Studying the genetic differences between related microorganisms from different environment types can indicate factors associated with their movement among habitats. This is particularly interesting for bacteria from the Candidate Phyla Radiation because their minimal metabolic capabilities require associations with microbial hosts. ABSTRACT Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) bacteria are small, likely episymbiotic organisms found across Earth's ecosystems. Despite their prevalence, the distribution of CPR lineages across habitats and the genomic signatures of transitions among these habitats remain unclear. Here, we expand the genome inventory for Absconditabacteria (SR1), Gracilibacteria, and Saccharibacteria (TM7), CPR bacteria known to occur in both animal-associated and environmental microbiomes, and investigate variation in gene content with habitat of origin. By overlaying phylogeny with habitat information, we show that bacteria from these three lineages have undergone multiple transitions from environmental habitats into animal microbiomes. Based on co-occurrence analyses of hundreds of metagenomes, we extend the prior suggestion that certain Saccharibacteria have broad bacterial host ranges and constrain possible host relationships for Absconditabacteria and Gracilibacteria. Full-proteome analyses show that animal-associated Saccharibacteria have smaller gene repertoires than their environmental counterparts and are enriched in numerous protein families, including those likely functioning in amino acid metabolism, phage defense, and detoxification of peroxide. In contrast, some freshwater Saccharibacteria encode a putative rhodopsin. For protein families exhibiting the clearest patterns of differential habitat distribution, we compared protein and species phylogenies to estimate the incidence of lateral gene transfer and genomic loss occurring over the species tree. These analyses suggest that habitat transitions were likely not accompanied by large transfer or loss events but rather were associated with continuous proteome remodeling. Thus, we speculate that CPR habitat transitions were driven largely by availability of suitable host taxa and were reinforced by acquisition and loss of some capacities. IMPORTANCE Studying the genetic differences between related microorganisms from different environment types can indicate factors associated with their movement among habitats. This is particularly interesting for bacteria from the Candidate Phyla Radiation because their minimal metabolic capabilities require associations with microbial hosts. We found that shifts of Absconditabacteria, Gracilibacteria, and Saccharibacteria between environmental ecosystems and mammalian mouths/guts probably did not involve major episodes of gene gain and loss; rather, gradual genomic change likely followed habitat migration. The results inform our understanding of how little-known microorganisms establish in the human microbiota where they may ultimately impact health.


This paper proposes a new neural network diagnostic system for online power system fault section estimation using information of relays and circuit breakers. This system has a similar profile of an expert system, but can be constructed much more easily from elemental samples. These samples associate fault section with its primary, local and/or remote protective relays and breakers. The diagnostic system can be applicable to the power system control center for single or multiple fault sections estimation, even in the cases of failure operation of relays and breakers, or error-existent data transmission. The proposed approach has been practically verified by testing on a model power system. The test results, although preliminary, suggest this system can be implemented by various electric utilities with relatively low customization effort. >


Two sets of functionalised calix[4]arenes, either with a 1,3-crown ether bridge or with an open-chain oligo ether moiety in 1,3-position were prepared and further equipped with additional deprotonisable sulfonamide groups to establish chelating systems for selected cations Sr2+, Ba2+, and Pb2+ ions. To improve the complexation behaviour towards these cations, calix[4]arenes with oligo ether groups and modified crowns of different sizes were synthesized. Association constants were determined by UV/Vis titration in acetonitrile using the respective perchlorate salts and logK values between 3.2 and 8.0 were obtained. These findings were supported by the calculation of the binding energies exemplarily for selected complexes with Ba2+.


Abstract The aim of the study was to compare the value of gift materials added to the general collection of a small to medium-sized academic library with materials selected and purchased by the library. The measure employed to determine the relative value of the gifts vs. non-gifts was how often the materials were used within a 12-month period. Two groups of 77 books (gifts and purchased items) were tracked over the course of 1 year to determine if the gifts were used significantly less. Results indicate that donated books were used on average 0.87 times whereas non-gifts were used 1.38 times. A t-test was also applied demonstrating that the two groups were significantly different at the 0.05 level. This provides empirical data libraries can use to re-evaluate existing policies and procedures for handling gifts.


Open Educational Resources and Massive Open Online Courses as e-bricks for Smart Cities

Authors: Carmen Holotescu, Gabriela Grosseck, Laura Malita

Nowadays when more than half of the world's population lives in urban areas, when information and (mobile) communication technologies are real catalysts for innovations in all domains, there are a lot of studies and debates related to how our cities should become "Smart Cities", "Smarter Cities" or "Future Cities", in order to improve life quality and to reduce costs.

The paper starts with a literature research related to definitions for the "Smart City" term and to the needed steps / action plans / strategies for such a transformation.

The new citizens will have vital roles in building smart cities; they should be hyperconnected, creative, entrepreneurs, also they should actively participate and collaborate in the cities activities and decisions.

The paper will explore:

- How Open Educational Resources and Massive Open Online Courses can support the citizens engagement, learning and participation, also new skills and competencies development?

- How the authorities can collaborate with universities and researchers to develop specific OER and to organize such courses? Which new policies are neeeded?

- Which features should be offered by MOOCs platforms and how such courses can be facilitated?

- What lessons can be learned from current projects targeting these issues?

References:

Bacsich, P., & Pepler, G. (2013). Learner Use of Online Content.Teaching and Learning Online: New Models of Learning for a Connected World, 2, 75.

Buchem, I., & P?rez-Sanagust?n, M. (2013). Personal Learning Environments in Smart Cities: Current Approaches and Future Scenarios. http://openeducationeuropa.eu/sites/default/files/asset/In-depth_35_1.pdf

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, London. (2013). The Maturing of the MOOC. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/240193/13-1173-maturing-of-the-mooc.pdf

Falconer, I., McGill, L., Littlejohn, A., Boursinou, E., & Punie, Y. (2013). Overview and Analysis of Practices with Open Educational Resources in Adult Education in Europe. ftp://ftp.jrc.es/pub/EURdoc/JRC85471.pdf


Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is an aggressive malignant disease that frequently metastasizes to the spine. The main purpose of our study is to evaluate the influence of surgery as well as targeted therapy on the survival of patients with RCC metastases of the spine. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. We identified 100 patients with spinal RCC metastases who were retrospectively reviewed for preoperative conditions, treatment, and survival. Metastasectomy was performed in 39 cases, and 61 patients underwent decompression procedures with stabilization. Only 26 patients had adjuvant targeted therapy (7 with metastasectomy, 19 with palliative decompression). Pain, neurological status, survival time (from operation to death or last follow up), and local progression-free survival were evaluated. Results: Neurological function recovery and reported significant pain relief were observed. There was no significant difference in overall survival for the patients with metastasectomy and palliative decompression ( P ¼ .750). Metastasectomy provided better local control of disease compared with decompression ( P ¼ .043). There was a statistically significant difference in overall survival for the patients who received targeted therapy ( P ¼ .012). Conclusions: Metastasectomy is effective for local control of tumors. Targeted therapy can potentially prolong overall survival for patients with spinal RCC metastases. Level of Evidence: 3. Clinical Relevance: Our findings suggest that spinal metastasectomy is useful for local control of tumor growth but not for live expectancy. Effective systemic therapy is key role in stopping of disease progression. Tumor


Introduction Simulation-based training (SBT) is an effective tool to enhance learning and development. Midwifery teaching has traditionally relied on skills and drills rather than simulation. We wanted to explore the views of midwives regarding introduction of SBT in regular teaching sessions. Methods A survey questionnaire containing 10 questions was designed and posted on survey monkey. Questions addressed the issues relating to involvement in simulation, in situ simulation, strengths and weaknesses of simulation, and impact of video recording during simulation exercise. 24 midwives participated in the survey. Results About half of the respondents had attended simulation exercise more than 15 times. Most positive aspect of SBT was interaction (9) followed by "hands on" approach. Video debriefing and arrangement of experienced faculty were the principal limiting factors. Around 40% (10) of the participants suggested video debriefing would affect their decision to take part in simulation with an overwhelming majority 9/10 stating that they would not like to see themselves performing in a scenario. Impact on practice This survey has helped us gain insight into the views of midwives towards SBT. The results have shown encouraging views of midwives toward simulation and willingness to adapt it as regular part of training. Evidence suggests that video debriefing does not add extra value to debriefing experience. We believe that we may get greater uptake of simulation amongst our midwives by avoiding or reducing use of video debriefing and hope to adopt this for future activities. This raises questions for allied health professionals and we propose that a similar survey should be done to ascertain their preferences. Reference Sawyer T, Sierocka_Castaneda A, Chan D, Berg B, Lustik M, Thompson M. The effectiveness of video-assisted debriefing versus oral debriefing alone at improving neonatal resuscitation performance: a randomized trial. Simul Healthc 2012;7(4):213–21


From the Schelling model of segregation, we derive models of group formation that shed light on segregation or mixing patterns observed in spatial grid networks. Individuals have types and see type-dependent benefits or drawback from theirs neighbours: this leads each one to be attracted or repulsed by its own like or unlike. This framework allows to studying many spatial phenomena that involve individuals making location choices as a function of the characteristics and choices of their neighbours. Our goal is to grow social structures in silico and to ask if related micro-specifications generate similar macro-phenomena of interest. Regarding (i) the amount of segregation-mixing, (ii) the congruence between micro-motives and macro-behaviour and (iii) the nature of frontier between clusters, we examine the properties of the steady-state equilibrium.


The cationic staphylococcinlike peptide Pep 5 is shown to depolarize bacterial and planar lipid membranes in a voltage-dependent manner. An artificial valinomycin-induced potassium diffusion potential across the cytoplasmic membrane of Staphylococcus cohnii 22 was sufficient to promote Pep 5 action. Thus, evidence is provided that a membrane potential of sufficient magnitude is the only prerequisite for Pep 5 activity. The voltage dependence was elucidated by macroscopic conductance measurements with black lipid membranes. A threshold potential of about -90 to -100 mV, which was deduced from experiments with bacterial cells, could be confirmed. Single pores were resolved which often occur as short-lived bursts and fluctuate among different conductance levels. Pore diameters were calculated ranging from 0.1 to nm. Succinylation of the lysine residues ofPep 5 resulted in prolonged pore lifetimes and maintenance of distinct conductance levels. However, the succinylated peptide required a higher threshold potential, approximately -150 mV, than the native peptide, which is probably the reason for the reduced activity of the modified peptide against intact gram-positive bacteria.


This PhD challenges existing understandings of post-colonial architecture and urban space by including the contestations of ethnic minority in the nation-building process. It takes Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, as its primary site of investigation. The thesis challenges conceptions of the colonial/post-colonial city which focus on giving voice to the once-colonized nation through binary construction of colonizer/colonized, and yet keeping the ethnic minority groups in the shadow of the nation. In particular, by including the voice of the Malaysian Chinese in the nation-building, this study contests the conception of national identity and decolonisation in Malaysia and seeks to be a political project of resistance to hegemonic construction of race, culture, identity and space. The thesis has two major lines of inquiry. First, it examines how racialisation has taken shape in colonial and post-colonial state architectural projects in the city of Kuala Lumpur and new capital city of Putrajaya, which represents national identity and signifies cultural dominance of the Malays, while marginalising the Chinese. Second, it traces the spatial negotiation and contestation of the Chinese community. The PhD examines how the Chinese used their marginal urban spaces – such as the Kuala Lumpur Chinese Cemetery and Chinatown – in order to negotiate their cultural identity and to contest the contemporary nationalism and multiculturalism.


The paper by Marco Colombetti and Paolo Paolini, Information Technology and Human Communication, proposes a new perspective on the role digital technologies play in communication, assuming that the latter can not be understood unless technologies are placed "in the context of complex interaction processes among people". The shift from reducing communication to information exchange to observing communication within a wider interaction process opens new perspectives to design tools to support human communication processes.


This paper describes two steps in the evolution of human‐robot interaction designs developed by the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) and the Idaho National Laboratory to support urban search and rescue tasks. Usability tests were conducted to compare the two interfaces, one of which emphasized three‐dimensional mapping while the other design emphasized the video feed. We found that participants desired a combination of the interface design approaches. As a result, the UML system was changed to augment its heavy emphasis on video with a map view of the area immediately around the robot. The changes were tested in a follow‐up user study and the results from that experiment suggest that performance, as measured by the number of collisions with objects in the environment and time on task, is better with the new interaction techniques. Throughout the paper, we describe how we applied human‐computer interaction principles and techniques to benefit the evolution of the human‐robot interaction designs. While the design work is situated in the urban search and rescue domain, the results can be generalized to domains that involve other search or monitoring tasks using remotely located robots. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Pennsylvanian phylloid algal reefs are widespread and well exposed in south Guizhou, China. Dense networks of closely living phylloid algae induced community restriction on seafloor and organisms seldom survived in such environment. Algal reefs in Guizhou differ from examples reported to date by high biodiversity. This contrasts to the "poisoning hypothesis" and chemical defense was not pronounced. Phylloid algae were able to thrive over a large depth range. Delicate framework formed by upright blades often occurred in calm deepen waters. Blades became larger and fleshy in moderately agitated environment and formed isolated, wide, cup-shaped framework. Large blade size could capture much more sunlight to improve rate of growth and calcification. But successive progressively shallower water may have arrested phylloid algae growth. Thinner, small blades grew closely packed and juxtaposed near and above one another in a wave-dominant environment, producing dense framework clusters to prevent wave destruction.


The resource sharing experiment (RSE) of the DAVID (DAta and Video Interactive Distribution) multiexperiment mission of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) is described. The experiment envisages adaptively varying the robustness of signals down-transmitted, to a set (16) of Earth terminals by acting on their coding and spreading. During the DAVID satellite passes, each terminal determines autonomously its signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and transmits it to a central station which, by using this information, works out the parameters for the global system optimization and indicates, in real time, to the terminals which code and despreading factor they must utilize to receive the part of the signal addressed to them.


The choice of substrate material in a chip that combines ultrasound with microfluidics for handling biological and synthetic microparticles can have a profound effect on the performance of the device. This is due to the high surface-to-volume ratio that exists within such small structures and acquires particular relevance in polymer-based resonators with 3D standing waves. This paper presents three chips developed to perform particle flow-through separation by ultrasound based on a polymeric SU-8 layer containing channelization over three different substrates: Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA); Pyrex; and a cracked PMMA composite-like structure. Through direct observations of polystyrene microbeads inside the channel, the three checked chips exhibit their potential as disposable continuous concentration devices with different spatial pressure patterns at frequencies of resonance close to 1 Mhz. Chips with Pyrex and cracked PMMA substrates show restrictions on the number of pressure nodes established in the channel associated with the inhibition of 3D modes in the solid structure. The glass-substrate chip presents some advantages associated with lower energy requirements to collect particles. According to the results, the use of polymer-based chips with rigid substrates can be advantageous for applications that require short treatment times (clinical tests handling human samples) and low-cost fabrication.


Since 2005, students from the Department of Machine Design at KTH Technical University in Stockholm have annually been offered internship with a Chinese manufacturing company, located in Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, one of the fastest growing and most important industrial regions in China. h engineering students with the opportunity to get close to Chinese industrial conditions, to get to know Chinese culture first hand and to give the students the opportunity to work with Chinese engineers and designers. On the other hand, it has given the Chinese manufacturer an insight into how Swedish engineering students work and achieve new design proposals. Among students who have previously undergone the internship, several have ended up in positions in Swedish or multinational companies where they cooperate with Chinese companies or European ones in China. The internship has been organized by KTH in cooperation with the Chinese company Ocean Power. The draft schedule was developed at KTH and approved by the Chinese company after a few adjustments.. The schedule now constitutes an agreement and a contract that ensures that the students' work supports the pedagogical and educational goals of the education at KTH. Students prepare for their visit by implementing either a visualization project associated with the products manufactured by the company, or a technical project based on a problem assigned earlier in the semester. During the internship, an account of each group's work is sent back to Stockholm in the form of a weekly diary. Each group will also present a final report of the completed project. Since its start in 2005, a total of nine groups of students have been given the opportunity to undertake internships and practice their experiences within Chinese industry. The Chinese company has from the very beginning shown great openness and understanding of the academic rules that have to dictate the collaboration with the University.


We present results of an extensive analysis of classical and quantum signatures of chaos in the geometric collective model (GCM) and the interacting boson model (IBM) of nuclei. Apart from comparing the regular fraction of the classical phase space and the Brody parameter for the nearest neighbor spacing distribution in the quantum case, we also adopt (i) the Peres lattices allowing one to distinguish ordered and disordered parts of spectra and to reveal main ordering principles of quantum states, (ii) the geometrical method to determine the position where the transition from order to chaos occurs, and (iii) we look for the 1/ f α power law in the power spectrum of energy level fluctuations. The Peres method demonstrates the adiabatic separation of collective rotations in the IBM. Keywords: collective model of nuclei, Hamiltonian system, Peres lattice, classical- quantum correspondence, 1/ f noise, Riemannian geometry, adiabatic separation, quasi- dynamical symmetry.


Recent surge in demand for wearable technology products such as activity tracking smartwatches, and for medical devices has necessitated development of flexible secondary lithium ion batteries which also possess high capacity, robustness and thin form factors. Oftentimes, these power sources are only charged up to a partial state of charge (SoC) before use (shallow charge). Their usage continues until the SoC reaches almost zero, after which they are recharged again. Nowadays, the 'fast-charge 'feature used to charge the battery at higher C-rates, is a necessity in consumer electronics rather than an amenity. Also, in everyday use, these batteries are exposed to higher-than-ambient temperatures due to perpetual human body contact and also to the high temperatures resulting from poor thermal management in compact devices. This study investigates the compounded influence of partial charge, high temperatures and high C-rates on the capacity degradation of a flexible Li-ion power source subjected to accelerated life testing. The battery current and terminal voltage were logged for multiple charge-discharge cycles and were used to compute the battery capacity and energy efficiency. Finally, a regression model based on several parameters was developed to estimate the battery capacity as a function of the cycle number.


Richard Wagner's knowledge of and passion for Greek drama was so profound that for Friedrich Nietzsche, Wagner was Aeschylus come alive again. Surprisingly little has been written about the pervasive influence of classical Greece on the quintessentially German master. In this elegant and masterfully argued book, renowned opera critic Father Owen Lee describes for the contemporary reader what it might have been like to witness a dramatic performance of Aeschylus in the theatre of Dionysus in Athens in the fifth century B.C. - something that Wagner himself undertook to do on several occasions, imagining a performance of The Oresteia in his mind, reading it aloud to his friends, providing his own commentary, and relating the Greek classic drama to his own romantic view. Father Lee also uses Wagner's writings on Greece and entries from his wife's diaries to cast new light on Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger, Parsifal, and especially the mighty Ring cycle, where Wagner made extensive use of Greek elements to give structural unity and dramatic credibility to his Nordic and Germanic myths. No opera fan, argues Father Lee, can really understand Wagner saving Brunhilde without knowing the Athena who, in Greek drama, first brought justice to Athens. Written with a clarity and depth of knowledge that have characterized all Father Lee's books on the classics of Greece and Rome and made his six other volumes of opera bestsellers, Athena Sings traces the profound influence - an influence few music lovers are aware of - that Greek theatre and culture had on the most German of composers and his revolutionary musical dramas.


The study entitled "Compatibility of Herbicides Mixed with Insecticides in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill)" was conducted in rainfed condition under "All India Co-ordinated Research Project on soybean at R.A.K. College of Agriculture, Sehore (M.P.), during kharif 2014. Experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. The treatments included rynaxypyre 20SC @ 120g a.i./ha (T1), indoxacarb14.5SC @ 87g a.i./ha (T2), quinalphos25EC @ 150ga.i./ha (T3), imazethapyr10SL @ 100g a.i./ha (T4), quizalofop-p-ethyl 5EC @ 50g a.i./ha (T5), rynaxypyre 20SC @ 120g a.i./ha + imazethapyr10SL @ 100 ga.i/ha (T6), rynaxypyre 20SC @ 120g a.i/ha + quizalofop-pethyl 5EC @ 50 g a.i./ha (T7), indoxacarb14.5SC @ 87g a.i./ha+imazethapyr10 SL @100g a.i./ha(T8), indoxacarb14.5SC @ 87g a.i./ha +quizalofop-p-ethyl 5EC @50g a.i./ha (T9), quinalphos 25EC @ 150g a.i./ha + imazethapyr10 SL @ 100 g a.i./ha (T10), quinalphos 25EC @ 150g a.i./ha + quizalofop-p-ethyl 5EC @ 50g a.i./ha (T11) and untreated check (T12). Among the monocot weeds Echinochloa crusgalli Link., Degiteria sanguinalis, Dinebra arabica, Cyperus rotundus Linn. and Commelina benghalensis while the dicot weeds Acalypha indica Linn., Eclipta alba, Caesulia axillaris Roxb., Digera arvensis, Corchorous acutangulus and Phyllanthus niruri were observed in the field. Application of indoxacarb 14.5 SC @ 87 g ai/ha + imazathapyr 10 SL @ 100g ai/ha gave lowest weed dry weight and higher weed control efficiency (75.03%). Application of imazathapyr 10SL@ 100g ai/ha alone or in combination with insecticides viz. indoxacarb, rynyxypyre and quinolphos recorded less weed dry biomass and increased weed control efficiency, imazathapyr controlled both dicot and monocot weeds. Application of quizalofop-p-ethyl 5EC @ 50g ai/ha alone and in combination with insecticides effectively controlled the monocot weeds especially grasses viz. Echinochloa crusgalli Link. Degiteria sanguinali and Dinebra arabica.


Gardner's syndrome, with characteristic dental abnormalities and osteomas involving the jaws, is described in an adolescent male. The sinister aspect of the syndrome relates to the malignant potential of intestinal polyps and therefore the need for early diagnosis and prophylactic colectomy. The dentist may be the first health professional to have an opportunity to make an early diagnosis and referral of a patient with Gardner's syndrome, and should therefore be aware of the features of the syndrome that affect the teeth and jaws.


ABSTRACT An asphalt mixture's ability to absorb energy without fracturing is directly related to cracking performance of asphalt pavement. The dissipated energy per load cycle is commonly determined as the area of the hysteresis loop developed during cyclic loading of asphalt mixture. However, it is unclear whether all dissipated energy determined in this manner is irreversible and associated with damage, or whether it is at least partially reversible and not fully associated with damage. Therefore, this study was undertaken to evaluate the nature of the dissipated energy determined from the area of the hysteresis loop developed during cyclic loading of asphalt mixture. Dissipated energies determined experimentally from cyclic load tests were compared to dissipated energies predicted using rheological parameters determined from static creep tests. For a range of asphalt mixtures, the area of the hysteresis loop appeared to be strongly affected by the delayed elastic behavior of the mixture, even when cyclic response had reached steady-state conditions. Therefore, it appears that the area of the hysteresis loop is not fully associated with damage and very probably overestimates the rate of dissipated energy and damage development during cyclic load testing of asphalt mixture. Furthermore, it is generally not possible to reliably separate reversible from irreversible dissipated energy in the hysteresis loop using conventional complex modulus data. Consequently, it is recommended that irreversible dissipated energy be determined using rheological parameters obtained from static creep test data. The key is to have parameters in the rheological model that properly separate the elastic (immediate and delayed) from the viscous response, since only the viscous response is irreversible and contributes to damage


We experimentally demonstrate that the entanglement can be created on two distant particles using separable states. We show that two working particles can share some entanglement, while one ancilla particle always remains separable from the two working particles during the experimental evolution of the system. Our experiment can be viewed as a benchmark to illustrate the idea that no prior entanglement is necessary to create entanglement.


Due to the tension of urban uniformity and environmental setting, what emerges in most patterns of use in the city is lost space that usually ignored as insignificant. They emerge as if by accident during the design process, sometimes, the result of negligence or simply a feature of time flow in the city. To understand the phenomenon of lost space, this research seeks to identify the prescriptive and descriptive character of lost space from the local perception in Kuala Lumpur. This research also investigates the varied forces, circumstances, and the mechanisms that are responsible for their production. A qualitative analysis is made on selected parameters in the theory of lost space, activities, accessibility, connectivity, maintenance, and design. The result indicates that there were various new perceptions of descriptive lost space includes economic and social activity as these are an important strategy for maintaining the vitality and robustness of urban space. It is pro-posed in this paper the need of tools and effective ways of (re)designing a space to be applied in a new context and can act as a resource for urban life by hosting the intervention or alternative uses.


In online markets, Word-of-Mouth (WOM) plays a very important role in shoppers' online purchasing decisions, especially for experience goods. Hotels, as a form of service product, are intangible and cannot be evaluated before consumption, which makes WOM even more important. Several studies focus on the influence of online WOM on business performance. However, little attention has so far been paid to the asymmetric effect of WOM resulting from product heterogeneity in service industries. Hotel products can be classified by star ratings, with their services heterogeneous across different classifications. This study investigates the moderating effect of hotel star rating on the relationship between WOM and sales performance. To address the challenge of missing data, we conduct our empirical study using the difference-in-difference approach. Data about 1,689 hotels were collected from two major online travel agencies in China. We show that both the average rating of online WOM and rating variance have a significant impact on sales, and this effect is significantly moderated by hotel star rating. WOM has more impact on sales for hotels with lower rather than higher star ratings. The findings will help researchers and practitioners to understand more about the asymmetric impact of online WOM on service products.


Smart city (SC) and resilient city (RC) have been studied and practiced over the years in terms of the increasing urban problems and disasters. However, there is a large overlap between their meanings and relationships. With an increasing concern for both SC and RC in urban development and hazard mitigation, a review was conducted to explore the differences and connections between SC and RC with scientometric analysis. There are far more literatures about SC than RC, and very few papers discuss SC and RC together. The research trend, category, and hotspots from research clusters are illustrated and compared. Major differences are discussed from their objectives, driving force, current research focus, and criticism. The literatures both related to SC and RC are used to explore their connections, which are very limited. The results revealed that the RC's impact on SC are positive from physical, social, and environmental aspects, while SC's impacts on RC could be both positive and negative from the above three aspects. It is indicated that SC and RC are both important for urban planning and can be complementary to each other through proper design and governance, which implies the need for building a resilient smart city (RSC).


In the fall quarter of 1997, the Auburn University Electrical Engineering Department (USA) implemented a new, interdisciplinary core laboratory sequence. This new laboratory sequence was one outcome of a complete curriculum revision based on four years of work by the departmental Curriculum Study Committee. This paper presents the laboratory curriculum design, and the results of a multi-part assessment conducted beginning one year after implementation. Many students are initially surprised by the level of challenge provided in the first laboratory course, but readily accommodate as they progress through the sequence. A multifaceted assessment strategy has evolved which uses end-of-term student evaluations, retrospective student evaluations, student oral interviews, and faculty interviews. The assessment information is used to improve the laboratories through modification of the laboratory manuals, better instructions to graduate teaching assistants, modifications of experiments, and a purposeful effort to keep all faculty informed of laboratory course content so they can build upon the laboratory experience in classroom teaching. The overall result of the new laboratory experience is that students have a more integrated approach to design and a much better understanding of the hardware, software and instrumentation used in electrical engineering practice. In addition, students who complete the sequence have better oral and written communication skills, and are more confident in approaching job interviews and initial job challenges.


OBJECTIVE
Celecoxib is a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor used to treat pain. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacies of celecoxib and ibuprofen for the treatment of acute pain. The null hypothesis was that no difference between celecoxib and ibuprofen exists.

METHODS
The study was a prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial. After consent, patients rated their pain on a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) and categorical intensity pain scale. Patients were then randomized to receive 200-mg or 400-mg celecoxib or 600-mg ibuprofen (all orally). Patients were contacted 5 hours after receiving study medication when a second VAS score was recorded, along with categorical pain intensity, pain relief score, side effects, and number of rescue medications taken. The main outcome measures were change in visual analog pain and categorical pain intensity scores, and pain relief scores, at five hours.

RESULTS
One hundred ten patients were evaluated and 105 were enrolled. Thirty-four received celecoxib 200 mg, 32 received celecoxib 400 mg, and 39 received ibuprofen 600 mg. Ninety-one were available for the five-hour VAS and 88 for the five-hour categorical pain intensity and pain relief analysis: The two patients who were unable to read a VAS were excluded, and two enrolled patients withdrew prior to medication. One patient was excluded because his injury was a fracture, and therefore did not meet the inclusion criteria. There was no statistical difference among the treatment groups in age, time from injury to medication, initial VAS score, percent lost to follow-up, or treatment with adjunctive therapy. There was no statistical difference in change of VAS among the groups at five hours: ibuprofen 600 mg (-23.8 mm [95% CI = -31.56 mm to -16.1 mm] [n = 32]), celecoxib 200 mg (-16.1 mm [95% CI = -24.3 mm to -7.98 mm] [n = 31]), and celecoxib 400 mg (-12.4 mm [95% CI = -23.1 mm to -1.8 mm] [n = 30]) (p = 0.16). There was no significant difference between the groups, at five hours, in change of categorical pain intensity (p = 0.11) or pain relief scores (p = 0.059), though the pain relief scale approached significance favoring ibuprofen.

CONCLUSIONS
No significant difference exists among emergency department (ED) patients treated for acute pain, at five hours, with celecoxib 200 mg, celecoxib 400 mg, or ibuprofen 600 mg, though the power of the study to detect a change was low, 36%. However, the magnitude of pain relief for celecoxib, coupled with the cost of the medication, questions its use in the immediate ED setting.


Thermal cycle resistance of Ni-20Cr, Ni-50Cr and CoNiCrAlY coatings produced by air plasma spraying was investigated according to Japanese Industrial Standard Testing method for thermal cycle resistance of oxidation resistant metallic coatings (JIS H 8452: 2008). The specimens were exposed to a cyclic heating and cooling regimen comprised of up to 100 cycles of 10 hours heating to 1000 °C or 1093 °C in air followed by cooling. The thermal cycle resistance of oxidation-resistant metallic coatings was found to depend strongly on testing temperature and on the chemical composition of the coating materials. In thermal cycle testing at 1000 °C, no remarkable failure was observed in any specimen. However, in thermal cycle testing at 1093 °C, spalling was observed over the entire surface of the Ni-20Cr coating, although the Ni-50Cr and the CoNiCrAlY coatings exhibited excellent thermal cycle resistance even upon exposure to 100 thermal cycles. The CoNiCrAlY coating showed mass gain with increasing number of thermal cycles due to preferential oxidation between thermal spray particle splats. Furthermore, the failure behavior of specimens was investigated in detail by SEM, XRD, EPMA, etc.


We present nighttime variation of thermospheric winds estimated from the Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) which was recently deployed at Abuja in Nigeria. These results apply to the thermosphere region around 250 km and were obtained during the period of weak solar activity with solar flux values generally below 70 s.f.u. The results presented cover three months, from October 2017 to December 2017. The high geomagnetic activity level zonal winds generally lag the low geomagnetic activity level winds. Low geomagnetic activity level wind speeds are maintained between 80 and 100 m/s. High activity zonal wind speeds revealed minimum  speed values between 0030 LT to about 0330 LT. We also present comparison between our observations and the latest version of the horizontal wind model (HWM14). The model predicts are generally in good agreement with our zonal wind observations. Our limited data used in the investigation is likely responsible for the significant discrepancies observed in the meridional winds.

 Key words: Equatorial thermosphere, Low solar activity, thermospheric dynamics, meridional and zonal winds.


Sleep in adequate amount and quality is essential for normal child development. Sleep disorders may affect the childs daytime functions resulting in behavioral problems such as attention deficit, aggressiveness and hyperactivity. Recent reports have suggested that chronic sleep disturbance can cause neurocognitive deficits and impaired learning abilities. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, asthma, atopic dermatitis and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis--are common childhood diseases that can impair normal sleep. This article reviews the sleep characteristics in these diseases and the relation between sleep quality and the social and intellectual performance of the child during the day.


Loess tunnels often undergo large-scale deformation with complex spatial and temporal distribution. Mastering the characteristics of spatial and temporal deformation is conducive to precise policy implementation and the control of large deformation of the tunnel. In this study, relying on the Yulinzi Tunnel in Gansu Province, China, based on 3D laser scanning technology, the tunnel was monitored for a short period of 24 h and a long period of 36 days. The refined characteristics of the temporal and spatial deformation of the representative points of the interrupted surface, the tunnel face, and the excavation mileage during the excavation process of the three-bench and seven-step method of the tunnel were analyzed. The results show that the tunnel's arch has large deformation, and there is twisting deformation. The distribution of the overall deformation of the tunnel is related to the excavation sequence, showing a stepped deformation law. With the construction of the following excavation process, the deformation rate of the tunnel always indicates the characteristics of significant in the early stage and small in the later stage, and the overall deformation changes with time in accordance with the distribution law of the exponential function. The research results provide a reference for predicting the deformation development trend of loess tunnels and providing reasonable deformation control methods.


Background Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women, accounting for 10% of all female cancers and 7.5% of all cancer deaths worldwide. 1,2 Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been detected in up to 99.7% of cervical cancers, making it the primary risk factor for the development of cervical cancer.3 Current guidelines recommend a screening test which includes a combination of cervical cytology as well as HPV co-testing in women over the age of 30, with HPV testing not recommended in women younger than the age of 30.11 The Food and Drug Administration has approved primary HPV testing as a screening test for cervical cancer, however this practice has not yet been adopted by the United States. Continuing to use both methods for screening purposes may lead to discrepant results which can be confusing for both the patient and the provider.12 Objective To determine the diagnostic efficacy of cervical cytology versus primary HPV testing as screening tests for cervical dysplasia Methods A Scopus and Pubmed search was conducted using the following search terms and filters: "HPV screening versus cytology NOT home," "within 5 years," "full test article" and "English." Articles were screened and assessed for eligibility based on study design, sample size, year of publication, participant characteristics, and study objectives. Three articles were chosen for review. Conclusion Primary HPV testing may increase accuracy of referral for colposcopy and therefore cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2+) diagnoses as compared to cytology. However, these conclusions are based on diagnosis rates after colposcopy referral and therefore do not address possible false-negative screening results in patients who have non-HPV related lesions at the time of screening. Currently, there are also no clinical or pathologic features that may guide clinicians in determining which patients may present with false-negative screening results. Further study can focus on addressing this group of patients that may present with false-negative HPV results at the time of screening. Abbreviations and Acronyms: HPV human papillomavirus HR-HPV high risk-human papillomavirus CIN cervical intraepithelial neoplasia


Photonic burst histograms can be used to identify single protein molecules in micro/nano-fluidic channels provided the width of the histogram is narrow. Photonic shot noise and residence time fluctuations, caused by longitudinal diffusion, are the major sources of the histogram width. This paper is a sequel to an earlier one of ours [L. L. Kish et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 143121 (2011)] and demonstrates that, for a given diffusion coefficient, an increase of the drift velocity enhances the relative shot noise and decreases the relative residence time fluctuations. This leads to an optimum drift velocity that minimizes the histogram width and maximizes the ability to identify single molecules, which is an important result for applications.


Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat, have become extremely popular; they serve as tools to connect individuals in a public forum. However, collegiate student-athletes use social media to send messages that may reflect poorly on their educational institutions. For example, student-athletes have posted profanity, obscene messages, compromising photographs, and even threatened the President of the United States while using social media. These messages create negative publicity for the college since athletics and student-athletes are a visible aspect of the institution. As such, inappropriate social media use has become a major concern with college athletic departments. Because the NCAA requires member institutions to adequately and consistently monitor social networking activity, colleges have responded to the actions by disciplining student-athletes that use social media negatively to voice their opinions; in some cases, this punishment has been as severe as a...


Abstract. Hungarian presenters gave several papers on this project at cartographic conferences and published articles on the state of the work in the past decade. The project undertaken by the Department of Cartography and Geoinformatics at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) serves the saving of cultural heritage, namely a globe, a significant work of art. The project is named after its maker, Perczel. The work, which lasted for more than ten years with interruptions, was crowned by the birth of three imposing artistic copies of the globe. This part of the project completed in half a year was organized by the Archiflex Studio and led by Zsuzsanna Lente, restorer artist. The first copy decorates the office of the Hungarian prime minister in the former Carmelite cloister in the Buda Castle. The second copy is placed in the National Széchényi Library, where the original globe is kept. The third copy went to the University Library of ELTE. The physical embodiment of the globe makes it a real public property: Perczel's globe is a work of art that represents great scientific and cultural values.The present paper reviews shortly the manuscript globe made by Perczel in 1862, and presents the stages of the digital re-creation and restoration of the globe map carried out at the Department of Cartography and Geoinformatics at ELTE, which led to its physical reconstruction, the birth of its artistic copies. Finally, some cartographic "juicy bits" follow: the representation of non-existent "ghost" islands on the globe and some interesting graphical solutions that are unusual today.


This professional doctorate in psychoanalytic psychotherapy considers the role of psychoanalytic thinking in contemporary child protection social work particularly in relation to communication with adult clients . The dual mandate of social workers to care and control creates conflict in the role which is well recognised. Less well understood is how such conflict affects communication between social workers and clients in subtle and often unconscious ways. This study uses psychoanalytically informed observations and interviews to investigate an area of defensiveness which may be evident in the 'micro-process' of conversations where difficult matters are being discussed. The study asks whether identifiable 'moments of avoidance' occur during these conversations at points of heightened tension between care and control. Results suggest that despite good communication skills, there is evidence of practitioner anxiety within the psychodynamic process of interviews; this can lead to transitory avoidance which can affect engagement and throw practitioners off course. These diversions are discussed with reference to Kleinian theories of enactment and projective identification with an emphasis on the internal pressures that initiate defensive manoeuvres of this kind. This is a timely and detailed study which illuminates the nuances of real practice and hopes to contribute to training initiatives for frontline, family social workers.


The huge run-up in oil prices over the last several years, reaching a peak of close to US $150 per barrel this past summer, has given energy companies a big incentive to find new ways of harvesting unconventional oil, especially in North America. Technology firms targeted oil from tar sands in Canada and from shale, a sedimentary rock abundant in the western United States. But in the fourth quarter of 2008, oil prices plummeted, and that could put the brakes on the development of new extraction technologies, say experts.


Based on light invariance and electric conservation a four bosons electromagnetism is proposed. It enlarges the electric charge conservation beyond displacement current and Dirac charge to a new physical situation where the electromagnetic phenomena is mediated by the usual photon plus a massive photon and two additional charged vector bosons. Considering the enlarged abelian gauge symmetry U(1) SO(2) transforming under a same gauge parameter a non-linear electromagnetism involving four bosons is introduced. It deploys a Lagrangian containing massless, massive and charged elds with three and four vector bosons interactions. The corresponding Noether's relations and classical equations of motion are studied. They provide a whole dynamics involving granular, collective terms through antisymmetric and symmetric sectors. It develops a new photon equation which extends the Maxwell's one. Self interacting photons are obtained. A four boson electromagnetic ux is derived. It expresses an electromagnetism transfering 4Q = 0 and j4Qj = 1, not more limited to just a massless photon. There is a new electromagnetic owing to be understood, where aside of electric charge conservation, it appears a neutral electromagnetism. There are six neutral electromagnetic charges beyond electric charge as consequences from non-linearity. Two are derived from the second Noether identity and four from variational continuity equations. An electromagnetic ux being conducted by a whole physics is generated. Based on elds set, it develops a determinism under the meaning of directive and circumstance. Interpreting that, light invariance concises the photon as directive, the photon becomes a whole maker. It assumes the symmetry command which will control the conservations laws and opportunities. Consequently, one combines the symmetry equation derived from Noether theorem with the four equations derived from variational principle, and an effective photon equation is obtained. A kind of Navier-Stokes electromagnetic ow is derived. It yields a four bosons electromagnetism preserving electric charge conservation plus introducting the meaning of chance through symmetry management.


The factor structure of the Test Anxiety Inventory for Children and Adolescents, a new multidimensional measure used to assess test anxiety in elementary and secondary school students, is examined across gender. The sample consisted of 696 elementary and secondary school students (391 girls and 305 boys). Coefficient of congruence and salient variable similarity index values reported between each pair of six matched factors (Cognitive Obstruction/ Inattention, Performance Enhancement/Facilitation Anxiety, Physiological Hyperarousal, Social Humiliation, Worry, and Lie) and the Total Test Anxiety factor suggest that the factor structure is similar across gender. Results of a planned multivariate group comparison and three analyses of variance found that girls scored statistically significantly higher than boys on the debilitating test anxiety factors and boys scored statistically significantly higher on the Lie factor. No gender difference was found on the Performance Enhancement/Facilitation Anxiety factor. Implications of the findings are discussed.


The Houston Cinema Arts Festival Houston, Texas November 11-15, 2009 Houston stands larger than the Texas plains in the national imagination with its big oil, big energy, big medicine, NASA, cutting-edge technology, and a penchant for plastic surgery, But Houston--the third largest, fastest-growing city in the United Stales--offers something more: it vibrant and diverse arts community. Although many might think it unimaginable to launch a new film festival during a crushing recession, it seems perfectly logical in economically robust Houston. Elegantly curated by Richard Herskowitz, former director of the Virginia Film Festival, the Houston Cinema Arts Festival unspooled more than forty films and events, cross-fertilizing the arts and cinema. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "It's the only U.S. film festival devoted to films by and about artists of all stripes," says Herskowitz. (1) "Ours is also conceived as a multimedia arts event, surrounding its films with live performances, installations, and outdoor projections." A citywide celebration at eight venues (including the historic Alabama Theatre, Rice Media Center, the Miller Outdoor Theatre, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston), the festival provocatively torqued preconceptions of films about the arts--a genre stereotypically linked to flat, monotone explanations of paintings. Herskowitz's rigorous, surprising curation, however, prompted audiences to consider the migrations, flirtations, and infiltrations between different artistic outlets such as writing, painting, sculpture, performance, photography, and cinema. Exploring the interstices between the arts, commercial cinema, and public media cultures, the program was both eye-opening and heterogeneous, combining narrative, documentary, experimental, performance, and installation film. The festival opened with two sold-out screenings of films adapted from novels. Leading Texas maverick filmmaker Richard Linklater presented Me and Orson Welles (2008, UK), the fictionalized story of Welles's production of Julius Caesar on Broadway in 1937, based on Robert Kaplow's novel of the same name. Precious (2009, directed by Lee Daniels), which won three awards at the Sundance Film Festival, is the story of a Harlem teenager who overcomes enormous obstacles to discover her own potential. Mexican screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga screened his landmark Mexican New Wave film, Amores Perros (2000, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu) and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2006, directed by Tommy Lee Jones, U.S./France). Warm, welcoming, and wry, Arriaga (also an established novelist) shared how his non-linear narrative structures emerged out of his Attention Deficit Disorder symptoms, saying, "You are unable to understand logic, but it develops intuition." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Documentaries featured at the festival included What If, Why Not?: Underground Adventures with Ant Farm (2009, directed by Beth Federici and Laura Harrison, U.S.), the first film to chronicle the radical Ant Farm architectural group that made such works as the land art piece Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas; La Danse: Le Ballet de L'Opera de Paris (2009, directed by Frederick Wiseman, France/U. …


This thesis concerns the testing of the design of logic networks.

It is shown that conventional test methods, such as hard-ware testing and computer simulation, fail to satisfy the test requirements of modern logic networks.

A new method is devised,consisting of a series of computer based modular tests, which permit the comprehensive verification of designs.

The feasibility of the new method has been demonstrated on a prototype system.

The work is based on a systems engineering approach which permits viewing the problems of logic design as particular cases of the more general problems of designing large interactive engineering systems. The systems approach also permits the extension of the methods described in this thesis to other areas of engineering.
As part of the thesis, a framework of systems engineering concepts is constructed.


This paper reviews the use of the Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) methodology in the 20 years since the paper by Beven and Binley in Hydrological Processes in (1992), which is now one of the most highly cited papers in hydrology. The original conception, the on-going controversy it has generated, the nature of different sources of uncertainty and the meaning of the GLUE prediction uncertainty bounds are discussed. The hydrological, rather than statistical, arguments about the nature of model and data errors and uncertainties that are the basis for GLUE are emphasized. The application of the Institute of Hydrology distributed model to the Gwy catchment at Plynlimon presented in the original paper is revisited, using a larger sample of models, a wider range of likelihood evaluations and new visualization techniques. It is concluded that there are good reasons to reject this model for that data set. This is a positive result in a research environment in that it requires improved models or data to be made available. In practice, there may be ethical issues of using outputs from models for which there is evidence for model rejection in decision making. Finally, some suggestions for what is needed in the next 20 years are provided.


textabstractIn recent years, governmental institutes have started to use citizen science as a form of public participation. The Dutch water authorities are among them. They face pressure on the water governance system and a water awareness gap among the general public, and consider citizen science a possible solution. The reasons for practitioners to engage in citizen science, and in particular those of government practitioners, have seldom been studied. This article aims to pinpoint the various viewpoints of practitioners at Dutch regional water authorities on citizen science. A Q-methodological approach was used because it allows for exploration of viewpoints and statistical analysis using a small sample size. Practitioners (33) at eight different water authorities ranked 46 statements from agree to disagree. Three viewpoints were identified with a total explained variance of 67ĝ€%. Viewpoint A considers citizen science a potential solution that can serve several purposes, thereby encouraging citizen participation in data collection and analysis. Viewpoint B considers citizen science a method for additional, illustrative data. Viewpoint C views citizen science primarily as a means of education. These viewpoints show water practitioners in the Netherlands are willing to embrace citizen science at water authorities, although there is no support for higher levels of citizen engagement.


In current study we examine how letter permutation affects in visual recognition of words for two orthographically dissimilar languages, Urdu and German. We present the hypothesis that recognition or reading of permuted and non-permuted words are two distinct mental level processes, and that people use different strategies in handling permuted words as compared to normal words. A comparison between reading behavior of people in these languages is also presented. We present our study in context of dual route theories of reading and it is observed that the dual-route theory is consistent with explanation of our hypothesis of distinction in underlying cognitive behavior for reading permuted and non-permuted words. We conducted three experiments in lexical decision tasks to analyze how reading is degraded or affected by letter permutation. We performed analysis of variance (ANOVA), distribution free rank test, and t-test to determine the significance differences in response time latencies for two classes of data. Results showed that the recognition accuracy for permuted words is decreased 31% in case of Urdu and 11% in case of German language. We also found a considerable difference in reading behavior for cursive and alphabetic languages and it is observed that reading of Urdu is comparatively slower than reading of German due to characteristics of cursive script.


In laminate structures, the interface debonding failures usually result from very complex fracture mechanisms which lead to different strengthening approaches. The bonding strength of two dissimilar bodies depends, to a great extent, on the bulk materials and the bonding structure in addition to the intrinsic interface adhesion. The structural effect on bonding strength will be emphasized in this investigation. The analysis will exhibit the relationship of materials, structures, and interface adhesion which is essential in understanding the failure mechanisms. This paper proposes that the burdened area on an interface is, according to experimental and analytical results, a structural indicator for bonding strength. Such a comprehensive parameter makes it easy to determine the complex contributions of so many structural parameters to the bonding strength. Although there are many microscopic observations of separated surfaces which support the concept of burdened area, a direct measurement of the burdened area is difficult in practice. Therefore an analytical or numerical evaluation is necessary. The solutions from the classical equation of elastic plate will be used to determine the distribution of interface stress as well as the size of burdened area. The bonding strength is considered as fracture toughness which is directly related with the burdened area. As a useful indicator for evaluating the bonding strength, the burdened area includes the effects of many structural parameters and mechanical properties, such as: elastic modulus, Poisson's ratio, layer thickness, slanting angle, and corner radius. Burdened area is a property of structure because it is independent of the peeling loads, the material's yielding strength and interface adhesion. As far as energy release rate is concerned, the boundary' load is virtually distributed on the whole burdened area. The concept of burdened area will facilitate mechanical design of bonding strength and leads to a better understanding of various debonding failures.


Nanostructures with high aspect ratios, HAR, (ratio of height to lateral feature size) are of interest for many applications. One of the immediate advantages is the large surface area of these structures. In the field of DRAM manufacturing for example, the capacitance of cylindrical DRAM capacitors increases linearly with height. Wet etching and drying of these fragile high aspect ratio structures without lateral collapse (stiction) is a big challenge for the fabrication of DRAM capacitors. The problem with HAR structures is stiction during drying [1]. In order to reduce stiction by improvement of drying techniques, a good metric to quantify the occurrence of stiction is needed. However, currently used methods like SEM or brightfield defect inspection are extremely time-consuming.


As our health care system moves toward a more managed competition model, the delivery of pediatric and pediatric specialists' services, especially the intensive and procedural services of neonatology, will be impacted. Pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists cannot avoid being buffeted from the powerful market forces that are now driving revolutionary changes in our health care system; they, like nonpediatric physicians, are often concerned and bewildered about the new realities of the day.


The aim of this study was to assess the self-perception of memory in elderly illiterate with mild cognitive impairment, before and after workshops of cognitive stimulation adapted for illiterate individuals. The research was qualitative, held at the Health Unit of Taguatinga-DF, involving 63 elderly illiterate: 22 in the experimental group (EG), with 10 workshops; 21 in control group 1 (CG1), with 10 lectures; and 20 in the control group 2 (GC2), without intervention. Semi-structured interviews were carried on before and after the interventions, asking about memory status. The activities offered weekly to EG and CG1 have had two hours of duration. The mean age of the participants was 72.8 years, and 92% were female. In pre-intervention, 82% reported worsening memory during the last year. In post-intervention, CG1 and CG2 kept memory changes, while EG improved


Aiming at micro machining of 3D microstructure of brittle materials with a novel tiny-grinding wheel based on the electro-magneto-rheological (EMR) effect, five conical tools with different cone angles are designed to reveal the effect of the cone angle on the machining characteristics. The distribution of the magnetic and electric fields in the polishing area is simulated using the finite element analysis software, and the machining experiments of micro groove were conducted to confirm the simulation results. Experimental results indicate that the material removal rate increases first and decreases afterwards with the increase of the cone angle, and the section width of micro groove increases but the section depth of micro groove shows a fluctuation phenomenon within a certain range. The intensities of the electric and magnetic fields on the tip of the conical tool with the 45° cone angle are at a larger level in the five tools, which is helpful to form a stable tiny-grinding wheel based on the EMR effect and obtain a better machining effect, so the tool with the 45° cone angle is an effective and ideal machining tool for the machining of 3D microstructure.


We present a method for measuring a communication signal's inband error caused by a non-ideal device under test (DUT). In contrast to the established error vector magnitude (EVM), we do not demodulate the data symbols. Rather, we subtract linearly correlated (SLIC) parts from the DUT output and analyze the power spectral density of the remaining error signal. Consequently, we do not require in-depth knowledge of the modulation standard. This makes our method well suited for measurements with cutting-edge communication signals, without the need to purchase or implement a dedicated EVM analyzer. We show that our SLIC-EVM approach allows for estimating the subcarrier-dependent EVM for typical transceiver impairments like IQ mismatch, phase noise, and power amplifier (PA) nonlinearity. We present measurement results of a WLAN PA, showing less than 0.2 dB absolute deviation from the regular EVM with demodulation.


Four out of every five women in Uganda are employed in agriculture, according to the 2008 Gender and Productivity Survey (GPS) in Uganda (EPRC, 2009); and 42 percent of women in the labour force are unpaid family workers—receiving no income despite contributing the largest proportion of the agricultural labour. Gender discrimination in the labour market is a pervasive economic problem in developing countries.1 Discrimination based on sex can take many forms in the labour market—from restricted access to certain sectors of employment—to differential pay by gender. As earlier noted, whereas 42 percent of women in Uganda are unpaid family workers, the corresponding rate for men is only 16 percent according to the 2008 GPS. Furthermore, the 2008 GPS shows that in the private sector, women in Uganda receive on average lower pay than men. Gender gaps in the labour market do not only lead to reduced incomes for women but also affects the status of women within society. Nevertheless, gender norms continue to dictate what a woman can and cannot do in Uganda and whether she can work outside her marital home. This environment has ensured that female exploitation in the labour market persists. As such, there is a need to address gender equity in labour market in Uganda—especially as the country attempts to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).


Abstract. This paper presents the inclusion of an online dynamical downscaling of temperature and precipitation within the model of intermediate complexity iLOVECLIM v1.1. We describe the following methodology to generate temperature and precipitation fields on a 40 km  ×  40 km Cartesian grid of the Northern Hemisphere from the T21 native atmospheric model grid. Our scheme is not grid specific and conserves energy and moisture in the same way as the original climate model. We show that we are able to generate a high-resolution field which presents a spatial variability in better agreement with the observations compared to the standard model. Although the large-scale model biases are not corrected, for selected model parameters, the downscaling can induce a better overall performance compared to the standard version on both the high-resolution grid and on the native grid. Foreseen applications of this new model feature include the improvement of ice sheet model coupling and high-resolution land surface models.


Abstract The high ion-temperature (> 10 keV) plasma has been performed in ion-cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) heating experiments on the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror. In such a high performance plasma, low frequency density fluctuations are observed in relation to the applied ICRF powers. A drift-type fluctuation, that is excited when high power ICRFs for the plasma production are applied, is observed in the whole of GAMMA 10 with the finite wave length. The amplitude of the drift-type fluctuation depends strongly on the gas puffing rate, the ICRF antenna configuration and so on. The radial transport of high energy ions due to these fluctuations is studied.


Besides well-known destructive methods for material degradation, the electrical resistivity method has been used as one of nondestructive evaluation methods because of easy measurement. To use the method, however, careful geometrical corrections and thickness measurements are required. The high current probe assembly and accurate thickness measurement device were developed to improve overall measurement uncertainty. If dual configuration Four-Point Probe method with the developed devices is used, overall measurement uncertainty of electrical resistivity could be reduced to 0.44 % at 95 % confidence level. Proper selection of the probe spacing matched with sample thickness is very important to determine accurate electrical resistivity. When sample thickness is less than probe spacing, it is expected that dual configuration Four-Point Probe technique can be used in nondestructive evaluation of plant equipment materials.


This short essay argues that instead of having a given hierarchy among disciplines of human knowledge, there is a changing and multifarious construction of such disciplines. This may be seen in the way in which disciplines such as economy, sociology, political science and law have built specific understandings of reality as a whole, to the point that it is possible to refer to economic, social, political or legal manners of construction of reality. This leads to the notion of horizontal interdisciplinarity, given the fact that disciplines of human understanding are all capable of building knowledge and of forging new and different epistemic frontiers.


Author(s): Markovich, Dalya Yafa | Abstract: Critical pedagogy is conceived in the contemporary educational era as a means to help improve learning skills and abilities and thus, the scholastic achievements of students from disadvantaged groups. Yet, we know very little about the ways in which critical pedagogy is interpreted and understood in disadvantaged schools. This study seeks to examine the implementation of critical pedagogy in a secular Jewish high school in an impoverished neighborhood in Israel. The high school strives to attain scholastic achievement by instilling critical consciousness. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted over a two-year period, I analyzed the interpretations of critical pedagogy by teachers and parents during the process of preparing students for matriculation exams. This period was chosen due to the fact that these final exams were posited as the apex of the school's aims and learning process. With regard to critical pedagogy, the findings reveal that two distinct discourses—achievement-ism and critique—played out in the school. These discourses were not conceived as complementary but rather as two contradicting positions that diverged along socio-economic lines – that of the teachers and the parents. Therefore, whereas most of the teachers regarded critical pedagogy as a radical alternative to the exam system, most of the parents regarded critical pedagogy as a non-normative radical option that threatened the exam system. The differential ways in which critical pedagogy was interpreted by teachers and parents begs us to continue calling it into question and to articulate new models for a critical pedagogy that sees oppression for the multilayered complex arena that it is.


MILORD is a project (supported by the CEC in the context of the AIM R&D programme) implementing a prototype system able to handle in an effective and homogeneous way multimedia medical records, which represent an integrated view of patient's data. Multimediality and advanced database technology are the key issues that are under investigation in MILORD for developing a new kind of medical workstation in which the medical staff can manage directly, for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, all the information involved in a specific hospital department, as well as access the information provided from other departments. The paper introduces the database techniques and concepts that are used in MILORD to represent, store and manipulate multimedia medical data. In particular, three modules of the system are described: the user interaction environment, the knowledge manager, and the parallel object server.


The antiestrogen tamoxifen is used in the treatment of breast cancer and has recently been recommended as a chemopreventive drug for women at high risk for breast cancer. However, women treated with the drug have an increased incidence of endometrial cancer. It has been suggested that this endometrial cancer might result from mutagenic DNA adducts, which are formed by electrophilic tamoxifen species generated by metabolic activation of the drug. Because the frequency of damage-induced mutations is strongly dependent on the repairability of the lesion, we investigated the repair of the major tamoxifen-DNA adducts by the human nucleotide excision repair system. Using the reconstituted human excision repair system and synthetic DNA substrates, we found that the four types of tamoxifen-DNA adducts detected in the endometrium were repaired with moderate to poor efficiency by nucleotide excision repair. It is concluded that individual variations in repair capacity may play a role in the development of tamoxifen-induced endometrial cancer.


We complete the program, initiated in [6], to compare the many different possible definitions of the underlying homotopy type of a log scheme. We show that, up to profinite completion, they all yield the same result, and thus arrive at an unambiguous definition of the profinite homotopy type of a log scheme. Specifically, in [6], we define this to be the profinite etale homotopy type of the infinite root stack, and show that, over $\mathbb{C},$ this agrees up to profinite completion with the Kato-Nakayama space. Other possible candidates are the profinite shape of the Kummer etale site $X_{\mbox{ket}},$ or of the representable etale site of $\sqrt[\infty]{X}.$ Our main result is that all of these notions agree, and moreover the profinite etale homotopy type of the infinite root stack is not sensitive to whether or not it is viewed as a pro-system in stacks, or as an actual stack (by taking the limit of the pro-system). We furthermore show that in the log regular setting, all these notions also agree with the etale homotopy type of the classical locus $X^{\mbox{triv}}$ (up to an appropriate completion). We deduce that, over an arbitrary locally Noetherian base, the etale homotopy type of $\mathbb{G}_m^N$ agrees with that of $B\mu_\infty^N$ up to completion.


Algorithmic problem solving provides a radically new way of approaching and solving problems in general by using the advances that have been made in the basic principles of correct-by-construction algorithm design. The aim of this thesis is to provide educational material that shows how these advances can be used to support the teaching of mathematics and computing.

We rewrite material on elementary number theory and we show how the focus on the algorithmic content of the theory allows the systematisation of existing proofs and, more importantly, the construction of new knowledge in a practical and elegant way. For example, based on Euclid's algorithm, we derive a new and efficient algorithm to enumerate the positive rational numbers in two different ways, and we develop a new and constructive proof of the two-squares theorem.

Because the teaching of any subject can only be effective if the teacher has access to abundant and sufficiently varied educational material, we also include a catalogue of teaching scenarios. Teaching scenarios are fully worked out solutions to algorithmic problems together with detailed guidelines on the principles captured by the problem, how the problem is tackled, and how it is solved. Most of the scenarios have a recreational flavour and are designed to promote self-discovery by the students.

Based on the material developed, we are convinced that goal-oriented, calculational algorithmic skills can be used to enrich and reinvigorate the teaching of mathematics and computing.


Fractals is a hands-on introduction to the visualization of mathematical objects, algorithms and data. The book gives a self-contained introduction to J as raster and object graphics are introduced. Fractal times series illustrate techniques for dealing with one-dimensional data. Studies of iterated function systems and chaotic attractors offer experience with visualizing two dimensional phenomena while investigating fractals and symmetry. Finite automata and fast Fourier transforms are used for playful things like the game of life and serious topics such as image processing. Similar techniques are used for studying classical complex dynamics illustrated by the Mandelbrot set and Julia sets. The mathematics of three dimensional projection is discussed and visualization of three dimensional data is the focus of scenes created by rendering J created objects with raytracers and OpenGL.


Importance
Vaccination against COVID-19 provides clear public health benefits, but vaccination also carries potential risks. The risks and outcomes of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination are unclear.

Objective
To describe reports of myocarditis and the reporting rates after mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination in the US.

Design, Setting, and Participants
Descriptive study of reports of myocarditis to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) that occurred after mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine administration between December 2020 and August 2021 in 192 405 448 individuals older than 12 years of age in the US; data were processed by VAERS as of September 30, 2021.

Exposures
Vaccination with BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna).

Main Outcomes and Measures
Reports of myocarditis to VAERS were adjudicated and summarized for all age groups. Crude reporting rates were calculated across age and sex strata. Expected rates of myocarditis by age and sex were calculated using 2017-2019 claims data. For persons younger than 30 years of age, medical record reviews and clinician interviews were conducted to describe clinical presentation, diagnostic test results, treatment, and early outcomes.

Results
Among 192 405 448 persons receiving a total of 354 100 845 mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines during the study period, there were 1991 reports of myocarditis to VAERS and 1626 of these reports met the case definition of myocarditis. Of those with myocarditis, the median age was 21 years (IQR, 16-31 years) and the median time to symptom onset was 2 days (IQR, 1-3 days). Males comprised 82% of the myocarditis cases for whom sex was reported. The crude reporting rates for cases of myocarditis within 7 days after COVID-19 vaccination exceeded the expected rates of myocarditis across multiple age and sex strata. The rates of myocarditis were highest after the second vaccination dose in adolescent males aged 12 to 15 years (70.7 per million doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine), in adolescent males aged 16 to 17 years (105.9 per million doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine), and in young men aged 18 to 24 years (52.4 and 56.3 per million doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine and the mRNA-1273 vaccine, respectively). There were 826 cases of myocarditis among those younger than 30 years of age who had detailed clinical information available; of these cases, 792 of 809 (98%) had elevated troponin levels, 569 of 794 (72%) had abnormal electrocardiogram results, and 223 of 312 (72%) had abnormal cardiac magnetic resonance imaging results. Approximately 96% of persons (784/813) were hospitalized and 87% (577/661) of these had resolution of presenting symptoms by hospital discharge. The most common treatment was nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (589/676; 87%).

Conclusions and Relevance
Based on passive surveillance reporting in the US, the risk of myocarditis after receiving mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines was increased across multiple age and sex strata and was highest after the second vaccination dose in adolescent males and young men. This risk should be considered in the context of the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination.


Research efforts have intensified on developing superhydrophobic surfaces on concrete structures to limit the damage caused by the natural porosity and hydrophilicity of cementitious materials. However, the feasibility idea is impeded by the complex preparation process and weak adhesion/stability performance. Therefore, superhydrophobic coatings were rapidly prepared on mortar surfaces by a straightforward and effective one-step method using zinc oxide (ZnO) modified with stearic acid and epoxy resin. The microstructure, physical/chemical properties, hydrophobic properties, and stability of the coatings were systematically investigated. The experimental results showed that the water contact angle of the samples reached a maximum value of 164.2° and a sliding angle of 4.6° when the stearic acid content was 0.5 g. The water absorption of the coated superhydrophobic mortar was reduced by approximately 61% compared to that of ordinary mortar, and neither particulate pollutants nor liquid pollutants could contaminate the superhydrophobic mortar. The coating maintained a superhydrophobic state and exhibited good physical durability after sandpaper abrasion, tape peeling, and high-temperature resistance tests. The water cluster diffusion coefficient on surface of the ordinary coating was 0.1645 × 10-4 and 0.0328 × 10-4 cm2/s on surface of the modified coating after molecular dynamics simulation.


Russell, in his editorial "Very high-dose corticosteroids: panacea or poison?1", speculates about the reasons why "the practice of using increasingly high doses of inhaled corticosteroid therapy, particularly of fluticasone, became commonplace in the UK." He blames doctors: "it appears that better disciplined clinicians elsewhere in the world were less willing to stray beyond licensed dosages" and also the raising of the licensed dose of fluticasone propriate in children, from 200 to 400 μg/day, although this happened in 2001, at least 5 years after this prescribing practice became commonplace.2

The question as to how this situation arose is important, and was discussed by a judge at a fatal accident inquiry3 in 2005 into the death of a 5-year-old girl in 2001 from adrenal crisis due to high-dose inhaled fluticasone propriate. It was this death that prompted the recent investigation of adrenal function in children with asthma, prescribed fluticasone propriate >500 μg/day.4

At the inquiry, evidence was heard from the treating clinicians and others including a pharmacist, paediatricians, a chest physician, representatives of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (formerly the Medicines Control Agency) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the manufacturers of fluticasone propriate. Evidence was heard that at the time of the launch of fluticasone propriate, the product monograph claimed "mean plasma cortisol concentrations remained within the normal range for adults and children, demonstrating that even at high doses (2000 micrograms), fluticasone is well tolerated …


Background: The article presents differential methods to determine ad valorem Mineral Extraction Tax (MET) rates for commercial components extracted from technogenic raw materials and from secondary mineral resources. Methods: Proposed objectives include restrictions on the minimum level of MET rates. MET is calculated by reference to stock exchange prices for finished products in formulas 1 and 2. This tax is calculated relying on the estimated value of extracted minerals in formulas 4 and 5. The forecasted MET potential is estimated as present value of expected payments to the budgets of the RF budget system. Findings: Increasing the complexity of the use of mineral resources through the development of state regulation of economic measures aimed at stimulating subsoil usage involves determining the optimal ad valorem tax rates on mining operations, which provide cost-effectiveness of the investment project organization engaged in the development of technogenic deposits. For this purpose, the study has developed and scientifically validated methods in terms of mining rent, where mining-and-geological (mill head grade) and technological (the value of throughout recovery of the component to the finished product) criteria have been highlighted in its structure which are prerequisite to establish economically justified level of tax exemptions of mineral extraction tax. Frequency of revision of MET rates is still debatable, whether it will be a period of development of the deposit or another period of imposing the tax rate. Improvements: The presented methods can be used in working out the directions of Russian tax system development, as well as the implementation of regional investment projects aimed at developing, in the first place, technogenic deposits under a separate license.


Pleuroperitoneal hernias are the most uncommon type of diaphragmatic hernias in dogs and cats. The treatment of choice is surgery and may involve the use of prosthetic implant through celiotomy. In the current report, laparoscopic repair of a congenital pleuroperitoneal hernia using polypropylene mesh in a dog is described. The surgery was feasible. Appropriate reduction of the hernia was carried out and no complications were noted.


Article history: Received 03 November 2015 Accepted 24 November 2015 Available online, ISSN: 2148-127X This experiment was designed to investigate the effects of rosemary essential oils in various doses on hen performance, egg quality, lipid peroxidation malondialdehyde (MDA) level in fresh and stored egg yolk. The experiment was carried out in random parcel experimental design. In the experiment, 6 groups were formed and each group was divided into 5 replicates. In total 240 Bovans hite laying hens, each replicate included 8 hens, 32 weeks old, were used. Treatment groups were control (Negative Control), 500 mg//kg antibiotic (Positive Control 1), 200 mg/kg vitamin E (Positive Control 2), 100 mg/kg rosemary essential oil, 200 mg/kg rosemary essential oil, 300 mg/kg rosemary essential oil. There was no significant difference in live weight, egg production, egg weight, damaged egg ratio, mortality and egg quality but feed comsumption, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and egg yolk MDA values were affected significantly in between control and treatment groups. At all treatment groups feed comsumption decreased significantly and other groups improved in feed conversion ratio except 500 mg/kg antibiotic and 100 mg/kg rosemary doses groups compared to negative control significantly. 100 mg/kg rosemary essential oil addition during the storage time for 42 and 56 days and 200 mg/kg vitamin E addition for all storage time to ration decreased egg yolk MDA values significantly. As a result, laying birds fed 200 mg/kg vitamin E, and 100 mg/kg of rosemary essential oil additives can use to prevent lipid oxidation.


The focus of my presentation is iconic representations and transformations in Dostoevsky's post-Siberian fiction and I argue that the transforming power of iconic beauty is vital to a full understanding and appreciation of the writer's works and religious philosophy. Iconic beauty refers to the moral or transforming aspects of the author's works corresponding with the objective of icons which is to spiritually transform the viewer.Dostoevsky lived in a time of turbulent social, economic and philosophical change, when the very idea of what it means to be human was questioned. The concept of humans created in the image and likeness of God was superseded by a new understanding of humanity as a group of social animals struggling for survival and economic prosperity, thereby eroding the power of religion in people's lives. The subsequent replacement of spiritual values with materialism, hedonism and egotism created a rupture in the moral fabric of society which has persisted to the present day. Dostoevsky's response to these developments was a strengthening of faith and an unceasing conviction in the importance of God for the flourishing of the human race. As a result his post-Siberian works express his vision of a world in which love and faith are the dominant forces, and where the struggle to attain the spiritual ideal that is our birthright takes precedence. His icon-like characters are images of purity, inner beauty and compassion and their interaction with the baser aspects of humanity forms the essence of the novels' narrative.Particular emphasis is placed on the way the characters of the major novels embody the ideal of the iconic archetype characterising Orthodox theology and artistic representation and the extent to which iconic beauty creates transformation in these works. A crucial aspect of my research findings is that the icon-like characters of the post-Siberian works are equally capable of transforming and regenerating their sinful environment but do not always receive the necessary response that is essential for transformation to unfold. My research provides the basis for a deeper understanding of the function of transformative beauty in Dostoevsky's works during an important period of his creative output and contributes to a reviving interest in the conceptualisation of beauty within a theological framework.


In recent years, cognitive theories of offender behaviour have lead to the development of rehabilitation programs. However, many of the cognitive theories which underpin these programs have not been fully developed nor have they been the subject of very much empirical investigation. For example, some of these programs have been applied to versatile offenders (i.e., those that commit a wide range of different types of offences), but cognitive theories, in general, have not been developed to account for such versatility. Moreover, there has been little investigation of the cognitive processes in versatile offenders. This thesis is concerned with the application of one cognitive theory, script theory, to offender behaviour, with particular reference to versatile offender behaviour. In Study 1, forty offenders broadly fitting the profile of 'versatile offender' with a mean age of 16 years old and a comparison group of forty non-offenders were given 4 vignettes to complete. In Study 2, a second group of 30 offenders and 35 non-offenders who were over 18 years of age were also compared. Each vignette contained a potential criminal situation that was set within typical situations in which they occur: a violent situation, vandalism, car theft and burglary. The vignette scenarios were derived from British Crime Survey statistics and comprised some of the most common offences to occur for younger age groups. The response format and subsequent analysis was consistent with previous uses of this methodology: initial categorization of actions within stages of scenario responses, followed by in depth analyses of the nature of these responses. The results of both studies provided evidence consistent with script-like knowledge structures across a range of offences for subsets of offenders. Study 3 employed a similar methodology to that used in Studies 1 and 2 in order to contrast a group of 'Elite' offenders (who had received no convictions during their adult lives) with a group of repeat offenders. The results of this study confirmed that there was script-like knowledge in the repeat offenders, and that their knowledge and behaviour (as indexed by the responses to a burglary vignette) differed markedly from the Elite offenders. The conclusions drawn from the results are that repeat offenders who are versatile appear to process crime scene information similarly to repeat specialist offenders in that there are script-like characteristics. Therefore, both rehabilitation program designs and crime prevention methods would benefit from more use of the script theoretical framework in predicting offenders' linear processing patterns. Furthermore, the Elite group of offenders appear to use a comparatively lower risk strategy in terms of movements between different locations in and around a crime scene. This strategy is distinguishable from specific 'how to do' techniques used for breaking in to properties for example. Within the script framework, this strategy is explained by the use of an expansive set of sub-tracks to the principal script. Sub-tracks are predetermined sets of behaviours which negate a problem and then return the user back to the original course of the script. Such sub-tracks appear to be absent from the repeat offenders repertoire' of processing, hence the rigidity and concrete appearance to the processing of repeat offenders who fail to avoid periodical adjudications.


Provision of fresh produce to winter‐over Antarctic crews is a
challenge. The fact that at least 46 different greenhouses or plant
production systems have existed at one time or another in
Antarctica1 demonstrates the desire to produce food in situ, even in
this harsh environment.
The EDEN ISS project will deploy an advanced plant growth system
to Neumayer Station III. In addition to providing winter‐over crews
with fresh produce, the project aims to advance the technology
readiness and operations techniques of space‐based plant growth
systems. The EDEN ISS "Mobile Test Facility" is designed to operate
from two 20‐foot shipping containers. These containers will be
mounted upon an elevated platform situated approximately 300
metres south of Neumayer Station III. The facility will be composed
of three distinct sections:
 A cold porch
 A Service Section, housing the bulk of the facility
subsystems as well as a refrigerator‐sized growth rack
specifically designed to advance microgravity‐based growth
systems
 A Future Exploration Greenhouse providing the main plant
production area of the facility


Objective— In human abdominal aortic aneurysm, the accumulation of blood-derived cells and proteases within the mural thrombus plays a pivotal role in the evolution toward vessel wall rupture. We sought to identify peptides released from abdominal aortic aneurysm specimens, characterized by an intraluminal thrombus. Methods and Results— Intraluminal thrombus samples were analyzed by differential proteomics, using surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. A 1309-Da peptide was detected in larger amounts in the newly formed luminal thrombus layer relative to older layers. It was identified as being LVVYPWTQRF (known as LVV-Hemorphin 7), a peptide generated from hemoglobin by cathepsin D. By immunohistochemical analysis, we showed that Hemorphin 7 (H7) colocalizes with cathepsin D and cathepsin G in the luminal layer of the intraluminal thrombus. In vitro, cathepsin G was able to generate H7 peptides at pH 7.4, whereas cathepsin D was only active in acidic conditions. Fin...


Thin chitosan–carbon nanoparticle films (ca. 2 nm average thickness increase per layer) are assembled onto tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) electrode substrates in a layer-by-layer deposition process employing carbon nanoparticles of ca. 8 nm average diameter and an aqueous solution of chitosan (poly-D-glucosamine, low molecular weight, 75–85% deacetylated). Chitosan introduces amine/ammonium functionalities which are employed for the immobilization of redox systems (i) via physisorption of indigo carmine and (ii) via chemisorption of 2-methyleneanthraquinone. The number of binding sites within the chitosan–carbon nanoparticle film is controlled by changing the thickness of the film deposit or by changing the chitosan content, which is varied by changing the chitosan concentration during layer-by-layer deposition. Voltammetric characteristics and stability of the chemisorbed and physisorbed redox systems are reported as a function of pH. The physisorbed redox system is expelled from the film at a pH consistent with the pKA of chitosan (approximately 6.5). However, the 2-methyleneanthraquinone redox system remains stable even in alkaline media and only a minor inflection in the plot of midpoint potentials vs. pH indicates the film deprotonation process at the pKA of chitosan.