Establishing a high-speed railway long-distance tunnel independent control network according to "one point and one direction" will often produce lateral deviation and long and short chains in the joint section. It is necessary to take technical measures such as control network rotation or long and short chain to solve. Combined with the case of a network of independent control network for a long-distance tunnel of a high-speed railway in China, based on the results of the original reference ellipsoid and line control points, the central meridian (L 0) of the tunnel project center with the longitude of the tunnel is plotted, and the average tunnel elevation of the tunnel is Projection earth height (H 0), coordinate transformation calculation and relative stability and reliability analysis of existing line plane control points; select one stable control point of tunnel entrance and exit as starting point, in new projection parameters (L0 Under H0), the overall adjustment is carried out to establish an independent control network for the long tunnel. The results show:(1) The tunnel independent control network established by the method has high precision and uniform error, which can meet the requirements of network construction precision and improve the tunnel penetration accuracy;(2) "One point one direction" Compared with this method, the joint segment control point (S = 9.1 km) with the same baseline file, starting point and projection parameters, the maximum coordinate difference Δx is -63.4 mm, Δy is 85.3 mm, requiring technical processing;(3) The method can solve the problems of large lateral deviation and long and short chain of the connecting section, and ensure the smooth connection between the tunnel and the adjacent structure.


This article analyzes the university's role in the reconstruction of Haiti through an economic perspective. To rebuild themselves, Haitians need to be able to realize their dreams and meet their own needs, while fighting the behavioral bias created by the assistantship. By studying the relationship between university and entrepreneurship in Haiti, the article emphasizes the need for the Haitian university to be redesigned in order to act as vector of an entrepreneurial culture for the country's economic development.


The DNA cleavage reaction of eukaryotic topoisomerase II produces nicked DNA along with linear nucleic acid products. Therefore, relationships between the enzyme's DNA nicking and double-stranded cleavage reactions were determined. This was accomplished by altering the pH at which assays were performed. At pH 5.0 Drosophila melanogaster topoisomerase II generated predominantly (greater than 90%) single-stranded breaks in duplex DNA. With increasing pH, less single-stranded and more double-stranded cleavage was observed, regardless of the buffer or the divalent cation employed. As has been shown for double-stranded DNA cleavage, topoisomerase II was covalently bound to nicked DNA products, and enzyme-mediated single-stranded cleavage was salt reversible. Moreover, sites of single-stranded DNA breaks were identical with those mapped for double-stranded breaks. To further characterize the enzyme's cleavage mechanism, electron microscopy studies were performed. These experiments revealed that separate polypeptide chains were complexed with both ends of linear DNA molecules generated during cleavage reactions. Finally, by use of a novel religation assay [Osheroff, N., & Zechiedrich, E. L. (1987) Biochemistry 26, 4303-4309], it was shown that nicked DNA is an obligatory kinetic intermediate in the topoisomerase II mediated reunion of double-stranded breaks. Under the conditions employed, the apparent first-order rate constant for the religation of the first break was approximately 6-fold faster than that for the religation of the second break. The above results indicate that topoisomerase II carries out double-stranded DNA cleavage/religation by making two sequential single-stranded breaks in the nucleic acid backbone, each of which is mediated by a separate subunit of the homodimeric enzyme.


In this paper, a two-switch high frequency fly back transformer linked zero voltage soft switching PWM DC-DC power converter implemented in distributed power conditioning supplies is proposed. This DC-DC power converter circuit is mainly composed of two active power switches and a fly back high-frequency transformer. In addition to this, two passive loss less resonant snubbers with pulse current regeneration loops for energy recovery, consisting of a three winding auxiliary high-frequency transformer, auxiliary capacitors and diodes are introduced to achieve zero voltage soft switching from light to full load conditions. Furthermore, this DC-DC power converter has some advantages such as low cost circuit configuration, simple control scheme and high efficiency. Its operating principle is described and discussed here into. To determine circuit parameters, some practical design considerations are discussed. Moreover, the effectiveness of the proposed soft switching PWM DC-DC power converter is evaluated and compared with its equivalent hard switching PWM power DC-DC converter from an experimental point of view.


As Medicare's share of federal spending and gross domestic product (GDP) rises, the program may have increasingly important consequences not only for the health of Americans but also for their net income and financial well-being. We use incidence analysis to study payments and benefits in Medicare to various generations and income groups. We find that Medicare actually provides larger net dollar transfers to wealthier beneficiaries, although the "insurance value" of these dollars is greater for low-income households. We then evaluate a range of proposed Medicare reforms with regard to their impact on the distribution of both health care and disposable income.


The article is dealing with the changes in the culture of reading within the Jewish community of Vilnius and Lithuania during the second half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. It analyzes the transformation of the readers' audience with regard to gender and age, the supply of reading materials and the means of their distribution. There were several periods of critical importance for those changes: the third decade of the 19th century when Lithuania became a center of Jewish Enlightenment – Haskalah movement in Russian Empire, and the inter-war period when the community underwent yet more radical modernization. The article presents the processes and the phenomena of the transformation and concludes with a notion of the extreme versatility in readers' tastes and needs, as well as in the means of satisfying them, that the community reached on the eve of its annihilation during the Nazi occupation.


Thiosemicarbazide of phenyl hydrazides of fatty acids from nontraditional oils (neem, rice bran and karanja) have been synthesized and evaluated as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel (MS) in hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution by weight loss method. Adsorption of all phenyl hydrazides derivatives on MS surface in acid solution obeyed Langmuir's adsorption isotherm. Inhibition efficiency of these compounds increases with increase in concentration of the compound, and vary with solution temperature, immersion time and concentration of acid solution. Activation energies (E a ) have been calculated to investigate mechanism of corrosion inhibition.


Cement retarders are traditionally used to control the fluidity of oil-well cement. In this study, the retardation effect on the cement hydration of two different commercially available lignosulfonates is compared. A calcium and a sodium lignosulfonate were analysed at seven different concentrations. The retardation of the cement hydration process was monitored by way of isothermal calorimetry. The retardation mechanism was better understood by studying the morphology of cement/retarder systems using environmental scanning electron microscopy. Fourier transform, infrared spectroscopy, ion chromatography and total organic and inorganic carbon analyses were conducted. This paper provides a recommendation for applying the most effective retarder in drilling and well completions operations as well as enhancing the well cementing quality.


Background: Blood is a veritable tool in many life-saving situations. Despite the increased demand for blood, the supply of safe blood has been inadequate. This study was aimed to determine the effect of educational intervention on the knowledge and attitude of medical students of a Nigerian University to voluntary blood donation. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 158 undergraduate medical students of Ebonyi State University in South-East Nigeria. Participants were recruited by stratified sampling technique. A pretested semi-structured participant administered questionnaire was used to baseline knowledge and attitude to voluntary blood donation. This was followed by educational intervention in the form of a workshop by experts in blood transfusion medicine. Then, postintervention assessment was done using the initial questionnaire 30 days later. The study was approved by the Research and Ethics Committee of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS 20 software, and P value was set at ≤0.05. Results: Of the 158 medical students who participated in the study, there were 90 (57%) males and 68 (43%) females. Baseline proportion of the participants who had good knowledge was high (72.8%), while baseline attitude of the participants was positive to most aspects of voluntary blood donation. Post intervention, the level of knowledge about voluntary blood donation increased to 99.4%, and similarly attitude to voluntary blood donation improved. Conclusion: Educational intervention was effective in improving the knowledge and attitude towards voluntary blood donation among medical students. Continuous enlightenment will influence potential blood donors to have better knowledge and positive attitude toward voluntary blood donation.


Large-eddy simulation data for a Mach 1.3 round jet are decomposed into acoustic, hydrodynamic and thermal components using Doak's momentum potential theory. The decomposed fields are then analysed to examine the properties of each mode and their dynamics based on the transport equation for the total fluctuating enthalpy. The solenoidal fluctuations highlight hydrodynamic components of the jet and capture the shear layer growth and breakdown process. The acoustic mode exhibits a jittering coherent wavepacket structure in the turbulent region and consequent highly directional downstream radiation. The expected radial decay rates, $r^{-6}$ for hydrodynamic and $r^{-2}$ for acoustic, are recovered and closely follow the universal radiation spectra in the sideline and downstream directions. The scalogram of the acoustic mode in the near-acoustic-field region is consistent with that of the pressure perturbation signal in the acoustic-frequency range, but effectively removes the hydrodynamic and thermal content. The time-resolved and mean behaviour of terms in the total fluctuating enthalpy equation is analysed in detail. A large-scale intermittent event in the near-acoustic field is shown to be associated with an intrusion of vortices from the shear layer into the core of the jet. Acoustic sources are created when the resulting negative fluctuations in the solenoidal component interact with positive fluctuations in the Coriolis acceleration term. The latter are associated with regions of high vorticity on the inner side of the shear layer. In contrast, sinks result from the interaction of solenoidal momentum fluctuations with positive entropy gradients along entrainment streaks.


BACKGROUND
Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms can present a significant burden to patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) but the reported prevalence is inconsistent.

OBJECTIVE
To examine the GI burden and dietary intake in patients with CKD with or without dialysis.

METHODS
This was a cross-sectional study of 216 adults, recruited from outpatient and dialysis clinics, with CKD stage 4 or 5 not receiving dialysis (CKD-ND), or receiving haemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD). Three questionnaires were administered: the Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS); a modified Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale and a short Food Frequency Questionnaire. Outcomes were stool frequency and consistency, GI symptoms and dietary intake.

RESULTS
Data were collected from 216 patients (mean age, 63 years [95% CI: 61, 65]; 63% males; CKD-ND: n = 134; HD: n = 67; PD: n = 15). Mean stool frequency for all groups was one bowel action per day (p = .45) and consistency was normal (BSFS type 4, p = .95). Overall GI symptom burden was low but several symptoms occurred at least "most of the time" including "tiredness/lethargy" (54% of participants), "reduced appetite" (29%), "early satiety" (25%) and "change in taste" (15%). Low intakes of fresh fruit, vegetables, whole-grains and legumes were found. No associations were observed between diet and GI symptoms.

CONCLUSION
The overall GI symptom burden was low, but >15% of participants reported several symptoms as occurring most to all of the time. Low intakes of fresh fruit, vegetables, whole-grains and legumes were observed in all CKD patients.


Background Blood supply, which is crucial for nutrition and drug delivery, was determined by microvessel density as well as the diffusion distance between vessels and cancer cells. Therefore, we evaluated the distance from microvessels to cancer cells (Dmvcc) and its role in the prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Methods Patients with primary NSCLC were retrospectively analyzed. The tumor samples were immunochemically stained with CD31 to visualize the microvessels. The Dmvcc was defined as the mean distance from each microvessel to its nearest cancer cell in the "hot-spot" of an individual patient. The patients were stratified into short- and long-distance groups using five strategies, including dichotomy by the median value, optimal cutoff, trichotomy, quartation and per-10 µm increase. The correlation between the Dmvcc and survival was evaluated by using univariate and multivariate analyses with various Dmvcc strategies. Results In total, 100 patients were analyzed. The median value of Dmvcc was 13.1 μm (ranged, 1.6 to 269.7 μm; mean value, 24.4 ± 33.5 μm). The optimal cutoff value of Dmvcc for predicting survival outcome was 20 μm. Dmvcc was significantly related to overall survival (OS) with all the five categories (p = 0.001–0.000004) and progression-free survival (PFS) categorized by optimal cutoff value (p = 0.024), trichotomy (p = 0.041) and per-10 µm increase (p = 0.040) after adjusting for other factors. Patients with longer Dmvcc (≥20 μm) were observed to have poor survival outcomes (OS: HR = 13.5, 95CI: 4.42–41.18, p = 0.000005; PFS: 3.26, 95CI: 1.56–6.81, p = 0.002). A high Dmvcc per-10 µm was associated with a significantly increased risk of cancer-related death and progression by 98% (p = 0.0001) and 30% (p = 0.044), respectively. Conclusion The NSCLC tissues had varying distances from microvessels to cancer cells, and long distances were strongly associated with poor survival.


Abstract: According to Leibniz's theory for contingent truths about created individuals, this kind of truth cannot be proved in a finite number of steps, because the analyses of the concepts corresponding to these individuals required for the proofs proceed to infinity. Some commentators pointed out that such truths can luckily be in a finite number of steps. But if they can, Leibniz cannot identify them as contingent ones because, for Leibniz, those truths that can be proved in a finite number of steps are necessary ones. This is the Problem of Lucky Proof. Recently, in this journal, Gonzalo Rodriguez-Pereyra and Paul Lodge argued for their new solution to that problem. First, I argue that their solution does not succeed in saving Leibniz from the problem. Secondly, I observe that Leibniz defined a proof a priori of a contingent truth as one from the reason(s) of such a truth, and suggest a shift of the focus of our discussions to this way of proving contingents truths. Thirdly, I propose my solution to the Problem of Lucky Proof relying on that observation.


ABSTRACT Runoff (re)mobilises solids and their associated pollutants from streets and transports them via gully pots to the drainage system. As the solids negatively impact the performance of the drainage systems, knowledge on the solids loading in terms of mass and composition is essential. However, monitoring data on the solids loading, in particular, covering all seasons and a number of sites, is scarce. This article presents the results of a monitoring campaign on the solids loading to a drainage system via 52 gully pots over a period of 2 years at a sampling rate of once per 3–4 weeks. The loading shows a maximum during the tree phases 'leaf growth' and 'full capacity' and is correlated with the rain intensity during these phases. The organic fraction and D50 of the solids are correlated with leaf abscission. The settling velocity of the particles <1800 µm is strongly correlated with their organic fraction.


All solvents were redistilled before use. Reactions were routinely monitored by thin layer chromatography and spots were visualized by exposure to iodine vapour or UV light. A solution of propyl gallate(0.01 mol) in ethanol and hydrazine hydrate (0.01 mol) was refluxed for 4 hours. The excess solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure. The cooled residual mass was washed with distilled water. It was filtered and dried. The crude product was recrystallised from methanol to yield galloylhydrazide, Carbon disulfide (2 ml) was added drop wise to an ice cooled solution of KOH (2g) in ethanol (20 ml) containing the acid hydrazide 4 (0.02 mole), then the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature 2h . After dilution with ethanol the solid precipitated was washed twice with ether. To the solid obtained (1 g), 10% KOH (20 ml) was added then the reaction mixture was refluxed for 4 hr, cooled, acidified with conc. HCl. The resulting solid was filtered washed with water, dried and crystallized. A mixture of (0.97g, 0.005mol) of 5-(5-sulfanyl- 1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)benzene-1,2,3-triol and (0.005mol) of different aryl or alkyl halides were refluxed in 25ml of pyridine solution for 3.5 hours. The resultant mixture was cooled and poured into crushed ice. The solid mass is thus separated out was dried and recrystallized from ethanol. Synthesized derivatives purity were checked by TLC, Melting point & characterized by FT-IR, Mass, NMR spectroscopic techniques. Synthesized derivatives were evaluated for anti-inflammatory activity.

Key words: Oxadiazole, Oxadiazole derivatives, convulsion, Anti-Inflammatrory activity.


Information and communication technologies (ICT) offer the government new possibilities for providing farmers and agricultural businesses. Criticism about the provision of e-government services, however, has doubt performance evidences. In this paper, we reviewed five years' implementation of agricultural e-business cases in the agricultural sector. Based on the functional e-government framework, we found that satisfaction measurements were heavily used in early states. To the contrary, characteristics about the vertical- and horizontal integration level were not sufficiently reflected in terms of satisfaction measurements.


Psychologists have proposed that many human-object interaction activities form unique classes of scenes. Recognizing these scenes is important for many social functions. To enable a computer to do this is however a challenging task. Take people-playing-musical-instrument (PPMI) as an example; to distinguish a person playing violin from a person just holding a violin requires subtle distinction of characteristic image features and feature arrangements that differentiate these two scenes. Most of the existing image representation methods are either too coarse (e.g. BoW) or too sparse (e.g. constellation models) for performing this task. In this paper, we propose a new image feature representation called "grouplet". The grouplet captures the structured information of an image by encoding a number of discriminative visual features and their spatial configurations. Using a dataset of 7 different PPMI activities, we show that grouplets are more effective in classifying and detecting human-object interactions than other state-of-the-art methods. In particular, our method can make a robust distinction between humans playing the instruments and humans co-occurring with the instruments without playing.


This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 189350, "Unlocking the Economic Potential of a Mature Field Through Rigless Remediation of Microchannels in a Cement Packer Using Epoxy Resin and Ultrafine Cement Technology To Access New Oil Reserves," by Manu Khanna, SPE, Phanijyoti Sarma, SPE, Krishna Chandak, SPE, and Apurv Agarwal, SPE, Cairn Oil and Gas, a vertical of Vedanta, and Animesh Kumar and James Gillies, SPE, Halliburton, prepared for the 2018 SPE/IADC Middle East Drilling Technology Conference and Exhibition, Abu Dhabi, 29–31 January. The paper has not been peer reviewed.
 Well RXY is located in Cairn's Ravva offshore field in the Krishna-Godavari Basin in India. One goal for the field was significant crude production by means of a secondary reservoir section. This paper presents a case study concerning rigless remediation of microchannels in the cement packer (placed in the annulus of production tubing and casing to isolate the producing zone) and discusses laboratory development of a customized epoxy-resin system, simulations to estimate channel size, 3D displacement modeling, drillout after placement, and evaluation post-placement.
 Introduction
 The well is an injector, drilled in 1998, intersecting several oil sands. The well was completed selectively across the sands with permanent packers for zonal isolation. Although several oil sands were intersected during drilling, one was not completed because of its marginal reserves. Because those sands fall above the production packer, a cement-packer job was attempted in 2016 to access the shallow sands while providing an annular barrier. However, after the job, communication was observed between the tubing and the annulus. The communication was attributed to poor cement isolation.
 Estimation of Channel Size
 Fluid-flow calculations and a hydraulic simulator were used to estimate the size of channels in the cement. The calculations were based on the real data of treated-water circulation. The circulation was established between the production tubing and the A annulus through holes punched at 2282 to 2284 m. For calculation purposes, the top of cement was assumed to be 1500 m (per the cement-bond log) and the average channel size from a depth of 2282 m to a depth of 1500 m was to be estimated. Also, the actual well directional data were used for the most-accurate hydraulics calculations.
 After several iterations, the channel size was estimated to be 0.3875 in. in average thickness.
 Selection Criteria
 Various techniques were evaluated to remediate the issue of channeling and to restore zonal isolation. Because the scenario was identified as one involving a narrow cement channel to be treated by the pressure-balance method, a proprietary epoxy-resin system was selected as the sealant. The selection was made on the basis of the sealant's ability to seal the microannuli behind the casing and to restore zonal isolation by shutting off the gas flow, its characteristics in developing high compressive strength, its ability to resist significant strain without failure, and its solids-free formulation.


In this paper we investigate, with the help of recent behavioural economics findings, the various factors behind the decision of mobile payment adoption and the ways in which smartphone-enabled transactions may influence a person's perception and the level of her spending. According to Eurostat, in 2018, three out of four people between the age of 16 and 74 years reported having used a mobile phone for private purposes. In the European Union, smartphones sum up more than 80% of all devices used in the private sector to access the Internet and the mobile services industry make up for Europe's 3.3% of GDP. From checking the weather to trading on the stock exchange, for over a decade now, smartphones are replacing much more than just the traditional ways of communication. We wonder about whether mobile devices will eventually take the place paper notes or bank cards. The timing for this type of questions could not be better, as smartphone users become increasingly drawn to mobile payment and adoption rates rise across Europe. In this study we discuss the idea that mobile proximity payments may reduce the mental capacity of the user in processing the payment and may cause consumers to overspend. Numerous studies show that intensive usage of device-enabled payments can lead to addiction. Because modern cashless transactions are now designed to take place at much faster rates than ever before, smartphone payments poses the intrinsic ability to provide the user with immediate rewards and trigger addiction.


It is pointed out that Ada language and Ada compiler implementations are much more complex than the language systems of the past. The Ada language was designed to reduce the life-cycle cost of large software systems. Even though the language encourages the use of modern software engineering principles, the effectiveness of such adoption in reducing the cost of development depends significantly on the Ada compilation system used. The author details many of the facilities in a compiler vendor's offering that must be made available to support the development of large simulation programs. It is shown that a compiler that just meets the requirements specified in the ANSI/MIL-STD-1815A is not sufficient for developing large simulation programs. That implementation must have features to address the special characteristics of simulation programs. In addition, the compiler vendor should be willing to work with the user to arrive at practical solutions to the programming problems.<<ETX>>


Purpose: Congenital dacrocystocele with potential for dacryocystitis are common ophthalmic findings in children. There are multiple surgical approaches to open the mucocele. In this study, we look at the financial impact of these different approaches. Methods: A retrospective chart review of 17 patients with dacrocystocele or dacryocystitis was performed. We examined four approaches: (1) bedside nasal endoscopy with marsupialization of nasolacrimal duct (NLD) cyst, (2) surgically performed nasal endoscopy with marsupialization of NLD cyst, (3) NLD probe, and (4) a combination of procedures. Cost of the procedure and length of anesthesia were collected. Reoccurrence of symptoms and disease post-procedure were also collected. Results: The lowest cost billed procedure was bedside nasal endoscopy performed by an otolaryngologist (US$435; n = 1). A nasal endoscopy (n = 2) performed in the operating room (OR) had an average OR fee of US$14,557 [standard deviation (SD): US$7598] for 108.5 (SD: 87.0) min of operating time. An NLD probe (n = 5) performed by pediatric ophthalmologists resulted in an average OR fee of US$5540 (SD: US$1752) for 31.0 min (SD: 8.6 min) of operating time. A combination of both nasal endoscopy and NLD probing (n = 9) had an average OR fee US$10,325 (SD: US$4137) for 69 min (SD: 34.5 min) of operating time. Conclusion: This is the first study looking at cost benefit of four different approaches to treating dacrocystoceles/dacryocystitis. A NLD probe was a low-cost OR intervention and had the shortest operating time. The combination procedure was more cost-effective than nasal endoscopy or NLD probing alone.


The effect of viscous heat dissipation (VHD) in raising the temperature field of incompressible oscillatory air flow is studied numerically. A threshold is established for when the viscous heat dissipation term in the thermal energy equation changes or does not change the temperature field for the case of oscillatory air flow in a tube connecting two reservoirs. This new criterion has not been specified clearly in earlier oscillatory flow research. According to the defined threshold and when VHD is important, the effect of dissipative bulk heating can be described by a proposed correlation in terms of Womersley number (Wo) and axial tidal displacement (ΔZ) of the oscillatory fluid. These results are determined using two-dimensional (2D) numerical simulations of laminar oscillatory air flow (Pr = 0.7) for different adiabatic unconductive tube-reservoirs' systems configurations over a wide range of oscillatory frequencies and tidal displacements. It is found that the low amount of fluid kinetic energy, which is converted into internal energy, is not sufficient to significantly heat up the fluid at a low rate of the viscous work. Therefore, the effect of viscous heat dissipation in oscillatory air flow can be ignored only below a specific limit of unsteadiness depending on Womersley number and axial tidal displacement. Also, the results showed that the VHD becomes more significant with increasing (Wo) and (ΔZ).


We report a stereoselective and site-specific allylic alkylation of Schiff base activated amino acids and small peptides via a Pd/Cu dual catalysis. A range of noncoded α,α-dialkyl α-amino acids were easily synthesized in high yields and with excellent enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee). Furthermore, a direct and highly stereoselective synthesis of small peptides with enantiopure α-alkyl or α,α-dialkyl α-amino acids residues incorporated at specific sites was accomplished using this dual catalyst system.


This paper presents a new logic style DyCML for low-power high-performance VLSI applications. The new logic family combines the speed, low supply voltage and noise immunity advantages of MCML circuits while achieving the low standby current and design simplicity features of dynamic circuits. Simulation results show that DyCML circuits are superior to CMOS and DCVS logic styles in terms of power and delay. A 16 bit DyCML Carry Look Ahead Adder (CLA) fabricated in 0.6 /spl mu/m achieves a delay of 1.1 ns while dissipating 21.2 mW at 400 MHz.


Assets are one of the supporting equipment for business processes in a higher education organization. Asset management requires a system that is organized systematically so that the tracing process becomes more effective and efficient. In this case, asset management can be implemented in a web-based information system. The development of a web-based asset management information system is carried out using the waterfall method, and for decision making in asset procurement priorities using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The system development process uses the Codeigniter framework based on PHP and MySQL. The result of this development is a web-based asset management information system that is used to optimize asset tracking which is implemented at ITS NU Pekalongan


Although paper electronics is a compelling concept, the large surface roughness and opaqueness of most paper substrates has hindered its development from a dormant idea to a thriving technology. A recent demonstration of transparent paper with nanoscale surface roughness has revived an interest in using renewable cellulose substrates for electronics and optoelectronics. In this short review, we will first summarize the recent progress of transparent paper electronics through structure engineering. We will also discuss the properties and functionalization of transparent paper, such as surface roughness, printability, thermal stability, etc. Finally, we will summarize the recent achievements on proof-of-concepts of transparent paper, which pave the way for next-generation green electronics fabricated with roll-to-roll printing methods. Advantages of transparent paper over traditional flexible plastic substrates and its challenges will also be discussed.


The growth of cooperative relations between Syria and Turkey, after the two countries came to the brink of war in 1998, has been a major development in the Middle East. This article examines both the reasons behind increasing ties between the two countries and the new challenges this rapprochement is facing due to the rapidly shifting international context. It argues that although systemic factors have been crucial in setting up the parameters of the bilateral relationship, these factors gain meaning through the complexities of domestic settings. The US policy of regime change and the Iraq War of 2003 and its aftermath are taken as the main regional and international factors influencing relations between the two countries since 1998. Domestic factors like the process of regime consolidation in Syria under Bashar and rising nationalism, the Kurdish issue, and the coming to power of the Justice and Development Party in Turkey constitute the main lenses through which these systemic factors are evaluated and policy outcomes projected.


Abstract Transcription of denatured and naturally occurring single-stranded DNA preparations by T3-induced RNA polymerase has been investigated. Although T3 RNA polymerase possesses a highly specific template requirement and will copy only T3 DNA when native double-stranded template is used, the enzyme will transcribe a variety of single-stranded DNAs (heat-denatured T3, T7, calf thymus, and naturally occurring single-stranded circular DNAs like φX-174 and fd) at a markedly reduced rate. The product formed in a denatured DNA-primed reaction is a DNA·RNA hybrid with g80% of RNA chains initiated with pppG. Some chains (approximately 10 to 15%) are initiated with pppA. The average chain length of RNA produced is considerably smaller (200 to 300 nucleotides) than that obtained in a native T3 DNA-directed reaction (5000 to 6000 nucleotides). With denatured DNA as template, T3 RNA polymerase is also able to carry out de novo synthesis of poly(A) chains. This reaction requires high concentrations of ATP and is inhibited by the presence of relatively low concentrations of other ribonucleoside triphosphates. Poly(A) chains formed are not attached to the template DNA, contain ATP at the 5' terminus, and are heterogeneous in size ranging in molecular weight from about 100,000 to 2.1 x 106. These reactions catalyzed by T3 RNA polymerase are analogous to those carried out by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase and suggest that the high degree of template specificity of T3 RNA polymerase resides both in the enzyme and in the secondary structure of the template DNA used to direct the polymerase reaction.


Changes affecting construction arise from many sources, at random times and without coordination. It is necessary to re-evaluate construction practice to take account of these factors. Change may be driven by Government through legalisation, by equipment manufacturers, by client demand and many other forces. Foundation piling is in need of re-evaluation.


With four site: Catalytic olefin hydrogenation is observed with palladium complexes when the N-heterocyclic carbene ligand is changed from the normal C2- to the unusual C4-bonding mode (see scheme). In a cis coordinating framework, the electron density at the metal center is substantially increased as a result of the exceptionally strong donor ability of C4-bound carbenes. (Chemical Equation Presented) © 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.


Thanks to the driving forces of the Ito calculus and the Malliavin calculus, stochastic analysis has expanded into numerous fields including partial differential equations, physics, and mathematical finance. This book is a compact, graduate-level text that develops the two calculi in tandem, laying out a balanced toolbox for researchers and students in mathematics and mathematical finance. The book explores foundations and applications of the two calculi, including stochastic integrals and differential equations, and the distribution theory on Wiener space developed by the Japanese school of probability. Uniquely, the book then delves into the possibilities that arise by using the two flavors of calculus together. Taking a distinctive, path-space-oriented approach, this book crystallizes modern day stochastic analysis into a single volume.


In Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) the development of complex and large transformations can benefit from the reuse of smaller ones that can be composed according to user requirements. Composing transformations is a complex problem: typically smaller transformations are discovered and selected by developers from different and heterogeneous sources. Then the identified transformations are chained by means of manual and error-prone composition processes. Based on our approach, when we propose one or more transformation chains to the user, it is difficult for him to choose one path instead of another without considering the semantic properties of a transformation. In this paper when multiple chains are proposed to the user, according to his requirements, we propose an approach to classify these suitable chains with respect to the coverage of the metamodels involved in the transformation. Based on coverage value, we are able to qualify the transformation chains with an evaluation criteria which gives as an indication of how much information a transformation chain covers over another.


Wahdat al-Adyan promoted by a Sufi figure Ibn 'Arabi is always associated with religious pluralism developed by Christian religious figure John Hick. The recent understanding of religious pluralism has been assumed to take the legitimacy from Wahdat al-Adyan concept. So it can be understood that the understanding of religious pluralism is a legacy of the Islamic intellectual tradition and teachings. Historically, the concept of Wahdat al-Adyan developed by Ibn 'Arabi then became Wahdat al-Wujud. This concept shows that the concept of God is absolute, while the other is just relative. This is library research. It discusses the concept of Wahdat al-Adyan by Ibn 'Arabi's and religious pluralism by John Hick. The purpose of this research is to uncover the meeting point and relationship of Wahdat al-Adyan and religious pluralism. The research findings show that these two concepts have very significant differences in their sources and implications of thought, it indicates that Wahdat al-Adyan and religious pluralism do not have the same rationale.


We review the quantum transport of ultra-cold alkali atoms trapped in a one-dimensional optical lattice of double-potential wells, engineered through a combination of ac-Stark shifts and Zeeman interactions. The system is modelled numerically through analysis of the bandstructure and integration of the time-dependent Schr¨ odinger equation. By these means we simulate coherent control of the atomic wavepackets. We present results from ongoing experiments on laser-cooled caesium, including the demonstration of quantum state preparation and preliminary evidence for coherent tunnelling. Entanglement between the internal and motional degrees of freedom allows us to access the tunnelling dynamics by Stern-Gerlach measurements of the ground state magnetic populations. A scheme to extend this into a full reconstruction of the density matrix for the ground state angular momentum is presented. We further consider the classical dynamics of our system, which displays deterministic chaos. This has important implications for the distinction between classical and quantum mechanical transport.


The sea-anemone Metridium senile responds to illumination by local contraction of the longitudinal musculature, particularly of the parietal system. No specific receptors have so far been identified for this response. The phenomena of light and of dark adaptation are shown by the photoreceptive mechanism. The action spectra of white individuals show a maximum at about 490 to 520 mµ. Relative to this the sensitivity in the region 550 to 600 mµ varies in different individuals. The possible presence of two distinct photosensitive systems is mentioned. Sensitivity decreases very rapidly beyond 600 mµ. Action spectra of the white, red and brown coloured varieties of the species are compared in relation to the absorption spectra of tissues obtained from the three types. It is concluded that the pigments which give the characteristic body colour in the red and brown varieties act as filters. Comparison with the white variety indicates that these pigments probably do not act as specific photosensitive substances. It is pointed out that the differential sensitivity of the coloured varieties appears to have no selective influence on the occurrence and distribution of the different coloured varieties.


A temperature-sensitive hydrogel with the capability of inclusion complex formation with guest molecules was successfully grafted onto the surface of nonwoven polypropylene (nonwoven PP). This was carried out by the use of N-isopropylacrylamide monomer and a modified cyclodextrin (acrylamidomethyl-β-cyclodextrin (β-CD-NMA)). Fourier-transform infra red (FT-IR) and elemental analyses confirmed the presence of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) and β-CD-NMA components on the surface of the textile. Equilibrium swelling ratio measurements showed that the grafted hydrogel maintained its temperature-sensitive property compared to a nongrafted hydrogel. The effect of β-CD-NMA and crosslink agent concentrations on the grafting yield was studied. The β-CD-NMA content into the PNIPPAM- β-CD-NMA grafted nonwoven PP (PNIPAAm-β-CD-NMA-PP) was estimated by FT-IR through a new procedure. The estimated amounts of β-CD-NMA in PNIPAAm-β-CD-NMA-PP were determined to be 0.9, 1.9 mg g−1 for 0.019M and 0.049M concentrations of β-CD-NMA in monomer solution, respectively. The PNIPAAm-β-CD-NMA-PP showed a remarkable increase in absorbance affinity of 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid ammonium salt at 20°C from 0.93 to 3.33 µmol g−1 compared to PNIPAAm-PP. Furthermore, the results showed a temperature-sensitive loading affinity for PNIPAAm-β-CD-NMA-PP in absorbance of guest molecules due to the presence of β-CD-NMA. The use of hydrophobic guest molecules such as fragrance oils and antibiotics in modified fabrics can provide new applications in textile and pharmaceutical industry. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40497.


Reference 1 is to Campbell's Letter to the Editor and reference 2 is to Pettinger et al., Am J Physiol 225: 234238, 1973. *P < 0.025 compared with value in 3-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats. nous substrate and did not demonstrate that substrate remained in excess during that entire period, and (2) they did not use angiotensinase inhibitors during incubation. Incidentally, De Jong et al. (Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 139:1213-1216, 1972) have also shown an increased plasma renin activity in unanesthetized, decapitated spontaneously hypertensive rats. I have no comments on Dr. Campbell's speculation that spontaneously hypertensive rats are more prone to release renin under anesthesia than are normotensive rats, since I have no data on unanesthetized rats. However, before accepting this theory, further experimentation is required.


Selective, embedded, just-in-time specialization (SEJITS) is a technique for optimizing embedded domain-specific languages through the use of specializers, or code modules developed by expert programmers that target particular accelerators such as multicore processors and GPUs via justin-time compilation. We extend SEJITS to exploit intermachine parallelism by targeting clusters of machines via MapReduce. Our work enables the development of specializers for large, data-parallel applications whose workflows can be cast as MapReduce operations. We present an implementation that targets Hadoop and we describe specializers for two applications. The first, a pure-Python protein docking application, requires a 1-line change to realize a 280x speedup on a cluster with 450 cores. The second, an audio processing application, demonstrates our approach's ability to leverage clusters of GPU-equipped machines by composing parallel programming patterns. Results indicate that clusters are viable targets for specialization, and that pattern composition is a useful technique for managing multilevel parallelism.


ABSTRACT Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a highly contagious always fatal neurodegenerative disease that is currently known to naturally infect only species of the deer family, Cervidae. CWD epidemics are occurring in free-ranging cervids at several locations in North America, and other wildlife species are certainly being exposed to infectious material. To assess the potential for transmission, we intracerebrally inoculated four species of epidemic-sympatric rodents with CWD. Transmission was efficient in all species; the onset of disease was faster in the two vole species than the two Peromyscus spp. The results for inocula prepared from CWD-positive deer with or without CWD-resistant genotypes were similar. Survival times were substantially shortened upon second passage, demonstrating adaptation. Unlike all other known prion protein sequences for cricetid rodents that possess asparagine at position 170, our red-backed voles expressed serine and refute previous suggestions that a serine in this position substantially reduces susceptibility to CWD. Given the scavenging habits of these rodent species, the apparent persistence of CWD prions in the environment, and the inevitable exposure of these rodents to CWD prions, our intracerebral challenge results indicate that further investigation of the possibility of natural transmission is warranted.


The aim of this paper is to analyse possessive constructions in the language of Plautus'
plays and see whether there is any difference in expressing alienable and what may be
perceived as inalienable relations. Since nouns denoting kinship and body parts make up
the two most frequent semantic groups treated as inalienable in languages in which the
distinction between alienable and inalienable possession is grammaticalized, a corpus of
twelve plays was searched based on a list of possibly inalienable nouns including body
part terms and kin terms. Certain partitive relations were subsequently included in the
analysis. To see whether these putatively inalienable nouns appear in different possessive
constructions than alienable ones, the prologues and the first two acts of each of
the twelve plays were searched for instances of alienable nouns occurring in possessive
constructions, which were then compared to the first group. The general finding is that,
although the distinction between alienable and inalienable possession is not grammaticalized
in Early Latin, i.e. there is no alienability split which requires different possessive
constructions for alienables as opposed to inalienables, it seems to have been more appropriate
to use certain constructions, such as the possessive adjective or possessor promotion
and deletion, with inalienable nouns than with alienable ones. The result is a higher
frequency of these constructions in cases when the possessed noun tends to be perceived
as inalienable from the possessor.


Mass screening is claimed for finding a disease in which symptoms are not yet occurred. The indication for such an examination is given if the early detection of the disease allows treatment with lower morbidity and mortality than treatment at an advanced stage. In addition, the long-term prognosis of the patients must be considered. Screening makes only sense if the overall mortality of a specific population can be diminished by the diagnostic and therapeutic measures. In assessing the screening for an asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) that has to be treated surgically to avoid the rupture of the AAA with its associated high fatality rate, the expected extension of life should be weighed against the risk of surgery. It must be ensured that the untreated disease would progress to rupture of the AAA with fatal outcome. The benefits of screening and subsequent prophylactic operation must be contrasted its risk and cost. It is the objective of the following remarks to outline the value of screening for AAA on the basis of studies on the prevalence of AAA, risk of rupture, and the results of surgical treatment. Meanwhile, two different approaches are available for the treatment of AAA, open repair and endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). The considerations for prophylactic repair of AAA must therefore also include morbidity and mortality of the two interventions and the evaluation of cost-benefit ratio. This will be shown in the following.


Electric utilities, pressured to stop encouraging wasteful on-peak power use, are adopting new rate structures that reflect the higher costs of peak-load power. Critics of time-of-day (TOD) schedules argue that it can be counterproductive if utilities use it as a marketing tool by overstating peak rates and then overallocate capacity costs to peak users. If electric heat is made artificially cheap, for example, solar energy development will suffer. Other pitfalls could develop if high-cost reactors are allocated to peak users. Load management with interruptible service is a promising alternative successfully used by 33 utilities, although it is vulnerable to the same problems as TOD and both policies could give utilities new incentives to expand. (DCK)


Phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) is a recently identified member of the cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase family. PDE10A is notable in that it has a relatively restricted distribution: PDE10A mRNA and protein are expressed primarily in the dopaminoreceptive medium spiny neurons of the striatum. Potent and selective PDE10A inhibitors have recently been described in the scientific literature and their in vivo effects suggest the potential uses of PDE10A inhibitors in CNS disorders, particularly schizophrenia. This article provides a brief overview of the presently available scientific literature as well as recent meeting presentations.


Aim: Computed tomography (CT) provides an accurate assessment of sinonasal anatomy and osseocartilaginous pathologies in patients complaining of sinonasal symptoms. Although it is not a routine practice, CT is frequently used in preoperative screening of patients planned for septoplasty and septorhinoplasty. In this study, anatomical variations and ethmoid lateral lamella depths in preoperative CT images of septoplasty and septorhinoplasty operations performed in our clinic were analyzed retrospectively and discussed with current literature. Material and Method: Septorhinoplasty and septoplasty surgeries performed in our clinic between January 2014 and August 2018 over the age of 18 years were reviewed retrospectively. Two hundred patients were included in the study. CT images were evaluated for anatomical variations and ethmoid lateral lamella depths. Results: Of the 200 patients included in the study, 158 (79%) underwent septoplasty and 42 (21%) underwent septorhinoplasty. Concha bullosa was detected in 95 (47,5%) of the patients and was determined as the most common anatomical variation. Onodi cell variation was detected in 62 (31%) of the patients. Haller cell was detected in 37 patients (18,5%). Paradoxical middle turbinate was detected in 19 patients (9,5%), pneumatized anterior clinoid process in 17 patients (8,5%), and pneumatized crista galli in 4 patients (2%). In lateral lamella measurements; the median value of the lateral lamella depth on the right was 4,20 mm (0,40-7,40 mm) and the median value of the lateral lamella depth on the left was 4,20 mm (1,70-7,30 mm). Conclusion: Anatomical variations that can be detected in CT imaging before septoplasty and septorhinoplasty operations and information about ethmoid roof anatomy will be useful in case management, surgical planning and complication management.


Mediman is an image analysis package which has been developed to analyze quantitatively PET (positron emission tomography) data. It is object-oriented, written in C++, and based on InterViews on top of which new classes have been added. Mediman accesses data through NSF using external data representation or an import/export mechanism which avoids data duplication. Multimodality studies are organized in a database which includes images, headers, color tables, lists and objects of interest (OOIs), and history files. Stored color table parameters allow one to focus directly on the interesting portion of the dynamic range. Lists allow one to organize the image database according to modality, acquisition protocol, and time and spatial properties. OOIs are stored in absolute 3-D coordinates, allowing correlation with other coregistered imaging modalities such as magnetic resonance imaging or single photon emission computed tomography. OOIs have visualization properties and are organized into groups. Quantitative region-of-interest analysis of anatomic images consists of position, distance, and volume calculation on selected OOIs.<<ETX>>


A new proposed scheme for representing cumulus convection in a large-scale numerical model has been tested using the dataset collected during the Tropical Cyclone Motion (TCM-90) field experiment. This new scheme incorporated some modifications by K. Emanuel, which are based on recent observations of convective clouds, and showed much of the vertical transport of convective clouds was accomplished by subcloud-scale drafts rather than by the clouds themselves. These small-scale drafts were idealized and regarded as the fundamental agents of the convective transport. The input to the idealized model of subcloud-scale updrafts and downdrafts is the one-dimensional arrays of temperature and mixing ratio as a function of pressure, and the output is the tendency of potential temperature and the tendency of mixing ratio as well as the rate of convective precipitation. In this test, 46 dropwindsondes from the TCM-90 dataset with a vertical resolution of 10 mb were chosen as inputs. The convection scheme is integrated in time to investigate the outputs of precipitation rates. The model was forced with constant radiative cooling, convective heating/and moistening calculated from model and surface fluxes in all cases. We conclude that this new modified convective scheme predicts quite reasonable precipitation rates in the regions beyond 4° latitude radius, but not near the center (too small) of Supertyphoon Flo on 16, 17 and 18 September 1990.


Neutron-rich nuclei were populated in a relativistic fission of U. Gamma-rays with energies of 135 keV and 184 keV were associated with two isomeric states in Pd and Ru. Half-lives of 0.63(5) μs and 2.0(3) μs were deduced and the isomeric states were interpreted in terms of prolate deformed single-particle states.


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short RNA chains (20-24 bp) which are emerging as important regulators of gene expression. miRNAs are encoded by specific genes, and in Arabidopsis, 190 genes have presently been identified. It has been shown that miR399 is essential for the phosphate starvation response, and recent studies have shown transcriptional changes in a number of additional miRNAs in response to a shortage of phosphate. In this study, global profiles of the miRNA in shoots of Arabidopsis plants grown on limited phosphate or full nutrient in combination with sucrose feed were analysed using the miRCURY LNA microRNA Array system. Furthermore, changes in miRNA transcript were compared between a mutant lacking the transcription factor phosphate starvation responses 1 (PHR1) and wild-type plants. The global analysis identified miRNAs belonging to nine families to respond to P deprivation, sucrose or PHR1. Among these, miR399d, miR827, miR866, miR391 and miR163 were most prominently induced upon P starvation, whereas miR169b/c was strongly induced in previously starved plants when provided with sufficient P and more so when combined with an addition of sucrose. This study shows that array analysis is in general agreement with data obtained by other high-throughput technologies. The array data were confirmed by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analyses of selected pri-miRNAs. Our data corroborate the implication that several miRNAs are involved in the P-starvation response and further identify miR866 and miR163 as new candidates of miRNAs associated with the regulation of the P-starvation response.


All mitochondrial tRNAs in Trypanosoma brucei derive from cytosolic tRNAs that are in part imported into mitochondria. Some trypanosomal tRNAs are thiolated in a compartment-specific manner. We have identified three proteins required for the thio modification of cytosolic tRNAGln, tRNAGlu, and tRNALys. RNA interference-mediated ablation of these proteins results in the cytosolic accumulation non-thio-modified tRNAs but does not increase their import. Moreover, in vitro import experiments showed that both thio-modified and non-thio-modified tRNAGlu can efficiently be imported into mitochondria. These results indicate that unlike previously suggested the cytosol-specific thio modifications do not function as antideterminants for mitochondrial tRNA import. Consistent with these results we showed by using inducible expression of a tagged tRNAGlu that it is mainly the thiolated form that is imported in vivo. Unexpectedly, the imported tRNA becomes dethiolated after import, which explains why the non-thiolated form is enriched in mitochondria. Finally, we have identified two genes required for thiolation of imported tRNATrp whose wobble nucleotide is subject to mitochondrial C to U editing. Interestingly, down-regulation of thiolation resulted in an increase of edited tRNATrp but did not affect growth.


This paper models an economy in which it is costly to move resources between the tradeable and nontradeable sectors. The economy is subject to capital flows that are unpredictable and are perceived as having only limited persistence. The model shows that both the fact that capital flows are perceived as temporary and uncertainty per se act to limit the responsivesness of resource reallocation to real exchange rate movements. In turn, this reluctance of factors to move widens the range of real exchange rate variation, so that larger movements of the real exchange rate are needed to accommodate transitory, unpredictable capital flows than would be required to accommodate persistent, predictable flows of the same magnitude. The model also shows that large capital inflows that lead to real exchange rate appreciation large enough to induce resource reallocation will typically be followed by a depreciation of the real exchange rate to below its original level.


This thesis presents results of a study of the strategy adopted by UK research associations which led to success. The success of research associations, being not for profit organisations, was measured in terms of sustainable growth.

Research associations were established as a result of a government initiative to improve the performance of sectors of British industry. Initially they were financed by way of membership subscriptions and a related government grant. With the decline in the size ofthe manufacturing sectors they served and the removal of government grant, research associations have had to make the transition from publicly supported co-operative research associations to independent privately financed research institutes.

The identification of the strategy was based on the analysis of documentary archival, interview and questionnaire data. A case study approach was adopted. The research associations were selected and evaluated in pairs to reduce the effect of the external environment, including the influence of the sector the research associations served.

Pilot interviews indicated the importance of governance as well as strategy to these organisations. The study therefore included consideration of research associations' governance. The data collected and analysed for case study research associations enabled both their strategy and governance to be classified using the theoretical models of Whittington (2001) and Cornforth (2003) respectively.

The more successful research associations were found to have adopted an evolutionary perspective on strategy and a partnership model of organisational governance. Size contributed to success, with the larger research associations exhibiting superior sustainable growth.


This study was conducted on the lentil cultivar Malazgirt 89 during 1999 and 2000 to determine the most appropriate method for controlling weeds. In the experiments, hand hoeing, trifluralin, imazethapyr, linuron, prometryn, phenmedipham + desmediphame, trifluralin + hand hoeing and linuron + hand hoeing which should be used as an alternative to hand weeding, were tested. The effects of herbicides on nodulation in lentils were also investigated. Centaurea depressa in the first year, and Ranunculus arvensis and Acroptilon repens in the second year were the dominant weed species encountered in the plots. A combination of linuron + hand hoeing, linuron alone and hand hoeing were the most effective methods for weed control. Trifluralin, imazethapyr and phenmedipham + desmedipham showed phytotoxic effects on lentils. None of the herbicides and methods used in the investigation had any adverse effects on nodulation, and Rhizobium leguminosarum inoculation was not found to have any effect on the competitive ability of weeds in lentils.


In view of the important role of developing efficient approaches to induce and manipulate the magnetism in semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers for their application in low-dimensional spintronic devices, the influence of a series of transition metal (TM) (Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Y, Nb and Mo), alkali metals (Li and Na) and alkaline-earth (Ca) dopants on the electronic structure and magnetic properties of a ZrS2 monolayer are investigated using first-principles calculations. It is shown that Ca, Sc, Ti, Ni and Y dopants cannot induce the magnetism in the doped ZrS2 monolayer and the stability of the magnetic state of the Na doped system is very small, while the ground state of Li, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Nb and Mo-doped systems are magnetic and the magnetic moment induced by 3d TM, 4d TM and Li dopants are mainly contributed by the 3d states of the 3d TM atom, the 4d states of the 4d TM atom and its nearing Mo atoms, and the 3p states of the S atoms and the interstitial region around Li, respectively. The evolutions of the magnetic moments with the different TM dopants, such as Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Nb and Mo, can be interpreted in terms of a simple analysis based on the molecular orbitals and electron filling. Furthermore, the magnetic coupling between the moments induced by two Li, V, Cr, Fe, Co, Nb and Mo is long-range ferromagnetic and the coupling can be attributed to the hybridization interaction involving polarized electrons or holes, whereas the coupling between the moments induced by two Mn is anti-ferromagnetic. The calculated results suggest that substitutional doping of Li, V, Cr, Fe, Co and Mo atoms can induce the room temperature ferromagnetism in the ZrS2 monolayer.


Brand owners can play a key role in enabling biobased products to penetrate mass markets and to influence consumer choices in relation to biobased products. The current paper explores the role that brand owners can play in supporting market uptake of biobased products and captures the perspectives of European brand owners in relation to biobased products. Based on the findings of this paper, brand owners have an overall positive outlook towards biobased products, with 85% of brands who don't currently use biobased ingredients or products within their branded products and 95% of brands who don't currently use biobased packaging interested in including these in future. However, brand owners still perceive some concerns surrounding biobased products including their high cost, functional performance and ease of integration, as well as their reliability of supply. Regional differences among brand owners have also been identified, with cost and uncertainty around customer demand appearing as a bigger issue in continental Europe, with functional performance concerns appearing as a more pressing issue for brands in northern Europe.


The inherent capability to deform and reform in a predefined environment is a unique property existing in shape memory polyurethane. The intrinsic shape memory ability of the polyurethane is due to the presence of macro domains of soft and hard segments in its bulk, which make this material a potential candidate for several applications. This review is focused on manifesting the applicability of shape memory polyurethane and its composites/blends in various domains, especially to human health such as shielding of electromagnetic interference, medical bandage development, bone tissue engineering, self-healing, implants development, etc. A coherent literature review highlighting the prospects of shape memory polyurethane in versatile applications has been presented.


The utility of simulations and analysis heavily relies on good models of network traffic. While network traffic constantly is changing over time, existing approaches typically take years from collecting trace, analyzing the data to finally generating and implementing models. In this paper, we describe approaches and tools that support rapid parameterization of traffic models from live network measurements. Rather than treating measured traffic as a time-series of statistics, we utilize the traces to estimate end-user behavior and network conditions to generate application-level simulation models. We also show multi-scaling analytic techniques are helpful for debugging and validating the model. To demonstrate our approaches, we develop structural source-level models for web and FTP traffic and evaluate their accuracy by comparing the outputs of simulation against the original trace. We also compare our work with existing traffic generation tools and show our approach is more flexible in capturing the heterogeneity of traffic. Finally, we automate and integrate the process from trace analysis to model validation for easy model parameterization from new data.


SUMMARY The goal of this research was to determine whether there is any interaction between the type of constitutive equation used and the degree of mesh refinement, as well as how the type of constitutive equation might affect the convergence and quality of the solution, for a planar 4: 1 contraction in the finite eiement method. Five constitutive equations were used in this work: the Phan-Thien-Tanner (PTT), Johnson-Segalman (JS), White-Metzner (WM), Leonov-like and upper convected Maxwell (UCM) models. A penalty Galerkin finite element technique was used to solve the system of non-linear differential equations. The constitutive equations were fitted to the steady shear viscosity and normal stress data for a polystyrene melt. In general it was found that the convergence limit based on the Deborah number De and the Weissenberg number We varied from model to model and from mesh to mesh. From a practical point of view it was observed that the wall shear stress in the downstream region should also be indicated at the point where convergence is lost, since this parameter reflects the throughput conditions. Because of the dependence of convergence on the combination of mesh size and constitutive equation, predictions of the computations were compared with birefringence data obtained for the same polystyrene melt flowing through a 4: 1 planar contraction. Refinement in the mesh led to better agreement between the predictions using the PTT model and flow birefringence, but the oscillations became worse in the corner region as the mesh was further refined, eventually leading to the loss of convergence of the numerical algorithm. In comparing results using different models at the same wall shear stress conditions and on the same mesh, it was found that the PTT model gave less overshoot of the stresses at the re-entrant corner. Away from the corner there were very small differences between the quality of the solutions obtained using different models. All the models predicted solutions with oscillations. However, the values of the solutions oscillated around the experimental birefringence data, even when the numerical algorithm would not converge. Whereas the stresses are predicted to oscillate, the streamlines and velocity field remained smooth. Predictions for the existence of vortices as well as for the entrance pressure loss (Ape",) varied from model to model. The UCM and WM models predicted negative values for Ape",.


Using data accumulated by DELPHI during the November 1995 LEP run at 130-136 GeV, searches have been made for events with jets or leptons in conjunction with missing momentum. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the production of neutralinos, scalar leptons, and scalar quarks.


Childbirth educators are responsible for providing expectant parents with evidence-based information. In this column, the author suggests resources where educators can find evidence-based research for best practices. Additionally, the author describes techniques for childbirth educators to use in presenting research-based information in their classes. A sample of Web sites and books that offer evidence-based resources for expectant parents is provided.


Abstract:The historic Prespa agreement, signed on 17 June 2018 by Prime Ministers Tsipras and Zaev in the Greek border village of Psarades, marks the latest use of this borderland and its ruins as a performative stage. Prespa's ruins, both its celebrated Byzantine monuments and the contemporary ruins of villages deserted following the Greek Civil War (1946–1949), have been used as aesthetic and performative objects not only to serve nationalist narratives but also to negotiate processes of loss, mourning, or personal commemoration and reflection. A consideration of recent films about the Greek Civil War in terms of visual-spatial practices of cinematic cartography, informed by theoretical approaches to ruins, memory, and nostalgia, reveals that Prespa's ruins, both as filmic objects and as enduring materialities of lingering emotional effects, are constituted through an Otherness with subversive possibilities that can help to challenge established notions of ruins and ruination.


Goal: Present a toolbox applied to improve the processes related to social housing construction projects using Lean Construction. Design / Methodology / Approach: The research presents six phases; (1) literature review, (2) analyze record information and data on social projects, (3) design Lean Construction toolbox customized to social housing projects, (4) estimate indicators post application, (5) assessment building process (6) analyze economic outcomes due to toolbox application. Results: Results showed that it is possible to apply lean construction tools to social projects in the poorest areas of urban districts in Latin America, the efficiency building an emergency house increase to 50% implementing LC tools. In an average of 20 projects a year, where around 150 to 200 houses are built, the reduction of time to build the same number of houses is around 20%. Limitations of the investigation: The proposed toolbox was studied on housing projects deal by an NGO with operations in Coastal Lima Peru, it was considered its sources and limitation to operate, and those own from communities located in the Lima slums. Practical implications: The proposal toolbox can be used as a guide for the construction of housing social projects. Originality / Value: The paper demonstrates its originality and relevance by presenting Lean Construction practices adapted to apply in social projects; reducing resources and wastes used and improving project productivity.


In this paper, bistatic interferometry using fixed-receiver configurations is addressed both theoretically and experimentally. The analytical expressions for interferometric phase and height sensitivity are derived, and a full interferometric processing chain for digital elevation model (DEM) generation is presented. The derived expressions are general, and they can be applied to two possible acquisition geometries: backscattering and forward scattering. The theoretical developments are complemented with experimental results done with the bistatic receiver Synthetic Aperture radar Bistatic Receiver for INterferometric Applications. The obtained DEMs are compared with a DEM from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and a digital terrain model from the Institut Cartografic de Catalunya. The comparison allows one to validate the results and demonstrate to which particular features of the scene that the bistatic radar is sensitive.


Genomic DNA encoding the rat tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene was isolated from a lambda phage library using a nick-translated fragment from a cDNA clone for rat TH. We have determined the initiation site for TH RNA synthesis and have sequenced 1100 bases of the primary transcript and 5' flanking region. The 5' end of the transcript is the same in several rat tissues in which TH is expressed as well as in rat pheochromocytoma cells (PC). RNA prepared from PC cells that had been stimulated with dexamethasone also mapped to the same transcription start site. Sequence upstream from the initiation site contains the canonical TATA box, but no apparent CAAT box. When a portion of the 5' flanking region of the TH gene (-773 to + 27) is fused to the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene, it promotes expression of CAT in pheochromocytoma cells and GH4 cells, but not in two neural tumour lines, RT4-D and B103, nor in several non neural cell lines. This suggests that this region of the TH gene has features that confer tissue-restricted expression on the TH promoter.


Almond (Prunus dulcis L.) seedlings were exposed to 0, 25, 50, 100 and 150 μM of CdCl2 in a solution culture under controlled conditions. The effects of cadmium (Cd) exposure on almond seedlings growth, stomatal architecture, gas exchange and physiological parameters were investigated. Under cadmium stress conditions, significant decrease in fresh and dry weight, length of shoot and chlorophyll content were observed. Stomatal conductance, transpiration and net photosynthetic rates were generally depressed by Cd stress, despite stomatal frequency values and stomatal pore size remained unchanged. Exposure to Cd severely restricted the starch content and increased soluble sugars.


Aim: The present study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of different brands of stock acrylic teeth against fibroblast cells. Materials and Methods: For this experiment, the cell lineage used was the L929 from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Rockville, MD, USA). The brands of stock teeth tested included: Artplus, Biolux, Biotone, Pop Dent, Vipi Dent, Orthosit Ivoclar, Biocler, and Trilux. Each group was placed in contact with the fibroblast cells for the periods of 24, 48, 72, and 168 hours. Control cells, as well as negative and positive controls, were used to compare the extremes. Results: The results showed cytotoxicity for all the groups tested in the time periods of 24, 48, and 72 hours during the experiment, which occurred in the Orthosit Ivoclar and Trilux groups even after the experiment had been conducted for 168 hours. Conclusion:  The researched acrylic teeth developed cytotoxicity against the cells in vitro during the time periods of 24, 48, and 72 hours, while Ivoclar Vivodent and Trilux brands of teeth developed cytotoxicity against the tested cells during the time period of 168 hours.Uniterms: Tooth artificial. Evaluation studies. Cell line.


HAE-YOUNG KIM: OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS OF GROUP TESTING ALGORITHMS FOR CASE IDENTIFICATION IN THE PRESENCE OF TEST ERROR. (Under the direction of Dr. Michael G. Hudgens.) Pooling of specimens to increase efficiency of screening individuals for rare diseases has a long history, dating back to screening for syphilis in military inductees in the 1940s. Subsequently, specimen pooling has been applied to screening for many other infectious diseases and has also found broader application in entomology, screening for genetic mutations and many other areas. Currently the North Carolina Department of Public Health and investigators from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed quick, cost effective methods to screen over 120,000 people annually for recent HIV infection using highly sensitive, automated specimen pooling algorithms as part of the Screening and Tracing Active Transmission (STAT) program. In this dissertation, we research group testing methodology to help optimize the pooling algorithm used in the STAT program and to assist in extending this innovative approach to other settings or detection of other infectious diseases where the overriding issues are identical but the specific conditions (e.g., disease prevalence) vary considerably. This dissertation is comprised of three papers. In the first paper, we derive and compare the operating characteristics of hierarchical and two-dimensional array-based testing algorithms for case identification in the presence of testing error. The operating characteristics investigated include efficiency (i.e., expected number of tests per specimen) and error rates (i.e., sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, per-family error rate, and per-comparison error rate). In the second paper, we extend two-dimensional array to three-dimensional array-based algorithms when there exist test errors. Efficiency and pooling measurement error rates of three-dimensional iii array-based algorithms are compared with hierarchical and two-dimensional arraybased algorithms in the presence of test error. In both the first and second papers, the methodology is illustrated by comparing different pooling algorithms for the detection of individuals recently infected with HIV in North Carolina and Malawi. In the third paper, the optimal configuration of a two-dimensional array-based pooling algorithm is considered. We derive p∗, the highest prevalence, where pooling with this algorithm is better than individual testing. For the given prevalence less than p∗, we determine the optimal algorithm configuration which minimizes the expected number of tests per specimen.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the spatial dependence between chemical properties of the soil and yield components in the soybean using precision farming techniques. Samples of the soil and plants were taken from georeferenced points to determine the chemical properties of the soil and the yield components. The results were submitted to Pearson correlation analysis, descriptive statistics and geostatistics. The coefficient of variation showed a wide range of distribution for the chemical attributes of the soil, with the highest indices being found for the levels of available phosphorus (102%) and potassium (72.65%). Soil pH and organic matter showed a coefficient of variation of 5.96 and 15.93% respectively. Semivariogram analysis of the yield components (productivity, 1,000-seed weight and number of seeds) and the chemical properties of the soil (organic matter, pH, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, boron, manganese and zinc) fitted the spherical model with moderate spatial dependence, with values ranging from 200 to 700 m. Spatial distribution by means of map interpolation was efficient in evaluating spatial variability, allowing the identification and quantification of regions of low and high productivity in the production area, together with the distribution of soil attributes and their respective levels of availability to the soybean plants.


Summary With the aid of the Texas Inventory of Grief, 130 first-degree relatives were studied eight years after bereavement. It was found that relatives of persons who had died suddenly and unexpectedly had more pronounced grief reactions than those of persons whose deaths were more expected. The same was observed concerning parents as a group, compared with widows and widowers. The inventory was found to be of value for assessing whether the outcome was good or poor, but it was not possible to identify risk groups with this method.


In cardioplegia research one is confronted with three different calcium paradoxes: the original, the low sodium and the infusion plus ischaemia induced type. On the basis of general considerations on extracellular calcium and myocardial pathophysiology, on characteristics of calcium paradox phenomena, and on surgically relevant factors, it is recommended that cardioplegic solutions should always contain some calcium.


Objectives To provide an overview of the demographics, treatment characteristics and long-term outcomes of children with perinatal HIV-1 infection (PHIV) living in the Netherlands (NL) and to specifically investigate whether outcomes differ by children's adoption status. Design A prospective population-based open cohort including children with PHIV in NL. Methods We included children with PHIV who had entered HIV care in NL since 2007, in view of a sharp increase in the number of adopted children with PHIV since that year. We compared the proportion with virologic suppression and CD4+T-cell count over time between the following groups of children with PHIV: adopted and born outside NL, non-adopted born in NL, and non-adopted born outside NL, using generalized estimating equations and linear mixed effects models, respectively. To account for the variation in cohort inclusion, we analyzed data of children exposed to at least one year of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Results We included 148 children (827.5 person-years of follow-up, 72% adopted, age at start care in NL 2.4 (0.5–5.3)). Under-18 mortality was zero. Over the years, a boosted PI-based regimen was most often prescribed. The use of integrase inhibitors increased since 2015. Non-adopted children born in NL were less likely to achieve virological suppression compared to adopted children (OR 0.66, 95%CI 0.51–0.86, p = 0.001), which disappeared after excluding one child with suspected treatment nonadherence (OR 0.85, 95%CI 0.57–1.25, p = 0.400). CD4+T-cell Z-score trajectories were not significantly different between groups. Conclusions Despite considerable and increasing diversity of the population of children with PHIV in NL, geographical origin and adoption status do not seem to pose important challenges in achieving good immunological and virological outcomes.


Establishing cost and resource efficient dependability through means of adaptivity in safety-critical distributed embedded systems is a strenuous endeavour, as the varying requirements on resilience, control and efficiency across domains prohibits a single solution to suit all needs. To assist the process of determining a safe and efficient system architecture with satisfactory precision, this work exemplifies the importance of differentiation by only addressing distributed embedded systems that perform multiple functions with alternating levels of criticality. Further, they do not require full fail-operational behaviour, thus allowing to sacrifice less important functions in the pursuit of preserving safety. Herein, a dynamic instantiation and graceful degradation strategy is developed to subsequently study its effect on cost when implemented in conjunction with execute-in-place (NOR-flash) or block-addressable (NAND-flash) memory concepts. Even though NOR-flash is generally considered to be a better candidate for such systems, this qualitative research produces evidence that NAND-flash memory concepts are likely to financially outperform traditional architectures when considering adaptivity.


Co-occurrence patterns are used in ecology to explore interactions between organisms and environmental effects on coexistence within biological communities. Analysis of co-occurrence patterns among microbial communities has ranged from simple pairwise comparisons between all community members to direct hypothesis testing between focal species. However, co-occurrence patterns are rarely studied across multiple ecosystems or multiple scales of biological organization within the same study. Here we outline an approach to produce co-occurrence analyses that are focused at three different scales: co-occurrence patterns between ecosystems at the community scale, modules of co-occurring microorganisms within communities, and co-occurring pairs within modules that are nested within microbial communities. To demonstrate our co-occurrence analysis approach, we gathered publicly available 16S rRNA amplicon datasets to compare and contrast microbial co-occurrence at different taxonomic levels across different ecosystems. We found differences in community composition and co-occurrence that reflect environmental filtering at the community scale and consistent pairwise occurrences that may be used to infer ecological traits about poorly understood microbial taxa. However, we also found that conclusions derived from applying network statistics to microbial relationships can vary depending on the taxonomic level chosen and criteria used to build co-occurrence networks. We present our statistical analysis and code for public use in analysis of co-occurrence patterns across microbial communities.


We introduce WikiDoMiner – a tool for automatically generating domain-specific corpora by crawling Wikipedia. WikiDoMiner helps requirements engineers create an external knowledge resource that is specific to the underlying domain of a given requirements specification (RS). Being able to build such a resource is important since domain-specific datasets are scarce. WikiDoMiner generates a corpus by first extracting a set of domain-specific keywords from a given RS, and then querying Wikipedia for these keywords. The output of WikiDoMiner is a set of Wikipedia articles relevant to the domain of the input RS. Mining Wikipedia for domain-specific knowledge can be beneficial for multiple requirements engineering tasks, e.g., ambiguity handling, requirements classification, and question answering. WikiDoMiner is publicly available on Zenodo under an open-source license (https: //doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6672682)


Background: Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) has been advocated as a diagnostic technique to improve outcomes in patients with IBD. Little is known if gastroenterologists interpret TDM results correctly. In this study, we describe gastroenterologists' interpretation and response to 3 different clinical scenarios which included TDM results. Methods: We emailed an 8 question online survey to gastroenterologists who are members of the American College of Gastroenterology using Survey Monkey from January 2016 to May 2016. Respondents demographics were obtained including practice setting (academic or private practice), average number of IBD patients seen in a week (<5, 5–10, 11–20, 20+), age of the participant, and attendance at major gastroenterology conferences (DDW, CCFA, ECCO, ACG). Three IBD clinical case scenarios were provided with TDM results and a single multiple choice question to answer. Results: The survey was sent to 5879 gastroenterologists; 1687 opened the email (29%), and 143 completed the survey (8%). Of the respondents, 49% practice in academic medical centers and 43% in private practice. Thirty-eight percent of the participants see 5 to 10 IBD patients a week and 18% see 20 or more patients a week. The participants ages were 20 to 39 (41%), 40 to 59 (43%) or older than 60 (16%). Participants attended the ACG annual meeting (45%), CCFA annual meeting (45%), DDW (55%) and/or ECCO (3%) within the past year. In the scenario of a symptomatic patient with loss of response due to low trough levels and high anti-drug antibodies, 63% of respondents would switch within anti-TNF class, but 23% would increase the dose of the anti-TNF. In the case of a symptomatic patient with loss of response despite adequate drug levels with no anti-drug antibodies, 9% would increase the dose and 37% would add a thiopurine. Finally, in the scenario of a primary non-responder to a single 10 mg/kg infliximab dose in an inpatient with severe steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis, 21% would give an additional 10 mg/kg dose 3 days after the initial dose while 43% of gastroenterologists would give an additional dose in 2 weeks. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that there are wide variations in response to TDM results in the described clinical practice scenarios. A substantial proportion (23%) of gastroenterologists would increase the dose of anti-TNF in symptomatic patients with high anti-drug antibody levels. Despite therapeutic trough levels and no anti-drug antibodies in a symptomatic patient, 9% of respondents would increase the drug dose or add a thiopurine (37%). An accelerated infliximab induction regimen is not widely utilitzed in cases of hospitalized severe steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis. Interpretation of therapeutic drug monitoring results can be challenging in specific clinical scenarios. Therefore, additional efforts are needed to educate gastroenterologists on the interpretation of therapeutic drug monitoring results in order to optimize the use of anti-TNFs and improve outcomes.


Reducing ac losses of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) is essential for ac application since it can lower the constraint on the cryogenic cooling demand. Several studies have reported that the manufacturing of multifilament HTS cables can reduce ac loss. However, large coupling losses were identified in the existing cables, due to the existence of coupled copper or soldering layers. We report in this article a novel way to develop multifilament HTS cables, mainly focusing on suppressing the coupling losses by reducing the contact resistivity within the HTS cables. Heat shrink tubes are used to directly insulate narrow HTS filaments into a cable structure. Sample cables were made with 4 mm and 2 mm wide HTS strips. Both transport losses and total ac losses in a rotational magnetic field were measured to quantify the ac loss reduction for the multifilament HTS cables. The measurements were used to validate the modeling results, and to predict ac loss reduction for 1 mm wide HTS cable. The results showed loss reduction up to around 90% in the 1 mm wide HTS cable compared with 4 mm cable. As a result, the proposed multifilament HTS cables will have promising applications in reducing ac loss.


In-vehicle communications are emerging to play an important role in the continued development of reliable and efficient X-by-Wire applications in new vehicles. Since vehicle devices, sensors, and the electronic control unit (ECU) are already connected to power wires, the advancement of power line communications (PLCs) can provide a very low cost and virtually free platform for in-vehicle communications. In this paper, we propose a medium access control (MAC) protocol for vehicular PLC systems, where multiple nodes are competing for transmission over the direct current (dc) power line. The proposed protocol uses a combination of time and frequency multiplexing and consists of two key features: 1) a distributed channel selection policy to arbitrate packet transmission across different channels and provide robustness against interference and noise and 2) a distributed collision resolution algorithm to allow efficient nodes completion over selected channels. Specifically, the collision resolution algorithm is optimized with respect to the channel policy such that the success probability of transmission in each channel is maximized. Numerical results are also supplemented to validate the performance of the proposed protocol and provide useful guidelines for developing a robust contention-based MAC protocol for vehicular PLC systems.


Internal e-mail systems offer an ideal opportunity to provide cost-effective, user-friendly educational experiences for employees. This article describes the use of computer technology to reach employees working different hours and in a variety of professional and nonprofessional roles. Monthly newsletters that provided contemporary, compressed, educational activities were created by the education department staff at a Veterans Affairs medical center. The educational sessions provided individualized, self-paced learning, supportive of the adult learner. Employees selected the educational activities that suited their needs. Although participation was optional, employees consistently took part in the activities.


In water‐limited environments, transpiration may minimize deep drainage on engineered covers used for hazardous waste disposal. However, comparative studies investigating plant ecophysiology and water use on engineered covers and natural sites are limited. Water use patterns and plant–water relations of evergreen shrubs were monitored in semi‐arid Western Australia to (1) investigate the response of plant–water relations and shrub transpiration to soil moisture changes and (2) quantify stand transpiration and its contribution to the water balance. The shrubs showed conservative (<20 cm hr−1) but persistent transpiration. Differential response to rainfall pulses was evident among species; sap velocity for Acacia bivenosa and Acacia inaequilatera increased by 20–103% (p < 0·05) after rainfall events exceeding 15 mm but declined rapidly to pre‐storm levels. On the contrary, sap velocity for Acacia pruinocarpa increased by 61% after large pulse (83 and 127 mm) associated with cyclonic activity and remained high (10–15 cm hr−1) thereafter. These transpiration patterns suggested contrasting rooting patterns among the species. Sap velocity was low (<20 mm hr−1) for all species, even when moisture was readily available. Annual shrub transpiration was 65 (engineered cover) and 81 mm (natural shrubland), accounting for 16 and 20% of annual rainfall (395 mm). Stand characteristics, plant ecophysiology and shrub transpiration were comparable for both sites, demonstrating the importance of using topsoil as a growth medium and seedbank in revegetation. Overall, the study provided insights on ecophysiological behaviour of artificial landforms, and the first empirical evidence suggesting rapid and successful restoration of mined lands can be achieved under semi‐arid conditions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A large research and development program called RYM PRE (Process Re-Engineering) has been active in Finland since 2010. As a part of the program, a work packet Infra FINBIM is focused on the development of new national process model, specifications and requirements for the whole Finnish Infra Industry. In the Infra FINBIM, total 15 companies and main owners and 3 research organisations are included. The work is further continuing. The main achieved results up today have been the first specifications and requirements of the BIM based total process for infra sector, about 30 different pilot projects for testing of the new design and construction process models producing a lot of results and observations, a new open information transfer format Inframodel3 based on LandXML standard, the achieved acceptance of the Building SMART organization for support of international development, utilization and extension of the format within the whole infra industry, processes, software and other technical equipment. An evaluation of the results and this work will be drawn.


The purpose of this paper is to identify use of library OPAC in realizing change in research and the nation by undergraduates in the university libraries and to determine the extent of utilization of library OPAC by undergraduates in the university libraries in Nigeria.A survey of three university libraries in Enugu, Lagos and Imo was carried out usingquestionnaire, observation checklist along with Focus Group Discussion (FGD) as instruments of data collection.Results shows that undergraduate students from these three universities used the OPAC to check availability of books in the library and the number of copies in the library stock. It further shows that the purposes for which OPAC was utilized was at a low level.The originality of the work lies in the strategies of creating awareness drive to users and students who are not yet aware of OPAC, and inculcating it as part of the teaching curriculum for LIS undergraduate students to bring about change in research attitude and to the nation in general.Keywords: OPAC, Web OPAC, University libraries, Undergraduates, ICT, Change Agent, Developing countries


A single-staged, fixed-bed Wellman-Galusha gasifier coupled with a hot, raw gas combustion system and scrubber has been used to gasify numerous coals from throughout the United States. The gasification test program is organized as a cooperative effort by private industrial participants and governmental agencies. The consortium of participants is organized under the Mining and Industrial Fuel Gas (MIFGa) Group. This report is the fifth volume in a series of reports describing the atmospheric pressure, fixed-bed gasification of US coals. This specific report describes the gasification of Stahlman Stoker bituminous coal from Clarion County, PA. The period of the gasification test was April 30 to May 4, 1983. 4 refs., 16 figs., 10 tabs.


This paper proposes a method for PDR (Pedestrian Dead-Reckoning) using a low cost IMU. Generally, GPS has been widely used for localization of pedestrians. However, GPS is disabled in the indoor environment such as in buildings. To solve this problem, this research suggests the PDR scheme with an IMU attached to the pedestrian`s waist. However, despite the fact many methods have been proposed to estimate the pedestrian`s position, but their results are not sufficient. One of the most important factors to improve performance is, a new calibration method that has been proposed to obtain the reliable sensor data. In addition to this calibration, the PDR method is also proposed to detect steps, where estimation schemes of step length, attitude, and heading angles are developed. Peak and zero crossings are detected to count the steps from 3-axis acceleration values. For the estimation of step length, a nonlinear step model is adopted to take advantage of using one parameter. Complementary filter and zero angular velocity are utilized to estimate the attitude of the IMU module and to minimize the heading angle drift. To verify the effectiveness of this scheme, a real-time system is implemented and demonstrated. Experimental results show an accuracy of below 1% and below 3% in distance and position errors, respectively, which can be achievable using a high cost IMU.