Few contemporary issues present us with so much information, speculation and polarity of opinion as climate change. While many in the scientific community argue that the planet is headed for environmental disaster, equally determined sceptics dismiss such concerns. Elected officials and the media have taken sides and fiercely defend their often contradictory positions. As part of the Weather Stations initiative, the Wheeler Centre presented a conversation that provided you, the audience, a chance to ask experts in the field what's really going on. All five of the Weather Stations writers in residence from around the globe, including our own Tony Birch, were amongst a participatory audience. Guests on the panel included Amanda McKenzie, CEO of the Climate Council, the independent body that was crowdfunded after the Climate Commission's government funding was withdrawn; Environment Defenders Office CEO Brendan Sydes; and David Karoly, a Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Melbourne.


Audits are commonly carried out by facilities managers (FMs) to quantify the sustainability and performance of the buildings they manage, informing improvements to infrastructure for resource and cost savings, and assessing compliance with standards and legislation. The scope for what can be audited is limited by available infrastructure. In this article, we investigate the utility of a flexible sensor toolkit to enhance existing energy auditing practices. We present findings from a qualitative study with FM and student auditor participants from 3 organisations. Our study covers how these toolkits were used and integrated into auditing practices within these organisations, and the opportunities and issues for resource management that arose as a result. We conclude with design implications for toolkits to support sensor-augmented audits, make recommendations towards a deployment protocol for sensor toolkits used in this context, and develop broader considerations for how future standards and policies might be adapted to leverage this potential.


Narrow Tilting Vehicles offer an opportunity to reduce both traffic congestion and carbon emissions by having a small road footprint, low weight, and a small frontal area. Their narrow width requires that they tilt into corners to maintain stability; this may be achieved by means of an automated tilting system. Automated tilt control systems can be classed as Steering Tilt Control (STC) in which active control of the front wheel steer angle is used to maintain stability, Direct Tilt Control (DTC) in which some form of actuator is used to exert a moment between the tilting part(s) of the vehicle and a non-tilting base, or a combination of the two (SDTC). Combined SDTC systems have the potential to offer improved performance as, unlike STC systems, they are effective at low speeds whilst offering superior transient roll stability to DTC systems. However, alterations to the front wheel steer angle made by STC and SDTC systems may result in unwanted deviations from the driver's intended path.This paper uses multi-body simulations of a three-wheeled Narrow Tilting Vehicle performing an emergency lane change manoeuvre to show that the path followed by a SDTC equipped vehicle in response to a given series of steer inputs differs significantly from that followed by a DTC equipped vehicle. It is also shown that by using a revised series of steer inputs, a vehicle equipped with SDTC is able to successfully follow a similar path to one equipped with DTC, and that the roll stability of the vehicle is not unduly compromised. Finally, the influence of higher DTC system gains on the SDTC system is considered. It is shown that the result is a small improvement in the vehicle's path following response at the expense of a small reduction in vehicle roll stability.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


Natural antibodies (NAb), natural killer (NK) cells and activated macrophages have all been implicated in the rejection of threshold syngeneic tumor inocula. Previous analysis of tumor susceptibility in normal versus inbred and F1 mice bearing the B cell deficiency associated with the xid mutation of CBA/N mice demonstrated an inverse relationship between the tumorigenicity of the RI-28, a radiation-induced leukemia of the CBA/H strain, and the pooled anti-RI-28 serum NAb levels in mice with the same genetic origins. No relationship with tumor susceptibility was seen with NK cell or in vivo activated macrophage cytolysis. Flow-cytometric determination of antitumor serum NAb bled from individual male and female (CBA/N X CBA/J)F1 mice 1 week prior to the threshold tumor inoculation has revealed extensive heterogeneity within the NAb levels of each sex. A comparative analysis of tumor fate with NAb activity revealed that tumors appeared in only 26.3% of animals with a mean fluorescence channel binding above 60 channels in contrast with 77.3% of animals with lower NAb levels. These data extend to the level of individual hosts the support for an inverse relationship between host NAb activity and tumor susceptibility. In addition, subsequent analysis of serum antitumor NAb levels, splenic NK cytolysis and in vitro lymphokine-activated macrophage activity with all three mediators originating from the same individual F1 mice showed no consistent correlations between these natural resistance activities, arguing for the exclusion of deficiencies in NK cell or macrophage function as the basis for the differential tumor susceptibility in individual F1 mice.


Until the 1960s celiac disease (CD) or sprue was considered a pediatric disease that was rarely diagnosed in adulthood. Thanks to greater awareness of the disease and the availability of improved diagnostic tools (above all, sophisticated endoscopic techniques and the development of reliable serological markers), the prevalence of CD in Western countries has been increasing steadily, and it is now recognized as a common disorder, even in adults. However, many cases of this disease still go undiagnosed, especially among the elderly and in patients with atypical clinical presentations (which are by no means uncommon). On the other hand, the frequency of unfounded diagnoses of CD is also on the rise. This reflects a tendency toward exclusively symptomatic diagnosis as well as the growing use of invalidated tests for CD (e.g., the cytotoxic test, the sublingual or subcutaneous provocation/neutralization test, etc.). As a result, public healthcare spending is being increased in several countries (Italy included) by the growing number of prescriptions for gluten-free diets. This editorial discusses the problems of under- and over-diagnosis of CD and provides an algorithm for management of suspected cases designed to minimize both problems with particular importance to morphologic aspects of small bowel (also in electron microscopy), in basal conditions or in gluten-free diets.


Abstract Metabolomics is the youngest of the profiling techniques employed in the life sciences. It assesses alterations in the pool of metabolites in a biological sample by using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) or mass spectrometry techniques (MS) coupled to liquid or gas chromatography. Metabolite profiling is mainly employed to identify exposure markers or disease related biomarkers. The latter currently dominates by profiling of plasma and/or urine samples in large cohort studies associated with disease endpoints. It may also include genotyping with the goal to link changes in the metabolome to single nucleotide polymorphisms or changes in gene/protein expression. By examples from research on type 2 diabetes and partly on cancers a critical assessment of identified "biomarkers" in terms of specificity and sensitivity will be presented. Intrinsic to most cohort studies is that only a few samples (usually collected after overnight fasting) are available for analysis. This neglects the dynamics of changes in the metabolome as a continuum of adaptations to environmental cues. Challenge experiments may allow a more comprehensive metabolic phenotyping of healthy and diseased humans. Moreover, metabolomics needs to move from the descriptive level that just measures concentrations of selected metabolites to new avenues that cover metabolites in entire pathways and by carrying out flux analysis for being explanatory. Citation Format: Hannelore Daniel. From the genome to the metabolome: The promises and limits of metabolomics. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Post-GWAS Horizons in Molecular Epidemiology: Digging Deeper into the Environment; 2012 Nov 11-14; Hollywood, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(11 Suppl):Abstract nr IA22.


One-dimensional multilayer biosphere-atmosphere models (e.g., CANVEG) describe ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O) fluxes well when cold temperatures or the hydrologic state of the ecosystem do not induce stomatal closure. To investigate the CANVEG model framework under such conditions, CO2 ,H 2O, and sensible heat fluxes were measured with eddy-covariance methods together with xylem sap flux and leaf-level gas exchange in a 16-year-old (in 1999) southeastern loblolly pine forest. Leaf-level gas exchange measurements, collected over a 3-year period, provided all the necessary biochemical and physiological parameters for the CANVEG model. Using temperature-induced reductions of the biochemical kinetic rate constants, the CANVEG approach closely captures the diurnal patterns of the CO2 and H2O fluxes for two different formulations of the maximum Rubisco catalytic capacity (Vc max) 2 temperature function, suggesting that the CANVEG approach is not sensitive to V c max variations for low temperatures. A soil moisture correction (w r) to the Ball-Berry leaf-conductance approach was also proposed and tested. The wr magnitude is consistent with values predicted by a root-xylem hydraulic approach and with leaf-level measurements. The wr correction significantly improves the model's ability to capture diurnal patterns of H2O fluxes for drought conditions. The modeled bulk canopy conductance (Gm) for pine foliage estimated from the CANVEG-modeled multilevel resistance values agreed well with canopy conductance (G c) independently estimated from pine sap flux measurements. Detailed sensitivity analysis suggests that the leaf-level physiological parameters used in CANVEG are not static. The dynamic property of the conductance parameter, inferred from such sensitivity analysis, was further supported using 3 years of porometry measurements. The CANVEG model also reproduced basic biochemical processes as demonstrated by the agreement between modeled and leaf-level measured Ci/Ca, where Ci and Ca are the intercellular and atmospheric CO2 concentration, respectively. The model estimated that vapor pressure deficit does not vary significantly within the canopy but that Ci/Ca varied by more than 15%. The broader implication of this variation is that "big-leaf" approaches that compress physiological and biochemical parameters into bulk canopy stomatal properties may be suitable for estimating water vapor flux but biased for CO2 ecosystem fluxes.


This study attempts to analyze fluctuation of IPO underpricing in Indonesia market from 1990-2010. This research test three proposed hypotheses: changing risk composition, changing incentives alignment, and changing issuers objective function. The researcher also add other variables as potential explanation for underpricing fluctuation: introduction of book building mechanism in year 2000, industry (finance and non-finance), market return, and privatization (IPO of state owned companies and non-state owned companies). The analysis shows that market return and the introduction of book building mechanism have positive impact on underpricing. However, when both variables in regression equation are included, the effect of market return disappears, while the effect of book building mechanism persists. This finding seems to support Book Building advantage arguments and changing issuers objective functions hypothesis, in the sense that the introduction of book building mechanism changes objective function of parties involved. Final result is a change in IPO under pricing.


This thesis is a collection of three contributions to sensitivity analysis of financial and insurance risk evaluations. Sensitivity analysis constitutes an important component of model building, interpretation and validation, particularly for models whose output is at the core of a risk management decision process. We study models comprising a (random) vector of input factors, an aggregation function mapping input factors to a random output, and a risk measure applied to the output. In most typical insurance and financial applications, the model's characteristic – a non-analytical and numerically expensive aggregation function evaluated on numerous input factors – renders most sensitivity analysis methodologies unfeasible. We develop sensitivity analysis procedures applicable specifically for the above model setting. First, we address the estimation of risk measures applied to the model output. The fundamental purpose of a risk measure is to distinguish between different risk profiles. However, strong assumptions on the risk measure's ability to distinguish risk severities lead to non robust estimators. We provide conditions when risk measures exhibit both, robustness and a consistent ranking of risks. Second, we develop a framework termed reverse sensitivity testing, that associates a critical increase in the risk measure to specific input factors. We provide analytical solutions of the stressed distribution of input factors that lead to the required increase in the outputs' risk measure. Third, we introduce a novel sensitivity measure, which quantifies the extent to which the model output is affected by a stress in an individual input factor. Compared to other sensitivity measures in the literature, the proposed measure incorporates the direct impact of the stressed input as well as indirect effects via other input factors that are dependent on the one being stressed. In this way the dependence between inputs is explicitly taken into account.


Three studies were conducted to evaluate late summer protein supplementation for growing steers on Northern Great Plains rangeland. In Experiment 1, crossbred yearling steers (N = 80 per year, mean initial live-weight = 275 kg) were allotted to 1 of 2 treatments replicated in 3 pastures in each of 3 years. Treatments were summer-long grazing with or without protein supplementation in late summer. Protein supplement (26% crude protein) was fed at a rate of 1.68 kg (dry matter basis) every third day. In 1995, a third treatment was added to additional pastures consisting of 1.62 kg (dry matter basis) of a 40% crude protein supplement fed every third day. There was no weight gain response to protein supplementation. In Experiment 2, yearling steers grazing rangeland from May to September were fed either no supplement, 1.5 kg of a 22% crude protein safflower meal-based supplement, 1.2 kg of 26% soybean meal-based supplement or 1.2 kg of a 26% safflower and soybean meal-based supplement every third day in late summer. Live-weight gain, forage intake, and digestibility were not affected by supplementation. A third experiment using ruminally cannulated steers fed grass hay and the 3 protein supplements based on safflower and soybean meals showed an increase in ruminal ammonia concentrations but no other appreciable change in ruminal fermentation with protein supplementation. Supplementation with as much as 648 grams of protein every third day was not a viable means to increase gains of steers grazing Northern Great Plains rangelands during late summer under the conditions of this experiment.


Previous studies evaluating pregnancy hormone levels and maternal breast cancer were limited to surrogate indicators of exposure. This study directly evaluates the association between measured serum steroid hormone levels during pregnancy and maternal risk of breast cancer. A nested case-control study was conducted to examine third-trimester serum levels of total unconjugated estradiol, estrone, estriol, and progesterone in women who were pregnant between 1959 and 1966. Cases (n = 194) were diagnosed with in situ or invasive breast cancer between 1969 and 1991. Controls (n = 374) were matched to cases by age at the time of index pregnancy, using randomized recruitment. Elevated progesterone levels were associated with a decreased incidence of breast cancer [odds ratio (OR) for progesterone > or =270 ng/ml, 0.49; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22-1.1] relative to those below the lowest decile. This association was stronger for cancers diagnosed at or before age 50 (OR for progesterone > or =270 ng/ml, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1-0.9). Increased estrone levels were associated with an increased incidence overall (OR for estrone > or =18.7 ng/ml, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.0-6.2), whereas a positive association with estradiol was not observed. Too few cases occurred within 15 years of the index pregnancy to compare adequately the short- and long-term effects of pregnancy hormone exposure. When estrogen-to-progesterone ratios were evaluated, there was an indication of a modest increased incidence of breast cancer for those with high total estrogens and high estrone levels relative to progesterone. These findings suggest that pregnancy steroid hormone levels are risk factors for breast cancer.


In order to examine the continuity of individual microtubules in growing neurites, microtubules were observed and counted in whole mounted cytoskeletons of chick embryo sensory neurons. At neurite branch points, the microtubules of the proximal segment are divided between the distal segments without the addition of microtubules to the distal branches. Few microtubules ends were seen in the cytoskeletons, and on occasion, the same number of microtubules was counted at widely separated points along a neurite segment. I conclude that microtubules are long in embryonal neurites, and some may extend the entire length from perikaryon to neurite tip. This may limit where microtubule growth occurs to the perikaryon and the neurite tip, where many microtubule ends are. In addition, the great length of most neuritic microtubules may explain why collateral sprouting is rare along embryonal neurites.


Central serotonergic neurones control reflex parasympathetic outflow to the heart, airways and bladder in a number of species, and different 5-HT receptor subtypes are involved in this effect. 5-HTiA and 5-HT3 receptors in the brainstem facilitate these reflexes, whilst 5-HTiB/id, 5-HT2 and 5-HT4 receptors inhibit them. Recently, central 5-HT7 receptors have been implicated in bladder reflexes. Experiments on anaesthetised rats showed that the selective 5-HT7 receptor antagonists SB-269970 and SB-656104, given intracisternally (i.e.), attenuated cardiopulmonary, baroreflex and chemoreflex bradycardias. Similarly, the selective 5-HTia receptor antagonist WAY-100635 attenuated cardiopulmonary and chemoreflex (but not baroreflex) bradycardia, whilst robalzotan and (-)-pindolol (antagonists at 5-HTiA receptors) had no effect on cardiopulmonary and baroreflex bradycardias respectively. Chemical stimulation of presumed serotonergic cell bodies in raphe magnus/pallidus evoked a bradycardia that could not be attenuated either by 5-HT receptor antagonists (given i.v.) or by prior 5-HT depletion. The latter did, however, significantly attenuate cardiovascular reflex sensitivity. Activation of nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) neurones by the vagus was inhibited by the iontophoretic AMP A receptor antagonist DNQX or by topical SB-269970. Subsequent histology suggested that 5-HT containing terminals do not make close appositions with these neurones. Preliminary data demonstrate that SB-269970 (given i.e.) effectively attenuates the cardiopulmonary reflex in awake rats, but has variable effects on the chemoreflex. The data suggest that 5-HT7 receptors in the NTS are crucially involved in the central transmission of reflex bradycardias, at least in rats. The role of the 5-HTia receptor is less clear-cut than in the rabbit, and may reveal a species difference. The origin of 5-HT activating these receptors is unlikely to be the medullary raphe neurones, but may be primary afferents terminating in the NTS. Since recent ultrastructural evidence shows 5-HT terminals and NTS cardiovascular neurones are often separated by astroglial leaflets, astrocytes may be involved in serotonergic-glutamatergic signalling.


Discrete tip injection is an effective method to enhance stability of compressors. This study compares the effects of injection parameters on compressor performance and underlying mechanisms in two different compressors. The transonic compressor is studied using unsteady simulations and the subsonic compressor is mainly investigated with experiment. Results show that tip injection improves stable operating range by 35.6% and 77.9% for the transonic compressor and subsonic compressor, respectively, without decreasing compressor efficiency. The effects of circumferential coverage percentage and injector throat height on compressor stability are similar in the two compressors when the injection velocity is double the velocity of main flow. The optimal injector throat height which is normalized by the tip clearance size is the same for the two compressors, and the best circumferential coverage percentage for the subsonic compressor is lower than that in the transonic compressor. For the two compressors, the adaption of the main flow to the discrete tip injection is unsteady, and the hysteresis effect that the recovery of tip blockage lags behind the recovery of tip leakage vortex accounts for the improved stability using partial coverage of injection. The injection efficiency, which is defined to quantify the improved quality of the flow field in the injection domain, is proven to determine the stall limits by studying the effects of several injection parameters. The guidelines built in the subsonic compressor can be used in the transonic compressor to design tip injection, but the optimal values of some injection parameters should be reconfirmed.


Nigeria is a country where serious cases of abuse of police authority and human rights infringements by security agents often stimulate intense public debate. Though there have been consistent denials by the leadership of the Nigerian Police on the use of torture-based interrogations to elicit information from arrestees, extant literature affirms that the police rely on different forms of torture as principal means of investigation. This paper appraised the recurrent problem of brutality and abuse of human right by the Nigerian police. Triangulating both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection which included questionnaires administered on 1000 accidentally selected inmates, 50 purposively selected in-depth interviewees and 10 officials of the five prisons in Ogun State who were key informants. The study found that the police rely heavily on the use of torture to elicit "confessions" from arrestees. Former detainees reported experiences that included being bound and suspended mid-air in painful positions, kicked and beaten with machetes, gun butts, boots, fists, electrical wires, animal hides, and other instruments. The lack of capacity to conduct proper criminal investigation is responsible for the reliance of the police on torture-induced confessions. Therefore, there is need for the government to improve on the capacity of the Police in their investigative responsibilities and encourage professionalism amongst its rank and file.


A modification of an accept-and-reject algorithm to sample from a set of restricted permutations is proposed. By concentrating on a special class of matrices obtained by restriction of the permutation in time, assuming the objects to be permuted to be events in time, the modified algorithm's running time can be shown to be linear instead of geometric in the number of elements. The implementation of the algorithm in the language R is presented in a Literate Programming style.


ABSTRACT We construct a new framework for accelerating Markov chain Monte Carlo in posterior sampling problems where standard methods are limited by the computational cost of the likelihood, or of numerical models embedded therein. Our approach introduces local approximations of these models into the Metropolis–Hastings kernel, borrowing ideas from deterministic approximation theory, optimization, and experimental design. Previous efforts at integrating approximate models into inference typically sacrifice either the sampler's exactness or efficiency; our work seeks to address these limitations by exploiting useful convergence characteristics of local approximations. We prove the ergodicity of our approximate Markov chain, showing that it samples asymptotically from the exact posterior distribution of interest. We describe variations of the algorithm that employ either local polynomial approximations or local Gaussian process regressors. Our theoretical results reinforce the key observation underlying this article: when the likelihood has some local regularity, the number of model evaluations per Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) step can be greatly reduced without biasing the Monte Carlo average. Numerical experiments demonstrate multiple order-of-magnitude reductions in the number of forward model evaluations used in representative ordinary differential equation (ODE) and partial differential equation (PDE) inference problems, with both synthetic and real data. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.


Although it is true that each local area or region possesses its own historiography – and for that matter its own environmental historiography – there should not be much difference in the research methodology, sources and pitfalls or drawbacks of doing environmental history research in labelled environmental crisis areas. This article presents a concise historiography on dealing with environmental crisis in literature is provided. This is followed by a proposed transdisciplinary (TD)-methodological structure that can serve as a guideline to specifically to environmental historians, and perhaps other discipl ines in the humanities , that studying local or regional environmental crises. A local environment in South Africa, namely the Far West Rand, serves as an example for conducting TD research that features an environmental cris is. The paper concludes by also, amongst others, suggesting that environmental historians and other environmental experts in a variety of fields and disciplines in South Africa and Africa should form an Environmental Studies Association to support one another, particularly in their efforts to work together in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary ways with researchers from a broad range of academic fields. This paper therefore serves merely as a debate to open up discussions for refining the perspectives and existing methodologies of research in environmental history.


In many economic contexts, an elusive variable of interest is the agent's expectation about relevant events, e.g. about other agents' behavior. Recent experimental studies as well as surveys have asked participants to state their beliefs explicitly, but little is known about the causal relation between beliefs and other behavioral variables. This paper discusses the possibility of creating exogenous instrumental variables for belief statements, by shifting the probabilities of the relevant events. We conduct trust game experiments where the amount sent back by the second player (trustee) is exogenously varied by a random process, in a way that informs only the first player (trustor) about the realized variation. The procedure allows detecting causal links from beliefs to actions under plausible assumptions. The IV estimates indicate a significant causal effect, comparable to the connection between beliefs and actions that is suggested by OLS analyses.


Background: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a common inflammatory disease of oral mucosa manifested by erosions and ulcers. Variability in genes coding matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), the proteolytic enzymes modulating inflammation, has been previously associated with RAS. The aim of our study was to investigate six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes for gelatinases (MMP2, MMP9) and stromelysin (MMP3) in patients with RAS and healthy controls. Subjects and methods: Totally, 226 subjects were enrolled in this case-control study: 71 patients with RAS and 155 healthy individuals were genotyped for SNPs in the MMP2 (rs243865, rs2287074), MMP3 (rs679620, rs35068180) and MMP9 (rs3918242, rs17576) genes by TaqMan qPCR or by PCR with restriction analysis. Results: While allele frequencies of rs3918242 MMP9 polymorphism and haplotype MMP9 (rs3918242, rs17576) were marginally significantly different between patients with RAS and healthy controls (P=0.04 and P=0.06, respectively), distribution of allele, genotype and haplotype frequencies of the other studied SNPs were found similar in both groups. Nevertheless, the period of ulcer healing significantly less frequently exceeded one week in the MMP3 (rs35068180) 6A/6A carriers and MMP3 (rs679620) CC carriers compared to other genotypes (P=0.01 for both). Conclusions: Our study suggests that MMP9 gene variability, affecting MMP9 expression and activity, may be involved in the development of RAS in the Czech population. Moreover, MMP3 variants could influence the duration of ulcer healing.


Chondrocytes are indispensable for the function of cartilage because they provide the extracellular matrix. Therefore, gaining insight into the chondrocytes may be helpful in understanding cartilage function and pinpointing potential therapeutical targets for diseases. The talus is a part of the ankle joint, which serves as the major large joint that bears body weight. Compared with the distal tibial and fibula, the talus bears much more mechanical loading, which is a risk factor for osteoarthritis (OA). However, in most individuals, OA seems to be absent in the ankle, and the cartilage of the talus seems to function normally. This study applied single-cell RNA sequencing to demonstrate atlas for chondrocyte subsets in healthy talus cartilage obtained from five volunteers, and chondrocyte subsets were annotated. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses for each cell type, cell–cell interactions, and single-cell regulatory network inference and clustering for each cell type were conducted, and hub genes for each cell type were identified. Immunohistochemical staining was used to confirm the presence and distribution of each cell type. Two new chondrocyte subsets were annotated as MirCs and SpCs. The identified and speculated novel microenvironment may pose different directions in chondrocyte composition, development, and metabolism in the talus.


Background: The morphology of an individual's external ear and its dimensions vary amongst persons to the point that the right and left ears differ.
Aims: This study is aimed at establishing the anatomical variation in the auricular structure of the students of University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
 Methods: The study utilizes a total of 200 students, 101 male and 99 female subjects within the age range of 16-30 years. Total ear length and breadth of both ears were measured using a digital vernier caliper (in mm).
Results: Result obtained showed the total ear length for the right ear to be 54.3 ± 4.12 while that of left ear is 54.2 ± 4.10. The total ear breadth for the right ear of the subject was 31.4 ± 2.51 while that of left ear was 31.3 ± 2.33. Of the t otal population, oval ear shape was commonly noted (58%), followed by round (25.5%), rectangular (10%) and triangular (6.5%) respectively. 100% symmetry was noted with the shape of the right and left ears. Pearson's correlation between shape of auricle and gender was not significant (p=0.798). Inference statistics shows the right and left ears of each parameter to be significant (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The results obtained from this study will serve useful purposes in ear morphology and anthropometric considerations.


From 1974 to 1982 government authorities in Hong Kong seized 672 Kilograms of illicit drugs in 721 seizures on board 254 vessels. As those vessels exceeded 250 gross tons, they were not subject to forfeiture under the Dangerous Drugs ordinance (1935). Thus, an amendment to that ordinance was adopted and came into force on 1 5 January 1983. It provides for the imposition of a maximum Fine of $HK 5 million on the owners of ships exceeding 250 gross tons if such ships are found to have carried excessive quantities of illicit drugs on two occasions within a period of 18 months. The excessive quantity is defined as 3,000 grams of opium or cannabis and 500 grams of any other dangerous drug. Such ships may be forfeited to the Crown if the financial penalty is not paid.


In recent years, and in the current climate crisis, the interest in veganism and sustainable diet/lifestyle has increased. This growing interest can also be seen within academia. Therefore, we set out to systematically document and organize the social psychological literature on veganism and vegan identity to identify where the field currently is, and what we need to do next. Following PRISMA guidelines we identified a data set of 26 academic papers published between 2010 and 2021. Through a thematic analysis of the data, we created four categories of study focus and content: (1) vegans as a disadvantaged/stigmatized group, (2) the role of ideology in negative attitudes toward vegans, (3) the role of moral and ethical beliefs in changing or sustaining dietary preferences, and (4) veganism as a social movement and vegan activism. Our analysis emphasizes issues with merging all non-meat eaters, reduction of veganism into dietary or lifestyle choices neglecting the politicized content and movement, lack of processes underlying emergence and endurance of veganism, and decontextualization of vegan identity. What is needed is a more fine-grained exploration that addresses the identified issues to account for the content of vegan identity. This would expand, for example, the motives literature to include and emphasize intersectionality in a vegan identity context. Specifically, to facilitate a more sustainable lifestyle, the content of social dimensions needs to be qualitatively explored.


Objective: To characterize the cognitive deficits in children with gelastic seizures and hypothalamic hamartoma and investigate the relationship of seizure severity to cognitive abilities. Methods: Eight children with gelastic seizures and hypothalamic hamartoma completed a neuropsychological battery of standardized and age-normed tests, including the Woodcock–Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery–Revised: Tests of Cognitive Ability, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III, and initial-letter word fluency measure. Results: All children displayed cognitive deficits, ranging from mild to severe. Gelastic/complex partial seizure severity was correlated with broad cognitive ability standard scores (r = −0.79; r2 = 0.63; (F[1,6] = 10.28; p = 0.018]. Frequency of gelastic/complex partial seizures was also correlated with broad cognitive ability standard scores (r = −0.72; r2 = 0.52; F[1,6] = 6.44; p = 0.044). Significant intracognitive standard score differences were found, with relative weaknesses in long-term retrieval (mean = 64.1; SD = 13.3) and processing speed (mean = 67.7; SD = 21.6) and a relative strength in visual processing (mean = 97.6; SD = 12.8). Performance in visual processing differed from performance in long-term retrieval (p = 0.009) and processing speed (p = 0.029). Conclusion: These findings are consistent with cognitive functions and affective/emotional states associated with conduction pathways of the hypothalamus involving cortical association areas and amygdala and hippocampal formation. These abnormalities can account for the prominent deficit found in integrating information in the processing of memories.


The stability of rcactively sputtered TiN films on InP for application as a diffusion barrier has been examined using electrical measurements, Auger profiling and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The samples were subjected to rapid-thermal-annealing (RTA) in a N 2 atmosphere at temperatures between 400°C and 900°C. The SEM pictures of "as deposited" and RTA stoichiometric films show that the morphology is smooth, fine-grained and stable until 800°C. Auger depth profiling shows little interdiffusion between TiN and InP for RTA below 800°C. Annealing at temperatures of about 700°C reduces the sheet resistance of TiN relative to the "as-deposited" films by about 50%. Annealing at temperatures above 800°C results in a large sheet resistance. This may be associated with the deterioration of the TiN/InP morphology at high anneal temperatures as observed by SEM.


The traditional resistivity sounding method deals with isolated sounding sites located casually on profile or area of investigation and executed with logarithmic step in distance growth. This technology has very restricted possibilities. Therefore it has begin to exchange practically simultaneously in different countries into new sounding technology, called multielectrodic sounding, or resistivity tomography, electrical imaging, etc. Its main advantage - more dense survey along profile - is clear visible, while the other - overlapping system of measurements is not so evident. Our group in MSU began to apply multi-electrodic resistivity sounding to overcome distorting influence of geological noise. From the end of the 80-th we have been working in areas with high resistivity contrast along both vertical, and horizontal direction. Such sounding data have different features of distortions or differences from response for horizontally layered models. At that period we developed theory of distortions of DC electric field by deep and near-surface inhomogeneities (Electrical..., 1994) and software to establish VES data distortion with the help of various indicators, noticeable on VES curves. We have found, that more than 70 % of all VES curves are distorted. That means, that the distortions are practically constant features of resistivity sounding. Carrying out the large volumes of VES field data and their interpretation (up to 1000 VES sites a year) we analyzed misfit errors of VES curves interpretation. The average value of misfit error (average RMS or D , where D is dispersion) consists 8-12%, that seems rather high value and needs to be explained.


The Lyn protein-tyrosine kinase is activated in the cellular response to DNA-damaging agents. Here we demonstrate that Lyn associates constitutively with the SHPTP1 protein-tyrosine phosphatase. The SH3 domain of Lyn interacts directly with SHPTP1. The results show that Lyn phosphorylates SHPTP1 at the C-terminal Tyr564 site. Lyn-mediated phosphorylation of SHPTP1 stimulates SHPTP1 tyrosine phosphatase activity. We also demonstrate that treatment of cells with 1-b-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine and other genotoxic agents induces Lyn-dependent phosphorylation and activation of SHPTP1. The significance of the Lyn-SHPTP1 interaction is supported by the demonstration that activation of Lyn contributes in part to the apoptotic response to ara-C treatment and that SHPTP1 attenuates this response. These findings support a functional interaction between Lyn and SHPTP1 in the response to DNA damage.


: To improve the diagnosis of fistulas in CT by using a new method. 68 CT examination of fistulas from 1990 to 1995 were evaluated retrospectively. The examinations were performed in two phases: The regions of interest were scanned as usual, in the case of abdominal fistulas after filling the bowels with contrast medium. In the second phase, the fistulas were filled with highly concentrated contrast medium and re-examined. The presentation of this examination was carried out in a wide window and a high centre. In 59 of the 68 cases the fistula and a communication with an organ or an abscess was found, in 9 cases only the fistulous tract. The fistula and its surrounding structures can be well defined each with a different and individual density. By means of the chosen method the different density readings are visualised. Therefore, the 2-phase contrast method can improve fistula diagnosis by using CT.


Curcuminoids is the mixture of curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin obtained from dried rhizomes of Curcuma longa, commonly used for its wide therapeutic value. However, the absorption efficacy of curcuminoids is too low to exhibit its proper therapeutic value. Thus, a new preparation named as BioTurmin-WD (water dispersible curcuminoids) was developed for improved bioavailability. By using human Caco-2 cell monolayer, the permeability efficacy of BioTurmin-WD was evaluated and compared with that of 95% pure curcuminoids. Caco-2 model predicts the in vivo absorption of drugs across the gut wall by measuring the rate of transport of a compound across the Caco-2 cell line. BioTurmin-WD was added to the apical layer and basolateral samples were collected over 120 min to examine the concentration diffusing across the cell monolayer. Permeable curcuminoids across the cell monolayer was analysed through reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Apparent permeabilities (P app ) of BioTurmin-WD and 95% curcuminoids were found to be 5.89 × 10 -6 and 2.65 × 10 -6 cm/s respectively. The apparent permeability coefficient of BioTurmin-WD was 7.03-fold higher than 95% pure curcuminoids. Percentage permeability of BioTurmin-WD (0.2945) was much higher than 95% curcuminoids (0.0859). Results indicated that BioTurmin-WD have a much higher absorption capacity (bioavailability) compared to 95% pure curcuminoids. Thus, BioTurmin-WD may be useful as a dietary supplement with greater bioavailability to exert clinical benefits in humans at a lower dosage.


Isotopic compositions of Pb, Sr, and Nd and concentrations of trace elements were determined for Quaternary island arc basaltic rocks from northeastern Japan. Sr and Pb isotopic ratios decrease, and Nd isotopic ratios increase from the volcanic front toward the back arc. The isotopic compositions nearest the back arc side are nearly identical to those of mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB). The high field strength elements and heavy rare earth elements show homogeneous and MORB-like characteristics. These observations indicate that the mantle wedge beneath northeastern Japan originally had a MORB-type mantle composition that was homogeneous across the arc. Pb isotope compositions show a mixing relationship between mantle wedge and oceanic sediments reflecting the introduction of subduction component into the mantle wedge, Across-arc isotopic variations were caused by interaction between MORB-type mantle wedge and the subducting slab, and the amount of subduction component correlates with the depth to the slab. The isotopic compositions of subduction component are expressed by bulk mixing of 15 wt % of oceanic sediment and 85 wt % of altered MORB. Inversion analyses of isotopic compositions using two-component mixing relationships show that the Sr/Nd and Pb/Nd ratios in subduction component decrease with increasing depth to the slab, while the Sr/Pb ratio is nearly constant. These changes can be explained only by a preferential discharge of the elements into the wedge mantle associated with continuous dehydration of the subducting slab. The present study further demonstrates that a very wide range of isotopic and elemental compositions in island arc magmas is a consequence of the interaction between subducting slab and mantle wedge without the involvement of an oceanic island basalts component, and the slab can carry water and supply a subduction component as a fluid to the overlying mantle wedge to depths exceeding 150 km.


Not so far ago the two most important characteristics of a light source to be used in indoor lighting were lighting efficiency and colour rendering index. First characteristic allow us to make lighting installation also energy efficient and second one assures that the lighting will be well accepted by the users or at least that the premises will look natural. Although both depend on light source spectra, it was very difficult to adapt spectra of the classical light sources to the needs of users. These changes with the introduction of power LEDs to the interior lighting. Today with use of white and monochromatic LEDs we can tailor spectra of luminaires to our needs. This approach can be used not only to obtain better energy efficiency and colour rendering index but also to adapt the spectra to the "non-visual needs" of users. The paper will show some approaches for the selection of the appropriate LEDs for tuning of spectra and the obtained results with different number of used LEDs in luminaire.


1906 photograph of veterans of the Texas Revolution. Pictured are W. P. Zuber of Austin, J. W. Darlington of Taylor, Aca C. Hill of Oakville, S. F. Sparks of Rockport, L. T. Lawlor of Florence, and Alfonso Steel of Mexia. "We'll rally 'round the flag boys, we'll rally once more". The Texas Veterans Association, an organization of those who had served prior to, during, and immediately after the Texas Revolution, held its first convention in Houston on May 13–15, 1873, with about seventy-five veterans present. After 1876 the annual meetings, held in some seventeen different Texas cities, always took place in the week including April 21, San Jacinto Day. At the Goliad meeting in 1906 only six of the last ten known survivors of the Army of the Republic of Texas were present: William P. Zuber, Alfonso Steele, John W. Darlington, Asa C. Hill, S. F. Sparks, and L. T. Lawlor. The association dissolved in Austin on April 19, 1907, during its thirty-fifth annual convention. With its dissolution its work was taken over by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. The stories of some of these men can be found in the Handbook of Texas.


Abstract Understanding biofilm interactions with surrounding substratum and pollutants/particles can benefit from the application of existing microscopy tools. Using the example of biofilm interactions with zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI), this study aims to apply various approaches in biofilm preparation and labeling for fluorescent or electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) microanalysis for accurate observations. According to the targeted microscopy method, biofilms were sampled as flocs or attached biofilm, submitted to labeling using 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindol, lectins PNA and ConA coupled to fluorescent dye or gold nanoparticles, and prepared for observation (fixation, cross-section, freezing, ultramicrotomy). Fluorescent microscopy revealed that nZVI were embedded in the biofilm structure as aggregates but the resolution was insufficient to observe individual nZVI. Cryo-scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations showed nZVI aggregates close to bacteria, but it was not possible to confirm direct interactions between nZVI and cell membranes. Scanning transmission electron microscopy in the SEM (STEM-in-SEM) showed that nZVI aggregates could enter the biofilm to a depth of 7–11 µm. Bacteria were surrounded by a ring of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) preventing direct nZVI/membrane interactions. STEM/EDS mapping revealed a co-localization of nZVI aggregates with lectins suggesting a potential role of EPS in nZVI embedding. Thus, the combination of divergent microscopy approaches is a good approach to better understand and characterize biofilm/metal interactions.


By using the finite element method and large strain two-dimension plane strain model, the flaking damage of Cu-Fe-P lead frame sheet is investigated. The characterization of microstructure under surface flaking is the larger Fe particles embedded in the copper matrix. The numerical analysis reveals that at the interface of Cu and Fe there are greater strain mutation and intense stress concentration that is increased with particle diameter and the extent of deformation. This strain and stress concentration makes the interface initiate crack and develop crack easily. The micro-crack around the Fe particle is also attributed to surface flaking damage under the finish rolling deformation. The larger Fe particles should be avoided in the production of Cu-Fe-P alloy.


The emergence of antimicrobial resistance in human and veterinary bacterial pathogens has led to concerns regarding the use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine. Consequently, regulatory agencies have developed procedures for assessing the risk associated with the use of a specific antimicrobial as part of the drug approval process. Due consideration for the importance (priority categorization) of the antimicrobial to human medicine is part of this risk assessment process. Additionally, nongovernmental organizations have developed antimicrobial categorization schemes to protect the use and effectiveness of these medicines. However, the goals and methods of the various categorization schemes vary, resulting in final categorizations that are different. Although harmonizing these schemes would bring clarity to antimicrobial resistance discussions and policy, it has the disadvantage of not accounting for regional antimicrobial resistance and use, potentially removing effective medicines from clinical use in situations where they are wholly appropriate. Antimicrobials should be classified in a One Health manner, where both physician and veterinarian share the responsibility for antimicrobial use. The purpose of this article is to summarize current antimicrobial categorization schemes using illustrative examples to highlight differences and provide perspectives on the impact of the current schemes and future directions.


Section 129(3) and (4) of the National Credit Act provides debtors who are in default with their credit agreements with the right to reinstate such agreements by paying the actual amounts that are overdue as well as permitted default charges and enforcement costs. Particularly in the mortgage foreclosure context, this mechanism provides relief for credit consumers and it might just be the last opportunity for mortgage debtors to save their homes. Mortgagees are traditionally entitled to refuse the late payment of home loan instalments and therefore to continue with foreclosure, the result being sale in execution of the home. However, the Act has changed this state of affairs and now allows debtors to prevent and even reverse the creditor's election to foreclose by complying with the requirements for reinstatement. Therefore, the operation of acceleration clauses is now qualified by the principles of reinstatement. It is possible to reinstate the mortgage agreement after judgment has been granted, and even after the property has been declared specially executable and attached. However, from the point that the property is sold at the auction, reinstatement is no longer possible. The result of reinstatement is that the attached property is released from the execution process and returned to the debtor. The credit agreement will continue to operate as it did prior to default.


PURPOSE
To identify predictors of favourable changes to postprandial insulin and glucose levels in response to interrupting prolonged sitting time with standing or light intensity physical activity.

METHODS
Data were combined from four similarly designed randomised acute cross-over trials (n=129; BMI range 19.6 to 44.6kg/m2; South Asian=31.0%; dysglycaemia=27.1%). Treatments included: prolonged sitting (6.5hours) or prolonged sitting broken-up with either standing or light-intensity physical activity (5 minutes every 30 minutes). Time-averaged postprandial responses for insulin and glucose were calculated for each treatment (mean±95% CI). Mutually adjusted interaction terms were used to examine whether anthropometric (BMI), demographic (age, sex, ethnicity (white European vs. South Asian)) and a cardiometabolic variable (HOMA-IR) modified responses.

RESULTS
Postprandial insulin and glucose were reduced when individuals interrupted prolonged sitting with bouts of light physical activity, but not with standing. Reductions in time-averaged postprandial insulin were more pronounced if individuals were South Asian compared with white European (-18.9mU/L (-23.5%) vs. -8.2mU/L (-9.3%)), female compared to male (-15.0mU/L (-21.2%) vs. -12.1mU/L (-17.6%)) or had a BMI ≥27.2kg/m2 (-20.9mU/L (-22.9%) vs. -8.7mU/L (-18.2%)). Similarly, being female (-0.4mmol/L (-0.6mmol/L, -0.2mmol/L) (-6.8%) vs. -0.1mmol/L (-0.3mmol/L, 1mmol/L) (-1.7%)) or having a BMI ≥27.2kg/m2 (-0.4mmol/L (-0.6mmol/L, -0.2mmol/L) (-6.7%) vs. -0.2mmol/L (-0.4mmol/L, 0.0mmol/L) (-3.4%)) modified the postprandial glucose response. No significant interactions were found for HOMA-IR or age.

CONCLUSION
Being female, South Asian or having a higher BMI, all predicted greater reductions in postprandial insulin, while being female and having a higher BMI predicted greater reductions in postprandial glucose when sitting was interrupted with light physical activity. These results could help to guide personalised interventions in high-risk participants for whom breaking prolonged sitting time with light activity may yield the greatest therapeutic potential.


Logistic networks intensely use means of transportation and storage facilities to deliver goods. However, these logistic networks are still poorly interconnected and this fragmentation is responsible for a lack of consolidation and thus efficiency. To cope with the seeming contradiction of just-in-time deliveries and challenging emissions targets, a major improvement in supply networks is sought here. This new organisation is based on the universal interconnection of logistics services, namely a Physical Internet where goods travel in modular containers for the sake of interconnection in open networks. If from a logical point of view, merging container flows should improve efficiency, no demonstration of its potential has been carried out prior to the here reported research. To reach this potentiality assessment goal, we model the asynchronous shipment and creation of containers within an interconnected network of services, find the best path routing for each container and minimise the use of transportations means. To carry out the demonstration and assess the associated stakes, we use a set of actual flows from the fast-moving consumer goods sector in France. Various transportation protocols and scenarios are tested, revealing encouraging results for efficiency indicators such as CO2 emissions, cost, lead time, delivery travel time, and so forth. As this is a first work in the field of flows transportation, the simulation model and experiment exposes many further research avenues.


The paper deals with the ability of modern display monitors to reproduce full color range of classical oil paintings. The models of the standard color gamuts of modern monitors are represented by visualization in CIELab color coordinate system. Pure mineral pigments are proved to be more saturated than oil colors. Therefore, reproduction ability of pure saturated pigments ensures the full range reproduction of oil colors. 75 color coordinates of pure pigments are obtained by means of the spectrophotometry method. The measured coordinates displacement is shown as compared with the color gamuts of standard monitors. The quantitative method of reliability estimation for the reproducing of full color ranges of classical oil paintings is developed. The method consists of color differences calculating for out-of-gamut colors (measuring that of the reference coordinate against the closest one inside the gamut) and comparing the results with the standard threshold color difference. It is proved that sRGB monitor does not represent effectively the full color range of classical oil paintings, and AdobeRGB monitor reproduces satisfactorily the full range of colors (with the difference below the threshold of human perception). Developed quantitative method can be applied for any kind of monitor estimation.


The mouse system provides an excellent model for studying host resistance to Naegleria fowleri, the agent of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis. Innate resistance to infection with N. fowleri was examined with respect to infecting dose and the age, sex, and strain of mice. Intravenous inoculation with 10(7) amoebae per mouse produced 100% mortality in 9 days, whereas inoculation with fewer amoebae reduced the cumulative mortality. Male and female DUB/ICR mice of varying ages were inoculated intravenously with 2.5 X 10(5) N. fowleri per g of body weight. The youngest mice died first, with 100% mortality for both males and females, and mortality decreased with increasing age. Female mice were significantly more resistant to infection than males. Five strains of mice weighing approximately 20 g were inoculated intravenously with weight-adjusted doses; mortality ranged from 10% in C57BL/6 mice to 95% in A/HeCr mice.


Walter Lippmann is arguably the most influential journalist in American history. From the time of Woodrow Wilson to the time of Lyndon Johnson, what Walter Lippmann said mattered. His word was valued because of his exceptional capacity for analysis, and because he had the rare ability to make complex ideas and problems manageable and understandable. Lippmann combined the practical and the theoretical and saw them as inseparable. He savored the life of the mind and relished the arena of politics. He was political philosopher, social commentator, political advisor, and activist-intellectual. As the country grappled with an impressive influx of European ideas and with the threatening press of European problems, so did Lippmann. Like President Wilson, he came to believe that the condition of the modern world required that America either act or be acted upon. New methods of communication and propaganda meant that ideas contrary to America's would be widely heard. Reformed liberalism and the projection of that liberalism into a troubled world were the best hedge against totalitarian schemes and imperialist aggression. The Stakes of Diplomacy resulted from Lippmann's assignment by Wilson's Secretary of War Baker, to a project for studying possible terms of peace and ways to influence the world in a liberal-democratic direction. The Stakes of Diplomacy ends both with admiration for the peaceful nature of democracies and a plea for their further influence in the world, and with an understanding that democracy's influence will depend partly upon its physical might and geopolitical collaboration. Lippmann stands as a prominent figure in America's twentieth-century quest for power with honor. He concludes this volume with the warning that there is no safe way and no morally feasible way to turn back from our dangerous mission: "Unless the people who are humane and sympathetic, the people who wish to live and let live, are masters of the situation, the world faces an indefinite vista of conquest and terror."


Forest fires resulted from human activities such as land preparation by using fire. Dry season, forest fire hazard, low awareness of local communities as well as limited infrastructure for fire control are all the factors related to the occurrence of forest fires. The objectives of this research is to identify forest fire causes in Gunung Walat Educational Forest. Forest fire in Gunung Walat Educational Forest over the last five years (2011-2015) occurred in 2012, 2014 and 2015. Forest fire in 2015 had the highest frequency that is three times with the area burnt reached 8.4 ha. The rainfall in Cibadak District is relatively high but it contain some months with the low rainfall. There is a correlation of some parameters that analyzed between characteristic of respondent with the occurrence of forest fire. Characteristic of respondent such as employment, income and distance to forest in Batununggal village showed a positive correlation to the forest fire occurrence.
Key words: characteristic of respondent, forest fire, rainfall


Hurricane Bonnie made landfall in June 1986, with an intensity upon landfall uniform across southwestern Louisiana. This provided a unique opportunity to monitor the short-term response of three different types of shorelines to the same high-energy event. The shorelines included a natural system, one that had been slightly modified by scraping the backbeach, and one that had been artificially stabilized by a revetment and partially fronted by segmented breakwaters. Although these shorelines were connected at slight angles, each shoreline type was relatively straight, had open exposure to the Gulf of Mexico, and was not affected by additional storms during the monitoring period, which lasted six months. The natural and modified systems recovered favorably and followed the well-documented cyclic trend of storm-induced erosion to poststorm deposition. Deposition occurred primarily at the lower foreshore from ridge-and-runnel migration. Prestorm volumes were either approached or achieved. The revetment shoreline exhibited persistent erosion throughout the study. The initial losses were minimal at the artifically stabilized shoreline, but because of continued poststorm erosion, the overall response suggests a much longer recovery time for it than for a natural or slightly modified system.


Climate variability is among major threats to food security in many agricultural based countries in Africa. In particular, it affects crop production due to temperature and rainfall changes, and more extreme weather events. Erratic rainfall and temperatures are said to reduce crop yields through shortening growing seasons, exaggeration of water stress and promote invasion and intensity of weeds, pests and diseases. Food security in Kenya is uncertain and communities in arid and semi-arid areas are relatively more affected. However, research into food security and enhanced understanding of the dynamics of climate variability effects is largely lacking. Using a descriptive survey, this study sought to examine the effects of climate variability on household food security in Oloolua area of Kajiado County. By use of questionnaires, primary data was collected from 311 randomly selected households. Interviews were also conducted among key purposely selected persons. Secondary data was obtained from physical libraries and electronic depositories and Government institutions. The climate data (rainfall and temperature) from 1980 to 2015 for Ngong' forest station (No.8005325) was sourced from the Kenya Meteorological Department. The data was statistically analyzed using SPSS with respect to the set hypotheses and objectives. The results of the study recorded a marginal increase in rainfall amounts of 78.08 mm with a significant inter-annual variability in the period 1980-2015 in Oloolua area. The study also indicated a rise in both maximum (0.1o C) and minimum (0.8o C) temperature in the period. Pearson's correlation test for rainfall against crop yields for the period 2008 to 2015 exhibited a positive correlation for maize (r=0.749) and beans (r=0.321). Maximum temperature revealed a weak positive correlation for both maize (r=0.27) and beans (r=0.398). Minimum temperature portrayed a negative correlation for maize (r=-0.35) and no correlation for beans (r=0.019). Further results from both household perception on their food security status 40.2 % and Household Food Security Assess Scale 85% indicated that majority of the households were in status food insecure and factors such as marital status (χ2=32.566, df=6, p=0.000) education (χ2=188.924, df=6, p=0.000) gender (χ2=16.358, df=2, p=0.000) influenced household food security status. Majority of the households adopted drought resistant crops (216.6) however adaptation was reported to be constrained by lack of finances (257). The study concludes that Oloolua area is experiencing climate variability and this has affected food grain production and hence food security negatively in the area. The study recommends planned adaptation strategies that will enhance the resilience of small holder farmers to climate variability. There is need to invest in agricultural modernization including mechanization and construction of irrigation facilities. Small holder farmers to be encouraged to adopt modern agricultural production and productivity enhancing technologies


Weaving historical fact, mythic tales and contemporary voices, Princes Amongst Men recounts a Balkan odyssey in search of the secret history and culture of Europe's greatest musicians - the Roma Gypsies. On his wild and affectionate journey, Garth Cartwright wanders through the ruins of post-Communist Serbia and observes Roma refugees from the Kosovo conflict. He attends a Gypsy wedding in Macedonia, conveys the tragedy of Romania in the aftermath of Ceaucescu, scours Skopje for opium, charts the Euro-Asian beauties so prominent in Bulgaria, almost marries a Gypsy princess in Kocani and witnesses the fiery celebrations that mark Ederlezi, the Night of the Gypsies, in an impoverished Bulgarian Gypsy ghetto. Cartwright?s engagement with Gypsy communities bypasses clich? and overturns prejudice to return with the true story of the Gypsies? Balkan blues.


Settlement names are the type of geographical names or toponyms that people come across most often. In Slovenia, their unification or standardization is handled by the Commission for Standardization of Geographical Names of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, which is based at the Anton Melik Geographical Institute of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The Commission operates mainly on the basis of UN resolutions on geographical names, Slovenian orthography and Slovenian legislation on geographical names, and publishes standardized geographical names in standardization documents (such as maps and gazetteers) and online on the Surveying and Mapping Authority of the Republic of Slovenia. There are more than 6,000 settlement names in Slovenia, a fifth of which are disputed for various reasons and should be corrected.The book ('Disputed names of settlements in Slovenia') first discusses basic terms in the field of geographical names, especially settlement names, then describes the methodology for determining disputed settlement name in Slovenia and proposes corrected names of disputed names, and finally presents standardized names on maps at a scale of 1: 1,000,000 and 1:250,000 and in the Register of Geographical Names or REZI, which is the largest database of geographical names in Slovenia.


In free competition expert services in Social Medicine must supply their expertise with high quality in a short time and at low cost. The demands by customers in respect of motivation of the staff and innovative organisation are as important competitive factors as high quality standards for expertise production. These guiding principles completed by "Kaizen" and "Lean production" are necessary requirements for the further existence of the enterprise in competition. Quality assurance must be promoted in a process looking to the future in active quality management.


Wind power has boomed actually due to the proliferation of wind parks and their operation in supplying the national electric grid with low cost and clean resources. Hence, there is an increased need to establish a proactive maintenance for wind turbine machines based on remote control and monitoring which rely heavily on the timely delivery of safety real-time data for offshore or inaccessible locations through a wireless connection while the wired method has many flaws. The objective of this strategy is to prolong wind turbine lifetime and to increase productivity. The hardware of a remote control and monitoring system for wind turbines Park is designed by taking advantage of GPRS or WiMax wireless module to collect data measurements from different wind machines sensors through IP based multi-hop communication. Computer simulations with Proteus ISIS and OPNET tools have been conducted to evaluate the performance of the studied system. Study findings show that the designed device is suitable for application in a wind park..


Social media on the World Wide Web, such as Wiki, are increasingly applied to support collaborative learning for students to conduct a project together. However, recent studies indicated that students, learning in the collaborative project, may not actively contribute to the collaborative work and are involved only in a limited level of positive interdependence due to the ambiguous ownership on the collaborative work. To this end, this study proposes an approach to support collaborative learning based on the notion of Creative Commons (CC). CC may be helpful to enhance positive interdependency because it provides a mechanism which protects individual creations while encouraging remixing and deriving new creations from them. This study conducted an empirical evaluation to examine how students react to the collaborative learning with CC notions. The results showed that CC can significantly improve participants' attitude to the derivative works, the satisfaction level of remix outcomes, perception to the peer interaction and the sense of work ownership. Such results suggest that CC may be a potential avenue for increasing individuals' responsibilities and motivating them to participate in the collaborative learning activity.


We report on a resonant photoemission study of Gd and Eu metal at the MV x-ray absorption threshold. The 4f photoemission signal exhibits a strong enhancement at resonance which is due to a true resonant photoemission process. For a photon energy corresponding to a satellite structure in the absorption spectra, a 5 X final state assigned to a spin-flip phenomenon in the excitation process is observed. Resonant photoemission spectra of the 4d states of Gd and Eu metal at the MV thresholds are also presented. No enhancement of the 4d emission is found. However, the appearance of a large emission at8 eV higher binding energy is observed. It is proposed that this feature originates from a more probable Auger transition, which reduces the probability of a resonant photoemission of the 4d states.


Introduction During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the circulation of seasonal influenza virus declined globally and remained below previous seasonal levels. We analyzed the results of the epidemiology, antigenic, and genetic characteristics, and antiviral susceptibilities of seasonal influenza viruses isolated from the mainland of China during October 5, 2020 through September 5, 2021, to better assess the risk of influenza during subsequent influenza season in 2021–2022. Methods Positive rates of influenza virus detection during this period were based on real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection by the Chinese National Influenza Surveillance Network laboratories, and isolated viruses from influenza positive samples were submitted to the Chinese National Influenza Center. Antigenic analyses for influenza viruses were conducted using the hemagglutination inhibition assay. Next-generation sequencing was used for genetic analyses. Viruses were tested for resistance to antiviral medications using a phenotypic assay and next-generation sequencing. Results In southern China, the influenza positivity rate was elevated especially after March 2021 and was higher than the same period the previous year with the COVID-19 pandemic. In northern China, influenza positive rate peaked at Week 18 in 2021 and has declined since then. Nearly all isolated viruses were B/Victoria lineage viruses during the study period, and 37.3% of these viruses are antigenically similar to the reference viruses representing the vaccine components for the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 Northern Hemisphere influenza season. All seasonal influenza viruses were susceptible to neuraminidase inhibitors and endonuclease inhibitors. Conclusions Influenza activity has gradually increased in the mainland of China in 2021, although the intensity of activity is still lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic. The diversity of circulating influenza types/subtypes decreased, with the vast majority being B/Victoria lineage viruses. The surveillance data from this study suggest that we should strengthen influenza surveillance during the upcoming traditional influenza season. It also provided evidence for vaccine recommendations and prevention and control of influenza and clinical use of antiviral drugs.


A contest-oriented project for undergraduate students to learn implementation skills and theories related to intelligent mobile robots is presented in this paper. The project, related to Micromouse, Robotrace (Robotrace is the title of Taiwanese and Japanese robot races), and line-maze contests was developed by the embedded control system research group of the Department of Electronic Engineering, Lunghwa University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. It targets both those students who have to earn credits for a one-year special topics course and those who are just interested in making robots, and it is designed to motivate them to learn digital motion control, path planning, attitude correction, curvature detection and maze-solving algorithms. The students begin by getting acquainted with the development environment of microcontrollers, the characteristics of different sensors, and servomotor control techniques. Having learned these basic skills, they acquire further specific advanced skills and proceed to design their own mobile robots to compete in contests. The special topics course students' robots must pass examination by five teachers. Blogs and a wiki Web site for recording students' progress and experiences enhance the project's learning outcomes. Although not every student wins a prize in the contests, student feedback still shows that the contest-oriented project did motivate them to acquire the skills necessary to build and operate intelligent mobile robots.


The synthesis of nanocrystalline diamond film on polycrystalline molybdenum substrates was carried out by using of self-made hot filament chemical vapor deposited (HFCVD) system. Positive bias voltage on the grid electrode on top of hot filaments and negative bias voltage on the substrate were applied. High purity and extremely smooth nanocrystalline diamond films were successfully prepared by using the double bias method. Raman, SEM, XRD and AFM results show that the diamond films obtained have grain sizes less than 20nm, nucleation density higher than 1011cm-1. The mechanism of double bias is also discussed in this paper. The positive grid bias increases the active, decomposition and ionization of hydrogen and methane molecules, while negative substrate bias helps positive carbon-containing ions bombard the substrate that leads to the high nucleation density of the diamond film.


While differences in weight-gain potential exist, both between and within classes of psychiatry medications, most commonly used atypical antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and antidepressants result in some degree of weight gain. This is not new information and it requires an understanding of the tolerability profiles of different treatments and their goodness of fit with specific patient phenotypes. However, this iatrogenic association represents only a piece of this obesity–mental illness dyad. The complex interplay between psychiatric illness and weight involves neurobiology, psychology, and sociological factors. Parsing the salient variables in people with mental illness is an urgent need insofar as mortality from physical health causes is the most common cause of premature mortality in people with chronic mental illness. Our review examines issues associated with common chronic mental illnesses that may underlie this association and warrant further study if we hope to clinically intervene to control this life-threatening comorbidity.


The increasing diffusion of mobile computing and of portable devices with wireless connectivity identifies new challenging scenarios for service provisioning. The access from devices with limited heterogeneous capabilities to traditional and novel Internet services requires new infrastructures capable of integrating with the fixed network and of supporting service tailoring/adaptation. The paper presents a mobile agent-based middleware for the distribution of video on demand (VoD) to portable devices. Mobile agents can act as device proxies over the fixed network, can negotiate the proper QoS level and can dynamically tailor VoD flows depending on profiles of terminal characteristics and user preferences. The paper also describes the design and implementation of a motion picture-information service prototype, built on top of the proposed middleware. The prototype shows the feasibility of distributing motion picture trailers ubiquitously even to portable devices with strict constraints on computing power and visualization capabilities, e.g., Palm personal digital assistants hosting the Java KVM/CLDC/MIDP software suite.


Concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the serum of 14 patients suffering from Lyme disease were measured. 86% of these patients were found to have abnormally high concentrations of serum CRP (range 14-158 mg/L). The CRP concentration of a 60-year-old patient abated from 29 mg/L to 13 mg/L after treatment. Results suggest that serum CRP concentration can provide a valuable and accurate means for the clinical diagnosis and monitoring of Lyme disease.


Soil stratigraphy has played an increasingly important role in determining the recency of fault activity, but its application is not a panacea. Many problems can arise when attempting to use soil stratigraphy to decipher fault activity. Common problems include the following: 1) Site grading before trenching, 2) failure to consider age-related soil science information, 3) failure to understand pedochronology, 4) inadequate carbon dating, 5) the presence of weakly developed old soils, 6) pedogenesis along ancient faults, and 7) failure to recognize bisequa (two-story soils). Common misconceptions when attempting to use soil stratigraphy to date fault activity include the following: 1) A seismic trench can be properly excavated, logged, and buried on the same day; 2) The age of a soil can be obtained by dating the A horizon; 3) The age of a buried paleosol can be obtained by dating its Ab horizon; 4) The C-14 age of pedogenic calcite in a Bk or K horizon measures its mean residence time; and 5) All slickensides are evidence of tectonism. Although the five factors of soil formation make pedochronology relatively imprecise, an evaluation of surficial units and fault features from a soil science perspective often is critical for estimating risk due to fault rupture hazard. Avoiding these common problems and misconceptions involving soils is essential to professional seismic investigations.


Importance of the road infrastructure for the society could be the same as importance of blood vessels for humans. Road surface quality should be monitored and repaired on a regular basis. It is very difficult to design a optimal system which gathers the road condition data and processes it. Participatory sensing approach can be mostly used for such data collection.The paper is describes a mobile sensing system (android application) for road irregularity detection using Android OS based smart phone sensors. Selected data processing algorithms are discussed and their evaluation presented with true positive rate as high as 90% using real world data. The optimal parameters for the algorithms are determined as well as recommendations for their application.Continuously keeping track on road and traffic conditions in a city is a problem widely studied. Many methods have available towards addressing this problem. But this methods proposed require dedicated hardware such as GPS devices and accelerometers in vehicles or cameras on roadside and near traffic signals. All such proposed are unaffordable tothe common man regarding of monetary cost and human effort required. We extend a prior study to improve the algorithm based on using accelerometer, GPS and magnetometer sensor readings for trafficand road conditions detection. We are specifically made research in identifying braking events - frequent braking indicates congested traffic conditions - and bumps on the roads to characterize the type of road.


Reactive transport models (RTMs) are powerful tools for disentangling the complex process interplay that drives estuarine biogeochemical dynamics, for assessing the quantitative role of estuaries in global biogeochemical cycles and for predicting their response to anthropogenic disturbances (land-use change, climate change and water management). Nevertheless, the application of RTMs for a regional or global estimation of estuarine biogeochemical transformations and fluxes is generally compromised by their high computational and data demands. Here, we describe C-GEM (Carbon-Generic Estuary Model), a new one-dimensional, computationally efficient RTM that reduces data requirements by using a generic, theoretical framework based on the direct relationship between estuarine geometry and hydrodynamics. Despite its efficiency, it provides an accurate description of estuarine hydrodynamics, salt transport and biogeochemistry on the appropriate spatio–temporal scales. We provide a detailed description of the model, as well as a protocol for its set-up. The new model is then applied to the funnel-shaped Scheldt estuary (BE/NL), one of the best-surveyed estuarine systems in the world. Its performance is evaluated through comprehensive model–data and model–model comparisons. Model results show that C-GEM captures the dominant features of the biogeochemical cycling in the Scheldt estuary. Longitudinal steady-state profiles of oxygen, ammonium, nitrate and silica are generally in good agreement with measured data. In addition, simulated, system-wide integrated reaction rates of the main pelagic biogeochemical processes are comparable with those obtained using a high-resolved, two-dimensional RTM. A comparison of fully transient simulations results with those of a two-dimensional model shows that the estuarine net ecosystem metabolism (NEM) only differs by about 10%, while system-wide estimates of individual biogeochemical processes never diverge by more than 40%. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to assess the sensitivity of biogeochemical processes to uncertainties in parameter values. Results reveal that the geometric parameters LC (estuarine convergence length) and H (water depth), as well as the rate constant of organic matter degradation (kox) exert an important influence on the biogeochemical functioning of the estuary. The sensitivity results also show that, currently, the most important hurdle towards regional- or global-scale applications arises from the lack of an objective framework for sediment and biogeochemical process parameterization. They, therefore, emphasize the need for a global compilation of biogeochemical parameter values that can help identify common trends and possible relationships between parameters and controlling factors, such as climate, catchment characteristics and anthropic pressure.


We present a new technique for obtaining simultaneous multimodal quantitative phase and fluorescence microscopy of biological cells, providing both quantitative phase imaging and molecular specificity using a single camera. Our system is based on an interferometric multiplexing module, externally positioned at the exit of an optical microscope. In contrast to previous approaches, the presented technique allows conventional fluorescence imaging, rather than interferometric off-axis fluorescence imaging. We demonstrate the presented technique for imaging fluorescent beads and live biological cells.


This study has a purpose to determine how the effect Regional Original Income to Direct Expenditures in West Bandung Regency for the period 2008-2017. This study uses the theory from Siregar (2015: 31) with the method that uses an associative type with a quantitative approach. This research using secondary data with data collection techniques are literature studies (documentation) and field studies (observation). The population and sample of the study are the West Bandung Regency Regional Budget Realization Report 2008-2017. Statistical testing uses multiple regression analysis that determines how much influence the PAD component has on Direct Spending with a significance level of α = 0.05 using the t-test with SPSS 20 program. Significant value for the influence of independent variables regional tax, regional retribution, separated regional wealth management results and other legitimate PAD which is Regional Original Income simultaneously to Direct Expenditures of 0,000 F table of 4, 53. So that can be concluded of the independent variable namely Regional Original Income simultaneously influences the dependent variable of Direct Shopping in West Bandung Regency. The results are the calculation of the determination coefficient and correlation coefficient that the effect of Regional Original Income on Direct Spending is 98.2% with a correlation level of 0.982 which means it belongs to the category of very strong relationships. And the remaining 1.8% are influenced cause other variables not explained by the researcher.


China's iron and steel sector has met many obstacles, such as high energy consumption and huge CO2 emissions. In order to deal with these problems, the Chinese government has launched a series of corresponding policies. With the assistance of Long-Range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP) software, this paper established the LEAP policy model to explore performances of industry policies formulated by the government. The model consists of a baseline scenario and three policy scenarios based on different policies. Three policy scenarios in the LEAP policy model are based on policies of phasing out backward production capacity, promotion energy saving technologies, and establishment of a carbon emissions trading market. Results indicate that there is great potential for the CO2 emissions mitigation in the iron and steel sector. The effects of four scenarios are ranked as follows: emissions trade scenario (ET) > cut excessive capacity scenario (CEC) > technology improvement scenario (TI) > business-as-usual scenario (BAU). From the point of view of the iron and steel industry, this research tries to cast light on the future performances of industrial policies, and the results reveal that CO2 emissions would be abated significantly if those policies were successfully implemented.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a brief computer-based learning module on nurses' self-efficacy regarding tobacco cessation counseling. Twelve registered nurses practicing in an acute care hospital system participated in the one-group pretest-posttest study. At registration, participants completed a demographical tool and the Modified "5 A's" Training Program Survey. The Modified "5 A's" Training Program Survey was completed again immediately after the training program. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the demographic data. Statistical analysis did not reveal significant changes in the dependent variables for self-efficacy for smoking cessation counseling. Results of this study support further research and the identification of effective smoking cessation education training programs for nurses.


Abstract Wild radish is a prevalent annual weed throughout the cropping regions of southern Australia. Field experiments were conducted at Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, in 1998 and 1999 to determine the effect of various densities and emergence times of wild radish on yield and quality of canola and on wild radish seed production. As few as 4 wild radish m−2 emerging with canola reduced canola yield 9 to 11%, whereas 64 wild radish m−2 reduced canola yield 77 to 91%. Wild radish interference in canola was greatly affected by its time of emergence relative to canola. At 64 wild radish m−2, canola yield was reduced 77, 54, 33, and 19% in 1998 and 91, 65, 56, and 19% in 1999 when wild radish emerged 0, 2, 4, and 7 wk after canola, respectively. Wild radish that emerged 10 wk after canola did not reduce canola yield. Maximum wild radish seed production ranged from 24,183 to 32,167 seed m−2 when they emerged with canola at high densities. Wild radish that emerged later than canola produced much less seed, but some seed production still occurred in one of the 2 yr when it emerged as late as 10 wk after canola. Wild radish did not directly reduce canola quality in either year, but if wild radish seed were not separated from canola seed, the amount of erucic acid and glucosinolates was increased above marketable levels in some cases. The results of this study will be used to advise growers on wild radish control in canola and will aid the development of a multiyear management strategy for this troublesome weed in annual cropping systems. Nomenclature: Wild radish, Raphanus raphanistrum L. RAPRA; canola, Brassica napus L. 'Oscar'.


Health Technology Assessments (HTAs) are gaining importance with support of governments in the Western World. With evidence synthesis and economic modeling gaining in accuracy and complexity, there is an increasing demand to assess the quality and validity of the data used for these studies. In keeping with the trend of the "Big Data" explosion, "Real World Evidence" is being seen as the answer to getting HTAs to the next level of accuracy. Hence there is the need for better tools to document and process "Real World Data". Registries have been existing for more than half a century now. However; their use was primarily done for epidemiological research. This article discusses how with the turn of the century, registries have evolved from being just portals for enrolment of patients to being highly sophisticated tools for economic modeling and cost analysis. We also discuss the challenges faced in optimal utilization of registries and how they can be addressed by better designing and implementation. We also discuss some policy decisions which have been taken to ensure that registries will continue to evolve and be a very important tool in HTAs.


We use cosmological hydrodynamic simulations to investigate how inflows, star formation, and outflows govern the the gaseous and metal content of galaxies within a hierarchical structure formation context. In our simulations, galaxy metallicities are established by a balance between inflows and outflows as governed by the mass outflow rate, implying that the mass-metallicity relation reflects how the outflow rate varies with stellar mass. Gas content, meanwhile, is set by a competition between inflow into and gas consumption within the interstellar medium, the latter being governed by the star formation law, while the former is impacted by both wind recycling and preventive feedback. Stochastic variations in the inflow rate move galaxies off the equilibrium mass-metallicity and mass-gas fraction relations in a manner correlated with star formation rate, and the scatter is set by the timescale to re-equilibrate. The evolution of both relations from z = 3 ! 0 is slow, as individual galaxies tend to evolve mostly along the relations. Gas fractions at a given stellar mass slowly decrease with time because the cosmic inflow rate diminishes faster than the consumption rate, while metallicities slowly increase as infalling gas becomes more enriched. Observations from z � 3 ! 0 are better matched by simulations employing momentum-driven wind scalings rather than constant wind speeds, but all models predict too low gas fractions at low masses and too high metallicities at high masses. All our models reproduce observed second-parameter trends of the mass-metallicity relation with star formation rate and environment, indicating that these are a consequence of equilibrium and not feedback. Overall, the analytical framework of our equilibrium scenario broadly captures the relevant physics establishing the galaxy gas and metal content in simulations, which suggests that the cycle of baryonic inflows and outflows centrally governs the cosmic evolution of these properties in typical star-forming galaxies.


In his first term, Justice Neil Gorsuch has made a surprisingly forceful impact on, of all things, patent law—and even more unlikely, the United States Patent and Trademark Office's adjudicatory arm, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Was there any way to predict, from his 10th Circuit opinions below, that he would author opinions in all three patent cases in his first term? Was this attention the result of deeply submerged but long-felt opinions on patent law, or rather a result of his sharp distrust of administrative overreach? We analyze 10th Circuit and Supreme Court opinions authored by Justice Gorsuch, and conclude his unforeseen interest springs from his desire to limit agency power rather than from any particular concern with patents. Still, his opinions—intentionally or by happenstance—will reverberate through our patent law for years.


Various thermodynamic equilibrium properties of naturally abundant, hexagonal ice (ice Ih) of water (H2O) have been used to develop a Gibbs energy function g(T,p) of temperature and pressure, covering the ranges 0–273.16 K and 0 Pa–210 MPa, expressed in the temperature scale ITS-90. It serves as a fundamental equation from which additional properties are obtained as partial derivatives by thermodynamic rules. Extending previously developed Gibbs functions, it covers the entire existence region of ice Ih in the T-p diagram. Close to zero temperature, it obeys the theoretical cubic limiting law of Debye for heat capacity and Pauling's residual entropy. It is based on a significantly enlarged experimental data set compared to its predecessors. Due to the inherent thermodynamic cross relations, the formulas for particular quantities like density, thermal expansion, or compressibility are thus fully consistent with each other, are more reliable now, and extended in their ranges of validity. In conjunction with the IAPWS-95 formulation for the fluid phases of water, the new chemical potential of ice allows an alternative computation of the melting and sublimation curves, being improved especially near the triple point, and valid down to 130 K sublimation temperature. It provides an absolute entropy reference value for liquid water at the triple point.


This paper focuses on leakage reduction at architecture and arithmetic level. A methodology for considerable reduction of the static power consumption is shown. Simulations are done in a typical 130nm CMOS technology. Based on the simulation results, the static power consumption is estimated and compared for different filter architectures. Substantial power reductions are shown in both FIR-filters and IIR-filters. Three different types of architectures, namely, bit-parallel, digit-serial, and bit-serial structures are used to demonstrate the methodology. The paper also shows that the relative power ratio is strongly dependent on the used word length; that is, the gain in power ratio is larger for longer word lengths. A static power ratio at 0.48 is shown for the bit-serial FIR-filter and a power ratio at 0.11 is shown in the arithmetic part of the FIR-filter. The static power ratio in the IIR-filter is 0.36 in the bit-serial filter and 0.06 in the arithmetic part of the filter. It is also shown that the use of storage, such as registers, relatively the arithmetic part, affects the power ratio. The relatively lower power consumption in the IIR-filter compared to the FIR-filter is due to the lower use of registers.


Database recovery does not mask failures to applications and users. Recovery is needed that considers data, messages and application components. Special cases have been studied, but clear principles for recovery guarantees in general multi-tier applications such as Web-based e-services are missing. We develop a framework for recovery guarantees that masks almost all failures. The main concept is an interaction contract between two components, a pledge as to message and state persistence, and contract release. Contracts are composed into system-wide agreements so that a set of components is provably recoverable with exactly-once message delivery and execution, except perhaps for crash-interrupted user input or output. Our implementation techniques reduce the data logging cost, allow effective log truncation, and provide independent recovery for critical server components. Interaction contracts form the basis for our Phoenix/COM project on persistent components. Our framework's utility is demonstrated with a case study of a web-based e-service.