The interaction of prothrombin and factor X with membranes of widely varying composition is reported. These protein-membrane interactions require the presence of acidic phospholipid; phosphatidylserine is the most effective from the standpoint of protein-membrane affinity. The maximum protein binding capacity is proportional to the phosphatidylserine content of the membrane up to about 15% and the stoichiometry is 9.2 +/- 1.3 phosphatidylserine residues per prothrombin molecule and 5.2 +/- 1.5 per factor X molecular. The protein apparently causes clustering of the phosphatidylserine residues in these membranes of low phosphatidylserine content. Above about 20% phosphatidylserine, the factor limiting protein-membrane interaction appears to be protein packing density on the membrane surface. The maximum protein binding capacity at 50% phosphatidylserine is 1.2 g of protein per g of phospholipid. Phosphatidic acid is similar to phosphatidylserine in its ability to bind these proteins except for somewhat larger dissociation constants. Phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol are less effective in all respects for promoting these protein-membrane interactions. Small amounts of phosphatidylserine mixed with these latter phospholipids, however, have a major effect on protein-membrane binding so that the dissociaction constants are more characteristic of membranes of high phosphatidylserine content.


Domestic craft-based textile activities, such as knitting, crochet, hand weaving and lace making, are often viewed as being of limited creative potential. The perceived lack of creativity arises, in part, out of the extent to which these activities copy, reproduce and re-create existing pattern forms and use preexisting templates. This paper reports on the findings of an experimental research project that explored the creative potential of crochet lace making using digital media, technologies and practices. It provides critical analysis of how new technologies, practices and theoretical frameworks have implications for ongoing domestic craft-based textile activities.


Graph Convolutional Network and many of its variants are known to suffer from the dilemma between model depth and over-smoothing issues. Stacking layers of GCN usually lead to the ex-ponential expansion of the receptive field (i.e., high-order neighbors). In order to incorporate the information from high-order neighbors to learn node representations without drastically increasing the number of graph convolution layers, we propose a simple and effective pre-processing technique to increase graph connectivity. Our approach selectively inserts connections between center nodes and informative high-order neighbors, with learnable weights to control the information flow through the connection. Experiments show that our approach improves the performance of GCN, and reduce the depth of GCNII without sacrificing its performance. Besides, our proposed homophily-based weight assignment can mitigate the effect of graph structural attacks.


The topic of this study was the Indian organ trade. It was assumed that the research literature on the Indian organ trade is dominated by a human rights discourse (HRD), which restricts analysis. The purpose was to examine whether thinking outside the HRD and taking a stance in weak cultural relativism could create a better understanding of the underlying causes of the Indian organ trade. Using discourse analysis the Indian reality was included and conceptualized as the "inequality poverty discourse" and discussed in relation to the HRD and to organ trade. The aim was to aid in creating a diverse basis for solving the problem of organ trade. Research questions posed was: How does the HRD influence research literature on the Indian organ trade? What other causes and explanations can a stance in weak cultural relativism unveil, and which alternative solutions can be contributed to the problem of organ trade? Using empirical evidence from Bangalore it was shown that the literature was restricted by the HRD. The study concluded that organ trade cannot be stopped by legislation based in human rights, but can be countered by scientific medical studies, by providing alternatives to organ sale and by strengthening the media.


Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with multiple subgroups based on clinical and molecular characteristics. For the largest subgroup of breast cancers, hormone receptor-positive/human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-negative tumors, hormone treatment is the mainstay of therapy and is likely to result in significant improvement in disease outcomes. However, some of these cancers demonstrate de novo or acquired resistance to endocrine therapy. Despite intensive research to develop new strategies to enhance the efficacy of currently available treatment options for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, progress has been slow, and there were few advances for a period of 10 years. In 2012, a new molecularly targeted therapeutic strategy, inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin with everolimus, was introduced into clinical practice. Everolimus, in combination with a steroidal aromatase inhibitor, exemestane, resulted in an increase in progression-free survival, but not overall survival in patients with estrogen receptor (ER)+ve advanced disease who had progressed on hormone therapy. In 2015, the first cyclin-dependent kinases 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor, palbociclib, received accelerated US Food and Drug Administration approval for use in combination with letrozole for the treatment of postmenopausal ER+ve/HER2−ve advanced breast cancer as initial, endocrine-based therapy. The addition of palbociclib to endocrine therapy resulted in longer progression-free survival than letrozole alone. One year later, palbociclib received a new indication, use in combination with fulvestrant, in both premenopausal and postmenopausal females with advanced breast cancer of the same subtype with disease progression following endocrine therapy. Adding palbociclib to fulvestrant resulted in a significantly increased median progression-free survival compared to fulvestrant monotherapy. These new combination regimens of palbociclib with endocrine agents represent an important addition to the therapeutic armamentarium in ER+ve/HER2−ve advanced and metastatic breast cancer.


Books * Clark, Roy Peter, and Campbell, Cole C., eds. (2002). Values and Craft of American Journalism: Essays from The Poynter Institute. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, pp. 200. * Baker, Bob (2002). Newsthinking: The Secret of Making Your Facts Fall Into Place. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, pp. 175. For almost two years now we have offered a different kind of review section, giving reviewers the chance to write essays about groups of books. With each issue I believe the section has become stronger, as authors get into the flow of writing about the ideas in the books, rather than limiting themselves to checking off laundry lists of tables of contents. In this issue we offer an engaging set of essays. The first two address head-on some of the important issues facing journalism as well as journalism education in this new century. Sports, audiences, and crime round out the section. All of these pieces make for good reading, and thanks to the writer/reviewers for making editing an easy task. DON HEIDER, EDITOR email@example.com University of Texas at Austin On March 17, 2001, Jay T. Harris resigned as publisher of the San Jose Mercury News rather than impose staffing cuts demanded by the Knight Ridder parent corporation to maintain profits. Harris did not leave a tabloid. He walked out on one of the most distinguished newspapers in the country and one of the most enlightened ownerships. "I had lived as long as I should or could with a slowly widening gap between creed and deed," he told the American Society of Newspaper Editors three weeks later. "I knew that morning that I wanted to go no farther down a road leading away from all I thought was best and most important about being a newspaper publisher and a journalist." Harris's act of conscience was not only a message to newsrooms, but to journalism classrooms as well. Harris confirmed the widespread suspicion that corporate pressure to sustain profits was squeezing out the quality of journalism. If so, the challenge was obvious to journalism education: What should we teach in journalism school? And why bother? In this unsettled situation comes Values and Craft of American Journalism: Essays from The Poynter Institute. James M. Naughton, president of the Poynter Institute and former New York Times correspondent, writing in the foreword, says he was inspired by Harris' example of courage. Naughton writes, "Journalism's enduring value is a medium not of commerce but of self-government." But he notes that the media conglomerates that control journalism don't care about news "except as a commodity for profit and growth." Naughton and the Poynter crew do not despair. "Keep the faith. Strive for excellence. Fight for the right," the Poynter president writes. By most measures, American journalism has been supremely successful. It's the dominant mass information model for the world. Free of government control, its reliance on factual reporting, investigation, and ethical behavior makes it an effective watchdog safeguarding the rights of citizens. But despite the apparent success of the U.S. media industry, a deep-seated feeling persists that something is just not right. The very economic robustness of the business has proved to be its greatest enemy. The quest for bigger profits and bigger audiences has profoundly affected the way news is gathered; reported; and, importantly, marketed. In view of this reality, the role of journalism education has also come into question. Do we turn out critics or handmaidens? Columbia University President Lee Bollinger last year suspended a search for a new dean at the Graduate School of Journalism in Morningside Heights and appointed a thirty-member task force to determine the school's future and "what and how future journalists should be taught." To many journalism educators, this was the punch in the stomach after the slap in the face. …


The paper argues that the contrast between studies of MNCs which emphasise isomorphism and those which emphasise social embeddedness is unhelpful. Following recent institutionalist discussions which have emphasised the dynamic nature of firms, and institutions, it is argued that the transnational social space of the multinational encompasses a variety of different forms of actors which are engaged in processes that partially produce isomorphism and partially reproduce institutional difference. This perspective is proposed not as a middle way between the two institutionalisms but as a way to capture the ongoing dynamics of MNCs. The paper illustrates this approach through considering four ideal-typical 'games' which occur inside MNCs. These games are analysed in terms of the actors, the institutional resources brought into the game, the emerging rules of the game, the outcomes of the game and how these processes relate to institutional theory. These games reveal the complex interaction of processes of isomorphism and social differentiation and suggest an agenda for further research on MNCs that will focus on examining how these games interact and with what effect in different sorts of multinationals.


Soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) secretion by human preimplantation embryos in culture has been associated with successful embryo development, and therefore has potential to serve as a noninvasive marker of embryo viability. We have examined the spatial and temporal expression of HLA-G in embryos of varying developmental competence and the role of maternal factors in human embryonic HLA-G expression. Embryos that reached blastocyst stage on day 5 showed a higher frequency of sHLA-G secretion than those at morula or arrested stages (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in sHLA-G secretion between normal embryos and those diagnosed as chromosomally abnormal by preimplantation genetic diagnosis. HLA-G detected in maternal plasma and follicular fluid did not appear to correlate with HLA-G expressed in the embryo or embryo supernatants. Confocal microscopy analysis indicated that HLA-G protein expression in embryos was not homogeneous; mostly, it was confined to blastocysts localized on trophectoderm and trophectoderm projections. Single-particle fluorescent imaging analysis of HLA-G on the cell surface of JEG-3 cells showed that HLA-G particles were mostly monomeric, but dimeric and higher order oligomers were also observed. These results suggest that HLA-G play an important role in preimplantation embryo development. However, the observed expression of HLA-G in arrested and chromosomally abnormal embryos indicates that HLA-G testing should be used with caution and in conjunction with conventional methods of embryo screening and selection.


Hirsutism is a common problem in dermatology that imposes high socioeconomical costs on medical care. Consequently, researchers are actively searching for cheaper and safer methods for therapeutic treatment. The objective of the present study is to evaluate formic oil, enriched from formic acid, for the removal of unwanted hair. In this study, 32 female rats (150–200 g) were randomly divided into four groups and maintained with normal water and food availability. A patch of skin was shaved on each rat for application of test solutions. The control group was treated with local once-daily applications of normal saline. The formic acid, acetic acid, and sodium formate groups were treated with once-daily applications of formic acid (pH 5.5), acetic acid (pH 5.5), or sodium formate, respectively. After 2 weeks, horizontally cut sample biopsies were removed, and the numbers of hair follicles were counted under high field microscopy by a specialist blinded to the treatments. Kolmogorov–Smirnov test results indicated a nonparametric distribution for the rat groups. ANOVA analysis indicated no statistically significant differences between groups (P , 0.05). There weren't any side effects or evidence for toxicity during the study period. However, hair follicle counts showed a descending order of control, acetic acid, formic acid, and sodium formate. Although the sodium formate group had the lowest hair follicle numbers, the difference was not statistically significant (P. 0.05). Formic acid was not effective in reducing hair follicle numbers in rats.


Ethanol is an important bulk chemical and alternative fuel that is currently synthesized by catalytic hydration of ethylene or fermentation of foods. CO2 is a cheap and renewable carbon resource. Transformation of CO2 into useful chemicals is an interesting topic in green chemistry. Production of ethanol using CO2 and H2 is a promising route, but the efficiency of the reaction is not satisfactory. In this paper, we propose a protocol to synthesize ethanol from paraformaldehyde, CO2 and H2. The reaction could be efficiently accelerated by a Ru–Co bimetallic catalyst using LiI as the promoter in 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) under mild conditions. The selectivity of ethanol in total products reached 50.9 C-mol%, which was obviously higher than that of the reported routes. Furthermore, the TOF of ethanol based on Ru metal was as high as 17.9 h−1. To our knowledge, this is the first report on ethanol synthesis from paraformaldehyde, CO2 and H2. A detailed study indicated that the outstanding results of the reaction originated from the synergy of paraformaldehyde hydrogenation, reverse water gas shift reaction and methanol homologation.


CD4+CD25+ T regulatory (Treg) cells prevent spontaneous development of autoimmune diabetes and may delay islet allograft rejection. Tumour cells attract Treg cells to foster immune privilege by producing the chemokine CCL22, which promotes trafficking of Treg cells to the tumour. Therefore, manipulating Treg migration with CCL22 may provide a means of preventing islet transplant rejection in autoimmune diabetes. To drive islet-specific expression of CCL22 we created an adenovirus (Ad-CCL22) in which a mouse CCL22 cDNA is expressed downstream of the CMV promoter. Isolated islets transduced with Ad-CCL22 (10 MOI) produced and secreted high levels of CCL22 in vitro whereas CCL22 production by non-transduced islets was undetectable. To determine whether CCL22 expression prevents islet allograft rejection, donor Balb/c islets were isolated and transduced overnight with Ad-CCL22 (n = 6) or Ad-lacZ (n = 5). Islets (300 per recipient) were then transplanted into the left renal subcapsular space of age-matched female C57/BL6 diabetic recipients. By 5 weeks post-transplant, only 1 of 7 CCL22-expressing islet grafts had been rejected whereas 4 of 5 Ad-LacZ-transduced grafts were rejected. Induced expression of CCL22 by transplanted islets thus delays islet allograft rejection. Manipulation of Tregs cells by CCL-22 in transplanted islets may be a novel therapeutic strategy for diabetes.


This paper will highlight that at the heart of supply chain management (SCM) andservitization research is the concept of value. However, it will be argued that currentwork in these fields do not, in the first instance, adequately define value and often omit afull discussion of value appropriation. To fill these gaps this paper will first introduce aconceptual model of value and will then suggest how it would be possible to empiricallydetermine the sharing of value in a business relationship through the presentation of amodel based on resource dependency theory (RDT). The paper will conclude that muchmore work is required to better conceptualize value in the context of SCM andservitization and that there needs to be more focus on understanding which factorsdetermine how value is shared in business relationships.


A two-phase impulse turbine used to replace the classic expansion valve in a refrigeration system needs a nozzle/expander to transform the flow stored enthalpy into kinetic energy, and a runner that comes afterwards to transform the flow kinetic energy into torque. That process transforms the isenthalpic expansion of the refrigerant into, ideally, an isentropic one. Replacing a classic isenthalpic expansion with a nearly isentropic one increases the cycle cooling capacity between 8% and 20% for the same compressor input power and generates an additional electric power by the two-phase turbine. During the expansion in the nozzle, the static pressure of the flow decreases and a phase change occurs, for the flow is slightly subcooled, by 2 to 3 K, at the nozzle entrance. A Turgo turbine runner design is presented. The runner makes use of the kinetic energy of a two-phase flow and transforms it into torque. The geometry and material of the runner components are chosen to provide mechanical integrity and high efficiency. The design takes into consideration the number of buckets, the flow behavior inside a bucket, the power loss due to drag force, the flow impingement angle with the bucket and many other factors. The variation of the efficiency of the runner with the refrigerant quality and the gas physical properties is also studied. FEM (finite element method) is used to calculate the mechanical stress on the structure of the runner that is supposed to withstand static and fatigue stresses, and erosion due to the two-phase nature of the flow. FEM is also used to visualize the flow inside the bucket and to estimate the power loss due to drag force. The calculated efficiency of the runner would be compared in the future to the efficiency of a similar to be tested runner.


Trust in the digital environment is essential to overcome the uncertainty and asymmetric information distribution present in digital interactions. The presence of trust enables a measurement basis for the credibility of interaction in digital services such as Facebook, Airbnb, or Uber. However, developments such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal have disrupted the trust relationship with service providers and digital platforms. In a setting where verifiability is not always given and is often defined by a high degree of anonymity, trust significantly increases the likelihood of interaction. The literature on trust, its antecedents, and extensions are rather diverse and, so far, there is a lack of works that conceptualize trust in the context of digital platforms and digital platform ecosystems. Thus, this paper summarizes essential concepts of trust in platform ecosystems and discusses critical issues. I show that trust between members of a platform and trust towards the platform provider are well-established concepts in the literature studied. However, other concepts such as distrust have not been extensively studied but represent exciting areas for future research.


This review paper summarises the key aspects of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) degradation that are associated with water formation, retention, accumulation, and transport mechanisms within the cell. Issues related to loss of active surface area of the catalyst, ionomer dissolution, membrane swelling, ice formation, corrosion, and contamination are also addressed and discussed. The impact of each of these water mechanisms on cell performance and durability was found to be different and to vary according to the design of the cell and its operating conditions. For example, the presence of liquid water within Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA), as a result of water accumulation, can be detrimental if the operating temperature of the cell drops to sub-freezing. The volume expansion of liquid water due to ice formation can damage the morphology of different parts of the cell and may shorten its life-time. This can be more serious, for example, during the water transport mechanism where migration of Pt particles from the catalyst may take place after detachment from the carbon support. Furthermore, the effect of transport mechanism could be augmented if humid reactant gases containing impurities poison the membrane, leading to the same outcome as water retention or accumulation. Overall, the impact of water mechanisms can be classified as aging or catastrophic. Aging has a longterm impact over the duration of the PEMFC life-time whereas in the catastrophic mechanism the impact is immediate. The conversion of cell residual water into ice at sub-freezing temperatures by the water retention/ accumulation mechanism and the access of poisoning contaminants through the water transport mechanism are considered to fall into the catastrophic category. The effect of water mechanisms on PEMFC degradation can be reduced or even eliminated by (a) using advanced materials for improving the electrical, chemical and mechanical stability of the cell components against deterioration, and (b) implementing effective strategies for water management in the cell.


The health and well-being of children is in the first place in the social policy of any state. In relation to children with chronic diseases, a lot of state support measures are being developed, including preferential drug provision. At the same time, the availability and volume of benefits for each particular child can affect the further prognosis of the disease, the social and economic efficiency of the measures taken. The purpose of the study was to identify the reasons for parents' dissatisfaction with the availability and quality of the organization of preferential drug provision for minors. The study was conducted by anonymous questioning of 455 parents of children admitted for inpatient treatment at the FSBEI HE SPb SPMU and the G.I. Turner in 2020, belonging to the preferential category. The study showed that there are restrictions at all stages of the provision of drug benefits. Most parents have low awareness of the child's right to benefits, as well as low legal activity in situations where the child's right is violated. A third of parents prefer not to use the benefit, fearing obstacles to its implementation. For children eligible for a federal benefit, the availability of drug coverage is significantly higher than for children with a regional benefit.


Studies documented 17 years of transfer time from clinical trials to practice of care. Launched in 2002, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) translational research initiative needs to develop metrics for impact assessment. A recent White House report highlighted that research and development productivity is declining as a result of increased research spending while the new drugs output is flat. The goal of this study was to develop an expanded model of research-based innovation and performance thresholds of transfer from research to practice. Models for transfer of research to practice have been collected and reviewed. Subsequently, innovation pathways have been specified based on common characteristics. An integrated, intellectual property transfer model is described. The central but often disregarded role of research innovation disclosure is highlighted. Measures of research transfer and milestones of progress have been identified based on the Association of University Technology Managers 2012 performance reports. Numeric milestones of technology transfer are recommended at threshold (top 50%), target (top 25%), and stretch goal (top 10%) performance levels. Transfer measures and corresponding target levels include research spending to disclosure (<$1.88 million), disclosure to patents (>0.81), patents to start-up (>0.1), patents to licenses (>2.25), and average per license income (>$48,000). Several limitations of measurement are described. Academic institutions should take strategic steps to bring innovation to the center of scholarly discussions. Research on research, particularly on pathways to disclosures, is needed to improve R&D productivity. Researchers should be informed about the technology transfer performance of their institution and regulations should better support innovators.


Although the Curwen Press gained considerable prestige between the two world wars for its contribution to jobbing work and the fine printing of books, little recognition has been given to Harold Curwen, Joseph Thorp, and Oliver Simon for pioneering new forms of applied commercial art, that would, Curwen stated, cure the 'commercial drabness' associated with existing printing practice, and form a unique brand strategy.1 The Curwen Press engaged illustrators, photographers and commercial artists who were already building their professional careers, to enrich and imbue clients' printed projects with a certain Curwen twist. Informed by the archives of the Curwen Press, this paper examines how the Press created innovation in applied design and inadvertently developed a brand strategy before the term was properly identified, thus distinguishing them from traditional printers.


Black Carbon (BC) may significantly affect nutrient retention and play a key role in a wide range of biogeochemical processes in soils, especially for nutrient cycling. Anthrosols from the Brazilian Amazon (ages between 600 and 8700 yr BP) with high contents of biomassderived BC had greater potential cation exchange capacity (CEC measured at pH 7) per unit organic C than adjacent soils with low BC contents.Synchrotron-based near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy coupled with scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) techniques explained the source of the higher surface charge of BC compared with non-BC by mapping crosssectional areas of BC particles with diameters of 10 to 50 mm for C forms. The largest cross-sectional areas consisted of highly aromatic or only slightly oxidized organic C most likely originating from the BC itself with a characteristic peak at 286.1 eV, which could not be found in humic substance extracts, bacteria or fungi. Oxidation significantly increased from the core of BC particles to their surfaces as shown by the ratio of carboxyl-C/aromatic-C. Spotted and non-continuous distribution patterns of highly oxidized C functional groups with distinctly different chemical signatures on BC particle surfaces (peak shift at 286.1 eV to a higher energy of 286.7 eV) indicated that non-BC may be adsorbed on the surfaces of BC particles creating highly oxidized surface. As a consequence of both oxidation of the BC particles themselves and adsorption of organic matter to BC surfaces, the charge density (potential CEC per unit surface area) was greater in BC-rich Anthrosols than adjacent soils. Additionally, a high specific surface area was attributable to the presence of BC, which may contribute to the high CEC found in soils that are rich in BC.


We investigated the atomic surface properties of differently prepared silicon and germanium (100) surfaces during metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy/chemical vapour deposition (MOVPE/MOCVD), in particular the impact of the MOVPE ambient, and applied reflectance anisotropy/difference spectroscopy (RAS/RDS) in our MOVPE reactor to in-situ watch and control the preparation on the atomic length scale for subsequent III-V-nucleation. The technological interest in the predominant opto-electronic properties of III-V-compounds drives the research for their heteroepitaxial integration on more abundant and cheaper standard substrates such as Si(100) or Ge(100). In these cases, a general task must be accomplished successfully, i.e. the growth of polar materials on non-polar substrates and, beyond that, very specific variations such as the individual interface formation and the atomic step structure, have to be controlled. Above all, the method of choice to grow industrial relevant high-performance device structures is MOVPE, not normally compatible with surface and interface sensitive characterization tools, which are commonly based on ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) ambients. A dedicated sample transfer system from MOVPE environment to UHV enabled us to benchmark the optical in-situ spectra with results from various surfaces science instruments without considering disruptive contaminants. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) provided direct observation of different terminations such as arsenic and phosphorous and verified oxide removal under various specific process parameters. Absorption lines in Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra were used to identify specific stretch modes of coupled hydrides and the polarization dependence of the anti-symmetric stretch modes distinguished different dimer orientations. Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) studied the atomic arrangement of dimers and steps and tip-induced H-desorption proved the saturation of dangling bonds after preparation. In-situ RAS was employed to display details transiently such as the presence of H on the surface at lower temperatures (T < 800°C) and the absence of Si-H bonds at elevated annealing temperature and also surface terminations. Ge buffer growth by the use of GeH4 enables the preparation of smooth surfaces and leads to a more pronounced amplitude of the features in the spectra which indicates improvements of the surface quality.


Abstract Intragranular ferrite (IGF), which nucleates from specific inclusion surfaces in low alloy steels, is the desired microstructure to improve mechanical properties of steel such as the toughness. This microstructure is especially important in the coarse grain heat affected zone (CGHAZ) of weldments. The latest review paper focusing on the role of non-metallic inclusions in the IGF formation in steels has been reported by Sarma et al. in 2009 (ISIJ int., 49(2009), 1063–1074). In recent years, large amount of papers have been presented to investigate different issues of this topic. This paper mainly highlights the frontiers of experimental and theoretical investigations on the effects of inclusion characteristics, such as the composition, size distribution and number density, on the IGF formation in low carbon low-alloyed steels, undertaken by the group of Applied Process Metallurgy, KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Related results reported in previous studies are also introduced. Also, plausible future work regarding various items of IGF formation is mentioned in each section. This work aims to give a better control of improving the steel quality during casting and in the heat affected zone (HAZ) of weldment, according to the concept of oxide metallurgy.


Past measurements of the radiocarbon interhemispheric offset have been restricted to relatively young samples because of a lack of older dendrochronologically secure Southern Hemisphere tree-ring chronologies. The Southern Hemisphere calibration data set SHCal04 earlier than AD 950 utilizes a variable interhemispheric offset derived from measured 2nd millennium AD Southern Hemisphere/Northern Hemisphere sample pairs with the assumption of stable Holocene ocean/atmosphere interactions. This study extends the range of measured interhemispheric offset values with 20 decadal New Zealand kauri and Irish oak sample pairs from 3 selected time intervals in the 1st millennium AD and is part of a larger program to obtain high-precision Southern Hemisphere 14C data continuously back to 200 BC. We found an average interhemispheric offset of 35 ± 6 yr, which although consistent with previously published 2nd millennium AD measurements, is lower than the offset of 55–58 yr utilized in SHCal04. We concur with McCormac et al. (2008) that the IntCal04 measurement for AD 775 may indeed be slightly too old but also suggest the McCormac results appear excessively young for the interval AD 755–785. In addition, we raise the issue of laboratory bias and calibration errors, and encourage all laboratories to check their consistency with appropriate calibration curves and invest more effort into improving the accuracy of those curves.


The crystal structures of the xenon(II) salts, [XeF][SbF(6)], [XeF][BiF(6)], and [XeF][Bi(2)F(11)], have been determined for the first time, and those of XeF(2), [XeF][AsF(6)], [XeF][Sb(2)F(11)], and [XeF(3)][Sb(2)F(11)] have been redetermined with greater precision at -173 °C. The Bi(2)F(11)(-) anion, which has a structure analogous to those of the As(2)F(11)(-) and Sb(2)F(11)(-) anions, has been structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction for the first time as its XeF(+) salt. The fluorine bridge between the bismuth atoms is asymmetric with Bi---F(b) bond lengths of 2.092(6) and 2.195(6) A and a Bi---F(b)'---Bi bridge bond angle of 145.3(3)°. The XeF(+) cations interact with their anions by means of Xe---F(b)---M bridges. Consequently, the solid-state Raman spectra of [XeF][MF(6)] (M = As, Sb, Bi) were modeled as the gas-phase ion pairs and assigned with the aid of quantum-chemical calculations. Relationships among the terminal Xe-F(t) and bridge Xe---F(b) bond lengths and stretching frequencies and the gas-phase fluoride ion affinities of the parent Lewis acid that the anion is derived from are considered. The analogous krypton ion pairs, [KrF][MF(6)] (M = As, Sb, Bi) were also calculated and compared with their previously published X-ray crystal structures. The calculated cation-anion charge separations indicate that the [XeF][MF(6)] salts are more ionic than their krypton analogues and that XeF(2) is a stronger fluoride ion donor than KrF(2). The lattice energies, standard enthalpies, and free energies of formation for salts containing the NgF(+), Ng(2)F(3)(+), XeF(3)(+), XeF(5)(+), Xe(2)F(11)(+), and XeOF(3)(+) (Ng = Ar, Kr, Xe) cations were estimated using volume-based thermodynamics (VBT) based on crystallographic and estimated ion volumes. These estimated parameters were then used to predict the stabilities of noble-gas salts. VBT is used to examine and predict the stabilities of, inter alia, the salts [XeF(m)][Sb(n)F(5n+1)] and [XeF(m)][As(n)F(5n+1)] (m = 1, 3; n = 1, 2). VBT also confirms that XeF(+) salts are stable toward redox decomposition to Ng, F(2), and MF(5) (M = As, Sb), whereas the isolable krypton compounds and the unknown ArF(+) salts are predicted to be unstable by VBT with the ArF(+) salts being the least stable.


Panulirus versicolor, otherwise known as the painted crayfish, is a palinurid (spiny lobster) that inhabits coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific region, including Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) where it forms an esteemed component of the local recreational spearfishery. At present, management strategies for P. versicolor are based solely on precautionary principles, since prior to this study virtually nothing was known about this species. The broad goal of this thesis was therefore to describe the population biology and fishery ecology of P. versicolor on the GBR, thereby providing a framework for the development of a comprehensive management scheme for this important fishery resource.

To quantify the fishery for P. versicolor, teams of spearfishers conducted 135 hr of recreational fishing activities during 12 trips spread across 15 months and seven reefs. It was found that P. versicolor was the second most abundant component of the catch, after common coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus). Catch per unit effort (CPUE) was estimated to be 0.155 ± 0.025 crayfish hr-1, which is equivalent to one crayfish for each 6.4 hr of spearfishing. Assuming this CPUE was representative of the recreational spearfishery as a whole, and given 37,110 hr as the total annual spearfishing effort on the GBR (Henry and Lyle 2003), the total annual catch of P. versicolor was estimated to be 5,773 ± 928 individuals (8,660 ± 1,530 kg). By world standards, this amount is relatively small. However, because this species is highly sought-after and is not abundant anywhere within its distributional range, fishing pressure on P. versicolor in readily accessible areas of the GBR may still be relatively high. Thus, a comprehensive management scheme should be implemented to ensure this species is not over-exploited.

Development of a fishery management scheme requires knowledge of a range of population parameters (e.g. abundance, growth, mortality) which can be estimated by mark-recapture techniques. However, it was first necessary to develop a method of tracking individual crayfish in the wild, since most conventional tagging methods are ineffective due to moulting of the exoskeleton. As such, three unconventional tracking methods (ablation, elastomer implants, photographic identification) were evaluated in the field over periods of 6–36 months. Ablation proved to be ineffective due to a high incidence of infection and exoskeletal repair. In contrast, elastomer implants and photographic identification were shown to be highly effective (96.5% and 100% effectiveness, respectively), even after numerous episodes of moulting. Consequently, only the latter two methods were used for the remainder of the study.

To investigate the population biology of P. versicolor, a multiple mark-recapture program was conducted at Northwest Island, an offshore coral cay in the GBR complex. Censuses were performed daily for ten consecutive days on six occasions between December 2003 and December 2006, thereby enabling estimation of population parameters over both short- (1−10 d) and long-term (6−36 months) periods. Fifty-six percent of crayfish (50/89) were recaptured (resighted) after 1−10 d, whereas 59% of crayfish (50/85) were recaptured after 6−36 months. Some animals were recaptured (or resighted) on multiple occasions; hence, there were 122 short-term observations and 86 long-term observations.

Ovigerous female crayfish were captured in both summer and winter, suggesting that this species has a protracted spawning period. Although some females reproduced in situ, the majority of mature females appeared to emigrate temporarily during summer, resulting in a male-biased local population at that time. Using a sample of crayfish from both inshore and offshore reefs, the size at first maturity (SFM) was estimated to be 88 and 78 mm carapace length (CL) for males and females, respectively. This is substantially larger than estimates of SFM for P. versicolor from Western Australia, which may reflect regional differences in either environmental conditions or fishing pressure.

Growth of P. versicolor was shown to be asymptotic and well described by a von Bertalanffy growth model (L∞ = 144.7 mm CL; K = 0.27 yr-1; t0 = -0.18 yr). Moult interval for larger (>125 mm CL) and smaller (90−125 mm CL) individuals was estimated to be 326 ± 31 and 159 ± 18 d, respectively. Growth increment was estimated to be 2−3 mm CL and appeared to be constant across the range of sizes examined (98−153 mm CL). In general, growth of P. versicolor was similar to that of other tropical palinurids, but markedly faster than that of temperate palinurids, which supports the notion of increasing growth rate with decreasing latitude.

The population of P. versicolor at Northwest Island was estimated to be small in size(1,400 ± 185 individuals) and sparsely distributed (1.3 ± 0.2 individuals ha-1). The
estimated total mortality rate (0.28 ± 0.04 yr-1) was low and probably represented only natural mortality, because the study was conducted at a relatively inaccessible part of the reef that was rarely or never fished. With respect to replenishment of the population, preliminary observations suggested that individuals recruit to inshore reefs and then migrate offshore as they approach maturity – an ontogenetic pattern that is characteristic ofpalinurids in general.

Adult crayfish were found to aggregate in dens during the day. At night, individuals moved to and from nearby dens, such that group composition changed frequently. Despite this, two male crayfish never occupied the same den simultaneously, indicating that groups were not merely random mixtures of individuals. Surprisingly, the relationship between bodysize (CL) and male social status (number of co-habiting females) was weak or non-existent, and experimental translocation of single male and female crayfish to occupied dens did not result in eviction, regardless of CL. Thus, body size appears to be less important in shaping the social system of P. versicolor than it is in other species.

Despite the capacity to move considerable distances during short periods of time (i.e. up to 459 m d-1), at least 59% of tagged individuals (50/85) remained within a 60 ha reef area for at least 6−36 months. Also, these individuals were shown to repeatedly inhabit the same, readily identifiable dens. That P. versicolor lives in predictable places and maintains a high level of site-fidelity predisposes this species to over-exploitation, which underscores the need to implement effective management strategies.

Based on the results of this study and assuming the presence of a large unfished breeding population, three important management desiderata were identified. Firstly, the current prohibition on possession of spermatophoric and ovigerous females should be revoked. This will reduce wastage of breeding females that are currently inadvertently killed by the fishery. The basis of this recommendation is that there appears to be little chance of
localised recruitment overfishing and hence there is little need to protect breeding females at a local level. Secondly, introduction of a 100 mm CL minimum size limit would optimise yield and population biomass without greatly impacting current fishing practices. Thirdly, establishment of small marine reserves (1−2 km in dimension) is an effective strategy to counteract localised depletion of adult P. versicolor, since individuals appear not to roam widely. Implementation of these knowledge-based management strategies will help to ensure this highly desirable fishery resource is exploited on a sustainable and rational basis.


International scientific journal  Sur le journalisme – About journalisme – Sobre jornalismo is proud to announce a new call for papers ...


The reasons why most small-rights holders do not participate in management of the fishery for small pelagic fish ('small pelagics') in South Africa, despite legislation and policy encouraging their participation, were analysed. Membership of the Small Pelagics Management Working Group (SPMWG), the main participatory governance organ, is limited to representatives of recognised stakeholder associations. Rights holders therefore have to belong to a stakeholder association, which then selects a member or members to represent them on the SPMWG. Small quotas and the difficulties of sourcing capital mean that small-rights holders are not able to invest in infrastructure. Besides, most of the small-rights holders and their companies lack experience and management skills to survive independently in this highly competitive industry, which is based on high volume and low profit margins. As a result, most of the small-rights holders have no option but to enter into complex catching and processing agreements with vessel- and factory owners belonging to the existing recognised stakeholder associations. For the small-rights holders, it does not make sense to join these associations or even to form their own if they cannot actively participate in the industry independently. Greater participation by small-rights holders should start with their genuine integration into the industry through improved ability to invest in infrastructure and through management skills development. Most likely, this will require an interventionist approach by government.


Among all the natural fibers, sisal is widely used as yarns, ropes, twines, carpets etc. because of its high cellulose content and tensile strength. Several researches have been conducted on this fiber and it is found to be more suitable for the reinforcement applications in polymer composites because of its superior properties such as, low density, high specific strength, environment friendly nature and low cost. As it is the fiber extracted from leaves of a drought resistant plant hence, it can easily be commercially exploited. However, the hydrophilic nature of the fiber hinders its application in the composite field due to the lack of compatibility between hydrophilic fiber and hydrophobic thermosetting matrix. The present study focuses on various surface treatment methods on the sisal fiber to enhance the adhesion, compatibility between the fiber and the matrix in order to improve the mechanical strength as well as electrical properties of the composite for attracting industrial interests for its potential use. Macromolecular structural parameters are evaluated to know the effect of modification on the fiber properties.
Various surface modifications such as Dewaxing, KMnO4, Microwave and Alkali treatments were conducted on the sisal fiber. For dewaxing, the fiber were immerged in ethanol and benzene solution for 12 hr with 2 hr of intermediate heating and cooling of solution in which fibers were soaked. For KMnO4 treatment, the dewaxed fibers were soaked in 0.01%, 0.05% and 0.1% concentered KMnO4 –acetone dewaxed fibers were soaked in 0.01%, 0.05% and 0.1% concentered KMnO4 –acetone solution for 1, 2 and 3 mins. Physical modification of the fiber was done by microwave irradiation at 160W, 320W, 640W for 2, 4 and 8 mins. Alkali treatment on the fiber was carried out for 2hrs at 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% NaOH concentrations. The soaking period of fiber in 6% NaOH solution was varied from 2 hr to 8 hr with a step of 2hr.
The short sisal fiber reinforced polymer composites were fabricated for different fiber volume percentage (5, 10, 15 and 20 %) by hand layup technique. The composite having 15% fiber volume fraction was found to have better mechanical strength and lower loss tangent in comparison to others. Hence, 15% volume fraction of the fiber was kept constant for the fabrication of all composites in the entire study.
Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) of the treated fiber showed the change in macromolecular parameters in comparison to the untreated fiber. The enhancement of the macromolecular structural parameters like average periodicity transverse to the layer, volume fraction of matter phase etc. and the reduction of disorderliness of the structure at nano order were observed in each treatment for a particular combination of concentration, soaking period, irradiation power and duration of treatment.
Density of the fibers was determined by Archimedes' principle and varied after the various treatments. It was observed that the density of the surface modified fiber was higher than the untreated one at the optimum condition, which may be due to the removal of natural wax and impurities present in the fiber.
For KMnO4 and Alkali treatment, the observed increment in the structural parameters like periodicity transverse to the layers, volume fraction of matter phase,of the fiber may be due to the partial removal and reduction of hemicelluloses, lignin, pectin, wax etc. Microwave irradiation helps in reduction of residual stress in the fiber leading to the increased value of crystallinity of the fiber, confirmed from the XRD studies of the fiber.
Surface roughness of the fiber was achieved after almost all the treatments at optimum treatment condition. It was ascribed to the removal of surface impurities like natural wax, lignin, hemicelluloses and removal of internal constraint from the fiber. Degradation of the fiber was confirmed from the SEM micrograph at higher level of concentration, duration of chemical treatments and irradiation power of microwave.
FTIR study of the fiber helps to assess the structural changes of the fiber by change in absorbed intensity ratio of the different functional groups. The reduction of OH group, hemicellulose was observed for the fiber modified by suitable treatment parameters.
Improved flexural strength and tensile strength was observed after all the treatment at optimized condition. Better wetting of the fiber with the matrix was due to enhanced surface roughness of the fiber as observed in SEM micrographs of the fractured surface of the composites. This may be the possible cause of the improved mechanical strength of the fiber. This may be the possible cause of the improved mechanical strength of the fiber. Degradation of the mechanical strength of the composite was ascribed to the reinforcement of degraded fiber and poor adheison between fiber and matrix. Electrical study of the short sisal fiber reinforced epoxy composite revealed that the loss tangent and dielectric constant of the composite were reduced for the suitably modified fiber reinforced composite. However, significant increase in loss tangent for the composite reinforced with degraded fiber was observed. The modulus formalism had been adopted to study the relaxation mechanism in the composite. The advantage of complex electric modulus formalism is that it suppresses the electrode effect. The shifting of relaxation peaks in the temperature dependent modulus plot confirmed the presence of temperature dependent relaxation process in the materials.


Craniosynostosis causes many of the characteristic facial features of Apert syndrome. Premature fusion of the skull bones prevents the head from growing normally, which leads to a sunken appearance in the middle of the face (midface hypoplasia), a beaked nose, a wrinkled forehead, and an opening in the roof of the mouth (a cleft palate). In individuals with Apert syndrome, an underdeveloped upper jaw can lead to dental problems, such as missing teeth, irregular tooth enamel, and crowded teeth.


Environmental context Chemical mechanisms are an important component of predictive air quality models that are developed using smog chambers. In smog chamber experiments, UV lamps are often used to simulate sunlight, and the choice of lamp can influence the obtained data, leading to differences in model predictions. We investigate the effect of various UV lamps on the prediction accuracy of a key mechanism in atmospheric chemistry. Abstract A new smog chamber was constructed at CSIRO following the decommissioning of the previous facility. The new chamber has updated instrumentation, is 35 % larger, and has been designed for chemical mechanism and aerosol formation studies. To validate its performance, characterisation experiments were conducted to determine wall loss and radical formation under irradiation by UV lamps. Two different types of blacklights commonly used in indoor chambers are used as light sources, and the results using these different lamps are investigated. Gas-phase results were compared against predictions from the latest version of the SAPRC chemical mechanism. The SAPRC mechanism gave accurate results for hydrocarbon reaction and oxidation formation for propene and o-xylene experiments, regardless of the light source used, with variations in ozone concentrations between experiment and modelled results typically less than 10 % over 6-h irradiation. The SAPRC predictions for p-xylene photooxidation showed overprediction in the rate of oxidation, although no major variations were determined in mechanism results for different blacklight sources. Additionally, no significant differences in the yields of aerosol arising from new particle formation were discernible regardless of the light source used under these conditions.


In operational flood forecasting, the decision to issue a warning to the community at risk has to be made in real time based on evolving probabilistic forecasts of the hazard. However, not only is the hazard forecast changing in time, but so too are the exposure and vulnerability. This may be the result of changes in the location of assets and people, or - more qualitatively - in a loss or gain for the reputation of the forecasting authority. In this work, we take the first steps towards quantifying these to form a risk-based framework for making the decision to issue a warning using an example catchment in the UK.


Exoskeletons are attracting great attention as a new means of rehabilitation devices. In such applications, control algorithms of exoskeletons are often inspired by nature for natural and effective assistance for patients. In this paper, a control algorithm inspired by aquatic therapy is introduced. Aquatic therapy provides various beneficial effects for rehabilitation based on useful properties of water, e.g., buoyancy and drag. The proposed controller calculates joint torques equivalent to the buoyant and drag forces. Then, an exoskeleton-type assistive device generates the calculated joint torques to provide the similar effects as aquatic therapy. In this paper, the Sogang University biomedical assist robot is utilized as a testbed. This paper also discusses the mechanical impedance of actuators, which obstructs implementation of controllers in practice. The resistive forces generated by actuators are precisely modeled and compensated to realize the control algorithm inspired by aquatic therapy correctly and effectively.


The adult rat's ventricular myocardium is able to increase its mass markedly while maintaining its unit quality. It does so by maintaining constant the design of the sarcomeres: an increase in length is accomplished by the addition of sarcomeres in series; an increase in tension production is accomplished by the addition of more cross-sectional area of a uniform quality. This was shown by the almost constant concentration of the contractile protein, actomyosin, as well as by the histologic evidence of the constancy in the sarcomere lengths. Functional support was obtained by the finding of an identity in the parameters of the length-tension curves; the curves differed only in the absolute magnitude of the tensions, a difference that completely disappeared when suitable corrections were made for the size of the muscle. The electrical parameters also indicated a lack of change in the quality of the excitatory membrane phenomena. However, some data were presented that suggest that the myocardium may show altered properties dependent on the age of the animal. No evidence was found in support of the concept of detrimental consequences at least with this degree of cardiomegaly. It is rather concluded that this degree of cardiomegaly is accomplished without change in the basic architecture, properties, or concentration of the contractile mechanism.


This paper presents research based on the development and use of two CSCLIP technologies presently used in university settings that are also useful in advancing CSCLIP research. The tools specifically deliver rich CSCLIP experiential learning, particularly affective behavioral learning dealing with group communication and dynamics, motivation and attitude, communication skills, information exchange. We describe these tools and their theoretical bases and then present an overview of a study that compares their performance with their non-computer supported counterpart.


A cold-active bacteriophage designated 9A was isolated against Colwellia psychrery- thraea Strain 34H at near in situ temperature (-1°C) by enrichment of seawater from an Arctic nepheloid layer, using a newly developed isothermal overlay technique. Phage 9A is classified as a Siphoviridae with a genome size of 80 to 90 kb. In addition to 34H, 9A infects C. demingiae ACAM 459 T ; no other hosts (of 22 tested) were identified. In replete media, 9A formed plaques on 34H from -6 to 4°C and on C. demingiae from -6 to 8°C; the temperature range of plaque formation on 34H could be extended to 8°C by prior host starvation. An indirect plating method and microscopic evaluation also determined phage production at temperatures between -13 and -10°C. At -1°C, 34H had a broader salinity range of plaque formation than C. demingiae: 20 to 50 (but not 65) psu vs. 27 to 34 (but not 50) psu. As monitored by epifluorescence microscopy, phage production by 34H was observed at 1, 10, 100 and 200 atm (all at -1°C), but not at 400 or 600 atm. The 9A-34H system com- monly had a low efficiency of plating (EOP; typically ~1%) which varied with culture age. Despite repeated attempts, no meaningful adsorption rate could be determined at -1 or 8°C. This result, the low EOP, and the effect of starvation on plaque formation suggest that fluctuating host phenotypes may play an important role in the dynamics of this system. One-step growth curves (using 34H as host) revealed a longer latent period (4 to 5 vs. 2.5 to 3 h) and greater burst size (55 vs. 5) at -1 than 8°C; at temperatures between -10 and -12°C, the estimated latent period was 5-10 d and the burst size 5. At both -1 and 8°C, rise times were comparable to latent periods. Although the cycle from infection to burst at -1°C required only 10 to 20% of the generation time of 34H at this temperature, the amount of viral DNA synthesized was comparable to the size of the host genome, suggesting very efficient and cold-active virus-encoded enzymes.


NGOs in Asian countries often experience fluctuations in funding because of the constantly shifting priorities of their international donors. Without domestic sources, Asian NGOs are forced to re-align their priorities with donor interests in order to compete for funding. In the case of advocacy NGOs, the resulting asymmetry in donor–grantee relations often leads to a crisis of legitimacy and deteriorating effectiveness for the NGO. Because of the political nature of advocacy work, these NGOs must maintain a reputation for independence and legitimacy if they are to be influential in the political process. This article analyses the impact of fluctuating international donor assistance to advocacy NGOs in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Thailand, and offers recommendations for donors. While donors have spent significant resources on building the capacity of advocacy NGOs in South-East Asia, funding trends usually undermine the effectiveness of their grantees long before funding is ended.


The purpose of this paper is to examine inter-Korean borderland development strategy and related issues. If South and North Korean military confrontation is ended, inter-Korean borderland will be revolutionary changed. This paper summarizes four status of inter-Korean borderland in the Korean reunification era: Symbolic Area of Peace, Buffer Zone between South and North Korea, Repository of biological diversity, Mediatory Area between Continent and Ocean. After a review of the basic related issues in the development of inter-Korean borderland, this paper suggest tentatively named ``Inter-Korean Borderland Committee`` for borderland development. That committee will takes charge of many kinds of inter-Korean cooperation issues in the borderland area: Elimination of Landmines, Military Problems in the DMZ, Co-use of Rivers, Prevention of Epidemics & Disaster, Connection of Roads and Railways, etc.


: The effect of growth hormone addition to human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG), after pituitary down-regulation, on granulosa cell function, in in-vitro fertilization (IVF) was evaluated. Growth hormone or placebo were added in a prospective, randomized and double-blind manner to an existing IVF stimulation protocol. Forty-two normal ovulatory women (< or = 38 years old) with mechanical factor infertility and normal male factor were included in the study. Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) was given from day 21 of the previous cycle until human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) administration. Follicular stimulation with HMG was started after pituitary down-regulation. Growth hormone 12 IU/day or placebo were administered on alternate days, beginning day 1 until day 7 of HMG treatment. Granulosa cell function was evaluated, in all patients, by follicular fluid levels of ovarian steroids and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). In 14 patients, chosen arbitrarily granulosa lutein cells were cultured in the presence and absence of additional HCG. Follicular fluid levels of oestradiol, progesterone, testosterone and IGF-I were similar in both growth hormone and placebo groups. Basal and post-HCG levels of oestradiol and progesterone did not differ significantly between the two groups of granulosa lutein cell cultures. We conclude that after pituitary down-regulation, in-vivo administration of growth hormone with HMG in young ovulatory women does not seem to affect granulosa cell function when compared to the administration of HMG alone.


The aim of this paper is to describe the historical development of Kurt Mothes and his research school. In 1935 Mothes was appointed Professor of botany in Königsberg and moved to the University of Halle in 1950, where he was the director of three departments. He proved to be a good director and an ideal teacher. In 1954 Mothes became president of the Leopoldina. The scientific accomplishments are represented by 391 papers and 56 dissertations. His work provided the basis for modern phytochemical research of plants. Mothes had approximately 800 students; 56 completed their dissertations under his supervision and 24 became professors. The research conditions in Halle were very good because Mothes had received a new Institute of Biochemistry of Plants. The research school of Mothes enjoyed important public and social recognition not only in the GDR but throughout the world.


In this letter, we address the problem of minimizing the energy consumption of disseminating a library of files to a set of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A framework is provided, in which a subset of devices are selected to receive data from a UAV and then forward the required data to other devices. Furthermore, optimal energy-efficient path selection is considered in order to realize efficient data dissemination. Specifically, an optimization problem is formulated to minimize the energy expenditure of the IoT devices and UAV while the latter tours to disseminate the required files to the former. An ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm is developed to solve the optimization problem. Simulation results show that the proposed framework is more energy-efficient compared to a baseline approach, where the UAV hovers above each device to deliver the data. Results also illustrate that the proposed ACO algorithm provides performance close to the optimal solution, which is obtained through exhaustive search.


The non-Hermiticity caused breakdown of the bulk-boundary correspondence (BBC) in topological phase transition was cured by the skin effect for the systems with chiral symmetry and translation invariance. However, periodic driving, as an active tool in engineering exotic topological phases, breaks the chiral symmetry, and the inevitable disorder destroys the translation invariance. Here, we propose a scheme to retrieve the BBC and establish a complete description of the topological phases of the periodically driven non-Hermitian system both with and without the translation invariance. The demonstration of our method in the non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model shows that exotic non-Hermitian topological phases of widely tunable numbers of edge states and Floquet topological Anderson insulator are induced by the periodic driving and the disorder. Our result supplies a useful way to artificially synthesize exotic phases by periodic driving in the non-Hermitian system.


Zellweger syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in genes that encode peroxins, proteins required for the normal assembly of peroxisomes. It causes a defect is the perioxisomes, which affects the body severally. It affects both males and females and is present at birth. The target gene coding protein in zellweger syndrome had been identified. Blast P is used for the similarities identification of pxr1 protein and the Functional identification of pxr1 is viewed through AMIGO. Secondary structural analyses of pxr1 protein were carried through tools like, TARGET P, GLOBPROT, and DOMAIN LINKER PREDICTION. From the molecular mechanics study, the electrostatic properties have been identified.


Influenza infection can result in mild or serious illness in some individuals, and studies suggest that increased inflammatory mediators have a role in disease severity. To investigate the role of inflammation in clinical disease, we performed a prospective, longitudinal study, sampling symptoms, blood, nasal lavages, and viral loads from participants during natural influenza infection. Surprisingly, clinical disease defined by symptoms or hospitalization did not correlate with viral dynamics, but consistent with other clinical reports, age was associated with hospitalization. There was no association between age and viral dynamics, though a strong inverse correlation between age and cytokine levels in the nasal lavage was maintained even when adjusted for prior immunity, indicating that children mount more aggressive inflammatory responses independently of pathogen dynamics. Correcting for this age-association, analysis of cytokine levels in nasal lavages revealed that MCP3 and IFNα were predictors of respiratory symptoms, while plasma MCP3 and IL-10 predicted symptom severity and hospitalization. In all cases, associations were not dependent on viral load. The association between IL-10 and symptom severity was confirmed in an independent cohort. In summary, children suffer significantly higher local inflammation, and a small subset of cytokines, including MCP3 and IL-10, serve as diagnostic markers for clinical outcome of influenza infection in all age groups.


Purpose Given the importance of employee psychological well-being to job performance, this study aims to investigate the mediating role of affective commitment between psychological well-being and job performance while considering the moderating role of job insecurity on psychological well-being and affective commitment relationship. Design/methodology/approach The data were gathered from employees working in cellular companies of Pakistan using paper-and-pencil surveys. A total of 280 responses were received. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling technique and Hayes's Model 1. Findings Findings suggest that affective commitment mediates the association between psychological well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic) and employee job performance. In addition, perceived job insecurity buffers the association of psychological well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic) and affective commitment. Practical implications The study results suggest that fostering employee psychological well-being may be advantageous for the organization. However, if interventions aimed at ensuring job security are not made, it may result in adverse employee work-related attitudes and behaviors. Originality/value The study extends the current literature on employee well-being in two ways. First, by examining psychological well-being in terms of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being with employee work-related attitude and behavior. Second, by highlighting the prominent role played by perceived job insecurity in explaining some of these relationships.


Nearly all discharge lamps in Lighting applications are based on atomic species. The use of mercury, sodium or rare gases is state of the art. In existing high intensity discharge (HID) lamps containing metal halides molecular radiation is contributing to a lesser extent to the spectrum. In some transient rare gas discharges (e.g. dielectric barrier discharges) the radiation originates from excimer molecules formed from the atomic fill gases within the plasma.
The sulfur lamp was the first attractive concept solely based on a molecular filling. This HID operating in S-2 vapour stimulated the search for other molecular discharges, which are favourable for Lighting purposes.
The presentation gives an overview over molecular discharges, which are of interest for Lighting applications. General demands on and basic properties of such discharges are described. The focus is put on light sources, which are able to generate white light with good colour rendering properties. Besides concepts for HID also opportunities for fluorescent lamp like discharges (molecular low pressure discharges, LPD) are discussed. The emphasis is placed on recent findings.


The rapid early spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. was experienced very differently by different socioeconomic groups and business industries. In this study, we study aggregate mobility patterns of New York City and Chicago to identify the relationship between the amount of interpersonal contact between people in urban neighborhoods and the disparity in the growth of positive cases among these groups. We introduce an aggregate Contact Exposure Index (CEI) to measure exposure due to this interpersonal contact and combine it with social distancing metrics to show its effect on positive case growth. With the help of structural equations modeling, we find that the effect of exposure on case growth was consistently positive and that it remained consistently higher in lower-income neighborhoods, suggesting a causal path of income on case growth via contact exposure. Using the CEI, schools and restaurants are identified as high-exposure industries, and the estimation suggests that implementing specific mobility restrictions on these point-of-interest categories are most effective. This analysis can be useful in providing insights for government officials targeting specific population groups and businesses to reduce infection spread as reopening efforts continue to expand across the nation.


The current trends in building clusters and supercomputers are to use medium-to-big symmetric multi-processors (SMP) nodes connected through a high-speed network. Applications need to accommodate to these execution environments using distributed and shared memory programming, and thus become hybrid. Hybrid applications are written with two or more programming models, usually message passing interface (MPI) [1,2] for the distributed environment and OpenMP [3,4] for the shared memory support. The goal of this chapter is to show how the two programming models can be made interoperable and ease the work of the programmer. Thus, instead of asking the programmers to code optimizations targeting performance, it is possible to rely on the good interoperability between the programming models to achieve high performance. For example, instead of using non-blocking message passing and double buffering to achieve computation-communication overlap, our approach provides this feature by taskifying communications using OpenMP tasks [5,6].


Introduction: Gutta-percha is the most commonly used material for root canal obturation; it has been recently manufactured with different tapers. The aim of this in vitro study was to compare microleakage of canals obturated with standard gutta-percha (0.02 taper) or the new 0.04 taper gutta-percha master cone using the cold lateral condensation technique. Materials and Methods: Forty-four extracted single rooted teeth were selected. The crowns were removed and all the canals were prepared using RaCe rotary files. The teeth were then divided into experimental (n=2) and control (n=2) groups. In the first study group, the teeth were obturated with 0.02 taper gutta-percha master cone and lateral condensation. In the second study group, the canals were obturated by 0.04 tapered master cones and the same obturation method. The degree of leakage was measured using fluid filtration method. Data were analyzed statistically by student t-test. Results: There was no significant difference between the mean microleakage of two experimental groups (P=0.558). Conclusion: Lateral condensation technique using 0.04 tapered master cones can provide an effective apical seal similar to 0.02 gutta-percha cones.


In 2005, Promenade Promotions undertook a Heritage Lottery Funded project that investigated the tradition of Pierrot troupes on the North Yorkshire coast. The project worked with four groups of young people in the county. Each group had an introductory workshop about this tradition, as well as training in research strategies and digital recording. They then carried out independent research focusing on particular coastal towns. They also accompanied The Pierrotters, Britain's last remaining Pierrot troupe, on a day of performance in the same town, recording interviews with audience members.

Having collected their material, each group created a small exhibition. The four separate exhibitions were then combined with archive material from Tony Lidington (founder member of The Pierrotters), to create a touring exhibition, currently on display at Ryedale Folk Museum.

The process therefore took performance as its focus and starting point, and worked from that towards a more conventional notion of museum presentation. The Pierrotters acted as a crucial factor in the interaction between participants and heritage, being the final practitioners of a tradition that has nearly vanished, and simultaneously a contemporary performance act.

For the participants, this (along with the regional focus of the project), enabled them to make connections between the present and the past. I would like to focus, in particular, on a class of learning disabled students from Goole College – usually the most disconnected of learners – and argue that through their research into performers and audiences, they were enabled to construct an identity that connected them historically, geographically and culturally with the present.


PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of autologous intraoral onlay bone grafting (OBG) in correlation with long-term survival rates of dental implants placed in the augmented bone.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A retrospective study was conducted on 214 patients who received a total of 633 dental implants placed in 224 autologous intraoral block OBG augmentations, combined with Bio-Oss - mixed with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and covered by platelet-poor plasma (PPP) - as scaffold, with a follow-up time up to 137 months (mean 39.9 ± 30.9 months).

RESULTS
A total of 216 OBG cases were successful (96.4%), and most of the augmentations were uneventful (88.4%). Bone graft exposure was moderately associated with bone graft failure (χ(2)  = 3.76, p = .052). The healing period after implant placement was 4-6 months (mean 5.6 ± 2.56). The majority of the 591 implants survived (93.4%). The cumulative survival rate of the implants was 83%.

CONCLUSIONS
We suggest that augmentation of severely atrophied jaw bone through the placement of horizontal and/or vertical intraoral OBGs in combination with Bio-Oss saturated with PRP and covered by PPP should be considered a reliable, safe, and very effective surgical technique for obtaining high bone graft survival rate and high long-term implant survival rate.


Background: Oral diseases remain to be global health problem. The common therapy involved the use of modern medicines with their various side effects. Citrus limon are potentials as anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-oxidant, anti-viral and anti-bacterial. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of ethyl acetate fraction of citrus limon peel extract on human gingival mesenchymal cell proliferation and palm commensal polybacterial growth. Method: This study was experimental study with post test only control group design. Citrus limon peel extracted and partitioned in order to obtain ethyl acetate fraction of 3.125%, 2.75%, 2.375%, 2%, and 1.5625%. Toxicity test was performed after 24 hours using the MTT Assays. Cell viability was measured by optical density formazonand read by ELISA reader 620 nm. Results: All treatment groups showed less than 60% cell viability. The highest cell was 19.36 (1.5625% concentration) and the lowest was 12.65 (3.125% concentration). The highest anti-bacterial inhibition value was 8.9125 mm (3.125% concentration) and the lowest was 6.0625 mm (1.5625% concentration). Conclusion: The higher concentration of ethyl acetate fraction Citrus limon peel extract, the higher toxicity and inhibitory properties against commensal palm polybacteria.


Infection of epithelial cells by two biovars of Chlamydia trachomatis results in the tyrosine phosphorylation of several host proteins. The most prominent change in host protein tyrosine phosphorylation involves a complex of proteins with molecular masses of 75 to 85 kDa (pp75/85) and 100 kDa (pp100). The C. trachomatis-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of pp75/85 and pp100 is observed in several cell lines, including epithelial cells, fibroblasts, and macrophages. Subcellular fractionation and detergent solubility properties of pp75/85 are consistent with its association with the cytoskeleton. Phosphoamino acid analysis demonstrates that the pp75/85 complex is phosphorylated on both tyrosine and serine residues. Immunofluorescence studies of chlamydia-infected cells by using fluorescein isothiocyanate-phalloidin and antibodies to phosphotyrosine and cortactin demonstrate that tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins, as well as cortactin, are localized to the chlamydial vacuole and that this process is facilitated by actin.


In this study, the effects of improvement methods on the mechanical and thermal properties of textile fiber reinforced (T-FRP) composites were investigated. Five different chemical methods namely, silane treatment, alkaline treatment, alkali–silane treatment, maleic anhydride, and alkali–maleic anhydride coupling agents were applied to evaluate the suitable process parameters (concentration, soaking time, ratio by weight) for the enhanced properties of T-FRP composites. Tensile, three-point flexural and impact tests were performed on both untreated and treated composites for comparison purpose. Treated and untreated T-FRP composites were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy to evaluate thermomechanical properties of composites. Results show that a significant improvement up to 60–70% can be seen on the mechanical properties of T-FRP composites via improving the interfacial adhesion and compatibility between fiber and matrix.


Among the various reasons for chronic posttraumatic ulnar-sided wrist pain, instability of the distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) has recently received major attention and finally achieved fundamental progress in understanding thanks to anatomic and biomechanical studies. This has resulted in more physiological and successful treatment methods compared with the historic options. One and the most dramatic surgical technique consists in the replacement of the main ligamentous stabilizer of the DRUJ, the so-called triangular fibrocartilage, with a tendon graft. On the basis of our experience, the refined surgical technique is presented as well as the results obtained in a retrospective consecutive case series of 48 patients with 48 wrists followed-up for 16 months in average (6 to 43) clinically and radiographically. Out of 48 unstable DRUJ's stability was restored in 44 patients associated with a significant pain relief by 1.44 points (on a scale 0 to 4). There was however a loss of forearm rotation of 20 degrees in average (pronation-8 degrees; supination-12 degrees), whereas the range of motion of the wrist and grip strength remained unchanged. We did not find any influence on the result by performing simultaneous ulnar shortening osteotomy, the duration of cast immobilization or the positioning in the cast. There were no postoperative complications, 4 failed cases needed secondary procedures (2× rereconstruction, 2× Sauvé-Kapandji-operation).


OBJECTIVE
To analyze the risk factors and prognosis related to early post-traumatic epilepsy (EPTE).

METHODS
One hundred and eighty-six patients with traumatic brain injury were enrolled. Their full clinical data were collected. Single factor analysis and logistic regression analysis of risk factors related to EPTE were performed. The prognosis of patients was determined.

RESULTS
Single factor analysis showed that there were significant differences of age (p = 0.011), epilepsy history (p < 0.001), injury site (p = 0.004), injury type (p < 0.001) and injury degree (p < 0.001) between the EPTE group (40 patients) and non-EPTE group (146 patients). Logistic regression analysis showed that the injury site, injury type and injury degree were the main risk factors for EPTE. The odds ratio values of injury site, injury type and injury degree were 1.977 (1.473-2.679), 2.096 (1.543-2.842) and 2.376 (1.864-3.609), respectively. The logistic regression equation was P = Exp (-1.473 + 0.698 × injury site + 0.717 × injury type + 0.935 × injury degree). The sensitivity and specificity of injury site, injury type and injury degree for predicting EPTE were 79.2% and 80.5%, 78.9% and 85.7% and 84.2% and 81.0%, respectively. The analysis of prognosis showed that the Glasgow Outcome Scale/Activity of Daily Living Scale scores in the EPTE group were significantly lower than those in non-EPTE group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Injury site, injury type and injury degree are the main risk factors for EPTE. The prognosis of patients with traumatic brain injury can be affected by EPTE.


A regional coupled atmosphere–ocean model is developed to study the monsoon climate over South Asia. Most of the climate models (both GCM and RCM) underestimate precipitation over South Asia, but overestimate precipitation over the Bay of Bengal and the equatorial Indian Ocean. These systematic differences between the models may be related to a fundamental problem of atmospheric models: the inability to simulate intraseasonal variability. The intraseasonal oscillations of the South Asian monsoon play a major role in influencing the seasonal mean monsoon characteristics and their interannual variability (Goswami and Mohan, 2001). Several GCM studies with focus on the South Asian monsoonal region have concluded that GCMs have difficulties in simulatingthe mean monsoon climate (Turner and Annamalai, 2012). RCMs do simulate better orographic induced precipitation, but also show limited ability to simulate the land precipitation (Lucas-Picher et al., 2011; Kumar et al., 2013). For this study, differences in coupled and uncoupled simulations are analyzed to investigate the effect of coupling on the simulated climate, especially precipitation spatial patterns.


In Japan, it was in the mid-1970s when women artists started to create their own professional theatre companies. This period also saw the development of the women's liberation movement in Japan, but there was no exchange between women theatre artists and activists. While the women artists explored a variety of issues in their work, with some few exceptions feminism was not their primary concern. This trend continues to this day, and accounts for why Tadashi Uchino argues that there has been no feminist theatre in Japan.


For the next generation optical internet to meet the growing traffic needs WDM technology is the key issue to realize high capacity networking infrastructure. In this paper an efficient algorithm is implemented for circuit switching in wide area networks. This algorithm known as semelightpath algorithm has been applied to ARPANET and NSFNET to estimate the blocking probability of a call via fully optical or optoelectronics conversion. Blocking probability has been computed for the above networks. This approach for WDM networks ensures full guaranteed restoration against single link failure on dedicated path protection with and without spare capacity sharing of a network.


The authors examine whether technical analysis has predictive power in the case of the OMX Iceland All-Share Index. If trading rules have predictive power, could a trader design a strategy to beat the profitability of the buy-and-hold strategy, considering transaction costs and risk? The authors use four trading rules and test their profitability in the case of the OMX Iceland All-Share Index for the period from April 30, 1999 through December 30, 2016. They first conclude that trading rules have predictive power. They then design four strategies for each trading rule and conclude that it is possible to exploit the predictive power of these rules. Finally, they consider both risk and transaction costs of various trading rules and find three rules—MA200, MA150, and MACD—that can beat the buy-and-hold strategy for the entire period and each subperiod, even considering risk and transaction costs.


Organised crime is traditionally viewed as a harmful anti-social phenomenon. However, in pockets of the Cape Flats it seems that a criminal elite gain community respect and support. This paper explores the origin of this support and contemplates the extent to which leaders of organised crime on the Flats can be considered 'social'. In particular, it explores how the criminal economy provides income and commodities, and how the criminal elite provide local governance and philanthropy. It is suggested that organised crime is indeed a rational response to urban crisis, and it does supply beneficial outcomes for the local community. Yet it is also argued that the social side of organised crime both relies on as well as coexists with its damaging and exploitative side. There is therefore a complex social contradiction to organised crime that has often been overlooked by traditional analysis.


Safety stock calculations are difficult for products with intermittent demand, long production lead times, and high monetary values. Theoretically, forecasts can be used to reduce the need for safety stocks. A high precision forecast minimizes the need for safety stock and forecast evaluation measurements can be used to calculate the safety stock level. However, a more realistic determination of safety stock levels can be obtained by simulation. In this paper, simulation is used to model and experiment on a case with three end products in order to determine the relationship between safety stock levels and service levels. Also, a comparison is made with theoretically calculated safety stocks to see how well basic theoretical models for safety stock calculations fulfill the requirements of service level. The result is that simulation can provide a much more accurate determination of safety stock levels for intermittent demands than theoretical calculations.


In this paper current usability evaluation methods are systematically examined and assessed. Thereupon, suitable evaluation methods are selected and applied in the evaluation of a learning management system. Usability evaluation methods can be distinguished in analytical and empirical procedures with either summative or formative objectives. A case example in the form of a usability evaluation of a learning management system is presented. The co-active e-learning platform koaLA provides teaching and learning material and integrates Web 2.0-technologies such as wikis, weblogs and forums. A cross-sectional survey revealed that although koaLA offers collaborative features, the majority of users of all user groups does not use them. Recommendations for koaLA are derived based on the qualitative and quantitative data from the survey.


RATIONALE
Measured at intensive care unit admission (ICU), the predictive value of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) for severe acute kidney injury (AKI) is unclear.

OBJECTIVES
To assess the ability of plasma and urine NGAL to predict severe AKI in adult critically ill patients.

METHODS
Prospective-cohort study consisting of 632 consecutive patients.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
Samples were analyzed by Triage immunoassay for NGAL expression. The primary outcome measure was occurrence of AKI based on Risk-Injury-Failure (RIFLE) classification during the first week of ICU stay. A total of 171 (27%) patients developed AKI. Of these 67, 48, and 56 were classified as RIFLE R, I, and F, respectively. Plasma and urine NGAL values at ICU admission were significantly related to AKI severity. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for plasma and urine NGAL were for RIFLE R (0.77 ± 0.05 and 0.80 ± 0.04, respectively), RIFLE I (0.80 ± 0.06 and 0.85 ± 0.04, respectively), and RIFLE F (0.86 ± 0.06 and 0.88 ± 0.04, respectively) and comparable with those of admission estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (0.84 ± 0.04, 0.87 ± 0.04, and 0.92 ± 0.04, respectively). Plasma and urine NGAL significantly contributed to the accuracy of the "most efficient clinical model" with the best four variables including eGFR, improving the area under the curve for RIFLE F prediction to 0.96 ± 0.02 and 0.95 ± 0.01. Serial NGAL measurements did not provide additional information for the prediction of RIFLE F.

CONCLUSIONS
NGAL measured at ICU admission predicts the development of severe AKI similarly to serum creatinine-derived eGFR. However, NGAL adds significant accuracy to this prediction in combination with eGFR alone or with other clinical parameters and has an interesting predictive value in patients with normal serum creatinine.


Over a hundred million people across the globe, and particularly in Asia, are chronicallyexposed to high concentrations (>10 ppb) of geogenic arsenic (As) in shallow reducinggroundwaters utilised as drinking water. It is widely accepted that As mobilisation fromsediments into these groundwater requires active metal-reducing microbes and electrondonors such as organic matter (OM). Although OM have been characterised in fewaquifers, there is a dearth of data on other As rich aquifers.In this work, we further investigate the correlation between As release from aquifers andthe OM/microbial communities present. The key findings of this work are:i. OM in Vietnamese and Taiwanese As hotspot areas originates from multiple sources.This is comparable to previous studies in Cambodia and West Bengal, indicating thatOM originates from similar sources in all the areas studied up to date, regardless ofthe age (Holocene/Pleistocene) and the sediment source (Himalayas/non-Himalayas).This suggests that similar electron donors, such as petroleum derived HMW nalkanes,are present in all these groundwater aquifer sediments.ii. No noticeable differences in OM biomarker distribution patterns were observedbetween sediments from two contrasting groundwater As concentration sites (e.g. <10 ppb; Pleistocene and up to 600 ppb; Holocene) in Vietnam, suggesting thatarsenic mobilisation is not associated with a specific OM source at these sites. Inaddition, no microbial activity was determined in these two sites suggesting thatother abiotic factors could lead to As release.iii. Microbiological process of dissimilatory As(V) reduction is active in microcosmexperiments using non-Himalayan Taiwanese sediments, despite low groundwaterAs concentrations, causing the release of As into the groundwater. However, Asrelease in these sediment slurries is not controlled by a specific source of the lipidderived OM, suggesting that other electron donors, not analysed in present studycould be contributing/controlling the rate of As release; and/or that multiple fractionsof the lipid derived OM are used as electron donors in this process.iv. Artificial maturation experiments indicated that a fully 13C-lablled kerogen analoguecan be obtained by using 13C-labelled cyanobacteria biomass as a starting material.However, this kerogen analogue had some differences when compared to the naturalmaterial, suggesting that an artificial degradation precursor step, prior to the actualmaturation process, might be required to generate analogues that better resemble thenatural kerogen.v. 13C-labelled substrates (hexadecane and kerogen) incubation experiments revealedthat As(III) release in all microcosms was microbially driven. Very low 13C-n-alkaneincorporation was observed in association with As release, suggesting that otherelectron donors could be mediating this process. In contrast, kerogen did not haveany effect on As release. Moreover, As(V) amendments enhanced the degradation ofthe shorter carbon chain length n-alkanes more than the longer ones, suggesting thatthese are more important electron donors in the process of As release than the longerones.


Abstract This paper reviews the application of plastered-bamboo wall (PBW) as an alternative wall construction to replace a conventional brick wall, that are evaluated based on thermal aspects. Brick as the material which is composed of a wall has a high value of density. High-density materials generally have a great heat capacity and contribute to raising the ambient air temperature. On a large scale, they can trigger the occurrence of a heat island phenomenon (UHI). PBW is a technique of wall construction, which are composed of bamboo as a frame and mortar as a frame cover. The thickness of the PBW ranges from 5 to 9 cm. PBW has a lower value of density than a brick wall. This study aims to test the thermal performance of PBW based on its constituent framework, which is divided into two groups of specimens, namely; bamboo woven, and bamboo array. The samples were tested in the field and arranged in such a way as to be exposed to solar radiation. In practice, the heat capacity of specimens was identified through its density. Meanwhile, the thermal performance of samples was identified through time lag (TL) by using thermocouple and globe thermometer. All the results indicate that specimens with bamboo array have better time lag value (longer time) than all specimens with bamboo woven.