compression, while a gentle pulling of the ligaments will always be present.
 Using the approach, typical four-bar links for different human typologies were also determined.


A localized, transplantable testicular tumor of the Fischer rat regularly produces hypercalcemia and increased phosphorus clearance in host animals. Light and electron microscopic examinations of the tumor indicate that it is of Leydig origin. There is no evidence that the tumor secretes any biologically active sex steroids, judges by weights of target tissues, when the tumor is grown in castrated or spayed rats. No radioactive steroid hormone formation in vitro was detected using 1-14C-acetate as a precursor although 14C was incorporated into the "C27" sterol fraction. Mass (micrograms) amounts of sex steroids were not detected after purifying large amounts of tumor extracts. The phytosterols, beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol, were tentatively identified in tumor extracts but were also found in other tissues and in tumors not associated with hypercalcemia. Administered in vivo, human chorionic gonadotropin caused an acute rise in serum calcium in 3 to 5 hours in tumor-bearing hypercalcemic rats. Only trophic hormones with luteinizing hormone activity were found to compete with 125I-human chorionic gonadotropin for binding to the tumor homogenate in vitro indicating the tumor possessed luteinizing hormone receptors. When the tumor was transplanted intrasplenically, hypercalcemia did not occur unless adhesions formed, suggesting that the tumor hormone was rapidly metabolized by the liver and was probably of small molecular weight. Secretory granules, usually thought to be associated with peptide hormone secretion, were not detected at the ultrastructure level. Cortisol, conjugated estrogen, and an inhibitor of sterol biosynthesis (AY-9944) were effective in lowering the elevated serum calcium. Definitive identification of the agent causing lethal hypercalcemia has not been accomplished. The available data suggest it is not parathyroid hormone or vitamin D. The Leydig cell origin of the tumor, its response to human chorionic gonadotropin in vivo, the lack of secretory granules at the ultrastructural level, and biologic characteristics, all lead to the speculation that the secretory product of the tumor is a new hormonal substance, possibly a steroid precursor or related substance not previously described or is a known substance of small molecular weight whose calcium-mobilizing properties have not been fully characterized. This transplantable tumor may represent a model for one form of neoplastic hypercalcemia occurring in man and may have important implications in the general area of calcium and phosphorus homeostasis.


Information visualization techniques play an important role in Virtual Reality (VR) because they improve task performance, support cognitive processes, and eventually increase the feeling of immersion. Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) persons have special needs for information presentation because they feel and perceive VR environments differently. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to requirements about presenting information in VR for this group of users. Previous research showed that adding special features and using haptic methods helps DHH persons to do VR tasks better. In this paper, we propose a novel Omni-directional particle visualization method and also evaluate multi-modal presentation methods in VR for DHH persons, such as audio, visual, haptic, and a combination of them (AVH). Additionally, we compare the results with the results of persons without hearing problems. The methods for information presentation in our study focus on spatial object localization in VR. Our user studies show that both DHH persons and persons without hearing problems were able to do VR tasks significantly faster using AVH. Also, we found out that DHH persons can do visual-related VR tasks faster than persons without hearing problems by using our new proposed visualization method. Our results suggest that the benefits of using audio among persons without hearing problems and the benefits of using vision among DHH persons cause an interesting balance in the results of AVH between both groups. Finally, our qualitative and quantitative evaluation indicates that both groups of participants preferred and enjoyed AVH modality more than other modalities.


In our globalized society groups of people with different cultures, values and beliefs live together. School is one of the places where such differences strongly emerge, especially when it comes to moral education. The families' expectancies as for the moral education of their children are not similar. The author advocates the idea that there is a common basis of values in those different cultures that should underpin the moral education in the institutions of education. This thesis is built on a historical peregrination from Antiquity to Modernity, which shows the presence of such values as respect and dignity. These may form the common ground for moral education, even in our globalized and multicultural society.


Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs may cause hepatic sensibilization and impairment. The incidence of these changes is low and referential data are scarce and related mainly to reaction which clinically corresponds to hepatic or cholestatic reaction. We present a patient who is sensitive to Diclofenac and has hepatic granuloma which developed after the use of the drug. History, clinical presentation, laboratory results, US examination of the liver and pathohistologic analysis of the hepatic biopsy sample enabled us to diagnose hepatitis with granulomatous impairment. Improvement of symptoms and signs of the disease was spontaneous and without administration of glucocorticoid drugs.


In traditional simulated herbicide drift research, dose response is evaluated using a constant carrier volume. The influence of carrier volume was evaluated in field experiments with drift rates representing 12.5 and 6.3% of the use rates of 1,120 g ai/ha glyphosate (140 and 70 g/ha, respectively) and 420 g ai/ha glufosinate (53 and 26 g/ha, respectively). Corn and soybean were exposed to herbicide rates applied in constant carrier volume of 234 L/ha and in proportional carrier volumes of 30 L/ha for the 12.5% rate and 15 L/ha for the 6.3% rate. Averaged across herbicides, corn height reduction 14 d after treatment (DAT) was greater for the 12.5% rate when applied in proportional 30 L/ha carrier volume (45%) compared with constant 234 L/ha carrier volume (28%). The 6.3% rate reduced corn height 38% when applied in proportional 15 L/ha carrier volume but not when applied in 234 L/ha carrier volume. When carrier volume was changed from constant to proportional, corn injury 14 DAT increased from 33 to 51% for the 12.5% rate and 18 to 38% for the 6.3% rate. Compared with constant spray volume, corn yield reduction was 1.5 times greater for the 12.5% rate but 4 times greater for the 6.3% rate when spray volume was varied proportionally to the herbicide rates. Differential response due to carrier volume was not observed when herbicides were applied to soybean. Soybean was injured more by glyphosate than by glufosinate, but recovery was rapid and yield was not negatively affected. Results suggest that drift research using constant spray volume may underestimate the yield reduction expected for sensitive crops exposed to glyphosate or glufosinate. Nomenclature: Glufosinate; glyphosate; corn, Zea mays L. 'Dekalb 687'; soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. 'DPL 3588'. Additional index words: Crop injury, herbicide drift, off-target movement. Abbreviations: DAT, days after treatment.


We dredged lots of Cenozoic basalts from areas covered from the northern sub-slope to the southern sub-slope of the South China Sea.Based on the study on mineral chemistry of clinopyroxenes in these Cenozoic basalts,this paper indicates that pyroxenes are mostly enstatite and a few of augite,sahlite and Ca-rich pyroxene.Pyroxene microlite has higher content in Ca,Ti and Fe than pyroxene phenocryst,it may reflect that the evolution trend of host magma of pyroxene is coincidence with that of alkali rock series.The depth of magma chambers which calculated from equilibrium temperatures and pressures between clinopyroxene and melt are as follows,that of magma of tephfite is about 49km,that of magma of trachybasalt is about 25km,and that of magma of basalt is about 15km.Correspondingly,Equilibrium temperatures(K)of three types rocks mentioned above gradually decrease from 1535~1498 to 1429 to 1369.By using discriminant plot which developed from pyroxene and alkali discriminant diagram of host rock, Cenozoic basalt from the South China Sea belongs to intraplate alkali basalt.The results suggest that alkali basalt series in the study area may be the products of continuous evolution of mantle plume,which result from some physical and chemistry process including partial melting and fractional crystallization of mantle plume during the course of its ascent to the surface.


The use of smart-phones and tablets is increasing the farming community before these fact companies that offer products and services to this sector are mobilizing to be active in this new reality. However, companies that operate in the rural market, not only have the aim of helping farmers in providing services through mobile technology applications, it was necessary to identify the strategic performance of these companies as a market opportunity in selling their products in the agricultural sector. Therefore, this article aimed to identify the strategic planning of technology companies to provide services through applications to farmers. The methodological approach used is a qualitative approach with the exploratory and descriptive aim of the use of content analysis of the websites of those companies studied. This study concluded that companies by offering technology services to farmers, use these services strategically to your advantage without the knowledge of the real needs of farmers.


Abstract Information on large mammals in Turkey is limited, and widely applicable, reliable field methods need to be used to gather appropriate data for conservation and management. To evaluate local information on mammal species we conducted interview and ground surveys, followed by a camera trap survey, during January–May 2006 in Yenice Forest, a globally important and intact region for mammals in Turkey. Interviews with local people provided information on the occurrence of wolf Canis lupus, brown bear Ursus arctos, wild cat Felis silvestris, red fox Vulpes vulpes, Eurasian badger Meles meles, pine marten Martes martes, roe deer Capreolus capreolus, wild boar Sus scrofa and Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx. The ground and camera trap surveys confirmed the presence of all these species except lynx. In addition, the camera trap survey documented the presence of jackal Canis aureus and brown hare Lepus europaeus, signs of which were not found in the ground survey and whose presence was not known by local people. Local information on wildlife is important but management and conservation initiatives should not solely depend on such information and, as our study indicates, interview surveys cannot replace field research. The Turkish Ministry of Environment and Forestry needs to consider the establishment of a protected area large enough to secure the future of the large mammals of Yenice Forest.


Abstract The effect of a single administration of morphine sulfate (15 mg/kg, s.c. or 30 mg/kg, i.p., 30 min) on Ca2+‐stimulated Mg2+‐dependent ATPase activity was investigated in synaptosomal plasma membranes (SPM) prepared from rat cortex. Morphine produced a significant decrease in Ca2+,Mg2+‐ATPase activity in synaptosomal fractions (SPM 1 + 2) known to contain a high density of opiate receptors and calmodulin‐dependent Ca2+,Mg2+‐ATPase. However, in another subpopulation (SPM 3) that contains fewer opiate receptors and less enzyme activity, no such decrease in the enzyme activity was observed after the opiate administration. The decrease in Ca2+,Mg2+‐ATPase activity seen in SPM 1 + 2 was specifically antagonized by the opiate antagonist naloxone hydrochloride (2 mg/kg, s.c.) when given 15 min before morphine administration. Mg2+‐ATP‐ase was not altered either by morphine or by a naloxone‐morphine combination. These findings give further evidence for the role of intracellular Ca2+ in mediating many of the acute effects of opiates.


To test alternative hypotheses for the behavior of KIC 8462852, we obtained measurements of the star over a wide wavelength range from the UV to the mid-infrared from 2015 October through 2016 December, using Swift, Spitzer and AstroLAB IRIS. The star faded in a manner similar to the long-term fading seen in Kepler data about 1400 days previously. The dimming rate for the entire period reported is 22.1 ± 9.7 mmag yr−1 in the Swift wavebands, with amounts of 21.0 ± 4.5 mmag in the ground-based B measurements, 14.0 ± 4.5 mmag in V, and 13.0 ± 4.5 in R, and a rate of 5.0 ± 1.2 mmag yr−1 averaged over the two warm Spitzer bands. Although the dimming is small, it is seen at ≳3σ by three different observatories operating from the UV to the IR. The presence of long-term secular dimming means that previous spectral energy distribution models of the star based on photometric measurements taken years apart may not be accurate. We find that stellar models with K and best fit the Swift data from UV to optical. These models also show no excess in the near-simultaneous Spitzer photometry at 3.6 and 4.5 μm, although a longer wavelength excess from a substantial debris disk is still possible (e.g., as around Fomalhaut). The wavelength dependence of the fading favors a relatively neutral color (i.e., , but not flat across all the bands) compared with the extinction law for the general interstellar medium ( ), suggesting that the dimming arises from circumstellar material.


The authors review the current structures for judicial appointments in Canada and provide statistical information about the results of these mechanisms in respect to diversity of representation on the courts. They are also critical of the fairness and openness of judicial appointments processes. After examining several variants of the dominant liberal view of law and of judges, the authors proffer and articulate a neo-realist theory of law and what they term a "bungee cord theory of judging." According to the former, law is inevitably a form of politics; according to the latter, judges are unavoidably political actors. In consequence, the judiciary is properly subject to democratic norms, including especially the norms of representation and of diversity. The authors then argue that, judged against those democratic norms, the present systems of judicial appointment (and the judiciary which it has put in place) suffers from what they term "a democratic deficit." After a detailed examination of past attempts to reform this system, of arguments for and against a more democratic and representational approach to judicial selection, and possible models of judicial selection, the authors propose their own reform: the establishment by statute of Judicial Appointments Commissions. Such an approach might help cure the democratic deficit and produce what they dub a Triple-P judiciary, that is, one that is politically accountable, professionally qualified, and proportionally representative.


Linguists argued that the Cockney dialect, in London, is expected to be replaced by Multicultural London English in the years to come. However, this does not imply that Cockney is dead, as recent research revealed that it just moved to Essex. This paper aims at examining whether (l) vocalisation, a common feature of Cockney, is still present in the London district of Bermondsey. Ten working-class English speakers, stratified by age and sex, have been recorded by means of sociolinguistic interviews. The results, discussed both quantitively and qualitatively, show that: (a) (l) vocalisation is present in all age cohorts, with young speakers favouring the non-standard feature; (b) preceding long vowels trigger (l) vocalisation.


The failure by tensile fracture of a 2024 aluminium alloy was investigated using a number of fracture criteria. The J integral method was shown to exhibit a significant dependency on specimen geometry and was therefore deemed unsuitable for use across a broad range of specimen types. Three 'local approach' criteria were also employed, the standard Beremin type model based on maximum principal stress and hydrostatic stress, as well as an alternative method based on dilatational strain energy density. All three models were found to be capable of characterizing the failure behaviour of the material in question, although it was noted that the results of the Beremin method were highly sensitive to the data used to calibrate the model. The energy type method was found to be more robust, but under predicted real failure probability at low loads. Introduction of a global failure threshold to account for the propagation dependency of failure was found to greatly improve the quality of failure prediction and the stability of the calibration process. Introduction Component failure is generally deemed to occur when a component has deformed due to gross yielding, such that it can no longer function as designed, or when fracture of the component has occurred. Failure due to fracture is of particular concern as, unlike gross yielding, there are often few external signs to indicate proximity to failure. In order for designers to minimise the likelihood of such failures occurring, it is of paramount importance to have viable methods of predicting failure by fracture mechanisms which can be incorporated into structural integrity assessment methodologies. Currently, the majority of assessment methods are based on single parameter fracture mechanics, in particular the stress intensity factor (SIF) K. In general, it is assumed that for a body containing a defect (i.e. a macro scale crack), failure will occur when K for that defect is equal to K1C, the material fracture toughness. This is justified based on the assumption that K controls the magnitude of the stress field in the near-crack region. In general this is a valid assumption as long as yielding in the near crack region is minimal. Single parameter methods may be used as a deterministic criterion for failure, or incorporated into probabilistic methods, such as that proposed by Wallin [1]. An alternative fracture parameter, the J integral, was originally formulated for elastic materials [2] and in such cases J represents the energy release rate of crack propagation. It has been shown that J controls the near tip stress fields for elastic-plastic materials whose hardening behavior can be approximated by a power function of plastic strain [3,4]. However the applicability of the J integral in such cases is reliant on monotonic loading conditions; when yielding is followed by a reversal in load or where small strain assumptions are invalid, the physical meaning of J is no longer clear. Experimental measurement of K1C and J1C are well known to exhibit strong dependencies on specimen geometry, e.g. [5]. This can be attributed to the fact that assuming near tip stresses are controlled primarily by J or K requires a degree of self-similarity between the near-tip stress fields


Summary.  Racial disparities in risks of mortality adjusted for socio‐economic status are not well understood. To add to the understanding of racial disparities, we construct and analyse a data set that links, at individual and zip code levels, three government databases: Medicare, the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey and US census. Our study population includes more than 4 million Medicare enrollees residing in 2095 zip codes in the north‐east region of the USA. We develop hierarchical models to estimate the black–white disparities in risk of death, adjusted for both individual level and zip code level income. We define the population level attributable risk AR, relative attributable risk RAR and odds ratio OR of death comparing blacks versus whites, and we estimate these parameters by using a Bayesian approach via Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling. By applying the multiple‐imputation method to fill in missing data, our estimates account for the uncertainty from the missing individual level income data. Results show that, for the Medicare population being studied, there is a statistically and substantively significantly higher risk of death for blacks compared with whites, in terms of all three measures AR, RAR and OR, both adjusted and not adjusted for income. In addition, after adjusting for income we find a statistically significant reduction in AR but not in RAR and OR.


Self-association of α-Synuclein monomers into oligomeric species and highly ordered amyloid fibrils is linked to Parkinson's disease (PD). The peptide fragment corresponding to region 61-95 of α-synuclein protein originally termed as non-amyloid β component (NAC) has been suggested to play a critical role in the fibrillation process. To better understand the early events of aggregation process, inter-molecular interactions between the two NAC regions during the formation of dimer is critical. Here we demonstrate the molecular dynamics and potential of mean force (PMF) techniques to study the parallel and anti-parallel dimers of the peptide corresponding to the 71-82 ( 71 VTGVTAVAQKTV 82 ) region of α-synuclein. From the PMF study, we noticed two basins of attraction, one at 10 Ǻ and 14 Ǻ for the parallel and only one basin near 12 Ǻ for the anti-parallel conformation of the dimer of the peptide. From docking study using SymmDock, we noticed higher side chain interactions and interface surface area for the anti-parallel conformation of the dimer of the peptide. Our results thus provide atomistic insights into the structural features of the core fibril forming NAC region during dimerization which may open the way to explore the molecular basis of this disease.


We design truthful double spectrum auctions where multiple parties can trade spectrum based on their individual needs. Open, market-based spectrum trading motivates existing spectrum owners (as sellers) to lease their selected idle spectrum to new spectrum users, and provides new users (as buyers) the spectrum they desperately need. The most significant challenge is how to make the auction economic-robust (truthful in particular) while enabling spectrum reuse to improve spectrum utilization. Unfortunately, existing designs either do not consider spectrum reuse or become untruthful when applied to double spectrum auctions. We address this challenge by proposing TRUST, a general framework for truthful double spectrum auctions. TRUST takes as input any reusability-driven spectrum allocation algorithm, and applies a novel winner determination and pricing mechanism to achieve truthfulness and other economic properties while significantly improving spectrum utilization. To our best knowledge, TRUST is the first solution for truthful double spectrum auctions that enable spectrum reuse. Our results show that economic factors introduce a tradeoff between spectrum efficiency and economic robustness. TRUST makes an important contribution on enabling spectrum reuse to minimize such tradeoff.


Three kinds of Korean food (Ramyon, bread and dried Injulmi, a kind of rice bread) and basal diet were fed to ten groups of rat with consideration of their basal metabolism and some physiological changes were checked for four months. And obtained results were as follows: 1. In the rate of growth (body weight), rats fed on combined basal diet with Ramyon (20% or 33%) were slightly superior to those of simple basal diet (control case), and rats fed simply on Ramyon, bread or Injulmi were all inferior to the control. 2. Throughout the experiment, no considerable changes in intestinal bacterial flora, liver function and kidney function were observed in all cases, as compared with the control. 3. Liver tissues and kidney tissues in all cases were identified as normal and same as those of the control.


Over the last years cartesian product graphs have started to receive increasing attention as general class of networks for multiprocessor systems. One reason is that many efficient and popular networks such as the meshes, tori, hypercubes, hyper de Bruijn, product shuffle, and the newly proposed folded Petersen networks belong to this class of networks. Secondly, with the help of cartesian product graphs, a unique method for the design and analysis of a class of networks as well as techniques for embedding and communication algorithms can be provided. In this paper, first multiple arc-disjoint spanning trees are constructed on product networks with bidirectional links. These trees are utilized to design fault-tolerant algorithms for several important communication primitives assuming all-port communication. The problems under consideration include broadcasting, gossiping, scattering, and total exchange.<<ETX>>


Gyrodactylus von Nordmann, 1832 (Monogenea:Gyrodactylidae) includes highly diverse ubiquitous viviparous monogeneans. These ectoparasites feed on mucus and epithelial cells of host fishes that can induce hyperplasia of affected tissues and increase the potential of subsequent secondary infections. To date, 33 Gyrodactylus species from hosts originating from nine host families have been described in Africa, but at least two species should be regarded as invalid. The present study summarizes ongoing research on Gyrodactylus species parasitizing African cichlids with emphasis on its diversity using an integrative approach (molecular sequences supported by morphometrical analysis), distribution and ecological patterns in the host-parasite system taking into account diverse environmental factors. Our findings of 10 undescribed Gyrodactylus species on cichlid hosts in different part of Africa significantly extend the knowledge on these parasites in terms of species richness and distribution. The observed "diversity" of Gyrodactylus species on cichlids differs considerably between the host species. The highest number of species was observed from the invasive Oreochromis niloticus and commonly widespread Pseudocrenilabrus philander. The overlap in theirs habitats and distribution together with artificial spreading by humans undoubtedly contributed to the current situation. The phylogenetic analyses resulted in the clustering Gyrodactylus species sharing similarities in the morphological type of the hard parts of attachment organs. Species of one morpho-group can parasitize cichlids species of up to 5 tribes, and to date we have found Gyrodactylus species on cichlid hosts of 7 tribes. Our results show clear evidence for intensive host-switching in this Gyrodactylus-cichlids system.


The recently approved ExoMars rover is the first element of the ESA Aurora programme and is scheduled to deliver the Pasteur exobiology payload to Mars by 2015. The 0.7 kg Panoramic Camera will provide multi-spectral stereo images with 65 ° field-of-view (1.1 mrad/pixel) and high-resolution (85 μrad/pixel) monoscopic 'zoom' images with 5 ° field-of-view. The stereo wide-angle cameras (WAC) are based on the Beagle 2 Stereo Camera System heritage (Griffiths et al. (2005). Planet. Space Sci. 53, 1466–1488). The Panoramic Camera instrument is designed to fulfil the digital terrain mapping requirements of the mission as well as to provide multi-spectral geological imaging, colour and stereo panoramic images, water vapour abundance and dust optical depth measurements. It can also be used for high-resolution imaging of inaccessible locations on crater walls and to observe retrieved subsurface samples before ingestion into the rest of the Pasteur payload.


This paper begins by locating the (controversial) removal of the 'minimum age at qualification' regulation in 2003 within the context of wider changes occurring within social work education and the social work profession. This is followed by a report of a small scale exploratory study designed to gather data regarding the experiences of younger students within one undergraduate qualifying programme. The data are then discussed in relation to literature from within social work and allied disciplines in order to consider themes such as 'identity', 'othering' and 'recognition'. It is suggested from data gathered during this project that although the gates to social work education have now been opened more widely to school leaving students, they have in effect become social work's new 'non-traditional' students and in some cases, inclusion is experienced as partial rather than complete. A discussion of the implications for further research as well as teaching, learning and group process issues on professional programmes concludes this paper.


This paper is the first in a series of two papers describing the algorithms used in the development of MISTIC (Michigan synthesis tools for integrated circuits). MISTIC is a planar device process compiler that generates process flows for thin film devices from schematics of their structure. This software uses a laboratory specific database of process recipes to produce process flows for a specific set of laboratory resources (furnaces, etchers, lithography equipment, etc.) and generates process statistics that help to choose the most suitable process flow in a comparative manner. The process compiler is augmented by several auxiliary modules: a device builder, process viewer, and database editor thus forming a self-contained process design environment. This paper concentrates on the algorithms used to construct process flows from schematic device representations. The compiler algorithms first extract a directed graph representation of the device organization stored in the form of a restricted square boolean matrix. This matrix is used to generate linear ordered lists of device layers which serve as footprints for the construction of process flows. Process flows are then constructed from these lists through a series of conversions, expansions, and insertions of process steps.


T-cells are activated when their receptor molecules recognize complexes of MHC proteins bound to peptides on the surface of neighbouring cells. Each T-cell expresses one variant of many possible receptor molecules, which are generated through a partially random process that culminates in approximately 107 possible T-cell receptors. As the peptide sequence bound to an MHC molecule is also highly variable, the optimal strategy of an antigen-presenting cell for displaying peptide-MHC complexes is not obvious. A natural compromise arises between aggressive peptide filtering, displaying a few peptides with high stability MHC binding in high abundance and regularity, and promiscuous peptide binding, which can result in more diverse peptides being presented, but in lower abundance. To study this compromise, we have combined a model of MHC class I peptide filtering with a simple probabilistic description of the interactions between antigen presenting cells (APCs) and cytotoxic T-cells (CTLs). By asking how long it takes, on average, for an APC to encounter a circulating CTL that recognises one of the peptides being presented by its MHC molecules, we found that there often exists an optimal degree of peptide filtering, which minimises this expected time until first encounter. The optimal degree of filtering is often in the range of values that the chaperone molecule tapasin confers on peptide selection, but varies between MHC class I molecules that have different peptide binding properties. Our model-based analysis therefore helps to understand how variations in the antigen presentation profile might be exploited for vaccine design or immunotherapies.


AIM: To assess ability of cardiac autonomic function to cope with the physiological challenge of standing in Type 2 Diabetics. METHODS: This study was conducted in 40 normal and 40 Type 2 Diabetics, using short term Heart Rate variability test. RESULTS: The change in HRV values between the two postures were significantly reduced in Diabetics. ΔSDNN; Δ RMSSD, ΔNN50; ΔpNN50; Δ LF; Δ HF; Δ LF/HF (p<0.05) compared to healthy controls. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the presence of subclinical cardiac autonomic dysfunction in asymptomatic diabetics. More prospective studies on a large scale are required to validate this inference.


This paper introduces McPAT, an integrated power, area, and timing modeling framework that supports comprehensive design space exploration for multicore and manycore processor configurations ranging from 90nm to 22nm and beyond. At the microarchitectural level, McPAT includes models for the fundamental components of a chip multiprocessor, including in-order and out-of-order processor cores, networks-on-chip, shared caches, integrated memory controllers, and multiple-domain clocking. At the circuit and technology levels, McPAT supports critical-path timing modeling, area modeling, and dynamic, short-circuit, and leakage power modeling for each of the device types forecast in the ITRS roadmap including bulk CMOS, SOI, and double-gate transistors. McPAT has a flexible XML interface to facilitate its use with many performance simulators. Combined with a performance simulator, McPAT enables architects to consistently quantify the cost of new ideas and assess tradeoffs of different architectures using new metrics like energy-delay-area2 product (EDA2P) and energy-delay-area product (EDAP). This paper explores the interconnect options of future manycore processors by varying the degree of clustering over generations of process technologies. Clustering will bring interesting tradeoffs between area and performance because the interconnects needed to group cores into clusters incur area overhead, but many applications can make good use of them due to synergies of cache sharing. Combining power, area, and timing results of McPAT with performance simulation of PARSEC benchmarks at the 22nm technology node for both common in-order and out-of-order manycore designs shows that when die cost is not taken into account clustering 8 cores together gives the best energy-delay product, whereas when cost is taken into account configuring clusters with 4 cores gives the best EDA2P and EDAP.


Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) has been extended to the ^(32)S and ^(34)S stable isotopes of sulfur (δ^(34)S) through the combination of gas chromatography (GC) and multi-collector inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICPMS). The molecular level resolution of sulfur-CSIA is greatly expanding the biogeochemical applications of existing sulfur isotope methods, particularly with respect to organic sulfur compounds. Sulfur participates in a variety of important biogeochemical and redox processes, with distinctive isotopic fractionations accompanying many of these. For example, hydrogen sulfide produced during microbial sulfate reduction can be strongly depleted in ^(34)S (up to 66‰ in δ^(34)S) compared to the source sulfate. An improved understanding of sulfur biogeochemistry at the molecular level will assist in the interpretation of studies of sulfur cycling associated with the modern and paleo-environments. A comparison of δ34S values between organic and inorganic sulfur species may help to illuminate the complex role of sulfur in sedimentary organic diagenesis and the pathways of organic sulfur formation. The δ^(34)S values of individual organic sulfur compounds from natural settings can be currently measured by GC-ICPMS with impressive accuracy, precision (<0.5‰) and sensitivity (≥20 pmol S) over a broad range of analyte volatility. The new sulfur-CSIA capability has already been used to study pathways of early diagenetic organic sulfurisation, volatile sulfur emission from the oceans, oil correlations, thermochemical sulfate reduction of petroleum hydrocarbons, and the relationship between OSCs and mineralising sulfides of large metal deposits.


The purpose of this study was to determine the concentration of leukotriene C4 (LTC4), a potent inflammatory mediator, in human symptomatic and asymptomatic periradicular lesions. Periradicular lesions from each of six asymptomatic and symptomatic patients were obtained. Six pulps from unerupted third molars served as the negative controls, six samples of chronically inflamed gingival tissues served as the positive controls. All samples were immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen. The concentration of LTC4 was determined by reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography. Representative samples from each group were fixed in formalin, sectioned and stained with haemotoxylin and eosin. The concentrations of LTC4 found in the periradicular lesions were significantly higher than those in uninflamed pulpal tissue (P = 0.027). However, no statistically significant difference was found between the concentration of LTC4 in the periradicular lesions of the symptomatic patients and those found in the asymptomatic patients and in the samples of the chronically inflamed gingival tissue (P > 0.05). This data would suggest that among other inflammatory mediators, LTC4 participates in the pathogenesis of human periradicular lesions.


A new modification of the Homotopy Analysis Method (HAM) is presented for highly nonlinear ODEs on a semi-infinite domain. The main advantage of the modified HAM is that the number of terms in the series solution can be greatly reduced; meanwhile the accuracy of the solution can be well retained. In this way, much less CPU is needed. Two typical examples are used to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed approach.


Even when it is acknowledge that biomedical sciences are still essentially experimental and they lack a predictive theory in most subfields, it is the more important to underline the few niches where theoretical/computational approaches add creatively to the biological insight. Protein sequence analysis can predict aspects of molecular and cellular function in many cases and, in this way, decisively direct follow-up experiments for the characterization of yet uncharacterized genes and the discovery of new cellular pathways. Therefore, the analysis of gene/protein sequences is advised to become an integral part of any molecular and cellular biological research, best in the early and planning phase since this allows avoiding unnecessary experiments. At the same time, typical mutational, expression profiling or interaction screens generate dozens or hundreds of protein targets that might require in-depth sequence analysis that, for example with available WWW-tools, will take days for a single target. The ANNOTATOR software suite provides the environment to carry out all routine steps for protein sequence analysis automatically and to enable the researcher to focus her/his time on thinking over the results. The ANNOTATOR has ca. 40 academic tools for protein sequence studies and all major databases built-in together with a number of sophisticated workflows that have shown their potential in previous discoveries. The talk will give an insight into the biological and software design concepts of the ANNOTATOR. The application discussed include the discoveries SET domain, ATGL and Eco1 functions, the prediction of various posttranslational modifications from protein sequence as well as the extension of the ANNOTATOR for protein mass-spectrometry data analysis tasks.


Facial aesthetics is an increasingly important aspect of orthodontic treatment. Assessment of the effects of treatment, however, is fraught with difficulties both of subjective judgement and clinical evaluation. This article addresses these problems and reviews the relevant literature.


Reciprocal physiological modulation of heart rate is controlled by the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems acting on the sino-atrial (SA) node. However there is little direct in vivo work examining the role of stimulatory and inhibitory G-protein signalling in the SA node. We have previously shown that the inhibitory G-proteins Gαi2, is important in mediating vagal tone to the murine heart with global Gαi2 knock-out mice developing tachycardia with loss of high frequency power and being resistant to the effects of the muscarinic agonist, carbachol (Zuberi et al. 2008). However, it is unclear whether the effect is mediated entirely via Gαi2 signalling at the end-organ level or whether there is a central component. I sought to investigate this by studying mice with conditional knock outs (KO) of Gαi2 and Gαo in cardiac tissue by using αMHC cre mice. Studies with αMHC cre mice using the cre lox-P approach were negative as there was no difference in heart rate variability (HRV) and electrocardiograph (ECG) parameters between controls and conditional KO of Gαi2 and Gαo, though by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) we could see reduction in the level of their expression. I assumed deletion of Gαi2 and Gαo may not be complete in the SA nodal region where G-protein inwardly rectifying K+ channels (GIRK) channels are active. I sought to investigate this further by studying mice with conditional deletion of Gαi2 and Gαs in the conduction system of the murine heart using cre lox-P technology. I crossed mice in which cre recombinase expression was driven by a tamoxifen-inducible conduction system-specific construct with Gαs floxed and Gαi2 floxed mice. I studied the heart rate responses of adult mice compared with littermate controls by using ECG radio-telemetry before and after administration of tamoxifen. The mice with conditional deletion of Gαs and Gαi2 had a loss of diurnal variation and were bradycardic or tachycardic in the daytime respectively. In mice with conditional deletion of Gαs there was a selective loss of low frequency power whilst with deletion of Gαi2 there was a loss of high frequency power in power spectral analysis of heart rate variability. There was no evidence of pathological arrhythmia. Pharmacological modulation of heart rate by isoprenaline was impaired in the Gαs conditional knock-out mice but a muscarinic agonist was still able to slow the heart rate in Gαi2 conditional knock-out mice. We conclude that Gαs and Gαi2 mediated signalling in the sino-atrial node is important in the reciprocal regulation of heart rate through the autonomic nervous system. Another way to look at the role of specific gene function is via gain of function mutation. Regulators of G-protein signalling (RGS) proteins are a recently discovered family of proteins that negatively regulate G-protein-coupled signalling pathways. Thus, I used RGS-insensitive (RGSi) mutant Gα subunits, which contain a G184S point mutation in their switch I region that prevents binding of RGS proteins and the subsequent Gα deactivation. RGS insensitive Gαi2 and Gαo mice (RGSiGαi2 and RGSiGαo) were found to be tachycardic and lost diurnal variation in heart rate. The A1 receptor agonist, 2-chloro-N6-cyclo-pentlyadenosine (CCPA) and M2 receptor agonist, carbachol showed an enhanced inhibitory response (bradycardic) to RGSiGαo but this enhanced bradycardic response was observed only with carbachol for RGSiGαi2. HRV signature was found to be lost in RGSiGαo but not with RGSiGαi2. Interestingly, studies with RGSiGαi2 and RGSiGαo prove a role of the central nervous system in controlling the heart rate in these knock-ins. Gαi2 levels are up-regulated in heart failure. However, it was not clear whether its role is protective or maladaptive in the context of heart failure. Hence, I subjected the mice in which cre recombinase expression was driven by a tamoxifen-inducible conduction system-specific construct with Gαs floxed and Gαi2 floxed mice to myocardial infarction by left anterior descending (LAD) artery ligation. I found that cardiac-specific knock-out of Gαs attenuates left ventricular (LV) dilation and improves LV contractile function after myocardial infarction (MI). Conditional deletion of Gαs was found to be protective as this was reflected in increased fractional shortening (FS%), ejection fraction (EF%) and fractional area change (FAC%) on echocardiographic analysis after MI. LV remodelling was observed in cardiac-specific knock-out of Gαi2 to a certain extent with chamber dilatation and decreased EF% and FS% and FAC%. In summary absence of Gαs is found to preserve LV function may be by its bradycardic nature may protect the heart against the ischemic insult, although the precise mechanism that helps against the adverse LV remodelling need to be explored. On the other hand absence of Gαi2 and moderate tachycardia in these mice didn't have any detrimental effects on LV remodelling.


Consumer's attitude has been extensively examined in general marketing literature.Empirical work in tourism is also abundant on the subject. However, most extant tourism studies were lacking in conceptual foundations. This was particular evident in the research field of long-haul pleasure travel. The current study was designed to contribute to the field by applying the conceptual molar model of multidimensional expectancy-value attitudes (MEVAs) to the study of long-haul travelers, with two specific objectives: 1) identifying an attitude construct of long-haul pleasure travel, and 2) examining the relationship between the elements of the construct and the need recognition of long-haul pleasure travelers. Using a secondary survey data, the study identified the attitude construct as consisting of the eight dimensions of travel arrangement, price-value, travel aversion, timing of travel, cold winter avoidance, preference for winter attractions, novelty and activity level, and length of travel. It was found that the first six of the dimensions were useful in predicting the likelihood of an individual to be a traveler, intender, or nonintender of long-haul pleasure travel. The study concluded that the conceptual molar model of MEVAS was appropriate and applicable in studying the attitude-behavior relationship for longhaul pleasure travel.


Background: Knowledge products such as clinical practice guidelines (CPG) are vitally required for evidence-based medicine (EBM). Although the EBM, to some extent, has been attended during recent years, no result has achieved thus far. The current qualitative study is to identify the barriers to establishing development system and implementation of CPGs in Iran. Methods: Twelve semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of health policy and decision makers, the experts of development and or adaptation of CPGs, and the experts of EBM education and development. In addition, 11 policy-makers, decision-makers, and managers of the health system participated in a focus group discussion. The analysis of the study data was undertaken by thematic framework approach. Result: Six themes emerged in order of their frequency include practice environment, evidence-based health care system, individual professional, politician and political context, innovation (CPG) and patients. Most of the indications in the treatment environment focused on such sub-themes as regulations and rules, economical factors, organizational context, and social context. While the barriers related to the conditions of treatment environment, service provider and the features of innovation and patients had been identified before in other studies, very little attention has been paid to the evidence-based health care system and politician and political context Conclusion: The lack of an evidence-based healthcare system and a political macro support are mentioned as the key barriers in Iran as a developing country. The establishment of a system of development and implementation of CPGs as the evidence-based practice tools will not be possible, unless the barriers are removed.


Nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) composites incorporated with four kinds of rice bran carbon (RBC), with different particle sizes, were fabricated by latex compounding method based on the superior dispersion ability of RBCs in NBR latex. Field emission scanning electron microscopy was employed to confirm the uniform dispersion of filler in the matrix. The mechanical property and oxygen transmission rates of the vulcanizates were studied. The RBC with smallest particle size exhibited best reinforcing performance. Then RBC/NBR composites, with different concentration of (3-mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane (MPTMS), were prepared by a facile process. MPTMS, for the purpose of enhancing the compatibility between the filler and matrix, was incorporated into the rubber by an in situ method. Morphological analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and dynamic mechanical analysis tests confirmed the improvement of the interfacial interactions between the RBC and NBR matrix. The incorporation of MPTMS significantly enhanced the mechanical and oxygen barrier properties of the RBC/NBR composites. Both, the mechanical property and oxygen barrier abilities increased as the loading of the MPTMS increased, within a range of 0–9 phr. POLYM. COMPOS., 2016. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers


Four patients are presented with a carotid body tumor and three patients who may have had a carotid body tumor, all from one family of 81 members. This confirms the familial incidence of this tumor. A short review of the literature is presented. An autosomal dominant inheritance seems most likely in familial carotid body tumor. Screening family relatives of patients to diagnose a carotid body tumor at an early stage should make surgery easier and reduce the complication rate associated with surgery.


This paper is focused on the study of entropic regularization in optimal transport as a smoothing method for Wasserstein estimators, through the prism of the classical tradeoff between approximation and estimation errors in statistics. Wasserstein estimators are defined as solutions of variational problems whose objective function involves the use of an optimal transport cost between probability measures. Such estimators can be regularized by replacing the optimal transport cost by its regularized version using an entropy penalty on the transport plan. The use of such a regularization has a potentially significant smoothing effect on the resulting estimators. In this work, we investigate its potential benefits on the approximation and estimation properties of regularized Wasserstein estimators. Our main contribution is to discuss how entropic regularization may reach, at a lowest computational cost, statistical performances that are comparable to those of un-regularized Wasserstein estimators in statistical learning problems involving distributional data analysis. To this end, we present new theoretical results on the convergence of regularized Wasserstein estimators. We also study their numerical performances using simulated and real data in the supervised learning problem of proportions estimation in mixture models using optimal transport.


Connecting the wired and wireless networks particularly the Mobile ad hoc Network is interesting in real world situations due to its usefulness and practicality. Different mechanisms have been proposed to integrate MANETs and the Internet. These strategies differ in gateway discovery mechanism, cell switching criteria, ad hoc routing protocol. In this paper, Mobile-IP is integrated with Hierarchical Cluster-Head Gateway Switch Routing (CGSR) Protocol to provide Internet access to the mobile node of the ad hoc Network. This paper discusses a mechanism for selecting an alternate route in case if the Cluster Head is unable to forward the packets to the destination. The proposed framework provides bi-directional connectivity between the MANET and the Internet nodes. A detailed performance evaluation is made based on mobility of cluster heads and cluster gateways and other network parameters.


An examination of the surface textures on detrital garnets shows that conchoidal fractures, V-shaped etch pits, and other marks of unknown origin can be modified by chemical etching to produce features which resemble chattermark trails produced by slip-stick motion. In order to differentiate false trails from those produced by glacial grinding, it is recommended that the altered surfaces of garnets be examined under a scanning electron microscope. An analysis of chattermark trails on garnets from glaciogenic deposits from Nova Scotia, Denmark, and south-central Ontario shows that there is a wide variation in the percentage of garnets with chattermark trails in different glacial environments. However, after local anomalies in the percentage of Chattermarked garnets are averaged out by recycling and dispersion, there is evident a crude correlation between the type of glaciation and the average percentage of Chattermarked garnets in glacial deposits.


For some time I have felt that doctors have created unnecessary confusion in the rules intended to take account of the different body sizes of infants, children, and adults. The difficulty arises largely from failure to utilize available knowledge of physiological relationships. Doctors know that total metabolism is considerably greater per kilogram of body weight in infants than in adults. Consequently, total metabolism rather than weight is the appropriate measure of those functions dependent on rate of metabolic turnover. Body weight is the measure of the mass of water, electrolyte, and protoplasm in which metabolic changes are taking place. In other words, body size has two dimensions. Attempts to bypass either of these dimensions fails to bring into view the relevant physiological relationships and establishes no adequate frame of reference which permits logical analysis. However, using the correct dimensions, present knowledge permits the same physiological principles to be applied to


This paper presents a multi-mode Doherty power amplifier (M-DPA) MMIC. By arranging the turn-on transitions of four parallel amplifiers, two carrier and two peaking amplifiers (2C2P) mode for 6 dB output power back-off (OBO) or one carrier and three peaking amplifiers (1C3P) mode for 12 dB OBO can be configured. The performances between efficiency and gain can be balanced according to the selected mode. For verification, the M-DPA MMIC was implemented using a 0.25 μm GaN-HEMT process for 5G NR applications (3.3-3.6 GHz band). At 3.55 GHz, the drain efficiencies (DEs) of 37.7 and 33.8% and power gains of 8.3 and 6.4 dB were obtained for the 2C2P mode at 37.0 dBm and for the 1C3P mode at 31.0 dBm, respectively.


The objective of the study was to examine supervisors' perceptions on the value of undergraduate research projects at the Zimbabwe Open University. The study used a pretested questionnaire survey targeting 40 (N=40) supervisors and was triangulated with key informant interviews. The supervisors had adequate experience as mentors of the Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in Geography and Environmental Studies. The supervisors perceived research projects as a valuable vehicle for the development of independent research skills as it provided learners the opportunity to specialise in areas of their interest. The key indicators for positive perception of the research project were the acknowledgment of the role of the supervisors throughout the research process, and the opportunity to co-publish with the learner. The supervisors believed in a guided undergraduate research process although some had doubts on the possibility of generating valuable information from research projects that are limited in scope and are not adequately funded. It is recommended that training workshops should be conducted to build the capacity of supervisors through the process of supervising undergraduate research.


Rb2MnCl4·2H2O, Cs2MnBr4·2H2O and Rb2MnBr·2H2O are three antiferromagnetic substances of triclinic structure with Néel temperatures 2.24, 2.84 and 3.33 K respectively. Magnetization measurements have been carried out at 1.4 K in pulsed magnetic fields up to 10 T (100 kG). Exchange and anisotropy fields are calculated from the spin flop and the saturation fields.


— JPL is developing a new omnidirectional optical terminal that will provide fast communications and accurate navigation for swarms of spacecraft. The omnidirectional optical communicator/navigator (OOCN) under development presents a truncated icosahedral geometry that contains arrays of miniature laser telescopes and optical detectors. The miniature optical telescopes are located at the center of each OOCN facet and allow for full sky coverage. The optical detectors, symmetrically deployed on each vertex of the OOCN body, have two purposes: to receive fast incoming communications signals and accurately determine the angle of arrival (AOA) of the incoming signal. The continuous AOA tracking performed by the OOCN mechanism makes it ideally suited for swarm navigation as well. In this paper, we provide a general description of the main OOCN features: 1) high data rate communications, 2) full sky coverage, and 3) ability to maintain multiple links simultaneously. The current OOCN prototype operates at a wavelength of 650 nm, and uses low-power single-mode laser diodes and fast silicon photodetectors. We present the latest experimental results of AOA and pointing testing obtained with this prototype in our optical laboratory. Lastly, we present examples of future missions that could be enabled by the OOCN.


In general, people read texts and decide by themselves to measure levels of understandability and readability, which takes a lot of time and efforts. We believe visualizing readability gives intuitive impact on how difficult the texts will be before examining the texts further. Text visualization aims to provide structural characteristics of text contents in an efficient way. By using massive text data, such as books or documents, this study suggests readability measurement factors and formulas for the suggested methods that visualize texts by extracting a key factor 'length' for readability. In addition to the proposed methods, this study verifies effectiveness of visualization through the test of the case studies. The paper also includes case study findings that readers can have readability information not from independent texts, but from the comparison of previous texts, and therefore it becomes easier to accommodate difficult level of new books.


This study proposes a novel transformerless single-phase three-wire line-interactive uninterruptible power supply (UPS). This UPS comprises a three-leg power converter with series-connected DC capacitors, a decoupling circuit, a filter inductor set, a filter capacitor set, a battery set, a switch set and a digital signal processor. The first and the second power electronic legs are controlled to generate a set of mixed currents, containing DC and AC components, to perform the functions of charging/discharging battery set, active power filter (APF) and an inverter. The third power electronic leg is controlled to generate an AC current to serve as an APF and an inverter. The series-connected DC capacitors act as the energy buffer and establish the DC bus voltage for the power converter. The power flow of the power converter is bidirectional. When the utility is in the normal condition, the power converter will charge the battery set and serve as an APF. When the utility fails, the power converter will generate a sinusoidal voltage to supply the uninterrupted power to the critical loads. A prototype is developed and tested to verify the performance of the proposed UPS. The experimental results show that the proposed UPS has the expected performance.


We analyzed long-term trends in the incidence of a first acute myocardial infarction and in case-fatality rates among employees of the Du Pont Company from 1957 through 1983. A steady decline in incidence was observed among male employees. The annual age-adjusted rate in the 1957-1959 period was 3.19 per 1000, as compared with 2.29 per 1000 in the 1981-1983 period--a decline of 28.2 per cent. The rate of decline was higher among salaried (white-collar) employees than among production workers receiving hourly wages. No trend was seen among female employees, but the number of cases may have been to small to detect a decline. Beginning in 1969, the 24-hour case-fatality rate showed a moderate decline, but after 1975, there was a sharp drop in the 30-day case-fatality rate among persons who survived 24 hours after the attack. These declines did not begin until several years after the decline in incidence had begun. This study and others suggest that improved medical care probably made some contribution to the decline in mortality associated with coronary heart disease, but the major source of the decline has been a reduction in the incidence of the disease.


This review will first describe problems in the definition of the term binge eating, especially in the absence of purging (vomiting, laxative abuse). We highlight current approaches in the classification of obesity, and then provide an overview of the available literature on differences between obese binge eaters and obese non-binge eaters. Many studies indicate that binge eating is common among the female obese, with a frequency ranging from 23 to 46% among those seeking treatment for weight reduction. Despite differences in the definitions of binge eating and variability among the samples investigated, there is strong evidence that binge eaters represent a distinct subgroup among the obese. Binge eating obese exhibit significantly more eating and weight-related pathology, as well as more psychopathology compared to their non-binge eating obese counterparts.


Two hundred seventy-nine patients with cervical condylomas or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) were treated as outpatients with cryotherapy. Every patient followed received a Papanicolaou smear, colposcopic evaluation, cervical biopsy and endocervical curettage four months following treatment. The treatment failure rates for CIN 1/condyloma, CIN 2 and CIN 3 were 2.9%, 5.7% and 4.3%, respectively. The percentage of patients eventually requiring conization was 0.7, 1.6 and 2.7, respectively. No patient who had a negative clinical and histologic examination at four months subsequently had a recurrence. The mean follow-up was 23.1, 26.0 and 35.0 months for CIN 1/condyloma, CIN 2 and CIN 3, respectively. Proper triage is important with CIN 3, and a complete colposcopic examination at the initial follow-up visit is valuable for predicting outcome.


To research the optimal path problem in wireless sensor network (WSN), Genetic Algorithms, Differential Evolution, Particle Swarm Optimization and Dijkstra algorithm are used in this study. Experimental comparisons show that the different algorithms may represent obvious difference under different network size. During small-scale network, the Dijkstra algorithm needs the least run time and obtains the highest success rate to find optimal solutions. However, the Differential Evolution and Particle Swarm Optimization provide the better performance than Dijkstra algorithm under big-scale network. In a word, Dijkstra algorithm and Differential Evolution show up better performance and greater adaptability among the above algorithms, respectively.


The present study was designed to obtain information about life history traits of Lacerta viridis in the Belen population with an altitude of 292 m. In the adult sample (21 males and 15 females), the age ranged from 3 – 10 (X = = 6.97) years for both sexes collectively, 5 – 10 (X = 7.43) years in males, 3 – 8 (X = 6.33) years in females and not differed significantly between sexes. Age at sexual maturity was 2 – 3 years for both sexes. However, a confirmation is required with some sexual characters (e.g., the presence of eggs for female, developed hemipenes for male) for age at sexual maturity in both sexes. The mean body size (SVL) was not significantly different between sexes. There was no correlation between SVL and age for males while there was a positive correlation for females. A male-biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD = 0.07) was observed in the population of L. viridis.


The task of factorizing a given integer is notoriously difficult, to the extent of rendering computationally infeasible the extraction of factors of numbers beyond a certain size. This infeasibility is what makes the RSA cryptographic system, for example, secure. We describe an analogue method of factorizing. Just as with traditional algorithms, there is a practical limit to the size of numbers that the method can factorize; in contrast with traditional algorithms, however, the method suffers no increase in calculation time as the input number approaches this limit. The process described exploits a direct physical implementation of a geometric formulation of the problem of factorizing; this allows factors of numbers within the allowed range to be ascertained (or else primality guaranteed) virtually instantaneously.


Amino acids (AA) play an important role in the metabolism and functioning of the brain. This is explained not only by their exceptional role as sources of synthesis of a large number of biologically important compounds (proteins, mediators, lipids, biologically active amines). Amino acids and their derivatives are involved in synaptic transmission as neurotransmitters and neuromodulators (glutamate, aspartate, glycine, GABA, taurine), and some AA are involved in the formation of nervous system mediators: methionine – acetylcholine, DOPA, dopamine; tyrosine – catecholamines; serine and cysteine – taurine; tryptophan – serotonin; histidine – histamine; L-arginine – NO; glutamic acid – glutamate.


CBA/N mice carry a recessive mutation at the X-linked immune deficiency (xid) locus that precludes their response to certain thymus-independent (TI) antigens. We have determined that xid is situated on the X-chromosome between the genes Ta (tabby) and Hyp (hypophosphatemia), genetic distances being Ta-6.6 +/- 1.8-xid-12.2 +/- 2.3-Hyp.


The optically assisted ultrasonic velocity-change imaging method was applied to obtain the spectroscopic image of nano-particles, which were expected as markers for drug delivery system and photo-thermal therapy, in tissue mimic phantoms. Phantoms including gold nano-rods or semiconductor nano-particles were prepared. The ultrasonic velocity-change images of phantoms were obtained using illumination of laser diodes with various emission wavelengths corresponded to the absorption spectrum of nano-particle. Experimental results showed that our method has the potential to find the optical absorption agent in biological tissue.


When humans grasp and manipulate objects there are many choices to make, such as where to place the digits or how much force each digit should apply. This problem is highly unconstrained as infinitely many different combinations of finger positions and force distributions lead to stable grasps. This is due to the many redundancies at different levels of the sensorimotor system. In this paper, we investigate the strategy used by humans in distributing finger positions and forces while a hand-held object was perturbed by force and torque in a predictable or unpredictable fashion. Our results revealed that there was a substantial systematic variability among participants' initial placement of the digits on the object. However, within participants' digit placement was rather stereotypical. Moreover, the normal forces applied by the digits co-varied with their initial horizontal and vertical placements. Importantly, we recorded an effect of the horizontal and vertical shift between the thumb and the virtual finger positions on the grip force. Principal component analysis revealed that more than 95% of the digit force variance was accounted by the first two components. Finally, participants learned to compensate the external torque within the first perturbations within each trial during the holding phase. We propose that digit forces were modulated online based on self-chosen digit locations during the holding phase in order to successfully compensate sudden external torques.


Charged thiourea derivatives containing one and two methylated or octylated pyridinium ion centers and a tetraarylborate or triflate counteranion are reported. These novel catalysts are much more active in the Friedel-Crafts reactions of trans-β-nitroalkenes with N-methylindoles than the privileged N, N'-bis(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)thiourea (i.e., Schreiner's thiourea) by up to 2-3 orders of magnitude. A previously reported UV-vis spectroscopic method by Kozlowski et al. was exploited to rationalize their reactivity order along with noncharged analogues. These results offer a new design strategy for organocatalysts by introducing positively charged centers without adding additional N-H, O-H, or S-H hydrogen bond donor sites.


A SiO2 glass-cladding YAP:Ce crystal fiber (SYCF) was fabricated using the modified rod-in-tube method. The inter-diffusion of Ce3+ between the YAP:Ce core and SiO2 glass cladding is investigated by an energy dispersive spectrometer and a refractive index profiler. Photoluminescence (PL) properties of both SYCF and fiber fabrication materials are compared. A wide PL band from 320 to 600 nm in SYCF is observed showing a different response when compared to YAP:Ce crystal material. The radiative life time of SYCF at 370 and 486 are approximately 29 and 61 ns, respectively. We confirm the PL center belongs to the Ce3+ in two types of YAP:Ce and SiO2 host using decay kinetics. In addition, the competition mechanism of Ce3+ ion transition from YAP to SiO2 is explained using a microstructural model. The scintillation and luminescence properties of SYCF indicate promising potential applications in remote radiative environment monitoring and in radiotherapy.


In order to study fundamental factors influencing storage of compression-dewatered wood chip bales, compressed bigtooth aspen chips were compared to noncompressed chips to note differences in parenchyma cell viability, initial heating, and early microflora types. Immediately after pressing (28 MPa for 5 min), surface area of chips stained as a result of parenchyma cell dehydrogenase activity on triphenyltetrazolium chloride was reduced from 83% (noncompressed) to 23% (compressed). Half-life of remaining viable parenchyma cells was reduced by 14 days at ambient temperatures. Temperatures in insulated chip bales were 30% higher for compressed chips after 24 h than in noncompressed chips. After 10 days of ambient storage, bacteria were abundant in the compressed chips, while Phycomycetes and Fungi imperfecti were more frequently isolated from the noncompressed chips. Such differences in compressed chips may influence the fuel potential of baled chips stored for extended periods by changing the pattern and parameters of organism activity.


Summary
Mouse mammary tumour virus contains an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase. The enzyme requirements and physical properties of the reaction products are similar to those of other RNA tumour viruses, despite the unique characteristics of the virus in other properties.


1. Status of this Memo This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. 2. Abstract This memo defines a portion of the Management Information Base (MIB) for use with network management protocols in TCP/IP-based internets. In particular, it defines objects for managing Frame Relay interfaces on DTEs.


In this study, the lifting and carrying of freight and luggage at a large German airport is classified by typical conditions of performance. These manual load handling tasks take place in height-restricted workplaces. Different methods for an ergonomic evaluation of these tasks are used. The results of the epidemiological, physiological, and biomechanical studies indicated a strain bottleneck during loading tasks in aircraft holds. Therefore, an additional laboratory study was done, in order to analyse the influence of work weight and weight of work object on heart rate, subjective RPE, and number of work objects handled. As a result of the study, the airport has developed a special lifting and carrying training for the aircraft handlers which aims to reduce strain on the postural and locomotor apparatus by an appropriate technique of work. The training programme consists of theoretical instruction by a company doctor and practical exercises under the supervision of a specially-trained sports teacher.


In this paper, we propose a simulation platform to evaluate rescue robots in active disaster environment. At developing robots, a simulator is useful to design and check the motions and functions of robots. Rescue robots with mobility have to be evaluated in active environments that situations around the robots change dynamically as real environments. To our knowledge, no simulation system supports dynamically changing simulation environments. We propose active environment that provides realistic testing situations for rescue robots.


In this paper, we propose methods of detecting Doppler outliers which cause positioning errors at Doppler-aided GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning, and correcting the errors. We apply the existing detection method based on the innovation process in Kalman filtering to Doppler outlier problems, and we propose a novel detection method based on the measurements by the difference between C/A code pseudoranges and Doppler shift range-rates. Both methods are based on chi-squared tests. We apply two correction methods which are Doppler bias exclusion, or the estimation for detected anomalies. The efficient detection of anomalous observables can be developed to RAIM (Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring), and useful to achieve higher accuracy positioning for increasing satellite signals by multi-frequencies and multi-GNSSs. Doppler shift observables are utilized on a priority basis even in urban areas because of immunity to cycleslip and continuous availability, however unexpected Doppler outliers prone to cause positioning errors. The experimental results of positioning by using real receiver data show the feasibility of the proposed detection and correction methods.


cells 2,250,000 ; haemoglobin 43 per cent. : white cells -5.200 (polymorphs 35.5 per cent. ; lymphocytes 58 per cent. monocytes 6.5 per cent.); reticulocytes 1.6 per cent. ; coagulation time 347 minutes; bleeding time 3 minutes. The spleen and liver were not enlarged, and his blood pressure was 110150 mm. Hg. On July 12 the blood picture had become worse: red cells 1,500,000; haemoglobini 30 per cent. ; white cells 1.800 (no immature cells seen). There were retinal haemorrhages in both eyes; his temperature was swinging between 100° and 103° F.; his mouth was grossly septic and bleeding was continuing from the gums; his nose was bleeding. On July 20 a purpuric rash was present on the trunk. On July 22 the blood picture was: red cells 2,250,00; haemoglobin 45 per cent.; white cells 2.000 (polymorphs 26 per cent.; lymphocytes 65 per cent.; monocytes 4 per cent. ; myelocytes 5 per cent.). During the fortnight since admission treatment had consisted of three transfusions-each of 500 c.cm. of blood -with citrate solution-and injections of liver, pentide, and soluseptasine, with iron and marmite by motuth. Though the blood picture had shown only a slight improvement his general condition was markedly improved. The oozing from the gums ceased, the mouth was cleaner, and he was taking nourishment well. On August 12 his blood picture was: red cells 2,250,000; haemoglobin 43 per cent.; white cells 1,600. Another transfusion of 300 c.cm. of blood with citrate solution was given. The administration of pentide and soluseptasine had been stopped, but iron, liver, and marmite were being given. On August 26 there was a setback in the blood count: red cells 1,750.000; haemoglobin 41 per cent.; white cells, 1.800. The diagnosis was aplastic anaemia.


Many of today's organizations design and define their products in solid-model-based computer-aided design (CAD) systems. Analysis of these models via computational fluid dynamics (CFD) requires that the grid generator work with the boundary representation that the CAD system automatically produces. Unfortunately, the exact form of the boundary representation is closely linked to the solid model construction process, and is often divorced from the aerodynamic intent of the object. Described herein is a logical extension to traditional boundary representations, called quilts and chains, which gives the analyst the ability to work with the underlying solid model from the perspective of the aerodynamicist, instead of from the perspective of the CAD model builder. For analysts using unstructured grids, the consequence is that the unusually small triangles associated with the sliver faces that result from intersections, fillets, rounds, and other modeling idiosyncrasies will not be produced, thereby improving both the quality and grid-generation speed for many configurations. For analysts using structured grids, the consequence is that the grid can follow the aerodynamic intent of the body rather than the myriad of edges generated during the generation of the solid model; once again, improved grid quality and significantly decreased grid generation time result. Background


This paper concerns a class of deterministic impulse control problems, arising in inventory control. A notable feature of the problem formulation is the presence of an end-point constraint. In consequence, the value function may be discontinuous. Viability theory provides a characterization of the value function as the unique lower semicontinuous solution to a Bensoussan-Lions type quasi-variational inequality (QVI), suitably interpreted for nondifferentiable, extended valued functions. Yet there are few examples in the literature of the use of this analytical machinery. This paper provides such an example. The example, which concerns a problem for which the value function is neither everywhere finite valued nor continuously differentiable on the interior of its effective domain, illustrates what is involved in calculating subdifferentials and checking satisfaction of QVI (in a generalized sense). This paper also provides a summary of the underlying theory, and gathers in the Appendix proofs of key results.


Cooperative communications can significantly enhance the performance of wireless systems by exploiting the inherent spatial diversity gains. In this work, a decode-and-forward cooperative cellular system with spatial random users is investigated. Under a realistic channel model including path loss, shadowing and multipath fading, the users are selected as relays depending on their instantaneous SNR so that error propagation caused by detection errors at the relays can be mitigated. The locations of users are modeled as random point processes. Based on the theory of point processes, an analytic approach to system performance is developed to accommodate the random location of users as well as the underlying channel. The locations of the selected relays are investigated and the outage performance averaging over all possible user locations is analyzed. The accuracy of the analytical results is verified by Monte-Carlo simulations. Various issues, such as power allocation, are also investigated using the numerical results.