To inhibit pathological thrombus formation without impairing hemostasis is the holy grail of anticoagulant therapy. Recent data from animal models have indicated that factor XII (FXII) may be a promising new antithrombotic target that is particularly intriguing due to the longstanding clinical observation that severe congenital FXII deficiency is not associated with a bleeding diathesis in humans. FXII is thought to participate in thrombus formation after being activated in high shear arterial environments. FXIIa then initiates downstream activation of the contact pathway, culminating in thrombin generation. However, the relevant cell surface for FXII activation remains unclear. Here we compare the role of platelets versus endothelial cells in FXII activation and study the function of surface phospholipids in this process. To explore the effect of FXII inhibition on thrombus formation in vivo, we used antibody X210-C01, a novel human IgG1 developed using phage-display technology that blocks both mouse and human FXIIa. Using a mouse laser injury model of arterial thrombosis, we showed that X210-C01 inhibited both fibrin formation and platelet accumulation at sites of vascular injury. Plasma removed from animals after completion of these experiments was used to quantify the concentrations of X210-C01 achieved in vivo at a given dose. FXII inhibition was somewhat more potent in preventing platelet accumulation (IC50 dose = 27 mg/kg, R2=0.93) than fibrin formation (IC50 dose = 43 mg/kg, R2=0.95). Importantly, treatment with X210-C01 at 100 mg/kg did not prolong bleeding times or increase total blood loss in a tail bleeding assay. To evaluate the mechanism underlying our in vivo observations, we studied the differential role of FXII in thrombin generation by stimulated platelets and endothelium. X210-C01 did not globally inhibit SFLLRN-induced platelet aggregation or granule release. We next performed a fluorogenic thrombin generation assay (TGA) using human platelets treated with the peptide agonist SFLLRN. X210-C01 inhibited platelet-based thrombin generation in a dose-dependent fashion, whereas anti-tissue factor (TF) and anti-factor VIIa (FVIIa) antibodies did not. By contrast, in a similar TGA using SFLLRN-stimulated endothelial cells, X210-C01 had no effect, while anti-TF antibodies abrogated thrombin generation. These results indicate that stimulated endothelium generates thrombin by a mechanism distinct from that of platelets. FXII is known to be activated in vitro by anionic surfaces. Because phosphatidylserine (PS) is a negatively-charged phospholipid expressed on the surface of stimulated platelets, we reasoned that PS may serve as the platelet-based activator of FXII. To test this hypothesis, we used lactadherin, a potent and specific inhibitor of PS, in the platelet-based TGA and showed that PS blockade inhibited platelet-based thrombin generation at concentrations as low as 10 nM. We then used a chromogenic FXIIa activity assay to test the ability of PS-containing liposomes to activate FXII. Liposomes containing 80% phosphatidylcholine (PC) and 20% PS (PC-PS 80/20) failed to activate FXII at concentrations as high as 100 µM. In this assay, SFLLRN-stimulated platelets led to significantly greater FXII activation than either resting platelets or the PC-PS 80/20 liposomes tested. In summary, we have made the unexpected finding that thrombin generation on the surface of stimulated platelets proceeds by a FXIIa-dependent pathway and does not require FVIIa or TF. By contrast, thrombin generation on endothelium requires TF but not FXIIa. Additionally, surface PS is necessary but not sufficient for platelet-based FXII activation and thrombin generation, pointing to the involvement of a second platelet component. Further studies will be directed towards investigating the in vivo role of platelet-based FXII activation in arterial thrombus formation. Disclosures Mason:Shire Pharmaceuticals: Employment. Kenniston:Shire Pharmaceuticals: Employment.


In order to mitigate overheated interior of a vehicle parked in the hot summer sun and thereby to make the entering into the vehicle more comfortable, microcontroller managed module for automatic ventilation of vehicle interior is made. The module is implemented using a microcontroller as a central logical unit and a series of sensors which provide sufficient data to ensure functional, but also efficient, reliable and safe ventilation. The ventilation process is performed by opening vehicle windows slightly, which enables air to circulate. Microcontroller controls the position of the windows autonomously and independently of the driver"s presence, following predefined algorithm that uses sensors data obtained from the vehicle"s surroundings. Besides temperature, the most important factors to ensure quality implementation of ventilation are detected movements around the vehicle, the presence of precipitation and other. The module's task is to control the ventilation process autonomously in order to facilitate vehicle utilization, i.e. providing conditions to make the entering into the vehicle parked in the sun more comfortable. In order to meet all the criteria of quality ventilation, the module has to collect enough data from the vehicle's immediate environment and, based on that data, it has to decide whether it is necessary to lower the windows and thus start the ventilation process. Accordingly, the module can be divided to three logical units: peripheral unit collects data, control unit -manages module operations, and switching unit – adjusts signal.


Chlorine as a chemical is widespread in industry and found in a great variety of processes ranging from water purification to plastic production. In this thesis, a magnesium production factory was chosen as an example because it involved both chlorine - air separation and hydrogen –hydrogen chloride separation.Previously, various types of membrane materials have been tested out for their applicability in the chosen process. The materials previously tested either lacked sufficient membrane performance or sufficient membrane stability. As an attempt to improve both the membrane performance and stability, glass membranes are used in this thesis.Glass membranes are prepared from a borosilicate glass, via a phase separation followed by an acid leaching route. By choosing the appropriate phase separation temperature and acid to glass ratio, the membrane can be produced with an average pore diameter of 2 nm (or 4 nm).However, the 2 nm average pore size is still too large to separate gases with separation selectivities beyond the selectivities predicted from Knudsen diffusion theory. If the pores are narrowed, the selectivity may be raised while the flux hopefully is maintained. The narrowing of the pores was done by a silane coupling to the surface OH-groups on the glass. The silane coupling agent is of the dimethylacyl-chlorosilane type, where the length of the acyl chain varies from 1 carbon up to 18 carbons. Glass fibres are also tested in this work, which are produced without phase separation and their average pore size is smaller than the surface-modified glasses.To be able to compare the performance of the various membranes, permeance measurements are performed and these measurements are evaluated by the separation power (product of the selectivity and the permeability of the fastest permeating compound). Because of the harsh chlorine or hydrogen chloride environment, to which the membranes are exposed in this work, the membrane stability is at least as important s factor as the perm-selectivities. To evaluate this, both short- and longterm aggressive gas exposures are performed using a special designed durability chamber. From the combination of the perm-selectivities and the durability tests, the following conclusions may be drawn (evaluated at 30°C and 1 bar): Firstly, the pure glasses have a relatively poor stability (for chlorine gas) and the perm-selectivity is too low (for both separations in question). Secondly, the C8 and C12 modified glass membranes have a relatively satisfactory perm- selectivity for chlorine separation, but the durability in chlorine is poor. Thirdly, the long-chained C18 modified glass membrane has a relatively satisfactory perm-selectivity but a fair to low chlorine stability. If the C18 membrane is applied in the hydrogen chlorine separation the perm-selectivity is a bit low, but the stability is sufficient. However, this membrane is the best choice for a low temperature HCl selective membrane.Finally, to improve the chlorine stability, a perfluorinated version of a C1 modification is tried out. This membrane has excellent chlorine stability, and the perm-selectivity is fair. This membrane is the best choice for a chlorine selective membrane.The stability of the fibres is comparable to that found for the pure glass tubes. However, the permeabilities in the glass fibres are several orders of magnitude lower than for the glass tubes. The pore size in the fibre is so narrow that separation occurs according to a molecular sieving mechanism. The mounting of the fibres into a labsized module is tricky and the permeabilities are at the border of detection, so the results obtained here should only serve as trends.


Major ports contain multiple container terminals, sea terminals, train, truck and barge terminal, and empty container depots, operated by different companies. Port authorities try to streamline inter terminal container transport (ITT) within congested port areas by offering expensive common road and rail infrastructure. Alternatively, individual stakeholders can set up private or collaborative container transport systems. This paper develops a framework to analyse and determine feasibility conditions of a common ITT system in a port area, depending on total transport volumes. First, we develop a simulation model to evaluate the costs of transporting containers using different modes of transport including trucks, automated guided vehicles, and multi trailer systems. Next, the required number of vehicles per mode is determined for a given throughput and waiting time. The results of the simulation are used in a game-theoretic setting to determine the cost savings per stakeholder operating in a coalition. By comparing cost savings for all possible coalitions, it is possible to determine, for each stakeholder, the attractiveness of using a common system. We find the coalitions that result in the highest savings and compare them with the infrastructure cost required to realise them. We apply the method to determine the feasibility of a common ITT system for terminals in the Port of Rotterdam and show that it only pays off in case of high demand for container transports.


ABSTRACT The detection of an emergency signal can be estimated by the cancellation of surrounding noise and achieving the desired signal in order to alert the automobilist. The aim of the thesis is to detect the emergency signal arriving nearer to the automobilist carrying hearing aids. Recent studies show that this can be achieved by designing various kinds of fixed and adaptive beam formers. A beam former does spatial filtering in the sense that it separates two signals with overlapping frequency content originating from distinctive directions. In this contribution, robust beam former namely Wiener beam former is designed and analyzed collaboratively in a group under the consideration of hearing aid constraints such as the microphone distance. A fractionally delay (FD) are designed to get a maximally flat group delay. The studies had been carried out by comparing noise cancellation algorithms like LMS, NLMS, LLMS and RLS algorithms. By comparing Omni-directional and multi-directional microphones the SNR can be studied. In this thesis work, first proposing appropriate microphone array setup with improved beam forming techniques by using required adaptive algorithm (NLMS) in order to get better quality using the Microphone arrays. Microphone arrays have been widely used to improve the performance of speech recognition systems as well as to benefit for people who need hearing aids. With the help of microphone arrays, it can choose to focus on signals from a specific direction. To getting better signal quality in microphone array using adaptive algorithms, these are help in the noise suppression in accordance with the different beam forming techniques. The proposed system is implemented successfully and validated using MATLAB simulation tool. The emergency signal is different in different countries, so we identify any type of emergency signal by training through neural networks.


Virtual Innovation in Construction (VIC) is a project aiming to develop an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) supported methodology VIC-MET, to involve building end-users in a creative innovation process together with building designers, and to capture and formulate end-user needs and requirements on buildings and their functionality. The method gives advisors and clients a set of tools to capture the required knowledge in a creative and innovative design process with end-users, and thus to incorporate user needs in the building. VIC-MET includes four design spaces that support different functions in the user involvement process. In space (1) 'Contextual Inquiry', the end-users are given tools and motivation to deliver their wishes, needs and views on suggested solutions. Individual views of end-users have to be expressed and consolidated into more general needs, common values must be established and conceptual building designs be illustrated. This is done in (2) 'Conceptual modelling space'. Here the VIC-MET proposes different tools and processes to build up a common understanding of end-user needs and values. In (3) 'Functional consolidation space', needs are linked to functional building systems (FBS), which are realized as component building systems (CBS), which will form parts in the total building solution. The formulated needs provide input to specific requirements in order to assure expected performance of the building components. The final virtual building model or part of it is evaluated by the end-users in the (4) 'Solution space'. Three on-going construction projects were used as cases in the development and in the testing of VICMET. Collaborative Virtual Reality environments were tested in order to present and discuss the suggested solutions with users. The virtual environments included CAVE and Panorama, a game console based solution and a virtual world in Second Life.


Access to information has never been easier thanks to the WWW; though not as well developed, sensor web technologies are, nonetheless, increasingly making data concerning a wide range of physical phenomena available to all. Potential opportunities for research in many application domains abound. Translating this potential into meaningful research is problematic as information sources, including but not limited to those on the WWW, are characterized by diversity and heterogeneity in a multiplicity of dimensions, resulting in an unwieldy and complex data capture process. To address this problem, the concept of a Cyber Sensor Network is proposed as a construct for providing a domain-agnostic interface to diverse cyber and physical information sources. A methodology to implement such a network is described.


A method for the culture of rat peritoneal macrophages in vitro is described, in which pinocytic uptake of colloidal [198 Au]gold, 125I--labelled poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and [14C]sucrose proceeds at contant and fairly reproducible rates for several hours. The rat of uptake of colloidal [198 Au]gold, which wxhibited some inter-batch variation, was approx. 100 times that of the other two substrates. Colloidal gold did not affect the rate of uptake of 125I-labelled poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and therefore its own high rate of uptake could not be attributed to a stimulation of the formation of pinocytic vesicles. It conclude that uptake of collodial gold is highly dependent on adsorption on binding sites on the plasma membrane. Uptake of formaldehyde-treated 125I-labelled bovine serum albumin was followed by the release of [125I]iodo-L-tyrosine into the culture medium and took place at a rate intermediate between those of collodial [198Au]gold and the other two non-digestible substrates, 125I-labelled poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and [14C]sucrose.


We present observations of six Class 0 protostars at 3.3 mm (90 GHz) using the 64 pixel MUSTANG bolometer camera on the 100 m Green Bank Telescope. The 3.3 mm photometry is analyzed along with shorter wavelength observations to derive spectral indices (Sν ∝ να) of the measured emission. We utilize previously published dust continuum radiative transfer models to estimate the characteristic dust temperature within the central beam of our observations. We present constraints on the millimeter dust opacity index β between 0.862 mm, 1.25 mm, and 3.3 mm. βmm typically ranges from 1.0 to 2.4 for Class 0 sources. The relative contributions from disk emission and envelope emission are estimated at 3.3 mm. L483 is found to have negligible disk emission at 3.3 mm, while L1527 is dominated by disk emission within the central beam. The βdiskmm ⩽ 0.8–1.4 for L1527 indicates that grain growth is likely occurring in the disk. The photometry presented in this paper may be combined with future interferometric observations of Class 0 envelopes and disks.


Nonlinear dynamics of complex biological systems like expression of protein remained a fascinating field of study. Especially investigation of dynamics of functional proteins like transcription factors offers a great promise to understand many perplexing phenom- ena of cell biology and physiology. This communication aims to capture complex dynamics of a transcription factor called "Brain and muscle Arnt-like protein-1" (BMAL1)in the nucleus of a cell. BMAL1 is not only an important component of Circadian cycle of cells but has lately been identified as a key marker in many diseased conditions like cardio-vascular disease, diabetes etc. The system is modelled as a set of non-linear differential equation involving concentrations of the protein and the corresponding m-RNA. In the model Ivlev function has been proposed to describe the translation and allied processing plus transport steps of the protein where the exponential parameter is used as a master control parameter. We have explored the existence and stability of the m-RNA-protein dynamics with the existence of interior equilibria at deferent levels of the density of the two macromolecules. We investigated the stability and bifurcation behavior of the model in presence and absence of time delay. Further the model systemwas studied with stochastic perturbation by introducing random variations of the sensitive parameters which is closer to actual cellular system. Lastly, we have estimated the mean square stability of the set of differential equations around the interior equilibrium. The time delay and stochastic perturbation showed crucial impact on the behaviour of expression machinery of the transcription factor.


Gastrointestinal (GIT) parasites can cause economic losses in livestock production. Among the GIT parasites infecting ruminant livestock are zoonotic species including Cryptosporidium, Giardia duodenalis and Trichostrongylus sp. that can cause severe diarrhoea and other symptoms in humans. However, nothing is known about the species and subtypes of these zoonotic parasites in farmers and their ruminant livestock in Ghana. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to determine the prevalence and species of these parasites in these two groups.

A total of 925 faecal samples were collected from humans (n=95), cattle (n=328), sheep (n= 217) and goats (n=285) from the Coastal Savannah agroecological zone of Ghana. Faecal samples were examined by microscopy and/or molecular techniques to determine the gastrointestinal parasites present and genetically characterise the species of Cryptosporidium, Giardia duodenalis and Trichostrongylus present. The farmers were interviewed using a structured questionnaire on farm management systems and practices to determine the risk factors associated with parasites detected in the livestock. Faecal consistency and body condition scores of the animals were also recorded to determine their association with specific parasite infections.

This thesis describes the first molecular study of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in livestock in Ghana and the identification of zoonotic species. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia by quantitative PCR (qPCR) at the 18S rRNA and glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) loci was 8.4% and 10.5% in humans, 26.5% and 8.5% in cattle, 34.1% and 12.9% in sheep, and 33.3% and 12.3% in goat faecal samples, respectively. Molecular typing of G. duodenalis at the triose phosphate isomerase (tpi), beta-giardin (bg) and gdh loci detected assemblages A and B in humans and assemblage E in livestock. Cryptosporidium parvum was the only species identified in humans; C. andersoni, C. bovis, C. ryanae and C. ubiquitum were identified in cattle; C. xiaoi, C. ubiquitum and C. bovis in sheep; and C. xiaoi, C. baileyi and C. parvum in goats by typing at 18S rRNA locus. The C. parvum subtype IIcA5G3q, which has previously been identified in children in Ghana was identified in livestock by typing at gp60 locus.

This thesis also describes the identification of GIT helminths in farmers and their livestock, the first molecular characterisation of Trichostrongylus in humans and animals in Ghana and the identification of zoonotic as well as potentially novel species. Overall 21 farmers tested positive for at least one GIT helminth by formal ether concentration microscopy and/or PCR at the ITS-2 locus, 80.9% of which were single infections and 19.0% were co-infections. The parasites identified in the farmers consisted of hookworms (n=13) (9 were Necator americanus and the other 4 could not be amplified by PCR), Trichostrongylus spp. (n=9), Schistosoma mansoni (n=1), Schistosoma haematobium (n=1) and Diphyllobothrium latum (n=1). In livestock, Eimeria was dominant (78.4%) followed by strongylid nematodes (56.6%), Paramphistomum spp. (16.9%), Dicrocoelium spp. (7.1%), Thysaniezia spp. (5.8%), Trichuris spp. (3.3%), Moniezia spp. (3.1%), Fasciola spp. (2.8%), Toxocara spp. (1.1%) and Schistosoma spp. (0.2%) using microscopy. Genotyping of Trichostrongylus spp. in the farmer's stools identified T. colubriformis (n=6), similar to T. colubriformis detected in cattle, sheep and goats in the present study. In addition, two Trichostrongylus spp. with 98.3% and 99.2% genetic similarity to T. probolurus respectively and one Trichostrongylus. spp. which showed 96.6% similarity to both T. probolurus and T. rugatus were identified and T. axei was identified in cattle, sheep and goats.

The distribution and risk factors associated with GIT parasite infection is also described in this thesis. Overall, 90.8% of the total livestock were infected by at least one of the ten different parasites (Eimeria, Strongylids, Toxocara, Trichuris, Schistosoma, Dicrocoelium, Paramphistomum, Fasciola, Moniezia and Thysaniezia). There was significant association between the prevalence of specific parasites and the animals' age group, region, farming system, and housing floor type. The level of infection was generally light, however 99.0% of the 142 herds were infected. The risk factors significantly associated with specific GIT parasite infections in the livestock included region, type of housing floor, flock size, the number of ruminant species kept, infection with other GIT parasites and education.

In summary, the prevalence and species of GIT parasites in farmers and their ruminant livestock in the Coastal Savannah zone of Ghana is reported in this thesis. The zoonotic potential of the parasites detected are discussed and recommendations for effective control and further studies involving larger numbers of farmers and their household members have been made. The outcome of the present study is relevant for effective management and control of GIT parasites for both veterinary and public health in Ghana. Dedicated and co-ordinated commitments from African governments involving "One Health" initiatives with multidisciplinary teams of veterinarians, medical workers, relevant government authorities, animal health and public health specialists working together is necessary for effective control and prevention of the burden of disease caused by these GIT parasites.


The Gaussian mixture probability hypothesis density (GM-PHD) recursion is a closed-form solution to the probability hypothesis density (PHD) recursion, which was proposed for jointly estimating the time-varying number of targets and their states from a sequence of noisy measurement sets in the presence of data association uncertainty, clutter, and miss-detection. However the GM-PHD filter does not provide identities of individual target state estimates, that are needed to construct tracks of individual targets. In this paper, we propose a new multi-target tracker based on the GM-PHD filter, which gives the association amongst state estimates of targets over time and provides track labels. Various issues regarding initiating, propagating and terminating tracks are discussed. Furthermore, we also propose a technique for resolving identities of targets in close proximity, which the PHD filter is unable to do on its own.


Pemphigus is a group of autoimmune blistering intraepidermal disease of skin and mucosal membranes where there is the acantholysis taking place and gradual binding of autoantibody to antigens on cell surfaces. Drug-induced pemphigus mostly mimics Pemphigus Foliaceus and drugs known to induce are thiol drugs or SH drugs, nonthiolnonphenol drugs, phenol drugs. Antihypertensives are documented to cause PV or PF. In the present study a case on drug induced pemphigus foliaceus due to Losartan has been reported. The patient was on therapy with Losartan for a period of 10 months before which he was presented to the hospital with scaly, crusted lesions on the face, chest, abdomen, trunk and other parts with superficial lesions on thighs and legs. Various examinations for confirmation of diagnosis was made with biopsy, immunofluorscence etc., and was confirmed to be induced due to Losartan. Therapy was initiated with topical corticosteroids and then extended to prednisolone (60 mg/d) where gradual decrease in new lesions occured. Dapsone was also added up along with prednisolone where improving results were found. Maintenance dose with prednisolone and dapsone (25 mg) was given. Withdrawal of Losartan and initiation of Verapamil (200 mg) was made which helped in complete clearing of symptoms. Thus correct identification of the condition at the initial stage helps in eradication of the symptoms which may be drug induced or any other etiological flare up.


The Reformed Church historian and orientalist Johann Heinrich Hottinger (1620-1667) is a key figure in the history of Arabic and Islamic studies in early modern Europe. His life and his work have been almost completely neglected and there has never been a full-length study on Hottinger. This book presents a thorough documentation of Hottinger's Arabic and Islamic studies. Based on printed books and a great number of unpublished and hitherto unknown manuscripts, the book assesses his scholarship in the context of seventeenth-century oriental studies and confessional rivalries. The book contains a biographical account of Hottinger and inserts him into the Zurich tradition of oriental studies, which can be traced back to Theodor Bibliander and Konrad Pellikan in the sixteenth century. It gives an account of his years as a student of Jacobus Golius in Leiden, where Hottinger copied and collected an impressive number of Arabic manuscripts on which he later based his teaching and his publications. The book explores Hottinger's network in the Protestant Republic of Letters and it contains studies of his activities as a bibliographer of Arabic texts, as a teacher of the Arabic language, as a linguist who promoted a comparative approach to oriental languages, as a student of the history of Islam and as a Protestant who used his knowledge of Arabic and of Islam in the theological debates of the time.


The aim of the present study was to compare various glycated ovalbumin (OVA)-monosaccharides, including OVA-mannose (Man), -glucose, -ribose, and -fructose, in the attenuation of OVA-induced allergic response in a BALB/C mouse model and the potential mechanisms of immunological modulation. The glycated OVA forms were prepared by Maillard reactions. OVA-Man significantly reduced the frequency of allergic signs. Mouse mast cell protease enzyme concentration was significantly reduced in the OVA-Man group (549.80 ± 84.67 ng/mL, p < 0.05). The OVA-Man group also had a lower histamine concentration (30.96 ± 1.12 ng/mL) as compared with the positive control OVA group (44.43 ± 0.71 ng/mL, p < 0.05). Both specific IgG and IgE were significantly reduced in the OVA-Man-treated group (p < 0.05). The OVA-Man group exhibited decreased concentrations of IL-4 (67.98 ± 3.11 pg/mL) and IL-17 (67.98 ± 3.11 pg/mL) and an increased concentration of IL-12 (336.70 ± 18.69 pg/mL, p < 0.05) compared with the positive control. Mannosylation played a vital role in allergen recognition, implicating deleterious downstream Th2 cell activation, cytokine secretion, and IgE production. This result indicates that different glycans target specific DC receptors, and differential DC processing, antigen presentation, and T cell response leads to altered variation in allergic response. OVA-Man exhibited minimal DC internalization, DC processing, MHC antigen presentation, and antigen-specific T cell activation, resulting in an attenuated allergic response and validating its efficacy as a potential immunotherapeutic candidate to treat egg allergy.


The J/\Psi(1S) and \Psi'(2S) production near threshold in antiproton-nucleus reactions is calculated on the basis of the Glauber model. The model takes into account the antiproton (pre)absorption, proton Fermi motion, and charmonium formation length. We confirm earlier prediction that the charmonium production in $\bar pA$ collisions at $p_{lab}=3-10$ GeV/c is not influenced by formation length effects and is very well suited to determine the genuine charmonium-nucleon dissociation cross sections. The comparison is performed with the J/\Psi photoproduction at high energies, where formation length effects play a very important role. However, we demonstrate that the detailed structure of the proton and neutron density profiles has to be taken into account, if one wants to extract information on the J/\Psi N dissociation cross section from J/\Psi transparency ratios. These studies are relevant for the upcoming PANDA experiment at FAIR.


DTU Orbit (20/10/2019) A Review of Sea State Estimation Procedures Based on Measured Vessel Responses The operation of ships requires careful monitoring of therelated costs while, at the same time, ensuring a high level of safety. A ship's performance with respect to safety and fuel efficiency may be compromised by the encountered waves. Consequently, it is important to estimate the surrounding seastate, and any shipboard decision support system (DSS) needs to have as input information about the encountered waves for the DSS to be the most accurate and reliable.Trustful means for sea state estimation (SSE) include floating wave rider buoys. However, for ships navigating the oceans, wave rider buoys are not practical, as sea state information in real-time and at the actual geographical position of the ship is needed. On the other hand, the analogy between a ship and a floating buoy naturally suggests to using the ship itself as a wave buoy. This paper presents a status on techniques for shipboard SSE using measured vessel responses, resembling the concept of traditional wave rider buoys. Moreover, newly developed ideas for shipboard sea state estimation are introduced. The presented material is all based on the author's personal experience, developed within extensive work on the subject in the last fifteen years; work conducted alone and together with national as well as international colleagues.


Iron-catalyzed reactions are receiving a surge of interest owing to the natural abundance and biocompatibility of Fe and the urge to develop practically useful sustainable catalysis for fine chemical industries. This article is a brief account of our studies on the C–O and C–N bond formation reactions catalyzed by Fe complexes supported by oligopyridine, macrocyclic tetraaza, and fluorinated porphyrin ligands. The working principle is the in situ generation of reactive Fe=O and Fe=NR intermediates supported by these oxidatively robust N-donor ligands for oxygen atom/nitrogen group transfer and insertion reactions. The catalytic reactions include C–H bond oxidation of saturated hydrocarbons (up to 87 % yield), epoxidation of alkenes (up to 96 % yield), cis-dihydroxylation of alkenes (up to 99 % yield), epoxidation–isomerization (E–I) reaction of aryl alkenes (up to 94 % yield), amination of C–H bonds (up to 95 % yield), aziridination of alkenes (up to 95 % yield), sulfimidation of sulfides (up to 96 % yield), and amide formation from aldehydes (up to 89 % yield). Many of these catalytic reactions feature high regio- and diastereoselectivity and/or high product yields and substrate conversions, and recyclability of the catalyst, demonstrating the applicability of Fe-catalyzed oxidative organic transformation reactions in practical organic synthesis.


Methods of theoretical considerations and experiments on elastic and plastic strains in rotational internally pressurised shells with rigid bottoms are presented. The shells were treated as three-dimensional bodies, and the algorithms and programs for numerical analysis were worked out according to the finite-element method (FEM) and Prandtl-Reuss theory of plastic flow. The presented methods of experiments were used for measurements of elastic and plastic strains in thin-walled rotational shells. Loading in the shell was incrementally realized. With the applied methods of numerical calculations and experiments, it is possible to analyze the bulging process in the shell up to the loss of strain stability. Strain increments are not limited in any way. The paper shows the results obtained with the shell bulging. A good agreement between the results obtained with FEM and those from experiments can be observed. The presented analysis can be a basis for work on a method allowing the control of the wall thickness while forming tubular elements in industry.


Duty ratio is a key factor during micro-plasma oxidation process. Its influences on structure and corrosion resistance of ceramic coatings on Ti–6Al–4V by pulsed bi-polar MPO in NaAlO2 solution were investigated. The ceramic coatings were composed of Al2TiO5, α-Al2O3 and rutile TiO2, of which Al2TiO5 was the main crystalline. The coating can be divided into a porous outer layer and a dense inner layer. Compared with the condition of the same duty ratio for both pulses, the rise of anode duty ratio (D1) led to an increase in the amount of Al2TiO5 and α-Al2O3 and increased the thickness of the coating; whereas the rise of cathode duty ratio (D2) led to a decrease in the amount of α-Al2O3 and decreased the thickness of the coating. Besides, the corrosion resistance of the coated samples was better than that of Ti-6Al-4V substrate. When D1 / D2 = 60 / 30, the produced coating's corrosion resistance was best.


A closed-form multi-dimensional multi-invariance generalization of the ESPRIT algorithm is introduced to exploit the entire invariance structure underlying a (possibly) multiparametric data model, thereby greatly improving estimation performance. The multiple-invariance data structure that this proposed method can handle includes: (1) multiple occurrence of one size of invariance along one or multiple parametric dimensions, (2) multiple sizes of invariances along one or multiple parametric dimensions, and (3) invariances that cross over two or more parametric dimensions. The basic (uni-dimensional uni-invariance) ESPRIT algorithm is applied in parallel to each multiple pair of matrix-pencils characterizing the multiple invariance relationships in the data model, producing multiple sets of cyclically ambiguous estimates over the multi-dimensional parameter space. A weighted least-squares hyper-plane is then fitted to these set of estimates to yield very accurate and unambiguous estimates of the signal parameters.


Abstract Single crystals of spinel and hausmannite having seven different compositions in the MgAl2O4- MgMn2O4-MnMn2O4 system were synthesized and structurally and chemically characterized by X-ray diffraction and electron microprobe techniques. As predicted, tetrahedral and octahedral bond lengths increase with increasing substitutions of Mn2+ for Mg and Mn3+ for Al, respectively. A transition from cubic to tetragonal symmetry occurs at a critical concentration of Mn3+ > 1.4 atoms per formula unit as a result of the Jahn-Teller distortion around octahedrally coordinated Mn3+. The present data in conjunction with data from the literature provide a basis for quantitative analyses of the cation polyhedral-distortion parameters and their variations in spinel- and hausmannite-type structures (Fd3̄m and I41/amd, respectively). In contrast to the linear correlation between  (octahedral quadratic elongation) and σ2M (octahedral bond-angle variance) observed for many silicates and isomorphic structures, these two distortion parameters are not correlated in multiple oxides with spinel- and hausmannite-type structures. By using a model of multiple linear regression, it is demonstrated that  varies as a function of both σ2M and ΔM (octahedral bond-length distortion). The degree of octahedral distortion is significant in the spinel structures and is in fact comparable with that calculated for the hausmannite-type structures. The degree of octahedral distortion is related to steric effects in both spinel- and hausmannite-type structures, whereas the electronic effects caused by Mn3+ account for the transition from cubic to tetragonal symmetry.


Chronic inflammatory bowel disease (CIBD) in children is represented mainly by ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). Infectious forms, Behcet's disease and eosinophilic gastroenteritis are not included in this study. UC and CD are difficult to diagnose and to treat, and require a multispecialistic approach including pediatric gastroenterologists, surgeons, radiologists, endoscopists and pathologists. Progress in diagnostic techniques--i.e., nuclear medicine procedures, conventional, duplex and color-Doppler US, and endoscopy--has increased our knowledge of these diseases and it has made their diagnosis easier, opening new therapeutic perspectives. In our paper, after mentioning the major clinical and radiologic features of CIBD, we report on the patients hospitalized in the Gaslini Institute from 1984 to 1994. Thirty-six patients (age range: 3,9 to 14 years) were examined with several imaging techniques--i.e., plain radiography, US, contrast studies and CT--according to the clinical presentation and behavior of the disease. X-ray studies played the leading role in imaging mucosal disease spread (double contrast studies) and monitoring "surgical" complications (plain radiography). These techniques, which were always combined with US and, in some cases, CT, are also a major tool to study extraluminal CIBD spread--i.e., fistulas, pseudotumors, lymph nodes, abscesses and mesenteric changes. Color-Doppler US may play a critical role in the differential diagnosis of these and other small and large bowel pathologic conditions. The most typical CD patterns in bowel disease are listed in the paper, to give a contribution to the differential diagnosis of the chronic abdominal pain syndrome which is a very common condition in children.


Malakoplakia is a relatively uncommon chronic inflammatory reaction of unknown etiology. It usually affects the genitourinary tract but may rarely involve the tongue. There are many theories that explain this reaction but it seems to be the answer to an infectious agent in a patient with immunologic deficiency. Microscopically, malakoplakia is characterized by the presence of foamy histiocytes with distinctive basophilic inclusions, which are known as MichaelisGutmann bodies due to a partially ingested bacteria and their posterior calcification. There are many alternatives to treat this entity. We report the only case diagnosed in the tongue, in a 15 years-old male in the Maxillofacial Surgery and Stomatology Service of the Hospital San Vicente de Paul in Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia.


Abstract:Using the genre of life writing, I explore how the praxis of Palestine delegation work spotlighted the contours, possibilities, and limits of how I understood and performed Black-Palestinian political solidarity. Focusing on three particular experiences that stem from a 2014 "Palestine to Ferguson" solidarity delegation, I examine how the trip created spaces for critical reflection, self-critique, and reconsideration of my own identity as a political ally. Such insights are critical for understanding the political possibilities of the Movement for Black Lives as a transnational (and anti-colonial) political project. They also allow us to reimagine political solidarity in ways that yield a more effective, humane, and transformative liberation praxis.


Immune cell infiltration of tumors can be an important component for determining patient outcomes, e.g. by inferring immune cell presence by deconvolving gene expression data drawn from a heterogenous mix of cell types. One particularly powerful family of deconvolution techniques uses signature matrices of genes that uniquely identify each cell type as determined from cell type purified gene expression data. Many methods of this type have been recently published, often including new signature matrices appropriate for a single purpose, such as investigating a specific type of tumor. The package ADAPTS helps users make the most of this expanding knowledge base by introducing a framework for cell type deconvolution. ADAPTS implements modular tools for customizing signature matrices for new tissue types by adding custom cell types or building new matrices de novo, including from single cell RNAseq data. It includes a common interface to several popular deconvolution algorithms that use a signature matrix to estimate the proportion of cell types present in heterogenous samples. ADAPTS also implements a novel method for clustering cell types into groups that are hard to distinguish by deconvolution and then re-splitting those clusters using hierarchical deconvolution. We demonstrate that the techniques implemented in ADAPTS improve the ability to reconstruct the cell types present in a single cell RNAseq data set in a blind predictive analysis. ADAPTS is currently available for use in R on CRAN and GitHub.


Although most are familiar with South Dakota's recently repealed abortion ban, few are aware that South Dakota previously enacted an informed consent statute that prohibits physicians from performing abortions without first obtaining the voluntary and informed written consent of the pregnant woman seeking an abortion. The law is most unusual, because it provides that an abortion may be performed only after a physician informs a patient that she is terminating the life of "a whole, separate, unique, living human being," and only after a physician informs a patient that abortion may cause a significant risk of psychological trauma, a risk that accepted medical knowledge does not believe exists. This lecture analyzes the First Amendment principles that should apply to compelled physician speech of this kind. It argues that although the state may freely regulate physician speech as part of its regulation of the practice of medicine, First Amendment questions are raised by (at least) two forms of such regulation. The first is when the state requires physicians to engage in ideological speech. The second is when the state either requires physicians to communicate information that the medical profession regards as false, or prohibits physicians from communicating information that the medical profession regards as true. The lecture analyzes the First Amendment stakes in determining the constitutionality of such regulations, with particular attention to the necessity of protecting structures of profes-


Abstract Rapid demographic shifts and socio-economic changes are fuelling concerns over the inadequate supply of informal care – the most common source of care-giving for older people in China. Unmet long-term care needs, which are believed to cause numerous adverse effects on health, continue to increase. Drawing data from the 2015 wave of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey, this study explores the relationship between informal care provision and unmet long-term care needs among older people in China. We first examine the availability of informal care among older people with disabilities. We then analyse whether a higher intensity of informal care leads to lower unmet needs. Our findings suggest that the majority of older people with disabilities receive a low intensity of care, i.e. less than 80 hours per month. Besides, a higher intensity of informal care received could significantly lower the probabilities of unmet needs for the disabled older adults who have mainly instrumental activities of daily living limitations. Our study points out that informal care cannot address the needs of those who are struggling with multi-dimensional difficulties in their daily living. Our findings highlight a pressing need for the government to buttress the formal care provision and delivery systems to support both informal care-givers and disabled older people in China.


1Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University & Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 2Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark; 3Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; 4Worldwide Medical and Safety, Pfizer, Collegeville, PA, USA; 5Global Epidemiology, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany Purpose: Few studies have described real-world treatment patterns and survival before the widespread use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). We aimed to describe anti-cancer treatment including the use of programmed cell death-1 and ligand-1 (PD-1/PD-L1) ICIs and overall survival (OS) in advanced cancer patients as a benchmarking real-world standard before widespread use of ICIs. Patients and Methods: Using nationwide Danish medical registries, we assembled cohorts of Danish patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (n=12,283), urothelial carcinoma (n=2504), epithelial ovarian cancer (n=1466), gastric adenocarcinoma (n=1457), and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) (n=1261) diagnosed between 1/1/2013 and 31/12/2017. We describe anti-cancer treatment and OS using proportions, medians, and Kaplan–Meier methods. Results: Between 9% (ovarian cancer) and 25% (gastric adenocarcinoma) of patients did not receive anti-cancer treatment. The remaining patients received surgery, radiation therapy, and/or medical therapy. Chemotherapy was the most frequent medical therapy in all cohorts except for RCC (tyrosine kinase inhibitors). PD-L1/PD-1 ICIs were used in 7–8% of the NSCLC and RCC cohorts—mainly as second or higher line treatments. OS was longest in patients starting treatment with surgery (eg 25.6 months [95%-confidence interval (CI) =21.9–29.4] for NSCLC and 21.4 months [95%-CI=19.8–23.5] for urothelial carcinoma) and shortest for radiation therapy (eg 3.9 months [95%-CI=3.6–4.2] for NSCLC and 12.6 months [95%-CI=9.2–17.5] for urothelial carcinoma). NSCLC patients starting with medical therapy had OS between these limits. Median OS for NSCLC patients starting treatment with PD-L1/PD-1 ICIs was 21.4 months (95%-CI=13.9-not estimable). Conclusion: Most patients with advanced NSCLC, urothelial carcinoma, epithelial ovarian cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma and RCC had poor OS in an era where only a minority received PD-L1/PD-1 ICIs. This information on treatment patterns and survival is important as a benchmarking real-world standard before widespread use of ICIs.


Mining is one of the most important industries in our society and has been there for ages. The resources extracted from the earth are fundamental in providing us with the quality of life we enjoy each day from the cars we drive to our cell phones we use. The food we eat is produced and harvested by machinery formed out of metals and mineral resources. The clothes we wear are treated and coated with dyes created from a variety of elements. Some fabrics are completely constructed from mined substances. It is not surprising to see that mineral resources have been widely spread throughout the world in almost every continent. Economical extraction and optimum use of these resources is what is essential to every country in its development. For a country to effectively mine its natural resources is one of its biggest assets. In this age when every item seems to be linked to mining directly or indirectly a country's mineral wealth is far more valued above everything else. And as we read this not only the developed countries but also the developing countries are in the forefront of the mining industry. Small-scale mining is expanding rapidly and is uncontrollable in many developing countries. Slowly this small scale mining is turning into a full-fledged industry. Around 90 million people worldwide depend for their livelihoods on the often scant proceeds of mining. Several factors such as market liberalization and the privatization of state-owned companies, the privileged access of local companies to significant and underdeveloped local resources, the strong financial positions due to the mining boom of 2003-2008, the drive for geographic and commodity diversification and also strategic expansion have led to this significant expansion of this industry in developing countries. An effective comparison should be made between among the developing countries as far as the mining sector is concerned as far as the mining sector is concerned. This will effectively help to rank and index them according to their contribution and benefit from the mining sector. Many factors ranging from financial to social have an impact on this however for the simplicity of the matter it is best to restrict ourselves to financial constraints only.


To explore the mechanisms of inhibition of insulin secretion in pancreatic β-cells by oxygen free radicals, we studied the effects of H2O2 on membrane currents using the patch-clamp technique. Exposure of β-cells to H2O2 (≥30 (μmol/1) increased the activity of ATP-sensitive potassium (K+ATP) channels without changing the single channel conductance in cell-attached membrane patches. Action currents observed during superfusion of 11.1 mmol/1 glucose were suppressed. In inside-out membrane patches, the activity of K+ATP channels was not influenced by H2O2. In conventional whole-cell clamp experiments using a pipette solution containing 3 mmol/1 ATP, H2O2 did not influence the membrane currents. However, H2O2 did activate the K+ATP channel current in perforated whole-cell clamp configurations. The increased K+ATP channel current was reversed by subsequent exposure to 11.1 mmol/12-ketoisocaproic acid. In cell-attached membrane patches, the K+ATP channel current evoked by exposure to 30 μmol/l H2O2 was inhibited by exposure to 11.1 mmol/l glyceraldehyde, whereas the channel was again activated by exposure to 0.3 mmol/l H2O2. Subsequent superfusion of 11.1 mmol/l 2-ketoisocaproic acid inhibited the channel; this effect was counteracted by exposure to 10 mmol/l H2O2. Transient inhibition of K+ATP channels with provocation of action potentials was observed after washout of 100 μmol/l H2O2 during superfusion of 2.8 or 11.1 mmol/l glucose. We conclude that H2O2 has no direct effect on the K+ATP channels but that it indirectly activates the channels when it is exposed to β-cells under conditions in which the cellular metabolism is physiologically regulated.


An 8-year-old female with a history of chronic headaches and uncertain papilloedema was found to have a variant of the posterior intracranial dural venous sinuses on magnetic resonance imaging assessment of the brain. Magnetic resonance venography included in the imaging revealed a circular formation of the confluence of sinuses and absent right-sided transverse sinus. The confluence of sinuses is a highly variable structure; however, to the authors' knowledge, a circular confluence of sinuses variant has not been reported in the literature.


A new interior Schwarzschild solution is presented. It is static, spherically symmetric, regular everywhere inside a sphere of radius r 1, and across the surface of this sphere it is joined smoothly to the exterior Schwarzschild solution. There are no radial stresses inside the sphere. The radius r 1 is subject to the inequality r 1>2m, where m is the gravitational mass of the sphere. Under certain conditions the new solution may be interpreted as the field inside an Einstein cluster.


Growth rate distributions of chemical-vapor-deposited TiN and Mo films in a horizontal tubular reactor were simulated, and the gas flow, heat and mass transfer were analyzed. This study compared calculated results obtained by different models. The parabolic gas velocity distribution at the inlet persisted throughout the reactor, and this tendency was common in models with and without consideration of heat transfer. The temperature difference between the central axis and the reactor wall became larger with the increase of gas velocity. TiN film growth rate distributions were mostly predicted by a model without consideration of heat transfer and gas phase decomposition reactions because the surface reaction rate was the rate limiting process of the film deposition. Mo film growth rates depended more on the partial pressure of H 2 than on that of MoCl 5 , and a large growth rate peak was formed in the distribution at high P H2 . These phenomena were explained by considering the behavior of the intermediate gas species.


This paper deals with piezoelectric strain measurement for rail monitoring applications. Piezoelectric materials under mechanical load generate electric charge and thus provide active voltage response. Mechanical parts with piezoelectric sensing layers could provide electrical signal which is proportional with mechanical loads and vibration. Presented piezoelectric system in the form of a macro fiber composite (MFC) or polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) could be used for monitoring applications. A lab application shows the potential of these sensors and the piezoelectric response is compared with the strain gauge measurement. A real application on a regional track is proposed and the piezoelectric patch is integrated on the rail. Analysis of the obtained voltage signal is compared with the traditional acceleration analysis. Proposed solution provides an affordable sensing system which could monitor and detect system wear or maximal deformation under operation.


Platelet-associated IgG, IgM and C3c was studied by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) procedure using polystyrene microter plates and solubilize platelets. At the time of investigation patients fell into the following disease categories: 24 chronic ITP, 10 acute ITP and 11 ITP in remission (normal platelet counts). A significant elevation of platelet IgG was found in acute and chronic ITP. The C3c was increased in acute categories and normal in the others. There was not significant difference in the immunoglobulins and complement values between ITP in remission and normal donors. The platelet specificity of IgG and IgM antibodies to IIb/IIIa membrane complex was positive in 20% from chronic ITP and in none from acute. It is concluded that an elevated platelet immunoglobulins or complement is usefull for ITP diagnosis but the difference between acute and chronic categories only is possible in some cases by the antibodies specificity.


Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems are often optimized to work best for speakers with canonical speech patterns. Unfortunately, these systems perform poorly when tested on atypical speech and heavily accented speech. It has previously been shown that personalization through model fine-tuning substantially improves performance. However, maintaining such large models per speaker is costly and difficult to scale. We show that by adding a relatively small number of extra parameters to the encoder layers via so-called residual adapter, we can achieve similar adaptation gains compared to model fine-tuning, while only updating a tiny fraction (less than 0.5%) of the model parameters. We demonstrate this on two speech adaptation tasks (atypical and accented speech) and for two state-of-the-art ASR architectures.


INTRODUCTION
Carers of persons with dementia (PWD) experience high levels of burden and distress and may use criticism in an attempt to change the behavior of PWD and thereby reduce their distress. We hypothesized that carer distress and criticism would each have an impact on the psychological well-being of the PWD and examined whether criticism mediates the association between carer distress and PWD psychological well-being.

METHODS
We recruited 61 persons with a recent diagnosis of dementia and their carer via U.K. dementia services and assessed at 2 time points 6 months apart. Carers completed questionnaire measures of burden and distress. We coded critical comments from a Camberwell Family Interview. PWD completed questionnaire measures of quality of life, depression, and anxiety. We conducted correlation, regression, and mediation analyses to explore the relationship between carer variables and PWD psychological outcomes and whether criticism mediated any relationship found.

RESULTS
Carer distress, carer critical comments, and PWD anxiety and depression at 6-month follow-up were all significantly correlated. Baseline carer distress predicted poorer quality of life in PWD at 6-month follow-up. The number of carer critical comments significantly (p < .01) mediated the effect of carer distress on PWD quality of life.

DISCUSSION
Interventions addressing carer burden and distress and offering coping strategies to help them to reduce criticism of the PWD would improve the quality of life of those affected by dementia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).


The purpose of this study was threefold. First, to find out the pastoral counseling given to adolescents in selected Nairobi churches. Second, to assess the element(s) of African indigenous counseling techniques already incorporated in the pastoral counselling techniques. Third, to examine the sources of guidance utilized by adolescents.

Through purposive sampling method, seven churches in Nairobi from the main denominations in Kenya were selected for research. These are the Consolata Shrine Westlands.The Kings Church Githurai Kimbo, The African Church of The Holy Spirit (ACOHS) Pumwani, Chrisco City Church, Kenya Assemblies of God (Bahati), Riruta Baptist Church, African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa (AIPCA) Dandora and the Salvation Army Kibera. Basic methods ofact finding
were utilized. The subject respondents included adolescents, pastoral
workers, parents of adolescents and key leaders of sampled churches. In total, a sample of 160 respondents were interviewed from population approximately not less than 10, 400 church attendees.

The data for the study were collected through the use of questionnaires,
participant observation and analysis of documents from library sources. The overall data were collated, analyzed, interpreted and discussed in the light of Erickson's theory of identity and development. The theory shows that unless the adolescents grow holistically, they would result to social deviancy observed through withdrawal, fanaticism and rejection of cultural standards or give a passive stand that brings role confusion.

The research findings revealed that adolescents in Nairobi were having
unresolved problems and concerns such as boy/girl relationships, drug abuse and anxiety about bodily changes. In spite of this, the methods utilized by the pastoral workers in giving guidance in the seven churches, did not effectively help resolve adolescents' problems.

The study recommends that for churches to be able to guide adolescents more effectively, church leaders need to look into issues such as establishing a good rapport with adolescents, training lay church workers specifically on the needs of the youth and creating ample time and space for adolescents' needs. The leaders will also need to identify with the seclusion camp model suggested in the study so as to guide and counsel adolescents in a more relevant manner. This would help stabilize the adolescent's inner person that craves for identity and recognition.


Changes in cis-regulatory elements play important roles in adaptation and phenotypic evolution. However, their contribution to metabolic adaptation of organisms is less understood. Here we have utilized a unique vertebrate model, Astyanax mexicanus, different morphotypes of which survive in nutrient-rich surface and nutrient-deprived cave water to uncover gene regulatory networks in metabolic adaptation. We performed genome-wide epigenetic profiling in the liver tissue of one surface and two independently derived cave populations. We find that many cis-regulatory elements differ in their epigenetic status/chromatin accessibility between surface fish and cavefish, while the two independently derived cave populations have evolved remarkably similar regulatory signatures. These differentially accessible regions are associated with genes of key pathways related to lipid metabolism, circadian rhythm and immune system that are known to be altered in cavefish. Using in vitro and in vivo functional testing of the candidate cis-regulatory elements, we find that genetic changes within them cause quantitative expression differences. We characterized one cis-regulatory element in the hpdb gene and found a genomic deletion in cavefish that abolishes binding of the transcriptional repressor IRF2 in vitro and derepresses enhancer activity in reporter assays. Genetic experiments further validated a cis-mediated role of the enhancer and suggest a role of this deletion in the upregulation of hpdb in wild cavefish populations. Selection of this mutation in multiple independent cave populations supports its importance in the adaptation to the cave environment, providing novel molecular insights into the evolutionary trade-off between loss of pigmentation and adaptation to a food-deprived cave environment.


E5531, a synthetic lipid A analog, has been shown to inhibit endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS)-induced tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) production by human monocytes and murine macrophages. Whether it also inhibits LPS induction of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) is not clear. In the current study, we demonstrated that E5531, while having no effect on TNF-α and MnSOD mRNAs by itself, markedly inhibited LPS- and lipid A-, but not TNF-α-, induced increases in TNF-α and MnSOD mRNAs in human monocytes. In contrast, E5531 at concentrations and conditions that markedly inhibit LPS-induced increases in TNF-α and MnSOD mRNAs, and TNFα production by human monocytes, had no effect on murine peritoneal macrophages. These results demonstrate that E5531 is a potent LPS antagonist in human monocytes. However, it does not show antagonist action against LPS in murine macrophages in the range of concentrations tested, suggesting that E5531 is a more potent antagonist in humans than in mice.


Utopian literature provides a compelling vision of epistemological and moral clarity: a dream of harmony and justice. But in an age of surveillance, utopia is also the nightmare of a perfectly controlled, sealed and monitored world that leaves no room for ambivalence or discretion. In The Good Place, leading scholars of comparative literature explore this tension and examine the richness and diversity of utopian writing, from the genre's earliest manifestations to the present. Utopia is seen as a tenacious force of the human imagination: a desire for renewal that manifests itself in the tension between social reality and the virtual worlds of unlived possibility. Notable for its engagement with a wide range of texts from different periods and national traditions, this book invites the reader to rethink 'the good place' from the specific perspective of literary studies and suggests that utopia, in the realm of fiction, is more than just a philosophical abstraction. Mediated by the experience of authors, characters and readers, utopian literature offers a transient but genuine experience of perfection, beyond the horizon of everyday lived experience.


Experimental studies are a valuable tool to test effective strategies for encouraging sustainable behavior but have not been used much in corporate sustainability research. In this article, we describe the benefits and challenges of the randomized field experimental method for research in corporate sustainability. We draw on the examples of our own research in energy conservation behavior to illustrate some of the hurdles that need to be overcome for the successful implementation of field experiments.


This article studies pricing for natural monopolies by using a cooperative game of joint production. Outputs are allocated by a price system. We introduce the concept of the second-best core, which is a subset of the set of zero-profit, second-best Pareto-optimal prices. Prices are such that no group of consumers subsidizes the purchase of another group. We consider the relations among the second-best core and sustainability, supportability, and natural monopoly. For specific preferences and technology we demonstrate the existence of the second-best core. We design a market mechanism for franchise allocation, which achieves second-best pricing without price regulation.


The study was conducted on farmers' fields in Gatanga Division, Thika District of Central Kenya with the aim of assessing the effect of selected legume cover crops on soil erosion especially at the onset of the rain season when the soil is bare and of this on erosion-induced nutrient losses. The four systems tested consisted of the following: pure stand of maize ( Zea mays ) (T1), maize intercropped with Mucuna pruriens (T2), maize plus Vicia benghalensis (T3), and maize plus Lablab purpureus (T4). Measurements taken included runoff, soil loss, percent crop cover and analysis of nutrients in the original soil and eroded sediments. Cumulative soil loss recorded during 1999 long rain season ranged from 58.64 to 61.7 t ha^-1. At the onset of the 1999 short rain season, soil loss was significantly different between treatments (P"0.05). This was atributed to post-harvest crop cover provided by the legume cover crops grown from the previous season. The highest (3.3 t ha^-1) and the lowest (0.35 t ha^-1) soil losses were recorded from T1 and T2 respectively. There were significant differences (P"0.05) in percent cover between treatments. The average percent cover taken at the onset of the 1999 short rain was 0,43.2,9.0 and ll.4%o for Tl, T2, T3 and T4 respectively. Nutrients in sediments were compared with the original soil and the enrichment ratio (ratio of nutrients in eroded sediment to that ofthe original soil) for major nutrients (i.e. organic C, total N, available P, Ca and K) was greater than 1. The soil material lost from the plots was on average 262% richer in P than the original soil. The pH of the eroded sediments was slightly higher than that of the original soil. Soil management practices that improve the levels of soil organic matter; nitrogen and phosphorus should be encouraged for sustained productivity of these soils.


The present communication is concerned with the problem of using osteocartilaginous homoplasty for diseases of the coxa of a nontuberculous origin. The data of observations over 53 operated patients (aseptic necrosis of the femoral head, gigantic cell tumor, deformating arthrosis, etc.) are reported. The procedure was a failure in 4 patients.


Tools based on the use of multiple abstraction levels have shown to be a useful solution for developing multi-device interfaces. To obtain general solutions in this area it is important to provide flexible environments with multiple entry points and support for redesigning existing interfaces for different platforms. In general, a one-shot approach can be too limiting. This paper shows how it is possible to support a flexible development cycle with entry points at various abstraction levels and the ability to change the underlying design at intermediate stages. It also shows how redesign from desktop to mobile platforms can be obtained. Such features have recently been implemented in a new version of the TERESA tool.


Globalization, as a disruptive force, challenges us to reconsider enduring assumptions that frame conceptualizations of internationalization in the Australian higher education context and internationalization of the curriculum more broadly. Drawing on the perspectives of Fazal Rizvi, we problematize the new normal and argue that, if the transformative potential of curriculum internationalization is to be realized, assumptions about what is considered normal need to be challenged. To accomplish this, individual faculty (academics), their disciplines, and their institutions need to engage in critically reflective new imaginings of the transformative possibilities and the rich potential the new normal affords, and respond reflexively with open minds.


The left and right sides of the human brain are specialized for different kinds of information processing, and much of our cognition is lateralized to an extent toward one side or the other. Handedness is a reflection of nervous system lateralization. Roughly ten percent of people are mixed- or left-handed, and they show an elevated rate of reductions or reversals of some cerebral functional asymmetries compared to right-handers. Brain anatomical correlates of left-handedness have also been suggested. However, the relationships of left-handedness to brain structure and function remain far from clear. We carried out a comprehensive analysis of cortical surface area differences between 106 left-handed subjects and 1960 right-handed subjects, measured using an automated method of regional parcellation (FreeSurfer, Destrieux atlas). This is the largest study sample that has so far been used in relation to this issue. No individual cortical region showed an association with left-handedness that survived statistical correction for multiple testing, although there was a nominally significant association with the surface area of a previously implicated region: the left precentral sulcus. Identifying brain structural correlates of handedness may prove useful for genetic studies of cerebral asymmetries, as well as providing new avenues for the study of relations between handedness, cerebral lateralization and cognition.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a scale to measure customer social participation in brand communities, specifically e-travel companies' communities.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research has been undertaken to generate a pool of items. Based on Churchill's (1979) scale development process, numerous reliability and validity tests have been conducted to confirm the scale structure. Data were collected through online and field surveys from the students and hotel guests who have either subscribed, liked or joined any e-travel service companies' community brand page using any social networking site or have ever posted or considered reviews and ratings of any e-travel service companies via their official site or via a mobile app while planning their travel.

Findings

The findings depict nine items on a three-dimensional scale for measuring customer participation in travel brand communities created on social networking sites.

Research limitations/implications

The findings provide important implications for hotel and travel managers and are likely to encourage future studies in the field of social media and travel brand communities.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature by providing refinement to the distinct operationalization and conceptualization of customer online participation, specifically in social media-based travel brand communities. This paper is the first to develop a multidimensional scale of customer social participation in e-travel companies' communities. This is a new addition to existing literature, as the majority of empirical studies in this field are from participation other than customer social participation and contexts different from e-travel companies.


In many real world applications, when coping with classification tasks, the problem of the selection of the variables to be used for the development of any kind of classifier has to be faced. This necessity is normally due to the high number of variables which could be potentially included in the input set combined with the lack of a priori knowledge to support the selection process. In this paper variable selection is achieved by means of the use of GAs through a selection process based on the evaluation of the performance of the possible variable combinations used to train a decision tree. Furthermore the proposed method optimizes some parameters of the employed classifier. Within the proposed method several different approaches have been tested on a real industrial problem. The proposed approaches, which are characterized by different initialization and fitness functions of the GAs, obtain very satisfactory results.


Background and aim: Hemothorax is a critical issue in patients with chest trauma. It should be diagnosed quickly and accurately. The study's aim was to define the potential role of pleural fluid (PF) attenuation value determined on computerized tomography (CT) for the diagnosis of traumatic hemothorax. Methods: From 01.07.2011 to 01.07.2016, patients with PF detected on CT with tube thoracostomy were reviewed. On CT sections, PF attenuation values taken from levels where pleural fluid had the most intense appearance were measured as Hounsfield Units (HU). The relationship between HU values and chest traumatic findings, macroscopic discharge diagnosis, peripheral blood Hb and Htc levels and CT protocol were investigated. Results: Thirty-eight cases were reviewed in the study group. All PF HU values were determined to be more than 20.0 HU. PF attenuation values were more than 35 HU in 71.1% (n:27) of the cases and between 20.0 and 34.9 for 28.9% (n:11). In the subgroup with hemorrhagic fluid drained from the thoracic cavity, HU values were often higher than 35. For the sub-groups with and without coexisting traumatic findings, there was no statistically significant difference in terms of PF density being below or above 35 HU. No statistically significant correlation was detected between PF HU values and age, peripheral blood Hb and Htc values. Conclusion: For thorax trauma cases, PF attenuation values were between 20.0 to 34.9 HU, and more than 35 HU. Patients with acute trauma who have PF with attenuation value below 35 HU should be considered as hemothorax primarily, even with no coexisting traumatic findings on CT scans.


The problem of implementing multidimensional quantizers is discussed. A general equation is derived that can be used to evaluate the performance of multidimensional compandors. It is demonstrated that the optimal compandor must be conformal almost everywhere. An example is given to show that asymptotically optimal performance could be obtained through nonconformal companding schemes. Random quantizers are discussed and two techniques are evaluated for reducing memory and computation time in the implementation of such devices.


Schwartz et al. hold that variation among the Dmanisi skulls reflects taxic diversity. The morphological observations to support their hypothesis, however, are partly incorrect, and not calibrated against intraspecific variation in living taxa. After proper adjustment, Schwartz et al.'s data are fully compatible with the hypothesis of a single paleodeme of early Homo at Dmanisi.


Abstract— Given that the Earth's surface is covered in around two‐thirds water, the majority of impact events should have occurred in marine environments. However, with the presence of a water layer, crater formation may be prohibited. Indeed, formation is greatly controlled by the water depth to projectile diameter ratio, as discussed in this paper. Previous work has shown that the underlying target material also influences crater formation (e.g., Gault and Sonett 1982; Baldwin et al. 2007). In addition to the above parameters we also show the influence of impact angle, impact velocity and projectile density for a variety of water depths on crater formation and projectile survivability. The limiting ratio of water depth to projectile diameter on cratering represents the point at which the projectile is significantly slowed by transit through the water layer to reduce the impact energy to that which prohibits cratering. We therefore study the velocity decay produced by a water layer using laboratory, analytical and numerical modelling techniques, and determine the peak pressures endured by the projectile. For an impact into a water depth five times the projectile diameter, the velocity of the projectile is found to be reduced to 26–32% its original value. For deep water impacts we find that up to 60% of the original mass of the projectile survives in an oblique impact, where survivability is defined as the solid or melted mass fraction of the projectile that could be collected after impact.


Cerebral microdialysis has enabled the clinical characterization of excitotoxicity (glutamate >10 μM) and non-ischemic metabolic crisis (lactate/pyruvate ratio [LPR] >40) as important components of secondary damage in severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Spreading depolarizations (SD) are pathological waves that occur in many patients in the days following TBI and, in animal models, cause elevations in extracellular glutamate, increased anaerobic metabolism, and energy substrate depletion. Here, we examined the association of SD with changes in cerebral neurochemistry by placing a microdialysis probe alongside a subdural electrode strip in peri-lesional cortex of 16 TBI patients requiring neurosurgery. In 107 h (median; range: 76-117 h) of monitoring, 135 SDs were recorded in six patients. Glutamate (50 μmol/L) and lactate (3.7 mmol/L) were significantly elevated on day 0 in patients with SD compared with subsequent days and with patients without SD, whereas pyruvate was decreased in the latter group on days 0 and 1 (two-way analysis of variance [ANOVA], p values <0.05). In patients with SD, both glutamate and LPR increased in a dose-dependent manner with the number of SDs in the microdialysis sampling period (0, 1, ≥2 SD) [glutamate: 2.1→7.0→52.3 μmol/L; LPR: 27.8→29.9→45.0, p values <0.05]. In these patients, there was a 10% probability of SD occurring when glutamate and LPR were in normal ranges, but a 60% probability when both variables were abnormal (>10 μmol/L and >40 μmol/L, respectively). Taken together with previous studies, these preliminary clinical results suggest SDs are a key pathophysiological process of secondary brain injury associated with non-ischemic glutamate excitotoxicity and severe metabolic crisis in severe TBI patients.


In the Second Edition of The Art of Service's best-selling test preparation guide for the ITIL V3 Foundation certification exam, students get more help than ever with an expanded section on the Service LifeCycle and Service Management, new material in ITIL V3 MindMaps, and updated material throughout. This resource now includes 80 tutorial questions/answers and a new Final Review and Last Minute Super Review Boot Camp section. This guide is an ideal review tool for ITIL V3 Foundation Certification, and preparation for the written exam. The book is a perfect study guide for the ITIL v3 Foundation Exam. Written in a unique question/answer format, with a quick reference index, this is also an essential student reference volume for use in any ITIL, IT Service Management and IT Management and Professional role. This Second Edition of THE self-study exam preparation guide for the ITIL V3 Foundation certification exam contains everything you need to test yourself and pass the Exam, including all the processes, and inputs and outputs. Exam topics are covered and insider secrets, complete explanations of all ITIL V3 subjects, test tricks and tips, numerous highly realistic sample questions, and exercises designed to strengthen understanding of ITIL V3 concepts and prepare you for exam success on the first attempt are provided. Can you imagine valuing a book so much that you send the author a "Thank You" letter? Tens of thousands of people understand why the material by The Art of Service is a worldwide best-seller. Is it their years of ITIL experience? The endless hours of ongoing research? The interviews with those who failed the exam, to identify gaps in their knowledge? Or is it the razor-sharp focus on making sure you don't waste a single minute of your time studying any more than you absolutely have to? Actually, it's all of the above. This book includes new exercises and sample questions never before in print. Offering numerous sample questions, critical time-saving tips plus information available nowhere else, this book will help you pass the ITIL V3 Foundation exam on your FIRST try. Done the ITIL V3 Foundation course, up to speed with the theory? Buy this. Read it. And Pass the ITIL V3 Foundation Exam.


Social events provide valuable insights into group social behaviors and public concerns and therefore have many applications in fields such as product recommendation and crisis management. The complexity and streaming nature of social messages make it appealing to address social event detection in an incremental learning setting, where acquiring, preserving, and extending knowledge are major concerns. Most existing methods, including those based on incremental clustering and community detection, learn limited amounts of knowledge as they ignore the rich semantics and structural information contained in social data. Moreover, they cannot memorize previously acquired knowledge. In this paper, we propose a novel Knowledge-Preserving Incremental Heterogeneous Graph Neural Network (KPGNN) for incremental social event detection. To acquire more knowledge, KPGNN models complex social messages into unified social graphs to facilitate data utilization and explores the expressive power of GNNs for knowledge extraction. To continuously adapt to the incoming data, KPGNN adopts contrastive loss terms that cope with a changing number of event classes. It also leverages the inductive learning ability of GNNs to efficiently detect events and extends its knowledge from previously unseen data. To deal with large social streams, KPGNN adopts a mini-batch subgraph sampling strategy for scalable training, and periodically removes obsolete data to maintain a dynamic embedding space. KPGNN requires no feature engineering and has few hyperparameters to tune. Extensive experiment results demonstrate the superiority of KPGNN over various baselines.


Autoradiographical visualisation of GABAB binding sites in sections of rat brain has extended the findings of previous reports in that within the frontal cortex, the distribution of such sites is clearly laminated into four distinct regions. Furthermore, GABAB binding sites have also been identified in the dorsal vagal complex of the brainstem, especially within the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS). In parallel with these GABAergic medullary receptors, detailed analysis of the autoradiography of the 5-HT3 receptor radioligand, [3H]BRL43694 (as well as [3H]zacopride, [3H]GR65630 and [3H]quipazine) has also been investigated within this region. Using histological markers in conjunction with autoradiography, 5-HT3 binding sites were localised in the area postrema, dorsal motor vagal nucleus and the nucleus of the spinal tract of the trigeminal nerve. However, by far the highest concentration of sites was observed in the NTS. As the NTS/dorsal vagal complex provides the site of termination for the majority of vagal afferent fibres, S-HTj, GABAg and GABA

Receptor autoradiography was examined 10 days after vagal lesioning achieved via chronic unilateral nodose ganglionectomy. Since all three binding site categories were reduced ipsilaterally in the dorsal vagal complex, this suggested that such sites are likely to be located presynaptically on vagal afferent fibres that terminate in this region. Conflicting and inconsistent reports regarding GABAB receptor modulation by chronic antidepressant treatment prompted the use of receptor autoradiography (restricted to the sub-laminal regions of the frontal cortex) in an attempt to resolve this issue. Administration of imipramine (14 days) either orally or via subcutaneously implanted osmotic minipumps failed to increase GABAB receptor numbers in this region. In contrast, chronic oral and i.p. administration (21 days) of desipramine significantly up-regulated GABAB receptors in lamina I of the frontal cortex with a concomitant beta-adrenoceptor down-regulation. Repeated administration of amitriptyline, paroxetine or the centrally-active GABAB receptor antagonist, CGP 35348 was ineffective at modulating GABAB receptors. Conversely, another putative GABAB receptor antagonist, designated as Compound X, like desipramine, also increased GABAB receptor densities in the frontal cortex, but again only in lamina I. Despite the increase in GABAB receptor numbers produced by despramine, this drug, like the majority of the above treatment regimes, failed to increase the sensitivities of the GABAB receptor-modulation of forskolin- and noradrenaline-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity. However, treatment with Compound X produced an apparent enhancement of the GABAB receptor-mediated inhibition of forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase. The phosphonic acid derivative of GABA, 3-aminopropylphosphinic acid (3-APA), has been characterised as a GABAB receptor agonist. Whilst it is 10 times more potent than (-)-baclofen at displacing [3H]GABA from GABAB binding sites, it is equipotent with (-)-baclofen at inhibiting forskolin-stimulated adenylyl cyclase. Conversely, whilst (-)-baclofen is a full agonist with respect to the noradrenaline-stimulated system, 3-APA appeared to act as a partial agonist in this response. These contrasting findings may be indices of the possible existence of GABAB receptor subtypes.


At a time when Internet services are being used in most areas of life, it is very important that these services are always available. Users have become accustomed to highly available services to such an extent that they expect internet services to be available at any time, resulting in no tolerance of downtime. Each downtime can mean loss of customers and therefore of profit.
In this thesis we will show an example of an architecture needed for selling tickets online. First we will look at the definition of high availability and explain why it is important and how we can achieve it. Then we will show the basic components of such architecture, define their drawbacks and analyze the reliability of individual components which we will later improve in order to prevent longer downtimes and consequently loss of customers.
Highly available architecture will be further improved to handle high number of parallel users. When events are sold at a certain time, more users can visit the site than the system can handle. In order to avoid crashing the system, we will add a waiting room to the architecture which will ensure that web servers only get as many users as they are able to serve.
At the end, we will evaluate the final architecture and evaluate how we tested and measured the improvements.


All the major specialties have produced subspecialties as they developed and this has now happened to anaesthesia. Although some specialists in other disciplines participate in the specialties of Pain Management and Intensive Therapy, those running these services in Great Britain and Ireland and indeed throughout the world are, in the great majority, anaesthetists. It therefore must fall to us to decide on names for the evolving specialties and for their practitioners. Currently the name Pain Management seems to have emerged as the official title for one of the subspecialties; this seems more appropriate than Pain Relief, which although an excellent aim is by no means always what its practitioners achieve and indeed does not fully describe the functions of a comprehensive modern service in this area. To call the specialist practitioners Consultant Pain Managers might be accurate, but would be likely to be unpopular in a climate where the word manager is increasingly becoming a term of abuse. Most practitioners currently describe themselves as Consultants in Pain Management or in Pain Relief, but this is clumsy; do you consult in something, surely you are consulted about something? I would like to suggest Consultant Pain Clinician as a title. It differentiates the medical member of the multidisciplinary Pain Management team from the other members and describes concisely the functions of the user. As for intensive care there seems to be a conflict still in naming the discipline. Members of the Intensive Care Society exercise their professional knowledge and skills in intensive therapy units and clearly provide something beyond care. The title Intensivist is horrible, if it really exists. Would Consultant Intensive Therapist do? At least anything is better than the choice made by those who repair the broken limbs of elderly people and describe themselves and their specialty as concerned with the straightening of children (orthopaedics).


Abstract. We present an analysis of SO2 column densities derived from GOME-2 satellite measurements for the Kīlauea volcano (Hawai`i) for 2007–2012. During a period of enhanced degassing activity in March–November 2008, monthly mean SO2 emission rates and effective SO2 lifetimes are determined simultaneously from the observed downwind plume evolution and meteorological wind fields, without further model input. Kīlauea is particularly suited for quantitative investigations from satellite observations owing to the absence of interfering sources, the clearly defined downwind plumes caused by steady trade winds, and generally low cloud fractions. For March–November 2008, the effective SO2 lifetime is 1–2 days, and Kīlauea SO2 emission rates are 9–21 kt day−1, which is about 3 times higher than initially reported from ground-based monitoring systems.


This paper presents a principled approach to the modeling of human drivers—applied to stop behavior—by uniting recent ideas in cognitive science and optimal control. With respect to the former, we invoke the affordance competition hypothesis, according to which human behavior is produced by resolving the competition between action affordances that are simultaneously instantiated in response to the environment. From the theory of optimal control, we deploy motor primitives based on minimum jerk as the potential suite of actions. Furthermore, we invoke a layered control architecture, which carries out action priming and action selection sequentially, to model the biological affordance competition process. Motor output may be directed to distinct motor channels, which may be partially inhibited, e.g., to model gas pedal release saturation. Within this architecture, two types of motor units—"deceleration" acting on a gas pedal channel and "brake" acting on a brake pedal channel—are sufficient to model, with remarkable accuracy, the various phases that can be observed in human maneuvers in stopping a car, namely: gas release, gas chocked, brake, and final brake release at stop. The model is validated using experimental data collected in 16 different stop locations, from roundabouts to traffic lights. We also carry out a comparison with the well-known Intelligent Driver Model, discuss the scaling of this framework to more general driving scenarios and finally give an example application where the driver model is used, within a mirroring process, to infer the human driver intentions.


High temperature oxidation of TiC ceramic matrix Fe40Al and Ni3Al toughened composites (Fe40Al/TiC, Ni3Al/TiC) of different TiC contents, made by pressureless melt infiltration, was investigated. Oxidation experiments were conducted in air for up to 65 hours at 700-1100°C. Weight gains of the composites showed that Fe40Al/TiC is more oxidation resistant than Ni3Al/TiC ones. SEM/EDS and X-ray diffraction showed that the dense oxidation layers of the two types of composites are mainly composed of crystalline TiO2. The growth of the oxidation layer follows parabolic passive oxidation kinetics, the calculated values of the activation energy of the oxidation mechanism being 270-280kJ.mol-1 and 240-250kJ.mol-1 for Fe40Al/TiC and Ni3Al/TiC, respectively. Al2O3 and Ni-rich phases were also detected in the oxidation layer of Fe40Al/TiC and Ni3Al/TiC, respectively.


In this article, we introduce a new approach for electro thermal modelling of power LDMOS transistor. The electrical description of each intrinsic component is done with 3D bi-cubic splines. The electrical model is coupled to a 3D thermal model stemming from FEA simulation. This full 3D electro thermal model is used with the ADS circuit simulator.


It has long been recognized that entrepreneurship is the vital force that drives innovation and economic growth. Entrepreneurship is shaped by a portfolio of forces and factors. In this paper we want to underline that entrepreneurial leadership is critical for the achievement of entrepreneurial goals. Also we try to identify commonalities between the two domains, entrepreneurship and leadership, with a particular focus on what entrepreneurship could gain from more explicit incorporation of some leadership issues. Since change is constant, organizations need to be more flexible on their path to growth. In this process, entrepreneurs undergo a process of identity change by acquiring new behaviors and skills that sustain organizational transformation. Moreover, by adopting a sympathetic leadership style, entrepreneurs accommodate both creativity and organizational synergies that may help their organizations to develop and prosper. The methodological approach is literature review.


A detailed structural model of the crust, subducting slab, and underlying upper mantle across the northern Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin) island arc system is derived from a marine seismic reflection and ocean bottom seismographic refraction survey and subsequent forward modeling combined with tomographic inversion. The model indicates that the crust is thickest beneath the presently active rift zone and a granitic crust may have formed in the mid-crust. A highly attenuative mantle (that is, one with low quality Q) seems to be confined mainly beneath the presently active rift zone. In contrast, high P-wave velocity persists in the lower crust between the forearc and eastern margin of the back arc basin, suggesting a large-scale magma input responsible for the arc formation.


The rise of environmental protection and the progressive exhaustion of traditional fossil energy sources have increased the interest in integrating renewable energy sources into existing power systems. The energy saving and emission reduction is of most importance. Wind energy could be one of the most promising renewable energy sources. However, the intermittency and unpredictability of wind power generation creates difficulty in control of frequency and generation scheduling. Many problems will arise in the renewable energy based hybrid power system. In this paper, a fuzzy unit commitment model including wind generators is presented. Primary energy consumption, gas emission and the risk of wind are synthetically considered. Through defining membership function, the deterministic problem is transformed into the fuzzy problem. Then it is reformulated into the nonlinear problem by means of the maximum-minimum fuzzy satisfaction. Improved Genetic Algorithms (IGA) is used to solve the fuzzy optimization problem. The simulation results of a 10-unit system demonstrate that the proposed method is feasible. It can compromise between the primary energy consumption and the risk according to the decision-maker's will. It provides valuable information in both operational and planning problems in the future.


As a result of post-modernism in the present world, a dramatic recent shift has been the emergence of offshoots such as initiation of critical pedagogy in academic settings. Besides, there is a shift toward a critical era that defines a new relationship between teachers and theorizers, which is pushing teachers towards the world of skills, knowledge, and autonomy. Considering the increasing importance of the critical pedagogy, this paper firstly provides basic concepts and objectives of critical pedagogy and how it has emerged, then it draws on the basic tenets of this theory and offers how it can be adopted to the field of language education in EFL contexts. Finally, it gives some practical applications for implementing this theory in EFL classrooms, supporting Crooks' (2010) argument that more practical examples of critical pedagogical EFL literature need to be reported