The self-renewal, proliferation, and mobilization of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) depend on complex interactions involving cytokines and bone marrow (BM) stromal microenvironment. Little is known about the effect of mobilizing agents such as granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) on BM stromal cells and their contribution to the mobilization of peripheral blood stem cells. In the present study we show that, 3 hours after addition, GM-CSF distinctly upregulated IL-8 mRNA expression and protein secretion in cultured human BM stromal cells. Furthermore, GM-CSF stimulated the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Intracellular levels of ROS correlated with the extent of IL-8 production and IL-8 promotor activity as determined by luciferase reporter assay. Using western blot analysis, we showed that BM stromal cells expressed both phagocytic and non-phagocytic NAD(P)H oxidase components such as gp91phox, NOX1, p22phox, p47phox, p67phox, and NOXO1, suggesting that the upregulation of IL-8 expression induced by GM-CSF may be associated with the activation of stromal cell NADPH oxidase activity. GM-CSF directly stimulated the phosphorylation of p47phox, a key event in NAD(P)H oxidase activation. Inhibitors of the ERK1/2 and AKT pathways abrogated GM-CSF-induced phosphorylation of p47phox, indicating that GM-CSF-induced phosphorylation of p47phox is mediated by these pathways in BM stromal cells. Accordingly, the transactivation of IL-8 promotor activity induced by GM-CSF was suppressed by these inhibitors and the antioxidants diphenylene iodonium (DPI) and N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC). In conclusion, these findings show that GM-CSF elicits the activation of the redox-sensitive signaling via ROS, resulting in stromal cell function such as cytokine production and therefore possibly impacts on hematopoiesis.


Musical instruments have an important role in the performance of melodies associated with the lyrical text or purely musical compositions. Thousands of years ago, musical instruments went through stages of development that included their manufacture or the way they were played, in order to reach new tone-colors that mimic the reality and ambition of artists and the public on their various orientations in times and successive civilizations. Arabic and Iraqi music has an active role in the development of musical instruments since the civilization of Mesopotamia. The Iraqi song accompanied the various segments of Iraqi society and honestly expressed the various political, social and other conditions that passed in this country. And the musical instruments had an indispensable role in producing songs, and the traditional Arabic musical instruments such as the Qanoon, the Oud and the Nai had the most prominent role in the types of musical instruments used, despite the opening up to Western musical instruments, in line with the development of the musical form of the Iraqi song. The research included a study on the history of singing and traditional Arab and Iraqi musical instruments and a brief explanation of them. The research included a study on the history of singing and traditional Arabic and Iraqi musical instruments and a brief explanation of them, and the second topic was on the development of the musical form of Iraqi song and Western musical instruments in it. Then the researcher collected thirteen models representing the Iraqi songs within the period of the research limits and set a special analytical method whose parts included identifying the names of the musical instruments used, their classification, scheme of performance, their origins and finally the musical form of the model. The expansion of the Iraqi song form imposed the use of new musical instruments with non-consumable tone- colors, and the way these new instruments performed the synergy of traditional Arab instruments in presenting the song in line with the development of musical and lyrical art and in line with the trends of Iraqi artists. All Western and traditional musical instruments participated in group playing, and Eastern instruments had a large part in the performance of solo playing, in addition to some other Western instruments.


As a new advanced service‐oriented networked manufacturing mode, cloud manufacturing (CMfg) is currently one of the main directions of development in the manufacturing industry. In this study, a resource modeling method oriented to CMfg is proposed to solve manufacturing resource data consistency problems, which are often caused by heterogeneity, diversity, and complexity of manufacturing resource. Motivated by the manufacturing resource modeling literature, we construct a classification model of manufacturing resource using a line indexing method and a manufacturing resource information model for CMfg from the perspective of resource information. The concept hierarchy structure and ontology logical reasoning technology are employed to create this semantic modeling. Based on Ontology Web Language, we propose a new manufacturing resource ontology model that encompasses a resource multilayer model and includes a physical, virtual, and cloud resource data layers, as well as a cloud end layer. We propose a searching and matching mechanism based on semantic similarity degree to locate the manufacturing resource and achieve accurate matching of resource service messages. Such mechanism is an efficient procedure for the manufacturing resource service in the CMfg platform. We present a case study of the proposed framework and model to illustrate validity and practicability of the proposed model.


Currently, the human need for energy is growing larger, due to the increasing population. The dependence on fossil fuels can be seen from Indonesia's energy usage. Nowadays, energy consumption is dominated by petroleum (46.9%), natural gas (21.9%), coal (26.4%), and other (4.8%). Therefore, to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, biomass can be used as alternative energy which is renewable. In addition, technology required to improve the combustion efficiency is necessary. To convert solid fuel into gas fuel is gasification process. In this research, the downdraft gasification type reactor was tested. In this test, results obtained are CGE (Cold Gas Efficiency) by 41.1% and the gas content of CO2 (2.98%), H2 (2.66%), N2 (66.99%), CO (15.71 %), CH4 (2.98%), H2S (0.15%) with an AFR of 2.47


Commodity price spikes are often accompanied by allegations that speculative excess has caused prices to depart dramatically from levels justified by fundamentals. Since prices guide real resource allocations, distortions in prices should lead to distortions in real variables, such as inventories. In 2005-2006 critics of speculation pointed to anomalous increases in stocks in the face of rising prices as evidence of speculative distortion. This article demonstrates, however, that when the volatility of fundamental shocks is stochastic, such comovements occur in competitive markets. Since agents use inventories to smooth out the effects of unpredictable net demand shocks, a positive volatility shock induces an increase in inventories. For inventories to increase (holding the level of the net demand shock constant), prices must rise to reduce consumption and encourage production. The analysis implies that an increase in speculative stocks is at best a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for the existence of a speculative price distortion.


Osteoarthritis (OA) is a major musculoskeletal disorder which causes are not always fully understood. Femoroacetabular impingements such as cam/ pincer cannot always explain observed OA in hips with normal morphology. This paper investigates the hypothesis of extreme repetitive movements as a source of cartilage degeneration. We present a clinical study conducted with professional ballet dancers and a methodology to perform functional simulations of the hip joint in extreme postures. Throughout the process, various computer graphics techniques are used, like motion capture, 3D body scanning and physically-based models. In addition to accelerate and strengthen some tasks, these techniques strongly participate in the clinical understanding of OA related to motion. Preliminary results have indeed shown a significant correlation between the location of impingements and radiologically observed damage zones in the labrum cartilage.


This thesis presents a 0.5-to-3.0 Gb/s dual edge sampling DLL-CDR for clock-embedded intra-panel interface applications. By combining the proposed dual edge sampling and half-UI embedded clock coding, the proposed DLL can save 4 times number of the required delay cells compared to the conventional DLL, which not only enhancing the power efficiency but also reducing silicon area. With a proper data coding method and the enhanced mask circuit, the delay tolerance is increased two-fold, making this CDR circuit more robust. This CDR circuit is designed and fabricated in TSMC 180-nm CMOS process. The measured root mean square (rms) jitter ratio of the rising edge and falling edge of the recovered clock at 3.0 Gb/s are 3.6 % UI and 3.5 % UI, respectively. The core area of the test chip is 0.519*0.137 mm2 and its power efficiency is 1.43 mW/Gb/s.


There is an increasing interest to use halophytes for revegetation of salt affected ecosystems, as well as in understanding their mechanisms of salt tolerance. We hypothesized that bacteria from the phyllosphere of these plants might play a key role in its high tolerance to excessive salinity. Eight endophytic bacteria belonging to Bacillus and closely related genera were isolated from phyllosphere of the halophyte Arthrocnemum macrostachyum growing in salty agricultural soils. The presence of plant-growth promoting (PGP) properties, enzymatic activities and tolerance towards NaCl was determined. Effects of inoculation on seeds germination and adult plant growth under experimental NaCl treatments (0, 510 and 1030 mM NaCl) were studied. Inoculation with a consortium including the best performing bacteria improved considerably the kinetics of germination and the final germination percentage of A. macrostachyum seeds. At high NaCl concentrations (1030 mM), inoculation of plants mitigated the effects of high salinity on plant growth and physiological performance and, in addition, this consortium appears to have increased the potential of A. macrostachyum to accumulate Na+ in its shoots, thus improving sodium phytoextraction capacity. Bacteria isolated from A. macrostachyum phyllosphere seem to play an important role in plant salt tolerance under stressing salt concentrations. The combined use of A. macrostachyum and its microbiome can be an adequate tool to enhance plant adaptation and sodium phytoextraction during restoration of salt degraded soils.


The Japan Gastric Cancer Association issued the first version of Gastric Cancer treatment guidelines in March 2001 and those for patients in December 2001. These guidelines aim to reduce differences in treatment selection by institutions and doctors by to provide standard indication for doctors and patients. This guidelines show treatment indications according to the clinical stages of disease. If doctors are planning to offer treatments different from those in the guidelines, they are expected to explain the reasons for this difference to patients. The advantages and disadvantages of the guidelines had been discussed in developing committee and symposium of Japanese gastric cancer association. In these guidelines for patients, [there is no evidence to prevent gastric cancer by Helicobacter pylori eradication.]. But, many studies have yielded a positive relationship between Helicobacter pylori and gastric cancer. These gastric cancer treatment guidelines are significant in every respect, especially medical care and informed consent. Treatment guidelines should be revised associated with developments in the treatment of gastric cancer.


Modelling the solar Transition Region with the use of an Adaptive Conduction (TRAC) method permits fast and accurate numerical solutions of the field-aligned hydrodynamic equations, capturing the enthalpy exchange between the corona and transition region, when the corona undergoes impulsive heating. The TRAC method eliminates the need for highly resolved numerical grids in the transition region and the commensurate very short time steps that are required for numerical stability. When employed with coarse spatial resolutions, typically achieved in multi-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic codes, the errors at peak density are less than 5% and the computation time is three orders of magnitude faster than fully resolved field-aligned models. This paper presents further examples that demonstrate the versatility and robustness of the method over a range of heating events, including impulsive and quasi-steady footpoint heating. A detailed analytical assessment of the TRAC method is also presented, showing that the approach works through all phases of an impulsive heating event because (i) the total radiative losses and (ii) the total heating when integrated over the transition region are both preserved at all temperatures under the broadening modifications of the method. The results from the numerical simulations complement this conclusion.


The paper describes modelling and current control techniques of a distribution static compensator (D-STATCOM). Current control is based on the predictive and the space vector pulsewidth modulation (PWM) scheme. The predictive current-controlled PWM D-STATCOM can maintain its performance with reactive power compensation and a fixed switching frequency. By using the space vector control, low ripple and offset in the current and the voltage as well as fast dynamic responses are achieved using a small DC link capacitance.


The objective of this work was to evaluate respiration rates and ethanol and ethylene production of mangoes stored in controlled atmosphere (CA) with reduced O2 and elevated CO2 concentrations. Pre-climacteric 'Kent' and 'Tommy Atkins' mangoes were stored for 14 or 21 days at 12°C in 5%, 15%, 25%, 35%, 45%, 50% or 70% CO2 plus either 21%, 5% or 3% O2 in a flow through CA system at 12°C. In the control treatment fruits were stored in air at the same temperature and also in the flow through system. After the CA storage the mangoes were transferred and kept for 5 days in air at 20°C. Mangoes stored in either 50% or 70% CO2 had the highest ethanol production rates. The reduction to 3% of the O2 concentration in the storage atmosphere does not seem to have an additional effect on ethanol production. Respiratory rates of mangoes in CA above 45% CO2 atmospheres were higher than in the other treatments, while ethylene production rates were the lowest values. After transfer to air at 20°C, respiration rates of mangoes from these treatments dropped significantly below control levels, which, associated with lower rates of ethylene production, indicate that the mangoes had been damaged by the elevated CO2 atmospheres.


The decline of many living marine resources requires us to carefully examine the existing framework for ocean governance. The ability of states to opt out of, or even veto, measures adopted by marine conservation and management organizations is often discussed as a factor contributing to the present decline. This book examines the extent to which objection procedures, specific reservation provisions and vetoes (termed collectively as "exemptive provisions") have been utilized in the history of key marine conservation and management regimes and the impact they have had. Drawing upon classic treaty law, the law of reservations in particular, the law of the sea and the developing field of international environmental law, this book explores the evolving legal landscape that informs, and potentially limits, the use of exemptive provisions in marine conservation and management regimes.


Background and Purpose The purpose of this review is to identify risk factors in the athletic population for the development of Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS). MTSS is a lower extremity pathology that frequently impacts athletes and disrupts their ability to participate. Identifying risk factors and other direct causes of this condition can provide insight regarding treatment techniques and methods of prevention.


UNLABELLED
Although the last decade research has shown that personality disorders (PD) represent a major risk in suicidal behavior, the role of personality dimensions in determining this type of behavior hasn't been yet studied thoroughly.

AIM
we intend to highlight some personality traits that may induce a suicidal behavior in patients diagnosed with PD.

METHODS
the sample consisted of 131 patients with PD, 46 of them presenting both a personality disorder and suicide behavior (suicidal ideation/suicide attempt). The personality dimensions were studied using the Temperament and Character Inventory (T.C.I.) developed by Robert Cloninger. Suicide risk was assessed using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.), Module C- Suicide Ideas.

RESULTS
although the sample was analyzed in Clusters DSM type A, B, C and an analyze of co morbidities with the Axe I was also made, the analyze was taken further in our attempt to find a common factor that would differentiate the non-suicidal patients from the suicidal ones. The evident result appeared in two character dimensions that are highly related with suicide attempts.

CONCLUSION
self-conducting and cooperativeness could be considered marker-dimensions in a quick evaluation of suicide risk.


Software development, like other engineering areas, is needed to providing a measurement mechanism for supporting and collecting the relevant data and evaluating feedbacks during the software development processes. The GQM is the most popular method for software measurement in the industry; however, there is lack of the tools supported to GQM. In this paper, we will adopt the multi-agents architecture combined with web services to construct a software measurement system. This system accepts the measurement goals as input from users, and then establishes the relative metrics and GQM plan from the question in order to involve the GQM method into the software project.


The overview of the most relevant literature on migration, whose main issues were human rights, work in agriculture, cultural and social inclusion, highlighted one common point: the need to foster the legal work of migrants as a driver for social integration. This finding was confirmed by a CREA-PB survey that, after outlining the role of foreign workers in Sicilian agriculture, has emphasised how their state of isolation derived mainly from their bad housing conditions directly connected to illegal employment. The evaluation of the project "Sicilia Integra", which was born under the patronage of the UN to include young immigrants in urban agriculture activities in Sicily, was carried out through the SWOT methodology for verifying if it could be spread in the Sicilian region.


This paper presents the design and construction of an inverse controller for the compensation of hysteretic actuator characteristics. The approach is based on the so-called modified Prandtl-Ishlinskii method. The field-programmable-gate-array-based hardware solution allows hysteresis-free actuator operation at signal frequencies up to 1 kHz. Finally, the effect of hysteresis compensation is presented for an example involving a magnetostrictive actuator.


A Multistage Bus Network(MBN) has been proposed as a viable alternative to the existing interconnection networks. The MBN consists of multiple stages of buses connected in a manner similar to the conventional Multistage Interconnection Networks(MINs) and has the same bandwidth at each stage. Due to the bidirectional nature of the MBN, there exist a number of separate paths between any source and destination pair. Some paths make a U-turn at an intermediate stage switch which is a common ancestor of the source and destination. We present self routing techniques for the various paths. We also present a performance analysis of a synchronous packet switched MBN and compare the results with those of a MIN. Finally we present a reliability analysis of the MBN and show its superiority over the MIN.


Suicide has previously been reported (Bebbington, 1976), but we are not aware of a report of fire setting associated with this condition, thus indicating that this may be a rare occurrence. However, fumigation is often used by these patients and it seems essential to explore any attempts or intentions by them to use fire or smoke to combat the infestation, and to con sider admission in order to protect both the patient and neighbours. Many such patients relapse when treatment is stopped, which raises legal and ethical difficulties when long-term treatment is attempted. N. J. HUN'r V. R. BLACKER St Bartholomew's Hospital West Smithfield London ECJA 7BE


notions concerning witch activities. Ultimately, Hopkins faced growing criticism about his credentials, his inquisitorial techniques, and, especially, his high prices. In 1648 he died of tuberculosis. Stearne retired soon afterward. As the civil war ended, so did the crisis that made the witch-finders' achievements possible. Courts became more generous with acquittals and pardons in witch cases. Thus the East Anglian witch-hunt proved to be a unique phenomenon instead of the beginning of something more extensive and sanguine. This book replaces the legends and older histories. Gaskill skillfully traces the movements and motives of Hopkins and Stearne, basing much of his argument on contemporary writings and county records; where there are gaps, he offers plausible suppositions. He fits the witch-hunters into the political, economic, religious, and social environment of mid-seventeenth-century England and explains why they enjoyed active popular support. Through Gaskill's highly readable, meticulously researched, and astute analysis, the reader comprehends how village folklore meshed with Puritan mentality and the fantasies of two undistinguished gentlemen, thereby producing a horror more disquieting than any traditional witch tale.


This study investigated the role that data-based feedback given to a teacher has in the successful application of a packaged program. Three classrooms were selected, each of which contained two emotionally disturbed children. Each teacher was trained in the use of a packaged program during a two-week period in which questions were answered and techniques explained as needed. After training the teacher received no data-based feedback concerning the success with which the packaged program was applied. The effectiveness with which the teacher modified appropriate teacher attention, inappropriate teacher attention, and inappropriate classroom behavior was ascertained by comparing baseline rates of these behaviors with post-treatment rates. It was found that the no feedback condition was not successful in the first classroom, partially successful in the second classroom, and very successful in the third classroom. It was suggested that classroom change might serve as a form of feedback which reinforces new teacher behavior. In addition, an evaluation of teacher qualities beforehand would indicate the condition under which a packaged program may be successfully applied.


Parental substance abuse is associated with adverse health and developmental outcomes for children. Existing research, however, has not fully explored the relative magnitude of the associations between maternal, paternal, and both parents' substance abuse and child outcomes, nor has it examined these associations in regard to substance abuse among nonresident fathers. We use data from the Fragile Families Study (N = 3,031) to explore these issues among a cohort of 3-year-old children. We find that children living with a substance abusing parent are at considerable risk for poor health and behavior outcomes; that such risk is not moderated by parent gender; and that it is substantially larger when both parents have substance abuse problems. Moreover, children with substance abusing fathers are at considerably higher risk of health and behavior problems when their fathers live with them, although this risk is still substantial when they do not. This research has important implications for policies aimed at impacting family formation.


Martha Burt and Brooke Spellman focus on how federal policy and state and local action have stimulated the development of homeless assistance networks and how those networks are evolving to address ending homelessness. While little formal research has been done on this subject, the authors present frameworks for assessing system change as well as describe promising practices from the field. They describe factors that may influence the success of change efforts, including the local and state context, the interest and commitment of stakeholders, the scope of desired change, the governance and management structure for change, and the intended process for change. They also review mechanisms that help make change happen by reorienting local Continuums of Care, matching clients and services, retooling funding approaches, and using data to track implementation and outcomes.


During the past decades, much of scientific literature focused on different sorts of analyses in order to find the right strategies for businesses. As difficult as strategy formulation may be, researchers as well as executives suggest that the implementation and execution of these strategies are the actual difficulty.
Based on the literature, this paper suggests the use of the Balanced Scorecard approach for strategy implementation by introducing the framework and applying it to a 'new economy' company, namely Takeaway.com. With its main operations online, the thesis provides an insight, into the company's internal environment on the basis of qualitative interviews and introduces strategic objectives and initiatives for the future.
This thesis proposes that the basic Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework can be a helpful tool in performance measurement next to giving an aid for strategy implementation within 'new economy' businesses and introduces suggestions for the BSC as a management system.


Review(s) of: With 'Power Shift', Hugh White has done two important things. In the midst of arguably the most trivial and self-obsessed period of our national life, he has reminded Australians that there are issues crucial to our long-term future that need to be discussed. And he has staked out the big question that confronts our security and prosperity over the next decades: where will the major transitions of power and wealth that are going on around us leave this country?


With process technology and functional integration advancing steadily, chips are continuing to grow in area while critical dimensions are shrinking. This has led to the emergence of on-chip inductance to be a factor whose effect on performance and on signal integrity has to be managed by chip designers and has to be sometimes traded off against other performance parameters. In this paper, we cover several techniques to reduce on-chip inductance which in turn improve timing predictability and reduce signal delay and crosstalk noise. We present experimental results obtained from simulations of a typical high performance bus structure and a clock tree structure to examine the effectiveness of some of the different inductance reduction techniques.


It is with great pleasure that we read the work by Mikuls and colleagues (1) regarding pertinent consensus-based guidelines for managing rheumatic diseases under the context of COVID-19. We would first like to note that our nationwide retrospective cohort studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine treatment not only presents no increased risk of cardiac arrythmia in multiple rheumatic diseases (2), but also likely provides cardiovascular protection (3). Therefore, we believe the task force should reconsider the implications of halting hydroxychloroquine treatment in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection.


By CARL J. GESSLER, M.D. B ECAUSE of the current interest in agranulocytosis following thiouracil administration it was determined to study the blood and bone marrow in a series of 9 patients under treatment with this drug for hyperthyroidism. It is of interest that before treatment was instituted the total leukocyte count in 4 of the 9 cases was less than 4,000 per cu. mm., with a correspondingly low value of the absolute number of neutrophils (table i). Two cases had hemoglobin values under 70 per cent, with a color index of less than i.


Introduction: Individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are more likely to develop atrial fibrillation(AF) than individuals with normal renal function, and are more likely to suffer stroke/ thromboembolism(TE). Only one study has considered the association between estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and stroke/TE, and none have considered impact of eGFR on bleeding. We therefore conducted the first long-term prospective study of eGFR and stroke/TE, mortality and bleeding in an AF population, unrestricted by age or comorbidity. Methods: Patients diagnosed with non-valvular AF(NVAF) and available eGFR data in a fourhospital institution between 2000 and 2010 were identified. The study population was stratified into five categories according to eGFR (in ml/min/1.73 m2): 90, 60-89, 30-59, 15-29, and ,15, analysing risk factors, as well as incidence and survival for all-cause mortality, bleeding and stroke/TE. Results: Of 8962 eligible individuals, 5912 (66.0%) had NVAF and available eGFR data. In non-anticoagulated and anticoagulated individuals, rates of stroke/TE were 7.4 (95% CI 6.38.6) and 7.2 (6.3-8.2) per 1000 person years, respectively. Incidence rates of all-cause mortality were 13.4 (12.0-15.0) and 9.4 (8.3-10.5), respectively, and of major bleeding were 6.2 (5.2-7.3) and 9.0 (8.0-10.1) per 1000 person years, respectively. Rates of all events increased with decreasing eGFR, regardless of OAC, and rates of stroke/TE were lower in individuals receiving OAC. When the benefit of ischaemic stroke reduction is balanced against the increased risk of haemorrhagic stroke amongst patients with renal impairment, the net clinical benefit (NCB) was clearly positive in favour of OAC use: for individuals with a eGFR=30-59, NCB=2.06(95%CI 1.40-2.88), whilst for eGFR , 30, NCB=6.69 (3.27-12.78). At 10 years, in individuals with eGFR . 60mL/min/1.73m2and with eGFR ,30 mL/min/ 1.73m2, overall rates of stroke/TE were 17.7% and 30.7%, respectively. Overall rates of allcause mortality were 21.7% and 66.8%, and of bleeding were 21.9% and 47.1%, respectively. Conclusion: Renal impairment is a poor prognostic indicator of stroke/TE, bleeding and mortality in the short-term and the long-term in individuals with NVAF across the whole range of renal function. OAC use was associated with a lower incidence of stroke/TE and mortality over 10 years, compared with non-anticoagulated individuals in all categories of renal function as measured by eGFR. The NCB balancing ischaemic stroke against serious bleeding was positive, in favour of OAC use amongst patients with renal impairment. Long-term (>10 years) clinical results and electroanatomic correlations of persistent atrial fibrillation ablation with a hybrid approach in patients with valvular heart disease


We have examined the wear and friction and surface hardness of the mixed phase Ti–Si–C alloy formed by excimer laser surface processing of Ti layers on SiC substrates. The friction between a ruby pin and the mixed surface shows a complex behavior depending on relative humidity, a behavior clearly moderated by the chemistry of the interface between the sliding pin and the surface. The friction is sometimes much lower and sometimes comparable to that between the ruby pin and the unalloyed substrate. Wear in the unalloyed case is characterized by fatigue fracture and flaking of the SiC surface which leads to abrasive wear of the ruby pin. In the alloyed case, a transfer film forms and even in the worst case, a smooth wear track results in the alloy and the pin is undamaged. The surface hardness is intermediate between that of the SiC and the unalloyed Ti surface layer. The wear results are understood in terms of changes in the grain boundary structure of the surface induced by the laser alloying process.


Driven by the continuing discussion on safety and quality of silicone breast implants, they have turned into focus of this study with respect to the diffusivity of low molar mass components from the silicone gel filling into the silicone breast implant shell. Therefore, the diffusivity of silicone oils into silicone elastomers were analysed by means of the crosslink density and the penetrant size. The study was focused on the diffusion of the cyclic siloxanes Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) and Dodecamethyl-cyclohexasiloxane (D6) due to their potential occurrence in silicone breast implants. The analysis of the diffusion behavior was carried out with silicone breast implant shells taken from explants and tailor-made silicone elastomer samples varying in crosslink density. Therefore, sorption experiments were performed. The subsequent evaluation of the sorption data yield to the corresponding diffusion properties. Based on the diffusion coefficient related to the crosslink density a model was developed to describe the material behavior.Driven by the continuing discussion on safety and quality of silicone breast implants, they have turned into focus of this study with respect to the diffusivity of low molar mass components from the silicone gel filling into the silicone breast implant shell. Therefore, the diffusivity of silicone oils into silicone elastomers were analysed by means of the crosslink density and the penetrant size. The study was focused on the diffusion of the cyclic siloxanes Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) and Dodecamethyl-cyclohexasiloxane (D6) due to their potential occurrence in silicone breast implants. The analysis of the diffusion behavior was carried out with silicone breast implant shells taken from explants and tailor-made silicone elastomer samples varying in crosslink density. Therefore, sorption experiments were performed. The subsequent evaluation of the sorption data yield to the corresponding diffusion properties. Based on the diffusion coefficient related to the crossl...


SARS-CoV-2, the etiologic agent of the COVID-19 pandemic, spatiotemporally evolves or mutates to its variant with potentialities for adverse opportunistic infections via replications and transmissions or disseminations. The dissemination and transmission of the Delta variant is accelerating more than expected partly due to unvaccinated persons not treating the pandemic as seriously as necessary. The test and tracing service must be effected because a vast proportion ofthe population is unprotected. It is crucial to restrict movements. Vaccinated persons must socialize indoors in wellventilated ambients, and avoid non-essential foreign travels. The evolution of the COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 pandemic portends a well-nigh impossible termination of events. It is, therefore, imperative to focus on the cost and not merely the opportunity cost to control the never-ending SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic. There is the need to make public health system a priority with emphasis on cost sharing and cost saving for vaccines and other healthcare modalities to reach the poor and the vulnerable populations in developing countries and elsewhere for safety and protection of lives through enhanced substantial, restorative and sustainable financing,technical expertise and capacity building.


Using femtosecond laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, the authors have analyzed five different species of bacterium. Line emissions from six trace mineral elements, Na, Mg, P, K, Ca, and Fe, have been clearly detected. Their intensities correspond to relative concentrations of these elements contained in the analyzed samples. The authors demonstrate that the concentration profile of trace elements allows unambiguous discrimination of different bacteria. Quantitative differentiation has been made by representing bacteria in a six-dimension hyperspace with each of its axis representing a detected trace element. In such hyperspace, representative points of different species of bacterium are gathered in different and distinct volumes.


Abstract—In recent years, environmental pollution is one of the most commonly discussed topic in international scene. Environmental pollution and its associated aspects are not limited to the location of occurrence, but inevitably influence other regions too; as it says: "There is one earth for all". In other hand Environmental pollution is one of the most commonly discussed topics in today's national and international political societies in which increasing efforts are being made. Environmental pollution and its associated aspects are not limited to location of accident but inevitably influence other regions. Emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or transfer of nitrates, and other hazardous chemicals into the rivers, seas and ocean waters can suggest such claim. Due to the lack of associated rules, criteria and regulations for issuance of environmental liability insurance, QSPM (Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix) technique was applied in this study to introduce strategic factors required for such analysis. There are ten integrated strategies. The essential strategy is using legal tools to assess environmental risks in different industries. Results show that we need raising awareness of environmental accidents outcomes, which is concerned by insurance companies at developing countries.


Background There is increasing evidence that different autoimmune diseases may share some common pathogenetic pathways. The CD40 locus has recently been identified by a genome-wide study as a genetic risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). CD40 is a member of the tumour necrosis factor receptor superfamily which is constitutively or inducible expressed on the surface of a variety of immune and non-immune cell types, indicating that this locus might be involved in several autoimmune diseases. Aim To investigate whether the rs4810485 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of CD40 gene is associated with the development of RA and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the genetic homogeneous population of the island of Crete. The functional significance of this gene polymorphism will also be analysed. Materials and methods The SLE and RA sample sets consisted of 351 and 272 patients, respectively, while the control group consisted of 670 samples. Genotyping of the rs4810485 SNP was performed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism or using the Sequenom MassArray technology. Genotyping of rs4810485 was performed by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism and by the Sequenom MassArray technology. The expression of CD40 in SLE patients with different genotypes was assessed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) by flow cytometry. Quantification of CD40 mRNA was performed by quantitative real time PCR in freshly isolated PBMCs from patients with different genotype. Results The risk allele G of the CD40 rs4810485 SNP was more frequent in individuals with SLE and RA than in healthy controls (p<0.0001, OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.3 to 1.9 and p<0.0001, OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.3 to 1.9 respectively). SLE patients with the rs4810485 G/G genotype had significantly higher CD40 mRNA and protein expression in freshly isolated peripheral blood B cells and monocytes, compared to patients with the G/T or T/T genotype. Conclusions The CD40 rs4810485 SNP is associated with increased susceptibility to both SLE and RA in a homogeneous Greek population. Identification of shared genetic susceptibility loci may provide insight to their understanding of the pathophysiology of autoimmune diseases. The risk allele G seems to confer susceptibility to clinically distinct disorders through similar or differential effects on disease-specific cell types. Quantitative analysis of the allelic expression of CD40 in SLE patients demonstrated that the risk allele was accompanied by higher expression of CD40 both at mRNA and protein level especially in B lymphocytes and CD14 monocytes.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
To document bilateral tubal ligation (BTL) rates and highlight the need to improve on the rates.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A retrospective review of BTLs done in a five-year period from January 2000 to December 2004 constituted the study group.

RESULTS
There were a total of 103 BTLs, 58 were Caesarean BTLs, six were cases of BTL with repair of uterine rupture and 39 had BTL from mini-laparotomy. There were 937 Caesarean sections and 2,356 deliveries during the study period. BTL therefore constituted 0.044% of the total deliveries. The majority (51.7%) were above 35 years of age and grandmultiparity constituted 60.4% of BTL cases. The majority was in the low social Class 4 and 5 (41.3%). Grandmultiparity was the most common indication (60.4%). Previous Caesarean sections were more in the highest social class with a mean of 2.9 ± 1.21 while ruptured uterus had the lowest. Unbooked cases of BTL constituted 62.1% of BTL.

CONCLUSIONS
Bilateral tubal ligation rate was low in this study with grandmultiparity being the commonest indication, the majority of patients were elderly parturient and largely unbooked. Social class was highest among those with previous Caesarean section.


MuZero, a model-based reinforcement learning algorithm that uses a value equivalent dynamics model, achieved state-of-the-art performance in Chess, Shogi and the game of Go. In contrast to standard forward dynamics models that predict a full next state, value equivalent models are trained to predict a future value, thereby emphasizing value relevant information in the representations. While value equivalent models have shown strong empirical success, there is no research yet that visualizes and investigates what types of representations these models actually learn. Therefore, in this paper we visualize the latent representation of MuZero agents. We find that action trajectories may diverge between observation embeddings and internal state transition dynamics, which could lead to instability during planning. Based on this insight, we propose two regularization techniques to stabilize MuZero's performance. Additionally, we provide an open-source implementation of MuZero along with an interactive visualizer of learned representations, which may aid further investigation of value equivalent algorithms.


In this paper we address the problem of understanding the cortical processing of color information. Unravelling the cortical representation of color is a difficult task, as the neural pathways for color processing have not been fully mapped, and there are few computational modelling efforts devoted to color. Hence, we first present a conjecture for an ideal target color map based on principles of color opponency, and constraints such as retinotopy and the two dimensional nature of the map. We develop a computational model for the cortical processing of color information that seeks to produce this target color map in a self-organized manner. The input model consists of a luminance channel and opponent color channels, comprising red-green and blue-yellow signals. We use an optional stage consisting of applying an antagonistic center-surround filter to these channels. The input is projected to a restricted portion of the cortical network in a topographic way. The units in the cortical map receive the color opponent input, and compete amongst each other to represent the input. This competition is carried out through the determination of a local winner. By simulating a self-organizing map for color according to this scheme, we are largely able to achieve the desired target color map. According to recent neurophysiological findings, there is evidence for the representation of color mixtures in the cortex, which is consistent with our model. Furthermore, an orderly traversal of stimulus hues in the CIE chromaticity map correspond to an orderly spatial traversal in the primate cortical area V2. Our experimental results are also consistent with this biological observation.


Owing to their simplicity, brick layer models are frequently used to analyze the impedance spectra of ceramics. As a matter of fact, such models do not represent the real microstructure of the materials. In this contribution, we investigate how deviations from that idealized model influence the overall impedance for low-conducting grain boundaries. Finite element calculations reveal that even homogeneous grain boundaries can cause distinct differences between the true grain boundary impedance and the brick layer values. In various relevant cases, however, the deviations are not very pronounced and may even partly compensate such that the brick layer model can still be a reasonable approximation in many cases.


Coded aperture snapshot spectral imaging (CASSI) has been discussed in recent years. It has the remarkable advantages of high optical throughput, snapshot imaging, etc. The entire spatial-spectral data-cube can be reconstructed with just a single two-dimensional (2D) compressive sensing measurement. On the other hand, for less spectrally sparse scenes, the insufficiency of sparse sampling and aliasing in spatial-spectral images reduce the accuracy of reconstructed three-dimensional (3D) spectral cube. To solve this problem, this paper extends the improved CASSI. A band-pass filter array is mounted on the coded mask, and then the first image plane is divided into some continuous spectral sub-band areas. The entire 3D spectral cube could be captured by the relative movement between the object and the instrument. The principle analysis and imaging simulation are presented. Compared with peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and the information entropy of the reconstructed images at different numbers of spectral sub-band areas, the reconstructed 3D spectral cube reveals an observable improvement in the reconstruction fidelity, with an increase in the number of the sub-bands and a simultaneous decrease in the number of spectral channels of each sub-band.


In this text I set out to reflect on the relationship between human perception and the usability of some designed artefacts. Beginning with own observations the text looks at the relationship between two phenomena: The ease with which we perceptually desensitise to conditions of our environment such as designed artefacts, and secondly, the designerly dilemma of innovative artefacts, that create an undeserved sense of trust that may result in unintended effects. It shows how these two phenomena are intrinsically linked to what the neuro-sciences describe as learning. Subsequently the text will look at several strategies that aim at preventing this type of adaptation. The text concludes with an example of a semantic designerly mapping that sustains the experience of initial surprise and prevents the effect of numbing. The paper argues that designers could benefit from a better understanding of the dynamics of human perception in order to inform design research methods and design education to consider these perceptual processes. The primary goal of this text is to create a debate around these phenomena and show their relevance to design problems.


Zinc carbonyls are extremely rare. Here we report experimental and theoretical evidence of unprecedented zinc tricarbonyl, Zn(CO)3, the next member of the series of 18-electron metal carbonyls Cr(CO)6 --> Fe(CO)5 --> Ni(CO)4, whereas there is no evidence for the formation of the zinc mono- and dicarbonyls Zn(CO)n (n = 1, 2). DFT calculations predict that the Zn(CO)3 molecule has a singlet ground state with D3h symmetry. The formation of Zn(CO)3 involves 4s --> 4p promotion of the Zn atom, which increases the Zn-CO bonding by decreasing the sigma repulsion and significantly increasing the Zn 4sp hybrid orbitals --> CO pi* back-donation.


Performance of cooperative communications receive diversity, with relays, for the everyday body-area-network (BAN) radio channel is determined, based on extensive BAN measurements. In accordance with an option for physical layer transmission in the IEEE 802.15.6 BAN draft standard, BCH-coded Gaussian frequency-shift keying (GFSK) modulation is considered at 2.4 GHz carrier frequency. Large improvements over single-link communications are demonstrated with the use of one and two on-body relays, with cooperative selection combining and maximum-ratio combining. The importance of careful relay placement is also demonstrated.


Abstract : There is a growing body of epidemiological literature supporting the positive relationship between a woman's endogenous lifetime hormone exposure and the risk of breast cancer. Specifically, early menarche and late menopause are associated with increased risk of breast cancer, and this risk is reduced by surgical oophorectomy in the premenopause. Breast cancer adjuvant treatments often lead to premature menopause, and this may be an important factor in the efficacy of these treatments in younger women. However, women who experience premature menopause are at increased risk of earlier cardiovascular disease, as well as premature osteoporosis. Further, numerous epidemiological studies support the benefits of supplemental estrogen therapy in the postmenopause as an effective means of reducing mortality from both cardiovascular disease and osteoporotic fractures. There is uncertainty about how all of these factors play out in breast cancer survivors who have experienced premenopausal disease. Therefore, the primary focus of this cross-sectional study is to examine gonadal function and reproductive health comprehensively in long-term survivors of breast cancer.


Abstract The aim of this study was experimental and modelling analysis of the nanofiltration process used for the removal of chromium(III) ions from salt solution characterized by low pH. The experimental results were interpreted with Donnan and Steric Partitioning Pore (DSP) model based on the extended Nernst-Planck equation. In this model, one of the main parameters, describing retention of ions by the membrane, is pore dielectric constant. In this work, it was identified for various process pressures and feed compositions. The obtained results showed the satisfactory agreement between the experimental and modelling data. It means that the DSP model may be helpful for the monitoring of nanofiltration process applied for treatment of chromium tannery wastewater.


On May 4, 1886, a bomb was thrown into a crowded political meeting near Haymarket Square on Chicago's west side, killing one police officer and numerous civilians. This event led to one of the fiercest attacks on anarchist dissidents in this country, culminating in an unjust trial and the execution of four innocent men. Two public monuments commemorate Chicago's famous Haymarket Affair. The Haymarket Monument (Figure 1), dedicated to the memory of eight anarchists who were tried and convicted (and later exonerated) of conspiracy charges, four of whom were executed by hanging, consists of a tall granite shaft against which stand two life-sized bronze figures, a female figure holding a laurel wreath over the head of a fallen worker. Located over their gravesite in Waldheim (now Forest Home) Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, the monument has served as a site of memorial ceremonies, political meetings, and personal pilgrimages since its dedication in 1893. As an important political monument, it represents a symbol of resistance for those concerned with radical politics in general and the history of the working class in particular. Buried near and around the monument in its bucolic setting is an impressive list of historical personnages: Lucy Parsons, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, and Emma Goldman, to name only a few.


Spatial viewing zones; Space model;key parameter;Peak position;width of the Spatial viewing zones; height of the Spatial viewing zones; Vertical angle ; Horizontal angle; Accuracy;analysis


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of our study was to determine the interobserver reproducibility of CT findings of right ventricular (RV) dysfunction in pulmonary embolism (PE).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Two experienced observers independently and retrospectively evaluated pulmonary CT angiography (CTA) studies of 50 patients with acute PE for the following signs: bowing of the interventricular septum, inferior vena cava (IVC) contrast medium reflux, RV diameter (RVD)/left ventricular diameter (LVD) ratio on axial sections and four-chamber (4-CH) views, and RV volume (RVV)/left ventricular volume (LVV) ratio. Analysis used kappa statistics, Spearman's rank correlation, and Bland-Altman statistics.

RESULTS
The two observers had fair to moderate agreement (kappa = 0.32-0.44) for septal bowing and moderate to good agreement (kappa = 0.57-0.68) for diagnosing IVC reflux. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficients for RVD(axial)/LVD(axial) ratio and RVD(4-CH)/LVD(4-CH) ratio between the two observers were 0.88 (p < 0.001) and 0.85 (p < 0.001), respectively. On Bland-Altman analysis, the mean differences for RVD(axial)/LVD(axial) ratio and RVD(4-CH)/LVD(4-CH) ratio were 0.014 (+/- 0.195) and 0.001 (+/- 0.242), respectively. The correlation coefficient for RVV/LVV ratio was 0.93 (p < 0.001), and the mean difference was 0.033 (+/- 0.229).

CONCLUSION
Considerable differences exist in the interobserver reproducibility of CT findings of RV dysfunction on pulmonary CTA in patients with acute PE. Cardiac chamber measurements are more reproducible than septal bowing and IVC reflux. Volumetric determination of the RVV/LVV ratio is the least user dependent and most reproducible.


Attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment and treatment in children and adolescents is complex. Key biological and psychosocial risk factors need to be identified and treated because of their potential mediating interaction that affect the onset, progression, and psychosocial and medication treatment response of core ADHD symptoms and common associated co‐morbid conditions. Both psychosocial and medication treatments, alone and in combination, have been shown to reduce the core ADHD symptoms and those of its key co‐morbid disorders. Yet, to date, the potential synergism between targeted and specific medication and psychosocial treatments remains poorly understood and under‐researched. Interestingly, recent positron emission tomography findings emphasise the importance of contextual salience and positive reinforcement strategies for stimulant medication, the primary medication treatment for ADHD, to have its effect. This is not surprising, given recent epigenetic models of gene–environment interaction that are revolutionising our understanding of developmental disorders like ADHD. This annotation briefly outlines the emerging evidence that supports the role of psychosocial treatment alongside medication treatment in the management of ADHD. Future significant clinical directions are noted.


Aalto University, P.O. Box 11000, FI-00076 Aalto www.aalto.fi Author Emilia Oljemark Name of the doctoral dissertation Essays on Strategic Communication and Trust in Principal-Agent Models Publisher School of Business Unit Department of Economics Series Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 196/2014 Field of research Economics Date of the defence 22 December 2014 Monograph Article dissertation Essay dissertation Abstract This dissertation consists of three essays and an introductory chapter on strategic communication and trust in a principal-agent framework. The first two essays study strategic communication between a sender and a receiver under the presence of incomplete information about the receiver's preferences.This dissertation consists of three essays and an introductory chapter on strategic communication and trust in a principal-agent framework. The first two essays study strategic communication between a sender and a receiver under the presence of incomplete information about the receiver's preferences. In the first essay, the interaction is static, and the sender transmits information concerning a decision-relevant state variable to the receiver who takes an action that affects the welfare of both players. The essay compares communication under two different decision-making protocols and finds that under certain conditions communication is less prone to break down if the sender communicates to a single decision maker than if he communicates to an audience of decision makers who act jointly based on the preferences of the median voter. In the second essay, the sender and the receiver interact repeatedly. The sender learns about the type of the receiver through time by observing her actions. Cooperation ends as soon as the sender learns that the receiver's preferences are not aligned with his. The sender's uncertainty about the type of the receiver gives rise to reputation building in that a receiver who knows that her preferences oppose those of the sender seeks to be perceived as a more congruent type so as to obtain more information. This reputation building is, however, profitable only if the first period is not important to the receiver. The essay finds that there exist parameter specifications of the model under which communication is more efficient ex ante, and thereby all players strictly better off, if the sender is uncertain about the importance of the first period to the receiver. The third essay supports the findings of essay two by studying a repeated trust game between a principal and an agent. The principal is uncertain about the agent's trustworthiness but is able to learn about it through time by observing his actions. The essay compares players' exante welfare across two versions of the model which differ in their informational assumptions concerning the agent's payoffs. There is shown to always exist a set of prior beliefs of the principal about the trustworthiness of the agent for which the ex-ante welfare of players is decreasing in the amount of information that the principal holds about the agent


I recently returned from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where I was working for Medecins Sans Frontieres. And everyone asks, what was it like?

It's hard to describe the experience properly. I was 1 of 6 doctors (the other 5 were Congolese) in a community "reference" hospital. It's in an isolated town in hot, humid jungle. We provided general medical and surgical care under basic conditions: no x-ray, no biochemistry, basic bloodwork and microscopy. Living conditions were also basic: no running water, minimal electricity. There were a total of about 10 foreigners in town (we constituted half). Strangely, cellphone service has recently been installed.

I could tell a thousand stories. There are a few victories, occasional comedy, many tragedies. And, also, moral lessons, personal discoveries, political drama.

Aviva was 18 months old, struggling to breathe. Respiratory rate: 50–60, pronounced indrawing. We put her on ampicillin and gentamycin. I worried that she would die that night. I told the nurse on duty to keep a close eye on her, although there was little to be done if her condition did deteriorate. Our hospital had no oxygen.

Aviva looked marginally better the next day, and quite a bit better after that. She smiled at me when I rounded. Her mother helped her shake my hand as I said, "Jambo!" (Hello.) The rest of our interaction was in French–Swahili translation. Her fever had resolved, but she still had some fearsome indrawing and an elevated respiratory rate. After her first course of antibiotics, I started her on ceftriaxone but suspected tuberculosis (TB).

Diagnosing TB in kids is hard; we use the (not well-validated) Keith-Edwards score. Aviva was transferred to the Malnutrition/TB/HIV Pediatrics ward, and over the following weeks, she gained weight, completed the intensive phase of TB treatment, and was discharged.

I thought it a story of victory. But I later learned from local nurses that Aviva had failed to attend ambulatory TB treatment after being discharged. A week after leaving hospital, she was dead, of causes unknown. I was surprised and all the more saddened. — Wendy Lai MD, Toronto, Ont.


Article History Received: November 2019 Revised: December 2019 Published: January 2020 In the process of teaching and learning English writing skill, some strategies which are considered appropriate for a certain group of learners, may not suitable for other groups as each group has its own problems and needs in writing. Therefore, teaching-learning strategies for English writing require to be continuously developed. This study aims to design strategies based on the students' writing needs and problems as the development of the previous common implemented strategies in writing course classes at the English Study Program of Cordova University, West Sumbawa Regency. The research subjects were students who are actively studying English as their major specialization and lecturers who have been teaching English writing courses in the academic year 2018/2019. The result shows that the previous strategies give a little significant impact on the students' writing skill progress. For the reasons, new strategies were designed and recommended to be continuously implemented for teaching and learning writing courses and involved in the curriculum at the English Study Program, Cordova University. Those strategies are (1) Collaborative Writing Strategy. (2) Combining Diary and Guided Writing Strategy. (3) Additional credit hours for writing course classes (4). Graded writing course classes need to be continuously taught by the same lecturer.


Statistical analysis has become an essential part of professional sports to the point that every major professional team employs expert analysts. With the widespread availability of high definition streaming data, increased processing power and algorithmic advances, statistical models are undergoing an evolution from static coarse-grained pre-play models based on simple statistical data to finer-grained dynamic in-play models that exploit spatio-temporal data and event streams. Our primary hypothesis is that Computer Vision (CV) and Machine Learning (ML) research has opened up the opportunity to develop automated systems to collect the fine-grained data needed to support these more sophisticated models. We have chosen tennis as our focus on account of it being a highly structured sport which has enthusiastically embraced technology, but our research is also applicable to other sports. In this work, we propose a novel framework for the application of CV and ML techniques to the in-play spatio-temporal analysis of tennis using commodity hardware with the ultimate objective of obtaining insights related to players' performance or prediction of future events. Our framework consists of three-layers: Vision, Classification and Modelling, each of which features various algorithmic innovations. For the Vision Layer we propose a multi-camera system able to detect the player and ball positions in real-time, at over 60 fps. Their 3D inferred location has an error lower than 10 cm in 80% of the frames. The Classification Layer uses data from the previous layer to obtain highlevel information. Our contributions within this layer are two-fold: (1) insightful visualizations of Vision Layer data and automatic extraction of high-level statistics (2) the first deep Neural Network for fine-grained action recognition in tennis which yields highly competitive results: 88.16% one versus all accuracy for classifying backhands, forehands and serves and 47.22% in classifying 12 finer-grained actions. The Modelling Layer incorporates the data obtained for the previous two layers to gain insights about the game. For this layer, we survey and critically examine different approaches of using tennis spatio-temporal data for prediction and analysis. Our work opens the door to a deeper understanding of tennis and other sports leading to new approaches to coaching, better analysis of rivals for developing strategies and in-play match analysis to enhance spectators' experience, amongst many other applications. i c © The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives licence. Researchers are free to copy, distribute or transmit the thesis on the condition that they attribute it, that they do not use it for commercial purposes and that they do not alter, transform or build upon it. For any reuse or redistribution, researchers must make clear to others the licence terms of this work.


An indissoluble bond holds utopia and childhood together, not only because children are often at the centre of utopian narratives and imaginaries in which they embody salvific roles of corrupt societies – or, specularly in dystopias, that of perturbers of peaceful orders – but because they both evoke promises of radiant futures. Childhood is the symbolic place, the container of our hopes and desires for the future as a society, and utopia is simultaneously the 'place that is not there' and the 'good place' in which we socially project our aspirations for social change in an ameliorative sense. If this consolidated binomial appears self-evident and thus assumes the force of a "dominant discursive regime", it is true that by examining the production of the adult-centred discourse, and putting the children of the present and everyday life back at the centre of reflection, its explanatory tightness and projective force can become object of scrutiny and rethinking.
By analysing the social construction of childhood and the role of children as social actors, this essay proposes a parallelism between utopia and childhood and between everyday utopias and children, showing the links that bind them, but also the repercussions of this link both in children's lives and in the prefigurations of ideal societies to imagine and to actualize.


BIOTECHNOLOGY. It's not just for gene splicers anymore. In the United States last year, 1300 biotechnology companies were up and running. During 1993 they raised $3 billion in new capital in the stock market, their second-best annual performance. Sales of at least two biotech drugs— erythropoietin and colony-stimulating factor—exceed $1 billion annually. So after dealing handily with the stock market and pharmaceutical development, internal medicine isn't far off on the horizon. But internists needn't become molecular experts. Awareness of diagnostic methods and treatment tools produced through biotechnology's advances is the goal. "The message for the general internist is that you can't keep up with all of it," says Ian Hart, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa (Ontario) Faculty of Medicine. Nevertheless, he detailed a sampling of new challenges and promising technologies in disease diagnosis and treatment during the annual meeting of the American College of Physicians (ACP).


AIM
We assessed the effect of adding diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) to conventional MRI for T staging and the correlation between apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and clinicopathological parameters for patients with bladder cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the records of 160 patients with bladder cancer who underwent MRI at our institute. All patients were routinely assessed with conventional MR imaging. Since January 2008, we added DW-MRI.

RESULTS
In these 160 patients, 127 (79.4%) tumors were detectable by MRI. In all patients with detectable tumors, on a stage-by-stage basis, 96 (75.6%) of 127 patients received the correct diagnosis. With DW-MRI, accurate diagnosis was obtained in 80 (80.0%) of 100 cases; without DWI in only 16 (59.3%) of 27 cases (P=0.026). For T staging, the accuracy for distinguishing muscle invasion (T≦1 vs T≧2) with DW-MRI (83.0%) was superior to that without DW-MRI (66.7%). The accuracy for distinguishing perivesical fat invasion (T≦2 vs T≧3) with DW-MRI (98.0%) was also superior to that without DW-MRI (92.6%). The ADC values were significantly related with tumor diameter (<3 cm vs ≧3 cm, P<0.001), histopathological grade (low grade vs high grade, P<0.001), T stage (≦T1 vs ≧T2, P<0.001), and operative method (transurethral resection vs total cystectomy, P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
We demonstrated that DW-MRI is not only useful for bladder cancer T staging, but also a prognostic factor for patients with bladder cancer.


This chapter discusses the central place of social class an understanding the reasons for the marginalisation and criminalisation of substantial sections of the youth population in 'advanced' industrialised countries. Given the prevalence of neo-liberal ideologies, the huge changes taking place in basic class relationships due to globalisation, and the impoverishment of growing numbers of young people associated with these changes, it is important to understand the structural impacts of social inequality. A substantial part of this chapter, therefore, considers the making of a new layer of socially disadvantaged young people and the response of the state to the growth in what are seen as problematic populations. The youth justice system has a major role to play in these social processes.


We present the case of a woman with Gaucher disease who was being given alglucerase as enzyme replacement therapy. She was found to be pregnant: the treatment was continued. She gave birth to a healthy son after a spontaneous vaginal delivery at term.


Temporal or delay discounting refers to the phenomenon that the value of a reward is discounted as a function of time to delivery. A range of models have been proposed that approximate the shape of the discount curve describing the relationship between subjective value and time. Recent evidence suggests that more than one free parameter may be required to accurately model human temporal discounting data. Nonetheless, many temporal discounting studies in psychiatry, psychology and neuroeconomics still apply single-parameter models, despite their oftentimes poor fit to single-subject data. Previous comparisons of temporal discounting models have either not taken model complexity into account, or have overlooked particular models. Here we apply model comparison techniques in a large sample of temporal discounting datasets using several discounting models employed in the past. Among the models examined, an exponential-power model from behavioural economics (CS model, Ebert & Prelec 2007) provided the best fit to human laboratory discounting data. Inter-parameter correlations for the winning model were moderate, whereas they were substantial for other dual-parameter models examined. Analyses of previous group and context effects on temporal discounting with the winning model provided additional theoretical insights. The CS model may be a useful tool in future psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience work on inter-temporal choice.


If the uptake of fatty acids by liver is a physical, not a biological, process, then the size and location of the intrahepatic pool of fatty acids can be predicted from uptake rates and thermodynamic data. The purpose of the experiments in this paper was to test the accuracy of this idea. Rat livers were perfused with palmitate bound to albumin, and the total amounts of palmitate removed from the perfusate were measured at 3-s intervals. The intrahepatic pools of palmitate calculated from these data were 13.8 and 23.0 nmol/g of liver at ratios of palmitate/albumin (mol/mol) (afferent side) of 2/1 and 4/1, respectively, in the steady state. The intrahepatic pools of palmitate calculated from the distributions of palmitate between membranes, H2O, albumin, and fatty acid binding protein and the measured first-order rate constants for acyl-CoA ligases in mitochondria and microsomes were 12.1 and 34.6 nmol/g for perfusate ratios of palmitate/albumin of 2/1 and 4/1, in the steady state. Intrahepatic pools of palmitate measured after establishment of a steady-state rate of uptake were 15.0 and 31.8 nmol/g for these ratios of palmitate/albumin of 2/1 and 4/1.


Web services are designed to provide rich functionality for organizations and support interoperable interactions over a network. Web services are mainly realized in two ways: 1) SOAP-based services and 2) RESTful services. For the service providers, RESTful services can improve system flexibility, scalability, and performance as compared to the SOAP-based Web services. It is equally attractive to end users as it is consume less resources (i.e., battery, processor speed, and memory). Additionally, REST-based services do not include complex standards and heterogeneous operations; and hence are easier to consume and compose as compared to SOAP-based Web services. We provide an approach to migrate SOAP-based services to RESTful services. We identify resources from a SOAP-based Web service by analyzing its service description and mapping the contained operations to resources and HTTP methods. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we conduct a case study on a set of publicly available SOAP-based Web services. The results of our case study show that our approach can achieve high accuracy of identifying RESTful services from the interfaces of SOAP-based services. Our approach can improve the performance for invoking Web services after SOAP-based services are migrated to RESTful services.


The research products produced by tertiary institutions are intellectual property that benefits the community and provide an economic contribution. Even Universities are encouraged to increase their research products' economic value because innovation considers successful when commercialized. Higher Education is direct to produce innovative products with high added value so that these products can be beneficial to the community and commercialized. However, not all innovation results are successful or can be commercialized, although, in principles, the commercialization of research products is no different from standard products' commercialization. This paper outlines various efforts undertaken by universities/polytechnics in Indonesia to increase research output commercialization. The purpose of interviews is to determine how universities respond to the challenges of expanding the commercialization of their research output. The participants were the heads of research institutes and community service from twenty-one (21) tertiary institutions in Indonesia, consisting of nine (9) universities and twelve (12) polytechnics. The finding shows that only a few university and polytechnic have commercialized their research products; however, most higher education keeps doing their best to increase their capability to commercialize their research products. This study's two implications are: 1) researchers need to involve "user" needs before developing a research proposal. 2) Management at the university needs to facilitate the commercialization of the academicians' research products.


The banking system of any country plays an extremely important role in the functioning and development of the national economy, since it provides all sectors and industries with financial resources, organizes settlements between different entities and turns cash and savings into capital. The stable activity of the banking sector is the key to the structural adjustment of the economy and its integration into the world economic space. Considering such a close connection of the banking system with other sectors of the economy, its activities are objects of the influence of numerous external factors and circumstances. The main system-forming element of the banking sector is an ordinary commercial bank, which management is the subject of numerous studies and scientific discussions. Recently, international banking practice has witnessed a transformation of approaches to banking management towards strategic management, which involves the process of long-term management of the bank with the formation of a general development strategy and objectives and goals of its achievement, and also considers the influence of factors of the external and internal environment. The correct approach to building a system of strategic management in a bank will not only improve the competitive position in the market and performance results but is a guarantee of banking stability in general. This article is devoted to one of the initial stages of strategic management – a strategic analysis of the external environment of a commercial bank, aimed at allocating quantitative factors of direct influence. It should be noted that external factors of direct influence are primarily concerned with entities that are directly related to banking institutions and which can be partially controlled. These included government agencies (controlling or having an impact on the banking sector), suppliers (which ensure the receipt of relevant financial, labor, material, information resources, etc.), consumers (clients of banking institutions), competitors (that is, other banking or credit institutions that provide similar services) and other counterparties. In each block, the main quantitative indicators were highlighted and a thorough analysis of their dynamics in recent years has been provided. The formed base is the basis for further research in this field.


The study investigated the responsiveness of a recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strain to screen estrogen-like chemicals in order to use it as a first level short-term bioassay for environmental preventive medicine purposes. We used the yeast strain RMY326 ER-ERE, containing the human estrogen receptor alpha and a reporter gene lacZ encoding the enzyme b-galactosidase. We tested the natural steroid hormone 17beta-estradiol, diethylstilbestrol, colchicine, some phytoestrogens and pesticides, and organochlorine insecticides. The relative inductive efficiency (RIE) and EC50 values confirmed the sensitivity and specificity of the yeast strain. A statistically significant reproducibility of results in repeated experiments was assessed.


Background: Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are bacterial enzymes that hydrolyze carbapems. MBL-producing gram-negative bacilli have been emerging worldwide. In this study, different MBLs were identified in various lung diseases in the japanese clinical hospitals. Methods: From Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2010, 1618 GNB strains were submitted to the laboratory of 6 general hospitals in Aichi prefecture. Strains demonstrating a high level ceftazidime resistance (MIC, >128 mg/ml) were subjected to a screening test for MBL production by using disks containing an MBL inhibitor, sodium mercaptoacetic acid (SMA). PCR and sequencing analyses were performed to confirm the types of MBLs and integrases using primers specific for each gene. Results: Fifty-three strains (34 Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 11 P. putida and 8 Acinetobacter baumannii) were isolated from elderly patients in various wards. These strains were isolated from various respiratory specimens (sputum, pus). By PCR analyses, 35 IMP-1 producers (26 P. aeruginosa and 9 P. putida), 8 IMP-7 producers (8 P. aeruginosa), 4 VIM-2 producers (4 P. putida) and 8 IMP-19 producers (8 A. baumannii) were found. Three IMP-1 and 2 VIM-2 producers were isolated in the same hospital. All MBL genes identified in this study were mediated by class 1 integron. Discussion: In this study, four different MBLs were identified in 6 general hospitals. This may owe to excessive use of broad-spectrum β-lactams including cephamycins and carbapenems. Thus, prudent use of antimicrobial agents with broad-spectrum and daily surveillance of multi-drug-resistant strains would be necessary to prevent further transmission of this kind of super microbes.


Using 586 pb of ee collision data at ECM = 4170 MeV, produced at the CESR collider and collected with the CLEO-c detector, we observe the process ee → ππhc(1P ). We measure its cross section to be 15.6 ± 2.3 ± 1.9 ± 3.0 pb, where the third error is due to the external uncertainty on the branching fraction of ψ(2S) → πhc(1P ), which we use for normalization. We also find evidence for ee → ηhc(1P ) at 4170 MeV at the 3σ level, and see hints of a rise in the ee → ππhc(1P ) cross section at 4260 MeV.


Language is one of the important means by which all cultural experiences, both conceptual and material, are accumulated, stored and transmitted either vertically from generation to generation or horizontally from one ethnolinguistic group to another. In most societies such accumulation, storage and transmission are done by way of narration, stories, fables, proverbs, idioms, sayings, riddles, songs, totems and education. The most important form of transmission is done through education, whether formal or informal. Language is, therefore, both the means and the custody in cultural accumulation and transmission. Although a language's sound system and grammar may refl ect societal cultural characteristics, it is the lexical stock or vocabulary which is the most important custodian of cultural experiences in a given ethnolinguistic group. This study uses Setswana speakers' cultural vocabulary to trace the evolution of this ethnolinguistic group from its ancestral Bantu origins to its present state. It is based on the assumption that the current Batswana's lexical stock is a refl ection of the cultural experiences which have been accumulated over several millennia following a series of complex group's interactions with the physical environment, social milieu and the supernatural world, during the Bantu movements from their cradle in what is now Cameroon. These interactions gave rise to physical adaptations, innovations and adoptions which moulded the current Setswana language and culture.


From a report presented by Public health agency (Folkhalsomyndigheten), it is common amongst female students to experience the study situation as stressful and filled with anxiety. Because of the discussion about female students study situation and the problems it brings is quite old, I experience it to be important for me as a ethnological student and furthermore to contribute with my ethnological experiences from the past. By doing a study about it. The purpose of this thesis is to focus on gender norms and the affect it brings on one another self image, by studying female students study situation in present time from a ethnological perspective. To answer the purpose of this thesis the methodological contribute has been qualitative research thorough interviews, executed under October 2018. With the help of four female students at the university of Lund. The analysis has been carried out with the help of Marie Evertsson, Erving Goffman and Beverly Skeggs theoretical contribute of the concept gender norms, self, and respectability. My analysis shows that female students experience it to be skillful equals a gender norm and the affection it has on their performance. The result of my thesis proofs that female students experience the study situation as stressful and filled with anxiety. The stressful subsistence could be described from the female students experience of skillfulness as a woman attribute that has to come forward in all of life's aspects. For instance labour market, at home, at the university and in a relationship, which leads to stress and performance anxiety. The thought of not succeeding and be on top of the performance gives the experience of low self-esteem and not feeling sufficient which affects the self image. (Less)


Films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition. We investigated or measured crystallinity, morphology, film-substrate interface, cracks, roughness, composition, magnetic coercivity, refractive index and extinction coefficient, and magneto-optical Faraday rotation (FR) and ellipticity. The investigations were partly performed on selected samples, and partly on two series of films on different substrates and of different thicknesses. BIG films were successfully tested for the application of magneto-optical visualization. The effect of annealing in oxygen atmosphere was also investigated - very careful annealing can increase FR by up to 20%. Periodical BIG-YIG multilayers with up to 25 single layers were designed and prepared with the purpose to enhance FR at a selected wavelength. A central BIG layer was introduced as defect layer into this one-dimensional magneto-optical photonic crystal (MOPC) and generated resonances in optical transmittance and FR at a chosen design wavelength. In a 17-layer structure, at the wavelength of 748 nm, FR was increased from–2.6 deg/μm to –6.3 deg/μm at a small reduction in transmittance from 69% to 58% as compared to a single-layer BIG film of equivalent thickness. In contrast to thick BIG films, the MOPCs did not crack. We were first to report preparation of all-garnet MOPCs and second to experimentally demonstrate the MOPC principle in magneto-optical garnets.


We present a planar low-cost multichip module integration technology on a silicon substrate. It is designed for high frequency applications where bare dice are placed in substrate openings and connected through a thin film multilayer realized in a planar fashion on top of the embedded system. We discuss the technological realization and resulting properties of the suggested MCM concept. The paper also addresses high frequency performance of the described interconnecting technology pointing out the benefits for RF circuit design. Exemplary we analyze a microstrip transmission-line crossing including a three-dimensional full-wave modeling of the structure with the time-domain transmission-line matrix method.


Insects are of great importance in the ecosystem. In some cases, however, they can be directly or indirectly harmful to humans. Pest insects in museums are good examples of such insects. Especially organic cultural heritage is often the target of these pests. To accomplish effective pest control, it is necessary to obtain knowledge on pest species and their effects. In this study, pest specimens including adults, larvae, pupae and exuviae materials (Total: 1323 specimens) were collected from 59 furs belonging to 12 species of mammals in Zoological Collection of University Istanbul (ZMUI). The species of these pests from various life stages were identified and the numbers were recorded. Further analyses were conducted through the means of Corresponding Analysis and a potential correlation between pest species and species of hosting furs was investigated 9 species of museum pests were identified; Anthrenus verbasci (Linnaeus, 1767), Attagenus brunneus Faldermann, 1835, Dermestes maculatus (DeGeer, 1774), Lasioderma serricorne (Fabricius, 1792), Lepisma sp., Monopis sp., Ptinus clavipes Panzer, 1792, Stegobium paniceum (Linnaeus, 1758) and Tineola bisselliella (Hummel, 1823). Among the pest species, Anthrenus verbasci is the species with the highest specimen count in the collection, as well as the most commonly distributed species. Museum pests are mainly observed on the furs of herbivore mammals. This observation is demonstrated with Corresponding Analysis. Also through Corresponding Analysis, a correlation between the species of pest insects and the diets of the species of hosting furs was demonstrated.


The effeet of adding Zr on microstructure and hydrogen storage properties of BCC Til VO.9Crl.l synthesized by arc melting was studied. The microstructures of samples with Zr were multiphase with a main BCC phase and secondary Laves phases C15 and C14. The abundance of seeondary phases increased with increasing amount of zirconium. We found that addition of Zr greatly enhanced the fust hydrogenation kinetics. The addition of 4 wt % of Zr produced fast kinetics and rugh hydrogcn storage capacity. Addition of higher amount of Zr had for eHect of decreasing the hydrogen capacity. The reduction in hydrogen capacity might he due to the increased secondary phase abundance. The effect of air exposure was also studied . It was found that, for the sample with 12 wt % of Zr, exposuI'C to the air resulted in appcarance of an incubation time in the ficst hydrogenation and a slight reduction of hydrogen capacity.


Author(s): Lopez, Miguel | Advisor(s): Hurtado, Sylvia | Abstract: Researchers, institutional leaders, government policy makers, and leading foundations note the significant role an educated Latina/o population plays in the nation, future workforce, and democracy. This longitudinal study examines the experiences in U.S. colleges and universities that prepare Latina/o students for participation in American democracy and roles in communities and across industries. This study controls background characteristics and predispositions to determine the effect of Latina/o college experiences on civic awareness, commitment of becoming a community leader, and leadership development. Guided by Astin's Involvement Theory and Nora, Barlow and Crisp's Student/Institution Engagement Model, this study employed logistic and multivariate regression analyses on a national sample of 2,164 Latina/o college students who were first-time, full-time freshmen at four-year colleges and universities. The 2004 CIRP Freshmen and 2008 College Senior Surveys were merged with IPEDS institutional data for the study. Findings indicate that college cross racial interactions, attending racial/cultural awareness workshops, and participating in political demonstrations predict Latina/o participation in ethnic/racial student organizations, all of which also predict increases in the personal goal of becoming a community leader. Other predictors of community leadership values are associated with negative cross racial interactions, leadership ability, and performing volunteer work. Civic awareness is fostered by attending a Hispanic Serving Institution, positive cross racial interactions, attending cultural/racial awareness workshops, social agency, and confidence in leadership ability. Latina/os' leadership development (self-ratings change) is associated with voting in student elections, positive cross racial interactions, attending cultural/racial awareness workshops, social agency, and performing volunteer work. In terms of differences among Latina/os, non-native English speakers are more likely to join racial/ethnic organizations, show high civic awareness, and commitment to becoming a community leader. The lower engagement of native English speakers is an area of concern since they have potential for civic leadership. In another area of concern, Latinas are less likely than males to show increases in their leadership ability self-ratings in college. This suggests challenges remain in terms of increasing Latina leadership. The paradox is Latinas are involved in increasing numbers and capacities in student organizations and leadership roles, yet this does not translate to increase Latina leadership.The study extends previous findings indicating diversity-oriented college activities and experiences have a significant and positive effect on student social and civic outcomes. Implications for research, policy and practice are discussed.


To understand the Great War, one has to understand weapons. Weapons are linked to bodies, to attacks on bodily integrity, to suffering. Hand weapons form an extension of the body while at the same time determining its range of movement. Handling weapons – their feel, their weight – opens up a range of sensory experiences, as well as affective ones. By studying weapons, one gets closer to comprehending soldiers and their mental world. In short weapons are far more than just the tools of combat.


153 patients with a first acute myocardial infarction underwent the study. 90 of them received 1.000.000 units of streptokinase intravenously, followed by intravenous heparin administration for 5-7 days. The control group consisted of 63 remaining. In all patients serum CK-MB activity was determined every 4 hours for 72 hours: the infarct mass was calculated from the obtained curves. In 118 patients selective coronarography and left ventriculography was performed in the 2-nd or 3-rd week of hospitalisation. Left ventricular ejection fraction (E.F.) and dyssynergy index were calculated from ventriculographic data. Coronarography revealed a patent infarct-related artery in 76.7% of patients treated with streptokinase and in 44.4% of the control group (p less than 0.001). Among patients with a patent infarct-related artery an early peak of serum CK-MB activity (suggesting early recanalisation) occurred in 72.2% of streptokinase patients but in only 42.1% of the control group. Patients with a patent infarct-related artery had a significantly lower infarct mass (45 +/- 28 g vs 56 +/- 30 g), a lower left ventricular dyssynergy index (229 +/- 243 vs 348 +/- 247) and a significantly higher E.F. (63 +/- 12% vs 54 +/- 15%) compared with patients with an occluded artery.


Background: Shwetapradara (Vaginal discharge), in female is a most common complaint encountered everyday both by gynaecologists and general practitioners. Aims and Objectives: The present study was designed to evaluate the comparative efficacy of the " nimbadi yoni varti" with that of clingen vaginal suppository . Methods: Total 104 diagnosed Patients of abnormal vaginal discharge confirmed by vaginal smear & gram staining were selected for randomized control trial, out of them 50 patients each were divided in two groups (excluding drop outs) named Group A & group B. Group A received Nimbadi yoni varti as trial drug & Group B received Clingen vaginal suppository as standard control drug. Results: Complete remission was found in 4% patients, 78% were found markedly improved and 18% patients were moderately improved in trial group while in Clingen vaginal suppository group, complete remission was found only in 2% patients, 66% were observed with marked improvement, 32% moderately improved & no any patients remain unchanged or mild improved. Conclusion: It was observed that  Nimbadi Yoni Varti gave better results in both subjective and objective variables in comparison with the control group. Therefore, Nimbadi Yoni varti has proved to be an effective therapy in the management of Shwetapradara (vaginal discharge), and will also help in deriving new conclusion and axioms.


An existing Navier-Stokes solver to simulate the turbulent transonic flow using block-structured grids has been used to optimize the guide vanes of radial inflow turbines. The code has been extended to calculate the flow in the rotating parts of turbomachines and is now used to simulate the turbulent flow through the rotor of a radial inflow turbine.The results of three calculations are presented (inviscid and viscous flow without tip clearance, viscous flow with tip clearance). The flowfield is investigated at design conditions where a large incidence angle exists at the entrance of the rotor. Unsteady effects are neglected.The comparison of the results of the inviscid and viscous simulations shows the strong influence of the viscous forces. Strong secondary flow patterns are found in the vicinity of the blades and the walls. Special attention has been paid to the analysis of the flow through the gap between the casing and the blades. The determination of the mass flow rate through the gap shows that mass is transported from the suction towards the pressure side of the blade at the beginning of the blade (6.1% of the blade length). Thereafter, the mass flow through the gap changes its direction.Copyright © 1997 by ASME


It has recently been postulated that viscous flow, or plastic deformation, occurs near the tip of an advancing crack in glassy amorphous polymers such as Plexiglas, and this results in molecular orientation at the fracture surface. The evidence for this has been the appearance of colors on fresh fracture surfaces of Plexiglas and the extremely high measured surface work which is 1000 times greater than the theoretical surface energy. The effect of crosslinking has been studied by measuring the surface work of crosslinked forms of Plexiglas and highly crosslinked thermosetting polymers. The surface work decreases as the degree of crosslinking in Plexiglas increases. Colors are absent on the fracture surface of the highly crosslinked Plexiglas, and the surface is mirror-smooth. The effect of crosslinking is to inhibit viscous flow or plastic deformation at the tip of the crack. The surface work of polyester and epoxy resins have been measured and found to be a factor of 10 smaller than the linear polymers, but still remain much higher than the theoretical estimates. Preorienting Plexiglas or polystyrene reduces the surface work of a crack propagating parallel to the orientation and increases the surface work of a crack normal to the orientation. The colors on the fracture surfaces of preoriented Plexiglas samples either disappear or change to colors of shorter wavelengths if the crack is propagated parallel to the orientation. This is a good indication that orientation occurs at the tip of a crack and is responsible for the appearance of colors on Plexiglas fracture surfaces. The surface work of 150% hotstretched polystyrene is 7000 erg/cm.2, and the fracture surface is mirror-smooth. This surface work is greater by only a factor of 10 than the theoretical estimate and suggests that only a small amount of molecular motion has taken place.


Ubuntu Linux is fast becoming the "people's Linux" and provides a secure and simple desktop operating system that provides both ease of use and a number of powerful applications for free. Ubuntu Linux: Your visual blueprint to using the Linux operating system provides the essential coverage for end-user productivity. With an emphasis of the preloaded applications that accompany Ubuntu, this book will cover multimedia applications, Web and email applications and a powerful suite of productivity tools that allow you to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations.


The total and ionization cross sections for electron scattering by benzene, halobenzenes, toluene, aniline, and phenol are reported over a wide energy domain. The multi-scattering centre spherical complex optical potential method has been employed to find the total elastic and inelastic cross sections. The total ionization cross section is estimated from total inelastic cross section using the complex scattering potential-ionization contribution method. In the present article, the first theoretical calculations for electron impact total and ionization cross section have been performed for most of the targets having numerous practical applications. A reasonable agreement is obtained compared to existing experimental observations for all the targets reported here, especially for the total cross section.