Background and Objectives Glycogen storage disease type V (GSDV) or McArdle disease is a muscle glycogenosis that classically manifests with exercise intolerance and exercise-induced muscle pain. Muscle weakness and wasting may occur, but it is typically mild and described as located around the shoulder girdle in elderly patients. Paraspinal muscle involvement has received little attention in the literature. This study aimed to quantify fat replacement of paraspinal, shoulder, and lower limb muscles by magnetic resonance imaging in a European cohort of patients with GSDV. Methods This observational study included patients with verified GSDV and healthy controls (HCs). Whole-body MRIs and clinical data were collected. The degree of muscle fat replacement was evaluated on T1-weighted images with the semiquantitative visual Mercuri scale and on Dixon images where individual muscle fat fractions (FFs) were quantitatively calculated. Results MRIs and clinical data from a total of 57 patients with GSDV (age 44.3 ± 15.2 years) from 5 European centers were assessed and compared with findings in 30 HCs (age 42.4 ± 14.8 years). Patients with GSDV had significantly more fat replacement of the paraspinal muscles compared with HCs on all levels investigated, detected by both the Mercuri and the Dixon method (Dixon, paraspinal composite FF [GSDV vs HC] at the cervical level: 31.3 ± 13.1 vs 15.4 ± 7.8; thoracic level: 34.5±19.0 vs 16.9±8.6; and lumbar level: 43.9 ± 19.6 vs 21.8 ± 10.2 [p < 0.0001]). Patients with GSDV also had significantly more fat replacement of the shoulder muscles (evaluated by the Mercuri scale), along with significantly, but numerically less, fat replacement of thigh and calf muscles compared with HC (Dixon, lower limb composite FF [GSDV vs HC] at the thigh level: 12.0 ± 5.6 vs 8.8 ± 2.7 and calf level: 13.1 ± 6.7 vs 9.1 ± 2.9 [p ≤ 0.05]). Discussion The primary findings are that patients with GSDV exhibit severe fat replacement of the paraspinal muscles, which can have important implications for the future management of patients with GSDV, and also significant fat replacement of shoulder girdle muscles as previously described. The clinical relevance of the discrete increases in lower limb FF is uncertain. The changes were found to be age-related in both groups, but an accelerated effect was found in GSDV, probably due to continuous muscle damage.


Methods for reticulocyte identification and counting based on digital image processing technology are rare. In this paper, we proposed a pixel-based reticulocyte identification method for blood micrographs. This approach not only addresses slowness of manual methods but also largely alleviates the susceptibility of flow-based methods to nucleic acid. The key is to extract pixel-level features. One color feature is extracted from three color spaces, namely RGB, HSI, and LUV. Three texture features called Gabor features, the gray-level co-occurrence matrix, and local contrast pattern are extracted from the Cr channel of the YCbCr color space, forming six features. Subsequently, the recognition effects of each combination of color and texture were compared, and the combination of Gabor texture features and LUV color features was selected. Then, a support vector machine (SVM) classifier was used to classify the pixel-level features, and the RNA-staining area was detected. Based on the location, number, and area of the region, whether the target cell is reticulocyte can be determined. The precision of this method for reticulocytes was 98.4%, recall was 98.0%, and the F1 measure was 0.982, indicating its usefulness for automation equipment.


The message passing interface (MPI) broadcast communication commonly causes a severe performance bottleneck in multicore system that uses distributed memory. Thus, in this paper, we propose a novel algorithm and hardware structure for the MPI broadcast communication to reduce the bottleneck situation. The transmission order is set based on the state of each processing node that comprises the multicore system, so the novel algorithm minimizes the performance degradation caused by conflict. The proposed scoreboard MPI unit is evaluated by modeling it with SystemC and implemented using VerilogHDL. The size of the proposed scoreboard MPI unit occupies less than 1.03% of the whole chip, and it yields a highly improved performance up to 75.48% as its maximum with 16 processing nodes. Hence, with respect to low-cost design and scalability, this scoreboard MPI unit is particularly useful towards increasing overall performance of the embedded MPSoC.


Titled homologous series consisting of eleven members is a liquid crystal in nature pentyl to decyl members of the series are liquid crystal (LC) while, rest of the members of the series are nonliquid crystals. Enantiotropic nematogenic mesophase with threaded or schlieren texture persisted for pentyl, hexyl, octyl and decyl derivatives of the series. Smectogenic character is totally absent. Phase behavior of a phase diagram is normal for transition curves. Odd-even effect is observed for nematic-isotropic transition curve. Transition temperatures of the homologues are determined by an optical polarizing microscope, equipped with a heating stage. Analytical data supported the structures of molecules. Liquid crystal properties of the titled series are compared with structurally similar homologous series. Nematic-isotropic thermal stability is 171.5oC .Thus; series is predominantly nonmesogenic and partly nematogenic without exhibition of any smectogenic character.


In the case which I described there is a striking resemblance to CPH in the preCPH stage but there has been no transition from episodic to chronic stage. It is possible that this transition may yet occur but as the attacks have been exclusively episodic for 34 years, I labelled the case "indomethacin-responsive episodic cluster headache" rather than "pre-chronic paroxysmal hemicrania". In this way I hoped to draw attention to the possibility that cases of cluster headache of an episodic variety, in addition to cases of CPH, may be dramatically responsive to indomethacin if. the headaches are very frequent and of short duration.


Deprotonation-triggered heavy halogen migrations should become a favorite tool in arene synthesis if their occurrence and outcome could be made predictable. Particularly attractive, though extremely rare, are stop-and-go situations where a first intermediate, generated by metalation, can be trapped at -100 DegC, whereas at -75 DegC halogen migration gives rise to an isomer. As shown now, one can conveniently produce the initial aryllithium species by halogen/metal interconversion in toluene at -100 DegC, under conditions that preclude halogen migration, and unleash the isomerization process by adding THF at -75 DegC. [on SciFinder (R)]


We introduce an optimal control method for electromagnetic haptic guidance systems. Our real-time approach assists users in pen-based tasks such as drawing, sketching or designing. The key to our control method is that it guides users, yet does not take away agency. Existing approaches force the stylus to a continuously advancing setpoint on a target trajectory, leading to undesirable behavior such as loss of haptic guidance or unintended snapping. Our control approach, in contrast, gently pulls users towards the target trajectory, allowing them to always easily override the system to adapt their input spontaneously and draw at their own speed. To achieve this flexible guidance, our optimization iteratively predicts the motion of an input device such as a pen, and adjusts the position and strength of an underlying dynamic electromagnetic actuator accordingly. To enable real-time computation, we additionally introduce a novel and fast approximate model of an electromagnet. We demonstrate the applicability of our approach by implementing it on a prototypical hardware platform based on an electromagnet moving on a bi-axial linear stage, as well as a set of applications. Experimental results show that our approach is more accurate and preferred by users compared to open-loop and time-dependent closed-loop approaches.


Austin's Brazilian-Style Mardi Gras Non-Stop Dancing Totally Uninhibited Revelry Nearly 100 Drummers! Live, Pulsat ing Music All Night Long "Best Public Bash" Texas Monthly Feb. 27, 2O16 www.SambaParty.com Palmer Events Center "Hotter than Burning Man. Better than a Rave. The best party of the year." Wednesday, February 24, 2016 @thedailytexan facebook.com/dailytexan Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900


Coherent and consistent tracking of provenance data and in particular update history information is a crucial building block for any serious information system architecture. Version Control Systems can be a part of such an architecture enabling users to query and manipulate versioning information as well as content revisions. In this paper, we introduce an RDF versioning approach as a foundation for a full featured RDF Version Control System. We argue that such a system needs support for all concepts of the RDF specification including support for RDF datasets and blank nodes. Furthermore, we placed special emphasis on the protection against unperceived history manipulation by hashing the resulting patches. In addition to the conceptual analysis and an RDF vocabulary for representing versioning information, we present a mature implementation which captures versioning information for changes to arbitrary RDF datasets.


A high-performance systolic array computer has been designed by CMU and is currently under construction. The first copy of the machine, to be built by CMU together with its industrial partners before the end of 1985, will incorporate a programmable systolic array of ten linearly connected cells. Each cell in the systolic array is capable of performing 10 million floating-point operations per second (10 MFLOPS), giving the total machine a peak performance of 100 MFLOPS, or higher if additional cells are used. This particular systolic array computer is named Warp, suggesting that it can perform computations at a very high speed. The 10-cell systolic array, with one cell implemented on one board, can process 1024-point complex FFTs at a rate of one FFT every 600 µs. Under program control, the same array can perform many other primitive computations in signal, image, and vision processing, including two-dimensional convolution, dynamic programming, and real or complex matrix multiplication, at a rate of 100 million floating-point operations per second. Users may view the systolic array as an array of conventional "array processors," which can efficiently implement not only systolic algorithms where communication between adjacent cells is intensive, but also non-systolic algorithms where each cell operates on its own data independently from the rest. This paper describes the hardware organization of the Warp machine.


Environmental and/or work risk factors, lack of basic knowledge related to voice, its incorrect use, and a defective vocal model can lead teachers to develop occupational dysphonia. This study aimed to analyze studies focusing on occupational vocal disorders through a literature review. Articles published over a period of 11 years in periodicals indexed in the ScieLO library were searched according to predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Twenty articles related to teachers' vocal occupational disorders were found. We argue that intense vocal use should not harm professionals; the voice has to be pleasant to the speaker and correctly produced. The conclusion is that there is a scarcity of articles available at the studied library relating to teachers' voice disorders. Further studies need to be developed and disseminated so as to increase knowledge in the subject.


To ensure success of a subsurface waste-disposal operation, surface pretreatment of the waste water is generally required. Pretreatment can be quite expensive, but it can make the difference between a successful operation and one subject to repeated difficulties and even failure. Reduction of formation permeabilities and porosity, face plugging, and precipitation and polymerization reactions will all lead to diminished acceptance rates and excessive backpressure levels. Injection compatibility is directly influenced by formation structure, interstitial-water properties, and waste characteristics, including particle size of solids, pH, corrosiveness, viscosity, bacterial content, dissolved gases, temperature, and specific gravity. Each disposal problem and its related solution must be evaluated separately. Basic pretreatment designs vary considerably and are usually tailored to the particular operation. Of basic importance is the minimizing of precipitate-producing reactions and the removal of suspended solids before injection into unconsolidated formations. The latter is less important in vugular or fractured hard-rock areas. Usually, a pretreatment operation will involve waste storage, separation of oil and/or suspended solids through flotation or gravity means, filtration through coarse sand or fine cartridge and diatomaceous earth, chemical fixation of pH, and treatment to correct for corrosiveness or biologic growths. These procedures are followed by additional storage and final pumping to the disposal well. A thorough chemical and physical analysis of the waste water and the receiving formation will result in an optimum design. Simplicity should be the aim. Although difficult, it may be possible to define and classify the various types of wastes that are deemed suitable for deep-well injection.


This study investigated nondestructive testing of welded steel plates by imaging ultrasonic wave propagation based on laser generation. The specimens were scanned by a pulsed laser, and the signals were received by a fixed piezoelectric transducer. A moving diagram of wave propagation from the fixed point was obtained directly from the collected signals. Wave scattering due to a weld defect (e.g., toe crack or root crack) was successfully imaged on weld specimens, and was easily recognized by visual observation in the measured moving diagrams. These experiments demonstrated the ability of the imaging technique to inspect a large area in a short time and to reliably detect a defect. Furthermore, the position-time-amplitude maps (B-scope images) were reconstructed from the moving diagram along some lines perpendicular to the defect, and the location and the size of a root crack were evaluated based on the B-scope images.


Background The use of expanded criteria donor kidneys (ECD) had been associated with worse outcomes. Whole gene expression of pre-implantation allograft biopsies from deceased donor kidneys (DDKs) was evaluated to compare the effect of pulsatile pump preservation (PPP) vs. cold storage preservation (CSP) on standard and ECD kidneys. Methodology/Principal Findings 99 pre-implantation DDK biopsies were studied using gene expression with GeneChips. Kidneys transplant recipients were followed post transplantation for 35.8 months (range = 24–62). The PPP group included 60 biopsies (cold ischemia time (CIT)  = 1,367+/−509 minutes) and the CSP group included 39 biopsies (CIT = 1,022+/−485 minutes) (P<0.001). Donor age (42.0±14.6 vs. 34.1±14.2 years, P = 0.009) and the percentage of ECD kidneys (PPP = 35% vs. CSP = 12.8%, P = 0.012) were significantly different between groups. A two-sample t-test was performed, and probe sets having a P<0.001 were considered significant. Probe set level linear models were fit using cold ischemia time and CSP/PPP as independent variables to determine significant probe sets (P<0.001) between groups after adjusting for cold ischemia time. Thus, 43 significant genes were identified (P<0.001). Over-expression of genes associated with inflammation (CD86, CD209, CLEC4, EGFR2, TFF3, among others) was observed in the CSP group. Cell-to-cell signaling and interaction, and antigen presentation were the most important pathways with genes significantly over-expressed in CSP kidneys. When the analysis was restricted to ECD kidneys, genes involved in inflammation were also differentially up-regulated in ECD kidneys undergoing CSP. However, graft survival at the end of the study was similar between groups (P = 0.2). Moreover, the incidence of delayed graft function was not significant between groups. Conclusions/Significance Inflammation was the most important up-regulated pattern associated with pre-implantation biopsies undergoing CSP even when the PPP group has a larger number of ECD kidneys. No significant difference was observed in delayed graft function incidence and graft function post-transplantation. These findings support the use of PPP in ECD donor kidneys.


Abstract:Chan 禪 Buddhism's rise to popularity in the Song dynasty produced far-reaching effects within Chinese religious culture. This paper examines the ways in which doctrinal, literary, and mythological elements, drawn from Chan sources, were utilized within literary works associated with internal alchemy (neidan 內丹), a form of Daoist self-cultivation that emerged in the late Tang and became increasingly widespread during the Song. I examine the works of the influential neidan practitioner Zhang Boduan 張伯端, who wrote favorably of Chan Buddhism and incorporated elements of its practice within his own tradition. Following this, I turn to an analysis of the writings of other authors and commentators within Zhang's tradition. These authors held more critical views of Chan and of Buddhism in general; drawing upon long-standing polemical arguments, they attempted to present Chan as an inferior form of Daoist practice and claimed that well-known Chan practitioners were, in fact, engaged in neidan practice. With this study, I hope to contribute to the growing body of scholarship focused on the analysis of Buddho-Daoist relations and polemics in the Song period.


This paper describes an algorithm that decomposes the free space into nonoverlapping geometric-shaped primitives suitable for path planning. Given a set of polygonal obstacles in space, the algorithm first decomposes concave obstacles into connecting convex obstacles in order to have a uniform obstacle representation, which facilitates later processing. The neighborhood relations among these Convex obstacles are identified and then used to locate critical "channels" and "passage regions" in the free space, and to localize the influence of obstacles on free space description. The free space is then decomposed into nonoverlapping geometric-shaped primitives where channels connect passage regions. The channels are similar to the generalized cones presented in Brooks [1]. The passage regions are represented as convex polygons. Based on this mixed representation of free space, the path planning algorithm can plan path trajectories inside the channels and passage regions. The perimeter of the channels and passage regions associated with the planned path provides the boundaries of the path that the mobile robot must stay within during path execution.


Inadequacies in Tanzania's education and training systems compromise the quality of workforce skills, giving rise to skill shortages, and constraining the operations and growth of formal sector firms in the country. This study addressed these concerns using data from a unique Enterprise Skills Survey that asked Tanzanian employers about the education, training, and occupational mix of their workforce, the skill gaps in cognitive, noncognitive, and job-specific competencies affecting their operations, and the strategies they are using to overcome these skill gaps. The study investigates the consequences for firm productivity of employers' choices about their optimal skills mix, and their strategies to mitigate shortfalls in skills supply. Compared with noninnovators and firms primarily serving the domestic market, exporters and innovators face greater skill demand and suffer from skill shortages that are more likely to constrain their operations in such areas as quality assurance, use of new technology, and introducing new products and services. In analyzing firm performance and its relation to skill mix, the study found that firms with higher shares of tertiary-educated workers are more productive; it found no impact, however, from secondary education and technical vocational education and training qualifications, possibly reflecting the universally acknowledged poor quality of secondary education in Tanzania. Employers use a range of strategies to address skill deficiencies, from hiring new workers, to training current workers in-house or externally, using high-skill expatriate workers, or outsourcing professional services. Almost all were associated with higher labor productivity. The exception, employer provided in-house training, had no measurable impact on productivity.


Theory of Advanced Greek Composition, with Digest of Greek Idioms. By JOHN DONOVAN, S.J., M.A. Two vols. Demy 8vo. Vol. I.: pp. xiv+124; Vol. II . : pp. 208. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1921-2. Vol. I., 5s. net; Vol. II., 7s. net. THIS is a most useful book, but it is a pity that the author does not indicate in the Preface to Part I. how he advises the reader to deal with the mass of material he has collected. In the Preface to Part II. he says that ' i t will be advisable for students who have already acquired some knowledge of Greek' (surely there will be no others who will venture on two volumes—and apparently a third to follow—on Advanced Greek Prose Composition !) ' to begin by assimilating the general principles set forth in this second part.' But before the reader reaches this point, he may have been disheartened by the unnecessary multiplication of ' Processes' in the Introduction to Part I. and the somewhat frigid and over-elaborate classification that follows, and may lay the book aside without realising that the author is really concerned almost entirely with what is, after all, the crucial test—the process of finding Greek vocabulary and idiom. This process is in point of fact so difficult for the average composer that all others must be subordinated to it, and elaborate systems break down accordingly. Father Donovan, after proposing his system, is practical enough to concentrate almost exclusively on his Process 3, which is ' the finding by the student of Greek equivalents of the various portions of the English he is about to transfer into Greek.' The Classification of the Fundamental Differences in Part II. is very good, and it is quite possible to read this part as a whole, as well as to use it for reference. From it further references to Part I. can be advantageously pursued, if desired. In this way the book can be systematically used, and the alphabetical arrangement of the examples will a!so be of assistance. But in any case, if we open the book purely at random and read a few pages, the wealth of illustration is so great that we cannot fail to establish a more intimate acquaintance with the particular subject treated. The author is fully justified in claiming that each chapter of the work constitutes an independent treatise, which may be studied separately on its own merits; but here again it would perhaps have been wiser to give the reader this hint in the Preface to Part I. J. E. SCOTT.


This paper models phonetic and phonological learning as a dependency between random space and generated speech data in the Generative Adversarial Neural network architecture and proposes a methodology to uncover the network's internal representation that corresponds to phonetic and phonological features. A Generative Adversarial Network (Goodfellow et al. 2014; implemented as WaveGAN for acoustic data by Donahue et al. 2019) was trained on an allophonic distribution in English, where voiceless stops surface as aspirated word-initially before stressed vowels except if preceded by a sibilant [s]. The network successfully learns the allophonic alternation: the network's generated speech signal contains the conditional distribution of aspiration duration. Additionally, the network generates innovative outputs for which no evidence is available in the training data, suggesting that the network segments continuous speech signal into units that can be productively recombined. The paper also proposes a technique for establishing the network's internal representations. We identify latent variables that directly correspond to presence of [s] in the output. By manipulating these variables, we actively control the presence of [s], its frication amplitude, and spectral shape of the frication noise in the generated outputs.


Exploratory eye movements were recorded using an eye‐mark recorder in 48 normal subjects (24 male and 24 female). Gender differences were examined regarding four eye movement parameters such as the mean gazing time, the total number of gazing points, and the mean eye scanning length and the total eye scanning length. The mean gazing time of women was significantly longer than that of men, and the total number of gazing points of women was significantly less than that of men. The mean eye‐scanning length of men and women did not differ. The total eye scanning length of men was significantly longer than that of women. Reproducibility between sessions of the four eye movement parameters above was expressed as Pearson correlation coefficients (r) in 24 healthy adults before and after a month interval, yielding respective coefficients of 0.65, 0.42, 0.56 and 0.61. These results suggested that differences in exploratory eye movements between men and women may reflect differences in the characteristics of visual information processing and also confirmed the reproducibility of exploratory eye movement parameters.


This thesis investigates the potential of the arts, and drama in particular, to contribute
to the personal, social and emotional well-being of primary school children. It is
based on a six-month fieldwork in two educational institutions in Cyprus; a Primary
School and a Youth Theatre. I conducted a series of drama workshops with 46
children aged 6-13, in order to examine whether and how their engagement with
drama led to benefits associated with the following aspects of their well-being:
Happiness and pleasure; sociability, social skills and skills of working with others;
self-esteem, self-confidence and sense of achievement; beauty; and children's voice.
I have decided to focus on these, among many others, because when recent official
reports in the UK and Cyprus suggested that the well-being of children is under
threat, they translated the phenomenon into terms that fall into these categories.
Additionally, while looking at the data generated during my fieldwork, I realised that
they pointed strongly to these directions.
The recent interest with well-being has led governments in the UK and Cyprus to
invest in the designing and implementing of special educational programmes that
aim to help children develop their social, emotional and behavioural skills. These
programmes are Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) in the UK, and
Social and Emotional Education (SEE) in Cyprus. Yet a number of critical reports
have pointed out that the very programmes designed to address the well-being of
children, are actually posing the risk of undermining it. These criticisms focus on
their 'target-driven', 'management-by-objectives' approach, that has been evaluated
as having had little substantial impact on student welfare. In my thesis, I will argue for an alternative understanding of children's well-being;
one that can be achieved in a more natural, organic way, through their participation
in drama and the arts, and through their taking pleasure in aesthetic experiences. I
will mount my argument using practical evidence from my research, which made use
of the methodologies of ethnography, case study and reflective practice, and which
implemented the methods of participant observation, semi-structured interviews and
questionnaires, practitioner's journal, and drama conventions as research tools.
However, it is important to note that the approach of addressing well-being through
drama and the arts is not without its problematic aspects. It invites a different set of
challenges and implications to those of SEAL and SEE, some of which conflict with
general pedagogical approaches. For example, my findings suggest that youngsters
flourish on a personal, social and emotional level when they are allowed to engage
with horror fiction and boisterous play. These are areas that teachers and parents
might understandably perceive as crossing the boundaries of what is permissible and
what is not within a classroom context. Whereas I am not denying that these
approaches involve certain risks, in my thesis I propose a classroom pedagogy that
can help deal with these challenges.
As it will become evident throughout my thesis, issues relating to the correlation of
drama to the personal, social and emotional growth of children are not technically
straightforward. It is a multi-layered and more complex relationship than what the
immediate responses to it might be. What I hope to have achieved is to have
unpicked some of the complex issues and limitations arising from this relationship,
and to have offered certain pedagogical suggestions that can make flourishing
through participation in drama and the arts possible for students.


Adolescent violence and abuse towards parents is under researched, especially in the UK where reports of the phenomenon are increasing with little clear guidance as to how practitioners might respond. In this qualitative study, 6 parents were recruited through youth offending teams and were interviewed about their lived experiences of violence and/or abuse from their adolescent child. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, 3 superordinate themes emerged (a) the tensions and (b) the ambiguities produced by living with the violence and abuse and (c) the ways that parents manage the harms caused by these tensions and ambiguities. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed, including consideration of how practitioners might support parents who are living with adolescent-to-parent violence and abuse to establish healthy and sustainable coping strategies while repairing family relationships.


Polymer materials are used in the structural members such as aircraft, ship, automobiles in order to enlarge and lighten the machinery and structures. In such the machinery and structures, the complex destruction phenomena are generating by the deterioration of use conditions of the polymer materials. And the materials are placed under biaxial or multi-axial stress conditions rather than uni-axial stress conditions due to their complicated structures. To understand the basic deformation behaviours and the features in destruction process under multi-axial stress conditions is more important in the reliability and the accident prevention plan. To help overcome this problem, the authors have developed a hydraulic high-speed biaxial loading test device. In this study, we had comparative study for the values of the dimensionless stress intensity factors, F values by the photoelastic and caustics methods to clarify deformation behaviours and characteristics of polymer materials under biaxial stress conditions.


Summary Several standard formats have been proposed that can be used to describe models, simulations, data or other essential information in a consistent fashion. These constitute various separate components required to reproduce a given published scientific result. The Open Modeling EXchange format (OMEX) supports the exchange of all the information necessary for a modeling and simulation experiment in biology. An OMEX file is a ZIP container that includes a manifest file, an optional metadata file, and the files describing the model. The manifest is an XML file listing all files included in the archive and their type. The metadata file provides additional information about the archive and its content. Although any format can be used, we recommend an XML serialization of the Resource Description Framework. Together with the other standard formats from the Computational Modeling in Biology Network (COMBINE), OMEX is the basis of the COMBINE Archive. The content of a COMBINE Archive consists of files encoded in COMBINE standards whenever possible, but may include additional files defined by an Internet Media Type. The COMBINE Archive facilitates the reproduction of modeling and simulation experiments in biology by embedding all the relevant information in one file. Having all the information stored and exchanged at once also helps in building activity logs and audit trails.


SUMMARY The transport and artificial insemination of chilled (4°C) and cryopreserved (-196°C) dog semen have gained increasing interest worldwide and have become very popular among dog breeders. Whereas cryopreservation of dog sperm is a complicated and time consuming procedure, which is almost exclusively performed at universities, the chilling of dog semen can be handled by veterinarians in their private practices, provided that the basic knowledge of chilling and diluting semen is acquired. Immediately after sperm collection, the quality of the fresh sample is evaluated and recorded before diluting in an appropriate extender. Subsequently, the diluted semen is gradually chilled to 4°C. It can be stored at 4°C for several days or transported in a thermos flask, a styrofoam box or a Minitube neopore box. Cryopreserved dog sperm is mostly transported in a dry-shipper container. The rules and legislation for the shipment of chilled and frozen dog semen are rather complicated. They differ between almost every country and may change over time. To comply with all the administrative procedures, it is necessary to plan the transport of semen well in advance.


This thesis describes analysis methods and results from slip-perturbed gait experiments. The risk for falls was related both to the conditions present at heel strike and to the nature of the response. Gait analysis was performed using the Human Movement and Balance Laboratory (HMBL) model, a fifteen segment, fourteen joint model of the human body that was developed as part of this thesis effort. Resulting kinematics and kinetics included three-dimensional angles describing relative segment rotations, segmental and whole-body centers-of-mass, and joint actuation torques for the entire body.The relationship between pre-slip gait characteristics and the magnitude of slips was explored for both younger and older adults. Slip severity, either hazardous or non-hazardous, was determined using a 1.0 m/s peak slip velocity threshold. Hazardous slips were associated with greater step lengths normalized by leg length, larger and more rapidly changing foot-floor angles at heel strike, and increased cadence across the two subject groups. These results suggest that gait characteristics play an important role in the severity of slips. Older adults were found to walk with shorter step lengths and with smaller and more slowly changing foot-floor angles at heel strike compared to younger subjects, suggesting that age effects also impact slip severity.The effects of slipping and trailing leg response on slip outcome (falls or recoveries) were explored. Slip severity was found to be the most significant parameter related to outcome. Response strategies were classified, based on trailing leg dynamics, as either minimal, foot-flat, mid-flight, or toe-down. Slipping and trailing leg hip and knee torques were determined using the HMBL model and timing and magnitude parameters from these torques were then identified. Relationships between these parameters, age group (younger/older), response strategy, and outcome were then explored. Age was not found to be significantly related to response strategy or outcome, nor was response strategy found to be related to outcome. Slipping leg knee torque timing and magnitude parameters were related to slip severity and to outcome for hazardous slips. These results suggest that slip responses, coupled with slip severity, determine fall or recovery outcomes.


Introduction: Vitamin D has been shown to have anti-cancer properties such as antioxidants, anti-proliferative, and cell differentiation. The property of vitamin D as an anticancer agent triggers researchers to find out whether vitamin D is useful as a radiosensitizer. Multiple studies have been carried out on cell lines in various types of cancer, but the benefits of vitamin D as a radiosensitizer still controversial. This paperwork aims to investigate the utilization of Vitamin D3 (Calcitriol) as radiosensitizer in various cell line through literature review.Methods: A systematic search of available medical literature databases was performed on in-vitro studies with Vitamin D as a radiosensitizer in all types of cell lines. A total of 11 in-vitro studies were evaluated.Results: Nine studies in this review showed a significant effect of Vitamin D as a radiosensitizer agent by promoting cytotoxic autophagy, increasing apoptosis, inhibiting of cell survival and proliferation, promoting gene in ReIB inhibition, inducing senescene and necrosis. The two remaining studies showed no significant effect in the radiosensitizing mechanism of Vitamin D due to lack of evidence in-vitro settings.Conclusion: Vitamin D have anticancer property and can be used as a radiosensitizer by imploring various mechanism pathways in various cell lines. Further research especially in-vivo settings need to be evaluated.


There has been an increasing demand for accurate rainfall forecast in urban areas from the water industry. Current forecasting systems provided mainly by meteorological offices are based on large-scale prediction and are not well suited for this application. In order to devise a system especially designed for the dynamic management of a sewerage system the "RADAR" project was launched. The idea of this project was to provide a short-term small-scale prediction of rain based on radar images. The prediction methodology combines two methods. An extrapolation method based on a sophisticated cross correlation of images is optimised by a neural network technique. Three different application sites in Europe have been used to validate the system.


The corrosion wear of alloy tool steel (SKD 11) coated with TiN (Ti/TiN : single layer and Ti/TiN/Ti/TiN : multiple layers) was investigated in a NaCl solution in comparison with the case of mild steel (SS 400). Corrosion wear tests showed difference in morphorogy of damage between stators and rotors. In the stators, TiN films disappeared with a low load, and wear tracks were observed. As for the damage of rotors, the galvanic corrosion, the wear of substrates and the disappearance of TiN films occured under a load of 9.8 MPa or below. With the highest load of 9.8 MPa, the disappearance of TiN film, and the adhesion of wear debris and corrosion products were observed. It was found that the SKD 11 substrate was galvanically coupled with TiN films but the corrosion rate of the substrate was less than that of SS 400 by a factor of 2 or 3. The weight loss of SKD 11 with TiN films in corrosion wear tests was caused mainly by wear and partly galvanic corrosion.


Shape sensitivity expressions are derived for linear piezoelectric structures with coupled mechanical and elastic fields. By adopting the quasielectrostatic approximation for these inherently anisotropic materials, the adjoint variable method of optimization and the material derivative formulation of shape variations are used in a systematic procedure to evaluate the total variation of a general performance criterion with respect to shape variations. The material (total) derivative of the adopted integral functional is found in terms of primary and adjoint quantities, as well as the deformation velocity field. Since the structure is assumed to undergo dynamic response, domain integrations evaluated at the initial time are also needed in this formulation.


Taeniid cestodiases are cosmopolitan infections and refer to a group of parasitic zoonoses caused by tapeworms of the genera Echinococcus and Taenia . In this study we used the sodium chloride floatation technique and well structured close ended questionnaires to determine the prevalence, distribution and risk factors associated with these infections in trade dogs in Dawaki, Plateau State. Data were analysed using chi-square (x2) test, odds ratio and logistic regression at 95% confidence interval. Of the 203 faecal samples analysed, a total of 115 were positive, yielding an overall prevalence of 56.7%. Prevalence rates revealed by Echinococcus granulosus 55(27.1%), Taenia hydatigena 4(2.0%), Taenia ovis 44 (21.7%) and mixed infections 12(5.9%) varied significantly (p<0.05). Prevalence rates in relation to age, sex and dog type varied significantly (p<0.05) ranging between 38.7% and 82.8% while those in relation to sources of trade dogs ranged between 19.2 and 41.2% ( E. granulosus ), 0 and 9.1% ( T. hydatigena ), 17.6 and 36.4% ( T. ovis ) and 48.9 and 66.7% for all parasites. Lack of awareness of zoonotic cestodiasis and lack of knowledge of transmission of zoonotic cestodes between dogs and owners were among the major risk factors that significantly influenced the prevalence of zoonotic cestodiasis. Echinococcus granulosus, T. hydatigena and T. ovis are prevalent among trade dogs in Dawaki and the control of these cestode infections requires improved management practices and public education. Keywords : Prevalence; risk factors; taeniid cestodiasis; public health; trade dogs; Dawaki.


The fatigue crack initiation and growth in a high loaded bolted bar connection made of high strength steel S1100Q is presented. The material parameters for the fatigue crack initiation f', f', b and c are determined using low cycle fatigue test according to ASTM E 606 standard. The fracture mechanics parameters C and m are determined according to ASTM E 647 standard. Based on low cycle fatigue parameters the computational analysis is performed to determine the number of stress cycles required for the fatigue crack initiation. The remain service life up to the final failure is than determined using the known parameters C and m and calculated stress intensity factor, where 3D numerical analysis is performed. The bolted bars are also experimentally tested. Comparison of computational and experimental results shows a reasonable agreement.


Ameloblastin (Ambn), the most abundant non-amelogenin enamel protein, is intrinsically disordered and has the potential to interact with other enamel proteins and with cell membranes. Here, through multiple biophysical methods, we investigated the interactions between Ambn and large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs), whose lipid compositions mimicked cell membranes involved in epithelial cell-extracellular matrix adhesion. Using a series of Ambn Trp/Phe variants and Ambn mutants, we further showed that Ambn binds to LUVs through a highly conserved motif within the sequence encoded by exon 5. Synthetic peptides derived from different regions of Ambn confirmed that the sequence encoded by exon 5 is involved in LUV binding. Sequence analysis of Ambn across different species showed that the N-terminus of this sequence contains a highly conserved motif with a propensity to form an amphipathic helix. Mutations in the helix-forming sequence resulted in a loss of peptide binding to LUVs. Our in vitro data suggest that Ambn binds the lipid membrane directly through a conserved helical motif and have implications for biological events such as Ambn-cell interactions, Ambn signaling, and Ambn secretion via secretory vesicles.


Ants are one of the most important faunal groups in Australia and are widely used as bioindicators in land monitoring and assessment programs. The Ants of Northern Australia will help in the identification of the 1500 or more ant species occurring in monsoonal Australia, an area which encompasses most of the northern third of the continent. Until now, no book has described the northern Australian ant fauna below genus level. Such a treatment is required to support and promote the numerous ecological studies involving ants, especially in the context of their use as bioindicators. The Ants of Northern Australia features original analyses of genera at the species-group level, and so has relevance throughout Australia. It treats all major species that have been described, as well as numerous others that remain undescribed.


Film: Bastards of Utopia, directed by Maple Razsa and Pacho Velez Waterville, ME: EnMasse Films, 2010, 56 min.Bastards of Utopia is the story of three young Croatian anarchists (Fistra, Dado and Jelena) struggling to change the world amid the aftershocks of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the bloody wars in the former Yugoslavia. Based on a decade of field work by Harvard-trained anthropologist Maple Razsa and co-director Pacho Velez, the film accurately documents an important period in the history of the Croatian anarchist movement, carefully places warm personal stories in relation to global anti- capitalist struggles, and astutely explores important universal questions. Classified as a documentary educational resource, the film is well suited for courses in subjects ranging from gender, anti-globalisation and social movements to ethnography and anthropology.Anarchists are usually depicted as aggressive, masked militants who mind- lessly cause trouble and destroy property. In contrast, Bastards of Utopia provides a more rounded insight into anarchists' everyday lives and activism, thus providing a balance between the personal and the political, the intimate and the public, the local and the global, the documentary and the critical. The film is organised around a number of central episodes. A smooth story-line provides an excellent background for presenting the best features of the film: small, often brilliant snippets of conver- sation, actions and everyday activities such as getting arrested at anti-globalist riots and cleaning the kitchen.Immediately after meeting the protagonists, it is obvious that their relationships with the film-makers are ones of close friendship and solidarity. In the first episode, protagonists and film-makers embark on a journey to Thessaloniki in order to partic- ipate in anti-capitalist protests. The film critically analyses their motivations and it soon becomes clear that the protagonists are much more passionate about building social alternatives than about rioting. In the second episode they squatted an aban- doned building and established an anarchist free shop. (Those familiar with the history of local anarchist movements will also notice that this is one of the earliest documented attempts of squatting in Croatia.) Learning the hard lesson that anar- chist politics is always personal and that anarchist personality is always political, the film-makers leave Croatia for a couple of months - and return several years later.In the meantime, the protagonists have developed in different ways. From her squat in London, Jelena places the movement in the global context and concludes that, after the strong tidal wave of protests in the 1990s, the anti-capitalist movement has entered a quiet period. …


The main aim of the diploma thesis is the comparison of the two very popular technologies for the development of web applications. The comparison of PHP and ASP.NET with C# language is done on example of web content management system (WCMS) development.

Web site publications are one of the most efficient ways to present our activity to the general public. This diploma work describes the development and performance of web content management system. The comparison of used technology PHP and ASP.NET is presented as well.

ASP.NET is a web application framework developed by Microsoft. It allows programmers to build dynamic web applications and web services. ASP.NET is built on the Common Language Runtime (CLR) which allows programmers to write code using any supported .NET language.

PHP is an open source programming language for building dynamic web applications. PHP generally runs on a web server, where output web site is generated from PHP code.

Web content management system is built in PHP and ASP.NET version. It has two modules. The users module is designed to make web sites, while the administrator module is used to group users and define permissions. Registration is required to use the system. The administrator has to define the permissions for user. Those are the base for creation of defined option. It is also possible to define the period in which the web site will be operational.

The best technology for building applications with given infrastructures proved to be ASP.NET. His advantage is based on easy coding and debugging. PHP has advantage when applications runs on the different servers or different operating systems.


Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a rare inherited disorder characterized by inability of phagocytes to generate oxygen radicals needed for intracellular killing of phagocytic microorganisms. We report a 2.5-year-old Iranian female with multiple liver abscesses. She was admitted in surgical ward because of abdominal pain and fever for one month duration that had no response to conventional antibiotic treatment. The results of laboratory tests were: WBC=17000, Neutrophils=82%, lymph=17%, ESR=100. Other tests except nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) and dihydrorhodamine (DHR) tests were negative and according to these two tests the final diagnosis was CGD. Supportive care along with recombinant interferon γ and oral trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole for prophylaxis of infections started. Now after 18 months she is alive and healthy. Any patient with recurrent or unusual lymphadenitis, hepatic abscesses, osteomyelitis at multiple sites, a family history of recurrent infections, or unusual infections with catalase positive organisms, like S. aureus, requires evaluation for CGD.


Genetic improvement of livestock through breeding (select superior animals as next generation parents), is a sustainable approach to increase animal production. According to the importance of birth weight (first record after birth) in this study we investigate the relationship between birth weight (BW) and or calve birth weight (CBW) production and reproduction traits and cow survivallity to make future attention to birth weight. The registered records of National Livestock Breeding Center (1346 to 1389) were used. Data preparation (by CFC and FoxPro software), Statistical and genetic analysis (by ASReml and DMU software, respectively); and also survival and longevity analysis (by Survival and Cmprsk, R.2.14 software packages) were down. Production traits as including100-days milk (MY100), 305-day milk (MY305), fat 305-day (FY305) and 305-day protein (PY305) production and reproductive traits were the interval between calving to first service (CFI), the interval between first service to conception (FSTC), calving interval (CI) and dystocia (CE) of the first three lactation, and age at first calving (AFC). Statistical analysis showed a significant effect (P > 0.001) of CBW and BW on all production traits; based on the estimation of on least square means (LSM) cows which gave birth to heavier calves, had a higher production rate; and also calves with high BW, produced more in their future lactation periods. In statistical analysis of reproductive traits, CBW had a significant effect (P > 0.001) on all reproductive traits except of FSTC traits. The results of LSM showed the highest effects of CBW in cow reproductive traits were on the CFI and CE. Also the BW had a significant effect (P > 0.001) on the CFI, CI, CE, and the AFC traits; while the FSTC was not significant in none of the lactation periods. According to the variance analysis, as expected, by increasing in BW, CFI and CI increased, too. The results showed that by BW increasing, cow production and reproduction maturity (AFC) and also the incidence of CE decreased. The estimation of genetic correlations of CBW showed that the highest genetic correlations of productive traits were related to the second weighted groups. In reproductive traits, these components had an incremental process for CI but decreased for CFI. The high correlation of CE showed the large amount of CE is related to CBW. Estimation of genetic correlation components of BW showed a fairly high positive genetic correlation between BW and all productive traits, except of PY305. For CI, the negative components had a n increasing rate, while the estimation of CE genetic correlation, unlike our expectation, was positive. These component were negative for AFC. In the analysis of CBW, herd, age at birth, maternal age, sex and weighted groups had a significant effect (P > 0.001) on survival, persistence milk production days (except of sex) and longevity (except of sex); in these traits by CBW increasing, the eliminated cows risk increased. In the analysis of BW, all effective factors of survival (except of weighted codes), persistence milk production days (except of CE) and longevity (except of sex, maternal age and CE) were significant (P > 0.001); in these traits, as expected, by BW increasing, the eliminated cows risk decreased.


One hundred documents written by Dine men, women, and children speaking for themselves and on behalf of their communities are collected in this book. Discovered during Iverson's research for the book, these letters, speeches, and petitions, almost all previously unpublished, provide a uniquely moving portrait of the Dine during an era in which they were fighting to defend their lands and to build the Navajo Nation. Six crucial, overlapping subjects are addressed here: land, community, education, rights, government, and identity. Brief introductions to each chapter and each document provide the necessary context, and historic photographs selected by Monty Roessel (Navajo), an outstanding photographer, supplement the words of the people. Most of the vast literature about American Indians emphasises the actions and words of non-Indians. Indians become the victims, the people to whom things happen. This volume furnishes a different view of the native past. It shows Navajos making their own history. It demonstrates how the Dine worked to keep their lands, develop their economy, build their communities, educate their young people, affirm their rights, govern themselves, and maintain their heritage while forging a brighter future.


Although the coexistence of rare pathologies in the same patient is considered an exceptional event, the possibility to contend with a condition such like this may occur in clinical practice. In these cases, a multidisciplinary approach is required in order to find the most appropriate therapeutic strategy.
Here we describe the clinical case of a 61 years old female affected with a rare genetic pathology known as lateral meningocele syndrome (LMS) who developed a pathological condition that could be framed in the context of a multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome (MCSS) characterized by intolerance to several drugs, foods as well as environmental and chemical agents.


BIS have launched their 'Make it in Great Britain' campaign highlighting the best in British Manufacturing (presumably with a view to getting more of it). Aditya Chakrabortty also had an interesting piece on the Guardian yesterday on the de-industrial revolution asking why Britain doesn't make anything anymore. Both of these things had me reflecting on what, if anything, policy can do about this.


Three-dimensional (3D) null points are available in wealth in the solar corona, and the equivalent is probably going to be valid in other astrophysical situations. On-going outcomes from sun oriented perceptions and from reproductions propose that reconnection at such 3D nulls may assume a significant job in the coronal dynamics. The properties of the torsional spine method of magnetic reconnection at 3D nulls are researched. Kinematic model are created, which incorporate the termηJ that is spatially localised around the null, stretching out along the spine of the null. The null point is to research the impact of shifting the level of asymmetry of the null point magnetic field on the subsequent reconnection process where past examinations constantly considered a non-nonexclusive radially symmetric null. Specifically we analyse the rate of reconnection of magnetic flux at the spine of null point. Logical arrangements are determined for the enduring kinematic equation, and contrasted and the after effects of torsional spine reconnection models when the current is restricted in which the Maxwell conditions are illuminated. The geometry of the current layers inside which torsional spine reconnection happen is autonomous on the symmetry of the magnetic field. Torsional spine reconnection happens in a thin cylinder around the spine, with circular cross-segment when the fan eigenvalues are extraordinary. The short axis of the circle being along the solid field bearing. Just as it was discovered that the fundamental structure of the method of attractive reconnection considered is unaffected by changing the magnetic field symmetry, that is, the plasma flow is discovered rotational around the spine of null point. The spatiotemporal pinnacle current, and the pinnacle reconnection rate achieved, are found not to rely upon the level of asymmetry.


Elderly and frail patients with multiple myeloma (MM) are more vulnerable to the toxicity of combination therapies, often resulting in treatment modifications and suboptimal outcomes. The phase 3 BOSTON study showed that once‐weekly selinexor and bortezomib with low‐dose dexamethasone (XVd) improved PFS and ORR compared with standard twice‐weekly bortezomib and moderate‐dose dexamethasone (Vd) in patients with previously treated MM. This is a retrospective subgroup analysis of the multicenter, prospective, randomized BOSTON trial. Post hoc analyses were performed to compare XVd versus Vd safety and efficacy according to age and frailty status (<65 and ≥65 years, nonfrail and frail). Patients ≥65 years with XVd had higher ORR (OR 1.77, p = .024), ≥VGPR (OR, 1.68, p = .027), PFS (HR 0.55, p = .002), and improved OS (HR 0.63, p = .030), compared with Vd. In frail patients, XVd was associated with a trend towards better PFS (HR 0.69, p = .08) and OS (HR 0.62, p = .062). Significant improvements were also observed in patients <65 (ORR and TTNT) and nonfrail patients (PFS, ORR, ≥VGPR, and TTNT). Patients treated with XVd had a lower incidence of grade ≥ 2 peripheral neuropathy in ≥65 year‐old (22% vs. 37%; p = .0060) and frail patients (15% vs. 44%; p = .0002). Grade ≥3 TEAEs were not observed more often in older compared to younger patients, nor in frail compared to nonfrail patients. XVd is safe and effective in patients <65 and ≥65 and in nonfrail and frail patients with previously treated MM.


"No majority can ever abolish the feeling of the diversity of minorities from one's conscience. The mental figure of the ghetto survives invincible. The negro can only get out of there if he adopts the visual angle and the mentality of the majority. He must deny himself, and pretend that his experience is a normal experience, that is to say, majoritarian". These words by Pasolini expose what "integration" ends up being, even at its best. It is the key issue at the center of the worldwide successful theatrical text Disgraced, Pulitzer Prize 2013, written by Ayad Akhtar, an American writer of Pakistani origin. Disgraced was staged in the 2017/2018 theatrical season in Turin and Munich, directed by the award-winning Martin Kušej. Both text and staging try to intercept racism and discrimination of all kinds from the point where they affect us all in the form of anxiety of adaptation/inclusion and power to exclude. If these problems affect us all, certainly not in the sense of the 'human universal', a point of view that both Akthar and Kušej avoid carefully. We are all perhaps on the same boat, but who drives it, who runs the engine, whoever is safe and who ends up at sea, are mostly well distinguishable and not interchangeable. The difference is that if you are 'included' there is still some possibility of living a whole life without having to notice it. In the event that you are part of a group temporarily at risk of exclusion, as in this moment the immigrants from poorer countries, like the Muslims mentioned in the text, the meeting or clash with this reality, and therefore a real updated knowledge, is an almost inevitable experience.


The data on changes in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) dissolved in the fermentation broth in the course of biosynthesis of tetracycline made in a 63 m3 fermenter are presented. It is shown that pCO2 equal approximately to 2 cPa was optimal for tetracycline biosynthesis. The total carbonate concentration and pCO2 were estimated simultaneously in the process of tetracycline fermentation.


Age-standardised breast cancer mortality fell by around 26% in Australian females in the 15 years following introduction of the BreastScreen Australia program. The relative contributions of breast screening and treatment advances to this reduction are open to debate. Three evaluations of breast screening in Australia point to reductions in breast cancer mortality in screening participants consistent with the collective trial results, estimated to be around 35% by an expert panel of the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The collective results of evaluations in other countries are similar but individual results vary widely, from little or no benefit to reductions of up to 76%. Over-diagnosis is a controversial issue, with some results indicating it to be of negligible magnitude and others indicating that it could represent 30% or more of breast cancers in populations exposed to breast screening. Meanwhile, age-standardised cervical cancer mortality reduced by over 50% in the 15 years following introduction of an organised approach to screening. This followed earlier reductions also likely to reflect cervical screening. The roll-out of bowel screening in 2006 is too recent for reporting on effects on colorectal cancer mortality, although it is expected that effects from the one-off screening offered at 50, 55 and 65 years of age would be less than in trials where annual or biennial screening was undertaken.


Introduction: This paper presents wife battery in Southern region of Sri Lanka, as a part of a worldwide phenomenon. Due to hidden nature of the problem accurate statistics are hard to come out by victims. Methods: This was a two-year prospective study to determine the prevalence of domestic violence against women and its associated features in cases presented to Teaching Hospital Karapitiya, Galle, commencing November 2008. The present paper deals with preliminary survey of 51 cases investigated at our unit up to July 2009. Results: There had been 2400 cases admitted to casualty wards of the Karapitiya Hospital with medico-legal references from the police stations in Southern Province, during this period and 51 women out of the total number who complained of physical assault by their husbands were interviewed. The majority victims had presented with bruising, often together with other injuries such as lacerations and fractures. The higher prevalence of violence was observed in families with problems of chronic alcoholism and other anti-social habits. The educational standards of both wives and husbands spanned over a wide range from primary schooling to university level. The study revealed a significant association between the level of husband's education and incidence of violence against the women. The impact of the husband's job and economic status of the family on frequency of domestic quarrel was also observed. We observed that the victims of wife battery did not always leave the abusive environment probably because of lack of family and community support. Conclusion: Wife battery has clear associations and these can be used in recognizing high risk family situations. Wife battery must be discouraged through litigation, general education and economic empowerment of women. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/gmj.v19i2.7910 Galle Medical Journal 2014 19(2): 18-22


In this paper I trace the origins of "neogeography" (a constellation of new mapping practices and populations on the geospatial web) to its roots in computer hacker culture, notably through early mapping mashups, known originally as "map hacks". I argue that a return to the figure of the hacker—via the proposed concept of hacker cartography —offers a productive lens for understanding the affordances and limitations of participatory knowledge production on the geoweb. Drawing on theorizations of hacker communities and the "hacker ethic" in the literature, I explore how hacker politics (and their critiques) can be observed on the geoweb, using specific examples from OpenStreetMap. I argue that the figure of the hacker—a highly expert individual who nonetheless frequently contributes labor without financial compensation, often producing software and data for his or her own use—presents a fresh way to rethink the expert/novice, professional/amateur and producer/consumer axes that have frustrated geographers' theorizations of participation on the geoweb. I show how the utopian ideals of the hacker ethic offer a promising yet problematic answer to the desires of Critical GIS and Participatory GIS to create more empowered users of geospatial technology.


The fifth Sustainable Development Goal—to "achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls†—reflects a growing consensus that these are key objectives of development policy in their own right, while also contributing to improved productivity and increased efficiency, especially in agriculture and food production. To deliver on this commitment to women's empowerment in development calls for appropriate measures that can be used to diagnose the scope and major sources of disempowerment and to measure progress. The Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) is a survey-based tool codeveloped by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) (Alkire et al. 2013). The index was originally designed as a monitoring and evaluation tool for the U.S. government's Feed the Future initiative to directly capture women's empowerment and inclusion levels in the agricultural sector. Since its launch in February 2012, the WEAI has been implemented in the 19 Feed the Future focus countries. As with any new metric, pilot testing in a few selected countries with limited sample sizes is insufficient to demonstrate how the WEAI would perform when rolled out on a wider scale. Concerns expressed by users of the WEAI led to the creation of an abbreviated version—the A-WEAI. This paper begins by presenting a brief overview of the WEAI and its construction. It then proceeds to discuss (1) the background and motivation behind the creation of the A-WEAI; (2) the steps taken to develop the AWEAI— namely, cognitive testing and piloting of different modules, particularly those that were difficult to administer in the field; (3) analysis of the pilot data from Bangladesh and Uganda; (4) domain-specific comparisons of the different pilot versions; and (5) robustness checks and empowerment diagnostics from the A-WEAI as compared with the original WEAI. The paper concludes by summarizing the modifications to the original WEAI and discussing possibilities for further development of empowerment metrics based on the WEAI.


We determined the content of biologically active compounds in the bark of seven Rhamnus L. and two Frangula Mill. species growing in Croatia. All taxa tested had high content of total polyphenols (from 2.68% in R. orbiculata Bornm. to 8.50% in R. pumila Turra), moderate content of glucofrangulins (from 0.22% in R. pumila to 9.26% in R. fallax Boiss.), nontannic polyphenols (from 0.73% in R. orbiculata to 5.92% in F. alnus Mill.) and tannins (from 1.10% in R. saxatilis Jacq. to 4.92% in R. alaternus L.), and low content of phenolic acids (from 0.44% in R. orbiculata to 1.81% in R. intermedia Steud. & Hochst.) and flavonoids (from 0.02% in F. alnus to 1.44% in R. pumila ). By ANOVA, variability was highest for glucofrangulin content, less for flavonoids, phenolic acids and nontannic polyphenols, and least for total polyphenols and tannins. KKeeyy wwoorrddss:: Rhamnus , Frangula , glucofrangulins, phenolic compounds, quantitative analysis.


A two-phase experimental method to establish primary fragmentation behavior of Serbian lignites is presented. The first phase was fragmentation quantification, and second was measuring temperature response of center of coal particle during devolatilization. A dynamic simulation model gave thermal properties of coal used. The influence of various factors such as original size of coal, bed temperature, and coal rank on fragmentation is presented and discussed. A new factor, ratio of coal volatile content and coal thermal diffusivity, as representative of heat and mass transfer processes inside of coal particle, has been introduced and its influence on fragmentation index was analyzed.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


The purpose of the paper is to test the long-run steady state of growth factors hypothesized to influence U.S. manufacturing investment flows. These factors include agglomeration, market structure, labor, infrastructure, and fiscal policy. Spatial cross-regressive and spatial Durbin models are used to measure the spatial interaction of investment flows. Spatial spillovers are found to be of a competitive nature at the state level, implying that a factor which attracts more investment to a particular state is associated with lower investments in neighboring states. Investment flows to states with higher market demand, more productive labor, and more localized agglomeration of manufacturing activity.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of rent-seeking behaviour and rentier state in the context of ẓulm (injustice and exploitation), which is one of the key concerns in Islam in general and Islamic economics and finance in particular.

Design/methodology/approach
As a conceptual paper, it draws on the literature of rent-seeking as part of public choice theory and examines the potential vulnerabilities as well as existence of rent-seeking in Muslim-majority countries, where Islamic finance industry primarily operates.

Findings
The paper identifies several areas where both actual and potential rent-seeking exists.

Research limitations/implications
The paper is conceptual. Based on the analysis presented here further studies can be undertaken to determine the scope of rent-seeking and their impact in Muslim-majority societies.

Practical implications
Incorporating rent-seeking in the theoretical and conceptual framework of Islamic economics and finance can enhance understanding about ẓulm and its ubiquitous presence, as Islam has a firm stance to aspire to have a ẓulm-free society.

Social implications
Understanding rent-seeking behaviour can help appreciate why corruption, inequality and poverty are so entrenched, and why limiting the discourse to ribā (interest) ignores the broader scope of injustice and exploitation.

Originality/value
This might be the first focused paper that conceptually deals with rent-seeking behaviour, connecting the discourse about ribā-interest equation.


Alcohol abuse affects many people directly or indirectly all over the world. Alcoholism often causes major damage and can also lead to death. It seems as though people underestimate the prevalence of alcohol abuse and the damage done by alcohol abuse. Loss of labour, birth defects, liver cirrhosis, and damage from vehicle accidents, are a small portion of the damage caused by alcohol abuse. The damage caused by alcohol abuse affects people physically, emotionally, and economically. All this damage is preventable. Treatment for this problem is available, but the effects differ among patients. Pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy are used separately or collectively. Results can vary depending upon the treatment and patient. The pharmacist plays an important role in the lives of alcoholic patients. Pharmacists can notice a patie nt's behaviour, notice their prescription patterns, and most importantly, the pharmacist is a knowledgeable mentor that many patients look up to. Feeling comfortable with and trusting the pharmacist is very important for the patient. Patients may come to the pharmacist with their problems, and the pharmacist should be able to offer sound medical advice.


By inquiring on why U.S. counter-narcotic policy differed in Colombia and Mexico, this project sought to understand why a similar problem, drug trafficking, has been dealt with dissimilar policies. The researcher hypothesized that through the rational actor model, these differences in policy-making could be explained. By using congruence procedure type 1 on a comparative case study, Plan Colombia and the Merida Initiative, the researcher determined if the rational actor's variables were present. The variables included: ranking of options, agreement on rankings, consideration of the probability of success, and agreement on beliefs and values. The results of this project did not support the hypothesis. Policy makers ranked options and considered the probability of success, but did not agree on rankings or agree on beliefs and values in the decision-making process for both cases. Therefore, this project did not support the rational actor model. Although with the assistance of the observations for these two cases, the researcher hypothesizes that the government politics model and the operational code school of thought could explain the differences in United States' counter-narcotic policy. Further research must be conducted in order to confirm or disconfirm these hypotheses.


This document defines a YANG data model that can be used for
communication between customers and network operators and to deliver a
Layer 3 provider-provisioned VPN service. This document is limited to
BGP PE-based VPNs as described in RFCs 4026, 4110, and 4364. This
model is intended to be instantiated at the management system to
deliver the overall service. It is not a configuration model to be
used directly on network elements. This model provides an abstracted
view of the Layer 3 IP VPN service configuration components. It will
be up to the management system to take this model as input and use
specific configuration models to configure the different network
elements to deliver the service. How the configuration of network
elements is done is out of scope for this document.


This paper uses 3,726 samples of Chinese listed firms during the period 2008–2012 to examine the relation between financial reporting quality, ownership concentration, and investment efficiency. We find that financial reporting quality is negatively associated with both underinvestment and overinvestment. Further, financial reporting quality is more strongly associated with overinvestment for firms with low ownership concentration, which suggests that financial reporting quality can reduce information asymmetry between the managers and investors and thus lower shareholders' cost of monitoring managers and improving project selection. Our findings contribute to the literature on financial reporting and investment in emerging capital markets.


Mitochondrial 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase (EC 188.8.131.52) was purified from ox liver, and obtained essentially free from 3-oxoacyl-CoA thiolases. The kinetic behaviour, like that of the synthases from chicken liver and yeast, is compatible with a reaction pathway involving condensation of an acetyl-enzyme with acetoacetyl-CoA. The Km for acetoacetyl-CoA, less than 1 micronM at pH 7.8, may possibly be low enough to permit rapid ketogenesis under physiological conditions without the need for a binary complex between the synthase and oxoacyl-CoA thiolase.


The evidence of oxidative stress in pregnancy induced hypertensive subjects in comparison with normal pregnant women and lycored ingested pregnancy induced hypertensive sub-jects was evaluated by measuring the malondialdehyde and reduced glutathione. The level of malondialdehyde in pregnancy induced hypertensive subjects was significantly increased (p<0.001) from 4.35±0.74 nmol/ml to 6.50±0.75 nmol/ml and the level of glutathione de-creased significantly (p<0.01)from 0.396±0.062 mg/ml to 0.283±0.0298mg/ml in pregnancy induced hypertensive subjects while the level of malondialdehyde in lycored ingested preg-nancy induced hypertension patients was significantly decreased (p<0.001) by 40% and the level of reduced glutathione significantly increased (p<0.001) by 33.92% as compared to pregnancy induced hypertensive patients. These observations suggesting that pregnancy in-duced hypertensive patients are more susceptible to oxidative stress / damage while lycored might have beneficial role for pregnancy induced hypertensive patients since the imbalance between oxidant: antioxidants had improved.


This paper summarizes some of the recent advances that have been made as a result of contact damage tests on bi-layer structures containing one brittle layer on a polymeric support base. The effects of indenter modulus (hard/soft indenters) and of the sate of loading (load location reference to the specimen axis of symmetry) on contact damage in bi-layer systems were investigated. Convex specimens having curvature of 12 mm inner coating diameter and 1mm thick were produced, and loaded along the axis of symmetry and off axis at 45o using flat indenters of six different moduli. The influence of indenter modulus on radial crack initiation and damage evolution was examined in respect to the load location, with particular attention paid to the relevance of such damage to lifetime-limiting failures of biomechanical layered systems. The results of this study illustrates that the fracture behaviour of brittle layered structures is not dominated by certain parameters. Critical loads for initiation of radial cracks are sensitive to indenter modulus (hardness) but not sensitive to load location. Load location plays an important role in crack propagation and subsequent damage patterns, especially at specimen margins.


Utilizing the so-called vector phase of polarized light, both focal-plane coronagraphs (e.g. the Vector Vortex Coronagraph) and pupil-plane coronagraphs (e.g. the vector Apodizing Phase Plate) are powerful components for high-contrast imaging. These coronagraphs can be built and optimized with polarization techniques and liquid crystal technology, that enable patterning at the micron level and furnish broad-band performance. The contrast between the residual starlight and the (polarized) reflected light off exoplanets can be further bridged by incorporating sensitive, dual-beam imaging polarimetry. As vector-phase coronagraphs use polarizers to enhance their performance, we introduce optimally integrated solutions that combine advanced coronagraphy and polarimetry. For both the VVC and the vAPP we present polarization beam-splitting concepts, with polarization analyzers either behind or in front of the coronagraphic optics. We discuss design solutions for the implementation of polarization optics, and set the stage for a trade-off between the improvement of coronagraphic and polarimetric performance and the ensuing degradation on the high-contrast imaging performance due to wavefront errors.


As regions across the United States are experiencing high and rising house prices, inclusionary zoning is increasing in popularity as a tool to increase the availability of affordable housing for households making less than their region's median income. However, when inclusionary zoning requires private developers to subsidize below-market-rate units, it may act as a tax on housing, leading to reduced supply and higher prices than cities would experience without the policy. Few empirical studies have attempted to measure how inclusionary zoning affects housing supply and prices. In this paper, I use a new dataset on inclusionary zoning in the Baltimore-Washington region to estimate its effects on market-rate house prices and building permits in a difference-in- difference study. I find some evidence that inclusionary zoning increases market-rate house prices, but none that it reduces new housing supply. Additionally, I find that most optional programs that offer developers increased development rights if they choose to provide below- market-rate housing units have been unsuccessful in producing affordable units. Alexandria, Virginia, and Falls Church, Virginia, are exceptions, where density bonuses are very valuable owing to traditional zoning's restrictions on new housing construction.


In this paper, the early warning signals of abrupt temperature change in different regions of China are investigated.Seven regions are divided on the basis of different climate temperature patterns, obtained through the rotated empirical orthogonal function, and the signal-to-noise temperature ratios for each region are then calculated. Based on the concept of critical slowing down, the temperature data that contain noise in the different regions of China are preprocessed to study the early warning signals of abrupt climate change. First, the Mann–Kendall method is used to identify the instant of abrupt climate change in the temperature data. Second, autocorrelation coefficients that can identify critical slowing down are calculated. The results show that the critical slowing down phenomenon appeared in temperature data about 5–10 years before abrupt climate change occurred, which indicates that the critical slowing down phenomenon is a possible early warning signal for abrupt climate change, and that noise has less influence on the detection results of the early warning signals. Accordingly, this demonstrates that the model is reliable in identifying the early warning signals of abrupt climate change based on detecting the critical slowing down phenomenon, which provides an experimental basis for the actual application of the method.


The work presented is the continuation of the research on the probabilistic modelling of air infiltration carried out by the author over many years. The approach has consisted in considering uncertainties coupled to the climatic/environmental input data to the physical models, or to the threshold criteria for a good performance. The concept of risk/reliability evaluation of building/environment system performance was proposed and exemplified for the air exchange model. Air exchange in buildings is driven by pressure difference across the building envelope caused by wind and difference in density between external and internal air. The evaluation of the influence of wind on the air change rate is usually limited to the analysis of the hourly mean wind speed. Wind is a random phenomenon characterized by the broad energy spectrum. The high frequency part can be responsible for the oscillation of the air through the openings resulting in the increased air exchange. Wind pressure coefficient on the leeward site mostly depends on the form characteristics of the object in relation to wind direction. The analysis of wind speed and wind pressure on the facades in frequency domain can deliver interesting data to air change rate model. Some of the results of continuous measurements carried out on a single-family house for 8 months are presented in frequency domain. The statistics of wind speed, wind direction and pressure differences across the 6 building components are calculated. The influence of wind turbulence on pressure fluctuations on the facades and the roof of the building are investigated. The samples of the energy spectra of pressure differences are examined. Farther analysis of the experimental results is needed to be able to propose the more detailed model.


Background and Objectives : Measurement of serum creatinine is important for evaluating of kidney function. Several methods have been using for determining of serum creatinine. Jaffe kinetic is the most widely use method for determining of serum creatinine. However, this method gives rather high measure level due to some interfering substances. Therefore, we aim to compare the serum creatinine levels determined by Jaffe kinetic method using in-house reagent to a highly sensitive enzymatic method used in Srinagarind Hospital. Methods : One hundred and fifteen sera were collected and measured for creatinine levels using enzymatic method from Srinagarind Hospital. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of each sample was calculated. The samples were divided into 5 five groups of 23 each base upon eGFR <15, 15-29, 30-59, 60-89 and ≥90 mL/min, respectively. After that all samples were further measured for creatinine levels by Jaffe kinetic method. Results : The concordance of creatinine levels between the two methods was found in the group with eGFR of <15 and 15-29 mL/min. By contrast, the disagreement of the two methods with significant difference (p-value <0.05) was also found in the group with eGFR of 30-59, 60-89 and ≥90 mL/min, respectively. Conclusions : As a result, care must be taken in interpreting the result when serum creatinine level is measured by different principles.


The article presents a significant part of creative heritage of the Belarusian painter Jazep Drozdovich (1888–1954), a graduate of the Vilnius Drawing School, who was depicting his cosmic visions and declaring the existence of life forms on other planets, yet in other conditions. The painter was convinced that he had a special gift of clairvoyance. Although space explorations commenced only in the 6th decade of the 20th century, Drozdovich pursued his "astral wanderings" through somnambulistic dreams. He travelled to the remote stars and planets: Moon, Mars, Saturn and Venus, and saw unimaginably beautiful landscapes, explored remarkable plants and animals, visited unknown countries and cities, and observed local citizens' lives. He accurately and meticulously documented, recorded and painted everything what he saw. A specific feature of an unprecedented nature of this part of Drozdovich's creativity is that he highlighted not only artistic but first of all scientific value of his cosmic wanderings. Historically, part of the painter's heritage remained in Vilnius, the other part was brought to Minsk. All his texts revealing documentation of "cosmic wanderings" are kept in the Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. Among them there are numerous notebooks and two bound manuscript books "Life in Mars" and "Life in Saturn". These really valuable texts help to more specifically attribute Drozdovich's paintings and graphics works, and to decode the scripts of some of his paintings. The analysis of Drozdovich's creativity reveals the patterns of development of a unique painter's personality. The available information and scientific knowledge let his fantasy escape from reality. The fantasy which allowed him explain the unknown as a reality similar to life on Earth. Jazep Drozdovich was able to create an endless cosmos in his inner world.


Gender differences in competition have been demonstrated in a variety of contexts, yet it remains unclear how people respond to competitors they perceive to be hard or easy, and whether gender differences exist in this response. I run an experiment in eighteen public high school classrooms to study the effect of competing in a math task against different levels of competitors. I exploit natural sorting within grade levels in Malaysian public schools to randomly assign competitors of different perceived difficulty levels. Using a standard competition measure, males are significantly more competitive than females. However, when students face harder competitors, males respond by lowering performance while the performance of females does not vary significantly by level of competition.


Virtual communities have emerged since the Web has become a popular tool for the mass. Mobile Virtual Communities (MVCs) have been recently gaining more momentum in research and industry, and are expected to be the next step in the development of virtual communities. On the other hand, the trend in healthcare delivery is to empower patients to take care of themselves while they are carrying on their day to day activities away from the point of care. This trend, entitled "self-managed care", is of primary importance in healthcare policies as it is part of the measures implemented in order to decrease the healthcare cost in the industrialized countries. This paper suggests ways in which MVCs can be implemented as part of self-managed care policies in order to enhance the patient life experience, and advocates that healthcare MVCs (H-MVCs) constitute the type of applications that may drive the adoption of newer generation mobile phone technologies.


The subject of emigration from affluent countries, such as Germany, raises the question of who are more likely to leave their highly-industrialized countries known for high living standards, stable political scene and prosperous economy. Using the theory of postmaterialism (Inglehart, 1997) this paper explores emigration intentions of German nationals taking into account country's specific socio-economic context through the value sets of its nationals. By analyzing emigration intentions of German nationals recorded by the German SocioEconomic Panel (SOEP) the findings link postmaterialism theory to emigration intentions, and show that those who express emigration intentions are more likely to have postmaterialistic values than materialistic or mixed values. Furthermore, when controlling for life-satisfaction and risk attitudes, the effect of postmaterialistic and materialistic values on intentions to emigrate remain significant. Lastly, the analysis corroborates other studies by showing that those who display emigration intentions also more likely to have higher risk tolerance and lower life-satisfaction.


Nice, the capital of the county of that name, stands on the Paglion torrent, on a small plain, bounded on the north by Mont Cao and its ramifications; on the south by the Mediterranean; on the east by the chain of Mont Moron, Mont Alban, Mont Venagrie, and Mont Gros; on the west by tertiary hills, generally fertile, and succeeded beyond the Var by high mountains. The Castle Hill of Nice rises out of this plain.

The plain and adjacent slopes covered with gardens of peaches, oranges, lemons, and extensive olive-grounds, contrast strikingly with the rugged mountain summits which stretch from Genoa to Marseilles. This contrast I have endeavoured to represent in the annexed sketch of a view taken from Mont Moron*.

M. Verany of Nice has determined, with a barometer of M. Gay Lussac's construction, the heights of the principal mountains above the level of the sea;—they are as follows:

| | English Feet. |
|:-------- | ------------- |
| M. Cao | 2800 |
| M. Moron | 542 |
| M. Alban | 731 |
| M. Gros | 1187 |
| Pacanaia | 1950 |

I was present when some of these measurements were taken, and suspect that they rather exceed than fall short of the true height.

The accounts already given of the geology of this neighbourhood are enumerated in the sketch which M. Risso has prefixed to his Histoire Naturelle de l'Europe Meridionale , which, notwithstanding its title, treats of little more than the environs of Nice.

The most valuable, of these are Faujas St. Fond's paper in the Annales du Museum †, on the osseous breccias,


DC motors are considered the most common and widely used, typically of adaptable speed drive operation. There are many researches, DC motor controllers have been implemented but most of them have not reached satisfactory results compared with the use of intelligent systems. Different simulations  are performed using the PID and FLC controller for different conditions namely  various motor plants having readily changed parameter in order test the robustness of the system , Also three types of input ,i.e. step, ramp, and train of pulses are employed result ,obtained .medicated that the prospered FLC controller are better   compared with controllers such as PID,[e.g. for PID, tr= 0.3 sec ,MP=0.1 ts=1.8 ,while for FLC ,tr= 0.008 sec ,MP= 0 ts=0.016 sec .. In this paper presented the concerned with design of the[PID,FLC] controller was achieved through the use of  Simulink in MATLAB .The design simulation of all the controllers such as conventional PID controller and intelligent control [namely Fuzzy logic control (FLC ) ] are compared for different DC motor speed control.


Aim: This study aimed to determine if a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet (LCHFD) provides any benefits of glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, either alone or in conjunction with physical activity. Methods: Type 2 diabetics (n = 39) were assigned into either a concurrent physical activity and LCHFD group (DiExG), LCHFD only group (DietG) or control group (ConG). Results: No significant (p > 0.05) changes were observed in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), glucose and insulin in either the DiExG (HbA1c: p = 0.592; 8.3% decrease, glucose: p = 0.477; 11.1% decrease and insulin: p = 0.367; 44.1% increase) or DietG (HbA1c: p = 0.822; 0% change, glucose: p = 0.108; 11.0% decrease and insulin: p = 0.976; 4.2% decrease) group. Conclusions: In this study, neither an LCHFD alone nor in combination with a physical activity programme succeeded in eliciting improvements in insulin sensitivity in the type 2 diabetics. As such, adoption of a LCHFD, either alone or in combination with physical activity, should not unequivocally be part of the treatment approach for type 2 diabetics. Furthermore, it should carefully be weighed against the benefits of more balanced dietary and/or physical activity interventions.


ABSTRACT We employ data from an original survey of citizens in the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, and the Czech Republic to examine correlates of citizen co-production of public services in three key policy areas: public safety, the environment, and health. The correlates of co-production we consider include demographic factors (age, gender, education, and employment status), community characteristics (urban, non-urban), performance perceptions (how good a job government is doing), government outreach (providing information and seeking consultation), and self-efficacy (how much of a difference citizens believe they can make). We also report on results from a series of focus groups on the topic of co-production held in each country. Our results suggest that women and elderly citizens generally engage more often in co-production and that self-efficacy—the belief that citizens can make a difference—is an especially important determinant across sectors. Interestingly, good outcome performance (in the sense of a safe neighborhood, a clean environment, and good health) seems to discourage co-production somewhat. Thus citizens' co-production appears to depend in part on awareness of a shortfall in public performance on outcomes. Our results also provide some evidence that co-production is enhanced when governments provide information or engage citizens in consultation. The specific determinants vary, however, not only by sector but across national contexts.


With the rapid development of a two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterial, the confined liquid binary mixture has attracted increasing attention, which has significant potential in membrane separation. Alcohol/water is one of the most common systems in liquid-liquid separation. As one of the most focused systems, recent studies have found that ethanol molecules were preferentially adsorbed on the inner surface of the pore wall and formed an adsorbed ethanol layer under 2D nanoconfinement. To evaluate the effect of the alcohol adsorption layer on the mobility of water molecules, molecular simulations were performed to investigate four types of alcohol/water binary mixtures confined under a 20 Å graphene slit. Residence times of the water molecules covering the alcohol layer were in the order of methanol/water < ethanol/water < 1-propanol/water < 1-butanol/water. Detailed microstructural analysis of the hydrogen bonding (H-bond) network elucidated the underlying mechanism on the molecular scale in which a small average number of H-bonds between the preferentially adsorbed alcohol molecules and the surrounding water molecules could induce a small degree of damage to the H-bond network of the water molecules covering the alcohol layer, resulting in the long residence time of the water molecules.


Many applications require forecasts for a hierarchy comprising a set of time series along with aggregates of subsets of these series. Although forecasts can be produced independently for each series in the hierarchy, typically this does not lead to coherent forecasts -- the property that forecasts add up appropriately across the hierarchy. State-of-the-art hierarchical forecasting methods usually reconcile the independently generated forecasts to satisfy the aggregation constraints. A fundamental limitation of prior research is that it has considered only the problem of forecasting the mean of each time series. We consider the situation where probabilistic forecasts are needed for each series in the hierarchy. We define forecast coherency in this setting, and propose an algorithm to compute predictive distributions for each series in the hierarchy. Our algorithm has the advantage of synthesizing information from different levels in the hierarchy through a sparse forecast combination and a probabilistic hierarchical aggregation. We evaluate the accuracy of our forecasting algorithm on both simulated data and large-scale electricity smart meter data. The results show consistent performance gains compared to state-of-the art methods.


A patient with sideroblastic anaemia, development delay, and trichothiodystrophy is presented. Trichothiodystrophy is a feature of several autosomal recessive diseases. Photosensitivity, failure to thrive, and developmental delay are commonly observed in affected cases. X linked inheritance accounts for the bulk of cases with sideroblastic anaemia. This case highlights the importance of routine hair microscopy in cases of atypical ectodermal dysplasia.