About 30 % of dermatology patients have signs or symptoms of psychological problems. Dermatologists should be familiar with the basics needed to identify, advise and treat these patients.Because of the complex interaction between skin and psyche, it is difficult to distinguish whether the primary problem is the skin or the psyche. Sometimes the clinical picture is a consequence of interactions between them and other factors.The interactions between skin and psyche are well known in history, art and literature – perhaps better known today because the marked emphasis on such images in our modern multimedia society. Aging is increasingly perceived as an illness and not as a physiological process. Through globalization, many different cultural approaches to the skin have entered in our daily life and influence our communication. This article considers the most important dermatoses which often show primary or secondary interaction with the psyche.


Nitrile hydratase metalloenzymes are unique and important biocatalysts that are used industrially to produce high value amides from their corresponding nitriles. After more than three decades since their discovery, the mechanism of this class of enzymes is becoming clear with evidence from multiple recent studies that the cysteine-derived sulfenato ligand of the active site metal serves as the nucleophile that initially attacks the nitrile. Herein we describe the first direct evidence from solution phase catalysis that the source of the product carboxamido oxygen is the protein. Using 18O-labeled water under single turnover conditions and native high resolution protein mass spectrometry, we show that the incorporation of labeled oxygen into both product and protein is turnover-dependent and that only a single oxygen is exchanged into the protein even under multiple turnover conditions, lending significant support to proposals that the post-translationally modified sulfenato group serves as the nucleophile to initiate hydration of nitriles.


In the present study, confined flows around two square cylinders in staggered arrangement were numerically investigated. Cross-flow and streamwise center-to-center spacings of one- and three-cylinder diameters, respectively, were considered. Simulations were carried out at Reynolds numbers Re = 50,100,150 and 180, where the resulting wakes are laminar and periodic. Results indicate that the presence of the downstream cylinder tends to reduce the Strouhal number, amplitude and the time-averaged lift coefficient of the upstream cylinder relative to the single cylinder cases. Furthermore, the time variations of upstream cylinder's lift coefficient behave similar to that of a single cylinder.


In this study, we suggested several approaches to evaluate the collision acceleration of a carbody under the article 16 of the Korean rolling stock safety regulations. There are various methods to evaluate the rigid body accelerations such as the displacement comparison method by double integration of filtered acceleration data, the velocity comparison method by direct integration of filtered acceleration data, and the analysis method of a velocity-time curve. We compared these methods one another using the 1D dynamic simulation model of Korean high-speed EMU composed of nonlinear springs or bars, dampers, and masses. From the simulation results, the velocity-time curve analysis method and the displacement comparison method are recommended to filter high frequency oscillations and evaluate the maximum and average accelerations of a carbody after a train collision.


Forward-secure logging protects old log entries in a log file against an adversary compromising the log device. However, we show that previous work on forward-secure logging is prone to crash-attacks where the adversary removes log entries and then crashes the log device. As the state of the log after a crash-attack is indistinguishable from the state after a real crash, e.g., power failure, the adversary can hide attack traces. We present SLiC, a new logging protocol that achieves forward-security against crash-attacks. Our main idea is to decouple the time of a log event with the position of its resulting log entry in the log file. Each event is encrypted and written to a pseudo-random position in the log file. Consequently, the adversary can only remove random log events, but not specific ones. Yet, during forensic analysis, the verifier can replay pseudo-random positions. This allows to distinguish a real crash (last events missing) from a crash-attack (random events missing). Besides a formal analysis, we also present an evaluation of SLiC as a syslog server to indicate its practicality.


High market price and low availability of local winter and spring production has stimulated production of blackberries in glasshouses at northern latitudes. For this production, light is the main limiting factor. We investigated the potential of intercanopy lighting (ICL) using light emitting diodes (LEDs) to improve blackberry fruit yield in a crop with a spring and an autumn production cycle. During the spring production cycle three light treatments were applied: only natural light (no ICL), 93 or 185 μmol m–2 s–1 ICL In summer the lateral shoots were cut back and 93 μmol m–2 s–1 ICL was applied to all plants after cutting back, investigating a possible carryover effect of supplemental light in spring on autumn production. Fresh fruit yield in spring increased by 79 and 122% with 93 and 185 μmol m–2 s–1 ICL, respectively, compared to no ICL. This represents 3.6 and 2.8% increase in harvestable product for every additional 1% of light. A yield component analysis and leaf photosynthesis measurements were conducted. Maximum photosynthetic capacity (Amax) for leaves at 185 μmol m–2 s–1 ICL was about 50% higher, and LAI was 41% higher compared to no ICL. ICL increased the number of fruiting laterals per cane, and this explained 75% of the increase in yield. ICL at 185 μmol m–2 s–1 resulted in a higher yield compared to no ICL, primarily as a result of higher total dry matter production. Furthermore, a higher fraction of dry matter partitioned to the fruits (0.59 compared to 0.52) contributed to yield increase, whereas fruit dry matter content and fruit quality (sugar and acid content) was not affected by ICL. Averaged over the three light treatments autumn yield was 47% lower than spring yield. Autumn yield was 10% higher for plants at ICL 93 μmol m–2 s–1 in spring and 36% higher for plants at 185 μmol m–2 s–1 in spring compared to no ICL in spring. This increased autumn yield was caused by more fruiting laterals (less necrotic buds). It is concluded that management practices in spring can have a carryover effect on the autumn production. This is the first scientific paper on the potential for applying LED ICL in blackberries. Further research should focus on optimal intensity of ICL, positioning of supplementary lighting and economic feasibility.


We present a quantitative method based on stochastic Petri net (SPN) to evaluate the survivability of distributed service. Three types of combination service models: one-to-one, one-to-N, and M-to-N are studied, which can reflect survivability of distributed service from a different perspective. Absorbing-state reliability, maintainability and steady-state availability are considered as measures of survivability, and calculated by reduced SPN models and underlying Markov chains (MC). In terms of this method, we make a survivability evaluation systematically by taking Finance Service Network (FSN) as an example. Numerical results indicate that the approach of this paper is effective and efficient for evaluation the survivability of distributed service.


Introduction: Fluoxetine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). It is licensed for the treatment of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and bulimia nervosa. It is thought to have a low adverse effect profile compared to conventional tricyclic antidepressants (TCA). It was first marketed in 1989, and since then fluoxetine has become the most widely prescribed antidepressant. Even though it was claimed earlier that fluoxetine has little or no effect on reducing seizure threshold, its association with seizure activity is being increasingly recognized. Results: We report a case of 53 year old depressed male with no apparent risk factors, treated with 20mg of fluoxetine for 3 weeks, experienced a seizure. Conclusion: Clinician should be aware that seizure and the cardiac dysrythmias have been reported in the literature, the risk of seizures depends on important critical factors like an individual's predisposing factors, followed by the amount and rate of dosage titration, and the relative epileptogenic potential of the particular drug.


BACKGROUND
McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) is characterized by a triad of gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty, café au lait skin pigmentation and fibrous dysplasia of bone. MAS is due to activating mutations of GNAS, the gene encoding Gsalpha. Interest exists in the use of GNAS mutation analysis to make a definitive diagnosis when the phenotype is not diagnostic, i.e. in partial forms of MAS. The utility of using peripheral blood for mutation analysis in this setting has not been thoroughly evaluated.

OBJECTIVE
We performed a systematic analysis of genomic DNA for the detection of GNAS activating mutations in girls with MAS who presented with precocious puberty to evaluate whether identification of an activating mutation in peripheral blood is related to the presence of other features of MAS.

STUDY DESIGN
Genomic DNA was isolated from blood from 13 girls with gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based technique was performed for GNAS mutation identification.

RESULTS
GNAS activating mutations were identified in 4 patients, all of whom had classic MAS based on clinical evidence.

CONCLUSIONS
Detection of activating mutations in leukocyte genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood samples from girls with gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty was associated with the presence of other phenotypic manifestations of MAS. Until improvements in the diagnostic utility of GNAS activating mutation analysis from leukocyte genomic DNA occur, such testing in patients with atypical forms of MAS should continue to be reserved for research settings.


Teacher
conceptualization of behavior problems is important in determining what
strategies are used to prevent problematic classroom behavior. If teachers view
a student's behavior as symptomatic of a poorly organized classroom, they may
seek ways of reorganizing the environment to maximize occasions for occurrence
of appropriate behavior and the prevention of behavior problems. That is,
teachers consider antecedent approaches and attempt to set the occasion for
appropriate behavior to occur. This article will describe approaches for setting
up antecedent classroom strategies designed to prevent problematic behavior and
subsequently enhance classroom management plans.


In article the questions connected with definition of notion of security are researched. The author carried out the detailed analysis of scientific literature, and also normative-legal instructions on security problems. Various scientific approaches regarding defining notion of security are presented.


We perform first-principles calculations of the lattice constants, elastic constants, and optical properties for alpha- and gamma-uranium based on the ultra-soft pseudopotential method. Lattice constants and equilibrium atomic volume are consistent pretty well with the experimental results. Some difference exists between our calculated elastic constants and the experimental data. Based on the satisfactory ground state electronic structure calculations, the optical conductivity, dielectric function, refractive index, and extinction coefficients are also obtained. These calculated optical properties are compared with our results and other published experimental data.


The appearance to antimicrobial resistance to the antimicrobial agent has become a matter of high concern for health care professionals since last ten years. It will an effort to establish new phenylpropenone pyrrolyl; chalcones as improved antimicrobial agent. In this particular series of novel substituted phenylpropenone pyrrol (AP1-AP5) were synthesized by simple condensation reaction between different substituted aldehydes and 3 acetyl -2,4-dimethyl pyrrole in presence of a strong ethanolic base to yield the chalcones. The structures of the final synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, mass and 1 H NMR spectra. The synthesized compounds were screened for their antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa by cup plate method. Most of the compounds exhibited promising antibacterial activity.


This paper presents the VDM 2000, a computational model of target detection designed for use in military developmental test and evaluation settings. The model integrates research results from the fields of early vision, object recognition, and psychophysics. The VDM2000 is image based and provides a criterion-independent measure of target conspicuity, referred to as the vehicle metric (VM). A large data set of human responses to photographs of military vehicles in a field setting was used to validate the model. The VM adjusted by a single calibration parameter accounts for approximately 80% of the variance in the validation data. The primary application of this model is to predict detection of military targets in daylight with the unaided eye. The model also has application to target detection prediction using infrared night vision systems. The model has potential as a tool to evaluate the visual properties of more general task settings.


A multi-channel signal acquisition system with real-time data processing is designed to implement the data acquisition of 16-channel analog signals. In the system,a FPGA is acted as the controlling unit to generate time sequence to control high-speed A / D converter to convert multi-channel analog signals into digital signals and the real-time data are processed by the DSP. Its waveform is displayed on the computer through CCS3. 3 software. The structure of the whole system and the method of the data communication between FPGA and EMIF in DSP through Dual-port RAM are introduced in this paper. In order to eliminate the interference of surrounding electromagnetic environment,the length of the transmission line and others,system uses self-adaptive theory to reduce noise. The result indicates that this system works steadily,the acquisition signals is processed real time.


Preliminary mission studies for human exploration of Mars have been performed at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). These studies indicate that for chemical rockets only a cryogenic propulsion system would provide high enough performance to be considered for a Mars ascent vehicle. Although the mission is possible with Earth-supplied propellants for this vehicle, utilization of in-situ propellants is highly attractive. This option would significantly reduce the overall mass of launch vehicles. Consequently, the cost of the mission would be greatly reduced because the number and size of the Earth launch vehicle(s) needed for the mission decrease. NASA/Johnson Space Center has initiated several concept studies of in-situ propellant production plants. Liquid oxygen (LOX) is the primary candidate for an in-situ oxidizer. In-situ fuel candidates include methane (CH4), ethylene (C2H4), and methanol (CH3OH). MSFC initiated a technology development program for a cryogenic propulsion system for the Mars human exploration mission in 1998. One part of this technology program is the effort described here: an evaluation of propellant injection concepts for a LOX/liquid methane Mars Ascent Engine (MAE) with an emphasis on light-weight, high efficiency, reliability, and thermal compatibility. In addition to the main objective, hot-fire tests of the subject injectors will be used to test other key technologies including light-weight combustion chamber materials and advanced ignition concepts. This state-of-the-art technology will then be applied to the development of a cryogenic propulsion system that will meet the requirements of the planned Mars sample return (MSR) mission. The current baseline propulsion system for the MSR mission uses a storable propellant combination [monomethyl hydrazine/mixed oxides of nitrogen-25. However, a mission option that incorporates in-situ propellant production and utilization for the ascent stage is being carefully considered as a subscale precursor to a future human mission to Mars.


The role of Ammunition Industry in connection with action variation at the first part of 20th century is analyzed in the present paper. It is studied how the New Economic Policy (NEP) influenced onto the development of ammunition industry and respective branches of heavy industry. For the first time several manufacturing peculiarities of ammunition main elements (by example of ammunition bodies) in the eve of the Great Patriotic War are analyzed on the base of archival documents and the role of these peculiarities in fighting efficiency of the Soviet forces during the Second World War is studied.


It is a common knowledge that certain radio frequency band is licensed for certain type of wireless/radio communication system. Most of the radio frequency bands are licensed and to get a license can cost money in some countries. However there are certain frequency bands which are unlicensed. Thus everybody who wants to use these frequency bands to transmit is allowed to do that. As frequency bands are limited resources and can cost, the operators are very keep to use these frequency bands. This is causing interference problems.One possible scenario is that two operators decide to operate in the same area using the same frequency band. One previous study conducted by O. Queseth showed that the two networks belonging to the two operators cause a lot of interference to each other and thus suffer very much in capacity. It was further shown that the problem was more critical for the mobiles far away from own base stations but close to the competitive network's base stations. Multi-hopping was suggested by me and my colleagues Thomas E. and Sujata M. as a solution to improve the capacities for the networks. Though the result showed a substantial improvement, we believed that it could be done better. The purpose of this thesis work has been to find a better working strategy for this system.By modifying the routing and scheduling algorithms it has been found in this thesis that a routing algorithm which minimizes the total power consumed when sending packets and an adaptive S-TDMA as scheduling algorithm gives us very satisfying results.It is also shown that by only changing the routing or the scheduling, we get either the same or even worse performance. The best strategy was to change both the routing algorithm and the scheduling. The profound strategy is working very well but it does not mean that there aren't other pairs of routing and scheduling algorithms which could work better.


Despite numerous studies that report the preponderance of domestic violence is perpetrated by men against women, other empirical studies suggest that rates of domestic violence by women and men are equivalent. This article explores these claims of gender symmetry in intimate partners'use of violence by reviewing the empirical foundations of the research and critiquing existing sources of data on domestic violence. The author suggests methods to reconcile the disparate data and encourages researchers and practitioners to acknowledge women's use of violence while understanding why it tends to be very different from violence by men toward their female partners.


Geomorphological Effects of River Valleys Anthropogenic Transformations in the Perznica Catchment During the Last 200 Years (Drawsko Lakeland, Parsęta River Basin) The studies on geomorphological aspects of environmental changes in the river valleys were part of the work carried out under the diagnosis of anthropogenic transformation of the relief of the Perznica basin (West Pomerania, Drawsko Lakeland). Human interference in the river valleys and anthropogenic changes in the natural hydrological systems in the Perznica catchment influenced the transformation of the relief and the intensity of morphogenetic processes. Numerous anthropogenic landforms were formed, including embankments, dams, dykes along the canals, ditches and canals, reservoirs basins, and peat excavations. The drainage resulted in an intensification of the river erosion, straightening, shortening and increase of the river gradient, as well as the increase of quantity of the suspended matter leaving the catchments. An increase of anthropogenic denudation on agricultural lands, due to the entering of the crops grown on drained depressions and valleys, led to the masking of the original relief with deluvial sediments and the formation and expansion of agricultural terraces on the edge of the fields.


Our current understanding of how plants move auxin through their tissues is largely built on the use of polar auxin transporter inhibitors. Although the most important proteins that mediate auxin transport and its regulation have probably all been identified and the mapping of their interactions is well underway, mechanistically we are still surprisingly far away from understanding how auxin is transported. Such an understanding will only emerge after new data are placed in the context of the wealth of physiological data on which they are founded. This review will look back over the use of a key inhibitor called naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA) and outline its contribution to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of polar auxin transport, before proceeding to speculate on how its use is likely still to be informative.


Plasmons in a thin metallic foil are of two types: (Ritchie, 1957; Ando , 1982; Stratton, 1941) 1) a two-dimensional plasmon (Ritchie, 1957) whose electrostatic dispersion relation has its frequency proportional to the square root of wave number, which propagates along the surface of the foil and 2) a plasmon constituted of collective electron density oscillations across the foil in the nature of capacitor-like discharges perpendicular to the surfaces of the foil (Ando , 1982) . The latter (type 2) occur at the bulk plasma frequency and it has long been known that they produce electromagnetic (EM) radiation (Ferrell, 1958) (whereas type 1 plasmons do not radiate). The object of this research is to carefully examine the coupling of both these plasmon modes to the EM field in producing radiative polaritons. We carry this out using a complex dielectric function approach embodying both types of plasmons in the context of an exact analytic solution for the dyadic EM field Green's function describing radiative plasmonic-polariton propagation for a thin metallic foil (Horing,et al.), including the role of interband damping transitions. In particular, we will formulate and examine the dispersion relation for such polaritons, which is significantly modified from Stern's result (Stern, 1967) by the radiative type 2 plasmon described above and interband damping. The complex dielectric function embodying both type 1 and type 2 plasmons and interband damping involves a frequency dependent imaginary part and is expected to exhibit interesting radiative plasmonic-polariton phenomenology. This expectation is based on a recent calculation we have carried out (Horing) using a generic dielectric function of the Lorentzian type, which produced inhomogeneous (Jackson, 1975) plane wave radiation from excitation of the foil modes. Such inhomogeneous plane waves, which grow locally as a function of distance away from the foil (without violating the causality principle), have been known to occur previously and are discussed in the literature (Stratton, 1941). This local growth of the EM field may contribute to enhanced focusing properties of an array of nanoholes in the foil.


The search for materials and process parameters capable of generating hydrogels for soft tissue engineering applications, based on an experimental design strategy that allows the evaluation of several factors involved in their development and performance, has greatly increased. Nevertheless, the fabrication technique can influence their mechanical properties, swelling, crystallinity, and even their susceptibility to contamination by microorganisms, compromising their performance within the tissue or organ. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the freeze/thaw technique on different characteristics of polyvinyl alcohol–xanthan gum hydrogel. Methods: this research analyzed the critical variables of the freeze/thaw process through a systematic study of a 2k factorial design of experiments, such as the proportion and concentration of polymers, freezing time and temperature, and freeze/thaw cycles. Additionally, physicochemical analysis, susceptibility to bacterial growth, and cell viability tests were included to approximate its cytotoxicity. The optimized hydrogel consisted of polyvinyl alcohol and xanthan gum at a 95 : 5 ratio, polymer mixture concentration of 15%, and 12 h of freezing with three cycles of freeze/thaw. The hydrogel was crystalline, flexible, and resistant, with tensile strengths ranging from 9 to 87 kPa. The hydrogel was appropriate for developing scaffolds for soft tissue engineering such as the cardiac and skeletal muscle, dermis, thyroid, bladder, and spleen. Also, the hydrogel did not expose an in vitro cytotoxic effect, rendering it a candidate for biomedical applications.


Research on vehicle number plate recognition or Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is mostly done by researchers to produce an introduction that has high accuracy. Several methods of introduction are carried out such as introduction to edge detection and morphology, relationship analysis between objects, machine learning and deep learning. In this research a K-NN machine learning ANPR system was developed in character recognition. The method of analyzing relationships between objects is used to localize number plates. The system that was developed also added an artificial intelligence to be able to find out the fault of the number plate recognition and fix it based on the position of the character group in the number plate. The ANPR system is designed to be an Embedded system so that it can be implemented to be able to carry out the identification of two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicle license plates. The ANPR system was also developed to be used in the parking management system. In this research the recognized number plates are limited to private number plates in Indonesia. In testing, the system is made capable of recognizing the number plates of two-wheeled vehicles and four-wheeled vehicles on vehicles that have a standard license plate according to Polri regulations, both in the font type and the number plate writing format. The results of vehicle number plate recognition reached an accuracy of 98%.


Development of the sediment graph which is the temporal distribution of sediment load during flood incidents is essentially required for accurate estimation of sediment yield of the watershed. Unfortunately, sufficient information and data with which to estimate the sediment graph are rarely available and often can only be obtained through a costly field survey or equipping. Development of the sediment graph models based on the easily accessible physical characteristics of a watershed and precipitation data is therefore a viable and convenient tool for the efficient control of soil erosion and sediment yield. The instantaneous unit sediment graph (IUSG) described herein produced as the product of the instantaneous unit hydrograph (IUH) and the sediment concentration distribution is supposed as one of the convenient procedure leading to develop sediment graphs. In the present study, an attempt has been made to develop a conceptual model of an IUSG for suspended sediment prediction in the Khanmirza watershed in Iran comprising an area of 395 km2. The procedure involved the translation of the rainfall and the attenuation by routing of the sediment through a cascade of identical linear reservoirs to the watershed outlet applying the Clark and Muskingum approaches. Simulated sediment graphs generated by convolution of IUSG compared acceptably with the respective observed data. The results also showed that the model has the considerable potential in watersheds where no comprehensive data exists.


African Americans have the lowest marriage rate of any racial and ethnic group in America. Although the low marriage rate among African Americans has been largely examined through a sociological lens by documenting structural barriers, which has important policy implications, researchers have not sufficiently examined the psychological and interpersonal barriers to marriage or the interpersonal manifestations of sociological constraints. Examining this problem on an interpersonal, microsystem level of analysis is integral, as no policy can repair the fragility of African American relationships or change what happens between a couple behind closed doors. We present the disproportionately low marriage rate problem as a complex matrix of sociological and interpersonal constraints demanding a culturally sensitive, contextual analysis for understanding the question "Why are African Americans not getting married?" We address this question in the context of constraint theory and relationship development. Policy, education, and clinical implications are discussed. Key Words: African American couples, African American marriage, dating couples, premarital couples, relationship development, transition to marriage. The Zeitgeist of African American marriages in the 21st century is abysmal. African Americans have the lowest marriage rate, the highest divorce rate, the highest rate of children born outside of marriage, and the highest rate of never married persons compared to all racial and ethnic groups. According to the U.S. Census (2003), 42% of African American adults are married compared to 61% for Caucasians and 59% for Hispanics, and 68% of African American births are to unmarried women compared to 29% for Caucasians and 44% for Hispanics. Furthermore, 62% of African American households are headed by a single parent, compared to 27% for Caucasians and 35% for Hispanics. It is often said that if you want to tear down any society, neighborhood, or community, then tear down the family. Accepting that there is some validity to that premise suggests that many of the problems plaguing the African American community began with the breakdown of the family. Although we do not believe that strengthening African American marriages and families is the panacea for all of the problems that face African Americans, we do believe that it is an essential part of the solution. Blackman, Clayton, Glenn, Malone-Colon, and Roberts (2005) conducted a comprehensive literature review aimed at delineating the benefits of marriage for African Americans and found that healthy marriage promotes the financial, social, familial, and psychological well-being of African Americans and appears to benefit African Americans financially more than Caucasians. Additionally, African American children receive important benefits from their parents being happily married; they are less likely to be delinquent, have fewer behavioral problems, have higher self-esteem, are more likely to delay sexual activity, and have better educational outcomes. In this article, we address the question of why African Americans are not getting married. There have been a number of explanations offered for the disproportionately low marriage rate among African Americans, primarily sociological explanations, which have important policy implications. Examining this problem on an interpersonal, microsystem level of analysis is integral, however, as no social policy can change what happens between a couple behind closed doors. Furthermore, it is important to examine the interaction between macroand microsystem variables in order to have a more complete understanding of the relationship difficulties confronting African Americans. We believe that the disproportionately low marriage rate problem is a complex matrix of sociological and psychological and interpersonal constraints. Thus, in this paper we seek to bridge two historically distinct literatures (sociological and psychological and interpersonal literatures) to provide a more comprehensive understanding of not only why African American couples are not getting married, but how sociological and community factors translate into interactional difficulties between members of a couple. …


This paper describes a tool for recombining the logical structure from an XML document with the typeset appearance of the corresponding PDF document. The tool uses the XML representation as a template for the insertion of the logical structure into the existing PDF document, thereby creating a Structured/Tagged PDF. The addition of logical structure adds value to the PDF in three ways: the accessibility is improved (PDF screen readers for visually impaired users perform better), media options are enhanced (the ability to reflow PDF documents, using structure as a guide, makes PDF viable for use on hand-held devices) and the re-usability of the PDF documents benefits greatly from the presence of an XML-like structure tree to guide the process of text retrieval in reading order (e.g. when interfacing to XML applications and databases).


[1] The recent evolution of continental runoff is still an open question. A related and controversial question is the attribution of this change and its consequences on our predictions of the behavior of future runoff. Here, the Land Surface Model Organizing Carbon and Hydrology in Dynamic Ecosystems is used to perform a set of transient simulations of the runoff from 1900 to 2100. We first show that the model's simulated runoff increases for the 20th century from a global point of view as well as its geographical pattern changes are close to the observations made in this paper. Moreover this trend is simulated to increase further during the 21st century under the SRES A2 scenario. We have designed a set of simulations to test the impact on global runoff evolution of three factors: climate, stomatal conductance, and vegetation growth, all sensitive to CO2 increase. A complete factor-separation analysis of the influence of these three factors and of their interactions shows that climate change largely drives the 20th and 21st century runoff increase. The other two factors (stomatal conductance and vegetation growth) play a minor role in the 20th century runoff trend but we show that these contributions increase for the 21st century simulations. Although the interactions between the factors also plays a negligible role in the 20th century global runoff increase, our results show that they become significant during the 21st century, usually reducing the direct effect of each factor. However, our study does not reveal any important negative feedback to counteract the effect of climate warming on the hydrological cycle.


Background Dentistry interventions cause common anxiety and fear problems in children (6-11 years), and according to scientific evidence, this causes a decrease in their quality of life. Therapies mediated by IT-based tools have been shown to positively influence children's mood based on distraction as well as relaxing activities, but there is no evidence of their use to reduce dental anxiety in children. Objective The aim of this study was to answer the following research question: Does our new children-centered codesign methodology contribute to achieving a usable mobile-based product with a highly scored user experience? Methods A mobile health app was developed to reduce dental anxiety in children using rapid application development following the usage-centered design methodology. Structured interviews were conducted to test the usability and user experience of the app prototype among 40 children (n=20, 50%, boys and n=20, 50%, girls; age 6-11 years) using a children-adapted questionnaire and the 7-point Single Ease Question rating scale. The Smiley Faces Program—Revised questionnaire was used to assess the level of dental anxiety in participants. Results There were no significant differences between girls and boys. The task completion rate was 95% (n=19) for children aged 6-8 years (group 1) and 100% (n=20) for children aged 9-11 years (group 2). Group 1 found watching the relaxing video (task C) to be the easiest, followed by playing a video minigame (task B) and watching the narrative (task A). Group 2 found task C to be the easiest, followed by task A and then task B. The average time spent on the different types of tasks was similar in both age groups. Most of the children in both age groups were happy with the app and found it funny. All children thought that having the app in the waiting room during a dental visit would be useful. Conclusions The findings confirmed that the app is usable and provides an excellent user experience. Our children-adapted methodology contributes to achieving usable mobile-based products for children with a highly scored user experience.


Single component fluorescent organic polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized based on a star shaped 4-arm PEG containing coumarin chromophore for the concomitant employment of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and chemotherapy synergistically to wipe out tumour cells with a high efficiency. Polymeric NPs are emerging as the most promising nanoparticulates in the area of drug delivery systems due to their ability to overcome the disadvantages like premature and imprecise control over the drug release, lack of loading capacity etc . Among polymeric NPs, star shaped branched polymers have attracted great attention mainly due to their multiple functionalization properties. Hence, herein we have made use of a multi-arm PEG, functionalized with a targeting unit biotin and a coumarin fluorophore for site-specific and image guided synergic treatment of cancer cells. The anticancer drug chlorambucil is released by the coumarin chromophore in a photocontrolled manner. In addition to that, coumarin also generated singlet oxygen upon irradiation with UV/vis light (≥365 nm) with a moderate quantum yield of ≈0.37. In vitro application of thus prepared organic polymeric nanoparticles (PEG–Bio–Cou–Cbl) in the HeLa cell line shows a reduction of cell viability by up to ≈5% in the case of a combined treatment of PDT and chemotherapy whereas analogous organic polymeric NPs without the chemotherapeutic drug (PEG–Bio–Cou) result in ≈49% cell viability by means of PDT process only.


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 46, 2005

5665

PURPOSE In this study we demonstrate the use of multiphoton imaging to study human carcinoma development and invasion in an in vitro human tumor model that recapitulates a normal tissue microenvironment (NTM). The human tumor model is based on an organotypic skin equivalent that consists of a fully stratified epidermis resting on a fibroblast- embedded collagen matrix. The keratinocyte and fibroblast cells exhibit endogenous two-photon fluorescence (TPF) when examined using multiphoton microscopy; while the fibrillar collagen matrix exhibits second harmonic generated light (SHG), a high-contrast, nonlinear scattering mechanism that has recently been applied to biological tissues. INVASION AND MMPS The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of proteolytic enzymes that are overexpressed in tumor tissue, and are associated with the creation of a permissive environment for tumor invasion. We plan to examine collagenase MMP-1 and gelatinase MMP-2 in part to mimic the well-known proMMP-2 activation mechanism involving a ternary complex formed by membrane-bound MT1-MMP, tissue inhibitor of MMP-2, and proMMP-2. Once activated, MMP-2 participates in pericellular proteolysis by degrading primary structural proteins of the basement membrane. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Multiphoton imaging was used to assess the effect of proteolysis on the surrounding NTM by (1) characterizing intact engineered models of normal human skin, and (2) assessing the response of human skin models to proteolysis by purified MMP-1 and -2. MMP-treated human skin models were imaged over time, and proteolytic processing of type I collagen was quantified. RESULTS TPF+SHG images indicate that both the epidermal and dermal compartments of the mature skin equivalent tissue are clearly visible. The pattern of keratinocyte differentiation is evident: cellular morphology changes with depth as expected. Preliminary experiments using bacterial collagenase enzyme treatment were successful in demonstrating visualization and quantification of collagen degradation over time. Approximately 20 minutes after the addition of collagenase, a precipitous decrease (70-90%) in the collagen signal was observed. CONCLUSIONS Based on our findings using endogenous sources of contrast, we conclude that changes in the collagen organization, as measured by a decrease in SHG intensity, is a reliable and sensitive indicator of the onset and advancement of tumor invasion. Spectral-based quantification of collagen organization may be a novel and highly sensitive screen for anti-metastatic therapeutic agents. FUTURE To form the human tumor model, GFP-tagged squamous cell carcinoma cells will be incorporated into the epidermal compartment of the skin equivalent, and in vitro tumor development will be analyzed using multiphoton microscopy.


A novel method using induction heating equipment was employed to investigate the thermal fatigue behaviors of two hot-work steels, JIS SKD61 and modified JIS SKD61, vacuum hardened treated to 45 HRC. Selected specimens, austenitized at 1298K for 25min, gas quenched to room temperature and tempered at 873K, were salt bath nitrocarburized at 843K for 80min and low pressure nitrided at 813K for 6h, respectively. Microstructure, microhardness, X-ray diffraction and thermal fatigue tests were conducted. The results show that the thermal fatigue properties of the 898K tempered specimen were better than those of other treated specimens. The reason is that the hardened processes would give high tensile strength, which improved the tool material thermal fatigue resistance. The thermal fatigue properties of modified JIS SKD61 specimen, including mean crack length and crack distribution density, were better than those of JIS SKD61 specimen. Low pressure nitriding treatment with a homogeneous nitrided layer could better maintain thermal fatigue resistance than the nitrocarburized steel.


The nakhlite meteorites, widely accepted to originate on Mars, preserve complex mixtures of silicate alteration, carbonates, sulphates, halides, oxides and iron oxyhydroxides. These phases may have formed at different times, under different fluid flow regimes (groundwater, hydrothermal, crater lake), experiencing a range of water-rock ratios, evaporative histories, and varying degrees of interaction with the atmosphere and bedrock.

Using information gathered from our 3D investigations of Nakhla's fluid pathways we have undertaken a range of insitu geochemical and isotopic analyses of carbonate, sulphate and halite in the Nakhla meteorite.


ing. It improves some properties of polyethylene such as environmental stress cracking resistance, chemical and abrasion resistance, and service temperature. In this study, the effect of peroxide cross-linking on the rheological behaviour of low density polyethylene was investigated by using a combination of creep test and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) in isotherm condition. The used peroxide was di-cumyl peroxide and its concentration was 2 wt%. The experiments were carried out at 150,160, and 170oC and the change of bulk viscosity due to network developing was determined. For delivering of local derivatives smoothing techniques were applied on creep data. The rate of increment of viscosity increased with increasing the temperature, and the major of this increment took place in the first stages of reaction. An Investigation on Rheology of Peroxide Cross-linking of Low Density Polyethylene


Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are capable of degrading many components of the joint in the presence of insufficient antioxidant defences, and as a result have been implicated in the pathogenesis of joint disease in horses. However, to our knowledge, evidence of ROS occurring in diseased joints of horses has not been reported. The objective of this experiment was to compare differences in synovial fluid protein carbonyl content (as a marker of oxidative modification of synovial fluid proteins by ROS) and the antioxidant status of synovial fluid between clinically normal and diseased equine joints. Synovial fluid was collected from the metacarpophalangeal, metatarsophalangeal, carpal and tarsal joints of 4 horses, age 2-5 years, as controls, and from diseased joints (metacarpophalangeal, metatarsophalangeal, carpal, tarsal and/or femoropatellar) of 61 horses, age 2-5 years. Synovial fluid protein carbonyl content was higher (P<0.01) in diseased joints as compared to controls. Antioxidant status of synovial fluid from diseased joints was higher, but not significantly, than that of controls (P = 0.0595). These findings require further study to determine their contribution to the overall disease process.


Notice of Proposed Assessment of Class II Clean Water Act Section 309(g)(2)(B) and 311(b)(6)(B)(ii) Administrative Penalties and Opportunity to Comment for Winkle Bus Company of West Haven, Inc., CWA-01-2016-0009


Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) is an important vegetable cum spice crop valued for its aroma, taste, flavor and pungency grown in all parts of world. It belongs to the family solanaceae with the chromosome number 2n=24 and centre of origin of hot chilli is Mexico. Chilli is cultivated from 3500 BC and it is brought to Asia by Portuguese navigators during the 16 th century. Chilli is one of the most valuable spice crops than other spices. Chilli is cultivated largely for its fruit all over the India. It is used in India as a principle ingredient of various curries, and chutneys, it is also used for vegetables, spices, medicinal, condiments, sauces and pickles. Chilli has great nutritional value and medicinal properties, where extract from chilli i.e. capsicum has a tonic and International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 9 Number 11 (2020) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com


With the prevalence of Web applications, its linkage structures become more and more complex and the whole architecture of a Web site has always been experiencing evolvement. Therefore, analyzing and visualizing the linkage structure of a Web application is quite beneficial to the building of a new Web application or the updating of an old one. The paper proposes a visualization and dependency analysis framework for a Web application, and implements a prototype tool WASViewer. Based on the deep analysis for the text feature of hyperlink, a regular expression-based linkage information extraction method is presented. Then, a third-part component WinGraphviz, is adopted to visualize the dependency relation, which is expressed via adjacent matrix. The complexity metrics for linkage structure graph are also addressed. We found that the degree distribution of dependency graph roughly obeys the power law. In addition, a medium-size Web application is used to validate the effectiveness of our methods.


Experiments to search for neutrinoless double beta decay are considered as an unique tool to study properties of neutrino and weak interactions. Scintillation detectors possess important properties required for high-sensitivity double beta decay experiments: presence of elements of interest, low level of intrinsic radioactivity, reasonable spectrometric characteristics, fast response, pulse-shape discrimination ability. Moreover, some crystal scintillators can be applied as cryogenic scintillating bolometers with high energy resolution and excellent particle discrimination. High concentration of isotope of interest and as low as possible radioactive contamination are important requirements to a scintillation material to be used in double beta decay experiments. Therefore development of radiopure crystal scintillators from isotopically enriched materials is required. Other important issues are maximal output of detectors and minimal loss of enriched materials. High quality, radiopure cadmium tungstate crystal scintillators were developed from enriched 106Cd and 116Cd, while calcium molybdate scintillators were grown form calcium depleted in 48Ca and molybdenum enriched in 100Mo. Prospects of several scintillation materials, promising for double beta experiments, are discussed.


The following paper is the critical foundation for the thesis project Trace, and draws analysis from New Media Studies, Queer Games Studies, Visual Culture Studies, Science Fiction, Queer Theory and more. Trace is a non-linear, multi-vocal narrative fiction navigated from the experience of three family members around select historically pivotal events. A combination of text, illustration, video, sound and internet sources, Trace explores different modes of temporality and media representation to examine the frameworks in which particular stories are told. Shaped as a collection of multimedia fragments, the project offers the reader navigation through certain choices—such as avoidance, complicity, action, or resistance—as the story unravels. Trace is built in Twine, a free, open-source hypertext game platform, with some additional HTML5/CSS. Both the project and paper attempt to question three main themes of media shift, queer structure and digital identities. First, how does new media function as both a platform and as perspective for continually shifting information? Second, how do queer narrative content and structure work together to amplify conceptual aspects of non-linear storytelling? Along with this question, the paper examines how several new media artists—with a particular focus on women, queer, trans and gender non-conforming artists—are working with non-linear storytelling to examine dominant historical narratives. And finally, is it possible to construct a truthful historical narrative that contains a multiplicity of voices, identities and contradictions?


A series of Lead Titanate ceramic with various concentration of Calcium has been prepared by solid state reaction method, and some of their physical properties and structural characteristics have been studied. The incorporation of small amount of Calcium results in considerable changes in the dc electrical conductivity and the temperature of the ferroelectric phase transition. Lead Titanate (PT) is a well known ferroelectric with high curie point and low dielectric thus constant making it an attractive proportion for various applications. The synthesis of Calcium modified PbTiO3 was carried using solid state reaction method. Stoichiometric amount of high purity CaO was used as a dopant in different proportion and the final product was in powder form. The X-ray diffraction pattern was taken for pure and CaO modified Lead Titanate. The SEM of the sample was done on JEOL 6360A Analytical Scanning Electron Microscope. There is an observable change in grain size with different molar concentration of Calcium oxide. The DC conductivity of the sample was carried out using two probe method over a range of temperature covering their transition temperature.


Traits related to tree architecture and tolerance to abiotic stress represent innovative targets for the selection of new cultivars in the contexts of integrated fruit production (IFP) and global climatic changes. Controlling tree form and leaf functioning is thus a desirable breeding objective, but efforts have been hampered by a poor knowledge of their determinisms in apple. In the last four years, the genetic basis of architectural and ecophysiological traits was investigated in a F1 apple progeny ('Starkrimson' × 'Granny Smith' cross) of 123 genotypes. A fine phenotyping was performed over the first 3 years of growth in the open field, collecting both topological and geometrical traits along the scaffold axes and at the whole tree level. After replication of the progeny, the leaf gas exchange responses to different air droughts were studied on 1-year-old plants in a controlled environment chamber, through five increasing leaf-to-air vapour pressure deficits (VPD, from 0.5 to 3 kPa). Stomatal conductance (gsw), net CO2 assimilation (An) and transpiration (E) rates were measured, and instantaneous water use efficiency (WUE, An / E) computed. All traits were analyzed through linear models and broad sense heritability values (h²b) were estimated. A quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis was carried out using a consensus genetic map. For each trait, QTL detection was performed on the best linear unbiased predictor (BLUP) of genotypic values, computed from the linear model. For architectural traits, high h²b values were estimated and QTLs detected for many topological and geometric traits: (i) at tree scale, surface and volume; (ii) on the trunk, mean internode length and number of sylleptic and proleptic axillary shoots; (iii) on lateral shoots, orientation, mean internode length, and number of proleptic axillary shoots. Regarding ecophysiological traits h²b values were also high, indicating a good repeatability of ecophysiological measurements in controlled conditions. QTLs were detected for gsw and E suggesting a strong genetic control of these two traits. The putative agronomic interests and potential values for selection of the architectural and ecophysiological traits are discussed.


Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyposis (CRSwNP) affects the quality of life of patients suffering from it. The search for a suitable biomarker has been conducted over the last decades. Interleukin 5 receptor subunit alpha (IL-5Rα) involves the activation, maintenance, and survival of eosinophils, which are highly tied to chronic inflammatory processes of the airways, like asthma or CRSwNP. In this study, we evaluate the utility of IL5RA as a genetic biomarker in CRSwNP. IL5RA mRNA expression level was analyzed in different groups of patients by performing qPCR assays. A significant increase in IL5RA expression was observed in CRSwNP patients, especially those with asthma and atopy. We found differences in expression levels when comparing groups with or without polyposis or asthma, as well as some atypical cases related to eosinophil levels. That opens a path to future studies to further characterize groups of patients with common features in the context of pharmacogenetics and in an era towards developing a more precise personalized treatment with IL-5Rα as a therapeutic target for CRSwNP.


As one of the most prominent cases of high performing education systems in Asia, Shanghai has received widespread attention in recent years. The existing literature has shown that the formation of a high performing education system in Shanghai is closely associated with the high-quality teaching force. The purpose of this paper is to explore the experience of Shanghai in configuring the teacher–state relationship and building the teaching profession against China's background of centralized education. Our analysis was framed around three key actors that have reshaped the relationship between teachers and State in the post-Mao era, including the establishment of teaching as a profession, schools, and the labor market. Based on policy analysis and empirical evidence from Shanghai, the research findings indicate Shanghai's own experience in building the teaching profession, teachers' professional well-being, and other subjective perceptions related to school management and the labor market.


This article describes some of many definitions of information design. Practical as well as theoretical aspects are important in information design. It is an applied science. We may view information design, as a "combined discipline," as a "practical theory," or as a "theoretical practice." As an academic discipline, Information Design needs to incorporate theoretical contributions from other disciplines. The principles of information design are universal, and they are not tied to any unique features of a particular culture or language. One internal and six external information design theories are mentioned. Principles become the fundamental sources for development of practical guidelines.


The level of intensity of induced seismic phenomena occurring in areas of mining activity is very diverse. Induced shocks may be directly related to the exploitation carried out or to mining and tectonic factors. In the case of impact on the surface, two types of mining tremors are distinguished: energetically weak shocks, not causing surface deformation, and shocks exceeding a certain energy level, which cause terrain deformations. Surface displacements are the most common form of the effects of underground mining operations, including induced seismicity. Geological research uses Sentinel-1 imagery to determine the geometry of surface displacements that were caused by induced shocks by satellite radar interferometry. In this research four induced shocks with magnitude M>4.0 was used, which occurred in the Legnica-Glogow Copper District in the Rudna mine. This area is one of the most seismically active places in Poland due to the underground exploitation of copper ore. For calculations, the differential satellite radar interferometry (DInSAR) method was used. The DInSAR technique allowed the determination of surface displacement towards the Line of Sight (LOS) between two images acquired at different times (before and after induced shock) with millimeter accuracy. In the presented research calculations were carried out separately for observations acquired in descending and ascending orbits. The Sentinel-1 satellites are a constellation of two radar satellites that observe the surface of lands and oceans at a time interval of 6 days. Therefore, 6 days, 12 days, 18 days and 24 days were assumed as the time intervals between the images. Vertical displacements were calculated based on the generated LOS displacement maps. In addition, charts of subsidence in the N-S and W-E directions were prepared, 3D models of subsidence were made, and deformation geometry was analyzed for individual shocks. As a result of the research, the spatial extent of deformation in the horizontal surface was determined: N-S and W-E, which in both directions was over 2 km. However, surface displacements caused by induced shocks reached values up to 10 cm.


A clinical laboratory examines some part of the living patient—his excreta or blood or secretions—to help the physicians reach a diagnosis or provide a better treatment. The oldest example of this, going far back into antiquity, is uroscopy. As the name indicates, in this examination the physician did not manipulate the urine but merely looked at it. Certain appearances allegedly correlated with certain clinical states. The principle involved—that the characteristics of the urine provided asignof what was going on within the body—was sound, even though the coefficient of error was enormous. For centuries, physicians studied the urine with various methods, attempting to draw conclusions that would remain valid. Hermann Boerhaave (1668-1738) for example, early in the 18th century, tried to determine whether urine contained "blood serum." He collected a cask of urine whose weight, he said, he reduced by evaporation from 100 lb to 1 lb. But, he


Peel and seeds of red-skinned passion fruit, mango, longan, rambutan, white-flesh and red-flesh dragon fruit were screened for their in vitro antioxidant activity, and determination of a detailed profile of phenolic compounds. Rambutan peel and mango seed extracts exhibited the highest total phenolic content and antioxidant activities (DPPH, ABTS and FRAP values). By using UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS analysis, the profiles of soluble and bound phenolics in the fruit by-products were obtained. Ellagic acid, geraniin, quercetin hexoside, gallic and galloyshikimic acid were predominant in rambutan peel, whereas, mangiferin, ellagic acid and galloy(di)glucoside were the major phenolic compounds in mango seed. Main phenolic compounds in longan peel were ellagic acid, galloyldiglucoside, and gallic acid, while in dragon fruit peel this was isorhamnetin glycoside, isorhamnetin glucorhamoside. Meanwhile, rutin and quercetin hexoside were predominant in passion fruit peel. These findings contribute significantly to the database of phenolic profiles of by-products of tropical fruits.


The tumultuous events of 1968 had a profound and lasting impact on society, culture and politics on a global scale. In Britain, the effects of the upswing in radicalism were powerfully registered in developments and departures in cultural and intellectual life. Recent contributions to the history of the intellectual Left during this period, including the traditions of the New Left, cultural studies, and feminism, have documented many of the decisive shifts in theoretical outlooks and thematic focus. Less frequently acknowledged, however, has been the formation of a distinctive 'politics of knowledge', which contested established hierarchies and norms of academic work through forms of collective and democratic practice. This article argues that this project was a decisive outcome and achievement of the post-68 conjuncture, becoming part of a much broader democratising front in the 1970s and 80s that centred upon sites of cultural and intellectual expression. The key features of this alternative apparatus of intellectual production are explored in the context of the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, History Workshop, and the scholarly endeavours of second-wave feminism, which paid critical attention to the possibilities, tensions and open contradictions intrinsic to this way of combining politics and intellectual practice.


Background: In orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning assessment of an individual's facial skeletal pattern in vertical, sagittal and transverse direction is prevalent. Dental compensation is the reverse of skeletal disharmony. Objectives: This study has correlated the position of mandibular incisors inclination with different facial types and with the mandibular symphyseal morphology. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of 100 Pakistani patients of two different age groups i.e. adolescents up to 12 years and audlts up to 22 years on which R–angle, Li–MP, B–MP, Li–MP, symphyseal width (W) and depth (D) were measured. Results: No correlation was found between Li–MP and R–angle, B–MP, Li–MP, and W except with the D i.e. symphyseal depth. Conclusions: No significant association observed between lower incisor inclination, different facial types, and symphyseal morphology except with the depth of the symphysis. Slight correlation of differential jaw growth and dental changes with age are coincidental events with no relationship.


The configuration and management of mobile networks is time-consuming and prone to human error. This book shows ways to use techniques from computer science to simplify and automate the process of managing large mobile networks. A graph-based algorithm is presented to automatically compute a configuration parameter of radio cells in an LTE (Long-Term-Evolution) mobile network, the 3GPP's successor of UMTS. A policy-based approach to automate management tasks is illustrated by using the management of this parameter as an example. The parameter is the physical-layer cell identity, which is used to differentiate between the signals of different radio cells.


We define and describe the academic studio model for interdisciplinary, undergraduate, project-oriented education. This model brings faculty, students, and community partners together to investigate an open-ended academic question, and their collaboration yields an original product that represents their inquiry. The academic studio integrates agile software development practice, project-oriented pedagogy, and sociocultural cognition theories. Scrum provides the framework in which self-organizing, cross-functional teams define their methodology, and Scrum practices facilitate assessment of student learning outcomes. This model emerged from design-based research across six studio instances, each of which investigated the relationship of fun, games, and learning through the development of educational video games. Formal and informal analysis of these instances gives rise to several themes, including the importance of a formalized process to encourage learning and productivity, the critical role of an expert faculty mentor, the need to combine academic and industrial practice to manage the inherent challenges of collaborative software development, and the unique characteristics of learning outcomes arising from this model. We conclude that the academic studio model is beneficial to student learning and faculty development, and we encourage the adoption, adaptation, and evaluation of the model.


Abstract Thioureas are important building blocks in medicinal chemistry; ferrocenes as highly hydrophobic moieties induce very interesting qualities in medicinal compounds. In this article, we have synthesized four ferrocene incorporated N,N′-disubstituted benzoyl thioureas (3a–3d) with general formula C5H5-Fe-C5H4C6H4Cl-NH-CS-NH-CO-C6H4(H/CH3). Molecular structures of these compounds were characterized in solid and solution phases. In solution molecular structures were established by 1H and 13C NMR and cyclic voltammetry. In the solid state their structures were characterized by elemental analyses and FTIR spectroscopy. Two of the compounds (3a and 3d) had also been structurally determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The electrochemical characterization showed a reversible process with one electron transfer from Fe(II) to Fe(III). The single crystal analysis showed strong intermolecular non-covalent interactions in these compounds. Molecular structures of these compounds were also studied by density functional theory (DFT) calculation . DFT studies showed good correlation between calculated parameters and experimental results of solution phase and solid state characterizations. Compounds 3a–3d were evaluated for DNA interaction and antioxidant activity. These compounds interact with DNA via electrostatic forces and liberate significant binding constants and energies. Antioxidant potential –CSN H and –CON H groups induce same level of free radical scavenging ability in these compounds.


Summary In the article "Women's Academic Careers – Entanglements and Inspirations", I write about the significant problem of the specificity of female careers related to gender and its stereotypical perception. The purpose of the research was to analyse the individual stages of women's academic careers in the academic field of pedagogy (humanities and social sciences) in 2013–2019, based on the latest research reports (E. Kulczycki Report and the 'Science in Poland'Report). The study uses data about pedagogy as a feminized discipline, in which the majority of academic staff are female. The main research question was: How do the individual stages of women's academic careers in social sciences (especially pedagogy) progress, and what factors determine them? The research method used in this study was what is often referred to in colloquial language as "desk research", i.e. reviewing and analysing scientific literature, analysing data sources, compiling them and mutual verification. The interpretative background of this research was an analysis of the mechanisms of gender inequalities at universities (related to the mechanisms of the labour market).


The author explores the curious fact that, while roughly contemporaneous intellectual movements with overlapping concerns and critiques, pragmatism and psychoanalysis hardly took account of one another. Indeed, they still hold each other at arm's length: rarely do representatives of one movement engage the texts, theories, or hypotheses of the other, indeed, rarely do they exhibit even an informed familiarity with the other movement. The author argues that this is to the mutual disadvantage of each movement. Moreover, he recounts a critical historical event (Sigmund Freud's encounter with William James) as both a missed opportunity and an illuminating metaphor for the continuing aloofness of the two movements from one another. Finally, he indicates how C. S. Peirce can be seen as a mediating figure, one whose understanding of mind allows for a fruitful exchange between these two "upstart" traditions.


Nodal rotations are produced by bending and shear effects and bending rotations can be easily calculated using Euler–Bernoulli's stiffness matrix method. Nevertheless, shear rotations are traditionally neglected, as their effects are practically negligible in most structures. This assumption might lead to significant errors in the simulation of the rotations in some structures, as well as the wrong identification of the mechanical properties in inverse analysis. Despite its important role, no other works studying the calculation of shear rotations in deep beams were found in the literature. To fill this gap, after illustrating the errors of commercial software regarding calculating the rotations in deep beams, this study proposed a simple and intuitive method to calculate shear rotations in both isostatic and statically redundant beams. The new method calculates the shear rotation for all segments separately and introduces the result to the total rotation of the structure. This method can be applied to find the shear rotation in a redundant structure as well. A parametric study was carried out to calculate slenderness ratios to determine in what structural systems the shear rotations can be neglected. In addition, the errors in the inverse analysis of deep beams were parametrically studied to determine the role of shear rotation in different structural systems. Finally, to validate the application of the method in actual structures, a construction stage of a composite bridge was analyzed.


After a single bolus injection of two grams of cefradine the concentrations of antibiotic in serum and renal tissues of 21 patients were estimated. After 30 minutes the mean serum concentrations were 159 microgram/ml, after 60 mins 62 microgram/ml and after 95 mins 22 microgram/ml. The tissue concentrations in normal renal tissue (group I) after 30 minutes were 348 microgram/ml and with tissue of chronically inflamed kidneys (group II) 118 microgram/ml in the same period. After 90 minutes the concentrations of group I were 214 microgram/g, and in group II 28 microgram/g, e.g. 8 times lower. The estimated cefradine concentrations in serum and in normal and impaired renal tissue within the time interval of 10 to 90 minutes are above the minimal inhibition concentrations for most cefradine sensitive pathogens.


WO3 materials are widely used in photocatalysis and electrocatalysis. In this work, sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) was used to control the growth of H2WO4 during a chemical bath deposition fabrication process. The as-prepared H2WO4 material showed a rose-like morphology and after annealing the obtained WO3 sample was porous with oxygen defects. XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS and some other methods were used to characterize the samples. A possible growth mechanism was given depending on the characterization results. The addition of SDBS resulted in simultaneous growth of numerous H2WO4 nuclei, which caused a uniform distribution. Compared with normal WO3, the as-fabricated porous rose-like WO3 showed higher stability to photocorrosion and a narrower band gap.


As of today, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is a thermoplastic material normally used as bearing components for human joint replacements. However, formation of wear debris from UHMWPE after certain service periods may cause adverse effects which remain as unresolved issues. In this study, mechanical and dry sliding wear properties of UHMWPE reinforced with different loading of talc particles were investigated. The wear test was carried out using Ducom TR-20 pin-on-disc tester at different pressure velocity (pv) factors under dry sliding conditions. The worn surfaces and transfer films of pure UHMWPE and talc/UHMWPE composites were observed under scanning electron microscope (SEM). The experimental results showed that the microhardness increased with the increase of talc loadings in UHMWPE. The 20 wt. % talc/UHMWPE composites showed a 17% increment in microhardness as compared with pure UHMWPE. The dry sliding wear behaviour of UHMWPE was also improved upon the reinforcement of talc. The wear rate of UHMWPE decreased after incorporation of talc particles. The coefficient of friction (COF) increased slightly under low pv conditions. At high pv conditions, the COF decreased in values with increasing talc loadings. The improvement in wear behaviour may be attributed to the increase in load-carrying capacity and surface hardness of the talc/UHMWPE composites. SEM micrographs on worn surfaces showed that plastic deformation and grooving wear were dominant for UHMWPE. The plastic deformation and grooving wear were reduced upon the reinforcement of talc particles. The talc/UHMWPE composites produced smoother and uniform transfer films as compared to pure UHMWPE.


Cancer continues to be one of the major causes of death worldwide. Despite many advances in the understanding of this complex disease, new approaches are needed to improve the efficacy of current therapeutic treatments against aggressive tumors. Natural products are one of the most consistently successful sources of drug leads. In recent decades, research activity into the clinical potential of this class of compounds in cancer has increased. Furthermore, a highly promising field is the use of metals and their complexes in the design and development of metal-based drugs for the treatment of cancer. Metal complexes offer unique opportunities due to their ability to alter pharmacology, improving the efficacy and/or reducing the negative side effects of drug molecules. In addition, transition metals as copper, iron, and manganese, among others, can interact with active sites of enzymes, playing important roles in multiple biological processes. Thus, these complexes not only possess higher activities but also reach their targets more efficiently. This review article highlights recent advances on the emerging and expanding field of metal-based drugs. The emphasis is on new therapeutic strategies consisting of metal complexes with natural product like-compounds as a starting point for the rational design of new antitumor agents.


This work aims to analyse some representations of academic writing and its teaching built by teachers that participated in the Language without Borders Program. Based on the studies of Applied Linguistics, in the theories of literacy and of discourse, we investigate posts from a discussion forum on Moodle, in which participants took a stance on their experiences concerning academic writing both as teachers and as learners. From the analysis of the enunciative regularities, present in the posts of the teachers, we observe the representation of writing as uncommon and demanding and its teaching as boring. The analyses point to the constitution of a discursive memory that (un)veils the tense relation of the Brazilian English teacher with academic writing.


Infections of the female urinary tract, cervix, vulva, and vagina produce a variety of overlapping symptoms, including vulvar pruritus, dysuria, dyspareunia, and increased or altered vaginal discharge. Recent studies have considerably improved our understanding of the etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of these infections.


Bai and Hancock recently proposed a novel information theoretic kernel for graphs, namely the Jensen-Shannon graph kernel. One drawback of their approach is that it cannot be applied to either attributed or labeled graphs. In this paper, we aim to define a new Jensen-Shannon diffusion kernel for attributed graphs. We commence by using a tree-index based label strengthening method on an attributed graph with the objection of strengthening the vertex labels. We compute a label entropy to measure the uncertainty of the strengthened labels. With the required label entropies for a pair of graphs to hand, a new kernel for the pair of graphs can be defined by measuring the Jensen-Shannon divergence between the entropies. As the strengthened label of a vertex corresponds to a sub tree rooted at the vertex, the label entropy of a graph is determined by all sub trees identified by the tree-index algorithm. As a result, unlike most existing graph kernels in the literature which merely enumerate pairs of isomorphic substructures, our method incorporates all the identified sub trees into the computation of the kernel. The new kernel thus overcomes the shortcoming of discarding substructures having no corresponding isomorphic substructures. We explore our kernel on several graph datasets abstracted from bioinformatics databases.


Background At our institution, we generally conduct an ultrathin (UT) (diameter 2.8 mm) bronchoscopy examination followed by a thin (diameter 4.0 mm) bronchoscopy examination using the EBUS-GS method, both with the assistance of virtual bronchoscopic navigation (VBN). Methods From May 1, 2011, to December 31, 2012, we examined 53 cases with an abnormal lung shadow less than 30 mm in diameter with UT bronchoscopy using VBN, followed by thin bronchoscopy with the EBUS-GS method and VBN. Results With assistance from VBN, we diagnosed 33 cases (62.3%) using UT bronchoscopy and 33 cases (62.3%) by thin bronchoscopy with EBUS-GS. Cases with a positive diagnosis were increased to 37 (69.8%) by the use of both. When limited to cancer cases, 32 (72.7%) were found positive using UT bronchoscopy and 32 (72.7%) were positive using thin bronchoscopy with EBUS-GS. The diagnosis rate was elevated to 81.8% (n=36) by use of both methods. Conclusion With the assistance of VBN, the diagnosis rates of UT bronchoscopy and thin bronchoscopy with EBUS-GS were not largely different. However, when both were utilized, the rate increased by 9.1% for cancer and 7.5% for all cases.


A new method for the rapid enrichment and highly sensitive determination of nickel ion has been developed by using a nanofiber-composite membrane filter, which was fabricated by stacking a nanofibrous material made of nylon 6 over a water-permeable membrane filter. The noncharged nickel-α-furil dioxime complex was adsorbed on a nanofibrous layer of the membrane filter under significantly higher flow rates than those used for conventional solid-phase extraction techniques. Highly sensitive determinations with detection limits at sub-parts per billion levels were achieved by enrichment from 50 mL of the complex solution, and the enrichment was completed within 3 min. The color that was developed on the membrane filter was successfully subjected to visual colorimetric analysis and quantitative determination by solid-phase spectrophotometry. In addition, colorimetric determination was feasible with a handheld spectrometer after elution of the colored agent with 50 μL of acetone. This combination of rapid enrichment and spectrometric measurement in a small-volume sample provides a useful analytical method suitable for on-site analysis, which requires neither expensive instruments nor high laboratory skills.


Alcohol is a major contributor to the global burden of disease accounting for 4.0% of Disability Adjusted Life Years worldwide and 3.2% of mortality. Reports suggest that between 10%–18% of injury patients (both intentional and unintentional injuries) involved alcohol. There also is an association between average consumption of alcohol and injury. Studies also indicate a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and violence. Prevention of intoxication and de-addiction efforts could bring down injury related morbidity and mortality significantly. Between 2010 and 2017, we conducted 9 community based de-addiction camps, each of 10 days duration with active participation of the community and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The traditional 12 steps approach was followed and participants were systematically provided individual counseling at their homes and through cluster meetings. Rehabilitation efforts included restoring them back to the jobs they had lost as well as livelihood programs. A total of 295 participants have attended the nine camps conducted. Out of 222 who are on follow up 48.6% continue to be abstinent. Among those have relapsed (47.3%), 58.7% (67/114) continue to attend the counseling sessions and behavioral therapy. Interview of 112 participants revealed Low self efficacy, social support and high craving were associated with relapse. In multiple logistic regression model, low craving, good interpersonal support, desirable life events in the past year have emerged as an independent factors associated with abstinence of alcohol Cost effective camp based model with effective follow up counseling by the community health workers has shown significant success rate (48.6%). This community-based intervention has a potential to reduce alcohol-related injuries and violence among in rural population.


ARTISTS often turn to the works of others for themes and ideas. Pablo Picasso, the foremost artist of this century, did so to a great extent. He incorporated into his works varying themes from primitive African sculpture to the paintings of Cranach, Poussin, El Greco, Manet, Delacroix, and Toulouse-Lautrec. Picasso's most extensive use of another artist's theme is his series of 45 versions on Velasquez' "The Maids of Honor" (Fig 1). Velasquez Velasquez was court painter to King Philip IV of Spain and held exclusive rights to portrayal of the king. In addition, he acted as an ambassador for Spain. "The Maids of Honor" is considered by some critics to be the finest masterpiece of Spain's greatest painter. The painting is admired for its composition, which revolves around five-year-old Princess Margarita attended by her maids of honor. Critics have praised the work for its sensation of depth, the graceful portrayal


CCS is generally estimated to have to account for about 20% of the reduction of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. This paper focuses on the technical aspects of CO2 storage, even if the CCS challenge is equally dependent upon finding viable international solutions to a wide range of economic, political and cultural issues. It has already been demonstrated that it is technically possible to store adequate amounts of CO2 in the subsurface (Sleipner, InSalah, Snohvit). The large-scale storage challenge (several Gigatons of CO2 per year) is more an issue of minimizing cost without compromising safety, and of making international regulations.The storage challenge may be split into 4 main parts: 1) finding reservoirs with adequate storage capacity, 2) make sure that the sealing capacity above the reservoir is sufficient, 3) build the infrastructure for transport, drilling and injection, and 4) set up and perform the necessary monitoring activities. More than 150 years of worldwide experience from the production of oil and gas is an important source of competence for CO2 storage. The storage challenge is however different in three important aspects: 1) the storage activity results in pressure increase in the subsurface, 2) there is no production of fluids that give important feedback on reservoir performance, and 3) the monitoring requirement will have to extend for a much longer time into the future than what is needed during oil and gas production. An important property of CO2 is that its behaviour in the subsurface is significantly different from that of oil and gas. CO2 in contact with water is reactive and corrosive, and may impose great damage on both man-made and natural materials, if proper precautions are not executed. On the other hand, the long-term effect of most of these reactions is that a large amount of CO2 will become immobilized and permanently stored as solid carbonate minerals. The reduced opportunity for direct monitoring of fluid samples close to the reservoir, the general pressure build up, and the reactive nature of CO2 , have created a need for new research and knowledge, to be used in conjunction with operating competence from the oil and gas industry. Experimental work on fluid flow, deformation and reaction, as well as simulations to predict the future performance of the injected CO2 , are much more important in connection with CO2 storage, as compared with conventional oil and gas production. To conclude this overview of the CO2 storage challenge, the technical feasibility of large-scale CO2 storage has been demonstrated. The cost is however going to be significant, especially in the initial phase. The public acceptance of CCS, and the willingness to pay the bill, will depend on several important factors: a serious acceptance of the climate problem, economic and political regulations that are globally fair, and the willingness of each and one of us to accept a higher price for energy.


13C NMR monitored the dynamics of exchange from specific hydrogens of hepatic [2-13C]glutamate and [3-13C]aspartate with deuterons from intracellular heavy water providing information on α-ketoglutarate/glutamate exchange and subcellular compartmentation. Mouse livers were perfused with [3-13C]alanine in buffer containing or not 50% 2H2O for increasing periods of time (1 min < t < 30 min). Liver extracts prepared at the end of the perfusions were analyzed by high resolution 13C NMR (150.13 MHz) with 1H decoupling only and with simultaneous 1H and 2H decoupling. 13C-2H couplings and 2H-induced isotopic shifts observed in the glutamate C2 resonance, allowed to estimate the apparent rate constants (forward, reverse; min−1) for (i) the reversible exchange of [2-13C]glutamate H2 as catalyzed mainly by aspartate aminotransferase (0.32, 0.56), (ii) the reversible exchange of [2-13C]glutamate H3 proS as catalyzed by NAD(P) isocitrate dehydrogenase (0.1, 0.05), and (iii) the irreversible exchanges of glutamate H3 proR andH3 proS as catalyzed by the sequential activities of mitochondrial aconitase and NAD isocitrate dehydrogenase of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (0.035), respectively. A similar approach allowed to determine the rates of 1H-2H exchange for the H2 (0.4, 0.5) or H3 proR (0.3, 0.2) or the H2 and H3 proS hydrogens (0.20, 0.23) of [3-13C]aspartate isotopomers. The ubiquitous subcellular localization of 1H-2H exchange enzymes and the exclusive mitochondrial localization of pyruvate carboxylase and the tricarboxylic acid cycle resulted in distinctive kinetics of deuteration in the H2 and either or both H3 hydrogens of [2-13C]glutamate and [3-13C]aspartate, allowing to follow glutamate and aspartate trafficking through cytosol and mitochondria.


The employment of electro chemistry for water purification holds many merits as it is possible to break the impurity down to micro level and separate it from water. This is needed most in cases of water filtration in real world scenarios such as polluted lakes, oil spills in water or even dyes being dumped into water bodies. Though electrochemical methods can be efficient in separation of impurities there arises an issue of its implementation outside laboratory and in dynamic environment along with the time constraint. The paper is focusing on electro coagulation as an effective method for separation of impurities such as dyes, algae and oil from water by first developing a downscale electro coagulation reactor and second by mobilizing it to operate in water bodies, the aim is to develop a robotic system which can be used for water filtration in real world scenarios employing an electro coagulation reactor.


Winchester/Camberley Homes with the Building America program and its NAHB Research Center Industry Partnership collaborated to develop a new set of high performance home designs that could be applicable on a production scale. The new home designs are to be constructed in the mixed humid climate zone four and could eventually apply to all of the builder's home designs to meet or exceed future energy codes or performance-based programs. However, the builder recognized that the combination of new wall framing designs and materials, higher levels of insulation in the wall cavity, and more detailed air sealing to achieve lower infiltration rates changes the moisture characteristics of the wall system. In order to ensure long term durability and repeatable successful implementation with few call-backs, this report demonstrates through measured data that the wall system functions as a dynamic system, responding to changing interior and outdoor environmental conditions within recognized limits of the materials that make up the wall system. A similar investigation was made with respect to the complete redesign of the heating, cooling, air distribution, and ventilation systems intended to optimize the equipment size and configuration to significantly improve efficiency while maintaining indoor comfort. Recognizing the need to demonstrate themore » benefits of these efficiency features, the builder offered a new house model to serve as a test case to develop framing designs, evaluate material selections and installation requirements, changes to work scopes and contractor learning curves, as well as to compare theoretical performance characteristics with measured results.« less


Abstract: The earwigs, Dermaptera, are a group of insects which have been present since the Mesozoic. They have a relatively sparse fossil record, yet their life activities on and in soil or sediment leave traces with the potential for long-term preservation. These may include some burrows seen in Quaternary dunes and other sandy substrates. The well-known, cosmopolitan, sand-dwelling species Labidura riparia is examined as a potential model and reference for dermapteran tracemakers there and elsewhere in the geological record, through experimentally produced shelter burrows and trackways from wild-caught, laboratory-raised specimens. Shelter burrows were typically U-shaped with a pair of surface entrances, and these U-shapes could be additionally modified into Y-shapes or linked together to form a network. Trackways of L. riparia generally resembled those of other insects but may show features consistent with dermapteran anatomy such as tail-drag impressions produced by cerci.


This study is an action research study of a digital storytelling project-based course. The purpose of this study is to explore the way of implementing a digital storytelling project-based courses in order to make a local improvement rather than making a generalization. This paper reports the procedure of the Multimedia-Assisted English Education course, which was offered to the English language education majors for fifteen weeks in the spring semester in 2020 and its pedagogical effects in terms of the students' competence both quantitatively and qualitatively. Quantitative and qualitative data collected included students' general English proficiency test scores (Quick Placement Test, or QPT), virtual class recordings, group activity notes, mind maps, learning journals, student and instructor reflection notes, lecture evaluations, videos of a digital storytelling project, peer evaluations, self assessments, video critiques (Lacy, 2018), transcripts of students conversations (open channels), and core competency surveys conducted at the beginning and end of the semester. Due to the COVID-19, all the classes were delivered online, which made it possible to explore on-line interaction and collaboration among seventeen students in a non-face-to-face situation. In the course of completing a digital storytelling project in a group of 8-9 students, students were reported to enhance collaborative problem-solving and mutual communication competencies.


a graduate seminar at the University of Southern California on the subject of India's role in the United Nations. From that seminar has emerged a detailed study of Indian diplomacy which carefully documents the country's position on most of the important questions to come before the United Nations during its first twelve sessions. In their opening chapter, Berkes and Bedi show how India conceives the United Nations to be two things: &dquo;an instrument through which the needs and wants of a heretofore voiceless world can seek remedies,&dquo; and &dquo;an instrument of negotiation, and of the reconciliation of interests.&dquo; Two dominant psychological factors govern India's conduct in the United Nations. The first is Nehru's notion that war can be avoided only if the climate of warof fear and suspicion-is dissipated. The second is the Indian identification with


This research paper explores the relationships between alienation from religion and other selected variables among church-related adolescents. The sample consists of 390 high school students attending three youth conferences sponsored by Protestant judicatories. The teenagers completed the Youth Perceptual Inventory, which included a scale to measure religious alienation and seventeen other scales to measure the independent variables. While most of the adolescents did not appear to be highly alienated, there was a wide range in the alienation scores. Multiple regression revealed that religious alienation in teenagers is highly related (R =. 76) to the quality of their relationships with pastors and parents as well as to opportunities for church involvement, their own self-concepts, and the influence of peer groups and the media. All but one of the research hypotheses were supported, but pastoral and church influences ranked considerably higher than parent and home influences.


Abstract Objectives This study presents the clinical assessment of the Onclarity HPV Assay (Becton Dickinson) on the novel COR high-throughput instrument (Becton Dickinson) using the international guidelines in a routine setting. Methods Screening samples collected in BD SurePath from women aged 30 years and older were used in this validation. Noninferiority of the Onclarity HPV Assay on the COR instrument (Onclarity-COR) was assessed with the comparator assay glycoprotein 5–positive (GP5+)/6+ enzyme immunoassay (GP-EIA) for clinical sensitivity on 122 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 and greater samples. Specificity was assessed using 887 samples with twice-normal cytology. Inter- and intralaboratory reproducibility analysis was assessed using 525 samples. Finally, a time-and-motion study was performed to evaluate COR instrument performance characteristics. Results The Onclarity-COR was noninferior to the GP-EIA for both sensitivity (P = .0016) and specificity (P < .0001). The intralaboratory reproducibility was 98.3% (κ = 0.96), and interlaboratory agreement was 98.5 % (κ = 0.96). The daily hands-on time for the COR instrument was 58 minutes, and walk-away time was 7 hours, 2 minutes per 8-hour day shift. Conclusions The Onclarity-COR instrument fulfills international validation criteria on sensitivity, specificity, and laboratory reproducibility. The Onclarity assay's extended genotyping capability, together with its high-throughput characteristics, makes the COR instrument an excellent candidate for use in human papillomavirus primary cervical cancer screening.


- This work focuses on the load balancing and scheduling problem for batch jobs considering a cloud system comprised of geographically dispersed, heterogeneous datacenters. Each batch job is modeled using a directed acyclic graph of heterogeneous tasks. Load balancing and scheduling of batch jobs with loose deadlines results in operational cost reduction in the cloud system due to availability of renewable energy sources in datacenters' site and time of use dependent energy pricing in utility companies. A solution for load balancing and scheduling problem based on the force-directed scheduling approach is presented that considers the online application workload and limited resource and peak power capacity in each datacenter. The simulation results demonstrate significant operational cost decrease (up to 40%) using the proposed algorithm with respect to a greedy solution.


This study explores the possibility of using a unified theory of creep-fatigue, similar to the Halford-Manson strain-range partitioning method, for examining the effect of cyclic temperature range on fatigue life, over a wide range of temperatures. Other investigators have attempted similar techniques before for solder fatigue analysis. The present study is different since it proposes an energy-partitioning technique rather than strain-partitioning to examine the dependence of solder fatigue behavior on temperature dependent changes in the relative amounts of plastic and creep strains. The solder microstructure also dictates creep behavior but is assumed to be a given invariant parameter in this study. In other words, this study is targeted at as-cast microstructures and does not address post-recrystallization behavior. A sample solder joint of axisymmetric configuration, commonly found in leaded through-hole mounting technology, is analyzed with the help of nonlinear finite element methods. The strain history is determined for constant-amplitude temperature cycling with linear loading and unloading, and with constant dwells at upper and lower ends of the cycle. Large-deformation continuum formulations are utilized in conjunction with a viscoplastic constitutive model for the solder creep-plasticity behavior. Relevant material properties are obtained from experimental data in the literature. The results show significant amounts of rachetting and shakedown in the solder joint. Detailed stress-strain histories are presented, illustrating the strain amplitude, mean strain and residual stresses and strains. For illustrative purposes, the hysteresis cycles are partitioned into elastic, plastic and creep components. Such partitioned histories are essential in order to implement either the Halford-Manson strain-range partitioning technique or the energy-based approach suggested here, for analyzing the creep-fatigue damage accumulation in solder material. This study also illustrates the role and utility of the finite element method in generating the detailed stress-strain histories necessary for implementing the energy partitioning approach for creep-fatigue damage evaluation. Solder life prediction is presented as a function of cyclic temperature range at a given mean temperature.