In two cattle head deboning plants, a total of 8879 cattle skulls were investigated for number and precision of shots. Deviation from the ideal position on the forehead and the direction of the shot were measured, results were then attributed to three classes of precision. In all, 64.7% of the skulls in plant 1 and 65.3% in plant 2 were shot from the ideal position and in the ideal direction. A medium precision was observed in 31.3% and 31.5% of cases, 4.0% and 3.1%, respectively, of the skulls indicated a poor precision. In both plants, skulls with more than one shot hole were observed. Shot holes may indicate the precision of a shot, and thus the risk of suffering during the sensitive time of stunning. In addition to observations at the time of stunning, the observation of shot holes on skulls at random or in total after a day's slaughter can reflect the shooting precision.


Consider a manufacturing system in which a single consumable good is fabricated in a process that consists of k stages in an uncertain environment. On each stage, there are a number of workstations that are assumed to have different operating parameters that are subject to failure, repair, and preventive maintenance which generate discrete jumps in the value of the state. A just-in-time manufacturing discipline is assumed for the workstations with running costs that include penalties for shortfall and surplus production. The formulation presented for the optimal production scheduling for the manufacturing system requires extensions to the results of the LQGP problem with state dependent Poisson processes (SDPP) by the inclusion of coefficients for the dynamics and the costs that are parameterized by the value of the state. The cost functional used is fully quadratic which is an enhancement for the LQGP problem. The functionality of this canonical model is demonstrated with a numerical example.


In this paper, we show that for haptic rendering using position feedback, the structure of the feedback loop imposes a fundamental tradeoff between accurate rendering of virtual environments and sensitivity of closed-loop responses to hardware variations and uncertainty. Due to this tradeoff, any feedback design that achieves high-fidelity rendering incurs a quantifiable cost in terms of sensitivity. Analysis of the tradeoff reveals certain combinations of virtual environment and haptic device dynamics for which performance is achieved only by accepting very poor sensitivity. This analysis may be used to show that certain design specifications are infeasible and may guide the choice of hardware to mitigate the tradeoff severity. We illustrate the predicted consequences of the tradeoff with an experimental study.


This chapter presents Heloise of Argenteuil's quest for an intellectual voice through her correspondences with Abelard, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Peter the Venerable. The relationships between these four characters are deeply intellectual yet at the same time they are negotiated not only through intimate conversations, but also through collaborative monastic projects, through which the characters seek to transform the world around them. These performances open up a space that is at once aestheticized and intellectualized, in which interpersonal connections can develop. This is particularly true of vocal performances such as in the letters, in which the act of listening offers a moment of connection with the unmistakable individuality of Heloise as a performer.


Purpose: A societal response to the existence of substance misuse fluctuates between harm minimisation and prohibition. Until recently, little attention has been paid to the importance of the individual's substance use experiences, which are vital to understanding the social and contextual reasons to understanding why someone chooses to use, and are therefore of imperative importance to facilitating the design and delivery of a substance use health promotion campaign. The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of the television adverts shown as part of the previously unstudied 'Talk to Frank' intervention in relation to an individual's perceived risk of taking a substance and their intent to use substances in the future. It is also to get a better understanding of the educational experiences surrounding substance use, in order to provide information to health psychologists devising and developing health promotion campaigns concerning substance use in the future.

Design: A mixed-methods design was employed in order to quantitatively analyse the data collected from the study testing the efficacy of the 'Talk to Frank' intervention. To follow this, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a third of the study population to gain an understanding of their experiences of substance use education, and how this impacted their substance use experiences.

Findings: The 'Talk to Frank' television adverts were unsuccessful at increasing perceived risk and reducing intent to use. However, a positive correlation was found between participants' previous substance use scores and their intent to use substances in the future. The results of the qualitative analysis indicated that participants draw on a variety of 'primary', 'secondary' and 'tertiary' learning experiences to enhance their understanding of substance use, which therefore affects their substance use behaviour.

Originality/value: This study calls for health psychologists and other health educators to focus on understanding the lived experiences of substance use education so that these findings can be implemented back into designing a more effective intervention.
Keywords: Health education, substance use, drugs, Public Service Announcements, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, mass media campaigns and substance misuse prevention.


Histological, electron-microscopic and morphometric investigations of the thyroid gland of Wistar SPF male rats (aged 3 months) flown for 7 days on Cosmos-1667 showed that its parenchyma was functionally active and changed but little as compared to the controls. However, at an acute stage of adaptation to microgravity C-cells showed morphological signs of their functional decline: the number of low activity cells and cells whose cytoplasm contained secretory granules increased, the volume of nuclei decreased significantly (by 16.2% as compared to the control), and dystrophic changes seen ultrastructurally appeared. These observations together with the results obtained in prolonged animal flights suggest that in microgravity the synthesis and excretion of the hormone calcitonin diminish. In combination with other factors, the functional decline of C-cells inhibits bone neoformation and enhances bone resorption.


Zidovudine (ZDV), a nucleoside analogue which inhibits viral replication, is currently used in the treatment of type 1 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection. It has been considered to be the cause of an acquired form of myopathy associated with a depletion of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in muscle fibres, although the fact that the patients previously studied were clearly symptomatic, and the theoretical difficulty in differentiating on HIV-related myopathy from the effects of ZDV, led to a controversy on the possible deleterious effect of ZDV on muscle fibres. We studied the muscle biopsy taken from 42 HIV-1 infected patients, regardless of their medical complaints, and two series of controls: 12 HIV-negative patients suffering from diverse neuromuscular diseases and 10 normal patients who underwent orthopaedic surgery. Whole DNA was extracted following standard procedures and analysed by means of Southern blotting and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We found that mtDNA was only depleted in HIV-1 infected patients treated with ZDV, but not in controls or patients untreated with this antiretroviral drug. Moreover, the depletion was more marked in patients who either presented weakness, myalgia, raised serum creatine kinase (CK), or ragged-red fibres. Mitochondrial DNA deletions were found in low proportion in all groups of patients, regardless of their HIV infection or ZDV status, but not in normal controls. We conclude that ZDV treatment in HIV-1 positive patients produces depletion of muscle mtDNA. The depletion can be demonstrated even in asymptotic patients, but is more marked in patients with clinical symptoms or abnormalities in their muscle biopsies. Other mtDNA abnormalities such as deletions seemed to be more related to other circumstances concurring in HIV-1 infected patients than to the effects of ZDV.


This study's aims were to determine: (1) prevalence of periodic leg movements (PLMs) in walking prepubertal children consulting a sleep clinic for any sleep disorder; (2) associations between PLMs and other sleep and medical disorders; and (3) the response of other sleep disorders to treatment with the dopamine agonist pramipexol. Clinical evaluation and polysomnography were carried out for a period of 12 months on 252 consecutively seen, prepubertal children with sleep disorders (156 males, 96 females; aged 15mo to 11y, mean 7y 1mo, SD3y 10mo). Sleep disorders unrelated to PLMs were treated, and six children received pramipexol for PLMs. Follow‐up included clinical evaluation and polysomnography. Twenty‐three per cent of children were diagnosed with PLMs on the basis of polysomnography. The presence of PLMs had usually been unrecognized clinically. The only clinical symptom that could be related to periodic limb movement disorder was a report of leg pains at morning awakening. Only two of 58 children had PLMs without other clinical or polysomnographic findings. Comorbidity seen with PLMs included neuropsychiatric syndromes (n=20), isolated sleep disordered breathing (SDB; n=29), and several other comorbid conditions (n=7). Seven of 11 children seen with attention‐deficit‐hyperactivity disorder also had PLMs. Surgery for SDB was associated with subsequent cessation of PLMs in 15 of 29 children. Five out of six children with PLMs who received pramipexol were able to tolerate the drug and experienced a complete disappearance of their PLMs. Presence of chronic fatigue, sleepiness, disrupted nocturnal sleep, and difficulties in falling asleep should lead to a systematic search for PLMs that is independent of associated syndromes. Isolated treatment of SDB might help eliminate some, but not all, PLMs.


We investigate niobium oxide (NbO) as an alternative waveguide material for applications in the visible spectral range. NbO has a refractive index ranging between 2.3 and 2.35, which is about 25% higher than SiN, the most widely used material for waveguides in the visible spectral range. This increased index contrast between NbO and the cladding material allows to fabricate optical components with much smaller footprint, and consequently to increase the density of photonic integrated circuits substantially. We benchmark this waveguide platform to imec's CMOS compatible PECVD SiN platform and observe fairly similar loss numbers for both materials.


We consider the dynamics of a large system of $N$ interacting bosons in the mean-field regime where the interaction
is of order $1/N$. We prove that the fluctuations around the nonlinear Hartree state are generated by an effective
quadratic Hamiltonian in Fock space, which is derived from Bogoliubov's approximation. We use a direct method in
the $N$-particle space, which is different from the one based on coherent states in Fock space.


In the forth-coming version of 20-sim the option code-generation for targets will be available. After selection of a template, it's filled in with model specific information. Then this adapted template can be compiled and linked such that it can be run on the target. Theo Lammerink designed around the often-used 8051 microcontroller a target with 64-Kb data and code memory.
The goal of this project was to implement a template for this target such that 20-sim code can run on it. The implementation of simulation elements within 20-sim of the target functions is completed successfully. This is shown by several simulation tests. Also the realisation of the template is accomplished.
Although the correct working of the template could not yet been shown, it is very likely that it will work. However some strong comments have to be made considering the speed on which the code will run and the restricted complexity of the controller that can be designed.
Also this project was a practical evaluation of the code-generation option of 20-sim. And some recommendations to improve it have been made:
- Code generation not only with floats but also with integers.
- Better replacement of simulation code with target c-code concerning target elements (like ADC, DAC, etc).
- Point out which functions are used so that only the necessary functions are compiled.


Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics of felodipine (CAS 72509-76-3) in healthy male Taiwanese subjects. This is a retrospective review of five felodipine pharmacokinetic studies completed in Taiwan. A total of 100 evaluable healthy Taiwanese males were enrolled in these studies. The subjects received 5 mg (n = 80) or 10 mg (n = 20) of Plendil® (felodipine extended-release tablets; felodipine ER) once daily for 6 days. The mean ± SD tmax, ss, Cmax, ss and AUCτ of dose normalized to 10 mg felodipine was 3.32 ± 1.33 h, 13.12 ± 5.34 nmol/L and 136.33 ± 63.18 nmol · h/L, respectively. By using Kolmogorov-Smirnov's test and probit plots, the results indicated that the frequency distribution of AUC/dose, Cmin/ dose and CL/F was bimodal. Compared to data from the literature, the mean Cmax, ss and AUCτ of 5 mg felodipine in healthy young Taiwanese subjects were similar to or slightly lower than data from Swedish, Danish, Turkish and Canadian studies in healthy young subjects who received 10 mg felodipine. Comparable Cmax values and approximately 30% lower AUC values were observed when comparing the 5 mg Taiwanese data to data in healthy elderly German subjects who also received 5 mg felodipine. Taiwanese subjects might have lower CYP3A4 activity to metabolize felodipine, which is similar to the phenomenon observed with nifedipine.


People often recognize leadership in the concrete, mostly by identifying an effective or ineffectiveleader, but they have a much more difficult time explaining leadership in the abstract – what qualitiesresult in transformational and visionary leadership. Often this lack of understanding does not surfaceuntil a crisis or challenge arises in an organization, when a gap occurs between what is and whatshould be. Higher education faces such challenges, and it needs transformational leadership,especially concerning faculty resistance to technology (Buckley, 2002; Hagner, 2000; Moore, Fowler, &Watson, 2007; Scott, 2003). As many organizations see online learning as their chance to be globallycompetitive in a highly competitive environment, they require the leadership to help them identify needs,plan for the future, and transition to this new method of delivering courses (Clark & Gottfredson, 2008).Studies show, though, that faculty resistance to change, especially technological change, is high (Bonk,2010; Madsen, 2008). This causes a gap, a crisis and challenge. Colleges must have a plan to createan environment where campus leaders do not ignore or leave behind those resistant to change butinstead collaborate with different groups in an effort to meet student needs through the use oftechnology where appropriate. Part of this plan should include instructional designers who can helptransform colleges into learning agile organizations.


ABSTRACT. An enormous amount of socio-economic and public-health data come as rates (e.g., unemployment, per capita income, mortality rates, census undercount) reported in small geographic areas. The U.S. Census Bureau regularly publishes data series at the county level, although the county is often a small area chosen for administrative convenience rather than by design. The reported rates can be regarded as a noisy representation of the true geographic distribution of rates over the small areas. This article presents a Bayesian statistical method of smoothing raw rates. In order to illustrate the important features of the method, a data set on undercoverage in the 1980 U.S. Census will be used.


Zn-binding protein in liver of the partially hepatectomized rat was purified by column chromatography on Sephadex G-75 and DEAE-cellulose. Homogeneity was judged by polyacrylamide-disc-gel electrophoresis. The molecular weight determined by gel-permeation chromatography in 6 M-guanidine hydrochloride was 6700. This value is in good agreement with the molecular weight calculated from the amino acid composition, which was 6073. Zn-binding protein was composed of 61 amino acid residues, and the distinctive features include an extremely high content of cysteine, which accounted for one-third of the total amino acid residues, and an absolute absence of aromatic amino acids as well as of histidine, leucine and arginine. The amino acid composition was similar to that of the metallothioneins previously isolated from rat liver and mouse liver. These observations suggest that the Zn-binding protein can be classified as a type of metallothionein. Zn-binding protein contained 8.2g-atoms of zinc per mol and traces of copper, but no cadmium. The molar ratio of thiol groups to zinc was calculated to be 2.5:1. Possible roles of this Zn-binding protein in the transport and storage of zinc in the liver are discussed.


Summary
Local anaesthetic techniques and diagnostic imaging tools are currently used in conjunction with thorough physical and lameness examinations to diagnose sacroiliac disease (SID) in the horse. The deep and inaccessible location of the sacroiliac joint (SIJ), however, often renders diagnostic imaging modalities, such as radiography, nuclear scintigraphy and ultrasonography, unreliable in identifying sacroiliac problems. The equine clinician therefore often has to rely on positive results of local anaesthetic techniques to confirm a diagnosis of SID. Regional infiltration techniques have been described but result in a diffuse distribution of large volumes of local anaesthetic solution throughout the entire lumbosacroiliac region, which is nonspecific to the SIJ and has the potential to produce false positive results. Several periarticular injection approaches to the SIJ have recently been described. A combination of periarticular SIJ injections with the use of modest amounts of local anaesthetic solution provides increased SIJ specificity, but may lead to false negative results in cases where the pain originates from surrounding soft tissues. This article clarifies terminology related to sacroiliac injections, reviews current injection techniques, highlights the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, and investigates injectate volume considerations.


This paper examines the current assignment of liability for in-use vehicle emissions and suggests some alternative policies that may reduce the cost and increase the effectiveness. The authors first discuss the cost, performance and incentives under current Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) programs, using the recently implemented Arizona "Enhanced I/M" program as an example. These programs were designed to identify and repair vehicles with malfunctioning emission control systems. Since their inception, however, I/M programs have been plagued by transaction costs that have drastically raised the cost of I/M as well as limited its effectiveness. These transaction costs fall into three categories: emission monitoring, repair avoidance, and non-transferability of emission reductions. The authors argue that most of these transaction costs can be attributed to the current assignment of liability for I/M to motorists, and they examine the potential for other liability assignments to reduce transaction costs and improve program efficiency. Among the alternative institutional arrangements discussed are greater imposition of liability on manufacturers, emission repair subsidies, repair liability auctions, and vehicle leasing.


This Thesis is concerned principally with the formose reaction, the conversion of formaldehyde to sugars: it begins with an historical account. The various catalysts, accelerators products are tabulated and the kinetic characteristics reviewed. A number of mechanisms that have been proposed at one time or another, are discussed in the context of whether they refer to the first part of the reaction (the initial formation of glycolaldehyde) or to the second (the creation of higher sugars). The aldol and benzoin condensation, and the Cannizzaro reactions, which have relevance to the formose reaction,are briefly mentioned. An examination of the alumina-catalysed formose reaction follows this. Such a system has been used to elucidate the behaviour of some of the accelerators. In place of the earlier suggestions that "active formaldehyde" was produced by such accelerators as benzoin and vitamin C, new mechanisms have been proposed. The minimum requirement for sugar accelerators has been shown to be the possession of the hydroxyacetyl group. In addition, a new type of accelerator has been found: this has the minimum requirement of a methylene alpha-diketone or a benzoyl methyl group, e.g. diacetyl and kojic acid. The two classes of accelerator coincide in benzoyl carbinol. While neutral and basic alumina catalysed the formose reaction, acidic alumina did not. As this was presumably a pH effect, investigations were undertaken with solutions of various pH to determine at what pH sugar formation became significant. For experimental reasons preliminary investigations were carried out in sodium hydroxide solution, which is homogeneous at these pHs. The change to -sugar was very sudden, so sudden that a "switch on" parameter could be assigned to it. It was in solutions of the highest pH that sugars were formed: immediately below this the final pHs after a prolonged reaction time were approximately constant, probably because of a bufferring effect caused by the Cannizzaro reaction. In solutions of the lowest initial pH no changes were observed. Highly charged ions formed sugars at lower pHs. The tetramethylammonium ion seemed not to favour the Cannizzaro reaction, instead permitting sugar formation at a much lower pH than would have been expected on comparison with other monovalent ions. This observation strongly supports the hypothesis that co-ordination to cations is not necessary for formaldehyde's conversion to sugars: the effect of cyanide ions on this system reinforces this. The reduction of carbon dioxide to formaldehyde photochemicalIy has also been reviewed. Much uncertainty is attached to the validity of earlier claims, although more recent work suggests that the aldehyde is actually formed. The possibility of the formose reaction on the primitive earth was entertained. Starting with the components of the primitive atmosphere, the formation of formaldehyde was reviewed, and the local formation of organic compounds under such circumstances considered (with special reference to formaldehyde). The formose reaction has been shown to be catalysed by rocks. Other factors affecting it have also been mentioned. The formose system comprises a complex, dynamic set of reactions. Speculations on such a system being a primitive phenotype under the influence of a clay genetic material are made.


The Objective of this study is to characterize the echocardiographic features of the left ventricular among hypertensive Sudanese patients. 50 consecutive patients attending at Khartoum state Hospitals- Sudan and referred for echocardiogram. 20 (40%) were females 30(60%) were males. Their mean age was 52±13.5 years, which varied from 23-86 years .All Subjects underwent M-mode and 2D echocardiogram study. The left ventricle was assessed .The inter-ventricular septum thickness, left ventricular internal dimensions at end-diastole and end-systole, left posterior wall thickness and ejection fraction were evaluated .Measurements were described by mean and standard deviation .Data entry and analysis were done using the SPSS windows version 16. Results showed that the left ventricular diastolic dimensions were lower than those indicated by the international literature and accepted as normal limits. There is significant relationship between ejection fraction and left ventricle internal dimensions at p value˂0.05. The results of this study strongly indicate the need for a larger scale study to further establish ethnic-specific and gender-specific echocardiographic characteristics for the hypertensive patients. New equations were established to predict the ejection fraction for hypertensive patients whom left ventricle internal dimensions are known.


Management control systems (MCSs) are used by organizations to try to make sure that their goals are accomplished. MCSs are used to set goals and objectives, to measure accomplishments and to reward or punish people according to results. In this chapter, we argue that the social dynamics associated with MCSs vary according to whether or not justice is embedded in the way the systems are designed and used. We build on the model proposed by Cuguero-Escofet and Rosanas (2013), which shows that both formal and informal justice help to fuel the social dynamics of the design and use of MCSs in order to strive for better alignment between individuals and organizations. Afterward, we propose two contributions made by this model. The first one involves showing that separating ex-post and ex-ante justice, and separating ex-ante justice into formal and informal justice, can add to our current understanding of the social dynamics of justice. The second involves looking into the possible effects that different states of interest alignment can have in terms of creating short-term and long term-term fairness. We close by showing the possible conclusions that can be derived from our analysis, which are important in terms of research and to the practice of organizational justice. We include possible proposals for future empirical validation of the model and also possible cautions when using ex-post fairness perceptions as a tool to look into the ex-ante formal and informal justice of MCSs.


Across a broad range of fields in political science, there are many theoretically interesting dependent variables that can be characterized as compositions. We build on recent work that has developed strategies for modeling variation in such variables over time by extending them to models of time series cross-sectional data. We discuss how researchers can incorporate the influence of contextual variables and spatial relationships into such models. To demonstrate the utility of our proposed strategies, we present a methodological illustration using an analysis of budgetary expenditures in the US states.


We describe a variational approximation method for eecient inference in large-scale probabilistic models. Variational methods are deterministic procedures that provide approximations to marginal and conditional probabilities of interest. They provide alternatives to approximate inference methods based on stochastic sampling or search. We describe a variational approach to the problem of diagnostic inference in the \Quick Medical Reference" (QMR) database. The QMR database is a large-scale probabilistic graphical model built on statistical and expert knowledge. Exact probabilistic inference is infeasible in this model for all but a small set of cases. We evaluate our variational inference algorithm on a large set of diagnostic test cases, comparing the algorithm to a state-of-the-art stochastic sampling method.


Warped product manifolds are known to have applications in Physics. For instance, they provide an excellent setting to model space-time near a black hole or a massive star (cf. [HONG, S. T.: Warped products and black holes, Nuovo Cimento Soc. Ital. Fis. B 120 (2005), 1227–1234]). The studies on warped product manifolds with extrinsic geometric point of view are intensified after B. Y. Chen's work on CR-warped product submanifolds of Kaehler manifolds. Later on, similar studies are carried out in the setting of Sasakian manifolds by Hasegawa and Mihai. As Kenmotsu manifolds are themselves warped product spaces, it is interesting to investigate warped product submanifolds of Kenmotsu manifolds. In the present note a larger class of warped product submanifolds than the class of contact CR-warped product submanifolds is considered. More precisely the existence of warped product submanifolds of a Kenmotsu manifold with one of the factors an invariant submanifold is ensured, an example of such submanifolds is provided and a characterization for a contact CR-submanifold to be a contact CR-warped product submanifold is established.


Nitric oxide hydrogenation is investigated on palladium and gold–palladium alloy crystallites, i.e. the extremity of sharp tip samples aimed at modelling a single catalytic grain. Field ion microscopy and field emission microscopy are used to monitor adsorption and reaction in real time. One-dimensional atom probe and atom probe tomography are used on the same samples to unravel the surface composition of the adsorbed layers and the composition of the very first atomic layers of the Pd–Au surface. At constant NO pressure and at 450 K, the surface composition of the adsorbed layer on Pd samples shows a strong hysteresis behavior when H2 gas is varied. Under oxidizing conditions, N2O is formed via the occurrence of surface (NO)2 dimers. In the presence of Pd–Au alloys, the NO–H2 interaction comprises a simple NO dissociation causing the formation of surface NO2 species. On Pd–Au tip samples, atom probe tomography proves the occurrence of significant surface enrichment of palladium atoms in the presence of NO gas, but it is not sufficient to drift the behavior of the surface to that of pure palladium. Accordingly, external control parameters could be changed to tune the surface composition of Pd–Au catalysts and thus their activity and/or selectivity.


This paper studies the control synthesis problem of Takagi-Sugeno (T--S) fuzzy systems. By splitting the premise variable spaces and using the properties of fuzzy sets, a new control scheme is proposed based on a new class of fuzzy Lyapunov functions, and a convex condition for designing fuzzy controllers is given, where the new fuzzy Lyapunov functions and fuzzy controllers are constructed based on the split subspaces. In particular, some existing fuzzy Lyapunov functions and control schemes are special cases of the new Lyapunov function and control scheme, respectively. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.


In the paper, it is proposed to cover by a mobile moving facility the shipyard open site, in Klaipeda, Lithuania (the EU). The facility of 40 m span consists of transversal frames, which are arranged by the step of 6.0 m, and a system of braces. Two types of steel frames have been considered: trussed and continuous. The actions are specified according to the design codes (Eurocode 3) and climatological data. In dynamic analysis, the longitudinal direction is defined for an inertia action, simulating braking. For calculating, a special algorithm of three stages has been prepared. At the first stage, three calculation schemes of one transversal frame were created. For the proposed schemes of the mobile moving facility, the calculation of only a transversal frame is effective in the preliminary determination of the cross-sectional areas and of the total structural weight. At the second stage, the frames were joined by braces. A preliminary comparison of the calculation results of the models was carried out after the first and second stages of the analysis. At the third stage, the dynamic analysis was performed and the influence of the dynamic impact was estimated. Finally, we compared the calculation results of three different FEM models and chose the most appropriate one. To sum up the investigations, conclusions and recommendations are presented.


Jorge Soto Gallo disappeared on July 15, 1985, during a trip from Medellín to Bogotá in Colombia. Jorge is one of the thousands of disappeared people in Colombia whose families are still searching for answers, yet Jorge's life and disappearance have been memorialized and recorded through his sister's work of preserving, cultivating, and activating his personal archive. During recent decades, families of disappeared persons have begun to assemble folders that carry the evidence of disappearances. This article explores the personal archive of Jorge Soto Gallo with the aim of understanding a recordkeeping practice carried out by families and communities, which focuses on disappeared persons and often leads to a broad repertoire of political activism in defence of human rights. We ask, Which records are included, how are they brought together during these periods of upheaval, what do they mean, and what role do they play? We argue that creating and preserving these archives of enforced disappearance act as liberatory memory work (LMW) and as instincts of the families against forces of impunity and oblivion. We show that LMW is a living reality in Colombia that operates on a person-centred level, going beyond transitional justice frameworks, and turning victims into recordkeepers providing the possibility of historical accountability for future generations.


The difficulty in gasoline price forecasting has attracted much attention of academic researchers and business practitioners. Various methods have been tried to solve the problem of forecasting gasoline prices however, all of the existing models of prediction cannot meet practical needs. In this paper, a novel hybrid intelligent framework is developed by applying a systematic integration of GMDH neural networks with GA and Rule-based Exert System (RES) with Web-based Text Mining (WTM) employs for gasoline price forecasting. Our research reveals that during the recent financial crisis period by employing hybrid intelligent framework for gasoline price forecasting, we obtain better forecasting results compared to the GMDH neural networks and results will be so better when we employ hybrid intelligent system with GARCH (1, 1) for gasoline price volatility forecasting.


We study theoretically the spin-Hall effect as well as its reciprocal phenomenon (a transverse charge current driven by a spin-dependent chemical potential gradient) in electron and hole finite size mesoscopic systems. The Landauer-Buttiker-Keldysh formalism is used to model samples with mobilities and Rashba coupling strengths which are experimentally accessible and to demonstrate the appearance of measurable charge currents induced by the spin-dependent chemical potential gradient in the reciprocal spin-Hall effect. We also demonstrate that within the mesoscopic coherent transport regime the Onsager relations are fulfilled for the disorder averaged conductances for electron and hole mesoscopic systems.


Profile: Rick ShineIn 1935, Australian sugar growers released several thousand young cane toads ( Bufo marinus ) into their fields to eat the beetles that were eating their crops. Today, cane toads, which produce a toxin that is deadly to many of the native predators that gobble them up, are one of the continent's worst invasive species and number in the hundreds of millions. Herpetologist Rick Shine of Australian National University knew the toads would likely eradicate many of the animals he had studied for decades, so he reluctantly turned his attention to the unwelcome guest. Less than a decade later, Shine's research has paid off, with dozens of findings covering basic toad biology and how the toads interact with Australia's native fauna, and even the discovery of a potentially new mechanism of evolution. But Shine's biggest breakthrough may be a recently devised strategy to turn the toad's own toxins against the invader.


Nonlinear PID design is difficult if one approaches the problem from a global design perspective. The authors propose coalescing the adaptive local linear modelling approach with traditional linear PID controller design techniques to arrive at a principled, intuitive, and simple nonlinear PID controller design methodology. The article, in particular, discusses two local linear modelling approaches, one based on competitive linear models attached to a self-organizing map and one based on cooperative linear models attached to the modes of a Gaussian mixture model. The system identification and closed-loop tracking performances of the proposed PID controller design methodology are demonstrated to be better than inverse and PID controllers for a global nonlinear system identifier and a global linear model, respectively.


The quasi-static tests on the endplate bolted connections of the new structure system consisting of SCC beam and CCSHRC column are briefly introduced in this paper. Meanwhile, the 3-D solid finite element models of the connections with pre-existing cracks in the lower flange's high stress fields are set up by ANSYS. The material nonlinearities of concrete, steel and bars, together with the contact between the endplate and column surface are all considered in the model. With the transverse load applied on top of columns, the fracture parameters are calculated by APDL. The results indicate that the opening mode crack will happen mainly. When the pre-existing crack length is 2.50mm and the inter-storey drift is less than 6mm, the stress intensity factor values agree well with the converting values derived from J-integral and the crack tip fields are in elastic state. The J values are highly influenced by the pre-existing crack length, while seldom influenced by the concrete compression strength. Moreover, the J-integral have the trend to sharply increase when the pre-existing crack length is larger than 0.61mm, and the pre-existing crack will grow during loading when its length is larger than 1.35mm.


Abstract We describe the isolation and expression of a murine homologue of the Phospholipase C β3 Neighboring Gene (PNG), located in the MEN1 region on chromosome 11q13. The PNG cDNA was isolated using a human PNG cDNA clone (SOM172). Human and mouse PNG do not have any marked similarity to other known genes on the DNA level, but the predicted protein display similarity to the C-terminal part of Phospholipase C β2. Northern blots with mouse PNG probes revealed expression of a 1 kb message in multiple tissues, and an additional 2.3 kb band in testis. The predicted murine protein contains 203 amino acids. In situ hybridization histochemistry displayed png mRNA expression in several tissues of the midstage mouse embryo, including the central nervous system. In late stage embryos, png was highly expressed in skeletal muscle, retina and neocortex. In the adult animal, expression was restricted to testis and thymus.


Study is conducted to evaluate the incidence of bony secondary and to evaluate the need for routine bone scintigraphy at the time of presentation of breast carcinoma in this region. Of the total 130 patients evaluated by bone scan, sixty (n = 60, 46.15%) had secondary lesion in bone. Among the 54 preoperative patients, all with positive FNAC, twenty (n = 20, 37.03%) had bony metastases. Of the 76 post-operative patients, forty (n = 40, 52.63%) had secondary bone lesions. Single lesion was seen in only five (n = 5, 8.53%) cases. Rest fifty five (n = 55, 91.67%) had multiple bony secondaries. Most of the postoperative cases (n = 40, 52.63%) were invasive/infiltrative duct cell carcinoma. The very high incidence of bony secondary appears to be due to delayed presentation associated with poor socioeconomic condition, ignorance and also shyness. Bony metastases at the time of presentation suggests poor prognosis. As it can affect therapeutic management of these patients, routine bone scintigraphy at the time of presentation of breast carcinoma patients to a tertiary label hospital is proposed, against conflicting conclusion by papers in the developed countries.


Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) allow for the tuning of dopant concentration as well as flexibility in the engineering of the surrounding medium. This thesis explores the use of magnetic resonance techniques and the development of hardware in order to characterize paramagnetically doped materials, in particular Mn-doped PbS colloidal QDs, and assess their potential for applications in quantum technologies such as quantum information processing (QIP).

Colloidal PbS:Mn QDs capped with thioglycerol/dithiolglycerol ligands were synthesised in aqueous solution. Methods of tailoring the Mn-Mn and Mn-1H interactions, with the aim of maximizing phase memory times, were investigated. The distance between spins was optimized by initially, overgrowing the QDs with an undoped shell and secondly, by dispersing the QDs in solution. The use of a deuterated solution was found to further reduce the dephasing effects of Mn-1H interactions. This resulted in unprecedentedly long phase memory (TM ~ 8 μs) and spin–lattice relaxation (T1 ~ 10 ms) time constants for Mn2+ ions at T= 4.5 K, and in the observation of electron spin coherence (TM ~ 1 μs) near room temperature. Further improvements to relaxation times, as well as enhanced optical properties useful for the initialization and readout of spin qubits, were also studied by embedding the QDs in photonic crystals.

Magnetic resonance techniques combined with paramagnetic Mn-impurities in PbS QDs are used for sensitive probing of the QD surface and environment. We report inequivalent proton spin relaxations of the capping ligands and solvent molecules. We determine the strengths and anisotropies of the Mn-1H spin interactions, and establish Mn-1H distances with ~1 A sensitivity. These findings demonstrate the potential of magnetically doped QDs as sensitive magnetic nano-probes and the use of electron spins for surface sensing.

We explore a means of characterizing mechanisms responsible for the functionality of paramagnetically doped materials. The development of instrumentation to identify and quantify interactions between paramagnetic and ordered magnetic phases is described. A probe was designed and built with a fast response time and with the aim of facilitating fast field jump experiments to identifying interactions between the different magnetic phases by correlating the response of a sample to mw irradiation with its response to a field jump.


Focal-plane processing is the target of many studies due to its potential for enhancing the speed of the vision system flow. With focal-plane processing it is possible to perform parallel processing throughout the entire matrix. In order to alleviate A/D conversion and transmission constraints, analog image compression is implemented at the focal plane, thereby reducing the amount of data to be transmitted and the bandwidth requirements. The ADC is performed at the focal plane as well, after the compression operation whose realization is based on differential pulse-code modulation (DPCM), linear transform and vector quantization (VQ) applied on every 4 × 4 pixel block using current-mode circuits. This paper presents experimental results obtained from a second-generation version of the image sensor. Among these results we can point out the presentation of different captured images and the modeling of errors that were identified during the experimental tests. Since the source of these errors is the DPCM stage, the modeling concerns the bits that refer to the mean block luminance results. The error modeling procedure was developed considering the relationship between the pixel integration period and the DPCM quantizer threshold values. The main contributions of the second-generation chip in comparison to the previous realization are: increase of the vector quantizer complexity, number of bits per pixel, pixel matrix size, and the use of cascode current mirrors in the linear transform matrix. The image sensor advanced in this paper was fabricated in a standard 180 nm CMOS process.


Background & objectives: Destruxin A, destruxin B and destruxin E isolated from entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae showed a strong suppressive effect on the replication of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in human hepatoma cells. In this study, the anti-HBV effects of the crude destruxins extracted from M. anisopliae var. dcjhyium were detected both in vitro and in vivo. Methods: HepG2.2.15 cells were cultured to observe the inhibitory effects of the crude destruxins on the gene expression and replication of HBV by radioimmunoassay detection and real-time quantitative PCR. In vivo, duck HBV (DHBV)-infected ducks were treated with the crude destruxins at 2.0, 4.0, 6.0 μg/kg once a day for 15 days, DHBV DNA was examined by real-time quantitative PCR. Results: The crude destruxins suppressed the replication of HBV-DNA and the production of HBsAg and HBeAg with IC50 of about 1.2 and 1.4 μg/ml. Transcript of viral mRNA was significantly suppressed by the crude destruxins in HepG2.2.15 cells. In vivo, the duck serum DHBV-DNA levels were markedly reduced in the group of the crude destruxins. Interpretation & conclusions: The crude destruxins inhibited the gene expression and replication of HBV both in vitro and in vivo, and their anti-HBV effect was stronger than that with destruxin B. Our results indicate that the crude destruxins from M.anisopliae var. dcjhyium may be potential antivirus agents. Further studies need to be done to confirm these findings.


The paper deals with a distributed parameter system related to the
so-called fixed-bed bioreactor. The original nonlinear partial differential system is linearized around the steady state. We find that the linearized system is not exactly controllable but it is approximatively controllable when certain
algebraic equations hold. We apply frequency-domain methods (transfer function analysis) to consider a related output tracking problem. The input-output system can be formulated as a translation invariant pseudodifferential equation. A simulation shows that the calculation scheme is stable. An idea to use
frequency-domain methods and certain pseudodifferential operators
for parametrization of control systems of more general systems is
pointed out.


Optical microscopy has become a major non- or minimally invasive tool for investigating living organisms such as cells, tissues or small animals. Being such an essential tool for research and because lacking knowledge and insight in the working principles of tools often results in sub-optimal or outright wrong application, this books aims at teaching students in life sciences and biology the basic concepts for understanding their optical microscopes. In a first part, this manuscript starts by introducing ray optics: geometrical optics and matrix optics provide simple but powerful schemes to represent optical systems and analyze their main properties. Wave optics then refines the description of optical systems by introducing fundamental notions of electromagnetic waves and phenomena. Ray and wave optics are then applied to describe the physical image formation and to discover the fundamental limit in spatial resolution caused by diffraction. In a second part, the optical concepts are used to illustrate and understand the anatomy of optical microscopes, wide field microscopy techniques (just a stub as for now) and confocal microscopy. Fluorescence is an essential contrast method for both wide field and confocal microscopy and is introduced in its own chapter.


Staphylococcus aureus is sometimes isolated from the airways during acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) but more commonly recognized as a cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Antimicrobial proteins, among them midkine (MK), are an important part of innate immunity in the airways. In this study, the levels and possible processing of MK in relation to S. aureus infection of the airways were investigated, comparing COPD and VAP, thus comparing a state of disease with preceding chronic inflammation and remodeling (COPD) with acute inflammation (that is, VAP). MK was detected in the small airways and alveoli of COPD lung tissue but less so in normal lung tissue. MK at below micromolar concentrations killed S. aureus in vitro. Proteolytic processing of MK by the staphylococcal metalloprotease aureolysin (AL), but not cysteine protease staphopain A (SA), resulted in impaired bactericidal activity. Degradation was seen foremost in the COOH-terminal portion of the molecule that harbors high bactericidal activity. In addition, MK was detected in sputum from patients suffering from VAP caused by S. aureus but less so in sputum from COPD exacerbations associated with the same bacterium. Recombinant MK was degraded more rapidly in sputum from the COPD patients than from the VAP patients and a greater proteolytic activity in COPD sputum was confirmed by zymography. Taken together, proteases of both bacteria and the host contribute to degradation of the antibacterial protein MK, resulting in an impaired defense of the airways, in particular, in COPD where the state of chronic inflammation could be of importance.


Crude palm oil production is one of the major industries in Malaysia and this country is one of the major exporters of palm oil globally. The increasing global demand for edible oils has resulted in the increase of oil palm cultivation. The rapid expansion of the oil palm industry inevitably contributes to the growth and development of the national agriculture industry but there are concerns over the large amount of waste that are being generated. Among the by-products generated from crude palm oil processing that are of interest in this study are palm oil mill effluent (POME) and decanter cake (DC). The most typical method for managing POME is the ponding system while DC is usually left for natural degradation in most mills. Ponding system is the most common treatment method for POME in Malaysia whereby it is used in more than 91% of the mills. This method is economically viable but it produces large amount of sludge, releases CH4 and CO2 into the atmosphere and requires large areas of land. As DC is left for natural degradation, its accumulation over time could pose some environmental issues. The application of non-stabilized waste could lead to immobilization of plant nutrients and cause phytotoxicity. Thus, vermicomposting process was presented as an alternative treatment technology to manage POME and DC. The ability of vermicomposting process to utilize organic waste and bio-convert them into higher value added products makes it an attractive treatment option. Vermicomposting is the natural conversion of organic waste into organic fertilizer, i.e. vermicompost with the help of earthworms. The vermicomposting process is known to have a much higher rate of organic waste decomposition than composting and its product is rich in nutrients with finer texture. Vermicompost can be used for agricultural application. Thus, the vermicompost produced needs to be evaluated for its maturity to ensure that it is safe for a particular end use. Vermicompost maturity can be determined using chemical, biological and instrumental analysis. Generally, it is recommended to use several different maturity tests to ascertain the feasibility of the vermicompost produced. The land application after vermicomposting is regarded as the most beneficial waste disposal option in terms of the agronomic potential and environmental benefits of vermicompost. Therefore, in this study the feasibility of managing POME and DC through vermicomposting process was investigated.


Polythiophenes are an important representative class of conjugated polymers that form some of the most environmentally and thermally stable materials that can be used as electrical conductors, nonlinear optical devices, polymer LEDs, electrochromic windows, sensors, solar cells, polymer electronic interconnects, nanoelectronic and optical devices.1 Gaining control over the structure, properties, and function in polythiophenes continues to make the synthesis of polythiophenes a critical subject in the development of new advanced materials. An enhancement in the electronic and photonic properties of the materials and the creation of new functions, such as new sensory materials, critically depends on the synthesis of the polythiophene.4 This leads to the exciting prospect that the properties of polythiophenes can be selectively engineered through synthesis and assembly. Herein, we show the incorporation of molecular photochromic switches, such as benzospiropyran, into the polythiophene backbone. These are an intriguing class of organic molecules, which allow the control of molecular structure and function with light.2, 3 This offers the possibility of inducing dramatic changes to the bulk properties of a system by photonic irradiation. More importantly, benzospiropyran forms photo- reversible transition metal ion complexes. Herein, we present our work on the electro-chemical and optical properties of these hybrid materials.


The heterogeneous reaction of nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) on fresh and coated soot surfaces has been investigated to assess its role in night-time formation of nitrous acid (HONO) in the atmosphere. Soot surfaces were prepared by incomplete combustion of propane and kerosene fuels under lean and rich flame conditions and then processed by heating to evaporate semivolatile species or by coating with pyrene, sulfuric acid, or glutaric acid. Uptake kinetics and HONO yield measurements were performed in a low-pressure fast-flow reactor coupled to a chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS), using atmospheric-level NO(2) concentrations. The uptake coefficient and the HONO yield upon interaction of NO(2) with nascent soot depend on the type of fuel and combustion regime and are the highest for samples prepared using fuel rich flame. Heating the nascent soot samples before exposure to NO(2) removes the organic material from the soot backbone, leading to a significant increase in NO(2) uptake coefficient and HONO yield. Continuous exposure to NO(2) reduces the reactivity of soot because of irreversible deactivation of the surface sites. Our results support the oxidation-reduction mechanism involving adsorptive and reactive centers on soot surface where NO(2) is converted to HONO and other products. Coating of the soot surface by different materials to simulate atmospheric aging has a strong impact on its reactivity toward NO(2) and the resulting HONO production. Coating of pyrene has little effect on either reaction rate or HONO yield. Sulfuric acid coating does not alter the uptake coefficient, but significantly reduces the amount of HONO formed. Coating of glutaric acid significantly increases NO(2) uptake coefficient and HONO yield. The results of our study indicate that the reactivity and HONO generating capacity of internally mixed soot aerosol will depend on the chemical composition of the coating material and hence will vary considerably in different polluted environments.


Reuse of flowback water in hydraulic fracturing is usually used by industry to reduce consumption, transportation and disposal cost of water. But because of complex interactions between injected water and reservoir rocks, induced fractures may be blocked by impurities carried by flowback and mineral precipitation by water-rock interactions, which causes formation damage. Therefore, knowledge of flowback water-rock interactions is important to understand the changes within the formation and effects on hydraulic fracturing performance.
 This study focuses on investigating flowback water-rock interactions during hydraulic fracturing in Marcellus Shale Formation. Simple deionized water-rock interactions and complicated flowback water-rock interactions were studied under static and dynamic conditions. In static experiments, crushed reservoir rock samples were exposed to water for three weeks at room condition. In the dynamic experiment, continuous water flow interacted with rock samples through the core-flooding experimental system for three hours at reservoir condition. Before and after experiments, rock samples were characterized to determine the change on the rock surfaces. Water samples were analyzed to estimate the particle precipitation tendency and potential to modify flow pathway.
 Surface elemental concentrations, mineralogy and SEM images of rock samples were characterized. Ion contents, particle size, TDS and Zeta potential in the water samples were analyzed. In both static and dynamic experiments, compared with deionized water-rock interaction, rock samples after being exposed to flowback water show change in the elemental compositions, more fine particles attachment and new minerals detected on rock surface due to effect of flowback water. In produced water, Na, Sr and Cl are extremely high after flowback water-rock interactions because of flowback water contamination. Water parameter analysis indicates after flowback water-rock interactions, suspensions in produced water have highest precipitation tendency because of extremely highest TDS, largest particle size and lowest absolute Zeta potential relative to all water samples. Therefore, according to rock and water characterization, if flowback water without any treatment would be reused in the field hydraulic fracturing operation, created flow pathways and pores are more likely to be blocked and formation damage will be caused.
 This study provides information on comparison between deionized water-rock interaction and flowback water interaction. The information enhances the understanding of basic water-rock interaction mechanisms and evaluates formation damage caused by reuse of flowback water.


The prevalence of sexual reproduction among eukaryotes despite its marked disadvantages is one of the most elusive problems in evolutionary biology. The observation that most asexual eukaryotes are recent offshoots scattered throughout the eukaryotic tree of life has led to the common assumption that asexual species are bound for early extinction. Numerous ecological and genetic models seek to explain this pattern. One prominent set of models predict that mutation accumulation leads to the extinction of asexual lineages. Even so, for mutation accumulation to outweigh the cost of sex, these models require unrealistically high mutation rates. Potentially however, transposable elements (TEs) pose a threat for newly arisen asexual lineages. Transposable elements are replicating independently from the host's cell cycle and can induce deleterious effects on the host. Theory predicts that upon the switch to asexuality, TEs should accumulate because of inefficient purifying selection, potentially driving the lineage to extinction. However, interests of hosts and TEs should align in asexuals, leading to the evolution of less harmful TE dynamics over time.
This thesis investigated these predictions by identifying TEs in a range of animal species with different lineage age and reproductive mode using complete genome data. Overall, there was no evidence for TE accumulation in independent lineages that recently switched to asexuality (Leptopilina and Daphnia). However, certain TE families (Gypsy) were more abundant in asexuals, which might reflect the early stages of TE increase in these asexual taxa. By contrast, species under prolonged asexuality, i.e. the apomictic bdelloid rotifer Adineta vaga and automictic oribatid mites, harbored only few and mostly inactive TEs. The purge of TEs from populations over time might require certain prerequisites, such as large population size and effective host defence. Moreover, this thesis argues that TE dynamics in recently arisen asexual lineages are also affected by the mechanism through which the transition to asexuality is achieved.
The results of this thesis suggest that the early extinction of asexual populations is unlikely to be caused by an overall expansion of TE copies in their genomes, but potentially by certain TE types if not contained. Furthermore, TEs might be cleared from asexual species over time in at least some cases.


A person's weight status can have profound implications on their life, ranging from mental health, to longevity, to financial income. At the societal level, "fat shaming'" and other forms of "sizeism'' are a growing concern, while increasing obesity rates are linked to ever raising healthcare costs. For these reasons, researchers from a variety of backgrounds are interested in studying obesity from all angles. To obtain data, traditionally, a person would have to accurately self-report their body-mass index (BMI) or would have to see a doctor to have it measured. In this paper, we show how computer vision can be used to infer a person's BMI from social media images. We hope that our tool, which we release, helps to advance the study of social aspects related to body weight.


Subduction initiation at straight passive margins can be investigated with two-dimensional (2-D) numerical models, because the geometry is purely cylindrical. However, on Earth, straight margins rarely occur. The construction of 3-D models is therefore critical in the modeling of spontaneous subduction initiation at realistic, curved passive margins. Here we report on the results obtained from gravitationally driven, 3-D thermomechanical numerical models using a visco-plastic rheology and a passive margin with a single curved section in the middle. The models show that the curvature angle β can control subduction initiation: the greater β is, the more difficult subduction initiation becomes. The 3-D thermomechanical models provide an in-depth physical understanding of the processes. Specifically, we find that pressure gradients, arising from density differences between oceanic and continental rocks, drive subduction initiation, and strongly influence the timing. The main difference between straight (cylindrical) and curved margins is that the orientation of the pressure gradient in 3-D is no longer constant, thus producing a horizontal, along-margin component of flow. We thus conclude that the reason for the impedance of subduction initiation is the result of partitioning of the vertical velocity component into a horizontal component, which therefore decreases the effective slab pull. We infer that, although favorable for subduction initiation in a 2-D model, because the estimated force balance is adequate, the pronounced curvature in the southeast Brazilian margin is a likely explanation why subduction initiation is hampered there.


Grain boundaries play a pivotal role in defect evolution and accommodation within materials. Irradiated metals have been observed to form defect denuded zones in the vicinity of grain boundaries. This is especially apparent in nanocrystalline metals, which have an increased grain boundary concentration, as compared to their polycrystalline counterparts. Importantly, the effect of individual grain boundaries on microstructural damage tolerance is related to the character or structural state of the grain boundary. In this work, the damage accommodation behavior of a variety of copper grain boundaries is studied using atomistic simulations. Damage accumulation behavior is found to reach a saturation point where both the free volume and energy of a grain boundary fluctuate within an elliptical manifold, which varies in size for different boundary characters. Analysis of the grain boundaries shows that extrinsic damage accommodation occurs due to localized atomic shuffling accompanied by free volume rearrangement within the boundary. Continuous damage accumulation leads to altered atomic structural states that oscillate around a mean non-equilibrium state, that is energetically metastable. Our results suggest that variation of grain boundary behavior, both from equilibrium and under saturation, is directly related to grain boundary equilibrium energy and some boundaries have a greater propensity to continually accommodate damage, as compared to others.


A minimum volume set of a probability density is a region of minimum size among the regions covering a given probability mass of the density. Effective methods for finding the minimum volume sets are very useful for detecting failures or anomalies in commercial and security applications---a problem known as novelty detection. One theoretical approach of estimating the minimum volume set is to use a density level set where a kernel density estimator is plugged into the optimization problem that yields the appropriate level. Such a plug-in estimator is not of practical use because solving the corresponding minimization problem is usually intractable. A modified plug-in estimator was proposed by Hyndman in 1996 to overcome the computation difficulty of the theoretical approach but is not well studied in the literature. In this paper, we provide theoretical support to this estimator by showing its asymptotic consistency. We also show that this estimator is very competitive to other existing novelty detection methods through an extensive empirical study.


The rise of women centered media, their activist teachings and their extension to give voice to many different women starting in the late 1960s demand a sea-change in awareness and support within women's movement and funding circles. Recounting numerous examples of women centered media—especially around six funding models—from Feminist International Radio Endeavor (FIRE) to Young Parents No Fixed Address Network, common threads are drawn pointing to an evolution of a feminist public sphere and the ability of these works to stimulate change. Some historic markers are drawn, such as the Third World Conference on Women at Nairobi as well challenges for today by human rights leader Sirlatha Batliwala and communication activist Sally Burch.


Abstract Switzerland has one of the best ecosystems for entrepreneurship. However, there is a blind spot with regard to vocational colleges: A systematic integration of the topic is currently missing. The initiative "Entrepreneurial Thinking and Acting in Swiss Vocational Colleges – Economic, Social and Ethical Dimensions" aims to address this blind spot. The vision of the initiative is to ensure that all 75,000 young people entering vocational colleges each year in Switzerland are given the opportunity to acquire entrepreneurial skills to enable them to play an active role in positively shaping the economy and society of the future. In the article, we focus on three key aspects of the initiative: (1) the pedagogical approach of the entrepreneurship program that allows students to develop personal initiative, entrepreneurial competences, and an awareness of sustainability; (2) the continuous evaluation of the program and the teacher training; and (3) the parallel bottom-up and top-down approach chosen to integrate entrepreneurial thinking and acting in the vocational education and training system.


Routinely recorded health data have evolved from mere by-products of health care delivery or billing into a powerful research tool for studying and improving patient care through clinical epidemiologic research. Big data in the context of epidemiologic research means large interlinkable data sets within a single country or networks of multinational databases. Several Nordic, European, and other multinational collaborations are now well established. Advantages of big data for clinical epidemiology include improved precision of estimates, which is especially important for reassuring ("null") findings; ability to conduct meaningful analyses in subgroup of patients; and rapid detection of safety signals. Big data will also provide new possibilities for research by enabling access to linked information from biobanks, electronic medical records, patient-reported outcome measures, automatic and semiautomatic electronic monitoring devices, and social media. The sheer amount of data, however, does not eliminate and may even amplify systematic error. Therefore, methodologies addressing systematic error, clinical knowledge, and underlying hypotheses are more important than ever to ensure that the signal is discernable behind the noise.


In pursuing the study of the antimicrobial properties of alkaloids prepared from Cuban plants the activity of 10 indol alkaloids and 4 semisynthetic variables obtained from three plants--Catharanthus roseus G. Don., Vallesia antillana Wood and Ervatamia coronaria Staph, of the family Apocynaceae--growing in Cuba was assessed in vitro. The alkaloids and the variables used were catharantine, vindoline, vindolinine, perivine, reserpine, tabernaemontanine, tetrahydroalstonine, aparicine, vindolinic acid, reserpic acid and vindolininol. These were faced to 40 bacterial strains from the genera Salmonella, Shigella, Proteus, Escherichia, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium as well as to fungi and yeasts from the genera Aspergillus, kCunnighamella, kCandida and Saccharomyces. The method involving cylindric sections in a double agar layer was applied and lectures were obtained at 24-48 hours of incubation at 25 degrees C for fungi and yeasts and 37 degrees C for bacteria. Inhibition zones are reported in millimeters.


The National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) M38-P method describes standard parameters for testing the fungistatic antifungal activities (MICs) of established agents against filamentous fungi (molds). The present study evaluated the in vitro fungistatic activities of itraconazole and amphotericin B by the E-test and the NCCLS M38-P microdilution method against 186 common and emerging pathogenic molds (123 isolates of Aspergillus spp. [five species], 16 isolates of Fusarium spp. [two species], 4 Paecilomyces lilacinus isolates, 5 Rhizopus arrhizus isolates, 15 Scedosporium spp., 18 dematiaceous fungi, and 5 Trichoderma longibrachiatum isolates). The agreement between the methods for amphotericin B MICs ranged from 70% for Fusarium solani to > 90% for most of the other species after the first reading; agreement was dependent on both the incubation time and the species being evaluated. Major discrepancies between the amphotericin B MICs determined by the E-test and the NCCLS M38-P method were demonstrated for three of the five species of Aspergillus tested and the two species of Fusarium tested. This discrepancy was more marked after 48 h of incubation; the geometric mean MICs determined by the E-test increased between 24 and 48 h from between 1.39 and 3.3 m g/ml to between 5.2 and >8 m g/ml for Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus , and Aspergillus nidulans . The agreement between the itraconazole MICs determined by the E-test and the NCCLS M38-P method ranged from 83.3% for A. nidulans to > 90% for all the other species tested; the overall agreement was higher (92.7%) than that for amphotericin B (87.9%). The agreement was less dependent on the incubation time. Clinical trials need to be conducted to establish the role of the results of either the E-test or the NCCLS M38-P method in vitro for molds with the two agents as predictors of clinical outcome.


The savings in power electricity consumption should be done in order to be enjoyed by many people.Method lowering the location of the point of the lamp can increase the intensity of illumination and can increase the ability of the power of view from the eye. The length decrease the lamp point depending on the size of the subject anthropometry stood up hands grasping. From 6 lamps TL2x18 watt which mounted, generating intensity of illumination about 336.43 lux on the decline throughout the 90 cm and 344 lux along 99 cm. In Table 1 it appears that the intensity of illumination 344 lux and 336.43 lux can see with bright the letter height 2.2 cm and a width of 1 cm as far as 488 cm. This method can be used anywhere and can help in saving energy.


Humans often change their views or opinions while interacting with each other. This often leads to behavioral changes. Such changes are often reciprocal and ultimately lead to an agreement or conclusion. One way to experimentally study human reciprocity would be to offer participants to take part in collective problem solving. This study analyzed feedback-related negativity (FRN) components of visual event-related potentials (ERP) in order to examine how the brain activity changes during joint performance of a task aimed at identifying a genuine image of a famous masterpiece as opposed to its mirror reflection as a function of a number of matched answers. The results of our electroencephalographic analysis showed that both erroneous and mismatched choices evoked comparable FRN responses in the brain activity of jointly working participants, possibly reflecting individual learning process based on action-monitoring and error-detection. When the subjects were asked to judge the stimuli for the second time following the peer's feedback, the number of matched answers significantly increased while the amplitude of prediction error signal and FRN decreased, indicating conformity changes, possibly underlying the attunement. Our results agree with previous FRN findings supporting the neurobiological model of reinforcement learning, offering a possible neural mechanism of behavioral reciprocity and social attunement.


OBJECTIVE: A systematic review on nickel-titanium wires was performed. The strategy was focused on Entrez-PubMed-OLDMEDLINE, Scopus and BioMed Central from 1963 to 2008. METHODS: Papers in English and French describing the behavior of these wires and laboratorial methods to identify crystalline transformation were considered. A total of 29 papers were selected. RESULTS: Nickel-titanium wires show exceptional features in terms of elasticity and shape memory effects. However, clinical applications request a deeper knowledge of these properties in order to allow the professional to use them in a rational manner. In addition, the necessary information regarding each alloy often does not correspond to the information given by the manufacturer. Many alloys called "superelastic" do not present this effect; they just behave as less stiff alloys, with a larger springback if compared to the stainless steel wires. CONCLUSIONS: Laboratory tests are the only means to observe the real behavior of these materials, including temperature transition range (TTR) and applied tensions. However, it is also possible to determine in which TTR these alloys change the crystalline structure.


We report experimental results and theoretical analysis of coherent beam combining with active phase control fiber beam shaping. An original optical configuration for target-in-the-loop single-mode fiber amplifier coherent combining through turbulence is presented, with a lambda/15 residual phase error. The experimental results and theoretical analysis demonstrate that detection subsystem aperture reduction is paramount to lower sensitivity to backward turbulence when using a detector in the laser emitter plane. In this configuration, coherent combining is achieved on a remote scattering surface with sole compensation of the onward turbulence. We also present a numerical model capable of assessing the combining efficiency in the case of high-power multimode large-mode-area (LMA) fiber amplifiers. Preliminary theoretical investigations point out that multiple-transverse-mode combining can result in severe wavefront distortion. In the case of multimode LMA fibers, control of the transverse modes phase relationship has to be achieved to preserve combining efficiency.


This article describes a new method for building a natural language understanding (NLU) system, in which the system's rules are learnt automatically from training data. The method has been applied to design of a speech understanding (SU) system. Designers of such systems rely increasingly on robust matchers to perform the task of extracting meaning from one or several word sequence hypotheses generated by a speech recognizer. We describe a new data structure, the semantic classification tree (SCT), that learns semantic rules from training data and can be a building block for robust matchers for NLU tasks. By reducing the need for handcoding and debugging a large number of rules, this approach facilitates rapid construction of an NLU system. In the case of an SU system, the rules learned by an SCT are highly resistant to errors by the speaker or by the speech recognizer because they depend on a small number of words in each utterance. Our work shows that semantic rules can be learned automatically from training data, yielding successful NLU for a realistic application. >


We introduce a new normalization technique that exhibits the fast convergence properties of batch normalization using a transformation of layer weights instead of layer outputs. The proposed technique keeps the contribution of positive and negative weights to the layer output balanced. We validate our method on a set of standard benchmarks including CIFAR-10/100, SVHN and ILSVRC 2012 ImageNet.


In this paper we report an ethnographic research study conducted in one of the world's largest police organizations, the New South Wales Police Service. Our research question was, `How do forms of power shape organizational members' ethical practices?' We look at existing theories that propose the deployment of two interrelated arguments: that ethics are embedded in organizational practices and discourse at a micro-level of everyday organizational life, which is contrasted with a focus on the macro-organizational, institutional forces that are seen to have an impact on ethics. Resisting this distinction between the `micro' and the `macro', we build on these two bodies of knowledge to explain ethical change as deeply embedded in power relations that traverse the scale of social action.


Bloom's Taxonomy known as a hierarchical framework of learning objective that is used by teachers to measure students' higher order thinking skills based on questions in learning. There are three domain on Bloom taxonomy which is cognitive (intellectual skill), affective (generic skill) and psychomotor (practical skill). The cognitive domain of Bloom consists of six level organized in a hierarchy from lower until higher level which includes remembering, understanding, application, analysis, evaluation and creating. Since it is introduce by Benjamin Bloom in year 1956, studies have shown there are numerous Western studies have been discusess the strengths and weaknesses of Bloom Taxonomy. However, what is the position of Bloom's Taxonomy according to the Islamic perspectives? Therefore, this paper will concentrate on the criticisms by Western and Islamic perspective against Bloom's Taxonomy. This study will be conducted using qualitative method by analysing data with descriptive method. The findings show there are criticisms and improvements in the past studies that focus on Bloom's taxonomy into four themes: (1) hierarchical structure, (2) classification structure, (3) uses and (4) new taxonomy requirements to fit the new skills required by the 21st century learning. Indeed, this article can provides a catalyst for further exploration of Islamic influence in education.


Failure of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) maturation is attributed to impaired vein remodeling. The purpose of this study is to identify whether vein matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression and activity is associated with AVF maturation. Patients with renal insufficiency undergoing surgery had their vein segments harvested and snap-frozen at time of AVF construction. Expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, membrane type-1 MMP (MT1-MMP), tissue inhibitor of metallopreoteinases type 2 (TIMP-2), and TIMP-4 were measured using zymography and Western blotting techniques. Of 14 patients enrolled, 9 had successful maturation and 5 had failure of AVF maturation. Significantly higher levels of MT1-MMP (an MMP-2 activator; P = .01), TIMP-2 (an MMP-2 inhibitor; P = .03), MMP-2 latent (P = .02), and MMP-2 total (P = .03) were associated with AVF maturation. There was a trend toward higher levels of TIMP-4 in the successful group (P = .18). These data demonstrate a positive relationship between MMP-2 expression in veins and AVF maturation. MMP-2 could serve as a potential preoperative marker to predict maturation.


Background and Purpose: The purpose of this case study is to describe complete decongestive therapy on the upper extremity as an intervention for an atypical patient with chronic lymphedema. Typically this is performed on women with acute lymphedema that have had breast cancer, have already completed radiation therapy, and have undergone a mastectomy and lymph node dissection. The patient in this case was atypical because he was male, did not have breast cancer, did not have any surgical intervention, and was being treated with concurrent radiation therapy. Case Description: This patient was a 73-year-old male with a six month history of insidious right upper extremity pain and was diagnosed with a large thoracic costal cancerous tumor, a full thickness tear of the rotator cuff muscles, and three rib fractures. Then he presented to physical therapy with right shoulder girdle pain, limited function, and significant swelling throughout the entire right upper extremity. Intervention: This patient was treated with daily Complete Decongestive Therapy treatment for lymphedema over a twenty-one day period, which included manual lymph drainage, compression bandaging, skin care, gentle stretching and strengthening exercises, and education. The goal of this intervention is to reduce girth, reduce pain, and improve function of the affected limb. Conclusion: After complete decongestive therapy, circumferential measurements decreased in a non-surgical, male patient with chronic upper extremity lymphedema.


Established since 26th March of 2005, the social network service of "Douban.com" has accumulated 317,532 members by the 16 of November 2006. In a nation-wide survey "Web2.0 100 of China Internet Industry", Douban is being rated as the 3rd largest service provider. With the main features of web2.0 applications, Douban allows its users to contribute to the multiple-media cataloguing system and display their media consumption experiences. This has made it possible for the users to form ever-growing virtual communities within and across the national boundaries of China as well as the Greater China region. This paper aims at exploring the socio-cultural impact of Douban's success and its implication on social networking web applications on Chinese communities. Based on individual users' interests in books, films, music and magazines, the large number of Chinese computer literate users are being connected on the Douban platform. Together they are contributing, sharing, displaying and forming interests groups on the basis of their respective media and cultural experiences. Despite their social differences, users from Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, and all other parts of the world seem to find a space of commonality in Douban and are reconstructing the cultural meaning of their Chinese identities by by an autonomous process to realize an imagined Chinese community online.


Using the country-level information technology (IT) expenditures and productivity data for the period from 1992 to 2000, we estimate production function augmented with IT capital stock in the first-difference form. As discussed in prior studies, we confirm that IT expenditures have significant positive effects on national productivity growth. The effects of IT expenditure on productivity growth hold for a short-term (1-year) as well as for a longer-term (4-year and 8-year). Using two theory-based measures of IT maturity, we find that the IT maturity is an important factor that explains the relationship between IT expenditures and national productivity. In addition, we find that the effect of IT expenditures is even higher when the countries are at the mature stage of IT expenditures. Furthermore, we present evidence that IT externalities improve the effect of IT expenditures on productivity growth.


Surgery of tumors of the lower third of the rectum is particularly difficult due to the complex anatomy of the pelvis, which can lead to an incomplete radical resection. Abdominoperineal excision (APE) is the operation of choice for tumors of the low rectum that infiltrate levatorani or sphincter muscles. Regardless, APE causes an important morbidity, a higher incidence of circumferential resection margin (CRM) infiltration, iatrogenic tumor perforation incidence and worsens the mesorectum quality due to the conicity induced during surgery while dissection between both distal mesorectum and levatorani planes is performed. An extralevator abdominoperineal excision (ELAPE), which involves a broader resection of the pelvic floor muscles, would theoretically reduce the risk of CRM infiltration and tumor perforation rate, independently from the position (prone vs . supine) or the approach (open vs . laparoscopic). This review is focused on the analysis of the scientific evidence published so far comparing both techniques, APE or ELAPE. In spite of some publications observe a possible benefit in terms of reduction in CRM involvement, iatrogenic perforations or local recurrence, there is not enough evidence to affirm the superiority of ELAPE compared to conventional APE in terms of oncological results. In general, similar rates of postoperative complications are described for both techniques. Further prospective, controlled and randomized studies are needed to conclude which of the two techniques is the best oncological treatment.


ABSTRACT Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) produced during anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic waste are a promising alternative carbon source for various biological processes; however, their applications are limited due to the presence of impurities such as ammonium (NH4 +). This study investigates the potential for removal of ammonium using a naturally occurring zeolite (clinoptilolite) from chicken manure (CKM) derived VFA effluent recovered from an anaerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR). Experiments were conducted for both synthetic and actual VFA (AD-VFA) solutions, and the effects of different parameters were investigated with batch and continuous studies. It was observed that the Langmuir-type isotherm provided the best fit to the equilibrium data in the isotherm investigations carried out with the AD-VFA solution. The maximum adsorption capacity (qm) was found as 15.7 mg NH4 +/g clinoptilolite. The effect of some operational parameters on process performance such as pH, initial NH4 + loading and potassium ion (K+) concentration was investigated. The pH had a negligible effect on ammonium removal for a pH range of 3–7, while the removal efficiency of ammonium decreased with the increase of initial NH4 + loading and K+ concentration. At the optimum conditions determined in batch experiments, the ammonium removal from synthetic and AD-VFA solutions were compared and average ammonium removal efficiencies of 93 and 94% were found in 12 h equilibrium time for synthetic and AD-VFA solutions, respectively. Overall findings indicated that clinoptilolite has excellent potential for ion exchange when combined with biological processes such as acidogenic fermentation of VFAs to purify the solution from high-ammonium content. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


In this paper, data mining techniques are used to analyze data gathered from online poker. The study focuses on short-handed Texas Hold'em, and the data sets used contain thousands of human players, each having played more than 1000 hands. The study has two, complementary, goals. First, building predictive models capable of categorizing players into good and bad players, i.e., winners and losers. Second, producing clear and accurate descriptions of what constitutes the difference between winning and losing in poker. In the experimentation, neural network ensembles are shown to be very accurate when categorizing player profiles into winners and losers. Furthermore, decision trees and decision lists used to acquire concept descriptions are shown to be quite comprehensible, and still fairly accurate. Finally, an analysis of obtained concept descriptions discovered several rather unexpected rules, indicating that the suggested approach is potentially valuable for the poker domain.


Naturalism is normally taken to be an ideology, censuring nonnaturalistic alternatives. But as many critics have pointed out, this ideological stance looks internally incoherent, since it is not obviously endorsed by naturalistic methods. Naturalists who have addressed this problem universally foreswear the normative component of naturalism by, in effect, giving up science's exclusive claim to legitimacy. This option makes naturalism into an empty expression of personal preference that can carry no weight in the philosophical or political spheres. In response to this dilemma, I argue that on a popular (but largely unarticulated) construal of naturalism as a commitment to inference to the best explanation, methodological naturalism can be both normative and internally coherent. Philosophical naturalism faces a difficult but often neglected dilemma: take it as a normative position and it risks internal incoherence, since such an ideological stance itself cannot be a deliverance of science. Forgo the evaluative aspect, on the other hand, and naturalism becomes a merely subjective assessment, a cry of "yay for science!" that carries no normative weight for those who are not inclined to agree. I first argue that both horns of this dilemma are sharp and that current attempts to negotiate them have failed. I then give a plausible construal of methodological naturalism that is both normative and internally coherent, and so threads this dilemma. Finally, I respond to objections against this formulation of naturalism, and consider the dialectical position in which it leaves us. Though the resulting naturalism cannot (of course) convince dedicated nonnaturalists who will insist on other belief-forming methods, it does at least provide a pragmatic advantage when debating the relative advantages of such methodologies.


AIMS
To evaluate qualitative research on substance use and substance use disorders (SUDs) among refugees in terms of practitioners' and substance users' attitudes, beliefs, and experiences.

METHODS
Six medical, allied health, and social sciences databases (EBSCO, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scholar, and the Cochrane Library) were systematically searched in a time frame between January and April 2021 to identify original peer-reviewed articles describing qualitative findings related to substance use among refugees (alcohol, illicit drugs, tobacco, and prescription drugs). Study selection, critical appraisal and detailed extraction were performed via the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports according to PRISMA (2018). Three independent reviewers selected the relevant abstracts and articles. Synthesis of the evidence identified prominent themes relating to the context and consequences of substance use.

RESULTS
Twenty-six studies were included in this review. Twenty-three studies applied qualitative methods and three applied mixed methods. Synthesis of the evidence from the included studies resulted in four main findings: (1) there is a considerable susceptibility of refugees to substance use and SUDs; (2) the harmful consequences of substance use are complicated by the social insecurities of refugees; (3) there are rather high barriers to treatment and health facilities for refugees in many host countries; and (4) there is a strong need to improve effective access to treatment, interventions, and prevention approaches.

CONCLUSIONS
Refugees are at high risk for substance use and substance use disorders and often face high barriers to treatment and interventions in host countries.


BACKGROUND
Despite the recent worldwide dissemination of laparoscopic liver surgery, no high-level evidence supports the oncologic safety of this approach.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate long-term oncologic outcomes after laparoscopic versus open liver resection in patients with colorectal metastases.

DESIGN
A single-center, assessor-blinded, randomized controlled trial (OSLO-COMET [Oslo Randomized Laparoscopic Versus Open Liver Resection for Colorectal Metastases Trial]). (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01516710).

SETTING
Oslo University Hospital, the only provider of liver surgery for the 3 million inhabitants of southeastern Norway.

PARTICIPANTS
Patients with resectable colorectal liver metastases were randomly assigned to have open or laparoscopic liver resection.

INTERVENTION
From February 2012 to January 2016, a total of 280 patients were included in the trial (laparoscopic surgery: n = 133; open surgery: n = 147).

MEASUREMENTS
The primary outcome was postoperative morbidity within 30 days. Five-year rates of overall and recurrence-free survival were predefined secondary end points.

RESULTS
At a median follow-up of 70 months, rates of 5-year overall survival were 54% in the laparoscopic group and 55% in the open group (between-group difference, 0.5 percentage point [95% CI, -11.3 to 12.3 percentage points]; hazard ratio, 0.93 [CI, 0.67 to 1.30]; P = 0.67). Rates of 5-year recurrence-free survival were 30% in the laparoscopic group and 36% in the open group (between-group difference, 6.0 percentage points [CI, -6.7 to 18.7 percentage points]; hazard ratio, 1.09 [CI, 0.80 to 1.49]; P = 0.57).

LIMITATION
The trial was not powered to detect differences in secondary end points and was not designed to address a noninferiority hypothesis for survival outcomes.

CONCLUSION
In this randomized trial of laparoscopic and open liver surgery, no difference in survival outcomes was found between the treatment groups. However, differences in 5-year overall survival up to about 10 percentage points in either direction cannot be excluded. This trial should be followed by pragmatic multicenter trials and international registries.

PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE
The South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority.


This study proposes a bone plate fixation method to reduce the stress shielding effect on the fractured periprosthetic femur fixed with a metallic bone plate. The goal of this study is to design the finite element models of 5 bone plate attachment configurations applied to the periprosthetic femur fractured at 2 different levels (one with simple transverse fracture at mid-shaft with 1mm gap, and the other with 5mm gap at the fracture site simulating bone loss), and to validate the results by comparing with the experimental study. The average stiffness of the intact femur construct was 2502 N/mm which decreased to 1803 N/mm and 801 N/mm for a 1mm and 5mm gap construct, respectively. The finite element model predicted the stiffness results of the experiments within 10% for the 1mm gap fracture case. The finite element model was less reliable when used to predict the stiffness values in the 5mm gap fracture case. The construct fixed only with cables in the proximal femur resulted in the least amount of stress shielding while maintaining a similar level of stiffness compared to the other configurations.


This paper focuses on the synthesis of cobalt ferrite nanoparticles by the sol–gel method and their photocatalytic activity to eliminate bacteria in aqueous media at two different scales: in a laboratory reactor and a solar pilot plant. Cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were prepared using Co(II) and Fe(II) salts as precursors and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide as a surfactant. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain ATCC 22922 was used as model bacteria for contact biocidal analysis carried out by disk diffusion method and photocatalysis under an ultraviolet A (UV-A) lamp for laboratory analysis and solar radiation (radiation below 350 W/m2 in a typical cloudy day) for the pilot plant analysis. The results showed that cobalt ferrite nanoparticles have an average diameter of (36 ± 20) nm and the X-ray diffraction pattern shows a cubic spinel structure. Using the disk diffusion technique, it was obtained inhibition zones of (17 ± 2) mm diameter. Results confirm the photocatalytic elimination of E. coli in water samples with remaining bacteria below 1% of the initial concentration during the experiment time (30 min for laboratory tests and 1.5 h for pilot plant tests).


The natural gas combined cycle power plant is one of the best options for generating electricity due to its use of low carbon fuels, high efficiency, and operational flexibility. These plants consist of a combination of Brayton and Rankine cycles, and investigation of these cycles is performed in this paper. Here the parameters of pressure and temperature used in the calculations are taken from a combined cycle power plant. The net power output of the system at 25 °C ambient temperature and 101.325 kPa pressure was calculated as 45 and 12 MW for Brayton and Rankine cycles, respectively. In addition, Brayton, Rankine, and combined cycle efficiencies were calculated as 37.5%, 27%, and 47.5%, while the exergy efficiencies were determined as 36%, 44%, and 46%, respectively. In the system elements, the most energy was lost in the combustion chamber and the highest exergy efficiency was achieved in the compressor at 95% level. Impacts of an increase in ambient temperature, compressor pressure ratio, and change on turbine inlet temperature were further investigated. Energy (Sankey) and exergy (Grossman) flow diagrams were further drawn based on the analyses obtained from the combined cycle power plants.


The work described in this paper addresses the problem for extracting bispectrum feature of speech data. Very often the bispectrum feature extraction and data reduction are complicated due to some limiting constraints, i.e., no prior knowledge of feature's distribution and higher dimensionality of bispectrum data. In this article we developed an adaptive feature extraction mechanism based on cascade neural network in conjunction with feature's dimensionality reduction based on Karhunen-Loeve transformation technique. An adaptive codebook generation algorithm which is a cascade configuration of SOFM (Self Organizing Feature Map) and LVQ (Learning Vector Quantization) was used before the K-L transformation. The transformation was experimentally shown as an effective procedure for orthogonalization and dimensionality reduction of spectrum feature. Performance of our speaker identification system was perceived to be significantly increased even though using limited number of channels in noisy environment. We also tried to improve the capability of adaptive codebook generation algorithm by applying simplified differential competitive learning network.