Literature has shown that the bandwidth of a piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) system can be effectively broadened by introducing nonlinear mechanical dynamics. However, when connected to a practical PEH interface circuit for ac-to-dc conversion, the bandwidth improvement will be impaired because of the electrically induced damping effect. On the other hand, there is another bandwidth broadening solution, in which the resonant frequency is tunable to some extent by carrying out the phase-variable synchronized switch (PVSS) control in practical interface circuits. This Letter reports a synergistic design by combining these two mechanisms toward a dual-effect broadband PEH solution. The theoretical model of this nonlinear and electromechanically coupled system is derived. The experimental result shows that, by introducing the PVSS control to a PEH system, which is composed of a monostable piezoelectric cantilever beam and a practical synchronized switch interface circuit, its bandwidth can be broadened by 18.7%. This dual-effect solution incorporates two bandwidth broadening mechanisms toward practical broadband PEH systems.


Abstract. Climate science is a complex field as climate is governed by processes that interact and operate on a vast array of time and space scales. The processes involving radiative transfer, chemistry and phase changes of water are most easily described at atomic and molecular scales; the influence of ice sheets, continents and planetary scale circulations controlling the basic energy balance of the planet operate at continental scales; even planetary orbital and solar variations operating at millennial time scales cannot be ignored. Global as well as regional climate has changed due to human activities like land use changes, production of industrial effluents and other activities due to the development of the society. The consequences of these changes have a massive impact on atmospheric events like precipitation, temperature etc. So, present and future information of precipitation is required to develop adaptation and mitigation strategies at national and international levels. Precipitation is one of the major phenomena of the atmosphere. So, its prediction and the trend are very necessary to realize the change of climate. The study attempted some model based analysis to assess prediction of rainfall trend using MK test and the Sen's slope estimator.


Critical theory methodology is used in this paper to explore the notion that the daily practice of school personnel embodies prevailing societal ideology. This ideology can be oppressive and restraining, and it is self-maintaining in that school personnel pass it on to their students, who then carry it with them into society. Ideological influences can be exposed through objective and subjective (empirical and case study) methodologies, allowing school personnel to change their awareness of the power bases in schools through the process of reflection and thus emancipate themselves from them. Educators have a unique role in such critique because they not only can change themselves but also can influence change in students and, thereby, influence such change in society. Critical educational administration theory provides a means whereby school leaders can understand and ultimately disentangle themselves from the various forces that impinge upon educational practice. Because of the inherent rationality of people, administrators and members of the school community would move toward being less restrained by the bonds of externally and internally imposed ideology. Under the critical perspective, the task of the school administrator in the school community is to establish a climate whereby reflection, critique, and open dialogue are possible. Contains 56 references. (RT) CRITICAL EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION: RESEARCH, THEORY, AND PRACTICE


High-k materials are needed to minimise the gate leakage current in high-speed and high-power switching applications. In this regard, aluminium oxide (Al2O3) deposited by plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) is gaining extensive attention to be used as high-k material in microelectronics. In this work, we studied the effect of substrate biasing during the oxidizing plasma step on physical, chemical and electrical properties of Al2O3 thin films grown by PEALD on silicon substrate. We show that the structural and electrical properties such as the flat band voltage, and chemical composition can be tuned with the applied substrate bias. Indeed, we highlight that the dielectric constant of the MIS capacitor decreases from 8.5 to 6.5 and the charge polarity of the film is modulated from negative to positive when the applied substrate bias is increased. Using morphological and structural characterisations, we show that the substrate bias significantly affects the chemical composition of Al2O3 thin film layer. Moreover, we highlight by cross-sectional transmission electron the presence of an interfacial layer between Si and Al2O3 which could significantly influence the electrical properties of the deposited thin film. The chemical composition of this interfacial layer can be controlled by the applied substrate bias. Using a series of energy dispersive x-ray experiments, we further confirm the formation of aluminosilicate under low substrate bias condition while silicon oxide is formed under high bias. These findings show that the substrate biasing plays a critical role in defining physical, chemical as well as electrical properties of the PEALD Al2O3 thin films.


Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death globally. Of the 57 million global deaths in 2008, 36 million (63%) were due to NCDs, principally cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, and chronic respiratory diseases.The poor dietary quality (in particular, high salt intake, high saturated and trans- fatty acid intake, and low fruit and vegetable consumption) and insufficient physical activity are key risk factors for NCD development and mortality worldwide and are considered priority areas for international action. Among the 340 study subjects who contributed for their investigations were included in this study 282 (82.9%) were females. The majority of 202 (52.9%) were from age of 30-49 years which are the years of social and economical productivity. Majority 228 (67.5%) were from socioeconomic status (SES II & III) which is a essential feature of urban life.Prevalence of tobacco use was 14.41% and of alcohol was 3.8%. Physical inactivity was reported by 61.1%. Only 27.4% and 22.1 % of subjects were consuming adequate portions of fruits and vegetables respectively. Prevalenceof obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and hypothyroidism was 57.64% 4, 38%, 2.9% and 20% respectively.


The 3D model of conjugate heat transfer from a fire to compressed gas storage cylinder is described. The model predictions of temperature outside and inside the cylinder as well as pressure increase during a fire are compared against a fire test experiment. The simulation reproduced measured in test temperatures and pressures. The original failure criterion of the cylinder in a fire has been applied in the model. This allowed for the prediction of the cylinder catastrophic rupture time with acceptable engineering accuracy. The significance of 3D modelling is demonstrated, and recommendations to improve safety of high-pressure composite tanks are given.


Parents and health care practitioners alike cringe at the mere thought of exposing children to agents associated with cancer. For this reason, the medical world has traditionally shied away from administering prenatal X rays, long known to increase the risk of childhood leukemia. But little research has examined the effects of diagnostic X rays after birth, which are commonly prescribed by doctors. In this issue, a team of Montreal researchers takes a closer look at the underlying interactions between genes and exposure to X rays and concludes that the practice ot X-raying youngsters may be putting them at increased risk, as well [EHP 108:495-498]. The team, led by McGill University medical professor Claire Infante-Rivard, first explored the link between childhood X rays and the incidence of leukemia by analyzing data collected from telephone interviews with the parents of nearly 1,000 children in Quebec, half with documented cases of leukemia. Typically, the children had received mainly bone X rays from ages five to nine. The team found that children who had received two or more X rays after birth were 1.6 times as likely to develop leukemia as children receiving no X rays. The effect was inexplicably more marked among girls: those exposed to two or more X rays more than doubled their risk of leukemia, the team reports. Dangerous diagnostics. The risk of leukemia from exposure to X rays early in life may be greater than previously thought.


Non-point source pollution is notoriously difficult to assess. A relevant example is ammonia emissions in the Netherlands. Since the mid 1980s the Dutch government has sought to reduce emissions through a wide variety of measures, the effect of which in turn is monitored using modeling techniques. This paper presents the current generation of mineral emission models from agriculture based on micro-simulation of farms in combination with a spatial equilibrium model for the dispersion of manure from excess regions with high livestock intensities within the country to areas with low livestock intensities. The micro-simulation approach retains the richness in the heterogeneity of farm household decision making that are the core cause of the difficulty of assessing non-point source pollution, while using the best available data to track corresponding pollution. Examples are provided that illustrate the strengths of the modeling framework for both pollution monitoring and environmental policy scenario analyses.


This paper presents the design of a 60 GHz phase shifter integrated with a low-noise amplifier (LNA) and power amplifier (PA) in a 65 nm CMOS technology for phased array systems. The 4-bit digitally controlled RF phase shifter is based on programmable weighted combinations of I/Q paths using digitally controlled variable gain amplifiers (VGAs). With the combination of an LNA, a phase shifter and part of a combiner, each receiver path achieves 7.2 dB noise figure, a 360° phase shift range in steps of approximately 22.5°, an average insertion gain of 12 dB at 61 GHz, a 3 dB-bandwidth of 5.5 GHz and dissipates 78 mW. Consisting of a phase shifter and a PA, one transmitter path achieves a maximum output power of higher than +8.3 dBm, a 360° phase shift range in 22.5° steps, an average insertion gain of 7.7 dB at 62 GHz, a 3 dB-bandwidth of 6.5 GHz and dissipates 168 mW.


The aim of this study was to determine the role of occupation-related physical activities in the osteoarthritis of the knee. The study was conducted on 87 female patients from September 2016 to August 2017. The same number of healthy females of the same age group were included as a control. Data was collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire, enquiring about demographic data and details of risk factors. There were statistically significant (p<0.05) changes in the occupation-related physical activities like sustained knee bending, climbing stairs (>10 flights/day), kneeling (>30 min/day), squatting (>30 min/day), in patients when compared to the control group. However, there were no significant changes in other occupation-related physical activities. Obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) patients were found 29.9% in the patient and 17.2% in the control group. Patients with a positive family history of osteoarthritis of the knee were 13.8% in the case group and 3.4% in the control group. The difference was statistically significant (p<0.05) between the two groups. In conclusion, occupation-related physical activities like sustained knee bending, climbing stairs, kneeling and squatting had a significant association with osteoarthritis of the knee in the female.


The paper examines public policy in the European Union (EU) by drawing upon the conceptual framework of policy transfer, which has been recently refined by comparativists, and the concept of isomorphism developed within organizational theory. Three case studies of EU policy transfer - namely monetary policy, tax policy, and media ownership policy - are discussed for assessing the potential of isomorphism for the analysis of policy diffusion. The author argues that European institutions, which have a serious political limitation in terms of legitimacy, stimulate policy transfer by catalysing isomorphic processes. Typically, isomorphism diffuses throughout the EU policy solutions already in place in one member state. By contrast, policy transfer is severely constrained when there are no national cases to be imitated. In this circumstance, however, European institutions, most notably the European Commission, can overcome the problem by "inseminating" solutions into national political systems.


Abstract Study Objectives To test and extend Levin & Nielsen's (2007) Affective Network Dysfunction (AND) model with nightmare disorder (ND) image characteristics, and then to implement the extension as a computational simulation, the Disturbed Dreaming Model (DDM). Methods We used AnyLogic V7.2 to computationally implement an extended AND model incorporating quantitative effects of image characteristics including valence, dominance, and arousal. We explored the DDM parameter space by varying parameters, running approximately one million runs, each for one month of model time, varying pathway bifurcation thresholds, image characteristics, and individual-difference variables to quantitively evaluate their combinatory effects on nightmare symptomology. Results The DDM shows that the AND model extended with pathway bifurcations and image properties is computationally coherent. Varying levels of image properties, we found that when nightmare images exhibit lower dominance and arousal levels, the ND agent will choose to sleep but then has a traumatic nightmare, whereas, when images exhibit greater than average dominance and arousal levels, the nightmares trigger sleep-avoidant behavior, but lower overall nightmare distress at the price of exacerbating nightmare effects during waking hours. Conclusions Computational simulation of nightmare symptomology within the AND framework suggests that nightmare image properties significantly influence nightmare symptomology. Computational models for sleep and dream studies are powerful tools for testing quantitative effects of variables affecting nightmare symptomology. The DDM confirms the value of extending the Levin & Nielsen AND model of disturbed dreaming/ND.


PURPOSE
Beam modelling of 7MV unflat beam of Siemens ONCOR linear accelerator using Pinnacle3 planning system.

METHODS
Siemens ONCOR Impression plus linear accelerator equipped with 6MV (300MU/min, with FF) has recently approved beam of 7MV UF (2000MU/min, without FF). Beam quality index has been measured over last two years and has been consistent, varying within 1.0%. The output calibration was done with 0.65cc chamber following TRS398 protocol. KQ value was interpolated for the new beam. Output factors were measured at 10cm depth with 0.65cc chamber for field sizes above 5×5cm; and with 0.13cc chamber for smaller fields. The depth dose curves and beam profiles at different depths for various field sizes were collected using 0.13cc chamber in Blue phantom RFA (IBA dosimetry). The collected beam data (ASCII format) was imported into the Pinnacle3 V9.2 (Philips) treatment planning system.

RESULTS
Beam modelling was done in Pinnacle3 system. Measured beam data was compared against the available beam spectra of comparative beam energy. E_Tune All InSections sequence from the auto modelling option gave us a best fit for the measured data. Beam profiles were modelled as arbitrary beam profile. Few parameters obtained after completion of 7MV UF beam modelling were compared against 6MV flat beam data that was already modelled before. Beam spectrum for 7UF beam differs from 6MV spectrum. Maximum number of relative photons per energy is reached at 2MeV and 1.5MeV for 7UF and 6MV respectively. This slight increase in energy is also shown in beam quality index which is 0.681 for 7UF and 0.672 for 6MV. There is reduction in spectral off axis softening factor to 1.6878 (7UF) from 13.9628 (6MV) Conclusion: The modelled beam profiles at dmax were compared with the measured ones for three different field sizes and found be within 1% variation. This confirms the correctness of the modelling.


Candida albicans is the predominant species of yeast isolated from patients with oral candidiasis, which is frequently a symptom of human immunodeficiency virus infection and is a criterion for staging and progression of AIDS. Salivary histatins (Hsts) are potent in vitro antifungal agents and have great promise as therapeutic agents in humans with oral candidiasis. The molecular mechanisms by which Hsts kill yeast cells are not known. We report here, that unlike other antimicrobial proteins, Hsts do not display lytic activities to lipid membranes, measured by release and dequenching of the fluorescent dye calcein. Analysis of the magnitude and time course of Hst-induced calcein release from C. albicans cells further showed that loss of cell integrity was a secondary effect following cell death, rather than the result of primary disruption of the yeast cell membrane.125I-Hst 5 binding studies indicated that C. albicans expressed a class of saturable binding sites (K D = 1 μm), numbering 8.6 × 105 sites/cell. Both Hst 3 and Hst 4 competed for these binding sites with similar affinities, which is consistent with the micromolar concentration of Hsts required for candidacidal activity. Specific 125I-Hst 5 binding was not detected to C. albicans spheroplasts, which were 14-fold less susceptible to Hst 5 killing, compared with intact cells in candidacidal assays. In overlay experiments, 125I-Hst 5 bound to a 67-kDa protein detected in C. albicans whole cell lysates and crude membrane fractions, but not in the yeast cell wall fraction. Consistent with the overlay data, cross-linking of 125I-Hst 5 toC. albicans resulted in the appearance of a specific 73-kDa125I-Hst 5-containing complex that was not detected in the cell wall. 125I-Hst 5-binding protein of similar size was also observed in susceptible S. cerevisiae strain TI#20. This is the first description of Hst 5 binding sites on C. albicans which mediate cell killing and identification of a 67-kDa yeast Hst 5-binding protein. The binding characteristics of Hst 5 are in agreement with the observed potency of its biological effect and provide crucial information to the use of Hst 5 as a therapeutic agent. The presence of a specific C. albicans Hst 5-binding protein provides further insight into the potential mechanism of yeast killing and suggests a basis for differential activity between yeast killing and the nontoxic nature of Hsts to humans.


Background: District Sumbawa is one of the underdeveloped district (DBK), the ratings are based on indicators that include the concerns of pregnant women, infants and toddlers, from the existing data gaps in other words surveillance system implemented may not produce outputs that have high leverage the prevention of health problems. The purpose of this study is to identify issues and priorities the strengthening of the surveillance system of pregnant women, infants and toddlers in Sumbawa, Provinsi NTB. Methods: research conducted at PHC Unit I, PHC Moyo Hulu and Sumbawa District Health Office. Data were collected by observing to see the weaknesses or lacks of a surveillance system, then make alternative reinforcement through the Focus Group Discussion to get the most ideal reinforcement priorities to be implemented. Results: There is a difference between health districts profile data, Health Center profile data and the program data. The difference begins from the data source occurs pregnant women infants and toddlers: which at the time of data collection, at the time of recording and reporting, and at the time of publishing information. Strengthening alternative system that has been identified is building a database, simple data analysis, increased monitoring and evaluation, formation and repair forums verivication of the data storage system. The calculation of priority the strengthening of the surveillance system was decided the a simple data analysis is the most likely alternative. Conclusion: Problems surveillance of pregnant women, infants and toddlers is a process and output activities. Priority strengthening surveillance systems of pregnant women, infants and toddlers are most likely to be implemented is a simple data analysis to interpret the resulting figures.


Self and mutual impedances of a multi-element antenna system are discussed, and a method of approximation for these impedances is shown. The impedances derived by this method are applied to a theoretical analysis of the multi-element parasitic end-fire array. Various characteristics of the Yagi-Uda antenna computed by the theory are given in charts, and a procedure for designing the Yagi-Uda antenna is shown. Comparisons between the theory and experimental results are also discussed.


Innovations are the driving force for agricultural development under present diverse situations of uncertainty. The innovation system perspective acknowledges the contributions made by all stakeholders involved in knowledge development, dissemination and appropriation. According to the specific agricultural production system, farmers adopt innovations, modify them or innovate on their own. This paper examines the role of farmers' experiments and innovations in Cuba's agricultural innovation and knowledge system (AKIS), identifies knowledge exchange encounters and describes some strategies implemented to institutionalize farmers' experiments and innovations. The research methods comprised 34 semi-structured interviews with agricultural experts from the science, administration and advisory system, and 31 free list questionnaires to assess the institutional influence on farmers' experiments and innovations. In addition, three case studies of outstanding farmers' experiments are presented, based upon extensive participant observation at their farms. The results suggest that the government's commitment to social participation in knowledge development provides the basic prerequisite for an effective integration of farmers' experiments and innovation in Cuba. The historically conditioned vertical structure of knowledge development and dissemination is gradually changing toward more horizontal procedures. The dynamic exchange of ideas at all kinds of interactive meetings, such as workshops or farmers' field schools, have favoured farmer to farmer learning as well as knowledge sharing with research, academic and extension officials. This multi-stakeholders' approach contributes to institutionalize farmers' knowledge. Farmers' experiments and innovations play a major role in improving farm management and thereby can contribute to build resilience at the farming system level as well as for the national agricultural system.


Clause-elimination procedures that simplify formulas in conjunctive normal form play an important role in modern SAT solving. Before or during the actual solving process, such procedures identify and remove clauses that are irrelevant to the solving result. These simplifications usually rely on so-called redundancy properties that characterize cases in which the removal of a clause does not affect the satisfiability status of a formula. One particularly successful redundancy property is that of blocked clauses, because it generalizes several other redundancy properties. To find out whether a clause is blocked---and therefore redundant---one only needs to consider its resolution environment, i.e., the clauses with which it can be resolved. For this reason, we say that the redundancy property of blocked clauses is local. In this paper, we show that there exist local redundancy properties that are even more general than blocked clauses. We present a semantic notion of blocking and prove that it constitutes the most general local redundancy property. We furthermore introduce the syntax-based notions of set-blocking and super-blocking, and show that the latter coincides with our semantic blocking notion. In addition, we show how semantic blocking can be alternatively characterized via Davis and Putnam's rule for eliminating atomic formulas. Finally, we perform a detailed complexity analysis and relate our novel redundancy properties to prominent redundancy properties from the literature.


Ensuring the quality of E-Learning in the field of higher education requires in the first place aninstitutional vision accompanied by commitment, leadership, and proper planning, while ensuring that this isavailable to the partners. The E-Learning policy should conform to the overall vision of the institution andthe tasks and services they provide. Leaders and managers must be able to explain the reasons for choosingE-Learning as an appropriate learning strategy for the students who serve them. Online educationcomponents should include the quality components that were identified in the first part of this post.Additionally, organizations need to comply with the regulations governing online learning and ensure thatthey are reflected in policies and practices.This research also seeks to establish the rules and foundations ofspecialized education in the field of teaching Arabic to non-native speakers, and link them to Quran. Thereis no doubt that all scientific institutions aim to ensure the quality of the application of their academicstandards that set them to achieve what they want in the field of raising the level of targeted scientificseekers. Therefore, this paper raises a fundamental research problem, namely, ways to ensure scientificquality. This paper referred to a number of questions, including: What are the standards? What does qualitymean in the preparation of language teaching plans and Quranic sciences? And how to find academiccontent that combines between Arabic and Quranic sciences? What possibilities are there to ensure thatlearners are improved through quality standards? This paper discusses the concept of educational quality andits role in achieving the objectives of the educational process, addressing the role of scientific standards inthe field of the preparation of study plans, indicating the possibilities that must be available to help in the Solid State Technologysuccess of the implementation of study plans prepared to teach Arabic and Quranic sciences, taking thedescriptive analytical approach. Thus, this paper added a new dimension to the studies that preceded it inthis area, where it is to indicate the criteria required to achieve the objectives set by linking the teaching ofArabic language with the science of the Quran. The paper recommends further studies on ensuring thatquality standards are applied in the educational process.


In the life of the nation, each country has specific guidelines to regulate and bind the people in the country, including governance arrangements. This paper is intended to discuss and examine those specific guidelines as the state constitution. The focus of this study is the constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, namely the post-Amendment 1945 Constitution which is considered implicitly relevant to Ṣaḥīfah al-Madīnah or Medina Charter as the result of the agreement between Rasulullah SAW and people of Madinah at that time (Mu'aqadah al-Waṭāniyah). It is considered to have constitutional content as in constitution of a modern state. The author uses the reflective aspect of Ṣaḥīfah alMadīnah normatively in terms of constitutional content in the Republic of Indonesia.


SUMMARY Healthcare-associated hepatitis B virus (HBV) outbreaks have been reported in the USA and from several countries in Europe. Patient-to-patient transmission of HBV in these settings has been linked to several different types of exposure but one of the most common exposures implicated is the use of 'finger-stick' lancet devices for blood glucose testing. This article is an account of the investigations into a series of HBV outbreaks linked to the use of lancing devices in community healthcare settings in the UK. Between February 2004 and December 2006, nine individuals with acute HBV infection were reported to five local units of the Health Protection Agency. Investigations identified a further 12 individuals with HBV infection in residents in these settings. The epidemiological and environmental evidence suggests that HBV transmission occurred mostly from a significant breakdown in infection control measures in blood glucose testing. The occurrence of these outbreaks has highlighted the confusion that exists and the need for clear recommendations regarding the use of such devices in the UK.


Acartia tonsa is a pelagic calanoid copepod with a diverse distribution, a wide tolerance of temperature and salinities, has short generation time, can produce resting eggs, and has been considered as an excellent feed for marine fish larvae. The current study included two experiments: nauplii production (NP) and egg production (EP). In the NP experiment, the nauplii copepod Acartia tonsa Dana were reared for 14 days in a flow-through aquaculture system (FTAS), a conventional recirculating aquaculture system (cRAS) and a recirculating system including a membrane filtration unit (mRAS) to study the potential microbial influences on nauplii production (NP). Each system had four replicates (100L tank) and the initial density of copepods in each rearing tank was 75000 nauplii L-1. After finishing the NP experiment, the visually biggest copepods were transferred from the 12 rearing tanks of NP experiment to 36 1L beakers with stagnant water (15 copepods per beaker and 3 beakers per tank) where the egg production (EP) was studied for 14 days. The unicellular algae Rhodomonas baltica was fed to the copepods in the study at saturated food concentration. The results showed that the fraction of opportunistic bacteria in the rearing tanks was probably more important and influential on the copepod (A. tonsa) performance than the fluctuation of total number of bacteria. The low fraction of opportunistic bacteria in FTAS rearing tanks (below approximately 50%) during the whole NP experiment probably had positive effects on the survival rate and development of A. tonsa in NP experiment, and probably led to the later positive effects on the adult performance (number of eggs female-1 day-1, survival of adults) in the EP experiment. In contrast, the high fraction of opportunistic bacteria in the rearing tanks of cRAS & mRAS (above 50%) in NP experiment probably had adverse effects on the copepod performance in both NP and EP experiment.


Recommendation algorithms are best known for their use on e-commerce Web sites, where they use input about a customer's interests to generate a list of recommended items. Many applications use only the items that customers purchase and explicitly rate to represent their interests, but they can also use other attributes, including items viewed, demographic data, subject interests, and favorite artists. At Amazon.com, we use recommendation algorithms to personalize the online store for each customer. The store radically changes based on customer interests, showing programming titles to a software engineer and baby toys to a new mother. There are three common approaches to solving the recommendation problem: traditional collaborative filtering, cluster models, and search-based methods. Here, we compare these methods with our algorithm, which we call item-to-item collaborative filtering. Unlike traditional collaborative filtering, our algorithm's online computation scales independently of the number of customers and number of items in the product catalog. Our algorithm produces recommendations in real-time, scales to massive data sets, and generates high quality recommendations.


I propose in this part of my catalogue of the Solariidae to deal only with the genus Solarium s.s. and to reserve the remaining genera of this family for the next publication. For the division of the Solariidae in genera I followed Thiele's Handbuch der systematischen Weichtierkunde, also as far as concerns the names. Not only did I mention those species of which we possess specimens in the Leiden Museum, but, like in the former catalogues, I have included also, as far as possible, those species of which no material is present in our collections. The list is composed on the same lines as my previous ones. Of all species of which we possess material a list is given of the specimens, stating: 1) the letter which indicates specimens from the same locality and collector (donor), as far as they are kept dry; in case of specimens preserved in spirit the number of the jar is given instead, 2) the number of specimens, 3) the locality, 4) the collector or donor. When the locality or collector (donor) is unknown, I have placed a question mark instead. A special word of thanks is due to Dr. W. Adam for his kind help, afforded during my stay in the Musee Royal d'Histoire Naturelle de Belgique at Brussels and to Mr. R. Winckworth who was so good as to copy for me a long description with many figures, which was not obtainable in the libraries in Holland or Belgium. Many names have been used by the authors for the different cingula (zonae, vittae, lirae) and sulci of the Solarium's and in some cases different authors have applied the same name to different cingula, what may be a cause of confusion. For the sake of clearness I have combined the principal terms in a list for a case where all sulci and cingula are present, as for


Spatial synchrony is widespread in natural populations but the mechanisms that underpin it are not yet fully understood. Two key biotic drivers of spatial synchrony have been identified: dispersal and trophic interactions (e.g. natural enemies). We used spatially structured, patchy bacterial populations to show that although increased dispersal always enhanced spatial synchrony of fluctuations in bacterial abundance, this effect was far stronger in the presence of a bacteriophage parasite. Bacteriophages drove strong within patch fluctuations in bacterial abundance that became phase locked through dispersal. Furthermore, the way in which stability, measured as constancy, responded to increasing dispersal was qualitatively different depending on whether parasites were present or not. Patch-level constancy decreased with dispersal in the presence of parasites, whereas dispersal increased patch-level constancy in the absence of parasites. Population-level constancy also decreased with dispersal in the presence of parasites, but was unaffected by dispersal in the absence of parasites. These contrasting patterns were likely due to the different role played by dispersal in the presence and absence of parasites, synchronizing dynamics in the former case and averaging stochastic fluctuations in the latter. Taken together, our findings suggest that dispersal and natural enemies can interact to drive spatially synchronous population fluctuations that decrease stability at both the patch and population level.


The main goal of this dissertation is to formulate and analyze a dual wind discontinuous Galerkin method for approximating solutions to elliptic variational inequalities. A discontinuous Galerkin (DG) finite-element interior calculus is used as a common framework to describe various DG approximation methods for second-order elliptic problems. The dual-wind discontinuous Galerkin method is formulated for the obstacle problem with Dirichlet boundary conditions, ??_u _ f on with u = g on @, u _ on , and (_u ?? f)(u ?? ) = 0 on . A complete convergence analysis is developed and numerical experiments are recorded that verify these results. A secondary goal of this dissertation is to explore the effect of the penalty parameter on the error of the dual-wind discontinuous Galerkin method's approximation to an elliptic partial differential equation. The dual-wind discontinuous Galerkin method is applied to the Poisson problem in two dimensions. The dual-wind discontinuous Galerkin approximation to the Poisson problem is constructed using various penalty parameters and the error is recorded for each approximation across various initial meshes and their refinements. [This abstract has been edited to remove characters that will not display in this system. Please see the PDF for the full abstract.]


This paper presents a survey on the recent contributions to linear time- invariant delay-differential systems in the behavioral approach. In this survey both systems with commensurate and with noncommensurate delays will be considered. The emphasis lies on the investigation of the relationship between various systems descriptions. While this can be understood in a completely algebraic setting for systems with commensurate delays, this is not the case for systems with noncommensurate delays. In the study of this class of systems functional analytic methods need to be introduced and general convolutional equations have to be incorporated. Whenever it is possible, the results will be linked to the relevant control theoretic notions.


This paper presents an ongoing investigation into the effect of modulation schemes on Radio Frequency Identification performance and forecast the implication for a ubiquitous network such as the future Internet of Things. The paper plans to employ the use of two popular metrics – Bit Error Ratio and Signal-to-Noise Ratio to evaluate the success rate of the digital data transmission in RFID. The best modulation technique to achieve the best data transmission rates between readers and tags at an optimum power level would be established. It is hoped that the research results when completed would enhance the performance index of the future ubiquitous network.


This paper is concerned with an analysis of the dynamic characteristics of the high performance launcher—rarefaction wave gun(RAVEN) by numerical simulation. Based on its launch mechanism and launch structure, a rigid-flexible coupling dynamic model which considered the coupling effect between the flexible virbation of the launch barrel and the motion behaviors of the other parts of the RAVEN is established via a subsystems method. The actual motion of the projectile and inertial breech during the lauching are described by the interior ballistic equations of the RAVEN. The dynamic characterisitcs of RAVEN is illustrated by the numerical simulation about a small caliber launcher, and the interaction between launch barrel and the other parts is also studied.


Thirteen of 31 rabbits immunized repeatedly with bovine brain galactocerebroside developed experimental allergic neuritis, manifested by flaccid paresis and hypesthesia of four limbs, 2 to 11 months after the initial inoculation. Electrophysiological studies revealed multifocal conduction block of peripheral nerves. Perivenular demyelinative lesions associated with phagocytic mononuclear cells occurred in spinal ganglia, roots, and less frequently in distal nerves.


Abstract: Tests of additivity of the postreceptoral pathways that mediate the perception of blackness were conducted under conditions of spatial contrast. Observers increased the radiance of a surrounding annulus until a broadband (white) test center appeared completely black. Additivity tests with heterochromatic flicker photometry (HFP) and direct brightness matching were also conducted for each observer. The results indicated that the luminance level of the annulus required to induce blackness did not change with variations in spectral composition. Results consistent with additivity were also obtained for HFP, but the results from brightness matching were not consistent with additivity. The data support the view that the perception of blackness is mediated by neural mechanisms that additively combine the input of middleand long-wave photoreceptors.


The Measurements of Humidity in the Atmosphere and Validation Experiment (MOHAVE) 2009 campaign took place on 11-27 October 2009 at the JPL Table Mountain Facility in California (TMF). The main objectives of the campaign were to (1) validate the water vapor measurements of several instruments, including, three Raman lidars, two microwave radiometers, two Fourier-Transform spectrometers, and two GPS receivers (column water), (2) cover water vapor measurements from the ground to the mesopause without gaps, and (3) study upper tropospheric humidity variability at timescales varying from a few minutes to several days. A total of 58 radiosondes and 20 Frost-Point hygrometer sondes were launched. Two types of radiosondes were used during the campaign. Non negligible differences in the readings between the two radiosonde types used (Vaisala RS92 and InterMet iMet-1) made a small, but measurable impact on the derivation of water vapor mixing ratio by the Frost-Point hygrometers. As observed in previous campaigns, the RS92 humidity measurements remained within 5 % of the Frost-point in the lower and mid-troposphere, but were too dry in the upper troposphere. Over 270 h of water vapor measurements from three Raman lidars (JPL and GSFC) were compared to RS92, CFH, and NOAA-FPH. The JPL lidar profiles reached 20 km when integrated all night, and 15 km when integrated for 1 h. Excellent agreement between this lidar and the frost-point hygrometers was found throughout the measurement range, with only a 3 % (0.3 ppmv) mean wet bias for the lidar in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). The other two lidars provided satisfactory results in the lower and mid-troposphere (2-5 % wet bias over the range 3-10 km), but suffered from contamination by fluorescence (wet bias ranging from 5 to 50 % between 10 km and 15 km), preventing their use as an independent measurement in the UTLS. The comparison between all available stratospheric sounders allowed to identify only the largest biases, in particular a 10 % dry bias of the Water Vapor Millimeter-wave Spectrometer compared to the Aura-Microwave Limb Sounder. No other large, or at least statistically significant, biases could be observed. Total Precipitable Water (TPW) measurements from six different co-located instruments were available. Several retrieval groups provided their own TPW retrievals, resulting in the comparison of 10 different datasets. Agreement within 7 % (0.7 mm) was found between all datasets. Such good agreement illustrates the maturity of these measurements and raises confidence levels for their use as an alternate or complementary source of calibration for the Raman lidars. Tropospheric and stratospheric ozone and temperature measurements were also available during the campaign. The water vapor and ozone lidar measurements, together with the advected potential vorticity results from the high-resolution transport model MIMOSA, allowed the identification and study of a deep stratospheric intrusion over TMF. These observations demonstrated the lidar strong potential for future long-term monitoring of water vapor in the UTLS.


This paper presents an annotated English translation of the rite of Vespers contained in the Melkite Alexandrian Arabic Book of Hours (Horologion) found in the 13th century Christian Arabic manuscript Sinai Arabic 232. Most of the texts comprising this service have been identified from the contemporary Greek Horologion, the Constantinople Euchologion and the Coptic Agpeya. This very unusual combination is discussed. While further research on Sin. Ar. 232 and other Arabic Horologia is necessary before we may draw more definitive conclusions, enough seems clear at this point to suggest that the Egyptian Melkites originally used a Hierosolymitan type Horologion and that this, in due time, was both Alexandrinised and Byzantinised. We can therefore say that Sin. Ar. 232 is an Egyptian redaction of a Middle Byzantine Horologion with archaic Hierosolymitan features. No other Arabic Horologia have been studied to date, and no earlier Melkite or Coptic Alexandrian Horologia are known. Considerable further research on Arabic Horologia is needed.


Abstract Sepsis in neonates still remains difficult issue for clinicians. This review observes literature data about early laboratory diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. The paper considers the latest information about well-known methods of sepsis diagnosis in neonates such as complete blood count, acute phase reactants, cytokine markers, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as statistical value based on different meta-analysis and large multicenter investigations in many countries. We notified the newest methods in sepsis diagnosis such as plasma amyloid A, DAMP molecules, cell surface markers CD64, CD11b, and inter-a inhibitor proteins. The review informs about analysis of genomic and proteomic profile, nucleic acids tools. This data considering for early and late neonatal sepsis and their statistical values: sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value.


We study Cosmic Ray (CR) propagation in the weakly ionized environments of supernovae rem-
nants (SNRs). Our work is based on a Cosmic Ray Cloud (CRC) model developed by Malkov
et al. (2013) and Nava et al. (2016). We solve two transport equations simultaneously: one over
the CRs pressure and one for the Alfven waves energy density. CRs are initially confined by the
SNRs shock. While escaping from their accelerator, CRs start to trigger the streaming instability
and produce slab-type resonant Alfven modes. The self-generated turbulence is damped by ion-
neutral collision and by non-correlated interaction with Alfven modes generated at large scale.
We show that CRs leaking in cold dense phases as Cold Neutral Medium (CNM) and Diffuse
molecular Medium (DiM) can still be confined over distances of a few tens of parsecs from the
CRC center for a few kyrs. At 10 TeV CR diffusion can be suppressed by two or three orders of
magnitude. This effect results from a reduced ion-neutral collision damping in the low frequency
regime. We calculate the grammage of CR in these environements. We find both in single or
multi-phase set ups that at 10 GeV CNM and DiM media can produce grammage in the range
10-20 g/cm 2 in the CNM and DiM phases. At 10 TeV because of non-linear propagation the
grammage increases to values in the range 0.5-20 g/cm 2 in these two phases. We also discuss
preliminary calculations in inhomogeneous ISM combining two or three different phases where
we obtain the same trends. Finally, we discuss some improvements of the CRs diffusion code
: Increase of the dimensionnality of the problem, inclusion of perpendicular diffusion effects,
interstellar cloud ionization and gamma-ray emission.


A manually operated 3-ml insulin catheter and syringe injector system was evaluated in 26 insulin-dependent ketosis-prone patients for a mean of 11 months per patient. Eighteen patients had normal kidney function, 5 had renal insufficiency (plasma creatinine 2.0-4.8 mg/dl) and 3 had successful kidney transplants. Regular insulin was infused 15-30 min before each meal. The subcutaneous route of delivery was used in all patients except the 3 renal transplant patients who received regular insulin intraperitoneally through a chronically placed intraperitoneal microbore catheter. Basal insulinization was obtained using subcutaneous long-acting insulin. Blood glucose control improved in all 3 groups of patients. Mean blood glucose decreased from 203 +/- 10-118 +/- 3 SEM; hemoglobin A1 decreased from 12.5 +/- 0.4-9.2 +/- 0.25 SEM (normal range 5-9%). We conclude that a manually operated syringe injector can be used to make multiple dose insulin management less painful and more convenient. The injector can be worn and activated beneath clothing and also worn while showering or swimming. Yet it can be removed while sleeping, when sexually active or when engaged in strenuous athletic activity.


Background and aim Increased vascular resistance is a hallmark of hypertension and involves structural alterations, which may entail smooth muscle cell hypertrophy or hyperplasia, or qualitative or quantitative changes in extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Since the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system modulates these changes, we investigated the effects of 8 weeks of treatment with an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, ramipril (RAM), or a dual ACE and neutral endopeptidase (NEP) inhibitor, MDL-100240 (MDL), on mesenteric small artery structure and ECM proteins in mRen2-transgenic rats (TGRs), an animal model of hypertension with severe cardiovascular damage. Materials and methods Thirty-five 5-week-old rats were included in the study: six TGRs received RAM; five TGRs RAM + the bradykinin receptor inhibitor, icatibant; six TGRs, MDL; and five TGRs MDL + icatibant, while eight TGRs and five normotensive Sprague–Dawley controls were kept untreated. Mesenteric small arteries were dissected and mounted on a micromyograph. The media-to-lumen ratio (M/L) was then calculated. Vascular metalloproteinase (MMP) content was evaluated by zymography. Results In untreated TGRs severe hypertension was associated with inward eutrophic remodelling of small arteries. Both RAM and MDL prevented the increase in blood pressure and M/L and decreased MMPs. Icatibant blunted the effect of MDL on BP, M/L and MMPs. Conclusions Changes in collagenase activity induced by ramipril and MDL are associated with prevention of small artery structural alterations in TGRs. Furthermore, MDL-induced enhancement of bradykinin could play a role in both the prevention of vascular structural alterations and in the stimulation of MMPs.


The nonsulfur purple photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas capsulata can obtain energy for growth either by anaerobic photophosphorylation or dark oxidative (aerobic) phosphorylation. Successful resolution of phosphorylation coupling factors from energy-converting membranes of this bacterium permitted tests for reciprocal function of such protein factors in oxidative-and photophosphorylation processes. Evidence was obtained for the interchangeability of coupling factor preparations from dark-grown and photosynthetically grown cells in both kinds of energy conversion.


Objective Analysing most relevant clinical features and concordance between different functional scales in patients with advanced medical diseases (PAMD). Methods Cross-sectional multicentre study that included PAMD (heart, lung, kidney, liver, and neurological diseases) in hospital settings from February 2009 to October 2010. We analysed clinical, biological and functional features in performing activities of daily living (ADL) by medians of Barthel Index (BI); additionally we assessed their performance status by medians of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group-Performance Status (ECOG-PS) and Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) scores. We evaluated the concordance of these instruments in assessing functional impairment by κ and intraclass correlation coefficient tests. Results 1847 patients were included (average age 79 years, 50.1% men). Most common symptoms were dyspnoea (62.31%), asthenia (23%) and delirium (20.14%). Functional assessment showed a high prevalence of severe or total impairment in performing basic ADL by medians of used instruments (BI median=35 (IQR=70), and 52.1% of patients with severe–total impairment; ECOG-PS median=2 (IQR 30), and 44% of patients with severe–total impairment; and PPS median=50 (IQR 30), and 32% of patients with severe–total impairment). Concordance among these instruments was acceptably good (κ indexes ranging from 0.653 to 0.745 (p<0.0001)). Conclusions PAMD represent a population with severe functional impairment, which requires a multidisciplinary approach for proper management. Assessment of functional ability in this population by BI, ECOG-PS, and PPS showed good concordance.


Abstract: Milk protein concentrate (MPC) is a dairy powder with high protein content, up to 85%. MPC powders are used as a food ingredient in a variety of applications for their high nutritional value and favorable taste. Generally MPC powders are associated with a gradual loss of solubility upon storage. It is believed that protein conformational modifications and water-protein interactions are two major factors that induce instability of protein and eventually affect solubility. To test these hypotheses MPC powder was stored at different water activities (aw 0.0 – 0.85) and temperatures (25 °C and 45 °C) for up to 12 weeks. Samples were examined periodically to determine (i) solubility, (ii) change in protein conformation by FTIR (coupled with principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squared (PLS) analysis) and (iii) water status (interaction of water with protein molecules/surface) by measuring the transverse relaxation time (T2) with 1H-NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance). Solubility of MPC decreased significantly with ageing time and this process was enhanced by increasing aw and storage temperature. Minor changes in protein secondary structure were observed with FTIR which seem unlikely to be sufficient to explain the change in solubility. PCA analysis confirmed this result. PLS analysis revealed some correlation between solubility and FTIR spectral features. This result suggests that unfolding of protein could be the initiation step of protein denaturation. NMR-T2 data suggested the presence of three distinct populations of water molecules (differing in their interaction with and distance from protein surfaces) and the proton signal intensity varied with the moisture content of sample. Generally MPC with added mineral salts retained solubility upon ageing more than control powder without additive. Mineral-induced change in MPC could be related to protein conformational modifications and interactions with water; this needs to be explored further for a better understanding of the mechanisms of solubility loss of MPC. For this purpose MPC powder was enriched with NaCl, KCl and sodium citrate in 1% and 10% (w/w salts per 100 g of protein) concentrations. After 60 days of storage at 25°C and at aw 0.23, the mineral-enriched powders were tested by FT-IR, followed by multivariate analysis, and NMR relaxometry. The FT-IR study showed no specific pattern (with respect to salt used) of protein unfolding upon storage. Also no significant change was observed in water-protein interaction patterns between control and salt-treated MPC. Higher solubility of mineral-enriched MPC compared to control was most probably due to changes to the physical structure of casein micelles and the balance between the hydrophobic interactions and electrostatic repulsions induced by interaction with mineral salt. Structural/enthalpy relaxation of protein molecules during storage may also have some effect on solubility of amorphous high-protein powders Characteristics of enthalpy relaxation under different storage conditions and its effect on solubility were investigated by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). A distinct pattern of enthalpy recovery of MPC powder was revealed by DSC, depending on aw, storage temperature and ageing time. The enthalpy value was much less for samples with lower moisture content (mc) (aw ≤ 0.23, mc. ≤ 5.5%) than for those with higher mc (aw ≥ 0.45, mc ≥ 8 %) for a particular storage period. This result suggests that the presence of more water molecules in close proximity to the protein surface facilitates kinetic unfreezing and subsequent motion of molecular segments of protein molecules towards thermodynamic equilibrium. The solubility of powder remained nearly unchanged upon enthalpy recovery. A similar time scale of enthalpy relaxation and solubility loss suggested that enthalpy relaxation within stored samples allows structural rearrangements that are responsible for subsequent solubility decreases. Changes in the structure and dynamics of protein segments could occur upon storage and, as a result of interaction with water and could have some link with solubility loss. Change in molecular mobility (or rigidity) in aged and fresh MPC was investigated by solid state 13C-NMR using cross polarization and direct polarization techniques. This study showed a minor change in mobility of molecular segments (backbone as well as side chain) upon storage of MPC at high aw for 14 weeks. This suggests that the rigidity of protein segments of non-aged MPC is slightly higher than that of aged MPC due to plasticization by water during storage at high aw, which could facilitate protein-protein interactions. Recent research suggests that solubility loss of MPC is related to changes in the surface of the powder particles due to interactions between casein micelles. Probing the changes occurring at different parts of powder particles spectroscopically may help to elucidate their molecular mechanisms. Differential changes in powder particles and similar changes in insoluble and soluble fraction of aged powder were examined by Raman and FT-IR techniques. No significant change in different parts of powder particles was observed by Raman microscopic analysis. The FT-IR study of isolated and freeze-dried insoluble and soluble fractions of MPC powder showed slightly higher unfolding of protein molecules of the aged, insoluble fraction of MPC powder compared to that of non-aged insoluble and non-aged soluble fractions. Combining all these study results, especially the findings of protein conformational changes (performed on aged, non-aged as well as soluble and insoluble fractions) and the similar time scale of enthalpy relaxation and solubility loss (from the thermal study), it could be suggested that there is a link between the limited protein unfolding/refolding and loss of solubility. Protein unfolding could be the initiation step of protein-protein interactions and subsequent changes in the microstructure of casein micelles at the surface of the powder particles that cause a decrease in solubility of MPC upon ageing.


Surface air temperature and precipitation records for the years 1958-1999 from ten meteorological stations located throughout West Siberia are used to identify climatic trends and determine to what extent these trends are potentially attributable to the Arctic Oscillation (AO). Although recent changes in atmospheric variability are associated with broad Arctic climate change, West Siberia appears particularly susceptible to warming. Furthermore, unlike most of the Arctic, moisture transport in the region is highly variable. The records show that West Siberia is experiencing significant warming and notable increases in precipitation, likely driven, in part, by large-scale Arctic atmospheric variability. Because this region contains a large percentage of the world's peatlands and contributes a significant portion of the total terrestrial freshwater flux to the Arctic Ocean, these recent climatic trends may have globally significant repercussions. The most robust patterns found are strong and prevalent springtime warming, winter precipitation increases, and strong association of non-summer air temperatures with the AO. Warming rates for both spring (0.5-0.8 °C/decade) and annual (0.3-0.5°C/decade) records are statistically significant for nine often stations. On average, the AO is linearly congruent with 96% (winter), 19% (spring), 0% (summer), 67% (autumn) and 53% (annual) of the warming found in this study. Significant trends in precipitation occur most commonly during winter, when four of ten stations exhibit significant increases (4-13 %/decade). The AO may play a lesser role in precipitation variability and is linearly congruent with only 17% (winter), 13% (spring), 12% (summer), 1% (autumn) and 26% (annual) of precipitation trends.


The new-look Rough Guide to Tokyo - now in full colour throughout - is the ultimate travel companion to Japan's jaw-dropping capital. Augmented by stunning photography and full listings sections, colour-coded maps provide the key to this hectic, sometimes indecipherable city. You'll find detailed practical advice on what to see and do in Tokyo, from ancient temples and the Imperial Palace to the searing neon lights of Shibuya and Shinjuku. Whatever your budget, the best places to sleep, eat, drink and shop are all covered, with best-of boxes picking out the highlights you won't want to miss - before long you could be eating the world's finest sushi, drinking sake in a local izakaya, watching a sumo or robot battle, or sleeping in one of the city's famed capsule hotels. Make the most of your trip with The Rough Guide to Tokyo.


Abstract. Accurate prediction and representation of three-dimensional aerosol distributions in the littoral (coastal) zone is both desired and difficult with many compounding factors contributing to this problem. To reduce uncertainty in forecasting in coastal regions, a coupled meteorological-aerosol data assimimilation (DA) system has been configured to include satellite observations of aerosol optical depth (AOD). These high-resolution observations are from newly-devised retrieval algorithms that utilize Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to retrieve AOD over the coastal and turbid water surface. The Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) is combined with an ensemble-based DA system, the Maximum Likelihood Ensemble Filter (MLEF), to simulate a dust event over the Arabian Peninsula from 2016. The assimimilation of AOD observations required the development of a forward operator that converts model predictions into observation space. This operator, which incorporates hygroscopic growth of aerosol particles and determines extinction efficiency based via Mie theory, has a positive bias between the model guess and the retrieved AOD observations. In order to reduce this bias two different methods are proposed and evaluated. One is a moving average method employed throughout the case study while the other relies on a statistical re-sampling approach. The conclusion of these experiments, determined by a number of metrics including, but not limited to, root mean square (RMS) errors, an evaluation of the reduction in the cost function, and degrees of freedom for signal (DFS), indicate that the bias reduction scheme that accumulates bias information throughout the case study outperforms the method based on re-sampling. This conclusion is corroborated by inspection of the analysis increments from the DA process and by the innovations in observational space. An analysis of the non-Gaussian innovations resulting from the non-linear forward operator is also presented. This research is in support of a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) with the primary goal of understanding aerosols in the littoral zone.


Crowded musical concerts (and open densely crowded environments in general) pose significant hurdles to people trying to navigate to their family and friends. Calls get frequently dropped due to crowd spikes and loud noise makes cellular voice communication cumbersome. Low visibility in such dense environments render traditional navigation solutions ineffective. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) based systems are known to be error prone and inefficient for such micro-navigation scenarios. Incorrect and delayed position fixes result in high convergence time and frequent oscillating about the route to the destination, leading to a frustrating user experience, specially in dense crowd. To address the dual issue of convergence and user experience we propose CANOE - a novel tunnel based navigation methodology which allows users the flexibility of using their own sense to wade through crowd, while concurrently using best effort opportunistic position fixes to constrain drifts. It also reduces the dependency of constantly looking at the phone for position updates and route information. Extensive simulation results show that our algorithm can achieve 2-4x improvement in convergence time and reduced oscillations under different crowd scenarios as compared to state-of-the-art approaches. We also conduct live experiments with a crowd of 22 people and 15 smartphones and find that CANOE can contain location drifts within 1-2m in signal degraded environments where PDR location drifts range around 6-7m for short walks of 25m.


Web Services power through explicit representations of Web resources underlying semantics and the development of an intelligent Web infrastructure that can fully exploit them. Semantic Web languages, such as OWL, extend RDF to let users specify ontologies comprising taxonomies of classes and inference rules. Both people and software agents can effectively use Semantic Web Services.' Agents will increasingly use the combination of semantic markup languages and Semantic Web Services to understand and autonomously manipulate Web content in significant ways. Agents will discover, communicate, and cooperate with other agents and services and-as we' 11 describe -will rely on policy-based management and control mechanisms to ensure respect for human-imposed constraints on agent interaction. Policy-based controls of Semantic Web Services can also help govern interaction with traditional (nonagent) clients.


Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1; SERPINE1) inhibits the plasminogen activators: tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA). Elevated levels of PAI-1 have been correlated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Pharmacologically suppressing PAI-1 might prevent, or successfully treat PAI-1 related vascular diseases. This can potentially be accomplished by using small RNA molecules (aptamers). This study's goal is to develop RNA aptamers to a region of PAI-1 that will prevent the ability of PAI-1 to interact with the plasminogen activators. The aptamers were generated through a systematic evolution of ligands via exponential enrichment approach that ensures the creation of RNA molecules that bind to our target protein, PAI-1. In vitro assays were used to determine the effect of these aptamers on PAI-1's inhibitory activity. Three aptamers that bind to PAI-1 with affinities in the nanomolar range were isolated. The aptamer clones R10-4 and R10-2 inhibited PAI-1's antiproteolytic activity against tPA and disrupted PAI-1's ability to form a stable covalent complex with tPA. Increasing aptamer concentrations correlated positively with an increase in cleaved PAI-1. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of RNA molecules that inhibit the antiproteolytic activity of PAI-1.


Dentists who begin placing dental implants need to develop skills in grafting. These skills will assist the practitioner in providing future options to the patient. Due to the many variables involved in the case presented, a decision was made that offered benefits to the patient following an insult to the existing teeth and alveolar structures. Due to the emergency nature of the treatment and to the introduction of a protocol that took into consideration the preservation of the patient's bony architecture and the manner in which restorative procedures were utilized, this case contains information that may be of benefit to the general practitioner.


Tuning the magnetoresistance behavior of heterostructures composed of nonmagnetic and ferromagnetic (FM) materials is crucial for improving their applicability in electronic and spintronic devices. In this study, we investigate whether the integration of organic layers to NiFe/Pt junctions can result in the modification of the magnetic moment of the FM layer using iron phthalocyanines (FePc) and copper phthalocyanines (CuPc) as the interfacial layers for controlling the spin-charge conversion. Relaxation of the out-of-plane magnetic hard axis of the NiFe/Pt junctions is observed, as a result of the modification of the interfacial magnetic structure. The transport measurements of the fabricated hybrid Hall bar junctions with NiFe/FePc/Pt and NiFe/CuPc/Pt reveal that although the intrinsic anisotropic magnetoresistance of the present Hall bar is maintained with the integration of interfacial metal phthalocyanine (MPc) layers, a change in the magnetic response along the axis perpendicular to the in-plane of Hall bars is observed, owing to the insertion of the interfacial MPc layers. The present method of interface engineering via integration of organic interfacial layers can act as a model system for controlling the spin-charge conversion behavior of magnetic heterojunction toward the development of multifunctional molecular-engineered spintronic devices.


SUMMARY Quinoa produces a cereal-like grain with a higher protein content and a better balanced amino acid composition than the major cereals. It is cultivated at high altitudes in the Andes, and is believed to have potential for temperate regions. In the development of quinoa as an arable break crop, sowing date, sowing rate and row spacing are identified as agronomic variables having a high priority for investigation. The variety Baer, from high latitudes at sea-level in Chile, and the variety Blanca de Junin, from the inter-Andean valleys of Peru, were sown on 25 March, 14 April and 7 May 1982 at spacings between rows of 0·8 and 0·4 m and sowing rates within rows of 0·2, 0·4 and 0·6 g/m, at Cambridge, England. These varieties were chosen for their strongly contrasting origins and plant types. In another experiment sown on 15 March 1984, Blanca de Junin was replaced by another valley variety, Amarilla de Marangani, somewhat better adapted for cultivation in England. Between-row spacings of 0·4 and 0·2 m, and sowing rates of 15, 20 and 30 kg seed/ha were used. Weed competition was more intense after later sowings, causing the plots sown in May to be abandoned. At the higher sowing rates, plants were shorter, a higher proportion were stunted, branching was reduced and maturity was earlier. These effects were more marked in the valley varieties, particularly Blanca de Junin. Increases in within-row density caused greater increases in competition effects than corresponding reductions in row width, except for the effect on the proportion of branched plants. The highest grain yield, 6·96 t/ha, was obtained with Baer sown in March in rows 0·2 m apart at 20 kg seed/ha. However, Amarilla de Marangani produced a higher yield at 30 kg seed/ha than at 20 kg seed/ha, which is surprising since valley varieties are normally sown with low target population densities or in intercrop, and Amarilla de Marangani was, in other respects, less tolerant of competition than Baer. The implications of these results for the cultivation of quinoa in mechanized farming systems, both in temperate and in highland tropical regions, are discussed.


Broken Symmetries Bilayer graphene samples are expected exhibit quantum Hall states that are ferromagnetic with different types of spin ordering. Weitz et al. (p. 812, published online 14 October) studied the conductance of high-quality suspended bilayer graphene samples. They used an applied perpendicular electric field to induce transitions between the different broken-symmetry states that appear at low carrier densities and deduced their order parameters. These states appeared in both the absence of a magnetic field, as well as in the presence of a symmetry-breaking magnetic field. They also showed that, even in absence of both an applied magnetic or electric field, the bilayer exhibits an energy gap, which indicates that electron-electron interactions contribute to the band structure. Ferromagnetic quantum Hall states were observed in suspended bilayer graphene samples in both zero and high magnetic fields. The single-particle energy spectra of graphene and its bilayer counterpart exhibit multiple degeneracies that arise through inherent symmetries. Interactions among charge carriers should spontaneously break these symmetries and lead to ordered states that exhibit energy gaps. In the quantum Hall regime, these states are predicted to be ferromagnetic in nature, whereby the system becomes spin polarized, layer polarized, or both. The parabolic dispersion of bilayer graphene makes it susceptible to interaction-induced symmetry breaking even at zero magnetic field. We investigated the underlying order of the various broken-symmetry states in bilayer graphene suspended between top and bottom gate electrodes. We deduced the order parameter of the various quantum Hall ferromagnetic states by controllably breaking the spin and sublattice symmetries. At small carrier density, we identified three distinct broken-symmetry states, one of which is consistent with either spontaneously broken time-reversal symmetry or spontaneously broken rotational symmetry.


The central nervous system (CNS) has been identified as a major site mediating leptin's and insulin's effects on energy and glucose homeostasis. Cell type-specific disruption of key molecules in the CNS has delivered new insights into the signalling pathways influenced by leptin and insulin. Such studies revealed that inactivation of leptin or its receptor leads to massive obesity, closely resembling the situation in patients deficient for these genes. However, more than 95% of obesity account for another yet unsolved mechanism, termed leptin resistance, in which leptin levels are high and signalling components are increasingly activated. In this study the effect of increased basal STAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription) 3 signalling specifically in the anorexigenic proopiomelanocortin (POMC) expressing neurons, as present in obesity, was investigated. Therefore, mice expressing a constitutively active version of STAT3 (STAT3-C) in POMC neurons were characterised (STAT3-CPOMC mice). On normal chow diet, these animals develop obesity as a result of hyperphagia and decreased POMC expression accompanied by central leptin and insulin resistance. This finding coincides with POMC cell-specific, STAT3 mediated upregulation of SOCS3 expression inhibiting both, leptin and insulin signalling. In contrast, upon exposure to high fat diet, food intake and body weight were unaltered in STAT3-CPOMC mice compared to control mice. These experiments directly demonstrate that enhanced basal STAT3 activation in POMC neurons, as present in control mice upon high fat feeding, contributes to the development of hypothalamic leptin and insulin resistance. Moreover, these data also indicate that constitutive STAT3 activation is not sufficient to promote POMC expression, but instead requires simultaneous PI3K dependent release of forkhead box protein O (FOXO) 1 repression. This assumption was verified by a partial rescue of POMC expression and the mild obesity observed in STAT3-CPOMC mice when a dominant negative version of FOXO1 was coexpressed in POMC neurons of these mice. Furthermore, the generation and characterisation of mice expressing a constitutively active version of FOXO1 (FOXO1ADA) selectively in the CNS (FOXO1ADACNS mice) indicated a crucial role for FOXO1 in neuronal survival, since FOXO1ADACNS mice die within two days after birth due to FOXO1ADA-mediated apoptosis of neurons. Taken together, this study highlights the importance of the transcription factors STAT3 and FOXO1 to centrally regulate energy homeostasis and neuronal survival using state of the art techniques.


Processes in subduction zones such as slab and mantle‐wedge metamorphism, intraslab earthquakes, and arc volcanism vary systematically with the age‐dependent thermal state of the subducting slab. In contrast, the configuration of subduction zones is rather uniform in that the arc is typically situated where the slab is ∼100 km deep. Toward reconciling the diversity and uniformity, we developed numerical thermal models with a nonlinear mantle rheology for seventeen subduction zones, spanning a large range of slab age, descent rate, and geometry. Where there are adequate observations, such as in Cascadia, northeast Japan, and Kamchatka, we find that surface heat flows can be explained if the interface between the slab and the mantle wedge is decoupled to a depth of 70–80 km. Models with this common decoupling depth predict that the region of high mantle temperatures and optimal fluid supply from the dehydrating slab, both required for melt generation for arc volcanism, occurs where the slab is ∼100 km deep. These models also reproduce the variations of the metamorphic, seismic, and volcanic processes with the thermal state of the slab. The shallow decoupling results in a stagnant fore arc whose thermal regime is controlled mainly by the subducting slab. The deeper coupling leads to a sudden onset of mantle wedge flow that brings heat from greater depths and the back arc, and its thermal effect overshadows that of the slab in the arc region. Our results serve to recast the research of subduction zone geodynamics into a quest for understanding what controls the common depth of decoupling.


PURPOSE
The objective of this study is to determine whether summary estimates of a self-report physical activity questionnaire that does not specifically assess frequency or duration (the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) physical activity history (PAH)) differs from the summary estimates of one that does (CARDIA Supplemental Questionnaire).

METHODS
After the year 25 examination (2010-2011), 203 CARDIA black and white men and women (age 50.3 ± 3.6 yr) at the Oakland, CA, site participated in this comparison study. The between-questionnaire association and agreement were determined for continuous and categorical estimates on the basis of 1) quartiles and 2) meeting 2008 physical activity guidelines. Differences in participant characteristics by concordance/discordance status were also examined. Finally, receiver operating characteristic curves were computed to determine the accuracy of the PAH compared with the supplemental questionnaire.

RESULTS
Reported physical activity levels were high and varied significantly by race and sex (all P < 0.01). Between-questionnaire estimates were significantly correlated (rho = 0.75 to 0.90, all P < 0.001) and had high agreement (κ = 0.51 to 0.80) across all race/sex groups. A higher proportion of women than men were classified as concordant by quartile of vigorous intensity (P = 0.001), but no other participant characteristics were associated with concordant/discordant quartile ranking. Participants classified as concordant on the basis of physical activity guidelines had lower body mass index than those classified as discordant (both P < 0.05). The area under the curve was 0.95, suggesting that the PAH has high accuracy for classifying individuals as meeting physical activity guidelines.

CONCLUSIONS
Although it is inconvenient that the PAH is not expressed in more standard units, these findings support the practice of not directly assessing frequency and duration, which are frequent sources of reporting error.


In recent years, and especially in 1992, the number of United Nations peace-keeping operations has increased at an unprecedented rate. Thirteen such operations were carried out between 1945 and 1987, whereas fourteen have been initiated since 1987. In 1992 alone, three new operations were started — in Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia and Somalia — and 1993 brought another, in Mozambique. The number of United Nations personnel deployed in the field quadrupled during 1992 to more than 50,000 persons, with a total budget of some $2,500 million at the end of the year.


The report summarizes the data collected by the Illinois State Water Survey from the Ohio River to determine the physical impacts of navigation. The Louisville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers initiated the field project on the Ohio River in which various physical, chemical, and biological data were collected in connection with the movement of tows with barges. The Illinois State Water Survey participated in the collection of physical data with respect to barge traffic. Barges with tows of varying horsepower were rented by the Corps of Engineers and navigated up and down the Ohio River at predetermined frequencies at the test site. The experimental river traffic was controlled as to speed, direction, and frequency. The following physical impacts data were collected by Water Survey engineers and scientists: (a) nearshore velocity structure: magnitude, direction change, and turbulence intensity; (b) wave characteristics: amplitude, period, duration, and relative magnitude; and (c) resuspension of sediment: point and depth-integrated suspended sediment samples were collected within the channel border area for determination of sediment concentration and particle size distribution. No analyses of the data have been performed for this report.


ABSTRACT Flume experients with heterogeneous sediment mixtures show that all the grain sizes present in suspension are involved in the process of formation of a bed when the flow velocity is decreased. The size distribution deposited closely reflects the one present in suspension. This finding is contradictory to the common belief that the coarser grains are the first to be discarded at decreasing current velocity. The existing equations after Rouse (1938) and Hunt (1969) also tend to overestimate depletion of the coarser grains. A mathematical model for deposition, based on the idea that the process of depletion of the coarser grains is actually dampened in nature, has been developed in this work. This model gives results which compare well (particularly for low velocities) with the observed values comprising wide range of grain sizes. Using the model, it should be possible to estimate the grain-size distribution of the deposited material, given the size distribution present in suspension at a higher velocity. Since the size distribution of the deposits closely reflects that present in suspension, it should also be possible to work out paleoflow velocities of suspension currents from grain-size parameters of ancient deposits, following the relationship established earlier between mean grain size in suspension and the shear velocity (Ghosh and Mazumder 1981).


We introduce a new boundedness condition for affine permutations, motivated by the fruitful concept of periodic boundary conditions in statistical physics. We study pattern avoidance in bounded affine permutations. In particular, we show that if $\tau$ is one of the finite increasing oscillations, then every $\tau$-avoiding affine permutation satisfies the boundedness condition. We also explore the enumeration of pattern-avoiding affine permutations that can be decomposed into blocks, using analytic methods to relate their exact and asymptotic enumeration to that of the underlying ordinary permutations. Finally, we perform exact and asymptotic enumeration of the set of all bounded affine permutations of size $n$. A companion paper will focus on avoidance of monotone decreasing patterns in bounded affine permutations.


Background: Potassium, as an extracellular ion, plays an important role in the electrophysiologic function of the myocardium and any change in extracellular concentration of this ion might have a marked impression upon myocyte electrophysiologic gain. High serum potassium levels are thought to impair pulse conduction in Purkinje fibers and ventricles more than that in the Atrioventricular (AV) node. Therefore, although complete AV block can occur, it is a rare initial presentation. Case Report: We describe a 62-year-old man with a history of diabetes mellitus, ischemic heart disease and previous Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG), who came to our emergency department due to generalized weakness starting 2 days before admission. The patient also had decreased force in lower limbs, exacerbating from the morning, and was finally diagnosed as a hyperkalemia-induced Complete Heart Block (CHB). It should also be noted that the patient responded dramatically to the administration of 10 mL of 10% calcium gluconate along with external pacing until potassium level correction became effective. Conclusion: In spite of the fact that Hyperkalemia can be associated with frequent Electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormality, advanced heart blocks (second- and third- degree AV blocks) are usually found only in patients with pre-existing heart failure, conduction abnormalities, or other cardiac diseases. Institution of effective treatment rapidly and forgiveness of traditional non-effective, time consumptive and sometimes risking full-adjustment modalities, such as sodium bicarbonate infusion or exchange resins that prevent their use in the emergent phase, can help minimize patient morbidity and mortality.


Background: Mast cells (MC) are involved in a wide spectrum of disorders characterized by neovascularization and fibroproliferation. We and others recently reported that human MC are a source of basic fibroblast growth factor (b FGF-2), a potent angiogenic and mitogenic polypeptide, in several disease conditions, such as chronic inflammation, hemangioma, and benign cutaneous mastocytosis. These findings suggest that FGF-2 may be an important mediator of cell proliferation and angiogenesis associated with MC. Since MC are heterogeneous across species, it is unknown whether FGF-2 expression is a feature common to all MC, or whether FGF-2 expression by MC can be regulated. We therefore examined FGF-2 expression by MC in mouse tissue and MC lines. Methods: Immunostaining, RT-PCR, ELISA, immunoblot and Northern blot analyses were employed to study four murine MC lines for FGF-2 expression and its regulation by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), stem cell factor (SCF), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Results: Mouse tissue MC and three of four murine MC lines (CFTL-12, CFTL-15, ABFTL-3) express FGF-2 as judged by immunostaining, ELISA, Western blot and Northern blot analyses, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. While TNF-α appeared to downregulate FGF-2 mRNA levels, treatment with SCF or TGF-β resulted in an increase in the expression of FGF-2 at mRNA level which can be attenuated by TNF-α. However, the concurrent increase in FGF-2 protein was negligible, possibly due to immaturity of these cell lines. Conclusion: Expression of FGF-2 may be a ubiquitous feature of MC in other species in addition to humans, and can be selectively regulated by SCF, TGF-β and TNF-α.


Turkey is ranked at the 54th out of 72 countries in terms of science achievement in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey conducted in 2015, which is a very big disappointment for that country. The aim of this research was to determine factors affecting Turkish students' science achievements in order to identify the improvement areas using PISA 2015 dataset. To achieve this aim, Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) and Classification and Regression Trees (CART) approaches were used and these approaches were compared in terms of model accuracy statistics. Since Singapore was the top performer country in terms of science achievement in PISA 2015 survey, the analysis results of Turkey and Singapore were compared to each other to understand the differences. The results showed that MARS outperforms the CART in terms of measuring the prediction of students' science achievement. Furthermore, the most important factors affecting science achievements were environmental optimism, home possessions and science learning time (minutes per week) for Turkey, while the index of economic, social and cultural status, environmental awareness and enjoyment of science for Singapore.
Keywords: higher education, machine learning algorithms, PISA, science achievement.


Abstract By extending the maximum-likelihood method of Miller and Greene for one-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, maximum-likelihood (ML) methods for two-dimensional spectroscopy are developed. The time-domain free-induction decay is modeled as a 2D signal ƒ(t1, t2), the superposition of exponentially decaying complex exponentials in both dimensions of unknown amplitudes, frequencies, and decays. The measurement is modeled as a 2D Gaussian process with mean ƒ(t1, t2) and fixed variance. The ML estimation problem is to choose the set of amplitudes, frequencies, and decays which minimizes the squared error between the measured FID and the parameterized signal model. An iterative expectation-maximization algorithm is proposed for solving the nonlinear least-squares problem, providing a method for estimating the signal parameters directly from the 2D FID. The ML method and implementation algorithm are tested by analyzing both simulated and experimental N-butanol data collected via the hypercomplex data-collection protocol.


The global green bond market has grown rapidly in recent years, increasing from $3 billion in 2012 to over $100 billion in 2017. Given the broad acceptance and strong demand from investors, green bonds have emerged as an important financing solution, raising finance for climate change mitigation and adaptation investments, particularly in developing countries, where the need for such investments is significant. The Nordic region has pioneered the issuance of green bonds. The World Bank and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, a leading Nordic financial services group, developed the green bond concept in 2008 in response to investors' demand for climate-related investments. Since then, Nordic issuers have played a leading role in green bond issuance, particularly for local green finance. We summarize the Nordic experience with green bonds with a focus on local financing structures and highlight key points that may be of value for developing countries, particularly those in Asia and the Pacific, in exploring green bonds as a means to raise finance for climate change mitigation and adaptation investments.


Non-conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices have attracted researchers" attention for future ultra-large-scale-integration (ULSI) applications since the channel length of conventional MOS devices approached the physical limit. Among the non-conventional CMOS devices which are currently being pursued for the future ULSI, the fully-depleted (FD) SOI MOSFET is a serious contender as the SOI MOSFETs possess some unique features such as enhanced short-channel effects immunity, low substrate leakage current, and compatibility with the planar CMOS technology. However, due to the ultra-thin source and drain regions, FD SOI MOSFETs possess large series resistance which leads to the poor current drive capability of the device despite having excellent short-channel characteristics. To overcome this large series resistance problem, the source/drain area may be increased by extending S/D either upward or downward. Hence, elevated-source/drain (E-S/D) and recessed-source/drain (Re-S/D) are the two structures which can be used to minimize the series resistance problem. Due to the undesirable issues such as parasitic capacitance, current crowding effects, etc. with E-S/D structure, the Re-S/D structure is a better choice. The FD Re-S/D SOI MOSFET may be an attractive option for sub-45nm regime because of its low parasitic capacitances, reduced series resistance, high drive current, very high switching speed and compatibility with the planar CMOS technology. The present dissertation is to deal with the theoretical modeling and computer-based simulation of the FD SOI MOSFETs in general, and recessed source/drain (Re-S/D) ultra-thin-body (UTB) SOI MOSFETs in particular. The current drive capability of Re-S/D UTB SOI MOSFETs can be further improved by adopting the dual-metal-gate (DMG) structure in place of the conventional single-metal-gate-structure. However, it will be interesting to see how the presence of two metals as gate contact changes the subthreshold characteristics of the device. Hence, the effects of adopting DMG structure on the threshold voltage, subthreshold swing and leakage current of Re-S/D UTB SOI MOSFETs have been studied in this dissertation. Further, high-k dielectric materials are used in ultra-scaled MOS devices in order to cut down the quantum mechanical tunneling of carriers. However, a physically thick gate dielectric causes fringing field induced performance degradation. Therefore, the impact of high-k dielectric materials on subthreshold characteristics of Re-S/D SOI MOSFETs needs to be investigated. In this dissertation, various subthreshold characteristics of the device with high-k gate dielectric and metal gate electrode have been investigated in detail. Moreover, considering the variability problem of threshold voltage in ultra-scaled devices, the presence of a back-gate bias voltage may be useful for ultimate tuning of the threshold voltage and other characteristics. Hence, the impact of back-gate bias on the important subthreshold characteristics such as threshold voltage, subthreshold swing and leakage currents of Re-S/D UTB SOI MOSFETs has been thoroughly analyzed in this dissertation. The validity of the analytical models are verified by comparing model results with the numerical simulation results obtained from ATLAS™, a device simulator from SILVACO Inc.


Ranitidine is a widely used H2 receptor antagonist that is usually well tolerated by patients. An anaphylactic reaction to ranitidine is rare. Here, we report a case of ranitidineinduced anaphylaxis. A 56-year-old man with a history of asthma and allergic rhinitis presented with generalized hives, facial edema, dizziness and abdominal pain that developed 20 minutes after taking one tablet of ranitidine 2 weeks earlier. The skin prick test with ranitidine was positive. The oral challenge test with ranitidine resulted in hive, angioedema and hypotension 5 minutes after taking ranitidine 150 mg. Skin prick tests and intradermal tests with famotidine and pantoprazole were negative. Although the incidence of anaphylactic reaction induced by ranitidine is rare, clinicians should be aware of this adverse reaction. (Korean J Asthma Allergy Clin Immunol 2010;30: 140-143) 󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏


A probability-based partitioning algorithm, PROP, was introduced in [8] that achieved large improvements over traditional "deterministic" iterative-improvement techniques like Fidducia-Mattheyses (FM) and Krishnamurthy's look-ahead (LA) algorithm. While PROP's gain function has a greater futuristic component than PM or LA, it incorporates spatially local information-only information on the removal probabilities of adjacent nets of a cell is used in its gain computation. This prevents a higher-level view of nonlocal structures. Also, giving uniform weights to all nets, results in an inability to differentiate between the futuristic benefit of removing one net from another. This paper investigates for the first time the issues of using nonlocal structural information in gain functions and variable net weights based on the futuristic (stochastic) benefit of moving them from the cutset. The result is a more sophisticated partitioner DEEP-PROP that performs better for circuits with large complexities by incorporating more nonlocal (second order) structural information than PROP. The second-order information is incorporated into cell gains as well as variable net weights-the latter helps to focus future cell moves in the "right" cluster around the currently moved cell and, thus, better utilizes the information that led to its selection as the best move. A lower complexity version, variable weight PROP (VAR-PROP), that also uses dynamically assigned variable net weights, but based on first-order information, has also been developed. Both versions yield significant improvements over PROP on the ACM/SIGDA benchmark suite. DEEP-PROP yields mincut improvements of as much as 39% and an average of 20% for large circuits (10-K to 25-K cells) and an average of 14% over all circuits. DEEP PROP is about a factor of 2.8 times slower than PROP, which is very fast. VAR-PROP, which has a much lower computational complexity than DEEP-PROP, yields for large circuits, maximum and average mincut improvements over PROP of 27% and 18%, respectively, and an average of 12.6% improvement over all circuits. It is only about 14% slower than PROP, For the only very large circuit golem3 in the suite (>100 K cells), the improvements produced by DEEP-PROP and VAR-PROP over PROP are 15.6% and 11.5%, respectively. We also compare DEEP-PROP to FM, PROP and hMetis for a subset of the newer 1SPD98 benchmark circuits, and demonstrate significant improvements over FM and PROP, and comparable mincuts (within 2%) to hMetis, one of the best multilevel partitioners.


The rule of stiffness and deflection change of reinforced concrete two-way slabs strengthened by CFRP was discussed after test research. The results were analyzed with ANSYS finite element software and compared with test results, and the ANSYS finite element analysis results agreed well with test results. It shows that CFRP can improve the flexural stiffness of reinforced concrete two-way slabs and effectively restrain deflection deformation of them. So ANSYS analysis results can provide reference for the test and engineering.


River inputs influence trophodynamic and biogeochemical processes of adjacent continental shelves. In order to provide new insights on the influence of continental inputs on the benthic trophic state and early diagenesis of sediment organic matter we collected surface sediments in the NW Adriatic Sea at three stations located at increasing distance from the Po River. Sediment samples were collected in four periods characterized by different river outflows and analysed for chloropigment content (chlorophyll-a and phaeopygments), protein, carbohydrate and lipid concentrations, prokaryote abundance and aminopeptidase activity. Sediments of the NW Adriatic Sea displayed high organic loads, tightly coupled with the outflow dynamics of the Po River. A major flooding event was responsible of an enhanced accumulation of organic material on the sea bottom. The resulting increased nutrient load in the sediment impaired organic matter degradation processes. The results of the present study suggest that the enhanced trophic state of marine coastal sediments subjected to riverine inputs are related not only to the increased nutrient inputs, but that they may be amplified by impaired degradation processes.