A statistically designed experiment was performed to evaluate the effects of process variables on fiber-reinforced SiC composites fabricated by chemical vapor infiltration. Response surface methodology was applied to study the influence of temperature, pressure, reactant supply rate, and gas ratios on the deposition process and the properties of the produced material. Deposition temperature and total gas flow rates had inverse effects on density and strength, while the effect of pressure was statistically insignificant. Low H/sub 2/:CH/sub 3/SiCl/sub 3/ ratios evoked a positive response in all dependent variables. 42 refs., 7 figs., 4 tabs.


Nordic systems for dealing with young offenders constitute a "Nordic model of youth justice" and at the same time differ among themselves in important respects. Similarities include a common statutory presumption against confinement, a high age of criminal responsibility (15 except in Denmark), active collaboration between the justice and child welfare systems, and the absence of specialized juvenile courts. Differences include much higher levels of penal confinement in Denmark and Norway than in Finland and Sweden, and greater differentiation between justice system and child welfare approaches in Finland and Norway than in Denmark and Sweden. Even when institutional placements in both welfare and justice facilities are taken into account in comparative analyses, however, the Nordic countries rely much less heavily on confinement of young offenders than England and Wales.


The conceptual design and modelling of the Calcium Assisted Steel-mill Off-gas Hydrogen (CASOH) process for the conversion of blast furnace gas (BFG) into H2-rich stream and CO2-rich stream at a large scale is discussed in this work. High temperature reactors packed with CaO- and Cu-based materials are used to remove CO2 from the gaseous phase and simultaneously shifting the WGS equilibrium towards H2-rich products. The incorporation of a Cu/CuO chemical loop to such sorption process allows an efficient regeneration of the CO2 sorbent. In this case, the heat needed for the calcination of the CaCO3 is supplied in situ by the exothermic reduction of CuO to Cu with a gaseous fuel (e.g. CH4, CO or H2). The Cu-based solid is firstly converted to CuO(s) during the oxidation step with air and later reduced during the regeneration step, which involves the combination of the endothermic reaction of CaCO3(s) calcination and the exothermic gas-solid reduction of CuO(s) to Cu(s) using a gaseous fuel (typically BFG or natural gas producing a highly concentrated stream of CO2 and H2O(v)).

In this paper, the three reaction stages of the CASOH process are modelled with a new 1-D reactor model that integrates state of the art kinetic information on the gas solid reactions, predicting the molar composition of the product gases (dry basis) at the outlet of the packed-bed reactor and maximum temperature achieved in each stage.

The 1-D reactor modelling results confirm that process allows the conversion of up to 99% of the inlet CO to H2 at intermediate temperatures (about 650 °C), because of the efficient and continuous removal of CO2 from the gas phase. The high pressure (10 bar) during the Cu-oxidation step causes a very low leakage of CO2 (1.1 vol. %) due to the partial calcination of CaCO3, i.e. only 8 wt. % of the CaCO3 is calcined in this stage. Finally, the feed of BFG as reducing gas during the regeneration stage leads to a maximum temperature of 850 °C in the bed, which allows the complete calcination of the sorbent and gives as a result a CO2-rich stream ready for purification and subsequent use or storage.


In the last few years, several studies have found an inverted-U relationship between per capita income and environmental degradation. This relationship, known as the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), suggests that environmental degradation increases in the early stages of growth, but it eventually decreases as income exceeds a threshold level. However, this paper investigation relationship between per capita CO2 emission, growth economics and trade liberalization based on econometric techniques of unit root test, co-integration and a panel data set during the period 1960-1996 for BRICS countries. Data properties were analyzed to determine their stationarity using the LLC , IPS , ADF and PP unit root tests which indicated that the series are I(1). We find a cointegration relationship between per capita CO2 emission, growth economics and trade liberalization by applying Kao panel cointegration test. The evidence indi cates that in the long-run trade liberalization has a positive significant impact on CO2 emissions and impact of trade liberalization on emissions growth depends on the level of income Our findings suggest that there is a quadratic relationship between relationship between real GDP and CO2 emissions for the region as a whole. The estimated long-run coefficients of real GDP and its square satisfy the EKC hypothesis in all of studied countries. Our estimation shows that the inflection point or optimal point real GDP per capita is about 5269.4 dollars. The results show that on average, sample countries are on the positive side of the inverted U curve. The turning points are very low in some cases and very high in other cases, hence providing poor evidence in support of the EKC hypothesis. Thus, our findings suggest that all BRICS countries need to sacrifice economic growth to decrease their emission levels


In this paper, we present a capacitive, MEMS-based accelerometer comprising an ultra-low noise CMOS integrated readout-IC and a high-precision bulk micro machined sensing element. The resulting accelerometer reaches an acceleration equivalent noise of only 200 ng/<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\surd $ </tex-math></inline-formula>Hz, which makes it suitable for seismic measurement that require noise levels significantly below 1 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{g}/\surd $ </tex-math></inline-formula>Hz. In addition, a high bandwidth of more than 5 kHz was achieved, which also makes the presented sensor system applicable for high-frequency measurements, e.g., in predictive maintenance applications for rotating machinery. The design of the sensing element and readout IC is presented in detail, and measurement results are shown which demonstrate the performance of the sensor system.


Abstract : The development of a System-of-Systems (SoS) remains a highly challenging endeavor due to the complex interdependencies between systems that often times exhibit managerial and operational independence, yet, must work cohesively to achieve an overarching set of capabilities. Current guidelines set forth by the Department of Defense SoS System Engineering guide presents SoS SE as a set of seven core elements which are connected to the 16 technical and management processes in the Defense Acquisition Guidebook (DAG). This guide, however, and subsequent frameworks (such as the Wave Model), are meant to raise awareness of the key issues and products involved. A need exists to create and mature decision support tools to support the decision making process of evolving SoS architectures; this includes the need for properly assessing the impact that potential disruptions can have, and the analysis of alternatives of SoS constructs. Trades between capability and risk are essential decisions that must be addressed for SoS capability planning. Existing tools for such trades, where they exist, can be ineffective and non-intuitive when size and/or interdependency complexity is high. These features create a tradeoff space between development risk and capability potential of a system. The objective of RT-36 was to explore analytical methods to quantify the impact of system interdependencies in the context of SoS capability development and use this to guide system engineering activity for SoS. A variety of approaches are investigated to provide a means to conduct analysis of alternatives while navigating the decision space that simultaneously considers the potential positive impacts of interdependencies (e.g., SoS capability) as well as the negative impacts (e.g. consequences of disruption in development). The research in RT-36 centered on seven analytical methods that have been adapted to support SoS architecting decisions and systems engineering of constituent systems.


1) Neither significant differences in plasma corticosterone level at rest nor marked differences in its diurnal variation except for a possible displacement of the peak in female SHR were observed between spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive rats (NR). 2) Response in plasma corticosterone to various stress loadings was not increased in SHR, but rather decreased under certain conditions in comparison with NR. 3) Biological half-life of plasma corticosterone determined from the decline in exogenously loaded corticosterone in adrenalectomized rats was not significantly different between SHR and NR. 4) Analysis of adrenal venous steroid profile in SHR and NR under the maximum stimulation by ACTH showed that the conversion ratio from progesterone to DOC was decreased in SHR. 5) These results indicate that there probably is no acceleration of synthesis and metabolism of adrenal corticosterone itself in SHR compared with NR, and raised a possibility of relative impairment of 21-β-hydroxylase in SHR. A speculated compensatory metabolic pathway from progesterone via 18- or 17-α-hydroxylation as well as the substrain difference in steroidogenesis in relation to vascular vulnerability still remains to be clarified by further study.


We consider the decentralized power allocation and spectrum sharing problem in multi-user, multi-channel systems with strategic users. We present a mechanism/game form that has the following desirable features: 1) it is individually rational; 2) it is budget balanced at every Nash equilibrium of the game induced by the game form as well as off equilibrium; and 3) the allocation corresponding to every Nash equilibrium (NE) of the game induced by the mechanism is a Lindahl allocation, that is, a weakly Pareto optimal allocation; conversely, every Lindahl equilibrium results in a NE of the game induced by the game form. Our proposed game form/mechanism achieves all the above desirable properties without any assumption about, concavity, monotonicity, or quasi-linearity of the users' utility functions.


Abstract Density functional theory calculations, using the B3LYP parameterisation, were performed to determine structures, vibrational frequencies, and binding energies for complexation of Ni+ and Ni2+ cations with benzene and naphthalene molecules and clusters. The calculations employed the Stuttgart basis set with ECP pseudo potentials for the Ni cations and basis sets of at least triple ζ plus polarisation, and diffuse quality for C and H. The effect of electron correlation on non-bonded interactions was accounted for by the Grimme GD3 dispersion correction. Counterpoise computations were made for BSSE. Comparison between experiment and theory provide fascinating new insight into the bonding for these prototypical organometallic (OM) complexes. These structures have a sandwich topology, indicating major structural reorganisations occuring when benzene or naphthalene interact with Ni cations. Adiabatic electron affinities and ionisation potentials agree well with experiment when available. Binding energies were also determined, providing insight into the stability of the complexes. The results presented here provide important information for future studies to address additional investigations of both problems of the electronic structure properties of these complexes, as well as the role of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the interstellar medium (ISM) and soot formation in combustion. The Ni+/Ni2+ + aromatic organometallic bonding is of the same order of stability as an aromatic C–H bond. Such bonding modifies the IR spectrum of the complexed aromatic molecules by enhancing the 3.3 μm feature and decreasing the C–H bands in the 11–12 μm range (γ C–H). Organometallic complexation reactions may contribute significantly to metal depletion in the ISM. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


The objective of this paper is to present a new methodology for midterm energy forecasting. The proposed model is an adaptive artificial neural network (ANN), which properly transforms the input variables to differences or relative differences, in order to predict energy values not included in the training set. The ANN parameters, such as the finally used input variables, the number of neurons, initial values, and time periods of momentum term and training rate, are simultaneously selected by an optimization process. Another characteristic of the model is the use of a minimal training set of patterns. Results from an extensive analysis conducted by the developed method for the Greek power system and for different categories of customers are compared to those obtained from the application of standard regression methods.


" City of Love and Revolution takes readers back to Vancouver in the sixties, the decade when everything changed for the Baby Boomer generation. Dozens of rarely seen photos accompany Lawrence Aronsen's account of the tumultuous decade, bringing to life the sights, the sounds, and the passions of the era of psychedelia and free love, when for a brief moment in time everything seemed possible. Aronsen's readable account is illustrated with over 100 photos, drawings, and advertisements drawn from the newspapers — both straight and Georgia Straight — that chronicled the era." -- Publisher's website.


The Supreme Court of Canada's decision in Charkaoui and Parliament's subsequent enactment of Bill C-3 demonstrate how the Charter dialogue between the judiciary and legislatures can enhance the protection of constitutional rights and freedoms while preserving the ability of elected officials to pursue legitimate policy objectives.The notion of constitutional dialogue suggests that Charkaoui be read as setting parameters for future legislative action, recognizing not only those aspects of the security certificate scheme where the Court found constitutional deficiencies, but also those where it found the scheme to be constitutionally sound. The Court's conclusion that the in camera, ex parte hearing process violated the right to a fair hearing obviously constrained the scope of permissible action left open to Parliament. However, it is equally significant that the Court endorsed the general objective of the certificate process and afforded Parliament considerable latitude to remedy the constitutional deficiencies it had identified.

Bill C-3 demonstrates the different levels at which the constitutional dialogue between the judiciary and Parliament may take place. In those areas where the Court held that the Charter mandates a specific result, Parliament responded accordingly. Even in some areas where the Court rejected challenges to the previous certificate regime, Parliament addressed some issues that continued to affect the perceived fairness of the process. And, on the central fair hearing issue where the Court indicated that the Charter required greater procedural protections but did not stipulate precisely what more should be done, Parliament adopted the solution it deemed most appropriate: a special advocate regime. Despite criticisms of Bill C-3, it protects the named person's right to a fair hearing while still ensuring that national security is not compromised, and is likely to pass constitutional scrutiny.


Passiflora genus includes over 600 species native to tropical and subtropical areas of America, appreciated for the production of fruit and medicinal value. Their ornamental potential is especially appreciated in North America and in Europe. With the expansion of the flower trade and the use of secondary metabolites in the pharmaceutical industry, a need for the constant monopolization of new technologies and alternative in vitro techniques that allow to obtain a uniform, high quality material free of pests and diseases occurs. Passiflora's tissue cultures began to be studied in 1966, raising more and more interest of researchers worldwide. Depending on the source and type of the explant, plant growth regulators, and the used genotype, direct and indirect organogenesis are the main regeneration pathways for Passiflora. The latest approaches regarding the choice of explant and its source, the plant material surface sterilization and the specific requirements of each micropropagation stage are presented within our review. To this genus, the reduced gas exchange of in vitro growing of seedlings has been shown as the main cause of lack of success. In this regard, for regeneration and obtained improvements in morphogenesis, different protocols have been developed by using inhibitors of ethylene. In recent years, studies suggest that via somatic embryogenesis, starting from mature and immature zygotic embryos, regenerated plants that have maintained their mother plant ploidy can be successfully obtained. This confirms the callus cultures as main path to obtain in vitro regenerated Passiflora plants.


The article discusses the activities of modern libraries as memory institutions aimed to support multilingualism in cyberspace. The author characterizes electronic libraries and collections in national languages created by central libraries of subjects of the Russian Federation. Over the past few years libraries have stepped up work on the development of multilingualism on the Internet, creating electronic libraries in the languages of the peoples of Russia (besides Russian) and providing free access to them on their websites. National libraries of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation play a leading role in this process, striving to create more and more electronic resources in their national languages (including Russian), with the support of state authorities at the regional and local levels, as well as international organizations. They have created such electronic libraries and collections as "Electronic library of the authors of Karelia"; "Finno-Ugric libraries of Russia"; "Bashkirika"; "National electronic libraries" of the Udmurt Republic, the Republic of Adygea and Komi Republic; "Electronic collection of books in languages of Erzya and Moksha" created by the Pushkin National Library of the Republic of Mordovia; Tatar electronic library; Electronic collection "Literary palette of the Chuvash Republic — 100 books for reading"; and Electronic library of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Mainly the collections include electronic copies of publications that are not subject to copyright; however, there are works of modern authors as well. Electronic collections in national languages of regional libraries are few, among them there are such collections as "Indigenous ethnic groups of Sakhalin" of the Sakhalin regional universal scientific library and Electronic library "Kola North" of the Murmansk state regional universal scientific library. Thanks to the activities of the Central regional libraries, the presence of languages of the titular ethnic groups, as well as indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East in the Russian segment of the Internet has increased.


Human peripheral blood lymphocytes were obtained from healthy individuals and their cytotoxicity against retinoblastoma cells was measured using 51Cr-release assay. The lysis of two human retinoblastoma cell lines, Y-79 and WERI-Rb 1, varied greatly from blood donor to donor, but the lysis of K-562 was very similar among the donors. Furthermore, the lysis of Y-79 was markedly inhibited by the addition of K-562, a natural killer (NK) cell-sensitive target, but not by Raji, an NK-resistant target, suggesting that both Y-79 and K-562 shared a common NK-directed antigen. The major cytotoxic activity was associated with nonphagocytic and nonadherent cells, and it was finally recovered in the low-density fraction which was enriched with large granular lymphocytes. These lines of evidence indicate that natural killer cells (NK cells) in the peripheral blood killed retinoblastoma cell lines. On the other hand, three kinds of retinoblastoma cells freshly isolated from patients were resistant to the lysis by the lymphocytes obtained from the donors with high NK activity. However, these tumor cells displayed an enhanced susceptibility when the effectors from the same donors were treated with interferon. The study of NK cells and the interferon system may shed light on the treatment of retinoblastoma.


Chiral thiophene derivatives prepared from enantiomerically pure (R,R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane were successfully immobilized onto insoluble polymer support. The polymer-supported heterogeneous chiral ligands showed moderate reactivity and enantioselectivity (up to 71 %ee) in the palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of 1,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate, the enantioselectivity was maintained when the catalysts were recycled and reused two times without any radical loss.


Age-synchronous cohorts of Caenorhabditis elegans were grown at 20 degrees C, then stressed at 30 degrees C or 35 degrees C. Intrinsic thermotolerance of wild type and age-1 mutant strains was assessed by measuring either progeny production or survival. In addition to increased life span (Age), mutation of age-1 results in a highly significant increased intrinsic thermotolerance (Itt) as measured by survival at 35 degrees C. Mean survival of Age strains is approximately 45% longer than that of non-Age strains for both sterile and nonsterile worms. Thermotolerance declines across the life span of both Age and non-Age strains, but Itt was observed at almost all ages. Unstressed age-1 animals showed a consistent and significant fertility deficit. Short thermal stresses can cause a dramatic reduction in progeny production for both Age and non-Age genotypes. Mutants of age-1 showed a small but consistent increased thermotolerance as measured by fertility. We propose that the enhanced ability of Age strains to cope with environmental stress may be mechanistically related to their lower age-specific mortality rates.


This work examines a recent study that used various forecasting methods and in particular the Delphi method, to understand how the indicators were selected during the development of the prospective study. It can be concluded that the indicators in the study were selected through discussion on existing knowledge (formal and informal) and the broad consensus of the respective community, which established and confirmed the choice of indicators as the most relevant to prospectively examine the matter concerned. The technical support provided to choose certain forecasting methods as well as to choose the methods that could not be used throughout the development of the work, contributed to the strength of the list of indicators.


It has been established that inflammation leads to a variety of changes in social experience, but one area of social experience that has been overlooked is subjective social status. Furthermore, given sex differences in the relationship between inflammation and social status, males may be more sensitive to inflammation-induced changes in social status. However, no previous studies in humans have examined this possibility. In the present study, healthy young participants (n = 115) were randomly assigned to receive either endotoxin, an experimental inflammatory challenge, or placebo. Participants reported their subjective social status at baseline (prior to injection), and approximately 2 h later (time of peak inflammatory response for the endotoxin group). Results, using ANCOVA analyses, indicated that males exposed to endotoxin, but not females, reported lower levels of subjective social status at the peak of inflammatory response (vs. placebo). These results suggest that males may be more sensitive to the effects of inflammation in certain social domains, such as perceived social status. Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT01671150.


Patients with glioblastoma have a very poor prognosis. Adoptive cellular therapy (ACT) is defined as the collection of circulating or tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, their selection, modification, expansion and activation, and their re-administration to patients in order to induce antitumor activity. Although various ACTs have been attempted, most failed to improve the outcome. Immune checkpoint blockade antibodies and T cell engineering with tumor-specific chimeric antigen receptors suggest the emergence of a new era of immunotherapy. Here, we summarize approaches with ACTs using genetically modified T cells, which have been improved by enhancing their antitumor activity, and discuss strategies to develop these therapies. The mechanisms by which gliomas modulate and evade the immune system are also discussed.


This paper argues that in certain areas of policy, electoral systems can influence policy innovation (how early countries will adopt certain policies). Electoral systems influence the number of parties that win representation and thereby influence the diversity of perspectives included in the policymaking process. It is argued here that this diversity facilitates elite and public consideration of new issues and ideas, and consequently, it leads to earlier debate and action on these issues and ideas. This dynamic is particularly relevant to controversial issues and ideas that major parties may be hesitant to address and that minor parties may be more incentivized to promote. In this paper, two issues/ideas are considered: extending rights to same-sex couples and making material sacrifices to protect the environment. I show that countries with more proportional electoral systems tend to act earlier to protect the environment and that they tend to be early adopters of civil union legislation. These results are also supported by World Values Survey data showing public preference patterns that support these policy outcomes.


We have successfully fabricated an acoustic transducer built on a 1.5 /spl mu/m thick dome-shaped silicon nitride diaphragm (2,000 /spl mu/m in radius, with a circular clamped boundary on a silicon substrate) with electrodes and piezoelectric ZnO film. The key idea of making such a large 3-D diaphragm is in producing a large spherical etch front (2 mm in radius) in a 2 mm thick silicon substrate by an isotropic silicon etching with a 75 /spl mu/m thick cellophane tape as an etch mask. During the isotropic etching, we observe a self-limiting etching behavior caused by the gas bubbles (etch byproducts) which close the etch window and limit the mass transport of the etchant to the silicon etch surface. This self-limiting etching is advantageously used to control the dome diaphragm dimension. One major advantage of a dome diaphragm is that the diaphragm can effectively release residual stress through volumetric change of its shape, and can easily be wrinkle-free and/or crack-free. The fabricated acoustic transducer has been measured to produce a sound output above 70 dB SPL in 10-200 kHz when the transducer is driven by a 11 V/sub rms/ sinusoidal source.


Catalytic degradation of organic water pollutants has emerged as a cost- and energy-effective technique to treat wastewater. In this work, new silver and magnetite nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared with a protic poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) based on a quaternized diethylethanolamine cation combined with 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonate-co-vinylpyrrolidone (QAMPSA/VP) as a capping and a reducing agent. The morphology, particle size, surface charge, thermal stability, and magnetic properties of QAMPS/VP-Ag and Fe3O4 NPs were investigated to determine the efficiency of the PIL as a reducing and a capping agent to protect the produced NPs from oxidation or thermal degradation. The activation energy, enthalpy, and entropy of the catalytic degradation of the cationic methylene blue (MB) dye in the presence of QAMPS/VP-Ag and Fe3O4 NPs were determined. The data elucidated that MB was completely degraded in 8 min in the presence of QAMPS/VP-Fe3O4 NPs as a Fenton oxidation catalyst. Moreover, their good magnetic properties allowed their easy separation and reuse for five cycles without losing their magnetic or catalytic properties.


Nonionic contrast media have been proven safe for intrathecal opacification, but adverse effects, including psycho-organic syndrome and asterixis, have been reported and appear more frequently when contrast medium enters intracranial spaces. Using compressed spectral array (CSA), transient, EEG changes can be monitored more efficiently, and bioelectrical neurotoxicities of various contrast media can be better observed. The nonionic contrast medium, iohexol, was evaluated for safety, patient tolerance, and image quality in studies of the higher regions of the spinal canal and intracranial spaces. Fifty-nine patients received iohexol injections while undergoing myelography, cisternography, or ventriculography. Measurements included detailed neurologic examination, blood pressure and pulse rate, EEG, and CSA EEG analysis. Iohexol provided excellent opacification of the craniocervical region and of brain cisterns. It is safe for use in pericerebral spaces and is exceptionally well tolerated by patients. Due to its safety and convenience for use in myelography, iohexol is expected to facilitate the development and use of new neuroradiologic techniques.


Aldehydes compounds selective converted to 1,1-diacetates as protective reagent with SiO 2 @FeSO 4 nano composite as effective nano catalyst at room temperature under solvent-free condition and acetic anhydride (Ac 2 O) as acetylation reagent. This method provides several advantages, such as low cost of the nano catalyst, high yields, short reaction time, chemoselective protection of aldehydes and operational simplicity. Aromatic and aliphatic, simple and conjugated aldehydes were protected with excellent yields. In addition, chemoselective reductive acetylation of aldehydes over ketones was achieved perfectly with the reagent at room temperature. Scheme 1. Synthesis of 1,1-diacetates from aldehydes.


Three longitudinal studies are incorporated to explore the dynamic and interactive processes of organizational socialization. First, the communication process between employees and their supervisors will be captured through ESM cell phone data collection design, for a period of one week during the first three months. Second, the dynamics of organizational socialization will be explored through three months, one-week interval longitudinal study which will record information from both employees and their supervisors. Third, impact factors on organizational socialization as well as the effect of organizational socialization will be explored in a one year, three-month interval study. Findings from these longitudinal studies will provide greater insights on the dynamics and interactional perspective of the socialization process.


We developed a new assay of Bcl-xL inhibitors based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer that occurs between an AEDANS-labeled Bak-BH3 peptide and three tryptophans in the BH1 and BH2 domains of Bcl-xL. The method can tolerate up to 5% DMSO, and it was validated with several Bcl-xL inhibitors. It can be adapted to screen for compounds targeting other Bcl-2 family proteins.


We present a continental-scale evaluation of the distribution of dams and reservoirs in South America. This analysis is relevant to estimate potential impacts on water supply and flow alteration. A combined total of 808 of the largest dams across the continent, which can store about 1,003 cubic kilometres of water, were evaluated. We divided the area of study into 27 hydrological regions and for each region we determined necessary inputs to assess the potential impacts of dams and reservoirs such as: total area, mean annual runoff, total storage volume, population, or equipped area for irrigation. Although the storage capacity of the reservoirs represents around 10% of the region's total mean annual runoff, the potential impacts for flow alteration differ considerably between hydrological regions because dams and reservoirs are not evenly distributed in South America. Whilst in some hydrological regions in the north, including the Amazon river, water storage from reservoirs represents less than 5% of their mean annual runoff, some hydrological regions in the south of the continent can store the equivalent of 2 to 3 years of their mean annual runoff. The region with the highest potential for hydrological impacts is the Rio Colorado basin in Argentina, where storage from reservoirs can be almost 3.5 times the region’s mean annual runoff. The observed variations in water storage can be explained by the diversity in hydrology and water demands of the different hydrological regions of the continent. For example, water storage for hydropower purposes represents about 85% of the total water storage in the continent. Also, the highest number of dams exclusively allocated for hydropower production are located in the east of the continent in Argentina and Brazil. The hydrological region with the highest ratio of water storage is “La Plata” in the southeast of the continent with approximately 35% of the total water storage of the continent.  In addition, almost 70% of dams are located in humid or sub-humid areas. In average, the dams in the continent can store 9,700 m3 of water per person and 161,000 m3 of water per hectare equipped for irrigation. The regions with the highest concentration of dams are Venezuela and the eastern region of Brazil, while the regions with the least number of dams per area are found in the northeast of Brazil and the south of the continent. These ratios may be useful to understand the potential effects of dams and reservoirs on a regional and continental scale, considering that development plans in several countries include many new dams across the continent. With this study, we expect to provide valuable insights to researchers and water resource managers about the current and future potential impacts of dams and reservoirs in South America.


This paper presents a method for calculating eddy current loss in permanent magnets of a surface permanent magnet (SPM) motor based on electric and magnetic networks. First, an electric network model to calculate the eddy current loss is indicated. Then, to find the resistivity of a Nd-Fe-B magnet, eddy current loss in the magnet is measured by using a test core. Next, a reluctance network analysis (RNA) model of the SPM motor considering the rotor rotation is presented. The eddy current losses in the magnet of the SPM motor from no load to full load conditions are calculated by the RNA model and electric network model. The eddy current losses calculated by the proposed model agree well with the ones obtained from three-dimensional finite-element analysis.


Competition and collaboration are at the heart of multi-agent probabilistic spreading processes. The battle on public opinion and competitive marketing campaigns are typical examples of the former, while the joint spread of multiple diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis demonstrates the latter. These spreads are influenced by the underlying network topology, the infection rates between network constituents, recovery rates and, equally importantly, the interactions between the spreading processes themselves. Here, for the first time we derive dynamic message-passing equations that provide an exact description of the dynamics of two interacting spreading processes on tree graphs, and develop systematic low-complexity models that predict the spread on general graphs. We also develop a theoretical framework for an optimal control of interacting spreading processes through an optimized resource allocation under budget constraints and within a finite time window. Derived algorithms can be used to maximize the desired spread in the presence of a rival competitive process, and to limit the spread through vaccination in the case of coupled infectious diseases. We demonstrate the efficacy of the framework and optimization method on both synthetic and real-world networks.


The world is currently experiencing a period of warming and the role of soil carbon pools for mitigation of greenhouse gases has encouraged the need for more knowledge on the tree species effects on soil organic carbon. The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of tree species on maximizing soil organic carbon sequestration in Imo State, Nigeria. Four tree species (Teak, Tectona grandis, linn, Gmelina, Gmelina arborea Roxb, Rubber plant, Hevea bransiliensis Mull. Arg. and Black velvet, Dialium guineense Wild) were chosen for the study. Random soil sampling was used in field studies. Soil samples were collected at the depth of 0-15cm and 15-30cm. these soil samples were prepared and subjected to routine laboratory analysis. Soil organic carbon sequestration was calculated and relationships between soil organic carbon sequestration and soil properties were obtained by simple correlation. Results showed that Tectona grandis of sequestration value 154.1 and 116.8 at top soil and subsoil respectively provides the best option for maximizing carbon sequestration in the soil, followed by Hevea bransiliensis (147.4 and 91.1), Gmelina arborea (134.1 and 81.1) and least was in Dialium guineese (108.1 and 60.1) at all depth. There was significant (P = 0.01) positive correlation between base saturation, calcium, total nitrogen with soil organic carbon sequestration at r –values of 0.77, 0.74 and 0.97 respectively. Hence, negative correlation existed between soil pH, clay fraction potassium with soil organic carbon sequestration with r-values of – 0.37, -0.68 and -0.54 respectively. It can be concluded that soil organic carbon sequestration decreases with decreasing depths and were greatly affected by tree species, soil properties and management practices.


Abstract This paper presents the results of experimental works focused on replacement of ceramic waste materials with cement in the production of cement mortar. The aim of this research work is to find the optimum percentage replacement of cement by ceramic tile waste in percentage replacement (5 to 25, 50 and 100%) mortar mixes. The ceramic waste tiles are mechanically crushed down ultrafine ceramic waste (UCW) powder passing 600 µ and replaced with cement in cement mortars. The results demonstrate that recycled eco-friendly cement ceramic mortar gives higher mechanical properties than conventional cement mortar. The strength and durability parameters shows positive values higher than CM (Cement Mortar) mix at 20% replacement and density lower as the replacement level increase. Keywords: Ceramic waste tiles, ultrafine ceramic waste (UCW), compressive strength, density


Why in the world would anyone want to hand feed Canaries in this day and age? All of our lives are so busy. I have two children that are very active and need my attention most of the time. They are in after-school activities that keep them busy which also keeps me busy since I am the designated driver!. I also help my husband run his business and I have a desktop publishing business of my own. We have a dog and I breed Fife, Lizard, Northern Dutch Frill and Hartz Canaries. Yes, I have to "come out of the aviary" so to speak. I do handfeed my Canary babies for the first week of their lives. Let me give you a few reasons why I engage in this practice followed only, usually, by the "big bird" people who are interested in selling "hand fed and tamed" birds. My first but not most important reason is that I feel the Canary chicks that I handfeed are getting a little extra start in life that they may or may not be able to get from their mother/father. I've come to learn that the chick who can open its mouth and stick its head up the farthest get the most food. In Darwin's opinion, that means survival of the fittest. I'm not breeding Canaries to fight Goliath or some such enemy. My birds don't have to be unusually strong to live the life that they're going to live. They have to be healthy but we as breeders keep the individual types exactly to specifications. (A good Gibber would· get blown right off course by a stiff wind.) My birds have to look good and be good parents and show well and breed other birds that will do the same. Just because a bird can't hold its head up as high as its nestmates, in my opinion, is no reason for it to die. Many times that is exactly why a chick dies ... simply because it wasn't as insistent as its nestmates about being fed. The second reason why I hand feed my Canaries is because I don't know how to stop and smell the roses. Confused? My life is very hectic. I have no time to do what I have to do let alone anything extra. I've heard about "smelling the roses" all my life but I never learned how. I am pushed and driven to achieve. I have tried many times to deal with this issue but to no avail-until I decided to start hand feeding my Canaries. When I sit down in my birdroom and prepare what I need for feeding, take the nest and set it in my lap, I actually relax and, believe me, that's no small feat. I take a deep breath and for the next 10 to 30 minutes, I help Mother Nature and wonder at the miracle of it all. I see the tiny little bodies of the Canary chicks and marvel that they can lift up their heads and open their mouths instantly after hatching. I've actually jumped the gun a few times and found a chick in the middle of hatching. I've even helped take off the shell once or twice. These are miracles and I have seen them! Another reason to supplement feeding is to help the hen out. If the hen has a lot of babies, she can use the help, especially if the cock isn't in with her. It's exhausting work for a hen to feed five or six babies alone. Also, sometimes a hen won't start feeding until all her eggs are hatched. If there is a little lag time there, the first baby can die while the other ones are waiting to hatch. What is it that I hand feed my Canaries? I believe 100% in Abba Products. Abba is a company from Elizabeth, New Jersey that sells to bird breeders and stores. They will send you a price list if you request one. The man who owns the company is a real expert in the area of bird nutrition and health. He has formulated his seed mixtures after years of research. In my opinion, his quality can't be beat. I use the Abba nestling food with seed (I think the number is 92A). I mix l 1/2 cups of Abba nesting food with one hard boiled egg chopped fine. I add about 2-3 tablespoons of water to the mixture, just enough to get it moist but not wet. Then I take a small cap or container just big enough to hold about 2 tablespoons of Pedialyte (an oral electrolyte suspension that is given to children to replace electrolytes after very bad vomiting and/ or diarrhea). This is available in a generic solution also. I use the Arbor brand. I have a wooden match stick that I whittled down just a bit to fit into the little mouths but its not sharp or pointed. I simply dip the matchstick into the Pedialyte to wet it then dip the wet matchstick into the mixed nestling food and put a tiny bit into the chicks mouth. If it looks like a piece got in that is too big or not moist enough, I will give a drop of the Pedialyte plain-just enough to wash down the crumb. I don't fill up the birds until they're stuffed because I don't want the mother to get frustrated because her babies aren't interested in eating. I do this a few times a day for the first week. After the first week, the chicks can see much better and they're too scared to open their mouths. That's okay though because I have given them a great start. If they don't make it after I've been supplementing their feeding for a week then so be it. But I sure try not to lose them in the first week. My system has worked out well for all concerned. I have just banded my 40th baby bird and the breeding season is just half finished. Only one chick has been lost so far. I think I'm doing the best for the birds. I feel I'm giving the mother a helping hand. The babies are getting great nutrition. And last but not least, I'm relaxing! Everyone wins in this situation .


ABSTRACT Mycobacterium ulcerans disease, or Buruli ulcer (BU), causes significant morbidity in West Africa. In 233 consecutive, laboratory-confirmed samples from BU patients in Benin whose Mycobacterium bovis BCG scar status was known, 130 children (<15 years old) and 75 adults had a neonatal BCG vaccination scar. Of 130 children with BCG scars, 10 (7.7%) had osteomyelitis, while 3 of 9 children without BCG scars (33.3%) had osteomyelitis. Our observations support the conclusion that having a BCG vaccination scar provides significant protection against M. ulcerans osteomyelitis in children with BU disease.


To produce high-strength and low-cement content concrete, the authors advocates the strategy of adding silica fume as cement replacement and the strategy of adding limestone fine as cement paste replacement. To study the effectiveness of these two strategies, a comprehensive study with 33 concrete mixes with silica fume or limestone fine produced for strength measurement has been carried out. Test results proved that both the two strategies could increase the strength at the same W/CM ratio and at the same cement content. *


Distributed constraint optimization is increasingly used for problem solving by multiple agents. However, there are situations where the system is made up of heterogeneous agents, for which the context, the structure, and the business rules define the interactions that are possible between them. As an example, supply chains are made up of interdependent business units having some form of customer-supplier hierarchical relationships. The coordination space for these hierarchical situations can be described as a tree. Therefore, we propose a distributed algorithm (MacDS) that performs discrepancy-based search which is known to perform well for centralized problems. The proposed algorithm is complete and aims at producing good solutions in a short amount of time. It allows concurrent computation and is tolerant to message delays. It has been evaluated using real industrial supply chain problems, for which it showed good performance.


Previous studies have found that activation of EphB2 and ephrinB1 that drives cell segregation leads to phosphorylation of the phosphoinositide phosphatase SHIP2 downstream of forward (EphB2) but not reverse (ephrinB1) signaling. We have analysed whether SHIP2 interacts with EphB2 and contributes to cell responses to EphB2-ephrinB1 signaling. We confirm that EphB2 activation leads to SHIP2 phosphorylation on Y1135 and find that they interact through the SH2 domain of SHIP2. There is thus a distinct mode of interaction from EphA2, which binds SHIP2 via its SAM domain. Knockdown of SHIP2 in EphB2 cells leads to decreased segregation from ephrinB1 cells, and a decrease in the repulsion response of EphB2 cells. SHIP2 knockdown in ephrinB1 cells also decreases their repulsion response, but does not disrupt segregation which is largely driven by forward signaling. These findings show that activation of EphB2 leads to recruitment and phosphorylation of SHIP2, and that SHIP2 contributes to cell repulsion responses that underlie cell segregation.


BackgroundMenstrual abnormalities seem to occur more frequently in students studying medicine and health sciences. Menstrual abnormalities have the potential to impact women's health, their physical and emotional wellbeing as well as social and school functioning, there is a clear need for better understanding of these disease processes, their associations, and impact on quality of life. The present study aims to explore the association between menstrual abnormalities, psychological disturbances and eating disorders among female students studying health sciences subjectsMethodsThis was a cross-sectional study, in which students from all health science colleges at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Saudi Arabia, were asked to partake by answering questions pertaining to their demographic data, menstrual patterns, perceived stress, and quality of life using Perceived Stress Scale (PSS ) and the 20-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-20) respectively. All statistical analyses were done using IBM SPSS Statistics software.ResultsMost respondents had a normal length cycle, duration and flow. Many of our respondents reported some type of premenstrual symptoms with mixed symptoms being the most prevalent 44%. Those who had mixed premenstrual symptoms also had high levels of perceived stress (p<0.001). However, there was no correlation between menstrual cycle length and duration and levels of perceived stress. Regarding the SF-20 quality of life components who had premenstrual symptoms including pain, psychological symptoms , and mixed symptoms did poorly on the physical, social, and mental health aspects of quality of life.DiscussionOur findings are in line with those identified by other authors who demonstrate a strong positive correlation with premenstrual symptoms and perceived stress and also an association between menstrual abnormalities and quality of life and activities of daily living. Due to the cross-sectional nature of the study, causality cannot be determined and prospective studies are recommended in the futureConclusionsWe found that those who had menorrhagia, premenstrual symptoms, or eating disorders reported high levels of stress. We have also demonstrated a link between premenstrual symptoms, menstrual abnormalities, PCOS , and worse quality of life. We hope that this unique study will shed some light on the struggles faced by health science female students and help policy makers enhance mental and reproductive/endocrinological health care access for them


Exact solutions are derived for the input impedances of vertical magnetic and electric short dipoles over a lossy half space. The exact solution is expressed as a simple formula and a remainder, which takes the form of a rapidly converging series. Reduction to available approximate solutions in the literature under conditions of large dipole heights, large refractive index of the half space, or both is demonstrated. The derivation of new simple formulae that tend to the exact solutions when the refractive index of the half space approaches both limits of infinity or unity is of particular interest. Numerical examples are presented and compared with published results.


Simulation is a multidisciplinary field of study used in different scopes, involving people with different areas of knowledge and backgrounds. Formal languages become important tools in order to build, understand, and maintain the simulation models. The formalization of an intelligent agent is not an easy task because of the complex behavior it owns. In this study, we apply a formal and graphical language, called Specification and Description Language, to formalize an intelligent agent. This formalization captures the complete and unambiguous behavior of the agents and simplifies the understanding of the agents' behaviors because of the graphic structure of the language. This formal representation of the model also simplifies joining multiagent system (MAS) models and interaction models through the formalization. In addition, because Specification and Description Language is a standard language, several tools are capable of understanding the model, which leads to an automatic implementation.


Congenital abnormalities of the major mediastinal venous structures occur in less than 2 % of people who have no other abnormalities. Venous malformations are the most common vascular malformation, accounting for 44–64% of all vascular malformations. Multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) is beneficial in the diagnosis and workup treatment planning of congenital anomalies. The current study presents a case report of a 27-year-old male who came to the CT department at Al-Shifa Hospital for evaluation of venous drainage patterns to the chest. In the first exam (one side contrast media injection), congenital absent both subclavian and brachiocephalic veins with blood seen draining through numerous small mediastina venous collaterals are observed during the two exams. The second exam (bilaterally and simultaneously contrast media injection) gives the same diagnosis in addition to huge network of collaterals around the lower esophagus and gastroesophageal junction forming cavernous transformation (significantly increased). Highly recommended to use directMDCT angiography and venography injecting contrast media bilaterally and simultaneously via the upper extremity.


Emotional forecasting was a psychological research hotspot in recent years. Bias not only existed in forecasting self emotions, but also in forecasting others', which can lead to interpersonal empathy gap. Van Boven and Loewenstein presented the dual judgment model of emotional perspective taking, implying that self forecasting bias and similarity judgment deviation between themselves and others are the main reasons of interpersonal empathy gap. Based on the dual judgment model, this study established an interpersonal emotional forecasting model, which can not only explain the formation of interpersonal empathy gap, but also help to overcome interpersonal empathy gap.Taking the typical interpersonal forecasting phenomenon(teachers forecasting students' emotions) as example and selecting typical educational situations, this research explored the formation of interpersonal empathy gap as well as ways to overcome interpersonal empathy gap to verify the interpersonal emotional forecasting model. Study 1(85 teachers participants, 364 students participants) selected caring students and delaying class as forecasting situations, while Study 2(37 teachers and 37 students) selected positive expectation as forecasting situation, where the teachers were asked to forecast students' emotional responses. The results indicated that whether they are forecasting groups or individual student, there exists a significant correlation between teacher'sself-forecasting and forecasting the student's emotions. As the empathy anchor, self-forecasting directly affected teachers' forecasting on the students' emotions. While the influence of empathy anchor on forecasting accuracy has two-sidedness, the extremeness of self-forecasting would lead to a still greater empathy gap between teachers and students. Study 3(61 teachers, 68 students) selected preparing for tests as forecasting situation, while the teacher's empathy strategy was manipulated by instructions. It indicated that empathy strategies significantly influenced the teachers' emotional forecasting accuracy. Teachers thinking only from their own perspective and neglecting to imagine emotions from the student's perspectives would induce greater forecasting bias. Otherwise, teachers placing themselves on students' position would overcome egocentric bias, thereby effectively closing the empathy gap. Effective emotional prediction strategy was directly presented in this research with realistic effects and sustained the development of the dual judgment model of emotional perspective taking. Interpersonal emotional forecasting model was conducted and verified. This study laid a theoretical basis for further revealing the characteristics and mechanisms of interpersonal emotional forecasting process.


In this paper, a reconfigurable, low component count high‐gain battery integrated dc‐dc boost converter (HGBIBC) is proposed for power management of time‐varying loads (TVLs). The battery is integrated between the two switches and the two diodes, which provides an inherent feature of pulse‐charging and pulse‐discharging of the battery, thereby increasing its lifetime. The converter operation, in various modes, is explained, and the steady‐state and time‐domain analyses are performed to establish the high‐voltage gain feature of the converter, which makes it suitable for interfacing sources with low output voltages. The guidelines for the design of converter parameters and selection of switching devices are presented. Small‐signal models are derived, and the relative gain array (RGA) analysis is performed, which revealed that the control loops are of decoupled nature and hence the controllers, for each loop, can be designed independently, as in the case of a single‐input single‐output (SISO) converter. The PID controllers are designed to simultaneously regulate the load voltage and source current. The theoretical concepts developed in the paper are validated experimentally using the laboratory prototype of the converter. The experimental results, demonstrating power management, at load voltages of 60 and 48 V are presented, which are found to be in close correlation with the theoretical and simulation studies.


32nd Annual Air Pollution Workshop Auburn University in Auburn, AL, USA, April 2000 Air pollution has profound effects on agriculture, forests and natural ecosystems. The first Air Pollution Workshop was held over 30 years ago, and the most vital issues have always been highlighted within this forum. This year, forest health and passive sampling of air pollutants were two key areas of interest.


Impulsivity, a multi-dimensional construct, has been extensively explored within addiction research; with increased alcohol consumption repeatedly linked to heightened impulsivity. Similarly, greater attentional bias towards alcohol-related stimuli, commanding both initial and maintenance of attention, has been consistently reported in more accustomed alcohol drinkers.
However, due to the lack of research combining these facets of addiction, the purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between attentional bias and impulsivity; providing a more comprehensive understanding of alcohol-drinking in a sample of light and heavy drinkers (N= 44).
Fundamentally, maintained attentional biases towards alcohol-related stimuli, measured using a visual dot-probe task, were significantly and positively correlated with trait impulsivity, using the Barratt Impulsivity Scale.
Both maintenance and initial biases in alcohol-attention were positively correlated with state impulsivity of impaired inhibitory control in a 'stop' task; but were not correlated with impulsive choice in a delayed discounting paradigm. Furthermore, significantly increased craving was reported following alcohol cue-exposure in the visual dot-probe. Thus, supporting the notion that highly impulsive individuals are more susceptible to relapse due to biased attention towards alcohol-related cues; which elicits increased craving.
Ultimately, knowledge of this relationship is essential to further inform effective rehabilitation interventions within addiction treatment; bringing this under-researched, complex relationship into the arena of literature.


Determining the location of cortical activity from electroencephalographic (EEG) data is important clinically. In this paper, a method is presented which uses the powerful optimization method of simulated annealing in conjunction with a finite-element-based model of the search domain for a single-time slice solution of the EEG-inverse problem. The algorithm highlights a new objective function based on the current-density boundary integral associated with the finite-element formulation as the basis for parameter optimization. In two-dimensional experiments in a shallow tank containing saline, single dipoles are located within 2 mm. Simulations studying the algorithms response to structured noise are also presented. The new objective function is shown to take advantage of the natural framework associated with finite-elements and the results suggest that the approach is capable of resolving dipole locations in simulations and experiments.


Living kidney donation and transplant (LKDT) offers a path of hope for patients on indefinite dialysis treatment. However, identification of a living donor can be challenging; initiating these conversations is difficult. Our study analyzes memorable conversations about LKDT that occurred in response to an LKDT campaign targeted to Native Americans. Our analysis of n = 28 memorable conversations revealed that the campaign prompted conversations and increased communication efficacy about LKDT. Based on these findings, we suggest that campaign designers utilize narratives within campaigns to model communication self-efficacy and then analyze the content of postcampaign conversations as an indicator of campaign effectiveness.


Photosynthetic activities of hermatypic corals (28 genera, c. 68 species and c. 92 specimen) were measured in November 2000 at Sekisei lagoon, Okinawa, Japan, using an underwater pulse amplitude modulated fluorometer. Maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) ranged from 0.61 to 0.70 and had an average value of 0.664 (standard deviation [SD], 0.0289). Following the measurement of Fv/Fm, quantum yield (Fm′-F)/Fm′ at eight-leveled actinic-light intensities were obtained from all specimens. Values of electronic transport rates (ETR) were nearly the same under low photosynthetic active radiation (PAR; μmol quanta/m2 per s) condition and varied with increasing PAR. The value of ETR at 100 μmol quanta/m2 per s ranged from 21.3 to 30.0 and had an average of 27.8 (SD, 2.09). In August 2001, a coral bleaching event was observed in Sekisei Lagoon. During the event, photosynthetic activities of 21 specimens of eight species (seven genera) were measured. By applying two indicators, Fv/Fm and ETR at 100 μmol quanta/m2 per s obtained in August 2000, 18 of 21 specimens were suggested under the bleaching process. In case of Porites lutea, seven colonies were visually evaluated for their condition of bleaching and were found to have two 'normal', three 'slightly bleached' and two 'heavily bleached'. From the density of zooxanthellae, colonies evaluated 'normal' or 'slightly bleached' did not show an apparent difference. However, they were clearly identified by Fm/Fv and ETR at 100 μmol quanta/m2 per s.


ABSTRACT Many mathematicians, physicists, and philosophers have suggested that the fact that mathematics—an a priori discipline informed substantially by aesthetic considerations—can be applied to natural science is mysterious. This paper sharpens and responds to a challenge to this effect. I argue that the aesthetic considerations used to evaluate and motivate mathematics are much more closely connected with the physical world than one might presume, and (with reference to case studies within Galois theory and probabilistic number theory) I show that they are correlated with generally recognised theoretical virtues, such as explanatory depth, unifying power, fruitfulness, and importance.


Case 4-A 56-year-old man with alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver had an oesophageal transection with the EEA staple gun for oesophageal varices. A day later a radiograph showed a complete staple ring and a barium swallow confirmed no oesophageal leakage. Further radiographs showed an enlarging break in the staple ring. He was discharged on the 14th day but was readmitted three days later with further bleeding, which was due to a varix at the site of the open staple ring.


IDHology Among the most exciting drug targets to emerge from cancer genome sequencing projects are two related metabolic enzymes, isocitrate dehydrogenases 1 and 2 (IDH1, IDH2). Mutations in the IDH1 and IDH2 genes are common in certain types of human cancer. Whether inhibition of mutant IDH activity might offer therapeutic benefits is unclear (see the Perspective by Kim and DeBerardinis). F. Wang et al. (p. 622, published online 4 April) isolated a small molecule that selectively inhibits mutant IDH2, describe the structural details of its binding to the mutant enzyme, and show that this compound suppresses the growth of patient-derived leukemia cells harboring the IDH2 mutation. Rohle et al. (p. 626, published online 4 April) show that a small molecule inhibitor of IDH1 selectively slows the growth of patient-derived brain tumor cells with the IDH1 mutation. A small molecule that inhibits a mutant enzyme in tumors slows malignant growth by inducing cancer cell differentiation. [Also see Perspective by Kim and DeBerardinis] A number of human cancers harbor somatic point mutations in the genes encoding isocitrate dehydrogenases 1 and 2 (IDH1 and IDH2). These mutations alter residues in the enzyme active sites and confer a gain-of-function in cancer cells, resulting in the accumulation and secretion of the oncometabolite (R)-2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG). We developed a small molecule, AGI-6780, that potently and selectively inhibits the tumor-associated mutant IDH2/R140Q. A crystal structure of AGI-6780 complexed with IDH2/R140Q revealed that the inhibitor binds in an allosteric manner at the dimer interface. The results of steady-state enzymology analysis were consistent with allostery and slow-tight binding by AGI-6780. Treatment with AGI-6780 induced differentiation of TF-1 erythroleukemia and primary human acute myelogenous leukemia cells in vitro. These data provide proof-of-concept that inhibitors targeting mutant IDH2/R140Q could have potential applications as a differentiation therapy for cancer.


This case study investigates the development of the understanding of constructivist theory among students in a Masters level elementary teacher education program within a particular course. The focus of the study is a seminar entitled 'Advanced Seminar in Child Development'. The questions explored include: How do students' ideas of teaching, learning and knowledge develop within the context of their experience in this course? How do they come to understand constructivism? What are their definitions of constructivism? What is the course of the development of this understanding? The nature of the students' learning processes is examined through three sources of data: dialog journals, videotaped sessions and the instructor's reflective teaching journal. The study looks both at student development and instructional practice to further understanding of how student‐teachers can learn to apply constructivist theory to their teaching and to understand the learning process, both within themselves and their student...


Quality is key to being able to read radiographs. If it is lacking or poor, it is impossible to make a proper diagnosis. This article describes simple techniques and provides answers to problems encountered in the production of quality radiographs, such as, darkroom management, correct safelights, fresh chemistry and clean equipment. It includes a problem-solving guide to causes and solutions for film marks, density and drying, as well as a simple method for evaluating when to change chemical solutions. Using these techniques should greatly improve quality without a large expenditure of time or money.


Child abuse is defined by a recent act or failure to act that results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or imminent risk of serious harm; involved a child; and is carried out by a parent or caregiver. This report provides guidance in the clinical approach to the evaluation of suspected physical abuse in children, and role of pediatrician. The medical assessment is outlined with obtaining a medical history, physical examination, and diagnostic testing. A minor form of child abuse which only involves skin injury is most frequently seen by a pediatrician. This kind of child abuse can be followed by more severe forms of child abuse, which have high mortality rates and cause serious physical and mental sequelae to the survivor. Therefore, a pediatrician's role in an early detection and prevention of child abuse is very important. (Korean J Pediatr 2009;52:1194-1199)


To date, method for analysis of the current socio-economic conditions and development forecasting, approved for the administrative-territorial units, has been used only in predicting the development of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, administrative regions (oblasts), groups of administrative regions (oblasts), and also for development of planning development schemes of territories. The article proves that this technique may be applied to some other individual parts of the Ukrainian territory, e.g. historical-geographic territories. The author for the first time applies the method for analysis and development forecasting for the historical-geographical territory of Volhynia. This technique may help provide longtime forecast of the development of historical Volhynia. Also, the article defines the boundaries of the historic Volhynia and its present spatial structure. Administrative districts (raions) have been typed by their level of development, which allowed to identify the existing problems of the regional development and to work out basic ideas for interventions to address them.


It seems a pity we have to spend so much time discussing and documenting not the scientific aspects of heart transplantation but the diverse problems related to it. However, a critical evaluation of these "happenings" can be most valuable, particularly in exposing for possible correction many of the unspoken and unexplored facets of medical practice and ethics. It is time to examine methods of scientific communication, criteria of death, confidentiality, rights of individuals, and the behavior of physicians, all quite aside from the value of cardiac transplantation as an experiment or a practical treatment. But I must warn you that I am no better prepared than anyone else to give definitive answers. My only claim to be heard is based on seniority and my belief that those who ignore the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. I shall place my views at your disposal for consideration, not


Flood events are dependent on meteorological conditions but also depend on several other factors that are case specific, with relevance for reservoir operation. Hydrological and hydrodynamic models are valuable tools for understanding complex river hydrodynamics during flood events. These tools have been applied to improve understanding of the causes for an urban flood event that occurred between 9 and 11 January 2016 in the Mondego river basin, at Coimbra city (Portugal). Seven different factors that can, independently, influence the river flow at the study site were identified: three of them can be associated with the operational discharge schemes of the three upstream dams; two factors with the runoff flows from uncontrolled contributing sub-basins; another one related to discharge measurement uncertainty at a downstream dam; and finally, the seventh studied factor was sedimentation occurring in the main channel of the flooded river stretch. Hydroinformatic tools were applied in different scenarios allowing the characterization and identification of each one of the identified key factors responsible for the flood event. A proposal for a flood early warning system is presented based on the knowledge resulting from the studied flood event.


In this paper, a spectrum sensing policy employing recency-based exploration is proposed for cognitive radio networks. We formulate the problem of finding a spectrum sensing policy for multiband dynamic spectrum access as a stochastic restless multiarmed bandit problem with stationary unknown reward distributions. In cognitive radio networks, the multiarmed bandit problem arises when deciding where in the radio spectrum to look for idle frequencies that could be efficiently exploited for data transmission. We consider two models for the dynamics of the frequency bands: 1) the independent model where the state of the band evolves randomly independently from the past and 2) the Gilbert-Elliot model, where the states evolve according to a two-state Markov chain. It is shown that, in these conditions, the proposed sensing policy attains asymptotically logarithmic weak regret. The policy proposed in this paper is an index policy, in which the index of a frequency band comprises a sample mean term and a recency-based exploration bonus term. The sample mean promotes spectrum exploitation, whereas the exploration bonus encourages further exploration for idle bands providing high data rates. The proposed recency-based approach readily allows constructing the exploration bonus such that it will grow the time interval between consecutive sensing time instants of a suboptimal band exponentially, which then leads to logarithmically increasing weak regret. Simulation results confirming logarithmic weak regret are presented, and it is found that the proposed policy provides often improved performance at low complexity over other state-of-the-art policies in the literature.


The leaf area index (LAI) is an important property of vegetation, for plant growth assessment and for crop models parameterisation. The reference measurements are usually destructive and involve the picking of plants from a given field area and the measurement of the leave area by machine vision. This way to proceed is however destructive, tedious and expensive. To be accurate the sampled surface must be sufficient. Indirect values have thus been developed, based on canopy transmittance or on the reflection in specific wavelength such as the simple ratio, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, Aparicio, 2000). The inconvenient of those methods is to be influenced by the chlorophyll content or the soil type and to saturate when the soil is completely covered.


In this paper, a statistical model for the coupling of electromagnetic radiation into enclosures through apertures is presented. The model gives a unified picture bridging deterministic theories of aperture radiation, and statistical models necessary for capturing the properties of irregular shaped enclosures. A Monte Carlo technique based on random matrix theory is used to predict and study the power transmitted through the aperture into the enclosure. Universal behavior of the net power entering the aperture is found. Results are of interest for predicting the coupling of external radiation through openings in irregular enclosures and reverberation chambers.


In both cognitive science and philosophy, many theorists have recently appealed to a predictive processing framework to offer explanations of why certain individuals form delusional beliefs. One aim of this essay will be to illustrate how one could plausibly develop a predictive processing account in different ways to account for the onset of different kinds of delusions. However, the second aim of this essay will be to discuss two significant limitations of the predictive processing framework. First, I shall draw on the structure of explanatory why-questions to argue that predictive processing theories can only partially explain the formation of delusional beliefs. Second, I shall argue that predictive processing theories cannot explain how implausible delusional hypotheses are generated. Yet understanding why an agent even generates a delusional hypothesis is a crucial step to understanding why she eventually comes to believe it. The final section of the essay presents three alternative ways the process of hypothesis generation might be functionally divergent in cases of delusional cognition.


The essence of family business succession is that family business genes are replicated between generations and then form organizational capacity via organizational routines. The replication of family business genes occurs in the family context and completes the transfer of genes through the interaction between the parents and offspring. The expression of family business genes consists of two parts, namely transcription and translation. The transcription process is realized through strategic routines, administrative routines and technical routines. The translation process involves the forming of organizational capabilities through organizational routines.


Using Density Functional Theory (DFT), band-gap modulation of C4NP-h2D nanoribbons and nanotubes under elastic strain is investigated in detail in this paper. The results indicate that the band gap of C4NPh2D nanoribbons and nanotubes can be tuned in two ways, namely, stretching or compressing the nanoribbons and nanotubes whereby 3 is changed from 10–10% in zigzag and armchair shapes, respectively. It was also revealed that the band gap of C4NP-h2D nanoribbons and nanotubes changes with increasing widths. Therefore, the C4NP-h2D nanoribbons and nanotubes are predicted to have great potential applications in strain sensor and optical electronics at the nanoscale.


Organism scale mechanical forces elicit cellular scale changes through coordinated regulation of multiple signaling pathways. The mechanisms by which cells integrate signaling to generate a unified biological response remains a major question in mechanobiology. For example, the mechanosensitive response of bone and other tissues requires coordinated signaling by the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) and Wnt pathways through mechanisms that are not well‐defined. Here we report a new microRNA‐dependent mechanism that mediates mechanosensitive crosstalk between TGFβ and Wnt signaling in osteocytes exposed to fluid shear stress (FSS). From 60 mechanosensitive microRNA (miRs) identified by small‐RNAseq, miR100 expression is suppressed by in vivo hindlimb loading in the murine tibia and by cellular scale FSS in OCY454 cells. Though FSS activates both TGFβ and Wnt signaling in osteocytes, only TGFβ represses miR‐100 expression. miR‐100, in turn, antagonizes Wnt signaling by targeting and inhibiting expression of Frizzled receptors (FZD5/FZD8). Accordingly, miR‐100 inhibition blunts FSS‐ and TGFβ‐inducible Wnt signaling. Therefore, our results identify FSS‐responsive miRNAs in osteocytes, including one that integrates the mechanosensitive function of two essential signaling pathways in the osteoanabolic response of bone to mechanical load.


BACKGROUND
Biological control is a cornerstone of Integrated Pest Management and could also play a key role in managing the evolution of insecticide resistance. Ecological theory predicts that the fitness cost of insecticide resistance can be increased under exposure to invertebrate natural enemies or pathogens, and can therefore increase the value of integrating biological control into pest management. In this study of the peach potato aphid, Myzus persicae, we aimed to identify whether insecticide resistance affected fitness and vulnerability of different aphid clones to the entomopathogenic fungus Akanthomyces muscarius.

RESULTS
Insecticide resistant clones were found to be slightly less susceptible to the pathogen than susceptible clones. However, this pattern could also be explained by the influence of length of laboratory culture, which was longer in susceptible clones and was positively correlated with susceptibility to fungi. Furthermore, resistance status did not affect aphid development time or intrinsic rate of increase of aphids. Finally, in a cage trial the application of fungus did not increase the competitive fitness of insecticide resistant clone 'O'.

CONCLUSION
We found no fitness cost in reproductive rate or pathogen susceptibility associated with chemical resistance in M. persicae. In contrast, some susceptible clones, particularly those subject to decades of laboratory rearing, showed enhanced susceptibility to a fungal pathogen, but not reduced reproductive fitness, an observation consistent with down-regulation of costly immune functions in culture. Overall, fungal pathogen control is compatible with insecticides and should not increase the selection pressure for resistance of M. persicae to chemical insecticides. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


The Load Haul Dump (LHD) machine and its operating environment create a complex system. Mine productivity depends on the operation of the LHDs and on the mining environment, including fragmentation, size of boulders, navigation techniques etc. Traditional navigation techniques require a lot of infrastructure to accommodate automatic operation. From fully automated fleets of vehicles, the focus of automation has gradually widened to include more flexible solutions, such as semi-automatic LHD machines, with safety as a main goal. The automatic system used for semi-automation is different from that used for fleet automation in that less infrastructure is needed, and the operator controls only one vehicle at a time. A semi-automatic LHD machine can operate in either manual or automatic mode depending on the need and situation. Several issues must be resolved to maximise the benefits of automation. One is to improve the maintenance strategy, especially preventive maintenance, as it is crucial to avoid the loss of time incurred by unplanned breakdowns. Another issue is the complexity of the mining environment; external disturbances such as oversized boulders, road maintenance etc. can throw the entire investment in automation into question.The purpose of this thesis is to explore the maintenance actions connected to automated LHDs as well as the factors influencing the operation of the machine. Research methods include a literature review, unstructured interviews, and data collection and integration. Reliability analysis, fault tree analysis and Markov modeling were performed to comparatively analyse manual and automatic LHDs.This thesis presents an approach to evaluate the performance of manual and semi-automatic LHD machines. It describes the maintenance procedures of automatic LHD machines. It includes a study of the reliability of LHD machines with special attention to automatic operation. It studies the operating environment's effect on automatically operated LHDs compared to manually operated LHD machines, identifies the external disturbances affecting the automatic operation of LHD machines, and introduces a new way of modeling the maintenance and environmental disturbances to determine the best operation mode for the LHD machine.The analysis shows that the production performance of manual and semi-automatic LHD machines is similar. When it comes to the maintenance performance, hydraulic and electric systems are still the biggest reason for machine downtime but the stops are usually short, which means that LHD machines can start producing relatively soon after failure. However, the automatic LHD machine has more time spent in the workshop for the transmission and engine than the manual LHD machine. The difference in reliability between the machines regarding the engine is not significant. But for the transmission there is a verified difference. One possible reason for the difference in transmission reliability could be engaging/disengaging gears when the machine is in automatic mode.The analysis of the operating environment shows that LHDs suffer from mining related, machine related and/or automatic system related disturbances. Seventy-five percent of the stops causing idle time for LHD machines are related to the operating environment. Better fragmentation of rock to avoid big boulders, better constructed roads to minimise the need for road maintenance etc. are keys to the successful operation of automated LHDs.Fault tree models and reliability block diagrams are effective tools for evaluating the reliability of a system but it can be difficult to include mining related disturbances. Therefore, in this thesis, Markov models are introduced to describe disturbances affecting LHD machines and to identify possible differences between manual and semi-automatic LHDs. A fault tree model can classify and analyse failures but cannot show changes between states; this is something a Markov model can handle. The proposed Markov model built for the application shows that the best mode, from an operational point of view, is semi-automatic operation due to its flexibility handling disturbances of different kinds, especially those that are mining related.


The daf-12 gene acts at the convergence of pathways regulating larval diapause, developmental age, and adult longevity in Caenorhabditis elegans. It encodes a nuclear receptor most closely related to two C. elegans receptors, NHR-8 and NHR-48, Drosophila DHR96, and vertebrate vitamin D and pregnane-X receptors. daf-12 has three predicted protein isoforms, two of which contain DNA- and ligand-binding domains, and one of which contains the ligand-binding domain only. Mutations cluster in DNA- and ligand-binding domains, but correspond to distinct phenotypic classes. DAF-12 is expressed widely in target tissues from embryo to adult, but is upregulated during midlarval stages. In the adult, expression persists in nervous system and somatic gonad, two tissues that regulate adult longevity. We propose that DAF-12 integrates hormonal signals in cellular targets to coordinate major life history traits.


Edited by T T MacDonald, A C Bateman. London: Remedica, 2006, £20.00 (softcover), pp 179. ISBN 1-901346-56-0.

Gastroenterologists (and other clinical specialists) complain that immunology is conceptually opaque, overcomplicated and obsessed with acronyms and unnecessary jargon. As a result, any message it may have for understanding disease is hidden and/or ignored. Immunologists on the other hand, are frustrated by what they see as lazy and superficial attempts to try to understand a topic they find to be unimaginably clear and relevant. Often, there is little or no significant communication between the disciplines, meaning that important opportunities for improving diagnosis and treatment are lost. This is a major loss to 21st-century medicine and to gastroenterology in particular, in which, as the authors of this book point out, many of the most important conditions have an immunological basis. Unfortunately, this issue is not likely to improve in the foreseeable future. Academic gastroenterologists are increasingly a threatened species in many countries, …


Patients diagnosed with periodonthopathies were subjected to thermographic study in order to analyze blood circulation in the periodontal region and pattern of temperature changes in the gingival crevice. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) on the status of blood vessels in the periodontal region in children and adolescents. Clinical status of the periodontal region was assessed with CPITN (Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs). Thermographic patterns were taken in the vicinity of teeth 11 and 21 at some distance from the gingival margin and frenulum of the upper lip, which permitted elimination of a possible influence of other factors on the parameters studied. The thermographic measurements were a few times repeated for each patient and made before and 1, 2, 3, and 4 minutes after cooling of a selected surface of gingival mucosa. Interpretation of the thermographic patterns was performed taking into account the minimum and maximum temperatures: T min and T max, and Tx - the weighted mean for the left and right sides. Preliminary observations revealed a difference between the data obtained in the group with IDDM and the control group. The results suggest the suitability of the thermographic study for assessment of vascular changes in IDDM patients.


A study conducted in 2001 on the heavily instrumented Virginia Smart Road measured pavement responses to a new generation of single wide-base tire (445/50R22.5) and to dual tires (275/80R22.5). The new single wide-base tire has a wider tread and a greater load-carrying capacity than conventional wide-base tires. The potential fatigue damage resulting from different tire configurations was evaluated. After successful field testing, a finite element (FE) parametric study was conducted to investigate different failure mechanisms that were not evaluated in the field. In this study, dual tires and two new generations of wide-base tires (445/50R22.5 and 455/55R22.5) were evaluated. The main difference between the two generations of wide-base tires is that the 455/55R22.5 is wider than the 445/50R22.5; hence, it further reduces the contact stress at the pavement surface under the same nominal tire pressure. In the developed FE models, geometry and dimensions were selected to simulate accurately the axle configurations typically used in North America; actual tire tread sizes and applicable contact pressure for each tread were considered; laboratory-measured pavement material properties were incorporated; and models were calibrated and properly validated against stress and strain measurements obtained from the experimental program. Four failure mechanisms were considered: fatigue cracking, primary rutting, secondary rutting, and top-down cracking. Results indicated that the new generations of wide-base tire would cause the same or relatively greater pavement damage than conventional dual tires. Because overall truck weight is reduced by approximately 450 kg when wide-base tires are used, it is reasonable to implement the load limits currently applied to the dual-tire assembly on the 455/55R22.5 wide-base tire.


Traditionally the algorithm of ID3 is a greedy algorithm which searches and compares the attribute of each level in the decision tree. During the process of selection of expanded attributes, attributes with more values are usually preferred to be selected. It results in a decision tree with large scale consequently, so a new merging branches algorithm EPMID in decision tree is proposed in this paper. The algorithm uses the pre-pruning strategy, and merges the non-leaf branches which have the equal predictability. The experimental results show that the improved algorithm reduced the width and the leaf nodes of the decision tree. The time complexity and space complexity and classification precision are superior to ID3.


The purpose of this study was to determine how the relationship and influence of leadership and motivation to employees performance at PT. Astra Honda Motor. The research method was used with Explanatory Analysis approach that explains the causality relationship between variables. Sampling technique was using saturated sample, all members of the population were sampled. From this research result was found there is a relationship and influence which is significant between the variables of leadership motivation to employee performance at PT. Astra Honda Motor among variables by using the test F, where F count larger than F table (32.173 > 3.158). Conclusion: There is a significant effect that can be explained by the result obtained from the R-square is 0530, which means that the variables of leadership and motivation are giving contribution of 53.0% to the variable of employees performance at PT. Astra Honda Motor, while the remaining 47.0% was contributed by other variables which not researched. Suggestions which the author convey to company, leadership which was contained in the company would need to be more increased, considers motivation of employees was good enough.


two models in one. The lower model shows the subglacial and ocean-bottom features. The upper model is transparent, fits over the lower one and shows the Antarctic ice surface and ice-free features and the ocean surface. The model was originally an experimental project but plans are well advanced to make it available for general distribution.


EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS OF TIME-DEPENDENT SHEAR STRAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF COMPACTED COHESIVE SOILS UNDER A STEP DEVIATOR STRESS LOAD WERE CONDUCTED. IT WAS FOUND THAT BY EXPRESSING CREEP PARAMETERS AS A FUNCTION OF THE RATIO OF THE DEVIATOR STRESS TO THE DEVIATOR STRESS AT FAILURE THE EFFECTS OF CONFINING PRESSURE AND MOISTURE CONTENT COULD BE ACCOUNTED FOR. IT IS SHOWN THAT THE RESPONSE UNDER SECOND CYCLE OF LOADING IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR FIELD STRUCTURES AND THAT THE MATERIAL CONSTANTS OBTAINED FOR SMALL SAMPLES IN THE LABORATORY ARE VALID FOR LARGE STRUCTURES ALSO. WHEN THE PRINCIPAL STRESS DIRECTIONS WERE CHANGED, THE CHANGE IN STRESS-STRAIN-TIME BEHAVIOR OF THE COMPACTED SOILS INDICATE THAT THEY BEHAVED AS ANISOTROPIC MATERIALS. IT WAS FOUND THAT NONLINEAR VISCOELASTIC CONSTITUTIVE EQUATIONS MAY BE USED TO PREDICT THE CREEP AND RECOVERY BEHAVIOR OF THE COMPACTED CLAYS TESTED. /AUTHOR/


Parties in international arbitrations often raise res judicata challenges before arbitral tribunals and courts. But neither parties nor the tribunals or courts have been clear as to whether these challenges affect the admissibility of a claim or the tribunal's jurisdiction. A close analysis of arbitral awards and court decisions that address res judicata challenges reveals, however, that the question need not be as complicated as parties, tribunals, and courts have made it.


As discussed in earlier chapters, the potential of Web 2.0 tools and social networking environments for enhanced peer interaction is being recognised across the education sector. Many institutions are moving their blended and online learning provision from a 'computer-as-tutor' approach towards models which foster knowledge co-construction and sharing in socially networked learning communities. Yet, many education professionals find that they do not have the skills required to help their students to fully benefit from this paradigm shift.

The TESOL-Electronic Village Online (EVO) 2012 module Tutoring with Web 2.0 tools – Designing for Social Presence provides the backdrop for this contribution. The module was designed to develop effective learner-centred online moderation skills, with a focus on the role of Social Presence (SP). Although hosted by the EVO, the programme was open to practitioners from all subject areas, and participants represented a multifaceted community in terms of educational, social and cultural backgrounds, online learning and teaching skills, and ICT literacy.

Drawing on examples from the participants' learning journey we hypothesise that a group's capacity to send and read SP cues is a precondition for successful knowledge creation and sharing in online learning communities. Our findings provide new insights into the notion of online participation and challenge aspects of Garrison et al.'s (2000) Community of Inquiry (CoI) model. In accordance with Morgan (2011) we highlight the need for a different way of conceptualising what happens in networked learning contexts taking into account aspects such as learner identity, creative agency and participatory literacy.


We present a review of the Penrose process and its modifications in relation to the Kerr black holes and naked singularities (superspinars). We introduce the standard variant of this process, its magnetic version connected with magnetized Kerr black holes or naked singularities, the electric variant related to electrically charged Schwarzschild black holes, and the radiative Penrose process connected with charged particles radiating in the ergosphere of magnetized Kerr black holes or naked singularities. We discuss the astrophysical implications of the variants of the Penrose process, concentrating attention to the extreme regime of the magnetic Penrose process leading to extremely large acceleration of charged particles up to ultra-high energy E∼1022 eV around magnetized supermassive black holes with mass M∼1010M⊙ and magnetic intensity B∼104 G. Similarly high energies can be obtained by the electric Penrose process. The extraordinary case is represented by the radiative Penrose process that can occur only around magnetized Kerr spacetimes but just inside their ergosphere, in contrast to the magnetic Penrose process that can occur in a more extended effective ergosphere determined by the intensity of the electromagnetic interaction. The explanation is simple, as the radiative Penrose process is closely related to radiated photons with negative energy whose existence is limited just to the ergosphere.


This tutorial demonstrates workflows to incorporate text data into actuarial classification and regression tasks. The main focus is on methods employing transformer-based models. A dataset of car accident descriptions with an average length of 400 words, available in English and German, and a dataset with short property insurance claims descriptions are used to demonstrate these techniques. The case studies tackle challenges related to a multi-lingual setting and long input sequences. They also show ways to interpret model output, to assess and improve model performance, by fine-tuning the models to the domain of application or to a specific prediction task. Finally, the tutorial provides practical approaches to handle classification tasks in situations with no or only few labeled data, including but not limited to ChatGPT. The results achieved by using the language-understanding skills of off-the-shelf natural language processing (NLP) models with only minimal pre-processing and fine-tuning clearly demonstrate the power of transfer learning for practical applications.


European vectors of science education are aimed at formation not only just a teacher who is able to easily adapt to rapidly changing conditions, but a professional researcher capable of creative and transformative activities of biomedical practice. Modern knowledge of microbiology in the system of professional training of future bachelors of natural sciences is an effective resource for the formation and development of students' research competence. On their assimilation by a future teacher of natural sciences depends the degree of its readiness for practical activity, that based primarily on the availability of integrative and biomedical professionally directed knowledge, including in microbiology. Proceeding from this, particular value in the professional and pedagogical training of future bachelors of natural sciences are the microbiological knowledge as a modern branch of biology, as well as the basis for the formation of subject competence in the process of teaching the microorganism knowledge system in the integrated school course «Natural Sciences».