(1874-1962) was scientifically successful. After getting her Ph. D. at Uppsala University in 1908 she became the first woman to work as an assistant professor in physics in Sweden, albeit not in a paid position. Even so, her scientific work ended in 1914 when she took a position as a school teacher. von Bahr faced many obstacles, e.g. the Swedish constitution, which prohibited women from holding professional positions at the university. Despite this von Bahr managed to work as a physicist for six years. In this article it is argued that network connections with male scientists enabled her work. Most important for von Bahr was the collaboration with the head of the physics department, Knut Angstrom. He gave her a position as a teaching assistant and created other professional opportunities for her. After his death von Bahr decided to move to Berlin where she found a new, extensive network of physicists and participated in several fruitful collaborations, von Bahr also had a friendly relationship with C.W. Oseen, a professor of theoretical physics in Uppsala. This relation did not generate professional openings but provided information on physics research, especially about the budding quantum theories. From these examples I argue that it was through a merging of institutionally grounded relationships on the one hand and informal connections on the other that von Bahrs set of associations became fruitful. This argument is explored in relation to research on social networks, which has tended to differentiate networks from institutions, professions and other formal structures. A second argument is that von Bahr's position in the scientific structures was gendered. This discussion draws upon work in feminist science studies that has argued the importance of analyzing the peripheries of scientific structures. From this perspective the article elaborates an important point: women like von Bahr were insiders and outsiders at the same time. In many ways she acted like an insider: she applied for academic positions and published papers. But she was a woman and therefore constantly an outsider. In the article it is argued that through her position as insider and outsider she lived on the periphery of physics. This position was not fixed; it was rather in constant flux. Her position was a mix between membership and non-membership, between recognition and invisibility. It is furthermore argued that the case of von Bahr shows the importance of exploring the borderlands of academic science, since they contain a multitude of positions. In focusing on the peripheries of science, history and sociology of science from a gender perspective can give a better account of the multilayeredness of scientific networks. In that way it can move the analysis beyond "women in science" to contributing to a richer network analysis.


The spacing factor for the proportional number of small air voids ¯Lps as proposed by Walker in 1980 and the air-void parameters normally obtained by ASTM Practice for Microscopical Determination of Air-Void Content and Parameters of the Air-Void System in Hardened Concrete (C 457) were each correlated with the durability factor and weight loss found by ASTM Test for Resistance of Concrete to Rapid Freezing and Thawing (C 666) Procedure A for 151 concretes. The correlation coefficients were examined, and it was found that for the durability factor the classical spacing factor from ASTM C 457 gave a slightly but not significantly better correlation than did ¯Lps. The 151 concretes were divided into three groups according to their source. In no case did the correlation obtained from ¯Lps significantly exceed the spacing factor calculated from ASTM C 457.


Even just a decade ago having a chapter dedicated to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in a book on methods in history would have been seen as unusual, but such is the development of digital mapping and spatial technologies over recent years that historians cannot now afford to be without them. This chapter provides an introduction to GIS and its applica- tion and potential for historical study. Given the scope of the chapter it can only be reasonably cursory and aims to show what can be done with GIS in historical research (and teaching), with some pointers for historians on how they might employ GIS and spatial technologies in their own work. It should become clear that GIS is no longer a highly specialised and technical approach to handling spatial and temporal information but an increasingly user-friendly and accessible basis for integrating, analysing and visualising historical and geographical data of a wide variety, both qualitative and quantitative in nature. With this in mind, the chapter sets out: first, what GIS is and how it works; second, why historians might wish to use GIS; thirdly, how GIS is useful for providing insights into the past; and lastly, what the future might be in using GIS for historical research, particularly its problems and challenges. The chapter also provides some directions for further study, including the locations of a growing number of digital online resources that use GIS to disseminate historical material.


Access to the central venous circulation for chemotherapy infusion has traditionally been achieved surgically via the subclavian or jugular routes. With ongoing improvements in technical management, alternative means of central venous access have been developed such as arm-port or forearm-port implantation under imaging guidance. Venous arm port devices implantation was attempted in 200 cancer patients under fluoroscopic guidance, after arm venography. The 4% failure rate was due to the inability to perform the arm venogram, venous spasm or presence of a large contrast medium hematoma (rolling vein). Median follow-up was 180 days (range 4-671) and the complication rate was 13.3% (0.7/1,000 patients-day). Twenty-six complications occurred and were due to venous thrombosis (n = 3), large brachial hematoma (n = 1), local (n = 7) and systemic sepsis (n = 1), skin dehiscence (n = 4), fissuration (n = 4), dislocation (n = 2), obstruction (n = 2), and twist of the port (n = 2), leading to a 8.5% removal rate. Main indications for arm port implantation may be breast cancer, previous arm or cervical venous thrombosis, morbid obesity, respiratory insufficiency, previous surgical failure and the irradiated neck.


Unusually among European constitutions, the Italian Constitution provides not just for formal equality, but in Article 3, paragraph 2 also places the state under a duty to intervene on the basis of substantive equality, to remove obstacles to the effective participation of workers in the political, social and economic organisation of the country. A more specific anti-discrimination provision is contained in the Statute of Workers' Rights of 1970. The tension between the social democratic ideal of equality in terms of redistribution of income, and more recent, market-orientated conceptions of equality of opportunity, is present in doctrinal debates and in the evolution of case law. The equality principle is likely to retain its importance in part because its meaning is capable of shifting over time, so as to adjust to new political and economic conditions.


In England and in Germany, until the 1960s the policing of public protests (as a special field of policing public disorder) aimed at an all-encompassing social control. A strong focus was put on completely controlling a defined physical territory as well as the movements of persons or groups, leaving only very few pockets for independent spatial appropriations. The violent clashes of the 1980s deeply challenged this model of social control as regards protest policing. In both countries, urban localization was an important factor which can explain these challenges: Local citizens self-confidently claimed the right to protest on their streets in their neighborhood and present their aims, thus using local urban space as a multifold power resource for identity formation, for envisioning the future of the urban, for protesting for local political issues, and also for consumer needs. Implementing an alternative model of protest policing could have helped to avoid or minimize violent confrontations in urban settings. Such an urban control protest policing would have had to be based on interventions that were decentralized in focus, sensitive to space and local issues, and understood the repercussions police interventions could have on street protestors, especially regarding the potential escalation of physical violence. In England as well as in Western Germany, the hermetic internal culture of the police (with its inherent pattern of masculinity) was the biggest obstacle which worked against abandoning the concept of completely controlling a physical territory and the movements of people in it. In Germany, the abstract state-centered thinking common among policemen ("seeing like a state") and the strict separation of day-to-day routine policing on the one side and the policing of protests which were labeled 'political' on the other side worked massively against establishing an alternative model of protest policing. In England implementing new models of policing was obstructed by a self-image of the police as a neutral mediator of social tensions as well as by the institutional racism of the police.


This study discusses the historical evolution of inns and innkeeping in Jewish society in Roman Palestine and examines their social implications, and in particular, the relationship between opposite ends of the social ladder, and what this meant for the status of women. After a sketch of innkeeping in the Ancient Near East from the third millennium B.C.E., the focus is on the Roman period. During that period, it is argued, innkeeping, originally associated with sexual promiscuity and the lowest strata of society, gained acceptance only with difficulty in the religiously conservative Jewish society of the time. Nevertheless, in time it became quite common and rabbinic sources of the 2nd and 3rd centuries C.E. take it for granted.


The capability to determine core-electron binding energies (CEBEs) is vital in the analysis of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the continued development of light sources has made inner shell spectroscopy of heavier elements increasingly accessible. Density functional theory is widely used to determine CEBEs of lighter elements (boron-fluorine). It is shown that good performance of exchange-correlation functionals for these elements does not necessarily translate to the calculation of CEBEs for the heavier elements from the next row of the periodic table, and in general, larger errors are observed. Two strategies are explored that improve the accuracy of the calculated CEBEs. The first is to apply element and functional dependent energy corrections, and the second is a reparametrization of a short-range corrected functional. This functional is able to reproduce experimental phosphorus and sulfur K-edge CEBEs with an average error of 0.15 eV demonstrating the importance of reducing the self-interaction error associated with the core electrons and represents progress toward a density functional theory calculation that performs equally well for ionization at the K-edge of all elements.


Background and Aims: Sfursat is an Italian wine produced with partially dehydrated Nebbiolo grapes in the Valtellina region which is located at high altitude. The research aims to understand the influence of fruit exposure on the rate of water loss by harvested fruit and the influence of exposure and dehydration on the content of phenolic substances and anthocyanins in the wine. Methods and Results: Clusters of Nebbiolo grapes from control vines (ND) and from vines that were defoliated at fruitset (DFS) or post-veraison (DPV) were harvested at a sugar concentration of about 230 g/L (there was no significant difference among the treatments), and dehydrated at 10, 20 or 30°C and at 60% relative humidity (RH), and air flow. Fruit were sampled at 10 and 20% weight loss (WL). Leaf removal had little effect on the physical characteristics of bunches and on the anthocyanins content and profile of harvested Nebbiolo grapes but affected dehydration. At 10 and 20°C, DFS fruit lost mass more slowly than DPV and ND fruit. In ND fruit, 20% WL reduced anthocyanins from 554 mg/kg fresh mass (FM) at harvest to 458, 432 and 396 mg/kg FM at 10, 20 and 30°C, respectively. In DFS and DPV berries, anthocyanins increased during dehydration at 10°C. At harvest, ND berries had a lower content of total stilbenes than those from defoliated vines. Dehydration (10°C, 20% WL) increased stilbene concentration in ND and DPV fruit. Dehydration at 10°C induced a rise in the flavonol concentration in fruit from defoliated vines. Catechin concentration was 106.5 mg/kg DM (dry mass), the highest value in ND berries at harvest. Wine was produced only from grapes dehydrated at 10°C. Wine from DFS fruit had a higher content of phenolic substances (2704.8 mg/L) and anthocyanins (104 mg/L) than that from DPV (2454.9 and 96.2 mg/L, respectively) and ND (2301.9 and 100.5 mg/L, respectively) fruit. Conclusions: Postharvest dehydration was slower where vines had been defoliated and resulted in changes in the ratios among groups of phenolic substances as well as among single phenolic components. Significance of the Study: In Nebbiolo grapes for Sfurzat wine production, defoliation at fruit set enables fruit to reach phenolic maturity at a lower sugar concentration allowing dehydration to increase sugar concentration without producing excessively alcoholic wines.


We describe the clinical case of 80 years, caucasian woman, with personal history of osteoporosis and chronic normochromic normocytic anemia (NN). She had a three month history of myalgias of the girdle, stiffness in the morning, exceeding 1 hour, associated with inflammatory arthralgia of the small joints of hands and feet. Complementary exams showed normocytic normochromic anemia with Hg 9.8 g/dL; ESR 44 mm/h; CRP 7 mg/dL. Given the profile suggestive of Polymyalgia Rheumatica started prednisolone 10 mg/day with favorable clinical response. Four months after treatment she started paresthesias of right hand and foot, polaquiuria, petequial lesions in lower limbs and inability to walk; there was worsening of anemia and elevation of the biological parameters of inflammation, beginning of renal insufficiency with creatinine clearance 22 ml/min, proteinuria and eritrocituria. Renal biopsy was compatible with Wegener's granulomatosis/microscopic poliangeite. Vasculitis is a rare disease of the elderly and its clinical presentation is varied. The arteritis of giant cells and Polymyalgia Rheumatica are more common in the elderly. It is not often Polymyalgia-like presentation in cases of Wegener's granulomatosis/microscopic polyangitis.


Macronutrients play important roles in plants and control many of their physiological and biochemical processes. Moreover, they are required for livestock and human health. So, this experiment was conducted in 2010 in the Veterinary Science Research Institute, Karaj, Iran, to evaluate the effect of planting time on the nutrient uptake of two amaranth varieties. The experiment was conducted in split plot in the form of a randomized complete block design with four replications and two factors: planting time as the main factor (spring and summer) and variety as the sub factor (Amaranthus hypochondriacus L. var. Cim and var. Kharkofski). Results indicated that planting time, variety and their interactions significantly affected all the measured traits, except for the effect of the interaction which was not significant on P content. Mean comparison indicated that N content was the highest (2.83%) in the interaction of spring × Cim. K and Mg contents were the highest (0.78 and 0.69%, respectively) in spring × Kharkofski. Finally, P and Ca contents were the highest (0.76 and 0.97%, respectively) in summer × Kharkofski.


The origin of novel protein-coding genes de novo was once considered so improbable as to be impossible. In less than a decade, and especially in the last five years, this view has been overturned by extensive evidence from diverse eukaryotic lineages. There is now evidence that this mechanism has contributed a significant number of genes to genomes of organisms as diverse as Saccharomyces, Drosophila, Plasmodium, Arabidopisis and human. From simple beginnings, these genes have in some instances acquired complex structure, regulated expression and important functional roles. New genes are often thought of as dispensable late additions; however, some recent de novo genes in human can play a role in disease. Rather than an extremely rare occurrence, it is now evident that there is a relatively constant trickle of proto-genes released into the testing ground of natural selection. It is currently unknown whether de novo genes arise primarily through an 'RNA-first' or 'ORF-first' pathway. Either way, evolutionary tinkering with this pool of genetic potential may have been a significant player in the origins of lineage-specific traits and adaptations.


This paper presents a model simulating rail roughness growth in which the interaction of a wheelset with the track is considered. The aim is to investigate any possible mechanism for roughness growth due to the coupling between the vertical dynamics, the torsional vibration across the axle of the wheelset and the non-steady contact mechanics. The time-domain simulations are carried out for a driven wheelset on tangent track. Both rigid and flexible are considered with parameter variations for moments of the wheelset, vehicle speeds and wavelengths of initial roughnesses. The 2D non-Hertzian and non-steady contact model used in simulations are based on influence coefficients obtained from a boundary element model. The nonlinear development of the rail roughnesses after millions of wheelset passages is also presented.


Background: Hearing difficulty negatively impacts individual relationships with family and friends and other social relationships.

Objective:This research was conducted to determine the factors significantly influencing self-reported hearing difficulty (SHD) and further to assess the influence of SHD on social relationship among older adults in Ghana.

Methods: World Health Organization's Studyon Global AGEing and Adult Health Ghana dataset for older adults 50 yr. and above was used for this study. Social relationship and hearing difficulty were the primary and secondary outcomes respectively. A modified Poisson with Mahalanobis distance matching within propensity caliper was employed to determine the different influences on social relationships by SHD. All analysis was performed using the statistical software Stata Version 15 and with a confidence interval (CI) of 95%.

Results: The prevalence of SHD among older adults in Ghana was 19.5% (95%CI=16.9-22.3). Rao-Scott test of association showed that all covariates (demographic characteristics, self-rated health, quality of life, life satisfaction and unhealthy lifestyle) were significantly associated with SHD (p<0.05). Sensitivity analysis showed that, SHD predicted a significantly decreased probability count of social relationship among older adults with SHD [adjusted prevalence ratio(95%CI)=-0.08(-0.15-0.02)]. Binary and ordinal outcomes showed that among the older adults with SHD, only 35% and 70% respectively were likely to have a good social relationship [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) (95%CI)=0.65(0.46-0.90) and aOR (95%CI)=0.70(0.51-0.96)respectively].

Conclusion: Overall, the prevalence of hearing loss in older adults in Ghana was 19.5%, and was higher among older adult females. This high prevalence of SHD had significant negative effect on social relationships among the older adults. In line with global efforts to reduce effect of hearing loss, it is imperative that, clinical assessment of hearing loss should always consider the social characteristics of the older adult.


For years, there has been long lasting effects on Central Nervous system. It is the most common single nutrient disorder from infancy to old people. Iron is very essential component required and involves in metabolism of energy, gene regulation, cell organogenesis, transport of oxygen and storage of oxygen in muscle tissue, enzymatic reactions, neurotransmitter and protein synthesis[1-3]. Anemia is the most common blood disorder affecting about a quarter of people globally. Iron-deficiency anemia affects nearly 1 billion [4]. It is more common in females than males among children, during pregnancy and in the elderly. It decreases the ability to work and increases the cost of medical care. The amount of hemoglobin reduced in the blood is referred as Anemia.it decreases the carrying capacity of oxygen to blood. Three main types of anemia 1. Blood loss – GI bleeding, trauma, thalassemia 2. Decrease red blood cell production – iron deficient, lack of vitamin B12 and various co-enzymes. 3. Increase break down of RBC – mutation in genotype of an individual Deficient of micro and trace nutrients, because of poverty and food insecurity lead to cause iron depletion in blood. A recent study estimated that depletion in nutrients remains a cause of 3.1 million deaths of children and chiefly observed in the areas of Africa and Asia.


This study presents an optimal number of electric buses in the solar-assisted smart public transit system and its failure analysis. Electric buses are used to perform the mass transportation in the Guwahati city, Assam, India. The charging points have been provided through the ring road of the city to charge the electric buses. Every charging point consists of a high-capacity energy storage device (ESD) and the solar plant for achieving the smooth functionality of the transportation system. Optimal numbers of electric buses have been determined as a function of the load, the ESD, the solar plant and the passenger total. Simulations have been carried out to show the system response for the optimal number of electric buses and for the failures that exist in the system. Every charging point consists of a fuzzy logic controller to control the power flow among the grid, ESD and the solar plant.


Apoptosis is a morphologically distinct form of cell death which occurs in a wide variety of liver diseases. In this overview chapter, we review: (1) the current definitions of apoptosis; (2) the biochemical pathways effecting apoptosis; and (3) the intracellular pathways regulating apoptosis. We also describe how apoptosis is identified in the liver and review the ligand/receptor interactions which trigger hepatobiliary apoptosis. Finally, we speculate on potential therapeutic applications for modulating apoptosis in human liver diseases. This information is meant to provide a foundation for the following chapters each focused on a specific role of apoptosis in liver diseases.


Digital circuit design technologies based on Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata (QCA) have many advantages over CMOS, such as higher intrinsic switching speed up to Terahertz, lower power consumption, smaller circuit footprint, and higher throughput due to compatibility of the inherent signal propagation scheme with pipelining. Hence, QCA is a perfect candidate to provide a circuit design framework for applications such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) accelerators, where real-time energy-efficient performance needs to be delivered at low cost. A novel QCA design approach based on optimal mix of Majority and NAND-NOR-INVERTER (NNI) gates with USE (Universal, Scalable, Efficient) clocking scheme, has been investigated in this work for latency and energy consumption improvements to fundamental building blocks in AI-accelerators, including multipliers, adders, accumulators and SRAMs. The common $4\times 4$ Vedic multiplier has been redesigned using the proposed approach, and simulated to yield 62.8% reduction in cell count, 82.2% reduction in area, and 71.2% reduction in latency. 83% reduction in cell count, 94.5% reduction in area, and 94.6% reduction in latency was simulated for the proposed 8-bit PIPO register. The proposed SRAM cell design is estimated to have similar improvement figures to those achieved by the sub-blocks, such as the D-Latch, which has been simulated to exhibit 44.4% reduction in cell count, 50% reduction in both area and latency, and 73% reduction in energy dissipation. The contributions from this work can be directly applied to low cost, high throughput, energy efficient AI-accelerators that can potentially deliver orders of magnitude better energy-delay characteristics than their CMOS counterparts, and significantly better energy-delay characteristics than state-of-the-art QCA implementations.


This paper summarizes studies that investigated the relation between temporal discounting and alcohol consumption. The first study compared heavy and light social drinkers, and the second study compared problem and light drinkers, on the degree to which they discounted the value of (hypothetical) amounts of money available after a series of delays. Heavy social drinkers and problem drinkers both showed higher rates of temporal discounting than light drinkers, and this difference was stronger in the second study. Both of these laboratory studies found that a hyperbolic function more accurately described temporal discounting than an exponential function. A third study evaluated predictors of relapse and continued resolution in problem drinkers who attempted to quit problem drinking without treatment. The outcome groups were distinguished by the preresolution proportions of discretionary expenditures they allocated to alcohol and savings. The data from these studies are consistent with extending behavioral theories of intertemporal choice to characterizing the determinants of alcohol consumption; they also are consistent with more general behavioral economic and economic theories of addiction that predict a positive relation between temporal discounting and addiction.


Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce mental illness stigma among healthcare students and professionals. Method: A literature search was conducted using the Cochrane Library and PubMed. Results: Randomised controlled trial level evidence demonstrated that interventions involving direct contact, indirect filmed contact or an educational email effectively reduced stigma in the short term. Role play was the only intervention with randomised controlled trial level evidence demonstrating no effect. There was not enough evidence to suggest that any intervention can maintain stigma reduction over time. Conclusions: Stigma reduction in healthcare students and professionals needs to be sustained over time if it is to result in positive changes for people living with mental illness. Further research is needed to determine which interventions, if any, can achieve this. Only then will large-scale implementation of a stigma reduction intervention be feasible and beneficial to people living with mental illness.


Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models are analyzed using an established cloud clustering methodology. This enables a comparison of cloud representation in models and observations. The simulation of stratocumulus clouds over the Southern Ocean is shown to have changed substantially from earlier generation models. The CMIP6 models analyzed show stratocumulus clouds now occur more often in simulations than in International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) observations, but are not bright enough compared to Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data. This is in contrast to the "too few, too bright" problem, which has characterized prior model simulations of stratocumulus clouds, particularly over the Southern Ocean. The cloud clusters also enable the calculation of mean and compensating shortwave cloud radiative effect (SW CRE) errors from model data. The compensating errors are shown to be much larger than mean errors suggesting the CMIP6 models still have much to improve in their cloud representation. A statistically significant negative relationship between the mean and compensating errors in SW CRE over the Southern Ocean is identified. This relationship is observed elsewhere, but is only significant over the Southern Ocean. This implies model tuning efforts are hiding biases in the representation of clouds in this region. CMIP6 models have been shown to have a higher equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) relative to CMIP5 simulations. The link between ECS and SW CRE mean and compensating errors is investigated but no evidence of a relationship between these variables was found.


Effects of fluoride (F) on photosynthetic activity of maize and wheat plants were studied by analyzing chlorophyll a (Chl a) fluorescence induction kinetics. The results revealed that F affects the overall primary photochemistry by inhibiting the number of active reaction centres (RC) of Photosystem II (PSII). However, the efficiency of each of the active RC is not affected. As compared to wheat (C3 plant), photosynthesis of maize (C4 plant) was relatively more inhibited by F toxicity. Results from the present investigation strongly indicate that the most significantly changed Chl a fluorescence parameters could be used as an efficient tool for the diagnosis of F toxicity in maize. The present findings may be helpful to select suitable crops in F endemic areas.


Many statistical applications involve models for which it is difficult to evaluate the likelihood, but from which it is relatively easy to sample. Approximate Bayesian computation is a likelihood-free method for implementing Bayesian inference in such cases. We present results on the asymptotic variance of estimators obtained using approximate Bayesian computation in a large-data limit. Our key assumption is that the data are summarized by a fixed-dimensional summary statistic that obeys a central limit theorem. We prove asymptotic normality of the mean of the approximate Bayesian computation posterior. This result also shows that, in terms of asymptotic variance, we should use a summary statistic that is the same dimension as the parameter vector, p; and that any summary statistic of higher dimension can be reduced, through a linear transformation, to dimension p in a way that can only reduce the asymptotic variance of the posterior mean. We look at how the Monte Carlo error of an importance sampling algorithm that samples from the approximate Bayesian computation posterior affects the accuracy of estimators. We give conditions on the importance sampling proposal distribution such that the variance of the estimator will be the same order as that of the maximum likelihood estimator based on the summary statistics used. This suggests an iterative importance sampling algorithm, which we evaluate empirically on a stochastic volatility model.


With the establishment of the Global Forest Expert Panels (GFEP) initiative in the year 2007, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) created an international mechanism which effectively links scientific knowledge with political decision-making on forests. The GFEP responds directly to key forest-related policy questions by consolidating available scientific knowledge and expertise on these questions at a global level. It provides decision-makers with the most relevant, objective and accurate information, and thus makes an essential contribution to international forest governance. This report entitled "Forests, Trees and Landscapes for Food Security and Nutrition" presents the results of the fourth global scientific assessment undertaken so far in the framework of GFEP. Previous assessments addressed the adaptation of forests and people to climate change; international forest governance; and the relationship between biodiversity, carbon, forests and people. All assessment reports were prepared by internationally recognised scientists from a variety of biophysical and social science disciplines. They have all been presented to decision-makers across relevant international policy fora. In this way, GFEP supports a more coherent policy dialogue about the role of forests in addressing broader environmental, social and economic challenges. The current report reflects the importance of policy coherence and integration more than any previous GFEP assessment. It comes at a time when the United Nations General Assembly seeks to adopt a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which build upon the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and converge with the post-2015 development agenda. In this context, the eradication of hunger, realisation of food security and the improvement of nutrition are of particular relevance. By 2050, the international community will face the challenge of providing 9 billion people with food, shelter and energy. Despite impressive productivity increases, there is growing evidence that conventional agricultural strategies will fall short of eliminating global hunger and malnutrition. The assessment report in hand provides comprehensive scientific evidence on how forests, trees and landscapes can be – and must be - an integral part of the solution to this global problem. In other words, we must connect the dots and see the bigger picture. The review of the International Arrangement on Forests by the member states of the United Nations Forum on Forests provides a unique opportunity to integrate forests into the SDGs in a holistic manner and to promote synergies in the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda across multiple levels of governance. It is my hope that those with a responsibility for forests, food security and nutrition at all levels will find this report, and its accompanying policy brief, a useful source of information and inspiration.


Previous research has demonstrated that ethanol produces differential effects on non-spatial or recognition memory and spatial memory; spatial memory deficits were consistently found to be more persistent than non-spatial memory deficits. Ethanol-produced deficits have also been found to be dependent on age at exposure, and exposure during adolescence produced more persistent deficits than when exposure was experienced by older subjects.  The current study investigated the effects of a "binge-like' 5 day episode of ethanol exposure (1.0g/kg x 5) on performance in non-spatial and spatial forms of the novel object recognition (NOR) task. Subjects were exposed either during adolescence or following maturity. Tests were conducted 2 or 9 days following exposure. NOR was tested following inter-trial intervals of 1, 3, or 5 minutes. Data from mature rats could not be obtained or analysed due to procedural issues that precluded NOR measurement. Control rats failed to demonstrate NOR at any of the time intervals. Reasons for these negative findings are discussed.


Recently, more and more server tasks are done using full automation, including grading tasks for students in the college courses, integrating tasks for programmers in big projects and server-based transactions, and visualization tasks for researchers in a data-dense topic. Using automation on servers provides a great possibility for reducing the burden on manual tasks. Although server tools like CI/CD for continuous integration and Hexo for automated blog deployment have been developed, they're highly dedicated to certain functionalities and thus lack general usage. In this paper, we introduce a Golang-based automation framework that reacts to the events happening on GitHub in a multi-thread approach. This framework utilizes a queue to arrange the tasks submitted and execute each task with a thread in a preemptive manner. We then use the project GoAutoGrader to illustrate a specific implementation of this framework and its value in implementing high-freedom server applications. As Golang is developing in a rapid way because of its incredible parallel programming efficiency and a super-easy way to learn on the basis of C-like programming languages, we decide to develop this system in Golang.


The last decade has witnessed an increased visibility of grassroots feminist activism in Britain. This article concerns the representation of such activism in the left-leaning newspaper The Guardian, and focuses on issues related to race and whiteness. Drawing on anti-racist critiques of "white feminism," the article presents a close reading of three articles which have appeared in recent years. Combining a content and narrative analysis, the article unpicks underlying assumptions about British feminism, and identifies three specific narrative techniques which are problematic in relation to race. These construct contemporary feminist activism as: (1) a continuation of a white feminist legacy; (2) a unified movement of "like-minded" individuals; and (3) "diverse" and "happy." Presented as common sense, these narratives erase power differences between women, as well as a multitude of feminist organising in Britain, including black British feminism. While anti-racist feminists repeatedly challenge such representations, including occasionally on The Guardian's own blog, this appears to have little effect on the dominant constructions of feminism in the more prominent news and feature articles. This resistance to change highlights the continued unequal power relations between white feminists and feminists of colour, and the persistence of whiteness in defining feminism within mainstream liberal media.


F OSSILIZATION is a general term, which is frequently interpreted according to the user's interests. Some investigators have attempted to make the word very specific, while others have included a number of concepts under this one term. The actual causes or processes of fossilization per se tend to become obscured by the many attributes and meanings which the word has acquired. This paper is concerned not with proposing a new definition of the term fossilization, but rather with setting forth the processes involved; when do they begin and how do they occur, that is to say, the dynamic aspects of fossilization. In his book, Adam's Ancestors (1953 edition, page 50) Prof L. S. B. Leakey stated his concept of fossilization, that is the specific or delineated definition of the word.


On the basis of flow force conservation the two-dimensional buoyant surface discharge of a light fluid over a stagnant ambient fluid can be classified into four regimes: a fully entraining buoyant jet, a jet/jump combination, a direct jump, or a flooded jump. A depth-discharge diagram for such entraining flows is presented to assess these different transition paths between a supercritical discharge and an imposed subcritical downstream condition. Certain flow instabilities are predicted to occur at downstream Froude numbers of 1 or 1/2, respectively. Comparison with various experimental data, including additional data by the authors, confirms the flow force conservation theory. Furthermore, a more detailed analysis of the spatial development of a buoyant surface jet is made using an entrainment formulation with buoyant damping for closure of the governing equation. The predictions compare favorably with experimental data.


This paper presents the first results of a research project which has the aims to identify the problems appearing during the preparation of mergers in compliance with valid Czech regulations and to analyze economic causes and consequences of mergers. At the first stage it was necessary to compile a basic dataset in a structure needed for a statistical analysis. The aim of the analysis presented in this paper is to ascertain, both theoretically and empirically, how the external environment affected the development of mergers of trading companies in the conditions of the Czech economy. The covered period is the past ten years, i.e. 2001–2010, when the development of the global economy was affected by the bank crisis in the USA and the economic recession. The analysis of the development of mergers and acquisitions focuses on three groups of factors affecting activities in the field of company combinations. These are mergers and acquisitions which are subject to approval by regulatory bodies, the effect of new regulations of financing (financial factors) and the effect of the macroeconomic situation in the form of GDP indicator and PX index. Macroeconomic indicators are related to mergers whose development has not been published or explored within scientific research. The results of the analysis allowed us to describe the dependence of activities in the field of company mergers which took place in the Czech Republic in the past decade on the selected factors of the external environment.


Abstract Herbicide resistance is the heritable ability of a weed biotype or population to survive a herbicide application that would effectively kill a susceptible population of the weed. In the U.K. the most widespread and financially important herbicide-resistant weed is blackgrass. Investigations to elucidate the molecular mechanisms conferring herbicide resistance to blackgrass populations have been ongoing for two decades. Although the identification of target site–resistant populations has proved to be relatively straightforward (using, for example, target site assays in vitro), the study and understanding of resistance mechanisms involved in enhanced metabolism has proven to be more problematic. Research has focused on the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase and glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzyme families, both of which have been shown to be important in herbicide metabolism in many weed and crop species. GST activity and abundance are greater in a selection of herbicide-resistant blackgrass biotypes, and herbicide treatment of field populations of blackgrass results in the survival of the proportion of population possessing the greatest GST activity and abundance. In addition, GST activity in the field increases between winter and spring, and this coincides with reduced efficacy of important blackgrass herbicides. GST activities within field populations of blackgrass are highly varied, and this plasticity is discussed in relation to the development of resistant populations in field situations. This article describes research results in blackgrass and compares them with GST studies in other weed species as well as with other mechanisms for enhanced metabolism-based resistance. Nomenclature: Blackgrass, Alopecurus myosuroides Huds. ALOMY.


Current major types of immunotherapy include checkpoint blockade, adoptive cell transfer, human recombinant cytokines, and cancer vaccines. However, immunotherapy has met challenges in immunologically cold tumors. These challenges urge for new types of immunotherapies that are more potent and potentially less toxic. Recently, we have developed CRISPRa-mediated Multiplexed Activation of Endogenous Genes as an Immunotherapy (MAEGI) (Wang et al. 2019 Nature Immunology, in press). The CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) system uses a catalytically inactive Cas9 (dCas9), enabling simple and flexible gene expression regulation through dCas9-transcriptional activators paired with single guide RNAs (sgRNAs). This enables precise targeting of large gene pools of endogenous genes in a flexible manner. We demonstrate that MAEGI has therapeutic efficacy across three tumor types. Mechanistically, our preliminary work showed that MAEGI treatment elicits anti-tumor immune responses by recruiting effector T cells and remodeling the tumor microenvironment. We will perform advanced development, characterization and optimization of MAEGI, as a novel immune-gene therapy approach to elicit a potent and specific immune response to tumors based on their unique genetic composition. Citation Format: Sidi Chen. Development of MAEGI as a new class of immune gene therapy for cancer treatment [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 4070.


Background: TNBC is an heterogeneous group of tumors for some of which the Epithelial Growth Factor Receptor pathway (EGFR) may play an important role. We evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of an anti-EGFR antibody (panitumumab) combined with a standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy in order to identify predictive biomarkers of efficacy and target biologically defined subpopulations for potential further development. Methods: Sixty patients with stage II-IIIA disease were prospectively included in this multicentre neoadjuvant study. Systemic therapy (ST) consisted of panitumumab (9 mg/kg q.3 weeks x8) combined with FEC 100 (500/100/500 mg/m 2 q.3 weeks x4) followed by 4 cycles of T (100 mg/m 2 q.3weeks x4). All patients underwent surgery at completion of ST. Paraffin-embedded and frozen samples were systematically collected before and after ST for biologic studies. Patients characteristics are as follows: mean age 50 [27–72]; median tumor size: 40 mm [20–120]; invasive ductal carcinoma: 96.7%; Scarff-Bloom-Richardson Grade III: 71.7%, grade II: 28.3%. Complete pathological response (pCR) rate was 52.3% [95% IC: 37.3–67.5] (Sataloff9s classification) and 46.7% [95% IC: 31.6–61.4](Chevallier9s classification). Conservative surgery was performed in 88% of cases. Skin toxicity was the main side-effect: Cutaneous toxicity grade IV: 5%, grade III: 30%, grade II: 20%. Neutropenia grade IV: 27%; febrile neutropenia: 5%. Infection: 0%. Hand-foot syndrome grade III: 3.3%. Ungueal toxicity grade III: 1.6%, grade II: 20%. Results: We performed a ROC curve to identify the best cut-off value for KI-67, EGFR, cytokeratin 5–6 and p53 in order to predict a pCR. Tumors with more than 40% of positive cells for KI-67 and tumors with a score for EGFR greater than 70 tend to be associated with pCR according to Chevallier9s classification (p = 0.06). No predictive value was identified for Cytokeratin 5–6 and p53 (p = 0.61 and p = 0.27, respectively). Immunohistochemistry results show that two thirds of tumors have more than 40% of positive cells for KI-67 and that two thirds of tumors present a score for EGFR greater than 70. About half of the tumors express cytokeratin 5–6 and p53 (cut off: 1%). Chi-squared tests were performed to assess relations between cutaneous toxicities and pCR. The cutaneous toxicities were not predictive of pCR (p = 0.94) and no correlations were found with KI-67, EGFR, Cytokeratin 5–6 and p53. In terms of BRCA1 and BRCA2 status, 35 tumors were analysed so far: BRCA1: 6 mutations (17%); BRCA2 (30 patients): 1 mutation (3.3%). Conclusions: These results suggest the possibility to identify a subpopulation with high probability of pCR (KI-67 > 40%, EGFR score > 70). Further biological studies are ongoing and will be presented at the meeting, including EGFR polymorphisms, C-met, ALDH1, pCadherine and PTEN. This will help us further define subpopulations of TNBC patients, potential targets for antiEGFR development. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-06-20.


Immunotherapy remains to be an appealing treatment option for prostate cancer with some documented promise. Prostate cancer is traditionally considered as an immunologically "cold" tumor with low tumor mutation burden, low expression of PD-L1, sparse T-cell infiltration, and a immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Sipuleucel-T (Provenge) is the first FDA approved immunotherapeutic agent for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC); demonstrating a benefit in overall survival. However various clinical trials by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and their combinations with other drugs have shown limited responses in mCRPC. Up to now, only a small subset of patients with mismatch repair deficiency/microsatellite instability high and CDK12 mutations can clinically benefit from ICIs and/or their combinations with other agents, such as DNA damage agents. The existence of a large heterogeneity in genomic alterations and a complex TME in prostate cancer suggests the need for identifying new immunotherapeutic targets. As well as designing personalized immunotherapy strategies based on patient-specific molecular signatures. There is also a need to adjust strategies to overcome histologic barriers such as tissue hypoxia and dense stroma. The racial differences of immunological responses between men of diverse ethnicities also merit further investigation to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy and better patient selection in prostate cancer.


The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of cognitive effort on a chimpanzee's choice between discrimination tasks. The tasks were of the matching-to-sample type. In Experiment 1, the chimpanzee was required to choose between a task providing a high reinforcement rate with high cognitive effort and a task providing a low reinforcement rate with low cognitive effort. Her choice depended on the reinforcement rate more than the cognitive effort. Experiments 2, 3, and 4 examined whether the kind of cognitive effort influenced the chimpanzee's choice. Experiment 2 manipulated the sample-choice relationship, so-called symmetry in the matching-to-sample tasks. Experiment 3 manipulated the number of comparison stimuli. Experiment 4 manipulated the delay interval between the sample and the comparison stimuli. In Experiments 2 and 3, the effects of the cognitive effort were confounded with those of the reinforcement rates. However, in one condition of Experiment 4, the chimpanzee preferred the simultaneous task to the delayed task, despite the lack of a significant difference in reinforcement rates between the two tasks. The present study demonstrated that the chimpanzee's choice of discrimination task depended on the cognitive effort involved, in addition to the reinforcement rate.


A new simple algorithm is presented for the calculation of the self and mutual inductance of coaxial circular coils, based on Bartky's transformation. The algorithm is applicable over the entire range of coil sizes, shapes and degrees of coupling. It is extremely efficient and produces results to a specified and arbitrary accuracy. The method may be extended to calculate the inductance of coils of finite thickness using two-dimensional quadrature formulae.


Author(s): Harjo, Tianna | Advisor(s): Koenig, Robert | Abstract: ABSTRACTViola Arrangements: History and Rationale with Focus on New Repertoire for the Young ViolistbyTianna HarjoWhen I was a younger viola student, I always felt there was something missing in the music I studied and performed. Often, I either did not like it or did not connect with it. If you ask any violist why they chose the viola, the response you will get most often receive is something to the effect of "because I like the dark, deep sound". Now as a professional violist and teacher, I understand why I felt that void. Much of the music widely available to the average student and music teacher were written and intended for the violin and simply transposed a fifth lower. This document contains fifteen new arrangements for viola and piano. The aim of this document is to create repertoire for the young violist that addresses and corrects problems viola students often face. Each piece was written with the intricacies of viola in mind. Far too long have young violists been treated as violinists that play a bigger instrument. The arrangements were created from works by well-known composers like Tchaikovsky and Dvorak and more obscure composers like Jean Hure and Maria Hester Park.


SiGe/Si heterojunction infrared Schottky-barrier photodetectors (PDs) with different thicknesses (30-60 nm) of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) cap layers were successfully fabricated. The SiGe and a-Si:H layers were deposited by using ultrahigh-vacuum chemical vapor deposition and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition systems, respectively. In the fabricated PDs, it was observed that the a-Si:H cap layer can effectively suppress a dark current and that the thicker a-Si:H cap can obtain lower dark current. The lowest dark current was observed in the 60-nm a-Si:H capped PDs. When compared with a capless a-Si:H device, the dark current in the 60-nm a-Si:H capped PD was reduced by a magnitude of 317 at 4-V reverse-bias voltage. However, by increasing the a-Si:H thickness, the photocurrent was reduced. Therefore, a compromise in a-Si:H thickness should be chosen. We discovered that the photo-to-dark-current ratio was enhanced by a factor of 850 for 30-nm a-Si:H capped PDs as compared to that of capless a-Si:H devices. Thus, a PD with a higher noise-rejection ability was achieved by merely inserting a thin a-Si:H layer. Possible mechanisms are discussed in detail by the use of spectrum and band diagrams.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Ovarian cancer affects ∼ 204,000 women each year, and it is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death among women world-wide, as most patients present with advanced stage (III/IV) tumours, and only 40% survive 5 years after diagnosis. Improvement in the clinical management of ovarian patients is likely to derive from a better understanding of the molecular aberrations which initiate and maintain tumour growth as well as from the discovery of novel drug-able targets for the development of personalised targeted therapies. In this study, we comprehensively characterised the cancer genome of a patient diagnosed with grade III serous ovarian carcinoma, using a combination of massive-parallel sequencing technologies, including long distance DNA Paired-End-Tag (DNA-PET) sequencing, RNA-sequencing and exome-capture sequencing. This approach ensures deep coverage (from 50-180X) of critical mutational elements in a cancer genome. By comparing the genomic abnormalities identified in the tumour sample with those found in its normal counterpart (peripheral blood lymphocytes), we were able to compile a catalogue of all of the somatic events which occurred during oncogenesis and to define the overall complexity of this specific cancer genome. Interestingly, chromosomal arm loss appeared to be the predominant feature of this tumour, with more than 30% of the haploid genome being affected by a decrease in copy number. This associated with a prevalence of inter-chromosomal rearrangements, suggesting chromosomal translocations as a preferred consequence of genomic instability. Here we describe some examples of somatic translocation events causing the loss of tumour suppressor genes. Using this genotype as a possible model of ovarian carcinoma evolution, we aim to explain a subset of ovarian cancers displaying a similar chromosomal profile by applying an analysis of copy number variations, and to define common mechanisms of cancer gene loss.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5107. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5107


Laboratory studies suggest that the gaze pattern changes in older age, both in seated and in walking persons. Here we investigate the gaze pattern in a more complex and realistic scenario: walking in a virtual-reality shopping precinct. Seventeen young and sixteen older adults walked at their preferred speed on a treadmill driven by their leg movements, thus controlling the presentation of a virtual 3D world on a screen 130 cm ahead. The screen showed a shopping street with stationary and moving objects, and with six pedestrian traffic lights of whom three turned red upon approach. Gaze direction was registered by a video-based system. We found that each glance at a traffic light took longer in older than in young persons, and the sum of all glances at a traffic light was longer as well. In effect, older persons looked at the traffic light equally long throughout all three light phases, while young ones gradually increased their inspection of the traffic light as the green phase went on. The observed change of the gaze pattern in older age could represent a compensatory strategy to facilitate spatial orientation and/or movement preparation, or it could reflect a deficit of gaze disengagement. Future research should disambiguate these alternatives. In any case, the observed change is detrimental for seniors' sensorimotor performance in everyday scenarios.


The rationale for the use of T lymphocytes to fight cancer is the immunogenicity of tumor cells. T cells are capable to recognize and finally to kill tumor cells. Adoptive cell transfer therapies provide the opportunity to overcome tolerogenic mechanisms by enabling the selection and activation of highly reactive T cell subpopulations and by manipulation of the host environment into which the T cells are introduced. The aim of this article is to review the possibilities, limitations and recent clinical experience with this novel anticancer treatment, namely with adoptive immunotherapy using antigen-specific T cells.


Rural access is among the most important infrastructure constraints in rural Africa. Using the results from comprehensive household surveys and other data from Ethiopia, the paper recasts light on the heterogeneous impacts of road accessibility on agriculture and nonagricultural growth. It is found that crop production is increased by major and feeder road improvements. Significant synergy is also found. When investigating further into this effect, there are two impacts: farmers' access to the input market, especially fertilizer, was improved mainly by major corridor improvement. And output market access was improved by feeder road improvement. In addition, the household's nonagricultural income is somehow increased by improved road connectivity. There must be secondary effects. The transport demand function estimated with additional data indicates that as the road network improves, people's mobility increases. Furthermore, local business employment is found to increase with road improvements. To meet the increasing demand for mobility, efficiency and frequency of transport services are important.


Land management practices have been implicated as a cause for the decline of many grassland-nesting birds across the globe. While this effect has motivated extensive research and conservation in the developed northern hemisphere, it remains poorly addressed in southern hemisphere. Between 1998 and 200 I I examined the effect of fire frequency and grazing intensity on the density, breeding biology and nesting success of several grassland bird species that breed in the high altitude grasslands of Wakkerstroom, South Africa. I established study plots in heavily grazed and annually burned, lightly grazed and annually burned, and lightly grazed and biennially burned plots. These represent the most frequently used grassland management regimes in this region. Independent analysis of all study species showed that daily nesting success was higher under light than heavy grazing. Similarly, nesting success was higher under biennial burning when compared to annual burning. Nest predation was the major cause of nest failure during all three years for all species. The likelihood of nest predation clearly depended upon foliage in the immediate vicinity of the nest and vegetation within 10 m radius of the nest (the nest patch). In general, variables important in discriminating between successful and depredated nests across all species were directly related to vegetation cover, density and horizontal heterogeneity. I also examined microhabitat choices, the form of natural selection and the adaptiveness of preferences in four coexisting grassland bird species (YeHow-breasted Pipit Hemimacronyx chloris, Grassveld Pipit Anthus cinamomerous, Orange-throated Longclaw Macrony capensis, and Ayre's Cisticola Cisticola ayressii). Breeding birds selected nest patches non-randomly and this differed between species. Comparison of vegetation features at successful and unsuccessful nests supported the idea that nesting success is a strong selective force on habitat choice. Nest success was higher in preferred than non-preferred habitat for all the four species, suggesting that preferences were adaptive. Estimation of fitness functions relating fitness of individuals to critical habitat features suggests that natural selection might favour preferences for specific habitat features. Although food abundance and thus amount of food available to populations of breeding birds significantly differed between management regimes, the study yielded no evidence for an effect of management-mediated food abundance on feeding rate, nestling provisioning rates, nestling growth rates, body condition, nest attentiveness and brooding effort. My results suggest that the food availability alone may not be the most important v Un ive rsi ty of Ca pe To wn factor influencing the production of offspring. Instead, nest predation appeared to be of major importance in this system. Theoretically, nest predation increases with activity at nests, and predation rates should peak during the nestling stage when birds are feeding young. I tested this hypothesis using three ecologically similar grassland bird species (Yellow-breasted Pipit, Orangethroated Longclaw, and Grassveld Pipit). Parental activity was indeed greater during the nestling than incubation stage. Nest predation, however, did not increase with parental activity between these stages in all three study species. I conducted an experiment that controlled for parental activity (by reusing natural nests of the study species with artificial clutches) in order to test for nest-site effects. Nests that had a high risk of predation when used by active parents had a correspondingly high risk of predation when the same nests were re-used with artificial clutches (Le. when controlling for parental activity). This result supports the notion that variation in nest-site quality often affects nest predation risk, and such effects could mask parental activity effects on nest predation. Once-nest site effects were accounted for, nest predation showed a positive increase with parental activity during the nestling stage within and across species. Collectively, the chapters of this thesis help to diagnose the causes and underlying mechanisms of grassland bird population decreases, and help to identify the most effective conservation actions. In short, conservation effort for grassland species should be directed at ensuring that their preferred critical nesting habitat is managed appropriately. I propose that current intensive grazing pressure and periodic burning should be relaxed by reducing stocking rates and burning less frequently to benefit grassland bird species. Ideally, grasslands should be burned biennially and grazed moderately. VI Un iv rsi ty of Ca pe To wn


Bicyclic cyclopropanols having olefinic side chain are oxidized with Mn(pic)3 to generate cyclic β-keto radicals with ring-expansion, which cyclize intramolecularly affording bicyclic radical intermediates. The cyclized radicals are trapped with various radical-trapping reagents such as electron-rich or -deficient olefins, tributyltin hydride and diphenyl diselenide to give the corresponding functionalized products.


Recently a number of researchers have paid attention to the design and analysis of cluster-based multiprocessor systems. The design of cluster based systems is very appealing due to the fact that such systems require very inexpensive interconnection network compared to non-cluster based systems, especially for a large number of processors and memory modules. The design and analysis of a generalized hierarchical multiprocessor system was described by I.O. Mahgoub and A.K. Elmagarmid (1992). This multiprocessor system uses a hierarchical interconnection network, which is built using a number of small crossbar switches. In this paper we propose a different variation of the system presented previously. Our proposed system can be built by replacing every crossbar switch by a number of parallel buses. Since parallel buses provide better fault tolerance than a crossbar switch, the system proposed, in this paper is fault tolerant. Simulation models have been developed to verify the accuracy of the analytical models. The results obtained from the analytical models match closely to those obtained from the simulation models.


Quality Management (QM) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) have been considered as two of the most important business strategies. They have become the prerequisite for success and competitive advantage in the global market. Supplier Integration is a subset of supply chain, and supplier relationship is no longer a competition, but competition and cooperation. Integration capabilities between suppliers can be regarded as a competitive advantage. The better supplier integration capabilities, the better supply chain performance. That would further enhance the competitiveness of enterprises.
This paper explores the relationship between QM practices and Supplier Integration of supply chains. The entire population of suppliers to aerospace industry in Taiwan was surveyed to measure use of QM practices. QM is modeled as a second-order construct reflected by six QM practices (small group problem solving, top management leadership for quality, information and feedback, process management, customer focus, and supplier involvement). The results showed supplier involvement is the only factor which has statistically significant effect on supplier integration.
Our study reflects the underlying fact of the aerospace industry in Taiwan; i.e., it is a manufacturing industry with no design capability. For a manufacturing industry without design capability, supplier involvement is the most important construct for effective supply chain management.


In this paper, we introduce a new technology to extract the unique features from an iris image, which uses scale-space filtering. Resulting iris code can be used to develop a system for rapid and automatic human identification with high reliability and confidence levels. First, an iris part is separated from the whole image and the radius and center of the iris are evaluated. Next, the regions that have a high possibility of being noise are discriminated and the features presented in the highly detailed pattern are then extracted. In order to conserve the original signal while minimizing the effect of noise, scale-space filtering is applied. Experiments are performed using a set of 272 iris images taken from 18 persons. Test results show that the iris feature patterns of different persons are clearly discriminated from those of the same person.


The study was conducted to investigate the effect of genotype on the laying performance of Nigerian local chicken. The experiment was carried out using 99 local chicken of the three genotypes, comprising of 90 hens and 9 cocks (33 frizzle feather, 33 naked-neck feather and 33 normal feathered). Eggs were collected from the different genotypes for 8 weeks. The laying performance traits were egg number, hen-housed (%) and hen-day (%) egg production. Data collected were subjected to ANOVA in a completely randomised design. The hen-day egg production showed significant differences (P<0.05) in all the weeks. Naked-neck genotype performed better in terms of hen-day egg production than the other two genotypes and had highest values in week 1 (27.14±0.01), week 5 (27.60±0.09), week 7 (34.53±1.13) andweek 8 (16.30±0.03). Therewere significant differences (P<0.05) in all the weeks for hen-housed egg production and naked-neck also performed better than the frizzled and normal feather apart from week 2, 3 and 6. The naked-neck genotype had highest mean values in week 1, 4, 5, 7 and 8 with 27.18±0.06, 25.70±0.02, 19.33±0.67, 24.08±0.22 and 11.39±0.03 respectively for hen-housed egg production. The naked-neck had significantly (P<0.05) higher values for egg number when compared with frizzle and normal feathered genotypes. The values ranged between 5.67±0.67 to 2.00±0.10 (naked-neck), 6.33±0.33 to 2.67±0.67 (frizzle) and 3.33±0.33 to 1.33±0.33 (normal). It is therefore, reasonable to incorporate the naked-neck and frizzled feather genotypes of local chicken in producing locally-adapted commercial eggs


This study takes initial look at the promise of community radio as a public sphere. Given the interest that community radio has generated in the communication for development (C4d) arena, particularly its portrayal as a tool for democracy and good governance, the study attempts to ascertain whether the model through its flagship genre – political talk-back program can enact political participation or engender political efficacy within the African context. Data for the study came from a field research conducted in the United Republic of Tanzania. The study combines a survey with focus group and in-depth interviews. Relationships between engagement with community radio, political participation and interest, and political efficacy were examined, as well as its association with individual's level of interpersonal discussion of local issues. A key finding shows that involvement with political talk programs on community radio can promote political participation and interest. Similarly, the result reveals an association between participation on talk program and political efficacy. These results are encouraging in that they point to community radio as serving useful democratic purpose in empowering citizens by giving voice to those considered "marginalized", and at the same time fulfilling a major role of providing valued information at the local levels. As the foundation of public sphere, the stations seem to encourage active citizen participation and a healthy diversity of opinion. Certainly, this form of communication is needed for the occurrence of sustainable democratic development. Keywords: community radio, public sphere, political efficacy, political awareness, Tanzania


An improved complex method has been elaborated for treating eczema, with making use of microwave resonance therapy and cream dermazin containing 1% silver sulfadiazine. It shown to be superior to conventional treatment modalities, allowing to improve the immune status of patients, making for an accelerated regression of eczematous eruptions, preventing relapse.


Coral reef invertebrates that host phototrophic symbionts are thought to protect themselves and their symbionts with mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs)—UV-absorbing substances that act as sunscreens (Dunlap, W. C., and J. M. Shick, 1998. J. Phycol. 34: 418–430). However, the histological distribution of MAAs in the host tissues has not yet been visualized. We have localized the UV-absorbing substances in the tissues of two colonial didemnid ascidians—Lissoclinum patella and Diplosoma sp.—that contain the symbiotic photo-oxygenic prokaryote Prochloron sp. Cross-sections of unfixed tissue from these ascidians were examined by UV-light microscopy at 320 or 330 nm, wavelengths at which UV light is absorbed by MAAs. Within the tunic, the gelatinous integument of the colony, UV light was exclusively absorbed by a particular type of cell, the tunic bladder cell. Tunic bladder cells with strong UV absorption were denser in the upper tunic, which lies over a colony's zooids, than in the basal tunic underlying the zooid. In the upper tunic, those cells with strong UV absorption were most dense near the surface. The tunic bladder cell is highly vacuolated, and the vacuole contains strong acid, which destabilizes MAAs. Furthermore, the UV-absorbing portion of tunic bladder cells seemed to be cup-shaped, indicating that the MAAs are not localized in the vacuole, but in the cytoplasm. These results strongly suggest that didemnid ascidians accumulate MAAs in tunic bladder cells as a protection against UV radiation.


BACKGROUND
Information regarding the quantity of biopsy material invaded by cancer may supplement the usual criteria for the preoperative staging of patients suffering from clinically localized prostate carcinoma (T1-T2). However, conflicting conclusions have been drawn and this topic needs further investigation.

METHODS
A total of 170 patients had radical prostatectomy for T1-T2 prostate carcinoma. Patients' mean age (+/- standard deviation [SD]) was 66.05 +/- 6.12 years and mean prostate specific antigen (PSA) level (+/- SD) was 22.5 +/- 21.4 ng/mL (Yang Proscheck). Of the patients, 110 underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy with removal of 6 cores, from whom we had the percentage of biopsy, material invaded by cancer, the Gleason score, and the preoperative PSA. These parameters were compared with the pathologic features of the surgical specimen (capsule penetration, surgical margins, and Gleason score) and biologic progression (defined as persistent/recurrent postoperative PSA > 0.1 ng/mL).

RESULTS
The most valid threshold of biopsy material invaded by cancer for predicting surgical margins and capsule status, as well as biologic progression, was 10%. When < 10% of biopsy material was invaded by cancer, positive surgical margins (SM+) were present in 30.3%, capsular penetration (pT3, pathologic extracapsular involvement) in 27.3%, and biologic progression (P+) in 21.7%. The Gleason score did not improve this prognostic evaluation. The mean quantities of tissue invaded by cancer differed significantly between positive and negative surgical margin groups, between pT2 and pT3 groups, and between P- and P+ groups (no biologic progression/biologic progression). There was statistical significance (log rank test, P = 0.0320 in the survival without biologic postoperative progression between patients with < or = or > 10% of one core biopsy invaded by tumor. If < or = 10% of tissue in only 1 of 6 cores of a biopsy was invaded by tumor, the status was pT2, SM-, and P- in 87.5% of the patients.

CONCLUSIONS
On an individual basis, the percent of tissue containing carcinoma in core biopsies was a factor that lacked the statistical power to predict the status of the capsule and surgical margins, and the biologic progression. The finding of < or = 10% of carcinoma in 1 of 6 cores of a biopsy was correlated with a good prognosis.


The aim of the analyses was to investigate the relations between parental incarceration and the levels of behavioral and emotional problems in children of fathers serving prison sentences, based on the children's self-report. We tested a criterion group and two control groups. The criterion group consisted of children whose fathers were in prison. The children in control group I were from complete families; the level of problem behaviors in these families and the level of psychological resiliency in these children were similar to the respective levels in the criterion group. Finally, control group II consisted of children whose fathers were not in prison; problem behaviors in their families were basically absent or slight, and their level of resiliency was significantly higher compared to prisoners' children and control group I. Prisoners' children exhibited a higher level of emotional and behavioral problems than children from families in which the father was not serving a prison sentence and in which the level of dysfunctions was low. As regards prisoners' children compared to their peers with a similar level of resiliency and a similar level of problem behavior in the family, statistically significant differences were found only in a few categories of emotional and behavioral problems. Parental incarceration proved to be an additional factor increasing the level of behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents—particularly girls—whose fathers were imprisoned.


A synoptic treatment of the Tachigali Aubl., including Sclerolobium Vogel, in northern South America (Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, Amazonian Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru) is presented and contains brief descriptions of, and a key to, the 54 species recognized in northern South America. Ten species, T. barnebyi van der Werff, T. bicornuta van der Werff, T. candelabrum van der Werff, T. cenepensis van der Werff, T. chrysaloides van der Werff, T. ferruginea van der Werff, T. fusca van der Werff, T. inconspicua van der Werff, T. loretensis van der Werff, and T. vaupesiana van der Werff, are newly described. Three overlooked names published by Tulasne (T. glauca, T. poeppigiana, and T. richardiana) have been taken up again. One new combination, T. melanocarpa (Ducke) van der Werff, is proposed. Lectotypes are designated for three species, T. alba Ducke, T. melanocarpa, and T. plumbea Ducke. The following species are placed in synonymy: Sclerolobium froesii Pires in T. bracteosa (Harms) Zarucchi & Pipoly; T. tessmannii Harms in T. formicarum Harms; T. myrmecophila (Ducke) Ducke in T. glauca; S. radlkoferi Rusby, S. uleanum Harms, and S. subbullatum Ducke in T. guianensis (Benth.) Zarucchi & Herend.; T. grandiflora Huber, T. ulei Harms, T. rusbyi Harms, and T. pulchra Dwyer in T. paniculata Aubl.; T. sulcata Benoist and T. bracteolata Dwyer in T. richardiana; and T. reticulosa (Dwyer) Zarucchi & Herend. in T. tinctoria (Benth.) Zarucchi & Herend.


Planar deprocessing is a vital failure analysis (FA) technique for semiconductor chip reverse engineering. The basic concept of planar deprocessing is to remove all the "unnecessary" materials of a chip to expose an area of interest (AOI) and maintain the chip planarity and surface evenness. Finger deprocessing is one of the common techniques applied to this concept. This technique is essential in physical FA, especially for advanced bulk fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) devices. The success of finger deprocessing technique depends on certain factors, one of which is the location of AOI region. Application of finger deprocessing becomes incredibly challenging for AOI close to chip edge due to the chip edge effect, i. e. the chip edge is deprocessed much faster than the chip center. Plasma focused ion beam (PFIB) planar deprocessing is the primary solution to solve this problem. However, the PFIB capability is a luxury tool for most analysis labs. To overcome this challenge, a novel chip recombination method is introduced. With this method, planar deprocess can be achieved by conventional finger deprocessing technique and more importantly can be applied in general analysis labs. This paper will discuss the newly developed method in a step-by-step guide basis and show two cases with AOI(s) in the chip edge region to demonstrate its capability.


Of those gases which occur in the upper atmosphere and have strong absorption bands in the infra-red part of the spectrum and which must, therefore, be considered when calculating the absorption and radiation of heat in the atmosphere, only carbon dioxide is uniformly mixed with the air at all heights which we are likely to be dealing with; it will not be considered further here. The vertical distributions of water vapour and ozone are of great interest, particularly when considered together. Water vapour, originating at ground level, usually decreases rather rapidly with increasing height, particularly in the lower stratosphere. This leads to extremely low concentrations at a height of about 15 km. On the other hand, ozone, being formed by the action of solar ultra-violet radiation at a height of 30 km or more, decreases in concentration downwards. We find, therefore, ozone diffusing downwards and water vapour diffusing upwards through the same region of the atmosphere, but, as we shall see, with very different lapse rates. Water vapour The standard hygrometers which are used to measure the humidity from free balloons are only satisfactory at temperatures above about 235°K, and our knowledge of the humidity at high levels in the atmosphere is almost entirely dependent on measurements made with frost-point hygrometers carried on aircraft. The work of the Meteorological Research Flight of the British Meteorological Office is notable for the very large number of measurements made from Mosquito aircraft to a height of about 12 km and more recently from Canberra aircraft to 15 km. Most unfortunately, hardly any measurements having similar accuracy have been made in other parts of the world. However, at the present time Dr A. W. Brewer is in north Norway making such measurements with the kind co-operation of the Norwegian Air Force and I had hoped that some results might have been available in time to report them at this Discussion (see note at end of paper).


Description: Covers the state of the art of the technology and standards for reconfigurable radio systems, from self organizing networks and cognitive radio, through to reconfigurable architectures for networks and terminals This timely book provides a standards–based view of the development, evolution, techniques and potential future scenarios for the deployment of reconfigurable radio systems. After an introduction to radiomobile and radio systems deployed in the access network, the book describes cognitive radio concepts and capabilities, which are the basis for reconfigurable radio systems. The self–organizing network features introduced in 3GPP standards are discussed and before IEEE 802.22, the first standard based on cognitive radio, is described. Then the ETSI reconfigurable radio systems functional architecture and the IEEE 1900.4 standard for reconfigurable radio are examined. Finally, the author presents new scenarios and future visions that reconfigurable radio systems may bring. Key features:– Examines the current standards based on cognitive and reconfigurable radio, and analyses future scenarios Includes a general overview of radiomobile (i.e. GSM, UMTS, HSPA, LTE) and wireless (i.e. WLAN, WPAN, WiMAX) network architectures Features an accompanying website features links and white papers


A method of fabricating dual-band left-handed metematerials (LHMs) is investigated numerically and experimentally by single-sided tree-like fractals. The resulting structure features multiband magnetic resonances and two electric resonances. By appropriately adjusting the dimensions, two left-handed (LH) bands with simultaneous negative permittivity and permeability are engineered and are validated by full-wave eigenmode analysis and measurement as well in the microwave frequency range. To study the multi-resonant mechanism in depth, the LHM is analysed from three different perspectives of field distribution analysis, circuit model analysis, and geometrical parameters evaluation. The derived formulae are consistent with all simulated results and resulting electromagnetic phenomena, indicating the effectiveness of the established theory. The method provides an alternative to the design of multi-band LHM and has the advantage of not requiring two individual resonant particles and electrically continuous wires, which in turn facilitates planar design and considerably simplifies the fabrication.


Purpose. he work is aimed at studying the effects of light absorption in the Black Sea waters with due regard for the variations of its individual components, and how they are manifested in the NASA archival results of calculating the chlorophyll a concentration obtained by processing satellite data using the universal operational method. Methods and Results. The NASA archival data of the MODIS and SeaWiFS satellite instruments, and the values of the light absorption components (determined by the method of Generalized ocean color inversion model for retrieving marine inherent optical properties (GIOP)) related to yellow substance and phytoplankton were analyzed. In order to avoid possible manifestations of various distortions in the results of determining the remote sensing reflectance of the sea and in the products resulted from application of the GIOP method, only the specially selected and sufficiently reliable test data from two areas located near the Crimea Southern Coast and south of the Danube estuary were used. Conclusions. In the considered examples with low content of chlorophyll a in the seawater, the yellow substance plays a predominant role in light absorption in the spectrum blue part, whereas if the chlorophyll a content is high, the phytoplankton contribution is dominant. The revealed relationship between the light absorption components related to yellow substance and phytoplankton significantly differs from that implicitly preset as a basis of the universal method (applied in NASA for the satellite data operational processing) for determining the chlorophyll a concentration. This, in its turn, is manifested in the fact that the data on the chlorophyll a concentration in the Black Sea stored in the NASA archive may be overestimated in case the chlorophyll a concentration is low, and underestimated – in case it is high.


This paper engages with the question of the invention of martial arts by examining the case of the Japanese martial art aikido. Relying on existing schools of traditional martial arts, Morihei Ueshiba [1883-1969] created aikido with the goal of transforming techniques aiming at killing the opponent into techniques which could benefit both partners. Instead of becoming stronger than the opponent, the goal of aikido practice is to improve the individual's behaviour during their physical interaction with their partner. The question I examine in this paper is how practitioners manifest such philosophy during their practice and through their embodied conduct. I focus specifically on how practitioners simulate a situation of conflict through semiotic structures [Goodwin 2000] through which they construct a world of movement in which anticipating the attacker's movement becomes possible. Because practitioners are organized with such a framework, they can, through movements of the whole body, pacifically produce and resolve the situation of conflict. This study contributes to understanding how a practical philosophy is implemented within the practitioners' bodies and is manifested during social interaction.


The response of plasma aldosterone to exogenous angiotensin II was evaluated in five normal volunteers on three occasions, once without endogenous ACTH or angiotensin II suppression (control), once with ACTH suppression (dexamethasone) and once with ACTH and angiotensin II suppression (dexamethasone and captopril). Plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) fell from a control of 6.8 +/- 1.6 (mean +/- SEM) to 4.4 +/- 0.4 ng/dl with dexamethasone (p less than 0.05) and to 1.8 +/- 0.2 ng/dl with dexamethasone and captopril (p less than 0.001). PAC increased dose-dependently upon infusion rates of angiotensin II (0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, 2.5 and 5.0 ng/kg/min) on each occasion, but aldosterone responsiveness to infused angiotensin II (change and percentage from base line levels) was not altered by the suppression of endogenous ACTH secretion with dexamethasone with each incremental infusion of the octapeptide. However, change in PAC caused by angiotensin II in the suppression of ACTH and angiotensin II was greater than that in the control at an infusion rate of 0.2 ng/kg/min (p less than 0.05), 1.2 ng/kg/min (p less than 0.05) and 2.5 ng/kg/min (p less than 0.01), and it was also greater than that in the suppression of ACTH at an infusion rate of 0.2 ng/kg/min (p less than 0.05) and 2.5 ng/kg/min (p less than 0.01). These results demonstrate that in normal men, base line aldosterone levels are controlled not only by the renin-angiotensin system, but also, in part, by ACTH. The aldosterone response to angiotensin II, however, does not depend upon endogenous ACTH secretion, an action of angiotensin II on the pituitary to release ACTH. Simultaneous administration of dexamethasone and captopril may be a useful tool to assess the sensitivity of aldosterone production in the adrenal glomerulosa with exogenous angiotensin II since endogenous ACTH and angiotensin II can be suppressed by these medications.


Ninoziphius platyrostris, from the late Neogene of Peru, is one of the best-known fossil beaked whales (Odontoceti: Ziphiidae), with a holotype including the skull with ear bones, mandibles, teeth, and postcranial elements. Furthermore, based on several characters, including a complete functional upper and lower dentition, it is usually considered as one of the most archaic ziphiids. However, the poorly preserved dorsal portion of the holotype skull has led to unresolved phylogenetic relationships. With the addition of two newly prepared skulls from the same Peruvian locality we redescribed N. platyrostris. In the light of recent ziphiid discoveries, an emended diagnosis of the species is proposed here. In our cladistic analysis Ninoziphius is the most basal stem ziphiid. Newly observed or reassessed morphological traits allow functional and ecological considerations. The morphology of the oral apparatus suggests that Ninoziphius was less specialized for suction feeding than most extant ziphiids. Tooth wear in the holotype may indicate benthic feeding. Although the vertebral column of Ninoziphius corresponds to less developed locomotor abilities for deep dives, its cranial morphology does not provide definitive arguments for an echolocation system less efficient than in deep diving extant ziphiids. Finally, the phylogenetic tree produced was used to detail the evolutionary history of several major ziphiid features (dental reduction, development of mandibular tusks, and increased body size). © 2013 The Linnean Society of London


There are only two species worldwide within the genus Rhipicentor, namely Rhipicentor bicornis and Rhipicentor nuttalli and both occur only in Africa. Rhipicentor nuttali has a widespread distribution in South Africa and the present investigation was initiated to elucidate its host preference, seasonality and life cycle. Rock elephant shrews, Elephantulus myurus were examined for ticks at four localities in the Free State Province, one in Gauteng Province and two in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Cape elephant shrews, Elephantulus edwardii were examined at two places in the Western Cape Province, and a single specimen of the bushveld elephant shrew, Elephantulus intufi was examined in central Namibia. Small mammals of other species were also examined at two of these localities. The majority of E. myurus at two sites in the Free State, at the locality in Gauteng and both sites in Limpopo Province were infested with larvae and/or nymphs of R. nuttalli, while the single E. edwardii examined at one site in the Western Cape Province and the single E. intufi examined in Namibia were infested with nymphs of this tick. Not one of the other small animals was infested. Although larvae and nymphs of R. nuttalli were present on E. myurus throughout the year, the former were generally most numerous during the period March to September, and the latter during May to October. The preferred hosts of the adults are domestic dogs, leopards, Panthera pardus and South African hedgehogs, Atelerix frontalis. Adult females engorged on Atelerix frontalis in 16-32 days and, after a preoviposition period of 2-4 days, produced approximately 170,00 eggs during the following 60-70 days. The average incubation period of the eggs was 59 days. Larvae engorged on E. myurus in 4-10 days and moulted to nymphs 12-20 days later. Nymphs required 11-15 days to engorge on E. myurus and moulted to adults 32-47 days later. Allowing 14 days for the exoskeletons and mouthparts of each of the three parasitic stages to harden before they can attach to a host, the life cycle took approximately 214 days to complete in the laboratory. The length of this period, considered in conjunction with the times of maximum seasonal occurrence of the immature stages, indicates that the life cycle probably takes a year to complete in the field.


Peking University is designing a new SRF gun that is composed of a quarter wave resonator (QWR) and an elliptical cavity. Compared to the elliptical cavity, the QWR is sufficiently compact at the same frequency and its electric field is quasi-DC. The RF parameters are determined by optimization of QWR cavity structure and the possible multipacting locations are analyzed by 2D MP simulation. The simulation results show that multipacting is not a critical issue for our optimized cavity structure.


Perilobar nephrogenic rests (NR) are precursor lesions that may display genetic changes similar to their associated Wilms tumor (WT). Two patients presented with WT, both with perilobar NR and 1 with bilateral, multifocal metachronous WT. Both patients' WT displayed monosomy 22 as the predominant cytogenetic change, and the constitutional cytogenetic analysis was normal. The purpose of our study was to identify at what stage in the morphologic progression from NR to WT the monosomy 22 occurred by using a fluorescent in situ hybridization probe for chromosome 22 in the subtypes of perilobar NR and WT present in both cases. Section and core fluorescent in situ hybridization with a chromosome 22 probe was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues containing WT and perilobar NR. We also performed fluorescent-based microsatellite analysis on some of the WT in the bilateral case to determine whether there was a preferential loss of the same allele of chromosome 22. Sclerotic and dormant perilobar NR showed a rate of monosomy 22 of only approximately 30%, but this increased to approximately 50% in hyperplastic and adenomatous NR. Monosomy 22 was present in 60%-80% of nuclei in WT. Microsatellite analysis showed loss of homozygosity, with preferential loss of the same allele of chromosome 22 in the tumors examined. There are differences in the rate of detection of monosomy 22 in perilobar NR and WT, suggesting loss of chromosome 22 in the progression of perilobar NR to WT in a subset of tumors.


Analog computing based on memristor technology is a promising solution to accelerating the inference phase of deep neural networks (DNNs). A fundamental problem is to map an arbitrary matrix to a memristor crossbar array (MCA) while maximizing the resulting computational accuracy. The state-of-the-art mapping technique is based on a heuristic that only guarantees to produce the correct output for two input vectors. In this paper, a technique that aims to produce the correct output for every input vector is proposed, which involves specifying the memristor conductance values and a scaling factor realized by the peripheral circuitry. The key insight of the paper is that the conductance matrix realized by an MCA is only required to be proportional to the target matrix. The selection of the scaling factor between the two regulates the utilization of the programmable memristor conductance range and the representability of the target matrix. Consequently, the scaling factor is set to balance precision and value range errors. Moreover, a technique of converting conductance values into state variables and vice versa is proposed to handle memristors with non-ideal device characteristics. Compared with the state-of-the-art technique, the proposed mapping results in 4X-9X smaller errors. The improvements translate into that the classification accuracy of a seven-layer convolutional neural network (CNN) on CIFAR-10 is improved from 20.5% to 71.8%.


Molecular vibrations in the solid-state, detectable in the terahertz (THz) region, are the subject of research to further develop THz technologies. To observe such vibrations in terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) and low-frequency (LF) Raman spectroscopy, two supramolecular assemblies with the formula [NdIII (phen)3 (NCX)3] 0.3EtOH (X = S, 1-S; Se, 1-Se) were designed and prepared. Both compounds show several THz-TDS and LF-Raman peaks in the sub-THz range, with the lowest frequencies of 0.65 and 0.59 THz for 1-S and 1-Se, and 0.75 and 0.61 THz for 1-S and 1-Se, respectively. The peak redshift was observed due to the substitution of SCN− by SeCN−. Additionally, temperature-dependent TDS-THz studies showed a thermal blueshift phenomenon, as the peak position shifted to 0.68 THz for 1-S and 0.62 THz for 1-Se at 10 K. Based on ab initio calculations, sub-THz vibrations were ascribed to the swaying of the three thiocyanate/selenocyanate. Moreover, both samples exhibited near-infrared (NIR) emission from Nd (III), and very good thermometric properties in the 300–150 K range, comparable to neodymium (III) oxide-based thermometers and higher than previously reported complexes. Moreover, the temperature dependence of fluorescence and THz spectroscopy analysis showed that the reduction in anharmonic thermal vibrations leads to a significant increase in the intensity and a reduction in the width of the emission and LF absorption peaks. These studies provide the basis for developing new routes to adjust the LF vibrational absorption.