The turn-to-turn short is one major fault of the motor faults of BLDC motors and can appear frequently. When the fault happens, the motor can be operated without breakdown, but it is necessary to maintain the motor for continuous working. In past research, several methods have been applied to detect winding faults. The representative approaches have been focusing on current signals, which can give important information to extract features and to detect faults. In this study, current sensors were installed to measure signals for fault detection of BLDC motors. In this study, the Park's vector method was used to extract the features and to isolate the faults from the current measured by sensors. Because this method can consider the three-phase current values, it is useful to detect features from one-phase and three-phase faults. After extracting two-dimensional features, the final feature was generated by using the two-dimensional values using the distance equation. The values were used in fuzzy similarity to isolate the faults. Fuzzy similarity is an available tool to diagnose the fault without model generation and the fault was converted to the percentage value that can be considered as possibility of the fault.


The 3 subtype of adrenaline and noradrenaline receptors has now been extensively characterized at the structural and functional levels. Ligand binding and adenylyl cyclase activation studies helped define a -adrenergic profile that is quite distinct from that of the 1-and2-adrenergic receptors, but strongly reminiscent of most of the "atypical" responses reported in earlier pharmacologic studies. Human, other large mammal, and rodent receptors share most of the characteristic 3 properties, although obvious species-specific differences have been identified. Recently, the incidence of a naturally occurring variant of the human 3-adrenergic receptor was shown to be correlated with hereditary obesity in Pima Indians and in Japanese individuals, and in Western obese patients with increased dynamic capacity to add on weight and develop non‐insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). A mild weight increase was also shown to develop in female, but not male, mice in which the3 receptor gene was disrupted. Taken together, these results now provide a consistent picture of an important role of the3-adrenoceptor in the regulation of lipid metabolism and as an obvious target for drugs to treat some forms of obesity.


The paper deals with the development of a visual analytics tool based on Yandex.Maps. The necessity to use geo services for energy research, in particular, in studying critical infrastructures with the help of visual analytics, is illustrated. Consideration is given to the specific features of geo services including their multilayer, multiscale and multiangular nature. The design of a new visual analytics tool based on Yandex.Maps is described. An important aspect of this development is the ability to import KML files. The implementation of the new tool prototype is demonstrated with a specific task.  The additional possibilities of this tool are considered. The developed tool of visual analytics can serve as a decision support tool for analytical and predictive research in the energy sector to assess both the current state of the energy infrastructure and the conditions for the adoption of a potential development option.


"You Better Eat to Survive!" is a two-player virtual reality game that involves eating real food to survive and ultimately escape from a virtual island. Eating is sensed through capturing chewing sounds via a low-cost microphone solution. Unlike most VR games that stimulate mostly our visual and auditory senses, "You Better Eat to Survive!" makes a novel contribution by integrating the gustatory sense not just as an additional game input, but as an integral element to the game experience: we use the fact that with head-mounted displays, players cannot see what they are eating and have to entrust a second player outside the VR experience to provide them with sufficient food and feeding him/her. With "You Better Eat to Survive!", we aim to demonstrate that eating can be an intriguing interaction technique to enrich virtual reality experiences while offering complementary benefits of social interactions around food.


The identifiability of reduced form econometric models with variable coefficients is investigated using the control theoretic concepts of uniform complete observability and uniform complete controllability. First, a variant of the state space representation of the traditional reduced form is introduced which transcribes the underlying non-stationary estimation problem into one particularly suited to a Kalman filtering solution. Using such a formulation, observability and controllability can be called upon to obtain a necessary and sufficient condition for identification of the specific parameterization. The results so obtained are completely analogous to those already established in the econometric literature, namely, that the parameters of the reduced form are always identified subject to the absence of multicollinearity(referred to as "persistent excitation" in the control literature). How-ever, now the multicollinearity condition is seen to depend on the structure of the parameter variations as well as the statistical nature of the explanatory variables. The verification of identifiability thus reduces to a check for uniform complete observability which can always be affected in econometric applications. Some consistency results are also presented which derive from the above approach.


The concepts, language and methods of complexity theory have been slowly making their way into international relations (IR), as scholars explore their potential for extending our understanding of the dynamics of international politics. In this article we examine the progress made so far and map the existing debates within IR that are liable to being significantly reconfigured by the conceptual resources of complexity. We consider the various ontological, epistemological and methodological questions raised by complexity theory and its attendant worldview. The article concludes that, beyond metaphor and computational models, the greatest promise of complexity is a reinvigoration of systems thinking that eschews the flaws and limitations of previous instantiations of systems theory and offers an array of conceptual tools apposite to analysing international politics in the twenty-first century.


Resistive random-access memory (RRAM)-based in-memory computing (IMC) architectures offer an energy-efficient solution for DNN acceleration. However, the performance of RRAM-based IMC is limited by device nonidealities, ADC precision, and algorithm properties. To address this, in this work, first, we perform statistical characterization of RRAM device variation and temporal degradation from 300mm wafers of a fully integrated CMOS/RRAM 1T1R test chip at 65nm. Through this, we build a realistic foundation to assess the robustness. Second, we develop a cross-layer simulation tool that incorporates device, circuit, architecture, and algorithm properties under a single roof for system evaluation. Finally, we propose a novel loss landscape-based DNN model selection for stability, which effectively tolerates device variations and achieves a post-mapping accuracy higher than that with 50% lower RRAM variations. We demonstrate the proposed method for different DNNs on both CIFAR-10 and CIFAR-100 datasets.


Abstract Experiments in psychology or education often use logistic regression models (LRMs) when analyzing binary outcomes. However, a challenge with LRMs is that results are generally difficult to understand. We present alternatives to LRMs in the analysis of experiments and discuss the linear probability model, the log-binomial model, and the modified Poisson regression model. A Monte Carlo simulation assessed bias in point estimates and standard errors as well as power and Type I error rates of the different methods. Findings show that the linear probability and the modified Poisson regression models are valid, unbiased, and in some cases, better alternatives to the LRM when the predictor of interest is a binary variable. An applied example is provided as well.


The voltage source converter (VSC) of the grid connected photovoltaic (PV) systems is the most technological component in a PV system and contributes to 5-15% of the whole investment. As the cost and energy efficiency of a VSC are two factors that determine the total system economics, the system total cost of ownership (TCO) should be optimized during the VSC design. This paper provides a design methodology for grid connected VSCs considering TCO, the return on investment (ROI) and payback period (PP) as the basic criterion for optimization. In the design, since power electronics is entering the wide-bandgap device technology age, higher efficiency and faster wide bandgap devices are also weighed along with the silicon IGBT (Si-IGBT) technology. In the paper, the power module, passives (LCL filter) and heatsink are designed and compared with the conventional design as reference. The comparative and progressive design study of a 1-MW PV power plant with 30-kW string PV converters demonstrates the advantages of design with wide bandgap devices. The investigation is conveyed via theory, analytical methods, and experiments.


VISUAL loss after nonocular surgery is a rare but devastating perioperative complication. It has been documented in a wide variety of procedures, the most common of which are cardiopulmonary bypass, head and neck operations, and prone spine operations. Ischemic optic neuropathy is the most common diagnosis in these cases. Factors believed to be associated with its occurrence are large intraoperative blood loss, long duration in the prone position, and intraoperative hypotension and anemia. We present a case of unilateral posterior ischemic optic neuropathy occurring after an uneventful prone lumbar spine operation in a relatively healthy man who did not have decreased blood pressure and hematocrit perioperatively.


Joule-Thomson cooling systems are used in refrigeration and liquefaction processes. There are extensive studies on Joule-Thomson cryogenic systems, but most of them coverage steady state conditions or lack from experimental data. In the present work, transient thermal behavior of Joule-Thomson cooling system including counter current helically coiled tube in tube heat exchanger, expansion valve, and collector was studied by experimental tests and simulations. The experiments were carried out by small gas liquefier and nitrogen gas as working fluid. The recuperative heat exchanger was thermally analyzed by experimental data obtained from gas liquefier. In addition, the simulations were performed by an innovative method using experimental data as variable boundary conditions. A comparison was done between presented and conventional methods. The effect of collector mass and convection heat transfer coefficient was also studied using temperature profiles along the heat exchanger. The higher convection heat transfer coefficient in low-pressure gas leads to increase in exchanging energy between two streams and faster cooling of heat exchanger materials, but the higher convection heat transfer coefficient in high-pressure gas does not influence on cool-down process.


[1] Influences of distant earthquakes on volcanic systems by dynamic stress transfer are well documented. We analyzed seismic signals and volcanic activity at Mount Etna during two periods, January 2006 and May 2008, that clearly showed variations coincident with distant earthquakes. In the first period, characterized by mild volcano activity, the effect of the dynamic stress transfer, caused by an earthquake in Greece (M = 6.8), was twofold: (1) banded tremor activity changed its features and almost disappeared; (2) a swarm of volcano-tectonic (VT) earthquakes took place. The changes of the banded tremor were likely due to variations in rock permeability, caused by fluid flows driven by dynamic strain. The VT earthquake swarm probably developed as a secondary process, promoted by the dynamically triggered activation of magmatic fluids. The second period, May 2008, showed an intense explosive activity. During this interval, the dynamic stress transfer, associated with the arrival of the seismic waves of the Sichuan earthquake (M = 7.9), affected the character of the seismo-volcanic signals and on the following day triggered an eruption. In particular, we observed changes in volcanic tremor and increases of both occurrence rate and energy of long period events. In this case, we suggest that dynamic stress transfer caused nucleation of new bubbles in volatile-rich magma bodies with consequent buildup of pressure, highlighted by the increase of long period activity, followed by the occurrence of an eruption. We conclude that stresses from distant earthquakes are capable of modifying the state of the volcano.


As a cornerstone subject for all undergraduate engineering degree programs, mechanics is best taught from fundamental principles and by reinforcing students' learning through active learning strategies. This approach provides students with a solid understanding of basic concepts before they subsequently study more advanced topics such as applied dynamics, mechanics of solids & structures, and mechanics of fluids. MEEN10030, Mechanics for Engineers, is a compulsory course taught annually in Semester I to 280 First Year engineering students at University College Dublin, Ireland's largest university. The syllabus topics include forces, Newton's laws of motion, statics in two and three dimensions, equilibrium, friction, trusses and cables, distributed forces, centers of mass and centroids, motion, and kinematics of a particle and of a rigid body. Traditional teaching of this subject relies solely on formal lectures and tutorials, without any laboratory sessions or student assignments, both of which are resource intensive. Following an overall program review in 2004-05, this course was completely revised and the subject material was rationalized with regard to what is taught in subsequent 2nd year courses. A major innovation involved providing team-based assignments to the entire 280 students in which groups of up to 5 students are set a design competition directly related to one specific topic from the course material. Competitions have been held for the past two years, with very satisfactory outcomes in terms of not only their application of concepts learned in the course, but also in terms of reinforcing soft skills essential for a satisfactory and successful engineering career.


Author(s): Sharim, Yehuda | Advisor(s): Nabokov, Peter; Myers, David N. | Abstract: "The Struggle for Sephardic-Mizrahi Autonomy" chronicles the creation of a Sephardic-Mizrahi identity-literally, "Oriental" Jews-uncovering the ways that political and racial factors contributed to the emergence of this identity. My inquiry draws from an extensive body of archives located in Israel, New York, and Los Angeles. I have investigated immigration records of the Jewish community in Palestine from the 1920s, protocols of Sephardic-Mizrahi organizations and letters, and journalistic pieces to chart the crystallization of a unified Sephardic-Mizrahi entity by 1918, the organizational forms it took in the 1920s, and the way in which it became the subject of careful scholarly scrutiny in the 1930s and 1940s.In tandem with tracing the political strengthening of the Sephardic-Mizrahi federation, my dissertation throws into sharp relief the multiple studies undertaken by Jewish social scientists and medical professionals in the mid-1930s and into the 1940s. These studies invariably concluded that Sephardim-Mizrahim were intellectually impaired and predisposed to criminality, ascribing their imputed inferiority to biological differences. Ironically, Sephardic-Mizrahi leaders not only accepted such "scientific evidence" of their inferiority, but also leveraged this imposed racialized identity to highlight their invisible histories and marginal status. Previous scholarship has theorized Sephardim-Mizrahim ahistorically within a framework of passivity and victimization. My work, by contrast, identifies narratives of Sephardic-Mizrahi agency. By such agency, however, I am referring to the complicity of Sephardic-Mizrahi leaders in reifying racial hierarchies, which enlarged the trope of "Oriental backwardness" beyond Sephardim-Mizrahim to include Palestinian-Arabs as a national "problem" in the formative years leading up to the creation of the Israeli State.The first chapter delineates the separate chronologies of the Sephardic and Mizrahi ethnic categories, as well as the political context in the Yishuv under which Sephardic leaders were interested in conflating the two terms and their histories. This chapter explores the role of this leadership in attempting to unify the varied Sephardic and Mediterranean communities into an independent political and economic entity in the 1910s. The second chapter focuses on the folkloristic, literary, and scientific work of three self-identified Sephardic-Mizrahi leaders. It charts their contribution to the emergence of Sephardic-Mizrahi institutions in the 1920s that gradually turned a porous understanding of Sephardim-Mizrahim into a standardized ethnic identity carefully catalogued in immigration records and demographic surveys in the Yishuv. The third chapter explores the political context and tensions that led Sephardic-Mizrahi community leaders to establish a global federation with its own economic and settler network by 1925, independent from the Zionist Organization. The chapter contends that Sephardic-Mizrahi leaders chose to mobilize and capitalize on their "Oriental" identity by reaching out to Diasporic communities abroad. The fourth chapter considers the consistent exclusion of Sephardic-Mizrahi leaders from the Ashkenazi-dominated Zionist Organization, which drove Sephardic-Mizrahi leaders to strategically leverage the resulting isolation. This sense of alienation had two effects. On the one hand, it further extended their own economic and settler network to resist their subjugation. On the other hand, it promoted the internalization of inferiority. The final chapter traces the work of Israeli social scientists from such disciplines as anthropology and education conducted in the 1940s and 1950s, and the impact of their studies concerning a Sephardic-Mizrahi biological "type," associated with irreparable intellectual inferiority and criminalization.


Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) is the key technique for wafer global planarization. However, the characteristic of abrasive particle, including particle size and grain/grain collision elasticity, plays an important role in CMP process. This investigation analyzes the slurry flow between the wafer and pad using a grain flow model with partial hydrodynamic lubrication theory. This model predicts the film thickness and remove rate of the slurry flow under a variety of the CMP parameters including load, rotation speed, pad roughness, grain/grain collision elasticity and grain size. The theoretical results compare well with the previous experiment data. This study elucidates the grain characteristics during CMP process. It also contributes to the understanding of abrasive particle effects in the chemical mechanical polishing mechanism.


A naturally occurring cardiomyopathy (round heart disease) which is potentiated by inbreeding and a cardiomyopathy produced by furazolidone, a nitrofuran derivative, were studied for an associated alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency in two flocks of turkeys (one inbred for round heart disease and a commercial flock). At 4 weeks of age, the furazolidone-fed birds of both flocks demonstrated a marked increase in mortality and cardiac dilatation associated with disordered hepatic metabolism when compared with controls. Although PAS-positive, diastase-resistant globules were observed in the livers of both strains of turkeys fed furazolidone, these globules were present in lysosomes and not in the rough endoplasmic reticulum as in alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency. The control inbred birds with round heart disease did not demonstrate histologic or biochemical evidence of an alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency. It is proposed that furazolidone in the turkey produces primary hepatic damage that is reflected in lowered total serum proteins, including trypsin inhibitory capacity, and that the alterations produced by furazolidone are superimposed on round heart disease in the inbred flock.


Large-scale over-thrusting and regional extension are both known to have been operative within the Shuswap metamorphic terrane of the southern Omineca belt. The Monashee core complex of the northern Shuswap terrane is interpreted to be a crustal-scale duplex that was developed during late Mesozoic shortening and thickening of the crust. Uplift of the Monashee complex, caused by basement duplexing, is estimated to have been in excess of 25 km. Late Cretaceous overthrusting of high-grade metamorphic and related plutonic rocks, during later stages of uplift and basement duplexing, led to weakening of the crust and to gravitationally driven extension of a regional crustal welt (Shuswap culmination). Denudation and spreading of this uplifted metamorphic terrane are attributed to displacements across listric-normal shear zones and faults localized along the outward-dipping flanks of the Shuswap culmination. Total extension across the Shuswap culmination at the northern end of the Monashee complex is estimated to be no greater than 30%. This model of denudation and gravity-induced spreading is extrapolated southward into the Valhalla and Okanagan regions, where extension may be far more significant.


ABSTRACT As part of our studies on glycolipidic liquid crystals, we have investigated some molecules comprising a steroid moiety. These systems can exhibit several types of structures depending on their polarity pattern based on the number of polar and non-polar moieties and their resulting molecular shape. Therefore, to aid describing such systems, we have proposed a specific classification based on this polarity pattern. Many compounds in this family are natural products, which possess important biological properties. Some of the compounds have bolaphilic structures, with both a steroid and a fatty alkyl chain attached to the carbohydrate moiety, such as either the β-galactoside BbGL-1 or the α-glucoside α-CAG that are found in the membranes of the pathogens Borrelia burgdorferi and Helicobacter pylori, respectively. In this account, after a brief introduction on liquid crystalline glycolipids, we focus on carbohydrate–steroid hybrids, summarising our previous work on glycosteroids prepared by the CMGL-synthon strategy, and reporting our preliminary results on the thermotropic behaviour of acyl steroid glycosides (ASG), namely cholesteryl 6-O-acyl-β-gluco- and -galacto-pyranosides. Graphical Abstract


PURPOSE: To compare the rates of enhancement and changes in lesion burden in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and varying levels of disability. METHODS: Monthly enhanced MR images of the brain were obtained for 6 months from seven patients with mildly disabling relapsingremitting MS and from seven patients with secondary progressive MS and severe disability. At entry and 1 year later, two unenhanced T2-weighted images of the brain were also obtained. RESULTS: Despite the fact that both groups had clinically active disease and had similar increases in unenhanced MR lesion load, the total number of enhancing lesions was 239 in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (42 on the baseline images, 151 new, and 46 persistent during follow-up) (average number of lesions per patient per year was 68) and 21 in those with secondary progressive MS (five on the baseline images, 13 new, and three persistent during follow-up) (average number of lesions per patient per year was seven). CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that the rate of enhancement significantly decreases in the more advanced phases of MS. This is important when planning clinical trials, and suggests that mechanisms underlying lesion formation might be dissimilar in different MS patient groups.


The job demand-control model (including its extension to the job-demand-control-support model) cannot predict gains in productivity, consequent to the adoption of its guidelines for good jobs. The model gains in strength and credibility if productivity considerations are taken into consideration. In this paper, it is argued that the productivity measurement and enhancement system (ProMES) is a good candidate for filling the gap, and the job control questionnaire should be adapted accordingly. It can work both ways. The ProMES is relatively underdeveloped, especially regarding its "contingencies", in pinpointing which contingencies can be manipulated and with what consequences to the jobs at hand. Some contingencies may offer solutions with short-term advantages and long-term disadvantages. As it stands, the model is silent about such effects. Much can be learned from the conceptual and empirical results and strongholds of the job demand-control model. A "win-win situation" if ever there was one.


Calorimetry has been recommended and performed in proton beams for some time, but never has graphite calorimetry been used as a reference dosimeter in clinical proton beams. Furthermore, only a few calorimetry measurements have been reported in ocular proton beams. In this paper we describe the construction and performance of a small-body portable graphite calorimeter for clinical low-energy proton beams. Perturbation correction factors for the gap effect, volume averaging effect, heat transfer phenomena and impurity effect are calculated and applied in a comparison with ionization chamber dosimetry following IAEA TRS-398. The ratio of absorbed dose to water obtained from the calorimeter measurements and from the ionization measurements varied between 0.983 and 1.019, depending on the beam type and the ionization chamber calibration modality. Standard uncertainties on these values varied between 1.9% and 2.5% including a substantial contribution from the kQ values in IAEA TRS-398. The (Wair/e)p values inferred from these measurements varied between 33.6 J C(-1) and 34.9 J C(-1) with similar standard uncertainties. A number of improvements for the small-body portable graphite calorimeter and the experimental set-up are suggested for potential reduction of the uncertainties.


This study analyzes the level and determinants of technical efficiency of soybean farms in the Saboba and Chereponi districts of northern Ghana. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 200 soybean farmers from which cross-sectional data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Data collected includes farmers' socio-economic characteristics such as age and education as well as input and output quantities and prices. Data was analyzed using the stochastic frontier approach. Results showed a mean technical efficiency estimate of 53 percent and the return to scale was 0.75. Location of farm, participation in the Agricultural Value Chain Mentorship Project and age of farmer were found to be important in explaining technical inefficiency among soybean farmers. This implies that farmers in the short run can increase their production by 47 percent by adopting practices of the best soybean farms in Saboba and Chereponi districts of northern Ghana.


ABSTRACT Despite cultural similarities between Canada and the United States, some observers contend that significant differences remain in attitudes and values between the two countries. For example, Lipset has observed that "efforts to distinguish Canada and the United States almost invariably point to the greater respect for law and order and those who uphold it north of the border". Lipset's argument is that Canadian values are based on the nation's founding principles of "Peace, Order and Good Government" while American values stem from the country's revolutionary origins and are based on the values of "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." We test Lipset's observations, and those of some of his critics, using parallel surveys administered to university students in two institutions on either side of the Canada–US border. This is a very demanding test of his arguments so the supportive evidence we uncover for his arguments is significant.


Stinging nettle is a perennial plant with significant biological activity and a long history of application in folk medicine and as food. Its activity is ascribed to its chemical composition. Its leaves contain different classes of compounds including fatty acids. This study deals with the isolation of fatty acids in stinging nettle leaves using a rapid extraction system for solid–liquid extraction (Soxtherm) with petroleum ether as the solvent. The obtained results indicate that the saturated fatty acids are more abundant than unsaturated fatty acids. The most abundant fatty acids are C12 : 0 (20.94%, 348.07 μg g−1), C16 : 0 (18.57%, 309.06 μg g−1), and C18 : 1 (13.16%, 219.44 μg g−1), whereas the fatty acid with the lowest content is C17 : 1 (0.13%, 2.20 μg g−1). Prior to analysis, the method is validated to obtain accurate and precise results. The limit of detection and limit of quantification are 0.012–0.038% and 1.67–7.03%, whereas the precision and accuracy are 83–126% and 1.67–7.03%, respectively. The validation parameters are >0.999, 0.011–0.032%, 0.012–0.038%, 1.67–7.03%, 83–126%, 0.22–5.24%, and 0.38–6.94% for linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantitation, precision, accuracy, inter-day precision, and intra-day precision, respectively, confirming the suitability of this method for fatty acid analysis.


This Policy Brief was adapted from a paper written by the three authors and presented by Bruegel Director Jean Pisani-Ferry at the informal ECOFIN Council meetings in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 1 Oct. In the brief, the authors argue that bank recapitalisation and restructuring should be a matter of urgency for EU member states and that governments should not undertake the necessary fiscal and monetary policy exit until problems within the financial sector are addressed. The authors also recommend that European states set debt targets to be reached by the end of 2014 and explain that proper incentives are necessary to ensure that an exit strategy, once implemented, is done so in coordination between various institutional actors. Such a policy framework should be in place by summer 2010, the authors say, in order to avoid a buildup of financial instability during the process.


Voice over Internet Protocol (WIP) applications are becoming more and more popular in the telecommunication market. Packet switched V61P systems have many technical advantages over conventional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), including its efficient and flexible use of the bandwidth, lower cost and enhanced security. However, due to the IP network's "Best Effort" nature, voice quality are not naturally guaranteed in the VoIP services. In fact, most current Vol]P services can not provide as good a voice quality as PSTN. IP Network impairments such as packet loss, delay and jitter affect perceived speech quality as do application layer impairment factors, such as codec rate and audio features. Current perceived Quality of Service (QoS) methods are mainly designed to be used in a PSTN/TDM environment and their performance in V6IP environment is unknown. It is a challenge to measure perceived speech quality correctly in V61P system and to enhance user perceived speech quality for VoIP system. The main goal of this project is to evaluate the accuracy of the existing ITU-T speech quality measurement method (Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality PESQ) in mobile wireless systems in the context of V61P, and to develop novel and efficient methods to enhance the user perceived speech quality for emerging V61P services especially in mobile V61P environment. The main contributions of the thesis are threefold: (1) A new discovery of PESQ errors in mobile VoIP environment. A detailed investigation of PESQ performance in mobile VoIP environment was undertaken and included setting up a PESQ performance evaluation platform and testing over 1800 mobile-to-mobile and mobileto-PSTN calls over a period of three months. The accuracy issues of PESQ algorithm was investigated and main problems causing inaccurate PESQ score (improper time-alignment in the PESQ algorithm) were discovered . Calibration issues for a safe and proper PESQ testing in mobile environment were also discussed in the thesis. (2) A new, simple-to-use, V611P jitter buffer algorithm. This was developed and implemented in a commercial mobile handset. The algorithm, called "Play Late Algorithm", adaptively alters the playout delay inside a speech talkspurt without introducing unnecessary extra end-to-end delay. It can be used as a front-end to conventional static or adaptive jitter buffer algorithms to provide improved performance. Results show that the proposed algorithm can increase user perceived quality without consuming too much processing power when tested in live wireless VbIP networks. (3) A new QoS enhancement scheme. The new scheme combines the strengths of adaptive codec bit rate (i. e. AMR 8-modes bit rate) and speech priority marking (i. e. giving high priority for the beginning of a voiced segment). The results gathered on a simulation and emulation test platform shows that the combined method provides a better user perceived speech quality than separate adaptive sender bit rate or packet priority marking methods.


For 22nm SoC products, we propose a 9T SRAM cell with low voltage operation and low leakage power using Bulk CMOS and FinFETs. This is achieved by adopting single-ended write & read operation and serial transistor assembly for stacking effect. Proposed cell is designed and simulated in CMOS 22nm technology and results shows that proposed 9T cell achieves 42.2% improvement in write noise margin, 30.1% and 24.7% reduction in read & write power respectively,10^7 times reduced read and write failure probabilities, 31.8% reduced leakage current when compared to Conventional 6T SRAM cell design. Also, designing SRAM cells using fin-shaped field effect transistors shows more process variation tolerance and improvement of ~23% in power consumption, 2.04 times read SNM at VDD=500mV over CMOS design counterpart. Leakage reduction and enhanced read-write stability of proposed cell are verified under process variations. Also, proposed cell is observed to have 32% larger layout area when compared to Conv. 6T design.


Factors related to consumer adoption of short message service (SMS) are analyzed in this article. Our structural equation model identifies perceived enjoyment (PENJ), perceived monetary value (PMV), perceived usefulness (PU), and perceived ease of use (PEU) as four major factors that directly affect Korean mobile phone users' SMS adoption. We also find that network factor (NET), interface convenience (IC), and context controllability (CC) have significant indirect impacts on consumer adoption of SMS through their respective paths on perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU). Our findings demonstrate that SMS must be perceived as enjoyable and pleasant, because consumers' motivation to use enjoyable and pleasant services like SMS enhances their value perceptions of SMS such as perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU). The findings also suggest that more convenient and easier-to-use system interfaces, greater context controllability across various SMS usage contexts, and greater network externalities can facilitate SMS adoption in the future. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Biomolecular structure comparison not only reveals evolutionary relationships, but also sheds light on biological functional properties. However, traditional ways to calculate structure or sequence similarity, which always involve superposition or alignment, are computationally inefficient. In this paper, we propose a new method called persistent similarity, which is based on a newly-invented method in algebraic topology, known as persistent homology. Dif-ferent from all previous topological methods, persistent homology is able to embed a geometric measurement into topological invariants, thus provides a bridge between geometry and topology. After that, the topological information derived from the persistent homology analysis can be uniquely represented by a series of one-dimensional (1D) persistent Betti functions (PBFs). In this way, any complicated biomolecular structure can be represented as several 1D PBFs, and persistent similarity is defined as the quotient of intersect areas and union areas of any two PBFs. If structures have no significant topological properties, a pseudo-barcode is introduced to insure a better comparison. Further, a multiscale biomolecular representation is introduced through the multiscale rigidity function. It naturally induces a multiscale persistent similarity. The multiscale persistent similarity enables an objective-oriented comparison. Stated differently, it facilitates the comparison of structures at any particular scale of interest. Finally, the proposed method is validated by four different cases. It is found that the persistent similarity can be used to describe the intrinsic similarities and differences between the structures very well. Particularly, it delivers one of the best results for isomer total curvature energy prediction.


Polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic patterns of acidified phenol extracts prepared from whole cells can be used for the identification of bacterial L-forms and Mycoplasma species of human origin. Ten human Mycoplasma serotypes and eight L-forms belonging to five different genera were studied. The gel patterns were sufficiently distinct and reproducible that it was possible not only to identify L-forms at the genus level (group with streptococci) and different Mycoplasma serotypes but also to differentiate between the two of them. The parentage of L-forms of Streptobacillus moniliformis L1, Listeria monocytogenes, Streptococcus MG, and Staphylococcus aureus Smith strain was established by relating their gel patterns directly to parent bacteria. It was found that an L-form designated S. moniliformis An (ATCC 14220) was actually an L-form of Proteus. In addition, it was shown electrophoretically that no relationship existed between the Streptococcus MG L-form and M. pneumoniae. The applicability of this method as a diagnostic and taxonomic tool for the differentiation of L-forms and mycoplasmas is discussed.


Internationalization of R&D has unleashed a considerable degree of tension within multinational corporations. This paper explores the nature of such a tension in the Japanese multinational firms. At first glance, the most obvious tension appeared to be on the autonomy and control issue between the headquarters and overseas laboratories. However, taking perception gaps as the primary manifestation of organizational tension within a firm, we learned that the tension appears to be more salient in information-sharing issues than in autonomy-control issues, and that the local side seems more dissatisfied with the current level of information sharing and granted autonomy than the parent side. Inter-industry and inter-laboratory differences regarding such findings were also examined. Qualitative data revealed that the nature of organizational tension actually evolves along the differing stages (i.e. dis-integration and re-integration) of R&D internationalization. Theoretical implications for network and information-processing perspectives were also discussed in the context of the dynamics of organizational tension.


In the present work, the effect of hexagonal cell size of the core on the fundamental natural frequency of FRP honey-comb sandwich panels has been analyzed both experimentally and by finite element technique. Experimental Modal tests were conducted on hexagonal cell honeycombs ranging in size from 8 mm to 20 mm maintaining the facing thickness constant at around 1mm with two different boundary conditions viz C-F-F-F and C-F-C-F. The traditional "strike method" has been used to measure the vibration properties. The modal characteristics of the specimens have been obtained by studying its impulse response. Each specimen has been subjected to impulses through a hard tipped hammer which is provided with a force transducer and the response has been measured through the accelerometer. The impulse and the response are processed through a computer aided FFT Analyzing test system in order to extract the modal parameters with the aid of software. Theoretical investigations have been attempted with appropriate assumptions to understand the behavior of the honeycomb sandwich panels during dynamic loading and to validate experimental results. Finite Element modeling has been done treating the facing as an orthotropic laminate and Core as orthotropic with different elastic constants as recommended in the literature. The results are presented which show that the theoretical model can accurately predict the fundamental frequency and how honeycombs with difference cell size will perform under dynamic loads.


Comparative analyses of twenty-eight finite element structures with filler walls were established to study dynamic characteristics of RC frame structures under seismic waves. The results of these analyses show that filler walls have little influence on vibration modes of the structure. But as a result of soft storey in the bottom of building caused by reduction of the filler walls, vibration modes have a great influence. As the stiffness of filler wall decrease, the stiffness of soft storey decrease shapely, vibration mode curve becomes much smoother. Considering the filler wall has influence on the vibration periods of framework, the reduction factor of 0.7 should be taken. The influence of filler wall to the value of lateral drift and storey displacement angle of frame can not be ignored. The main effect factors to the dynamic characteristics of framework are included quantity, location, material of the fill wall and the selection of seismic waves.


Growing public concern about environment and potential risks to health in the polymer and plasticizer industry promises to increase the market for a safer alternative plasticizer such as a vegetable oil-based agent. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential of crude palm oil as a bio-additive in polypropylene blown films. The polypropylene was blended with 1%, 3%, and 5% dosages of CPO using a twin screw extruder. The extruded samples were blown using the blown thin film technique. Mechanical, physical, and morphological properties were characterized. Modifying polypropylene with CPO showed good enhancement in the mechanical properties of the polypropylene. Tensile strength, elongation at break, impact strength, and tear strength all increased. The scanning electron microscopy photographs of the CPO-modified PP clearly supported the results from the mechanical strength tests. The presence of CPO in the PP matrices decreased the density and increased the melt flow rate. These findings contribute new knowledge to the additives area and give important implications for designing and manufacturing polymer packaging materials.


A simple weakly frequency dependent model for the dynamics of a population with a finite number of types is proposed, based upon an advantage of being rare. In the infinite population limit, this model gives rise to a non-smooth dynamical system that reaches its globally stable equilibrium in finite time. This dynamical system is sufficiently simple to permit an explicit solution, built piecewise from solutions of the logistic equation in continuous time. It displays an interesting tree-like structure of coalescing components.


Integer Linear Programs (ILPs) are powerful tools for modeling and solving a large number of combinatorial optimization problems. Recently, it has been shown that Large Neighborhood Search (LNS), as a heuristic algorithm, can find high quality solutions to ILPs faster than Branch and Bound. However, how to find the right heuristics to maximize the performance of LNS remains an open problem. In this paper, we propose a novel approach, CL-LNS, that delivers state-of-the-art anytime performance on several ILP benchmarks measured by metrics including the primal gap, the primal integral, survival rates and the best performing rate. Specifically, CL-LNS collects positive and negative solution samples from an expert heuristic that is slow to compute and learns a new one with a contrastive loss. We use graph attention networks and a richer set of features to further improve its performance.


This article presents a novel approach for deriving Retrofit Design Spectra (RDS) that are intended for use in preliminary development and assessment of seismic upgrading scenarios of existing structures. The new spectral representation relates the characteristics of the intervention method chosen as the core of the upgrading strategy, with the ductility and strength demand of the retrofitted structure. The methodology utilized for the derivation of the RDS is based on the Capacity Spectrum Method where the capacity curve is described by relationships for global and local intervention methods that are parameterized in terms of fundamental response quantities. The proposed spectra provide direct insight into the complex interrelation between the characteristics of the intervention method and the implications of the upgrading scenario on demand. Alternative retrofit solutions are thus assessed in an efficient way. A case study is used to illustrate practical application of the new approach.


How well do upper millimeter-wave and terahertz frequency bands enable wireless communications? In this work, we approximate the current and estimate the future communication potential with emphasis on antenna and radio frequency hardware technologies, and radio propagation challenges. This is done by performing link budget evaluations with justified estimates of link budget calculus terms, such as the achievable or required noise figure, transmit power, and antenna gain. Estimates are based on current enabling technologies and needs to advance those. From the RF viewpoint, the bottlenecks are in generating sufficiently high transmit power and low noise with the support of very high antenna gains. As an example, we discuss opportunities around 300 GHz frequency. Challenges to support 100 Gb/s bit rate at 30 GHz bandwidth on 10 m link distance is analyzed for different kinds of devices.


A summary account is given of the large set of logarithmic and trigonometric tables produced at the end of the 18th century under the direction of Gaspard Riche de Prony. Although they were completed in 1801, their size made publication a costly task; and it was never done, despite the fact that printing was started more than once and various efforts were made over the years to find finance. Eventually a reduced edition of some tables appeared in 1891. In addition to the history some details are given of the mathematical methods used in the compilation of the tables. An appendix considers the possible influence of this project upon Babbage's ideas on computers and tables.


We have extended the record of flow speed on Jakobshavn Isbrae through the summer of 2013. These new data reveal large seasonal speedups, 30 to 50% greater than previous summers. At a point a few kilometres inland from the terminus, the mean annual speed for 2012 is nearly three times as great as that in the mid-1990s, while the peak summer speeds are more than a factor of four greater. These speeds were achieved as the glacier terminus appears to have retreated to the bottom of an over-deepened basin with a depth of ~ 1300 m below sea level. The terminus is likely to reach the deepest section of the trough within a few decades, after which it could rapidly retreat to the shallower regions ~ 50 km farther upstream, potentially by the end of this century.


The article identifies some of the patterns and dynamics that have emerged in the uneven landscape and shifting constellations of local immigration regimes in the wake of the 2015 'summer of welcome'. Using the German case, it explores key players and institutions within this urban policy arena, and how their collaborative/competitive interactions in addressing the challenges of (receiving) the many newcomers have been shaped by supra-local as well as contingent and political factors. Firstly, it looks at the role and relative autonomy that municipalities exert in designing (proactive) refugee and integration policies. Out of the broad spectrum of civil society organisations that engage in this field, the paper then focuses on the new civic engagement often referred to as volunteer welcome initiatives, and on another civil society actor less frequently discussed in this context: the protest movement organised by refugees themselves. The evolving practices of, and interrelations among, these three sets of actors illustrate the trajectory of the transforming relations within the city as a networked and contested space of immigration policy.


ABSTRACT Purpose: To compare ischemia-related clinical outcomes in patients treated with either ranibizumab pro re nata (PRN) or single dexamethasone implant in the Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion (COMRADE-B) or Central Retinal Vein Occlusion (COMRADE-C) trials. Methods: A post-hoc analysis of the Phase IIIb, 6-month, multicenter, double-masked, randomized, COMRADE-B and COMRADE-C trials. Change over 6 months in retinal ischemia status (central avascular [CA] zone and peripheral nonperfusion [PNP]), mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), the development of shunt vessels and neovascularization, and frequency of laser therapy were assessed in retinal vein occlusion (RVO) patients treated with either ranibizumab 0.5 mg PRN or single dexamethasone 0.7 mg implant, as per European labels, in the COMRADE-B (N = 244; ranibizumab, 126, dexamethasone, 118) or COMRADE-C (N = 243; ranibizumab, 124, dexamethasone, 119) trials. BCVA progression in ischemic vs. non-ischemic patients based on the ischemia assessment at month 6 was carried out. Results: Visual acuity (VA) gains from baseline to month 6 were higher with ranibizumab than with dexamethasone in both patients with central ischemia and those with peripheral retinal nonperfusion, independent of the type of RVO (branch or central). The presence of CA and PNP had a significant impact on VA gain over 6 months in CRVO patients (p < .0001), while there was no significant impact in BRVO. Ranibizumab was associated with less new ischemia than dexamethasone. Central RVO patients treated with dexamethasone received more laser treatments over the 6 months than those treated with ranibizumab, while there was no difference in the frequency of laser therapy between the branch RVO treatment groups. Conclusions: VA gain over six months in ranibizumab-treated RVO patients is not affected by ischemia, and is associated with less development of new ischemia during the first 6 months of treatment and equal or fewer laser treatments than dexamethasone implant.


It has been lately made very clear that aggregation processes can not be based upon a unique binary operator. Global aggregation operators have been therefore introduced as families of aggregation operators {Tn}n , being each one of these Tn the n-ary operator actually amalgamating information whenever the number of items to be aggregated is n. Of course, some mathematical restrictions can be introduced, in order to assure an appropriate meaning, consistency and key mathematical capabilities. In this paper we shall discuss these standard conditions, pointing out their respective relevance.


The systems approach is an application of systems analysis to law. Over the past twenty-five years it has proven highly successful in both teaching and legal scholarship. This Article explains the authors' application of the systems approach in a new casebook, Business Associations: A Systems Approach (forthcoming, Wolters Kluwer 2020).

The systems approach is designed to directly prepare students for the practice of law. It does so by providing students with the information lawyers use to solve clients' problems and asking the students to solve the problems of hypothetical clients in realistic settings. The approach differs from traditional casebooks in four principal respects. First, it provides information as simply and directly as possible instead of asking students to ferret it out or infer it from cases. Second, it explains the law in the context of the physical systems in which law is employed, including law offices, board rooms, courtrooms, legal documentation, and online voting, entity-registration, and information systems. Third, based on our conclusion that the four main entity types (partnership, corporation, LLC, and limited partnership) all perform the same functions, we have organized the material by function — financing, investor voting, manager voting, investor litigation, investment transfers, etc.— instead of by entity type. Lastly, the systems approach is largely a "flipped classroom" approach. Students learn and apply the material to problems prior to class. Class discussions are an opportunity for students to check their reasoning, reach more sophisticated solutions, and critique the system in light of the issues they encountered.


This paper investigates the degree to which glass bottled milk is an environmentally friendly alternative. A recent life cycle assessment for fluid milk packaging alternatives is utilized to quantify the environmental costs associated with each packaging type. We conduct a sensitivity analysis to identify the return and reuse rates under which the glass bottle has a lower environmental impact than the alternatives. With eight reuses and 95 percent return rate, glass bottled milk has a lower environmental cost than the alternatives. Twelve reuses and a 100 percent return rate is necessary for glass packaging to have the lowest social cost.


This study evaluated the effects of accelerated and outdoor ageing on compreg-laminated sesenduk (Endospermum diadenum) wood and correlations between these two ageing methods were established. For outdoor ageing, samples were exposed to tropical weather for 1, 3 and 6 months. For accelerated ageing, cyclic boil-dry treatment involving 1, 2, 5 and 10 cycles were employed. Results revealed that density and weight loss were observed after the ageing treatments. After 6 months of outdoor ageing, water absorption of aged phenol formaldehyde and phenol formaldehyde urea-treated samples increased from 3.0 to 13.3% and from 4.1 to 26.6% respectively. Similar behaviour was also observed for samples which underwent 10 cycles of accelerated ageing. Samples subjected to outdoor ageing had thickness swelling higher than that of accelerated ageing (4.3-4.5% vs 2.4-3.7%). Most of the samples lost 8.3 to 22.4% of initial modulus of rupture after 1 month of outdoor ageing. Treated samples retained 61.7 to 77.1% of its initial modulus of elasticity after 10 cycles of accelerated ageing while the untreated samples retained only 48.7%. Emission of formaldehyde decreased with increased exposure times and cyclic boil-dry cycles. As confirmed by Pearson's correlation test, there were good correlations (r = 0.71-0.99) for properties of samples between accelerated ageing and outdoor ageing.


Tamaka Shwasa (Bronchial asthma) is a disease occurring due to involvement of Vata and Kapha which presents in two forms – Vaigika (Acute exacerbated) or Avaigika (under control). An emergency management is required during acute exacerbation. Pilot study has proved a statistically highly significant difference in symptoms like breathlessness (Z = -4.820, p= 0.000) after treatment with Nebulization of Bharangimoola Arka (5ml administered 8th hourly for 3 times) and also FVC% and FEV1% have improved significantly with a t value equal to -5.857 and -5.090 respectively with p<0.05. Hence an effort is put forth to compare Bharangimoola Arka with standard drug salbutamol Nebulization in controlling the acute exacerbation state in six episodes of administration. The main aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of Bharangimoola Arka Nebulization with standard drug Salbutamol in reducing the symptoms of Vegavasta (Acute exacerbated) of Tamaka Shwasa (Acute exacerbation of Bronchial Asthma). It was an open label, single center, prospective, double arm clinical study conducted in 100 patients of acute exacerbation of Bronchial Asthma. The patients falling under the inclusion criteria were taken for the study and pre and post spirometry was done to evaluate the broncho dilation effect. The patients were hospitalized for 2 days, and nebulization was done 8th hourly with a fixed dose of 5 ml of Bharangimoola Arka and 2.5 ml of Salbutamol sulphate in two groups. Before and after each episode of nebulization, Peak Expiratory Flow Test was done. This study provides evidence for the significant effect of 5 ml of Bharangimoola Arka in reducing the symptoms like Breathlessness, Wheeze and Cough in Acute exacerbation of Bronchial asthma which is on par with the standard drug Salbutamol Sulphate 2.5ml when administered six doses 8th hourly without inducing tremors.


Fabrication from developable parts is the basis for arts such as papercraft and needlework, as well as modern architecture and CAD in general, and it has inspired much research. We observe that the assembly of complex 3D shapes created by existing methods often requires first fabricating many small parts and then carefully following instructions to assemble them together. Despite its significance, this error prone and tedious process is generally neglected in the discussion. We present the concept of zippables - single, two dimensional, branching, ribbon-like pieces of fabric that can be quickly zipped up without any instructions to form 3D objects. Our inspiration comes from the so-called zipit bags [zipit 2017], which are made of a single, long ribbon with a zipper around its boundary. In order to "assemble" the bag, one simply needs to zip up the ribbon. Our method operates in the same fashion, but it can be used to approximate a wide variety of shapes. Given a 3D model, our algorithm produces plans for a single 2D shape that can be laser cut in few parts from fabric or paper. A zipper can then be attached along the boundary by sewing, or by gluing using a custom-built fastening rig. We show physical and virtual results that demonstrate the capabilities of our method and the ease with which shapes can be assembled.


This thesis begins by noting that the current safety justification of pressurised water reactor pressure vessels is deterministic. To enable probabilistic structural integrity safety cases of reactor pressure vessels to be carried out, a need for a new analysis of the statistical properties of fracture toughness is identified. Fracture is linked to the cracking of critically sized carbide, and a preliminary analysis showed that the distribution of carbide in steel could be described by an exponential distribution. Initially the failure of an individual fracture toughness test specimen is considered. The volume of material at the tip of a flaw, within which fracture initiation can take place, is then shown to be dependent on the stress intensity factor and material properties of the steel. Using these results, the underlying probability for the presence of critical carbide is derived, and shown to have a Weibull distribution. Fracture toughness is then hypothesised to be an extreme of this distribution, so the probability of a sample of fracture toughness observations would have a Gumbel distribution. The model so obtained has a physical basis, only needs two parameters, and is dependent on the number of data available. The model is validated, along with other models, against a large data set, and shown to be the best candidate model. An analytic expression, based on material properties and the underlying distribution, is derived for the temperature dependence of fracture toughness, and exhibits lower and upper shelf properties, linked by a transition region. A further expression is derived that relates the minimum probability with which fracture toughness can be predicted to the number of data that the prediction is based on. These findings are used to produce probability contours of fracture toughness. Then, using Bayesian statistics, these contours are made unconditional on the assumed probability distribution, and only dependent on the data. These unconditional predictions do not differ significantly from those produced using the Gumbel distribution. However, it is this unconditional quality that would allow a statistical approach in structural integrity to be robust. Finally, for irradiated steel, the model is shown to predict the reduction in fracture toughness, and the decrease in its rate of increase, with temperature, that is observed experimentally.


In order to help clarify how much Neodymium:YAG transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (Nd:YAG CPC) treatment should be given to maximize effectiveness and minimize complications in the treatment of refractory glaucomas, we retrospectively reviewed and compared the results achieved with an initial 180-degree noncontact Nd:YAG CPC treatment with those achieved with an initial 360-degree treatment. Forty-five patients were in the 180-degree group and 21 in the 360-degree group. Mean follow up after the first Nd:YAG CPC treatment was 10.2 +/- 7.5 months. The average pretreatment intraocular pressure (IOP) in the 180-degree group was 33.5 mm Hg. After one treatment, IOP in these patients dropped an average of 8.4 mm Hg and was controlled successfully (5 to 22 mm Hg) in 14 (31%). After a mean of 2.0 treatments, IOP in these patients dropped an average of 15.3 mm Hg, and successful IOP control was ultimately achieved in 35 (78%). The average pretreatment IOP in the 360-degree group was 41.8 mm Hg. After one treatment, IOP in these patients dropped an average of 19.4 mm Hg and was controlled successfully in 11 (52%). After a mean of 1.3 treatments, IOP in these patients dropped an average of 20.7 mm Hg, and successful IOP control was ultimately achieved in 13 (62%). Our study suggests that repeated 180-degree treatments can be successful. However, because we found that IOP was controlled more rapidly with fewer major complications in the 360-degree group, the risk-to-benefit ratio may be better for initial 360-degree treatment.


Background: This paper follows up on a project that was launched in 2008 and contributed to the development of the new Italian Society of Occupational Medicine (SIML) guidelines for the road haulage industry. Objective: To reach a better understanding of occupational illness amongst truck drivers, in order to define appropriate health monitoring protocols and promote a healthy life-style. Methods: We assessed 673 male drivers (mean age 43.85 years, SD 9.56; mean working seniority 27.28 years, SD 10.59), employed by 46 different companies. The drivers, who were gradually recruited in the study over the years, had a maximum of 8 re-assessments each, for a total of 2608 examinations. We applied a survey protocol consisting in a medical examination, questionnaires for the most common risks and instrumental and laboratory tests in compliance with SIML guidelines. Results: We identified a total of 44 work-related diseases: 22 cases of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and 22 cases of lumbar degenerative disc disease. As regards metabolic disorders, we observed 28 cases of diabetes mellitus, in most cases (71.4%) as a first diagnosis or under poor therapeutic control. We observed poorly-controlled hypertension in 103 drivers, the majority of whom (54%) were diagnosed for the first time. Over 30% of the workers in our study were obese and approximately 40% were tobacco smokers. We identified just 9 individuals (1.3%) with a positive toxicological screening for use of recreational drugs. Our data confirm a high prevalence of occupational illness amongst truck drivers. Cardiovascular and metabolic conditions require close monitoring.


Inhibition of the angiotensin I converting enzyme with SQ 20.881 results in a 2 to 35 fold increase in plasma renin concentration in normal rats and in spontaneously hypertensive rats. The effect is transient, lasting for 1 to 3 hours even in the presence of prolonged blockade. The relative increase is independent of the pretreatment plasma renin concentration. The blood pressure is unchanged in conscious rats in which the effect of SQ 20.881 on plasma renin is believed to be due to a blockade of the negative feedback of angiotensin II on renin release. In anaesthetized rats, SQ 20.881 has an additional hypotensive effect which augments the increase in plasma renin. Saralasin is without effect on blood pressure and plasma renin in conscious normal rats and in spontaneously hypertensive rats, while it causes a transient 3 to 27 fold increase in plasma renin concentration in anaesthetized rats. It is suggested that this increase is hardly due to an interception of the feedback, but to the concomitant fall in blood pressure, as a similar hypotension and increase in plasma renin is produced by dihydra-lazine. It is furthermore found that Saralasin blocks renin release induced by SQ 20.881. This demonstrates that Saralasin is bound to the receptors in the juxtaglomerular cells and has slight, agonistic properties there. Both in conscious rats and in anaesthetized adrenalectomized rats substituted with DOCA and salt, SQ 20.881 as well as Saralasin causes transient increases in plasma renin concentration. If such rats are only substituted with salt and not with DOCA, the effects of both blockers are in the form of severe hypotension and a permanent elevation of plasma renin.


By a post synthesis method, nickel (Ni) particles could be grafted onto SBA-15 for the first time through chemical bond (–O–Ni–O–Si–O–) formation between silicon (Si) and Ni via oxygen (O) using Ni ammonia (NH3) complex ions (Ni(NH3)x)2+ with an NH3/Ni mole ratio of 1–5, which existed as Ni phyllosilicate on the SBA-15 surface, while Ni particles could not be grafted onto SBA-15 in the absence of NH4OH (NH3/Ni mole ratio of 0). An NH3/Ni mole ratio of 2–4 was suitable for grafting conditions, which could give a product with the closest Ni amount to that of raw Ni complex ion solution. The product obtained was named as the Ni-grafted SBA-15 sample. XPS, UV-vis and H2-TPR analyses demonstrated that a chemical bond was formed between Ni and silicon (Si) via oxygen (O), and no bulk nickel oxides existed in the Ni-grafted SBA-15 sample. The formation of –O–Ni–O–Si–O– was completed via the reaction between hydrolyzate (Ni(OH)(NH3)x−1)+ from (Ni(NH3)x)2+ and Si–OH (silanol sites) on the SBA-15 surface. The Ni-grafted SBA-15 catalyst suited CO2 methanation, resulting in higher CO2 conversion and methane selectivity than a NiO dispersed SBA-15 catalyst obtained by the conventional post synthesis method. The activation energy for CO2 methanation increased with a decreasing initial Ni amount used. The rate equation for CO2 methanation could be expressed as: r = kCCO20.64CH24.05, where C is the concentration. The Ni-grafted SBA-15 catalyst had high thermal stability for CO2 methanation.


Abstract: Work motivation plays an important role in enhancing job performance. To maintain effectiveness and development, managers need to adopt a clear and attainable motivational system in their organization. This study aimed to examine the relationships between motivation and performance among nurses working at European Gaza Hospital (EGH). The sample of this study consisted of 170 nurses (96 male and 74 female) and the response rate was 100%. The researchers used two instruments for data collection one for motivation questionnaire: prepared by the researchers and other to Performance appraisal format: prepared by the General Employees council .The researchers used the SPSS program version 13 for data analysis. Different statistical procedures were used for data analysis including cross tabulation, percentage, mean, Pearson correlation, ANOVA and Scheffe and t test. The results showed that the motivation level among the study subjects was 66.2% and the average performance level according to the annual appraisal was 82.1 %. The average performance among nurse subordinates was 80.4% and 83.7% among nurse managers based on the scores obtained from the annual appraisal forms. Participants ranked the motivators of in-service training as the highest one (M = 8.1) followed by working hours schedule (M = 7.00). Salary was ranked as the seventh factor (M= 4.87). The lowest motivator was respect from others (M = 2.78). The study concluded that nurses working at EGH are generally motivated and their performance was high. The results of the study raised the need of training and equitable work schedule to enhance motivation and reinforce performance.


PuMPE is a comprehensive resource that provides integrated information on metabolome of bacterial systems. The genome data is annotated to infer metabolic pathways using in-house tools and web-based sources. PuMPE introduces a novel aspect of metabolic categorization. It is the first resource to provide metabolome-based tree computed by comparing metabolome between bacteria. PuMPE has metabolic pathways information for 581 bacteria having completely sequenced genome. Information on Km (Michaelis constant) values, catalytic site data and 3D structures of enzymes is integrated and made available on one platform. Open source relational database management system MySQL is used at the backend and software used for visualization of structures and pathway interactions are also from open source. Updation is done regularly with minimal human intervention. This resource is user friendly and provides unique integrated information to carry out metabolic pathway engineering. It is available at http://18.104.22.168/mpe/


The effect of drugs (ATP, dibasol, corglycon, prednisolone, pyracetam, ethymysol, and aminophylline) on contractility of the diaphragm and the parameters of external respiration in inspiratory fatigue was studied. Total bioelectric activity of the diaphragm, transdiaphragmatic pressure, respiratory rate, tidal volume, and duty cycle were recorded in 160 anesthetized cats. Administration of the drugs under study normalized to a different measure the parameters of external respiration and improved contractility of the diaphragm in inspiratory fatigue. Aminophylline, pyracetam, corglycon, and ATP possessed the highest activity.


In August 2003, up to 14,000 gallons of used oil spilled into Hunnicutt creek, headwaters to the Middle Oconee River. This resulted in significant aquatic ecological damage documented by members of the Upper Oconee Watershed Network (UOWN). The biological score for Hunnicutt Creek determined after the spill was poor (<11). In February 2004, free oil phases were observed at various points on the water surface and sediments extending as far as the mouth of Hunnicutt, the entry point into the Middle Oconee River. Initial chemical analysis of the creek water in September 2003 was high in hydrocarbon concentrations, particularly dibenzo (a,h) anthracene (>345 μg/L) and hexadecane (178.66 mg/L). This was consistent with the poor biological score obtained in our September 2003 and January 2004 quarterly sampling at Ben Burton Park. The latter event yielded a poor biological score (12). The scores obtained in July 2004 were poor (7) closer to the contamination source but had returned good (20) at the creek's mouth. A shallow depth (<15 cm) chemical analysis of the sediments did not detect any organic contaminants of concern and monitoring results for 2004 show signs of improvement. Hunnicutt may have attained a fair level of recovery through natural attenuation, which can only be confirmed through continual monitoring of the water, sediments, and the biological activity in the creek.


Purpose: To estimate the conversion factors to transpose macular thickness measurements on time-domain (TD) to various spectral-domain (SD) optical coherence tomography (OCT) machines in patients with macular telangiectasia type 2a (MacTel). Procedures: Macular scans on TD- and SD-OCT were performed on patients at the same visit. The retinal thickness values in various ETDRS subfields and macular volume were compared between different OCT machines. Results: The macular thickness and volume were significantly greater (p < 0.0001, r = 0.678-0.822) on SD-OCT. The mean differences in macular thickness between TD Stratus and SD-OCT by Spectralis, Cirrus and Topcon were 62, 41 and 20 μm, respectively. The conversion factor of macular thickness from TD-OCT to Spectralis, Cirrus and Topcon were +65, +39 and +25 μm, respectively. Conclusion and Message: The estimates of conversion of macular thickness from TD- to SD-OCT using simple mean differences between machines and those by linear regression were similar suggesting that the former may be used for the longitudinal follow-up of MacTel patients.


In this randomized, double-blinded study, the preemptive effects of intravenous and epidural fentanyl analgesia were compared with post-incisional analgesia in 40 patients undergoing orthophedic surgery of the lower extremities. Patients were randomly allocated to one of two groups; intravenous or epidural analgesia, with twenty patients in each group. General anesthesia was induced with thiopentone 5-6 mgkg -1 and maintained with 0.8-1.0% isoflurane and 66% nitrous oxide in 33% O 2 . The trachea was intubated after administration of vecuronium 0.1 mgkg-1. Patients in the epidural analgesia groups then received, by random allocation, 2 µgkg -1 fentanyl with 0.9% saline (total volume 0.15 mlkg-1) after epidural catheter replacement 15 minutes before (preemptive epidural analgesia group-PEEA) or 15 minutes after (epidural analgesia group-EA) the surgical incision. Patients in the analgesia groups received, by random allocation, 2 µgkg-1 fentanyl intravenously immediately after induction (preemptive intravenous analgesia group-PEIV) or 15 minutes after the surgical incision (intravenous analgesia group-IV). Visual analogue pain scores (VAS) and postoperative morphine consumption in the preemptive groups were consistently lower than in the analgesia groups, although there was no statistical significance. Similarly, the first analgesic requirement time was longer in the PEEA group than in the EA group. Differences in the plasma concentration of glucose and cortisol were neither consistently nor significantly different between the study groups. In regard to these findings, we believe that with the management of patients with 2 µgkg -1 fentanyl intravenously or epidurally before painful stimuli lowers the VAS and postoperative analgesic use. Higher doses of fentanyl may be necessary for optimal and significant results.


Both in patients with IDDM (1) and in healthy control subjects (2,3), increased urinary albumin excretion rate (AER) is associated with high relative morbidity and mortality. In IDDM patients, genetic susceptibility factors are most likely contributing to an increased AER (4,5) resulting in a cumulative incidence of nephropathy (AER >300 mg/24 h) of -30% (6). So far, candidate genes, proposed as susceptibility markers linked to abnormal albuminuria, have been identified because of the knowledge of pathophysiological events related to diabetic nephropathy. Heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSPG, i.e., Perlecan) constitutes an integrated part of the glomerular basement membrane. It consists of a central core protein to which anionie sulfated polysaccharide chains (heparan sulfate [HS]) are linked (7), thus contributing to the negative charge of the glomerular filtration barrier and thereby indirectly to the composition of the glomerular filtration product (8,9). In IDDM patients, it has been demonstrated that increased AER is reduced by the administration of heparin (10) most likely because of a stimulating effect on the HS synthesis (11).


Recurrence of disease following liver transplantation is emerging as a major area of concern. We retrospectively investigated for evidence of recurrent hepatitis B, hepatitis non-A, non-B (NANB), primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and malignancy in 106 transplant patients. Recurrence of hepatitis B was diagnosed in 11 of 14 (79%) patients who survived longer than 2 months posttransplant. The first histologic evidence of recurrence occurred at 4 to 64 weeks posttransplant (mean, 22.2 weeks). In two patients, progression to cirrhosis was documented histologically. Recurrence was diagnosed in three patients transplanted for fulminant hepatic necrosis due to hepatitis B. Administration of hepatitis B vaccine and hepatitis B immunoglobulin was ineffective in preventing recurrence. Recurrence of hepatitis NANB was diagnosed in only two of 23 patients transplanted for hepatitis NANB cirrhosis. Evidence of posttransplant hepatitis was also detected in one of 10 patients transplanted for fulminant hepatitic failure presumably caused by hepatitis NANB. Recurrence of PBC was not diagnosed in any of 15 patients, but the length of follow-up was too limited in most patients to allow definite conclusions to be made. Posttransplant antimitochondrial antibodies titers remained elevated in nine of 11 patients tested. Six of 13 patients transplanted for hepatocellular carcinoma (46%) developed recurrent tumor, and five died. The role of preoperative and postoperative chemotherapy is currently undefined.


Peanut is a multipurpose oil-seed legume, which offer benefits in many ways. Apart from the peanut plant's beneficial effects on soil quality, peanut seeds are nutritious and medicinally and economically important. In this review, insights into peanut origin and its domestication are provided. Peanut is rich in bioactive components, including phenolics, flavonoids, polyphenols, and resveratrol. In addition, the involvement of peanut in biological nitrogen fixation is highly significant. Recent reports regarding peanut responses and N2 fixation ability in response to abiotic stresses, including drought, salinity, heat stress, and iron deficiency on calcareous soils, have been incorporated. As a biotechnological note, recent advances in the development of transgenic peanut plants are also highlighted. In this context, regulation of transcriptional factors and gene transfer for the development of stress-tolerant peanut genotypes are of prime importance. Above all, this review signifies the importance of peanut cultivation and human consumption in view of the scenario of changing world climate in order to maintain food security.


Paper aims: This study aims to analyze the relationship between teamwork factors and the process of dynamic capability in service providers. Originality: Few researches seek to understand the organizational factors that promote dynamic capacity. In this sense, this research seeks to fill this gap by analyzing the development of dynamic capability from the intrinsic characteristics to teamwork. Research method: In order to reach the research objective, a survey research was carried out in 188 service provider companies and the Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used to analyze the data. Main findings: The results show that the cohesion, autonomy and integration of the team present high levels of positive relation with the processes of absorption, generation, storage and adaptation of knowledge. Implications for theory and practice: The results of this study show that three characteristics that are intrinsic to teamwork (autonomy, integration and cohesion) in multi-unit service providers support the dynamic capability, in terms of the absorption, generation, storage and adaptation of knowledge.


OBJECTIVES--An attempt was made to characterise the antigens recognised by serum IgG antibodies directed to the stratum corneum of rat oesophagus epithelium, the so-called 'antikeratin antibodies', which were shown to be highly specific for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and thus to have an actual diagnostic value. METHODS--Immunoblotting was performed with RA serum samples on different extracts of rat oesophagus epithelium separated by various monodimensional and two dimensional electrophoreses. RESULTS--Three low-salt-soluble antigens sensitive to proteinase K and, therefore, of protein nature were identified. Two proteins, with apparent molecular masses of 210 and 120-90 kilodaltons, shared isoelectric points ranging from 5.8 to 8.5; the third protein exhibited isoelectric points from 4.5 to 7.2 while its molecular mass ranged from 130 to 60 kilodaltons. Immunoadsorption of RA serum samples onto cytokeratins extracted from the stratum corneum of rat oesophagus epithelium did not change their immunoreactivity towards the three antigenic proteins. Widely used deglycosylation and dephosphorylation methods failed to modify either the electrophoretic migration of the proteins or their immunoreactivity with RA serum samples. CONCLUSION--The so-called 'antikeratin antibodies' do not react with cytokeratins. They specifically recognise three late epithelial differentiation proteins which had not been previously described. These proteins may be related to (pro)filaggrin.


$\delta$ Scuti stars are remarkable objects for asteroseismology. In spite of decades of investigations, there are still important questions about these pulsating stars to be answered, such as their positions in $\log$$T_{\rm eff}$ $-$ $\log g$ diagram, or the dependence of the pulsation modes on atmospheric parameters and rotation. Therefore, we performed a detailed spectroscopic study of $41$ $\delta$ Scuti stars. The selected objects are located near the $\gamma$ Doradus instability strip to make a reliable comparison between both types of variables. Spectral classification, stellar atmospheric parameters ($T_{\rm eff}$, $\log g$, $\xi$) and $v \sin i$ values were determined. The spectral types and luminosity classes of stars were found to be A1$-$F5 and III$-$V, respectively. The $T_{\rm eff}$ ranges from $6600$ to $9400$ K, whereas the obtained $\log g$ values are from $3.4$ to $4.3$. The $v \sin i$ values were found between $10$ and $222$ km s$^{-1}$. The derived chemical abundances of $\delta$ Scuti stars were compared to those of the non-pulsating stars and $\gamma$ Doradus variables. It turned out that both $\delta$ Scuti and $\gamma$ Doradus variables have similar abundance patterns, which are slightly different from the non-pulsating stars. These chemical differences can help us to understand why there are non-pulsating stars in classical instability strip. Effects of the obtained parameters on pulsation period and amplitude were examined. It appears that the pulsation period decreases with increasing $T_{\rm eff}$. No significant correlations were found between pulsation period, amplitude and $v \sin i$.


This article offers suggestions and resources for infusing information about working with gay, lesbian, and bisexual clients into a counselor education curriculum or for use in one's professional development as a counselor. Information is provided for core counseling areas and clinical instruction. ********** The literature has consistently shown that graduate counseling programs are not adequately preparing students to work with gay, lesbian, and bisexual clients (e.g., Buhrke, 1989; Glenn & Russell, 1986; Graham, Rawlings, Halpern, & Hermes, 1984; Thompson & Fishburn, 1977). More recently, Phillips and Fischer (1998) found that most of the advanced-level students whom they surveyed reported that their programs had not prepared them to work with gay and lesbian clients and had prepared them even less well to work with bisexual clients. Unfortunately, this lack of training is not benign. Glenn and Russell (1986) found that 83% of the counselor trainees whom they examined exhibited bias by responding to an ambiguous client simulation with the assumption that the client was heterosexual even though no information about sexual orientation was provided. In another analogue study, participants made a greater number of recall errors when processing information about gay or lesbian clients than when processing information about heterosexual clients (Casas, Brady, & Ponterotto, 1983). Hayes and his colleagues (Hayes & Erkis, 2000; Hayes & Gelso, 1993) found that, overall, therapists had rather low levels of homophobia; however, when homophobia was present, it predicted negative responses toward clients in analogue situations. Wisch and Mahalik (1999) found that male therapists high in gender role conflict reacted negatively to angry gay clients, whereas male therapists low in gender role conflict reacted positively to gay clients in response to randomly assigned vignettes. In a review of programmatic research on therapeutic outcomes with lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients, Bieschke, McClanahan, Tozer, Grzegorek, and Park (2000) concluded that, although counselors tend to report lower levels of homophobia than the general public, heterosexist attitudes do interfere with their clinical behavior with this population. This may be reflective of the mixed attitudes Rudolph (1988) discussed in his earlier review. He suggested that counselors seem to be influenced both by the generally affirmative stance of the counseling profession and by the more biased attitudes of society in general. He speculated that counselors who believe they are open and affirmative, yet are still influenced by heterosexist societal norms, may lead to a potentially more dangerous situation than overt homophobia, for which clients can more easily screen when seeking counseling. In their evaluation of a seminar course on counseling gay, lesbian, and bisexual clients, Matthews and Selvidge (2002) reported significant positive changes in counseling competence with this population among students who took the course. These changes did not occur with students enrolled in a general multicultural counseling course or an advanced clinical techniques course. This suggests that conscious and deliberate training in working with this population can be beneficial. At the same time, it is not always practical for programs to offer an entire course devoted to this topic. The multicultural literature indicates that infusion of multicultural material into courses throughout a curriculum can be an effective and important way to train students in this critical area (e.g., Bowman, 1996; Ponterotto, Alexander, & Grieger, 1995). The purpose of this article is to encourage infusion of material regarding gay, lesbian, and bisexual issues into core counseling courses in a counselor education curriculum by providing information and resources for doing so. This material might also be useful for practicing counselors seeking professional development in working with this population. …


There has been a substantial amount of interest recently in long-range planning. One necessary component of the long-range plan Is the long-range forecast. In contrast to the emphasis on the planning process, however, little attention has been given to forecasting. This study considers the problem of long-range forecasting in a situation which is of growing importance - forecasting sales for international markets.Many researchers appear to operate under the impression that causal models (i.e., models based on an analysis of underlying factors) lead to more accurate sales forecasts than those provided by naive models (i.e., projections based on historical sales data only). A survey of the research literature led to the conclusion that this confidence in causal models is virtually unsupported. One can hardly criticize firms, then, for relying primarily upon naive models for sales forecasting since these models are simpler and less expensive than causal model.This study was based on the hypothesis that causal models are superior to naive models in certain situations. The key element of these situations is that -there are 'large changes.' Long-range sales forecasting usually involves such large changes; and there are many reasons to expect that long-range forecasting for international markets is a situation in which substantial changes will occur (e.g., the Kennedy round tariff cuts and the formation of common markets.)A causal model was developed to provide long-range forecasts of the international market for still cameras. This model provided unconditional forecasts of unit camera sales by country for year t n on the basis of l) knowledge about camera sales in year t and 2) predicted changes in four causal variables from year t to t n. These four causal variables included, in order of importance, per capita income, price of cameras, number of potential buyers and quality of cameras.The predictive ability of the causal model was superior to that of a naive model purporting to represent current practice. Each model was used to provide backcasts of 1954 camera sales in 17 countries on the basis of data from 1967 to 1960 only. The mean absolute percentage error for the causal model was 23% while that for the naive model was 43%. This result was statistically significant (0? = .05); but, more importantly, it appeared to have great practical significance. An evaluation, based on very conservative subjective estimates, indicated that such an improvement in accuracy would have a present value worth in excess of one percent of a typical firm's yearly sales volume.Further support for the use of the causal model was obtained by noting that the standard errors of the estimated relationships were low (evidence of reliability), that the estimates of causal relationships from different measurement models were in rather close agreement (evidence of construct validity), and that the causal model performed well in another situation where predictions were provided for I960-65 camera sales in 11 'new' countries (evidence of concurrent validity).The causal relationships were initially specified by a subjective analysis. Various parts of the causal model were then updated by use of a number of measurement models including an analysis of differences among sales rates for 30 countries, of differences among changes in the sales rates from 1961 to 1965 for 21 countries, and of differences among six income categories from United States household survey data. This updating led to a modest, though valuable, gain as the mean absolute percentage error of the 1954 backcast was reduced from 30% to the 23% mentioned above.Additional benefits associated with the development of the causal model included the ability to evaluate large changes in the market; to estimate current sales where trade and production figures are inadequate; to evaluate alternative assumptions about the future rapidly and cheaply; and to identify markets which have not been fully exploited.In summary, the study argues that the development of better long-range forecasting models is an important problem; describes the development of causal models; and demonstrates the superiority of causal models over naive models in a case involving long-range forecasting for international markets.


Background The human sense of fairness presents an evolutionary puzzle because it appears to run counter to the short-term interests of at least some parties. We not only react negatively to getting less than a partner but sometimes also to getting more, which seems illogical. Following an ideal of impartiality, we seek appropriate outcomes for everyone within the community, not just a few individuals, and, in particular, not just ourselves. Why do we react this way? Are we the only species to do so? Here, we consider the evidence with regard to nonhuman primates and other animals to illuminate the evolution of the sense of fairness. Because social ideals escape measurement, we focus on behavioral responses to equal versus unequal reward division. Moreover, a true sense of fairness includes taking account of receiving both less than a partner and more than a partner. Therefore, we consider the evidence for both of these in other species and how this informs our understanding of the evolution of fairness in humans. A diagram of the relationship between first-order IA and second-order IA. Individual A received high-level rewards, and individual B received low-level rewards. Individuals who recognize when they receive less than another may react against this situation—for instance, by finding a new cooperative partner. As reliance on cooperation increases, individuals also benefit from recognizing when they receive more, as this allows them to forestall first-order IA reactions in their partners and thereby maintain a successful cooperative relationship. This is the foundation of the full-blown human sense of fairness. A diagram of the relationship between first-order IA and second-order IA. Individual A received high-level rewards, and individual B received low-level rewards. Individuals who recognize when they receive less than another may react against this situation—for instance, by finding a new cooperative partner. As reliance on cooperation increases, individuals also benefit from recognizing when they receive more, as this allows them to forestall first-order IA reactions in their partners and thereby maintain a successful cooperative relationship. This is the foundation of the full-blown human sense of fairness. Advances There is widespread evidence for sensitivity to receiving less than a partner, or "first-order inequity aversion" (IA), in species that cooperate outside mating bonds and kinship. In these studies, animals are paired with a social partner who receives a preferred reward for completing a task. Subjects may respond by refusing to participate or refusing to accept the food reward, and such reactions are compared with those following control tests in which both subjects receive the same reward for the same effort. Increased responses when the partner receives a preferred reward are indicative of a sensitivity to inequity. Thus far, passive and active protest against unfavorable outcomes has been documented in monkeys, apes, dogs, and birds. It is thought that these species compare their outcomes with those of others so as to judge the merit of their partnerships. They may turn away from partners that appropriate more than their fair share of the yields of cooperation. A complete sense of fairness also includes second-order IA, however, which seeks to equalize outcomes even at a short-term cost to the self. This requires individuals to give up an immediate benefit to stabilize a long-term valuable cooperative relationship. Second-order IA reactions have thus far been found only in humans and apes. We hypothesize that second-order IA requires anticipation of first-order IA in the partner and its negative impact on the relationship. To forestall these consequences, and ensure continued cooperation, outcomes are equalized between partners. Outlook Thus, humans and other species seem to share basic reactions to inequity, which serves to sustain cooperation. We postulate that the basic emotional reactions and calculations underlying our sense of fairness are rooted in our primate background and offer a model that places these reactions in the context of cooperative relationships. Future research should more explicitly investigate the key variables underlying IA, such as the degree of dependence on cooperation, anticipation of the way resource division affects relationships, and the freedom to choose among and change partners. A cross-species investigation with a standardized paradigm, including both first- and second-order IA, may further illuminate the factors involved and help verify or falsify the model proposed. The evolutionary benefits of behaving fairly Humans have a deep and innate sense of fairness. Humans, however, are not the only species to react to apparent inequities. Brosnan and de Waal propose that inequity aversion can be broken down into two levels. At the most basic level, individuals react to immediate unequal distribution of a reward for equal effort expended, whereas at the second, they show the ability to accept a current unequal distribution with the expectation that over time distribution will equalize. This second level facilitates cooperation over time and requires the cognitive abilities both to assess current distribution and envision future opportunities for equalization. As cognitive abilities advanced across the primate lineage, this more complex accounting of equal distribution and cooperation may have developed into the complete sense of fairness we see in humans today. Science, this issue 10.1126/science.1251776 The human sense of fairness is an evolutionary puzzle. To study this, we can look to other species, in which this can be translated empirically into responses to reward distribution. Passive and active protest against receiving less than a partner for the same task is widespread in species that cooperate outside kinship and mating bonds. There is less evidence that nonhuman species seek to equalize outcomes to their own detriment, yet the latter has been documented in our closest relatives, the apes. This reaction probably reflects an attempt to forestall partner dissatisfaction with obtained outcomes and its negative impact on future cooperation. We hypothesize that it is the evolution of this response that allowed the development of a complete sense of fairness in humans, which aims not at equality for its own sake but for the sake of continued cooperation.


The article explores the acoustic (aural) dimension of David Grossman's novel To the End of the Land. Positing as one of the protagonists of the unusual love triangle shaped in the novel a "child prodigy," who plans to become a writer of radio plays due to his attraction to and fascination with the human voice, Grossman gives a unique, mimetic expression to the voice throughout the novel. The story opens with a scene permeated by the presence of voices, as the three protagonists, who will later make up the love triangle, meet in complete darkness, unable to see one another and forced to only hear their counterparts. The centrality of the human voice in the novel reaches its peak in the Yom Kippur War, when Avram, enamored of the voice, documents his desperate situation while making up an apocalyptic radio play which is heard on the army radio networks. Serving as the novel's soundtrack is the life story of Ora, the feminine edge of the erotic triangle. Ora, light in Hebrew, also appears in daylight to the reader and to the novel's other protagonists, but she is made present mostly by her voice. The article reveals Grossman's strategies of making the voice heard through the written text, focusing on the covert struggle between sight and sound in this unique novel.