Real-time Implementation of a Sensor Validation Scheme for a Heavy-duty Diesel Engine Manoharan Thiagarajan With ultra-low exhaust emissions standards, heavy-duty diesel engines (HDDEs) are dependent upon a myriad of sensors to optimize power output and exhaust emissions. Apart from acquiring and processing sensor signals, engine control modules should also have capabilities to report and compensate for sensors that have failed. The global objective of this research was to develop strategies to enable HDDEs to maintain nominal in-use performance during periods of sensor failures. Specifically, the work explored the creation of a sensor validation scheme to detect, isolate, and accommodate sensor failures in HDDEs. The scheme not only offers onboard diagnostic (OBD) capabilities, but also control of engine performance in the event of sensor failures. The scheme, known as Sensor Failure Detection Isolation and Accommodation (SFDIA), depends on mathematical models for its functionality. Neural approximators served as the modeling tool featuring online adaptive capabilities. The significance of the SFDIA is that it can enhance an engine management system (EMS) capability to control performance under any operating conditions when sensors fail. The SFDIA scheme updates models during the lifetime of an engine under real world, in-use conditions. The central hypothesis for the work was that the SFDIA scheme would allow continuous normal operation of HDDEs under conditions of sensor failures. The SFDIA was tested using the boost pressure, coolant temperature, and fuel pressure sensors to evaluate its performance. The test engine was a 2004 Mack MP7-355E (11 L, 355 hp). Experimental work was conducted at the Engine and Emissions Research Laboratory (EERL) at West Virginia University (WVU). Failure modes modeled were abrupt, long-term drift and intermittent failures. During the accommodation phase, the SFDIA restored engine power up to 0.64% to nominal. In addition, oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions were maintained at up to 1.41% to nominal.


Disease spreading through human travel networks has been a topic of great interest in recent years, as witnessed during outbreaks of influenza A (H1N1) or SARS pandemics. One way to stop spreading over the airline network are travel restrictions for major airports or network hubs based on the total number of passengers of an airport. Here, we test alternative strategies using edge removal, cancelling targeted flight connections rather than restricting traffic for network hubs, for controlling spreading over the airline network. We employ a SEIR metapopulation model that takes into account the population of cities, simulates infection within cities and across the network of the top 500 airports, and tests different flight cancellation methods for limiting the course of infection. The time required to spread an infection globally, as simulated by a stochastic global spreading model was used to rank the candidate control strategies. The model includes both local spreading dynamics at the level of populations and long-range connectivity obtained from real global airline travel data. Simulated spreading in this network showed that spreading infected 37% less individuals after cancelling a quarter of flight connections between cities, as selected by betweenness centrality. The alternative strategy of closing down whole airports causing the same number of cancelled connections only reduced infections by 18%. In conclusion, selecting highly ranked single connections between cities for cancellation was more effective, resulting in fewer individuals infected with influenza, compared to shutting down whole airports. It is also a more efficient strategy, affecting fewer passengers while producing the same reduction in infections.


During their epididymal maturation, stabilizing factors such as cholesterol sulfate are associated with the sperm plasma membrane. Cholesterol is sulfated in epididymal spermatozoa by the enzyme estrogen sulfotransferase. Because of its role in the efflux of sulfate conjugates formed intracellularly by sulfotransferases, the ATP-binding cassette membrane transporter G2 (ABCG2) might have a role in the translocation of this compound across the plasma membrane. In the present study we showed that ABCG2 is present in the plasma membrane overlaying the acrosomal region of spermatozoa recovered from testis, epididymis, and after ejaculation. Although ABCG2 is also present in epididymosomes, the transporter is not transferred to spermatozoa via this mechanism. Furthermore, although epididymal sperm ABCG2 was shown to be functional, as determined by its ability to extrude Hoechst 33342 in the presence of the specific inhibitor Fumitremorgin C, ABCG2 present in ejaculated sperm was found to be nonfunctional. Additional experiments demonstrated that phosphorylation of ABCG2 tyrosyl residues, but not its localization in lipid rafts, is the mechanism responsible for its functionality. Dephosphorylation of ABCG2 in ejaculated spermatozoa is proposed to cause a partial protein relocalization to other intracellular compartments. Prostasomes are proposed to have a role in this process because incubation with this fraction of seminal plasma induces a decrease in the amount of ABCG2 in the associated sperm membrane fraction. These results demonstrate that ABCG2 plays a role in epididymal sperm maturation, but not after ejaculation. The loss of ABCG2 function after ejaculation is proposed to be regulated by prostasomes. ABCG2, ATP-binding cassette transporters, bull spermatozoa, epididymis


The dynamic behavior of a vibration converter of an ultrasonic motor is described using finite element method. Tetrahedral finite elements with three dimensions are formulated with the effects of piezoelectric coupling. And the solution of the coupled electroelastic equations of dynamic motion is presented. The simulated response of the vibration converter is calculated, and shows excellent consistency with experimental results, which proved that finite element modeling is a good approach to optimize piezoelectric apparatus design. A gradual optimized method is employed to ascertain the most compatible structure.


Linear Ordering Problem (LOP) is a well know optimization problem attractive for its complexity (it is a NP-hard problem), rich collection of testing data and variety of real world applications. In this paper, we investigate the usage and performance of two variants of Genetic Algorithms - Mutation Only Genetic Algorithms and Higher Level Chromosome Genetic Algorithms - on the Linear Ordering Problem. Both methods are tested and evaluated on a collection of real world and artificial LOP instances.


Event studies play a central role in class action securities fraud litigation. Event studies are used to assess market efficiency, price impact, loss causation, and damages, all of which are essential elements of a securities fraud claim. However, a substantial increase in market-wide volatility, such as what happened in 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic, can render the standard event study methodology unreliable. In these periods, the usual distributional assumptions for t-tests of significance produce too many false positives. In this paper, we examine the extent of the problem and propose a solution that employs the empirical distribution of the t-statistic during the Covid period to adjust the critical test statistic value. We demonstrate this methodology with an application using the 19 constituents of the consumer durables index S5CODU in PreCovid and Covid period samples, and with an evaluation of earnings announcement effects on stock prices. We show the methodology restores correct test size, eliminating excess spurious significance, while preserving substantial test power to correctly identify significant events in the Covid period.


Student achievement was compared between Washington State middle schools with comprehensive school counseling programs (CSCPs) and those without. Statistically controlling for socioeconomic status, multi-variate analyses of covariance revealed minimal differences between students in CSCP and non-CSCP schools. Significant score differences emerged, however, for students attending schools with at least 5 years of CSCP implementation versus their peers in non-CSCP schools. Girls outperformed boys on various achievement measures. The findings and their implications for middle school counseling practice are discussed.


This thesis presents the development of a label-free cell discriminator for dengue-infected cells using Dielectrophoresis (DEP). DEP, the induced movement of dielectric particles in a non-uniform electric field, has been used as a potential technique for the manipulation and separation of many biological samples without destructive consequences to the cell. Because cells of the same genotype in different physiological and pathological states have unique morphological and structural features, it is possible to differentiate normal and infected cells using their DEP responses. The proposed lab-on-a-chip platform consisted of five layers and employs microarray dot electrodes that utilize both positive and negative DEP effects. The geometry of the electrode design was optimized with numerical modeling using COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2a®. The testing and proof of feasibility for this device were performed by conducting size-dependent manipulation and separation experiments on 1, 5 and 15 μm polystyrene particles. A total of 120 samples (60 samples of normal WRL-68 cells and 60 samples of Dengue-infected WRL-68 cells) were used to conduct the DEP experiments to discriminate between normal and infected cells. The DEP responses of the cells were quantified by analyzing the light intensity shift of the captured images before and after the application of the electric field. The differences in dielectric properties between normal and infected cells were exploited by plotting a unique DEP spectrum for each set of cells and obtaining the DEP crossover frequency at which no resultant movement occurs to the cells in response to the DEP force.


The effects of ozone on allergen sensitization is still controversial. This study is aimed to clarify the effect of ozone on airway hypersensitivity to ovalbumin (OVA) in guinea pigs, by exposing them to ozone (3 ppm 2 hours daily) and OVA (1 gm/dL 10 min weekly) for two weeks. OVA specific IgG and airway hypersensitivity to methacholine were determined after the sensitization. The results demonstrated that there was a synergistic effect of ozone on OVA-induced IgG antibody production. OVA specific IgG was 0.51 +/- 0.1 U/mL and 0.46 +/- 0.1 U/mL using OVA and ozone alone respectively, which increased to 1.09 +/- 0.4 U/mL when both OVA and ozone were given simultaneously. Ozone exposure was able to cause airway hypersensitivity. The provocation dose of methacholine causing a 100% increase of airway resistance (PD 100 airway resistance) was 0.54 +/- 0.19 mg/mL and 1.17 +/- 0.30 mg/mL using OVA and ozone exposure alone, which had decreased to 0.49 +/- 0.18 mg/mL when both OVA and ozone were given simultaneously. There were macrophages around the peribronchial tissue in all guinea pigs except in the control. The macrophages in the group of OVA with ozone (24.2 +/- 7.2 cells/HPF) were significantly more than those in the OVA group (18.0 +/- 4.2 cells/HPF) and the ozone group (14.5 +/- 6.2 cells/HPF). When OVA-presensitized guinea pigs were exposed to ozone immediately or daily for two weeks, a restrictive type of lung function impairment with similar airway hypersensitivity post ozone exposure was observed. In conclusion, guinea pigs exposed to ozone in conjunction with aeroallergen may not only facilitate the damage of the airway but also enhance antibody production to the aeroallergen. The ozone-induced airway inflammation might have a contributing effect on OVA induced airway hypersensitivity in guinea pigs.


ABSTRACT Introduction Selective mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder that affects some children when they begin school. If left untreated the long-term impact can include complex, debilitating mental health conditions. The usual presentation is lack of speech in the education setting, contrasting with confident speech at home. Prevalence is estimated at 0.7% but can be three times higher for children who are immigrant second language learners. There is some evidence to suggest that music therapy is helpful but a deeper understanding is needed. This study aims to develop a new theoretical framework for the use of music therapy for young children with SM. Method The paper reports on multiple case study research of music therapy for six children with SM aged 3–5. Template analysis combining inductive and deductive enquiry is used to revise and develop the framework. Results The six case studies describe contrasting paths into speech. Four key domains – Approach; Therapeutic Process; Interconnected Elements of Music Therapy; Context – were necessary to clinical practice across cases, and are presented in detail in the final theoretical framework. Music therapists bring many useful skills, with musical communication established as an empowering tool for alleviating SM. Discussion The framework provides the theoretical basis for comprehensive guidance for music therapy with young children with SM. An open, flexible, multi-modal approach, integrating teamwork and considering transdisciplinary practice, is indicated. The need for SM training for music therapists and the potential role of music therapy on the care pathway for SM is demonstrated.


Intimate partner violence affects one in three women worldwide, with women who experience violence almost twice as likely to experience poor mental health, especially depression, compared with women who are not abused. To learn the impact of interventions of safe shelter and justice services on improved mental health and behavior functioning, 300 abused women are interviewed every 4 months in a 7-year prospective study. For this paper, abuse, mental health and resiliency status of these women, 1 year after accessing services for the first time, are reported. Measures of mental health (depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), somatization), and adult behavioral functioning are reported. At 4 months following a shelter stay or justice services, a large effect size was measured for improvement in all mental health measures; however, improvement was the lowest for PTSD. All mental health measures plateaued at 4 months with minimum further improvement at 12 months. Both internal behavioral dysfunctions (withdrawal and somatic complaints) were worse with increased depressive symptoms, as were external behavioral dysfunctions (aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors). A concerning 39.2% of the women had clinical PTSD scores at 12 months following receipt of safe shelter or justice services, compared with a much lower percentage of women with clinical depression (14.2%), clinical somatization (9.4%), and clinical anxiety (13.5%). Depression was a significant positive predictor of internal and external behavioral dysfunctions, indicating that women who had higher levels of depression tended to report more internal dysfunctions (withdrawal, anxiety, somatization) and more external behaviors (aggression and rule-breaking).


Philosophers of science traditionally have ignored the details of scientific research, and the result has often been theories that lack relevance either to science or to philosophy in general. In this volume, leading philosophers of biology discuss the limitations of this tradition and the advantages of the "naturalistic turn"--the idea that the study of science is itself a scientific enterprise and should be conducted accordingly. This innovative book presents candid, informal debates among scholars who examine the benefits and problems of studying science in the same way that scientists study the natural world. Callebaut achieves the effect of face-to-face engagement through separate interviews with participants. Contributors include William Bechtel, Robert Brandon, Richard M. Burian, Donald T. Campbell, Patricia Churchland, Jon Elster, Ronald N. Giere, David L. Hull, Philip Kitcher, Karin Knorr Cetina, Bruno Latour, Richard Levins, Richard C. Lewontin, Elisabeth Lloyd, Helen Longino, Thomas Nickles, Henry C. Plotkin, Robert J. Richards, Alexander Rosenberg, Michael Ruse, Dudley Shapere, Elliott Sober, Ryan Tweney, and William Wimsatt. "Why can't we have both theoretical ecology and natural histories, lovingly done?" --Philip Kitcher "Don't underestimate the arrogance of philosophers!" --Elisabeth Lloyd Werner Callebaut teaches philosophy at Limburgs Universitair Centrum and the Universitat Limburg.


We have previously analysed the chiral predictions for the decay KL → π γee and discussed how experimental measurements of this process can help our understanding of chiral theories and of CP tests. Motivated by the possibility that the analogous muonic process may soon be measurable, we extend this calculation to the decay KL → π γμμ. Branching ratios and differential branching ratios are calculated and presented. Measurements of these will help shed some light on the puzzles in our understanding of the chiral loop effects which were raised by the rate for KL → π γγ. UMHEP-451, DUKE-TH-98-160


Summary The Gorringe Bank is a 200 km long structure, oriented NE-SW, located at the eastern end of the Azores-Gibraltar line, at the Europe-Africa boundary. It consists of two mounts, Mount Gettysburg at the SW (−25 m) and Mount Ormond at the NE (−100 m). Previous works have shown that it corresponds to a section in oceanic mantle and crust. A recent expedition of the submersible SP 3000 CYANA (May-June 1981) has allowed us: (i) to confirm that Mount Gettysburg essentially consists of largely serpentinized peridotites. The study of two oriented samples collected in situ allows some inferences about the kinematics of emplacement for these ultramafics; (ii) to show that Mount Ormond is mostly composed of various gabbros corresponding to different stages of differentiation. All the samples are more or less recrystallized and display strong deformation from high-temperature mylonitization to low-temperature brecciation. Such a ubiquitous deformation is not common in ophiolite complexes and may be linked with the location of the bank at the Europe-Africa plate boundary; (iii) to observe two generations of undeformed dykes cutting the Ormond gabbros: the first one of dolerites genetically linked with the gabbros, the second of alkaline rocks, feeders of the more recent alkaline volcanics capping the mount.


The management of high-grade gliomas (hggs) is complex and ever-evolving. The standard of care for the treatment of hggs consists of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. However, treatment options are influenced by multiple factors such as patient age and performance status, extent of tumour resection, biomarker profile, and tumour histology and grade. Follow-up cranial magnetic resonance imaging (mri) to differentiate treatment response from treatment effect can be challenging and affects clinical decision-making. An assortment of advanced radiologic techniques-including perfusion imaging with dynamic susceptibility contrast mri, dynamic contrast-enhanced mri, diffusion-weighted imaging, proton spectroscopy, mri subtraction imaging, and amino acid radiotracer imaging-can now incorporate novel physiologic data, providing new methods to help characterize tumour progression, pseudoprogression, and pseudoresponse. In the present review, we provide an overview of current treatment options for hgg and summarize recent advances and challenges in imaging technology.


SUMMARY The effect of administration of growth hormone on the develop ment of plasma cell tumors and lymphosarcomas in BALB/c mice was studied. Mice of both sexes were injected i.p. with mineral oil as the tumorigenic stimulus. Daily administration of bovine growth hormone stimulated an inflammatory reaction in the peri toneal cavity after mineral oil injection and accelerated plasma cell tumor development. Administration of bovine prolactin or bovine serum albumin had no effect on oil-induced plasma cell tumorigenesis. A small number of lymphosarcomas were found in mice treated either with growth hormone with or without min eral oil injection or with albumin. Long-term s.o. administration of protein, such as serum albumin or growth hormone, caused extensive proliferation of lymphoid cells in the peritoneal cavity. MXaHCOs, for 0.001% nigrosine urinary protein content collected centrifuged in desiccator phoresis.


Adolescent patients with obesity are at significant risk of developing an eating disorder (ED), yet due to their higher weight status their symptoms often go unrecognized and untreated. Although not widely known, individuals with a weight history in the overweight (BMI-for-age ≥85th percentile but <95th percentile, as defined by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts) or obese (BMI-for-age ≥95th percentile, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts) range, represent a substantial portion of adolescents presenting for ED treatment. Given research that suggests that early intervention promotes the best chance of recovery, it is imperative that these children's and adolescents' ED symptoms are identified and that intervention is offered before the disease progresses. This report presents 2 examples of EDs that developed in the context of obese adolescents' efforts to reduce their weight. Each case shows specific challenges in the identification of ED behaviors in adolescents with this weight history and the corresponding delay such teenagers experience accessing appropriate treatment.


This publication is a compilation of the students' efforts in the Fall, 1983 course, MNS/GEO 354R, Marine Ecosystems. The course was organized as a student participation exercise. Each student selected, or was assigned, one of the ecosystems in the table of contents. The students were required to develop, outline, and present material for a 60-page paper before the class. This included a literature search, preparation of visual material and figures. Most students presented two class lectures on their topic. During the course, the instructor reviewed progress, presented material on the general ecosystems, and directed the presentations and writing. One field trip to a typical Texas Coastal Environment was made early in the course.


 Abstract —Today, as a result of developing and expanding cities, postal systems need to be devised to include a more robust sense of adaption and expansion for the growing city. An issue surrounding most current postcode systems such as the American Zip code and the UK postcode is the lack of direction and distance from a given point such as a city or urban centre. The aim of this study is to design a postcode system based on a sense of direction and distance from the central of an area. This paper presents a new method of postcode design that provides a sense direction by using a diagonal division with area classification numbers according to the main directions (North, South, East and West). As such, a postal region is divided into several zones by using the outward section of the proposed postcode to form a sense of distance from a central point. This proposed arrangement will be beneficial for developing countries that have the desire to start designing their own postcode system and will facilitate the improvement of postal delivery for developed


For more than a decade, there has been a dramatic decline in the percentage of African American males attending postsecondary institutions. In an effort to reverse this trend, some institutions (i.e., University of Georgia) have commissioned task forces and committees to investigate the causes of this decline as well as provide recommendations to address this problem. One of the recommendations presented to the University System Board of Regents included the development and support of not only initiatives designed to prepare African American males for postsecondary options, but programs that offer academic and social support once enrolled. This article describes one of the six programs selected by the Board of Regents to address the aforementioned decline in one Southeastern state.


Factors generated by blood coagulation that elicit immune responses that protect the host are identified. Linking clots to immunity The threats to the host posed by barrier breach are counteracted by blood coagulation and the formation of blood clots, processes that are accompanied by inflammation and then tissue regeneration and wound healing. Arachidonic acid–derived prostaglandins and leukotrienes play important prothrombotic and inflammatory roles early in the process, which lead to the generation of other lipid mediators known as specialized proresolving mediators (SPMs), which are important for resolution. Norris et al. used metabololipidomics and mass cytometry–based analyses to identify a functional cluster of SPMs generated at the late stages of human blood coagulation. Treatment of whole blood with these particular SPMs stimulated distinct signaling pathways within specific cell types and enhanced the uptake and killing of bacteria by phagocytic cells. Together, these data connect factors generated by blood coagulation to immune responses that protect the host. Blood coagulation is a protective response that prevents excessive bleeding upon blood vessel injury. We investigated the relationship between coagulation and the resolution of inflammation and infection by lipid mediators (LMs) through metabololipidomics-based profiling of human whole blood (WB) during coagulation. We identified temporal clusters of endogenously produced prothrombotic and proinflammatory LMs (eicosanoids), as well as specialized proresolving mediators (SPMs). In addition to eicosanoids, a specific SPM cluster was identified that consisted of resolvin E1 (RvE1), RvD1, RvD5, lipoxin B4, and maresin 1, each of which was present at bioactive concentrations (0.1 to 1 nM). Removal of adenosine from the coagulating blood markedly enhanced the amounts of SPMs produced and further increased the biosynthesis of RvD3, RvD4, and RvD6. The cyclooxygenase inhibitors celecoxib and indomethacin, which block the production of thromboxanes and prostanoids, did not block the production of clot-driven SPMs. Unbiased mass cytometry analysis demonstrated that the SPM cluster produced in human blood targeted leukocytes at the single-cell level, directly activating ERK and CREB signaling in neutrophils and CD14+ monocytes. Treatment of human WB with the components of this SPM cluster enhanced both the phagocytosis and killing of Escherichia coli by leukocytes. Together, these data identify a proresolving LM circuit, including endogenous molecular brakes and accelerators, which promoted host defense. These temporal LM-SPM clusters can provide accessible metabolomic profiles for precision and personalized medicine.


In ZigBee cluster-tree network, the existing literature works did not provide combined solution for co-channel interference and power efficient scheduling. In addition, the technique that prevents network collision is not explained. In order to overcome these issues, in this paper, we propose Energy Efficient Cluster Scheduling and Interference Mitigation for IEEE 802.15.4 Network where a time division cluster scheduling technique is considered that offers energy efficiency in the cluster-tree network. In addition, an interference mitigation technique is demonstrated which detects and mitigates the channel interference based on packet-error detection and repeated channel-handoff command transmission. By simulation results, we show that the proposed technique reduces the energy consumption and the network collision, thus enhancing the performance.


Binding assays are increasingly used as a screening method for protein kinase inhibitors; however, as yet only a weak correlation with enzymatic activity-based assays has been demonstrated. We show that the correlation between the two types of assays can be improved using more precise screening conditions. Furthermore a marked improvement in the correlation was found by using kinase constructs containing the catalytic domain in presence of additional domains or subunits.


The determination chromium speciation in the field is a significant analytical challenge. While chromium exists in oxidation states from 0 to VI, it is predominantly found in the (III) and (VI) states [1]. Industry effluent (e.g. textile/electroplating) is a common source of chromium pollution in the environment. Due to corrosion inhibitors used in pipes, and contamination leaching from sanitary landfills, drinking water supplies can become contaminated also [2]. The bioavailability and toxicity of chromium is largely dependent the oxidation state of the element [2]. Consumption of Cr (III) is an essential component in human diet, as it is responsible for maintaining glucose, lipid and protein metabolism [3]. In contrast, Cr (VI) is strongly oxidizing, exhibiting high toxicity, with carcinogenic and mutagenic properties [4]. It is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that the maximum allowable concentration of chromium (VI) in drinking water is 0.05 mg L−1 [5]. Handheld colourimeters for on-site measurements are a convenient option for frequent water monitoring; however the limit of detection (LOD) of these devices is typically higher than the recommended limit. Microfluidic 'lab-on-a-disc' technologies were used in the development of an optical sensor for chromium speciation in water. The principal behind these devices is to minimize laboratory processes onto a microfluidic system that can be brought to the sampling site for rapid sample-to-answer analyses. The objective for this device was to design and fabricate a fully integrated optical sensor for on-site measurement of both trivalent and hexavalent chromium in freshwater. A strong focus was placed on maximizing sensitivity in order to achieve a low LOD.


The object of our study is the spherical excess and the national geodetic network for the city of Cluj-Napoca. As a proof of the earth's rotundity, many place great reliance upon what is called the "spherical excess," which has been observed on making trigonometric observations on a large scale. The angles taken between any three points on the surface of the earth by the theodolite are, strictly speaking, spherical angles, and their sum must exceed 180 degrees; and the lines bounding them are not the chords as they should be, but the tangents to the earth. This excess is inappreciable in common cases, but in the larger triangles it becomes necessary to allow for it, and to diminish each of the angles of the observed triangle by one-third of the spherical excess. In other words, the spherical excess is represented by the difference between the sum of the angles of a spherical triangle and the sum of the angles of a plane triangle. The national geodetic network and the triangulation network represent the fixed points which form the base of all leveling procedures. Considering the distance between the points and the measurements accuracy, the points that form the geodetic network are classified in five categories: first order: the points are situated between 20-60 km, average 30 km, second order: the tips of the triangles are intercalated in the points of first order at distances between 10-20 km, average 15km,third order: the points are situated inside of the triangles of the second order at distances between 5-10 km, average 7 km, forth order: the points are situated inside of the triangles of the third order at the average distance of 3 km, fifth order: the points are situated inside of the triangles of the forth order at the average distance of 1.5 km. In our project we are using the points of the third order to determine the spherical excess in the city of Cluj-Napoca.


Objective: Investigating the expression pattern of CD 90, 96,117 and 123 in bone marrow or peripheral blood from adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia and their use as markers for diagnosis and prognosis. Patients and methods: Using Muli-color flowcytometry, we analyzed the expression of CD90, 96, 117 and 123 among [CD34+/CD38-] cell population in AML patients at initial diagnosis. Results: It was found that percentage of CD90+ cells was lower among [CD34+/CD38-] cells in of AML cases than control group, however this difference didn't reach any statistical significance (p value=0.06), the percentage of CD96+ cells among CD34+CD38- cells was higher in AML cases than for control group (that show a highly statistically significant difference (p value<0.001), the percentage of CD117 cells was higher among CD34+ CD38- cells in AML cases than for control group, however this difference didn't show statistical significance (p value=0.079), While percentage of CD123 was significantly higher among [CD34+/CD38-] cells in AML cases than the control group and this difference shows a high statistical significance (P value<0.001).


terms "¿ the limited certainties of the pathology paradigm withorthodoxies ofadifferent origin―. He quotesErich Fromm, "¿ The qu st for certainty blocks the search for meaning―.In the areas of both gender and deliberate self-harm this quote should be engraved on our hearts. The author has clearly kept it close to his, and has suc ceeded in introducing the reader to the published works in this area, and has picked his way through the gender minefield relatively unscathed.


Imitative reactions in 11 infants, 14-21 days were observed. Stimuli were presented by the infant's mother, who protruded her ongue, opened her mouth, or interacted spontaneously. No conclusive overall group effect of the modeled action were found. However, when the responses of the infants were matched with the mothers' judgments concerning whether imitation had occurred, 6 infants showed imitative responses. It is concluded that observations on early imitation is influenced by individual differences between infants and that there may exist two different subgroups: High and low imitatin.


His style and method are adapted to people of culture rather than to the average "popular" reader. The treatment is calm but penetrating, and the keen thrust of sarcasm is often made. Russellism and other forms of "Recent Adventism," Mormonism, Christian Science, Theosophy and New Thought have now all been discussed by Dr. Sheldon and no better brief expositions of these systems and of their errors can be had. W. O. CARVER.


Failed Roman Imperialism. An Unfinished Roman Aqueduct at Artaxata in Armenia Achim Lichtenberger – Mkrtich Zardaryan – Torben Schreiber During the 2019 excavation campaign of the Armenian-German Artaxata Project, a previously magnetically detected anomaly was investigated. The excavation revealed a monumental line of opus caementicium foundations. These foundations relate to an unfinished aqueduct bridge that was built between A.D. 114–117 by the Roman army in the course of Artaxata becoming the capital of a Roman province of Armenia. Since Roman presence in Armenia was only short-lived, the aqueduct was never completed and abandoned after the Romans left the country. In the paper we discuss the archaeological evidence of the aqueduct, the historical context and project the aqueduct line to possible water sources. Furthermore, the geochemistry of the mortar is analyzed to characterize the mortar receipt which is Roman. The newly discovered aqueduct attests to failed Roman imperialism in Armenia.


Evolutionary psychologists have argued that revenge, apology and forgiveness are moral sentiments that humans acquired to establish and maintain long-term mutually beneficial relationships, especially since misapprehensions, intentional or not, can always occur that could lead to worse outcomes. Their argument assumes an evolutionary advantage to such emotional thinking, for which no explicit model was available. Using the iterated prisoners dilemma as context, we provided analytical and numerical results that show that these three behaviours emerge spontaneously, ensuring lasting cooperation [16]. Concretely our work revealed that apology and forgiveness are efficient even in a very noisy environment. Yet in order for apology to work, it needs to be sufficiently costly as otherwise exploiting the system by defecting and apologising is the most profitable behaviour.


The rate of sedimentation of a particle in a sucrose solution depends on the viscosity and density of the medium. These two variables are related to the sucrose concentration and the temperature of the medium by new simple equations. These equations were used in a rapid iterative procedure that relates the distance moved by a zone in a continuous sucrose gradient to its sedimentation coefficient. It is shown by comparison with experiment that this iterative method allows the distance moved by a zone to be calculated rapidly. The method may therefore be used to optimize the separation of particles in a sucrose-gradient-centrifugation experiment. The method also allows the unknown sedimentation coefficients ofseveral zones to be measured from a single sucrose-gradient-centrifugation experiment.


Due to their high mobility and direct band gap, III-V materials promise good prospects of obtaining novel, high-performance devices for electronic and photonic applications. In this paper, two variants of the established Template Assisted Selective Epitaxy (TASE) technique [2]–[4] are explored to study the structural quality of GaAs and InGaAs microcavities monolithically integrated on Si (001). The first variant involves a one-step direct cavity growth (DCG), while the second relies on a two-step virtual substrate (VS) growth approach. The cavities obtained were investigated by Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX); the findings have been correlated with the photoluminescence properties of the cavities. Both approaches enable monolithic integration of GaAs crystalline material in predefined oxide microcavities. In some cases, they allow the III-V materials to be grown as a single gain and do not lead to noticeable structural defects. InGaAs disks and ring cavities grown using the VS approach have also been investigated. Despite the presence of planar defects and rough surfaces, lasing could be achieved at low temperature.


Abstract. Complex, software-intensive, technically advanced, and computationally demanding models, presumably with ever-growing realism and fidelity, have been widely used to simulate and predict the dynamics of the Earth and environmental systems. The parameter-induced simulation crash (failure) problem is typical across most of these models, despite considerable efforts that modellers have directed at model development and implementation over the last few decades. A simulation failure mainly occurs due to the violation of the numerical stability conditions, non-robust numerical implementations, or errors in programming. However, the existing sampling-based analysis techniques such as global sensitivity analysis (GSA) methods, which require running these models under many configurations of parameter values, are ill-equipped to effectively deal with model failures. To tackle this problem, we propose a novel approach that allows users to cope with failed designs (samples) during the GSA, without knowing where they took place and without re-running the entire experiment. This approach deems model crashes as missing data and uses strategies such as median substitution, single nearest neighbour, or response surface modelling to fill in for model crashes. We test the proposed approach on a 10-paramter HBV-SASK rainfall-runoff model and a 111-parameter MESH land surface-hydrology model. Our results show that response surface modelling is a superior strategy, out of the data filling strategies tested, and can scale well to the dimensionality of the model, sample size, and the ratio of number of failures to the sample size. Further, we conduct a "failure analysis" and discuss some possible causes of the MESH model failure.


The paper studies the effectiveness of communication in a two-player two-sided asymmetric information context. Both players choose simultaneously between two actions, with action L leading to a lower payoff for the co-player than action H. There are two types of players: D-types for whom L is dominant, and C-types for whom the optimal action is the same as the one chosen by the co-player, with both player choosing H providing the C-type a higher payoff than both players choosing L. Before the actions are chosen, each player can signal his/her intention to choose H. We consider three communication environments: No communication (NC), cheap talk (CT), and an environment with extrinsic communication costs (FC). For this game the range of equilibrium payoffs of both types is the same in NC and CT, while for C-types the equilibrium payoff is highest in FC due to the Spence mechanism (Spence 1973). When we tested these predictions experimentally, the C-type payoffs were the highest in CT. In this environment the average observed C-type payoff was even higher than the maximum equilibrium payoff. In CT about half of the D-types did not mimic the communication behavior of C-types, and hence even cheap talk revealed some information to the C-types. This indicates that half of the D-types were reluctant to make promises they would break. We introduce a theoretical model with promisekeepers. When the probability of an agent being promise-keeper is around 50%, the signaling rate will be higher in CT than in FC. On the other hand, for the same signal structure C-types choose more often H in the FC than in CT. These predictions are confirmed by the experimental results. Overall, the effect of the higher signalling rate in CT dominates: Together with presence of promisekeepers the higher signalling rate allows the C-types to coordinate more often on the \good" (H;H) outcome in CT, resulting in higher C-type payoffs in CT than in FC. JEL Classification: C7, C9


Although graphene has unique electronic and optical properties, its application in photodetectors is still limited due to its low optical absorption. In this work, graphene was first functionalized with diketopyrrolopyrrole derivatives (TDPP, TTDPP) to enhance the light absorption of hybrid systems. The morphology, optical absorption and photoluminescence properties were investigated in order to elucidate the interaction between the graphene and diketopyrrolopyrrole derivatives. The time-resolved fluorescence data verified the occurrence of the interface charge transfer between TDPP or TTDPP molecules and graphene in the hybrids. Visible-light photodetectors based on TTDPP/RGO hybrids exhibit a maximum photoresponsivity of 34.2 A W−1 and the on/off ratio is 282. We conclude that the high photoresponse is consistent with the efficient charge-transfer process occurring at the interface between TTDPP and graphene. 2D-graphene here serves not only as a superior supporting matrix for anchoring the sensitizer molecules but also as an excellent electron mediator to adjust electron transfer. Our research paves the way to build high-performance optoelectronic devices based on 2D graphene and organic compounds.


Considerable research has examined the effects of giving trainees control over their learning (Steinberg, 1977, 1989; Williams, 1993). The most consistent finding of this research has been that trainees do not make good instructional use of the control they are given. Yet, today's technologically based training systems often provide individuals with significant control over their learning (Brown, 2001). This creates a dilemma that must be addressed if technology is going to be used to create more effective training systems. The current study extended past research that has examined the effects of providing trainees with some form of advisement or guidance in addition to learner control and examined the impact of an instructional strategy, adaptive guidance, on learning and performance in a complex training environment. Overall, it was found that adaptive guidance had a substantial effect on the nature of trainees' study and practice, self-regulation, knowledge acquired, and performance.


We are interested in constructing adaptive probability models for high-dimensional data that is well-approximated by low-dimensional geometric structures. We discuss a family of estimators for probability distributions based on data-adaptive multiscale geometric approximations. They are particularly effective when the probability distribution concentrates near low-dimensional sets, having sample and computational complexity depending mildly (linearly in cases of interest) in the ambient dimension, as well as in the intrinsic dimension of the data, suitably defined. Moreover the construction of these estimators may be performed, under suitable assumptions, by fast algorithms, with cost O((cd ; d2)Dnlog n) where n is the number of samples, D the ambient dimension, d is the intrinsic dimension of the data, and c a small constant.


This is a follow-up editorial on the Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic in West Africa, with its spread outside the region to the USA and Europe via the few individuals who travelled outside the three countries most affected by the epidemic. The number of infected individuals increases on a daily basis. As of 9 November 2014 (updated 12 November 2014), a total of 14 068 cases, of which 8 688 were laboratory confirmed, as well as 5 147 cumulative deaths, were reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. During the same period, countries with travel-associated cases have reported a total of 30 cases (of which 27 were laboratory confirmed) and 13 deaths, as follows: Mali, four cases (four deaths); Senegal, one case (no deaths); Nigeria, 20 cases (eight deaths); Spain, one case (no deaths) and the USA, four cases (one death).


Abstract. The nitrogen (N) cycle has the potential to regulate climate change through its influence on carbon (C) sequestration. Although extensive research has explored whether or not progressive N limitation (PNL) occurs under CO2 enrichment, a comprehensive assessment of the processes that regulate PNL is still lacking. Here, we quantitatively synthesized the responses of all major processes and pools in the terrestrial N cycle with meta-analysis of CO2 experimental data available in the literature. The results showed that CO2 enrichment significantly increased N sequestration in the plant and litter pools but not in the soil pool, partially supporting one of the basic assumptions in the PNL hypothesis that elevated CO2 results in more N sequestered in organic pools. However, CO2 enrichment significantly increased the N influx via biological N fixation and the loss via N2O emission, but decreased the N efflux via leaching. In addition, no general diminished CO2 fertilization effect on plant growth was observed over time up to the longest experiment of 13 years. Overall, our analyses suggest that the extra N supply by the increased biological N fixation and decreased leaching may potentially alleviate PNL under elevated CO2 conditions in spite of the increases in plant N sequestration and N2O emission. Moreover, our syntheses indicate that CO2 enrichment increases soil ammonium (NH4+) to nitrate (NO3−) ratio. The changed NH4+/NO3− ratio and subsequent biological processes may result in changes in soil microenvironments, above-belowground community structures and associated interactions, which could potentially affect the terrestrial biogeochemical cycles. In addition, our data synthesis suggests that more long-term studies, especially in regions other than temperate ones, are needed for comprehensive assessments of the PNL hypothesis.


* * * Abstract The Energy politics is today at the center of the Russian and the Western Balkans relations. It is widely known that Russia has been playing significant role in world energy supply. Therefore, Russian energy companies have taken a leading role in the promotion of their businesses in the Western Balkans. The Western Balkans region has become geostrategic partner as a transit route for the integration of Russia into the global energy world market. With regards to the transportation of gas Western Balkans as a transit route is determined to fully realize South Stream project. In contrast to "a buffer zone" role, in the past few decades the Western Balkans gained an attention from Russia and became an important geopolitical bridge towards Western Europe. Such geopolitical and geostrategic planning of Russia is apparent with regards to gas and oil. Due to Russian South Stream gas pipeline project the Western Balkans became an important European energy transforming center. These new geostrategic games over the pipeline have also revived the Russian historical interests in the Balkans. This paper aims to analyze Russian-Western Balkans relations with special emphasis on energy politics and geopolitical and geostrategic interdependence of Russia and the Western Balkans.


Abstract To clarify the effect of water on carbonate-silicate liquid immiscibility in the diamond stability field, we performed experiments in the system KAlSi3O8-CaMgSi2O6-NaAlSi2O6-CaMg(CO3)2 under nominally dry and hydrous conditions by adding 1.5 wt% H2O at a pressure of 6 GPa and temperatures of 1000 to 1500 °C. Both systems start to melt at 1050–1100 °C. Under anhydrous condition the melting occurs via the following reaction: 6KAlSi3O8 (K-feldspar) + 6CaMg(CO3)2 (dolomite) = 2(Can,Mg1-n)3Al2Si3O12 (garnet) + Al2SiO5 (kyanite) + 11SiO2 (coesite) + 3 K2(Ca1-n, Mgn)2(CO3)3 (carbonatitic melt) + 3CO2 (fluid and/or liquid), where n ~ 0.3–0.4. The carbonatitic melt has the following composition 38(K0.92Na0.08)2CO3⋅62Ca0.62Mg0.38CO3. A second immiscible silicic melt containing (in wt%, volatile free) SiO2 = 68.8, Al2O3 = 12.6, CaO = 3.7, MgO = 2.4, Na2O = 1.1, and K2O = 11.3 appears at 1250 °C. Both melts remain stable up to 1500 °C and coexist with the clinopyroxene ± garnet ± coesite residue. In the presence of water stored away in phengite, the melting begins with silicic melt, which contains (in wt%, volatile free) SiO2 = 61.4, Al2O3 = 15.3, CaO = 4.8, MgO = 3.0, Na2O = 2.2, and K2O = 13.3, and coexists with phengite, dolomite, clinopyroxene, and coesite. The phengite + dolomite assemblage remains to 1100 °C and disappears at 1200 °C producing two immiscible melts carbonatitic with approximate composition, 19(K0.89Na0.11)2CO3⋅81Ca0.57Mg0.43CO3, and silicic containing (in wt%, volatile free) SiO2 = 63.3, Al2O3 = 15.6, CaO = 4.5, MgO = 3.0, Na2O = 2.0, K2O = 11.6. The present results imply that partial melting of continental material subducted to a depth of 200 km can yield simultaneous formation of two immiscible melts, K-dolomitic and K-aluminosilicate. Under dry conditions, carbonatitic melt appears earlier (at a lower temperature). Given the low density and high mobility of this melt, it must rapidly percolate upward, leaving a refractory eclogite-like residue and leaving no chance for the formation of a second aluminosilicate melt. However, under hydrous conditions silicate melt appears earlier than carbonatitic melt, leaving a phengite- and dolomite-bearing residue, which finally yields the formation of two immiscible silicic and carbonatitic melts. The compositions of these melts fall in the compositional range of carbonatitic and silicic high-density fluids (HDFs) in diamonds worldwide. Thus, we suggest that the presence of water is a necessary requirement for the formation of immiscible HDFs inclusions in diamonds, and this suggestion is strongly supported by natural data from HDFs.


Abstract Accurate earthquake locations are crucial for investigating seismogenic processes, as well as for applications like verifying compliance to the Comprehensive Nuclear‐Test‐Ban Treaty. Modeling errors of calculated travel times, in addition to the density of the stations, their epicentral distances, and their azimuthal coverage, may have the effect of shifting the computed epicenters far from the real locations, regardless of the accuracy in picking seismic phase arrivals. In the present study, we compare the regional locations for one set of earthquakes obtained by arrival times reported by the Iranian Seismological Center with teleseismic locations obtained by arrival times reported by the International Seismological Center. We found location differences on the order of 10–20 km or larger, affecting both epicentral coordinates and depths. Average travel‐time residuals to each station of the global network were computed for a set of sources located in the study area. We show that systematic shifts of hypocentral coordinates, as well as the sizes of their error ellipses, can be substantially reduced by applying source‐specific station corrections. Finally, the validity of the calibration method was confirmed by a test carried out on a dataset different from that used for computing the travel‐time corrections. This study includes an analysis of the effect of removing arrival times of critical stations from the dataset used for the locations, showing that this effect is largely reduced by the application of travel‐time corrections. Online Material: Tables of hypocentral parameters with related information, stations used for relocation, and parameters computed for the teleseismic analysis.


AIm: This study was conducted with aim of determining prevalence of headache and evaluating its effects on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Beylikova town of Eskisehir city in the west of Turkey. mAterIAl and methOds: This study was conducted on adults aged 20 years and over aged between May11 and June04 2009 in Beylikova town of Eskisehir city in the west of Turkey. A total of 587 people were selected by simple randomized method. The International Headache Society criteria were used for the determination of severity of headache. The 36-item short-form (SF-36) was used for the assessment of healthrelated quality of life. results: The number of men and women was 302 (51.4%), and 285 (48.6%), respectively. The mean age was 46.70±15.26 years (range, 20-87 years). Headache prevalence was found to be 78.2% (n=459). Decreased headache prevalence was found in the ages older than 30-44 age group (p <0.05). All domains of SF-36, the mean scores were higher in individuals without headache than those with headache (for each, p<0.05). Migraine prevalence was found to be 7.2% (n=33). COnClusIOn: In accordance with the literature, this study found the presence of headache in adults at high frequency (78.2%). Particularly the presence of migraine and increased severity of headache were found to decrease the quality of life. Keyw Ords: Headache, Prevalence, SF-36, Population based study


The prevailing model of dorsal ventral patterning of the amphibian embryo predicts that the prospective mesoderm is regionalized at gastrulation in response to a gradient of signals. This gradient is established by diffusible BMP and Wnt inhibitors secreted dorsally in the Spemann organizer. An interesting question is whether ventrolateral tissue passively reads graded levels of ventralizing signals, or whether local self-organizing regulatory circuits may exist on the ventral side to control cell behavior and differentiation at a distance from the Organizer. We provide evidence that sizzled, a secreted Frizzled-related protein expressed ventrally during and after gastrulation, functions in a negative feedback loop that limits allocation of mesodermal cells to the extreme ventral fate, with direct consequences for morphogenesis and formation of the blood islands. Morpholino-mediated knockdown of Sizzled protein results in expansion of ventral posterior mesoderm and the ventral blood islands, indicating that this negative regulation is required for proper patterning of the ventral mesoderm. The biochemical activity of sizzled is apparently very different from that of other secreted Frizzled-related proteins, and does not involve inhibition of Wnt8. Our data are consistent with the existence of some limited self-organizing properties of the extreme ventral mesoderm.


A model is presented for determining the transient currents and voltages induced within long shielded coaxial cables by an impinging electromagnetic pulse (EMP). The transmission-line theory is applied to establish the differential equations describing the behavior of the cables in the presence of a uniform plane traveling wave. At first, induced sheath currents are calculated taking into account different coupling modes. Then, internal voltages and currents are computed via the surface transfer impedance of cable shields for one and multilayer outer conductors. Comparison with measurements show the validity of the proposed method. The computer codes developed for this purpose have been found to be a very useful tool for the optimization of shielded transmission cables.


— The incorporation of phase change material (PCM) into building fabrics would significantly enhance thermal energy storage, thereby enabling energy savings and CO 2 emission reductions. However, the integration method remains a major challenge with the detrimental effects on structural integrity, durability of building elements and performance. This paper proposes a way of integrating PCM into concrete building elements by utilizing additive manufacturing and construction automation technologies. Additive manufacturing of concrete allows the manufacture of non-rectilinear building elements that cannot be constructed using the traditional construction method, thanks to the three-dimensional (3D) concrete printing technology. The concrete elements were constructed as hollow-core using the 3D concrete printing method and PCM incorporated into the hollow-core for thermal energy storage enhancement. Subsequently, the paper assesses performance enhancement of PCM incorporated concrete elements using experimental simulated test rooms and numerical assessment on full-scale buildings. The results reveal that the hollow-core concrete enables a large amount of PCM incorporation of up to 9.88% by weight of concrete, with the increase of heat storage capacity by 7.02 kJ/kg. The simulated test rooms experiment reports that the PCM incorporated hollow-core panels reduced the peak indoor temperature of the test room by 3.86 ℃ while enhancing the thermal storage capacity by 181%. Moreover, the numerical study on buildings incorporated with the innovative PCM panels demonstrated significant energy savings of up to 48% for the Australian climatic conditions.


We have prepared titania aerogel (=AG) embedded by NiB nano-clusters by sol-gel method, immersion of the prepared wet gel into the NiB dispersed solution, and the subsequent super critical drying (=SCD). The AG was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), a transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and a fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FT-IR). XRD and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns assured the formation of TiO2 anatase phase. TEM observation reveled the composition of TiO2 crystallites with about 4 nm in size. Catalyst performance for the ground sample was confirmed by chemical reaction of oxidation of benzene at low temperature, and the difference in catalyst performance between TiO2 AGs with and without the embedded NiB nano-clusters has been examined.


This Research Guide includes selected sources which pertain to the history, culture, geography, and politics of the diverse groups of people who reside (or who historically have resided) in the Middle East.


Reproductive success (fitness) is the currency for species evolution, and therefore, the
establishment of sexual relationships is one of the most fundamental interactions underlying
life on Earth. Sexual selection theory aims to explain the strength and implications of sexual
bonds as a result of traits that evolve to influence sexual encounters and thus, reproductive
success. Humans offer a valuable 'model' to understand the nature of sexual behaviour,
especially because their preferences can be directly communicated by individual participants,
in contrast with non-human animals in which preferences are inferred from behavioural
observations. The high social complexity of humans has led to multiple approaches to
understand individuals' attitudes and behaviours within an eco-evolutionary context,
particularly with regards to investigating how 'attractiveness' traits influence sexual
relationships, and how the expression of these traits matches sexual outcomes (i.e., as a proxy
for mating success). Although humans traditionally fall between a polygyny and serial
monogamy mating system, it remains poorly known how promiscuity is associated with a
ubiquitous factor underlying human social/sexual dynamics: 'love'. This research investigated
how promiscuity (measured as numbers of self-reported sexual partners and as the desire to
be promiscuous) and simultaneous love (individuals declaring whether they can 'fall in love'
with more than one person simultaneously) are affected by a number of different traits (gender,
age, self-assessed attractiveness, sexual orientation) and interpreted under predictions of
sexual selection theory. Using a newly generated dataset, it was quantified how self-assessed
attractiveness traits influence the expression of promiscuous desires across participants. The
majority (84.5%) of participants displayed a desire for promiscuity. Gender and sexual
orientation are the main variables in which there is a relationship in participant's desires for
promiscuity and simultaneous love. Notably, this research revealed that more than half of the
individuals in the sample (57.1%) expressed the possibility to love more than one person
simultaneously. This finding goes against fundamental norms underlying monogamous sexual
relationships in most human societies. Collectively, this thesis provides novel data to further
discuss promiscuity in humans.


When goods are substitutes, the Vickrey auction produces efficient, core outcomes that yield competitive seller revenues. In contrast, with complements, the Vickrey outcome, while efficient, is not necessarily in the core and revenue can be very low. Non-core outcomes may be perceived as unfair since there are bidders willing to pay more than the winners' payments. Moreover, non-core outcomes render the auction vulnerable to defections as the seller can attract better offers afterwards. To avoid instabilities of this type, Day and Raghavan (2007) and Day and Milgrom (2007) have suggested to adapt the Vickrey pricing rule. For a simple environment with private information, we show that the resulting auction format yields lower than Vickrey revenues and inefficient outcomes that are on average further from the core than Vickrey outcomes. More generally, we prove that the Vickrey auction is the unique core-selecting auction. Hence, when the Vickrey outcome is not in the core, no Bayesian incentive-compatible core-selecting auction exists. Our results further imply that the competitive equilibrium cannot be implemented when goods are not substitutes. Moreover, even with substitutes, the competitive equilibrium can only be implemented when it coincides with the Vickrey outcome.


This paper describes a support vector machine(SVM) approach to improve the test validity and accuracy for Aero-engine fault diagnosis. A new concept called classification rate has been introduced. The paper presents a new information fusion fault diagnosis method based on SVM. The diagnostic decision rules have been improved and applied to aero-engine gas path fault diagnosis. The test result manifests SVM has distinguish limitation to a strong linear correlation of two types of fault samples, it may also have diagnostic difficulties caused by Maximum number of classifications. Therefore, this paper has then proposed a corresponding solution. The simulation results verify that the method is feasible and it can reduce the defect caused by small sample data. It has high capacity of resisting disturbance and high accuracy.


The causative agent of Tuberculosis meningitis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is the bacteria that causes pulmonary tuberculosis. Proliferating into the central nervous system occurs from other sites of infection within the body. Brain damage can result from the infection that may lead to abnormal behavior, mental impairments, motor type paralysis, and seizures. Tuberculosis infections of the central nervous system are a serious and often fatal disease predominantly impacting young children, and is thought to be the most devastating form of the disease. Isoniazid is the only first line bactericidal agent that easily crosses the blood-brain barrier and achieves concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid similar to those in serum. Rifampicin, ethambutol, and streptomycin all penetrate into the cerebrospinal fluid poorly, and even in the setting of meningeal inflammation. As much as one-third of the current world's population may be infected with tuberculosis. Tuberculosis infection of the central nervous system is a serious type of extrapulmonary proliferation of this disease . In developing countries, it has high predominance in children. Pathological manifestations of cerebral tuberculosis occur, of which the most common is tuberculous meningitis, followed by tuberculoma, tuberculous abscess, cerebral miliary tuberculosis, tuberculous encephalopathy, tuberculous encephalitis, and tuberculous arteritis. Brain abscesses of Mycobacterium tuberculosis can induce seizures and coma leading to death and complicated due to multiorgan failure. Rapid diagnosis and early intervention is vital for successful outcome for patients. Further studies are required to understand the proliferation of tuberculosis meningitis in addition to the elucidation of new therapeutic drugs for the successful clinical treatment of this deadly disease.


A method for determining whether the safety of a railway–road grade crossing is reasonable was assessed by examining the results of its application to 360 Finnish grade crossings. Safety was considered reasonable if the conditions at the grade crossing were such that road users have available all the information necessary for safe crossing. At passive grade crossings, this condition is usually met when a road vehicle can cross the railway in less time than it takes for a train to arrive at the crossing from the farthest point at which the road user can see it. In the application of the method, crossing times for a car, a truck, and a trailer truck were calculated with an advanced vehicle-movement simulation model, taking into account the gradient of the road. These times were frequently too short. In such cases, measures for quick implementation were suggested. Most frequently these measures concerned clearing of sight-restricting vegetation, improving the vertical profile of the road, banning long vehicles from using the grade crossing, and reducing the speed limit of trains. Vehicle type-specific bans and reduced speed limits can usually be removed later if the crossing is equipped with barriers.


The performance of a ring of linearly coupled, monostable nonlinear oscillators is optimized towards its goal of acting as energy harvester – through piezoelectric transduction – of mesoscopic fluctuations, which are modeled as Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noises. For a single oscillator, the maximum output voltage and overall efficiency are attained for a soft piecewise-linear potential (providing a weak attractive constant force) but they are still fairly large for a harmonic potential. When several harmonic springs are linearly and bidirectionally coupled to form a ring, it is found that counter-phase coupling can largely improve the performance while in-phase coupling worsens it. Moreover, it turns out that few (two or three) coupled units perform better than more.


[Purpose] This study aimed to clarify the effects and to verify the efficacy of various breathing exercises performed while sitting on a small foam roller on the contraction of pelvic floor muscles in males. [Participants and Methods] This study, involving 10 healthy males (age 19.9 ± 1.6 years), had a crossover design and involved two conditions: sitting at rest for 10 min (CON condition) and sitting on a small foam roller placed on a chair while performing seven breathing exercises (EXE condition). Movement of the posterior side of the bladder was examined in both conditions using ultrasonic imaging. Pelvic floor muscle contraction was evaluated based on the movement distance. [Results] No significant difference was found in any parameter for CON conditions. The distance of bladder posterior side movement was 5.58 ± 2.51 mm (pre), 13.66 ± 5.16 mm (post), and 9.59 ± 3.67 mm (post-1 month) for EXE conditions. Subjective evaluation also demonstrated that the feeling of contraction was stronger immediately after the experiment. [Conclusion] Results demonstrated that various breathing exercises, performed while sitting on a small foam roller, enhanced the voluntary contraction of pelvic floor muscles in males. Efficacy was demonstrated, at least in young males.


For all living organisms, genome stability is important, but is also under constant threat because various environmental and endogenous damaging agents can modify the structural properties of DNA bases. As a defense, organisms have developed different DNA repair pathways. Base excision repair (BER) is the predominant pathway for coping with a broad range of small lesions resulting from oxidation, alkylation, and deamination, which modify individual bases without large effect on the double helix structure. As, in mammalian cells, this damage is estimated to account daily for 10(4) events per cell, the need for BER pathways is unquestionable. The damage-specific removal is carried out by a considerable group of enzymes, designated as DNA glycosylases. Each DNA glycosylase has its unique specificity and many of them are ubiquitous in microorganisms, mammals, and plants. Here, we review the importance of the BER pathway and we focus on the different roles of DNA glycosylases in various organisms.


Detecting pedestrians is still a challenging task for automotive vision systems due to the extreme variability of targets, lighting conditions, occlusion, and high-speed vehicle motion. Much research has been focused on this problem in the last ten years and detectors based on classifiers have gained a special place among the different approaches presented. This paper presents a state-of-the-art pedestrian detection system based on a two-stage classifier. Candidates are extracted with a Haar cascade classifier trained with the Daimler Detection Benchmark data set and then validated through a part-based histogram-of-orientedgradient (HOG) classifier with the aim of lowering the number of false positives. The surviving candidates are then filtered with feature-based tracking to enhance the recognition robustness and improve the results' stability. The system has been implemented on a prototype vehicle and offers high performance in terms of several metrics, such as detection rate, false positives per hour, and frame rate. The novelty of this system relies on the combination of a HOG part-based approach, tracking based on a specific optimized feature, and porting on a real prototype.


This paper presents a critical review of the drivelines in all-electric vehicles (EVs). The motor topologies that are the best candidates to be used in EVs are presented. The advantages and disadvantages of each electric motor type are discussed from a system perspective. A survey of the electric motors used in commercial EVs is presented. The survey shows that car manufacturers are very conservative when it comes to introducing new technologies. Most of the EVs on the market mount a single induction or permanent-magnet (PM) motor with a traditional mechanic driveline with a differential. This paper illustrates that comparisons between the different motors are difficult by the large number of parameters and the lack of a recommended test scheme. The authors propose that a standardized drive cycle be used to test and compare motors.


The goal of the presented research was to assess the influence of continuously administered fentanyl on the intraocular pressure, pupil size and aqueous tear production in dogs. A prospective, randomised, double "blind" clinical study was performed. Twenty-five non-painful dogs, 13 breeds, a body weight of 10.0 ± 5.4 kg (mean ± SD) and age of 6.5 ± 3.3 years, 12 males and 13 females with no ocular abnormalities were randomly allocated into two groups receiving an intravenous injection of saline (SAL) 0.3 ml/kg followed by an infusion 2 ml/kg/h or an intravenous injection of fentanyl (FEN) 0.005 mg/kg (diluted in 0.3 ml/kg) followed by an infusion 0.005 mg/kg/h (diluted in 2 ml/kg/h). The intraocular pressure (IOP), pupil size (PS), pulse rate (PR), respiratory frequency (fR) and systolic and diastolic arterial pressures (SAP, DAP) were measured before (baseline) and at 2, 5, 10, 20 and 30 minutes after the premedication. The Schirmer Tear Test I (STT-I) was measured prior to and at 30 min after the premedication. The data were analysed by Bartlett's, Anderson-Darling and Dunnett's tests, the t-test and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) (P < 0.05). Relative to the baseline, in the fentanyl group, the PS was significantly decreased at all time points, the PR was significantly decreased at T30 and the fR was significantly decreased at T5, T10, T20 and T30. There were no other significant changes in the IOP, STT-I, SAP and DAP relative to the baseline. Compared to the control group, in the fentanyl group, the PS was significantly smaller at T2, T5, T10, T20 and T30, the PR was significantly lower at T2, T20 and T30 and the fR was significantly higher at T20. Within thirty minutes of a constant rate infusion of fentanyl in the healthy non-painful dogs, the intraocular pressure and aqueous tear production were not affected. However, the fentanyl significantly decreased pupil size. This fact should be considered, when planning analgesia where miosis is undesirable.


The Acordis acrylic fibres plant in Grimsby operates thirteen production lines, extruding four basic polymer types to make fibres. There are twelve key variables which define the end product. All changes to these variables take time (some more than others) and low grade product or waste is produced during the changeover. The most common product change is in the fibre colour. It is believed that optimised production scheduling can reduce the number or duration of the changes. Production scheduling is currently carried out by one skilled person who has to consider both production issues and customer requirements. The study group was asked to develop a tool to both help the scheduler and assist the production team leaders who periodically have to re-jig the production schedule outside of day hours and at short notice.


ABSTRACT In Reply.— If anyone is guilty of sidestepping the issue, I fear it is Dr Green. In my article, I asked clinicians to view the roentgenogram requisition as a consultation and provide pertinent clinical information to the radiologist to ensure optimal patient care. Dr Green must agree with my thesis, since he does not address this issue at all in his letter.It is obvious from Dr Green's last paragraph that the word consultant disturbs him because it conjures up issues of ego and turf rather than the issue of optimal patient care. To paraphase Dr Green, if the peculiar claim of the generalist gives him the expertise to manage the clinical workup, then I propose there is a similar peculiar claim of the imaging generalist (radiologist), which gives him the expertise to participate in the management of the imaging workup, since this is precisely his training.It is difficult


A GaAs monolithic quadrature phase shifter based on a phase-locked-loop system which covers a 0.1- to 4.5-GHz frequency range is presented. It provides about 8 dB of gain, and its phase error and amplitude mismatch are respectively, less than 2.5 degrees and 0.4 dB over the band. When the phase shifter is integrated into a single-sideband receiver, a sideband rejection of at least 30 dB is achieved. The results also show that design methods based on voltage amplification instead of power amplification, without any impedance matching between stages, can be extended up to the microwave domain. >


Serotonergic signaling appears to play a key role in the generation and modulation of various cognitive, behavioral, and developmental processes. The serotonin(1A) receptor is an important member of the superfamily of seven transmembrane domain G-protein-coupled receptors and is the most extensively studied among the serotonin receptors. Several aspects of serotonin(1A) receptor biology such as cellular distribution and signal transduction characteristics are technically difficult to address in living cells on account of the inability to optically track these receptors with fluorescence-based techniques. We describe here the characterization of the serotonin(1A) receptor tagged to the enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP) stably expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. These receptors were found to be essentially similar to the native receptor in pharmacological assays and can therefore be used to reliably explore aspects of receptor biology such as cellular distribution and dynamics on account of their intrinsic fluorescent properties. Analysis of the cell surface dynamics of these receptors by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) experiments has provided novel insight into the molecular mechanism of signal transduction of serotonin(1A) receptors in living cells. Interestingly, addition of pharmacologically well-characterized ligands or activators of G-proteins altered the diffusion characteristics of the receptor in a manner consistent with the G-protein activation model. These results demonstrate, for the first time, that membrane dynamics of this receptor is modulated in a G-protein-dependent manner.


The frame size improves the interpretation of the body mass in adult and its incorporation is very useful in the assessment of nutritional status. This study compared two of the anthropometric methods used to classify individuals according to frame size: Grant method (height (cm)/wrist circumference (cm)) and Frame index 2 (elbow breadth (mm)/height (cm) x 100) in order to identify coincidence, concordance and divergence between then. Data from two hundred and forty nine apparently healthy individuals, between the ages of 22 and 63, belonging to "Health Project: Administration employees of the Simón Bolívar University" were included. Results showed significant differences between the two methods, not only in the proportion of classified individuals in each frame size category, but also when contrasted the same method using one or another body hemispheres. When studying both methods, the divergence in frame size identification varied between 19% and 55% with a low concordance (k = < or = 0.40). Grant method, compared to Frame index 2 showed a greater association with the variables and indicators of total body mass and body fat; in the other hand, Frame index 2 revealed a lesser correlation with such variables and indicators specially in female (r = 0.17 with fat percentage). These results clearly show the differences that could be created in the frame size identification of an individual of group of individuals if different criteria are used; this could also lead to a wrong anthropometric diagnosis.


Alvaro Taype-Rondan1, Oscar Huapaya-Huertas2, Guido Bendezu-Quispe2, Josmel Pacheco-Mendoza3, Mayte Bryce-Alberti1. ABSTRACT Objective: to describe the scientific production related to diabetes in Peru between 1996 and 2015. Methods: Bibliometric study. Scientific papers on diabetes published between 1996 and 2015 were identified by authors with Peruvian affiliation in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoS) and Scopus databases. The variables of interest were extracted manually. We present descriptive results and collaborative networks. Results: We found 81 publications, 75.3% were original articles, of which none evaluated public health interventions and 60.7% received foreign funding; 55.6% had an author affiliated with the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH), and 65.4% had a foreign author. Five clusters of international collaboration networks could be distinguished, all with the participation of the UPCH. Conclusion: Peruvian scientific production related to diabetes is low, with an absence of studies evaluating public health interventions, and with collaboration networks focused on UPCH.


Calculating others' visual perspective automatically is a pivotal ability in human's social communications. In the dot-perspective task, the ability is shown as a consistency effect: adults respond more slowly to judge the number of discs that they can see when a computer-generated avatar sees fewer discs. The implicit mentalising account attributes the effect to relatively automatic tracking of others' visual perspectives. However, the submentalising account attributes the effect to domain-general attentional orienting. Accordingly, three studies were conducted to elucidate the ongoing implicit mentalising vs. submentalising debate.
Study 1 (comprising Experiments 1 and 2) replicated the consistency effect either when real-human-face or spatial layout of discs was considered. Study 2 (comprising of Experiments 3 and 4) dissociated two accounts by manipulating real human's facial cues. In Experiment 3, using a new visual access manipulation (i.e., a black rectangle placed on an agent's eyes for rendering an invisible condition), a consistency effect was induced for eyes-opened but not eyes-covered faces with head direction, suggesting implicit mentalising. Experiment 4 firstly compared implicit mentalising (via consistency effect in the dot-perspective task) with attentional orienting (via a cue-validity effect in Posner task) when manipulating eye-head cues (head-front-gaze-averted versus head-turned-gaze-maintained). Neither effect was modulated by eye-head-related directional cue, but the cue-validity effect's elicitation seemed to be related to the directional cue's dynamic property. Overall, implicit mentalising as revealed in consistency effect cannot be purely reduced to attentional-orienting-related submentalising processes.
Study 3 (comprising of Experiments 5 to 7) further clarified the debate by considering the agent's different body cues. Experiment 5 extended the findings of Experiment 4 by generating a new eye-head-cue comparison (head-front-gaze-averted vs. head-turned-gaze-averted). Directional cue modulated cue-validity effect but not consistency effect, favouring Study 2's conclusion. Experiment 6 adopted a new body-cue-manipulation (gaze-averted vs. finger-pointing). Both cue-validity and consistency effects were elicited for finger-pointing but not gaze-averted agents, supporting submentalising. Experiment 7 combined finger-pointing with visual access's manipulation (eyes-opened vs. eyes-covered) on the dot-perspective task. Visual access did not modulate the consistency effect when finger-pointing was simultaneously displayed, supporting submentalising. Altogether, gaze aversion cues appear to play a dominant role in moderating implicit mentalising on the dot-perspective task, but the process may be interfered by the easily-discriminable finger-pointing cues via an attentional orienting mechanism.


Parasites may have large effects on host population dynamics, marine fisheries and conservation, but a clear elucidation of their impact is limited by a lack of ecosystem-scale experimental data. We conducted a meta-analysis of replicated manipulative field experiments concerning the influence of parasitism by crustaceans on the marine survival of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). The data include 24 trials in which tagged smolts (totalling 283 347 fish; 1996–2008) were released as paired control and parasiticide-treated groups into 10 areas of Ireland and Norway. All experimental fish were infection-free when released into freshwater, and a proportion of each group was recovered as adult recruits returning to coastal waters 1 or more years later. Treatment had a significant positive effect on survival to recruitment, with an overall effect size (odds ratio) of 1.29 that corresponds to an estimated loss of 39 per cent (95% CI: 18–55%) of adult salmon recruitment. The parasitic crustaceans were probably acquired during early marine migration in areas that host large aquaculture populations of domesticated salmon, which elevate local abundances of ectoparasitic copepods—particularly Lepeophtheirus salmonis. These results provide experimental evidence from a large marine ecosystem that parasites can have large impacts on fish recruitment, fisheries and conservation.


Sati sahagamana (self immolation) is an ancient Indian custom by which the Hindu wife follows her husband to his death by ascending his pyre or ascending one of her own shortly after the death of her husband, thereby it was belived winning merit for her family as well as wiping out all its sins. A sati stone is a memorial commemorating the faithful wife who had become sati. Sati or sahagamana (immolation) was widely accomplished social custom in Vijayanagara kingdom. A sati stone is a commemorative plaque usually erected at the place where the faithful wife performed sahagamana; such a stone is known in Karnataka as a sati-kal.


Partial sequences of the G protein gene of 33 isolates from antigenic group B of human respiratory syncytial virus were determined. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the evolutionary pattern of group B viruses is similar to that previously described for isolates of antigenic group A, including worldwide distribution of related viruses and co-circulation of viruses from different lineages during the same epidemic. Dominance of AG+GA over UC+CU transitions was observed when G sequences of group B viruses were compared, as previously found in viruses from antigenic group A. Interestingly, differences in protein length, determined by the usage of alternative termination codons, were more pronounced in group B than in group A viruses. Changes in protein length correlated with the classification of viruses in different lineages. Thus, mutations that determined termination codon usage seem to have played an important role in the diversification of group B viruses.


Recent developments in diabetes epidemiology in Europe have included the completion of the European Community sponsored Concerted Action on the Epidemiology and Prevention of Diabetes (Eurodiab), further studies of diabetes and coronary heart disease prevalence in ethnic minority groups in the United Kingdom, and studies of the effect of poor fetal and early post-natal nutrition on the risk of developing non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM). The EURODIAB Concerted Action Programme has provided valuable new information on the incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) throughout Europe and has drawn attention to an unexpectedly high incidence in Sardinia. In the EURODIAB IDDM complications study, the prevalence of both large- and small-vessel complications of diabetes has been examined, using standardized methods, in 3,279 IDDM patients from 31 centres throughout Europe. The data on risk factors for complications obtained from this study will have significant health policy implications for diabetes in Europe which will be utilized by the current St. Vincent Declaration Action Programme for Diabetes Care and Research in Europe. In another part of the EURODIAB Concerted Action Programme, important information has been obtained on the validity of routinely-collected diabetes health information, such as mortality statistics based on death certificates, and estimates of diabetes prevalence obtained from drug-utilization data.


Ytterbium-doped silica fibers exhibit very broad absorption and emission bands, from /spl sim/800 nm to /spl sim/1064 nm for absorption and /spl sim/970 nm to /spl sim/1200 nm for emission. The simplicity of the level structure provides freedom from unwanted processes such as excited state absorption, multiphonon nonradiative decay, and concentration quenching. These fiber lasers therefore offer a very efficient and convenient means of wavelength conversion from a wide variety of pump lasers, including AlGaAs and InGaAs diodes and Nd:YAG lasers. Efficient operation with narrow linewidth at any wavelength in the emission range can be conveniently achieved using fiber gratings. A wide range of application for these sources can be anticipated. In this paper, the capabilities of this versatile source are reviewed. Analytical procedures and numerical data are presented to enable design choices to be made for the wide range of operating conditions. >


Abstract : The President's National Security Strategy calls for the U.S. military to "shape-respond-prepare" for a strategic environment that continues to advance U.S. interests. It also prescribes the necessity to move toward a more joint way of life. With increased emphasis on jointness, the Navy has made significant strides in becoming a partner with the other services. Not only are the serves more joint, but so are the organizations participating in contractual agreements. One area where DoD and industry have increased their joint relationship is in the area of strategic sealift. As the world's shipping industries have grown the U.S. industry has reduced by one third. This has presented DoD with a major dilemma. The current NSS calls for strategic sealift to support two simultaneous Major Regional Conflicts. The MSA of 1996 was passed by Congress to ensure supportability of U.S. forces overseas. The VISA is an agreement to make intermodal shipping services and capacity available to DoD as required to support the emergency deployment and sustainment of U.S. military forces. It is accomplished by cooperation between DoD, DoT, and Industry. This research presents analysis of current policies and sealift capabilities in support of the two MRC scenario.


Complex buildings frequently present a challenge to users' understanding, which may affect wayfinding as well as appreciation of the building's structure. In this paper we focus on the building's diagram, a representation by the building's architect that captures its main 'idea'. Motivated by the intuition that a building may be easier to understand if its conceptual diagram can be clearly and easily described, we explored perceivers' descriptions of such diagrams' features. We asked students of Language and students of Architecture to write about the buildings represented in a variety of diagrams, and then repeated the task for photographs of the actual buildings. Using Cognitive Discourse Analysis, we aimed to create a first qualitative exploration of the linguistic and conceptual patterns that are associated with the perception of diagrams and images of complex buildings. Among other factors, results show how perception of the diagram's meaning is fundamentally affected by subject expertise. Linguistic patterns demonstrate the ways in which written descriptions reflect observers' understanding and concepts of building representations, providing a starting point for future studies which may address the possible relationship between the verbalisability of a diagram and the legibility of a building.


The treatment of Pediculosis capitis, or head lice, is fraught with misinformation, myths, and mismanagement. Common myths include the need to exclude children from school, the need to remove all visible nits ("no-nit" policies), the need for massive environmental cleaning, that head lice live for long periods of time, and that schools are a common location for lice transmission. Head lice are a common childhood nuisance, causing embarrassment and emotional trauma in both children and families. This article explores and challenges the commonly held beliefs about the identification, management, and treatment of Pediculosis by presenting current recommended evidence-based practice. It also challenges pediatric nurses, and school nurses in particular, in alignment with the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) Position Statement on Pediculosis Management in the School Setting, to act as change agents for reasonable and effective school policies and practices.


The narrow genetic base of popcorn has been of concern to the breeders of this cultivar, hence the present research aimed at assessing popcorn variability using inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers. From 52 accessions, nine groups were made at a cutoff value of 0.36 on the abscissa in the UPGMA dendrogram. Among the genotypes, the ancestors Tripsacum sp. and teosinte were the most divergent, which corroborates the efficiency of the ISSR technique. Teosinte was in more proximity with maize than Tripsacum sp. Although, belonging to different heterotic groups, the dent and flint types of the common maize assembled in the group I confirmed that the compared analysis of genetic diversity was more remarkable. In the third group, however, almost all the popcorn cultivars recommended for Brazil were gathered, besides popcorn wild materials, from different countries, thus providing a reason for breeders to be cautious and avoid selecting materials from genetically close parents in breeding programs. Key words : Zea mays, Tripsacum sp., genetic narrowing, gene pool, DNA markers.


: Most halogenated compounds showing genotoxicity do not themselves react with macromolecules but are transformed to reactive metabolites. In order to explain the widely different genotoxicities of halogenated ethylenes, the 'optimum stability' theory of epoxides has been developed recently. An epoxide must be reactive to alkylate DNA, but stable enough to reach the target from the place of its formation. Also, pharmacokinetic aspects are important in accounting for differences in genotoxicities of closely related compounds; examples are provided. Reactive metabolites may bind to proteins, to lipids and coenzymes, and to DNA, but binding to targets other than DNA is far more common than DNA alkylation. An example is provided by investigations on 2,2'-dichlorodiethyl ether from which chloroacetaldehyde is formed. In contrast to vinyl chloride, which generates chloroethylene oxide (chlorooxirane) as well as chloroacetaldehyde, this compound leads to extensive covalent protein binding of metabolites, but not to DNA binding.


Material IQ (MiQ) is a new decision tool designed by GreenBlue to help suppliers safely share sensitive chemical-toxicity data with their customers. As GreenBlue takes MiQ to market, it must determine under what market conditions to promote the use of MiQ and when to recommend that a buyer use its implementation as an opportunity to work with an existing supplier. We study GreenBlue's problem in two parts. First, we investigate when a buyer can use a wholesale-price premium and/or buyer-supplier cost sharing to improve a supplier's environmental performance. Based on our findings, we then develop insights into GreenBlue's strategy. We model both a single-supplier and a supplier-competition setting. We find that in the single-supplier setting, if the buyer's optimal strategy is to offer the supplier a premium, then he also fully subsidizes her investment cost to build quality. By developing the supplier's capabilities, the buyer can increase the impact of the premium he offers. In the supplier-competition setting, although cost sharing is less effective as a lever, cases can occur in which the buyer chooses to share costs and prevent the incumbent supplier from having to compete. From GreenBlue's perspective, promoting the use of MiQ and cost sharing are often viable strategies when there exists a one-to-one relationship between a buyer and a supplier. However, GreenBlue's strategy becomes more restricted when competition exists between suppliers. Only when the relative market awareness of quality is high and there is a dominant party in the supply chain should GreenBlue recommend the use of MiQ.


A system architecture provides essential communication means between the architect and the user of the system diminishing thus the risk of misunderstanding during the development phase. In many domains, the tools used for documentation are word processors, typically Microsoft Word. However such tools allow to manipulate text with little structure only thus potentially yielding many inconsistencies in the document. In this paper, we report on a case study making use of textual models and model-based editors in order to develop such a documentation system for Siemens AG. We propose here to transfer these techniques to a new domain: (non-necessarily software) system documentation. The use of models allows to introduce more semantics into the editor, with the concrete effect of imposing more structure on the document to ensure the consistency of the document and thus prevent issues earlier in the development. We implemented the above process using the model-based programming environment MPS.


From Samuel Huntington's highly controversial Who Are We? to the urgent appeal of Naomi Wolf's The End of America, Americans are increasingly reflecting on questions of democracy, multiculturalism, and national identity. Yet such debates take place largely at the level of elites, leaving out ordinary American citizens who have much to offer about the lived reality behind the phrase, 'I am an American'.

Cynthia Weber set out on a journey across post-9/11 America in search of a deeper understanding of what it means to be an American today. The result is this brave and captivating memoir that gives a voice to ordinary citizens for whom the terrorist attacks of 2001 – and their lingering aftermath – live on in collective memory. Heartrending first-person testimonials reveal how the ongoing fear of terrorists and immigrants has betrayed America's core values of fairness and equality, which have been further weakened by polarizing international and domestic responses. Considered together, these portraits also provide a sharp contrast to the idealized vision of Americanness frequently spun by media and politicians.

Far more than a mere remembrance book about September 11, I Am An American offers precisely the kind of ground level empathy needed to reignite a meaningful national debate about who we are and who we might become as a people and a nation.