OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy of Artesunate on falciparum malaria. METHODS A randomized controlled study on the treatment of 90 uncomplicated falciparum malaria patients was carried out with 400 mg of artesunate tablet as a total dose over 3 days, 600 mg over 5 days and 800 mg over 7 days. RESULTS All patients were cured. Fever clearance time (FCT) and parasite clearance time(PCT) among the three groups were similar. Parasite recrudescence rate within 28 days was 39.3% (11/ 28) in 3 day group, 6.9% (2/29) in 5 day group and 3.4% (1/29) in 7 day group (comparing 5 day group with 3 day group, P < 0.005, comparing 7 day group with 3 day group, P < 0.005). CONCLUSION It indicated that parasite recrudescence rate may be effectively decreased by prolonging treatment courses.


Since 2008, Outcome-Based Learning (OBL), a student-centred strategy aiming to enhance the quality of teaching and learning, has been launched as a major initiative among higher education institutions in Hong Kong. When adopting OBL at course level, other than designing the OBL framework, it is also very important to evaluate the effectiveness of the OBL implementation. However, studies focusing on the evaluation of OBL have been rare. In this paper, we will report on the evaluation of the implementation of OBL in 17 pilot courses in the English Department in the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Five evaluation instruments were developed, and questionnaire surveys and interviews based on these instruments were carried out to find out both students' and teachers' perceptions of OBL adopted in the pilot courses. The findings suggest that both the students and the teachers hold a generally positive attitude towards OBL, but a number of issues have been raised concerning the successful implementation of OBL at course level. It is hoped that this study will shed light on how OBL can be evaluated effectively, and how it can be implemented successfully at course level.


The interference alignment (IA) is a promising technique to efficiently mitigate interference and to enhance capacity of a wireless communication network. This paper proposes an interference alignment scheme for a network with multiple cells and multiple multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) users under a Gaussian interference broadcast channel (IFBC) scenario. We first extend a grouping method already known in the literature to a multiple-cells scenario and jointly design transmit and receiver beamforming vectors using a closed-form expression without iterative computation. Then we propose a new approach using the principle of multiple access channel (MAC) - broadcast channel (BC) duality to perform interference alignment while maximizing capacity of users in each cell. The algorithm in its dual form is solved using interior point methods. We show that the proposed approach outperforms the extension of the grouping method in terms of capacity and basestation complexity. Finally, a rate balancing technique is introduced to maintain fairness among users.


In this paper, we present a performance analysis of a dynamic bandwidth monitoring method with flow control functionality, for intensive data-passing grid applications over wide area networks. The proposed method called flatness based trajectory tracking, adapts the grid users output rates to match expressive data-transfer SLA used to describe theirs guarantees parameters. The control considers time delay transfer by using delay predictor and provides value-added services for grid applications over Internet. This reactive monitoring uses purely control theoretic approaches which stabilize the network and avoid undesirable oscillations for the transmission of such critical flows. Moreover, discrete-time simulation under GridSim simulator illustrates its feasibility and efficiency to provide guarantees for critical grid traffics with timely execution requirements.


The utilization of modeling tools can, in many cases, help us in the design and final prototyping of any sort of sensors. In this paper, we describe a finite-element method (FEM) model applied to a hybrid technology involving a full Wheatstone bridge spin-valve-based electrical current sensor. After validating the model against experimental results, we focus our studies on geometrical aspects of the sensor configuration, in order to detect possible deviations that may have occurred during the fabrication process. In this regard, the characteristics of the behavior of the sensor depending on lateral displacements and inclination are included. Moreover, the frequency response of the sensor is also analyzed, thus enlarging the scope of the model.


After its landscape-rich (re)design in 1995 and in the name of protecting it from 'uncivilized behavior', the Municipality of Beirut controlled and restricted access to about two-thirds of Horch al-Sanawbar, based on certain frequenters' social practices, employing strategies of fencing and regulating. Today, only about one-third of Horch is open to the public. However, Horch frequenters continue to manifest their practices and desires despite of fences and regulations, and disregarding landscape 'museumification'. This paper investigates the history of Horch al-Sanawbar and documents current social practices in its different parts; then, it attempts to correlate history and social practices of Horch to better understand it as a public space, based on literature from Sandercock and Cupers and Miessen. The main argument is that previous and current usages of Horch reveal the ability of people, through history, to negotiate their practices in controlled public spaces and under different types of control. Enacting public space becomes, then, a product of city residents' desires throughout time.


The present paper, originating from its author's innocent search for his identity in his twenties as a postcolonial yearning for an emotion-driven, if not unconsciously voluntary, cultural self-colonization, appears ten years later as a self-reflexive and self-critical essay. It can be read as a piece of postcolonial literature apart, or as a commentary to his documentary Ou Mun Ian, Macaenses (2009) and its textual research (2010). This quest, if not construction or invention of identity, resonated with a cross-epochal public discourse which transcended Macau's last colonial years and its first postcolonial decade, that Macau was never a colony but a unique result from a China-West exchange. Originally to mark the tenth anniversary of the postcolonial Macau, between 2008 and 2009, the author, who was a great yet naïve admirer of the domestic exoticism and the colonial nostalgia of the mix-blood Portuguese Macanese, travelled across Portugal, Canada, US and Brazil to create a project from filmed interviews in the diaspora, in a government-sponsored adventure which let to the author's self-discovery. This very amateur thirty-threeminute documentary largely shaped the author's earlier belief in his undecolonizability and his later extended search and creation of his multiplying beliefs inside an Eurocentric expansion of an European universe.


Novel products based on peracetic acid (PAA) have recently been developed for the disinfection of sewage and sewage effluents. The efficacy of such products has been assessed under both laboratory and operational conditions. Comparative laboratory studies of the effects of peracetic acid, chlorine dioxide and chlorine on indicator bacteria in secondary sewage effluent have shown peracetic acid to be a viable alternative to these halogen biocides. In a trial carried out at two small rural works, PAA was dosed into secondary effluent from either an activated sludge plant or a percolating filter bed prior to tertiary lagoon treatment. LOW levels of PAA greatly enhanced the natural decline in coliform levels across the lagoon, enabling much lower concentrations of bacteria to be discharged into the receiving streams. In another trial, secondary effluent from an activated sludge plant was treated before discharge into a stream leading to the sea. Coliform concentrations were greatly reduced along the watercourse downstream from the plant.


SUMMARY Brazil is one of the most important soybean producers in the world. Soybean is a very important crop for the country as it is used for several purposes, from food to biodiesel production. The levels of soybean yield in the different growing regions of the country vary substantially, which results in yield gaps of considerable magnitude. The present study aimed to investigate the soybean yield gaps in Brazil, their magnitude and causes, as well as possible solutions for a more sustainable production. The concepts of yield gaps were reviewed and their values for the soybean crop determined in 15 locations across Brazil. Yield gaps were determined using potential and attainable yields, estimated by a crop simulation model for the main maturity groups of each region, as well as the average actual famers' yield, obtained from national surveys provided by the Brazilian Government for a period of 32 years (1980–2011). The results showed that the main part of the yield gap was caused by water deficit, followed by sub-optimal crop management. The highest yield gaps caused by water deficit were observed mainly in the south of Brazil, with gaps higher than 1600 kg/ha, whereas the lowest were observed in Tapurah, Jataí, Santana do Araguaia and Uberaba, between 500 and 1050 kg/ha. The yield gaps caused by crop management were mainly concentrated in South-central Brazil. In the soybean locations in the mid-west, north and north-east regions, the yield gap caused by crop management was <500 kg/ha. When evaluating the integrated effects of water deficit and crop management on soybean yield gaps, special attention should be given to Southern Brazil, which has total yield gaps >2000 kg/ha. For reducing the present soybean yield gaps observed in Brazil, several solutions should be adopted by growers, which can be summarized as irrigation, crop rotation and precision agriculture. Improved dissemination of agricultural knowledge and the use of crop simulation models as a tool for improving crop management could further contribute to reduce the Brazilian soybean yield gap.


ABSTRACT Recent studies have revealed an unexpected role of DNA methylation at promoter regions in transcription activation. However, whether DNA methylation at enhancer regions activates gene expression and influences cellular functions remains to be determined. In this study, by employing the transcription factor krÜppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) that binds to methylated CpGs (mCpGs), we investigated the molecular outcomes of the recruitment of KLF4 to mCpGs at enhancer regions in human glioblastoma cells. First, by integrating KLF4 ChIP-seq, whole-genome bisulfite sequence, and H3K27ac ChIP-seq datasets, we found 1,299 highly methylated (β >0.5) KLF4 binding sites, three-quarters of which were located at putative enhancer regions, including gene bodies and intergenic regions. In the meantime, by proteomics, we identified 16 proteins as putative targets upregulated by KLF4-mCpG binding at enhancer regions. By chromosome conformation capture (3C) analysis, we demonstrated that KLF4 bound to methylated CpGs at the enhancer regions of the B-cell lymphocyte kinase (BLK) and Lim domain only protein 7 (LMO7) genes, and activated their expression via 3D chromatin loop formation with their promoter regions. Expression of mutant KLF4, which lacks KLF4 ability to bind methylated DNA, or removal of DNA methylation in enhancer regions by a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor abolished chromatin loop formation and gene expression, suggesting the essential role of DNA methylation in enhancer-promoter interactions. Finally, we performed functional assays and showed that BLK was involved in glioblastoma cell migration. Together, our study established the concept that DNA methylation at enhancer regions interacts with transcription factors to activate gene expression and influence cellular functions.


Open channel flow containing sediment suspension subjects itself to a density gradient in the vertical direction, i.e. density self-stratification, due to the tendency for suspended sediment to settle. Velocity and concentration profiles under the effect of density stratification may differ significantly from the conventional logarithmic and Rousean distributions associated with open channel flow. It is hence important to include this effect into flow computations in order to accurately predict flow characteristics such as the resistance coefficient, near-bed sediment concentration, flow and sediment discharge. In this study we introduce a software, StratSedOC, for such purpose. The application contains a user-friendly interface which allows users to evaluate and visualize the differences in the velocity, concentration and eddy viscosity profiles when stratification effects are taken into account. In addition to the standard logarithmic/Rousean formulation, the model uses three turbulence closures, i.e. an algebraic model (Smith-McLean) and two differential models (k-ε and Mellor-Yamada). The software application can also be used to study the effect of sediment mixtures on flow stratification under different boundary conditions for near-bed sediment concentration. Comparison between the model and experimental results suggests that the Mellor-Yamada model predicts a damping effect on the eddy viscosity which is similar to the Smith-McLean model, while the k-ε model consistently predicts weaker stratification effects. Based on this result, a modified boundary condition for the k-ε model is then proposed.


Rebar corrosion is the most commonly observed deterioration mechanism in reinforced concrete (RC) structures, severely affecting their performance and potentially resulting in premature in-service failures. Corrosion causes internal damage to RC elements, owning to the loss of steel area and the formation of associated expansive corrosion products. Corrosion damage, which may ultimately lead to inadequate performance, includes loss of steel area, loss of bond between steel and concrete, reduced concrete strength due to cracking, loss of concrete section due to spalling and reduced mechanical properties of the affected rebars, i. e. strength and ductility, mostly due to pitting formation. The severity of this damage, however, depends on the nature (i. e. uniform or/and pitting) and extent of corrosion as well as the location of its occurrence, i. e. tension, compression and/or shear reinforcements in RC beams. Accurate performance evaluation of corroding structures could allow extension of service life, where appropriate, and may contribute to a more consistent safety level across a network of structures. This would improve the efficient use of scarce resources, and minimize the impact of indirect costs through optimised inspection, maintenance and repair works. In this study, performance of corroding under-reinforced beams is examined under serviceability (i. e. deflections, cracking patterns) and ultimate (i. e. load capacity, ductility) conditions through detailed parametric and reliability analysis studies. The performance of corrosion-damaged under-reinforced beams is assessed using non-linear finite element analysis (NLFEA). Empirical models from the literature are used to consider the different effects of corrosion damage in the analysis. The NLFE models are used in parametric studies, where a number of corrosion-damage scenarios are examined. For the mid-scale beams studied within this thesis, loss of tensile steel area and concrete damage/section-loss due to corrosion in the compressive region of the beam, are found to be the main causes for loss of load capacity and bending stiffness. The numerical models predicted an increase of beam's ductility for increasing amounts of corrosion, up to approx. Qcor = 12% loss. This behaviour was found to be due to the beneficial effect of reducing tension rebar area and yield strength on beam's ductility. At higher amount of corrosion, beam's ductility started to deteriorate due to a transition in beam's behaviour at ultimate deflection from concrete crushing towards premature rupture of the corroded tension rebars. Reliability analysis, which is a widely proposed assessment tool of corroding RC structures, is used to examine the influence of uncertainties associated with different variables involved in the deterioration process. A FORM based reliability analysis methodology is developed, which uses NLFEA together with adaptive response surface method (RSM) for the approximation of the performance function. The procedure is used for the analysis of two corrosion damage scenarios on (mid-scale) under-reinforced beams. The response surface of the yield-load capacity limit state is shown to be a stationary surface, since the regression coefficients are insensitive to the amount of corrosion. The reliability index, B, was found to gradually reduce for increasing corrosion damage, Qcor. The sensitivity factors obtained for the load capacity limit state revealed that the relative importance of the random variables remained almost constant as corrosion loss increased. The approximation of the ductility limit state was found to be strongly influenced by the selection of variable ranges due to significant curvature in the response surface. The accuracy of the fitted response surface was improved by splitting the variable space into smaller ranges and evaluating the response surface for each corrosion interval. An initial increase of the reliability index, β, was observed for the two corrosion damage scenarios examined. The sensitivity factors for the ductility limit state revealed that as corrosion damage increases, a transition of the relative importance of random variables concrete compressive strength, fc and ultimate (tension) rebar strain, eu, is likely to occur.


Population projections across scales are essential for integrated assessment of global environmental changes. Currently, projections at the aggregate national scale, and at the grid-cell scale, are available globally and for many individual countries. However few projections exist at intermediate scales, such as US states, which are important for capturing broad-scale redistribution of population through internal migration. We are currently developing explicit US state-level projections, from which we will create consistent gridded outcomes. Here we present a placeholder set of projections that could be used in analyses while waiting on explicit state projections. These placeholder projections are based on an existing set of global gridded projections, which we aggregate (upscale) to the state level to produce a set of projections numerically consistent at the grid cell, state and national level. We test alternative aggregation methods and geographic resolutions of the gridded population to derive the aggregate state-level projections for all 50 states (and Puerto Rico), for rural and urban areas. Results show that with high resolution gridded population data for the present population, the upscaling outcomes match reasonably well total population at the national and state levels. Comparison of the state-level projections aggregated from the grid cell level to explicit state projections from the US Census Bureau through 2030 show that results are reasonable for many states, but are much less reliable for states experiencing population dynamics differing from national overall patterns. Results therefore also demonstrate the need for a new set of alternative, state-level population projections with consistent gridded outcomes.


Cockayne syndrome protein B (CSB) is an ATP-dependent chromatin remodeler that relieves oxidative stress by regulating DNA repair and transcription. CSB is proposed to participate in base-excision repair (BER), the primary pathway for repairing oxidative DNA damage, but exactly how CSB participates in this process is unknown. It is also unclear whether CSB contributes to other repair pathways during oxidative stress. Here, using a patient-derived CS1AN-sv cell line, we examined how CSB is targeted to chromatin in response to menadione-induced oxidative stress, both globally and locus-specifically. We found that menadione-induced, global CSB–chromatin association does not require CSB's ATPase activity and is, therefore, mechanistically distinct from UV-induced CSB–chromatin association. Importantly, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) enhanced the kinetics of global menadione-induced CSB–chromatin association. We found that the major BER enzymes, 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1) and apurinic/apyrimidinic endodeoxyribonuclease 1 (APE1), do not influence this association. Additionally, the level of γ-H2A histone family member X (γ-H2AX), a marker for dsDNA breaks, was not increased in menadione-treated cells. Therefore, our results support a model whereby PARP1 localizes to ssDNA breaks and recruits CSB to participate in DNA repair. Furthermore, this global CSB–chromatin association occurred independently of RNA polymerase II–mediated transcription elongation. However, unlike global CSB–chromatin association, both PARP1 knockdown and inhibition of transcription elongation interfered with menadione-induced CSB recruitment to specific genomic regions. This observation supports the hypothesis that CSB is also targeted to specific genomic loci to participate in transcriptional regulation in response to oxidative stress.


Although it has been a part of the dark underbelly of the Internet since its inception, recent events have brought the discussion board site 4chan to the forefront of the world's collective mind. In particular, /pol/, 4chan's "Politically Incorrect" board has become a central figure in the outlandish 2016 Presidential election. Even though 4chan has long been viewed as the "final boss of the Internet," it remains relatively unstudied in the academic literature.
In this paper we analyze /pol/ along several axes using a dataset of over 8M posts. We first perform a general characterization that reveals how active posters are, as well as how some unique features of 4chan affect the flow of discussion. We then analyze the content posted to /pol/ with a focus on determining topics of interest and types of media shared, as well as the usage of hate speech and differences in poster demographics. We additionally provide quantitative evidence of /pol/'s collective attacks on other social media platforms. We perform a quantitative case study of /pol/'s attempt to poison anti-trolling machine learning technology by altering the language of hate on social media. Then, via analysis of comments from the 10s of thousands of YouTube videos linked on /pol/, we provide a mechanism for detecting attacks from /pol/ threads on 3rd party social media services.


The goal of this study was to examine the reorganization of hand movements during adaptation to delayed visual feedback in a novel and redundant environment. In most natural behaviors, the brain must learn to invert a many-to-one map from high-dimensional joint movements and muscle forces to a low-dimensional goal. This spatial "inverse map" is learned by associating motor commands to their low-dimensional consequences. How is this map affected by the presence of temporal delays? A delay presents the brain with a new set of kinematic data, and, because of redundancy, the brain may use these data to form a new inverse map. We consider two possible responses to a novel visuomotor delay. In one case, the brain updates the previously learned spatial map, building a new association between motor commands and visual feedback of their effects. In the alternative case, the brain preserves the original map and learns to compensate the delay by a temporal shift of the motor commands. To test these alternative possibilities, we developed a virtual reality game in which subjects controlled the two-dimensional coordinates of a cursor by continuous hand gestures. Two groups of subjects tracked a target along predictable paths by wearing an instrumented data glove that recorded finger motions. The 19-dimensional glove signals controlled a cursor on a 2-dimensional computer display. The experiment was performed on 2 consecutive days. On the 1st day, subjects practiced tracking movements without delay. On the 2nd day, the test group performed the same task with a delay of 300 ms between the glove signals and the cursor display, whereas the control group continued practicing the nondelayed trials. We found evidence that to compensate for the delay, the test group relied on the coordination patterns established during the baseline, e.g., their hand-to-cursor inverse map was robust to the delay perturbation, which was counteracted by an anticipation of the motor command.


The Okinoshima Formation crops out on Okinoshima Island and comprises a thick sequence (> 200 m) of pyroclastic rocks and alternating beds of sandstone and mudstone. Because Okinoshima Island is located between Honshu and Tsushima Island, the Okinoshima Formation potentially provides an important record of volcanism during the opening of the Japan Sea in northwest Kyushu, as well as a record of the formation of the present Genkai Sea region. In consideration of the lack of previous geochronological work, dating (fission‐track and U–Pb) of igneous zircons extracted from the Okinoshima Formation were undertaken and studied the clay mineral alteration in the pyroclastic material in order to reveal its thermal history. These data are used to constrain the age of the Okinoshima Formation and the present Genkai Sea region. Our results show that no thermal event has reset the fission‐track age after deposition of the pyroclastic rocks, and that the Okinoshima Formation was deposited at 16.2 Ma. The present Genkai Sea region is a deep‐sea basin, and its formation at 16.2 Ma was accompanied by submarine volcanism and rapid subsidence that marked the climactic stage of Japan Sea formation. After 16 Ma, the tectonic setting of the present Genkai Sea region changed from one of extension (related to the formation of the Japan Sea) to one of compression, with uplift occurring under the influence of the clockwise rotation of southwest Japan. Consequently, after 16 Ma the present Genkai Sea region became isolated from the forming processes of the Japan Sea.


Recombinant human growth hormone has revolutionised the management of children with growth hormone deficiency, chronic renal insufficiency, Turner syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, small-for-gestational-age status, idiopathic short stature and other growth disorders in recent decades. The benefits of administering growth hormone to children have commonly been measured in terms of acceleration in linear growth.1 Although informative, lines of enquiry that measure the benefits of recombinant human growth hormone in natural or physical units, such as acceleration in linear growth, suffer from a number of limitations. Most notably, they are unable to incorporate the several health changes that can result from growth hormone therapy, including the increased risk of a number of adverse effects1 such as pigmentation and growth of nevi, gynecomastia, pancreatitis and benign intracranial hypertension, within a single measure. In addition, they overlook the broader effects that the treatment may have on children's physical, mental and social well-being, as well individual preferences for those health changes. A number of preference-based approaches for measuring the benefits of healthcare interventions have been developed by health economists and might usefully be applied to growth hormone therapy in children. One such approach is conjoint analysis, the application of which is illustrated by Ahmed et al 2 in this issue of the journal in relation to preferences for growth hormone injection devices. This is contrasted with the study by Kapoor et al ,3 also published in this issue of the journal, which measures the impact of growth hormone-prescribing policies on non-preference-based outcomes, namely treatment concordance and height velocity.

Preference-based approaches that can be used to measure the benefits of growth hormone therapy in children include quality adjusted life year (QALY)-based approaches, contingent valuation-based approaches and conjoint analysis-based approaches. QALY-based approaches combine estimates of life years gained and enhancement of health-related quality of life …


Organizations may face a number of challenges in the current economy. In particular, the environment is rapidly changing and knowledge intensive firms must motivate autonomous professional workers toward organizational goals. This thesis therefore investigates the role of shared leadership as a means to address some of these challenges. However, shifting to a shared model of leadership fundamentally requires the development of knowledge, skills and abilities to effectively share influence. Thus, this study sought to investigate whether a shared Leadership Development Program (LDP) impacts on employee engagement, and whether this affects organizational change efforts. It probed these relationships through the single case of a Research and Development (R&D) organization forced to undergo a change in response to changes in the external environment and an internal organizational crisis. Results showed that in conjunction with conditions for shared leadership, developing a multi-level leader identity was an effective means to develop shared leadership skills that were tied to the organizations goals. However, shared leadership conflicted with existing organization structures and was limited by an effective group size. Nonetheless, the LDP provided antecedents to engagement by; increasing personal resources, establishing meaningful identities, providing valuable job characteristics and was symbolic of organizational support. Job crafting and social exchange theory offered an explanation of how these antecedents contributed to greater levels of work and organizational engagement. Interestingly, engagement appeared to be a process of inter-relating components, with the final state of engagement fluctuating over time and in some cases increasing relative to a baseline level. Once engaged, these individuals went on to spread their engagement to colleagues, encouraging them to support the new direction. Furthermore, the future leaders initiated projects that generated additional revenue and new customer bases, which suggests that the LDP played a role in the organizations financial turnaround – although this was not conclusively proven. This study therefore provides evidence that organizational transformations may be more effective if shared leadership is developed. This can lift engagement in a core group of staff, who can garner the support of their colleagues, and increase overall engagement with the organization. Further research is required to generalize these findings beyond a single case and more accurately quantify the relationship between shared leadership development, engagement and organizational transformation.


Thoracic duct cells from rats which have survived an infection with Listeria monocytogenes can confer a high level of antimicrobial resistance upon normal recipients. The cells which confer protection appear in the thoracic duct during the 1st wk of the immunizing infection, at a time when newly formed lymphocytes are being added to the lymph in substantially increased numbers. The protective cells differ in at least two respects from the majority of small lymphocytes in central lymph: they have a rapid turnover rate and a short life-span in the circulation. Evidence was also obtained that lymphopoiesis affecting the long-lived small lymphocyte, which belongs to the recirculating pool, is not increased during an acute Listeria infection.


The theory of equivalential deductive systems, as introduced by Prucnal and Wronski and further developed by Czelakowski, is abstracted to cover the case of logical systems formalized as π-institutions. More precisely, the notion of an N-equivalence system for a given π-institution is introduced. A characterization theorem for N-equivalence systems, previously proven for N-parameterized equivalence systems, is revisited and a "transfer theorem" for N-equivalence systems is proven. For a π-institution I having an N-equivalence system, the maximum such system is singled out and, then, an analog of Herrmann's Test, characterizing those N-protoalgebraic π-institutions having an N-equivalence system, is formulated. Finally, some of the rudiments of matrix theory are revisited in the context of π-institutions, as they relate to the existence of N-equivalence systems.


A leader of "the new Europe" offers a unique perspective on recent history. A stalwart ally and strategic partner in the war against terror and a new member of NATO, Romania with its vibrant democracy and robust economy is a far different place than it was in mid-twentieth century. According to some analysts, the twentieth century was a "short century" spanning the years from the outbreak of World War I in 1914 to the fall of Soviet-style Communism in 1991. It was nevertheless one of the most dynamic and dramatic centuries in the history of civilization, featuring two world wars of unprecedented atrocity, the rise of Fascism, state Communism, the fall of the colonial empires, the Cold War, and the global confrontation of two opposing political systems. This book depicts, from the uniquely personal perspective of Ion Iliescu, former president of Romania, some of the historical drama of that "short century."


Carbon aerogels are very promising substrates for electrocatalyst deposition involved in fuel cells. Their advantage over high surface area carbon blacks currently used, is the porous monolithic structure yielding large pore volumes with controlled pore sizes. By changing the synthesis parameters, it is possible to adjust their multi-scale structure which is strongly related to the electrochemical performances. The aim of the lecture is to give a survey of information about the multi-scale structure that can be obtained by small and wide angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS) techniques combined with contrast variation (CV). To this end, a series of SAXS experiments on carbon aerogels are described and the analysis of the experimental data is explained. Particular attention is paid to the determination of the specific surface area, SSAXS, and to the reasons why WAXS curves combined to SAXS ones make this determination more pertinent. The physical meaning of similarity or difference between SSAXS and surface area determined by gas adsorption, SADS, is discussed and information obtained by using contrast variation (CV) is described for two carbon aerogels prepared in different conditions.


Some scientific views argue that human population and economic activities might be expanding at the cost of other biological species. Hence, this paper proposes an empirical analysis on the case of threatened animal and plant species, exploiting an international panel dataset to test whether there is a peaceful cohabitation with human activities. Applying count data regression techniques we show, on the one hand, that human population growth and agricultural production harm animal and plant species. On the other hand, our results indicate that the number of threatened animal and plant species depicts an inverted U-shaped curve with income per capita. Our analysis further suggests that the more biological species-rich a region is, the more threatened species it holds, other things being equal. Globally compared to developing countries, developed countries definitely appear to be threatening fewer animal and plant species, suggesting a possible peaceful cohabitation between living species.


The critical flame extinction strain rates of opposed-flow hydrocarbon diffusion flames in the presence of various chemically-passive fire suppressants were experimentally and computationally determined. The objective was to extend an earlier study of chemicallypassive suppressant effectiveness at normal-atmosphere conditions to the EVA-atmosphere conditions used in spacecraft prior to external vehicular activity. Extinction strain rates were determined for fuel streams consisting of pure CH4, C2H6, C3H8 or C2H4 and oxidizer streams composed of air with 0-30% volume fractions of Ar, N2 or CO2 as inert suppressants. For both normal and EVA atmospheres, the relative suppressant effectiveness increased in order from Ar to N2 to CO2. This ordering is consistent with the simple increase in specific heat produced by the suppressant concentration in a stoichiometric mixture of the fuel and oxidizer. The internal structure of C2H6 flames with and without each suppressant in normal and EVA atmospheres was examined using OPPDIF calculations to identify the mechanisms that determine the relative effectiveness of each suppressant. At any given suppressant concentration, peak flame temperature and maximum concentrations of OH, H and O radicals are higher in the EVA atmosphere than in normal atmosphere, consistent with the higher oxygen concentration under EVA conditions. This suggests that similar correlations as have been found at normal atmosphere for critical flame extinction strain rates with these parameters may govern suppressant effectiveness in the EVA atmosphere, allowing effectiveness of other suppressants at other atmospheric preparations to be inferred from these results. Results to date suggest that, due to the higher oxygen concentrations in the EVA atmosphere, the critical flame extinction strain rates are slightly higher in the EVA atmosphere than in a normal atmosphere.


Introduction In this era of scientifically advanced world, one may be lost in its ultra modernity. To be abreast of technological booms, one should keep pace with the changes. And the educational system of the twenty-first century is in the midst of the most serious and promising reform effort. Concerted efforts are being forged toward the restructuring the system. In Mathematics in particular, attempt is being pursued on many fronts namely recognizing that many ways exist to learn and understand Mathematics like using technology to support its learning and connecting Mathematics to the experiences that the students have outside the school (Cusco, 1995). Students are given ample opportunities to explore, investigate and discover for themselves patterns and ideas and even algorithms. Despite efforts to undergo reform in this field, the stark reality remains that Mathematics performance of students seemed to come short of the standard. The task then presented to the teacher is for him to harness all possible means for maximum learning and development of students. To enable the students to succeed in life after school, there is a need to prepare them to use, understand, control and modify the learning acquired suited to the present situation. The current need for instruction of thinking skills is partly the result of the growing awareness that society's needs and demands are changing. Poor learning is due to learning habits that preclude adequate metacognition (Baird, 1998). This expectation means that there is a need to develop genuinely mathematical ways of thinking. The thinking process, which is the key in learning, can be controlled and directed. Having known that thinking can be controlled and directed, students will be conscious of their own powers of thinking and be a purposeful learner. Schools commonly espouse the aim to educate students to be aware, responsible and capable of independent learning (Baird, 1998). And if they are developed metacognitively, they will earn confidence that they can learn, will know how to assess their stand in learning situation and will be able to view themselves as continual learners and thinkers.


Fuel cells are promising for future energy systems, since they are energy efficient and, when hydrogen is used as fuel, there are no emissions of greenhouse gases. Fuel cells have during recent years various improvements, however the technology is still in the early phases of development. This can be noted by the lack of a dominant design both for singe fuel cells, stacks and for entire fuel cell systems.

A literature study is preformed to compile the current position in fuel cell modeling. A deeper investigation is made to find out if it is possible to use a multiscale approach to model solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and combine the accuracy at microscale with for example the calculation speed at macroscale to design SOFCs, based on a clear understanding of transport phenomena and functional requirements. It is studied what methods can be used to model SOFCs and also to sort these models after length scale. Couplings between different methods and length scales, i.e., multiscale modeling, are outlined. Multiscale modeling increases the understanding for detailed transport phenomena, and can be used to make a correct decision on the specific design and control of operating conditions. It is expected that the development and production costs will decrease and the energy efficiency increase (reducing running cost) as the understanding of complex physical phenomena increases.

In this thesis a CFD approach (COMSOL Multiphysics) is employed to investigate the effects on the temperature distribution from inlet temperature, oxygen surplus, ionic conductivity and current density for an anode-supported intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC). The developed model is based on the governing equations of heat-, mass- and momentum transport. A local temperature non-equilibrium (LTNE) approach is introduced to calculate the temperature distribution in the gas- and solid phase separately. This basic model is extended to include internal reforming reactions and effects on mass- and heat transfer, and on fluid dynamics.

The results show that the temperature increase along the flow direction is controlled by the degree of surplus air. It is also found that the ohmic polarization in the electrolyte and the activation polarization in the anode and the cathode have major influence on the heat generation and cell efficiency. If a counter flow approach is employed the inlet temperature for the fuel stream should be close to the outlet temperature for the air flow to avoid a too high temperature gradient close to the fuel inlet. The temperature is lowered, when hydrocarbon fuels (e.g., methane) is used, due to the reforming reactions.


Except for a brief foray into incoherent imaging in Chapter 7, we have been considering coherent light. Coherence refers to the amount of correlation in the optical field at separate times or separate points within a beam of light. High coherence leads to stationary interference effects such as the "fringing" and "ringing" structures that appeared in the simulated diffraction and imaging results for monochromatic (coherent) light. These kinds of features are absent from the incoherent imaging results. Coherence is exploited in a variety of optical applications: holography, interferometry, optical coherence tomography, coherent lidar, Fourier transform spectroscopy, and quantum communications, to name a few. We won't get into the details of these topics here, but some applications simply require high coherence (holography) while others also take advantage of the lack of coherence (optical coherence tomography). Sometimes coherence is a noise source - recall
the speckled coherent images of Section 7.3.4. It is convenient to separate coherence into two categories: temporal and spatial. For illustration, Fig. 9.1 shows a beam of light with some sample points. Temporal coherence refers to the correlation (time average of the products of complex fields) at spatial point P but separated in time by τ. The degree of coherence for a partial temporal coherent source changes with τ; typically, decreasing as τ increases. Spatial coherence refers to the correlation of complex fields at the same time but at different transverse points P1 and P2. For a partial spatial coherent source, the degree of coherence typically decreases with separation distance.


We construct new examples of manifolds of positive Ricci curvature which, topologi-cally, are vector bundles over compact manifolds of almost nonnegative Ricci curvature. In particular, we prove that if E is the total space of a vector bundle over a compact manifold of nonnegative Ricci curvature, then E R p admits a complete metric of positive Ricci curvature for all large p.


Brain disorders, together with other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular disorders and tumours, are leading burdensome diseases. These four groups in fact account for 65.5% of the burden associated with NCDs, and 40.7% of the all-cause burden.1 As shown in the recently published Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 estimates, the burden of mental and neurological conditions increased by 13.5%–20.5% between 1990 and 2017, mostly because of population ageing.1

However, research into brain disorders is fragmented, and the appreciation of their size and burden is still limited.2 3 In Europe, brain disorders accounted for 35% of the burden in 20002 and for 26.6% in 2010.3 These figures need to be updated given European population ageing (see online supplementary materials) and because some leading burdensome conditions, for example, stroke and dementias, typically occur in older age.

### Supplementary data

[jnnp-2019-320466supp001.pdf]

The aims of this paper are to present the updated burden of brain disorders in Europe relying on GBD 2017 data, and to compare it to that of other burdensome diseases, namely tumours, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular.

We used the GBD 2017 data made available by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (available at http://ghdx.healthdata.org/gbd-results-tool) referred to EU-28 with the addition of Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The overall population of these countries comprised 521.4 million citizens, 441.0 million aged 15+ years (see online supplementary table 1). …


Freshwater habitats are important because they represent two percent of Earth's water
resources, are highly diverse in aquatic organisms and are the most productive and
threatened ecosystem worldwide. Pollution, urbanization and climatic changes are
responsible for drastic changes in these ecosystems. The creation of new ponds offers an
opportunity to increase biodiversity, landscape connectivity and provide new habitat for
organisms. However, new ponds might be a good habitat for mosquitoes to lay eggs.
Mosquitoes have worldwide distribution and are responsible for most of the vector-borne
diseases, affecting thousands of people and causing millions of deaths. British mosquitoes
currently do not carry human diseases, but they are a biting nuisance. Their distribution,
abundance, species composition and potential for mosquito disease transmission are
intimately linked to the physical environment. Culex pipiens is commonly found in UK
gardens and is a potential vector of viruses including the West Nile Virus. However, any
environmental factors that significantly change the distribution and population of Cx.
pipiens could impact future risks of disease transmission.
Pond dyes are a cosmetic product for garden ponds and lakes; they inhibit algal growth and
improve the overall appearance of the water body reflecting surrounding planting. The
dyes block red light from entering the water, interrupting the process of photosynthesis and
therefore inhibiting the growth of certain aquatic plants such as algae. Although these dyes
are non-toxic to fish and invertebrates, their use in urban gardens raises questions linked to
mosquito oviposition, since coloured water can be an attractant.


Insect-killing fungi such as Beauveria bassiana are being evaluated as possible active ingredients for use in novel biopesticides against mosquito vectors that transmit malaria. Fungal pathogens infect through contact and so applications of spores to surfaces such as walls, nets, or other resting sites provide possible routes to infect mosquitoes in and around domestic dwellings. However, some insects can detect and actively avoid fungal spores to reduce infection risk. If true for mosquitoes, such behavior could render the biopesticide approach ineffective. Here we find that the spores of B. bassiana are highly attractive to females of Anopheles stephensi, a major anopheline mosquito vector of human malaria in Asia. We further find that An. stephensi females are preferentially attracted to dead and dying caterpillars infected with B. bassiana, landing on them and subsequently becoming infected with the fungus. Females are also preferentially attracted to cloth sprayed with oil-formulated B. bassiana spores, with 95% of the attracted females becoming infected after a one-minute visit on the cloth. This is the first report of an insect being attracted to a lethal fungal pathogen. The exact mechanisms involved in this behavior remain unclear. Nonetheless, our results indicate that biopesticidal formulations comprising B. bassiana spores will be conducive to attraction and on-source visitation by malaria vectors.


The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is one conflict management style that correlated more significantly with marital satisfaction than any other. In addition, spousal satisfaction with how marital conflict is managed was also examined, as were gender differences. Fifty-seven couples who had been married for at least 10 years took part in the study. Results showed that the collaborative conflict management style has the highest correlation with both marital satisfaction and spousal satisfaction with conflict management in the marriage. In contrast, where one or both of the spouses used the competitive conflict management style, the lowest marital satisfaction was reported. The results were also interpreted in terms of cultural and gender differences.


Barium hexaferrite particles derived from sol-gel combustion method with a mean particle size of 160 nm and Fe particles with a mean particle size of 150 µm were mechanically alloyed using planetary ball mill. Phase constitution and EDS analysis of the products were investigated by XRD and SEM, respectively. Magnetic properties of samples were measured by VSM. Influence of the milling time and Fe content on the phase constitution of synthesized composites has been investigated. XRD results indicated that in sample with 90 and 50wt% Fe, the magnetic composite with enhanced magnetic properties, formed based on Fe phase while barium hexaferrite particles embedded within Fe particles. In sample with 90% Fe, the crystallite size of Fe reduced from 173 to 87 nm by increasing the milling time from 1 to 20 h; saturation magnetization of the 20 h milled sample was measured as 94.8 emu/g. Besides, in sample with 50wt% Fe, some FeO phase was detected which is probably due to the partial decomposition of hard magnetic phase during milling. Sample with 10wt% Fe showed completely different behavior and magnetite appeared as a major magnetic phase.


Although wasting marmoset syndrome (WMS) is one of the biggest problems facing captive marmoset colonies, the mechanisms underlying its pathogenesis remain unclear. In our clinical experience, it is difficult to cure WMS-affected marmosets with severe hypoalbuminemia. Thus, the mechanisms underlying hypoalbuminemia in WMS must be understood. In the present study, we investigated whether intestinal protein loss, a known reason for hypoalbuminemia, occurs in this disease. Fecal α1-proteinase inhibitor (α1-PI, also known as α1-antitrypsin) has been used to diagnose intestinal protein loss in other species. To develop an assay system for this protein, marmoset α1-PI was purified from plasma and antibodies against it were developed using the purified protein. Using the antibodies, a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure marmoset α1-PI was developed, and its detection sensitivity for fecal samples was ∼20-fold higher than that of a commercial kit for human α1-PI. From this ELISA, the reference intervals for serum and feces of healthy marmosets were 0.87–1.85 mg/ml and 0.53–395.58 μg/g, respectively. The average concentrations of α1-PI in serum and feces of seven WMS-affected marmosets were 1.17 mg/ml and 1357.58 μg/g, respectively. Although there were no significant differences in the serum concentrations between healthy and WMS-affected marmosets, the fecal concentrations were significantly higher in WMS-affected marmosets than in healthy individuals, suggesting that intestinal protein loss occurs in WMS. Intestinal protein loss of WMS-affected marmosets was significantly attenuated with treatment, suggesting that it is one of the mechanisms involved in the hypoalbuminemia observed in WMS.


The immune system has been suggested as crucial in brain and psychological functioning. More precisely, immune markers reflecting immune system activity are important for psychological and mental health, as evident by their role in the physiopathology of depression and in the impairment of executive functions. Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA), an electroencephalographic marker of brain function, has also been linked to such psychopathology and is thought to reflect psychological processes underlying approachversus withdrawal-related motivation and higher-order inhibitory control. Only a few studies have linked FAA to immune markers but notably found a negative association between IL-6, a pleiotropic proinflammatory cytokine, and FAA. The aim of the present work is thus to study the relationship between various immune markers (including pro-inflammatory cytokines and IL-6) and FAA. 35 healthy young male participants underwent a resting EEG recording and blood sampling from which immune markers were measured. The results did not suggest an association between IL-6 and FAA. No other immune markers were either suggested to be associated to FAA. The complexity of the immune system (e.g., effect of cytokines) is underlined and may explain the results. Despite such results, the implication of true negative correlations between FAA and circulating immune markers, as suggested in previous studies, is discussed in the light of the theoretical models of FAA. keywords: frontal alpha asymmetry; cytokines; IL-6; approach; withdrawal; behavioural inhibition system, executive functions; self-regulation; depression.


Technological literacy education involves the teaching of basic engineering principles and problem solving, including elementary electrical circuit analysis, to non-engineering students. Learning materials on circuit analysis typically rely on equations and schematic diagrams, which are often unfamiliar to non-engineering students. The goal of this experimental study was to investigate the effects of the integration of equations into circuit diagrams on the learning of non-engineering undergraduate students. This experimental study compared three integration designs. In the cumulative integrated design, as each practice problem solution progressed, the equations were cumulatively integrated into the circuit diagram. In the stepwise integrated design, only those equations relevant to the present step of the problem were integrated into the circuit diagram; previously displayed equations were moved to an adjacent frame and recorded there. The nonintegrated design recorded all equations in the adjacent frame throughout each of the problems. Student learning was measured with a problem-solving near-transfer and far-transfer post-test. Students rated the helpfulness of the diagrams and difficulty of the instructional program. Results indicated that participants in the cumulative integrated condition scored significantly higher on the near-transfer post-test and marginally significantly higher on the far-transfer post-test compared to the stepwise and nonintegrated conditions. Findings indicate that circuit analysis instruction for non-engineering students should integrate equations into circuit diagrams in a cumulative fashion so as to avoid the split-attention effect for both the previously displayed equations as well as the equations for the present problem step.


Pervasive services provided to the enterprise require from increased speed, performance, degree of personalization, ubiquitous access and reliability. 4G broadband wireless systems and multihoming technologies provide a working framework where such challenges could be met. In the context of a user driven broadband multimedia service and heterogeneous multiple-flow communication network supported system, this paper presents the MULTINET architecture as an enabler for next generation service delivery. The paper will discuss the main entities involved in the system, the main functionality supported and performance. The paper will also highlight initial architecture set-ups and evaluate benefits and drawbacks of the proposed configurations to meet the identified QoS requirements.


! This Master's thesis discusses a recent EU cultural policy, the European Heritage Label (EHL), introduced in 2011 to designate sites located in EU member states that have significance and symbolic value for European history and integration. I examine how the concepts of European cultural identity and common cultural heritage are used and produced in she rhetoric on the designated European heritage sites, and the intentions and expectations related to the EHL. " Euro-pean dimension " , " added value " , " unity in diversity " and " engaging with citizens " are notions that appear frequently in the discourse on the EHL in official EU documents, as a discourse analysis shows. Two Austrian candidate sites for the label serve as case studies to examine the ideological and practical aspects of the label by means of ethnographic fieldwork in Austria. I conducted interviews with officials, the managers of the EHL candidate sites and the members of the national evaluation committee, in order to understand the implementation, application and evaluation processes in Austria. This thesis also discusses the visibility and the potential of the label, as well as the key issues it raises, such as exclusion, identity-building capacity and its contribution to the global heritage sector. This research combines both theory and practice. It is significant in the fields of European Union Studies, and Identity, Culture and Heritage Studies because it looks at how heritage and the branding of heritage is used for identity-building purposes It is also useful for professionals and institutions in the national cultural heritage sector.


The phenol-melamine-urea-formaldehyde (PMUF) cocondensed resin adhesive was prepared by using phenol, urea, melamine and formaldehyde as reactants. It was characterized by 13C NMR and the results indicated that the PMUF could reduce the content of free formaldehyde, and it could make wood-based panel with high water resistance and weatherability. Sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) was able to shorten the curing time by 40% when applied to the plywood process. The addition of Na2CO3 as the curing accelerator of a PMUF had little influence on the bonding strength of waterproof layer and could shorten the hot-press time.


The product lifecycle model can be understood as a three-stage model of technological development associated with a particular product technology. In the explorative stage many different designs are developed, in the development stage products become standardized into a dominant design, and in the mature stage only incremental changes occur within the dominant design. Although the product lifecycle model is widely accepted and often applied in empirical research, innovation scholars have failed to develop systematic theoretical models that explain the different stages of technological development along the lifecycle. In this study, an attempt is made to contribute to product lifecycle theory by developing a theoretical model based on percolation dynamics. The model combines the concept of increasing returns to adoption with information diffusion among consumers within social networks. The main contribution of the model is that it replicates the three stages of the product lifecycle as an outcome of a single elementary process. The model also replicates the S-shaped diffusion curve and the occurrence of an industry shakeout.


How can you better harness the powerful social capital that exists within diverse individuals, families, businesses, and schools to make positive impacts in your community? What could you add to your next meeting—a Chamber strategic planning session, an employee wellness program, a non-profit board development—to better connect participants with valuable (and sometimes hidden) resources that often go untapped? This article describes a guided-discussion process in which participants (communities, volunteers, clients, students, non-profits, business alliances, etc.) discover strength, richness, and value within their collective narratives. It allows exploration of topics in diversity, social capital and community action.


Short-acting benzodiazepine hypnotics may phase-shift circadian rhythms and improve adaptation of sleep patterns to abrupt time shifts, depending on the timing of administration. The aim of the present study was to determine whether bedtime administration of zolpidem, a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic, causes alterations in circadian rhythmicity or in the normal interactions between sleep and hormones. Eight normal women (aged 21-33 years) each participated in a baseline study and a study with zolpidem administration. On each occasion, blood samples were obtained at 20-minute intervals for 25 hours, starting at 1000 hours. Zolpidem (10 mg) was given orally at 2245 hours. Zolpidem administration was associated with an increase in stages III + IV sleep. Cortisol, melatonin, thyrotropin and growth hormone profiles were similar in both experimental conditions. In contrast, though remaining in the normal range, the nocturnal elevation of prolactin was enhanced two-fold in all subjects after zolpidem during early sleep, and prolactin levels were still 50% higher than baseline in late sleep. Morning levels were similar in both studies. In conclusion, bedtime administration of 10 mg zolpidem, a standard clinical dosage, systematically induces a transient moderate hyperprolactinemia, but does not alter other sleep-related hormonal secretions or endocrine markers of circadian rhythmicity.


Growing global concern pertaining to climate change has meant
that engine development has become more focused on engine
emissions. A method of reducing the emissions of an internal
combustion (IC) engine is to use smaller engines but recover
power lost due to reduction in size by using a turbocharger or
supercharger.
To ensure that a turbocharger is appropriate for a given engine it
has to be matched correctly. This process is called turbocharger
matching. Turbocharger matching ensures that the compressor is
providing sufficient air to the engine over a wide range of operating
conditions.
Currently compressors are mapped by carrying out controlled
experiments which put limits on its applicability to real world
situations.


This article introduces the method of single-neuron recording in humans to marketing and consumer researchers. First, the authors provide a general description of this methodology, discuss its advantages and disadvantages, and describe findings from previous single-neuron human research. Second, they discuss the relevance of this method for marketing and consumer behavior and, more specifically, how it can be used to gain insights into the areas of categorization, sensory discrimination, reactions to novel versus familiar stimuli, and recall of experiences. Third, they present a study designed to illustrate how single-neuron studies are conducted and how data from them are processed and analyzed. This study examines people's ability to up-regulate (i.e., enhance) the emotion of fear, which has implications for designing effective fear appeals. The study shows that the firing rates of neurons previously shown to respond selectively to fearful content increased with emotion enhancement instructions, but only for a video that did not automatically evoke substantial fear. The authors discuss how the findings help illustrate which conclusions can and cannot be drawn from single-neuron research.


Abstract Background The hoverfly Microdon (Chymophila) katsurai Maruyama et Hironaga 2004 was speculated to be a myrmecophilous species associated with the ant Polyrhachis lamellidens based on observations of adults near the ant nest. However, there have been no reports regarding the observation of immature stages of this species in association with P. lamellidens. New information For the first time, we found three M. katsurai larvae inside a P. lamellidens nest and conducted rearing experiments on the larval M. katsurai. P. lamellidens workers did not show any inspection or attack behavior against the M. katsurai larvae under rearing conditions, suggesting that M. katsurai larvae can survive inside a P. lamellidens nest. Although no predatory behavior by the M. katsurai larvae was observed, all the M. katsurai larvae pupated and emerged in a rearing environment. The dorsal surface of the larval M. katsurai has a distinct pale green color with a uniform reticular structure. The puparium of M. katsurai shows several morphological features that are characteristic of the subgenus Chymophila. We conclude that M. katsurai is likely a myrmecophilous species that utilizes P. lamellidens as a specific host and that classification of M. katsurai based on puparium morphology is concordant with that based on adult morphology.


The level of realized positive impacts from computer-assisted scheduling and dispatching (CASD) systems depends on the specifics of each implementation plan and the overall deployment strategy that is contemplated early in the procurement process. Moreover, with increasing numbers of local CASD system implementations, state departments of transportation have only recently realized the need to incorporate feedback from paratransit providers in developing statewide strategies regarding future deployments of such systems. While considering the variety of needs of Illinois paratransit operators, this paper develops three different CASD deployment scenarios: a centralized, a decentralized, and a regional deployment. The consensus from a focus group was that a hybrid approach that combines the strengths of the decentralized and regional approaches should be further pursued. The total cost of ownership for the preferred alternatives is also developed.


This article tests contextual and individual-level explanations of the gender gap in political knowledge in Latin American countries. It suggests that this gap is impacted by political and economic settings through two interrelated mechanisms: gender accessibility (that is, the extent of available opportunities for women to influence the political agenda) and gender-bias signaling (that is, the extent to which women play important roles in the public sphere). Analyzing data from the 2008 Americas Barometer survey, this study shows that the gender gap in political knowledge is smaller among highly educated citizens, in rural areas (where both men and women know little about politics) and in bigger cities (where women's levels of political knowledge are higher). More importantly, the magnitude of the gap varies greatly across countries. Gender differences in income, party system institutionalization and the representation of women in national parliaments are all found to play a particularly important role in explaining the magnitude of the gender gap in political knowledge across Latin America.


Autonomous 3D object reconstruction is a special field of robotics that has come up in the last decades. Since then, scientists have not been able to find and algorithm that fully meets the requirements of autonomous 3D object reconstruction. For more than 20 years many people all over the world have been taking part in the search for the perfect scan algorithm. 3D-modelling and 3D-reconstruction are established in industrial, medical, architectural and cultural areas. Many scanning systems are manually operated.Thereby a human operator moves the system along the object's surface, but this process is very time consuming and monotonous. Different approaches and mathematical algorithms have been developed in order to scan unknown objects automatically, so money and time can be saved. The industrial market offers a variety of applications in the field of product quality control. Other areas like robotics and autonomous systems want to develop a system that localizes and orients itself in order to identify or grasp known or unknown objects. The objective of these applications is to develop a scanning algorithm that is able to reconstruct unknown objects in order to get a complete 3D model. The big challenge is to make the entire process run automatically.
First, the robot's workspace needs to be explored in order to locate the object. During the scanning process, the robot should calculate different scan positions to get a good viewpoint to the object and to scan the object entirely. This problem is known as the "view planning problem" and has been investigated by several researchers since the 1980s. The scanning process of an object is not difficult for a human operator, if a real-time visual feedback of the previously scanned areas is available. Therefore the quality of scanning depends on the experience of the operator and in most cases more time is needed and the precision is lower as compared to a robot. From a robot's perspective the view planning process is a very complex problem. Based on the scanned data and the defined parameters the system has to decide where to position the sensor next in order to scan as many new areas of the object as possible. This scenario is also known as "next-best-view (NBV)", with the goal to get a complete model of the object by the smallest number of views. This work focuses on finding a new way of object scanning and 3D object reconstruction based on different related approaches. Therefore, already existing and well working approaches are analysed in order to identify their advantages and disadvantages. In a second step, we use these findings to develop a new approch, consisting of a combination of several approaches, that allows to improve the end result. Some combinations will be presented in the scope of this work.


Kawasaki disease (KD) is now the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children and is becoming more common worldwide. Despite this, some medical practitioners in the UK may be unaware of the disorder and of its potential long-term cardiac complications, which for those affected require a specialist, and uninterrupted lifetime clinical management. Increasing numbers of patients who suffered KD in childhood are transitioning to the care of adult services, where there is less awareness and experience of the disorder than in paediatric services. KD is an inflammatory disorder predominantly of young children which is associated with vasculitis of the coronary arteries, leading to aneurysm formation in up to a third of untreated patients. Even if treated, the range of persistent aneurysms is 3%–5%,1 2 but coronary artery dilation may be found in 30% in the acute stage, especially in the younger age group.2 Those with persistent coronary abnormalities, especially patients with large or giant aneurysms, are at lifelong risk of thrombosis and are at risk of developing stenotic lesions during vascular remodelling, which may lead to myocardial ischaemia, infarction or death. Those with smaller or resolved aneurysms …


We previously reported the synthesis of gadolinium-based nanoparticles (NPs) denoted AGuIX (activation and guiding of irradiation by X-ray) NPs and demonstrated their potential as an MRI contrast agent and their efficacy as radiosensitizing particles during X-ray cancer treatment. Here we focus on the elimination kinetics of AGuIX NPs from the subcellular to whole-organ scale using original and complementary methods such as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), intravital two-photon microscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). This combination of techniques allows the exact mechanism of AGuIX NPs elimination to be elucidated, including their retention in proximal tubules and their excretion as degraded or native NPs. Finally, we demonstrated that systemic AGuIX NP administration induced moderate and transient effects on renal function. These results provide useful and promising preclinical information concerning the safety of theranostic AGuIX NPs.


Wound care is highly prevalent, costly and has limited published evidence. Wound healing is a complex process that involves an integration of numerous clinical and biochemical pathways. The process consists of the steps necessary when skin or tissue attempts to undergo repair at the site of injury. The two classifications of wound types are referred to as acute or chronic. Wound healing consists of four steps: hemostasis, inflammatory, proliferative and remodeling. During skin injury, the platelets form over the injury site to form a fibrin based clot which serves as a means for controlling any further extensive bleeding. In order to treat the wound, the correct diagnosis must be determined at the earliest stage. This study focused upon the understanding of chronic wounds that were non-healing and greater than 30 days with an emphasis upon venous ulcers. Venous ulcers are defined to be wounds that form due to venous valves improperly functioning making them usually the main form of chronic wounds. Early detection is crucial for these cases because the chances of infection can be possible and fatal leading to possible amputation if not treated immediately. The purpose of this project was to monitor wound progress of study patients using clinical non-invasive study tools and tissue imaging to establish an integrated diagnostic method for appropriate treatment plans of patients with non-healing chronic wounds. Our preliminary histological imaging of the tissue samples suggest that FT-IR can be modeled for wounds using the framework of granulation tissue for wound tissue pathological modeling. In addition, study patient non-invasive data findings from laser doppler imaging and digital thermography corresponded with the patient's tissue pathology and medical history to understand issues of blood perfusion and skin temperature respectively. Our preliminary findings suggest we can establish a comprehensive diagnostic method with further clinical study patients and a more thorough staining set using both new and current samples to establish special classifiers relevant to identifying the necessary components within FT-IR imaging produced tissue samples for Wound Care.


From the introduction of gunpowder to the reigning era of nuclear weapons, military technological advances have been at the forefront of change. These changes in weaponry have influenced the outcome of many historical events and the downfall or success of major civilizations. All nations have sought to improve military technologies in the hope of gaining the upper hand in conflict. The developments in guns, cannon technology, warships, tanks, and airborne and space weapons, have been crucial in the ever-changing face of war. While it is inherent in human nature to seek better weapons for survival, the use of this weaponry will continue to make an impact on history. Through careful examination of the science and engineering of these weapons, persons can continue to venture into the field of military weaponry with an outlook towards the future. Through the many advancements made in military weaponry, our civilization is one that continues to change in the face of war. Technological advancements made in this area improve upon current war tactics and often are the basis behind military warfare. Technology has proven to transform history, lending itself to be one of the most powerful assets of the human race. Breakthroughs in military technology prove to be at the forefront of war and in many cases the result of war is directly connected through these advancements. In history, major civilizations have seen their rise or downfall through the elevation of weapon technology. Lee delves into the engineering and science behind major weapons such as: guns, cannons, fighter and stealth aircrafts, various types of missiles, attack helicopters, aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, main battle tanks and future weapons. He comprises the knowledge behind the weapons along with an understanding of how the weapons are used and applied to modern warfare. By showing how weapons have changed military warfare, he explains the human nature to seek better weapons for survival, protection, and domination of resources.


'Circumstantially childless' women (Cannold 2000) are those who have seen themselves as having a biological child or children at some point in their lives, but have come to — or are approaching — the end of their reproductive years without giving birth, for primarily social rather than biological reasons. The women who experience this form of childlessness are part of a growing demographic in Western countries, but the experience is not well understood. Using a detailed case example of one participant in a qualitative feminist psychosocial study of the experience of 26 circumstantially childless women in Aotearoa/New Zealand (Tonkin 2014), I draw on Hollway's (2015) work on the development of maternal subjectivity and Ettinger's (2006b) concept of the 'matrixial' to try to make meaning of her apparently non-sensical 'sense of myself as a mother'. I suggest the term 'fantasy mother' as a further dimension of motherhood, as a way to take account of aspects of this experience that appear to cut across available discourses of maternity.


We have studied arterial baroreeeptor reflexes in the conscious rabbit after bilateral electrolytic lesions of the ventrolateral medulla, coinciding with the Al group of catecholamine cells. Baroreflex function was determined from the changes induced in heart period and distal aortic blood flow in response to graded alterations in mean arterial pressure produced by inflation of balloon occluders around the thoracic inferior vena cava and the upper abdominal aorta. Distal aortic blood flow was determined using a Doppler ultrasonic flowmeter placed around the lower abdominal aorta. There were no significant changes in baroreflex function in sham-operated animals in which electrodes were inserted without the passage of current. The gain of the baroreceptor-heart period curves was reduced by approximately 50% at 40 minutes, 4 hours, and 24 hours after the lesions, compared to preoperative values and to values at corresponding times in sham-operated animals, but was restored to control levels 2 weeks after the lesions. Ventrolateral medullary lesions therefore destroy neurons that normally act to facilitate the baroreceptor-heart period reflex, though it is clear that other neurons not affected by the lesions also participate in the reflex. Bilateral ventrolateral medullary lesions produced a greater than 50% reduction in the gain of the mean arterial pressure-distal aortic flow curves evident throughout the 2-week observation period, indicating a persistent severe attenuation in the sensitivity of the baroreceptor-vanoconstriction reflex, similar in magnitude to that obtained after peripheral α-adrenergic blockade. It is our hypothesis that the persistent loss of the baroreceptorvasoconstriction reflex results from destruction of Al noradrenergic nerves that normally act in concert with the afferent connections of arterial baroreceptor reflexes to inhibit sympathetic vasoconstrictor tone and that the temporary loss in sensitivity of the baroreceptor-heart period reflex is caused by destruction of Al neurons th»t participate in the control of heart rate.


We live in a world invaded by plastic. Its role as a chemically stable, versatile and multi-purpose fostered its massive use, which has finally translated into our current situation of planetary pollution. Moreover, when plastic degrades it breaks into smaller micro and nanoparticles, becoming present in the water we drink, the air we breathe and almost everything we touch. That is how nanoplastics penetrate the organism and produce side effects.


The Southern Ocean (SO) is vital to Earth's climate system due to its dominant role in exchanging carbon and heat between the ocean and atmosphere and transforming water masses. Evaluating the ability of fully coupled climate models to accurately simulate SO circulation and properties is crucial for building confidence in model projections and advancing model fidelity. By analyzing multiple biases collectively across large model ensembles, physical mechanisms governing the diverse mean-state SO circulation found across models can be identified. This analysis 1) assesses the ability of a large ensemble of models contributed to phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) to simulate observationally based metrics associated with an accurate representation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), and 2) presents a framework by which the quality of the simulation can be categorized and mechanisms governing the resulting circulation can be deduced. Different combinations of biases in critical metrics including the magnitude and position of the zonally averaged westerly wind stress maximum, wind-driven surface divergence, surface buoyancy fluxes, and properties and transport of North Atlantic Deep Water entering the SO produce distinct mean-state ACC transports. Relative to CMIP3, the quality of the CMIP5 SO simulations has improved. Eight of the thirty-one models simulate an ACC within observational uncertainty (2σ) for approximately the right reasons; that is, the models achieve accuracy in the surface wind stress forcing and the representation of the difference in the meridional density across the current. Improved observations allow for a better assessment of the SO circulation and its properties.


Distracted driving is known to be one of the leading causes of vehicle accidents. With the increase in the number of sensors available within vehicles, there exists an abundance of data for monitoring driver behaviour, which, however, have so far only been comparable across vehicle manufacturers to a limited extent due to proprietary solutions. A special role in distraction is played by the smartphone, which is repeatedly a source of distraction for drivers through calls and messages. However, the smartphone can be used for driver behaviour monitoring (like driver distraction detection) too, as current developments show. As vehicle manufacturer-independent device, which is usually equipped with adequate sensor technology, smartphones can provide significant advantages, however, an overview of such approaches is missing so far. Thus, this work carries out an author-centric literature review of 16 research papers to illustrate the opportunities in using smartphones to detect driver distraction.


A portable dual-laser-beam interferometer that nonintrusively measures skin friction by monitoring the thickness change of an oil film subject to shear stress is described. The method is an advance over past versions in that the troublesome and error-introducing need to measure the distance to the oil leading edge and the starting time for the oil flow has been eliminated. The validity of the method was verified by measuring oil viscosity in the laboratory, and then using those results to measure skin friction beneath the turbulent boundary layer in a low speed wind tunnel. The dual-laser-beam skin friction measurements are compared with Preston tube measurements, with mean velocity profile data in a "law-of-the-well" coordinate system, and with computations based on turbulent boundary-layer theory. Excellent agreement is found in all cases. (This validation and the aforementioned improvements appear to make the present form of the instrument usable to measure skin friction reliably and nonintrusively in a wide range of flow situations in which previous methods are not practical.)


Objectives: To assess outcome following a vaginal repair (high midline levator myorraphy, HMLM) for vaginal vault prolapse. Methods: Women were identified who had undergone HMLM between December 1995 and September 1998. A structured telephone interview consisting of 5 questions was conducted in all those who could be reached. The most recent results of physical examination, based on office records, were also collected. Results: Thirty–five of 47 women completed the interview (average age 71 years, mean time since surgery, 27.9 months). Five patients had developed recurrent prolapse requiring repair (anterior enterocele in 3, vault prolapse in 1, symptomatic cystocele in 1). Recurrent cystoceles were noted on examination in 7 women (5 grade 1, 2 grade 2). Overall, 17 women were extremely satisfied with the result (>90% satisfied); 6 were dissatisfied (<50%). Five women were noted to have transiently reduced unilateral ureteral drainage intraoperatively, and all cases were resolved after the removal or replacement of one of the levator myorraphy sutures. One patient required re–exploration for ureteral obstruction, which resolved after replacement of a suture and stenting. Conclusions: Levator myorraphy is safe, effective, and easily taught. The rate of recurrent prolapse associated with this technique is similar to other techniques for vaginal vault fixation, but it avoids the disadvantages of an abdominal approach and is more technically straightforward to perform than sacrospinalis fixation.


ABSTRACT. Araujo D.C.C., Antonioli T., Costa T.S., de Carvalho J.R.G., Laguna A.G.V., Ramadinha R.H.R. & Fernandes J.I. Occurrence and location of Transmissible Venereal Tumors in Dogs seen at the Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro Veterinary Hospital: Oncology Sector between 2010 and 2014. [Ocorrencia e localizacao do Tumor Venereo Transmissivel em caes atendidos entre 2010 e 2014 no Setor de Oncologia do Hospital Veterinario da Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.] Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinaria, 38(3):277-280, 2016. Programa de Residencia em Medicina Veterinaria, Instituto de Veterinaria, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, BR-465, Km 7, Seropedica, RJ 23851-970, Brasil. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com The Transmissible Venereal Tumor (TVT) is a round cell neoplasm mostly affecting the genital of dogs. They can affect both sexes, and most animals are sexually active. Metastases, which occur in less than 5% of cases, occur through lymphatic or hematogenous. Diagnosis can be made by cytology and the most effective treatment is chemotherapy with vincristine sulfate. This study reports the occurrence of TVT from January 2010 to December 2014 in the UFRRJ Veterinary Hospital at the Oncology sector; clinical records were reviewed: 1,522 animals were seen and 123 (8.08%) presented TVT. Of 123 animals afflicted, 71.54% were adults, 23.57% were senior and 4.87% had less than a year. A higher frequency of females (74) was observed, when compared to males (49). A higher incidence in mutts (78.05%) was found, followed by poodles (7.32%), pinscher and Labrador (3.25%). Genital location was most common (79.04%), followed by a genito-cutaneous presentation (8.94%), nasal (5.69%), cutaneous (5.69%) and ocular (0.81%). It can be linked with large quantities of stray dogs and poor animal control policies in the region.


This paper presents empirical evidence which at first glance appears to show that firms are not pricing to maximize profits. We then present a model to explain how this behavior is in fact optimal when we account for additional constraints faced by firms in certain product markets. JEL CLASSIFICATION : D21, L21.


In this work we explore a new approach for robots to teach themselves about the world simply by observing it. In particular we investigate the effectiveness of learning task-agnostic representations for continuous control tasks. We extend Time-Contrastive Networks (TCN) that learn from visual observations by embedding multiple frames jointly in the embedding space as opposed to a single frame. We show that by doing so, we are now able to encode both position and velocity attributes significantly more accurately. We test the usefulness of this self-supervised approach in a reinforcement learning setting. We show that the representations learned by agents observing themselves take random actions, or other agents perform tasks successfully, can enable the learning of continuous control policies using algorithms like Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) using only the learned embeddings as input.


This paper explores the effects of a standard influencing care choice. Firm(s) may increase the probability of offering safe products by incurring a cost. Under duopoly, they compete either in prices or in quantities. Under perfect information about safety for consumers, the selected standard that corrects a safety underinvestment is always compatible with competition. Safety overinvestment only emerges under competition in quantities and relatively low values of the cost. Under imperfect information about safety for consumers, the standard leads to a monopoly situation. However, for relatively large values of the cost, a standard cannot impede the market failure coming from the lack of information.


The Plains CO{sub 2} Reduction (PCOR) Partnership continues to make great progress. Task 2 (Technology Deployment) focused on developing information regarding deployment issues to support Task 5 (Modeling and Phase II Action Plans) by providing information to be used to assess CO{sub 2} sequestration opportunities in the PCOR Partnership region. Task 3 (Public Outreach) focused on developing an informational video about CO{sub 2} sequestration. Progress in Task 4 (Sources, Sinks, and Infrastructure) included the continued collection of data regarding CO{sub 2} sources and sinks and data on the performance and costs for CO{sub 2} separation, capture, treatment, and compression for pipeline transportation. Task 5 focused on screening and qualitatively assessing sequestration options. Task 5 activities also continue to be useful in structuring data collection and other activities in Tasks 2, 3, and 5.


Matching module plays a critical role in display advertising systems. Without query from user, it is challenging for system to match user traffic and ads suitably. System packs up a group of users with common properties such as the same gender or similar shopping interests into a crowd. Here term crowd can be viewed as a tag over users. Then advertisers bid for different crowds and deliver their ads to those targeted users. Matching module in most industrial display advertising systems follows a two-stage paradigm. When receiving a user request, matching system (i) finds the crowds that the user belongs to; (ii) retrieves all ads that have targeted those crowds. However, in applications such as display advertising at Alibaba, with very large volumes of crowds and ads, both stages of matching have to truncate the long-tailed parts for online serving, under limited latency. That's to say, not all ads have the chance to participate in online matching. This results in sub-optimal result for both advertising performance and platform revenue. In this paper, we study the truncation problem and propose a Truncation Free Matching System (TFMS). The basic idea is to decouple the matching computation from the online pipeline. Instead of executing the two-stage matching when user visits, TFMS utilizes a near-line truncation-free matching to pre-calculate and store those top valuable ads for each user. Then the online pipeline just needs to fetch the pre-stored ads as matching results. In this way, we can jump out of online system's latency and computation cost limitations, and leverage flexible computation resource to finish the user-ad matching. TFMS has been deployed in our productive system since 2019, bringing (i) more than 50% improvement of impressions for advertisers who encountered truncation before, (ii) 9.4% Revenue Per Mile gain, which is significant enough for the business.


Two complementary techniques have evolved for providing fault-tolerance in software: forward error recovery and backward error recovery. Few implementations permit both approaches to be combined within a particular application. Fewer techniques are available for the construction of fault-tolerant software for systems involving concurrent processes and multiple processors. Many schemes for supporting forward or backward recovery are based on some concept of an atomic action. The authors propose a mechanism for supporting an atomic action in a system of communicating sequential processes (CSP). The atomic action is used as the basic unit for providing fault-tolerance. The atomic action is called an FT-action, and both forward and backward error recovery are performed in the context of an FT-action.


This study aims to determine the development and trend map of the Zakat and Technology outbreak research that is published by reputable journals in the theme of Islamic economics and finance. The data analyzed covering more than 440 publications of indexed research publications. The export data is then processed and analyzed using the R Biblioshiny application program to find out the bibliometric map of the development of the role of Islamic economics and finance in zakat and technology research. The results showed that the number of publications on the development of the role of Islamic economics and finance research experienced a significant increase. The results show that the highest number of document types are journaled articles. The most popular authors are Kuran T, and the most popular keyword topics are zakat, Islam, and Indonesia.


ABSTRACT The devastating effects of the great Indian ocean tsunami has forced researchers in focusing their attention more vigorously on understanding the behaviour during its propagation and its effects on structures. This can obviously be accomplished through numerical and physical model studies or combination of both. The characteristics of a tsunami wave can approximately be same as that of a solitary wave which is basically a shallow water wave. Hence, the studies on the characteristics of shallow water waves have become an emerging topic of interest. An important aspect of a mitigation effort is to predict the tsunami wave kinematics. A combination of experimental and numerical simulation of tsunami represented by the solitary wave was studied and their comparison is discussed in this paper. The details of the numerical approach, methodology, instrumentation and measurement adopted for the present study are reported. The disagreement of the experimental simulation of solitary wave elevations with that of numerical simulation has been addressed and the possible discrepancies are overcome, the procedure of which are briefly discussed. The dynamics of the tsunami wave propagation over an uneven topography is studied using the developed numerical model.


Introduction: Stroke is considered one of the leading causes of long-term disability worldwide. Physical, cognitive and psychological disabilities resulting from stroke can lead to a wide variety of activity limitations and participations restrictions. Objective: To verify the incidence of articles in the literature that used physiotherapy programs aimed at social participation and to analyze if these programs are based on domains of the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) in post-stroke people. Method: It was selected any type of study that presented post-stroke human sample over 18 years of age with no gender restriction, to be written in any language and year of publication, to have used physical rehabilitation as a form of treatment and social participation assessed by ICF as outcome. The descriptors and Boolean operators: stroke, rehabilitation, International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health, social participation, were used in the sample search strategy in database PEDro, PubMed, Web of Science and Scielo. Results: After applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria, five articles remaining. Assessment tools for participation in daily and social activities were not consensual in the range of areas that needed to be addressed in stroke rehabilitation. A single study used the ICF-based design model in its program. Conclusion: There are few studies that have measured the various characteristics of social participation using the ICF as a tool. More studies are needed to create an ideal standardization and strategy that direct interventions to improve specific aspects of social participation, including the involvement in activities that provide post-stroke individuals interaction with society.


A method of improving the stability of multiple-motor drive system has been devised that employs the averages and differences of estimated parameters for field-oriented control. The parameters of each motor (stator current, rotor flux, and speed) are estimated using adaptive rotor flux observers to achieve sensorless control. The validity and effective of the proposed method have been demonstrated through simulations and experiments.