Nitric acid oxidation of electrospun carbon nanofibers, with varying degrees of oxidation, was carried out to understand the effect of acid treatment on the microstructure and capacitive behavior of the fibers. The increasing treatment time increased considerably the oxygen/carbon (O/C) ratio on the fiber surface, and the increase in the oxygen content was mainly contributed by the formation of carbonyl groups. However, nitric acid oxidation reduced the specific surface area and total pore volume of fibers. The specific capacitance of carbon nanofibers was closely related to the O/C ratio, and the specific capacitance of 365 F/g for carbon nanofibers treated with nitric acid for 5 h was obtained. This was ascribed to the increased fiber polarity that facilitated the diffusion of electrolyte ions into the nanofibers. Furthermore, the functional groups contributed to the pseudocapacitance, which was caused by faradaic reactions of oxygen-containing functional groups. The effect of these groups dominated that of structural change on the electrochemical performance of fibers.


The goal of the group testing problem is to identify a set of defective items within a larger set of items, using suitably-designed tests whose outcomes indicate whether any defective item is present. In this paper, we study how the number of tests can be significantly decreased by leveraging the structural dependencies between the items, i.e., by incorporating prior information. To do so, we pursue two different perspectives: (i) As a generalization of the uniform combinatorial prior, we consider the case that the defective set is uniform over a subset of all possible sets of a given size, and study how this impacts the information-theoretic limits on the number of tests for approximate recovery; (ii) As a generalization of the i.i.d. prior, we introduce a new class of priors based on the Ising model, where the associated graph represents interactions between items. We show that this naturally leads to an Integer Quadratic Program decoder, which can be converted to an Integer Linear Program and/or relaxed to a non-integer variant for improved computational complexity, while maintaining strong empirical recovery performance.


In this paper, accurate real-time heart rate tracking for multiple subjects is explored. A signal processing scheme implemented using a 60GHz, small form factor FMCW radar and compact processing unit is presented. Improvements in target discrimination and heartbeat signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are demonstrated utilizing the MIMO processing capabilities of the radar. For target discrimination, direction of arrival algorithms are used to automatically detect the number of subjects in a given scene, as well as their precise angular location relative to the radar. Subsequently, digital beamforming of the channels is used to maximize the SNR of the relatively weak heartbeat signal of each subject. Finally, a real-time frequency trace carving algorithm is used to accurately track the heartbeat signal of each subject over time. The presented method enables real-time tracking using a Jetson Nano, a compact microcomputer, through a one-second update window and offers an average mean absolute error of better than 5bpm across a wide range of scenarios.


The photodynamic therapeutic agent temoporfin, 5,10,15,20-tetra(m-hydroxyphenyl)chlorin (m-THPC) conjugated with poly(ethylene glycol) 2000 (PEG), has been analysed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), linked to electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Sufficient separation of m-THPC-PEG 2000 oligomers was achieved, enabling determination of molecular mass. The use of ESI-MS alone could not achieve this, because of too great a complexity in the mass spectrum, resulting from the presence of four PEG 2000 side chains with a wide molecular mass distribution. The technique is applicable to similar PEG conjugated compounds.


A human isoform of Collapsin Response Mediator Protein (CRMP) family proteins, CRMP-1, has been identified as a novel invasion suppressor. The aim of this study was to determine CRMP-1 expression pattern in placentas during normal pregnancy and elucidate the clinical significance of CRMP-1 expression in the placentas of women with early-onset preeclamptic pregnancies. We recruited 66 normal healthy pregnant Chinese women and 60 Chinese patients with preeclampsia [early-onset prereclampsia(ePE), n = 30 and late-onset preeclampsia(lPE) n = 30]. Gestational age-matched normal healthy pregnant women were used as controls of early-onset and late-onset preeclampsia, which were 23-33 + 6weeks, n = 18 and control B: 34-40 weeks, n = 20). Quantitative RT-PCR, Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry were used to analyze the expressions of CRMP-1 in placentas. Expression of CRMP-1 was detected in syncytio- and cytotrophoblasts of all groups using immunohistochemistry. CRMP-1 was most abundantly expressed in syncytiotrophoblasts, moderately in cytotrophoblasts and the intermediate trophoblasts especially in the first trimester. The placental expression of CRMP-1 is particularly striking in the first trimester and decreases throughout pregnancy. There is a significant increase in CRMP-1 expression in the placenta of ePE but not of lPE, as compared to gestational-matched controls. The aberrant upregulation of CRMP-1 expression may link to the mechanism of developing ePE.


Purpose
This study aims to ascertain the impact of perceived knowledge sharing systems on destructive and constructive deviance through employee engagement. Also, this study explores the moderating role of perceived organizational support (POS).

Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 403 entry-level IT employees. Structural equation modeling and PROCESS macro by Preacher and Hayes were used to examine the proposed hypotheses.

Findings
Results specified a significant impact of perceived knowledge sharing systems on employee engagement, which in turn, exhibited a negative relationship with a destructive and positive relationship with constructive deviance, respectively. Results revealed that employee engagement significantly mediated the relationship between perceived knowledge sharing systems and destructive and constructive deviance. Concerning moderating role of POS, it was found that at a high level of POS, the effect of knowledge sharing systems on employee engagement was significant in a positive direction and reached its highest level. Finally, for moderated mediation, results only supported the indirect effects of knowledge sharing systems on destructive deviance through employee engagement at different levels of POS.

Research limitations/implications
This study infers that IT organizations must implement measures to enhance employee engagement and POS by investing in embedded knowledge sharing systems. This will not only cater to the customized needs of employees but will also reduce destructive deviance and stimulate constructive deviance.

Originality/value
Given a few studies integrating workplace deviance, this is the first study that proposes an integrated process model to overcome destructive and stimulate constructive deviance among IT employees by assessing the role of knowledge sharing systems as an antecedent, employee engagement as a mediator and POS as a moderating variable.


Kilomegacycle computers will be achieved only partly by high-speed components, memories, and logics. For some time to come, speed will be derived substantially from system organization. In the final analysis, memory speed will become of primary importance in obtainable system size, and cost will prevent very large high-speed memories from matching kilomegacycle logic. This leads to consideration of hierarchies of memory. A systems basis for utilizing hierarchical memories, giving the effect of homogeneous memory systems, is presented.


In non-merger antitrust cases efficiencies should play a significant role when authorities decide on cases as many potentially anticompetitive practices may have pro-competition effects, according to economic theory. In many jurisdictions rule of reason or effect based legal standard is claimed to be the policy adopted according to the own authorities. For such legal standards, considering efficiencies is part of the standard analysis protocol. We review the practice of efficiency defense in antitrust cases in selected BRICS and European countries. The case study shows that efficiencies are considered in rulings less often than expected. Similar arguments are used across countries, suggesting a common underlying economic analysis across jurisdictions that may have different legal institutions. We have employed the cross-country comparison based on Brazil, Russia, India, and South Africa cases. We also summarize the main reasons for efficiencies analysis not to be able to reverse the concluded anticompetitive effect from a business practice.


Specific folded structures of peptides and proteins depend on the sequence of various amino acid residues as well as different types of noncovalent interactions induced by the backbone as well as side-chains of those residues. In general, secondary structures of peptides and proteins are stabilized by C6 (δ-turn), C7 (γ-turn), C10 (β-turn), C13 (α-turn), and C15 (π-turn) hydrogen-bonded rings formed through inter-residue interactions. However, it has been reported recently that an intraresidue C5 hydrogen-bond, which is relatively weak in strength, can contribute significantly to the stability of peptides and proteins. The C5 hydrogen-bond is mostly present in the β-sheet structures of peptides and proteins along with other inter-residue noncovalent interactions. In this work, we have studied structures and conformational preferences of a dipeptide Z-Gly-Pro-OH (Z = benzyloxycarbonyl) using mass-selected vibrationally resolved electronic spectroscopy and IR-UV double resonance spectroscopy coupled with quantum chemistry calculations. Two conformers of the peptide are observed in the experiment. One of the conformers has an extended β-strand type structure stabilized by C5 hydrogen-bonding, while the other one is folded through O-H ⋯ π interaction. The noncovalent interactions present in the two observed structures of the peptide are validated by natural bond orbital and noncovalent interaction calculations.


The diffraction of a plane electromagnetic wave axially incident on the concave side of a perfectly conducting parabolic reflector is solved exactly and in closed form in the frequency domain. The method of solution follows the technique originally proposed by Lamb in 1906, who, however, was unable to solve the problem addressed herein. The present solution is obtained by matching the left- and right-propagating fields at the focal line of the mirror.


A potent toxin isolated from Penicillium islandicum Sopp was found to have the composition C24H31N5O7Cl2. Mass spectrometric investigation of a partial acid hydrolyzate showed that it has the structure of cyclochlorotine. The mass spectral characteristics of polyamino alcohol-related derivatives of peptides containing beta-phenylalanine, alpha-amino butyric acid and dichloroproline were determined in the course of this work.


The large equivalent-photon fluxes accompanying Pb ion beams at the LHC initiate photon-photon and photo-nuclear interactions which dominate when the colliding nuclei have large impact parameter (ultra-peripheral collisions). These electromagnetically-induced processes are sensitive to the nuclear wave-function and in particular the nuclear modifications of the nucleon parton distribution functions (nPDFs). As such, they are complementary to the ongoing p+A program at RHIC and the LHC, as well as the upcoming electron-ion collider (EIC) program in the US. High-mass dilepton pair continuum rates have been measured and compared with theoretical predictions to test expectations for two-photon interactions, and good agreement with model calculations is obtained. Evidence for the elastic scattering of photons $\gamma\gamma\to\gamma\gamma$ (``light-by-light'' scattering) will be presented, a previously unobserved process made possible by the high photon flux and low event pileup provided by the LHC. While of intrinsic interest as a heretofore-unobserved standard model process, it has also been proposed as a clean channel for searches for beyond the standard model (BSM) physics.


The diffraction of plane electromagnetic waves by an open parallel plate waveguide with dielectric loading is investigated rigorously by using the Fourier transform technique. This method of formulation gives rise to Wiener- Hopf equations. The solution of each Wiener-Hopf equation contains a set of infinitely many constants satisfying an infinite system of linear algebraic equations. A numerical solution of this systems is obtained for various values of the distances between the plates, plate thickness, the number of wave in the dielectric region.


In this paper, we propose a technique for automatic extraction and localization of multiple moving objects captured by a moving stereo camera. Depth information obtained from the stereo matching is applied to initialize a background mask which is refined further by clustering optical flow. Simultaneous estimate for camera motion is also obtained and video frames are compensated accordingly. Refined background mask is used to model displaced frame difference (DFD) of the background. The objects are detected as outliers to this model. We also present a region boundary based change detection approach for frame difference. This approach assures change detection for uniform intensity regions. Finally we present experimental results for indoor and outdoor stereo video sequences captured with moving camera


Heparin-carrying polystyrene (HCPS) consists of low-molecular-weight heparin chains enriched in trisulfated disaccharide structures linked to a polystyrene core. In this study, the interactions between HCPSs of various molecular weights and heparin-binding growth factors, VEGF(165), FGF-2, and HGF, were compared to the interactions of the same factors with native heparin, periodate-oxidized heparin (IO(4)-heparin) and periodate-oxidized alkaline-degraded heparin (IO(4)-LMW-heparin). The binding of each growth factor to heparin-agarose beads (heparin-beads) was more strongly inhibited by HCPSs in a molecular weight-dependent manner than by native heparin or the modified heparins, indicating a stronger interaction between HCPS and these growth factors. HCPSs also inhibit heparin-binding growth factor-induced endothelial cell growth in a molecular weight-dependent manner much more strongly than the native or modified heparins. However, HCPSs did not inhibit the mitogenic activity of VEGF(121), which has a non-heparin-binding nature. Thus, HCPSs exhibit enhanced abilities to interact with each of the heparin-binding growth factors studied and to inhibit heparin-binding growth factor-induced endothelial cell proliferation in a molecular weight-dependent manner. These effects might be ascribed to the heparin-clustering effect of HCPSs.


Experienced radiologists are in short supply, and are sometimes called upon to read many images in a short amount of time. This leaves them with a limited amount of time to read images, and can lead to fatigue and stress which can be sources of error, as they overlook subtle abnormalities that they otherwise might not miss. Another factor in error rates is called satisfaction of search, where a radiologist misses a second (typically subtle) abnormality after finding the first. These types of errors are due primarily to a lack of attention to an important region of the image during the search. In this paper we discuss the use of eye tracker technology, in combination with image analysis and machine learning techniques, to learn what types of features catch the eye experienced radiologists when reading chest x-rays for diagnostic purposes, and to then use that information to produce saliency maps that predict what regions of each image might be most interesting to radiologists. We found that, out of 13 popular features types that are widely extracted to characterize images, 4 are particularly useful for this task: (1) Localized Edge Orientation Histograms (2) Haar Wavelets, (3) Gabor Filters, and (4) Steerable Filters.


Education has ever been considered as the best instrument for facilitating women empowerment and ensuring gender justice. Schools play a major role in gender socialization, and are expected to develop proper attitudes and values in children required for a gender just society. Based on the empirical studies conducted in 24 schools in Kerala, India, the gender bias existing in the overall school climate and classroom practices are exposed. The study using observation and interviews revealed that the practices in several schools are gendered with regard to the rules and regulations, dress code, seating arrangements and play provisions to boys and girls. Findings also revealed that there are gendered classroom practices existing with regard to teacher-student verbal interaction, teacher eye contact and attention, grouping of students, assigning roles and responsibilities, and disciplinary practices. Based on the findings, the author suggests measures to eliminate the gender bias from the school education system.


Dr. Kwame Nkrumah`s Non-Aligned policy has been a key variable in Ghana`s foreign policy, and successive regimes after Nhrumah have pursued this policy in various ways. Since its political reforms in 1992, Ghana has established itself as an anchor in political dispensation on the African continent. In the sub-region, Ghana is seen by other countries as a leader by exhibiting its competences and maturity in political change and good governance, and its peacekeeping involvement in the subfield. Whiles Ghana takes credit for these attributes; her response to regional issues has not always been as readily forthcoming as in others. This paper seeks to analyze Ghana`s foreign policy directions in the sub-Saharan region, and ECOWAS. How consistence or inconsistence has Ghana been, in the implementation of foreign policy objectives within the ECOWAS, between the periods of 1992-2016. The paper leads the hypothesis that, lack of a well-defined and articulated defence policy document has somewhat resulted in inconsistencies in responding to crises in the region.


We report a case of complete heart block in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis because of its rarity and unusual features like younger age, short duration and negative rheumatoid factor.


This paper reviews current literature and research relevant to the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Early Childhood Education (ECE) workforce in Australia, including data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Australia is a highly multicultural society, with one out of every three people born overseas. Anecdotally, the Australian early childhood sector is reported to have a highly multicultural workforce. Yet there is a noticeable lack of data and research concerning cultural diversity in the Australian ECE workforce. This paper reports on the data from the ABS-Census of Population and Housing (ABS-Census), the small body of literature on the CALD ECE workforce and literature pertaining to CALD in other Australian workforces to argue that more data and research is needed. Developing a richer understanding of the status, experience and contributions of CALD educators would enable the sector to recognise and support the potential benefits of such a workforce for children and families and social cohesion in Australia.


Any opacity on a chest radiograph has a wide differential diagnosis. Plain radiography and computed tomography may help to differentiate whether bone, intercostal soft tissue or mediastinum are involved. Bronchoscopy is often negative with peripheral lesions. This leaves the physician with a diagnostic problem. We examined ultrasonically 30 patients with juxta-pleural lesions and performed cutting biopsy in 27. Twenty-four of these produced positive histology (90%). The three that were not biopsied were anechoic and had pulsatile lesions due to vascular abnormalities. There were four benign lesions all with hypoechoic appearances and the 20 malignant cases showed a wide spectrum of echogenicity. Of the malignant lesions, 90% showed pleural line disruption with reduced respiratory movement suggesting chest wall invasion. There were no complications, despite using cutting biopsy.


[reaction: see text] An unusual tandem reaction sequence to form oxasilacyclopentenes from carbonyls and alkynylsilanes in the presence of a catalytic amount of nucleophilic initiator has been discovered. The reaction proceeds readily at room temperature and is applicable to a wide variety of carbonyl substrates. While the reaction scope tolerates variable substitutions on the alkynylsilane, phenylacetylene-derived silane variants consistently achieved the best yield.


A third class of polymer gel, termed a "slide-ring (topological)" gel, which is based on mobile cross-linker with a figure-of-eight structured dimer of cyclodextrin has been attracting numerous attentions; because of its remarkable physical properties such as large extensibility and mechanical strength. In this study, we applied atmospheric microplasma, based on microwave strip-line technology, to surface functionalization of a slide-ring gel to improve the surface hydrophilicity. When the gel surface was modified with microplasma in ambient air, the contact angle drastically changed into nearly 0° from the original angle of 46°. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) after the treatment indicated 3.3 at.% atomic oxygen increase and 3.4 at.% atomic carbon decrease, respectively. These results suggest that the slide-ring gel surface is highly sensitive to the atmospheric microplasma and is functionalized promptly/effectively for biomimetic applications with less thermal damages even in ambient air.


Stock market prediction plays an important role in financial decision-making for investors. Many of them rely on news disclosures to make their decisions in buying or selling stocks. However, accurate modelling of stock market trends via news disclosures is a challenging task, considering the complexity and ambiguity of natural languages used. Unlike previous work along this line of research, which typically applies bag-of-words to extract tens of thousands of features to build a prediction model, we propose a sentiment analysis-based approach for financial market prediction using news disclosures. Specifically, sentiment analysis is carried out in the pre-processing phase to extract sentiment-related features from financial news. Historical stock market data from the perspective of time series analysis is also included as an input feature. With the extracted features, we use a support vector machine (SVM) to build the prediction model, with its parameters optimised through particle swarm optimisation (PSO). Experimental results show that our proposed SVM and PSO-based model is able to obtain better results than a deep learning model in terms of time and accuracy. The results presented here are to date the best in the literature based on the financial news dataset tested. This excellent performance is attributed to the sentiment analysis done during the pre-processing stage, as it reduces the feature dimensions significantly.


A 24 year-old man was admitted with hypertensive crises and diagnosis hypothesis of neurofibromathosis and pheochromocytoma with blood pressure of 150 x 110mmHg and in use of anti-hypertensive drugs. The electrocardiogram (EKG) showed left ventricle hypertrophy. An echocardiogram showed interventricular septum (IVS) thickness of 16mm, posterior wall (PW) thickness of 11mm (ratio IVS/PW was 1.4). Diastolic ventricular diameter was 39mm with gradient of 52mmHg and mild mitral-valve murmur by pulsate Doppler. Increased vanillylmandelic acid and metanephrines in a 24-hour sample of urine has confirmed diagnosis of pheochromocytoma within was localized by 131I metaiodobenzyl-guanidine scan and computerized axial tomography. The patient was submitted to right adrenalectomy. Blood pressure was normalized. Evaluation an year later revealed a healthy man with normal laboratory exams, EKG and echocardiogram. It seems that the hypertrophy was consequence of the hypertension and pheochromocytoma, was not hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.


This paper analyzes the implications of distortionary taxation and debt financing for optimal government spending policy in a sticky-price economy where the nominal interest rate is subject to the zero lower bound constraint. Regardless of the type of tax available and the initial debt level, optimal government spending policy in a recession is characterized by an initial increase followed by a reduction below, and an eventual return to, the steady state. The magnitude of variations in the government spending as well as their welfare implications depend importantly on the available tax instrument and the initial debt level. JEL: E32, E52, E61, E62, E63


The Secure Shell Protocol (SSH) is a protocol for secure remote login
and other secure network services over an insecure network. This
document describes the SSH authentication protocol framework and
public key, password, and host-based client authentication methods.
Additional authentication methods are described in separate documents.
The SSH authentication protocol runs on top of the SSH transport layer
protocol and provides a single authenticated tunnel for the SSH
connection protocol. [STANDARDS-TRACK]


The purpose of this research was to study behavioral problems of 3-5 years old
children and the successful solutions that caregivers used in childcare centers under
Local Administrative Organization. The samples were 4,147 caregivers. The research
instrument used in this study was a questionnaire concerning children behavioral
problems and solutions of caregivers. Content analysis and percentage were used to
analyze the data.
The research findings were as follows:
1. Children behavioral problems found in classroom could be categorized into 6
groups. The highest frequency of the behavioral problems found in each group
were: (1) being aggressive 24.31 %; (2) making a loud noise 56.46%; (3) throwing
obj ects 27.72%; (4) being addicted to baby bottle 20.22%; (5) refusing to take a
nap 35.57%; and (6) refusing to have lunch 31.83%.
2. Solutions that caregivers used successfully could also be categorized into 6 groups.
The highest frequency solutions in each group were: (1) setting rules, asking for
cooperation and praising them for appropriate perfonnance 27 .27%; (2) speaking
with them softly 53.74%; (3) no suggestions in dealing with this group of behavioral
problems; (4) asking children to leave their bottles with the caregivers
16.94%; (5) encouraging all of them to sleep during nap time 31.40%; and (6)
explaining them the results of not eating and complementing those who eat
23.51 %. Solutions that caregivers mostly used in each sub-group as mentioned were: setting
rules, encouraging and praising them when they perform; telling a story concerning
the incident; separating the children from the circumstances; reminding and explaining
them what was inappropriate; and setting helpful activities for them to join
with.


Background: With improving survival rates for cancer, there is a growing number of survivors with a variety of psychosocial consequences. Objectives: To determine prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms and suicidality among childhood cancer survivors. Method: The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and Suicidal Ideation and Behaviour Questionnaire were administered to 228 participants, diagnosed with cancer before the age of 16. The control group (N=127) was matched for sex, age and region. Results: Increased number of depressive symptoms was found three times more often in cancer survivors (13%). Higher frequency of depressive symptoms in this group were associated with being female, having lower education, being single or divorced, not attending association group meetings and reporting weaker sociability. The latter was also associated with passive and active suicidal thoughts, and suicidal plans, while the experience of cancer recurrence coincided with attempted suicide in 5 participants. Groups did not differ in frequency of suicidal features, but suicide related variables were in association with having depressive symptoms only in the cases group. Conclusions: Childhood cancer survivors have depressive symptoms more often than their counterparts. Having depressive symptoms represents a specifically greater risk for suicidal behaviour in this population. Language: en


This study explores ways of providing a better curriculum for gifted students. A review of the literature emphasises that gifted students require the provision of a qualitatively differentiated curriculum, and finds unequivocal support for the benefits of academic acceleration. An appraisal of curriculum in NSW notes that there are fine programmes for gifted students, but that a lot more can be done. By listening carefully to the voices of gifted students, effective ways to improve their curriculum may be discovered. Following a life history model which employs the narrative, cases are made from the naturalistic portrayal of eight gifted individuals. Each case study outlines the formative background and educational experiences of the individual, and concludes with a summary of the issues which the individual believes to be most important for improving the curriculum for gifted students. An interpretive analysis of the case studies makes twenty recommendations. These include: greater flexibility of school organisation; better communication; continuity in a broader, more inclusive curriculum; options of academic acceleration, including access to tertiary level courses; appropriate educational support; and financial support for gifted students from low socio-economic backgrounds, and from rural and isolated settings. A model for academic acceleration is presented. It recommends six steps towards a better curriculum for gifted students: identification; communication; a negotiated curriculum; academic acceleration; access to tertiary courses while still at school; and support for gifted students.


The removal of four selected heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn) has been assessed in an upflow anaerobic packed bed reactor filled with porous volcanic rock as an adsorbent and an attachment surface for bacterial growth. Two different feeding regimes were applied using low (5 mg L−1 of heavy metal each) and high (10 mg L−1 of heavy metal each) strength wastewater. After a start-up and acclimatization period of 44 days, each regime was operated for a period of 10 days with a hydraulic retention time of one day. Good removal efficiencies of at least 86% were achieved for both the low and high strength wastewater. A subsequent water hyacinth pond with a hydraulic retention time of one day removed an additional 61% Cd, 59% Cu, 49% Pb and 42% Zn, showing its importance as a polishing step. The water hyacinth plant in the post-treatment step accumulated heavy metals mainly in the root system. Overall metal removal efficiencies at the outlet of the integrated system were 98% for Cd, 99% for Cu, 98% for Pb and 84% for Zn. Therefore, the integrated system can be used as an alternative treatment system for metal-polluted wastewater, especially in developing countries.


Abstract This article examines the current controversy as to the effectiveness of executive remuneration as a tool of corporate governance but places the analysis in the particular context of the dispersed ownership/blockholding ownership faultline which runs across European corporate governance. It reveals that there is a close relationship between governance systems and the sophistication and rigour of the regulatory response to executive remuneration. To place the European responses to the executive remuneration question in context, Part I sets out the main theoretical arguments which frame the executive remuneration debate and examines the link between remuneration and corporate governance. Part II examines, in the light of the preceding discussion, the regulatory strategies adopted by EU Member States with regard to executive remuneration and reveals the extent to which their responses track corporate governance systems in terms of sophistication and degree of intervention in remuneration practices, particularly with respect to disclosure. Overall, regulatory strategies focus on company disclosure and corporate governance structures, and are grounded both in public regulation and in corporate governance best practices. Part III discusses reform perspectives with particular reference to the 2002 Winter Report and the 2003 Company Law Action Plan.


We address the problem of coexistence between neighboring cognitive wireless networks operating in the TV White Space (TVWS). We derive an interference model to predict the range and level of interference generated in the TV bands by portable low-heigh antenna cognitive wireless access points (AP) in suburban and urban areas. Based on our model, we provide an analysis of the spectral availability (SA) for either the scenarios where dynamic frequency selection (DFS) coexistence technique is employed or not. We derive the steps of our analysis and provide, as an illustrative example, the expected coexistence performance of TVWS enabled cognitive wireless APs in Japan. Our analysis demonstrates the intrinsic relationship SA holds with the TVWS channel set as well as statistical information, e.g., house-hold density of wards and cities, Internet penetration, White Space (WS) radio AP market penetration.


The vast majority of dimensionality reduction (DR) techniques rely on the second-order statistics to define their optimization objective. Even though this provides adequate results in most cases, it comes with several shortcomings. The methods require carefully designed regularizers and they are usually prone to outliers. In this paper, a new DR framework that can directly model the target distribution using the notion of similarity instead of distance is introduced. The proposed framework, called similarity embedding framework (SEF), can overcome the aforementioned limitations and provides a conceptually simpler way to express optimization targets similar to existing DR techniques. Deriving a new DR technique using the SEF becomes simply a matter of choosing an appropriate target similarity matrix. A variety of classical tasks, such as performing supervised DR and providing out-of-sample extensions, as well as, new novel techniques, such as providing fast linear embeddings for complex techniques, are demonstrated in this paper using the proposed framework. Six data sets from a diverse range of domains are used to evaluate the proposed method and it is demonstrated that it can outperform many existing DR techniques.


An efficient transient analysis of diode switching circuits using the asymptotic waveform evaluation (AWE) technique is presented. The method accurately simulates the excess carrier redistribution phenomenon in a diode junction using a reduced order model. The diode model is derived by directly solving the carrier continuity equations in an analogous manner to that of the AWE solution to transmission-line equations. The method efficiently calculates the poles and the residues of the diode model by recursively generating the moments of the carrier concentrations. It reduces the computational cost by an order of magnitude over that for Linvill's multisection model of ladder or lattice networks of many lumped elements used to model carrier diffusion and the recombination process. The pole-residue model is capable of providing an increasingly accurate approximation to the characteristics of a diode under all operating conditions. The diode recovery phenomenon is simulated for illustration, and the improved accuracy is verified by comparisons with results from conventional methods and published works.


EM (effective microorganisms) is a biofertilizer consisting of a mixed culture of potentially beneficial microorganisms. In this study, we investigated the effects of EM treatment on leaf in vivo chlorophyll a fluorescence of photosystem II (PSII), yield, and macronutrient content of bean plants grown on different substrates (nutrient rich substrate vs. nutrient poor sandy soil) in controlled environmental conditions (pot experiment in greenhouse). EM-treated plants maintained optimum leaf photosynthetic efficiency two weeks longer than the control plants, and increased yield independent of substrate. The levels of seed nutritionally-relevant molecules (proteins, lipids, and starch) were only slightly modified, apart from the protein content, which increased in plants grown in sandy soil. Although EM can be considered a promising and environmentally friendly technology for sustainable agriculture, more studies are needed to elucidate the mechanism(s) of action of EM, as well as its efficacy under open field conditions.


This article examines the challenges of defining a global mechanical integrity (MI) program for a chemical company with manufacturing facilities in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The article examines the differing regulatory requirements and engineering standards, and also investigates the challenges associated with limited technical resources and limited availability of state of the art non-destructive examination methods in various regions. This article further discusses the cultural views of MI in various global areas.

The primary benefit of a global MI program is safer plants. Failures in MI programs have led to catastrophic failures. Plant equipment must always operate safely. Vessels and piping systems must maintain containment of hazardous chemicals, and energy and safety equipment such as relief devices and critical instrument must function when needed. This article describes the details of an effective international MI Program. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 2010


Celiac disease (CD) patients usually present high levels of circulating IgA antibodies directed to different antigens, in particular tissue transglutaminase (tTG), gliadin (Glia), and endomysium. A series of synthetic peptide constructs containing cross-linked tTG and Glia deamidated peptides have been synthesized. Peptides were tested in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays against celiac disease patients' sera versus normal blood donors, and their conformational features were evaluated by molecular modeling techniques. Four peptides were recognized as epitopes by autoantibodies (IgG class) circulating in CD patients' sera before gluten-free diet. The peptide II, containing Ac-tTG(553-564)-NH2 sequence cross-linked with deamidated Ac-α2-Glia(63-71)-NH2, was able to identify specific disease antibodies with a sensitivity of 50% and a specificity of 94.4%. Structural conformations of the linear fragments Ac-tTG(553-564)-NH2 and Ac-α2-Glia(63-71)-NH2 and the corresponding cross-linked peptide II were calculated by molecular modeling. Results showed that cross-linking is determinant to assume conformations, which are not accessible to the linear fragments.


Limited understanding of seabird bycatch in purse seine fisheries has been highlighted as a key information gap in assessments of seabird bycatch in fisheries globally. This study documents the bycatch of breeding flesh-footed shearwaters (Ardenna carneipes) in a sardine purse seine fishery on the southern coast of Western Australia. Fishery-dependent bycatch records from 2009/2010 to 2017/2018 showed a strong peak in the mortality rate per fishing trip during March and April, closely associated with the final stage of chick rearing. Observers during those peak months in 2007, 2008, 2017, and 2018 recorded 171 mortalities during 222 trips at per trip rates (±95% confidence limits) ranging from 0.59 (0.25–1.17) in 2017 to 1.10 (0.56–1.96) in 2007. Zero mortalities were recorded on at least 70% of trips in any year, suggesting infrequent formation of net folds that can trap birds. Total annual mortalities estimated for 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 were 123 (52–251) and 172 (91–302), respectively. Although within a sustainable anthropogenic limit of 495 (369–660) estimated from conservative application of the potential biological removal method, the extent of other anthropogenic mortalities is unknown. Further research on the effect of distance of breeding colonies from fishing operations is required.


Since the official political power shift in 1994, the interaction of power among various groups in South Africa has become an important subject of discussion among academics and researchers. There are four major arguments around power dynamics in South Africa. First, power has officially shifted from whites to blacks, although it is not clear how this in practice has changed power relations. Second, different interest groups in South Africa among the anti-apartheid 'pro- gressives' lacked a clear ideological vision of how to sustain their influence over the policy-making process. Third, due to a lack of synergy of ideological views amongst the progressive constituency, the corporate sector controlling economic power took a controlling influence over the policy-making processes. Finally, the African National Congress (ANC) alli- ance policy-making process shifted from a consultative to an elitist pattern as a result of the new centralised leadership of Thabo Mbeki. This paper critically assesses these four arguments and attempts to explain the complexity of the power dy- namics that arose in post-apartheid South Africa. To do so it traces the evolution of the positions of different organisations within the anti-apartheid coalition from the outset of their rise to power and discusses the different groups' interests and their exertion of power and influence. It looks into the interaction between elites and the implications for socio-economic development in South Africa. This discussion takes place in the context of a four-fold periodisation of post-apartheid South Africa. To realise this, this paper draws from policy documents, relevant literature, and in-depth interviews con- ducted during six months of research fieldwork carried out in 2007.


Differential phase shift quantum key distribution(DPSQKD) experiment based on weak coherent pulses have been performed in the laboratory. We encoded the bit information between the consecutive pulses. The bit information was decoded at Bob's side by Michelson-Faraday interferometer and single photon detector. This kind of quantum key distribution system can provide stable key distribution process, high efficiency of key creation, and high security key. So it is easily implemented in optical fibers using readily available optical telecommunication tools. We experimented DPSQKD over 76 km on fiber, the error rate of the sifted key is 5.3%. The quantum key distribution process is controlled by micro-computer based on ARM (advanced RISC(reduced instruction set computing) machines) processor.


The dictionary definition of absenteeism is 'the practice of regularly staying away from work or school without good reason'. Management is an array of different concepts which involves specialization and specification of issues as well as their solutions, especially related to that of an employee. Various theories have been put forth (namely Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's theory, etc.) to understand the growing needs of motivation and retention. Despite this intensive research, most organizations face the problem of employees remaining absent from work, popularly known as absenteeism. This paper lays emphasis on the authenticity and genuine reasons of an employee to stay away from work. Hence, absenteeism is calculated on mathematical grounds as well as study based on questionnaire has been carried out in order to find out the reasons pertaining to increase in absenteeism in recent times. Research has been carried out on a leading pre-publishing service providing company in Indore. Pertaining to the privacy policy of the company, its name has been concealed and is referred to as 'Y company'.


Data on hyperkalemia frequency among chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients receiving renin-angiotensin aldosterone system inhibitors (RAASis) and its impact on subsequent RAASi treatment are limited. This population-based cohort study sought to assess the incidence of clinically significant hyperkalemia among adult CKD patients who were prescribed a RAASi and the proportion of patients with RAASi medication change after experiencing incident hyperkalemia. We conducted a retrospective, population-based cohort study (1 January 2013–30 June 2017) using Australian national general practice data from the NPS MedicineWise's MedicineInsight program. The study included adults aged ≥18 years who received ≥1 RAASi prescription during the study period and had CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] <60 ml/min/1.73m2). Study outcomes included incident clinically significant hyperkalemia (serum potassium >6 mmol/L or a record of hyperkalemia diagnosis) and among patients who experienced incident hyperkalemia, the proportion who had RAASi medication changes (cessation or dose reduction during the 210-day period after the incident hyperkalemia event). Among 20,184 CKD patients with a median follow-up of 3.9 years, 1,992 (9.9%) patients experienced an episode of hyperkalemia. The overall incidence rate was 3.1 (95% CI: 2.9–3.2) per 100 person-years. Rates progressively increased with worsening eGFR (e.g. 3.5-fold increase in patients with eGFR <15 vs. 45–59 ml/min/1.73m2). Among patients who experienced incident hyperkalemia, 46.6% had changes made to their RAASi treatment regimen following the first occurrence of hyperkalemia (discontinuation: 36.6% and dose reduction: 10.0%). In this analysis of adult RAASi users with CKD, hyperkalemia and subsequent RAASi treatment changes were common. Further assessment of strategies for hyperkalemia management and optimal RAASi use among people with CKD are warranted.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term cardiopulmonary function of heart transplant patients who received disproportionately sized allografts for varying levels of pulmonary vascular resistance. Resting hemodynamics and oxygen uptake during exercise were recorded at 1 year after transplantation in 52 patients. No differences in resting heart rate, cardiac output, stroke volume, peak oxygen uptake during exercise, and exercise duration were found in recipients of undersized hearts (donor:recipient weight ratio [D:R] < 0.75), sized-matched hearts (D:R = 0.75 to 1.25), and oversized (D:R > 1.25) hearts. In a further analysis according to preoperative pulmonary vascular resistance, resting cardiac output (5.8 +/- 1.3 L/min) was normal, and peak exercise oxygen uptake (22.7 +/- 8.0 ml/kg/min) was mildly decreased in recipients of size-matched allografts with a pulmonary vascular resistance of less than 3 Wood units (size-matched hearts, with mild or no pulmonary vascular resistance). Of patients with moderate pulmonary hypertension (pulmonary vascular resistance > or = 3 Wood units), resting cardiac output was normal (5.1 +/- 0.6 L/min) in recipients of oversized hearts and was reduced (4.7 +/- 1.0 L/min) in recipients of sized-matched hearts (p < 0.05 versus recipients of size-matched hearts with pulmonary vascular resistance less than 3 Wood units).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Little work has been done previously on cells grown as sail-sheets. This thesis describes the morphology, behaviour and movement of chick heart fibroblasts (CHFs) in sail-sheets and the effects of mechanical tension on actin content and the cell cycle of these cells. Abercrombie et ad. (1970 a) quantified the measurements on the features of movement of CHFs on glass coverslips (or, conventional cultures). Since the sail-sheet cultures appeared to resemble more closely the in vivo situation than the conventional cultures, it seemed appropriate that the features of cell movement in sail-sheets be studied and compared with those in conventional cultures. The work presented in this thesis suggests that CHFs in sail-sheets do exhibit such features as described for conventional cultures (Abercrombie et al., 1970 a) but at a relatively lower speed. Mechanical tension occurs within and between cells during embryogenesis, wound healing and in the repetitive contractile processes performed by various muscles of the body. Curtis and Seehar (1978) found that short-term tensing of sail-sheets with a low frequency oscillator shortened the duration of the cell cycle in CHFs. This thesis investigates whether tensing of sail-sheets for longer durations and at much lower frequencies produces any different effects than those found by Curtis and Seehar (1978). The work from these experiments suggested that on the whole, tension causes a reduction in the duration of the cell cycle. The effects of tension in a rectangular cell sheet differ from corners, edges and centres perhaps because of local stress concentration. The hypothesis that the effect of tension on the cell cycle may be due to its effect on the microfilaments was investigated. Results were inconclusive.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the differences in the clinical efficacy on neurogenic bladder after spinal cord injury (SCD between the matrix needling technique combined with rehabilitation training and rehabilitation training in the patients.

METHODS
Sixty patients of SCI neurogenic bladder were randomized into an observation group (29 cases) and a control group (31 cases). In the control group, the conventional rehabilitation therapy, the intermittent catheterization and bladder function training were adopted, once every day, for 4 weeks totally. In the observation group, on the basic treatment of the rehabilitation as the control group, the matrix needling technique and acupuncture at sanyin points were applied. The treatment of 8 days made one session, at the interval of 2 days, continuously for 3 sessions, meaning 4 weeks totally. The bladder function score, residual urine volume and bladder capacity were compared before and after treatment in the two groups.

RESULTS
The bladder function score was reduced after treatment as compared with that before treatment in either group (both P<0. 05). The score in the observation group was lower than that in the control group after treatment (P<0. 05). No matter which spinal segment was injured, the residual urine volume after treatment was reduced as compared with that before treatment and the bladder capacity was increased (P<0. 05). The residual urine volume in the observation group was less than that in the control group after treatment and the bladder capacity was more increased (P< 0. 05).

CONCLUSION
The conventional rehabilitation program in combination with the matrix needling technique and acupuncture at sanyin points achieve the significant efficacy on SCI neurogenic bladder.


An in-situ triaxial test method was invented for accurate evaluation of stress and strain relationships of rock masses in the field. A series of proof tests were conducted at an abandoned quarry of Ohya stone. Comparison was made between the strength characteristics of Ohya stone evaluated by the in-situ triaxial tests conducted in the field and those by laboratory triaxial tests on core samples retrieved by rotary drilling from the same site. The results show that the in-situ triaxial test method on a large specimen is most reasonable and appropriate to evaluate mechanical characteristics of rock masses. The influence of heterogeneity was found significant for small specimens, while the influences of drainage condition and scale effect seem to be rather small.


Although collaborative web-based tools are often used in blended environments such as education, little research has analysed the predictive power of face-to-face social connections on measurable user behaviours in online collaboration, particularly in diverse settings. In this paper, we use Social Network Analysis to compare users' pre-existing social networks with the quantity of their contributions to an online chat-based collaborative activity in a higher education classroom. In addition, we consider whether the amount of diversity present in one's social network leads to more online contributions in an anonymous cross-cultural collaborative setting. Our findings indicate that pre-existing social connections can predict how much users contribute to online education-related collaborative activities with diverse group members, even more so than academic performance. Furthermore, our findings suggest that future Web Science research should consider how the more traditionally 'qualitative' socio-cultural influences affect user participation and use of online collaborative tools.


In this paper we propose a method for run time profiling of applications on instruction level by analysis of loops. Instead of looking for coarse grain blocks we concentrate on fine grain but still costly blocks in terms of execution times. Most code profiling is done in software by introducing code into the application under profile witch has time overhead, while in this work data for the position of a loop, loop body, size and number of executions is stored and analysed using a small non intrusive hardware block. The paper describes the system mapping to runtime reconfigurable systems. The fine grain code detector block synthesis results and its functionality verification are also presented in the paper. To demonstrate the concept MediaBench multimedia benchmark running on the chosen development platform is used.


Surgery alone remains an international standard of care for early stage (Ia) oesophagogastric cancers. There is also international consensus that multimodality therapy is appropriate for more advanced stage operable disease, however there is marked geographical variation in standard practice. For gastric adenocarcinomas, adjuvant oral fluoropyrimidines became the standard of care in Japan after improved survival was demonstrated following resection with D2 nodal dissection, compared to surgery alone. Adjuvant chemoradiation improves survival following surgery with any level of nodal dissection compared to observation and is the accepted standard of care in the US. Similarly, perioperative triplet chemotherapy improves survival compared to surgery alone in gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas and is widely used across Europe and Australasia. For oesophageal adenocarcinoma, neo-adjuvant chemotherapy and neo-adjuvant chemoradiation are further accepted standards, widely utilized in the UK and US respectively, with similar survival benefits reported for each strategy. Patients with localized squamous cell carcinomas of the oesophagus benefit from chemoradiation, which may be delivered as a neo-adjuvant or definitive strategy, the latter avoiding surgical morbidity and mortality. Targeted agents are currently under evaluation in localized oesophagogastric cancer, with translational sub-studies attempting to define which patients may benefit from the addition of these high cost drugs.


The paper deals with the creation of cultural landscapes by European minorities. Looking at the map of European linguistic minorities we observe strong assimilation processes (connected with globalization, new media, a uniformity of lifestyles) resulting in the diffusion of minorities into the dominant culture. It also seems that the presence of minorities in Europe has become increasingly expressive. It is not concealed within the private lives of individuals, but has a strong influence on the creation of cultural landscapes, delimits their space and uses its influence for the promotion of the minority cultures. One can see an increasing number of visual indicators of bilingualism, such as street signs, names of institutions, inscriptions on billboards, etc. Events organized by the minorities, such as picnics, festivals, fairs, etc. are also more noticeable. There is a debate on the actions of civil disobedience (in Wales and in Brittany) and their consequences leading to the implementation of visual bilingualism. The circumstances and results of the introduction in Poland of bilingual signs in the areas inhabited by linguistic minorities – the Kashubs and the Lemkos – are publicly discussed. Finally, the actions taken up by the Kashubs are presented in the media. These actions serve the cultural management of their space and the strengthening of their identity through the invented traditions and cultural engagement. The visual presence of minority languages and cultures in a specific territory create sharper ethnic boundaries.


Porous pavement applications, which is environmentally friendly, especially for residential areas, allow rainwater to remain clean and to feed groundwater through infiltration. Porous asphalt pavements, in which are among the pavement types used in porous pavements systems, also reduce environmental noise pollution. On the other hand, there is a need to improve the performance of these asphalt pavement mixtures, which have a short service life due to their porous structure. It has been considered to improve the performance of the pavement mixtures by using basalt fiber without compromising the hydraulic permeability level. The waste slag material released during the ferrochrome production process was used as aggregate in the porous asphalt mixture design. Thus, it is aimed to benefit from the economic and environmental aspects with the recycling of ferrochrome slag in an area suitable for its properties. In the study, the design performances of porous asphalt mixtures were determined with tests such as volume analysis, permeability, Cantabro particle loss, indirect tensile strength, and moisture susceptibility. Basalt fiber was added at 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6% and 0.8% of the mixture weight. It has been determined that the mixtures of basalt fibers at 0.2% significantly improve the mechanical performance.


Background and Purpose The shear stress distribution in the femoral neck may be an important biomechanical parameter in the development of slipped capital femoral epiphysis. In our work we present a simple non-invasive method for computation of the shear stress distribution in the femoral neck of an individual hip based on anteriorposterior pelvic radiograph. Methods A mathematical model of the resultant hip force is used and the shear stress tensor is computed according to the procedure for a loaded beam. Results Preliminary results from an illustrative set of three patients with slipped capital femoral epiphysis show that the collum-diaphysis angle, the femoral neck width and the resultant hip force have important influence on shear stress distribution. Conclusion Unfavorable high values of the resultant hip force can be compensated by larger collum-diaphysis angle and wider femoral neck. In further research the method could be used on a larger series of patients to determine the predictive value of the shear stress for dierent clinical outcomes.


Oxidative injury contributes to cellular damage during and after cerebral ischemia. However, the downstream catabolic pathways of damaged cellular components in neurons are largely unknown. In the current study, the authors examined the formation of oxidized proteins and their active degradation by the proteasome. In near-pure rat primary cortical neurons, it was found that protein-bound carbonyls as markers for oxidized proteins are increased after oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). During and after OGD, degradation of proteins metabolically radiolabeled before OGD increases two-to threefold compared with the normal protein turnover. Proteolysis after reoxygenation was attenuated by the presence of dimethylthiourea, a radical scavenger, and was blocked by lactacystin, a specific proteasome inhibitor. Lactacystin also increased the amount of protein carbonyls formed. In contrast, the activity of the proteasome complex itself after OGD was not different from sham-washed controls. The authors suggest that oxygen-glucose deprivation increases free radicals, which, in turn, oxidize proteins that are recognized and actively degraded by the proteasome complex. This protease itself is relatively resistant against oxidative injury. The authors conclude that the proteasome may be an active part of the cellular defense system against oxidative stress after cerebral ischemia.


The inability of molecules to permeate the BBB is a significant source of attrition in Central Nervous System (CNS) drug discovery. Given the increasing medical drivers for new and improved CNS drugs, small molecule transfer across the BBB is attracting a heightened awareness within pharmaceutical industry and medical fields. In order to assess the potential for small CNS molecules to permeate the BBB, a variety of methods and models, from in silico to in vivo going through in vitro models are developed as predictive tools in drug discovery. This review gives a comprehensive overview of different approaches currently considered in drug discovery to circumvent the lack of small molecule transfer through the BBB, together with their inherent advantages and disadvantages. Particularly, special attention is drawn to in silico models, with a detailed and contemporary point of view on prediction tools and guidelines for rational design.


This paper approaches questions concerning human rights and discrimination against women from a perspective that differs the dominant view within the human rights literature. This scholarship has an intrinsic pro-Western bias and operates on the implicit assumption that international human rights have their origins in Western liberal thought. Contrary to this dominant perspective, I argue that all human societies have a conception of human rights, even though there are cultural differences. The existence and defense of national, regional and international rights of Nigerian women against discrimination then must necessarily be located within Nigeria's particular historical experience from the pre-colonial era to contemporary times. The promotion and defense of such rights would be meaningless otherwise. Moreover, I argue for the combination of efforts that tend to be separated in scholarly activities to date. The identification of instances of discrimination and the struggle to defend and extend women's rights has to be critically examined in light of the power relations that structure the regime of human rights worldwide. This paper argues that in this regime, both western thought and western feminist groups are privileged.


Uterine lipoleiomyoma is a benign variant of leiomyoma. It is rare and is composed of smooth muscles and mature adipocytes. It affects perimenopausal and menopausal women. It is important to differentiate it from neoplasms that demand surgical excision. We report a case of giant lipoleiomyoma in a 30 year old nulliparous lady. The objective of presenting this case is to review current concepts and present the imaging findings of this entity.


Objective. Our aim was to determine whether the Ki-67 immunostaining pattern, present on diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), predicts the change from low-grade to high-grade CIN over a 2-year period after diagnosis. Materials and Methods. Of 59 cervical biopsy samples from 59 patients diagnosed as having cervical CIN, 35 were diagnosed as CIN 1 and 24 were diagnosed as CIN 2 or CIN 3. The Ki-67 immunostain showed immunopositive cells in the upper two thirds of the epithelium in all specimens. Two hundred nuclei were counted in 25 high-power fields in each specimen, including all of the epithelial layers, to determine the mean number of Ki-67-positive cells. In situ hybridization was used to demonstrate and type human papillomavirus. The χ2 test, Fisher exact test, Student t test, one-way analysis of variance, and Tukey test were used for statistical analysis, with significance set at p < .05. Results. The mean Ki-67 labeling index for CIN 1, CIN 2, CIN 3, and CIN 2,3 were, respectively, 32.5%, 43.2%, 53.2%, and 47.8%. The statistical study showed significant differences between CIN 1 versus CIN 2, CIN 1 versus CIN 3, and CIN 1 versus CIN 2,3. For CIN 1, the mean Ki-67 labeling index was 32.8% when the lesion disappeared and was 34.6% for persisting lesions. There was no statistically significant difference. Conclusions. Ki-67 labeling index did not predict persisting CIN 1.


In this study, it has aimed to understand the relationship between purified insulin and insulin receptor, also nanoinsulin and insulin receptors. The insulin receptor has separated from rat liver using a cryogel column material that is photosensitively insulin cross-linked in the Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography (FPLC) system based on the affinity between insulin and insulin receptor. In the second step, an isolated insulin receptor has used to synthesize insulin receptor cross-linked cryogels for purifying insulin from rats. Subcutaneously delivered nano-insulin drug has prepared from the purified insulin using AmiNoAcid (monomer) Decorated and Light Underpinning Conjugation Approach (ANADOLUCA) method. Lastly, Reflectometric Interference Spectroscopy (RIfS) study has performed to understand the interaction between purified insulin receptor and purified insulin, commercial insulin analog, and nano insulin. These studies have demonstrated that nano-insulin drugs can be effectively used as a theranostic platform to monitor affinity and blocking interactions of nanoprotein drug and its receptor.


We show how to exactly reconstruct the block structure at the critical line in the so-called Ising block model. This model was re-introduced by Berthet, Rigollet and Srivastava in a recent paper. There the authors show how to exactly reconstruct blocks away from the critical line and they give an upper and a lower bound on the number of observations one needs; thereby they establish a minimax optimal rate (up to constants). Our technique relies on a combination of their methods with fluctuation results for block spin Ising models. The latter are extended to the full critical regime. We find that the number of necessary observations depends on whether the interaction parameter between two blocks is positive or negative: In the first case, there are about $N \log N$ observations required to exactly recover the block structure, while in the latter $\sqrt N \log N$ observations suffice.


This article engages with the historiography of the Portuguese empire with reference to Mozambique. It explores the impact of visual archives on existing debates and asks what difference photographs make to our interpretation and understanding of this colonial past. Deprived of their 'historical rights' by the requirements of the Berlin treaties that insisted on 'effective occupation', the Portuguese started to employ a complex of knowledge-producing activities in which photography was crucially involved. This article examines different photographic moments before and during the 'Pacification Campaign' that assured Portugal's authority over the Gaza Empire in southern Mozambique in the 1890s, by official, commercial and missionary photographers. It identifies controversies over the small number of portraits of the Gaza king Ngungunyane that took on distinctive and disputed 'other lives' after their initial production. The realisation of how one image might be disassembled to generate others becomes an exercise – in visual terms – of rethinking colonial violence. A critical engagement with the slippages and repositionings around photographs, and the errors or disputes in various captions, allows for a better understanding of the production of both silence and particular narratives in the archives and popular history. The demonstration of these other lives matters because it stimulates awareness of what is seen, what is made visible, and addresses the desire to look beyond the image to find others in a continuous interrogation of photographic excess. Introduction: Portraits and Silences in the Archive Atlas often begins...in an arbitrary or problematic way...quite unlike the beginning of a story or the promise of an argument; and as for the end, it often reveals the emergence of a new country, a new zone of knowledge to be explored.1 This study analyses photographs from different archives against a backdrop of related information that is mostly focused on the 'effective occupation' of Mozambique 1 G. Didi-Huberman, Atlas, or the Anxious Gay Science (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018), 3.


Narrowband Internet of Things is a new access technology introduced by 3GPP. This paper presents an analytical model to estimate the access success probability and average access delay of the random access channels by considering maximum number of preamble transmissions, size of backoff windows, and number of subcarriers in each coverage enhancement levels. A joint optimization technique is proposed to configure the parameters to maximize the access success probability under a target delay constraint. The accuracy of the analysis and the effectiveness of the proposed optimization technique are verified by computer simulations and benchmarked with exhaustive search. The result shows that the proposed optimization is able to find the optimal configuration under various conditions.


Presented on Wednesday 18 May: Session 15 The Australian Government's Trusted Environmental and Geological Information (TEGI) program is a scientific program led by Geoscience Australia. The program is part of the Government's Strategic Basin Initiative under its Gas-fired Recovery agenda, implemented as a post-COVID19 response to stimulate the economy. This program will deliver regional geological and environmental assessments underpinned by transparent, trusted baseline geological and environmental data, commencing in the north Bowen and Galilee and the Cooper and Adavale Basins. This repository of information is to be used in support of bringing forward energy and mineral developments in basins identified by the Government as strategic. This paper discusses how coupling resource assessments with baseline information such as groundwater, geology, energy and mineral resources, surface water and protected environmental matters, can be used to support exploration and development decisions by industry, regulators and other stakeholders. For example, by establishing a regional baseline resource assessment, through prospectivity play mapping, environmental assessments can be prioritised to match resource prospectivity. In anticipating future development scenarios, potential impacts on environmental assets, including groundwater, can be assessed in advance and with key knowledge gaps identified for redress. This approach aims to optimise the regulatory pathway to resource development and increase regulatory efficiency as future development opportunities arise across the scope of petroleum, minerals, carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen storage and production. An example of Geoscience Australia's work on the Adavale Basin is presented in this paper describing the first steps in linking energy resources and environmental assessments in a changing world. To access the presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here


The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter ABCB10 resides in the inner membrane of mitochondria and is implicated in erythropoiesis. Mitochondria from different cell types share some specific characteristics, one of which is the high abundance of cardiolipin. Although previous studies have provided insight into ABCB10, the affinity and selectivity of this transporter toward lipids, particularly those found in the mitochondria, remain poorly understood. Here, native mass spectrometry is used to directly monitor the binding events of lipids to human ABCB10. The results reveal that ABCB10 binds avidly to cardiolipin with an affinity significantly higher than that of other phospholipids. The first three binding events of cardiolipin display positive cooperativity, which is suggestive of specific cardiolipin-binding sites on ABCB10. Phosphatidic acid is the second-best binder of the lipids investigated. The bulk lipids, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, display the weakest binding affinity for ABCB10. Other lipids bind ABCB10 with a similar affinity. Functional assays show that cardiolipin regulates the ATPase activity of ABCB10 in a dose-dependent fashion. ATPase activity of ABCB10 was also impacted in the presence of other lipids but to a lesser extent than cardiolipin. Taken together, ABCB10 has a high binding affinity for cardiolipin, and this lipid also regulates the ATPase activity of the transporter.


In preterm human infants, briefly elevated concentrations of oxygen are associated with a prolonged increase in blood chemokine concentrations and the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Caffeine given to preterm infants for the prevention or treatment of apnoea has been shown to reduce the rate of BPD. We tested the hypotheses that infant rats exposed to a combination of caffeine and hyperoxia would be less susceptible to lung injury than those exposed to hyperoxia alone and that caffeine decreases the pulmonary tissue expression of chemokines and leukocyte influx following hyperoxia. Using 6-day-old rat pups, we demonstrated that 24 h of 80% oxygen exposure caused pulmonary recruitment of neutrophils and macrophages. High levels of oxygen upregulated the expression of: the CXC chemokines, cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1 and macrophage inflammatory protein-2; the CC-chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor-&agr; and interleukin-6, as measured by realtime PCR after the administration of caffeine (10 mg·kg−1 body weight); and attenuated chemokine and cytokine upregulation, as well as the influx of CD11b+, ED-1+ and myeloperoxidase+ leukocytes. These experiments suggest that protective effects of caffeine in the neonatal lung are mediated, at least in part, by reduction of pulmonary inflammation.


Expressions of passion and heartbreak, written by the court lady Murasaki Shikibu a thousand years ago, transcend time and culture in this new translation of poetry from the first 33 chapters of The Tale of Genji. Over 400 tanka poems describe the intricate loveplay and wordplay between men and women of noble breeding, consumed by sexual desire and aesthetic longing. With plot synopses and annotations. Jane Reichhold, one of American's leading tanka poets, has translated Fumi Saito and Akiko Baba. Hatsue Kawamura is editor of The Tanka Journal of Tokyo.


Understanding hadron structure within the framework of QCD is an extremely challenging problem. In order to solve it, it is vital that our thinking should be guided by the best available insight. Our purpose here is to explain the model-independent consequences of the approximate chiral symmetry of QCD for two famous results concerning the structure of the nucleon. We show that both the apparent success of the constituent quark model in reproducing the ratio of the proton to neutron magnetic moments and the apparent success of the Foldy term in reproducing the observed charge radius of the neutron are coincidental. That is, a relatively small change of the current quark mass would spoil both results.


In the last decade, several algorithms, usually based on information filtering techniques, have been proposed to address multi-robot mapping problem. Less interest has been devoted to investigate a parallel or distributed organization of such algorithms in the perspective of multi-robot exploration. In this paper, we propose a distributed algorithm for map estimation based on Gauss-Seidel relaxation. The complete map is shared among independent tasks running on each robot, which integrate the independent robot measurements in local submaps, and a server, which stores contour nodes separating the submaps. Each task updates its local submap and periodically checks for inter-robot data associations. Gauss-Seidel relaxation is performed independently on each robot and afterwards on the contour nodes set on the server. Results illustrate the potential and flexibility of the new approach.


Residue-specific information on the urea-induced unfolding of the molten globule state of bovine alpha-lactalbumin (BLA) has been obtained using NMR spectroscopy. In agreement with previous studies on human alpha-lactalbumin (HLA) the unfolding process for BLA has been found to be non-cooperative. Both the alpha and beta-domains of the protein are substantially collapsed in the absence of denaturant but in both proteins the majority of the structure in the beta-domain unfolds prior to that in the alpha-domain. However, in BLA the protein unfolds completely in 10 M urea at 50 degrees C, whilst in HLA a stable core region persists even under these extreme conditions. Previous studies on HLA have identified eight residues that are crucial for the stability of the molten globule. Of these residues, only three are conserved in the sequence of BLA. By taking into consideration the differences in inter-residue contacts between the four alpha-helices arising from these substitutions, and the relative hydrophobicity of the helices in the two proteins, we show that it is possible to rationalise the observed differences in the behaviour of the molten globule states of the two proteins. Taken together, these results suggest that there may be a number of ways of stabilising a given protein fold, and the specific manner that this is achieved for a particular protein is determined by details of its sequence.


Traditionally, practitioners use formal methods pre-dominately for one half of the quality-assurance process: verification (do we build the software right?). The other half - validation (do we build the right software?) - has been given comparatively little attention. While verification is the core of refinement-based formal methods, where each new refinement step must preserve all properties of its abstract model, validation is usually postponed until the latest stages of the development, when models can be automatically executed. Thus mistakes in requirementsor in their interpretation are caught too late: usually at the endof the development process. In this paper, we present a novelapproach to check compliance between requirements and theirformal refinement-based specification during the earlier stages ofdevelopment. Our proposed approach - "validation obligations"- is based on the simple idea that both verification and validationare an integral part of all refinement steps of a system.


This paper proposed a method of cooperative control of three mobile robots for carrying an object placed on a floor together. Each robot moves to the object independently from its location to a pre-designated location for grasping the object stably. After grasping the common object, the coordination among the robots has been achieved by a master-slave mode. That is, a trajectory planning has been done for the master robot and the distances form the master robot to the two slave robots have been kept constant during the carrying operation. The localization for mobile robots has been implemented using the encoder data and inverse kinematics since the whole system does not have the slippage as much as a single mobile robot. Before the carrying operation, the lifting operations are implemented using the manipulators attached on the top of the mobile robots cooperatively. The real cooperative lifting and carrying operations are implanted to show the feasibility of the master-slave mode control based on the kinematics using the mobile manipulators developed for this research.


Introduction The aim of this study is to evaluate the outcome of introduction of early surgery in the course of isolated ileocecal Crohn's disease, where there is no absolute indication of surgery. Methods Observational study involving patients with isolated ileocecal Crohn's disease who underwent early surgical resection (within one year of the presentation of the hospital). A complete blood count, ESR, and CRP were done and compared between the preoperative value, 1st postoperative visit (3-4 weeks), and last follow-up visit. Statistical analysis was done using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to compare the different figures. Results There was a statistically significant increase in the hemoglobin levels between preoperative, postoperative, and long-term follow-up and a significant decrease in leukocyte count between the pre- and postoperative values (F = 19.8, p < 0.001 and F = 8.9, p = 0.002, resp.). Similarly, the ESR and CRP values were decreased significantly at long-term follow-up (F = 8.5, p = 0.019 and F = 8.3, p = 0.013, resp.). Conclusion Early surgical resection in isolated ileocaecal Crohn's disease achieved significant biochemical improvements. These successful results in this small number of patients indicate that early surgical intervention may provide better outcomes. These initial results encourage larger and comparative studies of long-term results versus long-term use of biological agents.


This review paper presents a discussion on dielectric substrate materials suitable for the preparation of YBa2Cu3O7-x thin-film based microwave integrated circuits. The requirements on the properties of the substrate materials are specified. They cover the properties crucial both for the preparation of high-quality YBa2Cu3O7-x films and for the design of microwave elements. The former includes mainly the lattice match, the match of thermal expansivities, chemical stability, and absence of twinning. The latter includes the relative dielectric permittivity ( epsilon ) and the related tolerances, the microwave loss tangent, and the substrate area required for the accommodation of a microwave circuit. The properties of the currently available substrates suitable for YBCO film epitaxy are discussed in view of these requirements. The main attention is paid to the microwave properties. Current achievements and potential difficulties of the crystal growth technology in the preparation of the substrates are taken into account as well.


The aim of this paper, is to define a bivariate exponentiated generalized linear exponential distribution based on Marshall-Olkin shock model. Statistical and reliability properties of this distribution are discussed. This includes quantiles, moments, stress-strength reliability, joint reliability function, joint reversed (hazard) rates functions and joint mean waiting time function. Moreover, the hazard rate, the availability and the mean residual lifetime functions for a parallel system, are established. One data set is analyzed, and it is observed that, the proposed distribution provides a better fit than Marshall-Olkin bivariate exponential, bivariate generalized exponential and bivariate generalized linear failure rate distributions. Simulation studies are presented to estimate both the relative absolute bias, and the relative mean square error for the distribution parameters based on complete data.


Reading and building statistical graphs are part of the statistics literacy that well informed citizens need to critically face the information society. In this paper we first analyse the graph elements and the semiotic activity involved in graphical work. Then, we discuss the definition of graphical understanding, and the graph understanding levels. Next, we focus on errors in reading and building graphs, the use of graphs in exploratory data analysis, and teachers' understanding of graphs. The conclusion of our analysis is that graphical competence is neither reached by students nor by prospective primary school teachers. Consequently, this survey provides information that can be used in improving the graphical competence of students and teachers as well as the didactical education of teachers.


Few weed management options are available for juneberry, which has limited the potential for this new crop. Field trials were initiated at three locations in North Dakota to evaluate efficacy and crop safety associated with chemical and physical weed control treatments applied just before or immediately after transplanting. All treatments except norflurazon and trifluralin provided at least 85% control of redroot pigweed, common lambsquarters, common purslane, and yellow foxtail for the duration of the trial at Absaraka, ND, during 2001. Stinkgrass weed control 8 wk after treatment (WAT) dropped to unacceptable levels (<85%) with all treatments except azafenidin at 0.5 kg ai/ ha, norflurazon, and oxyfluorfen at 1.1 kg ai/ha at Dawson, ND, during 2001. However, juneberry injury 4 WAT by azafenidin at 0.5 kg/ha, flumioxazin at both locations, or azafenidin at 0.34 kg/ha and oxyfluorfen at 1.1 kg ai/ha at Absaraka, ND, was greater than observed for plants within the physical treatments. Juneberry injury generally decreased with time, yet remained >20% at 8 WAT for azafenidin and flumioxazin at Absaraka, ND, and for all treatments except the mulches at Dawson, ND. Plant injury 8 WAT at Absaraka in 2002 was 10% or less for all treatments and was lower compared with 2001. All physical treatments—azafenidin at 0.34 and 0.5 kg/ha, flumioxazin at 0.29 kg/ha, and oryzalin at 4.5 kg/ha—provided at least 85% control of all weed species at Carrington and Absaraka, ND, during 2002. Nomenclature: Azafenidin, 2-;ob2,4-dichloro-5-(2-propynyloxy)phenyl;cb-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1,2,4-triazolo;ob4,3-a;cbpyridin-3(2H)-one; flumioxazin; oryzalin; oxyfluorfen, 2-chloro-1-(3-ethoxy-4-nitrophenoxy)-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzene; trifluralin; common lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. #3 CHEAL; common purslane, Portulaca oleracea L. # POROL; redroot pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus L. # AMARE; stinkgrass, Eragrostis cilianensis (All.) E. Mosher # ERACN; yellow foxtail, Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv. # SETLU; juneberry, Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt. 'Lee 8', 'Martin', 'Smoky'. Additional index words: Weed management, mulches, Saskatoon. Abbreviations: MAT, months after treatment; WAT, weeks after treatment.


Releases of liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially into the ocean, are called {\em oil spills}. To correctly model dispersion on ocean surface both large and small scale processes must be considered. In fact, the motion of the centre of mass is driven by large scale meandering and spot enlarging is controlled by small scale turbulence. A Lagrangian stochastic model for turbulent dispersion of oil spills on ocean surface is here formulated: large scale meandering is analytically prescribed by the stream function proposed by Bower for meandering jet in the Gulf Stream; small scale turbulence has been modelled by a Lagrangian stochastic process for turbulent relative dispersion which is based on turbulent flow rotation. Numerical simulations are performed to highlight the effects on oil spills dispersion of differences in the velocity field intensity and those due to releases in the centre or in the boundary of a meandering jet.


Background: This prospective study of a new titaniumcoated low-weight polypropylene (PP) mesh (16 g PP/ m 2 ) was designed to investigate the clinical efficacy and safety of totally extraperitoneal endoscopic hernioplasty (TEP). Methods: In this study, 400 patients (average age, 53.5 years; range, 19 – 80 years) witha total of 588 inguinal hernias underwent surgery with the TEP technique between September 2002 and October 2003. Of these patients, 12.4% had experienced recurrent hernias after open suture herniotomy. In 92% of the cases (368 patients with 540 hernias), a lightweight (16 g PP/m 2 ) titanium-coated polypropylene meshwas implanted without fixation, and in 8% (32 patients with48 hernias) an identical medium-weight (35 g PP/m 2 ) meshwas implanted. The first follow-up examination was scheduled for postoperative week 6. Results: In the lightweight mesh group, the mean group, operating time per patient was 61 min, corresponding to a calculated time per hernia of 41 min. Two intraoperative major complications occurred: an injury to the cecum and an injury to the bladder. In 12 cases (2%), bleeding from epigastric, testicular, or pubic bone vessels was observed. No injuries to pelvic vessels were seen. One patient was underwent an endoscopic revision to deal withan anticoagulation-related bleed. Th e mortality rate was 0%. In 12 patients, postoperative hematomas developed. One preperitoneal lipoma had to be extirpated. No infections of the mesh occurred.The median follow-up period for 371 patients (92.3%) was 7.2 weeks (range, 4–14 weeks). These 343 patients (with 504 hernias) had been provided with a lightweight titanium-coated polypropylene mesh(16 g PP/m 2 ) (followup rate, 93.2%). Of these patients, 3.5% reported persistent ingunial pain, 1.7% described a sensation of rigidity in the region of the groin, and 3.2% reported dysesthesia. The early recurrence rate was 0.2%. Conclusions: The TEP procedure can be performed safely and effectively withth e appreciably material-reduced and titanium-coated polypropylene meshwithout the need for fixation of the implant. The low early recurrence rate of 0.2% is evidence that the posterior wall of the inguinal canal is adequately augmented. The question whether the material reduction and the titanium coating of the mesh may bring about a reduction in postoperative chronic pain and the sensation of rigidity in the inguinal area via an improvement in biocompatibility must await the results of the scheduled follow-up examination 1 year after the surgical procedure.


The difference of radiocarbon (14C) concentration between terrestrial and aquatic samples is called the freshwater reservoir effect (FRE). The FRE is a potential issue for archaeologists dating fish bones, shells, human bones, or food crusts on pottery from sites near rivers or lakes. Studies on the FRE showed its variability in space and time, significant variations within one river or lake, different aquatic plants, and animals, or even single fish species of the lake [1, 2 and the references therein]. Therefore, dating the artifacts, it is very important to understand the nature of the FRE by studying processes that determine the redistribution of carbon isotopes in water ecosystems. It is important to obtain new knowledge on temporal variation of the FRE of a water system as due to climate change and anthropogenic activities it could be completely different at ancient times since such periods as Mesolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age when aquatic resources were an important contribution to human nutrition are relatively poorly studied. The objective of the research was to examine how known anthropogenic factors affected carbon cycling in the lake systems, including how these changes are reflected in carbon isotope variations as well as the FRA of lake sediments and different species of fish.

Two completely different lake systems of eastern Lithuania were studied. Lake Tapeliai belongs to the huge drainage system and is permanently affected by hydrological changes. When Lake Drūkšiai served as a cooling pond for the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, its average temperature increased by 3-4 °C. Results revealed that over the last century the estimated radiocarbon freshwater reservoir age (FRA) in sediments of Lake Tapeliai varied from 1136±112 y to 5733±122 y. These changes were caused by old organic carbon import to the lake from a neighboring peat bog. The FRA in samples of different fish species differed by up to 500 y, whereas the variations in the FRA measured in samples of the same species reached up to 300 y. Radiocarbon activity measurements in the samples of fish caught in Lake Drūkšiai during the operation of the nuclear power plant were performed. During 1984-1999 years measurements showed that 14C activity in fish slightly exceeded (up to 5 pMC) atmospheric activity. However, during 2000-2009 it exceeded by 40 pMC. Unfortunately, no information about increased activity levels of aquatic effluents or different chemical agents used could be found in INPP reports. Data of the fish scales 14C activity measurements are in good agreement with the data of the humic acid fraction of lake bottom sediments.

This data clearly indicates that there was an event in the year 2000 when substances from NPP with elevated 14C content were introduced into the lake, although not exceeding the permissible levels.

This research was funded by a grant (No. S-MIP-19-16) from the Research Council of Lithuania

References

[1] Heritage Science (2013) 1(1), 1–622.

[2] Quaternary Science Reviews (2012) 48: 67–79.


Euphorbia duvalii Lecoq & Lamotte is an endemic species from the Catalan-Occitan territory -western Mediterranean area- and is usually found in the south of France. Euphorbia duvalii has been cited from some localities of the Iberian Peninsula, but in later reviews all of these citations were finally identified as other species of Euphorbia L. One of these citations, from the Alt Empordà -Girona, Spain-, was of specific interest because not all the sources agreed on what the species was. To clarify whether or not this species is really present in the Iberian Peninsula, we examined new material from this population in order to establish whether the species is in fact E. duvalii. Once the morphology of the specimens from the Serra de Bac Grillera population had been analysed, we were able to confirm that they were indeed E. duvalii. This means that this is the only area on the Iberian Peninsula where this endemic species has been identified. The population is located in a rocky meadow that contains some scrub and is surrounded by pinewoods. Because this is the one and only Iberian population, a management and conservation plan needs to be drawn up to ensure its preservation.


Abstract. Visible light communication (VLC) is a data transmission technology that uses the LED lighting infrastructure to simultaneously illuminate and communicate. The ubiquitous existence of LED lamps opened a new opportunity for addressing VLC in many indoor communication scenarios. The motivation for the presented application is the efficient management of warehouses supported by autonomous navigation robots that grab goods and deliver them at the packaging station. This functionality demands bidirectional communication between infrastructures and vehicles. We propose links for infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) to perform indoors, bidirectional communication. A bidirectional communication system between a static infrastructure and a mobile robot (I2V) is proposed. The LED lamps of the warehouse illumination system are used to lighten the space and to transmit information on position and racks' contents. The mobile robots communicate with the infrastructure (V2I) to transmit information on the items that are being removed and carried to the packaging station. The communication among robots (V2V) provides information on the number of items intended to be collected when the vehicles are in the same lane. The proposed coding schemes are used as modulation for the ON-OFF keying method. Trichromatic white LEDs and a photodetector based on a-SiC:H/a-Si:H with selective spectral sensitivity are used at the emitter and receiver. Position information is provided by each LED lamp to the vehicle by adequate modulation of the RGB emitters. The decoding strategy is based on accurate calibration of the output signal. Different scenarios were designed and tested. Requirements related to synchronous transmission and flickering were addressed to enhance the system performance. The decoding task is discussed using a bit parity error control methodology to ensure simultaneous detection and correction of bit errors. The consequent increase of bit error rate in the VLC transmission is discussed in the I2V link.


ABSTRACT Microbial aerosols in intensive broiler houses whose species and concentrations are closely related to human health are ubiquitous. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the aim of this study was to investigate the spatial distribution and diversity of bacterial aerosols in the air of broiler houses. Significant spatial variations in airborne bacterial concentrations were observed inside the poultry farmhouse. The results indicated that bacteria in the air samples could be grouped into a total of 1,674 OTUs. Alpha diversity analysis showed that the diversity of the microbial community at the entry of the broiler house was higher than that at the middle or the rear (p < 0.01). The Sankey diagram illustrated species dynamic changes in Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria among the different locations. From the aspect of LEfSe (LDA Effect Size) analysis, we discovered that the abundance of Planctomycetes was significantly higher in the entry than in the rear and middle. This study shows the spatial distribution of the entire bacterial community in intensive broiler houses, which offers a new perspective for studying airborne total bacteria in those environments. Implications: The bacteria contained in air aerosols from poultry houses are closely connected to animal health and production. This study aimed to investigate the spatial distribution and diversity of bacterial aerosols in the air of broiler houses. The results observed that bacterial aerosol concentrations in the examined broilers house varied greatly at different positions, and a significantly higher exposure to bacterial aerosol was observed at the middle than at the other positions (p < 0.05). The alpha diversity analysis showed that the diversity of the microbial community at the entry of the broiler house was higher than that at the middle or the rear (P<0.01). Sankey diagram illustrated species dynamic changes of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria among the different locations. The microbial communities in genus level in the samples of entry and rear were closer, while the species diversity of middle and rear samples in chicken house was highly similar (P>0.05). Altogether, results revealed that the effects of spatial factors on the diversity and abundance of bacteria in the air of closed-cage broiler houses, which poses a potential threat to the health of animals and workers in those environments.