The aim of this study was to evaluate whether implementation of a new nursing handover model led to improved completion of nursing care activities and documentation. A pre- and post-implementation study, using a survey and document audit, was conducted in a hospital ED in Melbourne. A convenience sample of nurses completed the survey at baseline (n = 67) and post-intervention (n = 59), and the audit was completed at both time points. Results showed significant improvements in several processes: handover in front of the patient (P < 0.001), patients contributed and/or listened to handover discussions (P < 0.001), and provision of adequate information about all patients in the department (P < 0.001). Nurses also reported a reduction in omission of vital signs (P = 0.022) during handover. Three hundred sixty-eight medical records were audited in the two study periods: 173 (pre-intervention) and 195 (post-intervention). Statistically significant improvements in the completion of two nursing care tasks and three documentation items were identified. The findings suggest that implementation of a new handover model improved completion of nursing care activities and documentation, and transfer of important information to nurses on oncoming shifts.


Non-pathogenic Neisseria have repeatedly been demonstrated to transfer antibiotic resistance genes to their pathogenic relative, Neisseria gonorrhoeae. However, the resistance genotypes and subsequent phenotypes of non-pathogens within the genus have been studied and described less frequently. Here, we use Etests to characterize the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of a panel of Neisseria (n=26) – including several commensal species – acquired from the CDC & FDA's Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Isolate Bank to a suite of diverse antibiotics. We furthermore use whole genome sequencing and the Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD) Resistance Gene Identifier (RGI) platform to predict possible causal resistance-encoding mutations. Within this panel, resistant isolates to all tested antimicrobials including penicillin (n=5/26), ceftriaxone (n=2/26), cefixime (n=3/26), tetracycline (n=10/26), azithromycin (n=11/26), and ciprofloxacin (n=4/26) were found. In total we identify 63 distinct mutations predicted by RGI to be involved in resistance. The presence of several of these mutations had clear associations with increases in MIC such as: DNA gyrase subunit A (gyrA) (S91F) and ciprofloxacin, tetracycline resistance protein (tetM) and 30S ribosomal protein S10 (rpsJ) (V57M) and tetracycline, and TEM-type β-lactamases and penicillin. However, mutations with strong associations to macrolide and cephalosporin resistance were not conclusive. This work serves as an initial exploration into the resistance-encoding mutations harbored by non-pathogenic Neisseria, which will ultimately aid in prospective surveillance for novel resistance mechanisms that may be rapidly acquired by N. gonorrhoeae.


Abstract. We developed a space- and time-resolved soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy system for the study of ablation dynamics induced by femtosecond laser irradiation onto an aluminum target. The system consists of an x-ray microscope for imaging and a femtosecond-laserplasma x-ray source for time-resolved measurements. Ablation of neutral and condensed aluminum particles following plasma expansion was observed as shifts of the aluminum L-shell photoabsorption edge in space- and time resolved absorbance spectra.


ABSTRACT Zhang, Z., 2018. Design of parallel braking control system for port hybrid electric vehicle. In: Liu, Z.L. and Mi, C. (eds.), Advances In Sustainable Port And Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 83, pp. 513–519. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Conventional port hybrid vehicles can't ef fectively recycle tremendous kinetic energy brought by car brake due to the limitation of energy storage element and energy conversion form in energy recovery braking system. A parallel hydraulic hybrid power control system is designed to solve the contradiction between braking safety stability and realizing the maximum energy recovery. The linear proportional electromagnetic valve is adopted to control the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic cylinder of the brake. The numerical control of the frictional braking force is realized, and the braking force control strategy can be realized with the braking control system. The experimental results show that the system improves the stability of friction braking and energy recovery.


The present report describes Syphacia (Syphacia) maxomyos sp. n. (Nematoda: Oxyuridae) from two species of spiny rats, Maxomys musschenbroekii from Sulawesi and M. whiteheadi from Sumatra. It is characterized by a cephalic plate extending laterally with dorsoventral constriction and stumpy eggs with an operculum rim reaching pole. It is readily distinguishable by the former feature from all of hitherto known representatives of this genus in Indonesia, but it resembles parasites in Murini and Hydromyni rodents in continental Asia and Sahul. This is the first Syphacia species distributed in both the Sunda Shelf and Sulawesi with the exception of Syphacia muris, a cosmopolitan pinworm found in rodents of the of genus Rattus. It is surmised that S. maxomyos is specific to Maxomys and that it was introduced to Sulawesi by dispersal of some Maxomys from the Sunda Shelf.


Over the last 20 years, lung transplantation has evolved into a viable treatment option for a variety of end-stage pulmonary diseases. Long-term survival following lung transplantation remains low because chronic rejection complicates up to 60% of transplanted lungs. Chronic rejection is manifested by a specific scarring process of the bronchial tubes called obliterative bronchiolitis (OB), which is generally untreatable. We work under the general hypothesis that chronic rejection results from the activation of several cellular components of the immune system that promote the development of OB. We propose to use a permeable protein, GST-IkBa-(DN)-MTS, which has the ability to inhibit NF-kB activity. The NF-kB signal transduction pathway can regulate immune responses activated against foreign antigens present in transplanted tissues. Using a mouse model that consists of an allogenic tracheal transplant, we aim to study the effect of the systemic administration of IkBa-(DN) in the development of OB. Our data show a decrease in the fibrosis in the animals treated with the permeable inhibitor. The reduction in OB was associated with a decrease in the levels of the profibrotic factor TGFb1 in the transplanted trachea. The potential implications of this work are relevant to the clinical field by determining essential mechanisms responsible for chronic rejection in the lung and the potential development of novel therapies.


A 23-year-old male patient, who suffers from beta-thalassemia major, came to us for an endocrine-metabolic evaluation. Medical history showed a diagnosis of heart disease with heart failure since the age of 16, type 1 diabetes mellitus diagnosed at the age of 18, treated with an intensive insulin therapy with a poor glycometabolic control. Patient performed regular blood transfusions and iron chelation with deferasirox. An echocardiogram revealed an enlarged left ventricle. Patient had undergone a comprehensive study of buoyancy both basal and hormone-stimulated and it was therefore carried out a diagnosis of GH deficiency and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. A recombinant GH replacement therapy was then prescribed. After six months of therapy, the patient reported a net improvement of asthenic symptoms. Physical examination showed a reduction in abdominal adiposity in waist and an increase of 5 cm in stature. Laboratory tests showed an amelioration of glycometabolic control, such as to justify a reduction in daily insulin dose. The stature observed was thought appropriate to begin the administration of testosterone. Moreover, the cardiological framework showed a reduction of left ventricular dilatation, good ventricular motility, global minimum persistent tricuspid but not mitral regurgitation and no alteration on ECG.


ABSTRACT Open education aspires to democratize education, promote inclusion and effect change through social justice. These aspirations are difficult to realize in open, online environments, which enable multiple, and often conflicting, perspectives. This paper proposes a counter-narrative that surfaces certain operational norms of the internet and foregrounds their exclusionary nature. We offer an illustrative inventory of some social media interactional patterns to examine communication used in open online education communities. This examination leads us to conclude that language online is subject to a dialectical tension that both includes and excludes. We conclude that a different language is needed in open online educational environments; one that embraces exclusionary structures and strategic ambiguity, as well as the aspirations to further democratize education via digital means.


We present a novel semi-implicit scheme for numerical solutions of time-dependent conservation laws. The core idea of the presented method consists of exploiting and approximating mixed partial derivatives of the solution that occur naturally when deriving higher-order accurate schemes. Such an approach is introduced in the context of the Lax-Wendroff (or Cauchy-Kowalevski) procedure when the time derivatives are not completely replaced by space derivatives using the PDE, but some mixed derivatives are allowed. If approximated in a suitable way, one obtains algebraic systems that have a more convenient structure than the systems derived by standard fully implicit schemes. We derive high-resolution TVD form of the semi-implicit scheme for some representative hyperbolic equations in one-dimensional case including related numerical experiments.


The theory of communication through coherence (CTC) posits the synchronization of brain oscillations as a key mechanism for information sharing and perceptual binding. In a parallel literature, hippocampal theta activity (4 – 10 Hz) has been shown to modulate the appearance of neocortical fast gamma oscillations (100 – 150 Hz), a phenomenon known as cross-frequency coupling (CFC). Even though CFC has also been previously associated with information routing, it remains to be determined whether it directly relates to CTC. In particular, for the theta-fast gamma example at hand, a critical question is to know if the phase of the theta cycle influences gamma synchronization across the neocortex. To answer this question, we designed a new screening method for detecting the modulation of the cross-regional high-frequency synchronization by the phase of slower oscillations. Upon applying the method, we found that the long-distance synchronization of neocortical fast gamma during REM sleep depends on the instantaneous phase of the theta rhythm. These results show that CFC is likely to aid long-range information transfer by facilitating the cross-regional synchronization of faster rhythms, thus consistent with classical CTC views.


In this study, the profiles of asphalt pavements were measured using a lightweight profiler and depths of macrotexture were analyzed based on the measured profiles. Profiles on dense graded asphalt pavement, prorous asphalt pavement, stone mastic asphalt (SMA) pavement, and base layer measured, and depth of macrotexture were calculated and analyzed. Profiles on the pavement that happened as asphalt mixture segregation were measured and depths of macrotexture were analyzed. The results showed that the depths of macrotexture of asphalt pavement were effectively calculated using the measured profiles, and the depths of macrotexture for different asphalt pavements were analyzed. The pavement areas which have asphalt mixture segregation were detected based on analysis of macrotexture depths.


This letter presents a CMOS outphasing Class-D power amplifier (PA) with a Chireix combiner. Two voltage-mode Class-D amplifiers used in the outphasing system were designed and implemented with a 0.18- m CMOS process. By applying the Chireix combiner technique, drain efficiency of the outphasing PA for CDMA signals was improved from 38.6% to 48% while output power was increased from 14.5 to 15.4 dBm with an adjacent channel power ratio of 45 dBc. Index Terms—Chireix combiners, CMOS amplifiers, outphasing amplifiers.


Riparian forest (CP22) buffers are implemented in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed to trap pollutants in surface runoff thus minimizing the amount of pollutants entering the stream network. For these buffers to function effectively, overland flow must enter the riparian zones as dispersed sheet flow to facilitate slowing, filtering, and infiltrating of surface runoff. The occurrence of concentrated flowpaths, however, is prevalent across the watershed. Concentrated flowpaths limit buffer filtration capacity by channeling overland flow through or around buffers. In this study, two topographic metrics (topographic openness and flow accumulation) were used to evaluate the occurrence of concentrated flowpaths and to derive effective CP22 contributing areas in four Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) watersheds within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The study watersheds include the Tuckahoe Creek watershed (TCW) located in Maryland, and the Spring Creek (SCW), Conewago Creek (CCW) and Mahantango Creek (MCW) watersheds located in Pennsylvania. Topographic openness identified detailed topographic variation and critical source areas in the lower relief areas while flow accumulation was better at identifying concentrated flowpaths in higher relief areas. Results also indicated that concentrated flowpaths are prevalent across all four watersheds, reducing CP22 effective contributing areas by 78% in the TCW, 54% in the SCW, 38% in the CCW and 22% in the MCW. Thus, to improve surface water quality within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, the implementation of riparian forest buffers should be done in such a way as to mitigate the effects of concentrated flowpaths that continue to short-circuit these buffers.


Purpose Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) abuse for improving physical appearance and performance in body builders is common and has been considered responsible for serious cardiovascular effects. Due to disagreement about cardiovascular side effects of these drugs in published articles, this case control study was designed to evaluate the echocardiographic findings in body builder athletes who are current and chronic abusers of these drugs. Methods Body builder athletes with continuous practice for the preceding two years and were training at least twice weekly were selected and divided into AAS abuser and non user and compared with age and BMI matched non athletic healthy volunteers (15 cases in each group). Results There was no significant difference in left ventricular size or function either systolic or diastolic in comparison to cases and control groups. The only difference was in diastolic size of septum and free wall but observed differences were only significant (P = 0.05) between first (athletic with AAS abuser) and third group (non athletic and nonuser). The difference between the above-mentioned indexes were not significant between two groups of athletes. Conclusion Observed differences in diastolic size of septum and free wall is in favor of that long term abuse of anabolic steroid results in accentuation of physiologic hypertrophy due to long term sport most probably due to higher rate pressure product. Furthermore long term abuse and supra pharmacologic doses do not have significant effect in size and left ventricular function.


Dental caries is the most prevalent disease of hard tissues in oral cavity in humans. Salivary microflora plays a major role in the caries process. Vigorous use of various preventive and therapeutic measures to control caries led to development of multidrug resistant strains to the synthetic antimicrobial agents and increased demand for new effective and efficient alternatives with minimal side effects. Since centuries plants and their extracts have been analyzed and reported to have significant therapeutic properties. The antimicrobial efficacy of many plants is yet to be verified. In this study, the methanol and ethanol extract of Ehretia laevis and derived Compound 5 of crude ethanol extract are evaluated and compared for antimicrobial activity against salivary microflora. The salivary samples were collected from children of 6-12 years of age with moderate caries. Antibacterial assay was carried out using paper disc diffusion method in lab. The results are compared with Chlorhexidine as standard. The results depict that all the extracts have marked activity against the tested microorganisms with the Compound 5 showing larger zones of inhibition. Thus, this in vitro study supports its application as a preventive remedy for microbial diseases of hard & soft tissues in the oral cavity.


Reducing energy consumption of a Network-on-Chip (NoC) is a critical design goal, especially for power-constrained embedded systems.In response, prior research has proposed several circuit/architectural level mechanisms to reduce NoC power consumption. This paper considers the problem from a different perspective and demonstrates that compiler analysis can be very helpful for enhancing the effectiveness of a hardware-based link power management mechanism by increasing the duration of communication links' idle periods. The proposed profile-based approach achieves its goal by maximizing the communication link reuse through compiler-directed, static message re-routing. That is, it clusters the required data communications into a small set of communication links at any given time, which increases the idle periods for the remaining communication links in the network. This helps hardware shut down more communication links and their corresponding buffers to reduce leakage power. The current experimental evaluation, with twelve data-intensive embedded applications, shows that the proposed profile-driven compiler approach reduces leakage energy by more than 35% (on average) as compared to a pure hardware-based link power management scheme.


An effective way of increasing the overall optical fibre capacity is by expanding the bandwidth used to transmit signals. In this paper, the impact of expanding the transmission bandwidth on the optical communication system is experimentally studied using the achievable rates as a performance metric. The tradeoffs between the use of larger bandwidths and higher nonlinear interference (NLI) noise is experimentally and theoretically analyzed. The growth of NLI noise is investigated for spectral bandwidths from 40 GHz up to 7.3 THz using 64-QAM and Nyquist pulse-shaping. Experimental results are shown to be in line with the predictions from the Gaussian-noise model showing a logarithmic growth in NLI noise as the signal bandwidth is extended. A reduction of the information rate of only 10% was found between linear and nonlinear transmission across several transmission bandwidths, increasing up to 7.3 THz. Finally, the power transfer between channels due to stimulated Raman scattering effect is analyzed showing up to 2-dB power tilt at optimum power for the largest transmitted bandwidth of 7.3 THz.


Background/Aim: ALK inhibitors like Crizotinib, Ceritinib and Alectinib are targeted therapies used in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive, advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Since in this tumor entity radiotherapy is employed sequentially or concomitantly, potential synergistic effects were investigated, which may support the hypothesis of induced radiosensitization by using ALK inhibitors. Materials and Methods: Two cell lines expressing wild-type (WT) or echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4)-ALK were treated with ALK inhibitors, followed by irradiation. Cell survival, cell death, cell cycle and phosphorylation of H2A histone family, member X (H2AX) were examined. Results: Combined treatment with ALK-inhibitors plus 10 Gy-irradiation led to effects similar to those of sole radiotherapy, but was more effective than sole drug treatment. Conclusion: There is no clear evidence of sensitization to radiation by treating EML4-ALK mutated cells with ALK inhibitors.


Surveys on the natural history of two diurnal colubrid snakes, Elaphe quadrivirgata and Rhabdophis tigrinus, were made on Yakushima Island, Japan. Two color morphs, normal striped and melanistic, were observed in E. quadrivirgata, and the frequency of the latter morph was significantly greater in 1998 (83.3%) than in 1981 (56.4%). Regurgitated stomach contents of E. quadrivirgata consisted solely of reptilian prey, and the skink Eumeces latiscutatus was by far the most frequent prey item. This result makes a sharp contrast to those of previous studies dealing with populations of this species in central and northern Japan, where the snake preys mainly on anurans. On the other hand, examination of stomachs of R. tigrinus yielded only anuran prey. In Elaphe quadrivirgata, both snout-vent length and body mass in the Yakushima population were smaller than those in a population from central Japan, whereas the size variables for the Yakushima population appeared greater than those in the central Japanese population in R. tigrinus. Body temperature was significantly higher in E. quadrivirgata than in R. tigrinus.


Objectives: The objectives of this study was to provide a simple estimate of the cumulative risk of a false-positive test for women participating in mammography screening. To test the method, we used data from two well-established, organized mammography screening programmes offering biennial screening to women aged 50–69 years in Copenhagen and Fyn, Denmark. Methods: We defined the outcome from a screen as being either a false-positive test or not a false-positive test. We then tested whether the outcomes from subsequent screens were independent, and afterwards estimated the risk over 10 screens of a false-positive test, i.e. the risk of getting at least one false-positive test for a woman participating in all 10 screens typically offered in Europe. Results The outcomes of subsequent screens were found to be independent. After completion of screening rounds 3–5, the risk of a false-positive test over 10 screens was predicted to be 15.8–21.5% for a woman participating in the programme in Copenhagen, and 8.1–9.6% for a woman participating in the programme in Fyn. Conclusions Our study showed that a relatively robust prediction of the risk of a false-positive test over 10 screens can be calculated in a simple way relatively early after the start of a mammography screening programme.


This paper demonstrates a deembedding technique and a direct on-substrate measurement technique for fast and inexpensive characterization of miniature antennas for wireless applications at millimeter-wave frequencies. The technique is demonstrated by measurements on a tapered slot antenna (TSA). The measured results at Ka-band frequencies include input impedance, mutual coupling between two TSA's, and absolute gain of TSA.


In order to relieve current urban traffic congestion, this study proposes a new model of network based on cell transmission model (CTM). A typical model of network with four three-line intersections is established by analyzing the confluence phenomenon, the divergence phenomenon and the extern dynamic input phenomenon, which appears in the actual traffic flow movement. The model depicts a transmission relation of traffic flow between different intersections efficiently. The timing schedule of traffic signal of the intersections can be optimized dynamically to reduce the average network delay and enhance the road capacity. In this study, a genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to optimize the timing schedule where the average network delay is considered as the objective of optimization. The simulation result shows that the proposed model of network can deal with the signal timing schedule of obstructed and unobstructed traffic phenomenon and the average network delay can be reduced efficiently.


Thermo-mechanical stresses have been considered as one of the major concern in electronic Packaging assembly structural failure. The interfacial stresses are often caused by the thermal mismatch stresses induced by the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) difference between materials, typically during the high temperature change in the bonding process. This research work examined the effect of bond layer on thermal mismatch interfacial stresses in a bi-layered assembly. The paper verified the existing thermal mismatch solder bonded bi-layered analytical model using finite element method (FEM) simulation. The parametric studies on the effect of change of the bond layer properties were carried out in order to provide useful reference for interfacial stress evaluation and the electronic packaging assembly design. These parameters included CTE, temperature, thickness, and stiffness (compliant and stiff bond) of the bond layer. The recent development on the lead free bonding material was being reviewed and found to have enormous potential and key role to address the future electronic packaging assembly reliability.


This review summarizes the clinical significance of imaging studies, conventional radiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) imaging, in the evaluation of bone and joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) . Conventional radiography is a standard technique for the diagnosis and evaluation of RA, which can demonstrate characteristic features of bone erosion and joint space narrowing in RA. A number of reports have described the efficacy of MRI in demonstrating synovitis and bone changes with a greater sensitivity than conventional radiography. MRI is helpful in diagnosis of early RA, evaluation of treatment effect and prediction of clinical outcome at its early stage. However, the benefits of MRI for the diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis are still being elucidated.


In this PhD thesis, I propose a computational cognitive model for processing iconic gestures performed with hands and arms. Among different social behaviors, investigating gestures has gained special attention during the last decades. In the field of human-computer interaction, advances in motion tracking systems have opened the gateway to the broader application of gesture-based user interfaces. Virtual humanoid agents are been increasingly used in human-computer interaction as user friendly interfaces that allow for intuitive and natural face-to-face communication.
Against this background, I propose a model that endows artificial humanoid agents with the ability to gesture. This capacity includes, for instance, fast and reliable recognition of highly diverse gesture performances, the ability to learn how to perform gestures through imitation, and to establish gestural alignment during interaction with human users. To this end, I propose a cognitive model of the human sensorimotor system based on neuroscience and psychological empirical evidence, and couched in current cognitive theories. To implement information processing within this cognitive model, I propose two computational approaches with complementary strengths and weaknesses: (1) Empirical Bayesian Belief Update (EBBU) features the fast, incremental and cognitively plausible recognition of gestures during interaction with humans. (2) Feature-based Stochastic Context-Free Grammar (FSCFG) learns discriminative or descriptive grammar models of gesture performances.


Background Previous studies have shown that patients with acoustic neuroma (AN) sometimes present with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) as an initial symptom. The purpose of this research was to investigate the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of AN in patients initially diagnosed with SSNHL. Materials and methods We reviewed retrospectively the medical records of all patients who were treated as SSNHL initially and were later diagnosed with AN after undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at our hospital between 2008 and 2021. Patient demographics, associated complaints (mostly tinnitus and vertigo), the severity of hearing loss, audiogram configurations, auditory brainstem response (ABR), and MRI examination were reviewed and analyzed. In addition, treatment outcomes and management protocols were also included in this study. Results A total of 10 (0.7%, 10/1,383) patients presented with SSNHL as the initial symptom and were diagnosed as AN by MRI finally. Of the 10 patients enrolled in this study, four were men and six were women. The average age at the time of diagnosis of SSNHL was 46.2 ± 13.16 years. These patients exhibited varying severity of hearing loss and a variety of audiogram configurations. All patients showed an abnormal ABR. According to the Koos grading standard, there were 5 grade I (intracanalicular [IAC]) tumors, 3 grade II tumors, and 2 grade III tumors. The treatment outcome revealed that 2 patients exhibited recovery of the average hearing of impaired frequency by more than 15 dB, and 6 patients showed no recovery. Furthermore, four patients were referred to undergo surgical treatment after being diagnosed with AN, 1 patient accepted stereotactic radiation therapy, and the remaining 5 patients were on a "wait and scan" strategy. Conclusion The hearing loss of patients with AN presented with SSNHL may improve with drug treatment. Hearing recovery for SSNHL does not exclude the presence of AN, and all patients initially diagnosed with SSNHL should undergo MRI and ABR to prevent misdiagnosis and delays in potential treatment.


The water monitoring network in Northern California provides us with an integrated flow and water-quality dataset of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the reservoirs, and the two main rivers feeding the Delta, namely the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers. Understanding the dynamics and complex interactions among the components of this large water supply system and how they affect the water quality, and ecological conditions for fish and wildlife requires the assimilation of large amounts of data. A multivariate, time series data visualization tool which encompasses various components of the system, in a geographical context, is the most appropriate solution to this challenge. We have developed an abstract representation of the water system, which uses various information visualization techniques, like focus+context techniques, graph representation, 3D glyphs, and colormapping, to visualize time series data of multiple parameters.


Dynamic data flow analysis is a testing technique that has been successfully used for many procedural programming languages. However, for Object-Oriented (OO) programs, previous investigations have still followed a data-oriented approach to keep track of the state information for various data elements. This paper proposes an OO approach to perform dynamic data flow analysis for OO programs. In this approach, a meta-model of an OO program's runtime structure is constructed to manage the data flow analysis for the program. An implementation of the model for the Java language is presented, illustrating the practicality and effectiveness of this innovative approach.


One of the major current environmental concerns is the excessive or inefficient consumption of non-renewable natural resources. The construction industry is one of the largest consumers of natural raw materials, playing an important role in the degradation of the environment. Recycling and reusing are concepts that can be effectively applied in the formulation of construction materials, especially mortars. In particular, calcareous quarry can replace, at least to some extent, the cement used in the composition of bricklaying mortars. The objective of this study was to prepare and characterize mortars containing calcareous quarry. The mortars were prepared using Portland CP II F – 32 cement, CH I hydrated lime, river sand and tap water. Different concentrations of residues, ranging from 5 to 30% were used to replace the cement. Mortars with volume ratio of 1:0.5:4.5, commonly used in bricklaying structural masonry, were evaluated. The water to cement ration was set to 1.45. The residue used was fully characterized to determine their specific mass, unitary mass, particle size distribution and morphology, and composition. The mortars were characterized both in their fresh and the results compared to those obtained from a residue-free composition. The results showed that the use of calcareous quarry partially replacing the cement did not significantly affect the performance of the mortars. Compositions containing up to 30% of calcareous quarry can be classified according to NBR 13281 (ABNT, 2005) as bricklaying mortars, and can be used by the construction industry.


In the framework of a unified approach, based on the representation of Stark broadening of spectral lines as an effect of both static and dynamic polarization of the level, a universal description of ionic forbidden line spectral intensity is obtained which includes static and impact limits. The broadening is treated in terms of non-resonant Raman scattering of the Fermi equivalent photons which simulate the electric fields of perturbing particles. The interrelation between this Raman scattering and correlation theory is traced. It is shown that the intensity of forbidden lines due to electronic impacts in hot plasmas with multicharged ions may compete with the intensity due to ionic static action.


Udder and teat characteristics differ between buffaloes ( Bubalus bubalis ) and cattle ( Bos taurus ) and the differences are important in relation machine milk ability. Dairy buffalo milk out more slowly and are more difficult to milk than dairy cows, especially when milking machines are used. The goal of this study was to determine the ultrasonographic characteristics of udder and teat morphology in dairy buffaloes in Brazil, a country with a relatively recent history of buffalo farming. External assessment of the udder type and ultrasonography of the teat were done in 63 purebred Murrah and Mediterranian ´ Murrah dairy buffalo cows on three farms with different management systems. Udder types differed among farms; the rear-heavy udder type was most prevalent on two farms and the ball-shaped type occurred frequently on the third farm. Ultrasonographic measurements of the teat were made on one farm and showed correlations between the width of the teat tip and teat canal length, between the width of the teat tip and teat wall thickness and between the width of the teat tip and teat length. During the ultrasonographic examination of the teat, hyperechogenic membrane-like structures in the region of the annular folds, referred to as prominent annular folds (pAFs), were detected in at least one teat in 98 % of all buffaloes. These folds caused narrowing of the lumen between the teat cistern and gland cistern, but their physiological function and relevance concerning machine milk ability remain unclear. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effect of prominent annular folds on milk flow characteristics during mechanical milking in dairy buffaloes.


The posthumous work Album di vestiti, although not a real diary, constitutes an example of private writing capable of retracing the salient passages of the personal and literary story of Paola Masino, author and journalist of the 20th century. These are autobiographical pages where Masino reflects on the themes of motherhood, marriage, her concept of literature and the interest in the chromatic sphere expressed in her volumes. A work of memory, therefore, a 'biography of clothes' capable of revealing the dynamics that led to the drafting of some of the most famous passages of Paola Masino's writings, as well as episodes related to the dear figures of the father Enrico Alfredo and Massimo Bontempelli.


This article investigates the factors influencing career development practitioners' decisions in relation to innovation in a Higher Education context. Drawing on a dissertation research project, it presents an early substantive grounded theory of practitioners 'Constructing Empowerment' to overcome power constraints and other barriers to innovation. The article provides an argument that the sector is at a 'critical juncture' in which radical ideas can rapidly be implemented, and that a decision-making model to discern good, from bad or ambiguous ideas may be beneficial for maintaining quality standards and healthy professional boundaries.


Fluids sheared between concentric rotating cylinders undergo a series of three- dimensional instabilities. Since Taylor's archetypal 1923 study, these have proved pivotal to understanding how fluid flows become unstable and eventually undergo transitions to chaotic or turbulent states. In contrast, predicting the dynamics of granular systems— from nano-sized particles to debris flows—is far less reliable. Under shear these materials resemble fluids, but solid-like responses, non-equilibrium structures and segregation patterns develop unexpectedly. As a result, the analysis of geophysical events and the performance of largely empirical particle technologies might suffer. Here, using gas fluidization to overcome jamming, we show experimentally that granular materials develop vortices consistent with the primary Taylor instability in fluids. However, the vortices observed in our fluidized granular bed are unlike those in fluids in that they are accompanied by novel mixing-segregation transitions. The vortices seem to alleviate increased strain by spawning new vortices, directly modifying the scale of kinetic interactions. Our observations provide insights into the mechanisms of shear transmission by particles and their consequent convective mixing. Complete photo-fragmentation of the deuterium molecule 437 T. WEBER et al.


The reliability and life expectancy of electrical supply equipment can be improved through the use of condition monitoring. However, expansion of existing condition monitoring through the addition of new sensors is challenging since power to condition monitoring sensors has traditionally been supplied by mains power, which is not available in many locations where monitoring would be useful, or by batteries, which require their own maintenance regime. Energy harvesting in substations has the potential to power a new class of "fit-and-forget" wireless sensors, thus enabling more affordable expansion of condition monitoring. There are many potential sources of energy in substations (solar, wind, thermal, etc.), each of which may have a role in a particular range of sensor applications. This paper is concerned with inductive energy harvesting from the ambient magnetic fields, focussing on optimal coil design. By this means, the intention is to develop a class of "free-standing" inductive energy harvesting devices, which can be placed at a safe distance from high voltage conductors. In this paper, all aspects of coil design are considered, including core material, core geometry and number of turns. A coil is then designed for a representative application, taking practical limitations into account, and its output power is characterised while harvesting from a uniform 50 Hz magnetic field generated within a set of Maxwell coils. Experimental results are presented and discussed.


This study aims to determine the impact of customer's badness behavior upon flight attendants' emotions and their corresponding behavioral reactions. In order to accomplish the purpose of the study, the researcher conducted and analyzed the survey of K airline crews by using SPSS 20.0 statistics package. The findings are as follows. First, customer"s badness behavior had a positive impact on negative emotion of flight attendant. Second, it"s confirmed that customer"s badness behavior has a negative effect on flight attendant"s job satisfaction. Third, the findings indicated that when employee's negative emotion increased, the result was a lowered pro-social service behavior. However, there was a positive impact of pro-social service behavior on job satisfaction of flight attendant.


Past research on academic achievement has tended to overlook the diversity among Asian American groups and the educational and socioeconomic difficulties that many Asians, particularly Southeast Asians, face. The present study addressed several shortcomings of past research by contrasting parent attachment and discipline, peer delinquency, and school attitudes as predictors of self-reported grade point average in 329 Chinese, Cambodian, Laotian or Mien, and Vietnamese youth. Results revealed that parental factors generally did not contribute much explanatory power and that school attitudes may mediate the relationship between peer delinquency and academic achievement. Interventions aimed at promoting positive adjustment and school outcomes should focus on the role of delinquent peer affiliations and youth's attitudes toward school.


In 1956 a programme was initiated to vaccinate all children aged 12-14 years who were attending schools in Queensland, Australia. In view of the declining incidence of tuberculosis in Australia as a whole, there was a need to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme and its procedures. We therefore carried out a case-control study of Queensland's population, excluding certain known high-risk groups. Cases were Queensland residents with notified tuberculosis and of the appropriate age; two controls per case were chosen from the electoral roll. Information on vaccination status was obtained mainly from questionnaires and school records, where available. The results show that at best BCG vaccination had a modest protective effect, approximately 30% when the patients were diagnosed, which was on average 15 years after they had been vaccinated in the school programme. In the north the climate of Queensland is tropical, while in the more heavily populated south it is subtropical. A substantial proportion of the school records reported weak positive reactions to preliminary tuberculin testing, believed to be due largely to atypical mycobacteria. A similar phenomenon has been observed in other tropical regions, and may help to explain the apparent absence of a strongly protective effect for BCG vaccination.


A metabolic analysis technique employing gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to distinguish between muscle tissue types in yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata . The dataset of metabolites from each yellowtail muscle type was subjected to metabolic profile analysis using the SIMCA 14 software package. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis revealed a marked difference in metabolic profiles of ordinary muscle (OM) and dark muscle (DM), and OM types were further separated into three groups (dorsal, caudal and ventral). Further, several metabolites, such as ornithine for OM vs DM and glycerol-3-phosphate for OM tissue types were identified as potential markers for distinguishing types of yellowtail flesh by S-plot analysis. Based on these findings, metabolic analysis techniques could become useful tools for distinguishing among fish muscle types.


We consider the standing wave solutions of the three dimensional semilinear Schr¨odinger equation with competing potential functions V and K and under the action of an external electromagnetic field B . We establish some necessary conditions for a sequence of such solutions to concentrate, in two different senses, around a given point. In the particular but important case of nonlinearities of power type, the spikes locate at the critical points of a smooth ground energy map independent of B


A 21-year-old man developed hypopituitarism, with symptomatic hypogonadism and diabetes insipidus (DI), as well as uveitis, retinal vasculitis, and papilledema in association with systemic sarcoidosis. A suprasellar tumor was demonstrated by computed tomography (CT). Although ophthalmic symptoms disappeared with prednisone and the DI was controlled with Desmopressin (DDAVP), the hypogonadism did not improve with human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). In long-term follow-up, the hypogonadism unexpectedly resolved.


In this work, an integrated antenna system with Defected Ground Structure (DGS) is presented for Fourth Generation (4G) and millimeter (mm)-wave Fifth Generation (5G) wireless applications and handheld devices. The proposed design with overall dimensions of 110 mm $\times75$ mm is modeled on 0.508 mm thick Rogers RT/Duroid 5880 substrate. Radiating structure consists of antenna arrays excited by the T-shape $1\times2$ power divider/combiner. Dual bands for 4G centered at 3.8 GHz and 5.5 GHz are attained, whereas the 10-dB impedance bandwidth of 24.4 - 29.3 GHz is achieved for the 5G antenna array. In addition, a peak gain of 5.41 dBi is demonstrated across the operating bandwidth of the 4G antenna array. Similarly, for the 5G mm-wave configuration the attained peak gain is 10.29 dBi. Moreover, significant isolation is obtained between the two antenna modules ensuring efficient dual-frequency band operation using a single integrated solution. To endorse the concept, antenna prototype is fabricated and far-field measurements are procured. Simulated and measured results exhibit coherence. Also the proposed design is investigated for the beam steering capability of the mm-wave 5G antenna array using CST®MWS®. The demonstrated structure offers various advantages including compactness, wide bandwidth, high gain, and planar configuration. Hence, the attained radiation characteristics prove the suitability of the proposed design for the current and future wireless handheld devices.


We report the utility of three-dimensional ceramic/camphene-based coextrusion, newly developed in this study, for the production of unidirectionally macrochanneled alumina ceramics with three-dimensionally interconnected porous alumina walls. In this technique, a continuous ceramic/camphene filament with a diameter of 1 mm, comprised of a pure camphene core and a frozen alumina/camphene shell, was produced by the coextrusion process and then deposited in a layer-by-layer sequence using a computer-controlled 3-axis moving table. Unidirectionally aligned macrochannels (~400 μm in diameter) and three-dimensionally interconnected pores (several tens of micrometers in size) in the alumina walls were created by removing the camphene core and the camphene dendrites formed in the alumina/camphene region, respectively. The sample showed much higher compressive strength in the macrochannel direction than in the perpendicular direction. In addition, the compressive strength of the sample could increase with an increase in initial alumina content owing to a decrease in the total porosity.


Background. How insight, paranoia and depression evolve in relation to each other during and after the first episode of schizophrenia is poorly understood but of clinical importance. Method. Serial assessments over 18 months were made using multiple instruments in a consecutive sample of 257 patients with first episode DSM-IV non-affective psychosis. Repeated measures of paranoia, insight, depression and self-esteem were analysed using structural equation modelling, to examine the direction of relationships over time after controlling for confounds. Results. Depression was predicted directly by greater insight, particularly at baseline, and by greater paranoia at every stage of follow-up. Neither relationship was mediated by self-esteem, although there was a weak association of lower self-esteem with greater depression and better insight. Paranoia was not strongly associated with insight. Duration of untreated psychosis and substance use at baseline predicted depression at 18 months. Conclusions. In first-episode psychosis, good insight predicts depression. Subsequently, paranoia is the strongest predictor. Neither effect is mediated by low self-esteem. Effective treatment of positive symptoms is important in preventing and treating low mood in early schizophrenia.


There are efforts underway within industry to develop synthetic instrumentation (SI) as a complement to traditional monolithic instrumentation designs. This provides flexibility in the selection of SI components to match the performance level required and to also overcome obsolescence issues. The synthetic instrument concept is attractive because signal processing and generation can be handled by platform independent software routines. The capability of an instrument can be changed or extended by simply down loading a new program or upgrading a driver. Common programming standards such as IVI can simplify transitioning to replacement hardware and software when obsolescence becomes an issue. With the explosion in personal computer development, processing power has become an inexpensive commodity. A/D and D/A converters are becoming commodities as well, with increasing speed and resolution every year. Signal conditioning remains a custom element as it usually must be tailored for specific applications. Leveraging COTS hardware and software can reduce cost and shorten system development times. As with any new concept, application of synthetic instrument raises issues that must be considered. Synthetic instruments impact overall test system architecture. The impact depends on the complexity of synthetic instrument function and where the signal processing functionality (software) is located. Emulation of legacy instrumentation is another issue. Since the SI measurement processes used are typically different from the legacy instrument, the synthetic instrument may not perfectly emulate the legacy device. For military test systems where longevity and user maintainability are prime requirements, the logistics tail must be considered. Development cycles for military test equipment are long by commercial standards. The world of COTS changes rapidly and it is not uncommon for COTS technology to be obsolete before the system is fielded. Another concern is environmental standards. Military systems typically have stringent requirements for shock, vibration, temperature, humidity, EMI/EMC, and other environmental requirements that commercial systems are not required to meet. This paper examines some of these issues related to synthetic instrumentation. As always with engineering, there is no perfect answer, there are only tradeoffs to be optimized


An axillary-bilateral common femoral graft of knitted Dacron with an external velour surface was examined within one hour after the patient's death from non-graft-related causes. The prothesis, implanted for 20 months, was patent and was completely healed over 32% of the flow surface—that is, full wall fibrous tissue encapsulation of the graft had occurred, and 32% of the flow surface was endothelialized. The remaining flow surface was formed of fibrin, but fibrous tissue healing had reached the inner surface of the graft material, and the fibrin overlay was very thin. The healed portions of the graft included not only the areas adjacent to the anastomoses, but were scattered throughout the 45 cm length of the prosthesis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of complete healing (fibrous tissue encapsulation and endothelialization) documented at points beyond the pannus ingrowth at the prosthesis-artery anastomosis.


The binding of C1 (the first component of complement) to immune complexes leads to the autoactivation of C1r through the cleavage of the Arg463-Ile464 bond in the catalytic domain. Spontaneous activation of C1r (and C1) also occurs in the fluid phase, preventing the characterization of the zymogen form of C1r. To overcome this difficulty, the zymogen form of human C1r was stabilized by mutating the Arg in the Arg463-Ile464 bond to Gln. This mutant was designated as mutant QI. Recombinant C1r (wild type (wt) or mutant) was expressed in insect cells using serum-free medium in functionally pure form; therefore, the cell culture supernatant was suitable to reconstruct C1 for the hemolytic assay. Mutant QI was a stable, nonactivable zymogen and showed no hemolytic activity in reconstituted C1. However, this stable zymogen C1r mutant could form an active mixed dimer with the wt C1r, indicating that one active C1r subunit in the C1 complex is sufficient for the full activity of the entire complex. Our experiments also showed that the exchange of C1r monomers between the C1r dimers is completed in less than 16 h even at pH 7 and 4 degrees C. Two other mutants were also constructed by changing Arg463 to Lys, or Ile464 to Phe, and were designated as mutants KI and RF, respectively. Although these substitutions did increase the stability of the proenzyme in the cell culture supernatant, the mutant proteins retained their ability to autoactivate, and both had a wt-like hemolytic activity.


The overall time development of drying shrinkage of concrete can usually be predicted with reasonable accuracy by using the currently existing prediction formulas such as ACI, B3, CEB 1990, GL 2000 and JSCE models. However, they are not sufficient when the drying condition is complex and the local strain value is needed. Therefore, in this study, a numerical model approach is investigated. This numerical model includes some model parameters to be determined. These parameters are estimated by comparison between calculation results by prediction formulas and those by the present numerical model.


Electronic and chemical marker methods provide the first reliable measurements of drug exposure in ambulatory trials. These data contradict the usual claim in published drug trials of > 90% of patients having been satisfactorily compliant with the protocol-specified dosing regimen. Such exaggerated claims are based, usually, on count of returned dosing forms, which afford patients easy ability to manipulate by discarding or hoarding untaken doses. Electronic monitoring provides, for the first time, data on intervals between doses, revealing the 'drug holiday'--3 or more consecutive days without dosing--as a basis not only for lapsed therapeutic action, but as a pharmacodynamic trigger for hazardous rebound effects on recurrent first dose effects. Another new findings is the evident non-specificity of poor or partial compliance, the range and distributions of which appear to be hardly affected by drug, disease, prognosis, or symptoms. This finding contradicts often repeated but unsupported claims that noncompliance is a specific response to drug action, disease, prognosis or other treatment-related factors. New statistical methods are needed for trial design and analysis, to use drug exposure data as covariate information, to incorporate into drug labelling estimates of dose-related efficacy, holiday-related hazard, the limits of safe variation in dose-timing, and what one should best do when those limits are exceeded. Oral contraceptive labelling in the U.K. and U.S. is exemplar for this next step toward full-disclosure labelling.


In ecological and evolutionary time scale, Darwinian selection acts on each nucleotide to shape the whole genome. Beside nucleotide diversity, epigenetic modifications seem to be conserved in intra and inter-species during evolution. Gossypium hirsutum (A1D1) is an allotetraploid crop plant which was evolved from morphologically different diploid ancestors by polyploidisation event expected to occur around 1 million year ago. Its progenitors are Gossypium arboreum (A) and Gossypium ramondii (D) and they are still available for study. We are keen to understand whether the epigenome structure of Aand Dsubgenomes are conserved or influenced by polyploidisation? To understand the influence of polyploidisation on the epigenome, it is important to determine conserved DNA elements which are under purifying selection during evolution. We aligned whole genome sequences of Gossypium hirsutum, Gossypium arboreum, Gossypium ramondii and T. cacoa by LASTZ aligner taking T. cacoa as a reference genome. Our analysis revealed conserved DNA elements and their distribution in the A/D sub-genomes. The portion of the A/D sub-genome under purifying selection is also determined. Our future study on DNA methylome of Gossypium arboreum (A) and Gossypium ramondii (D) and AD-genome of Gossypium hirsutum and their correlation with conserved DNA elements will reveal influence of polyploidisation on epigenome. Citation: Prasad, P. and Sawant, S.V. Does epigenome is influenced by allopollyploidisation during the evolution of Gossypium hirsutum [Abstract]. In: Abstracts of the NGBT conference; Oct 02-04, 2017; Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India: Can J biotech, Volume 1, Special Issue, Page 185. https://doi.org/10.24870/cjb.2017-a171


Acutely elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) may have devastating effects on patient mortality and neurologic outcomes, yet its initial detection remains difficult because of the variety of manifestations that it can cause disease states it is associated with. Several treatment guidelines exist for specific disease processes such as trauma or ischemic stroke, but their recommendations may not apply to other causes. In the acute setting, management decisions must often be made before the underlying cause is known. In this review, we present an organized, evidence-based approach to the recognition and management of patients with suspected or confirmed elevated ICP in the first minutes to hours of resuscitation. We explore the utility of invasive and noninvasive methods of diagnosis, including history, physical examination, imaging, and ICP monitors. We synthesize various guidelines and expert recommendations and identify core management principles including noninvasive maneuvers, neuroprotective intubation and ventilation strategies, and pharmacologic therapies such as ketamine, lidocaine, corticosteroids, and the hyperosmolar agents mannitol and hypertonic saline. Although an in-depth discussion of the definitive management of each etiology is beyond the scope of this review, our goal is to provide an empirical approach to these time-sensitive, critical presentations in their initial stages.


ABSTRACT

                    The study aims to identify the impact of the critical thinking on human cognitive construction, highlight the concept of critical thinking, clarify its characteristics, interpret knowledge theories of critical thinking, identify the dimensions of critical thinking in cognitive construction, and identify critical thinking skills that must be available to learners, the importance of the research stems from its importance to highlight the critical thinking in cognitive development, achieving the desired renaissance of societies, and the ability of critical thinking to free students' thought from dependence on the ideas of others.
    This study relied on the descriptive approach and the analytical approach. Some of the important results were reached, including that critical thinking helps to reach the truth in a scientific way, and that critical thinking has two dimensions: the cognitive dimension and the emotional dimension, and that there are cognitive skills for critical thinking, such as: interpretation. The study showed that the critical thinker has major personal dimensions, including: understanding the rules of logic, and the ability to interpret. The study stated some recommendations, including: the necessity of teaching critical thinking and its importance in schools and universities, and preparing training courses for teachers and learners to qualify them to use critical thinking in the educational process.


A numerical analysis of flow around a circular cylinder oscillating in-line with a steady flow is carried out over a range of driving frequencies $(f_{d})$ at relatively low amplitudes $(A)$ and a constant Reynolds number of 175 (based on the free-stream velocity). The vortex shedding is investigated, especially when the shedding frequency $(f_{s})$ synchronises with the driving frequency. A series of modes of synchronisation are presented, which are referred to as the $p/q$ modes, where $p$ and $q$ are natural numbers. When a $p/q$ mode occurs, $f_{s}$ is detuned to $(p/q)f_{d}$ , representing the shedding of $p$ pairs of vortices over $q$ cycles of cylinder oscillation. The $p/q$ modes are further characterised by the periodicity of the transverse force over every $q$ cycles of oscillation and a spatial–temporal symmetry possessed by the global wake. The synchronisation modes $(p/q)$ with relatively small natural numbers are less sensitive to the change of external control parameters than those with large natural numbers, while the latter is featured with a narrow space of occurrence. Although the mode of synchronisation can be almost any rational ratio (as shown for $p$ and $q$ smaller than 10), the probability of occurrence of synchronisation modes with $q$ being an even number is much higher than $q$ being an odd number, which is believed to be influenced by the natural even distribution of vortices in the wake of a stationary cylinder.


This document is a historical record of discussions about extending
the Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) protocol to provide
additional capabilities to handle Graceful Restart. These discussions
took place in the context of the IETF's BFD working group, and the
consensus in that group was that these extensions should not be made.
This document presents a summary of the challenges to BFD in surviving
a graceful restart, and outlines a potential protocol solution that
was discussed and rejected within the BFD working group. The purpose
of this document is to provide a record of the work done so that
future effort will not be wasted. This document does not propose or
document any extensions to BFD, and there is no intention that it
should be implemented in its current form.


Using data on Moscowcouples, this study investigates the division of household labor and its effects on marital conflict and thought of divorce. The hypotheses predict how spouses'economic resources, gender beliefs, and time constraints influence marital contention both directly and indirectly through wife's perceived division of household labor and her satisfaction with it. Husband's marital contention also is analyzed. Among the findings, the spouses' relative characteristics have some influence on the division of household labor, and the relative characteristics condition the effects of household labor on wife's perceived marital conflict and thoughts of divorce. Household labor is most important in predicting marital contention for wives, but it is only somewhat important for husbands. While demonstrating that the household division of labor should be given more attention in Russian family research, the study provides an important comparative analysis for American scholars on the role of domestic labor in couple dynamics.


Abstract The financial system is governed not just by formal rules but also by social relationships that pervade the elite strata of society. Understanding such dynamics entails understanding complex relational ties between actors, a task that can be facilitated through the use of network analysis. We argue that a latent feature of interest to scholars of the political economy of finance is one of social distance, which is a measurable concept. Using new data from the financial sector, we measure the social distance between a range of financial firms and one key regulator, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), over time to assess whether or not social distance is related to organizations' advocacy behavior. We find a positive relationship between how close a given organization is to the SEC and how often it engages in advocacy. The result persists when we control for numerous factors related to organizational characteristics, firm size, and when we measure advocacy frequency in different ways.


Nanosized silica particles with sulfonic acid groups (ST-GPE-S) were utilized as a cross-linker for chitosan to form a chitosan-silica complex membranes, which were applied to pervaporation dehydration of ethanol-water solutions. ST-GPE-S was obtained from reacting nanoscale silica particles with glycidyl phenyl ether, and subsequent sulfonation onto the attached phenyl groups. The chemical structure of the functionalized silica was characterized with FTIR, (1)H NMR, and energy-dispersive X-ray. Homogeneous dispersion of the silica particles in chitosan was observed with electronic microscopies, and the membranes obtained were considered as nanocomposites. The silica nanoparticles in the membranes served as spacers for polymer chains to provide extra space for water permeation, so as to bring high permeation rates to the complex membranes. With addition of 5 parts per hundred of functionalized silica into chitosan, the resulting membrane exhibited a separation factor of 919 and permeation flux of 410 g/(m(2) h) in pervaporation dehydration of 90 wt % ethanol aqueous solution at 70 degrees C.


Existing literature in environmental valuation have struggled to incorporate the spatial context of values, often omitting what is in fact one of their key determinants. This study develops a novel approach to addressing this problem while looking at the values people associate with changes in the agricultural landscape that have direct impact on biodiversity. The novelty of the paper lies in its choice set presentation, which follows a spatially tailored web-survey design with over 2,500 respondents and offers means for assessing the consistency, comprehension and reliability of CE responses and results. Academics, policy-makers and NGO sectors alike have voiced the need to take account of the importance of natural capital, and the full value of benefits nature provides to people, in decision making and accounting systems.  In fact, the lack of appreciation of the myriad ways nature contributes to human well-being represents one of the drivers of its loss. This is most obvious in land use policies where decisions omitting natural capital can lead to sub optimal use of land to the detriment to both society and the environment. As a result, understanding the values associated with land use change and its impacts on people's welfare could help to develop better policies. In this study, we explored land use change in Great Britain, where around 70% of land is agricultural and where loss of biodiversity in the agricultural landscape has led to interest in, and development of, environmental policies such as agri-environmental schemes. The survey depicted scenarios of land use changes from high intensity agriculture to either low intensity agriculture or plantation of new woodlands; respondents were asked to choose one of the three options for change or the status quo. The relevant attributes of the scenarios were: 1) spatially specific attributes regarding the alternatives' location in GB relative to the respondent's home (i.e. distance and country in which each site was located); 2) attributes related to impact of the proposed change (i.e. impacts on biodiversity, accessibility to public, size of the sites); and 3) a price attribute capturing the cost the household would incur for each option. The presentation of the scenarios on the screen is the novelty of the study. Each scenario was displayed on a map where respondents' home location and the spatial locations of each option for change was made explicit.  The choice sets were tailored to respondent's home location and used a set of sequential D-Efficient experimental designs to generate a unique map of GB for each choice situation. Actual land use change data was included in the design to offer sites where high intensity agriculture currently exists and where the proposed scenario can theoretically occur. This complex survey design setting was developed with specialized web-programmers. The map presentation of the choice was intended to decrease the respondent's cognitive load, by representing two attributes (country and distance) with a visual/map presentation, improving the commonly used table format. In time of a widespread use of mapping tools such as Google maps this was expected to be familiar to respondents and make the choice easier. A split sample allowed us to test the effect of map presentation on respondents' abilities to make choices both within and across the full population, with 250 (control) subsample facing the exact same design however with the choices presented in a table format only (i.e. without maps). Initial results show that respondents are overwhelmingly in favour of map presentation and that this presentation makes the choices more realistic and more understandable for a majority of respondents. Further, the results indicate that the respondents faced with a map version of the survey were more consistent in their choices and had more strongly formed preferences, particularly for distance and country – the two spatial attributes of our design directly related to the use of maps. Overall results show distance, size and price attributes of expected magnitudes and signs and identify that impacts on biodiversity was key to respondents' choices. It also seems that land use policies are location sensitive and respondents attached a higher value to "home country" projects, and a prominent preference for sites being accessible to the public, reflecting presence of both use and non-use values. Around two thirds of respondents exhibited stable preferences by choosing the same alternative for a repeated question, one which they had previously answered in the course of the survey. This is encouraging in the context of such complex choices. The survey also tested the comprehension of the main points related to the depicted scenarios and showed that the respondents exhibiting lack of comprehension of (or attention to) the survey were less consistent in their choices. Such "response quality" indicators together with an assessment of the learning and fatigue effects (using timestamps for choice questions), and a range of control questions, provide an opportunity to ensure the provision for the highest quality of evidence for policy advice. The study also provides a contribution to the debate around and development of post-Brexit or national policy for agriculture and the environment in the UK. A number of follow-up questions in the survey relating to these topics show that a representative sample of the public (n=2500) in Great Britain wishes the overall support for environment and agriculture to increase. Importantly, a majority of respondents support a shift of overall funding towards interventions generating public goods from agriculture (such as interventions valued in this survey) rather than direct farmers' income support. This research contributes to land use policy advice in the UK, offers a novel approach of choice set presentation and enhances the understanding of key components of choice experiment design. In the context of an increased policy interest in the economic valuation literature, this paper is timely and represents a viable contribution to the conference proceedings. We hope that it will provide a useful point of departure for fruitful discussions on choice modelling research in environmental economics in the context of environmental valuation and how to ensure that our scientific field delivers data that is useful for national and regional policy.


Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO) diesel fuels have the potential to provide a reduced carbon footprint for diesel engines and reduce exhaust emissions. Therefore, it is a strong candidate for transport and diesel powered machines including electricity generators and other off-road machines. In this research, a waste cooking oil derived HVO diesel was investigated for its combustion and emission performance including ignition delays, size segregated particulate number emissions and gaseous emissions. The results were compared to the standard petroleum diesel. A EURO5 emission compliant three litre, direct injection, intercooled IVECO diesel engine equipped with EGR was used which has a maximum power output of 96kW. The engine was equipped with an integrated DOC and DPF aftertreatment system. Both the upstream and downstream of the aftertreatment emissions were measured. The tests were conducted at different RPM and loads at steady state conditions. A DMS500 particle size measurement instrument was used for measuring particles between 5 nm and 1000nm. The engine was instrumented with a number of thermocouples so that the engine conditions were closely monitored. Gaseous emissions were measured using a HORIBA 7100 series gas analyzer. The results showed that HVO reduced particulate numbers significantly at the upstream of the aftertreatment system. The particle number emissions were not much different between HVO and standard diesel at the downstream of the aftertreatment system due to the low particle number concentrations.


Introduction: Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in India as well as worldwide. CT angiography is an excellent imaging modality for evaluation of CAD. Previous studies with 64 or lesser slice CT scanner have failed to show consistent and optimal Image Quality (IQ) at Heart Rate (HR) more than 70 bpm and required beta blockers. Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of 256-slice Dual Source CT Angiography (DSCTA) in comparison with Catheter Coronary Angiography (CCA) in evaluation of Coronary Arteries (CA) in patients with clinical suspicion of CAD and to study its effectiveness at higher HR without using beta blockers. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on patients (n=46) with suspected CAD using ECG triggered 256-slice Dual Source Computed Tomography (DSCT) over a period of nine months. Patients were sub grouped according to HR (Group I: 50-70 (18 patients), Group II: 71-90 (24 patients) and Group III ≥91 (8 patients). A total of 48% patients had HR of 71-90 bpm while 16% had HR ≥91 bpm. Scan protocols included prospective ECG triggering (HR <75 bpm) and retrospective spiral scan protocols (HR >75 bpm). CA segments were analysed for IQ on a 4 point scale (1 is worst while 4 is best) by two independent readers who were blinded to the patient details. Accuracy to detect significant luminal stenosis was correlated with CCA (gold standard). Statistical significance of the study was established by Chi-square test (p<0.05). Results: The mean HR and Standard Deviation (SD) in the study was 76±13.7 bpm (range 54-105). Out of 675 CA segments analysed mean IQ score and SD in medium (71-90 bpm) and high HR (≥91 bpm) groups were 3.55±0.62 and 3.25±0.62 which were comparable to IQ in low HR group (3.84±0.36). This indicates excellent IQ even at HR of ≥91 bpm (p<0.05). The mean IQ score of entire study group was 3.88±0.33. Right Coronary artery (RCA) showed best IQ score in each category followed by Left Anterior Descending (LAD) and Left Circumflex (LCX). Inter-observer agreement analysis was performed using Kappa analysis to determine agreement between DSCTA readers. Kappa values for low, medium and high HR groups were 0.866, 0.842 and 0.836. The sensitivity, specificity, Positive Predictive Value (PPV), Negative Predictive Value (NPV) and accuracy for detecting significant stenosis in medium and high HR groups were 95%, 99.2%, 98.4%, 98.7%, 98.9% and 94.3%, 98.9%, 96.9%, 97.6%, 97.9%, respectively. Conclusion: 256-slice DSCTA is a reliable technique with high sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for assessment of CA even at higher HR without using beta blockers.


A microchip protocol for the capillary electrophoresis separation and electrochemical detection of thiol-containing degradation products of V-type nerve agents is described. The microchip assay relies on the derivatization reaction of 2-(dimethylamino)ethanethiol (DMAET), 2-(diethylamino)ethanethiol (DEAET), and 2-mercaptoethanol (ME) with o-phthaldialdehyde in the presence of the amino acid valine along with amperometric monitoring of the isoindole derivatives. Both off-chip and on-chip derivatization reactions have led to highly sensitive and rapid detection of the thiol degradation products. Various parameters influencing the derivatization, separation, and detection processes were examined and optimized. These include the amino acid co-reagent, reagent-mixing ratio, reaction time, injection time, separation voltage, and detection potential. The chip microsystem offers a rapid (<4 min) simultaneous detection of micromolar concentrations of DMAET, DEAET, and ME. Linear calibration plots were observed for the V-type nerve agent thiol degradation products, along with good stability and reproducibility (RSD < 8.0%). Detection limits of 5 and 8 microM were obtained for the off-chip reaction of DMAET and DEAET, respectively, following a 2-s injection. The suitability for assays of environmental matrixes was demonstrated for the determination of DMAET and DEAET in untreated tap and river water samples. The favorable analytical performance makes the new microfluidic device attractive for addressing the needs of various security scenarios.


The Internet has fallen victim to its own stunning success. The interplay of the end-to-end design of IP and the vested interests of competing stakeholders has led to its growing ossification. Alterations to the Internet architecture that address its fundamental deficiencies or enable new services have been restricted to incremental changes. The slow pace of this process stifles innovation and the adoption of disruptive technology. A recent call to arms advances a research agenda to confront this impasse through virtualization (L. Peterson et al., 2004). In addition to describing a virtual testbed for the evaluation of new network architectures, it poses a question about the long-term role of virtualization in the Internet. The architectural "purist" views virtualization as a tool for architecture evaluation and the periodic deployment of successive, singular Internet architectures. In this paper, we advance the "pluralist" view that seeks to make virtualization an architectural attribute of the Internet. By enabling a plurality of diverse network architectures to coexist on a shared physical substrate, virtualization mitigates the ossifying forces at work in the current Internet and enables continual introduction of innovative network technologies. Such a diversified Internet would allow existing architectural deficiencies to be holistically addressed as well as enable the introduction of new architectures supporting new types of applications and services. We provide a detailed exposition of the diversified Internet concept, explain how it can address the problem of network ossification and discuss some of the technical challenges that must be met to turn the vision into reality


Using two different coimmunoprecipitation strategies as well as bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) techniques, we determined that the human oxytocin receptor forms dimeric and oligomeric complexes in vivo in intact living cells, and that these complexes exist at the cell surface level. Using a BRET‐based assay, we found that oligomers can form between oxytocin receptors themselves (homo‐oligomers) as well as, with a reduced affinity, between the oxytocin receptor and related members of the vasopressin receptor family (V1a and V2 receptors), but not with the more remotely related bradykinin receptor. The existence of oxytocin receptor oligomers at the level of the cell surface was demonstrated by a coimmunoprecipitation approach involving direct antibody exposure of intact living cells. Furthermore, this approach demonstrated that cell surface oxytocin receptor oligomerization is ligand independent. However, agonist addition led to an apparent rapid decrease in receptor oligomerization, as assessed by the coimmunoprecipitation approach, indicating that agonist exposure may modulate the oligomerization status. It remains to be determined to what extent oxytocin receptor oligomerization impacts on signal transduction.


Object-oriented features such as encapsulation, inheritance, and state dependent behaviour raise new problems in software testing. In this paper, we describe a reverse engineering approach for software testing of object-oriented programs. The approach is based on a graphic model which consists of three types of diagram: object relation diagrams (ORD), block branch diagrams (BBD), and object state diagrams (OSD). An ORD presents the inheritance, aggregation, and association relations among the object classes. A BBD presents, for a member function, the control structure, the input parameters and output parameters, the external data that are used and affected, and other functions that are invoked. An OSD presents the states and state transitions. These diagrams are generated from C++/Java source code and may be used to 1) provide guidance on the order to test the classes and member functions; 2) prepare member function test cases; 3) prepare test cases for object state dependent behaviours and interaction between such behaviours; and 4) provide a graphic display of coverage information to a tester.


When valuable data is exchanged or bought, it is frequently encumbered by restrictions on how it may be used. For example, clinical data must not be used in such a way as to expose the patients' identities. To date, these restrictions are enforced only contractually and compliance is checked only manually, if at all. To meet the needs of this growing set of applications, we present the vision for a Data Use Manager (DUM). The DUM is a component of a database system that enables the declarative specication and enforcement of sophisticated data use policies and provides capabilities for both their online enforcement and oine audit.


The current study presents a general optimization procedure that could be used in designing of various structural applications. To validate the performance of the proposed procedure, a real life application of a custom welded I-Beam gantry crane is selected. The crane is composed of three rectangular plates with the same length and different thicknesses and widths welded together by full penetration welds over the span length to form an I-Beam profile. The thicknesses and widths of plates are to be optimized to have the minimum cross section area while respecting yield, buckling, deflection and fatigue criteria. A mathematical procedure based on Timoshenko beam theory and Crane Manufacturers Association of America (CMAA) in combination with the Genetic Algorithm (GA) is presented, and a Mathcad code is implemented to find the optimal I-Beam cross section dimensions. Nine examples are introduced for 8, 12 and 20 m crane span subjected to 10, 20 and 40-toncapacities. It is noticed that the optimized I-section configurations always show narrow and thick lower flange, wider and thinner upper flange and tall and very thin web. Theupper flange local buckling and the lateral buckling limits are achieved for all nine cases, 75% of cases for the web buckling limit, about 33% of cases for the fatigue and yield limits whereas the maximum deflection constraint is never critical. The obtained results were verified using ANSYS Workbench software with a 3D Solid Finite Element model and shown good agreement, which confirms that the proposed procedure is efficient.


Transnational dialogues in STS matter and are at the heart of ESTS, exemplified by this issue. Two Original Research Articles, the first by Lucía Céspedes (2023) and the second co-authored by Gonçalo Santos, Naubahar Sharif, and Jack Linzhou Xing (2023) respectively, consider what is lost in translation—in the practice of astronomy in Argentina, and the translation of 'STS' in China's academic institutions. The thematic collection, TRANSnationalizing STS, will take the reader through STS in Kenya (Okune and Mutuku 2023), Turkey (Alkan, Kaşdoğan, and Erol 2023), Japan (Mohácsi, Otsuki, and St. Pierre 2023), and Ecuador (Albornoz 2023), showcasing new modes and models of doing STS. The thematic collection brings these spaces and places together in enlightening ways, from the way in which the collection first emerged in the exhibitions of STS Across Borders, and Innovating STS through to a reflective interview published on STS-Infrastructures (Khandekar, Fortun, Kaşdoğan, and Okune 2023), and delightful engagements from Michael Fischer (2023a, 2023b, 2023c, 2023d, 2023e, 2023f) and Vivette García-Deister (2023). The latter two engagements provide the reader with insights into STS platforming and infrastructuring experiments. Venture into the STS-Infrastructures for another 73 pages of adjacent supplementary materials including archival writing, interviews, reflections and more. This issue also sees ESTS providing authors with multiple licensing options in our open access publishing model.


Kolunsarka, I. 2019. The effects of physical exercise on body fat, metabolic health indicators and cardiorespiratory fitness in overweight sedentary women. Faculty of Sport Science, University of Jyväskylä, Master's thesis, Coaching and Fitness Testing, pp. 74., (3 appendices). Introduction. Physical activity, sedentary behavior and overweight have been widely studied in health-related research. The guidelines for physical activity were updated in 2018, emphasizing the need for the reduction of sedentary behavior and thus its effects on health. It is commonly accepted that physical activity is related to weight management, cardiorespiratory fitness and healthier blood lipid profile. The purpose of this current work was to study healtheffects of the eight-week exercise-intervention, following the official guidelines, within overweight sedentary females. Methods. This study was done as a part of a larger RCT-study, in which the health effects of combined sauna-bathing and exercising were studied. The original study consisted of 49 participants, but in this study only the overweight females were included (n=37). The participants were randomly divided into a control group (no-intervention, n=13) and an experimental group (exercise-intervention, n=24). The participants age was 49 ± 8.7 yrs., BMI 31.9 ± 3.3 kg/m, height 167 ± 7 cm and body mass 89.1 ± 13 kg. The preand postmeasurements were conducted with both groups eight weeks apart. The measurements included a body composition measurement with DXA, an indirect VO2max -test and a fasting blood sample to determine total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides and blood glucose. Both groups were instructed to follow their normal daily routines and eating habits. The exercise training intervention included training sessions three times a week for one hour at the time. The design of the training program followed the official guidelines for physical activity. Each training consisted of 10-minute warm-up, 20-minute strength training and 30-minute endurance training, for a total of 150 minutes of exercise in a week. Results. Fat mass (-1.5 ± 1.5 kg), fat percent (-1.1 ± 1.1 %) and android (central adiposity) fat mass (-0.2 ± 0.2 kg) decreased and VO2max (+4.2 ± 5.7 ml/kg/min) increased in the experimental group compared to the control group between the preand post-measurements (p<0.05). No changes were observed in metabolic health indicators or in fat distribution. Conclusion. The main finding was that guideline-based exercise intervention is an effective way to decrease both total fat mass and android fat mass. In addition, an important finding was that during exercise-induced weight-loss, it is possible to maintain fat-free mass unchanged. No changes were observed in metabolic health indicators or in fat distribution, which might be due to short intervention duration or close to normal blood lipid values in the pre-measurements.


Characterization of the HIV epidemic in Thailand has benefited from the systematic testing of young men upon entry into the military. These data, which have shown that public health measures can reverse an HIV epidemic, have been reanalyzed with current geographic information systems methods. The resulting maps, thus far, are the best means of visualizing the geography of the dynamic HIV epidemic in Thailand.


Background: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) may be due to different causes, ranging from benign secondary forms to severe cardiomyopathies. Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE) and ECG are the first-level examinations for LVH diagnosis. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) accurately defines LVH type, extent and severity. Objectives: to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic role of CMR in patients with TTE and/or ECG evidence of LVH. Methods: We performed CMR in 300 consecutive patients with echocardiographic and/or ECG signs of LVH. Results: Overall, 275 patients had TTE evidence of LVH, with initial suspicion of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in 132 (44%), cardiac amyloidosis in 41 (14%), hypertensive LVH in 48 (16%), aortic stenosis in 4 (1%), and undetermined LVH in 50 (16%). The initial echocardiographic diagnostic suspicion of LVH was confirmed in 172 patients (57.3%) and changed in 128 patients (42.7%, p < 0.0001): the diagnosis of HCM increased from 44% to 71% of patients; hypertensive and undetermined LVH decreased significantly (respectively to 4% and 5%). CMR allowed for a diagnosis in 41 out of 50 (82%) patients with undetermined LVH at TTE. CMR also identified HCM in 17 out of 25 patients with apparently normal echocardiography but with ECG criteria for LVH. Finally, the reclassification of the diagnosis by CMR was associated with a change in survival risk of patients: after CMR reclassification, no events occurred in patients with undetermined or hypertensive LVH. Conclusions: CMR changed echocardiographic suspicion in almost half of patients with LVH. In the subgroup of patients with abnormal ECG, CMR identified LVH (particularly HCM) in 80% of patients. This study highlights the indication of CMR to better characterize the type, extent and severity of LVH detected at echocardiography and suspected with ECG.


It is difficult to write a post-publication piece about a paper without falling into the trap of conducting a post-publication review of the paper, an action which could be construed as unfair and inappropriate, given the fact that the paper in question has already been reviewed, revised (presumably) and found acceptable for publication by anonymous reviewers and the journal editor. However, a few papers, and particularly those which deal with concepts such as those in David Weaver's paper entitled 'Core-periphery relationships and the sustainability paradox of small island tourism', published in Tourism Recreation Research, Volume 42, no. 1, pp. 11-21, resolve all issues and questions, and good papers, like this one (in my opinion), raise questions and issues which deserve further commentary and perhaps elaboration or questioning. Thus, I have approached this task from the point of view of having read the paper, found it interesting and challenging and felt that it raised some interesting issues that warrant some discussion. Knowing the author personally, I am fairly sure that his will take the following comments in a positive manner and see them as an expansion of his paper and its ideas rather than as a pure critique.


Fifteen or 32 months after the verdict was announced in the O.J. Simpson murder trial, we asked college students about how they had heard the news, and we compared their responses with what they had told us 3 days after the verdict. Our study is the first to have assessed recollective accuracy at two different intervals more than 1 year after a noted public event. The quality of the recollections after 32 months was strikingly different from the quality of the recollections after 15 months. After 15 months, 50% of the recollections were highly accurate, and only 11% contained major errors or distortions. After 32 months, only 29% of the recollections were highly accurate, and more than 40% contained major distortions. Retention interval appears to be an important factor determining the frequency of memory distortions, and differences in the retention interval across studies may account for some of the contradictions in the flashbulb-memory literature. Metamemory errors and source memory difficulties are a likely basis of poor memory performance after long retention intervals. The results highlight the marked qualitative changes in recollections that can occur between 1 and 3 years after information has been acquired.


UNLABELLED
Colorectal cancer is the most common malignant neoplasm in elderly with peak of incidence in 7. and 8. decade of life. Elderly patients with colorectal cancer more often require surgery. Advanced age of patients seems to increase the risk of postoperative complications. The aim of the study was to compare the frequency of early complications in two groups of patients: under 75 and over 75, undergoing elective colorectal cancer surgery.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
440 consecutive adult patients subjected to colorectal cancer surgery between 08.2006 to 10.2011 in Oncological Surgery Department, Gdynia Centre of Oncology. Group A (over 75 year-of-life): 109 patients, median 79 and group B (up to 75 year-of-life): 331 patients, median 65. Patients requiring emergency surgery were excluded from the study. Postoperative 30-day mortality, anastomotic leakage, wound infection, bowel obstruction, postoperative respiratory and circulatory insufficiency were among analyzed complications.

RESULTS
Symptomatic disease was observed in 81.6% of group A and in 83% of group B. Groups A and B were comparable concerning: BMI, gender, tumor staging, rate of curative and palliative resections, and duration of hospital stay. Accompanying diseases were more common in group A (83% vs 65%; p<0.0002). Early complications occurred in 21.1% of patients from group A and in 19.9% from group B. The rate of reoperation in early perioperative period didn't differ (6.4% vs 5.7%). Features like: age, gender, additional illnesses, tumor location and staging did not influence the occurrence of perioperative complications.

CONCLUSIONS
Age itself is not a risk factor for postoperative complications in spite of higher rate of accompanying diseases in elderly.


Euphemism is a concept closely related to taboo or embarrassing topics; classic examples include sex, religion and politics. It has been mainly studied to show how, within a given language, alternative expressions replace other unsuitable ones that, accordingly, may cause offence and discomfort to the audience. While this first approximation to the question of euphemism anticipates a key point in the use of these substitute expressions, namely the relationship between speaker-hearer in communication, the present discussion seeks to push this interdependence a bit further, framing it around English words or Anglicisms in the context of Spanish fashion. Some examples include 'backstage', 'fifties', and 'street style'. This brings up some interesting questions: why should fashion, a clearly non-taboo topic, resort to the use of euphemistic words? How can English words qualify as good candidates to carry out the euphemistic role?


Adversarial examples are perturbed inputs that are designed (from a deep learning network's (DLN) parameter gradients) to mislead the DLN during test time. Intuitively, constraining the dimensionality of inputs or parameters of a network reduces the "space" in which adversarial examples exist. Guided by this intuition, we demonstrate that discretization greatly improves the robustness of the DLNs against adversarial attacks. Specifically, discretizing the input space (or allowed pixel levels from 256 values or 8<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$bit$ </tex-math></inline-formula> to 4 values or 2<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$bit$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) extensively improves the adversarial robustness of the DLNs for a substantial range of perturbations for minimal loss in test accuracy. Furthermore, we find that binary neural networks (BNNs) and related variants are intrinsically more robust than their full precision counterparts in adversarial scenarios. Combining input discretization with the BNNs furthers the robustness, even waiving the need for adversarial training for the certain magnitude of perturbation values. We evaluate the effect of discretization on MNIST, CIFAR10, CIFAR100, and ImageNet datasets. Across all datasets, we observe maximal adversarial resistance with 2<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$bit$ </tex-math></inline-formula> input discretization that incurs an adversarial accuracy loss of just ~1% – 2% as compared to clean test accuracy against single-step attacks. We also show standalone discretization remains vulnerable to stronger multi-step attack scenarios necessitating the use of adversarial training with discretization as an improved defense strategy.


Integrated solenoid inductors with magnetic core were fabricated and analyzed. An inductance above 70 nH was achieved while keeping the coil resistance below 1 Omega and the device area below 1 mm2 using a solenoid design with a single magnetic layer. The inductance of the magnetic inductor was more than 30 times that of the air core inductor of the identical geometry, and the quality factor of the magnetic inductor was >5. Novel inductor designs and the scalability were also examined, and an inductance density higher than 200 nH/mm2 was obtained. The measured device properties and engineering tradeoffs were well explained by analytical models we developed.


The aim of this article is to show how a series of old Australian and New Zealand tax cases is somewhat unexpectedly acquiring a new lease of life in Hong Kong. More surprisingly still, the new-found relevance of these cases is largely in fields of commercial endeavour which were unimagined when they were decided but which now account for a very substantial part of Hong Kong's economy. In particular, it has transpired that the old Australian and New Zealand cases bear directly on the taxation of, first, Hong Kong firms (and Hong Kong subsidiaries of foreign firms) involved in certain forms of joint-venture manufacturing in the Chinese mainland and, secondly, financial institutions. Moreover, the issues to which the old Australasian cases relate are not trivial; on the contrary, they relate to basic questions of liability. Consequently, the revenues at stake are substantial.