Indonesia has the constitution expressly guarantees the existence of civil in the Constitution of 1945 which make the necessity for states to protect those rights. Reform and regional autonomy in Indonesia, the process tends to lead to negative phenomena in the field of legislation, for example, a lot of legislation recently passed even become effective yet been replaced by statute (law) a new one, because implementative and cause new social problems in society, many laws are not relevant to the needs or problems in the community, the third, the number of regional regulation (law) issued by the regional government revoked by the Central Government (Ministry of Home Affairs), as opposed to higher regulations, to public interest, Pancasilan as well as the 1945 Constitution. Nearly of the districts/cities, involving situations and conditions not optimal community participation in the establishment of law, the absence of indicators of the dissemination of the draft law, socialization, and lack of academic texts. Negative phenomena in the field of the legislation that actually occurred in the era of reform and decentralization, democratization can be minimized by the formation of legislation, including legislation, which is concretely realized through the involvement of community participation in the process of formation. Community participation is guaranteed by human rights, especially civil and political right, and economic social and culture rights. In practice, however, participation is enough to just be done by a group of people sitting in representative institution (in this context: DPRD), because the constitutions and people who sit in representative institutions, often using the name of the political interests of the people to fight for personal or group interest their own. Associated with the law, the law was one of the guarantors of human rights protection and implementation. However, the law can also serve on the contrary, because the law itself is not sterile from other community subsystems. As a result, the law does not always bring positive impact to the community, so it does not always guarantee legal certainly, enforcement of the rights of the community and a sense of justice. In addition, the process of expansion and institutionalization of rights, both at individual and community, open access to basic rights including access to power, intended as the process of democratization, both in political and economic sense. This paper intends to discuss and analyze the formation of democratic law, especially when associated with economic rights, where the nuances of human rights should be there either in process or charge any legislation in the area, thus, human rights is not a just a mere slogan, but a necessity boosted with the law and participatory policy


Although all-inorganic CsPbX3 (X = Cl, Br, I) perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) have evoked exciting new opportunities for optoelectronic applications due to their remarkable optical properties, their emission color tunability has not been investigated to any appreciable extent. In this work, double/triple CsPbX3 perovskite quantum dots with precise ratios of Cl/Br or Br/I are synthesized and their luminescence (410–700 nm) is explored. A group of down-converted CsPbX3 (X = Cl, Br, I) perovskite quantum dot light-emitting diode (LED) devices were constructed to demonstrate the potential use of such double/triple-halide CsPbX3 perovskite quantum dots with full-spectrum luminescence. Based on density functional theory, we theoretically explored the properties of CsPbX3 with double/triple anion atoms. The calculated band gaps provided strong support that the full-spectrum luminescence (410–700 nm) of double/triple CsPbX3 can be realized with the change of the mixed-halide ratios, and hence that such PQDs are of potential use in optoelectronic devices.


Although haemolytic uraemic syndrome is rare, it is not uncommon. Here is an overview of the syndrome, with advice on signs and symptoms and how to care for children and young people.


Teamwork in complex, dynamic, multi-agent domains mandates highly flexible coordination and communication. Simply fitting individual agents with precomputed coordination plans will not do, for their inflexibility can cause severe failures in teamwork, and their domain-specificity hinders reusability. Our central hypothesis is that the key to such flexibility and reusability is agent architectures with integrated teamwork capabilities. This fundamental shift in agent architectures is illustrated via an implemented candidate: STEAM. While STEAM is founded on the joint intentions theory, practical operationalization has required it to integrate several key novel concepts: (i) team synchronization to establish joint intentions; (ii) constructs for monitoring joint intentions and repair; and (iii) decision-theoretic communication selectivity (to pragmatically extend the joint intentions theory). Applications in three different complex domains, with empirical results, are presented.


This paper proposes a speech and audio coder which operates at 1 bit/sample, namely an 8 kbit/s coder for 8 kHz sampling or a 16 kbit/s coder for 16 kHz sampling. The basic structure is inherited from a Twin VQ (transform domain weighted interleave vector quantization) high-quality audio coding scheme. A periodical component extraction scheme is newly added to the quantization of the MDCT coefficients. This scheme is found to be effective for reducing distortion and improving the robustness against channel errors. The qualities for music signals at 8 kbit/s are better than those of G.729 at the same bit rates, while they are worse for clean speech. The qualities at 16 kbit/s are comparable to or better than those of G.722 at 48 kbit/s.


The study compares the prediction performance of alternative machine learning algorithms and time series econometric models for daily Turkish electricity prices and defines the determinants of electricity prices by considering seven global, national, and electricity-related variables as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Daily data that consist of the pre-pandemic (15 February 2019–10 March 2020) and the pandemic (11 March 2020–31 March 2021) periods are included. Moreover, various time series econometric models and machine learning algorithms are applied. The findings reveal that (i) machine learning algorithms present higher prediction performance than time series models for both periods, (ii) renewable sources are the most influential factor for the electricity prices, and (iii) the COVID-19 pandemic caused a change in the importance order of influential factors on the electricity prices. Thus, the empirical results highlight the consideration of machine learning algorithms in electricity price prediction. Based on the empirical results obtained, potential policy implications are also discussed.


The problem of identifying an obstacle (scatterer) in the form of a cavity in a 2D geophysical medium is considered. This is posed as an inverse wave problem, where the location of the cavity is sought based on measurements of the elastic waves recorded by sensors located at certain points in the domain. The sensor measurements are noisy, and are generated synthetically as a first step. The inverse problem is solved by seeking the minimum of a specially designed cost functional, based on a computational time reversal (TR) procedure, where waves are radiated back in time from the sensors. The cost functional is defined to measure, for each scatterer candidate in the search space, the quality of the refocusing of the backward‐propagating waves on the given wave source at the end of the TR process. While the basic idea has appeared in previous publications, here it is applied to a 2D heterogeneous geophysical model (albeit a relatively simple one), and is enhanced by using several auxiliary techniques. These include (a) an "augmentation" technique, which is used to strengthen the coherent information (and thus to weaken the noncoherent information) by solving an elliptic problem at each time step; (b) experimentation with both instantaneous (impact) sources and time‐harmonic sources of finite duration; (c) combining the identification results of several sources and several source wavelengths to enhance identification; (d) reducing the size of the search space by a special "zooming in" technique; and (e) defining a performance index to assess the method's success and to provide a measure of confidence in the identification result in each specific case. Several numerical experiments are presented that demonstrate the performance of the proposed schemes. The sensitivity of the identification process to various parameters of the scatterer, the measurements, and the medium is investigated.


Abstract An enhanced diffusion model is proposed for scalar mixing in turbulence. Using a Lagrangian frame analysis and a model simplification the enhancement in the diffusivity due to the velocity field is estimated. The model explains many of the characteristics of turbulent scalar mixing observed in direct numerical simulations.


This practice-led research project explores the potential of the hand as a portable site. Through discussions of works by both myself and other artists, i consider modes of generating and sharing works within the day-to-day, and whilst moving from place to place. This is to explore how work can be in constant collaboration with both spaces and people, over time.


The objective of the present study was to investigate the neural processes underlying second language (L2) learning using child and adult English monolinguals in the early stages of L2 acquisition. The Revised Hierarchical Model (RHM) of L2 processing (Kroll & Stewart, 1994) predicts that both the child and adult beginning L2 learners will show no effect of semantic interference when presented with semantically related pairs because of their novice learner status. However, based on recent research with Dutch child learners of English, we predicted that the child participants would show semantic interference (Brenders, van Hell & Dijkstra, in revision; Poarch, van Hell, & Kroll, 2015). Stimuli consisted of three types of pairs: correct translations (perro-dog), incorrect semantically related translations (perro-cat) and incorrect unrelated translations (perro-table). Participants were asked to indicate correctness of the translation pairs of Spanish and English words while EEG was recorded. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were analyzed using mean amplitude, time-locked to the second word of the pair (English). We found a significant effect of semantic relatedness in both the child and adult participants. Preliminary patterns suggest conceptual activation is possible, even in beginning L2 learners. Further research should investigate how to best revise our current theories of second language processing to accommodate these findings. * This research reported in this paper was supported by NSF BCS-1349110 to Janet G. van Hell.


Fully integrated chipset at E-band frequencies in a superhetrodyne architecture covering the lower 71-76 GHz and upper 81-86 GHz bands were designed and fabricated in 0.13%m SiGe technology. The receiver chips include an image-reject low-noise amplifier (LNA), RF-to-IF mixer, variable gain IF amplifier, quadrature IF-to-baseband de-modulators, tunable baseband filter, phase-locked loop (PLL), and frequency multiplier by four (quadrupler). The receiver chips achieve 60dB gain, 8.5 dB noise figure, -30 dBm IIP3, and consumes 600 mW. The transmitter chips include a power amplifier, image-reject driver, IF-to-RF up-converting mixer, variable gain IF amplifier, quadrature baseband-to-IF modulator, PLL, and frequency multiplier by four (quadrupler). It achieves output power P1dB of 0 to 11 dBm, Psat of 3.3 to 14 dBm, and consumes 850 mW.


In this paper, we develop the understanding that in context of expanding notions of the literary engagement, consciousness is understood as a process that both participates in the acts of reading and response, and at the same time, is potentially transformed by those acts. Yet, uninterrogated understandings of consciousness – what it is, what it does, what it feels like - continue to shape the way we structure our experiences with literature in the classroom in predominantly implicit ways. In the context of an enactivist understanding of cognition, consciousness emerges as an orienting feature that brings together the cultural and biological aspects of the literary experience.


Follicular Lymphoma (FL) is the paradigm of a neoplasia depending on the microenvironment for proliferation and survival. In the lymphoid follicle, FL cells are surrounded by follicular dendrytic cells (FDCs) that function as antigen presenting cells delivering survival and proliferation signaling. FDCs together with macrophages are associated to poor FL survival. Our aim was to uncover the signaling pathways underlying FL-FDC crosstalk and its validation as new targets for therapy using specific inhibitors. Global gene expression profiling of FL-FDC co-cultures yield a marked modulation of FL transcriptome by FDCs. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that HK-cocultured FL cells clustered together,independently of the patient origin. Then, pathways assignmentwas performed by DAVID and GSEA softwares, both of themuncovering an overrepresentation on genes related toangiogenesis. In the DAVID analysis, we found significant(False Discovery Rate (FDR)<5%,) angiogenesis–related GOterms such as, blood vessel development, blood vessel morphogenesis, VEGFR signaling pathway, sprouting angiogenesis, positive regulation of angiogenesis, patterning of blood vessels among others. In the GSEA analysis, our dataset was interrogated for enrichment of genesets belonging to C2 data base together with custom-derived ones. In accordance with DAVID results, genesets related to angiogenesis were enriched (FDR< 5%) in HK-cocultured FLcells, such as HumanAngiogenesis, Weston\_VEGFA\_targtes, PID\_VEGFR1\_2 and PID_lymphangiogenesis.

As PI3K pathway is known to play a determinant role in angiogenesis, we explored if NVP-BKM120, a pan-PI3K inhibitor in clinical trials for solid tumors, could interfere with this signaling. First, by using Taqman Angiogenesis Array®containing 94 probes against genes related to angiogenesis, we analyzed if the modulation of genes in FL cells cocultured with HK could be inhibited by NVP-BKM120. Effectively, we found a group of genes that were positively regulated by HK and inhibited by NVP-BKM120, among them ANGPT1, CXCL12, EPHB2, VEGFA, VEGFC, ADAMST1, NRP1, NRP2, HSPG2,COL4A1, PDGFRA and PDGFRB. In addition, by ELISA analysis of cell culture supernatants, we found that NVP-BKM120 reduced VEGFA and VEGFC secretion of FL cells alone or co-cultured with HK. Then, we analyzed if this reduction of proangiogenic factors effectively reduced angiogenesis. To this aim we performed HUVEC tube formation assay with the supernatants of FL cells co-cultured or not with HK, in the presence or absence of the PI3K inhibitor. We demonstrated that, as expected, supernatants derived fromFL-HK-cocultures increased the number of tubes formed, and NVP-BKM120 reduced these numbers. Then, we investigated the impact of NVP-BKM120 treatment on FL cell signalling and proliferation. NVP-BKM120 efficiently blocks both constitutive activation of PI3K/AKT pathway in FL cells and that derived from B-cell receptor stimulation or HK co-culture, reducing cell proliferation of FL cells and inducing apoptosis in a portion of FL cell lines and primary cells. NVP-BKM120 also impedes signaling and migration induced by the chemokine SDF1α. In vivo, NVP-BKM120 significantly (p<0.05) reduces tumor outgrowth in subcutaneous and systemic FL mouse models. We isolated RNA from mouse tumors and run TaqmanAngiogenesis array as before. NVP-BKM120 downmodulated the expresion of genes related to angiogenesis already found in vitro such a VEGFA, HSPGB2, NRP2 ,PDGFRA and PDGFRB, but also novel genes, including SERPINC1, FST,PDGFB, TGFB1, TNF, VEGFB, COL18A1, ANGPT4 and PECAM(CD31). In addition, the reduction on VEGFA and CD31 was also validated by IHC in these tumors.

These results warrant further investigation of pan-PI3K inhibitors for FL therapy in the context of microenvironment survival signaling inhibition.

Disclosures: Lopez-Guillermo: Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.


Climate change and variability continue to adversely impact the livelihoods of many agriculturedependent households in dryland sub-Saharan Africa. Climate vulnerability is shaped by institutions and socioeconomic processes including land tenure arrangements and infrastructural development. This paper employs a participatory mixed-method approach including household questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews, oral narratives and focus group discussions to understand the dynamics of livelihood challenges in 6 dryland farming communities of different vulnerability status in Ghana. Acknowledging the importance of agronomic practices as well as economic and environmental processes in influencing climate vulnerability in dryland farming systems, this paper demonstrates how the complex land tenure system is implicitly involved in shaping the vulnerability of two groups of farmers (migrant farmers in the Ejura Sekyedumase district and female farmers in the Bongo district) by limiting the adaptation options available to these groups. Our results suggest that women's rights regarding land ownership should be formalized in land policy in order to reduce cultural discriminations against them. Opportunities for women to own and formalize land registration titles should be pursued by the Government of Ghana. This will help women to secure property rights over land and land use via mechanisms such as collateral to access credit, which could be used to implement climate adaptation practices. The rights of migrant workers should also be recognized in Ghana's land policy to provide them with opportunities for adaptation in a similar manner to non-migrants. Climate change adaptation policies should also consider the broader socioeconomic and environmental factors that hinder smallholder farmers' ability to implement adaptation measures. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


We consider the problem of generating sequential code for programs written in a language which contains a Multiple GOTO operator, predicates and statements. This problem arises when compiling a parallel intermediate form (such as the PDG [3,4]) to run on a sequential machine; in a source-to-source FORTRAN translator when vectorization of a loop has failed; and when compiling logic designs written in a parallel design language for simulation on a sequential machine. It is easy to generate sequential code for this sort of parallel program if one allows either duplication of code or the insertion of guard variables at merge points; in fact, it is in general impossible without this addition. However, for a large class of parallel programs (such as those originally arising from sequential programs, even after some optimizations have been applied) it is possible to generate sequential code without duplication or the addition of guard variables. In this paper we present an efficient algorithm which will generate sequential code from a parallel program without duplication or additional guard variables for a large class of parallel programs.


We investigated the effects of postharvest application of carbon disulphide (CS2) in various concentrations (0, 15, 25, 35, 45 and 55 ml m -3 ) and with different exposure duration (24, 48, 72 and 96 h) on breaking of dormancy and sprouting of potato (Solanum tuberosum L., cv. Marfona) minitubers of two ages (freshly harvested and one week after harvest) and two weight classes (1.5 and 12 g). In comparison with the control minitubers, CS2 treated minitubers showed significantly shorter dormancy and better sprouting. More rotting and weaker responses were observed in freshly harvested treated minitubers compared with minitubers treated one week after harvest. The number of sprouts per minituber and their length were significantly enhanced by treating minitubers with CS2 compared with the untreated control minitubers, but there were strong interactions with minituber weight. Results showed that duration of CS2 treatment was more important than concentration and longer duration of CS2 treatment exhibited a stronger action on breaking dormancy and sprouting of potato minitubers than shorter treatments. But, when longer duration was accompanied with higher concentration, treatment with CS2 led to formation of needle sprouts, which are undesirable as they do not produce vigorous stems.


The XV-15 Tilt-Rotor wing has six major aeroelastic modes that are close in frequency. To precisely excite individual modes during flight test, dual flaperon exciters with automatic frequency-sweep controls were installed. The resulting structural data were analyzed in the frequency domain (Fourier transformed) with cross spectral and transfer function methods. Modal frequencies and damping were determined by performing curve fits to transfer function magnitude and phase data and to cross spectral magnitude data. Results are given for the XV-15 with its original metal rotor blades. Frequency and damping values are also compared with earlier predictions.


Thematic analysis is a highly popular technique among qualitative researchers for analyzing qualitative data, which usually comprises thick descriptive data. However, the application and use of thematic analysis has also involved complications due to confusion regarding the final outcome's presentation as a conceptual model. This paper develops a systematic thematic analysis process for creating a conceptual model from qualitative research findings. It explores the adaptability of the proposed process across various research methodologies, including constructivist methodologies, positivist methodologies, grounded theory, and interpretive phenomenology, and justifies their application. The paper distinguishes between inductive and deductive coding approaches and emphasizes the merits of each. It suggests that the derived systematic thematic analysis model is valuable across multiple disciplines, particularly in grounded theory, ethnographic approaches, and narrative approaches, while also being adaptable to more descriptive, positivist-based methodologies. By providing a methodological roadmap, this study enhances the rigor and replicability of thematic analysis and offers a comprehensive strategy for theoretical conceptualization in qualitative research. The contribution of this paper is a systematic six-step thematic analysis process that leads to the development of a conceptual model; each step is described in detail and examples are given.


The immune system comprises highly sophisticated networks of cells and signalling molecules which function in concert to protect the body against pathogens. Within this system a role for the extra-cellular microenvironment as a crucial mediator of immune responses is becoming increasingly apparent.

Conventional in vitro cultures lack physiologically relevant extra-cellular cues, such as extracellular matrix (ECM) and shear flow. Tissue engineering can be used to simulate features of the natural microenvironment for the development of biologically relevant platforms. It is anticipated that this will enable the study of the influence of the extra-cellular environment on immune responses.

This thesis describes the development and characterisation of tissue-engineered platforms for immune cell culture which incorporate the ECM and shear flow. This work goes on to apply these platforms for the study of the effect of the extra-cellular environment on dendritic cells and their interactions with T cells in the context of immunological stimulation.

The ECM defines the three-dimensional architecture of the natural microenvironment. It provides structural support and also promotes cell motility in tissues. This is important for the function of the immune system as it directs the organisation and interactions of immune cells which ultimately contributes to the modulation of immune responses.

Candidate synthetic and natural biomaterials were assessed for their suitability to provide an in vitro extracellular matrix (ECM) platform for human immune cell culture. The suitability of these materials to provide an artificial ECM platform was based on the viability, resting immune state and immune competence of the cells.

The synthetic biomaterials tested were a thermo-responsive colloidal gel and electrospun PET and PLGA scaffolds coated with a thermo-responsive polymer. An important finding from the work done with the colloidal gel was that the human dendritic cells, which were incorporated into the gel at the beginning of the experiment, could not be separated from the material for flow cytometric analysis. Therefore, characterisation of the colloidal gel for immune cell culture could not be completed. Regarding the characterisation of the electrospun PET and PLGA scaffolds, although they did not significantly impair cell viability of dendritic cells they were found to induce cell maturation. As a result, none of the synthetic biomaterials were found to be a suitable ECM surrogate.

A semi-natural biomaterial, gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel, was included in the investigation. The results from the characterisation of GelMA for human immune cell culture indicated that the hydrogel induced a pro-inflammatory immune response due to the profile of secreted cytokines. Based on this, GelMA was also discounted as an appropriate material for the development of the ECM platform.

The final ECM candidate was a collagen hydrogel, which is a naturally-derived biomaterial. The collagen hydrogel was shown to support immune cell survival and human dendritic cells maintained an immature phenotype in culture. In addition, typical responses to immunological stimuli by human dendritic cells and T cells were observed in collagen hydrogel cultures. This work demonstrated that out of the biomaterials which were characterised, the collagen hydrogel was the most suitable biomaterial for the development of the ECM platform.

The influence of the collagen hydrogel ECM platform on antigen-specific immune responses was investigated in the context of autologous human dendritic cell and T cell co-cultures stimulated with the model antigen Mycobacterium tuberculosis purified protein derivative, also referred to as PPD. The results from these experiments indicated that the presence of the collagen hydrogel increased the sensitivity and specificity of the immune response, compared to conventional tissue culture conditions.

An attempt was made at utilising the ECM platform to investigate immune responses to chemical sensitisers to address the requirement for in vitro alternatives to replace current animal testing methods. In this work, innate and adaptive immune responses to sensitisers were detected using the ECM platform. However, the reproducibility of these experiments was low due to large donor variation. Therefore the effect of the ECM platform on immune responses to sensitisers could not be evaluated. This difficulty likely reflects the complexity of the molecular and cellular mechanisms which lead to the acquisition of chemical sensitisation.

Shear flow is a type of physiological stress to which immune cells are exposed in vivo due to the movement of blood and lymph fluid. Recent studies have implicated flow as an immunologically relevant stimulus, capable of inducing changes in the expression of receptors and chemokines involved in regulating immune cell migration, and activating immune receptor signalling.

A fluidic cell culture platform was developed to recapitulate the effect of shear flow. Two different prototypes were constructed, one of which was taken forward and characterised for immune cell culture applications.

The fluidic platform taken forward had a paper-based cell culture scaffold which was coated with collagen hydrogel. The scaffold was found to induce maturation of human dendritic cells which was attributed to the possibility of incomplete coverage of the scaffold by the collagen hydrogel. The viability of dendritic cells was slightly impaired by flow, however not significantly. Interestingly, when exposed to shear flow, dendritic cells maintained a less mature phenotype compared to their static counterparts.

Antigen-specific immune responses were studied on the fluidic platform by setting up co-cultures comprising PPD-stimulated autologous human dendritic cells and T cells. Typical T cell activation was observed on the platform and the sensitivity and specificity of immune responses was found to be greater under flow conditions, compared with static cultures.

In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates the value of developing biomimetic platforms for studying the influence of the extra-cellular environment on immune responses.
Finally, the ability to mimic extra-cellular cues to which cells are exposed in vivo has the potential to generate more realistic immune responses in the lab. This presents huge opportunities for advancing understanding in immunology. It also has implications for methods used in research, drug discovery and safety testing, where currently only animals provide a representative system for the study of immune reactions. It is anticipated that enhancing the physiological relevance of in vitro cell culture will ultimately contribute to the reduction of animals used in research and testing.


Global warming, climate change and pollution are burning environmental issues. To reduce the carbon footprint of the aviation sector, aeronautical companies have been striving to lower engine emissions via the development of reliable lean combustors. In this context, effort has been devoted to the better understanding of various flame dynamics with emphasis on thermoacoustic instabilities, lean blow-off and extinctions. In line with this effort, Safran Helicopter Engines has recently developed and patented the revolutionary spinning combustion technology (SCT) for its next generation of combustors. This technology has indeed great flexibility when it comes to ignition and blow-off capabilities. To better understand the various physical mechanisms occurring in a SCT combustor, a joint numerical and experimental analysis of the flame stabilization in this spinning combustion technology framework has been devised. On the experimental side, the NTNU atmospheric annular combustor has been modified to introduce a relevant azimuthal component of velocity while operating under premixed fuel conditions, following the SCT concept. Note that to reduce temperature at the backplane of the chamber, film cooling is incorporated to avoid fuel injector damage. On the numerical side, high fidelity Large Eddy Simulations of the test bench have been carried out with the AVBP code developed at CERFACS, providing insights on the flame stabilization in this unique SCT geometry. In particular, it is noted that there is a strong interaction between the cooling film and the highly swirled flames exiting from the fuel injector bend. In that respect, changing the injector or global equivalence ratios while operating the SCT is shown to affect the combustion of this design.


Abstract Purpose To explore clinical and pathological characteristics of testicular cancer and also identify factors associated with its oncological outcomes. Testicular cancer has a very good prognosis. Actually, we aim to report on 10 years of experience in the real-world practice of treating testicular cancer in a university-based hospital. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study of testicular cancer patients in Songklanagarind hospital; from January 2007 and December 2016, all eligible testicular cancer patients were included. Clinical characteristics (age, physical examination findings, tumour markers, histopathology, clinical stage, and initial treatment) and clinical outcomes were collected. These patients were divided into two groups: seminoma patients (seminomas) and non-seminoma patients (non-seminomas). Clinical characteristics and outcomes of treatment were analysed, and factors associated with oncological outcomes were identified. Results In 45 patients, median age 33 years, with diagnosis of testicular cancer, seminomas and non-seminomas were responsible for 23 (52.8%) and 22 (49%) of the cases, respectively. The median time of follow-up was 80.6 months (range: 1.8 to 120 months). The five-year OS was 94.7% and 57.1% in the seminoma and non-seminoma groups, respectively. For non-seminomas, five-year OS were 71.4%, 50%, and 42.9% in stage Ib–IIIa, IIIb, and IIIc, respectively, and for seminoma they were 92.3% and 100% in stage Ib–IIIa and IIIb, respectively. Multivariable analysis showed that non-seminoma, higher staging, and higher IGCCC risk were associated with poorer survival, significantly (p < 0.05). Conclusions Seminoma has a good prognosis and survival at all stages, whereas, in the non-seminoma group, higher staging and IGCCC risk were independent factors associated with a poorer prognosis.


To the Editor. —The Clinical Crossroads article entitled "A Man With Alcoholism and HIV Infection" 1 highlights several important public health issues. The case history described a patient with multiple episodes of high-risk sexual behavior, including anonymous unprotected sex and multiple previous sexually transmitted diseases. Despite having knowledge of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission modes, the patient describes unprotected sex with a partner whom he suspected of having Kaposi's sarcoma at the time. The patient also discusses how his alcoholism affected his ability to take appropriate precautions and reports that after his HIV diagnosis, he had repeated episodes of unprotected sexual activity associated with alcohol use. In the discussion, Dr U. and Dr Hyman only peripherally address the public health implications of this case, ie, the potential to transmit HIV to others. We raise three major concerns and submit that each of these present profound ethical dilemmas in which public


A paper presented at the 3rd annual international conference on knowledge management through research and innovative technologies for sustainable socio-economic development, 31st July - 4th August 2007, Moi University


Epidemics of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 in the Pacific Northwest of the United States have highlighted the presence of colonic pathogens in the food chain. Risk factors for the disease and the properties of similar E. coli and Shigella are discussed, and advances in our understanding of Clostridium difficile-associated colitis and diarrhea, Campylobacter-induced dysentery, and illness due to Entamoeba histolytica are presented. New insights into how bacteria survive stomach acidity and how they may be affected by breast milk, as well as modes of intracellular spread may provide the basis for new therapeutic modalities. The direct colonic damage HIV, itself, causes is discussed.


A recent study indicates that the protein Eya3 influences the adaptive immune response to promote tumor growth, not only decreasing the number of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells, but also driving their exhaustion through PD-L1 upregulation. These findings could spur new strategies to treat triple-negative breast cancer, which currently lacks targeted therapies.


CsPbX3 (X = Cl, Br, I) nanocrystals (NCs) are competitive emitting materials for illumination and display because of their outstanding photophysical properties. However, the conventional synthetic approaches suffer from low yields, complex procedures, and toxic chemicals. In this work, we demonstrate a one-step microwave-assisted approach to prepare CsPbX3 NCs. The homogeneous heating and rapid temperature increment of microwave preparation facilitate the growth of CsPbX3 NCs, producing the NCs with high photoluminescence quantum yields up to 90%, narrow emission full-width at half-maximum, and emission color tunable from blue to red. By optimizing the preparation conditions of the microwave-assisted approach, CsPbX3 NCs with cation- and halide anion-controlled emission properties, tunable reaction rate, and enhanced stability are prepared. Light-emitting diode (LED) prototypes are further fabricated by employing the as-prepared CsPbX3 NCs as the color conversion materials on commercially available 365 nm GaN LED chips.


The effects of fiber loading level and cure temperature on the cure kinetics of an E-glass/vinylester composite are investigated using DSC techniques. It is shown that for the specific system under consideration the presence of the fibers significantly inhibits final cure levels with activation energy levels decreasing with increasing fiber loading. Autocatalytic rate parameters, k and m, are also shown to increase with fiber loading level. The loading level of the E-glass reinforcement is shown in specific instances to have a more significant effect than a change in cure temperature emphasizing the importance of characterizing cure based on actual resin-fiber-sizing systems rather than simply on the basis of neat resin cure kinetics. Results are viewed in terms of the specifics of the polymerization process and the implications on the use of processes such as resin infusion with vinylesters for the fabrication of large structural components are discussed.


To mitigate the negative effect of low quality training data on the performance of neural machine translation models, most existing strategies focus on filtering out harmful data before training starts. In this paper, we explore strategies that dynamically optimize data usage during the training process using the model's gradients on a small set of clean data. At each training step, our algorithm calculates the gradient alignment between the training data and the clean data to mask out data with negative alignment. Our method has a natural intuition: good training data should update the model parameters in a similar direction as the clean data. Experiments on three WMT language pairs show that our method brings significant improvement over strong baselines, and the improvements are generalizable across test data from different domains.


Epidemiological research was used to develop the Speech Disorders Classification System (SDCS). The SDCS is an important speech diagnostic paradigm in the field of speech-language pathology. This paradigm could be expanded and refined to also address treatment while meeting the standards of evidence-based practice. The article assists that process by initiating a clinical exchange of ideas on the topic of speech treatment. It explores: (a) the treatment of children with speech oral placement disorders (OPD; a new term suggested by the authors), (b) the various types of speech oral placement therapy (OPT) used to treat OPD, (c) the relationships of OPT to current motor learning theories and oral motor treatment, as well as (c) the critical need for appropriately designed, systematic research on OPT.


Abstract Background: The on-going Russo-Ukrainian war has resulted in a renewed global interest in the safety and security of nuclear installations and the possibility of nuclear disasters caused by warfare and terrorism. The objective of this study was to identify and characterize all documented terrorist attacks against nuclear transport, nuclear facilities, and nuclear scientists as reported to the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) over a 50-year period. Methods: The GTD was searched for all terrorist attacks against nuclear facilities, nuclear scientists, nuclear transport, and other nuclear industry-related targets in the period from 1970-2020. Analyses were performed on temporal factors, location, target type, attack and weapon type, perpetrator type, number of casualties, and property value loss. Results: Ninety-one incidents that occurred from 1970 through 2020 were included. Incidents took place in 25 countries and nine world regions, with most (42; 46.1%) occurring in Western Europe. During these 50 years, 91 incidents resulted in 19 fatalities and 117 injuries. One perpetrator was killed during an incident and one other assailant was injured. Bombings and explosions were the most frequently identified attack type (n = 40; 44.0%), followed by facility/infrastructure damage (n = 24; 26.4%) and armed assaults and assassinations (both n = 7; 7.7%). Nuclear power plants and reactors under construction were targeted in 13 (14.3%) and eight (8.8%) incidents, respectively. Most of the attacks took place on other nuclear industry-related sites. Conclusion: Terrorist attacks carried out by non-state perpetrators against nuclear facilities, nuclear scientists, nuclear transport, and other nuclear industry-related targets are rare, with only 91 incidents in a 50-year period. None of the attacks resulted in radioactive fallout or environmental contamination. Most of the attacks took place outside a nuclear power plant.


This study examined factors that might motivate employees to engage in social innovation. The objectives of this study were to identify the relative importance of factors that impact Employee Social Intrapreneurial Behavior (ESIB) in the manufacturing sector in Albania using an AHP approach and to select the best practice that can improve Employee Social Intrapreneurial Behavior (ESIB) on a company basis in the same sector by merging a linguistic method with the AHP approach. A questionnaire was designed to collect expert viewpoints. A standardized AHP scale ranging from 1 to 9 was used in the questionnaire. Fifteen managers and experts from four important manufacturing companies in Albania (Everest Shpk., Kamëz, Albania; Lufra Shpk., Lushnje, Albania; Ajka Shpk., Lushnje, Albania and F&M Shpk., Tirane, Albania) were contacted, and eleven of them expressed an interest in engaging in our study by ranking the importance of various criteria and sub-criteria. The findings suggest that the sub-components of the internal factor, such as superior relationship quality and expected image gains, have a combined importance of 50% in the local weights in the Albanian context. The two sub-components mentioned above remain significant in the analysis of global weights, accounting for 41% of global influence. These findings confirm Hofstede's evaluation of the Albanian culture, where the power distance dimension ranks first, accounting for 90% of the variance and thus classifying the society as very hierarchical. In such a cultural context, people accept and try to please their leaders. Furthermore, high uncertainty avoidance determines individual motivation for financial gains in an unsecure economic environment. We proposed and examined two programs that businesses could implement to boost employee participation in innovative behaviors, and the results suggest that organizations should implement a program called the Workshop. The core idea of this program is to provide monthly workshops focusing on improving humorous situations that may have positive effects on ESIB. Due to the small number of participants in this study, a future study might want to examine the viewpoints of employees as well as other stakeholders, such as NGOs or legal institutions.


This paper discusses an 866-MHz UHF quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator (QVCO) for RFID front-end. The VCO achieved an improved phase noise performance of -130 dBc/Hz at a carrier-offset of 1 MHz using an improved architecture employing pulsed self-biasing. It was fabricated using the IBM 130-nm CMOS process with the core VCO occupying around 0.36 mm2 die area. The loading effect of finite gds for nanometric CMOS design was also considered. The VCO achieved 8% tuning range with very low quadrature error. It was tested using a power supply in the range of 0.6-1 V, drawing a maximum of 2.5 mW. In addition, it achieved a figure of merit of -185 dBc/Hz.


This descriptive type of cross sectional study was carried out to explore various personal factors that influences communication among medical teachers and students in selected medical colleges of Bangladesh. This study was done over a period of one year from July 2017 to June 2018. Five government & three non-government medical colleges were selected purposively. Students of first, second, third and fourth phases were selected by adopting convenience sampling technique Teachers were selected by convenience sampling technique and for in-depth interview by purposive sampling technique.  Medical teachers and students of selected medical colleges were the study population. Total 979 students and 50 teachers were responded through self-administered semi-structured questionnaire with five points Likert scale. Twenty teachers were responded through in-depth interview.Mutual respect (mean=4.44; 4.42), good communication skill (mean=4.40;4.16), listening skill (mean=4.32; 4.12), empathy (mean=4.32;4.32), self-disclosure (mean=4.27,4.42), sharing expectation (mean=4.29;4.28), awareness about own role (mean=4.25,4.34) were highly influencing personal factors that influence communication positively. Use of drugs/tobacco negatively affect communication, This study revealed some important factors that can improve communication .These are friendly relationship among teachers and students, open minded behavior of teachers, student- teachers cooperation, open discussion between teachers and students, morality and religious practice, motivation of students by teachers, understanding each other's, avoidance of students politics, responsibility of students & teachers etc. This study also revealed communication barriers such as fear and shyness to teachers, humiliation and discrimination of students by teachers and lack of interest of students Addressing these issues at all possible levels, measures should be taken to improve communication among teachers and students in order to improved teaching learning process ; so that ultimate goal of medical education can be achieved.
Bangladesh Journal of Medical Education Vol.11(1) 2020: 17-25


ABSTRACT This study was performed to determine the effect of temperature condition on growth of juvenile abalone Haliotis discus hannai with the different feeds. Two types of feed (dry sea tangle and experimental diet) at water temperatures of 20 and 23℃, and 23 and 26℃ were applied to experimental abalone twice. Forty-five juvenile abalone averaging 10.1 g in the first feeding trial and 11.5 g in the second feeding trial were randomly stocked into 6 of 50 L plastic rectangular containers each. Fishmeal, soybean meal and shrimp head meal was used as the primary protein source in the experimental diet. And dextrin and wheat flour, and soybean oil were used as the primary carbohydrate and lipid sources in the experimental diet, respectively. The dry sea tangle and experimental diet were fed to abalone once a day at the ratio of 1.5-2.0% total biomass of abalone with a little leftover in each experimental condition. Weight gain of abalone was significantly affected by feed type, but not by water temperature in the first feeding trial. Regardless of water temperature, weight gain of abalone fed the experimental diet was significantly higher than that of abalone fed the dry sea tangle. However, weight gain of abalone was significantly affected by water temperature, but not by feed type in the second feeding trial. Weight gain was highest in abalone fed the experimental diet at 23℃, followed by abalone fed the dry sea tangle at 23℃, abalone fed the experimental diet and dry sea tangle at 26℃, which was lowest. Moisture and crude protein content of the edible portion of abalone was significantly affected by feed type, but not by water temperature in the second feeding trial. However, ash content of the edible portion of abalone was significantly affected by water temperature, but not by feed type. In considering these results, it can be concluded that the well formulated feed was superior to the dry sea tangle for growth of juvenile abalone, and water temperature conditions of 20 and 23℃ seemed to be better than 26℃ to improve weight gain of abalone.


Simple Summary Syndecans (SDCs; SDC1 to 4) are integral cell surface proteoglycans that are expressed normally on various types of mammalian tissues. In cancer, SDCs' expression is dysregulated, impacting the onset and progression of cancer by modulating pivotal signaling pathways involved in biological and molecular functions. In this review, we highlight the key roles of SDCs in breast cancer pathogenesis, addressing the prognostic value and the critical molecular regulators of SDC expression, as well as different SDC-centered therapeutic perspectives. Abstract Syndecans (SDC1 to 4), a family of cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans, are frequently expressed in mammalian tissues. SDCs are aberrantly expressed either on tumor or stromal cells, influencing cancer initiation and progression through their pleiotropic role in different signaling pathways relevant to proliferation, cell-matrix adhesion, migration, invasion, metastasis, cancer stemness, and angiogenesis. In this review, we discuss the key roles of SDCs in the pathogenesis of breast cancer, the most common malignancy in females worldwide, focusing on the prognostic significance and molecular regulators of SDC expression and localization in either breast tumor tissue or its microenvironmental cells and the SDC-dependent epithelial–mesenchymal transition program. This review also highlights the molecular mechanisms underlying the roles of SDCs in regulating breast cancer cell behavior via modulation of nuclear hormone receptor signaling, microRNA expression, and exosome biogenesis and functions, as well as summarizing the potential of SDCs as promising candidate targets for therapeutic strategies against breast cancer.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this review is to (1) provide information concerning the opioid crisis including origins, trends, and some important related laws/policies; and (2) summarize the current involvement and impact of pharmacists in helping to address the crisis, as well as examine practices in other healthcare disciplines from which pharmacists might derive guidance and strategies.

SUMMARY
Contributors to the opioid crisis included campaigns to treat pain as a fifth vital sign and to use opioids in treatment of non-cancer-related pain, as well as aggressive marketing of opioid analgesics by pharmaceutical companies. To address the crisis, numerous strategies have been implemented at the policy/legislative, health-system, and patient levels, such as prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), increased regulation of pain clinics, and expanded use of naloxone. Pharmacists have a critical role to play in interventions to address opioid misuse and reduce harm resulting from misuse. Such interventions include patient screening and risk stratification, patient and community education and outreach concerning appropriate pain management, medication reviews/medication therapy management, education on safe storage and disposal, distribution of naloxone/opioid rescue kits and training on their proper use, and referral of patients to addiction treatment, among other strategies.

CONCLUSION
Pharmacists have multiple, complex roles in addressing the opioid crisis. Outcomes of several studies provide substantial evidence that pharmacists can make an impact through appropriate pain management, use of PDMPs, opioid overdose prevention training, and medication reviews and counseling, among other interventions.


In the development of copper pillar bumped sapphire flip chip on lead-frame package (FCOLF), the die was found very vulnerable in assembly process. In the package reliability test the bump connection opened on the die side where the failure was initiated with cracks on die re-passivation layer. In order to find the root cause, comprehensive investigations have been carried out on wafer bumping quality check, bump and package structure finite element analysis as well as assembly process test etc. The results of the analysis & experiment as well as the process solution for volume production are presented in this paper.


The global upsurge of unplanned urban development and its various manifestations have opened the door to challenging the norms of the modernist planning model. The principles of modernist planning mechanisms and practices, regulatory systems expressed through zoning regulations, land use and urban coding can be seen today as obsolete. The new and perhaps radical departure from the established methods and norms, the new alternatives to conventional planning practices need to be developed that are based on learning from experiences from self-regulated and unplanned urban areas. The unplanned developments need be seen not as an illness but a part of the solution to the present and future urban problems and the role of the professionals involved, their methods of work, level and form of involvement needs to be reexamined. With the City of Chisinau in former Soviet Union as a starting point this paper discusses processes of self-regulated urban transformations in relation to the inherited urban planning models dating from the Russian colonial era as well as the Soviet planning system. The present planning is dysfunctional and disconnected from realities of the context and I see this situation as an opportunity to instigate fundamental reforms in current planning methodologies. In my paper I will examine and compare the empirical evidence from Chisinau based on observation, site documentation in form of photographic evidence, official planning and legal documents, transcripts from recorded interviews, written materials by other scholars dealing with related field of research, etc. Parallel with this study I will juxtapose these findings and develop a critique of the top down modernist institutional framework in planning that includes the zoning and land use practices.


Bullous pemphigoid is a typical autoimmune disease. It is classically treated with systemic corticosteroids alone or combined with immunosuppressants. Cyclosporine A (CyA), a new immunosuppressive agent with high activity in organs and bone marrow transplantation, could be expected to prove effective in this disease owing to its action on lymphocytes. Seven patients with bullous pemphigoid were treated with CyA in daily doses of 6 to 8 mg/kg bodyweight. Treatment was monitored by measurements of serum CyA, creatinine and liver enzyme levels. The effectiveness of treatment was assessed on clinical changes. The seven cases are dealt with individually, with a brief case-report for each of them. The only side-effects observed were reversible rises in serum creatinine levels and hypertrichosis in two cases; these are usual reactions to the drug. Hormonal assays were normal in two female patients. Concerning results, our patients fell into two groups. Among those treated with CyA alone there were two failures and two sustained satisfactory results. Treatment was successful in all patients treated with CyA during relapses under corticosteroid therapy, but two patients relapsed after CyA was discontinued. It is concluded that CyA is of no interest in the acute phase of bullous pemphigoid, that the long-term stability of the results obtained is doubtful and that this potentially nephrotoxic drug should be avoided or administered with extreme caution in elderly people, since their renal function may be at the limit of normality.


Background Available evidence points towards lower birth weight as a risk factor for the development of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. We probed the causal nature of this putative effect of birth weight on ADHD symptoms using the twin differences design, which accounts for genetic and shared environmental confounds. Method In a large population‐based twin sample – 3,499 monozygotic (MZ) and 6,698 dizygotic (DZ) pairs – parents, teachers or twins rated the twins' ADHD symptoms at nine assessment waves (2–16 years). We implemented the twin differences design, which completely accounts for shared environmental and genetic confounding in MZ twins. We tested whether: (a) the lighter‐born twins had elevated ADHD symptoms compared to the heavier‐born twins, by regressing within‐pair differences of ADHD symptoms on within‐pair differences of birth weight among MZ twins; (b) the effect of birth weight on ADHD was moderated by gender, gestational age and low birth weight; (c) this effect changed with age at ADHD assessment using adapted latent growth curve models; and (d) results differed for inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. Results Birth weight significantly predicted ADHD symptoms from early childhood to late adolescence. The lighter‐born twin had more ADHD symptoms than the heavier‐born cotwin among MZ twins across assessment waves and raters. No moderation effect was detected. The magnitude of the effect of birth weight decreased significantly across time for hyperactivity/impulsivity, but the decrease failed to reach significance for inattention. Estimates for inattention were significantly larger than for hyperactivity/impulsivity at each time point, implying stronger effect of birth weight on inattention symptoms. Conclusions Our findings provide stringent evidence for environmental effect of lower birth weight on the causal pathway to elevated ADHD symptoms. Effect of birth weight persists across a 14‐year period from childhood into late adolescence, in particular for inattention symptoms.


We present the historic light curve of the BL Lac object S5 0716+714, spanning the time interval from 1953 to 2003, built using Asiago archive plates and our recent CCD observations, together with literature data. The source shows an evident long term variability, over which well known short term variations are superposed. In particular, in the period from 1961 to 1983 the mean brightness of S5 0716+714 remained significantly fainter than that observed after 1994. Assuming a constant variation rate of the mean magnitude we can estimate a value of about 0.11 magnitude/year. The simultaneous occurrence of decreasing ejection velocities of superluminal moving components in the jet reported by Bach et al. (2005) suggests that both phenomena are related to the change of the direction of the jet to the line of sight from about 5 to 0.7 degrees for an approximately constant bulk Lorentz factor of about 12. A simple explanation is that of a precessing relativistic jet, which should presently be close to the smallest orientation angle. One can therefore expect in the next ten years a decrease of the mean brightness of about 1 magnitude.


Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) provide new capabilities to handle network routing problems. However, the lack of up-to-date training data, slow convergence, and low robustness due to the dynamic change of the network topology, makes these AI-based routing systems inefficient. To address this problem, Reinforcement Learning (RL) has been introduced to design more flexible and robust network routing protocols. However, the amount of data ($i$. e., state-action space) shared be- tween agents, in a Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) setup, can consume network bandwidth and may slow down the process of training. Moreover, the curse of dimensionality of RL encompasses the exponential growth of the discrete state-action space, thus limiting its potential benefit. In this paper, we present a novel approach combining Federated Learning (FL) with Deep Reinforcement Learning (D RL) in order to ensure an effective network routing in wireless environment. First, we formalize the problem of network routing as a problem of RL, where multiple agents that are geographically distributed train the policy model in a fully distributed manner. Thus, each agent can quickly obtain the optimal policy that maximizes the cumulative expected reward, while preserving the privacy of each agent's data. Experiments results show that our proposed Federated Reinforcement Learning (FRL) approach is robust and effective.


Delonix regia trees, also known as flamboyant, belong to the legume family (Fabaceae) are native to the island of Madagascar and has adapted very well in tropical regions of the world. Despite being widely used for ornamental purposes, many bioactive molecules have been isolated such as derivatives of amino acids, carotenoids, galactomannans, lectins and enzyme inhibitors and their pharmacological potentials have been investigated. The extracts of D. regia and its bioactive molecules has been evaluated in trials against bacteria, fungi, insects and some parasites such as Plasmodium and the results were promising. This manuscript aims to compile these results and discuss the possible biotechnological applications of this plant.


Objective: The HIV preexposure prophylaxis optimization intervention (PrEP-OI) study evaluated the efficacy of a panel management intervention using PrEP coordinators and a web-based panel management tool to support healthcare providers in optimizing PrEP prescription and ongoing PrEP care. Design: The PrEP-OI study was a stepped-wedge randomized clinical trial conducted across 10 San Francisco Department of Public Health primary care sites between November 2018 and September 2019. Each month, clinics one-by-one initiated PrEP-OI in random order until all sites received the intervention by the study team. Methods: The primary outcome was the number of PrEP prescriptions per month. Secondary outcomes compared pre- and postintervention periods on whether PrEP was discussed and whether PrEP-related counseling (e.g., HIV risk assessment, risk reduction counseling, PrEP initiation/continuation assessment) was conducted. Prescription and clinical data were abstracted from the electronic health records. We calculated incidence rate ratios (IRR) and risk ratios (RR) to estimate the intervention effect on primary and secondary outcomes. Results: The number of PrEP prescriptions across clinics increased from 1.85/month (standard deviation [SD] = 2.55) preintervention to 2.44/month (SD = 3.44) postintervention (IRR = 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.05–1.73; P = 0.021). PrEP-related discussions during clinic visits (RR = 1.13; 95% CI = 1.04–1.22; P = 0.004), HIV risk assessment (RR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.14–1.72; P = 0.001), and risk reduction counseling (RR = 1.16; 95% CI = 1.03–1.30; P = 0.011) increased from the pre- to the postintervention period. Assessment of PrEP initiation/continuation increased over time during the postintervention period (RR = 1.05; 95% CI = 0.99–1.11; P = 0.100). Conclusions: A panel management intervention using PrEP coordinators and a web-based panel management tool increased PrEP prescribing and improved PrEP-related counseling in safety-net primary care clinics.


The need for efficiency, reliability and continuous operation has lead over the years to the development of fault-tolerant electrical drives for various industrial purposes and for transport applications. Permanent-magnet synchronous machines have also been gaining interest due to their high torque-to-mass ratio and high efficiency, which make them a very good candidate to reduce the weight and volume of the equipment.In this work, a multidisciplinary approach for the design of fault-tolerant permanent-magnet synchronous machine drives is presented. The drive components are described, including the electrical machine, the IGBT-based two-level inverter, the capacitors, the sensors, the controller, the electrical source and interfaces. A literature review of the failure mechanisms and of the reliability model of most of these components is performed. This allows understanding how to take benefit of the redundancy generally introduced in fault-tolerant systems.A necessary step towards fault tolerance is the modelling of the electrical drive, both in healthy and faulty operations. A general model of multi-phase machines (with a number of phases equal to or larger than three) and associated converters is proposed. Next, control algorithms for multi-phase machines are derived. The impact of a closed-loop controller upon the occurrence of faults is also examined through simulation analysis and verified by experimental results.Condition monitoring of electrical machines has expanded these last decades. New techniques relying on various measurements have emerged, which allow a better planning of maintenance operations and an optimization of the uptime of electrical machines. Regarding drives, a number of sensors are inherently present for control and basic protection functions. The utilization of these sensors for advanced condition monitoring is thus particularly interesting since they are available at no cost. A novel fault detection and isolation scheme based on the available measurements (phase currents, DC-link voltage and mechanical position) is developed and validated experimentally. Change-detection algorithms are used for this purpose. Special attention is paid to sensor faults as well, what avoids diagnosis errors.Fault-tolerant control can be implemented with passive and active approaches. The former consists in deriving a control scheme that gives acceptable performance for all operating conditions, including faulty conditions. The latter consists in applying dedicated solutions upon the occurrence of faults, i.e. by reconfiguring the control. Both approaches are investigated and implemented. Finally, design considerations are discussed throughout the thesis. The advantages and drawbacks of various topologies are analyzed, which eventually leads to the design of a five-phase fault-tolerant permanent-magnet synchronous machine.


African cities face immense challenges over the coming decades. As countries urbanize, African cities must maintain service provision for rapidly increasing populations, yet with limited resources. In particular, urban food systems must be able to cope with regional food shortages and catalyze (or at least enable) the distribution of food from diverse sources in order to ensure that the cost of food remains affordable for all of the segments of a city's population. Food systems in most African cities are composed of wholesale sellers, formal markets, street vendors, shops, and increasingly large-scale international stores, creating an evolving landscape of food sources. At the same time, urban population growth can result in rapid changes in urban structure with new peri-urban development and transitions in socioeconomic status within existing areas. Governance plays an important role in the creation and coordination of formal and informal actors across different types of food providers. At the municipal level, new markets must be approved to keep pace with urban expansion. Within residential areas, market management committees must work to maintain traditional markets in the context of increasing competition from large-scale grocers and small-scale street vendors. We use household and market-level data that was collected in Lusaka, Zambia, to conduct an institutional analysis of residential areas to examine the interplay between households, public markets, and street vendors. Analysis of the city's food system identifies a complex network of relationships featuring formal and informal governance arrangements, which may affect food system functionality.


Despite a long involvement with quality in the manufacturing sector, and its more recent introduction to service industries in general, education has not been at the forefront of thinking on quality issues. Attempts to pull together some of the key theoretical perspectives on service quality and apply them to education with a particular emphasis on the hospitality field. Demonstrates that these concepts have good explanatory value for looking at educational provision, but suggests that some of the current approaches to quality that have been introduced to education are not founded on good quality management practice. Finally, proposes ways in which some of the issues could be better addressed.


Pancreatic cancer (PanC) presents at late stage with high mortality. Effective early detection methods are needed. Aberrantly methylated genes are unexplored as markers for noninvasive detection by stool testing. The authors aimed to select discriminant methylated genes and to assess accuracy of these and mutant KRAS in stool to detect PanC.


Urban traffic data consists of observations like number and speed of cars or other vehicles at certain locations as measured by deployed sensors. These numbers can be interpreted as traffic flow which in turn relates to the capacity of streets and the demand of the traffic system. City planners are interested in studying the impact of various conditions on the traffic flow, leading to unusual patterns, i.e., outliers. Existing approaches to outlier detection in urban traffic data take into account only individual flow values (i.e., an individual observation). This can be interesting for real time detection of sudden changes. Here, we face a different scenario: The city planners want to learn from historical data, how special circumstances (e.g., events or festivals) relate to unusual patterns in the traffic flow, in order to support improved planing of both, events and the layout of the traffic system. Therefore, we propose to consider the sequence of traffic flow values observed within some time interval. Such flow sequences can be modeled as probability distributions of flows. We adapt an established outlier detection method, the local outlier factor (LOF), to handling flow distributions rather than individual observations. We apply the outlier detection online to extend the database with new flow distributions that are considered inliers. For the validation we consider a special case of our framework for comparison with state-of-the-art outlier detection on flows. In addition, a real case study on urban traffic flow data showcases that our method finds meaningful outliers in the traffic flow data.


Effect of temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration on nitrification rate were investigated with enrichment cultures of nitrifying bacteria. Values of specific nitrite oxidation rate in the absence of ammonia were 2.9-12 times higher than maximum specific ammonia oxidation rates at the same temperatures. The presence of high ammonia levels reversed this relationship, causing maximum specific nitrite oxidation rates to fall to 19 to 45% as high as maximum specific ammonia oxidation rates. This result suggests that nitrification at high ammonia levels will invariably result in nitrite accumulation. The KO2 for nitrite oxidation in the presence of high ammonia levels was higher than the KO2 for ammonia oxidation when temperature exceeded 18°C, whereas the opposite was true at lower temperatures. These results indicate that low oxygen tensions will exacerbate nitrite accumulation when water temperature is high.


All generative models have to combat missing modes. The conventional wisdom is by reducing a statistical distance (such as f-divergence) between the generated distribution and the provided data distribution through training. We defy this wisdom. We show that even a small statistical distance does not imply a plausible mode coverage, because this distance measures a global similarity between two distributions, but not their similarity in local regions--which is needed to ensure a complete mode coverage. From a starkly different perspective, we view the battle against missing modes as a two-player game, between a player choosing a data point and an adversary choosing a generator aiming to cover that data point. Enlightened by von Neumann's minimax theorem, we see that if a generative model can approximate a data distribution moderately well under a global statistical distance measure, then we should be able to find a mixture of generators which collectively covers every data point and thus every mode with a lower-bounded probability density. A constructive realization of this minimax duality--that is, our proposed algorithm of finding the mixture of generators--is connected to a multiplicative weights update rule. We prove the pointwise coverage guarantee of our algorithm, and our experiments on real and synthetic data confirm better mode coverage over recent approaches that also use a mixture of generators but focus on global statistical distances.


Summary
The above method has been found to be more reliable than the "capillary holder" precipitin technique. Contamination of antisera with antigen was rare because any excess mosquito blood-meal suspension could be wiped off easily with absorbent tissue. Less antiserum was required because of the smaller diameter of the capillary tubes and considerable saving in time resulted from the use of tubes which could be discarded after use.


The inertial confinement fusion (ICF) pulse rocket is an advanced space propulsion system, which, through intermittent nuclear fusion energy production isolated from the vehicle structure, is capable of both extremely high specific impulses and high thrust-to-weight ratios. Such rockets, if realized, should revolutionize space travel by making possible very robust interplanetary missions as well as interstellar flight. The thruster of the rocket, which converts an initially isotropically expanding ICF debris plasma into a directed pulse jet exhaust, is to be fabricated out of magnetic fields created by current coils attached to the vehicle. The proper operation of such a thruster therefore rests upon the successful redirection of an initially spherical plasma of high conductivity by a suitably configured vacuum magnetic field against which the plasma expands. But to date, there have been no detailed analyses to guarantee that the concept in the present form will function satisfactorily as envisioned to yield reasonable propulsive efficiencies.
Because of the highly dynamic behavior of the flow, which is bounded by an interface whose motion is unknown a priori, the first problem which must be investigated is that of the bulk flow under idealized conditions. In the work contained in this thesis, the plasma was assumed to be impermeable to the external fields, and the fields entered the debris dynamics only by way of applying a magnetic pressure force at the plasma-vacuum interface. The interface motion, bulk fluid profiles (when applicable), and resultant efficiencies were investigated for various parameter ratios and geometries. Such idealized bulk flow analyses are intended to serve as a basis for more detailed studies of how the flow will behave with a real plasma.
Numerical simulations of the bulk flow process were conducted under both the thin-shell and the classical hydrodynamic approximations. The thin-shell calculation has been pioneered by other authors, but the present work is more complete, and as for the hydrodynamical calculations, application to the type of flows to be found in the magnetic thrusters of proposed ICF pulse rockets may be unique to this work, despite earlier claims. In the former approach, all of the plasma is assumed to be collected into an azimuthally symmetric perfectly conducting shell at the interface by virtue of the finite applied pressure at the interface. No fluid dynamics is considered under this approximation. These simulations showed that promising propulsive efficiencies could be obtained for a range of field-to-plasma energy ratios and thruster geometries, and the efficiencies reached a well-defined maximum for particular values of these parameters. However, because of the approximations used in this model, the efficiencies obtained do overestimate the real efficiencies. The thin-shell code is simpler to implement, and allows faster calculations and requires far less memory, than the more realistic hydrodynamic code, but the approximation made is not entirely accurate nor physical. In the second approach, the plasma is approximated by an unmagnetized perfectly conducting fluid obeying the laws of classical hydrodynamics. Here, we have a novel problem of a fluid expanding against a region of zero density, which nevertheless exerts a finite pressure on the fluid interface.
In both the two-dimensional thin-shell and hydrodynamic calculations, the vacuum magnetic pressure applying at the plasma-vacuum interface was calculated from the quasi-static Maxwell Equations. By assuming the plasma and field coil structures to be perfectly conducting, the magnetic field in the vacuum region, from which the magnetic pressure at the interface was computed, was calculated by prescribing the initial flux through the field coils to remain trapped between the expanding plasma surface and the surfaces of the field coil structures. Such a prescription, which can be explained through the presence of surface currents, is valid as long as we have ideal perfect conductors.
The hydrodynamic codes (both 1-D and 2-D) employed an advanced Classical Particle-In-Cell (PIC) scheme, and were successful at capturing the interface motion self-consistently (with pressure matching across the interface), and without iterations, via appropriate application of boundary conditions. The shock arising from the interface
deceleration was also captured correctly. The formation of a shell-like structure originating close to the interface was observed in simulations of flows with large expansion ratios that were carried out in two dimensions employing realistic thruster fields. But depending upon the pressure history at the interface, these "shells" did not necessarily stay at the interfacial region. When tested on such processes as free expansion into a vacuum or shock-tube problems, for which well-known theoretical solutions exist, the one-dimensional planar-geometry simulations gave results that matched well with the analytical calculations.
The qualitative features of the interface and its motion as found by the hydrodynamic simulations were similar to those obtained by the thin-shell simulations. Nevertheless, the physics of the internal flow was found to affect the performance of the thruster in ways not accountable by the thin-shell model. There were also implications that not all of the debris plasma may leave the thruster in one reflection. The substantial shock heating observed in the interfacial regions downstream of the inward-facing shock would help contribute towards maintaining high temperatures there for (possibly) achieving sufficient conductivities, provided the plasma stayed highly ionized. But because of the large expansion ratio experienced, the bulk temperature of an ICF debris plasma will fall below the ionization temperature from relatively early stages of expansion in the magnetic thrusters of currently proposed ICF pulse rockets, and the design parameters of these thrusters do not appear that promising.
Because of memory limitations imposed by computers, the maximum expansion ratio treatable by the two-dimensional hydrodynamic codes was limited, and initial plasma states rather far removed from those typical of situations in proposed thrusters had to be employed. This also lowered the efficiency values quite notably. The ignorance of real plasma properties such as finite conductivities further rendered the results of this work very optimistic. However, the primary goal of this work, which was to acquire intuition for the bulk flow and performance under idealized conditions, was accomplished. Furthermore, techniques for handling this type of problem were developed. Future work should concentrate on treating more realistic parameters and on incorporating more precise plasma physics into the analysis, based on bulk flow results heretofore obtained.


Oval track and other permutation puzzles and just enough group theory to solve them, by John O. Kiltinen. Pp. 304. £28.00. 2003. ISBN 0 83385 725 1 (Mathematical Association of America). This is a fun book introducing methods for solving many types of puzzle through permutations and some principles of group theory. It solves some specific families of puzzles (with lots left for the reader to do), with a useful software package that comes on CD at the back of the book (for both PC and Mac) to aid readers in their own explorations. Developed from several years of classroom experience, the idea of a puzzle as a motivation for developing a notation and exploring mathematics is not new; but this book does it well. The Oval Track puzzle is sometimes called Top Spin, consisting of 20 numbered discs constrained to move round an oval track. A turntable holds 4 neighbouring discs and rotates them into the reverse order on the oval track. You don't need to have the puzzle as the software does a good job simulating this and the other puzzles in the book and also lets you record moves and replay them at any time, so experimentation is painless. The reader quickly gets to an algebraic notation for the permutations of the 'pieces' and inverse moves. The Transpose puzzle allows a tray of numbered pieces to be swapped two at a time to introduce more permutation notation and cycles. The Slide puzzle is the traditional '15' puzzle but can have up to 23 sliding squares on a grid of up to 4 x 6 in size. The Hungarian Rings has two circular tracks that intersect in two places so discs can be swapped between the tracks.


In November 2005, a man was convicted in New York City for a thirty-two-year-old rape. The circumstances were quite unusual, even for cold cases. The original 1974 trial had ended in a hung jury, and the defendant had jumped bail before his scheduled re-trial. He was apprehended in 2004 in Georgia on another charge, and a background check disclosed the open New York warrant. The crucial difference between the 1974 and 2005 trials was DNA evidence recovered from the underpants which the victim wore on the day of the crime, "found stuffed in the files in the Manhattan district attorney's cold case unit."


In this paper we discuss the forms of agreement in Gitigania. The purpose of the study is to provide detailed patterns of agreement in Gitigania as hitherto, no studies to explain the syntax of Gitigania agreement are documented in the language. I demonstrate that there is subject-verb, verb-object and noun modifier agreement in Gitigania. Morphological marking in Gitigania is pre-stem. Subject marking is obligatory whether the subject noun phrase is overtly present or not, while object marking is optional. In conventional use, the object marker does not co-occur in the same sentence with the direct object noun phrase. If a sentence has got both the direct and the indirect object in Gitigania, agreement is usually with the indirect object but not the direct one. There is also noun-modifier agreement in Gitigania.I also show that most object markers have the same morphological shape as the corresponding subject markers but are distinguished by their position in the verbal template.


Radiofrequency (RF) currents (pulsed or continuous mode) are used as a treatment modality for chronic pain management. This is achieved by blocking sensory nerves' ability to propagate pain signals. In this thesis, it was proposed that pulsed RF (PRF) therapy can block action potential propagation, and that when used in clinical settings, deliver thermal doses below the threshold forthermal damage to nerves. A neurophysiology system with stimulating and reading electrodes was used to study earthworm nerves before and after PRF therapy. It was shown that 60% of earthworms in the high-voltage-group treated with bipolar PRF experienced a block in actionpotential propagation. Computer simulations of the electrical field and heating patterns were created, experimentally validated, and after determining a threshold thermal dose for nerve damage, it was shown that for C6 medial branch nerve PRF therapy the temperature at the nerve was not high enough to cause thermal damage.


Cholinergic innervation of the rat cerebellum was investigated immunohistochemically by using a monoclonal antibody against choline acetyltransferase. Immunoreactive structures included: (1) a subpopulation of mossy fibers and glomerular rosettes; (2) thin varicose fibers, which wre closely associated with the Purkinje cell layer and also found in the molecular layer; and (3) relatively dense networks of varicose fibers distributing in the cerebellar nuclei. Quantitative analysis indicated that a great many immunoreactive rosettes were localized in lobules IXc and X, although their density in lobule X was approximately four times that in the lobule IXc. A considerable number of immunoreactive structures were also present in all other lobules. In the hemispheres they were confined to a zone immediately beneath the Purkinje cell layer, whereas in the vermis they were scattered throughout the granular layer. Most of the immunoreactive fibers found in the molecular layer coursed toward the pial surface and were distributed within the inner half of the molecular layer. In the cerebellar nuclei, portions of the medial nucleus and magnocellular portion of the lateral nucleus had moderately dense networks of immunoreactive fibers, whereas loose networks of fibers were observed in the posterior interposed nucleus. Other parts of the cerebellar nuclei contained a smaller number of varicose fibers.


Background and Objectives The assessment of technical skills in ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia is currently subjective and relies largely on observations of the trainer. The objective of this study was to develop a checklist to assess training progress and to detect training gaps in ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia using the Delphi method. Methods A 30-item checklist was developed and then e-mailed to 18 reviewers for feedback. The checklist was modified on the basis of their feedback. This process of iteration was repeated until no further feedback was received, and a consensus was reached on the final composition of the checklist. A global rating scale (GRS) was introduced as a result of the feedback. Results Three rounds of feedback were required to reach consensus on the composition of the checklist and the GRS. The final checklist contains 22 items, and the GRS contains 9 categories. Conclusions Using the Delphi method, a checklist and GRS were developed. These tools can serve as an objective means of assessing progress in ultrasound technical skills acquisition.


The unique properties of graphene plasmons show great potential for plasmonic nanodevice applications such as sensors and modulators. Graphene plasmon launching, propagation control, and ultimately launching with directional control are therefore crucial for the development of such devices. However, previous studies have used foreign objects or external influencing factors to attain directional plasmon launching on graphene, which introduce defects and add complexity to the system. This study introduces a theoretical framework for a graphene-only approach to direction-controlled plasmon launching. We use graphene nanoridges, a defect-free natural structure of graphene, as a plasmon launcher. Through proper arrangement of the nanoridges, unidirectional, bidirectional, and wavelength-sorted plasmon launching with normal illumination can be achieved.


Control design for robotic systems is complex and often requires solving an optimization to follow a trajectory accurately. Online optimization approaches like Model Predictive Control (MPC) have been shown to achieve great tracking performance, but require high computing power. Conversely, learning-based offline optimization approaches, such as Reinforcement Learning (RL), allow fast and efficient execution on the robot but hardly match the accuracy of MPC in trajectory tracking tasks. In systems with limited compute, such as aerial vehicles, an accurate controller that is efficient at execution time is imperative. We propose an Analytic Policy Gradient (APG) method to tackle this problem. APG exploits the availability of differentiable simulators by training a controller offline with gradient descent on the tracking error. We address training instabilities that frequently occur with APG through curriculum learning and experiment on a widely used controls benchmark, the CartPole, and two common aerial robots, a quadrotor and a fixed-wing drone. Our proposed method outperforms both model-based and model-free RL methods in terms of tracking error. Concurrently, it achieves similar performance to MPC while requiring more than an order of magnitude less computation time. Our work provides insights into the potential of APG as a promising control method for robotics. To facilitate the exploration of APG, we open-source our code and make it available atgithub.com/lis-epfl/apg_trajectory_tracking.


The methods frequently used to estimate the state of an LTI system require that the precise value of the output variable is known at all times, or at equidistant sampling times. In LTI systems, in which the output signal is measured through binary sensors detectors, the traditional way of state observers design is not applicable even though the system has a complete observability matrix. This type of state observers design is known as passive. It is necessary, then, to introduce a new state estimation technique, which allows reckoning the state from the information of the variable's crossing through a detector's action threshold switch. This paper seeks, therefore, to study the convergence in this type of estimators in finite time, allowing establishing, theoretically, whether some family of the proposed models can be estimated in a convergent way through the use of the estimation technique based on events.


The proposed research data proved that female green-house workers were exposed to hazardous occupational factors, which resulted in neuroendocrine disorders, manifesting themselves at early pregnancy, at the stage of gestational dominant formation. Elimination of the contact with the hazardous labour conditions, with concomitant pathogenetic treatment, contributed to the restoration of the normal immune status.


The distinction between syncope and epileptic seizures is a common clinical diagnostic problem.Elevated serum prolactin (PRL) concentrations are used to help differentiate epileptic from nonepileptic attacks such as pseudoseizures. Reports of PRL concentrations following syncope have been variable. To determine whether PRL rises after syncope, we measured serum PRL concentrations during a 45-minute passive 60-degree head-up tilt in 21 patients with a history of near-fainting or syncope. Head-up tilt triggered hypotension (mean arterial pressure 51 mm Hg, 95% CI = 45-57) with syncope in 11 patients. PRL concentrations were elevated (>19 ng/mL) and reached a maximum within the first 30 minutes after tilt-induced syncope in nine patients (PRL supine: 11 ng/mL, 95% CI = 7-15, vs. PRL after syncope: 52 ng/mL, 95% CI = 36-67; a greater than fourfold rise), while they remained unchanged in 10 patients who had a normal response to head-up tilt (PRL supine: 6 ng/mL, 95% CI = 5-8, vs. maximum PRL while upright: 8 ng/mL, 95% CI = 6-10). The findings indicate that elevated PRL concentrations are present after hypotensive syncope and are of little use in differentiating such syncope from epileptic seizures. NEUROLOGY 1996;47: 60-62


Rapid advances in communications technology and the proliferation of inexpensive PCs and workstations have created a wide avenue for distributed computing to move into mainstream computing. Distributed computing is no longer confined to research laboratories but is available to the mass community of computer users. The shift of status would not have been possible if it were not for the immense effort that researchers and developers have put into creating the necessary supporting software networking protocols, distributed operating systems, network file systems, remote procedure calls, message passing interfaces, and most recently, object-oriented middleware. The advent of the Internet and the Web has also added fuel to the shift. The Internet as one gigantic distributed system is no longer a farfetched idea of the visionaries; it is now being used by some to try to solve really tough problems to search for extraterrestrial intelligence [1], to find the largest prime number [2], and to crack the RC5 block cipher [3], just to name a few. Many wide-area distributed systems that are in the making, the Globe system [6] for example, have worldwide scalability as one of their main goals. But distributed computing is not about just IP and HTTP, nor is it about setting up an Ethernet network. Distributed computing, as it always has been, is about achieving high performance at low cost; it is a kind of ``lowly parallel computing'' that dwindling costs and increasing power of the hardware have brought about [5]. Easy as it might sound, distributed computing is still struggling to reach the goal of high performance that is commensurate with the amount of hardware invested. To the researchers, distribution is a long-standing problem. We used to focus a lot on absolute performance, but when machines became faster, the focus seemed to have shifted; it did not, however, completely go away. Today, communication latency is a prime concern affecting performance in the design of high-performance distributed systems, especially when transparency is much demanded at application or user levels and when the system extends beyond a local area. Article ID jpdc.1999.1579, available online at http: www.idealibrary.com on


Elevated road fatality rates at night involve multiple variables, each of which contributes to an unknown degree. In order to determine the relative contributions of reduced visibility and drivers' consumption of alcohol, we performed two quasiexperiments analyzing data recorded by the U.S. Fatal Accident Reporting System from 1980 through 1990. The results confirmed that both variables playa major role in nighttime road fatalities and revealed new evidence that they contribute differentially to two classes of fatal collisions: Degraded visibility in low illumination is associated primarily with collisions involving pedestrians and pedalcyclists, whereas drivers' consumption of alcohol plays a larger role in other fatal collisions.


The subcellular reaction pattern of the peroxisome compartment in rat liver cells has been studied after thyroid hormone administration for 1, 3, 5, 8, and 15 days (20 micrograms of 3, 3', 5'-triiodothyronine (T3) per 100 gm. of body weight per day). Mild hyperthyroidism caused by T3 resulted in the enlargement of the peroxisome volume fraction. This was achieved exclusively by an increase in organelle number (31 x 10(9) +/- 1.5 x 10(9) per 1 cu. cm. per cu. cm. of cytoplasm in controls), since the average organelle volume (0.27 +/- 0.02 cu. micrometer in controls) was simultaneously reduced. The remodeling of the peroxisome compartment was, for the most part, completed on day 3 and consisted of a first preliminary doubling of peroxisome numbers after 1 day, followed by a second doubling on day 3. Each doubling was accompanied by a one-third reduction in the average organelle volume. Peroxisome biogenesis due to T3 resulted in (1) the formation of microperoxisomes, consisting of small profiles, lacking the core-structure and (2) an increase of peroxisomes arranged in clusters. Cluster types with two to three profiles appeared from the beginning of biogenesis, whereas clusters with four or more profiles were mostly observed at the end. The latter was taken as an indication of a late phase of adaptation of the peroxisome compartment to hyperthyroidism, following a rapid early phase, mainly expressed on the organellar level and completed for the most on day 3. The parallel response of peroxisomes and mitochondria, as seen by the simultaneous enlargement of the fractional volume of both compartments, is taken as an indication of a close functional relationship of both organelle systems under stimulated cellular respiration.


This paper is mainly to study implementation of organizational culture in enhancing business competitiveness. Culture is seen as a soft system tool that reflects beliefs that are able to drive business performance in an international environment. Today, culture is a part of instrument to measure organizational readiness in managing business in an international environment. The research is focused on evaluatiny organizational culture in international-scale hotel in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. International-scale hotels are faced with differences in the nature of employees and customers, so management needs to develop a culture type as a strategy to encourage business competitiveness. The research applies Denison's organizational culture model with four dimensions: involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission. Sample includes 248 working people at four star hotels with various positions, that is managers, supervisors and employees. The results of the study found that international hotel chains have the power to carry out internal alignment as a strategy to increase competitiveness through employee empowerment programs, team orientation, skills development, and alignment of work values. The results of the study illustrate the importance of internal and external dimension consistency for international business competitiveness. Sri Handari Wahyuningsih (Indonesia), Achmad Sudiro (Indonesia), Eka Afnan Troena (Indonesia), Dodi W Irawanto (Indonesia)