This paper presents a two-tier cellular structure with femtocells in open access mode. The addition of these base stations extends the offered system capacity and coverage area of the network. This two network parameters nowadays becomes rather important to provide Quality of Service (QoS) for data-hungry applications. Femto base stations (FBS) are deployed randomly to extend the coverage of conventional base stations. Since the femtocells are operating here in open access mode, so that the handover probability parameter becomes important concern. In this article, we declare the handover probability using the fundamentals of stochastic geometry.


This paper is concert about the mechanical property of high strength and high toughness titanium alloy BTi-6554 (Ti-6Cr-5Mo-5V-4Al) bars. The results show that: in β-phase zone solid solution + aging treatment condition, the strength and fracture toughness of the alloy at room temperature can reach a higher level while inα+β)-phase solution + aging treatment condition, the plastic property is relatively high. Compared with Ti-1023 and VT22 alloy bars produced by the similar processing procedure, the alloy shows improved properties combined in strength and toughness. BTi-6554 is a new type of titanium alloy with high structural efficiency, and has a good prospect for commercial and application.


Objective: As part of the development of natural heritage of Morocco, an ethnobotanical study was conducted in the region of Agadir Ida Ou Tanane (Southwest Morocco) with the aim to collect detailed information about the usage of plants in human therapy. Methodology and results: The survey was carried out over a period of 24 months, by means of semi-structured and structured interviews. A total of 400 interviews were done with traditional health practitioners and knowledgeable villagers. Data collected was on, vernacular names of plants, their uses, parts used and mode of preparation. Other information about users was also collected such as age, sex, level of education. A total of 110 plants species belonging to 53 families and 95 genera were inventoried with 7.27 % of the species endemic to Morocco. Plants frequently used were: Thymus satureioides (Tazouknnit, Zaitra), Thymus broussonnetii (Azoukni, Zaater), Argania spinosa (Argan), Tetraclinis articulata (Azouka, Aârar) and Lavandula dentate (Igerch, Halhal). The elderly (more than 50 years) have more knowledge in medicinal plants with regard to the other age groups, this indicates that knowledge was acquired by long experience accumulated. Conclusion and application of results: This survey shows that traditional medicine is still used and constituted a very rich heritage in Agadir Ida Ou Tanane Region. The collected data may help to avoid the loss of traditional knowledge on the use of medicinal plants detained in the study area, and represent the preliminary information required in view of a future phytochemical investigation on the most used plants.


World War II was a global conflict that dramatically changed societies and landscapes around the world. It also left behind a vast and diverse material record. Although the battles of the conflict never reached Fiji, a British colony in the South Pacific, the War's impact on the island group is clear. Through 1942 and part of 1943, while under threat of Japanese invasion, defensive installations and occupation facilities were built on the island. In the later years of the war, Fiji became a forward base for the Allied forces. This resulted in the construction of transportation infrastructure, and an influx of Allied troops and supplies. This paper presents an inventory of the significant World War II heritage sites on the main island of Fiji, Viti Levu. The study also discusses how the war impacted Fiji and laid the groundworkfor aspects of modern life in the island nation.


Aims To analyse the cost effectiveness of using the moxibustion technique to correct non-vertex presentation and to reduce the number of caesarean sections performed at term. Method A deterministic model of decision analysis has been developed to analyse the cost of treatment in which heat is applied by moxibustion (the combustion of Artemisia vulgaris) at acupuncture point BL67 for pregnant women with non-vertex fetal position at 33–35 weeks' gestation. This approach was compared with conventional treatment recommendations based on the knee-chest posture technique. The costs were obtained mainly from data provided by the Andalusian Public Health System. Effectiveness data for the baseline analysis were taken from a previous clinical study. A secondary analysis was performed based on a meta-analysis conducted using random effects analysis, by reference to studies published in recent systematic reviews of moxibustion versus conventional treatment, in order to make the results generalisable to other healthcare settings. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed under diverse assumptions to assess the uncertainty of the result. Results The baseline analysis shows that the application of moxibustion prevents 8.92% of deliveries with non-vertex presentation compared with conventional treatment, with an average cost saving of ¢107.11 per delivery, mainly due to the cost saving from avoiding the need for caesarean section. The meta-analysis revealed a relative risk of the version of non-vertex presentation at term of 0.34 (95% CI 0.16 to 0.76). The sensitivity analysis showed that moxibustion can avoid 0.34 caesarean sections, with an incremental cost per delivery ranging from ¢68 to −¢640 for moxibustion versus conventional treatment. Conclusions Moxibustion treatment applied at acupuncture point BL67 can avoid the need for caesarean section and achieve cost savings for the healthcare system in comparison with conventional treatment.


Salinity and ions toxicity are one of the main problems of agricultural lands in arid and semi-arid regions, such as Iran. In addition to the salinity problem, some other marks like boron toxicity in crops have been seen in Hossein Abad area as one of the main agricultural regions of Yazd. Therefore, this study intends to evaluate and analyze spatial variability of soil salinity as an aspect of soil degradation, and prepares soil salinity and boron maps. A regular grid sampling scheme was done through a 150 m interval. Salinity and boron were measured at the depth of 0 to 30 cm. Totally 104 samples were measured. After statistical analysis of the data and studying their distribution, Kriging estimator was used for mapping the mentioned variables. Results showed that the region has a salinity problem and does not have any boron toxicity. According to the relationship of nugget effect and sill, there was a strong dependency among all the measured factors except for boron and pH factors. The least salinity was observed in cultivated areas due to the leaching process. The boron range was between 0.07 and 1.6 mg kg -1 . Salinity and soil boron were significantly correlated at 99 % confidence level. Based on the Spearman and Pearson tests, there was a positive correlation between SAR and salinity at 99 % confidence level, which shows the region has more sodic salts than others. Also, pH of the region did not present any problem for growing crops.


By focusing on the qualitative difference between the habits that are capable of generating a legal system and the habits that this system's "division of normative labour" can facilitate, this paper throws new light on the concern at the root of Hart's claim that law is inherently morally risky. Hart's great insight in this respect has been muddled by his attempt to encapsulate the reflexive element inherent in the internal point of view in a (weak) notion of "acceptance". This paper argues that the key risk inherent in the "division of normative labour" enabled by law's institutional structure consists in the fostering of habits that have lost their adaptability and thus their ability to support legal practice.


This paper applies a texture model regression method to characterize seismic facies with particular reference to frontier, deep marine depositional settings. The algorithm introduces and designs a seismic texture model in an adaptive manner in terms of dimensionality, size, amplitude, frequency, and phase using mathematical, synthetic, or actual seismic data. The model serves as a reference for seismic feature discrimination by comparing actual seismic texture at each location with the model through a linear, least-squares regression analysis.


Diamond films (∼0.7 micrometer thick) have been epitaxially grown on Si(111) substrates at room temperature with mass-selected 120-electronvolt C+ ions. The diamond reflections observed in x-ray diffraction are well localized at their predicted positions, indicating that (i) the diamond(111) and (220) planes are parallel to the Si(111) and (220), respectively; (ii) the diamond rotational spread around its (111) normal is ∼1.7�; and (iii) the mosaic block size is ∼150 �. The film growth is discussed in terms of subplantation—a shallow subsurface implantation model. This discovery is an important step toward diamond semiconductor devices.


Based on a longitudinal study of 15 English and Media undergraduates, some of whom might still face prejudice in the job market because of their idiosyncratic English, this paper explores reasons why the surface approach still has relevance and needs to be explicitly recognised and valued alongside other different approaches rather than being incorporated into other models.

Research on student writing (Lea, 1995, Lea and Street, 1997, Hinkle, 1997 King, 2000, Lillis, 2000), often criticises the student deficit approach. Concentrating on surface or transcriptional features such as spelling, punctuation and grammar as transferable skills, is said to deflect attention from deep structures of writing academic conventions, generally remain implicit, and there is a need for understanding of the culture of different disciplines (Lea & Steirer (Eds), 2,000).

Research has also demonstrated the significance of the power relationships in HE, and Lea and Street (1998) rightly draw attention to the importance of firstly understanding student and staff literacy practices, without making assumptions about which practices are appropriate or effective. None of this research, however, was written in anything other than what the majority of readers would appreciate as formal, standard English, which is still regarded as an indication of education and status.

Fairclough(1989) says that whenever people write or read, they do so in ways which have social effects. This paper argues that acknowledging these social effects is only the first step and that the commitment needed to change an adult's writing in even minor ways is often neglected


ABSTRACT Introduction: The utility of routine balloon predilation in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with self-expanding valves is not established. Clinical outcomes at 30 days and 1 year post TAVR, deploying the "no balloon predilation" strategy have not been systematically described. Methods: Between October 2011 and September 2016, all patients who underwent TAVR with self-expanding valves (CoreValve®, Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) were stratified into predilation and no predilation groups. Of the 564 patients in the study, predilation was performed in 410 (72.7%) patients. Results: The need for postdilation was less when predilation was performed (30.2%), compared with no predilation (39.0%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR]:0.741, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.493–1.114). "Clinically significant" paravalvular leak (PVL) was similar in the predilation (5.9%) and no predilation (6.8%) groups (aOR: 0.886, 95% CI: 0.398–1.971). Permanent pacemaker implantation was higher following predilation (25.1%), compared with no predilation (15.6%; aOR:3.086, 95% CI:1.413–6.738). There were no differences in 30-day myocardial infarction, or 30-day and 1-year stroke and death. When patients undergoing predilation were further stratified into conservative predilation (predilation balloon size ≤ minimum annulus diameter) and aggressive predilation (predilation balloon size > minimum annulus) groups, need for postdilation was lowest with aggressive predilation. PVL, 30-day and 1-year stroke rates were similar in the aggressive, conservative and no predilation groups. Conclusion: Balloon predilation in TAVR with a self-expanding prosthesis was associated with a significant decrease in the need for balloon postdilation, and a significant increase in the need for a permanent pacemaker. There was no difference in PVL, and 30-day and 1-year stroke and death rates between the two groups.


Growing regional inequality within countries has raised the perception that "some places and people" are left behind. This has prompted a shift toward inward-looking policies and away from pro-growth reforms. This paper presents novel stylized facts on regional inequality for OECD countries. It shows that regional disparity in per-capita GDP is large (even after adjusting for regional price differences), persistent, and widening over time. The paper also finds that rising nationwide income inequality is associated with both rising within-region income inequality and widening average income across regions. The rise in inequality is related to declining incentives for interregional labor mobility, especially for poor households in lagging regions, which are estimated to reduce by as much as one-third in the United States. Against these facts, the paper proposes a framework to identify whether, how and by whom fiscal policies can be used to tackle regional inequality. It outlines conditions under which those policies should be spatially-targeted and illustrates how they can be complementary to conventional meanstesting methods in mitigating income inequality. JEL Classification Numbers: D63, E62, H20, H77, R12, R23


Arguments for public involvement in science and technology are often based on ideas of developing a more capable public and the assumed effects this may have for science. However, such a relationship is yet to be sufficiently explored and recent work indicates that a more involved public may have counterintuitive effects. Using nationally representative survey data for the UK and Northern Ireland, the effects of the public's own beliefs about involvement are explored. Developing the concept of "belief in public efficacy," findings suggest those who believe that the public might be able to affect the course of decision making have less approving attitudes towards future applications of genetic science; however, an individual's political efficacy does not significantly influence these attitudes. Furthermore, political efficacy and belief in public efficacy have some distinct and opposing relationships with the principles of governance people prefer. Overall, findings provide support for suggestions that it is simplistic to consider increasing public involvement as a way of increasing the approval of risky new technologies.


In the present study we compared the physiological performances of Prunus avium L., Robinia pseudoacacia L., Juglans nigra L., and Populus x euramericana cl. Pannonia, planted at the coal mine tailings of the Mining Basin "Kolubara" (Serbia), to assess the potential of different tree species for land reclamation. The measurements were conducted during three consecutive years characterized by contrasting climatic conditions (wet and drought). The results showed that the rate of net photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (gs) and transpiration rate (E) sharply declined in two dry years in all tree species. These trends were particularly evident for R. pseudoacacia and J. nigra, in which A, gs and E were twice as low during the dry years. On the other hand, R. pseudoacacia and P. x euramericana cl. Pannonia seedlings were characterized by the highest water-use efficiency and intrinsic water-use efficiency during the dry years, indicating that these species are more efficient responders to drought, due to their ability to maintain a balance between the loss of water and the CO2 assimilation rates. The survival rate of the examined tree species was high (>86%) and increased in the following order: P. avium < J. nigra < R. pseudoacacia < P. x euramericana cl. Pannonia. Based on the obtained results we recommend R. pseudoacacia and P. x euramericana cl. Pannonia as a good solution for afforestation and revitalization of degraded habitats, such as coal mine tailings, although high survival rate, observed in P. avium and J. nigra, makes these two species a candidate for planting during degraded sites reclamation, as well.


Nickel is essential in many consumer, industrial, military, transport, aerospace, marine, and architectural products due to its outstanding physical and chemical properties. This work focuses on the calcination and pre-reduction of laterite nickel ore to produce ferronickel. Ferronickel is an alloy containing nickel (about 30% wt.) and iron used for manufacturing stainless steel. Calcination and pre-reduction entail removing chemically bonded water from partially dried ore and removing oxygen from mineral oxides in the calcine. Here we combine a proprietary database with operation data of two rotary kilns and model predictions of Mean Residence Time, shell losses, intraparticle evaporation, and intraparticle temperature distribution. The kilns feature notable differences in length, inclination angle, excess air, but the predicted Mean Residence Times are similar. A fitted profile of experimental solids bed temperature represented particles surface temperature. The model considered slab-like mineral particles with surface-to-center distances of 13, 25, and 38 mm. Results show notable differences in the drying zone length and average surface-to-center temperature differences. Surface-to-center distances higher than 25 mm result in average surface-to-center temperature differences higher than 80°C. The following steps are improvements in the particle model and its coupling with the gas and wall temperature profiles.


International Journal of Exercise Science 11(6): 439-451, 2018. The purpose of this study was to monitor weekly the salivary free testosterone (FT), cortisol (C), and the FT/C ratio in elite men NCAA Division I basketball athletes across an entire season. Twelve athletes gave salivary samples for 30 consecutive weeks, beginning in the pre-season and ending one week after the end of post-season competition. Samples were assayed for FT and C. Additionally, a composite value (CBD) composed of Z-scores for weekly practice minutes, game minutes, resistance training repetitions, academic demands, and travel schedules was determined. One-way RM ANOVAs were used to determine which weekly values were different (α=.05) from the season mean. For FT, 10 weeks were different from the season average (5.1 nmol/L). For C, 11 weeks were different from the season mean (9.0 nmol/L). For FT/C, weeks 7 (p=.007), 17 (p=.007), and 25 (p=.005) were different from the season mean (FT/C=0.69). During Wk7, at the start of regular season play, FT/C was above, while CBD was below the season means. During Wk17, which was leading into a series of important conference games, FT/C was below, while CBD was not different from season means. During Wk25, which was one week before the conference tournament, FT/C was below, while CBD was above season means. The methods of this study can be used for monitoring athlete responses and adaptations to sport-specific training and competition; specifically, for evaluating responses to challenging pre-season training, recovery for regular season play, and how they physiologically cope with the competitive season.


The impact of variation in water temperature and dissolved oxygen on recovery of largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides from exercise was examined. For this, largemouth bass were first exercised and recovered for either 1, 2 or 4 h at ambient water temperatures (25° C) in fully oxygenated water. Results showed that exercise forced fish to utilize anaerobic metabolism to meet energy demands, and resulted in reductions in anaerobic energy stores adenosine triphosphate (ATP), Phosphocreatine (PCr) and glycogen. Exercise also resulted in a seven-fold increase in lactate within white muscle. After 2 h of recovery in oxygenated water at acclimation temperature, physiological recovery from exercise was under way, and by 4 h most variables examined had returned to control levels. Next, largemouth bass were exercised at ambient temperatures and recovered for 2 h in environments with either elevated temperature (32° C), reduced temperature (14 and 20° C), hypoxia or hyperoxia. Both elevated and reduced temperature impaired recovery of tissue lactate and tissue ATP relative to fish recovered in water at acclimation temperature, while hyperoxic water impaired recovery of tissue ATP. Moderately hypoxic waters impaired the recovery of plasma glucose, plasma lactate and tissue PCr relative to fish recovered in fully oxygenated water. Results from this study are discussed in the context of critical oxygen and temperature guidelines for largemouth bass. In addition, several recommendations are made concerning remedial treatments used in livewells (tanks) during angling tournaments when fish are recovering from exercise associated with angling.


While the procoagulant activity of platelet derived microparticles (PMP) has been widely accepted, knowledge regarding their immunological and adhesive qualities is still limited. It has been shown that murine BM cells covered with PMP engrafted lethally irradiated mice significantly faster than those not covered, indicating that PMPs play an important role in the homing of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC). Here we studied the impact of PMP on engraftment in human allogeneic PBSC transplants for patients with hematological malignancies. PBSC samples were collected in buffered citrate from transplantation bags after infusion of transplants into patients with hematological malignancies (AML = 5, ALL = 1). Conditioning regimens included busulfan/cyclophosphamide (Bu/Cy), anti-CD66b-radioimmunotherapy (RIT)/Bu/Cy, and reduced intensity regimens with fludarabin/busulfan (Flu/Bu) and FLAMSA. Platelet-poor plasma (PPP) was prepared (1500g for 20min), immediately shock-frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at −80°C. For further analysis PPP's were carefully thawed at room temperature (RT). 90μl of PPP was stained with 5μl of CD41-PE and CD62P-FITC each for 15min at RT in the dark (IgG1-FITC and -PE served as negative controls, TRAP-6 (10μM) stimulated whole blood processed in same way as samples as positive control). To stop staining 900μl PBS/BSA 2% was added and 500μl of this solution were transferred into BD Trucount tubes by reverse pipetting giving a final concentration of 100 beads/μl. Samples were analyzed immediately using Coulter FC500 flow cytometer with CXP software. As expected the CD34 cell count (mean=5.1x10 6 /kg body weight, SD=2.0x10 6 /kg) showed a significant correlation (p=0.0197, Pearson r=−0.83) with the time to engraftment (mean=15.7days, SD=2.0d). The amount of CD62P positive microparticles (mean=423/μl, SD=119/μl) and the conditioning regimen showed no significant correlation with CD34 cell count or time to engraftment with leucocytes >1000/μl. In contrast, CD41-PMP count (mean=1223/μl, SD=857μl) correlated significantly with the CD34 cell count (p=0.0086, Pearson r=0.92) and the time to engraftment (p=0.0039, Pearson r = −0.95). Therefore, PBSCT contain significant amounts of PMP which are most likely generated during apheresis. Preliminary results show a stronger correlation with time to engraftment than does CD34 cell count. We conclude that PMP may accelerate engraftment of PBSC in humans. However, this function seems unrelated to P-Selectin expression. Therefore, further studies aiming to identify other adhesion molecules involved in PMP-mediated engraftment of PBSCT are warranted.


: This paper provides a low cost-effective and flexible home control and monitoring system with the aid of an integrated micro-web server with internet protocol (IP) connectivity for access and to control of equipment and devices remotely using Android-based smartphone app. The proposed system does not require a dedicated server PC with respect to similar systems and offers a new communication protocol for monitoring and controlling the home environment with more than just switching functionality. Smart home interfaces and device definitions to ensure interoperability between Wi-fi devices from various manufacturers of electrical equipment, meters and smart energy enables products to allow manufactured. In this project gives the intelligent operation for lamps and fans. Here the system is connected with temperature control and lamp control. Light dependent resistor (LDR) and Temperature sensor (LM35) are the main components for this automatic control of lamps and fans. Here the LDR is responsible for lamp control and LM35 is responsible for controlling the operation of fan. The proposed home energy control systems design intelligent services for users and provides, The proposed system are implemented with smartphone.


One of the main elements of each supply chain is production. Production planning in multi-products process industries in which products are subjected to the complicated operational constraints is a very hard work because production of computed optimal volume should be compatible with operation scheduling constraints of production system. Thus, integration idea has been proposed for required decisions of these two problems. The main dilemma in integration is how to make relation between production planning problem with middle term time interval and production scheduling problem with short term time interval. In this paper, we formulate and integrate production planning and operation scheduling problems in continuous process industries with multi products and capability of saving partial products in short and long terms time intervals. In continue, a heuristics solution approach has been proposed and its performance has been evaluated using a practical case study..


Graph similarity metrics serve far-ranging purposes across many domains in data science. As graph datasets grow in size, scientists need comparative tools that capture meaningful differences, yet are lightweight and scalable. Graph Relative Hausdorff (RH) distance is a promising, recently proposed measure for quantifying degree distribution similarity. In spite of recent interest in RH distance, little is known about its properties. Here, we conduct an algorithmic and analytic study of RH distance. In particular, we provide the first linear-time algorithm for computing RH distance, analyze examples of RH distance between pairs of real-world networks as well as structured families of graphs, and prove several analytic results concerning the range, density, and extremal behavior of RH distance values.


This paper proposes a hybrid neural network(HNN) model for commonsense reasoning. An HNN consists of two component models, a masked language model and a semantic similarity model, which share a BERTbased contextual encoder but use different model-specific input and output layers. HNN obtains new state-of-the-art results on three classic commonsense reasoning tasks, pushing the WNLI benchmark to 89%, the Winograd Schema Challenge (WSC) benchmark to 75.1%, and the PDP60 benchmark to 90.0%. An ablation study shows that language models and semantic similarity models are complementary approaches to commonsense reasoning, and HNN effectively combines the strengths of both. The code and pre-trained models will be publicly available at https: //github.com/namisan/mt-dnn.


We use VANDELS spectroscopic data overlapping with the ≃7 Ms Chandra Deep Field South survey to extend studies of high-mass X-ray binary systems (HMXBs) in 301 normal star-forming galaxies in the redshift range 3 < z < 5.5. Our analysis evaluates correlations between X-ray luminosities (LX), star formation rates (SFRs), and stellar metallicities (Z⋆) to higher redshifts and over a wider range in galaxy properties than hitherto. Using a stacking analysis performed in bins of both redshift and SFR for sources with robust spectroscopic redshifts without AGN signatures, we find convincing evolutionary trends in the ratio LX/SFR to the highest redshifts probed, with a stronger trend for galaxies with lower SFRs. Combining our data with published samples at lower redshift, the evolution of LX/SFR to z ≃ 5 proceeds as (1 + z)1.03 ± 0.02. Using stellar metallicities derived from photospheric absorption features in our spectroscopic data, we confirm indications at lower redshifts that LX/SFR is stronger for metal-poor galaxies. We use semi-analytic models to show that metallicity dependence of LX/SFR alone may not be sufficient to fully explain the observed redshift evolution of X-ray emission from HMXBs, particularly for galaxies with SFR < 30 M⊙ yr−1. We speculate that reduced overall stellar ages and 'burstier' star formation histories in the early Universe may lead to higher LX/SFR for the same metallicity. We then define the redshift-dependent contribution of HMXBs to the integrated X-ray luminosity density and, in comparison with models, find that the contribution of HMXBs to the cosmic X-ray background at z > 6 may be ≳0.25 dex higher than previously estimated.


Over the past decade research on urban thermal inequity has grown, with a focus on denser built environments. In this letter we examine thermal inequity associated with climate change impacts and changes to urban form in a comparatively socio-economically disadvantaged Australian suburb. Local urban densification policies designed to counteract sprawl have reduced block sizes, increased height limits, and diminished urban tree canopy cover (UTC). Little attention has been given to the combined effects of lower UTC and increased heat on disadvantaged residents. Such impacts include rising energy expenditure to maintain thermal comfort (i.e. cooling dwellings). We used a survey of residents (n = 230) to determine their perceptions of climate change impacts; household energy costs; household thermal comfort practices; and dispositions towards using green infrastructure to combat heat. Results suggest that while comparatively disadvantaged residents spend more on energy as a proportion of their income, they appear to have reduced capacity to adapt to climate change at the household scale. We found most residents favoured more urban greening and supported tree planting in local parks and streets. Findings have implications for policy responses aimed at achieving urban climate justice.


This contribution reports the deposition of new zinc based lead free all inorganic 3D CsZnCl2I perovskite thin films using aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) at 100 °C. Room tempertaure optical measurements performed on the as-deposited thin films showed two absorption peaks. Upon 325 nm excitation, the CsZnCl2I perovskite thin film showed broad band white light emission having two peaks, which cover the entire visible range of the spectrum. This is the first example of white light emission from 3D all-inorganic lead free mixed halide CsZnCl2I perovskites.


Although hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma is the only known modality that offers an opportunity for cure, the practicing oncologist must be aware of alternative modes of therapy. A multidisciplinary approach between surgeon, medical oncologist, and invasive radiologist is necessary in exploring all potential therapeutic options. The oncologist must not only consider the stage of the tumor, but must also take into account the functional reserve of the nontumor-bearing liver in selecting appropriate therapy. More recently, hepatic transplantation has been recognized as a potential curative modality for specific tumor types and stages. Percutaneous ethanol injection and chemoembolization are excellent palliative measures. However, it remains clear that new and innovative techniques are necessary in the therapeutic, adjuvant, and palliative settings in the comprehensive care of the patient with hepatocellular carcinoma.


The present study was initiated to investigate the influence of oral application of charcoal, sauerkraut juice and humic acids on specific gastrointestinal microbiota and selected enzymes, electrolytes, and substrates in the blood of dairy cows fed GMO feeds containing glyphosate. A total of 380 Schleswig Holstein cows suffering from symptoms of chronic botulism were fed sequentially with 400 g/animal charcoal daily for 4 weeks (weeks 1-4 of the study), 200 g/ animal charcoal (weeks 5-10 of the study), 200 g charcoal and 500 ml Sauerkraut juice/animal (weeks 11-14 of the study), 120 g/animal humic acids (weeks 15-18 of the study) 200 g charcoal and 100 mL Aquahumin/animal (weeks 19- 20 the of study), or 100 g charcoal and 50 mL Aquahumin (weeks 21-22 of the study) followed by 4 weeks without any supplementation. There was a significant reduction of glyphosate in urine following supplementation with a combination of 200g charcoal plus either 500 mL sauerkraut juice or humic acid. From all of the parameters investigated in blood and urine, distinctive effects were only seen as a lack of manganese and cobalt and a significant reduction of creatinine excretion by urine. All other measured parameters such as creatine kinase (CK), alkaline phosphatase (AP), glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH), glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), and cholesterol, urea, and blood creatinine) were not significantly changed. A significant increase of fecal Gram-negative bacteria and enterococci were only seen at week 8 (200 g charcoal/d) and week 20 (200 g charcoal+100 mL Aquahumin). In conclusion, a charcoal-sauerkraut juice combination and humic acids reduced glyphosate excretion by urine and led to the improved health of animals.


Innovative Vocabulary Acquisition Method (IVAM) helps to expand learners' vocabulary acquisition by arousing or creating learners' sense of curiosity to explore the meanings of words.IVAM is designed to inspire learners to visualize the "images" of their respective Commonly-Used Words (CUWs) and/ or Commonly-Seen Unfamiliar Words (CS-UWs) as they encountered other targeted Unfamiliar Words (UWs). The Referred Images (RIs) will induce learners to become curious about the Encountered Unfamiliar Words (EUWs) which partially or totally resemble, or almost appear like their CUWs, hence, creating the interest among language learners to explore their meanings.IVAM is formulated to help language learners to build or enhance their vocabulary acquisition.This method is very dynamic and can be customized to suit different learners' language competencies. The method, as well as the book, is very practical for Level 2 primary school pupils, secondary school students, matriculation students and students in institutions of higher learning.The exercises in this book are aimed to assist users to enhance their grasp on the iVAM concept through various types of specially selected UWs or low frequency words.Hence, the book can be suitable as a workbook or an iVAM training module for teachers and parents.The method is also suitable for any English language learner who aspires to learn English as a second or a foreign language.


We compare two approaches of incorporating the long‐range Coulomb electron‐electron interaction into Monte Carlo simulations of bulk, degenerate GaAs, i.e., the semi‐classical approach of solving the Poisson equation self‐consistently, and the first order quantum mechanical treatment in which the electron‐plasmon interaction is included as an additional scattering mechanism. The critical issues involved in the semi‐classical, direct approach are the mesh size, charge assignment to the mesh nodes, and interpolation of the field at the particle location. All of these factors determine the stability of the system, the accuracy and computational time required in the calculation. The steady‐state electron drift velocity in bulk GaAs calculated using the direct, semi‐classical approach for the electron‐plasmon interaction is significantly less than the corresponding bulk drift velocity in the absence of the electron‐plasmon interaction. The alternative approach of treating the electron‐plasmon interaction as a scattering mechanism is attractive since it is computationally easier to include and is, at least to first order, quantum mechanically based. It is found that the calculated steady‐state electron drift velocity in bulk GaAs based on this model is affected in the opposite way, i.e., the velocity is greater than in the absence of the electron‐plasmon interaction. The cause of the discrepancy in the calculated results of the two approaches is not too surprising since they attack the problem from very different directions. Neither model can at present be considered complete. Further detailed investigations are required to achieve a better model for the electron‐plasmon interaction.


ABSTRACT After the 2004 discovery of the Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Q biotype in the United States, there was an urgent need to determine its distribution. As part of a coordinated country-wide effort, an extensive survey of B. tabaci biotypes was conducted in Florida, with the cooperation of growers and state and federal agencies, to monitor the introduction and distribution of both the B and Q biotypes. The biotype status of submitted B. tabaci samples was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing of a 700–800-bp mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I small subunit (mtCOI) gene fragment, PCR amplification, and size determination of two unique microsatellite markers and esterase zymogram analysis. One hundred and eighty collections were sampled from 23 counties. Of these samples, 58% were from vegetables, 37% were from ornamentals, and 5% were from peanuts, alfalfa, and weeds. Eighteen percent of all collections were found to be the Q biotype that came from greenhouse grown ornamental and herbs located in six counties. Sequence comparison of the mtCOI gene identified three separate haplotypes within Florida that were defined as Q1, Q2, and Q3. Haplotypes could be used to associate populations known to be related by grower and plant type. For example, collections from five counties were made on hibiscus linked to the same grower and all samples contained only the Q1 haplotype. Other populations contained a mix of the Q2 and Q3 haplotypes, supporting the conclusion that the Q biotype must have entered Florida through at least two separate introductions. Our data also show that two microsatellite markers are a cost-effective diagnostic alternative for biotype identification with 100% concurrence with mtCOI sequence data.


X-ray microtomography has been shown to be a viable technique for non-destructively and non-intrusively visualising the three-dimensional structure of the entire thickness of paper and paperboard. A method has been developed to determine the traditional pore structure descriptors such as porosity, fibre-void interface area and pore size distribution for the three-dimensional structure. Results with varying sheet structures compare favourably with conventional mercury intrusion porosimetry data. X-ray microtomography combined with digital image analysis has also been shown to be capable of independently evaluating the in-plane and transverse pore structure characteristics of paper and paperboard. Interestingly, the transverse pore structure appears to be more open with larger pore size distribution compared to the in-plane pore structure. This may help explain the differences in liquid and vapour transport through the in-plane and transverse structures during the paper manufacturing process and during end-use application.


The trend in the construction of the latest array antennas is such, that electronic beam scanning can be conducted for a significantly large angular sector. Indeed, as far as circular array antennas are concerned, the quality of the radiation pattern will not be impaired when scanned in the full azimuthal axis. Compared to planar and several different shapes of conformal antenna arrays, spherical array antennas have the unique property of scanning their beam with no deterioration in full spherical coverage (i.e. azimuth and elevation axes). Furthermore, multi-beam functioning and direction finding techniques can be applied to spherical array antennas. In contrast to antennas that use mechanical motors for steering, they exhibit higher speed and stability. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications can utilize the aforementioned properties of spherical array antennas. Spherical harmonic (phase mode) theory constitutes the base on which the signal processing of the spherical array antenna is developed. In this analysis, spherical harmonics are employed, which take advantage of the sphere's symmetry and regenerate themselves in the far-field. The spherical phase mode approach is able to provide considerable improvements and computational simplification in several array processing levels. Specifically, research efforts are concentrated toward the choice of an optimal uniform spherical distribution and the minimum number of array elements that are necessary in the process. Various antenna element distributions are investigated and compared to each other placing special emphasis on the design and fabrication efficiency. Additionally, the direction finding potential of a spherical array antenna is explored by applying one of the main DOA estimation algorithms used with spherical arrays, the spherical ESPRIT algorithm. A spherical array, called LISA, has been designed and a prototype demonstrator has been manufactured. The spherical array has a radius of 40 cm, and operates at 3 GHz, employing circular polarization. A multi-planar approach, with 240 triangular planar tiles approximating the spherical surface, is adopted. Special attention is given to the RF front end of the array, and especially to the development of the microstrip antenna design that is accommodated on each tile (three elements) and a bespoke feed network. Valuable simulation and measurement results are also provided, demonstrating satisfactory performance of the tested tiles and offering essential conclusions for discussion and further investigation.


Casimir and van der Waals dispersive forces between real material surfaces can be strongly influenced by surface roughness and the frequency dependent dielectric functions of the interacting materials. The Lifshitz theory allows calculations of these forces between two flat plates if the frequency dependent dielectric function is known. Even in this case in order to compare different measurements of the Casimir force the accuracy must be higher than the force uncertainty arising as a result of the variation in the measured dielectric functions for a given material. Therefore, when we are dealing with dispersive forces between real materials, precise characterization of the particular interacting samples is critical. For this reason the effects of optical properties and surface roughness on dispersive forces will be first discussed in this review paper. Finally, we will compare research results among various research groups, at relatively large surface separations where roughness plays insignificant role, in order to show the level of consensus that has developed in this field in the recent years.


Electric power is required to produce, treat, distribute, and recycle water while water is required to generate and consume electricity. Naturally, this energy-water nexus is most evident in multi-utilities that provide electricity and water but still exists when the nexus has distinct organizations as owners and operators. Therefore, the sustainability question that arises from energy-water trade-offs and synergies is very much tied to the potential for economies of scope. Furthermore, in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, multi-utilities are not only common, but also the nexus is particularly exacerbated by the high energy intensity of the water supply due to limited fresh water resources. The goal of this paper is to identify and motivate several opportunities for enhanced integrated operations management and planning in the energy-water nexus in multi-utilities in the MENA. It proceeds in four parts. First, an exposition of the energy-water nexus especially as it applies to the MENA is given. This discussion focuses on the electric power system, the potable water distribution system, and thirdly, the wastewater distribution system. Second, the paper shifts to opportunities in integrated operations management highlighted by an energy-water nexus supply- side economic dispatch illustration. Thirdly, the discussion shifts to planning opportunities for the energy-water nexus for the sustainable development of water and energy resources. A concluding section summarizes the policy implications of the identified opportunities.


Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) completed during 1994 a research program that investigated, amongst other aspects, joint design and sealant bond to EIF Systems. Eight different joint designs were tested as well as sealant bond strengths to the EIFS lamina (either finish or base coat). Polyurethane and silicone sealants as well as an impregnated expanding foam sealant composite were selected for testing based on the presumption of having either a "low modulus" characteristic, or of being representative of industry wide usage. Bond strength results indicated, that for the uniform samples tested, loads (stress) greater than 670 N (the cohesive strength of the EIFS lamina/EPS foam interface), will initiate substrate failure. Due to over-stressing of the EIFS lamina joint movement may occur without external visual signs. Capillaries or voids may be created either within the lamina or between basecoat and EPS foam that will effect short or long-term life expectancy. Of the joint design configurations tested, several could overly damage the EIFS lamina, even with limited movement. A series of joint designs has emerged based on either a binary sealant configuration or double joint with vented cavity (rain-screen principle) that show low lamina stress values. While these joints may not be fully pressure equalized rain-screen designs, the net effect is to prevent further moisture penetration into the EIF System.


Cross-sectional transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation was performed for selectively grown gallium nitride (GaN) in order to examine the dependence of GaN microstructure on the growth conditions. The GaN films were grown by hydride vapour phase epitaxy (HVPE) or metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) on GaN covered with a patterned mask. Thin foil specimens for TEM observation were prepared with focused ion beam (FIB) machining apparatus. It was demonstrated that the c-axis of GaN grown over the terrace of the mask tilts towards the centre of the terrace when the GaN is grown in a carrier gas of N2. The wider terrace results in a larger tilting angle if other growth conditions are identical. The tilting is attributed to 'horizontal dislocations' (HDs) generated during the overgrowth of GaN on the mask terrace. The HDs in HVPE-GaN have a semi-loop shape and are tangled with one another, while those in MOVPE-GaN are straight and lined up to form low-angle grain boundaries.


Cases of violence against women and children in Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY) in 2019 has reached 1,469 cases. This condition requires a special attention from the Government. The implementation of protection services for women and children victims of violence in DIY is carried out by P2TPAKK "Rekso Dyah Utami". This institution has been established and served the community since 2004. However, the existence of P2TPAKK "Rekso Dyah Utami" began to be interrupted by the Regulation of the Minister of Women Empowerment and Child Protection of the Republic of Indonesia No. 9 of 2016 on Guidelines for the Nomenclature of Regional Apparatus in the  Field  of Women Empowerment and Child  Protection which mandates that service providers for the protection of women and children victims of violence must take the form of Technical Service Unit (UPTD). This raises a dilemma for the DIY government. Then, what is the suitable institutional format for the implementation of the service for DIY government? This study employed a qualitative approach with data collection techniques using a desk study and a FGD. The parties involved in this FGD were the Office of Women Empowerment of DIY, P2TPAKK "Rekso Dyah Utami", and other stakeholders. The  data were analyzed through descriptive qualitative and SWOT analysis. The  study revealed that the service delivery was well established. However, the SWOT analysis found that there were still a number of problems that were not recognized by the central government as an institution. Therefore, to keep the services to the community, the DIY government is recommended to form an UPTD structure and organizational's resources engineering.


Nowadays increasing use of web as a means to accomplish daily tasks by calling web services, makes web services more and more significant. Users make a query on the Internet to find the required web service based on their needs. Cloud computing, due to its design and abundance of resources has become an ideal choice for web service providers to publish their services backed by cloud servers. The cloud can eliminate problems like web service availability and security. On the other side, obtaining the most relevant web service depends on user's request accuracy and the mechanism used to match the request. Due to recent shutting down of public UDDI registries, most of web service matchmaking mechanisms are based on web service description files (WSDL) which are published on the owners' websites. Semantic web services use OWL-S and WSMO instead of WSDL to describe services in a way that software agents are able to find appropriate services automatically. However, the high cost and effort needed to formally define web services makes this method impractical. In this paper we have proposed an ontology which formally models the user's query for web services in the service cloud by considering both functional and syntactical dimensions. The stepwise matchmaking method of web services based on the user's query is also presented. To show the precision of the proposed method, a set of experiments on a cluster of 3738 real web service WSDL documents has been performed.


For more than a decade scholars have shown interest in politicians uses of the Internet. In this reflection paper we have gauged literature on this topic and have identified two research opportunities for interested scholars. First, research should move beyond dichotomization such as conceiving of the Internet as either revolutionary or normalizing. Secondly, scholars within the field should contribute to the arguably limited knowledge base on online practices of politicians at regional and local levels. With these two recommendations we argue that the research field would move forward and generate new and interesting results.


This paper addresses the design method for robust PID like controllers which guarantee the quadratic stability, performance in terms of H2 and Hinfin specifications, pole locations and maximum output control. The approach is based on the transformation of the PID controller design problem to that of state feedback controller design thereby the convex optimization approaches can be adapted. Real time experimental results on a double inverted pendulum system demonstrates the validity and applicability of the proposed approach.


Diastolic function in coronary artery disease is modified to a variable extent. There are distinct abnormalities produced during acute ischemia, and following myocardial infarction. The pathophysiology of diastolic abnormalities in these two syndromes is reviewed. During acute ischemia filling pressures of the left ventricle are increased. Pulmonary edema may be produced. Silent ischemia causes less of an increase in filling pressures. The diastolic pressure-volume relation is shifted in an upward manner with a variable contribution from altered myocardial relaxation, increased muscle stiffness, acute pericardial restriction, ventricular interaction, and acute chamber dilatation. The impairment of myocardial relaxation plays a central role and has been quantified in multiple clinical and experimental studies. Filling of the left ventricle during ischemia is altered due to the factors which shift the pressure-volume relation. The acute increase in left atrial pressure may increase filling rates somewhat surprisingly, given the reduced left ventricular compliance. Myocardial fibrosis following infarction may elevate filling pressures, but the degree of elevation is closely tied to the intravascular volume status. Shifts in the diastolic pressure-volume relation reflect a loss of chamber compliance due to an increase in muscle stiffness. Increased amounts of extracellular matrix, specifically collagen, produce this permanent increase in muscle stiffness which is central to the diastolic abnormalities in chronic coronary artery disease.


Communication technologies are continuosly evolving since were invented the telegraph. Nowadays, one of the most interesting and relatively youngest field of telecommunications are the optical communications. The search of the shortest event ever created to measure very fast/short events is now possible because of the Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, longer known as laser. So well, we need to find the shortest event but we need to know how to measure it, since it is supposed that there is not a shorter event. So we need the pulse to measure itself, and its sound as we need to do a kind of autocorrelation. In order to measure a pulse, we need to get its intensity and phase in either the time or frequency domains. And, before the Frequency-Resolved Optical-Gating appearance, it was done with autocorrelation (time-domain) and spectrum (frequency-domain).


Crosstalk mechanisms due to imperfections of the output demultiplexer in a 1550-mm wavelength-division multiplexed system are explored for the cable television frequency range of 50-800 MHz. Analytic and experimental results show significant crosstalk caused by the output demultiplexer: transmission slope following cross-phase modulation in the fiber, polarization-dependent loss following nonlinear polarization rotation in the fiber, and imperfect channel isolation. The crosstalk mechanism of transmission slope following cross-phase modulation is newly identified here.


Little is known about how hip-fracture patients experience involvement in their own nursing care. Yet understanding this is essential in order to both meet patient expectations and ensure delivery of high-quality nursing care. The aim of the study was to describe how elderly hip-fracture patients experienced their involvement in the nursing care they received while in the orthopaedics ward. A descriptive design with a qualitative interview approach was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with16 hip-fracture patients, 14 days postoperative in 2012. Systematic Text Condensation was used to analyse the data collected. The findings reveal six themes: 1) experiencing severe pain, 2) feeling dependent on the nurses, 3) feeling they were not valued, 4) poor organisation, 5) positives and negatives of sharing a room with fellow patients, and 6) positive interactions with nurses that encouraged the patient. Hip-fracture patients reported experiencing very little involvement in their nursing care, to the extent that fundamental aspects of nursing care went unfulfilled. Patients did not feel valued by the nurses. Most patients described experiencing unbearable pain during their stay in the orthopaedics ward despite the existence of evidence-based and established guidelines for pain management. The result of this study indicates that there is much to do on a number of levels in the health care system to improve patient involvement in nursing care.


Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus persists in experimentally infected rhesus monkeys in the presence of humoral antibodies. Various dynamics of the humoral response (stable, increasing, decreasing, undulatory titres) have been noted, associated with complete or incomplete set of antibodies. Always present were the virus-neutralizing antibodies, often the complement-fixing antibodies, less frequently precipitating and haemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibodies were found. There was a correlation between the set of antibodies present and the virus-specific antigens expressed; the persisting TBE virus was usually deficient in haemagglutinin synthesis. In cases of asymptomatic infection a more expressed and long-lasting immunity as observed with the persistence of TBE virus in organs of the immune system.


This work aimed to identify as psychic manifestations present in the dissemination of the medium of discourses on social networks, as well as to identify as drives that govern this behavior and to define the mechanisms of defenses involved, including the constitution of the identity of individuals and the behavior in group. The methodology used was a qualitative documentary research, based on a sample of hate speech published in the quarantine period in 2020, on the Ministry of Health's Facebook page. The target audiences for this research were registered on Facebook, literate, with varied education and of both sexes, whose age met the criteria for creating a profile in this network and are therefore over 14 years old. These were analyzed qualitatively from a psychoanalytic perspective, in which the presence of the manifestation of the drive world was found in the messages, as well as the expression of narcissism and the use of defense mechanisms such as denial, projection and rationalization.


Polymyositis in all these three patients was excluded by normal findings on creatine phosphokinase estimation, muscle biopsies, and electromyograms. Our cases suggest that polymyalgia rheumatica, like polymyositis, should be regarded as a marker of malignancy. We agree with Dr Huskisson and his colleagues that poor response of polymyalgia rheumatica to an adequate dose of corticosteroids should alert one to the possibility of an occult neoplasm. FELIX BRUCKNER P J HACKETT


Sketches are highly expressive, inherently capturing subjective and fine-grained visual cues. The exploration of such innate properties of human sketches has, however, been limited to that of image retrieval. In this paper, for the first time, we cultivate the expressiveness of sketches but for the fundamental vision task of object detection. The end result is a sketch-enabled object detection framework that detects based on what you sketch – that "zebra" (e.g., one that is eating the grass) in a herd of zebras (instance-aware detection), and only the part (e.g., "head" of a "zebra") that you desire (part-aware detection). We further dictate that our model works without (i) knowing which category to expect at testing (zero-shot) and (ii) not requiring additional bounding boxes (as per fully supervised) and class labels (as per weakly supervised). Instead of devising a model from the ground up, we show an intuitive synergy between foundation models (e.g., CLIP) and existing sketch models build for sketch-based image retrieval (SBIR), which can already elegantly solve the task – CLIP to provide model generalisation, and SBIR to bridge the (sketch→photo) gap. In particular, we first perform independent prompting on both sketch and photo branches of an SBIR model to build highly generalisable sketch and photo encoders on the back of the generalisation ability of CLIP. We then devise a training paradigm to adapt the learned encoders for object detection, such that the region embeddings of detected boxes are aligned with the sketch and photo embeddings from SBIR. Evaluating our framework on standard object detection datasets like PASCAL-VOC and MS-COCO outperforms both supervised (SOD) and weakly-supervised object detectors (WSOD) on zero-shot setups. Project Page: https://pinakinathc.github.io/sketch-detect


This Essay addresses one of the main issues currently facing the European Community, the problem of discrimination between individuals. Because discrimination on the basis of nationality concerns virtually everybody, this is a sensitive and universal concern. In addition, this Essay examines an area of law in which the applicable law hinges upon the distinction between the terms "at home" and "abroad." I use the expression distinction because not every distinction results in discrimination. Discrimination occurs when a distinction is made between people in comparable situations without sufficient justification. . . . In the Finanzamt Koln-Alstadt v. Roland Schumacker decision and succeeding cases, the Court has attempted to consider international tax law by confirming, for the first time, the distinction between residents and non-residents as it is recognized in tax law. To do justice to the special features of this case and the legal reasoning it introduces, it is necessary first to consider the situation prevailing before the Schumacker judgment. THE JURISPRUDENCE OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE IN TAX MATTERS


Another case in which correlations are critical is calibration of the LIBOR market model either to a set of implied correlations from swaption prices or to a set of estimated correlations from historical rate movements. The problem is that if there are n LIBOR rates under consideration, their correlation matrix will have n dimensions. In this article, Weigel presents a simple technique to reduce the dimensionality of the problem. He shows how the ?method of alternating projections? produces the correlation matrix of rank k


In the last few years, the use of mathematical models in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) processes has become a common way to predict WWTP behaviour. However, mathematical models generally demand advanced input for their implementation that must be evaluated by an extensive data gathering campaign, which cannot always be carried out. This fact, together with the intrinsic complexity of the model structure, leads to model results that may be very uncertain. Quantification of the uncertainty is imperative. However, despite the importance of uncertainty quantification, only a few studies have been carried out in the wastewater treatment field, and those studies only included a few of the sources of model uncertainty. This paper presents an uncertainty assessment of a mathematical model simulating biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal. The uncertainty assessment was conducted according to the Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) methodology. The model was based on Activated-Sludge Models 1 (ASM) and 2 (ASM2). Different approaches can be used for uncertainty analysis. In the present study, the GLUE procedure was employed. The GLUE methodology requires a large number of Monte Carlo simulations in which a random sampling of individual parameters drawn from probability distributions is used to determine a set of parameter values. Using this approach, model reliability was evaluated based on its capacity to globally limit the uncertainty. The method was applied to a full-scale WWTP for which quantity-quality data were gathered.


Recordings in western Tibet of Rayleigh and Love waves at periods less than 70 s from aftershocks of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake cannot be matched by an isotropic velocity model beneath Tibet. These intermediate‐period Rayleigh and Love waves require marked radial anisotropy in the middle crust of Tibet, with the vertically polarized S‐waves propagating more slowly than S‐waves with horizontal polarization. The magnitude of anisotropy inferred using paths entirely within Tibet is slightly greater than that obtained previously from a tomographic inversion of a dataset covering a larger region. Anisotropy in the middle crust likely reflects deformation of the middle crust, and is consistent with the notion of mid‐crustal flow and thinning of the crust.


The joinability of three aluminium alloy sheets using a self-piercing rivet was evaluated from a finite element simulation and experiment. The self-piercing riveting is hopeful as replacement of spot resistance welding generally used for steel sheets, because it is not easy to apply the resistance welding to joining of three aluminium alloy sheets due to the high thermal conductivity. Defects in the riveting are categorized into the penetration through the lower sheet, the necking of the lower sheet and the short overlap of sheets to obtain optimum joining conditions. The penetration and the necking are caused by small total thickness. The short overlap tends to occur as the ratio of lower sheet and total thickness is small. In addition, the cross-tension test was simulated by the finite element method to evaluate the joint strength.


Because of the fierce competition among manufacturers and customers' diverse needs, it is essential for manufacturers to organize virtual organization to enhance their agilities to the market. However, the job-shop scheduling becomes very complex and very difficult in a temporary virtual organization. To achieve a harmonious collaborative engineering environment, a framework of agent-based collaborative job-shop scheduling is proposed and resource conflicts are discussed, and the theory of rough set and fuzzy appraise are applied to mediate these conflicts.


Two-dimensional stellar kinematics of 48 representative elliptical (E) and lenticular (S0) galaxies obtained with the SAURON integral-field spectrograph reveal that early-type galaxies appear in two broad flavours, depending on whether they exhibit clear large-scale rotation or not. We define a new parameter lambda(R) equivalent to / , which involves luminosity-weighted averages over the full two-dimensional kinematic field as a proxy to quantify the observed projected stellar angular momentum per unit mass. We use it as a basis for a new kinematic classification: early-type galaxies are separated into slow and fast rotators, depending on whether they have lambda(R) values within their effective radius R(e) below or above 0.1, respectively. Slow and fast rotators are shown to be physically distinct classes of galaxies, a result which cannot simply be the consequence of a biased viewing angle. Fast rotators tend to be relatively low-luminosity galaxies with M(B) greater than or similar to-20.5. Slow rotators tend to be brighter and more massive galaxies, but are still spread over a wide range of absolute magnitude. Three slow rotators of our sample, among the most massive ones, are consistent with zero rotation. Remarkably, all other slow rotators (besides the atypical case of NGC 4550) contain a large kpc-scale kinematically decoupled core (KDC). All fast rotators (except one galaxy with well-known irregular shells) show well-aligned photometric and kinemetric axes, and small velocity twists, in contrast with most slow rotators which exhibit significant misalignments and velocity twists. These results are supported by a supplement of 18 additional early-type galaxies observed with SAURON. In a companion paper (Paper X), we also show that fast and slow rotators are distinct classes in terms of their orbital distribution. We suggest that gas is a key ingredient in the formation and evolution of fast rotators, and that the slowest rotators are the extreme evolutionary end point reached deep in gravitational potential wells where dissipationless mergers had a major role in the evolution, and for which most of the baryonic angular momentum was expelled outwards. Detailed numerical simulations in a cosmological context are required to understand how to form large-scale KDCs within slow rotators, and more generally to explain the distribution of lambda(R) values within early-type galaxies and the distinction between fast and slow rotators.


This paper is concerned with feedback inhibition of neurotransmitter release by the neurotransmitter itself. We put forward the idea that, similar to multistep biochemical processes, feedback inhibition acts on the initial step in the chain of events that lead to release. Using experimental results carried out on glutamatergic synapses in crayfish, we show that the "first step" hypothesis can account for all experimental results. Our modeling suggests that the biochemical implementation of this inhibition involves the formation of a second messenger, whose production is triggered by binding of transmitter to the autoreceptor. We argue that the autoreceptor is a key part of the release-inducing machinery.


Gating in channels and nanopores plays a key role in regulating flow of ions across membranes. Molecular simulations provide a 'computational microscope' which enables us to examine the physical nature of gating mechanisms at the level of the single channel molecule. Water enclosed within the confines of a nanoscale pore may exhibit unexpected behaviour. In particular, if the molecular surfaces lining the pore are hydrophobic this promotes de-wetting of the pore. De-wetting is observed as stochastic liquid-vapour transitions within a pore, and may lead to functional closure of a pore to the flow of ions and/or water. Such behaviour was first observed in simulations of simple model nanopores and referred to as 'hydrophobic gating'. Simulations of both the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and of TWIK-1 potassium channels (the latter alongside experimental studies) suggest hydrophobic gating may occur in some biological ion channels. Current studies are focused on designing hydrophobic gates into biomimetic nanopores.


Background and the purpose of the study The potential of pectin as a bacterially degradable polysaccharide for colon drug delivery has been demonstrated. Due to the high solubility and swelling properties of pectin in aqueous media, it is frequently used in combination with water insoluble polymers for targeting drugs to the colon. The aim of this study was to evaluate free films containing pectin as a bacterially-degradable polysaccharide in combination with Eudragit RL (ERL) and/or RS (ERS) as a coating formulation for colonic drug delivery. Methods Isolated free films comprising 20% pectin and 80% ERL or ERS and their combination in 1:1 ratio were prepared by casting method. Then, free films were evaluated by water vapor transmission (WVT), swelling and permeability experiments for theophylline and indomethacin in different media. Results Formulations containing ERL exhibited higher WVT, swelling and permeability compared with formulations containing ERS. The permeability of theophylline through free films composed of pectin and eudragit polymers in simulated colonic media was not significantly different from those obtained in other media. However indomethacin free films containing pectin and ERL showed higher permeation in simulated colonic fluid (SCF) compared to the other media. Major conclusion Formulation containing pectin and ERL may be suitable as a coating formulation for colon targeted delivery of drugs of low solubility such as indomethacin.


Due to postglacial uplift, lowlands in Canada, Norway, Sweden and Russia are prone to formation of
highly unstable, sensitive, and leached marine clay (quick clay). Quick-clay failures are dramatic due
to its high water content, resulting in liquefaction. It thus poses a major hazard for society and construction
projects in particular, and knowledge of its extent is of vital importance. Quick-clay assessment
is usually undertaken by geotechnical boreholes having the disadvantage of giving only information
at the borehole location. To overcome this limitation, geophysical ground-based methods like
electrical resistivity tomography have been used successfully. However, when a larger area has to be
investigated, electrical resistivity tomography surveys become costly and time consuming. We show
results from an airborne electromagnetic survey aiming at detection of different clay units for a road
project in southeastern Norway. Airborne electromagnetic data clearly show structures within the
sediment layer that correspond well with results from geotechnical boreholes. While a clear distinction
between clay and quick clay cannot be derived from airborne electromagnetic alone, our study shows
that this method has high-enough resolution and accuracy to map differences in clay units, which can
subsequently be probed at specified locations. Thus, by using airborne electromagnetics to target
borehole locations, the costs for the geotechnical drilling program can be reduced significantly.


Background—Heart failure with preserved left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) is increasingly recognized and usually referred to as diastolic heart failure (DHF). Its pathogenetic mechanism remains unclear, partly because of a lack of myocardial biopsy material. Endomyocardial biopsy samples obtained from DHF patients were therefore analyzed for collagen volume fraction (CVF) and sarcomeric protein composition and compared with control samples. Single cardiomyocytes were isolated from these biopsy samples to assess cellular contractile performance. Methods and Results—DHF patients (n=12) had an LVEF of 71±11%, an LV end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) of 28±4 mm Hg, and no significant coronary artery stenoses. DHF patients had higher CVFs (7.5±4.0%, P<0.05) than did controls (n=8, 3.8±2.0%), and no conspicuous changes in sarcomeric protein composition were detected. Cardiomyocytes, mechanically isolated and treated with Triton X-100 to remove all membranes, were stretched to a sarcomere length of 2.2 &mgr;m and activated with solutions containing varying [Ca2+]. Compared with cardiomyocytes of controls, cardiomyocytes of DHF patients developed a similar total isometric force at maximal [Ca2+], but their resting tension (Fpassive) in the absence of Ca2+ was almost twice as high (6.6±3.0 versus 3.5±1.7 kN/m2, P<0.001). Fpassive and CVF combined yielded stronger correlations with LVEDP than did either alone. Administration of protein kinase A (PKA) to DHF cardiomyocytes lowered Fpassive to control values. Conclusions—DHF patients had stiffer cardiomyocytes, as evident from a higher Fpassive at the same sarcomere length. Together with CVF, Fpassive determined in vivo diastolic LV dysfunction. Correction of this high Fpassive by PKA suggests that reduced phosphorylation of sarcomeric proteins is involved in DHF.


As part of the Modification of Final Judgment (MFJ) that implemented the divestiture of the Bell operating companies (BOCs) from AT&T on January 1, 1984, the BOCs were forbidden to carry telephone calls from one local access and transport area LATA) to another. Although the Telecommunications Act of 1996 superseded the MFJ, it retained the BOCs' interLATA prohibition and established, in section 271, a process - involving each state public utilities commission, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), acting on a state-by-state basis - by which the BOCs could earn regulatory approval to enter the interLATA market within the regions in which they provide local exchange service. As of September 1, 2002, the BOCs had received section 271 authorizations to provide in-region interLATA service in fifteen states. In this Article, we review the origin of section 271. We explain that the FCC and DOJ did not expect that BOC entry would lower prices for interLATA service. Next, we report an empirical analysis designed to estimate the effect that BOC entry has had in New York and Texas, two states where section 271 authorizations has been given. We have three major findings. First, we find that the average consumer received a savings of 8 to 11 percent on the monthly interLATA bill in the states where BOC entry occurred as compared to "control" states where BOC entry had not occurred. Second, we find that competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) gained a substantial increase in cumulative share of the local exchange market in states where BOC entry occurred as compared to the control states. Third, we find that the average consumer experienced no significant change in her local bill in states where BOC entry into interLATA service occurred as compared to the control states. These empirical results suggest that BOC entry in New York and Texas has led to consumer benefits in terms of lower interLATA bills and greater effective choice for local exchange services in those states. We explain how these empirical results are consistent with the economic theory of "double marginalization." Because this economic analysis is not part of the approach that the FCC and the DOJ take with respect to implementing section 271, it is not surprising that these two agencies did not expect price to fall after BOC entry into the interLATA market. Reprinted from Antitrust Law Journal, vol. 70, no. 2, pp. 463-484 (2002), a publication of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law.


Internet of Things (IoT) has been grown rapidly over the last years to connect a considerable number of spatially distributed objects or actuators. The connected objects create new functionality and provide various services to enhance and satisfy End-users daily lives. The issue is to provide the End-users with optimal services based on their requirements. The critical challenge is to select the optimal service from similar services functionally and various services non-functionality requirements (Quality of services). To achieve this challenge, this paper proposed a services selection model under QoS constraints in the IoT environment. The introduced model implements a meta-heuristic optimization algorithm with a friendly Likert scale measurement method. It aims to improve the performance of bio-inspired optimizing algorithms, called a Social Spider Optimization (SSO) Algorithm, by adding a reputation value to member's weight. The proposed model used a Likert scale measurement to evaluate the reputation of the services from the End-users. In the experiments, a comparative study was done between an original SSO and the proposed RI-SSO model. The results show the efficiency of the proposed RI-SSO model against the original SSO, in both maximization and minimization problems. It obtains a better outperform in terms of fitness values.


BACKGROUND
During the last few decades much effort has been invested into lowering smoking rates due to its heavy burden on the population's health and on costs for the health care services.

OBJECTIVES
To compare trends in smoking rates between adult Arab men and Jewish men and women during 2000-2008.

METHODS
Six random telephone surveys were conducted by the Israel Center for Disease Control in 2000-2008 to investigate smoking rates. The number of respondents was 24,976 Jewish men and women and 2564 Arab men. The percent of respondents reporting being current smokers was calculated for each population group (Jews and Arabs) by age, gender and education, and were studied in relation to time.

RESULTS
Among Jewish men aged 21-64 smoking declined during 2000-2008 by about 3.5%. In the 21-44 age group this decline occurred only among respondents with an academic education. Among Jewish women this decline also occurred at ages 21-64, and in the 45-64 age group this decline was due only to a decline in smoking among those with an academic education. Among Arab men aged 21-64 an increase in smoking rates of about 6.5% was observed among both educated and less educated respondents.

CONCLUSIONS
Smoking prevalence is declining in Israel among Jews, but not among Arab men. The larger decrease in smoking rates among academics will, in the future, add to the inequalities in health between the lower and higher socioeconomic status groups and between Arabs and Jews. This calls for tailored interventions among the less educated Jews and all Arab men.


Abstract The original structure determination of asisite, nominally Pb7SiO8Cl2, has been re-evaluated in the light of electron-diffraction data (TEM) on the original sample material. Electron diffraction patterns indicate a super-structure based upon a metrically tetragonal 26-cation-site super-sheet motif (14614623 Å ). Given the strong ordering of elements substituting for Pb in closely-related litharge-based oxychlorides (parkinsonite, symesite, kombatite, schwartzembergite), the asisite superstructure is inferred to be due to strong ordering of Si within the PbO sheet. The original chemical analyses of asisite given by Rouse et al. (1988) are shown to be consistent with such a super-structure, which has a 12Pb:1Si cation ratio. A new formula for asisite is proposed that is based upon this superstructure: Pb12(SiO4)O8Cl4 (Z = 8). The structure of asisite determined by Rouse et al. (1988) is that of the average Pb/Si-disordered tetragonal sub-cell (I4/mmm: 4×4×23 Å ) and belies the highly ordered real state. The structure of the tetragonal sub-cell has been re-determined here: R = 5.6% for 178 unique Fo> 4σFo and an anisotropic model. A significantly reduced 72% occupancy of the Pb(2) site was found that implies the nominal formula Pb7SiO8Cl2, thus confirming the findings of Rouse et al. (1988). Comparisons with kombatite and symesite support the assignment of Si to Pb(2) and imply that Si in asisite is also likely to be in tetrahedral coordination, with the apical oxygen cross-linking PbO sheets. However, because most of the key information relating to the location of Si is provided by the super-lattice reflections, the inability of X-ray diffraction to register these reflections introduces a significant ambiguity into the interpretation of Pb/Si ordering behaviour in this mineral.


Abstract. The effects of the increase of body weight of contemporary broilers during growth on functional meat quality and color characteristics of the chicken breast muscle are controversially debated. Therefore, male chickens (n = 264) of a fast-growing commercial broiler (Ross 308) and two slow-growing experimental meat-type chicken lines were compared at equal age and at similar body weight in order to investigate the effect of growth rate on selected functional breast meat traits and meat color. Additionally, the breast meat characteristics of birds with different growth profiles were compared within lines. When the body weight of commercial broilers reached about 40 to 60 % of their growth potential, they exhibited particularly high ultimate pH values compared with slow-growing lines. The ability of the meat of fast-growing broilers to retain water during cooking was impaired (5 to 16 percentage points increased cooking loss compared to slow-growing lines), which, in contrast to pH, was only marginally affected by body weight and/or age at slaughter. No unfavorable correlations of breast meat quality traits with the growth profile, represented by growth curve parameters derived from the Gompertz–Laird equation, were detected within any of the investigated chicken lines. It is noteworthy that the associations of ultimate pH and cooking loss with maximum growth speed indicate a non-linear relationship. Thus, some of the functional characteristics of breast meat of the fast-growing broiler resembled the white-striping defect described for poultry meat, but the hypothesis that selection on increased growth rates is detrimental for meat quality per se could not be confirmed. In fact, an elevated growth potential in particular, i.e., body weight at maturity, could have some beneficial effects for the water-holding capacity of breast meat, regardless of the genotypic growth rate.


Plant roots explore the soil for water and nutrients, thereby determining plant fitness and agricultural yield, as well as determining ground substructure, water levels, and global carbon sequestration. The colonization of the soil requires investment of carbon and energy, but how sugar and energy signaling are integrated with root branching is unknown. Here, we show through combined genetic and chemical modulation of signaling pathways that the sugar small-molecule signal, trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) regulates root branching through master kinases SNF1-related kinase-1 (SnRK1) and Target of Rapamycin (TOR) and with the involvement of the plant hormone auxin. Increase of T6P levels both via genetic targeting in lateral root (LR) founder cells and through light-activated release of the presignaling T6P-precursor reveals that T6P increases root branching through coordinated inhibition of SnRK1 and activation of TOR. Auxin, the master regulator of LR formation, impacts this T6P function by transcriptionally down-regulating the T6P-degrader trehalose phosphate phosphatase B in LR cells. Our results reveal a regulatory energy-balance network for LR formation that links the 'sugar signal' T6P to both SnRK1 and TOR downstream of auxin.


This paper investigates improving lightly supervised acoustic model training for an archive of broadcast data. Standard lightly supervised training uses automatically derived decoding hypotheses using a biased language model. However, as the actual speech can deviate significantly from the original programme scripts that are supplied, the quality of standard lightly supervised hypotheses can be poor. To address this issue, word and segment level combination approaches are used between the lightly supervised transcripts and the original programme scripts which yield improved transcriptions. Experimental results show that systems trained using these improved transcriptions consistently outperform those trained using only the original lightly supervised decoding hypotheses. This is shown to be the case for both the maximum likelihood and minimum phone error trained systems. Index Terms: lightly supervised training, speech recognition, confidence scores


Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) have proven to be effective gene transfer vectors. However, our understanding of how the host cell environment influences AAV transduction is still evolving. In the present study, we investigated the role of ATP2C1, which encodes a membrane calcium transport pump, SPCA1, essential for maintaining cellular calcium homeostasis on AAV transduction. Our results indicate that cellular calcium is essential for efficient intracellular trafficking and conformational changes in the AAV capsid that support efficient genome transcription. Further, we show that pharmacological modulation of cellular calcium levels can potentially be applied to improve the AAV gene transfer efficiency. ABSTRACT Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) are dependoparvoviruses that have proven useful for therapeutic gene transfer; however, our understanding of host factors that influence AAV trafficking and transduction is still evolving. Here, we investigated the role of cellular calcium in the AAV infectious pathway. First, we demonstrated a critical role for the host Golgi compartment-resident ATP-powered calcium pump (secretory pathway calcium ATPase 1 [SPCA1]) encoded by the ATP2C1 gene in AAV infection. CRISPR-based knockout (KO) of ATP2C1 decreases transduction by different AAV serotypes. ATP2C1 KO does not appear to inhibit AAV binding, cellular uptake, or nuclear entry; however, capsids within ATP2C1 KO cells demonstrate dispersed and punctate trafficking distinct from the perinuclear, trans-Golgi pattern observed in normal cells. In addition, we observed a defect in the ability of AAV capsids to undergo conformational changes and support efficient vector genome transcription in ATP2C1 KO cells. The calcium chelator BAPTA-AM, which reduces cytosolic calcium, rescues the defective ATP2C1 KO phenotype and AAV transduction in vitro. Conversely, the calcium ionophore ionomycin, which disrupts calcium gradients, blocks AAV transduction. Further, we demonstrated that modulating calcium in the murine brain using BAPTA-AM augments AAV gene expression in vivo. Taking these data together, we postulate that the maintenance of an intracellular calcium gradient by the calcium ATPase and processing within the Golgi compartment are essential for priming the capsid to support efficient AAV genome transcription. IMPORTANCE Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) have proven to be effective gene transfer vectors. However, our understanding of how the host cell environment influences AAV transduction is still evolving. In the present study, we investigated the role of ATP2C1, which encodes a membrane calcium transport pump, SPCA1, essential for maintaining cellular calcium homeostasis on AAV transduction. Our results indicate that cellular calcium is essential for efficient intracellular trafficking and conformational changes in the AAV capsid that support efficient genome transcription. Further, we show that pharmacological modulation of cellular calcium levels can potentially be applied to improve the AAV gene transfer efficiency.


Shallow coastal soft bottoms are important carbon sinks. Submerged vegetation has been shown to sequester carbon, increase sedimentary organic carbon (Corg) and thus suppress greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The ongoing regression of seagrass cover in many areas of the world can therefore lead to accelerated emission of GHGs. In Nordic waters, seagrass meadows have a high capacity for carbon storage, with some areas being recognized as blue carbon hotspots. To what extent these carbon stocks lead to emission of methane (CH4) is not yet known. We investigated benthic CH4 emission (i.e., net release from the sediment) in relation to seagrass (i.e. Zostera marina) cover and sedimentary Corg content (%) during the warm summer period (when emissions are likely to be highest). Methane exchange was measured in situ with benthic chambers at nine sites distributed in three regions along a salinity gradient from ∼6 in the Baltic Sea (Finland) to ∼20 in Kattegat (Denmark) and ∼26 in Skagerrak (Sweden). The net release of CH4 from seagrass sediments and adjacent unvegetated areas was generally low compared to other coastal habitats in the region (such as mussel banks and wetlands) and to other seagrass areas worldwide. The lowest net release was found in Finland. We found a positive relationship between CH4 net release and sedimentary Corg content in both seagrass meadows and unvegetated areas, whereas no clear relationship between seagrass cover and CH4 net release was observed. Overall, the data suggest that Nordic Zostera marina meadows release average levels of CH4 ranging from 0.3 to 3.0 μg CH4 m–2 h–1, which is at least 12–78 times lower (CO2 equivalents) than their carbon accumulation rates previously estimated from seagrass meadows in the region, thereby not hampering their role as carbon sinks. Thus, the relatively weak CH4 emissions from Nordic Z. marina meadows will not outweigh their importance as carbon sinks under present environmental conditions.


To explore the full potential of Quantum-inspired Evolutionary Algorithms (QEA) in multiobjective design optimizations, a vector QEA is proposed. To fulfill the two ultimate goals of a vector optimizer in finding and uniformly sampling the Pareto front of a multi-objective inverse problem, a fitness assignment formula to consider the number of improvements in the whole objective functions and the amount of the improvement in a specified objective function, as well as the use of a selection mechanism in choosing the so far searched best solutions, are proposed in this paper. The information sharing and the increment angle updating components of the scalar QEA have also been redesigned according to the characteristics of multi-objective inverse problems. Numerical results on two case studies are presented to validate the proposed vector QEA.


In this study, we define a new summer monsoon index for Vietnam region (VSMI) by averaging 850hPa zonal wind (U850hPa) over the area of 5-15oN and 100-110oE using the 1981-2010 CFSR reanalysis data. The evaluation results show that VSMI index can reflect well the interannual variability of both low and high broad-scale circulation of the summer monsoon. On the intraseasonal timescale, the pentad-to-pentad VSMI index has a close relationship to the local summer monsoon rainfall observed. The correlation coefficients between VSMI index and rainfall are at 95% confidence level and show clearly effects of summer monsoon on the local rainfall due to terrain. The comparison results among three indices show that the VSMI index is the most suitable index in the term of describing summer monsoon for Vietnam region. In addition, features of summer monsoon as intensity, onset and withdrawal date as well as break event can be defined by the VSMI index.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.31276/VJSTE.60(1).90


Diffusion processes taking place in social networks are used to model a number of phenomena, such as the spread of human or computer viruses, and the adoption of products in viral marketing campaigns. It is generally difficult to obtain accurate information about how such spreads actually occur, so a variety of stochastic diffusion models are used to simulate spreading processes in networks instead. We show that a canonical genetic algorithm with a spatially distributed population, when paired with specific forms of Holland's synthetic hyperplane-defined objective functions, can simulate a large and rich class of diffusion models for social networks. These include standard diffusion models, such as the Independent Cascade and Competing Processes models. In addition, our Genetic Algorithm Diffusion Model (GADM) can also model complex phenomena such as information diffusion. We demonstrate an application of the GADM to modeling information flow in a large, dynamic social network derived from e-mail headers.


The IMS is being introduced by the 3GPP as part of the third generation mobile system to provide multimedia services to the wireless users. The session initiation protocol (SIP) has been chosen by 3GPP as the call control protocol within IMS. This paper describes a modelling tool developed in Fujitsu Laboratories for an IP mobile operator network (also called reference network), based on the 3GPP standard. The objectives of the tool are: to perform system dimensioning to determine the number of physical entities required to support different traffic scenarios based on the number of subscribers and number of calls/sessions and to assess the performance impacts for different service control scenarios such as home network based control as in 3GPP standard or visited network based control as a possible network evolution. The tool is implemented in Excel and incorporates a traffic model, a SIP server model, a functional model, and a system model based on the estimated user activity. The tool also provides the flexibility to allow investigations of the impact of different control scenarios and the impact of parameters on the SIP servers. In addition, the tool also has the flexibility to study the effect of moving functionalities between the different IMS entities. This paper provides an overview of the modelling tool. A brief description of the traffic model is provided. Then the SIP server model, the functional model, and the system model are introduced.. Finally, the simulation scenarios, home based control and visited based control, and their corresponding results on IMS dimensioning and performance analysis are presented.


&NA; Because of the effect on hindfoot kinematics, missed or delayed diagnosis of peritalar injuries often results in impairment. The seemingly innocuous nature of these injuries, subtle radiographic findings, and low incidence limit familiarity, thereby increasing the likelihood of misdiagnosis. Because of delay in diagnosis, salvage arthrodesis may be necessary to restore function to the extremity. Talar head fracture, talar process fracture, subtalar fracturedislocation, transverse tarsal joint fracture, and transverse tarsal ligamentous disruption with instability are recurrently misdiagnosed. The keys to proper diagnosis of these potentially devastating injuries are the recognition of their existence, their injury patterns, and their radiographic appearance. The threshold for additional imaging studies should be lowered when a patient has pain and physical examination findings are out of proportion to a provisional diagnosis, or when symptoms fail to improve.


Puspa (Schima wallichii (DC.) Korth.) is a type of plant that dominates the area of Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, especially at Kawah Ratu Resort. Puspa type is one of the upland plant species that can grow in critical land. The objective of this study is to identify the distribution pattern and the potential for regeneration of puspa species (Schima wallichii (DC.) Korth.) at Kawah Ratu Resort, Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, West Java. Data were collected by analyzing vegetation with a single plot method covering an area of 1 hectare at each location. The research was conducted in the Pamengpeuk Block and the Leles Block. The species found in the two research locations were 98 species. The results showed that the distribution pattern of puspa was clustered, both in the Pamengpeuk block and in the Leles block. A clustered spread indicates good youth growth. The ability of puspa regeneration in both locations was quite good because the number of puspa regeneration individuals was more than the individual trees.
Keywords: distribution, Gunung Halimun Salak National Park, Kawah Ratu Resort,puspa, Schima wallichii


Microsoft Windows Azure Cloud offers scalable resources to its customers. The price for renting the resources is linear, i.e. the customer pays exactly double price for double resources. However, not always all offered resources of virtual machine instances are most suitable for the customers. Some problems are memory demanding, others are compute intensive or even cache intensive. The same amount of resources offered by the cloud can be rented and utilized differently to speedup the computation. One way is to use techniques for parallelization on instances with more resources. Other way is to spread the job among several instances of virtual machine with less resources. In this paper we analyze which is the best way to scale the resources to speedup the calculations and obtain best performance for the same amount of money needed to rent those resources in the cloud.