We have investigated the role of the S4-S5 linker in the trafficking of the intermediate (human (h) IK1) and small (rat SK3) conductance K+ channels using a combination of patch-clamp, protein biochemical, and immunofluorescence-based techniques. We demonstrate that a lysine residue (Lys197) located on the intracellular loop between the S4 and S5 domains is necessary for the correct trafficking of hIK1 to the plasma membrane. Mutation of this residue to either alanine or methionine precluded trafficking of the channel to the membrane, whereas the charge-conserving arginine mutation had no effect on channel localization or function. Immunofluorescence localization demonstrated that the K197A mutation resulted in a channel that was primarily retained in the endoplasmic reticulum, and this could not be rescued by incubation at 27 °C. Furthermore, immunoblot analysis revealed that the K197A mutation was overexpressed compared with wild-type hIK1 and that this was due to a greatly diminished rate of channel degradation. Co-immunoprecipitation studies demonstrated that the K197A mutation did not preclude multimer formation. Indeed, the K197A mutation dramatically suppressed expression of wild-type hIK1 at the cell surface. Finally, mutation of this conserved lysine in rat SK3 similarly resulted in a channel that failed to correctly traffic to the plasma membrane. These results are the first to demonstrate a critical role for the S4-S5 linker in the trafficking and/or function of IK and SK channels.


We introduce a description of the power structure which is inherent in a strategic game form using the concept of an interaction sheaf. The latter assigns to each open set of outcomes a set of interaction arrays, specifying the changes that coalitions can make if outcome belongs to this open set. The interaction sheaf generalizes the notion of effectivity functions which has been widely used in implementation theory, taking into consideration that changes in outcome may be sustained not only by single coalitions but possibly by several coalitions, depending on the underlying strategy choices. Also, it allows us to consider game forms with not necessarily finite sets of outcomes, generalizing the results on solvability of game forms obtained in the finite case in Abdou and Keiding (2003).


The study examines urbanization and its associated effects in terms of infrastructure, planning and congestion in two West African cities: Ibadan in Nigeria and Accra in Ghana. A comparative planning scheme for Accra, Ibadan and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia is also analysed. Quantitative and qualitative approach in the form of orthophotos and satellite imagery, planning schemes and questionnaire were used for the study, 519 respondents were randomly sampled. Results from the study reveal that more than half of the respondents from Accra and Ibadan stated that the level of provision of sanitary facilities is not adequate or in most cases not present at all, while majority of respondents from Kuala Lumpur stated that sanitary facilities are adequate. Similarly, findings from the study show that majority of respondents from Accra and Ibadan stated that the provision of transport and recreational facilities is poor as compared to Kuala Lumpur. In the three cities more than half of the respondents claimed that they spent over 21 minutes to and from their work place. Overall impression about the physical infrastructure was poor in Accra and Ibadan. Also, it was observed from the findings that respondents incur both human and material losses due to traffic congestion in both cities. Some of the causes of traffic congestion identified especially in Accra and Ibadan in the study include: high number of vehicles plying the roads, narrow road networks, bad roads, lack of alternate routes, erection of structures near some major routes in the city and impatience on the part of some drivers. The cities of Ibadan and Accra are sprawling in a horizontal direction thereby taking a lot of land space with no effort being made by building and planning agencies to start building structures in the vertical direction above and below the city surface. The two cities therefore cannot boast of any significant landmarks in the category of the Twin Towers of Kuala Lumpur, hence the tourism potential of these cities cannot be maximally utilized. The study suggests the adoption of 3D city modelling and techniques in Accra in Ghana and Ibadan in Nigeria for spatial planning, also a generic framework is presented so as to overcome some of the transport and infrastructural problems to improve the quality of life as observed in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.


The mean-variance portfolio optimization is a widely used technique for finding an efficient allocation of assets in a portfolio. Transaction costs are neglected in the original formulation. Little research has been paid to investigate how to adjust for transaction costs that are representative for the small investor. In this thesis is a framework derived which adjust for fixed transaction costs that represent the minimum brokerage fee. The model is tested on theoretical data for five assets. The result is that expected risk-adjusted return is overestimated when transaction costs are not taken into account. It is also shown that the magnitude of the overestimation is dependent on the invested value.


In South Africa, caregivers and healthcare workers (HCWs) lack confidence and skills to disclose to children with perinatal HIV (PHIV). Moreover, existing disclosure guidelines do not provide strategies on how to approach disclosure. Although the caregiver has been endorsed as a responsible person to disclose to the child, the involvement of HCWs in the process is critical. Yet research suggests that many HCWs are reluctant to perform disclosure. This study examines the involvement in, practices of, and barriers against HCWs' disclosing to children with PHIV. Methods: We conducted 8 focus group discussions with a total of 51 HCWs comprising nurses, lay counsellors, social workers, and dieticians. The HCWs were selected from 23 health facilities in a rural South African health district by purposive sampling. Data were transcribed verbatim, and data analysis followed qualitative thematic analysis. Results: A high proportion of HCWs had no formal training in pediatric disclosure and some had never disclosed to children. Those who routinely disclosed approached disclosure as an ongoing process that unfolded over time. They ensured caregiver readiness as a necessary step in the disclosure process. The main barriers for HCWs to participate fully in the disclosure process were the lack of relevant disclosure guidelines, inadequate disclosure skills, and a shortage of skilled staff. Inadequate skills affected the confidence of the HCWs to disclose, while a lack of standardized disclosure guidelines and HCWs' reliance on personal experience during disclosure resulted in confusion and uncertainty among them due to the inconsistencies in their approach to disclosure. Conclusion: This study confirms the urgent need to train HCWs to attain skills and confidence in disclosure. Training HCWs in standardized disclosure counselling would lead to an increase in the rate of disclosure to children. It is essential that the district adapt the disclosure guidelines to the local context for use in health facilities.


The era of decentralization and regional autonomy is a challenge for every region to take advantage of opportunities in exploring regional potential. Efforts to increase local revenue (PAD) can be done by increasing the effectiveness of receiving retribution from PAD sources, especially local fees. This study aims to determine and analyze the contribution of funeral service permit fees to the local revenue of Palembang City in 2015-2019. The collection of user fees has been regulated in Regional Regulation Number 12 of 2015 concerning charges for funeral services and asylum which is a basic reference for maximizing administrative services managed by Ilir Barat Satu Sub-district, Palembang City. This research uses descriptive quantitative analysis method. The data collection technique is done by using secondary data through documentation techniques. The data used is a funeral service permit retribution. The analysis method used is contribution analysis, which is an analytical tool used to determine how much the contribution of levies is to local revenue. The result of the research is that the contribution value of funeral service permit fees shows a tendency to fluctuate each year. The average percentage contribution of receiving funeral service permit fees with good enough criteria reaches 20.17% which means it contributes to the Regional Original Income of Palembang city.


SUMMARY: The base composition of purified DNA from 28 strains of acetic acid bacteria was determined. Most strains of the genus Gluconobacter clustered closely together at 60.6–63.4 % (guanine + cytosine) of total base. All strains of the Acetobacter aceti biotype lay within the range 55.4–64.0 % (guanine + cytosine). The close relationship and possible common phylo-genetic origin of the genera Gluconobacter and Acetobacter is again stressed by these results. The base composition of DNA from acetic acid bacteria and from species of Pseudomonas was very similar, confirming the suspected close relationship between these groups. There is a noticeable agreement between the sequences of Acetobacter strains, arranged according to increasing % (guanine + cytosine) and arranged according to increasing enzymic equipment: strains with greater biochemical activity have on the whole also a higher % (guanine + cytosine) in DNA. The range of the compositional distribution of DNA molecules is on the whole broader in Acetobacter than in Gluconobacter. The results corroborate previous conclusions that both biotypes contain clusters of strains without species differentiation. A comparison of the paper chromatographic analysis with the method of thermal denaturation ('melting point') for estimating base composition of DNA showed that the latter method was to be preferred in routine analysis because of its ease, rapidity and reproducibility.


Purpose We proposed that zinc (Zn) deposition in deciduous teeth would be a timed record of exposure to this essential micronutrient over very early life. We tested this hypothesis by gathering information on the maternal and child's diet during pregnancy and early infancy and measuring mineral deposition in the dentine at points during deciduous tooth development. Methods We developed a short food frequency questionnaire (S-FFQ) to record consumption of food containing Zn during pregnancy and over the first year of life of the child in an Indonesian population. Zn, Sr and Ca were measured by laser ablation ICP-MS in a series of points across the developmental timeline in deciduous teeth extracted from 18 children undergoing the process as part of dental treatment whose mothers completed the SFFQ. Mothers and children were classified into either high Zn or low Zn groups according to calculated daily Zn intake. Results The Zn/Sr ratio in dentine deposited over late pregnancy and 0–3 months post-partum was higher (p < 0.001, 2-way ANOVA; p < 0.05 by Holm-Sidak post hoc test) in the teeth of children of mothers classified as high Zn consumers (n = 10) than in children of mothers classified as low Zn consumers (n = 8). Conclusion The S-FFQ was validated internally as adequately accurate to measure zinc intake retrospectively during pregnancy and post-partum (∼7 years prior) by virtue of the correlation with measurements of zinc in deciduous teeth. The ratio of Zn/Sr in deciduous teeth appears to be a biomarker of exposure to zinc nutrition during early development and offers promise for use as a record of prior exposure along a timeline for research studies and, potentially, to identify individuals at heightened risk of detrimental impacts of poor early life zinc nutrition on health in later life and to implement preventative interventions.


PROLOGUE Intrepid and charismatic, confident that her work was righteous and important for the race, Nannie Helen Burroughs was an impressive Christian woman, Baptist leader, and educator. At her National Training School that stood high up on a hill in Washington, DC, she had some rooms especially equipped for little girls and as I sat in one of the small chairs (so that my feet could touch the floor). I was mesmerized and excited. My father, Rev. Dr Jesse Jai McNeil, met with Nannie Burroughs relatively often, flying in from Detroit to discuss the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., the Training School, and the Sunday School Publishing Board in Nashville, Tennessee. On this special trip, the children of the family would finally meet the famous Nannie Helen Burroughs. Father had already prepared his children and so 1 remember that my older brother (who was probably almost ready for first grade) and I listened to Ms. Burroughs with great anticipation. When she spoke, she engagingly commanded attention with straightforward talk and phrases or principles virtually impossible to forget. Experiences with her as a child left me remembering several things, in no particular order. She once had an opportunity to be Frederick Douglass's secretary. She was the force behind the founding of "Women's Day" in the National Baptist Convention and affiliated churches, and she always insisted that all church women--poor or wealthy, grade-school educated or college graduates--have an opportunity to be leaders on Women's Day. My mother. Pearl Walker McNeil, who was an active church woman in Baptist circles, the Lucy Thurman YWCA in Detroit, and in United Church Women, told me that Nannie Burroughs selected white dresses for Women's Day because even someone who worked in domestic service had a white dress. Nannie Helen Burtoughs tolerated no excuses and did not believe black people should make any. "God helps those who help themselves" and anyone around Nannie Helen Burtoughs had to show initiative as well as intelligence, discipline, hard work, and a willingness to practice until she or he got it right. She was "old school"; there was one standard, nothing less than your best. She believed in our race--Negroes with a capital "N"--our strength, our stamina, our ability to help ourselves, our intellect, our capacity to speak for ourselves, our capacity to fight for our freedom, and our faith. She was inspiring, even to a child. When I learned that Bettye Collier-Thomas had entitled her book using the words of Nannie Helen Burroughs, "Jesus, Jobs, and Justice," I felt I knew in a personal way something of what both were saying. Bettye Collier-Thomas is an extraordinarily hard-working scholar who long ago committed herself to demonstrating that the majority of African American women did not live an either/or existence--either religious faith and church service or social activism, politics, and membership in secular organizations. Among her lofty goals at the beginning of her career, she planned to gather the evidence to show African American women have lived at the intersection of faith, family, friendships, charity, service, pragmatism, political action, abounding hope, and the freedom struggle. As for Nannie Helen Burroughs, she had left a strong impression on me, and my parents had spoken so much of her Christian work and witness that I was not at all surprised to learn that in 1955 she had declared, "The Negro must have Jesus, Jobs, and Justice." Thus on some matters Nannie Helen Burroughs and my parents were of one mind. Being a Christian meant you chose Jesus and that minimally meant love and service, using your gifts for good; purposefully giving each person an opportunity to live the life for which Jesus came, "the abundant life"; being fearless and firm in advocacy of the right, equality in God's sight; that God the Father was a God of Justice, and it was up to us to do justice and demand justice be done by others. …


This study aims to study and analyze the war and armed conflicts and their
impact on human rights in Islamic and international law; The study also
targeted the legality of war; pre-emptive war on terrorism; the main causes of
the armed conflicts in Yemen and their impact on human rights; the ways to
resolve disputes by peaceful means; and the responsibility of states and the
media in fomenting wars; other objectives of the study include the
unresolved issues within the concept of war and their legitimacy in Islamic
and international laws. The researcher adopted an inductive approach as well
as the analytical and comparative methods, through which the legal materials
and the Islamic texts were analyzed, extrapolated and compared to each
other; in addition, the researcher included the research methods of
questionnaire and interview within the descriptive approach. The study
exposed the prohibition of war in Islamic law unlike the view of the ancient
scientists, as it is not considered justified safe when it is a defensive measure,
the prohibition of the killing of prisoners, and concluded the illegality of preemptive wars in international laws applied to fight terrorism in Yemen; other
findings of the field study in Yemen include: the fact that the main causes of
wars are political reasons and the struggle for power as confirmed by 78% of
the respondents' opinions, followed by legal reasons; the economic reasons
ranked third. However, the study concluded that the major effects of wars on
human rights in Yemen are economic impacts as expressed by 96% of the
respondents, followed by the legal implications, then the social impacts,
whereas the health effects ranked last. Some of the most important
recommendations of the study comprise refraining from pre-emptive wars
carried out by some countries in order to maintain their national security and
protect their economic interests; the none violation of the sovereignty of
states including destructing their resources; the none monopoly of power,
achieving democracy in Yemen, working on an equitable distribution of
wealth in society and the need to rehabilitate, train and educate all employees
of the civil and military institutions on the importance of human rights in
peace and war; respecting the rights of prisoners and wounded; other
recommendations call for the respect of the freedom of expression and
criticism during the war and after it, the handling of the health and economic
effects of wars and resolving conflicts peacefully.


Abstract. The positional accuracy of a near-infrared (NIR) dynamic navigator is remarkably affected by two factors. One is the calibration accuracy of the navigator's two NIR cameras, and the other is the accuracy of feature point extraction. The current lack of accurate calibration devices for NIR cameras limits further application. Therefore, in this study, an NIR camera calibration device was designed by placing the NIR light source and heat dissipation system at the back of a Halcon transparent glass template. Usage of camera calibration in a specific band and the gray centroid method based on elliptic boundary to extract feature points can further improve the accuracy of vision system calibration and measurement. Repeated tests and verifications showed that the reconstruction accuracy (<0.1  pixels) of the binocular vision system calibrated by the NIR calibration device in a specific band was better than that calibrated by traditional methods.


: To investigate the mechanism by which polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) contribute to tissue injury in periodontitis, NO-activity was bioassayed by measuring its ability to increase cGMP accumulation in cultured fibroblasts in the absence or presence of PMNLs isolated from blood and gingival fluid in healthy volunteers and patients with periodontitis. Non-activated PMNLs do not NO-induced stimulation of cGMP accumulation in the detector cells. However, activated PMNLs inhibited NO-induced cGMP accumulation whereas the effects of sodium nitroprusside was unaffected. Peripheral PMNLs periodontitis impaired NO-dependent cGMP accumulation more markedly than from healthy volunteers. PMNLs from periodontal pockets in periodontal patients destroyed NO significantly higher than in venous blood of the same patients without additional activation. It is assumed that the deactivation of NO by activated PMNLs is a one of the pathomechanisms of disorders in periodontitis.


This work addresses distributed data management and access dynamically configurable high-speed access to data distributed and shared over wide-area high-speed network environments. An offload engine NIC (network interface card) is proposed that scales at nX10-Gbps increments through 100-Gbps full duplex. The Globus de facto standard was used in projects requiring secure, robust, high-speed bulk data transport. Novel extension mechanisms were derived that will combine these technologies for use by GridFTP, bandwidth management resources, and host CPU (central processing unit) acceleration. The result will be wire-rate encrypted Globus grid data transactions through offload for splintering, encryption, and compression. As the need for greater network bandwidth increases, there is an inherent need for faster CPUs. The best way to accelerate CPUs is through a network acceleration engine. Grid computing data transfers for the Globus tool set did not have wire-rate encryption or compression. Existing technology cannot keep pace with the greater bandwidths of backplane and network connections. Present offload engines with ports to Ethernet are 32 to 40 Gbps f-d at best. The best of ultra-high-speed offload engines use expensive ASICs (application specific integrated circuits) or NPUs (network processing units). The present state of the art also includes bonding and the use of multiple NICs that are also in the planning stages for future portability to ASICs and software to accommodate data rates at 100 Gbps. The remaining industry solutions are for carrier-grade equipment manufacturers, with costly line cards having multiples of 10-Gbps ports, or 100-Gbps ports such as CFP modules that interface to costly ASICs and related circuitry. All of the existing solutions vary in configuration based on requirements of the host, motherboard, or carriergrade equipment. The purpose of the innovation is to eliminate data bottlenecks within cluster, grid, and cloud computing systems, and to add several more capabilities while reducing space consumption and cost. Provisions were designed for interoperability with systems used in the NASA HEC (High-End Computing) program. The new acceleration engine consists of state-ofthe- art FPGA (field-programmable gate array) core IP, C, and Verilog code; novel communication protocol; and extensions to the Globus structure. The engine provides the functions of network acceleration, encryption, compression, packet-ordering, and security added to Globus grid or for cloud data transfer. This system is scalable in nX10-Gbps increments through 100-Gbps f-d. It can be interfaced to industry-standard system-side or network-side devices or core IP in increments of 10 GigE, scaling to provide IEEE 40/100 GigE compliance.


Recently, a model was proposed to describe the brightness of time-dependent stimuli (Roufs and Pellegrino van stuyvenherg, 1979). In order to test this model a brightness-matching and a brightness-scaling method have been used to investigate the influence of the flash duration on the relationship between brightness and luminance for flashing point sources. It was found that 1. the exponent of the power function describing the relationship between brightness and luminance, is independent of the flash duration and 2. the results of brightness-matching and scaling experiments are mutually consistent for one subject if it is assumed that the brightness impression is determined by the effective luminance, i.e. luminance above threshold. This has led to a revision of the model.


Why do governments sometimes fail to provide essential services that are fundamental to development and the well-being of their citizens? I investigate the role of gender, of both policy makers and of beneficiaries, in the variation of access to sanitation in rural India. I argue that politicians' gender can help explain why some elected officials are more responsive in providing sanitation services than others in terms of the quality and quantity of latrines. Given the close association between latrine quality and water-borne diseases, there is a need to examine the variation in the quality of latrines rather than access to latrines as previous studies do. Using an instrumental variable approach with sub-state level data that exploits the quasi-randomness of the gender of the winner in close elections, I study the influence of female state legislators of fifteen major states in India. When faced with increased electoral competition female politicians act in the same way as their male counterparts do, which is by widening latrine coverage, in order to signal good performance to the voters. However, female state legislators are more likely to improve sanitation services than their male counterparts by increasing higher quality latrines (flush toilets), after controlling for correlates of electoral incentives. Given that women benefit disproportionately from latrines, the role of gender in the decision making process among household members is likely to be relevant. Thus, the second part of my argument examines what influences women, the main beneficiaries of improved sanitation, to make financial investments towards having a household latrine. Drawing from nationwide household level survey data, I find that households are more likely to have latrines not only when women are more informed through mass media, but also when their intra-household status is higher, especially with respect to taking part in the financial decision making process in households.


This study is part of the European FP7 ALIZ-E project. The goal of this project is to develop the theory and practice behind an embodied social robot that is capable of maintaining affective interactions with young users over an extended and possibly discontinuous period of time. The target audience of this research consists of young patients suffering from diabetes mellitus. In previous work on ALIZ-E, several activities have been developed that the user can carry out with the robot, such as playing a quiz, math game or imitation game. Research has shown that monitoring one's diabetes by keeping a diary is beneficial to the child's health on the short and long term. In this master thesis, we develop a new activity that allows a diabetic child to keep an online diabetes diary together with the robot. We evaluate this new activity by investigating the following research question: How can a robot contribute to the activity of keeping a web-based diary together with diabetic children? We present a comprehensive robot dialogue model that has two main foci: 1) supporting and motivating the child in the task of keeping a diary and 2) forming a bond between the child and the robot through personalized interaction. We tested the dialogue model by performing a pilot experiment in a real-world setting using a within-subjects design (N=6). The subjects were diabetic children between the ages of 9 to 12. Over the course of eleven days, they kept an online diary in which they logged their blood glucose values, carbohydrate intake, insulin dosages, exercise, emotional well-being and their daily activities. Every other day the children remotely connected to the robot, which they believed to be autonomous, and performed this activity together. The robot provided explanations where necessary; asked the child relevant questions and shared personal information to establish a social bond. We measured adherence by comparing the frequency of diary entries and the diary content between the two conditions. Engagement was measured by observing the children's participation and attention during the interactions. We used a questionnaire and observations made during the experiment as indicators for the development of a bond between the robot and the child. The results show that low diary adherence is a common problem among diabetic children. We showed that interacting with the robot while keeping a diary helped to improve adherence. Children had significantly more completed diary entries with the robot present than while the robot was absent. Overall, both the diary and the robot were rated quite positively. Children felt the robot supported them well in performing the task, and they thought the robot was friendly, trustworthy and human-like. The children openly shared information with the robot about their daily lives, and were very inquisitive about the robot's life as well. This was also explicit in their diaries, where we found a significantly larger amount of information shared in the diaries on days with the robot. The children eventually came to see the robot as a friend. We need to be careful in saying the results we found are solely the result of our intervention. But we do think that using a robot can greatly enhance the pleasure of the activity and therefore the motivation of the child. Keeping a diary with the support from a robot can help the children take the next step in taking responsibility for their own self-management.


Except in the case of depression, there are few studies that analyze mental health variables related to quality of life (QoL) in people over 65 years of age. The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between QoL and the following variables: sociodemographic and physical and mental health of people over 65 years of age. The sample was randomly selected and consists of men and women between 65 and 84 years of age (N = 555) from the Community of Madrid. Mental disorders were evaluated with the CIDI65+ interview and QoL with the WHOQoL-BREF scale. Means, ANOVA and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. Women have worse QoL than men and QoL worsens with age. The regression model for the dependent variable "WHOQoL BREF Scale" explains 41.43% of the variance (R2 = 0.413). The variables that have the greatest impact on QoL are as follows: a greater number of physical and psychological symptoms, experiencing financial difficulties and the presence of a psychological disorder, while continuing to work has a positive effect on QoL. Physical and mental disorders have a similar impact on QoL. The presence of a greater number of psychological symptoms (without necessarily fulfilling the criteria of a mental disorder) is a predictive variable of worse QoL. Mental health has a burden on the QoL of people over 65 years of age that is as powerful as physical health.


Fiber reinforced concrete is becoming popular in improving the quasi-brittle failure of concrete. Natural fibers such as sisal holds great promise in this regard. It has amazing tensile strength and is renewable. This paper presents the result of an investigation carried out on the effect of sisal fiber on the compressive strength, Split tensile strength, failure mode and Poisson ratio of Sisal Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (SFRC).

 A mix proportion of 1:1.92:3.68 and w/c ratio of 0.47 for a target compressive strength of 35 MPa was used. Sisal fiber was added at percentages of 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0% by weight of cement. The effect of specimen shape on the compressive strength of sisal fiber-reinforced concrete (SFRC) was reported. The compressive strength of cube (150mm X 150mm) and cylinder (150mm diameter and 300mm height) specimen was determined at 7 and 28 days, while Split tensile strength and Poisson ratio were obtained using cylindrical specimen (150mm diameter and 300mm height).

 The result shows that the addition of sisal fiber slightly reduces the compressive strength of concrete, increases its split tensile strength up to 47.167% of the control specimen, arrests crack propagation and reduces its Poisson ratio. The correlation between the compressive strength of cylindrical and cube specimen was established with a ratio ranging between 0.82 - 0.73. The difference in the compressive strength was found to increase with rise in the percentages of sisal fiber. Based on the ratio and mechanical properties, 1.0% sisal fiber content was recommended as the optimum for reinforcing concrete.


Background Recent research suggests that ayahuasca and its alkaloid-containing ingredients may be helpful in the treatment and prevention of certain movement and neurodegenerative disorders. However, such research is still in its infancy and more studies in normative samples seem necessary to explore effects of ayahuasca on clinically relevant brain structures, such as the corpus callosum. Aims The purpose of the present study was to investigate links between ayahuasca use and callosal structure in a normative sample. Methods Using structural imaging data from 22 ayahuasca users and 22 matched controls we compared the thickness of the corpus callosum between both groups at 100 equidistant points across the entire midsagittal surface. In addition, we investigated point-wise correlations between callosal thickness and the number of past ayahuasca sessions. Results The corpus callosum was significantly thicker within the isthmus in the ayahuasca group than in the control group. There was also a significant positive correlation between callosal thickness and the number of past ayahuasca sessions within the rostral body, albeit none of these effects survived corrections for multiple comparisons. No region was significantly thicker in the control than in the ayahuasca group, and no callosal region was negatively linked to ayahuasca use, even at uncorrected significance thresholds. Conclusion This study provides preliminary evidence of links between ayahuasca use and the corpus callosum. However, future studies need to replicate these findings, preferably using larger sample sizes and ideally also utilizing longitudinal research designs, to draw any practical conclusion and offer implications for follow-up clinical research.


In the last few years, several events have highlighted the risk of possible major accidents triggered by terrorist attacks within chemical and process facilities. Due to the increased attention for security issues, an optimal allocation of security measures, including related cost issues, becomes progressively more important. Despite the existence of economic models for supporting decision-making processes in general, for instance cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses, no specific economic models are available in the domain of operational security (including counter-terrorism decision-making) to be applied within the chemical and process industry. In this study, a novel method for cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis for the allocation of physical security measures was elaborated and tested using a case study. Starting from a site-specific analysis of the baseline physical security system performance, the model allows comparing and evaluating the costs of different security upgrades with the (hypothetical) benefits related to the avoided losses. The approach developed enables selecting economically feasible security measures, or a combination of such measures with a maximum net present value, within the budget constraints of a chemical plant.


This paper reports on an analysis of irrigator water demand and profit changes across varying annual water availability, crop water requirements, and river salinity conditions for irrigation along the South Australian portion of the Lower Murray. The paper also investigates the validity of the current relationship between salinity of irrigation water and irrigated crop yield underlying MDBC salinity offset investments. The assumption implicit in the current MDBC net benefits formula may be mis-specified in that the possibility to avoid yield loss with additional leaching is not accounted for. This paper reports how that mis-specification, that irrigators would simply accept yield losses, leads to overstatement of the benefits of actions to decrease salinity.


When building up competences, a subsidiary of a multinational corporation (MNC) may rely on external knowledge sources like customers, suppliers, competitors or local science centers. Internal sourcing is also available through knowledge offered by headquarters or other affiliates. The question is whether the two kinds of sources are mutual exclusive. A dilemma or organizational trade-off is foreseeable, since the more the subsidiary adapts its knowledge creation processes to host country institutions, the less it will be able to utilize internal knowledge sources due to the institutional distance between the external and internal networks. However, newer organizational forms, like the concept of the "differentiated MNC", imply a relatively smooth flow of knowledge inside the MNC, indicating that we should not expect an organizational trade-off between internal and external sources. The subsidiary's ability to build on two knowledge networks depends on its scale of resources, absorptive capacity and the role it plays in the corporation. The relationship between internal and external sourcing is tested using a unique dataset that covers more than 2,000 subsidiaries located in seven different European countries (the Centre of Excellence Project). In fact, the results show that, to a certain extent, there is no dilemma between a subsidiary's knowledge development based on both internal, and external knowledge sources. However, the results also show a bell-shaped relationship between the use of internal and external sources, where a heavily embedded use of internal sources excludes the use of external sources.


To be able to understand future firm performance it is important to recognize and correctly evaluate what constitutes a signal. This study investigates if provisions contain signalling value regarding future firm performance. The study is conducted on firms listed on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm from 2001 to 2010, constituting a sample of 2173 firm years. All the provision data has been manually collected from each of the firm's annual reports. By using both univariate and multivariate analyses, the study provides new evidence regarding the association between provisions and firm performance. The findings indicate that firms who recognise restructuring provisions experience a performance improvement. The performance improvement is tied to the size of the restructuring provision i.e. the signal. Warranty and litigation provisions show no indications of having any relation to future firm performance. Thus, large restructuring provisions contain a signal of performance improvement, whereas warranty and litigation provisions do not. The thesis contributes to existing literature by providing new insight of how provisions functions as signals of firm performance


Known members of Phytohormone-methylating compounds are plant synthesis compounds that serve as attractants of other living organisms beneficial to the plants or as defense against other biotic as well as abiotic agents. To increase their fitness and survival in a stressful environment plants produce distinct sets of phytohormone-methylating compounds. Plant genomes can encode the necessary enzymes to acquire the ability to make new specialized compounds during evolution. This dissertation aims to investigate the biochemical and biological functions and evolution of SABATH genes in different lineages of plants. Black cottonwood, Brachypodium and Norway spruce genome were used as the model for dicotyledon, monocotyledon and gymnosperm for evolution study. Using a comparative genomic approach 28, 12 and 10 SABATH genes were identified in black cottonwood, Brachypodium and Norway spruce, respectively. In order to understand biochemical and biological of SABATH from dicotyledon plant, selected enzyme members from black cottonwood were encoded and only one protein was determined to methylate phytohormone. PtJMT1 displayed activity with JA over BA. Site-mutation of Ser-153 and Asn-361 were construct in order to reveal a key residue that determine the relative activity of the enzyme with JA and BA. Homology-based structural modeling indicated that substrate alignment, in which Asn-361 is involved, plays a role in determining the substrate specificity of PtJMT1. The expression of PtJMT1 was induced by plant defense signal molecules methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid and a fungal elicitor alamethicin, suggesting that PtJMT1 may have a role in plant defense against biotic stresses. In order to understand the evolution of phytohormone-methylating enzymes entire SABATH genes in Brachypodium and Norway spruce were encoded and recombinant proteins were tested with phytohormone compounds for methyltransferase activities. In Brachypodium three proteins were determined to methylate phytohormone. These three enzymes (BdSABATH5, BdSABATH6 and BdSABATH8) have IAMT activity. All three members also had JMT activity, with BdSABATH5 and 6 having higher activity with JA than with IAA. In Norway spruce, five proteins were determined to methylate phytohormone. Three JMTs (PaJMT, PaJMT2, and PaJMT3), one IAMT (PaIAMT) and one SAMT (PaSAMT) enzymes from Norway spruce.


This paper focuses on loanword phonology in the context of Spanish words that have become part of the English lexicon in the 20th century. The background section shows that attention has been paid to Spanish words used in English from a lexical point of view, but scarcely regarding phonology. Furthermore, the few existing studies of loanword phonology do not deal in depth with Spanish and English as an example of crosslinguistic contact. Therefore, this paper aims at contributing to the explanation of the phonological adaptations occurring in Spanish words when integrated into English, and therefore the conditions of English phonology that operate in the process of perception and production of Spanish loanwords. In doing so, two areas of interest are analysed: vowel phonemes and consonant phonemes, mainly in relation to their distinctive features and the distribution of units and also considering related phenomena such as phonetic and orthographical factors.


The proliferation of diffractive optics technologies into military and consumer markets has been driven by advancements in modeling, fabrication, and performance characterization of diffractive optical elements. Diffractive optics offers additional degrees of freedom for controlling the propagation, dispersion, and polarization of light in photonic instruments. It provides instrumentation developers and optical designers with additional flexibility in systems' architectures, resulting in solutions with reduced overall size and weight, as well as enhanced performance characteristics. The benefits of diffractive optics are becoming especially important in spectral regions where high optical quality materials are sparse or not available. That applies especially to the long-wave infrared and THz spectral regions, where diffractive optical elements perform exceptionally well. This paper presents examples of optical systems employing diffractive optical elements, emphasizing unique benefits enabled by the use of diffractive optics in modern photonic instruments. It also outlines certain areas of further diffractive optics developments that are expected to provide significant system-level performance benefits.


The gene encoding the most abundant protein of purified preparations of Heliothis armigera entomopoxvirus (HaEPV) has been cloned and sequenced. The gene sequence encodes a 40.1K polypeptide with a putative N-terminal 20 amino acid leader peptide, and a single potential N-glycosylation site. Analysis of the protein, which has an apparent M(r) of 50K on polyacrylamide gels, confirmed post-translational loss of the leader peptide, but showed no evidence of glycosylation. The protein is related to others previously described from Choristoneura biennis EPV (63% identity) and Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (42% identity). Polyclonal antiserum raised against a bacterial fusion protein containing the majority of the HaEPV protein specifically labelled HaEPV spindle bodies; confocal laser scanning microscopy suggests that the protein is distributed throughout those viral structures.


This paper presents comparison of Access Techniques used in Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol for Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs). Comparison is performed between Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA), Pure ALOHA and Slotted ALOHA (S-ALOHA). Performance metrics used for comparison are Throughput (T), Delay (D) and Offered Load (G). The main goal for comparison is to show which technique gives highest Throughput and lowest Delay with increase in Load. Energy efficiency is major issue in WBAN that is why there is need to know which technique performs best for energy conservation and also gives minimum delay. Simulations are performed for different scenarios and results are compared for all techniques. We suggest TDMA as best technique to be used in MAC protocol for WBANs due to its high throughput and minimum delay with increase in load. MATLAB is the tool that is used for simulation.


Given the maturity of the gas turbine engine since its invention and considering the limited resources expected to be allocated for NASA aeronautics research and development, we ask the question are NASA technology investments still needed to enable future turbine engine-based propulsion systems? If so, what is NASA's unique role to justify NASA's investment? To address this topic, we first summarize NASA's role and contributions to turbine engine development, specific to both (1) NASA's role in conducting experiments to understand flow physics and provide relevant benchmark validation experiments for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code development, validation, and assessment and (2) the impact of technologies resulting from NASA collaborations with industry, academia, and other government agencies. Note that the scope of the discussion is limited to the NASA technology contributions with which the author was intimately associated and does not represent the entirety of the NASA contributions to turbine engine technology. The specific research, development, and demonstrations discussed herein were selected to both (1) provide a comprehensive review and reference list of the technology and its impact and (2) identify NASA's unique role and highlight how NASA's involvement resulted in additional benefit to the gas turbine engine community. Second, we will discuss current NASA collaborations that are in progress and provide a status of the results. Finally, we discuss the challenges anticipated for future turbine engine-based propulsion systems for civil aviation and identify potential opportunities for collaboration where NASA involvement would be beneficial.


A postal questionnaire concerning guidelines for the management of asthma was sent to every primary school in Birmingham. 203 (62.3%) responded. Within these schools the mean prevalence of asthma ranged from 7.1% to 9.2%. In the day to day management of asthma, 97 (47.8%) schools allowed children to keep their own inhalers and 188 (92.6%) allowed inhalers to be used when required. There was a designated member of staff responsible for asthmatic children in 54.2% of schools with 37.9% of responding schools having a policy for the management of asthma. It was found that if a school had a policy for asthma care, they were less likely to have a designated person responsible for asthmatic children (p < 0.01). Training was predominantly through First aid courses and it was thought that the majority of staff would recognise an acute asthma attack. However, schools were less likely to have received training if there was no designated member of staff for the care of children with asthma (p < 0.001).


Phase change material (PCM) is widely used in thermal energy storage systems as it can absorb and release a large amount of heat by the phase change process. Both experimental and numerical studies of PCM have increased sub stantially in the past two decades. Among them, the phase change in porous media is one of the significant topics. The simulation of PCMmelting in porous media is required to characterize the fluid flow and heat transfer behavior, and to provide guidance for the further design and optimization of PCM heat exchangers and thermal energy storage systems. In this paper, a model is developed based on the Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) to simulate transient phase change in porous media. Double distribution functions coupled with a multirelaxationtime (MRT) scheme are utilized in LBM for the simulation of the fluid flow and temperature field, respectively. An enthalpy updating scheme is also applied to determine the liquid fraction of PCM, which is used to track the solidliquid interface. The basic model in Cartesian coordinate is verified with the simulation of PCM phase change in a porous rectangular container. The model is further adapted for use in cylindrical coordinates for simulating the phase change process within porous media in a cylindrical heat exchanger. The developed model is verified by two vertical annulus cases and the results indicate that the developed model can successfully simulate the effects of natural convection and porous media on the thermal flow. More validation cases are expected to be conducted for the developed model to test its ability to simulate the phase change process. And the fully developed model is expected to be applied in a wider field of PCM phase change, which can benefit the design and improvement of PCM heat exchangers in thermal energy storage systems.


This study explores graduate engineering identity and the influence of peer and academic advisor relationships using an intersectional lens. A survey collected 1,754 U.S. engineering graduate students' reports of their experiences, identities, and motivation and explored two research questions using a combination of MANOVAs and moderated regressions. Peer and academic advisor attitudes are positively related to all aspects of graduate engineering identity. Students' identities significantly predicted mean differences across scientist, engineer, and researcher identities and their sub-constructs. Male and female Asian students scored lower than their peers in self-assessments of their scientist recognition and performance/competence, while other groups showed more variability. Advisor relationship scores were similar for all students, but peer relationship scores were lower for Students of Color. Students' social identities also led to differences in the relationships between advisor/peer relationship scores and engineering identity. Men and Women of Color often reported significantly different effects of peer relationships on identity, with men reporting positive effect and women reporting no effect. Asian women and Underrepresented Women of Color differed from White women, where Women of Color reported stronger benefits from positive academic advisor relationships. This paper explores these results and the implications for researchers and educators working with graduate populations.


In the midst of one of the bleakest periods for the North American left, the most vital resistance to U.S. imperialism is coming from the religious communities. While Marxists hold conferences to speculate on how to revitalize the connection between theory and practice, forty people, recruited through religious institutions, leave every two weeks for Nicaragua to live and work among the people in the most dangerous zones of the country, documenting contra atrocities, experiencing the acute pain of poverty and war, and then returning to their communities to talk about what they have seen and heard and to agitate for an end to U.S. intervention in Central America. Coordinated by a dedicated grassroots network of religious activities, the movement, known as Witness for Peace, has already sent over 2,000 American Christians and Jews on such tours of witness and solidarity.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.


The decentralized trading market approach, where both autonomous agents and people can consume and produce services expanding own opportunities to reach goals, looks very promising as a part of the Fourth Industrial revolution. The key component of the approach is a blockchain platform that allows an interaction between agents via liability smart contracts. Reliability of a service provider is usually determined by a reputation model. However, this solution only warns future customers about an extent of trust to the service provider in case it could not execute any previous liabilities correctly. From the other hand a blockchain consensus protocol can additionally include a validation procedure that detects incorrect liability executions in order to suspend payment transactions to questionable service providers. The paper presents the validation methodology of a liability execution for agent-based service providers in a decentralized trading market, using the Model Checking method based on the mathematical model of finite state automata and Temporal Logic properties of interest. To demonstrate this concept, we implemented the methodology in the Duckietown application, moving an autonomous mobile robot to achieve a mission goal with the following behavior validation at the end of a completed scenario.


Cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage due to ruptured aneurysms has been discussed extensively during the past decade. Spasm involving the cerebral arteries also has been described in severe head injuries, infections, hypertensive encephalopathy and migraine. However, it has not been reported in cerebral embolism or following reconstructive cerebrovascular operations. Widespread and prolonged cerebral vasospasm was recently observed angiographically in a 40-year-old patient two weeks after a middle cerebral artery embolectomy. Although the repaired artery was patent, the patient's neurological recovery was slow and incomplete. With the increasing interest in cerebral microvascular procedures, more examples of vasospasm may be seen in the future. Its frequency and possible ill effects on neurological recovery and patency of the repaired artery, nevertheless, cannot be evaluated with certainty unless early postoperative angiograms are carried out.


This study analyzes the political slants of user comments on Korean partisan media. We built a BERT-based classifier to detect political leaning of short comments via the use of semi-unsupervised deep learning methods that produced an F1 score of 0.83. As a result of classifying 21.6K comments, we found the high presence of conservative bias on both conservative and liberal news outlets. Moreover, this study discloses an asymmetry across the partisan spectrum in that more liberals (48.0%) than conservatives (23.6%) comment not only on news stories resonating with their political perspectives but also on those challenging their viewpoints. These findings advance the current understanding of online echo chambers.


Cardiac cells with distinctive electrophysiological and morphological features were found at the junctional region between Purkinje and ventricular cells of the dog heart . The electrophysiological exploration of these "transitional" cells revealed action potentials markedly different in configuration from those generated by Purkinje or by ventricular cells . The impaled cardiac cells which generated transitional action potentials were identified in serial sections and studied with the light and the electron microscopes . The transitional cells were found to be characterized cytologically by :(a)their subendocardial location, (b) their small diameter, (c) the absence of T system and sarcoplasmic reticulum, and (d) the lack of intercalated discs under the light microscope and the sparsity of specialized intercellular junctions under the electron microscope . Purkinje, transitional, and ventricular cells were found to be joined by gap junctions permeable to lanthanum . A quantitative difference in the extent and distribution of specialized intercellular junctions may be one of the factors responsible for the slow velocity of conduction characteristic of the Purkinje-ventricular junctional region


The Journal of Financial Stability provides an international forum for rigorous theoretical and empirical macro and micro economic and financial analysis of the causes, management, resolution and preventions of financial crises, including banking, securities market, payments and currency crises. The primary focus is on applied research that would be useful in affecting public policy with respect to financial stability. Thus, the Journal seeks to promote interaction among researchers, policy-makers and practitioners to identify potential risks to financial stability and develop means for preventing, mitigating or managing these risks both within and across countries.


Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dislocation is defined as excessive forward movement of the mandibular condyle beyond the articular eminence with complete separation of the articular surfaces and fixation in that position. A 54 years old man attended our Eme rgency Department (ED) with complaints of slurred speech and inability to close his mouth after upper gastroendoscopic procedures. Lateral craniography was obtained and illustrated bilateral anterior dislocation of the patient's mandibular condyles. To con firm the diagnosis urgent radiographic imaging is required without delay as the risk of complications occurring increases as time elapses.


Background and aims: Effective information search and access to the right information at the right time, has become one of the ideals medical purposes for physicians. If for any reason physicians do not get an immediate response and appropriate to their clinical questions, a big problem and serious fault in various processes including diagnosis and treatment in health care happen. Medical librarian or Information professionals are expert in the acquisition, integration, and implementation of updated and reliable information and can help to solve this problem. Thus, the present study investigates a fundamental solution in this context to solve the problem by using and enjoyment of the medical librarian in teaching expertise. Methods: This was a descriptive study. Training how to do effective search to access information in the frame of workshop to fourth-year medical students in the Persian Gulf hospitals set a timetable (one month), 8 sessions and per section took an hour and a half meeting held. In order to assess the training, the students were taken pre-test and post-test. The sample size of 57which included the entering medical students of 2013 who had recently entered to clinical stage of treatment. Students randomly assigned to the Intervention group included 29 and control group 28. Information gathered through the Self-administered questionnaire and its validity and reliability have been highlighted by 10 professors of library and information field. Data analysis was performed using statistical software SPSS16. Results: The results were determined by using chi-square test shown the student satisfaction after attending a workshop and 90 percent of the physician evaluated medical librarians useful to provide updated information on evidence-based medicine. Conclusion: Training students who have recently entered to the clinical stage, for doing effective search on evidence-based medical information in order to meet the needs of the medical community and reduce medical errors that occur in clinical practice, is necessary.


Swirl flows have been used lately for the modern gas turbine combustion to enhance the mixing and flame stabilization. Instabilities that occur due to such flow are often termed as precessing vortex core (PVC). This precessing vortex core has a greater effect on the flow characteristics and heat release and its interaction with the flame is important. The numerical analysis using Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and Large Eddy Simulation (LES) turbulence models were used to carry out simulations of gas turbine combustor to study the PVC and flame interaction in the flow fields. The boundary conditions were set as power output – 35 kW, Reynolds number - 52000 and the equivalence ratio - 0.65. The RANS results were more similar to the experimental one than the LES. The LES results were more useful in studying the PVC characteristics, PVC-flame interaction and instantaneous flow field. The RANS results were helpful in understanding the average flow fields. The grid requirement for both turbulence models and their importance was also studied.


Australian National standards recommend routine screening for all adults over 65 years by health organisations that provide care for patients with cognitive impairment. Despite this, screening rates are low and, when implemented, screening is often not done well. This qualitative pilot study investigates barriers and facilitators to cognitive screening for older people in rural and regional Victoria, Australia. Focus groups and interviews were undertaken with staff across two health services. Data were analysed via thematic analysis and contextualized within the i-PARIHS framework. Key facilitators of screening included legislation, staff buy-in, clinical experience, appropriate training, and interorganisational relationships. Collaborative implementation processes, time, and workloads were considerations in a recently accredited tertiary care setting. Lack of specialist services, familiarity with patients, and infrastructural issues may be barriers exacerbated in rural settings. In lieu of rural specialist services, interorganisational relationships should be leveraged to facilitate referring 'outwards' rather than 'upwards'.


Many natural and synthetic anticancer agents with the ability to interact with DNA have been discovered, but most of them have relatively low therapeutic index. This is probably related to the fact that these derivatives cause DNA damage in an unspecific manner, inducing unselective growth inhibition and death, both in neoplastic and in highly proliferative normal tissues. For these reasons, there has been considerable interest in finding small molecules able to alkylate the DNA with a much higher degree of sequence specificity and to modify the function of nucleic acids irreversibly. Analogues of naturally occurring antitumor agents, such as distamycin A, which bind in the minor groove of DNA, represent a new class of anticancer compounds currently under investigation. Distamycin A has driven researcher's attention not only for the biological activity, but also for its non intercalative binding to the minor groove of double- stranded B-DNA, where it forms strong reversible complex preferentially at the nucleotide sequences consisting of 4-5 adjacent AT base pairs. The pyrrole-amide skeleton of distamycin A has also been used as DNA sequence selective vehicle for the delivery of alkylating functions to DNA targets, leading to a sharp increase of its cytotoxicity, in comparison to that, very weak, of distamycin itself. The DNA alkylating and cytotoxic activities against several tumor cell lines are reported and discussed in terms of their structural differences in relation to both the number of N-methyl pyrrole rings and the type of the alkylating unit tethered to the oligopeptidic frame.


Two concepts of protein folding are known. One of them, the cotranslational concept, states that a protein folds during the synthesis of the polypeptide chain on the ribosome. According to the other, the posttranslational concept, the protein starts to fold just after the synthesis of its polypeptide chain. This article attempts to show that the posttranslational concept is hardly suited to solve the problem of protein folding. In our opinion, polypeptide chains cannot be represented as random coils. They are stiff chain-like macromolecules rather than flexible ones: the single bond rotational barriers of a polypeptide substantially exceed the accepted standard values; even in strong denaturing conditions, a protein possesses a considerable amount of residual folded structures. We believe that the popular "hierarchical" models for the protein folding mechanism are not realistic because the formation of secondary and tertiary structures of proteins occurs simultaneously and cooperatively. The time for the elongation of a polypeptide chain by one amino acid residue during biosynthesis exceeds considerably the time of the formation of alpha-helices and beta-sheets in proteins as well as the time supposed for the spatial structure formation of a native protein during renaturation. Thus, we believe that the mechanism of protein folding in vivo cannot be clarified by denaturation-renaturation experiments. In our opinion, the phenomenon of protein renaturation is no more than the restoration of native protein conformation (which initially forms cotranslationally) disrupted during denaturation, and thus denaturation-renaturation experiments cannot serve as a model to clarify the mechanism of protein folding.


This paper presents the architecture, algorithm, and VLSI hardware of image acquisition, storage, and compression on a single-chip CMOS image sensor. The image array is based on time domain digital pixel sensor technology equipped with nondestructive storage capability using 8-bit Static-RAM device embedded at the pixel level. The pixel-level memory is used to store the uncompressed illumination data during the integration mode as well as the compressed illumination data obtained after the compression stage. An adaptive quantization scheme based on fast boundary adaptation rule (FBAR) and differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) procedure followed by an online, least storage quadrant tree decomposition (QTD) processing is proposed enabling a robust and compact image compression processor. A prototype chip including 64×64 pixels, read-out and control circuitry as well as an on-chip compression processor was implemented in 0.35 μm CMOS technology with a silicon area of 3.2×3.0 mm2 and an overall power of 17 mW. Simulation and measurements results show compression figures corresponding to 0.6-1 bit-per-pixel (BPP), while maintaining reasonable peak signal-to-noise ratio levels.


Background: Many hospitals of Iran make use of their therapeutic capacities in order to attract medical tourists and increase revenue and efficiency of their affiliated hospitals. This issue has major benefits for hospital and tourists. This study assessed the potential of medical tourists' attraction in a military hospital in Tehran. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive- analytical one which used secondary data to analyze. Data gained from quality improvement and finance offices, recipients of service and health information management units from the first of 2014 to the first semester of 2015. Strategic plan document were used to analyze the opportunities and strengths points. Results : The mean of studied hospital performance indicators like bed occupancy rate, length of stay, Bed turnover, rate of admissions to bed, mortality and bedsores rates, nosocomial infections, medication error, patients' rights and patient satisfaction were 4.68 , 3.3, 5.1 , 6.6 , 5.2, 1, 69, 9.74 , 70 percent respectively. The strengths points of the studied hospital were diverse expertise, updated equipment and minimum waiting time. Conclusion: Because of skilled man power, physical resources and especially modern equipment, the hospital does not need huge investment in medical tourists' attraction. This issue will increase admission, productivity and satisfaction of clients and staff.


Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is a common disease in elderly men, characterized by proliferated prostate and urinary tract symptoms. The hormonal cascade starting by the action of 5-alpha-reductase (5AR) is known to be one of the pathways responsible for the pathogenesis of BPH. Present investigation evaluated the capacity of berberine (BBR), a nature-derived compound abundant in Coptis japonica, in testosterone-induced BPH rats. Experimental BPH was induced by inguinal injection with testosterone propionate (TP) for 4 weeks. BBR or finasteride, a 5AR inhibitor as positive control, was treated for 4 weeks during BPH. BPH induced by TP evoked weight gaining and histological changes of prostate and BBR treatment improved all the detrimental effects not only weight reduction and histological changes but also suppression of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which is elevated during BPH. Additionally, BBR suppressed TP-associated increase of 5AR, androgen receptor (AR) and steroid coactivator-1 (SRC-1), the key factors in the pathogenesis of BPH. To evaluate the underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for beneficial effects of BBR, we investigated whether these effects were associated with the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. BPH induced by TP showed increased phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), whereas this was suppressed by BBR treatment. On the other hand, c-jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase was not changed in BPH rats. In in vitro study using RWPE-1 cells, a human prostate epithelial cell line. TP increased cell proliferation and BPH-related key factors such as PSA, AR, and 5AR in RWPE-1 cells, and those factors were significantly decreased in the presence of BBR. Furthermore, these proliferative effects in RWPE-1cells were attenuated by treatment with U0126, an ERK inhibitor, confirming BBR can relieve overgrowth of prostate via ERK-dependent signaling. The cotreatment of U0126 and BBR did not affect the change of 5AR nor proliferation compared with U0126 alone, suggesting that the effect of BBR was dependent on the action of ERK. In conclusion, this study shows that BBR can be used as a therapeutic agent for BPH by controlling hyperplasia of prostate through suppression of ERK mechanism.


We carried out clinical studies on cefozopran (CZOP, SCE-2787). The results are summarized as follows. Treatment with CZOP was made in 17 cases of pediatric bacterial infections including 2 cases of purulent tonsillitis, 11 cases of acute pneumonia and 2 cases each of urinary tract infections and enteritis. Results obtained were excellent in 12 cases, good in 2 cases, fair in 2 cases and poor in 1 case. All of 9 isolated bacteria were eradicated by the treatment. As side effects and laboratory test results, rash was observed in one case and transient increase of platelets in one case, slight increase of eosinophil in 2 cases and transient elevation of GPT and GOT.GPT in one case.


A patient in acute respiratory failure (Murray score 2.0) caused by pneumonia in the remaining lung 4 days after left-sided pneumonectomy was successfully treated with non-invasive pressure support by face mask. Non-invasive ventilation was chosen to keep the time of ventilating as short as possible, to achieve minimum pressure within the airways, and to retain natural defense and clearance mechanisms. Inspiratory pressure support was added to reduce increased work of breathing, improve ventilatory mechanics and gas exchange. Also, intrinsic PEEP was counterbalanced by external PEEP of 5 cmH2O to reduce work of breathing. Inspiratory pressure support of 15 cmH2O reduced respiratory rate to less than 30 breaths/min, improved paO2 and reduced elevated paCO2 towards normal within 3 hours. Duration of the non-invasive ventilation was 45 hours. There were no complications.


Metastatic melanoma has a poor prognosis with a median survival for patients with stage IV melanoma ranging from 6 to 9 months and a 3-year survival rate of only 10-15%. Generally, metastatic melanoma is difficult to treat, because advanced melanomas are refractory to most standard systemic therapies and therapeutic options are limited. Vemurafenib, a kinase which also inhibits the BRAF V600E mutation, is one in a series of BRAF-kinase inhibitors and is indicated for patients with BRAF V600E mutation positive advanced/metastatic unresectable melanoma. It is currently not approved by the EMA, but approval was recommended by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of EMA as first-in-class treatment for metastatic or unresectable melanoma in December 2011. The approval is expected in February 2012. In the US, the FDA granted market authorization based on the (ongoing) BRIM-3 study in August 2011. The BRIM-3 study, a phase III trial, evaluated vemurafenib in comparison to dacarbazine, in previously untreated patients. Improved results for progression-free survival (i.e. a gain of 3.7 months for patients treated with vemurafenib), were found, but no reliable OS data are available, since cross-over was allowed after an interim-analysis. About one third of patients treated with vemurafenib develop – as a side effect – squamous cell carcinoma of the skin.
The assessment was carried out in collaboration with the Italian Horizon Scanning project ULSS 20.


Mo/W oxide hollow microspheres with MoO3 as matrix material were fabricated via a polyethylene glycol (PEG) induced aqueous route. The hierarchical Mo/W oxide samples are constructed by elementary fusiform particles, which were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods. Initial formed h-WO3 crystallites acted as nuclei for subsequent formation of MoO3 precipitates, thus Mo/W oxide samples formed through epitaxial growth strategy show weak crystallization because of the lattice mismatch between h-MoO3 and h-WO3 crystals. The MoO3 based Mo/W oxide samples exhibit good photochromic performances compared to unitary h-MoO3 and h-WO3 crystals.


Late Latin and Early Romance presents a theory of the relationship between Latin and Romance during the period 400-1250. The central hypothesis is that what we now call 'Medieval Latin' was invented around 800 AD when Carolingian scholars standardised the pronunciation of liturgical texts, and that otherwise what was spoken was simply the local variety of Old French, Old Spanish, etc. Thus, the view generally held before the publication of this work, that 'Latin' and 'Romance' existed alongside each other in earlier centuries, is anachronistic. Before 800, Late Latin was Early Romance. This hypothesis is examined first from the viewpoint of historical linguistics, with particular attention paid to the idea of lexical diffusion (ch. 1), and then (ch. 2) through detailed study of pre-Carolingian texts. Chapter 3 deals with the impact in France of the introduction of standardised Latin by Carolingian scholars, and shows how the earliest texts written in the vernacular resulted from it. The final two chapters turn to the situation in Spain from the eighth to the thirteenth centuries. Ch. 4 suggests, on the evidence of a large variety of texts, that before 1080 the new Latin pronunciation (i.e. Medieval Latin) was not used; Ch. 5 charts the slow spread, as a result of Europeanising reforms, of a distinction between Latin and vernacular Romance between 1080 and 1250. There is an extensive bibliography and full indexes. Wright's controversial book presents a wide range of detailed evidence, with extensive quotation of relevant texts and documents. When it was published in 1982 it challenged established ideas in the fields of Romance linguistics and Medieval Latin. The collectively established facts are however explained better by his theory that Medieval Latin was a revolutionary innovation consequent upon liturgical reform, than by the view that it was a miraculous conservative survival that lasted unchanged for a millennium. Late Latin and Early Romance draws on philological, historical and literary evidence from the medieval period, and on historical linguistics, and is a seminal work in these areas of scholarship.


ABSTRACT Offering promotional programs is a common strategy for firms to induce consumers to make purchases. This paper investigates promotional programs in the market of cloud computing. We identified the following two popular forms of promotional programs for cloud computing services in this paper: the coupon and the free trial promotional program. We first studied the cloud provider's promotional strategies in the market with complete information and identified the conditions under which each promotional strategy is optimal. The results show that targeted promotional programs are more profitable than untargeted programs. Further, the provider should offer a targeted coupon program in the case of a higher usage cost, weaker network effects and a lower quantity of clients' tasks to process. In addition, this paper explores the case of incomplete information and finds that the provider will offer untargeted coupons, untargeted trials, or no promotional programs for optimal profits. Finally, this paper studies the scenario in which clients are uncertain about the valuations of the cloud service a priori. We show that trial programs will be more advantageous under such scenario compared to the scenario when clients exhibit no uncertainty.


High-Content Screening (HCS) is a form of high throughput screening (HTS) that couples automated microscopy with high throughput image analysis to quantify biological effects. Thus, it can be thought of as applied biology bridging basic bench research to drug discovery and clinical medicine. The first aim of this proposal is to develop a HCS strategy to identify small molecules that stimulate the differentiation of murine embryonic stem cells (mESC) toward the cardiac lineage. Screening campaigns are difficult and expensive, and success can be undermined by variation or errors in the underlying biology, robotics, instrumentation and data analysis. Some of these problems can result in systematic errors resistant to correction by established methods. Thus, the second aim of this proposal focuses on development and testing of a novel correction method for redressing systematic errors. The third aim is to implement the HCS campaign and analyze the most interesting hits through confirmatory and secondary screens, medicinal chemistry optimization, and then mechanism of action and target identification. Two libraries were screened : 1) 14,000 small synthetic compounds screened at 2 doses and added 1 molecule per sample well, and 2) a chemical mixture library where each sample well is tested against thousands of structurally similar molecules at equimolor concentration. Two molecules from the individual compound screen and one compound from the mixture library screen were selected for structure activity relationship (SAR) analyses. For each compound class, the data define an SAR for cardiomyogenesis from ESCs. Studies focused on the biological mechanism of action studies have revealed two molecules bias germ layer commitment toward early endoderm at the expense of mesoderm. Biotin-tethered probes used to affinity capture small molecule protein targets together with biological assays have suggested metabolic stress is a modulator of mESC specification of the 3 germ layers


Data integration technology becomes essential in processing many types of data. This paper proposes a new method called Semi-Automatic XML schema Mapping (SAXM). Semantic similarity is firstly used to separate unmatchable nodes. Structural similarity and data type compatibility are then applied to ascertain the matching of two nodes. The output of SAXM is a set of similarity relationship values between two XML schemas elements. Moreover, a user can verify the mapping to provide a more accurate result. Experimental results show that our proposed method provides the highest recall and comparable precision among well known approaches.


At border control, it is the personnel's job to identify possible passport fraud, in particular to verify whether the photograph in a travel document matches its bearer. However, as various earlier studies suggest, identity verification from photographs or CCTV is far from accurate. The aim of this study was thus to investigate identity verification at border control. Particularly, we examined the influence of display duration in document verification. Results showed that performance significantly suffered from time restrictions, which stresses the importance of working environments at border control free of time pressure. A second aim was to assess a possible benefit of inversion of the document on identity verification performance, as was suggested by anecdotal evidence from security personnel but clearly contradicts the well known inversion effect in face recognition. Indeed, no such beneficial influence of inversion was found in this study. The results are discussed in terms of application-oriented implications.


In this paper, the problem of building edge detection in synthetic aperture radar images is addressed. A new stochastic approach based on local Gaussian Markov random field (LGMRF) is proposed. The algorithm finds the edges of buildings starting from the estimation of the hyperparameters of the LGMRF model. The hyperparameters are seen as an indicator of the spatial correlation between adjacent pixels. The procedure is applied on interferometric data, using single-channel and multichannel configurations. The algorithm has been tested on simulated and real data, providing good results in both cases.


ABSTRACT South Asia is home to many of the world's major religions, and over a century of archaeological enquiry has documented the sites associated with these traditions. Although textual scholarship, augmented by art historical and architectural studies of durable remains, has dominated interpretations, recent archaeological studies have begun to redress this balance by contextualizing monuments within their landscapes and engaging with the varied roles that such monuments played in the past. Referencing ethnographic analogy and archaeological visibility of ritual practices, alongside analysis of archaeological and textual evidence, the authors explore the issues faced when identifying and interpreting temporary gatherings at these sites in the past with reference to pilgrimage. Utilizing a broad-spectrum approach through varying time-periods and traditions, they advance potential ways of bridging the gap between intangible practices and tangible evidence, revealing the role of settlements, religious sites and landscapes as routeways and assembly points for pilgrimages and processions.


The scientific revolution happened in the last two decades has given birth to a new branch called as nanoscience and nanotechnology. This new technology can now offer materials which can act like as store house of human knowledge and to unveil many fundamental secrets of nature and solve several technical difficulties. It is a world of technology witnessing a revolution in the exploration of matter at the small invisible scale. This technology is expected to be the unique bridge for linking the technical gap between the solved and unsolved problems.With the help of this technology, one can detect brain treating diseases like Cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer and many other harmful viruses etc. and this has also brought a revolution in the area of electronics by creating RFID robots and sensors. In this write up, we briefly discuss the potential benefits of nanotechnology and their ground-breaking applications which can make our future better and stronger.


Obesity has become a worldwide epidemic, which has lead to a surge of interest in therapeutics to combat this condition. Characterized by an increase in adipose tissue mass, obesity is associated with increased risk of a variety of detrimental diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Despite major advances in uncovering the root of this problem, the underlying basic biological process of adipose tissue development, as well as its ability to expand, is not well understood. To this end, many transcription factors have been identified to play a role in promoting the differentiation of precursor cells, or preadipocytes, into fully mature and lipid-filled adipocytes. Attempts have been made to identify early precursors of adipocytes, however the origin of these adipocytes are not clear, and classic lineage tracing has not been performed extensively. The aim of this dissertation work was to identify adipose precursor cells using the preadipocyte marker, Pref-1, to investigate adipose precursors during embryogenesis and the expansion of adipose tissue in adults.Chapter 1 reviews the adipose tissue organ and the role of Pref-1 in the regulation of adipocyte differentiation. In addition to being the main energy storage organ, adipose tissue is now well recognized as an endocrine organ of the body, and there are a variety of hormones and cytokines that are secreted by adipose tissue for many physiological functions including energy homeostasis. Pref-1 is expressed prior to differentiation into adipocytes, and becomes extinguished during differentiation. Pref-1 activates MEK/ERK to upregulate Sox9 which binds to the promoter and blocks expression of several important transcription factors that promote adipocyte differentiation.Chapter 2 focuses on understanding white adipose tissue development and the identification and characterization of adipose precursors. To investigate adipose tissue development, I generated transgenic mouse models to label and ablate Pref-1 expressing cells in vivo, with the overall goal of uncovering details of adipose development during embryogenesis, and diet induced expansion of adipose tissue in adults. Pref-1 expressing cells represent adipose precursors that are mesenchymal in origin, and not endothelial cells or pericytes. These precursors are capable of division and are required for the expansion of the adipose tissue both during embryogenesis and during high fat diet induced obesity.Chapter 3 focuses on another type of fat, brown adipose tissue (BAT), which, unlike white adipose tissue (WAT), burns fatty acids to perform non-shivering thermogenesis, and which was recently recognized to be present even in adult humans. Brown adipocytes have a different morphological and gene expression profile compared to white adipocytes, and can be identified by the unique expression of Uncoupling Protein-1 (UCP-1). UCP-1 acts to uncouple respiration from ATP production, resulting in heat production. I generated transgenic mice to label UCP-1 expressing cells in vivo, and to characterize these cells during cold induced or beta-adrenergic agonist induced expansion of BAT.Chapter 4, concludes this body of work, and discusses future directions and remaining questions. Thus, these studies provide a better understanding of both white and brown adipose tissue development and characterization of the precursors responsible for adipose tissue development, and may offer future therapeutic targets for obesity.


Tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) derivatives TTF-Bor, TTF-2UM and TTF-4UM having chiral urethane groups were prepared. Among them, TTF-2UM, TTF-4UM and their charge-transfer (CT) complexes with F4TCNQ organized the nanowires. The intermolecular hydrogen bonding of the chiral urethane groups and π-stacking of TTF moieties or the formation of CT complexes resulted in a long one-dimensional nanowires. The chiral moieties were responsible for the molecular orientation of TTF cores to give helical structures. Electronic conductivity of the films of nanowires composed of TTF-2UM and TTF-4UM with F4TCNQ were determined to be 8.0 × 10(-2) and 3.2 × 10(-2) S cm(-1), respectively.


Most algorithms currently proposed for sensor integration implicitly assume that the signals from all sensors are synchronized, but this does not hold in real situations. The paper proposes to handle time-variant sensor combination systems by a sequence, and formulates a method to verify that the designed sequence is stable, together with a method to predict theoretically the performance of the designed sequence based on the mutual information rate. This enables a sequence of sensor combinations to be designed rationally.


Essential thrombocythemia (ET) is a chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm which can cause thrombohaemorrhagic complications usually involving microvasculature. Medium-sized arterial thrombosis has been reported, but coronary occlusion usually occurs with additional risk factors, for example, smoking, hyperlipidaemia and so on. We present a case of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a young man (29 years) with ET but without any coronary artery associated risk factors. He was successfully treated for his AMI and ET with cytoreductive treatment and has recovered well. Due to automated platelet counting, ET is being increasingly identified; early detection can prevent long-term complications, and patients can have normal life span.


has invested much money in it, and universities. State Teachers' Colleges, State Departments of Education and the United States Bureau of Edncation have been keenly alive to the importance of Character Education, but it was left largely to the city of Philadelphia. its city superintendent and irs City Xormal School to develop a demonstration of community improvement through character education, and the vitalizing features of the Philadelphia plan are grouped effectively in "Conduct and Citizenship," which makes it possible for an)" city to so remodel its school activities that hereafter the products of the schools win function in a better public opinion, in better laws, better lise of tax money, better courts, better conduct in official and private life. BOOK TABLE


In this paper we present two ICs fabricated in InP DHBT technology and devoted to 43 Gbit/s and over transmission systems: reshaping DFF for the transmitter and decision circuit for the receiver. High quality system operation and ease of insertion in system environment are achieved simultaneously with significant reduction of power consumption. 40 -50 Gb/s measurements are presented.


The paper describes a novel method that improvises the procedure for supervised speaker diary compilation. The procedure supposes that the database of the speakers is available. Initially, the database and observation signal of the speakers, are prepared. The audio features have been extracted from the database and the observation signal. Instead of using one of Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient, Perceptual Linear Prediction, or Power Normalized Cepstral Coefficients, a combination of all of them have been used. The combination form of these features is independent, i.e. they are concatenated in the feature matrix. The comparison between features of observation signal and statistical properties of database features, has been made. A comparing procedure is used to make the decision of the logical mask for comparison. Both of bottom-up and top-down scenarios collaborate to complete the last decisions successfully. Diary compilation Error Rate test denotes that combination of features has less errors than any one alone.


Cardiovascular risk factors seem to be affected by androgens, which exert their action through the androgen receptor (AR). Androgenic action correlates inversely with a polymorphic CAG repeat region in the AR gene encoding for glutamine residues the length of which appears to influence high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. The aim of the study was to investigate the possible association between AR gene polymorphism and serum sex steroids and lipids. 170 healthy males, aged 22-59 years (mean 42 years), were included in the study. Anthropometrical as well as sociometrical parameters were recorded. Body fat content (BFC) (% fat mass) was measured by bioelectrical impedance. Serum lipids and total and free testosterone (T) and estradiol (E(2)) levels were measured in each subject. AR gene CAG repeats length was determined. No significant correlation was found between the length of AR gene polyglutamine tract and the levels of gonadal steroids (total and free T, total and free E(2)) or to the lipid levels (Triglycerides, total, HDL and LDL cholesterol). In addition, serum lipid levels were not significantly different in the lower compared to higher half of CAG repeats length distribution. On multiple regression analysis BFC was found to predict HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides were found to show, respectively, significant negative and positive correlation with body fat content. In conclusion, AR gene polymorphism may not predict sex steroid levels in healthy males. Possible impact of CAG repeats length on lipids profile has not been established.


This paper argues that the best way of analyzing the directional morphemes in the Polynesian Outlier Vaeakau-Taumako (Pileni) is as verbs that most frequently—but not exclusively—occur in serialization with another verb. The class of directionals in Polynesian in general is somewhat heterogeneous; most sources classify them as particles or adverbs, while often noting that some items have a limited verbal use, or are homophonous with verbs with similar meanings.The analysis of directionals as verbal in Vaeakau-Taumako suggests that they are less grammaticalized in this language than in most other Polynesian languages, and so raises the question of how this situation has arisen. One possible explanation is that the presence of verb serialization in Vaeakau-Taumako may have preserved the verbal nature of the directionals longer than in other Polynesian languages. This may in turn have been reinforced through contact with the neighboring Äiwoo language of the Reefs-Santa Cruz group, which has several serialization constructions that are structurally and functionally very similar to those found in Vaeakau-Taumako.A second possibility is that the difference between Vaeakau-Taumako and other Polynesian languages is only apparent, and that Polynesian directionals in general may have verbal properties to a greater extent than generally recognized. As Polynesian languages are poor in verbal morphology, distinguishing verb serialization from other types of complex verbal constructions in these languages is problematic, which might explain why directionals have typically not been analyzed as verbal.


Current tariff designs do not incentivize efficient or equitable responses by active customers adopting renewable self-generation or providing flexibility in a future fully decarbonized electricity system. This chapter revises current practices in Europe and, based on the revisited principles of efficiency and equity, proposes a first benchmark for tariff design. Forward-looking peak-coincident network charges that reflect network incremental costs and fixed charges that collect residual network costs and policy costs are recommended. No one-size-fits-all model exists, in practice. These are guidelines for regulators when dealing with the trade-offs between the tariff legacy and the new requirements imposed by this energy transition.


Abstract Reproductive barrier formation between newly derived hybrid taxa and their parental species represents a major evolutionary hurdle. Here, I examine the development of a sterility barrier during hybrid speciation by examining the fertility of progeny from all combinations of crosses involving three experimentally synthesized sunflower hybrid lineages, their natural hybrid counterpart, Helianthus anomalus, and their parents, H. annuus and H. petiolaris. Crosses between the parental species and H. anomalus generated almost completely sterile offspring (pollen viability < 5%; seed set < 1%). A fairly strong sterility barrier also has developed between three hybrid lineages and both parental species (pollen viability 11.1–41.6%; seed set 0.84–20.1%). In contrast, the three hybrid lineages are almost fully interfertile (pollen viabilities 83.1–88.6%; seed set 72.1–75.3%), as predicted by molecular mapping studies that indicate they have converged on a similar set of gene combinations and chromosomal rearrangements. A modest decline in compability is observed in crosses between the three hybrid lineages and H. anomalus (pollen viabilities 64.1–70.7%; seed set 37–43%), a result that agrees well with prior data demonstrating significant congruence between the genomes of the natural and experimental hybrid lineages. These observations not only indicate that reproductive isolation can arise as a by-product of fertility selection in hybrid populations, but also testify to the repeatability of this mode of speciation. Corresponding Editor: O. Savolainen


Vehicle cooperation, not vehicle automation, will yield the greatest benefits on road traffic. However, satisfactory human control over platoons of cooperative vehicles still has a large number of uncertainties and issues to be addressed. This paper aims to address these broader issues of control over a cooperative vehicle platoon by focussing on a truck platooning system as a case example, and taking the perspective of Meaningful Human Control (MHC) as control concept. MHC goes further than mere operational control as it addresses issues that exist in current system designs, and proposes improvements based on a novel and more encompassing set of conditions for control. These issues are addressed in regard to the vehicles and their Operational Design Domains (ODD), the role and ability of the drivers (both leading and following) and how these exist in regard to their road environment. We conclude that current advances are making progress, but that from a MHC perspective, issues still remain for the operational and tactical implementation of truck platoons and cooperative driving that need to be addressed in regard to ODDs and drivers. Furthermore, consideration of responsibility and liability aspects is required that stretches beyond nominal appointment thereof, as this does not satisfy important ethical and societal standards. This is demonstrated in the paper through two hypothetical cases focussing on issues on a system level and one further analysis which is focussed on the role of the driver in the platooning system.