Human breast milk can be considered as "ideal" food for the correct development of newborn babies and, for those that are not breast-fed, formula milk has to be used instead. Ideally, the composition of such formula milk preparations should closely resemble that of maternal human milk. Considerable differences between both in the total content of trace elements such as Fe, Cu, Se, Zn, and I and in their chemical form in both milk types have been demonstrated. Speciation analysis in milk whey was carried out first by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) elemental detection and showed that the observed element distribution patterns were very different in the investigated human and formula milks. Using complementary molecular mass techniques (i.e., MALDI-TOF), the identity and chemical characterization of some biomolecules (e.g., protein) with which metals are associated in each fraction was also established (by a typical heteroatom-tagged proteomics protocol). Attempts to assess the nutritional value of elemental supplements in formula milk with the aid of quantitative chemical speciation, using stable isotopes in combination with ICP-MS and isotope pattern deconvolution (IPD), proved to be successful to differentiate and quantify endogenous (natural) and exogenous (supplemented) Se or Fe trace levels. In particular, the application of such ICP-MS based techniques to study Se bioavailability from formula milk and metabolism in Se-supplemented lactating rats is discussed in detail. Quantification of selenospecies of endogenous (natural) and exogenous (supplement) Se in rat's urine is demonstrated and relevant information on possible Se biotransformations and its final catabolism from such results is discussed.


This paper considers how legal technology, defined here as the use of digital information and communication technologies to automate or part automate legal work process, to provide decision support to legal service providers, and to provide legal information and advice directly to clients/end users, is re-shaping both legal work processes, and the organisation and governance of legal practice. Starting from an essentially descriptive and functional account of legal technology, the paper explores its role in changing the temporal-spatial and organisational characteristics of practice, and in creating new challenges for the regulation of legal services. The paper then moves explicitly into sociological theory to address the question how new legal technologies are reshaping the landscape of professional knowledge and expertise itself. It concludes by drawing together implications of these various strands for the future sustainability and legitimacy of the legal profession in its present form.


In this thesis, I discuss ethical issues for health and demographic surveillance systems (HDSS). HDSS involve the longitudinal monitoring of vital events, such as births and deaths, in a relatively small, geographically defined population, without a specified end date. Methodologically and in their aims, HDSS occupy a grey area between research, health care and public health. Despite involving millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa and other settings that face significant health and socioeconomic challenges, HDSS have received little attention in the empirical ethics literature and guidelines.

To address the empirical and normative gaps in HDSS ethics, I conducted a qualitative study based on a case study design. This included three interlinked phases; 1) formative research in six HDSS across sub-Saharan Africa to map out key ethical issues 2) a case study of two HDSS in Kenya to explore ethical issues in depth, 3) an assessment of the wider relevance of the case study findings. I explored the views and experiences of HDSS research and community stakeholders through interviews, observations, document reviews and focus group discussions. I drew on this empirical data, and the wider bioethics and social science literature to develop normative conclusions on HDSS ethics.

Overall, the benefits and burdens of HDSS appear disproportionately distributed among stakeholders. Verbal autopsy respondents and interviewers bear most of the severe burdens in HDSS, with significant emotional and moral distress respectively. HDSS residents are also exposed to a wide range of risks (such as to privacy) regularly over a long timescale. Although HDSS have contributed to scientific publications which could inform policy and practice, this potential social value, as well as more immediate local benefits, are not well-articulated or demonstrated in practice. I make recommendations to minimise burdens and enhance the social value of HDSS in sub-Saharan Africa.


In continuous concrete beams, ductility allows redistribution of moment between the negative and positive moment zones. Although many in situ reinforced high strength concrete (RHSC) beams are of continuous construction, there has been very little research on such beams with external reinforcement. Due to premature debonding failures and the linear stress-strain characteristics of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) up to failure, the ductility of plated members and their ability to redistribute moment is less than that of unplated RC beams. The present study examined the responses of RHSC continuous beams, in terms of enhancement of moment and load capacity, moment redistribution, and different types of ductility. Thickness of carbon FRP (CFRP) sheets, strengthening of both the hogging and sagging region, and end anchorage technique were the main parameters investigated. Various monitoring devices were used to monitor the loading history of the beams. Increasing the number of CFRP sheet layers increased ultimate strength, and decreased ductility, moment redistribution, and ultimate strain on CFRP sheets. Additionally, using end anchorage increased ultimate strength and moment redistribution. The moment enhancement ratio of the strengthened beams was significantly higher than the ultimate load enhancement ratio in the same beam. The proposed equation for converting the energy ductility index to the displacement ductility index provided accurate results.


Pancreatic cancer consists one of tumors with the highest degree of malignancy and the worst prognosis. To date, immunotherapy has become an effective means to improve the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have also been associated with the immune response. However, the role of immune-related lncRNAs in the immune response of pancreatic cancer remains unclear. In this study, we identified immune-related lncRNA pairs through a new combinatorial algorithm, and then clustered and deeply analyzed the immune characteristics and functional differences between subtypes. Subsequently, the prognostic model of 3 candidate lncRNA pairs was determined by multivariate COX analysis. The results showed significant prognostic differences between the C1 and C2 subtypes, which may be due to the differential infiltration of CTL and NK cells and the activation of tumor-related pathways. The prognostic model of the 3 lncRNA pairs (AC244035.1_vs._AC063926.1, AC066612.1_vs._AC090124.1, and AC244035.1_vs._LINC01885) was established, which exhibits stable and effective prognostic prediction performance. These 3 lncRNA pairs may regulate the anti-tumor effect of immune cells through ion channel pathways. In conclusion, our research demonstrated the panoramic differences in immune characteristics between subtypes and stable prognostic models, and identified new potential targets for immunotherapy.


&NA; Preoperative angiography is frequently used in the planning of microsurgical reconstruction. However, several potentially devastating complications can result from angiography, including arterial occlusion and pseudoaneurysm. Computed tomographic angiography is a relatively new technique that can provide detailed information about vascular anatomy as well as soft and bony tissue without the risks of traditional angiography. In addition, three‐dimensional image reconstruction uniquely demonstrates anatomical relationships among blood vessels, bones, and soft tissue. Fourteen computed tomographic angiograms were obtained in 10 patients undergoing microsurgical reconstruction of the head and neck, lower extremity, or upper extremity. The average patient age was 46.9 years (range, 22 to 67 years). Charges related to the computed tomographic procedure were compared with those of conventional preoperative imaging for microsurgical repair. At our institution, the average computed tomographic angiogram charge was $1140, whereas the average charge for traditional arteriography was $3900. When compared with intraoperative evaluation, computed tomographic angiograms demonstrated clinically relevant surgical anatomy. No complications were noted for the radiographic procedure or after free flap reconstruction. Computed tomographic angiography provides high‐resolution, three‐dimensional arterial, venous, and soft‐tissue imaging without the risks of traditional angiogram and at a lower cost. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 112: 498, 2003.)


Background: Multikinase inhibitors (MKIs) have been shown to improve survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compared with placebo. Distinct from other MKIs, cabozantinib has inhibitory activity for both AXL and MET. This review considers the literature elucidating the role of AXL and MET in HCC progression, treatment resistance, and immunomodulation. A systematic search of the PubMed database was conducted on November 16, 2020, and identified a total of 174 search results. A further 36 potentially relevant articles were identified based on the authors' knowledge. After initial screening by title/abstract, 159 underwent full-text screening and we identified 69 original research articles reporting empirical data from in vitro or in vivo models of HCC evaluating the effects of manipulating AXL or MET signaling on tumorigenic behavior. Summary: AXL expression is highly correlated with HCC progression and outcomes and has been reported to be involved in transforming growth factor-β and the regulation of PI3K/AKT, ERK/MAPK, and CCN proteins. MET protein expression is increased in HCC with the highest histological grade and has been reported to be involved in the regulation of PI3K/AKT, PLCγ/DAG/PKC, and MAPK/ERK signaling. Both AXL and MET are key regulators of sorafenib resistance in HCC. In terms of immunomodulation, there are data to indicate that AXL and MET interact with the immune components of the tumor microenvironment and promote tumorigenesis and treatment resistance. In addition, AXL was found to play a potential role in the development of a protumorigenic neutrophil phenotype in HCC. Combined inhibition of MET and programmed cell death protein resulted in additive reduction of HCC cell growth. Key Messages: AXL and MET play key roles in HCC progression, treatment resistance, and immunomodulation. Continued development of drugs that target these receptor tyrosine kinases appears likely to represent a useful strategy to improve outcomes for patients with HCC.


In this time some of the peoples Indonesia before marriage was preceded by the making of marriage agreements among prospective grooms and women. The marriage agreement as an often also referred to as a pre-marriage agreement or prenuptial agreement that agreements made before marriage take place and binding the two sides of the bride and married woman candidates. A legal arrangement in the case of a marriage agreement is contained in Article 29 of Law no. 1 of 1974 concerning Marriage, Articles 47 to 52 of KHI and also in Articles 139 to Article 154 of the Civil Code. Islamic law does not set explicitly in marriage agreements. However, based on the Qur'an and Hadith no single verse prohibits the making of marriage legally approval as long as it is not contrary to Islamic Shari'a and the marriage agreement is beneficial to the couple husband and wife. Thus, Islamic law justifies the implementation of marriage agreements among Islamic citizens. Among potential married couples aged over 25 years old up to 40 years past and have education level between D3 to S1 know and understand the purpose and benefits of the marriage agreement, but because it is not obligated in Islamic law hence not implemented marriage agreement among Muslim citizen.


A standard technique for locating events with T phases is to pick the peak energy of T phases as the arrival time, then proceed as if it was an unscattered phase originating at the epicenter. The peak energy arrival time, however, can shift to different parts of the wave train due to incoherent scattering. We show that a 50% reduction in variance relative to picks of peak arrival times can be achieved by fitting an assumed functional shape to the log of the entire envelope of the T phase. We test the stability of this approach by comparing relative event locations based on this method with those determined by cross-correlating waveforms of Rayleigh and Love surface waves recorded teleseismically using a swarm of earthquakes at the northern end of the Easter microplate as an example. Relative event locations show that there is no systematic bias in T-phase locations. The T-phase location and detection can be extended to much smaller events than are detectable by surface waves. We estimate T-phase maximum amplitudes of about 50 events within the swarm from the amplitude of the fitted functions rather than directly from the seismograms. Twenty-four of these events are large enough to estimate their magnitudes by surface- wave analysis. The empirical analysis shows the log of T-phase maximum amplitude and surface-wave magnitude (MS) exhibit a relatively uniform linear relationship with much less scatter than in previously published studies of T-phase amplitude versus magnitude. The reduction in scatter is due to both the stability of the functional estimate of amplitude and the use of a swarm of earthquakes with similar depth, mechanism, and source-receiver geometry. The observed T-phase coda for shallow earthquakes can be synthesized using a simple model of multiple-reverberation seafloor scattering. The results show that scattering of energy at a rough seafloor from multiple reverberations in the water column is significant in T-phase generation even where the water depths are relatively uniform.


Microcredit's potential for poverty reduction is a highly contested issue. In Cambodia, the dramatically increasing commercial microcredit coexists with widespread private moneylending. These two practices are rooted in different economic world views: neoliberalism on the one hand, and the traditional Khmer economic sociality permeated by patronage on the other. The ethnography shows that far from competing with each other, microcredit and private lending have adapted to form a symbiotic relationship, and much private lending is financed through microcredit. While microcredit is often beneficial to people living well above the poverty line, the widespread access to credit, through microloans as well as private lending, is threatening the livelihoods of the economically most vulnerable and precipitating their social, economic and spatial exclusion from their local communities. In contrast to the social and economic exclusion caused by land grabbing and forced evictions, which has received a fair amount of public attention, exclusion as a consequence of indebtedness has, for sociocultural reasons, remained much less visible.


From the perspective of crashworthiness and passenger safety, martensitic and complex phase Ultra High Strength Steels (UHSS) are ideal candidates for automotive anti-intrusion components. However, these steels must be protected from corrosive environments in order to maintain the longterm integrity of the structures involved for which continuous galvanizing is a cost-effective solution. Several challenges have to be overcome in order to process the above steels in the continuous galvanizing line (CGL) while achieving the minimum target tensile strength of 1250 MPa. Steel chemical compositions should be selected in such a way that maintaining a suitable cooling rate produces martensite or bainite, and also provides a substrate surface with sufficient reactive wetting suitable for galvanizing. In the present study, steel chemistries were designed around relatively lean compositions based on carbon, manganese and silicon with additional hardenability being provided by molybdenum or chromium additions. Annealing cycles were determined based on the continuous cooling transformation behaviour of the steels. For both steel compositions the target tensile strength of 1250 MPa was achieved using austenitic annealing for 120s followed by cooling to room temperature at 50°C/s. The steels were successfully reactively wet by the Zn(Al,Fe) bath using a 95%N2-5%H2, -30°C dew point process atmosphere. From scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning Auger microscopy it was determined that oxides of manganese, silicon and chromium formed during annealing. However, these oxides did not have an adverse effect on coatability and both steels formed high quality, adherent coatings.


Abstract: Distance education in Bangladesh started in 1956 with a distribution of 200 radio receivers. Open and distance learning (ODL) got institutional status through establishing the Bangladesh Open University (BOU) and it received the autonomous status by the Parliamentary Act, 1992. About 80 per cent of the total fund was a loan from ADB for this project. After ten years of the project, the ADB conducted an ex-post evaluation in 2002. The main purpose of this study was to develop the logical model and explore the present situation, prospects, constraints; and provide further recommendations. Research publications, report of ex-post evaluation of ADB and other secondary materials have been used as sources of information for this study. Further, the observation technique has been a strong input for this study. The study suggested a vision for BOU, utilizing the media center, and development of WebCT for an integrated software-based web for the ODL system. This study can help the policy makers and other stake holders of ODL in Bangladesh. Keywords: Open and Distance Learning (ODL), Bangladesh Open University (BOU), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Web-Based Course Tools (WebCT), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)


Mutual information (MI) is a popular similarity measure for image registration, whereby good registration can be achieved by maximizing the compactness of the clusters in the joint histogram. However, MI is sensitive to the ldquooutlierrdquo objects that appear in one image but not the other, and also suffers from local and biased maxima. We propose a novel joint saliency map (JSM) to highlight the corresponding salient structures in the two images, and emphatically group those salient structures into the smoothed compact clusters in the weighted joint histogram. This strategy could solve both the outlier and the local maxima problems. Experimental results show that the JSM-MI based algorithm is not only accurate but also robust for registration of challenging image pairs with outliers.


In this work, a novel approach was developed for obtaining a strong three-dimensional network of heat conducting path by filling alumina (Al2O3) and graphene sheets (GR) into poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA). This unique structure effectively prevents the inter-sheet restacking of graphene sheets and minimizes the thermal contact resistance between fillers and interface. The resultant exhibits a high thermal conductivity of 2.40 ± 0.07 W/m K, which is much higher than single filler at the same loading. Additionally, a strong synergistic effect can also be observed, and three-dimensional schematic models were simulated for this enhancement. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43242.


Cell therapy is based on the replacement of damaged cells in order to restore injured tissues. The first consideration is that an abundant source of cells is needed; second, these cells should be immunologically compatible with the guest and third, there should be no real threat of these cells undergoing malignant transformation in the future. Given these requirements, already differentiated adult cells or adult stem cells obtained from the body of the patient appear to be the ideal candidates to meet all of these demands. The utilization of somatic cells also avoids numerous ethical and political drawbacks and concerns. Transdifferentiation is the phenomenon by which an adult differentiated cell switches to another differentiated cell. This paper reviews the importance of transdifferentiation, discussing the cells that are suitable for this process and the methods currently employed to induce the change in cell type.


End-to-end Speech Translation (ST) models have many potential advantages when compared to the cascade of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and text Machine Translation (MT) models, including lowered inference latency and the avoidance of error compounding. However, the quality of end-to-end ST is often limited by a paucity of training data, since it is difficult to collect large parallel corpora of speech and translated transcript pairs. Previous studies have proposed the use of pre-trained components and multi-task learning in order to benefit from weakly supervised training data, such as speech-to-transcript or text-to-foreign-text pairs. In this paper, we demonstrate that using pre-trained MT or text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis models to convert weakly supervised data into speech-to-translation pairs for ST training can be more effective than multi-task learning. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a high quality end-to-end ST model can be trained using only weakly supervised datasets, and that synthetic data sourced from unlabeled monolingual text or speech can be used to improve performance. Finally, we discuss methods for avoiding overfitting to synthetic speech with a quantitative ablation study.


This collection of essays is a mixed bag. It is intended to be, inasmuch as the selection has been made to show Robert Nozick's versatility as a philosopher and a writer. And it does so—but too much that is of passing interest is included. The first ten essays could have made a collection on their own. Nine of these are included within two sections: "Choice and Utility" and "Philosophy and Methodology." The tenth, "Moral Complications and Moral Structures," appears in a section entitled "Ethics and Politics." It is by far the most substantial piece in this section, both in length and depth. A selection of the remaining pieces in the book might then have been included in a section of jeux d'esprit. So I will first report on the first ten essays and then come back to some of these.


With few exceptions, the two issues of algorithm design and fault tolerance for processor arrays have been dealt with separately, in that algorithm developers have assumed the availability of complete fault-free arrays and fault tolerance techniques have aimed at restoring such complete arrays by reconfiguring faulty ones. We present the design of robust algorithms that run efficiently on complete arrays but are also tolerant of fault processors/links in a degraded mode. This is a complementary approach in that our algorithms can be used on reconfigurable arrays that tolerate a certain number of faults while maintaining their regularity, with the graceful degradation feature kicking in once the fault tolerance limit of the reconfiguration scheme is exceeded. The fault models considered in this paper comprise of the faulty processors/links being removed from the pool of resources (removal model) or bypassed in their respective rows/columns (bypass model). We discuss the two models, derive tight upper bounds for the fault diameter of the resulting networks, and present building-block algorithms for semigroup computation, parallel prefix computation, data rearrangement, matrix multiplication and sorting.


Sightlence is a haptic game interface translation of Pong. The goal of the game design was to answer the question if it's possible to design computer games that only communicate through the haptic modality, if it's possible to translate classic computer games to the haptic modality, and if it can be accomplished with ordinary gamepads.The two-fold purpose of answering these questions was to explore if it is possible to make computer games more accessible with haptic interfaces, and the possibility of using the haptic modality alone in a manner similar to the graphic and audio modalities when designing computer games.The Sightlence game demonstrates that game designers can create haptic game interfaces with expressive capabilities closer to that of its graphical and audio counterparts even though it's currently not common to do so in game development projects.


Polycrystalline ZnO thin films codoped with Cu and N have been obtained by chemical bath deposition. The effect of N incorporation and Cu-N incorporation on microstructure and optical properties of ZnO films has been investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns of the films indicated N incorporation deteriorated the crystalline quality while Cu-N incorporation improved the crystalline quality. The PL spectra showed that the relative intensity between the ultraviolet luminescence and the deep level-center luminescence of ZnO thin films was clearly correlated with the crystalline quality. Furthermore, the Raman spectra revealed the intensity of E2 (high) increase with Cu-N incorporation.


Higher level selection processes such as species selection are not generally predicted to overpower individual selection on character traits. Goldberg et al. provide a model derived from collected life history data and argue that species selection is maintaining self-incompatibility in the Solanaceae plant family. This model applies only on the level of the species, not representing the underlying interactions between individuals and the environment. We propose a new model with environmental variation at the individual level that may explain the maintenance and frequency of loss of this character trait. We use individual based modelling techniques to explore our hypothesis, and compare it with that originally proposed. The results show alternative values required for the mutation rate to produce the species level transition frequency under the opposing models, given certain assumptions. Future work is suggested to refine the parameter relationships, test for robustness, and determine if individual models of higher complexity will exhibit similar outcomes.


Background: The Egyptian cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is one of the most destructive agricultural lepidopteran pests in Egypt, attacking several important crops all year round. S. littoralis can have two to seven generations per year, depending on the climate of the region; for example, changes in temperature affect all life processes of S. littoralis. Methods: The development, survival, and fecundity of S. littoralis at one of five constant temperatures as well as their effects on the biochemical impacts were investigated. Results: The results showed that the duration of developmental stage (eggs, instars, pupae), longevity, and fecundity significantly decreased with increasing temperature from 15 to 35 oC. Larvae emerged fastest from the eggs at 25 °C. The percentage of oviposited females was 46, 58, 74.5, 66.5, and 50% at 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 °C, respectively. The results also showed that the fourth larval instars of S. littoralis at 25 oC had a higher level of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and free amino acids in comparison with those larvae at 35 oC. Therefore, temperature rise leads to increasing metabolic rate, and decreasing the development period. Conclusion: Thus, 25 °C was the optimum temperature for development, fecundity, rates of biochemical and physiological reactions of S. littoralis.


The inclusion of the topic "emotional determinants of mental deficiency" in this workshop is a recognition of both a practical diagnostic problem in the clinic and a theoretical issue of prime importance for the understanding of behavior. The first presents itself as the task of distinguishing between an emotional disturbance with secondary or complicating feeblemindedness and mental deficiency accompanied by symptoms of emotional maladjustment. The clinician feels an urgent responsibility for making this distinction, since formulations as to etiology, prognosis, and treatment differ markedly in the two instances. The second task, the theoretical one, is to determine whether, to what extent, and by what mechanism emotional disorder may temporarily or permanently impair intellectual faculties. A parallel question, subsidiary for our present deliberations, is the impact of intellectual deficit on emotional life. These topics are far too large to be treated comprehensively in the brief time allotted, even had I the


Assessment is an essential part of the learning process. It is important for educators to provide detailed and

reliable evaluations to students so that they can be better prepared for future studies and the workplace.

Marking and providing formative feedback can be time-consuming and prone to errors especially when

detailed analyses of students' problem-solving steps are considered. A computer-aided marking and

feedback support tool that aims at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of human marking may result

in reduced marking time, improved consistency in marking, and improved feedback capabilities. This paper

discusses a semi-automatic approach to marking problem-solving steps in the context of elementary school

mathematics using analytical assessment rubrics. A prototype tool which implements the approach is

described following recommendations based on research evidence in mathematics problem solving. The tool

was evaluated in an observational study which compared marking-time efficiencies obtained using the

technique with those obtained from marking done manually. The result suggests that the method has the

potentials to facilitate broad feedback delivery, improve marking consistency and may save on marking

time. The use of such marking and feedback support systems may contribute to the overall educational goal

of more accurate and consistent assessment procedures.


The article deals with questions related to the use of paracorporal automatic drug-administering devices designed for the prolonged administration of psychotropic drugs. This is the first ever experience with the use of artificial systems for drug administration in psychiatry. The authors have developed a scheme of drug administration and determined the optimal rate of injection and daily doses. Possible complications and side effects associated with this method of treatment, as well as the methods for their prevention and control are described in detail. According to preliminary data the administration of psychotropic drugs with the help of automatic devices may contribute significantly to the improvement of social adaptation of patients with minor mental disturbances and make easier the provision of psychotherapy, in particular it may considerably simplify functional training of patients with phobic abnormalities. The method appears to be especially promising with regard to maintenance therapy.


Based on studies in spontaneously non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice, it has been suggested that the Mr 65,000 isoform of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD65) is of major importance in the pathogenesis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). In humans, antibodies to GAD65 are present before and at onset of the disease and in vitro T cell reactivity to GAD has also been reported. To further characterize the T cell recognition of GAD65, we incubated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 45 newly diagnosed IDDM patients with purified recombinant human islet GAD65 and correlated the proliferative response with HLA DR haplotype and the presence of GAD65 autoantibodies. Fifty healthy individuals were studied as controls. Of the patients, 49% showed proliferative responses to GAD65 in contrast to only 4% of the controls. T cell proliferation to GAD65 was significantly more frequent in patients not being HLA DR3/4 heterozygous (19/29, 66%) as compared to HLA DR3/4 heterozygous patients (3/16, 19%) (p < 0.01). The difference was most pronounced in females with 64% (9/14) of the HLA non-DR3/4 patients being positive compared to none (0/6) of the HLA DR3/4 patients (p < 0.05). The overall frequency of GAD65 autoantibodies was 71% (32/45) with a similar distribution between patients with HLA DR3/4 (10/16, 63%) and HLA non-DR 3/4 (22/29, 76%). There was no correlation between levels of the T and B cell responses to GAD65 (r = 0.24). In conclusion, we find a proliferative T cell response to GAD65 in approximately 50% of recent onset IDDM patients and unexpectedly find the majority of responders to be HLA non-DR 3/4 heterozygous patients. No difference was observed in B cell responsiveness between the two HLA groups.


Phytophthora sojae is a significant pathogen of soybean worldwide. Pathotype surveys for Phytophthora sojae are conducted to monitor resistance gene efficacy and determine if new resistance genes are needed. Valuable measurements for pathotype analysis include the distribution of susceptible reactions, pathotype complexity, pathotype frequency, and diversity indices for pathotype distributions. Previously the Habgood-Gilmour Spreadsheet (HaGiS), written in Microsoft® Excel, was used for data analysis. However, the growing popularity of the R programming language in plant pathology and desire for reproducible research made HaGiS a prime candidate for conversion into an R package. Here we report on the development and use of an R package, 'hagis', that can be used to produce all outputs from the HaGiS Excel sheet for P. sojae or other gene-for-gene pathosystem studies.


Bioequivalence studies are the usually accepted method to determine the therapeutic equivalence of two drugproducts. Because in-vivo bioequivalence studies are time consuming and expensive to conduct, majorregulatory authorities have introduced biowaivers for some selected medicines belonging to BCS class 1 andIII drugs. Comparative dissolution tests are used in biowaiver procedure to waiver the bioequivalencerequirement. We performed this study to see whether two brands of paracetamol tablets are bioequivalentusing the in-vitro methodology. In the first stage of this research study, British Pharmacopeia 2012 qualitytests were performed on the two selected paracetamol tablet products to determine whether they arepharmaceutically equivalent. In the second stage in-vitro equivalence of the two products was determinedusing the biowaiver testing procedure given by the World Health Organization. Dissolution profiles weregenerated at pH values, 1.2, 4.5 and 6.8. Results were compared through two model independent methods,difference factor (f1) and similarity factor (f2). The two paracetamol tablet products tested, complied with allthe quality requirements of the British Pharmacopeia 2012. For the two products, the difference factor (f1)was below the 15 and similarity factor (f2) was above the 50 in all dissolution test conditions. These resultsconfirm that the two products are pharmaceutically equivalent. The test product is also bioequivalent to thereference product in-vitro, and therefore they can be interchangeable during clinical use. This study showsthat in-vivo bioequivalence testing can be waived using the in-vitro method, for some pharmaceuticalproducts such as paracetamol tablets. KEYWORDS: Paracetamol tablets, Biowaivers, Dissolution profiles


Tree growth is sensitive to soil pH in urban areas and is often higher than in rural forest. However, there are knowledge gaps on how soil pH and alkalization are affected by urban environments and seasonal climate as well as the cascading effects on tree species. In order to fulfill these gaps, we analyzed the soil pHCaCl of four common native deciduous tree species: Acer platanoides, Tilia cordata, Quercus robur and Betula pendula in five different types of urban green spaces in Kaunas city municipality (Lithuania). The results show that soil pH in urban environments with Betula pendula sites were most alkaline (pH 7.04), whereas the soil pH of urban environments with Acer platanoides (pH 6.7) and Tilia cordata (pH 6.8) were most acidic. The soil pH of street tree greeneries was alkaline, while soils of peri-urban forests and large urban parks were acidic. Differently to natural conditions in peri urban forests the soil pH level drop down by 0.5 is observed during spring-autumn period in broad street greeneries with largest urban pressure. The variation in soil pH of the different types of green space and tree species shows that city planner should consider the unique conditions of all green space to maximize their potential for human well-being.


Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) have become the state-of-the-art approaches for mining Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Generally speaking, RNN extracts the temporal dependency among features as a time series of hidden states, whereas CNN summarizes the local patterns among features as a set of feature maps. Many studies have leveraged their complementary effects by using a stack of neural network layers with CNN on the input, followed by RNN layers for the output. However, the feature representations learned by these two types of neural networks are often hard to be visualized and interpreted in a unified way. In this work, we propose a general framework which represents the extracted temporal relationships and local patterns in a unified and systematic way through facial representations that have evolving emotional expressions based on a patient's health conditions. This form of feature representation not only improves the potential to visualize EHRs, but also further benefits our downstream task on early prediction of septic shock. More specifically, we show that our proposed framework consistently out-performed all other baseline models including various deep learning models for sepsis shock early prediction.


Qualifying technologies of Industry 4.0, the recognition of the project's "centrality" and the integration between ideation and design practice are at the basis of cHOMgenius experimental project, winner of "Smart Living" call for tender and funded by Regione Lombardia to support experimental development and innovation projects (S&I) carried out by partnerships and universities. This project responds to the aim of introducing new or ameliorative products, processes/services from a technological, productive and organisational perspective, in order to valorise the 'Smart Living' theme. cHOMgenius proves that the direction of ideas (represented by the technological culture's approach to design, which need to be "accomplishable" and to "anticipate decisions") produces innovation for the Internet of "things".


We observe optical third harmonic generation from graphene and few-layer graphite flakes produced by exfoliation. The emission scales with the cube of the intensity of the incident near-infrared femtosecond pulses and has a wavelength that is one-third of the incident wavelength, both consistent with third harmonic generation. We extract an effective third-order susceptibility for graphene that is on the order of 1e-16 square meter per square volt, which is comparable to that for materials that are resonantly excited, but larger than for materials that are transparent at the fundamental and third harmonic wavelengths. By measuring a set of flakes with different numbers of atomic layers, we find that the emission scales with the square of the number of atomic layers, which suggests that the susceptibility of graphene is independent of layer number, at least for a few layers.


Grain-oriented (GO) silicon steel laminations are widely used in iron cores and shielding structures of power equipments. When the leakage magnetic flux is very strong and enters the lamination plane perpendicularly, the eddy current loss induced there must be taken into account in electromagnetic design. It is preferable to accurately compute three-dimensional (3-D) eddy currents at least in a few outer sheets of the lamination stack. Since the coating film applied to each sheet is only 2-5 thick, finite element modeling of 3-D eddy currents is very difficult in GO silicon steel laminations of large electromagnetic devices. This paper proposes an inner-constrained separation technique (ICST) to compute the 3-D eddy currents. Instead of the coating film, the ICST introduces an inner constraint into the A-formulation to separate the laminations from each other. By the ICST, the 3-D eddy currents can be computed accurately without meshing the coating film. Numerical experiments are carried out on the TEAM (Testing Electromagnetic Analysis Methods) benchmark model P21c-M1 and the numerical results show good agreement with the measured data.


A map on a group is not necessarily an automorphism on the group. In this paper we study the necessary and sufficient conditions for a map on a non-split metacyclic p-group to be an automorphism, where we only consider p as an odd prime number. The metacyclic group can be defined by a presentation and it will be beneficial to have a direct relation between the parameters in the presentation and an automorphism of the group. We consider the action of an automorphism on the generators of the group mentioned. Since any element of a metacyclic group will be mapped to an element of the group by an automorphism, we can conveniently represent the automorphism in a matrix notation. We then use the relations and the regularity of the non-split metacyclic p-group to find conditions on each entry of the matrix in terms of the parameters in its presentation so that such a matrix does indeed represent an automorphism.


Spinel lithium titanate, Li4Ti5O12 (LTO), emerges as a "universal" electrode material for Li-ion batteries and hybrid Li/Na-, Li/Mg-, and Na/Mg-ion batteries functioning on the basis of intercalation. Given that LTO operates in a variety of electrolyte solutions, the main challenge is to understand the reactivity of the LTO surface toward single- and dual-cation electrolytes at the molecular level. This study first reports results on ion desolvation and electrolyte solvent/salt degradation on an LTO surface by means of periodic DFT calculations. The desolvation stages are modeled by the adsorption of mono- and binuclear complexes of Li+, Na+, and Mg2+ with a limited number of ethylene carbonate (EC) solvent molecules on the oxygen-terminated LTO (111) surface, taking into account the presence of a PF6– counterion. Alongside cation adsorption, several degradation reactions are discussed: surface-catalyzed dehydrogenation of EC molecules, simultaneous dehydrogenation and fluorination of EC, and Mg2+-induced decay of PF6– to PF5 and F–. Data analysis allows the rationalization of existing experimentally established phenomena such as gassing and fluoride deposition. Among the three investigated cations, Mg2+ is adsorbed most tightly and is predicted to form a thicker fluoride-containing film on the LTO surface. Gassing, characteristic for carbonate-based electrolytes with LTO electrodes, is foreseen to be suppressed in dual-cation batteries. The latter bears promise to outperform the single-ion ones in terms of durability and safety.


In dioecious plant species differences in morphology and resources between female and male flowers can have consequences for flower visitation rates. Female flowers sometimes lack pollen and can be less attractive to pollinators than male flowers. We studied the pollination ecology of the dioecious tree Commiphora guillauminii in a dry deciduous forest in western Madagascar. We recorded floral display, visiting insect species and visitation rates for female and male trees. The results showed that female trees produce significantly larger but fewer flowers per inflorescence than male ones. Number of flowers per tree did not differ between the sexes. During 270 observation-hours we observed 17 insect and two bird species visiting the flowers. Mean visitation rates of male flowers were 6.1 times higher than those of female flowers (1.07 vs. 0.18 visitors per flower h−1). Visitation rates to female and male trees showed similar daily and seasonal patterns. Fruit set (2.9%) was low, which could have been caused by pollinator or pollen limitation. This study suggests that dioecy may pose a risk for fruit set and, potentially, reproductive success for plant species with depauperate pollinator faunas on islands such as Madagascar.


It has been carried out an inquest in a geriatric group in institutionalised regime, classifying people interviewed depending on dental health in three groups: Group I: Edentate ancients bearers of total prosthesis. Group II: Ancients with remanent pieces. Group III: Ancients with remanent pieces and bearers of prosthesis. In the present work, all findings related to oral health are detailed, referred uniquely to group II: "Ancients with permanent pieces". Obtained data let us get to some conclusions we consider must be of general diffusion for trying to understand and to solve the existing disputable in this segment of the population, so long forgotten and marginal.


The pipeline industry has long sought a unified near-neutral pH stress corrosion cracking (NNpHSCC) growth model, which fully describes salient growth elements. In response to this gap, the Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI) has funded a multi-year research project, partnering with the University of Alberta (Project SCC-2-12). With the project nearing completion, application of the proposed near-neutral pH stress corrosion cracking growth model to two operating pipelines with known populations of stress corrosion crack features is presented.
 The remaining life of each crack feature detected by crack in-line inspection tools, under known loading, is calculated for two segments of operating pipelines in North America. The PRCI developed model, referred to as PipeOnline™, is compared to the legacy Enbridge linear growth and Paris Law models.
 A calibration technique for correcting the length and depth of the ILI feature calls provided by the in-line inspection vendor is reviewed, which takes into account tool tolerance and corrects length and depth to more closely match field findings. Efficiency improvements gleaned from this calibration technique are illustrated. While this calibration methodology is unique to the pipeline operator, the method is reviewed to allow other operators to readily implement the technique if it is found to be warranted.
 The PipeOnline model is tested for the post-calibration dimensions and compared to the legacy growth model. Each of the required inputs is defined, and methods of quantification are shown. Negligible growth thresholds are reviewed, and the truncation of stress cycles below the growth threshold is discussed. The strategy of deployment is shown, along with the proportion of features that are predicted to remain in dormancy.
 Methods to account for mean stresses and load application frequency are presented. The resulting PipeOnline re-inspection interval is compared to that predicted by typical existing growth models and then contrasted with excavation results on the asset. Calibration of the governing equation coefficients with rationale for each term is proposed for the pipeline segments examined in the study, and recommendations made for potential implementation for other operators, along with follow-on research.


Background: Research has found that manipulation of a single variable of bike-fit such as saddle height can improve performance within cycling efficiency (Peveler, & Green., 2010: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 25(3), 1–5) and reduce aerodynamic drag (Garcia-Lopez et al., 2008: Journal of Sports Science, 26, 277-286). However, limited research exists concerning the biomechanical influences on gross efficiency, a key factor in endurance performance (Ettema, & LorA¥s., 2009: European journal of applied physiology, 106(1)1–14). In addition, many private companies offer numerous bike-fitting systems yet fail to provide consistent findings.  The present study proposed to build on previous research by using a dynamic bike fitting system to explore how a number of biomechanical manipulations to a cyclist's position can affect performance and cycling gross efficiency.  Purpose: The main aim of the study was to investigate the effects on performance by manipulating a cyclist's bike fit in-line with normative bike fitting data.  For the purpose of this study the identifiable performance improvement was gross efficiency (GE) and the system that was used to perform the bike-fit was the RetA¼l bike-fit system.   The hypothesis tested was that changing a well-trained cyclist's position in-line with normative data using a popular bike fitting system could improve performance in cycling gross efficiency. Method: Six well-trained cyclists (mean ±s: age, 30 ±13.1 years; height, 179.9 ±5.7 cm; mass, 75.1 ±8.1 kg; Wmax, 330 ±19.1 W; VO2 max, 66.1 ±10.3 mL.kg-1.min-1) completed one VO2max test, two sub maximal tests and one RetA¼l bike fit. Submaximal tests consisted of three randomised 8 min incremental workloads of 50%, 60% and 70% VO2max.  VO2 and VCO2 were recorded for final 4 min. The tests measured maximal minute power (Wmax), blood lactate, VO2max, VO2, VCO2 and GE. The data was analyzed using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test and a one tailed t-test. Results: Significant changes were observed (p=0.037) during the post bike-fit condition within the 60% Wmax increment (16.78% vs.17.44%; p= .037).  Although non-significant, increases were apparent within the 50% Wmax increment (16.27% vs. 16.44%; p= 0.565) and again within the 70% Wmax workload (17.60% vs. 18.18%; p= 0.111). Discussion: The findings of the present study show higher % increases in GE than previous studies related to changes in GE over time (2.74% in the present study vs. 1-2% (Coyle, 1995: Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev. 23, 25–63).  This suggests biomechanical changes can improve performance in well-trained cyclists.  Further analysis shows a possible trend within cycling experience and GE improvements within the participant group that would benefit from further investigation.   Conclusion: This study has found an increase in gross efficiency between pre and post bike-fit conditions.  Specifically, one of the more noteworthy findings to emerge from this study is that at 60% Wmax GE was significantly increased across the participant group.  Although the current study is based on a small sample of participants, the findings suggest that overall the absolute % increase in GE within each incremental workload would offer performance enhancements following improvements to their bike position.


Experience shows that for a free society to exist, intelligence organizations must be subject to administrative supervision and amenable to legal process. - Lionel Murphy(1) "National Security" As An Institutionalized Concern For Nation-States is a relatively recent phenomenon. The internal security organizations that we are now so familiar with were established in the first half of this century. The British internal security body (MI5) was established in 1909 and its charter formed the basis for the charter of its Australian counterpart, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), when it was established in 1949. In this way, the establishment of ASIO as Australia's domestic intelligence organization followed the British model, which maintained a distinction functionally and operationally between security and general law enforcement, while at the same time linking these through the special branches of the state police forces.(2) In its early formulation, the notion of what constituted a threat to national security was viewed in terms of radicalism. The well-documented tendency of internal security bodies "to think of anyone they chose to call `left-wing' as subversive" (Hope, 1977: 128) had its roots in this early period, marked by the spread of communism and the international instabilities of two World Wars. This early incarnation of security in Australia had three unique features: it was based on a functional and philosophical distinction between policing and security activities; "national security" was seen as an arm of defense; and it focused most clearly on communism and communists. In the Australian instance, there were crucial political and legal imperatives to be met by effecting such a clear distinction between security and policing operations, and by the defense orientation of security threats. Yet we also need to address the fundamental question of what role there ought to be for an internal security organization in the wake of the end of the Cold War. An examination of the Australian experience reveals a slow but steady shift in the security bureaucracy away from an "exceptional" - and hence marginalized - structure and toward an incorporation of its key elements into the broader criminal justice process. In particular, the distinctive feature of the security function, that of intelligence collection and analysis, has become comprehensively merged with domestic policing. This raises fundamental policy questions that are yet to be adequately addressed concerning the nature of intelligence material and the appropriateness of its collection and integration across a wide range of civil authorities. The enormous transformation that internal security has undergone over the last two decades, and through which each of its earlier features has been dissolved and reconstituted, centered first on the notion of "terrorism" in the 1970s and more recently on the less marginal "politically motivated violence." It is this latter shift in national security discourse in particular that has enlarged the possibilities of domestic surveillance, taking that surveillance into the previously contested area of general law enforcement. The Second Wave of Security The contemporary national security threat of terrorism proved to be a turning point for internal security services in Australia and elsewhere. The need for counterterrorism measures not only spearheaded a renewal of domestic countersubversion operations following strong criticisms of such operations during the mid-1970s, but was also unique in effecting qualitative changes in the nature of the bureaucratic security sector itself. A former Director-General of ASIO, Mr. Tudor Harvey Barnett, recently described the development of the counterterrorist capacity as "security growing a new limb."(3) It Was, however, much more than simply developing another aspect to the existing role of security. Domestic counterterrorism measures comprehensively restructured the institutional and operational aspects of national security. …


Background Potential living kidney donors with prediabetes are often excluded from donation because of concerns about the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). This strategy may be unnecessarily restrictive. Previous studies of living kidney donors have not specifically examined subsets with prediabetes. Methods We ascertained the vital status and development of ESRD in 143 living kidney donors from 1994 to 2007 with predonation impaired fasting glucose (IFG). We then compared the development of DM, the estimated glomerular filtration rate, and the level of albumin excretion in 45 of these IFG donors to 45 matched controls with normal predonation fasting glucose. Results The majority (57.8%) of IFG donors had reverted to normal fasting glucose at a mean follow-up of 10.4 years. Compared with donors with normal fasting glucose, a higher proportion of IFG donors had developed DM (15.56% vs. 2.2%, P=0.06). Predonation characteristics including age, sex, and body mass index did not correlate with the risk of developing DM. At follow- up, estimated glomerular filtration rate by the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation (70.7±16.1 mL/min/1.73 m2 vs. 67.3±16.6 mL/min/1.73 m2, P=0.21) and albumin excretion (urine albumin/ creatinine 9.76±23.6 mg/g vs. 5.91±11 mg/g, P=0.29) were similar in IFG and normal glucose donors. Conclusion Carefully screened prediabetic living kidney donors often revert to normal fasting glucose and do not seem to have a significantly increased risk of impaired kidney function in the short term.


Bong Geul Chun and Hanwook Yoo examine the effects of government subsidies on investment by small companies. They begin with the venture support policies at home and abroad. The current venture support programs in Korea are divided into subsidies, loans and securities, and exhibitions and conventions. The authors list some examples of other country cases, although it is difficult to find counterparts abroad to Korean business startup subsidy projects that are used to provide cash incentives for new business. The authors then focus on the Venture Investment Subsidy Program (VISP) introduced by the Korean government in 2007, under the Small and Medium Businesses Administration, to promote business startups and employment creation. The program provides support for some investment costs for new manufacturing businesses in nonmetropolitan areas. Subsidies are paid as part of the National Balanced Development Committee's measure for boosting local economies. Venture businesses have received subsidies only since 2007, and therefore the data accumulated thus far are limited. The authors examine, through empirical analysis, the effectiveness of this program in terms of promoting investment.


In this paper, the Self-Consisting Leader Inception and Propagation Model-SLIM- is used to analyze the shielding performance of transmission lines, with special attention on the terrain topography effect. Transverse and Longitudinal terrain profiles are considered. It is found that a transmission line can be more vulnerable to be struck by lightning on any terrain that leads to increase the height of the conductors. In addition, the striking distance to the phase conductors strongly depends on the landform and the tower geometry, which suggests changes in the current lightning protection standards.


The existing infrastructures of electrical power systems are still dominated by ac. The challenge in the coming years lies in developing new infrastructures and power modules, setting up safety standards and regulations, and investigating system stability and dynamics for dc distribution systems, to which this Special Issue is dedicated. A perspective of the challenge is broken down as follows: 1) infrastructures of dc distribution systems; 2) power modules; 3) energy management system; 4) safety standard and regulation; 5) DC-bus voltage regulation; 6) modeling and control; 7) interface of dc-bus to ac-grid; 8) energy storage and compensation; 9) DC appliances and electronic products; 10) accessories for dc distribution systems. For this Special Issue, there was a record number of over 100 manuscripts. From these high-quality papers submitted, the editorial team selected 37 papers for publication in this Special Issue, and they cover five major topic areas, as follows: 1) infrastructure, energy storage and management (8 papers); 2) interface of dc-bus to ac-grid (7 papers); 3) converter modules (11 papers); 4) modeling and control (8 papers); 5) DC-bus voltage regulation (3 papers).


Since the initial discovery of Meltdown and Spectre in 2017, different variants of these attacks have been discovered. One often overlooked variant is Meltdown 3a, also known as Meltdown-CPL-REG. Even though Meltdown-CPL-REG was initially discovered in 2018, the available information regarding the vulnerability is still sparse. In this paper, we analyze Meltdown-CPL-REG on 19 different CPUs from different vendors using an automated tool. We observe that the impact is more diverse than documented and differs from CPU to CPU. Surprisingly, while the newest Intel CPUs do not seem affected by Meltdown-CPL-REG, the newest available AMD CPUs (Zen3+) are still affected by the vulnerability. Furthermore, given our attack primitive CounterLeak, we show that besides up-to-date patches, Meltdown-CPL-REG can still be exploited as we reenable performance-counter-based attacks on cryptographic algorithms, break KASLR, and mount Spectre attacks. Although Meltdown-CPL-REG is not as powerful as other transient-execution attacks, its attack surface should not be underestimated.


Ultralow frequency (ULF) waves in the magnetosphere are involved in the energization and transport of radiation belt particles and are strongly driven by the external solar wind. However, the interdependency of solar wind parameters and the variety of solar wind‐magnetosphere coupling processes make it difficult to distinguish the effect of individual processes and to predict magnetospheric wave power using solar wind properties. We examine 15 years of dayside ground‐based measurements at a single representative frequency (2.5 mHz) and a single magnetic latitude (corresponding to L ∼ 6.6RE). We determine the relative contribution to ULF wave power from instantaneous nonderived solar wind parameters, accounting for their interdependencies. The most influential parameters for ground‐based ULF wave power are solar wind speed vsw, southward interplanetary magnetic field component Bz<0, and summed power in number density perturbations δNp. Together, the subordinate parameters Bz and δNp still account for significant amounts of power. We suggest that these three parameters correspond to driving by the Kelvin‐Helmholtz instability, formation, and/or propagation of flux transfer events and density perturbations from solar wind structures sweeping past the Earth. We anticipate that this new parameter reduction will aid comparisons of ULF generation mechanisms between magnetospheric sectors and will enable more sophisticated empirical models predicting magnetospheric ULF power using external solar wind driving parameters.


This study compares native English publications with non-native English publications. Specifically, publications have been compared of Anglophone and Polish scholars in the past two decades. Various stylistic and linguistic characteristics and several textual levels are assessed by applying Kaplan's (1966) Contrastive Rhetoric Analysis. Results show that differences exist at the paragraph level and not at the sentence or textual level. Native texts have a higher degree of reciprocity (reader-friendliness) and are more linear. Results reveal that Polish authors write academic English with traces of a Teutonic style but as far as reciprocity is concerned they are moving towards the stylistic features of native English; newer publications by the Polish authors are more reader-friendly than the older ones. Native speakers are not able to reliably recognise native and non-native sentences and often mistake non-native writings for native writing, and in many cases they even label native sentences as non-native. These findings put into perspective the aims applied in teaching academic language.contrastive rhetoric, academic English, Poland


Motivations. The development of strong analgesics without potential for abuse and adverse side effects is connected to understanding of the differences in opioid receptor subtypes as well as the model of interaction of ligands whit these receptors. In the absence of crystal structures of opioid receptors, 3D homology models with different templates have been reported in the literature. Methods. The aim of our study is to choose within recently published crystallographic structures templates for homology modeling of the human delta-opioid receptor. We generate several models using different templates and all they were evaluated by docking procedure. Ligands used in this study were already synthesized by our group and their biological activity was evaluated. They are analogues of the endogenous opioid peptides - enkephalins with substitutions in second position. Results. The best model of the human delta-opioid receptor was chosen according to data obtained from docking and in vitro biological activity. Acknowledgments This work was supported by NFSR of Bulgaria project DVU 01/197.


A complete remote authentication scheme should provide the following security properties: (1) mutual authentication, (2) session key exchange, (3) protection of user anonymity, (4) support of immediate revocation capability, (5) low communication and computation cost, (6) resistance to various kinds of attacks, (7) freely choosing and securely changing passwords by users, and (8) without storing password or verification tables in servers. However, none of the existing schemes meets all the requirements. In this paper, along the line of cost effective approach using hash functions for authentication, we propose an efficient and practical remote user authentication scheme with smart cards to support the above complete security properties.


Ablative materials are employed as thermal insulators in hypersonic space vehicles and for fire proofing in commercial applications. However, the chemical reactions involved in the transformation of ablative materials to char during pyrolysis are not well understood. Reactive molecular dynamics simulations were performed to study the initial stage of the pyrolysis of crosslinked aromatic hydrocarbon polymers. The products formed were characterized and acetylene was found to be the primary product. The value of the activation energy for acetylene formation was estimated. The acetylene formation mechanisms were analyzed at different degrees of crosslinking and the graphitic precursor formation mechanism was studied.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


A laser radar can be used to generate 3D data about the terrain in a very high resolution. The development of new support technologies to analyze these data is critical to the effective and efficient use of these data in decision support systems, due to the large amounts of data that are generated. Adequate technology in this regard is currently not available and development of new methods and algorithms to this end are important goals of this work. A semi-qualitative data structure for terrain surface modelling has been developed. A categorization and triangulation process has also been developed to substitute the high resolution 3D model for this data structure. The qualitative part of the structure can be used for detection and recognition of terrain features. The quantitative part of the structure is, together with the qualitative part, used for visualization of the terrain surface. Substituting the 3D model for the semi-qualitative structures means that a data reduction is performed. A number of algorithms for detection and recognition of different terrain objects have been developed. The algorithms use the qualitative part of the previously developed semi-qualitative data structure as input. The taken approach is based on matching of symbols and syntactic pattern recognition. Results regarding the accuracy of the implemented algorithms for detection and recognition of terrain objects are visualized. A further important goal has been to develop a methodology for determining driveability using 3D-data and other geographic data. These data must be fused with vehicle data to determine the properties of the terrain context of our operations with respect to driveability. This fusion process is therefore called context fusion. The recognized terrain objects are used together with map data in this method. The uncertainty associated with the imprecision of the data has been taken into account as well.


The aim of this article is to describe the results of research on surrogate mothers and how they are presented in Icelandic mass media and by individuals who are concerned with surrogacy. Data was collected with participation observation, interviews and analyses of public discussions. Most of the interviewees and participants in meetings and seminars on surrogacy took stance either for or against a parliamentary proposition to legalize surrogacy in Iceland. Supporters argued that women should be free to decide whether they want to become surrogate mothers, however without being paid. They praised altruistic women who give infertile couples the true gift, a child, and argued that according to research, surrogacy was successfully implemented in the Western world. They maintained that legalization would impede exploitation of women in low-income countries. Opponents of legalization argued that nobody should have the right to use other's body for own gain, with or without payment. They feared that legalization would normalize surrogacy and force women to become surrogate mothers. Still, some did not take a stance but argued that surrogacy needed to be carefully discussed prior to legislation, and they called for additional research. Researchers complain about lack of long-term research on the consequences of surrogacy on women, their experiences of surrogacy, conditions and wellbeing and that most available research is based on small sample sizes. Still, there is evidence that demand for the services of Indian surrogate mothers has increased from countries that have legalized surrogacy.


Clark (1998) argued that university transformation was not accidental or incidental and cannot happen as a result of the establishment of several innovative programmes within an organization. This view leads him to believe that such approaches can be sealed off as minor enclaves. This thesis 'tests' this claim through a study of entrepreneurialism within a traditional university, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus and challenges Clark's argument by presenting evidence that 'bottom up' activities in a combination of units, rather than being limited to minor enclaves, were in fact involved in what can be seen as a bottom-up approach that drove entrepreneurialism at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad. As well, arising from the study, a 'recipe' for the transformation of traditional universities into entrepreneurial organizations was derived. The body of the thesis is concerned with the investigations carried out into the entrepreneurial activities of five units within the institution. Key personnel from each of the five 'enclaves' were interviewed and a textual analysis of relevant historical data was undertaken. Presented in chapters one, two and three of the thesis are the introduction and background to the study, the literature review and the methodology. The findings and discussion of each unit are presented separately in chapters four to eight, while chapter nine is a comparative chapter of the five units based on identified themes, which were generated from the four research questions. The conclusion and recommendations based on the overall findings and discussions are presented in chapter 10.


A validation comparing five Human Body Model (HBM) lumbar spines is carried out across two load cases, with the objective to use and apply HBMs in high strain rate applications such as car occupant simulation. The first load case consists of an individual intervertebral disk (IVD) loaded in compression at a strain rate of 1/s by a material testing machine. The second load case is a lumbar functional spine unit (FSU) loaded in compression using a drop tower setup, producing an strain rates of up to 48/s. The IVD simulations were found to have a better agreement with the experiments than the FSU simulations, and the ranking of which HBMs matched best to the experiment differed by load case. These observations suggest the need for more hierarchical validations of the lumbar spine for increasing the utility of HBMs in high strain rate loading scenarios.


The researcher examined how narrative interviews which borrow narrative exposure therapy (NET) approaches were received in a drug and alcohol support service in the UK. A case study was conducted with a client from the service who attended a Lifeline session, two narrative interviews which used NET elements to construct a detailed narrative about her life story and a traumatic event she chose to discuss. The narrative was transcribed into a biography which was thematically analysed using guidelines from Braun and Clarke (2006). A separate interview explored the participant's experience, opinions and recommendations regarding the narrative interview approach. The IES-R and HADS were administered pre- and post-participation. No aggravation of hyperarousal and intrusiveness of traumatic memories and of anxiety and depression symptoms occurred. Avoidance symptoms were noticeably reduced. The end interview revealed a very favourable view of the narrative interview approach, with particular value placed on the lifeline session and a noticeable reduction of avoidance of reminders about the traumatic event. Self-reported drinking behaviour and desire to drink remained minor and unchanged. The study adds to a small evidence base of the use of NET-based approaches in higher-income settings and with individuals who are not part of a differentiated group where collective or complex trauma is prevalent (e.g. refugees, veterans).


Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have performed extremely well for many image analysis tasks. However, supervised training of deep CNN architectures requires huge amounts of labeled data, which is unavailable for light field images. In this paper, we leverage on synthetic light field images and propose a two-stream CNN network that learns to estimate the disparities of multiple correlated neighborhood pixels from their epipolar plane images (EPIs). Since the EPIs are unrelated except at their intersection, a two-stream network is proposed to learn convolution weights individually for the EPIs and then combine the outputs of the two streams for disparity estimation. The CNN estimated disparity map is then refined using the central RGB light field image as a prior in a variational technique. We also propose a new real world data set comprising light field images of 19 objects captured with the Lytro Illum camera in outdoor scenes and their corresponding 3D pointclouds, as ground truth, captured with the 3dMD scanner. This data set will be made public to allow more precise 3D pointcloud level comparison of algorithms in the future which is currently not possible. Experiments on the synthetic and real world data sets show that our algorithm outperforms existing state of the art for depth estimation from light field images.


The synchronic patterns and outcomes of relationship building between fans and fan objects have received much attention in fan studies. Instead of taking an overly presentist view, as historical research on fandom often has done, this research treats fan participation—the construction of fan–object relationships—as a sociohistorical practice, highlighting the longitudinal transformations of fandom in specific social contexts. Drawing on oral history and autobiography among animation-comics-games (ACG) lovers, we examine changes in media practices, participation, and identification since the 1990s in a Chinese context. We argue that in the evolution of ACG fandom, the significance of mass media has not resided in forming new fan practices or fan–object relationships. Rather, mass media have played a role in changing the forms and meanings of the embodiment of the imaginary and the affective relationships between fan and object. The shifting embodiments provide fans with hints of situated experiences and priority of meanings regarding being-in-the-fandom.


Objective Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is characterized by hypoxia in patients with chronic liver disease. The mechanism of HPS includes pulmonary vasodilatation, inflammation, and angiogenesis. Prostaglandins synthesized by cyclooxygenases (COX) participate in vascular responsiveness, inflammation and angiogenesis, which can be modulated by COX inhibitors. We therefore evaluated the impact of COX inhibition in rats with common bile duct ligation (CBDL)-induced liver cirrhosis and HPS. Methods Cirrhotic rats were randomly allocated to receive non-selective COX inhibitor (indomethacin), selective COX-1 inhibitor (SC-560), or COX-2 inhibitor (celecoxib) for 14 days. After that, hemodynamic parameters, severity of hypoxia and intrapulmonary shunts, liver and renal biochemistry parameters, histological finding and protein expressions were evaluated. Results Non-selective COX inhibition by indomethacin improved hepatic fibrosis and pulmonary inflammation in cirrhotic rats with HPS. It also decreased mean arterial blood pressure, portal pressure, and alleviated hypoxia and intrapulmonary shunts. However, indomethacin increased mortality rate. In contrast, selective COX inhibitors neither affected hemodynamics nor increased mortality rate. Hypoxia was improved by SC-560 and celecoxib. In addition, SC-560 decreased intrapulmonary shunts, attenuated pulmonary inflammation and angiogenesis through down-regulating COX-, NFκB- and VEGF-mediated pathways. Conclusion Selective COX-1 inhibitor ameliorated HPS by mitigating hypoxia and intrapulmonary shunts, which are related to anti-inflammation and anti-angiogenesis.


Lignocellulosic biomass is one of the most widely used substrate in methane digestion. Among plants with a high yield potential, Sida hermaphrodita is particularly noteworthy, due to Sida can be grown on low quality soils and its utilization for energy purposes is not competitive with food crops. Methane fermentation of biomass with such a complex structure usually requires application of pre-treatment methods for efficient utilization of its cellulose and hemicellulose. It is economically justified to control of digestate if substrate was efficiently used. The study aimed to measure biogas potential of digestate after fermentation of Sida hermaphrodita silage. The post-fermentation of two samples of digestate from the reactors operated at organic compounds loading 2 kg/(m 3 ∙d) – S1 and 3 kg/(m 3 ∙d) – S2 was performed. Hydraulic retention time in these reactors was 50 d and 33 d, respectively. Biogas potential of fermented sludge was measured with the use of AMPTS II (Bioprocess control). Biogas production was 0.012 L/g TS and 0.031 L/g TS from digestate's S1 and S2, respectively. The methane content in biogas was 15% from digestate S1 and 50% from digestate S2. The obtained results suggest that digestate from reactor with organic compounds loading of 3 kg/(m 3 ∙d) still has high biogas potential, and hydraulic retention time in this reactor should be prolonged. Keywords: hydraulic retention time, organic compounds loading, post-fermentation, Sida hermaphrodita silage Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2017.194


The practice of everyday life promotes consensus, routinely establishing and maintaining conventions of subjectivity. It is proposed that periodically the sovereign self shifts outside this convention, which can be seen when gesture becomes unreadable, while this gesture can be photographed the image as a consequence then holds a deliberate ambiguity that can be used to celebrate this unknowable part of human behaviour.


Cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX) is a genetic disorder caused by a 27-hydroxilase enzyme deficiency, leading to beta-cholestanol storage in many body tissues. Clinically, the disease is characterised by the presence of tendinous xanthomas, juvenile cataracts and progressive neurologic dysfunction. The diagnosis requires beta-cholestanol quantification in serum. We report two siblings with a history of photosensitive epilepsy of childhood onset, who developed progressive spastic paraparesis and cataracts in their third decade of life. They were diagnosed to have CTX in spite of the absence of tendinous xanthomas. Cranial and spinal MRI only showed bilateral high intensity signal in the dentate nuclei in the T2-weighted and proton-density sequences. Our patients presented with a progressive spastic paraparesis. The delay in the diagnosis in our case could be due to the absence of tendinous xanthomas and late-onset cataracts. The recognition of the disease is important, because the treatment with chenodeoxycholic acid induces a decrement of beta-cholestanol levels in serum and could prevent the progression of the disease.


In India, rice is predominantly grown on 1.4 million ha of traditional and 0.9 million ha of nontraditional areas in the state of Maharashtra. Average productivity is 1.7 t ha-1. A total of 53 high-yielding rice varieties (HYVs) have been released for commercial cultivation in the state for various agroecological conditions. The productivity of rice nevertheless remained stagnant during the last decade. The adoption of rice hybrids, along with proper crop management practices, is certainly an alternative for increasing productivity in the state. The RARS in Karjat, District Raigad, has identified and released the first rice hybrid, Sahyadri, for commercial cultivation. It has medium-late growth duration and a high yield potential, (6.5-7.5 t ha-1). The area under hybrid rice is increasing gradually in the state, but nearly 60% is planted to early-duration rice varieties. Efforts were therefore made to develop suitable early-duration rice hybrids with desirable characteristics to increase rice productivity.


In this thesis I have attempted to present a grammatical analysis of the finite verbal phrase in literary Panjabi with the material divided into four chapters. After the acknowledgements and contents the introductory chapter provides background information about the Panjabi language, Perso-Arabic, and Gurumukhi scripts, the system of transliteration, including historical outline of Panjabi language and literature and the previous work done in the field of grammar. The terms lexeme, suffix lexeme, and finite and non-finite(verbal phrase and verbal forms) are defined on the basis of the formal and functional approach adopted in this study. The second chapter deals the verbal phrase in its relations with such larger units as sentence and clause. The clause categories represented in the verbal phrase are here discussed in detial with special attention to non-honorific and honorific clauses. The chapter is concluded with an exhaustive list of types of clause structure involving the verbal phrase. The morphology of the verbal forms of the finite verbal phrase is discussed in the third chapter. It includes the classification of verbal forms into non-finite and finite, and of verbs into vowel-root and consonant-root verbs. Non-causative and causative, one-word and two-word, double verb and conjunct verb are defined. Verbal forms that inflect for the same categories, i.e number, gender, and person are grouped together; and the morphology of these five groups is described. Finally the morphology of the verb complement HO and the auxiliary verb HEE is also given. The internal structure of the finite verbal phrase and its component categories, active and passive, and affirmative and negative, are discussed in the fourth chapter. The thesis concludes with a bibliography.


This study investigated the eff ects of topically applied oily homogenized and powder forms of bitter melon (Momordica charantia) (MC) and ointment formulation of gotu kola (Centella asiatica) (CA) extract and compared the results with untreated control and pure olive oil groups on wound healing in rabbits. A total of 30 New Zealand rabbits were divided into five equal groups (oily homogenized form of MC, powder form of MC, ointment of CA, control, pure olive oil). Full-thickness 5x5 cm skin wounds were created on the right mid-dorsum area and experimental groups were treated daily with the above mentioned extracts. Wounds were observed daily. Planimetry was performed for the unhealed wound area and the percentage of total wound healing on days 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28. Median time for the first observable granulation tissue was shorter in all experimental groups than in the control group (P<0.05). Filling of the open wound to skin level with granulation tissue was faster in the oily homogenized form of MC and ointment of titrated extract of CA groups (P<0.05). The average time for healing was shorter in the oily homogenized form of MC and ointment of titrated extract of CA groups than in other groups (P<0.05). The results demonstrate that topical application of the oily form of MC and ointment form of CA results in significant improvements on wound healing in rabbits.


Flooded former coal-mines of Springhill, Nova Scotia, contain about of water which is recovered at the surface at a temperature of about 18°C. The heat in the water is derived from the normal heat of the rocks, and the contribution from chemical heating is negligible. Water is used as the input to heat pumps for heating and cooling industrial buildings. Annual heat exchange with the mine by the largest user puts more heat into the mine in summer than is taken out in winter. Other buildings may be a small net drain of heat, so that many systems could operate indefinitely, without significant depletion of the heat source. Initial costs of heat-pump installation are higher than the costs of conventional oil furnaces, but in Springhill operating costs of geothermal heating are substantially lower than heating by fuel oil. There is a net saving in the emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.


Electron temperature, pressure and density profiles from a large variety of ohmically heated plasmas in the TCV tokamak (BT<1.5 T, R0 = 0.88 m, a<0.25 m) are compared with theoretical predictions based on the assumption that the magnetic entropy is constant in time. These discharges include limited and diverted discharges with elongations in the range 1-2.54, triangularities in the range 0.5-0.72 and plasma currents in the range 0.1-1 MA. Over the entire range of quasi-stationary ohmic conditions it is observed that the sawtooth inversion radius and the electron temperature in the confinement region (that outside the inversion radius) depend solely on the parameter ⟨j⟩/(q0j0), where ⟨j⟩ is the cross-sectionally averaged current density. These observed sawtooth inversion radii and electron temperature profiles are in excellent agreement with the predictions. The stiffness of the temperature profiles implies a correlation between density and pressure profiles, which is observed in experiment. The observed electron pressure profiles are consistent with poloidal equilibria derived by combining the requirement that magnetic entropy be constant in time with the Grad-Shafranov-Schlüter equation. The observed range of pressure profiles is however smaller than the theoretically accessible one.


Purpose Pneumococcal vaccination (13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine [PCV13]) is recommended to cancer patients undergoing systemic chemotherapy. However, the optimal time interval between vaccine administration and initiation of chemotherapy has been little studied in adult patients with solid malignancies. Materials and Methods We conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial to evaluate whether administering PCV13 on the first day of chemotherapy is non-inferior to vaccinating 2 weeks prior to chemotherapy initiation. Patients were randomly assigned to two study arms, and serum samples were collected at baseline and 4 weeks after vaccination to analyze the serologic response against Streptococcus pneumoniae using a multiplexed opsonophagocytic killingassay. Results Of the 92 patients who underwent randomization, 43 patients in arm A (vaccination 2 weeks before chemotherapy) and 44 patients in arm B (vaccination on the first day of chemotherapy) were analyzed. Immunogenicity was assessed by geometric mean and fold-increase of post-vaccination titers, seroprotection rates (percentage of patients with post-vaccination titers > 1:64), and seroconversion rates (percentage of patients with > 4-fold increase in post-vaccination titers). Serologic responses to PCV13 did not differ significantly between the two study arms according to all three types of assessments. Conclusion The overall antibody response to PCV13 is adequate in patients with gastric and colorectal cancer during adjuvant chemotherapy, and no significant difference was found when patients were vaccinated two weeks before or on the day of chemotherapy initiation.


Cleavage of chromosomal DNA from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO by Spel and Dpnl has been used together with PFGE and Southern hybridization to establish the map location of the following principal denitrification genes: narGH (encoding the large and small subunits of respiratory nitrate reductase), nirS (cytochrome-cd1 nitrite reductase), nirE (uroporphyrinogen-III methyltransferase for haem d1 biosynthesis), norCB (nitric-oxide reductase complex), nosZ (nitrous-oxide reductase) and nosA (an outer-membrane protein and OprC homologue). The study also included several genes related to anaerobic or microaerophilic metabolism: napA (encoding the catalytic subunit of the periplasmic nitrate reductase), ccoN (catalytic subunit of the cytochrome-cbb3 oxidase), hemN (oxygen-independent coproporphyrinogen-III oxidase), an fnr-like regulatory gene, and azu and fdxA (electron carriers azurin and ferredoxin, respectively). Genes necessary for denitrification are concentrated at 20 to 36 min on the P. aeruginosa chromosome, where they form three separate loci, the nir-nor, nar and nos gene clusters. Genomic DNA of Pseudomonas stutzeri ZoBell was also subjected to Spel restriction and Southern analysis to assign denitrification genes to individual fragments. A homologue of nosA encoding a putative component of the Cu-processing apparatus for nitrous-oxide reductase was identified. In both P. aeruginosa and P. stutzeri there is evidence for the linkage of anr (fnrA) with hemN and ccoN; and for the presence of a napA gene.


: TSH secretion in response to TRH was studied in patients with cerebrovascular diseases in order to elucidate the influence of cerebrovascular lesions on the hypothalamus-anterior pituitary function. Blood specimens were obtained before and at intervals of 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 90 and 120 minutes after the intravenous administration of 500 microgram of TRH. Serum TSH was measured using the RIA method. In 20 normal subjects, the serum TSH level before TRH administration was 1.0 +/- 1.4 microunits/ml (MEAN +/- SD). Following the intravenous administration of TRH, serum TSH increased and reached the maximum level of 9.0 +/- 2.3 microunits/mil at 30 minutes and returned near to the original level at 120 minutes. The response was the same for both male & female patients. In 17 patients with cerebral hemorrhage, the response of serum TSH to TRH was variable, including the types of excess, delayed or low response besides the normal response. In severe cases, cases of acute phase and male patients, a marked variability in the response was observed. In 8 patients with cerebral infarction, a low response of serum TSH to TRH was observed in all cases. There was no difference of the response with regard to severity of the diseases, duration after onset or sex difference of the patients.


Water is absolute component which be needed by all of thing who live, they are people, animal or plants because without water, it is impossible, there are some living in the earth. The goal of this study to know correlation of quality of river water to quality of fishpond water, which the river water is main component which entered to fishpond beside others.
This study is descriptive research because this study was carried out by doing collection activity, analysis and interpretation of data to make description concerning condition when the study happened. The data analysis technique are multi regression linier. This study was carried out in Raci village, Pasuruan, which Raci River water as populations. While the samples is used some
observation station, following: station I with range 200 meter before outlet, Station II in Outlet, Station III wit range 300 meter after outlet and station IV with range 400 meter after station III.
This study used some parameters to measure water quality, such as physic parameters are following: temperature, electricity power/conductivity and thickness/brightness. Chemistry parameters are following: pH, BOD and COD along with Biology parameters are following: total of plankton which contain in river water and fishpond water.
The study result, by using Multi Regression analysis is gotten result that data in river is gained value P = 0.043 less than 0.05. It shows that model is suitable to describe correlation among variables with primary productivity of phytoplankton in river around. While study result in
fishpond after it is analyzed by multi regression analysis is gained value P = 0.003 less than 0.05.
it shows that model is suitable to describe correlation among variables and primary phytoplankton in fishpond around. That gives description, that condition of river water is poison so the fishpond water will be influenced by the condition.


Metacognition constitutes the dominant competence of the 21st century. De-spite the indisputable scientific interest, there are various unanswered questions concerning the identity of metacognition, its fundamental mechanisms and its limits. In this study, a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach is attempted by collecting and utilizing data from sciences such as cognitive psychology and neuropsychology, and philosophy. The research has led us to the 8 pillars that underpin metacognition. These pillars follow the model of the hierarchical or-ganization of knowledge. According to this approach, cognitive and metacogni-tive skills evolve progressively depending on the effort an individual exerts. It is worth noting that some cognitive functions such as attention and working memory seem to surpass the rest, since they operate simultaneously as cognitive and metacognitive abilities, affecting the functioning of the pillars, other cogni-tive functions, and in particular the higher mental abilities. Among the conclu-sions of greatest importance we can cite that the metacognition pillars are, like reality itself, a field of multiple readings. They contribute to the proper func-tioning of the cognitive and psychophysiological mechanism, the melioration of intelligence in all fields (physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual), the emergence of consciousness and self-knowledge. In practical terms, the pillars of metacognition are the most valuable tool of self-learning, self-development, self-treatment and self-knowledge. Metacognition, also, constitutes a key factor in effective leadership, in medical and health professions. Lastly, the pillars of metacognition should be the cornerstone of general, special, vocational and ac-ademic education so as to promote holistic learning.


Abstract. The first gravity determinations in Norway were made by Edward Sabine in 1823 with a pendulum instrument by Henry Kater. Seventy years later a Sterneck pendulum was acquired by the Norwegian Commission for the International Arc Measurements. It improved the precision and eventually reduced the bias of the absolute calibration from 85 to 15 mGal. The last pendulum observations in Norway were made in 1955 with an instrument from Cambridge University. At a precision of ±1 mGal, the purpose was to calibrate a section of the gravity line from Rome, Italy, to Hammerfest, Norway. Relative spring gravimeters were introduced in Norway in 1946 and were used to densify and expand the national gravity network. These data were used to produce regional geoids for Norway and adjacent ocean areas. Improved instrument precision allowed them to connect Norwegian and foreign fundamental stations as well. Extensive geophysical prospecting was made, as in other countries. The introduction of absolute gravimeters based on free-fall methods, especially after 2004, improved the calibration by 3 orders of magnitude and immediately revealed the secular changes of the gravity field in Norway. This was later confirmed by satellite gravimetry, which provides homogeneous data sets for global and regional gravity models. The first-ever determinations of gravity at sea were made by pendulum observations onboard the Norwegian polar vessel Fram during frozen-in conditions in the Arctic Ocean in 1893–1896. Simultaneously, an indirect method was developed at the University of Oslo for deducing gravity at sea with a hypsometer. The precision of both methods was greatly superseded by relative spring gravimeters 50 years later. They were employed extensively both at sea and on land. When GPS allowed precise positioning, relative gravimeters were mounted in airplanes to cover large areas of ocean faster than before. Gravimetry is currently being applied to study geodynamical phenomena relevant to climate change. The viscoelastic postglacial land uplift of Fennoscandia has been detected by terrestrial gravity time series as well as by satellite gravimetry. Corrections for local effects of snow load, hydrology, and ocean loading at coastal stations have been improved. The elastic adjustment of present-day melting of glaciers at Svalbard and in mainland Norway has been detected. Gravimetry is extensively employed at offshore oil facilities to monitor the subsidence of the ocean floor during oil and gas extraction.


Abstract This paper provides an insight into behavior and effects of pressure reducing valves (PRVs) and of valves controlled in real time (RTC) during hydrant activation scenarios, which determine high-flow conditions in water distribution networks (WDNs). The analysis is carried out through the pressure-driven unsteady flow modeling of an Italian WDN, in which a pressure control device is assumed to be installed in the pipe outgoing from the source. Scenarios are constructed considering alternatively a PRV or an RTC valve, as pressure control device, and two different sites for hydrant activation. The results highlight that, thanks to its capability of controlling the service pressure at the critical node, the RTC valve performs better than the PRV, which is regulated based on its outlet pressure. In fact, the adoption of the RTC valve attenuates pressure deficits in the network, above all when the control time step is suitably small to attenuate pressure head oscillations at the controlled node. An additional benefit of RTC lies in increased outflows from the hydrant. The benefits of the RTC valve are smaller when the hydrant is activated in more redundant parts of the network, where pipe water discharge variations put the system to a less severe test.