failure' and a patient with a cerebral abscess is likely to have a lumbar puncture but no brain scan. In the analysis of monocular blindness most paths indicate a vascular or demyelinating aetiology whilst optic nerve compression receives little emphasis. The author is dissatisfied with traditional ways of teaching medicine. On the evidence of this book, however, he has not formulated an alternative approach which can be recommended to medical students.


We recently noted that exogenous zinc was capable of counteracting LPS-induced decreases in labile [Zn]i (i.e., TPEN chelatable, FluoZin-3 detectable) and simultaneously abrogated LPS-induced apoptosis in SPAECs. In an abbreviated survey of the effect of LPS on potential zinc transporters, we noted that LPS increased mRNA of zinc importer, SLC39A14 or ZIP14 (and this effect was mimicked by zinc chelator, TPEN) suggesting that increased expression of SLC39A14 may be an homeostatic mechanism to maintain [Zn]i and reduce cellular toxicity to LPS. In the current study, we noted that knockdown of SLC39A14 with siRNA rendered SPAECs more sensitive to LPS-induced apoptosis and also impaired the ability of exogenous zinc to rescue this effect. We also previously noted that iNOS or chemically derived (S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP)) nitric oxide (NO) is associated with resistant phenotype to LPS-induced apoptosis in a zinc dependent fashion. Since ZIP14 expression has been reported to be indirectly upregulated by NO, we pursued this connection in SPAECs by silencing ZIP14 using siRNA technology. We noted that NO-mediated resistance to LPS-induced apoptosis was independent of ZIP14 but was critically dependent upon the presence of sheep metallothionein (MT). In particular, genetic silencing of these collective forms of sheep MT isoforms abrogated the NO-dependent resistant phenotype to LPS-induced apoptosis as well as abolishing NO-mediated increases in [Zn]i. Collectively, these data confirm that increases in labile [Zn]i are an important component of ZIP14- or NO-mediated resistance to LPS-induced apoptosis. Cytoprotection via ZIP14 appears to be secondary to transcellular movement of extracellular zinc whereas NO mediated protection is secondary to S-nitrosation of MT and redistribution of intracellular zinc.


Recognition of objects with subtle differences has been used in many practical applications, such as car model recognition and maritime vessel identification. For discrimination of the objects in fine-grained detail, we focus on deep embedding learning by using a multi-task learning framework, in which the hierarchical labels (coarse and fine labels) of the samples are utilized both for classification and a quadruplet-based loss function. In order to improve the recognition strength of the learned features, we present a novel feature selection method specifically designed for four training samples of a quadruplet. By experiments, it is observed that the selection of very hard negative samples with relatively easy positive ones from the same coarse and fine classes significantly increases some performance metrics in a fine-grained dataset when compared to selecting the quadruplet samples randomly. The feature embedding learned by the proposed method achieves favorable performance against its state-of-the-art counterparts.


Deception research has neglected the fact that legal-workers often have to try to detect deceit on the basis of statements derived from pairs of suspects, each having been interrogated repeatedly. To remedy this shortcoming we conducted a study where each member of 10 truth-telling pairs and 10 lying pairs was interrogated twice about an alibi. One hundred and twenty undergraduate students were enrolled as lie-catchers. The main findings were that (a) overall deception detection accuracy was modest; (b) lie-catchers given access to a large number of statements did not outperform lie-catchers given access to a lesser number of statements; (c) when asked to justify their veracity assessments the most frequently reported cue was 'consistency within pairs of suspects'; (d) all cues to deception were of low diagnostic value. Psycho-legal aspects of integrating sequential information in deception detection contexts are discussed.


Failures of selective attention may be explained by the attentional white bear (AWB) hypothesis maintaining that prior knowledge of distractor location causes attentional allocation to it. The AWB is demonstrated by embedding infrequent trials of two simultaneous dots among flanker trials. The dot at the expected distractor location is perceived as appearing before the dot at the expected empty location, indicating attentional allocation to expected distractor locations. A major requirement of the AWB hypothesis is that it occurs in a top-down manner due to expectations. We devised a variation of the original AWB experiment, which enabled us to differentiate between the top-down and bottom-up contributions. The results show that top-down expectancies, which are a critical part of the AWB characterization, occur independently of bottom-up contributions.


Having considered a vital means whereby the Basel III framework and the Dodd Frank Act could achieve a respectable degree of harmonization, in the paper which precedes this, namely, the paper on "Harmonising Basel III and the Dodd Frank Act through International Accounting Standards – Reasons why International Accounting Standards Should Serve as "Thermostats", this paper considers another important means of effectively achieving the aims and objectives of these important and major regulatory reforms aimed at achieving greater financial stability. In so doing, it will highlight challenges encountered by the Basel III framework, as well as that encountered by the Dodd Frank Act – particularly in the areas of enforcement, coordination and communication. In facilitating better enforcement, the need for high level principles, bright line rules and a more effective mandate will be emphasized. Furthermore, a system whereby greater collaboration between standard setters and national supervisors can be better facilitated requires effective coordination and communication mechanisms aimed at ensuring that vital decisions and information are communicated timely, accurately, effectively and completely.


The approval mechanism for new drugs in India has in recent years been a subject of scrutiny and controversy in both the public sphere and academics. Frequent rollbacks in the guidelines have attracted criticisms from the industry as well. All this happens at a time, when the country aspires to catch up and keep pace with the fast-changing global regulatory norms. This article draws upon the scholarships on regulatory science and institutional theories to understand the regulatory processes of new drugs approval in India. Both strands of scholarships highlight the multidisciplinary, context-specific character of regulatory knowledge. We find that Indian regulation-making process relies heavily on regulatory knowledge built up elsewhere, potentially limiting the scope of generating its own, context-specific, regulatory knowledge through learning and capacity building. Inadequate level of deliberations in the decision-making process, dearth of documentation and a lack of connections with the larger institutional settings appear to be two other features of it. All this might explain the reasons for frequent changes, and lack of continuity, in regulation for new drugs approval in the country in recent years.


Multidimensional unfolding (MDU) is one of the most powerful conceptual and methodological tools used in marketing for product positioning analysis. Unfortunately, the majority of the commercial software programs available for performing such analyses (especially nonmetric analyses) suffer from serious limitations including degenerate solutions, interpretation difficulties, lack of supporting statistical inference and model selection procedures, excessive number of parameters to estimate, requirements of full data sets, and difficulties with local optima. The authors propose a new parametric approach to nonmetric unfolding (PARFOLD) to extend methodological developments in the econometrics and marketing science arenas. The authors develop the technical aspects of the proposed procedure, including options for accommodating incomplete rank orders, constraints, and reparameterizations. Two marketing-related applications are provided: one deals with preferences for snack food items involving complete rank orders, and the second involves incomplete data in which students rank order Master of Business Administration schools in their consideration/application sets. Comparisons are made with existing nonmetric MDU procedures including ALSCAL, PREFMAR and KYST with respect to several newly proposed diagnostic indices of solution degeneracy and positioning implications. Finally, the authors summarize limitations of the proposed model and offer directions for further research.


The comprehensive understanding of the structure-dependent electrostatic discharge behaviors in a conventional diode-triggered silicon controlled rectifier (DTSCR) is presented in this paper. Combined with the device simulation, a mathematical model is built to get a more in-depth insight into this phenomenon. The theoretical studies are verified by the transmission-line-pulsing (TLP) test results of the modified DTSCR structure, which is realized in a 65-nm complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) process. The detailed analysis of the physical mechanism is used to provide predictions as the DTSCR-based protection scheme is required. In addition, a method is also presented to achieve the tradeoff between the leakage and trigger voltage in DTSCR.


The synthesis of magnesium amidoborane, Mg(NH2BH3)2 (MgAB), has been attracting considerable interest since the recognition of the potential of metal amidoboranes as promising hydrogen storage media. But so far, all the efforts for synthesizing Mg(NH2BH3)2 using mechanochemical or wet chemistry methods have been frustrated. In this paper, we report a successful synthesis of MgAB using ammonia borane (AB) and magnesium hydride (MgH2) or magnesium (Mg) powder as starting materials. It was found that the post-milled 2AB/MgH2 and 2AB/Mg mixtures undergo solid-phase reactions under mild temperatures (≤70 °C), resulting in the formation of a new crystalline phase. A combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR), and solid-state 11B MAS NMR characterizations, in conjunction with weight loss monitoring and the designed metathesis experiment, strongly indicates that the new crystalline phase is the long-sought MgAB. Our study using the solid-state 11B NMR technique further revealed that the formation of MgAB involves a reaction mechanism that is distinct from other metal amidoboranes. MgH2 or Mg may actually react with the mobile phase of AB (AB*), rather than with the starting normal AB. The examination of its properties revealed that MgAB is a stable compound at room temperature and can release ∼10 wt% H2 of high purity at temperature below 300 °C, suggesting that it is a promising hydrogen storage material.


The objectives of this study were to compare the results of HSL (Health and Safety Laboratory) ramp test with perceived sense of slip onto the several different floor surfaces under contaminated conditions. There are a variety of approaches from biomechanical measurements to psychophysical test and human perception. However, controversies over these approaches still remain. Some widely accepted methods need to be improved. AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) was used to evaluate the perception of slipperiness of seven different floor surfaces under the contaminated condition with glycerol solution. Twelve subjects worn same footwear and walked with self-selected step and cadence along the test floors. The angle of inclination obtained for water wet condition using 5 l/min with HSL ramp test was compared to perception of slipperiness. The surface roughness (Rz) related very well both AHP (r=0.95) and ramp test (r=0.92). The high significant correlation (r=0.90) was found between AHP and HSL ramp test .The HSL ramp test values (Coefficient of Friction, COF) according to subjective evaluation were divided into two categories. There were high correlations between test results (subjective evaluation, HSL ramp test) and surface roughness in Rz. Perception rating obtained with AHP showed a high correlation with COF obtained with HSL ramp test.


A 1-V 10.7-MHz fourth-order bandpass delta-sigma modulator using two switched opamps (SOPs) is presented. The 3/4 sampling frequency and the double-sampling techniques are adapted for this modulator to relax the required clocking rate. The presented modulator can not only reduce the number of SOPs, but also the number of capacitors. It has been implemented in 0.25-/spl mu/m 1P5M CMOS process with MIM capacitors. The modulator can receive 10.7-MHz IF signals by using a clock frequency of 7.13 MHz. A dynamic range of 62 dB within bandwidth of 200 kHz is achieved and the power consumption of 8.45 mW is measured at 1-V supply voltage. The image tone can be suppressed by 44 dB with respect to the carrier. The in-band third-order intermodulation (IM3) distortion is -65 dBc below the desired signal.


Large-scale brain activity patterns can be visualized by optical imaging of intrinsic signals (OIS) based on activity-dependent changes in the blood oxygenation level. Another method, flavoprotein autofluorescence imaging (AFI), exploits the mitochondrial flavoprotein autofluorescence, which is enhanced during neuronal activity. In birds, topographic mapping of visual space has been shown in the visual wulst, the avian homologue of the mammalian visual cortex by using OIS. We here applied the AFI method to visualize topographic maps in the visual wulst because with OIS, which depends on blood flow changes, blood vessel artifacts often obscure brain activity maps. We then compared both techniques quantitatively in zebra finches and in C57Bl/6J mice using the same setup and stimulation conditions. In addition to experiments with craniotomized animals, we also examined mice with intact skull (in zebra finches, intact skull imaging is not feasible probably due to the skull construction). In craniotomized animals, retinotopic maps were obtained by both methods in both species. Using AFI, artifacts caused by blood vessels were generally reduced, the magnitude of neuronal activity significantly higher and the retinotopic map quality better than that obtained by OIS in both zebra finches and mice. In contrast, our measurements in non-craniotomized mice did not reveal any quantitative differences between the two methods. Our results thus suggest that AFI is the method of choice for investigations of visual processing in zebra finches. In mice, however, if researchers decide to use the advantages of imaging through the intact skull, they will not be able to exploit the higher signals obtainable by the AFI-method.


The purpose of this thesis was to implement, analyze, and possibly expand a Bayesian
inference method related to approximate Bayesian computation (ABC). This method
was initially suggested by the supervisor and was given the working name approximate
Bayesian computation with sequential surrogate likelihoods (ABC-SSL). The
underlying idea for the method was to replace ABC distances with predicted distances
obtained using some regression technique, thus circumventing generation of
synthetic datasets from the Bayesian model. These predictions would then be improved
in a sequential manner, leading to a significant decrease of computational
cost for parameter inference.
The literature on ABC was studied in search of similar techniques with the intent
of finding suitable methods to be compared to ABC-SSL in a simulation study.
Gaussian process regression was chosen to model the distances due to the need for
flexibility. An interpretation and generalization of the preliminary ABC-SSL method
was given, relating it to some of the methods found in the literature. The simulation
study was constructed with three examples, including one of the standard models in
the ABC literature, the g-and-k distribution. These examples were chosen to give
an understanding of potential use of the method. Due to lack of promising results
of these numerical results, the complexity of the tested models were kept low.
No conclusive evidence was found for the inference method to be suitable for practical
use in its current state due to questionable asymptotic properties and difficulties
in finding appropriate surrogate models. One possible application is to use the
proposed technique to find regions of suspected high posterior probability of the
parameter space to be used in combination with traditional ABC methods. Another
possibility is to consider Bayesian optimization problems, although such problems
were not explicitly investigated in this thesis.


Smart grid will become the next-generation electrical power system to provide reliable, efficient, secure, and cost-effective energy generation, distribution, and consumption. To achieve these goals, communications infrastructure and wireless networking will play an important role in supporting data transfer and information exchange in smart grid. In this article, the application of cooperative transmission for the meter data collection in smart grid is introduced. In a service area of smart grid, there are multiple communities composed of power consumption nodes (e.g., houses). The power consumption demand from the nodes is measured by a smart meter and transmitted to a meter data management system (MDMS) through the data aggregator unit (DAU) using wireless broadband access. The community invests in and deploys a relay station to perform relay transmission to improve the transmission rate and avoid congestion at the DAU. As a result, the MDMS will have complete and correct power demand data, which can be used to make better decisions on power supply. Since the communities in a service area of smart grid are rational, they will optimize the relay transmission strategy so that the total cost (i.e., power cost and transmission cost) is minimized. To analyze the relay transmission strategy of the community, the noncooperative game model is formulated, and the Nash equilibrium is considered as the solution. The proposed network architecture and analysis will be useful for the design and optimization of a wireless network for smart grid.


PURPOSE: Facing the research gap of entrepreneurial learning by self-expatriated technology-based entrepreneurs, the purpose of this research is to explore those entrepreneurs' beliefs and experiences across expatriation to identify the enhancement of their competencies. METHODOLOGY: Within a qualitative and exploratory multiple case theory-building approach, data was collected from twelve technology entrepreneurs from Brazil, Mexico, Germany, and Israel that went to the following destination countries: Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Ireland, Turkey, and the Netherlands. With interview data as the primary source, the data analysis rests on a qualitative content analysis. FINDINGS: Data allows structuring techpreneurs' experience of expatriation along the following steps: (a) arrival in the destination country and initial process of socialization, (b) engaging in activities to get familiar with the culture of the destination country, (c) the gradual comprehensive understanding of the new context, and (d) comparisons between the home and destination country. Expatriation had an evident impact on the technology-based entrepreneurs that materializes in three groups of competencies: entrepreneurial competencies, knowledge and innovative competencies, and international competencies. Entrepreneurial competencies relate to relational and behavioral skills and the learning of doing business in different contexts. Concerning knowledge and innovative competencies, creativity, learning new techniques and international innovation environment stand at the fore. Finally, international competencies relate to the acceptance of different cultures (multicultural learning and perception of cultural differences), developing a sense of an international community and an international innovation culture. IMPLICATIONS: This study evidenced the influence of expatriation experiences on the training of skills of technology-based entrepreneurs, in a specific approach to entrepreneurial, innovative, and intercultural competencies. The research portrays self-expatriation as an opportunity for technology-based entrepreneurs to develop different competencies being helpful to innovate, to manage business and to operate in international markets. Universities and innovators may recognize their discretion to develop programs for people like former students who want to self-expatriate. In the same vein, government can design policy to attract self-expatriate in innovations hubs, considering that local inhabitants can benefit from the cultural exchange. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: This study contributes to better understanding the influence of self-expatriation experiences on the development of skills of technology-based entrepreneurs. Compared to previous studies, it advances research through providing a wider range of learning from expatriation experiences beyond the effect of internationalization on market knowledge and cultural aspects. Furthermore, this study focuses the process, not the results of self-expatriation to understand entrepreneurs' learning.


At the meeting of the American Pediatric Society held in June, 1920, one of us, in discussing a paper by Park and Howland 1 on the effect of cod liver oil on rachitic bones as demonstrated by the roentgenogram, reported that we had found the concentration of the inorganic phosphorus of the serum to be low in rickets. The amount was definitely increased following the administration of cod liver oil. The present communication represents the work on which these statements were based. Rickets is a disease characterized by a deficient deposition of calcium salts in the bones themselves and in the intercellular cartilage of the epiphyses. Various views have been expressed and various theories advanced to explain the failure of deposition. We have approached the question from the standpoint of the inorganic chemical composition of the blood serum. Inasmuch as the salts of the bones consist preponderantly of calcium phosphate,


Abstract Background: Correct identification of misconceptions is an important first step in order to gain an understanding of student learning. More recently, four-tier multiple choice tests have been found to be effective in assessing misconceptions. Purpose: The purposes of this study are (1) to develop and validate a four-tier misconception test to assess the misconceptions of pre-service physics teachers (PSPTs) about geometrical optics, and (2) to assess and identify PSPTs' misconceptions about geometrical optics. Sample: The Four-Tier Geometrical Optics Test (FTGOT) was developed based on findings from the interviews (n = 16), open-ended testing (n = 52), pilot testing (n = 53) and administered to 243 PSPTs from 12 state universities in Turkey. Design and Methods: The first phase of the study was the development of a four-tier test. In the second phase of this study, a cross-sectional survey design was used. Results: Validity of the FTGOT scores was established by means of some qualitative and quantitative methods. These are: (1) content and face validations by six experts; (2) Positive correlations between the PSPTs' correct scores considering only first tiers of the FTGOT and their confidence score for this tier (r = .194) and between correct scores considering first and third tiers and confidence scores for both of those tiers (r = .218) were found as evidences for construct validity. (3) False positive (3.5%), false negative (3.3%) and lack of knowledge (5.1%) percentages were found to be less than 10% as an evidence for content validity of the test scores. (4) Explanatory factor analysis conducted over correct and misconception scores yielded meaningful factors for the correct scores as an evidence for construct validity. Additionally, the Cronbach alpha coefficients were calculated for correct scores (r = 0.59) and misconception scores (r = 0.42) to establish the reliability of the test scores. Six misconceptions about geometrical optics, which were held by more than 10% of the PSPTs, were identified and considered to be significant. Conclusions: The results from the present investigation demonstrate that the FTGOT is a valid and reliable instrument in assessing misconceptions in geometrical optics.


Seasonal and annual rainfall data for 135 stations for periods varying from 25 to 125 years are utilized to investigate and understand the interannual and short-term (decadal) climate variability over the South-east Asian domain Contemporaneous relations during the summer monsoon period (June to September) reveal that the rainfall variations over central India, north China, northern puts of Thailand, central parts of Brunet and Borneo and the Indonesian region east of 120 E vary in phase However, the rainfall variations over the regions surrounding the South China Sea, in particular the north-west Philippines, vary in the opposite phase. Possible dynamic causes for the spatial correlation structure obtained are discussed Based on the instrumental data available and on an objective criteria, regional rainfall anomaly time series for contiguous regions over Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunet, Indonesia and Philippines are prepared. Results reveal that although there are year-to-year random fluctuations, there are certain epochs of the above- and below-normal rainfall over each region These epochs are not forced by the El NiA±o La Nina frequencies Near the equatorial regions the epochs tend to last for about a decade, whereas over the tropical regions, away from the Equator, epochs last for about three decades There is no systematic climate change or trend in any of the series. Further, the impact of El NiA±o (La Nina) on the rainfall regimes is more severe during the below (above) normal epochs than during the above (below) normal epochs. Extreme drought flood situations tend to occur when the epochal behaviour and the El Nino La Nina events are phase-locked


In this letter, we propose a new groupwise receive combiner design for multiple-input multiple-output spatial multiplexing systems. The conventional group detection (GD) suffers from a considerable performance loss since the noise components are not taken into account. The output signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) is defined in each subgroup in order to consider both the desired signal and noise statistics. Adopting the real-valued representation, we provide an optimal receive combiner which maximizes the SINR with a general group size. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme achieves a large performance gain over the conventional GD in coded systems. Also, when combining with near-optimal detection algorithms such as sphere decoder, the proposed GD scheme offers a comparable performance with significant reduced complexity.


1. The stretch receptors of the wing hinge of the locust Schistocerca fire once or twice at the top of the wingstroke during normal flight. 2. Removal of the four stretch receptors results in a decrease of the wingstroke frequency to about one-half normal. 3. Interference with the normal timing of the stretch-receptor input (mechanically or by electrical stimulation) does not affect the normal wingstroke frequency. With respect to this sensory source the centrally generated motor output pattern is independent of input phase. 4. The results are discussed briefly in relation to the question of central υ. peripheral control of locomotion.


Nano-Fe3O4 magnetic particles were prepared by ultrasonic emulsion method and then were dispersed into water with chitosan or folate as surfactants for biocompatible water-based Fe3O4 magnetic fluid. The cubic inverse spinel structure of Fe3O4 nanoparticles were analyzed by X-ray diffraction technique (XRD). The saturation magnetizations of different magnetic particles were tested by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The morphologies of nanoparticles were observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). The particle size was about uniform 10-20 nm, and their shape was approximately spherical. Meanwhile, dispersity was improved markedly after the surface modification. Comparing to magnetic fluid with chitosan modification, magnetic fluid was coated with chitosan and folate gets higher dispersity and stability when both of them have same saturation magnetizations.


In Turkey, a country with 21.2 million ha of forest land, it is evident that the processed forest products have not been able to be developed to realize their potential with regards to the exports possibilities. It is obvious that the situation is to the disadvantage of Turkey in terms of the trading equilibrium when the exports and imports figures are examined. According to the results of the research carried out locally with respect to the Turkish Forest Products Industry, the emphasized problems emerge as the misapplication of incentives, the disability to catch up with the technological innovations, problems regarding raw material quality, undercapitalization, lack of qualified personnel, etc. By the help of this study which had been planned to cover the whole Turkish Forest Products Industry; the target is to reveal the structural situations of the large scale businesses in Turkey in the first few years of the 20th century, where modern management principles are assumed to be applied. The research had been finalized with the comments made upon the results of the questionnaires gathered through mostly face-to-face interviews with 415 large scale forest product firms where it was assumed that contemporary management principles and technological developments were applied relatively easier. As the questionnaire study was applied by the researchers themselves directly, it was also supported through observations. Key words:


The present work includes six cases of congenital syphilis that were diagnosed radiologically before birth in patients with positive syphilitic reactions who had not been given treatment during gestation. The x-ray diagnosis was mainly based on lesions of diaphyses and metaphyses of the long bones of the fetal skeleton that were identified in lateral projection of x-ray plates of the maternal abdomen. In all cases reported, x-ray plates were taken in the immediate post-partum period with confirmation of the bony lesions and at the same time, of the laboratory tests including blood picture and liver function test in 5 cases. Autopsy was practiced in one case.


A graph is called integral if all eigenvalues of its adjacency matrix consist entirely of integers. Recently, Csikvári proved the existence of integral trees of any even diameter. In the odd case, integral trees have been constructed with diameter at most 7. In this article, we show that for every odd integer n>1, there are infinitely many integral trees of diameter n. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory


Recently, the academic and political debate on resource scarcity and conflict has been revitalized against the background of global trends like climate change and the growing commercial pressure on land. Scholars widely agree that resource scarcity causes or influences conflict via social and political mediation mechanisms. But the respective understanding of social mediation fundamentally depends on theoretical and ontological perspectives. We argue that conflicts over land are indeed distributive conflicts over a scarce resource. But they cannot be understood regarding only the materiality of the resource because the conflicts are embedded in specific social relations. We examine local conflicts over land in the Comoe region, South Western Burkina Faso and illustrate how local citizenship is negotiated in these conflicts. Control of and access to land as well as social categories of citizenship and belonging are linked to each other in a mutually constitutive relationship.


One of the dual objectives of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol is to promote sustainable development in the host countries. With different CDM indicators for 58 CDM host countries over 2005-10, this paper empirically assesses whether CDM project development fulfils this objective of sustainable development. Using a unique dynamic panel data method based on long-differences of the model, this research provides evidence in support of significant contribution to sustainable development of CDM projects in the host countries. It sheds light on the role of CDM projects in the process of sustainable development with clear policy implications for developing countries and the wider world.


Algal blooms are a global problem due to various negative effects that can compromise water quality, such as the production of metabolites that are responsible for odour, colour, taste and toxins. In drinking water supplies algae can reduce the aesthetics of potable water when not readily removed by conventional water treatment processes. One of the major challenges in water treatment is the removal of cells without leading to lysis and the consequent release of dissolved metabolites in the water. The Maestra Reservoir, which is located in Caxias do Sul, RS – Brazil, is a small meso- to supereutrophic reservoir. The reservoir provides water for the Celeste Gobatto water treatment plant (Celeste Gobatto WTP) which uses the conventional method of treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of conventional water treatment for the removal of algae, cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins. A bloom of Microcystis (Kutzing) ex Lemmermann with a density of 23 163 cells∙mL -1 , Ceratium furcoides (Levander) Langhans, (5 356 cells∙mL -1 ) and a microcystin concentration of 1.97 μg∙L -1 was found in the raw water reservoir. Samples sites were assigned the following numbers: (1) raw reservoir water; (2) WTP entry; (3) after sedimentation; (4) filtered water; and (5) treated water. Cell removal was evaluated by cell counting conducted with an inverted microscope, chlorophyll-a by a colorimetric method and microcystin by an enzyme immunoassay kit. Conventional water treatment was effective in removing chlorophyll-a, Microcystis sp. and Ceratium furcoides , mainly in the early treatment steps. Microcystin persisted until the last treatment step, when approximately 50% of the microcystin that had arrived at the WTP was removed by disinfection. Removal of these taxa and toxin was above 98%. Despite the efficacy of Ceratium furcoides removal, the presence of this dinoflagellate in treated water is considered to be large because of its large size. Keywords: Ceratium furcoides , Microcystis sp., microcystins


In an earlier article (farmdoc daily, April 28, 2016), we projected earnings for a case farm in west central Indiana, and examined the sensitivity of earnings and farm program payments to changes in price and yield. Using base corn and soybean prices of $3.75 and $8.73, projected earnings for a corn/soybean rotation in our earlier article was a loss of $126 per acre. This article updates projected earnings and reexamines the sensitivity of farm program payments to possible prices and yields for this fall's crops.


Reactive nutrients are accumulating rapidly in the environment due, in part, to increasing demand for food and energy products derived from agriculture. Recently, biobased fuels from renewable resources have gained high development priority due to national energy security policies and to their potential carbon emission reduction compared to their petroleum counterparts. However, biofuels from first generation feedstocks (e.g., corn and soybean) exhibit a significant environmental tradeoff in the form of increased water quality degradation (i.e. eutrophication and hypoxia). To mitigate eutrophication resulting from increased agricultural production, it is important 1) to identify eutrophication potential of the main bioproducts including biofuels and foods; and 2) to evaluate the effectiveness of possible mitigation strategies. Multiple strategies exist for reducing nutrient loading including optimizing farming practices and encouraging consumers to purchase low nutrient intensity bioproducts. This research quantified the life cycle nutrient flows and environmental impacts of foods and biofuels, and subsequently evaluated the mitigation potentials of management strategies.Research results show that different food groups exhibit highly variable nitrogen- intensity, on average, red meat and dairy products require much more nitrogen than cereals/carbohydrates. The ranking of foods' nitrogen footprints is not consistent with their carbon footprint. For example, dairy products and chicken/eggs have relatively high nitrogen footprint and low carbon footprints. The life cycle assessment of biodiesels in Pennsylvania exhibits that fertilizer usage in the agricultural phase and fuel combustion in the use phase are main contributors to biodiesel's life cycle environmental impacts for all blends. Comparing biodiesels with conventional diesel, environmental tradeoffs exist between global warming potential and eutrophication potential. Local scouring of biodiesels has the lowest environmental impacts for B20 and B100. Dietary shifts from dairy products and red meat to cereals can be an effective approach for lowering the personal nitrogen footprint. Altering farming practices (including shifting conventional tillage to no tillage, using manure, installing buffer strips surrounding farmlands etc) could reduce environmental impacts of bioproducts from life cycle perspectives too. The life cycle assessment analysis of bioproducts suggests environmentally benign farming practices and consumption shift to low nitrogen intensity foods to mitigate eutrophication issues.


ABSTRACT Introduction Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common causes of sepsis presenting to hospitals. Treating complicated UTIs is extremely important due to their potential mortality. Levofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibacterial that has become one of the cornerstones of antibiotic therapy of complicated UTIs and pyelonephritis since its introduction in the 1990s because of its exceptional pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) profile. However, the emergence of widespread fluoroquinolone resistance over the past decade has prompted investigators to reexamine its place in the treatment of UTI. Areas covered This literature review summarizes data about the efficacy and the tolerability of levofloxacin in treating complicated UTIs and pyelonephritis. Expert opinion In the early 2000s, fluoroquinolones became the most commonly prescribed antibiotic in the US. Since then, the resistance rate of Escherichia coli to fluoroquinolones has increased, largely hampering the use of this class of drugs. These data, in association with emerging data about inappropriate prescription and toxicity, have limited its clinical use. For these reasons, a judicious use of levofloxacin and other fluoroquinolones and a careful implementation of infection control procedures are the main available tools for the management of UTIs and pyelonephritis.


Author(s): Plunkett, A; Harkema, N; Lucchese, RR; McCurdy, CW; Sandhu, A | Abstract: © 2019 American Physical Society. We investigated the fragmentation dynamics of highly excited states of molecular oxygen using femtosecond transient photoelectron spectroscopy. An extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulse populates the autoionizing Rydberg series converging to O2+cςu-4, and a femtosecond near-infrared (IR) pulse was used to photoionize these states as they dissociate. Monitoring the differential photoelectron spectra as a function of time delay allowed us to obtain the relaxation lifetimes of these Rydberg states. We observed a photoelectron signal corresponding to the formation of a 4p excited atomic oxygen fragment, which is not an expected dissociation product of the (O2+cςu-4)nlσg Rydberg series. Analysis of the time-dependent photoelectron spectra and photoionization calculations indicate that this fragment results from a previously unexplored (O2+Πg4)4p repulsive state and that, contrary to expectations, this multielectron excitation pathway presents a substantial cross section. Our study demonstrates that two-color time-resolved differential photoelectron spectroscopy is an excellent tool to study the fragmentation dynamics of such multielectron excited states, which are not easily probed by other means.


This thesis focuses on the synthesis, structures, and
physical properties of ternary rare-earth antimonides and
germanides. These ternary compounds exhibit diverse polyanionic
substructures with classical and non-classical Sb–Sb bonding, Ge–Ge
bonding, or both. The Zintl-Klemm concept and band structure
calculations were applied to understand their structures and
bonding. Electrical resistivities and magnetic properties were
measured for these compounds. The compounds RE2Ti7Sb12 (RE = La–Nd)
and RE2Ti11–xSb14+x (RE = Sm, Gd, Tb, Yb), which were synthesized
by arc-melting, adopt different structures depending on the size of
the RE atoms. Both consist of a complex arrangement of TiSbn
polyhedra, linked to form a 3D framework with large cavities in
which the RE atoms reside. Hypervalent Sb–Sb bonds are manifested
in disordered Sb fragments in RE2Ti7Sb12, and 1D linear chains,
zig-zag chains, and pairs in RE2Ti11–xSb14+x. A series of
compounds, RECrGe3 (RE = La–Nd, Sm), was synthesized by the Sn-flux
method. They adopt a hexagonal perovskite structure type, in which
chains of face-sharing Cr-centred octahedra are linked by
triangular Ge3 clusters. These unusual single-bonded Ge3
substructures can be rationalized simply by the Zintl-Klemm
concept. Electrical resistivity measurements show metallic
behaviour with prominent transitions coincident with ferromagnetic
transitions (Tc ranging from 62 to 155 K) found in magnetic
measurements. Band structure calculations show the presence of a
narrow, partially filled band with high DOS at Ef, in agreement
with the observation that LaCrSb3 is an itinerant ferromagnet. With
a different number of d-electrons in the M site, the isostructural
REVGe3 compounds exhibit antiferromagnetic behaviour. The doped
quaternary compounds LaCr1-xVxGe3 and LaCr1-xMnxGe3 exhibit
depressed Curie temperatures. The structures of RECrxGe2 compounds
(RE = Sm, Gd–Er) are built up by inserting transition-metal atoms
into the square pyramidal sites of a hypothetical "REGe2" host
structure (ZrSi2-type). The presence of extensive anionic Ge
substructures in the form of 1D zigzag chains and 2D square sheets
can be explained by the Zintl-Klemm concept. Magnetic measurements
indicated antiferromagnetic ordering with low TN ranging from 3 to
17 K. Compounds involving a p-block element as the second component
were prepared. In RE12Ge7–xSb21 (RE = La–Pr), a complex 3D
polyanionic framework with Ge pairs, five-atom-wide Sb ribbons, and
2D Ge/Sb layers is present. The bonding exemplifies the competition
of valence electron transfer from the RE atoms to metalloids with
similar electronegativities. Full electron transfer from the RE
atoms to the anionic substructure cannot be assumed. Magnetic
measurements on Ce12Ge6.5Sb21 indicate antiferromagnetic coupling.
The metal-rich compounds RE5TtxSb3–x (Tt = Si, Ge) adopt the
orthorhombic beta-Yb5Sb3-type structure with a range of solid
solubility between 0.9 and 1.6. They are not electron-precise and
do not obey the Zintl-Klemm concept.


Three primary immunodeficiency conditions are discussed: X-linked agammaglobulinemia, severe combined immunodeficiency, and the X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome. Each condition is associated with a fascinating history since publication of the original description. To a large extent, the immunologic features of these conditions have been defined. Now, the power of recombinant DNA technology is being employed to dissect the molecular mechanisms central to each disease. This review traces the history of these X-linked conditions. Particular emphasis is focused on the molecular defects thus far exposed. In the end, the knowledge provided by this technology will facilitate genetic counseling, define the nature of the gene defects, provide a logical rationale for therapy, and elucidate the role of the X chromosome in lymphocyte ontogeny.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate three-dimensional (3D) graphing based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography for characterization of the inner retinal vascular architecture and determination of its topologic principles.

METHODS
Rat eyes (N = 3) were imaged with a 1300-nm spectral/Fourier domain OCT microscope. A topologic model of the inner retinal vascular network was obtained from OCT angiography data using a combination of automated and manually-guided image processing techniques. Using a resistive network model, with experimentally-quantified flow in major retinal vessels near the optic nerve head as boundary conditions, theoretical changes in the distribution of flow induced by vessel dilations were inferred.

RESULTS
A topologically-representative 3D vectorized graph of the inner retinal vasculature, derived from OCT angiography data, is presented. The laminar and compartmental connectivity of the vasculature are characterized. In contrast to sparse connectivity between the superficial vitreal vasculature and capillary plexuses of the inner retina, connectivity between the two capillary plexus layers is dense. Simulated dilation of single arterioles is shown to produce both localized and lamina-specific changes in blood flow, while dilation of capillaries in a given retinal vascular layer is shown to lead to increased total flow in that layer.

CONCLUSIONS
Our graphing and modeling data suggest that vascular architecture enables both local and lamina-specific control of blood flow in the inner retina. The imaging, graph analysis, and modeling approach presented here will help provide a detailed characterization of vascular changes in a variety of retinal diseases, both in experimental preclinical models and human subjects.


Sintering is a primary particulate manufacturing technology to provide densification and strength for ceramics and many metals. A persistent problem in this manufacturing technology has been to maintain the quality of the manufactured parts. This can be attributed to the various sources of uncertainty present during the manufacturing process. In this work, a two-particle phase-field model has been analyzed which simulates microstructure evolution during the solid-state sintering process. The sources of uncertainty have been considered as the two input parameters surface diffusivity and inter-particle distance. The response quantity of interest (QOI) has been selected as the size of the neck region that develops between the two particles. Two different cases with equal and unequal sized particles were studied. It was observed that the neck size increased with increasing surface diffusivity and decreased with increasing inter-particle distance irrespective of particle size. Sensitivity analysis found that the inter-particle distance has more influence on variation in neck size than that of surface diffusivity. The machine-learning algorithm Gaussian Process Regression was used to create the surrogate model of the QOI. Bayesian Optimization method was used to find optimal values of the input parameters. For equal-sized particles, optimization using Probability of Improvement provided optimal values of surface diffusivity and inter-particle distance as 23.8268 and 40.0001, respectively. The Expected Improvement as an acquisition function gave optimal values 23.9874 and 40.7428, respectively. For unequal sized particles, optimal design values from Probability of Improvement were 23.9700 and 33.3005 for surface diffusivity and inter-particle distance, respectively, while those from Expected Improvement were 23.9893 and 33.9627. The optimization results from the two different acquisition functions seemed to be in good agreement with each other. The results also validated the fact that surface diffusivity should be higher and inter-particle distance should be lower for achieving larger neck size and better mechanical properties of the material.


From oolong to sencha to chai, tea is one of the world's most popular beverages. Perhaps that is because it is a uniquely adaptable drink, consumed in many different varieties and ways by cultures across the globe and in many different settings, from the intricate traditions of the Japanese tea ceremony to the elegant tea-rooms of Britain to iced tea drunk on the verandas of the American Deep South. In Tea food historian Helen Saberi explores this rich and fascinating history. Saberi looks at the economic and social uses of tea, such as its use as a currency during the Tang dynasty; its role in American independence at the Boston Tea Party; afternoon tea drunk by the British in India; and the 1913 creation of a tea dance or The Dansant that combined tea with tango. Saberi also explores where and how tea is grown around the world and how customs and traditions surrounding the beverage have evolved from its legendary origins to its present-day popularity. Featuring vivid images as well as recipes from around the world, Tea is a refreshing and stimulating treat.


One year after a normal birth a girl developed large, flat and net-like telangiectasias and erythema with hyper- and depigmentation (poikiloderma), at first in the face and later on the limbs, sparing the trunk. There was increased light sensitivity of the affected areas. At 3 years and 8 months of age her height was diminished (3rd percentile; height 104 cm, weight 15 kg) and she had a deep nasal root and bradydactylia. These cutaneous and extracutaneous abnormalities correspond to the spectrum of Rothmund-Thomson syndrome which has a wide clinical heterogeneity. The family history for this condition was negative.


Thin films of solid-state benzene at 30 K were reacted with small quantities of vapor-deposited Ag, Mg, and Al under ultrahigh vacuum, and products were monitored using surface Raman spectroscopy. Although Ag and Mg produce small amounts of metal–benzene adduct products, the resulting Raman spectra are dominated by surface enhancement of the normal benzene modes from metallic nanoparticles suggesting rapid Ag or Mg metallization of the film. In contrast, large quantities of Al adduct products are observed. Vibrational modes of the products in all three systems suggest adducts that are formed through a pathway initiated by an electron transfer reaction. The difference in reactivity between these metals is ascribed to differences in ionization potential of the metal atoms; ionization potential values for Ag and Mg are similar but larger than that for Al. These studies demonstrate the importance of atomic parameters, such as ionization potential, in solid-state metal–organic reaction chemistry.


'Eski' sainfoin (Onobrychis viciaefolia Scop.), a "one-cut" cultivar, and 'Remont' sainfoin, a rapid regrowth "two-cut" cultivar, were evaluated for hay production in pure stands and in mixtures with low-growing grasses and legumes on irrigated land over a 4-year period. Measurements were made of seedling establishment, yield, and persistence. Yields of Remont were slightly greater than those of Eski for the 4-year period. The difference in yield was primarily due to greater seeding year yields of Remont. Within a given year, Eski yielded more at the first harvest and less at the second harvest than Remont. Yields of both cultivars decreased in the fourth year due to a partial loss of stand. Sainfoin mixtures containing either birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) or black medic (Medicago lupulina L.) were most productive and those containing Ladino or common white clover (Trifolium repens L.) least productive. The latter species were more competitive with sainfoin, particularly Eski, because of rapid regrowth following clipping. Pure stands of both sainfoins were heavily invaded by dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber) in 1971, and mixtures of sainfoin with either birdsfoot trefoil, black medic, or common white clover were invaded to a lesser degree. Sainfoin cultivars grown with Ladino clover, Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) or red fescue (Festuca rubra L.) were not invaded by dandelion. The relative merits of the two sainfoin types are discussed.


Now available with the most current and relevant journal articles from Cell Press, Biotechnology Academic Cell Update Edition approaches modern biotechnology from a molecular basis, which grew out of the increasing biochemical understanding of physiology. Using straightforward, less-technical jargon, Clark and Pazdernik manage to introduce each chapter with a basic concept that ultimately evolves into a more specific detailed principle. This up-to-date text covers a wide realm of topics, including the forensics used in crime scene investigations, the burgeoning field of nanobiotechnology, bioethics and other cutting edge topics in today's world of biotechnology.


Background Acute stress is a stereotypical, but multimodal response to a present or imminent challenge overcharging an organism. Among the different branches of this multimodal response, the consequences of glucocorticoid secretion have been extensively investigated, mostly in connection with long-term memory (LTM). However, stress responses comprise other endocrine signaling and altered neuronal activity wholly independent of pituitary regulation. To date, knowledge of the impact of such "paracorticoidal" stress responses on higher cognitive functions is scarce. We investigated the impact of an ecological stressor on the ability to direct selective attention using event-related potentials in humans. Based on research in rodents, we assumed that a stress-induced imbalance of catecholaminergic transmission would impair this ability. Methodology/Principal Findings The stressor consisted of a single cold pressor test. Auditory negative difference (Nd) and mismatch negativity (MMN) were recorded in a tonal dichotic listening task. A time series of such tasks confirmed an increased distractibility occuring 4–7 minutes after onset of the stressor as reflected by an attenuated Nd. Salivary cortisol began to rise 8–11 minutes after onset when no further modulations in the event-related potentials (ERP) occurred, thus precluding a causal relationship. This effect may be attributed to a stress-induced activation of mesofrontal dopaminergic projections. It may also be attributed to an activation of noradrenergic projections. Known characteristics of the modulation of ERP by different stress-related ligands were used for further disambiguation of causality. The conjuncture of an attenuated Nd and an increased MMN might be interpreted as indicating a dopaminergic influence. The selective effect on the late portion of the Nd provides another tentative clue for this. Conclusions/Significance Prior studies have deliberately tracked the adrenocortical influence on cognition, as it has proven most influential with respect to LTM. However, current cortisol-optimized study designs would have failed to detect the present findings regarding attention.


Context. Observation of star occultations is a powerful tool to determine shapes and sizes of asteroids. This is key information necessary for studying the evolution of the asteroid belt and to calibrate indirect methods of size determination, such as the models used to analyze thermal infrared observations. Up to now, the observation of asteroid occultations is an activity essentially secured by amateur astronomers equipped with small, portable equipments. However, the accuracy of the available ephemeris prevents accurate predictions of the occultation events for objects smaller than ∼100 km. Aims. We investigate current limits in predictability and observability of asteroid occultations, and we study their possible evolution in the future, when high accuracy asteroid orbits and star positions (such as those expected from the mission Gaia of the European Space Agency) will be available. Methods. We use a simple model for asteroid ephemeris uncertainties and numerical algorithms for estimating the limits imposed by the instruments, assuming realistic CCD performances and asteroid size distribution, to estimate the expected occultation rate under different conditions. Results. We show that high accuracy ephemerides which will be available in the future will extend toward much smaller asteroids the possibility of observing asteroid occultations, greatly increasing the number of events and objects involved. A complete set of size measurements down to ∼10 km main belt asteroids could be obtained in a few years, provided that a small network of ground-based 1m telescopes are devoted to occultation studies.


Background: Acute rejection (AR) is one of common and critical complications after kidney transplantation, which gives rise to an increasing of allograft loss and even death. However, the potential mechanisms of AR remain incompletely understood at present. This study aimed to reveal the underlying mechanisms and identify core biomarkers of AR.Methods: The AR gene expression profile GSE1563 involving 6 renal transplant patients undergoing AR and 9 patients with well-functioning transplant with no clinical evidence of rejection was selected to analyze the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from purified RNA of peripheral blood lymphocytes. DAVID was used to carry out Gene ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was built to display the interactions among these DEGs. To get further reliable significant genes and mechanisms, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was applied to evaluate the hub gene analyzing via PPI network.Results: A total of 347 DEGs were captured, including 301 upregulated genes and 46 downregulated genes. Go and KEGG pathway analysis showed the DEGs were particularly enriched in immune response, inflammatory response to antigenic stimulus, RNA transport and protein stabilization. The PPI network indicated 3 modules were also mainly involved in immune response and RNA transport. 18 hub genes were selected in PPI network, among which there were 6 core genes evaluated by DAVID. By the way of GSEA, Oxidative stress was another potential mechanism besides immunity and ncRNA transport. Conclusion: Our analysis uncovered the immune response including humoral and cellular immunity, ncRNA transport as well as oxidative stress was the major mechanisms of AR associated respectively with MAPK8, CCL5, HMGB1, NCBP2, XPO1 and APP, which could be novel noninvasive biomarkers in peripheral blood for early diagnosis and could be helpful to the treatment of AR.


We present here a transaction management protocol, which enhances the Partitioned Causal Snapshot Isolation (PCSI) protocol, to support scalable transactions with non-local partition writes in a partially replicated multi-version database. The PCSI protocol is scalable for update transactions that involve local read and writes. However, it faces scalability limitations with non-local partition writes, when partitions are updated from any of the sites. In PCSI, to support non-local partition writes, a ghost replica of that partition is created at the transaction execution site. It is used primarily for assigning update sequence numbers to the local transactions and does not store any data. We present here an alternate approach for supporting non-local partition writes. The update sequence number for a non-local partition update is obtained from one of the remote sites that stores a replica of that partition. This approach raises several problems in regard to stalling of transactions at the remote replica's site. We develop here a protocol based on the notion of sequence number escrow to address these problems. Through experimental evaluations, we show that this approach for supporting non-local partition updates scales almost linearly.


The metabolism, excretory rates, and excretory patterns of carbon 14 (14C) radiolabeled estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) were studied in female budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) and orange-winged Amazon parrots (Amazona amazonica). Radiolabeled E2 and T were injected intramuscularly into six budgerigars and two orange-winged Amazon parrots. Serial fecal/urine samples were collected for 168 h post-radiolabel injection. Peak radiolabeled E2 excretion was observed at 4 h post-injection, and by 24 h, 93.3 ± 6.3 and 65.9% (range, 59.1–72.7%) of the injected radiolabel was recovered in the fecal/urine matter of budgerigars and orange-winged Amazon parrots, respectively. Similarly, peak radiolabeled T excretion was observed at 4 h post-injection with 92.7± 3.6 and 66.2% (range, 57.5–75.2%) of the injected radiolabel recovered in the fecal/urine matter by 24 h in the budgerigars and orange-winged Amazon parrots, respectively. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the fecal/urine material revealed that both parrot species excreted >80% of the radiolabel in the form of complex steroid conjugates. Immunoreactive E2 and T metabolites were detected using estrone (E1) and C-21/C-19 conjugate enzyme immunoassays, respectively. Hydrolysis of the E2 metabolites and HPLC analysis of the ether extracts revealed that E2 and E1 were the major steroid moieties. Hydrolysis of the T metabolites and HPLC analysis of the ether extracts revealed two and three major unconjugated peaks for the budgerigars and the orange-winged Amazon parrots, respectively. Zoo Biol 18:247–260, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.


abstract The linear theory of viscoelasticity is used to study the effects of anelasticity on seismic SH body waves propagating through a layered homogeneous isotropic medium. We present a solution of the wave propagation problem in terms of asymptotic ray theory. The geometrical spreading factor for an arbitrary ray generated by a point source close to the surface of a plane-layered anelastic medium is calculated and is found to vary with the direction of maximum attenuation of the initial ray segment emanating from the source. Combining anelastic reflection and transmission coefficients and the geometrical spreading factor, ray-synthetic seismograms for SH body waves are computed for a plane-layered crustal model in both the elastic and anelastic cases. The seismograms for the anelastic cases exhibit amplitude attenuation and waveform spreading. The amplitudes and phases of the arrivals are also seen to depend significantly on the direction of maximum attenuation of the initial ray segment. This is primarily due to the nature of the reflection and transmission coefficients.


Fishery of blue mussels Mytilus edulis constitutes a very important economic activity in Denmark, whereas mussel farming on long-lines or nets is a new, growing sector. Spawning from natural mussel beds takes place during early summer, and larvae disperse via water currents before settling on the bottom or on spat collectors in the farms. In the present study, we coupled a 3D physical model system (FlexSem) with an agent-based model in order to examine the connectivity of this marine system in terms of mussel larval dispersal and settling potential. To address this question, we (1) estimated the dispersal and connectivity between 17 areas in the Limfjorden, (2) identified the main donor and receiver areas of mussel larvae and (3) identified possible dispersal barriers. The results show that the central narrow strait in the Limfjorden was the main donor area in all the studied years, and that the adjacent eastern areas were the main receiver areas. Towards the inner basins of the Limfjorden, isolation increased and limited connectivity was observed. The results from the cluster analysis grouped the Limfjorden into 3 to 5 clusters, but there was still some exchange of simulated larvae observed among these clusters. Analysis of molecular markers revealed no genetic differentiation between areas and supports the model results, indicating that despite distinguishable hydrographic boundaries, the mussel populations in the Limfjorden are well connected. This study demonstrates how connectivity modeling can be used to support site selection processes in aquaculture.


Antiviral effects of recombinant DNA-derived bovine (Bo) and human (Hu) interferons (IFN) on the replication of bovine herpesvirus-1, parainfluenza-3, and respiratory syncytial viruses were studied. Bovine monolayer cultures were treated with recombinant DNA-produced Bo IFN-alpha 1, Bo IFN-beta 2, Hu IFN-alpha A, or Hu IFN-alpha A/D and then challenge exposed with bovine herpesvirus-1, bovine parainfluenza-3 virus, bovine respiratory syncytial virus, or vesicular stomatitis virus. Treatment with each IFN reduced the viral yield for each of these viruses, compared with that of control cultures.


Taking Hindi presumptive modality as a case study, this paper argues that modality is detrimental in an overall organization of the tense-aspect system in languages in which these categories are marked, although only tense and aspect categories have attracted much attention in linguistic research. The paper analyzes different usages of the future form of the Hindi verb honā 'to be' – both as a simple and an auxiliary verb – to ascertain its real modal meanings. Contrary to the widely-held view, this verb form may very rarely refer to situations which are to hold at a point in time subsequent to speech time, as the term 'future' may require. The paper claims that a better understanding of the role played by modality can open up a new chapter in the pragmatics of the tense-aspect system. The absence or presence of one of the tense-aspect categories in a language cannot be simply considered to be just a matter of chance. Rather, it should be an indicator of different pragmatic factors which are operational in the tense-aspect system of that language.


We present an approach to ranking with dense representations that applies knowledge distillation to improve the recently proposed late-interaction ColBERT model. Specifically, we distill the knowledge from ColBERT's expressive MaxSim operator for computing relevance scores into a simple dot product, thus enabling single-step ANN search. Our key insight is that during distillation, tight coupling between the teacher model and the student model enables more flexible distillation strategies and yields better learned representations. We empirically show that our approach improves query latency and greatly reduces the onerous storage requirements of ColBERT, while only making modest sacrifices in terms of effectiveness. By combining our dense representations with sparse representations derived from document expansion, we are able to approach the effectiveness of a standard cross-encoder reranker using BERT that is orders of magnitude slower.


In this study we provide a behavioral explanation for spatial dependence in commercial property asset pricing. We analyze nearly 6000 hotel transactions in the US between 2001 and 2016 applying temporal spatial autoregression with autoregressive error (T-SARAR) models to test the behavioral explanation. We show that the spatial lags are partially driven by behavioral biases whereas the spatial errors do not exhibit a distinct pattern of association with market conditions which are known to influence the investor behavior. In particular, spatial lags influence future transactions the most when irrational sentiments are the lowest (during periods of unexplained pessimism) or when the rational financial market anxiety is the highest (during periods of economic turmoil).


Welcome to the inaugural issue of SADI—South Asian Dance Intersections—a progressive, scholarly, blind peer-reviewed, open-access online journal. SADI was conceived during the pandemic as a transnational feminist project. It proposes a field-defining modality of looking at scholarship around South Asian dance studies emerging within the field across values, theories, and practices. It seeks to carry to newer and larger audiences, a unique blend of high-quality research in scholarly, theoretical, textual, choreographic, contemporary, social justice, and community-oriented, interdisciplinary, and intersectional writing. SADI explores the ecosphere of South Asian dance activities, celebrating plural practices, diversity, and richness, while challenging incongruencies.


Structural change at both farmer and cooperative level has significantly altered the vertical relationships between them, with increased member switching activities resulting in negative economic impacts on cooperatives. This paper uses spatial panel modelling in combination with simulation approaches to identify the impact of prices and cooperative member density as well as competitors' organizational form, production quantity and production growth on members' switching decisions. With a unique data set we can show that these indicators determine switching decisions. Additionally, findings hint at the relevance of social interaction for members' switching decisions.


In 2005 the WTO Appellate body ruled that the United States' total prohibition on cross border gambling services was unlawful under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The questions raised by the case - whether and how a Government could block service provision on moral grounds - went to the heart of key controversies surrounding international economic law. How do you reconcile a liberal system of international trade in services with national governments' desire to protect social values through service regulation? How much control are the WTO members willing to transfer to the WTO? How much regulatory diversity can the international trading system withstand? This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the regulation of services under the WTO's GATS Agreement. Through a thorough examination of the GATS negotiation history, substantive provisions, judicial interpretation, and ongoing reform process, the book presents a clear picture of how the multilateral trading system justifies and tolerates regulatory diversity. In this respect, the book focuses on the core general principles of necessity and transparency, which would allow the assessment of the consistency with the GATS of domestic regulations in services at a horizontal, cross-sectoral level. In addition, the book reviews with a critical eye the ongoing GATS negotiations on the creation of rules on domestic regulations.


Patients with advanced (& terminal) illnesses suffer from a great deal of issues not only physical, but also psychosocial, financial, emotional and occasionally spiritual in nature. Palliative (Supportive) & Hospice care is essentially whole person care geared towards potentially preventing and relieving/reducing burdens of these distresses. There are frequent challenges like prognostication estimates which come along the way along with need for continued education and counseling, not just for the patient and caregivers but also other care providers. These require an 'interdisciplinary' care model with integrated team approach. Early integration of Palliative/Supportive care can pave the way to a smoother hospice transition later, especially for those with advanced, potentially terminal illnesses. Taking opportunities of having timely, essential conversations regarding personal goals of care, advanced care planning, 'being prepared for the unexpected', while alleviating common myths and fears revolving around end of life care, can ease the journey for such patients and families. Environmental catastrophes like the recent unprecedented crises of a pandemic situation call for our community of professionals to come up with means of staying connected with one another and our patient population for continuing to provide the above mentioned essential resources, including prescription medications, while ensuring our own learning, well-being and preventing burn-out. My talk during the conference will further allude to these points.


The rapid development of composite materials and structures in recent years has attracted the increased attention of many engineers and researchers. These materials are widely used in aerospace, military, mechanical, nuclear, marine, optical, electronic, chemical, biomedical, energy sources, automotive fields, ship building and structural engineering industries. In conventional laminate composite structures, homogeneous elastic plate are bonded together to obtain improved mechanical and thermal properties. However, the abrupt change in material properties across the interface between the different materials can cause strong inter-laminar stresses leading to delamination, cracking, and other damage mechanisms at the interface between the layers. To remedy these defects, functionally graded materials (FGM) are used, in which the properties of materials vary constantly. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the thermomechanical bending behavior of functionally graded thick plates (FGM) made in ceramic/metal. This work presents a model that employed a new transverse shear function. The numerical results obtained by the present analysis are presented and compared with those available in the literature (classical, first-order, and other higher-order theories). It can be concluded that this theory is effective and simple for the static analysis of composite material plates with specific properties "Case of a typical FGM (ceramic/metal)" in thermal environments.


Social problems and inequalities -caused by improper urbanization- will require plans about different age groups specially children for meeting their needs. Investment on building an urban environment compatible with children plays a significant role in their social maturity and personality growth. Child-Friendly City (CFC) is a city that provides drinking water and the other healthy Facilities for its children. In this city children can express their ideas and corporate in the city future plans. The article studies 3 areas of Quechan city: Yaqub Abad, Region 3 and Farhangian 2 neighborhood. In the study "Urban furniture", "transformation" and" cultural- social affairs" was considered. In this study we used a descriptive analytical methods based on: "Library and field studies" and" interview". And "SPSS" software was used for analyzing the data. And then "TOPSIS" model was used for ranking the Final data. The results indicated that in urban furniture field " Yaqub Abad" was More desirable than the other 2 areas with average of 2.98, and Farhangian 2 area in the next rank " 2.92 and the " Region 3" 2.85. And in the "urban traffic ground", Farhangian 2 Region with an average of 3.15 was the first and "Yaqub Abad" 2.99 and "Region 3" 2.88 were in the next ranks Using TOPSIS model revealed that according to final data (0≤0.271≤ 1) in "Region 3" The situation was not desirable. And in "Yaqub Abad" It was somewhat favorable (0≤0.375≤1) and then "Farhangian2 Region" (0≤0.668≤1) had good condition. We can conclude that in Quechan city there are necessary mechanisms to operationally Regulations, standards and Criteria about CFC. But these mechanisms have been themselves reasons to cause these projects unable to implement.


This article seeks to understand what South African universities are doing by making use of language as a tool or as an enabling voice towards Africanisation and transformation with particular reference to Rhodes University, which serves as a case study. Although many universities now have language policies in place and are part of an enabling policy environment, when it comes to using language as part of transformation and asserting an African voice, there are still policy implementation challenges. It is argued in this article that implementation of policy, including university language policies, is now a key indicator for two levels of transformation; namely the more superficially visible or visual representation transformation, as well as deeper curriculum transformation through appropriate language usage. It is the latter form of transformation that largely eludes the contemporary South African university, whether these are historically black universities (HBUs) or historically white universities (HWUs). With the exception of a few best practices that are highlighted in this article, it is argued that transformation of the curriculum remains a long-term process, in the same way that language policy implementation is an ongoing process and requires commitment at all levels of university managerial and academic culture. The African voice in higher education remains an elusive one; though it is gaining ground, as evidenced by the recent removal of the Cecil John Rhodes Statue at the University of Cape Town. Furthermore, there is evidence of selected ongoing curriculum and pedagogic transformation, as presented in this article.


Too often the constitutional dimension of a policy problem is overlooked or under-valued in a process of developing governmental responses to difficult situations. Constitutional issues can be subtle and interlinked, creating a fine balance that can be altered by even minor shifts in policy. It can be difficult to predict the long-term effects of constitutional change, and concern about those effects is likely to be subsidiary to the pragmatic concern with solving the immediately presenting problem. The constitutional response to the Canterbury earthquakes, for instance, highlighted New Zealand's willingness to favour pragmatism and authoritarianism over some constitutional norms in the right circumstances. The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 did not sit as easily with New Zealand's constitutional norms as it could have. Although now repealed, the Act remains in public sector consciousness as a precedent for future large-scale disaster recoveries.  Through a case study based on the Canterbury earthquake recovery legislation, this thesis demonstrates that it is possible to think of a constitution as a conceptual system. This means soft systems thinking approaches can be used to understand and explore constitutional issues. Such approaches have long been applied to human and social processes to better understand their structure and operation. This thesis explores whether applying those approaches to constitutional issues will create fresh insights into those issues and their effects on the broader constitution. Reflecting that systems thinking approaches may be used in busy policy shops, the thesis considers whether these approaches are analytic, quick, and inclusive (Eden et al, 2009).  The strength or weakness of a systems-based intervention depends on its fit with the situation to be analysed and with the actors undertaking the intervention (Mingers, 2000). Systems approaches are based in paradigms, which suggests that viewing issues through a range of systems lenses should generate different insights. With that in mind, this thesis triangulates the selection of systems approaches based on their fit with the problem context, and with the available resources and skills. Using that triangulated approach, Soft Systems Methodology and Soft System Dynamics (reinforced by a systems-based policy framework developed by van der Lei et al (2011)) were selected to analyse three dimensions of the Canterbury earthquake recovery legislation:   • the extent to which the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 created a system to ensure legitimate decision-making;   • the need for coordination or centralised control of earthquake recovery activities;   • the need for expedited law-making under the 2011 Act, and the legitimacy of its Henry VIII clause.  The systems analysis incorporates both constitutional norms and values to show how the constitution "really works", an approach which resonates with the theory of constitutional realism (M S R Palmer, 2006a, 2006b). A systems perspective gives a real-world perspective on constitutional legitimacy and can explain otherwise counterintuitive manifestations of constitutional behaviour. It provides a plausible explanation for the self-correcting faculty apparent in the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act's real world operations. There is, thus, potential for constitutional systems analysis to strengthen advice to governments and enhance public understanding.


In terms of criminal prosecution against minors for committing an act before the age of sixteen years, the
judge may determine: ordered that the guilty be returned to their parents, guardians or caregivers, without any
criminal; or ordered that the guilty be submitted to the government without any punsesuai with criminal law policy
relating to Law No. 3 of 1997 on Juvenile Justice ..
Formulation of this research are (1) How the criminal law policy of the verdict of punishment for children
who commit criminal acts? (2) What considerations and constraints faced by judges in criminal law policy on
sentencing verdict for the child who committed the crime?
The approach method in this study normative. Specifications research used in concreto. Collecting data from
secondary data. Methods of presenting data in research conducted in a descriptive way. Used qualitative analysis.
The results showed that (1) Policy criminal law on the verdict of punishment for children who commit
criminal acts, individual legally (the principle of no punishment without fault), in addition to the criminal system
child's attention to the characteristics and conditions of the perpetrators, with efforts meresosialisasi, rehabilitation
and social welfare because in dealing with cases of child fulfillment and protection of children's rights become the
main purpose and must be based on the principle of the best interests of the child (the principle of the best interests
of the child) and not neglect the welfare of the child / (2) Consideration and barriers faced by judges in criminal law
policy of the verdict of punishment for children who commit criminal acts with more attention and consider the
background, the causes and motivation acts or offenses committed by the child and possibly as a result of the
decision for the child and future children .. Many obstacles in the application of criminal sanctions is instructive
because during this time the judges in Indonesia in pidanannya imposition of only referring to laws that applied
rigidly regardless of background, interests of the child and the psychological impact on the verdict. Also in the case
of children, the judge often memjatuhkan dialternatifkan criminal fines with imprisonment, while the provision of
Article 28 paragraph (2) of Law No. 3 1997 have been if the fines can not be paid then replaced with job training is


Under the voluntary reporting scheme 499 cases of adverse drug reaction or reactions were reported. Noteworthy items included immediate hypersensitivity-type reactions to anaesthetic agents, a number of life-threatening reactions to anti-inflammatory drugs, paradoxical increase in blood pressure with high-dose pindolol and rebound hypertension after cessation of clonidine. A further 904 reactions were reported during an intensive survey in general practice and 342 from the ongoing hospital monitoring studies in units at the Auckland and Hutt hospitals. Data from numerous sources are now being channelled through the Committee's administrative centre. During the 11th year of operations 499 reports were received under the spontaneous reporting scheme. Additionally 342 reactions derived from the established hospital monitoring programmes at the Auckland Hospital and School of Medicine and the Hutt Hospital were notified to the Committee, and a further 904 reactions were received as a result of the intensive monitoring survey of drug reactions in general practice carried out in October and November 1975. The significance of each of these sets of data is substantially different and they will be discussed separately.


The photodynamic therapy of tumors is a modern therapeutic modality for organ-preserving treatment of oncological diseases. The method is based on selective laser irradiation of tumor tissues previously sensitized by tumorotropic dyes. During the last decades, photodynamic therapy has become worldwide known as a proper approach to the treatment of the patients with malignant tumors of various locations and a number of nontumoral diseases. The characteristics of modern photosensitizers and light sources for photodynamic therapy and their clinical applications are reviewed.


SUMMARY In order to address critical gaps arising from limited available data on historic shark catches in the Atlantic Ocean, a method was developed to estimate shark removals using shark fin trade data. A characterization of the global fin trade as of 2000, including number and biomass by shark species, was used as the basis of the methodology. A first step involved scaling Hong Kong trade-derived estimates for 2000 to annual global values for 1980-2006 based on the observed quantity of imports to Hong Kong and an approximation of Hong Kong's share of the global trade in each year. The resulting global fin trade figures for each year were then scaled to Atlantic-specific values using three different factors: 1) area of the Atlantic range relative to the global range of pelagic sharks; 2) Atlantic catches of tunas and billfishes relative to global catches of tunas and billfishes; and 3) Atlantic longline effort relative to global longline effort. The strengths and weaknesses of each scaling factor and the assumptions inherent in the methodology are discussed. These estimates are not intended to replace reliable fisheries dependent catch data compiled by ICCAT from submissions of members and cooperators, but can serve as one of a variety of useful cross-validation tools when historic catch data are missing or uncertain.


COCORP seismic reflection profiles collected in 1977 on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley near Coalinga in southern California provide information on the Cenozoic and Mesozoic structures in the subsurface of the western Great Valley. The data show evidence of significant normal faulting during the Cretaceous, when this part of California was the site of a forearc basin. Neogene compression, probably associated with transform motion on the nearby San Andreas fault system, may be reactivating these pre-existing faults in a reverse sense and causing the active folding of the southern Coast Ranges. The recent Coalinga earthquake sequence that began on May 2, 1983, appears to correspond to movement on the high-angle reverse fault within the basement that is inferred from the COCORP lines.


Beer and brewing raw materials are a source of number of polyphenol substances with potential or proven beneficial biological effects. In pilot brews of Czech pale lager (200 l) the behavior of hop-derived polyphenol substances during wort boiling process in various hopping regimes was studied. Prenylflavonoids, flavonoids and their O-glycosides were determined by liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HR / MS) with sample preparation by the QuEChERS method. The concentration of flavanols (catechin, epicatechin) in hopped wort and beer is dominated by hop raw material, when hopping with aromatic hops rich in polyphenols, 2/3 of the amount in beer is affected by hops. In contrast, the concentration of their mono-O-glucosides in beer does not depend on hopping. Flavonols quercetin, kaempferol and multifidol are found in wort and beer mainly in glycosidic form. The source of all these substances in beer is exclusively hops. Conversely, malt is the only source of myricetin and myricetin-O-glucoside in beer. Main part of hop-derived flavonoids is released during wort boiling into wort within 15-30 minutes. Splitting the hop dose or low pressure boiling technology had no significant effect on health-promoting polyphenols. Beer hopped with hops rich in flavonoids contains a relatively high amount of health-promoting polyphenols, while beer hopped with hop extract is very poor in these antioxidants.


goods vehicles was more successful. It was followed by a marked decrease in deaths and injuries among occupants of goods vehicles-3700 fewer were killed in 1977 than in 1970.2 In 1977 in magistrates courts in England and Wales 1-2 million persons were found guilty of motoring offences; of these 97° were fined.3 Penalties for serious transgressions were too mild. In 82 480 driving licence offences, including driving while disqualified, a fine of £20 or less was imposed in 830oi, and £50 or less in 970°. In 7899 cases of dangerous driving the penalty was £50 or less in 51°', and £100 or less in 96o0. Fines must be increased if they are to remain a credible deterrent. Disqualification and penalties are ineffective in a small minority of habitual offenders, who often also have a past history of other criminal offences. These cases present a social as well as a legal problem. Adequate enforcement with suitable penalties can improve road behaviour, but the real answer is to persuade the public that traffic regulations are an essential ingredient of road safety. E HOFFMAN


Metabolically engineered Escherichia coli has previously been used to degrade cis-1,2-dichloroethylene (cis-DCE). The strains express the six genes of an evolved toluene ortho-monooxygenase from Burkholderia cepacia G4 (TOM-Green, which formed a reactive epoxide) with either (1) gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (GSHI, which forms glutathione) and the glutathione S-transferase IsoILR1 from Rhodococcus AD45 (which adds glutathione to the reactive cis-DCE epoxide) or (2) with an evolved epoxide hydrolase from Agrobacterium radiobacter AD1 (EchA F108L/I219L/C248I which converts the reactive cis-DCE epoxide to a diol). Here, the impact of this metabolic engineering for bioremediation was assessed by investigating the changes in the proteome through a quantitative shotgun proteomics technique (iTRAQ) by tracking the changes due to the sequential addition of TOM-Green, IsoILR1, and GSHI and due to adding the evolved EchA versus the wild-type enzyme to TOM-Green. For the TOM-Green/EchA system, 8 proteins out of 268 identified proteins were differentially expressed in the strain expressing EchA F108L/I219L/C248I relative to wild-type EchA (e.g., EchA, protein chain elongation factor EF-Ts, 50S ribosomal subunits L7/L12/L32/L29, cysteine synthase A, glycerophosphodiester phosphodiesterase, iron superoxide dismutase). For the TOM-Green/IsoILR1/GSHI system, the expression level of 49 proteins was changed out of 364 identified proteins. The induced proteins due to the addition of TOM-Green, IsoILR1, and GSHI were involved in the oxidative defense mechanism, pyruvate metabolism, and glutathione synthesis (e.g., 30S ribosomal subunit proteins S3 and S16, 50S ribosomal subunit protein L20, alkyl hydroperoxide reductase, lactate dehydrogenase, acetate kinase, cysteine synthase A). Enzymes involved in indole synthesis, fatty acid synthesis, gluconeogenesis, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle were repressed (e.g., tryptophanase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, malate dehydrogenase). Hence, the metabolic engineering that leads to enhanced aerobic degradation of 1 mM cis-DCE (2.4-4-fold more chloride ions released) and reduced toxicity from cis-DCE epoxide results in enhanced synthesis of glutathione coupled with an induced stress response as well as repression of fatty acid synthesis, gluconeogenesis, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle.


The anonymity provided by the so-called anonymous social networks is studied in this paper. More precisely, emphasis is given on investigating whether the underlying personal data processing in such networks may suffice to result in tracking or identification of the users. To this end, five popular anonymous smart applications are being analysed through monitoring the outgoing traffic of Android devices in real-time when using these applications, to examine which personal data - including device data - are being processed by either the anonymous networks or third parties such as library providers. The corresponding privacy policies of these applications are also examined, towards evaluating whether the information provided to the users is sufficient. Our analysis concludes that there is personal data processing in place even in such (so-called anonymous) applications which in turn implies that users anonymity cannot ensured, whilst the corresponding privacy policies may leave room for further improvement.


The dissolve behavior and cathode protection performance of Al-Zn-In-Mg-Ti anode was studied by electrochemistry impedance spectrum technology, weight-loss measurement and SEM in natural corrosion and self-discharge experiment. The results show that the 7A52 corrosion rate was decreased at a certain extent which under the protection of sacrifice anode in the self-discharge experiment, but the protection was inefficient and sacrificial anode corrosion products fell off uneasily. Natural corrosion sacrifice anode surface influenced by the corrosion product and the oxide film, the number of active pot was reduced with the progress of experiment.


Abstract The main purpose of this study is to analyze the learning management of family education through parenting class to improve parent's positive parenting ability conducted in Melati Jayagiri Community Learning Center (CLC/PKBM), Desa Jayagiri, Kecamatan Lembang, Kabupaten Bandung Barat. The study used qualitative approach and descriptive method. The research subjects were 5 persons, consisted of 3 community learning center's students (WB1, WB2 and WB3) and triangulation from the informants coming from 1 CLC manager (P1) and 1 CLC educator (NS1). The study taken place in Melati Jayagiri Community Learning Center, Jayagiri Village, District Lembang, West Bandung regency. As the results of the study, the following data are obtained: 1) The lesson plans were designed by managers and educators after conducting needs assessments, after that learning objectives were determined, lessons and tools related to learning elements were prepared, 2) Parenting class was conducted with  positive parenting as the main learning materials, and the supporting materials were conveyed in the form of storytelling, (b) the learning approach used was participative-andragogy, (c) the learning methods/ techniques used were discussions, lectures, practices and frequently asked questions and demonstrations, (d) the learning media were laptops, LCD, speakers (e) evaluation, (f) follow-up and (g) learning environment, 3) the Learning outcomes consisted of (a) cognitive, (b) affective,and  (c) psychomotoric, all aspects indicating progressive improvement.  The research recommends mutual wider partnership with other Early Childhood Education's stakeholders for better management of this parenting class in the future. Keywords: family education, positive parenting, learning, management


The scientific goal of this thesis is to tackle different approaches for effective state estimation and modelling of relevant problems in the context of mobile robots. The starting point of this dissertation is the concept of probabilistic robotics, an emerging paradigm that combines state-of-the-art methods with the classic probabilistic theory, developing stochastic frameworks for understanding the uncertain nature of the interaction between a robot and its environment. This allows introducing relevant concepts which are the foundation of the localisation system implemented on the main experimental platform used on this dissertation. An accurate estimation of the position of a robot with respect to a fixed frame is fundamental for building navigation systems that can work in dynamic unstructured environments. This development also allows introducing additional contributions related with global localisation, dynamic obstacle avoidance, path planning and position tracking problems. Kinematics on generalised manipulators are characterised for dealing with complex nonlinear systems. Nonlinear formulations are needed to properly model these systems, which are not always suitable for real-time realisation, lacking analytic formulations in most cases. In this context, this thesis tackles the serial-parallel dual kinematic problem with a novel approach, demonstrating state-of-the-art accuracy and real-time performance. With a spatial decomposition method, the forward kinematics problem on parallel robots and the inverse kinematics problem on serial manipulators is solved modelling the nonlinear behaviour of the pose space using Support Vector Machines. The results are validated on different topologies with the analytic solution for such manipulators, which demonstrates the applicability of the proposed method. Modelling and control of complex dynamical systems is another relevant field with applications on mobile robots. Nonlinear techniques are usually applied to tackle problems like feature or object tracking. However, some nonlinear integer techniques applied for tasks like position tracking in mobile robots with complex dynamics have limited success when modelling such systems. Fractional calculus has demonstrated to be suitable to model complex processes like viscoelasticity or super diffusion. These tools, that take advantage of the generalization of the derivative and integral operators to a fractional order, have been applied to model and control different topics related with robotics in recent years with remarkable success. With the proposal of a fractional-order PI controller, a suitable controller design method is presented to solve the position tracking problem. This is applied to control the distance of a self-driving car with respect to an objective, which can also be applied to other tracking applications like following a navigation path. Furthermore, this thesis introduces a novel fractional-order hyperchaotic system, stabilised with a full-pseudo-state-feedback controller and a located feedback method. This theoretical contribution of a chaotic system is introduced hoping to be useful in this context. Chaos theory has recently started to be applied to study manipulators, biped robots and autonomous navigation, achieving new and promising results, highlighting the uncertain and chaotic nature which also has been found on robots. All together, this thesis is devoted to different problems related with dynamic state estimation for mobile robots, proposing specific contributions related with modelling and control of complex nonlinear systems. These findings are presented in the context of a self-driving electric car, Verdino, jointly developed in collaboration with the Robotics Group of Universidad de La Laguna (GRULL).