Jakarta suffers from heavy traffic congestion, and this costs people not only their money but also their valuable time. Yet public transportation is still not enough to facilitate people's daily mobility. In response to the Jakarta's gridlock, the paratransit or intermediate public transport (IPT) plays a bigger role in helping the commuter's activity and mobility. However, most of the existing IPT mode has poor quality and level of service. In 2014, GOJEK as a newcomer in IPT was launched and started to provide an alternative means of transport, and its presence has created a new system of providing service to its customers, and shortly it became popular and highly demanded by the people.
Since the IPT operation is based on the user's travel needs and their satisfaction with the level of service, the user may leave the IPT with poor service, and they prefer to switch to another IPT mode that is considered better and capable of accommodating their mobility.
GOJEK operation and popularity has not only alarmed other IPT operators about how important the quality of service is, but it has also raised government's awareness of how the regulation should adapt to and accommodate the new system of IPT operation without sacrificing the travel needs of the commuters.
Hence, to bridge the government's interest in formulating a new regulation and in helping IPT operators improve their service, this study will explore the four IPT modes' level of service in Jakarta from the commuter's perception. The attributes of the commuter's perception of the level of service will be analyzed to find the most influential factor that determines their transportation mode decision. This study will reveal the important aspects of developing the transportation system policy by determining different weights of importance for the paratransit users in Jakarta. Finally, this research proposes several recommendations to help the government formulate the regulation that accommodates the operators' and commuters' interest.


This paper presents a navigation methodology for decentralized autonomous automated guided vehicles used for material handling. The navigation methodology is based on behavior-based control augmented with multirobot coordination behaviors and a priori waypoint determination. Results indicate that the developed methodology fuses well between the desires for optimal vehicle routes on the one hand and decentralized reactive operation on the other.


Objective To measure the association of raising the minimum legal age of tobacco sales to 21 years (T21) statewide with monthly sales of cigarette packs in California and Hawaii, the first two states to implement T21 statewide. Methods State monthly cigarette tax revenues from state departments of taxation were analysed for 11 states from January 2014 through December 2018 (n=660). Monthly cigarette packs sold were constructed using cigarette tax revenue and cigarette tax rate in each state. A difference-in-differences regression method was used to estimate the association of statewide T21 policies with monthly cigarette packs sold in California and Hawaii, separately, compared to the western states that did not implement such policies. Both models were controlled for year–month fixed effects, cigarette tax rates, smoke-free air laws, Medicaid coverage of smoking cessation, minimum legal sales ages for e-cigarettes and state marijuana laws, in addition to state demographic characteristics (sex, age, education, race/ethnicity and population size). Findings Implementation of T21 statewide was associated with a reduction of 9.41 (95% CI=–15.52 to –3.30) million monthly packs sold in California and 0.57 (95% CI=–0.83 to –0.30) million monthly packs sold in Hawaii, compared to regional states. These translate to a reduction of 13.1%–18.2%, respectively, in monthly packs sold relative to mean values before the implementation of T21. Conclusions Raising the minimum legal age for tobacco sales to 21 years could reduce cigarette sales as part of a comprehensive tobacco control strategy that complements and builds on proven approaches to achieve this goal.


Deviations from statistical binding, that is cooperativity, in self-assembled polynuclear complexes partly result from intermetallic interactions DeltaE(M,M), whose magnitudes in solution depend on a balance between electrostatic repulsion and solvation energies. These two factors have been reconciled in a simple point-charge model, which suggests severe and counter-intuitive deviations from predictions based solely on the Coulomb law when considering the variation of DeltaE(M,M) with metallic charge and intermetallic separation in linear polynuclear helicates. To demonstrate this intriguing behaviour, the ten microscopic interactions that define the thermodynamic formation constants of some twenty-nine homometallic and heterometallic polynuclear triple-stranded helicates obtained from the coordination of the segmental ligands L1-L11 with Zn(2+) (a spherical d-block cation) and Lu(3+) (a spherical 4f-block cation), have been extracted by using the site binding model. As predicted, but in contrast with the simplistic coulombic approach, the apparent intramolecular intermetallic interactions in solution are found to be i) more repulsive at long distance (DeltaE(1-4)(Lu,Lu)>DeltaE(1-2)(Lu,Lu)), ii) of larger magnitude when Zn2+ replaces Lu3+ (DeltaE(1-2)(Zn,Lu)>DeltaE(1-2)(Lu,Lu) and iii) attractive between two triply charged cations held at some specific distance (DeltaE(1-3)(Lu,Lu)<0). The consequences of these trends are discussed for the design of polynuclear complexes in solution.


Ninety six patients with chronic epitympanitis treated surgically were examined immunologically and allocated in 4 groups. Suppressed T- and B-cell immunities were found. Patients of group 1 received antibiotics and antihistamine drugs (controls), patients of group 2, 3 and 4 were given in addition timontin, myelopid and timontin + myelopid, respectively. Monotherapy with timontin and myelopid improved immunological status of the patients who exhibited better outcomes of conventional treatment than controls. Combined use of the above immunomodulators corrected the immunological defects and resulted in good clinical response.


Levels of catecholamines in blood, excretion of DOPA, dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline were determined in 99 hypertensive patients and 22 healthy persons. Walking for an hour and intake of L-DOPA in a dose of 3 mg/kg of body mass were used as functional tests. There was noted an increase in activity and reactivity of the sympathoadrenal system at early stages of the disease with its gradual reduction in the courses of the disease. In all the patients, with the exception of stable hypertensive patients with crisis, there was noted an increase in the biosynthesis of dopamine which is considered as a possible compensatory protective mechanism opposing pressor actions. An increase in the biosynthesis of noradrenaline was found at early stages of the disease in people with hyperreactivity and, in particular, in hypertension with crisis. Stable hypertension was characterized by the tendency to a decrease in the biosynthesis of noradrenaline, more expressed in patients with crisis.


Persons with learning disabilities (mental retardation, hyperactivity disorder, or a
language learning disorder) who suffered agricultural injuries during a two-year period
of observation (1 May 1990 through 30 April 1992) were identified. Their charts were
reviewed for evidence of injuries both before and after that time period. These 28
individuals, who suffered 31 agricultural injuries during those two years, were
predominately male (27; 96.4%) with a mean age of 20.16 years at the time of the index
injury. Fifteen (53.6%) were farm residents. In addition to the identified conditions, six
(21.4%) individuals had prior head injuries and three (10.7%) had prior diagnoses of
substance abuse, depression, or asthma. In evaluating the factors associated with injury,
18 (64.3%) of the total were injured while working, and 9 (32.2%) were associated with
cattle. A spectrum of injuries were seen with the most common being contusions,
lacerations, and sprains. In addition to the index injuries, there were 239 additional
injuries of which 35 (14.6%) were agricultural related. Before, during, and after the
two-year period of observation, nonfarm residents had more injuries per person than
did farm residents. Although there was no overall difference between the number of
injuries per person for those with hyperactivity and those with a learning disability but
not hyperactivity, the number of agricultural related injuries were actually less in those
with hyperactivity. All injuries tended to be more common in those with mental
retardation than those with other learning disability.
Risk factors and pattern of injury for those with these learning disabilities depend
on the specific diagnoses. In addition, agricultural injuries were recognized as only a
small part of the overall trauma. Efforts at reducing agricultural injuries in this special
group will need to recognize that occupational injuries, including agricultural injuries,
are only part of a substantial injury pattern for these individuals.


The aim of this chapter is to look more closely at the impact that the crisis generated by the SARS-CoV-2 is having on health, the economy and education in the field of dentistry. The considerations that must be taken into account in dental practice will be presented, as well as the usefulness that the use of teledentistry (TD) could have in times of pandemic, reflecting on the different specialties of dentistry that can benefit from this modality, as well as the advantages and disadvantages that its use can present. Likewise, teaching has been condemned to a lack of presence, having to resort to distance learning, both synchronous and non-synchronous, which can cause needs and deficiencies in undergraduate and postgraduate students. We will analyse the health risks in the dental field and the changes and needs for safe dentistry in times of pandemic. We will also break down the effect of the crisis on the medical-dental sector and the economy, from the point of view of patients and professionals, especially in times of increased restriction and confinement worldwide.


Haiti is a fragile state influenced by extreme poverty, a weak government, high natural disaster risk, and severe environmental degradation (de Sherbinin 1996; Howard 1998; Murray and Bannister 2004; ICG 2009). These elements of fragility are linked in a perverse web of interactions. Natural disasters prevent sustained economic growth, limit execution of strategic planning, and undermine poverty reduction programs. In turn, political instability results in shifting development strategies and fragmented ecosystem restoration initiatives. Political, economic, and environmental shocks weaken community-led efforts and have repeatedly derailed otherwise well-designed programs. Short-term aid interventions in Haiti that focus on natural disaster relief and security have failed to patch these multiple areas of vulnerability and reverse the negative cycles that characterize Haiti's stagnant growth and environmental degradation. The absence of sustained engagement around core development needs undermines environmental stability and sustainable growth, which are critical for conflict prevention. Unfortunately, between 2002 and 2008, close to 40 percent of monetary aid has been allocated to public security and 12 percent to humanitarian recovery sectors, thereby leaving efforts for long-term development and sustained strategic planning underfunded. According to figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, humanitarian aid as a portion of official development assistance (ODA) increased from 0.2 percent in 2002 to over 20 percent in 2008 (OECD 2011). This represents an increase from US$490,000 in 2002 to US$175.47 million in 2008. The funds classified as ODA increased from US$209 million in 2002 to US$694.36 million in 2008. The United Nations peacekeeping operations reported a 2008 budget increase from US$574 million to close to US$1 billion in 2010. This represents a significant increase in funding for peacekeeping operations since the current UN peacekeeping mission was launched in Haiti in 2004 (UNSC 2009; OECD 2011). The 2010 earthquake spurred new foreign aid totaling billions of U.S. dollars. The Haitian government and donors currently have the opportunity to use the large-scale aid to stabilize the fragile natural and political environments while also improving the previously stagnant performance of development indicators.


Under study were the parameters of microcirculation in 84 patients operated on the vessels in the aorto-ilio-femoral zone, in 33 patients operated on the vessels in the femoro-popliteal zone. In all of them epidural anesthesia was used. In 25 patients operations on the aorta and main vessels were fulfilled under conditions of epidural anesthesia with catheterization of the epidural space at two levels. The dynamics of microcirculation parameters allows to state that the epidural anesthesia with catheterization of the epidural space at two levels is more rational for patients in operations on the vessels in the aorto-ilio-femoral zone since it gives adequate anesthesia during operation and better tissue blood flow in lower extremities.


Extreme polymorphism of HLA and killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) differentiates immune responses across individuals. Additional to T cell receptor interactions, subsets of HLA class I act as ligands for inhibitory and activating KIR, allowing natural killer (NK) cells to detect and kill infected cells. We investigated the impact of HLA and KIR polymorphism on the severity of COVID-19. High resolution HLA class I and II and KIR genotypes were determined from 403 non-hospitalized and 1575 hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 infected patients from Italy collected in 2020. We observed that possession of the activating KIR2DS4*001 allotype is associated with severe disease, requiring hospitalization (OR = 1.48, 95% CI 1.20-1.85, pc  = 0.017), and this effect is greater in individuals homozygous for KIR2DS4*001 (OR = 3.74, 95% CI 1.75-9.29, pc  = 0.003). We also observed the HLA class II allotype, HLA-DPB1*13:01 protects SARS-CoV-2 infected patients from severe disease (OR = 0.49, 95% CI 0.33-0.74, pc  = 0.019). These association analyses were replicated using logistic regression with sex and age as covariates. Autoantibodies against IFN-α associated with COVID-19 severity were detected in 26% of 156 hospitalized patients tested. HLA-C*08:02 was more frequent in patients with IFN-α autoantibodies than those without, and KIR3DL1*01502 was only present in patients lacking IFN-α antibodies. These findings suggest that KIR and HLA polymorphism is integral in determining the clinical outcome following SARS-CoV-2 infection, by influencing the course both of innate and adaptive immunity.


This paper examines the impact on asset prices from a reduction in the long-term capital gains tax rate using an equilibrium approach that considers both demand and supply responses. We demonstrate that the equilibrium impact of capital gains taxes reflects both the capitalization effect (i.e., capital gains taxes decrease demand) and the lock-in effect (i.e., capital gains taxes decrease supply). Depending on time periods and stock characteristics, either effect may dominate. Using the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 as our event, we find evidence supporting a dominant capitalization effect in the week following news that sharply increased the probability of a reduction in the capital gains tax rate and a dominant lock-in effect in the week after the rate reduction became effective. Nondividend paying stocks (whose shareholders only face capital gains taxes) experience higher average returns during the week the capitalization effect dominates and stocks with large embedded capital gains and high tax sensitive investor ownership exhibit lower average returns during the week the lock-in effect dominates. We also find that the tax cut increases the trading volume during the week immediately before and after the tax cut becomes effective and in stocks with large embedded capital gains and high tax sensitive ownership during the dominant lock-in week.


Introduction:  Undernutrition is a major health problem in developing countries which may have adverse effects on growth and development of an individual. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence and grades of malnutrition in children below 60 months of age, attending outpatient department at Gandaki Medical College teaching hospital. Materials and Methods:  A prospective study was conducted among 556 children below 60 months of age from August to December 2013. Weight and length/height were measured using standard technique and were plotted on WHO centiles curves and severity determined based on WHO classification. The prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting were determined by anthropometry. Results:  Based on WHO classification, out of 556 children, 20.2% were underweight, 34% were stunted and 15.1% were wasted respectively. Of them, severe underweight were 4.7%, severe stunted were 14.1% and severe wasted were 7.2% respectively. Conclusion:  A high prevalence of undernutrition exists in under- five children attending a tertiary hospital in a western region of Nepal. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jnps.v34i2.10566 J Nepal Paediatr Soc 2014;34(2):119-124


In many combinatorial games, one can prove that the first player wins under best play using a simple but non-constructive argument called strategy-stealing. This work is about the complexity behind these proofs: how hard is it to actually find a winning move in a game, when you know by strategy-stealing that one exists? We prove that this problem is PSPACE-hard already for Minimum Poset Games and Symmetric Maker-Maker Games, which are simple classes of games that capture two of the main types of strategy-stealing arguments in the current literature.


Autonomous vehicles (AVs) need to share the road with multiple, heterogeneous road users in a variety of driving scenarios. It is overwhelming and unnecessary to carefully interact with all observed agents, and AVs need to determine whether and when to interact with each surrounding agent. In order to facilitate the design and testing of prediction and planning modules of AVs, in-depth understanding of interactive behavior is expected with proper representation, and events in behavior data need to be extracted and categorized automatically. Answers to what are the essential patterns of interactions are also crucial for these motivations in addition to answering whether and when. Thus, learning to extract interactive driving events and patterns from human data for tackling the whether-when-what tasks is of critical importance for AVs. There is, however, no clear definition and taxonomy of interactive behavior, and most of the existing works are based on either manual labelling or hand-crafted rules and features. In this letter, we propose the Interactive Driving event and pattern Extraction Network (IDE-Net), which is a deep learning framework to automatically extract interaction events and patterns directly from vehicle trajectories. In IDE-Net, we leverage the power of multi-task learning and proposed three auxiliary tasks to assist the pattern extraction in an unsupervised fashion. We also design a unique spatial-temporal block to encode the trajectory data. Experimental results on the INTERACTION dataset verified the effectiveness of such designs in terms of better generalizability and effective pattern extraction. We find three interpretable patterns of interactions, bringing insights for driver behavior representation, modeling and comprehension. Both objective and subjective evaluation metrics are adopted in our analysis of the learned patterns.


Eya proteins are transcription factors that play pivotal roles in organ formation during development by mediating interactions between Sine Oculis (SO) and Dachshund (DAC). Remarkably, the transcriptional activity of Eya proteins is regulated by a dephosphorylating activity within its Eya domain (ED). However, the molecular basis for the link between catalytic and transcriptional activities remains unclear. Here we report the first description of the crystal structure of the ED of human Eya2 (ED‐Eya2), determined at 2.4‐A resolution. In stark contrast to other members of the haloacid dehalogenase (HAD) family to which ED‐Eya2 belongs, the helix‐bundle motif (HBM) is elongated along the back of the catalytic site. This not only results in a structure that accommodates large protein substrates but also positions the catalytic and the SO‐interacting sites on opposite faces, which suggests that SO binding is not directly affected by catalytic function. Based on the observation that the DAC‐binding site is located between the catalytic core and SO binding sites within ED‐Eya2, we propose that catalytic activity can be translated to SO binding through DAC, which acts as a transcriptional switch. We also captured at two stages of reaction cycles‐acylphosphate intermediate and transition state of hydrolysis step, which provided a detailed view of reaction mechanism. The ED‐Eya2 structure defined here serves as a model for other members of the Eya family and provides a framework for understanding the role of Eya phosphatase mutations in disease.—Jung, S.‐K., Jeong, D. G., Chung, S. J., Kim, J. H., Park, B. C., Tonks, N. K., Ryu, S. E., Kim, S. J. Crystal structure of ED‐Eya2: insight into dual roles as a protein tyrosine phosphatase and a transcription factor. FASEB J. 24, 560–569 (2010). www.fasebj.org


To effectively track incomplete motion features, a novel feature tracking algorithm for motion capture is presented. According to feature attributes and relationship among features, extracted features are classified as four types of features. Then different strategies are applied to track different kinds of features. To verify the tracks, cross correlation test and predicted 3D model based test are used to test and remove outliers. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm.


In the 15th and early 16th centuries, when traveling eastward and westward no longer proved extraordinary, travel writings, such as those of Marco Polo or Jean de Mandeville, were printed and reprinted and have been in the world of exchanges and acquisitions both in Portugal and in other parts of Europe. However, although they have played a key role in defining foreign worlds for Europe, reflecting the aspirations of their time and providing news about the universe to be discovered, these reports do not always necessarily tell of trips that were actually taken. Several of them, on the contrary, do no more than draw together, for contemporary readers, passages of interest taken from other writings; passages which, based on their regularity and frequency, would allow for a narrative staged as travel to be taken as truth for contemporaries and immediate successors. In the Iberian Peninsula of the late 15th century, an account written by an author about whom nothing is known, Gomez de Santisteban, who defines himself as a companion of Prince Pedro on a supposed trip to the Holy Land, was among those reports integrated into the description and the perception of the land being discovered. The driving question of this paper is, therefore, how Santisteban, though he wrote memories of trips that he did not take, achieved credibility like those travelers whose trips have been recognized as authentic.


Introduction Bull-related injuries are commonly observed in rural areas of India as result of the animal's use in sporting events as well as for agricultural purposes. These patients need early resuscitation due to complications from severe injuries. Previous work examining the epidemiology of bull-related injuries is limited, with most studies focusing on injuries in Spain and Latin America. There is scant literature examining the prevalence of such injuries in India. The objective of this study was to evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics of bull-related injuries at a hospital in Tamil Nadu, India. Methods This was a prospective, observational study of patients who presented to an emergency department (ED) in Madurai, India, with a reported history of bull-related injuries between June 2017 and March 2019. We recorded information about patient demographics, location of injury, disposition, initial Injury Severity Score (ISS), and transport time. Results Our sample included a total of 42 patients. Almost a third of patients who presented were between the ages of 20–30 years (31%, n = 13), and most were male (86%, n = 36). Approximately 59% of patients (n = 25) had provoked injuries, occurring as a result of active participation during sporting activities. Injuries to the trunk were most common (55%, n = 23), followed by injuries to the perineum (19%, n = 19). The majority of patients (59.5%) had penetrating injuries (n = 25), The mean ISS was 10.1 (standard deviation 6.3). Five (12%) patients had a complication after injury including intra-abdominal abscess formation, peritonitis, and sepsis. Two patients died as a result of septicemia from peritonitis. Conclusion Bull-related injuries may result in significant morbidity and mortality. Education of the population about the dangers of bull injuries from sporting events and the need for early transportation to the ED have the potential for significant reduction in morbidity and mortality.


The focus of this article is on the ways in which emotions are engaged in the discursive construction and treatment of disabled people in receipt of social security benefits. The article draws upon the literature related to the social importance of emotions and that concerned with moral boundary drawing. It argues that the evocation of emotional reactions is crucial in understanding the ways in which changes to out-of-work benefits for disabled people (the development of Employment and Support Allowance) have recently been effected and the ways in which this has reflected a desire to more closely denote those judged able and not able to work in a redrawing of the 'disability category'. While this has been done in the name of 'inclusion', the article concludes that its consequences are, in various ways, the 'exclusion' and stigmatisation of disabled people.


Introduction: The most cases foreign body ingestion has a clear history of swallowing have clear recommendation for treatment. Case Report: We want to present an unusual case of an unexpected extra luminal finding of metallic foreign body in abdominal cavity without history of ingestion which was accidentally found by imaging. The metallic foreign body was found on MRCP imaging as usual clearance of bile tract after acute biliary pancreatitis with elevated liver enzymes. The patient denied any history of ingestion any foreign material. This is the first case report of a patient unintentionally transferring outside a foreign body from hollow viscus system without any clinical presentation or reminiscence about it. Conclusion: Surgical intervention should be offered to patient if the foreign body causes any symptoms or it can be easily removed during another not related operation.


Abstract Most reptiles are oviparous (egg-laying), but viviparity (live-bearing) has evolved about 100 times in lizards and snakes. Geographic biases in the distribution of viviparous species stimulated the "cold-climate hypothesis," proposed independently by three field-based researchers in the early 1900s. Mell (in China) and Weekes (in Australia) viewed viviparity as a mechanism for thermal buffering of embryos from nighttime frosts, whereas Sergeev (in Russia) suggested that eggs retained in utero would develop faster because they were kept warmer, enabling early hatching. Although alternative adaptationist hypotheses proliferated over the next few decades, many had logical flaws (failing to consider intermediate stages). Phylogenetically based analyses identified around 100 independent origins of viviparity from oviparity, and revealed a strong trend for viviparity to evolve in cold climates. After experimental studies showed that incubation temperatures affect offspring phenotypes as well as rates of development and survival, I proposed (in 1995) that by retaining eggs in utero, a mother can manipulate the phenotypic traits of her offspring (and thus, enhance their fitness). This mother of all hypotheses subsumes the cold-climate hypothesis, and has been supported by studies on both oviparous and viviparous squamates, and in tropical as well as cold-climate areas. The history of this research topic illustrates the emergence of similar ideas from different researchers (sometimes creating tensions); the major roles of happenstance and field experience in suggesting ideas and allowing them to be tested; and the vital contributions of concepts, methodologies, and technologies from other fields to our understanding of reptilian viviparity.


This study examines the relationship between income diversification and agricultural intensification of rural households in Nigeria, using panel data models. We use the Inverse Herfindahl Index (IHI) to measure the income diversification options, while the relationship with agricultural intensification was measured using random effect instrumental variable regression. A control function approach was used to control for the potential endogeneity of the covariates. Empirical findings of this study indicate that income diversification is increasing among Nigerian rural households. This study finds that among other factors, off-farm income has a positive relationship with agricultural intensification. This study recommends, as a policy measure, that households should not only be encouraged to diversify their income, but should also transmit productivity gains from such diversification into agricultural intensification for the betterment of the rural economy.


Abstract. OTF (Off The Shelf) quadro copter systems provide a cost effective (below 2000 Euro), flexible and mobile platform for high resolution point cloud mapping. Various studies showed the full potential of these small and flexible platforms. Especially in very tight and complex 3D environments the automatic obstacle avoidance, low copter weight, long flight times and precise maneuvering are important advantages of these small OTS systems in comparison with larger octocopter systems. This study examines the potential of the DJI Phantom 4 pro series and the Phantom 3A series for within-stand and forest tree crown 3D point cloud mapping using both within stand oblique imaging in different altitude levels and data captured from a nadir perspective. On a test site in Brandenburg/Germany a beach crown was selected and measured with 3 different altitude levels in Point Of Interest (POI) mode with oblique data capturing and deriving one nadir mosaic created with 85/85 % overlap using Drone Deploy automatic mapping software. Three different flight campaigns were performed, one in September 2016 (leaf-on), one in March 2017 (leaf-off) and one in May 2017 (leaf-on) to derive point clouds from different crown structure and phenological situations – covering the leaf-on and leafoff status of the tree crown. After height correction, the point clouds where used with GPS geo referencing to calculate voxel based densities on 50 × 10 × 10 cm voxel definitions using a topological network of chessboard image objects in 0,5 m height steps in an object based image processing environment. Comparison between leaf-off and leaf-on status was done on volume pixel definitions comparing the attributed point densities per volume and plotting the resulting values as a function of distance to the crown center. In the leaf-off status SFM (structure from motion) algorithms clearly identified the central stem and also secondary branch systems. While the penetration into the crown structure is limited in the leaf-on status (the point cloud is a mainly a description of the interpolated crown surface) – the visibility of the internal crown structure in leaf-off status allows to map also the internal tree structure up to and stopping at the secondary branch level system. When combined the leaf-on and leaf-off point clouds generate a comprehensive tree crown structure description that allows a low cost and detailed 3D crown structure mapping and potentially precise biomass mapping and/or internal structural differentiation of deciduous tree species types. Compared to TLS (Terrestrial Laser Scanning) based measurements the costs are neglectable and in the range of 1500–2500 €. This suggests the approach for low cost but fine scale in-situ applications and/or projects where TLS measurements cannot be derived and for less dense forest stands where POI flights can be performed. This study used the in-copter GPS measurements for geo referencing. Better absolute geo referencing results will be obtained with DGPS reference points. The study however clearly demonstrates the potential of OTS very low cost copter systems and the image attributed GPS measurements of the copter for the automatic calculation of complex 3D point clouds in a multi temporal tree crown mapping context.


Abstract The distribution of rare earth elements (REEs) between amphibole and silicate melt is important for understanding a wide variety of igneous and metamorphic processes in the lithosphere. In this study, we used published experimental REE and Y partitioning data between amphibole and silicate melt, the lattice strain model, and nonlinear least-squares regression method to parameterize key partitioning parameters in the lattice strain model (D0, r0, and E) as a function of pressure, temperature, and both amphibole and melt compositions. Two models, which give nearly identical results, are obtained in this study. In the first model, D0 depends on temperature and amphibole composition: it positively correlates with Ti content and negative correlates with temperature and Mg, Na, and K contents in the amphibole. In the second model, D0 depends solely on the melt composition: it positively correlates with Si content and negatively correlates with Ti and Ca contents in the melt. In both the mineral and melt composition models, r0 negatively correlates with the ferromagnesian content in the M4 site of the amphibole, and E is a constant. The very similar coefficients in the equations for r0 and best-fit values for E in the two models allow us to connect the two models through amphibole-melt phase equilibria. An application of our model to amphiboles in mantle xenoliths shows that observed major element compositional variations in amphibole alone can give rise to order of magnitude variations in amphibole-melt REE partition coefficients. Together with experimental data simulating fractional crystallization of arc magmas, out models suggest that: (1) REE partition coefficients between amphibole and melt can vary by an order of magnitude during arc magma crystallization due to variation in the temperature and composition of the amphibole and melt, and that (2) amphibole fractional crystallization plays a key role in depleting the middle REEs relative to heavy REEs and light REEs in arc magmas.


We conducted a descriptive analysis of single-case research design (SCRD) studies on safety skills instruction (SSI) for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Once we identified studies through electronic databases and reference lists, we used What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Standards to evaluate each study. We analyzed studies in terms of various descriptive variables, calculated effect sizes through improvement rate difference (IRD), and aggregated effect sizes across studies to produce an omnibus effect size. Results showed 18 of 29 studies met the WWC Standards to meet design standards (MS) and meet design standards with reservations (MS-R), and various types of SSI were effective in teaching various skills. Of 18, 12 studies resulted in a large effect, and we found a behavioral skills training package (BST) to be evidence-based when we applied a 5-3-20 rule. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study was to investigate the expression of MDR1 and bcl-2 proteins in de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

DESIGN AND METHODS
The expression of MDR1 and bcl-2 was analyzed by flow cytometry in a large series of 256 consecutive cases of AML. The results were recorded as percentage of positivity and relative mean fluorescence intensity (rMFI). To determine individual protein levels, an index which equals the product of the percentage of positive cells and rMFI was generated.

RESULTS
Using cut-offs of >or=800 and 300 of the index value for bcl-2 and MDR1 expression, respectively, we identified 4 different classes of AML: 1) double negative; 2) single positive bcl-2+/MDR1-; 3) single positive bcl-2-/MDR1+; 4) double positive. The highest incidence of double negative cases was observed in the M2 class whereas double positive cases occurred more frequently in the M4, M5 and M6 subgroups. Seventy-eight percent and 71% of M0 and M1, respectively, showed single positive bcl-2+/MDR1- expression (p = 0.00001). Twenty-eight percent of patients belonging to the double positive category achieved complete remission, whereas for double negative, single positive bcl-2+MDR1- and single positive bcl-2-/MDR1+ category, the complete remission rate was 69%, 52% and 56%, respectively (p = 0.00038). In multivariate analysis, the double positive status independently affected frequency of complete remission (p = 0.008).

INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS
Bcl-2 is over-expressed in CD34+ AML; conversely, MDR1 is over-expressed in CD34- AML. However, the combined expression of the two proteins defines a subset of AML with a very poor prognosis.


Opioid overdose has claimed the lives of over 340,000 Americans in the last decade. Over that same period, policymakers have taken steps to increase the availability of naloxone-an opioid antagonist used to rescue overdose victims-to people in the community. Previous studies, most of which have examined the effects of state laws designed to facilitate access to naloxone, have reached mixed conclusions about the effects of naloxone access on fatal and non-fatal overdoses. This paper exploits a unique policy experiment provided by two naloxone giveaways intended to increase naloxone possession among the general public in Pennsylvania to estimate the causal impact of naloxone distribution on fatal overdoses and opioid-related emergency department (ED) visits. Using a difference-in-differences design, I find evidence that opioid overdose deaths fell immediately following the first giveaway but increased following the second giveaway and discuss these apparently contradictory findings in the context of the changing composition of the opioid supply. I also find some evidence of a decline in opioid overdose-related ED visits following the giveaways. This study is the first to examine the effects of untargeted naloxone distribution and has implications for other novel, naloxone distribution efforts currently underway.


Gender budgeting is a fiscal approach that seeks to use a country's national and/or local budget(s) to reduce inequality and promote economic growth and equitable development. While literature has explored the connection between reducing gender inequality and achieving growth and equitable development, more empirical analysis is needed to determine whether gender budgeting really curbs gender inequality. Our study follows the methodology of Stotsky and Zaman (2016) to investigate across Asia Pacific countries the impact of gender budgeting on promoting gender equality, and also increasing fiscal spending on health and education. The study classifies Asia Pacific countries as 'gender budgeting' or 'non-gender budgeting' according to whether they have formalized gender budgeting initiatives in laws and/or budget call circulars. To measure the effect of gender budgeting on reducing inequality, we measure the correlation between gender budgeting and the Gender Development Index (GDI) and Gender Inequality Index (GII) scores in each country. The data for our gender inequality variables are mainly drawn from the IMF Database on gender indicators and the World Development Indicators (WDI) database, over 1990-2013. Our results show that gender budgeting has significant effect on increasing GDI and small but significant potential to reduce GII. These results strengthen the rationale for employing gender budgeting to promote inclusive development. However, our empirical results show no prioritization for gender budgeting in the fiscal space of health and education sectors in the region.


This study of the safety of patients undergoing mechanical ventilation was undertaken to ensure correct ventilation and to find quality-control elements for patients and nursing staff. Differences in mode programming and ventilation parameters and their registry at the change of nursing shifts, and correct programming of the sensitivity and minimum minute volume alarms and maximum airway pressure alarms were examined. In a two-month period, 8 cross-sectional studies were made of G1 prevalence in each of three nursing shifts. The status of the alarms and sensitivity were recorded when incorrect, as well as whether the ventilation mode and parameters coincided with the change of nursing shift. An analysis was made of: FiO2, PEEP, respiratory rate, minute volume, tidal volume, support pressure level, and control pressure level depending on the ventilation mode. Corrective measures were applied for a month. The effectiveness of these measures was evaluated by making 8 new G2 cross-sectional studies of the same type. Two hundred forty-eight G1 and 250 G2 recordings were made. The G2 studies revealed a generalized reduction in errors for all parameters. We concluded that the corrective measures were effective so these indicators were included in the monitoring of risk areas in the unit quality control program.


Objectives: To describe the frequency of brain tissue donation for research purposes by families of individuals that committed suicide. Methods: All requests for brain tissue donation to a brain biorepository made to the families of individuals aged 18-60 years who had committed suicide between March 2014 and February 2016 were included. Cases presenting with brain damage due to acute trauma were excluded. Results: Fifty-six cases of suicide were reported. Of these, 24 fulfilled the exclusion criteria, and 11 others were excluded because no next of kin was found to provide informed consent. Of the 21 remaining cases, brain tissue donation was authorized in nine (tissue fragments in seven and the entire organ in two). Conclusions: Donation of brain tissue from suicide cases for research purposes is feasible. The acceptance rate of 42.8% in our sample is in accordance with international data on such donations, and similar to rates reported for neurodegenerative diseases.


Following the military forces of the United States and the United Kingdom, private military firms (PMFs) make up the third largest contingent in Iraq. These corporate warriors are large enough to launch invasions of small sovereign states and are often employed by whomever has sufficient funds to retain their services. Such entities create serious challenges for modern international law. In their article, Virginia Newell and Benedict Sheehy approach the PMF conundrum from a number of different perspectives so as to better elucidate the difficulties that states have had, are having, and will face in the future, as they strive to effectively utilize, and at the same time regulate, PMFs. The first part of the article concentrates on the definitional problems one encounters when attempting to conceptualize PMFs and their activity. The second part explores the different types of interactions between PMFs and states and queries whether the key to effective regulation is to focus on the nature of the interactions. The final part explores the variety and efficacy of the different state regulatory regimes that have been imposed on PMFs.


This paper presents and demonstrates the development of flexible tactile sensor utilizing the microstructures of onion epidermal cells, which replace the intermediate dielectric layer in a typical parallel-plate capacitive sensor. The onion epidermal cells can effectively reduce the complexity of the sensor structure and thus simplifies the device fabrication process. The single layer of the onion epidermal cells is robust for high tactile sensitivity, mechanical flexibility and optical transmittance with potentially low-cost sensor manufacturing in a large area. The 4 × 4 tactile sensor array with the total area of 20 × 20 mm2 is demonstrated. A single tactile sensor has the initial capacitance of 9 pF without applying external pressure. The force ranging from 0 N-2 N (20kPa) is applied for sensor characterization. The sensitivity of the sensor is 0.14/kPa. The fabricated sensor shows high sensitivity and linearity. The proposed sensor array will be applied in robotic electronic skin and biomedical devices in the future.


As a potential candidate for solid-state switches in low-power electronic circuits, the Tunnel Field Effect Transistor (TFET) has attracted the attention of device designers in the past few years. Although simulations have shown that ideal hetero TFETs can achieve sub-thermal sub-threshold swing (SS), the fabrication of a TFET with sufficient on-current and sub-thermal SS over a few decades of drain current remains to be done. Non-idealities in a TFET such as interface traps, band tails, or surface roughness exhibit stronger influence on TFET characteristics in the sub-threshold region. In Ref. [1] we observed that among all of these non-idealities the strongest effect is due to interface traps. On the other hand, simulations have shown that channel quantization severely degrades the on-current [2]. In this work, we analyse experimental transfer characteristics of InAs/Si nanowire TFETs (diameter ≈ 100 nm) and find reasons for the degradation of SS and on-current. We give an estimate for the Dit that still would allow a sub-thermal SS.


The results of mode-processing measurements of broadband acoustic wavefields made in the fall of 2004 as part of the Long-Range Ocean Acoustic Propagation Experiment (LOAPEX) in the eastern North Pacific Ocean are reported here. Transient wavefields in the 50-90 Hz band that were recorded on a 1400-m long 40 element vertical array centered near the sound channel axis are analyzed. This array was designed to resolve low-order modes. The wavefields were excited by a ship-suspended source at seven ranges, between approximately 50 and 3200 km, from the receiving array. The range evolution of broadband modal arrival patterns corresponding to fixed mode numbers ("modal group arrivals") is analyzed with an emphasis on the second (variance) and third (skewness) moments. A theory of modal group time spreads is described, emphasizing complexities associated with energy scattering among low-order modes. The temporal structure of measured modal group arrivals is compared to theoretical predictions and numerical simulations. Theory, simulations, and observations generally agree. In cases where disagreement is observed, the reasons for the disagreement are discussed in terms of the underlying physical processes and data limitations.


The global contribution of unresolved gamma-ray point sources to the extragalactic gamma-ray background has been recently measured using analyses employing the statistical properties of observed gamma-ray counts down to gamma-ray fluxes lower than those reached with standard source detection techniques.
In addition, a new measurement of the angular power spectrum (APS) of the unresolved gamma-ray background was recently performed, using 8 years of data of the \emph{Fermi}-LAT. However, the contribution from each specific source classes to the source-count distribution, such as blazars, misaligned Active Galactic Nuclei, or Star Forming Galaxies is affected by significant uncertainties, in particular in the unresolved flux regime. This translates into significantly different predictions for the source-count distribution as a function of energy.
We here investigate the statistics of photon counts of more than 10 years of \emph{Fermi}-LAT data and the new APS results to probe the extra-galactic gamma-ray source populations in different energy bands.


In week-old rats, somatosensory input arises predominantly from stimuli in the external environment or from sensory feedback associated with myoclonic twitches during active (REM) sleep. A previous study of neural activity in cerebellar cortex raised the possibility that the brainstem motor structures that produce twitches also send copies of motor commands (or corollary discharge, CD) to the cerebellum. Here, by recording from two precerebellar nuclei—the inferior olive and lateral reticular nucleus—we demonstrate that CD does indeed accompany the production of twitches. Within both structures, the CD signal comprises a surprisingly sharp activity peak within 10 ms of twitch onset. In the inferior olive, this sharp peak is attributable to the opening of slow potassium channels. We conclude that a diversity of neural activity is conveyed to the developing cerebellum preferentially during sleep-related twitching, enabling cerebellar processing of convergent input from CD and reafferent signals.


The overall objective of this research is to improve risk management for cyber-threats among both private and public sectors through better understanding of the economic consequence of cyber-attacks and the benefits of various cyber resilience tactics in reducing these consequences. This is carried out in 3 stages: 1) estimation of direct effectiveness and costs of post-attack cyber resilience tactics; 2) adaptation of a state-of-the-art economic impact modeling approach to estimate cyber-attack consequences and resilience potential at both the microeconomic and macroeconomic levels; and 3) an empirical assessment of cyber-resilience in the U.S. Automobile Industry using the economic model to provide insights for decision makers to enhance resilience to cyber-attacks.


On the basis of field experiments and modeling, the dependence of the dissipation of the energy of waves breaking by plunging and spilling on the frequency of wave spectra was investigated. It was shown that the modeling of wave breaking should take into account the compensation of the nonlinear growth of higher wave harmonics, which occurs in different ways for waves breaking with different types and for different methods of modeling a nonlinear source term. The study revealed that spilling breaking waves have a frequency selectivity of energy dissipation at frequencies of second and third harmonics for the Boussinesq and SWAN models for any method of modeling a nonlinear source term. Plunging breaking waves have a quadratic dependence of the dissipation coefficient on frequency in the Boussinesq model and SWAN model with the SPB approximation for a nonlinear source term. The SWAN model with default LTA approximation for plunging breaking waves also assumes frequency-selective energy dissipation. The discrepancy between the LTA default method and others can be explained by the overestimation of the contribution of the second nonlinear harmonic and by inaccurate approximation for the biphase. It is possible to improve the accuracy of LTA and SPB methods by tuning SWAN model coefficients.


Vegetation changes in transition zones are still poorly studied. Changes in the vegetation structure of a savanna forest (cerradao) were assessed in the Amazon-Cerrado transition (14°42'2.3"S; 52°2r2.6"W), eastern Mato Grosso, within a period of six years (2002, 2005 and 2008). In 2002, fifty plots of 10 x 10 m were set up, where all trees with DSH > 5 cm were measured; in 2005 and 2008 the plots were re-inventoried. In 2008, 84 species from 70 genera and 37 families were sampled; absolute density was 1,998 individuals/ha and basal area was 25.95 m2.ha'. On the one hand, the absolute density of live individuals decreased from 2005 to 2008 (2,066 individuals/ha); on the other hand, the basal area increased in 2008 compared to 2005 (23.56 m2.ha') and 2002 (1,884 individuals/ha and 21.38 m2.ha'). The species with the highest importance value in the period were Hirtella glandulosa, Tachigali vulgaris and Xylopia aromatica. Except for these three species, all other species underwent hierarchic changes in the importance value, indicating that most species frequently alternate. Community structure exhibited changes throughout the period; hence, we suggest investigations on the role of T. vulgaris in these changes, since environmental conditions caused by gap opening from the fall of senile individuals of this pioneer species with a short life cycle may contribute to community dynamics.


The intestinal pathogen Clostridioides difficile is one of the major challenges in medical facilities nowadays. In order to better combat the bacterium, detailed knowledge of its physiology is mandatory. C. difficile strain 630Δerm was generated in a laboratory from the patient-isolated strain C. difficile 630 (H. A. Hussain, A. P. Roberts, and P. Mullany, J Med Microbiol 54:137–141, 2005, https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.45790-0) and represents a reference strain for many researchers in the field, serving as the basis for the construction of insertional gene knockout mutants using the ClosTron system (J. T. Heap, O. J. Pennington, S. T. Cartman, G. P. Carter, and N. P. Minton, J Microbiol Methods 70:452–464, 2007, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mimet.2007.05.021). ABSTRACT The human pathogen Clostridioides difficile has evolved into the leading cause of nosocomial diarrhea. The bacterium is capable of spore formation, which even allows survival of antibiotic treatment. Although C. difficile features an anaerobic lifestyle, we determined a remarkably high oxygen tolerance of the laboratory reference strain 630Δerm. A mutation of a single nucleotide (single nucleotide polymorphism [SNP]) in the DNA sequence (A to G) of the gene encoding the regulatory protein PerR results in an amino acid substitution (Thr to Ala) in one of the helices of the helix-turn-helix DNA binding domain of this transcriptional repressor in C. difficile 630Δerm. PerR is a sensor protein for hydrogen peroxide and controls the expression of genes involved in the oxidative stress response. We show that PerR of C. difficile 630Δerm has lost its ability to bind the promoter region of PerR-controlled genes. This results in a constitutive derepression of genes encoding oxidative stress proteins such as a rubrerythrin (rbr1) whose mRNA abundance under anaerobic conditions was increased by a factor of about 7 compared to its parental strain C. difficile 630. Rubrerythrin repression in strain 630Δerm could be restored by the introduction of PerR from strain 630. The permanent oxidative stress response of C. difficile 630Δerm observed here should be considered in physiological and pathophysiological investigations based on this widely used model strain. IMPORTANCE The intestinal pathogen Clostridioides difficile is one of the major challenges in medical facilities nowadays. In order to better combat the bacterium, detailed knowledge of its physiology is mandatory. C. difficile strain 630Δerm was generated in a laboratory from the patient-isolated strain C. difficile 630 and represents a reference strain for many researchers in the field, serving as the basis for the construction of insertional gene knockout mutants. In our work, we demonstrate that this strain is characterized by an uncontrolled oxidative stress response as a result of a single-base-pair substitution in the sequence of a transcriptional regulator. C. difficile researchers working with model strain 630Δerm should be aware of this permanent stress response.


In this age of information technology revolution, extension can empower the farming community with latest knowledge through electronic media for the development of agricultural sector. In Pakistan, this important sector has been facing various challenges like increasing population, declining trend in terms ofGDP, fluctuated agricultural growth, globalization, weaker dimensions of agricultural extension.Obviously, the impediments of physical distance and logistic problem cannot be overcome only throughpersonal contacts. In this context, strengthening extension services with effective use of electronic mediseems indispensable. Thus, the research was conducted to get the real picture of the farmers' perceptions megarding present and prospective role of electronic media for dissemination of agri. technologies amongfarmers.The research was conducted in Faisalabad district of the Punjab province, Pakistan. Multistagrandom sampling technique was used. The total sample size comprised
through a validated and reliable interview schedule were analyzed through computer software SPSS.Percentages, mean, standard deviation and scores were obtained. Kendall's tau_b correlation werecomputed to find out the relationship between independent and dependent variables.The results showed atrend change from radio towards TV and from telephone towards mobile phone as far as the general uselectronic media was concerned. As a whole the awareness of various electronic media based programmesand contacts was very low. Further, the use of electronic media for getting agri.information was notencouraging.The range of using electronic media specifically obtaining agri. information was from verylow to low levels.Three extreme cases of not using electronic media for agri. information were audiocassettes/CDs, video cassettes/CDs and internet. Lack of awareness and lack of interest appeared ascommon impediments hampering the agri. technology transfer through electronic media. In the presentscenario, as a whole, electronic media did not show a healthy picture in all the areas both in sense of extentof agri. information as well as respondents' perceived effectiveness thereof.Concerning various positiveaspects of agri. information obtained through electronic media, TV was at the top in each aspect with totalscore value. Mobile phone occupied the 2nd position, radio was at 3rd position.Telephone and agri. helpliwere perceived to be at the bottom.Concerning relationship between
the demographic characteristics anduse of electronic media for getting agri. information, there existed
highly significant positive relationship
between farming experience and use of radio. There also existed a positive significant correlation betweenage and use of radio.However, significant negative correlation was found in case of landholding andfarmers' annual income with radio.In case of TV, highly negative relationship was found with age andfarming experience. In case of mobile phone, highly sgnificant positive correlation was found witheducation. Similarly, significant positive relationship was also seen between the use of mobile phone andfarming experience. Concerning the preference for obtaining agri. information in future, TV was rated the top. The other subsequent electronic media were mobile phone, radio, agri. helpline and telephone.However, level of preference was reduced in cases of audio cassettes/CDs, video cassettes/CDs andinternet.


Electricity transformer is an important, widely used electrical equipment. Current the iron beam sectional of the electricity transformer is based on experienced standards which can not achieve the best economic benefits. According to practical technology, we build a basic optimization model about multistep iron beam section. And we also give a reasonable design on the tolerance zone between the diameter of iron beam sectional circumcircle and the diameter of the winding steel-flue, as well as the arrangement about the oil path in the iron beam, which has a big realistic significance and application value. We come up with five reasonable model assumptions to simplified the problem, turning the tolerance zone design problem into the function extreme one. We adopt "Ideal assumption first, specific modification second" method on designing the oil path, considering all kinds of situations to obtain optimization. The core algorithm is dynamic programming which is much faster, much more stable than using Lingo. All the solving and analyzing on math models are based on C++ programming language.


In this study both primary static recrystallization and static recovery of cold rolled bcc and fcc metals and alloys are numerically simulated using a three-dimensional model that is based on a modified cellular automaton approach. The model considers the influence of the initial deformation texture and microstructure on both static recovery and primary static recrystallization with a high spatial resolution. The cellular automaton technique provides both local and statistical information about the kinetics, the morphology and the texture change during annealing. The influence of nucleation and growth can be studied in detail. The simulations are compared to experimental results obtained on fcc and bcc polycrystals.


&NA; Fibrin fibers form the structural backbone of blood clots. The structural properties of fibrin clots are highly dependent on formation kinetics. Environmental factors such as protein concentration, pH, salt, and protein modification, to name a few, can affect fiber kinetics through altered fibrinopeptide release, monomer association, and/or lateral aggregation. The objective of our study was to determine the effect of thrombin and fibrinogen exposed to nitric oxide on fibrin clot properties. ProliNONOate (5 &mgr;mol/l) was added to fibrinogen and thrombin before clot initiation and immediately following the addition of thrombin to the fibrinogen solution. Resulting fibrin fibers were probed with an atomic force microscope to determine their diameter and extensibility and fibrin clots were analyzed for clot density using confocal microscopy. Fiber diameters were also determined by confocal microscopy and the rate of clot formation was recorded using UV-vis spectrophotometry. Protein oxidation and S-nitrosation was determined by UV-vis, ELISA, and chemiluminescence. The addition of ProliNONOate to fibrinogen or thrombin resulted in a change in clot structure. ProliNONOate exposure produced clots with lower fiber density, thicker fibers, and increased time to maximum turbidity. The effect of the exposure of nitric oxide to thrombin and fibrinogen were measured independently and indicated that each plays a role in altering clot properties. We detected thrombin S-nitrosation and protein carbonyl formation after nitric oxide exposure. Our study reveals a regulation of fibrin clot properties by nitric oxide exposure and suggests a role of peroxynitrite in oxidative modifications of the proteins. These results relate nitric oxide bioavailability and oxidative stress to altered clot properties.


After a long period of universal mandatory audit, the UK reduced the regulatory burden of private firms by introducing size-based audit exemption in 1994; the size thresholds have subsequently been progressively increased. Both accounting bodies and credit-rating agencies (CRAs) have expressed reservations about this policy, arguing it could diminish user confidence in reported accounting numbers, and lead to a reduction in financial statement quality and credit ratings. Prior research, however, suggests that the managers of small UK companies do not perceive there to be an association between financial statement audit and firm credit score. To provide evidence of any effect on user confidence of making audit optional, we examine the credit scores and financial reporting quality of a large sample of UK private firms which qualified for audit exemption after major threshold changes in 2004. We find that, even though they report lower average profits, companies which retain a voluntary audit enjoy significantly higher credit scores than those which opt out of audit. The results of both conservatism and accruals-based tests indicate that opting out of audit is associated with less conservative financial reporting, consistent with the concerns of the accounting bodies and the CRAs, and providing an explanation for why opt-out firms report higher profits but receive lower credit scores. This study contributes to an important policy debate by providing large sample evidence that the audit does confer benefits to private firms in terms of financial reporting quality, assurance and the credit scores generated from the financial reports.


search, vol. 22, no. 2, 1997, pp. 29-36. Center for Tourism Research and Development, A-965/6, Indira Nagar, Lucknow, India. $120 annual subscription. With demand for its coastal resorts decreasing, Slovenia is recognizing the potential of its mountain areas for the development of tourism activities. The quality of natural assets, including the relatively unspoiled alpine countryside and clear lakes and rivers, makes these surroundings especially suitable for outdoor sporting activities, such as hiking, mountaineering, kayaking, canoeing, and river rafting. This article presents a case study of the Triglav National Park, situated in Slovenia's alpine area, and the benefits and constraints such tourism activities bring to the small mountain communities. Specific attention is paid to the increased interest for white-water rafting and the sustainability of Slovenia's rivers to promote this new sporting phenomenon.


Cesarean section (CS) is a relatively safe procedure, performed for different maiernal and fetal indications. Despite complications of general anesthesia, post-operative infections, and thromboembolic events, CS is being performed with increasing frequency. In this study, we have examined the indications and complications of CS's performed in Arash Hospital from December 1993 to November 1994. Of the total 3480 cases of chiidbrilh, 900 (24.45%) were performed by CS, most and last frequently in December/January and November/December respectively. However, Ute ratio of CS cases to all cases was equal throughout the year. The most common indication of CS was failure to progress in labor (38.54%), and the other causes were repeat CS (21.77%), meconium excretion (11.97%), malpresenlation (8.55%) and fetal distress (5.58%). The indication of CS varies with meternal age. Between 41-45 years, the most common indications were prior CS (42.5%), and request for concommitant tubal ligation (12.5%), whereas in the younger age groups, the most common indication was failure to progress in labor. In primiparous cases, 44.55% of the CS's were performed due to failure to progress in labor, while the latter was the indication of CS in only 14.5% of the multiparous women. Complications were observed in only 4.54% of CS cases


Inter-group blame for AIDS has been documented across a myriad of cultures. The dynamics of the blame have not been systematically theorised. A cross-cultural study of social representations of AIDS in South Africa and in Britain was used to forge a theory of inter-group blame. Semi-structured, depth interviews were carried out with sixty young, educated, urban South African and British lay men and women. In both cultures ten white heterosexuals, ten black heterosexuals and ten homosexuals (white and black; a number with HIV/AIDS) were interviewed. Textbase Alpha and SPSS-PC were used to analyse the data. Elements of the social context were content analysed: South African and British Government AIDS campaigns and policy-maker discourse. A similar process of inter-group blame was found in the two cultures: Social representations placed responsibility for the origin and spread of AIDS with out-groups. Groups who were blamed for AIDS by hegemonic thinking held themselves responsible for AIDS. The content of the blaming aspersions in the two cultures differed: While colonial, family-centred and individualistic ideologies circulated in both cultures, social representations of AIDS were also infused with Apartheid-linked ideologies in South Africa and with conspiracy theories in Britain. The British data was characterised by high levels of reflexivity concerning AIDS-related blame. The cross-cultural tendency to project blame for AIDS onto others is determined by psycho-dynamic forces. However, historical and ideological forces shape who is blamed and who internalises the blame for AIDS. Inter-group blame had negative consequences for both the 'blamers' and the 'blamed'. The former felt invulnerable to AIDS. The latter internalised the blame emerging with spoiled identities. The thesis concludes with a set of proposals for modifying the pattern of inter-group blame through mass mediated AIDS campaigns.


In the recent two decades, as result of growing preference among the Jewish middle class for detached residence, many suburbs and villages were subject to gentrification. Especially prone to gentrification, were housing estates built in the 1950s at low densities. It was, then, the increasing suburbanization middle-class households that brought about the gentrificati-on of these neighborhoods. A similar process took place in immigrant towns and villages on the periphery of metropolitan regions.


We previously developed a three-dimensional computational model of oxygen transport in the renal medulla. In the present study, we employed this model to quantify the sensitivity of renal medullary oxygenation to four of its major known determinants: medullary blood flow (MBF), medullary oxygen consumption rate (VO2,M), hemoglobin concentration in the blood (Hb), and renal perfusion pressure (RPP). We also examined medullary oxygenation under special conditions of hydropenia, extracellular fluid volume expansion by infusion of isotonic saline, and hemodilution during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Under baseline (normal) conditions, the average medullary tissue PO2 predicted for the whole renal medulla was ~30 mmHg. The periphery of the interbundle region in the outer medulla (OM) was identified as the most hypoxic region in the renal medulla, which demonstrates that the model prediction is qualitatively accurate. Medullary oxygenation was most sensitive to changes in RPP followed by Hb, MBF and VO2,M, in that order. The medullary oxygenation also became sensitized by pro-hypoxic changes in other parameters, leading to a greater fall in the medullary tissue PO2 when multiple parameters changed simultaneously. Hydropenia did not induce a significant change in medullary oxygenation compared to the baseline state, while volume expansion resulted in a large increase in the inner medulla (IM) tissue PO2 (by ~15 mmHg). Under conditions of CPB, the renal medulla became severely hypoxic, due to hemodilution, with one-third of the OSOM tissue having a PO2 of less than 5 mmHg.


The paper deals with the data transmission network of the Krasnoyarsk Railway, its structure, the topology of data transmission and the routing protocol, which supports its operation, as well as the specifics of data transmission networking. The combination of the railway automation applications and the data transmission network make up the automation systems, making it possible to improve performance, increase the freight traffic volume, and improve the quality of passenger service. The objective of this paper is to study the existing data transmission network of the Krasnoyarsk Railway and to develop ways of its modernization, in order to improve the reliability of the network and the automated systems that use this network. It was found that the IS-IS and OSPF routing protocols have many differences, primarily due to the fact that the IS-IS protocol does not use IP addresses as paths. On the one hand, it makes it possible to use the IS-IS protocol for the operation in IPv6 networks, whereas OSPF version 2 doesn't provide this opportunity; therefore, OSPF version 3 was developed to solve this problem. However, on the other hand, in case of using IPv4, the routing configuration by means of the IS-IS protocol will imply the need to study a significant volume of information and use unusual methods of routing configuration


The systematics of the deep-sea cirrate octopod genus Opisthoteuthis Verrill in the Atlantic Ocean is reviewed. Comparisons, based on examination of all extant type material and new, reported and unreported material collected in recent years from the Atlantic, show the presence of five species: Opisthoteuthis agassizii Verrill 1883, O. grimaldii (Joubin, 1903), O. massyae (Grimpe, 1920) and two new species, O. calypso and O. hardyi, which are described. Opisthoteuthis agassizii, distributed only in the western North Atlantic, is redescribed, and a neotype is designated for the presumed lost holotype. Opisthoteuthis grimaldii, distributed in the East Atlantic and possibly also in the western North Atlantic, and O. massyae, distributed in the East Atlantic are also redescribed and junior synonyms listed. Opisthoteuthis calypso, found in the East Atlantic and O. hardyi, known only from a single specimen from the SW Atlantic are described. New morphometric data for O. agassizii, O. massyae and O. grimaldii are given. Illustrations, geographical distributions and a review of the biological information for all five species are provided.


: The transplant of cells from fetal tissue shows promise as a therapy for certain diseases. The use and research of fetal tissue, and methods of obtaining the tissue, have raised ethical dilemmas. Consideration must be given concerning the mother, the fetus, and the tissue recipient.


Within the scope of simple cosmological models we have studied the role of spinor field in the evolution of the Universe when it is non-minimally coupled to the gravitational one. If the spinor field nonlinearity describes an ordinary matter such as radiation, the presence of non-minimality becomes essential and leads to the rapid expansion of the Universe in FRW model, but this is not the case for LRSBI model. If the spinor field nonlinearity describes a dark energy the role non-minimal coupling becomes insignificant in both isotropic and anisotropic models.


The ultimate aim of the initiating the study was find out effect of admixture of Clonidine and/or Epinephrine on Lignocaine. After co- administering clonidine (150 μg, n=20) or Epinephrine (200 μg, n=20) to Lignocaine, end points like sensory or motor blockade, depth of anesthesia, cool and hot sensation, plasma level of Lignocaine was studied. Total 60 subjects received the combination aforesaid formulation via iontophoretic patch. The prepared patches matched with standard measures required for transdermal delivery. The subjects in different groups shows resemblance in terms of age, height, body weight etc. Sedation score of motor or sensory blockade showed indifferent results. Only few subjects (n=2) showed complete freedom from any type of pain (3.34%) on administration of Epinephrine. VAS score in range of 0-7 was observed with that of clonidine (range 1-8). In subjects with clonidien plasma level concentration of Lignocaine found to be higher (3.2 μmol/L.) when compared to epinephrine (2.6 μmol/L) due to lack of vasoconstriction effect in epinephrine. This increase availability of Lignocaine reduces margin of safety with clonidine. Mild type of irritation persisting only for 2-5 min was observed in few patients entering the trial. No patient involved report swelling, itching, edema.


The application of the horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) spectral ratio technique to earthquake recordings can lead to significant differences in the estimate of the site response compared to that produced by the reference-site method (RSM). In particular, whereas the estimates of the resonance frequency from the two methods are fairly consistent, the levels of amplification are not. Using numerical modeling based on an improved Thompson–Haskell propagator matrix method, we were able to isolate the contribution of pure and converted waves to the site response. We show that the conversion of body waves at the sediment–bedrock interface leads to differences in the site response estimates obtained by the H/V method and the RSM. Such differences are consistent with observations in the field. In particular, the lower level of amplification obtained by the H/V method at frequencies higher than the fundamental one is due to a transfer of energy onto the vertical component caused by S - to P -wave conversion. Applying the RSM technique to the vertical as well as the horizontal component of the P -wave window, we obtain stable estimates of the fundamental resonance frequency that are consistent with 1D resonance for vertically incident P and S waves, respectively. The amplification from the P -wave window of the horizontal component might be considered as a lower boundary.


ABSTRACT Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a natural phospholipid with multiple biological functions. We show here that LPA induces phosphorylation and inactivation of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3), a multifunctional serine/threonine kinase. The effect of LPA can be reconstituted by expression of Edg-4 or Edg-7 in cells lacking LPA responses. Compared to insulin, LPA stimulates only modest phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-dependent activation of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) that does not correlate with the magnitude of GSK-3 phosphorylation induced by LPA. PI3K inhibitors block insulin- but not LPA-induced GSK-3 phosphorylation. In contrast, the effect of LPA, but not that of insulin or platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), is sensitive to protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors. Downregulation of endogenous PKC activity selectively reduces LPA-mediated GSK-3 phosphorylation. Furthermore, several PKC isotypes phosphorylate GSK-3 in vitro and in vivo. To confirm a specific role for PKC in regulation of GSK-3, we further studied signaling properties of PDGF receptor β subunit (PDGFRβ) in HEK293 cells lacking endogenous PDGF receptors. In clones expressing a PDGFRβ mutant wherein the residues that couple to PI3K and other signaling functions are mutated with the link to phospholipase Cγ (PLCγ) left intact, PDGF is fully capable of stimulating GSK-3 phosphorylation. The process is sensitive to PKC inhibitors in contrast to the response through the wild-type PDGFRβ. Therefore, growth factors, such as PDGF, which control GSK-3 mainly through the PI3K-PKB/Akt module, possess the ability to regulate GSK-3 through an alternative, redundant PLCγ-PKC pathway. LPA and potentially other natural ligands primarily utilize a PKC-dependent pathway to modulate GSK-3.


The dynamic of natural infections by Anaplasma marginale in calves was evaluated during a period of one year on two farms located in the Metalurgica Region, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Blood samples were collected weekly for rickettsemia and packed cell volume (PCV) determination. The animals born from March to July suffered the infection in October and November, independently of their age, whilst calves born from September to December acquired the infection during the first days of life. These animals presented patent rickettsemia from 30 days of life. During the patent period PCV decreased after one week of infection, ranging from 20 to 23%. It was concluded, that in the region studied, the transmission of A. marginale is influenced by climatic conditions, and that calves born during the dry season are more likely to acquire the infection when they are exposed to high transmission levels during the subsequent raining season.


Background Primary (idiopathic) hyperhidrosis is a benign disease of unknown etiology, leading to the disruption of professional and social life and emotional problems. A variety of treatment methods have been used to control or reduce the profuse sweating. In this study, we report the efficacy of direct current (d.c.) administration in the treatment of idiopathic hyperhidrosis.


An ac to dc converter is t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t p a r t o f any power supply unit used
in the all- electronic equipments that forms a considerable part of load on the utility. Power
electronic equipments are increasingly being used for power conversion, thereby injecting lower
order harmonics into the utility. As a result, the total harmonic distortion is high and input power
factor is poor. Thus, power factor correction schemes are implemented so as to make the power factor
unity thereby leading to low input current distortion. Amongst the several techniques used for PFC,
high frequency active PFC is used to get better power factor but it has drawbacks that includes
additional losses, thus reducing the overall efficiency, increase in EMI. The efficiency is improved
by reducing the losses using soft switching techniques such as ZVS and ZCS. Boost converter is
preferred because input current does not have cross-over distortion and it is continuous. In this
project, a control technique for boost converter is proposed. This is based on hysteresis-control scheme
in which two sinusoidal current references are generated namely IP,ref, IV,ref, such that one is for the peak
and the other is for the valley of the inductor current. In this control technique, when the inductor
current goes below the lower reference IV,ref
the switch is turned on and is turned off when the inductor
current goes above the upper reference IP,ref, thereby giving rise to a variable frequency control. To avoid
too high switching frequency, the switch should be kept open near the zero crossing of the line voltage
so introducing dead times in the line current. Thus, we can say that by using hysteresis controlled boost
converter PFC , power factor of an AC-DC converter can be increased.


Using a new, global data base covering the years 1950 to 2015, we study the impact of sanctions on international trade and welfare. We make use of the rich dimensionality of our data and of the latest developments in the structural gravity literature. Starting with a broad evaluation by sanction type, we carefully investigate the case of Iran. Effects are significant but also widely heterogeneous across sanctioning countries. Moreover, they depend on the direction of trade. We also perform a counterfactual analysis which translates our partial equilibrium sanction estimates into heterogeneous but intuitive general equilibrium effects within the same framework.


Hyperplastic polyps have traditionally been considered not to have malignant potential. New pathological classification of serrated polyps and recent discoveries about the serrated pathway of carcinogenesis have revolutionized the concepts and revitalized the research in this area. Until recently, it has been thought that most colorectal cancers arise from conventional adenomas via the traditional tumor suppressor pathway initiated by a mutation of the APC gene, but it has been found that this pathway accounts for only approximately 70%-80% of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases. The majority of the remaining colorectal cancer cases follow an alternative pathway leading to CpG island methylator phenotype carcinoma with BRAF mutation and with or without microsatellite instability. The mechanism of carcinomas arising from this alternative pathway seems to begin with an activating mutation of the BRAF oncogene. Serrated polyposis syndrome is a relatively rare condition characterized by multiple and/or large serrated polyps of the colon. Clinical characteristics, etiology and relationship of serrated polyposis syndrome to CRC have not been clarified yet. Patients with this syndrome show a high risk of CRC and both sporadic and hereditary cases have been described. Clinical criteria have been used for diagnosis and frequent colonoscopy surveillance should be performed in order to prevent colorectal cancer. In this review, we try to gather new insights into the molecular pathogenesis of serrated polyps in order to understand their possible clinical implications and to make an approach to the management of this syndrome.


Understanding the state-of-the-practice in MPI usage is paramount for many aspects of supercomputing, including optimizing the communication of HPC applications and informing standardization bodies and HPC systems procurements regarding the most important MPI features. Unfortunately, no previous study has characterized the use of MPI on applications at a significant scale; previous surveys focus either on small data samples or on MPI jobs of specific HPC centers. This paper presents the first comprehensive study of MPI usage in applications. We survey more than one hundred distinct MPI programs covering a significantly large space of the population of MPI applications. We focus on understanding the characteristics of MPI usage with respect to the most used features, code complexity, and programming models and languages. Our study corroborates certain findings previously reported on smaller data samples and presents a number of interesting, previously un-reported insights.


This Working Paper presents the Introduction to my new book "Balancing Constitutional Rights: The Origins and Meanings of Postwar Legal Discourse" (Cambridge University Press, November 2013, ISBN 978-1107044418). The language of balancing is pervasive in constitutional rights jurisprudence around the world. This book offers a comparative and historical account of the origins and meanings of this talismanic form of language, and of the legal discourse to which it is central. Contemporary discussion has tended to see the increasing use of balancing as the manifestation of a globalization of constitutional law. I argue instead that "balancing" has always meant radically different things in different settings. The book makes use of detailed case studies of early Postwar US and German constitutional jurisprudence to show that the same unique language expresses both biting skepticism and profound faith in law and adjudication, and both deep pessimism and high aspirations for constitutional rights. An understanding of these radically different meanings is essential for any evaluation of the work of constitutional courts today.


Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles were synthesized in the presence of two kinds of acidic amino acids in order to investigate the effects of acidic amino acids on the morphology of hydroxyapatite obtained by homogeneous precipitation and hydrothermal treating. The results of X-ray diffraction analysis and microphotographs of transmission electron microscope showed that the morphology of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles changed significantly only with aspartic acid. Hydroxyapatite synthesized with aspartic acid showed smooth flake-like morphology at pH= 11 and flake-like morphology with stripes at pH= 8. However, hydroxyapatite synthesized in the present of glutamic acid showed rod-like morphology at both pH values. Variation in the morphology of nanoparticles could be consistent with the difference in the affinity of amino acids binding at the hydroxyapatite crystal surface. The adsorption process was revealed by computer simulation of molecular mechanics using energy minimizing method.


Accumulating data on cellular and molecular pathways help to develop novel therapeutic strategies in skin inflammation and autoimmunity. Examples are psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, two clinically and immunologically well-defined disorders. Here, the elucidation of key pathogenic factors such as IL-17A/IL-23 on the one hand and IL-4/IL-13 on the other hand profoundly changed our therapeutic practice. The knowledge on intracellular pathways and governing factors is shifting our attention to new druggable molecules. Multiple cytokine receptors signal through Janus kinases (JAKs) and associated signal transducer and activators of transcription (STATs). Inhibition of JAKs can simultaneously block the function of multiple cytokines. Therefore, JAK inhibitors (JAKi) are emerging as a new class of drugs, which in dermatology can either be used systemically as oral drugs or locally in topical formulations. Inhibition of JAKs has been shown to be effective in various skin disorders. The first oral JAKi have been recently approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Currently, multiple inhibitors of the JAK/STAT pathway are being investigated for skin diseases like alopecia areata, atopic dermatitis, dermatomyositis, graft-versus-host-disease, hidradenitis suppurativa, lichen planus, lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, and vitiligo. Here, we aim to discuss the immunological basis and current stage of development of JAKi in dermatology.


Intentions to co-research and engage in participatory research pervade education and social science research with children and particularly research on engagement in digital spaces, with digital tools. Starting in the 1900s, there were many attempts to explicitly describe co-research methods and intentions in education but recently co-research has been used in a more taken-for granted way. Using snapshots from three research projects, I trouble my own attempts at co-research. Firstly, in a two-year ethnographic study, research positions were shifted by following the children's lead and multimodal textmaking interests. Secondly, in an arts-informed classroom study of family photography and family stories, the ways in which the children understood the research process, and gave or withheld assent, influenced how they engaged as co-researchers. Finally, a larger comparative arts-informed study of youths' digital practices in Hamilton is explored with an eye to how co-research evolved for the youth throughout the project. None of these projects were designed to engage with co-research in a comprehensive way. Yet, across these snapshots, a more nuanced understanding of co-research is envisioned; one that involves reflexive ethical practice and an emergent and attentive focus on consent.


Surgical site infections (SSIs) are among the most preventable infections acquired in the healthcare setting today. The potential for improved patient care and reduced healthcare spending by decreasing SSIs could save millions of US healthcare dollars and at the same time lead to better patient outcomes. The purpose of this systematic review was to explore whether high concentration oxygen delivered to surgical patients undergoing intraabdominal surgery decreases SSI. A systematic review was conducted to determine if high concentration oxygen decreases surgical site infection. Databases were searched, and inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to select the articles for this systematic review. The PRISMA framework was used to guide the review and a total of six studies were critically analyzed. Two data collection tables were created for each article, one that illustrated the design of the study and one that illustrated the results. The CASP checklist was utilized to appraise each article critically. Finally, a cross-study analysis was conducted to compare the studies. Of the six studies, two were statistically significant 1and showed a decrease in SSI, contradicting earlier findings. Based on all the available research at this time, the use of high concentration oxygen during the intraoperative phase to decrease SSI should be followed if patient specifics and facility resources allow. Further studies will need to focus on standardized protocols specific to each abdominal surgery.


Abstract This article employs an in-depth examination of 1950s confessional Lutherans and Congregationalists in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to argue that the roots of the late-twentieth-century "culture wars" can be found at the local level in Americans' response to the international and domestic challenges that arose during and after World War II rather than in the 1970s rise of a politically active Religious Right. The fight against Nazi and Soviet totalitarianism, along with the postwar struggle for racial equality, forced Americans to redefine the moral principles for which their nation stood. The result was the development of broad-based, intradenominational divisions between those who argued that individuals should accommodate themselves to prevailing religious, political, and socioeconomic structures and those who urged the accommodation of these structures to the needs of diverse individuals. This new religious alignment turned less on denominationally specific tribal, liturgical, and theological differences than on polarized understandings of the sacred and the secular. This realignment operated on two planes. On the right, the Missouri Synod joined other denominations, such as the founders of the National Association of Evangelicals, in attempting to overcome sectarian strife among orthodox believers and to inject their religious faith into the public discourse. On the left, as Congregational proponents of faith-based social action and ecumenism helped to lay a foundation for liberal religion's leading role in the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s and 1970s, they alienated more traditionalist members who viewed these activities as inappropriate for a religious institution.


Very High Resolution (VHR) imagery is becoming indispensable in urban mapping and land management. But owing to its characteristics, traditional spectral-based building extraction methods are not appropriate. This thesis presents an automated spectral-spatial integration extraction approach to extract two-dimensional roof outlines of urban buildings from IKONOS imagery. It substantially improves accuracy, compared with the well-known Extraction and Classification for Homogenous Objects (ECHO) and Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis Technique (ISODATA). With spectral-based Multi-peak Supervised Segmentation (MSS), the approach generates first stage classification. In the second stage, the original colour image and the first stage result are fed into a spatial structure classifier. With analysis of overlapped neighborhood's degree of membership to classes, homogeneity and cross-neighborhood structure, the first stage classification is significantly improved. Finally, buildings are extracted with post-processing. Compared with ISODATA, Signature Editor and ECHO, unique contributions are three new algorithms: MSS, Overlapped Neighborhood Analysis, and Cross-neighborhood Structure Detection.


Launched in the summer of 1992, TOPEWPOSEIDON (T/P) was a joint mission between NASA and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), the French Space Agency, to make precise radar altimeter measurements of the ocean surface. After the remarkably successful 13-years of mapping the ocean surface T/P lost its ability to maneuver and was de-commissioned January 2006. T/P revolutionized the study of the Earth's oceans by vastly exceeding pre-launch rstimates of surface height accuracy recoverable from radar altimeter measurements. The precision orbit lies at the heart of the altimeter measurement providing the reference frame from which the radar altimeter measurements are made. The expected quality of orbit knowledge had limited the measurement accuracy expectations of past altimeter missions, and still remains a major component in the error budget of all altimeter missions. This paper describes critical improvements made to the T/P orbit time series over the 13-years of precise orbit determination (POD) provided by the GSFC Space Geodesy Laboratory. The POD improvements from the pre-launch T/P expectation of radial orbit accuracy and Mission requirement of 13-cm to an expected accuracy of about 1.5-cm with today's latest orbits will be discussed. The latest orbits with 1.5 cm RMS radial accuracy represent a significant improvement to the 2.0-cm accuracy orbits currently available on the T/P Geophysical Data Record (GDR)


We report the formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold substrates by exposure to n-alkanethiols [CH3(CH2)n-1SH; n ) 8, 10, 12, 16, and 18] in liquid and supercritical carbon dioxide. The results of this novel study show that an environmentally friendly solvent can be used to form highly crystalline SAMs with few gauche defects and that pressure as well as exposure time can be used to affect the structural and barrier properties of the monolayer film. Reflectance infrared spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and wetting measurements were used to characterize the SAMs. The effects of pressure (76-300 bar) and adsorption time (3-90 min) on the formation of the SAMs were explored. The overall chain density of these SAMs was greater than that for SAMs formed in common organic solvents such as ethanol. The properties of the SAMs were slightly affected by the pressure during formation. At 35 °C, as the carbon dioxide pressure increased (from 76 to about 140 bar), the packing density and resistance of the SAM increased. SAMs prepared at higher pressures ranging from about 140 to 300 bar exhibited similar resistances, capacitances, and canted structures. There was also no significant difference in using liquid (25 °C and 103 bar) or supercritical (35 °C and 103 bar) carbon dioxide for SAM formation. Supercritical carbon dioxide also enabled the formation of SAMs using polar adsorbates (-OHand -CO2H-terminated thiols) to prepare high-energy surfaces that are wet by water.


Designing a family of product variants that share some components usually requires a compromise in performance relative to the individually optimized variants due to the commonality constraints. Choosing components for sharing may depend on what performance losses can be tolerated. In this article an optimal design problem is formulated to choose product components to be shared without exceeding user-specified bounds on performance. This enables the designer to control tradeoffs and obtain optimal product family designs for maximizing commonality at different levels of acceptable performance. A family of automotive body side frames is used to demonstrate the approach.