The European Union has undertaken several efforts to reduce the non-exhaust particulate matter emissions from road vehicles. One of the major sources of these emissions is the wear of brake pads and discs. The experimental work presented in this thesis has been performed within the European project called LOWBRASYS that aims at reducing the particulate matter emissions due to the wear of the components of braking systems. Different strategies have been identified for reaching this aim but the present work focuses on the investigation of the wear mechanisms at the disc-pad interface and on their role on the emission in the atmosphere and in the environment of wear debris. In order to achieve the reduction in the particulate matter emissions, the traditional gray cast iron discs have been coated with different cermet coatings deposited via high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) process. A further attempt for improving the wear resistance of the gray cast iron discs was performed by applying on them an industrial heat treatment. The cermet coatings have been widely employed in the field of the oil and gas industry for improving the wear resistance and the service life of valves and pipes but their use in the field of road-vehicles-braking-systems has never been explored so far. The present work focuses on the tribological characterization of HVOF coated and heat treated discs performed by means of laboratory-scale-pin-on-disc tribometers at both room and high temperatures (300°C). The sliding speed of 1.57 m/s and the nominal contact pressure of 1 MPa used for this characterization have been selected in order to replicate the actual contact conditions between brake pads and brake discs during an urban cycle braking action. Since the use of lab-scale experimental apparatuses, these tests have not been meant to reproduce real braking conditions for which specific dyno bench tests have been performed in further characterization tests. The pins used during the PoD characterization, made of three different commercially-available friction materials, had dimensions of 12 mm in height and 6 and 10 mm in diameter. The discs, 6 mm in thickness and 58.9 mm in diameter, were coated with a 70 µm thick layer of cermet materials. The heat treated discs had the same dimensions of the coated ones. The tested specimens have been machined from the real braking components, the pins have been extracted from the brake pads while the discs from the braking tracks of the rotors. Since the novelty of the application of the HVOF coatings in the field of braking systems, two preliminary studies of the surface parameters of the coated discs and of the running-in of the pin-disc system have been performed. The first one was conducted on WC-CoCr coated discs polished with different intensities in order to achieve four different average surface roughnesses: 5, 1, 0.1, 0.04 µm respectively. The results of the study highlighted that the wear of the friction material decreased by four order of magnitude by passing from an average surface roughness equal to 5 µm to 0.04 µm. The friction coefficient followed the opposite trend passing from 0.3 for the 5 µm rough coating to 0.7 for the 0.04 µm. The SEM observation of the wear tracks on the discs revealed a high material transfer from the pins in the case of the 5 µm rough coatings due to the abrasive interaction exerted by the hard coating asperities on the relatively soft friction material. The compactness of the material transferred onto the disc surface increased as the average surface roughness of the coating decreased leading to the formation of contact patches also on the coated disc surfaces. From the profilometric analysis of the worn disc their wear resulted negligible. The EDXS analysis of the secondary plateaus of pins detected an increasingly concentration of tungsten and cobalt with the decrease in the surface roughness of the coating meaning that, although the wear of the coating could not be detected from the profilometer, some minor transfer of material occurred during the sliding action. From all the considerations mentioned above the most promising surface roughness, in terms of frictional performances and industrial feasibility, was equal to 1 µm.
The second study aimed at the investigation of the running-in stage of the WC-CoCr and Cr3C2-NiCr coated discs in the as-sprayed (Ra ≈ 5 µm) and polished conditions (Ra ≈ 1 µm). From this former investigation the polishing procedure of the coated discs was found fundamental in order to reach the best frictional and wear performances; the spontaneous surface modifications occurring during pin-on-disc tests were not as efficient as the controlled polishing procedure in reducing the surface parameters of the coated discs and so in improving their performances.
On the basis of the results of the two former studies presented above, the tribological characterization at both room and high temperature (300°C) of the WC-CoCr, Cr3C2-NiCr, WC-Cr3C2-CoCr, WC-FeCrAlY coated discs and of the heat treated one was performed on specimens with an average surface roughness at around 1 µm. Three different friction material formulations were used in order to optimize their frictional and wear performances with the disc counterface. In all cases the EDXS analysis detected the presence of the coating elements, i.e. tungsten, cobalt and nickel, inside the secondary plateaus of the friction material. Depending on the abrasive content of the friction materials and on the testing temperature the amount of the transferred elements varied, i.e. a low amount of abrasives and a high testing temperature gave rise to a reduction in the elements transferred on the pin surfaces. The best tribological combination was the coupling between the friction material FMB, i.e. the one with the lowest amount of abrasives, and the WC-FeCrAlY coated disc.
The results attained with the pin-on-disc tribological characterization of the friction materials were validated during full-scale dyno bench tests. These tests were performed on the most promising materials and they had a twofold aim: as mentioned above they were used to validate the results of the tribometer tests and to collect the particulate matter emitted during braking. The analysis of the wear debris highlighted that, in the case of the friction material FM4 slid against the WC-CoCr coated disc, some cobalt was present. From the deeper analysis of the debris resulted that traces of tungsten and cobalt were found only in the coarser fraction of wear debris, collected on the PM1 filter. The coupled SEM+EDXS analysis of the finer particulate matter, with an average aerodynamic diameter varying from 0.25 to 0.054 µm, did not detected the presence of the coating elements. This was consistent with the observations of the PM1 wear debris that identified WC particles with dimensions comparable to that of the initial carbide particle size inside the coatings; the wear mechanism of the coatings seemed to be the carbide pullout from the metallic matrix without the further fragmentation of the particles due to sliding. Nevertheless, during one of the TEM observation of the particles with an average aerodynamic diameter of 0.094 µm the SAED analysis detected the presence of W2C. On the basis of this last observation and considering that the presence of cobalt inside the finest fraction of debris could not be completely disregarded since it could remain stuck on the W2C particles, the selected coating material for the application in braking systems was the WC-FeCrAlY. This conclusion was consistent with the frictional and wear data attained from the PoD tribological characterization that identified the FMB friction material and the WC-FeCrAlY coated discs as the best coupling in terms of frictional and wear behavior.
The study of the thermal behavior of the novel developed braking materials during a pin-on-disc room temperature test was performed by means of a finite element simulation based on the perfect contact approach. The heat flux applied as the thermal input of the model was calculated from the experimental data acquired during the tests. The calibration of the boundary conditions was performed by comparing the experimental curves of the temperatures acquired during the tests with the temperature curves calculated from the FE analysis. The results of the simulations showed that the temperature field during the pin-on-disc tests was influenced from both the friction coefficient and from the thermal properties of the coated discs, i.e. the lower thermal conductivity of the coatings gave rise to a higher average contact temperature with respect the uncoated cast iron discs. The results of FE analysis were then used to propose an analytical relationship that could be used for describing the raise in temperature during a pin-on-disc test without performing further thermal simulations.


Introduction

The recent discussion of the social determinants of health, which has been promoted by the WHO as a way to approach global health conditions is neither a new nor a foreign subject for Latin American social medicine or collective health. Indeed, this approach to health derives from the principles of 19th century European social medicine which accepted that the health of the population is a matter of social concern, that social and economic conditions have an important bearing on health and disease, and that these relationships should be subjected to scientific enquiry. (Rosen, 1985:81)

The specific socio-historical conditions of Latin America in the 1970's fostered the development of an innovative, critical, and socially-based based health analysis, which was seen in an evolving theoretical approach with deep social roots. (Cohn, 2003) This analysis calls for scientific work which is committed to changing living and working conditions and to improving the health of the popular classes. (Waitzkin y col. 2001; Iriart y col. 2002).

From its beginning, this school of socio-medical thought recognized that collective health has two main areas of research: 1) the distribution and determinants of health and disease and 2) the interpretation, technical knowledge, and specialized practices concerning health, disease, and death. The goal is to understand health and disease as differentiated moments in the human lifecycle, subject to permanent change, and expressing the biological nature of the human body under specific forms of social organization, all this in such a way as to allow discussion of causality and determination. (Breilh y Granda,1982; Laurell, 1982). Latin American social medicine criticized biomedical and conventional epidemiological approaches for isolating health and disease from social context, misinterpreting social processes as biological, conceptualizing health phenomena in individualistic terms, and adopting the methodological procedures of the natural sciences


Abstract- A key factor in the inflation-targeting regime is the psychological process by which individuals and firms form their expectations of future inflation. From a monetary policy perspective, it is important to analyse this process, since under full rationality, only unexpected changes in inflation will affect real variables. In this paper, data from both the Bureau for Economic Research's Inflation Expectations Survey and the Reuters Inflation Expectations Survey are evaluated, over different forecasting horizons to asses the characteristics of expectations formation across different economic groups in the South African economy. The results do not provide strong evidence to indicate that South African economic agents are exclusively rational or exclusively adaptive in formulating their inflation expectations. However, it appears that individuals employ some form of non-homogenous learning by combining some features of rationality with adaptive behaviour in order to minimise their forecast errors over time, subject to their respective available resources.


The study examined whether procedural justice may embody an external-situational resource, in addition to the attachment style as an internal-personality resource that improves athletes' appraisals of stress and enhances their attitudes toward their coach. Eighty-one Israeli male athletes were questioned on the degree of procedural justice employed on their team, their attachment styles, their attitudes toward their coach, and how they appraised stress. Results showed that proce- dural justice was much more strongly associated with positive appraisals of stress as a challenge, and positive attitudes toward the coach than attachment style, and seemed to mediate the connections of attachment style and stress appraisal with the attitudes toward the coach. Findings integrate the cognitive-phenomenological model of stress and coping with the relational factors of the procedural justice approach and the personality theory of attachment and extend their validity to the field of sport.


The presence of squamous cell carcinoma within capillaries and/or venules in the immediate vicinity of primary lesions of the oral cavity and oropharynx may be related to regional lymph node metastasis. To evaluate this possibility, we have reviewed the clinical and histopathologic features of 43 consecutive cases of previously untreated T2 or greater squamous cell carcinoma of these sites managed with simultaneous surgical treatment of the primary neoplasm and the neck. The incidence of histologically proved cervical metastasis for all lesions with vascular invasion compared with those without vascular involvement was highly significant. No statistical correlation was found for the clinical stage of neck disease or for the other pathologic features of the primary tumor, ie, size, appearance, differentiation, depth of invasion, periphery of lesion, inflammatory infiltrate, and perineural invasion, when compared with the histopathologic status of regional lymph nodes.


The deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides into amyloid plaques precedes the cognitive dysfunction of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by years. Biomarkers indicative of brain amyloid burden could be useful for identifying individuals at high risk for developing AD. As in AD in humans, baseline plasma Aβ levels in a transgenic mouse model of AD did not correlate with brain amyloid burden. However, after peripheral administration of a monoclonal antibody to Aβ (m266), we observed a rapid increase in plasma Aβ and the magnitude of this increase was highly correlated with amyloid burden in the hippocampus and cortex. This method may be useful for quantifying brain amyloid burden in patients at risk for or those who have been diagnosed with AD.


The private equity industry is constantly looking for new ways to build enterprise value. Success in this regard generates differentiated returns for general partners (GPs) and commensurate demand by limited partners (LPs) hoping to participate in the resulting gains in a subsequent fund. This study confirms that a new method to building long-term value is available by searching for companies that either already possess an entrepreneurial orientation (EO) or demonstrate dynamics where an EO can be created. Building such an EO culture is not easy, and it takes time and considerable effort to properly establish. Similarly, finding companies that already possess or have components of EO demands considerable focus, attention, and special due diligence foresight. The rewards of effectively finding or building an EO have been shown to yield competitive advantages that translate into performance gains that can last well into the long term.


Based on the stratigraphically well sorted material from Japan and southern Sakhalin, the ammonoid species belonging to the genus Desmoceras are classified as follows in ascending order: D. latidorsatum (Michelin) (Middle to mid-Upper Albian), D. dawsoni shikokuense (Yabe and Shimizu) (Upper Albian), D. kossmati Matsumoto (uppermost Albian–Lower Cenomanian), D. japonicum Yabe (uppermost Albian–Cenomanian), and D. ezoanum Matsumoto (mid-Upper Cenomanian–mid-Lower Turonian). D. japonicum can be subdivided into the earlier and later subspecies. D. poronaicum Yabe is a junior synonym of D. japonicum. Despite the scarcely ornamented shell, each taxon can be defined by its own characters.


Purpose: Autistic people are subject to having their behaviour shaped from a variety of practitioners predominantly using behaviourist methodologies. Little is known about how learning alternative humanistic methodologies impacts practitioner experiences of relational encounters with autistic people. This paper aims to develop an understanding of practitioner experiences of using person-centred counselling (PCC) skills and contact reflections (CR) when engaging with autistic people. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative study used an interpretive approach to help elucidate perceptions of changing practice. It involved a framework analysis of 20 practitioner's experiential case study accounts. Findings: An overarching theme emerged: subtle transformations resulted from shifting practice paradigms. Four broad themes were identified: "A different way of being"; "Opening heightened channels of receptivity"; "Trust in self-actualising growth" and "Expanding relational ripples". The findings suggest that PCC and CRs skills training shows promise in providing practitioners with a different way of being with autistic people that enhances their capacity towards neurotypical-neurodivergent intersubjectivity. Social implications: The authors speculate on the power dynamics of care relationships and those who may identify as possessing autism expertise. The authors are curious as to whether this humanistic skills training can truly penetrate practitioner core values and see this as a fundamental issue which requires further investigation. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to provide a qualitative account of autism practitioner reflections following training in humanistic methodologies. It challenges the concept of autism expertise, guided by a pathologiSing model, focused on fixing a problem located in the person, which conceals the removal of personhood.


ABSTRACT Introducing a special journal issue by the same title, this article provides a foundation for seven other articles with a theoretical mission to better understand the forces and frictions through which migration comes about and is experienced. The collection seeks to contribute to migration theory by considering crosscutting themes related to the concepts of aspiration, desire and drivers of migration. This introductory article locates the three concepts within the development of migration scholarship. First, we show how a reappraisal of theory is grounded in influential developments in migration scholarship, such as the transnational turn, feminist approaches and, more recently, a growing theoretical interest in emotions and temporalities. Second, we examine the ways in which 'aspiration' and 'desire' have figured in migration theory. Sometimes treated as synonyms, the terms both belong to a broader semantic field of potentiality, yet connect with different theoretical approaches. Third, we address the rise of 'drivers of migration' as an analytical concept, noting how it seems to be replacing 'causes' and 'determinants' in the literature.


242 words) One of the major unanswered questions in physiology is explaining how breathing matches metabolic rate. The existence in humans of venous chemoreceptors that might control breathing seeems to have been dismissed since the 1960s. New evidence has emerged showing that this apparent dismissal needs reappraisal. First, the paper in humans on which this depends has more than one interpretation. Moreover a previous paper obtained the opposite result and is not cited. Secondly, previous search for venous chemoreceptors failed to examine all venous locations between skeletal muscle and the right heart and lungs. Thirdly, oxygen sensors other than the arterial chemoreceptors do exist. Heymans himself originally demonstrated some residual breathing response to hypoxia in sino-aortic denervated animals. Others confirm a residual breathing response to hypoxia in mammals including humans. There is now considerable interest in the importance of afferent feedback in controlling the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Moreover, it is now clear that arterial, aortic and central chemoreceptors have no role in explaining breathing matching metabolic rate. These together provide a timely reminder that venous chemoreceptors remain ideal candidates still to be considered as metabolic rate sensors explaining matching in humans. First, this is because venous PO2 and PCO2 levels do change appropriately in proportion to metabolic rate, so a metabolic rate signal sufficient to drive breathing may already exist. Secondly, chemoreceptor-like anatomical structures are present in the systemic venous system but remain unexplored. Finally, no extant experimental evidence precludes their existence.


The tremendous success of word embeddings in improving the ability of computers to perform natural language tasks has shifted the research on language representation from word representation to focus on sentence representation. This shift introduced a plethora of methods for learning vector representations of sentences, many of them based on compositional methods over word embeddings. These vectors are used as features for subsequent machine learning tasks or for pretraining in the context of deep learning. However, not much is known about the properties that are encoded in these sentence representations and about the language information they encapsulate. Recent studies analyze the encoded representations and the kind of information they capture. In this paper, we analyze results from a previous study on the ability of models to encode basic properties such as content, order, and length. Our analysis led to new insights, such as the effect of word frequency or word distance on the ability to encode content and order.


AIM
To evaluate intima-media complex (IMC) thickness in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome in terms of clinical-laboratory manifestations and thrombosis risk factors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The trial included 206 patients (57 males and 149 females, age 16-59, mean age 35.9 years). Of them, 58 (28%) patients had primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS) alone, 148 had documented concomitant systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Seventy two (48.6%) SLE patients had antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), 29 (19.6%)--anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) level above 40 IU in two and more measurements without clinical symptoms of APS. In addition to standard tests, APL (lupus anticoagulant), aCL and antibodies to beta-2 glycoprotein, blood lipids were measured. Thrombosis and atherothrombosis risk factors were evaluated. Ultrasound dopplerography estimated thickness of IMC in the carotid and femoral arteries. The control group consisted of 89 donors free of autoimmune diseases.

RESULTS
Mean values of IMC thickness did not differ between the groups. Atherosclerotic plaques (ASP) were detected in 25 (12%) of 206 patients: in 5 (9%) from PAPS group, 10 (14%) from SLE+APS, in 4 (14%) and 6 (13%) from SLE groups aPL+ and aPL-, respectively. Mean age of patients with ASP was 46 +/- 6.9 years (32-55 years). ASP occurrence was associated with older age: ASP were detected in 10 (38%) of 26 patients aged over 51 years (24 plaques), in 10 (20%) of 50 patients aged 41-50 years (18 plaques) and in 5 (10%) of 50 patients aged 41-50 years (18 plaques) and in 5 (10%) of 50 patients aged 31-40 years (9 plaques, p = 0.001). IMC thickness and plaques were associated with prior arterial and venous thromboses and occurred significantly more frequently in patients with myocardial infarction and transient ischemic attacks (p < 0.001). Thrombosis and atherothrombosis risk factors were associated with changed IMC thickness. The level of aPL and their type had no effect on IMC thickness and ASP incidence in the groups studied.

CONCLUSION
Increased IMC thickness was associated with age irrespective of APS presence. In SLE, ASP appeared at younger age than in PAPS patients. Atherothrombosis risk factors affect IMC thickness irrespective of the level and type of aPL.


Recently, it has been observed that the complexity of finite-impulse-response (FIR) filters using the frequency-response masking technique can be significantly reduced by simultaneously optimizing all the subfilters. In order to reduce the filter complexity even further, this paper considers the optimization a class of FIR filters based on the use of the generalized frequency-response masking approach originally introduced by Lim and Lian (see IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. II, vol. 41, p. 518-525, Aug. 1994). For this class of filters, the two masking filters are constructed by using a common filter part. Again, the simultaneous optimization of all the subfilters is used, resulting in a considerable reduction in the overall filter complexity. An example taken from the literature illustrates the benefits of the proposed approach.


Long regarded as a classic of filter theory and design, this book stands as the most comprehensive treatment of filtering techniques, devices and concepts as well as pertinent mathematical relationships. Analysis and theory are supplemented by detailed design curves, fully explained examples and problem and answer sections. Discussed are the derivation of filtering functions, Fourier, Laplace, Hilbert and z transforms, lowpass responses, the transformation of lowpass into other filter types, the all-pass function, the effect of losses on theoretical responses, matched filtering, methods of time-domain synthesis, and digital filtering. This book is invaluable for engineers other than those who are filter design specialists who need to know about the possibilities and limits of the filtering process in order to use filters competently and confidently in their system designs.


To permit bolting of a 90 lb/yd. flat-bottomed rail to a steel structure, rectangular slots 2 in. wide x 1 in. deep were flame-cut in the base of the rail at 2 ft intervals to suit existing bolt holes. During subsequent handling, one of the rails (which were about 25 ft long) was dropped from a height of approximately 6 ft on to a concrete floor and it fractured into 11 pieces, each break occurring at a slot. The sample piece submitted for examination showed a wholly brittle fracture at each end, the fractures having originated at the sharp corners of the slots. During flame-cutting, a narrow band of material on each side of the cut was raised above the hardening temperature. When the torch had passed the rate of abstraction of heat from this zone by conduction into the cold mass of the rail was sufficiently rapid to amount to a quench and thus cause local hardening. The steel in the regions of the slots possessed little capacity for deformation, and fracturing of the martensitic layer, under cooling or impact stresses, would be likely to occur. The slots should have been cut mechanically.


ABSTRACT The authors explored the characteristics of individuals that affect their attitudes toward restorative justice-—in which offenders, victims, and communities meet to redress the damage the offence had caused. Across three studies, participants completed questionnaires that assessed whether they believe that people in general, or offenders in particular, can change fundamentally as well as attitudes toward restorative justice, rehabilitation, and punishment. In one study, the questionnaire also included measures of social dominance orientation, goal orientation, and future clarity. Generally, participants who believed that offenders can change fundamentally were more likely to agree to participate in restorative justice meetings and endorse rehabilitation over punishment. Yet, the belief that individuals in general can change fundamentally was not significantly associated with these attitudes toward alternative responses to crime. Social dominance orientation was inversely, and a learning orientation and future clarity were positively, associated with this belief that offenders can change. Thus, interventions that diminish inequality in income, privileges, and influence—and thus curb a social dominance orientation—may foster an openness toward restorative justice. Initiatives that continually reward people who gradually develop their expertise, and thus promote a learning orientation, should also foster this openness toward alternatives to custodial sentences.


Technological innovations have a highly disruptive nature and thus traditional industries, such as automotive, have to restructure themselves in order to remain relevant as well as exploit additional value opportunities. Car manufacturers are incorporating customers' expectation of ubiquitous connectivity through ICT into their products, but have not added this strategy into their operations. Internet of things and Big Data can aid in improved efficiencies in collective supply chain management and information flow.This research was aimed at developing applicable business models that address the addition of connected service solutions into the downstream automotive supply chain. Based on empirical data collected from both qualitative and quantitative research, two applicable business models are suggested along with detailed value propositions for OEMs, logistics providers, car dealers, and third parties.The results show that in order for connectivity to become ubiquitous, the chain has to change from vertical to horizontal integration and apply a networked strategy. However, due to strong distrust among stakeholders, the entrant of a third neutral player is advised as the most probable solution. In any case, for IoT enabled connectivity to provide valuable time and cost reductions in operations all stakeholders will need to collaborate and be open to data exchange.


The present mountain pine beetle (MPB) outbreak has become the most extensive ever recorded in the province of British Columbia. As of 2010, the cumulative area of provincial Crown forest affected was roughly 16.3 million ha. Due to the widespread abundance and commercial value of lodgepole pine, an aggressive program of salvage harvesting has been initiated, resulting in elevated cut rates in many of the areas affected by the outbreak. The MPB disturbance is located within the British Columbia Interior, an area characterized by a snow-dominated hydrologic regime. Within this regime forests play an important role in regulating the terrestrial water cycle, controlling how rain and snowfall are partitioned between interception, evaporation, snow and soil storage, runoff, and streamflow. Historically, most forest hydrology research into the effects of forest disturbance has been based on the impacts of clearcutting. The distinguishing feature of this MPB epidemic is that, despite its vast and unprecedented size, it is a biotic disturbance that does not necessarily result in complete stand loss. Unlike a stand-replacing disturbance (such as clearcutting or severe wildfire), even pure pine stands can retain a hydrologically functional secondary structure following beetle kill. The presence of such multi-storeyed secondary structure can mitigate the effects of beetle-kill. This issue compels better quantification of the impacts of a non-stand-replacing event on hydrology, and an improved understanding of how the hydrologic cycle is affected along a gradient of canopy loss and tree mortality. The following synthesis is a review of research examining the effects of large-scale MPB-related disturbance conducted predominantly over the past five years. The emphasis is on research that explicitly examines the impact of beetle kill (or biotic disturbance in general) and the cumulative effects of large-scale salvage harvesting operations in response to beetle kill. In general, forest disturbance has been found to increase snow accumulation and melt, reduce interception loss and evaporation, and increase runoff and streamflow. There is a general consistency in the results, which show that biotic forest disturbance has a hydrologic impact intermediate between that of healthy forests and clearcut salvage harvesting. However, results are site specific and exceptions do occur, introducing variability and uncertainty in potential hydrologic impacts and making prediction difficult. At the basin scale, salvage harvesting is expected to increase water yield. Both beetle kill and salvage harvesting have the potential to affect the peak flow regime. When the impact is sufficiently large, the peak flow regime is adjusted such that for a given frequency of occurrence the magnitude is increased, and for a given magnitude the event becomes more frequent. Combined results suggest that beetle kill has a smaller impact on peak flow than the cumulative effect of both beetle kill and clearcut salvage harvesting. Research gaps remain; in particular, the ability to quantify the effects of secondary structure and stand deterioration and recovery over time is lacking.


: The paper describes pure cultures (strains 435 and 781) of thermophilic spore-forming sulphate-reducing bacteria isolated from oil strata. The strain 435 was classed as a new subspecies Desulfotomaculum nigrificnas subsp. salinus according to its morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics. The cells of the culture are rod-like, 2-5 mcm long and 0.9-1.3 mcm thick. Some cells are spindle-shaped. The cells have peritrichously arranged flagella. Spores are oval, located terminally or subterminally, slightly widening the cells. The culture is an obligate anaerobe. It grows in media containing sulphates and assimilates sodium salts of lactic, pyruvic, malic and formic acids, ethanol, and butanol. The cuture assimilates pyruvate in the absence of sulphates. Sulphate, sulphite and thiosulphate are electron acceptors when the culture grows on lactate. The organism can grow at 40-70 degrees C, the optimum temperature being 60 degrees C. It requires NaCl for growth, and can grow even in the presence of 4% NaCl in the medium. The optimum should contain 1% NaCl and microelements. Desulfoviridin is absent. The cells contain a cytochrome of the protoheme class. The content of G + C base pairs in DNA is 57.0 +/- 0.5 mol. %.


In effectively managed companies, the answer to the question of whether employees should be perceived as cost or as investment, is obvious. Investment should be made in human resources as this allows for reducing the cost of company's activities, increasing its effectiveness, efficiency, etc. A similar question can be put for machine operation, but here the answer is not so straightforward. The conflict between production managers and machine maintenance managers still exists; it is usually settled with the production side winning. This paper is an attempt to assess the effectiveness of machine operation and the effectiveness of the whole company based on an analysis of so called OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) index, calculated from a timekeeping study of a big food producing company.


This study focuses on nano cerium oxide particles as alternative additives in solvent-based alkyd coatings in order to improve anticorrosive and anti-aging properties. The paint samples were formulated with cerium oxide micro and nanoparticles, and the coating quality characteristics were compared with coating formulated with commercial anticorrosive and UV-aging agents. Formulations were prepared with 3 wt % commercial anticorrosive agent as reference material (RP), 3 wt % cerium oxide microparticles (CER1), 3 wt % and 1% cerium oxide nanoparticles (CER2 and CER3), respectively. The basket milling technique with zirconium balls was used for the preparations of coatings and characterizations were performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and contact angle measurements. Improvement in the anticorrosive properties was proven with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and accelerated salt spray tests based on ISO 4628 Evaluation of Degradation of Coatings. Furthermore, physical and mechanical tests were run according to standard test methods for coatings and reported. Results showed that cerium oxide particles provide anticorrosive, UV defender, and self-cleaning effects, besides excellent physical resistance to alkyd coatings. The impact of cerium oxide nanoparticles was found to be stronger than those of the microparticles.


Taking the discussions on education, equal opportunities, and social reproduction by education, the paper considers the educational minimum as a concept that focuses on the responsibility, accountability, and performance of the educational system. There are at least three different approaches to define this educational minimum: 1. according to school leaving certificates, 2. according to competences, and 3. according to the relation of education and the labour market. The article shows that the discussions on equal opportunities and social justice depend on the sources, categories, and methods of research. Next, it deals with the educational minimum by combining the three approaches named to demonstrate the variation in results if you compare Finland and Germany. Finally, some conclusions of these findings are drawn with respect to educational politics.


ABSTRACT Learning from women leaders in Australia has gained attention as a national political issue since the election of Julia Gillard as our first female Prime Minister in 2010. In parallel with her period in office, a growth in feminist action and practice has been evident, in institutions and interventions such as 'Destroy the Joint', a group that agitates for an end to sexism and misogyny in multiple spaces. This article examines shifts in gendered leadership and activism, in online and offline spaces, especially with respect to learning from women's experiences in leadership, and we consider the implications of gendered politicking on planning issues. Drawing on empirical quantitative and qualitative data from an online survey of nearly 900 Destroy the Joint participants, this article looks at some impacts of national female leadership on Australian governance and what people believe should happen to achieve gender equality, in planning and political representation contexts. We argue that discourses of power and gender produced a challenging governance context for Gillard that undermined her leadership achievements but that this sexism also helped inspire growing and active feminist spaces that seek gender equality.


The phylogenetic relationship between Alternaria radicina and A. carotiincultae was reexamined based on morphology, sequence analysis of rDNA (ITS and mitochondrial small subunit [mtSSU]), protein coding genes (actin [ACT], β-tubulin, chitin synthase [CHS], translation elongation factor [EF-1a], Alternaria allergen a1 [Alt a1], and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase [gpd]), and RAPD and ISSR analysis of total genomic DNA. Although some morphological characters overlapped to a degree, with A. radicina isolates expressing moderate variation and A. carotiincultae isolates being highly uniform, A. carotiincultae could be differentiated from A. radicina based on significantly greater growth rate on potato dextrose agar (PDA) or acidified PDA (APDA) and average number of transverse septa per conidium. Sequence of rDNA and two protein coding genes, ACT and CHS, were invariant between species. However polymorphism with the EF-1a, β-tubulin, and Alt a1 gene strictly separated the population of A. radicina and A. carotiincultae as distinct lineages, as did RAPD and ISSR analysis. The polymorphic gpd gene did not strictly separate the two species. However isolates of A. radicina encompassed several haplotypes, one of which was the exclusive haplotype possessed by A. carotiincultae isolates, suggesting evidence of incomplete lineage sorting. The results suggest that A. carotiincultae is closely related to A. radicina but is a recently divergent and distinct lineage, which supports its status as a separate species.


The evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD) concerning the metabolic status and body mass index (BMI) is poorly studied. This study was designed to observe the relationship between insulin resistance (IR) and the severity of CAD on the basis of the metabolic and phenotypic status in stable-angina patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 532 patients with stable angina and coronary angiogram was done to diagnose the CAD for all. Determination of metabolic obesity was done using the National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. Phenotypic obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Homeostasis model assessment IR in correlation with the severity of CAD was measured using SYNTAX (TAXUS Drug-Eluting Stent Versus Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery for the Treatment of Narrowed Arteries) Score. The average age of the patients was 57.58 ± 10.40 years, and 69.4% were males. Out of 532 subjects, 51.3% were hypertensive, 14.5% were smokers, 29.1% consumed alcohol, 49.3% were metabolically obese, and 50% were phenotypically obese. Increase in IR increased the risk of severity of CAD in metabolically obese subjects (OR = 2.51, p = 0.048). In the phenotypically obese group, the relationship between IR and the severity of CAD was not statistically significant (OR = −2.19, p = 0.08). The study concludes that the increased IR increases the risk of severity of CAD in metabolically obese subjects.


Current earth observation models do not take into account the influence of water salinity on the evaporation rate, even though the salinity influences the evaporation rate by affecting the density and latent heat of vaporization. In this paper, we adapt the SEBS (Surface Energy Balance System) model for large water bodies and add the effect of water salinity to the evaporation rate. Firstly, SEBS is modified for fresh-water whereby new parameterizations of the water heat flux and sensible heat flux are suggested. This is achieved by adapting the roughness heights for momentum and heat transfer. Secondly, a salinity correction factor is integrated into the adapted model. Eddy covariance measurements over Lake IJsselmeer (The Netherlands) are carried out and used to estimate the roughness heights for momentum (~0.0002 m) and heat transfer (~0.0001 m). Application of these values over the Victoria and Tana lakes (freshwater) in Africa showed that the calculated latent heat fluxes agree well with the measurements. The root mean-square of relative-errors (rRMSE) is about 4.1% for Lake Victoria and 4.7%, for Lake Tana. Verification with ECMWF data showed that the salinity reduced the evaporation at varying levels by up to 27% in the Great Salt Lake and by 1% for open ocean. Our results show the importance of salinity to the evaporation rate and the suitability of the adapted-SEBS model (AquaSEBS) for fresh and saline waters.


Bambara groundnut is a protein-rich legume, with food-security potential. Effects of irrigation levels and seed coat colour on growth, development, yield and water-use efficiency of local bambara groundnut landrace selections were evaluated under a rain shelter. Emergence was slow, although variation was indicated between landraces. Limited water availability was shown to lower stomatal conductance, although chlorophyll content index was shown to be unaffected. Additionally, growth indices of plant height, leaf number and leaf area index were shown to be lower in response to decreasing water availability. Furthermore, landraces generally flowered and matured earlier while also demonstrating higher water-use efficiency at lower water availability. Seed yield was lower under limited water availability resulting from lower pod mass and pod number. Drought tolerance in bambara groundnut landraces was achieved by reduced canopy size, early flowering and maturity, and maintaining high water use efficiency under stress. 'Brown' and 'Red' landraces responded to water stress better than the 'Light-brown' landrace, suggesting an effect of seed colour on possible drought tolerance.


Structures are complex systems with several stages within their service life. Firstly,
engineers have to design the structure with some of the many available mathematical
and computational tools. In most cases, the designed structures are discretized within
finite elements method (FEM). The equations implemented in this method relate the
external actions (e.g. forces, accelerations, imposed displacements) with the output
response of the structure (e.g. nodal displacements) by means of the geometric and
mechanical parameters of the structural elements (e.g. beams' areas, inertias, Young's
Modulus), leading to large systems of equations. Generally, for a given structure in a
design stage, the structural parameters are assumed as known, allowing thus to
compute a direct solution for the structure.
Nevertheless, during the following stages of construction and operation, the structures
are subjected to different elements (e.g. humidity, temperature, chemical products) and
actions (construction errors, loads, earthquakes) that in most cases can be assumed as
random and unknown. These, may lead to a change in the value of the structural
parameters and turn them to be uncertain too. Thus, for the sake of security and
structural control, the actual uncertain parameters must be identified. In order to
identify them, many techniques are available. Particularly, this paper deals with an
inverse analysis called Structural System Identification (SSI). Within all the techniques
inside the SSI techniques, this paper is implementing the observability technique. This
technique is nailed to the null space theory for a given system of equations in order to
determine which of the unknowns can be assessed uniquely. Meaning that a unique
solution can be found for each of them. Also, in this paper, an algebraic matricial
methodology in order to allow the identification of the unknown parameters is
proposed. In order to do so, a set of experimental measurements taken from the
structure must be input into the method.
The observability technique has been implemented in many fields of engineering and
for many different equations. A special mention is deserved to the implementation of
this technique to the stiffness matrix method which observes the static parameters of a
given structure from static measurements of load test. In this thesis, the observability
technique is going to be applied on the eigenvalue equation and an algorithm is going
to be developed in order to carry out the computations. The dynamic character of the
method requires the inputs measurements to be the modal displacements and the
eigenfrequencies for the different natural modes of vibration. These data is assessed
through the implementation of modal experimental analysis over the structures which
computes the actual modal data. Finally, the method is applied within a symbolical
approach, obtaining for the first time in the literature the symbolic equations of the
identified parameters and their numerical errors for a dynamic approach.


In Thailand, jasmine oil is widely used as a preferred odor in aromatherapy. However, there are a small number of researches investigating effects of jasmine oil on the nervous system functions. In this study, we aimed to examine effects of jasmine oil inhalation on the function of central nervous system and mood responses. Twenty healthy volunteers have been participated in this study. The electroencephalogram (EEG) was then recorded from 31 electrodes on scalp before and after odor inhalation. In addition to the EEG recording, subjects have also been inquired to estimate their emotion responses. According to the international 10-20 system, the EEG measurements were recorded and the EEG power spectra were calculated using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT).  The data was analyzed by comparing two sessions; first during resting and inhaling sweet almond oil, and second between inhaling sweet almond and inhaling jasmine oil. These parameters of assessment were measured before and after using paired t- test statistical procedure. The results showed that the beta wave power (13-30 Hz) was increase in the anterior centre as well as the left posterior region. On one hand, the positive emotions including the feeling of well-being, active, fresh and romantic have been increased by jasmine oil. On the other hand, the negative emotions for example the feeling of drowsy were significantly decreased. It could be suggested from these results that jasmine oil has stimulatory effects on the function of nervous system. Interestingly, it could be concluded from this study that inhalation of jasmine oil affected to brain wave activities and mood states


Period. Polytech. Transp. Eng. G. Péter, Gy. Max, B. Kiss Abstract This paper deals with the robust control system design and implementation of a brake actuator for a smart car. To deliver robust performance, an H∞ controller had been chosen for the task. This allows excellent disturbance rejection while requiring low computational needs. In order to realize the controller a nominal model of the system has been identified, then, the parameter uncertainties were taken into account to find the stabilizing controller. The brake system consists of a low level H∞ controller sustaining robustness, a mid-level serial compensator for effective setpoint tracking and a high level supervisory control logic to deliver a reliable system. The implementation was tested and verified on a test bench using rapid prototyping tools and HIL methods.


This research is initiated by an interesting fact that there are still many labor strikes and rallies in Indonesia. The purpose of this study is to determine: the influence of normative demands and solidarity together on job dissatisfaction of workers. This research is intended as explanatory research. Sampling method used in this research is accidental sampling. The sample consists of 100 workers/laborers who joined rallies on May 1, 2014. The results show on the indicator the amount of City Minimum Wage Rates in normative demands variable, respondents believe the amount of wages earned are still not in accordance with the provisions of the minimum wage set by the government. Participation of workers in the fight for economic security must be done in various ways including demonstrations, based on solidarity between workers in order to put pressure on policy makers with regard to labor issues. In conclusion, good normative demands in accordance with the provisions of the agreement and the strong solidarity between workers will reduce dissatisfaction. Suggestions are made on normative demands variable; review should be made on the amount of the city minimum wage rates; leave entitlements, workers social security and dismissal policies should be in compliance with the current government policy.


Abstract Background: The transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1)-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been proven associated with the pathogenesis of asthmatic airway remodeling, in which the Wnt/β-catenin pathway plays an important role, notably with regard to TGF-β1. Recent studies have shown that 1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3(1α, 25(OH)2D3) inhibits TGF-β1-induced EMT, although the underlying mechanism have not yet been fully elucidated. Methods: Alveolar epithelial cells were exposed to 1α, 25(OH)2D3, ICG-001, or a combination of both, followed by stimulation with TGF-β1. The protein expression of E-cadherin, α-smooth muscle actin, fibronectin, and β-catenin was analyzed by western blotting and immunofluorescence analysis. The mRNA transcript of Snail was analyzed using RT-qPCR, and matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) activity was analyzed by gelatin zymogram. The activity of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was analyzed using the Top/Fop flash reporters. Results: Both 1α, 25(OH)2D3 and ICG-001 blocked TGF-β1-induced EMT in alveolar epithelial cells. In addition, the Top/Fop Flash reporters showed that 1α, 25(OH)2D3 suppressed the activity of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and reduced the expression of target genes, including MMP-9 and Snail, in synergy with ICG-001. Conclusion: 1α, 25(OH)2D3 synergizes with ICG-001 and inhibits TGF-β1-induced EMT in alveolar epithelial cells by negatively regulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.


Ecosystems provide a vast array of services that benefit human societies, which can be divided into provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. Amphibians provide provisioning services in the form of food and use in medical advances. As one of the major vertebrate groups, amphibians also play an important part in cultures throughout the world. Finally, amphibians can be extremely abundant and play important roles in ecosystem supporting services, including altering both physical structure and ecosystem functions. In aquatic systems, tadpoles can alter sedimentation, water clarity, and filamentous algae growth. Additionally, amphibians affect ecosystem functions, including nutrient cycling, decomposition, and primary production. Amphibians can alter the transfer of nutrients and energy between aquatic and terrestrial systems, but the net direction of flow varies temporally and depends on the amphibian community. After a review of these supporting services, I conducted two experiments to test the role of red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) in forested ecosystems. I examined the effects of salamanders on five 314-m2 plots with reduced salamanders and five reference plots. I found no evidence that salamanders affected litter or wood decomposition rates, nitrogen mineralization, nitrification, or acorn germination. Nor did salamanders affect the densities of predatory litter-dwelling macroinvertebrates. However, there was considerable variability in the density of salamanders among plots, even within treatments. Therefore, I conducted a second experiment where I manipulated the density of red-backed salamanders in enclosures (2 m2 x 1 m) and examined the effects on ecosystem functions. Despite the increased control and precision of this experiment, I did not observe effects of salamander density on decomposition, nitrogen cycling, acorn germination, or foliar insect damage. Since the timing of salamander activity could influence their role in ecosystem functions, I also examined the seasonal activity patterns of red-backed salamanders. I found that salamanders were most active in the spring and fall on warm, humid nights, following rain events. Salamander activity remained low through the summer even when conditions were favorable. Overall, red-backed salamanders had no measurable effects on the ecosystem functions I measured; however, future studies should examine the effects of salamanders in various forest types with different nutrient pools.


This paper explores the attitude–behaviour gap from an identity perspective in order to better understand why tourists act sustainably at "home" but not when "away". The majority of tourism-related CO2 emissions stems from transport. Behavioural change is a possible way to reduce those emissions. However, research indicates that instigating behavioural change within tourism is problematic, because of the attitude–behaviour gap. Studies suggest that understanding the role of identity and tourism mobility could explain this gap; this paper researches that idea, using a narrative approach to explore the travel life histories of 24 participants, with a second interview to examine how interviewees viewed their tourism activity in the light of environmental debates and concerns. Data were analysed using thematic and narrative-based dialogic/performance approaches. The paper reveals how a need for personal identity can influence travel behaviour and that identity plays a significant role in travel decisions, sometimes overriding cost and environmental issues. The power of social identity is explored, noting increasingly powerful global VFR networks, along with the search for future selves, the need for personal differentiation and issues of multiple identities. Suggestions are made for ways to use identity research into policies seeking to achieve behavioural change.


Ted Sichelman's paper in the Texas Law Review makes an important contribution by encouraging us to take the essentially regulatory character of IP seriously, arguing that public, not private, interest should determine remedies. In this comment, I both extend and critique his approach, suggesting that private law remedies may play an important role even in a patent system properly understood as public law rather than property law. Nonetheless, understanding the regulatory nature of patent remedies has some significant implications for setting those remedies, including the recognition that the optimal patent damages award will sometimes be $0.


The ubiquitous Cation Diffusion Facilitator proteins (CDF) play a key role in maintaining the cellular homeostasis of essential metal ions. Previous neighbor-joining phylogenetic analysis classified CDF proteins into three substrate-defined groups: Zn(2+), Fe(2+)/Zn(2+) and Mn(2+). These studies were unable to discern substrate-defined clades for Ni(2+), Co(2+), Cd(2+) and Cu(2+) transporters, despite their existence in this family. In this study we improved the accuracy of this previous functional classification using a phylogenomic approach based on a thorough maximum-likelihood phylogeny and the inclusion of recently characterized CDF transporters. The inference of CDF protein function predicted novel clades for Zn(2+), Fe(2+), Cd(2+) and Mn(2+). The Ni(2+)/Co(2+) and Co(2+) substrate specificities of two clades containing uncharacterized proteins were defined through the functional characterization of nepA and cepA metal inducible genes which independently conferred Ni(2+) and Co(2+) resistances to Rhizobium etli CFN42 and increased, respectively, Ni(2+)/Co(2+) and Co(2+) resistances to Escherichia coli. Neither NepA nor CepA confer Zn(2+), Fe(2+) and Mn(2+) resistances. The ability of NepA to confer Ni(2+)/Co(2+) resistance is dependent on clade-specific residues Asn(88) and Arg(197) whose mutations produce a non-functional protein.


AIM Within fluvial and coastal ecosystems world-wide, flows of water, wind and sediment generate a shifting landscape mosaic composed of bare substrate and pioneer and mature vegetation successional stages. Pioneer plant species that colonize these ecosystems at the land–water interface have developed specific traits in response to environmental constraints (response traits) and are able to modify habitat conditions by modulating geomorphic processes (effect traits). Changes in the geomorphic environment under the control of engineer plants often feed back to organism traits (feedback traits), and thereby ecosystem functioning, leading to eco-evolutionary dynamics. Here we explain the joint foundations of fluvial and coastal ecosystems according to feedback between plants and the geomorphic environment.

LOCATION Dynamic fluvial and coastal ecosystems world-wide.

METHOD Drawing from a pre-existing model of 'fluvial biogeomorphic succession', we propose a conceptual framework showing that fluvial and coastal 'biogeomorphic ecosystems' are functionally similar due to eco-evolutionary feedbacks between plants and geomorphology.

RESULTS The relationships between plant traits and their geomorphic environments within different fluvial and coastal biogeomorphic ecosystems are identified and classified within a framework of biogeomorphic functional similarity according to three criteria: (1) pioneer plants develop specific responses to the geomorphic environment; (2) engineer plants modulate the geomorphic environment; (3) geomorphic changes under biotic control within biogeomorphic ecosystems feed back to organisms.

MAIN CONCLUSIONS The conceptual framework of functional similarity proposed here will improve our capacity to analyse, compare, manage and restore fluvial and coastal biogeomorphic ecosystems world-wide by using the same protocols based on the three criteria and four phases of the biogeomorphic succession model.


An agent that targets p-cadherin (CDH3), with potential antineoplastic activity. Upon administration, PF-06671008 binds to and inhibits the activity of p-cadherin; this may inhibit both invasion and proliferation of p-cadherin expressing tumor cells. P-cadherin, a cell-surface protein and member of the cadherin family, is overexpressed in a variety of tumors and plays a role in cell adhesion, motility, invasion, and proliferation.


Arm pose of individual person often indicates his/her behavior and interaction in a crowd. This paper focuses on how to model arm pose with respect to walking styles in visual surveillance. We propose to use a Bayesian network to represent the relationship between the upper arm, forearm and hand. Two sets of probabilistic templates are used to estimate the likelihoods of these three arm parts against their boundary, foreground and skin color features. The prior distributions, a critical part of the Bayesian formulation, are estimated using a kernel density estimator based on the CMU motion dataset, whereby MAP is applied to estimate the part's orientation and size before fitting them to the arms. The proposed method is found to perform effectively on the CAVIAR sub-dataset and a HKU dataset, and compare well against another popular method. Potentially, it can be extended to track arm movements or to analyze the objects carried by individuals.


Introduction Helicobacter pylori is a Gram-negative bacterium, which infects over 50% of the population worldwide. However, only a subset of these infections result in gastrointestinal diseases, such as peptic ulceration (10%) and gastric cancer (2%). Several epidemiological studies have revealed that people who carry H. pylori are at a decreased risk of developing IBD. However, a mechanistic understanding of the association between H. pylori infection and IBD is still unknown. Unlike any other microbial species, once H. pylori colonises its gastric niche, it is able to dominate the gastric microbiome, representing 90%–95% of the total microbial population. Therefore, we hypothesised that the presence of H. pylori in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract prevents the colonisation of the lower GI tract with microbial species associated with the pathogenesis of IBD. Method To test this, we collected stool samples from IBD patients (comprising Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's disease patients) and determined their H. pylori status using a stool antigen test. We then characterised the intestinal microbiota of H. pylori positive (n=9) and negative IBD patients (n=18), by amplifying the V4 hyper-variable region of the 16S rRNA gene from faecal DNA. To determine the predominant phyla, these products were sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq and data analysis was performed using the QIIME pipeline and GreenGenes database. Results Interestingly, bacterial community structure revealed that there is a strong trend towards a decrease of Proteobacteria and an increase of Bacteroidetes in H. pylori positive IBD patients. Of note, IBD is generally characterised by an increase in Proteobacteria and a decrease in Bacteroidetes. Furthermore, using PICRUSt to investigate the functional composition of the metagenomes, we found that the H. pylori positive IBD patients displayed significant functional differences, including decreased bacterial motility and chemotaxis (p=<0.05), demonstrating suppression of virulence traits. Conclusion Our preliminary data suggests that the presence of H. pylori infection may promote a less pathogenic intestinal microbiome in patients with established IBD. This data provides the rationale to extend our studies with increased patient numbers and healthy controls to determine the mechanistic basis for the negative association of H. pylori infection and IBD. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Many of the birth defects associated with trisomy exhibit both variable expressivity and incomplete penetrance. This variability suggests that it is allelic variation and not simply the presence of an additional chromosome that leads to the development of certain trisomy‐associated birth defects. With the proper tools, one may use trisomic populations to identify genes involved in the development of specific birth defects. A trisomic population may be advantageous over a normal population if the defect is over‐represented in the trisomic population. Alternatively, one can view the trisomic populations as a "model system" to offer insight into aspects of both normal and abnormal embryonic development. Standard disomic linkage disequilibrium mapping approaches need to be adjusted to account for the presence of the additional genetic material in the trisomic individuals. We present an approach for linkage disequilibrium mapping of variable phenotypes in a trisomic population that adequately accounts for the additional alleles and the pattern of non‐independent inheritance. We establish the laboratory methods and statistical tools necessary to conduct an association study in a trisomic population. As an example, we have applied these tools to a pilot study of Down syndrome–associated congenital heart defects. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the choroidal thickness (CT) in pseudoexfoliative (PEX) glaucoma and age-matched healthy subjects using spectral optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
In this prospective study, 32 eyes of 32 PEX glaucoma patients and 30 eyes of 30 age-matched healthy subjects were enrolled. The CT is measured perpendicularly (from the outer edge of the hyperreflective retinal pigment epithelium to the inner sclera) at the fovea, and 1.5 mm temporal, 3.0 mm temporal, 1.5 mm nasal, and 3.0 mm nasal to the fovea using SD-OCT (RTVue-100).

RESULTS
The groups were similar regarding the mean age and axial length values (both, P>0.05). The CT measurements were 182.12 ± 39.88 and 201.56 ± 32.00 μm at 1.5 mm nasal to the fovea (P=0.039), and 126.47 ± 32.12 and 146.60 ± 31.37 μm at 3.0 mm nasal to the fovea (P=0.015) in the PEX glaucoma and control groups, respectively. There were no significant differences in the subfoveal and temporal CT measurements among the 2 groups (all, P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this study indicate that PEX glaucoma causes significant thinning in the nasal choroid. Thus, measuring the CT with SD-OCT may be the way of better clarification of the relationship between PEX and glaucomatous optic neuropathy.


With the old World Order coming to an end, development concepts oriented to an industrialistic model - wether of a Western or Eastem mould - fell apart too. Tue author describes the emerging re-ordering of the discourse on development and, in particular, its theoretical track wich graspes developement and ecology when seen and being linked, as an indissoluble problem. There are numerous studies dealing specifically with the linking-up of development and ecology. However, ecologically reordering the discourse on development will not - the argument goes - be able to do without a comprehensive theoretical frame if it wishes to avoid fostering dubious ideologies regarding population politics.


In this paper, we devise a network that consists of argumentation schemes and critical questions that participants in debates can use to easily construct arguments that attack or support former arguments. As a prototype, we build a potential network of argumentation schemes and critical questions with a practical reasoning scheme at its center. The usefulness of a NASCQ in constructing and reconstructing complex arguments and in formal argumentation is also explored along with argumentation more broadly.


Genetic variation in life-history timing allows populations to synchronize with seasonal cycles but little is known about the molecular mechanisms that produce differences in circannual rhythm in nature. Changes in diapause timing in the European corn borer moth (Ostrinia nubilalis) have facilitated rapid response to shifts in winter length encountered during range expansion and from climate change, with some populations emerging from diapause earlier to produce an additional generation per year. We identify genomic variation associated with changes in the time spent in winter diapause and show evidence that the circadian clock genes period (per) and pigment dispersing factor receptor (Pdfr) interact to underlie this adaptive polymorphism in circannual rhythm. Per and Pdfr are located within two epistatic QTL, strongly differ in allele frequency among individuals that pupate earlier or later, have the highest linkage disequilibrium among gene pairs in the QTL regions despite separation by > 4 megabases, and possess amino-acid changes likely to affect function. One per mutation in linkage disequilibrium with Pdfr creates a novel putative clock-cycle binding site found exclusively in populations that pupate later. We find associated changes in free-running daily circadian rhythm, with longer daily rhythms in individuals that end diapause early. These results support a modular connection between circadian and circannual timers and provide testable hypotheses about the physiological role of the circadian clock in seasonal synchrony. Winter length is expected to continually shorten from climate warming and we predict these gene candidates will be targets of selection for future adaptation and population persistence.


Phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-triphosphate (PtdInsP3) mediates intracellular signaling for directional sensing and pseudopod extension at the leading edge of migrating cells during chemotaxis. How this PtdInsP3 signal is translated into remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton is poorly understood. Here, using a proteomics approach, we identified multiple PtdInsP3-binding proteins in Dictyostelium discoideum, including five pleckstrin homology (PH) domain-containing proteins. Two of these, the serine/threonine kinase Akt/protein kinase B and the PH domain-containing protein PhdA, were previously characterized as PtdInsP3-binding proteins. In addition, PhdB, PhdG, and PhdI were identified as previously undescribed PH domain-containing proteins. Specific PtdInsP3 interactions with PhdB, PhdG, and PhdI were confirmed using an in vitro lipid-binding assay. In cells, PhdI associated with the plasma membrane in a manner dependent on both the PH domain and PtdInsP3. Consistent with this finding, PhdI located to the leading edge in migrating cells. In contrast, PhdG was found in the cytosol in WT cells. However, when PtdInsP3 was overproduced in pten− cells, PhdG located to the plasma membrane, suggesting its weak affinity for PtdInsP3. PhdB was found to bind to the plasma membrane via both PtdInsP3-dependent and -independent mechanisms. The PtdInsP3-independent interaction was mediated by the middle domain, independent of the PH domain. In migrating cells, the majority of PhdB was found at the lagging edge. Finally, we deleted the genes encoding PhdB and PhdG and demonstrated that both proteins are required for efficient chemotaxis. Thus, this study advances our understanding of the PtdInsP3-mediated signaling mechanisms that control directed cell migration in chemotaxis.


This study presents information on the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of clinical Prototheca spp. isolates obtained from different geographic regions. Of 350 isolates studied, 342 came from cattle, six from canines and two from humans. Phenotypic characterization was carried out by a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) proteomic analysis. The peptide extraction that was used for this analysis included the additional steps of washing and sonication to increase the yield of peptide. Genotypic analysis was conducted using species- and genotype-specific primers. The study revealed that among the cattle isolates, 310 (90.6%) belonged to Prototheca zopfii genotype 2, 30 (8.8%) to P. blaschkeae, and two (0.6%) to P. zopfii genotype 1. P. zopfii genotype 2 is the principal etiological agent of protothecal mastitis in cattle regardless of the geographic region. Similarly, all canine and human isolates also belonged to the P. zopfii genotype 2, suggesting that this is probably the most virulent species of the genus. The role of P. blaschkeae needs further epidemiologic studies to ascertain its etiologic role in bovine mastitis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study on phenotypic and genotypic characterization of P. zopfii and P. blaschkeae isolates originating from diverse clinical specimens from different countries.


With more development in electronics system capable of having larger functional densities, power density is increasing. Immersion cooling demonstrates the highest power usage efficiency (PUE) among all cooling techniques for data centers and there is still interest in optimizing immersion cooling to use it to its full potential. The aim of this paper is to present the effect of inclination and thermal shadowing on two-phase immersion cooling using FC-72. For simulation of boiling, the RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) wall boiling model has been used. Also, two empirical models were used for calculation of bubble departure diameter and nucleate site density. The boundary condition was assumed to be constant heat flux and the bath temperature was kept at boiling temperature of FC-72 and the container pressure is assumed to be atmospheric. this study showed that due to the thermal shadowing, boiling boundary layer can lay over the top chipset and increases vapor volume fraction over top chipsets. This ultimately causes increase in maximum temperature of second chip. The other main observation is with higher inclination angle of chip, maximum temperature on the chip decreases up to 3°C.


Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Version of the Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale- Self Report Form (WFIRS-S-TR) Objective: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the validity and reliability of the WFIRS-S-TR, Turkish version of the Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale-Self Report form. Method: The study comprised two groups of participants of 15-18 years of age, one consisting of 35 children diagnosed with attention deficit and hyperativity disorder (ADHD) based on the DSM-IV criteria and the other, 510 healthy volunteers attending high school. Apart from the WFIRS-S-TR, the Health Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (KIDSCREEN-10 Index) which is a general quality of life and functionality measurement instrument, was used to check the concurrent validity of the WFIRS-S-TR. Results: The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total scale was 0.939. The test-retest reliability assessed by repeated measurements two weeks apart gave a high correlation between the results (r=0.804, p<0.0001). Total mean score of the WFIRS-S-TR showed significant correlation with the KIDSCREEN-10 Index total mean score (r= -0.467, p<0.0001). Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out for the construct validity of the WFIRS-S-TR. The RMSEA and the CFI values were found to be 0.065 and 0.68, respectively. Conclusion: The WFIRS-S-TR can be used as a valid and reliable tool both in clinical practice and for research purposes.


Computationally modeling the affective content of music has been intensively studied in recent years because of its wide applications in music retrieval and recommendation. Although significant progress has been made, this task remains challenging due to the difficulty in properly characterizing the emotion of a music piece. Music emotion perceived by people is subjective by nature and thus complicates the process of collecting the emotion annotations as well as developing the predictive model. Instead of assuming people can reach a consensus on the emotion of music, in this work we propose a novel machine learning approach that characterizes the music emotion as a probability distribution in the valence-arousal (VA) emotion space, not only tackling the subjectivity but also precisely describing the emotions of a music piece. Specifically, we represent the emotion of a music piece as a probability density function (PDF) in the VA space via kernel density estimation from human annotations. To associate emotion with the audio features extracted from music pieces, we learn the combination coefficients by optimizing some objective functions of audio features, and then predict the emotion of an unseen piece by linearly combining the PDFs of the training pieces with the coefficients. Several algorithms for learning the coefficients are studied. Evaluations on the NTUMIR and MediaEval 2013 datasets validate the effectiveness of the proposed methods in predicting the probability distributions of emotion from audio features. We also demonstrate how to use the proposed approach in emotion-based music retrieval.


Stable, self-cleansing retraction pockets of the pars tensa are common incidental findings and require no treatment. In other cases, recurrent discharge occurs and there may also be associated conductive hearing loss. In a minority of cases, cholesteatoma may develop. This paper presents the results of surgery using a graft composed of cartilage and perichondrium for retraction pockets involving the posterior half of the tympanic membrane, as well as early results using a larger graft designed to manage retraction of the entire tympanic membrane. Data on 51 patients with posterior retraction pockets are presented. Forty-two (82 per cent) patients had no aural discharge one year following surgery and the tympanic membrane was not retracted in 43 (84 per cent). The larger 'Mercedes-Benz' graft was used in four patients and the results obtained suggested that it may prove a successful technique for extensive retraction pockets.


Ear wax is a common problem which brings the patient to ENT OPD. In many cases ear wax is very impacted and difficult to remove. Excessive ear wax can lead to symptoms such as hearing loss, tinnitus, itching, giddiness, pain, feeling of fullness in the ear and a reflex cough. Impacted ear wax can also lead to in-fection. Removal of wax under direct vision is the best method to be done under micro-scope. For some patients, additional strategy is necessary to soften the wax with a cerumi-nolytic and then removed. The role of water as a fast acting wax softener was investigated in this study. The primary aim of this study was to investi-gate an alternate strategy for a quick dispersant of persistent ear wax by using water and to study its affects on extent of wax removal achieved, the patients comfort level, the com-plications and the adverse effects of water if any. Water is an effective ceruminolytic agent for wax removal. It is a fast acting agent where the removal can be done in the same sitting. It is also cheap and readily available. It increases the extent of wax removal. It reduces the time taken to remove wax. Installing of water before removal makes the procedure more comforta-ble and less painful for the patients.


Genetic data can provide insights into population history, but first we must understand the patterns that complex histories leave in genomes. Here, we consider the admixed human population of Cabo Verde to understand the patterns of genetic variation left by social and demographic processes. First settled in the late 1400s, Cabo Verdeans are admixed descendants of Portuguese colonizers and enslaved West African people. We consider Cabo Verde's well-studied historical record alongside genome-wide SNP data from 563 individuals from 4 regions within the archipelago. We use genetic ancestry to test for patterns of nonrandom mating and sex-specific gene flow, and we examine the consequences of these processes for common demographic inference methods and for genetic patterns. Notably, multiple population genetic tools that assume random mating underestimate the timing of admixture, but incorporating non-random mating produces estimates more consistent with historical records. We consider how admixture interrupts common summaries of genomic variation such as runs-of-homozygosity (ROH). While summaries of ROH may be difficult to interpret in admixed populations, differentiating ROH by length class shows that ROH reflect historical differences between the islands in their contributions from the source populations and post-admixture population dynamics. Finally, we find higher African ancestry on the X chromosome than on the autosomes, consistent with an excess of European males and African females contributing to the gene pool. Considering these genomic insights into population history in the context of Cabo Verde's historical record, we can identify how assumptions in genetic models impact inference of population history more broadly.


Investors should focus on the performance of portfolios of active funds, not on the performance of individual active funds. Taking this portfolio approach with respect to active U.S. equity mutual funds, I build an optimized portfolio of funds that subsequently has low idiosyncratic volatility and a large, positive, statistically significant alpha. Consistent with a Berk and Green (2004) equilibrium, that outperformance is short lived if the optimized portfolio is not rebalanced often, as investors allocate substantial capital—in excess of that expected based on past performance—to the funds with a large weight in the optimized portfolio.


Efficient and privacy-preserving data aggregation in a wireless sensor network (WSN) poses a tremendous challenge: how to cope with sensors compromise---once a sensor is compromised, its crypto material is compromised and so is privacy of aggregate data. To address this challenge, we propose two operationally simple and privacy-preserving protocols: PASKOS (Privacy-preserving based on Anonymously Shared Keys and Omniscient Sink) and PASKIS (Privacy-preserving based on Anonymously Shared Keys and Ignorant Sink). They leverage the idea that each node adds to its private sensed value a keyed value (computed from anonymously shared keys) and only uses the resulting sum in the data aggregation process. Our protocols guarantee that the sink is able to efficiently retrieve the aggregated original data by removing keyed values from the received aggregate while preserving the privacy of the aggregated data. Further, both protocols guarantee a high {\em data-loss resilience}---the sink retrieves the aggregate of the sensed values of only those nodes who actually participated in the aggregation process.\\* PASKOS effectively protects the privacy of any node against other nodes, by requiring $O(\log N)$ communication cost in the worst case and $O(1)$ on average, and requiring $O(1)$ memory and computation cost. PASKIS can even protect a node's privacy against a compromised sink, and it is more efficient, requiring only $O(1)$ overhead as for computation, communication, and memory; however, these gains in efficiency are traded-off with a (slightly) decreased level of privacy. Through formal analysis and simulations, we demonstrate the superior performance of our protocols against existing solutions in terms of privacy-preserving effectiveness, efficiency, and accuracy of computed aggregation.


Food historian Harvey Levenstein has argued that in the early 20th century "the sorry state of American gastronomy was best typified by Duncan Hines," then the first restaurant critic of national stature. While Hines' bestselling guidebook of the 1930s–1950s, Adventures in Good Eating, was not adventurous by contemporary culinary standards, it nevertheless encouraged a self-identified community to articulate its tastes, as subsequent listings were compiled and revised mostly by Hines' readers. This "freemasonry of motorists" constructed a gastronomic geography of America in an era when cars, roads, and the spatial reorganization of work and leisure developed roadside dining into a foodway of tremendous cultural and economic power. Yet, if a community authored these guidebooks, were Americans ever without direction in uncharted spaces or were they actively creating places? I argue that the figure of and activity surrounding Hines stem from the material and social shifts caused by the conjuncture of automobility and consumerism. Although three decades later these same historical trends aided the dissolution of Hines' community, knowledge produced by this nexus of popular culture contributed to modern practices and discourses of culinary regionalism, fast food, and gourmet "tastemaking." The relationship between this critic, his community, and the larger context of consumption are thus integral to understanding, rather than dismissing, the spatial and aesthetic history of American taste.


Distinguishing between histoplasmosis, tuberculosis (TB), and co-occurrence of disease is a frequent dilemma for clinical staff treating people with advanced Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection. This problem is most frequently observed in clinical settings in countries where both diseases are endemic. It is also a challenge outside these endemic countries in HIV clinics that take care of patients coming from countries with endemic histoplasmosis and TB. The gold standard for diagnosis of both of these diseases is based on conventional laboratory tests (culture, histopathology and special stains). These tests have several limitations, such as lack of laboratory infrastructure for handling isolates (biosafety level 3), shortage of laboratory staff who have appropriate training and experience, variable analytical performance of tests and long turn-around time. Recently, novel rapid assays for the diagnosis of histoplasmosis and TB became available. However, this technology is not yet widely used. Mortality in immunocompromised patients, such as people with advanced HIV, is directly linked with the ability to rapidly diagnose opportunistic diseases. The aim of this review is to synthesize the main aspects of epidemiology, clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of histoplasmosis/TB co-occurrence in people with advanced HIV.


The launch of the Very High Resolution (VHR) sensor satellites has paved the way for further exploitation of the capabilities of satellite stereo imaging for many applications. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the level of accuracy that can be achieved by using stereo satellite images for different applications involving significantly different types of terrain. Three mathematical models for satellite sensor modeling are used: Rational Function Model (RFM), 3D polynomial model, and 3D affine model. Three stereo pairs of image datasets are tested from different satellites for different areas: (a) Indian Remote Sensing (IRS)-1D stereo images for topographic mapping and digital terrain elevation modeling for an area in Egypt; (b) IKONOS stereo images for highway alignments extraction in Toronto, Canada; and (c) IKONOS stereo images for topographic mapping and geometric parameter extraction for highway alignments in Hong Kong, China. The accuracy was evaluated by comparing the results of the data extracted using stereo satellite images and those extracted from conventional techniques, including Global Positioning System, field measurements, and aerial photogrammetry. The accuracy of the extracted features was found to be within a pixel-level. The results of this paper should be of interest to professionals from different disciplines exploring the use and accuracy of satellite stereo images for topographic and transportation applications.


Protein synthesis and degradation rates in diaphragms from fed or starved rats were compared in vivo and in vitro. For fed rats, synthesis rates in vivo were approximately twice those in vitro, but for starved rats rates were similar. Degradation rates were less in vivo than in vitro in diaphragms from either fed or starved rats.


This thesis presents the findings of a study which investigates the relationship between curriculum innovation and teachers' actual classroom practices in ELT. It
examines five teachers' implementation of the English language curriculum in Libyan secondary schools, and compares their implementation to what is recommended by this
curriculum innovation. It also sheds light on how teachers' beliefs and other contextual factors influence the way teachers interpreted and implemented this curriculum.

In order to study these issues, a qualitative research design was employed as a mode of inquiry. Data collection methods consisted of classroom observations in which
audio recordings of the teachers' actual classroom practices were obtained, and follow up interviews in which teachers commented on their classroom practices and discussed the factors shaping these practices.

The analysis of the data pointed to a limited uptake of the curriculum by these teachers. The interviews with the teachers shed light on the tensions between teachers'
actual classroom practices and the intentions of the curriculum. They also highlighted complex relationships among the curriculum reform, teachers' practices, teachers'
beliefs, and other contextual factors.

This study illustrates the value of studying what teachers do while implementing educational innovations and how their beliefs and other contextual factors influence the
way teachers interpret and implement these educational innovations.


Retrenchment is a problem confronting many public, private, and voluntary healthcare organizations. With budgetary restrictions in the public sector and the shift toward prospective payment systems and diagnosis-related reimbursement by third-party payors, healthcare executives must address several dilemmas and choices. Yet, retrenchment should not necessarily be viewed as a problem with limited alternatives. It may represent a time for capitalizing on opportunities and for creating innovation within healthcare institutions. Indeed, innovation may represent the only means for survival. This article evaluates the management strategies that transform retrenchment from a problem into an opportunity.


Haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS) is a major cause of losses to livestock production in many countries around the world. In Malaysia, more specifically, the disease yet remains a major constraint to the national industry. However, the pathogenesis of haemorrhagic septicaemia is another scenario in which the limitations still exists. Thus, the present paper provides more information on the pathogenicity and host response dynamics in a mouse model. Our study of experimental nature manipulates P. multocida serotype B:2, the bacterium responsible for the disease in Asia. In this study, sixteen mice (n=16) were divided into two groups (A & B) of 8 mice each group. Animals in group A were inoculated orally with 1.0 ml 10 cfu/ml of P. multocida type B while mice in group 2 were challenged orally with 1.0 ml of phosphate buffer saline (PBS). The animals were observed for clinical signs for 5 days. The mice showing severe signs and surviving mice after 5 days of postinoculation were euthanized using cervical dislocation approach and the organs such as heart, lung, kidney, stomach, spleen, colon and small intestine were collected for microscopic examinations. The result indicated that mice inoculated with the Pasteurella multocida showed significant (p<0.05) severe clinical signs compared to control group.These clinical signs ranged from mild to severe in which most of individuals infected with Pasteurella multocida showed moderate to severe clinical signs of ruffled hair, laboured breathing, eye discharge and responsiveness with mean levels of 2.13±0.64, 1.88±0.99, 1.50±1.20 and 1.88±0.99 respectively in comparison to the control group. Moreover, mortality rate was recorded between 24 to 50 h post-inoculation in the group that challenged with Pasteurella multocida type B: 2. Microscopically, the extent of visceral tissue damages due to the infection was scored. The interested parameters included pulmonary oedema, presence of inflammatory cells, haemorrhage and necrosis. Of these parameters, animals in infected group showed significant (p<0.05) differences in all most all visceral organs. Lungs, liver and kidney were, in particular, the most predominantly affected tissues. Therefore, oral inoculation of P. multocida type B in mice showed significant clinical response and cellular changes.


More than 40% of the homes in Georgia use onsite systems to manage household wastewater. Because of water quality concerns as the number on onsite systems increases, advanced wastewater treatment components to reduce biological oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), and nutrients are more commonly used.. The objective of this study was to evaluate passive, low-maintenance onsite system treatment components. Two complete onsite systems were installed at existing homes bordering or near Lake Sidney Lanier in Hall County, GA. Both systems included a 6,000 l two-compartment septic tank with an effluent filter, two anaerobic upflow filters (AUF), and either a Fe-based or Fe-Al-Ca based P removal system. Wastewater samples were collected monthly for 14 months at multiple locations in the system and were analyzed for pH, dissolved O, BOD, TSS, total N, NH4, NO3, total P, and dissolved reactive P. The septic tank and two AUFs reduced BOD, TSS, and total P by 84, 96, and 58%, respectively. The Fe-based P treatment system further reduced total P and dissolved reactive P concentrations by 63 and 51%, respectively. The Fe-Al-Ca based P treatment system unit was less effective. These results suggest that passive low-cost advanced treatment components can be used to enhance wastewater treatment in onsite systems.


In this study we present an industrial-scaled tanning process intended to replace chrome tanning in the production of high quality bovine shoe upper leathers using a combined tannage based on a mimosa and oxazolidine as cross-linking agent. This paper reports the best recipe developed and the properties of the leather obtained. The various test results and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations which were used as investigative methods to follow the tanning process steps and to better understand the cross-linking mechanisms, are detailed together with the characterisation of the effluents. The leather obtained is characterised by a good hydrothermal stability coupled with good physical and technical properties which allow it to easily comply with the standards required for high quality chromium-tanned bovine upper leather. The results obtained suggest that this tannage is a promising alternative to traditional chrome tanning.


Source code reviews are manual, time-consuming, and expensive. Human involvement should be focused on analyzing the most relevant aspects of the program, such as logic and maintainability, rather than amending style, syntax, or formatting defects. Some tools with linting capabilities can format code automatically and report various stylistic violations for supported programming languages. They are based on rules written by domain experts, hence, their configuration is often tedious, and it is impractical for the given set of rules to cover all possible corner cases. Some machine learning-based solutions exist, but they remain uninterpretable black boxes. This paper introduces style-analyzer, a new open source tool to automatically fix code formatting violations using the decision tree forest model which adapts to each codebase and is fully unsupervised. style-analyzer is built on top of our novel assisted code review framework, Lookout. It accurately mines the formatting style of each analyzed Git repository and expresses the found format patterns with compact human-readable rules. style-analyzer can then suggest style inconsistency fixes in the form of code review comments. We evaluate the output quality and practical relevance of style-analyzer by demonstrating that it can reproduce the original style with high precision, measured on 19 popular JavaScript projects, and by showing that it yields promising results in fixing real style mistakes. style-analyzer includes a web application to visualize how the rules are triggered. We release style-analyzer as a reusable and extendable open source software package on GitHub for the benefit of the community.


This paper studies the impact of mortality in the districts/states represented in key congressional groups (i.e. committees, subcommittees, and parties) on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) allocation of medical research funds across diseases, for the period 1985-2002. Exploiting the recomposition of any group after congressional elections, I find that congressmen who sit in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appear successful in steering more funds towards research on diseases that affect their constituents disproportionately. This effect is larger for clinical than for basic research. No other relevant congressional group, except, to a lesser extent, the House majority, seems to impact that allocation. No group significantly impacts the allocation of funds across states.


: Treatment and diagnostic measures, including anesthesia during catastrophes and natural disasters are a world known problem. The paper presents the experience of anesthetic care provision during specialized surgical care to the victim children of the earthquake in Haiti. The materials of analysis were 529 anesthesias conducted to 72 children, who were in the treatment for crush syndrome, skeletal and concomitant injury. The peculiarities of anesthesia during the treatment of wound process depending on the stage of surgery are brought into view. During the preparatory phase the optimal type of anesthesia is inhalation and intravenous anesthesia, whereas for the defect closure (main stage) all types of anesthesia, including balanced endotracheal and combined anesthesia were used.