Infiltration rate (IR) has been commonly used as a metric to evaluate soil quality and health. For the USDA Soil Quality Test Kit, a 15 cm (6 in) diameter cylinder is used to measure IR with 444 cm3 (equivalent to 2.54 cm [1 in]) of water while other standard IR procedures require substantially larger volumes of water. The general objective of this study was to compare different methods for IR measurement. Using three replications, IR measurements were conducted along a 9 m (27 ft) long transect in two different soil types by the double-ring infiltrometer (DRI) using 25 and 50 cm (10 and 20 in, respectively) cylinders, single-ring infiltrometer (SRI) using 25 and 50 cm cylinders, Cornell sprinkle infiltrometer (CSI) using a 24.1 cm (9.5 in) cylinder, the USDA recommended procedure using a 15 cm diameter cylinder (hereafter referred to as USDA-15 method), and a modified USDA method using a 24.1 cm diameter cylinder. Although the USDA-15 method is simple and requires a small amount of water, the procedure does not offer an accurate estimate of the soil infiltration potential due to high variability among replications and significant reduction in IR during early stages of water entry into the soil. The CSI procedure was reproducible, but it is more cumbersome to perform than other methods. The DRI, SRI, and CSI methods required a much greater volume of water than the USDA-15 method but produced results that are more consistent. The most consistent results were obtained by the CSI and DRI methods. The modified USDA method results were similar to the SRI method and were an improvement over the original USDA-15 method. For assessing soil health, additional investigations should be conducted to evaluate a modified version of the USDA procedure using a larger cylinder.


Gaussian mixture model (GMM) has been widely used for robustly modeling complicated backgrounds. A novel algorithm which can effectively resolve the problems of disturbance caused by noise and illumination mutation is proposed in this paper. Edge Gaussian mixture model method is combined with improved Neighborhood-based difference method to solve these problems and improve the performance of moving object detection. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method has great capacity in restraining noise and dealing with illumination mutation, and it is more efficient and robust than the traditional methods. The proposed method provides a reliable basis to the phase of target tracking and categorization.


An effective method for identifying inertia characteristics of cone-shaped space target based on deep learning is proposed. The inertia ratio is determined by the time-varying scattering fields from the cone-shaped targets. The multistatic method is introduced to reduce the evaluation time of time-varying scattering fields. The micro-Doppler spectrogram (MDS) dataset is constructed by the time–frequency analysis with numerical simulation method, point scattering model, and experimental tests. The compressed dataset is further achieved by truncated singular value decomposition (SVD). Finally, the micromotion parameter identification model is constructed to identify the inertia ratio for the cone-shaped space target. The interaction loss function and the feedforward denoising convolutional neural networks (DnCNNs) are employed to improve the identification accuracy. Parameters identification of the precession frequency, precession angle, spin frequency, and inertia ratio with both simulation and experiment datasets demonstrate the validity of the proposed method.


There have been several new developments in the treatment of iron and copper overload disorders, such as haemochromatosis, thalassaemia and Wilson's disease. Clinical trials of orally administered iron chelators, both as monotherapy and in combination with deferoxamine, are in progress around the world. Several new chelators are now being introduced in clinical trials. Future therapies for iron overload may comprise of oral iron binding agents capable of preventing dietary iron absorption from the diet. The characterisation of specific iron transporters such as the divalent metallic transporter and ferroportin may hold promise for the development of 'smart' compounds capable of blocking iron transport. Several new agents are now available for the management of Wilson's disease, including trientine, zinc and tetrathiomolybdate. This review, will discuss the pathogenesis, and current and future therapies for iron and copper overload disorders.


The 2009 challenge in the United Nations General Assembly to the Responsibility to Protect was a warning call. This landmark piece of human rights legislation makes a lot of governments nervous; some of them would want to wipe R2P off the books. It might be worthwhile therefore to review how it came about and ask what its importance is to you. R2P had many "fathers", but one important one was UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Seared by the UN experience in Bosnia, the genocide in Rwanda and the persecution of the Kosovars by Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, Annan asked the International Peace Academy to look into the basis in international law for humanitarian intervention. They couldn't find one. Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy then stepped in and set up a commission that did in a report called e Responsibility to Protect. Annan carefully laid the groundwork for international acceptance of the principle. He created a high-level panel to study security threats in the 21 st century and named former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans to it. Evans co-chaired the Canadian panel. Annan's panel endorsed R2P. With that crucial backing, he put R2P to the General Assembly, which, against all odds, voted in favor of it in 2005, making R2P international law. Humanitarian intervention is in fact a threat to national sovereignty. But so are most international treaties. Governments trade on their sovereignty when it is in their interest to do so. On R2P they did so again. Why should it matter to you? Just remember the Holocaust.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the frequency of hepatic hydrothorax and its association with Child Pugh Class in patients with liver cirrhosis.

STUDY DESIGN
Descriptive, analytical study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY
Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi, Medical Unit-III, (Ward- 7), from June 2012 to May 2013.

METHODOLOGY
All patients with established diagnosis of decompensated chronic liver disease were included. Detailed history, thorough physical examination, routine laboratory investigations, chest X-ray and abdominal ultrasound were carried out in all patients to find out the presence of pleural effusion and ascites, respectively. Fifty milliliters of pleural fluid was aspirated in all patients with pleural effusion using the transthoracic approach, taking ultrasound guidance, wherever required. Fluid was sent for microscopic, biochemical, and microbial analysis. SBEM defined if pleural fluid with polymorphonuclear (PMN) cell count > 500 cells/mm3 or positive culture with PMN cell count > 250 cells/mm3 with exclusion of a parapneumonic effusion.

RESULTS
Two hundred and six patients met the inclusion criteria, with mean age of 41.25 ±13.59 years. Among them, 149 (72.3%) were males and 57 (27.7%) females. Twenty-three (11.2%) had hydrothorax; right sided involvement was in 18 (78.3%) subjects, 3 (13%) had left sided while bilateral pleural effusion was found in 2 (8.7%) cases. SBEM was found in 07 (30.43%) cases. Mean serum albumin 3.125 ±0.71 gram/dl. There was association between serum albumin levels and hydrothorax. Asignificant association of hydrothorax with Child Pugh scoring system (p=0.018), but not with serum albumin (p=0.15).

CONCLUSION
The frequency of hepatic hydrothorax has a significant association with hepatic function as assessed by Child Pugh scoring system, but not with serum albumin.


The result of applying the embedded system in education for students is successfully applied in university. On the other side, many people in Indonesia use smart equipment's (Hand phone, Remote), but none of those equipments are used in education. University as the source of knowledge should overcome the problem by encouraging the students to use a technology with learning about it first. Embedded System Practicum Module Design needs a prototype method so that the practicum module that is desired can be made. This method is often used in real life. A prototype considered of a part of a product that expresses logic and physical of external interface that is being displayed and this method will fully depend on user contentment. Embedded System Practicum Module Design is made to increase student comprehension of embedded system course and to encourage students to innovate, so that many technologies will be developed and also to help lecturers deliver course subjects. With this practicum it is hoped that the student comprehension will increase significantly. The result of this research is a decent practicum module, hardware or software that can help students to know better about technology and the course subjects so that it will encourage the students to create an embedded system technology. The result of the test has been done; there is an increase of learning value obtained by 7.8%.


Rotary kilns are used to convert calcineous raw meal into cement clinkers. In this paper we present a one-dimensional model to simulate key processes occurring in solid bed of cement kilns. Solid-solid reactions occurring in cement kilns were modelled with a pseudo-homogeneous approximation. Variation of bed height and melt formation in burner zone within the kiln was accounted for. Energy balance (including conductive, convective and radiative heat transfer) was solved based on a quasi-steady state approximation. The mathematical model was first applied to a rotary calciner. The model predictions were verified by comparing them with the published experimental data. The model was then used to simulate performance of three industrial kilns. Numerical experiments were carried out to investigate influence of key operating and design parameters on energy consumption of kilns. The model was also used to explore the possibility of manipulating temperature profile within the kiln to reduce energy consumption in kiln per ton of clinker. Apart from providing a computationally efficient tool to simulate kiln performance, the model and the results discussed here will provide a useful basis for the development of comprehensive three-dimensional models of rotary cement kilns.


The 20210A allele of the prothrombin gene is associated with increased risk of venous thromboembolism. In this study, we described manifestations of thrombosis in four generations of a Colombian family, with four 20210A homozygous carriers and six 20210G/A heterozygous carriers for polymorphism as well as unrelated participants from the same population. The levels of prothrombin in the 20210A homozygote patients were higher than in the normal 20210G homozygotes (133 + 11% and 92.3 + 12.4%, respectively, P < .01) and the 20210G/A heterozygotes (133 + 11% vs. 114.8 + 24%, P < .05). About 2 out of 4 20210A homozygotes and 5 out of 6 20210G/A heterozygous members of this family did not have venous thromboembolism or any other thrombotic manifestation even though one of them had been exposed to thrombotic risk factors. Thus, we posit the effect of 20210A on the thrombotic phenotype in this family seems to be weak.


The Romanian Journal of European Studies No.4/2005 ISSN 1583 - 199X EUV - Editura Universitatii de Vest, Timisoara, 2005 The British Coucil in Bucharest and The School of High Comparative European Studies (SISEC), within the West University of Timisoara, edited The Romanian Journal of European Studies - special issue on migration and mobility (Guest editor: Mr. Martin GEIGER, Bonn University, Germany; contact: email@example.com). For more information or to obtain a printed copy, please contact Mr. Dan MOGA, at SISEC (E-mail: email@example.com) CONTENTS: Foreword; Grigore Silasi ... page 5 Editorial; Martin Geiger ... pages 7 - 8 Forms and Features of the Post-Enlargement Migration Space; Paolo Ruspini ... pages 9 - 18 Managing Migration for an Enlarging Europe - Inter-governmental Organizations and the Governance of the Migration Flows; Martin Geiger ... pages 19 - 30 Balkan Migrations and The European Union: Patterns and Trends; Martin Baldwin-Edwards ... pages 31 - 43 Workers' Mobility': Europe's Integration and Second Thoughts; Peter van Krieken ... pages 45 - 53 Romania's External Migration in the Context of Accesion to the EU: Mechanisms, Institutions and Social-Cultural Issues; Luminita Nicolescu, Daniela-Luminita Constantin ... pages 55 - 63 Migrations et incidence sur la repartition spatiale de la population en Roumanie au niveau national et regional; Vasile Ghetau ... pages 65 - 83


Abstract Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) results in substantial numbers of hospitalisations and deaths in older adults. There are known lifestyle and medical risk factors for pneumococcal disease but the magnitude of the additional risk is not well quantified in Australia. We used a large population-based prospective cohort study of older adults in the state of New South Wales (45 and Up Study) linked to cause-specific hospitalisations, disease notifications and death registrations from 2006 to 2015. We estimated the age-specific incidence of CAP hospitalisation (ICD-10 J12-18), invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) notification and presumptive non-invasive pneumococcal CAP hospitalisation (J13 + J18.1, excluding IPD), comparing those with at least one risk factor to those with no risk factors. The hospitalised case-fatality rate (CFR) included deaths in a 30-day window after hospitalisation. Among 266 951 participants followed for 1 850 000 person-years there were 8747 first hospitalisations for CAP, 157 IPD notifications and 305 non-invasive pneumococcal CAP hospitalisations. In persons 65–84 years, 54.7% had at least one identified risk factor, increasing to 57.0% in those ⩾85 years. The incidence of CAP hospitalisation in those ⩾65 years with at least one risk factor was twofold higher than in those without risk factors, 1091/100 000 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1060–1122) compared with 522/100 000 (95% CI 501–545) and IPD in equivalent groups was almost threefold higher (18.40/100 000 (95% CI 14.61–22.87) vs. 6.82/100 000 (95% CI 4.56–9.79)). The CFR increased with age but there were limited difference by risk status, except in those aged 45 to 64 years. Adults ⩾65 years with at least one risk factor have much higher rates of CAP and IPD suggesting that additional risk factor-based vaccination strategies may be cost-effective.


AIMS
Olodaterol is an orally inhaled β2 -agonist for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aims of this population pharmacokinetic (PK) analysis were: (1) to investigate systemic PK and thereby make inferences about pulmonary PK in asthmatic patients, COPD patients and healthy volunteers, and (2) to assess whether differences in pulmonary efficacy might be expected based on pulmonary PK characteristics.

METHODS
Plasma and urine data after olodaterol inhalation were available from six clinical trials comprising 710 patients and healthy volunteers (single and multiple dosing). To investigate the relevance of covariates, full fixed-effect modelling was applied based on a previously developed healthy volunteer systemic disposition model.

RESULTS
A pulmonary model with three parallel absorption processes best described PK after inhalation in patients. The pulmonary bioavailable fraction (PBIO) was 48.7% (46.1-51.3%, 95% confidence interval) in asthma, and 53.6% (51.1-56.2%) in COPD. In asthma 87.2% (85.4-88.8%) of PBIO was slowly absorbed with an absorption half-life of 18.5 h (16.3-21.4 h), whereas in COPD 80.1% (78.0-82.2%) was absorbed with a half-life of 37.8 h (31.1-47.8 h). In healthy volunteers absorption was faster, with a half-life of 18.5 h (16.3-21.4 h) of the slowest absorbed process, which characterized 74.6% (69.1-80.2%) of PBIO.

CONCLUSIONS
The modelling approach successfully described data after olodaterol inhalation in patients and healthy volunteers. Slow pulmonary absorption was demonstrated both in asthma and COPD. Absorption characteristics after olodaterol inhalation indicated even more beneficial lung targeting in patients compared to healthy volunteers.


We investigate the late-stage coarsening of three-dimensional two-phase structures using non-conserved and conserved dynamics. Mixtures with a volume fraction of a phase of 50% are studied for non-conserved and conserved dynamics, and systems with volume fractions of 22%, 30%, 36%, and 40% are studied for conserved dynamics. The morphology and topology are quantified using the interfacial shape distribution and the genus, respectively. For systems with 50% volume fraction evolving via both dynamics and 36% and 40% mixtures evolving via conserved dynamics, we find that domains are bicontinuous and have time-invariant scaled morphologies and topologies. Each bicontinuous mixture yields a unique scaled interfacial shape distribution. However, all these mixtures have similar scaled topologies, yielding similar values (0.134 ± 0.004) in the scaled genus density. Additionally, these bicontinuous mixtures are different from the topology of Schoen's G surface that has been considered previously as a good model for such bicontinuous mixtures. For volume fractions of 22% and 30%, the mixtures are not bicontinuous.


Studies on the relationship of biculturalism and psychosocial outcomes are still in the fledgling stages. Given the limited attention to bicultural adult, the rationale behind the study is that bicultural individuals will be exposed to more demanding and novel situations, and thus, will possess more effective coping skills and interpersonal flexibility. The development of bicultural identity will not only entail the development of the intricacies of the individual's heritage culture, but the development of another cultural identity that may entail a vastly different culture. This study examined the relationship of biculturalism with cognitive-flexibility and self-efficacy of Japanese bilingual adults. Participants (n=210) were Japanese and English bilinguals ranging between 18 to 65 years old living in Japan or the US. All participants were alumni of international schools in Tokyo, Japan. While biculturalism was operationalized by modeling after the abbreviated multidimensional acculturation scale, an exploratory factorial analysis was performed to find the best item loadings to create a composite variable that represented biculturalism. Numbers of years working in Japan and in the US were unique independent variables used in this study. The findings points to a positive moderate correlation of biculturalism with cognitive-flexibility and self-efficacy. A linear multiple regression analysis was conducted and number of years working in the US was a strong predictor. A two-way ANOVA showed that individuals working more years in the US showed a significantly higher level of cognitive-flexibility and self-efficacy than individuals that worked less in the US. Lastly, individuals' perceptions of one's biculturalism and the substantive experiences were associated with cognitive-flexibility and self-efficacy. The implication of the study suggests that being able to navigate and function in Japan and the US may be related with the development of cognitive-flexibility and self-efficacy.


In this paper, artificial neural network (ANN) is used to train the network which can predict  the casting defect. L27 orthogonal array is used as input matrix for training of neural  network. NN tool is used to train the network for prediction of defects. Major defects observed  on shop floor were; misrun, blowholes, inclusions and porosity. Moisture, permeability, LOI,  compressive strength, volatile content, vent holes, pouring time, pouring temperature, mould  hardness were the major process parameters identified. Back propagation neural network is  used in this paper to train the network. The network is trained to prepare the model which  forecast the casting defects. Cite this Article Parekh Priyank V. Optimization of  Green Sand Casting Process Parameters  by Artificial Neural Network (ANN).  Trends in Mechanical Engineering &  Technology. 2016; 6(2): 75–80p.


It has been shown that cooling the developing eggs from 37.7 degrees C results cessation of motor activity of the amnion in 5-14-day embryos at 36-33 degrees C, whereas motor activity of the embryo remains unaffected up to 31-26 degrees C. Immobilization of the embryo was observed on cooling up to 22-18 degrees C. The recovery of motor activity after cooling during heating takes place in a reverse order. Embryonic movements are observed at 18-23 degrees C, contractions of the amnion--at 28-33 degrees C. These experiments reveal complete independence of embryonic movements from the amnion. Motor activity of the amnion is related to that of the embryo only between the 8th and the 10th day of incubation.


ABSTRACT The present paper seeks to examine southern perspectives on climate change and their effects on Antarctica. Following that objective, the paper analyses, from a theoretical/philosophical and historical perspective, three different images of Antarctica that have played key roles in shaping the governance of the continent. Thus, I distinguish between the idea of a continental Antarctica, characterised as exceptional and isolated; the idea of a hemispheric – or regional – Antarctica, which relates to the vicinity of the southern hemisphere countries, their environmental identity with the southern polar regions and the more direct and immediate linkages between the Antarctic and the southern countries' environments; and the idea of a global Antarctica, which stress the planetary dynamics that interlink the continent with the global phenomena. Whether the Antarctic Treaty and the evolution of the Antarctic Treaty System seem to have incorporated those different images successfully, the evolving and increasing phenomenon of climate change has stressed the idea of the global Antarctica as opposed to the continental Antarctica, disregarding the image of the hemispheric Antarctica. That could lead to efforts to widen or even open up participation in the regime, an option that most likely would confront a strong rebuttal from existing southern member countries, in particular from those that hold territorial claims upon Antarctica. As a conclusion, I argue that any successful attempt to address the global problem of climate change needs to take into account the perspectives of the southern countries and their particular identity/links with the Antarctic region, including their environments; and that any possible governance framework would need to accommodate the three disparate visions of Antarctica in order to be successful and ensure that the Antarctic remains free from strong political discord and conflicts.


Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Methods for Prediction of Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis Percent Dry Weight Reliable fish condition estimates are valued by fisheries ecologists and managers. Fish condition is used as an indicator of ecosystem health or to assess the population status for a species of interest. In aquaculture, proximate composition estimates are often wanted because of their relationship to fillet quality. Past researchers have used bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to provide nonlethal mass based estimates of proximate composition for fish. Percent dry weight (PDW) of a fish is highly correlated to proximate composition values and energy density, therefore reliable predictions of PDW would eliminate the need for costly and laboratory analyses lethal to the fish. Past researchers have had limited success predicting percent based estimates of proximate composition using BIA, indicating that improvements in the method are needed. Therefore, objectives were to determine if electrode location influences BIA models, develop methods for small fish, develop temperature corrections for BIA measures, and field validate laboratory derived BIA models. To determine electrode location influence and develop small fish methods, 270 brook trout (50-300 mm TL) had BIA measurements taken at seven different electrode locations. Temperature corrections were developed by sampling 270 fish at three different temperatures (5, 12.5, and 20oC). Field validation of BIA models was accomplished by sampling brook trout monthly at nine Appalachian Mountain headwater stream sites for an entire year. For adult brook trout, one set of measurements should be taken by placing the electrodes along the dorsal midline of the fish and a second set should be taken at the dorsal to ventral pre dorsal fin location (DTV). For age-0 fish the DTV location should be used in combination with a second set taken at the dorsal total length location. Temperature correction equations were successfully developed and improved model performance. Field validation demonstrated that BIA can provide reliable estimates of mean percent dry weight or energy density but estimates for individual fish were unreliable. The BIA model predictions were able to demonstrate that large changes in adult Appalachian brook trout body condition occurred. These changes were likely related to energy depletion from reproduction and changes in terrestrial invertebrate consumption. Andrew William Hafs


The truncated distributions has been widely studied, primarily in life-testing and reliability analysis. Most work has assumed an upper bound on the support of the random variable, i.e. the space of the distribution is (0, d). We consider a doubly-truncated Frechet random variable restricted by both a lower (c) and upper (d) truncation point. We provide forms for the density, cumulative distribution function (CDF), hazard function, characteristic function, rth raw moment, mean, mode, median, variance, skewness, kurtosis, Shannon entropy function, relative entropy and quantile function. We also consider the generating issues. This paper deals also with the determination of R = P[Y < X] when X and Y are two independent doubly truncated Frechet distributions (DTFD) with different scale parameters, different shape parameters but the same truncations parameters. Different methods to estimate doubly truncated Frechet distribution parameters are studied, Maximum Likelihood estimator, Moments estimator, Percentile estimator, least square estimator and weighted least square estimator. An empirical study is conducted to compare among these methods.


ABSTRACT The narrative in this paper focuses on a discourse by the authors regarding the ideal method of delivery for online instruction. A research study was conducted with 20 experienced online learners who also happened to have experience with online instructional design. The outcomes of the study provide insight regarding the preferred method of online instructional delivery. Primarily it was determined that: a.) Distance Education as a method of instructional delivery is perceived by the majority of students taking online courses as an opportune way of achieving their educational goals; and b.) Graduate students who work full-time are sometimes limited in their choices of programs they can earn a degree in to maximize their career aspirations. Additionally, the study looked at synchronous versus asynchronous online learning as two course delivery methods used in distance education (to see which one was preferred by graduate students who participated in the study as they worked full-time). The literature that supports the study supported both methodologies for different reasons. Asynchronous online courses are preferred by those who seek a more flexible school schedule and synchronous online courses are preferred by those who prefer live interactions between the instructor and the student.


The ELI-Beamlines facility aims to provide a selection of high-energy and high repetition-rate TW-PW femtosecond lasers driving high intensity XUV/X-ray and accelerated particle secondary sources for applications in materials, medical, nuclear and high-field physics sectors. The highest repetition rate laser in the facility will be the L1 laser, producing 1 kHz, 20 fs laser pulses of 200 mJ energy. This laser is based entirely on picosecond chirpedpulse parametric amplification and solid-state pump lasers. The high repetition rate combined with kW pump powers and advanced technologies calls for a highly automated, reliable and flexible control system. Current progress on the L1 control system is discussed, focussing on the architecture, software and hardware choices. Special attention is given to the LabVIEW-EPICS framework that was developed for the ELI Beamlines lasers. This framework offers comprehensive and scalable EPICS integration while allowing the full range of LabVIEW real-time and FPGA embedded targets to be leveraged in order to provide adaptable, high-performance control and rapid development.


Introduction
Language is the most important mean of communication and plays a central role in our everyday life. Brain damage (e.g. stroke) can lead to acquired disorders of lan- guage affecting the four linguistic modalities (i.e. reading, writing, speech production and comprehension) in different combinations and levels of severity. Every year, more than 5000 people (Aphasie Suisse) are affected by aphasia in Switzerland alone. Since aphasia is highly individual, the level of difficulty and the content of tasks have to be adapted continuously by the speech therapists. Computer-based assignments allow patients to train independently at home and thus increasing the frequency of ther- apy. Recent developments in tablet computers have opened new opportunities to use these devices for rehabilitation purposes. Especially older people, who have no prior experience with computers, can benefit from the new technologies.

Methods
The aim of this project was to develop an application that enables patients to train language related tasks autonomously and, on the other hand, allows speech therapists to assign exercises to the patients and to track their results online. Seven categories with various types of assignments were implemented. The application has two parts which are separated by a user management system into a patient interface and a therapist interface. Both interfaces were evaluated using the SUS (Subject Usability Scale). The patient interface was tested by 15 healthy controls and 5 patients. For the patients, we also collected tracking data for further analysis. The therapist interface was evaluated by 5 speech therapists.

Results
The SUS score are xpatients = 98 and xhealthy = 92.7 (median = 95, SD = 7, 95% CI [88.8, 96.6]) in case of the patient interface and xtherapists = 68 in case of the therapist interface.

Conclusion
Both, the patients and the healthy subjects, attested high SUS scores to the patient interface. These scores are considered as "best imaginable". The therapist interface got a lower SUS score compared to the patient interface, but is still considered as "good" and "usable". The user tracking system and the interviews revealed that there is room for improvements and inspired new ideas for future versions.


OBJECTIVE
A computer simulation based on the finite-element method was used to study the biomechanics of acute obstructive hydrocephalus and, in particular, to define why periventricular edema is most prominent in the anterior and posterior horns.

METHODS
Brain parenchyma was modeled as a two-phase material composed of a porous elastic matrix saturated by interstitial fluid. The effects of the cerebrovascular system were not included in this model. The change in the shape of the ventricles as they enlarged was described by two variables, i.e., the stretch of the ependyma and the concavity of the ventricular wall. The distribution of stresses and strains in the tissue was defined by two standard mechanical measures, i.e., the mean effective stress and the void ratio.

RESULTS
With obstruction to cerebrospinal fluid flow, the simulation revealed that the degree of ventricular expansion at equilibrium depended on the pressure gradient between the ventricles and the subarachnoid space. Periventricular edema was associated with the appearance of expansive (tensile) stresses in the tissues surrounding the frontal and occipital horns. In contrast, the concave shape in the region of the body of the ventricle created compressive stresses in the parenchyma. Both of these stresses seem to be direct consequences of the concave/convex geometry of the ventricular wall, which serves to selectively focus the forces (perpendicular to the ependyma) produced by the increased intraventricular fluid pressure in the periventricular tissues.

CONCLUSION
The distribution of periventricular edema in acute hydrocephalus is a result not only of increased intraventricular pressure but also of ventricular geometry.


We have read with interest the article by Pérez Montiel CA et al., in which goblet cell adenocarcinoma (GCA) is described as a cause of acute appendicitis. Although the article is brilliant in terms of histopathological description of the appendiceal GCA, the surgical indication for right hemicolectomy should be analyzed in depth due to the great controversy that exists in the scientific literature.


We have developed a new 4D heart model for use in the 4D NCAT phantom that, through modification of parameters that define it, is capable of modeling a wide variety of beating heart motions, normal and abnormal. High-resolution gated cardiac CT data of a healthy subject obtained from a dual source MSCT scanner was used to define the more detailed anatomy of the model. The study consisted of 100 gated time frames over a complete cardiac cycle. For each time frame, 3D NURBS and subdivision surfaces were created to model the four cardiac chambers as well as the coronary vessels, papillary muscles, valves, and other small details of the heart. The motion vector field of the chamber surfaces between adjacent gated time frames was set up by combining information from the CT data as well as the gated tagged MRI data upon which the original 4D NCAT heart model was based. The cardiac twisting motion of the heart cannot be ascertained from CT imaging data; therefore, the twisting motion in the original heart model was scaled to fit the new heart segmented from the CT data. Once the twisting motion was established, the radial and longitudinal contractions could be obtained by noting the epi- and endocardial borders in the gated MSCT images. The motion of the vessels and other cardiac structures was determined by tracking landmark points located on or within them for each subsequent time frame. Time curves were defined for the control points defining each surface creating a time changing 3D surface or 4D model for each heart structure. The resulting heart model was parameterized (including variables to alter the volume change and time duration of different portions of the cardiac cycle as well as the global and regional motion) so as to simulate normal and abnormal variations in the cardiac motion. The model will provide a useful simulation tool for evaluating and improving existing and emerging high resolution 4D imaging techniques used in the diagnosis of cardiac disease.


There is a general feeling that in Pakistan, public sector institutions have failed to provide a disciplined academic life for students. Moreover lack of accountability for teaching faculty- too smug in security of their jobs-has resulted in a total collapse of academic and professional milieu.

Feeling a vacuum private enterprise has stepped into medical education and treats it as a business, trying to put a strong rein on students and teaching faculty. The business sector in order to avoid pitfalls of public sector has ignored that in professional colleges and institutes of higher learning, a little bit of job security for teaching faculty and independence for students is must for creativity and grooming of intellect.
"To encourage real creativity, you need to have a good deal of slack", said James Watson, who along with Frances Crick figured out the structure of DNA. It is rumored that he deliberately used to untie his shoelaces before going to a formal (suit and tie) meeting.


A central issue of nanoelectronics concerns their fundamental scaling limits, that is, the smallest and most energy-efficient devices that can function reliably. Unlike charge-based electronics that are prone to leakage at nanoscale dimensions, memory devices based on phase change materials (PCMs) are more scalable, storing digital information as the crystalline or amorphous state of a material. Here, we describe a novel approach to self-align PCM nanowires with individual carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes for the first time. The highly scaled and spatially confined memory devices approach the ultimate scaling limits of PCM technology, achieving ultralow programming currents (~0.1 μA set, ~1.6 μA reset), outstanding on/off ratios (~10(3)), and improved endurance and stability at few-nanometer bit dimensions. In addition, the powerful yet simple nanofabrication approach described here can enable confining and probing many other nanoscale and molecular devices self-aligned with CNT electrodes.


We evaluated the effects of maternal environmental exposure to 59 agricultural pesticides on neural-tube defects (NTDs) ascertained in two birth cohorts born in California between 1987 and 1991. Maternal residential proximity within 1,000 meters of pesticide applications occurring around the month of conception was assessed using a geographic model based on linking California Pesticide Use Reports (PUR) and land-use survey maps to increase the spatial resolution of the PUR. To adjust for multiple comparisons and correlated pesticide exposures, we employed hierarchical logistic regression, assessing agents in subgroups with similar physicochemical properties and comparing the estimates to those obtained from conventional logistic models. In addition, we estimated separate exposure effects for anencephaly and spina bifida, the two main NTD subtypes, and employed a polytomous hierarchical model for these outcomes. The precision of effect estimates based on the hierarchical models substantially improved compared to conventional logistic models, as effect estimates were shrunk towards the means of subgroups. Exposure prevalence to individual pesticides was low (e.g., methomyl had the highest prevalence of exposure, with 8.6% of 731 cases and 5.6% of 940 controls), thus limiting our ability to detect effects for specific pesticides. For NTDs, we observed a moderate effect for benomyl, a fungicide identified as a developmental toxin and endocrine disruptor (hierarchical OR: 2.05; 95% CI: 0.92, 4.55). Examining NTD subtypes in a polytomous hierarchical model, we also observed associations for the following organophosphosus compounds: chlorpyrifos (OR: 1.54; 95% CI: 0.87, 2.73) with spina bifida, and glyphosate (OR: 1.55; 95% CI: 0.85, 2.85) and naled (OR: 1.95; 95% CI: 0.89, 4.28) with anencephaly. These are the first results from a human study to suggest an increased risk for NTDs from residential proximity to specific pesticides, including agents (e.g., benomyl) classified by the US and California Environmental Protection Agencies as developmental toxins. In toxicological studies of mammals and amphibians, benomyl and its metabolites have been demonstrated to inhibit microtubule formation, which is critical to the differentiation of neural tissue. Chlorpyrifos in rat embryos has been shown to induce apoptosis and inhibit mitosis of neuroepithelial cells during neurulation. Further study is needed to improve our understanding of the mechanisms for teratogenesis resulting from exposure to these agents at low doses in the environment.


In long-haul optical frequency-division-multiplexing (FDM) systems, transmission characteristics are degraded by four-wave mixing (FWM). To overcome this problem, repeated unequally spaced (RUS) channels have been recently proposed as a new frequency allocation. In this paper, frequency distribution and intensity of generated FWM lights, and a total bandwidth of signal lights of RUS channels are compared with those of already known equally spaced (ES) and unequally spaced (US) channels. It is found that intensities of generated FWM lights of RUS are less than those of ES when the number of channels and a total bandwidth of signals are common in both channels. It is also revealed that RUS has a narrower total bandwidth than US when the number of channels and the minimum channel spacing are common in both channels. Since RUS simultaneously satisfies a low FWM light intensity and a narrow signal bandwidth, it is considered that RUS is suitable for FDM lightwave transmission systems.


The following objectives have been formulated: 1) qualitative and quantitative evaluation of aphid communities (Hemiptera: Aphididae) associated with specific plant communities inside agricultural landscape (so-called within-farm habitats, semi-natural habitats, etc.), such as: field boundaries, bushes and forest islands, typical for the Lower Vistula Valley in northern Poland, and 2) determination of the types of non-crop habitats nutritionally attractive to aphids that affect the diversity of their communities. The study was conducted in the years 1996-2001. Material consisted of aphids from the family Aphididae (Hemiptera: Aphididae). Among ten various types of semi-natural habitats examined within six years of the study, of which six were located in the so-called multicrop agricultural space, and four in the so-called landscape park, more attractive to aphids were the habitats between large crop fields than in the landscape park beside small crop fields. This can indicate that the aphids choose sites with higher availability of suitable food. There were more aphids detected in the bushes with a stable and diverse vegetation structure, predominance of trees, shrubs, and on the forest edges rather than in open areas such as field boundaries. This means that aphids concentrate in the off-field habitats border large crop lands.


Within the wide body of scholarship on gender work and caring, sub-strands of research have grown tremendously in the past decade, including largely separate studies on fatherhood and embodiment. Drawing on a qualitative research project with Canadian fathers who self-identify as primary caregivers of their children, this article focuses on recovering largely invisible links between theoretical and empirical understandings of fatherhood, caring and embodiment. The article builds on the work of key sociologists of the body as well as the work of Goffman and Merleau-Ponty. Specifically, Merleau-Ponty's concept of 'body subjects' and Goffman's work on the 'moral' quality of bodily movements through public spaces are utilized as lenses for understanding fathers' narratives of caring, particularly how men speak about their movements with children through what several fathers refer to as "estrogen-filled" worlds. As caring for others involves forming social networks and relations, embodiment can matter in the spaces between men, between male and female caregivers, and between men and the children of others. This article argues that through the changing stages of caring for children, male embodiment constantly shifts in the weight of its salience in the identities and practices of fathers and caregiving.


A new simple  $\pi $ -equivalent model with parameter extraction method is presented in this letter, to develop accurate models for spiral inductors on low-resistance CMOS substrate with ground shield structure. C-L-R network is introduced to model the ground loop in the lower metal strips, replacing the conventional C-R-C network. This model contains only ten frequency-independent components with explicit physical meaning, which has fewer elements and is easy to be extracted. Frequency responses of the extracted results are in excellent agreement with the measurements and EM simulations of inductors with different ground shields and layout designs up to 40 GHz. This proves the validity of the proposed model and parameter extraction method. Finally, extracted results of the inductors with different ground shields are compared and investigated.


This paper proposes and tests a new risk model that explains how investors perceive financial risks. The model combines conventional decision theory variables - probabilities and outcomes - with variables from psychology research by Slovic (1987). The latter includes variables such as the extent to which a risky item is new, causes worry, and is controllable. To test our model, we conduct two studies in which financial statement users judge the risk of a broad range of financial items. Our results indicate that both decision theory and Slovic variables are important in explaining investors' risk judgments. Further, we demonstrate that loss outcome information contained in mandated risk disclosures not only directly influences investors' risk judgments but also indirectly affects such judgments via its effect on select Slovic variables. These results provide new theoretical insights that should be useful to accounting and psychology researchers studying how people judge risk. Our results also imply that to fully understand the effects of current and future accounting risk disclosures, managers and regulators must consider the effects of these disclosures on decision theory and Slovic variables.


OBJECTIVE
The aim was to investigate the cardiac electrophysiological effects of the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone and examine whether hyperkalaemia and ischaemia influence these effects.

METHODS
The cardiac electrophysiological effects of racemic naloxone, nalmafene, and morphine were examined in superfused rabbit papillary muscles under normal conditions and in the case of naloxone under conditions of hyperkalaemia. The electrophysiological effects of racemic naloxone and d-naloxone were examined in arterially perfused rabbit interventricular septa before and during 30 min global zero flow ischaemia; the rate of rise of extracellular K+ concentration was also measured.

RESULTS
Naloxone, nalmafene and morphine all prolonged action potential duration and effective refractory period in superfused papillary muscles (class III effects), suggesting that these effects are not receptor mediated. During hyperkalaemia, naloxone increased the depressant effect on the maximum upstroke velocity of the action potential and enhanced post-repolarisation refractoriness, further suggesting a class I effect. Both racemic naloxone (active at opioid receptors) and d-naloxone (inactive) prolonged action potential duration and effective refractory period in septa, again suggesting non-receptor-mediated effects. During myocardial ischaemia the class III effects of both compounds were gradually lost in such a way that post-repolarisation refractoriness developed. Both compounds reduced the rate of rise of extracellular K+ concentration and preserved resting membrane potential, but the fall in maximum upstroke velocity was enhanced, again suggesting that naloxone has an additional class I effect in partially depolarised ventricular myocardium.

CONCLUSIONS
The antiarrhythmic activity of naloxone in models of myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion can be explained by non-opioid receptor mediated effects on the duration and maximum upstroke velocity of the action potential and on extracellular potassium accumulation during ischaemia.


The authors made a comparative analysis of structural and functional changes of the myocardium of 21 dogs after a 30 minute limitation of the blood circulation in the circumflex branch of the left coronary artery with subsequent 30-minute reperfusion during intravenous administration of verapamil in the period and before the beginning of limitation of the coronary circulation. Verapamil produced an essential cardioprotective effect during its preventive use. The effect was less pronounced when the agent was administered after the development of ischemia.


Recruitment of the GTPase dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) to mitochondria is a central step required for mitochondrial fission. Reversible Drp1 phosphorylation has been implicated in the regulation of this process, but whether Drp1 phosphorylation at Ser-637 determines its subcellular localization and fission activity remains to be fully elucidated. Here, using HEK 293T cells and immunofluorescence, immunoblotting, RNAi, subcellular fractionation, co-immunoprecipitation assays, and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, we show that Drp1 phosphorylated at Ser-637 (Drp1pS637) resides both in the cytosol and on mitochondria. We found that the receptors mitochondrial fission factor (Mff) and mitochondrial elongation factor 1/2 (MIEF1/2) interact with and recruit Drp1pS637 to mitochondria and that elevated Mff or MIEF levels promote Drp1pS637 accumulation on mitochondria. We also noted that protein kinase A (PKA), which mediates phosphorylation of Drp1 on Ser-637, is partially present on mitochondria and interacts with both MIEFs and Mff. PKA knockdown did not affect the Drp1-Mff interaction, but slightly enhanced the interaction between Drp1 and MIEFs. In Drp1-deficient HEK 293T cells, both phosphomimetic Drp1-S637D and phospho-deficient Drp1-S637A variants, like wild-type Drp1, located to the cytosol and to mitochondria and rescued a Drp1 deficiency-induced mitochondrial hyperfusion phenotype. However, Drp1-S637D was less efficient than Drp1-WT and Drp1-S637A in inducing mitochondrial fission. In conclusion, the Ser-637 phosphorylation status in Drp1 is not a determinant that controls Drp1 recruitment to mitochondria.


Periodically crystallized nanostructure was self-assembled inside Al<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf>-R<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> binary glass (R = Y, La, Dy) with a low glass formation ability by the femtosecond laser irradiation. Such polarization-dependent nanostructures exhibit periodic modulation in magnetic properties.


As opposed to stochastic dynamics, recent studies suggested that financial markets might be governed by chaotic dynamics. Models that tried to explain market behavior are based on the stochastic hypothesis, which is observed when adding the perturbation error. However, stochastic models provide poor forecasts of the market, so far, which raises the question about the validity of the stochastic hypothesis. This paper presents a practical framework to test chaotic dynamics even for noisy systems as opposed to stochastic dynamics. It elaborates an easy-to-use and comprehensive algorithm to build a program to test chaos based on theoretical studies. MonteCarlo simulations have confirmed that this test is powerful in detecting chaotic dynamics. The applications have confirmed that stock index returns S&P 500, Nikkei 225 and CAC 40 are stochastic and not chaotic.


We aim to improve the accuracy of handwritten Chinese character recognition using two advanced techniques: discriminative feature extraction (DFE) and discriminative learning quadratic discriminant function (DLQDF). Both methods are based on the minimum classification error (MCE) training method of Juang et al. (1992), and we propose to accelerate the training process on large category set using hierarchical classification. Our experimental results on two large databases show that while the DFE improves the accuracy significantly, the DLQDF improves only slightly. Compared to the modified quadratic discriminant function (MQDF) with Fisher discriminant analysis, the error rates on two test sets were reduced by factors of 29.9% and 20.7%, respectively


Speech offers a powerful avenue between user and computer. However, if the user is not speaking, or is speaking to someone else, what is the computer to make of it? Project LISTEN's Reading Tutor is speech-aware software that strives to teach children to read. Because it is useful to know what the child is doing when reading, we are investigating some potential uses of computer vision. By recording and analyzing video of the Tutor in use, we measured the frequency of events that cannot be detected by speech alone. These include how often the child is visually distracted, and how often the teacher or another student provides assistance. This information helps us assess how vision might enhance the effectiveness of the Reading Tutor.


Major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related A (MICA) is a tumour antigen that is greatly expressed on the surfaces of human malignancies and infection cells, which trigger attachment to immune cells. Although many studies have investigated the role of the MICA rs2596542 variant involved in high risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the expression regulation of rs2596542 MICA in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) susceptibility with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is still ambiguous. Therefore, this study was conducted to elucidate the association of rs2596542C/T and EBV load to MICA expression in NPC tissues. A total of 70 tumour tissues from NPC patients were enrolled in the current study. The genetic variant of rs2596542 was identified by Real-time PCR genotyping, and MICA protein expression was quantified by immunohistochemistry staining. A significant difference was observed in the expression of MICA regarding EBV copy numbers (p<0.01). High expression of MICA presented a considerably lower EBV status. In addition, higher expression of homologous MICA rs2596542 CC was significantly associated with a lower EBV load (p<0.001) thus suggesting a protective role of allele C against the infection of EBV. In summary, rs2596542 MICA plays an important role in the immune response preventing the EBV among NPC patients as well as developing a new predictive biomarker for virus susceptibility to cancers.


This study investigates the determinants of growth and
competitiveness of Zambia's flower exports to three main export destinations—the Netherlands, the UK and Germany—using annual time
series data from 1990 to 2010. Acknowledging that time series data are often nonstationary, leading to misleading economic
analyses, the study employs cointegration and error correction models to
establish factors of conditions growth and competitiveness of Zambia's flower exports. The results show that supply and competitiveness of flower exports
are positively influenced by domestic flower
production, real GDP and population of importing countries, relative
depreciation of domestic currency and world export prices. In contrast, exports
from competing countries and real interest rates were found to negatively influence
flower exports. This seems to suggest that monetary policies and exchange rate
regimes that promote trade are required for enhancing and fostering an
environment favorable for flower production and exporting. In addition, the
replacement of Zambia's flower exports by those from other countries dictates
that there must be a quality improvement so the country's exports can compete
favorably with those from other countries.


Larval mites of the Leptus group (Family Erythraeidae), ectoparasitic on adult harvestmen, deposit at the attachment site a cementing substance forming a superficial cone that concurrently with the distension of the distal portions of the inserted chelicerae promotes firm anchorage in order to ensure the long attachment of the larvae to the host. The larvae, which suck up haemolymph plasma and tissue fluids, were not found to develop a stylostome. Violent defence reactions by the host have not been demonstrated. While granular haemocytes migrate to the bite site they do not establish cell aggregations or capsular formations. A coat of coagulated haemolymph plasma, presumably not mediated by the granular haemocytes, is deposited on organic structures at the bite site. A melanization of the coagulum has not been recognized. The non-appearance of a stylostome is thought to be connected with the mild defence reactions on the part of the host.


Abstract. The December 2004 tsunami strongly impacted coastal ecosystems along the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand. In this paper tsunami-induced damage of five different coastal forest ecosystems at the Phang-Nga province coast is analysed with a remote sensing driven approach based on multi-date IKONOS imagery. Two change detection algorithms, change vector analysis (CVA) and direct multi-date classification (DMC), are applied and compared regarding their applicability to assess tsunami impacts. The analysis shows that DMC outperforms CVA in terms of accuracy (Kappa values for DMC ranging between 0.947 and 0.950 and between 0.610–0.730 for CVA respectively) and the degree of detail of the created change classes. Results from DMC show that mangroves were the worst damaged among the five forests, with a 55% of directly damaged forest in the study area, followed by casuarina forest and coconut plantation. Additionally this study points out the uncertainties in both methods which are mainly due to a lack of ground truth information for the time between the two acquisition dates of satellite images. The created damage maps help to better understand the way the tsunami impacted coastal forests and give basic information for estimating tsunami sensitivity of coastal forests.


This article is a research using empirical test in the motivity of Chinese listed companies" cash balance. Based on the statements of cash flow of Chinese listed companies between 2000 and 2004, we summarize the current situation of cash flows from operating activities with different profit level, and then analyze the effectiveness of cash balance. This paper concludes the status of China's listed companies cash balance: most of China's listed companies perform positive cash balance, that is, their cash flows, generated by operating activities, are effective, and their profitability and effectiveness of operating activities are positive related. We hope provide a more effective assessment to business operations and the future development trend for the general information user.


A variety of effects is attributed to the photo stimulation of tissues, such as improved healing of ulcers, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, stimulation of the proliferation of cells of different origins and stimulation of bone repair. Some investigations that make qualitative evaluations, like wound healing and evaluation of pain and edema, can be conducted in human subjects. However, deeper investigations on the mechanisms of action of the light stimulus and other quantitative works that requires biopsies or destructive analysis has to be carried out in animal models or in cell cultures. In this work, we propose the use of planarians as a model to study laser-tissue interaction. Contrasting with cell cultures and unicellular organisms, planarians are among the simplest organism having tissue layers, central nerve system, digestive and excretory system that might have been platforms for the evolution of the complex and highly organized tissues and organs found in higher organisms. For the present study, 685 nm laser radiation was employed. Planarians were cut transversally, in a plane posterior to the auricles. The body fragments were left to regenerate and the proliferation dynamics of stem cells was studied by using histological analysis. Maximum cell count was obtained for the laser treated group at the 4th experimental day. At that experimental time, we also had the largest difference between the irradiated and the non-irradiated control group. We concluded that the studied flatworm could be an interesting animal model for in vivo studies of laser-tissue interactions.


This study tries to investigate the inter-linkage between foreign trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in case of Pakistan. Annual data for the period 1985–2010 have been considered for eight major trading partners—Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Arabia, UK and USA. The Johansen Fisher Panel Cointegration Test and Vector Error Correction Mechanism (VECM) have been applied to examine whether the FDI and foreign trade are complements or substitutes. The analysis gives evidence in favour of complementarity of FDI and foreign trade i.e., FDI promotes Pakistan's foreign trade with its trading partners.


Purpose: To review the nature, extent, bioactivities and clinical application of bioactive polysaccharides in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), especially as adjuvants in cancer treatment. Methodology: Literature Review. Findings: Many fungal and plant derived bioactive polysaccharides with a broad range of immunomodulatory activities are found in TCM. Some such polysaccharides have been developed into drugs and showed clinical efficacy in controlled trials while the majority of such compounds remain as nutraceuticals with only preliminary research. Such polysaccharides are generally non-toxic and also possess other bioactivities such as inducing differentiation, stimulating hematopoiesis, anti-metastasis, and antiangiogenesis, which make them ideal adjuvants in modern cancer therapy. Conclusion: Bioactive polysaccharides occur extensively in TCM herbs and is the basis of potential useful application of TCM as adjuvant in cancer therapies.


ABSTRACT Data assimilation (DA) offers immense potential for uncertainty identification, improving the initial estimates for hydrological and atmospheric modelling. This paper reviews the studies in hydrological DA using Kalman filters. Recent applications of Kalman filters in hydrological and atmospheric DA are summarized. Existing challenges for DA studies are briefly described. In addition, three case study examples are presented highlighting the effects of: (a) soil moisture DA in the Noah land surface model; (b) variational assimilation for improving precipitation forecasts in the WRF (Weather Research Forecast) model; and (c) simulating AMSR-2 (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-2) radiances towards DA. Although there are many unresolved issues in DA that warrant further research, it has immense potential for predicting variables at a better lead time for hydrometeorology.


This paper presents a mechatronic strategy for active reduction of vibrations on machine tool struts or car shafts. The active structure is built from a carbon fiber composite with embedded piezofiber actuators that are composed of piezopatches based on the Macro Fiber Composite (MFC) technology, licensed by NASA and produced by Smart Material GmbH in Dresden, Germany. The structure of these actuators allows separate or selectively combined bending and torsion, meaning that both bending and torsion vibrations can be actively absorbed. Initial simulation work was done with a finite element model (ANSYS). This paper describes how state space models are generated out of a structure based on the finite element model and how controller codes are integrated into finite element models for transient analysis and the model-based control design. Finally, it showcases initial experimental findings and provides an outlook for damping multi-mode resonances with a parallel combination of resonant controllers.


Southern yellow pine (Pinus sp.) wood cubes were vacuum-pressure treated with nano-SiO2 solution and different concentrations of amine copper quaternary (ACQ)/wax (0.5%, 2.5%, and 5.0% wax)-modified solutions. The effects of wax concentration and nano-SiO2 addition on water absorption, air drying shrinkage, and moisture swelling stabilities were investigated. The results showed that during the whole process of water absorption and air drying shrinkage, better stability of nano-SiO2 modified ACQ-treated wood could only be obtained with the ratio of wax addition equal to 2.5%. However, the best moisture swelling resistance was found in the samples modified with the highest wax addition (5.0%). Both wax and nano-SiO2 could be useful for keeping the dimensional stability of the treated wood.


Many biological phenomena are dependent on mechanisms that fine-tune the expression levels of particular genes. This can be achieved by altering the relative activity of a single transcription factor, by post-translational modifications or by interaction with regulatory molecules. An alternative mechanism is based on competition between two or more differently active isoforms of the same transcription factor. We found that FHX, a recently characterized human fork-head transcriptional activator, may show such a mechanism for balancing its activity by expressing two differently sized isoforms, FHX.S and FHX.L, encoded by a single gene located on human chromosome 12. FHX. L and FHX.S showed different transcriptional capacities, the larger form, FHX.L, behaving as the more potent transactivator. A transactivation domain of the acidic type present only in FHX.L would account for this functional difference. The relative concentrations of these two FHX isoforms appear to vary in a number of cell types, a circumstance that may regulate the final activity of this transcription factor.


Abstract This paper investigates the air flow induced by a rigid circular disk or piston vibrating harmonically along its axis of symmetry in the immediate vicinity of a parallel surface. Previous attempts to characterize these so-called 'squeeze-film' systems largely relied on simplifications afforded by neglecting either fluid acceleration or viscous forces inside the thin enclosed gas layer. The present viscoacoustic analysis employs the asymptotic limit of small vibration amplitudes to investigate the flow by systematic reduction of the Navier–Stokes equations in two distinct flow regions, namely, the inner gaseous film where streamlines are nearly parallel to the confining walls and the near-edge region of non-slender flow that features gas exchange with the surrounding stagnant atmosphere. The flow in the gaseous film depends on the relevant Stokes number, defined as the ratio of the characteristic viscous time across the film to the characteristic oscillation time, and on a compressibility parameter, defined as the square of the ratio of the acoustic time for radial pressure equilibration to the oscillation time. A Strouhal number based on the local residence time emerges as an additional governing parameter for the near-edge region, which is incompressible at leading order. The method of matched asymptotic expansions is used to describe the solution in both regions, across which the time-averaged pressure exhibits comparable variations that give opposing contributions to the resulting time-averaged force experienced by the disk or piston. A diagram structured with the Stokes number and compressibility parameter as coordinates reveals that this steady squeeze-film force, typically repulsive for small values of the Stokes number, alternates to attraction across a critical separation contour in the parametric domain that exists for all Strouhal numbers. This analysis provides, for the first time, a unifying viscoacoustic theory of axisymmetric squeeze films, which yields a reduced parametric description for the time-averaged repulsion/attraction force that is potentially useful in applications including non-contact fluid bearings and robot locomotion.


Journal bearing friction experiments have been made generally at relatively low temperatures and otherwise in conditions tending to prevent oxidation of the lubricating oil. Thus Beauchamp Tower's experiments led Reynolds to the conclusion that fluid friction alone prevails in an oil film maintained by continuous rotation of the journal and that boundary conditions do not become sensible. The more recent experiments by Stanton, undertaken after the Physical Society discussion of 1919, were made to verify the conclusion, and confirmed that especially for mineral oils, "the conditions were in all cases those of perfect lubrication ( i. e ., complete fluid lubrication), no approximation to the hypothetical ones of boundary lubrication being observed," "the conditions of lubrication of a cylindrical journal being of the Reynolds' type right up to the seizing pressure. Stanton's experimental conditions were such that oxidation effects were not obtained. The feed to the journal bearing was always by fresh, not circulated, oil and the temperature of the oil film was maintained at 51·6° C., i. e ., at least 50° lower than required to induce oxidation in a mineral oil particularly susceptible to the effect. The possibility that oxidation might lead to boundary conditions becoming a factor in the measurements was not considered. Oxidation of the oil used to lubricate internalcombustion engines cannot be avoided in the usual conditions of operation, and an investigation of the effect on lubricating value was begun, in connection with experiments made in association with Professor Callendar, on the oxidation of the lighter oils used as engine fuel. The results of lubrication experiments made directly on engines were difficult to interpret. The friction measured is mainly that due to the reciprocating motion of the pistons in the cylinders and oxidation being uncontrolled, the resulting accumulation of semisolid products leads to secondary friction effects greater in magnitude than the primary effect attributable to the fluid alone. The conditions of journal bearing lubrication, on the other hand, can be controlled and friction measured with fair accuracy and it appeared therefore that the investigation could be continued most effectively by using journal bearing testing machines. Machines adapted to be run at the relatively high temperature required for the oxidation of mineral oils had been designed at the N. P. L. by Mr. C. Jakeman in association with whom the experiments were continued, by permission of the authorities concerned.


There is a need to improve the digital capabilities of the health workforce through training and education. Until now there has not been a national strategy that addresses the digital capability gaps in the existing and emerging health workforce. This paper describes the development of a national strategy to improve the digital capabilities of Australia's health workforce. A mixed-method approach was used to incorporate the findings of a literature review, stakeholder interviews, online and offline workshops, consumer interviews, and surveys to develop the national strategy. Various stakeholder groups across all Australian jurisdictions were engaged in its development. The final strategy consists of key principles, a threehorizon framework reflecting the maturity levels, and a digital profile framework articulating the expectations of the many stakeholders in health.


In this paper, a novel medium access control (MAC) protocol, name hybrid ALOHA, is proposed to improve the system performance by allowing collision-free channel estimation and simultaneous multiuser data transmission. The idea behind it is to design an MAC protocol that is in favor of the physical (PHY) layer information transmission, and the improved PHY layer, in turn, can improve the MAC performance. Using the general multipacket reception (MPR) model as an interface between the MAC layer and the PHY layer, the hybrid ALOHA protocol is analyzed in terms of throughput, stability, as well as delay behavior. Significant performance improvement is observed in comparison with the traditional ALOHA either with the MPR model or with the collision model


Hausa language is one of the widely spoken and a major language in Northern Nigeria. It is a language that is a used as a medium of instruction in adult literacy classes in some states in Northern Nigeria. There are newspapers, magazines and literary books written in Hausa language to be read for the purposes of information, education and entertainment. This study is therefore an attempt to evaluate the correlates of Hausa Language reading ability among Adult Learners in Borno State, Nigeria. Consequently, three objectives and hypotheses were formulated and tested respectively by the researcher.  Of the 238 adult literacy centres in the State, 24 (12 male literacy centres and 12 female adult literacy centres) were randomly selected by lot with four centres representing each group selected. The sample consisted of 298 adult learners made up of 196 male learners and 102 female adult learners in the 24 literacy centres. Four research instruments were used to collect data for this study. These are: i) Learners Social Learning Environment Questionnaire ii) Mental Ability Test iii) Instructors Teaching and Centre's Quality Questionnaire and iv) Reading Ability Scale. The findings in this study revealed there are significant positive relationship between reading ability and mental ability, centre quality instructors teaching quality, the relationship between Hausa language reading ability and each of the predictor variables were found to be statistically significant. There were no significant differences between male and adult literacy learners in Hausa language reading ability indices. Based on the findings, appropriate recommendations were made. Keywords : Correlates, Hausa Language, Adult Learner, Borno State


A minority of patients with depression achieves remission with first-line antidepressant treatment; consequently, a second medication is often added to enhance the effects of the initial agent. The second medication may or may not be another antidepressant. Clinical trials have assessed the efficacy of many agents commonly used for augmentation or combination therapy, but well-designed, large trials with a clear definition of treatment resistance are needed.


Abstract. Diatoms account for up to 50 % of marine primary production and are considered to be key players in the biological carbon pump. Ocean acidification (OA) is expected to affect diatoms primarily by changing the availability of CO2 as a substrate for photosynthesis or through altered ecological interactions within the marine food web. Yet, there is little consensus how entire diatom communities will respond to increasing CO2. To address this question, we synthesized the literature from over a decade of OA-experiments with natural diatom communities to uncover the following: (1) if and how bulk diatom communities respond to elevated CO2 with respect to abundance or biomass and (2) if shifts within the diatom communities could be expected and how they are expressed with respect to taxonomic affiliation and size structure. We found that bulk diatom communities responded to high CO2 in ∼60 % of the experiments and in this case more often positively (56 %) than negatively (32 %) (12 % did not report the direction of change). Shifts among different diatom species were observed in 65 % of the experiments. Our synthesis supports the hypothesis that high CO2 particularly favours larger species as 12 out of 13 experiments which investigated cell size found a shift towards larger species. Unravelling winners and losers with respect to taxonomic affiliation was difficult due to a limited database. The OA-induced changes in diatom competitiveness and assemblage structure may alter key ecosystem services due to the pivotal role diatoms play in trophic transfer and biogeochemical cycles.


A technically easy, noninvasive means of delivering molecules to alveoli, which act selectively or specifically in the lung, would be experimentally and therapeutically useful. As proof of principle, we took advantage of the spreading ability of pulmonary surface active material (InfaSurf), mixed it with elastase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) small inhibitory RNA (siRNA), or all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), and instilled microliter amounts of the mixture into the nose of lightly anesthetized mice. One instillation of elastase caused diffuse alveolar destruction (emphysema) demonstrating widespread alveolar delivery. A single nasal instillation of GAPDH siRNA, compared with scrambled GAPDH siRNA, lowered GAPDH protein in lung, heart, and kidney by approximately 50-70% 1 and 7 days later. To test the possibility of lung-specific delivery of a potentially therapeutic drug, we administered ATRA and monitored its effect on expression of cellular retinol binding protein (CRBP)-1 mRNA, whose translation product is a key molecule in retinoid metabolism. Given intranasally, ATRA elevated CRBP-1 mRNA 4.3-fold in a lung-specific manner. The same dose and dose schedule of ATRA given intraperitoneally increased CRBP-1 mRNA only approximately 1.8-fold in lung; intraperitoneally administered ATRA elevated expression of CRBP-1 mRNA 1.7-fold or more in brain cortex, cerebellum, and testes, thereby increasing the risk of untoward effects. This simple noninvasive technique allows regulation of specific proteins in the lung and lung-specific delivery of reagents of experimental and potentially therapeutic importance.


abstract: the canadian federation is based on the substantial autonomy of the provinces constituting it, the welfare orientation of central bodies, the volunteer activities at the grass-root level, and the external policy open to the world. there are no any doubts about the genuinely democratic character of canadian internal politics or the commitment of canadians to the world peace. the economic prosperity of the country is secured by the mineral resources, good agriculture, and the intensive foreign trade. services are developed even more than in west europe; there is much public commitment to the general welfare. on the other hand, canada has her problems: too much unemployment (particularly among the youth), the economic dependence on the 'big brother', underdevelopment of domestic industry, internal markets being too narrow for the local production, the high energy and transportation costs, the industrial relations system too much vulnerable to tensions and conflicts, national and cultural identity not strong enough, internal differentiation of the society opening room for dissatisfaction and the feeling of social injustice. the country is exposed to the disintegrative tendencies not strong enough to destroy it but definitely present and providing a good reason to worry about. canada is among the countries particularly close to the developmental stage of a post-industrial society. the basic question is in this respect how to secure a meaningful life for the large numberof people whose only chance is to succeed in services. with the fast progressing sophistication of the third sector activities much depends on the educational background, the level of skills, the entrepreneurial spirit, and the ability to cooperate with others. the major public investments in health, education and social welfare may be beneficial in the long run only if quality will count more than quantity. a genuine democratization means not so much the equality of rights but primarily the multiplication of social wealth intensive enough to satisfy all basic human needs and aspirations. this paper provides the analysis of the canadian society in terms of its readiness to face the post-industrial challenges. this is the continuation of the studies done by the author before on the same subject within his general interest in the comparative societies (see 'comparative work structures', and 'the self defeating organization', both published by praeger in 1986).;


Rumex crispus (curled dock), which is a perennial wild plant, has long been used as a laxative, astringent, and medicine to treat blood and skin diseases. We recently reported that the roots of R. crispus are an effective nutraceutical for bone. This study prepared ethanol extracts of the leaves and roots of R. crispus, and analyzed the major constituents using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. In addition, their effects on the proliferation and differentiation of human osteoblast-like MG-63 cells, such as cell viability, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, collagen content, and min- eralization, were compared. The chromatograms of the chemical constituents of the two extracts exhibited quite different profiles: quercetin and quercitrin were identified as major peaks in the leaf extract, whereas cinnamtannin B1 and pro- cyanidin isomers were the major peaks for the root extract. Neither extract was cytotoxic at concentrations of <25 µg/ml. ALP activity and collagen synthesis—which are markers of the early stage of osteogenesis—in MG-63 cells were sig- nificantly increased upon the addition of the root extract compared with the addition of the leaf extract. In contrast, the leaf extract had a more stimulatory effect on mineralization—which is marker of the late stage of osteogenesis—in MG-63 cells than did the root extract. In conclusion, extracts of both leaves and roots of R. crispus stimulated the bone-forming activity of osteoblasts; in particular, the root extract was more effective in the early stage of osteoblast differentiation, while the leaf extract was more effective in the late stage. This difference in anabolic activity may be due to differences in the constituents of the leaves and roots. The leaves and roots of R. crispus appear to complement each other as stimulators of bone for- mation.


ABSTRACT This study consists of the synthesis of cadmium (II) and mercury (II) metal complexes of ONNO-type Schiff bases. Two different ONNO-type Schiff bases were prepared. One cadmium(II) and one mercury(II) complex of the considered Schiff bases were achieved. Both are proved to be mononuclear complexes. Ligands and complexes were analyzed via melting point determination, elemental analyses, thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Moreover, structural and energetic analyses for both complexes have been realized using Hartree-Fock (HF) and density functional theory (DFT) methods with CEP-121G basis set.


The transesterification of Thevetia peruviana seed oil with dimethyl carbonate (DMC) for preparing biodiesel has been studied using as an active catalyst potassium-methoxide (KOCH3). The effects of reaction conditions: Molar ratio of dimethyl carbonate to Thevetia peruviana seed oil, catalyst concentration, reaction time and agitation speed on dimethyl esters (DMC-Tp-BioDs) yield were investigated. The highest DMC-Tp-BioDs yield could reach 97.1% at refluxing temperature for 90 min with molar ratio of DMC-to-oil 5:1 and 2.0% w/w KOCH3 (based on oil weight). The fuel properties of the produced DMC-Tp-BioDs were compared with the ASTM D6751-02 biodiesel standard.


This Reader brings together a first-class collection of refereed articles from leading academics in the field of services management and is a welcome collection of important work.

Beginning with an impressive introduction, the book places individual articles in five sensible and relevant sections: The Classics; Service Experiences; Service Quality and Satisfaction; Service Management; and Services Marketing in Context. Each section includes between five and seven articles, ranging from original classic works from Shostak (1977) and Rathmell (1966), to Edvardsson (1992), Silvestro et al. (1992), Gronroos (1994), and not forgetting Parasuraman et al. (1988) and the excellent work from Buttle (1996).

While the collection is a highly welcome addition to publishers' lists, there are nevertheless important areas of omission, as is often the case in such publications. The inclusion of the masterly review of emergent literature from Brown, Fisk and Bitner (1994), and the excellent case for creating a customer-oriented culture made by Parasuraman (1987) may well have improved the volume. Other notable absences include work pertaining to the services marketing mix - such as Murray (1991), Guiltinan (1987), and the pioneering work in customer demographics and marketing communications by FitzGerald and Arnott (1996) - and new service development, where the inclusion of the excellent work by Edvardsson and Haglund (1995) and Scheuing and Johnson (1989) would have been beneficial.

One must accept, however, that the creation of a Reader means that decisions have to be taken as to what must be included, and this text realistically reflects work in services so far. However, for a text entitled Services Marketing Management there seems to be a bias towards services management and too little towards services marketing. Thus, a title which reflects this might have been more appropriate.

Overall, and despite certain shortcomings, this text is recommended to any student of services - marketing or operations - as a useful and relevant collection of important literature.


Abstract Evidence suggests that specifically designed frameworks to implement Lean Six Sigma (LSS) projects to tackle particular problems are more effective than 'generic' versions. This paper proposes an implementation framework to effectively deploy LSS to improve a key operation and performance indicator, i.e. ship loading commercial time, of one of the largest world producer of iron ore. This article therefore contributes with a refined framework to effectively implement LSS, and documents its successful application and effectiveness within the context of the case organisation. The LSS framework and project contributed in helping the studied organisation to improve both the capability of its ship loading process and commercial time by more than 30%, resulting in operational savings in the range of $300,000 USD per year. The systematic nature of the framework proposed also helped the organisation to establish a standardised routine to improve its operations. Managerial implications exposing the challenges faced during the implementation of LSS are also discussed to serve as lessons learnt to be considered in other LSS projects. Managers and engineers incharge of improving operations and processes can benefit from this paper as it can be used as a guide to direct the conduction of LSS projects and the empirical application of its principles and tools.


The authors point out that in unplanned transfers i.e. capacity overload of technology license, etc., many manufacturing issues must be resolved on an aggressive schedule and at the lowest possible cost. The key issues which exist under various conditions are covered. The balance between technology requirements and minimized impact is discussed in terms of processing tools and recipes. Critical issues are identified and potential solutions discussed. A working model for unexpected semiconductor technology transfer tasks is presented. The methodology used to meet constrained budgets and aggressive schedules are the basic assumption for the proposed model.<<ETX>>


Absfracf-Experimental studies of laser Curie-point writing, erasure, and magnetooptical read-out on thin films of MnBi have been performed. These films have a thickness of around 800 A, an optical density of 1.6, Fd a Faraday rotation of 5 degrees (0 to full saturation) at a 6328-A wavelength. Their easy direction of magnetization is normal to the film plane; coercive force H, is between 800 and 1100 Oe; and Curie temperature 2', is 360°C. These properties make them well suited for optical mass memory applications. This has been demonstrated with a scanning optical system designed to simulate the functions of a computer memory. A 50-mW He-Ne laser beam is modulated with a Kerr cell, deflected with a galvanometer, and focused onto the film with a microscope objective. Memory bits of 1-pm diameter were written, read, and erased through lo5 cycles with no degradation of its memory characteristics. The experiments were carried out at room temperature in air.


Brown trout Salmo trutta (L.) is a facultative anadromous species, where a portion of individuals in populations with access to the sea perform migrations to use the richer feeding resources. We investigated the effect of salmon lice Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer 1837) infestation on the survival and behaviour of wild trout post-smolts (average fork length = 180 mm) during their marine migration. Comparisons of the marine migratory behaviour were made between an artificially infested group (n = 74) and a control group (n = 71) in an area with low natural lice infestation pressure. Artificial infestation was estimated to cause 100% prevalence and a mean intensity of 65 lice fish−1 (mean relative intensity of 2.4 lice g−1 fish). Survival analysis showed limited statistical power but revealed lice-induced mortality, with an estimated hazard ratio of 2.73 (95% CI = 1.04−7.13) compared to the control group, when data from a previous pilot study were included. Surviving individuals in the infested group additionally responded by residing closer to fresh water while at sea, and by prematurely returning to fresh water. On average, infested fish returned to fresh water after only 18 d at sea, while control fish spent on average 100 d at sea. The residency in the inner part of the fjord and the premature return to fresh water represent an adaptive behavioural response to survive the infestation, at the probable cost of reduced growth opportunities and compromised future fitness.


Bridgeport Basin, east of the Sierra Nevada in central California, contains deposits of the following Pleistocene glaciations, youngest to oldest: Tioga, Tenaya, Tahoe, Mono Basin, and Sherwin (?). Some evidence also suggests an advance between the Mono Basin and Sherwin(?). With respect to the last major interglacial, the first three glaciations are younger, position of the Mono Basin is debatable, and the others are older. The following conclusions have been drawn. (1) Within Bridgeport Basin, Sherwin(?) glaciers were the most extensive. (2) Since Sherwin(?) time, warping and erosion have caused significant topographic changes in the piedmont area at the east Sierra foot. (3) Bridgeport Valley has been warped down relative to the range front and northward tilting of the piedmont has reversed a stream formerly flowing south into Mono Basin. (4) A gravel filling of Bridgeport Valley occurred to a depth of at least 250 ft (75 m), and locally twice that amount, at about the same time as the Sherwin(?) glaciation. Most of this fill is believed to have been warped down and covered by modern alluvium. (5) Gravels, at least 500 ft (150 m) thick, were also deposited in nearby Huntoon Valley in Sherwin(?) time, at least in part, because of meltwater overflow from a large pool of glacier ice occupying West Walker River. (6) Eastward flow of ice out of Robinson Creek during Mono Basin time built a moraine that escaped burial by the subsequent more extensive Tahoe glacier that flowed north along the present course of Robinson Creek. This fortuitous circumstance facilitates recognition of the Mono Basin glaciation. (7) Ice from Robinson Creek also flowed eastward through the Summers Meadows trough in Sherwin(?) time and probably also within the interval between the Sherwin(?) and Mono Basin glaciations. (8) The Tahoe glaciers of Robinson and Buckeye Creeks coalesced to form a piedmont bulb. (9) Qualitative relations and semiquantitative data indicate that the Tenaya is a valid and distinct glaciation between Tahoe and Tioga, although the small moraines suggest that it was a relatively short-lived event. (10) The size and spacing of recessional moraines demonstrate a reasonably consistent but not identical behavior of Tioga ice streams in the four principal canyons of Bridgeport Basin.


Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been illustrated to function as important regulator in carcinogenesis and cancer progression. However, roles of lncRNA miR210HG (miR210 host gene) in osteosarcoma remain unclear. In this study, miR210HG expression level was significantly upregulated in 55 cases of osteosarcoma tissue samples compared to adjacent normal tissue. Besides, the aberrantly enhanced miR210HG expression predicted poor prognosis and lower survival rate. In vitro, miR210HG knockdown suppressed the osteosarcoma cell proliferation, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related marker (N-cadherin and vimentin) expression. In vivo, miR210HG silencing decreased the tumor growth. miR-503 was verified to be the target miRNA of miR210HG using bioinformatics online program and luciferase assay. Furthermore, miR-503 could reverse the role of miR210HG on osteosarcoma cells. In conclusion, our study indicates that miR210HG sponges miR-503 to facilitate osteosarcoma cell invasion and metastasis, revealing the oncogenic role of miR210HG on osteosarcoma cells.


Abstract Introduction: In vivo dosimetry verification is currently a necessity in radiotherapy centres in Europe countries as one of the tools for patient-specific QA, and now its demand is currently rising in developed countries, such as Malaysia. The aim of this study is to characterize commercial EPID-based dosimetry and its implementation for radiotherapy treatment verification in Malaysia. Materials and Methods: In this work, the sensitivity and performance of a commercially available in vivo dosimetry system, EPIgray® (DOSIsoft, Cachan, France), were qualitatively evaluated prior to its use at our centre. EPIgray response to dose linearity, field size, off-axis, position, and angle dependency tests were performed against TPS calculated dose for 6 MV and 10 MV photon beams. Relative deviations of the total dose were evaluated at isocentre and different depths in the water. EPIgray measured dose was validated by using IMRT and VMAT prostate plan. All calculation points were at the beam isocentre and at points suggested by TG-119 with accepted tolerance of ±10% dose threshold. Results: EPIgray reported good agreement for linearity, field size, off-axis, and position dependency with TPS dose, being within 5% tolerance for both energy ranges. The average deviation was less than ±2% and ±7% in 6 MV and 10 MV photon beams, respectively, for the angle dependency test. A clinical evaluation performed for the IMRT prostate plan gave average agreement within ±3% at the plan isocentre for both energies. While for the VMAT plan, 95% and 100% of all points created lie below ±5% for 6 MV and 10 MV photon beam energy, respectively. Conclusion: In summary, based on the results of preliminary characterization, EPID-based dosimetry is believed as an important tool and beneficial to be implemented for IMRT/VMAT plans verification in Malaysia, especially for in vivo verification, alongside existing pre-treatment verification.


In our previous work we demonstrated that a small protein called affibody can be used for a cytotoxic conjugate development. The anti-HER2 affibody was armed with one moiety of a highly potent auristatin E and specifically killed HER2-positive cancer cells with a nanomolar IC50. The aim of this study was to improve the anti-HER2 affibody conjugate by increasing its size and the number of conjugated auristatin molecules. The affibody was fused to the Fc fragment of IgG1 resulting in a dimeric construct with the molecular weight of 68 kDa, referred to as ZHER2:2891-Fc, ensuring its prolonged half-life in the blood. Due to the presence of four interchain cysteines, the fusion protein could carry four drug molecules. Notably, the in vitro tests of the improved anti-HER2 conjugate revealed that it exhibits the IC50 of 130 pM for the HER2-positive SK-BR-3 cells and 98 nM for the HER2-negative MDA-MB-231 cells. High efficacy and specificity of the auristatin conjugate based on ZHER2:2891-Fc indicate that this construct is suitable for further in vivo evaluation.


ABSTRACT: We examine the impact of social capital on audit fees. We find that firms headquartered in U.S. counties with high social capital pay lower audit fees. Social capital measures the level of mutual trust in a region. Our results suggest that auditors judge the trustworthiness of their clients based on where the firm is headquartered and charge a premium when they trust the firm less. The basis of our results is the examination of more than 28,000 audit fees for more than 5,000 firms spanning the period of 2000 to 2009. The results are robust to controlling for a large number of firm-level and county-level characteristics. JEL Classifications: M42; M14.


Summary. We extend Milgrom and Weber's a ffi liated valuations model to the multi-unit case with constant marginal valuations where 2 bidders compete for k identical objects. We show that the discriminatory auction has a unique equilibrium, that corresponds to Milgrom and Weber's fi rst-price equilibrium. This unique equilibrium therefore leads to lower expected prices than the equilibrium of the English auction where the units are bundled together. Hence we show that in a common value auction of a single object where the object can be divided into k parts, it is not possible to increase revenue by using a multi-unit discriminatory auction. We discuss a possible application to Treasury auctions.


Short DNA duplexes that contain a N4C-ethyl-N4C interstrand cross-link were prepared on controlled pore glass supports using a DNA synthesizer. The C‒C cross-link was introduced via a convertible nucleoside on the support or by using a protected C‒C cross-link phosphoramidite. An orthogonal protection scheme allowed selective chain growth in either a 3′ → 5′ or 5′ → 3′ direction. The cross-linked duplexes were purified by HPLC and characterized by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and/or by enzymatic digestion.


This paper covers the technology of melt vibration during the molding of plastic material (more specifically at low frequency) to reduce the viscosity and ease processability and to produce orientation benefits. The effect of vibration frequency and amplitude on melt viscosity is explained in terms of shear-thinning criteria. The effect of pressure, temperature and cooling rate on shear-thinning is also reviewed to predict how these variables interfere with melt vibration. Applications to injection molding, extrusion and blow molding of uneasily processable plastic melts (such as metallocenes polyolefins) are suggested.