Size-resolved indicators of aerosol acidity, including H+ ion concentrations (H+Aer) and the ratio of stoichiometric neutralization are evaluated in submicrometer aerosols using highly time-resolved aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) data from Pittsburgh. The pH and ionic strength within the aqueous particle phase are also estimated using the Aerosol Inorganics Model (AIM). Different mechanisms that contribute to the presence of acidic particles in Pittsburgh are discussed. The largest H+Aer loadings and lowest levels of stoichiometric neutralization were detected when PM1 loadings were high and dominated by SO4(2-). The average size distribution of H+Aer loading shows an accumulation mode at Dva approximately 600 nm and an enhanced smaller mode that centers at Dva approximately 200 nm and tails into smaller sizes. The acidity in the accumulation mode particles suggests that there is generally not enough gas-phase NH3 available on a regional scale to completely neutralize sulfate in Pittsburgh. The lack of stoichiometric neutralization in the 200 nm mode particles is likely caused by the relatively slow mixing of gas-phase NH3 into SO2-rich plumes containing younger particles. We examined the influence of particle acidity on secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation by comparing the mass concentrations and size distributions of oxygenated organic aerosol (00A--surrogate for SOA in Pittsburgh) during periods when particles are, on average, acidic to those when particles are bulk neutralized. The average mass concentration of ODA during the acidic periods (3.1 +/- 1.7 microg m(-3)) is higher than that during the neutralized periods (2.5 +/- 1.3 microg m(-3)). Possible reasons for this enhancement include increased condensation of SOA species, acid-catalyzed SOA formation, and/or differences in air mass transport and history. However, even if the entire enhancement (approximately 0.6 microg m(-3)) can be attributed to acid catalysis, the upperbound increase of SOA mass in acidic particles is approximately 25%, an enhancement that is much more moderate than the multifold increases in SOA mass observed during some lab studies and inferred in SO2-rich industrial plumes. In addition, the mass spectra of OOA from these two periods are almost identical with no discernible increase in relative signal intensity at larger m/z's (>200 amu), suggesting that the chemical nature of SOA is similar during acidic and neutralized periods and that there is no significant enhancement of SOA oligomer formation during acidic particle periods in Pittsburgh.


This study was performed to investigate the efficacy of prosthetic rehabilitation in children with congenital malformations, also to determine whether there were any factors related to family history and pregnancy which could have affected the formation of such deficiencies. Twenty-five (25) limb deficient children were provided with prostheses and received rehabilitation. A detailed family and pregnancy history was researched through the records. The ability of performing activities of daily living was scored on a four point scale. Thirteen (13) lower and 12 upper limb deficient children with a mean age of 4.88±2.52 years were included in the study. Ten (10) children had longitudinal and 15 transverse deficiencies. Traditional marriages amongst close cousins were observed in 31%. Five (5) mothers used medications, 2 received radiodiagnostic tests and 2 had bleedings during pregnancy. Some 84.7% of the lower limb group became independent walkers without requiring walking aids while 15.3% of them required Canadian crutches for independent ambulation. A total of 61.5% of these children actively participated in recreation with peers. In the upper limb group 41.6% were completely independent in self-care, feeding and hand skills; 33.3% showed independence with self-help devices while 25% tended to use the prostheses for assistive purposes. Participation in recreational activities was 58.2%. The author's results have shown that the children gained a functional activity level although the prostheses were provided in a late period. It can be concluded that success in rehabilitating these children is a true challenge.


The conditionally Markov (CM) sequence contains different classes including Markov, reciprocal, and so-called $CM_L$ and $CM_F$ (two special classes of CM sequences). Each class has its own forward and backward dynamic models. The evolution of a CM sequence can be described by different models. For example, a Markov sequence can be described by a Markov model, as well as by reciprocal, $CM_L$, and $CM_F$ models. Also, sometimes a forward model is available, but it is desirable to have a backward model for the same sequence (e.g., in smoothing). Therefore, it is important to study relationships between different dynamic models of a CM sequence. This paper discusses such relationships between models of nonsingular Gaussian (NG) $CM_L$, $CM_F$, reciprocal, and Markov sequences. Two models are said to be explicitly sample-equivalent if not only they govern the same sequence, but also a one-one correspondence between their sample paths is made explicitly. A unified approach is presented, such that given a forward/backward $CM_L$/$CM_F$/reciprocal/Markov model, any explicitly equivalent model can be obtained. As a special case, a backward Markov model explicitly equivalent to a given forward Markov model can be obtained regardless of the singularity/nonsingularity of the state transition matrix of the model.


AIM
To compare intake of food and nutrients between manual and desk workers.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Subjects were 28,603 residents (13,432 were male and 15,171 were female) in a city. Using a questionnaire, information on frequencies of consumption of different foodstuffs for one year and the type of employment was collected. Intake of nutrients was calculated from the frequencies and compared between manual and desk workers. The comparison was carried out with stratification by gender and adjustment for age and smoking habits.

RESULTS
Desk workers took larger amounts of protein and lipids, and smaller amounts of carbohydrates than manual workers. Predominant foodstuffs in the latter was rice wheat products, potatoes and soybean products, while desk workers consumed more meat, processed meat, milk products, fish, vegetables and fruits.

CONCLUSIONS
Differences in intake of nutrients and food depending on occupation should be considered, when the relationship between health status and employment is evaluated.


In the analysis and design of asphalt mixtures, consideration of the contributions of the three material components to the total volume of compacted mixtures has been recognized as a significant factor. The study of this component make up of asphalt mixtures has come to be known as "volumetrics." The combined volume of entrapped air and the asphalt binder external to the aggregate, which is referred to as the voids in the mineral aggregate (VMA). The purpose of this study are: (1) To find out which of quarry has an aggregate with the best technical quality among the four quarries in the city of Palu, namely; the Suluri river, the Wuno river, the Matampondo river, and the Lolioge river, (2) To analyze the effect of specific gravity and composition of each of aggregate fraction on the Gse of combined aggregates, (3) to analyse the influence of the value of effective specific gravity (Gse) of mixed aggregate of the VMA dense asphalt mixture AC-WC at several levels of asphalt mixture , and (4) To determine effect of the level of asphalt mixture on VMA value at each of Gse value. To achieve these purpose, technical quality test comprises of bulk specific gravity, absorption, abrasion values and CBR of unbound base layer must be done. Aggregate Technical and Quality Testing, which includes testing of coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, dust, sand and asphaltic material were carried out based on AASHTO and ASTM specification. Mechanical testing of materials was done by using the Abrasion Test Machine Los Angelos. The abration value indicates abrasion resistance against the destruction of the coarse aggregate (degradation) due to mechanical loading. Determination of mixed aggregat gradation is carried out using by portion method under trial mix analysis. In this concern, for performing research speciments of asphalt concrete mixtures, the performance-based specification that applying the black area or restricted zone was used as developed by SHRP (Strategic Highway Research Program) to prevent obtaining soft of asphalt mixture. In this research five types of Superpave gradation were designed under the trial mix method yielding 5 different types of Gse ie 2.757, 2.733, 2738, 2.731, and 2.734. From analysis it was known that at some value of Gse, increasing level of asphalt mixture causes decreasing value of the VMA, while on other Gse values, increased levels of bitumen initially is lowering the value of the VMA but yet slowly increased with increasing of binder content.


A study was made of the accumulation of lipoperoxidation products and O2- generation induced by cumene hydroperoxide in mitochondria of irradiated rat liver. O2- generation and formation of lipoperoxidation products were found to be connected with the function of mitochondrial P-450 cytochrome. During the first 24 h following X-irradiation of rats with a dose of 10 Gy, the rate of O2- generation sharply increased and mitochondria could not regulate the intensity of lipoperoxidation with incubation medium tonicity being altered.


Egg production is one of the most important agricultural economic activities in Iran. According to the latest information in Iran, there were about 1432 poultry eggs farms producing about 576478 tons of edible eggs in 2005. The poultry farmers, however, complained that the cost of production was very high and that failed to gain considerable profit from their farming operations. The consumers, on the other hand, protested that the poultry price was very high. The purpose of this study is to determine the productivity level of the industry so that a more sustainable and high productivity production system can be developed . Production function was used to measure productivity. A transcendental production function was estimated using cross-sectional data collected from 47 farmers in the Khorasan Razavi province. Secondary data from the Iranian Statistical Year Book (published by the Statistical Center of Iran) were also used. The results of the study found that the cost-benefit ratio was 0.96. The Average Product (AP), Marginal Product (MP), Value Marginal Product (VMP), Optimal Allocation Ratio and the Elasticity of Production (EP) of the feed input were 0.41, 0.16, 577 Rials, 0.48 and 41% respectively. The findings for similar measures above for pullet input were 18.38, 4.24, 14826 Rials, 1.23 and 0.23 respectively. From the study, the average productivity of the poultry farm was 1.04. This shows that the income approximately equals the variable cost. When the fixed costs were taken into consideration, the profit of the average farm was negative. The results indicated that farmers were using feed more than "the optimal level" and that they were using pullet less than "the optimal level." Therefore, to improve profitability, they should use less feed and keep more pullets. In this manner, the cost of production can be reduced.


PURPOSE
Female athlete triad (FAT) is a serious healthcare concern in the young female population. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and clinical characteristics of FAT and its relationship with gynecologic complaints of young Turkish female athletes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This was a cross-sectional survey and included 87 female athletes involved in a variety of sports as a case group and 85 sedentary female university students from Ege and Celal Bayar Universities. All subjects completed a questionnaire consisting of 32 separate questions assessing eating behavior, menstrual status, gynecologic and systemic complaints, psychological problems, and sexual history. SPSS 21.0 was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS
This survey involved 172 females in between to 30 years of age. The age of menarche was found to be significantly lower in the sedentary group (p = 0.00). Late menstruation and oligoamenorrhea were notable complaints among the athletes, and body mass index (BMI) was found to be statistically lower in the athletic group (p = 0.00). Cold hands and hair loss were seen more often in the sedentary group compared to the athletic group (p < 0.05). According to a logistic regression analysis, independent variables (BMI, menstrual status, and bone fractures) were found to be statistically insignificant (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Excessive sports activity can be hazardous in young female population. Lower BMI might be related to menstrual irregularity. Young female population should be informed about this relationship, especially athletes who are particularly at risk. Certain precautions should be taken into consideration in this population in order to get benefits of sports activity.


In hospitals, Step Down Units (SDUs) provide an intermediate level of care between the Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and the general medical†surgical wards. Because SDUs are less richly staffed than ICUs, they are less costly to operate; however, they also are unable to provide the level of care required by the sickest patients. There is an ongoing debate in the medical community as to whether and how SDUs should be used. On one hand, an SDU alleviates ICU congestion by providing a safe environment for post†ICU patients before they are stable enough to be transferred to the general wards. On the other hand, an SDU can take capacity away from the already over†congested ICU. In this work, we propose a queueing model of patient flow through the ICU and SDU in order to determine when an SDU is needed, what size it should be, and what are the main drivers influencing these decisions. Using first†and second†order analysis, we examine the tradeoff between reserving capacity in the ICU for the most critical patients and gaining additional capacity achieved by allocating nurses to the SDU due to the lower staffing requirement. We find that under some circumstances the optimal size of the SDU is zero, while in other cases, having a sizable SDU may be beneficial. Moreover, we identify two parameters which play a prominent role in the SDU sizing decision: p, which captures the demand for SDU beds, and I½, which captures the supply gains by moving nurses to the SDU. The insights from our work provide rigorous justification for the variation in SDU use seen in practice as well as highlight which factors should be considered when making such sizing decisions for critical care.


The Emotionally Intelli~ent ~tartat:t'r: How To Develop and [51,' the Four Ke) Emotional Skill s of Leadersh ip. ~oot David R. Caruso and Peter Salore~: San Francisco. Calif.: jossev-Bass. 293 pages. The iruellefual ~lf and mlOtiooaI self have always been recognized in human existence. The ability to think and feel has guided individuals. gTOl.lp5. and soceues through a myriad ofexperiences through the ages. The author's research into the blend oftheeNQ aIl11J1Of1L'fll~ oftlle hUIll311 ~cl1e unlolds into a useful model ofbehavior that can be used wry dfl'rtivcly in management. The four emotional skills are derived from six principles of emotional intelligence that the authors derive from the literature and their own experience. They provide the theoretical base for their model. Without :Uly explanation tht'}' ;q ~:leaf to he SIOg;Ul<; used in acampaign to gel the re ader involved in the authors' management model. Three examples of these principles are: I) Emotion is information: 2) We can try to ignore emotion, but it OOt.'S!1't ~urk: and 3)Emotions foll(M' logical patterns. (p. 9) FJll()(i{M:lS are said to express themselves indifferent strengths and with different behavioral effects. For example, fear motivates action to avoid a negative consequence, whereas anger prompts an individual to


We present a small, formal language for specifying the behavior of simple console I/O programs. The design is driven by the concrete application case of testing interactive Haskell programs written by students. Specifications are structurally similar to lexical analysis regular expressions, but are augmented with features like global variables that track state and history of program runs, enabling expression of an interesting range of dynamic behavior. We give a semantics for our specification language based on acceptance of execution traces. From this semantics we derive a definition of the set of all traces valid for a given specification. Sampling that set enables us to mechanically check program behavior against specifications in a probabilistic fashion. Beyond testing, other possible uses of the specification language in an education context include related activities like providing more helpful feedback, generating sample solutions, and even generating random exercise tasks.


In conclusion, one can say that the cytochalasins--in their brief history of application in virology--have proven to be valuable tools in studies on the molecular biology of virus--host cell interactions. On the other hand, viral systems can be useful in defining the primary sites of action of cytochalasins in certain cells. In interpreting the effects of cytochalasins on virus replication, however, one must take into consideration that the cytochalasins exert a wide variety of alterations in cellular functions. Infections by viruses interfere primarily with the synthesis of host DNA, RNA, and proteins. The experiments reviewed here were carried out with different viruses, different cell lines, and--more important--under very different experimental conditions. Nevertheless, a number of informative observations emerge which provide insight into specific aspects of the interaction of viruses with their host cells, and help us to understand the mode of action of cytochalasins on specific cellular functions: Cytochalasins may decrease or increase the competence of cells for infection by viruses. For the DNA viruses, vaccinia virus and adenovirus, cytochalasin treatment of host cells resulted in a reduced virus yield; whereas for the RNA viruses, poliovirus, parainfluenza virus, and VSV, cytochalasin treatment results in an increased virus yield. The precise mechanism by which cytochalasins exert these effects remain unclear. It is proposed that the cytochalasin-mediated enhancement of cell infectibility for poliovirus--the only system for which this effect has been studied in more detail--is primarily due to a reduction of polypeptide chain initiation. This reduction dramatically amplifies the inherent translational advantage of virus mRNAs over host cell mRNAs, resulting in a relative stimulation of viral mRNA translation. The cytochalasin-mediated sensitization of cells for infection by isolated poliovirus RNA is explainable by a comparable effect on protein synthesis. In this case, cytochalasin may act in part by substituting for the function of a viral protein(s). When cytochalasin B is added to cells which have previously been infected by intact HSV, formation of infectious virus particles is severely inhibited...


The Hajar prospect is located in the Guemassa Paleozoic massif, about 30 km southwest of Marrakesh, Morocco. Visean volcano-sedimentary formations are present in this massif and in the Jebilets massif north of Marrakesh. In these formations, syngenetic massive sulfides occur, and one of these bodies, Kettara in the Jebilets, has been partially mined. Using the Kettara magnetic anomaly to establish the magnetization parameters, we performed a preliminary interpretation of the Hajar anomaly. Our 2.5-D model determined the depth of the structure to be about 150 to 200 m below the surface. This relatively shallow depth was a decisive factor in siting a reconnaissance drillhole, which encountered massive sul-fides between 158 and 276 m. After completing a systematic gravity and magnetic survey, 3-D magnetic modeling was attempted, constrained by the results of four drillholes. Now that more than 20 holes have been drilled, this magnetic model still conforms to the newly revealed geology. Unfortunately, it was not possible to extract useful information concerning the orebody from modeling and interpreting the gravity data. The gravity response is masked by disturbances such as faults and variations in depth and nature of the Visean basement. The discovery of the Hajar deposit shows that magnetic investigations, improved by pertinent modeling techniques, can be used at various stages of exploration to help recognize and define massive sulfide bodies.


Abstract In this study, effects of the long-acting amide-type local anesthetic levobupivacaine on axonal conduction and excitability parameters of the rat sciatic nerve were thoroughly examined both in vitro and in vivo. In order to deduce its effects on isolated nerve conduction, compound nerve action potential (CNAP) recordings were performed using the suction method over sciatic nerves of Wistar rats before and after administration of 0.05 % (1.7 mmol L−1) levobupivacaine. Levobupivacaine caused complete CNAP area and amplitude depression by blocking conduction in a time-dependent manner. To assess the influence of levobupivacaine on in vivo excitability properties, threshold-tracking (TT) protocols were performed at sciatic nerves of rats injected with perineural 0.05 % (1.7 mmol L−1) levobupivacaine or vehicle alone. Charge-duration TT results revealed that levobupivacaine increases the rheobase and decreases the strength-duration time constant, suggesting interference of the anesthetic with the opening of Na+ channels. Twenty and 40 % threshold electrotonus curves were found for both groups to follow the same paths, suggesting no significant effect of levobupivacaine on K+ channels for either the fastest or relatively slow conducting fibers. Current-threshold relationship results revealed no significant effect on axonal rectifying channels. However, according to the results of the recovery cycle protocol yielding the pattern of excitability changes following the impulse, potential deviation was found in the recovery characteristics of Na+ channels from the absolute refractory period. Consequently, conduction blockage caused by levobupivacaine may not be due to the passive (capacitive) properties of axon or the conductance of potassium channels but to the decrease in sodium channel conductance.


One‐dimensional 31P nuclear magnetic resonance images (projections) of syntheticcalcium hydroxyapatite, Ca10(OH)2(PO4)6, have been obtained for samples on the order of 0.5 to 1.0 cm in linear extent at 7.4 T magnetic field strength. Because of the solid state nature of these samples, short 31P spin‐spin relaxation times under 1 ms occur, necessitating echo times of 1 ms and phase‐encoding magnetic field gradient pukesshorter than 500 μs. Optimal projection quality and shortest acquisition times result from pulsedgradient phase‐encoding of the spatial dimension, using a compensating gradient pulse to cancel the distorting effects of gradient waveform transients. The exceedingly long 31P spin‐lattice relaxation times could lead to potentially intolerable image acquisition times; these have been reduced with a flipback pulse technique. In addition to holding great potential as a novel research tool in the study of biomineralization of those organisms containing calcium phosphate solid phases, these methods should be of general utility in the multinuclear imaging of a wide variety of solids of interest in biophysics and materials science.


Tail risk estimation for portfolios of complex financial instruments is an important enterprise risk management task. Time consuming nested simulations are usually required for such tasks: The outer loop simulates the evolution of risk factors, or the scenarios. Inner simulations are then conducted in each scenario to estimate the corresponding portfolio losses, whose distribution entails the tail risk of interest. In this paper we propose an iterative procedure, called Importance-Allocated Nested Simulation (IANS), for tail risk estimation. We tested IANS in a multiple-period nested simulation setting for an actuarial application. Our numerical results show that IANS can be an order of magnitude more accurate that a standard nested simulation procedure.


ABSTRACT Bioincising is a biotechnological process to improve the permeability of wood by biological organisms. In recent years, there has been a great interest to determine the changes in the anatomical structure of wood as a result of bioincising process. In this study, the effects of bioincising by Physisporinus vitreus on the pit structure and permeability of Picea orientalis L. sapwood and heartwood were studied. Bioincised and non-bioincised samples were then treated with micronized copper quaternary and Celcure AC-500 wood preservatives by either dipping or vacuum method. The copper distribution and amount of copper retained in treated wood were evaluated by SEM-EDX and ICP-OES, respectively. The area of copper fixation in treated wood was also measured by the ArcGIS software package. The effects of P. vitreus activity were examined in the wood microstructure after bioincising by light microscope and SEM analyses on radial sections. After the bioincising, a significant increase was observed in the uptake of wood preservatives by vacuum, particularly in heartwood. The measurements on bordered pit, crossfield pit, and ray tracheid bordered pit dimensions in the microstructure of wood indicated that the degradation of pits was the most important factor in improved penetration and uptake of preservative solutions employed.


This paper reports the development of a new technique, free space line field spectral domain optical coherence reflectometry (LF-SD-OCR), which is able to produce tomographic like (quasi) images. Furthermore, the capabilities and cost benefits of the technique are demonstrated by constructing a handheld LF-SD-OCR device. For glossy paint systems and other suitable samples, the line field format produces quasi-tomographic (cross-sectional) imaging through the layers, with axial and lateral image resolutions of 1.3 µm and 40 µm respectively. From these, the clear coat thicknesses on the bonnet of cars were measured by graph search segmentation and maximum A-scan projection. In comparison with the widely used single point ultrasound and optical devices, our technique gives the user more confident interpretation of the results as it produces a cross-sectional image of the sample in a single-shot fashion without the need of any mechnical scanning. In addition, the produced device has higher resolution and lower cost (£1660 cost of the constructed one-off prototype as compared with over £10K for comparable universally capable ultrasonic devices), making the technique an economically viable alternative to ultrasound in the quality assurance of coating systems and other application areas such as plastic film manufacturing control.


Consumers sometimes prefer stricter food regulations as voters than as consumers. A prime example is that battery-cage eggs were the most sold types of eggs in California in 2008 when 63% of voters supported the animal welfare proposition forbidding battery-cage eggs starting from from 2015. In this paper, we investigate whether a similar consumer-citizen duality might exist in willingness to pay for food safety standards in restaurants. Using a split sample willingness to pay survey we find that consumers have a higher willingness to pay for improved restaurant food safety standards when voting than when acting as consumers. The results are discussed in the light of the literature on trust, social choice and public choice theory.


Background. Kuwait ranks as the third country worldwide for the incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) with an incidence of 37.10 per 100,000 children. Standardized incidents of childhood diabetes between 10.00 and 19.99 per 100,000 are considered high. Despite the high incidence rate, there are few studies examining the psychological impact of diabetes.

Objective. The study sought to investigate the role of mindfulness and illness perceptions in explaining psychological distress and quality of life (QoL) in parents of children with T1D.

Method. A sample of 122 Kuwaiti parents of children with T1D completed self-report measures of generalized anxiety (GAD-7),depression (PHQ-9),illness perceptions (Brief-IPQ),mindfulness (FFMQ) and QoL (WHOQOL-BREF).

Results. High levels of psychological distress were observed, with 31.1% of parents reporting moderate and 19.7% reporting severe levels of anxiety. Similarly, 24.7% of parents reported moderate and 18% reported severe levels of depression. After controlling for child's age, child's age at diabetes onset and HbA1c, mindfulness and illness perceptions explained 40% of the variance in QoL, 47% of the variance in depression, and 35% of the variance in anxiety. Higher levels of mindfulness (Acting with awareness) were associated with lower levels of psychological distress and better QoL. More negative illness perceptions were associated with higher levels of psychological distress.

Conclusion. The current findings suggest that high levels of mindfulness might help to reduce distress and improve QoL. These findings may be used develop an intervention targeting mindfulness and illness perceptions, which may be helpful for parents adapt to having a child with T1D.


Coronary arterio-systemic fistula is a rare condition, especially when multiple fistulae communicate with the left ventricule. The association of multiple congenital coronary artery-left ventricular fistulae and apical hypertrophy has not been previously reported. The authors report three cases, all in women, with multiple coronary artery-left ventricular fistulae and apical hypertrophy diagnosed by angiography. The association may not be coincidental as multiple microfistulae could cause abnormalities of the microcirculation and result in reactional myocardial hypertrophy.


The study examines foreign trade for the equipment goods industry in the Spanish economy at a community level. The analysis is based on the movement of a combination of indicators that reveal the quality of trade insertion: the technological level and the position of the range. The principal conclusion is that, even accepting the diversity of positions and trajectories observed in the industry, it seems to occupy a relatively subordinat espace, installed in market segments of medium-to-low technology and range


This article presents an identification and analysis of ethical issues identified by nurses in relation to patients in a critical condition, who are at imminent risk of death and whose survival depends on advanced means of surveillance, monitoring and therapy. The main ethical concerns are providing information to the client, end of life monitoring, professional liability in interdependent interventions; themes related to the decisions of the patient (consent to/refusal of therapeutic treatment), information dilemmas, action to be taken during the processes of dying and with regard to do not resuscitate orders, and respect for human rights in unfavorable situations. The present study considers the importance of a sense of responsibility and of protecting the individual at risk, the influence of moral conscience in decision-making, and professional experiences when overcoming challenges. Finally, mediating factors in the management of ethical difficulties are identified.


A broadband hexagonal-shaped metamaterials (MTMs)-based zeroth-order resonant (ZOR) antenna was designed and fabricated. The hexagonal shape of a top patch on a mushroom structure makes not only direct-current paths between the two ends of the patch but also round-current paths along the outside of the patch, thereby widening the resonance frequency of the mushroom MTM antenna. According to the shape of the hexagon patch, the presented antenna achieved impedance bandwidth of 58.6% corresponding to ultra-wideband technology. The proposed ZOR antenna was modeled by utilizing a composite right- and left-handed (CRLH) transmission line and provided 4 to 9.3 dBi of the antenna gain with reduced size as compared to conventional microstrip antennas at Ku- to K-band frequencies.


The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) experienced an intensive air pollution episode during November 2017. Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled to Chemistry (WRF-Chem), a coupled meteorology–chemistry model, was used to simulate this episode. In order to capture PM2.5 peaks, we modified input chemical boundary conditions and biomass burning emissions. The Community Atmosphere Model with Chemistry (CAM-chem) and ModernEra Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 (MERRA-2) global models provided gaseous and aerosol chemical boundary conditions, respectively. We also incorporated Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) active fire points to fill in missing fire emissions in the Fire INventory from NCAR (FINN) and scaled by a factor of 7 for an 8 d period. Evaluations against various observations indicated the model captured the temporal trend very well although missed the peaks on 7, 8, and 10 November. Modeled aerosol composition in Delhi showed secondary inorganic aerosols (SIAs) and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) comprised 30 % and 27 % of total PM2.5 concentration, respectively, during November, with a modeled OC/BC ratio of 2.72. Back trajectories showed agricultural fires in Punjab were the major source for extremely polluted days in Delhi. Furthermore, high concentrations above the boundary layers in vertical profiles suggested either the plume rise in the model released the emissions too high or the model did not mix the smoke down fast enough. Results also showed longrange-transported dust did not affect Delhi's air quality during the episode. Spatial plots showed averaged aerosol optical depth (AOD) of 0.58 (±0.4) over November. The model AODs were biased high over central India and low over the eastern IGP, indicating improving emissions in the eastern IGP can significantly improve the air quality predictions. We also found high ozone concentrations over the domain, which indicates ozone should be considered in future air quality management strategies alongside particulate matter.


This paper presents a centrifugal force based magnetic micro-pump for the pumping of blood. Most blood pumps are driven by an electrical motor with wired control. To develop a wireless and battery-free blood pump, the proposed pump is controlled by external rotating magnetic fields with a synchronized impeller. Synchronization occurs because the rotor is divided into multi-stage impeller parts and NdFeB permanent magnet. Finally, liquid is discharged by the centrifugal force of multi-stage impeller. The proposed pump length is 30 mm long and19 mm in diameter which much smaller than currently pumps; however, its pumping ability satisfies the requirement for a blood pump. The maximum pressure is 120 mmHg and the maximum flow rate is 5000ml/min at 100 Hz. The advantage of the proposed pump is that the general mechanical problems of a normal blood pump are eliminated by the proposed driving mechanism.


Climate change is of great importance in modern times and global warming is
considered as a significant part of climate change. It is proved that human's
emissions such as greenhouse gases are one of the main sources of global warming
(IPCC, 2018). Apart from greenhouse gases, there is another kind of matter being
released in quantity via emissions from industries and transportations and playing
an important role in global warming, which is aerosol. However, atmospheric
aerosols have the net effect of cooling towards global warming. In this paper,
climate change with respect to global warming is briefly introduced and the role of
aerosols in the atmosphere is emphasized. Besides, properties of aerosols including
dynamics and thermodynamics of aerosols as well as interactions with solar
radiation are concluded. In the end, environmental policies and solutions are
discussed.
Keywords: Climate change, Global warming, Atmospheric aerosols, Particulate
matter, Radiation, Environmental policy.


Diversity Management is about managing the increasing diversity of issues that confront managers. It is especially considered as a recognizable source of creativity and innovation in order to gain competitive advantage. It goes far beyond simply hiring demographically diverse workforce. It signals companies' genuine attitude toward employees' divese perspectives and backgrounds. Most of human resources management programmes usually try to create a clear culture and a climate around diversity, so that everyone in the company develop a strong sense of belonging which lead them to bring their full selves to workplace. Companies seeking global relevance can not ignore tthe impact of diversity on creativity and innovation especially in diverse markets. On the other hand, if not managed properly, it may be a cause of misunderstanding, suspicion and conflict in the workplace that can result in absenteeism, poor quality, low morale and loss of competitiveness. Therefore companies seeking competitive advantage face a paradoxical situation. If they embrace diversity, they risk workplace conflict, and if they avoid diversity, they risk loss of competitiveness. In order to overcome this paradoxical situation, diversity management should be made an integral part of corporate culture. Diversity management is becoming more prominent in the corporate practice and is adopted as the basis of corporate culture. In order to implement diversity management as a basis of corporate culture a change process throughout the entire organization is required. Thereby the question arises of how interdependency between different levels occurs through an implementation of diversity management in a corporate culture. These reciprocal actions are exemplary illustrated on a micro, meso, and macro levels. By a reason of reciprocal action between the levels and the influence or effect on the levels, a system theoretical perspective is adopted.


The practice of singing to babies has been observed around the world, in all cultures and historical periods. In cases of prematurity, benefits of maternal singing have been reported for both the baby and maternal anxiety levels. Therefore, several authors have expressed concerns about the possible decrease in singing practice for the infant and, consequently, the loss of transmission of children's oral repertoire. In this study, our purpose was to understand what and how do mothers sing to their babies, in the specific case of hospitalized pre-term infants in a Portuguese NICU. We used a mixt method in a study case where 36 mothers sang without words to their hospitalized preterm infants during Kangaroo Care. We parametrized the repertoire and analyzed its characteristics, namely the melodic contours, range pitch, melodic intervals, rhythm, tempo and form. The participants also responded to a questionnaire regarding the habits of singing to their baby. Older and more educated mothers sang more pre-existent melodies and younger mothers tended to improvise. This study showed that the former mothers tend to sing adult songs and children's mediated songs to their hospitalized babies more than traditional Portuguese play songs or lullabies suggesting that mothers are not familiar with the Portuguese repertoire, as shown in other studies. It is possible that the sociological changes Portuguese families, as well as the development of automatic reproduction devices that replace mother's voice, led to this fact. The latter mothers' improvised singing was highly repetitive and mostly by whole tones. These characteristics, maybe related to an attempt to please and calm the baby, were also common to a comfortable chant for a female voice without practice.


A thick water film is deposited on a mica substrate, which it wets, from pure water vapour at a low temperature. The vapour pressure is reduced so that the water evaporates. Despite the fact that under equilibrium conditions the film wets the substrate, when it reaches a thickness of about 500 Å, dry patches nucleate in the film and the water recedes to the wet parts. During the recession, a thick rim of water is created, which becomes hydrodynamically unstable and produces a beautiful reproducible pattern of water drops. Experiments have been done showing both homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation. The basic physics of the de-wetting, the nucleation and the origin of the pattern formation are discussed. The effect is not restricted to water on mica, but has been observed with other fluids on wetted substrates.


International non-governmental organizations (INGOs) are known to employ freelancers to produce multimedia and to pitch it for them to mainstream news outlets. So it seems odd that research about the blurring of news organizations and INGOs has been largely focused upon the practices of full-time staff at these kinds of organizations. To help fill this lacuna, this article constructs a model capable of interrogating the multiple forms of structure and agency at the heart of such forms of freelancing by blending Critical Realist theory with work by Bourdieu. It then uses this model to analyse semi-structured interviews with six freelancers who were involved in the production of media items about sub-Saharan countries. All of them were found to erode the distinction between INGOs and news organizations through different kinds of commissioning and syndication practices. But this article's main critical contribution lies in its efforts to illuminate why freelancers chose to engage in such liminal work; for the legitimating rationales they employed enabled them to avoid the "inter-role conflicts" experienced by freelancers who work for news outlets and commercial public relations organizations.


Studying perceptions about reuse of alternative water sources informs about conditions necessary for transition to large-scale decentralized water reuse. We administered a perceptions survey to the public based on results of initial open interviews of water management experts in Israel. Experts indicated their views on impediments to widespread household water reuse which became the basis for developing the questionnaire. The latter aimed to understand views among the general public of: (a) willingness to adopt reuse practices from three sources: greywater, air conditioner condensate and roof-harvested rainwater; and (b) preferences for targeted use of these three types of reused water. The survey elicited 372 responses. A maximum-likelihood regression analysis was conducted using independent variables (i.e., demographic characteristics, individual positions regarding the state of the country's water resources and plans for the provision of domestic water (i.e., desalination), knowledge of the reuse practices and views about risks from various uses of the reused water, including off-premise). Willingness to implement reuse practices served as the dependent variable. We found that respondents indicating that they heard of the reuse of the particular types of reuse practices (variable: 'Knowledge') was the most significant of the independent variables for all three alternative water sources. Also, using an analytic hierarchy process, we determined that health risks were much more important when compared to convenience of use and costs under hypothetical scenarios of both moderate and significant savings in monthly water expenditures.


This article examines the treatment of Rule 23(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which authorizes the appeal of decisions granting or denying class certification petitions, by appellate courts. It does so by looking at each circuit's docket sheets to see what evidence they yield as to how they have disposed of such petitions. It begins by discussing what Rule 23(f) is; then briefly discusses the results of a circuit-by-circuit docket search for 23(f) petitions, and finally raises the question whether a "certiorari" model – at least one understood as an "unfettered discretion" model – is wholly appropriate for the courts of appeals to use in considering whether to grant Rule 23(f) petitions. We conclude that the rule of law requires that matters of such importance be treated with more transparency and with greater assurances of consistency and conformity.


This paper reports on Data Analytics Research (DAR), a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in which undergraduate students conduct data analysis research on open real-world problems for industry, university, and community clients. We describe how DAR, offered by the Mathematical Sciences Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), is an essential part of an early low-barrier pipeline into data analytics studies and careers for diverse students. Students first take a foundational course, typically Introduction to Data Mathematics, that teaches linear algebra, data analytics, and R programming simultaneously using a project-based learning (PBL) approach. Then in DAR, students work in teams on open applied data analytics research problems provided by the clients. We describe the DAR organization which is inspired in part by agile software development practices. Students meet for coaching sessions with instructors multiple times a week and present to clients frequently. In a fully remote format during the pandemic, the students continued to be highly successful and engaged in COVID-19 research producing significant results as indicated by deployed online applications, refereed papers, and conference presentations. Formal evaluation shows that the pipeline of the single on-ramp course followed by DAR addressing real-world problems with societal benefits is highly effective at developing students' data analytics skills, advancing creative problem solvers who can work both independently and in teams, and attracting students to further studies and careers in data science.


The determination of gene expression levels in normal tissue is necessary for the analysis and interpretation of results of gene profiling studies in pathological samples. With the real-time reverse transcription-PCR technique, which enables one to detect the amplification rate during the process, assessment of the amount of gene transcript is fast and accurate. The most important problem in this type of analysis is the variability in the amount of genetic material between samples, caused mostly by changes in the efficiency of mRNA isolation and reverse transcription. Therefore, a reference gene to normalize sample variations is required. Quantification of the mRNA of the target and the reference gene in the sample ensures that the changes in transcript levels will influence both genes equally. To be used as a reference, a gene should show stable, unregulated expression in the analyzed sample type. Housekeeping genes (HKGs) fulfill this criterion and they are used for normalization purposes in most expression studies. However, transcript levels of HKGs can vary between different types of tissue (normal and pathological samples) and under different treatment conditions (drugs and chemicals). The aim of this study was to show the differences and the factors which can influence housekeeping gene expressions.


The central question in this study is whether enhanced transparency allows an increase in the specific knowledge of one particular group and thereby boosts its power. The new knowledge examined in this case study is the access to public quality reporting (PQR) data by Dutch patients confronted with difficult care choices. PQR describes the practice whereby the information that hospitals collect for their internal quality reporting, is made public. I would like to highlight that the process of making this information public can be regarded as a form of "transparency inward", another central theme of this volume. In my case the inward transparency consists of providing patients with new insights into the quite complex and therefore often in-transparent institution hospital. For a long time hospitals have been collecting data on the quality of their care in order to monitor the performance of their departments (Faber et al., 2009). After the 2001 "landmark report" from the American Institute of Medicine (IOM) policy-makers all over the world wished to increase the transparency of health care systems for patients (Kurtzman & Jennings, 2008, p.349), so that patients could judge the quality of care in hospitals. This led to the creation of multiple PQR initiatives. However, as patients were reluctant to use them, they remained rather unsuccessful (Faber et al., 2009). Starting from the observation that PQR incentives have proven so unsuccessful, the main question of this contribution is how (elective surgery) patients can be encouraged to use public reporting systems to take informed hospital choices. Elective surgery in the medical realm means that the undertaken medical intervention is not performed in a state of emergency and is planned in advance. This project utilizes "targeted transparency" as a lens to review the functioning of PQR systems in a single case study. I pay particular attention to the challenges patients in the Netherlands face when deciding on a hospital to undergo elective surgery. Understanding the current shortcomings is essential before discussing why more targeted transparency is necessary to empower patients to make active care choices. My main research question, therefore, can also be worded differently: which issues make patients reluctant to use public quality reporting data when choosing a hospital for elective surgery? These issues are apparently not a negligible factor, since patients though valuing the provision of PQR data, frequently refrain from using it. Scholars refer to this as the choice-choosing paradox.


The trillion barrel oil shale and oil sand deposits in North America offer the potential to make the less energy dependent on unreliable foreign sources. However, if these unconventional deposits were produced using existing combustion processes, substantial CO2  emissions would be injected into air. To avoid this green house gas problem and yet produce liquid fuels, a wind powered electrothermal energy storage system is described. It stores the unpredictable intermittent wind electrical energy as thermal energy over long periods in thick fossil hydrocarbon deposits. Because thermal diffusion time is very slow in such deposits, thermal energy is effectively trapped in a defined section of the hydrocarbon deposit. This allows time for the thermal energy to convert hydrocarbons into gaseous and liquid fuels. The process is highly energy-efficient and makes available considerably more energy than was expended during the heating. In addition, the method can increase the reliability of the grid and provide a load-leveling function. The wind-powered electrothermal conversion method produces substantially less CO2 than traditional shale oil extraction processes or renewable energy processes that employ a combustion step to produce the fuel


Optical fibers are now taken for granted as signal transmission media for telecommunication and the Internet. Optical fibers also provide a versatile platform for sensing a host of physical and chemical effects, and parameters of interest. Though optical techniques for measurements were well known for a long time, utility of optical fibers for sensing and measurements has been recognised and widely appreciated only in the last twoto three decades. It has indeed become a subject of intense activity over recent times due to a variety of attractive features, notably their immunity to electromagnetic interference, enabling distributed sensing, and remote collection of sensed data for post processing owing to their compatibility to optical fiber telemetry. Fiber optics offers a versatile platform for realizing a multitude of sensors for a variety of applications in areas as broadas civilian, defence, biomedical, and so on. Functional principles of some of these sensors could be extremely simple, while some sensors couldbe ultra-sensitive that could yield extremely small magnitudes of certain measurands. This article is an attempt to review the basic principles that underpin this area of research and expose the readers to few such fiberoptical sensors by describing their applications.


Past studies of the farm sector have concentrated on the use of farm based resources in the farm context alone. Changes in the economic environment have widened the opportunities available to these resources and have thus tended to make this narrow definition of the farm firm less relevant. Some recognition of this situation has emerged in more recent studies. The aim of this note is to collate and examine the degree to which farm labour resources are employed in off-farm activities in Australia. The main conclusion drawn from the evidence available is that, while in aggregate part-time farming is a fairly minor activity, in some sectors it is increasing in importance and constitutes a considerable outlet for farm based labour resources.


Geometric deep learning has attracted significant attention in recent years, in part due to the availability of exotic data types for which traditional neural network architectures are not well suited. Our goal in this paper is to generalize convolutional neural networks (CNN) to the manifold-valued image case which arises commonly in medical imaging and computer vision applications. Explicitly, the input data to the network is an image where each pixel value is a sample from a Riemannian manifold. To achieve this goal, we must generalize the basic building block of traditional CNN architectures, namely, the weighted combinations operation. To this end, we develop a tangent space combination operation which is used to define a convolution operation on manifold-valued images that we call, the Manifold-Valued Convolution (MVC). We prove theoretical properties of the MVC operation, including equivariance to the action of the isometry group admitted by the manifold and characterizing when compositions of MVC layers collapse to a single layer. We present a detailed description of how to use MVC layers to build full, multi-layer neural networks that operate on manifold-valued images, which we call the MVC-net. Further, we empirically demonstrate superior performance of the MVC-nets in medical imaging and computer vision tasks.


In this paper we present an experimental method which is well suited to synchrotron x-ray diffraction tomography. The experimental technique utilizes an analyser crystal placed in the diffracted x-ray beam to selectively detect diffracted photons at the desired scattering angle. This arrangement selects the prominent diffraction feature of a specimen component, allowing the spatial distribution of that component to be specifically and quantitatively imaged. Images of the spatial variation of the differential x-ray scattering cross section (reflectivity) in a cross sectional plane of interest are reconstructed using an iterative algebraic technique and an error functional minimization. Reconstructed images of a well characterized phantom show that material features can be clearly delineated. Images based on the spatial variation of x-ray linear attenuation coefficients and differential coherent scattering cross sections have been reconstructed with approximately 125 µm spatial resolution in the imaging plane.


OBJECTIVE
Determining the factors which influence the success of training therapy in women suffering from urinary incontinence.

DESIGN
Descriptive.

SETTING
Thirteen general practices in Nijmegen and environs, the Netherlands.

METHOD
A total of 110 women between 20 and 65 years old, suffering from urinary incontinence were examined by their general practitioners. Age, personality, parity, psychological features and type, duration, severity, beginning of the disease, as well as the presence of cystocele or prolapse were recorded. Women were asked about their own experiences regarding factors that influenced success. The treatment consisted of training of pelvic muscles in stress incontinence and bladder training in urge incontinence. Outcomes and compliance were measured 3 and 12 months after start of treatment by means of a so-called incontinence diary.

RESULTS
After 3 months the mean frequency of urine loss per week diminished from 21 to 8, and after 12 months to 6 times. Compliance was the most important contribution to success. Patients were more motivated to practise when the subjective burden of the urine loss was more severe. Other features did not influence success.


Steatosis, i.e., the accumulation of fat in hepatocytes, plays an important role in the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). It has been shown that STAT3 activation is involved in a decrease of lipid accumulation while C∕EBP is correlated with an increase of fat content and steatosis. It is known that STAT3 and C∕EBP are activated by IL-6 and that IL-6 signalling is also affected by IL-10, even though the exact mechanism is unclear. This paper develops a model for IL-6 and IL-10 signal transduction and then investigates the effect that stimulation with these cytokines has on the transcription factor dynamics. In an initial step, some parameters of a previously developed IL-6 signalling model are re-estimated based upon newly developed experimental data for the Jak-STAT pathway. Furthermore, the Erk-C∕EBP pathway model is extended to also include the activated transcription factor C∕EBP in the nucleus. Since IL-10 signals through the Jak-STAT but not the Erk-C∕EBP pathway, a model was developed which includes interaction between IL-6 and IL-10 signalling as both mechanisms share signal transduction through the Jak-STAT pathway. Based upon the model, the activity ratio of Jak-STAT and Erk-C∕EBP was investigated for different stimulation levels of IL-6 and IL-10.


We are interested in how codified knowledge is produced around the globe (which inputs are used to produce scientific articles and patented inventions) and the efficiency of the process (how do the best performers produce more with the same inputs or produce the same with less inputs). Using a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) efficiency frontier approach, we aim to determine which countries are more efficient at producing codified knowledge. We proxy knowledge production by publications and patents, obtained through human (researchers) and non-human (R&D expenditure) resources. We built a 15-year database with more than 800 observations of these and other variables. Our findings enable us to distinguish efficiency by country, geographical region, and income area. We run four different specifications and correlate the results with partial productivity indexes seeking consistency. Under constant returns to scale, the most traditional producers of knowledge are not fully efficient. Instead, small countries with limited resources appear to be efficient. When we add environmental conditions, both sets of countries are efficient producers of knowledge outputs. High-income regions, on the one hand, and East Asia, North America, and Europe and Central Asia, on the other, are the most efficient regions at producing knowledge.


This article examines the novel issues dealing with the application of the federal tax code to collaborative reproduction, i.e. assisted reproductive technology involving third parties in the procreative process. Although collaborative reproduction has become a billion dollar business in the United States, the tax issues arising from it has for the most part been obscured from public view. Payment to a collaborator for gametes, embryos and birthing a child for another obviously raise tax issues, but often attempts are made to avoid reporting such payments, especially to surrogate carriers and egg donors. While deductions may be allowed for the costs of collaborative reproduction, the only analogous rulings may be those having to do with blood and human milk. There is a little literature on the subject, but except for a decision of the tax court on deduction of legal and medical payments and the cost of employing a surrogate carrier, there appears to be no practical controlling law. Given the economic reality of transfer of money in the field of reproductive medicine this article may help to focus attention on the subject.


Open field burning and tilling the rice straw (RS) back into the fields causes environmental threats by contributing to the increased greenhouse gas emissions. Energy and nutrient recovery from RS through anaerobic digestion (AD) is an effective solution for its utilization. Although RS has good methane potential, its characteristics make it a difficult substrate for AD. This paper reviews the characteristics of RS, mass balance, and distribution of nutrients into liquid and solid digestate in the AD. The present review also discusses the effect of temperature, co-digestion, mixing, inoculum, organic loading rate, recycling liquid digestate, the addition of trace elements, and their bioavailability on the enhancement of biogas/methane yield in the AD of RS. In addition, the digestion of RS at various scales is also covered in the review.


Given a power grid modeled by a network together with equations describing power flows, power generation and consumption, the so-called N − k problem asks whether there exists a set of k or fewer arcs whose removal will cause the system to fail. The case where k is small is of practical interest. We present theoretical and numerical results involving a mixed-integer linear model and a continuous nonlinear model related to this problem.


A giant serpentine aneurysm (GSA) in the anterior cerebral artery (ACA) poses a technical challenge in treatment given its large size, unique neck, and dependent distal vessels. Here we report the case of a GSA in the ACA successfully treated with a combined surgical and endovascular approach. A 54-year-old woman presented with dull headache. On brain computed tomography (CT), a large mass (7 cm × 5 cm × 5 cm) was identified in the left frontal lobe. Cerebral angiography revealed a GSA in the left ACA. Bypass surgery of the distal ACA was performed, followed byocclusion of the entry channel via an endovascular approach. Follow-up CT performed 5 days after treatment revealed disappearance of the vascular channel and peripheral rim enhancement. Follow-up imaging studies performed 7 months after treatment revealed gradual reduction of the mass effect and patency of bypass flow. No complications were noted over a period of 1 year after surgery.


Two studies have provided separate pieces of information that bear on the functional and evolutionary significance of introns in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Holstege et al., 1998; Spingola et al., 1999). By the measure of the number of introns within its genes, budding yeast seems a disappointing eukaryote. Fewer than 250 of the more than 6,200 annotated genes are known to have introns, and fewer than 10 are known have more than one intron (Spingola et al., 1999). In contrast, metazoan genes are estimated to average nearly 10 introns, and the intronless gene is the exception rather than the rule. Although many essential yeast genes have introns, it would appear that introns are on the way out of the yeast genome, perhaps by a cDNA-directed homologous recombination mechanism proposed by Fink (1987).


The neuron-specific enolase, gamma-enolase, is present at high concentrations in tissues of the nervous and neuroendocrine systems and at significant levels in other human tissues as detected by enzyme immunoassay. Its precise localization, however, has remained unclear. We report here the immunohistochemical localization of gamma-enolase in normal adult human tissues other than those of the nervous and neuroendocrine systems using direct and indirect enzyme-labeled antibody methods. The gamma-enolase was found in such smooth muscle cells as the media of aorta, fibromuscular tissue of the prostate, and the myometrium of the uterus, myoepithelial cells, the conducting system of heart, epithelial cells of loops of Henle, and macula densa cells of the kidney. It was also demonstrated in spermatogonia, lymphocytes, plasma cells, platelets, and megakaryocytes and in lesser amounts in bronchial epithelial cells and type II alveolar epithelial cells of the lung, and in secretory cells of the fallopian tube. The significance of its presence in these cells and the application of the gamma-enolase detection for diagnostic purposes in pathology are discussed.


Selecting breeding animals at younger ages reduces generation interval, but also increases risk for long term profit because selection is less accurate and for management decisions because there is more variation in early reproductive performance of ewes. This study simulated different flock age structures and young ewe fertility levels in Merino breeding programs and compared average genetic gain and variation in genetic gain. Genetic gain increased by 18% when ewe fertility at 1 year of age increased from 10% to 90%. Age structure mainly influenced the risk of a particular breeding program design, as measured by increased variation in outcomes. Early selection in one or both sexes increased risk due to low accuracy of selection. The recent advent of breeding values utilizing genomic information presents opportunities to increase selection accuracy at younger ages and reduce the risk associated with early selection.


Background: COPD is one of the leading causes of mortality in Japan. Little is known about the prevalence of comorbid conditions in subjects with COPD in Japan.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of comorbidities between subjects with and without airflow obstruction (AO).

Methods: This study included 19,340 subjects (11,549 men, 7,791 women), aged 16-96 years, who underwent spirometric lung function tests at a medical check-up held between April 2009 and March 2010 at the Japanese Red Cross Kumamoto Health Care Center, Kumamoto, Japan. Data on medical history and life style information were collected by means of interview questionnaires. All subjects were evaluated by a physician. AO was defined according to Global Institute for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria (FEV1/FVC<0.7).

Results: In logistic regression models adjusted for age, smoking and BMI, prevalence of subjects with diabetes (odds ratio (OR), 1.28; 95% confidence intervals (95%CI), 1.08-1.51), asthma (OR, 4.09; 95%CI, 3.15-5.31) and lung cancer (OR, 3.84; 95%CI, 1.89-7.80) were significantly higher in subjects with AO compared to subjects without AO in male. In female, prevalence of subjects with hypertension (OR, 1.43; 95%CI, 1.15-1.79), diabetes (OR, 1.40; 95%CI, 1.05-1.86), asthma (OR, 3.22; 95%CI, 2.22-4.67) and lung cancer (OR, 4.52; 95%CI, 1.62-12.62) were significantly higher in subjects with AO compared to subjects without AO. Conclusions: This study documented that numerous comorbidities are frequently associated with AO. Therefore, efforts toward earlier detection of AO and the identification of comorbidities may become an integral part of the core prevention of COPD.


Rationale: Senescent melanocytes accumulate in photoaged skin and are closely related to skin aging. A better understanding of the molecular characteristics of senescent melanocytes may be the key to controlling skin aging. Methods: We have developed an in vitro model of senescence in melanocytes using UV irradiation and investigated the functional characteristics and molecular mechanisms underlying senescence in UV-irradiated melanocytes. Results: We have highlighted that in vitro senescent melanocytes are characterized by melanosome transport dysfunction resulting in melanin accumulation. The defective melanosome transport was confirmed with the ultrastructural characterization of both in vitro UV-induced senescent melanocytes and in vivo melanocytes of hypopigmented aging skin. A single-cell transcriptomic analysis revealed that the glycolytic metabolism pathway appeared to be significantly upregulated in most senescent phenotypes. Furthermore, the inhibition of glycolysis by pharmacological compounds mitigates the pro-aging effects of melanocytes senescence, suggesting that alterations in cellular glucose metabolism act as a driving force for senescence in melanocytes. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that senescent melanocytes are characterized by glycolytic metabolism changes and a defective melanosome transport process, which may be related to impaired mitochondrial function, highlighting the importance of metabolic reprogramming in regulating melanocyte senescence.


Image-to-physical registration based on volumetric data like computed tomography on the one side and intraoperative endoscopic images on the other side is an important method for various surgical applications. In this contribution, we present methods to generate panoramic views from endoscopic recordings for image-to-physical registration of narrow drill holes inside spongy bone. One core application is the registration of drill poses inside the mastoid during minimally invasive cochlear implantations. Besides the development of image processing software for registration, investigations are performed on a miniaturized optical system, achieving 360° radial imaging with one shot by extending a conventional, small, rigid, rod lens endoscope. A reflective cone geometry is used to deflect radially incoming light rays into the endoscope optics. Therefore, a cone mirror is mounted in front of a conventional 0° endoscope. Furthermore, panoramic images of inner drill hole surfaces in artificial bone material are created. Prior to drilling, cone beam computed tomography data is acquired from this artificial bone and simulated endoscopic views are generated from this data. A qualitative and quantitative image comparison of resulting views in terms of image-to-image registration is performed. First results show that downsizing of panoramic optics to a diameter of 3mm is possible. Conventional rigid rod lens endoscopes can be extended to produce suitable panoramic one-shot image data. Using unrolling and stitching methods, images of the inner drill hole surface similar to computed tomography image data of the same surface were created. Registration is performed on ten perturbations of the search space and results in target registration errors of (0:487 ± 0:438)mm at the entry point and (0:957 ± 0:948)mm at the exit as well as an angular error of (1:763 ± 1:536)°. The results show suitability of this image data for image-to-image registration. Analysis of the error components in different directions reveals a strong influence of the pattern structure, meaning higher diversity results into smaller errors.


Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to examine and compare Nicholas Belkin's information concept and his concept of communication with the authors' semeiotic inspired communication model – the Dynacom. Design/methodology/approach – The authors compare the two communication models by comparing the requirements given by Belkin and the conditions of the Dynacom. Findings – The authors conclude that Belkin's idea of information and his idea of communication lack the social aspect. Based on his theory, he is unable to point out how information becomes knowledge. These are two major issues the authors believe they can elaborate on by introducing the Dynacom and their semeiotic inspired concept of information. Originality/value – No one has previously specifically analyzed Nicholas Belkin's concept of information and compared it to a semeiotic ditto.


This symposium paper commemorates the tenth year that a body of research has formally flown under the banner of New Legal Realism (NLR). We are very pleased that the UC Irvine Law Review has elected to publish these articles and memorialize the 10th Anniversary NLR Conference that took place in Irvine in August 2014, with the support of the American Bar Foundation and the University of California, Irvine School of Law (UCI Law). The four articles in this symposium and the concluding essay make important scholarly contributions and help in different ways to continue to define the NLR project while fostering its further development. As we will suggest in this Introduction, we believe there are good reasons to keep this project moving in the direction that these articles chart. We begin with a short introduction to the NLR project.


Cancer is a complex disease where the deregulation of pathways that are involved in cellular processes such as apoptosis, angiogenesis or proliferation needs to be analyzed. Constructing mathematical models, systems biology aims at describing the dynamic behavior of a network in order to gain a better understanding of the biologal mechanisms and functions. One of the best described signaling pathways is the Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) cascade which is a role model for complex dynamics in cellular systems. Investigations revealed that MAPK and mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathways show a high occurance of mutations in cancer cells, resulting in extensive development of drugs for blocking these mechanisms. However, creating a mathematical model of both pathways is challenging, since data about crosstalk is sparse. Therefore, discrete models are used which only require qualitative information about the system processes and deliver an overview about the capable dynamics of a network using state transition graphs. In this work a discrete model of the MAPK-mTor signaling is constructed in order to test observations extracted from literature to find plausible connections in this cancer system. Thereby an approach for explaining contradictory results from recent studies is given and possible steps for further model refinement


In the fatigue assessment of nuclear components following the RCC-M B3200, if the results using the simplified elastic-plastic method cannot meet the Code's requirements, it is necessary to conduct a detailed elastic-plastic fatigue analysis of the component. In this paper, the A-F and Chaboche nonlinear kinematic hardening constitutive models are used to conduct an elasto-plastic fatigue analysis for a typical nozzle component, aiming to calculate the secondary cumulative cyclic plastic strain of the structure induced by the rapid temperature change transient.
 The calculation method of nonlinear ratcheting behavior under cyclic loading is studied. The method of determining the parameters of constitutive model based on cyclic stable stress-strain curve is also studied. A sensitive study of the parameters for the same constitutive law is presented, including the results of cumulative plastic strain. The ratcheting behavior simulation calculated by different constitutive models are compared. The results show that the A-F model has a conservative prediction of ratcheting behavior as the dynamic recovery term is too strong. It was found that the Chaboche constitutive model is the better methodology for ratcheting analysis.
 In order to evaluate the bearing ability of the section, the membrane strain and bending strain is obtained by linearizing the node strain along the cross section. The ratios of membrane strain and membrane plus bending strain to total strain are calculated, which is helpful to determining the limit criteria for the cumulative strain of structures.


Quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) is the most sensitive quantitative diagnostic assay for detection of Ebola virus in multiple body fluids. Despite the strengths of this assay, we present 2 cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and highlight the potential for false-negative results during the early and late stages of EVD. The first case emphasizes the low negative-predictive value of qRT-PCR during incubation and the early febrile stage of EVD, and the second case emphasizes the potential for false-negative results during recovery and late neurologic complications of EVD. Careful interpretation of test results are needed to guide difficult admission and discharge decisions in suspected or confirmed EVD.


We determined the influence of pentobarbital sodium on the renal responses of the monkey to acute intravascular volume expansion. Before volume expansion, the anesthetized animals had a significantly lower blood pressure and creatinine clearance and a significantly higher urine flow and sodium excretion than the conscious animals. After volume expansion with an isotonic, isoncotic, dextran solution, sodium excretion and urine flow increased significantly in both groups of animals. However, both responses were significantly greater in the anesthetized animals. The greater natriuresis in the anesthetized animals was associated with a greater fractional sodium excretion than in the conscious animals. The potentiated response of the anesthetized animal may be the result of a direct renal tubular effect of pentobarbital and/or the result of the anesthetic removing an inhibitory influence on sodium excretion.


In this theoretical paper, we propose the concept of Responsible Project Management drawing upon perspectives from responsible innovation, accountability and sustainability in project environments, especially those of megaprojects, addressing their long-term impact, far beyond the traditional notion of project success on the triple constraints of time, cost and adherence to specifications. Megaprojects as multibillion dollar projects (e.g., the Channel Tunnel, organisation of London Olympics 2012 and the construction of Heathrow Airport Terminal 5) are very important parts of infrastructure in developed and developing countries, where traditional project management analysis focuses on the implementation or execution process (i.e. planning and control) usually incurring delays, cost overrun and financial risk. However, this analysis requires further understanding regarding their complexity and their effects on environment and society as a whole. Furthermore, management of megaprojects as a professional practice lacks a framework to provide lessons to support the improvement of decision-making process for the future generation of infrastructure for development, which increasingly has to be built up under sustainability and accountability premises. This paper proposes an integrative framework based on four dimensions of responsible innovation, four instruments of accountability and six principles addressing sustainability that help to define and implement megaprojects, aiming at an inclusive approach – to better inform practitioners, policy makers, academics, and the wider society - when decisions about building megaprojects are taken. This framework might help also to analyse megaprojects in order to extract lessons that might be useful in the controversial arena of infrastructure development.


In recent years, SGD and its variants have become the standard tool to train Deep Neural Networks. In this paper, we focus on the recently proposed variant Lookahead, which improves upon SGD in a wide range of applications. Following this success, we study an extension of this algorithm, the \emph{Multilayer Lookahead} optimizer, which recursively wraps Lookahead around itself. We prove the convergence of Multilayer Lookahead with two layers to a stationary point of smooth non-convex functions with $O(\frac{1}{\sqrt{T}})$ rate. We also justify the improved generalization of both Lookahead over SGD, and of Multilayer Lookahead over Lookahead, by showing how they amplify the implicit regularization effect of SGD. We empirically verify our results and show that Multilayer Lookahead outperforms Lookahead on CIFAR-10 and CIFAR-100 classification tasks, and on GANs training on the MNIST dataset.


Watching batteries fail Rechargeable batteries lose capacity in part because of physical changes in the electrodes caused by electrochemical cycling. Lim et al. track the reaction dynamics of an electrode material, LiFePO4, by measuring the relative concentrations of Fe(II) and Fe(III) in it by means of high-resolution x-ray absorption spectrometry (see the Perspective by Schougaard). The exchange current density is then mapped for Li+ insertion and removal. At fast cycling rates, solid solutions form as Li+ is removed and inserted. However, at slow cycling rates, nanoscale phase separation occurs within battery particles, which eventually shortens battery life. Science, this issue p. 566; see also p. 543 X-ray microscopy shows the nanoscale evolution of the composition and reaction rate inside a Li-ion battery during cycling. The kinetics and uniformity of ion insertion reactions at the solid-liquid interface govern the rate capability and lifetime, respectively, of electrochemical devices such as Li-ion batteries. Using an operando x-ray microscopy platform that maps the dynamics of the Li composition and insertion rate in LixFePO4, we found that nanoscale spatial variations in rate and in composition control the lithiation pathway at the subparticle length scale. Specifically, spatial variations in the insertion rate constant lead to the formation of nonuniform domains, and the composition dependence of the rate constant amplifies nonuniformities during delithiation but suppresses them during lithiation, and moreover stabilizes the solid solution during lithiation. This coupling of lithium composition and surface reaction rates controls the kinetics and uniformity during electrochemical ion insertion.


Background & Objectives: The objectives the study was to explore the, attitude and perception of medical interns, who are in the verge of being registered medical practitioners about abortion care services in Nepal. Materials & Methods: This is a questionnaire based descriptive-cross-sectional study conducted among the 96 interns of the College of Medical Sciences. The questionnaire was semi structured consisting of questions on self-assessed educational program characteristics, attitudes and perceptions regarding abortions in the context of Nepal. Results: The response rate of the participants was 88.07%. The mean age of the respondents was 24.43±1.449 years. A total of 65 (67.7%) responded that the topic of reproductive health was adequately covered in their course of study and 31 (32.3%) opined that the topic was somewhat covered. Only two of the respondents self-assessed that their theoretical knowledge of sexual and reproductive health was very good while 68 (70.8%) told that it was good and 26 (27.1%) graded themselves as having just fair knowledge in the field. Twenty four (25.0%) responded that they had clinical practice in abortion care services during their course of study. Conclusion: The medical interns had been adequately exposed to the reproductive health though they had less clinical practice on abortion care services. The attitude and perceptions of the future health care providers should be understood to properly orient them to the clinical practice.


Through the determination of Hugoniot parameters, we can get useful information about high-pressure phase transition, equations of state (EOS), etc. of solids, without pressure calibration. We have performed the Hugoniot-measurement experiments on various kinds of hard materials of chalcogenides, oxides, nitrides and borides by using a high time-resolution streak camera system (inclined-mirror method) to investigate the yielding property, phase transition and EOS. It was found that almost all brittle materials behave as an elasto-isotropic solid unlike metals (elasto-plastic solid), except TiB2. The high-pressure phase transitions were observed for ZnS, ZnSe, TiO2, ZrO2, Gd3Ga5O12, AlN and B4C. Some oxide materials showed virtually incompressible property in the high-pressure phase region. Here, the Hugoniot-compression data are reviewed, and the yield property and phase transition of these hard materials are discussed, as well as the EOS of the high-pressure phase.


Objective To establish the ELISA kit of monoclonal antibodies to Clostridium difficile toxin A.Methods A sandwich ELISA was used.Flat-bottomed 96 well polystyrene microtitre plates were coated with 100 μl of purified rabbit monospecific antitoxin(8 μg/ml, capturing antibody) in carbonate buffer(pH9.6) and incubated overnight at 4℃, the plates were washed once in PBS containing 0.05% Tween-20, pH7.4 (PBST). After 200 μl of 10% BSA in PBS-T was added to the wells and incubated at 37℃ for 2h, washed 5 times in PBS-T with 3 min incubation at room temperature between each wash, 100 μl of C. difficile toxin A or test samples in PBS-T were added to each well and incubated for 1h at 37℃, washed 5 times. Then 100 μl of 1:1000 diluted monoclonal antibodies IgG-Horseradish peroxidase conjugate(detecting antibody) was added for 1h at 37℃, wells were washed five times with PBS-T, and 0.1ml of tetramethylbenzidines substrate was added to each well. After 15 min at 37℃ in dark, the reactions were stopped by the addition of 1 drop of 2M sulfuric acid and the A450 was measured.Results The tested specimens included culture filtrates of 2 strains of toxigenic C. difficile, 2 non-toxigenic strains of C. difficile, 26 strains of E. coli, 2 strains of S. dysenteriae, 1 strains of Bifidobacterium, 5 strains of V. cholera, 2 strain of S. typhi, 7 strains of C. botulinum, 1 strain of toxigenic C. sordllii, and 1 strain of C. butyricum. The ELISA demonstrated high specificity and good sensitivity, it detected amounts of toxin A as low as 0.1ng/ml.Conclusion An ELISA kits with high specificity and good sensitivity for the rapid detection of C. difficile toxin A was presented. It will be a beneficial tool to clinical detection of Clostridium difficile toxin A.


This paper provides an overview of some demonstration projects, which utilize Satellite Earth Observation, Navigation and Telecommunications technologies to the benefits of user communities in different domains with a high potential economic/societal impact. The main objective of the European Space Agency Integrated Applications Promotion (IAP) program is to foster the development of sustainable user-driven services integrating multiple space technologies. The presented applications are related to agriculture (GrapeLook), energy management (INTOGENER) and the maritime domain (SEMAFORS). For each project the user communities and their needs, the selected technical solution, the innovative elements and the operational prospects are discussed.


Background: An engorged venous plexus may mimic nerve compression from a herniated disk on the magnetic resonance (MR) studies as they both have similar signal intensities. During a laminectomy, if an engorged venous plexus is encountered instead of a disk herniation, there may be marked unanticipated bleeding. Case Description: A 58-year-old female who had a prior anterior lumbar interbody fusion later returned with recurrent radiculopathy. Adjacent segment disease from a spinal disk herniation was suspected based on the surgical history, physical examination, and imaging (MRI) findings. Rather than a disk, an engorged venous plexuses (EVP) was encountered intraoperatively. Conclusion: Here, we discussed our findings regarding a lumbar EVP rather than a herniated disk and reviewed the current literature. Although rare, a higher index of suspicion for these vascular malformations based on combined historical information and MRI studies should allow one to better detect and/or anticipate an EVP rather than a routine disk.


Authors value the resistance given from biological tissues in brachifacial, mormofacial and dolicofacial patients to know current intensity used during orthodontic therapy for bone remodelling. This study shows that a thicker biological structure gives more resistance to the current flow than other tipologies.


Medical systems used for exploration or diagnostic helping impose high applicative constraints such as real time image acquisition and displaying. This is especially the case when they are used in surgical room where a high reactivity is required from operators. Large computing capacity is required in order to obtain valuable results. Integrators mainly prefer the use of general purpose architectures such as workstations (Gomes, 2011). They have to cope with manufacturing cost and setup simplicity. As general purpose devices need a large amount of space, the main part of the processing is deported from the handled diagnostic tools to an external unit. For example, this is the case of endoscopic device. Today, dedicated rooms are usually used for this purpose in many hospitals. Their associated external computers that are used for diagnostic system are cumbersome and are also energy consumers. These issues are too problematic to use efficiently these systems in a limited space. Indeed, they restrain the movements of the medical staff and complexify the deployment on the ground for military or humanitarian operations. Therefore it seems logical to integrate the maximum computing capacities diagnostic into helping devices themselves to make them completely handleable. A large part of computing requirement of these systems is devoted to image processing. They can be quite simple like images reconstruction and enhancement, features detector or 3D reconstruction. Today, a large part of these processing is mainly embedded inside handled consumer's devices such as digital cameras or advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS). By the analysis of both medical and consumer's applications systems, it is possible to notice that they rely on similar algorithmic approaches. Also, most of integration constraints are similar if someone wants to miniaturize these consumer devices. This mainly concerns the chips silicon areas, their power consumption and their computing capacities. For example, a digital video sensor and image processor integrated to a cell phone cannot reach more than a half watt of power consumption for a silicon area of less than a dozen square millimeters. This is also the case for one of the most integrated medical diagnostic device which is the endocapscule. It form factor (Harada, 2008) limits components size while its autonomy is driven by energies efficiency. The whole device may not exceed a Watt of power consumption. About a half Watt is devoted to the part dedicated to computation for diagnostic, especially based on image processing. However, this part depends on the device features, such as communication systems and mechanical elements that may be used for mobility or biopsy. Integrators also demands versatility in order to design unique products that can be used for different targets. For example, endoscopic exploration of larynx or intestinal and lung exploration do not uses the same devices, but these applications are all based on similar


Order execution methods using various combinations of limit and market orders in U.S. and European futures markets are investigated in this article. Similar to smart order routing in stocks, smart order execution can noticeably reduce futures trading costs. This is important because, in more frequent trading cases, transaction costs can add up to 50% of fund performance. There is much speculation and very little scientific research on whether algos (order execution tactics/methods) can produce the smallest slippage. We try to fill this gap in the literature by doing a simulation study using 0.4 trillion ticksized real world data. We obtained the tick data from a systematic trading firm and simulated various execution tactics aiming to reduce average slippage per contract. We generated trades uniformly and investigated the best tactics to execute them. The research concludes that the best tactic overall is the limit then market tactic, in which we place a limit order on the last seen price, hold fort seconds, and then convert to market order. Transaction costs can be reduced up to 70% for some markets in comparison to the benchmark. In some specific illiquid markets like platinum and palladium, however, this method increases slippage. We note that different markets vary in terms of the best tactics to use, and the methods we have discovered may not hold for large orders, as these orders may start to infl uence the market.


Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is an emerging concept in Information Systems (IS) research providing the means for an efficient administration of digital content. However, there are lots of obstacles which may face enterprises when adopting ECM. In particular the diligent analysis of an organisation"s individual content situation often turns out to be a major success factor. However, adequate guidelines for performing content analyses can hardly be found in ECM literature. In this paper, we propose a process model for analysing content and present the first results that have been gained during its application within the Hilti Corporation.


A dispensing utensil (102) including a body (104') having: a carcass (104); and a pliable top wall (112) and a bottom wall (106), the walls (112, 106) supported by the carcass (104), wherein the pliable top wall (112) and bottom wall (106) define a cavity (124) for storing dispensable cavity contents; the utensil (102) further including: a lid (108) connected to the pliable top wall (112) and openable about a hinge (114) formed by the pliable top wall (112); a seal (110) sealing the lid (108) to the body (104') to seal the cavity (124); a tool portion (150); and a handle portion (152); wherein the seal (110) may be broken and the lid (108) opened about the hinge (114) formed by the pliable top wall (112), thereby allowing the cavity contents to be dispensed.


BACKGROUND/AIM
Scientists have been in quest for the best in vivo model to evaluate chemotherapies for radioiodine-resistant metastatic thyroid carcinomas. Human adipose tissue-derived stromal/stem cells (ASCs) have been found to promote in vitro growth and in vivo tumorigenesis. In the present study, we describe a novel model of metastatic human thyroid carcinoma by combining ASCs with the papillary thyroid cancer, K1 cell line.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Three groups of severe combined immunodefecient mice were investigated. The first group was injected subcutaneously with K1 cells plus ASCs, the second group with K1 cell only, and the last group with ASCs only. Mean tumor volumes and standard deviations were calculated and compared.

RESULTS
Concomitant injection of ASCs with the K1 cell line led to the development of significantly larger tumors compared to the other groups (p<0.05). In addition, the lungs of this group demonstrated gross tumor metastasis and pathological features of high-grade neoplasms.

CONCLUSION
In the present study we describe a novel mouse model using ASCs with the potential to be used for assessment of new treatments for the management of metastatic thyroid carcinomas.


Abstract Program Area Committee 2 of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) provides guidance for radiation safety in occupational settings in a variety of industries and activities. The Committee completed three reports in recent years covering recommendations for the development and administration of radiation safety programs for smaller educational institutions, requirements for self-assessment programs that improve radiation safety and identify and correct deficiencies, and a comprehensive process for effective investigation of radiological incidents. In addition, the Committee jointly completed oversight of a report on radioactive nanomaterials, which focused on gaps within current radiation safety programs. Ongoing work currently consists of a report on sealed radioactive source controls. Future efforts may deal with operational radiation safety programs in fields such as the safe use of handheld and portable x-ray fluorescence analyzers and an update to the existing NCRP report on Instrumentation and Monitoring Methods for Radiation Protection (1978).


This study concerns a large landslide in the Reunion Island (Grand Ilet), where the extreme climatic conditions (cyclonic activity) produce large deformations within the active landslide, resulting in displacements large as 3 cm per 12 hours. The surficial moving layers are constituted two layers: the first one is characterised by heterogeneous volcanic terrains; the upper layer is constituted of breccia materials resulting from ancient debris avalanche. The thickness of the surficial moving layers is high, ranging from 80m to 200m. The objective of the study is to understand the mechanisms leading to the evolution of the mass movements. For that, characterization of the site, monitoring of the movement, and modelling the hydromechanical processes are necessary. Moreover, different hypotheses of the initiation of the landslide have to be tested. In particular, the evolution of the water level correlated to the precipitations, as well as the erosion of the toe of the landslide, are analyzed. Characterization of the landslide is performed through different in situ measurements, such as electrical tomography. It permits to assess both the geometrical and geomechanical characteristics of the unstable mass. In situ mechanical tests have also been realized to obtain geomechanical parameters useful for the hydromechanical model. All the measured geometry and parameters of layers are then included in a 2D finite element model. The computations are performed using a finite element code with an infinitesimal strain and two-phase formulation assumptions. Preliminary geomechanical simulations are realized, permitting to highlight the hydraulic conditions changes on the mechanical behavior of the landslide. The computed displacements are then compared to the recorded data. The results are analyzed and discussed.


The sense of agency (SoA) refers to the subjective feeling that an individual can control their own action with their own will. However, it is still unclear which aspects of the motor control process precisely affect the sense of agency. In this study, we investigated how the SoA is modulated by the online motor performance (trajectory error) and the outcome of the reaching movement (endpoint error). The results showed that the invalid priming and the visual feedback delay significantly increased both the trajectory and endpoint errors and that these errors significantly attenuated the SoA. The further correlation analyses showed that the decrease in SoA was significantly correlated with the trajectory error, but not with the endpoint error, when the error was explicitly noticed. We suggest that the deterioration in online motor performance, at least in a reaching movement, is the main cause of the attenuation in the SoA.