Revelation's Whore of Babylon and the hybrid animal upon which she rides provide a female-beastly assemblage against which is constructed the good sovereignty of the Lamb. Derrida's thinking of animality and sovereignty indicates how the human political realm carves out its sovereign position in relation to the category "animal" and in reliance on a "reason of the strongest." It is demonstrated that Revelation's construction of a good and innocent sovereign Lamb—via contrast with the Whore-and-Beast—collapses due to the complexities of the two rival animalities. The importance of such a reading lies in the necessity to destabilise facile connotations and connections between animals and an "other" beastliness that must be violently conquered.


Big data analytics is the latest spotlight with all the glare of fame ranging from media coverage to booming startup companies to eye-catching merges and acquisitions. On the contrary, the $336 billion industry of semiconductor was seen as an "old-fashioned" business, with fading interests from the best and brightest among young graduates and engineers. How will modern big data analytics help the semiconductor industry walk through this transition? This paper answers this question via a number of practical but challenging problems arising from semiconductor manufacturing process. We show that many existing machine learning algorithms are not well positioned to solve these problems, and novel techniques involving temporal, structural and hierarchical properties need to be developed to solve these problems.


Background Success with biological agents could be measured by the proportion of people who achieve and maintain a 75% reduction in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI-75). In patients with a positive response to the treatment (PASI-75), increasing the dose intervals can reduce treatment costs without affecting the efficacy of the drug. Purpose To evaluate the medication persistence to biological treatments in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. To calculate costs savings in selected patients with increased dose intervals. Material and methods This was a retrospective observational study conducted in the outpatient pharmacy of a tertiary hospital. Eligible patients were those with moderate to severe psoriasis who had received any biological agent between January and August 2016. Collected data were: demographic variables (age, gender), disease variables (PASI) and treatment variables (current biological drug to treat psoriasis, and dose, frequency of administration and medication persistence of the drug). In patients with PASI-75, costs savings due to increased dose intervals or dose reductions were calculated. Results 102 (72% men) were included with a median age of 47.5 years (39–54). 49 (48%) were taking ustekinumab, 31 (30%) adalimumab, 20 (20%) etanercept, 1 (1%) golimumab and 1 (1%) secukinumab. For 67 patients (66%) this was their firstline treatment. Medication persistence was 1071 days (472–2362) for etanercept, 993 days (372–1535) for ustekinumab and 827 days (487–1848) for adalimumab. The frequencies of administration were 7 days (7–7) for etanercept, 14 (14–23) for adalimumab and 98 (91–98) for ustekinumab. Median reduction in PASI was −87% (−71%; −100%). In 56 patients (55%) the physician increased the dose interval; 40 (81%) were taking ustekinumab with a dose interval of 98 days (91–105), 12 (39%) adalimumab every 28 days (21–38) and 4 etanercept (20%) every 10 days (9.5–10). This represented a total cost saving of €223 366/year (€66 893 for ustekinumab, €129 525 for adalimumab and €26 948 for etanercept). Median reduction in PASI in patients with increased dose intervals was −89% (−70%; −100%). Conclusion Medication persistence for ustekinumab and etanercept was higher than that for adalimumab. Increasing dose intervals in patients with a positive response to the treatment is a useful strategy to reduce costs and maintain effectiveness. No conflict of interest


This thesis contributes with a countryside perspective to queer research by highlighting the countryside as a context where queer lives are lived. In the thesis I problematize the city/countryside divide with a view of the concept of queer as dependent on space and time. The empirical materials are generated through a workshop on queerness, gathering people living within a countryside context; the materials consist of a discussion and written responses to questions on queerness and the city/countryside binary. Theoretically and methodologically, the thesis is inspired by the notion of agential realism (Barad 2007) and situated knowledge, (Haraway 1988); the use of creative writing, inspired by Richardson (1994 and 2000), has also been central to the development of the thesis. The analysis is carried out within themes focusing on conditions for queerness within city/countryside experienced by people situated in the countryside. The analysis shows how space, time, contexts and intersections are entangled and queering the city/countryside divide.


At many universities, senior undergraduate mechanical engineers work in teams on industrysponsored capstone design projects. These projects provide an excellent opportunity for students to synthesize their courses, work with the more realistic deadlines and expectations of industry, and interact with company representatives. It also give industrial partners a chance to become educational partners with the university, preview potential new hires, and complete some noncritical projects at low cost. This paper presents a case study of a successful six-year partnership between the Automotive Bumper Project committee of the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) and a mechanical engineering department. The AISI Bumper Project has sponsored seven senior capstone design projects and three master's projects, providing excellent educational opportunities for twentyfive students. The projects ranged from specific vehicle bumper designs to building and testing a high-energy pendulum impact tester. The university benefited from this long-term relationship by gaining relevant student projects, supporting graduate students, and retaining a connection with industry. The industry consortium benefited by encouraging the study of topics of interest (steel design, impact analysis) at the undergraduate level, receiving 'outside-the-box' design concepts, and learning how bumpers may be affected by future trends. The costs on both sides were kept low, enabling most of the funds to go directly toward hardware so the students could build and test their designs.


In spite of the rapid growth of interest in the computer analysis of language, this book is one of the first to provide an integrated introduction to the field. Inevitably, when many different approaches are still being considered, a straightforward work of synthesis would be neither possible nor practicable. Nevertheless, Ralph Grishman provides a valuable survey of various approaches to the problems of syntax analysis, semantic analysis, text analysis and natural language generation, while considering in greater detail those that seem to him most productive. The book is written for readers with some background in computer science and finite mathematics, but advanced knowledge of programming languages or compilers is not necessary and nor is a background in linguistics. The exposition is always clear and students will find the exercises and extensive bibliography supporting the text particularly helpful.


In this work we discuss the limitations of link emulators based on conventional network stacks, and present our alternative architecture called TLEM, which is designed to address current high speed links and be open to future speed improvements. TLEM is structured as a pipeline of stages, implemented with separate threads and with limited interactions with each other, so that high performance can be achieved. Our emulator can handle bidirectional traffic at speeds of over 18 Mpps (64 byte packets) and 30 Gbit/s (1500 byte packets) per direction even with large emulation delays. Even higher performance can be achieved with shorter delays, as the workload fits better into the L3 cache of the system. TLEM runs on any system that supports netmap (this includes FreeBSD, Linux and now even Windows hosts). The code is available as open source under a BSD license at github.com:luigirizzo/tlem .


Network analysis of gene co-expression data has been shown to be a strong tool to elucidate biological information from large datasets. In this analysis the goal has been to see if the method developed by Voigt, Nowick & Almaas (2015), based on pairwise gene co-expression correlation, can be used to extract biologically significant information about co-infection of HIV and tuberculosis. Their method is based on the idea that pairwise correlation between genes can be grouped in categories of conserved, divergent and specific correlation, based on their expression in di erent tissues/samples. Data has been gathered from the study done by Kaforou et al. (2013), which includes whole-blood RNA samples gathered from HIV positive and HIV negative patients with either active or latent tuberculosis infection. These samples were grouped accordingly and analyzed, generating networks consisting of conserved, divergent and specific correlations. Networks consisted of correlations between either HIV negative or HIV positive samples co-infected with either active or latent TB, resulting in two di erent networks. These were compared to each other, and the network consisting of HIV positive samples was further analyzed to determine significant nclustering and gene hubs, in the hopes of extracting biological information useful in relation to HIV and TB co-infection. Clusters of conserved correlation between gene pairs was found to be preserved between the two di erent networks, consisting of genes that were found to be involved in the general upkeep of cells. Hubs were found to be located in areas of high degree of specific and divergent pairwise gene co-expression correlations, implying involvement in immune response pathways that di er between the case of latent infection of TB and active TB infection in HIV positive patients. Results from the study performed by Kaforou et al. (2013) were used to determine whether or not the findings from this analysis were consistent with previous findings. TB "Fingerprint" genes are genes whose expression correlated with active TB infection, and could help distinguish between active TB infection from other types of infection, were found to be present to some degree in the network, located in areas of mainly specific and divergent gene pair correlations. This is consistent with what is expected when performing pairwise gene co-expression correlation analysis. These findings indicate that the method described by Voigt et al. (2015) shows great promise in extraction of biological information from gene co-expression data, but more analysis is required to determine more specific genetic implications of the data considered in this study.


In this paper, a mathematical model with four different routes of transmission, namely, asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic, symptomatic and environmental transmissions, has been proposed and analyzed to investigate the role of pre-symptomatic individuals in the transmission dynamics of COVID-19 outbreak. Using the next generation matrix method, the basic reproduction number R 0 has been derived and then sensitivity analysis of the proposed model is presented. Existence and stability analysis of disease free and endemic equilibrium points have been discussed. Numerical simulations to demonstrate the effect of some model parameters related to presymptomatic transmission on the disease transmission dynamics have been carried out.


RATIONALE
Sleep disorders are associated with hypertension and diabetes, primary risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and mortality. It is important to understand these associations in Hispanics/Latinos, in whom cardiovascular death is the leading cause of mortality.

OBJECTIVES
To investigate the prospective associations of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) and insomnia with incident hypertension and diabetes among US Hispanics/Latinos over 6 years of follow-up and to assess potential gender differences in these associations.

METHODS
Data from 11,623 Hispanic/Latino participants in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (Visit 1: 2008-2011; Visit 2: 2014-2017) were analyzed using survey logistic regression models, adjusting for potential confounders.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
SDB (apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 5) and insomnia (Women's Health Initiative Insomnia Rating Scale ≥ 9) were measured at baseline. Incident hypertension (≥ Stage 2) and diabetes were defined according to national guidelines. In the target population, 52.6% were female with mean age 41.1 ± 14.9 years at baseline. SDB was associated with a 1.54 higher adjusted odds of incident hypertension (95% confidence interval (CI) [1.18, 2.00]) and 1.37 higher odds of incident diabetes (95% CI [1.07, 1.75]) compared to no SDB. Insomnia was associated with incident hypertension (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.37; 95% CI [1.11, 1.69]), but not diabetes. The association between insomnia and incident hypertension was stronger among men than women.

CONCLUSIONS
SDB was associated with incident hypertension and diabetes. Insomnia was associated with incident hypertension. These findings support the importance of sleep disorders as modifiable targets for disease prevention and reduction.


Background: Drug repositioning - the application of marketed drugs to new diseases - is a time and cost effective alternative to de novo drug development. Thalidomide is a hallmark example of drug repositioning success. Withdrawn from the market in 1961 after causing thousands of severe birth defects, its newly discovered anti-angiogenic and immunomodulatory properties cleared the way for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2006 for multiple myeloma (MM). Although thalidomide has demonstrated remarkable success in the treatment of MM, responses are typically short-lived with the emergence of resistance. For complex diseases like cancer, multi-target therapeutics are well suited to address efficacy and drug resistance challenges. Here we have designed a novel therapeutic combination of drugs for MM that impacts all disease phenotypes. Methods: Using a computer modeling system from Cellworks that mimics and simulates cancer disease physiology to predict clinical outcomes, we identified AT101 (Bcl2 antagonoist) and tesaglitazar (PPAR α/γ agonist) as a potentially effective drug combination for MM. This combination was shortlisted from over two hundred pharmacodynamic dose-response simulation studies using criteria of efficacy and synergy. Computer modeling predicted that this drug combination mechanistically targets apoptotic pathways and the combination of the agents provides greater than additive activity. These predictive findings were assessed in vitro using OPM2 and U266 human MM cell lines. AT101 and tesaglitazar growth inhibition was evaluated using the MTT assay and analysis of synergy was determined using the Bliss Independence model. Apoptotic induction was analyzed by immunoblotting for cleaved forms of caspases and PARP. Results: 10 μM tesaglitazar and 2 μM AT101 display minimal and moderate growth inhibition respectively as single agents in OPM2 and U266 MM cell lines. Growth inhibition in these cell lines is dramatically enhanced when the drugs are used in combination, reducing cellular viability by 88% and 77% in OPM2 and U266 cells, respectively. Based upon the Bliss Independence model, the relationship between tesaglitazar and AT-101 is synergistic in both cell lines. Combination treatment in both cell lines results in increased apoptosis as indicated by enhanced cleavage of PARP and caspase 3 and 9. Conclusions: Not only do these experiments identify AT101 and tesaglitazar as a potentially effective drug combination for the treatment of MM, these results also validate the use of rationally based, computer modeling to design effective therapeutics and predict clinical outcomes. Future studies will evaluate the mechanism of action for the synergistic interaction between tesaglitazar and AT101 in MM. Citation Format: Nicole A. Doudican, Shireen Vali, Shweta Kapoor, Anay Talawdekar, Zeba Sultana, Taher Abbasi, Gautam Sethi, Seth J. Orlow, Amitabha Mazumder. In vitro validation of rationally designed therapeutic based on drug repositioning and combinations. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2104. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2104


The study investigates the influence of alluvial-lacustrine processes and paleoclimate variations on the distribution of terpenoids and unsubstituted Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). The XRF, ICP-MS, Rock-Eval, and organic geochemical analyses were employed to investigate thirty Lower and Middle Miocene sedimentary samples from the Prebreza and Čučale formations, collected from boreholes BL3 and BL5, situated in the central part of the Toplica Basin (Serbia). The development of the studied basin part was influenced by alluvial-lacustrine processes, which affected the type of organic matter (OM) and the paleoenvironment. Sandy silt and gravel layers in the profile of the BL3 borehole indicate the contribution of thicker clasts brought by rivers. In the BL5 borehole, there are fine-grained intrabasinal lacustrine sediments in the lower part, and swamp sediments in the upper part. The lowest total organic carbon (TOC) content is in alluvial sediments of BL3 and some lacustrine sediments of BL5. Based on Hydrogen Index (HI) and C/N ratio, various mixtures of terrigenous and algal organic matter are present in the sediments, while an increase in the proportion of terrestrial organic matter with higher HI (Type II kerogen) is recorded in upper parts of both boreholes, which may be related to paleoclimatic changes. Based on Tmax, the OM is immature and/or in the initial stage of maturity. The presence of plant terpenoids and unsubstituted PAHs, which reflected paleoflora and paleoclimate changes, was associated with the suggestion of predominating Type III kerogen in the studied sediments. Various factors influenced the application of gymnosperms/angiosperms parameters. For instance, the progressive aromatization of triterpenoids occurred in the BL5, whereas the process was hindered in the upper part of the BL3, probably as a result of high sedimentation rates. Based on C-value, Sr/Cu, and Rb/Sr ratios, during the deposition of the Lower and Middle Miocene formations of Čučale and Prebreza, a warm and humid climate prevailed, reflecting the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO). The production of unsubstituted PAHs in the studied samples probably relates to paleo-wildfires, anoxic conditions, or the presence of specific biomass precursors.


We use the Stock and Wise approximation of stochastic dynamic programming in order to identify the extent to which profitability can explain exit behavior. In our econometric model, heterogeneous firms engage in Bertrand (price) competition. Firms produce heterogeneous products, using labor, materials and capital as inputs. The stock of capital is changed through investments and disinvestments, where the firm incurs adjustment costs due to partial irreversibilities. The model is estimated for six manufacturing industries using Norwegian micro data for the period 1993-2002. We find that increased profitability lowers the exit probability, and this effect is statistically significant in all industries, while, ceteris paribus, high adjustment costs significantly decrease the probability of exit in five of the industries. Exiting firms are characterized by persistently, although only moderately higher, annual exit probabilities than the average firm. There is no tendency for exiting firms to have a high probability of exit just prior to exit.


This dissertation offers a critical analysis of development communication in Africa by studying how the global computing industry transformed schools, the state, and educational culture in Ekiti State, Nigeria. It brings post-development theory together with critical approaches to communication to examine how discourses of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D), Information and Communication Technology for Education (ICT4E), and the digital divide are materialized institutionally and culturally in the context of a specific development project. It relies upon corporate and governmental policy documents, including site visits to schools, and interviews with government officials, consultants, industry partners, parents, students, and teachers to provide a comprehensive account of the failures of a flagship ICT4E project in Nigeria: the Ekiti State e-School Project.
The Ekiti State e-School Project involved the distribution of 30,000 laptops to students in 183 public secondary schools located both in the rural and urban areas at the cost of US$12.5 million. The project was implemented in 2012 in anticipation of a digital future for the Nigeria economy that rested upon the liberalization of the telecommunication sector and precipitated intense forms of collaboration between Ekiti State and global computing corporations, most notably Samsung and Microsoft. My dissertation illustrates how the discourses of education, communication, and development mediated this relationship in ways that failed to solve the problem of social inequality underpinning the digital divide in the state. In addition, it situates the failure of the project within the broader history of telecommunication, modernization theory, and development communication in Africa, as well as the experiences of those participating in and affected by the events described in this dissertation. By bringing post-development theory together with critical communication studies in a novel fashion, I displace the contemporary fascination with 'access to information' and 'digital divide' to discuss the politics of development failure in a wider context.


The number of species in an assemblage at a given point in time is a fundamental prop- erty of ecological systems, yet it is hard to quantify for many marine systems. We studied the perfor- mance of 6 techniques ('estimators') for extrapolating species richness from limited numbers of sam- ples, using 3 datasets for which an absolute value for total species richness could be determined. We propose that the ideal estimator should always slightly overestimate species richness compared to any observed maximum species richness derived from sampling, as sampling error will always lead to underestimation of true richness. We quantified performance of the estimators relative to the sam- pled total richness in the assemblage across a range of efforts up to 80% of that required to achieve the asymptote of the species accumulation. We used 3 measures: bias (mean deviation of an estimate from the known richness), precision (variance of repeated estimates based upon a subset of the avail- able pool of samples), and overall accuracy (a combination of bias and precision). No single estima- tor performed best in all cases, and estimator performance was affected by sampling effort. The esti- mator Chao1 performed best at intermediate sampling efforts, with LAG S∞ also performing well at high relative effort. S∞ consistently underestimated, whilst Chao2 and ICE both overestimated and displayed poor precision and accuracy, especially at intermediate sampling efforts and in datasets with uneven patterns of species incidence. Species abundance and incidence amongst samples of a dataset were shown to affect performance of most of the estimators, with the exception of the recently proposed S∞ family of techniques. We conclude that Chao1 represents the best compromise choice of estimator, and that such nonparametric techniques may represent useful tools for rapid estimation of species richness for some marine assemblages, based on limited sampling effort.


CONTEXT
Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is a tumor syndrome of the parathyroid, endocrine pancreas, and anterior pituitary caused by mutations in the MEN1 gene on 11q13.

OBJECTIVE
The goal of this study was to determine the MEN1 mutation spectrum and detection rate among Swedish patients and identify which patient categories should be tested for MEN1 mutations.

DESIGN/SETTING/PATIENTS
DNA sequences and referral forms from patients referred to the Department of Clinical Genetics at Karolinska University Hospital, Sweden, for clinical MEN1 mutation screening were analyzed. The mutation status of 371 patients (including 200 probands) was ascertained, and the multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) assay was evaluated for the detection of large deletions.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
The main outcome measure was MEN1 genotypes.

RESULTS
Forty-eight of 200 index cases (24%) shared 40 different mutations (18 novel). A total of 69% of all mutations resulted in a truncated protein. Two large deletions were detected by MLPA. A total of 94% of all MEN1 families had a mutation in the coding region of the MEN1 gene. A total of 6% of sporadic cases had MEN1 mutations. There was no correlation between severe disease and mutation type or location.

CONCLUSIONS
A total of 4% of all mutations were large deletions, and MLPA is now included in our standard MEN1 mutation screening. Individuals with at least one typical endocrine tumour and at least one of the following: 1) a first-degree relative with a major endocrine tumor; 2) an age of onset less than 30 yr; and/or 3) multiple pancreatic tumors/parathyroid hyperplasia were most likely to harbor a mutation; thus these patients should be screened for MEN1 mutations.


Aim: The study aims to assess the Saudi Arabian publications on dentistry and their citation impact as reflected in the Web of Science (WoS). Methods: WoS database categorized dental research under "Dentistry Oral Surgery Medicine". Dental sciences publications with citation impact by Saudi Arabian affiliated authors produced during 2009-2018 have been searched by using suitable searching strategy and dental research of 10 randomly selected countries has been carried out for comparison. The downloaded data was transferred into Microsoft Excel format to measure the bibliometric indicators and citation impact of publications. Results: A total of 1,771 documents on dentistry were published by Saudi Arabia from the time span of 2009 to 2018. These publications received a total of 10,320 citations with an average of 5.83 citations per paper. The subcategory of "Engineering biomedical" in dentistry got maximum citation impact. Review articles received higher citations as compared to original research articles. Dataset by organizations showed that the research carried out in the hospital sector have a higher number of citations as compared to teaching institutions. The research collaboration by Saudi Arabian authors with the researchers of the University of Michigan, USA got maximum citations while by country analysis shows that research collaboration with Italy, Germany and Japan have more citations as compared to the US, Egypt and England. Conclusion: Although there is promising growth in dental research in Saudi Arabia, even then researchers need to write on the novel and innovative ideas to get global attention and citations. Articles published in Q1 impact factor journals and research collaboration with talent-rich countries got higher citations.


The colloidal suspensions of aqueous cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are known to form liquid crystalline (LC) systems above certain critical concentrations. From an isotropic phase, tactoid formation, growth, and sedimentation have been determined as the genesis of a high‐density cholesteric phase, which, after drying, originates solid iridescent films. Herein, the coexistence of a liquid crystal upper phase and an isotropic bottom phase in CNC aqueous suspensions at the isotropic–nematic phase separation is reported. Furthermore, isotropic spindle‐like domains are observed in the low‐density LC phase and high‐density LC phases are also prepared. The CNCs isolated from the low‐ and high‐density LC phases are found to have similar average lengths, diameters, and surface charges. The existence of an LC low‐density phase is explained by the presence of air dissolved in the water present within the CNCs. The air dissolves out when the water solidifies into ice and remains within the CNCs. The self‐adjustment of the cellulose chain conformation enables the entrapment of air within the CNCs and CNC buoyancy in aqueous suspensions.


: In 60 patients with severe form of peritonitis, treated with peritoneostomy application, were studied up the peculiarities of the abdominal wall postoperative wounds suppuration concerning its clinical course and treatment. For the local treatment of purulent wounds the electrochemically activated potassium chloride solution anolyte fraction (EHAR-anolyte) was applied.


To explore the inhibition of juglone in Qinglongyi on A-549 cells in vitro, MTT assay was used. Laser confocal scanning microscope with AV-PI staining was used to observe apoptotic morphology. Changes of cell cycle are studied by flow cytometry analysis. The result of MTT assay showed that juglone had a marked growth inhibition in A-549 cells and the IC50 is respectively 3.4×10−5mol/L, 1.8×10−5mol/L and 2.6×10−6mol/L after treatment for 24, 48 and 72 h by juglone. Through Laser confocal scanning microscope, we can see that juglone can induce the apoptosis, cells in the early stage of apoptosis were only stained by Annexin V-FITC, while necrotic cells and cells in the late stage of apoptosis were stained by both Annexin V-FITC and PI and appeared to be red inside and green outside. Cell cycle changes are analyzed by flow cytometry with cells at G1 phase significantly less than those of control and cells at G2 phase significantly more than those of control. This study has demonstrated for the first time that juglone from Qinglongyi can inhibit the proliferation of A-549 cells and block their cell cycle at the G2 phase, thus inducing apoptosis in these cells in distinct dose-dependent manner. But the specific mechanism responsible for the blocking of cell cycle and the induction of apoptosis has to await further research.


OBJECTIVE To explore whether intensified, multifactorial intervention could prevent macrovascular disease in patients with recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 150 type 2 diabetic patients, with disease duration of <1 year and without clinical arteriosclerotic disease or subclinical atherosclerotic signs confirmed by ultrasonographic scanning of three conducting arteries, were randomized into an intensive intervention group and a conventional intervention group. They then received intensive, multifactorial intervention or conventional intervention over 7 years of follow-up. The patients' common carotid intima-media thicknesses (CC-IMTs) were measured every year. The primary outcome was the time to the first occurrence of CC-IMTs ≥1.0 mm and/or development of atherosclerosis plaques in the carotid artery. The secondary outcome was clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease. RESULTS A total of 70 patients in the intensive group and 68 patients in the conventional group completed the 7-year follow-up. Subclinical macrovascular (primary) outcomes occurred in seven cases in the intensive group and 22 cases in the conventional group for a cumulative prevalence of 10.00 and 32.35%, respectively (P < 0.05). No significant differences between the two groups were observed regarding the secondary outcome. CONCLUSIONS Primary prevention of macrovascular diseases can be achieved through intensified, multifactorial intervention in patients with short-duration type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetic patients should undergo intensive multifactorial interventions with individual targets for the prevention of macrovascular diseases.


The Studies are reported of the clearing effect of intra- venous heparin on lipemic plasma induced after a fatty meal in a total of 69 atherosclerotic and control patients. In 11 of 12 patients who received a dose of 3 mg. of heparin, the clearing of the plasma did not persist for one hour. When the dose of heparin was increased to 20 mg. the clearing effect failed to per- sist for two hours in all 10 patients who were tested. When difference noted average degree later. The 100 mg. changed the response toward normal in four atherosclerotic patients. A similar effect was not noted in three atherosclerotic patients who did not receive heparin between tests. 17/18), 1953. The authors studied the contour of the normal precordial electrocardiogram (leads Vi to V6) in 150 healthy children of various ages (5 weeks to 15 years), and its gradual transformation from the pattern characteristic of the infant to that of adolescence. All dlata were submitted to vectorial analysis. Normal ranges of the size of the R wave in each of the six pr1ecordial leads were tabulated for five age groups. The R/S ratio in right sided chest leads is greater than 1 in the youngest and decreases proportion-ately with increasing age. The timing of the in- trinsicoid deflection, however, remains unchanged in these leads, whereas it shows a slight and progressive delay in leads V5 and V6 as the child becomes older. In infants and small children nega- tivity of T wave may extend from V1 to V4. The incidence of negative or diphasic T waves in these leads then decreases in proportion to the advancing age. The inhalation of 5 per cent carbon dioxide results in a marked and selective cerebral vasodilatation in normal young individuals and results in an increase in cerebral blood flow. Using the nitrous oxide technic, these authors studied the effect of carbon dioxide in patients with vascular disease. Normotensive individuals were compared to elderly arteriosclerotic but normotensive individuals, hypertensive individuals without evidence of arteriosclerosis, and subjects with hypertension and arteriosclerosis. The results indicate that the normotensive arteriosclerotic subjects fail to show a significant decrease in cerebrovascular resistance although the blood flow is increased slightly. A small group of patients with essential hypertension responded normally to carbon dioxide inhalation when hypertension and arteriosclerosis


Reliable transmission of acoustic information about individual identity is of critical importance for pair bond maintenance in numerous monogamous songbirds. However, information transfer can be impaired by environmental constraints such as external noise or propagation-induced degradation. Birds have been shown to use several adaptive strategies to deal with difficult signal transmission contexts. Specifically, a number of studies have suggested that vocal plasticity at the emitter's level allows birds to counteract the deleterious effects of sound degradation. Although the communication process involves both the emitter and the receiver, perceptual plasticity at the receiver's level has received little attention. Here, we explored the reliability of individual recognition by female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), testing whether perceptual training can improve discrimination of degraded individual vocal signatures. We found that female zebra finches are proficient in discriminating between calls of individual males at long distances, and even more so when they can train themselves with increasingly degraded signals over time. In this latter context, females succeed in discriminating between males as far as 250 m. This result emphasizes that adaptation to adverse communication conditions may involve not only the emitter's vocal plasticity but also the receptor's decoding process through on-going learning.


The 1995 repeal of the National Maximum Speed Limit (NMSL) in the United States returned all speed limit policy authority back to the individual states. In the time since the 1995 repeal, a wide variety of speed limit policies have been enacted and modified, with nearly all states eventually choosing to raise maximum speed limits on limited access freeways above the NMSL of 55 mph. Rural non-freeway roadways have also experienced speed limit increases above 55 mph in many states. As of late-2015, speed limits greater than 55 mph were used on rural undivided roadways in 21 states. Several other states have also considered increasing speed limits on undivided roadways beyond 55 mph. This includes the state of Michigan, where recently proposed legislation would increase speed limits on state-maintained rural undivided highways from 55 mph to 65 mph. In contrast to prior initiatives of this nature, many of the recent speed limit increases were done on a selective basis (rather than system-wide) in consideration of factors such as prevailing speeds, recent crash history, roadway geometry, and costs required for infrastructure upgrades. This is likely due in large part to the substantial infrastructure costs associated with geometric modifications along certain segments that will ultimately be necessary to achieve compliance with state and/or federal design speed requirements. However, a survey of states that recently increased speed limits on rural non-freeway roadways did not provide specific details as to how such roadways were selected or prioritized for selection. Furthermore, given how recently these increases were implemented, none of these states had been able to determine whether the speed limit changes had a measureable effect on traffic safety. This paper presents the results from a study aimed at developing a prioritization strategy to identify prospective candidate locations for potential speed limit increases in Michigan. The development of such a prioritization strategy was motivated by the estimated high costs associated with geometric modifications, specifically horizontal or vertical realignment, that would be required to achieve system-wide design speed compliance during rehabilitation or reconstruction, in addition to expected impacts on traffic safety. Consequently, it was determined that a prioritization strategy was needed to identify roadway segments that possess a low safety risk and where costly geometric improvements can be avoided.


This is a descriptive study conducted to examine problematic internet use in terms of gender, social anxiety and peer relations. The sample is comprised of a total of 682 students high school students (356 female (52,2%) and 326 male (47,8%) studying at the 9th , 10 th , and 11th grades during the Fall semester of the 2012-2013 Academic Year in three different high schools in Cankaya, Etimesgut, and Mamak districts of Ankara. In order to determine students' problematic internet use, 'Problematic Internet Use Scale-Adolescent' developed by Ceyhan and Ceyhan (2009), to determine their social anxiety levels, 'Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents' developed by Aydin and Tekinsav-Sutcu (2007) and adapted to high school students by the researchers, and to determine their peer relations, 'Peer Relations Scale' developed by Kaner (2002). In the study, t-test and hierarchical regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The result of the study showed that male high school students have a higher level of problematic internet use compared to female high school students. Hierarchical regression analysis results, explained that fear of negative evaluation sub-dimension of social anxiety and social avoidance and nervousness in general situations have an important effect (22%) on problematic internet use; moreover, it was also determined that opening oneself sub-dimension of the peer relations variable and loyalty variable meaningfully contribute (%6) to this.


Background: Neonatal intensive care (NICU) providers may experience distress due to controversial orders or the close relationships they form with neonates' families. A "Patient Ethics and Communications Excellence [PEACE] Rounds" intervention developed at Indiana University proved to significantly relieve distress by facilitating interdisciplinary discussions of clinically and ethically challenging issues associated with pediatric intensive care (PICU) patient care. NICU healthcare providers face similar challenges and will benefit from understanding the potential efficacy of PEACE Rounds in this setting. Purpose: This study describes the experiences of NICU healthcare providers who participate in PEACE Rounds and evaluates their perceptions of how it affects their distress levels, contributes to interdisciplinary collaboration, and influences their understanding of ethical decision-making. Methods: Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 intervention participants, observed 12 interventions, facilitated a validation focus group, and performed a constructionist thematic analysis and triangulation based on data from transcribed recordings. Findings: PEACE Rounds improved interdisciplinary communication and collaboration and demonstrated restorative value through the benefits of voice and collective support. The intervention may reduce, but not replace, the need for formal ethics consultations. Implications for Practice: PEACE Rounds may potentially improve interdisciplinary communications and collaboration, relieve employee distress, and reduce ethics consultations. Implications for Research: Studies of PEACE Rounds undertaken in other clinical settings, and facilitated by a nurse educator, will help assess the potential benefits of greater reach and access and the efficacy of less structured ethics discussions.


The monolithic and inflexible nature of current middleware, has made it difficult to deal with emerging technologies such as multimedia. We believe that reflection provides a principled means to achieve the flexibility and adaptation required The main focus of this paper regards the reconfiguration of resources in middleware within the context of OpenORB, a reflective middleware architecture. A resource model is presented which provides a representation of the physical resources whereby various levels of abstraction are offered The approach is validated by a series of experimental results.


Abstract Glutathione S-transferases are multifunctional enzymes for the cellular defense against xenobiotics and provide protection for organism. In this study, the inhibition effects of some antibiotics were investigated against GST obtained from albino-rats kidney, liver, and heart tissues. Ninety-six albino-rats were randomly divided into 16 groups (n:6). The first four groups were control groups that were administrated blank enjection and decapitated at 1–7 h. The other groups were administrated the antibiotics. In all tissues, GST activity was increased in antibiotics groups at 1st and 3rd hours compared to control groups, while it began to fall at 5th and 7th hours (p < .05). In kidney tissues, it was lower than the same control group the cefuroxime and cefoperazone groups at 7th hours (p < .05). In addition, almost all antibiotic groups of kidney tissues had higher GST activity at all hours than those of control groups, but it was higher only at 5th hours in heart tissues (p < .05).


This study deals with the effect of tool–surface inclination on cutting forces in ball end milling .Since glass undergoes almost no elastic deformation, the shape of the cutter in glass machining has a larger influence on surface finish than that of metal machining. Model of geometry and tilt tool milling process is established. A double helix micro-flute ball end mill made of cemented carbide is used in the groove milling tests with radius 0.5mm at a helix angle of 30°. The rotational axis of the tool is inclined to improve the surface finish. The cutting processes are modeled, and 3-direction cutting forces are measured via three groups of experiments to show the effect of the tool inclination on the machined surface. Several micro grooves, then, are machined with the crack-free surfaces to prove efficiency and surface quality in the milling process.


Deficiency of boron (B) in citrus has serious consequences for tree health and crop production. There is evidence that B deficiency may be a problem in Arizona citrus. Certainly, many symptoms of B deficiency are apparent, especially on the Yuma Mesa. A field trial was conducted at Yuma, Arizona to examine the effect of foliar boron application on fruit yield and quality of Citrus sinensis and C. limon. Boron was applied to 5 year old Citrus sinensis cv. Hamlin and C. limon cv. Rosenberger Lisbon trees at 5 different concentrations (0 ppm, 500 ppm, 1000 ppm, 2000 ppm, 3000 ppm) either before flowering or after flowering. At harvest, fruit yield and quality, and boron concentrations were determined. Foliar application appeared to increase leaf boron concentration (r= 0.50, p= 0.004). Fruit set was increased in Hamlin trees receiving bloom and post bloom applications of boron at the 1000 ppm level. Boron applications had no significant effect on lemon yield in these studies. This fruit set increase in Hamlin accounted for a 35% increase in overall yield relative to control trees. However, there was no significant difference in fruit weight, fruit pH, titratable acidity, peel thickness, juice volume, or soluble solid content of the fruits among treatments. Previous studies indicate that boron influenced in vivo and in vitro pollen germination in many crops. A plausible explanation for increased fruit yield may be that the applied boron was transported to the flowers where it exerted its influence of increased fruit set through an effect on pollen viability and/or pollen tube growth. However, clearly boron supplementation must be performed judiciously to avoid fruit drop from over -application of the element.


Weld penetration is an important physical characteristic of a weldment that affects the stress carrying capacity of the weld joint. Several welding parameters seem to influence weld penetration. This paper presents the relationship between weld penetration and four direct welding process parameters of robotic CO2 arc welding process on structural carbon steel. Two level, full factorial design was applied to investigate and quantify the direct and interactive effects of four process parameters on weld penetration. The upper and lower limits of the process control variables were identified through trial and error methodology, and the experiments were conducted using 'bead on plate' mode. The performance of the model was then tested by using analysis of variance technique and the significance of the coefficients was tested by applying student's't' test. Commercial computer programs were used for statistical analysis. The main and interactive effects of different welding parameters are studied by presenting it in graphical form.


In this paper the authors calculate OCA-indexes for industrial countries in an effort to estimate the benefit-cost ratio of adopting a common currency. The results correspond to the estimation of Bayoumi and Eichengreen (1997b) and show that the ranking of the economies suitable to form a monetary union stays the same in the 1980s as well as in the 1990s. In other words, the economies, which were structurally close to each other in the 1980s, remain close in the 1990s and the opposite is valid for the structurally different economies. This empirical estimation also does not provide evidence for views, which emphasise the seemingly striking difference between the core and the periphery of the European Union. The authors perform also an estimation of the same index by including the Czech Republic and find no support for the view that the economy of the Czech Republic could possibly structurally differ more than the EMU member countries between each other. Then they conclude that if the EMU is sustainable, the accession of the Czech economy should not change it.


TOTHE EDITOR: The recent "DIAS Rounds" consult reviewing drug interaction studies between warfarin and ranitidine concerns us (DICP 1985;19:664-5). Your reviewer provides misleading advice to practicing physicians. Although it is welldocumented that concomitant treatment with cimetidine leads to higher levelsof warfarin, well-controlled studies in man indicate that ranitidine does not share this action. Of particular concern to us is the attempt by the author to associate ranitidine treatment with both an increase and decrease in warfarin metabolism when these changes are undoubtedly due to day-to-day variations in warfarin concentrations. To conclude that ranitidine was responsible for a 47 percent decrease in prothrombin time in one subject and a 58 percent increase in another is misleading.


The account of the coming of Christian Science to Australia given in this article is based on testimony contributed by early adherents to the two main church publications, The Christian Science Journal and the Christian Science Sentinel, supplemented by Church records and other sources. The first two decades are covered, from the earliest known intimations of interest to the death of Mary Baker Eddy in 1910, when a Christian Science presence in Australia was assured. Interest shown by writer Miles Franklin, and her association with Melbourne adherents such as leading feminist Vida Goldstein, provides the starting point. The focus is on positive responses. It is postulated that in addition to the documentary and expressive value of the testimonies, they point to problems of class and health in turn-of-the-century Australia. A preponderance of women in both the testimonies and the practice is evidenced, and the openness of progressive women to new approaches is noted. With reference to male testimony, it is suggested that further research into responses to American ways in religion by the urban midle class would be very valuable.


Are geneticists ready for the circulome? At a recent Biology of Genomes meeting, a biologist showed off a new method to extensively survey human cells for mysterious, sometimes gene-filled loops known as extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA). These genetic rings, which come in varying sizes, are gaining new respect as researchers find more evidence that eccCDNA plays roles in health and disease, particularly in cancer. Recent work shows the biggest ones are abundant in many cancer cells but not healthy cells and that these circles may aid the cancer9s evolution and recurrence. Another new paper even suggests the DNA loops are released to influence distant cells.


The author describes an efficient algorithm for determining the feasibility of a transaction with runtime linearly proportional to the number of lock requests in the transaction. The schedulability checker based on the game-board representation determines transaction schedulability one at a time (incrementally), and thus it also has linear runtime complexity once the checker is initialized. Given the current configuration of the database and the characteristics of the newly arrived transaction, the feasibility test can determine a priori whether the new transaction can be completed by its specified deadline. An example is presented which illustrates how the transaction feasibility checker and the runtime monitor work.<<ETX>>


Successive over-relaxation (SOR) can be an efficient iterative method of solving linear systems of equations. However, parallel implementation depends on an appropriate structure in the coefficient matrix; for systems arising from discretization of the Poisson equation, a red-black ordering of the unknowns is suitable. One difficulty in utilizing SOR is the necessity of choosing a good value for the relaxation parameter, /spl omega/. We present a neural network for solving the Poisson equation applied to electrostatics. The neural network learns a good value for /spl omega/ as it solves the linear system. The algorithm is based on the standard parallel SOR method. The performance of the sequential SOR and Jacobi methods are compared with the neural network for two sample problems.


Loss of hypocretin neurons leads to sleep attacks and cataplexy in a rare sleep disorder known as narcolepsy. The hypocretin system stabilizes states of wakefulness and sleep through complex neural pathways. Insomnia, on the other hand, is a common sleep disorder characterized as difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep. Current treatment options for insomnia are limited to cognitive-behavioral therapy and pharmacological agents such as non-benzodiazepine receptor agonists. The discovery of hypocretin and deficiency of these peptides in narcolepsy spurred the development of pharmacological agents that antagonize hypocretin receptors for the treatment of sleep disorders such as insomnia. Preclinical and limited clinical data on hypocretin antagonists have shown favorable outcomes in the treatment of insomnia but concerns of theoretical adverse effects still remain.


One of the most remarkable phenomena in current international politics is the increasing attention paid to "historical injustice." Opinions on this phenomenon strongly differ. For some it stands for a new and noble type of politics based on raised moral standards and helping the cause of peace and democracy. Others are more critical and claim that retrospective politics comes at the cost of present- or future-oriented politics and tends to be anti-utopian. The warnings about the perils of a retrospective politics outweighing politics directed at contemporary injustices, or strivings for a more just future, should be taken seriously. Yet the alternative of a politics disregarding all historical injustice is not desirable either. We should refuse to choose between restitution for historical injustices and struggle for justice in the present or the future. Rather, we should look for types of retrospective politics that do not oppose but complement or reinforce the emancipatory and utopian elements in present- and future-directed politics. I argue that retrospective politics can indeed have negative effects. Most notably it can lead to a "temporal Manichaeism" that not only posits that the past is evil, but also tends to treat evil as anachronistic or as belonging to the past. Yet I claim that ethical Manichaeism and anti-utopianism and are not inherent features of all retrospective politics but rather result from an underlying philosophy of history that treats the relation between past, present, and future in antinomic terms and prevents us from understanding "transtemporal" injustices and responsibilities. In order to pinpoint the problem of certain types of retrospective politics and point toward some alternatives, I start out from a criticism formulated by the German philosopher Odo Marquard and originally directed primarily at progressivist philosophies of history.


In the Hirshfeld partitioning of the electron density, the molecular electron density is decomposed in atomic contributions, proportional to the weight of the isolated atom density in the promolecule density, constructed by superimposing the isolated atom electron densities placed on the positions the atoms have in the molecule. A maximal conservation of the information of the isolated atoms in the atoms‐in‐molecules is thereby secured. Atomic charges, atomic dipole moments, and Fukui functions resulting from the Hirshfeld partitioning of the electron density are computed for a large series of molecules. In a representative set of organic and hypervalent molecules, they are compared with other commonly used population analysis methods. The expected bond polarities are recovered, but the charges are much smaller compared to other methods. Condensed Fukui functions for a large number of molecules, undergoing an electrophilic or a nucleophilic attack, are computed and compared with the HOMO and LUMO densities, integrated over the Hirshfeld atoms in molecules. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 12: 1198–1209, 2002


Resonance fluorescence of two-level quantum systems has emerged as a powerful tool in quantum information processing. Extension of this approach to higher-level systems provides new opportunities for quantum optics applications. Here we introduce an all-optical tuning functionality into a well-established resonance fluorescence coherent driving scheme. We accomplish this by resonant excitation of a three-level ladder system with two laser fields utilizing Autler-Townes and ac Stark effects. We propose theoretically and demonstrate experimentally the feasibility of this approach toward all-optical spectral tuning of quantum-dot-based single-photon sources and investigate photon indistinguishability and purity levels. Our tuning technique allows for fast optical control of the quantum emitter spectrum which paves the way toward temporal and spectral shaping of the single photons, formation of topological Floquet states, or generation of high-dimensional frequency-encoded quantum states of light.


Red cells are full of unique biological properties such as immune evasion and molecular-specific permeability. These properties originate from various membrane proteins on the surface of the cell membrane. For this reason, red cell membrane is coated on nanomaterials or sensors to bestow the functionalities of the membrane proteins. In this chapter, various types of membrane proteins of red cell and its functions are described. Also, the following two experimental procedures are sum-marized: (I) the extraction of red cell membrane containing membrane proteins and (II) coating of the extracted cell membrane onto the nanoparticles and solid surface of sensors. Finally, the applications of red cell membrane in drug delivery system and biosensor are discussed.


This theoretical paper focuses on the concept of impression management to explain how networked learners' presentations of self as part of the establishment, cultivation and use of productive social learning networks. The arguments in this paper connect social presence, which has long been considered an important element of online learning, with social capital, which has been used more recently to describe the way learners use social networks to support their learning. These arguments are situated at the intersection of social connectivity, goal-directed learning activity and learner experience. The broad area of interest is how learners' goals and intentions affect their activity and behaviour in networked learning environments. More specifically, we are concerned with how learners' goals related to study and learning affect their intentional activity toward forming and using the social connections that constitute learning networks. In this context, impression management is used to describe and explain how learners intentionally construct presentations of self as part of cultivating their social presence in networked learning and how that presentation of self leads to the establishment and development of connections (or ties) with others and the development of a network of productive connections which support learning. We argue that the constructions of self are not arbitrary; rather, they are seen as intentional efforts by learners to present themselves in ways which are not only socially acceptable, but maximise the extent to which they are views as attractive partners for social learning activity. Learners read the social environment and act intentionally in response to the social context to present themselves in ways that further their goals of productive networked learning activity. By expressing themselves in particular ways and forming impressions of others, individuals are able to establish, cultivate and use social connections and then build social networks constituted of those connections. Those social networks provide learners with the connections they need to generate social capital, that is, to find and use the value (or resources) through connections or relationships that constitute a network. The paper concludes with a the identification of several questions for educators to consider as part of informing their practice of networked learning and supporting goal-directed, technology-mediated social processes and the cultivation of productive learning networks.


The cooling stave longevity is the most important factor to affect the blast furnace life. In this paper the cooling stave model was built by use of software ANSYS. With boundary conditions of heat transfer of cooling stave fully taken into account, temperature fields of cooling stave made of different materials are analyzed. The analysis results showed the relationship between the different cooling stave materials and temperature field distribution of stave body. A general method of selecting cooling stave material and structure design for longevity design of cooling stave was developed.


This is Part 2 of a study of the near-Earth heliospheric magnetic fi eld strength, B , since 1750. Part 1 produced composite estimates of B from geomagnetic and sunspot data over the period 1750 – 2013. Sunspot-based reconstructions can be extended back to 1610, but the paleocosmic ray (PCR) record is the only data set capable of providing a record of solar activity on millennial timescales. The process for converting 10 Be concentrations measured in ice cores to B is more complex than with geomagnetic and sunspot data, and the uncertainties in B derived from cosmogenic nuclides (~20% for any individual year) are much larger. Within this level of uncertainty, we fi nd reasonable overall agreement between PCR-based B and the geomagnetic- and sunspot number-based series. This agreement was enhanced by excising low values in PCR-based B attributed to high-energy solar proton events. Other discordant intervals, with as yet unspeci fi ed causes remain included in our analysis. Comparison of 3year averages centered on sunspot minimum yields reasonable agreement between the three estimates, providing a means to investigate the long-term changes in the heliospheric magnetic fi eld into the past even without a means to remove solar proton events from the records.


There is significant interest in reforming retirement plans for public school employees, particularly in light of current market conditions. This article presents an overview of the various types of state regulation of public pension plans that affect possibilities for reform. Nearly all of the various approaches to public pension plan protection taken by the states have significant flaws. These flaws include a lack of clarity regarding what plan changes the relevant legal standard will allow, combined with either too much or too little protection for plan participants. This article argues that states would be well served to adopt a contractual approach to public pension benefits but to limit that contractual protection to accrued benefits. This approach is clear, protects legitimate participant interests, and preserves an employer's ability to respond to changing economic conditions.


The effect of the cooling rate after the reflow on the behavior of fatigue crack growth along Cu/Sn-Pb interfaces was examined in solder joints. Flexural peel specimens made from eutectic Sn-Pb solder alloy and Cu were cooled down from reflowing to room temperature using furnace cooling, air cooling, and water quenching. Kinetics of fatigue crack growth along the solder/Cu interface were measured from the flexural peel specimens as a function of strain energy release rate. The effect of cooling rate was found to depend on the level of strain energy release rate. Increasing the cooling rate from furnace cooling to water-quenching enhanced the fatigue crack growth resistance by up to more than 50% at low strain energy release rates, but reduced the fatigue crack growth resistance by up to 100% at high strain energy release rates. The enhanced fatigue crack growth resistance at the low strain energy release rates is shown to result from roughening of the interface with increasing cooling rate, while the reduction in the fatigue crack growth resistance at very high strain energy release rates followed the change in crack growth mechanisms from cohesive to interfacial.


The role of radiation therapy has been well established for selected patients with thymoma. Among patients with stage I tumors that have undergone a complete surgical excision, there is no indication for postoperative RT. There is also no need for postoperative RT for patients with completely excised stage II tumors when there is no transgression of the tumor through the thymic capsule. If there is transgression of the tumor through the capsule, postoperative RT is recommended even in the presence of complete surgical resection. For totally or partially resected stage III tumors, postoperative RT, to a total dose in excess of 50.4 Gy, is recommended. CT scan-based treatment planning is recommended for all of these indications. The role of preoperative RT is currently less certain. For bulky, unresectable tumors, preoperative chemotherapy and postoperative RT seem to be a promising trimodality approach. There also will be a need for preoperative RT among partial responders.


The objectives of this research are to assess the performance of engineering stu-dents when using mathematical competences to solve problems with derivatives, to analyze their difficulties, and to observe which secondary school contents are essential for this purpose. The study is descriptive and exploratory with the use of quantitative methods. The participants are students of three competence-based engineering programs of a Chilean University. The results show a limited knowledge of secondary education mathematical contents like algebra, the main mathematical functions, and proportional geometry. The presence of difficulties associated to mathematical thinking processes and the complexity of mathematical objects are also evident. However, everyday problems in an artificial or fantasy context were more appealing for students, who solved most of them correctly. Even though these problems are imaginary, they were formulated using situations that engineering students face every day.


Several works emphasize the difficulties of software verification applied to embedded systems. In industrial development practices, the verification process takes a great part of the development time and budget to satisfy quality and reliability. In past years, formal verification techniques and tools were widely developed and used by the research community. However, the use of formal verification at industrial scale still difficult, expensive and requires lot of time. This is due to the size and the complexity of manipulated models, but also, to the important gap between requirement models manipulated by different stackholders and formal models required by existing verification tools. In this paper, we fill this gap by providing the UCM framework to automatically generate formal models used by formal verification tools. At this stage of our work, we generate behavior models of environment actors interacting with the system directly from an extended form of use cases. These behavioral models can be composed directly with the system automata to be verified using existing model checking tools.


Abstract A growing number of states have modified constitutionally determined presidential term limits or adopted a flexible interpretation of relevant constitutional provisions to allow incumbent leaders additional terms in the highest office. This article investigates African Union (AU) responses to attempts to overturn or weaken term limits on executive power, one of the most tenacious constitutional trends in Africa. Inspired by the AU's well-established discourse on "unconstitutional changes of government" under the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, the article frames the manipulation of presidential term limits as "undemocratic changes of the constitution". From this perspective it argues for a more active role for the AU in monitoring and enforcing constitutionalism and respect for democratic standards by member states when they amend their constitution. It concludes with a tentative set of principles to guide processes of constitutional change in Africa.


In this work, we present the system description of the UIAI entry for the short-duration speaker verification (SdSV) challenge 2020. Our focus is on Task 1 dedicated to text-dependent speaker verification. We investigate different feature extraction and modeling approaches for automatic speaker verification (ASV) and utterance verification (UV). We have also studied different fusion strategies for combining UV and ASV modules. Our primary submission to the challenge is the fusion of seven subsystems which yields a normalized minimum detection cost function (minDCF) of 0.072 and an equal error rate (EER) of 2.14% on the evaluation set. The single system consisting of a pass-phrase identification based model with phone-discriminative bottleneck features gives a normalized minDCF of 0.118 and achieves 19% relative improvement over the state-of-the-art challenge baseline.


Energy efficiency is one of the most important design criteria for long lasting WSN applications. There are many interesting works related to Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols proposed for low energy consumption and high system performance in the literature. TDMA based MAC protocols are more energy-efficient than their traditional contention based counterparts. However, conventional TDMA based MAC protocols are not well suited to the event driven WSN applications. There are some MAC protocols allocating time slots to only source nodes. The distinctive feature of our proposed MAC protocol is that it assigns a time slot to only one of the source nodes all with the same data sensed and to be sent. Thus it reduces data transmission redundancy and achieves energy savings. The analytical performance metrics and expressions are obtained for the proposed MAC protocol and its performance is compared to the conventional TDMA, E-TDMA, BMA and EA-TDMA protocols.


A NEW APPROACH AND PROSPECTIVITY OF SAND INJECTITE IN MALAYSIA

ASKURY ABD KADIR & TENGKU AMRAN BIN TENGKU MOHD
Geoscience & Petroleum Engineering Department,
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS,
31750 TRONOH, Perak

EXTENDED ABSTRACT
In recent years, there has been increased interest in sandstone injectite features as a significant source for reserve calculation. Sand injectites are classified into 'intrusive' bodies, which result from the remobilization and injection of sand into fractures due to factors such as overpressure, hydrocarbon migration, diagenesis and seismicity. Their occurrences are in the form of sandstone dykes (discordant to bedding) and sills (concordant to bedding) structures. Typically, such fractures are in sedimentary strata. The development of technology and knowledge led the recognition of injectites as an attractive exploration targets with huge significance when planning and optimizing hydrocarbon recovery. They have long been considered mere geological oddities and often being misinterpreted (Figure 2) for insignificant features as their thickness is beyond the resolution of conventional seismic data. Outcrop observation and subsurface exploration including cores, wellbore image logs and seismic sections (Figure 2) are typically utilized to recognize their assemblages and features. The objective of the study is to gain better understanding on the features and characteristics of injected sands as a new prospective fluid conduit in reservoirs as well as their mechanics, implications and challenges. This preliminary study has been conducted based on literature review of published papers, journals, books and other resources, which are gathered, analyzed and revised in accordance to the relevance of the project. Three case studies were analyzed on Gryphon, Volund and Alba Fields highlighting their successful explorations in terms of injectite styles and significance for exploration and production. The results provide better understanding on injectite features which contribute additional reserves, improve the connectivity between reservoir layers and are characterized by chaotically distributed, unconsolidated sands with high porosity and permeability, forming excellent pay zone. Injectite explorations in Gryphon, Volund and Alba fields showed their characteristics as good quality reservoirs which may not be simply ignored for future exploration targets. Do we have sand injectites in Malaysia? Perhaps, we need to re-examine an oil-prune formations in Malaysia which is more emphasis on sand injectite conceptual.
Figure 1: Two models of sandstone distribution interpreted from one set of well data (Source: Braccini et al., 2008)

Figure 2: Cross section of seismic migrated stack trace data volume showing steeply dipping events, interpreted as sandstone injectites (arrow), (Source: McHugo et al., 2003)

References

1. Braccini, E., de Boer, W., Hurst, A., Huuse, M., Vigorito, M. and Templeton, G. 2008. Sand injectites. Oilfield Review 20, 2, 34-49.
2. McHugo, S., Cooke, A. and Pickering, S. 2003. Description of a highly complex reservoir using single sensor seismic acquisition. Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE 83965, Offshore Europe, Aberdeen, UK, 2-5 September.


This study investigated the effect of Systematic Desensitisation (SD) therapy on the reduction of test anxiety on some identified test anxious students. In addition, three secondary independent variables were studied along. These were entry test anxiety level, sex, and locus of control. A 2 x 2 x 2 way factorial design was employed. SD was found effective in the reduction of test anxiety of the students who were test anxious F-ratio = 9.261 with df (1,74). Entry test anxiety level of subjects was found to be significant on the level of reduction of test anxiety students F = 27.458 with df (1,74). Sex had no significant effect on the reduction of test anxiety of students F = 0.079 with df of (1, 74) and p > 0.05. There was no significant interaction effect of therapy and secondary independent variables. However, there was a significant interaction effect of entry test anxiety level and therapy at the end of treatment. Since SD has been found to be effective in the reduction of test anxiety among adolescents in Nigerian schools; it is recommended that this therapy be used in the treatment of test anxiety. It should be noted that before the treatment of test anxiety, the entry test anxiety level of subjects must be considered so as to set a baseline for the therapy. ********** In recent times, stakeholders are worried about the falling standard of education in Nigeria. The media have equally raised alarm about examination malpractices as well as other educational ills in the nation's schools. Comments and seminars have equally been taken on this issue. The pros and cons of these educational vices have been analysed in time past and are still being analysed today. While most people tend to focus attention on the educational system itself, some blame it on the teachers and the teaching methods, while others still blame it on the inability of the students to read and comprehend what have been taught (Adedipe, 1984; Okoye, 1986; and Amameze, 1992). In addition, there could be the problem of emotional maladjustment, which seems to be plaguing the adolescents as a result of the sensitivity in the developmental stage. There is the inherent fear and anxiety resulting from high expectations from parents, peer group identification problems, paper qualification expectations, and adjustment in terms of sexual role. In order to meet up with these expectations, these adolescents could be caught in the grip of fears and anxieties. These situations, when applied to testing, may not make for high academic performance. For as long as the classroom situation does not provide for the emotionally maladjusted adolescent, classroom activities such as assignments, projects, class works and tests may not be done properly. Studies have pointed to the fact that lessons are taught with less concern for the emotionally maladjusted, leaving no room for improvement on their situations (Egbochuku, 1998). Lack of concern could result in frustration, which may lead to fear and anxiety. These adolescents, while still groping in the grip of fear and anxiety, could find themselves in the test and/or examination halls where they are expected to impress their teachers and parents in particular their worth academically. Performance under such conditions could be impaired. Fear and anxiety are emotional problems, which if not attended to could be carried over to examination situation and researches have shown that this could result in neurotic difficulties (Adeola, 1987). Fear and anxiety, in most cases, result in frustration and this is capable of affecting the totality of the individual as well as his/her personality. It has also been noticed that most adolescents who are plagued by this social vice, may not have been exposed to appropriate counselling therapies. This is due to the fact that most schools do not employ the service of a guidance counsellor with the appropriate training and skills to manage such social vices. …


Addison's disease (AD) is rare and result in lack of the adrenal hormones cortisol, aldosterone and adrenal androgens. Despite conventional oral replacement therapy, mortality is increased and Health-Related Quality-of-life (HRQoL) is reduced. Currently, the non-physiological circadian cortisol profile is suspected to be a major cause, although evidence has been lacking. Here, we aimed to develop a better tool for evaluating HRQoL in AD, and to investigate whether a more physiological circadian cortisol profile would result in benefit for AD patients. An AD-specific HRQoL questionnaire (AddiQoL) was developed through a multistep approach. After testing the original AddiQoL in 86 patients in UK, the AddiQoL was translated to five European languages and tested in further 615 AD patients in respective countries. Applying Rasch analysis, a valid and reliable 30 item AddiQoL was produced. In a randomized controlled multicenter trial with cross-over design, we compared the effects of three months treatment with continuous subcutaneous hydrocortisone infusion (CSHI) to the effects of three months treatment with conventional oral hydrocortisone (OHC) in 33 AD patients. The primary endpoint was the effect on ACTH levels. Secondary endpoints were effects on metabolism, HRQoL and sleep. CSHI produced a more physiological circadian cortisol biorhythm than conventional therapy and induced normalization of morning ACTH and cortisol levels, restoration of nighttime cortisol levels and changes in glucocorticoid metabolism resembling healthy individuals. The late night decrease in glucose seen with OHC was counteracted, without decreasing overall insulin sensitivity. CSHI did not significantly affect sleep but might have positive HRQoL effects. The AddiQoL development provided a valid and reliable new tool for HRQoL evaluation in AD. Mimicking the physiological cortisol rhythm with CSHI proved safe and provides a means for further improving replacement therapy in AD.


: In this study, a simple and high performance precoding scheme for downlink multi-user MIMO (DL MU-MIMO) systems is investigated. Sorted QR decomposition algorithm is adapted for zero-forcing (ZF) Tomlinson-Harashima precoding (THP) with user-stream permutation in order to select a permutation pattern which maximizes a sum-rate of the DL MU-MIMO system. In addition, allocating unequal number of bits to each user-stream improves the DL performance of the ZF-THP in the MU-MIMO scenario. Numerical results show that the proposed ZF-THP scheme outperforms a conventional MMSE-THP scheme.


High-performance real-time stereo vision system is crucial to various stereo vision applications, such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, multiview video coding, freeview TV, and 3-D video conferencing. In this paper, we proposed a high-performance hardware-friendly disparity estimation algorithm called mini-census adaptive support weight (MCADSW) and also proposed its corresponding real-time very large scale integration (VLSI) architecture. To make the proposed MCADSW algorithm hardware-friendly, we proposed simplification techniques such as using mini-census, removing proximity weight, using YUV color representation, using Manhattan color distance, and using scaled-and-truncate weight approximation. After applied these simplifications, the MCADSW algorithm was not only hardware-friendly, but was also 1.63 times faster. In the corresponding real-time VLSI architecture, we proposed partial column reuse and access reduction with expanded window to significantly reduce the bandwidth requirement. The proposed architecture was implemented using United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) 90 nm complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology and can achieve a disparity estimation frame rate of 42 frames/s for common intermediate format size images when clocked at 95 MHz. The synthesized gate-count and memory size is 563 k and 21.3 kB, respectively.


This thesis is devoted to the study of scattering amplitudes using two non-perturbative approaches. In Part I we focus on a particular theory known as N = 4 Super-Yang-Mills in four spacetime dimensions. The scattering amplitudes in this theory are dual to the expectation value of null polygonal Wilson loops which can be computed non-perturbatively using integrability. The Wilson loop is decomposed into smaller polygons and computed as an evolution of the color flux tube of the theory, summing over all intermediate flux tube states. By a suitable generalization of the building blocks called pentagons we describe how this program can describe all helicity configurations of the amplitude. We also show how the contribution from all flux tube excitations can be resummed to reproduce the general kinematics result at weak coupling. In Part II we take a different approach and study the space of Quantum Field Theories (QFTs). We focus on two-dimensional theories with a mass gap and a global symmetry. By studying the consequences of unitarity, crossing symmetry and analyticity of the two-to-two scattering matrix element we are able to constrain the space of allowed QFTs. At the boundary of this space we find several interesting features of the S-matrices and identify various integrable points.


Electron beam technology (EB-PVD) and equipment for one-stage deposition of advanced graded protective coatings using a composite ceramic ingot for evaporation are described. This technology allows replacing the flat interface between coating layers by a graded transition zones and achieve of a high degree of reproducibility of the composition, structure and lifetime of the functionally graded coating in compare with traditional multi-stages technologies of protective coating deposition.A design of the composite ceramic ingot is considered, as well as the ability to regulate in a broad range the composition, structure and properties of all levels of the graded protective coating including transition zones and coating layers. Examples and variants of advanced graded protective coatings with their structures and properties are given (thermal barrier, hard erosion-resistant and damping coatings) for aerospace and gas-turbine industry application deposited by one-stage EB-PVD process. Total cost of one-stage EB-PVD deposition process at least 2 times less in compare with traditional technological processes of protective coating deposition due to using only one EB-PVD unit and elimination of multistage nature of process cycle.Laboratory and productive electron-beam units designed and manufactured at ICEBT are considered. Development of modern protective coatings, technologies and equipment for their application is focused, primarily, on improvement of the durability and main service properties of the coating/protected item system, ensuring a reliable reproducibility of the coating structure and properties, shortening the cost and time of the entire technological cycle of their deposition. The existing traditional technologies of deposition of multilayer protective coatings, for instance, thermal barrier coatings (TBC), containing a oxidation-resistant metal bond coat and outer low thermal-conducting ceramic layer, are multi-stage, with combination of such processes as diffusion saturation, galvanic coating, plasma spraying and electron beam deposition [1-3]. Use of diverse expensive equipment, availability of intermediate mechanical and thermal treatments, as well as the operations of surface cleaning, apply considerable limitations both on widening of the sphere of such coating application, and their further development in terms of improvement of the structure and properties. The one-stage electron beam technology developed at ICEBT for deposition of advanced protective coatings based on evaporation of a composite ingot and allowing deposition of functionally graded coatings in one process cycle, meets the above goals to a considerable extent [4,5]. The technology is based on the use of the known phenomenon of fractionating at evaporation of multicomponent systems, containing elements with different melting temperature and vapour pressure, and their subsequent condensation under vacuum, allowing the flat interface, for instance between the metal and ceramic layers, to be replaced by a transition zone of the graded composition and structure. Fig.1 gives the schematic and appearance of a composite ingot used for one-stage deposition of advanced graded protective coatings in vacuum by its electron beam evaporation from one crucible. The ingot base material determines the purpose of the graded coating. For instance, Al2O3, TiC, TiB2, B4C, MgO, etc. can be used as the base of the ingot for deposition of hard wear-resistant, erosion-resistant and damping coatings. For the case of TBC, this is zirconium dioxide with additives


This article presents an experimental investigation on the co-current downward condensation of R134a in a vertical smooth copper tube having inner diameter of 8.1 mm and a length of 500 mm. Condensation experiments are done at mass fluxes varying between 260 and 515 kg/m2-s. The condensing temperatures are 40°C and 50°C; heat fluxes are between 10.16 and 66.61 kW/m2. The quality of the refrigerant in the test section is calculated considering the temperature and pressure obtained from the experiment. The pressure drop across the test section is directly measured by a differential pressure transducer. The average experimental heat transfer coefficient of the refrigerant is calculated by applying an energy balance based on the energy transferred from the test section. The average predicted heat transfer coefficient of the refrigerant is determined by means of the model of Kosky and Staub, and Von Karman universal velocity distribution correlations using different interfacial shear stress equations valid for annular flow in horizontal and vertical tubes to investigate the Chen et al. annular flow theory. The effects of heat flux, mass flux, and condensation temperature on the pressure drop are also discussed. A new correlation using a large number of data points for the turbulent condensation heat transfer coefficient is proposed.


A variety of disease in the chest can be treated with thoracoscopic surgery. Although with limited experience, thoracoscopic surgery can be performed with single-port approach. Theoretically, single-port approach can be applied in treating bilateral pleural effusions. Here we reported a case of 28-year-old man with the diagnosis of septic embolization of the lung with complications of bilateral empyema. He was treated with single-port thoracoscopic surgery for decortication of right pleural space and deloculation of left pleural space. After prolonged course of antibiotics for 21 days, the patient was discharged. After follow-up for 3 months, the patient recovered well and had no evidence of recurrence.


The top layer of a typical high pressure floor laminate (HPL) consists of a melamine formaldehyde (MF) impregnated special wear layer (overlay) with alumina particles. This top layer plays a crucial role in determining the mechanical properties of the laminate. For HPLs, scratch resistance and scratch visibility are particularly important properties. This study aimed to improve the mechanical properties, particularly the scratch resistance, by adjusting the composition of the overlay. Laminates containing alumina particles were prepared and tested. These alumina particles were additionally functionalized with a silane coupling agent to ensure better adhesion between the particles and the resin. The functionalized particles led to enhanced scratch resistance of the laminates as well as improved dispersion of the particles within the resin. Micro scratch testing revealed that by using functionalized particles, the scratch surface damage was reduced and the recovery characteristics of the surface layer were improved. Higher scratch resistance and scratch hardness were thus obtained, along with a reduced scratch visibility.


In 2000, the Georgia Department of Environmental Protection (EPD) implemented one of the most innovative approaches to watershed management and protection in the nation. That approach required the development of Watershed Assessments (WA) and Watershed Protection Plans (WPP) prior to receiving water or waste water permits (new or expanded). This surrogate approach was designed to ensure that local water and sewer providers give full consideration for how the added capacity (water and/or sewer) could impact long-term sustainability of water resources and ultimately develop and implement plans that would support protection and sustainability of the resources. Prior to this collaborative effort, WA's and WPP's were developed by individual permittees with a focus on their own political boundaries and/or service areas. In 2003, the Lake Allatoona/Upper Etowah (LAUE) River Watershed was initiated to implement a comprehensive evaluation of ecological (aquatic and physical habitat) and water resource conditions of the LAUE watershed. The group includes the counties of Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Dawson, Forsyth, Lumpkin, and Pickens, and three water and sewer authorities; Cherokee County Water and Sewerage Authority, Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority, and Etowah Water and Sewer Authority along with federal, state, and local agencies using a true watershed approach. The broad objective of the project was to develop a better understanding of the linkages between land-use and environmental resources with an aim of sustainable utilization of the water resources of the LAUE Watershed in accordance with Georgia's O.C.G.A 12-5522(a)). This was accomplished through rigorous sampling, analysis, coupled with linked watershed and reservoir modeling to produce data and assessments of known quality that will ultimately be used to make sound decisions that support sustainability of the area's water resources. The WPP will offer a scientifically defensible and achievable example of watershed management that is spatially defined and politically plausible. Environmental impacts were derived based upon the ability of a potential management alternative to enhance and/or protect aquatic ecological habitat as well as meet water quality standards. Economic impacts were derived for various management alternatives and were divided into two main categories: (1) BMP costs as an indicator of direct economic impacts; and (2) land opportunity costs as an indicator of indirect economic impacts. This collaborative framework links all aspects of Georgia State Water programs and could become the tactical model for the State to apply existing programs more efficiently and effectively at the watershed scale.


Aims: This study was designed to investigate the mechanisms by which the right ventricle is able to increase stroke volume (SV) during exercise in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A second aim was to determine whether resting pulmonary artery pressure (Ppa) is predictive of exercise SV. Methods: 16 COPD patients (GOLD stages II–IV) underwent right heart catheterisation at rest and during exercise. In this group and eight age-matched controls resting and exercise right ventricular SV, end-diastolic volume (RVEDV) and end-systolic volume (RVESV) were assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The exercise protocol during both measurements consisted of 3 minutes of cycling in supine position at 40% of maximal workload. Results: In all patients mean Ppa increased significantly in response to exercise (21 (8) vs 33 (11) mm Hg, p<0.01), whereas pulmonary vascular resistance did not change. In the patient group, RVEDV (129 (42) vs 135 (42) ml, p<0.05) and SV (63 (13) vs 69 (14) ml, p<0.05) increased significantly from rest to exercise, but RVESV and RV ejection fraction remained unaltered. In contrast, in healthy controls SV is augmented (81 (22) vs 101 (28) ml, p<0.05) by both increased RVEDV (123 (33) vs 134 134) ml, p<0.05) and reduced RVESV (37 (9) vs 27 (10) ml, p<0.05). Resting mean Ppa was related to SV during exercise (r =  −0.59, p<0.02). Conclusion: As a consequence of unaltered pulmonary vascular resistance to exercise in COPD patients, Ppa increases and SV response to exercise is limited and results from an increased preload only. Ppa at rest predicts exercise SV.


Pollen grains from 16 species of Vernonanthura H. Rob. were studied. All the species exhibit the type 'A' pollen characteristic of the genus. These grains are spheroidal to prolate–spheroidal, subechinolophate, tricolporate, with a continuous tectum which is densely microperforate, exhibiting lophae surrounding irregular depressions and having prominent spines. Despite most of the species having a similar pollen type, some taxa can be recognised by the morphology of the spines. According to the spine index (length/width), the species analysed can be divided into three groups having respectively short, medium and long spines. In addition to the size of the spines, some taxa can be distinguished by spine shape. Vernonanthura pinguis (Griseb.) H. Rob. has spines which are constricted at the base, while V. oligactoides (Less.) H. Rob. exhibits small conical spines. Vernonanthura nudiflora (Less.) H. Rob. and V. schulziana (Cabrera) H. Rob. have spines with rounded apices. This study confirms that Vernonanthura is a welldefined group based on pollen characteristics and that pollen morphology is a significant feature in the characterisation of species and genera of Vernonieae.


The International Criminal Court remains a sensitive issue in American foreign policy circles. It was agreed to at the tail end of the Clinton administration, but with serious reservations. In 2002 the Bush administration ceremoniously reversed course and ""unsigned"" the Rome Statute that had established the Court. But recent developments in Washington and elsewhere indicate that the United States may be moving toward de facto acceptance of the Court and active cooperation in its mission. In Means to an End: U.S. Interest in the International Criminal Court , Lee Feinstein and Tod Lindberg reassess the relationship of the United States and the ICC, as well as American policy toward international justice more broadly. The authors argue that the United States should actively support the ICC for the simple reason that it serves U.S. interests while being consistent with the values that America publicly espouses. The authors also show how participation could be beneficial in terms of national security and foreign policy generally, and they make the moral case for acceptance as well. They evaluate the ICC's potential to advance international justice and how American participation can improve that potential.


In the realm of MEMS piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters, cantilever-based designs are by far the most popular. Despite being deceptively simple, the active piezoelectric area near the clamped end is able to accumulate maximum strain-generated-electrical-charge, while the free end is able to accommodate a proof mass without compromising the effective area of the piezoelectric generator since it experiences minimal strain anyway. While other contending designs do exist, this paper investigates five micro-cantilever (MC) topologies, namely: a plain MC, a tapered MC, a lined MC, a holed MC and a coupled MC, in order to assess their relative performance as an energy harvester. Although a classical straight and plain MC offers the largest active piezoelectric area, alternative MC designs can potentially offer higher average mechanical strain distribution for a given mechanical loading. Numerical simulation and experimental comparison of these 5 MCs (0.5 μ AlN on 10 μm Si) with the same practical dimensions of 500 μm and 2000 μm, suggest a cantilever with a coupled subsidiary cantilever yield the best power performance, closely followed by the classical plain topology.


The rising trends in asthma over the past 30 years are likely to be a consequence of changes in the environment acting on a susceptible genotype. Recognising that environmental agents impact on the bronchial epithelium, this structure is in a key position to translate and coordinate these gene-environment interactions. In asthma, the bronchial epithelium is stressed and damaged, with shedding of the columnar cells into the airway lumen. The aim of this review is to consider recent advances in our understanding of why the epithelium is damaged and how the ensuing repair responses orchestrate airway inflammation and remodelling leading to the development and maintenance of the asthmatic state.