The problems of high linear conductivity in an electric field, as well as nonlinear conductivity, are considered for plasma-like systems. First, we recall several observations of nonlinear fast charge transport in dusty plasma, molecular chains, lattices, conducting polymers, and semiconductor layers. Exploring the role of noise we introduce the generalized Fokker-Planck equation. Second, one-dimensional models are considered on the basis of the Fokker-Planck equation with active and passive velocity-dependent friction including an external electrical field. On this basis, it is possible to find the linear and nonlinear conductivities for electrons and other charged particles in a homogeneous external field. It is shown that the velocity dependence of the friction coefficient can lead to an essential increase of the electron average velocity and the corresponding conductivity in comparison with the usual model of constant friction, which is described by the Drude-type conductivity. Applications including novel forms of controlled charge transfer and non-Ohmic conductance are discussed.


Abstract Omission of radiotherapy in the upfront management of early-stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) has become more common with time. We report patterns of care and outcomes of stage I–II cHL treated with chemotherapy (CT) only versus CT and radiotherapy (combined modality therapy, CMT). From the National Cancer Database, we identified 28,327 early-stage cHL patients treated with CT (n = 15,798) or CMT (n = 12,529) from 2004 to 2018. CMT utilization declined over the period from 58% to 34%. With median follow-up of 6.2 years, the 5- and 10-year overall survival for CT versus CMT was 93.3% versus 96.9% (p < 0.001) and 88.7% versus 93.5% (p < 0.001), respectively. On multivariable analysis, uninsured (OR 0.75, p < 0.001) and Black patients (OR 0.86, p = 0.02) were less likely to receive CMT, and treatment with CT was predictive of death (OR 2.0, p < 0.001). This report highlights real-world outcomes in early-stage cHL, with worse survival with CT and notable disparities in CMT utilization.


Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare entity that most commonly arises from the skin. Angiosarcoma (AS) is a rare malignancy with a predilection for elderly males, has endothelial differentiation and a notoriously poor prognosis despite aggressive therapy. Herein, we report an angiosarcoma colliding with a MCC, in a patient with a past medical history of squamous cell carcinoma, status-post radiation therapy. More specifically, our case represents a collision tumor, a rare entity composed of two histologically distinct neoplasms which coincide together at the same location. This case represents the first documented report of such a presentation. With that being said, its clinical course, prognosis, pathogenesis, and molecular profile, currently remains unclear. Importantly, neoplasms are increasingly being found to be associated with radiation therapy, of which our patient had received. Ultimately, however, with the lack of c-MYC immunohistochemical staining, and a short duration between radiation exposure and presentation, the AS in our case was likely coincidental.


Orbital defects with total loss of eyelids and the eyeball cannot be satisfactorily repaired by reconstructive surgery. Therefore, a prosthetic placement is the treatment of choice to return the individual's confidence by producing an acceptable and lifelike appearance. Male patient, 31 years old, came with history of exenteration surgery four months ago on right eye because of infection few years before. Patient wanted orbital prosthesis to improve esthetic and selfconfidence. He lost his right eye ball and some part of right eyelid. Treatment of choice that would be fabricated was orbital prosthesis with medical adhesive retention support. Orbital prosthesis was one of the alternative that can be chose to reconstruct orbital defect. The success of the prosthesis was determined by the exactness of diagnosis, treatment plan determination, material selection, determination of prosthesis retention, and technique in processing the prosthesis.


We comment on a recent letter by Schopohl and Dolgov (SD) which raised the possibility that a d-wave superconductor might be thermodynamically unstable in the limit $T\to 0$. The point of our comment is that this instability can be inevitably prevented by the non-local effects.


This study considers a problem of genomic selection (GS) for adjacent genetic markers of Yorkshire pigs which are typically correlated. The GS has been widely used to efficiently estimate target variables such as molecular breeding values using markers across the entire genome. Recently, GS has been applied to animals as well as plants, especially to pigs. For efficient selection of variables with specific traits in pig breeding, it is required that any such variable selection retains some properties: i) it produces a simple model by identifying insignificant variables; ii) it improves the accuracy of the prediction of future data; and iii) it is feasible to handle high-dimensional data in which the number of variables is larger than the number of observations. In this paper, we applied several variable selection methods including least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), fused LASSO and elastic net to data with 47K single nucleotide polymorphisms and litter size for 519 observed sows. Based on experiments, we observed that the fused LASSO outperforms other approaches.


This paper describes a dc model for MOS enhancement-mode transistors. The transport current and threshold voltage equations are simpler in form than many other models that are currently in use. This greatly eases the problem of extracting parameter values from measured data, since major parameters are directly related to process constants and secondary parameters follow from realistic approximations. The model has been successfully fitted to a high degree of accuracy to several NMOS and CMOS processes. When installed in a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) program, the model can substantially improve the execution time for circuit simulations.


The aerospace, automotive, and marine industries are heavily reliant on sandwich panels with cellular material cores. Although honeycombs with hexagonal cells are the most commonly used geometries as cores, recently there have been new alternatives in the design of lightweight structures. The present work aims to evaluate the mechanical properties of metallic and polymeric honeycomb structures, with configurations recently proposed and different in-plane orientations, produced by additive and subtractive manufacturing processes. Structures with configurations such as regular hexagonal honeycomb (Hr), lotus (Lt), and hexagonal honeycomb with Plateau borders (Pt), with 0°, 45°, and 90° orientations were analyzed. To evaluate its properties, three-point bending tests were performed, both experimentally and by numerical modeling, by means of the finite element method. Honeycombs of two aluminum alloys and polylactic acid were fabricated. The structures produced in aluminum were obtained either by selective laser melting technology or by machining, while polylactic acid structures were obtained by material extrusion using fused filament fabrication. From the stress distribution analysis and the load–displacement curves, it was possible to evaluate the strength, stiffness, and absorbed energy of the structures. Failure modes were also analyzed for polylactic acid honeycombs. In general, a strong correlation was observed between numerical and experimental results. The results show that the stiffness and absorbed energy increase in the order, Hr, Pt, Lt, and with the orientation through the sequence, 45°, 90°, 0°. Thus, Lt structures with 0° orientation seem to be good alternatives to the traditional honeycombs used in sandwich composite panels for those industrial applications where low weight, high stiffness, and large energy-absorbing capacity are required.


India's large population is vegetarian and their routine diet and healthy diet include vegetables which play very signifi cant role by supplying diff erent minerals and vitamins essential for healthy body. Therefore, vegetables have great importance for food and nutritional security. Onion is one of the major crops among cultivated vegetables in our country. It is popularly known as "Queen of kitchen" plays an important role in cookery, as it is used in both forms i.e. green as well as in mature form by the people in diff erent dishes and soups. The fi ndings reported that overall knowledge of farmers pertaining to pre and post-harvest management practices for onion production was moderate to high since about 85 per cent of the onion farmers belonged to these categories mainly due to correct knowledge of pre harvest management practices viz. number as well critical stages of irrigation, time of sowing in nursery, time of transplanting, weed control measures and proper seed rate while maturity index and proper harvesting, precooling, proper packaging material as post harvest management practices. But it was found low in case of curative measures and certain value addition practices which included diseases and their control measures followed by storage, curing, stoppage of irrigation before harvesting, grading, insect pests and their control measures, and waiting period for spray of chemicals before harvesting of produce.


Context. Barium (Ba) stars are dwarf and giant stars enriched in elements heavier than iron produced by the slow neutron-capture process (s process). These stars belong to binary systems in which the primary star evolved through the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase. During this phase the primary star produced s-process elements and transferred them onto the secondary, which is now observed as a Ba star.
Aims. We compare the largest homogeneous set of Ba giant star observations of the s-process elements Y, Zr, La, Ce, and Nd with AGB nucleosynthesis models to reach a better understanding of the s process in AGB stars.
Methods. By considering the light-s (ls: Y and Zr) heavy-s (hs: La, Ce, and Nd) and elements individually, we computed for the first time quantitative error bars for the different hs-element to ls-element abundance ratios, and for each of the sample stars. We compared these ratios to low-mass AGB nucleosynthesis models. We excluded La from our analysis because the strong La lines in some of the sample stars cause an overestimation and unreliable abundance determination, as compared to the other observed hs-type elements.
Results. All the computed hs-type to ls-type element ratios show a clear trend of increasing with decreasing metallicity with a small spread (less than a factor of 3). This trend is predicted by low-mass AGB models in which 13C is the main neutron source. The comparison with rotating AGB models indicates the need for the presence of an angular momentum transport mechanism that should not transport chemical species, but significantly reduces the rotational speed of the core in the advanced stellar evolutionary stages. This is an independent confirmation of asteroseismology observations of the slow down of core rotation in giant stars, and of rotational velocities of white dwarfs lower than predicted by models without an extra angular momentum transport mechanism.


B-Lymphoblastic leukemia (B-LL) is the most common childhood hematological malignancy. Although its overall prognosis is good, the outcome after relapse is poor. CD19 is highly expressed on the membrane of most malignant B-cells, and was shown to be a promising therapeutic target of B-LL. In this present work, we designed and synthesized a novel drug carrier, anti-CD19 monoclonal antibody-conjugated human serum albumin nanoparticles (HSA-CD19 NPs). Doxorubicin (DOX) was well encapsulated into the HSA-CD19 NPs to form an anticancer nanodrug DOX/HSA-CD19. DOX/HSA-CD19 was preferentially uptaken by CD19+ B-LL cell line KOPN-8. DOX/HSA-CD19 showed strong antiproliferative effect on KOPN-8 cells with an IC50 value of 4.1 μg/mL. Further, proapoptotic Bax and caspase-3 were significantly elevated, but antiapoptotic Bcl2 was reduced in DOX/HSA-CD19 treated KOPN-8 cells, indicating the activation of the apoptosis pathway by the nanodrug. By contrast, DOX/HSA-CD19 did not show affinity to CD19-monocytic cell line, U937, and did not affect its proliferation. Collectively, HSA-CD19 NPs are a kind of effective novel drug carrier, and DOX/HSA-CD19 is a promising antitumor nanodrug for the treatment of B-LL.


Background: Event Based Surveillance (EBS) is the organized and rapid captures of information about events that are a potential risk to public health. Information can be about events related to occurrence of disease in humans or a potential exposure to a risk e.g. contaminated food,-chemicals or radio nuclear events. In Pakistan it is a recent phenomenon and is a compliment to Indicator Based Surveillance (IBS) which is traditionally going on in public sector health care facilities. Literature on effectiveness and contribution of EBS is scarce. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted based on retrospective record review of events reporting in Pakistan. For this purpose, Disease Surveillance and Response Units (DSRU) were identified and descriptive analysis of their reporting per epidemiological week was done. Results: Public sector health facilities were found the most frequent 75% (n=88) in reported events. Vector borne diseases 49% (n=58) were the most frequently reported event. In 85% (n=101) of events, WHO and/or CDC standard case definitions were used followed by operational cases definition 10% (n=12). System was found operational in all provinces and regions and was linked to laboratory based surveillance in all DSRUs. Median delay was found high in Vaccine Preventable Diseases (Measles and Diphtheria), eight days (range: 0-10 days) and Vector borne diseases (Dengue, Chikungunya and CL) six days (range: 0-8 days). Among all, 90% (n=105) response activities were establishment and/ or strengthening of surveillance system by training of local staff. All investigations were linked with public health laboratory investigation except for food/water borne outbreak 3% (n=4), where no laboratory confirmation of causative organism was found. Conclusion: Event based surveillance (EBS) should be strengthened as a compliment of IBS and its network should be expanded to regional and district levels. Frequent trainings of health care providers at health facilities and informal sources like media should be done to gather credible and timely information of events' time place and persons involved. However, monitoring and evaluation should be integral part to improve event recording and hence targeted response.


Objective: To outline nosological (top-down) and empirically based (bottom-up) approaches to assessment and taxonomy of psychopathology. Method: The two approaches were compared and contrasted to highlight similarities and differences between them. Results and Conclusions: To advance services and research, we need to make optimal use of assessment data (i) to identify the distinguishing features of each case, and (ii) to link individual patterns of functioning with taxonomic constructs that can help us apply previously accumulated knowledge to new cases. The time may be ripe for integrating nosological and empirically based approaches. One way to integrate these approaches is to construct empirically based and DSM-oriented scales from the same item pools and to generate age- and gender-specific standard scores and cut-off points from the same normative samples. Integration of the approaches was illustrated with profiles of empirically based and DSM-oriented scales scored from the same item pools and quantified in relation to the same normative samples. To facilitate use by clinicians and researchers under diverse conditions, data are readily obtained on forms completed independently by parents, teachers and others. The data can be quickly scored by hand or computer. To take account of situational and informant variations, the computer software systematically compares data from multiple informants on empirically based and DSM-oriented scales.


Many modern enterprises require methods for guaranteeing compliance with privacy legislation and announced privacy policies. IBM has proposed a formal language, the Enter- prise Privacy Authorization Language (EPAL), for describ- ing privacy policies rigorously. In this paper, we identify four desirable properties of a privacy policy language: guaran- teed consistency, guaranteed safety, admitting local reason- ing, and closure under combination. While EPAL achieves only one of these four goals, an extended language frame- work allows us to achieve three out of four, while retaining the basic EPAL framework of restricting access and impos- ing obligations on users of confidential information.


PURPOSE
We report the 1-year efficacy and safety of photoselective vaporization of the prostate (PVP) for symptomatic and obstructive benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A prospective clinical trial was performed in 139 men clinically diagnosed with symptomatic bladder outlet obstruction secondary to BPH who were enrolled and treated with a high power, 80 W, quasicontinuous wave potassium-titanyl-phosphate laser at 6 American medical centers across the country. Efficacy parameters were mean and percent changes from baseline in the American Urological Association Symptom Index (AUA-SI) score, quality of life score (QOL), peak urinary flow rate (Qmax), post-void residual urine volume (PVR) and transrectal ultrasound prostate volume measurement. Patients were evaluated 1, 3, 6 and 12 months following treatment. At each followup evaluation side effects were elicited.

RESULTS
Significant improvements in AUA-SI score, QOL score, Qmax and PVR were noted as early as 1 month after PVP treatment. At 12 months the mean AUA-SI score decreased from 23.9 to 4.3 (p <0.0001) and the QOL score decreased from 4.3 to 1.1 (p <0.0001), while mean Qmax increased from 7.8 to 22.6 ml per second (p <0.0001). PVR decreased from 114.3 to 24.8 ml (p <0.0001), while the transrectal ultrasound volume reduction went from 54.6 ml at baseline to 34.4 ml. There was no significant blood loss or fluid absorption during or immediately after PVP. Complications consisted of transient hematuria, dysuria and urinary retention in 12 (8.6%), 13 (9.3%) and 7 (5%) patients, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
PVP is a unique, safe and effective outpatient modality that provides immediate symptomatic and urodynamic relief of bladder outlet obstruction secondary to BPH. Long-term followup is needed to validate further the maintenance of clinical efficacy beyond 1 year.


ABSTRACT Negative emissions technologies (NETs) for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) are increasingly important responses to achieve global climate change targets, but to date, there has been insufficient attention to land-based NETs (including afforestation, biochar, and other measures) as an agrarian challenge for the global South. This paper explores the implications of different NETs for land, labor, capital, and politics in rural spaces and contributes to articulating agrarian climate justice by demonstrating the potentially unjust implications of many NETs. The paper concludes with how these measures might be designed to be less negative for rural peoples in future implementation.


Expatriate adjustment research has identified a number of challenges that expatriates experience when adjusting to the host country. These include spousal influence, cultural training/understanding, fluency in the host language and personality or emotional readiness of the expatriate. These challenges are amplified when it is considered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), which has large cultural distance when compared to an average Western culture and therefore provides a setting for an interesting study. This ongoing study has thus far proposed a theoretical model derived by following Glaser's Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM). This paper will report on a specific aspect of this proposed model namely the substantive category "degree of flow" which extends the previous discussion of "degree of isolation". Within the proposed theoretical model, the "degree of flow" experienced by expatriates influences the "degree of isolation" experienced by expatriates. This paper describes how the Flow Theory was operationalized at affective level to aid the understanding of the emotional relationship expatriates in KSA have with the Internet. An expatriate flow model was developed based on the generally accepted three stages of Flow Theory namely: Antecedents to Flow, Experience of Flow and Consequences of Flow.


From coincidence measurements between projectile-like fragments or heavy residues and their associated ..gamma.. rays, the angular momentum transfers for a variety of incomplete fusion reactions of 180 and 310 MeV /sup 16/O with /sup 154/Sm have been derived. At the higher energy, the correlation between angular momentum transfer and linear momentum transfer has been obtained over the entire range of linear momentum transfer. A comparison of the data with calculations of both the sum-rule and geometric overlap models indicates that each makes reasonable predictions of the observed trend even though the assumptions of the models are quite different, and very different initial partial waves are predicted to contribute to particular reaction channels. This results primarily from prescriptions relating fractional mass transfer to fractional angular momentum transfer. The reconstruction of the initial partial wave distributions from correlated measurements of linear momentum and angular momentum transfers is addressed. Comparisons are also made with more recent model calculations which focus on nucleon-nucleon scattering as the mechanism of momentum transfer.


The carboxylic acids used as food acidulants were evaluated for their effect on enamel dissolution in vitro. In water, the potential of the food acids to demineralize enamel was directly proportional to their acidity. However, in a sorbitol candy, the amount of enamel dissolution was correlated with the potential of the acids to chelate calcium.


This developmental paper looks at the issue of values congruence and the extent to which it evidences fit (for example P-O, P-G, P-P fit) or is more salient when identifying a social network which might be a more relevant construct for employees in the workplace. It takes a brief look at the background to the interaction debate as a foundation for the argument that value congruence is key to building relationships between individuals. The debate is brought up to date with a discussion of Edwards and Cable's 2009 paper which puts the case for the value in value congruence in determining employee behaviour. This paper, however, seeks to question the extent to which values congruence is more important to individuals at work in terms of their fit (on whatever level) or in terms of their social network (which might underpin a sense of 'not misfitting') which might be key for many employees. The paper goes on to consider the implications for fit research in the light of salience of social network theory.


Recently unsupervised Bilingual Lexicon Induction(BLI) without any parallel corpus has attracted much research interest. One of the crucial parts in methods for the BLI task is the matching procedure. Previous works impose a too strong constraint on the matching and lead to many counterintuitive translation pairings. Thus We propose a relaxed matching procedure to find a more precise matching between two languages. We also find that aligning source and target language embedding space bidirectionally will bring significant improvement. We follow the previous iterative framework to conduct experiments. Results on standard benchmark demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method, which substantially outperforms previous unsupervised methods.


A new species of the fossil ant genus Drymomyrmex Wheeler, 1915, D. rasnitsyni sp. nov., is described from the late Eocene Rovno amber (Ukraine). This is the first find of a worker of this genus and the first record of Drymomyrmex in the Rovno amber. Based on the analysis of the morphological features of gynes and worker it is proposed to attribute Drymomyrmex to the tribe Plagiolepidini Forel, 1886.


In recent years, impressive price of crude oil has stimulated the accumulation of foreign exchange reserves in Nigeria. However, observers have expressed fears about the channels of utilisation of the reserves, especially to other alternatives investment outlets. This paper examines the cost-effective propositions of the foreign reserves in Nigeria, and considers alternative investment channels. The study uses data from publications of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Statistical Bulletin, Annual Reports and Statement of Accounts. It adopts the theory of demand for internationalreserves based on three motive notably transaction, precautionary and mercantilist. The study among others finds that Nigeria foreign reserve is adequate. The level of reserves to import satisfies the international benchmark etc. The study recommends among others the need to split foreign reserves into four portfolios. The liquidity portfolio, long-term portfolio or investment portfolio, immunization portfolio, and the petroleum fund buffer portfolio or sovereign wealth fund.


Abstract Background and aims Domatia are plant structures within which organisms reside. Callicarpa saccata (Lamiaceae) is the sole myrmecophyte, or 'ant plant', that develops foliar (leaf-borne) myrmeco-domatia in this genus. In this work we examined domatium development in C. saccata to understand the developmental processes behind pouch-like domatia. Methods Scanning electron microscopy, sectioning and microcomputed tomography were carried out to compare the leaves of C. saccata with those of the closely related but domatia-less myrmecophyte Callicarpa subaequalis, both under cultivation without ants. Key results Callicarpa saccata domatia are formed as a result of excess cell proliferation at the blade/petiole junctions of leaf primordia. Blade/petiole junctions are important meristematic sites in simple leaf organogenesis. We also found that the mesophyll tissue of domatia does not clearly differentiate into palisade and spongy layers. Conclusions Rather than curling of the leaf margins, a perturbation of the normal functioning of the blade/petiole junction results in the formation of domatium tissue. Excess cell proliferation warps the shape of the blade and disturbs the development of the proximal–distal axis. This process leads to the generation of distinct structures that facilitate interaction between C. saccata and ants.


OBJECTIVES
Paranoia manifests similarly in subclinical and clinical populations and is related to distress and impairment. Previous work links paranoia to amygdala hyperactivity and reduced activation of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), a region thought to regulate amygdala activity.

METHODS
This study aimed to reduce subclinical paranoia in 40 undergraduates by increasing activity of the VLPFC via single-session transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS). A double-blind, crossover (active vs. sham stimulation) design was used.

RESULTS
Paranoia significantly decreased after active stimulation (dz  = 0.51) but not sham (dz  = 0.19), suggesting that tDCS of VLPFC was associated with mean-level reductions in paranoia.

CONCLUSION
These findings demonstrate preliminary support for the role of single-session active stimulation to the VLPFC for reducing subclinical paranoia in healthy individuals.

PRACTITIONER POINTS
In both clinical and subclinical populations, paranoia is related to distress and poorer functional outcomes. Paranoia has been linked to overactivation of the amygdala, a brain region responsible for detecting salience and threat, and reduced activation of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), a region thought to modulate and regulate amygdala activity. In this study, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the VLPFC reduced self-reported paranoia in healthy undergraduate students. tDCS may be a promising intervention for reducing paranoia in subclinical and clinical populations. Effects were relatively small and require replication with larger subclinical samples and with clinical samples.


Abstract This article draws on sociolinguistic fieldwork among speakers of one of Europe's smallest indigenous language communities, a speaker group which persists after the loss of all of its "traditional speakers" within living memory. The extreme language shift experienced by Manx has not led to loss of the language as a spoken and literary medium due to the efforts of significant numbers of language activists and enthusiasts over several generations, from before the loss of the traditional language community to the present. Their actions have resulted in significant linguistic institutionalisation and a rapidly expanding number of speakers of various abilities, some of whom form a new "speaker community". It discusses the constructions of linguistic authenticity and alternative models for the revival speaker, showing how core groups of speakers have been bestowed with authenticity by the wider non-speaker population, for whom linguists' interest in language endangerment and language death are not primary concerns. The article shows how speakers appropriate and are accorded forms of authority and legitimacy in the absence of traditional native speakers.


EMRs play an essential role in documenting clinical information. Nurses are integral to the success of an EMR implementation, as they are the largest group of employees in a hospital and provide patient care. A major factor in the success of EMR implementation is nurses' acceptance of the system. This study is designed to measure nurses' willingness to use EMRs in clinical practice, determine factors influencing nurses' acceptance of EMR documentation in clinical practice, and gain an understanding of the nurses' perspective on EMRs to encourage the adoption and implementation of EMRs in other health facilities in Saudi Arabia. This study included nurses from Hail General Hospital, Maternity and Children Hospital, King Khalid Hospital, and Hail General Hospital. Study results indicate that perceived usefulness and ease of use are strongly correlated, resulting in nurses' greater acceptance of EMRs. According to the study results, nurses are willing to use EMRs. Our result shows that overall, nurses find the EMR useful in their jobs, with 40.9% agreeing and 24.4% strongly agreeing. Whereas the overall easiness was 9.4% agreed and 24 strongly agreed. Nurses need to be prepared for a demanding workplace through their nursing curriculum. Nursing students and professionals should understand the importance of EMRs in ensuring high-quality, effective, and efficient patient care. It is imperative that nurses continuously improve their computer skills to keep up with technological advancements.


In this paper, we report our research into the concepts, techniques, characterization, and application of new approaches to enabling manufacturing service providers to better manage and deploy manufacturing operations and resources to face up the challenges brought about by the next generation service-oriented manufacturing paradigm. The concept of quality of service (QoS) for manufacturing (MQoS) is introduced, together with a framework within which manufacturing services and service levels can be specified, negotiated, agreed, evaluated and enforced. QoS-aware techniques are then presented that can be adopted for more efficient manufacturing resource negotiation, reservation, monitoring and optimization. With the QoS-based approach, distributed manufacturing resource managers (agents) can quickly negotiate and agree on the service levels and resource commitment required through a process of dynamically evaluating the service levels to be provided against the projected cost of delivering the agreed service.


Metabolism is a factor that is present in every living organism but varies from environmental factors in the area of ectotherms. These environmental factors include ambient temperature that the organisms are exposed to for a period of time. With ambient temperature being the main area of focus for the resulting metabolic rates, the question arose that related to does increased temperatures have a greater effect on the metabolic rate of ectotherms, more specifically in the species of Gromphadorhina Portentosa , when compared to the resulting metabolic rate of decreased temperatures. The procedure to research this question included a total of four trials consisting of three different groups each. The groups included two experimental groups of increased and decreased temperatures and one control group that is kept at a constant room temperature.


Farinograph properties and baking characteristics of soybean fiber-fortified dough were investigated in this study. Different samples, 100% gluten dough and dough fortified with 10% soybean dietary fiber singly or together with 0.5% or 1% glyceryl monolinolenate or glyceryl monolaurate were examined comparatively. Results showed that addition of soybean dietary fiber could shorten the stability time, increase the degree of softening and adhesiveness, and reduce the hardness of dough. Moreover, Bread specific volume and springiness decreased and hardness increased. As a result, the sensory quality of bread deteriorated. Addition of 1% glyceryl monolinolenate or glyceryl monolaurate resulted in a significant decrease in water loss rate during storage of dietary fiber-fortified bread and a notable improvement in sensory quality and baking characteristics. Thus we conclude that the negative impact of soybean dietary fiber added in dough on farinograph properties and baking characteristics can be improved by further addition of glyceryl monolinolenate or glyceryl monolaurate.


BACKGROUND
Several tests are available to assess the different components of physical fitness, including cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, and flexibility. However, the reliability and validity of physical fitness tests in people with mental disorders has not been meta-analyzed.

AIMS
To examine the reliability, concurrent, and convergent validity of physical fitness tests in people with mental disorders.

METHODS
Studies evaluating the reliability, concurrent, and convergent validity of physical fitness tests in people with mental disorders were searched from major databases until January 20, 2020. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed pooling (1) reliability: test-retest correlations at two-time points, (2) convergent validity between submaximal tests and maximal protocols, or (3) concurrent validity between two submaximal tests. Associations are presented using r values and 95% confidence intervals. Methodological quality was assessed using the Quality Appraisal of Reliability Studies and the Critical Appraisal Tool.

RESULTS
A total of 11 studies (N = 504; 34% females) were included. Reliability of the fitness tests, produced r values ranging from moderate (balance test-EUROFIT; [r = 0.75 (0.60-0.85); p = 0.0001]) to very strong (explosive leg power EUROFIT; [r = 0.96 (0.93-0.97); p = 0.0001]). Convergent validity between the 6-min walk test (6MWT) and submaximal cardiorespiratory tests was moderate (0.57 [0.26-0.77]; p = 0.0001). Concurrent validity between the 2-min walk test and 6MWT (r = 0.86 [0.39-0.97]; p = 0.0004) was strong.

CONCLUSION
The present study demonstrates that physical fitness tests are reliable and valid in people with mental disorders.


Abstract Recent privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA have emphasized the need for transparent, understandable privacy policies. This work investigates the role technical terms play in policy transparency. We identify potentially misunderstood technical terms that appear in privacy policies through a survey of current privacy policies and a pilot user study. We then run a user study on Amazon Mechanical Turk to evaluate whether users can accurately define these technical terms, to identify commonly held misconceptions, and to investigate how the use of technical terms affects users' comfort with privacy policies. We find that technical terms are broadly misunderstood and that particular misconceptions are common. We also find that the use of technical terms affects users' comfort with various privacy policies and their reported likeliness to accept those policies. We conclude that current use of technical terms in privacy policies poses a challenge to policy transparency and user privacy, and that companies should take steps to mitigate this effect.


The study aims to analyze the feasibility of proposing waste cooking oil and industrial waste furfural residue as raw materials to prepare bio-asphalt as partial substitutes for petroleum asphalt, so as to reduce the cost of pavement construction and decrease the consumption of non-renewable resources. In this study, 90# petroleum asphalt was partially substituted with the bio-asphalt in different proportions to prepare biomass-modified petroleum asphalt, the performance of which was first evaluated based on three indices: penetration, softening point, and ductility. Comparison of the crystal structures of the bio-asphalt and furfural residue were enabled by X-ray diffraction, and the blending mechanism and microscopic morphologies of the biomass-substituted asphalt mixtures were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the bio-asphalt was hydrophobic and exhibited excellent compatibility with 90# petroleum asphalt. The partial substitution of petroleum asphalt with bio-asphalt improved the low-temperature crack resistance of the asphalt by adversely affecting the high-temperature stability of the asphalt; however, when the bio-asphalt content was 8 wt.%, the performance parameters of the biomass-modified asphalt met the requirements of the 90# petroleum asphalt standard.


SIR—I read with much interest the recent article by Rampersad et al. (1), 'two-agent analgesia versus acetaminophen in children having bilateral myringotomies and tubes surgery'. This was indeed a substantial piece of research over a 6-year period, and the authors are to be congratulated on their achievement. In my own institution, a similar technique is employed for ASA 1 and 2 patients attending for daycase bilateral myringotomy and ventilator insertion. At the discretion of the attending anesthetist, premedication in the form of oral paracetamol and ibuprofen is administered following which inhalational induction is achieved using sevoflurane, oxygen, and nitrous oxide. Intravenous access is generally not undertaken, and anesthesia is maintained with facemask ventilation only. Intranasal fentanyl is then administered, and surgery proceeds. No preoperative benzodiazepines are given unless the child is particularly nervous or upset. In a survey of this practice, it was found that 2 lgÆkg of intranasal fentanyl appeared to result in less agitation in the immediate postoperative recovery period when compared with 1 lgÆkg (15% vs 12%). Although our survey was small involving only 47 children, it was also observed that the higher dose of intranasal fentanyl resulted in more postoperative nausea and vomiting. Perhaps, the ideal dose of intranasal fentanyl is somewhere between 1 and 2 lgÆkg, although only a large prospective research project will answer this. It would be interesting to learn from the author whether a standardized technique for drug delivery was used with regard to the intranasal fentanyl? Current practice at my own institution involves drawing up a precalculated dose of fentanyl in a 1-ml syringe and dividing the dose between the lateral walls of each nostril, thus maximizing the surface area for absorption. It would also be interesting to learn why the rectal route was chosen for the acetaminophen given that all children received oral midazolam? I would like to thank the authors for their diligent work on this subject and look forward to any reply.


The statistical methods used to analyze medical data are becoming increasingly complex. Novel statistical methods increasingly rely on simulation studies to assess their validity. Such assessments typically appear in statistical or computational journals, and the methodology is later introduced to the medical community through tutorials. This can be problematic if applied researchers use the methodologies in settings that have not been evaluated. In this paper, we explore a case study of one such method that has become popular in the analysis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) data. The integrated nested Laplace approximations (INLA), as implemented in the R-INLA package, approximates the marginal posterior distributions of target parameters that would have been obtained from a fully Bayesian analysis. We seek to answer an important question: Does existing research on the accuracy of INLA's approximations support how researchers are currently using it to analyze COVID-19 data? We identify three limitations to work assessing INLA's accuracy: 1) inconsistent definitions of accuracy, 2) a lack of studies validating how researchers are actually using INLA, and 3) a lack of research into the reproducibility of INLA's output. We explore the practical impact of each limitation with simulation studies based on models and data used in COVID-19 research. Our results suggest existing methods of assessing the accuracy of the INLA technique may not support how COVID-19 researchers are using it. Guided in part by our results, we offer a proposed set of minimum guidelines for researchers using statistical methodologies primarily validated through simulation studies.


The Third Alternative Romesh Thapar WE are all wondering what new dimensions the Janata Party crisis will develop in the coming weeks. Indira Gandhi's "punishment" did not spark the "rebellion'' that was expected by her hysterical followers; even the so- called "jail-going" was indulged in because it was to be of a few days' duration. Charan Singh's over-publicised kisan rally in the Capital also passed without incident


Abstract. Drilling and coring during IODP Expedition 362 in the eastern Indian Ocean
encountered probably the largest wood fragment ever recovered in scientific
ocean drilling. The wood is Late Miocene in age and buried beneath
 ∼800  m of siliciclastic mud and sand of the Bengal–Nicobar
Fan. The wood is well preserved. Possible origins include the hinterland to
the north, with sediment transported as part of the submarine fan sedimentary
processes, or the Sunda subduction zone to the east, potentially as a
megathrust tsunami deposit.


The aim of the study was to identify factors influencing the success of telecentre projects in rural communities in Malaysia. The study employed quantitative research methodology, using cross sectional survey design. A Stratified random sampling was used in selecting the respondents of the study. Four stages were followed in determining the sample of the study. (1) Dividing the study area into four zones (2) Selecting the states (3) Selecting the PIDs and (4) Selecting the respondents. The sample size of involved 138 respondents who were randomly selected from 11 Pusat Internet Desa (PIDs) from the four states involved in this study. Data were collected through selfadministered questionnaires. The Data was analyzed using SPSS software, version 17. The statistical analysis used were descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and Spearman Rho correlation analyses and Stepwise multiple linear regression. The result of the Pearson-Moment correlation analyses revealed that there was significant positive relationship between the selected factors that is competency of leader, location, infrastructure, local/relevant content, computer skills, community participation, and community needs) and the success of telecentre projects. However, the result showed that there was no significant relationship between age of the respondents and the success of telecentre projects. Also the spearman Rho correlation analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between level of education and the success of telecentre projects. The Stepwise multiple linear regression unveiled that competency of leaders, infrastructures and community need are important factors that make the most significant contribution towards the success of telecentre projects in rural communities. Based on the findings of the analyses it can be concluded that competency of leader, suitable location, availability of appropriate infrastructures, providing quality of services, and locally relevant information, high level of computer skills, community participation and meeting community needs lead to the success of telecentre projects in rural communities. Based on the stepwise multiple linear regression analysis, competency of leaders made the highest contribution, explained 53.8% of variance in the success of telecentre projects followed by infrastructures which explained additional 8.2% and then community needs which explained additional 2.8% of variance in the success of telecentre projects. Therefore special consideration should be given to all factors and efforts should always be made to improve upon them in the following ways: by engaging competent leaders who are well qualified to manage the centers, locating the centres in suitable location, equipping the centers with required facilities and regularly updating them; providing locally and relevant contents in local language, improving the computer skills of the respondents, enhancing community participation and finally by providing services that respond to the needs and aspirations of members of the community for which such projects are targeted at.


This paper shows control approaches for managing a pressurized solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system fuelled by biogas. This is an advanced solution to integrate the high efficiency benefits of a pressurized SOFC with a renewable source. The operative conditions of these analyses are based on the matching with an emulator rig including a T100 machine for tests in cyber-physical mode. So, this paper presents a real-time model including the fuel cell, the off-gas burner (OFB), and the recirculation lines. Although the microturbine components are planned to be evaluated with the hardware devices, the model includes also the T100 expander for machine control reasons. The simulations shown in this paper regard the assessment of an innovative control tool based on the model predictive control (MPC) technology. This controller and an additional tool based on the coupling of MPC and proportional integral derivative (PID) approaches were assessed against the application of PID controllers. The control targets consider both steady-state and dynamic aspects. Moreover, different control solutions are presented to operate the system during fuel cell degradation. The results include the system response to load variations, and SOFC voltage decrease. Considering the simulations including SOFC degradation, the MPC was able to decrease the thermal stress, but it was not able to compensate the degradation. On the other hand, the tool based on the coupling of the MPC and the PID approaches produced the best results in terms of set-point matching, and SOFC thermal stress containment.


OBJECTIVE
To examine posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in mothers of survivors of childhood cancer. Comorbidity of anxiety and depressive disorders, prevalence of subclinical PTSD, and the utility of a self-report measure as a screening instrument for PTSD were also investigated.

METHOD
Mothers (n = 65) completed a questionnaire self-report PTSD checklist (PCL-C). Mothers were administered several modules of the SCID: nonpatient edition by telephone, including the PTSD, Generalized Anxiety, and Major Depressive Disorder modules.

RESULTS
We diagnosed 6.2% of the sample with current PTSD. An additional 20% had subclinical PTSD. One of four mothers with PTSD diagnoses had a comorbid diagnosis of an anxiety and depressive disorder. The PCL-C evidenced diagnostic utility as a screening instrument. However, a moderate number of false-positives would result if the recommended cut-off on the instrument was used.

CONCLUSIONS
The PCL-C had diagnostic utility in screening mothers of childhood cancer survivors. The presence of comorbid diagnoses such as anxiety and depression should be examined.


This paper strives to critically discuss the role that NGOs1 played in the democratization process of the Romanian society after the changes from 1990. In the transition process from a dictatorial system to a democratic one, NGOs functioning is absolutely necessary. There is a variety of ways in which the civil society can contribute to the democratization of a country. To some, the very proliferation of civil society organizations - no matter what their type, agenda, or influence are - builds the infrastructure of democracy, because according to the supporters of this view an active associational life is a precursor of democracy. The right to free elections, the freedoms of speech, and citizen's participation to governance (including free access to public interest information) are only few aspects whose evolution is worth studying in this paper. Also, the existence of a strong NGO sector provides a great opportunity in a society, mainly because its involvement in community development is thought to build skills and foster democratic values and attitudes in individuals that will eventually spread to the broader society. They also enhance the prospects for democratization because they foster associational life, empower individuals, and provide them with the skills and attitudes that are useful for democratization.


This paper aims to rehabilitate "stock flow consistent" (SFC) macroeconomics as a radical alternative to the neo-classical approach which has dominated the subject during the last thirty years. Commercial banks are reckoned to play a central role in the macroeconomic process because they co-ordinate all the disparate aspirations, expectations and actions of the different sectors and this is one of many ways in which the model deployed here differs, not only from mainstream models, but also from "old fashioned" Keynesian models which have largely become extinct. A comprehensive system of stock and flow accounts, using four sectors and seven financial assets, will be deployed, followed by a narrative description of a theoretical model which can be numerically solved to yield sequences evolving in real time towards steady states. Details of the model's equations are not disclosed but the paper clearly indicates an alternative methodology, while the simulations lend plausibility to some distinctive conclusions.


In this paper, we propose Aspicere, our effort to bring aspectoriented software development to the C programming language. We focus primarily on the pointcut language offered by Aspicere, as it differs significantly from other aspect languages, for C as well as for Java. We illustrate the need for a more complex pointcut language, by means of a simple and prototypical concern, present in a real-world application, that can not be captured adequately with current-day aspect technologies.


A challenge in flip-chip technology development is to improve the thermo-mechanical reliability of the flip-chip assembly. To increase reliability, an underfill encapsulant is applied to the gap between die and substrate to provide thermal-mechanical protection as well as environmental protection to the assembly. There are three main underfill material properties that contribute to thermo-mechanical reliability of the flip-chip assembly: 1) modulus, 2) coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and 3) adhesion. This paper deals with improving the adhesion of the underfill to die and substrate surfaces which could lead to improvements in thermo-mechanical reliability. Adhesion of the underfill to die and substrate surfaces can be enhanced by addition of silane coupling agents to the underfill. This paper presents results on shear strength as a measure of adhesion strength for underfill bonded to alumina and FR4 with solder mask.


Two endophytic bacteria (EAod3T and EAod7T) were isolated from the aerial part of plants of Arthrocnemum macrostachyum growing in the Odiel marshes (Huelva, Spain). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated their affiliation to the genus Kushneria. 16S rRNA gene sequences of strains EAod3T and EAod7T showed the highest similarity to Kushneria marisflavi DSM 15357T (99.0 and 97.6 %, respectively). Digital DNA-DNA hybridization studies between the draft genomes of strain EAod3T and K. marisflavi DSM 15357T corresponded to 28.5 % confirming the novel lineage of strain EAod3T in the genus Kushneria. Cells of both strains were Gram-staining-negative, aerobic and motile rods able to grow at 4-37 °C, at pH 5.0-8.0 and tolerate 0.5-25 % NaCl (w/v). They presented ubiquinone Q9 and C16 : 0, C16 : 1ω7c/C16 : 1ω6c and C18 : 1ω7c as the major fatty acids. The predominant polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine. Based on the phenotypic and phylogenetic results, strains EAod3T (=CECT 9073T=LMG 29856T) and EAod7T (=CECT 9075T=LMG 29858T) are proposed as new representatives of the genus Kushneria, and the proposed names are Kushneria phyllosphaerae sp. nov. and Kushneria endophytica sp. nov., respectively. The whole genome sequence of strain EAod3T has a total length of 3.8 Mbp and a G+C content of 59.3 mol%.


This pro-feminist study aimed at developing an understanding of mothering in the context of domestic violence in contemporary Britain. Despite more than three decades of feminist activism and scholarship in'the field of domestic violence and a broad and detailed understanding of women's experiences of abuse by their intimate partners, little has been written on mothering in this context, particularly from women's experiences. Moreover, a critical evaluation of the literature in the field of domestic violence revealed a tendency to draw upon a deficit model of mothering and to blame abused women in regard to their mothering. This study was located within a research agenda that builds on women's experiences and efforts in order to overcome mother-blaming. It was based upon a qualitative and participa'tive methodology, and five group interviews and 20 individual interviews were carried out with a total of 26 women. It focused on women's experiences of mothering through domestic violence as well as during and after the separation process, and located these experiences within a comprehensive understanding of the institution of motherhood. The findings from this study extend the understanding of the difficulties involved in mothering in the context of domestic violence, which are due to the interaction between the particular context created by the violence and the ideologies and structures that underpin the institution of motherhood. Furthermore, the findings challenge a deficit model of mothering in the context of domestic violence, and demonstrate that women who have experienced domestic violence typically strive to be 'good' mothers and develop a range of strategies in their attempts to meet the standards that underpin the dominant social construction of 'good' mothering. The findings from this study also demonstrated that women are able to identify positive support, but their experiences more often tend to emphasise the failure of such support to materialise. These findings have major implications in terms of supporting women through their experiences of mothering in the context of domestic violence.


Brand communities have been cited for their potential not only to enhance the loyalty of members but also to engender a sense of oppositional loyalty toward competing brands. However, the impact of brand community membership on actual new product adoption behavior has yet to be explored. This study examines the effects of brand community participation and membership duration on the adoption of new products from opposing brands as well as from the preferred brand. Longitudinal data were collected on the participation behavior, membership duration, and adoption behavior of 7506 members spanning four brand communities and two product categories. Using a hazard modeling approach, the authors find that higher levels of participation and longer-term membership in a brand community not only increase the likelihood of adopting a new product from the preferred brand but also decrease the likelihood of adopting new products from opposing brands. However, such oppositional loyalty is contingent on whether a competitor's new product is the first to market. Furthermore, in the case of overlapping memberships, higher levels of participation in a brand community may actually increase the likelihood of adopting products from rival brands. This finding is both surprising and disconcerting because marketing managers usually do not know which other memberships their brand community members possess. The authors discuss how managers can enhance the impact of their brand community on the adoption of the company's new products while limiting the impact of opposing brand communities.


We have demonstrated a high linear three-way Doherty amplifier by applying uneven power drive and optimizing the peaking biases and load impedances. The amplifier has been implemented at 2.14GHz using 190-W peak envelope power laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors. For comparison, a class AB biased amplifier is tested as it's counterpart. The two-tone signal and forward-link wideband code-division multiple access (WCDMA) signal have been selected as test signals. At 42dBm (12.5-dB backed-off output power), there are large improvements in the third- and fifth-order intermodulation distortions. For the forward-link four-carrier WCDMA signal, the adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) performances at 5-MHz and 10-MHz offsets are -52.5dBc and -53.4dBc, respectively, and satisfy the generally medium high power amplifier linearity target without using any other linearization circuits. In comparison with the class AB amplifier, the three-way Doherty amplifier with uneven power drive has 9.8-dB lower ACLR at 5-MHz offset while maintaining a comparable drain efficiency of 10.2%.


In developing China, groups of people are facing social exclusion. They are citizens unemployed or with ill health, laborers with poor skills, teenagers in prisons, residents suffering a disaster, and peasants in remote country-side. Library service is crucial for these vulnerable groups. The Sun Yat-sen Library has been active in providing services to these vulnerable groups, creating 56 branch libraries countrywide. The paper describes innovative services provided to residents of a special community for families with financial difficulties, to prisoners — especially juveniles and prisoner students — to a library devastated by flooding, and to two remote mountain communities in Tibet.


In this work a characterization system for high energy-density capacitors is described and demonstrated. Capacitors are being designed using thin-film technology in an attempt to achieve higher energy-density levels by operating the devices at a high voltage. These devices are fabricated from layers of 100 nm aluminum and a layer of polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene on a polyethylene naphthalate plastic substrate. The devices have been designed to store electrical charge at up to 200 V. Characterizations of these devices focus on the measurement of capacitance vs bias voltage and temperature, equivalent series resistance, and charge/discharge cycles. For the purpose of the characterization of these capacitors, an electronic charge/discharge interface was designed and tested.


Experience with full-wafer data maps at many fabs has shown that defects on patterned wafers tend to cluster and be distributed in nonrandom patterns. The full-wafer defect map becomes a process signature which can be used to quickly determine if changes have occurred in the process. The authors show how the process signature map has been used in actual case studies to quickly identify process problems, often before an operator or engineer reviews any actual defects on the wafer. Fast optical processing, optical pattern filtering and holography, as used in the Insystems 8600 and the more advanced 8800, achieve sensitivity to submicron (and larger) defects across the full wafer. This allows for faster defect analysis and response time.<<ETX>>


Geological mapping of the Gulani area revealed that the area consists of Precambrian Basement Complex rocks, Cretaceous sediments and the Tertiary/Quaternary basalts of the Biu plateau. The Basement Complex rocks are represented by diorite and granites while the sediments include the Bima, Yolde, and Pindiga Formations. Epigenetic baryte-copper mineralizations occur with the baryte veins restricted to the Bima and Yolde sandstones while the Copper mineralizations occur in granites. Petrographic study indicates that the diorite is largely composed of andesine plus hornblende and accessory quartz and iron oxide. The granites, on the other hand, consist essentially of quartz, microcline and orthoclase with minor biotite and iron oxide. The Bima and Yolde sandstones are composed of quartz, microcline, plagioclase and accessory biotite and opaque crystals. The large quartz and microcline crystals in both granites and sandstones are fractured. The Kanawa member of the Pindiga Formation is made up of shales interbedded with Limestones. The limestone interbeds are both crystalline and fossiliferous types. The basalts consist of labradorite laths, olivine, augite and opaques. Transmitted light petrography of the hydrothermally altered Bima and Yolde sandstones show the presence of quartz, baryte and microcline. The barite occurs as pore space in-filling mineral between the quartz and microcline and within the fractures of these brittle minerals. The Cu (chalcopyrite/malachite) mineralizations occur within highly fractured zones of the granites. Reflected light microscopy indicates that only relicts of the primary chalcopyrite exist while the veins/veinlets are now almost entirely occupied by the secondary mineral of malachite and its associated limonite which are the alteration products of the chalcopyrite.

 Key words: Petrography, fractures, baryte-copper, mineralization, Gulani, Nigeria.


Background: Folate is important for DNA biosynthesis and many metabolic processes. Folate deficiency can cause macrocytic anemia, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and breast cancer. Several folate are commercially available, including synthetic versions such as folic acid and natural forms, such as that found in the alga chlorella. The enzyme 5, 10- methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms C677T are associated with Alzheimer's disease, neural tube defects and CVD.
Objective: To study the influence of Chlorella pyrenoidosa on individuals carrying the MTHFR C677T polymorphism.
Methods: Seven outpatients from Yoko Clinic (3 males, 4 females; 12–52 years) were enrolled. Three individuals carried the mutant homozygous genotype TT (TT), three were heterozygous genotype CT (CT). We conducted biochemical tests on peripheral blood taken before and during the 3 months when study subjects took 3 g of Chlorella pyrenoidosa daily.
Results: Overall, blood samples showed a tendency of negative correlation between folate and homocysteine levels before the study. The TT had a tendency toward low folate before taking chlorella (TT 5.53 ng/ml, CT 14.13 ng/ml) and the levels for the TT increased after taking chlorella (6.73 ng/ml). Two young female subjects who had started menstruating showed increased iron levels (before 58.5 mmg/dl, after 119 mmg/dl). One hyperlipidemic individual had a decrease in total cholesterol (before 305 mg/dl, after 256 mg/dl).
Conclusion: Cases in the TT group tended to have low serum concentrations of folate. Overall, the natural product chlorella might have beneficial influences for enhancing metabolism of folate and other nutrients by individuals with MTHFR polymorphisms.


South Asians (SA) are at higher cardiovascular risk than other ethnic groups, and SA kidney transplant recipients (SA KTR) are no exception. SA KTR experience increased major adverse cardiovascular events both early and late post-transplantation. Cardiovascular risk management should therefore begin well before transplantation. SA candidates may require aggressive screening for pre-transplant cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to their ethnicity and comorbidities. Recording SA ethnicity during the pre-transplant evaluation may enable programs to better assess cardiovascular risk, thus allowing for earlier targeted peri- and post-transplant intervention to improve cardiovascular outcomes. Diabetes remains the most prominent post-transplant cardiovascular risk factor in SA KTR. Diabetes also clusters with other metabolic syndrome components including lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, higher triglycerides, hypertension, and central obesity in this population. Dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, and obesity are all significant CVD risk factors in SA KTR, and contribute to increased insulin resistance. Novel biomarkers such as adiponectin, apolipoprotein B, and lipoprotein (a) may be especially important to study in SA KTR. Focused interventions to improve health behaviors involving diet and exercise may especially benefit SA KTR. However, there are few interventional clinical trials specific to the SA population, and none are specific to SA KTR. In all cases, understanding the nuances of managing SA KTR as a distinct post-transplant group, while still screening for and managing each CVD risk factor individually in all patients may help improve the long-term success of all kidney transplant programs catering to multi-ethnic populations.


The influence of the corona discharge on the holographic recording and the subsequence chemical etching of the recording holographic gratings in the Cr/As40S60-xSex thin film structures was investigated. It was established that applied of the positive corona discharge leads to the increase of the holographic sensitivity during the recording in the As-S-Se films, as well as to the amplification of the diffraction efficiency of the recording gratings and of the relief-phase diffractive gratings obtaining in the result of the consecutive chemical etching. Among the investigated films of the As40S60-xSex system, the best results on the application of the Argon laser irradiation (488 nm) was obtaining for the composition As40S39Se21. Applied of the corona discharge bring to the increase of the holographic sensitivity more than up two order, and of the diffraction efficiency about three order in the respect of the of the ordinary recording. Reciprocally was reached a amplification of the diffraction efficiency of the relief diffraction gratings formed in the result of the sequent chemical etching up to 30%. Keywords: chalcogenide vitreous semiconductors, holographic diffractive grating, corona discharge, diffraction efficiency, selective etching.


REV BRAS EPIDEMIOL 2020; 23: E200065 ABSTRACT: Introduction: Active commuting to school could help increasing physical activity levels among adolescents. However, there is limited understanding on how the relationship between the environment in school surroundings, as well the distance to school, could affect this behavior. Aim: To analyze the characteristics of the environment and distance between house and school with objective measures and their association with active commuting between adolescents of Curitiba, Brazil. Methods: 493 adolescents were interviewed and 124 schools evaluated. The study variables included the schools' surroundings accessibility characteristics obtained through systematic observation, and the distance between home to school was determined through Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data. Results: The presence of "safety signs" was inversely associated with active commuting (PR = 0.78; 95%CI 0.67–0.91; p = 0.003), as well distance 1,501–3,000 m (PR = 0.53; 95%CI 0.40 – 0.71; p < 0.001) and ≥ 3,501 m (PR 0.29; 95%CI 0.18 – 0.45; p < 0.001). Overall, schools' surroundings showed walking friendly characteristics. Conclusion: Traffic safety and distance to school were associated with active commuting to school among the study participants. Policies aiming at integrating access to school and traffic safety could help to promoting active commuting among adolescents.


There are two main objectives in this research such as identifying the fiscal developmentstage in Indonesia, and reconstruction of national fiscal system in the framework of 1945constitution. The initial foundation that must be built to strengthen the national fiscalsystem is a principle that comes from our basic nation's cultural such as the principle oftogetherness and kinship. These principles should be supported by the function and basicprinciples of management of state finances such as allocation, distribution, and stabiliza-tion. While the basic principles of state financial management includes transparency, account-ability, efficiency and effectiveness. With the various components are expected to achievea state of self-reliance and fiscal sustainability, which in turn will lead to the ultimate goalof a country that is the welfare of society. Keywords: national fiscal system, welfare and 1945 constitution.


The use of drag reducing surface textures is a promising passive method to reduce fuel consumption. Probably most wellknown is the utilisation of shark-skin inspired ridges or riblets parallel to the mean flow. They can reduce drag up to 10%. Recently another bio-inspired texture based on bird flight feather riblets has been proposed. It differs from the standard riblets in two ways. First, the riblets are arranged in a converging/diverging or herringbone pattern. Second, the riblet height or groove depth changes gradually. Drag reductions as high as 20% have been claimed [2]. The objective of the present work is to study the drag reducing properties and mechanisms of this texture. To that purpose Direct Numerical Simulations (DNSs) of turbulent plane channel flow have been performed. Structured roughness has been applied to both walls and several geometric parameters have been varied. Marginal drag reductions on the order of 2.5% and significant drag increases well beyond 100% were found. The latter is attributed to a strong secondary flow that mixes momentum through the whole channel. In future optimization studies we might look for conditions at which secondary motions affect the near-wall cycle of turbulence only.


This paper gives a short overview of how inflation expectations are measured in Finland and considers the possibilities of using such data to predict actual inflation. In Finland, there are three regularly published surveys, which include questions on ex post perceptions and/or ex ante expectations of the direction of change in the general price level or in the inflation rate.They are conducted by Statistics Finland (TK), the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers (TT) and the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat (HS). In the TK data expectations match realized rates of inflation quite well but the time series is too short.In the TT data the time series is long enough but the match between expectations and realized rates is poor.In HS data the match is quite good and the time series covers more than one business cycle. According to the correlation analysis, it seems that the TK data and the HS data could be used to form some kind of estimate of the future rate of consumer price inflation.By contrast, the TT data is probably better for predicting wholesale, producer or export price inflation. Although the HS data seems to offer us the best modelling possibilities, it is not very useful as a single exogenous variable in explaining realized rates of inflation.The small number of observations alone limits the use of advanced econometric methods and several exogenous variables.With the accumulation of more observations over time, however, we will be able to expand the model and the use of alternative data.For particular, the TK data seems quite promising.


Recent reports of the superconductivity in hydrides of two different families (covalent lattice, as in SH3 and clathrate-type H-cages containing La and Y atoms, as in LaH10 and YH6) have revealed new families of high-Tc materials with Tc's near room temperature values. These findings confirm earlier expectations that hydrides may have very high Tc's due to the fact that light H atoms have very high vibrational frequencies, leading to high Tc values within the conventional Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer phonon mechanism of superconductivity. However, as is pointed out by Ashcroft, it is important to have the metallic hydrogen "alloyed" with the elements added to it. This concept of a metallic alloy containing a high concentration of metal-like hydrogen atoms has been instrumental in finding new high-Tc superhydrides. These new superhydride "room-temperature" superconductors are stabilized only at very high pressures above 100 GPa, making the experimental search for their superconducting properties very difficult. We will review the current experimental and theoretical results for LaH10−x and YH6−x superhydrides.


Evidence is mounting that epistasis is widespread among mutations. The cost of carrying two deleterious mutations, or the advantage of acquiring two beneficial alleles, is typically lower that the sum of their individual effects. Much less is known on epistasis between beneficial and deleterious mutations, even though this is key to the amount of genetic hitchhiking that may occur during evolution. This is particularly important in the context of antibiotic resistance: Most resistances are deleterious, but some can be beneficial and remarkably rifampicin resistance can emerge de novo in populations evolving without antibiotics. Here we show pervasive positive pairwise epistasis on Escherichia coli fitness between beneficial mutations, which confer resistance to rifampicin, and deleterious mutations, which confer resistance to streptomycin. We find that 65% of double resistant strains outcompete sensitive bacteria in an environment devoid of antibiotics. Weak beneficial mutations may therefore overcome strong deleterious mutations and can even render double mutants strong competitors.


Abstract Rationale: Vandetanib is effective for treating symptomatic or progressive medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) in patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic disease, but its toxicity such as photosensitivity reactions should be considered. It is a rare adverse effect of this drug but might cause severe morbidity and even mortality. Patient concerns: A 26-year man with MTC developed phototoxic rashes on the sun-exposed areas of his shin after 15 days from the initiation of vandetanib treatment. Grade II skin toxicity was evaluated based on the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events standard. Diagnoses: Drug-induced phototoxic rash. Interventions: The vandetanib dose was reduced by 30%, and the application of topical steroids and sunscreen was adopted. Outcomes: After dose reduction of vandetanib, the symptoms of vandetanib-induced phototoxic rash resolved, although residual pigmentation was observed. Lessons: Close attention should be paid to the adverse effect of vandetanib, phototoxic rash, and patients should be advised on the prevention and treatment measures.


Persistent homology captures the topology of a filtration—a one-parameter family of increasing spaces—in terms of a complete discrete invariant. This invariant is a multiset of intervals that denote the lifetimes of the topological entities within the filtration. In many applications of topology, we need to study a multifiltration: a family of spaces parameterized along multiple geometric dimensions. In this paper, we show that no similar complete discrete invariant exists for multidimensional persistence. Instead, we propose the rank invariant, a discrete invariant for the robust estimation of Betti numbers in a multifiltration, and prove its completeness in one dimension.


PurposeTerrestrial laser scanning (TLS) point clouds have been widely used in deformation measurement for structures. However, reliability and accuracy of resulting deformation estimation strongly depends on quality of each step of a workflow, which are not fully addressed. This study aims to give insight error of these steps, and results of the study would be guidelines for a practical community to either develop a new workflow or refine an existing one of deformation estimation based on TLS point clouds. Thus, the main contributions of the paper are investigating point cloud registration error affecting resulting deformation estimation, identifying an appropriate segmentation method used to extract data points of a deformed surface, investigating a methodology to determine an un-deformed or a reference surface for estimating deformation, and proposing a methodology to minimize the impact of outlier, noisy data and/or mixed pixels on deformation estimation.Design/methodology/approachIn practice, the quality of data point clouds and of surface extraction strongly impacts on resulting deformation estimation based on laser scanning point clouds, which can cause an incorrect decision on the state of the structure if uncertainty is available. In an effort to have more comprehensive insight into those impacts, this study addresses four issues: data errors due to data registration from multiple scanning stations (Issue 1), methods used to extract point clouds of structure surfaces (Issue 2), selection of the reference surface Sref to measure deformation (Issue 3), and available outlier and/or mixed pixels (Issue 4). This investigation demonstrates through estimating deformation of the bridge abutment, building and an oil storage tank.FindingsThe study shows that both random sample consensus (RANSAC) and region growing–based methods [a cell-based/voxel-based region growing (CRG/VRG)] can be extracted data points of surfaces, but RANSAC is only applicable for a primary primitive surface (e.g. a plane in this study) subjected to a small deformation (case study 2 and 3) and cannot eliminate mixed pixels. On another hand, CRG and VRG impose a suitable method applied for deformed, free-form surfaces. In addition, in practice, a reference surface of a structure is mostly not available. The use of a fitting plane based on a point cloud of a current surface would cause unrealistic and inaccurate deformation because outlier data points and data points of damaged areas affect an accuracy of the fitting plane. This study would recommend the use of a reference surface determined based on a design concept/specification. A smoothing method with a spatial interval can be effectively minimize, negative impact of outlier, noisy data and/or mixed pixels on deformation estimation.Research limitations/implicationsDue to difficulty in logistics, an independent measurement cannot be established to assess the deformation accuracy based on TLS data point cloud in the case studies of this research. However, common laser scanners using the time-of-flight or phase-shift principle provide point clouds with accuracy in the order of 1–6 mm, while the point clouds of triangulation scanners have sub-millimetre accuracy.Practical implicationsThis study aims to give insight error of these steps, and the results of the study would be guidelines for a practical community to either develop a new workflow or refine an existing one of deformation estimation based on TLS point clouds.Social implicationsThe results of this study would provide guidelines for a practical community to either develop a new workflow or refine an existing one of deformation estimation based on TLS point clouds. A low-cost method can be applied for deformation analysis of the structure.Originality/valueAlthough a large amount of the studies used laser scanning to measure structure deformation in the last two decades, the methods mainly applied were to measure change between two states (or epochs) of the structure surface and focused on quantifying deformation-based TLS point clouds. Those studies proved that a laser scanner could be an alternative unit to acquire spatial information for deformation monitoring. However, there are still challenges in establishing an appropriate procedure to collect a high quality of point clouds and develop methods to interpret the point clouds to obtain reliable and accurate deformation, when uncertainty, including data quality and reference information, is available. Therefore, this study demonstrates the impact of data quality in a term of point cloud registration error, selected methods for extracting point clouds of surfaces, identifying reference information, and available outlier, noisy data and/or mixed pixels on deformation estimation.


An apparatus has been constructed for the practical realization of the Cotton-Mouton effect in colloidal suspensions. Measurements of the magnetically induced birefringence in such media, using a medium power argon-ion laser operating at a wavelength of 515 nm, have been made for variable magnetic field intensities up to 2.5 T. Data have been recorded on the four pure liquids-nitrobenzene, carbon disulphide, acetone, and benzene. The system has been primarily designed for studies on colloidal media for which the Cotton-Mouton effect can be large, thereby requiring relatively low intensity magnetic fields. Data for bentonite and vermiculite are reported, which demonstrate the ease and validity of such measurements for colloid characterization. These are the first known data on suspensions of vermiculite clay. Furthermore, the influence of any stray Faraday effect is examined.


The first study of the two-dimensional electron gas in the surface layers on zero-gap HgMnTe is carried out experimentally (by the magnetocapacitance spectroscopy method) and theoretically. The exchange interaction is manifested only in the temperature shift of beat nodes of magneto-oscillations. Information about exchange effects is obtained only by our modelling of oscillations, because any pronounced changes in the position of oscillations are not observed and the separate spin components are not resolved. The theory for the description of a spectrum in a magnetic field and magneto-oscillations with allowance for exchange and spin-orbit (SO) interaction for Kane semiconductors with direct and inverted bands is advanced. The modelling shows that the SO splitting far exceeds the contribution due to exchange interaction. The comparison between experiment and theory for different temperatures and parameters of exchange interaction is reported. The calculated amplitudes of `partial' oscillations for different spin branches of the spectrum are essentially different in accordance with the observed difference in the intensity of corresponding lines in Fourier spectra. The dominant mechanisms of the scattering responsible for the broadening of Landau levels are discussed.


The study estimates the long-run dynamics of a cleaner environment in promoting the gross domestic product of E7 and G7 countries. The recent study intends to estimate the climate change mitigation factor for a cleaner environment with the GDP of E7 countries and G7 countries from 2010 to 2018. For long-run estimation, second-generation panel data techniques including Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF), Phillip-Peron technique and fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) techniques are applied to draw the long-run inference. The results of study are robust with VECM technique. The outcomes of study revealed that climate change mitigation indicators affect more to the GDP of G7 countries than E7 countries. The GDP of both E7 and G7 countries is found depleting due to less clean environment. However, green financing techniques may clean the environment and reinforce the confidence of policymakers on the elevation of green economic growth in G7 and E7 countries. Furthermore, results show that a 1% rise in green financing index improves the environmental quality by 0.375% in G-7 countries, while it purifies 0.3920% environment in E7 countries. There is a need to reduce environmental pollution, shift energy generation sources towards alternative, innovative and green sources.


An efficient finite element method is presented for the full wave analysis of dielectric waveguides. This method has four major features: (1) the ability to treat a wide range of dielectric waveguide problems with arbitrarily shaped cross section, inhomogeneity, transverse-anisotropy, and significant loss (or gain); (2) total elimination of spurious solutions; (3) direct solution for the (complex) propagation constant at a specified frequency; and (4) the use of only two components of the magnetic field, thus maximizing the numerical efficiency of solution. The resultant matrix eigenvalue problem is of canonical form and is solved with an efficient method, specially developed for this purpose, taking full advantage of the sparsity of the matrices. Numerical results are shown for a variety of microwave and optical waveguides including anisotropy and losses. These examples also include closed and open structures. The computational results agree very well with analytical and previously published results. >


Functional (conversion) neurological symptoms represent one of the most common situations faced by neurologists in their everyday practice. Among them, acute or subacute functional weakness may mimic very prevalent conditions such as stroke or traumatic injury. In the diagnosis of functional weakness, although elements of the history are helpful, physical signs are often of crucial importance in the diagnosis and positive signs are as important as absence of signs of disease. Hence, accurate and reliable positive signs of functional weakness are valuable for obtaining timely diagnosis and treatment, making it possible to avoid unnecessary or invasive tests and procedures up to thrombolysis. Functional weakness commonly presents as weakness of an entire limb, paraparesis, or hemiparesis, with observable or demonstrable inconsistencies and non-anatomic accompaniments. Documentation of limb movements during sleep, the arm drop test, the Babinski's trunk-thigh test, Hoover tests, the Sonoo abductor test, and various dynamometer tests can provide useful bedside diagnostic information on functional weakness. We therefore present here a brief overview of the positive neurological signs of functional weakness available, both in the lower and in the upper limbs; but none should be used in isolation and must be interpreted in the overall context of the presentation. It should be borne in mind that a patient may have both a functional and an organic disorder.


The routing technology at the network layer is critical in the architecture of wireless sensor network. As an active branch of routing technology, the cluster based protocols excel on the aspects of network topology management, energy consumption, data aggression, etc. An energy effective routing protocol based on Low-Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy Protocol, which is called CQIR, is proposed to meet the QoS requirement and minimize the energy consumption. Aiming at the defect in cluster head selecting mechanism in the traditional LEACH, the protocol improve the network performance by excluding the node with improper communication position to be selected as the cluster heads. The protocol employs probabilistic analyses to fix the optimum measuring range. The cluster heads are selected according to the node density threshold in the measuring area, which is confirmed by the node distribution situation and communication requirement. The two groups of simulation results show the protocol can not only reduces the energy consumption but also guarantees the communication quality especially in the uneven distribution situation.


In patient who died from anaphylactic shock the level of immunoglobulins E in postmortem blood exceeded the upper limit almost 6 times this allowing to confirm the diagnosis. It is stated that a postmortem blood examination may be useful in the autopsy diagnosis of anaphylactic shock.


The purpose of this research is to investigate the potential use of motion graphics within live theatrical performances. The paper explores the use of motion graphics as digital content in theatre, to enhance the experience. This research examines this through historical reference and the live practice of a theatrical production 'Artaud'. The research aims to introduce spectacle and visual narrative to stimulate a visually aware audience, as audiences today are already visually aware with the various visual media available in today's society. The introduction of spectacle and visual narrative is investigated through the multi-discipline environment of theatre, while exploring how a motion designer fits into that environment. This work also looks at digital technology and the practices involved in the design process. The aim of the work is to prove that motion graphics has a role in theatrical productions, by enhancing the performance through the discipline of motion graphics, to introduce visual stimuli to the live experience. Additionally this work will research the historical pattern of motion graphics in theatre, by understanding the origins of motion graphics it is easier to understand the potential of motion graphics today.


Abstract:The material, aesthetic experience of participation in public speaking and debate was an important factor in the spread of democratic sensibilities in Meiji Japan. This essay traces Fukuzawa Yukichi's institutionalization of speechmaking and debate through the Mita Enzetsukai and his manual on oratory, Kaigiben. It reveals how rural people transformed these models in radical, democratic ways. This narrative shows how a new public sphere was literally built by people as they constructed new meeting spaces and practiced new ways of orienting themselves in public space. These democratic sensibilities were learned practically rather than didactically.


Boundaries of towns, counties, states, and nations are challenged by notions of 'bioregional' politicalcultural entities shaped by the flow of water, the brush of air, and the fall of pollen. Resource management agency missions once defined by the demands of commodity production and needs of communities formed around resource extraction have been redefined. They increasingly focus on the sustainability of such systems and on conservation and the preservation of species and the habitats and ecological communities on which they depend.


The amount of information that modern society receives and processes is, simply said, enormous. Individuals, groups and organizations are faced with the daily overload of information from which they want to extract only the useful and quality information. On the World Wide Web are available many powerful and widely used Web search engines that - at least for the Internet - perform their work well. The data is not only stored on the Internet, but different organizations (banks, insurance companies, government institutions, etc.) have their own private data warehouses on which employees perform many daily queries. The question is whether such queries return quality information in a secure manner?
To this end, some software development companies (IBM, Microsoft, etc..) are offering paid solutions that prepare and index this information for fast and efficient searching. Organizations are faced with problems as how to prevent access by unauthorized persons and to ensure a high quality of the returned information.
At police we have developed our own internal search engine that is based on two freely available, open source solutions (Apache Lucene and Apache Solr) which already contain the functionality of modern search engines. For the primary source of data we took IBM Lotus Notes databases. We have successfully implemented the authentication of users and the provision of security policy and access to search data.
This Master Thesis presents a description of the systems for information retrieval in direct connection with solutions Apache Lucene and Apache Solr, and the development and implementation of an internal search engine into production for use in Police.


To stimulate and sustain learner's motivation through effective methods is empirically proven as a predominant issue in eLearning and particularly in the context of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), which defined as the attainment of practical skills, underpinning knowledge and right working attitudes towards learning of technologies and vocational competencies. Learner success in TVET programs are heavily dependent on learner's engagement and motivation towards achieving intended competencies. Although online courses can facilitate time and place flexibility for learners, they are not designed to increase engagement and motivation of learners. In finding an effective solution to above issue, gamification support for eLearning courses quests a new paradigm of teaching and learning process which addresses on how to enhance engagement and motivation of online students to achieve high competency in education. This paper discusses how gamification (game dynamics, game mechanics, and game elements) can be embedded into online learning courses in order to enhance engagement and motivation of students. The paper further elaborates the modalities of applying game dynamics such as constraints, emotions, narrative, progression and relationships driving the game mechanics such as rewards, challenges, competition, feedback and cooperation, towards competency based education in TVET to reduce high dropout rates of online courses among demotivated learners.


Up to 65% of the energy produced in an internal combustion engine is dissipated to the engine cooling circuit and exhaust gases [1]. Therefore, recovering a portion of this heat energy is a highly effective solution to improve engine and drivetrain efficiency and to reduce CO2 emissions, with existing vehicle and powertrain technologies [2,3].This paper details a practical approach to the utilization of powertrain waste heat for light vehicle engines to reduce fuel consumption. The "Systems Approach" as described in this paper recovers useful energy from what would otherwise be heat energy wasted into the environment, and effectively distributes this energy to the transmission and engine oils thus reducing the oil viscosities. The focus is on how to effectively distribute the available powertrain heat energy to optimize drivetrain efficiency for light duty vehicles, minimizing fuel consumption during various drive cycles. To accomplish this, it is necessary to identify the available powertrain heat energy during any drive cycle and cold start conditions, and to distribute this energy in such a way to maximize the overall efficiency of the drivetrain.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


Beyond the Tragedy of the Commons - To move beyond Hardin's tragedy of the commons, it is fundamental to avoid falling into either of two analytical and policy traps: deriving and recommending "panaceas" or asserting "my case is unique". We can move beyond both traps by self-consciously building diagnostic theory to help unpack and understand the complex interrelationship between social and biophysical factors at different levels of analysis. We need to look for commonalities and differences across studies. This understanding will be augmented if the rich detail produced from case studies is used together with theory to find patterned structures among cases. In this paper, we briefly illustrate important steps of how we can go about diagnosing the emergence and sustainability of self-organization in the fishing context of the Gulf of California, Mexico. By doing so, we are able to move away from the universality proposed by Hardin and understand how two out of three fisheries were able to successfully self-organize, and why one of them continues to be robust over time. Keywords: sustainable development; renewable resources fisheries; renewable resources commons JEL classifications: QO1; Q20; D70 Parole chiave: sviluppo sostenibile; risorse rinnovabili; zone di pesca; proprieta comuni


The authors report the transmission properties of omega shaped metallic inclusions on a dielectric medium that exhibits bianisotropic properties. The resonance frequencies of single omega resonators are investigated experimentally and numerically. The resonance frequency of an Ω structure depends on its orientation with respect to the incident electric field. Increasing the tail length of the Ω resonator causes a decrease in resonance frequency. Band gaps due to the magnetoelectric resonances are observed for various types of periodic omega arrays. A transmission band is observed when a periodic Ω media is combined with a negative permittivity media of periodic thin wires. The transmission band appears below the band gap of periodic omega media, in turn indicating right-handed behavior. A dual transmission band is obtained by composing two different types of metamaterials that are arranged periodically.


In this study, oxidation polymerization was used to synthesize poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-modified TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) and then the effect of the interface between the TiO2 NPs and the P3HT coating on the system's photocatalytic ability under visible light was investigated. The photocatalytic properties of the TiO2 NPs were enhanced from the UV to the visible after incorporation of P3HT. Moreover, charge transfer between the TiO2 NPs and the P3HT coating was promoted when a selfassembled monolayer (SAM) of 2-thiophenecarboxylic acid was present at their interface; this SAM decreased the barrier for charge transfer between the TiO2 NPs and the P3HT coating, leading to improved photocatalytic activity under visible light.


The World Solar Challenge is a race from Darwin to Adelaide which attracts purpose-built vehicles from around the world. Using only power from the sun, the vehicles reach speeds of over 100 km/hr and the current record holder averaged a speed of over 90 km/hr. In this paper the background to the race and some of the technology used is described. Since aerodynamic drag is the major resistance to motion, this is examined in detail, including the testing and design principles applied to the Australian "Aurora" vehicle which won the race in 1999 and came second in 2001. A highly efficient electric motor, developed specifically for the Aurora is also described.Copyright © 2002 by ASME