This master thesis report presents a model for leveling of the workload in preventivetrain maintenance, useful to improve workshop eciency and production quality. The recurring maintenance tasks for one trainset are arranged in relation to each other,ensuring that the tasks are performed often enough and that the workload is roughlythe same at every maintenance occasion. Literature of previous work has been sought for,but with limited success. Both a linear minimax optimization program and a quadraticprogram have been formulated, and a solution to the linear problem is presented. The quadratic model was not solvable in reasonable time. Further evaluation of the manhours actually needed for the tasks is recommended before implementation.


The lithospheric structure of the Falkland Plateau region has been modelled by making an initial estimate on the basis of local isostasy and then refining the geometries by inversion of gravity anomalies. The model predicts a crustal thickness beneath the Falkland Plateau Basin that is more than twice that previously inferred from seismic evidence. The preferred explanation is that the seismic survey detected high-velocity (?underplated) lower crust rather than upper mantle. This is compatible with the results of deep seismic experiments over the conjugate Filchner Block of Antarctica and also appears likely on the basis of the position of the Falkland Plateau Basin in relation to the Karoo–Ferrar magmatic province at the time of extension. Continental crust is inferred to be continuous beneath the northern part of the Falkland Plateau, as there are consistent magnetic and flexural anomalies associated with the continent–ocean boundary. Flexural modelling of the southern margin of the plateau indicates lateral variations in strength, with the strongest lithosphere beneath the Falkland Plateau Basin. This may indicate thick oceanic crust beneath the southern part of the basin or the effect of thinning relatively weak continental crust and replacing it with relatively strong underplating.


Corporate investment is the most important factor to explain the long stagnation of Japan during the 1990's. Using the Bank of Japan diffusion indices of 'real profitability' and 'banks' willingness to lend', we estimate investment functions for four groups of firms: large/small and manufacturing/non-manufacturing. Our results suggest that for large firms, financing constraints are not significant whereas the converse is true for small firms. A fall of investment during 1992-94 is largely explained by real factors. However, the credit crunch occurred beginning 1997 and it lowered the growth rate of GDP by 1.6%.


This article engages with critical discourse analysis to explore how ideological values are represented in the national guidelines for generalist music teacher education in Norway. These curriculum documents are understood as part of a selective tradition which serves to naturalize dominating values in teacher education institutions. The analysis engages with historical and current discourses of music preferences, values, and philosophies. The authors argue that the national guidelines largely contribute to upholding a certain school music ideology and a matching community of music educators. The theoretical thrust is based on writings on curriculum and ideology, hegemony, naturalization and selective tradition.


Diabetes is increasingly affecting a growing number of patients and seriously reducing their quality of life. Use of conventional drugs in diabetes management is expensive, thus, unaffordable to most patients. Furthermore most of these conventional drugs are associated with undesirable side effects. Incorporation of herbal medicine into conventional healthcare system may significantly improve the overall management of Diabetes. Evaluation of efficacy and safety by scientific method is necessary to validate herbal medicine utilization. In most cases even where efficacy of the plants has been established the standard dosage required to bring about healing is not clear. This study evaluated six plants for their efficacy and toxicity using aqueous extracts in alloxan induced diabetic mice. Both the Intraperitoneal and oral routes were used in the administration of the extracts. Stem bark extracts of Euclea divinorum (Olkinyei) and Acacia nilotica (Olkiloriti), whole stem extracts of Rhoicissus tridentata (Orkilenyai) and Cynanchum viminale (Oleilei), leaf extracts of Aloe volkensii (Osuguroi) and Urtica dioica (Entamejoi) were used. In the evaluation for efficacy, mice were divided into seven groups, diabetes was induced using alloxan and each group was treated with a specified dose of the plant extract. The results were compared to those obtained from the group treated with conventional drug Insulin through the intraperitoneal route and glibeclamide administered by using the oral route. Standard procedures were used in determination of phytochemical content of the plant extracts, while TXRF and AAS methods were used to determine the minerals present in the extacts. Toxicity studies involved administration of a high dose of the extracts at 1000mg/kgbw through the intraperitoneal and oral routes. Phytochemical analysis was done by use of standard procedures. Results revealed antidiabetic activity of all the plants at varyng levels, Urtica dioica was the most effective with blood sugar lowering ability being comparable to that of conventional drugs. Cynanchum viminale and Euclea divinorum showed the lowest hypoglycemic activity. Intraperitoneal route showed greater hypoglycemic activity than oral route. Toxicity studies confirmed the safety of most of the plant extracts in both intraperitoneal and oral routes. Quantitative and qualitative phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of Alkaloids, Tannins, Saponins, Phenols, Flavonoids and Phylobatanins. Determination of the levels of mineral constituents demonstrated the present of K + , Ca 2+ , Cr 6+ , Cd 2+ , V 3+ , Mn 2+ , Fe 2+ , Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ , Mg 2+ , K + , Na + , Se 2+ , Ni 2+ , As 5+ , Cl , Rb 2+ , Br 2+ and Pb + . In conclusion, the results showed that all the six plant extracts except Euclea divinorum and Cynanchum viminale were effective in reducing blood sugar levels. Euclea divinorum was the only plant extract that showed high levels of toxicity the other plant extracts did not reveal significant toxicity effects.These results validates the use of the plant extracts in phytomedicine. Consideration should be made to carry out similar studies using higher animal models for confirmatory purposes.


This article critically reviews Andrea Morrone's essay on «judicial suprematism», published in issue 2/2019 of this Journal. According to the Author, the thesis of «judicial suprematism», when referred to the Constitutional Court, fails to consider the inherent and natural evolution of the Italian original model of constitutional adjudication particularly needed in the highly divisive political and social context. The constitutional history of the country has triggered the development of forms of cautious «judicial activism» by the Court, which has always been aware of the legal and political implications of its decisions. By the same token, recent initiatives taken up by the Court, for example to visit schools and prisons, can be regarded as attempts to promote a «mediatization» of this institution, in line with the level of transparency requested to fulfil its role and to consolidate its legitimacy.


Summary 1. Megaplanktivores such as filter-feeding sharks and baleen whales are at the apex of a short food chain (phytoplankton‐zooplankton‐vertebrate) and are sensitive indicators of sea-surface plankton availability. Even though they spend the majority of their time below the surface it is still not known how most of these species utilize vertical habitat and adapt to short-term changes in food availability. 2. A key factor likely to control vertical habitat selection by planktivorous sharks is the diel vertical migration (DVM) of zooplankton; however, no study has determined whether specific ocean-habitat type influences their behavioural strategy. Based on the first high-resolution dive data collected for a plankton-feeding fish species we show that DVM patterns of the basking shark Cetorhinus maximus reflect habitat type and zooplankton behaviour. 3. In deep, well-stratified waters sharks exhibited normal DVM (dusk ascent‐dawn descent) by tracking migrating sound-scattering layers characterized by Calanus and euphausiids. Sharks occupying shallow, inner-shelf areas near thermal fronts conducted reverse DVM (dusk descent‐dawn ascent) possibly due to zooplankton predator‐prey interactions that resulted in reverse DVM of Calanus . 4. These opposite DVM patterns resulted in the probability of daytime-surface sighting differing between these habitats by as much as two orders of magnitude. Ship-borne surveys undertaken at the same time as trackings reflected these behavioural differences. 5. The tendency of basking sharks to feed or rest for long periods at the surface has made them vulnerable to harpoon fisheries. Ship-borne and aerial surveys also use surface occurrence to assess distribution and abundance for conservation purposes. Our study indicates that without bias reduction for habitat-specific DVM patterns, current surveys could under- or overestimate shark abundance by at least 10-fold.


The timely exchange of information on new threats and vulnerabilities has become a cornerstone of effective cyber defence in recent years. Especially national authorities increasingly assume their role as information brokers through national cyber security centres and distribute warnings on new attack vectors and vital recommendations on how to mitigate them. Although many of these initiatives are effective to some degree, they also suffer from severe limitations. Many steps in the exchange process require extensive human involvement to manually review, vet, enrich, analyse and distribute security information. Some countries have therefore started to adopt distributed cyber security sensor networks to enable the automatic collection, analysis and preparation of security data and thus effectively overcome limiting scalability factors. The basic idea of IoC-centric cyber security sensor networks is that the national authorities distribute Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) to organizations and receive sightings in return. This effectively helps them to estimate the spreading of malware, anticipate further trends of spreading and derive vital findings for decision makers. While this application case seems quite simple, there are some tough questions to be answered in advance, which steer the further design decisions: How much can the monitored organization be trusted to be a partner in the search for malware? How much control of the scanning process should be delegated to the organization? What is the right level of search depth? How to deal with confidential indicators? What can be derived from encrypted traffic? How are new indicators distributed, prioritized, and scan targets selected in a scalable manner? What is a good strategy to re-schedule scans to derive meaningful data on trends, such as rate of spreading? This paper suggests a blueprint for a sensor network and raises related questions, outlines design principles, and discusses lessons learned from small-scale pilots.


OBJECTIVE
Many authors have implicated the media's promotion of an unrealistically thin ideal for women as a major causal factor in the current high levels of body dissatisfaction and increasing incidence of eating disorders. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between exposure to one medium, television, and body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness.

METHOD
Questionnaires were administered to 94 adolescent women who reported how much and what television they had watched in the previous week. Body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness were also assessed.

RESULTS
Amount of television watched did not correlate with either body dissatisfaction or drive for thinness, but category of program did. Specifically, amount of time spent watching soaps, movies, and (negatively) sport predicted body dissatisfaction, and the watching of music videos predicted drive for thinness.

DISCUSSION
The results are consistent with sociocultural explanations for body dissatisfaction and for the emergence of eating disorders in young women.


Gestational diabetes affects about 3% of pregnancies in German-speaking countries. Roughly one third of these pregnancies develop a requirement of insulin. In unrecognised and hence untreated pregnancies, perinatal morbidity and mortality are increased 20-fold. Gestational diabetes is asymptomatic and only 60% of patients have risk factors for the condition; thus, general screening with oral glucose tolerance testing is necessary to detect all cases. Most antenatal medical care is provided by gynaecologists in practice and by general practitioners who do not have a sophisticated laboratory at their immediate disposal. General screening requires a test that is simple, inexpensive and quick but nonetheless meets high quality standards. A new microcuvette rapid test fulfills these requirements; the results are ready within a few minutes' time. We performed parallel blood glucose measurements with a standard enzymatic method and with the rapid test in 500 unselected pregnant women undergoing an oral glucose tolerance test at our obstetric clinic. The mean fasting, 1-hr and 2-hr values were 77,128 and 106 mg/dl, respectively, as measured by the enzymatic test and 75,129 and 107 mg/dl as measured by the rapid test. The results of the reference enzymatic method and the rapid test agreed at a high level of significance (r = 0.98; p < 0.0001).


This is the latest edition of a popular guide to assist primarily US medical students in the specialty selection and residency application process. It fulfils this purpose admirably, being both written in a very readable style and extremely detailed even to the extent of including a paragraph and diagram on how to pack a suitcase for attending an interview! Useful advice for international medical graduates wishing to undergo residency training is also included. Although obviously geared to the US system, medical students in the UK, where the principles of career planning, choosing a specialty, job application and interview technique are equally applicable, could usefully read this book


We investigate the possibility that the large mixing of neutrinos is induced by their large coupling to a five-dimensional bulk neutrino. In the strong coupling limit the model is exactly soluble. It gives rise to an oscillation amplitude whose squared-mass difference is independent of the channel, thus making it impossible to explain both the solar and the atmospheric neutrino oscillations simultaneously.


Interim 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (Interim-18F-FDG-PET, hereafter I-PET) has the potential to guide treatment of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) if the prognostic value is known. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal timing and response criteria for evaluating prognosis with I-PET in DLBCL. Individual patient data from 1692 patients with de novo DLBCL were combined and scans were harmonized. I-PET was performed at various time points during treatment with rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) therapy. Scans were interpreted using the Deauville score (DS) and change in maximum standardized uptake value (ΔSUVmax). Multilevel Cox proportional hazards models corrected for International Prognostic Index (IPI) score were used to study the effects of timing and response criteria on 2-year progression-free survival (PFS). I-PET after 2 cycles (I-PET2) and I-PET4 significantly discriminated good responders from poor responders, with the highest hazard ratios (HRs) for I-PET4. Multivariable HRs for a PET-positive result at I-PET2 and I-PET4 were 1.71 and 2.95 using DS4-5, 4.91 and 6.20 using DS5, and 2.93 and 4.65 using ΔSUVmax, respectively. ΔSUVmax identified a larger proportion of poor responders than DS5 did. For all criteria, the negative predictive value was >80%, and positive predictive values ranged from 30% to 70% at I-PET2 and I-PET4. Unlike I-PET1, I-PET3 discriminated good responders from poor responders using DS4-5 and DS5 thresholds (HRs, 2.94 and 4.67, respectively). I-PET2 and I-PET4 predict good response equally during R-CHOP therapy in DLBCL. Optimal timing and response criteria depend on the clinical context. Good response at I-PET2 is suggested for de-escalation trials, and poor response using ΔSUVmax at I-PET4 is suggested for randomized trials that are evaluating new therapies.


Rationale: The generation of animal models for human cardiomyopathy creates opportunities to uncover mechanisms of diseases' pathogenesis and to identify genes that modify the progression of pathogenesis. In contrast to candidate gene-based approaches, the phenotype-based forward genetic screening approach is less effectively employed in a vertebrate, mainly due to the prohibitively enormous colony management efforts. Objective: To identify genetic modifiers of cardiomyopathy through developing an unbiased forward genetic approach in the vertebrate Danio rerio. Methods and Results: Using an expression-based insertional mutagenesis screening strategy, we identified 49 Zebrafish Insertional Cardiac (ZIC) mutants from a collection of ~300 gene break-transposon (GBT) lines. By applying doxorubicin (DOX) stress to these heterozygous ZIC mutants, we initially identified four GBT lines that either enhanced or suppressed DOX-induced cardiomyopathy phenotypes. Here, we focus on the GBT0411 line which significantly enhances DOX-induced cardiomyopathy phenotypes. We cloned the gene and identified a single transposon insertion that disrupts the long nuclei isoform of dnajb6b in this GBT0411 mutant. Consistent with its cardiomyopathy modifier function, we detected a predominant expression of dnajb6b in the heart. While mutations affecting the cytoplasmic functions of DNAJB6 were recently reported to cause limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 1D, our study suggested that the impaired balance between Dnajb6b long (nuclei) and short (cytoplasmic) isoform accounted for the cardiomyopathy modifier effect. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated the feasibility of identifying genetic modifiers of cardiomyopathy using a forward genetic approach in a vertebrate. Specifically, our data implicate DNAJB6 as a new genetic risk factor for DOX-induced cardiomyopathy. Without any presumption, this forward genetic strategy opens the door to systematically identify genetic factors that modify the progression of cardiomyopathy, which will facilitate the practice of personalized medicine and the development of novel therapies.


Multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles have emerged as one of the important futuristic material for variety of applications starting from data storage, security/sensors to biomedical applications. The application of multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles in biological organisms has fashioned noteworthy advances in research, diagnosis and therapy of various diseases. The multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles, capable of theragnosis, drug delivery and monitoring of therapeutic response, are expected to play a significant role in the emergence of the era of personalized medicine with much of research efforts devoted toward that goal. The present review recapitulates the development of state-of-the-art multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles and the foremost applications of these multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles in magnetic targeting, drug delivery, separation, and contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging, hyperthermia and sensors. The biocompatibility requirements and functionalization approach for multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles used in these applications are also reviewed. Copyright © 2011 VBRI press.


Atros is an automatic speech recognition/understanding/translation system whose knowledge sources (acoustic models, lexical models, syntactic language models, semantic models and translation models) can be learnt automatically from training data by using similar techniques. The search process in Atros is performed through a Synchronous Beam Search technique. In this paper, a faster version of Atros is presented and evaluated. This version supports improved acoustic and syntactical models. It also incorporates improved search algorithms to reduce and the computational requirements for decoding: Fast Phoneme Look-Ahead and Histogram Pruning. The system has been tested on a Spanish task of queries to a geographical database (with a vocabulary of 1,264 words). The best result achieved (in real time) was 7.10% of word error rate.


Abstract Background: Multiple mini-interviews (MMI) are commonly used for medical school admission. This study aimed to assess if sociodemographic characteristics are associated with MMI performance, and how they may act as barriers or enablers to communication in MMI. Methods: This mixed-method study combined data from a sociodemographic questionnaire, MMI scores, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with applicants and assessors. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using multiple linear regression and a thematic framework analysis. Results: 1099 applicants responded to the questionnaire. A regression model (R2 = 0.086) demonstrated that being age 25–29 (β = 0.11, p = 0.001), female and a French-speaker (β = 0.22, p = 0.003) were associated with better MMI scores. Having an Asian-born parent was associated with a lower score (β = −0.12, p < 0.001). Candidates reporting a higher family income had higher MMI scores. In the qualitative data, participants discussed how maturity and financial support improved life experiences, how language could act as a barrier, and how ethnocultural differences could lead to misunderstandings. Conclusion: Age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and language seem to be associated with applicants' MMI scores because of perceived differences in communications skills and life experiences. Monitoring this association may provide guidance to improve fairness of MMI stations.


Much research has been devoted to cross-sectional and intercohort patterns of wage inequality, but relatively little is known about the mechanisms for the intracohort pattern of wage inequality. To fill this intellectual gap, this article establishes a life course trajectory (LCT) framework for understanding the intracohort pattern of wage inequality. First, the author proposes and conceptualizes three essential properties of the LCT framework (random variability, trajectory heterogeneity, and cumulative advantage) that are used to establish a mathematical formalization of the LCT framework. Both the conceptualization and the formalization imply that intracohort wage inequality will increase over the life course due to random variability, trajectory heterogeneity, and cumulative advantage. Finally, the author combines the LCT framework with the multilevel growth curve model, then applies the model to data from the NLSY79, and finds support for the significance of random variability, trajectory heterogeneity, and between-group cumulative advantage properties but not the within-group cumulative advantage property.


In laboratory-based bioaerosol researches, the ability to reliably generate bioaerosols with minimal damage to the microorganisms is critical. In this work, a thermally consistent inkjet-based aerosol generation technique was adopted to generate bioaerosols, and its ability to preserve microbial survivability was assessed. The performance of the piezoelectric inkjet aerosol generator was evaluated using a potassium sodium tartrate solution and an aqueous suspension of 3-µm polystyrene latex spheres. An Aerodynamic Particle Sizer was employed to measure the aerosol number concentration and the size distribution. The main operating parameters of the inkjet print head for generating viable aerosols were the driving voltage, pulse duration, dispersion air flow, pulse frequency, and volume fraction of the solids in the nebulizing liquid. In the bioaerosol survivability experiments, yeast was used as the test microorganism. The nebulized yeast cells were sampled at different distances from the outlet of the inkjet aerosol generator and thus exposed to varying degrees of relative humidity for different residence times. Three bioaerosol samplers, namely, a BioSampler, a gelatin filter cassette, and a Marple cascade impactor with Mylar film, were used to collect the airborne yeast samples. Yeast survivability was determined by methylene blue viability staining. This study successfully demonstrated the feasibility and the advantages of using a piezoelectric inkjet print head to generate viable aerosols. Applying a square wave with appropriate combinations of voltage and pulse duration enabled the inkjet system to produce a liquid with rheological properties similar to those of water, and the particle generation rate was manipulated by adjusting the pulse frequency. Moreover, dispersion air was required to reduce coagulation. Although the number of droplets containing PSL spheres increased with the volume fraction of the spheres (Fv), a high Fv also reduced the probability of singlets forming.


The high performance diamond brazed saw was developed to cut efficiently AZ31 Magnesium Alloy. The Ti-coated diamond and the uncoated diamond were brazed with NiCr alloy by high-frequency induction under argon atmosphere at 1040°C within 20 seconds. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersion spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to investigate the interfacial microstructures between brazed diamond and the filler alloy. The results show that Cr-carbides forms normally and compactly on the surface of Ti-coated diamond brazed, whereas Cr-carbide forms tangentially and loosely on the surface of uncoated diamond brazed. That is because Ti has changed the mechanism of Cr-carbides formed on the surface of diamond brazed. The test of cutting AZ31 magnesium alloy plate shows that the section cut by Ti-coated diamond saw is much smoother than that cut by uncoated diamond saw after a long time.


Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the role of behavioural, normative, and control beliefs and individualism/collectivism was examined in the context of job seeking for temporary employment. Data were collected in a two-wave longitudinal design, using a culturally diverse sample of 138 temporary workers in The Netherlands.
Results supported the TPB-relationships, with the exception of the role of perceived behavioural control (PBC). Of the behavioural beliefs, sense of security, work–life balance, and status were most strongly related to intentions to seek temporary employment. Further, hypothesized moderating effects of collectivism were confirmed such that people low on collectivism were more strongly motivated by their personal attitudes about job seeking and less by perceptions of social pressure than people high on collectivism. Thus, the TPB was demonstrated to work somewhat differently
depending on people's cultural value orientations.


Ordered mesoporous silica films were synthesized using pre-organized block copolymer templates in supercritical carbon dioxide. Poly(ethylene oxide- block-propylene oxide-block-ethylene oxide), PEO-bPPO-b-PEO, films doped with p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TSA) were infused with carbon dioxide solutions of silica precursors. Silica condensation proceeded selectively in the hydrophilic PEO domain due to selective partitioning of the acid catalyst in the template during its preparation. Removal of the organic template by calcination at 400 °C yielded robust mesoporous films. The films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), X-ray reflectivity (XR), Rutherford backscattering (RBS), forward recoil elastic spectroscopy (FRES), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The pore structure and distribution was probed using contrast variation SANS porosimetry and X-ray porosimetry. Two distinct populations of pores are present in the films. Spherical mesopores were templated by the hydrophobic domain of the copolymer. Micropores in the pore walls are present due to removal of the hydrophilic PEO block, which forms an interpenetrating network (IPN)-like structure with the silicate network during infusion and condensation of the precursor. The wall density was determined to be (1.95 ( 0.05) g cm -3 and the overall porosity was found to be 39 vol %, with good agreement between the SANS and X-ray reflectivity results. A significant fraction of the total porosity, 44% to 53%, in these materials is attributed to the micropores in the wall structure.


Agents that disrupt mitochondrial function were used to monitor the contribution of ATP to cell cycle progression. Following nontoxic exposure to these agents, flow cytometric analysis of the cell population showed a significant increase in the proportion of cells in G1 at low doses of the agent and in G2-M at higher doses, in accordance with the degree of ATP reduction induced by the compound. These data indicate that cycling cells must maintain a minimal ATP content to satisfy the energy requirement of the checkpoint that allows passage through G1 into S phase. Once committed, successful passage through G2 into mitosis is also conditional upon maintenance of a critical ATP content sufficient to satisfy the second energy-sensitive checkpoint that exists at this transition. These data establish a foundation for future investigations into the energy dependence of cell cycle events and propose novel means for cell cycle intervention.


We make a detailed investigation of all spaces Qn1nNq1qN of the form of U(1) bundles over arbitrary products ∏iCPni of complex projective spaces, with arbitrary winding numbers qi over each factor in the base. Special cases, including Q1111 (sometimes known as T11), Q111111 and Q2132, are relevant for compactifications of type IIB and D = 11 supergravity. Remarkable `conspiracies' allow consistent Kaluza-Klein S5, S4 and S7 sphere reductions of these theories that retain all the Yang-Mills fields of the isometry group in a massless truncation. We prove that such conspiracies do not occur for the reductions on the Qn1nNq1qN spaces, and that it is inconsistent to make a massless truncation in which the non-Abelian SU(ni + 1) factors in their isometry groups are retained. In the course of proving this we derive many properties of the spaces Qn1nNq1qN of more general utility. In particular, we show that they always admit Einstein metrics, and that the spaces where qi = (ni + 1)/l all admit two Killing spinors. We also obtain an iterative construction for real metrics on CPn, and construct the Killing vectors on Qn1nNq1qN in terms of scalar eigenfunctions on CPni. We derive bounds that allow us to prove that certain Killing-vector identities on spheres, necessary for consistent Kaluza-Klein reductions, are never satisfied on Qn1nNq1qN.


Optimization of empty railcar distribution helps to improve the railcar service efficiency and meet the transportation demand. This paper defines empty railcar arcs and loaded railcar arcs from the perspective of real- time optimization, the revenue, cost and service capacity can be denoted on those arcs during the plan horizon. A time space service network of empty railcar distribution is present after mapping the relationship of those arcs. Based on the time space network, a multi- time point optimization model is proposed, with the objective of maximizing the total revenue of empty railcar distribution. At last, the model is verified by a real world example of east region of Guangzhou Railway(Group) Corporation. The result shows that the proposed time space service network and the model can reduce the difficult of the real world problem, and provide a new idea for empty railcar distribution.


In most regenerating systems, blastema cells arise by dedifferentiation of functional tissue cells. In is still debatable whether dedifferentiated cells or a undifferentiated cells, the neoblasts, are the main cells. Moreover, it is unclear whether in the intact neoblasts are quiescent cells 'reserved' for serve as functional stem cells of all differentiated uncertainties partly stem from the failure to conventional labelling methods neoblasts from Here we describe a new approach to these problems regenerative and stem cell capabilities of purified differentiated cells when introduced, separately, into hosts. Introduction of neoblasts led to resumed blastema formation, and extended or complete survival differentiated cells, in contrast, never did so. neoblasts can be qualified as totipotent stem cells of blastema cells, while dedifferentiation does not either in intact or regenerating organisms. In strengthen the idea that different types of formation, linked to the tissular complexity of the present in the animal kingdom.


Steepest-entropy-ascent quantum thermodynamics (SEAQT) is a mathematical and theoretical framework for intrinsic quantum thermodynamics (IQT), a unified theory of quantum mechanics and thermodynamics. In the theoretical framework, entropy is viewed as a measure of energy load sharing among available energy eigenlevels, and a unique relaxation path of a system from an initial non-equilibrium state to a stable equilibrium is determined from the greatest entropy generation viewpoint. The SEAQT modeling has seen a great development recently. However, the applications have mainly focused on gas phases, where a simple energy eigenstructure (a set of energy eigenlevels) can be constructed from appropriate quantum models by assuming that gas-particles behave independently. The focus of this research is to extend the applicability to solid phases, where interactions between constituent particles play a definitive role in their properties so that an energy eigenstructure becomes quite complicated and intractable from quantum models. To cope with the problem, a highly simplified energy eigenstructure (so-called "pseudo-eigenstructure") of a condensed matter is constructed using a reduced-order method, where quantum models are replaced by typical solid-state models. The details of the approach are given and the method is applied to make kinetic predictions in various solid-state phenomena: the thermal expansion of silver, the magnetization of iron, and the continuous/discontinuous phase separation and ordering in binary alloys where a pseudo-eigenstructure is constructed using atomic/spin coupled oscillators or a mean-field approximation. In each application, the reliability of the approach is confirmed and the time-evolution processes are tracked from different initial states under varying conditions (including interactions with a heat reservoir and external magnetic field) using the SEAQT equation of motion derived for each specific application. Specifically, the SEAQT framework with a pseudo-eigenstructure successfully predicts: (i) lattice relaxations in any temperature range while accounting explicitly for anharmonic effects, (ii) low-temperature spin relaxations with fundamental descriptions of non-equilibrium temperature and magnetic field strength, and (iii) continuous and discontinuous mechanisms as well as concurrent ordering and phase separation mechanisms during the decomposition of solid-solutions. Application of Steepest-Entropy-Ascent Quantum Thermodynamics to Solid-State Phenomena


Background Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is a complex chronic inflammatory disease strongly associated with the majority of HLA-B27 alleles, with the exception of B*2706 and B*2709. GWAS studies have revealed that other genes are also involved in AS pathogenesis such as ERAP1 which is able to cleave TNFR1 and IL-1R2 cell surface receptors, supposed to play a pivotal role in AS pathogenesis. Objectives To analyze the cell surface expression of TNFR1 and IL-1R2 receptors and the possible influence of ERAP1 allelic variance. Methods The percentage of CD14 negative peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) expressing TNFR1 and IL-1R2 receptors on the cell surface was evaluated in 12 HLA-B*2705 patients with AS, 12 HLA-B*2705 healthy subjects (HC) and 12 HLA-B*2709 HC by means of flow cytometry analysis and CD120a and CD121b monoclonal antibodies, respectively. Patients and controls were genotyped for two ERAP1 SNPs associated with AS (rs27044 C/G and rs30187 C/T). Values were expressed as median percentage of positive cells (interquartile range). The differences between AS patients and HC were analyzed by Mann Whitney U-test. Results TNFR1 expression on PBMC was significantly higher in AS patients (35.5 IQR 15.9-60.4) compared to B*2705 HC (18.9 IQR 9.7-25.5, p=0.04) and B*2709 HC (13.1 IQR 9.3-21.5, p=0.02). IL-1R2 was also significantly higher in AS patients (1.5 IQR 0.6-2.5) compared to B*2705 HC (0.2 IQR 0.1-0.8, p=0.01) and B*2709 HC (0.6 IQR 0.1-1.6, p=ns). The majority of AS patients and HC were heterozygous both for rs27044 (C/G) and rs30187 (C/T); the higher numbers of TNFR1 and IL-1R2 positive cells found in AS patients compared to HC were not due to differences in the ERAP1 allelic distribution in patients and controls as shown in the figure below: Image/graph Conclusions This study shows a higher expression of TNFR1 and IL-1R2 on the PBMC surface of AS patients compared to B*2705 and B*2709 regardless of ERAP1 allelic variance, underlining the important role of these two cytokines in the pathogenesis of AS. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


The term petrochronology has increasingly appeared in publications and presentations over the past decade. The term has been defined in a somewhat narrow sense as "the interpretation of isotopic dates in the light of complementary elemental or isotopic information from the same mineral(s)" (Kylander-Clark et al. 2013). Although complementary isotopic and elementary information are certainly a central and critical part of most, if not all, petrochronology studies, the range of recent studies that might use the term covers a much broader scope. The term "petrochronology" might alternatively be defined as the detailed incorporation of chronometer phases into the petrologic (and tectonic) evolution of their host rocks, in order to place direct age constraints on petrologic and structural processes. As noted by Kylander-Clark et al. (2013), the linkage between geochronology and petrology can involve a variety of data including mineral textures and fabrics, the distribution of mineral modes or volume proportions, compositional zoning, mineral inclusion relationships, and certainly major element, trace element, and isotopic composition of the chronometer and all other phases.

Electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA) has a central and critical role to play in establishing the linkage between chronometer phases and their host assemblage. The basic instrument is an electron microscope which can be used in either scanning or fixed beam modes, with integrated wavelength dispersive spectrometers (WDS), energy dispersive spectrometers (EDS), electron detectors (to image secondary and backscattered signals) a light optical system, and optionally cathodoluminescence (CL) detection. The electron microprobe is used to investigate the distribution, composition, and compositional zonation of all mineral phases, the data that underpin thermobarometric analysis and modeling of P–T histories. The microprobe, with μm-scale spatial resolution, can also characterize compositional zonation in very small accessory phases including monazite, xenotime, zircon, allanite, titanite, apatite, and others. This, as discussed below, can be a …


We examine the consequences of existing regulations on the quality of mortgage loans originations in the originate-to-distribute (OTD) market. The information asymmetries in the OTD market can lead to moral hazard problems on the part of lenders. We find, using a plausibly exogenous source of variation in the ease of securitization, that the quality of loan origination varies inversely with the amount of regulation: more regulated lenders originate loans of worse quality. We interpret this result as a possible evidence that the fragility of lightly regulated originators' capital structure can mitigate moral hazard. In addition, we find that incentives which require mortgage brokers to have 'skin in the game' and stronger risk management departments inside the bank partially alleviate the moral hazard problem in this setting. Finally, having more lenders inside a mortgage pool is associated with higher quality loans, suggesting that sharper relative performance evaluation made possible by more competition among contributing lenders can also mitigate the moral hazard problem to some extent. Overall, our evidence suggests that market forces rather than regulation may have been more effective in mitigating moral hazard in the OTD market. The findings caution against policies that impose stricter lender regulations which fail to align lenders' incentives with the investors of mortgage-backed securities. & 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


Alpine grassland and the soil on which it is growing in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) of China is being degraded in an attempt to increase food and feed production for an increasing global population. Our objective was to use soil quality assessment to quantify changes in soil chemical and physical properties at three depth increments (0 to 4, 4 to 10, and 10 to 20 cm) and thus determine the linkages between soil and vegetation changes, the soil element(s) limiting grassland restoration in alpine region, and the ability to restore soil fertility by reestablishing grasslands. The soil and vegetation were sampled in the different types of degraded grasslands, that is, moderately degraded grassland (MDG), heavily degraded grassland (HDG) and severely degraded grassland (SDG) as well as in the reestablished grasslands at different ages, that is, 5-yr restored grassland (5yRG), 7-yr restored grassland (7yRG), and 9-yr restored grassland (9yRG) for comparative study. The results show: (i) decreased water holding capacity and increased soil hardness as vegetative cover declined, (ii) decreased soil organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN) and increased total soil potassium, (TK) (iii) the establishment of artificial grassland did not restore soil quality or nutrient stocks within degraded grassland soils, and (iv) yearly variations in soil properties at different depths were significant along the degree of grassland degradation. Significant variations of soil physical and chemical parameters might be attributed to loss of the top soil and changes of vegetation composition and soil and textures. Soil quality can be used to assess grassland degradation and restoration in the alpine region. In conclusion, better soil management is needed for restoring the degraded alpine grasslands on the QTP.


There are various types of relationships between companies. These include the relationships involved in financial and business transactions, relationships of dispatching and interlocking executives, and capital ties from the possession of stocks. In this paper, we perform a network analysis from 1950-2010 on individuals and major shareholder data from the top 10 corporate shareholders that have had a major impact on the management of companies listed on the stock market in post-war Japan, and clarify how the structure of shareholding has changed. The results show that in recent years the shareholding ratio of financial institutions with the old financial system have relatively decreased, and on the other hand, the ownership ratio of custodian banks, such as trust banks, where it is difficult to see the actual shareholders, has increased. Further, when looking at the holding companies such as these trust banks that are not listed on the stock exchange; we see that large corporations that are focused on financial institutions are the major shareholders. Custodians, such as trust banks, are players in the stock market, using a large quantity of capital accumulated from their customers, and it is thought that they will have a massive effect on the market in the future. In this paper, we effectively use Cytoscape for network analysis and visualization. Keywords: Network Analysis, Shareholding Network, Stock Market Environment, Post-War Japan, Custodian Bank


Companies in developed economies are now accustomed to use offshore IS services to develop and maintain software, and an increasing number of specialist offshore services firms exists to meet the demand. These include systems integrators whose origins are in developed economies, and 'pure play' offshore IS providers that originate in countries where the cost of IS labour is relatively low.
Both type of offshore organisation have changed considerably in recent years in response to market demand and competitive pressure. Although researchers have developed maturity models for users of IS offshoring, there is little that describes the nature and behaviour of offshore IS providers. Accordingly, this paper proposes a maturity model for offshore IS suppliers that is analogous to various consumer-oriented maturity models found in the literature and in trade journals. This preliminary framework is developed by reference to literature on outsourcing, offshoring and IS maturity models, and by recent relevant
experience of practitioner organisations. The conclusions from this study can be used to guide further research, and to develop constructs helpful to practitioners. The research helps suppliers of offshore IS services to understand the particular conditions in which it is appropriate to consider new business models. For consumers of offshore outsourcing, it provides a framework for categorising suppliers of IS services.


Protocol design requires Understanding state distributed across many nodes, complex message exchanges, and with competing traAEc. Traditional analysis tools (such as packet traces) too often hide protocol dynamics in a mass of extraneous detail. This paper presents nam, a network animator that provides packet-level animation and protocol-specific graphs to aid the design and debugging of new network protocols. Taking data from network simulators (such as ns) or live networks, nam was one of the first tools to provide general purpose, packet-level and network animation. Nam now integrates traditional time-event plots of protocol actions and scenario editing capabilities. We describe how nam visualizes protocol and network dynamics.


Traditional water structures such as stepwells and canal systems historically function as sustainable water sources. They are advantageous within India's cyclic climate of flooding and drought, especially in regions of the Deccan plateau. Structures in the Deccan particularly tend to leverage laterite, a porous, geological feature specific to the region. Laterite is especially useful for collecting and maintaining water from surrounding aquifers, permitting reliable storage of water even during the dry season. Unfortunately, many of these structures have been damaged, polluted, and misused. This pilot study investigates the water quality of traditional water structures in the western Deccan Plateau region of India and their potential for revitalization. Samples were drawn from traditional water structures and domestic taps located across Central Maharashtra and Northern Karnataka. Water quality parameters were converted into a single water quality index (WQI) to characterize their current state. Qualitative site information such as degree of conservation and visible pollution level are compared via WQI. Quality amongst some traditional water structures was discovered to be comparable to domestic drinking sources despite a lack of conservation and usage in the former. Some sites exhibited strong potential for revitalization as domestic and agricultural water sources. Finally, a detailed case study of a Karez system in Bidar outlines current characteristics, challenges, and future work in promoting sustainable development practices for revitalizing traditional water structures.


Cookbooks have long been recognised as more than instructional texts rather as a literary genre with narratives beyond the functional. This paper discusses the influences which guide choices of cookbook and cookery writer for a group of thirtysomethings with particular attention to the role that their narratives of self-identity play within this choice. In the sociology of consumption the role of self and identity is a recurring one particularly among those who view consumption as an act of integration between external objects and self, often through a process of personalisation. Whether food consumption can take on such significance is well debated but cook books in common with other forms of literature, this paper contends, become well used and take on increased symbolism for their owners. Cookbooks have a heterogeneity of style from the instructional owner manual style of Larousse through to the lifestyle led work of Oliver and Slater so that they can embody not only representations of contemporary culinary culture but also extend far beyond the kitchen to create aspirational cultural narratives. Utilising narrative analysis of semi-structured interviews this paper explores the narrative construction of self, drawn in part from attitudes towards food and cooking, outwardly manifest through choices of cookbook in order to add to understanding of symbolic consumption practice.


We present a case study from New York, USA, of the use of structured decision making (SDM) to identify fall turkey harvest regulations that best meet stakeholder objectives, in light of recent apparent declines in abundance of wild turkeys in the northeastern United States. We used the SDM framework to incorporate the multiple objectives associated with turkey hunting, stakeholder desires, and region-specific ecological and environmental factors that could influence fall harvest. We identified a set of 4 fall harvest regulations, composed of different season lengths and bag limits, and evaluated their relative achievement of the objectives. We used a stochastic turkey population model, statistical modeling, and expert elicitation to evaluate the consequences of each harvest regulation on each of the objectives. We conducted a statewide mail survey of fall turkey hunters in New York to gather the necessary information to evaluate tradeoffs among multiple objectives associated with hunter satisfaction. The optimal fall harvest regulation was a 2-week season and allowed for the harvest of 1 bird/hunter. This regulation was the most conservative of those evaluated, reflecting the concerns about recent declines in turkey abundance among agency wildlife biologists and the hunting public. Depending on the region of the state, the 2-week, 1-bird regulation was predicted to result in 7–32% more turkeys on the landscape after 5 years. The SDM process provided a transparent framework for setting fall turkey harvest regulations and reduced potential stakeholder conflict by explicitly taking the multiple objectives of different stakeholder groups into account. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.


Around the start of the 21st century a new field of study emerged who concerns self-healing material.
Self-healing material are a class of materials that have structurally incorporated ability to heal
damage caused by mechanical use over time. In this research the self-healing supramolecular
material SP1 is investigated.
SP1 maintains self-healing ability when acting as adhesive intermediate layer between two plies of
composite material. Composite material is a class of materials which have lots of different
applications and is used for many purposes.
In the first part of the research a production method is designed to make samples of composite
material containing an intermediate supramolecular layer with uniform thickness. In the second part
of the research a test method for a Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) test is designed in which the
samples from the first part can be tested on its fracture toughness, which is a measure of the ability
of a material containing a crack to resist fracture. Determining the fracture toughness after the
material has supposed to heal itself can say something about the self-healing ability. In the third part
of the research DCB tests are performed for several different composite samples containing an
intermediate supramolecular layer which varied in thickness to find out the effect of this thickness on
the fracture toughness.
It is found out that the production method designed to make samples of composite material
containing an intermediate supramolecular layer with uniform thickness is useable. The designed test
method for testing those samples in a DCB test is also found out to work reliable. The relation
between the intermediate supramolecular layer thickness and the fracture toughness shows linear
increasing behavior for the tested values of the layer thickness.


The crystalline germanium nanostructures were obtained on a silicon surface by the chemical vapor deposition technique using a germanium (IV) iso-propoxide ([Ge(OiPr)4]) metalorganic precursor as a germanium source. As was observed, the one-dimensional (1D) germanium nanostructures on the silicon surface form without using a metal catalyst, meaning that the formation of 1D nanostructures is based not on a vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth mechanism, but on self-organization processes which take place on the silicon surfaces during the CVD process of germanium iso-propoxide pyrolysis. Our observation suggests that the non-catalytic growth of germanium nanocolumns is strongly dependent on the CVD process temperature. The germanium phase composition and morphology have been investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), respectively. Our results provide a new way to grow 1D germanium nanostructures without contamination by a catalyst, which the vapor–liquid–solid growth mechanism is known to cause, allowing for the application of such materials in micro- and optoelectronics.


During heavy rainfall events, the large amounts of generated runoff in urban areas mobilise particulate matter from different surfaces. These particles have attached other contaminants such as heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and, faecal microorganisms. In urbanised areas, particle-bound contaminants (PBCs) may reach rivers through surface runoff, combined sewer overflows or storm water discharges. This may affect the water quality of receiving water bodies and creates health risks to humans and ecosystems. Due to the spatial variability of PBCs, associated to different land uses and pollution sources, the quantification and characterisation of contaminant pathways remain a challenge. Despite high investments, the implemented management alternatives to improve river water quality are still inefficient due to late identification of pressures and lack of a real paradigm shift towards holistic approaches. Therefore, it is necessary to better understand and describe the main factors controlling PBCs pathways in urban areas. This is expected to facilitate the selection of appropriate technologies and strategies to reduce the impact of urban discharges on receiving water bodies.

In this context, the aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of spatial and temporal variability of sediments and PBCs sources on river water quality in an urbanised catchment, considering land-use distribution within the sewersheds. This is expected to provide a better understanding of the relationship between drivers of relevant PBCs and the response of the urban water system under dynamic conditions (i.e. variable sediment load, urban runoff, storm water discharge and river flow).

Data for this study is obtained from an integrated monitoring network in a small watershed (Lockwitzbach) located in Dresden, Germany. This urban observatory consists of four water quality monitoring stations within the stream and in the sewer network. High-resolution (1min) discharge and turbidity data are collected. This allows to understand the dynamic transport mechanisms of sediments in the catchment, providing insights in complex runoff and discharge processes.

Integrated simulation of sediments and PBCs (i.e. heavy metals) is done by using EPA SWMM to evaluate surface build-up and wash-off. Additionally, the impact of sedimentation, accumulation and re-suspension of sediments and heavy metals within the sewer network and river are analysed using a simplified block developed in Simba#. Calibration and validation of the integrated model was done using online monitoring data and water samples taken during the period 2018-2020. Turbidity was used as a proxy for total suspended solids and PBCs. We identified and prioritised urban areas that are hotspots for high sediment and PBCs loads. Those represent potential locations for an optimal control and reduction of water pollution strategies. Results suggest that integrated simulation is an effective approach to analyse transport mechanisms and pathways of sediments and PBCs within urbanised catchments. Furthermore, high-resolution discharge and turbidity data are especially useful to represent the wash-off of contaminants associated to the first flush process during rainfall events.


The quantitative EEG (QEEG) has proven to be an important methodology in the understanding of brain functioning. The Coordinated Allocation of Resource (CAR) model maintains that cognitive effectiveness depends on the employment of a specific set of resources for specific cognitive tasks, which overlap in some situations. The model employs the flashlight metaphor in understanding the coherence and phase relations between locations. The metaphor asserts that each location can function as a flashlight that sends out a "beam" to the other locations within a frequency. The "beam" can involve all the other locations or be a mini-flashlight that involves only selected locations. The task of recalling names of faces was examined in the context of the CAR model. The developmental changes that occur during the encoding of names of faces include  increases in diffusely located communication connections involving theta (4–8 Hz) and alpha (8–13 Hz), increases in the relative power values of the beta variables (13–64 Hz), peak frequency of beta1 (13–32 Hz) and alpha, decreases in communication patterns involving the beta2 (32–64 Hz) and delta (0–4 Hz) frequencies as well as decreasing values of variables involving the lower frequencies (delta, theta), relative power values of alpha and magnitudes of alpha, beta2 and peak amplitudes of beta2. The face-name task is both a verbal and visual task as the participant is hearing the name while he looks at the photograph. Variables that relate to success during the encoding task involve diffuse increases in flashlight activity from F7 and T3 across all frequencies to and between central locations. The QEEG variables that relate to immediate and delayed recall success involve flashlights from T3 across 4 frequencies, F7 involving 3 frequencies and the appearance of a heuristic "central processing unit" involving frontal (F3, Fz, F4), central (C3, Cz, C4) and posterior (P3, Pz, P4) locations.


Abstract Nuclear high heat flux components (HHFCs) experience large thermal gradients and high heat flux variations, which induce severe thermal cyclic loadings. The most critical design issue for these components is their endurance strength under the required number of thermal cycles. The aim of this work is to provide procedures to perform the multiaxial creep-fatigue life assessment of HHFCs. Since the existing design codes present limitations due to simplifying assumptions concerning procedures for the multiaxial fatigue verification considering interactive effects of creep-fatigue and local stress and temperature conditions, better accurate verification methods and rules are developed starting from the available scientific literature and experimental data. The new verification methods identify the shape of the most damaging hysteresis loop considering plasticity and creep strains in both tensile and compressive conditions. The developed procedures are used to post-process the thermomechanical results of finite element (FE) analyses. They foresee the calculation of the creep-fatigue damage in each node and for each cyclic loading of the analyzed FE model by using the fatigue curve corresponding to the shape of the local hysteresis loop. Furthermore, the most fatigued elements are bounded and the causes of damage are identified to improve the local design. The fatigue damage is evaluated considering the effects of local conditions: temperature, multiaxial stress-strain state, strain intensity range, effect of local mean stresses, material shakedown, accumulated damage for multiple cyclic loads, combined effect of creep-fatigue, hold periods, and neutron flux. The developed procedures are successfully verified by comparing the results with experimental data for different levels of mean stress. This paper presents a description of the procedures and design rules focusing on the innovative aspects. The new procedures have been developed in the framework of the activities for the design, manufacturing, and procurement of the ITER neutral beam injector, and they are applied for creep-fatigue verifications of the in-vessel HHFCs.


This paper analyzes the impact of family firms' past and future economic viability on the incumbents' decision on the business transfer mode. Using the German IAB Establishment Panel and estimating logistic regression models we show that the decision on the business transfer mode rather depends on the expected future performance than on the past one. Moreover, family businesses that are exclusively managed by their owners are more likely to be planning an intra-family succession. However, ambiguity about the future performance overrides the original intention and induces the incumbents to sell the business.


Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is one cell surface glycoprotein and a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily. It has been reported that NCAM may be associated with perineural invasion by malignant glandular tumors, such as bile duct carcinoma or gallbladder carcinoma. However, it remains unclear whether NCAM is really associated with the development of salivary gland tumors. Previous studies have demonstrated that NCAM is constitutively expressed in the human salivary gland tumor cell line HSG in vitro. In this study, molecular mechanisms of perineural invasion were examined using HSG cells in which NCAM-mediated inhibition of salivary gland tumor proliferation is caused by homophilic binding. In addition, the localization of NCAM in adenoid cystic carcinomas (ACCs) was examined immunohistochemically. The levels of NCAM mRNA and protein expression were found to decrease in a dose-dependent manner on treatment with anti-NCAM antibody. The MTT assay revealed a significant reduction in the number of viable HSG cells. Confocal laser microscopy showed that HSG cells undergo apoptosis in response to treatment with anti-NCAM antibody. The activation of caspases 3, 7, and 9 was observed in HSG cells after treatment with anti-NCAM antibody, thus confirming the induction of activated caspase-mediated apoptosis. The up-regulation of TGF-β1-mediated NCAM expression seemed to lead to the activation of homophilic NCAM binding, further accelerating HSG cell proliferation. Immunohistochemical examinations revealed that NCAM was slightly to moderately positive in 9 of 13 cases (69.2%) of ACC.These findings suggest that NCAM is associated not only with a cell-to-cell adhesion mechanism but also with tumorigenesis, including growth, development, and perineural invasion in human ACCs.


Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have emerged as effective therapeutics for multiple cancers. Nevertheless, as immunotherapeutic approaches are being extensively utilized, substantial hurdles have arisen for clinicians. These include countering ICIs resistance and ensuring precise efficacy assessments of these drugs, especially in the context of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This review attempts to offer a holistic overview of the latest insights into the ICIs resistance mechanisms in HCC, the molecular underpinnings, and immune response. The intent is to inspire the development of efficacious combination strategies. This review also examines the unconventional response patterns, namely pseudoprogression (PsP) and hyperprogression (HPD). The prompt and rigorous evaluation of these treatment efficacies has emerged as a crucial imperative. Multiple clinical, radiological, and biomarker tests have been advanced to meticulously assess tumor response. Despite progress, precise mechanisms of action and predictive biomarkers remain elusive. This necessitates further investigation through prospective cohort studies in the impending future.


The authors present a hybrid simulation/analytic model for the analysis and design of unreliable production lines with buffers and discrete workparts. The model is exact and much faster than conventional piece-by-piece simulators. It can analyze, efficiently and accurately, lines of any size during either transient or steady-state periods by taking into account effectively all transients associated with the function of the line. It is demonstrated that the model is superior to both brute-force and event-driven models and is an efficient practical tool in the analysis and design of production lines. By incorporating the perturbation analysis technique into the proposed algorithm. the gradient estimation of the system's throughput can be performed during a single simulation run for various design parameters. A number of experimental results are reported for the repair allocation problem, and the optimality of various control policies is investigated. >


Patients with diabetes are at greater risk of fractures mostly due to not only to extraskeletal factors, such as propensity to fall, but also to bone quality alteration, which reduces bone strength. In people with diabetes, insulin deficiency and hyperglycaemia seem to play a role in determining bone formation alteration by advanced glycation end product (AGE) accumulation or AGE/RAGE (receptors for AGE) axis imbalance, which directly influence osteoblast activity. Moreover, hyperglycaemia and oxidative stress are able to negatively influence osteocalcin production and the Wnt signalling pathways with an imbalance of osteoblast/osteoclast activity leading to bone quality reduction as global effect. In addition, other factors such as insulin growth factors and peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ pathways seem to have an important role in the pathophysiology of osteoporosis in diabetes. Although there are conflicting data in literature, adequate glycaemic control with hypoglycaemic treatment may be an important element in preventing bone tissue alterations in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Attention should be paid to the use of thiazolidinediones, especially in older women, because the direct negative effect on bone could exceed the positive effect of glycaemic control. Finally, preliminary data on animals and in humans suggest the hypothesis that incretins and dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitors could have a positive effect on bone metabolism by a direct effect on bone cells; however, such issue needs further investigations.


The ability to make transgenic animals has been a great tool for biologists to study living organisms. In C. elegans, the way transgenes are generated makes them problematic in many circumstances, and there is no single, simple, reliable approach that circumvents all of the problems with current methods of introducing transgenes into C. elegans. In Chapter 2, I discuss my attempt to develop a transgenic system in C. elegans using the bacteriophage phiC31 integrase system. I show evidence that phiC31 integrase is active in C. elegans somatic tissue. I have successfully integrated a transgene into the C. elegans genome in single-copy using phiC31 dependent recombination-mediated cassette exchange. However, attempts to repeat phiC31-mediated integration has been unsuccessful.
In Chapter 3, I use genetic analysis to test many genes that were reported to be associated with the gamma-secretase complex in a mammalian tissue culture system. The gamma-secretase complex is an important component in the Notch signaling pathway. Not only is the gamma-secretase complex essential in the Notch pathway, it is also implicated in the pathology of familial Alzeheimer's disease (FAD). As gamma-secretase complex components show a Notch loss-of-function phenotype in C. elegans, a reverse genetic approach, using genes encoding proteins that associate with Presenilin was used to identify putative new Notch modulators. Several genes were identified that suppress a glp-1(gf) allele and one gene that suppress a gfp-1(lf) allele. These genes are unlikely to be core components of the Notch signaling pathway.


Laser sealing for vacuum plate glass is a key step in developing the cost-effective smart vacuum-glass window for the drive towards net-zero energy buildings. In this paper, the pores, cracks, and interface with laser welding are analyzed in depth using PbO-TiO2-SiO2-RxOy system sealing solder to prepare vacuum flat glass. The microstructure of the sealing layer was analyzed by a BX41M-LED metallographic microscope, and the interfacial bonding characteristics were observed by thermal field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The solder was analyzed by an energy spectrometer, and the influence of laser power, sealing temperature, and sealing speed on the gas holes and the crack sand interface separation of the sealing layer are reported. The results show that when the laser power reached 80 W at the welding speed of 2 mm/s, the bulk solder disappeared to most of the quantity and the sealing surface density was higher, due to which negligible pores and micro cracks were found. Thus, the sealing quality of the sealing layer is considered to be suitable when the temperature of 470 °C was maintained and the solder has 68.93% of Pb and 3.04% Si in the atom fraction to achieve the wet the glass substrate surface whilst improving the bonding quality.


The objective of this study is to understand user perceptions of robot behaviors. Specifically, we are interested in the possible effects of providing the user with different camera perspectives and with regular snapshots versus a continuous camera feed in the context of a small-unit military operation. The study will employ a mixed 2 (camera perspective: 1st person vs over the shoulder 3rd person) x 2 (camera feed: snapshots vs continuous) factorial design, with participants viewing a robot performing military tasks in both rural and urban operational settings. After viewing the robot's performance, participants will answer performance questions based on the context of the military mission, as well as questionnaires that measure trust in the autonomous system. Dependent variables include performance outcomes from tactical performance questions and subjective results of the trust questionnaires. Data from participants will be analyzed with a 2x2 between subjects ANOVA. We anticipate that the findings will suggest that a third person perspective and continuous camera feed will result in the highest trust and best performance outcomes.


A Virtual Reality model was created in order to help in the maintenance of exterior closures of walls in a building. It allows the visual and interactive transmission of information related to the physical behavior of the elements, defined as a function of the time variable. To this end, the basic knowledge of material most often used in façades, anomaly surveillance, techniques of rehabilitation, and inspection planning were studied. This information was included in a data base that supports the periodic inspection needed in a program of preventive maintenance. The results are obtained interactively and visualized in the virtual environment itself. This work brings an innovative contribution to the field of maintenance supported by emergent technology.


The collapse in Australian pig prices during 1997/98 to their lowest levels in three decades triggered the third industry economic crisis for the nineties, appeals for government assistance and relief from pigmeat import competition. Two national inquiries were instigated in 1998: a Rural Adjustment Scheme Advisory Council (RASAC) Exceptional Circumstances inquiry and later, a Productivity Commission (PC) inquiry, "Pig and Pigmeat Industries: Safeguard Action Against Imports". The PC inquiry also examined factors affecting the competitiveness of the Australian pig and pigmeat industries. RASAC concluded that the pig industry crisis did not fit the criteria for 'exceptional circumstances' assistance. The Federal Government response has included: the National Pig Industry Development Program (NPIDP) to help adjust the industry to an export focus and the Pigmeat Processing Grants (PPG) program for upgrading pig abattoirs to export standard. Economic studies to benchmark the production and processing industries are proceeding and an Export Marketing Council has been formed to facilitate export trade. Funding for pig farmer training under the FarmBis program was also promised. A 1992 inquiry by the Australian Customs Service into dumping and subsidisation of Canadian pork found no injury from imports and a 1995 Industry Commission inquiry, Pigs and Pigmeat, found little influence of imported pigmeat on domestic pig prices. The 1998 PC inquiry, which reported in November, 1998, is of particular interest because it is a precedent 'safeguard action against imports' inquiry by Australia under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. This paper reviews the 1998 pig industry crisis, outcomes of the 1998 inquiries and the industry/government export marketing strategy. In a trading environment where imports from Canada have been progressively relieved of sanitary/phytosanitary quarantine controls the Australian pigmeat industry faces challenges to become competitive in the international market. Exposure to the world market has increased price volatility, with the recent crisis clearly signalling danger and the need for change. In that sense the Australian pig industry is joining the situation of other primary industries participating in international markets without protection. The circumstance is neither unique nor exceptional.


Rising temperatures and varying rainfall, as results of anthropogenic climate change, are threatening the livelihoods and food security of small-scale agro-pastoralists throughout East Africa. However, the use of conservation agriculture (CA) techniques as climate change mitigation strategies remains largely unexplored in this region. This study interviewed 101 participants using questionnaires to examine the awareness, challenges, and uses of different CA techniques in the rural village of Kilimatembo in the Karatu highlands of Tanzania. While the use of CA techniques, such as terracing (69.13%), intercropping (82.18%), and cover cropping (46.35%) is prevalent in the area, awareness of climatic changes varies greatly, and knowledge of the use of CA techniques as climate change mitigation strategies is relatively nonexistent. No correlation was found between the use of CA techniques and the respondents' levels of climate change awareness, and, as such, it could be determined that knowledge of the use of CA techniques as climate change mitigation strategies is similarly lacking. Many respondents cited rainfall variation (67.33%) and higher temperatures (43.6%) as the most prevalent climate change impacts and 88.12% of respondents additionally noted decreasing crop yields as a major consequence of these climatic changes. CA techniques could provide necessary relief from the negative impacts of climate change; however, challenges such as cost (31.68%), labor (24.75%), and neighbor conflicts (17.82%) still prevent many farmers from implementing these strategies. Increased soil fertility (68.32%), increased crop yield (73.27%), and reduced soil erosion (80.20%) were the three benefits of CA implementation most often answered by interview respondents. A majority of farmers in Kilimatembo village stated themselves as very likely (91.09%) to continue implementing CA techniques or implement CA techniques in the future. However, the extension of educational opportunities and monetary support to local small-scale agropastoralists is needed before the use of CA can be fully realized in the region.


ABSTRACT We screened for heteroresistant, vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (hVISA) among clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant S. aureus collected from three hospitals (two urban teaching hospitals and one community hospital) in the Detroit metropolitan area over a 22-year period. The Macro Etest method was used to screen all available isolates. Confirmation of hVISA-positive screens were confirmed by population-area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) analysis. A total of 1,499 isolates revealed hVISA/VISA rates of 2.2/0.4% (n = 225; 1986 to 1993), 7.6/2.3% (n = 356; 1994 to 2002), and 8.3/0.3% (n = 917; 2003 to 2007). Population-AUC analysis confirmed 92.6% of the hVISA-positive strains determined by the Macro Etest method. For the isolates with known sources (1,208), the predominant source of hVISA was blood (60%), followed by lung (21%), skin and wound infections (14%), abscess (1%), and other (4%). The percentage of hVISA-positive strains appeared to increase as a function of the vancomycin MIC. Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing revealed that the majority (56.9%) of the hVISA strains were SCCmec type II and 39.4% were type IV; the majority of these strains were collected from 2000 to 2007. Our data indicate that the prevalence of hVISA may be increasing. Based on the association of vancomycin treatment failure in patients with hVISA, surveillance of hVISA strains is warranted.


We compared cardiovascular and other outcomes in patients with dysglycaemia with or without anti‐glutamic acid dehydrogenase (GAD) antibodies participating in the Outcome Reduction with Initial Glargine Intervention (ORIGIN) trial. Of the 12 537 participants, 8162 had anti‐GAD measured at baseline and 267 were anti‐GAD positive. The effects of insulin glargine versus standard care and of n‐3 fatty acids supplements versus placebo were compared by testing the interaction of the treatment effects and anti‐GAD status. The effect of glargine on development of new diabetes was assessed in participants without previous diabetes at baseline. The overall incidence of outcomes did not differ between anti‐GAD positive and anti‐GAD negative subjects. The incidence of the composite of cardiovascular death, non‐fatal myocardial infarction, or non‐fatal stroke did not differ between anti‐GAD positive participants randomized to insulin glargine or to standard care, with a hazard ratio (HR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) of 0.80 (0.44‐1.44) or in anti‐GAD negative participants with a HR of 1.07 (0.96‐1.20) (P for interaction = 0.20).


We derive an exact solution of an explicitly time-dependent multichannel model of quantum mechanical nonadiabatic transitions. In the limit N≫1, where N is the number of states, we find that the survival probability of the initially populated state remains finite despite an almost arbitrary choice of a large number of parameters. This observation proves that quantum mechanical nonadiabatic transitions among a large number of states can effectively keep memory about the initial state of the system. This property can lead to a strongly nonergodic behavior even in the thermodynamic limit of some systems with a broad distribution of coupling constants and the lack of energy conservation.


This work deals with the ongoing commodification of Lisbon's historic centre under the pressure of mass tourism and transnational real estate investment. It applies a case-study research methodology combining the quantitative analysis of statistical data on relevant socioeconomic indicators with qualitative tools such as direct observation and structured interviews with key stakeholders. In the context of crisis and austerity, and taking into account the Portuguese financial dependency and peripherality within the Eurozone, this work argues that the rent gap triggering the current transformation of Lisbon's historic centre owes much to the global gap between purchasing powers on the internal and the external markets. With the former strangled by austerity policies that have impoverished the Portuguese society, the dramatic rise of housing prices in Lisbon's historic centre is a consequence of the expansion of demand on wealthier external markets, encouraged and guaranteed by an investor-friendly legal framework implemented in the context of the crisis. This policy set includes the new urban lease law, the non-regular resident tax regime, the Golden Visa programme, the special fiscal framework for the local accommodation business, and the tax breaks for real estate funds and refurbishment initiatives. Despite its undisputed success in bringing foreign investment and stimulating the rehabilitation of derelict properties in Lisbon's historic centre, this legal framework has triggered gentrification. Real estate prices are pushed above the financial capacity of most local households, and an enclave-type exploitation of the housing stock emerges in Lisbon's historic centre that jeopardizes the former's access to housing in that territory and in its immediate surroundings. However, grassroots movements and social initiatives advocating affordable housing and the right to the city have emerged in Lisbon.


Summary Up to now, Italy is one of the European centers with the most active Coronavirus cases with 233,836 positive cases and 33,601 total deaths as of June 3rd. During this pandemic and dramatic emergency, Italian hospitals had also to face neoplastic pathologies, that still afflict the Italian population, requiring urgent surgical and oncological treatment. In our Cancer Center Hospital, the high volume of surgical procedures have demanded an equally high volume of intraoperative pathological examinations, but also posed an additional major challenge for the safety of the staff involved. The current commentary reports our experience in the past two months (since March 9th) for a total of 1271 frozen exams from 893 suspect COVID-19 patients (31 confirmed).


Objective: To determine the molecular basis for achromatopsia using autozygosity mapping and positional candidate gene analysis. Design and methods: A large consanguineous Pakistani family containing six subjects with autosomal recessive complete achromatopsia was ascertained. After excluding linkage to the two known achromatopsia genes (CNGA3 and CNGB3), a genome wide linkage screen was undertaken. Results: Significant linkage was detected to a 12 cM autozygous segment between markers D1S485 and D1S2881 on chromosome 1p13. Direct sequence analysis of the candidate gene GNAT2 located within this interval identified a frameshift mutation in exon 7 (c842_843insTCAG; M280fsX291) that segregated with the disease. Conclusions: The GNAT2 gene codes for cone α-transducin, the G protein that couples the cone pigments to cGMP-phosphodiesterase in phototransduction. Although cone α-transducin has a fundamental role in cone phototransduction, mutations in GNAT2 have not been described previously. Since mutations in the CNGA3 gene may cause a variety of retinal dystrophies (complete and incomplete achromatopsia and progressive cone dystrophy), GNAT2 mutations may also prove to be implicated in other forms of retinal dystrophy with cone dysfunction.


Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide to the Somme is, without doubt, one of the bestselling guide books to the battlefields of the Somme. This latest up-dated edition, includes four recommended, timed itineraries representing one day's travelling. Every stop on route has an accompanying description and often a tale of heroic or tragic action. Memorials, private and official, sites of memorable conflict, the resting places of personalities of note are all drawn together with sympathetic and understanding commentary that gives the reader a sensitivity towards the events of 1916.NEW, FULLY UPDATED EDITION WITH A FOREWORD FROM SIR MARTIN GILBERTPACKAGED WITH A FREE, FULL COLOUR FOLD-OUT MAP WORTH GBP3.00


Phytophthora sojae has re-emerged as a serious soybean pathogen in the past decade. This may be due in part to changes in resistance levels in current cultivars, adoption of P. sojae populations to deployed Rps genes, and highly favorable environments in the past decade. This multilocation study evaluated the effect of seed treatments on the incidence and severity of Phytophthora root and stem rot on soybeans with different combinations of Rps genes and levels of partial resistance. The efficacy of the seed treatments was highly variable across locations. Seed treatments (metalaxyl and mefenoxam) provided protection and increased yields across cultivars in locations where rain or irrigation occurred shortly after planting (Ohio, South Dakota, and Ontario). However, there were no significant differences in stand or yield consistently across cultivars in Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, or Ohio, where heavy precipitation did not occur until later growth stages. The environment, levels of inoculum, and pathogen complex may have played a role in the different responses to the seed treatments and to the different combinations of Rps genes and levels of partial resistance to P. sojae in the cultivars. Fields that are poorly drained and have P. sojae populations with complex pathotypes may benefit the most from seed treatments. Individual fields where producers may see the greatest benefit to utilizing these integrated management strategies will need to be identified.


Dynamic vulcanisation of EPDM/PE blends using the resol/SnCl2 system was studied in a co-rotating twin screw extruder using a series of sampling devices. In order to study the effect of the processing conditions on chemical development along the extruder and on the mechanical properties of the extrudate material, the same recipe (having the same polyolefin/EPDM ratio) was compounded under different processing conditions. The results showed that both chemical evolution and mechanical properties depend on the processing conditions.


Backstories provide vital contextual information for information retrieval evaluation. They are useful as textual representations of information needs, for example to aid in relevance judgements as part of test collections for performance evaluation, for studying longer search queries, and for interactive retrieval. While backstories exist for some popular search tasks and domains thanks to evaluation campaigns such as TREC, NTCIR, and CLEF, they are not available for a large range of other tasks and domains. In this paper, we explore crowdsourcing as an approach for obtaining high-quality backstories, with the aim of supporting the development of backstories as key resources for new domains and search tasks. Compared to typical crowdsourcing tasks in the IR domain, such as gathering relevance judgements or short textual search queries, obtaining backstories is more complex. Workers are required to think of information need scenarios and put these thoughts into comparatively lengthy text fragments. This possibly entails a higher cognitive load and longer working time. We describe a crowdsourcing methodology to maximise the usefulness of results, using the creation of backstories for the job search domain as an example. We also present and release a collection of 756 job search backstories, which was obtained via the proposed methodology.


Cultural hybridity has prevailed by penetrating its roots in the globalized world. It has influenced the identity of people especially migrants of various countries. Identity in the case of cultural hybridity leads to conflict. Migrants wish to grow by absorbing influences from their own 'roots' but new 'routes' also inspire them. Homi K. Bhabha is of the view that migrants' cultural world changes after crossing the borders; they have an experience of living in an alien culture and thus learn new ideas. He criticizes the idea of a fixed identity which is developed by the migrants' native culture. Bhabha argues that identity is 'hybrid'; it is always in a state of flux because it is constantly in motion, pursuing unpredictable routes. However, Aijaz Ahmad believes that the identity of people does not develop independently. He does not consider cultural hybridity as synonymous with cultural differentials. Bhabha's celebration of hybridity ignores unequal relations of cultural power. He also ignores cultural and historical specifics in his theorization of hybridity. The study is qualitative and is based on interpretive analysis of the novels The Reluctant Fundamentalist and The Burnt Shadows which celebrate hybridity in cultures. The study unveils unequal relations of cultural power in hybridity.


 Abstract — Mathematical and computational modellings are the necessary tools for reviewing, analysing, and predicting processes and events in the wide spectrum range of scientific fields. Therefore, in a field as rapidly developing as neuroscience, the combination of these two modellings can have a significant role in helping to guide the direction the field takes. The paper combined mathematical and computational modelling to prove a weakness in a very precious model in neuroscience. This paper is intended to analyse all-or-none principle in Hodgkin-Huxley mathematical model. By implementation the computational model of Hodgkin-Huxley model and applying the concept of all-or-none principle, an investigation on this mathematical model has been performed. The results clearly showed that the mathematical model of Hodgkin-Huxley does not observe this fundamental law in neurophysiology to generating action potentials. This study shows that further mathematical studies on the Hodgkin-Huxley model are needed in order to create a model without this weakness.


Bach's 'Well-tempered Clavier' (the 48 Preludes and Fugues) stands at the core of baroque keyboard music and has been a model and inspiration for performers and composers ever since it was written. This invaluable guide to the 96 pieces explains Bach's various purposes in compiling the music, describes the rich traditions on which he drew and provides commentaries for each prelude and fugue. In his text, David Ledbetter addresses the focal points mentioned by Bach in his original 1722 title page. Drawing on Bach literature over the past three hundred years, he explores German traditions of composition types and Bach's instruments and innovations in keyboard technique in the general context of early eighteenth-century developments; reviews instructive and theoretical literature relating to keyboard temperaments from 1680 to 1750; and discusses Bach's pedagogical intent when composing 'Well-tempered Clavier'. Ledbetter's commentaries on individual preludes and fugues equip readers with the concepts necessary to make their own assessment and include information about the sources when details of notation, ornaments and fingerings have a bearing on performance. David Ledbetter studied music at the universities of Dublin and Oxford, and specialised in the harpsichord and early keyboard instruments at the Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik, Freiburg. He was Senior Lecturer at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. Among his publications are 'Harpsichord and Lute Music in 17th-Century France' (1987) and 'Continuo Playing According to Handel' (1990).


Characteristics of field failure data are analyzed in this paper. The failure data and sales record of LZL-type mass flowmeter are used to infer life distribution of this conduct. The lines can be fitted in coordinates of six distribution using least square and the residual sum of squares are compared, the minimum correspond is the best distribution type. The results show that the life distribution style of this conduct is the two parameter exponential distribution, which is the base to analyze and predict failure development, research failure mechanism and draw up maintenance policy.


We present an apparatus for quick and reliable determinations of transmission curves specifying the dependence of the light intensity (normalized to that of the primary beam) passing a test solution on the amount of standard solution added. This device is used for two different purposes, namely for the analysis of copolymers (here: poly(vinyl alcohol), which is a copolymer since it is produced via incomplete hydrolysis of poly(vinyl acetate)) and for the determination of phase diagrams (here: toluene/ethanol/polydimethylsiloxane). The most important observation in the field of copolymer analysis consists in the possibility to obtain information on the widths of the chemical distribution. Adequate turbidimetric titrations reveal pronounced differences between samples that should according to their standard characterization with respect to average chain length and average chemical composition be identical. The central message regarding phase diagrams is that the evaluation of transmission curves with respect to macroscopic demixing is greatly simplified by the fact that the phase separation of a given system takes place within a small band of transmission values, independent of the composition of the mixture.


The LIFE AGROWETLANDS II - LIFE15 ENV/IT/000423 project, funded under the LIFE 2014/2020 Programme - Environment, aimed to improve the management of two resources essential for life and strategic for agriculture: water and soil. Water is commonly considered a renewable resource, but if this is true in a wide context, it is not so at a local scale regarding quality, or through centuries. The soil, on the other hand, is anyways considered a non-renewa-ble resource. Concerning the agricultural practices that affect the conservation of water and soil, and in particular irrigation, the project developed a tool to support irrigation management on saline soils. The project also identifies precision agriculture and its developments as a crucial tool for the sustainability of agriculture itself in the coming years.


Purpose: The study examined the legislative influence of women in the context of gender quotas in Kenya's National Assembly of the 11th parliament (2013-207). This article focuses on the methods women parliamentarians used to assert legislative influence.
Methodology: This was a descriptive case study which focused on all 68 women in the National Assembly. Respondents were identified through stratified sampling based on:  pathway to parliament; membership and leadership of parliamentary structures; contribution to debate; and sponsorship of Bills enacted. A total of 11 women were interviewed, derived from four of the seven parliamentary political parties, specifically the two largest political coalitions which contributed 94% of the legislature. The study also interviewed four purposively sampled key informants (KIs) - three male and one female.  The data was processed manually, analysed and presented under each study objective. Sources of primary data were coded as follows: WL (Woman Legislator), ML (Male Legislator)  and KI (Key Informant). All respondents were allocated specific numbers for identification and acknowledgement.
Findings: The study established that women legislators used the following methods to influence legislation:  mobilisation of male colleagues; solidarity across political parties; activism; leveraging committee positions; reliance on the National Assembly leadership; and compromise and conciliation. It notes that the methods were effective in some circumstances but failed in others.
Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study outlines how various methods were applied by women legislators in Kenya's National Assembly 2013-2017, the first time quotas were applied in Kenyan elections. It fills the gap in earlier studies that did not document these methods. The study notes that the methods were not intrinsically weak but their effectiveness was limited by circumstances, especially the attitude of male legislators. It illustrates the importance of diversifying approaches to influence legislation. The study recommends that women legislators should: work with supportive male legislators and other pressure groups in the legislature; introduce Bills early in the legislative calendar to improve chances of success; receive training on parliamentary work; and occupy influential parliamentary leadership positions.


The Solar Thermal Electrochemical Process (STEP) was introduced to provide a complete solution to lowering carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (1). STEP utilizes a synergy of thermal and electrochemical energy to drive endothermic processes at increased efficiencies and high rates. STEP is a versatile technique that applies thermal energy to concentrated reactants to decrease the energy of endothermic electrolysis reactions. By elevating reactant temperature using solar thermal energy, the voltage needed to drive the endothermic electrolysis reactions can be tuned to allow for sub-bandgap sunlight that was previously discarded by photovoltaics1 This process has been shown experimentally for processes ranging from the initial water splitting experiment to bleach production, iron metal production, cement, and carbon dioxide reduction. STEP can achieve in excess of 50% solar energy conversion efficiency. Utilizing different molten salt mediums, these processes have been shown to occur at very low energy and to maintain current densities (A cm) sustaining high process rates. STEP utilizes chemical and solar thermal concentrations to adjust the tuning potentials of endothermic electrolysis processes to allow more efficient conversions. 1. STEP: A solar chemical process to end anthroprogenic global warming. J. Phys. Chem. C, 113, 16283, 2009.