We present the latest results of our work regarding the evaluation of protection measures against laser dazzling for imaging devices. Three different approaches for the evaluation of dazzled sensor images are investigated and compared to estimate the loss of information due to the dazzle spot by a) counting the number of overexposed pixels, b) based on triangle orientation discrimination (TOD) and c) using the structural similarity (SSIM) index. The performance evaluation approaches are applied on experimental data obtained with two different imaging sensors hardened against laser dazzling. The hardening concept of the first sensor is based on the combination of a spatial light modulator and wavelength multiplexing. This active protection concept allows spatially and spectrally resolved suppression of laser radiation within the sensor's field of view. The hardening concept of the second sensor utilizes the principle of "complementary bands". The optical setup resembles a common 3-chip camera, with the difference that dedicated filters with steep edges replace the regular spectral band filters. Although this concept does not really represent a "protection measure", it allows the sensor to provide information even in laser dazzling situations. The data for the performance evaluation was acquired both in a dedicated laboratory setup using test charts comprising triangles of different size and orientation as well as in field trials.


The article deals with the development of the tourism sector in Ukraine. According to the 2026 Strategy for the Development of Tourism and Resorts in Ukraine is determined that the sphere of tourism is associated with the activities of more than 50 in -dustries, and its development diversification of the national economy, preservation and development of cultural potential. Tour - ism flown into Ukraine is estimated by the World Economic Forum. They estimated the total income from tourism in Ukraine in 2019 at 1.3 billion US dollars. Tourist flows in Ukraine is also observed by statistics of Ukraine. Analysis of statistics shows a significant increase in sales in summer and a decrease in sales in the off-season and winter. Tourism market in Ukraine during COVID-19 is researched, too. According to the State Statistics Service, value of sales by travel agencies in the second quarter of 2020 decreased by 95.8% from the recovery to the second quarter of 2019 and hotel services decreased by 84.1%.


There is a lack of comparative studies on the street geometry, patterns and angularity of cities, especially those in developing countries such as Indonesia. The problem can be attributed to limited technical knowledge, traditional data collection challenges, and limited data samples. This research used two cities in Indonesia to study differences in street patterns and angularity. They were Palembang—the oldest city, and Yogyakarta—a planned Sultanate city of the country. 14 different study areas, each measuring 2 miles by 2 miles, were selected from each of the cities. These areas represented five different functional categories—historic housing district, unplanned Housing district, planned housing district, historic commercial district, and commercial district.  The data acquired for this research included maps from OpenStreetMap (OSM) that were processed using OSMnx, software built on top of Python's Networkx, matplotlib and geopandas libraries—a rich network analytical visualization application. Using OSMnx, the centerline maps of the cities were extracted; which, then, were exported into various file extensions for GIS multi-platform applications to run a spatial analysis. The edge bearing graphs for each of the 14 study areas from each city were obtained from OSMnx. These graphs were compared to see if these areas show similarities and differences in terms of functional categories.
Findings show that Palembang has more variations in street angularity when compared with Yogyakarta areas. Within and between cities, study areas did not show consistent differences based on functional categories. Instead, differences observed in the angularity of streets of these cities appeared to be both historical and cultural in nature.


alternatively, that Christ was not praying to be delivered from the death of the cross, but only from dying "in the Garden"! "Curiouser and curiouser," Hewitt proceeds to argue as if Hebrews 5:7, Luke 22:42 f., and John 12:27 were all veridical accounts of Jesus' prayers, and as if they all referred to precisely the same thing, and opines that "if Christ had died in the Garden, no greater calamity could possibly have fallen on mankind." In this reviewer's understanding, the important thing is that Christ died for our sins, not that he died in a particular place in a particular way, though naturally the place and manner of his death are forever hallowed. Other curiosities of exegesis occur in the treatment of 6:4-6, 10:28, and 12:17, where Hewitt strains mightily against the obvious interpretation, that there can be no second repentance. There is no index.


I discuss the concept of universality, specifically of physical phenomena, and even more specifically of the behavior of critical phenomena. In the philosophical literature, I believe, this concept has been widely misunderstood. In particular, a number of recent attempts to formulate what counts as an explanation for the possibility of universal behavior are misguided because they fail to properly understand what the explanandum is. A proper explanation involves recognizing that universality implies a kind of stability of behavior under perturbation. Furthermore, this stability itself requires explanation. I relate the explanation of the stability characteristic of universality to the autonomy of certain models or theories at continuum scales from those and scales of the molecular or atomic.


The most accepted hypothesis to describe the pathophysiology of the metabolic syndrome is insulin resistance, which is caused by a defect in insulin action. It is increasingly recognized worldwide, and estimated that 20%–25% of adult population in south Asia have developed metabolic syndrome. This cross-sectional observational prevalence study of metabolic syndrome was conducted over a period of 1 year (2018–2019) on a sample of 150 randomly selected medical students comprising of different semesters of MBBS course in Indira Gandhi Institute of medical sciences, Patna. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to the International Diabetes Federation criteria was 20% comprising 23.3% in males and 17.8% in females. The prevalence of individual parameters for metabolic syndrome was increased waist circumference (42%), low high-density lipoproteins levels (35.3%), increased triglyceride level (32.7%), increased fasting blood sugar (0.02%), and hypertension (0.03%).


The Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network (PICANet) collects data from Paediatric Intensive Care units (PICUs) across the country to compare their performance. One way it accumulates data is through the Paediatric Index of Mortality (PIM), which is a risk adjustment tool that uses primarily physiological data from the first hour of a patient's admission on PICU to predict the risk of mortality for that patient. PICANet then uses the Standard Mortality Ratioto compare PICUs across the country. (1) In 2015 there were 56 deaths in the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital PICU. PIM2- the version on PIM used in 2015- predicted 26 deaths which meant there were 30 deaths that were unpredicted in 2015 meaning that RMCH had an SMR of 2.23 (95% Cl- 1.7–2.23), this suggests an excess mortality. Method This report set out to evaluate PIM2 as to whether it is still fit for purpose as an indicator of quality of care in PICUs. This will be done by collecting data from all 56 patients that died on RMCH PICU in 2015 and review any incidents during their time on the unit that could contribute to their death. All PIM2 scores will be recorded for each patient meaning that the deaths that had a predicted mortality of <7.3% and therefore unpredicted can be reviewed in more detail. Finally the report will discuss why PIM2 failed to predict these deaths. Conclusion Through reviewing all the 56 patients who died in RMCH PICU in 2015 it is clear that the raised SMR is due to PIM2 failing to predict deaths that were unavoidable. There was a rise in patients admitted with fatal, life limiting or severe diseases prior to admission. These diseases are not currently recognised by PIM2 so the calculated risk of mortality for these patients will be greatly decreased as there is no way of inputting these diseases so they get an appropriately weighted score. Other ways of assessing quality of care could be used by PICANet to get more reliable results. Alternately PIM2 should be updated further to incorporate rare but fatal conditions.


In the period since 1936, Quebec has gone through two eras of party politics, the first between the Liberals and the Union Nationale, the second and ongoing era between the Liberals and the Parti Québécois. This study examines elections in Quebec in terms of all relevant types of electoral bias. In both eras the overall electoral bias has clearly been against the Liberal Party. The nature of this bias has changed however. Malapportionment was crucial through 1970, and of minimal importance since the 1972 redistribution. In contrast gerrymandering, ultimately involving an 'equivalent to gerrymandering effect' due to the geographic nature of Liberal core support, has been not only a permanent phenomenon but indeed since 1972 the dominant effect. The one election where both gerrymandering and the overall bias were pro-Liberal — 1989 — is shown to be the 'exception that proves the rule'. Finally, the erratic extent of electoral bias in the past four decades is shown to arise from very uneven patterns of swing in Quebec.


Staphylococcus aureus is usually regarded as a bacterial pathogen due to its ability to cause multiple types of invasive infections. Nevertheless, S. aureus colonizes about 30% of the human population asymptomatically in the nares, either transiently or persistently, and can therefore be regarded a human commensal as well, although carriage increases the risk of infection. Whereas many facets of the infection processes have been studied intensively, little is known about the commensal lifestyle of S. aureus. Recent studies highlight the major role of the composition of the highly variable nasal microbiota in promoting or inhibiting S. aureus colonization. Competition for limited nutrients, trace elements, and epithelial attachment sites, different susceptibilities to host defense molecules and the production of antimicrobial molecules by bacterial competitors may determine whether nasal bacteria outcompete each other. This chapter summarizes our knowledge about mechanisms that are used by S. aureus for efficient nasal colonization and strategies used by other nasal bacteria to interfere with its colonization. An improved understanding of naturally evolved mechanisms might enable us to develop new strategies for pathogen eradication.


This study investigated the applicability of alternative assessment methods used in 4th grade mathematics curriculum in Turkey and the United States with the intent of implementing these methods more effectively in elementary schools. The sampling included six elementary schools with twelve teachers in Adiyaman in Turkey; four elementary schools with twelve teachers in Pittsburgh, PA in the U.S. Qualitative data were gathered through document examination semi-structured observation, and semi-structured interviews; they were analyzed qualitatively. Findings indicated a similarity in the foundational resources used in both mathematics curriculua. The observations revealed that although both groups of teachers professed using the assessment methods, teachers in the U.S. applied the methods in their classrooms, while teachers in Turkey did not. The interviews disclosed factors preventing the application of alternative methods, particularly among Turkish teachers, including time, the availability of other methods, and the enormous pressure to "teach to the test."

 Key words: Alternative assessment, mathematics, curriculum, elementary school.


Objectives: To evaluate the contributions of environmental and genetic cues to renal sodium handling in a population-based study. Methods: Our study subjects were suspected hypertensive patients being off antihypertensive medication for at least 2 weeks and referred to our hypertension clinic for 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. We collected serum and 24-hour urine for measurement of sodium, creatinine and lithium concentration. Sodium and creatinine concentrations were measured by coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Fractional excretion of lithium (FELi) and fractional distal reabsorption rate of sodium (FDRNa) were calculated as markers of proximal and distal sodium handling, respectively. We used the ABI SNapShot method and genotyped 12 SNPs from candidate genes (ADD1, ADD2, ADD3, LSS, ABCB1, HSD3B1, NEDD4L, AGTR1 and WNK1) and 6 SNPs (rs10502933, rs2345088, rs12513375, rs16817782, rs Results: Our study included 1409 untreated patients and 664 men (mean age, 51.0 years). In adjusted analysis, FELi was positively associated with age but negatively with the ratio of the total cholesterol and high density lipid (P ⩽ 0.003). FDRNa was negatively with current smoking and waist circumference. After adjusting the host and environmental factors and after Bonferroni correction, among the 18 genetic variations, only AGTR1 rs2131127 was significantly associated with FELi (P = 0.032). In AGTR1 rs2131127 CC homozygotes (n = 162) had lower daytime systolic blood pressure than T allele carriers (131.4 vs. 133.6 mmHg, P = 0.04). Season and humidity together explained ∼1.3% and ∼3.5% of the variation of the fractional excretion of lithium and distal reabsorption of sodium, respectively, while genetic cues just 1.10% or less. Conclusion: Environmental compared with genetic cues are critical drivers of renal sodium handling.


In this work, a solvothermal strategy combined with following calcination was developed to synthesize a mesoporous NaTi2(PO4)3/CMK-3 (NTP/C) nanohybrid as a high-performance anode for next-generation Na-ion batteries (NIBs). Physicochemical characterizations demonstrated that NASICON-type structured NaTi2(PO4)3 (NTP) nanoparticles (NPs) with high crystallinity were homogeneously embedded in the mesoporous CMK-3 matrix. The mesoporous NTP/C nanohybrid as the anode for NIBs exhibited excellent electrochemical performance with high charge–discharge capability, good rate performance and long cycle life in non-aqueous electrolytes. The nanohybrid electrode delivered large specific capacities of 101, 76, 58, 39 mA h g−1 at 0.2, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 C, respectively, and retained it as high as 62.9 mA h g−1 even after 1000 cycles at 0.5 C. Compared to the pure NTP electrode, the mesoporous NTP/C hybrid anode with unique "meso–nano" architecture exhibited better Na-storage ability and indicated its promising application for rechargeable NIBs.


We study the traveling salesman problem for a Dubins vehicle. We prove that this problem is NP-hard, and provide lower bounds on the approximation ratio achievable by some recently proposed heuristics. We also describe new algorithms for this problem based on heading discretization, and evaluate their performance numerically.


The model and architecture of a multimedia environment for the realization of interactive tasks by Bayesian approach is described. Interactive tasks are developed with the basic aim to make it easier for students to acquire practical knowledge in the field of digital design and implementation of complex programmable logic circuits. Exploring the impact of interactive tasks on students' success in acquiring the knowledge about complex logic devices operating principles and their implementation, at the end of the course we conducted a survey. Survey included all students who had classes in subject Programmable logic devices in the academic year 2009. Ill. 5, bibl. 8 (in English; summaries in English, Russian and Lithuanian).


Use of opioid substitution therapy (OST), with or without a needle syringe program (NSP), appears to reduce the number of people who inject drugs and develop hepatitis C compared with no OST use (no absolute numbers per 1000 were available; on average, reduction was 50% with OST vs no OST, and 55% with OST plus NSP vs no OST plus low or no NSP). NSP alone shows no clear differences between groups overall (low vs no NSP coverage, or high vs low/no NSP), although subgroup analyses based on region suggest that fewer people in Europe may develop hepatitis C with high NSP than with low/no NSP coverage (on average, reduction was 76%). When assessed, the quality of evidence was very low to low. No firm conclusions can be drawn.


This paper examines the relative impact of economic freedom, civil liberties, and political rights on growth. A system of three simultaneous equations is used to unearth the channels through which these institutional dimensions affect economic growth. These include greater efficiency and enlarged investment in physical and human capital. The sample contains 79 countries and six periods covering the years from 1976 to 2005. The results show that the three dimensions of institutional quality are important for economic growth either through a better allocation of resources or, indirectly, through the stimulation of investment in physical and human capital.


Introduction: Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of the larynx is very rare, less than 100 cases have been reported in the literature, and this is the first such known case in our clinic in more than 30 years. Case report: A case report of a 61-year-old man with 4-month history of dysphonia came at the University Clinic of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT Clinic). Tumor formation of the right false vocal cord was seen with indirect laryngoscopy and fiberoptic nasopharyngolaryngoscopy. The tumor was completely removed endoscopically. Pathohistological analysis proved the presence of small lymphocytes mixed with plasmocytoid lymphocytes and plasma B cells. The diagnosis of primary NHL of the larynx was confirmed at the University Clinic of Hematology (Haematology Clinic). Twelve months after the operative treatment, during the control fiberoptic nasopharyngolaryngoscopy examination tumor formation in the epipharynx was visualized. CT and MR on the pharyngeal region confirmed the tumor mass in the epipharynx. Endoscopically, the tumor of the epipharynx was completely removed. The pathohistological finding was a neoplasm with morphological features of non-Hodgkin's lymphoplasmocytic type lymphoma, which was morphology identical with the previous finding. No additional radio and chemotherapy were ordinated to the patient. In the interval of three years, he is with clean findings on the control examinations at the ENT Clinic and at the Haematology Clinic. Conclusion: Primary NHL of the larynx is a rare entity. Direct laryngoscopy with biopsy for pathohistological examination is necessary for an accurate diagnosis. Treatment and prognosis certainly depend on the stage and grade of the tumor.
Keywords: larynx, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, pharynx.


Uniaxial extensional flow appears in transport and processing and is able to destroy desired rheological properties of emulsions by tearing drops. During the last few decades, many theoretical approaches used to describe the drop-deformation behaviour of emulsions have involved the assumption that uniaxial extensional flow fields are involved. Recent experiments investigating drop deformation in planar extensional flow fields were restricted to single droplets in a surrounding fluid. The present device considerably improves this situation by allowing one to study the drop-matrix interaction for several drops in uniaxial extensional flow. To determine the deformation of a few drops, a uniaxial flow field with a constant rate of extension with respect to space and time is necessary. This is realized by stretching a large cylindrical liquid bridge under microgravity. The bridge should remain cylindrical throughout the stretching. Therefore, a special mechanical adaptation is used to suppress necking at the ends of the filament. However, bridge deformations caused by viscous stress and by dynamic and capillary pressure gradients still remain. The strain and shear rate distributions in the liquid bridge are evaluated in order to determine the most suitable position for drop-deformation experiments. Examples of several drop-deformation experiments with elliptical and pointed-ends shapes of the stretched bridge are presented.


We show that the extinction of quasar absorbers increases exponentially with the logarithmic column density of any volatile metal (e.g. zinc), with a characteristic turning point above which the quasars are severely dimmed. We derive the relation between extinction, HI column density ($N_\mathrm{HI}$), metallicity ($Z \equiv N_\mathrm{ZnII}/N_\mathrm{HI}$), and fraction of iron in dust [$f_\mathrm{Fe}(Z)$] in Damped Lyman $\alpha$ (DLA) systems. We use this relation to estimate the effect of dust obscuration on the statistical distributions of $N_\mathrm{HI}$ and $Z$ measured in magnitude-limited surveys of DLAs. In the redshift range where the measurements of zinc column densities have sufficient statistics ($1.8 \leq z \leq 3$) we find that the obscuration bias affects the shapes of the observed distributions. The metallicity distribution is particularly affected by the bias, which hampers the detection of DLA galaxies with near Solar metallicity. Our results perfectly reproduce, without tuning the dust parameters, the DLA observational threshold $\log N(\mathrm{ZnII})\,\mathrm{[cm^{-2}]} \lesssim 13.15$ found by Boissé and collaborators in 1998, in terms of a rapid rise of the obscuration. Our predictions of the effects of the bias on the statistics of DLAs are consistent with observational results obtained from unbiased surveys of radio-selected quasars.


general population has been demonstrated for body size [2] and serum cholesterol [3] and has beeen postulated to be due to malnutrition [3]. We agree with Canavese et al that a great deal of research is still necessary regarding the biological mechanisms of homocysteine metabolism in patients with ESRD and their relationship to cardiovascular risk. The finding of differing TT genotype prevalence over years of dialysis reported in these two studies is not irreconciliable. There may be other differences in the design of the studies that might explain variable risk estimates, including clinical status, sample size, measurement issues, Fig. 1. Time trends in evolution of lean body mass (LBM) after switch and race/ethnicity composition. We intend to examine from conventional to daily hemodialysis in 7 patients with a 12-month follow-up data from our study and agree that experience follow-up. It significantly increased within the first 6 months (P 0.02), reported from other centers is greatly needed. and remained stable thereafter. Value at t0 represents the average Routine screening of either homocysteine or genetics between the values obtained at times 3 and 0, respectively. Mean weekly ( SEM) standard Kt/V [2] increased from 2.22 0.13 at in not routinely recommended. A professional organizabaseline to 3.25 0.20 at 12 months (P 0.001). tion weighing the merits of such a clinical policy should take into consideration the cost-effectiveness of the test and associated interventions. In our clinic, the costs of such tests are significantly lower than those mentioned Fourteen volunteer patients were evaluated during 3 by Canavese et al. months on CHD and 12 months on DHD. The lean body mass was evaluated at 3, 0, 6 and 12 months, Elizabeth M. Wrone, James L. Zehnder, John M. Hornberger, Linda M. McCann, respectively. Five patients were excluded (renal transNorman S. Coplon, and Stephen P. Fortmann plantation in the first 6 months (N 4), incomplete data Palo Alto, California, USA (N 1); data from the nine patients with 6 months DHD Correspondence to Elizabeth Wrone, M.D., Stanford Center for Refollow-up (six men, three women; 61 years old, range: search in Disease Prevention, 1000 Welch Road, Palo Alto, California 30 to 76 years), on CHD (five at home, three in a low94304-1825, USA. care unit, one in hospital) for 63 months (range: 8 to 137 E-mail: email@example.com months) was analysed by ANOVA for repeated meaREFERENCES sures with F or Friedman tests, as appropriate. The lean body mass (mean SEM) increased ( 1.3 1. Wrone EM, Zehnder JL, Hornberger JM, et al: An MTHFR 0.4 kg) during the first 6 months (P 0.008) of DHD, variant, homocysteine, and cardiovascular comorbidity in renal disease. Kidney Int 60(3):1106–1113, 2001 while total body weight remained unchanged. After 6 2. Leavey SF, Strawderman RL, Jones CA, et al: Simple nutritional months, two more patients were withdrawn (renal transindicators an independent predictors of mortality in hemodialysis plantation and aortic valve replacement, respectively). patients. Am J Kidney Dis 31:997–1006, 1998 3. Coresh J, Longenecker JC, Miller ER, III, et al: Epidemiology The lean body mass evolution of the remaining seven of cardiovascular risk factors in chronic renal disease. J Am Soc patients is presented (Fig. 1). Nephrol 9:S24–S30, 1998 Based on these observations, a switch to DHD could be proposed to CHD patients with poor nutritional status. Further studies, including a larger number of patients, are required to confirm these encouraging results. Daily hemodialysis Eric Goffin, Yolande Pirard, Julie Francart, Mercedes Vignioble, Tony Goovaerts, and nutritional status Annie Robert, and Yves Pirson Brussels, Belgium


The aphrodisiac effect of methanol extract of Smilax kraussiana was investigated in adult albino male rats The extract was investigated on sexual behaviour based on the parameters of sexual indices such as mount and intromission latencies and ejaculation latency. Others include mount and intromission frequencies, erection frequency, post ejaculation interval as well penile erection in adult albino male rats. The extract caused increase in mount frequency, intromission frequency and erection frequency. Others were penile erection and ejaculation latency. These increases were statistically (p < 0.001) significant. Similarly, the extract also caused decrease in both mount and intromission latencies and in post ejaculation interval. Thes e effects were observed in both sexually active and in active rats. There was an increase in body weights of all the animals treated with the extract coupled with those of sexual organs such as testis, epididymis and vas deference, these increases we re statistically significant (p < 0.001) relative to control. The methanol extract of Smilax kraussiana caused a significant decrease in serum cholesterol level while the serum concentrations of aspartate and alanine aminotransferases as well as the alkaline phosphatase were elevated. These effects were statistically significant (p < 0.001) relative to control. The free radical scavenging ability of the extract against DPPH showed that the extract possessed some antioxidant properties. The photomicrograph of the sexual organs showed no histological abnormalities, rather there was an increase in seminiferous tubules proliferation. . Phytochemical screening of the extract showed that it contained alkaloids, saponin, cardiac glycoside, tannins and phlobatannins. The median lethal dose was calculated as 243.86mg/kg. The observed effects may in part be due to the secondary metabolites of the extract. These effects of the extract justified the folkloric use of the plant.


An optimal resource allocation approach to stochastic multimodal projects had been previously developed by applying a Dynamic Programming Model, which proved to be very demanding computationally. A new approach, the Electromagnetism Algorithm had also been adapted and implemented, with better results than the Dynamic Programming Model. This paper presents another philosophy for solving the same problem, based on an Evolutionary Algorithm. This approach was implemented using an Object Oriented language, Java, and its results were compared to the Electromagnetism Algorithm. A distributed version was also developed, to be run in a computer network, in order to take advantage of available computational resources.


Most of the available papers on the logistics sector identify the type of the business model with the type of logistics service providers, distinguishing between three to five business models. These models most often focus, almost exclusively on the complexity of the logistical services and their scope. The more complex a logistic service is, the more benefits it brings to the company. This is a result of the increase in added value and key competences, and a decrease in the intensity of resources usage. Expanding logistics services to include e-services significantly improves the position of a company in the so-called pyramid of logistics services. The purpose of this article is to identify the use of e-services among the enterprises of the logistics sector and to examine the impact of the use of e-services on the quality of the business model. The realization of the objective was possible thanks to a study carried out among the logistics sector companies that participated in the twentieth edition of the Polish ranking of enterprises in the logistics sector. The analysis of the data from the concluded study was conducted with the use of the methods of multivariate statistical analysis: cluster analysis and correspondence analysis. The carried out study of selected companies of the logistics sector leads to the conclusion that the use of e-services in their offer has a positive effect on the quality of the business model. Offering e-services adds value for the customer, as well as the value for the company, as evidenced by the improved financial condition of enterprises that use e-logistics.


The abilities to form and abstract concepts is key to human intelligence, but such abilities remain lacking in state-of-the-art AI systems. There has been substantial research on conceptual abstraction in AI, particularly using idealized domains such as Raven's Progressive Matrices and Bongard problems, but even when AI systems succeed on such problems, the systems are rarely evaluated in depth to see if they have actually grasped the concepts they are meant to capture. In this paper we describe an in-depth evaluation benchmark for the Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus (ARC), a collection of few-shot abstraction and analogy problems developed by Chollet [2019]. In particular, we describe ConceptARC, a new, publicly available benchmark in the ARC domain that systematically assesses abstraction and generalization abilities on a number of basic spatial and semantic concepts. ConceptARC differs from the original ARC dataset in that it is specifically organized around"concept groups"-- sets of problems that focus on specific concepts and that are vary in complexity and level of abstraction. We report results on testing humans on this benchmark as well as three machine solvers: the top two programs from a 2021 ARC competition and OpenAI's GPT-4. Our results show that humans substantially outperform the machine solvers on this benchmark, showing abilities to abstract and generalize concepts that are not yet captured by AI systems. We believe that this benchmark will spur improvements in the development of AI systems for conceptual abstraction and in the effective evaluation of such systems.


In this demo paper we describe the development process and technical implementation of an interactive Virtual Reality (VR) application dubbed Virtual Library. The application utilizes consumer VR hardware and Unreal Engine to provide an immersive virtual interface to a physical library and its selected services, as well as browsing of literature content in aesthetic fantasy realms. The prototype is publicly available at the Oulu City Library.


The process of making IT (security) policy decisions, within organizations, is complex: it involves reaching consensus between a set of stakeholders (key decision makers, e.g. CISOs/CIOs, domain experts, etc.) who might have different views, opinions and biased perceptions of how policies need to be shaped. This involves multiple negotiations and interactions between stakeholders. This suggests two roles for policy decision support tools and methods: firstly to help an individual stakeholder test and refine their understanding of the situation and, secondly, to support the formation of consensus by helping stakeholders to share their assumptions and conclusions. We argue that an approach based on modeling and simulation can help with both these aspects, moreover we show that it is possible to integrate the assumptions made so that they can be directly contrasted and discussed. We consider, as a significant example, an Identity and Access Management (IAM) scenario: we focus on the provisioning process of user accounts on enterprise applications and services, a key IAM feature that has an impact on security, compliance and business outcomes. Whilst security and compliance experts might worry that ineffective policies for provisioning could fuel security and legal threats, business experts might be against policies that dictate overly strong or bureaucratic processes as they could have a negative impact on productivity. We explore the associated policy decision making process from these different perspectives and show how our systems modeling approach can provide consistent or comparable data, explanations, "what-if" predictions and analysis at different levels of abstractions. We discuss the implications that this has on the actual IT (security) policy decision making process.


In Indonesia, reports regarding patient safety has not been noticed and concerned decently, but the arraignments toward malpractice are increasing. Nurses, are the spearhead of the health care. Emergency room  is one of healthcare area that needs fast and right treatment, so that the nurses should have good knowledge and practice regarding patient safety.The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between nurses knowledge and nurses practice or the implementation regarding patient safety at emergency room of X Hospital Semarang. This study is belong to an explanatory research with cross sectional approach. The population that used was total sampling, with 35 nurses which are working at emergency room of X Hospital Semarang. Data was collected directly used questionnaire that is based on Joint Commission International (JCI).Chi Square test was used to analyze the data. The results of statistical test showed that there is a correlation between nurses knowledge regarding patient safety with the implementation of patient safety at emergency room of X Hospital Semarang with p value=0,000. Socialization and review concerning patient safety should be given periodically by nurse supervisor.


Software vulnerabilities may lead to crucial security risks in software systems. Thus, prioritization of the vulnerabilities is an important task for security teams, and assessing how severe the vulnerabilities are would help teams during fixing and maintenance activities. We replicated a prior work which aims to predict the severity of software vulnerabilities by grouping vulnerabilities into different severity levels. We follow their approach on feature extraction using word embeddings, and on prediction model using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). In addition, Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) models are used. We also extend the replicated work by aiming to predict severity scores rather than levels. We carried out two experiments for predicting severity levels and severity scores of 82,974 vulnerabilities. On predicting the severity levels, our LSTM and CNN models perform similarly with an F1 score of 0.756 F1 score and 0.752, respectively. On predicting the severity scores, LSTM, CNN and XGBoost models perform 16.14%, 17.03%, 18.91% MAPE values, respectively.


In the detection of the boundary of the left ventricle from echocardiographic images, the crucial step is to determine the region of interest (ROI) or the center point (CP) of the left ventricle. In this paper, a new algorithm is proposed for automatic detection of the ROI and CP of the left ventricle from echocardiographic images. The method makes use of morphological operations and watershed segmentation. No prior assumption of the approximate location is required and no human intervention is necessary for the proposed approach hence making it most suitable for automatic operation.


Ideal binary masking is a signal processing technique that separates a desired signal from a mixture by retaining only the time-frequency units where the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) exceeds a predetermined threshold. In reverberant conditions there are multiple possible definitions of the ideal binary mask in that one may choose to treat the target early reflections as either desired signal or noise. The ideal binary mask may therefore be parameterized by the reflection boundary, a predetermined division point between early and late reflections. Another important parameter is the local SNR threshold used in labeling the time-frequency units as either target or background. Two experiments were designed to assess the impact of these two parameters on speech intelligibility with ideal binary masking for normal-hearing listeners in reverberant conditions. Experiment 1 shows that in order to achieve intelligibility improvements only the early reflections should be preserved by the binary mask. Moreover, it shows that the effective SNR should be accounted for when deciding the local threshold optimal range. Experiment 2 shows that with long reverberation times, intelligibility improvements are only obtained when the reflection boundary is 100 ms or less. Also, the experiment suggests that binary masking can be used for dereverberation.


Rotavirus A causes severe diarrhoea in infants and young children worldwide. Many unusual combinations of G and P genotypes have been observed in rotaviruses circulating in developing countries. Mixed infection of a single individual with more than one strain is a mechanism by which genetic reassortants are formed with unusual G and P combinations. However, few studies have provided direct evidence for the formation of such unusual strains as a result of co-infection of co-circulating strains. Here, we used full-genome sequencing to re-analyze a G3P[4] strain (107E1B) and a G2P[4] strain (116E3D) detected in India in 1993 and showed that 107E1B had virtually an identical nucleotide sequence with 116E3D, except the VP7 gene. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the 107E1B VP7 gene was of typical human rotavirus origin, with a 99.3% nucleotide sequence identity with another Indian G3 VP7 gene. Thus, this study provided robust evidence for the formation of the G3P[4] strain through genetic reassortment in which a G2P[4] strain with a typical DS-1 genogroup background acquired the VP7 gene from a co-circulating G3 human rotavirus strain. This study established a basis on which to facilitate full genome sequence analysis of an increasing number of G3P[4] strains in China and elsewhere in the world.


We analytically investigate the ultrafast dynamic behavior of the proposed optical XNOR and and logic gate devices, composed of a monolithically integrated highly stacked InAs quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and fabricated with the strain compensation technique and ring resonators. The calculated results indicate that the integrated device can operate in the logic gate functions at 160-Gb/s return-to-zero signals with large eye opening, the value of which is estimated to be 90.3%. This is superior to a bulk-type SOA. We show the potential of this device for routing signal processing, such as signal-label recognition in ultrafast photonic network systems.


Research on autonomous intelligent systems has focused on how robots can robustly carry out missions in uncertain and harsh environments with very little or no human intervention. Robotic execution languages such as RAPs, ESL, and TDL improve robustness by managing functionally redundant procedures for achieving goals. The model-based programming approach extends this by guaranteeing correctness of execution through pre-planning of non-deterministic timed threads of activities. Executing model-based programs effectively on distributed autonomous platforms requires distributing this pre-planning process. This thesis presents a distributed planner for model-based programs whose planning and execution is distributed among agents with widely varying levels of processor power and memory resources. We make two key contributions. First, we reformulate a model-based program, which describes cooperative activities, into a hierarchical dynamic simple temporal network. This enables efficient distributed coordination of robots and supports deployment on heterogeneous robots. Second, we introduce a distributed temporal planner, called DTP, which solves hierarchical dynamic simple temporal networks with the assistance of the distributed Bellman-Ford shortest path algorithm. The implementation of DTP has been demonstrated successfully on a wide range of randomly generated examples and on a pursuer-evader challenge problem in simulation. Thesis Supervisor: Brian C. Williams Title: Associate Professor


This thesis is about implementing the Quick Respond (QR) Code in Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) educational system. In order to increase the productivity of educational system in UTP, QR Code which is technically a good way aligning with the current modern world can be use. By contrast, a website was designed in order to implement this method and the website's address is www.utpqrcode.com. The main objective of this project is to increase the productivity of UTP educational system and eliminate the wastes such as money, time and effort. This output at the same time will profit the university itself while the lecturers and students also will get the benefits from that in term of convenience. In addition, with the advance of the technology, mobile phone evolves to a device with more functionality like internet browsing, gaming device and also education platform. As we can see, QR Code is everywhere nowadays and it is made to seen as an image. Technically the scanner will takes a picture of QR Code, then align it with the specific identifiable patterns and finally uses the rest of pattern as binary code. Thus, it will link the users to the specific digital destination. In addition, if before mobile phone usage just limited to text messaging and phone call but now it likes a small computer with the intelligent inside which user can carry anywhere they go. As for this website, it will basically act as a server and storage of the learning materials uploaded by lecturers and at the same time will convert those files into the QR Code that will be used by students in order to download the files into their Smartphone or Gadget. Prototyping model was used in order to complete the project and result consists of findings from literature review section, storyboard of the website and user interface of the website. Last but not least, recommendation and conclusion conclude the whole chapter of the project and it includes a few recommendations for the future implementation in order to improve the project.


In this paper, the analysis of inspection period bases on reliability is suggested in the field of traction power system. Even though there are several maintenance models, the most commonly used maintenance assessment has been focused on time based maintenance in real traction power systems. The maintenance intervals are selected on the basis of long-time experience. It ensures high availability and exact planning of staff. Reliability centered maintenance, which evaluates criticality and severity of each failure mode, achieves the operation, maintenance, and cost-effective improvement that will manage the risks of equipment. This paper deals with electrification in railway inspection frequency and applied reliability based inspection frequency instead of constant intervals. The distribution function of failure rate in traction power system belongs to Weibull function. Also, the fault data and the number of installed equipments for electrifications are collected. The failure history is investigated and classified in detail. Though these complicated procedures, it contribute to extend equipment lifetime and to reduce maintenance costs.


Abstract Recent advances in biomedical HIV prevention have led to optimistic projections of a dramatic worldwide reduction of new infections by 2030. This optimism is counterbalanced by concerns that the protective benefits of one such technology, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), may be negated by increases in other behaviours that offset these benefits (risk compensation). To contribute to a deeper understanding of concepts of safety and risk in the context of HIV PrEP, we draw on the narrative accounts of 61 male PrEP users who participated in the inaugural PrEP demonstration project: the iPrEx open-label extension study. We conducted in-depth interviews with a purposeful sample of iPrEx participants. Overall, participants did not report significant changes to their sexual practices once they had begun taking PrEP. Rather, participants reported experiencing a sense of relief or reprieve from HIV-related stress. This unburdening of fear did not necessarily lead to condomless sex. Instead, men expressed feeling a sense of security and less free-floating fear of HIV. We contend that no longer living under the threat of HIV is a significant benefit that has not been adequately explored in HIV prevention research.


This paper provides an exploratory study on the relationship between learning preferences of systems engineering graduate students and delivery methods of systems engineering coursework. We begin by providing an overview of learning in the systems engineering context, followed by two central research questions that guide the rest of the paper. Our study is focused on measuring learning preferences based on a previously developed survey instrument called VARK. We provide a detailed description of VARK and some insight into the existing database that sheds light on the typical distribution of learning preferences across disciplines. We provide some preliminary results and discuss their implications on systems engineering curriculum development and delivery. Finally, we discuss additional questions that remain to be explored as we strive to understand the learning preferences of systems engineering graduate students.


Lateral inhibition is a neurobiological mechanism whereby the boundaries of stimuli are enhanced in the retina and peripheral nervous system, such as touch in the skin. Dendritic trees and interneuron populations, which mediate a mechanism similar to lateral inhibition within the cerebral cortex, are reduced in people with a history of psychosis. The loss of cortical surround inhibition could result in a loss of 'cognitive definition', a loss of gain on signalling as it passes from stimulus to perception, memory and action, leading to loosening of associations, reality distortion such as hallucinations and delusions and disorganisation of thought and behaviour.


Nowadays, the professional practice is undergoing changes that are affecting the work of architects. Architectural studios and engineering consultancies are reinventing themselves to adapt to social, technological and productive needs. However, despite the professional changes, the training of architects in schools continues to focus on educational models that have grown more and more distant from the professional demands. In view of this, schools of architecture have been forced to revise their programmes to develop teaching methods that enable them to adapt to the current situation. Thus, the Design Studio -considered as the core of education in architecture- needs a reconceptualization in order to change the way architects should learn. Pedagogical approaches such as distance learning and blended learning can help update the concept of the Design Studio and transform it into a new participatory and delocalized learning space.


Interactions between poly A and U been studied by spectrophotometric titrations. The dissociation constant of the groups in poly U having been determined at various ionic strengths, spectrophotometric titrations of solutions containing poly A and poly U in the ratio 1:1 and 1: 2 were performed in the alkaline pH range. By comparing the pK' of poly U with the transition pH of the (A+U) and (A+U+U) complexes, it was possible to calculate the free energy changes of the (A+U) and (A+U+U) helical structures. By doing so at various ionic strengths we were able to determine the electrostatic contribution to the free energy changes and to deduce the electrostatistic potential of the two and three stranded complexes. Titrations of the poly A-poly U aggregates have been performed at various temperatures and provided us with the free energy variation of these aggregations with temperature at various ionic strengths. From these results, it was possible to estimate enthalpy and entropy values of the formation of the (A+U) and (A+U+U) complexes. The energetic and thermodynamic relations of the conversion of the two- and the three stranded complex have been determined too.


Background: Given the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty around the timing of its containment, understanding the experiences and responses of the perinatal population is essential for planning responsive maternity care both during and after the pandemic. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of pregnant people and their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify how health care providers can support this population. Methods: This was a mixed-methods, descriptive study with cross-sectional and qualitative descriptive components. We conducted the study between Mar. 20 and May 31, 2020, in British Columbia, Canada. Any pregnant person at any gestational age living in BC was eligible to participate. We collected quantitative data using online survey tools, including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire (GAD-7). We collected qualitative data using open-ended questions to explore people's thoughts, feelings and experiences during the pandemic. Participants were recruited using study posters distributed via prenatal care clinics and classes, LifeLabs and social media across the province. We used thematic and descriptive analyses to analyze the data, and we integrated the qualitative and quantitative findings at the interpretation level. Results: The study sample included 96 participants with mean (± standard deviation) maternal and gestational ages of 32 ± 3.92 years and 22.73 ± 8.93 weeks, respectively. Most (93%; n = 89) identified as female. Of the participants, 54% (n = 50) and 35% (n = 34) reported anxiety and depressive symptoms, as measured by the GAD-7 and EPDS, respectively. Overarching themes that emerged from the qualitative data included uncertainty about birth plans and setting, added burden to existing health and social disparities, perceived or projected lack of support or limited support, concerns about early development, and struggle over managing multiple demands. Perceived maternity care needs included mental health support, maintaining prenatal care, frequent and proactive check-ins to build rapport, and recommendations specific to the pandemic. Interpretation: We found that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the pregnant population has been substantial. The findings of this mixed-methods study can be used to help plan informed and evidence-based health care interventions to mitigate adverse effects and support mothers and families.


Paradigmatic information is information requiring knowledge of morphological identity across words. It consists of the phonological consequences of knowing that a morpheme must have a single phonological underlying form, even if it surfaces differently in different words. There are two basic forms of paradigmatic information. One is morphemic alternation: the surface realizations of a single morpheme in different morphological contexts (a context consists of the other morphemes used to form the word). The other is morphemic contrast: the surface realizations of two different morphemes in the same morphological context. Paradigmatic information is necessary for phonological learning. This can be demonstrated with a constructed linguistic system in which several distinct languages, with distinct mappings, have identical inventories of surface phonological forms. To learn the full phonology, the learner must utilize paradigmatic information: that is the only information that can distinguish the different phonotactically identical phonologies.


For my senior project I chose to help build a home for Habitat for Humanity Global Village in Trinidad and Tobago. Habitat's mission is to provide shelter for those in need, and they do so in many countries around the world. I experienced working in another country with a lack of building codes and equipment. The experience challenged me and taught me many lessons in working with teams and in foreign places. Our team was set out to construct the foundation of a home, but due to weather impacts and lack of equipment, our group did not completely finish the task. Unfortunately, after we left our project came to a halt. This report outlines my experience, the organization, my recommendations, and lessons learned.


The aim of this study was to retrospectively determine the effects of metoprolol on patients presenting with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF), but either with or without a reduced ejection fraction (EF). All patients meeting the inclusion criteria were treated for 2 years with metoprolol. Blood pressure, heart rate and echocardiography parameters were measured and analysed in patients before and after treatment. The patients were divided into 2 cohorts as follows: Those presenting with a low EF (<50%) and those with normal EF values (≥50%). In total, 151 patients enrolled were 136; however, of these 15 were lost to mortality during the follow-up period, thus leaving a total of 136 patients. In total, 42 patients presented EF values <50%, while the remaining 94 presented with normal EF values. Treatment with metoprolol controlled blood pressure (both diastolic and systolic) and heart rate in patients with both low and normal EF values. EF values in the low EF group significantly increased following treatment. In addition, the echocardiography data revealed a statistically significant decrease in left atrial and ventricular diameters in the low EF group. On the whole, the findings of this study demonstrate that patients with AF and low EF values who were treated with metoprolol presented with improved cardiac function parameters. However, metoprolol should be contraindicated for patients with high EF values (i.e., absence of heart failure) as it seemed to increase their risk of heart failure based on the N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide (NT-pro BNP) results.


Different views on the goodness of varying approaches to and concepts of planning and control in logistics have led, and continue to lead, to highly charged debates. Through argumentation that is often polemic, one concept is played off against the other. Moreover, the introduction and implementation of software supporting the concepts (so-called PPS packages or logistics software) is often judged to be costly, tediously time consuming and restrictive with regard to business processes. In an effort to contribute to more objective discussion, this paper shows that four classes of concepts on planning and control have become established over recent decades: the MRPII (ERP) concept, the just-in-time/kanban concepts, variant-oriented concepts and process-oriented concepts. These varying concepts are then examined dependent upon characteristic features of planning and control, and dependent upon the branch of industry. This paper shows that, as a consequence of practice, several concepts of planning and contro...


A globally significant palaeontological resource is an integral part of Scotland's geoheritage. A strong amateur collector tradition, extending back over two centuries has helped fuel scientific advance with the fossil resource also supporting hobby collecting. However, during the long history of collecting activity, finite fossil resources have been under pressure with instances of large-scale collecting that has damaged some particularly vulnerable localities. Legislative provisions over recent decades offer robust site-based protection that will have safeguarded some of the best and most representative fossil localities. Additionally, the Scottish Fossil Code, the first national code of its type, has had a role in helping to raise awareness of Scotland's fossil heritage and engender its responsible collecting and subsequent care. The Code as designed appears to be working to an extent. However bespoke site management approaches are required for the most vulnerable localities with additional site safeguard measures being adopted where required. Care is being given to ensure that ongoing and potential future efforts to curb occasional instances of damaging collecting activity do not operate to the detriment of the amateur collector tradition and the encouragement of interest in palaeontology particularly in younger and future generations.


While pharmacotherapy and psychosocial interventions are recommended as the primary frontline treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), alternative approaches to managing ADHD are becoming increasingly popular among patients and their families. Supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) is an example of this. PUFA supplementation is not recommended by guidelines for managing ADHD; however, patients may still decide to use it. To provide direction to healthcare professionals (HCPs) managing ADHD, eight international experts in the field of adult and child ADHD came together for the Continuum Education Board: Omega Supplements in ADHD meeting. This commentary summarises the panel's consensus that current evidence suggests PUFA supplementation has a small beneficial effect on behaviour in children with ADHD, and that further high-quality research is needed to clearly evaluate and define its role in the management of ADHD of children, adolescents and adults. The panel concluded that in cases where patients use PUFA supplementation, HCPs should be comfortable explaining the potential gains that they may have and their possible side effects. The panel also concluded HCPs should not reinforce the idea that PUFA supplementation should replace treatment approaches with a more robust evidence base for managing ADHD.


This article outlines a semantic approach to the logics of unknown truths, and the logic of false beliefs, using neighborhood structures, giving results on soundness, completeness, and expressivity. Relational semantics for the logics of unknown truths are also addressed, specically the conditions under which sound axiomatizations of these logics might be obtained from their normal counterparts, and the relationship between refexive insensitive logics (RI-logics) and logics containing the provability operator as the primary modal operator.


We present circuit models of a length of transmission line with skin effect and frequency-dependent dielectric loss, treating the ordinary RLGC line as a special case. The line is modeled as a characteristic two-port in which the characteristic impedance is approximated as the input impedance of a lumped circuit and the propagation function is approximated as the transfer function of a second lumped circuit plus an ideal delay. A unified approach based on frequency matching is presented to form the model. In the approximation, the skin effect is represented as the impedance of an RL ladder, and the complex dielectric parameter as the admittance of an RC ladder. A table of the rms error of the approximation is derived from which the complexity of the model can be found for a desired accuracy. The model is guaranteed to be stable, and since it consists entirely of lumped circuit elements and ideal delay lines and since the model parameters can be easily computed, it can be incorporated as a subcircuit model in a general circuit simulator, and the solution can be obtained by integrating the circuit equations in the usual manner. No FFT or convolution is required. >


"Knowledge, Values and Educational Policy" focuses on what schools are for and what should be taught in them, how learning is possible across boundaries, and issues of diversity and equity. Finally policies and practices relating to schools are considered. Within this volume, internationally renowned contributors address a number of fundamental questions designed to take the reader to the heart of current debates around curriculum, knowledge transfer, equity and social justice, and system reform, such as: what are schools and what are they for? What knowledge should schools teach? How are learners different from each other and how are groups of learners different from one another, in terms of social class, gender, ethnicity, and disability? What influence does educational policy have on improving schools? And what influence does research have on our understanding of education and schooling? To help with reflection, many of the chapters also include questions for debate and a guide to further reading. Read alongside its companion volume, "Educational Theories, Cultures and Learning", readers will be encouraged to reflect on some of the key issues facing education and educationists today.


Missing or unsampled data dependent on the hydrological processes are always known as a common and repetitive problem for hydrologists and modelers. Among hydrological variables, rainfall data are critical for hydrological analysis as well as water resources planning and management systems; their estimation is needed in many hydrological modeling studies. In this paper, the potential of artificial neural networks in spatial interpolation of rainfall has been assessed, and also, conventional methods of spatial interpolation are used to have a reasonable basis for the comparison. As a case study, annual rainfall data from Karkheh River Basin in a period of 41 years were used. In order to evaluate the performance of used methods, a comprehensive validation approach is presented based on correlation of each method estimates with the annual discharge of station, which is located downstream of the basin. The results showed that cross-validation approach cannot provide a complete evaluation of the performance of different methods, and the proposed comprehensive approach, provides a basis for determination the suitable spatial interpolation method. According to the results, correlation coefficient of estimates of ordinary kriging (OK), generalized regression neural network (GRNN), inverse distance weighting (IDW) and radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) methods with annual discharge of the basin were equal to 0.846, 0.840, 0.837, and 0.824, respectively, that observed little difference proved the applicability of GRNN and RBFNN methods for spatial interpolation. Generally, it can be concluded that performance of GRNN is comparable to OK; moreover, it needs less predefined parameters and has more clarity and simplicity than OK, give they GRNN more advantage and attractiveness to use.


Abstract. Data on the spider fauna from the forest ecosystems of the Děvín National Nature Reserve (South Moravia, Czech Republic) are presented. The research was carried out on 15 randomly chosen research plots in oak-hornbeam forest stands within different management regimes. Spider sampling was done by pitfall trapping from May to October 2016. Overall, 3683 adult spiders belonging to 22 families, 70 genera and 116 species were collected. The families Linyphiidae, Lycosidae, Gnaphosidae and Thomisidae exhibited high species richness. The most abundant species were Pardosa lugubris (Walckenaer, 1802) and Trochosa terricola Thorell, 1856. Faunistically remarkable species were Atypus piceus (Sulzer, 1776), Drassyllus villicus (Thorell, 1875), Gnaphosa montana (L. Koch, 1866), Panamomops affinis Miller & Kratochvíl, 1939 and Walckenaeria monoceros (Wider, 1834). The record of Gnaphosa montana is one of the first accounts of this psychrophilic spider from European lowlands. Of the identified species, 23 are listed in the Red List of Threatened Species in the Czech Republic (EN – 1 species, VU – 12 species, LC – 10 species).


Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a proinflammatory cytokine. In addition to its known receptor-mediated biological activities, MIF possesses a catalytic site of unknown function between subunits of a homotrimer. Each subunit contributes three β-strands to adjacent subunits to form a core seven-stranded β-sheet for each monomer. MIF monomers, dimers, or trimers have been reported, but the active form that binds and activates the MIF receptor (CD74) is still a matter of debate. A cysteine mutant (N110C) that covalently locks MIF into a trimer by forming a disulfide with Cys-80 of an adjacent subunit is used to study this issue. Partial catalytic activity and receptor binding to CD74 are retained by N110C (locked trimer), but there is no cellular signaling. Wild-type MIF-induced cellular signaling, in vivo lung neutrophil accumulation, and alveolar permeability are inhibited with a fivefold excess of N110C. NMR and size-exclusion chromatography with light scattering reveal that N110C can form a higher-order oligomer in equilibrium with a single locked trimer. The X-ray structure confirms a local conformational change that disrupts the subunit interface and results in global changes responsible for the oligomeric form. The structure also confirms these changes are consistent for the partial catalytic and receptor binding activities. The absence of any potential monomer and the retention of partial catalytic and receptor binding activities despite changes in conformation (and dynamics) in the mutant support an endogenous MIF trimer that binds and activates CD74 at nanomolar concentrations. This conclusion has implications for therapeutic development.


A method obtaining position data(x, y) of object accurately is proposed by using a pair of ultrasonic sensors composed of one transmitter and two receivers. And the driving system which controls the light of flat LED lamp locally using array of ultrasonic sensors (3 transmitters and 6 receivers) is developed. As a result, measured values of y are relatively reliable due to its small average of absolute errors of 1.03[cm]. The measured values of x have average error of 8.52[cm], and it is a large value. However, the average error is decreased by 0.65[cm] after applying algorithm for error correction. The experiments to control the light of flat LED lamp locally with algorithm for error correction are carried out. From the result, measured values of x with average error of 0.97[cm] are obtained and they are very good approximations of actual values.


The paper is devoted to study the generalized fractional calculus of arbitrary complex order for the H -function defined by Inayat Hussain [8]. The classical fractional integrals and derivatives of Riemann-Liouville type are treated. The considered generalized fractional integration and differentiation operators contain the Gauss Hypergeometric function as a kernel and generalize classical Riemann- Liouville, Erdelyi-Kober types ones. It is proved that the generalized fractional integrals and derivatives of H -function turn also out H -functions but of greater order. Especially, the obtained results define more precise and general ones than known. Corresponding assertion for Riemann-Liouville and Erdelyi-Kober fractional integral operators are also presented.


In Morocco, Public Institutions and companies (EEP) play a very significant role in the country's development model. This can be explained by their interventions for the reduction of territorial disparities, the opening to the international market and the promotion of both public and private investment in various sectors of activity, and their strong commitments in terms of governance, transparency, social and environmental responsibility, the fight against corruption as well as ethics and accountability. Their internal audit needs are currently significant thanks to their growing economic and social weight, and the management requirements of rationalizing public spending and optimizing the use of resources. Hence, to achieve its objective and to provide reasonable assurance, international standards and legislation governing the function require the objectivity and independence of the function. In this respect, we are interested in an empirical study of the independence of internal auditors (EEP) and the analysis of its implications, through a research methodology based on a qualitative approach and the interpretation of the data collected by the sample planned for this study.


This paper proposes an improved model for the nonlinear behavior of the components of Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) links focusing here on the laser source. In a previous work, it was shown with a flexible new opto-microwave design approach a first behavioral model of RoF links that exploited the hyperbolic tangent function (the so-called tanh model) to model the high-power nonlinearities. Since this was not sufficient to simulate adequately all the nonlinearities, in this work, for the first time in the authors' knowledge, the improved nonlinear model based on Cann's model is developed, on an electro optic transducer. Then the amplitude-to-amplitude conversion of the link is better taken into account with the introducing of nonlinear properties of the link at high input power in the model. The new transfer equation includes several parameters that can be adjusted to adapt the model to any of the components, especially the photo-emitters under study, which are the main cause of this type of nonlinear behavior of the system. In particular, this improved model is applied on the state-of-the-art 850 nm GaAs Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL), simulating several Figures of Merit such as the Error-Vector Magnitude (EVM) of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) signal with a Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK)and the output amplitude-modulated power versus input amplitude-modulated power, also called AM/AM curve. This new proposed nonlinear model outperforms other existing behavioral models and its non linear simulation better fits with the measurements. Finally, we conclude that the performance improvement highly depends on the nonlinearity sharpness parameter, depending on the frequency and the bias current.


The formation of hydroxyl radicals (.OH) by the reaction of CuII(edta) (edta: ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the presence of biological reductants, such as L-ascorbic acid and L-cysteine, has been demonstrated for the first time by ESR spectroscopy using water-soluble spin-traps, 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO, 1), alpha-(4-pyridyl-1-oxide)-N-tert-butylnitrone (POBN, 2) and 3,5-dibromo-4-nitrosobenzenesulfonate (DBNBS, 3). Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (edta) is one of the polyamine-N-polycarboxylate chelating agents and it is commonly used by chemists and biochemists. Edta can chelate several metal ions. It is known that the CuII(edta) complex is usually less active than free copper ions in radical reactions, whereas complexes of edta with Fe(II) or Fe(III) still react with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or superoxide ion (O2-) (1). In our previous papers (2-4), we also have shown that copper(II) complexes with polyamine-N-polycarboxylates, such as edta and dtpa (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid), do not react with H2O2, whereas CuII(en)2 (en: ethylenediamine) can easily do so to give hydroxyl radical (.OH) as a reactive intermediate. Further, we assumed that the change of redox potential of Cu(II) ions as a result of ligation with different ligands causes the difference in reactivity of Cu(II) complexes towards H2O2. To verify this assumption, the reactions of CuII(edta), which was chosen as a Cu(II)-polyamine-N-polycarboxylate complex, with H2O2 were investigated in the presence of some biological reductants, using an ESR-spin trapping method.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The study endeavors to identify and analyze the relationship between physical elements in historical texture walls in the Qajar, Pahlavi, and contemporary periods; and classify the factors affecting the resident's sense of satisfaction in these neighborhoods. The research method is consists of both correlation in the first part and descriptive-analytical technique in the second part. In this regard, the criteria and indicators of physical factors in the context and neighborhood wall include the scale of proportions and height, entrances and portals, windows, and context and ornoments in the walls of residential, commercial, and cultural facades have specified. This Physical indicators consist of relationships and organization, specific locations, and local services. In continue, a significant relationship and correlation between the desired variables were identified. Indicators were evaluated in three different textures in the historical periods. The positive and negative points of each period were distinguished, and the privilege parameters of each neighborhood were examined. Then the general structure was explained and drawn to develop the context and body of the neighborhood walls. The results show that people are more inclined to live in neighborhoods with the same height scale and proportions and similar ornoments and appropriate to their specific use. People also tend to live in residential buildings with high-end entrances amidst large windows covered with curtains and wrought iron.


The audio/visual mapping problem of speech-driven facial animation has intrigued researchers for years. Recent research efforts have demonstrated that hidden Markov model (HMM) techniques, which have been applied successfully to the problem of speech recognition, could achieve a similar level of success in audio/visual mapping problems. A number of HMM-based methods have been proposed and shown to be effective by the respective designers, but it is yet unclear how these techniques compare to each other on a common test bed. In this paper, we quantitatively compare three recently proposed cross-modal HMM methods, namely the remapping HMM (R-HMM), the least-mean-squared HMM (LMS-HMM), and HMM inversion (HMMI). The objective of our comparison is not only to highlight the merits and demerits of different mapping designs, but also to study the optimality of the acoustic representation and HMM structure for the purpose of speech-driven facial animation. This paper presents a brief overview of these models, followed by an analysis of their mapping capabilities on a synthetic dataset. An empirical comparison on an experimental audio-visual dataset consisting of 75 TIMIT sentences is finally presented. Our results show that HMMI provides the best performance, both on synthetic and experimental audio-visual data.


ABSTRACT. Creatinine biomolecule has three different coordination modes through the (exocyclic O(5) and ring N(1)), (imine N(2) and ring N(1)) or as monodentate ligand via exocyclic O(1)). The FTIR and electronic spectra of the synthesized manganese(II), iron(III), chromium(III), and cobalt(II) complexes consistent with the coordinated behavioral derived from the structural analyses. Thermogravimetric data agree with the stoichiometry and proposed formulas [Mn(C4H7N3O)2(Cl)2]4H2O, [Fe(C4H7N3O)2(Cl)2]Cl.6H2O, [Cr(C4H7N3O)2(Cl)2]Cl.6H2O, and [Co(C4H7N3O)2(Cl)2]6H2O. Four new transition metal complexes derived from the reaction of creatinine chelate and metal salt (MnCl2.4H2O, FeCl3.6H2O, CrCl3.6H2O, and CoCl2.6H2O), were prepared with 1:2 (metal: ligand) stoichiometry, isolated and well characterized by a different spectral and analytical techniques including FTIR, UV/Vis, magnetic susceptibility, molar conductance, elemental analysis, and TGA/DrTGA/DTA. The solid complexes were formed with the binding of the creatinine ligand through exocyclic O(5) and ring N(1) and presented as an octahedral geometry. In addition molecular docking calculations have been performed between complexes of manganese(II), iron(III), chromium(III) and cobalt(II) with creatinine biomolecule ligand with the Covid-19 protease (6LU7) to determine the best binding site and its inhibitory effect.

KEY WORDS: Creatinine, Coordination, Transition metals, TGA/DTA, Octahedral geometry

Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2021, 35(2), 399-412.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v35i2.13


Finishing a task is generally more difficult than starting—the "longest mile is the last mile home." This is particularly true in the battle against global infectious diseases. Smallpox remains the only human disease to have been completely eradicated, with the last known natural case in 1977. Seven other human diseases have been deemed eradicable by the International Task Force for Disease Eradication: dracunculiasis (Guinea worm), poliomyelitis, mumps, rubella, lymphatic filariasis, cysticercosis, and measles. Yet, despite significant progress, eradication of these diseases remains a tremendous global health challenge.

Many other infectious diseases, including malaria, are considered "eliminable," indicating cessation of transmission in a limited geographic area. Although previous ambitious WHO efforts toward global eradication of malaria ultimately fell short (1955–1978), successful elimination of malaria has been achieved in many nations that have temperate climates and seasonal malaria transmission. In the past 2 decades, interest in the malaria "end game" has resurged, galvanized in 2007 by a renewed call for and commitment to malaria eradication by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Malaria control efforts depend on detection and effective intervention; thus, public health programs must understand which populations are affected. As efforts move toward elimination and ultimately eradication, a particular challenge will be the need to root out reservoirs of transmissible infection with Plasmodium spp. parasites, including identification of asymptomatic individuals who lack clinical manifestations of infection. In a recent article, Tao et al. reported the discovery and validation of a novel saliva-based test for detecting subclinical malaria infection (1). The investigators hypothesized that Plasmodium spp. parasites sequestered in capillary beds within the oral mucosa might produce distinct proteins detectable in saliva. Using a mass spectrometry-based proteomics approach, they screened pooled saliva from asymptomatic children with submicroscopic Plasmodium spp. blood-stage …


The assessment of secondary poisoning is an important consideration in the hazard evaluation of predator control agents and rodenticide baits. The selection of an appropriate test animal model is difficult because classiclaboratory species are frequently inappropriate, and the availability and reliability of wild species for testing is limited. The laughing gull (Larus atricilla) has demonstrated its usefulness as a secondary poisoning model in the laboratory and shown species sensitivity through case history documentation of secondary poisoning mortality in the field. A number of new candidate rodenticides are being developed throughout the world for control of rodent pests in domestic, industrial, and agricultural marketplaces. Because one or more of these rodenticides could have a wide variety of outdoor uses, the effects of these substances on the environment must be evaluated in terms of both their toxicity and their exposure. The portion of that evaluation which is to be considered in this paper concerns the assessment of secondary poisoning of birds. utilizing the laughing gull as a model for an avian predator.


The obsolescence of most companies' cost accounting and management control systems is particularly unfortunate for the global competition of the 1980s (Johnson & Kaplan, 1987). During the past two decades, conventional cost and management accounting practices have been under extensive criticism for their malfunction to instigate change and their inability to support management accounting innovations in coping with the requirements of a changing environment. The academic literature has been crucial of conventional management accounting systems particularly for their lack of efficiency and capability to present comprehensive and the latest information and to assure decision makers and potential users of such information. Focusing on this debate, current study reviews the evolution of cost and management accounting innovations over the past century around the world and to examine whether there has been a significant impact of management accounting in the organization. The analyses suggest that management accounting is changing. However, these changes do not have much bearing upon the type of management accounting techniques. Rather they focus on the manner through which management accounting is being used.


This paper teases out the explanatory role of changes in Portugal's domestic political configuration for its shifting economic performance. It traces these changes across three phases of European integration: from accession to implementation of the Single Market and adoption of the Maastricht Treaty; the run-up to EMU; and the experience of membership of the Eurozone. Like Spain, Portugal's experience of post-authoritarian democratic consolidation was given added impetus by the compliance requirements first of the 'acquis communautaire' and then by the conditionality of EMU. Also like Spain, the privileges that had growth in the large sheltered domestic sector were not seriously challenged. While growth during the 1990s brought Portugal onto a convergence trajectory, like the other EU peripheral countries, the strong role of demand-led growth, dependent on government-led investment efforts, caused the growth profile to stall after the introduction of the Euro. While Portugal similarly experienced a surge of inward capital flow consequent upon the availability of cheap credit, this was not concentrated in property, but neither did it generate sustainable productive activities. Portugal's large private debt liabilities, which are considerably larger than those of the public sector, mirror the Spanish situation.


We present a method for simultaneous localisation and wind turbine model fitting for a drone performing an automated surface inspection. We use a skeletal parameterisation of the turbine that can be easily integrated into a non-linear least squares optimiser, combined with a pose graph representation of the drone's 3-D trajectory, allowing us to optimise both sets of parameters simultaneously. Given images from an onboard camera, we use a CNN to infer projections of the skeletal model, enabling correspondence constraints to be established through a cost function. This is then coupled with GPS/IMU measurements taken at key frames in the graph to allow successive optimisation as the drone navigates around the turbine. We present two variants of the cost function, one based on traditional 2D point correspondences and the other on direct image interpolation within the inferred projections. Results from experiments on simulated and real-world data show that simultaneous optimisation provides improvements to localisation over only optimising the pose and that combined use of both cost functions proves most effective.


The histological structures of the roots of Morinda officinalis How of different ages were observed, the distribution and accumulation of anthraquinones in the root were studied with the help of paraffin section, fluorescent microscope and ultraviolet spectrophotometer. The results indicated that the mature structures of the roots of M. officinalis were similar to those of common perennial herbs, and that the anthraquinones in the root of M. officinalis distributed in parenchymatous cells and the content of anthraquinones in the root gradually increased in number with age. Based on above mentioned investigation, we came to the conclusion that the root of M. officinalis should be collected after four years of growing and the top grade root should have well developed phloem and thin xylem.


Auxiliary power supply developed by domestic technology has very important function that not only effect on main power converter & inverter system, traction motor and train control system which are related to performance of train, but also influence on power supply for HVAC(Heat, Ventilation, Air-conditioning) and lighting device which are related to comfort of passengers. This paper shows characteristic test results of auxiliary power supply such as working condition and performance, which is associated with velocity of train, operating mode and surrounding equipment, through test running. And, it propose a modification of design parameter for stabilizing operation and improving reliability.


With IT affecting all aspects of university's/school's academic and professional affairs, an efficient IT governance (ITG) is required to assure that all kinds of expensive and complex information technology is appropriately governed. Despite the importance of IT; there has been limited research looking at how ITG is implemented in higher education institution or how to harness its benefits. This research focuses on how ITG is adopted and implemented in higher education institutions in UAE by considering the case of two different universities. The research proposes a theoretical framework derived from COBIT and Six Sigma to help in governing IT in higher education institutions. The framework will help in directing different processes toward evaluating any decision concerning the alignment and compatibility of IT with the overall strategies and goals of higher education institutions. This is achieved to increase services quality over time, aligning and supporting business strategies, and controlling and minimizing IT risks in order to increase stakeholder's value and reduce cost. IT Governance in Higher Education Institutions in UAE


As Keith Hart (1986) articulated in his neat phrase 'two sides of the coin', money and the state are inextricably intertwined. However, academic discussions of the state tend to fall under the heading of 'governance', with implicit reference to democratic ideals, while money is regarded as 'economics', a field dominated by ideas of the market. In this paper, I use material from U-Vistract, a mass Ponzi scam to show how quasi-magical ideas of money and wealth have grown out of the disillusioning experience of the state in its failure to deliver 'development'. These imaginings of prosperity entail a different kind of state, based on the moral reform of Christian citizens and political leaders and the reorientation of the banking system to deliver benefits to ordinary people. As the Royal Kingdom of Papala, U-Vistract sought to be seen to be like a Christian state and so deceived its investors into thinking that they were participating in a moral project that would allow them to redress the short-comings of the Papua New Guinean state. As the scam took on the appearance of the state, so the state came to be seen as a scam.


This document contains the revised plan for using and disseminating knowledge and foreground developed within the ITERATE Project. The Deliverable contains five main Chapters and an Appendix. The first Chapter describes the purpose of the document, its structure, and introduces the other sections. Chapter 2 and 3 define the dissemination strategy of the ITERATE project and provide a classification of dissemination activities. For each type of dissemination action, the corresponding implementation approach is proposed. Then, for each type of dissemination activity, the actions performed to date and those planned are described in details. The dissemination materials already produced by the project and their usage are briefly described. Materials and products already completed, as well as planned, are described, even though a dedicated Deliverable is foreseen in the future that will contain copies of the actual products provided for dissemination purposes. This is particularly true for the Proceedings of the Workshops organised by ITERATE in collaboration with other EU co-funded Projects, which will result in dedicated books and monographs. The Exploitation plan is discussed in the last Chapter of the Deliverable. The two different natures and typology of partners , i.e., academic and industrial/consultancy, are considered. In particular, for each partner, a market and competition analysis is performed and the objectives and guidelines for subsequent exploitation of the results is preliminarily discussed. A further aspect of exploitation of results is discussed in relation to possible developments of EC directives and initiatives in terms of transport safety. Finally, the appendix contains, for completeness, the Dissemination and Exploitation Questionnaire utilised to collect information among partners.


The motivation behind time-resolved Raman spectroscopy for planetary surface exploration is (1) to provide comprehensive identification of minerals (nearly all rock-forming minerals and weathering products) and many organics of prime importance including fossilized carbonaceous materials; (2) to do so ensuring that it is possible to characterize even the most sensitive materials that would be altered by current state-of-the-art pulsed lasers (e.g., dark minerals, organics). These goals are accomplished here using a lightweight, high-speed (MHz) pulsed (<100ps) Raman spectrometer based on a high-speed microchip laser combined with a single photon avalanche diode detector array. Using a Mars analog sample set and an automated grid sampling technique, we demonstrate consistent identification of major minerals and kerogen detection at ∼≥1% by volume, without losses typically associated with the two biggest problems: fluorescence interference and sample damage. Despite improvements, we find that time-resolved Raman spectroscopy is still limited by the availability of a suitable laser and detector. As technology advances and such devices become available, we expect that this technique will hold an important place in Raman spectroscopy for both commercial and planetary science applications. We also discuss the utility of Raman point mapping for planetary science (e.g., in comparison with other common techniques like infrared reflectance spectroscopy) and conclude that the choice of technique must be planetary mission-specific; one must consider whether incurring the time to map single microscopic points is worthwhile, and how many points would be sufficient to gain the required information to characterize the surface.


Oxidative stress, i.e., excessive production of oxygen free radicals and reactive oxygen species, leads to lipid peroxidation and to formation of reactive aldehydes which act as second messengers of free radicals. It has previously been shown that oxidative stress may be involved in the transcriptional regulation of cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate early promoter, involved in viral reactivation from latency. In the current study we used a plasmid containing the yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) gene under the control of CMV-1 promoter to monitor the influence of hydrogen peroxide and reactive aldehydes, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) and acrolein, on CMV-1 promoter activation in human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293). While acrolein was ineffective, hydrogen peroxide slightly (50 %) stimulated the CMV promoter. In contrast, HNE had a strong, up to 3-fold, enhancing effect on the CMV-1 promoter within four as well as after 24h of treatment. The most effective was the treatment with 24 microM HNE. This effect of HNE suggests that stressful conditions associated with lipid peroxidation could lead to CMV activation.


Ultrasonic scattering is determined by not only the properties of individual scatterers but also the correlation among scatterer positions. The role of scatterer spatial correlation is significant for dense medium, but has not been fully understood. The effect of scatterer spatial correlation may be modeled by the structure function as a frequency-dependent factor in the backscatter coefficient (BSC) expression. The structure function has been previously estimated from the BSC data. The aim of this study is to estimate the structure function from histology to test if the acoustically estimated structure function is indeed caused by the scatterer spatial distribution. Hematoxylin and eosin stained histological sections from dense cell pellet biophantoms were digitized. The scatterer positions were determined manually from the histological images. The structure function was calculated from the extracted scatterer positions. The structure function obtained from histology showed reasonable agreement in the shape but not in the amplitude, compared with the structure function previously estimated from the backscattered data. Fitting a polydisperse structure function model to the histologically estimated structure function yielded relatively accurate cell radius estimates (error <; 15%). Furthermore, two types of mouse tumors that have similar cell size and shape but distinct cell spatial distributions were studied, where the backscattered data were shown to be related to the cell spatial distribution through the structure function estimated from histology. In conclusion, the agreement between acoustically estimated and histologically estimated structure functions suggests that the acoustically estimated structure function is related to the scatterer spatial distribution.


This paper presents an experimental method to determine the optimum grid leak resistance of a power oscillator. The effect of excitation ratio on the plate efficiency and the proper method of connection of the grid leak resistance are also discussed. The experimental results are checked against the calculated values obtained from graphical method.


High performance compact high voltage power converters for stored energy limited application calls for stringent measures for limiting power delivery to load under abnormal working conditions. The choice of power converters for such application is limited due to high efficiency requirement and compactness at the same time. Choosing a high switching frequency allows designer to compact the volume by shrinking the magnetics. However the switching losses encountered in the power switching devices and the magnetics play a limiting role. Employing a series load resonant converter (SRC) or a parallel resonant converter (PRC) or a combination of both yields promising features for simultaneous addressing of improving the efficiency and reducing the size requirements. This paper brings out an effort made in comparing two converters working on SRC and PRC principles for delivering approximately 100W at 2500V output, which represents a generic requirement for powering a travelling wave tube (TWT).


In today's ever-changing Business world, increasing market demand and meeting it through service technology has made change management an inevitable one. Although there are many change management issues and solutions, there is no proper support for efficient change evaluation and monitoring. In this paper, we propose a dependency analysis approach for evaluating the changes specified by the analyst in an effective manner. This measure of change evaluation ensures that the business analyst has a direct control over the changes he makes and provides a sophistic environment which notifies the analyst about the outcome of change progress in a meaningful way. We propose a set of change factors based on which the dependency relation existing between the business rules, functions and parameters are analyzed. These change factors evaluated as part of the change evaluation leads the change management process in efficient and controlled manner. We develop a prototype system of the proposed model to demonstrate its effectiveness. We also conduct an experimental study to assess the performance of the change management along with the change measure as an output.


A new definition of order called topological order is proposed for two-dimensional systems in which no long-range order of the conventional type exists. The possibility of a phase transition characterized by a change in the response of the system to an external perturbation is discussed in the context of a mean field type of approximation. The critical behaviour found in this model displays very weak singularities. The application of these ideas to the x y model of magnetism, the solid-liquid transition, and the neutral superfluid are discussed. This type of phase transition cannot occur in a superconductor nor in a Heisenberg ferromagnet. for reasons that are given.


Neuromorphic computing has many opportunities in future autonomous systems, especially those that will operate at the edge. However, there are relatively few demonstrations of neuromorphic implementations on real-world applications, partly because of the lack of availability of neuromorphic hardware and software, but also because of the lack of availability of an accessible demonstration platform. In this work, we propose utilizing the F1Tenth platform as an evaluation task for neuromorphic computing. F1Tenth is a competition wherein one tenth scale cars compete in an autonomous racing task; there are significant open source resources in both software and hardware for realizing this task. We present a workflow with neuromorphic hardware, software, and training that can be used to develop a spiking neural network for neuromorphic hardware deployment to perform autonomous racing. We present initial results on utilizing this approach for this small-scale, real-world autonomous vehicle task.