The resistance of certain types of hyperacuity tasks (eg, vernier acuity) to optical degradation of the retinal image has been demonstrated previously. This suggests that such a task might provide a means of filling the clinical need for a reliable test of retinal function in the presence of cataracts and other ocular opacities. In the present study, we measure several aspects of vernier acuity performance in cataract patients. These data provide an early basis for the development of a vernier acuity test to detect retinal/neural visual loss prior to cataract surgery. We report the results of measurements in 15 cataract patients using a two-dot vernier acuity task with variable separation between the two dots (gap). The data indicate that the shape and mean level of the vernier threshold-versus-gap function co-vary with the functional severity of the opacity as corroborated by Snellen acuity measures. Furthermore, the optical effects of the cataracts we studied are very similar to the effects of degrading the visual stimulus by interposing ground glass for a normal observer. We conclude that the shape of the vernier threshold-versus-gap function is a good indicator of the functional severity of the cataract in patients with otherwise normal vision.


The effects of ZnO crystal defects and the ubiquitous defect fluorescence on the electronic properties of nanocrystal thin-films were determined. Films were prepared from particles prepared in DMSO with controllable defect fluorescence. Particles were determined to range in size from 5 to 12 nm on average, with little bearing on the electronic properties. Thin-film electron mobilities were found to decrease from 0.04 cm2 V−1 s−1 to 0.008 cm2 V−1 s−1 with decreasing defect fluorescence, indicating crystal defects are pivotal to high-mobility ZnO nanoparticle films. The threshold voltage of ZnO nanoparticle FET devices was found to decrease from 120 to 40 V while the resistivity increased 100-fold with decreasing defect fluorescence. These results are found to be in excellent agreement with theory and greatly improve our understanding of ZnO nanoparticle conduction.


In presenting this paper on 'Information Services at Work', I would like to stress that we are appealing very largely in this type of meeting to the younger members. While hoping that they will benefit by hearing of other people's experiences and methods, we still look to them for fresh ideas and even more for criticism of old ones. In due course these budding library assistants will have become blossomed and blown information officers and it will be too late; like us, they will then have become convinced that there is no better way of doing things than their own. You will notice that I have presumed a development from library assistant to information officer. The library must be the foundation on which the information service is built, and to my belief, a library training is essential to anyone in information work. In any case, it is obviously not possible to draw a rigid distinction between the library service and the information service, nor to say where the one begins and the other ends. There is only one thing to be stressed; that the guiding force, whatever the type of organization which is found, must be the requirements of the company, association or other concern served by the information unit. No theoretical ideals or rigid adherence in the application of library science should be allowed to jeopardize this prime consideration. One further introductory point. I have noticed that matters technical tend to dominate almost exclusively any discussion of the work of an information officer. This is perhaps natural enough, but I hope to suggest to you that there exists a much wider field of activity. Information services must be considered as covering the whole of the parent body's interests and not only those on the technological side.


"Replace Business Tax with VAT" has been implemented in the financial in-dustry, aiming at reducing the tax burden of financial enterprises. Taking listed companies in financial industry as samples, this paper empirically analyses the market response to this favorable policy and its possible influencing factors by using event study method. The results show that the market does not respond strongly to the announcement events of the "Replace Business Tax with VAT" policy in the financial industry, but strongly to the implementation of the "Re-place Business Tax with VAT" policy. The average abnormal returns (1.17%) of the sample companies in the implementation day are significantly positive, and the cumulative abnormal returns (0.85%) of the event window [-1, 1] are also significantly positive. Regression analysis shows that the salary ratio, fi-nancial leverage, book-to-market value ratio, ownership concentration and property nature of sample companies are positively correlated with the abnor-mal return on the implementation date, while the asset size is negatively corre-lated with the abnormal return.


Many factors affect energy demand, and knowing their impact is very important for being able to design a low-energy building. In this group of factors, there are those that cannot be changed and improved after the building is constructed, so taking them into account when choosing a project is important for energy savings. This group includes geometric parameters. We propose a geometric method of assessing the energy demand of a single-family house. The idea is to predict the level of energy demand by calculating the values of simple geometric parameters in the first stage of design. Based on the analysis of 30 realistically designed single-family houses, we show that the geometric indicators expressed by the base area Af, and perimeter P at a fixed building wall height h, perfectly characterize the amount of energy, both usable and final. Moreover, we show linear relationships between the nominated A/V and non-nominated EWA/FA, RCcd compactness ratios. This relationship allows one indicator to be measured with another. As a result, we show how a designer can use a simple calculated index RCcd to find out the level of energy demand.


Gold standard or fool's gold?

Randomised controlled trials are a widely accepted means of applying experimental methods to a clinical setting and have been advocated as the gold standard for comparing and evaluating different treatments.1 2 General practice has been promoted as an appropriate arena for evaluating interventions ranging from drug treatment to developments in services3 4: nine out of 10 health service consultations take place here; it is the point of first contact for most medical conditions; and existing population registers and computer systems allow potential access to large amounts of clinical data. An increasing number of randomised controlled trials are being performed in this setting to contribute to the culture of evidence based medicine.5 But despite the theoretical attractions, applying experimental methods in clinical practice presents problems that, if not properly addressed or acknowledged, may invalidate the findings.6 The particular problems of recruitment and randomisation merit consideration with respect to primary care. …


A re-examination of all the sources allows the author to conclude what follows: 1) Fest., p. 487 L., s.v. Tuscum vicum (of whose text a new reconstruction is proposed), and Claudius' discourse in the Tabula Lugdunensis present the same Etruscan tradition on Caeles Vibenna's arrival in Rome in the service of Tarquinius Priscus. Tacitus' digression on Mount Caelius (ann., IV, 65), whose source is very likely another Claudian discourse, demonstrates that in Claudius' opinion the occupation of the Mount Caelius by the Caeliani was not a hostile conquest. Therefore in the Lyons tablet occupavit means that they took legitimately possession of the Mount Caelius, placed at their disposal by Tarquinius Priscus, as the cives took legitimately possession of the ager occupatorius. 2) Arnob., adv. nat., VI, 7 does not demonstrate that Mastarna-Servius Tullius killed Aulus Vibenna after Caeles' death. 3) The 'historical' scene of the Tomba Francois does not represent the slaughter of Tarquinius Priscus and the conquest of Rome by the Vibennae; on the contrary, it represents an episode of the struggle for the power at Rome, caused by an unsuccessful attempt to usurp the throne carried out after Tarquinius Priscus' death by another Tarquinius (Cneve Tarchunies). 4) Mastarna-macstrna (nickname of Servius Tullius) is an Etruscan adjective derived from the Latin magister, perhaps of the same type as some Latin adjectives derived from names of magisterial or sacerdotal offices (praetorius, censorius etc.), which often became nicknames or cognomina (Censorius / Censorinus, Augurinus, Flamininus etc.). firstname.lastname@example.com


Paulownia trees are indigenous to China, where they are found in all regions from the sub-tropical south, to the plains and mountainous areas in the north. In Australia, a number of Paulownia plantations have been established in recent years as the timber is a valuable resource with strong export potential. The main species grown are P. fortunei and P. tomentosa.

In Western Australia, major plantations have been established to the north of Perth, in a Mediterranean environment with irrigation and fertigation over the summer months. At some sites the trees are subject to strong winds that can cause significant physical damage to the large leaves, and sunscald also has a major impact on tree growth.

In addition to abiotic factors affecting the health of the trees, foliar diseases are also present. Alternaria blight (1) and a phytoplasma-associated disease (2) have been reported, and other pathogens are regularly being identified. Here we outline some of the major findings from research being conducted on Alternaria blight of Paulownia in Western Australia.


Astrophysical nucleosynthesis is a family of diverse processes by which atomic nuclei undergo nuclear reactions and decays to form new nuclei. The complex nature of nucleosynthesis, which can involve as many as tens of thousands of interactions between thousands of nuclei, makes it difficult to study any one of these interactions in isolation using standard approaches. In this work, we present a new technique, nucleosynthesis tracing, that we use to quantify the specific role of individual nuclear reaction, decay, and fission processes in relationship to nucleosynthesis as a whole. We apply this technique to study fission and $\beta^{-}$-decay as they occur in the rapid neutron capture ($r$) process of nucleosynthesis.


Mouse- and hand-tracking has become a popular method for studying the cognitive processes involved in a variety of domains, including language processing, memory functions, social cognition, and preferential and moral decision making, to name just a few. The popularity of mouse- and hand-tracking derives from its promise to provide a window into the evolution of cognitive processes with an unrivaled temporal resolution. This window is opened by linking characteristics of the movement, such as the shape of its trajectory, to characteristics of the underlying cognitive process. In current research, this means, more often than not, inferring the response competition created by different conditions or stimuli based on the curvature of aggregate movement trajectories. However, we will argue that this aggregate-level approach risks obscuring important trial-level variability in movement trajectories that can paint a different picture of the underlying cognitive process than the aggregate-level results do. Fortunately, mouse-tracking can do much more. In this chapter, we present a new approach to analyzing mouse-trajectories based on trajectory clustering that overcomes the limitations of aggregation-based analyses of movement trajectories.


Polarimetric SAR data are coherent by nature of the principle of operation. However, most often incoherent ap-proaches are chosen for the post-processing in order to apply conventional averaging and statistical methods. For this purpose, covariance and coherency matrices are typically formed from the complex raw data, and a va-riety of incoherent analysis and decomposition methods have been proposed for the further information extrac-tion. Alternatively, the complex data may be used on a pixel by pixel basis to extract information at the highest possible resolution. By the latter approach, absolute phases have to be taken into account, and straightforward averaging of the coherent quantities cannot be applied. However, it is still possible to perform averaging of indi-vidually extracted real parameters, and as we shall show, the coherent data can indeed be averaged after proper phase normalization. In this work, we have considered both coherent and incoherent approaches for the purpose of quantitatively comparing the utility of the various approaches. The analysis procedure is based on a series of classification tests on many different polarimetric parameters derived after applying the different theoretical methods. Several classification methods have been applied, and hence, the work comprises a comparison of the classification potential of different polarimetric descriptors as well as a comparison of the performance of differ-ent classifiers for the type of data under investigation. Data from the Danish EMISAR have been used.


The no-till system promotes benefits that extend not only the characteristics of soil improvement, interfering in the quality and productivity of the plants, thus improving physical, chemical, and biological attributes of the crop and resulting in profitability to the producer. The present study evaluated the agronomic development of cabbage according to different cover plants. The experiment was performed in the field, in the Vegetable sector of the University of Rio Verde - UniRV, Rio Verde, GO. The cover plants used were millet (Pennisetum americanum (L)), sunflower (Helianthus annuus), brachiaria (Brachiaria decumbens), and crotalaria (Crotalaria juncea). The studied greeneries were cabbage (Brassica oleracea), Astrus plus hybrid. The parameters evaluated to analyze the physiological development were: the plants' height, number of leaves, and cabbage diameter. The results were submitted to the descriptive statistical method with analysis of means, covariances, and correlations, using the Matlab program. Plant growth data were submitted to the analysis of variance, and when significant, the cover plant factor was compared by Fisher's test, and the factor days after planting was analyzed by regression. The cabbage showed a higher mean height (cm), leaves, and diameter with the sunflower covering plant. The millet was the best plant to increase the cabbage's mean productivity.


Globally, COVID-19 has impacted lives and livelihoods. Women living with HIV and/or at high risk of acquiring HIV are socially and economically vulnerable. Less is known of the impact of COVID-19 public health responses on women from key and vulnerable populations. The purpose of this cross-sectional survey conducted in four South African provinces with a high burden of HIV and COVID-19 from September to November 2021 was to advance understanding of the socio-economic and health care access impact of COVID-19 on women living with HIV or at high risk of acquiring HIV. A total of 2 812 women >15 years old completed the survey. Approximately 31% reported a decrease in income since the start of the pandemic, and 43% an increase in food insecurity. Among those accessing health services, 37% and 36% reported that COVID-19 had impacted their access to HIV and family planning services respectively. Economic and service disruptions were enhanced by living in informal housing, urbanisation and being in the Western Cape. Food insecurity was increased by being a migrant, having fewer people contributing to the household, having children and experience of gender-based violence. Family planning service disruptions were greater for sex workers and having fewer people contributing to the household. These differentiated impacts on income, food security, access to HIV and family planning services were mediated by age, housing, social cohesion, employment and household income, highlighting the need for improved structural and systemic interventions to reduce the vulnerability of women living with HIV or at high risk of acquiring HIV.


Trigger and risk factors in asthma are multiple, the most relevant at the time are: genetic, infectious (viral, bacterial, fungi and parasites), environmental (allergens, smoking, irritants, pollutants of cars, industries, work environment, etc.) and obesity. Asthma severity meets influenced by the age, sex, pregnancy, immunological system immaturity and the atopic march. The pathogeny of the inflammatory allergic process more than an imbalance Th1/Th2, mast cells, eosinophils and IgE, today includes the important participation of other elements such as: Th17 or IL-17, IL-23, IL-25, IL-27, Tregs, TLRs, NODs, MAs, DCs, bronchial epithelial cells, chemokines, neurokinins, ICAM-1, NO (iNO). Besides other elements that influence the inflammatory response amplification and the remodeling of the airway epithelium.


infertile couples the maximal chance of conception. As perifollicular vascularization is related to a better oocyte competence leading to the development of higher quality embryos, we used 3D power Doppler (pD) to relate perifollicular blood flow indexes to oocyte maturity, showing that increasing in perifollicular blood flow reflects into a better oocyte quality and embryo viability. 3D pD measurements of perifollicular blood flow changes reflect oocyte maturity and can be used as a useful tool to establish which oocytes to inject/fertilize to improve IVF outcome.


Left-handed material (LHM), whose permittivity and permeability are both negative, has attracted much attention due to its exotic electromagnetic properties, such as negative refraction, backward wave propagation and evanescent wave amplification. The microwave left-handed property of a composite medium composed of ferrite cubes' array and copper net was studied using the method of finite difference time domain in this paper. An obvious left-handed pass band emerged when ferrite cubes were combined with longitudinal copper wires, because the ferrite produced negative permeability by the ferromagnetic resonance and the copper wires produced negative permittivity by the plasma. With the addition of horizontal copper wires, the transmission intensity of the pass band was gradually weakened. It can be concluded that the horizontal wires played a negative role in realizing the composite LHM with ferrite cubes and copper net. This work gives an instructive direction to the fabrication of 3D LHMs.


A wireless, passive, and ultrasensitive temperature transducer is presented in this paper. The transducer consists of split ring resonators loaded with micro-bimorph cantilevers, which can potentially operate up to millimeter-wave frequencies (above 30 GHz). As the temperature changes, the bimorph cantilevers deflect and result in a shift of the resonant frequency of the split rings. A design is proposed, that has a maximum sensitivity of 2.62 GHz/μm, in terms of frequency shift per deflection unit, corresponding to a sensitivity of 498 MHz/°C for an operating frequency around 30 GHz, i.e., a frequency shift of 1.6% per °C. Theoretically, it's about two orders of magnitude higher than the existing sensors observed in the same class. This sensor design also offers a high Q factor and is ultra-compact, enabling easy fabrication and integration in micro-electromechanical systems technology. Depending on the choice of materials, the proposed designs can also be utilized in harsh environments. As a proof of concept, a prototype is implemented around 4.7 GHz which exhibits a frequency shift of 0.05%/°C, i.e., 17 times more sensitive than the existing sensors.


We calculate the density of states for an interacting quantum wire in the presence of two impurities of arbitrary potential strength. To perform this calculation, we describe the Coulomb interactions in the wire within the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid theory. After establishing and solving the Dyson equation for the fermionic retarded Green's functions, we study how the profile of the local density of states is affected by the interactions in the entire range of impurity potentials. Same as in the non-interacting case, when increasing the impurity strength, the central part of the wire becomes more and more disconnected from the semi-infinite leads, and discrete localized states begin to form; the width and the periodicity of the corresponding peaks in the spectrum depends on the interaction strength. As expected from the Luttinger liquid theory, impurities also induce a reduction of the local density of states at small energies. Two other important aspects are highlighted: the appearance of an extra modulation in the density of states at nonzero Fermi momentum when interactions are present, and the fact that forward scattering must be taken into account in order to recover the Coulomb-blockade regime for strong impurities.


Macroalgae have been recently described as a potential ingredient for aquafeeds, exerting several physiological benefits. Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) is a freshwater species, which has been the major fish species produced in the world in the last years. In order to determine the potential use of macroalgal wracks in fish feeding, C. idella juveniles were fed with an extruded commercial diet (CD) or the CD supplemented with 7% of a wind dried-powder (1 mm) from either a multispecific macroalgal wrack (CD + MU7) or a monospecific macroalgal wrack (CD + MO7) obtained from Gran Canaria island (Spain) coasts. After 100 days of feeding, survival, fish weight, and body indexes were determined, and muscle, liver, and digestive tract samples were collected. The total antioxidant capacity of macroalgal wracks was analyzed by assesing the antioxidant defense response and digestive enzymes activity in fish. Finally, muscle proximate composition, lipid classes (LC), and fatty acid (FA) profiles were also studied. Our results suggest that dietary inclusion of macroalgal wracks does not have negative effects on growth, proximate, and lipid composition, antioxidative status, or digestive capacity of C. idella. In fact, both macroalgal wracks caused a general lower fat deposition, and the multispecific wrack enhanced catalase activity in the liver.


Differences in agglomeration externalities and industrial regimes between locations generate performance differentials for their localized economic activities. For more than two decades, scholars have debated which externality is dominant for growth and under which regime. The present study aims to resolve this debate by analysing the influence of agglomeration economies on the growth of five-digit manufacturing sectors and firms in Indonesia between 2000 and 2009 discriminating cities and regencies. Specialization, competition, population density, human capital, and a set of varieties are employed. This is conducted shedding the light on policy implications of economic variety sectoral decomposition functional to revitalize Indonesian manufacturing growth after the Asian Financial Crisis, which substantially hits the Indonesian economy and manufacturing. Empirical evidence reveals that Indonesian policymakers should develop initiatives to support the competitiveness of key labour-intensive industries and manufacturing transformation towards knowledge-based productions. This can be achieved through promoting key specialised clusters characterized by large sectoral interconnectivity favouring inter and intra-industry knowledge spillovers, which allow underpinning the competitiveness of clusters and overcoming the two typical drawbacks of highly specialized locations (lock-in and lack of resilience). The formation of human capital, and the development of technologically advanced industries come to light as crucial drivers to construct a more conductive innovative environment and reduce manufacturing exposure to external industry-specific shocks. Population density and industrial diversity antithetically influence manufacturing growth in cities and regencies due to their economic heterogeneities.


Two groups of pigeons were trained to discriminate a histamine H(1)-antagonist (chlorpheniramine or promethazine) from saline with responding maintained under a fixed-ratio 30 schedule of food delivery. There was no cross-substitution with these two histamine H(1)-antagonists: that is, promethazine failed to substitute reliably for chlorpheniramine in chlorpheniramine-trained pigeons, and chlorpheniramine failed to substitute reliably for promethazine in promethazine-trained pigeons. Among the other histamine H(1)-antagonists tested, tripelennamine consistently produced greater than 80% responding in chlorpheniramine-trained pigeons but not in promethazine-trained pigeons. In contrast, diphenhydramine consistently produced greater than 80% responding in promethazine-trained pigeons but not in chlorpheniramine-trained pigeons. Similarly, chlorcyclizine partially substituted for promethazine and failed to substitute for chlorpheniramine. d-Amphetamine substituted for chlorpheniramine in 2 of 4 pigeons and partially in a third pigeon, whereas d-amphetamine substituted for promethazine in only 1 of 4 pigeons. Pentobarbital failed to produce greater than 80% responding in either chlorpheniramine- or promethazine-trained pigeons. The results of the present study demonstrate that the histamine H(1)-antagonists, chlorpheniramine and promethazine, have differential discriminative stimulus effects in pigeons. These findings suggest that the discriminative stimulus effects of this class of compounds are not based entirely on their ability to act as antagonists at histamine H(1)-receptors.


ABSTRACT Background: Given the association between cervicovaginal microbiota and OVC, we investigated the effect of E. faecium CM on OVC (Caov-4) cells. Methods: CM was obtained from the bacterium E. faecium isolated from the vagina of healthy women. The Caov-4 cells were treated with varying concentrations of CM that comprised co-cultured bacteria with 0.2, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 OD for 12, 24, and 48 h. The apoptosis and growth of cancer cells were evaluated by DAPI staining, flow cytometry, and DNA laddering assay. Moreover, the expression of PTEN, BAX, BCL2, and AKT1 genes were analyzed using real-time PCR. Results: The CM at a concentration of 0.5 OD from the cultured bacteria and incubation time of 48 h showed the highest negative effect on the viability of cancer cells. The CM treatment increased DNA fragmentation and also induced apoptosis in Caov-4 cells. Interestingly, CM could decrease the expression of proapoptotic genes were less, while antiapoptotic genes were more than 5-FU in the presence of CM. Conclusion: CM of human-derived E. faecium could have an anticancer effect on OVC cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. This study demonstrated that E. faecium secretes anticancer substances into the CM, which could directly affect the viability and apoptosis of cancer cells.


BDI actually has weighed more on larger-size market. So, calculating the synchronicity of dry bulk sub-markets by using BDI as reference indicator could lead to mistake. Therefore, for the analysis of synchronicity and idiosyncrasy of dry bulk markets, this paper constructs a dynamic factor model of the change rate of BDI's constituting indices and then it performs maximum likelihood estimation. One important finding is that, for such larger ships as Capesize and Panamax, there has been a significant increase in their synchronicity with global common factor after the 2008 global financial crisis, but for the other smaller ships, the opposite phenomenon has been observed. This paper suggests two important future research topics. One is extending the suggested dynamic factor model with the structural change (regime switching). The other is constructing a new index for the level, not the change rate, of the status of global dry bulk market. The author believes that the combination of these issues could produce an alternative index to BDI.


A zero-dead volume column end and a conical shaped slurry reservoir for wide-bore stainless-steel packed capillary liquid chromatographic columns were designed and evaluated. A detailed procedure for the preparation of reversed-phase stainless-steel packed capillary columns with 0.5 mm-1.0 mm i.d. is described. The influences of the column length and the packing material on the column performance have been studied. Columns were evaluated by the reduced plate height vs reduced velocity curve and the peak asymmetric factor. Experimental results showed that the column efficiency and the reproducibility were better than 75% of theoretical value and 6% RSD, respectively. Separations of antiepileptic drugs and chlorinated benzenes are demonstrated.


The Solar Orbiter mission is part of ESA's science program, Cosmic Vision 2020. It will explore the innermost regions of the heliosphere from high heliopsheric latitudes. From a distance of about 0.23AU and a max inclination of about 35 degrees with respect to the Sun's equator the Solar Orbiter will perform high resolution imagery of the sun and in-situ measurements of the heliosphere. At its closest distance to the Sun the spacecraft will experience a sun flux of approximately 28000W/m. To protect the spacecraft bus from this flux a sun shield is used. The shield requires innovative design and materials in order to keep both the radiated and conducted heat to a minimum. Additionally, all sun exposed elements such as the high gain antenna and the solar arrays need to be designed for surviving the intense sun flux. This paper will outline the work done on the Solar Orbiter thermal design during its assessment phase. A description of the technical challenges for the overall thermal control system will be given and some of the trade-offs will be discussed. Furthermore, a feasible heat shield design will be presented together with current solutions towards test and verification of the overall system.


The aim of this study was to analyze the variables involved in the bullying experiences of primary school teachers who attended in-service courses at the Aksaray and Esenkoy training centers in Turkey. There were 315 participants in the study. A Turkish adaptation of the Negative Acts Questionnaire Scale (NAQ) developed by Einarsen and Raknes (1997) was used. Cronbach's alpha = .97, factor loads were determined to be between .42 and .82. Frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, chi-square and variance analysis were also measured. The results were tested at p < .05 level. The research showed that 50% of the Turkish primary school teachers had experienced bullying. There was a significant relationship between the incidence of bullying and the branch of teaching. However, there was no relationship between bullying experiences and the variables of sex, age and marital status.


Measurements have been made in hydrogen, nitrogen, helium and neon on amolification of a stream of electrons crossing a parallel plate spark gap under the influence of combined ultra-high-frequency (40mc/sec) and unidirectional electric fields. Electrons generated thermionically inside one of the electrodes are injected into the gap through cylindrical holes in the flat face of the electrode, and cross the gap with a motion which is a fixture of drift and diffusion. At high enough values of the effective field in the gap, the electrons ray gain sufficient energy to produce ionization by collision. A theory is presented to explain the shape of the curves relating the amplification of the stream to the value of the applied uhf field for a given value of the do field (AMPLIFICATION CURVES). The predictions make use of values of the ionization coefficient obtained for the gases studied from breakdown measurements made in the same apparatus. The agreement between the calculated and experimental amplification curves is very encouraging in all the gases tested, being slightly better in hydrogen and nitrogen than in helium and neon. Qualitative explanations for this are put forward. Experiments have also been performed to investigate the effects of the raise of the emitting hole on the flow of electrons in the gap, mid it is shown that the hole dimensions are not important in determining the shape of the amplification curves. Long time constraints associated with the electron flow in the gap have been observed and studied in detail leading to the conclusion that when a current is passed in the gap, charging occurs at the electrode surfaces, assisted by the presence of insulating layers there. A method is suggested for the measurements of residual voltages thus generated.


Smoke from massive wildfires blanketed Indonesia in late 1997. This paper examines the impact that this air pollution (particulate matter) had on fetal, infant, and child mortality. Exploiting the sharp timing and spatial patterns of the pollution and inferring deaths from "missing children" in the 2000 Indonesian Census, I find that the pollution led to 15,600 missing children in Indonesia (1.2 percent of the affected birth cohorts). Prenatal exposure to pollution drives the result. The effect size is much larger in poorer areas, suggesting that differential effects of pollution contribute to the socioeconomic gradient in health.


We agree completely regarding the possibility of disease progression despite BCG but the dilemma would be much easier for patients and physicians if patients treated aggressively upfront would all survive. This is unfortunately not the case. Suffice to say we are lacking randomized comparative studies but submitting patients with T1 high-grade bladder cancer to radical cystectomy offers no guarantee that survival will be 100%.


Judge Procter Hug, Jr. became Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit on March 1, 1996. Nine months earlier, eight Senators from five western states had introduced Senate Bill 956. The purpose of the bill, as stated in its title, was "to divide the ninth judicial circuit of the United States into two circuits." If the bill had been enacted, it would have been only the third time in the 104-year history of the federal courts of appeals that a circuit was split. And it would have been the first time that Congress had divided a circuit without waiting for a consensus to develop among the bench and bar in the affected region.Judge Hug was a prominent and highly respected figure in the legal community of Nevada, and he was held in the highest regard by his fellow judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. But unlike his predecessor, Judge J. Clifford Wallace, he was relatively unknown in the corridors of power where the fate of the Ninth Circuit would be decided. For that reason, there were, no doubt, those who felt a sense of concern. They might have asked: how will the Ninth Circuit fare with an untested leader at its helm?Five years later, when Judge Hug stepped down as chief judge, the answer was clear: the Ninth Circuit fared very well. Although the circuit's continued existence as a single juridical entity was challenged again and again, each time the circuit emerged intact.When an institution is under attack, the difference between success and failure often lies in leadership. As a scholar who followed the battle very closely, I shall discuss some of the qualities that characterized Judge Hug's leadership and how they contributed to the success of the circuit's campaign.


The 4th ICSE workshop on "Software Engineering over the Internet" brings together researchers and practitioners that try to use Internet technologies to overcome problems in distributed software development. The goal of the workshop is to exchange ideas how distributed projects can utilize the Internet to overcome communication, collaboration, and coordination problems.


The nonlinear optical properties for polymeric (PMMA) doping with dye Rhodmine (R3Go) has been studied .The samples are prepared by normal polymerization method with concentrations of 5x10-5mol/l and a thickness of 272.5µm.
                         Plasma effect was studied on samples prepared before and after exposure to the Nd: YAG laser for three times 5, 10 and 15 minutes. Z-Scan technique is used to determine the nonlinear optical properties such as; refractive index (n2) and the coefficient of nonlinear absorption (β). It was found that the nonlinear properties is change by increasing of plasma exposure time, this result gives good indication about the effect of plasma on the internal structure of the polymer.


OBJECTIVES. The purpose of this work was to compare the efficacy of propofol, a hypnotic agent, to the regimen of morphine, atropine, and suxamethonium as an induction agent for nonemergency neonatal endotracheal intubation. We hypothesized that propofol aids intubation by allowing the continuation of spontaneous breathing. PATIENTS AND METHODS. We conducted a randomized, open-label, controlled trial of infants who required nonemergency endotracheal intubation. Primary outcome was successful intubation confirmed by chest auscultation and clinical examination of the infant. RESULTS. Infants randomly assigned to propofol (n = 33) and the morphine, atropine, and suxamethonium regimen (n = 30) were comparable in median gestational age (27 vs 28 weeks), birth weight (1020 vs 1095 g), weight at intubation (1068 vs 1275 g), and age at intubation (4 vs 3 days). Sleep or muscle relaxation were achieved within 60 seconds in both groups, but time to achieve successful intubation was more than twice as fast with propofol (120 vs 260 seconds). Blood pressure and heart rates were not different, but intraprocedural oxygen saturations were significantly lower in infants on the morphine, atropine, and suxamethonium regimen (trough arterial oxygen saturation: 60% vs 80%). Nasal/oral trauma was less common, and recovery time was shorter (780 vs 1425 seconds) in the propofol group. No significant adverse effects were seen in either group. CONCLUSIONS. Propofol is more effective than the morphine, atropine, and suxamethonium regimen as an induction agent to facilitate neonatal nasal endotracheal intubation. Importantly, hypoxemia was less severe, probably because of the maintenance of spontaneous breathing. A controlled environment may have promoted the ease of intubation, resulting in less trauma. The shorter duration of action would be advantageous in a compromised infant.


The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological and molecular characteristics of hospital-acquired (HA)-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates by investigating the distribution of clinical samples according to the hospital wards, antibiotic susceptibility patterns, staphylococcal chromosome cassette mec (SCCmec) types and the presence of Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) genes. A total of 110 MRSA isolates obtained from various clinical samples of inpatients at Hacettepe University Adult Hospital between January 2004 and December 2005 were included in the study. The identification of the isolates was done by BD Sceptor automated system (Becton Dickinson, USA). The mecA gene, SCCmec types and PVL genes were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was performed to examine the clonal relatedness. The susceptibility testing was performed for some antibiotics by E-test (AB Biodisk, Sweden) and for the others by disk diffusion methods according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) recommendations. The clinical samples (35 blood, 37 pus, 23 deep tracheal aspiration, 5 catheter, and 10 other samples) that yielded the MRSA strains were isolated from patients (71.5%) at intensive care units and surgical wards. All the isolates were positive for mecA gene. Of the isolates, 68 (61.8%) were harboring SCCmec type III, 38 (34.5%) SCCmec variant IIIB, and 3 (2.7%) SCCmec type IV. One isolate which was mecA gene positive could not be classified in any of the SCCmec types. PVL was positive in 14 (12.7%) of the isolates. All MRSA strains were susceptible to tigecycline, linezolid, vancomycin and teicoplanin; however, exhibited high rates (> 90%) of resistance to gentamicin, ciprofloxacin and rifampin. Susceptibility rates to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole was 90%, clindamycin 53% and erythromycin 32%. Eight pulsotypes were distinguished on the basis of PFGE (A, B, C, D, K, L, N, O). Of the total isolates, 92.7% belonged to pulsotype A. HA-MRSA strains predominantly isolated from pus and blood samples of inpatients at intensive care units and surgical wards in our hospital were multi-resistant. Majority of these isolates were SCCmec III, or variant IIIB type. Although PVL is known as a common virulence factor of community-acquired MRSA, HA-MRSA isolates in our center have a considerable rate of PVL positivity pointing out the importance of surveillance of the changing epidemiology of MRSA.


Cold water immersion (CWI) is a popular recovery modality used in the sporting arena. However, there are discrepancies in the results regarding the post-exercise effects of CWI over a 48-hour recovery period. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the post-exercise effects of CWI and passive recovery (PAR) on the physical and haematological parameters of male university-level rugby players over a 48-hour recovery period. A cross-sectional, pre-posttest experimental study design with convenience sampling was used. Six haematological [blood lactate (BLa - ), partial O 2 pressure (PO 2 ), blood glucose, sodium (Na + ), haematocrit and haemoglobin] and four physical parameters (vertical jump test (VJT) -height, VJT-speed and VJT-power as well as grip strength) were evaluated at baseline, after a 15-minute fitness session, and at 0, 24 and 48 hours post-recovery in 23 male university rugby players. The CWI group sat in a cold water pool (8°C) for 20 minutes whereas the PAR group remained seated in a laboratory. At 0 hours post-CWI, BLa - , Na + and haemoglobin returned to baseline values whereas VJT-height decreased compared to post-PAR values which improved. From 0 to 24 and/or 48 hours, PO 2 , VJT-height, plasma glucose, and Na + significantly increased ( p ≤ 0.05) in either and/or both groups. Significant intragroup differences ( p ≤ 0.05) were noticed for BLa - and grip strength at 0 and 24 hours. VJT-height, -speed and -power were worse at 0 hours post-CWI compared to PAR. However, CWI was superior over 24 hours post-recovery to improve haemoglobin, haematocrit, Na + and grip strength. Therefore, in cases where recovery over a longer period is required (48 hours), CWI is superior compared to PAR to restore the body's physiological parameters and enhance recovery. Keywords: Cryotherapy, haematological, physical, recuperation, hydrotherapy


In this paper we provide sufficient conditions for a social choice rule to be implementable in strong Nash equilibrium in the presence of partially honest agents, that is, agents who break ties in favour of a truthful message when they face indifference between outcomes. In this way, we achieve a relaxation in the condition of Korpela (2013), namely the Axiom of Sufficient Reason . Our new condition, Weak Pareto Dominance , is shown to be sufficient along with Weak Pareto Optimality and Universally Worst Alternative . We finally provide applications of our result in pure matching and bargaining environments.


In "the century of culture," a current drift is toward utilizing cultural heritage branding. Cultural heritage brand referred to in this study means a brand with value proposition based on cultural heritage. As Asian cultures are gathering global focus amid ongoing trend of exoticism and the growth of Asian economies, there is more opportunity especially for Asian brands to benefit from cultural heritage branding. Also, the advantages of cultural heritage branding can benefit fashion brands, considering that designs of great importance in fashion brand's competitiveness can earn creativity and originality from cultural heritage.

Therefore, this study (1) profiles cultural heritage fashion brands based on Asia: Japan, China, and Korea, (2) identifies components of cultural heritage fashion branding by comparative analysis, and (3) identifies characteristics in brand management strategy from the brands, and offer managerial implications for upcoming cultural heritage fashion brands.

This study adopts a case study approach that focuses on Asian fashion brands; Issey Miyake (Japan), Shanghai Tang (China), and Damyeon designed by Lee Hye Soon (Korea). The analytical contents of this research include general profiles (i.e., brand history, brand philosophy and concept, and BI and visual representation), cultural heritage perspectives and brand management perspective (i.e., product, price, place, promotion, and brand extension). Most of the information was retrieved from multiple sources including books, academic papers, brand's annual report, brand official website, news articles, etc.

Overall, this study shows cultural heritage fashion branding can be useful in distinctiveness in positioning and delivering brand value in depth, authenticity, and credibility for customers (Urde, 2007). The findings suggest some managerial as well as cultural heritage-related indications for upcoming cultural heritage fashion brands.

Although common components of cultural heritage fashion branding (i.e., utilization of traditional prototype, emphasis on traditional fabric, and preservation of traditional craftsmanship) were drawn out, achieving optimal balance between tradition and modernity was found critical as well. Managerial guidelines include foreign brand naming, premium pricing, art-related promotions, and extension for a total lifestyle brand. In further research, the type of industry and different country-of-origins can be applied in order to extensively study about the issue of cultural heritage branding.


Mould-repair is an important task in the mould production and depends especially upon the experience of the engineer. It is much full of subjectivity and uncertainty. How to find the knowledge of mould repair and establish the mould repair solving project is an important problem for all the injection mould manufacturers in the industry. Using the Bayesian networks reasoning to help the technician establish the mould-repair solving project was put forward. The mould-repair Bayesian networks (MRBN) reasoning model was established according to the characteristic of mould-repair solving project. The reason control tactic of the process plan system and the reasoning engine of MRBN were designed. The application example about the shrinkage, ill-full injection, gas-obstructed is presented to prove the correctness of the method. The conclusion shows that it can help the engineers analyze the cause of problem well and recommend some more useful solutions.


The fragment we are publishing here is preserved in the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage (the former China Institute of Cultural Relics). It is the 53rd leaf of an Uigur manuscript that contains the beginning of an unknown commentary to the Yuanjue jing. Other leaves of the same manuscript of the Hedin Collection in Stockholm were studied by K. Kudara in 1992.


This paper proposes an algorithm for detecting current transformer (CT) saturation by analyzing a secondary current. The current has points of inflection where saturation begins and ends. Then, discontinuity in the first difference of the current arises at the next instants of points of inflection, where the second and third differences of the current may have large values enough to detect saturation. In this paper, the third difference is used because it is more effective than the second difference in terms of saturation detection. However, an anti-aliasing low-pass filter softens the current and, thus, reduces the values of the third difference at those instants. This paper includes the effect of a low-pass filter on the proposed algorithm. The sampling rate of 64 samples/cycle (s/c) is studied by varying a remanent flux and the cutoff frequency of the filter. The test results clearly indicate that the proposed algorithm successfully detects the interval of saturation even with a remanent flux and the softening effect. However, special attention should be paid to the decision of the threshold value when a cutoff frequency is much lower than half the sampling frequency. This paper concludes by implementing the algorithm into a TMS320C6701 digital signal processor and the results are satisfactory.


Re-initializing a neural network during training has been observed to improve generalization in recent works. Yet it is neither widely adopted in deep learning practice nor is it often used in state-of-the-art training protocols. This raises the question of when re-initialization works, and whether it should be used together with regularization techniques such as data augmentation, weight decay and learning rate schedules. In this work, we conduct an extensive empirical comparison of standard training with a selection of re-initialization methods to answer this question, training over 15,000 models on a variety of image classification benchmarks. We first establish that such methods are consistently beneficial for generalization in the absence of any other regularization. However, when deployed alongside other carefully tuned regularization techniques, re-initialization methods offer little to no added benefit for generalization, although optimal generalization performance becomes less sensitive to the choice of learning rate and weight decay hyperparameters. To investigate the impact of re-initialization methods on noisy data, we also consider learning under label noise. Surprisingly, in this case, re-initialization significantly improves upon standard training, even in the presence of other carefully tuned regularization techniques.


Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills located in regions of Russia with low temperatures and relatively low rainfall averages are considered unpromising in terms of their biogas potential; however, these claims have not been substantiated. Assessment of the biogas potential of such landfills requires special field research for analyzing biogas composition and emission speed, which could define the processes taking place inside a landfill. We should note that the use of mathematical models that do not take into account the specifics of a particular landfill makes it impossible to get detailed and reliable information about its biogas potential. This work contains the results of research conducted for assessing the biogas potential of three municipal solid waste landfills located in various zones of the Northwestern Federal District with Atlantic continental and moderately continental climate. The research showed that biochemical processes of waste decomposition accompanied by the emission of biogas with high (50 vol% and above) methane content are possible even in areas with a relatively cold climate. This confirms the presence of the energy potential of these landfills, which can be used for the needs of heat, electricity and gas supply to the population, etc.


Background & Objectives: Leishmaniasis as a zoonosis disease seen in three forms including Cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral (kala- azar). The Leishmania transferred by sand flies is the causative agent of this disease. Considering that leishmaniasis is an endemic disease in Fasa, this study was performed to determine the sand fly species of Fasa, Materials & Methods: In this cross- sectional study from April to September 2014, the fauna of sand flies was investigated. Sampling was done in villages with above, medium, and low incidence by using sticky traps every 15 days. Then, captured specimens were mounted and identified by specific key. Results: 3842 sand flies were captured for ecological studies. 2305 of them (60%) were males and the rest of them were females. 1152 specimens (30% of them) were from indoors and the rest were from outdoors. Totally, 10 species were identified including Phlebotomus . Papatasi, Ph. Alexandri, Ph. Sergenti, Ph. Mongolensis, Ph. Bergeroti, Ph. Caucasicus, Sergentomyia theodori, S. Baghdadis, S. sintuni, and S. antennata. Among captured specimens Phlebotomus Papatasi, Ph. Sergenti had the first and the second places, respectively. Conclusion: and species diversity. Phlebotomus Papatasi as the predominant species transfers Leishmania from rodents to humans. This subject is related to the prevalence of rural leishmaniasis in this area. According to the semi-domestic vector, spraying is not helpful in a rural foci of cutaneous leishmaniasis. But the control of reservoir and educating the residents about prevention ways of bite are effective in disease control and prevention.


This two-volume set presents information and images of the varied clothing and textiles of cultures around the world, allowing readers to better appreciate the richness and diversity of human culture and history.
 The contributors to Encyclopedia of National Dress: Traditional Clothing around the World examine clothing that is symbolic of the people who live in regions all over the world, providing a historical and geographic perspective that illustrates how people dress and explains the reasons behind the material, design, and style.
 The encyclopedia features a preface and introduction to its contents. Each entry in the encyclopedia includes a short historical and geographical background for the topic before discussing the clothing of people in that country or region of the world. This work will be of great interest to high school students researching fashion, fashion history, or history as well as to undergraduate students and general readers interested in anthropology, textiles, fashion, ethnology, history, or ethnic dress.
 Features:
 Contributions from over 50 experts in their fieldDozens of photographsA bibliographic listing of further reading and references with each section


Passenger cars contribute 12% of the overall carbon dioxide emissions in the EU. Eco-driving skills such as avoiding excessive braking and accelerating could reduce passenger car fuel consumption by up to 10% and consequently reduce vehicular emissions. However, educational material and the prospect of saving a considerable amount of money in the long-term do not change the behaviour of the majority of drivers. Little is known about drivers' current understanding of eco-driving, how they make decisions to put this knowledge into practice and what motivates them to do so. For this research drivers' knowledge, behavioural rules and skill were tested in an experiment. Sixteen participants drove the University of Leeds desktop driving simulator on a varied road layout. Each participant was asked to drive four times, having had different instructions. These instructions were 'Drive normally' for the first and the last run; 'Drive safely' and 'Drive fuel-efficiently' in the remaining two. Each time they were presented with an urban setting with traffic lights as well as with busy traffic on a motorway. By finding out more about drivers' mental models of eco-driving and how they put them into practice, it will be possible to design more targeted and effective support systems.


In recent years there has been a great deal of discussion on the potential for a shift away from modernistic or technocratic approaches to decisionmaking on risk towards more open, inclusive, and deliberative approaches. The authors consider (a) the reasons why some companies have taken the first step in this transition by exploring the potential of more open and communicative approaches to environmental risk management, and (b) the effects that opening up can have, particularly on perceived levels of trust between corporations and stakeholders on matters relating to environmental risk. For the companies surveyed, the nature of their activities, the significance of formative events, and the failure of more traditional forms of risk communication to reduce conflict and to build trust amongst stakeholders have impelled them to experiment with new approaches to risk communication. It is found that, in the short term, such experiments are seen by managers to have had mixed effects: in contexts where trust had already been lost, open engagement can lead to an initial deterioration in relations between companies and stakeholders. However, it is also argued that in the longer term trust can be built through such open engagements. It is suggested, therefore, that opening up and engaging on matters relating to environmental risk may lead to a 'j-curve effect', with an initial deterioration in levels of trust being followed by a gradual improvement in levels of credibility and shared understanding over time.


One hundred specimens of purulent of mucopurulent sputum form patients clinically known to be suffering from a variety of broncho-pulmonary diseases including chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis, lobar pneumonia, bronchopneumonia and pulmonary tuberculosis, were examined macroscopically, microscopically and by cultures to establish the aetiology of the infections. In the process, five cases of nocardiosis due to Nocardia asteroides were detected. This organism was isolated from purulent sputa in which pulmonary tuberculosis an bronchitis were suspected, but from which no acid-fast bacilli (AFB) were detected by the Ziehl-Neelsen's carbol-fuchsin (Z.N.) technique. All the isolates were from the 40-70 years age group among the 24 specimens examined from the Imo State of Nigeria, giving a high incidence of 19% for the State and an overall incidence of 5% in the whole study. This implies that pulmonary nocardiosis is not an uncommon disease in Nigeria. The need for more attention to nocardiosis in the differential diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infections in Nigeria is indicated.


Sexual dysfunctions appear to be frequently occurring adverse events in treatment with antidepressants. Due to methodological reasons, a reliable estimation of the frequency of such events is currently not yet possible. There is evidence, that antidepressants could be differentiated with respect to their potency and specificity for disturbances of certain sexual subfunctions according to their pharmacological profile. With SSRIs in particular impaired functions of orgasm and ejaculation can be observed. No deteriorations are reported for buproprion and an improvement of sexual dysfunctions within the course of treatment for moclobemide. Viloxazine and trazodone appear to possess marked stimulating effects on libido and erectile functions. Generally the incidence of sexual adverse events is underestimated, although there is a pronounced impact on patient compliance. Taking into account this well documented side effect, sexual impairments should be monitored carefully within antidepressive treatment.


ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of changes from private to state tenure on forest resources for three blocks in Amani Nature Reserve. The resource changes were determined in terms of forest cover, forest stocking and tree species diversity over a period of six to eight years. when considering the three blocks as one entity one may in general maintain that there have been positive changes regarding forest cover. There were differences between the blocks, however. the proportions of dense and semi-closed forest increased by around 14% in the former tea company block, remained unchanged in the former farmland and decreased by around 12% in the former sisal company block. the changes in stocking parameters and tree species diversity were mainly positive, but none were statistically significant. Although the results were somewhat ambiguous evidence of positive impacts as a result of the tenure changes was identified. This is in line with the main aim of establishing nature reserves focusing on conservation values. More research, however, is required regarding impacts of tenure changes on livelihood for those living adjacent to the nature reserve.


Standard library classification systems like Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), U.S. Library of Congress Classification (LCC), and Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) are internationally known and widely used by libraries as the tools for organizing information. Charles Ammi Cutter's Expansive Classification (EC), James Duff Brown's Subject Classification (SC), Henry E. Bliss' Bibliographic Classification (BC), and S. R. Ranganathan's Colon Classification (CC) also are standard classification systems, but they are less commonly used compared to aforementioned three systems. All these systems are easy to use and convenient for most general collection libraries. However, these systems are not adequate for some special collections. Libraries with rich collections on Islam also face problems while using these systems, although such libraries often use expansions in the original systems for their collections. This paper examines this problem and presents a potential optimal solution. The author collected data, using a semistructured interview technique, from a representative sample of thirty libraries in eight countries with strong collections in Islam. These data were analyzed employing qualitative methods.


In the present paper, a finite element approach calculating the rising and the relative slip of steel base plate connections is proposed. Two types of connections are studied, the first consists on a base plate welded to the column end and attached to the reinforced concrete foundation by two anchor bolts. These bolts are placed on the major axis of the I shaped section used as column, one anchor bolt on each side of the web. In the second configuration, the connection includes a plate base and four anchor bolts placed out side the flanges of the I shaped section or hallow form. To take in account the real behaviour of this connection, a model by finite elements which considers count geometrical and material no linearties of the contact and cracking in the concrete foundation. To study the rising of the base plate, an approach treating problems of contact-friction between the base plate and the foundation is developed. This approach is based on a unilateral contact law in which a Coulomb friction is added. The numerical resolution is ensured by the increased Lagrangien method. For the behaviour of the concrete foundation, the developed model is based of a compressive elastoplastic model. The heights rising-rotations and the heights rising- slip displacements curves are plotted.


To date, emphasis within the literature on workplace bullying has been on gathering empirical data with a focus on individual acts, actors (targets and perpetrators) and consequences. This analytical focus has resulted in an understanding of workplace bullying as fundamentally an individualized phenomenon. This article begins with a brief discussion of the theorization that currently predominates in the workplace violence and bullying literature and the outcomes of this theorizing. An emerging framework, conceptualizing violence broadly, is then outlined for understanding violence and bullying. Through this framework, it is argued that the discourse and research on workplace violence – in all its forms – must explore explicit connections between these social phenomena and the interrelatedness of all forms of oppression. Workplace violence must be examined within a framework where power cannot be separated from social dimensions within and outside the workplace.


Many utilities experience taste and odour episodes that affect the public's perception of the safety of drinking water. Two compounds responsible for earthy and musty taste and odours in drinking water supplies are geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB), which are produced by blue-green algae and actinomycetes. MIB and geosmin are typically removed in water treatment plants (WTPs) through the addition of powdered activated carbon (PAC) or strong oxidants. However, chemical addition can be costly and performance variable, depending on the water chemistry. Optimization of water treatment processes and chemical addition for removal of MIB and geosmin would be economically beneficial to utilities and provide a service to customers. Results from this research showed traditional water treatment processes (coagulation) could not be optimized for removal of MIB and geosmin. During ozonation, hydroxyl radicals accounted for a greater percentage of MIB or geosmin oxidation relative to molecular ozone oxidation. PAC adsorption experiments in Arizona drinking water showed that dissolved organic carbon competed with MIB and geosmin for PAC adsorption sites. Utilities should conduct taste and odour removal tests in local waters containing natural dissolved organic carbon and not rely on manufacturer data in ultra-pure water. Laboratory PAC experiments predicted full-scale PAC performance well.


We subdivided volcaniclastic layers drilled during Leg 157 around Gran Canaria at distances up to 70 km from the shore of the island at Hole 953C, 955A, and 956B deposited between 14 and ~11.5 Ma into >100 volcaniclastic units at each site. Most volcaniclastic layers are <20 cm thick, but complex turbidite units up to 1.5 m thick make up 10% to 20% of all volcaniclastic units in Holes 953C and 956B. We distinguish several types of clasts: felsic vitroclasts, (1) bubble-wall/junction shards, (2) brown nonvesicular felsic shards, (3) welded tuff clasts, (4) pumice shards, and (5) sideromelane shards. Mineral phases comprise anorthoclase and lesser amounts of plagioclase, calcic and sodic amphibole (kaersutite, richterite, and edenite), clinopyroxene (titanaugite to aegirine), hypersthene, minor enstatite, phlogopite, Fe/Ti oxides, sphene, chevkinite, apatite, and zircon. Xenocrysts are dominantly titanaugite derived from the subaerial and submarine shield basalts. Lithoclasts are mainly tachylitic and crystalline basalt, the latter most common in Hole 953C, and fragments of felsic lava and ignimbrite. Bioclasts consist of open planktonic foraminifers and nannofossil ooze in the highly vitric layers, while filled planktonic foraminifers, benthic foraminifers, and a variety of shallow water calcareous and siliceous fossils and littoral skeletal debris are common in the basal coarser grained parts of turbidites. Volcaniclastic sedimentation during the time interval 14–9 Ma was governed dominantly by direct and indirect volcanic processes rather than by climate and erosion. Most volcaniclastic units thought to represent ignimbrite eruptions consist of a coarse basal part in which pumice and large brown nonvesicular and welded tuff shards and crystals dominate, and an upper part that commonly consists of thin turbidites highly enriched in bubble-wall shards. The prominent coarser grained and vitroclast-rich volcaniclastic layers were probably emplaced dominantly by turbidity currents immediately following entry of ash flows into the sea. The brown, blocky and splintery, dense, completely welded, dominantly angular to subrounded, partially to completely welded tuff shards are thought to have formed by quench fragmentation (thermal shock) as the hot pyroclastic flows entered the sea, fragmentation of cooling ignimbrite sheets forming cliffs along the shore, and water vapor explosions in shallow water. Well-sorted beds dominated by bubble-wall/junction shards may have formed by significant sorting processes during turbidite transport into the deep (300 −4000 m) marine basins north and south of Gran Canaria. Some may also have been generated largely by grinding of pumice rafts and fallout and/or by interface-shearing of coignimbrite ash clouds traveling over t he water surface. Generally fresh sideromelane shards that occur dispersed in many felsic volcaniclastic layers and in one hyaloclastite layer are mostly nonvesicular and blocky. They indicate submarine basaltic eruptions at water depths of several hundred meters on the slope of Gran Canaria synchronously with felsic ash flow eruptions on land. Most sideromelane shards are slightly evolved (4−6 wt% MgO), but shards in some layers are mafic (6 −8 wt% MgO). Most shards have alkali basaltic compositions. The dense, iron-rich, moderately evolved basaltic magmas are thought to be the direct parent magmas for the trachytic to rhyolitic magmas of the Mogán Group. They were probably unable to erupt beneath the thick, low-density lid of the felsic magma reservoir below the large caldera but were erupted through lateral dikes onto the flanks of the submarine cone. Tholeiitic shards occur low in the stratigraphic section where peraluminous K-poor magmas were erupted, a correlation that supports the parental relationship. Heterogeneity in glass and crystal populations in the absence of other evidence for an epiclastic origin, probably largely reflect systematic primary compositional heterogeneity of most of the ignimbrites, which become more mafic toward the top. This gross compositional zonation is destroyed at the land/sea interface, where the ignimbrites are likely to have resulted in a chaotic buildup of large, quickly cooled, and fragmented mounds of hot ignimbrite. Post-emplacement, erosional mixing is probably reflected in volcaniclastic layers that are well bedded, contain a large amount of shallow water skeletal debris and rounded basaltic lithoclast, and show a wide spectrum of glass and mineral compositions. Basaltic lithoclasts are much more common in volcaniclastic layers at Hole 953C, probably because the northeastern shield basalts were highly dissected in this older part of the composite shield volcano prior to the beginning of ignimbrite volcanism at 14 Ma. As a result, many ignimbrites may have been channeled into the sea via deep canyons. In contrast, erosion was minimal during Mogán time in the southern half of the island, which was gently sloping and practically undissected, leading to concentric sedimentation on the volcanic apron. In general, the submarine, syn-ignimbrite turbidites have preserved a number of characteristics from the pristi ne stage of ash flow emplacement—especially shape and vesicularity of primary particles and the transient glassy state—that are lacking in the subaerial ignimbrites that cooled and devitrified at high temperatures. 1Weaver, P.P.E., Schmincke, H.-U., Firth, J.V., and Duffield, W. (Eds.), 1998. Proc. ODP, Sci. Results, 157: College Station, TX (Ocean Drilling Program). 2GEOMAR Forschungszentrum, Wischhofstrasse 1-3, D-24148 Kiel, Federal Republic of Germany. email@example.com INTRODUCTION Among intraplate oceanic islands, Gran Canaria contains unusually large volumes of felsic volcanic deposits, which resulted predominantly from explosive eruptions following the middle Miocene basaltic shield-building stage (Figs. 1−3). A condensed stratigraphic description is given in Sumita and Schmincke (Chap. 15, this volume), and ages are presented by Bogaard and Schmincke (Chap. 11,


This work covers a number of aspects of the thermal properties of empirical and molecular modelling with one chapter of literature survey and four chapters of result and discussion analysis. Chapter One presents a survey of the literature associated with the development of high performance polymers, of which polybenzoxazines are an example. Chapter Two introduces the materials which were supplied by Huntsman Corporation, Basel (i.e. Araldite MT 35600 and Araldite MT 35700). The purity of the samples was analysed in order to get an initial impression of the materials as any impurity in the sample may affect the mechanism of reaction and could influence the thermal properties. Chapter Three explains the thermal characteristics of a telechelic PEK benzoxazine by utilising a molecular modelling approach. The backbone of PEK consisting of five monomers was replicated to have twelve chains in a one cubic cell of Periodic Boundary Conditions. The PEK was then crosslinked and the percentage of crosslinking was subsequently compared with several others of different percentages of crosslinking. Eight atomistic models were generated; 0-0, 58-14, 58-21, 67-31, 83-35, 92-40, 100-45, and 100-54. Chapter Four reports the results of incorporating bisphenol A into Araldite MT 35600 at four different loadings. Empirical data for these blends (i.e. containing 0 wt%, 5 wt%, 15 wt%, and 25 wt%) were generated in-house, whilst a blend containing 35 wt% bisphenol A was incorporated into the molecular modelling study. Spectroscopic and thermal analyses were carried out to obtain the structural features and thermal properties of the materials. A molecular modelling study to predict the thermal properties of the blends was undertaken and the results were compared with the empirical data and corresponded closely. The final Chapter (Five) discusses a new application of the QSPR approach, which relates selected properties to chemical structures. Three case studies were investigated with the best linear equations produced, where the coefficients of determination were close to 1. This approach is still new in the field and therefore refinement work is needed in order to optimise the model.


The purpose of this study is to explore how five Iranian post-graduate students view discourse markers (DMs) and if there is any distinction between what is expressed in the interview and their writing samples. A qualitative method is being employed in the study. Purposive sampling is conducted in selecting the students. The findings indicate that all informants are fully aware of applying DMs in their writing but they do not have sufficient knowledge for the proper use and choosing appropriate ones. The findings are very specific and never mentioned in the previous research studies. However, more research needs to be undertaken in order to address the diversity of students with a bigger sample and various methodology.


As companies expand their operations across national borders, international internal audit assignments are becoming commonplace. However, the internal audit functions of multinational companies face unique issues since their work quality is influenced by interactions with employees from various locations and culturally diverse backgrounds. The aim of this paper is to analyze these interactions. For this purpose, fourteen qualitative in-depth interviews with internal audit practitioners working for globally operating companies are conducted. Qualitative content analysis is used to structure and analyze the interview data and results are presented within a conceptual framework based on Resource Dependence Theory and insights from conflict theory. The study examines the conflict-handling strategies that are employed during the distinct stages of cross-national internal audit assignments and sheds light on how internal auditors achieve their audit related goals while interacting with auditees of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Findings indicate that internal auditors are partly reliant on the knowledge and cooperation of auditees, and conflicts need to be handled in a manner which allows the internal audit function to obtain the necessary resources. Overall, results show that country and culture-specific differences can cause or complicate conflict situations and auditors are tasked with finding the difficult balance between trust and skepticism towards auditees when conducting cross-corporate audit assignments. This paper contributes to the scarce literature on the relationships between internal auditors and auditees and expands the current understanding of internal audit work in an international context.


Source separation consists of recovering a set of independent signals when only mixtures with unknown coefficients are observed. This paper introduces a class of adaptive algorithms for source separation that implements an adaptive version of equivariant estimation and is henceforth called equivariant adaptive separation via independence (EASI). The EASI algorithms are based on the idea of serial updating: This specific form of matrix updates systematically yields algorithms with a simple structure for both real and complex mixtures. Most importantly, the performance of an EASI algorithm does not depend on the mixing matrix. In particular, convergence rates, stability conditions, and interference rejection levels depend only on the (normalized) distributions of the source signals. Closedform expressions of these quantities are given via an asymptotic performance analysis. The theme of equivariance is stressed throughout the paper. The source separation problem has an underlying multiplicative structure: The parameter space forms a (matrix) multiplicative group. We explore the (favorable) consequences of this fact on implementation, performance, and optimization of EASI algorithms.


AIM
To investigate the comorbid disease could be the predictors for the elective colectomy in colonic diverticulitis.

METHODS
A retrospective chart review of 246 patients with colonic diverticulitis admitted between 2000 and 2008 was conducted, and 19 patients received emergent operation were identified and analyzed. Data were collected with regard to age, sex, albumin level on admission, left or right inflammation site, the history of recurrent diverticulitis, preoperative comorbidity, smoking habits, medication, treatment policy, morbidity, and mortality. Preoperative comorbid diseases included cardiovascular disease, diabetes, pulmonary disease, peptic ulcer disease, gouty arthritis, and uremia. Medications in use included non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin), and corticosteroids. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the relevant risk factors correlating to colectomy.

RESULTS
The mean age of the 246 patients was 69.5 years (range, 24-94 years). Most diverticulitis could be managed with conservative treatment (n = 227, 92.3%), and urgent colectomy was performed in 19 patients (7.7%). There were three deaths in the surgical group and four deaths in the nonsurgical group. The overall mortality rate in the study was 1.7% among patients with conservative treatment and 15.7% among patients undergoing urgent colectomy. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that comorbidities were risk factors for urgent colectomy for diverticulitis.

CONCLUSION
To avoid high mortality and morbidity related to urgent colectomy, we suggest that patients with colonic diverticulitis and comorbid diseases may require elective colectomy.


Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) is a state-of-the-art approach for locomotion and manipulation which leverages trajectory optimization at each control step. While the performance of this approach is computationally bounded, implementations of direct trajectory optimization that use iterative methods to solve the underlying moderately-large and sparse linear systems, are a natural fit for parallel hardware acceleration. In this work, we introduce MPCGPU, a GPU-accelerated, real-time NMPC solver that leverages an accelerated preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) linear system solver at its core. We show that MPCGPU increases the scalability and real-time performance of NMPC, solving larger problems, at faster rates. In particular, for tracking tasks using the Kuka IIWA manipulator, MPCGPU is able to scale to kilohertz control rates with trajectories as long as 512 knot points. This is driven by a custom PCG solver which outperforms state-of-the-art, CPU-based, linear system solvers by at least 10x for a majority of solves and 3.6x on average.


The analysis and design of a star delta transformer in series with active power filter linked to grid lines are carried out. The development of active power filter which consists of voltage reference, triangular generator to generate pulse width modulation with half inverters is simulated. The current injection network of half inverter in series with three phase of a star delta transformer which is interconnected to grid lines is also discussed. It is observed that the reduction of harmonics at grid lines was significantly reduced. The simulation results show that the total harmonic distortions are reduced within range of 45% - 50% and 97% - 99% at distributions and neutral lines respectively. Also, the distortions of sinusoidal waveform at grid lines were improved.


Usage of vaping and electronic cigarettes products is a growing trend among young adults, with rising rates worldwide. Such products are gaining popularity for many reasons including an alternative to smoking cigarettes, trying something new, or as a means to relax. While users may feel that these products are less harmful or a safer substitute to smoking traditional products, the side effect profile of vape inhalation has the potential for profound injury to the lung tissue and significant respiratory failure. We would like to present a case in which a young male who was evaluated at our Emergency department for acute onset respiratory failure subsequently requiring invasive mechanical ventilation in the setting of vaping associated lung injury (VALI). In the case report, we will highlight the patient's clinical course as well as a summary of the current evidence surrounding evaluation, diagnosis and management of this emerging pathology. We want to emphasize the importance of a detailed history which should include the use of vaping products when a young patient presents with acute respiratory failure, allowing VALI to be in the differential diagnosis. Additionally, we want to compare the clinical presentation of VALI to that of COVID-19 pneumonia as they both have many similar attributes including symptoms and findings on lung imaging studies.


Cost and productivity are major factors when considering which type of harvesting system to operate. Observations were conducted on felling and skidding harvesting operations, in the Blacksea region of Turkey, Paşakonağı spruce forest sites, in order to obtain time study data. The performance of the Stihl chain saw, forest tractor (MB Trac900) skidder was studied for log methods. Production and cost analysis were conducted on the harvesting system data in order to compare the two systems. The productivity and gross-effective productivity of chainsaw for different diameters were 9.11 m3/hour/man and 10.6 m3/hour/man respectively. The unit costs with and without delay times were 1.30 $/m3 and 1.11 $/ m3, respectively. The significant variables included diameter at breast height and distance among harvested trees for the time expenditure model. This regression function is statistically significante at a level of 5%. The productivity and gross-effective productivity of forest tractor skidding for different diameters were 11 m3 and 10.43 m3 per hour, respectively. The unit cost per cubic meters was 3.81 $ for the with delay times while the unit cost without delay times was 3.54 $ per cubic meter. The significant variables included skidding distance, number of logs, and volume for the time expenditure model. This regression function is statistically significance level of 5%. Result of this research can be also useful for in harvesting planning.


Objectives Current standard of care for patients with stage IIIc epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is cytoreduction and intravenous (IV) chemotherapy. Intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy is considered superior to standard IV chemotherapy. Recent randomised study has shown benefit of cytoreductive surgery (CRS)+ hyperthermic intra-peritoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) over IV chemotherapy. Methods 130 patients diagnosed of stage IIIc EOC between 2013–2018 underwent extensive CRS+HIPEC. CRS+IV or CRS+IP was also done during the same period for other patients diagnosed of stage IIIC EOC. Overall details of HIPEC group is reported with comparison of only the oncological outcome of CRS & IV group & CRS+IP group. Results Of 130 patients, 65.3% & 34.7% had primary and secondary cytoreduction plus HIPEC respectively. Mean PCI was 14.1, duration of surgery 9.41hours & hospital stay 13 days. Multivisceral resection, diaphragmatic resection & bowel resection was required in 12.7%, 50% & 41.8% respectively. Overall G3- G5 morbidity 40% & 30 day mortality 3.6%. With a median follow up of 46 months DFS was 33 & 16 months and OS was not achieved in primary and the recurrent setting respectively. In Comparison CRS with IV group had a DFS & OS of 28 & 42 months whereas CRS with IP group showed 38 & 55 months respectively. Intraperitoneal therapy group had lesser overall recurrence compared to IV arm. Conclusions CRS+IP & CRS+HIPEC group had lesser overall & peritoneal recurrences and better DFS than CRS+IV group. The role of hyperthermia for intraperitoneal chemotherapy in comparison to IP arm needs evaluation with well designed multi-institutional randomised study.


A design methodology for distributing a buck converter filter for application to 3-D circuits is described. The 3-D filter exploits transmission line properties, permitting the generation and distribution of power supplies to different planes. As compared to a conventional LC filter, the proposed filter only requires on-chip capacitors without the use of on-chip inductors. Additionally, the physical structure of the filter simultaneously enables the distribution of the current to the load while filtering the switching signal at the input. A case study in a 0.18- μm CMOS 3-D technology demonstrates the generation of a 1.2 V power supply delivering 700 mA peak current.


Dendritic cells are potent antigen-presenting cells for several primary immune responses and therefore provide an opportunity for evaluating the amounts of cell-associated antigens that are required for inducing T cell-mediated immunity. Because dendritic cells express very high levels of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II products, it has been assumed that high levels of ligands bound to MHC products ("signal one") are needed to stimulate quiescent T cells. Here we describe quantitative aspects underlying the stimulation of human blood T cells by a bacterial superantigen, staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA). The advantages of superantigens for quantitative studies of signal one are that these ligands: (a) engage MHC class II and the T cell receptor but do not require processing; (b) are efficiently presented to large numbers of quiescent T cells; and (c) can be pulsed onto dendritic cells before their application to T cells. Thus one can relate amounts of dendritic cell-associated SEA to subsequent lymphocyte stimulation. Using radioiodinated SEA, we noted that dendritic cells can bind 30-200 times more superantigen than B cells and monocytes. Nevertheless, this high SEA binding does not underlie the strong potency of dendritic cells to present antigen to T cells. Dendritic cells can sensitize quiescent T cells, isolated using monoclonals to appropriate CD45R epitopes, after a pulse of SEA that occupies a maximum of 0.1% of surface MHC class II molecules. This corresponds to an average of 2,000 molecules per dendritic cell. At these low doses of bound SEA, monoclonal antibodies to CD3, CD4, and CD28 almost completely block T cell proliferation. In addition to suggesting new roles for MHC class II on dendritic cells, especially the capture and retention of ligands at low external concentrations, the data reveal that primary T cells can generate a response to exceptionally low levels of signal one as long as these are delivered on dendritic cells.


Previous research has found that in recent years immigrants had a higher propensity to unionize than did native-born workers. However, little research shows that historically marginalized immigrant workers are able to maintain newly acquired union jobs, especially during times unfavorable to unionization more generally. This comment focuses on immigrant unionization during the Great Recession of 2008 to determine whether inroads that immigrants made through organizing were maintained in hostile union environments. Using the Current Population Survey (CPS), I extend Rosenfeld and Kleykamp's (2009) models for Hispanic unionization (which end in 2007) through the recent downturn and beyond. I find that Hispanic immigrants, who held higher odds of union entry or membership in Rosenfeld and Kleykamp's pre-recession analysis, lost union jobs at an increased rate during the Great Recession compared with native-born white workers. These effects for Hispanic immigrants filtered throughout various subcategories and control variables, including years since entry, citizenship status, and nationality. These results are likely not due to immigrants' unfavorable labor market allocation, and to some degree undercut the hopes of those who view immigrants as the key to organized labor's future and organized labor as the key to immigrant prosperity.


&NA; The effects of epidural bisulfite‐free chloroprocaine with and without 1:300,000 epinephrine during labor and delivery on uterine activity, progress of labor, fetal heart rate, maternal blood pressure, newborn Apgar scores, neonatal acid base status, and the Neurologic and Adaptive Capacity Scoring System (NACS) were studied in 100 parturients. Patients in group I (n=49) received 2% chloroprocaine with 1:300,000 epinephrine and patients in group II (n=51) received 2% chloroprocaine alone. All patients obtained satisfactory analgesia with chloroprocaine, with no major adverse experience. Duration of analgesia was significantly longer in group I than in group II patients (70.8±3.1 minutes versus 50.4±1.8 minutes, P<0.001 (mean±SE). The addition of epinephrine to chloroprocaine did not have any significant effects on duration of the first or second stages of labor, mode of delivery, or fetal heart rate parameters. Maternal heart rate and the incidence of hypotensive episodes did not differ significantly between the two groups of patients. Apgar scores, neonatal acid‐base status, and the NACS were equally good in the two groups of patients. These results were similar to those previously reported using 2‐chloroprocaine with 0.2% bisulfite. It is concluded that bisulfite‐free chloroprocaine provides satisfactory anesthesia for labor and delivery and does not differ from the old formulation that contains bisulfite. It is also concluded that the addition of epinephrine during epidural anesthesia in the normal parturient has no adverse effects on mother, fetus, neonate, or the progress of labor and it significantly prolongs the duration of anesthesia.


Unionization levels are far lower among young workers than for the workforce in general. How can trade unions become more responsive to their particular interests and needs? Union confederations, even in countries with decentralized union structures, have the potential to take effective initiatives to facilitate and support new organizing strategies targeted at young workers, for example by spreading knowledge, practical skills and vision of relevance for improving the representation and recruitment of young workers. Yet the survey findings reported here show that youth representatives across Europe find their confederations' responsiveness and commitment to organizing to be inadequate. Their dissatisfaction confirms previous research findings concerning young workers and their unfulfilled desire for unionization.


A subgroup of patients with drug‐resistant epilepsy have seizure clusters, which are a part of the continuum of seizure emergencies that includes prolonged episodes and status epilepticus. When the patient or caregiver can identify the beginning of a cluster, the condition is amenable to certain treatments, an approach known as rescue therapy. Intravenous drug administration offers the fastest onset of action, but this route is usually not an option because most seizure clusters occur outside of a medical facility. Alternate routes of administration have been used or are proposed including rectal, buccal, intrapulmonary, subcutaneous, intramuscular, and intranasal. The objective of this narrative review is to describe the (1) anatomical, physiologic, and drug physicochemical properties that need to be considered when developing therapies for seizure emergencies and (2) products currently in development. New therapies must consider parameters of Fick's law such as absorptive surface area, blood flow, membrane thickness, and lipid solubility, because these factors affect both rate and extend of absorption. For example, the lung has a 50 000‐fold greater absorptive surface area than that associated with a subcutaneous injection. Lipid solubility is a physicochemical property that influences the absorption rate of small molecule drugs. Among drugs currently used or under development for rescue therapy, allopregnanolone has the greatest lipid solubility at physiologic pH, followed by propofol, midazolam, diazepam, lorazepam, alprazolam, and brivaracetam. However, greater lipid solubility correlates with lower water solubility, complicating formulation of rescue therapies. One approach to overcoming poor aqueous solubility involves the use of a water‐soluble prodrug coadministered with a converting enzyme, which is being explored for the intranasal delivery of diazepam. With advances in seizure prediction technology and the development of drug delivery systems that provide rapid onset of effect, rescue therapies may prevent the occurrence of seizures, thus greatly improving the management of epilepsy.


Nickpoint recession in the Buchan karst, southeastern Australia, has resulted in the formation of an underground meander cut-off system in the Murrindal River valley. Three nickpoints have been stranded in the surface channel abandoned by the subterranean piracy, and these can be correlated with river terraces and epiphreatic cave passages in the nearby Buchan River valley. The presence of palaeomagnetically reversed sediments in the youngest cave passage in the Buchan valley implies that the topographically lowest nickpoint in the Murrindal valley is more than 730 ka old, and the other nickpoints are probably several million years old. The nickpoints are occasionally active during floods, but the diversion of most surface flow underground has slowed down their retreat to the extent that they have been effectively stationary for several million years.

Underground nickpoint migration has been by both incision within major phreatic conduits and their abandonment for lower-level passages. The nickpoints are all present in the upstream part of the cave system, but have not migrated past the sink in the river channel, despite the long period of time available for this to happen. The sink is characterized by collapsed limestone blocks; these filter out the coarse bedload from the river channel. As a result, erosion within the cave passages is dominantly solutional and therefore slower than in the surface channel, where it is mostly mechanical. In addition, to transmit a drop in base level the cave system requires the removal of a larger volume of rock than for the surface migration of a nickpoint, because any roof collapse material in the subsurface system must be removed. These factors have slowed the migration of the base-level changes through the subsurface system, and may be a general feature in caves that have diffuse sinks as their main inputs.


Accurate quantification of biodiversity can be demanding and expensive. Although environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding can facilitate biodiversity assessments through non‐invasive, cost‐efficient and rapid surveys, the approach struggles to outperform traditional morphological approaches in providing reliable quantitative estimates for surveyed species (e.g. abundance and biomass). We present an integrated methodology for improving biodiversity surveys that pairs eDNA metabarcoding with morphological data, following a series of taxonomic and geographical filters. We demonstrate its power by applying it to a new spatiotemporal dataset generated on an Iberian‐wide distributed aquatic mesocosm infrastructure that spans a wide biogeographical gradient. By building upon the strengths that these two approaches offer, our framework improved taxonomic resolution for 30% of the taxa and enabled species' traits (e.g. body size) and abundance to be assigned to 85% of the taxa in hybrid datasets. These results indicate that eDNA‐based assessments can complement, but not always replace, conventional approaches. Integrating conventional and modern eDNA metabarcoding approaches, already available in the ecologist's toolbox, will greatly enhance biodiversity assessments.


We evaluated 117 carbocyclic compounds for their bird repellent effects in no-choice (one-bottle) drinking tests and summarized the results in this paper. Compounds derivative of aromatic heterocycles, acetophenones and carbocyclic compounds containing sulfur are often strong repellents. Anthranilates, aromatic alcohols, aromatic aldehydes, and carbocyclic compounds containing nitrogen are moderately strong repellents. However, the potency of anthranilates is highly variable, depending upon the nature of the substitutions. Acetates and benzoates are weak repellents. Benzoic acids and amino acids are not repellent to starlings. In addition, discussions of the type of behavioral assay, units of measure, and dose-response characterizations include recommendations for future studies of repellents. Convergence on the types of information reported and the details of experiments will enhance our ability to compare the efficacy of repellents across studies.


In the present research, the authors investigated how individual differences in working memory capacity moderate the relative influence of automatic versus controlled precursors on self-regulatory behavior. In 2 studies, on sexual interest behavior (Study 1) and the consumption of tempting food (Study 2), automatic attitudes toward the temptation of interest had a stronger influence on behavior for individuals who scored low rather than high in working memory capacity. Analogous results emerged in Study 3 on anger expression in a provoking situation when a measure of the automatic personality trait of angriness was employed. Conversely, controlled dispositions such as explicit attitudes (Study 1) and self-regulatory goals (Studies 2 and 3) were more effective in guiding behavior for participants who scored high rather than low in working memory capacity. Taken together, these results demonstrate the importance of working memory capacity for everyday self-regulation and suggest an individual differences perspective on dual-process or dual-system theories of human behavior.