A media system deemed modern requires, among other things, the practice of free professional journalism, which has not been entirely possible in Mexico because the growing violence against journalists has emerged as one of the principal obstacles to their job. The aim is to describe Mexican journalists' responses to the relentless threats and attacks they face based on 93 semi-structured interviews conducted in 23 of the country's most violent states. Concerning journalism professionalization, the results suggest that violence against the media has two implications mainly. First, the attacks have favored the development of better journalistic practices, such as adherence to data and facts, diversification of information sources, deployment of collaborative coverage, and creation of journalist associations. Second, in a significant number of cases, violence has inhibited press freedom, promoting self-censorship or dependence on official government newsletters. The coexistence of both reactions reveals the fickle nature of the Mexican media system and its modernization process.


OBJECTIVE
Gout affects a large fraction of persons with advanced chronic kidney disease, and hyperuricemia may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Several hypouricemic agents are contraindicated in patients with end-stage renal disease. Sevelamer is a nonabsorbed hydrogel that binds phosphorus and bile acids in the intestinal tract. Results of short-term and open-label studies suggest that sevelamer might lower the concentration of uric acid, another organic anion. We undertook this study to test our hypothesis that the reduction in serum uric acid concentration induced by sevelamer would be confirmed in a long-term, randomized, clinical trial comparing sevelamer with calcium-based phosphate binders.

METHODS
Two hundred subjects undergoing maintenance hemodialysis were randomly assigned to receive either sevelamer or calcium-based phosphorus binders in an international, multicenter, clinical trial. Data on baseline and end-of-study uric acid concentrations were available in 169 subjects (85%); the change in uric acid concentration from baseline to the end of the study was the outcome of interest.

RESULTS
Baseline clinical characteristics, including mean uric acid concentrations, were similar in subjects randomly assigned to receive sevelamer and calcium-based phosphate binders. The mean change in uric acid concentration (from baseline to the end of the study) was significantly larger in sevelamer-treated subjects (-0.64 mg/dl versus -0.26 mg/dl; P = 0.03). The adjusted mean change in uric acid concentration was more pronounced when the effects of age, sex, diabetes, vintage (time since initiation of dialysis), dialysis dose, and changes in blood urea nitrogen and bicarbonate concentrations were considered (-0.72 mg/dl versus -0.15 mg/dl; P = 0.001). Twenty-three percent of sevelamer-treated subjects experienced a study-related reduction in the concentration of uric acid equal to -1.5 mg/dl or more, compared with 10% of calcium-treated subjects (P = 0.02).

CONCLUSION
In a randomized clinical trial comparing sevelamer and calcium-based phosphate binders, treatment with sevelamer was associated with a significant reduction in serum uric acid concentrations.


Recently, it was observed that spatially-coupled LDPC code ensembles approach the Shannon capacity for a class of binary-input memoryless symmetric (BMS) channels. The fundamental reason for this was attributed to a threshold saturation phenomena derived in [1]. In particular, it was shown that the belief propagation (BP) threshold of the spatially coupled codes is equal to the maximum a posteriori (MAP) decoding threshold of the underlying constituent codes. In this sense, the BP threshold is saturated to its maximum value. Moreover, it has been empirically observed that the same phenomena also occurs when transmitting over more general classes of BMS channels. In this paper, we show that the effect of spatial coupling is not restricted to the realm of channel coding. The effect of coupling also manifests itself in compressed sensing. Specifically, we show that spatially-coupled measurement matrices have an improved sparsity to sampling threshold for reconstruction algorithms based on verification decoding. For BP-based reconstruction algorithms, this phenomenon is also tested empirically via simulation. At the block lengths accesible via simulation, the effect is rather small but, based on the threshold analysis, we believe this warrants further study.


Resilient control systems play a special role in the area of cyber-physical systems, where the design must address the question how complex dynamic plants are to be controlled safely and reliably when a control system is under a cyber attack. In this paper we describe a control theoretical framework based on the concept of passivity for designing a control network which can tolerate, for instance, denial-of-service attacks on networks used in the closed loop. In particular, we demonstrate how the resilient power junction structure could be applied, and provide simulated results.


Traditional time-frequency analysis methods such as short-time Fourier transform (STFT) and Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) cannot always work effectively for the complex rotor systems where the multiple faults are involved. A noise cancellation method for the rotor faults detection is proposed in this paper by combining the independent component analysis (ICA) scheme and the adaptive time-frequency analysis (ATFA) approach. In the proposed method, the raw picked data are first separated into different independent components (ICs) via the ICA according to the different vibration sources. Then the ICs are processed by the ATFA to obtain a clear vibration character for the fault diagnosis. Experiments on a rotor system with hybrid fault of the rotor imbalance and the bolt looseness are introduced to verify the feasibility and validity of the proposed scheme.


In three experiments, we used a novel Implicit Association Test procedure to investigate the impact of group memberships on implicit bias and implicit group boundaries. Results from Experiment 1 indicated that categorizing targets using a shared category reduced implicit bias by increasing the extent to which positivity was associated with Blacks. Results from Experiment 2 revealed that shared group membership, but not mere positivity of a group membership, was necessary to reduce implicit bias. Quadruple process model analyses indicated that changes in implicit bias caused by shared group membership are due to changes in the way that targets are evaluated, not to changes in the regulation of evaluative bias. Results from Experiment 3 showed that categorizing Black targets into shared group memberships expanded implicit group boundaries.


During the mid 1980s, Iowa State University researchers described a sampling program that used yellow sticky traps for monitoring adult corn root worms. The Pherocon AM trap, then available commercially, served as the basis for a sampling program. This program was pro posed as a practical means for commercial corn growers to predict the need for soil insec ticides to protect a subsequent year's corn crop from corn rootworm larval damage. Using this decision tool, farmers were expected to apply insecticides only when needed instead of preventively. Since then, a trap called the Multigard, from an additional supplier, has been used to monitor beetle populations. Both traps are yellow, rectangular cards coated with adhesive. The traps differ in color, however; the Pherocon is canary yellow and the Multigard is a fluorescent yellow.


In medical diagnosis and environmental monitoring, enzymatic biosensors are widely applied because of their high sensitivity, potential selectivity, and their possibility of miniaturization/automation. Enzyme immobilization is a critical process in the development of this type of biosensors with the necessity to avoid the denaturation of the enzymes and ensuring their accessibility toward the analyte. Electrodeposition of macromolecules is increasingly considered to be the most suitable method for the design of biosensors. Being simple and attractive, it finely controls the immobilization of enzymes on electrode surfaces, usually by entrapment or adsorption, using an electrical stimulus. Performed manually, enzyme immobilization by cross-linking prevents enzyme leaching and was never done using an electrochemical stimulus. In this work, we present a mussel-inspired electro-cross-linking process using glucose oxidase (GOX) and a homobifunctionalized catechol ethylene oxide spacer as a cross-linker in the presence of ferrocene methanol (FC) acting as a mediator of the buildup. Performed in one pot, the process takes place in three steps: (i) electro-oxidation of FC, by the application of cyclic voltammetry, creating a gradient of ferrocenium (FC+); (ii) oxidation of bis-catechol into a bis-quinone molecule by reaction with the electrogenerated FC+; and (iii) a chemical reaction of bis-quinone with free amino moieties of GOX through Michael addition and a Schiff's base condensation reaction. Employed for the design of a second-generation glucose biosensor using ferrocene methanol (FC) as a mediator, this new enzyme immobilization process presents several advantages. The cross-linked enzymatic film (i) is obtained in a one-pot process with nonmodified GOX, (ii) is strongly linked to the metallic electrode surface thanks to catechol moieties, and (iii) presents no leakage issues. The developed GOX/bis-catechol film shows a good response to glucose with a quite wide linear range from 1.0 to 12.5 mM as well as a good sensitivity (0.66 μA/mM cm2) and a high selectivity to glucose. These films would distinguish between healthy (3.8 and 6.5 mM) and hyperglycemic subjects (>7 mM). Finally, we show that this electro-cross-linking process allows the development of miniaturized biosensors through the functionalization of a single electrode out of a microelectrode array. Elegant and versatile, this electro-cross-linking process can also be used for the development of enzymatic biofuel cells.


This paper explores the ethics of the mathematics teacher, starting from the ethical obligations that all human being and professionals share towards those in their care. Most notably this involves a duty of care for students, since teachers can be the most influential persons after their parents. The ethics of mathematics teaching is analysed as concerning the aims of school mathematics, the selection of pedagogy, and the selection of content. The equal treatment of all students is also a central principle, although there are ethical dilemmas posed by the spread of achievement levels in mathematics. The ethical content of school mathematics itself is also considered, although this is a controversial issue. The paper notes that the modern tendency is for teachers to be viewed almost as technicians delivering the centrally decided mathematics curriculum. This paper argues that teachers have ethical agency which can and should still be exercised while meeting professional and institutional obligations.


How does local engagement of publics in specific geographical regions manifest itself in the social media ecosystem Twitter? Many studies analyze Twitter use during events, high-impact incidents, or focus on particular groups represented on the platform (see e.g. case studies in Weller et al., 2014). However, little is known about how dynamics, network characteristics, and practices of local Twitterspheres unfold in everyday use. Our paper investigates the dynamics of these conversations by analyzing one week of Twitter use in the Netherlands. The aim of this paper is to reveal the dynamics between local Twitter networks, public institutions and other (professional) organizations, and media outlets providing news coverage on topics ranging from the national to the local context.

In view of our findings, this paper addresses three points of discussion providing empirical, theoretical, and epistemological insights. Firstly, valorizing data from Twitter outside the high-awareness events and below the threshold of trending topics, we are able to make statements concerning everyday use of Twitter in social interaction on a local level. Secondly, on a theoretical level, we can address these phenomena as forms of "citizen microbroadcasting" (Erickson, 2010, p. 1201). It provides the opportunity to draw from Habermas' (1989) notion of the "public sphere" and explore its "structural transformation" in local terms, in the context and through the rise of social media. Thirdly, on an epistemological note, we address the issue of completeness and representation of Twitter data sets and critically review the possibilities and limitations of social media metrics.


The aim of this present study is to initiate Islamic education in order to rectify the educational paradigm in Indonesia. With respect to the research methodology, this study employed a qualitative approach and literature study method. In its implementation, the collected data was then analyzed using a descriptive analysis method. Based on the results of the discussion, in order to rectify the educational paradigm in Indonesia, it should initially change the secularism paradigm that has been fossilized in the world of education into the paradigm of Islam, al-Qur`an, and Tauhid. As a consequence, this paradigm will have implications for the establishment of the conceptualized education system that inevitably also affects the to-be-achieved educational objectives. In order to realize a good education system, there should be integration between the elements of education practitioners which consist of family, mosques/schools/campuses, and society. As a result, those aforementioned objectives will be successfully achieved in the moment when Islamic rules are fully implemented in all aspects of life. Therefore, it is necessary to continuously educate the public regarding the importance of implementing Islamic rules in all aspects of life, including in the aspect of education.


A narrative analysis of the blog posts from Asian countries taken from travelblog.org was conducted in January 2017 in order understand the travel bloggers' emotional experiences, language style, and social tendencies. Tone Analyzer from IBM was used to study emotional dimensions (anger, disgust, fear, joy, and sadness) ; language style dimensions - analytical, confident, tentative ; and social tendency dimensions - openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional range. The results showed sadness and joy being the predominant emotions expressed in the travel blogs that were studied. Tourists are exposed to both the best and worst things in the places of travel, and so probably, they experience joy and sadness together. Anger was the least expressed emotion. Emotional range topped among social tendencies of bloggers, with a tentative language style being utilized across travel accounts in Asia.


Introduction Assessment of urothelial bladder cancer during cystoscopy or transurethral resection of bladder tumour has a significant impact on the urologist's decision-making: treatment with simple outpatient fulguration, required depth of resection, and need of immediate post-surgical intravesical therapy. These choices depend heavily on the urologist's ability to accurately assess pre-biopsy tumour stage and grade. The aim of the study was to determine whether evaluation of photographs taken during transurethral resection of bladder tumour can reliably characterize a tumour's stage and grade. Methods Smartphone photographs of 50 urothelial bladder cancer cases were taken at the beginning of transurethral resection of bladder tumour and individually presented to seven senior urologists. All urologists were blinded to the final pathological report and to any other urological evaluation. Each one was asked to rate the tumour as low vs high grade and noninvasive Ta vs noninvasive T1 or muscle invasive. Results were compared with final pathology. Individual appraisal and the majority's opinion were evaluated. Results Urologists have correctly predicted tumour stage and grade in 63.5% of cases (222 of 350, average of 32 out of 50 accurate assessments). The final majority assessment was correct in 40 of 50 cases (80%). Sensitivity and specificity of the final results for the diagnosis of T1 or higher were 80% and 88.6%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity for Ta low grade were 83.3% and 80%, respectively. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented attempt to evaluate urologists' ability to assess urothelial bladder cancer stage and grade using endoscopic photographs. Urologists can usually identify stage and grade of urothelial bladder cancer but accuracy increases when multiple senior urologists examine the same photographs and achieve majority consensus. Presenting photographs of urothelial bladder cancer to a team of urologists may lead to an excellent decision regarding type and extent of surgical treatment and substantiate appropriate post-surgical management.


BACKGROUND The number of anticoagulated trauma patients is increasing. Trauma patients on warfarin have been found to have poor outcomes, particularly after intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). However, the effect of novel oral anticoagulants (NOAs) on trauma outcomes is unknown. We hypothesized that patients on NOAs would have higher rates of ICH, ICH progression, and death compared with patients on traditional anticoagulant and antiplatelet agents. METHODS This was a prospective observational trial across 16 trauma centers. Inclusion criteria was any trauma patient admitted on aspirin, clopidogrel, warfarin, dabigatran, rivaroxaban, or apixaban. Demographic data, admission vital signs, mechanism of injury, injury severity scores, laboratory values, and interventions were collected. Outcomes included ICH, progression of ICH, and death. RESULTS A total of 1,847 patients were enrolled between July 2013 and June 2015. Mean age was 74.9 years (SD ± 13.8), 46% were female, 77% were non-Hispanic white. At least one comorbidity was reported in 94% of patients. Blunt trauma accounted for 99% of patients, and the median Injury Severity Score was 9 (interquartile range, 4–14). 50% of patients were on antiplatelet agents, 33% on warfarin, 10% on NOAs, and 7% on combination therapy or subcutaneous agents. Patients taking NOAs were not at higher risk for ICH on univariate (24% vs. 31%) or multivariate analysis (incidence rate ratio, 0.78; confidence interval 0.61–1.01, p = 0.05). Compared with all other agents, patients on aspirin (90%, 81 mg; 10%, 325 mg) had the highest rate (35%) and risk (incidence rate ratio, 1.27; confidence interval, 1.13–1.43; p < 0.001) of ICH. Progression of ICH occurred in 17% of patients and was not different between medication groups. Study mortality was 7% and was not significantly different between groups on univariate or multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION Patients on NOAs were not at higher risk for ICH, ICH progression, or death. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic/epidemiologic study, level III.


Two experiments investigated the interaction of intonation boundaries and verb bias during spoken language comprehension in English. An online cross-modal naming task proved to be sensitive to the interaction of prosodic, syntactic, and semantic representations during resolution of a temporary syntactic closure ambiguity (e.g., Whenever the lady checks the room...). The results supported previous claims that intonation boundaries trigger semantic wrap-up [1] and provided new evidence that they trigger syntactic wrap-up as well. When an intonation boundary occurred at a transitive-bias verb, wrap-up resulted in a transitive interpretation and an intransitive structure. Resolution of the conflict depended on the prosodic representation associated with the structurally ambiguous noun phrase and its predictability as a direct object. While intonation boundary location can determine the initial syntactic structure for this closure ambiguity regardless of verb bias, disambiguation for transitive-bias verbs seems to depend in part on other prosodic and lexical factors.


A simple and versatile local mesh refinement scheme, based on the hybridization of the finite-element (FE) and the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) algorithms, is presented. The scheme achieves considerable flexibility in subgridding by using a transition region between the coarse and fine FDTD grids, meshed according to an unstructured grid, and solved by means of the FE method in the TD. An interpolation scheme in the time domain, which allows the use of different time steps in the coarse and fine mesh regions, is included in the paper.


Author(s): Hering, Janet G; Wilkie, Jennifer A; Chiu, Van Q | Abstract: Arsenic is a widely distributed constituent of geologic materials, with an average crustal abundance of 1.8 ppm. The natural processes of weathering of arsenic-containing minerals and volcanism contribute arsenic to groundwaters, surface freshwaters, and seawater. Recently, increased attention has focused on arsenic geochemistry in natural waters. This attention has been motivated by concern over the human health effects of arsenic exposure; consumption of drinking water can be a significant, if not the primary, route for ingestion of inorganic arsenic. Since the concentrations of inorganic arsenic in various foods and source waters can vary widely, the exposure of any individual or group depends strongly on both diet and the quality of locally supplied drinking water.Two field studies were conducted to examine arsenic occurrence and redox speciation in natural waters in California with elevated arsenic concentrations. In Hot Creek, located in the Owens Valley, elevated arsenic concentrations are the result of geothermal inputs. Hot Creek flows into the Owens River, a source of drinking water to the City of Los Angeles. In Hanford, located in the San Joaquin Valley, elevated arsenic concentrations occur in groundwater wells emplaced in Quaternary alluvial sediments. These municipal supply wells serve the City of Hanford (population ca. 39,000).At Hot Creek, concentrations of total arsenic, arsenic(III) and chloride (as a conservative tracer of geothermal inputs) were measured above, within, and downstream of the major geothermal inputs of arsenic in Hot Creek Gorge. Consistent with previous studies, extremely elevated arsenic concentrations were found in waters collected from geothermal pools. Lower concentrations were found in Hot Creek as a result of dilution by meteoric surface waters. Total arsenic behaved conservatively in Hot Creek. Rapid in situ arsenic(III) oxidation was observed. Comparison with batch oxidation studies conducted in the field demonstrated that the in situ arsenic(III) oxidation is microbially mediated.At Hanford, total arsenic concentrations were found to vary considerably in the 16 municipal supply wells and 4 storage tanks tested. Higher arsenic concentrations (up to 75 ug/L) were found in the shallower wells; deeper wells contained lower arsenic concentrations. Arsenic was found to occur predominantly in the +III oxidation state. Occurrence of arsenic(V) in one of the storage tanks tested indicated that As(III) is oxidized within the distribution system.


LABORATORY workers generally will extend a sympathetic reception to the fourth edition of Mackie and McCartney's "An Introduction to Practical Bacteriology", which now makes its appearance.' Former editions of this 'book, which might be described as a technician's .vade-mecum, have contributed largely to the smooth working of many laboratories, and it must have proved an ever present help in time of trouble to many a harassed bench worker. The authors state that in preparing the fourth edition they have taken the opportunity of completely revising the book. The subject matter, like omnia (ffllli<!, is divided into three parts. The first is introductory, and deals generally with microorganisms, their biological properties and immunological reactions. The second part succeeds admirably in presenting bacteriological and serological technique comprehensively and at the same time within reasonable compass. In the third part the pathogenic and commensal microorganisms, not omitting the virsuses, are described along with the methods of bacteriological diagnosis of the various infections. Although a brief outline of the system of classification and nomenclature of bacteria introduced some years ago by the Society of American Bacteriologists is given in an early part of the book (page 13), the authors adhere to the more familiar terminology throughout. Illustrations, with the exception of a few essential diagrams, have been omitted, the authors stating their view that as the book is primarily a guide to work in the laboratory, actual apparatus, cultures, and microscopic preparations are there available as the real illustrations of practical instruction. The book will be searched in vain for the omission of any phase of laboratory work, and the claims of the authors with respect to its essentially practical utility can be cordially endorsed.


Chimeric genomes of hepatitis A virus strain HM-175 were constructed from cDNA clones of the wild-type virus and its cell culture-adapted variant. RNA transcribed in vitro from each construct was assayed for infectivity by transfection of cultured cells. RNA transcribed from the wild-type cDNA clone was minimally infectious and produced virus that grew inefficiently in vitro, whereas that transcribed from certain chimeric genomes consistently produced virus that grew efficiently in cultured cells. Mutations in the P2 region were found to be necessary for efficient virus growth in vitro, while mutations in the 5' noncoding region imparted a conditional enhancement of growth in vitro.


Adenocarcinoma of the colon represents the third most frequent cause of death from cancer, being surpassed only by lung and stomach cancer. Early screening and diagnosis of polyps are important for a good prognosis. Based on a clinical case, a novel approach is presented for screening of sigmoidal polyps and neoplasia using transvaginal 2D, 3D mode in women. This novel and simple technique can be used to visualize the sigmoid diverticula during routine gynecological examination via 3D transvaginal ultrasound probe.


Background: With increases in HIV testing facilities in Zimbabwe, more women are aware of their HIV status before falling pregnant. This was found in a Murambinda survey in 2008. It is every woman's right to fall pregnant, however, those living with HIV/AIDS need to be guided well to protect the health of the mother and her baby preventing Mother to Child transmission of HIV/AIDS (MTCT). We carried out a study to establish the factors contributing to WLHA's intention to fall pregnant in order to focus this guidance.
Methods: An analytical cross sectional study was carried out July-August 2010 at the Opportunistic Infection/ Anti Retroviral Treatment (OI/ART) clinic of Murambinda Mission Hospital. 421 WLHA of reproductive age were systematically sampled from those waiting in the queue to attend the OI/ART clinic. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect data from them. Focus group discussions, counselling observations and check lists were also used to obtain information regarding factors influencing the intention of WLHA to fall pregnant.
Results: We interviewed 421 HIV positive women of reproductive age. Significant factors were being aged less than 36 [OR=4.45 (CI=2.78-7.16)], being married [OR=1.90 (CI=1.25-2.87)], having secondary education or above [OR=1.83 (CI=1.16-2.88)], having parity of less than 4 [OR=2.72 (CI=1.75-4.22], spousal influence [OR=1.74 (CI=1.01-3.03)], partner disclosure [OR=0.50 (CI=0.27-0.87)], believing community approves intention to fall pregnant [OR=7.75 (CI=4.11-14.61)] and belonging to a support group [OR=0.62 (CI=0.40-0.91)]. Independent determinants of intention to fall pregnant were being aged less than 36
iii
[aOR=2.15, (2.02- 2.98)], having parity of less than 4 [aOR=1.82 (1.10-3.02)] and believing community approves intention to fall pregnant [aOR=6.18 (5.75-6.39)]
Conclusion: Being married, being aged less than 36, being of secondary education and above, having parity of less than 4, spousal influence and believing community approves decision to fall pregnant increased the likelihood of the intention to fall pregnant. Partner disclosure and belonging to a support group decreased the likelihood of the intention to fall pregnant. Plans to strengthen and increase support groups for women and men living with HIV/AIDS have begun.


The prevalence of congenital heart defects (CHD) in Kabuki syndrome ranges from 28% to 80%. Between January 2012 and December 2015, 28 patients had a molecularly proven diagnosis of Kabuki syndrome. Pathogenic variants in KMT2D (MLL2) were detected in 27 patients, and in KDM6A gene in one. CHD was diagnosed in 19/27 (70%) patients with KMT2D (MLL2) variant, while the single patient with KDM6A change had a normal heart. The anatomic types among patients with CHD included aortic coarctation (4/19 = 21%) alone or associated with an additional CHD, bicuspid aortic valve (4/19 = 21%) alone or associated with an additional CHD, perimembranous subaortic ventricular septal defect (3/19 = 16%), atrial septal defect ostium secundum type (3/19 = 16%), conotruncal heart defects (3/19 = 16%). Additional CHDs diagnosed in single patients included aortic dilatation with mitral anomaly and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. We also reviewed CHDs in patients with a molecular diagnosis of Kabuki syndrome reported in the literature. In conclusion, a CHD is detected in 70% of patients with KMT2D (MLL2) pathogenic variants, most commonly left‐sided obstructive lesions, including multiple left‐sided obstructions similar to those observed in the spectrum of the Shone complex, and septal defects. Clinical management of Kabuki syndrome should include echocardiogram at the time of diagnosis, with particular attention to left‐sided obstructive lesions and mitral anomalies, and annual monitoring for aortic arch dilatation.


Partial updating of LMS filter coefficients is an effective method for reducing the computational load and the power consumption in adaptive filter implementations. Several algorithms have been proposed in the literature based on partial updating. Unfortunately, it has been observed that these algorithms do not have good convergence properties in practice. In particular, there generally exist signals for which these algorithms stagnate or diverge. We propose a new algorithm, called the stochastic partial update LMS (SPU-LMS) algorithm which attempts to remedy some of the drawbacks of existing algorithms. The SPU-LMS algorithm differs from the existing algorithms in that the subsets to be updated are chosen in a random manner at each iteration. We derive conditions for filter stability, convergence rate, and steady state error for the proposed algorithm under an independent snapshots assumption in the context of adaptive beamforming for antenna arrays. We verify the analysis via computer simulations and illustrate the advantages of the new algorithm through examples.


The motivation for this special issue was born of the two-day conference 'Audiences 2030: Imagining a future for audiences', in late September 2017, in Lisbon, sponsored by the Consortium on Emerging Di-rections of Audience Research (CEDAR) which was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK, in association with Universidade Catolica Portuguesa, as well as the Audience and Reception Studies section of ECREA and YECREA. The event was the public culmination of the three-year work of CEDAR, directed by Ranjana Das (University of Surrey) and Brita Ytre-Arne (University of Bergen). The network identified as one of the major trends in audience and audience research that audience participation is being co-opted by large, global players, partly as a consequence of the technological capabilities devel-oped by digital media (Das & Ytre-Arne, 2017).


The study of the transport and noise properties of graphene-based devices requires the computation of the potential profile as a function of the applied bias voltages. However, an exact solution for the potential profile involves a complete self-consistent treatment of the electrostatic and transport equations, which is computationally very expensive. Here, generalising the approach proposed by Das et al., the authors describe an approximate method that allows the evaluation of the potential profile by properly modifying, as a function of the bias voltages applied to the gates, the profile for a reference bias point, which is supposed to be known. The proposed approach is not very demanding from the computational point of view and can be useful for simulations aimed at the interpretation of experimental results or at device design.


This study deals with the hydrogeochemical analysis of ground water parameters in the Noyyal river basin along the Coimbatore district. By this process the quality of ground water for drinking and irrigation purpose are estimated. The secondary data were collected from Public Work Department (PWD) and these data were analysed and compared with BIS standards and WHO standards. Their physiochemical characteristics and calculate parameters viz., pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), potassium (K), total hardness (TH), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), chlorides (Cl− ), sulphates (SO4 2− ), concentration of sodium (Na+ ), carbonates (CO3 2− ), bicarbonates (HCO3 − ) and fluoride (F− ). These parameters are useful in predicting the ground water quality and its characteristics. In this study, it is found that the water is not suitable for drinking purpose and less suitable for irrigation.


High spatial resolution observations in the 1 to 3.5 μm region of the Galactic Center source known historically as IRS 13 are presented. They include ground-based adaptive optics images in the H, Kp (2.12/0.4 μm) and L bands, HST-NICMOS data in filters between 1.1 and 2.2 μm, and integral field spectroscopic data from BEAR, an Imaging FTS, in the 2.06 μm and the Brγ line regions. Analysis of all these data provides a completely new picture of the main component, IRS 13E, which appears as a cluster of seven individual stars within a projected diameter of ~0.5" (0.02 pc). The brightest sources, 13E1, 13E2, 13E3 which is detected as a binary, and 13E4, are all massive stars of different type. The star 13E1 is a luminous, blue object, with no detected emission line. 13E2 and 13E4 are two hot, high-mass emission line stars, 13E2 being at the WR stage and 13E4 a massive O-type star. In contrast, 13E3A and B are extremely red objects, proposed as other examples of dusty WR stars, like IRS 21 (Tanner et al. [CITE]). All these sources have a common westward proper motion (Ott et al. [CITE]) indicating they are bounded. Two other sources, detected after deconvolution of the AO images in the H and Kp bands, are also identified. One, that we call 13E5, is a red source similar to 13E3A and B, while the other one, 13E6, is probably a main sequence O star in front of the cluster. Considering this exceptional concentration of comoving massive hot stars, IRS 13E is proposed as the remaining core of a massive star cluster, which could harbor an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) (Portegies Zwart & McMillan [CITE]) of ~1300 M_⊙. This detection plays in favor of a scenario, first suggested by Gerhard ([CITE]), in which the helium stars and the other hot stars in the central parsec originate from the stripping of a massive cluster formed several tens of pc from the center. This cluster would have spiraled towards SgrA, and IRS 13E would be its remnant. Furthermore, IRS 13E might be the second black hole needed according to a model by Hansen & Milosavljevic ([CITE]) to drag massive main-sequence stars, in the required timescale, very close to the massive black hole. The detection of a discrete X-ray emission (Baganoff et al. [CITE]) at the IRS 13 position (within the positional accuracy) is examined in this context.


Objective: To study the effect of a cardiac rehabilitation programme based on the guidelines of the Dutch Heart Association (DHA). Design: Randomized controlled trial with a waiting list control group. Setting: Outpatient clinic of Rehabilitation Centre Amsterdam. Subjects: Forty patients with a first myocardial infarction. Interventions: Immediately after randomization the experimental group started the rehabilitation programme; the waiting list control group started after six weeks. No other type of treatment was given during the waiting period. Main outcome measures: Physical recovery, tested by means of an exercise test on a bicycle ergometer, and feelings of well-being (MPVH-W), handicap (MPVH-H) and distress (MPVH-D), tested using a Dutch questionnaire: the Medische Psychologische Vragenlijst voor Hartpatiënten, MPVH (medical psychological questionnaire for cardiac patients). Results: The adjusted treatment effects of the cardiac rehabilitation programme were 4.72% on the exercise test, 3.43 points on MPVH-W, –1.93 points on MPVH-H, and 0.12 points on MPVH-D. These effects were not statistically significant. Conclusion: Changes after a cardiac rehabilitation programme are relatively small, but are found in both the physical and the psychosocial domain.


The thickness dependence of the tensile properties of a SA508 Cl.3 steel has been studied with miniature specimens to obtain the minimum thickness requirement and a correlation with the properties of a standard specimen for practical application. The strength is independent of specimen thickness when the thickness is larger than the critical value of about 0.2 mm. The uniform and total elongations decrease as the specimen thickness decreases. The strain component in the thickness direction is larger than that in the width direction. It is attempted to explain those thickness dependencies in connection with the stress state. A correlation between the uniform elongations of miniature and standard specimens is derived on the basis of the experimental result for strain components and the correlation between necking angle and strain component ratio. The uniform elongations calculated by the correlation agree well with the measured values. Additionally the fracture surface morphology depends on the specimen thickness.


Virtual tracks train is a new type of rail transit, which combines traditional rail vehicles and road vehicles. In order to study the effect of braking on the stability of virtual tracks train on curve, a four-axle model with train body model, steering model, braking model and tire model was built in Matlab/Simulink to research the change of yaw velocity, lateral acceleration and vehicle speed when it brakes on curve. Through step steering test of the vehicle, the model was verified to analyze the braking stability on steady steering condition.
 Simulation result shows that when virtual tracks train brakes after 8s of turning with an individual axle locking up, different instability phenomena such as loss of guidance capacity, folding and drifting, would occur, which leads to instability of braking on curve. Using ABS can help improve the stability of it. With the instability principle put forward through the simulation, brake system and brake force distribution law could be designed to meet the need of virtual tracks train.


The streaming instability and Kelvin–Helmholtz instability are considered the two major sources causing clumping of dust particles and turbulence in the dust layer of a protoplanetary disk as long as we consider the dead zone where the magnetorotational instability does not grow. Extensive numerical simulations have been carried out in order to elucidate the condition for the development of particle clumping caused by the streaming instability. In this paper, a set of two parameters suitable for classifying the numerical results is proposed. One is the Stokes number that has been employed in previous works and the other is the dust particle column density that is nondimensionalized using the gas density in the midplane, Keplerian angular velocity, and difference between the Keplerian and gaseous orbital velocities. The magnitude of dust clumping is a measure of the behavior of the dust layer. Using three-dimensional numerical simulations of dust particles and gas based on Athena code v. 4.2, it is confirmed that the magnitude of dust clumping for two disk models are similar if the corresponding sets of values of the two parameters are identical to each other, even if the values of the metallicity (i.e., the ratio of the columns density of the dust particles to that of the gas) are different.


Although single-chip multiprocessor architectures are available nowadays for embedded computing, programming them with efficiency and productivity has become a significant challenge. This paper studies the multi-level parallelization of video encoding algorithms on a state-of-the-art on-chip multiprocessor. The encoding of H.264/AVC video is chosen as the case to be studied because of its performance demanding and branch-rich features. The final benchmarking result proves that the optimized processing flow can achieve more than 100 operations per cycle in performance which allows a single-chip multiprocessor to encode high resolution video (1920 times 1080) in real-time (30 fps).


Over the past few years, it has been shown that the cardiac myocyte plasma membrane sodium ion/hydrogen ion exchanger (NHE) plays an important role in the maintenance of intracellular pH, sodium, and calcium ion homeostasis. From the results of various experimental studies, it is clear that this ion exchanger is an important mediator of ischemic‐reperfusion injury of the heart. During myocardial ischemia, intracellular acidosis develops quickly, activating the exchanger to extrude H+ into the extracellular environment and bring Na+ into the cell. With further progression of ischemia, the cell is unable to handle the overload of Na+, causing it to use its Na+/Ca2+ exchanger to unload intracellular Na+ into the extracellular space. At the same time, however, calcium is being transported into the cell. This can lead to detrimental cardiac injury, such as contracture and necrosis. During myocardial reperfusion, these events are magnified because the return of blood flow lowers the extracellular H+ concentration, stimulating the NHE to extrude more intracellular H+ ion. This leads to intracellular Na+ excess and eventually, intracellular Ca2+ overload and cardiac injury. In an effort to alter these pathophysiologic events, a number of investigators have studied the ability of various NHE inhibitors, such as amiloride, analogues of amiloride, and other drugs (HOE 694, HOE 642), to prevent cardiac ischemic‐reperfusion damage. Preliminary results from studies in animal models have revealed that most of these agents are able to attenuate the development of myocardial contracture, infarction, and arrhythmias during both ischemia and reperfusion. Their efficacy and cardioprotective effects in human beings have yet to be determined. These agents appear to be promising not only in the prevention and treatment of ischemic heart disease, but also in avoiding cardiac damage in situations where low‐flow states are followed by immediate recovery of flow, as in coronary artery bypass graft surgery, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, thrombolytic therapy, and coronary arterial vasospasm. This article reviews the physiology of the NHE and analyzes the potential role of NHE inhibitors in the prevention of ischemic‐reperfusion injury and other cardiac disease states.


Twenty-five years ago, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so contaminated that it caught fire, air pollution in some cities was thick enough to taste, and environmental laws focused on the obvious enemy: large American factories with belching smokestacks and pipes gushing wastes. Federal legislation has succeeded in providing cleaner air and water, but we now confront a different set of environmental problems-less visible and more subtle. This important book offers thought-provoking ideas on how America can respond to changing public health and ecological risks and create sound environmental policy for the future. The innovative thinkers of the Next Generation Project of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy-experts from business, government, nongovernmental organizations, and academia-propose reforms that balance environmental efforts with other public needs and issues. They call for new foundations for environmental law and policy, adoption of a more diverse set of policy tools and strategies (economic incentives, ecolabels), and new connections between critical sectors (agriculture, energy, transportation, service providers) and environmental policy. Future progress must involve not only officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state environmental protection departments, say the authors, but also decision-makers as diverse as mayors, farmers, energy company executives, and delivery route planners. To be effective, next-generation policy-making will view environmental challenges comprehensively, connect academic theory with practical policy, and bridge the gaps that have caused recent policy debates to break down in rancor. This book begins the process of accomplishing these challenging goals.


Efficient high-performance pulsed alternator (PA) systems have low-impedance field windings that rely on very fast current rise times in order to maintain attractive system efficiencies. These systems rely on positive feedback self-excitation, or "boot-strapping" action, to energize the field winding. The self-excitation process is typically started by a small capacitor-based power supply which is discharged (or seeded) directly into the field winding. The design of this power supply, often called the field initiation module (FIM) is critically important to the process of self-excitation. Augmented by numerical simulations, this paper examines the important aspects to consider when designing a proper FIM, including: impact on system efficiency; minimum rotor speed for proper FIM function; control schemes for triggering the FIM; and proper operating voltage for the FIM


The main feature of this article is the investigation on the influence of temperature, relative humidity, film thickness on permeability of PET packaging film, the analysis of perm-selectivity of the packaging films for oxygen gas and carbon dioxide gas, and the evaluation on experimental formulas of water vapor, O2 and CO2 gas permeating rates on the basis of gas molecular osmotic reaction kinetics and regression analysis. The comparison between experimental studies and calculation indicates that: (1) with increment of ambient temperature water vapor, O2 and CO2 permeating rate of PET films and PET/Al film also rise, and the logarithm of water vapor, O2 and CO2 gas permeating rates has linear relation with the reciprocal of thermodynamic temperature, and (2) the influence of relative humidity on water vapor permeating rate of PET film with thickness 12µm is the least, and that of PET film with thickness 20µm and PET/Al film with thickness 18µm is a little obvious. (3) The PET films hold remarkable perm-selectivity for O2 and CO2 gas, and CO2 gas permeating rate is about two times of O2 gas, yet O2 and CO2 gas permeating rates of PET/Al film are both very low and have small difference, so the PET/Al film has better barrier performance than the PET film.


Mechanical recanalization prodecures are increasingly used to treat acute large-vessel stroke. High recanalization rates in patients with proximal vessel occlusions and the direct control of therapeutic success are its major strengths. On the other hand, its clinical benefit as well as the risk/benefit ratio are not well defined by now. Randomized trials comparing endovascular approaches with systemic thrombolysis are still ongoing and present-day evidence is based on non-controlled single arm trials and case series. Within the larger studies (Penumbra Pivotal Stroke Trial, MERCI-trials) a discrepancy between favourable angiographic results and poor clinical outcomes was noticeable with high rates (up to 70%) of patients with "futile recanalization", leading to a "clinical-angiographic mismatch". Many factors may contribute to this paradox finding, e.g. patient selection bias (inclusion of patients with contraindications for systemic thrombolysis), too long treatment time windows and periprocedural measures (e.g. general anaesthesia). Amongt these, many other factors need clarification before mechanical recanalization therapies can be used in a broader clinical fashion. To adress some of these questions, we launched an international, investigator-driven, multicenter registry (ENDOSTROKE) to accumulate robust data on clinical outcome, complication rates and procedural issues. Its primary main outcome measure is the clinical status 90 days (or later) after intervention assessed by the MRS. Important clinical, angiographic and procedural parameters, especially time-aspects (e.g. periprocedural time loss or duration of mechanical recanalization procedures) will be analyzed with respect to their influence on clinical outcome. The registry is completely independent from industrial sponsoring and is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov with NCT01399762. The registry is currently recruiting patients. 13 mostly academic centers participate in the registry, 120 patients were entered by now in the database with the intention to include approximately 500 patients. At the International Stroke Conference the structure and goals of ENDOSTROKE will be presented.


Until recently, the methylotrophic yeast was not considered as a potential producer of biofuels, particularly of ethanol from lignocellulosic hydrolysates. The first work published 10 years ago reveals the ability of thermotolerant methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha to ferment xylose--one of the main sugars of lignocellulosic hydrolysates, which has made these yeast promising organism for high temperature alcoholic fermentation. Such feature of the H. polymorpha can be used in the implementation of potentially effective process of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of raw materials. SSF allows combining enzymatic hydrolysis of raw materials with the conversion of produced sugars into ethanol: enzymes hydrolyze polysaccharides to monomers, which are immediately consumed by microorganisms-producers of ethanol. However, the efficiency of alcoholic fermentation of major sugars realized after hydrolysis of lignocellulosic raw materials, and especially xylose, by wild strains of H. polymorpha requires significant improvement. In this review the main results of metabolic engineering of H. polymorpha for the construction of improved producers of ethanol from xylose, starch, xylan, and glycerol, as well as strains with increased tolerance to high temperature and ethanol are represented.


Bayesian Neural Networks (BNNs) provide a probabilistic interpretation for deep learning models by imposing a prior distribution over model parameters and inferring a posterior distribution based on observed data. The model sampled from the posterior distribution can be used for providing ensemble predictions and quantifying prediction uncertainty. It is well-known that deep learning models with lower sharpness have better generalization ability. However, existing posterior inferences are not aware of sharpness/flatness in terms of formulation, possibly leading to high sharpness for the models sampled from them. In this paper, we develop theories, the Bayesian setting, and the variational inference approach for the sharpness-aware posterior. Specifically, the models sampled from our sharpness-aware posterior, and the optimal approximate posterior estimating this sharpness-aware posterior, have better flatness, hence possibly possessing higher generalization ability. We conduct experiments by leveraging the sharpness-aware posterior with state-of-the-art Bayesian Neural Networks, showing that the flat-seeking counterparts outperform their baselines in all metrics of interest.


This study investigated the composition of PVC flooring with respect to certain chemical additives, namely phthalate plasticisers and organotins. The study included analysis of five PVC flooring samples that were available for retail in the UK. Samples were found to contain high levels of several organotin compounds, in particular DBT (37.7 to 569 ppm) and TBT (128 to 17,940 ppb). Two phthalates were also detected at high concentrations. Diisononyl phthalate (DINP) was found in all samples at levels ranging from 4.7 to 15.8% by weight and butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) was present in three samples at levels from 1.6 to 5.0%. These finding are of concern in relation to the presence of hazardous substances in consumer products, their potential release to the environment and, in turn, their potential impacts on the environment and human health. Phthalates and organotins are hazardous chemicals. Organotins cause toxicity to the immune system in laboratory animals whilst phthalates exhibit a wide range of toxicity's. The use of PVC flooring and other household furnishings has generated concern recently after it was hypothesised that the release to air and particulates of the phthalate plasticiser di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), present in PVC interior surfaces, may increase the risk of childhood asthma. Another study linked exposure to PVC floors in the home with increases in bronchial obstruction in children, possibly caused by plasticisers. In respect of the known and suspected toxicity's of phthalates and organotins and their possible impacts on human health, the results of this study are of great concern.


Another swimming season is approaching, and it is an appropriate time to think about some of the hazards which are specific to aquatics. Drowning, a common cause of death in children, is not the only accident which occurs. Physical trauma of many types is associated with activities in or on the water. Most accidents are preventable by proper and specific training. Pediatricians can have a major influence by urging patients to acquire the basic skills as part of their total development. Currently, there are programs aimed at teaching very young children to "swim." These are not new: they have been tried before. One of the major incentives to the current fad is the argument that because of the increase in numbers of backyard pools, it is desirable to teach the toddler to swim in case he accidentally falls in. This implies that the parents would not have to worry


Open porous 3D architectures with Co2(OH)2CO3 nanowires wrapped by highly conductive reduced graphene oxide films are designed and exploited for the first time as anodes for lithium ion batteries; the materials were fabricated via one-step hydrothermal synthesis and self-assembly based on the electrostatic interaction and coordination principle and delivered superior rate performance (1510 and 445 mA h g-1 at 0.1 and 20 A g-1, respectively) and long cycle stability (5000th reversible capacity of 550 mA h g-1 at 10 A g-1). This extremely encouraging result is attributed to the open porous 3D networks and ultrafine diameters of the nanowires, which achieved better electrical contact between the active materials and shortened the ion/electron transport paths; this highlights the synergistic effect of combining the Co2(OH)2CO3 nanowires and rGO films. Especially, the hydroxide (LiOH) can provide a good skeleton structure, ionic conductivity and fast kinetics. Additionally, the lithium storage mechanism of the Co2(OH)2CO3/rGO electrode has been elaborately studied. This work not only enlightens the design of open porous 3D architecture hybrid anode materials of transition-metal hydroxyl carbonates with great potential prospective applications for high energy lithium storage, but also provides a new strategy to construct graphene-based composite materials via the coordination principle and molecular self-assembly theory to achieve more functional materials.


Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), the most important immune cells in tumor microenvironment, were reported to play a key role in cancer progression, but the correlation of TAMs and Kazakh esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) was still not clear, so we sought to identify the function of TAMs in Kazakh ESCC clinicopathological and prognostic evaluation. CD68 as the TAMs marker, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to quantify the TAMs infiltrated in tumor nest and stroma, the IHC staining was also used to evaluate the expression of MMP-9 in Kazakh ESCCs. The density of CD68-TAMs in ESCCs tumor nest and stromal, were significantly higher than those of CANs (P<0.05). The increasing number of CD68-positive TAMs in tumor nest and stromal were positively associated with tumors lymph node metastasis and clinical stage (P<0.05). The expression of MMP-9 in Kazakh ESCCs was higher than that of CAN tissues (P<0.05). Increased MMP-9 expression in ESCCs was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis and tumor clinical stage (P<0.05). Importantly, the number of CD68-positive TAMs in ESCCs was significantly correlated with the expression of MMP-9 (P<0.05). Furthermore, the survival analyses demonstrated that high-density of CD68-TAMs in tumor nest was positively related to the shorter overall survival time of patients (P<0.05). Increasing numbers of CD68-TAMs promote higher expression of MMP-9 and may play an important role in the occurrence and progression of Kazakh ESCCs, and which could be used as important prognostic markers for Kazakh ESCCs.


The topic of the present paper is the reflection of electromagnetic plane waves by rough surfaces, that is, by smooth and bounded perturbations of planar faces. Moreover, the contrast between the cover material and the substrate beneath the rough surface is supposed to be low. In this case, a modification of Stearns' formula based on Born approximation and Fourier techniques is derived for a special class of surfaces. This class contains the graphs of functions where the interface function is a radially modulated almost periodic function. For the Born formula to converge, a sufficient and almost necessary condition is given. A further technical condition is defined, which guarantees the existence of the corresponding far field of the Born approximation. This far field contains plane waves, far‐field terms such as those for bounded scatterers, and, additionally, a new type of terms. The derived formulas can be used for the fast numerical computations of far fields and for the statistics of random rough surfaces. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Thousands of spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sea-ice images are systematically processed every year in support of operational activities such as ship navigation and environmental monitoring. An automated approach that generates pixel-level sea-ice image classification is required since manual pixel-level classification is not feasible. Currently, using a standardized approach, trained ice analysts manually segment full SAR scenes into smaller polygons to record ice types and concentrations. Using these data, pixel-level classification can be achieved by initial unsupervised segmentation of each polygon, followed by automatic sea-ice labeling of the full scene. A fully automated Markov random field model that is used to assign labels to all segmented regions in the full scene has been designed and implemented. This approach is the first known successful end-to-end process for operational SAR sea-ice image classification. In addition, a novel performance evaluation framework has been developed to validate the segmentation and labeling of SAR sea-ice images. A trained sea-ice expert has conducted an arms length evaluation using this framework to generate a set of full-scene reference images used for testing. Testing demonstrates operational success of the labeling approach.


PURPOSE
Gefitinib, an inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase, induces radiographic regressions and symptomatic improvement in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Phase II trials suggested female sex and adenocarcinoma were associated with response. We undertook this analysis to identify additional clinical and pathologic features associated with sensitivity to gefitinib.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
We reviewed medical records, pathologic material, and imaging studies of all 139 NSCLC patients treated on one of three consecutive studies of gefitinib monotherapy performed at our institution. We identified patients experiencing a major objective response and compared their clinical and pathologic features with the others. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed on potential predictive features associated with sensitivity to gefitinib.

RESULTS
Of 139 patients, 21 (15%; 95% CI, 9% to 21%), experienced a partial radiographic response. Variables identified as significant in univariate analysis included adenocarcinoma versus other NSCLC (19% v 0%; P=.004), adenocarcinoma with bronchioloalveolar features versus other adenocarcinomas (38% v 14%; P<.001), never smoker status versus former/current (36% v 8%; P<.001), and Karnofsky performance status > or =80% versus < or =70% (22% v 8%; P=.03). Multivariable analysis revealed the presence of adenocarcinoma with any bronchioloalveolar features (P=.004) and being a never smoker (P=.006) were independent predictors of response.

CONCLUSION
Our data suggest that individuals in whom gefitinib is efficacious are more likely to have adenocarcinomas of the bronchioloalveolar subtype and to be never smokers. These observations may provide clues to mechanisms determining sensitivity to this agent and suggest that NSCLC has a different biology in patients who never smoked and those with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma.


Prophylactic administration of dibazol (5 mg/day) prevents a decrease of nonspecific resistance and ensures stable variations of adaptive processes in men working in enclosures for a long time. The positive effect of the drug occurs 10-15 days after the administration and involves a combined action on phagocytosis, blood homeostasis, and skin antimicrobial resistance. The integrated parameters of nonspecific protection of the test subjects who took dibazol are close or even better than the pretest level. For instance, the efficiency of intracellular digestion increases and the microbial content of blood decreases. Coincidentally, the health condition improves and physical work capacity increases. Dibazol also exerts a beneficial effect on the adaptive process and morbidity rate of the subjects. The data obtained suggest that dibazol affects favorably the nonspecific resistance of the human body. In view of this, it can be recommended as a stimulating and training agent.


Background Understanding how sensations of pain affect health status appraisal among athletics athletes is of importance for prevention of overuse injuries. Identification of psychological mediators of the association opens for new intervention possibilities. Objective To examine psychological mediators of the association between pain and self-reported health in elite athletics athletes. Design Cross-sectional study using e-epidemiological survey methods. Setting Swedish male and female youth and adult elite athletics athletes. Participants Athletics athletes ranked in the national top-10 were invited (n=301). 226 (75%) athletes returned complete data. Risk factor assessment Pain measured on a 3-graded scale; the psychological mediators perceived motivational climate (measured by the PMCSQ), coping behavior (Brief Cope), body consciousness and hyperactivity (BCS-ADHD), and commitment to exercise (CES). Main outcome easurements Self-reported health (EuroQol-5D). Results 85 (38%) athletes reported experiencing pain at the time of the study. The level of pain was associated with the self-reported health (P<.001); the strength of the association did not differ between men and women (P=.720). A multi-component model of psychological elements mediating the association between pain and self-rated health included body competence (Mediation Effect (ME) −1.053 (90% CI −2.025 – −0.082), private body consciousness (ME –0.744 (90% CI –1.478 – −0.010), and a perceived motivational climate endorsing mastery (ME –0.623 (90% CI –1.229 – −0.017). No influence from gender or age on the mediating effects could be statistically confirmed. Conclusions Awareness of internal sensations (private body consciousness), an affirmative evaluation of own body functions (body competence), and a perceived endorsement of athletic development (mastery) augmented the influence of pain on self-reported health among elite athletic athletes. This paradoxical observation warrants further investigation in prospective studies on associations between pain, perceived health, athlete and coach behaviors, and overuse injury in elite athletics athletes.


This paper reports on the comparative study of fluids trapped in inclusions in gold-bearing and barren quartz veins at the Sovetskoye gold deposit, Yeniseisky ridge, Siberia, Russia. The host rocks are greenschist facies metasedimentary rocks of Upper Proterozoic age. Within the deposit, some veins contain 10 to 25 ppm of Au (gold-bearing veins); others contain less than 1 ppm of Au (barren veins). Fluid inclusions trapped in barren veins are predominantly low-salinity-H2O (4.0–8.0 mass % NaCl equiv.) with variable contents of dissolved CO2 (<12.5 mol %), CH4 (<1.3 mol %), and N2 (<1.7 mol %). Homogenization temperatures vary from 200° to 410°C, and the calculated pressures of entrapment are <1.5 kbars. Inclusion fluids trapped in the host schists are predominantly aqueous (97.6–99.3 mol % H2O), with CO2 contents below 2.4 mol percent.

The fluids trapped in ore-bearing quartz inclusions are different. Inclusions show higher homogenization temperatures (up to 630°C) and salinity (up to 20–25 mass % NaCl equiv). Calculated pressures range from 0.7 to 2.0 kbars. Bulk gas chromatographic data of fluids extracted from native gold have contents of CO2 that range from 29.3 to 62.0 mol percent, N2 from 2.7 to 13.2 mol percent, and CH4 from 0.0 to 2.8 mol percent. In gold-bearing quartz the contents of CO2 range from 18.0 to 41.0 mol percent, N2 from 0.1 to 0.2 mol percent, and CH4 from 0.3 to 3.0 mol percent. Raman spectroscopic data of fluid from gold-bearing quartz revealed CO2 contents of individual inclusions as high as 98.2 mol percent, N2 up to 66.4 mol percent, and CH4 up to 88.7 mol percent. Fluids of the country-rock schists which host gold-bearing quartz veins are also enriched in CO2 (up to 49.5 mol %).

The host rocks for both barren and gold-bearing quartz veins show consistent REE patterns characterized by a negative Eu anomaly. Fluids from barren quartz veins show similar REE patterns although with a less conspicuous negative Eu anomaly, whereas fluids from gold-bearing quartz show a marked positive Eu anomaly.

Similar isotopic values of sulfur in pyrite, pyrrhotite, and arsenopyrite disseminated in country rocks ( δ 34S = 14.7–21.6‰), and in barren ( δ 34S = 12.9–19.9‰) and gold-bearing quartz veins ( δ 34S = 13.3–17.9‰) suggest that sulfur in sulfides was derived from the same source, most likely being the adjacent country rocks.

CO2 trapped in fluid inclusions of barren and gold-bearing quartz has distinct isotopic compositions ( δ 13C = −8.1 to −10.2 and −4.9 to +5.2 ‰, respectively), and the δ 13C values are positively correlated with Au contents in veins. Helium isotope composition of both types of quartz veins (3He/4He = 0.04–0.05 Ra for gold-bearing veins and 3He/4He = 0.02 Ra for barren veins) indicates a crustal provenance of mineral-forming fluids. The 40Ar/39Ar dating of sericite demonstrates that the barren veins (890-850 Ma) are significantly older than the gold-bearing veins (830-730 Ma). On the basis of their ages, barren veins are interpreted as synmetamorphic. The age of the gold-bearing veins corresponds to the age of the local granitoids (850-720 Ma), suggesting that the origin of the Sovetskoye deposit is related to the tectonic activity syntetctonic magmatism.


It is argued that the different modes of fracturing of the erythrocyte membrane and the outer membrane of Escherichia coli with respect to the intramembraneous particles have their definite biochemical and structural counterpart i.e.,. the non-complementary particles of the erythrocyte membrane being predominantly proteinaceous in nature and the complementary particles of the outer membrane of E. coli being determined by lipopolysaccharide. Evaluation of the complementarity aspect of intramembraneous particles shows than an assessment of complementarity in replicas may decisive when interpreting micrographs at the macromolecular level.


This paper focuses on the modeling of the human bicep brachii muscle and introduces an iterative identification method for nonlinear parameters in a virtual muscle model. This model displays characteristics that are highly nonlinear and dynamical in nature. However, the precision of the virtual muscle model depends on a set of model parameters which cannot be acquired easily using non-invasive measurement technology. Hence, experiments were conducted to derive relationships between joint angles, force, and EMG signals. In the experiment, the calculations from an anatomical mechanical model were used to relate isometric force to EMG levels at 5 different elbow angles for 3 subjects. An iterative identification method was then used to determine optimum muscle length and muscle mass of the biceps muscle based on the model and muscle data. Extensive studies have shown that the iterative identification method can achieve satisfactory results.


Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia is an important economic disease of cattle caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides and manifested by anorexia, fever, dyspnoea, polypnoea, cough and nasal discharges. An eleven years (2006-2016) abattoir-based retrospective data were collated and analysed from Adamawa state Ministry of Livestock Production. Out of 241,700 cattle examined at post-mortem, 8,429 had CBPP-like lesions giving a prevalence of 3.49% (95% CI: 3.41-3.56). The overall prevalence for each local government area were 2.42% (95% CI: 2.35-2.49), 5.53% (95% CI: 5.30-5.74) and 8.97% (95% CI: 8.56-9.41) for Yola, Mubi and Ganye abattoirs respectively. There was significant association (p<0.05) between Local Government Areas and occurrence of CBPP. The annual highest prevalence of 5.75% (95% CI: 5.43-6.09) was recorded in 2010 with 1,128 cases and lowest prevalence of 2.43% (95% CI: 2.23-2.66) was recorded in 2007 with 505 cases. Based on season, highest prevalence rate of 3.85% (95% CI: 3.58-4.14) was recorded in February with 709 cases and lowest prevalence rate of 3.03% (95% CI: 2.80-3.28) was recorded in December with 605 cases. Both annual and monthly prevalence rates varied significantly (p<0.05). It was concluded that CBPP is endemic and widespread in Adamawa state. Hence, we recommend increased funding in the control of the disease, restriction of cattle movement and provision of cattle ranches. Keywords: Adamawa state, Cattle, Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, Gross lesions, Prevalence


The advantages of high temperature central receiver particle heating solar heat supply systems in concentrator solar power (CSP) have been recognized in recent years. The use of particulate as the collection medium provides two critical advantages: (1) Ordinary particulate minerals and products will allow higher collection temperatures approaching 1000°C compared with conventional molten salts, which are limited to around 650°C, and (2) the low cost high temperature particulate material can also be used as the storage medium in a highly cost effective thermal energy storage (TES) system. The high operating temperature allows use of high efficiency power conversion systems such as supercritical steam in a vapor power cycle or supercritical carbon dioxide in a Brayton cycle. Alternatively, a lower cost gas turbine can be used for the power conversion system. High conversion efficiency combined with inexpensive TES will yield a highly cost effective CSP system. The 300 kW-th prototype is being constructed as a solar heat supply system only, deferring the power conversion system for later demonstration in a larger integrated CSP system.This paper describes the general design and development efforts leading to construction of the 300 kW prototype system located in the Riyadh Techno Valley development near King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which is the first sizeable solar heat supply system purposely designed, and constructed as a particle heating system.An important component in a particle heating system is the particle heating receiver (PHR), which should be durable and efficient while remaining cost-effective. A critical enabling technology of the PHR being implemented for this project was invented by researchers on our team. In our version of the PHR, the particulate flows downwards through a porous or mesh structure where the concentrated solar energy is absorbed. The porous structure will reduce the speed of the falling particulate material allowing a large temperature rise on a single pass. The new design will also increase the absorption of solar energy and mitigate convective heat loss and particle loss. Other innovative aspects of this design include low cost thermal energy storage bins and a cost effective particle to working fluid heat exchanger. Certain features of these design elements are subjects of ongoing patent applications. Nevertheless, the overall design and the development process of the prototype system is presented in this paper.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


OBJECTIVE Atherosclerosis is accelerated in subjects with type 2 diabetes by unknown mechanisms. We identified tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3 (TIMP3), the endogenous inhibitor of A disintegrin and metalloprotease domain 17 (ADAM17) and other matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), as a gene modifier for insulin resistance and vascular inflammation in mice. We tested its association with atherosclerosis in subjects with type 2 diabetes and identified Sirtuin 1 (SirT1) as a major regulator of TIMP3 expression. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We investigated ADAM10, ADAM17, MMP9, TIMP1, TIMP2, TIMP3, and TIMP4 expression levels in human carotid atherosclerotic plaques (n = 60) from subjects with and without diabetes. Human vascular smooth muscle cells exposed to several metabolic stimuli were used to identify regulators of TIMP3 expression. SirT1 small interference RNA, cDNA, and TIMP3 promoter gene reporter were used to study SirT1-dependent regulation of TIMP3. RESULTS Here, we show that in human carotid atherosclerotic plaques, TIMP3 was significantly reduced in subjects with type 2 diabetes, leading to ADAM17 and MMP9 overactivity. Reduced expression of TIMP3 was associated in vivo with SirT1 levels. In smooth muscle cells, inhibition of SirT1 activity and levels reduced TIMP3 expression, whereas SirT1 overexpression increased TIMP3 promoter activity. CONCLUSIONS In atherosclerotic plaques from subjects with type 2 diabetes, the deregulation of ADAM17 and MMP9 activities is related to inadequate expression of TIMP3 via SirT1. Studies in vascular cells confirmed the role of SirT1 in tuning TIMP3 expression.


The importance of informal institutions and in particular culture for entrepreneurship is a subject of ongoing interest. Past research has mostly concentrated on cross-national comparisons, cultural values, and the direct effects of culture on entrepreneurial behavior, but in the main found inconsistent results. The present research adds a fresh perspective to this research stream by turning attention to community-level culture and cultural norms. We hypothesize indirect effects of cultural norms on venture emergence. Specifically that community-level cultural norms (performance-based culture and socially-supportive institutional norms) impact important supply-side variables (entrepreneurial self-efficacy and entrepreneurial motivation) which in turn influence nascent entrepreneurs' success in creating operational ventures (venture emergence). We test our predictions on a unique longitudinal data set (PSED II) tracking nascent entrepreneurs venture creation efforts over a 5 year time span and find evidence supporting them. Our research contributes to a more fine-grained understanding of how culture, in particular perceptions of community cultural norms, influences venture emergence. This research highlights the embeddedness of entrepreneurial behavior and its immediate antecedent beliefs in the local, community context.


This paper focuses on explicit attempts at developing artificial intelligence in the production of art that generate outcomes similar to, or even technically superseding, the works of human artists. We aim at revealing the underlying discourses that equate art production with transformation of information, artists with input/output systems, and artistic creativity with an unlimited and autonomous generation of art-like outcomes. As a point of departure, we begin from an exposition of Margaret Boden's account of creativity and proceed by examining different arguments to the effect that computers can be truly creative, primarily those offered by Boden (2004, 2010). We question what the assumptions, operative in the discourse on artificial or computational creativity, entail. AI-agents can produce creative outcomes because they implement our best models of creativity. By implementing these models, however, AI-agents evidence a particular understanding of what art is and what constitutes artistic production. This understanding does not fully conform to how contemporary artistic practices are perceived and valued. As a result, we argue, better models to frame artistic AI and computational creativity are needed to fully appreciate the developments in this field and their articulation within the existing art world.


Electrochromic (EC) materials are able to change their optical properties, reversibly and persistently, by the application of an electrical voltage. These materials can be integrated in multilayer devices capable of modulating the optical transmittance between widely separated extrema. We first review the recent literature on inorganic EC materials and point out that today's research is focused on tungsten oxide (colouring under charge insertion) and nickel oxide (colouring under charge extraction). The properties of thin films of these materials are then discussed in detail with foci on recent results from two comprehensive investigations in the authors' laboratory. A logical exposition is obtained by covering, in sequence, structural features, thin film deposition (by sputtering), electronic band structure, and ion diffusion. A novel conceptual model is given for structural characteristics of amorphous W oxide films, based on notions of defects in the ideal amorphous state. It is also shown that the conduction band density of states is obtainable from simple electrochemical chronopotentiometry. Ion intercalation causes the charge-compensating electrons to enter localized states, implying that the optical absorption underlying the electrochromism can be described as ensuing from transitions between occupied and empty localized conduction band states. A fully quantitative theory of such transitions is not available, but the optical absorption can be modeled more phenomenologically as due to a superposition of transitions between different charge states of the W ions (6+, 5+, and 4+). The Ni oxide films were found to have a porous structure comprised of small grains. The data are consistent with EC coloration being a surface phenomenon, most likely confined to the outer parts of the grains. Initial electrochemical cycling was found to transform hydrated Ni oxide into hydroxide and oxy-hydroxide phases on the grain surfaces. Electrochromism in thus stabilized films is consistent with reversible changes between Ni hydroxide and oxy-hydroxide, in accordance with the Bode reaction scheme. An extension of this model is put forward to account for changes of NiO to Ni2O3. It was demonstrated that electrochromism is associated solely with proton transfer. Data on chemical diffusion coefficients are interpreted for polycrystalline W oxide and Ni oxide in terms of the lattice gas model with interaction. The later part of this review is of a more technological and applications oriented character and is based on the fact that EC devices with large optical modulation can be accomplished essentially by connecting W-oxide-based and Ni-oxide-based films through a layer serving as a pure ion conductor. Specifically, we treat methods to enhance the bleached-state transmittance by mixing the Ni oxide with other oxides characterized by wide band gaps, and we also discuss pre-assembly charge insertion and extraction by facile gas treatments of the films, as well as practical device manufacturing and device testing. Here the emphasis is on novel flexible polyester-foil-based devices. The final part deals with applications with emphasis on architectural "smart" windows capable of achieving improved indoor comfort jointly with significant energy savings due to lowered demands for space cooling. Eyewear applications are touched upon as well.


Dengue fever has been infecting millions of people all around the world specially the rural areas of South East Asia according to World Health Organization. It is caused by an Arbovirus and transmitted by the bite of an infected female Aedes aegyptii mosquito. Dengue commonly presents with fever and thrombocytopenia; rare presentations include acute pancreatitis, dengue hemorrhagic stroke and encephalopathy. Common psychiatric complications of dengue fever include anxiety, depression, manic episodes and catatonia. We present a rare case of a 51 year old man who presented with an acute episode of psychosis including over talkativeness, irritability, authoritative and disinhibited behavior, suspiciousness, over familiarity, self important ideas and loss of sleep 15 days following dengue fever. Rapid resolution of symptoms was seen with low dose anti-psychotics and patient fully recovered over a follow up period of 2 months. Literature on psychosis following dengue fever is sporadic with very few publications. Every patient coming from those areas where dengue is endemic and presenting with acute onset of psychotic disorder followed by fever should be screened for dengue. Early recognition is important for appropriate treatment and family counseling about the likely temporary nature of the patient's symptoms.


Background/aim Little or incorrect knowledge about family planning (FP) is one of the main barriers to its use. The study aimed to identify areas of low or no FP utilization; assess married women characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and practice toward FP; and determine the effect of FP education. Patients and methods This intervention study included 198 married women in the reproductive age. Areas of low and no FP utilization were identified by hot map software. All women in the pre-identified areas were selected. A structured questionnaire was used to assess their characteristics, knowledge attitude, and practice toward FP. FP health education sessions were done to discuss importance of FP, appropriate use of different methods, their effectiveness, and side effects. Participants' concerns and misconceptions were also addressed. After intervention, the participants' knowledge was assessed. Service utilization, FP demand, and contraception prevalence indicators were calculated. Results Areas of low and no FP utilization were identified on the map. Mean age of women was 23.1±6.44 years. Most (82.83%) were school educated, and 61.11% were not working. The mean scores for knowledge and attitude were 12±7.89 and 93.41±8.17, respectively. The contraception prevalence was 31.8%. Intrauterine device was the most common method among 54%, followed by pills in 23%, and 6, 8, and 5% were relying on injections, condoms, and natural methods, respectively. After health education, the mean knowledge score was significantly increased, reaching 23±8.35, and contraceptive prevalence was 43.1%. Conclusion Knowledge and attitude of the study participants toward FP was almost low. There is a need for health education and counseling sessions to enhance the utilization of FP methods.


Due to the progression growth of multiservice wireless communication systems in a single device, multiband bandpass filter has attract a great attention to the end user. Therefore, multiband bandpass filter is a crucial component in the multiband transceivers systems which can support multiple services in one device. This paper presents a design of dual-band bandpass filter at 2.4 GHz and 3.5 GHz for WLAN and WiMAX applications. Firstly, the wideband bandpass filter is designed at a center frequency of 3 GHz based on quarter-wavelength short circuited stub. Three types of defected microstrip structure (DMS) are implemented to produce a wide notch band, which are T-inversed shape, C-shape, and U- Shape. Based on the performance comparisons, U-shaped DMS is selected to be integrated with the bandpass filter. The designed filter achieved two passbands centered at 2.51 GHz and 3.59 GHz with 3 dB bandwidth of 15.94 % and 15.86 %. The proposed design is very useful for wireless communication systems and its applications such as WLAN and WiMAX


Abstract. In this paper, the variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current system produced by purely intrinsic nonlinear oceanic mechanisms is studied through a sigma-coordinate ocean model, implemented in a large portion of the Southern Ocean at an eddy-permitting resolution under steady surface heat and momentum fluxes. The mean transport through the Drake Passage and the structure of the main Antarctic Circumpolar Current fronts are well reproduced by the model. Intrinsic variability is found to be particularly intense in the Subantarctic Front and in the Argentine Basin, on which further analysis is focused. The low-frequency variability at interannual timescales is related to bimodal behavior of the Zapiola Anticyclone, with transitions between a strong and collapsed anticyclonic circulation in substantial agreement with altimeter observations. Variability on smaller timescales shows clear evidence of topographic Rossby-wave propagation along the eastern and southern flanks of the Zapiola Rise and of mesoscale eddies, also in agreement with altimeter observations. The analysis of the relationship between the low- and high-frequency variability suggests possible mechanisms of mutual interaction.


The scaling law of subpicosecond laser induced damage (LID) with respect to pulse duration and band gap for TixSi1-xO2 composite films is studied. The band gap in these materials can be changed gradually by varying the composition pa-rameter x. Damage is very deterministic and scaling laws with respect to pulse duration and band gap energy derived previously for pure materials are found to apply to composite films. The scaling can be explained theoretically by using a modified Keldysh theory. The composite materials also show a dependence of the damage threshold as a function of pulse number F(N) (incubation) that is similar to observations in pure dielectric oxides. The measured F(N) is explained with a theoretical model that assumes the formation of an intermediate sample state that increases the absorption of sub-sequent pulses in the train.


Four egg production experiments were performed under controlled conditions on Calanus helgolandicus females from laboratory cultures with a known history of feeding conditions. Two of the experiments were run with females from a cohort reared at a low concentration of Proro- centrum micans (77.5 µgC l -1 , Cohort L). One of the egg production experiments was run at the same low food concentration (females called LL) and the other one at high food concentration (females LH). Another 2 experiments were performed with females from a cohort reared at a high P. micans con- centration (278 µgC l -1 , Cohort H). One of these experiments was run at the same high food level (females HH) whereas the other one was run at the low food concentration (females HL). These 4 experiments allowed us to estimate the influence of both present and past feeding conditions on the egg production rates of the females. The catabolism of the internal resources in terms of carbon (lipid) and nitrogen (protein) of the females was more important for those held at the low concentration and it also varied with the origin of the females. Females L, which had been food-limited during their growth (LL and LH), were apparently deficient in nitrogen since they lost twice as much carbon as nitrogen, whereas females H (HH and HL) drew equally on their carbon and nitrogen resources. After 7 to 10 d, the egg production of females L was significantly lower than that of females H, at both food concentrations (LL < HL and LH < HH). To explain these results, we propose that females L had a lower assimilation efficiency than females H and that, even if they had a higher specific ingestion rate at the beginning of the experiment, they were not able to compensate for metabolic deficiencies (e.g. in protein). Our results indicate that the feeding history of the females may be important in explaining the egg production values found in the field since in situ food conditions are unlikely to remain optimal during an entire generation.


Gramicidin channels are mini-proteins composed of two tryptophan-rich subunits. The conducting channels are formed by the transbilayer dimerization of nonconducting subunits, which are tied to the bilayer/solution interface through hydrogen bonds between the indole NH groups and the phospholipid backbone and water. The channel structure is known at atomic resolution and the channel's permeability characteristics are particularly well defined: gramicidin channels are selective for monovalent cations, with no measurable permeability to anions or polyvalent cations; ions and water move through a pore whose wall is formed by the peptide backbone; and the single-channel conductance and cation selectivity vary when the amino acid sequence is varied, even though the permeating ions make no contact with the amino acid side chains. Given the amount of experimental information that is available-for both the wild-type channels and for channels formed by amino acid-substituted gramicidin analogues-gramicidin channels provide important insights into the microphysics of ion permeation through bilayer-spanning channels. For the same reason, gramicidin channels constitute the system of choice for evaluating computational strategies for obtaining mechanistic insights into ion permeation through the complex channels formed by integral membrane proteins.


A broadband photonic single sideband (SSB) frequency up-converter based on the cross polarization modulation (XPolM) effect in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. An optical radio frequency (RF) signal in the form of an optical single sideband (OSSB) is generated by the photonic SSB frequency up-converter to solve the power fading problem caused by fiber chromatic dispersion. The generated OSSB RF signal has almost identical optical carrier power and optical sideband power. This SSB frequency up-conversion scheme shows an almost flat electrical RF power response as a function of the RF frequency in a range from 31 GHz to 75 GHz after 40 km single mode fiber (SMF) transmission. The photonic SSB frequency up-conversion technique shows negligible phase noise degradation. The phase noise of the up-converted RF signal at 49 GHz for an offset of 10 kHz is -93.17 dBc/Hz. Linearity analysis shows that the photonic SSB frequency up-converter has a spurious free dynamic range (SFDR) value of 79.51 dB · Hz(2/3).


Evolutionary algorithms (EAs) are often well-suited for optimization problems involving several, often conflicting objectives. Since 1985, various evolutionary approaches to multiobjective optimization have been developed that are capable of searching for multiple solutions concurrently in a single run. However, the few comparative studies of different methods presented up to now remain mostly qualitative and are often restricted to a few approaches. In this paper, four multiobjective EAs are compared quantitatively where an extended 0/1 knapsack problem is taken as a basis. Furthermore, we introduce a new evolutionary approach to multicriteria optimization, the strength Pareto EA (SPEA), that combines several features of previous multiobjective EAs in a unique manner. It is characterized by (a) storing nondominated solutions externally in a second, continuously updated population, (b) evaluating an individual's fitness dependent on the number of external nondominated points that dominate it, (c) preserving population diversity using the Pareto dominance relationship, and (d) incorporating a clustering procedure in order to reduce the nondominated set without destroying its characteristics. The proof-of-principle results obtained on two artificial problems as well as a larger problem, the synthesis of a digital hardware-software multiprocessor system, suggest that SPEA can be very effective in sampling from along the entire Pareto-optimal front and distributing the generated solutions over the tradeoff surface. Moreover, SPEA clearly outperforms the other four multiobjective EAs on the 0/1 knapsack problem.


We review the literature on negative-expected-value suits (NEV suits) – suits in which the plaintiff would obtain a negative expected return from pursuing the suit all the way to judgment. We discuss alternative theories as to why, and when, plaintiffs with NEV suits can extract a positive settlement amount. In particular, we explain how such a plaintiff can extract a positive settlement due (i) asymmetry of information between the parties, (ii) divisibility of the plaintiff's litigation costs, (iii) upfront costs that the defendant must incur before the plaintiff incurs any costs; (iv) expectation that the arrival of information during the course of the litigation may turn the suit into a positive-expected-value one, (5) reputation that enables the plaintiff to bind itself to going to trial if the defendant refuses to settle; or (6) the plaintiff's having a contingency fee or retainer arrangement with its lawyer.


The formation of nanostructured TiO2 oxides in the formof nanotubes or nanopores grown on Ti films was investigated. Ti thin films were deposited by radio-frequency (RF)magnetron sputtering on silicon substrates and then anodized. Anodization was performed in glycerol electrolytes containing 0.6 wt.% and 1.2 wt.% ammonium fluoride (NH4F) with an applied potential from 20 to 60 V. The morphology and structure were identified by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The effect of fluoride concentration on the forma-tion of nanotubes or nanopores prepared on Ti thin layer have not been understood, besidesmost of the works are focused on Ti sheet. We show in the present work that a simple parameter as the NH4F content in the electrolyte can turn themorphology fromporous to tubular. It can allow an understanding of themechanism of formation of pores/tubes and its practical impact.


The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of different parameter of mix composition on fresh and rheological properties of printable mortar.  Different binders were tested such as limestone filler (LS), and fly ash (FA).  The water/binder ratio of 0.50 was used in this investigation.  Superplasticiser (SP), viscosity modifying admixture (VMA) and sisal natural fibres (NF) were used in the investigation at different percentage.  Furthermore, positive effect of fibres can be reversed when the dosage in fibres is too high (difficulties to extrude and drainage phenomenon which led to a stiffening of the mix). VMA caused an important loss of workability and time gap which influenced the passing ability of the mix through the extruder.  Adding sisal fibres led to a greater yield stress, higher cohesiveness of the mix.  Increase SP led to an increase in slump flow and penetration values and reduced the yield stress which can affect the stability of the shape of printed layers.