Given samples from a distribution, how many new elements should we expect to find if we continue sampling this distribution? This is an important and actively studied problem, with many applications ranging from unseen species estimation to genomics. We generalize this extrapolation and related unseen estimation problems to the multiple population setting, where population $j$ has an unknown distribution $D_j$ from which we observe $n_j$ samples. We derive an optimal estimator for the total number of elements we expect to find among new samples across the populations. Surprisingly, we prove that our estimator's accuracy is independent of the number of populations. We also develop an efficient optimization algorithm to solve the more general problem of estimating multi-population frequency distributions. We validate our methods and theory through extensive experiments. Finally, on a real dataset of human genomes across multiple ancestries, we demonstrate how our approach for unseen estimation can enable cohort designs that can discover interesting mutations with greater efficiency.


Black orchid is an epiphytic orchid found mainly in Borneo Island, Indonesia. This orchid currently is facing a large conservation problem and threatened to extinction due to human exploitation. It is therefore an urgent requirement to develop efficient propagation technique to conserve this species. This research aims to determine growth response and the ability of black orchid seeds to grow in different medium and to establish the best media for acclimatization. The experiment was divided into 2 stages, seed growth in vitro, and acclimatization. Three different media were employed during seed growth in vitro, i.e. Western 3 media (W3), Knudson C media (KdC) and organic media (O). Each treatment consists of eight replicates. Acclimatization stage used 4 types of media; moss, fern stem, charcoal and combination of charcoal and coconut husk. Each consists of 8 replicates. Results shows that seeds started to grow at 3 weeks after sowing in W3 media, and 5 weeks after sowing in other medium. At 12 WAP, seed growth reached phase 5 (third leaf formed) on W3 medium, whilst on KdC and organic media, reached phase 4 (second leaf formed embryo). Within 3 months, the highest shoot produced was on W3 media (581 shoots), whilst on KdC and organic media produced 255 and 191 shoots respectively. Almost all plantlets (98%) survived during acclimatization period. Plantlets grow best on moss, compared to other media.


The complexity of industrial developments requires engineering students to have hands on experience as well as theoretical engineering knowledge. There is a need for a change of classical engineering curriculums. Makerspaces can be a crucial part of this change. They are introduced as physical locations where engineering student's curiosity is fed and solutions to problems are found through teamwork. Their use in higher education can also provide an opportunity for students to engage in experiential learning. They can develop a large range of soft skills that traditional undergraduate curriculum is unable to provide, such as planning, teamwork, critical thinking and communication. There are still limited studies about the full effect and impact of these spaces in teaching and learning, from the pedagogical perspective. The aim of this study is to determine students' experiences with such spaces and examine how makerspaces are contributing to their learning. Descriptive research method (one-on-one interviews and normative survey) were used to evaluate students, graduate assistants and a faculty members' perception of the space and depict the situation. The results of this study showed that students want more than theoretical knowledge from their engineering education. They want to be able to gain hands on experience while they are learning theory. While designing a makerspace for that purpose, the sustainability and the functioning of these spaces should be taken into consideration. The findings of this study can provide guidance for the institutions that are planning to build a makerspace in their campuses.


Leishmaniasis is endemic in 88 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. It is a vector borne zoonosis with important animal reservoirs and has a two stage life cycle-within animal vector and mammalian host. In this research article, a mathematical model is considered to analyze the disease dynamics of Leishmaniasis consisting susceptible (uninfected) macrophage cell, early stage infected (promastogotes) macrophage cell, late stage infected (amastigotes) macrophage cell and parasite population. The focus is to study the progression of the disease caused by pathogen within mammalian cycle. To study the model in broader aspect, a time delay is introduced into the system as there is a time lag in the interaction between uninfected macrophage cell and parasite population and spread of the disease. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations reveals that, the delay induced system exhibits changes in the progression pattern of infected and uninfected macrophage cell and parasite population. Control effect i.e. drug dosing can minimize the phagocytic state of macrophages and suppress the state change from promastigotes into amastigotes inside macrophages. Moreover delay induced control give better result than proposed model with control as healthy macrophage cell population reaches more stable nature. Optimal control theory facilitates a cost effective drug dose strategy that increases the healthy macrophage cell population, whereas decreases rest of the population.


In the title compound, C37H32F2N2O2, the central six-membered piperidine ring adopts a twisted half-chair conformation, with the N and methylene C atoms deviating by −0.2875 (16) and 0.4965 (15) Å, respectively, from the mean plane defined by the other four atoms. The piperidine connected to the octahydroindolizine ring is in a half-chair conformation. The five-membered pyrrole ring adopts a slightly twisted envelope conformation with the piperidine C atom as the flap atom. The F and H atoms of both fluorobenzene rings are disordered, with occupancy factors of 0.941 (3):0.059 (3) and 0.863 (3):0.137 (3). The molecular structure features some intramolecular C—H⋯O interactions. In the crystal, a supramolecular zigzag chain sustained by C—H⋯F interactions parallel to the c axis is formed, generating a C(12) graph-set motif.


BACKGROUND
 More than 15 million Americans provide unpaid care for persons with Alzheimer disease or other related dementias (ADRD). While there is good evidence to suggest that caregivers benefit from psychosocial interventions, these have primarily been delivered via face-to-face individual or group format. Alternatively, offering electronic health (eHealth) interventions may assist caregivers in providing quality care while remaining in good health. Research to date has generated little knowledge about what app features support ADRD caregivers' behavioral changes and how developers might optimize features over the long term.

 OBJECTIVE
 There is an evident knowledge gap in the current landscape of commercially available apps, their integration of behavioral techniques, content focus, and compliance with usability recommendations. This paper systematically reviews and inventories the apps caregivers might typically be exposed to and determines the support integrated into the apps and their functionality for older adults.

 METHODS
 The search strategy was designed to mimic typical Web-based health information-seeking behavior for adults. Apps were included based on their explicit focus on ADRD caregiver knowledge and skill improvement. Two coders with expertise in behavioral interventions and eHealth pilot-tested the data extraction. One coder retained app characteristics and design features. Techniques used to promote change were determined, and 2 questions from the Mobile App Rating Scale were used to assess the app credibility and evidence base. Content topics were evaluated using a thematic framing technique, and each app was assessed using a usability heuristic checklist.

 RESULTS
 The search results generated 18 unique apps that met the inclusion criteria. Some apps were unavailable, and only 8 unique apps were reviewed. Of the 8, 7 (88%) apps did not state which scientific orientation was followed to develop their content. None of the apps made clinical claims of improving caregivers' and care recipients' overall health. All apps relied on textual information to disseminate their contents. None of the apps was trialed and evidence based. Apps included on average 7 out of 10 behavioral change techniques, 5 out of 10 C.A.R.E. (Caregivers, Aspirations, Realities, and Expectations) features, and 10 out of 18 features on the usability heuristics checklist.

 CONCLUSIONS
 Our findings suggest that caregivers are likely to discover apps that are not actually accessible and have low or no evidence base. Apps were found to be largely static, text-based informational resources, and few supported behaviors needed to maintain caregivers' health. While apps may be providing a high volume of information, caregivers must still navigate what resources they need with limited guidance. Finally, the commercial marketplace is addressing some of the major usability elements, but many design elements are not addressed.


The role of colonizing bacteria in the small bowel in causing diarrhea remains unclear. We examined whether colonizing, nontoxigenic Escherichia coli could alter small bowel function by determining net water and electrolyte fluxes and sucrase activity in colonized and noncolonized ileal segments by using the reversible-ileal-tie adult rabbit model. Colonization of the ileum with nontoxigenic E. coli for greater than or equal to 72 h at greater than or equal to 10(4)/cm2 was associated with significant functional derangements, as follows: (i) overt liquid diarrhea in 50% of animals colonized at greater than 10(4)/cm2; (ii) reversal of normal net ileal absorption to net secretion of water, sodium, and chloride; and (iii) significant decrease in mucosal sucrase activity. We conclude that small bowel colonization by colonizing, nontoxigenic E. coli impairs water and electrolyte absorption and sucrase activity in the absence of recognized enterotoxin, cytotoxin, invasion, or effacement traits.


The purpose of this paper was threefold: 1) to examine the internal factors influencing centralization of stock procurement processes, 2) to assess the relationship between demographic factors and staff understanding of Information Communication Technology (ICT) with performance improvement, and 3) to examine the relationship between prevention of corruption with management commitment. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 82 members of staff from procurement division in a South African municipality, with specific reference from the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province. A census sampling method was used and a Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software was used to analyse the data. The results indicate that ICT, planning tools, communication tools, inbound logistics, and staff competency are the most contributing factors influencing decentralized procurement process of stocks in a South African municipality. Although a hypothesis between performance improvement and gender was rejected, the study showed significance relationships between performance improvement with qualification (p=.035), experience (p=.000), and age (p=.000). It further proved that there is a significance relationship between understanding the ICT and performance improvement (p=.031) and that prevention of corruption is significantly related with management commitment (p=.001). Based on the results, the study recommends that a supporting internal control should be established to ensure that the centralization of stocks by procurement is executed by individuals with clear understanding of inbound logistics, clear communication, commitment, and comprehensive planning. Since the findings of this study are based on 82 members of staff from one South African municipality, it is recommended that a larger sample size may be used in future studies in order to improve accuracy of the results.


Manuscript type: Research paper Research aims: This study investigates the impact of value co-creation behaviour on customer loyalty within the context of social media. It also attempts to determine the role played by customer brand experience and customer satisfaction as mediating variables. Design/Methodology/Approach: Drawing upon the service-dominant logic theory, a research framework is developed and tested using the structural equation modelling. The data comprise the input of 449 respondents from Lebanon. Research findings: The findings provide substantial evidence showing the relationship between customer value co-creation behaviour and customer loyalty. This relationship is partially mediated by customer brand experience. Theoretical contribution/Originality: This study expands on existing literature by investigating how customer value co-creation behaviours can lead to customer loyalty within the social media context of Lebanon. Practitioner/Policy implications: The findings can assist managers in understanding how customer loyalty can be promoted through co-creation behaviours within social media. The results suggest that managers should provide the means which can encourage more behavioural, intellectual and affective customer reviews/feedback. Research limitation/Implications: The limitation of this study rests on its findings which cannot be generalised to a wider business community as it focuses only on the context of Lebanon.


Based on the correspondence between the N = 1 superstring compactifications with fluxes and the N = 4 gauged supergravities, we study effective N = 1 four-dimensional supergravity potentials arising from fluxes and gaugino condensates in the framework of orbifold limits of (generalized) Calabi-Yau compactifications. We give examples in heterotic and type II orientifolds in which combined fluxes and condensates lead to vacua with small supersymmetry breaking scale. We clarify the respective roles of fluxes and condensates in supersymmetry breaking, and analyze the scaling properties of the gravitino mass.


As accurate measurement of geological time is the key to understanding processes that occurred in the Earth's history, development and testing of time scales is a first order problem in the geological sciences. One of the most versatile dating methods for the younger part of the Earth's history is undoubtedly 40Ar/39Ar dating. This study was initiated to build an extensive set of high quality 40Ar/39Ar data for volcanic ash layers intercalated in Mediterranean Neogene sedimentary successions for which an excellent time control exists based on the astronomical dating technique. This database allowed a rigorous and direct intercalibration of radio-isotopic and astronomical time with the aim to provide an independent test of the accuracy of conventional K/Ar ages of mineral dating standards and to investigate the potential of providing an astronomically dated 40Ar/39Ar standard.
Chapter 1 describes the 40Ar/39Ar procedures in detail. Error propagation methods are improved, system performance is monitored by a new and more accurate method to determine mass discrimination and a new intercalibration data set of TCR and FCT sanidine mineral dating standards is presented. Chapter 2 describes the theoretical background of the astronomical dating technique and the potential uncertainties with regard to astronomical ages of volcanic ash layers. Ash layers are divided in three categories based on the reliability of their astronomical ages. New 40Ar/39Ar data for eastern Mediterranean Neogene ash layers are presented in chapter 3. The Pliocene Ptolemais ashes could be divided into upper and lower ashes, where the 40Ar/39Ar ages of the upper ashes were ~2% younger and the older ashes ~1% younger than their astronomical counterparts. The Cretan A1 showed a discrepancy of ~1% comparable with the older Ptolemais ashes. Intercalibration with FCT sanidine resulted in astronomically calibrated FCT ages of respectively 28.21 ± 0.04 Ma based on A1, 28.28 ± 0.21 Ma for the lower Ptolemais ashes and 28.61 ± 0.20 Ma based on the upper Ptolemais ashes. Following these partially inconsistent results, this research was extended to the western Mediterranean Sorbas, Nijar and Melilla Basins. Chapter 4 describes the development of an astronomical time frame for sediments and intercalated ash layers in the Melilla Basin. Chapter 5 presents the 40Ar/39Ar data of these ash layers. The proximity of the source volcano in Melilla resulted in large crystal sizes allowing single crystal dating. Intercalibration of in total 183 experiments of 16 Melilla ash layers resulted in an astronomically calibrated age of 28.24 ± 0.01 Ma for FCT (1 s.e.m.) in agreement with the lower Ptolemais and A1 ash layers. Biotite experiments on Sorbas/Nijar ashes showed consistently older ages for biotite compared to sanidine. Chapter 6 describes the results for Middle Miocene ash layers. Instead of being ~1% younger, the isotopic ages appeared to be equal (feldspar fractions) or older (biotite fractions) than the astronomical ages. Due to the analyses of multiple grains in smaller grain-size fractions xenocrystic contamination might have gone unnoticed. In chapter 7 a first effort is made to intercalibrate the U/Pb system with the 40Ar/39Ar and astronomical methods. Zircons of Ptolemais ash layer SR3M were dated using TIMS and SHRIMP techniques, which required either a lot of material (TIMS) or was on the edge of practical limitations (SHRIMP). Unfortunately, the zircon of this ash layer seemed to be affected by an inherited component and no strong recommendations concerning intercalibration of the several systems could be made. Finally, in chapter 8 the implications of this research are summarized. The most probable astronomically calibrated FCT sanidine age is 28.25 ± 0.01Ma. Further, a few of the Melilla ash layers are proposed as -direct astronomically dated- standards for use in the 40Ar/39Ar dating method


IntroductionWhile supportive housing (SH) is an important alternate to nursing home (NH) use, these data have never been linked to administrative records in Manitoba. By conducting linkages to other administrative records, we describe a process for cleaning and validating SH data, in preparation to conduct policy-relevant research.
Objectives and ApproachSH data (N=516 units) from Winnipeg were received at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) in three different files. File 1 (2004-2008; 1005 records) contained monthly client snapshots. File 2 (2008-2010; 1336 records) contained application, move-in, cancellation, and move-out dates. File 3 (2010-2011; 729 records) contained one line of text for each record showing the application, processing, and move-in/cancellation date. We used overlapping data from these files plus linkages to other data sources (Manitoba Population Registry, nursing home data, and Vital Statistics) to clean and assess the accuracy of SH data.
ResultsThe original files contained 2039 people with 3070 records. From this we excluded: i) 215 records with unusable Personal Health Identification Numbers; ii) 949 records with missing SH move-in dates; iii) 691 records that did not match to the Manitoba Health Registry; and iv) 25 records where data did not match to the NH, hospital, or Vital Statistics files. The result was 1190 people each with one record. SH move-out dates were often missing from these records. This field was imputed from other data sources (NH, Vital Statistics). Some people transferred between SH sites, and these data were retained in the same record. Aside from the first year of operation when capacity was low, most SH dwellings operated at 80-100% occupancy annually.
Conclusion/ImplicationsUsing several verification methods including linkages to other data sources, we successfully cleaned and verified the accuracy of the SH data for use at MCHP. High annual SH occupancy rates suggest that the file contains the vast majority of SH users, and can now be used in follow-up research.


Accreditation is a process for assessing the healthcare organization, to determine if it meets a set of requirements designed to improve quality of care. White research regarding the benefits of accreditation is lacking, accreditation has been shown to be associated with promoting quality. Accreditation differs from licensing and quality assurance audits such as ISO. In various countries, the accreditation processes have been in operation in heaLthcare organization for decades. In the U.S.A., the Leading organization for accreditation of healthcare organizations is the Joint Commission. Accreditation Canada is the leading authority for accreditation in Canada. The Australian Council for Healthcare Standards and the King's Fund in the United Kingdom are other noted authorities for accreditation. Several European countries have initiated accreditation programs and some are in the process of implementing such programs. In Israel, no national accreditation system exists, although the Ministry of Health conducts audits on specific issues, and for relicensing of hospitals, and the Scientific Council of the Israel Medical Association conducts audits for recognizing a department as suitable for residency. Clalit Health Services is the first healthcare organization in Israel to gain Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation. Three hospitals run by Clalit (Ha'emek, Meir and Soroka) have been accredited by JCI, and another four are in the process of accreditation by JCI. An organized national accreditation scheme in Israel is a challenging process, yet it appears to be a central act for promoting the quality of care in hospitals.


A mathematical model is presented for the discharge of a NiOOH/H 2 cell. This model includes diffusion and migration in the electrolyte phase as well as proton diffusion and ohmic drop across the solid active material in the porous nickel electrode. A theoretical analysis of the cell performance is presented for different design parameters using this model. It is predicted that proton diffusion in the solid active material is the main factor in limiting the cell voltage and the utilization of the active material. It is also predicted that use of a thick nickel electrode is an effective method for increasing electrode capacity per unit area. This model can be used to predict the two-discharge-plateau behavior of a nickel electrode


Background: In some situations, echocardiography is regulated by clinical recommendations, but such recommendations are usually based on expert opinion, and not on the studies of the effectiveness of a diagnostic method. High-quality echocardiographic diagnostics requires the use of expensive equipment and highly qualified physician specialist. However, it is of practical importance to use echocardiography as a screening method in patients without acute symptoms.
Objective: This article describes the study results of echocardiographic (ECHO) tests data on the example of cardiovascular patients. The data from more than 145,000 echocardiographic tests were analyzed. One of the objectives of the study is the possibility to identify patterns and relationships of patient characteristics for more accurate appointment procedures based on the history of the disease and the individual characteristics of the patient.
Method: The EMR from the medical information system was converted into frames. The data from echocardiography is partly structured, contains the tables and the records on natural language. On next step, the history, diagnoses, the results of examinations were extracted from EMR. Records on natural language were processed. In the next step, the data frames were analyzed to identify correlations, as well as other data mining methods were used (the sub-process in Figure 1 includes not only machine learning methods for solving the classification problem but also clustering, class specification, etc.). As a result, data frame contained 62 features, including target classes for finding significant pathologies. On the next step, gaps were removed (for example, mean, median, or digests). The next step was to train the model using machine learning methods (naive Bayesian classifier, k-nearest neighbors' algorithm, random forest method, decision trees). The last step was to analyze the features and clinical interpretation of decision trees and other data analysis results. Results: In the course of research, the EMR of 145,966 echocardiographic cases of patients (about 80,000 patients) with different causes of treatment were analyzed. The most frequent reasons for echocardiography are: arterial hypertension, observation of patients with heart noise, atherosclerosis and stenosis, heart attacks, congenital and acquired defects of membranes and valves. A group of patients with fibrillation was considered as a particular case. One of the critical parameters of the classification is the characteristics of the left ventricle, which reflects the severity of changes in the cardiovascular system associated with hypertension. Further, anthropometric indicators (height, weight), sex and age allow distinguishing a group of patients with a high probability of finding a significant pathology.
Conclusions: Moreover, it was also possible to identify the classes and characteristics of patients for whom repeated diagnostic procedures are reasoned. Calculation of personal risks from empirical retrospective data helps to identify the disease in the early stages. To identify patients with high risk of disease complications allow physicians to make right decisions about timely treatment, which can significantly improve the quality of treatment, and help to avoid diseases complications, optimize costs and improve the quality of medical care.


In STEAM education the fields of science, mathematics, engineering, art and technology are taught by integrating these fields in a holistic way instead of teaching them separately. However, preparing STEAM activities that helps actualizing students' learning in terms of concepts, principles and actions related to science classes is a difficult process. This study involves a STEAM activity prepared as a sample that can be used in teaching and learning process. The activity prepared was implemented to 7 grade middle school students composed of 37 participants. Before and after implementation, a questionnaire that was composed of three open ended questions was applied in order to determine how the activity is effective. As a result of the implementation, it was concluded that the activity developed was effective in students' learning in the science topic entitled as conservation of energy. For this reason, it is thought that the activity prepared about the conservation of energy topic in which students have a lot of misconceptions will be a useful class activity that can improve students' meaningful learning. Besides, it can also be used as a practical teaching design that can easily be used in crowded classes.


On Monday, August 24, 2009, sixty students took their first class at the University of California, Irvine School of Law (UCI Law). While the gestation of any major academic institution is a long process, those students opening their books to a new subject called Statutory Analysis were realizing the culmination of a process of planning, programming, fighting, politicking, strategizing, and coordinating among almost innumerable people that spanned almost half a century.In this article I recount the history of UCI Law. I do so on the basis of archival materials that have been collected by the University of California, Irvine (UCI) administration, by the main UCI library, and by me. As a person involved in many of the activities and decisions that resulted in UCI Law I also add some firsthand information. Where I do this I strive to distinguish my personal assessment of what happened from my descriptions of what transpired.Writing history should have a purpose. Mine is threefold for this undertaking. First, I describe an attempt to create a highly innovative professional school so that in the future observers can assess whether its supporters' goals were met. Second, I aim to describe the challenge of creating new organizations in a highly complex multi-campus, the University of California, which has numerous decision-making points in part because of its system of governance shared between the administration and the faculty, and which has a wide range and large number of constituencies and stakeholders. Third, I hope to provide information about and insights into an undertaking of great interest to many people in and out of the legal community, across the state and the nation, who would not ordinarily follow the academic plan of a single campus; very few of them have had access to the wealth of information about the story of UCI Law that covers almost fifty years.


This study is on assessment of heads of schools' strategies in managing conflicts in secondary schools. Study objectives were: to examine the heads of school knowledge and skills in managing conflicts in secondary schools, strategies employed by head of school in managing school conflicts, To assess the effectiveness of strategies used by the heads of schools in managing conflicts and challenges they face in applying the strategies in conflict management, and to suggest measures that could be taken to avoiding future conflicts in schools. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The research findings revealed that heads of school had little knowledge and skills on how to manage the conflicts. It was also that heads of school employed different conflicts management strategies in managing conflicts. Regarding the effectiveness of the strategies in resolving conflict in the public secondary school, all heads of school indicated that heads of schools had made effort to manage conflicts by using different strategies. It recommended that the District Education Office should organize seminars and workshops aimed at improving good rapport between heads of schools and their staff and building good working relations between them. It should also organize workshops for heads of school every vacation to enable them acquire or improve their leadership skills and conflict resolution strategies so as to improve their managerial effectiveness.


INTRODUCTION
Peritonitis continues to be one of the major infectious problems confronting a surgeon. Mannheim Peritonitis Index (MPI), Physiological and Operative Severity Score for en Umeration of Mortality (POSSUM) and Morbidity and sepsis score of Stoner and Elebute have been devised for risk assessment and for prediction of postoperative outcome.

AIM
The aim of this study was to find the accuracy of these scores in predicting outcome in terms of mortality in patients undergoing exploratory laprotomy for perforation peritonitis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The prospective study was carried out in 100 diagnosed cases of perforation at our centre in a single unit over a period of 21 months from December 2012 to August 2014. Study was conducted on all cases of peritonitis albeit primary, tertiary, iatrogenic and those with age less than 12 years were excluded from the study. All the relevant data were collected and three scores were computed from one set of data from the patient. The main outcome measure was survival of the patient. The Receiver Operator Characteristics (ROC) curves were obtained for the three scores. Area Under the Curves (AUC) was calculated. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated at a cut off point obtained from the ROC curves.

RESULTS
POSSUM had an AUC of 0.99, sepsis score had an AUC of 0.98 and MPI had an AUC of 0.95. The cut off point score of 51 for POSSUM had an accuracy of 93.8 and positive predictive value of 70.5, the score of 29 for MPI had an accuracy of 82.8 and positive predictive value of 46 and the score of 22 for sepsis score had an accuracy of 95.9 and positive predictive value of 86.67.

CONCLUSION
POSSUM score was found to be superior in prediction of mortality as compared to sepsis score of Stoner and Elebute and MPI. POSSUM and MPI over predicted mortality in some cases. None of these scores are strictly preoperative.


The future of remote sensing will see the development of spacecraft formations, and with this development will come a number of complex challenges such as maintaining precise relative position and specified attitudes. At the same time, there will be increasing needs to understand planetary system processes and build accurate prediction models. One essential technology to accomplish these goals is the integration of multiple source data. For this integration, image registration and fusion represent the first steps and need to be performed with very high accuracy. In this paper, we describe studies performed in both image registration and fusion, including a modular framework that was built to describe registration algorithms, a Web-based image registration toolbox, and the comparison of several image fusion techniques using data from the EO-1/ALI and Hyperion sensors


Drama is seen as an effective way to improve young learners communication skills while enabling them a creative and authentic atmosphere. Teachers may help children by setting up a classroom in which many students enjoy creative activities such as drama. With the help of drama activities, students of young age can find it easy to produce the target language and participate in the activity willingly. The main aim of the study is to indicate the usefulness of drama activities for young learners of ESL in speaking classes. The study was conducted on 48 participants from 7th grade students at a private secondary school in Ankara. A qualitative study was conducted to find out whether dramatic activities are helpful for young learners of EFL in speaking classrooms through teacher's diaries, video tapes and interviews. To achieve 3 lesson plans were designed in a 6 week period, and each of the dramatic activities and the attitudes of students were observed. The results of this study aimed to prove that dramatic activities are helpful for young learners in speaking classrooms.


Considering contemporary conditions, the industry associated with sports and management has evidently noticed growth and became even more attractive as a segment where the use of the business based philosophy considering planning and implementation is enforced. Sports structurally analyzed, includes a wide range of activities, processes and human resources from the area of the sports industry, which more extremely is focused on the modernization of management methods and the techniques for attracting and retaining customers.Management procedures used in sports include an extremely wide range, starting from the focus on a specific, particular segment of business operations, such as marketing or financial management in the purpose of sports up to a so called basic usage, or holistic management model, where all aspects of sports management, should be applied.Sports management can theoretically be determined in many ways, but in essence it is a combination of skills related to planning, organizing, coordinating, motivating and controlling in the context of the organization or department whose primary product or service are associated with sports. At the same time, managing processes and relations in sports is a very extensive field of research, which offers plenty of modes of specialized training and education for individuals, groups and sports entities, especially those which consider the sports industry as a profession that has a necessity of managing.As an exceptionally growing business segment, sports management employs a serious number of human resources, generates a huge volume of economic activities and processes, and affects in a positive way the determination and accumulation of peoples'life quality. Initially considering the general interest and need of Sports management, through defining the most important aspects of its long- founded management, the research effort will focus on the opportunities for professional development in the field of sports management. The fundamental factors that determine the theoretical-empirical approach to sports management on one hand, as well as the opportunities available for professional development of educated individuals, groups and entities in this segment on the other hand, will be integrally treated in order to present future directions and recommendations for more extensive outreach and development. Therefore, the paper will pay particular attention to the most important aspects related professionals who are integrated in the sports world and that effectively and efficiently build careers using different aspects of management.


Although mentored undergraduate research has been shown to deepen student engagement across various disciplines, this type of extended learning opportunity is not a prominent feature of research and practice in teacher education.  Our article addresses this gap by analyzing the experiences and growth of a group of five preservice teachers engaged in a mentored undergraduate research experience in several sections of an introductory critical multicultural education course. Specifically, we examined how pre-service teachers' personal, academic, and professional engagement with critical multicultural education is impacted when they are positioned as researchers and receive additional training outside the traditional class format.  Our findings indicate that their involvement as student co-researchers fostered a new awareness, sensitivity, and emotional investment in issues of social justice beyond what they gained in their introductory multicultural education course.  Pre-service teachers described navigating personal relationships with new awareness and sensitivity and adjusting future plans in accordance with their deeper understanding and commitment to educational equity.  We argue that mentored research opportunities are an innovative way to address professor/student power differentials in teacher education research and offer a unique model of critical multicultural teacher education that promotes deep engagement with issues beyond the classroom setting.


Polyurethane pressure-sensitive adhesives as raw materials for the manufacturing of protective films The present paper relates to water-borne polyurethane pressure-sensitive adhesives (PU-PSA) systems for self-adhesive protective films, and methods of their preparation. The typical protective films are self-adhesive films with excellent removability. Their manufacture is a film conversion process using common materials developed for the packaging industry (PVC and polyolefins). The most often used carrier for the constructions of protective films is PE. Polyurethane PSA layers are characterized by constant low peel adhesion between 3 and 5 N/2,5 cm.


The need for environmentally benign reactions is very important in view of today's eco-friendly conscious attitude. "Benign by Design" represents the 12 principles of Green Chemistry as articulated by John Warner and Paul Anastas (Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice, Oxford University Press, New York, 1998, p. 30) These principles have given chemists a framework for the evaluation of the chemical procedures and help chemists to develop synthetic procedures which are more efficient, create less waste, use and produce less toxic substances. Many chemists already considered some of these principles without giving much attention. The difference between traditional chemistry and green chemistry is that the green chemistry demands issues of sustainability and environmental impact; in essence we design chemicals that are inherently more benign. In recent years, the use of solid acid catalysts such as zeolites and zeotype molecular sieve (D. W. Breck, Zeolite Molecular Sieves, Wiley, New York, 1974; A. Dyer, An Introduction to Zeolite Molecular Sieves, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 1988) catalysts in the manufacture of fine chemicals, chemical intermediates, drugs and drug intermediates has attracted increasing interest as green catalysts. Owing to the special features of zeolites such as shape selectivity, thermal stability, controlled variability, reusability and eco-friendly nature, these catalysts are most sought after in green chemistry. This perspective particularly illustrates the application of zeolites and zeotype catalysts for the synthesis of various N-heterocyclic compounds. For proposed reaction mechanisms see ESI.


hearing professionals and the deaf community could reduce misperceptions on both sides and help reconcile differences of opinion. The value of cochlear implants can only be conclusively demonstrated by thorough scientific research. I trust Professor Gibson and his colleagues are embarking on just such a program. I look forward to reading the results. Heather Mohay, PhD Senior Lecturer in Medical Psychology The University of Queensland, Department of Child Health Mater Children's Hospital. South Brisbane, QLD 4101


The evaluation of immunological conditions of 14 workers occupationally exposed to lead and comparison of these results with those of a non-exposed control group with similar age and sex were the aims of this study. It was determined the mean values of lead in blood. In exposed workers it was 46.9 ug/dl while in the control group it was 10.9 ug/dl. Levels of immunoglobulin decreasing while increasing lead concentration in blood were found in those exposed. It was also found a significant diminishment in the formation of rosette in relation to the control group.


Abstract We report the first quantitative compositional data on fluid inclusions in ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) granulites from the Napier Complex of Enderby Land, East Antarctica. Fluid inclusions in various high-grade minerals such as garnet, orthopyroxene and sapphirine from three UHT localities in the Amundsen Bay area were studied in terms of petrography and microthermometry as well as laser Raman spectroscopy. Measured melting temperatures of inclusions from all the three localities indicate that the trapped fluid phase is dominantly carbonic. Raman analyses confirmed a near pure CO2 composition with only minor dilutants such as N2 (<6.0 mol%), CH4 (<0.3 mol%), and H2O (<0.1 mol%). CH4-bearing fluid associated with sapphirine granulites suggests low oxygen fugacity ( fO2) conditions for the rocks, whereas CH4 was not detected from fluid inclusions in magnetite-bearing high-f O2 garnet granulite. The range of CO2 isochores computed from density measurements in fluid inclusions from the granulites pass through the peak P–T conditions of the Napier metamorphism (T= 1050–1150 °C, P=9–11 kbar) indicating synmetamorphic nature of the fluids. Inclusions in garnet from Bunt Island coexist with carbonate minerals (magnesite) and graphite along with dense CO2-rich fluid, indicating probable derivation from deep-seated primary magmatic sources. The ubiquitous association of carbonic fluids in the UHT mineral assemblages suggests CO2 influx during extreme crustal metamorphism of the Napier Complex. The carbonic fluid probably played an important role in transporting heat from mantle or mantle-derived magmas and in stabilizing the dry mineral assemblages.


The purpose of this paper is to test possibilities of real participation in FM field in response to the energy sustainable demand by using new technologies for better communication. It is acknowledged that the technological innovation is a necessary condition to make a city sustainable, though the challenge is not primarily on technology but on service transformation and improvement. Improving service quality requires the participatory and synergetic processes that attract an extra attention to the social and management aspects of urban planning.,This is an evidence-based research, which shows how FM can extent its impact on the build environment and society by bringing the socio-physiological aspect and the community in the central of the planning and design process.,An "urban" facility manager, through integration of multiple disciplines in a human-centre approach, can become the enabler and implementer of sustainable urban ecosystem, i.e. balancing social, economic and environmental pillars. This requires central involvement of FM in the planning and decision-making processes; therefore, its role and impact should be enlarged and better communicated. The enlargement of the FM's role initially requires an effective communication with people, whose behavioural change are prerequisite for the sustainability transition. The communication between FM and people should be interactive and iterative, in which they both define problems/needs and co-create the relevant solutions.,This paper depicts an evidence-based FM practice, in which the website as an interactive tool is co-designed by the "facility management" students and the citizens to contribute to the real citizen participation in an effective communication process.,The high value for both, citizens and facility manager, is co-created information platform for upgrading the sustainability level and well-being in the communities. The tool is seen as an important starting contribution for the Paris climate agreement, and as a step toward human-centric-oriented urban sustainable regenerating project.


A survey of press jointing machines for pipe working used on the Swedish market has been made together with an evaluation of the working environment when using them. Work site analyses with subjective and objective methods were carried out. The results show that many work tasks are inappropriate regarding ergonomics. One important reason is that work is carried out at poor postures above shoulder level. It is concluded that work with press jointing machines for pipe work in ceilings is ergonomically unsuitable. However, the existing alternative methods also lead to high strains, mainly since the postures are similar.


Haemagglutinins which specifically combine with membrane determinants of human blood group A erythrocytes and which are distinguishable from any other haemagglutinin specificities display marked sex dependency in C57BL/10 mice. All the sera of SO-day-old C57BL/10 females exert moderate to strong anti-A haemagglutinin activities which could be detected only in approximately half of the sera of the males of the same age. Investigations of the murine tissues revealed that the production of anti-A haemagglutinins in females is reflected by simultaneous synthesis of strong endogenous receptors detected in the ovaries and associated with water-soluble glycolipid fractions. The receptor activity was demonstrated by means of haemagglutination inhibition in comparison with appropriate controls and glycolipid preparations from seventeen other different male and female tissues, and the inhibitory effects exerted by the ovarian glycolipids were statistically significant on the basis of multiple comparisons at the 1 % level in each possible pair of effects.


In this paper, BaPbO3(5Vol.%)/2024Al composite was fabricated by powder metallurgy method. Nanosized Pb particles were formed from the in-situ reaction between BaPbO3 and 2024Al, and mainly distributed homogeneously inside grains. The hot compression deformation of the composite at different temperatures was performed. The microstructure evolution of the 2024Al matrix and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of the composite were made to investigate the effect of liquid Pb on the hot deformation. The results show that the presence of the liquid phase reduces deformation resistance by decreasing dislocation pileups, and simultaneous decrease in Young's modulus of the composite.


Abstract The inception of terrestrial woody plant ecosystems on the Earth is thought to have caused decreases in atmospheric carbon dioxide and water vapor concentrations in the Middle Devonian. Decreased greenhouse gas concentrations enabled a series of long-term glacial-interglacial cycles from the Late Devonian through the Permian. Here we describe the environmental and ecological variability of the earliest known paleosols with evidence of in situ forests (stump casts and attached root systems) from the Appalachian basin. Four examples located in the Manorkill Formation in the Catskill Mountains of New York State, United States, are analyzed using macro- and micromorphological data. Woody plant stump casts and molds on exposed bedding surfaces were mapped at two of the sites and analyzed using nearest-neighbor analysis. This permitted quantification of spatial distribution and ecological conditions of these paleoforests. These fossilized forests exhibit both single and multi-generational growth and formed in both aquic and seasonally well-drained environments, thus indicating established populations and growth adaptations by the represented species. The occurrence of these diverse forested landscapes in the Givetian is concurrent with the onset of the prolonged decrease in atmospheric CO2 concentrations that have been tied to a series of Paleozoic glaciations.


APOGEE is a high-resolution (R ∼ 22,000), near-infrared, multi-epoch, spectroscopic survey of the Milky Way. The second generation of the APOGEE project, APOGEE-2, includes an expansion of the survey to the Southern Hemisphere called APOGEE-2S. This expansion enabled APOGEE to perform a fully panoramic mapping of all of the main regions of the Milky Way; in particular, by operating in the H band, APOGEE is uniquely able to probe the dust-hidden inner regions of the Milky Way that are best accessed from the Southern Hemisphere. In this paper we present the targeting strategy of APOGEE-2S, with special attention to documenting modifications to the original, previously published plan. The motivation for these changes is explained as well as an assessment of their effectiveness in achieving their intended scientific objective. In anticipation of this being the last paper detailing APOGEE targeting, we present an accounting of all such information complete through the end of the APOGEE-2S project; this includes several main survey programs dedicated to exploration of major stellar populations and regions of the Milky Way, as well as a full list of programs contributing to the APOGEE database through allocations of observing time by the Chilean National Time Allocation Committee and the Carnegie Institution for Science. This work was presented along with a companion article, Beaton et al. (2021), presenting the final target selection strategy adopted for APOGEE-2 in the Northern Hemisphere.


Greedy algorithms are known to provide, in polynomial time, near optimal approximation guarantees for Combinatorial Auctions (CAs) with multidimensional bidders. It is known that truthful greedy-like mechanisms for CAs with multi-minded bidders do not achieve good approximation guarantees.
In this work, we seek a deeper understanding of greedy mechanism design and investigate under which general assumptions, we can have efficient and truthful greedy mechanisms for CAs. Towards this goal, we use the framework of priority algorithms and weak and strong verification, where the bidders are not allowed to overbid on their winning set or on any subset of this set, respectively. We provide a complete characterization of the power of weak verification showing that it is sufficient and necessary for any greedy fixed priority algorithm to become truthful with the use of money or not, depending on the ordering of the bids. Moreover, we show that strong verification is sufficient and necessary to obtain a 2-approximate truthful mechanism with money, based on a known greedy algorithm, for the problem of submodular CAs in finite bidding domains. Our proof is based on an interesting structural analysis of the strongly connected components of the declaration graph.


The demand for a new approach to safeguarding New Zealand's endangered historic buildings was identified as a result of the recent increase in building code and strengthening requirements following the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010-2011. The Wellington City Council identified 266 heritage buildings in the city that must be either strengthened or demolished to address these increased requirements. This thesis explores this threat as an opportunity for researching how contemporary design interventions can be challenged to both strengthen and become active participants in the ongoing history of New Zealand's potentially endangered historic buildings. This thesis challenges the current approach of completely 'restoring' 19th-20th century historic buildings in New Zealand, to develop techniques that structurally reinforce historic buildings while inviting the progressive weathering of a building to remain as a testament to its history. This thesis proposes a structural intervention that is responsive to the progressive history of historic buildings, simultaneously introducing a contemporary structural intervention that both participates in and compliments the progressive historic transformations of the vehicle. This thesis argues that current historic buildings in semi-decayed states in fact enable visitors to witness multiple stages in the life of a building, while fully restored buildings only enable visitors to witness the original form of the building. This thesis proposes a model for contemporary intervention within historic buildings that draws a design intervention from seismic strengthening.The notion of layering is explored as a design approach to incorporate the contemporary with the historic as an additional layer of exposed on-going history, thereby further exposing the layers of history evident within New Zealand's historic buildings. This thesis combines layering theories of architects Louis Kahn and Carlo Scarpa with related theories of installation artist Mary Miss. The theoretical imperatives of Scarpa and Kahn are explored as a tool of engagement for the junction between the contemporary and historic building materials, and the work of Marry Miss is explored as a design approach for developing a contemporary intervention that references the layered historic building while inviting new means of occupancy between layers. The selected vehicle for the design research investigation is the Albemarle Hotel on Ghuznee Street in Wellington. The techniques proposed in this thesis to strengthen the Albemarle Hotel suggest an approach that might be applied to New Zealand's wider body of historic buildings that constitute New Zealand's heritage fabric, ultimately protecting them from demolition while preserving additional layers of their historic narratives. Over all the design research experiments suggest that contemporary interventions derived from structural strengthening may be a viable and cost-effective method of re-inhabiting New Zealand's endangered heritage buildings, avoiding demolition and securing New Zealand's heritage for future generations. Research Questions: This thesis challenges the current economically unsustainable approach of laterally reinforcing and completely 'restoring' 19th-20th century historic buildings in New Zealand. This thesis argues that current historic buildings in semi-decayed states in fact enable visitors to witness multiple stages in the on-going life of a building. Can the weathered state of New Zealand's heritage buildings be proactively retained and celebrated as witnesses to their history? Can new lateral reinforcing requirements be conceived as active participants in revealing the on-going history of New Zealand's historic buildings?


Most genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) are restricted to one phenotype, even if multiple related or unrelated phenotypes are available. However, an integrated analysis of multiple phenotypes can provide insight into their shared genetic basis and may improve the power of association studies. We present a new method, called "phenotype set enrichment analysis" (PSEA), which uses ideas of gene set enrichment analysis for the investigation of phenotype sets. PSEA combines statistics of univariate phenotype analyses and tests by permutation. It does not only allow analyzing predefined phenotype sets, but also to identify new phenotype sets. Apart from the application to situations where phenotypes and genotypes are available for each person, the method was adjusted to the analysis of GWAS summary statistics. PSEA was applied to data from the population‐based cohort KORA F4 (N = 1,814) using iron‐related and blood count traits. By confirming associations previously found in large meta‐analyses on these traits, PSEA was shown to be a reliable tool. Many of these associations were not detectable by GWAS on single phenotypes in KORA F4. Therefore, the results suggest that PSEA can be more powerful than a single phenotype GWAS for the identification of association with multiple phenotypes. PSEA is a valuable method for analysis of multiple phenotypes, which can help to understand phenotype networks. Its flexible design enables both the use of prior knowledge and the generation of new knowledge on connection of multiple phenotypes. A software program for PSEA based on GWAS results is available upon request.


An experimental was investigated the condition of reinforcement of epoxy resin and hemp fiber/epoxy resin composites with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The CNTs adding nanopowder were vibrated via the vibration milling technique for 6-48 h. Different volume percentages of CNTs were dispersed for hemp/epoxy resin composites. To compare properties of composites sample, CNTs were also added into epoxy resin for reference. Tensile strength of both specimens was tested. The significantly adding of CNTs and its dispersion in polymer matrix were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results indicate that adding the milled CNTs can improve tensile properties of composites.


Combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CC) is a rare type of liver tumour that exhibits both hepatocytic and biliary differentiation within the same tumour. The histology and genomic alterations of recurrent/metastatic cHCC-CC are poorly understood. We selected six patients with cHCC-CC whose recurrent or metastatic tumours were histologically confirmed. Four patients with classic cHCC-CCs and two with intermediate cell carcinomas (ICs) were included. The clinicopathological features were evaluated, and next-generation sequencing was performed in 17 multiregional and longitudinal tumour samples. The histology of recurrent/metastatic lesions of classic cHCC-CCs was variable: hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was observed in one (25.0%) patient, cHCC-CC in one (25.0%) patient, and cholangiocarcinoma (CC) in two (50.0%) patients. Among 13 samples from four classic cHCC-CC patients, the most frequent pathological variants were TP53 (46.2%), TERT promoter (38.5%), ARID1A mutations (23.1%), and MET amplification (30.8%). In the sequencing analysis of each HCC and CC component, three (75.0%) of the four classic cHCC-CCs shared pathogenic variants. A large proportion of mutations, both pathogenic and those of undetermined significance, were shared by each HCC and CC component. Regarding ICs, the ATM mutation was detected in one patient. In conclusion, the histology of recurrent/metastatic cHCC-CCs was heterogeneous. Genomic profiling of classic cHCC-CCs revealed similar genomic alterations to those of HCC. Considerable overlapping genomic alterations in each HCC and CC component were observed, suggesting a monoclonal origin. Genetic alterations in ICs were different from those in either HCC or CC, suggesting the distinct nature of this tumour.


The study of infants' interactive style and social stress response to repeated stress exposures is of great interest for developmental and clinical psychologists. Stable maternal and dyadic behavior is critical to sustain infants' development of an adaptive social stress response, but the association between infants' interactive style and social stress response has received scant attention in previous literature. In the present article, overtime stability of infant, maternal, and dyadic behaviors was measured across 2 social stress (i.e., Face-to-Face Still-Face, FFSF) exposures, separated by 15 days. Moreover, infant, maternal, and dyadic behaviors were simultaneously assessed as predictors of infants' social stress to both FFSF exposures. Eighty-one mother-infant dyads underwent the FFSF twice, at 6 months (Exposure 1: the first social stress) and at 6 months and 15 days (Exposure 2: repeated social stress). Infant and mother behavior and dyadic synchrony were microanalytically coded. Overall, individual behavioral stability emerged between FFSF exposures. Infants' response to the first stress was predicted by infant behavior during Exposure 1 Play. Infants' response to the repeated social stress was predicted by infants' response to the first exposure to the Still-Face and by infants' behavior and dyadic synchrony during Exposure 2 Play. Findings reveal stability for individual, but not for dyadic, behavior between 2 social stress exposures at 6 months. Infants' response to repeated social stress was predicted by infants' earlier stress response, infants' own behavior in play, and dyadic synchrony. No predictive effects of maternal behavior were found. Insights for research and clinical work are discussed.


Background:
 Since the 7-day stroke risk in DWI-normal TIA is negligibly low (0% to 0.4%), approximately 20 times lower than the corresponding risk after DWI-positive TIA, a clinically relevant question in the emergency setting is which patient with the clinical syndrome consistent with a TIA is likely to have MRI evidence of acute ischemia and should receive urgent imaging. This question has cost and management implications. We sought to determine the relationship between clinical TIA characteristics and the probability of detecting acute infarction on DWI in patients admitted to the emergency department with focal neurological symptoms lasting <24 hours.

 Methods:
 This was a retrospective, single center, emergency-based study of 586 consecutive patients. We explored the relationship between DWI positivity and the following clinical TIA characteristics: age, gender, symptom duration, symptom type, vascular risk factors, ictal headache, prior history of stroke or TIA, ABCD
 2
 score, and the type of spell (objective vs. subjective).

 Results:
 Univariate predictors of infarction on DWI included speech disturbance (OR=1.7, 95%CI 1.2-2.5), weakness (OR=2.3, 95%CI 1.6-3.3), visual symptoms (OR=0.4, 95%CI 0.2-0.7), isolated sensory symptoms (OR=0.3, 95%CI 0.2-0.60), subjective symptom (presenting with focal symptoms other than weakness or speech disturbance, OR=0.4, 95%CI 0.3-0.6), and ABCD
 2
 score≥4 (OR=1.6 95%CI 1.1-2.20). The positive predictive value for diagnosis of acute infarction on DWI was 38% for speech disturbance, 43% for weakness, 17% for visual symptoms, 16% for isolated sensory symptoms, 20% for subjective symptom, and 27% for ABCD
 2
 score≥4. Recursive partitioning analysis revealed a regression tree based on weakness, isolated sensory symptoms, and visual symptoms. According to this tree, the lowest probability for a given TIA patient to have a positive DWI was 17%.

 Conclusions:
 DWI provides diagnostic information in all subsets of TIA irrespective of clinical TIA characteristics. DWI is a valuable tool in the emergency management of TIA and offers potential to lead to improved TIA outcome particularly in settings where triage is based on clinical features.


We have determined the DNA sequence surrounding the transcription terminator following rpoC, the gene that codes for the beta' subunit of RNA polymerase in E. coli K12. The 2044 bp sequence obtained contains the distal 335 codons of rpoC followed by a 212 bp non-coding region and a second open reading frame (ORFa) of 179 codons. The final 181 nucleotides of the sequence form the 5' end of a third open reading frame (ORFb). The in vivo 3' end of the rpoC mRNA was located by analysis of RNA/DNA hybrids cleaved with nuclease S1 (S1 mapping). These results indicated that the major transcription termination of the rplJL-rpoBC transcription unit occurs a short distance past the translation stop codon for rpoC. Four regions of symmetry, suggesting secondary structure in the mRNA, were found in the DNA sequence near the rpoC translation termination codon. The last of these hairpin structures is similar to other rho-independent transcription terminators and its 3' end coincides with the end of the rpoC mRNA as predicted by S1-mapping. Inspection of the open reading frames indicates that rpoC uses a high percentage of codons that are recognized by the major tRNA species of E. coli while ORFa and ORFb contain many codons recognized by minor tRNA species. ORFa specifies a very basic peptide.


Multi-institutional collaborations are key for learning generalizable MRI synthesis models that translate source- onto target-contrast images. To facilitate collaboration, federated learning (FL) adopts decentralized training and mitigates privacy concerns by avoiding sharing of imaging data. However, FL-trained synthesis models can be impaired by the inherent heterogeneity in the data distribution, with domain shifts evident when common or variable translation tasks are prescribed across sites. Here we introduce the first personalized FL method for MRI Synthesis (pFLSynth) to improve reliability against domain shifts. pFLSynth is based on an adversarial model that produces latents specific to individual sites and source-target contrasts, and leverages novel personalization blocks to adaptively tune the statistics and weighting of feature maps across the generator stages given latents. To further promote site specificity, partial model aggregation is employed over downstream layers of the generator while upstream layers are retained locally. As such, pFLSynth enables training of a unified synthesis model that can reliably generalize across multiple sites and translation tasks. Comprehensive experiments on multi-site datasets clearly demonstrate the enhanced performance of pFLSynth against prior federated methods in multi-contrast MRI synthesis.


Background and Purpose— Whether transient global amnesia (TGA) represents an arterial insult that heralds ischemic stroke remains unclear. Therefore, we examined stroke risk after TGA in a population-based cohort. Methods— After performing chart review at our institution to validate the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition, Clinical Modification diagnosis code for TGA, we used administrative claims data to identify all patients discharged from nonfederal California emergency departments or acute care hospitals between 2005 and 2010 with a primary discharge diagnosis of TGA. Patients with a primary discharge diagnosis of migraine, seizure, or transient ischemic attack were included as controls. Kaplan–Meier statistics were used to calculate rates of ischemic stroke, and Cox proportional hazards analyses were used to compare stroke risk among the 4 exposure groups while controlling for traditional stroke risk factors. Results— International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition, Clinical Modification code 437.7 had a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 95% for TGA. The cumulative 1-year rate of stroke was 0.54% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.36–0.81) after TGA, 0.22% (95% CI, 0.20–0.25) after migraine, 0.90% (95% CI, 0.83–0.97) after seizure, and 4.72% (95% CI, 4.60–4.85) after transient ischemic attack. After adjustment for demographic characteristics and stroke risk factors, TGA was not associated with stroke risk when compared with migraine (hazard ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.61–1.10). The likelihood of stroke after TGA was lower than after seizure (hazard ratio, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.44–0.76) or transient ischemic attack (hazard ratio, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.20–0.35). Conclusions— Compared with patients diagnosed with migraine or seizure, patients diagnosed with TGA do not seem to face a heightened risk of stroke.


Given a table where rows correspond to records and columns correspond to attributes, we want to find a small number of patterns that succinctly summarize the dataset. For example, given a set of patient records with several attributes each, how can we find (a) that the "most representative" pattern is, say, (male, adult, *), followed by (*, child, low-cholesterol), etc? We propose TSum, a method that provides a sequence of patterns ordered by their "representativeness." It can decide both which these patterns are, as well as how many are necessary to properly summarize the data. Our main contribution is formulating a general framework, TSum, using compression principles. TSum can easily accommodate different optimization strategies for selecting and refining patterns. The discovered patterns can be used to both represent the data efficiently, as well as interpret it quickly. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and intuitiveness of our discovered patterns.


Background: The city of Jahrom is one of the phenomenal zones of the country and therefore, the city hospitals must have the potential to act in emergency situations. Objective: This research was intended to determine the degree of disaster preparedness in the hospitals affiliated to the Jahrom University of Medical science. Methods: The descriptive study carried out in 2 teaching general hospitals of Jahrom University of Medical Science, Jahrom (Iran) in 2010. Data collection was performed using a researcher-made checklist questionnaire composed of 230 questions. For every 10 variables, a collection of 5 domains including the equipments, logistic, personnel, place, and work process was considered. Checklist validity was accepted by face and content validity and its reliability calculated by test retest method and Speaman's test (r=0.88). Findings: The hospitals' preparedness was found to be very week in transfer and evacuation; weak in admission, communication, and management; moderate in emergency, traffic, personnel, security, and logistic; and very good in education. The overall preparedness was at moderate level. Conclusion: Improving the disaster preparedness requires the hospitals to follow programs mostly focused on transfer and evacuation, admission, communication, and management.


A government bailout model based on the framework of time-consistent monetary policy of Barro and Gordon (1983) is developed. In the model, the banking sector and the government play a game where the former chooses a bailout expectation whereas the later reacts by choosing its optimal bailout policy. The banking sector is assumed to be perfectly competitive, aiming only at anticipating the bailout policy. An excess of credit ensues and firms over-invest, which can be amended by an appropriately chosen reserve requirement. The government faces a trade-off between efficiency and stability in trying to minimize the costs of intervention.


Abstract International best practices call for a gender-responsive approach to HIV prevention for women, including those who use drugs and those who engage in sex work. This paper draws on multiple qualitative data sources collected over five years in Ukraine to explore the notions of gender, women and family that buttress HIV-related programmes for women. Our analysis reveals that service providers often cast women as hapless victims of unfortunate family circumstances and troubled personal relationships that produce sudden poverty, or social strivers who seek access to wealth and privilege at the expense of their health. Women are portrayed as most vulnerable to HIV when they lack a male 'protector'. We argue that the programmes constituted around these stereotypes of women and their vulnerabilities reflect new forms of institutional power that deflect attention away from gendered socio-economic processes that contribute to women's HIV vulnerability, including job insecurity and unemployment, workplace discrimination, unreliable social benefits and power imbalances within their relationships. We explore how to transform HIV prevention efforts to better address the causes of women's increased vulnerability to HIV in Ukraine and in Eastern Europe more generally.


The spectral energy distribution of a galaxy emerges from the complex interplay of many physical ingredients, including its star formation history (SFH), metallicity evolution, and dust properties. Using galaxpy, a new galaxy spectral prediction tool, and SFHs predicted by the empirical model universemachine and the cosmological hydrodynamical simulation IllustrisTNG, we isolate the influence of SFH on optical and near-infrared colours from 320 to 1080 Å at z = 0. By carrying out a principal component analysis, we show that physically motivated SFH variations modify galaxy colours along a single direction in colour space: the SFH-direction. We find that the projection of a galaxy's present-day colours on to the SFH-direction is almost completely regulated by the fraction of stellar mass that the galaxy formed over the last billion years. Together with cosmic downsizing, this results in galaxies becoming redder as their host halo mass increases. We additionally study the change in galaxy colours due to variations in metallicity, dust attenuation, and nebular emission lines, finding that these properties vary broad-band colours along distinct directions in colour space relative to the SFH-direction. Finally, we show that the colours of low-redshift Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxies span an ellipsoid with significant extent along two independent dimensions, and that the SFH-direction is well-aligned with the major axis of this ellipsoid. Our analysis supports the conclusion that variations in SFH are the dominant influence on present-day galaxy colours, and that the nature of this influence is strikingly simple.


Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for ~17.7 million deaths annually, worldwide. Although several key risk factors including smoking, diet and obesity have been identified, these account for only 40-50% of all cases. Historically, poor oral hygiene and the chronic oral condition, periodontitis, characterised by gum bleeding and tooth loss has been implicated in the aggravation of CVD. It has been postulated that in cases of periodontitis, oral bacterial pathogens including Porphyromonas gingivalis and Tannerella forsythia can access the vascular system during gum bleeding and inflammatory responses within the periodontal pocket and subsequently contribute to atherosclerosis though interactions with platelets. This study aims to determine how periodonto-pathogens interact with platelets and contribute to CVD, specifically atherosclerosis.
Here it is demonstrated that the CHRF-288-11 megakaryocytic-like cells can be utilised through a series of methodologies to study the pathogenic effects of periodontal pathogens on platelets and megakaryocytic cells. In vitro P. gingivalis, but not T. forsythia, is able to interact with platelets by inducing both platelet activation and aggregation. P. gingivalis is able to initiate platelet activation though intracellular calcium mobilisation that leads to the release of both alpha and dense granules, independent of bacterial outer membrane protein OMPA. P. gingivalis NCTC 11834, but not ATCC W50, actively associates and interacts with integrin α2β1 inducing strain dependant platelet aggregation and could suggest a role for bacterial fimbriae within platelet interactions.
Taken collectively, this data suggests that P. gingivalis could contribute to CVD and atherosclerosis through interactions with platelets following invasion of the vasculature. Interestingly, direct interactions between bacterial cells and platelets, as well as bacterial genetics and virulence, appear key to the extent of platelet response and could highlight novel risk factors for future patient treatments.


Abstract. Based on modeling results and interpretations of observations, it has been suggested that during the early Miocene, a reversal of the Atlantic-Pacific ocean flow through the Panama Strait has occurred. During the Oligocene the net transport was westward, from the Atlantic into the Pacific, whereas in the Miocene the sign of this transport likely reversed to a net eastward transport into the Atlantic. With a global ocean model for the Oligocene and Miocene continental configurations we study the robustness of this flow reversal by carrying out a broad sensitivity analysis, including bottom topography, details of the continental geometry and surface forcing. This sensitivity study is efficiently done by using recent methodology to compute equilibrium solutions to the model. The Atlantic-Pacific flow reversal appears a very robust feature of the global ocean model.


The study addresses the preparatory information needs of potential performers of solo classical guitar concerti. Identifying a range of specific decisions that play an important part in the pre-performance planning of an anticipated concerto performance provides performance considerations for each selected concerto. The content of six solo classical guitar concerti spanning almost 180 years by six composers from four countries was analysed for the purpose of this study. Two early guitar concerti by guitarist composers Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) and Ferdinando Carulli (1770-1841), two modern concerti by non-guitarist composers Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) and Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999) and two modern concerti by guitarist composers Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) and Leo Brouwer (b.1939) were investigated. The study examines specific compositional and performance aspects of each concerto to serve as a guideline for professional performers, students and teachers. Each concerto was analysed according to similar themes: the historical significance of the investigated concerti, pre-performance considerations, the level of difficulty of selected concerti, technical observations, performance recommendations and observations regarding balance between the soloist and orchestra. As an addendum the study provides a comprehensive list of published concerti for solo classical guitar. © University of Pretoria


This volume deals with philosophical trends in Japan from the beginning of the Meiji era (1868) to the present, in connection with European philosophy, arranged in two chapters, a full chronological table of publications and an index of names. The first chapter follows philosophical trends up to 1945; the first question treated is: How did the Japanese receive that European philosophy known as liberation and enlightenment? They soon began to develop their own philosophy, in particular under the influence of German idealism; for instance in the work of Nishida, Tanabe, Miki, Kuki and Watsuji. The trend makes a 180-degree turn in 1945. The experiences of a defeated Japan lead to the confrontation with the self and all existing selves; it is once more a liberation, and there occurs then a new tendency, from 'reason' to 'body'; as, for instance, in Nakamura Hajime, Izutsu Toshihiko and Yuasa Yasuo.


The aim of this study was to examine current levels of physical activity determined via heart rate monitoring. A total of 176 children (85 boys, 91 girls) aged 5-13 years wore sealed Polar heart rate monitors for at least 10 hours per day on at least 3 days. Mean daily minutes of moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity was 65 ± 43 (mean ± SD) for boys and 54 ± 37 for girls. Daily minutes of vigorous-intensity activity was 31 ± 24 and 24 ± 21 for boys and girls respectively. Significant differences in physical activity levels were observed between school day and weekends, boys and girls, and among age and geographical groups. Only 36% of boys and 22% of girls met the New Zealand physical activity guideline. This research indicates that a large proportion of New Zealand children are not meeting physical activity recommendations. Keywords—activity guidelines, moderate activity, sedentary, vigorous activity


This paper presents a property-directed approach to verifying recurrent neural networks (RNNs). To this end, we learn a deterministic finite automaton as a surrogate model from a given RNN using active automata learning. This model may then be analyzed using model checking as verification technique. The term property-directed reflects the idea that our procedure is guided and controlled by the given property rather than performing the two steps separately. We show that this not only allows us to discover small counterexamples fast, but also to generalize them by pumping towards faulty flows hinting at the underlying error in the RNN.


Like indigenous peoples globally, Māori are over-represented among the homeless population due to processes of colonialism, disruptions and continued socio-economic marginalization. This article explores how, through gardening and other everyday practices, a group of older Māori men who are homeless find respite, reconnection, a sense of belonging, and remember Māori ways of being. We consider how the regular participation of these men also contributes to the reconciliation of the marae (communal complex used for everyday Māori life) space that has been reclaimed by Ngāti Whātua (local Auckland tribe) after a lengthy hiatus. Our analysis foregrounds the importance of core values of manaakitanga (care for others), whanaungatanga (relationships based on shared experience or kinship) and wairuatanga (spirituality) for responses to Māori homelessness.


Biotechnology, a branch of science and a fast-growing source of developing technologies, has shown immense potential for its utility across all the dimensions of our lives. Its applications range from drugs and therapeutics, industrial, household applications, biofuels, and information technology to almost all resource-based sectors, such as manufacturing, aquaculture, agriculture, and forestry. Biotechnology offers outstanding potential to meet the growing demand for food and energy production in a sustainable way. Recognizing its economic and strategic value, countries have implemented several measures to generate a homegrown biotechnology sector and help science-based companies develop.

This book covers some of the most important legal issues arising in relation to biotechnology. Topics covered in chapters include 1) the historical development of a legal framework sufficient to protect public safety, 2) the current biotechnology regulatory system and the rules directing the primary agencies that regulate the products of biotechnology (namely the FDA, USDA and EPA), 3) the regulation of human genome editing and its impact on health research, 4) law and emerging genome editing technologies from recombinant DNA technology to CRISPR/Cas9 editing, 5) the development of legal principles to protect property rights in the human body and allow the efficient use of human tissue, organs, DNA, and cell-lines in medical research, and 6) legal issues arising from the use of genetic engineered plants and animals. The authors have ensured that the contents are easy to understand, making this an accessible reference for a broad range of readers.

This book, therefore, serves as a quick summary of the prominent legal and regulatory issues in the biotech industry for professionals, as well as scholars in legal study programs.


Wireless sensor nodes are made up of small electronic devices which are capable of sensing, computing and transmitting data from harsh physical environments. These sensor nodes depend on batteries for energy, which get depleted at a fast rate because of the computation and communication operations these nodes have to perform. A well designed MAC (Medium Access Control) protocol can prolong the network life. A set of previously reported MAC layer protocols has abilities to achieve some energy efficiency. In this paper, we first describe some assumptions made for the specific application area of surveillance applications. Then, we compare a set of MAC protocols in terms of their suitability to be used in wireless sensor networks for this type of applications. In addition to energy efficiency, keeping the delays reasonably low is a crucial factor when sensing and reporting an event.


Japan's Antimonopoly Proceeding has repeatedly changed throughout the 21st century. Originally enacted as the Preliminary Review Procedure, the administrative process evolved into the Complaint Review Procedure from 2005 to 2013, before becoming the Direct Appeal to District Court Procedure in effect now. The proceedings allow the Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") to regulate the market and shield it from monopolistic behavior. The Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers, and Publishers ("JASRAC") dominates the music copyright management service provider industry in Japan. The company's fee collection methods led the JFTC to issue it a cease and desist order under the Antimonopoly Act. JASRAC subsequently initiated the administrative review process, which was the Complaint Review Procedure at the time, and the case was eventually appealed to the Supreme Court of Japan. During the litigation process, e-License, JASRAC's sole competitor, became involved as well, raising unique third party standing issues in conjunction with the Antimonopoly Act. Accompanied by a partial translation of the Tokyo High Court opinion in the JASRAC case, this comment analyzes the Japanese Antimonopoly Act and its administrative review process, while focusing on the procedural posture presented. As the Japanese government continues its efforts to halt monopolistic activities and enforce the statute, the issue of whether third parties have standing to sue will remain relevant moving forward.


The world faces a progressive depletion of its energy resources, mainly fossil fuels based on non-renewable resources. At the same time, the consumption of energy grows at high rates, and the intensive use of fossil fuels has led to an increase in the generation of gaseous pollutants released into the atmosphere, which has caused changes in the global climate. The lignocellulosic bioethanol is considered as a promising alternative for use as fuel ethanol. However, one of the main problems in producing ethanol is toxic compounds generated during hydrolysis of lignocellulosic wastes; these com- pounds cause a longer lag phase and irreversible cell damage to the microorganisms used in the fermentation step. These conditions of fermentation affect the productivity and the economic feasibility of the lignocellulosic ethanol production process. In this context, many efforts had been carried out to improve the capacity of volumetric etha - nol productivity of the yeast. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is commonly employed in industrial ethanol production. However non- Saccharomyces yeast as Kluyveromyces marxianus can produce alcohols at similar or higher levels than S. cerevisiae and on inhibitory conditions.


The objective of this paper is to examine whether foreign direct investments (FDI) in extractive sector enhances growth, using data from seven MENA oil producing countries; namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Iran over the period 1980 to 2004. We employ fixed effects estimation technique to estimate the coefficients of our models. The main findings are: First, the effect of FDI is very small, and it can have positive spillovers in the host countries if there are adequate absorptive capacities – well developed financial markets and human capital. Second, the financial markets are inadequate to spur growth and enhance the role of FDI in the growth process in MENA oil producing countries. The paper opines that policy focus should be towards improving the absorptive capacities, as growth should evolve internally, not externally.


Spatial intelligence concerns the locations of objects, their shapes, their relations, and the paths they take as they move. Recognition of spatial skills enriches the traditional educational focus on developing literacy and numerical skills to include a cognitive domain particularly relevant to achievement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This report reviews research showing that (a) spatial thinking and STEM learning are related, and (b) spatial thinking is malleable. It evaluates two strategies for exploiting these findings in education. Strategy 1 involves direct training of spatial skills. Strategy 2 involves spatialising the curriculum, using tools suited to spatial thinking including spatial language, maps, diagrams, graphs, analogical comparison, physical activity that instantiates scientific or mathematical principles, gesture and sketching. Existing data support including spatial thinking and tools in designing curricula, training teachers and developing assessments. At the same time research continues to evaluate the effectiveness of the efforts and explore mechanisms.


Abstract syntax trees are a very common data-structure in language related tools. For example, compilers, interpreters, documentation generators and syntax-directed editors use them extensively to extract, transform, store and produce information that is key to their functionality. The authors present a Java back-end for ApiGen a tool that generates implementations of abstract syntax trees. The generated code is characterised by strong typing combined with a generic interface and maximal sub-term sharing for memory efficiency and fast equality checking. The goal of this tool is to obtain safe and more efficient programming interfaces for abstract syntax trees. The contribution of this work is the combination of generating a strongly typed data-structure with maximal sub-term sharing in Java. Practical experience shows that this approach is beneficial for extremely large as well as smaller data types.


The topic of true and false intent has been more or less ignored within the field of legal psychology. This is remarkable considering the frequency and importance of situations calling for assessments of whether a person is lying or telling the truth about his or her intentions (e.g., when crossing a border). There were four aims to the present paper. The first was to outline a psycho-legal research program on true and false intentions. The second aim was to highlight some conceptual issues which might be relevant for planning and conducting research in this domain. The third aim was to offer some stepping stones which might assist researchers launching investigations on true and false intentions. The final aim was to briefly summarize the first round of empirical psycho-legal studies on true and false intentions.


Background and Objectives : Obesity with the growing trend in children and adolescents is a global health problem and food habits have an important role in obesity of children and adolescents. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of obesity and its relationship with food habits among 10-14 years old school boys in Birjand. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 on 270 boys of the fourth, fifth and sixth grades of primary schools of Birjand who were selected through cluster random sampling. Data collection was carried out using Food Frequency Questionnaire with questions about food habits and demographic variables, through interviews and measurements of height and weight. Data was analyzed using chi-square test, t test and one- way ANOVA and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: Ten percant of the students suffered from overweight and 5.6% were obese. The findings showed that there was a significant and positive correlation between Body Mass Index (BMI) and the number of daily intake of bread and cereals (r=0.17, p=0.006), milk (r=0.21, p=0.001) and meat substitutes (r=0.24, p<0.001) and there was a significant relationship between BMI and age of students (r=0.13, p=0.037), mothers' educational level (p=0.038) and fathers' job (p=0.018). Conclusion: Given the considerable prevalence of overweight and obesity in students, planing and implying appropriate interventions in order to modify food habits and prevent of growing trend of overweight and obesity, seems necessary.


Market access is an important factor for the success of small farmers. In Alabama rural counties, farmers are in search of alternative market outlets to broaden their sales and make a profit. The purpose of this research was to assess marketing alternatives for small farmers in selected Alabama Black Belt Counties because local markets are essential to the economy and the overall well-being of local communities. Ethnographic field research was used to collect data by interviewing participants in selected rural counties, as well as from the Alabama Farmers Market Authority and USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The findings indicate that farmers markets were the most popular of the direct markets in these rural counties. Participants believed that produce at farmers markets was fresh and of high quality. Government programs and resources should be used to promote direct markets, especially farmers markets, in rural minority communities in the South.


OBJECT
Improved neuroimaging techniques have led to an increase in the reported cases of intramedullary cavernomas. The purpose of this study was to define the spectrum of presenting signs and symptoms in patients with spinal intramedullary cavernomas and to analyze the role of surgery as a treatment for these lesions.

METHODS
The authors reviewed the charts of 16 patients who underwent surgery for spinal intramedullary cavernomas. All patients underwent preoperative magnetic resonance imaging studies. Cavernomas represented 14 (5.0%) of 280 intramedullary lesions found in adults and two (1.1%) of 181 intramedullary lesions found in pediatric cases. A posterior laminectomy and surgical resection of the malformation were performed in all 16 patients.

CONCLUSIONS
Magnetic resonance imaging is virtually diagnostic for spinal cavernoma lesions. Patients with spinal intramedullary cavernomas presented with either an acute onset of neurological compromise or a slowly progressive neurological decline. Acute neurological decline occurs secondary to hemorrhage within the spinal cord. Chronic progressive myelopathy occurs due to microhemorrhages and the resulting gliotic reaction to hemorrhagic products. There is no evidence that cavernomas increase in size. The rate of rebleeding is unknown, but spinal cavernomas appear to be clinically more aggressive than cranial cavernomas, probably because the spinal cord is less tolerant of mass lesions. Complete surgical removal of the cavernoma was possible in 15 of 16 of the authors' cases.


OBJECTIVE
Although current treatments are effective for some patients with eating disorders, a large number of patients remain partially or fully symptomatic post-treatment. This may be related to poor utilization of treatment skills outside of the therapy office. Smartphone applications that can detect and intervene during moments of need could facilitate such skill use between sessions.

METHOD
Individuals (N = 16) participated in a small pilot open trial where they received 21 sessions of in-person Integrative Cognitive-Affective Therapy (ICAT) therapy an app (iCAT+) that delivers ecological momentary interventions (EMI) in response to user-entered data. Data were collected on the feasibility and acceptability of this treatment approach and on preliminary indicators of treatment outcomes.

RESULTS
Participants found iCAT+ as a treatment augmentation acceptable and indicated it had clinical utility as an adjunct to in-person therapy, although analyses indicated poor compliance with data entry needed to trigger EMI delivery. This suggests that long-term use of EMI requiring ongoing data entry is infeasible.

CONCLUSIONS
We describe lessons learned from our initial pilot trial and future directions for the development of impactful EMI systems that can be used to augment in-person therapies.


Vehicle evaporative emission is one of the most important sources of pollution from a gasoline-fueled vehicle. Since international regulations on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emission are becoming increasingly stringent every year, the study of the VOC generation has become of fundamental importance.
 It is known that VOC generation is particularly high during the refueling phase: fresh fuel coming from the refueling nozzle impacts on the filling pipe wall and it is a source for sloshing in the fuel tank. Fuel vapor generated can be collected by a vapor recovery nozzle and stored in the gas station tank (Stage II vapor recovery system, European normative) or trapped by the vehicle carbon canister (On-board Refueling Vapor Recovery system, U.S. normative).
 In this activity, an automotive gasoline fuel tank for U.S. applications has been used for both experimental and numerical analyses, provided by FCA. Experiments were performed in FCA laboratories, in a sealed and thermal controlled environment (mini-SHED): vapor flow exiting the fuel tank during refueling has been measured, and fuel vapor mass has been evaluated by dynamically measuring the weight variation of a carbon canister filter connected to the fuel tank vent system. A CFD model was built based on CAD geometries provided by FCA, and numerical analysis of the refueling process has then been executed by using a commercial 3D CFD software. Results were then compared with experimental data.
 This activity is a part of a collaboration between University of Naples Federico II and FCA Italy about fuel vapor emissions control and prediction.