Today's the data usage is more and the data sending is also more from one network/system to other. As the traffic overload occurs in computer network which is called as congestion. To avoid this different protocol are came into existence. A clear explanation of these protocols how they avoid the congestion occurs in the network its cons and pros and applications of various congestions protocols for different networks. The congestion control in the network traces the evolution of different congestion protocols and a good motivation for the design of new methologies to overcome the present congestion problems in the network.


This paper describes how we develop a digital life service system by integrating developed separately applications. A lot of Internet appliances are implemented and integrated to evaluate this integration platform. Users can control these appliances by a web browser. We integrated seamlessly these appliances as a whole on the web platform. A home gateway is used as the integration platform. A GPRS modem and a Bluetooth module are connected to the home gateway. The home gateway can thus communicate with all the appliances through the Bluetooth module, and provide a way to approach each appliance from Internet. For each appliance there is a corresponding CGI program to provide as the user interface. Users of the appliance can control each appliance through the web browser. Users can access the appliance through Internet at any place and any time. The GPRS modem can send SMS to user when there are any emergency events.


From the Publisher:
Mastering Unix is your source for everything you need to know about today's most influential operating system. Inside, two Unix experts provide essential information on a wide range of Unix flavors, concentrating on Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris8. Whether you're just getting started with Unix or want a resource to help you handle system administration's toughest chores, this example-filled book will answer all your questions and promote the skills you need to succeed. Coverage includes:
Using the Unix shell Using X-Windows Configuring and using remote services Connecting to the Internet Creating user accounts Creating user groups Designing and building a network Using Unix utilities Programming the shell Setting up and administering a mail server Setting up and administering a news server Setting up and administering a Web server Implementing effective security practices


Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is an extracellular signaling mediator with a broad range of cellular responses. Three G-protein-coupled receptors (Edg-2, -4, and -7) have been identified as receptors for LPA. In this study, the ectophosphatase lipid phosphate phosphatase 1 (LPP1) has been shown to down-regulate LPA-mediated mitogenesis. Furthermore, using degradation-resistant phosphonate analogs of LPA and stereoselective agonists of the Edg receptors we have demonstrated that the mitogenic and platelet aggregation responses to LPA are independent of Edg-2, -4, and -7. Specifically, we found that LPA degradation is insufficient to account for the decrease in LPA potency in mitogenic assays, and the stereoselectivity observed at the Edg receptors is not reflected in mitogenesis. Additionally, RH7777 cells, which are devoid of Edg-2, -4, and -7 receptor mRNA, have a mitogenic response to LPA and LPA analogs. Finally, we have determined that the ligand selectivity of the platelet aggregation response is consistent with that of mitogenesis, but not with Edg-2, -4, and -7.


Human beta-galactosidase and alpha-neuraminidase deficient mucolipidosis [ML(gal-neur-)] is an inherited lysosomal enzymopathy which recently was designated as a sialidosis. We analyzed the neuraminidase deficiency of this disorder with genetic complementation analyses using a heterokaryon enrichment procedure. The genetic defects of two apparent variants of this disorder complemented the defects of the neuraminidase deficiency diseases, sialidosis I and mucolipidosis I, resulting in the restoration of neuraminidase activity in heterokaryons. The neuraminidase deficiency, therefore, may not be the primary defect in ML(gal-neur-) and is not an appropriate test for determining carrier status. The clinical and biochemical characteristics of this disorder suggest that a post-translational or processing event for these enzymes may be defective. The defect, however, is different from I-cell disease and pseudo-Hurler polydystrophy, two disorders of post-translational lysosomal enzyme biosynthesis, since complementation studies demonstrated recovery of intracellular beta-galactosidase and alpha-neuraminidase levels in heterokaryons. The lack of human beta-galactosidase expression in man-mouse somatic cell hybrids formed from fibroblasts of the infantile onset type disorder suggests that the defect is not corrected by the mouse genome. The ML(gal-neur-) disorder therefore appears to be a distinct subtype of the inherited neuraminidase deficiencies in which the defect mat occur in a post-translational or regulatory step which coordinately affects the expression of lysosomal beta-galactosidase and alpha-neuraminidase.


Despite the availability of preventative vaccines, human papillomaviruses (HPVs) cause more cancers than any other virus. Like other viral pathogens that cause human cancers, most HPV infections do not cause overt harm, let alone symptoms. Indeed, in immune-competent persons, most genital infections are eventually cleared. Nonetheless, the incidence of HPV-associated cancers in anatomic sites for which no screening algorithms have been validated is rising steadily. Preinvasive, intraepithelial lesions are associated with integration of the HPV genome into the host genome, and subsequent expression of the viral oncoproteins, E6 and E7, which are required for disease initiation and persistence. These true tumor-specific antigens provide non-"self" targets for immune therapies. The relatively indolent clinical course of preinvasive lesions, and tissue tropism of HPV infections provide opportunities to identify and treat early stage disease. In cervical HPV disease, a subset of high grade dysplastic lesions, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3), do in fact undergo complete regression, which is presumably immunologically mediated. However, T cell responses to viral antigens, measured in the blood, have not been informative with respect to immune responses in the cervical mucosa. Our team has been studying strategies to enhance the quality and magnitude of immune responses to HPV antigens. Ongoing clinical trials testing therapeutic vaccination and strategies to manipulate the lesion microenvironment to enhance homing and access of immune effector cells will be discussed. The design of these trials has been informed by studies of tissue-resident T cells in normal cervical mucosa, and by changes identified in dysplastic mucosa, both in lesions that regress, and in those that do not, in the course of a defined, prospective study window. Changes in the composition and distribution of tissue T cells postvaccination will be presented. Strategies to modify the stromal compartment of HPV lesions to promote lesion clearance will also be discussed. Citation Format: C.L. Trimble, J. Teague, T.C. Wu, R.A. Clark. Cervical tissue T cells in HPV disease. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology: Multidisciplinary Science Driving Basic and Clinical Advances; Dec 2-5, 2012; Miami, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(1 Suppl):Abstract nr IA23.


In recent years the simplistic categorization of Victorian practices and beliefs as either 'occult' or 'scientific' has been undercut by a series of revisionist analyses that point to an over-arching concern with influence and effect, a concern that was manifest across the sciences and humanities and beyond into popular culture. This paper sets out to further problematize such a distinction via an exploration of twentieth-century research into electronic voice phenomena (EVP), celebrated by its adherents as proof of a spiritual plane of existence beyond the readily observable or audible. In doing so, I focus on the work of one of the most active EVP researchers, Konstantin Raudive, as well as the web pages of the World Instrumental Transcommunication organization, drawing out the pivotal role of technology in the construction of this form of knowledge and some of its associated imaginative geographies. In and of itself, EVP research tells us much about the authoritative status of cause and effect explanatory frameworks, as well as the innocence accorded technological apparatus. An examination of how EVP has been received within academia, however, also reveals how, in our 'post'-positivist academic environment, efforts are still being made to locate explanation within the human subject, as the charge is made that EVP researchers suffer from a logocentrism or are witness to Freud's doppelgänger. In response to these critiques, I pose the question: can the willingness of EVP researchers to abandon such human-centered certainties resonate with emergent 'post-human' ideas on the nature of explanation itself?


Objective To determine rates of psychiatric comorbidity in a clinical sample of childhood movement disorders (MDs). Design Cohort study. Setting Tertiary children's hospital MD clinics in Sydney, Australia and London, UK. Patients Cases were children with tic MDs (n=158) and non-tic MDs (n=102), including 66 children with dystonia. Comparison was made with emergency department controls (n=100), neurology controls with peripheral neuropathy or epilepsy (n=37), and community controls (n=10 438). Interventions On-line development and well-being assessment which was additionally clinically rated by experienced child psychiatrists. Main outcome measures Diagnostic schedule and manual of mental disorders-5 criteria for psychiatric diagnoses. Results Psychiatric comorbidity in the non-tic MD cohort (39.2%) was comparable to the tic cohort (41.8%) (not significant). Psychiatric comorbidity in the non-tic MD cohort was greater than the emergency control group (18%, p<0.0001) and the community cohort (9.5%, p<0.00001), but not the neurology controls (29.7%, p=0.31). Almost half of the patients within the tic cohort with psychiatric comorbidity were receiving medical psychiatric treatment (45.5%) or psychology interventions (43.9%), compared with only 22.5% and 15.0%, respectively, of the non-tic MD cohort with psychiatric comorbidity. Conclusions Psychiatric comorbidity is common in non-tic MDs such as dystonia. These psychiatric comorbidities appear to be under-recognised and undertreated.


This study examines strategies for anonymizing online data in a way that follows ethical guidelines while also retaining the fluid nature of participant engagement with social media. We explore unanticipated ethical issues that emerged as we began capturing and anonymizing social media posts for our ethnography of college students and online sociality. Using examples from our data, we illustrate our penciling technique to anonymize images for the naked eye while also considering the digital footprint. We consider methodological and ethical challenges of anonymization in a specific internet research context — user generated social media images obtained with informed consent — and explore the implications of our findings on the potential life of digital content.


Mineral fillers are used in concrete for a number of reasons, which include achieving self-consolidation properties. Different fillers are available depending on the type of the original rock. Alkali-silica reaction might occur if the filler is produced from a reactive rock. The present research focuses on evaluating the applicability of the current accelerated mortar bar test, described in ASTM C1260 and CSA A23.2-25A, in evaluating their reactivity. Three different fillers are used: a calcium-carbonate filler, a carbonate silica filler with 27% SiO2, and a siliceous filler produced from reactive aggregate. Two different gradations of the filler obtained from reactive aggregate are tested: 1) Gradation finer than 75 µm; 2) Gradation with 30% passing 150 µm sieve but is retained on 75 µm sieve and remaining 70% passing 75 µm. Results showed that the calcium-carbonate filler and the carbonate silica filler did not show any expansion higher than the non-reactive sand, while the filler obtained from reactive aggregate did not show expansion higher than the control at 14 days for both gradations, with the expansion showing at later age. This might be due to the high surface area of fillers and the reduced permeability affecting the rate of expansion. Hence, the need to extend the testing period beyond the 14-day specified in the standard to be able to see the expansion.


This paper describes the LIG experiments in the co ntext of IWSLT09 evaluation (Arabic to English Statistical Machine Translation task). Arabic is a morphologically rich language, and recent experimentations in our laboratory have shown that the performance of Arabic to English SMT systems varies greatly according to the Arabic morphological segmenters applied. Based on this observation, we propose to use simultaneously multiple segmentations for machine translation of Arabic. The core idea is to keep the ambiguity of the Arabic segmentation in the system input (using confusion networks or lattices). Then, we hope that the best segmentation will be chosen during MT decoding. The mathematics of this multiple segmentation approach are given. Practical implementations in the case of verbatim text translation as well as speech translation (outside of the scope of IWSLT09 this year) are proposed. Experiments conducted in the framework of IWSLT evaluation campaign show the potential of the multiple segmentation approach. The last part of this paper explains in detail the different systems submitted by LIG at IWSLT09 and the results obtained.


Tourism is significantly contributed to economic development and it is expected to promote tourism development. Tourism industry is not only influences the economic fabric in the society and also it touches the social and moral values. Tourism creates a large amount of employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled, because it is a labour-intensive industry, which increases the foreign exchanges and local income. This industry play the vital role in the nation building and economic stability of the nation, so the entrepreneurship became a gift in tourism industry with the cause of environmentally preserved, economically beneficial and sustainable development for the localities and their development. Tourism entrepreneurship eliminates societal problems, but surge the fiscal growth and development of a country, resulting to rise in country's GDP. Entrepreneurship in tourism related with all spheres of industry as tour operations, handicrafts, hotel industry and supplementary accommodation etc. Entrepreneurs in tourism industry are more concern with economically, socially and environmentally process in an ethical manner. Entrepreneurship is necessary for creation of new organization, construct new businesses. The tourism industry must be able to clearly understand the requirements of the process, tools and resources and also get opportunities to the entrepreneur. Tourism is part of entrepreneurship and promotion of the economic development. In this context the present study has undertaken to examine the role of Entrepreneurship in Tourism Development.


A large percentage of cancer cases present without knowledge of the causative genetic events. Tyrosine kinases are frequently implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer, but identification of specific tyrosine kinases as cancer targets has been a slow process. Tyrosine kinases are thought to play a causative role in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), based in part on the high percentage of cases with phosphorylation of STAT5—a marker for activity of tyrosine kinase signaling. However, known abnormalities in tyrosine kinases in AML are restricted to internal tandem duplications of FLT3 or genetic aberrations in FLT3, c-KIT, and a few other genes. Thus, the specific tyrosine kinases that form the basis for targeted intervention have remained unclear in the majority of AML patients. Here, we report a novel assay by which cells from AML patients are functionally screened with RNAi to elucidate tyrosine kinase targets amenable to therapeutic intervention. Methods: To determine targets necessary for viability of malignant cells, we screened cell lines as well as primary cells from AML patients by electroporating siRNAs individually targeting each member of the tyrosine kinase family. Four days later, we determined the cell viability and tabulated sensitivity of the cells to any individual tyrosine kinase. Where possible, results were confirmed by treating samples with small-molecule inhibitors with activity against the genes identified by the assay. In addition, the mechanism of oncogenesis was investigated for each positive result. Results: We demonstrate that siRNA screening can identify tyrosine kinase targets containing activating mutations in JAK3 (A572V) in CMK cells (Figure 1) and c-KIT (V560G) in HMC1.1 cells. In addition, this assay identifies targets that do not contain mutations, such as JAK1 (Figure 1) and the focal adhesion kinases, yet are still crucial to the survival of the cells. We have also used this assay to determine sensitivity of numerous primary AML samples to inhibition of individual tyrosine kinases. Candidate targets found in primary samples include FLT1, PDGFR, JAK1/3, JAK2, CSF1R, ROR1, and EPHA5. Studies using small-molecule kinase inhibitors have confirmed sensitivity of specific samples to inhibition of target genes identified by the assay. Finally, the mechanism of oncogenesis and its relation to the gene target has been established in select samples with genetic abnormalities ranging from point mutations and insertional mutations to evidence of chromosomal rearrangements. Conclusions: We demonstrate that RNAi functional screening can determine sensitivity to individual tyrosine kinases, both in cell lines and in primary samples. For the first time, this technique offers the potential to match specific therapies for targeted intervention with individual patients based on a functional assay.


This paper describes a self-tuning method of membership functions in a fuzzy-logic-based cardiac pacing system and validates its feasibility in a double sensor system which has minute ventilation and oxygen saturation level as its guides for the rate regulation. Though the agreement between the pacing rates (fuzzy rates) calculated with three linguistic variables for each parameter and the target rates were not satisfactory, it was improved significantly by tuning the membership functions. Almost the same evaluated values with those obtained by using six linguistic variables for each parameter were obtained. Time required for the self-tuning process was about 40 s (386CPU, 20 MHz) which was fast enough for the system. The smaller number of linguistic labels results in a smaller number of rules, which is beneficial in implantable cardiac pacemakers with limited memory capacity. A fuzzy-logic-based cardiac pacing system is promising for the realization of custom-made cardiac pacemakers.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Opioid pain medications are overprescribed, but little data is available to appropriately tailor post-discharge opioid prescriptions after urologic surgery. The Opioid Reduction Intervention for Open, Laparoscopic, and Endoscopic Surgery (ORIOLES) initiative established an evidence-based reference value for opioid prescribing after radical prostatectomy and implemented a prospective intervention to reduce prescribing and use. The objective of the present study was to report on changes in opioid prescribing and use after intervention in the ORIOLES initiate. METHODS: A prospective, non-randomized, pre-post cohort study of patients undergoing radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer (2017-2018) as part of ORIOLES was conducted. The primary outcome was total oral morphine equivalents (OMEQ) used after surgery with a reference value set to meet the needs of >80% of patients based on the pre-intervention cohort. Surgical approach and predictors of use were assessed via multivariable linear regression and mixed effects models. The post-intervention cohort all received an informational discharge sheet on opioid medications, nursing education, and standardized prescribing based on the reference value. RESULTS: A total of 205 patients were included in the pre-intervention cohort and 87 patients in the post-intervention cohort. Prior to intervention, a median of 225mg OMEQ was prescribed, 22.5mg used, an overall 77% of medication unused, and 9.3% appropriate disposal of leftover medication. About 84% of patients required ⩽112.5mg OMEQ with greater prescribing independently associated with greater opioid use in adjusted models. The post-intervention cohort demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in OMEQ prescribed (-45.5%; mean 226.5mg to 123.4mg). OMEQ used was decreased (-21.5%; mean 52.5mg to 41.2mg) with a slight increase in disposal (+7.6%; 9.3% to 16.9%) though these were not statistically significant with the current sample size. Only 6 (6.9%) patients required additional opioid medication in the post-intervention cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Opioid pain medications are overprescribed relative to actual use by patients after radical prostatectomy with more opioids used when a greater quantity is prescribed. An appropriate baseline reference value for prescriptions after radical prostatectomy is 112.5mg OMEQ, which equates to 15 tablets of oxycodone 5 mg, with a simple prospective, evidence-based intervention associated with improved prescribing, use, and disposal. Source of Funding: none


Currently, main problem in special support equipment of our army is less links among the various equipment, whose special resources are too many and whose models and specifications are complex, so that interoperability is not high which leading to poorly utilize. To solve this problem of support equipment, this article creates a series of functional modules in modularization theory. Through equipping various universal and special support functional modules, basic module can support various tasks. It reduces species and scale of support equipment, and optimizes and integrates the support devices. By analyzing correlation of functional units, the correlation matrix of function units is constructed. Using fuzzy clustering analysis based on the transitive closure method, the support equipment is decomposed. Through the organic combination of the functional module, a common support platform is established. As an example of armored recovery vehicle (ARV) family, a common support platform is analyzed to validate the proposed design methods and a theory foundation is provided for establishment of the modular common support platform of armored equipment.


The horizontal transfer of genes encoding ice-binding proteins (IBPs), proteins that confer freeze-thaw tolerance, has allowed many microorganisms to expand their ranges into polar regions. One group of microorganisms for which nothing is known about its IBPs is cyanobacteria. In this study, we identified a cyanobacterial IBP and showed that it was likely acquired from another bacterium, probably a planctomycete. We also showed that a consortium of IBP-producing bacteria living with the Nostoc contribute to its IBP activity. ABSTRACT Ice-binding proteins (IBPs) have been identified in numerous polar algae and bacteria, but so far not in any cyanobacteria, despite the abundance of cyanobacteria in polar regions. We previously reported strong IBP activity associated with an Antarctic Nostoc species. In this study, to identify the proteins responsible, as well as elucidate their origin, we sequenced the DNA of an environmental sample of this species, designated Nostoc sp. HG1, and its bacterial community and attempted to identify IBPs by looking for known IBPs in the metagenome and by looking for novel IBPs by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) proteomics analyses of ice affinity-purified proteins. The metagenome contained over 116 DUF3494-type IBP genes, the most common type of IBP identified so far. One of the IBPs could be confidently assigned to Nostoc, while the others could be attributed to diverse bacteria, which, surprisingly, accounted for the great majority of the metagenome. Recombinant Nostoc IBPs (nIBPs) had strong ice-structuring activities, and their circular dichroism spectra were consistent with the secondary structure of a DUF3494-type IBP. nIBP is unusual in that it is the only IBP identified so far to have a PEP (amino acid motif) C-terminal signal, a signal that has been associated with anchoring to the outer cell membrane. These results suggest that the observed IBP activity of Nostoc sp. HG1 was due to a combination of endogenous and exogenous IBPs. Amino acid and nucleotide sequence analyses of nIBP raise the possibility that it was acquired from a planctomycete. IMPORTANCE The horizontal transfer of genes encoding ice-binding proteins (IBPs), proteins that confer freeze-thaw tolerance, has allowed many microorganisms to expand their ranges into polar regions. One group of microorganisms for which nothing is known about its IBPs is cyanobacteria. In this study, we identified a cyanobacterial IBP and showed that it was likely acquired from another bacterium, probably a planctomycete. We also showed that a consortium of IBP-producing bacteria living with the Nostoc contribute to its IBP activity.


A novel eager encoding of the ALLDIFFERENT constraint over bit-vectors is presented in this short paper. It is based on 1-to-1 mapping of the input bit-vectors to a linearly ordered set of auxiliary bit-vectors. Experiments with four SAT solvers showed that the new encoding could be solved order of magnitudes faster than the standard encoding in a hard unsatisfiable case.


We give a complete classification of the 32-dimensional pointed Hopf algebras over an algebraically closed field k with char k = 2. It turns out that there are infinite families of isomorphism classes of pointed Hopf algebras of dimension 32. In [AS1], [BDG] and [Ge] are given families of counterexamples for the tenth Kaplansky conjecture. Up to now, 32 is the lowest dimension where Kaplansky conjecture fails.


Abstract Many physicians believe illustrations can be helpful in patient encounters, but fail to create such drawings due to a perceived lack of artistic ability. Digital drawing platforms, however, have the ability to compensate for the lack of artistic skills. Our study sought to evaluate how digital drawing instruction would impact the likelihood of medical students to utilise illustrations in future patient encounters. 'Draw Your Way Through Medicine' was an elective course, offered at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 2020. The course instructed students how to create digital drawings using Procreate and how to depict specific surgical procedures. Students completed pre-and post-course surveys, which were analysed using paired t-tests. Thirty-six students enrolled in the course, of which 27 completed the pre-course survey and 21 completed both pre-and post-course surveys. Students' comfort level with drawing improved somewhat (3.0 to 3.5, p = .08), while their comfort level with creating medical illustrations improved significantly (2.2 to 3.7, p < .01). Qualitative responses echoed the enthusiasm for implementing digital drawing as a clinical communication tool. A digital drawing course showed considerable value in improving medical students' confidence in generating medical illustrations, making this form of visual communication a potentially valuable tool in patient care.


The scope of this study was to describe the prevalence and factors associated with anemia and vitamin A deficiency (VAD) in children under five years old assisted under the Family Health Program. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Pernambuco, Brazil, in 2006. Children between 6 and 59 months-old, who had performed measurements of hemoglobin and serum retinol, were selected using samples from 945 and 563 children respectively. Anemia was determined by the hemoglobin level < 11 g/dL and VAD by serum retinol < µmol/L. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed by Poisson multiple regression using a hierarchical model. Anemia prevalence was 35%, decreasing with the increase number of people per room, maternal age and the child's age. With respect to VAD, its prevalence was 16%, rising in places where garbage disposal was inadequate and in children who had suffered from diarrhea in the previous fifteen days. The prevalence of anemia was more than double that found for VAD, highlighting the influence of environmental factors on VAD.


To analyze the interdependence of respiratory drive, ventilation and airway resistance during exercise, mouth occlusion pressure (P0.1), minute ventilation (V) and mean inspiratory flow (VT/TI) were studied in eight normal subjects performing cycle-ergometer exercise at loads ranging from 0 W to 200 W under two different ambient conditions: 1) during oxygen breathing at 1.3 ATA, and 2) during air breathing at 6 ATA (PO2 = 1.3 ATA). Comparison of measurements at 6 ATA with those at 1.3 ATA indicated that a 4.2-fold increase in respired gas density (D) had little or no influence on the V and VT/TI responses whereas P0.1 at any given VT/TI was increased by a factor of 1.9. In both conditions, P0.1 increased at a faster rate than VT/TI as the work load increased. At loads higher than 40 W, the relationship between P0.1, D and VT/TI was found to approximate the equation P0.1 = K X D0.5(VT/TI)1.4, where K is a constant that varies among subjects. The results indicate that the ratio P0.1/(VT/TI), an estimate of respiratory impedance, increased with both D and VT/TI. Evidence is presented that the respiratory drive was reflexly enhanced in response to loading as airway resistance increased with D and/or VT/TI. We conclude that neural mechanisms compensating for internal flow-resistive loading play an important role in the control of ventilation during exercise, both at normal and at raised air pressures.


This paper proposes an approach to spelling correction. It reranks the output of an existing spelling corrector, Aspell. A discriminative model (Ranking SVM) is employed to improve upon the initial ranking, using additional features as evidence. These features are derived from state-of-the-art techniques in spelling correction, including edit distance, letter-based n-gram, phonetic similarity and noisy channel model. This paper also presents a method to automatically extract training samples from the query log chain. The system outperforms the baseline Aspell greatly, as well as the previous models and several off-the-shelf systems (e.g. spelling corrector in Microsoft Word 2003). The experimental results based on query chain pairs are comparable to that based on manually-annotated pairs, with 32.2%/32.6% reduction in error rate, respectively.


Social Networks and Language Change are an important area of study in today's world. The present study discusses the user friendly nature of Social Networks and how it is of interest to teachers and researchers as it exemplifies the Communicative Approach to the teaching of a language.  This study posits that social networks have not only changed the individuals' linguistic behaviour but also made it easy for him/her to acquire facility in a language in a relatively short span of time.  The easy accessibility of these networks and their flexible language norms in diverse situations has initiated people into a language.  In the context of India it has been seen that the fewer the language norms a person is asked to follow the better s/he conforms to the interaction norm in the virtual community at first and in the society subsequently. Ben Zimmer (2009.Web)) in his Virtual Thesaurus writes that language in the forums like Twitter and Facebook changed the word "friend into a transitive verb to describe the act of adding someone to an online list of acquaintances." and that there are a list of un-verbs which are redefining the English word formation rules such as 'unfollow a post' or 'unlike an update'.Further the study explicates this phenomenon within a pragmatic framework which provides a set of rules governing conversation and the social use of language enabling a communicative approach to the teaching of language.


Purpose of reviewThis manuscript will provide a review of studies published in the last year examining the major disease manifestations, comorbidities, biomarkers and therapeutic trials involving childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE) patients. Recent findingsRecent multicenter prospective cohort studies supported previous findings that cSLE patients accrue damage early on their disease. Four studies showed that ethnicity altered disease severity and incidence of both cSLE and lupus nephritis. Description of clinical features and response to therapy in a large group of cSLE patients with neuropsychiatric involvement provided useful information on this feature. Advancement in the field of biomarkers was seen but the new biomarkers are not yet ready for clinical use. A randomized placebo-controlled trial of statins to prevent atherosclerosis progression did not meet its primary endpoint but did show a trend in improvement of carotid intima–media thickness, a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis. No other prospective interventional treatment trials designed specifically for cSLE patients were reported in the past year. SummaryThere is an urgent need to better characterize the long-term outcome of cSLE patients and identify early on those at risk of a worse outcome. Advances in the field of biologics and small molecules will hopefully allow better targeted therapies of the cSLE population.


The results of treatment of malignant conditions affecting the thyroid may be far better than certain writers would lead one to believe. Moreover, the situation is not hopeless even when the growth has involved surrounding tissues or extended to lymphatic glands. I reported extensive involvement of surrounding tissues in a woman ten years ago; yet she lived over sixteen years following operation and died from apoplexy at the age of 73. 1 This case and two others in which there was secondary involvement of the lymphatic glands of the neck were reported later, and one of the patients is still living and well eleven years following operation; the other lived nine years and was lost from observation. The outlook is encouraging in many of these cases because adenocarcinoma, the most common malignant condition affecting the thyroid, is slow in development; it metastasizes late and is radiosensitive. These facts have been


The molecular chaperone Hsp90 holds great promise as a cancer drug target, despite some of the initial clinical trials of Hsp90 inhibitor drugs having not lived up to expectation. Effective use of these drugs will benefit greatly from a much more detailed understanding of the factors that contribute to resistance, whether intrinsic or acquired. We review how cell culture studies have revealed a number of different mechanisms whereby cells can be rendered less susceptible to the effects of Hsp90 inhibitor treatment. A major influence is Hsp90 inhibition causing strong induction of the heat shock response, a stress response that increases cellular levels of prosurvival chaperones such as Hsp27 and Hsp70. Another problem seems to be that these inhibitors do not always access the Hsp90 proteins of the mitochondrion, forms of Hsp90 that—in cancer cells—are operating to suppress apoptosis. It should be possible to overcome these drawbacks through the appropriate drug redesign or with the combinatorial use of an Hsp90 inhibitor with a drug that targets either heat shock factor or the chaperone Hsp70. Still though, cells will often differ in the key antiapoptotic versus proapoptotic activities that are dependent on Hsp90, in the key steps in their apoptotic pathways responsive to Hsp90 inhibition or Hsp70 level, as well as the extents to which their survival is dependent on oncogenic tyrosine kinases that are clients of Hsp90. A systems approach will therefore often be required in order to establish the most prominent effects of Hsp90 inhibition in each type of cancer cell.


Random vibration is becoming increasingly recognized as the most realistic method of simulating the dynamic environment of military applications. Whereas the use of random vibration specifications was previously limited to particular missile applications, its use has been extended to areas in which sinusoidal vibration has historically predominated, including propeller driven aircraft and even moderate shipboard environments. These changes have evolved from the growing awareness that random motion is the rule, rather than the exception, and from advances in electronics which improve our ability to measure and duplicate complex dynamic environments.


The globally increasing demand for food, fiber, and bio-based products interferes with the ability of arable soils to perform their multiple functions and support sustainable development. Sustainable soil management under high production conditions means that soil functions contribute to ecosystem services and biodiversity, natural and economic resources are utilized efficiently, farming remains profitable, and production conditions adhere to ethical and health standards. Research in support of sustainable soil management requires an interdisciplinary approach to three interconnected challenges: (i) understanding the impacts of soil management on soil processes and soil functions; (ii) assessing the sustainability impacts of soil management, taking into account the heterogeneity of geophysical and socioeconomic conditions; and (iii) having a systemic understanding of the driving forces and constraints of farmers' decision-making on soil management and how governance instruments may, interacting with other driving forces, steer sustainable soil management. The intention of this special issue is to take stock of an emerging interdisciplinary research field addressing the three challenges of sustainable soil management in various geographic settings. In this editorial, we summarize the contributions to the special issue and place them in the context of the state of the art. We conclude with an outline of future research needs.


The color properties of aging wood samples from historical buildings have been compared with those of recent wood samples that were heat treated at temperatures ranging from 908C to 1808C. The results of kinetic analysis obtained by the time-temperature superposition method showed that the color change during natural aging was mainly due to a slow and mild oxidation process. In other words, heat treatment could accelerate the changes in wood color that occur during aging. In one sample, the color change (DE*ab) after 921 years at ambient temperature was almost equivalent to that of heating (artificial aging) approximately for 6.7 h at 1808C. The results have been interpreted that the aging and the subsequent change in wood color begin at the time of tree harvesting.


While effective navigation in large, crowded environments is essential for an autonomous robot, preliminary testing of algorithms to support it requires simulation across a broad range of crowd scenarios. Most available simulation tools provide either realistic crowds without robots or realistic robots without realistic crowds. This paper introduces MengeROS, a 2-D simulator that realistically integrates multiple robots and crowds. MengeROS provides a broad range of settings in which to test the capabilities and performance of navigation algorithms designed for large crowded environments.


COVID-19's lockdown policies saw Modern Manufacturing Practice (MMP) – batch/mass/just-in-time supply chains – severed and societal demands rapidly change from products such as vehicles and clothing to Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), ventilators and equipment for remote working. The critical and, in many cases, life preserving, need for responsive manufacturing resulted in government and frontline services turning to society's Additive Manufacturing (AM) capability in homes, schools, universities, and industry to provide essential products and product replacements. While AM managed to respond and support some government and frontline services, the highly distributed and diverse nature of the nation's AM resources resulted in potentially avoidable production inefficiencies and delays. This paper develops and evaluates a series of strategies for coordinating AM for rapidly changing product demand to further enhance the responsiveness and productivity of AM. The strategies presented in the paper employ a host-client agent-based architecture that enable local governance of production thereby enabling distributed AM resource to come together to tackle society's production needs without the need for centralised coordination. To enable and support local governance, it is necessary to understand how the combination of production logics impact the overall performance of the production system. Correspondingly, the contribution of this paper lies in the characterisation and quantification of the impacts of production logic through the metrics of Time in System, Lateness and Jobs in Queue and the consequences for responsive AM production systems.


Abstract Nonthrombotic iliac vein lesions (NIVLs) most frequently result from extrinsic compression of various segments of the common or external iliac vein. Patients develop symptoms associated with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI); female patients may develop symptoms of pelvic venous disease. Given that iliac vein compression can be clinically silent, a thorough history and physical examination is mandatory to exclude other causes of a patient's symptoms. Venous duplex ultrasound, insufficiency examinations, and axial imaging are most commonly used to assess for the presence of a NIVL. Catheter venography and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) are the mainstay for invasive assessment of NIVLs and planning prior to stent placement. IVUS in particular has become the primary modality by which NIVLs are evaluated; recent evidence has clarified the lesion threshold for stent placement, which is indicated in patients with moderate to severe symptoms. In appropriately selected patients, stent placement results in improved pain, swelling, quality of life, and, when present, healing of venous stasis ulcers. Stent patency is well preserved in the majority of cases, with a low incidence of clinically driven need for reintervention. In this article, we will discuss the clinical features, workup, endovascular management, and treatment outcomes of NIVL.


The effects of lasalocid on fall-calving beef cows were examined in a 196-d trial that began October 12, 1983. Forty-two crossbred cow-calf pairs were stratified to six groups by breed, calving date and sex of calf. Three replications of each of two treatments, 0 and 200 mg lasalocid X head-1 X d-1, were used. The cows were fed a combination of haylage and grass hay ad libitum. The cow-calf pairs were allowed access to pasture at all times, except during the breeding season. At this time they were kept in confinement to facilitate heat detection and artificial insemination. Cow weight changes and body condition (0 = very thin, 9 = very fat) were unaffected (P greater than .10) by feeding lasalocid to the cows. Twelve-hour milk production per cow, percent fat and percent protein were each determined three times during the trial. A slight increase in milk yield was observed in treated cows (P greater than .10). Percent milk fat and protein were also unaffected by treatment (P greater than .10). Lasalocid supplementation of cows did not affect calf gain or 205-d adjusted weaning weight (P greater than .10). Average days open was evaluated for the cows. There were no differences between treatments for actual average days open (P greater than .10). No detrimental effects were observed in long-term feeding of lasalocid to fall-calving beef cows.


Racism in the United States has long been a national problem, not a regional phenomenon. The long and well-documented history of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and racial violence in the South overshadows the persistent reality of racial discrimination, systemic segregation, and entrenched inequality north of the Mason-Dixon line. From the mid-19th century forward, African Americans and their allies mounted a series of challenges to racially separate schools, segregated public accommodations, racially divided workplaces, endemic housing segregation, and discriminatory policing. The northern civil rights movement expanded dramatically in the aftermath of the Great Migration of blacks northward and the intensification of segregation in northern hotels, restaurants, and theaters, workplaces, housing markets, and schools in the early 20th century. During the Great Depression and World War II, emboldened civil rights organizations engaged in protest, litigation, and lobbying efforts to undermine persistent racial discrimination and segregation. Their efforts resulted in legal and legislative victories against racially separate and unequal institutions, particularly workplaces and stores. But segregated housing and schools remained more impervious to change. By the 1960s, many black activists in the North grew frustrated with the pace of change, even as they succeeded in increasing black representation in elected office, in higher education, and in certain sectors of the economy. In the late 20th century, civil rights activists launched efforts to fight the ongoing problem of police brutality and the rise of the prison-industrial complex. And they pushed, mostly through the courts, for the protection of the fragile gains of the civil rights era. The black freedom struggle in the North remained incomplete in the face of ongoing segregation, persistent racism, and ongoing racial inequality in employment, education, income, and wealth.


In this study, the fatty-acid content of peanut, hazelnut, coconut and palm oils were determined by gas chromatography (GS-MS), and correlated to the kinetics of lipid oxidation. The peroxidation of oil emulsions was performed at in a ventilated incubation environment at 37 º C and pH 7. Primary products (hydroperoxides) and the secondary products (malondialdehyde) were monitored by ferric thiocyanate method (Fe( III ) SCN) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) analytical methods, respectively. Pseudo-first order kinetics of hydroperoxides and aldehydes were observed in copper-catalysed oil emulsions, and the absorbance values obtained as a function of the incubation period resulted in sigmoidal curves. The rate constants found via Fe( III ) SCN method were calculated to be in the following descending order: peanut oil > hazelnut oil > palm oil > coconut oil, whereas that via TBARS method yielded peanut oil > hazelnut oil > coconut oil > palm oil. This study showed that the fatty acid content and peroxidation kinetics data can be used together in the selection of more nutritious fats with a longer shelf life.


In forensics, there is often a difficulty conveying critical scientific terms to investigators, attorneys, juries, and even court reporters. Forensic Science Glossary is a single source reference that contains the spelling and definitions of commonly used terms found in forensic environments. This glossary of words and their meanings covers important areas of forensic science, including the relevant toxicology, documents, drug chemistry, criminalistics, ballistics, and DNA analysis. It is the first forensic glossary to integrate such a wide variety of topics.


Today, an increasing number of applications rely on location and proximity information to deliver services. With the introduction of Wi-Fi Fine Timing Measurement (FTM) in the IEEE 802.11-2016 standard, Wi-Fi derived location and proximity information will play a key role in many safety- and security-critical applications. For example, Wi-Fi FTM is adopted in Wi-Fi Aware where it enables geo-fencing and mobile identification. In this paper, we perform the first security analysis of Wi-Fi FTM and analyze its security guarantees across the logical and physical layers. We find various weaknesses that enable an attacker to introduce distance reductions and enlargements to any arbitrary attacker-chosen value, requiring commodity hardware only. We perform an evaluation using commercial access points, smartphones, and off-the-shelf Wi-Fi cards, and show that an attacker can manipulate distances with meter-level precision. Furthermore, we highlight the distance manipulation attacks which are independent of any higher-layer cryptographic protection, exposing fundamental limitations to achieving secure distance measurements in the current standard. Finally, we present security recommendations for the design and implementation of Wi-Fi FTM and next-generation positioning protocols.


Variability in juvenile survival rate is expected to be an important component of the dynamics of long-lived animal populations. Across a range of species, individual variation in juvenile body mass has been shown to be an important cause of variation in fates of juveniles. Our goal in this paper was to estimate age-specific apparent survival rates for Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) in Erebus Bay, Antarctica, and to investigate hypotheses about relationships between body mass at weaning and apparent survival rate for juveniles. Mark-resighting models found average apparent juvenile survival rate (survival from weaning to age 3) was similar between males and females, and revealed positive relationships between body mass at weaning and apparent juvenile survival rate. The effects of body mass on juvenile survival rate differed between the sexes and the relationship between body mass and survival rate was stronger in males. These results indicate that the magnitude of energy transferred from mother to pup during lactation likely has important consequences on offspring survival rate and maternal fitness.


Objective: The aim of this study is to determine relationship of cytochrome P-450 2C19 (CYP2C19) enzymes polymorphism, side effects, and medication adherence in patients who have been diagnosed with major depression and have utilized selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Methods: Fifty-three major depression patients (mean of age: 33.25±11.29 years old; male/female: 7/46) were included in this study. Polymorphisms were determined from genomic DNA by using the 'Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction' method. Side effects and medication adherence levels were assessed by using the 'Toronto Side Effects Scale' and the four items medication adherence scale (Morisky, Green and Levine), respectively. Results: The most common side effects that patients reported were drowsiness/daytime somnolence (54.7%), malaise or fatigue (43.4%), sweating (43.4%), nausea (41.5%) and dry mouth (41.5%). Only nine (17%) patients were found to be highly adherent to their medication. When evaluating the CYP2C19 polymorphisms of patients, 37.7%, 24.5% and 20.8% of the patients were classified as intermediate, extensive and ultra-rapid metabolizers, respectively. Allele frequencies of CYP2C19*17 and CYP2C19*2 was calculated as 24.5% and 27.4%, respectively. Although there were some differences in side effect scores and medication adherences among the polymorphism groups, these relationships were not found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: This study shows that patients who utilized antidepressants frequently experienced side effects and had low medication adherence. Another interesting finding is the high rate of ultrarapid metabolizers of CYP2C19.


If fuel cells and fuel batteries attain their expected usefulness in the future, electrical and electronics engineers may some day be joined by a new kind of engineerߞthe electrochemical engineer. The fuel-cell problems this new engineer will have to face include those involving various types of fuels and their properties, efficiency, reliability, life, and operating temperatures. All of these properties are tied in with the important consideration of economics.


This article studies the pod layout problem in the Kiva mobile fulfillment system which adopts the synchronized zoning strategy. An integer programming model for the pod layout problem is formulated under the premise of knowing the relationship of the pods and items. A three-stage algorithm is proposed based on the Spectral Clustering algorithm. Firstly, the pod similarity matrix and the Laplacian matrix are constructed according to the relationship of the pods and items. Secondly, the pods are clustered by the Spectral Clustering algorithm and assigned to each zone based on the cluster results. Finally, the exact locations of pods in each zone are determined by the historical retrieval frequency of items, using the real data of a large-scale Kiva mobile fulfillment system to simulate and calculate the order picking efficiency before and after the adjustment of the pod layout. The results showed that the pod layout using synchronized zoning strategy can effectively improve the picking efficiency.


OBJECTIVE. We examined the feasibility of study procedures and explored the potential efficacy of Occupational Performance Coaching for stroke survivors (OPC–Stroke), an intervention designed to improve participation after stroke. METHOD. In this pilot randomized controlled trial, 21 participants were randomized to receive the intervention or usual care. Recruitment, retention, and outcome completion rates were calculated. Direction of change and effect sizes were examined for the outcomes of participation, goal performance and satisfaction, goal self-efficacy, emotional well-being, and cognition. RESULTS. Rates of recruitment (66%) and retention (81%) were satisfactory. Participation scores improved for both groups with different trajectories. Results showed a moderate effect of OPC–Stroke for goal performance (&eegr;2partial d = .075) and satisfaction (&eegr;2partial d = .078) and a large effect for cognition (&eegr;2partial d = .167). Other outcome measures did not change as expected. CONCLUSION. Study procedures were generally feasible. Preliminary findings support testing to examine the efficacy of OPC–Stroke.


The translation of ἐξουσία [ eksousia ] in John 1:12. A survey of Bible translations in Afrikaans, Dutch, English, German and French indicates that the term ἐξουσία [ eksousia ] in John 1:12 is translated in different ways by translators. In Afrikaans the options available to translators are 'gesag' ('authority'), 'mag' ('might'), 'krag' ('power'), 'reg' ('right') and 'voorreg' ('privilege'). In this article, the translation into Afrikaans of the term in John 1:12 is considered. The article begins with an overview of choices made by previous translators in this regard, as well as an overview of how the term is interpreted in dictionaries and by commentators. This is followed by an investigation of the other occurrences of the term in the Fourth Gospel, and suggestions as to the way it should be interpreted in each case. The use of the term in John 1:12 is then considered. It is proposed that the best translation of the term in Afrikaans is 'mag' ('might').


Abstract Enzymes are widely applied in various industrial applications and processes, including the food and beverage, animal feed, textile, detergent and medical industries. Enzymes screened from natural origins are often engineered before entering the market place because their native forms do not meet the requirements for industrial application. Protein engineering is concerned with the design and construction of novel enzymes with tailored functional properties, including stability, catalytic activity, reaction product inhibition and substrate specificity. Two broad approaches have been used for enzyme engineering, namely, rational design and directed evolution. The powerful and revolutionary techniques so far developed for protein engineering provide excellent opportunities for the design of industrial enzymes with specific properties and production of high-value products at lower production costs. The present review seeks to highlight the major fields of enzyme application and to provide an updated overview on previous protein engineering studies wherein natural enzymes were modified to meet the operational conditions required for industrial application.


CONTEXT
Although more than half of the world's population is colonized with Helicobacter pylori, it remains unknown why this organism is able to produce severe disease in some hosts and be innocuous in others. The clinical outcome of infection is determined by several factors, including differences in the host response to bacterial stimulation, specific virulence factors of the organism and environmental influences, or a combination of these factors.

OBJECTIVES
This study compared the prevalence of H. pylori infection and risk factors (infection with CagA+ strains, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, and inadequate eating habits) between patients with different gastrointestinal disorders and associated these risk factors with the histopathological findings.

METHODS
In a prospective study, samples were collected from 442 patients and a standardized questionnaire regarding lifestyle habits (excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, and eating habits) was applied. The presence of H. pylori and of the cagA gene was investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Gastric biopsies were obtained for histological assessment.

RESULTS
The frequency of alcohol consumption, smoking, inadequate diet and infection with CagA+ H. pylori was higher among patients with peptic ulcer and adenocarcinoma when compared to those with gastritis. Gastric inflammation was more pronounced in patients infected with CagA+ strains.

CONCLUSION
We conclude that infection with CagA+ H. pylori strains, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and inadequate eating habits increase the risk of developing peptic ulcer and gastric carcinoma.


With the wide application of nuclear energy, the problem of radioactive pollution has attracted worldwide attention, and the research on the treatment of radioactive wastewater is imminent. How to treat radioactive wastewater deeply and efficiently has become the most critical issue in the development of nuclear energy technology. The radioactive wastewater produced after using nuclear technology has the characteristics of many kinds, high concentration, and large quantity. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the treatment technology of radioactive wastewater in reprocessing plants. The process flow and waste liquid types of the post-treatment plant are reviewed. The commonly used evaporation concentration, adsorption, precipitation, ion exchange, biotechnology, membrane separation, and photocatalysis are summarized. The basic principles and technological characteristics of them are introduced. The advantages and disadvantages of different single and combined processes are compared, and the development trend of future processing technology is prospected.


A review of 15 months' experience shows the major indications for sagittal and coronal reconstruction images in computed body tomography (CBT) are in the differentiation of lung disease from disease of the chest wall; of supradiaphragmatic from infradiaphragmatic lesions; of intrahepatic from perihepatic abnormality; of renal from perirenal disease; in establishing the level of obstruction in the jaundiced patient and in mapping pelvic malignancy. The accurate definition of the extent of disease proved beneficial in planning further diagnostic procedures (needle aspiration for malignant cells or abscess drainage), in determining the surgical approach, and in planning radiation therapy.


Leiomyoma of the lung is extremely rare. The entity is not described in WHO blue book. Less than 100 cases of leiomyoma of the lung have been reported in the literature. However, vascular leiomyoma has not been reported in the literature, to the author's best knowledge. Herein reported is the first case of vascular leiomyoma of the lung arising from smooth muscles of the pulmonary artery. A 62-year-old woman (non-smoker) was found to have a small tumor in the upper lobe in the right lung in routine check. Imaging modalities including CT demonstrated no metastatic lesions. Although clinical cytology and biopsy revealed no malignant cell, right upper lobectomy was performed under the clinical diagnosis of lung carcinoma. Grossly, a white tumor of 1 x 0.8 cm was recognized in the lung. Microscopically, the tumor was connected to the pulmonary arteries. The tumor was composed of mature smooth muscles. Small pulmonary arteries are embedded in the tumor. No lymphatics were seen. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were poisitive for alpha-smooth muscle actin, vimentin and Ki-67 (labeling 2%). However, they were negative for cytokeratin (CK) AE1/3, CK CAM5.2, desmin, S100 protein, p53, CD34, KIT, HMB45, estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and myoglobin. A pathological diagnosis of primary vascular leiomyoma arising from the smooth muscle of pulmonary artery was made. The patient is now free from tumor, and is now alive 10 year after the operation.


BACKGROUND
In response to high salt intake, transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 1α activates many antihypertensive genes, such as heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) 1 and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) in the renal medulla, which is an important molecular adaptation to promote extra sodium excretion. We recently showed that high salt inhibited the expression of HIF prolyl-hydroxylase 2 (PHD2), an enzyme that promotes the degradation of HIF-1α, thereby upregulating HIF-1α, and that high salt-induced inhibition in PHD2 and subsequent activation of HIF-1α in the renal medulla was blunted in Dahl salt-sensitive hypertensive rats. This study tested the hypothesis that silencing the PHD2 gene to increase HIF-1α levels in the renal medulla attenuates salt-sensitive hypertension in Dahl S rats.

METHODS
PHD2 short hairpin RNA (shRNA) plasmids were transfected into the renal medulla in uninephrectomized Dahl S rats. Renal function and blood pressure were then measured.

RESULTS
PHD2 shRNA reduced PHD2 levels by >60% and significantly increased HIF-1α protein levels and the expression of HIF-1α target genes HO-1 and COX-2 by >3-fold in the renal medulla. Functionally, pressure natriuresis was remarkably enhanced, urinary sodium excretion was doubled after acute intravenous sodium loading, and chronic high salt-induced sodium retention was remarkably decreased, and as a result, salt-sensitive hypertension was significantly attenuated in PHD2 shRNA rats compared with control rats.

CONCLUSIONS
Impaired PHD2 response to high salt intake in the renal medulla may represent a novel mechanism for hypertension in Dahl S rats, and inhibition of PHD2 in the renal medulla could be a therapeutic approach for salt-sensitive hypertension.


Alzheimer's disease is the most frequent type of dementia for elderly patients. Due to aging populations, the occurrence of this disease will increase in the next years. Early diagnosis is crucial to be able to develop more powerful treatments. Brain perfusion changes can be a marker for Alzheimer's disease. In this article, we study the use of SPECT perfusion imaging for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease differentiating between images from healthy subjects and images from Alzheimer's disease patients. Our classification approach is based on a linear programming formulation similar to the 1-norm support vector machines. In contrast with other linear hyperplane-based methods that perform simultaneous feature selection and classification, our proposed formulation incorporates proximity information about the features and generates a classifier that does not just select the most relevant voxels but the most relevant "areas" for classification resulting in more robust classifiers that are better suitable for interpretation. This approach is compared with the classical Fisher linear discriminant (FLD) classifier as well as with statistical parametric mapping (SPM). We tested our method on data from four European institutions. Our method achieved sensitivity of 84.4% at 90.9% specificity, this is considerable better the human experts. Our method also outperformed the FLD and SPM techniques. We conclude that our approach has the potential to be a useful help for clinicians.


Societies need common taboos for their self-preservation. They can be regarded as social defence mechanisms and are therefore unconscious or dissociation phenomena. These qualities may explain many social incompatibilities and, as well as this, the inability of societies to introduce rationally-founded social changes. From this perspective, the decline of ethnic entities can be understood. Marking taboos may therefore be seen as a key to understanding social processes and social standstills. Here the present political developments in Germany serve as an example.


There are a number of medium voltage (MV) power distribution cable networks worldwide that are constructed predominantly of mass impregnated paper cables - London being one of these. Paper insulated lead covered (PILC) cables were extensively laid in the 50s and 60s before the introduction of cheaper polymeric alternatives that were sufficiently reliable. The current operational state of these networks has shown a gradual increase in failure rates of the previously reliable paper cables that are drawing to the end of their expected design life. Utilities are faced with the prospect of the impending failure of large sections of their prized asset and are keen to develop tools to better understand the health of their hardware. The analysis of partial discharge (PD) signals produced by the cables has been identified as a economically viable option to provide continuous condition monitoring of PILC cable circuits. Clearly, a comprehensive understanding of how PD activity relates to the various failure mechanisms exhibited by cable circuits in the field is required. A recently published technique for PD source discrimination was coupled with an understanding of the experiment and applied to the experiment data to isolate the signals specific to each degradation mechanism [1]. This technique has been applied to both rotation machines and transformer systems with promising results. PD signal discrimination is seen as the first step towards an autonomous condition monitoring future


Sclerotherapy is an effective early treatment for bleeding esophageal varices. The procedure can be performed without general anesthesia and can be used to stabilize the situation until a decision is reached regarding long-term therapy. Sclerotherapy has a failure rate of up to 30 percent. Portacaval shunt is recommended if either acute or long-term sclerotherapy fails. Prophylactic sclerotherapy is not recommended.


Experiments were conducted to assess the effect of aonla shape, pre-treatment and drying air temperature on quality attributes of dried product. The aonla fruit was subjected to mechanical treatment to form three shapes i.e. spherical (whole pricked), cylindrical (15x35mm) and sheet (2 mm thickness) and were exposed to different pre-treatments i.e. untreated (UT), water blanching (WB), steam blanching (SB), blanching and sulphiting (B+S), sugar osmosis and salt osmosis prior to convective drying at temperature of 50, 60 and 70°C. The dried aonla (nearly 10% w.b) were analyzed for different quality attributes such as re-constitutional properties, vitamin C, colour and overall acceptability. The data indicated that re-constitutional properties, colour (L, a and b values), vitamin C and overall acceptability of dried aonla samples were significantly affected by the sample shape, pre-treatments and drying air temperature. The L, a and b values of sheet shaped aonla were close to the fresh sample resulting in minimum (6.43) colour change. The blanching + sulphiting pre-treatment samples witnessed minimum colour change and were at par to the salt osmosed samples. In comparison to untreated samples all the treated samples witnessed higher retention of vitamin C and overall acceptability. The maximum (74.49%) vitamin C was retained by the blanching + sulphiting pretreated cylindrical shaped sample dried at 50°C temperature whereas, the maximum consumer acceptance (98.15%) was recorded for sugar osmossed sheet shaped sample dried at 50°C.


M. Singh and B. L. Anderson proposed a perceptual theory of achromatic transparency in which the perceived transmittance of a perceived transparent filter is determined by the ratio of the Michelson contrast seen in the region of transparency to that of the background seen directly. Subsequently, B. L. Anderson, M. Singh, and J. Meng proposed that Michelson contrast should be replaced by perceived contrast in this theory. However, their experimental stimuli were nongeneric (i.e., special cases), and their observers had little choice in their matching strategy. Here, the author shows that both of their ratio-of-contrasts theories are incorrect and that problems with their theoretical analyses and experimental designs led them to conclude that mean luminance does not affect perceived transmittance when contrast is held constant. The author also shows that B. L. Anderson's (2003) transmittance anchoring principle is not valid when a transparent surface is perceived to penetrate rather than overlay another surface. Finally, the author shows that M. Singh's (2004) theoretical proof that the ratio-of-Michelson-contrasts theory accurately predicts lightness matching through transparency is incorrect.


There is growing public perception that fruits from fertilized plantain plants have their organoleptic qualities reduced during food preparations. Such perception has the potential consequence of lowering production levels of the commodity in Ghana. To ascertain the veracity of this perception, a study was conducted between July 2012 and March 2015 to determine the effects of different rates of poultry manure, cocoa pod husk and NPK as soil amendments on nutritional composition, physical characteristics and functional properties of plantain pulp flour. The experimental design was a Randomized Complete Block with three replications. Flours from plantain with amended soils recorded moisture contents (8.41 % to 12.08%) which were within the acceptable levels for flours. The flour with the lowest moisture content was produced from plantain with CPH amendment (8.41%). The protein content of false horn plantain flour was however low (3.39 % to 5.27%).The plantain flour starch was not influenced by any of the soil amendments. On the other hand, flour produced from plantain with NPK+PM amendment had low bulk density and low water absorption capacity. Similarly, the false horn plantain flour had lower swelling power values compared to other flours.Flours from plantain with CPH amendment had lower oil absorption capacity. Flour from plantain with PM amendment was more likely to cook faster than the flour from the plantain with the other amendments. Flours from plantain with NPK+CPH amendment would form a more stable paste because of its lower breakdown value. In conclusion, the plantain flours were comparable to known food flours and therefore could be applicable as thickening agents and also find usefulness in fufu powder preparation and baking.


The thesis consists of four essays on bargaining and repeated games. The first essay studies whether allowing players to sign binding contracts governing future play leads to reputation effects in repeated games with long-run players. Given any prior over behavioral types, a modified prior is constructed with the same total weight on behavioral types and a larger support under which almost all efficient, feasible, and individually rational payoffs are attainable in perfect Bayesian equilibrium. Thus, whether reputation effects emerge in repeated games with contracts depends on details of the prior distribution over behavioral types other than its support. The second essay studies reputational bargaining under the assumption of first-order knowledge of rationality. The share of the surplus that a player can guarantee herself is determined, as is the bargaining posture that she must announce in order to guarantee herself this much. It is shown that this maxmin share of the surplus is large relative to the player's initial reputation, and that the corresponding bargaining posture simply demands this share plus compensation for any delay in reaching agreement. The third essay studies the maximum level of cooperation that can be sustained in sequential equilibrium in repeated games with network monitoring. The foundational result is that the maximum level of cooperation can be sustained in grim trigger strategies. Comparative statics on the maximum level of cooperation are shown to be highly tractable. For the case of fixed monitoring networks, a new notion of network centrality is introduced, which characterizes which players have greater capacities for cooperation and which networks can support more cooperation. The fourth essay studies the price-setting problem of a monopoly that in each time period has the option of failing to deliver its good after receiving payment. Optimal equilibrium pricing and profits are characterized. For durable goods, a lower bound on optimal profit for any discount factor is provided. The bound converges to the optimal static monopoly profit as the discount factor converges to one, in contrast to the Coase conjecture. Thesis Supervisor: Glenn Ellison Thesis Supervisor: Muhamet Yildiz Title: Gregory K. Palm Professor of Economics Title: Professor of Economics Thesis Supervisor: Daron Acemoglu Title: Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics Essays on Bargaining and Repeated Games


Contingency theory has been widely accepted and used in management and accounting literature. It works based on the principle that the appropriateness of managerial techniques or systems is contingent upon the setting of that organisation. Contextual factors may explain the reasons for different systems that suit different organisations differently. This paper discusses the effect of the contextual factors (external environment, technology, structure, culture, size, and strategies) that may affect the organisation's structure, and, consequently, affect the design of the accounting information system.


Abstract The pre-service teachers' attitudes is one indicator to show whether the inclusive education system is successfully implemented. However, no research studies have been conducted to reveal pre-service teachers' attitudes towards inclusive education in Indonesia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to know the attitudes towards inclusive education of pre-service teachers in Indonesia. The current study investigated 177 Indonesian pre-service teachers who have studied the inclusive education course in Yogyakarta city using the teachers' attitudes towards inclusion scale. The findings of the current study were 1) the pre-service teachers had moderate attitudes and beliefs towards inclusive education, 2) there were no differences in attitudes toward inclusive education between males and females, and between those who have never interacted with students with special education needs and those who have such experiences.


Theories of embodied cognition hold that higher cognitive processes operate on perceptual symbols and that concept use involves partial reactivations of the sensory-motor states that occur during experience with the world. On this view, the processing of emotion knowledge involves a (partial) reexperience of an emotion, but only when access to the sensory basis of emotion knowledge is required by the task. In 2 experiments, participants judged emotional and neutral concepts corresponding to concrete objects (Experiment 1) and abstract states (Experiment 2) while facial electromyographic activity was recorded from the cheek, brow, eye, and nose regions. Results of both studies show embodiment of specific emotions in an emotion-focused but not a perceptual-focused processing task on the same words. A follow up in Experiment 3, which blocked selective facial expressions, suggests a causal, rather than simply a correlational, role for embodiment in emotion word processing. Experiment 4, using a property generation task, provided support for the conclusion that emotions embodied in conceptual tasks are context-dependent situated simulations rather than associated emotional reactions. Implications for theories of embodied simulation and for emotion theories are discussed.


Three promising phytoextracting perennial weed species [ L. (ox-eye daisy), L. (curly dock), and L. (Canada goldenrod)] were planted in monoculture plots at two polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated sites in southern Ontario and followed over 2 yr to investigate the effects of plant age, contaminant characteristics, and species-specific properties on PCB uptake and accumulation patterns in plant tissues. Results from this study indicate that, for each of these weed species, shoot contaminant concentrations and total biomass are dependent on plant age and life cycle (vegetative and reproductive stages), which affects the total amount of PCBs phytoextracted on a per-plant basis. Even at suboptimal planting densities of 3 to 5 plants m, all three weed species extracted a greater quantity of PCBs per unit area (4800-10,000 μg m) than the known PCB-accumulator L. ssp (cv Howden pumpkins) (1500-2100 μg m) at one of the two sites. Calculated PCB extractions based on theoretical optimal planting densities were significantly higher at both sites and illustrate the potential of these weeds for site remediation. This study also demonstrates that plants may accumulate PCBs along the stem length in a similar manner as plants.


In this paper, we describe an energy-efficient carry-lookahead adder using reversible energy recovery logic (RERL), which is a new dual-rail reversible adiabatic logic. We also describe an eight-phase, clocked power generator that requires an off-chip inductor. For the energy-efficient design of reversible logic, we explain how to control the overhead of reversibility with a self-energy-recovery circuit. A test chip was implemented with a 0.8 /spl mu/m CMOS technology, which included two 16-bit carry-lookahead adders to allow fair comparison: an RERL one and a static CMOS one. Experimental results showed that the RERL adder had substantial advantages in energy consumption over the static CMOS one at low operating frequencies. We also confirmed that we could minimize the energy consumption in the RERL circuit by reducing the operating frequency until adiabatic and leakage losses were equal.


Phenotypic plasticity and related processes (learning, developmental noise) have been proposed to both accelerate and slow down genetically based evolutionary change. While both views have been supported by various mathematical models and simulations, no general predictions have been offered as to when these alternative outcomes should occur. Here we propose a general framework to study the effects of plasticity on the rate of evolution under directional selection. It is formulated in terms of the fitness gain gradient, which measures the effect of a marginal change in the degree of plasticity on the slope of the relationship between the genotypic value of the focal trait and log fitness. If the gain gradient has the same sign as the direction of selection, an increase in plasticity will magnify the response to selection; if the two signs are opposite, greater plasticity will lead to slower response. We use this general result to derive conditions for the acceleration/deceleration under several simple forms of plasticity, including developmental noise. We also show that our approach explains the results of several specific models from the literature and thus provides a unifying framework.


In Catalonia, from a general point of view and concerning Geolinguistics, three assessments can be done: a) no new initiatives for creating a general linguistic atlas are expected; on the contrary, the tendency would be to create regional or local atlases or, disregarding cartography, to develop of monographs concerning several linguistic aspects of a certain dialectal area; b) there is no perceived need for an electronic publication of the atlas or the release of an internet version (the general format used is paper); and c) there is a possibility of computerising the data contained in old atlases. The main aim of this paper is to describe the processes of systematisation and mapping of dialectal data based on "La flexio verbal en els dialectes catalans". The paper is structured in five parts: a) The corpus of morphological and phonetic data; b) Mapping the data; c) Using the program; d) Sound maps; e) Conclusions.


Wishing to modernize the Romanian novel, Hortensia Papadat Bengescu creates a writing marked by narrative inconstancy and multiple stylistic formulae. Over the aesthetic background of balzacianism, naturalism, proustianism, expressionism, decandent-existentialism, alternating fresco with details, she uses impressionist techniques, mythical projections, archetypes and symbols that converge around a heteroclite stylistic level, so that reading of her novels plays a soteriological role. The reader is engaged in a hermeneutical labyrinth that will point out profound significance. Bengescu often justifies the stylistically changes with the reflector-character's mood shifts or psychic faculties: intuition, reflection, emotion. After the first novel of the series, the author cannot risk an introspective prose; the omniscient narrator provides the necessary elements so that the reader will be able to understand the situation. The main function is given to the account, the consciousness conditions are thoroughly analyzed, and the lack of plot is grammatically suggested by using the past perfect, the tense of suspending action. Except for the first novel, where the reflector-character doesn't contest her perceptions, in the next novels these perceptions are constantly replaced or subdued by a neutral narrator. But, above all, one can identify a narrator who chaffs, debates, borrows and lends others' vocabulary. The importance of chronological evocation is diminished due to the time-consciousness, linked with Bergson's concepts of time and duration, the uninterrupted stream, those moments of expansion or contraction accordingly with the individual meaning. Yet, the watchword is flashback: the characters recall different events, so the present tense is put in the second place. The ellipse is very important, the "narrative delay†(Umberto Eco) making the past more current than the present and leading to similarity with Proust's writing. The Janus-faced time is recurrent at the characters' and narrator's speech level and brings the author's style closer to Thomas Mann's. It is also noticeable the idea of human dissolution in time joint to the decadent vision of waving or undulating time.


The end of last century and the beginning of 21st century marked a significant evolution in information technology and virtual world as a whole, which influenced and dictated the way of living and working around the world, especially in the most developed countries. Thanks to this development, it was possible to cope successfully and continuously during Covid 19 pandemic. Education as one of the strategic and most sensitive sectors, due to Covid 19 pandemic, faced the online learning platform around the globe. In the US and in some developed EU countries, the online learning platform has been a practice applied in the past. However, for many other countries, including Albania, the online learning platform was something new that students and faculty had to face at any rate. Yet, are stakeholders ready to face the online learning platform? This study has analyzed some of the obstacles faced by students, upon the implementation of the online platform. It will be observed whether the efficiency of online learning will have the same efficiency as classical learning. These many other questions will be answered through an empirical and theoretical analysis that was made possible through an online survey, which surveyed 1672 students from all private and public universities operating in the Albanian territory. Multi-factor analysis will be performed through SPSS program, ANOVA test, and Chi-square (χ2). Finally, some conclusions finalize this scientific study.


Analysis of 12S rRNA sequences of twenty specimens from Common Sun Skink Eutropis multifasciata in Central Vietnam showed genetic differences among specimens range from 0% (between the specimens H1, QB1, QB2 and DL6; or H2 and QT1; or H9, HT1, DN1 and NA2; or DN7 and DN8) to 1,79% (between the specimens DN2 and DL5). The mitochondrial tree generated from these sequences confirmed the monophyly of all specimens of E. multifasciata and the monophyly of the genus Eutropis. These mitochondrial 12S rRNA sequences of specimens from E. multifasciata (HI, H2, H3, H9, H10, DL5, DL6, QN1, QN2, QN8, NA2, NA3, QB1, QB2, QT1, HT1, DN1, DN7, DN8, and DN2) were deposited in GenBank with accession number KT350390-KT350409, respectively


In this paper, we examine the problems associated with using quality adjusted life years (QALYs) as the measure of effectiveness to evaluate interventions for acute conditions. We illustrate the way in which using commonly accepted benchmarks for costs per QALY, in order to adopt interventions for acute conditions, might result in decisions that are not consistent with maximizing net societal benefit. We suggest that an alternate methodology, such as willingness to pay, may be more appropriate to make allocation decisions for acute conditions.


Angelman syndrome (AS) is a genetic disorder associated with severe developmental delay. The purpose of this study was to investigate cognitive and linguistic development in AS. Piaget's developmental model was used to evaluate the test results. The participants comprised 20 children (14 boys and 6 girls) aged 2-14 years (median age 7.4 years). AS was diagnosed either according to typical clinical criteria or confirmatory genetic testing. Cognitive functioning was evaluated with Griffiths' Mental Development Scale. Language development was also evaluated with Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Scale 2 (REEL-2). Cognitive functioning, based on results on the Performance Scale, never exceeded Piaget's sensorimotor stage, 0-2 years. The median mental age for language development was 9 months. Expressive verbal vocabulary consisted of less than 2 words (n = 11), 2-3 words (n = 7) and 4-5 words (n = 2). Analyses according to REEL-2 did not indicate a consistent discrepancy between impressive and expressive language.


Zinc thin films deposited on (n-type)silicon at 510o C with oxidation times (10,20,30,35) sec have been oxidized. Zinc have been deposited by thermal diffusion method using heater instead of conventional furnace .It is found that we can get zinc oxide with outoxegen and closed farneces rapidly. The electrical properties in dark show that the detector is shottky diode, and the best time to obtain the detector is 35 sec, and the ideality factor is 3.3 with a work function of 0.58 ev. It is found that the resalts at light power (50,100,150,200,250) mw/cm2.Show that the detector oxidiced in 35 sec have detectivity factor 540.8 and have a high responsivity which enable the detector to detect the IR signals.


Acquired methemoglobinemia is a rare but potentially life-threatening condition that is frequently associated in the primary care setting with topical anesthetics, dapsone, and antimalarial agents.1 As illustrated by the cases of 2 patients who presented to Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia in the span of 3 weeks, health care providers must maintain a heightened index of suspicion for methemoglobinemia involving clinical presentations of persistent hypoxia or cyanosis.


Guidelines for interpreting hydrochemical patterns in data from public supply well fields and their value for natural background groundwater quality determination. Hydrochemical data records from public supply well fields (PSWFs) may constitute a valuable national monitoring network for evaluating the quality status of groundwater. The advantages and disadvantages of such networks are analyzed, as compared to dedicated networks that use specific monitoring (observation) wells with short well screens and without protracted high volume pumping. The term well field adaptation (WFA) is introduced as the capacity of a PSWF to adapt to a changing environment. The WFA-record itself is shown to be a general indicator of environmental problems affecting the groundwater system. Guidelines are presented to better interpret PSWF water quality data, by analyzing (a) the chances on bias in using data from a well field, (b) the WFA-record, (c) historical changes in hydrochemical methods, (d) the origin of the groundwater mixture, and (e) the approximate age distribution of the water. A simple approximation is given for calculating the hydrological response curve (HRC) of a well (field), which yields the cumulative frequency distribution of the age of the raw water. With a single tritium analysis of the raw water in year x and a known tritium input function for the aquifer, this HRC can be corrected to better predict the percentage of young, tritiated water (infiltrated after 1953). The many complications connected to interpreting PSWF data are illustrated (ranging from a single sample to a time series of >100 years) and it is shown that notwithstanding various drawbacks, valuable observations and conclusions can be obtained.


It has been shown in new trade theory that trade taxes/subsidies may be optimal in the case of oligopolistic markets. This result has relevance for international commodity markets because there is growing evidence of imperfect competition in commodity trade. However, it has also been demonstrated that the optimal strategic trade policy depends on whether the market is distinguished by Bertrand (price) or Cournot (quantity) competition. We argue that commodity markets may be characterised by either form of imperfect competition and also by product differentiation. As an illustration, we present a set of models of the Japanese market for beef imports in which account is taken of various forms of strategic interaction between Australian and United States exports. The model which best fits the data is a Stackelberg model with price leadership by Australia. This result casts doubt on the approach taken in past empirical work on commodity markets in which quantity competition has been routinely imposed and it also suggests that if trade policy intervention is warranted, then export taxes may be preferred to export subsidies.


From the Publisher:
There are no off-the-shelf solutions and no ready-made tools that will allow you to convert operational data into meaningful, strategic information. You must fundamentally restructure your data, (create a data warehouse), before Query can do the job it was designed to do. This book shows you how. It offers a product-independent, do-it-yourself guide to restructuring databases for successful end-user access. Believing that "successful end-user access projects are build as applications, not afterthoughts," author Brian Kelly starts by first presenting issues and objectives. He goes on to spell out exactly how to design/restructure databases. Don't fall behind by waiting for a "killer" query product that is never going to come. Find out how to deliver the goods to management by building your own data warehouse! PAGES: 315


The purpose of this paper concerns the relation between delivery of electronic services (e-services) and evaluation of public administration performance. Public sector organizations should pay attention and determine the strategies to be followed in order to increase the satisfaction of citizens and businesses in relation to delivery of electronic services. The study aims to review the demands toward progress to the competitiveness, the sustainability, efficiency and effectives in public administration that have rapidly enforced the wide reforms in the public sector, in order to modernize the initiatives to offer better electronic services for the citizens. The article aims to present that the transformation process toward providing electronic services to the citizens should be assessed continuously, in light with challenges, demands and process of globalization, in order to strengthen the capacities of public administration and make it more efficient. In this regard, the regular evaluation and measurement of the public administration performance leads toward the promotion of enhanced public services and higher level of accountability. Through receiving the e-services, citizens can save their time, can reduce the expenses and create an easier access of communication with all levels of the government.


Streaming analytics is the process of ingesting and digesting live data from multiple data sources. In the healthcare domain, as the importance of extracting immediate insights while data are streaming into the system grows, the focus is shifting from batch processing to streaming analytics. With data increasing dramatically at high speeds, many informatics designs have been proposed to adapt healthcare domain into this new environment. In our previous work, we introduced a prototype of health informatics technology (HIT) framework that aims to address challenges in adopting state-of-the-art technologies to enable advanced healthcare analytic tasks in new streaming environments. We recently made major updates to the framework so that anomaly from multiple streaming data sources at different granularity levels can be detected in near real-time. In this paper, we detail the implementation and deployment of the framework in Kubernetes clusters and report its performances when tested on electronic health record (EHR) data of Veterans Affairs.


The personal acoustic alarm unit produces an audible alarm signal in the audio range to alert persons in the area of the signal transmitter. This audio alarm signal is formed by a plurality of simultaneously generated audio frequency sonic signals, each of which has a different audio frequency. Receiver units are turned to receive the audio frequency sonic signals from a specific transmitter or group of transmitters.


The Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) has been widely used to characterize the suitability of solid wastes for disposal in landfills. However, the widespread application of this test for the assessment of wastes disposed in different landfill types is often questionable. This paper investigates the leaching profiles of cement-stabilized heavy metal ions, namely, Pb (II), Cd (II), As(V), and Cr(VI), using acetic acid and leachates from municipal and nonputrescible Australian landfill sites. The leaching profiles of Pb, Cd, As, and Cr using acetic acid were found to be similar to the nonputrescible landfill leachate and differed markedly from the municipal solid waste (MSW) leachate. The additional presence of high amounts of organic and inorganic compounds in the municipal landfill leachate influenced the leaching profiles of these metal ions as compared to the acetic acid and the nonputrescible systems. It is postulated that the organic compounds present in the municipal landfill leachate formed complexes with the Pb and Cd, increasing the mobility of these ions. Moreover, the organic compounds in the municipal landfill leachate induced a reducing environment in the leachate, causing the reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III). It was also found that the presence of carbonates in the municipal landfill leachate affected the stability of calcium arsenate, with the carbonate competing with arsenate for calcium at high pH, forcing arsenate into the solution.


A simple adaptive high-gain regulator is designed for a nonlinear multivariable Biogas Tower Reactor. The controller achieves tracking of the constant reference signals within a prespecified λ-neighbourhood within a prespecified time T. The adaptation strategy is very robust and tolerates large disturbances. The results have been tested on an industrial pilot reactor of almost full scale plant.


Six cultivars or selections of kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) were grown outdoors from vegetative clones in a gravelly sand medium from Apr. to Sept. 2005 in Riverside, CA, at soil water salinities ranging from 2 to 22 dS·m -1 . Cultivars Baron, Brilliant, Cabernet, Eagleton, Midnight, and the selection A01-856, a 'Texas' x kentucky bluegrass hybrid (P. arachnifera x P. pratensis), were evaluated for salt tolerance based on relative and absolute cumulative biomass production, growth rates, leaf chloride concentration, and hyperspectral ground-based remote sensing (RS) canopy reflectance measurements. Remotely sensed indices were linearly correlated with absolute biomass production. Three variations of a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVIred, NDVIprotein, and NDVIinfra) decreased with increasing salinity-induced changes in grass canopies. An index based on the red-edge inflection point increased (became less negative) with increasing salinity. A Floating Water Band Index decreased with decreased leaf moisture content related to increasing salinity but did not discriminate between cultivars. Shoot spreading rate and NDVIinfra were both related to shoot chloride concentration differences among the kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L) (KBG) cultivars or selections. In theory, non-destructive RS monitoring of above-ground turf development, including NDVIinfra, coupled with measurement of leaf chloride concentrations could be useful in turf salt tolerance breeding programs. Salt tolerance rankings among the KBG cultivars varied depending on the evaluation methods and selection criteria used. Based on absolute and relative biomass, growth rate, and RS, cultivars Baron, Brilliant, and Eagleton were rated as more salt-tolerant than 'Cabernet', 'Midnight', and AOI-856.