This paper aims to construct new operation of approximation operators, and explore its calculation. First it proposes logical difference operation of variable precision lower approximation operator and grade upper approximation operator. Then regular algorithm and structural algorithm are proposed and analyzed, and furthermore, a conclusion is drawn that structural algorithm has advantages in time complexity and space complexity. Finally a practical example is given to illustrate the new operation and its algorithms.


A series of six biochemical markers of cyanide toxicity (dopamine release, hydroperoxide generation, cytosolic-free calcium levels, catalase activity, cytochrome oxidase activity, and superoxide dismutase activity) in cultured rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells were used to establish a screen for evaluation of potential anticyanide compounds. Thirty-nine substances, including anticonvulsants, adrenergic blockers, antioxidants, and antipsychotics were tested and ranked according to the results. Based on the composite scoring in all six assays, carbamazepine, mannitol, allopurinol, and phenytoin were ranked as the most effective anticyanide compounds. Additionally, known cyanide antidotes (e.g., pyruvate, mercaptopyruvate, alpha-ketoglutarate, naloxone, and flunarizine) obtained relatively high ranking in the PC12 cell screen. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between protective effects (based on LD50s) of cyanide antidotes in mice and ranking in the in vitro screen. This study illustrates that by assaying a series of biochemical markers in a neuronal-type cell line, a rapid, cost-effective in vitro toxicological screen is possible. Several compounds have been identified which inhibit the biochemical effects of cyanide and may be used to enhance effectiveness of the standard cyanide antidotes.


For disposal of the shipwrecks in the coastal and inland waterways timely and properly to ensure navigable vessels safely and smoothly, the process and mechanism of navigable vessels collision with shipwrecks was analyzed and shipwreck accident probabilistic risk assessment model was established based on event tree analysis. Assuming the traffic pattern in normal distribution, geometric probability of navigable vessels into collision route was determined according to the location of shipwreck. Reference deviation probability was employed to describe the failure probability of collision avoidance due to abnormal navigable vessels and was determined according to the historic accidents at domestic and abroad waterways, taking into account wind, current, visibility, passageways and traffic density for correction. The model was proved to be practical and operational for shipwreck treatment decision support in specific waterways.


Abstract We examine the condition‐dependence of male genitalia in the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus by manipulating the quality of dung provided for larval growth and development. We show that the influence of larval nutrition differed considerably across three different trait classes (sexual, nonsexual and genital). The size of all nonsexual traits varied with dung quality but their allometric slopes remained unchanged. Relative horn length and allometry, but not absolute horn length, showed a high degree of plasticity with differences in dung quality. In contrast, both absolute size and allometry of genitalia were largely unresponsive to changes in dung quality. Male genitalia exhibited intermediate levels of phenotypic variation and lower allometric slopes than both horns and nonsexual traits. Thus, our findings provide little support for good genes hypotheses of genital evolution. We use our findings to discuss a developmental mechanism and selection pressures that may prevent the condition‐dependent expression of genitalia.


The damselfly family Coenagrionidae is rather frequently found in the Cenozoic fossil record (Nel & Paicheler, 1993), but it remains unknown in the Mesozoic. The known fossils are generally isolated wings, very difficult to accurately attribute to precise genera, to the point that many fossils can be only considered as 'genera and species undetermined' (Nel et al., 1997). The oldest described coenagrionid fossil is the late Palaeocene Marado marado Petrulevičius, 2021 (Maíz Gordo Formation, Argentina), a genus and species based on an isolated incomplete wing. Thus, other Eocene representatives of the family are important for future accurate dating of the occurrence of the family and its subdivisions, especially those that have been attributed to extant genera; a future step after the important work of Dijkstra et al. (2014) for the understanding of the evolution of these damselflies.


Purpose The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effect of bilingual narrative intervention on vocabulary gains in Hebrew (school language) and English (home language) among English-Hebrew bilinguals, using a block design (one language at a time), and to determine whether there was cross-linguistic transfer to the language that was not receiving intervention. Method Sixteen English-Hebrew bilingual children participated in the study using an adaptation of the Puente de Cuentos intervention. Vocabulary was examined using a word definition task before the intervention, post English intervention, post Hebrew intervention, and 4 weeks after the interventions ended to examine maintenance of skills. Results Repeated-measures analyses of variance revealed that children made significant gains in vocabulary in the language of intervention as expected. In addition, children made cross-linguistic gains in Hebrew during the English intervention, but made no gains in English following Hebrew intervention. Conclusion These results underscore the need to provide language support in the home language to ensure growth and that intervention in the home language does not hinder growth in the school language.


This paper uses real exchange rate variability and the adjustment time for real exchange rate changes to assess the viability of adopting the euro for the nine European countries. The results suggest that Croatia and Lithuania are the only European Union countries that have convergence and minimal real exchange rate volatility when shocks occur. The persistence of real exchange rate changes and slow adjustment times suggest that the viability of euro zone membership for Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Iceland requires greater integration. The results also indicate that the costs associated with adopting a common currency are high for Romania and Turkey.


To the Editor.—Since the reintroduction of fat emulson into the marketplace, surgeons have expressed interest in the compatibility of the product with the dextrose, amino acids, and electrolytes that comprise the balance of total parenteral nutrition regimens. Reports1from Europe have inferred that no overt toxicity is associated with chronic infusion of admixtures containing all these elements; however, these reports lacked a component to characterize the emulsion's ability to withstand the nutrient additives over time. This is a serious consideration since studies2with earlier intravenous (IV) emulsion products found the emulsions to cream and flocculate when admixed with salts of sodium, potassium, and calcium ions. These flocculated products were subsequently found to produce considerable adverse effects (eg, chest pressure, precordial pain, nausea, backache, and dyspnea) on IV infusion. This communication then, is intended to briefly report research undertaken to assess and predict the compatibility of the IV soybean oil


The detection and identification of buried inhomogeneities using electromagnetic waves are of crucial importance for many nondestructive testing applications. The paper deals with two different inversion algorithms for microwave tomography. First, a qualitative algorithm based on diffraction tomography for detecting the buried object, and second, a quantitative algorithm for reconstructing the complex permittivity profile of the object. The backscattered field is measured at different frequencies over a probing line above or in contact with the soil at different receiver locations and for difference positions of a transmitting antenna (multistatic configuration). The two reconstruction algorithms process the backscattered field generated by the buried inhomogeneities and incorporate the incident near-field radiation pattern transmitted in the soil by the broadband antenna. Tomographic reconstructions of buried objects are presented for a situation of practical interest using bow-tie antennas in the frequency band 0.3-1.3 GHz


With an underlying common theme of competing length scales, we study the many-body Schrödinger equation in a quasiperiodic potential and discuss its connection with the Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM) problem of classical mechanics. We propose a possible visualization of such connection in experimentally accessible many-body observables. Those observables are useful probes for the three characteristic phases of the problem: the metallic, Anderson and band insulator phases. In addition, they exhibit fingerprints of nonlinear phenomena such as bifurcations and devil's staircases. Our numerical treatment is complemented with a perturbative analysis which provides insight on the underlying physics. The perturbation theory approach is particularly useful in illuminating the distinction between the Anderson insulator and the band insulator phases in terms of paired sets of dimerized states.


This study surveyed predoctoral and postdoctoral pediatric dental programs, to determine what behavior management techniques are being taught. The expected didactic and clinical proficiency levels were determined for behavior management techniques in four categories: sedation, restraint, parental presence, and communicative behavior management. Postdoctoral programs expect clinical proficiency in most of the 20 selected management techniques while predoctoral programs expect clinical basic competency in some techniques and do not teach others. Both program levels emphasize communicative behavior management techniques. A high percentage of both programs anticipate no change in the teaching of most of the 20 selected techniques. For both types of programs, less emphasis or elimination of "hand-over-mouth" techniques but more emphasis on parental presence for the introductory visit, using positive reinforcement, and using age-appropriate language and descriptions is anticipated. The two most influential factors affecting these anticipated changes were parental preference and changing standards in pediatric dentistry.


Sand culture was conducted to study the root morphologic characteristics and physiological indices in two rice cultivars with different N use efficiency(NUE),Nanguang with high NUE and Elio with low NUE,under two N rates(1 and 5mmol L-1).The results obtained were listed as follows.Compared to Elio,grain yields of Nanguang were more than 50% under two N rates.Nitrogen and biomass accumulation in rice cultivars increased with increasing N application rates But nitrogen and biomass accumulation of Nanguang were much greater than these of Elio at the latter growth stages.The root morphologic characteristics in high NUE rice cultivar(Nanguang) had more sensitive responses to high N application rates than the low NUE rice cultivar(Elio).Compared to N application rate of 1mmol L-1,root lengths were 127% greater in Nanguang and 92% greater in Elio under N rate of 5mmol L-1;and root surface areas were 114% greater in Nanguang and 82% greater in Elio.Root morphological characteristics of Elio with low NUE rice cultivar,decreased more rapidly than Nanguang after the heading stage.Root bleeding rates of Elio were lower than that of Nanguang at different growth stages.Compared to Elio,root bleeding rate of Nanguang were 11%(1mmol L-1)and 32%(5mmol L-1)greater at jointing stage and 17%(1mmol L-1)and 18%(5mmol L-1)greater at heading stage.It was concluded that efficient N use of rice cultivar depended to a great extent on greater root morphological characteristics and stronger root physiological activity.


Congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN) are benign pigmented lesions found in about 1% of all newborns or shortly after birth. Giant melanocytic nevi, with multifocal involvement, show significantly greater risk of developing malignant melanomas and neurocutaneous melanosis (NCM), particularly in a posterior axial location. NCM is a rare congenital disease characterized by multiple (≥3) small nevi, or at least one large congenital melanocytic nevus in combination with cerebral and/or leptomeningeal melanin deposits or melanoma. Dandy-Walker malformation (DWM) consists of a cystic dilatation of the fourth ventricle, hypoplasia or aplasia of the cerebellar vermis, and enlarged posterior fossa with or without hydrocephalus. The association of DWM and NCM has rarely been reported in the literature. A 3 month-old girl presented with increased head circumference and multiple various sized black plaques on her whole body. She underwent a ventriculoperitoneal shunt operation when she was 2 months-old. A skin biopsy was taken from the largest and darkest plaque of the trunk and showed hyperpigmentation of the basal layer of the epidermis. The dermis contained nevus cells in nests and sheets throughout the dermis, but no cellular atypia was noted. Magnetic resonance image (MRI) of the brain revealed severe hydrocephalus with hypoplasia of cerebellar vermis and agenesis of cerebellar tonsil which are consistent with Dandy-Walker malformation. We recommended a spinal MRI for check up the presence of leptomeningeal melanosis, but could not evaluate the result because of her being adapted. Herein, we present a rare case of multiple congenital melanocytic nevi in association with DWM in a neonate. (Korean J Dermatol 2012;50(1):60∼66)


Children can be difficult to deal with in certain circumstances which can cause stress for parents or caregivers. Inappropriate care that does not fulfill the rights of children, can turn to child emotional abuse. In 2016 there were 1000 cases of child abuse in Indonesia, but based on data from the Komisi Perlindungan Anak Indonesia (KPAI) emotional abuse was the least common type of abuse every year. Actually, this form of abuse in children is common but few know it and are rarely given intervention. Ontheotherhand, emotional abuse is a type of abuse that can occur separately from other types of abuse and is still a little being studied. The purpose of this paper is to see an overview of the impact of child emotional abuse and the dynamics of the impact. This research was conducted using literary study by sorting out journals about child emotional abuse then analyzing them. From the results of the analysis, it can be seen that the effects of child emotional abuse are anxiety, antisocial behavior and delinquency, aggressive behavior, explicit and automatic negative self-associations, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, obesity, suicidal ideas, PTSD, depression, headaches, risky sexual behavior, bulimia nervosa, schizophrenia, self-inflicted injuries, ischaemic heart disease, type 2 diabetes, insecure attachment, and dating abuse in adolescence. Keyword s : Children, Parenting, Child Emotional Abuse


The combination of granulocyte‐macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) and interleukin‐4 (IL‐4) induces the growth of antigen‐presenting cells (APC) from adherent peripheral blood leukocytes. These cells have been characterized as dendritic cells (DC), yet many questions exist regarding their relationship to other DC populations and the nature of their progenitors. To address these issues, we utilized a combination of immunomagnetic depletion, cell sorting, and cell culture to isolate four distinct APC populations; macrophages expressing high levels of CD14 (CD14bright macrophages), DC produced by culturing adherent cells in GM‐CSF and IL‐4 (cultured DC), and two different subsets of fresh DC that express low levels of CD14 (CD14dim DC). Each population exhibited a unique morphology and a unique profile of cell surface markers. In contrast to macrophages, all three DC populations expressed the DC marker CD83, as well as high levels of MHC molecules and the costimulatory molecules B7‐1 (CD80) and B7‐2 (CD86). In addition, all three DC populations presented soluble tetanus toxin antigen and stimulated T cell proliferation to levels far superior to that of macrophages. Blocking studies demonstrated a costimulatory role for B7‐1, B7‐2, and CD40 in antigen presentation, although B7‐2 expression was the single most important factor. To identify the progenitors of cultured DC, we sorted the adherent fraction of PBMC into discrete subpopulations prior to exposure to GM‐CSF and IL‐4. DC activity derived entirely from CD14+ precursors and was equally demonstrable using either the CD14dim or CD14bright subsets. Although these DC precursors lost expression of CD14 in culture, they maintained most of their other myeloid features. We conclude that human CD14+ leukocytes acquire the phenotype and function of DC when cultured in GM‐CSF and IL‐4.


Porous silicon nitride ceramics with various amounts (25, 35, and 45 vol %) of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) were fabricated at 1800°C for 2h by the pressureless sintering process. With FESEM and TEM, the effects of h-BN on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Si3N4 ceramics were investigated. Results of the microstructure and mechanical properties of Si3N4/BN composites showed that the growth of the elongated β-Si3N4 were hindered by h-BN additive, which resulted in the decrease of fracture toughness of Si3N4/BN ceramics with increasing h-BN content. The morphologies of the fracture surfaces by FESEM revealed the fracture mode for Si3N4/BN composites to be intergranular. However, phase analysis by XRD indicated that the effect of h-BN on the α- to β- Si3N4 phase transformation of Si3N4/BN composites was negligible.


Following its approval for use in man, an unblinded, unrandomized epidemiological study of isoflurane anaesthesia was undertaken in the United States and Canada. The haemodynamic and reflex behaviour of 6798 patients were compared with their demographic characteristics and the anaesthetic drugs used. The decrease in arterial pressure and the increase in heart rate during isoflurane anaesthesia were confirmed. Intraoperative arrhythmias were most often associated with a history of similar arrhythmia before operation, as well as the occurrence of intraoperative hypertension. Airway reflexes were the predominant form of reflex activity identified, with coughing being the most frequently observed reflex. Serious complications were infrequent, and were unrelated to the use of isoflurane as the anaesthetic agent. The safety and efficacy of isoflurane anaesthesia in man was confirmed.


Objective—To estimate the prevalence of gun ownership and methods of gun storage in homes of pediatric patients before and after an educational intervention. Design—Before and after trial. Setting—Hospital based, inner city, pediatric primary care practice. Participants—Consecutive sample of parents of patients with appointments August to November 1994. Intervention—Before the intervention, participants completed an anonymous questionnaire regarding ownership and storage of guns in their home. The intervention followed the Steps to Prevent Firearm Injury program of the American Academy of Pediatrics. It began after the parent completed the questionnaire and was reinforced at subsequent visits until July 1995. Families completing a baseline questionnaire and returning to the office July to October 1995 were resurveyed. Main outcome measure—Reported change in gun ownership and methods of storage. Results—A gun(s) in the home was reported by 8.7% of respondents. Matched baseline and follow up questionnaires were available for 23.6% of families. In these, gun ownership reportedly decreased after intervention from 9.4% to 7.0%, handgun ownership fell from 5.4% to 3.0%, and long gun ownership fell from 6.1% to 5.5%. Storing guns outside of a locked container did not change from the baseline prevalence of 2.7%, but keeping any gun loaded fell from 1.6% to 0.5%. All p values were >0.05. Conclusion—This study was unable to demonstrate a statistically significant decline in gun ownership or improvement in gun storage after a practice based intervention designed to encourage these behaviors.


The 2-Dimensional Video Disdrometer (2DVD) is a commonly used tool for exploring rain microphysics and for validating remotely sensed rain retrievals. Recent work has revealed a persistent anomaly in 2DVD data. Early investigations of this anomaly concluded that the resulting errors in rain measurement were modest, but the methods used to flag anomalous data were not optimized, and related considerations associated with the sample sensing area were not fully investigated. Here, we (i) refine the anomaly-detecting algorithm for increased sensitivity and reliability and (ii) develop a related algorithm for refining the estimate of sample sensing area for all detected drops, including those not directly impacted by the anomaly. Using these algorithms, we explore the corrected data to measure any resulting changes to estimates of bulk rainfall statistics from two separate 2DVDs deployed in South Carolina combining for approximately 10 total years of instrumental uptime. Analysis of this data set consisting of over 200 million drops shows that the error induced in estimated total rain accumulations using the manufacturer-reported area is larger than the error due to considerations related to the anomaly. The algorithms presented here imply that approximately 4.2% of detected drops are spurious and the mean reported effective sample area for drops believed to be correctly detected is overestimated by ~8.5%. Simultaneously accounting for all of these effects suggests that the total accumulated rainfall in the data record is approximately 1.1% larger than the raw data record suggests.


One popular model of concurrent computing is threads-based parallel programming on a shared memory parallel computer. A variety of di erent vendors and machines provide such capabilities, and support for threads programming has begun to appear in desktop multiprocessor systems such as the Sun SPARCstation 20. Unfortunately, building parallel programs that use threads is still quite challenging, even for veteran serial programmers. This stems from the di culty of controlling communication and synchronization between the di erent processes. We believe that the use of program visualization tools that graphically depict the state of a program's execution can help programmers develop, debug, and understand their code faster and more easily. Most program visualization systems for parallel computation have focused on performance views and views of message passing systems. Here, we introduce a presentation methodology and a set of views particularly appropriate for depicting the execution of threads-based parallel programs. These views were created speci cally for the pthreads programming library on a KSR machine, but they could easily be adapted to other threads-based systems. We also describe our techniques for gathering program execution data to drive the views, and we discuss what an ideal program tracing environment should provide to support the views we developed.


This paper presents a measurement circuit structure for capturing SET pulse-width suppressing pulse-width modulation and within-die process variation effects. For mitigating pulse-width modulation while maintaining area efficiency, the proposed circuit uses massively parallelized short inverter chains as a target circuit. Moreover, for each inverter chain on each die, pulse-width calibration is performed. In measurements, narrow SET pulses ranging 5 ps to 215 ps were obtained. We confirm that an overestimation of pulse-width may happen when ignoring die-to-die and within-die variation of the measurement circuit. Our evaluation results thus point out that calibration for within-die variation in addition to die-to-die variation of the measurement circuit is indispensable. key words: soft error, single event transient (SET), pulse-width, pulsewidth modulation, measurement circuit, within-die process variation


The standard H/sub 2/ optimal filtering problem considers the estimation of a certain output based on the measured output when the input is a zero mean white noise stochastic process of known intensity. In this paper, the inputs are considered to be of two types. The first type of input, as in standard H/sub 2/ optimal filtering, is a zero mean wide sense stationary white noise, while the second type is a linear combination of sinusoidal signals each of which has an unknown amplitude and phase but known frequency. Under such inputs, a generalized H/sub 2/ optimal filtering problem is formulated here. As in the standard H/sub 2/ optimal filtering problem, the generalized H/sub 2/ optimal filtering problem seeks to find a linear stable unbiased filter (called the generalized H/sub 2/ optimal filter) that estimates a desired output while utilizing the measured output such that the H/sub 2/ norm of the transfer matrix from the white noise input to the estimation error is minimized. The analysis, design, and performance limitations of generalized H/sub 2/ optimal filters are presented here.


High Resolution Robust GPS-free Localization for Wireless Sensor Networks and its Applications Mohammed Aquil Mirza In this thesis we investigate the problem of robustness and scalability w.r.t. estimating the position of randomly deployed motes/nodes of a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) with out the help of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. We propse a few applications of range independent localization algorithms that allows the sensors to actively determine their location with high resolution without increasing the complexity of the hardware or any additional device setup. In our first application we try to present a localized and centralized cooperative spectrum sensing using RF sensor networks. This scheme collaboratively sense the spectrum and localize the whole network efficiently and with less difficulty. In second application we try to focus on how efficiently we can localize the nodes, to detect underwater threats, without the use of beacons. In third application we try to focus on 3-Dimensional localization for LTE systems. Our performance evaluation shows that these schemes lead to a significant improvement in localization accuracy compared to the state-of-art range independent localization schemes, without requiring GPS support.


Gesture recognition is a topic of immense interest in the field of computing and image processing involving numerous factors and constraints nevertheless yielding remarkable simplification of various human affairs. In this work, the problem of gesture recognition is narrowed down to that of hand gesture recognition and specifically deals with finger count extraction to facilitate further processing using the control so effected. A hand gesture recognition system has been developed, wherein the finger count in a certain input hand image is computed in accordance with a simple yet effective procedure. The problem of hand gesture recognition is solved by means of adopting a lucid albeit efficient algorithm which has been implemented using the Xilinx System Generator software tool. The algorithm followed is invariant to rotation and scale of the hand. The approach involves segmenting the hand based on skin color statistics and applying certain constraints to classify pixels as skin and non skin regions.


The relationship between breast feeding and socioeconomic factors in children below 2 from different social classes in Sao Paulo Brazil is analyzed. Of a total 200 children 46 were malnourished and 31 belonged to the lower socioeconomic classes. 39% of mothers from the lower income families breastfed for 6 months as compared to 13% of mothers from families with higher incomes 18% and 36% of mothers from the 2 classes did not breastfeed; mothers from the middle class breastfed for an average 28 days. The problem of protein-calorie malnutrition in young children is a growing one in Brazil even in a relatively rich city such as Sao Paulo; one of the factors responsible for this problem is undoubtedly early weaning. Reasons given for early weaning in a group of 351 mothers were deficient amount of milk (49.6%) medical advice (11.1%) "bad" milk (14.3%) and only 1.4% because of occupation outside of the home. When interviewed about their opinion on the best type of milk for infants 45% out of a group of 500 mothers indicated artificial milk 37% maternal milk and 16.2% cows milk. Out of 492 mothers 77% had 4 prenatal visits at a public health center 11% had no prenatal visits and 12% had 1-3 visits. Prenatal care does not influence attitude in favor of breast feeding; 45.5% of mothers who had not had any prenatal care breastfed for 6 months or more as compared to 20% of those with 1-3 visits and 17.5% of those with 4 visits. Those who delivered in a hospital tended to breastfeed more than those who delivered at home. It is obvious that not only mothers but health workers as well must be educated on the importance of breast feeding to fight infant malnutrition in Brazil. (summaries in ENG SPA)


This study evaluated the hematological response of Pimelodus maculatus captured in two environments with different levels of pollution in the Itajaí-Açu river, Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil. One of them, hereby named reference site, is a water captation site that supplies the city of Blumenau, in which the riparian forest is preserved and there is no sewage discharge. The other, denominated polluted site, is characterized by discharge of domestic sewage. After water quality analysis, fish were captured, transported to the laboratory and anesthetized for the hematological exam. In the polluted site, the most probable number of fecal coliforms and water transparency were respectively higher and lower than that observed at the reference site. The main results were an increased percentage of hematocrit and reduced numbers of lymphocytes and monocytes in the differential counting in fish from the polluted site. Red blood cells, total white blood cells and total counting of thrombocytes did not vary between environments. The number of neutrophils remained at high levels in fish from both environments. This study demonstrated that water quality might affect the hematological parameters in free-living fish.


In order to combat the disruption caused by COVID-19, it is essential for the company's operations to implement flexibility and responsiveness in their work. In this study, the researchers will investigate the effect of these two variables on the financial performance of the company. The current study evaluates the data obtained from 215 manufacturing companies in Malaysia. The data is collected and analysed using PLS-SEM in order to provide an in-depth look at the issue. The results show that flexibility and responsiveness are positively related to a company's financial condition. The primary contribution of this study is to provide the management of company with a ground-breaking idea of dealing with a pandemic situation in the current business environment. A company's capacity to survive also depends on planning changes, particularly those that affect supply chain management and production operations. When making tough decisions, managers must be less rigid and more flexible. Demand management, inventory management, supply chain management, and operation management are some of the things that call for flexibility and responsiveness. The business will experience losses if they are unable to meet the demands of the COVID-19 era and maintain business operations. Of course, this will have an impact on the company's financial performance.


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With heat flux increasing and cooling space decreasing in the products in microelectronics and chemical engineering, micro heat pipe has become an ideal heat radiator for products with high heat flux. Through analyzing the factors influencing the structure, strength and heat transfer limits of circular micro heat pipe with trapezium-grooved wick structure, the heat transfer models are established in this paper, including the models of viscous limit, sonic limit, entrainment limit, capillary limit, condensing limit, boiling limit, continuous flow limit and frozen startup limit. The study lays a powerful theoretical foundation for the design and manufacture of circular micro heat pipe with a trapezium-grooved wick structure.


Designer proteins deprived of its IgE-binding reactivity are being sought as a regimen for allergen-specific immunotherapy. Although shrimp tropomyosin (Met e 1) has long been identified as the major shellfish allergen, no immunotherapy is currently available. In this study, we aim at identifying the Met e 1 IgE epitopes for construction of hypoallergens and to determine the IgE inhibitory capacity of the hypoallergens. IgE-binding epitopes were defined by three online computational models, ELISA and dot-blot using sera from shrimp allergy patients. Based on the epitope data, two hypoallergenic derivatives were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis (MEM49) and epitope deletion (MED171). Nine regions on Met e 1 were defined as the major IgE-binding epitopes. Both hypoallergens MEM49 and MED171 showed marked reduction in their in vitro reactivity towards IgE from shrimp allergy patients and Met e 1-sensitized mice, as well as considerable decrease in induction of mast cell degranulation as demonstrated in passive cutaneous anaphylaxis assay. Both hypoallergens were able to induce Met e 1-recognizing IgG antibodies in mice, specifically IgG2a antibodies, that strongly inhibited IgE from shrimp allergy subjects and Met e 1-sensitized mice from binding to Met e 1. These results indicate that the two designer hypoallergenic molecules MEM49 and MED171 exhibit desirable preclinical characteristics, including marked reduction in IgE reactivity and allergenicity, as well as ability to induce blocking IgG antibodies. This approach therefore offers promises for development of immunotherapeutic regimen for shrimp tropomyosin allergy.


Oxidative stress is a cellular threat which puts at risk the productivity of most of crops valorized by humankind in terms of food, feed, biomaterial, or bioenergy. It is therefore of crucial importance to understand the mechanisms by which plants mitigate the deleterious effects of oxidizing agents. Glycosylation of antioxidant molecules and phytohormones modifies their chemical properties as well as their cellular and histological repartition. This review emphasizes the mechanisms and the outcomes of this conjugation reaction on plant ability to face growing conditions favoring oxidative stress, in mirror with the activity of deglycosylating enzymes. Pioneer evidence bridging flavonoid, glycosylation, and redox homeostasis paved the way for numerous functional analyses of UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs), such as the identification of their substrates and their role to circumvent oxidative stress resulting from various environmental challenges. (De)glycosylation appears as a simple chemical reaction regulating the biosynthesis and/or the activity of a myriad of specialized metabolites partaking in response to pathogen and abiotic stresses. This outcome underlies the possibility to valorize UGTs potential to upgrade plant adaptation and fitness in a rising context of sub-optimal growing conditions subsequent to climate change.


Long- and short-term Late Pliocene climate variations were studied at North Atlantic Sites (S.) ODP 984 and DSDP 609, supplemented by published records from S. 907 and S. 610. Foraminiferal ?18O records provided the base for stable-isotope stratigraphy. Deepwater and sea surface temperatures (SST) were reconstructed from Mg/Ca values of benthic and planktic foraminifera. Epibenthic ?___ variations were used as tracers of deepwater ventilation. Counts of ice rafted detritus served to trace back the initiation of the Greenland ice-sheet. In addition, counts of benthic foraminifera (M. Weinelt) served as tracer for primary production. Chapter 1 shows that the onset of northern hemisphere glaciation (NHG), in particular on Greenland occurred only slighty after, hence as a result of the final closure of the Central American Seaways, which led to an increase in Caribbean sea surface salinity by up to 0.9‰. A first step occurred 2.95-2.82 Ma (marine istotope stage – MIS – G16-11), a second step 2.75-2.73 Ma (MIS G6), in total amounting to ~90 m of glacial sea-level fall. The first step was coeval with an intensified Atlantic thermohaline circulation (0.2-0.3‰ increase in benthic ?13C; 2-3°C increase in SST), leading to enhanced snow precipitation in northern high-latitudes. Chapter 2 documents millennial-scale climate variations prior and after the onset of NHG at Site 984 to test the hypothesis that Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) cycles of 1470 yr (and their multiples) are linked to ice-breakouts and meltwater incursions from northern hemisphere ice-sheets. On the long term, periodicities of 1300, 950, and 450 yr prevail, which closely resemble solar cycles of the Holocene. The same applies to selected glacial stages prior to the onset of NHG and to interglacial stages in general. However, glacial stages after the onset of NHG (MIS G14, G6, and 104) show periodicities near 1.47, 2.9 and 4.4 kyr, DO-like periodicities which thus occur in the presence of large northern hemisphere ice-sheets only, and as result of ice breakouts. Chapter 3 (with M. Weinelt as first author) reports on changes in surface productivity prior and after the onset of NHG. A distinct benthic faunal turnover started at ~2.75 Ma and culminated at 2.70 Ma (MIS G6), precisely coeval with a 0.6-‰ drop in ?___ and a cooling of Upper North Atlantic Deep Water. Prior to MIS G6, the benthic fauna at Site 984 was characteristic of high nutrient fluxes as recorded by Bolivina pacifica, a benthic taxa that abruptly disappeared during early MIS G6, being replaced by Cassidulina teretis, a fauna adapted to low and irregular food supply. This faunal turnover may record a drop in North Atlantic primary production, resulting from enhanced seasonality and/or surface water stratification. Chapter 4 and 5 summarize the results of IODP Expedition 303 "North Atlantic Climate I" in which I participated as sedimentologist to supplement the results on the onset of NHG outlined above with high-quality sediment cores from the Northwest Atlantic, in particular, from Site U1307 off the southern tip of Greenland. It will provide new insights into the history of the East Greenland Current and deepwater sources in the Labrador Sea with a time resolution of 300 years.


Comprehensive assessment of the virtual water trade of Germany with the world is performed and the national water footprint through the trade of crop and livestock products from 1991 to 2016 is assessed. Virtual water flows based on 328 products with more than 200 countries indicate Germany as a net virtual water importer. Average virtual water import was 100.5 Bm3/y, virtual water export was 60.2 Bm3/y and net virtual water import was 40.3 Bm3/y. Trade patterns of virtual water transfer differ for the various commodity types. Trade between Germany and the world implies a global water loss of 5.9 Bm3/y. This study portrays that trade between countries is not only related to the economics but interlinked with the agricultural water use and management practices of the respective nations. Sustainable management of the resources will require a collective consideration of the agricultural, water and economic sectors while developing strategies.


It is well known in standard economic literature that nominal frictions have significant impact on the transmission mechanism of monetary policy. This paper considers a closed economy version of DSGE model with various nominal frictions vis-a-vis monetary-cumfiscal blocks to seek the basic query that how monetary policy impacts while in the presence of nominal frictions, like price stickiness, staggered wages, etc. Using Bayesian Simulation techniques, we estimate the model for the closed economy . Our simulation results show that despite the apparent similarities of various frictions, their responses to shocks and fit to data are quite different and there is no agreement on their relative performance. As a result, Monetary Authorities cannot afford to rely on a single reference model which contains few nominal frictions of the economy but need to model a large number of alternative ways available when they take their decision of optimal monetary policy.


The role of aquaculture in meeting the increasing demand for fish all over the World cannot be over emphasized. The study investigated types of improved aquaculture technologies used by the fish farmers in Oyo State. A  structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 117 (60%) fish farmers randomly selected from the two out of three Agricultural Development Programme (OYSADP) zones in the state for the study. The data were analyzed using descriptive methods of frequency counts and percentages. Results showed that 98.2% of fish farmers culture fish in earthen ponds, for commercial and home consumption (92.3%). Major production practices include stocking density of two fishes/m 2 (98.3%), water quality management (99.1%) and fish feeding (100%). Key word : Aquaculture, production practices, fish farmers, technologies, Oyo State


At Albert Einstein College of Medicine a large part of online lecture materials contain PostScript files. As the collection grows it becomes essential to create a digital library to have easy access to relevant sections of the lecture material that is full-text indexed; to create this index it is necessary to extract all the text from the document files that constitute the originals of the lectures. In this study we present a semi automatic indexing method using robust technique for extracting text from PostScript files and National Library of Medicine's Medical Text Indexer (MTI) program for indexing the text. This model can be applied to other medical schools for indexing purposes.


Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) have been deployed in many areas. There is an increasing demand for supporting a large number of mobile users in WMNs. As one of the key components in mobility management support, location management serves the purpose of tracking mobile users and locating them prior to establishing new communications. Previous dynamic location management schemes proposed for cellular and wireless local area networks (WLANs) cannot be directly applied to WMNs due to the existence of multihop wireless links in WMNs. Moreover, new design challenges arise when applying location management for silently roaming mobile users in the mesh backbone. Considering the number of wireless hops, an important factor affecting the performance of WMNs, we propose a DoMaIN framework that can help mobile users to decide whether an intra- or intergateway location update (LU) is needed to ensure the best location management performance (i.e., packet delivery) among dynamic location management solutions. In addition, by dynamically guiding mobile users to perform LU to a desirable location entity, the proposed DoMaIN framework can minimize the location management protocol overhead in terms of LU overhead in the mesh backbone. Furthermore, DoMaIN brings extra benefits for supporting a dynamic hop-based LU triggering method that is different from previous dynamic LU triggering schemes proposed for cellular networks and WLANs. We evaluate the performance of DoMaIN in different case studies using OPNET simulations. Comprehensive simulation results demonstrate that DoMaIN outperforms other location management schemes and is a satisfactory location management solution for a large number of mobile users silently and arbitrarily roaming under the wireless mesh backbone.


Dipterocarps (Dipterocarpaceae) is a dominant tree family of tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia. Dipterocarps have been exploited for its timber and disappearing fast in East Kalimantan. In this study, we predicted the distribution of dipterocarpus, one of the main dipterocarps genera, by evaluating its habitat suitability using logistic regression analysis with specimen collection points and environmental factors from GIS data. Current distribution of dipterocarpus was generated by combining the habitat suitability classes with an updated forest cover map. Rainfall, soil type, followed by elevation was the main factors that influence the distribution of dipterocarpus in East Kalimantan. Dipterocarpus can be found in a quarter of the current forest cover, which is highly suitable as habitat of Dipterocarpus.


Abstract Demonstratives are cross-linguistically widespread expressions. The use of demonstratives is flexible due to their semantic elasticity, which allows them to describe more or less extensive regions or referents in a communicative scenario. The constant remapping between demonstratives and referents might lead to a restructuring of the deictic system itself in accordance with the parameters affecting its use. To that end, we analyzed the structural changes affecting demonstratives in Majorcan Catalan by analysing whether speakers use three or two terms (aquest/aqueix/aquell vs. aquest/aquell) to convey spatial information. We also assessed whether any change in the adnominal/pronominal forms mirrored locative adverbs reduction. We elicited the production of demonstratives in 36 simultaneous Majorcan/Spanish bilinguals via a psycholinguistic experiment and we found two main results. First, simultaneous bilingual speakers do not extensively use the term aqueix to convey information related to physical distance. Second, the pronominal/adnominal reduction from three- to two-terms differs from the adverbial reduction. In the first case, aqueix is dropping out of the system, while locative adverbs present a shift with substitution of açí for aquí. Overall, our results shed new light on how the Majorcan Catalan demonstrative system is structured and explain structural changes in terms of 'analogical levelling' in paradigmatic relations.


We examine the relevance to the New Partnership of Africa's Development (NEPAD) of IMF and the World Bank's economic reform programs on inflation and the uncertainty of inflation in Ghana, Senegal and Uganda. The study period is from 1964-2009. GARCH (1, 1) framework is used to generate a time series of conditional variances of inflation as proxies for the uncertainty of inflation and use the granger causality procedure to establish the direction of the relationship between the two variables. We divide the years covered in this study into three segments, the pre-adjustment, adjustment and post-adjustment periods. The granger causality test results show in all three economies sensitivity of the direction of relationship between inflation and its uncertainty to IMF and World Bank inspired policies. Ghana shows significant evidence of the Friedman-Ball hypothesis in all regimes except the post-adjustment period and Senegal confirm the Cukierman-Meltzer proposition in the pre-adjustment and overall periods. In Uganda, results show bi-directional relationships dominating the links between the two variables. Also, evidence is presented indicating the reduction of both inflation and uncertainty of inflation in the countries during the adjustment period


In 12 patients with severe congestive heart failure (CHF) due to ischemic heart disease or nonischemic cardiomyopathy the hemodynamic response to intravenous infusion of sodium nitroprusside (N) was compared to that of dobutamine (D) 10 jg/kg/min. D and N produced comparable increases in cardiac output (CO) (2.8 to 5.8 L/min and 2.9 to 5.0 L/min, respectively), but, compared to N, D caused a higher arterial pressure (99.3 vs 86.2 mm Hg, P < 0.01) and heart rate (102.5 vs 95.3, P < 0.05) and less reduction in pulmonary wedge pressure (PWP) (28.9 to 20.2 mm Hg vs 29.1 to 16.6 mm Hg, P < 0.05). In five additional patients N and D were studied separately and then were infused together. The com- bination resulted in a higher CO, lower PWP and greater reduction in systemic and pulmonary vascular resistances than either drug alone. Brachial arterial infusion of nitroprusside produced prominent forearm vasodilation in a dose less than 10%percnt; of the systemic dose, whereas vasodilation with dobutamine was only modest even when 50%percnt; of the systemic dose was infused. Therefore, potent inotropic and vasodilator drugs produce similar and additive augmentation of left ventricular performance in heart failure. Reduction in vascular resistance with dobutamine probably is largely of reflex origin, but the vasodilation itself may be an important determinant of the rise in cardiac output.


A series of eight thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers were synthesized from 4,4′-methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and 1,4-butanediol (BDO) chain extender, with poly(hexamethylene oxide) (PHMO) macrodiol soft segments. The soft segment molecular weights employed ranged from 433 g/mol to 1180 g/mol. All materials contained 60% (w/w) of the soft segment macrodiol. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), wide angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD), and small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques were employed to characterize morphology. Tensile and Shore hardness tests were also performed. Materials were tested in the annealed state. It was found that an increase in segment length was accompanied by an increase in the degree of microphase separation, average interdomain spacing, hard domain order, hardness, stiffness, and opacity. DSC experiments showed the existence of several hard segment melting regions that were postulated to result from the disordering or melting of various hard segment length populations. For the system and composition ratio employed, it was found that optimum tensile properties (UTS and breaking strain) were achieved when a PHMO molecular weight of between 650 and 850 was utilized.


In contrast to mature spleen cells and macrophages, which produce colony-stimulating factor (CSF) in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), murine bone marrow (BM) cells do not respond to LPS alone. However, when BM cells are treated with LPS and the tumor-promoting phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) simultaneously, they generate significant levels of CSF. The non-tumor-promoter 4-O-methyl-TPA will not replace TPA, and if BM cells from C3H/HeJ mice are employed, no CSF is produced after stimulation with LPS and TPA. Lipid A is as effective as LPS in stimulating BM cells in the presence of TPA, but other mitogens, such as phytohemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (Con A), or pokeweed mitogen (PWM), are ineffective. B-lymphocytes may be the main source of the CSF from BM cells, since BM cells adherent to surfaces coated with goat antimouse immunoglobulin produced CSF in amounts similar to those produced by unseparated BM cells after stimulation with LPS and TPA. Finally, the CSFs produced by BM cells under these experimental conditions were identified as belonging to the GM-CSF and G-CSF subclasses. We interpret these results as suggesting that B cells present in the BM, as opposed to mature spleen cells and macrophages, require at least two signals for CSF production.


The Archean low-grade, large-tonnage Côté Gold Au(-Cu) deposit is the first large gold deposit discovered in the Swayze greenstone belt, Ontario, Canada. The deposit is hosted by the Chester Intrusive Complex, a low-Al composite, subvolcanic intrusion composed of tonalite, quartz diorite, and diorite that was previously constrained to ca. 2741 to 2739 Ma (U-Pb zircon). Presented here is the first detailed study of the mineralization and related alteration, along with the relative and absolute age (U-Pb, Re-Os) constraints on gold mineralization.
 The earliest hydrothermal stage is represented by rare Au-bearing amphibole-rich veins and breccias. The main ore stage consists of biotite-rich alteration centered on an Au(-Cu)–bearing magmatic-hydrothermal biotite breccia body with spatially related disseminated biotite and veins of both sheeted and stockwork type. Extensive fracture-controlled and replacement-style Au ± Cu-bearing muscovite alteration overprints biotite-altered rocks in the core of the deposit. Barren fracture-controlled and disseminated epidote alteration is localized to the north of the deposit and above the magmatic-hydrothermal biotite breccia. Late, texturally destructive albite alteration overprints the mineralized hydrothermal alteration in the deposit core.
 U-Pb isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasmamass spectrometry ages for hydrothermal titanite from amphibole (2745 ± 3 Ma) and albite (2737.5 +2.2/–1.8, 2745 ± 9, and 2736 ± 7 Ma) alteration assemblages constrain hydrothermal activity to ca. 2740 Ma. The timing of gold and sulfide mineralization is also constrained by two Re-Os molybdenite ages of 2736.1 ± 11.4 (biotite alteration) and 2746.8 ± 11.4 Ma (muscovite alteration). These new ages overlap with the ca. 2741 to 2739 Ma magmatism for the Chester Intrusive Complex, thereby suggesting a synintrusion, magmatic-hydrothermal origin for the gold mineralization and related alteration. This is significant, as it represents a new gold metallogenic event in the Abitibi subprovince, for which regional importance remains to be defined.
 Considering the spatial association of the deposit with a dioritic intrusion and the temporal overlap of igneous activity with alteration (i.e., amphibole, biotite, sericite) and mineralization (i.e., breccias, veins, disseminations), the deposit is interpreted as an Archean magmatic-hydrothermal ore system sharing analogies with Phanerozoic Au-Cu porphyry deposits. It suggests that Archean porphyry-type deposits can form in low-Al composite intrusions, which are known to host Cu-Mo-Au breccia, vein, and disseminated mineralization and underlie temporally and genetically related felsic to intermediate volcanic rocks that host volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits.


Considering the Complexities of Urban Geography, this study attempts to synthesize tine many disparate elements within the whole field of Geography, in the analysis of one urban area, Tehran. The study stresses the contrast between Tehran and the rest of Iran, a result of the concentration of development within, the capital city, and also the contrasting patterns within the city itself, the result of rapid expansion. The first threre chapters are an attempt to consider the various processes that have contributed to the development of Tehran, which was arbitrarily chosen as capital less than two hundred years ago. Even within this framework contrasts due to historical or demographic differences become apparent. The first chapter looks at the physical setting and how this has influenced the growth and development of the urban area. The second chapter considers the development of the city up to the Second World War, and the importance of historical processes for spatial contrasts within) the city. Demographic characteristics axe analysed in the third chapter. The focus of the study is chapter four, in that it analyses the most important functions and activities of the capital and considers how these have developed, interacted, and been located by the physical environment. Transport is analysed in chapter five,; bath internal and external. Finally chapter six is a synthesis of all the various processes and location patterns in the context of the major land use categories. Throughout the analysis attempts are made to focus attention on the distinctiveness of the capital, city, but at the same time to show how Tehran has been integrated into a regional,, national, and international framework.


Noise is one of the most common occupational hazardous exposures. In addition to hearing loss and tinnitus increasing evidence show that noise exposure is also associated with stress reactions, and cardiovascular effects. A Recent study (Selander et al. EHP 2015 Dec 8.) using an earlier version of our noise JEM, showed that noise exposure can negatively impact fetuses during pregnancy. We have developed, updated and validated a job exposure matrix for occupational noise using some 270 measurement reports from 1970 through 2014. The matrix contains 321 job families, as defined by the Nordic Occupational Classification system (NYK 85/90), and classifies 8 hour average noise exposure using a five grade scale 1: <70 dB(A), 2: 70 < 75 dB(A), 3: 75 < 80 dB(A), 4: 80 < 85 dB(A), 5: ≥85 dB(A). Exposure estimates were developed for every 5-year period during 1970–2014, yielding exposure development over 44 years. The matrix also includes assessments of the probability for impact noise exposure using a 4 grade scale1. Yes, for sure; 2. Yes, probably; 3. Yes, possibly; 4. Unlikely. Exposures were estimated by two separate teams, each comprised by one occupational hygienists and one experienced occupational safety engineer. Agreements were statistically analysed using Svensson's non-parametric methods in terms of relative position (RP) and relative concentration (RC) Disagreements were discussed and a consensus was reached for the final version. In the final phase preliminary results indicate good agreement between the two teams concerning noise exposure levels, without systematic differences. However, impact noise source data were scarce and the team assessments were more split giving weaker agreement and a systematic difference. The consensus matrix will be made available to collaborators. A previous JEM, based on approximately half the number of reports and a 3-grade classification was published 2013. (Sjöström et al Ann Occup Hyg. 2013 Jul;57(6):774-83)


Objectives: Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) is the inspection of an object to determine its properties without destroying its usefulness. It is used, for example, to detect cracking in steam generator tubing in nuclear power plants and aircrafts. Eddy Current NDE is a commonly used method of NDE. This study creates a sample calibration block with different materials and investigates the effect of width defects in these materials on the Eddy Current signal. Method/Statistical: The materials of the artificial defect block are mild steel, brass and copper with dimensions of 260 mm (length) × 30 mm (width) × 10 mm (height). A total of 12 artificial defects are located 20 mm parallel to the length of the block. The distance of the defect is located in between 1 mm up to 2.5 mm from the surface of the artificial defect block. A weld probe was used to inspect the block. The wire cut machines were utilized to add defects to the sample block. Findings: Results prove that the deviation of Eddy Current Testing measurement was influenced by the width and material of the objective. Application/Improvement: The results showed that the signal of the Eddy Current was affected by the size of the defect and the type of specimen.


Polarized Raman spectroscopy has been employed to study the reorientational, or more specifically the translational relaxation dynamics, of alcohol molecules in pure liquids and aqueous solutions. It is found from the spectral width measurements that alcohol molecules in pure liquids have typically translational relaxation times on the order of picoseconds, following the order methanol < ethanol < i-propanol < n-propanol. Temperature-dependent measurements show that hydrogen-bonding (HB) and hydrophobic interactions control the translational motion. The hydrophobic interaction reduces the relaxation time more apparently in view of the CH3 group than the skeleton motion. For alcohol–water mixtures, the increase of water concentration generally slows down the relaxation process in a non-monotonic behavior. However, the trend stops at a certain point and the motion of alcohol molecules becomes faster when the alcohol concentration further drops. Different mechanisms have been proposed to interpret these observations, which might be helpful to gain deeper insight into the HB networks of alcohols with water. Our study strongly illustrates that Raman spectroscopy can be applied to the study of fast translational motion of molecules in HB systems. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A hybrid track-seeking fuzzy controller for an optical disk drive (ODD) is proposed in this paper. The proposed hybrid fuzzy controller (HFC) smoothes the voltage applied to the sled motor and improves the track-seeking efficiency. The HFC consists of two subsystems including an intelligent time switch and a driving force controller. Both subsystems are designed based on fuzzy logic inferences. The main functions of the proposed HFC are to drive the optical head unit (OHU) to the target track neighborhood as fast as possible and smoothly park the OHU in the least time in the target track neighborhood. An automatic learning approach based on genetic algorithms (GAs) is proposed for learning the fuzzy rules for both the intelligent time switch and driving force controller. Modulated orthogonal membership functions are utilized in both fuzzy controllers to improve the GA learning efficiency. The number of parameters needed to parameterize the fuzzy rule base is greatly reduced with the modulated orthogonal membership functions. Compared to the conventional track-seeking controller currently utilized in most ODDs that employ a speed profile as the reference signal for the track-seeking feedback control system, the proposed HFC outperforms the conventional track-seeking control schemes. Experiments are performed to justify the performance comparison.


Abstract Sulphur River in Parker Cave, Kentucky receives sulfurous water (11-21 mg sulfide/L) from the Phantom Waterfall and contains a microbial mat composed of white filaments. We extend a previous morphological survey with a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the bacteria of the microbial mat. This approach employs DNA sequence comparisons of small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) genes obtained from the mat with those from an extensive database of rRNA sequences. Many of SSU rRNA gene clones obtained from the mat are most similar to rRNA sequences from sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (Thiothrix spp., Thiomicrospira denitrificans, and ''Candidatus Thiobacillus baregensis''). The Sulphur River SSU rRNA gene clones also show specific affiliations with clones from environmental surveys of bacteria from deep-sea hydrothermal vent communities and subsurface microcosms. Affiliations with sequences from bacteria that are known to have the ability to obtain energy for CO2 fixation from the oxidation of inorganic compounds (chemoautotrophs), in combination with the environmental conditions surrounding the microbial mat, indicate that chemoautotrophic metabolism of bacteria in this mat may contribute to the biomass of Sulphur River. Cave communities, such as the one identified in Sulphur River, provide sites to study such relatively autonomous chemoautotrophic communities that are much more accessible than similar communities associated with deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Subsurface microbiology and the contribution of microbial activity on cave development are also discussed.


Agricultural activities have dramatically altered our planet's land surface. To understand the extent and spatial distribution of these changes, we have developed a new global data set of croplands and pastures circa 2000 by combining agricultural inventory data and satellite‐derived land cover data. The agricultural inventory data, with much greater spatial detail than previously available, is used to train a land cover classification data set obtained by merging two different satellite‐derived products (Boston University's MODIS‐derived land cover product and the GLC2000 data set). Our data are presented at 5 min (∼10 km) spatial resolution in longitude by longitude, have greater accuracy than previously available, and for the first time include statistical confidence intervals on the estimates. According to the data, there were 15.0 (90% confidence range of 12.2–17.1) million km2 of cropland (12% of the Earth's ice‐free land surface) and 28.0 (90% confidence range of 23.6–30.0) million km2 of pasture (22%) in the year 2000.


The field of supramolecular polymer chemistry has expanded rapidly since the development of the first supramolecular polymers by Jean-Marie Lehn and coworkers in 1990. Inspired by the intriguing new properties of this new class of polymers, many researchers explored the potential of supramolecular polymers based on various non-covalent interactions. Arrays of multiple hydrogen bonds are currently one of the most widely applied non-covalent interactions in supramolecular chemistry and supramolecular polymers due to their high directionality and strength. In Chapter 1 a literature overview on multiple hydrogen bonded supramolecular polymers is given. The translation from chemical structure to bulk material properties appears to be dominated by the presence of additional interactions and phase separation, which results in a change of polymerization mechanism from isodesmic to cooperative. For the 2-ureido-pyrimidinone (UPy) telechelic polymers developed in our group, the presence of lateral hydrogen bonding moieties is known to result in phase separated nano-fibrillar crystallites. The macroscopic properties of the bulk material are highly depending on the presence and stability of these nano-fibers. To evaluate the applicability and processeability of UPy functionalized poly(e-caprolactone) (PCl) polymers for potential use as biomaterials, the macroscopic properties of bis-(UPy-U)-poly(e-caprolactone) supramolecular polymers were investigated in Chapter 2. First, the reproducibility of the macroscopic properties was evaluated. The macroscopic properties vary from batch to batch, which is attributed to small differences in crystallinity of the PCl block at room temperature when cast from chloroform. Crystallization of the PCl block results in a higher Young's modulus and a reduction of the ultimate tensile strength and maximum strain. The presence of small amounts of monofunctional impurities significantly influences the macroscopic properties of the materials. This illustrates the importance of full functionalization during synthesis. Ageing of the material resulted in changes of the macroscopic properties of the materials, which is attributed to an increase of the crystallinity of the PCl block in time. The material retains sufficient mechanical properties for the use at physiological temperature. Finally, the influence of processing conditions on the macroscopic properties was evaluated. Casting from hexafluoro-isopropanol HFIP resulted in materials with a higher Young's modulus and a higher melting point of the UPy-urea nano-fibers compared to materials cast from chloroform. Significant degradation of the UPy moieties was observed above 135 °C, which implies that melt-processing is not feasible. The results show that many factors affect the macroscopic properties of bis-(UPy-U)-poly(e-caprolactone) supramolecular polymers. Therefore, care should be taken when characterizing the macroscopic properties of supramolecular polymers. The macroscopic properties of bis-(UPy-urea) supramolecular polymers were further investigated in Chapter 3 by changing the molecular structure or by the use of additives. The polymer backbone was changed from the semi-crystalline poly(e-caprolactone) (PCl) block to the amorphous poly(ethylene-butylene) (PEB) block. The PEB materials cast from chloroform show a remarkable resemblance with PCl materials cast from chloroform in which the PCl block is amorphous at room temperature. Since the urea lateral hydrogen bonding is known to be important for the nano-fiber formation, the linker between the UPy and urea moieties was changed from a flexible 1,6-hexyl spacer to a 1,4-trans-cyclohexyl spacer. The more rigid 1,4-trans-cyclohexyl spacer was expected to prearrange the urea moieties to result in better stacking and subsequent crystallization. However, the aggregates were found to be shorter and thinner according to AFM measurements and infrared measurements revealed weaker hydrogen bonding. The Young's modulus is decreased significantly compared to the hexyl materials, revealing the importance of the long nano-fibers on the macroscopic properties of bis-(UPy-urea) materials. PCl and PEB polymers comprising anthracene-bisurea moieties were designed to be incorporated into the UPy-urea nano-fibers to act as covalent cross links between the nano-fibers. The PEB anthracene-bisurea additive revealed no significant changes in macroscopic properties when 10% of the anthracene-bisurea polymer was incorporated in the bis-(UPy-urea) material. Although it was not possible to enhance the mechanical properties of the materials by the approaches described here, the experiments show that it is possible to change the molecular structure of the bis-(UPy-urea) polymer without a loss of its macroscopic properties. Next to changing the polymer backbone and the spacer in between the UPy and urea moieties, also the effect of small variations of the UPy moiety were investigated. The influence of substituents at the 5- and 6-position of the UPy on the aggregation of bis-(UPy-urea)-poly(ethylene-butylene) polymers into nano-fibers is described in Chapter 4. Using a small library of polymers with various substituents, the aggregation pathway towards the UPy-urea nano-fibers was elucidated. A change in the substituents at the 5- or 6-position of the UPy strongly influences the aggregation and subsequent crystallization. Using a wide variety of techniques, the different stages in the aggregation pathway were assessed. The presence of a substituent at the 5-position was found to hamper the interaction between stacks and hence nano-fiber crystallization. This study demonstrates that minimal molecular changes can result in a large difference in aggregation behavior. The bis-UPy supramolecular polymers allow for a modular approach for the incorporation of bioactive moieties. In Chapter 5, an RNase S assay was developed to serve as a model system to evaluate the influence of processing parameters on the activity of the material. UPy-urea functionalized S-peptide was incorporated into a bis-(UPy-U)-poly(e-caprolactone) supramolecular polymer by casting from different solvents. The solvent strongly influences the anchoring of the UPy functionalized peptide into the material as detected by release experiments. Although significant release is observed, the materials remain active according to the RNase S assay. The results of the assay demonstrate a large influence of the solvent on the activity of the material. The developed RNase S assay was also applicable on materials electrospun from HFIP, which revealed that the materials remain active after electrospinning. The development of hydrogen bonding motifs with a high dimerization constant is an important step towards complex macromolecular structures based on multiple non-covalent interactions due to their high directionality. Therefore, the ureido-benzoic acid (UBA) self-complementary hydrogen bonding motif is introduced and characterized in Chapter 6. The motif shows a strong and self-complementary quadruple hydrogen bonding with a dimerization constant in the order of 109 M-1 in chloroform. A supramolecular UBA polymer showed a vast increase in mechanical properties compared to its unfunctionalized counterpart, revealing its applicability in supramolecular chemistry. The UBA motif displays orthogonal self-assembly with UPy molecules and the strong quadruple hydrogen bonding can be reversibly switched 'off' and 'on' by the addition of base and acid, respectively. One of the UBA molecules was designed to have the ability to hydrogen bond to NaPy molecules at high concentration. Upon dilution, the equilibrium is completely shifted from the UBA:NaPy heterodimer to the UBA homodimers. The orthogonal self-assembly, the reversible off- and on- switching using base and acid and the dilution induced deprotection of the UBA motif show the broad promise of this new self-complementary hydrogen bonding motif in supramolecular chemistry. In conclusion, the results in this thesis show the potential of quadruple hydrogen bonded supramolecular polymers. The introduction of the UPy group resulted in the development of supramolecular thermoplastic elastomers with good macroscopic properties, which allows for a wide variety of possible applications as exemplified in this thesis. Although the UPy hydrogen bonding motif as well as other hydrogen bonding motifs earned their marks in the field of supramolecular chemistry, the development of new hydrogen bonding motifs can nonetheless introduce new features that are crucial for the full exploitation of this exciting field. The advanced self-assembly properties of the UBA motif as described in the final chapter of this thesis can be a beginning of a wide variety of future applications in supramolecular chemistry and supramolecular polymers.


Designers are increasingly involved in designing alternative futures for their cities, together with or self-organized by citizens. This article discusses the fact that (groups of) citizens often lack the support or negotiation power to engage in or sustain parts of these complex design processes. Therefore the "capabilities" of these citizens to collectively visualize, reflect, and act in these processes need to be strengthened. We discuss our design process of "democratic dialogues" in Traces of Coal—a project that researches and designs together with the citizens an alternative spatial future for a partially obsolete railway track in the Belgian city of Genk. This process is framed in a Participatory Design approach and, more specifically, in what is called "infrastructuring," or the process of developing strategies for the long-term involvement of participants in the design of spaces, objects, or systems. Based on this process, we developed a typology of how the three clusters of capabilities (i.e., visualize, reflect, and act) are supported through democratic dialogues in PD processes, linking them to the roles of the designer, activities, and used tools.


The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of type of educational system and years spent in teacher education programs on preservice teachers' mathematics anxiety and mathematical self-concept scores. The sample consisted of 234 American and 276 Turkish early childhood and elementary school preservice teachers. The Abbreviated Mathematics Anxiety Scale (AMAS; Hopko, 2003) was used to measure how anxious preservice teachers feel during a specific mathematics related event. In order to measure the mathematical self-concept of preservice teachers, the Experience with Mathematics Questionnaire (EMQ; Gourgey, 1982) was used. Regarding the effect of the educational system, results revealed that while the American preservice teachers had significantly higher anxiety scores, Turkish preservice teachers had significantly higher self-concept scores. Results supported previous findings emphasizing the negative relationship between mathematical anxiety and mathematical self-concept.


Chagas' disease is an important public health problem in Latin America and one of the specific causes of dilated cardiomyopathy. Chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy is the worse result of this disease and its main cause of mortality. Rural migrations from endemic to nonendemic countries make possible observing affected patients in United States and Europe. We report the case of a patient with congestive heart failure who was diagnosed with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy. This is the first case of chagasic dilated cardiomyopathy in Spain.


High-level image representations have drawn increasing attention in visual recognition, e.g., scene classification, since the invention of the object bank. The object bank represents an image as a response map of a large number of pretrained object detectors and has achieved superior performance for visual recognition. In this paper, based on the object bank representation, we propose the object-to-class (O2C) distances to model scene images. In particular, four variants of O2C distances are presented, and with the O2C distances, we can represent the images using the object bank by lower-dimensional but more discriminative spaces, called distance spaces, which are spanned by the O2C distances. Due to the explicit computation of O2C distances based on the object bank, the obtained representations can possess more semantic meanings. To combine the discriminant ability of the O2C distances to all scene classes, we further propose to kernalize the distance representation for the final classification. We have conducted extensive experiments on four benchmark data sets, UIUC-Sports, Scene-15, MIT Indoor, and Caltech-101, which demonstrate that the proposed approaches can significantly improve the original object bank approach and achieve the state-of-the-art performance.


The pseudorabies virus (PRV) DNase gene has previously been mapped within the PRV genome. To characterize further the enzymic properties of PRV DNase, this enzyme was expressed in Escherichia coli with the use of a pET expression vector. The protein was purified to homogeneity and assayed for nuclease activity in vitro. Recombinant PRV DNase exhibited an alkaline pH preference and an absolute requirement for Mg2+ ions that could not be replaced by Ca2+ and Na+ ions. Further studies showed that PRV DNase exhibited endonuclease, 5'-exonuclease and 3'-exonuclease activities in both single-stranded and double-stranded DNA. This activity occurred randomly and no significant base preference was demonstrated. The multiple biochemical activities of PRV DNase are similar to the activities of Neurospora crassa endo-exonuclease and E. coli RecBCD, two additional enzymes that are involved in recombination. Taken together, the similarity of action between N. crassa endo-exonuclease, E. coli RecBCD, and PRV DNase suggests that PRV DNase might have a role in the process of recombination that occurs during PRV infection.


Talismans drawing on the combined iconographies of lions and dragons proliferated on the walls and doors of cities and civic institutions in early thirteenth-century Iraq, Syria, and Anatolia. This article examines them in light of three different medieval theoretical models, seeking to shed light on why intelligent people in their original milieus might have expected such talismans to have protective power.


We introduce a domain-independent framework for heterogeneous natural deduction that combines diagrammatic and sentential reasoning. The framework is presented in the form of a family of denotational proof languages (DPLs). Diagrams are represented as possibly partial descriptions of finite system states. This allows us to deal with incomplete information, which we formalize by admitting sets as attribute values. We introduce a notion of attribute interpretations that enables us to interpret first-order signatures into such system states, and develop a formal semantic framework based on Kleene's strong three-valued logic. We extend the assumption-base semantics of DPLs to accommodate diagrammatic reasoning by introducing general inference mechanisms for the valid extraction of information from diagrams and for the incorporation of sentential information into diagrams. A rigorous big-step operational semantics is given, on the basis of which we prove that our framework is sound.


Camera shake during exposure leads to objectionable image blur and ruins many photographs. Conventional blind deconvolution methods typically assume frequency-domain constraints on images, or overly simplified parametric forms for the motion path during camera shake. Real camera motions can follow convoluted paths, and a spatial domain prior can better maintain visually salient image characteristics. We introduce a method to remove the effects of camera shake from seriously blurred images. The method assumes a uniform camera blur over the image and negligible inplane camera rotation. In order to estimate the blur from the camera shake, the user must specify an image region without saturation effects. We show results for a variety of digital photographs taken from personal photo


We propose a model for understanding the transformation of the market structure in the recorded music industry value chain due to new forms of digital distribution. It takes into account the traditional music industry's value chain and distribution network, and the product characteristics of digital music as they relate to consumer value creation. We showcase changes in market structure from various perspectives of the players in the music industry value chain. With this as background, we then present propositions that highlight forces at work in market transformation and how each player's role in the digital music industry value chain is likely to change. We note the new tensions that arise around intellectual property rights for digital music with market structure changes. We support the propositions with illustrative mini-cases.


As outlined in ABF Information Paper Number 1, a critical element of Activity Based Funding (ABF) is the need to define, classify, count, cost and pay for each health care activity in a consistent manner. For acute patients who stay in hospital for more than a day, this is not an issue. These patients are classified as acute 'overnight admitted patients' and are counted by Diagnosis Related Group (DRG).


Australian university disability practitioners have long advocated statements that describe the inherent requirements of academic programs. Students are protected by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth), which makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of disability across a range of criteria that include denying access to any benefit provided by the educational authority, and developing curricula that will exclude a person from participation. Similarly, the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Cth) require universities to make their programs accessible to students with disabilities and make reasonable adjustments to enable student participation. Reasonable adjustments routinely made include provision of additional time to complete assessment tasks and provision of academic information in ways that are accessible to relevant students (such as Braille readings or Auslan interpretation). However, while reasonable adjustments are required, these accommodations cannot themselves compromise the essential elements of a course that all students must meet. The essential elements of courses are not self‐evident.


An interactive framework for cognitive radio applications is proposed in which a user-equipped Android smartphone and a phased array controller are wirelessly tethered. Algorithms on the smartphone pull inertial, geolocation, and networking data to coordinate tracking and beamsteering, and the smartphone itself serves as a wireless communications bridge between the phased array's control module and a remote network server which facilitates bi-directional communication of health monitoring data, state information, and control signals. The system architecture, algorithms, and measured results from beam-steering of a 4 × 4 micro strip patch array via the Android smartphone are discussed.


The endothermic proton transfer reaction, H2+(upsilon+)+He-->HeH+ + H(DeltaE=0.806 eV), is investigated over a broad range of reactant vibrational levels using high-resolution vacuum ultraviolet to prepare reactant ions either through excitation of autoionization resonances, or using the pulsed-field ionization-photoelectron-secondary ion coincidence (PFI-PESICO) approach. In the former case, the translational energy dependence of the integral reaction cross sections are measured for upsilon+=0-3 with high signal-to-noise using the guided-ion beam technique. PFI-PESICO cross sections are reported for upsilon+=1-15 and upsilon+=0-12 at center-of-mass collision energies of 0.6 and 3.1 eV, respectively. All ion reactant states selected by the PFI-PESICO scheme are in the N+=1 rotational level. The experimental cross sections are complemented with quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) calculations performed on the ab initio potential energy surface provided by Palmieri et al. [Mol. Phys. 98, 1839 (2000)]. The QCT cross sections are significantly lower than the experimental results near threshold, consistent with important contributions due to resonances observed in quantum scattering studies. At total energies above 2 eV, the QCT calculations are in excellent agreement with the present results. PFI-PESICO time-of-flight (TOF) measurements are also reported for upsilon+=3 and 4 at a collision energy of 0.6 eV. The velocity inverted TOF spectra are consistent with the prevalence of a spectator-stripping mechanism.


As the ability to store and process massive amounts of user behavioral data increases, new approaches continue to arise for leveraging the wisdom of the crowds to gain insights that were previously very challenging to discover by text mining alone. For example, through collaborative filtering, we can learn previously hidden relationships between items based upon users' interactions with them, and we can also perform ontology mining to learn which keywords are semantically-related to other keywords based upon how they are used together by similar users as recorded in search engine query logs. The biggest challenge to this collaborative filtering approach is the variety of noise and outliers present in the underlying user behavioral data. In this paper we propose a novel approach to improve the quality of semantic relationships extracted from user behavioral data. Our approach utilizes millions of documents indexed into an inverted index in order to detect and remove noise and outliers.


Experiential Learning fosters off site learning, extending the student learning experience outside the classroom and beyond traditional learning. Embedded in an environment of guided reflection and critical thinking on one hand, and positive engagement and active learning on the other, EL is an essential tool for the application of in-class acquired knowledge and skills to out-of-class scenarios, thus improving the opportunities for internationalization and employability of our students. The present proposal analyses a first-year university survey course in Art History addressed at students with no previous knowledge on the topic, that has been designed with EL as a key concept aiming at the development and exercise of transferable skills, such as visual thinking, critical thinking, critical writing or public speaking skills. The conference paper will present specific examples of course and didactic units' design, considering specifically how EL contributes to the course objectives, and development of specific learning outcomes. The paper will also provide explanation of the specific transferrable skills and competences acquired and/or developed, as well as details on assessment criteria. Additionally, it will address the pedagogical approach used in the course's lectures and seminars, based on the exercise of Socratic and dialectic methods, and the implementation of active learning strategies, collaborative learning groups, think-share techniques, learning by teaching methods, small groups and wider class discussions and debate strategies. Finally, the paper will also discuss the results obtained during and after the practical trial run of this model.


Last June, in Apprendi v. New Jersey, the Supreme Court held that any fact that increases a defendant's statutory maximum sentence must be proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. This rule, like most of criminal procedure law and scholarship, rests on the assumption that jury trials are the norm. In the real world, however, fewer than four percent of defendants go to trial before a jury; the vast majority plead guilty. This Article analyzes Apprendi as a case study in the shortcomings of trial-centered law and scholarship. This benign-seeming trial right will have unintended and perverse consequences in the real world of guilty pleas and Sentencing Guidelines. Apprendi's rule will deprive many defendants who plead guilty of sentencing hearings, promote prosecutorial arbitrariness, and undercut legislative guidance of unelected sentencing commissions. Instead of creating new trial rights that defendants cannot afford to exercise, the Court and scholars should instead focus on regulating guilty pleas and sentencing hearings. This Article proposes alternative solutions better adapted to the real world of guilty pleas and sentencing, such as preplea notice of sentence enhancements and procedural protections at sentencing. This Article concludes by suggesting more broadly how criminal procedure should move beyond its preoccupation with trials to improve the real world of guilty pleas and sentencing.


Investigation of the influence of molecular structure of different organic compounds on acute toxicity towards Fathead minnow, Daphnia magna, and Tetrahymena pyriformis has been carried out using 2D simplex representation of molecular structure and two modelling methods: Random Forest (RF) and Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM). Suitable QSAR (Quantitative Structure – Activity Relationships) models were obtained. The study was focused on QSAR models interpretation. The aim of the study was to develop a set of structural fragments that simultaneously consistently increase toxicity toward Fathead minnow, Daphnia magna, Tetrahymena pyriformis. The interpretation allowed to gain more details about known toxicophores and to propose new fragments. The results obtained made it possible to rank the contributions of molecular fragments to various types of toxicity to aquatic organisms. This information can be used for molecular optimization of chemicals. According to the results of structural interpretation, the most significant common mechanisms of the toxic effect of organic compounds on Fathead minnow, Daphnia magna and Tetrahymena pyriformis are reactions of nucleophilic substitution and inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria. In addition acetylcholinesterase and voltage‐gated ion channel of Fathead minnow and Daphnia magna are important targets for toxicants. The on‐line version of the OCHEM expert system (https://ochem.eu) were used for a comparative QSAR investigation. The proposed QSAR models comply with the OECD principles and can be used to reliably predict acute toxicity of organic compounds towards Fathead minnow, Daphnia magna and Tetrahymena pyriformis with allowance for applicability domain estimation.


There is much debate around the temperature and conditions at which metastable cubic ice forms and transitions to hexagonal ice. Recently, a third form existing at one atmosphere, known as stacking disorder ice, has also been discussed. There is no doubt that these forms of ice are significant in atmospheric science as they may even be the dominant form of ice in some clouds. However, do they play any role in cryobiology? We have recently learned how to make cubic ice in large quantities in such a way that the second order phase transition is readily analysed. The results presented here will enable cryobiology researchers to look with renewed interest at both historical data and new results in order to define the importance, or otherwise, of cubic ice in their work.


The application of untreated wastewater using surface irrigation methods was found to cause soil problems. Investigation performed near Cairo with surface irrigation of untreated sewage indicated a build up in trace metals in
the soil (2). Laboratory experiments on the effects of Na and organic matter of effluent showed an increase in the water retention properties of the soil (1). The present investigation deals with the response of chlorinated saline wastewater effluent to the irrigation on a Sand Bed Culture System (SBCS). Field trial on an
experimental plot (25 x 50 m) were made to study the crop growth and response of sandy medium to the application of saline (3411 to 3857 mg/l) secondary treated, chlorinated wastewater on alfalfa, onions and summer squash. Physical and chemical properties of the soil were studied over three crop seasons. The groundwater-irrigation plots acted as the control. The physico-chemical propertied of the wastewater and groundwater were very similar, due to the fact that the wastewater is generally derived from the untreated groundwater.


Chronic lymphocytic leukemia was diagnosed in 22 dogs. Diagnosis was based primarily on detection of lymphocytosis and bone marrow infiltration with small lymphocytes similar to those seen in the blood. More than 50% of the dogs had monoclonal gammopathy, and, of these, 40% had monoclonal light-chain (Bence Jones) proteinuria. Hyperviscosity syndrome was observed occasionally. Most dogs were treated with chemotherapy. For the 17 dogs treated greater than or equal to 30 days, the survival times ranged from 30 to 1,000 days.


The area of palatal mucosa and the size of the maxillary arches were measured in a group of 30 newborn infants with unilateral clefts of the lip and palate. The overall size of the maxillary arch together with the arch width and arch height were also measured when the children had reached 5 years of age. For comparison purposes, a group of 30 newborn normal children and 30 normal 5-year-old children were similarly measured. The cleft children were found to have a mean deficiency of palatal mucosa of 16.41% at birth, although the overall size of their maxillary arches was 17.08% greater than normal. In the cleft cases there was no significant correlation between the area of palatal mucosa at birth and the overall size of the arch at 5 years of age. A significant correlation did exist between the overall size of the arch at birth and the overall size when the child was 5 years old. The significance of this and other findings is discussed.


The impact of a sustained stress response on psychological and physical health is well established. However, the moderating role in this relationship of coping, and especially maladaptive avoidance coping, has been hampered by psychometric shortcomings in existing coping scales. Some of these shortcomings include generating items based on theory or face-validity alone, the extraction of too many factors, and the absence of confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) evidence for the obtained structure. This thesis describes the development of a new avoidance coping scale, the General and Specific Avoidance Questionnaire (GSAQ), to address these issues in multidimensional avoidance coping scales in particular.

In contrast to previous scales, the GSAQ items were derived from a scenario technique which elicits responses from participants' experience. Exploratory factor analysis extracted a three-factor solution comprising General, Emotional, and Conflict Avoidance. The scales showed satisfactory reliability, and the structure was confirmed by CFA in independent English and Spanish samples. Concurrent validation and an exploration of differences between high and low avoiders showed that General Avoidance and Conflict Avoidance related to criterion measures in predictable ways, but Emotional Avoidance showed an unexpected pattern.

An analysis of the role of avoidance coping in deliberate self-harm showed no statistically significant effects in a non-clinical university student sample, but the overall trend suggested that self-harmers do, on average, score higher on avoidance coping than non-self-harmers. A subsequent laboratory study introducing research participants to a mild laboratory stressor suggested that individuals who score high on avoidance coping showed greater cardiovascular reactivity compared to low conflict avoiders.

The findings reported in this thesis show that the GSAQ is a reliable tool to use for future research on the role of multidimensional avoidance coping in psychological and physical health.


Russian Society of Cardiology (RSC). With the participation of Russian Scientific Society of Clinical Electrophysiology, Arrhythmology and Cardiac Pacing, Russian Association of Cardiovascular Surgeons. Approved by the Scientific and Practical Council of the Russian Ministry of Health.


We have recently shown that the Japanese yellow swallowtail butterfly Papilio xuthus uses colour vision when searching for food. In the field, these butterflies feed on nectar provided by flowers of various colours not only in direct sunlight but also in shaded places and on cloudy days, suggesting that they have colour constancy. Here, we tested this hypothesis. We trained newly emerged Papilio xuthus to feed on sucrose solution on a paper patch of a certain colour under white illumination. The butterflies were then tested under both white and coloured illumination. Under white illumination, yellow- and red-trained butterflies selected the correctly coloured patch from a four-colour pattern and from a colour Mondrian collage. Under four different colours of illumination, we obtained results that were fundamentally similar to those under white illumination. Moreover, we performed critical tests using sets of two similar colours, which were also correctly discriminated by trained butterflies under coloured illumination. Taken together, we conclude that the butterfly Papilio xuthus exhibits some degree of colour constancy when searching for food.